Needless to say I had a fricken amazing time in Orlando. Universal treated us like kings and it was SO much fun.
I wanted to blog about something I did differently this time in regards to covering the event for MuggleNet. It all came down to having a Sprint Mifi card, which gave my MacBook, iPad, and iPhone SOLID 3G internet access wherever I was.
During the press conference, I was able to upload high-res photos of the stars directly to Twitter (example). I’d take the pictures, pop my camera’s SD card into the MacBook, and send them online.
At the nighttime Grand Opening I shot little bits of video on the iPhone and uploaded them directly to Twitter (example). I first attempted to do this with AT&T’s 3G connection straight from the iPhone but it kept failing. I can only blame that on AT&T’s network. I turned on the Mifi and it worked like a charm. I was basically a walking wireless base station that whole night.
Instead of bringing my laptop to the nighttime Grand Opening – and looking like a huge nerd – I brought the iPad and used the iPad Camera Connection Kit to upload high res photos from my SD card to the iPad to the internet right in the park. Even though this picture didn’t turn out great, it grabbed 12k views – I think it went somewhat viral as it was “in the moment”.
In today’s internet-reliant world, instant is everything. Getting the high-res pics up – and some decent iPhone video – were icing on the instantaneous cake.
I live for doing this live coverage kind of thing. It’s so much fun to serve the community.
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I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for your coverage. You and Mugglenet really made the opening events come alive for those of us who weren’t able to be there! It was a lot of fun to read your commentary (and I even got a reply or two from you!) Keep it up!
I want to give you a huge thank you from those of us who WERE at the park, waiting in line in the hot sun for hours, with nothing to entertain us but your tweets, photos, and our own excited-but-increasingly-cranky selves. You kept us wanting more and you helped us persevere in the face of incredible giving up (you should have heard the language coming out of the mouth of the lady behind me! Thank God she finally left the line after a few hours.). Wish we could have met you!
Loved your twitter cover throughout Andrew as well as everything on MN. Thanks for helping us feel some of the joy we missed out on with not being there.
We can always rely on you to bring us instant top-quality Harry Potter coverage! I practically had MuggleNet, Twitter @MuggleNetLive @Sims and Universalorlando’s website (with you in the live feed) all open at once.
It’s your understanding for the need for quality that makes your videos and images so much more exciting to view.
In Micahs classic voice: “Thanks Andrew!”
Thank you so so much for covering the event Andrew! You really made my day by posting all these pics and videos
– It’s pretty damn frustrating not being able to be there in person… I’ll probably never be able to see the park anyway so again, HUGE thanks!
Hey Andrew! Even though I personally was busy offline and therefore didn’t gain from your apparently wonderful coverage, I’ve already heard so many people who were absolutely beside themselves with gratitude. So, in behalf of all my Harry Potter fanatic friends stuck here in Carolina, thank you so much. Thank you for the happiness and entertainment you, Emerson, Micah, Ben, and the entire crew provide everyday through your service to the Harry Potter community. And I’m not just talking about posting news on MuggleNet and twitter. MuggleNet and Cast pulled me out of my post-Potter depression. Also, don’t hesitate to look like a nerd. Nerds will one day rule the world.
Nerd power forever!
-Brooke
P.S. Sorry for this extremely long comment, and congratulations on 200 episodes of MuggleCast. You guys have come a long way.