YouTube: Introducing Channels

Madonna, Jay-Z, Amy Poehler, Rainn Wilson, Shaquille O’Neal, Sofia Vergara, Tony Hawk and Ashton Kutcher. What do they have in common? Fame, wealth, good looks and now, YouTube content creators.

YouTube announced about 100 original content channels will be coming to YouTube soon. This new programming will be available globally, which is a big deal considering the plethora of licensing limitations geographically that hinder digital content and distribution deals currently. Viewers can subscribe to the channels that they are interested in such as topics like sports, music, pop culture, health/fitness, animals and other popular categories. They can also be organized by age and ethnicity. 

Why is YouTube doing this? Not just for kicks. Surely advertisers will be biting and the bit for the opportunity to be apart of the channels.

Robert Kyncl, global head of Content Partnerships, wrote his thoughts on the company blog.

“Our goal with this channels expansion … is to bring an even broader range of entertainment to YouTube, giving you more reasons to keep coming back again and again,” Kyncl wrote. “And for advertisers, these channels will represent a new way to engage and reach their global consumers.”

So, stepping back from the facts, do you think YouTube is kind of selling out? Do you think channels will work out? Are you going to go to YouTube channels more than your TV ones?

For a sneak peak at the future channels: http://www.youtube.com/creators/original-channels.html

DIY Project: Paint Samples (The Beginning)

I went to Lowes today and was very creepy. I ended up getting about 50 paint samples.

Then, after hurrying out, I made a stop at Hobby Lobby to look for a frame for my paint samples wall art. Now, you could purchase almost any frame for this project, but at the moment I am on somewhat of a budget and stuck with an 11x14 wooden wall frame that was about $6. When I do another paint sample project I will buy a larger frame for an intense masterpiece.

This is my update! So far this project has only cost $6!

DIY Projects: What to expect

For those who don't know me, I have an utter addiction to HGTV and in consequence DIY projects. Young House Love is a site I visit frequently (and you should too!) and they inspired me, along with Pinterest, to start up on some projects that I've been wanting to try.

For this next month expect my own version of these:

These are paint samples! You can make awesome wall art for practically free (buy the pins or glue depending on where you put them) and you can let them free stand or have them framed!

So pretty and so easy! Used or new you can make these decorations no problem! 

Don't throw away those bags of unused color pencils! Make a design out of them! Frame them!

Easy to make, easy to decorate yet beautiful!

Don't throw away your used crayons either! This is an awesome idea for a canvas with a big splash of color. New or used crayons would work!

So those are the things I will be doing while business is still keeping me really busy. Once everything settles down I will go bigger! I'll keep you updated on my hopefully successful attempts!

If I could use my mind to explode things...

...it would be this line of code: <ul class="sub" style="width:185px;">

I can only work for one of my clients after 10 p.m. (this is the only time their schedule allows it) and so when everyone starts dropping off to bed I'm still awake and just getting into the swing of things. Tonight (rather LAST night) I started working on their website in Wordpress.

Now, I have the biggest love/hate relationship with Wordpress. It can produce some of the most beautiful and efficient websites and yet it is as temperamental as a hormonal teenager--you say/type one wrong thing and it's game over.

But half of my clients are Wordpressers so I suck it up and make it work.
However, tonight I about had a meltdown. Around 2 a.m. I decided to call it quits and turn in, so I went ahead and made my back ups but then started to do one last thing.

I should have walked away!

I was editing some html when my computer crashed! Initially I wasn't upset, just annoyed. I had made backups and hadn't saved the edited code yet. However, I was wrong! Somehow my computer refused to save my back up (yes, I'm passing the blame on to the computer) and DID save the code. The code that uncompleted was wrong! At this point I was nervous but wrote the rest of the code anyways, but once completed it still wasn't working!

So from around 2:30 a.m. to 4:10 a.m. I edited, deleted, rewrote and created so many different forms of html to solve my problem. Finally, tucked away in the back of my brain, I pulled <ul class="sub" style="width:185px;"> after realizing that it was missing. Problem = Fixed.

The moral of the story? Back it up! And CHECK to make sure it is!

Pros & Cons: Starting Your Own Business

I knew starting my own business would most likely be stressful and time consuming. Being the only worker AND owner gives me, not only a full plate, but two filled plates with a desert platter in tow. I may not have to wake up at 6 a.m. and wear work appropriate clothes, but the pressure most people stop feeling when they leave work never completely leaves me.

So far the pros & cons of starting your own business:
I'm starting with cons first because I like to end on a good note!

Cons

• I am constantly running around. When something needs to be done I can't contract out to someone else or ask my employee to handle it--it's my baby and I have to take care of it on my own. If multiple problems arise at once then I have to make a priorities list and work my way through the muddle.
• Time management is a tricky one with my specific business. I am knee-deep in social media sites all day and into the night plus creating/editing client websites. I can't just work an 8-5 and be done with it. Social media and the people who love it don't go to sleep after 5 so either do I. I have been on my computer so much that I start to get headaches from staring at the screen. The more clients I have, the more time consuming it becomes and if I don't manage my time correctly I end up hurting myself rather than helping the clients to the full of my potential. 
• Second opinions are hard to come by when it's only little ole me working. In college and my jobs since I have had another pair of eyes and ears to be able to bounce ideas off of when I hit the occasional brain freeze and innovative rut. Now, I have to just walk away for a bit then come back and use myself as the second opinion. (Not to say my first opinion is always crappy!)
• I don't need to really spell out the fact that I pay for everything I need to use. It's not exactly a con more like a necessary evil.

Pros

• It's my baby. All the cons in the world can't take that one glorious fact away from me. At the beginning and end of the day, all the work I've done is the work I love and the work I decided to make into a career. No one is above me, dictating the direction to go in. It's just me, working my butt off to succeed. When I hear friends and families complain about not liking their jobs, I know that even if I have a few cons to rant about that underneath it all I am in love with my business. 

I suppose this is a bit unbalanced but, even as I was sitting here trying to think of more pros and more cons, I am confident I made the correct choice in saying "Screw you job market!" and pursuing something I love. 

For all of those business owners out there, let me take a moment to pat you on the back! You've realized a need in society and are answering it in your own way. Keeping kicking ass!

(Note: The next post will be about my personal workday schedule of MADNESS!)

McDonalds gets its own channel: McTV

Do you love McDonalds? Do you often go there to eat off of the dollar menu or grab one of their amazing sweet teas? Do you find yourself pining for its greasy goodness when you're stuck eating vegetables or fruit? Have you ever been awake in bed and thought "Man, I wish I could have me some McDonalds?"

Well now your dreams have been realized.

Soon you will be able to get your McDonalds' fill by watching its very own TV channel called McTV.

"The intention is to catch and engage the customer, and then enhance their experience," says an executive behind the project. And let me tell you, I will watch it at least once to see what's going on.

McDonalds' exclusive channel will have corporate-approved content like entertainment news, advertising and spots on local moms and athletes. Does anyone else find this strange?

McTV has been testing in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas so far and it is estimated to reach 18 million to 20 million viewers there. This channel will be in about 800 California restaurants and could become a nationwide gig. 

So if you love you some McDonalds, fret not-- McTV could be coming to a TV near you.

Social Media Flow Chart

Last year I made an flow chart on my views of what made something trending even more popular. 

The before (sharpie ftw!):

The after (Illustrator):