One of the videos we put into a lot of our first presentations recently got an upgrade, and although we think the use of Fatboy Slim’s “Right Here Right Now” in the original is a little more shocking when you throw this video up on the big screen, the stats speak for themselves:

Here’s the original:

We’re kicking off a big week today. First stop Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Nevada City, CA to spend some time with the iLCP crew, EP Films and Save Our Wild Salmon. Then it’s off to Salt Lake City for a Red Reel Video Media and Sweetgrass Productions reunion, followed by our favorite four days of winter: Outdoor Retailer.

These are the kind of things that we love to do, because we get to take a step away from our computers and hang out with a bunch of fantastic people that are passionate about the same things we are. The best part? We get to see them in person.

My mother always raises her eyebrows when I reference my “online friends.” But it’s true. Negative effects of spending too much time in front of the computer screen aside, there is a place for community online, and if you can partner that with making sure those relationships extend into the real world, you’ve got something solid.

Yes, in the digital age, real live interaction is in fact paramount. We spend a lot of our time connecting with the outdoor and conservation communities online, and we’ve built some strong relationships, but nothing beats an actual high five or hug (which is why we’re giving them away for free).

So look out all you @undersolen friends: we’re coming at you. In way more than 140 characters.

Think back to a time before Facebook was mentioned at least daily in the newspaper… Can’t? Well, once upon a time, that was the case.

But in case you were still on the fence about social media becoming a constant part of our collective consciousness, take a look at some of the new words added to the New Oxford American Dictionary:

• BFF n. (pl. BFFs) informal a girl’s best friend: my BFF’s boyfriend is cheating on her.
• – ORIGIN 1996: from the initial letters of best friend forever.
• defriend v. another term for unfriend.
• hashtag n. (on social networking websites such as Twitter) a hash or pound sign (#) used to identify a particular keyword or phrase in a posting.
• Interweb n. humorous the Internet.
• social media n. [treated as sing. or pl.] websites and applications used for social networking.
• tag cloud n. a visual depiction of the word content of a website, or of user-generated tags attached to online content, typically using color and font size to represent the prominence or frequency of the words or tags depicted.

Which raises the question: just how do you politely defriend your BFF on the interweb?

Check out the full list of words here.

Via: Oxford University Press

Image: net_efekt

From NPR:

The New York Times reports that the average computer user checks 40 websites a day and can switch programs 36 times an hour.

“It’s an onslaught of information coming in today,” says Times technology journalist Matt Richtel. “At one time a screen meant maybe something in your living room. But now it’s something in your pocket so it goes everywhere — it can be behind the wheel, it can be at the dinner table, it can be in the bathroom. We see it everywhere today.”

So, basically, your brain is overloaded — exhausted — by digital devices. Think about it, how often are you in front of a screen every week? A lot, right? Now, it’s time to put down the device. Give yourself (and brain) a break. Step away. And get outside. Your computer will be right there waiting for you on Monday…

Happy Friday!

P.S. This post was scheduled to go up. I’m already in the mountains!

Photo by Anna Brones

Last night I found myself at a smoke filled tavern, just steps away from the port in St. Bernard Parish, a 20 minute drive from downtown New Orleans. Sunday night was special, with red table cloths and a wide space cleared in the middle of the room for dancing. On the small stage at the front of the room a drummer decided on the rhythm while a man dressed in a black t-shirt and worn jeans sang reminiscent melodies from the 50s and 60s. Between songs, the dancing couples, mostly of an older demographic, returned to their tables for smoke and beer breaks. This was certainly far from any French Quarter experience.

So what in the world was I doing in a tavern in St. Bernard Parish? A couple of months ago we got asked to take part in a multimedia project that aimed to shed light, through a bear witness program, on the real impacts of the Gulf Coast oil spill, and encourage a sustained conversation that would take the lessons from this catastrophe and promote positive change. We said yes of course, and now, here I am, trying to get as many authentic, local experiences as possible, which includes everything from attending community meetings to interacting with locals on the dance floor.

Over the next 10 days we’ll be traveling around the Gulf Coast, meeting with local citizens, scientists, politicians and community leaders in the hopes of making more personal connections to this place and sharing them with our own communities when we return home.

So how does new media play into this whole picture? I’d counter with: how doesn’t new media play into this? We’ve already made connections with groups on the ground via Twitter, spread our personal posts via the blogosphere and are creating an online space where people can learn and interact with these issues. New media is allowing the PDX 2 Gulf Coast spread a message of change that isn’t from the mass media, and that’s encouraging for all involved in the project.

We encourage you to follow along and join in the conversation over at www.pdx2gulfcoast.com.

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Been playing around with some presentation tools today here at Under Solen, and we’ve got to say, there’s just something about the simplicity and entertainment behind Prezi. Seriously. So much better than a sleep-inducing power point.

After a few minutes of playing around, here’s what we came up with:

Watch this. Laugh. Then check out Colbert’s Twitter feed for how you can help Comedy Central’s Address the Mess campaign. That’s a good use of social media.

We love the original version of Social Media Revolution, in fact when you turn the volume up it grabs the attention of even social media naysayers; people tend to smirk at the porn stat. Now there’s Social Media Revolution 2.0 with updated statistics, and even an iPad thrown in for good measure, but the same great intense techno background that we’ve all come to love.

Some key stats:

• 96% of Millenials have joined a social network
• 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 brands are links to user-generated content
• 60 million status updates happen on Facebook daily

Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Skier, artist and all-around bad ass girl Lynsey Dyer is definitely at the top of our list of inspirational women that we love. She skis, she designs and she encourages others to get outdoors and love the outdoors with her non-profit SheJumps. Here’s an excerpt from her interview over on Mountainfilm; go check out the whole thing and get inspired by the thought “If she can do it, so can I!”

How do you see media – be it film, photography, journalism, art, etc. – serving as a catalyst for positive change?

There are two ways to create change, through fear and through inspiration. My intention through everything I do, in skiing for films, creating or with the non-profit is to inspire people to play outside; “if she can do it so can I”(one of SheJumps’ mantras). If everyone could feel the raw connection to nature, through making a turn in powder snow, riding down the face of a wave, or climbing up a rock, then I believe they’d be inspired to not only save it, but be a part of it; “get amongst it,” we like to say in the bro-bra ski world.