ThinkingSkull.com

Among of the reasons I started a movie review web site was because 1) I was required to support a web space for one of my jobs and to learn how to setup and maintain a site, and 2) people knew I went to see films every weekend and always stopped by to ask me what I thought.

But another reason I wanted to do it was this: what was the cheapest I could get away with developing and promoting a (mostly) original content web site? Keep in mind that eight years ago, people were committing MILLIONS of dollars in capital (remember Pets.com?) to create the next big web sensation… just before the bubble popped.

And I succeeded in all my modest goals. I pay for basic hosting, traffic is moderate but consistant, money trickles in enough to cover the site, and I receive local and international requests for film and related reviews. Plus, it got me into a critics organization, which helped get access to more indepedent productions and widen my palette. To be regarded as any kind of voice or authority in a field such as film critique, it takes work, dedication, but most of all TIME… all the cash in the world cannot make you an instant repected authority, online or anywhere. And no one can predict what the next flash-in-the-pan will be online, but you can bet that everyone not on that train will be playing catch-up until the next big thing rolls around.

And so it was with YouTube.com. Here’s a website similar to AtomFilms.com but one where ANYONE with an account, a webcam, and a little imagination can be a star (or at least say, “Hey Mom! I’m on the internet!”) Recommendations are viral, and a few breakout hits have already started to show up (AskaNinja.com, anyone?) Plus, with free hosting of the “podcast” video and the ability to embed a player onto another website, you video content is available everywhere.

Saturday Night Live (and all the execs at NBC) found out about YouTube when someone uploaded a Natalie Portman rap video that was one of the skits on the night before… and people were watching! Again, consumers want content, and the easier it is to get to, the more likely they are to use it and come back to it. Why wouldn’t you want (or at least try to get) that kind of exposure?

So I put together a little studio, wrote a little content, cut together a little film, and uploaded my first movie… all 97 seconds worth. With a production budget of one decent webcam ($100), one movie rental ($5), and two project backlights ($18), the “studio” (aka office) was completed and production began. It’s up now on MovieCrypt.com, me in a mask in front of a camera happily making a fool of myself… will it be the next big thing, just for fun, or both?

In an article on USAToday.com, researchers are trying to use NASA research to develop video games to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by neuro-feedback, which, “teaches patients to self-regulate brain-wave patterns to improve learning.”

Okay, MY solution is to switch projects when one becomes boring, or double up on something interesting when another task requires more time (carry on a conversation, look soemthing up, feel out a bit of research). I have no idea HOW COOL this video game must be, but if it quits responding when I quit responding, you can bet that disk would be out and the next cartridge would be loaded up. This is like teaching parents to ignore a child that isn’t responding; the child is taught, “They’re ignoring me AND letting me do what I want.”

You wanna keep our attention? Keep giving us new challenges from time to time, then bring back some old ones! Some of the more recent 007 games switch between first person shooters and driving simulators seem to do a good job. But if the game is just plain interesting to begin with, “hyperfocus” will set in (and Heaven forbid you try to pull us away then!)

Shouldn’t these researchers be looking for a way to train ADHD afflicted individuals a way to apply their concentration where needed for as long as needed and then tear it away as required? Anything else is a waste of time… ours, to be specific.