Aram Squalls

Thriller flashmobs

Michael Jackson is dead, and America the world is celebrating the man who more or less invented the music video by getting together for impromptu Thriller flashmobs, then uploading the video to YouTube. It's kind of cool that we can collectively preserve the his cultural memory from the ground up, rather than relying on the dainty official hagiographies we're bound to see on MTV and network news.

I was lucky enough to walk into one of those flashmobs tonight. Here's my video. Rest in peace, oh gloved one. You rocked a lot of worlds.

Previously: Indian Thriller: Hooray for Hybridization!

A quick and easy guide to Iranian twitter spoofing

For the past week or so, many supporters of e-speech and civil liberties around the globe have been spoofing their Twitter accounts to make it harder for the Iranian government to police and censor tweeting from within their own country. As any reader of this blog knows, Twitter and YouTube have been vital to the organization, amplification and dissemination of Iranian protest movements in the wake of last week's contested elections.

(Incidentally, this strategy has its down side: it makes it more difficult for casual observers -- and the mainstream media -- to ascertain that a given source of information is actually an eyewitness, rather than an external spreader of disinformation. You need to decide for yourself whether this is a worthwhile tradeoff; I think it is.)

My friend [redacted] sent me this email outlining the latest, greatest ways in which you can do your part for free speech and protected dissent, if you so choose:

Are you worried about what is happening in Iran? Are you on Twitter? Read below for some things you can do to assist demonstrators in Iran. If you are not on Twitter, you can still help: skip to the bottom of this email for instructions on emailing these instructions to others.

What can you do on Twitter to help demonstrators in Iran?

Security forces are reportedly hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. If you are on Twitter, you can set your location to Tehran and your time zone to GMT +3:30 and this will add more noise to the system and make it harder to conduct these kinds of searches.

Three basic steps you can take to make this tactic even more effective:

1) If you are not a Persian/Farsi speaker (or writer), find some random Persian/Farsi text and paste it into your Tweets. The Advanced Search feature in Twitter contains a search by language feature and the Iranian security forces may start to refine their searches to only look for Persian/Farsi Tweets in Tehran.

2) Use the tags #Tehran and #IranElection in your Tweets. Again, Iranian security forces may attempt to refine their searches using these terms.

3) Tweet early, Tweet often: This tactic will work better the more you Tweet. Set a reminder in your calendar, tie a string around your finger, do something to remind yourself to Tweet as much as possible.

Some ideas for "advanced" steps:

1) Use GoogleMaps (or an Iranian gazetteer like this: http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IR/) to find locations all over Iran and randomly reset your location as often as possible.

2) Plot imaginary trip through Iran and change your location using this method.

3) Alternate between the two previous techniques--try and randomize your traffic as much as possible.

Mechanized telekinesis strikes again -- this time, as a souped-up TV remote

There seems to be little question that thought-reading machines -- once the exclusive province of science fiction -- are now becoming a viable technology. Although the concept immediately calls up the worst imaginable dystopian nightmares of ultra-Orwellian, networked global mind surveillance for some of us, the press has mostly covered the technology with a "gee-whiz, what won't they think of next" angle. News stories primarily consist of feel-good tales of paraplegics remotely controlling computer cursors and digital prostheses, and torture-free detention centers where the awful truth is sucked painlessly from the minds of terrorism suspects.

But there's something even more deeply unsettling about the new edge of banality creeping into these fantasies. According to the latest version of the story, these amazing new technologies will allow us to change the volume or channel of our TV sets without us having to exert all of the energy it takes to hit a remote control with our thumbs.

Really? That's it? You create a helmet that reads thoughts, and sell it as a souped up TV-remote-skullcap? What's next, a time machine you can use to find a parking space during street-cleaning hour?

Clever ad agency uses YouTube as a homepage

I get a real kick out of this: ad agency BooneOakley has eschewed the standard, flash-laden megasite for a YouTube page. Navigation is achieved both by embedding hot links in the video and by encouraging visitors to scroll to demarcated points on the timeline. Thus, it works both vertically (as a static, clickable interface) and horizontally (as a time-based, unfolding narrative).

Kind of reminds me of those old choose-your-own-adventure movie editions...

Along with the recent WarioWorld campaign and Kutiman's through-you, we're really beginning to see YouTube emerge as a platform for innovation beyond simply sharing videos.

Digital album sales decline... Surprise!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the album just doesn't make sense as a product format any more (even if certain artists and fans would prefer things otherwise). Seems like most music fans agree, according to Billboard's latest figures.

Once again, this doesn't mean that music is dead or has no value, and heaven knows digital singles can never fill demand or budgets. Today's music listeners think in terms of playlists and sharing -- and the sooner we get Spotify in the US (especially on mobile platforms), and/or Jim Griffin & co. can get a consumer- and artist-friendly version of Choruss up and running, the better for all of us.