April 07, 2009
Extreme Social Media
Mobile Social from the Arctic Circle
A few weeks ago we launched a new blog for a local Tahoe adventure guide, Doug Stoup, and his guide service, Ice Axe Expeditions. This week Doug and Michael Mitten are trekking across ice and open water through horrendous weather and conditions to the geographic North Pole.
Adventure for a Cause
This isn’t just an adventure. Doug and Michael are out to raise awareness and support for
Macmillan Cancer Support. For years, Doug has been working to raise awareness for environmental, educational and charitable causes, and has always used technology to get the message out about what he and his clients are experiencing and observing. That has included webcasts, photos, voice recordings, and text updates. But we thought they should kick it up a notch and be more social.
Social Media for Expeditions
Doug has a handheld PDA that links up to a satellite phone so that he can send images and messages back to Ice Axe Headquarters in Truckee Ca. There Karyn Stanley, Ice Axe Managing Director, posts the updates to the website, which we built on the WordPress CMS.
Doug and Michael are also sending Twitter updates of their adventure as they get closer to the pole through the ice and open water of the Arctic Ocean. I’m digging following the challenges and trails of their trek on twitter!
You can listen to audio updates that they call in using the file and media sharing service drop.io. This service receives and records the calls, creates an embeddable audio player, and produces an iTunes subscribeable feed so that you can sync the updates to your phone or ipod every day.
The images Doug and Michael are sending back end up on Flickr.com where you can view, bookmark, share and comment. There are some amazing images there!
And all of this is happening, albeit with a little help from basecamp, as the expedition is unfolding, rather than days or weeks after. While we wish we had been hired to tag along and be the tech geeks for the expedition, once we set it all up and got it live, Doug and Michael are able to easily send updates and Karyn is posting them from home — all on their own! On top of that, they now have multiple avenues for commenting and interaction with their growing community.
If you love adventure, please check out what Doug and Karen have been able to do for Education, Environment and Charity with Ice Axe Expeditions. And please also take a minute to look at the important causes they are working for on the True North and the upcoming Two Feet on the Table (launching in April 11th) expeditions. There’s a lot more content and media we’ll be adding to this site in the coming months.
-Mike
Posted in Client Announcements, Reno-Tahoe, Social
April 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
A lot has changed since the days of Roald Amundsen. But now, of course, reasons extend beyond being first. Great to see they are also doing it to raise awareness for cancer.
April 7th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
NICE- love this idea. Now I just wish I could find the time/money to get out there and do this myself. Maybe weekly treks to the top of Peavine for starters????
So is @mehwolfy going to share the voyage to Morocco?
April 7th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Clint,
I thought about trying to live stream my morocco trip. As crazy as it may sound to my friends, I am really looking forward to being OFF LINE…
Doug has a much different mission from mine. Doug is working for a cause and to combine his passions for extreme sports and education. I’m stoked that we get to be a part of that and that we are able to add something to his already successful program.
I am, however, thinking about how social media will influence what i take pictures of and what, and how, i write in my new pda…
-M