Come to the Ojai Digital Dojo - Node 101 - Super Happy Vlog House

Why?

To get together a collective group of vloggers who want to work on projects and learn new things
To create and share some great new videos
To converse, mingle, teach, learn and have a great time
To get stuff done!

When?

2009: Saturday, February 7th. Most folks show up by lunch and spend the night.
2008: Weekend of February 16. Bring your valentine. Photos from the event: http://flickr.com/photos/mikehedge/sets/72157603955792714/
2007: ~~First weekend of April, like March 30, 31, April 1. April Fool's Weekend! (no kidding!)~~ We had a great time! Here's a video from SHVH2007-

Show up on Friday night if you like and stay over... then from "9am Saturday to 9am Sunday", we vlog. It's a vlogathon!

What will we do?

Let's take the NMI Interview Challenge - see http://newmediainterchange.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/new-media-challenge-002-interview/
Let's set up a streaming video of the event using Justin.tv, Mongolus or ustream
Let's get Chris Ritke to show his project thingy! Google it!

Here's a video from a Super Happy Dev House put on by David Weekly of PBWiki. Vlogger friends Ryan Hodson and Jay Dedman made this great videoblog post about it. This inspired Super Happy Vlog House. You'll get the idea.
Create videos. Interview someone. Document the local nature trails and preserves. Learn or teach animation. Show each other cool videos and sites. Find out how to solve problems with video or web related tools. Find out what others are working on.
Work on projects. Create a new vlog or convert that old one to Wordpress, Joomla or Drupal site. Finish editing that video. Check out Second Life. Talk to a geek or a creative who can give you some concrete suggestions and new ideas.
Teach each other something. In "barcamp" style, the Digital Dojo is available as a classroom, workshop or screening room, and outside the room will be an open schedule where anyone can block off time. Teach us about RSS feeds, video formats, special effects, or just plain how to make a good videoblog, videoblogging workflows and techniques, favorite vlogs, your choice.
If you want to take a break while you're here, check out OjaiEvents.com , OjaiNetwork.com and The Ojai Post for ideas.
Bring a list of video blogs that you like. Share the list. You may find something interesting that you didn't know about. We can also talk about why we like what we like.
A group of bicyce riders will be stopping by for a mid-ride lunch and refreshment break. They are fun folks and very photogenic.

Some discussion ideas:

stats -- what stats should you collect and who should you get them from
wordpress and showinabox -- installation of wordpress, plugins, stats, how to customize your homepage with showinabox and what are the pros/cons of using a service like wpcustomization.com.
How do people optimize their workflow?
SEO
players -- customizing the blip player and what are all the other players you see in vlogs
What's new at blip?
backing up -- a follow-up to the recent discussion in our yahoo group
social networking -- does anyone use facebook/myspace to promote their vlog?
old iMovie vs new iMovie
feeds -- what's the latest on feeds, esp. Rox's question to the group (Blip is creating its own RSS feed for shows?)
Please jump in and add your own ideas...

Some ideas for collaborative projects:

Creative Commons bumpers and promos "I think the SF or Ojai node will be focusing on making our own CC intro/outros. ..as well as some short promos explaining why CC is important. again, this is all DIY. - Jay"
Community Access related vlogging. Neighborhood networks.
Please add your own project ideas here...

How do I get there?

We are about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles. Take US 101 to Hwy 33/150 intersection.
Location: The Ojai Digital Dojo in Ventura, CA (map)
See http://digitaldojo.blogspot.com for pictures and more info. We have lots of room here. Lots of places to work/play, wireless, three guest bedrooms, three bathrooms, kitchen, indoor and outdoor showers, plus extra couches and futons, you can also pitch tents or pull up a camper or RV. BBQ and firepits. Please RSVP markus.sandy@mac.com or 805-640-7447 if you'd like to reserve a room or camping spot. Children and pets are welcome (we have two dogs and three cats). Swimming pool and spa. River preserve hiking trail nearby. Large room suitable for workshops and screening videos. Gardens and lots of open space.
VTA Bus and Ojai Trolley stop within one block of the Dojo. Amtrac and Greyhound available from LA, OC, SD, SB, SF and most other major California cities. RoadRunner shuttle service to LAX and Burbank. Coordinate rideshare through this wiki or Markus.
I made a video from some pictures and videos that we shot at the first workshop. I used iMovie on my Mac PowerBook G4. The videos are not all the great as the lighting was poor and people were just learning to use the camera (half the time we did not even know it was on). I need to plan to shoot more video during the sessions, but everyone was so busy having fun and learning that we just forgot. Click the pic to view the vid. You can also find a copy on the Internet Archive.

Internet Access

We have two internet connections available wireless access points/routers. (Time Warner, about 3Mb down/1Mb up on a good day).

How much will it cost?

The whole point behind the weekend is to have fun, not to worry about money. Please feel free to bring food and beverages for yourself and to share with others. Potluck. We'll probably have some mexican food and pizza around. There is a full kitchen available. There is an organic market down the street (two blocks), a hamburger stand (Ojai Jolly Kone), a mini-mart, resturants and licquer store all within walking distance (5 blocks).
Of course, travel can be a major cost these days. If you are in serious need of assistance, please apply for Node 101 travel funds. Contact Markus for more information about travel stipends. Recipients are expected to make two videoblog posts about their experience at Super Happy Vlog House.

What do I bring?

Laptop or computer. We have some extras, but they are pretty funky.
Cameras. We have some of these you can use, but bring em if you got em.
Power supply. Please label it with your name, and we'll be sure it makes it home with you.
Tent. If you want to camp out (weather permitting). There is lots of backyard space for this. We also have a few spare rooms and couches (contact Markus if you wish to reserve one). There is also pleanty of parking space if you have a camper, RV or truck.
Sleeping bag and your favorite pillow.
Towels if you want to go swimming or use the spa. We have lots, but never enough!

Attendees 2009

Jim Joseph - author, geek-wannabee
Tyler Suchman - disaster hunter, community builder, social entrepreneur
Joe Crawford - worpress guru, front-end web application developer, video and drupal newbie.
Gus Austin - drupal evangelist, music performer/producer/programmer, ourmedian
Patrick O'Connor - travel photography
Chris & Uta Ritke - Videobloggers, podcasting, web design, project management
Markus Sandy - Videoblogging, Drupal, Wordpress
Alicia Shay - Videoblogging, Drupal
Bela and friend, Independent Video Producer from Los Angeles, also A&R
Chris Foley, Local Ojai Video Producer, Foleypod
Mike Didj, videoblogger, surfer, massuse
Bert Mahoney, Pres+Creative Dir, HBDG Inc., Partner, Dennison+Wolfe Internet Group, Dir. Internet Strategy and Services-Santa Barbara AIGA.
add your name to RSVP. also site and basic info if you like. you can also find this event on upcoming.org

Alumni 2008

Markus Sandy - videoblogging, wordpress, drupal, social networking
Alicia Shay - political vlogger and artist, Flash, Drupal and Java geek
Lan Bui - videoblogging, professional photography
Bonny Pierzina - videoblogging, noodlescar.com, noodlesmart.tv
Mike Hedge - film producer www.mikehedge.com flickr.com/mikehedge
Mike Ambs - project pedal, videoblogging
Michael Jahn + 1 - PDF Evangelist, Magicomm partner and Content SPEWER. 52 but an EPIC-FU fan .
Jim Joseph - author, vlogger and all around coffee conisour
Ross Bochnik - I frequent BarCamp, MobileCamp, and Dorkbot to discuss wearable video and computing. I'm starting a series for Boing Boing TV on Technomadism, and will be riding my enduro to Ojai.
Chris Ritke 49Sparks.com and 49Media.com - content recommendation, videoblogging, design, Java programming
Patrick O'Connor - travel photography
Jordan Lederer- Dinosaur seeking shape of oncoming asteroid
Patricia Lange - videoblogging anthropologist and fan of the Digital Dojo
Tyler Suchman - social entrepreneur, digital community activist, Ojai rabble-rouser

Alumni 2007

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OjaiDigitalDojo

Come to the Ojai Digital Dojo - Node 101 - Super Happy Vlog House

Why?

When?

What will we do?

Some ideas for collaborative projects:

How do I get there?

Internet Access

How much will it cost?

What do I bring?

Attendees 2009

Alumni 2008

Alumni 2007

Never edited a wiki page before?