Media AWAKEN

Hungry for Travel? Check out tripwolf!-an online social travel guide

tripwolf is an online social travel guide and my newest client! I know I said I work with nonprofits, but these guys are so cool I couldn’t resist (and we all know I’m a sucker for traveling!).

tripwolf pairs the knowledge of a conventional travel guide with the power of social networking. The foundation of the content on the site comes from MairDumont – Europe’s largest travel guide publisher. But that is where convention and “old school” ends. tripwolf acts almost like a wiki, where the users can upload their own content- reviews, pictures, even videos! The site grabs content from wikipedia, flickr and youtube to further flush out the experience. Check out their guide to NYC to see what I mean!

But all that is basic. There are a ton of travel sites out there that do similar things. But here are a few things that for me really made me appreciate this platform: trip gurus and custom printable guides.

Trip gurus are self identified experts for a certain area: I’m a trip guru for Pondicherry in southern India – the city closest to where I lived in India. If there are multiple gurus for a specific location, a lead guru is identified. This is based on how many people that guru has helped.

What is the point of a trip guru? Who better to ask about a location than someone who has been there (more than once)? Instead of only knowing what you can find written down in a book or somewhere in the interwebs, you are given access to a real human being to answer your questions!

Next time you take a trip, ditch the heavy travel guide. With tripwolf’s printable travel guide, you can compile one of your very own using peer reviews, advice, photos and videos to inform your choices. When you come across info that is interesting to you, drag and drop it in your scrapbook. When you’ve got all the guidance you need, print it, throw it in your bag, and sigh with relief that your backpack is 5lbs lighter than your last trip!

If all that weren’t enough, tripwolf helps you get social! You can write a blog during your adventures, connect up with fellow travelers, suggest location to your friends and share your stories and advice in the forums: going to Peru? Worried about getting your stuff stolen? Check out my advice on travel safety on buses in Peru! (change this info to be something someone else wrote….)

So, check it out! (did I mention that the made it really easy to sign up?! All you need is your Facebook login info to create an account – it will even pull info from your FB account to populate your tripwolf profile!) and let me know what you think!

Fight Poverty - Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day. It’s a day when “thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue - poverty. We aim to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web!”

As we all know, my passion is supporting causes, especially when new media is involved in the process. Poverty is one of those issues that strikes very close to home. As some of you know, I was raised in southern India, in one of the most rural and poorest areas in India. As a 10-year-old fresh from affluent America, malnourished and emaciated children, 8 people sleeping in a single room hut on dirt floors, and lines 2 hours long to get a single bucket of water once a day, was not something I was used to seeing — nor something I’ve ever gotten used to seeing.

But poverty isn’t just in developping countries. There are people, right here in our backyards, that cannot afford to buy shoes. They don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. And with winter right around the corner, many of them have no idea how they are going to heat their house (if they even have a house).

SM4SC (social media for social change) proved that the power of social media can be leveraged to bring people together to support one cause for one day. Last Friday, we raised $21,000 for Jane Doe, Inc.

So, today I ask you to come out in support of fighting poverty. Check out the Blog Action Day website (http://www.blogactionday.org/) to see what people are doing all over the world.

Or, check out what Jessica Smith is up to over at Jessica Knows: she has pledged all the money she makes from advertising on her blog today to support Project Peanut Butter (it helps malnourished children). Not only that, but Jessica is one of the fabulous ElevenMoms (a video contest put on by Walmart - for details follow the previous link), and Walmart has promised to match dollar-for-dollar all the money raised by the ElevenMoms today.

So, go to Jessica’s Site, click around on her ads and make some money for Project Peanut Butte!!

And Please. Please. Blog about Poverty. Blog about Blog Action Day. Pass the Message On. Take Action.

BlogHer Comes to Boston! FTW

I was really bummed this summer when I couldn’t make it out to San Francisco for the annual BlogHer Conference. Lucky for me (and you!), the Outreach Tour is coming to Boston this weekend - Saturday 10/11! As I’ve been sharing my glee with everyone who will listen, I’ve been getting a mixed bag of reactions (I find that I often get mixed reactions from people whenever I talk about an event/conference/anything that has “women” “her” “female” etc in the title. These “mixed” (read: usually negative) reactions are often, if not always, from men).

I was talking to one of my guy friends about BlogHer a few days after getting back from BlogWorld Expo in Vegas, and he said he didn’t get it — why, if I had just gone to a major conference about blogging, was a conference for women bloggers necessary? I sputtered for a moment, I mean, DUH. But then I stopped to really think about it. Why is it important?

My guy friend said he understands that women have not reached equal standing in many aspects, but that new media seems to be a field where the playing has been leveled. This made me pause again. It’s true, there are a lot of prominent women in the field. So, if the field is leveled, why does the idea of a community for women seem so darn important?!

I have been extremely fortunate in that my life has rarely been limited by my gender (I’m a girl…in case you were wondering *wink*). But, I know this isn’t true for all women. So, is this why it is important? So that women have a place to feel equal? Is it because tech is usually a sphere reserved for guys and diving in can be daunting? It is for the camaraderie?

Since I obviously don’t have the answer (I think it is a combo of a lot of things), I went a-hunting. One of the first thing I noticed while scouring the BlogHer website is that the answer wasn’t there. Their mission statement gave me a starting point

BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment

but somehow that isn’t enough (no offense!). I read that and think “yea! right on!” but there is something more than that that is triggering a reaction in me (and others - for good or bad).

I’m still trying to figure it out. So, in the mean time… What is your reaction (positive or negative) to BlogHer? Why do YOU think BlogHer Conferences are or aren’t important?

Regardless, I’m SUPER psyched for BlogHer Boston this Saturday. If you are there, please say hi!!

SM4SC - Social Media 4 Social Change

On October 10th a landmark event is going to take place. Under Gradon Tripp’s guidance, a group of us are going to see if for one night, social media-ites can come together to create change. To quote from the website, “Social Media for Social Change was born of the idea that the social media community, these “agents of change” can get together for one night, to support one cause.”

In essence it is a fundraiser. In actuality it is an experiment in humanity. We are all familiar with the traditional fundraising method — throw a party, invite an elite list of the rich and powerful, charge a lot of money per plate, and then hope checkbooks will make an appearance later in the evening. You schmooze, drink and feel better about yourself because you gave to a noble cause.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking it. Our world would be a far worse off place if it weren’t for the numerous nonprofits that work diligently to make this planet a better place. And without elite invites and fat checks, most would have never survived.

But times are changing.

Instead of depending on a few large donations, nonprofits are beginning to reach beyond boundaries of time and space to connect with people who, traditionally, would have been overlooked. Many small donations are becoming just as powerful.

This is what I love about the Internet — we have this power to connect because of technology.

We. Have. The. Power. To. Connect.

So, that is what we will be doing October 10th — connecting. We will be coming together to support a cause that is greater than ourselves. That night, we won’t just be supporting Jane Doe, a Boston-based nonprofit that supports survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence to whom all the proceeds will benefit, but we will be supporting a shift — perhaps even a shift in paradigm (one can always hope).

If you are free that evening, please join us. If you work for a company that cares, please consider becoming a sponsor.

If you want to know something deep and dark about me: this is it — it is for things like this that I live. It is because of an irrepressible sense of hope and belief that we can change, that the world and humanity is save-able and salvaegable that I get up every morning. It is because of these very things that I smile, each and every day.

An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

My mom has recently discovered StumbleUpon Videos. She is enamored. And she likes to send me the videos too. Usually they are great, but long. I don’t know how she has the attention span for hour long videos. When she sent me “An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube” a few nights ago I was intrigued, but then I saw the time stamp: over 55 minutes. Normally I would have watched the first 2 minutes then moved on to something else. But as she was in the other room, and badgering me to watch the whole thing, I bit the bullet and did.

Wow. This video is incredible. Its about why people Tube, the community that has developed online, the changes in communication channels.. it shows messages of hope, of connection and of change. It attempts to explain the phenomena of internet stars and the self-regulating governance of people wanting real. Being in the middle of it all, I know that there is something major going on. I truly believe that there is a shift happening–a shift in how we relate, how we communicate–a shift in our humanity. One of the lines in the film that I tweeted was “youtube = freedom to experience humanity.” What do you think?

The video is of the presentation Dr. Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology and Digital Ethnography at Kansas State University,gave to the Library of Congress on June 23rd 2008. Dr. Wesch (@mwesch on Twitter) teaches a class at KSU called Digital Ethnography. Each semester his students and he study You Tube from an ethnographical perspective. For more information about Dr. Wesch and his class visit their site: http://mediatedcultures.net

Here are some of the comments that have been left by YouTubers:
Joshlama: Watching this video has made me learn about what Web 2.0 means in todays society.

NatureLegalized: What a wonderful and encouraging presentation. Very good length as well. Quite honestly I was having a bit of trouble finding words to express how good the experience of having this video sent to me & watching it has been. I’ve got to make a point of thanking the sender.

ninjask1: what an amazing world this is, where we can transcend space to meet with people across the globe, a world where everyone is anonymous and nobody is anonymous, a world where the user controls the machine, a world where the user is the machine. What a place this is, to have everything and nothing, where the average man is stronger than corporations and governments, a world that is both endless and boundless.

I, of course, tweeted that I was watching the video and that it was great. My sister (@peckedbyducks) then responded “mom sent that to you too? Am watching it right now.” As it turns out, my mom had sent it to everyone.. literally. She had accidentally sent the link to every single contact in her address book–a fitting ending I thought…

So, here is the video. When you have 55 minutes to spare, you should check it out.

Post-It Notes - There’s a Note for That! Epic Change Style

Post-it Notes is holding a contest for original videos that feature Post-it Notes. Judges will pick the top ten, and then it is up to YOU the viewers to vote on your favorite. The winner gets $10K!

Epic Change (I wrote about them in a previous post) created a great video with the kids at a school in Tanzania. They used the Post-Its to say thank you to the donors that have helped fund the rebuilding and expansion of their school. Check it out!

[Voting begins September 12th. I will post a link here once I know where to direct people!]

Affiliate Summit East Review

I spent last Monday and Tuesday attending Affiliate Summit East 2008. I was issued my first ever press pass (w00t and FTW) and allowed full entry into the ongoing on the largest conference for affiliate marketers. I was skeptical at first, after all affiliate marketers are the used car salesmen of the internet, right? But, after spending two days surrounded by those people, I’m starting to think there is a lot social media-types can learn from affiliate marketers and vice verse. We know how to engage in dialogue, create community and connect. And they know how to make money. Imagine a world where we could all make money by conversing and connecting?! Brilliant!

Backing up for a minute, let me explain my conversion from skepticism to compliance. When I first arrived at the conference, I didn’t expect to get much out of being there. The only session I attended on Monday was a panel (with their awesomeness-es  Chris Brogan and Stephanie Agresta plus two others) called How is Social Media Changing Affiliate Marketing. This was more of a social media 101 session for affiliate marketers and so while it was wonderful as always to hear Chris and Stephanie speak, I didn’t learn much (my notes from the conference can be found in my twitter stream).

The next day, while attending another social media related session, I had the epiphany to add a “books I love” section to my personal blog, and to have those books not just linked to Amazon.com but to set up an affiliate account so that if anyone buys a books I recommended I would get a few coins. Brilliant. Yet so elementary. While I was impressed with myself for my ingenuity I knew it was kindergarten play. That is when I began to think that I had something to learn from this conference after all.

Conferences are, of course, not about the sessions but about the people. And it was the people that really solidified the turning of my head. I sat with Bosco Pereira from Marketing Tips and discussed the merits of both social media and affiliate marketing and briefly touched upon ways to marry the two–a conversation I am eager to continue. Adam Gilad sat on a panel about copy writing and gave excellent advice on how to build a compelling story out of your products copy. And our conversations later continued to sway my preconceived notions.

So, while I still only know as much about affiliate marketing as will fit on a thumbtack, I am intrigued.

[Many apologizes for the tardiness of this post. I was called out of town unexpectedly last week and only returned late last night.]

Twenty-Something Bloggers for Social Change

I care deeply about social change (obviously, otherwise why would I have started Media Awaken?!) and I also care deeply about my generation. At the most recent PodCamp Boston, Alexa Scordato and I presented on that very subject: is the millennial generation prepared to inherit the earth?

This is why I was thrilled when I read a blog post by Beth Kanter called Where are the twenty-something or GEN-Y Bloggers Who Are Writing About Social Change and Nonprofits? In this post she complies a list of twenty-something bloggers who write about social change and nonprofits. This is an incredible list! While some I had heard of, many I had not. SO, if you are interested in social change and want to hear what the millennial generation has to say about it, check out that post!

My First Baby: Epic Change.org

As the proud owner of a new consultancy, I thought it would be months before anyone would seek out my expertise. Oh was I wrong. I hadn’t even launched yet when @StaceyMonk and I began chatting on Twitter. When she told me about Epic Change (in conversation, not as a pitch) I fell in love. Having grown up in India, development projects are near-and-dear to my heart.

Epic Change is a 501(c)(3) whose mission states:

Epic Change believes that people’s stories are assets that can be used as resources to improve their lives. We help people in need share their “epic” true stories in innovative, creative and profitable ways to help them acquire the financial resources they need to create positive “change” in their communities.

Basically, they are a micro-finance nonprofit who gives loans intended for social entrepreneurial efforts. Because the receivers of the loans are using the money for social causes and not to start a business, the repayment system is unique:

Our somewhat novel funding model is based upon the best practices of other successful businesses and charities. We use donations to provide interest-free loans to local partners to finance their community improvement efforts. We then facilitate loan repayment by collaborating with our partners to share their stories through projects that generate income. Finally, we “pay it forward” by recycling repaid loans to help fund Epic Change in other communities.

So, the day I launched Media Awaken I had my first client! Their first project is to rebuild and expand a small pre- and primary school in Tanzania. We hope that by the end of 2008 Epic Change will have raised enough money to help purchase a school bus (as of right now the kids don’t have one), to build a playground (the kids currently play on a dirt field) and to build another classroom (the 4th graders need to become 5th graders!). I am so excited to be involved with this organization and I hope that you will check out their site www.epicchange.org and consider getting involved too!

Chris Brogan’s Rockstars

A few weeks ago, Chris Brogan asked me to categorize the Rockstars page on his site.

The list was long, and it was quite daunting to have to decide in which category to place these amazing blogs. Even more daunting was categorizing the blogs of people I know personally, what if I got it wrong? With a deep breath, I dove in. What I found was that there were some very user friendly blogs, and some that were not so much user friendly.

By “user friendly,” I mean that within a few moments of looking at the page, and without reading a single post, I knew what the blog was about. The ones that were had nice, succinct tag lines. Although, sometimes the tag lines were along the lines of “social media, technology, art and musings.” Those ones didn’t help me very much. Ranked after clear tag line came tag clouds–the kind where the more frequently a tag is used, the bigger the word is. Next comes categories, but only if they have a post count next to them. If all else failed, I looked at the about page. More times than not though, the about page was about the author, not the blog. Maybe, have two about sections?

Maybe you are thinking, “Why should I spell it out for people? Just read my posts!” Well, unless you don’t care if anyone reads your blog (and secretly, or not so secretly, we all care), why throw up road blocks. We all live hectic, jam-packed lives. Most of us don’t have time to slowly peruse a blog we’ve never read before. So, make it easy! Spell it out for you readers. Tell them exactly what they will find, why it matters, and perhaps even, why they should listen to you.

Once I got over my issues with categorization, I began to notice a trend. Almost all the blogs were people’s personal contributions to cyberspace. I was shocked at how few company associate blogs there were. If you aren’t familiar with Chris’ Rockstars page, maybe this doesn’t seem surprising. But the thing is, Chris doesn’t choose who is and isn’t on that page. If you send him the link to your blog and RSS feed (and now preferred category), he will post it on his page. Its a freebie!

Considering that his blog is ranked 899 in Technorati, he might be what you would call an opinion leader. So, why aren’t more companies taking advantage of this freebie? In my opinion, this is just indicative of the larger issue, companies aren’t getting involved enough in new media. A million blog post have been written about the subject so I won’t get into it, but it continues to amaze me.

So, here’s my advice: if you have a blog, make it user friendly. If you work for a company that isn’t fully taking advantage of all new media has to offer, kick it in gear! There is no time like now. One of my favorite quotes (but can’t remember who said it): “Today is the tomorrow you were dreaming about yesterday.”

ps. I realize that my blog doesn’t adhere to any of the user friendly suggestions. I realize this, so I’m not being hypocritical. My blog is a baby. I’m working on it. Lots of user friendliness to come!!