blog dot cameronbanga dot com

New Website

2009-03-13T15:22:00.002-05:00

If you're checking this blog post out, you've probably noticed that this is no longer "www.cameronbanga.com." I've decided to do a little bit of an update and you can now see that the site has become a bit more plain and basic. I really just wanted the homepage to do a better job of explaining who I am and what I do.

I'll still keep this blog here at blog.cameronbanga.com, so this site won't change much at all. It just won't be located at the same address as it used to be.

If you have comments or suggestions about the new look, send me an e-mail to Cameron@CameronBanga.com.
________
Follow me on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/cameronbanga

What's Up with Four48

2009-03-04T13:34:00.003-06:00

I've been receiving a bunch of IMs/Wall Posts/Tweets about when the next Four48 event will take place, so I figured it would make a bunch of sense to write a little post on the current status of the team and why you haven't seen any events as of late.

The lack of action on the Four48 front has nothing to do with a lack of desire among the team or should it indicate that we will never throw another event. It's just that any game marathon event takes up an unbelievable amount of time and resources which we don't have right now.

I really hate making it sound like we don't love doing Four48 events, because I think I can speak for anyone who has helped out with an event when I say that we enjoy it pretty much more than anything in the world. Who wouldn't like playing video games with friends for unbelievable amounts of hours while raising money for charity? It's tough when I get asked often as to when the next event is going to be and I don't have a solid answer because I feel as if it seems that I don't care.

I guess I just want to go into a bit of depth as to what is involved in a Four48 event which will hopefully give a bit of insight as to why these things are so hard to organize.

First, you need a bunch of people. Most importantly, two or three people need to be above average gamers to get through 48 hours worth of game play. While we usually play through the Zelda series, which isn't always an exceptionally difficult, real simple puzzles and bosses become extraordinarily tough after 20-30 hours without sleep. I usually spend my entire time during a marathon watching the computer and technically set up and interacting with viewers. Add a person to help keep people awake and make Taco Bell runs and you can see how you pretty much need a full staff on hand throughout the entirety of any game marathon.

Next, you need adequate space with reliable internet. We typically broadcast using only my Macbook and Justin.tv, which is pretty bare minimum. We would love to have better cameras, microphones, etc, but then you add a lot of cost and technically mess. In addition to my computer sucking as much bandwidth as possible through ethernet cable, we also tend to have two more laptops and maybe an iPod Touch or two surfing the web to keep up with Skype calls, viewer e-mail, blog responses, Digg comments, chatrooms, and the like. As you can only imagine, internet reliability is a must. We also need a location where people don't mind 5-10 somewhat loud college kids roaming around for two straight days. It works great when we're all at school together and can use dorm rooms, but not so much when we're outside Valpo. We had our last event at my house and my family was great about it, but to a point it gets tough to live your ordinary life of going to work and living around the house when you have a team of college kids running around trying to beat Zelda games without sleep. I thank my parents and brother for their tolerance, but don't feel like I should throw that kind of lifestyle upon them at home.

Which leads into the next big problem, the only time that most of us have to do this kind of event is when we're at home on break and spread hundreds or even thousands of miles apart from other Four48 team members. I know personally that my life is crazy right now, with most days lasting from 9am to 1am with class, homework, or work filling in all the time in between those hours. Add on an internship and homework on the weekends and it becomes increasingly difficult to find two days to set aside for a marathon. I know everyone else on the team is in a similar position, which makes it real hard to get the necessary team of 5-6 people to have a successful event. The crazy thing is, even if you find the time for one of these events, a majority of the work comes before and after you're ever on camera. We spend tons of hours working before a marathon to prep those who will be playing games, send e-mails to promote the event, answering e-mails after the event, and talking to media outlets in the case of our more successful events. To give you guys a bit of an idea, I spent at least a half hour conducting interviews with about 10 newspapers, radio stations, websites, podcasters, etc after our first marathon in 2007. It all just adds up to be an unmanageable amount of time.

So with that, I just wanted to give a bit of insight as to why you haven't seen a Four48 event in the last couple of months. We're not "broken up" or anything, but we don't have an immediate plans for the near future either. Fear not my friends, we will one day rise again like a phoenix and save the world from a lack of charitable gaming marathons. It just won't happen next weekend haha.

Special thanks to the couple dozen of you who have contacted me in the last month or so via IM, Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, or even in person to ask about Four48 and what's going on. We really appreciate your continued support more than we could ever let you know. It's crazy that we're a over a year removed from our initial marathon and people still seem to care about what we're up to. As an apology of sorts, I know that there are a couple of you who often contact me and don't get a response. It's not that I'm ever ignoring you or anything, it's just that I often get a significant amount of messages or IMs and don't get time to catch up. I'll try to get better at it, promise.

Hope this answers all the questions I've been getting. If I didn't get to your specific question, hit me up on Facebook or e-mail me at Cameron@CameronBanga.com.

-CB
________
Follow me on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/cameronbanga

Zach Braff Interview

2009-01-19T23:53:00.002-06:00

It's been a while, so I figured I would get a quick post in. Life's been flying by and I need time to catch up haha. Classes are picking up pretty hard and I added two internships this semester. One is working in with this newly started business in Valpo and the other is with Dawdle.com. Add those jobs onto the radio station and I'm a pretty busy boy.

Speaking of the radio station, I had the really neat opportunity of interviewing Zach Braff a couple weeks ago on the day of the season premiere of the new season of Scrubs. I didn't really know this before hand, but he is apparently a really big celebrity to most people. I had more people ask me questions about him and the interview than when I had a chance to interview Woz, which the inner nerd in me found utterly ridiculous.

Anyways, here is a link. I would love for you to leave a comment or send me an e-mail to Cameron@CameronBanga.com. I really want to know what you like/hate about the interview and how I can improve.
________
Follow me on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/cameronbanga

Twitter for Beginners

2009-01-02T23:55:00.006-06:00

I wanted to throw a quick guide together for those who are interested in using Twitter, since I have been getting some questions about it as of late. If you really know me, then you are most likely aware of the fact that I am a HUGE proponent of the service and I want every single person I know to use it.

So what is Twitter and why should you use it? If you're on Facebook (and I'll assume you are if you're even somewhat interested in checking out this guide), I want you to think about what the purpose of a Facebook status is. Do you change your status often? Do you ever find yourself checking out what your friends are up to? It can be addicting to know what your friends are up to at any given time, can't it?

Twitter works essentially the same way as your Facebook status, except it works a lot better with your cellphone (you use that a lot, don't you?). You can have your updates posted on your blog. You can even have your Twitter sync with your Facebook status, so that way your status will update when you tweet (a common word for a Twitter post, you'll catch onto the lingo quick enough).

Frankly, there are a lot of ways to use the service and it's hard to explain to someone who has never tried it out. Hopefully, this little beginner's guide will give you a small look into why Twitter can be so dang cool. Let's start by taking a look at the sign up process.

When you first visit Twitter.com, you'll find yourself at this landing page. After your initial account creation, you will enter your user name and password to log-in. If you don't have an account yet, you just need to click the big green "Join the conversation" button to begin.

The sign-up process is fairly simple and similar to other websites that you may have joined in your internet career. In Twitterland, it's fairly common to use your real name as a user name. When looking for things to avoid in a user name, remember that each tweet (the slang word for a Twitter post, you remember that, right? you're catching on already!) can only be 140 characters long and it is advantageous to keep your user name short (I should have thought about that when I chose CameronBanga, oh well, no going back now). You also may want to refrain from using underscores (they look like this _) because those tend to be hard to type in on cellphones and you want it to be as easy as possible for friends to get in contact with you.
Now that you have successfully signed up for a Twitter account, let's take a look at what you need to know about your home page. Mine may look a bit different than yours right now and that's alright. You can always tweak the colors and look of the page like I did, but the basic principles always remain the same. At the top left corner, you'll see a huge Twitter logo. Click on that at any time to return to this home page. Below that, you'll see a huge text box asking you "What are you doing?" With this box, you enter in tweets (I don't have to explain the word anymore, right? see, you're catching on super quick). Your tweets can be as basic or extravagant as you would like, that's the beauty of Twitter. The only rule is, your tweet can be no longer than 140 characters in length. You can tweet one hundred times a day, five times a day, about important events in your life, or about the lady in a funny hat next to you at the grocery store. It doesn't matter at all, but you do need to keep it under 140 characters in length. You may think that this limits your artistic freedom to express what you truly feel, but it really doesn't. Brevity is key and just may be Twitter's greatest strength. Below your tweet box, you will find the timeline of tweets for the people you follow (we'll talk about how to follow later). In Twitter, you follow your friends, family, or just people you find interesting. Imagine a person you follow to be similar to a Facebook or MySpace friend. This is just a big list of everything that they are tweeting in real time. Check this out and keep up with friends often, because that's the main point of Twitter. Taking a look at your friends' tweets would be like checking out your friends' Facebook statuses. Moving further along the tour of your home page, you will find a little menu bar on the top right of the page. Here you can view your profile, find new friends, or change your settings. Below that in the blue box on the right, you will see the number of people you are following/following you. You can also check out your @replies (what is that? we'll discuss later as well), direct messages (again, we'll talk after the tour), favorite tweets (you can favorite tweets that you find to be super hilarious or useful for easy findings later), as well as a tweet roll for everyone using the service in the world.

So we've taken the tour, you have a user name, but you don't have anyone to follow. Now you need to use Twitter's search tool or get a user name from a friend that you know on the service (as a general note, everyone's Twitter page can be found at twitter.com/username. for example, I can be found at twitter.com/cameronbanga). Once you get to the page of a friend or company you would like to follow, you'll be presented with a page that look's similar to this.
This is my soon to be friend, Darth Vader. You may have heard of him, since he was a big movie star long ago in a galaxy far, far away. The page looks similar to yours, except fo a big "Follow" button below the avatar. If you want to follow a person (and I really want to follow Darth Vader), then click that gray button and you'll be presented with this screen.
Now, everything Darth Vader tweets will be in the timeline on my home page. Everything is starting to make sense now, isn't it? The more people you follow, the more tweets in your timeline, the more fun Twitter becomes. Go find some friends and follow them on Twitter, but keep reading this guide after you're finished because I have some more important things to tell you about your favorite new web service.

Check out your settings menu (you can find that in the menu bar on the upper right portion of any page on Twitter) and set up your device for your mobile phone right now. Trust me. Twitter is an experience that you get the most out of once you immerse yourself in it. Click the Devices tab and set up your mobile phone (the site has instructions for you, they are real easy to follow and you should be able to set it up in now time by yourself). You can now send(just send a text message to Twitter's text number, 40404) and receive tweets through your cell phone (well, not exactly receive yet. there are a couple steps that we need to do first which I'll talk about in a minute). Remember that standard text messaging rates do apply, so be careful if you don't have unlimited texting. Twitter itself doesn't charge you a penny for this service, but you can go through a bunch of text messages real quick by receiving or sending tweets. Like I mentioned earlier, you do need to go through a couple more steps before receiving tweets on your cell phone. Let's go back to Darth Vader's page.
Remember this screen from when we followed him? If I want to receive Darth Vader's tweets to my mobile phone, I need to click the little bubble next to On below "Device updates." This may seem like a pain in the butt, but it makes sure that you only receive text message updates from people you really want to recieve them from. It may not seem like a big deal at first, but you will soon find yourself following a bunch of people and it may become somewhat overwelming to receive everyone's tweets to your cell. Are we done and will I receive Darth Vader's next tweet to my cellphone? Not quite. Let's go back to our home page.

Scroll down the page the little and below the pictures of everyone you are following, you'll see a couple more bubbles under "Device Updates." You need to make sure that the bubble next to phone is blue and filled in. Now, I will receive Darth Vader's (and any other people I set up for) tweets on my cell phone. I can reply to those from my mobile phone as well. Wait, what is a reply you ask? We'll let's talk about that right now.
When you hover over any tweet in your home page timeline, you will see a hollow star and arrow appear. The star allows you to favorite a tweet. By clicking on it, the color of the star will become yellow and you can find that tweet in your favorites page. By clicking on the arrow, you can @reply to a tweet.
@Replies are Twitter's way or specifically aiming a tweet at a specific person. Here, I let Aaron know that I enjoyed his suggestion. When he clicks on the @Replies tab on the right part of his home page, he can see every tweet that has ever been directed to him. You can use @replies to answer questions, as I just did. You can also use it to tell other Twitter users that you are hanging out or doing something with a specific person, as in this example, "Hanging out with @hcassin and @adamamin. Going to see a movie." As you can see, it's better to have a short user name so that when people @reply you, your user name doesn't take a whole bunch of characters out of the 140 character tweet limit. Twitter also allows for direct messages, which are private between you and the person you are direct messaging with.

So now you can maybe just start to see the benefits of signing up with Twitter. It's a great social networking tool and allows you to keep up with tons of friends through short tweets. You can learn a bunch more about people you know and work with while also having an amazing way to get in contact with them as well. So now that you know the basics, what else is there to learn about the service?

There are lots of great tools and services which help make the Twitter experience ever better. As a I mentioned before, Twitter is best when you fully immerse yourself in the experience. You need to use your phone, a desktop client, TwitPic, etc in order to gain the full benefit of Twitter. Let's take a look at some of the other Twitter tools that you can use.

TweetDeck is an Adobe Air application that gives you a fully functional client on your desktop. Here you can make tweets, see your timeline, see @replies, create groups, and follow popular trends without needing to hit your web browser. Once you start following a bunch of people, you will enjoy groups and easy viewing of @replies to keep up with all the tweets flying your way.

If you want to see what other people are saying around the Twitter universe, check out http://search.twitter.com. Here, you can enter in a key word and see what others are saying about any topic. It's a great way to keep up with popular topics in the news or to see what people are saying about the company you work for, your favorite sports team, the weather, or anything else.

On an iPhone or iPod Touch? Check out Twitterific or the many other Twitter apps available on Apple's Application Store. These apps allow for more functionality on the small screen.
TwitPic is a website that lets you easily post pictures in tweets. Just sign in using your Twitter user name, follow the instructions, and you can send images through e-mail or text message which will be posted by link as tweets from your Twitter account. It's a great way to break from the 140 character threshold, since a picture is worth a thousand words. And I'm pretty sure that if you had a thousand words, you would also have more than 140 characters.

There are tons of applications and websites which help you get more out of Twitter and you can definitely check those out and learn about them on your own as you use the service more and more. Hopefully this guide helped you take your first steps into one of my favorite web services and if you have any questions, feel free to send them to me at Cameron@CameronBanga.com.

Twenty GameCube Games That Wii Owners Can't Live Without

2008-12-24T14:13:00.004-06:00

With tomorrow being Christmas, it's safe to assume that a Nintendo Wii or two will wind up under someone's tree (the one million sold in the US last week have to go somewhere, don't they?)

With this huge influx of new Wii owners, there is guaranteed to be a rise in the number of people suffering from tell tale symptoms of "gamer in need of new sweet new games" disease. It's a horrible condition and I definitely want to do my part to help keep the outbreak at a minimum.

Now, I don't want anyone to take this article as an attack at the Wii's current game library. There are plenty of great Wii games to choose from and you can check out IGN, Joystiq, or 1UP for info on those games. I'm here to cater to a different crowd.

With Wii sales now totalling over 43 million units worldwide, Nintendo has more than doubled the total console sales of the GameCube. That's great and I'm glad to see Nintendo return to gaming prominence, but that still means that there are AT LEAST 21 million Wii owners who never got a chance to own the wonderful purple console with a handle. They missed out on tons of classics with hundreds of hours of great gameplay.

With the Wii being completely backwards compatable, owners who never had a GameCube also find themselves with an extensive library of titles available for cheap. If you're a new Wii owner on a budget, there is an unbelievable amount of triple A titles awaiting your purchase in the discount bin at your local GameStop. I'm here to help let you know which of those titles are worth your time and hard earned dinero.

I've compiled a list of what I feel to be the 20 best GameCube titles around. The list is definitely of the countdown variety, so go with the lower numbered titles first if possible. However, you really can't go wrong with any title on the list. I've also given a little description of the game and if you click the name of each title, you'll be linked to the corresponding GameRankings.com page for a more indepth review.

Disagree with my top 20? Did I miss out on a key title? Send me an e-mail to Cameron@CameronBanga.com or hit me up on Twitter at @CameronBanga.

Now without any further ado, here is the list of 20 GameCube games that Wii owners can't live without.

20. Pikmin 2 - A RTS done right on a console. Pikmin 2 is the same great gameplay from Pikmin with more depth and detail. Controlling the Pikmin is over half the fun in the game. Pikmin isn't for everyone though. Some might find the controls tricky and complicated if they aren't familiar with RTS games.

19. Mario Power Tennis - I had a hard time deciding on if I should add this game to the list. With Wii Sports bundled in with the Wii, gamers can play tennis to their hearts content. However, Power Tennis offers more depth and detail and will keep tennis fans busy for a long time.

18. Super Monkey Ball 2 - If you haven't played any Monkey Ball game before, you're missing out on one of Sega's greatest gaming gems. Anyone can enjoy this puzzle hit. The later stages will push even the most skilled gamers into an intense level of concentration. Everyone should own either Super Monkey Ball 1 or 2 for the GameCube.

17. Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II - This game has held a special place in my heart ever since I picked it up on the GameCube's launch night. The missions are varied and interesting enough to keep any gamer happy for hours.

16. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour - A great solid golf game. Much better than the golf game thrown together in Wii Sports. It doesn't feature motion control, but this game offers a fair amount of unlockable characters and courses. I do think that Mario Golf for the N64 is a better game. If your willing to wait, I would hold out and spend my money on the N64 version of this game whenever it is released for the Virtual Console.

15. Resident Evil (aka REmake) - The original Resident Evil won the hearts of many gamers when it was released for the PS1. I had never played the original, so this was perfect for me. Controls can be a little lackluster at times, however this is still a quality game.

14. Super Mario Sunshine - This game might have received more shit than any other game in the GameCube's lifespan. I guess that is what happens when you are technically a sequel to Super Mario 64. No, this game does not revolutionize gaming like Super Mario 64 did in 1996. That doesn't make it a bad platformer. I recommend that everyone checks out this game, just don't expect anything to be leaps and bounds over Super Mario 64.

13. F-Zero GX - It didn't sell too well and it wasn't well recieved by many. Plainly stated, this game was hard. Very hard. If you have the patience to practice and master this game, it could be one of the most rewarding things you have ever done in gaming. ONLY FOR RACING DIE HARDS.

12. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes - Poor sales of this game and Eternal Darkness lead to the end of Nintendo's friendship with Silicon Knights studio. Don't let sale numbers fool you, this game is of superb quality. This game is another quality rerelease on the 'Cube. Again, if you have played the original, you might want to take a pass. If you have never played this Kojima classic, be sure to pick it up and enjoy. It only takes about 15 hours to complete, but I guarantee that it will be the best hours of your life.

11. Animal Crossing - Many will argue with me about placing this game so high up on the list. Simply stated, this game created a new genre of sorts. It was often compared to the popular "Sims" games which doesn't quite do this title justice. You WERE an inhabitant of the world in which you created. Day and night passed and people changed. The DS version released a little over a year ago was a better game. The GameCube version just helped create and define a title which will carry great power on Nintendo systems for years to come. That alone deserves a top position.

10. Lost Kingdoms - One of two real sleeper titles I still have on my list. This game is amazing and I almost promise that you have never heard of it. The story and graphics might be typical but the gameplay isn't. This game focuses on collecting a team on monsters in a deck of cards. The concept it hard to explain in words, but the game is wonderful in action. Definitely worth the seven bucks or so you will find it for at your local GameStop.

9. Eternal Darkness - A game that defines the GameCube. It is amazing, yet it sold like shit. If Nintendo has a kiddy image, this game didn't help create it. The story and gameplay are better than any other horror game on the market. What made ED stand out was a certain gameplay element which I really won't go into detail in because it ruins the game. Want to know what that element is? Do yourself a favor and go purchase this game.

8. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - I just finished this game less than 24 hours ago. Never before has a game given me such mixed feelings. Part of me wants to praise this game as a great RPG that should be number 2 or 3 on this list. The other part of me placed this game at number 8. This game is slowly paced and involves several fetch quests. The battle system is great and I want to keep finding bigger and badder enemies and bosses. The game would rather send me on a fetch quest and that just pisses me off. This game does have depth on it's side. If you find every badge and shine, you will easily put 50-60 hours into the adventure.

7. Viewtiful Joe - An amazing franchise that saw it's rise and fall before the Wii was even released. The original VJ was a wonderfully fresh side scroller that made games feel like kids again. Capcom would overkill the franchise with too many sequels in too short a time span. That shouldn't stop you from picking up the first game. Just a friendly tip, go through the game first on child mode. Adult mode will kick your ass.

6. Metroid Prime - Considered by many to be the greatest Metroid game. I think 2D Samus is a little better, however this is still a great game. FTS fans and adventure fans will both find this game amazing as it wonderfully intertwines the two genres.

5. Tales of Symphonia - The RPG that PS2 owners wished they had. It made up for the lack of any meaningful Final Fantasy on the system. This game provided a hell of an adventure with a great story and even better gameplay. Battles never got old and the game offered tons of collectible items that could make fights even better. The game does have several fetch quests which do piss me off. They are however placed out evenly enough and sparsely enough that I never even cared.

4. Beyond Good and Evil - This game is easily the Cinderella of the list. Ubisoft delivered a gem which was released on all last-generation systems. It also sold poorly on all last-gen systems. This game was a hit on every level. Story, music, character design, level design, difficulty, and gameplay were all perfect. The game's one flaw is it's length. It is only about 13 hours or so long. I do give Ubisoft credit for keeping the game short instead of just adding in a big cup of boredom to extend the game's length. I bought this game for ten bucks about two years ago and it is still one of the best investments I have ever made.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - Another Nintendo game that received a ton of flak. Cell-shading or not, this game is a triple A title. Don't let the colorful appearance fool you, this game is beautiful. The game is polished and a welcome addition to the Zelda series. The game is unbelievably polished. Every moment is wonderful. Well, except for the Tri-Force shard hunting late in the game. Damn fetch quests.

2. Resident Evil 4 - The most amazing survival horror game of all-time. Easily one of the best games of the last generation. Personally, I still think the controls are a wee (wow a bad pun) bit wack. Don't let that make you think twice about this game. It is still an unbelievable experience. The best part about it is the price. You can find this game for around $15 or even in the Resident Evil 10th Anniversary Pack which includes RE 0, REmake, and RE4 for a great reasonable price.

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee - Every once in a game comes along that is damn near perfect. Melee is that game. No other game on the GameCube provides the hours of fun of this first generation GameCube game. I will go out on a limb and say this game could quite possibly change your life. The amount of depth in this game is enough to drive any perfectionist to insanity. Collecting trophies, unlocking characters and levels, and playing countless multi-player matches against your friends will continue to be fun even after as much as 100 hours of gameplay. If you have a Wii or a GameCube, go buy this game now. If you don't have the cash, sell the computer your reading this on and go buy this game. You'll make the right decision.

Well, that's it for my top 20 list of GameCube games. If your a new Wii owner who has never owned a Nintendo system, go pick yourself up a WaveBird controller and a few of those games. Any game on this list will be a great addition to any library. If I missed any games or if you want to argue with my order, be sure to leave a comment or e-mail me at Cameron@CameronBanga.com

Like this article? Digg it!
________
Follow me on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/cameronbanga

Things to Accomplish in 2009

2008-12-23T12:41:00.002-06:00

So, we're just over a week away from twenty-o-nine and it's crazy to think that another year and up and gone. 2008 may not have been as savage as 2007, but it was a great 366 days none the less. It's now time to prep for the new year and what would celebrate the occasion better than resolutions?

Here is a list of a couple things that I would like to work on in 2009. We'll see how many of these I actually stick with.

Eat healthier - Going to supplement fruit for crap foods more. No eating after 8:30pm if possible. I would also like to drink more water.
Find more time to read - Even if it's not books, I would like to keep up with RSS feeds, news sites, and Alltop.
Learn more about economics - I am really starting to enjoy the subject I decided to spend 4 years studying in college. I really want to grasp economics better this year.
Find a workout schedule that works again - I need to start running again or something. I got out of the habit just over a year ago and have been kicking myself ever since.
Start meditating regularly - I have done it a couple times and would love to get in the habit of doing it on a regular basis.
Schedule time better - I need to sit down and iCal my life to death. I need to be more productive and organized with my time.
Organize two great Four48 events - I would really love to see continued success with the philanthropic group we started about a year ago.
Be a better leader, friend, and person - Kinda self explanatory. I want to be a mensch.

I may come back to revise or add to this list later. Any suggestions? Comment me or send me an e-mail to Cameron@CameronBanga.com

Blogged with the Flock Browser

We Need Four48 Suggestions!

2008-12-20T14:12:00.000-06:00

So, it's been about 5 months since we last had a Four48 event. Back in July, we played through seven Zelda games in seventy hours while raising $2500 for Child's Play with the help of the Mario Marathon team. The Four48 team played through the four 3D Zelda games in 47 hours 28 minutes and was able to finally get past the Majora Mask hump and accomplish the goal we originally had last January.

It was an amazing two days as we took Skype calls from around the world, saw the making of McNugget McFlurries, and danced the night away to Rick Astley. Needless to say, we would love to do another event soon.

We're looking for ideas for our next event. While we still need to look at schedules and see what if a marathon is possible in the near future, we would love to see if anyone has a great way in which we can play games while raising money for charity.

For example, I had this crazy idea of playing Mario Kart outside while handcuffed to some sort of immovable object. It was hard to get other team members excited about the idea, but it was a thought haha. Anyways, we're looking for the most outlandish and crazy ideas for the next marathon and need your help. Have a suggestion? E-mail it to me at Cameron@CameronBanga.com, leave a comment, or get ahold of me through Facebook. We would love to make whatever we do next the most memorable Four48 event EVER.

Can't wait to hear from you.
<3 Cameron
________
Follow me on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/cameronbanga

The New Internet and How It Changes Organizational Management

2008-12-18T10:04:00.003-06:00

This last semester, I had a real interesting class on organizational behavior. While many of the fundamentals that we learned were fairly simple (I mean, who thinks that it is a great job to yell at employees?), it was amazing to see examples of just how bad management in this country can be.

For our final project in the class, we had to write a paper focused on a current trend in management and then look at research to see if the trend has been successful. Being a huge social media nerd, I wrote my paper on web 2.0 products like Twitter and their influence on the corporate world. Because the topic was similar to things I typically blog about, I have decided to post a copy of the paper here. Let me know what you think, I am curious as to if anyone agrees/disagrees with me.

As a little note: I had some footnotes and cited articles for the paper, but couldn't get those to translate over to this blog post very well. If you are really interested in the works I used, e-mail me at Cameron@CameronBanga.com and I'll send you a list.

Introduction
Over the last ten to fifteen years, the internet has become one of the most valuable tool used by a business. During this transition, several significant developments by companies like Google have helped drastically change the way that some companies go about managing collaboration, communication, and social interaction between employees. While these technologies are growing by the second and can be nearly impossible for the typical internet user to keep up with, it is necessary for managers to consider the following question; in what new ways could our company use new internet technologies and can these new services bring benefits to a company? Let's begin by taking a look at a new service which is revolutionizing internet communication.

Research

1. Communication and Twitter
Communication is one aspect of business that can never become obsolete with technology, but technology and the internet are bringing about drastic changes in how companies communicate internally as well as with customers. Using the internet for communication isn't a new idea, in fact it was the motivating factor behind the US Government's research and funding for projects which lead to the internet as we now know it back in the 1950s. E-mail and instant messaging have long been the methods of choice for businesses and households alike, with an estimated 60 billion e-mails sent worldwide per day.1 However, the future of internet communication may just lie in the lands of a growing web start-up called Twitter, a short form communication tool in which users "tweet" messages of a maximum 140 characters which are then passed on to other users within the network. Recently, the web company has seen it's fair share of press after rejecting several bids by social-media giant Facebook for an estimated 500 million dollars worth of stock options. Why would any company spend half of a billion dollars on a web start-up that didn't pull in a dollar of revenue last year? For one simple reason, Twitter has the potential to change the web like text messaging changed the way teens use cell phones. In fact, Twitter works a lot like text messaging by giving users a network of friends in which they can send tiny messages. Twitter allows users to send and receive updates in web browsers, through text messages, and by desktop based computer applications. If you use a computer or cell phone at all during the day, it is easy to stay connected through Twitter and keep tabs on what's going on in the lives of any number of people. A network of coworkers all using Twitter can send quick updates throughout the day, much like by e-mail, but with less clutter and the conversation history is available and searchable forever. For example, one person in the office could send a Twitter message stating, "the office copier isn't working, IT was called and are on their way" and would eliminate the need to fill e-mail boxes with a bit of somewhat useless information while also keeping coworkers up to date on an ongoing office problem. This is just one simple example but the same principle can be applied to situations in and out of the office as one can easily keep up with updates while out of town at meetings or at a conference. The service has also changed the way that many companies market or deal with customer support. Online retailer Amazon uses their Twitter account to alert followers of online deals while JetBlue airlines keeps a customer service representative in charge of their Twitter account twenty-four hours a day, giving customers the opportunity to send messages through Twitter to the company directly while at the airport if service, such as the use of a wheelchair, is needed. One company which has worked extensively to integrate Twitter into the workplace is online shoe retailer Zappos.com. The company opened it's doors in 1999 and in less than ten years has developed into a company which will sell over one billion dollars in shoes this fiscal year. Zappos encourages all employees to use a Twitter account, which CEO Tony Hsieh sees as an important relationship tool, "We feel Twitter allows us to develop a more personal connection with our customers and employees. We don't really view it as a marketing tool, it's more of a relationship-building tool. The telephone is the same way."2 Though the service does provide many unique opportunities internal communication as well as with building relationships with customers, Twitter has forced many of the companies which have embraced it to develop new codes of conduct and expectations for employees using the service. Many see Twitter as an fun and interesting way to communicate and exchange ideas, but it is important to remember that everything on the site is public and has repercussions. Somewhat jocular or unintentionally inappropriate statements on these sites have seen a magnifying glass as the corporate world learns more about how to interact with the internet world. One highly discussed and noteworthy situation of the internet meshing with the business world which has somewhat set precedent for the future of the corporate web occurred back in 2007 when a vice-president of the PR firm Edelman posted the following on his Twitter account, "PC Mag is another. I have a free sub but it goes in the trash." Soon after, PC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jim Louderback viewed the post and wrote a rather lengthy essay on the topic and gave a personal insight into his thought process on how to handle the public insult of the publication.3 While this story ended in a somewhat happy ending as both men settled their differences over the post and were able to reconcile any differences or misunderstandings, it is still looked at by many who follow this social media revolution as an important reminder that all things on the internet are said in a public manner and that any conversation or poorly thought out blog post could result in serious relationship and ultimately financial ramifications for a business if these tools are used without simple consideration as to how other people will react to any posted content.

Research and Conclusion on Twitter
While the jury may still be out on the overall effectiveness of Twitter as a communication device, important information can already be drawn from research on site growth. Like any communication service, it is quite clear that if the service is indeed effect, people will use it and migrate towards it. If it doesn't work and users don't find it effect, people will refrain from using the product and will move onto other alternatives. Twitter has seen strong growth with businesses and corporate users, with one recent brand survey finding that over 650 businesses, governments, musical artists, and writers frequently using the service.4 Another 2007 study conducted by several University of Maryland student researchers have found user growth rates for Twitter to remain constant with intermittent periods of exponential growth as new industries or potential user bases learn of the service.5 Even though Twitter is still young, research has shown that users are flocking to the communication service and that the program could drastically change how managers communicate with employees and companies with customers.

2. Office Software Suites
Another way in which the internet and Web 2.0 philosophies are mixing up established office principles is through digital document creation and collaboration. For years, Microsoft's Office suite has been the industry leader in developing word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software and if you've ever worked in an environment with a computer, you've used Word, Excel, or Powerpoint. It's long been accepted that if one is to work in an office environment, basic skills in these programs is essential and expected. Managers often have no need to train people on the basics, but problems do arise when collaboration must occur with documents. While Microsoft Office has become extremely prevalent in the work place, managers often find difficulties when employees have documents lost after computer failures or when difficulty arise in e-mailing documents. In an attempt to make office document work simpler, web giant Google has developed a worthwhile competitor in Google Docs. The suite is entirely web based with a word processor, spreadsheet editor, and presentation creator which work entirely through a web browser. The trio of office programs comes as part of the Google Apps team of online programs which are targeted at home consumers as well as businesses with features such as automatic document saving which occurs every sixty seconds, the ability to save the document to a computer in a multitude of file formats such as .word or .pdf, the ability for multiple users to collaborate on and edit the same document, and an extensive revision history which allows the user to go back in time and edit the document from a previous point before changes were made. The Google Docs suite also is beneficial to employees on the go or for those who often work out of both a brick-and-mortar and home offices with the software making all of a user's documents available from any internet capable computer on the planet by just logging into the Google Applications website. While this feature set rival's Microsoft's suite, it is also provided at no cost whereas Microsoft Office can run between $150 and $680 per user license which can be quite costly for even a small business with only several dozen employees. Price tends to be the primary reason why users are moving to the new Google backed suite, as Google offers their suite for free with the ability for businesses users to buy a premium user package which gives phone support, larger storage space, and several other features for only $50 per year per user.

Research and Conclusion on Google's Office Suite
Like Twitter, Google Docs has had little time to see research done on it's retention rates among business users or to develop user satisfaction reports. However, the current research statistics on user growth has shown that the suite has something going for it which managers are buying into. USA Today ran a report earlier this year finding that Google was able to bring on over half a million paid premium corporate and small business users to the service in it's first year with millions more using the free service. Not only are businesses moving from Microsoft's Office suite to Google, but they are doing so at an exponential rate with the service seeing over 20,000 new users per day. 6 While new software packages like Google Docs do not carry the Microsoft Office trademark which many corporations have come to trust, it seems quite clear that many managers are already looking to migrate to new services as ways to cut cost and become more efficient in the office place.

3. Corporate Blogging
A third way in which many managers are seeing change in the workplace is through a recent development called corporate blogging. Blogging in and of itself is much a recent web idea, gaining strong momentum in 1999 when programmer and popular online writer Peter Merholz gave the practice of keeping a web journal, or web log, the now household name of blog. The name stuck and the practice of keeping a blog grew exponentially with the launch of web service Blogger late in August 1999. It was estimated that only around 30 established blogs existed at the time of Blogger's launch, a number which exploded to over three million by the end of 2004.7 As individuals began to use this new form of internet media to document their lives and share opinions on any multitude of products, it was not initially apparent that blogging and the workplace would ever coincide. It wasn't until 2002 when blogger Heather Armstrong was fired from her job as a graphic designer due to blogging about her work experiences that managers were forced to rethink workplace policies and include corporate opinions upon employee kept blogs. For a couple years, blogging was seen as a leisure activity and much like a private journal. It wasn't until blog entrepreneurship companies like Weblogs Inc. were formed about a year after the Armstrong firing that corporations realized large amounts of people were reading these blogs and that they were being used as a marketable form of media much like a newspaper or magazine. With such large audiences flocking to this new form of media, corporations and their managers were forced to reassess how firms could integrate these blogs into a company and thus corporate blogging was formed. By forming new corporate blogs, managers have been forced into determining what kind of format the blog should follow and which employees inside the company are doing the blogging. No one formula has been the only key to success and many different companies have been able to gain large followings through this form of viral marketing. Large traditional companies like Boeing, General Motors, and Johnson & Johnson have found success in allowing upper management such as vice-presidents or CEOs discuss important company decisions or the corporate stance on topics such as changes in the economy through well thought out posts which real much like marketing literature. In contrast, Web and technology companies tend to have somewhat different company blogs with companies like instant messaging start-up Meebo, live-video broadcaster Justin.tv, and social news aggregation service Digg typically encourage team members like programmers or customer service representatives to develop context for the company blog which focuses around recently released products and company culture in an extremely personal and often playful manner. Many well established companies tend to see blogs a potential advertising and marketing venture much like a television ad or company literature whereas younger web companies see the blogs as a way for customers to feel connected to the company while giving sense give a greater transparency to the business. What may be most interesting when looking at blog search engine Technorati's list of top corporate blogs is the fact that neither type seems to see a great preference from readers and that many are interested in learning more about the companies who produce the goods and services which they purchase.8 Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh sees their multiple blogs as simply a way for the company to make consumers feel as if they are doing business with regular people while also emphasizing important aspects of their company culture, "[Blogs] for internal use, potential customers, existing customers, and potential employees. We don't really care too much about what gets posted as long as it's consistent with our brand and our core values."9 While these new corporate blogs can take on nearly any face and are mostly a tool which falls into the responsibilities of a marketing department, their use and integration is of the utmost importance to any manager. With proper management, these blogs can provide employees a way to become involved in the companies external image and promote a sense of personal importance in the overall picture of an organization. However with poor management, these blogs can often become a part of the company which leaves employees feeling bitter and left out if favoritism takes place.

Research and Conclusion on Corporate Blogging
Early research on the adoption of blogs in business has shown strong signs that this form of media will become commonplace in the workplace and an important issue for managers in the next several years. Corporate research firm Melcrum conducted a large study in 2007 to learn more about how blogs have worked themselves into the business world and the results gave strong evidence that social media is here to stay in the corporate world. 55% of respondents were using blogs or planning to start one in the next year, 63% used video-sharing sites like YouTube to advertise and inform customers or employees, and 43% stated that they were dedicated to using podcasts as a way to communicate with customers and employees. Not only are companies working toward improving their internet presence, but they are also looking to dedicate more company resources toward social media projects. Over half of those surveyed in the Melcrum study stated that they are looking to expand their social media budgets over the next year.10 While blogging may be an issue which belongs in the hands of a companies marketing department, the last several years of development in the medium have shown that it will be important for any manager in an organization to properly understand the purpose and goals as well as inner workings of a companies blog in order to help the organization grow while also ensuring that the blog becomes a positive internal teamwork tool as both large and small companies alike begin to add blogs as an expected part of an organizations online presence.

Conclusion
After looking at these different ideas and innovations which are drastically changing how businesses definite their online presence, the ramifications on managers is clear. While such technologies are still young and developing and thus it is often difficult to find current research or statistics on how users perceive the quality of these new internet solutions. However, early user numbers and growth rates found through several research projects have shown that businesses are flocking to these new internet tools at adoption rates and levels of exponential growth that tend to favor the idea that tools such as Twitter, Google Docs, and corporate blogs are not fads or trendy topics. Instead, we are seeing a philosophical shift in how managers must prepare their companies to deal with this evolving internet. These technologies or similar online services will soon become expected norms and not just the trendy or hip thing to do in business. Managers must make decisions and change how an organization interacts with customers and develop their internet identities. While this change may be seen with some discontent by veterans of conventional business and managerial techniques, I think the last several years have proven that the change is coming sooner than later and that those with the power to change a business must learn that it will very quickly become a situation where one must adapt or be threatened with extinction.

________
Follow me on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/cameronbanga

My Roommate's Top 20 Albums of 2008

2008-12-14T13:38:00.002-06:00

Cameron's Note: You would think that by being GM of a radio station, I would be fairly opinionated about music. It shouldn't be hard to compose my own "BEST OF 2008" album list, right? Not so fast on that assumption my friends, because I don't think I could ever know enough about music to actually judge it accurately. Even if I did compile my own list, it would only consist of bands like Fall Out Boy, Metro Station, and All Time Low. You know, bands that only pre-teen girls and Cameron Banga care about. Luckily, my roommate Chris knows quite a bit about music and is much better at putting together a top album list. I tend to agree with most of Chris's top 20 (although I do think Oracular Spectacular should be higher), so I asked if he would guest post the list on my blog. I hope you enjoy Chris's top 20 albums of 2008 and definitely suggest you check out these bands as well.

Chris Zaplatosch's Top 20 Albums of 2008
By Chris Zaplatosch

2008 was certainly an interesting year for music. Where 2007 was "all my favorite artists are releasing awesome new records," this year was all about new bands. Sure there' s plenty of returners, but the fact that 8 or 9 out of these 20 are debut albums certainly says something. Anyway, enough chatting, I'll just let the list speak for itself:

20. We Started Nothing
The Ting Tings

I’ll be honest: half of the songs on this London duet’s debut album “We Started Nothing” are great, and half are mediocre. The thing is that the half that are great are really good pop songs. And that’s really all I have to say about that.
Standout Tracks: Great DJ, That’s Not My Name, Shut Up and Let Me Go

19. Oracular Spectacular
MGMT

MGMT came out of nowhere this year and released one of the most popular albums of the internet world. And it’s a solid album. It’s probably the one on this list that I’ve spent the least time with, but I’m fairly confident it belongs here. The only question/concern I have with MGMT is if they can keep this up. They’ve got potential, and I’d like to see what they can do from here. But it’s a great first album from more young talent.
Standout Tracks: Time to Pretend, Kids, Electric Feel

18. We Brave Bee Stings and All
Thao Nguyen & The Get Down Stay Down

This record probably would have earned more praise this year if it weren’t for an already overwhelming amount of admiration for other bands. Thao’s second album finds her with a full sized backing band. And while it sounds like this concept is still somewhat new to her, she handles it well with a variety of compositions. And, she’s got a voice similar to Feist, and everyone loves Feist, right?
Standout Tracks: Bag of Hammers, Big Kid Table, Feet Asleep

17. Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes were one of the most hyped up bands of this year, with some good reason. They’re one of those “well, this is good, but I’m not sure it’s blowing my mind” kinds of things. I see it as a combination of something like Band of Horses with Bon Iver and some serious influence from Simon and Garfunkel. People wouldn’t stop calling this chamber music. I’m still not really sure why though. To me, its lo-fi folk rock that’s very good at what it tries to be. Its enjoyable, but doesn’t really scream “talent” or “fun” to me.
Standout Tracks: White Winter Hymnal, Ragged Wood, He Doesn’t Know Why

16. God is an Astronaut
God is an Astronaut

2008 wasn’t the best year for post-rock. There weren’t a ton of great releases, but towards the end, God is an Astronaut pulled through with their self-titled, fourth LP. For those that really can’t get into post-rock, one of the things I think is great about this album is its accessibility. Most of the complaints about post-rock genre is that it’s boring. With pretty heavy guitar driven songs, this album certainly isn’t very boring. Given that, it’s not quite as relaxing as most post-rock, but it certainly makes for some great music.
Standout Tracks: Echoes, Shadows, No Return

15. Narrow Stairs
Death Cab for Cutie

Oh Death Cab. Some love you. Others will hate you eternally because you “sold out” on Plans by signing to a major label. Me? I think Narrow Stairs is pretty good. This album is still pretty different from breakthroughs like Transatlanticism, and still probably sounds similar to Plans, but with a little more of their earlier album feel. As such, I feel like it should make many fans of Death Cab pretty pleased. I thought it was solid.
Standout Tracks: No Sunlight, Grapevine Fires, You Can Do Better Than Me

14. Voyager
Walter Meego

Hey, ever wonder what it might sound like if Daft Punk and Of Montreal collaborated? This is probably what that would sound like. It’s a surprisingly good release from a couple of recent graduates from the University of Illinois. And my goodness, when the song Keyhole breaks down, its literally as good as most things Daft Punk have done. Great debut album from a promising electronic group.
Standout Tracks: Forever, Keyhole, Girls

13. The Stand-Ins
Okkervil River

I wanted The Stand-Ins to be as good as The Stage Names. And while the two are companion albums (The Stand-Ins is what would have been the second disc of The Stages Names had it remained a double album), this one just isn’t quite as good. However, that in no way means it still isn’t a good album. It’s a little short, coming in at only 8 real tracks. But man, quality of those tracks is good. Lost Coastlines rivals Unless Its Kicks as an album anthem. Starry Stairs is literally a sequel to a song on last year’s album, which is quite crafty. This album still retains most of the qualities we all love about Okkervil River.
Standout Tracks: Calling and Not Calling My Ex, Lost Coastlines, Starry Stairs

12. Skeletal Lamping
Of Montreal

I get the feeling that maybe this should be a little higher on the list. Either way, it is what it is, regardless of if I’ll regret it 6 months from now. Of Montreal are back this year, and just as weird as ever. Shifting from the tensions of drugs and depression from last year’s album, this one seems to focus on more sexual themes. So the interesting lyrics are certainly there. Kevin Barnes’s vocals are as fascinating as ever as he reaches high notes that make many people feel uncomfortable. I’ve got a little bit of trouble with a few songs on the second half of the album being a little lackluster, but overall, its an impressive feat to follow up a great album with another very good album in a period of just one year.
Standout Tracks: For Our Elegant Caste, An Eluardian Instance, Gallery Piece

11. Trouble in Dreams
Destroyer

As far as I can tell (and I’m not incredibly familiar with Destroyer’s back catalogue), this sounds very similar to other Destroyer records, except that maybe it uses less midi elements. And I think that’s perfectly okay for him. Some songs are very laid back, easy going folk songs. Other’s add in a more rushed feeling using electric guitars. I’m not sure what else to say other than that this is another very solid record from Destroyer.
Standout Tracks: My Favourite Year, Dark Leaves from a Thread, Libby’s First Sunrise

10. Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
Noah and the Whale

Did you love the Juno soundtrack? Of course you did. Well, this folk rock London quintet should be right up your alley. They simply craft well written pop songs. Like, 5 Years Time might be one of the best pop songs of the year. For the most part, there’s nothing too extravagant about any of these songs. They’re simple, but good. They prove that sometimes a ukulele and handclaps are all you really need to have fun in a song.
Standout Tracks: 5 Years Time, Give a Little Love, Rocks and Daggers

9. Hold On Now, Youngster…
Los Campesinos!

First off, great job Los Campesinos! for releasing not one, but two full length albums in 2008. That being said, Hold on Now, Youngster… was by far the better of the two. It came hot off the heels of the Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP from last year, and was relentless with the indie pop, xylophone carried anthems. Death to Los Campesinos! might just be the best intro song on an album this year. It starts off the pace of the album at a furious pace, and while it does let up at times, there’s still an underlying theme of anxious youth throughout. You get the feeling that they’re thinking “we’re young, this probably won’t last long, so lets just give it our all,” and they play their hearts out.
Standout Tracks: Death to Los Campesinos!, You! Me! Dancing!, Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks

8. Starfucker
Starfucker

If you would have told me at the beginning of this year that a band named “Starfucker” would be in my top ten, I probably would have laughed at you. Sure enough though, here it is. Also, this is probably the album you’re most likely to read about and never have heard of before. Honestly though, check it out. Its electric pop music. Like, take Ratatat and combine it with Fujiya and Miyagi’s good music, maybe throw in a little low tempo Go! Team, and who knows what else. It really boggles my mind how awesome this record is. I’m a fan, and it hasn’t worn off. Go listen to it now. Seriously though dude, think about changing your name…
Standout Tracks: Myke Ptyson, Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second, German Love

7. Re-arrange Us
Mates of State

For some reason, lots people just did not get into this album. It’s a shame too, because it’s a perfectly good Mates of State record. It’s more of what we love from Mates of State: cutesy lyrics from a husband and wife duo who play drums and piano (respectively, of course). The difference here from past albums is that they’ve abandoned the shrill, obnoxious organ sound that made some of their earlier work a little harsh on the ears at times. The result is a nice, smooth, and accessible album.
Standout Tracks: My Only Offer, Jigsaw, Get Better

6. Visiter
Dodos

Yet another new band that broke out this year with a fantastic debut. Dodos pretty much is two dudes. Guitar and drums. Doesn’t sounds like a whole lot, but that’s where Dodos wants to prove you wrong. Instead of having the drums just keep a rhythm, they decide to do a lot more with them. Its refreshing. They took the alternative folk deal and did something different with it. Also, seeing them live is quite an experience. Their drummer sweats a ton during live shows because he’s so intense. Also, there’s something very pleasing in having found them at WVUR before Pitchfork got a hold of them.
Standout Tracks: Red and Purple, Fools, Winter

5. Feed the Animals
Girl Talk

Is it wrong to put an album that technically has no original material in my top 5? Maybe. But does Feed the Animals deserve the spot? You bet. Greg Gillis’s second album after ditching the noise/static gig has him really finding his style. The album still has over 300 samples from other musicians mashed together, but there’s still a big development from his previous album. Individual songs last longer together. Like, a minute long Jay-Z vs. Radiohead mash up. It’s the most fun album of the year. Short and simple, this album is a dance party (which, similarly, is what basically composes Girl Talk’s live show). Its fun to listen to multiple times over and over because each time, you find a song you hadn’t heard in there before. It only took one listen to hear “Come on Eileen,” but it took 15 to hear “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.
Standout Tracks: Set it Off, Here’s the Thing, Hands in the Air

4. með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Sigur Rós

When track one, Gobbledigook, starts the CD off, you pretty much say to yourself “Wait, is this really Sigur Rós?” The answer is yes. Fortunately the album isn’t all like that upbeat song, but it does show the band adventuring off into unfamiliar territory. For all extensive purposes, this is the first pop song from them. And it works out really well. Following that, there are two more short, upbeat songs. The album balances off towards the end with some more typical Sigur Rós songs: epic, long, and beautiful. The equilibrium works out well though. Sigur Rós wouldn’t be Sigur Rós without a few magnificent 9 minute long songs, but the shorter, practically pop songs are a refreshing change of pace for the band, and still retain their grandeur.
Standout Tracks: Gobbledigook, Vid Spilum Endalaust, Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur

3. Saturdays = Youth
M83

How can your band not be epic when you name yourself after an entire galaxy? Anthony Gonzalez, the main composer, doesn’t disappoint. Saturdays=Youth is one of those albums that you need to listen to many times to appreciate. It took me multiple listens to realize “Woah, their drummer is really, really good.” And between that, heavy electronic noise, layered vocals, guitars that often have so many effects on them you can’t even tell they’re guitars, it shapes up to be one deep album. It’s great to have an album that is great not just because it sounds fun or is catchy. Because it’s more than that. It’s actually very profound.
Standout Tracks: Graveyard Girl, Highway of Endless Dreams, We Own the Sky

2. Heretic Pride
The Mountain Goats

For the second year in a row, my #2 album is from an artist who’s been around for forever but I just discovered this year. This was the album that introduced me to The Mountain Goats. It combines the rushed, anxious vocals of Destroyer with the catchy literate folk rock of Okkervil River. The lyrics are clever and usually tell some kind of story, and the folky music makes me envision summer, even now in the beginning of winter. I don’t know how band leader John Darnielle does it, but for how simple this music is, it still manages to grab the #2 spot because of how brilliant it is.
Standout Tracks: Sax Rohmer #1, Tianchi Lake, How to Embrace a Swamp Creature

1. Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend

2008 was indisputably the year of Vampire Weekend. Their debut album took the quintet from Columbia University all the way to MTV in a very short amount of time. The thing is: they deserve it all. This album is flawless. It is a fantastic, straightforward indie-rock album. And one of the best things about it is its replay value. After having listened to it at least 30 times this year and having seen the band live twice, it just doesn’t get old.
Standout Tracks: A-Punk, M79, Oxford Comma

Blogged with the Flock Browser

What We Can Learn From Spaghetti Sauce

2008-12-13T21:12:00.002-06:00

So, I found a link to this video of a speech by Malcolm Gladwell on Kevin Rose's blog this afternoon.

While I know that 18 minutes is super long for a YouTube video, I definitely recommend that you check it out in its entirety. I was really able to take a lot out of the video, specifically with regards to perceived notions as to how one should treat the preferences or desires of others. We're all individuals and to run a successful business plan, you must cater to the individual and not society. Leave me a comment or e-mail (Cameron@CameronBanga.com) to let me know what you think of Gladwell's ideas, I am really curious to see what others think.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

I Need Your Opinion

2008-12-08T00:05:00.004-06:00

So, I have decided that it may make sense for me to get some personal business cards. I figure that since I am going to "enter the real world" here in the next year in a half, it would make sense to hand out a card with my contact information to potential employers.

I found this sweet site called Wordle today and I think I want to use a similar style of art for my business card.

Here is an idea of what I want it to look like. Colors will most likely change and I will add my phone number, but this is a good example.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions or opinions? I would love to hear them, so just send me an e-mail to Cameron@CameronBanga.com or leave a comment.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Broadband and the Economy

2008-12-06T15:05:00.004-06:00

I was checking out President-Elect Barack Obama's weekly address to the nation on YouTube this afternoon and several interesting points were brought up with regards to his plan to create jobs and push pass this recession.

It is real encouraging to see a direct emphasis placed upon increasing widespread use of broadband technologies here in the USA. We are considered by many to be the most industrialized nation in the world and it's crazy to think that we are trailing so many countries with regards to broadband speed and availability. As a tech nerd, it's reassuring to see a president who will be devoted toward fixing internet related issues.

I am also interested in learning more of Obama's plan to spend a considerable amount of resources on infrastructure and energy conservation. I see this idea much more preferable than the idea of rebate checks or tax breaks because it will help to place money back into the economy while also making significant improvements on building or road efficiency. To get out of this recession, we really need to start spending money as a nation and the best way to jump start that is to get the government spending. In any economy, money sees a multiplier effect and a dollar spent is not necesarily an exact dollar for dollar transaction. As money is saved in banking, a small percentage of it goes into reserves and the rest is typically lent out by banks to others for spending. For example, when banks are forced to keep 20% reserves, a $100 has a total lending power of around $450. Thus, it is important to have banks lending and have people willing to borrow money in order to reach reach maximun spending potential and have a thriving economy. As people spend and save, that money is passed along and through lending a single dollar can have the power of nearly five dollars. However, when people aren't spending or lending (as is typically the case during a recession), a dollar doesn't see that passed on benefit and we lose out on perceived wealth.

Obviously this recession is the result of many bad decisions over the last five to ten years and fixing the economy isn't as simple as going out and forcing banks to lend. In fact, we've been trying these methods and they haven't really been working. Many might remember that the government passed a tax refund last summer which gave each taxpayer up to $600. Why didn't this money see a significant multiplication effect and benefit the economy? Well, studies have shown that people didn't actually spend the money they were given. Instead, they used the money to pay off credit cards, car loans, or mortgages. That may be spending money, but it doesn't have much of a multiplier effect because it goes toward paying off debt and not toward making expendatures which benefit the economy as a whole. We don't see the multiplier effect either because the money nevers goes to banks, so it isn't allowed to be lent out and given a chance to multiply. It just goes into the pockets of credit or mortgage companies.

Essentially, the $700 billion dollar bailout of Wall Street was suppose to work because the government was giving large sums of money to lending firms under the pretense that these companies would in turn give the money to businesses for spending. Should work and give us that wonderful multiplier effect as these companies spend the money and it goes back into banks for further lending, right? Well, not so fast. Instead of making this bailout money available for lending, many of these banks have been holding onto the cash in anticipation of needing it over the next two years to pay their own expenses. Again, no lending or spending and no growth for the economy.

So back to the topic at hand, how will infrastructure and green technologies help the economy? I think we can all agree that higher aggregate spending is good for the economy, so now we just need to figure out which way is best to kickstart that spending. Rebate checks didn't work and it doesn't seem that the bailout of Wall Street has done much either. One way or another, it's going to take more money from the government and lots of it. So, bascially what Barack Obama and his administration is suggesting is that we take the addition money that we need to spend and instead of giving another bailout or rebate check, we spend the money on improving our infrastructure and energy efficiency. The federal government will take proposals on how to best spend money on the improvement of roads or building efficiency and then give that money to those with the best proposals.

How does this help get us out of the recession? Well, states will receive this money and then contract out local construction firms to build roads, engineers to develop new bridges, heating specialists to make buildings more energy effiecient, etc. The money directly goes into the hands of American workers while also providing a lot of new jobs to help bring down our growing unemployment rate. Workers then receive paychecks for their work and spend it at local businesses who then save the money in banks. Hopefully then we will see our multiplier effect and a greater perceived level of wealth as well.

So what if this plan doesn't work and we don't see such an effect, like with the bailout or rebate checks? Here is the additional benefit this plan, we still get new roads, bridges, better buildings, and additional jobs for American workers. The saved money each year on road repair or energy bills will help pay for the costs of these projects alone in the long run.

It's basically the "New New Deal" and a similar plan to that which Franklin D. Roosevelt proprosed which helped the nation recover during the Great Depression. While Obama may have history on his side, we can only hope that this plan has similar positive effects on our current economic situation and brings us out of this steepening recession.

(EDIT: Quick note, just wanted to stress that I'm not looking at this as a "definite fix" to get us out of our current economic situation, but instead as a quick commentary on how Obama's plans in the video could benefit our current situation. Obviously, the problem is much larger and deeper than this and many other factors which go into fixing an economy.)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Top 10 People College Twitter Users Should Follow

2008-11-29T16:50:00.002-06:00

So, I saw this post earlier today on TwiTip and it's follow up post which can be found here on the topic of top Twitter users to follow, specifically if you fit into a certain niche.

As a college student and frequent Twitter user who is really into technology, I could definitely put together a list of Twitter users I find useful to follow. This top 10 isn't sorted in a specific order, but instead as ten solid users anyone who is into tech and of college age should follow.

@zappos - Zappos may have the best service of any company in the nation and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh gives great commentary on how he does it through his Twitter account.
@cnn - Definitely worth having for mobile updates. It's hip to stay informed and CNN's Twitter will keep you up to date with all important news headlines.
@pleasedressme - PleaseDress.me may change how we buy clothes in the future. Definitely worth keeping up with the future of online sales.
@mashable - Mashable has all the greatest stories on web start-ups and is definitely worth keeping up with if you want to be on top of all the latest web trends.
@problogger - Darren at ProBlogger writes the best content for anyone who keeps a blog. If you want to be successful at blogging (or the internet in general), you need to read his posts.
@cobracommander - With recent tweets like "Used Bluetooth headset during conference call today. Was informed later that it was clearly evident I was sitting on a toilet during meeting", CobraCommander delivers great comic relief between serious tweets.
@tinybuddha - Nothing makes my day more than getting a tinybuddha tweet on my cellphone. Great quotes which can really apply to everyday life. I only wish the account would tweet a little more often.
@kevinrose - Kevin Rose is what every guy like me (nerd into blogging and web stuff) wants to be.
@peterrojas - Peter has been the man behind Engadget, Joystiq, RCRD LBL, Gizmodo and more. This guy knows his stuff and is definitely worth a follow.
@nikolez - Every nerdy guy needs to know a nerdy girl who makes us feel a little more comfortable about our livestyles and to give us hope that we may one day have a chance with a female. NikoleZ is cute, hip, and can give us hope that we may one day find a girl who enjoys our ability to hum the Tetris theme.
@cameronbanga - I know this is number 11 but I had to include myself in my list. I'm cool, right? I really don't know how to classify my posts but I do know that my posts contain no MSG or preservatives.

Did I forget anyone? Let me know by sending me an e-mail to Cameron@CameronBanga.com.

-CB

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Productivity: Level 1.

2008-11-29T15:25:00.001-06:00

I'm currently sitting at what is quickly becoming one of my favorite coffee shops (Spill the Beans in Merrillville, IN) and just can't find any motivation at all. I've had this problem all Thanksgiving break and I really don't know what is wrong with me. Hopefully a quick blogpost will get me in the mood to write an economics paper.

Here are a couple links which will hopefully spark your interest.

Been listening to The Escape Frame's self-titled LP. We have The Hideout spinning at the station and it's the best track, so take a listen.

A couple of my friends signed up for Twitter, so show them some love. Check out @hcassin, @nathanbanga, @irbylgerbil, @jeff_vu, and @peglegmeg.

Been checking out a bunch of cool blogs lately and you should definitely take a look into them as well. Zappos's Life Coach blog, Treehugger, and Matt Green's blog are all real great reads.

Alright, now that this is out of my system I can only hope that my paper on trade agreements and their impact on the Austrailan economy writes itself.

-CB

Blogged with the Flock Browser

New Look, Hopefully More Posts?

2008-11-28T21:38:00.004-06:00

Hey everyone,

I have been sitting around at WVUR for a basketball broadcast and figured, what better time to do some updates to my website?

The format and overall look hasn't changed a whole bunch, but there are some changes of note. In the navigation menu to your right, you should now find my résumé. I've kept my recent tweets available for viewing and I would love for you to follow me if you use the service. I've also added a list of blogs I follow and the ability to follow this blog with your RSS reader. As another small addition, I added this widget which lists gives the name of people who enjoy my blog and follow it. I would love to see the names of everyone reading this content I spend time on, so I hope you all check that out and say you follow my blog so that I can check out your blogs or websites as well.

I hope that not all the changes to this blog are cosmetic. I began using Flock as a web browser today and I hope that leads to a couple more posts here and there. The browser makes it real easy to post entries, add pictures, link to cool stories, etc, so I hope to make use of the features and keep entries a little more frequent.

I know, I'm as shocked as you are. As always, send your comments or suggestions to Cameron@CameronBanga.com and I'll be sure to check them out and try to message you back. Definitely let me know what you think about the changes.

-CB

Blogged with the Flock Browser

With Much Regret.

2008-11-21T16:35:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone,

I know it's been a while since the last post and I wish I could bring better news, but I must inform everyone of a few things which may disappoint.

I know several of you were looking forward to a Four48 marathon this Sunday and I'm going to have to let you all down and let you know that we won't be having an event as planned.

It's not that we didn't try, it's just that a bunch of factors (both technical and timing) didn't work in our favor. Frankly, we wouldn't have enough Four48ers and there were some computer problems we would have to overcome and I just don't feel like we could have provided an interesting or entertaining marathon. It wouldn't be up to Four48 quality standards (as low as those standards may be haha) and the team wasn't cool with that.

Sorry to disappoint anyone who was really looking forward to it, because I was really looking forward to it myself. I really enjoy these things and would have loved to do a 10 year celebration of Ocarina of Time.

As for when the team will be back next, it's a little early to speculate. I would bet that if anything was to occur, it would maybe be in early January, but that would just be speculation.

Questions, comments? E-mail me at Cameron@CameronBanga.com.
________
Bored? Listen to my podcast series.
Take a listen to great interviews with Steve Wozniak and more.
Subscribe on iTunes.

Less Than a Week!

2008-10-30T01:17:00.002-05:00

While I am still rather young, I have never found myself interested in politics before this Presidential election. I guess because I have never had to provide for myself or been forced to think about taxes, health care, education, or other issues that seem to take a fair amount of the focus in any election cycle.

However, Barack Obama has made me think a little differently I guess. While I know many disagree with my points of view, I see Obama as the one person who could bring the change that this country desperately needs.

While I can assume that you have heard of it by now, Senator Obama purchached air time tonight on 7 different television networks to give his closing arguments to the American public. If you didn't check it out, I definitely suggest that you spend a couple minutes taking a watch.

I definitely don't feel like I have the persuasion ability to convince anyone else to think or feel the ways I do, that's not my purpose in this post. If I can do anything though, I do hope that I can encourage you to at least take some time out of your day next Tuesday to vote. Many have fought to give us that future, so use your vote and help make the nation a better place for future generations.

________
Bored? Listen to my podcast series.
Take a listen to great interviews with Steve Wozniak and more.
Subscribe on iTunes.

Who I Am Hates Who I've Been

2008-10-01T14:04:00.003-05:00

So, it's been just over a month since my last blog post (thanks Adam for the friendly reminder). I know that this extended length of time without a single blurb about my life makes me a horrible blogger and I may just be content with that. The last 45 days or so have been blur for me and a great one at that, full of memories I'm not sure I will ever have again in my life and I am super appreciative for that.

To prove that I haven't spent the entire last month eating Twinkies and popping collars (and to provide actual content to this post), I'm going to link over to a couple of other cool things I have been up to.

The biggest event of the last month has been a Relient K concert which the radio station I work for threw on September 27th. Helping put together a free show for nearly 1000 students was unbelievable. I got to meet a lot of cool people and see the smiles on many entertained concert-goers. We got a lot of great pictures taken at the event and I hope to post some here soon.

For those of you who know me personally or have followed the site, you may know that I love to conduct interviews. I have gotten some sweet interviews recently through work at the radio station, here are some of my favorites.

Matt Thiessen, lead singer of Relient K

Genevieve Shatz, lead singer of Company of Thieves

Evan Sears, lead singer of The Sapiens

Prof. Jennifer Hora, Valpo professor who worked recently on a pop culture book

I am also working weekly on a morning show for my station, WVUR, where we conduct interviews and piece together segments to entertain students and faculty on their drive to class or wake up. One of our more popular pieces is this psuedo-soap opera called "Pushing It Back." Take a listen to the first 3 short episodes and let me know what you think.

Pushing It Back - Episode 1

Pushing It Back - Episode 2

Pushing It Back - Episode 3

As the academic year progresses, more and more of my time will be going to the radio station and class work. I will try to be a little more regular on the blog however and keep posting links to what I am working on. I should have some sweet interviews lined up here for the morning show soon, with 3OH!3 doing a little over the phone interview with me next week. If anyone has a suggestion for a possible interview, send me an e-mail. Heck, if you read this at all, send me an e-mail and let me know what you think of my work. I love reading feedback. You can send all electronic transmissions to Cameron@CameronBanga.com.

________

Bored? Listen to my podcast series.

Take a listen to great interviews with Steve Wozniak and more.

Subscribe on iTunes.

A Week with Twitter (Day 7)

2008-08-20T20:46:00.003-05:00

So it's been a week with Twitter and I think I am finally ready to give a final verdict. While a week may not be that long and it is difficult to give a rating or a ultimate decision to the service, I do feel like I got enough time to form a fairly solid opinion.

There are several things I really like about the service. First, I really enjoy the way that the service connects to both my cell phone and Facebook with ease. I always loved the Facebook status feature, but I always felt it was underused or not really cared about by users. If you're on Twitter, then you are obviously a big fan of this micro-blogging concept. The fact that I also have all my Twitter updates sync up with my Facebook status just makes the whole service more worthwhile. I also like the simplicity of just sending a text message to Twitter's 5 digit SMS number. I can also send replies to specific users through text just by placing @ infront of the users name in the message. It is easy and doesn't cost a thing over what your text messages usually cost.

When it comes to the downfalls of the service, reliability has been the big one for Twitter in the past and I have seen several small problems over the last week. While rare, I have seen several error messages citing that the service is overloaded and to try again later. I also feel as if Twitter could be better integrated into even more websites. I wish I could enter my Facebook information and see which friends have Twitter accounts. I wish the RSS feeds worked with my Google reader account. I wish I could receive and sent tweets through AIM. The service still has a ton of possibilities which need to be explored in order to bring in the traffic of other social networks.

Do I recommend Twitter? Well, that depends on who you are. If you have unlimited text messaging and are active on services like Facebook or Pownce. Personally, I don't see Twitter as much of a service on it's own and if you've been on the internet for a while, you most likely are already well involved in a social network. However, if you look at Twitter as a tool to enrich your experiences on Facebook, Pownce, etc, then it is definitely a great experience and well worth your time.

Overall, I give Twitter a 4 out of 5.

Have any questions, comments, or do you feel I am dead wrong about Twitter? Feel free to leave a comment.
________
Bored? Listen to my podcast series.
Take a listen to great interviews with Steve Wozniak and more.
Subscribe on iTunes.

A Week with Twitter (Day 4)

2008-08-17T21:22:00.002-05:00

So, it's been a couple days since I kicked off my week with Twitter. I figure that now would be a good time to talk a little about the pros and cons of the micro-blogging site.

The Positives
It's real easy to use - Twitter is simple to set up and the developers make it real simple to integrate Twitter into a cell phone, iPhone, Firefox, desktop, Facebook, Pownce, etc. Not only is it easy, but the service becomes better when you use it more.

Great way to meet new people - In my couple days, I have already found several people to twit with who I didn't know before my experience with Twitter. I find myself interested in their daily activity and their funny tweets. Not only that, but I find myself responding to them quite often as well.

You can use it as much, or little as you like - The service is flexible. Are you a post machine? Go ahead. Don't like committing yourself too much? No biggie either.

It's a great way to stay connected - I follow Barack Obama, ProBlogger, and Mashable on the site. It is great to see small blurbs about what some of my favorite people anywhere.

The Negatives
Finding friends - I really wish it integrated with Facebook somehow so that I could find all my FB friends who are using the service. It really isn't that simple to find friends through the service and I feel like I am missing out on tweets from close friends.

Spammers - While this isn't a big problem right now, I see it as being an issue in the future. I have had a couple accounts begin following me which appear to be spam. I also see posts from more popular Twitters often complaining about spam. We'll see how Twitter responds to this problem as it becomes more popular in the future.

Better template options - It took me some time, but I finally think I have a sweet page template. However, I wish that the site had some more documention or tips on making a great looking page. I have had to get most of my information through Google, most of which has been contradicting at times.

We'll see what else comes up with the service in the next few days. Expect a final review here soon.
________
Bored? Listen to my podcast series.
Take a listen to great interviews with Steve Wozniak and more.
Subscribe on iTunes.

A Week with Twitter (Day 1)

2008-08-14T16:29:00.004-05:00

I tend to have a little problem with trying out new web start-ups. I just really find enjoyment in checking out new sites that try to offer a new service. While I like to try out lots of new sites, I tend to only stay loyal to the big ones like Facebook, meebo, and Digg.

In the last week, I have wanted to start a new blog post series while also jumping feet first into Twitter. I figured why not write about my time with the service as I try it out and thus what hopes to be a new blog post series is born. In this "A Week with..." series, I will focus on a different start-up for a week while trying to get three posts in during the week period. The first will typically be day one or so, where I give an inital impression of the service. The second post will be at day 3 or 4 where I give a half-way update and focus on the pros and cons of my time with the service so far. The last post will be a short review and retrospect on my time with the start-up.

So without any further ado, let's jump into my first look at Twitter.

For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a micro-blogging/social network where users post short "tweets" with what they are doing or thinking. I have had a couple friends ask me about the service over the last couple of days and the best way I have found to describe the service is as what would happen if Facebook statuses had a baby with text messages and that love child was as addictive as all hell.

In my early experiences, I have found Twitter to not be a killer app within itself. If you were to use Twitter on it's own, you would notice little difference between the service and Facebook's status feature. You may be asking yourself then, "Why would I use Twitter if all my friends have Facebook and I can just use that?" Twitter has found itself success because it takes the status concept and puts it on steroids.
Twitter gives you a multitude of ways to update your Twitter while also integrating it into other sites as well. It's really a power app for people who want to stay connected. The more and more I explain the concept, I find it more difficult to explain it's utility. Let's just use myself as an example and make this a case study.

I am a tech-connected guy with a fairly large circle of friends. I am a text message fiend and love keeping updated with people. Facebook is my primary means of staying connected with friends from college, high school, and the large number of really cool people I have met through Four48 and other internet projects. I use it as my primary source of personal information and social network for people who want to get connected to me. I tend to hate AIM because it is a hard platform to use on the go and when you don't have a lot of time, because it tends to lead into long conversations which I usually don't have time for during the day. Wall posts on Facebook are awesome because it gives me a chance to send short blurbs to keep in close contact with friends on what time we are going to the gym or where we are going to dinner, because all I have to do is post it and they can get back and reply whenever possible. I feel as if a majority of my college friends fit into a similar mindset.

Twitter lets me update my status to others while also letting me check in on the status of others easily, while also integrating itself into many other social apps which are important to me as well. Simply, it lets you connect with a broader range of friends quickly and more simply then what I have found to previously be possible.

Twitter easily sets up with my cell phone through text messaging. All I do is sent a quick text to the number 40404 and my status is updated instantaneously. I can also choose which of my Twitter friends I want to receive mobile updates on. Whenever Megan Lee or darwinblues updates their Twitter, it is sent to my phone. Whenever some of my favorite people in tech like Kevin Rose updates his twitter, I could find out about it on my phone. Websites have Twitter accounts. Presidential candidates have Twitter accounts. If you want updates on it, you can get it easily whenever and wherever.

Twitter also integrates well with devices like the iPhone or iPod Touch through applications like Twitterific. I have installed it on my Touch and have enjoyed what I use so far. The interface is simple and it gives me lots of information on people in my network at my fingertips. I use my Touch all the time at school or when away from the computer and this is just another great way to stay connected with friends.

However, what I have found to maybe be the biggest feature thus far is Twitter's integration with Facebook through it's Facebook app. Whenever I update my Twitter, my status is simultaneously updated on Facebook to match. Now I can easily update my friends on Twitter and Facebook at the same time. If you are the kind of guy who wants to stay as connected as I do, this should be pretty much on the same level as manna from heaven.

So far, this looks to be like a service I plan on keeping up with in the upcoming months. It's flexibility is key and I can't wait to learn more about it. I'll be back in a couple days to give my second part in this series as well as some pros and cons of Twitter as I see them.

What do you think about this service? Are you a huge twitter user? If so, please feel free to follow me at www.twitter.com/CameronBanga. Have another web start-up that you feel like I should check out in a future installment? Send me a quick e-mail about it at Cameron@CameronBanga.com.
________
Bored? Listen to my podcast series.
Take a listen to great interviews with Steve Wozniak and more.
Subscribe on iTunes.

Only Cameron Banga...

2008-08-07T19:35:00.003-05:00

Took this last week at the Apple Store on Michigan Ave in Chicago. I'm sure you can only imagine the looks on the faces of the 6 or so people who congregated behind Dillon as he took this shot. I'm not sure if they thought I was a real celebrity or just some big douchebag. They would have been correct if they thought the latter.
________
Bored? Listen to my podcast series.
Take a listen to great interviews with Steve Wozniak and more.
Subscribe on iTunes.

Postcards Sent!

2008-08-07T19:05:00.005-05:00

If you donated over $10 to our Zelda marathon for Child's Play last weekend, then you qualified to receive a "Thank You" postcard from our team. I sent out some e-mails and quite a few of you responded asking to receive your card.

I got 38 of them addressed and sent today, for those who have already sent me their address. On my table, they looked like this.

I hope that those of you are receiving one enjoy it. If possible, take a picture of yourself with it when it arrives through the mail and I will be sure to post your picture on the site somewhere.

________
Enjoy free content like the posts found on this site?
Consider donating to keep the content free.

McNugget McFlurry

2008-08-04T15:44:00.002-05:00

Thanks again to all of those who tuned into our 70 hour Zelda marathon last weekend. Myself and the rest of our team really appreciate your support in help in raising over $2000 for Child's Play.

To thank you all, I invite you to enjoy your own McNugget McFlurry.

All Seven Console Zelda Games in 70 Hours

2008-07-31T11:34:00.056-05:00

Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls, gamers of all ages, welcome to one of the greatest gaming spectacles of all time! Well, that may just be a slight exaggeration. However, we do promise to provide hours of Zelda entertainment this weekend. Just how many hours you might ask? 70 to be exact. With the help of the Mario Marathon team, myself and the Four48 hoodlums will be completing every single console Zelda game by 5PM CST Sunday, August 3rd. It should be a great time and you can catch all the fun right here. This entire weekend is to help raise money for Penny Arcade's Childs Play charity, so if you have the ability to donate, please consider doing so through PayPal by using ChipIn widgets below and to the right. We also will be live-blogging the entire event here and holding some other cool interviews/entertainment throughout the event, so be sure to check a little futher down the page for a schedule. We will also be reading e-mails throughout the event, so send us some love at Cameron@CameronBanga.com.

Four48 Team - Zelda Oot - TP (Friday at 5PM CST - Sunday at 5PM CST)

Watch live video from CB_TV on Justin.tv

Donate!

FAN ART!

As a little bonus and incentive to donate, myself and the Four48 team will send a personalized postcard to the first 100 people to donate over $10. If we get over 100 people to donate $10, we will then give a postcard to the next 100 people to donate over $20. The entire card will be custom made by a team member during the marathon and then sent out.

Schedule of Events - More to be Added Later
Friday
5:00 PM CST - Interview with Brian Brinegar of Mario Marathon Team
Saturday
2:00 PM CST - Interview with Kristin Lindsay - Childs Play Project Manager
Around 9PM CST - Interview with CheapyD of CheapAssGamer
Sometime in the evening - Interview with Kevin Cassidy of GoNintendo
Sunday
Afternoon - Interview with Peter Rojas, founder of Engadget & Joystiq

Liveblog

Thursday, July 31st, 2008
11:30 am - Well, here we are, less than 8 hours or so from kickoff right now. I can't even begin to describe my level of excitement for what is going to take place here this weekend. I really hope that we can reach our goal and raise $2000 for Child's Play. Check out here throughout the weekend for live blog updates. I'll be in Chicago tonight at the Michigan Ave. Apple Store around kickoff time at 7pm CST, but maybe I can make an update from there to coincided with kickoff.

6:45 pm - In line at the Apple Store. Kick off is in fifteen minutes. Best of luck MarioMarathon team!

11:11 pm - Back home from Chicago and watching the Mario Marathon guys. We're at about $500 so far, which is UNBELIEVABLE. Dillon and I are chilling and waiting pretty much to just kickoff tomorrow. Amazing marathon so far. Digg us here.

Friday, August 1st, 2008
12:58 am - Heading to bed, I'll be back in the morning. Nearly $600 donated! Amazing guys, can't wait for our team to kick off our half tomorrow!

10:19 am - Up and getting ready for the marathon. Dillon and I may be riding solo until the rest of the crew gets here later tonight, so we will be reading e-mails and taking Skype calls. E-mail me at Cameron@CameronBanga.com. Skype me at CBanga and if Dillon or I will answer your call. We may get a rush of calls and won't be taking calls the entire 48 hours for sure, but we will do our best to get as many people on as possible!

2:55 pm - We're going to keep on taking Skype calls so give us a ring, user name is CBanga. Over $1400 donated so far, which is absolutely unbelievable. Can't wait to get to Majora or Wind Waker.

7:39 pm - Going well and getting done with OoT. Still 45 hours to go.

8:54 pm - Just beat OoT! Chris is off to start Majora's Mask. We're on pace, but hopefully this game doesn't screw us up like last time.

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
2:10 pm - Slacking on the live blog due to some sleep deprivation. On WW and more importantly, on pace to beat the games by tomorrow at 5pm.

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

1:13 pm - We did it! About 2 hours ago we finished Twilight Princess! We're in recovery mode right now, but are going to stay on air until 5PM. Dean is playing Master Quest so be sure to visit the site and give him a hard time.

Survey! - Did you check out the marathon for any length of time? If so, we would love for you to fill out this quick little survey. Send all your answers to Cameron@CameronBanga.com

1. How long did you watch the marathon?
2. Where did you find out about the marathon from? (Digg, GoNintendo, Zelda Universe?
3. If you don't mind answering, did you donate?
4. What were your favorite parts of the marathon?
5. If this was done again, what would you like see done different?

Links to us
http://mikeroth.tumblr.com/
www.gonintendo.com
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/zelda-news/mariomarathon-and-448-begin-zelda-marathon/
http://www.zentendo.com/news.php?newsId=1376
http://www.infendo.com/zelda/the-zelda-marathon-begins/