The Real Lance Brown

A new testimonial, fresh from my inbox:

“You’ve been a great writing coach.”

-long-time client Shawn Tuttle (of Project Simplify and The Natural Professional)

Remember the giant-sized piano keys that Tom Hanks jumped around on in Big? Of course you do; you were just mentioning it the other day, remember? Anyway, aM laboratory’s Tone Matrix gizmo is way freakin’ cooler than that. Trying to describe it would suck all the art and wonder out of it, and still wouldn’t make it clear anyway, so just check it out. It takes about two clicks to understand how it works (and a potential afternoon to lose yourself in it).

From Makeuseof.com, a sweet overview of (drumroll…super-buzzword coming up!) SEO keyword tools:

6 FREE Tools To Get The Best Keywords For Your Site

There are many thousands of instances of the magic of the “social web”. Here is one:

How Twitter Got Me a 6-Figure Gig
By Karen Post
TalentZoo.com

In case you’re still wondering…

Online Marketing Blog » Blog Archive » 6 reasons why you need to get on Twitter

Filmmaker Magazine has a cool interview with industry pro Peter Broderick, where he outlines the many options available for independent filmmakers who want to get their stuff out there. It’s 14 minutes long, so he has time to really explain his take on the currnt playing field. Good stuff. Look for his excellent analogy comparing the changes in the industry to the New World pioneers breaking away from England/Europe.

Broderick and interviewer Scott Kirsner are offering a workshop on all this in LA in November; see the article with the video for details.

Angel Group Likes Lights, Camera And Action Of Indie Films – Venture Capital Dispatch

As an experienced tech entrepreneur and angel investor, Rizwan Virk was happy to see a solid return on one of his recent investments after just one year.

But the exit didn’t come from a software start-up or social media company finding a corporate acquirer. Instead, Virk’s quick payoff came from an independent film.

Virk is a member of FilmAngels, a Silicon Valley group whose members back film productions – mostly small, independent projects. Founded in 2005, Film Angels is made up mostly of tech executives and investors who apply their business and venture capital experience to the filmmaking world.

Read the full story at the WSJ blog

I don’t think there’s an official objective to this visually intense flash graphic, but I was able to make the swirling seem to stop twice, briefly. Then my eyes started watering and I worried about giving myself a headache. It was fun*!

Swirling Cat Vortex Thingy

*pending me not actually getting a headache

Duct-taped doorknob
Trash is my home
I’m broke and alone
I hate the fucking phone

Leave a message at the tone
And I won’t get back to you
Because my self-contempt
Is breaking through

-Summer 2006

Director Jeffrey Goodman shares more than 8 suggestions in this Q & A about self-releasing an indie film. He self-released his film The Last Lullaby (which, notably, was financed by 48 local investors in his home town of Shreveport, Louisiana.)

Adventures in Self-Releasing: Success in Eight Steps | MovieMaker Magazine