VOKLE and the Vator Splash Competition madness!

January 28th, 2010

As most of you may already know, yesterday was the last day to vote for Vokle in the Vator Splash Competition.  With just one hour left, and Vokle in 6th place, we gained an additional 40+ votes.  The result?  4th place!  This was a great boost going into the judging round for the opportunity to present Vokle onstage to a group of high-profile investors, entrepreneurs, and media.

It was really incredible to see all the support come in during the final minutes. We want you to know that we really appreciate it guys, because there’s no way it would’ve happened without your support.  Just to name a few of the fine gents that helped during the final minutes (in no particular order)…

Hiran (for his awesome bongos and tweeting abilities)

Peter (who’s super cool…but i’m not sure about the chopped head)

Joseph (for tweeting & being an avid blogger )

Liza (who asked people to vote at UCLA, making those connections!)

Randall (who helped us raise more votes in the last hour)

Jonathan (got people drunk enough to vote for us…..just kidding!)

Jordan (helped with his tweets + chats, he’s the Keyboard Wizard!)

Eduardo (for his helpful tweets and being a damn good designer)

Walter (rallied votes all the way from Nicaragua! that’s hardcore)

Em (for being an awesome photographer and supportive of Vokle)

I probably left some people out, so please comment so I can add you!!

Heap takes a leap with VOKLE on ‘Embedded’ (video)

January 21st, 2010

Click here to watch Imogen’s amazing feature on ‘Embedded’

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What are 5 steps to achieve a great VOKLE experience?

Let’s take tips from the ‘Interactive Queen of Digital Age’, shall we?

1. Setup lights (to flatter & add high production quality)

2. Tweet out (or Facebook post & pray that people will show)

3. Go LIVE (and welcome all the viewers in the room)

4. Interact (with your fanbase by taking live video questions)

5. Conclude broadcast (and exhale)

That’s it, pretty simple right? Here’s the result of Imogen’s first broadcast.

If conversing with your community sounds intriguing, get started by creating an event. Or if you’d like to see your personal Hero have a townhall on VOKLE, just head to our frontpage and vote for them!

Thanks Em for linking us to the video!

Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich has 2nd Twitterbration! (video)

January 19th, 2010

Some of you know her from Resident Evil fame, where she plays a zombie killing badass. Or some of you, like me, became familiar with Milla from The Fifth Element, where she played the thought-provoking Leeloo.

Now, don’t get me wrong…Alice is a pretty cool character…..but LEELOO WAS ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTERS OF ALL-TIME!

Check out Milla perform a couple songs for her online concert. The event was also in support of Sophie’s Voice Foundation.

Milla’s 2nd Twitterbration and online concert! (video has been made private temporarily)

‘Brothers at War’ Director Jake Rademacher has LIVE Q&A (video)

January 12th, 2010

In case you missed today’s LIVE Q&A with Brothers At War Director Jake Rademacher, we’ve got a highlight below for you guys.  The townhall was in celebration of the debut of Brothers At War DVD which was released nationwide today!

Edward (from VOKLE) was emcee alongside Jake as they took some live video and text questions. They also showed a clip from the Bonus Features DVD. Check it out!

Brothers at War: Highlight Reel (video)

VOKLE Mission in 2010: Meet Your Hero

January 8th, 2010

Meeting a hero can be a powerful, life-changing experience. A hero is a symbol of the resilient human spirit; a inspiration sign of our inner potential. As the old adage goes, “If they can do it, so can I!” A hero is a personal symbol of tenacity, courage, talent, wisdom, and hope. A hero is a spirit guide, and everyone has one.

Ask yourself who some of your living heroes are. It might be an author, an entertainer, a parent, a teacher, an activist, a public speaker, yes, even a politician. Imagine the world of knowledge that we could learn from these creative destroyers who conquer the denizens of mediocrity.

So, let’s think about it.

Think of a hero of yours who is in the public eye.

Go ahead….I’ll wait.

Got it?

Okay, here’s the million dollar question:
If you could ask your hero only one question, what would it be?

Take your time.

Got the question?

Good.

A bit of caution about your question. The more honest it is, the more you reveal about your inner self (some people have a hard time facing the truth).

I love asking people this. Oftentimes, the question you’d ask a hero may mirror an inner need or insecurity in your own life. It might, perhaps, be a recurring obstacle or great challenge that you may struggle with day in and day out and subconsciously seek guidance to address.

Sometimes we seek answers from those who battle similar demons. Th

There is great wisdom in the world; some of which can only emerge in the form of live conversations. There are storytellers whose souls can not be captured in a blog post or 140 character tweet. It’s undoubtable to me that what lies ahead for us on the information superhighway is a better way to tap into a true dialogue; a personal, yet collective experience. A human experience. There’s a limit to how much of the human spirit can be relayed in text; and it’s certainly more than 140 characters.

The wonderful thing about VOKLE is that we can finally have a conversation with our heroes. We can begin to realize that they are no longer infallible deities, but mere mortals with their own flaws and endearing eccentricities. We rip away the facade–the PR bullshit– to reveal a mutual human fragility that is both heartwarming and empowering. The fan is no longer a fanatic; the hero is no longer a god.

We are just human beings sharing and caring for one another. We become, if only for that brief exchange, friends and equals. Hopefully, the takeaway from this new generation of dialogue can be inherently enlightening. The world is getting a whole lot smaller, isn’t it?

In sum, I am thrilled to reveal a big push today.

Effective this month, VOKLE will become one of the first (and perhaps only?) platforms on the web that spotlights the incredible opportunity to share a dialogue with your hero. The fronptage will be revamped in the coming weeks to better reflect this focus, so stay tuned. Furthermore, we’re enlisting the help of the community in deciding who we will bring to the platform for these public townhalls.

Want to speak to Nelson Mandela? We’ll soon have a mechanism to vote him up. If Nelson gets enough votes, we’ll reach out to him.

Want to pick Noam Chomsky’s brain for an evening? Vote him up.

Want to tell off Michael Arrington? Vote.  ;p

You decide.

All the while, the platform will still, as always, remain completely open to anybody to broadcast.

After all, you, yourself may one day become a hero to many.

So, inspire us…

…or be inspired.

That’s the name of the game in 2010.


Designing the new frontpage.


Gives you an idea of what’s to come.

Any thoughts? Feel free to comment below.

Share who you’d like to see on the platform, and what your one question to that person might be.

- Robert

Vote for VOKLE in the Vator Splash Competition!

January 6th, 2010

Hey guys! I wanted to thank everyone for supporting this little startup thus far, we couldn’t have done it without you! Your vote will ensure that Vokle stays alive, so take a second to vote for us in the Vator Splash competition if you’ve attended and enjoyed any of our past events.

On a side note: Vator’s page looks quite gross and hard to locate specific startups, so just Ctrl+F ‘vokle’ and you’ll find us!

VOTE FOR US RIGHT HERE!!

Dave Franco ‘Crushed it!’ on Scrubs because of @garyvee (vid)

January 2nd, 2010

So, I was randomly watching an episode of the new unfulfilling season of Scrubs (not crushing it), and I spotted a phrase that Gary V. has made popular…and that’s CRUSH IT!. It’s amazing to me how Gary’s online presence has hit mainstream culture, outside of social media circles. It’s remarkable how much influence and power somebody can have, all through the internet! Take a look…

Dave Franco CRUSHES IT on Scrubs! (0:10 second clip)

I think everyone can relate to Gary because we’re all passionate about something and we all have goals. Some folks think that they can ‘crush it’ by staying course in a dead-end job until they reach the top. It doesn’t work like that. If you’re passionate about something, go out and make a difference. Invent something, start a blog, collaborate on meaningful projects and spread knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, ‘Crush It’ sounds so simple…but it takes a lot of hard word and concentration to get one step closer to your dream. Crushing it is exactly what VOKLE has been doing for the past 8 months. We’re a tight-knit group of passionate individuals who want to change the way people communicate online. Also, isn’t it funny how my ‘free-time ‘inevitably becomes ‘work-time’, ahh….c’est la vie!

I’M PUMPED! What does everyone want to ‘Crush’ in 2010?

Jeff Simmons (of Radio23) has an epic 6-hour broadcast! (video)

December 30th, 2009

Check out Jeff (Programming Director at Radio23) and his EPIC, FUN, EDUCATIONAL, INSPIRING, PASSIONATE, INTENSE (insert more adjectives here) 6-hour broadcast for community members and fellow broadcasters. Oh yes, and by hour 4, Jeff may have completely lost a bolt! Scroll to 4:50, definitely one of my favorite moments during the entire broadcast! Informative and awesome broadcast, you’re a trooper Jeff! =)

Jeff Simmons (of Radio23) has an epic 6-hour broadcast!

Be part of the underground movement and follow Radio23 on twitter: http://twitter.com/radio23

J.A.P discuss Subliminal Advertising Live! (video)

December 28th, 2009

Check out the latest episode of ‘Jon and Ash with Phil’. Ash couldn’t make it for this session, though Jonathan’s sister (ex-stripper) Theresa filled in the spot! Watch the guys discuss Subliminal Advertising and some usual sex talk.

Jon and Ash with Phil: Subliminal Advertising (excerpt)

Rob Paulsen, voice of Yakko & Pinky has live Q&A! (video)

December 26th, 2009

Hey Guys,

So, here’s the latest highlight reel I made just incase some people missed it. Some of you may or may not know of Rob, but I can guarantee you’ve heard his voice! Some of his notable work contains the voices of Yakko Warner from Animaniancs, Pinky from Pinky and the Brain, and Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My personal favorite would have to be Rob’s short-lived character Arthur, from The Tick! Check out Rob getting interviewed by his son Ash, taking some live questions, and giving us a nice little treat at the end.

Rob Paulsen has live Q&A with fans and sings Nations of the World!

Also, check out Jon, Ash, and Phil’s blog for the latest and greatest in tech, entertainment, and games. http://jonandashwphil.tumblr.com

-Shant