Comunikin- The kickstarter Issue by Comunikin

The Kickstarter Issue

Network like a Journalist

The experience of working on Comunikin has taught us an important lesson, that collaboration can be a powerful way of networking. When it was created Comunikin was just Abhishek and I. Later while searching for writers and photographers for the staff, I met Michael Behlen. We put together the first issue, and Jess sent us a letter with all the things we needed to correct. After she was pulled in to our small staff, we were joined by David and then by Becca and then by Alleha, with quite a few others stopping by in the middle as freelancers. Then there were all those who read the magazine and recognized us from it. Not to mention all the people we met through interviews and networking on behalf of the magazine. Collaboration is vital to not only the cohesiveness of our group but an highly valued element of the user experience we want to create. Comunikin Digital Magazine will provide a unique networking opportunity to members. The idea is to network through getting sources for articles, tutorials, reviews and critiques. Being quoted in an article provides professionals and experts an incentive to talk to you, and they will surely want to know about the topic and idea behind your article so it's a great way to network your skills and ideas. The Comunikin staff would be responsible for providing a list of on site experts and professionals who can be sourced for articles along with resources and guidelines for submission. The content would be a combination of user generated material, staff contributions and special guest contributions. Members of Comunikin will automatically be subscribed to the magazine and receive on site notifications about new issues, and the subscription is free. The magazine can also be easily shared on other social networks, or emailed or even placed on personal websites. We plan to turn Comunikin Magazine in to a collaboration and user-generated content powered platform, that highlights outstanding individuals and ideas in the fields of Art, Music, Technology and more. For more information on Comunikin and how you can fund a student created project follow this link:

There is something alluring about Raymond Chandler's writing. Something that reports the core of every scene, the parts that reveal or further the plot, without ever seeming bare. From sentences stripped down to just nouns and verbs and dialogue that was in the tongue of the common man of that time. Chandler always wrote to 'entertain the reader' and not to impress critics, and by his own admission tried to put in a bit of 'magic' in every page. In this simple and direct style comes the idea of a Utility based social network. A social network centered on verbs and 'magic'. The first by definition is an action and requires only an incentive, or noun, to become a complete thought. In the case of Time Control, it is a software that is designed to answer a question that has many uses and applications: Can I attend______with______ which is located at________ ? The question's usefulness rises from the four questions it answers: am I available to go, what is it, who else can attend, and where is it located. It is a relevant question that rises in both professional and social settings. In terms of action and reactions, Time Control takes an assigned hour of free time and tells you about the concerts, parties, football games, sales and discount offers taking place at that time, as well which of your friends are available to attend and how to get there. By providing up to date and relevant lists of information Time Control makes planning as fast as texting. A key difference between Time Control and a traditional calendar is that, the latter was designed for organizing time and not utilizing time. Since it wouldn't make sense to create a time management and planning software that took a long time to use; we built a repeat function so that recurring events like birthdays, anniversaries, and class schedules do not have to be re-entered. The 'magic' of Time Control, and what separates a Comunikin Profile Page from that of any other social network, is that it's designed to take members of their computer or phone screens. Designed with the relationships and friendships of busy people in mind, Time Control is ideal for Students and Professionals because it provides the most possible for limited availability. Under the influence of Raymond Chandler's minimalistic style, Time Control uses small inputs of personal data to enhance a users experience with real world opportunities. If successfully funded Comunikin and Time Control would be the first in a string of software and applications designed to empower members.

Communication has reached unbelievable heights in the last few decades. It's capabilities have long since surpassed the abilities of email and chat rooms, and moved on to social networking, texting, and blogging of various forms. It has changed the way people are connected and in ways that have less then beneficial consequences. The issue I raise may seem small, but the role a contact list plays in a social network may be counter productive to the point of them. I write this with the assumption that most create a social networking website primarily to connect with existing contacts and are open to meeting new people. The dilemma emerges from the very first moment a person lays eyes on their profile. It asks for things like name, interests, occupation, personal descriptions and email but what comes next? The first task becomes to import or find existing contacts who's updates and activities will fill up status streams. Though it is perfectly natural to find existing contacts right off the bat, it's also the only method of adding new contacts. In some sense we revert back to a hunter and gatherer state, where we either seek out or happen upon profiles and store them in our contact lists. The benefit we reap is the ability to preserve a contact and reconnect with them at a later time, but that can hardly be true for everyone. So what takes places is a problem our hunter and gatherer ancestors also faced, preserving contacts from 'mass delete sessions' which is much like separating spoiled food from edible food. The interesting thing to me, based on what I've seen on my Facebook network, is that these sessions were people delete hundreds of contacts are usually inspired by the actions of a few. This to me is a demonstration of the drawbacks that relationships on social networks heavily depended on the contact list. From the get go they encourage contact lists the size of phone books, because it provides the user with more events and activity updates, not to mention the illusion that the user will lose many meaningful contacts if they abandon it. In reality, this only manages to devalue the word friend to the point where they can be mass deleted under thirty minutes. It was phenomena such as this that encouraged to include a key element when it came to designing Comunikin. That even if you have zero contacts, you can still use our software and site to make new contacts. With Time Control we increase a user's ability to participate in local communities by keeping them informed on public events as well as special offers, which increases the likelihood of making new but like minded friends and connections. There is also writing and contributing to Communikin Magazine. We not only publish user generated content like art, stories, and music but also provide a list of professionals who can be sourced or quoted for articles. Whether you become a correspondent or expert, our program can help you make strong and useful professional connections. Comunikin will be a network that focuses on, who you are versus who you're friends with.

If you have heard of Padpivot, an amazing attachment for Iphones and Ipads, or More/Real Stylus; which turns any pen into a touchscreen stylus, or maybe even Diaspora, a privacy centered social network, then you may have heard the name: Kickstarter. Despite it's recent accomplishments in crowdfunding projects and media coverage, a lot of artists, musicians, web developers, and myriads of others still don't know about the site. Hopefully, after reading this it will be clear how relevant and useful Kickstarter really is.

It's a website that offers an all-or nothing style of crowdfunding. Which means if a project isn't fully funded by its members, the project creator doesn't receive anything. This protects their host of generous contributors, and encourages creators to utilize Kickstarter's second policy.

For every pledge you have to provide a small gift. This is the part that separates a well planned project from the rest. Gifts are encouraged to be unique and thoughtful so that your altruistic contributors can feel special for believing in the project. Altruistic? Although Kickstarter and merchants take a small percentage. the acquired funding, the idea and the future profits remain an exclusive right of the creator.

Along with getting funding, Kickstarter is also a great way of testing products, as well as establishing an early fan base. A solid marketing plan is essential to the campaign because the same people who will be your customers will likely also be contributors to your funding.

They are your family members, friends, teachers, ex employers, and people who love the idea. Remember, a big part of the Kickstarter experience is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Discoveringâ&#x20AC;? new projects to support so there are plenty of serial contributors on Kickstarter.

Artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, professional and amateur anythings. If you have passion and a plan, then kickstarter is for you.

Yes.

Kickstarter offers some awesome tools to promote projects on social networks, plus there are a host of things you can do to help you campaign. For example: contact your local paper, blog, throw a party, tell your teachers or family friends.

You don't have to put down your entire plan. The point of a kickstarter campaign is to tell a compelling story to connect with your audiences.

Checkout the kickstarter blog to find out tips, read about projects, and everything kickstarter.

Class rooms always seemed mildly cruel to me. Often I'd find myself thinking, that the last time I was with fifty people in a room I was having a great time. Something about the “no-talking” policies always made me wonder why I wasn't just watching this alone on my computer at home; since that is in essence what I was doing except in a crowded room. Imagine my surprise when I heard of Udemy through a blog. To demonstrate how well organized the website is, let me describe my first fifteen minutes on the website. After browsing a host of course titles such as: Learn to Develop an Iphone or Ipad Application in Four Weeks, Intro to Computer Science & Programming and, Raising Capital for a Startup, I hit the Facbook Login button and became a member. After browsing a few premium paid lectures which described the backgrounds of some very impressive instructors, I found two courses that I was interested in and would recommend. My first lecture began with a click and it was titled: “The Lean Startup: Debunking Myths of Entrepreneurship” and it was in the form of a video. Within the first thirty seconds of the first lecture I knew I was hooked when I heard the words: “Fundamentally the lean startup is a vision for how our industry could be different. We don't have to accept the same level of failure that we have gotten used to if we have to change the way we operate and if we are willing to give up some of our precious myths about entrepreneurship.” Eric Ries, the Instructor, clearly presented the ideas and moved quickly from point to point like a well oiled machine breaking down a concept and putting it back together. He is the author of the blog “Start Up Lessons Learned” and he is the co-author books such as “The Black Art of Java Game Programming” (Waite Group Press, 1996). Not to mention, BusinessWeek named him one of the Best Young Entrepreneurs of Tech. Very excited about the other eight lessons included in the course, I moved on to another course that had intrigued me. This one was titled: “Reinventing School - Design Thinking Challenge” and there wasn't a video for this one, but the second paragraph caught my interest: “This is a unique opportunity to co-create a dream school and curriculum. Ideas and solutions submitted will be selected to become part of a blueprint for the ideal school co-designed by you. “ To my surprise this wasn't a course at all, at least not the kind I was expecting. Instead it was an opportunity to collaborate with designers, students and seemingly anyone to design a class room for the future. Being interested in both design and education I was fascinated by this idea. Brendan O'Keefe, the instructor, has 20 years of experience in: idea generation, design thinking, branding, visual identity,

marketing, web design & development, online research, youth work, social enterprise, mind mapping, music composition, performance, change management, media production and many other things. Reinventing School is his new creative project, and for students of his Udemy course/challenge he provides a myriad of resource documents and links. Gagan Biyani and Eren Bali founded Udemy in February 2010. The project was incubated by the Founders Institute, which describes itself as 'a global network of startups and mentors that helps entrepreneurs launch meaningful and enduring technology companies', and shared investors with the likes of YouTube, LinkedIn, Zynga, Twitter and Yelp. To my queries about their company I received the following responses: What was the inspiration behind Udemy? What sort of problem did the founders see or experience that inspired them to create Udemy? The education industry is very top-down, but we feel like Udemy has the power to change that. People spend $9 billion on casual learning each year, and another $20 billion on continuing and professional education. We really believe we can catalyze that market to move online, and provide forums that create in-depth learning experiences about everything from Thai cooking to calculus to Esperanto. There are millions of experts everywhere, and we provide them with the tools to share their knowledge online. Udemy gives Instructors the ability to use video, PowerPoint, articles, and blog posts to build rich courses. They can even host virtual conferences with students. The interface allows for up to 20 live video streams, chat rooms, audio streams and video and PowerPoint-like presentations. Each app can be customized and placed within the Udemy web client to a user’s preference. We launched in May 2010 and more than 2,000 courses have been created. We're introducing a pay platform so our Instructors can decide if they want to charge for their courses, but we expect 80% will remain free. What are the most important values that the Udemy Team holds dear? We’re really a customer development focused company, which means that we listen to our users’ feedback on just about everything.

Of course, the trick is deciding what is a feature that every teacher would love and what is a feature that would only be used by 5% of users. That’s the part that is tough to explain but that we’re very careful about. CM: What is the mission of Udemy? UD: “Udemy's goal is to disrupt and democratize the world of education by enabling anyone to teach and learn online.” Just as blogging democratized the publishing industry (enabling anyone to instantly become a journalist), Udemy seeks to dramatically change education by empowering millions of experts around the world to teach & share what they know. Students can take courses across a great breadth of categories, anywhere from business & entrepreneurship, academics, the arts, health & fitness, language, music, technology, games, and much more. In addition to offering customized classes from users, Udemy pulls from a number of online courses already offered by MIT, Stanford and other well-known universities — dubbed 'open courseware'. Udemy compiles all the classes and presentations into a format that makes them accessible to a broader range of students of various types. The challenges to education aren't a secret whether it's in the price of books, methods of teaching, tuition or the availability of classes. Udemy is an interesting step towards the future of education that seem similar to Sir Ken Robinson's arguments for improving education. Robinson, who is was TED Talks speaker and an international leader in the development of: education, creativity and innovation, argues that our public education system is based on academic ability and created to meet the needs of industrialization. That this has created a hierarchy based on two ideas: that the most useful subjects for work are at top and the value of academic ability; together they have created an environment where “many highly talented and brilliant, creative people think they're not because the thing they were good at school was never valued or was stigmatized” according to Robinson. Udemy's impact on this very problem could be tremendous. By providing a free platform that connects skilled teachers with eager to learn students to a non standardized way of learning. It removes the set-time structure of courses that determines the pace of the class and allows students to learn at their own pace. The community aspects of student life isn't absent either with built in discussion boards in every lecture; which can provide like minded students with support and collaboration opportunities. It has also created the culture of user's creating courses similar to sites such as Ehow,bu the differentiating factor is in the amount of tools that Udemy provides Instructors. They start with ways of presenting material in a wide variety of ways, and end with social media and real time lecture tools. Udemy is great step for education and social entrepreneurship that students, professionals, and Instructors alike should take advantage of. I am just happy that from time to time class room daydreams do come true.

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by: Khan Shadid It seems like every week that Nickelodeon and Disney turns one of their child actors into child musicians. From a marketing perspective it’s an elegant strategy of branding. Step 1, establish an audience through a TV show; Step 2, convert viewers into music fans; Step 3, get a movie made. Before Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, there was Lizzie Maguire or better known as Hilary Duff. Remember the show, remember the single, and remember the Lizzie Maguire the movie. In a culture where audiences young and old receive shotgun blasts of Teen and preteen stars who’s fame may or may not be justified; the question arises are these few opening doors or closing them for others of their age and industry category. According to Palmer Hogan, age 15, who goes under the stage name: Vexare, the reactions to his age are divided. Sitting comfortably in the Artists lounge of the Crest Theater in Fresno, California; he explained that his age creates barriers for booking shows at clubs that are often 18+ or 21+. On the other side, there are people who genuinely admire his talent and passion for what he does. If you don’t believe me, ask L3vel10 productions. They are the guys who put on shows like Dubchella and Bassjump, and both events drew in flocks of people that came for the music. L3vel10 put their trust in the young Vexare for Bassjump and they were rewarded with an amazing show that the crowd went crazy for. When I asked him about how he got his start, Palmer's answer was enviously simple. “My friend Scott listened to the Vexed album,” said Palmer, “he downloaded 'You didn't know me' and sent it to a promoter. Not even more than one, and in a day it had 4000 views. I didn't know what to make of it. I still don't.” At this point I had to smile, because of just how humble Palmer truly was. Having listened to the tracks on his Soundcloud and being a fan of electronica and dubstep in general there was no doubting why. He is living proof that talent can go head to head with a promotions and marketing plan any day. Palmer may not be selling out the Staple Center or even the Savemart center yet, but the proof of his ability lies in the reaction from the crowd. If you've ever heard the term 'the crowd exploded' you have a good idea of what I saw at Bassjump.

Taking advantage of the press pass that Ryan Majors, from L3vel10 productions, provided I had positioned myself on the best vantage point in the house—the stage itself. Standing at a corner I watched Palmer begin his set with absolute focus, as the dance floor began to bob, bounce, sway and dance. Then he looked up and with a single motion of his arm threw an invisible grenade into the audience. After a second the entire room and everyone in it erupted into dance as the room shook with bass and wobbles. It was a recurring event through out the show, but I distinctly remember it by the expression of a girl in the front row—it was in the way her eyes went wide before her head furiously bobbed towards the ground. Moments like these blur the line between a rock show and a dubstep show. When in a single instant a dance floor turns into something like a non-violent moshpit during a break drown. Being a true fan of the music, Palmer expressed how much fun it was for him to finish a set and go into the crowd to enjoy the music of other artists such as him. He described his process of learning how to produce and DJ as well as the reaction from people at his high school. Palmer's passion for what he does is a refreshing perspective that reminds us of a little thing called ageism. The young have the advantage of having a lot of passion and energy

instead of experience, and unfortunately it's the latter that many focus on the most. If you've ever applied for a job as a waiter and been told you need prior experience—you know exactly how frustrating this could be. Though experience definitely leads to higher production quality, it can only be gained by receiving an opportunity. Ignoring the latter part of the statement means, in this case, a loss to our music culture. Besides having a young and talented artist in their music scene should be a point of pride for any community. This is a point that often gets overlooked in the Fresno, with so many places catering only to a 21+ crowd. The popularity of teen and preteen stars may open doors at big venues such as the Savemart Center and the Selland Arena, smaller clubs and venues can definitely be more receptive to younger demographics. Doing so would also give room for young artists, to get the necessary stage experience at an early point in their careers and assist in building the audience that venues can capitalize on in ticket sales. For a talented and motivated self-starter like Palmer, the doors that do not open for him will surely do so at their own loss. You can check out his music on his Soundcloud or keep an eye on L3vel10 events to catch a live show. You better believe we'll be there to keep an eye on his —check out Vexare's exclusive interview with Comunikin.

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By Khan Shadid Gunner Geron is a man of quite a few words, but passionate is the only one that can really sum him up. When he talks about music his voice resonates with an un-embarassed love for what he does. Born in Fresno and attending school in Los Angeles to be a Sound Engineer, he came back to play at Bassjump at the Crest Theater. Fresh out of the interview with Vexare, Andrew Renna and I went to the stage to check out Gunner as he prepared for his set. The dance floor was empty but there was no convincing Gunner. Standing on the podium he went through track after track in a daze that combined his movements with every note and wobble that launched out of the speakers. Afterward we walked out of the theater to head to the alley for a smoke and to conduct the interview. Gunner stopped to bum a cigarette from a friend in the crowd, and there was denying the recognition from those standing in line. It wasn't the fan boy recognition of an out of town artist, but the recognition of someone from school and parties that was now on the track to following their dreams. After narrowly avoiding a dead bird in the alley we found a spot and the interview was on its way. From the get go, I was torn between asking questions and listening

to Gunner passionately describe his journey to discovering electronica and becoming a DJ. According to Gunner a trip to EDC and TAO inspired Gunner to be on the stage that was occupied by the likes of David Guetta and Benny Benassi. Unlike most dreamers and hopefuls, Gunner then put all his energy into the equipment and the knowledge necessary to become a successful DJ. He moved to LA and began his journey to become an audio engineer and even got himself an internship. Since then he has returned to Fresno to play at events such as Come Together and Dubchella to kill local stages with remixes and an awesome live show. The heart of his music, presence, and drive comes from the pure passion that radiates from him. It truly came out during the interview when I asked him about his life before he was a DJ. According to Gunner, he played sports and got good grades in school but none of it truly engaged him; that it wasn't until he discovered music that he found something to focus his energy, money and passion towards. In any field, job, or work that anyone goes into passion always separates the few from the many. Passion pushes individuals to not only persevere through the bad times but also pushes them to find ways to better their craft. Gunner demonstrates both without comprising his genuine interest in becoming

25 an amazing DJ. Based on the crowd reaction to him on Bassjump, Gunner is well on his way. He kicked off Bassjump the way every show should startâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with a ton of energy, a pumped up stage presence, and drops and remixes that blew the place up. He'll be at it again July 14th with Datsik, Minnesota, and John Beaver at the Crest Theater.

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Stephallisonart.com

28 Here at Comunikin we're always looking for the next great artist, but we also like to catch up with artists that we interviewed in the past. That way we don't miss those points of growth between the starving artist and the established artist. So we tracked down and caught up with Stephanie Allison, our featured Artist for the 'Fresno Fashion' Issue of Comunikin. Stephanie is a Fresno based artist who has grown quite a bit in popularity in a very short period of time. Her works include a host of paintings including her most recent project: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The 100 Girlsâ&#x20AC;?. It included literally a hundred painted portraits that are all unique from one another. I had a chance to catch the Girls on display and to talk to a very excited Stephanie and guests. Later, I was pleased to hear that her paintings had sold well and that she was working on new material. Always dedicated to her work, Stephanie does well to take advantage of gallery time as well as the powers of the internet. Her work transforms everyday items in her zazzle and etsy shops, and she even does well to keep her friends and fans in the know with an informative blog that's updated with new art and new successes. About her recent history, Stephanie, had the following to say. The last time we spoke to you, you were working on the hundred girls project, what have you been up to since then? Well, after finishing up the paintings for that project, I had to start the search for the perfect collection of frames for the 100 girls show which just happened in June at Studio-74. The show was so awesome, and I really feel like my hard work paid off from the experience. It was great to catch your work at the Treasury, what other places have you been showcasing your work? I had a few shows like at City Arts Gallery and at Colligo Studio (owned by Ma Ly & May Lee) inside of Broadway Studios, also in my hometown of Salinas, at Somos Media which was really fun. All shows this year have been great actually and I'm so thankful for each opportunity I get to show my artwork. Are you going in a new direction with your art? I feel like I have grown as an artist so much in the past year and half that it's kind of inevitable for me to have breakthroughs. During the 100 girls project I started to combine alot of mediums together such as ink pen with watercolor, acrylic, collage on tea-stained paper, and I absolutely love to create pieces like that now. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head for new bodies of work, that will include me doing much larger scale paintings plus incorporating all the different mediums that I love to use together. Right now I'm working on a 3x5foot acrylic and oil painting for Beautiology Salon which is in the Iron Bird Lofts. I'd also really love to do a mural somewhere around town. Who are some artists that you have been following recently? Why these ones in particular? I follow a ton of artists, but my favorite one's to follow are those whose work I can see growing and evolving throughout the years. Artists like; Sarah Joncas, Brandi Milne, and Nicoletta Ceccoli...I can relate to them because they are female artists who have made amazing accomplishments in the art world.

30 They are all making a living off of doing what they love, and I hope to get to that point one day. Any big changes in your life in Fresno? I got accepted into Fresno State, so in the fall I'm going to be doing the full time school thing. I'm pretty excited but also nervous about it. It's the first time I've done full time school since high school. I am looking forward to the art classes though, being my major is art-single subject credential. I hope to be a college art teacher at some point in the future. How has the response to your change? Do you find that more people know about you? I have noticed that people are becoming more familiar with my art around town. They see me at a show and then come back to my next show which is so great. I love to meet people in Fresno who get out and go to the local artshows and they just really enjoy viewing the artwork. it's a wonderful thing. What are some places that people can view or purchase your art online? My website...www.stephallisonart.com has links to my online stores and a blog that i post updates on regularly.

Alleha Navarro

Michael Behlen

mICHAELBEHLEN.COM

A social network without a Party is a social network not worth having.