New Video Player

You may have noticed that we are using a new video player on our blog. We've been experimenting with different video players and video hosting sites, and have decided that we like Blip.tv the best for now. So if you want to watch the older vlogs in high res flash head over to our video page and check them out.

Voice of Nola (MIH 32)

Told y'all it was coming.

Post-Its

At Seesmic, we made a video describing how to use the interface. It was kind of silly because one of the owners, the french guys appeared all over the screen in miniature, directing the viewer to buttons that needed pressing. Apparently it was a big hit in web business world, and people wanted to know how we did it. That was pretty simple... green screen and Final Cut, no big mystery. But viewers requested a making of video, so this is what we gave them...


I give you that because TeamJaded has been neglecting you on the video front. I'll be back in a little while with a bigger update.

Here's the link to that intro vid if you wanted to watch it.

TeamJaded Press

While we were in Lake Charles, we met up with Jeremey's friends Angela and Paul Hauser (and their many pups).


Angela works for the Lake Charles American Press (the newspaper) and interviewed us about TeamJaded and the Make It Happen project. We were pretty psyched when that following Sunday, we picked up the paper to find our picture on the cover. Angela wrote a great article about TeamJaded, and we are super thankful for her support.

Here's a link to the article online: click here.


Thanks Angela.

Viacommies, Permalancers, and Healthcare.

I arrived at work feeling horrible. My stomach was a mess as though thousands of jagged knifes were tearing apart my innards. But I had a deadline, and to my own peril I would not let this project go unfinished. Yes, it's absurd- but I was naive and wanted to prove that I was dedicated to my company.

Well… that, and after working for this company for 10 months, I didn’t have health insurance. I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford a visit to the emergency room.

I told myself it will get better. When my post session editor told me I “looked like death,” I decided to google hospitals that would take uninsured people. In my hazy sickness, I found one I hoped would take me at an affordable rate. I hobbled my way back to the office, turned in my tape, and asked politely if I could leave to go to the hospital. My boss looked at me like I was crazy (yes, I was), and said “Abby! Go! Why are you still here?”

She was right, I was obviously sick. But I had no money; I had no health insurance. I took the subway to the hospital to save money. It was there I stayed hooked up to an IV for 12 hours, and found out I needed surgery.

Fast forward…

Surgery is done, Abby is healthy.
Abby has a bill for $12,000 dollars.

This is my MTV Networks Healthcare Story. I had worked for this company day in and day out for 10 months, and had no health insurance. But I was permalance. I didn’t get heath insurance until 12 months. …If only I didn’t get sick for 2 more months.

I tell this story with the hopes that people will understand the plight of the MTV Networks Freelancers. I worked there for about two and a half years, and (obviously) didn’t have a good healthcare experience. But a couple weeks ago I was shocked to find out that Freelancers heathcare benefits were being reduced drastically, with no dental, no paid holidays, tuition reimbursement gone, commuter deductions deleted, and 401K’s frozen.

Seriously? It could get worse?

So, here’s what happened in case you missed it:
Two small groups of people gathered independently, each with the goal of reversing this decision. One group created this logo:


Very early, the morning of the company holiday party, the group stickered the building with this image. With the hopes of rallying massive numbers of freelancers, they continued to flyer the building for days, giving information about their situation-- including the names of all the HR representatives in the building.

The other group organized the rallies. It was here everything came together. With logos, stickers, chants, and information, hundreds of Freelancers made their plea, loud and proud to everyone in Times Square. Check out a video here.




After the protests in front of 1515 Broadway, and getting press within the Manhattan masses, Freelancers accomplished a partial victory. Those currently working at MTV Networks will get their original healthcare plans reinstated. However, every other cutback still stands, and anyone hired in 2008 will not have these adequate benefits. Also, Freelancers who were waiting their 12 months to get insurance, come Jan 2008 will have their clocks reset. They must wait another 180 days to be health insurance eligible.

The Group says they plan to meet on Monday to discuss the next order of action. One member (who asked to remain anonymous) says they’re trying to organize and select representatives from across the company to communicate and respond to the issues at hand. They’ve created a website (yet to be publicly released), and they’ve compiled an email list of over 250 employees who want to be actively involved in their campaign.

Hopefully, these full-time, committed workers can achieve their goals. Hopefully, they will get their 401K’s back. Hopefully, new Freelance employees will be offered acceptable benefits.

Yes, Healthcare is an issue. To those who have been working for 10 months or 10 years, healthcare, and good healthcare at that, is due.

For a great detailed rundown of everything as it happened, go to Gawker.

More info:
Yahoo! News
NY Times
Variety

As we get info from our source, we’ll keep you updated…

They may work for one of the most profitable companies, but they’re making things happen.

The Final Countdown (MIH5)

The past week has been utterly hectic. From attending a friends wedding in another time zone, packing up the apartments, contacting and confirming stories, figuring out all the last minute details, all while trying to get in the final hits of our favorite SF spots; we are facing exhaustion before we even hit the road. Our calendar is a mess of crossed off lists that somehow continue to pile on more errands each day. Finding a storage unit, buying car supplies, travel food, atlases, boxes, forwarding addresses, getting a business PO box, fixing the AC (it’s fixed!)- Somehow, it’s all getting done.



We’ve managed to sneak in a bit of time to enjoy Green Apple Bookstore, Café Venice, and El Toreador before we leave. However, these next two days are going to be tough. Everything needs to be packed and put into storage- hopefully I can muster up the strength to help Jeremey move his couch to the Uhaul!

We’ll be hitting you up with our route soon. There’s a possibility we might have to re-route for a few weeks – Last night Hurricane Humberto hit in Beaumont, TX and the all up the Louisiana-Texas border (Lake Charles escaped the worst). And although being from Colorado I know nothing personally about Hurricanes, Jeremey’s been given the heads up about the chance of another one hitting the same time we’ll be in Louisiana. We’ll be keeping an eye out. Hopefully everything will be safe- the last thing Louisiana needs is another storm.

Meet Bush? No thanks.

The last line of a New York Times article about Jeremy Hernandez, a Minneapolis bridge hero, says:

“When President Bush’s staff contacted him to request a photo opportunity, “He was just, like, ‘Nope,’ ” she said.”

Whether you believe Mr. Hernandez is skirting publicity or making a political stance, it’s a telling statement that Digg users have gotten into an uproar about the post. It’s number one as of this moment, and comments regarding the article make more of a statement on our society than the article subject itself.

1. Mr. Hernandez is worried about publicity. Except how weird is that? Shouldn’t EVERYONE want a photo-op whenever possible? Or wait, maybe he’s making a political statement trying to prove to society that celebrity status isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? Oh crap, maybe it’s just too much work. He didn’t want to waste all his time flying and being escorted to DC, just to shake a mans hand. I mean, he wanted to go fishing.

OR

2. Mr. Hernandez dislikes Bush. By snubbing this photo opportunity he says to our government, “I don’t support you. Take that.” Or wait, maybe he should have taken the photo op, and told off Bush to his face. Oh crap, it’s too late, now he’s on the “against us” list.

If you think he hates Bush or hates Publicity, this Digg post and its surrogate comments amuse.

A sampling:

“Owned. I wouldn't want to be in a picture with that assclown either.”

“The article does not say why he declined, yet everyone assumes his reasons are political.”

“He's already had one brush with disaster - my guess is he doesn't want another one.”

“He should have gotten an "I'm with stupid ->" t-shirt!”

“The summary is taken way out of context. Shame on you Blakovitch for stooping to this level to make this kid look like he hates Bush.”

“He should have taken him up on the opportunity and called him out on some shit when he was there. The article also says that a college offered him a full scholarship so good for him, its good to see good things come to those who do good deeds.”

Butts + Man Boobs ≠ Great Ads

I can’t remember the last time I went shopping, let alone the last time I walked into an American Eagle. However, when I saw this article, I realized how lame marketing could be (not saying that thought had never crossed my mind). It was basically my job for 3 years to make people like things. Forced to come up with catchy tag lines or phrases, I always knew someone, somewhere would be laughing at the complete nerdity of my “ingenious” colloquial slogan. Thankfully, I’m not as good as American Eagle, whose tag line is: American Eagle: Live Your Life. (picture below from Cracked)



These savvy ads surround us everyday. The number’s vary, but turns out we can see anywhere from 150 to 3,000 ads a day. And if you work in Times Square, not only are you in the higher end of that spectrum, you’re getting the rear end too. Apparently, Times Square Church is suing the Toto "Washlet" Company over their Happy Butt Campaign:



Too much rear! OMG, no more butts! No more man boobs either!

If one is the lonliest number...

Apparently two can be as sad as one, but I’ve always wondered about three through six. What are they? Why don’t they get to have any intrinsic qualities? Good thing we know seven is the luckiest number.

So, I guess that makes this month (July) the luckiest month during the luckiest year (‘07). How fitting that the new Seven Wonders of the World were announced recently? It’s hard to believe the Pyramids in Egypt didn’t make the cut. I also must admit, I didn’t realize we could actually change the Seven Wonders of the World. I mean, if there were more Wonders, shouldn't we just make Eight, or Nine Wonders? I guess people just like keeping it lucky.

And speaking of Seven Wonders, did you know Gandhi made a list he dubbed, “The Seven Blunders of the World?” Now, I guess I’ve never met Mr. Mahatma, but I didn’t think he was that cheesy. The list however, is something right up his alley. The Seven Blunders are:

1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

Some relate this list to the seven deadly sins. I guess they could redo the movie "Se7en", but this time Brad Pitt’s job would be really easy. He would just arrest the President and the Vice President.

Daily Smarts

It’s blatantly obvious that I enjoy a good bout of The Daily Show/ Colbert Report. Besides nerdy History Channel & Discovery Channel shows, these two Comedy Central staples complete my TV repertoire. And thankfully, I never watch the network news. It turns out (surprise!) I’m smarter for watching Jon and Steven. According to a recent study, Fox News viewers aren’t up to par when it comes to current events.

And... one would have hoped the Internet would have spewed out a bit of enlightened knowledge on the American public, but sadly, only 69% of people today can name… the Vice President. Apparently, Cheney is really good at keeping information from the public.

But thanks to wikipedia, we can all ooze our vast and unending knowledge into the “free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.” Your wikiality is my wikiality. But who’s wikiality is bigger, you ask? Katie Holmes or Oliver Wendell Holmes? And don’t ask if they mean the Poet or the Supreme Court Justice. Test your knowledge here.

It's All Happening.

So it’s crazy to think that in our mid-twenties we’ve started our own company. Now, this might not seem too crazy for anyone who knows Jeremey. He’s been Jaded for years. A skateboarder, DIY-er, “I made my own ‘zine” guy, it’s not too hard to imagine him going full-force with an independent venture. I, however, have been a corporate glom-on since I left college. Yes, I wasn’t going to ‘sell-out’ after I left college radio, but guess what? I worked for the Number 5 Fortune 500 Entertainment Industry company, Viacom… right next to Number 6: Clear Channel. And thanks to my University’s Writing Dept, anyone who has ever googled my name know’s I’ll never get a job there.

But even though the views from the 48th floor in Times Square were beautiful, there was something missing. Maybe it was a few of my brain cells, but I knew that I needed something more. I guess “more” meant flying across the country to go work for Al Gore… More appropriately, Current TV. It was here in San Francisco that I learned the world is changing; and not just because of Global Warming (thank you Inconvenient Truth). But the world in which we consume media is changing. From Cable to On Demand, from YouTube, AppleTV, and Milan… it’s all happening. Almost anyone can own an HD Camera (albeit you definitely need some funding), and Final Cut Pro is basically available to the masses.

TV production is no longer for the elite. It no longer is in the hands of the few. Those with the money may have the connections, but they don’t control the content and the distribution anymore. Things are changing and Jaded Multimedia will be apart of it.

In his blog “Video on the Net” on BuzzMachine.com, Jeff Jarvis says it best:
“The first and more important lesson: We now have the tools to control not just the consumption but the creation of media.”

So as we start this new adventure, we’ll continue to work with innovative TV companies (like Current TV), and foster new relationships with amazing IPTV stations (see the links!). Our hope is that we can create meaningful content, that’s fun to watch, and has a positive impact in the world.

Now I’m done being cheesy. It’s time to get crazy.

We’ll be updating this blog daily. Random stuff. We’ll discuss anything. From wack stats, to rad artists, and random news, we’ll be throwin it down. And we’d be pretty psyched if ya’ll joined in the conversation. Stay tuned.