Welcome
to Globatron.org
My name is Byron King. I am the founder and creative director of Globatron.org. Globatron is a collaborative digital media project that attempts to transcend blogging via the creation of original content that is integrated in an expressive way with the diverse tool set only available through digital media. Being an artist and interactive art director it has been a true labor of love that has helped feed my art and design knowledge. With that said it has also been an ongoing collaborative effort. Globatron would not be possible without our passionate and creative contributors.
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About
the why and how
Globatron started off as an arts blog hosted on Blogger.com in reply to an article in the Folio Weekly. Its original name was JaxCAL for the Jacksonville Contemporary Arts League. It soon had multiple contributors and had outgrown Blogger. After moving the site to a self-hosted Wordpress site it began to grow and take on many new media features.
Soon after it realized that its name was limiting the content to a specific city and the scope of the site had taken on national interests, members decided to rename the site Globatron.org. Globa = Global & Tron = Electrons.
After the name change and a site redesign, it has begun to take off as a national contemporary art portal. Currently, it is on many a blog roll for nationally and internationally known art sites and gets traffic from all over the world. Actually Globatron is now syndicated the Florida Times Union. The next few examples will showcase the types of content Globatron has published in the last couple of years. Viva la Globatron. Enjoy!
Still confused, read the Mission Statement.
Vlogging
Globatron TV
As the the site began to grow, we realized the need for a more instant form of documenting the local / national art scene. Regular blog posts were and still are the meat and potatoes for the site, but video blogging has begun to be used more frequently as we can instantly interview and document the artists and events we see along the way.
As the collection grew we decided to turn it into its own channel. Using www.blip.tv for video hosting we were able to make that come true with just a couple lines of code. Through blip.tv we are able to sort the videos and have a lot of control over the look and feel of the video player.
Eventually however Globatron decided to migrate its content over to a YouTube channel so it could interact with more viewers and add additional channels. The Globatron University channel has become a big part of Globatron University as well. Go to www.youtube.com/globatrondotorg to view.
Globatron University
All a Human needs to know
For its 1000th post Globatron launched Globatron University (GU) which strives to be a compilation of the best knowledge mankind has to offer. Free diplomas are offered based on the honor system. Most of the curriculum is now offered for free through Google Books or YouTube.
Globatron University is a challenge and . . . a mental exercise. The challenge for you is to review the different levels of Globatron intellectual awareness you currently possess. Globatron is always striving to help intellectual discourse and dialogue about the arts, culture and society in general. An issue that always comes up is what values do we hold dear? What do we believe in? What do you believe in? With Globatron University we are able to define that and categorize different levels of intellectual achievement. The goal of Globatron has always been educational, if only as a secondary aspect of its engagement, so we have decided to define what we feel those educational standards should be
Photography
Out and About
Even though video blogging and writing posts are very informative, photography has brought the readers even closer to our experiences and observations.
We have photographed numerous galleries in Chelsea New York, Art Basel Miami, Seattle, and of course our own local art scene in Jacksonville where Globatron was founded.
Actually, many local artists would have no web presence at all if it wasn't for Globatron documenting their work and posting it online. Without our photo-documentation numerous art shows would have already been forgotten. Globatron's mantra is "If it hasn't been documented it never existed."
Podcasting
Conversations with the community
Another new media tool in Globatron's toolbox is podcasting. Not only does it record the moment but it does so in a way where the listener can continue with their task at hand and be engaged with the recording.
For instance, you can work at your day job or work in your studio while listening to a podcast. Successful podcast projects are the JAH (Jacksonville Art History) Project where we recorded up to an hour of well known local artists to try to understand why the Jax art scene continues to rise and fall.
Also, podcasting has been used as a medium to interview artists who find video interviews too uncomfortable.
Interviews
Our bread and butter
- Email Q&As
- facebook chat interviews
- video interviews
- podcast interviews
- skype interviews
Realizing that traditional printed media had reserved a near holy position as an artist interviewing platform, Globatron began to take advantage of the myriad of new media available to get the word out about artists we have met along the way.
Interviews are good for everyone involved. First and foremost, they get the word out about the artist being interviewed. They also educate the reader and the one asking the questions, and allow the artists to think clearly about why they are engaged in the creative process. Definitely a Win / Win for everyone involved.
Social media
Ning / Facebook / Twitter / tumblr
In its infancy JaxCAL.org, the predecessor to Globatron.org, began a social networking site called JaxCAL SPACE using the tool Ning.com. At its height it had over 600 photos of local artwork that were uploaded in its life span of just over a year and a half.
JaxCAL SPACE is no longer used today, but it served as the only web presence for many local artists who had developed their profile pages with bio info, photos of their work and videos.
As Globatron continued to evolve it seemed obvious that there must be another way to use social networking in a more effective manner. As time progressed it became clear that everyone was already on Facebook. In order to take advantage of that audience a Globatron Facebook Group was developed. The main purpose of the Facebook site currently is to cross post Globatron content into Facebook land. Globatron is also on Twitter and Tumblr. Social media has been quite effective at driving traffic back to Globatron and helping to connect the dots.
contributors
it's a mixed bag
- Painter/ Writer: Ken Vallario
- Philosopher / mystic: Logocentric
- Painter / Sound Artist : Morrison Pierce
- founder / Creative Director: Byron King
- Investigative reporter: Father Mapple Moab Adzu III
At the core of Globatron is its content. It has to come from somewhere. An art portal that has developed a loyal readership is a bit of a beast to feed. At one point there were actually 130 contributors, and the content was all over the place. Anyone could join and it was completely open to the community. We quickly learned we needed to change the focus and to lock the contributors down to get a more focused and specific type of contemporary art coverage and dialogue.
Instead of everyone posting flyers of their art shows and events, we have focused more and more on original content. Some contributors are even using Globatron to create actual art projects. For example, Mark Creegan's "Mark's Mashups", where he collages YouTube videos together making something absolutely original.
Contact
Send us an e-mail
Globatron is always looking for new contributors or for new content to add to the mix.
If you are interested in learning more or collaborating with Globatron please COMPLETE THIS FORM.