SLAM IDOL

The #SlamStream has begun

The next paradigm shift in online poetry slam has now begun over at http://slamstream.com. Poets @merlot56 @nictreadwell and @WillBrown have already started posting audio diary entries while they write their poems, but their’s plenty of room for more poets to join in. Prizes are being provided by http://SlamIdol.com, and if we can get 6 poets or more participating I will be awarding an Apple iPad as first prize! Listen, read and retweet over at http://slamstream.com.

Slam Idol 303 – Out of Time by Nic Treadwell #SlamStream

Slam Idol 302 – Hurricane by Will Brown #SlamStream

Slam Idol 301 – The #SlamStream contestants start to gather

MP3 Direct Download

Slam Idol : Slam Idol 301 – The #SlamStream contestants start to gather

Slam Idol 300 – Slam Idol Rewind 8

Slam Idol 299 – Slam Idol Rewind 7

MP3 direct link

http://slamidol.com
http://slamstream.com
http://slamidol.com/offers

Contest 21
“Cubicle Life” by Lisa Owens
“You A Armchair Revolutionary!” by Kamal Supreme

Contest 22
“Malcolm” by Mozart Guerrier
“Superman…Is Dead” by Kenny Wisdom

Contest 23
“I never met Peter Sellars” by The Sixties Poet
“Sound check (the whistle)” by Chameleon Jersey

Download this episode

Slam Idol : Slam Idol 299 – Slam Idol Rewind 7

Slam Idol 298 – The Slam Stream awaits – #slamstream

MP3 Direct Download

Slam Idol : Slam Idol 298 – The Slam Stream awaits – #slamstream

Dare to enter the #SlamStream

What is SlamStream?

A SlamStream is a poetry slam that occurs in the stream. I’m using the word ’stream’ as a shorthand for ‘the real-time web’ i.e. sites such as Twitter or Facebook.
A SlamStream can start spontaneously, and has a life of its own. Anyone can throw something into the SlamStream at any time, but I’d expect it to be usually triggered by someone laying down the challenge for a specific number of poets to jump in and participate, and possibly offering prizes for the winners.
You throw something into the SlamStream by posting something in the real-time web and tagging it with the word SlamStream. For example, make a post on Twitter and include the text “#SlamStream” in your post. Throw in an audio recording using something like Utterli or AudioBoo to post audio, tag it with #SlamStream, and set it to cross post into Twitter. Add visuals with yFrog, TwitPic, YouTube, etc., the choice is almost endless!
The first SlamStream is triggered by slamidol.com and offers an Apple iPod touch as first prize, iPod nano as second prize, and iPod shuffle as third prize. It is open to 6 to 10 self-selected poets to compete.
Once the competitors are in place, the SlamStream will commence, and the competitors have 7 days to create a new poem for the SlamStream. During those 7 days, the competitors are expected to post audio diary entries into the SlamStream, to allow the world to follow their progress in crafting their poem. At the end of the 7 days, the competitors should throw their finished poem performance into the SlamStream, and the voting phase will begin. The whole world should then cast their votes into the SlamStream, by retweeting the finished poem performances. After 3 days, we see who has the most votes! Knock out lowest-scoring participant at that point, and continue voting for another day – repeat until we have our winner.

SlamStream.com

This website is automated and non-commercial. It provides a view of the SlamStream by showing the latest tweets with the SlamStream hash tag. It also shows which items and competitors are most popular right now, which can be particularly useful for finding out who is the winner! Hopefully in the future it will convert the stream to a podcast RSS feed (pulling media enclosures), so people can subscribe to the SlamStream as a podcast.

Dare to enter?

So, if you’re a poet and you’re on Twitter or AudioBoo, and you’re up for a challenge, get in now in this historic first ever Slam Stream!

Slam Idol 5th Year Anniversary

Thanks to everyone who has wished Slam Idol a happy birthday today, on the 5th anniversary of Slam Idol. I am proud that we are still going strong, even though the number of shows released each month has decreased in the last few years. Several people have suggested it would be good to do a retrospective show looking back at the last 5 years of Slam Idol.

Actually, I’m not really feeling in a retrospective mood at the moment. I had been having retrospective thoughts over the last few months, as mentioned on my interview over on Cloudy Day Art’s Poet Tech Podcast, but this has given me a fresh perspective, a new vision and I am very much looking forward to changes and the next paradigm shift in online poetry slam. I really feel very strongly that what I am going to do next is going to take this to a whole new level, though I know the idea might be a bit ahead of its time, I ask you to trust me and come along for the ride. My latest episode, released yesterday, tries to outline the new vision, so please have a listen (MP3), let me know if it makes sense, and check out SlamStream.com and please post something there.

But for those of you who would like to look back, here are some links to the Anniversary shows I did before:
1st anniversary: April 1st 2006 – Show 100 (Contest 10) MP3
2nd anniversary: April 1st 2007 – Show 192 – Slam Idol Rewind 5 (Contest 17) MP3
3rd anniversary: April 1st 2008 – Show 234 – Slam Idol Rewind 6 (Contest 21) MP3

After the 3rd anniversary, I seem to have gone off the idea of doing anniversary shows, but I hope this will satisfy the appetite of anyone who does want to look back. But as for me, I’m very much looking forward, so please stay with me as we embark on the next paradigm shift in online poetry slam.

Slam Idol 297 – Enter the SlamStream