A thought likely uttered out loud or in one’s own head a dozen times a day. How do I know this? Because I am a lurker on social media. I scroll through dozens of feeds, and over half of them are photos of men and women posing. “Look at me!” They silently scream.

I didn’t grow up with social media. It grew around me. Many aspects are useful. I’ve found helpful videos on YouTube, from fixing a bug on my iPhone to instructions on how to clean my oven organically. On Instagram, I’ve discovered writing groups I now belong to. You get the idea social media can be useful. Sharing vacation pics with family and friends or proud parental moments—why not?

But the continual poser-beauty shots have me shaking my head and tsking. If an alien from another planet could see some of the feeds I see, I think they might wonder what all the narcissism was about.

I certainly do.

Here’s what their website says:

So, how does it work?
After typing in their destination address, users just drive with the app open on their phone to passively contribute traffic and other road data, but they can also take a more active role by sharing road reports on accidents, police traps, or any other hazards along the way, helping to give other users in the area a ‘heads-up’ about what’s to come.

In addition to the local communities of drivers using the app, WAZE is also home to an active community of online map editors who ensure that the data in their areas is as up-to-date as possible.

I’m particularly intrigued by the ‘community’ aspect of the app.  How many times have you been in a traffic jam and turned on the radio station that is  “all news all the time”, and they say NOTHING, ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY nothing about the jam you’re in; and you are driving on a major highway.  Now, with WAZE perhaps you can avoid the jam, and if not, at least you can let others know about it.  If it’s true that what goes-around-comes-around , then next time, maybe,  someone will help you avoid the dreaded, oh-so-hated traffic snarl ups that get your heart racing and skin sweating because you happen to be driving the cargo van that has ALL the cameras and everyone is waiting for you.

Download the free app here.

Movie Magic is a budgeting tool many of us use to create budgets. But it’s not designed (even if they say it is) to keep track of your costs on a day-to-day basis. To keep track of costs, Line Producers typically create a separate cost tracker using an Excel spreadsheet (see my blog post on cost trackers). The problem is – we have to manually enter every single account code, line item, and description into the Excel spreadsheet. It’s not only a weekend time sucker ( no one really has time to do it while they are gearing up for production) it’s also fraught with the possibility of mistakes. There’s the potential to omit an entire line item, or possibly transpose numbers – instead of giving the Associate Producer a $250 day rate, she now makes $520, etc., etc.

There is an answer – praise the software geniuses – Showbiz Shark. It’s a software program that allows you to convert a Movie Magic budget to Excel in seconds with calculations and subtotals in place. It’s a Line Producer’s dream come true. For. Real. I’m not joking.

Click here to see the Shark in action.

And for those LOST fans that haven’t yet discovered the “after LOST roundup”, do yourself a favor and check out Doc Jensen.  Each week he gives his interpretations, dissertations, and thoughts on the latest episode in his column TOTALLY LOST on EW.com.

By the way did you notice the faces in the poster?  Seems as though there are several”losties’ returning this season.  Hmmmm…

In an interview with SciFiPulse, Corman was quoted as saying, “We’ve come a long way from trucking 35mm film prints to the drive-in. Now, through the medium of the internet, filmmakers can reach the audience immediately, and open them up to new experiences in interactive storytelling. Viewers can now decide the outcome of the story for themselves—provided the writer and director can present all the options. The devil is in the details, and it’s a new kind of entertainment for a fast-changing audience.”

Take a look at Splatter and decide if interactive story telling works for you.  A word of caution, this series is not for the faint of heart – the title says it all.

I tend to follow TV production people and film makers.  I would definitely call this group ‘rule breakers’.  Seriously, can you make a film or television show without breaking some rules?  By nature, this is a group that likes to talk and needs a place to promote their work.  That’s why I follow this group, I enjoy the conversation and I want to know what’s happening in the industry.  When some of the people I follow converse 50% of the time, promote 30% of the time and share information 20% of the time, it doesn’t bother me – we’re creatives not mathematicians.

Without a little rule breaking I would never have seen the film “Snow Bunny” at the Queens International Film Festival last night by the talented filmmakers @kingisafink Jessica King and Julie Keck from Chicago. (It was great meeting you Jessica and Julie, nice to put faces to the tweets.)

I also wouldn’t have known that  @MatiasB just completed shooting a profile of the US alpine ski team that will air on NBC January 30th at 8pm.

I would never have had ‘conversations’ with TV producers @jokeandbiagio and discovered their terrific insights into making reality TV shows

I wouldn’t have discovered the truly remarkable viral distribution David Baker is creating with his film MissionX. @indiemoviemaker

And I wouldn’t have seen the very clever shorts created by filmmaker @philontilt

If you want to meet people in your industry, be inspired by others, then get on Twitter.  Break some rules, follow and unfollow people as you like.  And when you read about how things are ‘supposed’ to be done in a social media venue, be a creative, question it.  Is it right for you?

What has Twitter done for you lately?

If you have any connection to the internet everything you say on the web becomes part of your brand.  If you’re on Twitter and you post tweets saying, “Just woke up I think I’ll have some donuts with my coffee” it can and will be Goggled.  That tweet will live longer than your children.  The writings of your daily blog will be etched in stone. We’ve entered a new age and everything you say and do brands you.

The good news is you have the chance to brand yourself the way agency creatives branded Nike, Wendy’s and Coke.

When you create a profile on Linkedin – think brand.  When you tweet – think about the fact that it will follow you to your grave and beyond.  Create a brand that’s smart, different, and interesting.  One that says, I go the extra mile, I think for myself, I’m a player but I also play outside of the lines.  In today’s market, you have to stand out, dare to be dangerous and even a little offbeat  – be a brand, not someone who just woke up and is looking for some donuts with their coffee, pretty much everyone else is doing that.

What do you want your brand to say about you?