Hello again; I wanted to update you on the progress of my google hangouts the creation of a new logo, and the launch of an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for taking the youtube show on the road.
Google Hangouts Status
The one thing I have learned about google hangouts is that I am still learning. For the past month I had been struggling with the process of starting the hangout and inviting the people on my list who have asked to participate. At first, I thought this was solely caused by a change in the screen you use when logging into a hangout. After three weeks I discovered that I was responsible or at least partly so. I heard an alert from my screen reader about drop box. It reminded me that I use a plug in on my site that routinely backs up my website to drop box. It does this at a pre determined time every week. And yes you guessed it, I had accidentally set the time for this back up to the same time as the hangouts. My computer just couldn’t handle the combined strains of a video call, system back up, and a screen reader. After reseting the back up to midnight like it should be, last week’s show started much more smoothly. It only took me about two minutes to have the session live and the guests invited. I am just happy I figured it out.
Sharing Images And Videos
I do have some good news to share. Thanks to help from my friend and hangout regular Chelsea Stark I learned how to share my screen with people during a hangout. This means that I can now share images and even videos from my computer with the audience and have them become part of the video call. They are then included when the hangout is backed up to youtube for later viewing. The instructions were pretty straight forward, but given my experience with Google; I didn’t want to try it without practicing first. So Chelsea joined me in a regular hangout to practice. In addition to telling me what she was seeing on her end, she also made suggestions as to what files were good enough to share online. She also explained to me about making sure videos were set to play in full screen. It didn’t work perfectly when i did it online, but it did work. And now I feel confident I can share media during the hangouts. I plan to use this to discuss equipment or share interviews with the audience. In the next section I’ll tell you how we used this in the process of coming up with a new site logo.
New Logo Process
Some of you know that I have ben working on establishing my brand as Mr. Midway. I’m keeping the Midway Marketplace website, but I filed for a new site domain of www.mr-midway.com which is forwarded to the existing site. I feel like the shorter url and Mr. midway are more marketable. And these moves put me in a better position to go forward with an Indigogo campaign to raise funds to take the youtube show out on the road. Part of any crowd sourcing campaign is the offering of gifts, usually logo embossed merchandise, as inducements to encourage people to contribute. So, I asked Kelly Corbin, the lady who created my site logo; to come up with a new one for Mr. Midway. Below are some of the images she came up with. I should mention that it isn’t an easy job for her to design a logo for a client who can’t see the results of her work and judge for himself whether or not it will work. She sends me a design, and I share it with my family and social media communities to get their opinions. She has done an amazing job, and I think we are very close to a final version. I couldn’t do this without friends like Kelly. And this time I’m even going to pay her. smile
These first few designs we discussed during a hangout two weeks ago using the screen sharing I mentioned earlier. While Kelly wasn’t able to join us live, she did make it into the end of that show. We did get some valuable feedback most notably that the designs had too much text to be suitable for all merchandise. They would have been good for a mouse pad, poster, or maybe a mug; but not for shirts.
From there, Kelly had what I think was an inspired idea. She decided to forget about a carnival themed logo and come up with a universal logo that would be identified with my company no matter where it is seen. She said the plan was to end up with something iconic like the Nike Schwoosh, McDonalds arches, etc. She said then I could embed the logo in anything I wanted. I want to show you the basic image, a high resolution version of it; and a ferris wheel combined with the image. I think she is really on the right track.
Web Series First Season
I also made some progress on the schedule for the first full season of shows. For those who don’t know the plan is to start with 12 weekly episodes to run from June through August focusing on amusement parks, carnivals, and family entertainment centers. I decided that in the beginning I wouldn’t focus too much on the equipment for sale. This means I have to find twelve companies willing to have me film at their location. So far I have two firm commitments. The owner of the Hog Wild Family Fun Center in Conway Arkansas has agreed to take part and has even volunteered to go first. And the owner of Shoeppner Shows in California has invited me to visit his midway during July when he will be in the Los Vegas area for three weeks. Both of these gentlemen probably agreed because I have known them for a while. I sold two rides for the carnival owner, and for a while I was working to sell the Hog Wild f e c. I plan to reach out to more people that I have worked with in the past or who have known me for a long tim in hops of filling in the other ten weeks. I am sure that once people see the kind of shows I will be doing that more will want to take part.
Future Goals
First, I want to build the audience for the hangouts and my youtube channel in general. I know it takes time for people to find a new personality or show. And as another regular Eric Weigand said we really needed to work out a lot of technical issues so we could have turned off a lot of people if they had been watching. However, I do feel I should b doing better in terms of number of people participating, questions submitted, live viewers, and youtube subscribers. I hope you will help with this by subscribing to my feed. You can also use the sharing buttons on youtube to let people know about the weekly meet ups with Mr. Midway every wednesday night 10 Pm Eastern, 9 PM Central, 7 PM Pacific, etc. If you want to take part, then message me through google or send me an email asking to be added to the hangout. You can send questions by using the hashtag #askmistermidway on twitter.
I am hopeful of launching the indiegogo campaign in the next week to ten days. I could use your suggestions about potential merchandise or other ways I can encourage people to contribute. A couple of things we have been discussing is a signed dvd of the first season along with the usual items shirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, playing cards, etc. I have also thought about compiling images for a pictorial or coffee table style book to be produced later. This one would b expensive, but it would also be unusual. And once the campaign is launched, I will need your help promoting it.
Naturally, I want to recruit more equipment listings and make more sales as that is the primary goal of the site. In this area the key will be convincing people that I handle more than just rides and that my services are worth the commissions I am charging on completed sales. I also need to bring in more products and services related to the amusement industry. And I want to locate sponsors of the website and the show along with regular advertisers for the website and blog. Yes, I know that’s a lot to ask.
Sharing Is Caring
I appreciate your taking the time to ready my posts. I know everyone is busy with their own lives, jobs, businesses, kids, etc. If you liked this post, or if you appreciate my site in general; I hope you will share it with your friend and family as well as across your social media networks. I also hope you will leave a comment. Th comment Luv system is working properly again, so leaving a comment gets you three links. You get one to your website, another to your twitter profile, and a third to your most recent blog post. I value all your comments and will reply to all of them. And I do my best to reciprocate by visiting your site and finding at least one post to read and comment on. I look forward to your suggestions.
I know this post covered a lot of ground. I had planned to post after every hangout, but I wasn’t personally satisfied with a few we had in the last month. I didn’t think enough happened to justify weekly posts. I hope that is behind me now. I always love hearing from my readers. I look forward to your opinions, questions, suggestions, etc. Whether you want to discuss the amusement industry or talk about blogging and social media or ask about what it’s like to be a blind business owner; I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again and take care out there, Max
Hi Max. Glad to see the knowledge progressing and like the train of thought re logo. Good luck with the hangouts. When the next one starts I will see if the plug-in I requested ever finished down-loading as I have no other way to be sure
Paul Graham recently posted…Points Of View
Hi Paul; thanks for taking a look. I think Kelly is on the right track too. I hope th plug in did download successfully. No one likes to fuss with software or updates to it. thanks again my friend and take care, max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
Max, I really appreciate how you share the learning process you are going through. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to share what they’ve learned and keep it personable. Are you sure you weren’t a teacher in a past life?
Jeri recently posted…#WriteTip: Be Specific When Writing Reviews
Hi Jeri; that is a high complement, thanks so much. I grew up with some good story tellers including my dad. perhaps some of that rubbed off on me. I’m just glad I can share and that people can find good lessons from my experiences. take care, max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
Hi Max
You are certainly to be admired to be able to do all that you do and you have certainly set some impressive goals. I like the idea of the ferriswheel logo. Good luck getting the 12 participants for the web series – I’m sure you won’t have a problem with that. It seems to me that you work hard to turn out a quality product and when people see that they’ll be asking to join you.
All the best,
Lenie
Hi Lennie; thanks for reading and leaving such a detailed comment. Since the recent update from google i’m finding people are more hesitant about leaving comments. My niche is so different from most. It seems most agree with you on the logo. and I believe you are right. Once people have some shows to know about the quality of my work, and after they find out that I plan to do positive shows; I think more and more will want to be part of it. And once I get going, then I can add in shows focusing on the equipment for sale. I have also ben told that some shows about the process of refurbishing equipment could be good too. thanks again and take care, Max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
I’m loving the logo. It has a classic Detroit Pistons look to it.
Jason B recently posted…10 Colleges/Universities In The Atlanta Area
hi jason; glad you liked it. a couple people have said it might be to 80’s, but a lot of people have said it brings back memories. I should have some merchandise with the logo soon. by the way is that before or after they moved to the palace at auburn hills? i loved the bad boy pistons because they beat the lakers. long time rockets fan enough said. smile thanks again, max
Hi Max, like music this world of blogging, sharing, and communicating in the 21st century is a lot to take in. Google Hangouts are new to me and as you learn I will read and take it in. Thanks.
Tim recently posted…More than a Dry Spell
hi tim; thanks for the comment. I am glad to hear people are learning from my experiences. next up is the use of video questions. I can use the screen sharing option to play a video for anyone watching. so, if you have a question for me, perhaps you will take out your cell phone and record it for me? then just email it. a short one shouldn’t be a problem to send as an attachment. would love it for you to b my first for next week’s show. thanks again and take care, max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
Max, I am so impressed that you tackle the projects you do. I’m too myopic, in the figurative sense of the word, to try new things too much of the time. Are you able to have a domain without the hypen for Mr-Midway? I think sometimes people remember the domain name, but forget the additional punctuation. Or, I have no idea what I’m talking about.
BTW, I don’t think comments are too big of a problem as long as their engaged and add to the conversation. For example, “Great post” does not add to the conversation.
Suzanne Fluhr recently posted…“If You Want to Make God Laugh, Tell Him about Your Plans” — Carpe Diem Edition
Hi Suzanne; thanks for the supportive comment. I try these things because I am hoping they will help me do a better job for my clients, provide valuable information, or just help me to improve myself. Next up, I am requesting that people email me video questions or comments to be shared and discussed during a future hangout. I now know how to use screen share so i can play a video and anyone watching will see it. what do you think? and I agree with you on comments. but i understand the fear that is out there because of googles latest update. I have noticed fewer comments. There is no way to know if this is because of post quality or google’s update; but i choose to believe my content is solid. thanks again and take care, max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
Maxwell,
Seems like you have a lot on your plate right now. You mentioned that you do hangouts. Do you have a link to your show or the show page to see previous episodes?
Andy
Andy Nathan recently posted…Dino Dogan And The Growth Of Triberr
Hi Andy; I’m glad to hear from you. I hadn’t thought of doing that as google assigns a new link for each week’s hangout. I have a link to my youtube page on the website. I do have a page to the shows I recorded of my own about equipment for sale. They are under podcast on the main menu. thanks for the suggestion, max
It’s very cool how your knowledge is growing. I do like your logo ideas. the first one is my favorite. I wish much much luck with your hangouts. when the dust settle for me I do plan on joining in. So be patient with me, I will participate in the future. 🙂
Susan Cooper recently posted…Homemade Candy For Mom: #Recipe
Hi Susan; thanks for the complement. You are a good friend and have been very supportive of me and my site and all i am trying to do with it. so i know you will drop in on a hangout when your life allows. smile i wanted to tell you about something else i want to try. now that i have the hang of using screen share, i’m asking people to submit video questions or comments to be played and discussed during a future hangout. I figure one or two minute videos should come through to my inbox just fine. hope you will tai me up on it. thanks so much for all your love and support. Take care my friend, max
It is really nice to know that you are learning with every single hangout . Thanks for sharing your knowledge to benefit all of us.
I wish you best of luck for this train of knowlwdge and winning ideas.
I am happy to see your logo , it is good idea to embed your logo in different logos. Now the world Mister Midway is clearn in last logo , when it was circuling around , it was not much clear.
I wish you good luck with your road show.
Best
Andleeb
andleeb recently posted…Our Problems… Do you have a solution?????
Hi andleeb; thanks for your encouragement. I am also happy that others can learn from my use of hangouts. I feel like i am getting close to understanding them completely. by the way i can now have video questions or comments. so perhaps you will record one for my next show. Just say hi my name is my site is and i want to know. if a video is only a minute or so long you shouldn’t have any problem emailing it to me. i know that the logo with the wheel is a little unclear but the point with that one was to give me and my followers an idea of how the logo would look when embedded in other images. I hope your writing has gotten easier. Last post you were struggling with inspiration. I’m looking forward to your next post. and i am itching to get out on the road. i don’t know if it will happen by jun 1st, but I’m doing everything within my power to make it happen. thanks again and take care, Max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
You resolved some big problems. How did you figure out that you were overtaxing your computer? That’s the kind of thing I could totally see myself doing and it would take forever before I figured it out.
I love the logo development. I really liked the ferris wheel treatment, the font choice there was perfect but you were spot on in deciding to do with the simpler red and blue logo. It captures your attention and the ferris wheel is hard to read.
Debra Yearwood recently posted…Etiquette – Things You Learned in Kindergarten
Hi Debra; thanks for the helpful comment. i had had trouble with the back up plug in while checking my mail. that is why i reset the time on it to start with. I just picked a time at random to get it to stop. I never thought about what time i was choosing and how it would effect other things I would do later. I just happened to hear my screen reader say drop box and the penny dropped or the light bulb went on whatever metafore you prefer for that moment when it all finally makes sense. smile And it was the designer who decided to go for a simpler approach. Kelly has been wonderful. Considering she is working with a client that can’t review her work directly; I think she has done an amazing job. and she is also going to help with submitting the design to merchandise companies and to indiegogo. I have been blessed to meet so many wonderful supportive helpful people out here including you Debra. Thanks again and take care, Max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
Hi Max,
It’s always a pleasure to know all that you are learning and going through, and I appreciate it that you share it all with us 🙂
I think the logo designing was very interesting, and once it’s all finalized it would surely do wonders for you. Great going indeed, and I wish you all the best, as I always do.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice weekend 🙂
Harleena Singh recently posted…Why Your Blog Is Not Making Money
Hi Harlena; Yes, you have ben very supportive and encouraging. Knowing my friends are there for me is a big help in continuing to push to try new things. for example now that i know how to screen share I am asking people to submit video questions for the hangout. I figure they can record them on their cell phones and email them to me. the logo has come along very nicely considering that i can’t view the progress for myself, but that’s where friends and family come in. Part of why I share so much is its often the easiest way if not the only way for me to get things done. smile I’m behind schedule on the crowd sourcing but I’m moving forward. I now have a third location commitment. the owner of a small combination family entertainment center and water park in oklahoma is also the owner of a party rental company I used to do business with back win I had the carnival. His place is called alligator alley and he has graciously agreed to have visit. I have double my twitter following in the last month or so, so I need to get to sharing more of your awesome posts. thanks again for all your help. Take care my friend. xoxo max
Mr.Midway recently posted…updating google hangout, a new logo, and planning for Indiegogo campaign
Hey Max
Great stuff. Things seem to slowly be coming together. Hangouts are not the simplest thing in the world and I think it would take anyone time to come to terms with them, blind or not. So congrats on the persistence (although that is normal for you).
I was wondering if you had spoken (email, twitter) to Diana, who has also had an indegogo campaign recently, Perhaps she could give you some times. If this allows me, I am now pasting the link
http://www.dianamarinova.com/5-lessons-learned-first-indiegogo-campaign/
Have a great hangout tonight
ashley
Ashley recently posted…MLP012: Boost Your Productivity with Tips from Productive Super Dad w/ Timo Kiander
Hi ashley; thanks for the support and encouragement. it was needed. I think the lack of a major sale this far into the year was causing me to put more pressure on myself. I hadn’t posted in over three weeks and didn’t even realize it until Adrienne pointed it out to me. so yesterday I wrote a new post about this week’s hangout. and I’m committed to having another one by monday on inflatable ride safety. I haven’t spoken to her about her experience, but I have shared her link. I will definitely check out this post and see what I can learn. my campaign hasn’t gone live yet. i couldn’t navigate the form with my screen reader, but someone from customer support has ben helping and i hope to go live by monday at the latest. thanks so much. You are a good friend Ashly. Take care, Max
Mr.Midway recently posted…weekly meet up may 28 2014 new rides, indiegogo rewards and a special guest