How I found Rachel's Story

Lunch was late today for me, so this post is a bit late

Quick recap: I caught this PSA with Jennifer Connelly for charity: water on TV. My thoughts went to all the great work the Social Media Club of Kansas City (SMCKC) team did a few years back on the charity: water international twestival kick-off and I was thinking how mainstream the initiative is now. How it had gone transmedia. I also thought about how we had a boiling water advisory a few weeks ago and how terrible it would be to not have clean water. The ad reminded me to check up on what charity:water was doing online.

My first search online was on Twitter. I searched on "charitywater" and up popped Chris Wragge's tweet. Here's the unique twist,
I didn't click on Chris' tweet because I knew who he was - CBS The Early Show Anchor. I didn't know him. If I watch a morning news program which is rare, it's another network or cable show. Anyway, I clicked on Chris' content in relationship to my search charity:water. And this is how I came across Rachel's story.

If you haven't heard about Rachel's 9th Birthday Wish, her tragic death and the media keeping her wish going see this CNN story, read this Huffington Post article, take in this NBC Nightly News video, or probably the best way is to read Rachel's Mom's update on Rachel's charity:water page.

And why did Rachel's story move me to post today?????
I was overwhelmed with Rachel's mom's response on Rachel's charity:water page. You have no idea how much it means to get support from people (some you have met, some you haven't met) but all mean well for you and your family through giving in honor of a lost one...you don't understand until you've gone through it. It gives you hope. It helps you breathe. It helps you live.

The way I came across Rachel's story was typical for me. A PSA that I ran across yesterday, I thought about this morning with SMCKC, I searched on Twitter mid-morning, a link from the tweet took me to Rachel's page which made me aware of an amazing 9 year olds' wish that I had missed in the masses. This is my real-time transmedia search-and-find.

This cross-media, back-and-forth sourcing happens everyday for all of us and it's a no-brainer. Rachel's story crystalized this process for me because her story resonated with me and it unfolded for me through multi-channels on and offline. From losing a loved one unexpectedly; to the non-profit charity:waterwith a social media start; and, to button it up - how social media plays an integral part in getting the word out, period - it all made sense to me, I related to it.

The back-and-forth, transmedia sourcing, and especially my ask to consider donating on Rachel's page, are things I want to share, hence the post.

I'm sure y'all had hear about Rachel's story, thanks for taking the time to read my take. Do you have a transmedia story to share? I'd love to hear it.

Long Time No Post

Yep, I fell victim to time starvation and consciously narrowed down my online activities over the last eight weeks. My Empire Avenue stock is down, my klout score too, I'm connected on Google+ but not really engaged...I'm not tweeting or posting on Facebook as much. The biggest victims have been this blog and posterous accounts.

I've been traveling a lot for me (8 of the last 10 weeks) some personal, most for work and I haven't gotten into my new schedule groove. I always write my posts at home at night when I can't sleep. Well, when I am at home these days, I'm sleeping like a baby and when I'm not, I'm not making time for posting.

With my new job, I am taking in a lot of industry content specific to our agency, our clients and also broader trends. There's so much amazing stuff being produced that I have gotten caught up in consuming and I'm still figuring out how to share, what can be shared...you know all that IP stuff that comes with agency work, and what really do I want to share. And I'm not producing. Yep, I'm making this way too complicated.

All that said, I got knocked off my "figuring out" mode and long list of excuses this morning. Well, it actually started yesterday...I caught this PSA with Jennifer Connelly for charity: water on TV. My thoughts went to all the great work the SMCKC team did a few years back on the charity: water international twestival kick-off and I was thinking how mainstream the initiative is now. I also thought about how we had a boiling water advisory a few weeks ago and how terrible it would be to not have clean water. The ad reminded me to check up on what CharityWater was doing online.

Just a few minutes ago, my "get back into posting" moment happened and I'll share it with you over my next post (coming at lunch).