#MusicMonday: In Studio with @AnnieAuto

OH.MY.GATOS!!! First, I just have to say I love me some twitter. SOOO!! As you all know, we over here at TNTML are big Annie Automatic fans. Their lead singer @iamfrench and The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco totally gave us behind the scenes access to their new single they are releasing which 100% of the proceeds will be benefiting the Humane Society. They are just like, crazy awesome.

WELL!!! Chris' band (Annie Automatic) is also working on a brand new album, and he tweeted me an invite to hang out with them!!! So, I like totally did ... and made a video, cause that's just what I do ... here, have a look:

Um yeah. All BS aside, these guys are really friggen good, and really friggen nerdy!! Dude, look what I spotted in studio:

Um yes, hello loverrrrrrrr!!!!

Here ... have some more ...

Check out some more from Annie Automatic over yonder, and follow 'em on Twitter. They're good peeps, and good peeps need to know other good peeps ... and so on, and so on ...

#NerdsUnite

Behind #TNTML: It all started with a #mentalist

As we get closer and closer to our 1 year anniversary, I wanted to start a series of little tidbits on how we got to where we are today. Peeps always ask me when we hang out IRL - so it just kinda made sense.

Exactly one year ago, I was in Hollywood living with the guy I was dating at the time. We weren't "exclusive" however it is of my opinion that if you are sharing a bed and a roof with someone, you're pretty serious. In any event, I was mistaken. I guess that comes with the territory when you are dating a mind reader. Literally, he is a professional mentalist. I had gotten money from the lawsuit I won from my landlord back in July of 2007, when I lost everything I owned in a massive cockroach infestation. YAYY city living!!! (This is also why I was easily able to give all of my things up again a few months back to become homeless on this venture ... it wasn't my first time at the rodeo!)

So, I spent a chunk of last summer when I was done modeling in Florida, to early fall, studying and absorbing the trends in social media, learning how to code apps (shout out to Xcode & Dashcode), and basically trying to keep my feet on the ground from being head over heels in love. It was pretty intense.

When he was on tour, I would literally just sit in the bedroom all day studying, studying, and studying where all of this was "going" and what all of it meant. The mentalist taught me cause and effect. See, social media is only a reflection of life. So, people can sit there til the cows come home and say these social sites are so fickle and blah blah blah, but if you understand the bottom line of WHY people are using them, and the value they get from them ... the cause ... you can figure out where they will go with it aka the effect.

What the mentalist was able to do with me and studying my body language, I am now able to mimic in social media. He would see me playing with my necklace, or touching my hair ... and would say, "what are you thinking right now," and I would tell him. I am a pretty weird person, if you couldn't figure that out by now, dating someone that could "read my mind" never really phased me. I had nothing to hide, and if anything it was an incredible turn on dating someone so smart.

I asked him why he was always taking my physical inventory, and he told me that when you stand a certain way, cross your arms, touch your ear, you are stimulated by a thought and therefore physically manifest that emotion. Women are NOTORIOUS for doing it on dates when they primp their hair. Liars will often touch their face when they are lying. The list goes on ... and it is pretty intense. By being his subject, I was able to learn his tests. Social media, again, being a reflection of life, I turned inward and figured out how to read people online.

I can read default avatars like it is my job, because frankly, it is. First off, what type of picture do you have up? (Please note, this is strictly IMHO, it is not a science, nor do I have anything other than my humble opinion, but I can say it ranks to be true over 99% of the time.)

I can tell you from my studies, I can conclude that someone with a cartoon or cartoon type logo has image issues. I haven't been able to isolate enough of the variables to be able to conclude if they are body image or what, but got a cartoon up? You're not lovin what you see in the mirror!

People who have a shared default with a spouse/ friend/ sibling/ ... whatevs, have co-dependency issues. Dude, this is YOUR default. YOUR space, YOUR representation of self to the world ... and you share it with someone else? Are you kidding me?!

I can break it down even more to people who change their defaults often, the photo filter that can be in place on a given default, I mean ... its nuts. But I was the subject from one of the best in the world, digitizing it was not a big deal.

The mentalist as it turned out, was sleeping with I don't even knowwwww how many other women when he was on tour - so yeah, we broke up. It's pretty funny though, I befriended one of his other many girlfriends, and she was even featured as a Hot Nerd of the Micro Nano on this site. Super cool chick, I can see why he told her he loved her too. However, if it weren't for the mentalist I don't think I would have understood people as much as I do now. He taught me how to break people down in very matter of fact ways. You detach all the emotional elements, and profile what type of person each is, so you can find their constant and generally be able to predict how they will react to outside stimulus. It's pretty insane, but he has a world wide tour based on it.

I will go to my grave thanking the mentalist not for my broken heart, but for being the first step of my very long journey. I was so deliriously in love with that person, that I wanted to fight so hard to be happy again when he broke my heart. I found my happiness in this blessed little website. You all make me happy. It was that battle and fearless search for it that was the first step. I didn't know where it was going to lead me, but every day I am thankful.

So yeah, there ya go ... step 1. I had a broken heart.

#NerdsUnite

PS. Success is the best revenge. When we broke up, I would always say to him "be well." Even when it came to talking to his other now ex-gf, I kept saying to her, don't try and get even, just walk away. It wasn't easy walking away from him, even after all was said and done ... but there is DEFINITELY some bitchin karma in attaining a certain level of success in less than a year, versus someone who continually cheated the system and has taken almost a decade to get half as far. Jigga ... Jigga ... Jigga ...

Door to Door in LA? = #Fail

Soooooo ... I'm just sitting here, in the living room editing this release form and yada yada ... and the door bell rings. This not being my house and all, since I just offset social media nerdness for living, I didn't want to answer it.

A minute or two goes by, and they start knocking. Like the Sheldon knock on The Big Bang Theory ... there is no effin way this guy is about to leave.

Penny ... Penny ... PennyI kindly ask, who is please? In my weirdest completely insane, or completely wee-tod-it, but either way don't fuck with me voice.

He indicated he was from this dry cleaner down the street ... soooooo I opened the door thinking someone in the house might have had a dry cleaning service. Open the door, and the guy goes into this pitch on why I should use his service. He was located at the end of the street and blah blah blah.

I stopped him, and said dude - I don't live here. I have no idea where you are saying this store is, because I don't know the area, nor do I have any real interest in learning ... that is what google maps is for.

He got a little tiffy miffy and said, well is the owner of the house home? I said, maybe! But either way, don't you think social media might be a better option than going door to door? For reals, it's 7:30 on a friggen Monday. I assure you, you are the last thing anyone in this neighborhood wants to deal with.

I told him all about Foursquare, and how location based social media works ... that he should get all up on the Twitter, and he can effectively hit this ENTIRE neighborhood and half of the town in the time it took him to make this ONE stop tonight.

He actually thanked me, and went on his way. Dude, who goes door to door in LA!? Like for reals?! I get that it's a recession and all, but get at least a LITTLE creative!!! The chicks from Troop Beverly Hills even did this whole Tina Turner thing, it was pretty hot. Take notes.

Unapologetically Awesome: #TahoeTechTalk

Alrite el nerderinos, wow - what a fucking day. No ... for reals, I'm still digesting all of the information from Tahoe Tech Talk ... like ... wow. I'm pretty speechless. If they have this conference next year you absolutely absolutely ABSOLUTELY have to attend. (Notes will be posted tomorrow.)

One of the speakers there today was a reporter by the name of @Alexia, from TechCrunch. During her schpeil, she was saying pretty point blank - if you have a story tell me. And ohhhmmmyyygoooddddd I have a good one. Like you all know, they're freaking basing a movie off of it! But in the very "here and now" type shit, I stood up in front of the entire conference (as there was a Q&A portion) and I said "3 months ago, I was sleeping in my car. Today I arrived on a private plane and they're turning my site into a major motion picture. Is this something TechCrunch would be interested in covering?" It definitely got EVERYONES attention, and everywhere I looked across the room, eyes were on TNTML. It was pretty rad, I'm not going to lie ... but here I was, this nerdy chick, standing in front of people I RESPECT, through and through - and I got eaten alive. The problem is (thanks to this experience, I have learned ...) I've never had to pitch. I had investors approaching me the 3rd week of the site, just based on the name and general premise, not even friggen execution ... people wanted in. The film came to me, I didn't go to it. I just said, wow - this is actually really good ... I realized it when I was standing up there that I set everything up so literally everyone would come to me. It was such at trip! It also exposed an area that I do need to work on, that I should sit down with someone to work on a pitch. But bottom line, this is it:

They are very matter of fact making a movie out of this site. It's super rad, and I can't wait. I'm a hustler, and I know its going to get done.

SO! That leaves me owning the brand, and having my life rights associated with the film in this super super super bitchin position that I don't need investors, sponsors, or even traditional advertisers of any kind. There are 5 projects that are literally all happening right now with this site and more specifically myself as a lifecaster. The super rad thing is, is that we are the non-web approach. I don't want advertisers on this site, and I don't want sponsors. Not in the traditional sense - I was able to use this platform to figure out who the hell I was. I was so unhappy after this breakup I had, that I searched tirelessly for happiness, and I found it in TNTML and our celebration of Unapologetic Awesomeness.

I want to give that back to everyone that is a community member of this site. Hey, do you want to write an entire post with all the words that rhyme with Fuck? Go for it! Does it make you happy? Awesome! This site has become less of a business venture for me, and more of just a social experiment. It doesn't need to be a business in the traditional sense. With the money I am going to make from this film, I can even leverage that into more - but again, everything is independent. This site will always be my baby. Just the way the people were talking today, it just didn't interest me. I'm more interested in exposing human nature, and human interest in its rawest, most unedited form. I really am batshit crazy. But I know it works, I have personally done it. Dude, if LiveVideo hadn't gotten all weird and janky, I would have done this under their brand. I don't really care, I am more interested in just getting it the fuck done.

Dave McClure said, so you're the brand? I was like yes - but there is a staff of 34 that can sustain it independently from myself as well. I kid you not, and I think it was only because of the enormous amount of respect that I had for the people on the panel, that I literally sweat through my deodorant. Yeahhhhhhh ... It was pretty bad. My bottom line though at the same time was just seeing an opportunity and taking it. I went up to Alexia after the conference and shook her hand, and said thank you for speaking with me.

I said, this is happening to be honest with you, whether or not you choose to report on it. You asked for a scoop, there you go!

The problem is, is that no one (to the best of my knowledge) has done this type of shit in real time. From inception, I have documented EVERY PIECEEEEE of it!!! Every triumph, every fail, every anything - I analyize the lesson, and then move on. I have NO idea if any of this is going to be successful, but I know that if Wired is interested, this big UK show that I am filming for tomorrow ... and AOL TWO FRIGGEN TIMES, in addition to heads of studios, and heads of networks ... I am doing something right. It's just not based in the same way that the minds there today were interested in.

I tell stories across social media. I dictate my life, and invite others to join in as well. We are story telling the human experience in real time. Social media may now only be viewed as a marketing tool, but I use it to engage with thousands of people in real time my thoughts, movements, actions ... its a total trip.

Dude, I was sitting there on the private plane back to LA going, what could I have done differently? FOR REAL. I WAS ON A PRIVATE PLANE BACK TO LA DOUBTING MYSELF. It was like WOOAHHH!!! Hold the mother effin phone!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't doubt the projects I am involved in, or the film ... but I mean, that guy Dave literally tore me a new one. And I even said very matter of fact, its good - I can give it out on TNTML, I can take it.

I can say this, the founder of QUIRKY @BenKaufman even spoke up and said he remembered meeting me at CES!!! CES!!! Do you KNOW how many people go to CES?!?!?! This site was less than 60 days old, and I was live broadcasting from my cell phone, and HE REMEMBERED ME! I know we're doing something right. I will go to my grave pursuing this - there is just too much here. But today was def a bit of a shocker to feel this within the tech community. Again though, it's incredibly matter of fact that they'll be talking about it anyway ... but I learned a very valuable lesson today, I am too close to this site to explain it to other people.

Everything is attitude nerds. I know you all hear about the wonderful things in life, but its because I choose to see them. Totally got ripped a new one today, but I took it. I stood strong, but more importantly I learned. People don't have to get what we do. I get it, and I see where this is going ... I'll work on how to explain it better - but those that "get it" have always just "gotten it." Call me crazy, but I'm only going to work on the packaging and explanation, just because you don't get it, doesn't mean I'd change a DAMN thing!

#nerdsunite

HERE ARE SOME OF THE STORIES!! #NerdsUnite

PS. I def did something right, one of the speakers I respected the most ... even tweeted THIS (but didn't @reply as to not be too "fangirlish")

He's now following me ...

GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!! TAKE RISKS! EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T GET WHAT YOU WANTED, YOU AT LEAST GOT EXPERIENCE & A FEW MORE HEADS TURNED!!

W00T! W00T!

#SocialMedia stamping out internet fakes?

This whole thing with my fake internet boyfriend really gave me the heeby jeebs. He actually emailed me back after the whole brew-ha-ha broke out. I chose not to post it, not out of anything to hide, but more of the fact that this guy is even MORE of a nut than I realized.

No ... for reals ... I've dealt with a lot of people, and not much scares me ... kinda seen it, been there, done that ... but this guy actually believes that we met. He posted this whole thing on how he can't believe I would say that we never met ... the EASIEST thing to disprove - I mean wow. Literally, I was speechless.

It kinda got me thinking though, out of the hundreds if not thousands of people I have met online in the last year on the Unapologetically Awesome tour, I've literally only come across one of these loco types.

Call me lucky, but I really do think social media has changed the web in more ways than we could possibly wrap our brain around. Think about it ... my fake internet boyfriend tricked me for a year, and tricked the other chick for nearly 5. What tripped me up the most about the guy, was that he was still using his fake accounts to chat when Myspace became so irrelevant. He didn't stay technologically relevant in his ruse, and that was quite the red flag for me. Furthermore, social networking sites like Facebook have made this guy's job a lot harder. We're sooooo intertwined. All he had to do to fool me, was create about 4 or so accounts, throw up pictures of some chicks and set everything to private. I was none the wiser. Now, however, by having a fake picture up, especially one that actually DOES live in your town, you have increased your chances THAT MUCH MORE in someone coming across it who is connected to the actual dude. I know I've seen it before, I've spotted other mutual friends in my friends pictures.

One of my BEST friends in LA was in a picture at a wedding with a guy I went to high school with, and she had no idea.

We're making the world that much smaller, and that much more intertwined that the otherwise dark and creepy places online, are pretty much being flooded out. Dude, that's NUTSSS!!! Now with location based social media trending next, these guys will REALLY be screwed!!!!

Note to creeps: Stay up to date on the trends. No one cares about myspace, let alone "traffic" generated to a specific page. Dude, you can hack the crap out of my myspace page, and I'd laugh. Literally, I'd start smacking my knee bowled over in laughter resembling that of a hyena. I just don't care, and neither do a lot of other people. Thanks Marky Mark and your Facebok bunch!! Everyday you're getting that much closer to stamping out the creepazoids. YIPPPEEEEEEE!!!