So it’s been a while since I’ve written in this blog, eh? In my defense, the day job at Mashable keeps me pretty busy. I write day and night and don’t have much time to do my own personal writing. Having said that a MAJOR redesign effort is in progress as well as a better fusion between my various social media profiles.

It’s funny how life works. Four years ago, I was in school, contributing a column to USA Today and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. Today, I’m sitting in my office in Atlanta for what will be one of the last times, penning this entry, about to embark on a brand new adventure.

Grant and I are headed to New York! I will be working out of Mashable’s offices in New York City as of April 18, 2011. Grant has a great new job at the Daily Dot where he will be kicking ass and taking names and we’re both ready for a brand new adventure!

The move has been in the works for some time, basically since January, but we were thinking about it even before then. I’m so grateful and fortunate to have a partner like Grant. Not only is he moving with me, he’s handled most of the difficult aspects of the move itself. Seriously, Grant is my rock, my savior and my best friend.

With beginnings inevitably come endings and in addition to saying goodbye to Atlanta, my parents and Dunwoody Place (my home for like 9 years), the web is also being forced to say goodbye to Download Squad. In the wake of the Huffington Post acquisition, it just didn’t make sense to keep Download Squad (or as it was recently rebranded, Switched Download Squad) around. At least that’s what we think. Only the bean counters no for sure.

Download Squad may not have ever been the biggest or loudest site on the block, but it will always hold a place in my heart because it, along with TUAW, was where I started really writing about technology and software for the web. Moreover, it was where I met Grant. Grant and I met in October, 2007 and soon started doing a weekly video series together, the Squadcast. The show didn’t really take off but the chemistry between Grant and I did. It was also some of the earliest training I had for my work on Briefly Awesome (new name is forthcoming) with Dan Benjamin.

The web loses something with the shuttering of Download Squad, but I can’t help but find the timing almost fitting. Grant and I are headed for the big city to take on a new adventure. I can’t wait and I look forward to the future, getting married, living in Brooklyn and working in-person with all of my wonderful colleagues.

That’s why I’m joining Project 52. I WANT to write more here and more personal writing, ‘Im just so busy with work and because my work IS writing, it’s hard to find the energy to dedicate to my own site.

But it’s important. It’s important because it is a good outlet for me. For nearly seven years, I used my LiveJournal as an outlet for my thoughts and feelings. It became more dormant about five years in, but that journal continues to be an archive of my life in college and it was an important outlet for me to express myself, even for no one reading.

It’s harder for me to write more personal entries now. More people know who I am, which is awesome, but that also means that I feel like I have to restrain or hold back some of my thoughts (which is why I might start a private journal again, that’s just for me). I guess I don’t have to, it’s just a limit of what you want to share. I’ve been pretty arms-length in some regards, but pretty open in others. I really want to just write more about what I’m feeling and thinking and fuck what other people think. Like seriously, fuck it.

I’ll put a big disclaimer that my blog does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of my employer and blah blah blah, but you know, it’s just time to get back to being able to write for myself. Write as catharsis.

So that’s why I’m joining Project 52. Because it’s important for me to write.

Out.

I’ve written so much about the iPhone and its platform over the last two years that it is pretty laughable that I haven’t had one as my primary device until now. I mean, I’ve had an iPod touch 2G 32GB and played with more apps than I care to recall (like, it makes managing the shit in iTunes difficult — even with the new features of iTunes 9), but now I FINALLY, FINALLY have one as my primary device.

Bye, Bye BlackBerry

After a nice honeymoon period, all was not love and sunshine with my BlackBerry Curve. See, the phone either had some sort of major malfunction or I just expected too much out of it. While I was at TUAW and DownloadSquad, my e-mail count was pretty high, like, I’d often get over 100 messages a day. If I wasn’t constantly deleting them from my phone, the damn thing would run out of memory reading a newsfeed or loading a webpage and I’d have to do the whole three-finger BlackBerry salute (where you restart the phone by pressing three buttons) and wait 5-minutes for the phone to restart.

Then there was the whole issue of fucking crashing while a call was trying to come through. This started to get more and more frequent and because I often do interview or calls with PR people, that’s embarrassing. And inconvenient.

The abysmal amount of on-phone memory allocated for the OS and the data really is to the device’s detriment. I’m sure that newer BlackBerry devices have addressed that issue, but from where I’m standing, the fact that I have to make sure my cache, e-mail, and other little areas are all clear just so I can install an application from the shitty BlackBerry App World is just unacceptable.

Even when I had almost NO third-party apps on the phone, the crashing and freezing and lockup issues didn’t go away. Again, I could have dealt with this if it didn’t have this great tendency to do it while trying to receive calls.

Now, I might have still considered getting a new BlackBerry, except at this point it’s not longer really financially advantageous to do so. When I got my Curve 8320, I paid a lot for the phone, even with the two-year contract, but I got what I still consider one of the BEST data/minute plans out there. 1000 minutes, unlimited BlackBerry data, unlimited text messages — $60 a month.

It was a great, great plan. Unfortunately, T-Mobile in its infinite wisdom decided to get rid of it. Now, the replacement plan is not a bad deal still — it’s 1000 minutes, plus unlimited night and weekend, plus the unlimited data and texting for $85 a month. That’s not a bad deal, however, if you don’t consider that the voice minutes (which I rarely use that many of) are the only difference, that’s $25 more a month — or $300 a year — so $600 over two years. Why do I mention this?

Well, had I gone with a new phone, I wouldn’t have been able to keep the old plan. I would have been forced to move to one of the new plans. When I first started seriously doing the calculations back in June, the current offering with unlimited night/weekend/mobile-to-mobile in addition to the base 1000 minutes wasn’t even an option.

Plus, even if I waited for my upgrade date, I would still end up paying as much for a new BlackBerry as I would for a new 16GB iPhone.

So here was my thought process, part of my rationale for not getting the iPhone 2G was that I couldn’t see paying nearly $1000 more over two years. As I said then, “that’s a new MacBook.”

However, if I’m going to have to pay that money anyway, I’d rather get the phone I really want: the iPhone.

Hello, iPhone 3GS

It’s interesting to look back at how much the mobile landscape has changed in the last two years. I would challenge even the most ardent-iPhone hater to seriously argue that the bulk of that innovation hasn’t been because of or in direct-response to the iPhone. As I said on the TUAW Talkcast at the end of the year in both 2007 and 2008, the iPhone continues to be the biggest story not just in the Apple-sphere, but in technology in general.

The first iPhone, though revolutionary for its interface and industrial design, was not an overly innovative phone. Sure, the web browsing was really, really nice — but that was just about the only feature that wasn’t already out there. Again, the interface and industrial design are revolutionary in their own right, but if you are a gadget freak and a reformed smartphone junkie like myself, the actual featureset wasn’t really any better than the competition.

That all changed in July of 2008. The App Store, has quite frankly, changed everything. It has taken the iPhone from the sexy device that you want, but maybe can’t justify the expense of — especially with the shittier carrier and the options available elsewhere — to the phone that nothing else comes close to touching. The apps are just amazing. They changed everything.

I got my iPod touch 2G 32GB last year and have loved it. As a gaming device, as a pocket computer, as a reference list, as a just general fun machine — the device is just the tops.

So even before I’d reached the end of the first year with my Berry, I was having some misgivings about continuing on the BB course. Because Grant had a G1 (and now a MyTouch 3G), I’ve been in the unique position of using the iPhone OS, the BlackBerry OS and Android all at the same time. Having compared them all back to back, it just isn’t a question, the iPhone wins. It’s not just the number of apps (though that is impressive), the quality of the apps is just unbelievable. Look at the Facebook App for iPhone. Now look at the newly-released Facebook for Android. No comparison. None. I’ll give you that Android is capable of much more, but almost nothing compelling has been done with the platform.

So after realizing I needed to get a new phone — to stop the freezing insanity if nothing else — and after realizing that I’m going to be paying between $70 and $90 a month for my cell phone anyway, I put my AT&T hate aside and got an iPhone 3GS.

First Impressions

Well, as I said, I have an iPod touch. So the device isn’t anything new to get used to — other than the larger size (the 32GB iPhone 3GS is way thicker than the absolutely svelte iPod touch — but I’m actually totally OK with that — it feels more secure that way). Still, the whole thing is class.

And I have to give both AT&T and my beloved T-Mobile some credit — my number was ported super, super fast. As in, I finished checking out at the Apple Store — he went an activated my phone in iTunes. I went to the car with Grant. I picked up my phone while we were driving home and got instantly got a text message saying my number had been ported over. Like 5 minutes. Or less. Not bad.

I got the new Marware SportShell Convertible for iPhone 3G, 3G S (Black) as a case and I highly recommend it for 3G/3GS users looking for versatility.

I’ve had several Marware cases over the years (the SportSuit Convertible for the iPod — for several iPods actually) and quite like them, but I really like the SportShell. It’s a really solid quality plastic casing, with the option of either a belt clip or just a smooth back — and it can also connect to an armband (which I’ll never use — that’s why I also got a new iPod nano at the same time as my iPhone — for a new workout iPod). Plus it came with screen protectors, which saved me having to get some cut to fit the iPod 3GS. You can also just get the case without the armband for less cash (Marware SportShell for iPhone 3G, 3G S (Black) ) and Amazon has them for way less than the Apple Store (though overpaying for accessories is just part of the Apple Store experience and I wanted to leave with a case).

Call quality is great, I haven’t had any crashes (knock on wood) like with the Berry and obviously, it does without saying that the Mac compatibility is in another league.

Yes, yes, BlackBerry Desktop for Mac is very, very spiffy — and it is much needed — but it was still too little, too late for my needs. Because I couldn’t export a straight CSV or log of VCF files from the Mac version (thanks for the leak CrackBerry!), I still had to result to Windows Vista VM hell, as my Twitter followers are all too familiar.

We All Knew This Would Happen.…

I’m not surprised that I caved to AT&T, and indeed, the fact that I waited until I could get out of my contract by having to pay as little money as possible is a credit to my own resolve (a resolve I often don’t have), but it always seemed like a foregone conclusion that I would get an iPhone. Come on, I’m completely Apple’s bitch. This is fact.

Hey T-Mobile — thanks for almost 9-years of pretty decent phone service and great customer support!

Now I’m off to do some work and play with my toy!

I loved by time at both TUAW and Download Squad and will always be grateful for the experience, the people that I met (most importantly, Grant), and the opportunities that have come my way as a result of my time with WIN.

So for two weeks now I’ve been at Mashable and I’m just so excited and overjoyed to be part of such a cool team. Sharon, Adam O., Jenn, Ben, Barb, Stan, Adam H., Tamar, Frederick, Brett, Josh and of course, Pete are all AWESOME. And I’m not lying. Hand linking all those Twitter accounts was a pain in the ass.

So I’m writing full-time at Mashable, doing The Flickcast and doing another project that I desperately want to discuss but must continue to keep silent about (it’s awesome, it’s movie related and it’s tons of fun). Here’s the important thing: I’m at the point in my life where I can actually say that I’m a full-time working writer.

The fact that I can say this at 26 is really, really amazing. Two years ago, when I was finishing school and trying to kind of decide what to do next, my end-goal (in the back of my mind) was to be able to carve a career for myself writing about technology or film or popular culture.

That isn’t to say that I wouldn’t love the opportunity to sell a screenplay or work on a television show (or hell, become the megalomaniacal studio boss that I’ve always fantasized about being — I really am only half-joking when I say I want to be Rupert Murdoch without all the evil — a Christina Media Empire would be freaking awesome), but realistically, in my heart of hearts, what I want to do — what I’m good at doing — is writing about the latest news, reviewing products and services and sharing my love of film, pop culture and technology with anyone willing to take the time and read my stuff.

I’m truly blessed that in two years, that has now started to become a reality.

Today is Labor Day in the US, and I have the day off. I’m upgrading our remaining Macs to Snow Leopard (life is busy and it hasn’t been easy to find time to do that sort of stuff) and just enjoying knowing that I have a great job and great people to work with tomorrow.

Not only am I lucky enough to get to do what I love, I have the most amazing, most supportive and most loving partner a girl could ask for. Somebody pinch me and tell me I’m not dreaming!

Out!

Essentially, a little girl, dying of a rare form of cancer, really wanted to see Pixar’s “Up.” Sadly, she was too sick to get to the theater when it was released. So her mom cold called Pixar, Disney, whoever, and managed to reach someone who sent a REAL PERSON to their door, with the movie, some toys, etc. and allowed the family and the little girl to watch the film together. A few hours later, she passed away.

If you haven’t seen the film, I won’t go into too many spoilers, other than to say, it is the very essence of life, death, hope and rebirth. It’s a beautiful, beautiful film and while some might find its subject matter a bit macabre for a last wish (especially since the trailer really didn’t make it out to be what it is), I think it’s perfect.

The fact that this little girl hung on, just so she could see her last movie — a movie she had wanted to see — and the fact that Pixar sent someone to the girl’s house with the movie, so she could watch it, perfectly encapsulates why movies are so important.

Throughout my life, but especially in college, I’ve often had conversations with people who just don’t understand why I’m so passionate about film. The importance of film is easier to argue than the importance of television (in that, the academic study of film is so parallel to the academic study of literature, whereas the basis for television study often depends on the sociological aspects of television, rather than the textual content of the shows themselves), but I know many, many people who undermine or dismiss its significance. I truly believe that film can have a transformative effect greater than any other medium.

I saw “Up” last week with Grant and Nik Fletcher, who visited with us for a few days before going to The Big Nerd Ranch. The UK doesn’t get “Up” until October, so Grant and I waited to see the film until Nik arrived.

It was worth the wait. The film is perhaps the most “adult” Pixar film to date (though WALL-E is certainly close), on so many levels. I’m sure kids love it, but it is truly an example of a film made for adults. It is wonderful.

After hearing Matt rail against it on The Flickcast, and hearing from others that it was depressing, I was slightly nervous it might break the streak of “awesome.” Of course, I was wrong. For the tenth time, I sat in a theater and watched a Pixar film on the big screen. For the tenth time, I walked away overjoyed. This time, I also had tears in my eyes.

To be sure, “Up” is a tear-jerker, but it is also immensely beautiful and powerful. I saw the film two days after what would have been my grandparents 64th wedding anniversary, and the day after the third anniversary of my grandfather’s death. I was reminded so much of my grandparents in the film — especially seeing Carl adjust to life without his beloved Ellie. When my grandmother died in January 2005, my grandfather was by her side the entire time. For the majority of the few days leading up to her passing, I was with him. Sitting next to him as he held her hand. It was heartwrenching, yet beautiful. Seeing someone say goodbye to his wife of nearly 60 years. Seeing real love as it exists at the very end of life.

“Up” captured that kind of love. It encapsulated what it is like to witness that kind of love.

The movies matter because they have the ability to take the most personal and difficult of experiences — losing a loved one (or even watching someone lose a loved one) — and put it on screen for the lessons and the feelings of that experience to be absorbed by everyone in the theater. Movies are larger than life, but the power is that they can bring the real emotions from life, to a much bigger place.

I’m rambling at this point and losing my coherency. Regardless, I can’t think of a more perfect film for that family to watch together. I hope little Colby enjoyed it.

So Grant and I are driving this year. After last year’s hilarious, yet ultimately awesome snafu with the whole having to drive from Dallas to Austin with friends I made at the airport bit last year, it made more sense for us to drive this year. Especially when we booked our hotel in November, you know, before flights got so cheap. Le sigh.

The awesome, Corvida will be road tripping it with us, and we plan on having a blast. Chris, the brother of the AWESOME Kimberly, of Regator fame will be driving back with us. Geek trip!

OK, so I’ll be in Austin, God-willing, from Thursday — Wednesday. DM me on Twitter (@film_girl) so we can meet up if you’re in town.

Also:

Be sure to check out my StudioSX interview with skinnyCorp’s Jeffrey Kalmikoff on Saturday at 3:00 PM. You can also watch the video online afterwards, and I’ll be sure to pimp it out — you know, unless I royally fuck up or something. Just kidding, even if I fuck it up I’ll still pimp the hell out of it.

Victor is leading a Core Conversation about organically growing a fanbase and Grant and I will both be giving some of our thoughts.

I’ll also be moderating a panel on The Convergence of High-End Design, Fashion and Technology at 5 PM.

And of course, I plan on attending as many parties, meet-ups and drinking sessions as possible.

Oh — and because Grant has to have something attention-grabbing at anything he does, we created imamarketingjackass.com to coincide with his new brand: social media “expert.” Really, it’s just a play on all the people that brand themselves as experts in marketing or social media or this or that, but really have no qualifications or ideas on what is actually required. Plus, it matches his business cards. Which I also designed.

OK, my jeans are done, the reds are in the wash and I’m off to do like 50 other things.

See you in Austin!

Out!

Because they moved the Showcase to a larger auditorium, there was a problem getting the first film (Milk) ready to show on time, so they had to switch it with The Reader instead (and we watched Milk second). This actually worked out quite well because Grant had no interest seeing The Reader and probably would have left after Milk. As it turned out, The Reader was fantastic and Grant is really glad he stayed.

The Reader was a real surprise. I had wanted to avoid it because it seemed trite and overly praised, and frankly, seemed as if it would bore me. Far from it. The film asks really interesting questions about guilt, complicity, love and forgiveness. The idea of morality as opposed to the system of law was juxtaposed against a just post-WWII Germany, where in the decades just after the war, the country was still struggling to deal with the Holocaust and each individual’s complicity in the system. To be clear, it’s not a Holocaust film — it goes far beyond that — but that was the perfect backdrop for this type of film, as it fit so well with the overall message.

Kate Winslet was astounding and David Kross who plays a young Ralph Fiennes (and looks so much like he could actually BE a young Ralph Fiennes that the casting director should totally win some serious awards) was phenomenal, especially for such a young actor. Kate’s performance was nuanced and stoic and sold more on her expressions and her eyes rather than the words that she spoke. Really, really excellent.

Of the five, The Reader was the most thought-provoking in a sense; if I needed to write an academic essay or a journal submission on a nominee, I’d choose The Reader because there was so much textual complexity. Like almost every other film nominated for Best Picture, it was an adaptation, and while I haven’t read the book, I know want to.

Milk, was unsurprisingly excellent. One of my all-time favorite documentaries is The Times of Harvey Milk and Milk is essentially a dramatic reenactment of that story, with some additional background details of Harvey’s love life and more on his interactions with Dan White. Having watched the documentary so many times (I think I discovered it on IFC or Sundance a few months before the 25th Anniversary DVD was released, the first home video release of the doc if I recall correctly), I was familiar with the players and the story, so I can’t really judge how well the film fleshed out some people and some characters — but I think it did a good job, as my mother, who has never seen the doc (I showed it to Grant last summer), really enjoyed it and was riveted by the story.

Gus Van Sant is still dead to me because of the Psycho fiasco, that said — this came as close as anything to absolving him from that greatest of cinematic sins.

Sean Penn has received the bulk of the acting buzz around the film, but I really think Josh Brolin was the real standout. Obviously, Harvey IS the film — and Penn’s performance is both excellent and exacting. The voice, the affectations and mannerisms were spot on with the real guy. That said, Josh Brolin’s beyond eerie transformation into a spitting image of the real Dan White was what took me aback when I first saw the trailer for Milk last year (I regret we weren’t able to see it when it was in theaters — so much was going on at the end of the year though) and it was an incredible performance by an actor that has really come out of nowhere in the last two years (first No Country for Old Men, now Milk and W.) to transition from “son of a famous guy” to a really stand-out actor in his own right.

James Franco was really impressive, and Emille Hirsch, who I cannot stand was also quite good. The film felt authentic and the mixture of the real home movies from the ‘70s with the recreated clips were just awesome. Ending with the actual footage of the candlelight vigil across San Fancisco from November, 1978 was the perfect, perfect touch. That imagery was the most haunting and memorable part of the documentary and it was a perfect way to end the film.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was an exercise in proving me to NEVER DOUBT DAVID FINCHER. Now, I love me some David Fincher, LOVE, but I let the “it’s three hours and boring and blah blah blah” bullshit turn me off the movie. Again, fucking excellent. The pacing was great, the cinematography was superb and although I think it is going to get shut-out of everything big, if it doesn’t win Best Makeup, there’s a fucking problem.

Cate Blanchett who I normally can’t stand was excellent. Brad Pitt was great and the supporting cast of characters was equally wonderful. Now, I’ve heard a lot of Forrest Gump comparisons, but that’s an insult to Fincher, et. al. Zemekis is a director, Fincher is an auteur. there’s a difference in skill, in talent and in scope. The lessons of love and loss and to quote Pony Boy by way of Frost, “nothing gold ever staying,” were really remarkable.

It was so different from a typical Fincher film, both in substance and even in style. His characteristic cinematography flourishes were there, but the color palette was more expansive and lush — and not just dark.

It was really, really solid and while I don’t want to see it again immediately, I’ll totally watch it when the DVD is released with Grant.

Slumdog Millionaire is the big pick to win, and for good reason. It is different, it is touching, it is uplifting — it’s just a great movie. The film has the full range of emotions, and none feel forced — and the fact that Danny Boyle directed such a film is astounding. The actors were amazing, especially for people so young. The child actors especially were just amazing. And the girl who plays Latika — what a phenomenal beauty. Like, she’s the Angelina Jolie/Vivien Leigh/Grace Kelley kind of beauty — like totally transfixing and perfect.

I don’t want to say too much because although the story has complexities and is certainly not shallow, even going into the premise ruins a certain element of the flow. You know how the film is going to end as soon as it starts (the title tells you), but the journey to get there is great. And the music fucking rocks.

Frost/Nixon was better than I had expected, but I still think The Dark Knight, The Wrestler or a host of other films could have claimed its spot for Best Picture and Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods. I read the play, and the film played better than the stage directions read. My only real criticism in a sense is that Nixon came off as tragic, sympathetic and human. And that’s fine, but I don’t think that was really the intention of the play or the film. Frost/Nixon succeeded where Oliver Stone’s Nixon utterly failed.

Part of that is because they got the right actor to play Nixon. Nothing against Sir Anthony Hopkins, but he was just a horrible choice for Stone’s film. But Nixon comes across as sympathetic, and I don’t know how I feel about that. The man did so much harm in the name of power, authority and winning a political game. Until George W. Bush, he was the most corrupt of all our Presidents. I don’t really like feeling sympathetic towards him, especially after the plethora of Nixon books I’ve read over the years. I’ve read so many books, listened to many of the tapes, watched documentaries — it was odd that this film, which isn’t substantively very strong, would make me uncomfortable in seeing the guy as human.

OK — so Predictions:

Best Actress

Kate Winslet

Best Actor

I want Mickey Rourke to get it, I think he deserves it — and though Sean Penn has a certain advantage, I think the rawness of Mickey’s performance outweighs the accuracy of Sean’s Method perfection.

Best Supporting Actor

Heath Ledger will surely be the third posthumous Oscar winner. I’m not sure how I feel about that. He was brilliant in Dark Knight, but I’d like to see Josh Brolin win.

Best Supporting Actress

It’s a toss-up between Amy Adams and Viola Davis for Doubt. Still, Marissa Tomei Penelope Cruz have a chance, toss-up.

Best Original Screenplay

WALL-E should get this. I hope it does.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director

I’ll say Danny Boyle, but I’m unsure — David Fincher might pull it out.

Best Picture

Slumdog Millionaire

Woo — I’m done!

For those of you not in the US (or even if you are in the US, if you haven’t heard about this before), this is what is becoming an annual tradition from AMC, where essentially, the day before Oscar night, movie fans have the chance to watch all five Best Picture nominated films back-to-back in one afternoon. For $30 you get unlimited popcorn and a ticket to each movie — plus you can come and go as you please. Sitting in a movie theater for 12 hours, watching five movies back-to-back = bliss!

This will be the third year that my mom and I will be attending the Showcase, however, this year there are a few changes. First, Grant will be coming with us. It was sweet of my mom to include us in what has traditionally been “our” thing — but we know he’ll enjoy it. Second, this year I get to liveblog the whole experience! AMC’s PR people contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in live blogging/tweeting/flickring the event, in exchange for two free passes. Since I would have done all that anyway, I jumped at the chance. I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to parse all the info (my thought is that I’ll have an RSS feed tomorrow for a post that shows my tweets, flickr stuff and other thoughts — or I might just try to blog from my BlackBerry.

I’ll definitely be tweeting about the event and uploading photos to a Flickr group that @giannii created. All of the bloggers attending the Best Picture Showcase throughout the country will be using the #amcbps hash-tag so you can follow that feed to stay up to date (or to contribute).

I really think AMC totally went about promoting the even this year the right way. In years past, Entertainment Weekly has mentioned the event (that was how I found out about it the first year), and there has been some newspaper coverage or ad space, but this year they really did a good job of getting the word out using social media. A lot of this is because AMC had the foresight to hire @jpgardner as their Social Media Manager. I’ve been following Justin on Twitter for I don’t know how long (feels like forever in Twitter time) and he has a real handle on how to community engagement the right way.

Let’s look at how and why AMC Entertainment has succeeded:

• They approached bloggers and Twitter users with both an interest in film and with community connections I don’t know if I was approached because of my Twitter following or because I blogged about the Best Picture Showcase last year, but the fact that they contacted me shows that they were doing their homework. I’m a nobody, but a nobody who loves film and who interacts with a lot of other film fans.
• They really focussed on the excitement of the event The reason my mom and I will be doing this for the third year in a row (and the reason Grant is coming with us), is because this is one of the most fun movie going experiences you can have. If you’re a movie fan, there’s nothing better. Even if you are the type of person that can’t imagine spending 12 hours in a theater, this is still a great event. You’d be surprised how much time flies when you are seeing really quality flicks back to back. Plus, the AMC staff has always been incredibly great at accommodating patrons and making the experience as much fun as possible. That level of fun and excitement came through with the social media campaign.
• It’s clearly not (just) about the money A lot of companies fail at social or interactive marketing and community outreach because it is clear they just want people to shill for their stuff. This isn’t the case here. Sure, part of the campaign was to raise interest in the event through word of mouth and online channels, but it was clearly about more than that. The focus on tweeting during the event, taking photos, blogging, really making it a fun experience that you can share with your friends all over the place — makes it clear this is just about money. If it were just about money, why encourage people to interact when the event has already started? No, by doing this, not only does AMC make it clear that they aren’t wanting people to just shill for their event, they are showing that they understand that engagement is what keeps people coming back. I’ll say this — even before being approached this year, there was no doubt in my mind that I’d be doing the Best Picture Showcase this year. None. The experience has been so great in years past, it was a given. Not only that, but the experience has only increased my brand loyalty to AMC. I can’t always go to AMC because the theater down the street is a Regal and the indie theater down the street is a Landmark, but when I do have the choice, I’ve always preferred AMC. The fact that they do events like this and really try to makes stuff special only cements that loyalty.
• The price is right  As with years past, the price of a ticket is only $30 ($25 if you are a Movie Watcher card member and you buy at the box office). Five movies and unlimited popcorn for $30 is unheard of. You can get a soda with unlimited refills for about $4, and that makes the whole thing that much better. I’ll be at the newly renovated Buckhead Fork and Screen (formerly the Buckhead Backlot, also known as the place I lost my awesome Diesel hat and the place I left my cell phone in 2001 — got back the phone, not the hat ), where they serve alcohol (beer, wine) and actual food — so my experience will be even nicer than it was in the past. In this economy, $30 for a day of entertainment is a really great value. Not to mention, it’s a great way for movie lovers on a budget (and that includes me — I just moved into a bigger place and got engaged, our going to the movies budget took a backseat to new furniture, the new TV and my beautiful engagement ring). Plus, it’s an awesome way to get geared up about the Oscar’s the following night.

All in all, this is one of those movie events I look forward to the entire year. Save seeing Vertigo followed by Psycho in glorious 70mm at the Fox Theater on Hitchcock’s 100th birthday, it is my favorite movie experience ever. To quote Ferris Bueller, “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

First things first: Happy almost 2009! The last few months of my life have been CRAZY and the next 12 days look to be even more insane! I wish everyone a joyous and exciting 2009, with a special finger-crossed wish that the US housing industry gets back on-track (or at least, more on-track). My dad is a builder/developer, so I clearly have a personal connection to this whole crisis, but truly, the economy as a whole won’t be able to bounce back until housing gets out of the weeds.

But on to more pleasant topics:

The last few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind. Chritmas (Merry Christmas everyone!), working, packing and just yesterday — moving into a gorgeous, huge, awesome apartment with my one and only. We were originally scheduled to move on January 2 — thankfully we were able to take possession of our new unit early and move earlier.

I leave for Macworld 2009 on Sunday January 4, 2009. Wow, that’s like 5 says away. Freaky. I’m going on behalf of TUAW and I’m ecstatic that I’ll finally get to meet a bunch of my fellow bloggers in person for the first time!

The new apartment is awesome. It’s more than twice the size of our old place (where I lived for 5 and a half years — my entire early twenties were in that apartment!) but in the same complex and it has an amazing, amazing floorplan. I have photos that I’ll upload to Flickr as soon as I can find my camera adaptor. Still unpacking.

Anyhoo, New Years Eve is tomorrow night and I’ll be a mix of unpacking, packing and other such stuff until then. So I won’t be able to do my usual yearly New Year post (well, probably not), so I’ll just say it now:

Happy New Year!

26 Things I Learned (or re-learned) at 25:

1. Love can happen when you least expect it.
2. If you constantly settle for less, be it in work, friendships or relationships, you will ultimately never get what you deserve.
3. Twitter is awesome.
4. CHANGE is actually possible.
5. Django.
6. My instincts about people are usually more right than wrong.
7. Working with people from all over the country (or world) is rewarding and makes meeting in person that much better.
8. TV seasons during a writers strike totally blow. Even though I fully support the WGA, truncated seasons blow.
9. It is possible to make a movie based on a TV show that doesn’t suck (see, Sex and the City: The Movie and Get Smart).
10. Even if it doesn’t get to be my full-time career, film is still my ultimate passion.
11. Lisa is my Diana (or I’m hers — Anne of Green Gables reference). I love you Lisa!
12. Mac fans are freaky crazy. They’re awesome, but they are insane. I’m glad to be one of them.
13. The fluttering sensation of seeing my byline in print or online hasn’t disappeared.
14. Being in a healthy relationship underscores how dysfunctional my previous relationships really were.
15. Sometimes it is necessary to emotionally cut people out of your life. I’m better for it.
16. I can usually accomplish what I set-out to accomplish. Setting mental goals is important.
17. Losing out on something is OK. It can often lead to better opportunities.
18. Never underestimate the person on the other end of the phone or e-mail. He or she could change your life.
19. It is possible to grow at least two inches after turning 25. It’s fucked up and weird, but possible.
20. I CAN get too thin. I have to remind myself of this because when I start to look normal (now), I can’t mentally see myself as fat.
21. I love public speaking. I’m good at public speaking. I need to do more of it.
22. There are two Apple products one must never buy: The Mighty Mouse and the original in-ear earphones (the unreleased revision might be better).
23. The iPod Touch really does kick ass. Too bad AT&T sucks so much.
24. Humor is a necessary and important part of any relationship — personal or professional. If you can’t laugh, I can’t deal with you.
25. It’s OK to get personal on this site.
26. I’m grateful to be alive. And for me, this a huge statement.

Out!