Well…that took about three days. As some of you know, last Friday we uploaded all of the cyber-bridges to YouTube. It’s now been six months since the books launched and we thought making them available would be a great marketing tool. Perhaps potential readers would stumble upon them, become intrigued and buy the book. One of the other reasons we did it was because we were interested in feedback from a community that wasn’t on Level26.com.
So, what did we learn?
Well, the first thing we learned was that YouTube users apparently find footage of a woman in lingerie inappropriate. I don’t get it. This book sells at major retailers. While I understand the book is a little dark and hardcore, I’d say it’s telling that Cyber-bridge 1 was flagged not for violence but for “nudity.” What nudity?
Personally, I think there are far worse things in movies and on television today but the YouTube community has spoken. I think when you have a website with fictional content, that is clearly NOT filled with graphic violence or nudity, that gets flagged and removed feels excessive. But we’re learning. We’re seeing people’s response to things that they feel is inappropriate and we, as content creators, will respond by either going harder or pulling back.
I would post Cyber-bridge 1 here but, obviously, YouTube took it down. So, check out Cyber-bridge 1 with the code word “snuff.” Even if you’ve seen it before, I want to know your thoughts on whether you think it’s inappropriate and why.
Zuiker
Dark Prophecy: A Level 26 Thriller Available for Pre-Order
Posted by Anthony E. Zuiker on Mar 3, 2010
Level 26ers,
We have a big announcement today. Huge! Mind-blowing! Book 2 of the Level 26 series is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.
Currently titled Dark Prophecy: A Level 26 Thriller Featuring Steve Dark the book will be released on October 14, 2010. We’re telling you this now because we have a mission for you, the community. As you know, Dark Origins was a bestseller and you guys played a big part of that. We sold nearly 4,000 books through this site alone!
Now, to become a New York Times #1 bestseller we need to sell 15,000 books during the first week. Pre-orders count towards that so long as the books are shipped during the first week of release. This is where you come in. One of the ways you, our loyal community, can help us is to pre-order your copy of Dark Prophecy today and start spreading the word. This is our mission!
The important thing is that you pre-order the book and NOT wait until it’s released because the first 500 people that pre-order the book and send us an email to prove it, will receive a special gift. To ensure you're one of the first five hundred, pleasure forward your order confirmations/proof of purchase to insidelevel26@gmail.com. We'll have more on the special gift at a later date.
Go forth and tell everyone you know!
Zuiker
Level 26ers,
We have exciting news for you. Yesterday, Level 26: Dark Origins was nominated for Best Experimental Web Series for the 2010 Streamy Awards! This is a great honor for us. Thanks to all of you who helped spread the word and have supported us a long the way. We couldn’t be happier to be a 2010 Streamy Nominee!
About the Streamy Awards:
The Streamy Awards is the first and most prestigious awards ceremony devoted to honoring excellence in original web television programming and those who create it. The annual ceremony, and it’s live online broadcast, brings together top talent, decision-makers and influencers shaping the online entertainment industry. Awards are presented for the past years’ finest achievements in a variety of categories spanning multiple disciplines, including Performance, Directing, Writing, Editing, Visual Effects, Sound and more.
Currently in it’s second year, the Streamy Awards began as a grassroots effort spearheaded by visionaries in online entertainment and continues to support the spirit of independence that drives the digital entertainment industry forward. The show is co-hosted by Tubefilter News and NewTeeVee, and is produced by Tubefilter, Inc.
The Streamys consideration process begins with a public submissions period and winners are selected by members of the International Academy of Web Television, an independent, non-profit organization representing a cross-section of online entertainment professionals, including actors, agents, composers, content creators, directors, journalists, producers, technology innovators and writers.
Check out the nominees list and more at: http://www.streamys.org/
Zuiker
I wanted to let you know that the audio book version of your favorite book, and mine, Level 26: Dark Origins has been nominated for an Audie Award in the Thriller/Suspense category.
From the Audie Website: "The Audies, sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), is the premier awards program in the United States recognizing distinction in audio books and spoken word entertainment. Through The Audies award competition, publishers are able to enter titles in various categories for recognition of achievement. Finalists are selected and, from that group of finalists, one winner is awarded. Finalists will be notified in February 2010, and showcased on the APA website, to the press, and in APA materials. Winners will be recognized at the exciting Audies gala in New York City on May 25, 2010. Two special awards highlight outstanding achievements: The Distinguished Achievement in Production Award goes to an audio book that demonstrates excellence in all areas of production, while the Audio book of the Year recognizes the audio book that, through quality, innovation, marketing and sales, has had the most significant impact on the industry."
Zuiker
No ínterim, eu tenho-o ouvido do um número para baixo lá e o feedback parece realmente positivo. Eu fiz algumas entrevistas também. Em resumo, eu amo ter meu livro disponível a você no português.
Um quando há, eu pedi que meus deputados funcionassem uma competição chamada de “observações Sqweegel.” A maioria das “observações” estavam nos E.U. mas eu amaria obter fotos do livro em Brasil. Assim, tome um retrato do livro em sua cidade ou em um marco próximo e afixe-os aqui à página dos comentários. Não pode esperar para ver aonde Sqweegel gira acima de em seguida!
Entretanto, a boa vinda a Level26.com e aprecia!
I want to take this opportunity to welcome all of the wonderful people of Brazil to Level26.com. Level 26: Dark Origins was released there on December 7. I’ve never been to Brazil but one of these days I would love to visit. Maybe for the second book I’ll do an “around the world” tour and visit every place it’s published. We’ll see.
In meantime, I’ve been hearing from a number of you down there and the feedback seems really positive. I’ve done a few interviews as well. All in all, I love having my book available to you in Portuguese.
A while ago, I asked my Deputies to run a contest called “Sqweegel Sightings.” Most of the “sightings” were in the U.S. but I would love to get photos of the book in Brazil. So, take a picture of the book in your town or at a nearby landmark and post them here to the comments page. Can’t wait to see where Sqweegel turns up next!
In the meantime, welcome to Level26.com and enjoy!
Zuiker
Continuing our week of welcoming our international readers, I want to take this opportunity to welcome all of the wonderful people of the U.K. to Level26.com. You may be wondering why it’s Level26.com and not DarkOrigins.com. Well, in America and, for the most part, the rest of the world, the title of the book is Level 26: Dark Origins. Level 26 being the series and Dark Origins being the title of the “volume.” Where as, in the U.K., the official title of the book is Dark Origins.
For a long time now, since the book debuted here in America, our friends in the U.K. have been wondering when the book will be available there. And the answer is today! Today is the official publication date for the U.K. version of the book. So, for all you visiting us because you’ve just bought the book, I want to welcome you, invite you to have a look around, watch the cyber-bridges as you’re prompted and participate in the forums. You’ll find a wealth of information here, including my daily blogs, which I’ve been posting since last summer, as well as behind the scenes videos, our Deputy 26 contests and much, much more.
Thanks for being a part of Level26.com and enjoy!
Zuiker
(Sono spiacente se il mio italiano non è perfetto.) Voglio cogliere questa opportunità accogliere favorevolmente tutta gente meravigliosa dell'Italia a Level26.com. L'Italia era una delle prime versioni che internazionali abbiamo avuti per il libro, e stava adattando poiché non solo è l'estremità del libro impostato a Roma ma ero egualmente in Italia quando ho cominciato scrivere il libro. Avendolo venga cerchio completo e ricevere la mia copia dell'edizione di lingua italiana del libro era un momento molto fresco.
Un attimo fa, ho chiesto ai miei delegati di eseguire un concorso chiamato “avvistamenti di Sqweegel.” La maggior parte “degli avvistamenti” erano negli Stati Uniti ma amerei ottenere le foto del libro in Italia. Così, prenda una maschera del libro nella vostra città o ad un punto di riferimento vicino ed inviili qui alla pagina di osservazioni. Non può aspettare per vedere dove Sqweegel risulta dopo!
Inoltre, Matt Blackerwolf, un ventilatore dall'Italia qui su Level26.com mi ha inviato questa illustrazione che impressionante di Sqweegel ha un e come ringraziamento voi, sto montrandolo qui sotto. Credimi, questi stanno appendendo sulla mia parete.
I want to take this opportunity to welcome all of the wonderful people of Italy to Level26.com. Italy was one of the first International releases we had for the book, and it was fitting since not only is the end of the book set in Rome but I was also in Italy when I started writing the book. Having it come full circle and receiving my copy of the Italian language edition of the book was a very cool moment.
A while ago, I asked my Deputies to run a contest called “Sqweegel Sightings.” Most of the “sightings” were in the U.S. but I would love to get photos of the book in Italy. So, take a picture of the book in your town or at a nearby landmark and post them here to the comments page. Can’t wait to see where Sqweegel turns up next!
Also, Matt Blackerwolf, a fan from Italy here on Level26.com sent me this awesome Sqweegel artwork he put together and as a thank you, I’m showcasing it here below. Believe me, these are hanging on my wall.
Zuiker
