Summer of Projects Begins Now

Okay, here’s the scoop. I’m gearing up to do a bunch of things over this summer, all social media projects. You’re invited to them all. Or any. Whichever floats your boat. We’re going to test some theories. We’re going to build out some things. We’re going to create and make and DO! We’re going to be verbs. And I am inviting YOU.

Summer of Projects

This is collaborative, but I’ve got some starter projects in mind. You’re invited to help with any of the following:

• 100 Comments Project- Someone starts a post, we fill up 100 meaningful comments. End result:**updated** Some good conversations (not doing ebooks).
• Social Media Architecture Project – We’re plumbing out the network, and then tuning it for value. (Going beyond “having” a Facebook or MySpace page, and into actually making worthwhile USE of it).
• Barnstorming Project – Let’s raise the roof on several new media properties. Let’s get Justin Kownacki’s Something to Be Desired sold or funded, for instance.
• Grasshopper Factory – a small unconference themed on creativity, DO!-ing something, and community.
• PodCamp Network – we’re going to bring the conversation all together in a distribution hub, sharing our best stuff, making sure we don’t lose the threads.
• YOUR ideas – remember, I’m just starting something. It’s your game. What’s your idea?

Commitment

If you’re in, you’re in. There will be actions to perform. Everything will be driven by a call to action and a desired result. You can choose not to participate in a project, or you might only choose to do part of a project, but if you’re in, this is about action and moving things forward.

Why Am I Doing This?

Consider this the lab. Consider this a bunch of discrete proof of concepts. Let’s see what we can take from this and extend out into the new media community space. Are you a videoblogger looking for a stronger media kit and a marketing campaign? Maybe we’ll get that done for you. Are you an educator or a technologist seeking ways to use communities and new media tools to get things done? That’s the point.

My goal is to LAUNCH these actions, to participate, but to have the community carry the weight of it with me. If I do this alone, it won’t work. I’m busy. Putting on a professional conference is a full time job. Helping with Network2 is a full time job. Doing PodCamp stuff is a full time job.

What You Should Learn

This will all be open-plan. The goal is that everything you get out of participating is immediately useful to other things you’re doing. Maybe you’re trying to build better community service actions for your church. Some of what we get done this summer will cover that. Maybe you’re seeking to brand yourself better. Everything we do will relate back to that in some form or another. This is all for you to grow from.

This is yours to work with. Are you in? Do you want to DO something this summer?