Sorry for the background fuzz, I used an external microphone instead of the built in focus mic or lav mic and it seems to have picked up NYC traffic from several stories above. note: I filmed this myself with a Panasonic HD camcorder.

 "There are people who are so professional that they can work on something they don’t care about, and I always feel somewhat unprofessional because I can’t do that."

 I’d never think to call someone professional who does a job they don’t care about, I’d call them delusional or something far worse, and I guess that’s why I’m a little taken by Jeffrey Zeldman’s way of speaking, I wish I could be that non judgmental about people who sell themselves short by doing something that they are dispassionate about. Indeed, I feel I am moving in that direction, towards loving these professional souls at top speed, although occasionally, I do reach my open palm out and whack one or two of them upside the head as I run past, at least now I’m holding my tongue.

It strikes me that now that we do live in an age where information is more accessible than ever, it should be easier to find things to make a living at that one does care about. Am I naive in this assumption, or as Zeldman says, a little elitist? Could he be right, that although we have all of these tools at our fingertips, most people are still apt to sit back and watch, going back to their boring unfulfilling professional jobs? I’m thinking very hard about this, because I thought I sensed that there was a shift taking place in the way people where thinking, that people were finding it easier to connect to what they are passionate about and pursue it, but could I be wrong? Could I be examining the same tiny percentage of people that would follow their hearts regardless of the tools as Avner Ronen of Boxee says, or is there really a shift occurring thanks to the worlds that have opened as a result of technology?

Also of note is that both Jeffrey Zeldman and Chris Saad alluded to world peace being brought about by the connections that technology enables, I wonder if people thought that about the telephone, the automobile, the plow, the printing press… I wonder if we will ever get there.

For more on run by head slaps, subscribe to life in perpetual beta or follow Melissa on twitter.

I recently spoke at the 140 Character Conference in NYC. I could not believe how nervous I was, with everything I’ve accomplished over the last year, I don’t know why I thought public speaking was going to be easier. What I realize though, is I will be doing a lot more of it as the Life In Perpetual Beta doc comes into fruition - so I better get cozy up on that stage.

What I also realized is this, even with the advent of social networking, getting the word out is still a lot of work. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. I think raising awareness about the film and blog series will take more work than making the film itself.

Jonathan Fields was pointed out to me at the very beginning of my filming career by blogger Clay Collins. Back then, I wasn’t even sure exactly what I was doing making this film, or what it would turn out to be. I had a friend helping me brainstorm that was working on a way for me to "monitize" Life In Perpetual Beta - make it a real cash cow, and that part although exciting, sucked the life out of me.

Trying to turn a passion into money was just no fun for me, maybe it was the friend (he did turn out to be a little more than criminally crazy) or maybe it was just the model we were trying to implement, but it totally turned me off to making this film into a business. This is probably why it took me so long to come around to interviewing Jonathan Fields, after all, he wrote a book entitled Career Renegade - How to Make A Great Living Doing What You Love.  I was having no part in that, no sir. It took me some time to finally come around to interviewing him, as jaded as I am, I’m glad I gave it a shot. Turns out, he’s a great guy, with a great personal story, and a great message to share.

Truthfully though, there are a lot of stories like Jonathan’s out there, a lot of people who have high paying jobs that quit them to go do something that traditionally makes far less money. It’s funny how our culture has brainwashed us into thinking that this is phenominal, that people who give up high paying high powered jobs are a little loco.  How is it that we’ve come so far from center that we don’t think it’s crazy when people don’t choose a career that fulfills them?

‘There is something more to life than just chasing the buck."

So here I am with a passion for interviewing and filmmaking, getting ready to form Life In Perpetual Beta into an LLC so that I can distribute it properly when the time is right, and at the same time editing the video for this blog post, when a conversation I had with a venture capitalist comes to mind, he says to me, "Melissa, it’s a great concept, but I don’t understand how it’s going to make money."  It turns out, I don’t either, but I am still making the film.  I’ve decided that there is no reason to force it, because if there is anything I have learned from making this film it’s this: The unfolding of an idea organically is so much more powerful than forcing it down a set path, at least, that’s what I’m banking on. There is something more to life than just chasing the buck.

This project is funded by contributions from people like you. To support the film, pay the film crew and get a cool tee shirt (eventually) , and get invited to exclusive film related events join the tweet team for $30, or you may also scroll to the bottom of the page and support the film monetarily with whatever amount you’d like. For contributions over $600 please contact me directly at movie @ lifeinperpetualbeta.com

For more ramblings from melissa pierce , subscribe to life in perpetual beta or follow Melissa on twitter.

I pridefully can say I filmed this interview myself with my Panasonic HD Camcorder.

 It’s so absolutely fitting that the last interview for my film is with Twitter… because, if you’ve been following along kids (and I sure hope you have) you will know that my entire film has been sourced on Twitter. From having conversations about who best to interview and what information to research, to places to stay while I’m away from home, even the funding of Life In Perpetual Beta, all done 140 characters at a time, in real time.

Every time I stepped outside my front door to go and do this thing I’ve never done before, someone was there to send me encouraging words, last minute directions, a plane ticket, or $30 to help pay the camera crews.  And in return I showed them/myself just what is possible when you have no idea what you are doing, but you have a group of people who are as passionate about your dreams as you are. I showed that if ideas feed creativity, and creativity feeds a passion and they are both well fed… the impossible becomes possible, and a stay at home mom/college dropout can find a way to make an intelligent documentary film.

So anyway, there I was, interviewing Biz Stone, Mr. Twitter himself, him having no idea that my entire life changed when I was introduced to Twitter, he being ever so gracious and patient (and it was hot in that room, so hot, and I was already so nervous).  And what came of it was this very professional interview, as-if I had been doing it all of my life. It was an effortless conversation, but thrilling at the same time. I can’t wait to show you the rest of it when the film comes out. 

There will be more interviews on the blog (because I just can’t stop now), and more production updates, and probably more than a few notices about raising funds for the film via investment or otherwise. (films actually do cost money to make, Who knew?) But the filming of Life In Perpetual Beta is now truly over. Now comes the hard part.  Now comes the compiling of all the brilliant interviews. Now comes the synthesizing down into soundbites and video clips. Now comes the marketing and distributing. Now comes the work I can’t fudge my way through, I actually have to take time to do it right… or do I? Has living more publicly, as Biz suggested, changed even the way that films are edited and distributed?

So there Biz and I were, talking about the unfolding of how people are changing the way they think of themselves as a result of technology, and in that blue blue room with the sun shining in just so (later I would have to ring out my dress and do my best to neutralize the smell of sweat with the air freshener in the bathroom - you have not lived until your underarms have smelled like an orange for the entire 4hr flight home from San Francisco to Chicago) … in those moments, I was in my zone, I was doing what I was born to do. So in my zone in fact that I forgot all of that stuff about what a struggle it might have been had I not had twitter. I thanked Biz for his time, and never once thought to thank him for creating something that changed the course of my life. So, thanks Biz, thanks Jack, thanks Evan, thanks Twitter, thanks for making the thing that I desperately needed ever before I knew what it was.

This project is funded by contributions from people like you. To support the film, pay the film crew and get a cool tee shirt (eventually) , and get invited to exclusive film related events join the tweet team for $30, or you may also scroll to the bottom of the page and support the film monetarily with whatever amount you’d like. For contributions over $600 please contact me directly at movie @ lifeinperpetualbeta.com

For more ramblings from melissa pierce , subscribe to life in perpetual beta or follow Melissa on twitter.

One of the highlights of my South By Southwest experience was walking into a crowded theater not knowing what to expect, being dazzled by what The Yes Men had accomplished, and walking out with an interview scheduled for the next day. This interview with Mike Bonanno was fairly impromptu and incredibly fun. Please don’t fault me for not explaining to you more about what they do, just go to their website or film screenings and learn about it yourself, please. I promise it’s worth it - Melissa

The Life In Perpetual Beta project has been funded by small contributions from people like you. To support the film, get a cool tee shirt, and get invited to exclusive film related events join the tweet team for $30, or email me about how else you’d like to contribute, you may also scroll to the bottom of the support page and support the film monetarily with whatever amount you’d like.

For more about the culture of creativity, subscribe to life in perpetual beta .

FYI: This interview was shot with a Panasonic HD camcorder, if I can do it, you can do it too.

There were some amazing entries into the Panasonic HD Camcorder give away. This is the winning entry! Congratulations Zoë, I’m getting your camera ready to send to Thailand!

Thank you to author Ian Sanders for judging the contest.

This project has been funded by small contributions from people like you. To support the film, pay the film crew and get a cool tee shirt (eventually) , and get invited to exclusive film related events join the tweet team for $30, or email me about how else you’d like to contribute, you may also scroll to the bottom of the page and support the film monetarily with whatever amount you’d like.

For more ramblings from melissa pierce , subscribe to life in perpetual beta or follow Melissa on twitter.

FYI: This interview was shot with a Panasonic HD camcorder, if I can do it, you can do it too.

 Thank you to Avner Ronen of Boxee and the rest of the Boxee team for agreeing to this impromptu interview. Thank you Boxee’s PR agent Andrew for holding the camera (note to self - bring tripod everywhere) 

With all that technology has enabled us to do, with all the information that we have at our fingertips online, all of the open sourced and shared ideas out there,  even with all the support we may find on social networks, I was surprised to come to agree with Avner Ronen of Boxee - that indeed, innovation and the entrepreneurial mindset, are still on the fringe of society.  

"What is the entrepreneurial mindset?" you ask.  Is it too much for me to substitute the term People who follow their interests and passions? Is that too big of a jump? Because that’s what I’m interested in finding out, how technology is changing our society to be more empowered to become more passionate, to take more risks, to be more creative, but perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. (For a short clip on Avner talking about the DNA of risk taking click here)

Let me bullet point what I understand about it so far.

• Not afraid to take big risks 
• Failure isn’t a deal breaker
• Open Minded
• Opportunistic
• Embraces Change
• Innovative
• Creative
• Also Not afraid to succeed

Maybe you possess a few of these traits, maybe none, maybe you possess all of them - maybe you are on the fringe. But more importantly, do you see any of the ways that technology has enabled people to take a step toward this innovative fringe? Do you have any more to add to this list? I’d love to know your thoughts, my project depends of figuring these kinds of things out.

p.s. If you feel like having a video camera would empower you like it empowered me, enter to with the HD camera I used in this interview.

This project has been funded by small contributions from people like you. To support the film, get a cool tee shirt, and get invited to exclusive film related events join the tweet team for $30, or email me about how else you’d like to contribute, you may also scroll to the bottom of the page and support the film monetarily with whatever amount you’d like.

For more about the DNA of Risk Taking, subscribe to life in perpetual beta or follow Melissa on twitter.

FYI: This interview was shot with a Panasonic HD camcorder, if I can do it, you can do it too.

_{*updated to include text entries as well as video 2/11/09}

 Maybe it’s just great luck, but I have this thought that for me, holding a video camera granted me a kind of power & access to information that I would not have gotten to experience otherwise.

What I’d like to do is give you the opportunity to experience this empowerment too. Maybe you’ll make a movie.  

 You can win an HD Camcorder like the one that Panasonic gave me. All you have to do is post a video or text response to this one in the comments, (you can use your webcam and record right to the comments here using Seesmic.) Just answer two of these three questions:

 

1.  What does it mean to live Life In Perpetual Beta?

2.  How has technology changed the way you think of yourself?

3.  How has technology changed the way society behaves in general?

If you need an example, look at this video (Bill is not a contestant) Submissions will be judged on creativity, authenticity, and probably some random trait the judges draw out of a hat on selection day which is Friday February 20th at 11:59pm CST PS. If you want help getting the best quality video recording and such, go to www.LivinginHD.com and get tips from normal non tech people who have figured it out along the way, just like me! It’s been a very helpful site for me. And if you join the community, please look me up and friend me.

Technology changes things. Technology changes the way we think about ourselves and our society. Technology restructures the way we interact with one another. Technology changes lives. How has it changed yours?

Like all the videos here, I editing this one myself, however, I’m mighty proud of it, as I also filmed it myself with the HD camcorder that Panasonic gave me when I went to CES. No lights, No external mics, No real film experience. Just me, my camera, and Tony. (and Macala from 1928 Jewelry who was sitting in the room for moral support) As an aside, Jerry Tidmore - you cheated during our duel, I challenge you to a rematch.

Tony Hsieh is passionate about culture, he believes that in order for his company Zappos.com to be at the top of it’s game, the culture within the company has to be just right.

"If you get the culture right, most other things like building a brand or great customer service will just happen naturally on their own"

And on my visit to the Zappos headquarters in Las Vegas, I’d say that the idea that culture is priority is a tea that has been steeped to the perfection. The people there work hard, but they look like they actually enjoy it… Enjoy cubicles? I know! (Having broke free of my own cubical prison it’s hard for me to believe too)

Along with a few other values, such as being humble, being a little weird is also encouraged at Zappos.  The Zappos office looks a lot like a huge dorm room (minus the dirty cloths and crusty take out containers), Each desk decorated with each employees personal flair… some of them quite over the top. Only it’s not like that creepy weird guy in the corner cubicle that has pictures of his accordion and neighbor’s cats pinned up everywhere, it’s more like a community pride feel, a pre-school bulletin board, that "I’m so proud of us all" kind of atmosphere that fosters creativity. I guess it’s why they look like they are enjoying themselves.. they are.

"I think a lot of people think that either your creative or your not… Part of being creative is being open minded."

I hope, I hope that the creative, open minded atmosphere that I discovered at Zappos permeates out to the rest of the world. I hope our education system takes a good look at Zappos and organizations like it and changes it’s curriculum accordingly so that our children are ready for these creative open minded companies. Imagine the wonder and sparkle of childhood never wearing off. Imagine loving what you do for a living.

This project has been funded by small contributions from people like you. To support the film, get a cool tee shirt, and get invited to exclusive film related events join the tweet team for $30, or email me about how else you’d like to contribute, you may also scroll to the bottom of the page and support the film monetarily with whatever amount you’d like.

For more about the culture of creativity, subscribe to life in perpetual beta or follow Melissa on twitter.

FYI: This interview was shot with a Panasonic HD camcorder, if I can do it, you can do it too.