Facebook Mentions #GameChanger. Finally the epic shift in social media I predicted in 2007 is coming to all.

    In 2007 I fumbled upon Justin.TV via a NightLine report which featured Justin Kan broadcasting live on the internet while he was playing poker with friends. Immediately I went to see his live feed. He was life casting his life 24 /7 and getting massive attention. I was intrigued when he stated the mission of his startup was to bring a social network that anyone could stream live on and have live interactions with viewers via chat. This was my light bulb moment and Dot TV Media Services was born.

   We have now come almost full circle. Facebook Live is definetly not something new. Our firm has been producing Facebook Live broadcasts since 2010.  Periscope, Meerkat and now Facebook Mentions have dumbified producing a good live broadcasting stream down to an enjoyable app which you can broadcast, watch, engage and interact on social media with a few simple screen taps. This dumbification was the missing link. Before these apps you had to use a computer and at least a webcam to broadcast effectively. This is one of many reasons why it took nearly 10 years to now finally make it to Facebook. Live broadcasting will change the way we and brands communicate, share, engage, get attention, and convert via social media... forever!

                            Luke Bryan debuts a song on Facebook Mentions App Live

Facebook Mentions App will be available to everyone soon.
      Facebook currently is only issuing the beta Live "Mentions" app to high profile verified Page Owners for a few reasons. It has bugs that need to be worked out. It takes a ton of server memory to not only stream live but save these streams. They don't know what to expect. Live can get crazy positive and extreme negative. Trolling, porn, bullying, copyright infringement, and live suicides have all reared their ugly faces on all live broadcasting platforms. This is very intimidating to Facebook. Sure viewer flagging and site monitoring can quickly ban violating streamers bit with  Facebook violators will be massive and on a scale never seen before.
 
   Interesting that last night Steve-O used Facebook Live to broadcast illegally climbing a Hollywood crane and setting off fireworks to protest Sea World. Now the questions is will Steve-O lose his ability to broadcast live or account? or will he get a free pass? It's almost guaranteed when Facebook Mentions Live TOS (terms of service) is released to all Facebook users that any live broadcast by a user participating in a crime will be immediately banned from Facebook. One of the best broadcasts so far has been by Lindsey Vonn on Wednesday, August 5, 2015 Skiing in New Zealand.

      As to the pitfalls of live broadcasting anyone can record and edit you how they wish. Live is unedited so your mistakes which you would normally edit out of a video are now there for all to see as it happens and use as they wish.

                         Mashable's Pete Cashmore Facebook Menotions  Live Trolled On YouTube

 Going LIVE is the most engaging form of social media and soon we will all be doing some of if not most of our social media posts LIVE!

       #FacebookMentions is coming to you soon. What are you going to share with us live?

2015 Chevy Colorado 4x4 Z71 Crew Cab experience at SXSW

All I can say is WOW. I had the use of the pictured 2015 Chevrolet Colorado 4x4 Z71 Crew Cab for my journey to SXSW this year and it was an amazing experience!! With my 20+ years of experience in the automotive industry I definitely put the Colorado through its paces on the ride to and from Dallas to Austin and it passed with flying colors!

To start of with the 4G LTE hotspot was an awesome feature for my media and internet projects while at SXSW. The download and upload speeds were fast. We reached an average of 16+ Mbps downloads and 4.5 Mbps upload. To a web based company owner is very important when you are in those no signal dead spots, where your phone's mobile hotspot can't get a signal. The next thing I was very impressed with was the Bose sound systems and controls. The sound was amazing, as were the ease of switching between stations, media, and navigation. I then noticed the full size car type ride on my trip. Very surprising, especially for a 4x4. I had the opportunity to sample the 4x4 the during a construction mess on I-35 on my drive down to Austin. Smooth transition back and forth from 2wd. I couldn't even tell it happened and it was seamless. The gas mileage was not too shabby. I personally, in 600+ miles of both city and hwy driving, averaged nearly 20 mpg. The interior was comfortable plenty of room for two large adults in the back. I spilled half a bottle of water in my seat. A towel with one dab removed it. I could not feel any moisture or wetness in the seat because none of the water was absorbed into the fabric of the seat, which was very nice.

Overall I was very impressed with the Colorado. It gives you the big truck features with a car like ride. I can see why Motor Trend made it its 2015 Truck of the Year.