Create

The following is an article I have written up for my journalism class. The intent is to create a conversation, so I would love to know your response to this article!

Twitter or Facebook

The consistent knocks on Twitter and Facebook and other social media tools are that they create poor real life social skills and disconnect people from genuine social interaction. Detractors of Facebook say that if they want to talk to their friends they pick up the phone and call them, but with the high cost of long distance it’s not so easy to call your friends around the world. Skype is amazing but have you ever tried scheduling a skype talk with your friend in Australia? Negotiating the time change can get complicated.

What about the power of these tools?

The recent uprisings in Egypt were largely organized via Twitter and Facebook.

Charlie Sheen just landed himself in the Guinness Book for his record breaking accumulation of over 1 million followers on Twitter within a mere 24 hours. For some this makes Twitter more intriguing, for others the site just became a lot less desirable.

Recent BCIT grad, construction manager Nick Postle deleted his Facebook account after seeing “The Social Network” saying, “The movie just really turned me off. I don’t need to have a bunch of people I don’t really know as my friends on Facebook.” Naturally he also does not have a Twitter account.

Social media can be a great self-promotion tool.

UBC Human Kinetics grad Jenna Maxwell uses Twitter and Facebook to promote her personal training business FLIP, “I think it’s great.” she says “It makes me feel so connected to other people, especially, in the training community.” Everyone from business people to movie stars are using social media tools to remain connected within their industry and with the world. Again Nick disagrees with this logic, “I don’t think any of it is necessary as a marketing tool, so many people are like: “I’m Linked IN”, “follow me on Twitter”, “check out my fan page on Facebook”, but it’s unnecessary noise just let your work speak for itself.” Then he reconsiders, “Well I guess I could see how if you are just getting started and if it relates to your industry it could be a good tool, but I’m in construction it’s not necessary.”

Beyond a marketing tool Twitter is a great way to keep up with the news. More and more news stories are being broken on Twitter every day. You can follow reputable news organizations like: the BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post and click on postings that interest you and read the articles. On Twitter you don’t have to tweet you can just follow subjects you are interested in and leave it at that. On Facebook you don’t have to be friends with people you don’t know, you are allowed to deny friend requests, really it’s okay. Facebook is great for keeping up with out of town friends and family. It’s faster and easier than snail mail and less formal than email.

Social media sites on the web, like: Twitter and Facebook are keeping people more connected to one another than ever before. Since the technology is still new and people are still navigating their way around these sites it is going to be very interesting to see how social networking sites continue to develop.

If you use Twitter and Facebook, which do you prefer? If you don’t subscribe to any social media tools, why not?

(You can follow me on Twitter: @caitcromwell)

Create.

Might I suggest painting in the park? Unleash your inner Van Goh, Picasso, or Monet. Grab some supplies from your local art store, pack a picnic (I suggest including a bottle of wine it helps lubricate your creativity and silence your inner critic) and head to the park. You might wind up with some custom artwork for your walls... It is a rather romantic idea isn't it.

Create.

I recently attended the screening of Isabelle Landry and Maritama Carlson’s first short film, So Called Friends. Izzy is a good friend of mine so I decided to interview her about the process of creating her first short.

C2: You collaborated with Maritama Carlson on this project. What prompted this creation?

Izzy: Maritama and I encountered one another frequently at auditions. We got to talking one day and decided to stop waiting for “them” to give us parts. We were going to make our own movie. Maritama had a concept she wanted to develop, so in 2004 we started getting together to write. Her concept was a spiritual one about the importance of friendships, and how much more difficult life is without good friends.

C2: When did you go to camera?

Izzy: We filmed the project in 2007. It usually doesn’t take this long to make a short but we hit a few bumps and roadblocks along the way, to put it mildly. Our director, Tony Mirza, made three final edits of the film which all were lost. The first edit, his computer crashed. The second edit, his computer was stolen out of his kitchen window. The third edit, his computer crashed again! Ultimately, Tony had to give up on editing the film himself. This led us to reach into our wallets and seek out hiring a professional editor. The first editor we hired was unable to complete the project because he was inundated with higher budget gigs, so we kept being put on the back burner. Then we found, Laurent Piche, and he was able to do a brilliant job. Oh my gosh, did I tell you we had a different director in the beginning?

C2: What? No!

Izzy: Yes, yes, we had a different director initially; but, unfortunately he didn’t work out. So two days before shooting we had to scrap everything and start over. This meant canceling extras, hair and make-up, locations, everything! Then we brought Tony on board and started over.

C2: What kept you moving forward in spite of all the setbacks?

Izzy: I have found that there are a lot of “talkers” out there: people who talk about doing things, but never follow through. Dealing with that was the most frustrating part of the process. And, ultimately, I do not want to be perceived by myself or anyone else as a “talker”. We had to finish what we started. And it worked out that whenever I was ready to give up, Maritama, would be like, “We have to keep going because I have made some headway in this area of production.” And vice versa, when she was ready to throw in the towel, I would be dragging us forward.

C2: What is the most positive thing you have gained from this experience?

Izzy: The value of perseverance and teamwork.

C2: What advice would you give to others embarking on the adventure of making a movie?

Izzy: Start small, like really small. I think we went too big for our first project. The final running time is 30min. We should have started with 5min and learned from there.

C2: So you’re saying, don’t bite off more than you can chew.

Izzy: Exactly.

C2: That’s so hard though if you are ambitious. I always bite off more than I can chew.

Izzy: I know me too! (laughing)

C2: Okay, now it is time for the stock questions portion of the interview. I need to know the following:

What is your favourite recipe?

Izzy: My home made salsa.

2 large tomatoes
2 stocks green onion
1tbsp ginger
1tsp honey
Juice of one lemon
salt and pepper

finely chop all ingredients. Add lemon, honey, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

What is your favourite restaurant in Vancouver?

Izzy: Oh tough one… are we judging on food or atmosphere? For food I have to say 3G on Cambie St. It’s a great place for vegetarian food.


What is your favourite cheap/free activity to do in Vancouver?

Izzy: The Blodell Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park. The entrance fee is about $4.50.

C2: Thank you for taking the time to allow me to interview ya Izzy! (Iz is currently working on her next screenplay.)