I'm always interested in better, faster ways to upload videos. I heard about Xfire a long time ago, but only became aware today that their client — in addition to connecting you to your friends across 1,000+ games — records movies! Previously, I covered how to record videos with WeGame, but Ravenelle was having some problems with her sound setup, so we stumbled across this. I'll likely be sharing further impressions in the future, since I'm surprised by how optimized and sharp the quality is for a free recorder.

Oddly tho, while there are ways to link to a video, I don't see easy copy-and-paste embed code like just about every other video-sharing site out there. I browsed the forums and came across this helpful thread. Thanks to those avid gamers, the solution is pretty easy.

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I'll answer any & all questions I can. I'm providing this experimental space because since topical blog posts don't allow for such variety. 2 rules:

1. Just about anything re: video tutorials, tips, tricks, 'n' how-tos is welcome! E.g., if you have a vidtut request.
2. No questions about official Linden policy (stuff I can't help with). This is my personal blog.

If you prefer, send me a private message.

Go for it!

Not "careful" — this isn't about caution. It's about passion. Andy Sernovitz shares word of Tom O'Brien's badass experience with Walter of Hertz, and I comment.

Andy asks,

"Would it cost anything?"

and yes, there's always a time & energy cost. Compulsive clockwatchers aren't welcome in any service, but basically, 2 minutes extra adds up to an hour over 30 people. (Which may be well-worth it, depending on context.) The idealist in me is therefore thwarted by the pragmatist, who doesn't do a blanket-bomb of helping everyone identically. Rather, I believe in being attuned to personalities. Some customers will get pissed off and stay that way if you approach them with super-cheer, whereas others will turn their frown upside-down. And I'm not saying this for the sake of clowning around, because my iterative interactions have shown this diversity and variance of catering to individual needs to be overwhelmingly important, yet underwhelmingly stated.

Most of the best stuff — including comfort and security — comes with a long-term relationship. True in love and live in general! Examples: the world traveler who keeps checking in to your hotels because she knows she'll get great service (and smiles). The savvy shopper who's cost-conscious, but willing to pay higher prices at an upscale boutique because they make him feel good. Or in Second Life, the virtual vagabond and volunteer helper who, after being thrilled by how affable we are, is in search of their next Linden employee avatar sighting.

But ponder this: you help two people the best you can. One goes on to help others and/or give positive word of mouth, and the other rudely squawks "@#$% you!" and leaves in a huffy. This not being the end (and people do have bad days), you encounter both of them again, and they behave fundamentally the same. Meaning your interactions with #1 are even stronger — since they build on a base of what happened before — and #2 is dishing out redundant slop. Who would you spend more time with in the future?

I won't just leave that open, if you're wondering what I believe. In almost all real cases, I'd go with #1. Especially knowing they'll improve others and amplify their awesome!

The same is also applicable for helping customers who had an unfortunate experience, or even more importantly, those who are accustomed to great service but had one sucky time (which threatens them). I know fresh, because it happened to me and Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk a few days ago. After generic emails that weren't helpful, I got a phonecall from an MTurk Program Manager who was extremely nice and understanding. Her ownership of the situation helped straighten out the mess. No finger o' blame needed to be pointed, because…

as I've written before, a relationship works both ways, and if you change to benefit your interactions and the other person doesn't, you can't move forward. But you shouldn't brood over that — move on to the next flexible connection you can induce joy with. And for that reason, "The customer is always right" is a bullshiitake maxim which ignores relationships. It's as meaningless as saying "Your [INSERT IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE] is always right". No one ever is, and believing so leads to abuse. But…

we can always ask quick questions and learn more. We can communicate with enthusiasm and vigor. We can narrow down what makes someone happiest, and target that "Pillsbury Doughboy spot" (so named because of the "Hee-hee!"). We can learn rapidly and adapt; just like comparative testing is used to advance lab experiments and website regflows, it's applicable to human behavior.

To sum up: be uniquely nice to everyone, and refine that happiness across subsequent moments together. It will become increasingly clear that some people are more worth your energy than others, and you'll reap rewards together.