Artists and the Affordable Care Act

Hey there,

So while trying to stay informed about the various reactions to last week's Supreme Court decision, with regard to President Obama's Affordable Care Act, I've been trying to pay particular attention to the decision's impact on the artist community.

Below are three selections, I've come across and highly recommend checking out.

The first is from ARTINFO.com, a site from Louise Blouin Media (go to here to learn more about 'em). The article, How Artists Will Be Affected by the Supreme Court's Decision to Uphold Obama's Affordable Care Act, was written by Reid Singer & Shane Ferro, two writers based in New Yrok City.

Here's an article at the Huffington Post, A Victory for the Creative Economy. This was written by Adam Hutt, the Executive Director of Fractured Atlas. If you're not familiar with the organization, here is their mission:

Fractured Atlas is a non-profit organization that serves a national community of artists and arts organizations. Our programs and services facilitate the creation of art by offering vital support to the artists who produce it. We help artists and arts organizations function more effectively as businesses by providing access to funding, healthcare, education, and more, all in a context that honors their individuality and independent spirit. By nurturing today's talented but underrepresented voices, we hope to foster a dynamic and diverse cultural landscape of tomorrow.

Go to their website to find out more about the organization.

The final article is up at Americans for the Arts', ARTSblog, The Supreme Court's Healthcare Decision & The Arts. The piece was written by Narric Rome, senior director of federal affairs and arts education at AFTA. And if you're not familiar with AFTA, here's some info from their about page:

Founded in 1960, Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. From offices in Washington, DC and New York City, we provide a rich array of programs that meet the needs of over 150,000 members and stakeholders. We are dedicated to representing and serving local communities and to creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

All-in-all, a huge step forward, particularly for individual artists. This isn't to say that there isn't more work to do, and all of it is moot if artists aren't aware of or don't take advantage of the benefits they get from the ACA.

Any other articles others have come across with regard to how this act and last week's decision affects the artist community? Does this affect and significantly change your own situation with regard to increasing your healthcare options and actually making things more affordable?

Will definitely be keeping track of this, especially as the law continues to be implemented over the next couple of years.

JR

P.S. If you're interested in following any of the authors of the pieces written on Twitter, here they are:

• Adam Hutt
• Narric Afta
• Reid Singer
• Shane Ferro

Follow @AWayofLife0

GALA 2012 Parties

Hey there,

So less than three days until I head to my first GALA Choruses Festival in Denver. Trying to wrap my head around all that there'll be to do.


While the festival guide will probably have information on all of the concerts, I wanted to also keep track of what social events I could.

So here it is. Links go to FB event pages.

• Saturday, July 7 at X Bar - GALA Festival Opening Night Party hosted by New York City Gay Men's Chorus

• Sunday, July 8 at The Corner Office - Chicago Gay Men's Chorus GALA Party
• Monday, July 9 at Katie Mullens - TCGMC & SDGMC Festival Celebration!
• Wednesday, July 11 at the Grand Hyatt - Red Hot: Official Closing Event of Festival 2012

If there're any others, please let me know, and I'll update this page.

Can't wait!!

JR

Pepco's social media use after Friday's storm

Hey there,

So, Pepco's been utilizing Social Media to stay in touch with their customers, at least those that still have charged batteries and, if their power's still out at home, an alternative location with juice.

This morning at 8:44am, they tweeted this.

We expect to have estimated restoration times later today. You will be able to view them on our outage map and mobile app.
— Pepco (@PepcoConnect) July 1, 2012

Pepco even started a Facebook photo album of not just damage from this past Friday's storm, but also crews working to repair that damage.

But with great social media comes great transparency and these tools are just other platforms for them to receive comments, criticism, and complaints.

A couple of hours ago, Christine Byrams left this comment on Facebook, "Power in Cheltenham and parts of Upper Marlboro are still OUT!!" from her mobile device.

Not missing a beat, PepcoConnect replied, "Christine, we will work around the clock until restoration is completed."

This is a great example of how important it is to listen with Social Media. Eric Harr made a great point in a blog, aptly titled, Myth: To Be Heard, Talk. Truth: To Be Heard, Listen:

"Social media was created as a refuge from that very method of “interruption marketing.” People seek honest dialogue and authentic discourse. They want to be heard."

And natural disasters are definitely a situation where people want to be heard. If there's any question as to why Social Media is worth it for an organization you are with, this is one.

Obviously, crisis is relative and not every company or organization deals with the same product or responsibilities that affect peoples lives to this degree. But that's no reason to ignore it.

Kivi Miller, of NonProfitMarketingGuide.com, has a great post from this past February titled Nonprofit Crisis Communications 101: Shorten the News Cycle. And while her site is geared towards the Nonprofit community, best practices are best practices. Here's one of her points on why an org needs a crisis communication plan:

"Whether you can predict it or not, whether you think you are controversial or not, whether you are careful and prepared or not, every nonprofit is vulnerable to some sort of crisis. In some ways, the actual substance of the crisis is less important than whether you are ready to respond quickly and competently to it."

So Pepco is doing their best to use the tools at their disposal to let their customers know that they are listening, and doing everything they can around the clock until power has been restored.

People will probably still be angry and frustrated until their power is restored, but they have more than a website and an 877 number, and social media done right ensures that they'll receive a response sooner than later.

Every customer might not be happy, but every customer with such access will be heard. Yes, accessibility's a whole other can of worms which I'm sure I'll blog about later.

In the meantime, are you someone who's Tweeted at Pepco or left a comment on their Facebook page? What did you say? How did Pepco respond? And most importantly, are you satisfied with their response?

And if you have any comments or insights you'd like to share, please leave a comment.

- JR

P.S. if you care to follow and/or like either of the two people I mentioned:

• Eric Harr - Facebook | Twitter
• Kivi Miller at NonProfitMarketing Guide - Facebook | Twitter

Follow @AWayofLife0

The Normal Heart put some things in perspective

Hello,

I saw Arena Stage's production of The Normal Heart last week, and it put a lot of things in perspective. I also couldn't take my arts management lens of, so I actually blogged from that point of view at my J Street Jr blog. This one's a little more personal.

First of all, there were definitely a lot of tears involved. Had to make a run for some napkins or paper towels at intermission because you just knew Act II was going to bring on the water works. But I digress.

The picture to the right is of patches from the AIDS quilt. And, if you aren't familiar with The Normal Heart, here is Arena Stage's blurb for it:

Tony winner George C. Wolfe, (Angels in America) directs Larry Kramer’s Tony Award-winning Broadway production of The Normal Heart. Fueled by love, anger, hope and pride, a circle of friends struggle to contain the mysterious disease ravaging New York's gay community. Dismissed by politicians, frustrated by doctors and fighting with each other, their differences could tear them apart - or change the world. Hailed by critics as “riveting” (Newsday) and “a great night at the theater” (New York Times), Kramer's masterwork is an outrageous and totally unforgettable look at sexual politics during the AIDS crisis and remains one of the theater’s most powerful evenings ever.

So that being said, here are some things it put in perspective for me.

The first, being an LGBT person in their early thirties, not only did I think of the world, the time that these men lived in, but I realized that this was also the exact same time my parents began to raise me in this world. I was born in 1981. And, for better or worse, this was probably one of the formative things they learned about gay men, which explained their concern for my health when I came out. Don't get me wrong, it in no way excuses their past ignorance. At the same time if that's all they knew, then that's really all they could speak to. But that was over a decade ago and is all water far under the bridge.

Another thing it put into perspective was conversation I have had with many of my LGBT friends, talks about Pride, discussions about how we represent ourselves to each other and the public, trying to agree on caring just enough for those who cared too much and those who didn't care at all. It's funny how fresh and immediate something like that can seem when you're talking with your friends and acquaintances. Then you watch something like this, a play that was written decades ago, to realize that the only thing new is the current reiteration of an aged discussion. And this topic came up in much the same way it does now, does our image work for or against the things we fight for.

One of the final things the play put into context was how far we've come on one hand, but how much more work there is to do. I can't even count how many times I've had a friend or an ex come to me to tell me they're positive, older, younger, doesn't really matter.  And with the DC area having a rate higher than the national average...

It's said best in a letter from the playwright, Larry Kramer, which is handed out after you leave the theatre. This is still an epidemic, in the DC area and all around the world. That is grossly oversimplifying the letter handed out, as there is much depth and a lot of weight behind his words.

Arena Stage has partnered with multiple organizations, including the AIDS Quilt, to give context to the piece, as well as continue the conversation after the curtain. In fact, throughout July, there are a series of panels in addition to other events.


That's about it. If you're in the DC area, I highly recommend seeing this production before it closes, July 29.

- JR

P.S. Check out a first look at The Normal Heart at Arena Stage, below.

Making a FB page cover photo

Hey everyone,

So I finally got around to making a Facebook cover photo for AWoL Productions's FB Page. AWoL Productions is a performing arts company I started fresh out of grad school in 2010.  We've produced one show a year so far, each time presented as part of the Capital Fringe Festival. I'm very happy with it!!

And with this being the first show put up since the new cover photo addition, I thought a compilation of the three shows produced would be a good first one. I consulted FB's How should I choose a cover photo for my page?

The first thing I was looking for was the dimensions, which (if you care to optimize the image for the page), are 851 pixels wide & 315 pixels high. And in case you're another Mac user like me and don't have the software to edit photos, I recommend checking out Seashore, which you can learn more about here.

They have other recommendations for format, size, etc. which you can check out yourself, but what I made sure to take particular note of was what was not allowed:

• Price or purchase information, such as "40% off" or "Download it at our website"
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page's About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends"

In the end, it makes sense, and I kind of like this. In a number of webinars and trainings on social media, you find that a well selected or composed image can be just as, if not more effective than hitting your audience and community over the head with yet aNOther call to action if you're with a nonprofit like me.

SocialMediaDelivered actually has a great post, Facebook Brand Cover Photos: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, in which they shared thoughts on why the image below was not a good choice for Microsoft, with which I agree.

Granted, I am certainly not comparing my small little arts company to a brand like that, BUT best practices are best practices, regardless of how small or large your organization is.

Anyway, that's it. Would love to hear thoughts on my cover photo, what works about it, what doesn't. And definitely share your own, especially if you want feedback.

- JR

Follow @AWayofLife0

A Bacchant Tale: Day 0

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, inspired by being in the chorus of Avant Bard's The Bacchae, which is playing at the Artisphere in Rosslyn, VA, and closes July 1, 2012

Bacchant Captain
Day 1

Hello,

So we're getting ready to head to Thebes to spread the word of Dionysus. We've even got some great slogans on display scrolls, including "Dionysus lives!!" and "Rock Out With Your Bacchout".

He  leads us in spirit and body, but we can't tell the noobs that. Where we're going they think us barbarians. We'll show them. We'll come from the hills in the east, and like the rising sun, hopefully shed a little light on their western sensibilities, teach them to live a little.

Our leader, who wants to remain anonymous when we get there, has alluded to having relatives there he hasn't seen in a while. He says he has plans for them, and we know he knows how to party, so it'll probably be some outlandish and lavish surprise family reunion.

Well, that's it for now. We've got the wine packed and ready to go...and that's really all we ever need!!

-BC

1st GMCW rehearsal for GALA 2012

Hey there,

So I just got home from the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington's first rehearsal for this year's GALA Choruses Festival.  As you might know, I've sung on and off with GMCW for the past several years or so. I missed the last GALA Festival, two years ago in Miami, and I'm very stoked to be able to attend this one.

This year, GMCW is participating in a new feature of this festival, this year: Coffee Concerts. As if the days weren't already jam packed with LGBT gatherings and music making, this will be an early morning offering, and we'll be performing in the first one, a piece called Alexander's House:

Alexander's House is an innovative, one-act musical that tells a heartfelt, funny and powerful story about family: the one we are born into, the one we choose, and the ties that bind them. Alexander, a gay man suddenly passes away leaving behind his two unreconciled worlds: his partner and friends, and his estranged son who finally meet at his summer home. The story explores finding truth in one's life and the empowerment that comes with self-knowledge.

It's weird, I haven't performed with the guys since February, but jumping into rehearsals today, it felt like no time had passed. The picture to the left, by the way, is from the most recent holiday show, Red & Greene (we performed with Ellen Greene); I'm in front, downstage almost center, with the white pants on.

But, anyway, being back with the guys...well it's like a family, a brotherhood. And I've started to get really excited about meeting all the other groups coming together from around the country and around the world, in some cases, in Denver.

And, yes, I'll be tweeting and blogging from there and probably well after, about the experience, the memories, and the connections made.

- JR Follow @AWayofLife0

6,000 tweets and counting

Hey there,

So this blog is kinda meta. This is about my 6,000th tweet.

This one here:

6,000 tweets and counting, a blog post highlighting some appearances of #6000tweets in the news. awayoflife0.blogspot.com/2012/05/6000-t…
— JR Russ (@AWayofLife0) May 25, 2012

Not saying it's a big deal, but curiosity and google got the best of me, so I here are 6 links that have something to do with 6,000 tweets.

• 6.24.09 - Microsoft, Outlook Is Broken, Says 6,000 Tweets (And Growing). Fix It.
• 10.25.10 - Drew Brees Names His Baby 6,000 Tweets Later
• 5.5.11 - Bin Laden news reinforces Twitter's strength, limitations

"So what holds that record? What great news event could be so important as to put the decade's biggest story in the shadows? Answer: New Year's Eve in Japan, which clocked in at more than 6,000 tweets per second."

• 10.19.11 - The World's 10 Most Tweeted Moments

"So what makes a moment worth tweeting about? The most tweeted moment in recent memory occurred earlier this month, when Apple Chairman and cultural icon Steve Jobs passed away. The site experienced traffic of more than 6,000 tweets per second, causing many users to notice system delays and slowness."

• 1.25.12 - How Twitter helped the White House

"By 5 p.m., #40dollars was trending worldwide, Schulman said, and the hashtag was generating about 6,000 tweets per hour."

• 5.25.12 - #6000tweets and counting (this is where it gets meta)

Anyway, that's it. Anyone else notice significant milestones in the Twittersphere, whether it's this or another?

Also, hope everyone has a happy, safe holiday weekend,

JR

5 selections on NAACP's endorsement of same-sex marriage

Hey,

So checking my Facebook feed, there were multiple friends and others I subscribe to who had posted about the NAACP, specifically their recent endorsement of same-sex marriage.

As a person of color (my father's black, my mom is Filipino) and a member of the LGBT community, this is obviously an issue that is of relevance to me. That being said, I wanted to pay it forward, and share these pieces from the past several days which showed up on my wall:

• NAACP Endorses Gay Marriage, Huffington Post Politics
• NAACP President Hopes Group's Support for Marriage Equality "Will Be a Game-Changer", Metro Weekly (DC)
• NAACP Supports Same-Sex Marriage As Civil Right, NPR
• NAACP president chokes up over support for marriage equality, The Raw Story
• Obama leads on marriage equality, the NAACP and others follow, Post Partisan

Again, just wanted to share, and curious to see how this will continue to play out. What makes me hopeful is that more and more communities are coming together over what they have in common, and working together. Seems like a win-win situation, when we realize that what affects some of us, in the end affects us all.

Please share any thoughts, as well as other articles from the past several days, worth checking out,

JR

The Bacchae keep runnn' runnin' and...

Hey there,

Occupy Thebes begins tonight, thanks to our sponsor, WSC Avant Bard. While it's day 13 of being in the Artisphere, we finally share our message with the public tonight.

And we thought this song was appropriate:

We're ready to get it started, and hope you can join us.

If you're on Twitter, you can follow the conversation on #RockOutWithYourBacchout as well as #OccupyThebes.

JR

Seven Social Sources Saturday

Hey,

Just a blog which might become a regular thing. Skimmed through sources I've shared on Social Media over the past week (in terms of the content but also the means of sharing), and picked seven I wanted to highlight.  Most of them are recent, but sometimes you come across neat tidbit in someone's archive, for the first time.

That's why I included dates in the listings below. Just short and sweet, but wanted to do this for those that might've missed the original post.  These are articles I thought best to continue to push through the noise.

And I made it a point to include seven pieces all from different sources. While I certainly have my own preferences, I wanted to try to minimize in what I'm sharing here. And in terms of what is addressed, while most of the following are tips and hints, one is health related, another gives some historical perspective, but as long as it has something to do with social media, that's all that matters to me.

3 Unforgettable Reasons Arts & Cultural Organizations Need Pinterest, from NetWitsThinkTank.com, 5/9/12

4 Ways Your Business Can Avoid Being a Menace on Twitter, from Mashable, 5/7/12

5 Tools to Help Battle Social Media Content Overload, from HubSpot Blog, 1/4/12

9 Tips for Handling a Crisis on Twitter, from PR News, 4/30/12

12 Habits of Successful Social Media Pros, from Ragan, 5/10/12

Find out if you're addicted to Twitter or Facebook, from TweetSmarter, 5/8/12

The Timeline of Facebook backlashes, from BuzzFeed, 5/7/12

Let me know what you think, whether the above is new information or common knowledge for you, whether something was particularly more helpful or insightful than another, as well as if there are any other particular topics or tools that strike your fancy that I can help you keep an eye out for :-)

JR

I've reached my Twitter limit

Okay, I should clarify...I've reached my Following limit on Twitter and backed off from it.  Twitter actually provides some great advice about what to do when one reaches the Follow Limit, to which I would only add some more tidbits.

First, key things they mention:

• You have to wait and gain more followers before you can follow additional people
• You can unfollow some to follow others
• Don't unfollow and follow too many people aggressively as that behavior can be a violation of the rules

The final bit is sometimes referred to as Twitter Churn, and TweetSmarter has a great blog post about it.

So, all that being said, here are two additional tips I would add.

The first would be to use Friend or Follow, particularly to see whom you are following but are not following you back, and vice versa.  I say take note of this because if you want to be able to follow more than your limit, I and others believe Twitter truly becomes about reciprocity and you are at a point where you need to actively engage the Twittersphere in conversation and content, if you are not already.

Granted, there is no limit to the number of people that follow you and celebrities certainly don't have to reciprocate. However, for me, there's a chance that if someone is interested enough to follow me, then that sentiment is shared.

So using Friend or Follow, you can do with that info as you like, and here are just a couple of suggestions from me, some of which are covered in this post on the Top 10 Reasons You Need to Use Twitter Lists Now on Business 2 Community. One is that a list allows you to still curate and track content by an account that you might be interested in at times, but not all the time in your main feed and it won't add to your follow limit.

One list I've created is one for DMV (DC, MD, VA) Tweeps. While I follow some of them, others (like some government related ones), I don't, but would still be interested in keeping track of.  Again, it's just another way to curate and follow tweets indirectly, without adding to your follow number.

Another way to use FoF would be to see tweeps you're following who aren't following you, but you want to keep following (whether or not they're also on a list). I would recommend trying to either engage them in conversation, RT their content, or mention them in a #FF tweet, as well as anything else you can think of.

Anyway, that's all I really have for now.

Also, some argue that there's really no need to follow more than 2,000 tweeps, and that's certainly true. The question is do you want to, and if so, why?

Personally, I'm not looking to follow as many people as I can, but do want to follow those who seem to share interests I do and whose lives are relevant to my own. And I'm pretty sure there's more than 2,000 people like that. But that's just me.

Would be interested in seeing what's worked for others. Have you not reached the limit? Are you well beyond yours? How do you curate tweeps you follow? How do you use lists?

And do you have any other tips, or thoughts on the ones I've given?

Looking forward to seeing what y'all have to say,

JR

10 things done wrong on Social Media

Hey there,

I posted this link Idealware shared, 10 Things You're Doing Wrong on Social Media and just wanted to share some thoughts I had posted on Facebook.

Personally, I would say numbers 4, 6, & 7 are the top three consistent issues I've observed...Would be curious to see how much others have observed the other issues listed?

And for my fellow social media managers, which ones are your biggest challenges, and what're you going to do to address it?

A friend asked what to do about fans/followers who get most of their organization's content via social media, but miss most of the updates because they don't check it at work.

To them I said I would personally recommend using Hootsuite or another program, to schedule social media updates when your fans/followers are not at work, and more likely to be on social media. If you know the bulk of your fans/followers don't log on during the day, then don't schedule most of your status updates during the day.

Also, from what I've seen, that's where various media related to your main post come in handy. If you're updating them on an upcoming show, share a different pic each time but still (if on FB) with the link to your event page. It's not that the goal can't be the same, just make sure you're switching up the content of the message.

Ah, I remember the sentence that really made the light bulb go off, and I know it's a bit of a Captain Obvious thing, but I heard someone say in a webinar, when posting for your org:

"Don't post when you're on social media, post when your audience is on it".

That's why most of the posts I do for my org during the day tend to be content for other arts organizations, artists, and nonprofits, then evenings and weekends are more for the people we work with and the public we bring our artists to :-)

- JR

Being in a Greek chorus

Hey there,

So I haven't always been content with being a chorus boy. If you're not familiar, generally the chorus (or ensemble) is the body of performers who aren't "leads". The leads are usually the main characters whose story you follow and identify with over the course of the show. Now there are shows for which this isn't the case, so definitely don't think this is a required template, but obviously, I'm not referring to those.

But in olden times, the Greek chorus was the meat of the presence on stage, and any characters were backing up the story as told by the chorus. Now I'm GROSSLY oversimplifying things, and might even be preaching to the choir (or chorus, in this case, hehe).

If you've seen Legally Blonde: The Musical, they makes use of the greek chorus conceit. And while I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment of the image and caption combo to the right, the essence of what a greek chorus did was one of the exciting elements of the show.

Me personally, it's probably one of the most challenging chorus roles I've had the privilege of tackling. And I've been fortunate to be involved with productions which have pushed me to explore aspects of being a performer that I haven't before.

The chorus straddles this line of narrator, character, and audience that's lovely for me, especially with the work I've seen and been involved in with storytelling. And for me, it's a neat reconnection to the roots of modern theatre.

If you don't know, while we're working with original music, courtesy of Mariano Vales, the script we are working with is one by Euripides, "one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens" (Wikipedia).

Wikipedia also has an entry on Theatre of ancient Greece, and one of the REALLY neat facts? Theatre of ancient Greece, in Athens was "institutionalized as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honored the god Dionysus".

Theatre of Dionysus
Courtesy of Wikimedia

And we've come full circle. It's kinda meta...could you imagine The Bacchae, being performed at the Theatre of Dionysus?

While that's neither here nor there, it's pretty neat being part of a show that was first performed a little over 2400 years ago...

But I digress. There's a reason theatre and the performing arts is still around, and is a part of every culture (as well as the arts in general).  There is something timeless about the arts, and what we get from it, in experiencing it, in being part of it.

And it can be so easy to lose sight of that as artist or audience member, especially when sometimes you just want to be entertained, or do a fun show. I realize I might be projecting, but I remember in high school actually feeling like being cast in the chorus was a value judgement, in a not good way. Throughout college I realized that a strong chorus is just as important as strong leads, and professionally I relish being a member of the chorus or ensemble.

Being involved in WSC Avant Bard's production of The Bacchae, one of the two shows WSC is putting up in rep for 2012, has reinforced my chorus pride in a way that while I might've known, has never quite sunk in to such an extent.

So, if you're in the DC area between the middle of May and through June, definitely come check out this show at the Artisphere. It's an awesome marriage of ancient text and original music, with a great chorus, and some pretty spectacular leads, too.

- JR

Navajo: Culture, copyright, and consumption

Hey there,

So I'm listening to Tell Me More on NPR today, and catch a story that is very much at the center of a number of discussions I seem to have been having with friends and acquaintances "in the arts". I put that in quotes, because that's also part of the conversation. As humans, everyone expresses themselves in some way, and at its heart, that's the essence of what art is, to me, anyway. The expression of something through some medium.

But how do we experience that art? What divides artist and audiences and why is there a divide in some cultures and not in others? how do we value art? how do people make a living from their art? I mean I could go on, but I won't.

In this, Michel Martin raises the profile of a recent incident in which the Navajo Nation is suing Urban Outfitters for over Trademark.  USA Today had an article about it at the end of February, and you can google "Navajo" and "Urban Outfitters" to find even more articles and blogs on it.

At this point I can't provide any information other than what's already out there. I will mention one question Michel Martin asked which really get to the foundation of this huge issue. Who owns culture? And I think it's an interesting case study to see exactly how the Navajo people have made efforts to protect theirs.

JR

Veryifying the Will Smith tweet on Trayvon

Hey,

Let me preface this by saying that I don't mean to be a debbie downer. That being said, I saw this image shared on one of my friend's Facebook walls.


So, being one who uses twitter, I went to Will Smith's "handle" as shown in the image to the right with the intent of Retweeting it, but here's who's there, as shown below.

Did I spell something wrong? I checked, and I double checked, and caps don't matter, so that couldn't be it.

Next I went to Will Smith's website, the only content of which is a field to sign-up for an email list, and a link to his Facebook.

Surely if Will Smith had a Twitter account, it would be on one or the other, but I find mention of one on neither.

I even searched on Twitter, and found nothing but fake and parody accounts.

At this point I actually googled "does will smith have a twitter", which you can too if you click on the link. While there were a number of sites that provided an answer (WikiAnswers giving one), the site that probably satisfied my piqued curiosity at this point was kgb answers answering the question (despite misspelling account).

This answer was good for me particularly because of the time stamp for its most recent update being about a month ago.

Which brings me to the original image.... Where did it come from?

And here's the thing, the real questions are does it matter and does it affect the message? I would argue it depends on who's reading it. Some (if not most) people probably won't care to the point where the message loses its meaning, this issue and incident in particular. You can check out those exact sentiments at Lipstick Alley, in comments about a post on this image.

However, in an age where it's so easy to share content, I would say we are being called on as users to a higher degree of accountability than before, not just in representing ourselves and those we know, but making sure that any content we share representing anyone and their voice, friend, stranger, celebrity, etc., unless it's parody or obviously a joke, is truthful.

Would love to hear your thoughts,

-JR

My 10 Twitter Tips

Hey there,

If you follow me on Twitter, this might explain some of my habits...or it might not.

Before doing anything else, check out Twitter's FAQ. The tips I will be sharing are not meant to be basic tips, which isn't to say they're necessarily advanced. They just are what they are, and they're what I do, so they're definitely not tips for everyone.

1. Do NOT sync your Facebook account (if you have one) - Now I should clarify, don't sync your tweets to push to your status updates. I actually blogged about this a little over a week ago, so you can read more on why, there.
2. Follow Tweetsmarter, as their blog provides some great insights as to best practices.
3. Pay attention to Pew Research Center articles on Twitter. Now this is probably just the wonk in me, but it provides for some great perspectives.
4. Create lists - lists that make sense to you. Check out my lists, for examples that might help. Lists are also a great way to "follow" someone without following them, and saving your following cap for those whose content might engage you more. For example, there are a number of DC institutions and organizations I don't necessarily want showing up on my home stream, but that I would like to check in on, so I added them to my DMV list. I will say, I tend to list accounts without following them, when they aren't following me back.
5. Don't be afraid to block or report for spam - It's not about quantity of followers, and it would be awful to let a bunch of spammy accounts follow you just to boost the count. Or accounts that probably have no interest in you.  I know that most of the real estate tweeps that follow me are NOT interested in anything I have to say or share.
6. Understand your Klout Style - you don't necessarily have to care about your actual Klout score, but your style may give you greater insight into how you use Twitter, and if you decide to do so intentionally, whether you're happy w/ your style, or want to aim for a different one. Check out my klout style, if you want.
7. Look before you hash. Hashtags are a great way to label tweets as well as become part of a conversation, whether it's an ongoing one or event/time specific. You can either search on Twitter through it's "discover" tab, or even go to tagdef.com to look some up. You want hashtags that are concise but also unique. The last thing you'd want someone to do is search for a hashtag and then still have to filter irrelevant tweets. Also, don't hash too much; generally three hashtags in a tweet should be the maximum.
8. #FF - Mashable has a great entry on Follow Friday. I will say, it's possibly a great tool to pop on the radar of people who don't follow you back yet. You can also have a theme for each Friday. Most recently, I selected a bunch of local arts organizations to list.
9. Tweet & Retweet - I try to keep my feed at roughly half and half, sometimes going through a period of RT's, and other times tweeting a lot, especially if at a live, public event. That's just for me, though. This might have to do with your klout style. Also consider when and how you want to RT. More on this later.
10. Lastly - Be yourself. Pretty self-explanatory. This goes for not just what you say and who you follow, but who follows you.

That's it for now,

JR

revised - 3.20.12

Techsoup on Facebook Timeline, and visual power

Hey,

So there's a really GREAT blog by Susan Chavez on Techsoup which was posted in the past week, "Coming March 30: Facebook Timeline".

On March 30, big changes are coming to all Facebook brand pages – the new Timeline format. 

Timeline has already begun appearing on personal pages so it will not be entirely unfamiliar to many Facebook users. However, even users who are familiar with this format will find a number of new features only available for brand pages.

Check out the rest of the blog here.

I think it's very telling that the first highlighted change has to do with the cover photo.  I say this because increasingly pictures are telling a thousand words more and more in social media. I actually just got out of a seminar this morning on Digital Communications 2.0 for Nonprofits, but a wonderful woman named Jamie, with  Momenta. A number of times, the moral of the story came back to being thoughtful and intentional with the images used, from brands to logos.

Even last week, on a webinar about 10 mistakes nonprofits make, hosted by Guidestar, and led by someone with Diosa Communications, one that was mentioned was as simple as making sure an organization had a square version of their logo/brand to be used in Social Media profiles.

But I digress. That's just the first of a number of changes highlighted in Techsoup's blog, which is a must-read for anyone dealing with their company's Facebook page.

Looks like we're going down the rabbit hole, so don't hesitate to take the red social media pill, if you haven't yet. Because the organizations that do so willingly and resourcefully will certainly have an advantage over those that don't.

Keep an eye out on my twitter for little nuggets from this morning's seminar I mentioned. In the meantime, read, read, READ the blog :-)

- JR

Thinking about going back to college

Hey there,

So just a quick blog, as I sit in my car waiting to do a site-visit at one of the schools my work has an after-school programin, courtesy of the Trawick Foundation, and their Team-Up grant program.

Maybe I just can't stay away from higher education. After all, I was only finished with my undergrad in Dance at UMD for two years before going back to grad school at American University for Arts Management.

Maybe it's my current work representing artists in and seeing them work in a large number of schools all around the metropolitan area.

Maybe, as much theatre as I've done, I haven't really taken a theatre class since high school.

Maybe it's the tremendous number of youth groups I've seen over the past three weeks, as part of this year's Intersections festival's youth summit, as well as a burning desire to work with any and all of them, as well as GMCW's own GenOUT program.

I know...most likely, it's some combination of all, but whatever the reason, I've come across Catholic University's M.A. in Theatre Education. And the more I think about it as possibility, the more it becomes a certainty, in terms of something I want to pursue.

Unfortunately an Arts Management M.A. is the terminal degree in the field, although maybe not for much longer. But this program, as well as my own circumstances living not even 5 blocks from the campus, make it an option I cannot ignore, and more and more, cannot stop thinking about. Because the more I think about it, the more it feels right.

I know, I'm basing my higher education pursuit on feeling. Might seem counterintuitive for some, but it's what actually got me back to school. After a year and a half of going to college after high school not knowing what I wanted to do, I took a break and went back because of how I felt about dance.

Don't get me wrong, I'm just as rational as I am passionate. And because of that, I believe, should I get accepted, you might start seeing me blog about life back in school for Theatre Education come summer of 2013.

Would be curious to hear others' thoughts, as I continue to investigate and consider the practicality of taking this path.

- JR

Laura Edwards, I'm in love :-)

Hey,

One thing about the subject, it is definitely a virtuous and platonic love from one dancer/choreographer to another, although Laura's work is of a caliber I am currently aspiring to.

But now you might be wondering why the declaration of love? So one of my favorite dancers to keep track of (who's actually from the DC/MD/VA area), Jojo Diggs, tweeted a video this morning:

INCREDIBLE!! youtube.com/watch?v=otWSiw…
— jojo mf diggs (@dodojiggs) March 11, 2012 

Of course I had to watch.

And there's not anything I could say that isn't more or less summed up by another viewer's comments. Michelle Provacia said:

Things I like about this video:
1. The leading guy has charisma - not attitude
2. The leading girl isn't your 'typical' skinny bombshell dancer
3. The leading guy and girl actually have a connection when dancing
4. That Laura Edwards made a CRAZY good choreography, superbly executed, and well put-together... without putting herself in front and center in the video....
A bunch of great dancers, doing a great feel-good video together, no attitudes... Love it!

 You can catch Michelle's YouTube channel here.

And back to Laura. Thank you for making what was threatening to be a morning struggling to adjust to the time change, a delightful one that I can't wait to get started.

I know, you and the rest of us have little control over when things are shared and viewed, but timing aside, I'm grateful that you created such a beautiful piece. Looking forward to keeping up with your work.

And thank you to Jojo for sharing it this morning.

With Peace, Love, Understanding, and Respect from DC,

JR

Don't sync Twitter and Facebook, please

Hey,


So I saw a friend's status update on Facebook. Then I saw underneath that it was posted by their handle on Twitter...

I'm going to publish my personal top 10 twitter tips in the next week or so, but in the meantime want to share a blog from Lisa Catto, "To sync or not to sync, it's not really a question". Here's an excerpt:

There has been a trend, and I notice is among authors especially (but that’s one of the few niche groups I follow), toward syncing Twitter and Facebook accounts so that when someone posts on Twitter it also shows up in the Facebook posts. Hey, I get why people do it. It’s convenient, post once, it hits two places. It’s easy. It’s automatic. You want to be using social media because everyone else is and you’re told

To read the rest of her blog, click here.

I would just like to say that I completely concur with her points, and I would just add, to reemphasize, with regard to syncing Facebook & Twitter: "Just say no".

This point actually came up in a webinar I took on the top 10 mistakes nonprofits make with Social Media, and one of them addressed automation. I won't rehash points made there and in Lisa's blog.

And most people are just using social media for personal use, not for a company or organization. But I would say that generally best practices for one are best practices for the other, and even though its on the interwebs, we use social media to connect to other people...more or less. And when an automatic status update via twitter is visible, it reminds us and removes us from that connection.

Sure, it seems like a small difference, but I believe it's enough. Anyway, would be curious what others think about this, and have to say on the topic.

- JR (Facebook | Twitter | Google +)

"Success: It's not always what you see"

Hey there,

So I was on Facebook (surprise), and my friend Zehra Fazal, who is now out in LA (here's her Facebook page), shared this photo:

Which I iMMEdiately liked and reshared. Well, I found the pic on Funstoo's blog, as I wanted to blog about it (as you can't link/embed pics to Facebook's secure site), as well as a comment I made:

And I believe this is especially true with regard to the arts. Might not be the easiest thing to evaluate, much less quantify (whether its economic impact or some other metric), but intrinsically is probably one of the most effective agents of change & growth that we share with each other, as humans :-)

So now my lunch break is over, but just wanted to put that out there :-)

- JR

Google+ tips for Business. Tips for Nonprofits too?

Hey,

So this might be more of a rhetorical question, but wanted to put it out there regardless. Came across this infographic on pinterest (which I'm still waiting to get a log-in for), which was originally tweeted by Philanthropy and RT'ed by GuideStarUSA (and how I came across it).

Check it out:

Source: chrisbrogan.com via GuideStar USA on Pinterest

Would be curious what others think, especially if you've already been dipping your toes in the pool :-)

- JR, AWayofLife0

YPQA training w/ Voice & Choice: Be like a garden hose

Hey,

So just a quickie on my experience at a YPQA training yesterday. It was hosted by Montgomery County's Collaboration Council (which you can also find on Facebook) and led by Lynn Sobolov (the program manager of Excel Beyond the Bell) & Jaracus Copes (Founder of New Destiny). The training Midcounty Community Center.

Just in case, YPQA stands for Youth Program Quality Assessment, and you can find more info at the Center for Youth Program Quality.

This training focused on Voice and Choice, and I can't possibly recap EVERYTHING that was addressed and discussed, which was all pretty neat. But I wanted to share a metaphor which came to mind, and I'm sure I'm not the first one to ever make this connection...but wanted to share, anyway.

At one point we were divided into groups and asked to focus on different guidelines, to become experts on our assigned one and share it with the group. My partners and I had to inform the others about how to provide support.

And in our book, there was this neat and simple smiley face spectrum. The two ends of the spectrum were "Wide-open choice with no support (can lead to frustration)" and "Not enough choice (can lead to lack of interest)". And then there was just right, "Meaningful choices with adult support. So the metaphor goes like this.

Wide-open choice is like a sprinkler, water's flowing but it's going all over the place, some of it evaporating, some of it hitting the sidewalk, and maybe some of it actually hitting what you're trying to water.

Not enough choice is like a faucet, again, water is flowing, but it's going right down the drain.

Meaningful choices is like a garden hose. Wate is flowing, and while there is structure, there is also flexibility in its direction.

So that's, that. Was definitely a great morning/early afternoon, getting to spend time with a group of people doing amazing work in the area, including organizations like Arts on the Block (also on Facebook) & ClancyWorks (also on Twitter).

Anyway, that's it :-)

- JR

Singing in GMCW's "The Kids Are All Right"

Hey there,

First, just wanted to start with my own personal background on singing. I actually started singing when I was a soprano, in the Men & Boys choir at the Washington National Cathedral.  I went on to do high school musicals, before High School Musical was one, and eventually pursued a professional career in the arts, which I continue to do today.

Which leads me to singing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, one of the most professional ensembles I've had the pleasure and privilege of being a part of, in skill, in artistry, and with the bonus of family. And at this point, I just have to share the latest iteration of a meme that's been floating around on Facebook, which if you're on, you can find it here.

This Saturday, GMCW will be presenting "The Kids Are All Right". In this concert, we'll be presenting a musical adaptation of Oliver Button is a Sissy, with guest narrator Candace Gingrich-Jones. We'll also be joined on stage by Dreams of Hope, "Pittsburgh's only arts-focused, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied (LGBTA) youth (13-21) organization".

At this point, I can't really provide any information that isn't already up elsewhere. In fact, there's a great piece in today's Washington Blade, Message in the Music. And, again, if you're on Facebook, you can RSVP at the event page, as well as follow GMCW on twitter.

I will say that even rehearsing for this concert has brought me close to tears. While I was fortunate to have had a supportive environment in high school at St. Albans, so much so that I felt comfortable enough to bring my boyfriend at the time to my senior prom, my bf did not. Almost daily, I would hear about incidents at school where other students would use slurs, and he would get in trouble with the teachers for speaking back. He would be physically harmed with his own backpack in the restroom, and hit so hard that sometimes he would actually get knocked out and come around because of the sound of the bell ringing.

Unfortunately, I know that was just the tip of the iceberg, not just back then (I was the class of '99), but especially now.  Rolling Stone recently had a thoughtful and heart-wrenching article, One Town's War on Gay Teens. Lately it doesn't even seem like a week goes by without hearing about another youth lost because of ignorance and intolerance. And we have prepared for and will perform this concert acknowledging, remembering and honoring those who are gone too soon.

Yet, more and more, communities seem to be coming together to raise awareness and address these issues, to foster safe spaces and attitudes. Not even two weeks ago, Montgomery County held a symposium on bullying, and the panel include representatives of the Gay-Straight Alliance of Walt Whitman High School (the link is a .docx file of their mission statement). GMCW even has an outreach program dedicated to youth outreach, GenOUT, which was mentioned in the Washington Blade article, in a quote from Jeff Buhrman, our Artistic Director:

"“(Saturday’s concert) is designed especially to serve the mission of our GenOUT program,” Buhrman says. “We are specifically reaching out to youth for ‘The Kids Are All Right."

I'm actually hoping to volunteer with the program, and am stoked to have the opportunity to further give back to an organization that gives more and more, to me and the rest of the community. So, if you know of any youth, families, and allies who would like to join us, I (and I'm sure the rest of my fellow chorines) would love to see you all there. Because everyone in the chorus, a long time ago and far, far away, used to be kids, too.

- JR

MD Arts Day 2012 synopsis

This will have been the 2nd year I've attended Maryland Arts Day, organized by Maryland Citizens for the Arts.

Ran late, but fortunately they still had coffee and danishes out. Made it in time to catch "The Journey of an Artist from B-More" as told by Bashi Rose, local Theatre Artist and Filmmaker.

This was followed by various individuals from MCA's Board of Trustees addressing budget realities, advocacy training and legislative talking points, and impact maryland arts.

Then attendees went to divide and conquer, to speak to their delegates, at least those that were available.

The highlight was running into Heather Mizuer in the hallway on the way back to lunch, and she was gracious enough to stop and speak to us about her own stance on and support for the arts.

Lunch included a performance by A Little Bit of Blues Band.

Breakout sessions were on the agenda next, and I went to the Social Media one, led by Megan Pagado, from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County.

Initially thought about heading back at this point, but stayed for an Emerging Arts Advocate happy hour, hosted by the folks at The Circle Gallery.

This was just a synopsis, but there'll be a handful more blogs to parse out some of the highlights of  this day, in greater detail, over the next week or so.

At the end of the day, I find myself reaffirmed, reenergized, and re-inspired. Very grateful that my life has led me to such a wonderful community as that made up by the individuals involved in the Maryland arts sector - JR