Alchemist In Training

A Birthday Wish for Wikipedia

Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. I celebrate Wikipedia for holding the torch on this Utopian and idealistic model of “free shared knowledge” for the past 10 years.

What Tiny Houses Has In Common With De La Soul – Minimalism

Could you live in a house that is just 90 square feet? Jay Shafer, owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House thinks so and has already proved it. What is it? – Tumbleweed Tiny House is a developer that builds homes that are minimalist in style and “miniature” in size. Approximately between 65 – 840 square feet, [...]

Roll Call: Four Blogs Written By Casting Directors That You Should Know

Here are 4 blogs written by casting directors that you should know…

Wondering What to Wear on Your Next Photoshoot? Check Out Fashism and Go Try It On

I'm not savvy when it comes to mixing and matching colors to brew a stellar outfit – I'm a black-and-white kind of girl. But if you're an actor, picking out the right colors, let alone, the right outfits for your photoshoot is crucial to aligning your brand with how you want your audience to ultimately [...]

David Lynch is Doing It – Filmmakers, Harness the Power of Crowdfunding

“Getting small amounts of money from lots and lots of supporters” is how Time defined crowdfunding in 2008. Now crowdfunding has become one of the most empowering and important social media collective co-ops for filmmakers and producers. Filmmakers + Crowds + Funds = Crowdfunding Although crowdfunding isn’t new, its undeniable that social media has made [...]

NBC’s The Voice gets a THUMBS UP!

June 8th, 2011

sayo martin

There is no denying that NBC’s The Voice is doing a fantastic job using social media to rally and engage everyone who is involved in the project (viewers, contestants, coaches, celebrity guests and stakeholders), raise awareness about the show, and increase viewership. If you don’t believe me, see the ratings and social media trend stats!

Thumbs Up for…

- encouraging NBC’s local news affiliates to promote the show on air and via their individual Facebook pages

- featuring a “V-Room” where artists can engage with fans through social media throughout the competition.

- bringing on “V-Correspondent Alison Haislip (G4′s “Attack of the Show!”), who will make appearances during the live broadcasts to engage fans and connect them to artists and coaches from the V-Room via Facebook, Twitter, NBC Live and NBC.com.” (Love her website, by the way)

- showcasing the reaction of judges and celebrities in the form of tweets which are displayed across the bottom of screens during the show (yes, Miranda Lambert tweeted that she LOVES Team Blake).

- permitting viewers to vote online (at NBC.com), via iTunes, via NBC’s Live App, and of course via phone

“Update: NBC won the night in the 18-49 demographic with a 5.1 rating. “It was NBC’s strongest series premiere since 2009′s The Jay Leno Show’s 5.3 rating following 2008′s American Gladiator’s 5.9 rating,” explains TVbytheNumbers. The show also ranked #1 in both Trendrr and SocialGuide‘s rankings of the most social shows on Tuesday.” Thanks LostRemote for the heads up!

New Orleans GREEN Renaissance

March 17th, 2011

sayo martin

CNN Money’s “Innovation Nation” just posted a video on how businesses are investing in New Orleans and helping to rebuild the city into a “green mecca.”

How are you using your skills to creatively and positively impact and grow your global community?

We Are Makers: Dale Dougherty’s TED Talk

February 8th, 2011

sayo martin

Check out Dale Dougherty’s TED TALK on inventing and “playing with technology” where he argues that all people have a natural inclination to create and invent. But what happens when that inclination begins to wane and you don’t feel like you have the drive to create anymore?

If you’re an artist feeling as if you’ve hit a dry spell in your creative well, take a survey of your schedule for tomorrow. If its filled with a series of rote tasks focused on managing your life rather than feeding your passion and creative urge then you may have found the culprit that is sucking your creative well dry.

We Are Makers!

A Birthday Wish for Wikipedia

January 17th, 2011

sayo martin

“Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.” - Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

“It is good to be able to celebrate an American invention that, for all its faults, tries to spread around the world a combination of unpaid idealism, knowledge and stubborn civility” - Timothy Garton Ash, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Professor of European Studies at Oxford U.

At the end of 2011, I promised myself that in 2011 I would give away more free gifts (labor, time, energy, skills, knowledge). This week, I began that journey by publishing my first FREE e-book The Actor’s (Short) Guide to Personal Branding, a 40-page how-to guidebook/workbook for actors interesting in learning how to brand themselves. I chose to make the book free because I feel every artist should know and understand how to brand themselves and should not have to pay astronomical fees to have someone do it for them or show them they way. But I’m disturbed by how many people have asked me why I’m not charging for the book.

Does everything need a price tag?

Growing up in a Nigerian household, reading was breathing and knowledge was life. While there was no Dr. Seuss or Mother Goose, I had our grand and stern, beautifully bound Encyclopedia collection. I devoured each volume – A-Z – over and over again; they were my teddy bears and yes, I slept with the letter “P” faithfully. So its no surprise that I consider myself a Wikipedian and that I am one of the 400 million researchers that log on to the site daily to acquire (or update) some bit of information that is offered FREE of charge.

I celebrate Wikipedia for holding the torch on this Utopian and idealistic model of “free shared knowledge” for the past 10 years. While those years were probably filled with repeated questions of “who will do what and how,” I’m sure that the answer was always and continues to be “it doesn’t really matter, because we must.” I am inspired by Wikipedia’s sense of obligation to give everyone access to the same well of knowledge, the same opportunity to uncover and discover; to open the doors of innovation by providing everyone access to the same key.

I am sure that all Wikipedians that put in their time and energy to give us the gift of Wikipedia everyday would agree that the payoff of the labor is in the artistic spark that this gift ignitest and the potentiality of the new gifts that it can foster.

Wikipedia, I wish you many more years of sustenance, inspiration and innovation, and I thank you for your insurmountable gift-giving.

Do you agree with Wikipedia’s model? When is the last time you gave a free gift (knowledge, skills, time, energy, etc.)?

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Learn more about the Wikipedia Foundation
Read Timothy Garton Ash’s Op-Ed Piece on Wikipedia in the Los Angeles Times

What Tiny Houses Has In Common With De La Soul – Minimalism

December 28th, 2010

sayo martin

Could you live in a house that is just 90 square feet? Jay Shafer, owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House thinks so and has already proved it.

What is it? – Tumbleweed Tiny House is a developer that builds homes that are minimalist in style and “miniature” in size. Approximately between 65 – 840 square feet, each home is equipped with just the essentials that a person would need for basic living (yes, you can fit a kitchen and a bathroom in a space that is 90 square feet). But this housing Tolstoy-esque model also redefines and shifts the paradigm of “luxury” by forcing a person to evaluate their space and pare down to just the essentials.

So What? – Its very easy to wrap your ego around a page or canvas or stage (or product or service), and overcompensate. But one of the makings of a successful artist is the ability to cut the fat and pare down to just the essentials. Google changed the face of search by doing just that. Williams Carlos Williams placed poetry under his boot by doing just that. Guru/De La Soul/A Tribe Called Quest introduced the rap game to laissez-faire by doing just that. Is your art stifled by too much insulation or fat? What can you do to strip away the excess and pare down to exactly what your artwork needs? Could you live in a house that is just 90 square feet?

Tumbleweed Blog
De La Soul
Guru
Sandra Cisneros
A Tribe Called Quest

Why Alchemist in Training

December 22nd, 2010

sayo martin

Back in May 2010, I began this site in hopes of providing a resource for artists, particularly actors seeking creative and practical ways to brand themselves online. But ultimately, after working with a number of artists and conducting hours of research, what I learned is that a tactical guide to branding is not necessarily what artist definitively need.

When I look at some of the people that I admire (I won’t even begin to rattle off the hundred or so names on my SHORT list) they all have something in common – they are all alchemists. I don’t mean to step on any schools of thought or spiritual beliefs regarding alchemy, but I believe that alchemists are innovators – those who see “base metals” (the world as is) and focus their energy and passion into refining them (people, products/services, art, themselves etc.) until they blaze gold.

I believe that in one way or another, we are all alchemists. We struggle in defining who we are, refining ideas/beliefs/dreams/perceptions in hopes of adding something of value and making a substantial/beautiful/jaw-dropping/life-changing contribution to the world and to each other. A gift from an alchemist always leaves the receiver better off than when s/he met him/her. As an alchemist in training, I always hope that with my writing/music/work/art – I can do the same.

So I’ve decided to refocus this site to showcase alchemists around the world (and in your back yard) in hopes to inspire innovation and dialogue, and challenge (maybe even change) our perception of what is and is to be. Hopefully, this site will challenge us to continue refining ourselves and our art – making us marvel, dream, think and act on our ability to turn our own base metals into gold.

::: Thank You Paulo Coelho for the continuous inspiration :::