ViodiTV

The Video Bridge Between the Heartland and Hollywood

Archive for category korner

What Do a Telephone Tech and a Deputy Sheriff Have in Common?

Mar 3

Posted by Ken in ViodiTV @ MTA, korner | 1 Comment


Brent Christensen, Vice President of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, brings a fresh perspective to telecommunications. Although born of a telecom family, he followed his father’s footsteps in that his first career was outside of telecom. Starting at the birth of the 1996 deregulation, Brent started as a technician and progressed to the role of general manager at Christensen Communications.

His recent appointment as Vice President of the MTA comes at a time as the industry continues its transition to an all IP world. Judging by the record setting number of attendees (approximately 1,400) at the 2010 MTA Convention, there is a great deal of interest from telcos in the upper Midwest regarding how they remain, “One step up on the road ahead.”

Brent explains in the following video how his experience as a customer gave him an appreciation for what is required to serve. Similarly, his previous vocation gave him plenty of experience serving the public. Brent spent 14 years as a deputy sheriff in the Austin, Texas area. Surprisingly, he draws four parallels between his role in law enforcement and his work as a technician at a telecommunications company. You will have to watch the video to hear his comparison of these vocations.

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The K-Zone in the Korner

Jan 14

Posted by Ken in korner | No Comments


Kodak's KZone at CES 2010 with the WebTV panel and our interview with Illeana Douglas. The text for this post will follow.  

ViodiTV is produced by Roger Bindl and Ken Pyle.

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A Lure and A Legend – My Interview with Dave Sumner

Jan 6

Posted by Ken in korner | 2 Comments


One of the downsides of the franchising of America is the resulting homogenization of our experience. The hotels, the restaurants and the big box retailers are definitely a far cry from the Americana of yesteryear.  They are all the same, almost anywhere you go.  

Fortunately, there are still some things that cannot be franchised and that are unique to certain areas. For instance, ice fishing is an abstract concept to a California native. Sure, ice fishing would appear in an occasional movie or television show, but it just didn’t seem real.

Then, last summer at the Lakeland Appreciation Day, I met the inventor of the Flirty Girty. Dave Sumner is an entrepreneur, extraordinaire, as he owns several businesses including a cable installation operation. Sumner is also a champion ice fisherman.

In this brief video interview, Sumner discusses ice fishing, the ice fishing community, and how technology, such as GPS, helps him position his ice-fishing house. He also explains some of the benefits of the Eskimo portable, pop-up, ice-fishing tent. In these times of non-stop chatter, I can definitely see the appeal of the stillness of a Wisconsin frozen lake and the warmth of a ice fishing chateau.

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David Lewis, Computers and South America

Nov 16

Posted by Ken in korner | 1 Comment


 

David Lewis of TCA explains how he has collaborated with a pastor to bring computers and technology to locales in Guyana and Haiti.  In this video, filmed at OPASTCO’s 2009 Summer Convention, Lewis explains how he and his wife have been making regular visits to his South American “family” and the inspiration behind these treks.  They are always looking for computers to bring to their friends from Guyana and Haiti.   Contact David if you have some old computers that you could donate to help his efforts.  

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Convention Cookies

Oct 23

Posted by Ken Pyle in ViodiTV, korner | 1 Comment


Lori Vergin’s tale of the telco that used popcorn in their showroom to help drive sales for its video service, reminded me of the old real estate trick of having the aroma of freshly baked cookies at an open house. The cookies are supposed to make prospective buyers feel at home and provide some sort of emotional connection with the house (and open up their checkbooks).

I lived this aroma theory at the MTA show last March in Minneapolis, as my normally insensitive proboscis detected the sweet smell of freshly baked cookies. In this reenactment, you can see how I was pleasantly surprised to find delectable disks of cookie joy on the tradeshow floor. Bauman and Associates, a CPA firm, was the brains behind this clever promotion.

This promotion worked, as seeing Bauman and Associates with their cookie oven at last week’s WSTA, reminded me of our video and how this simple promotion provided a lasting impression.

The Broadband BBQ – Only in Silicon Valley

Sep 25

Posted by Ken Pyle in korner | 1 Comment


Two-thousand and nine (2009) was what I call my summer of winning, as my family won several raffles and contests. The Sandisk 60 Second Summer Mobile Video Contest was especially productive for me. This may have been because I submitted so many videos as compared to the total number of entries. Although I did not win the big prize for FRED, I did win a couple of memory cards. The one video I did not submit, because it was 23 seconds too long, was the one I took during a dinner party, one balmy, perfect California summer evening.

Only in Silicon Valley would one find a BBQ connected to the Internet. In this video, my friend Jon Linthacum provides viewers with a brief tutorial of his electronically controlled BBQ that is connected to the World Wide Web via WiFi. Yes, there is an app for that, as he even figured out how to monitor the BBQ from his iPhone. I wonder if the broadband barbeque could justify a stimulus grant?

Despite my ribbing him about his techno-geekness, I couldn’t say enough good things about the pulled-pork he made that evening. Thanks Jon for showing me another use for broadband (and thanks for the great meal)!  

Note, the above video was shot with a G1 Anroid-powered phone.

Back to School

Sep 11

Posted by Ken Pyle in Viodi View, korner | No Comments


 

Video is a great way to communicate to a community. With low-cost tools and simple editing programs, virtually any group can instantly use video to communicate their message in ways that, less than a decade ago, would have required skilled specialists and scare airwaves. This point was impressed upon me several years ago, when I helped produce a video for some African friends who were trying to get their message out about the school they were attempting to build.

I was amazed at how quickly they picked up editing techniques and learned the tool, while they gave me an appreciation for how lucky I am to have a stable electricity supply. We produced the first video to provide a synopsis of their efforts to build a Christian school in their native Tanzania. Schools are a luxury in Tanzania and, when children do have the opportunity to attend, there are often 80 students for every teacher and their workplace is a spot on the floor.

The New Life Band had a vision and I definitely got more out of helping them put their vision into video than they got from me. Producing their current video, that promotes their 2009 tour of the upper Midwest and California, was a privilege. Like most things, it was rushed and I would like to tweak a few things, but the visuals tell the story of how they have realized part of their dream with the opening of their school.

The cool thing is that they have created a community that goes well beyond Africa and extends into the heartland of America. With their original music, they have entertained and educated people from both rural and urban America and, in turn, people from those communities have been to Africa, donating their time and treasure to create a school where there was once dirt. I highly recommend catching the New LIfe Band at one of their stops in California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska or Wisconsin.

Note:  the video on the left shows where they were several years ago when they had just begun construction, while the video on the right shows appreciative students enjoying their newly built school.

Customer Appreciation Day at Lakeland Communications

Aug 25

Posted by Ken Pyle in ViodiTV, korner | 1 Comment


My favorite professional activity is visiting my independent telco friends in the area they serve. I am not certain what it is that appeals to me

  • Is it the low cost of living – free parking. inexpensive accomodations and simple food?
  • Is it the people – who are authentic and probably more creative than folks from the urban areas- they have to be as there are fewer things to do?
  • Is it the open expanses of the fruited plains and the amazing fact that something like 1% of the population feeds the rest of us?

It’s probably those factors, as well as a longing for the orchards that were still around in my youth and that now are close to being completely paved over by faceless business parks that often are half-empty. I am not suggesting that the Valley of the Heart’s Delight shouldn’t have transformed into the Silicon Valley. It’s just unfortunate that it developed the way it did.

So I jumped at the chance to visit Lakeland Communications and participate in their annual customer appreciation day. Their event captured a slice of rural America. The experience is hard to describe, but fortunately, Roger was there to capture the highlights through this video interview with Chris LaRowe of WSTA.

Independent telcos, if you want to see the rest of the story, contact me about an event I am co-producing on October 1.

Efficient Video Production with the G1 Phone

Jun 12

Posted by Ken Pyle in Content Tools, ViodiTV, korner | 4 Comments


I am not a big gadget person – really. I have had the G1 Phone for a couple of months and other than the electronic whoopee cushion application and the Shazam application (listens to music and identifies the song and artist), all of the applications I have downloaded from the Android Market have been ones intended to enhance productivity. So, at the Connections Conference, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the latest version of the Android software enables the recording of videos on my G1 Phone.

The video quality of the G1 can be marginal, especially in low light conditions and especially compared to the Creative or Flip camera I normally use. It cannot be beat for efficiency and ease of distributing the video either on YouTube or via email. The only thing I haven’t figured out is why the share feature doesn’t always work, which is probably just as well, as the world doesn’t need to see most of the videos I take.

The following video was shot while taking an early morning walk through downtown Colorado Springs. When I started my walk, my only plan was to get a little exercise in the brisk Colorado air. As I saw the various monuments and museums, along with the natural beauty of Pike’s Peak, I felt inspired to share what I saw with others, particularly since the upcoming OPASTCO Summer Convention finds its way to Colorado Springs next month. Additionally, I decided it would be kind of fun to present my impromptu creation during my presentation on Local Content (I didn’t).

Hopefully, we will see you in Colorado Springs at the OPASTCO event (July 25th-29th).
 

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Unique Economic Developments

Mar 6

Posted by Ken Pyle in korner | 1 Comment


Economic development requires leadership. Spring Grove Communications provide an excellent example of leadership, as they worked with their community to build a new library, 24 hour fitness center and digital cinema/public meeting place that can be used for much more than movies. ViodiTV caught up with Craig Otterness, the General Manager of Spring Grove Communications, at the Minnesota Telecom Alliance’s 100th Annual Convention and he provided the scoop on their unique contributions to their community that resulted in the MTA awarding them with its 2009 Economic Development Award. 

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