This past weekend I participated in my first 48 Hour Film Project here in Des Moines.  Des Moines seems to be one of the most active cities for the 48hfp, this time boasting the entire 48 slots filled (there were supposed be even more but 1-2 didn’t show up for the kickoff it seems)

The idea is simple enough, collect a team of filmmakers and actors to make a short film of 7 minutes or less in 48 hours.

At the kickoff you are given a prop, a line of dialog and a character that have to be in your film.  Add that to a randomly selected genre, and you are off and running.

Our short film, which screens tonight at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines, is entitled “Coin Daddy.”  I hear there are several “audience choice” awards, so feel free to vote for Coin Daddy whenever there might be an opportunity to vote for coin daddy.

I heard on the radio today that one team flew in from Los Angeles to participate.  Now, that may be going too far, especially since those filmmakers were professional filmmakers.  But then again, I’m a member of SAG so…  I dunno.

Anyway, to find out more about the 48 Hour Film Project, click the banner below.  And remember, ,vote for Coin Daddy!  (A link to the movie will be posted whenever we are allowed.)

Two Things:

1.

Types of Blog Posts (via Franklin Bishop at http://franklinbishop.net/5-types-of-blog-posts-for-more-traffic/)

Controversial Posts

This is actually one of my favorite kind of posts and it will sure bring you loads of traffic. There are many different ways to be controversial when writing an article. Having a strong opinion on something is okay even if people do not agree with you. That is basically the point. When you get on topics such as is it professional or not to disclose your online earnings, tell people whether a link is an affiliate link or not, whether it’s okay to photoshop your feeds subscriber count, etc. you’re tapping into controversial topics.

2. Death by Blog Post

The posting of a particularly controversial blog post within the owner’s niche, intended to finally “kill” a blog the owner has either lost interest in, or they believe is not receiving the recognition it deserves.  The decisively controversial blog post is designed to create conflict, make everybody upset, and comfort the blog owner by assuring them they are not 100% responsible for closing their blog. ie: “It’s what everybody wants.”

Akin to “death by cop.”

So I have been doing controversial posts for a while now, so it is only fair that I spread the love and say what I am proud of in this great city and state in terms of Social Media / Web / Internet.

In no particular order, I am proud of…

IMPOROMPTU STUDIO
www.impromptustudio.com

When I first met Daniel he was just a guy working at the Great Ape Trust making a vending machine for a gorilla.  Next thing I know he is pioneering co-working in Des Moines.  While I haven’t had the opportunity to actually work for any length of time at Impromptu, I want to. The place oozes creativity and energy.

TWEETUP BADGES
www.tweetupbadges.com

When Chris Pirillo came to town, Rich made little badges for those in attendnace with their twitter handle.  This idea grew and became a sub-business of his “day job.”  This is the kind of innovation and keying in on trends that really make me proud to be part of the Des Moines tech community.

SMARTY PIG
www.smartypig.com

Ok, so they outsourced their web site to HappyCog, but they are still an Iowa company. Shortly after launching, their site design was hijacked and the DM community rose to the challenge and helped bring awareness to the infringement, and helped push down the search engine rankings for TrustyPig – the infringer.

BITMETHOD
www.bitmethod.com

Ok, so we’re back to Daniel Shipton again.  Diving this time into app development with Igor Dobrosavljevic and Neil Roberts, BitMethod has released several apps and have several “in the labs.”  They already look top-notch with their products and their site, with a little more staff and time, they could really be an app powerhouse in the area.

ROB JENSEN
twitter.com/jensenrf

I throw Rob into the mix because he has been instrumental in trying to organize big events in the area.  He and Aaron Webb (and others) helped organize one of the first barcamps a few years ago, tried to bring a podcamp here (or did we actually have one?) and understands the value of collaboration with unconferences.

LAVA ROW
www.lavarow.com

Ok, so I give Lava Row a lot of indirect flack.  Mainly because I know founder Nathan T Wright can handle it.  We Ames people have to stick together. When I was hearing about firms out East such as Crayon, there was Nathan starting something similar here in Des Moines.  That deserves a lot of credit.

So there are just a few of my top “nods” to Des Moines companies and people making the tech scene what it is.  If yo aren’t listed, it’s not that I don’t like you or think you are important, its just I had to start with a “top list” and after thinking about it, these bubbled up to the surface.

The great thing about Des Moines tech companies is the variety of services they offer, and the different ways they implement their customer’s needs.

This city has a lot of promise, I hope we can keep moving it forward.