Bill Cammack

It’s always exciting to live in New York City. However, right now, one of the exciting things about it is that NYC is a magnet for talent. Whether that’s in web development, music, video production & post… whatever. People that want to be the best at what they do head for NYC. Also, companies that are SEARCHING FOR people who are the best at what they do seek out talent in other places and bring them here.

I’ve been fortunate to hang out with and have convos with some people who have really thought about things in their chosen fields way more than I have, and I enjoy, listening and contributing what I can to the conversation, but mostly learning and expanding my mind and my vision because of my interactions with these progressive friends of mine. There really isn’t enough time in a day to learn everything you want AND to accomplish everything you intended to for the day, so it’s really a privilege to sit down with someone like Bre Pettis or Kenyatta Cheese or Tim Shey (or Bre AND Kenyatta AND Tim, hahaha) and have a heartfelt discussion about the concepts surrounding and supporting the creation and distribution of media on the internet, amongst other things.

Josh, Jen, Tim & Kenyatta

Pertaining specifically to the title of this post, “Fame, Popularity & Star Power”… I had a convo with David Karp a while back that started questions roaming around in my mind and then I hung out with Justin Johnson a couple of days ago that brought this topic back to the forefront for me and gave me a better understanding of what I had wanted to explain to Dave at the time, but couldn’t properly articulate/express at that time.

The convo with Dave was about “Popularity” and the convo with Justin was about “Star Power”.

Justin & Bill

I make a lot of media… More than most people… By a longshot. Mostly, I create videos. I also text blog. When I get things set up the way I want them, I’ll be outputting video daily. Most of my videos have nothing to do with nothing… other than the fact that I felt like making them and I felt like posting them. Like this:

And this:

I was completely unprepared for Dave to bring up “popularity” in reference to my media creation / posting. At the time, I was at a complete loss as far as explaining to him that my blogs / videoblogs aren’t about popularity at all. It was one of the very few times that I hadn’t thought out most of the underlying parameters to something I do, and someone was thinking on a level where they asked me something I couldn’t readily reply to. Another time was when I was battling Annie and her friends and they asked me to define what “acting like a girl” means, hahaha but that’s a different post. All I could do was deny wholeheartedly that my media production has ANYTHING to do with popularity, but I couldn’t put my finger on the explanation of why it was not… and I also couldn’t put my finger on exactly what I WAS doing, which would have bolstered my point.

This topic came back to my mind when I was speaking with Justin earlier this week about why people do shows and what they get out of doing those shows. In general, the conversation was about what people might sacrifice to do their craft vs what their takeaways are… the tradeoffs. It was about what people’s visions are for their shows or their characters. It was about what they’re building into their personal brand vs what’s being built into a company’s brand or a sponsor’s brand.

I meant to bring this up in my post about Eye Candy… the typical use of an attractive chick as a front to get guys to click on your content regardless of the actual value of that content. Let’s say you are a front for a show, the “face” of the show. What’s your takeaway from that? How much credit are you given for the success of the show? How much blame is heaped on you for the failure of that show? Are you seen as anything but someone who reads the teleprompter? Are you heralded as a writer? Someone who knows a lot about the technical field you were speaking about on the show? If you leave a show, what’s your takeaway? Do people see you as someone who could host a different show with the same level of success? As you’re doing a show, what are YOU building into YOUR personal brand?

As I thought about my conversations with Dave & Justin, it appeared to me that there are at least three distinctions which appear the same on the surface, but have completely different uses/values. There’s ‘Fame’, ‘Popularity’ and ‘Star Power’. Without consulting Webster’sfor the actual definitions…

Fame is when a lot of people have heard of you. Of course, “a lot of people” is a relative term, so I suppose people can be famous within certain circles. There are people who are mega-famous within the Videoblogging or Web 2.0 echo chambers, but if you ask the average joe/josephine on the street, they’ve never heard of these people. Also, you can be famous without being popular, like when people have heard your name but don’t actually give a damn about anything you ever said or did. To a degree, I think you can be famous without having any star power at all… but I guess that depends on the definition of ‘Star Power’.

Popularity is when a lot of people like something about you or something that you did. People are inclined to listen to what you have to say or pay attention to a project because you’re attached to it. This is why I say one can be famous without being popular. Just because someone’s heard of you doesn’t mean that they’re going to click on your video or email the link to their friends or link to your post in their social bookmarks. Then again, I guess that’s a Web 2.0 definition, hahaha. In the real world, popularity means you can rally troops, even though you’re not famous and people wouldn’t expect you to have the reach that you do.

I’m calling ‘Star Power’ the ability to bring added value to a production. People know your track record. People know your accomplishments in your chosen field. People know that your skills are transferrable from whatever you were working on previously to whatever you’re working on now. They know that when you’re involved, something worthwhile’s going to happen.

Depending on what your goals are in life, any of the three could be of use to you or preferable to you. You might want a lot of people to hear your name, but you don’t really care what they think about you (Fame). You might want a lot of people to think highly of you, but you’re not concerned with accolades or having people outside of your circle know “who you are” and what you do (Popularity). You might want to be known as someone who makes it happen and is an invaluable addition to any project… yet, you’re not interested in people outside of your field being aware of you, and certainly not the general public just knowing what your name is for no apparent reason (Star Power).

Having said all that, and congratulations to you if you’re still reading this, :)…

What I would have said to David on that day if I had understood the situation at the time, is that I wouldn’t post media to the internet to attempt to create popularity. This is because… I *AM* popular. I’ve been popular since my first recorded memory. I was popular in Kindergarten, Elementary School, High School and College. Most likely, I’ll be DEAD before I become unpopular, or just plain not-popular. This is because popularity is based on who you are as a person and how people react to you. I make new friends, literally, every time I go to an event. I look on the “definite” list of lage, local facebook events, and typically, the first two pages, if not three (30 people) are populated with people I’ve had good times with IRL. So, being the type of person that generates his own popularity on the fly, in real-time, posting videos or text to the internet is not something I would do in order to “be popular” or “become popular”.

I don’t post for fame either, because to me, fame is worth way less than popularity. I get hits from around the world to BillCammack.com. Do I appreciate that? Yes. Does it do anything for me in my everyday life? No.

What I value from my stats is when they indicate someone I have a REAL relationship to. I’m happy when I see a marker for England that represents Phil Campbell or Hawaii that represents Rox & Shane or Philly that represents Banannie or PurpleCar or Drew Olanoff. But this isn’t “fame”. It’s an indication that your friends have visited your site. I consider it “reach”, that friends of mine in Japan or France are watching my videos or reading my blog posts. But, no. I don’t post for fame, either.

I’m sure this seems strange to people as well, since I don’t carry business cards, but inform people that I’m top 20 on google for the world “Bill” (currently top 10, hehe).

This leaves ‘Star Power’. I would admit that I post to a degree for Star Power. Being that I’m an American, bred to dominate, genetically, being 3rd generation William C. Cammack and raised on “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie & Chevrolet”, I get a kick out of doing things that other people can’t do, and, to a degree, “showing off”. Part of my attraction to the internet is that your work is always available and perpetually available. People are watching videos I posted to the net over a year ago. Meanwhile, I’ve done pieces for television that were watched ONE TIME and then never seen again (news). Even commercials that I’ve done that ran for years on network television came on “whenever”. There was no “on demand” way to view projects that I’ve worked on. Once Athina Krikeli showed me how crisp video was playing on the iPod, I knew what I had to do. I knew that my self-expression through video needed to be transferred to the internet and iTunes and however people might want to check it out.

At the same time that I’m enjoying myself by making and posting videos, I’m enhancing and advertising my own personal brand. However, that’s just the point that I wanted to make, but wasn’t able to at the time. I post because I want to. It’s something I do for *ME*, and not anybody else. Granted, I love and respect my “core fans” and I hope they enjoy the videos I create, but, ultimately, if I weren’t doing it for myself, I wouldn’t do it at all.

Fame, Popularity and Star Power are all external to one’s self. None of that’s interesting to me, personally. I know people who operate like that. They do shows BECAUSE they want people to watch them. They go out with chicks BECAUSE other guys think they’re attractive and consider them playboys because of it. I enjoy the fact that the internet allows people who would never have met you before to experience you asynchronously, at their own pace and to their own level of interest. The only area where it actually affects me is when I make new friends because of it and we get to share our lives together.

So, for me, Fame means nothing, Popularity is as common for me as walking or breathing, and Star Power gets me work or new clients, which has to do with money, but has nothing to do with what’s really valuable in this life.

Why do you post?

Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme

~Rush

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Formats Available: iPod (.mp4) | 720p HD (.mp4)Behind the scenes @ blip.tv.
Camera/Edit: Bill Cammack

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I was talking to Lindsey from NNN / Tumblr about moving in with a significant other. While it is important to care about *your* needs, there is also another side to this ‘big move’ that you may want to consider before you pack your bags…..

Five tips for the fellaz if you let a chick move in with you:

1) Bedroom Entertainment:

B: Make sure there’s a television in your bedroom so she can vamoose when the fellaz come over to watch the game or play some cards. Also, make sure your favorite video game system’s attached to it for when she invites the girls over to watch chick flicks! :O (Don’t forget noise-canceling headphones).

L: Yes, while it is important to have 2 separate TVs because let’s face it, not all women like to watch Monday night football, make sure you ALSO have some of those fold out chairs handy in your room. When she’s watching Grey’s anatomy, Sex and the City and playing some video games of her own (yes, we do love video games), you should have places for your friends to sit in your room. Chances are, you aren’t all going to want to sit on your bed. And don’t you dare kicking her out of the living room…first come, first serve!

2) Guests of the Opposite Sex:

B: Lay down the law. Don’t fold! Let her know that if your homegirls want to stay over in the guest room or on the couch, that that’s EXACTLY what’s going to happen!….. Of course, you might want to trade this option for leverage against her inviting dudes over to your crib. :/

L: Personally, I don’t mind if you have girls stay over. I trust you, plus I’ll be home in case the shit hits the fan. On the other hand, you have to learn how to trust her. If she brings a guy back that’s her friend, then it’s her friend, unless she tells you otherwise. After all, isn’t that what a relationship is about? Trust.

3) Sleeping Arrangements:

B: Before you invite a chick to move in with you, make sure she’s comfortable with sleeping on the OPPOSITE SIDE of the bed from YOUR SIDE! Also, check to see if she’s a cover-hog when she sleeps. You know, how you go to sleep all toasty and wake up in the beginning stages of catching a cold, because somehow, she wrapped ALL the covers around her like a cocoon while you both were asleep?

L: This is definitely true. And while you’re defining sides of the bed, make sure that you define where the middle is. She’s probably much smaller than you – which DOES NOT meant that her side is smaller. If you merely spread out, you take up more than 60% of the bed, where as if she does the same, she takes up 35% of the bed. Your own personal space of the bed should be divided evenly, not according to size. Oh, and make sure you get another blanket…just in case.

4) Post-Sex Arrangements:

B: Now that she’s living with you, you can’t tell her you have to go home right after you tap that. Figure out some protocols as far as her falling asleep on top of you (hopefully *after* the sex, not during), or babbling incessantly about some nonsense while you’re trying to enjoy the silence and reminisce about how sweetly you just waxed that.

L: As if. Who says that she’s not the one that will be kicking YOUR ass out of bed? If you did a good job, chances are she’ll be fast asleep and you can sleep peacefully. If not… there’s only one person to blame and I’ll give you a hint: it’s not her.

5) Put The Toilet Seat Down!:

B: Women always enjoy feeling that you recognize them as ladies. One way to do that is to put the toilet seat down after you’re finished. Another apparently useful tip for some of you is….. Put the toilet seat *UP* before you START! :/

L: Agreed completely. No one likes cleaning toilets, and no one like looking at all the grime and mold hanging out under the toilet seat. If you put it down when you’re done, it not only looks cleaner, but there will be one less reason for her to bitch at you. And if you really LIKE to leave the toilet seat up, then you can be the one to clean it after every use!

Five tips for the ladies when you move in with your significant other.

1) Remember he’s a guy!:

L: He’s not some chick you found on craigslist who barely knows you and is always walking on glass around you to not piss you off. A guy is a guy and not all guys care about cleanliness like we do. So the next time he doesn’t do his dishes or doesn’t make the bed, remember, it’s not the end of the world. Take a deep breath – this is what you signed up for.

B: True That! This is the reason why the ladies need to study his habits BEFORE moving in with him. Were the dishes always washed when you came over? Was the bed always made? Was the laundry always done? Was the garbage taken out? If not, don’t expect anything to be different when you arrive on the set.

2) Bathroom stuff:

L: Chances are, like most women, we like to have our specific soaps, lotions, shampoos that smell really good and perhaps cost a bit more. On the other hand, chances are, guys aren’t going to know whether it’s a $5 bottle of face lotion or a $50 bottle. If you don’t want him using it, make sure he has his own! Next time you buy something of that nature, pick him up the cheaper – guy version. He won’t care and this will keep him out of your expensive stuff!

B: No doubt! If it says “Shampoo” on it, it’s getting used. A LOT OF IT! Make sure the closest thing to the shower is the LEAST expensive/cherished. For guys, it’s like “wash hair, grab bottle, pour, use, pour, use more”. Nobody cares what the brand is!

3) TIVO.

L: One way to piss off your guy is to erase his tivo’d football/basketball game. After a long day of work when he comes home, all he wants to do is catch up with the score of the game. If he sees that you erased a game from the basketball playoff series with an episode from the Hills, start packing your bags. This is not good. If there isn’t enough space, erase YOUR show.

B: UH-OH! :O OMG! This is amazing. I hadn’t even CONSIDERED this. Fellas! Make sure your cable box has child-proofing. Make sure that you get something with an access code that’s necessary for “admin privileges”. Imagine that you saved up that MMA show for a whole week, until you were really prepared to enjoy it, then it’s just.not.there! :O The chick might get the “Fred Flintstone” out into the hallway, but that doesn’t bring your personal entertainment back.

4) Get a bathroom trash… with a cover

L: Ok so we all know that girls, for some reason, have trash to throw away in the bathroom and guys don’t. I went to my boyfriend’s house the other day and neither him nor his roommate cared that they didn’t have a trash. At my apartment, our bathroom trash gets filled EVERY DAY. Not to mention, when it’s your time of the month. The last thing that guys wants to have to see is feminine products staring them in the face when they’re in the bathroom. Enough said.

B: um… Wow. See, this isn’t a problem when you don’t live with a chick, because that stuff gets bagged and goes out the door WITH her. I can’t imagine needing trash in the bathroom, because guys leave the bathroom with whatever they walked in it with. Being that chicks have various items that they might need to remove from their person and dispose of, this is an excellent tip.

5) Decorations

L: This is not your personal space anymore – now that you live with a guy you will have to be considerate of his personal tastes too. This means, NO pink bedsheets with flowers, no posters of men on your wall and no frilly butterflies or stars and hearts decorations. Try to pick color schemes that are neutral and friendly to both of you. You don’t want his friends coming over to the bright pink room and getting the wrong impression of him, right?

B: LOLOLOL @ “… posters of men on your wall”… VETO! Forget about his friends’ impressions. If you’re trying to have a good time in your bedroom, you want the environment to be conducive to your guy being inspired to tap that proppah. You need to think of your PHYSICAL satisfaction before your VISUAL satisfaction. Srsly!

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Formats Available: iPod (.mp4) | 720p HD (.mp4)

Dina Kaplan & Aaron Sonnenberg preview currently playing blip shows Political Lunch, Talking Points Memo & Blimp TV.

Producer/Host: Dina Kaplan
Camera/Post: Bill Cammack

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Bill Cammack & Mike Ronen

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