June has been a busy month, with lots of travel, writing (by hand, on paper), thinking, speaking, sharing and enjoying these great United States (Colorado, Wyoming, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C. to be specific).  So busy, in fact, that it is now July and I haven’t had the chance to record any thoughts here on my blog.

Two quick shares as we all head into the long weekend:

On June 18th, I joined DC-area radio talent from MIX, WMAL and WTOP on a panel hosted by News Generation titled “The New Rules of Engagement: Tips, Tools and Techniques for Building Radio Relationships in the Era of New Media.”  More details on the News Generation blog Capital Buzz.

On June 29th and 30th, I attended Personal Democracy Forum in New York.  It was, as always, an amazing experience.  I plan to write up a more filled out post after I reflect a bit more, but for the time being, here is an interview I did with the Air America digital team, which is headed up by former DC’ers and truly rising / current stars in the online / new media / activism space Michael Bassik and Jen Nedeau.  I discuss why I love going to PdF and my thoughts on social media, technology, politics and gender.

Hearing and reading phrases like “social media for social good” and “social media for government” in the tech-pop-culture vernacular has me thinking… what kind of applications might there be in other industries, namely, manufacturing and farming? I am also particularly inspired about these topics, as I am fresh off of a two-week trip to my family’s farm and vineyard (located outside of Junction City, Oregon).

As many others have articulated before me, I too have always thought that social media is not just a listening mechanism, but one that helps in telling and documenting.  With tangible products being produced such as grapes and cars, vintners and automakers have a great opportunity to use social media to share their story.  Putting social media for manufacturing on hold for the moment, I am probably not the first to say this out loud and Lord knows that there are lots of great farm blogs out there like Tiny Farm Blog, Sugar Mountain Farm Blog, Ellwood Thompson’s Blog (to which readers of my blog know I have a personal connection), Old Shaw Farm Blog, Farmgirl Fare, Apifera Farm Blog, the list goes on…. Rather, I’d like to think of what I am sharing as an extension of the conversation… with maybe a few new-fangled tools and apps thrown in for even more impact.

With that said, I have outlined six applications that I think are particularly useful for the agriculture industry.  Where appropriate, I also include my personal experiences in hopes to make it that much more real.  For #1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 I see the ultimate goal as being able communicate to key audiences, be it consumers of your goods you hope to make loyal customers or members of the media you hope to have cover your story on TV or in print.  For #4 in particular, I see general efficiencies being made possible by the likes of Google Maps.

1 - Use Twitter to share fun tweets from around the farm.  Usually best with an application like #2 (Utterli) and #3 (Twitpic) below, there is nothing like sharing the in-the-moment thoughts you might have while killing time on the combine tractor.  When I was laying irrigation pipe with my dad, I tweeted as much as I could before I had to get my hands in the dirt and purple pipe primer (say that ten times fast!). I had a lot of great responses from my friends, followers and a few new folks.  Definitely built up some interest in our family’s endeavors that I hope will translate into long-term brand awareness (warning: marketing speak!)

2 - Consider Utterli to capture farm animal noises.  I haven’t done this yet, as we haven’t had pigs, sheep and cattle for a few years… but I think that this would be an awesome thing to document.  It’s one thing to tweet about a baby being separated from its baby during weening, it is another to hear it.  Not saying I’d want a full minute, but a good 30 second clip would sure make it real. Utterli also allows you to share video and photos, but I think its strongest product is the audio-capture.

3 - Twitpic is a must for capturing photos of the farm on the fly.  I really went to town with this application during my two week trip back home.  I was sending photos of our trench-digging from my BlackBerry to Twitter, where my friends and family were able to see in almost real time the progress we had made. Even the time of day is apparent in the photos. Check it out:

4 - Google Maps and Google Earth help you plot your land.  No one would argue that Google has some mind-blowing innovations that have impacted our lives in major ways.  There is also an argument out there that Google tends to buy up (at best) or run out (at worst) smaller companies who have been innovating in similar spaces.  That said, my point here is that Google has cataloged what the entire earth’s surface looks like, matching it up precisely with longitudinal and latitudinal markers.  What does this mean for farmers and vintners like my family and me?  It means we don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to have “fly-over” photos of our land.  These “fly-over” or “bird’s-eye-view” images are helpful in mapping out property lines, creek (a.k.a. “crick”) and river boundaries and generally helps you keep track of what is where.  While Google’s images won’t update the next morning after you have logged a few acres on your land, what it will help you do is track your property over time. Moreover, because the maps are to scale, you can actually use them as measuring devices.  My dad used Google’s products to measure out how much PVC pipe we would need to make it from the top of our vineyard (which is on a hill), down to the creek (a.k.a. “crick”), from which where we plan to pump the water.  His measurements using Google were within feet, if not inches, of being SPOT ON.  Oh, and did I mention, he did all of this from Wyoming, a few hundred miles away, sitting at his computer.  Talk about efficient.

5 - Flickr albums take your farm photos and allow it to be dynamic. Related to Twitpic, Flickr is a great outlet to store high-res versions of your photos and keep track of a crop’s progress over time.  A trip last year to Trails End Farm with the Ellwood Thompson’s team allowed us to capture a snapshot (see below as well) of what was happening on their farm.  Imagine if you had a daily photo journal of the same spot over the course of a year, five years… maybe even a whole generation.  I am looking forward to digitizing some of my family’s footage, knowing that my mom has done an amazing job documenting our farm since we first set foot on it in 1989.  Flickr also allows you to store videos that are 90 seconds or less.

6 - Video is essential… make your own commercials, news packages and documentaries.  Vimeo and Viddler are both good choices for the aesthetic value as well as the community support (and, of course, YouTube is the universal platform).  At any rate, most of my experience with this has again been with the Ellwood Thompson’s team (see their Vimeo profile) and shooting a few of my own videos of moss and Bradshaw Vineyards.

In order to get this:You need to plant and tend to these:And make sure they get plenty of water (and you know how I feel about water):With that said, I will be back in Oregon from April 29 - May 10 to help my dad with irrigation pipe and other expansion logistics.  In the next year or so, we will be expanding to reach about 44 total acres (yes, my favorite number, what are the chances… *wink*).  I hope to share more about the experience here on my blog and over Twitter upon my return.I hope to also get some rest, spend some time with my sister and my Grandma… not to mention, take stock of / relect on life and be “off-the-grid” for a while (cf. “Coming Back Online, Maintaining Balance“).For more about my Family’s vineyard, please see:February 2008 Album on Flickr March 2009 Album on Flickr Our Family’s Hard Work Has Paid Off: Wine & Spirits gives us a 90!!

Just received this release for the Miles Grant for Delegate campaign.  Couldn’t have said it better myself:

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ARLINGTON, VA (April 8, 2009) – Equal rights have scored a series of victories across the country in the last week, with decisions from the Iowa Supreme Court, Vermont state legislature, and DC Council advancing the cause of marriage rights for all.

Miles Grant, Democratic candidate for House of Delegates in Virginia’s 47th district, said today:

“With each passing day, Virginia’s harsh restrictions on marriage and even simple domestic partnerships are cast in deeper contrast to the steady march of progress we’re seeing across America. We take pride in Virginia’s policies that attract world-class businesses. But the best businesses in the world need the top workers in the world. What message are we sending about Virginia’s values when we tell some of those workers they’re not allowed to commit their lives to the person they love and start a family together?

“It’s time to move our Commonwealth forward by repealing the Marshall-Newman amendment and recognizing full marriage rights for all Virginians. We’re not talking about special protections – these actions would simply ensure that all families receive basic rights, including financial protections, hospital visitation access and ability to adopt and retain custody of their children. As delegate, I’ll make it one of my top priorities to ensure civil liberties for all Virginians.”

Learn more about Miles Grant for Delegate at MilesGrant2009.com.

Celebrating its 17th anniversary, World Water Day is officially today (March 22nd). As I described yesterday, I have been working with the American Chemistry Council, GOOD Magazine, Population Services International, a host of health-focused organizations to produce  a series of videos to help raise awareness about the drinking water epidemic that kills millions each year. It is hard to believe that things like cholera and typhoid still exist. But they do (see map: Distribution of Cholera Worldwide).  I also detailed this further last fall when working on the 100th anniversary of safe water.The latest video (below) is not only filled with facts, but draws special attention to the impact that dirty drinking water has on children — especially young females.  They are disproportionately impacted, as they have to carry water instead of going to school, which leads to long-term disempowerment. Not. Cool.Ok, so let’s keep the momentum going and stand up for those in need and donate up to 300 liters per person by:

• Joining our Facebook page “Safe & Healthy Water For Everyone” ( = 100 liters donated per member)
• Following us on Twitter to learn more about global water issues @WorldH2O ( = 100 liters donated per follower)
• Spreading the word about the importance of chlorination by following @chlorine ( = 100 liters donated per follower)

I am about to send out a message to nearly 300 Facebook group members, after tweeting with just over 1,500 folks who have elected to follow @WorldH2O and @chlorine – and I am in awe.  The combined efforts of everyone on Facebook and Twitter have helped raise over 182,000 liters of safe, healthy and clean water for those in need as of noon today.  I hope that this is just the tip of the iceberg, with others making the decision to use the power of their social networks for good for World Water Day (which is official March 22nd).  The project itself has been made possible by the American Chemistry Council (a client I have enjoyed working with via New Media Strategies), in partnership with GOOD Magazine, Population Services International and a group of leading health organizations.  In addition to our Twitter and Facebook efforts, for World Water Day we’ve partnered with GOOD Magazine to reimagine iconic moments from American culture that wouldn’t have been the same without clean water.  WARNING: THESE VIDEOS ARE DIRTY.  Check it out:

I have to hand it to them.  I honestly don’t know who is behind FamousDC.  At New Media Strategies, we have plenty of theories and are pretty convinced that it is more than one person.

At any rate, I am blogging to get the word out that I am in the #FDC Twitter Challenge - SW Bracket for the next 24 hours and would much appreciate a tweet or two endorsing my Twitter awesomeness (and yes I realize how silly I am for all of this; I don’t take myself as seriously as I often let on).  I have an opponent in all of this, but I will not speak his name here for fear of him getting points for my blog post.  Sssssh, be verwee, verwee quiet… I am hunting tweets.  I am also boarding a plane from Austin (#SXSW) back to DC in a few hours, so this may be one of my few windows of time to politik.

While I have you here, I am giving a shout out and endorsement to my co-workers @BrianDevine @MatthewGagnon @HumanFolly who are all hustling, as is the king of hustling @JESS3.  Despite my friendships with those on the other side of each of these four brackets, I am being loyal to my @NMSosphere ties.

Bum rush the Twitter charts, y’all.