I really like what this guy is doing. Enter Alek (@freakcast) and his ‘live show’ gig: Freakcast. He walks me through an online video experience of something he performs live – imagine the video slicing and dicing being done in real-time. He says, think “Quantum Montage.” I love LA for this: it thrives on creativity and diving in without fear. (Check out Freakcast on YouTube)

At the 140 Characters Conference last week in LA, a few of the Google Wave guys flew over from Sydney to participate on a panel, talk about the latest features and benefits of Google Wave and in general, spread the word among early adopters, movers and shakers in the world of Web 2.0. (developer Alex North joins us for part of the conversation). Video is in parts I and II.

Attorney Glenn Manishin (@glennm) tells amusing lawyer jokes at the 140 Characters Conference this past week in Los Angeles. Scroll down and hit play.

Glenn was on the panel that discussed public policy, legal issues within the context of social media and who owns what on the web.

Says Glenn, “if you ask a lawyer a question, they’ll say, it depends.” Well, in this space, it really does depend because there is no law about social media right now. There are doctrines of law that affect social media, you can be fired, not hired, but he asserts, that in many ways, “its still the wild wild west.”

Because the wild wild west is abbreviated to www….now what? What about linking? Caching? Twitter? Answers are evolving as we speak. Risks are high but if you don’t take the risks, you also don’t yield the rewards.

So, who owns the content on social media networks? Can employers prohibit employees from using social media?

Employers could learn a lot about their employees by not only allowing them to voice an opinion but engaging with them in the process. If you let employees use social media, you can monitor their voice and their behavior. Instruct them out to use it and give them concise guidelines but give up the control. In the long term, that control won’t work to serve corporations.

Larger corporations don’t just think about the legal risk but also the business risk. Brett Trout (@bretttrout) talked to us about intellectual property law. He says with a grin, “social media isn’t like baby bottles or the phone – it’s a tool you have to use. If your lawyer isn’t using social media, you need to get a new lawyer. You need a lawyer who understands what it is and its implications.”

As for endorsements and being up front about what you’re doing, we are given this analogy: sharks don’t know much about playing badminton but they do know how to hunt & kill.

On copyright and trademark issues, 90% of tweets are repetition of facts that are already public and out there.

Tweets live forever and anyone can see them. There’s a difference between that model and Facebook, a walled community, which means you decide who sees your content.

Normally the copyright rule is that if you use the entire article or quote, it’s not considered fair use. You can use a portion of something for commentary or parady. If you retweet, by definition, you’re basically repeating everything someone said.

By posting something on Twitter, you are not copying it, you’re reposting someone’s stuff and as Pete Cashmore once said about reposting stuff, it’s great to extend that reach of what you said. Hear hear. Distribution distribution distribution.

@glennm below tells us some amusing lawyer jokes on-site at the Kodak Theater last week.

At this month’s Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, client Answers.com’s Bob Rosenschein talks about the latest growth and why its such a popular answers destination site with KRON-TV’s Brian Shields.

At the 140 Character Conference last week in LA, I talked to Kodak’s Chief Blogger Jennifer Cisney. She talks to us about her role at Kodak.

I had a chance to spend some time with the MashCast team at the 140 Conference this past week in LA. They refer to their video mashup as collaborative expression, a new category of communicating that allows for advanced levels of creative and collaborative interaction using video.

They can essentially drop photos into existing video templates or create new ones, updating statements or images daily depending on the situation.

Within a MashCast network, individual artists and businesses can own and manage exclusive online communities, giving them the power to connect their network to all social media outlets (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc) for one-button-push, net-wide distribution of select content; grant varying levels of rights, roles and permissions to members; distribute content securely to their subscribers real-time or “on demand”; customize and segment content for targeted communications to different kinds of users. The result? The ability to “own the audience” while opening up new revenue streams for their brand.

A proprietary rich internet application allows subscribers and network operators to pass creative content—video, audio, animation—back and forth to each other over the MashCast network in real time.

Take a look at two personalized videos they did inserting my photo into a video – and this is just one small piece of what they’re capable of. You can also click play below.

Connections: Influencers & Strategic Partners
[column width=”13%” padding=”0%”]  [/column] [column width=”57%” padding=”0%”] We can make strategic introductions and organize, manage and lead trips or events with major brands looking to get their name in front of key influencers.

A strategic marketing and branding partner doesn’t just think about the right press connections or creating a blog or website – the real asset is in the combination of your core story, your so-called Magic Sauce which includes your internal team. We help you leverage those resources – from the talent and history, to the magic behind your story, to the product UI and unique benefits your product or service provides to customers.

Whether it’s emerging technologies, Web 2.0, travel, services for seniors, teens or boomers, fashion, food and wine, retail or green tech, we can make compelling connections and help you create a program that is magical, creative and innovative in the U.S. or abroad.

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Design & Video
[column width=”13%” padding=”0%”]  [/column] [column width=”57%” padding=”0%”] If you and your team need a site or blog design or lift, we can help. We collaborate with designers, developers and advisors, whether you need to build from scratch or simply need a facelift and rebrand design. We team up with reliable resources who can handle everything from the technical implementation to the creative layout.

Remember that blogs create a platform for community discussions to happen across the board: with your customers, partners, employees, investors, and your competitors. Really great design attracts rather than hinders, clarifies rather than confuses and engages rather than dictates. It’s an important part of your message.

We also utilize online video when and where it makes sense. There are products and services that cry out for a visual story and doing it on a website or blog sometimes isn’t enough.

We work with you to determine the best medium – whether it’s your blog, Facebook, another popular social networking site, YouTube or countless other video platforms on the web. Timing is also key – when to release what and to who? What story do we tell using video versus Twitter and every other medium at our fingertips? Video is a great way to share your Magic Sauce with the world.

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Social Influencer Messaging
[column width=”13%” padding=”0%”]  [/column] [column width=”57%” padding=”0%”] Even if you have talked to plenty of high profile executives and media influencers in your lifetime, everyone can benefit from media coaching and training. As more and more traditional media outlets decline, new influencers and communities will take their place. They already have. Looking and sounding compelling to your audience will never be obsolete.

It’s hard to react on the fly when tough questions are thrown your way, often ones you least expect. We’ll work with you so you can present yourself in a way that gets noticed: authentic, articulate, factual, strategic, edgy, forward thinking and consistent.

You need to own what you project and project what you own. Remember that people’s first impressions may be all they have, so learn how to powerfully deliver your magic sauce and do it again and again.

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Launches
[column width=”13%” padding=”0%”]  [/column] [column width=”57%” padding=”0%”] Product rollouts are an important and integral part of every communications program. When you see a successful launch, know that more often than not, there’s magic behind it and a lot of hard work.

In a world that may have more online influencers than stores, it’s hard to stand out from the clutter and more importantly, stay there. While getting a one-hit wonder can work with a smart “purple cow” approach, we help you develop a launch strategy that helps pave the way for sustainable success in the market.

We handle the strategy and execution before, during and after the launch including an event or launch party if that’s the right fit for your launch. When relevant, we also develop and manage the reviews and awards.

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