medium & the message

I heart memes. Most people get annoyed when they get tagged but not me. I’m the kind of person that loves to participate and doesn’t think that ‘effort’ is uncool.

That being said, the memes going around are usually personal, selfish drivel, about me-me-me. Not this time!

My good friend Collin over at Radical Trust (if you haven’t subscribed to his blog, please do, you won’t regret it) tagged me. The topic? 5 hidden gems of social media. Screw the popular stuff! What’s out there that needs more attention? What kind of stuff do you find really cool/important/meaningful that isn’t on everyone’s top 5 list?

1. SomaFM

Listener supported, commercial free, internet radio. They offer up ambient tunes, some of the coolest sounds I’ve heard and it’s on all the time. Listener support in the way of donations, which means that you don’t HAVE to support if you want to listen.

They have a flickr account that is filled with pictures of their fans from all around the world wearing their SomaFM t-shirt. (the pic inset is obviously of my Hubby). They also Twitter (yeah!) and have a *cough* MySpace page (I think I may urge them to get on Facebook).

The crappy thing is that with the the copyright rules/regulations/laws/bulls*#t they are way behind in bills and might be forced to shut down (it’s all explained on their home page).

I love SomaFM because all they care about is getting good music out there to their listeners. It’s not about ROI or marketing, it’s just about sharing great tunes.

2. Keith Burtis

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Keith at NOTL08 but I knew about him long before. Keith’s presence in social media is unique - he’s not a PR person, consultant, expert, guru etc etc. He is an artist working with wood and a damn good one. But he uses social media to display his talents and, more importantly, to display his passion. He doesn’t sell wood, he sells stories. He doesn’t blog about wood (directly), he blogs about his passion for what he does.

He’s also matched his skill and his community for charity. Keith is a regular on twitter and he loves using video (one of my faves). Oh, and he’s a really talented woodworker.

3. Online Video Tool Kit by Jim Kukral

I love free stuff. I REALLY love free stuff that’s useful. And you know when someone could make money off of something but they provide it for free? That’s even better and that’s exactly what Jim does with OVTL.

Sign up and you get access to 10 How To videos for people who want to get into video podcasting. He details how to pick a camera, how to set up lighting, what to colours look good on camera (to name a few).

Oh, and I also won a camera through a contest he held! That’s not why he’s on this list, but it’s worthy of a mention.

(side note: Jim, if you’re reading this, those videos are coming soon, I promise!)

4. Geni

I have not had the time to really get into this but it’s one of those things that I could lose myself in. It’s an online program that helps you set up your family tree. What I like best is that you can add your family members in by email and they can start adding information as well. Don’t remember you grandmother’s maiden name? No worries? Maybe your brother/sister/mom/uncle knows! Everyone is connected and you are able to view each person’s profile.

This works especially well for family members that live far away. My sister-in-law Amber started hers, so I get to see her partner’s tree and learn all about his family too.

5. 200 Nipples

Now, this one might be cheating, because I’m certain it’s popular but i have to give it a nod anyway for it’s shear cleverness. They sell t-shirts. 100 a month to be exact. Which means that each t-shirt is a collectible because once they use a design it never gets printed again. Each t-shirt is labeled 1-100. And each shirt costs as much as it’s number (# 1 = $1, # 69 = $69, $100 = 100). The designs they use are different artists and each design has a story, which they tell about on their blog.

I told you it was clever!

___________________________________

Rules:

I’m not one to follow rules but I will, just this one time.

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. List five Social Media projects that deserve better exposure.
3. Tag EIGHT “Social Media / Digital Experts” at the end of your post and list their names.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.
5. Tag your post “Five Gems” so we can search for all of these great examples.

Sooooo…..

Jan, Barbara, Rachel, Kami, Geek Mommy, Melle, Maggie, Nina

YOU’RE IT!

A good friend sent me those passages from Kahil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet‘ when he learned of my father’s death. He explained to me that there were many life moments, good and bad, in which reading that book gave him comfort. This passage is most fitting for the life moment that I was experiencing and, if you believe this passage to be true, then it is more comforting.

It’s funny, the different ways that we cope. My mother ‘visits’ my Dad (his grave site) everyday. I, on the other hand, haven’t been back since I took her a couple of weeks ago. For some reason, it doesn’t bring me comfort. I know his body is there but it doesn’t feel like I’m visiting him or any closer to him.

The shitty part is that nothing makes me feel that way. I will forever miss him, forever long to have him hug me, forever long to hear him called me “Couphe”. I have to cope with knowing that will never come.