What a crazy, fun, intense, and exhausting week it turned out to be! There were parties, meetups, conferences, and endless meetings to be had, and it all concluded with the Webby Awards. I didn’t make it to the Webby Gala, but I did hit up the Webby Film & Video Awards, and had an amazing time with Tim Shey, Rachel Garcia, Erin Flood, Derek DeAngelis, Roy Weissman, and Vanessa Pappas!!

Vanessa Pappas, Kenyatta Cheese (Rocketboom), Erin Flood

The night started off with a cocktail reception, which I remarked felt like some sort of a high school reunion. Just about every person I adore from the Video 2.0 industry was there, and I felt at home.
We drank champagne, posed for pics (That’s Webby Award Winner Derek D and myself), and caught up with old friends as we readied ourselves for a three hour ceremony hosted by 30 Rock’s Judah Friedlander. As Derek D accepted the People’s Choice Award for Sports, we cheered him on from our seats (which happened to be next to where Lorne Michaels, Michel Gondry, Rosie Perez, and Seth Meyers were seated!!)

Derek D Accepts the FLD Webby Award from Michelle DeForest on Vimeo.

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I’m pumped for next week. Why? It’s Internet Week in NYC! Imagine SXSW Interactive, minus the panels, and set in the most lively city in the US. Sure it’s a bonus that I live here, and I have an excellent excuse to hit the parties at night and come in to the work late, but correct me if I’m wrong, NYC seems like a perfect setting for celebrating what we are all devoting our careers to try and make the most of.

*Brief History Lesson* It all started when the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting called up the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (aka the Academy behind the Webby Awards), and asked them to help rally companies to throw parties and make their meetups and conferences a part of the festivities.

The events start this Tuesday, June 3, and run through Tuesday, June 10 concluding with the Webby Awards Gala. And in case you hadn’t heard, Fast Lane Daily picked up a Webby Award so we’re ready to celebrate BIG TIME!

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The winners of the 11th annual Webby Awards were announced today, and in our business, all eyes were on the Online Film & Video group of categories, where we had four nominations in play. For every category, there’s a juried award and one chosen by popular vote, and sometimes both go to the same nominee, but most of the time they’re different.

Fast Lane Daily, our daily automotive news network, won the People’s Voice Award for the Sports category, in a category that also included nominees from CBS Sportsline, Heavy, and HBO Sports. Congratulations to everyone here at Next New Networks who worked on Fast Lane Daily this past year, especially the core team of Emil, Mike, Ian, Alan, Gene, and Derek D, the ultimate good sport. Below is a special video the team created for the Webby judges and voting public, and it’s a fun recap of how far they’ve come.

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It’s Earth Day, if you hadn’t heard. I thought I’d see a lot more web series tackling the subject, but a quick look around came up with nothing I could really link to that was Earth Day-specific, even over at The Green (If you know of any great Earth Day eps from the web, please add a comment or link below). Of course, on Viropop and ThreadBanger, Earth Day’s a big deal. For starters, we have this special Zaproot episode (though, oddly, it’s their Paris Hilton episode that’s featured on YouTube’s front page today), which includes things you can do on Earth Day.

ThreadBanger has an Earth Day special edition of Decor it Yourself, our newest popular series, featuring the very winning Meg Allen, who shows you how to compost and create your own indoor garden. (more…)

Hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving. In case you missed it, the crew from Fast Lane Daily posted a very special Thanksgiving episode starring Derek DeAngelis, our longtime host. FLD takes their beef with 50 Cent to the next level and newly minted hiphop star 25 Cent gives you a little tour of Next New Networks HQ while he’s at it. Embedded below…

There’s really nothing more to be said. Olympic Gold Medalist Oksana Baiul hosted Fast Lane Daily today.

Here are some behind the scenes photos for more proof. And with that, we’re out for the week. Enjoy!

There’s been a curious twist in my home video production in the last week, with inspiration coming serendipitiously from objects around me.

While cleaning out my kitchen cabinets I happened upon a box of brownie mix that expired in the last years of the 20th century. Mixing the batter into a thick glob, I recreated an unfortunate curbside incident I had while stepping out of my car. A Channel Frederator promo was born.

When our street was being repaved, a steamroller parked overnight in front of my house became the impetus for a Fast Lane Daily spot. Later the same day, an empty detergent bottle being readied for the recycle bin sparked an idea for an Indy Mogul segment.

I learned that this ass-backwards approach to production has mixed results. Detergent bottle (good), brownie-mix dog doo (maybe), steamroller (better luck next time), though the sight of me sitting high in the driver’s seat (seemingly talking to myself) with a laptop and camcorder did catch the attention of the neighbors.

Today Fast Lane Daily turned 100. What does this mean? We’ve created 100 episodes of the show. An impressive feat.

It certainly is a marking point in the Next New Networks career thus far.

In celebration of our 100th birthday, we spent an afternoon at Gotham Dream Cars.

Here are some photos wrapping up the event, and of course, the final product.

Operating the camera

Lindsey and Kenny Posing

Derek DeAngelis’s Parking Spot (and Mini-bike)

Lindsey fell asleep on the way back. She’s a lightweight.

After watching the final episode, we were given a celebration.

Gene, as usual, had to pump up the creative factor.

With the rage inside him, the damage was done.

The cake began to bleed. (I’m kidding, it was a Red Velvet cake. Yum.)

And that wraps up Fast Lane D… err, this blog entry for today. Tune in tomorrow for some more fun in the sun, with Derek D.

(Reblogged from http://ianjenkins.net)

(cross-posted from the Next New Networks Facebook group — join us there)

If you’re not watching Fast Lane Daily (say, maybe you don’t have a car, or an obsession with things shiny and fast), today’s episode is a great sample. Gene Sanchez, who produces the show every day (along with VOD Cars), hosts today’s episode — our 100th — and has a fun roundup of car news, including some exclusive footage from Ferrari’s 60th anniversary party in Italy, a bulletproof Rolls-Royce, and a little surprise at the end of the episode, especially for regular viewers of the show.

It’s pretty cool to have seen the team come together into a tight, well-oiled machine that puts this show out every day from our little studio on the 10th floor — they have the script ready by 9, shoot by 11, and post the episode by noon — and they’ve built up a sizable audience and some nice buzz in the car world in just three months. We celebrated today with a car-shaped cake at our monthly all-staff meeting, and hopefully someone will email me a picture to put here on the blog.

Congrats to our team on 100 episodes — we’re really happy with where FLD is going, and can’t wait to see what they do next.