So Many Projects, So Little Time!

It's true, I have been extremely busy lately! I know it's not a regular nine to five job like most people in the world have to deal with everyday, but it really does take a lot more creative energy to keep things in order. It has been different these past ten months not having a job and then picking up all sort of new things that I am interested in doing. Whether it as been pictures, videos, or blogging, it has certainly stretched the limits of my creativity and my creative energy.

Lets start with the blogs. At one time I was on my way to setting up 4 or 5 different blog projects. The main goal of the blog projects was to make some money, but while I was developing my reputation in the blogging world and raising my rank and meeting the requirements to make the money, the qualifications changed. It made the prospect of making money that much more difficult, because you need to have a blog that is extremely popular and reaches a lot of people in order to have the best money making potential. I for one am not going to "sell out" in order to make a lot of money with my blog. Basically if there is nothing to advertise that I am interested in, then I am not going to do it. Well to make a long story short I put all of the other blogs to rest and no longer update those. It is just too difficult to build up multiple blogs to a high level just to make a little cash. In the grand scheme of things all it really amounts to is a little bit of pocket money anyway.

So lets get on to the pictures. For a couple of years I have been taking a lot of pictures and posting them online with my cell phone. Only recently have I started taking high quality shots with a good camera. I have been told that I have an eye for taking great pictures. In fact Christine has decorated around the apartment with some of my pictures and other people have asked for copies of them as well. I have put pictures on the back burner lately as well, though I have been meaning to take a lot more. It's funny because I take my camera with me everywhere I go, but my mind is so consumed with other things that I often forget to take it out and capture the moments. On my way to Brigs this weekend I did manage to capture a great sunset. Here are a few shots that I did manage to get! For more pictures please visit my Flickr page.




These days, in case you can't tell, it is video that consumes most of my time. I have been shooting videos now for almost 5 months. Of course I have my LOUD Tour TV series. From that series I spun off LOUD Tour TV Music Video, which is a collection of music videos that I have shot and edited that I include along with my regular series. All things on that front are going quite well, but I have been neglecting that a bit due in large part to Operator 11. Operator 11 gives you the ability to broadcast live social internet television right from your own home. I have been there nearly three weeks now and let me tell you, the possibilities with it are endless. I do have some gripes about it though as it is really it's own little subculture of people and trying to break in and find you own little niche can be very difficult. You really are competing in a sense for time slots and for viewers. It is just like any other network, they want you to watch their shows. Now of course we all do support one another with our shows, but there still is competition to gain a viewer ship and to gain popularity. If you happen to broadcast at the same time as a very popular user, you aren't going to get the views. If they happen to decide to randomly do a broadcast while you are in the middle of yours, you will have the same problem. So far I have managed a mixed bag of success with some shows being very highly rated and very highly viewed and others being barely seen or viewed at all. It really is hit or miss. but I intend to keep on trying.

So now on to the grand scheme of where this is going to take me in life! Honestly who knows? It sure beats a nine to five job working really hard so that someone else can become rich. But on the other hand, none of this brings in any money. And herein lies the key towards a successful life. You need to find what you love to do and then the money will come to you. Well I think I have found it, now I just need all of the exposure and help that I can get to get both my work and my personality out there. So the window of opportunity is very wide open, I just have to find a way to capitalize, grab hold and hang on for the ride. Someday all of this work will lead to bigger and better things, all I can do is wake up tomorrow and keep working towards those goals.

Well that's my time for tonight. I have to get some sleep and get the creative juices going again for tomorrow. I have lots of video and pictures to work on, as well as planning a show for Operator 11, and putting together an internet reality show for someone else! It's going to be a busy day! See everyone soon!

LOUD Tour TV July 17, 2007

Click to Play

On today's show I will take you to a really cool website called Operator 11. This website is revolutionizing the way people watch and broadcast live TV right on the internet. I will show you around the website today as well as some of the features and shows on the website. Once you are done watching the video head on over to the Operator 11 website and start broadcasting today!

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Tags: shawn carpenter, loud tour tv, montreal, operator11, live internet tv

My Live Show Featured On The Front Page Of Operator 11

Looks like I might be on to something here! Check out my live internet TV show that is featured on the front page of Operator 11! The show was recorded less then 2 hours ago and it is already a hit! This is the second time this week I have been featured on their front page! I am very excited for the future of The LOUD Tour and of LOUD Tour TV! Please view the episode below!

Yet Another New Show!

This is my latest creation over on Operator 11. Featured on the show today is the Mojo Master himself Tony Lucero. He is a hypnotist/comedian from Lincoln, NE. He brings a unique experience to the world of comedy that shouldn't be missed. You can find his video here at the -15:23 mark of the video. Be sure to check out his website for more cool videos!

Speaking of comedy the Just For Laughs Festival is going on here in Montreal. I am going to check out the schedule and try to get to at least one show. Christine wants to go check it out too, which means that there is a better chance of me going to this then to the Jazz Festival!

So the Operator 11 things is going really good right now! I didn't realize how much fun producing your own live TV show could be. I am in the process of putting together promos for it now as well as intros and endings. For those of you not on Operator 11, you need to check it out today!

Another thing that you guys should check out is at the bottom of all of my posts. Click Comments is a really cool feature to add to your blog and a great way to get your work indexed and viewed on the net a lot more. If you see something that you like on someone's blog there are a bunch of different buttons that you can click and it will automatically index them on the PostReach website. Add this feature to your blog today and you will definitely get more views. Also please help out all of the Click Comments users by clicking on those buttons when you see something of interest!

That's it for now, I'll be back tomorrow to talk about Cam Twist, a very cool plug in for Mac users that like to vlog and broadcast live shows on the internet.

More cool websites on the internet!

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I have been checking out a bunch of other video and live internet TV sites this week and putting up quite a few updates on those. Mainly I have been checking them out to see what kind of interface and what kind of audience you can generate. So after a week of checking a bunch out, here are three that are worth taking a look at.

The big boy out there is blogtv. I had some difficulty in the past week getting everything set up, but once I figured everything out I was able to finally make some videos there. The lie broadcast allows the viewers to interact through a chat box within the show. It's cool to be able to interact with other users while doing a live broadcast. The only drawback is that you get 2 hours of recording time for each show. So if you do 30 minutes a day for 4 days then you have used up all of your time and you have to create a new show. Still it's the largest community out there and it will reach a much broader audience.

Viddyou I wrote about last week a little bit. There is no live broadcasting with viddyou, but clips are posted immediately after uploading. If you have a webcam you can record with the pres of a button. It's a relatively new startup company and it's really more of a place to network and chat with people by leaving each other video clips. The community is good people and there is no badmouthing going on like you will find at some of the larger sites. If you aren't ready to do live broadcasting then this is a great site for you. It's very easy to use and like I said the people there are all great. You can also upload your own videos here as well, so if you like to prerecord shows you can do so and upload it in the future.

The last site that everybody needs to check out regardless of whether you are a vlogger and interested in live broadcasting or just a regular person who is bored on the internet with nothing to do is Operator 11. Operator 11 allows users the ability to broadcast and interface with other users in real time. Anyone can be a part of your show and you can be a part of anyone's show. You and your friends can all meet up on the internet and broadcast your own live TV show! Each person can get in front of the camera from their own computer and offer their input into the show. Each person can also share their video clips during the show. This is live internet TV at it's finest. Everyone needs to go and check this out now, this is the future of live TV right here! To see my show, please visit my profile page. Also be sure to add me as a friend and I'll invite you to be on the show each time I run it!

Well there you have it, if you are bored this weekend be sure to check out these great websites! As for me I'm off to Rochester, NY for yet another show! See you next time!

Listen To The Sound Of Opportunity Knocking

Or in this case opportunity may be kicking the door down and leaving me no choice but to take it! I had a very interesting meeting on Friday with the owner of a clothing store here in Montreal. In the next few weeks I really hope to make something big happen out of it. So let me give you a rundown on how this opportunity fell into my lap.

A few weeks ago Christine and I were out checking out some novelty t-shirts for drum corps. For those of you who have never met me in person, I wear these crazy t-shirts all of the time with different funny sayings. I have a good collection and I like to wear them around on weekends! In any event we wandered into this new store that had just opened on St Catherine here in Montreal. We saw all kinds of cool shirts there. Well it turns out the store has it's own press and makes it's own t-shirts. So we end up talking with the guy for a while and telling him our story of me moving here, so he says as a welcome to Montreal that he will give me a good deal on a custom t-shirt. Pretty cool stuff!

Now the store itself carries much more then novelty t-shirts. In fact it carries the latest fashions for both men and women. And when I say the latest styles I mean if it came out last week, they have it in the store. They are that up to date with all of their clothing. So I figured I could help them out and do a couple of short video commercials for them that I could put up all over the web. The guy made me a deal, so I was just trying to repay the favor to him. Producing a couple of short commercials would only boost my resume, especially if they are high quality videos. With the new camera's and software I have the capability now to produce something like this.

So the owner, Terry, is very receptive to the idea and wants to talk about it in the coming weeks. Then he drops the bombshell! He really wants his own reality show about the store, their philosophy, their business model, and the personalities working in the store. He has just recently moved here from Miami and he actually got his inspiration for the show from Miami Ink on TLC. I personally feel that is a great concept and that there is so much that you can do with this show. The fact that they are right here in Montreal, a bilingual city, just opens up so many doors for what can be done.

Now he has seen the traditional models of reality shows and their impact on television. I briefly explained to him the impact that something like this would have on the internet. About how he could reach a broader audience in a shorter amount of time ad really open up the door for customer as well as fan interaction. So now I need to put together a plan that incorporates his vision along with something that is feasible given my skills and experience. So clearly I will need some help with a project of this magnitude. I have already talked to a few people that I know with experience in the industry, so I am awaiting their input before I jump in over my head.

So as you can see sometimes opportunity does more then knock. This kind of project could really put my name out there. Hopefully with a good vision and a whole lot of luck I will be able to pull this off!

Stay tuned for more on this!