Help Wanted: Needy Enabler

The best and worst thing about the Internet is the information overload. Every day I add to links to my Google Docs list of web sites that I want to spend more time looking at...some day. There are two categories of links I save: 1) sources of information for stories I'm researching, and 2) hawt applications I don't have time to play with.

This morning I was perusing my short story research list of web sites relating to roller skating culture in the 1950's-1970's. I gazed longingly at my hawt apps linkies and suddenly thought, "If only I had a client (or 10) with projects that needed me to know how to used these amazing utilities." What a perfect excuse to rearrange my priorities and justify hour after glorious hour learning the intricacies of these apps! I'm not talking about kinda knowing them, or getting the gist of it. I'm already there. I'm dreaming about full-on expert knowledge.

Take a look at some of the applications I'm buzzing over, broken down into RSS and productivity apps and SaaS widget (SMOD) creators.

RSS and productivity apps

http://www.aiderss.com/
Calling itself "an intelligent assistant that saves time and keeps you on top of the latest news," AideRSS identifies feeds by their web popularity, customized by topics specified. It lets you make widgets (aka SMODs...read why I call 'em that here) to output the feed based on your criteria. The purpose is to lessen the information overload by getting you the stuff that is most likely to make you shudder with ecstasy. This is a very good way of getting you relevant and timely information to scoop even the most eagle-eyed feed sifter.

http://www.netvibes.com
Netvibes works like iGoogle on steroids. Using tabbed home page functionality (which you can share with the public) you can put widgets, whole websites, email inboxes, instant messenger apps, link collections and lots more, all in one place. From the little time I've had to play with it, it seems to be a fairly easy way to monitor everything I hold near and dear and to catch new stuff I don't know about yet. Oh, goody! More links to add to my linkie list!

http://www.dapper.net/
This tasty app creates RSS feeds for web sites that don't have subscription functionality already. It provides the means to make widgets, Google gadgets, APIs and Netvibes modules with these feeds. In the Dapp Factory you simply type a URL into a box and click a radio button next to several output options, for example Dapp XML, iCalendar, RSS feed, or Netvibes module. There are several steps, and each step has its own demo for hand holding.

http://pipes.yahoo.com
Oh, boy. This app is one I could do so much with, if only I had the chance. It allows for the manipulation of feeds to extract specific data (such as geo codes) and then mashing them into one feed. It's a drag-and-drop app, which me lurves, and visually connects all the adding and subtracting of the data in feeds with an animated wiggly pipe. Heaven!

http://yuuguu.com/
I'm the one in my circle of (flesh) friends that gets these kind of phone calls: "Hey, Michelle! Um. I'm working in Microsoft Word and there's this doo-hickey on the right side of my document that won't go away. And, when I try to print I get a message asking me to download something. WTF? Call me?" Sigh. Yuuguu is a screen sharing app that lets users see each others screens, without security issues. It integrates conference calling and instant messaging and is PC, Mac and Linux compatible. Meow!

http://screensteps.com/
With the tag line "The documentation tool for people who don't want to do documentation" you can guess why this app is appealing. Personally, I lurve beautifully simplistic technical writing and how-to-manuals, but it's an art to do it right and can be tedious to put all the elements together. Photos and copy traditionally come from different applications (which often fight each other) and when you're doing 15 tutorials at once, well..things can get hairy. ScreenSteps promises to be an efficient, quick way of creating tutorials and guides .Also, there's tons of documentation on how to use the app on the web site. Documentation made, I'm sure, with ScreenSteps.

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) SMOD creators
Please, please, please, will someone hire me to make them a widget? Of all the social apps out there, SMODs are hands down my favorite. Here are the most interesting I've found so far:

http://sproutbuilder.com/
SproutBuild (in beta) is the one I've spent the most time playing with. (You can see the one I built on my music/movies/books blog.) Its interface reminds me of Flash, and it has some glitches, but MAN IS IT SEXY. It handles both imported or linked media, and uses familiar convention from page layout applications (such as master pages and component panels). At first glance it seems far more customizable than some SMOD apps.

http://www.widgetbox.com
Widgetbox takes your Flash movies, HTML code, web site URLs, RSS feeds or Google gadget and turns it into a SMOD. You can export your shiney new SMOD directly to Facebook and track its viral spread.

http://www.kickapps.com/
This app has a lot of the same bells and whistles as SproutBuilder, but with disco lights, a hosted bar and free cab rides home for your drunk ass. There is of a lot of documentation on how to get your beloved SMOD viral in your budding social community. The SMOD is also highly customizable, allowing you to mess with the HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It's also compatible with CMS apps like Drupal and Joomla. (Note to self: Become an expert in Drupal and Joomla.)

So, whatdoya say? Make a mediaChick happy? Hire me to crunch some feeds, track trends, spy on your competitors, or write stuff that your readers want to read. Enable my lust for hawt apps I don't have time to play with!

Let's go steady!

Breathe easy! I'm still safe from marital bliss

Thanks to all who came to the Anti-Prom Saturday night! It was so much fun that @lollyrae didn't notice I wasn't auctioned off for gawd knows what. This was a relief because there were no suitable boyz there anyway. I know this because none of them climbed the hippie patchwork stage curtains and screamed over Tiger House's music, "Hey! When are we going to get to bid on the super tall chick wearing the tiara?" Dodged a bullet, I did!

Since it was @lollyrae and her man @chimpchampion's show, my job was to just show up and look pretty. I think I did that fairly well. My tweeties @camikaos, @drnormal, @missburrows and @betsywhim showed up looking gorgeous. Doc Normal managed to get John Borroz, master jazz man, to fork up his five bucks and revisit his prom night. My flesh friends (isn't that phrase deliciously horrible?) were all there dressed to the nines (I'd link to them here but they don't read my blogs anyway...stoopid flesh). I again successfully avoided conversations with those I didn't know. (I have stellar networking skillz.) We were all on our best behavior.

I the drank various substances handed to me in bottles and flasks and ate as much homemade cheesy/oniony/hambergery chip dip as possible. A couple of bands played, one with secret identities. They played a short set and then came back out dressed as furries. I don't know their name, but I was very curious about the band's attraction to stuffed animals and whether I'd get a *special* kinda show if I trailed them back to their van after their last set. In the end, I remembered I can't get too far out of @lollyrae's sight, lest she come looking for her pink leather flask (which coincidently, or maybe not, matched my outfit).

There was dancing, some sort of mosh pit thingy, enough beer and eats for everyone, and really great prom attire. My two wives got to see each other, which is much more rare than it should be. (Yes, I have a thing for redheads. Why do you ask?) But, most importantly, my dear @lollyrae was happy with the way it all came about in the end. For that alone, I am very grateful. Thanks to all who attended!

Now, go check out the rest of the Anti-Prom photos!

Let's go steady!

Anti-Prom Night is Freaking Me Out

Sorry, I know my post title is a bit alarmist. But you see...I was just sitting here thinking and having a minor freak out about my pledge to compete in the upcoming Twitter Pie-Off on Saturday. Then suddenly I started freaking out about someone else's freak out, someone's who's having a big event on the same day later that night: @lollyrae's Anti-Prom fund raiser. Between the two of us? Lots of freaking out.

You know about the Anti-Prom, right? It's a benefit dance to raise funds for Luke Dorf's Safe Haven, which provides services for those with mental health issues. Money raised will also be donated to the Anti-Prom venue Liberty Hall, a cool community-run space in North Portland. These are really worthwhile causes that deserve your $5 prom admission.

No matter what the story, it seems many of us have a prom-shaped hole inside. But going to the Anti-Prom isn't just about helping others or setting the past straight. Oh, no. It's about wearing our finest thrift store prom apparel and goofing off like a bunch of morons. As we point to each other and shriek, "OMG! You look GREAT!" we'll really mean "that's so hideous! I'm jealous I didn't find that for myself!" Going to the Anti-Prom also means openly drinking alcohol wearing a lacy poof dress in total defiance of the watchful eye of the chaperones. (Take that, Algrebra II teacher who's name escapes me at this moment!) And, lets be honest. How many more years are you going to be able to fit into that ruffled tuxedo shirt before your girth strains your buttons? I mean, to the point of it actually being a danger to others? Like if a button pops off with such velocity you take someone's eye out? Think about it.

Even with prom night mere days away @lollyrae still needs some help making things happen. I know this because of the aforementioned "she is freaking out." First and foremost on her mind is the DJ/band situation. That situation being that she needs them. The main requirements: they have to be special, not expect any money or a grope, and possess a flair for spinning tunes for grown-ups dressed like members of an 1980s wedding party. And second...you guys know this is a fund raiser, right? Well the organizations this event will support mean a lot to her, so she's feeling stressed about doing her best with no budget at all. (I know! Wow!) So remember: if you can swing it it's BYOB. And hell, throw in some cheesy poofs, too.

Oh. And apparently I will be auctioned off. (Here's where my freak out intersects with @lollyrae's.) My dear @lollyrae has not told me what exactly the @mediaChick #antiprom "package" is. Here's a conversation I just had with the pushy Irish lass via IM about this:

me: I need to know what the hell you're auction me off for. What's the mediachick "package"
h: a drink and a dance
some light banter
kind of escort style
but I'm setting Benjamin as a watchdog
for those hands
me: Uh. No.
h: you'll like it
I"ll pay you in wine and rice crispy treats
me: Uh, no.

This could get ugly. I hope to see you at the Anti-Prom on Saturday night, August 30th, for whatever reason you decide. So go RSVP right now, 'foo! And bring me some cheesy poofs!

Let's go steady!

I'm a Writer, Thank You for Noticing

About a year ago I was dating someone I thought I'd be with for the rest of my life. It was a very hard yet worthwhile relationship. I was sure we could make our partnership work, and that together we would create the kind of life that inspires heart wrenching Academy Award-winning films and articles in The New Yorker. Instead we crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. "Disappointed" or "devastated" does not even begin to describe the months that followed our parting.

Prior to my meeting him, for years and years, my focus was only to survive and to figure out how to provide for my little family. Dating just wasn't on the agenda, which is just as well. I would've been no good to any man of quality. I was working as a freelance videography when video cameras became affordable to the average consumer, which dried up the market for my expertise. I lost my house and my car and my young son and I moved in with my Pops. We slept on the floor, with most of my son's toys and my dishes and such in someone's garage for safe-keeping. You can imagine what these kind of things might do to a sensitive girl's self-esteem, especially one who is supposed to be head of household.

Eventually I got a part-time job that I managed to make full-time. I saved all my money and kept my mouth shut when my dear friends told me I was a good person. I found a cheap duplex to rent and by sheer luck my name was called in the Section 8 low-income housing lottery the month after I signed my month-to-month lease. This made rent cheap enough that I could go back to school and still eat and pay for electricity and childcare. In the beginning I studied marketing but switched to multimedia production when I took an elective credit in video, for old time's sake. I finished Portland Community College's intensive 60-hour Multimedia program on the Dean's List. This was not easy, with each class 3-4 credit hours and only 6-8 weeks long. Each semester I generally took 21-28 credit hours of classes, not including hours of required lab time, while working full-time and raising my son by myself. I wore my Academic Honors sash during graduation with a dreamy disbelief.

It's been years since this dark period in my life, but I still carry it with me. It has shaped my perspective who I am. My new credentials led me to a job that has allowed me to buy a house and a car and buy my son things that he wants, not just things he needs. I continue to hold fast the realization that things could go all to hell at any time. I am still shell shocked and wary. I lost my way, with eyes pried opened to face reality. I will never forget that life throws shit around indiscriminately.

This man that I thought I'd be with forever is an artist and a teacher. In the time we were together, I allowed myself to think of myself as creative for the first time in many, many years. It amazed me how words and pictures and ideas flowed from him. Good ones that made me admire him and want to see him succeed. With him I saw that I hadn't been writing things down anymore, my stories. I hadn't read for pleasure in a long time. Any inspiration I did have felt a waste of time. I was stuck in the time when all my energy was spent on doing something productive, for survival, instead. All the videos I'd done, or programing I'd produced, any writing I'd done, all of it really belonged to someone else. They weren't mine.

I made this man a promise that I would write again, become a writer like I've always wanted to be. I promised that I would write a book, and that's what I aim to do ... despite him, or because of him. It doesn't really matter as long as I am doing it. The things that have happened to me, that have led me to the place I am now, all the signs point to now being the time to do it. I've met some wonderful writers whose opinions I greatly respect, who genuinely want to see me succeed. This writing thing is not easy. It's from the heart, gut churning, soul baring and extremely personal stuff that scares me silly to share. But I need to. I need to tell my stories.

It's difficult to disengage the survival mode of my brain, to let go of the idea that I need to be on "high alert" in case something terrible happens again and I have to start all over, but I am learning.And, in the meantime, I am writing my little heart out and looking for job opportunities that won't make me feel like I'm lying when I say "I'm a writer." I could certainly fail, but I think I might not. But if I do I know I can crawl myself out of that hole again, with a big "fuck you" to those who say I can't.

Let's go steady!