Letter to America - Chapter 73 - The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Podcast - Jay Foreman

Ah, Blessed Relief of Reality it's Letter to America - Chapter 73 - The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Podcast - Jay Forman!

In which Jett climbs the stairs to meet Mr. Foreman, Simon Brodkin is lauded and we hear the story of the Little Japanese Baby.

All this and more on your "He Didn't Visit Big Daddy O's Later" Podcast.

Comments

[Alan in Belfast]

Liked the video store story about playing back images of people walking past on the in-store TV, and customers being glued to it, and the whole phase society is going through to record what's happening.

But it's not a new phenomenon? When you were younger, weren't there high school moms that never really attended school shows, but always kept their eye behind an old shakey camcorder? But the age when the compulsion to start capturing life on digital memory card (instead of the old wet brain) is just getting younger?

[Jenny]

Nice mini episode - good to hear you & Jay. And thanks both of you for the great birthday video! Keep having fun @ Fringe.

[Jett Loe]

We're in a different situation now I think Alan - near real time uploading/distribution technology for moving video combined with ever-improving search engine technology is creating a new world of 'always on' performance/tracking - the implications of this socially/politically/esthetically fascinate me - stuff to cover for future chapters.

[Alan in Belfast]

> near real time uploading/distribution technology for moving video combined with ever-improving search engine technology is creating a new world of 'always on' performance/tracking

Are there really many people taking wobbly video with their phones/digital cameras and uploading it unedited to YouTube more than once a week, and with any volume of viewing by friends?

You're at the professional end of this - but even your rickshaw video was carefully shot and edited. And the best of the ConstantComedy stuff is certainly not spontaneous, it's gone through some tidying up to increase its appeal and ease-on-the-eye.

Video blogging is really struggling to lift off?

But I'll grant you that the number of people uploading thousands of un-tagged photos a year to Flickr is maybe a sign of what's to come with video.

[cageyk]

I tend to agree with you, Alan. Stuff at the amateur end is a bit shite, frankly, and only of interest to those who make it.

But I do like the fact that the talented ones are able to bypass the traditional media and go straight to the viewer/listener. (TV and radio in Britain are still largely run by the kind of men who think a corduroy jacket is 'hip'.)

Jett &co seem to be trying to move things on from the short YouTube clip to something a bit more focused. And such developments will make life easier for the 'consumer' too, helping them bypass the dross.

People changing their real-life behaviour in order to fit their multimedia agenda is an interesting one, though... I'm sure it's happening ... and is perhaps the ultimate expression of the culture of the self that has been permeating our lives for so long now.

K

[Jett Loe]

Re: your last comments Alan - the cost of video production and distribution is approaching zero - so making a video and getting it seen will be seen to become analogous to buying a pen and some paper at a store - in the 'world of the future' most folks will make vids as a matter of course like we jot down notes on a pad, (actually it's already happening - here's a sign of the 'digital divide' - i needed to write down a number that was on a poster yesterday - i got out my pen and notebook - the young lady who i was with was seemed puzzled and asked why i didn't just take a pic of it with my phone) - i know find it faster in many of my emails just to hit record on my macbook built-in webcam and fire off a video rather than write something.

[Jett Loe]

Re: K's comment:

"People changing their real-life behaviour in order to fit their multimedia agenda is an interesting one, though... I'm sure it's happening ... and is perhaps the ultimate expression of the culture of the self that has been permeating our lives for so long now."

Welcome to my world.

[Alan in Belfast]

> "People changing their real-life behaviour in order to fit their multimedia agenda "

And that's were Apple are enabling the behaviour change by making it so easy to manipulate media.

(Those of us still stuck with Windows-based PCs don't have the slickness that Apple offer.)

Note to self - buy an Apple!

[Jett Loe]

Dude, by an Macbook and install XP on it - I've been doing that for a while and it's sliiiick.

[Brabazon]

I'm really surprised that you haven't mentioned Limmy's show at the festival when you're talking about this kind of thing. Is it just too darn obvious or something? Here's a guy who built up a solid following on the internet over the last few years through his videos, flash animations and podcasts. Now he's taken the leap into the world of 'stand up' with a ready made audience, he's got a month of sold out shows at the Fringe and some great reviews. He's even been on the BBC Culture Show a few times.

If you want a 'fair copy' of how to attempt to make an oak tree career out of internet acorns then surely he's the man you want to track down for a natter...!

Plus, he's about as far away from 'middle class wankery' as you'll find... :)

[Alan in Belfast]

I was going to say "Aren't we due another daily podcast soon?", but that's unfair, since as an unpaying audience, you don't owe us anything. So I should rephrase ...

Jett - have you found love in Edinburgh?

(re: inverse relationship between that warm loving feeling and the frequency of LTA episodes!)

[Jett Loe]

Hey Brabazon - Limmy's got a lot of coverage in other media so don't know if it makes sense for LTA to interview him = covering the same ground? I'll see his show if I get the chance.

+ No Alan, love not found in Edinburgh - just been swamped with ccc work :)