Epic Fu: Arianna Huffington, Zombie Outbreak, Superstruct Video

Epic Fu: Arianna Huffington, Zombie Outbreak, Superstruct Video Transcript

[ Sound effect ] ^M00:00:04

>> This episode of Epic Fu is sponsored by Netflix and GoDaddy. ^M00:00:07 [ Music ] ^M00:00:12

>> Zadi: Hey guys, I'm Zadi and this is Epic Fu. [music] This bi-polar economy is making me dizzy; some people say the worst is behind us but it looks like nobody told these guys. Outside guys on trading floors you can see the agony from traders from around the globe, not such a fun time, but what's a buck really worth anymore anyhow? Artist Laura Gilbert [assumed spelling] gave out zero dollar bills in front of the New York Stock Exchange to make a statement about the declining value of the U.S. dollar. When the next implosion happens I want a pocket full of nothin' baby, and if you have the answer to any of the [laughing]. And if you think you have the answer to any of this we could use you since you might even be extinct by 2042, at least it will be in the new alternate reality [inaudible] game The Superstruct [assumed spelling].

>> Welcome to the global extinction awareness system.

>> Zadi: Solve the 5 super threats of the future world, disease, food shortages, [inaudible], refugees, and alternative energy wars. Superstruct was created by ARG pioneer Jan McGonigal [assumed spelling] and the folks at the Institute for the Future, the future, for the future, the Institute for the Future. I'm still waiting for the institute for zombie outbreaks. Survive the Outbreak is a choose your adventure style web movie about a zombie attack, you make decisions at key turning points and see how it all plays out. Think of it as much needed zombie survival training. Interactive movies are getting more and more immersive thanks to technologies like GPS. Nine Lives is a project by Singapore students, the film unfolds as you move through the real world thanks to a GPS enabled video player, right now the player only supports Windows mobile devices but the potential for this kind of entertainment is huge. The line between reality and entertainment is getting blurrier everyday. Check out this prototype for Carcade, it's a game with webcams and camera tracking software incorporating real-life scenery into your game. Just do all of us a favor and don't play while driving, webcams and GPS really bring the idea of connectiveness to a whole new level. Flicker Bikes, also known as purple pedals these bikes are designed by Yahoo and equipped with GPS enabled cameras that upload images to Flicker every 60 seconds and tag the bike's location on a Yahoo map, a stalkers wet dream or a glimpse at web 3 point 0, I don't care that purple bike is sweet. GO tagging is one way to connect content in the class of physical places, here's another, Sendopedia [assumed spelling] is a tool for creating cell phone readable hyperlinks to Wikipedia entries, you put in the Wiki URL and it generates a pattern that you print out and post some place. When you find one just scan the code with your phone's camera and it takes you to the relevant Wikipedia article, pretty frickin' awesome; these codes are known as QR codes and they're pretty common in Japan. Check out the QR code generator, you can enter any text message up to 250 characters, phone numbers, URL's, whatever. What would you use a QR code for? There's a thread on Mix, universal codes GO Tag bikes, it's all about using tech to bridge cultures. Of course, not all challenges are global in scale but our artist of the week can sure make them fun. Harriet Russell [assumed spelling] designed 130 envelopes with encrypted addresses using puzzles and [inaudible] and sent them through the U.K.'s Royal mail, amazingly only 10 of them were never delivered. I wonder what the delivery rate would be in the U.S. ^M00:03:21 [ Sound effect ] ^M00:04:38

>> Zadi: Big thanks to our sponsor GoDaddy, we don't just pimp them out we also use them and now you can register dot CA names too. There private domain registration keeps all your info out of the public database and away from spammers, plus enter code FU1 when you check out and get an additional 10% off your entire order. Support Epic Fu and save money with our offer codes, get your piece of the Internet at GoDaddy.com. And big thanks to our sponsor Netflix who has given me many an entertaining evening watching movies that I've missed. You can browse through 90,000 titles including Blu-Ray with free shipping, go to www.netflix.com slash Epic Fu and be sure to include the www so they know we sent you. You can grab a 2 week free trial with our special link with plans as low as $4.99 a month, there is no reason not to try it. And for all our sponsor offers you can go to EpicFu.com slash offers. [sound effect] Only a handful of main-stream media personalities have risen to the challenge presented by New Media. The empowerment of citizen journalism is one of the [inaudible] changes giving everyone a voice in the 21st century. [sound effect] This week the Golden Finger is being served by blogger, columnist, and founder of the Huffington Post, Ariana Huffington [assumed spelling]. ^M00:05:47 [ Sound effect ] ^M00:05:52

>> Zadi: Has your viewpoint changed in the role at Citizen Media?

>> Ariana: Everything that happens and makes me just more excited about Citizen Media. The fact that the new media have given a platform to many people who otherwise would not have a voice is a truly democratic shift and I think it's gonna have a bigger and bigger impact as we move on; this is really the first truly Internet election. Had it not been for the Internet Barack Obama would not be the nominee.

>> Zadi: What in your mind would you like to see young adults working on that would be of the most importance?

>> Ariana: We need to focus on the growing inequalities, even if we really didn't care for people we must realize that it is incredibly destabilizing to have such massive inequalities when we're hearing, for example, that certain institutions were too big to [inaudible] but if you're just an ordinary home owner, tough luck if your house is foreclosed.

>> Zadi: Besides communication, besides language, how can we communicate better?

>> Ariana: The first thing is to be able to distinguish, ya know, the American government from the American people, that the American people don't always endorse every decision. The spread of anti-Americanism is something which can be mitigated when people come together and they meet each other and they realize that a lot of the preconceptions do not imply to individuals.

>> Zadi: If you thought that the revolution -- the new media revolution was a fallacy or is a fallacy and do you think that it's destined to be corrupted by traditional media?

>> Ariana: No, I don't think it's a fallacy, I think it's for real. Just recently, ya know, with the proposed bailout in America, the minute the bailout plan was put out for everybody to see the banks started on-line and the challenging some aspects of it started over the weekend. And sometimes it took until Tuesday for the mainstream media to have very thoughtful and [inaudible] and more polished articles, but the bloggishphere [phonetic] had really in a way set the agenda.

>> Zadi: It was an amazing experience interviewing such a smart woman. Check out our blog for an alternate version I made for the TransAtlantic Network 20/20. ^M00:08:11 [ Music ] ^M00:08:17

>> Zadi: My interview with Ariana sparked an interesting question, What is the role of citizen journalism in mainstream culture? Are we making a difference yet, or are we just talking to ourselves? Head over to EpicFu.com slash Campfire and post a video response, we'll include them in an upcoming episode. Also, I've got to say we've been pretty impressed with all the tee shirt mash up videos we've received. Download the raw materials and create your own, keep it under 15 seconds and remember don't use any copyrighted materials. If we use your mash up in the show we'll send you a free tee shirt too. Before we go we want to acknowledge our friend Oscar Grimm [assumed spelling] a fellow web video producer who recently passed away after an inspirational battle with brain cancer. He co-created FreshTopia [assumed spelling] with the super cool Tonya Andrews [assumed spelling]. The community has lost one of its best people but thanks to his work on the Web his accomplishments won't be forgotten. Alright guys, that's it for this week, thanks for watching, commenting, and hanging with us, until next week, we'll see you on Mix. ^M00:09:11 [ Music ] ^M00:09:44

>> Oh my God, he's falling, this kid [laughing]. I've never seen a jump like that, alright [laughing]. ^E00:09:59