Phill Mason

I’ve had several questions over the last few days, so here’s an update about what’s happening next in the 30DC Theme Song Collaboration.

We now basically have an entire band on board a few times over - guitarists, drummers, bassists, piano and keyboard players, a few classical players and a handful of singers. As well as some great vocal talent on board, we also have a couple of groups of singers, some dancers and people who will hold up placards with messages and lyrics on throughout the video - great! The creative ideas floating around have been amazing and I can’t wait to try and fit it all in the video, (cue 10 min album track).
 
The 30DC Theme Song is in the early writing stages, I have a couple of notepad ideas roughly recorded but I need your help before I go too much further. The song needs to be uplifting, inspirational, melodic, memorable and toe-tappingly groovy.
 
The lyrics - the vocal hook. I would like you to get your thinking caps on and ask anyone and everyone you know who’s been involved with the 30DC to come up with a lyric or a line that sums up the 30DC. What is it all about? What does it mean? How does it make you feel? Can you sum up the Thirty Day Challenge in one line that will work well in a song?
 
You see singing the lyric "Thirty Day Challenge" is not exactly the most satisfying lyric to sing and I reckon we can come up with something more catchy that could be influential in more ways then one.
 
If like me, you’re sick of hearing Tina Turners - "Simply The Best" at every conference you attend as the "Go Get Em" theme, then lets try and replace it with with the 30DC 2009 song. How many times have you heard James Brown’s "I Feel Good" play in a film or TV advert? About a Gazillion (big number) I imagine, because it has a great vocal hook and a brilliant lyrical message.
 
Can it be done? Is the "30DC 2009 Theme Song Collaboration team" up to the challenge? Please comment below.
 
Below are a couple of common questions I’ve been asked:
 
So what happens next?
Once we’ve got the magical lyric, I will form the song around it - and at that point I will be able to start to give parts of the song out for players/singers/dancers to learn, rehearse, practice or mime to.More detailed info about how we will record this to follow soon.
 
Which Video Format?
Just as a side not, don’t panic about this too much, but just have in the back of your head that I would prefer the video to be shot in 16:9 HD (High Definition) 720p to be exact - that is 1280 x 720. Now before you panic, I will also be taking standard def DV video which is either 720 x 480 or 720 x 576 pixels depending on where in the world you live. If you can shoot in Full HD 1080p that’s fine also, but I would like to avoid low res, grainy webcam video if possible. Perhaps you have a friend who has a camera you could borrow?
 
I’ll also post this up on my blog, so please visit my blog http://www.phillmason.com/ and leave your comments with your answers/ideas for the lyric of the century.
 
Thanks guys and I look forward to your ideas.
 
All the Best
Phill Mason
E:  30dc2009@phillmason.com

P.S If you have any additional questions I haven’t covered here, please leave them in the comments below and I will make a video that covers the most popular ones.
 
P.P.S You can also stay up to date by following me around here: http://twitter.com/PhillMason or http://www.facebook.com/PhillMason
 
P.P.P.S Nope, I got nothing!!

Hi guys, hopefully you’ve already seen the video about this years Thirty Day Challange Theme Song collaboration plan? If not, its sitting right here on this page for your viewing pleasure. I want to keep this really simple, so all you have to do to let me know you want to be involved in this years Them Song Video is, drop me an email with your name, email address and what you can bring to the video. Let me explain that in a little more detail.

If you can play an instrument like drums, guitar, keyboards sax etc, etc, then we will likely have musical parts for you to play and would love you to be one of the players on the video. If on the other hand you are more comfortable in the singing department, then its your vocals we want. Even if you can’t do either of those but would still love to be in this years 30DC video, then we will be offering parts of the video where people can mime to the vocal and submit their video clip for use in the master theme song.

When the song has been written, you will be notified about every part that is available to either play along with, sing along with or mime to. The more people involved with this years song, the more successful the track will become and as we are giving all proceeds from the downloaded track to Kiva, we want all the help we can get, so don’t be shy, get involved.

You have until the end of June 2009 to let me know if you’re in the mix or not. Get on the list and I’ll keep you updated. Thanks guys, this is going to be loads of fun - more soon.

This years Thirty Day Challenge is already set to be the biggest, most powerful, most intuitive and most fun, free internet training program on the planet. For those of you who don’t know what the Thirty Day Challenge is all about, I recommend you nip on over to the 30DC site and take a look at what it can do for you. Click here to go to the Thirty Day Challenge website.

It’s for anyone who wants to know how to setup an online business, let me rephrase that, it’s for anyone looking to setup a business period, whether its on or offline I personally don’t think it makes any difference. This is business training at its best and it covers everything from "basic business 101" right through to all the latest marketing techniques you’ll need in order to take your business to new heights. If you’ve never had a business before or simply want to improve your existing business, then the 30 Day Challenge would be a great place for you to begin sharpening your business skills. Taking full advantage of the best web 2.0 and social media tools available, Ed Dale and Dan Raine will guide you through each step of setting up and scaling a business exactly how they would do it for themselves. This is priceless folks! Following in the footsteps of those who have already been there and are already wearing the t-shirt, is the fastest way for you to learn the ropes and avoid the pitfalls. No one else on the planet is showing you these tactics.

How much I hear you ask for such a detailed and extremely well-planned video training course? Well….. Eerrr! Nothing, Zip, Nada, Diddley, Yup you read that right, nothing at all, not a penny. What’s the catch? There isn’t one, but don’t take my word for it, head over to the 30DC website, join and ask anyone who taken the challenge before, they’ll tell you exactly the same as me, Listen, Learn and Take Action. That is the key to your success, study hard but don’t forget to apply what you’ve learnt otherwise nothing happens at all. If you don’t like what the challenge has to offer - simply quit, that’s it, what has is cost you? Nothing.

I have personally made some great friends in the 30DC community and aside from the opportunity to network with like-minded and often brilliant people, this is you chance to become the expert, Guru, market leader in your niche. You owe it to your community and yourself to share your expertise, when you give you will receive. When you become an authority in your field, a plethora of opportunities begin to present themselves.

I look forward to seeing you in the forums and if I can help in anyway, just ask. In the video below, you can see Ed Dale on last nights broadcast talking about some new goodies for 2009, along with my plans for this years Thirty Day Challenge Theme Song - it could involve you! As you’ll see in the video intro (Thanks Karen Kramer) we are complete Man Candy - and game for a laugh!

Ever wished you had a few thousand or so extra radio station to browse through? No, me neither, but if you did get the urge, then VTech may well have a solution for you. The new VTech IS9181 Wi-Fi Internet Radio is capable of streaming 11,000 Internet radio stations.

A bit of spec on the VTech IS9181 for you spec addicts:

The $199 Wi-Fi 802.11b/g network player presents you with 11,000 Internet radio stations from around the world, or you can stick closer to home and tap into your own digitally stored collection on a PC or Mac to stream favorites or find hidden gems. The player features a pair of 3-watt speakers and 10-watt subwoofer in its compact casing, along with an aux in jack and RCA output. It’s compatible with Windows XP and Vista, or Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5, and it’ll playback MP3, WMA, AAC and Real Audio files from your hard drives.

Web radio stations can be accessed from VTech’s online site or the IS9181, and you can hook it into your stereo or powered speakers for greater audio coverage. Plus you can command it and browse the full-color display via the remote control. You could also add a player to your bedroom as it works as a digital alarm clock too, which can be set to an Internet radio or FM radio station (or buzzer), plus you can get your local weather and a five-day weather forecast to boot!

Can Youtube Become A Household TV Channel?

Youtube have launched their new ‘Movies & Shows’ section adding new full-length content from a selection of studios. Question is, can Youtube become a household content provider in our living rooms? With LCD and Plasma TV manufacturers introducing IP (Internet Protocol) connections to new generation TV’s as standard, delivering Internet media into our lounges looks to be a possibility. The choice of content is a little dated to say the least, if you’re partial to soaps like "The Young And The Restless" and top movies like - Errmmm you know - "The Mod Squad" Well-known somewhere I’m sure, then this new section will be right up your street.

Of course the quality needs to stream down at a decent resolution, but given that Youtube now offer an entry HD option, we should begin to see more full length media enter our home on devices other than computers. Sadly at time of writing, the new ‘Movies and Shows’ feature is not available in the UK.

As a Custom Installer of Home Automation & Multiroom Audio & Video equipment, I find the prospect of delivering online media into our domestic environment via an IP TV set pretty exciting. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing a "Browse Online Media" button on my new TV’s remote control - it’s on its way folks! All I need now is for BT to turn the wick up a little on my broadband. I know it’s the Fens, but it is the 21st century. Come on guys, more Internet speed please.