A Pikchur Is Worth 1,000 Words...

"Share, and share alike" could be the mantra for our age, as every one of us now has the tools and means to create and share media, anytime, anywhere, with or without a reason or purpose. Sometimes we post words, sometimes we post video, sometimes we post images. It does not matter. What matters is that everyone of us can create and share content whenever and wherever the mood may strike, and what we share, has instant global distribution.

Lights... CAMERA PHONE... Action!

If digital photography represented an evolution in photography, then camera phones represent a revolution! Now almost everyone ALWAYS has a camera at our immediate disposal. Even more impactful is the fact that with a camera phone, not only is it ridiculously easy to capture an image anywhere and everywhere, but it is also just as easy to post that instant image to the Internet and share it with the world.

FLICKR, PIKCHUR, TWITPIC And Other Made-up Words...

I have always enjoyed photography and can still remember the excitement of my first SLR camera (and the challenges of properly loading a roll of film without "exposing" it). That said, the best pictures I have ever taken have all been taken since the "digital" age, and many of them were taken with a camera phone. I travel a lot, and try to memorialize my trips with pictures, and through sharing those pictures on services like FLICKR, TWITPIC and PIKCHUR. I have previously had two pictures I posted on FLICKR used in other publications as a result of posting them there. This picture of my (former) boat after Hurricane Wilma was used in the GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION Annual Report to Congress on the storms of 2005. This picture I took in Colonial Williamsburg was used in the official SCHMAP!! East Coast Guide of Parks & Gardens.

A Phone Picture Of A Phoney Phone...

By far the most widely seen of my posted photos has been the photo above of a Kyocera "concept phone" that was on display at the CTIA show in Las Vegas. I took the picture in the Kyocera booth with my phone, a Sprint HTC Touch Pro, and promptly posted it to PIKCHUR.com, so that it would instantaneously be sent to my Twitter stream and posted to both my Facebook and Flickr accounts. (I have met some of the Pikchur team, including Emmanuel Pozo and Peter Martinez, at various South Florida Tech events, and, happy to support the local team, I have been using their slick service to share my images). What I never expected was that this image would be picked up by numerous blogs, including ENGADGET, as part of their CTIA coverage, and in all cases, I was happily given "photo credit" linking back to the image on Pikchur. With all the blogs using that image it was one Pikchur that was worth well more than 1,000 words!

How about you? What media have you created that was unexpectedly spread? Please add links to your sharing successes in the comments! (Oh, and feel free to share this post too!)

Thoroughly Modern Millie!

Image via WikipediaAhhh, technology! As a serious "gadget geek" who is old enough to remember when there was no such thing as a personal computer on every desk or lap, I am a firm believer that technology has no age boundaries. When I look at generations older than my own I can see how those "seniors" who embrace technology are invigorated, connected, and live more enriched and enlightened lives. How can they not? How can it not be better in your retirement years to have the world at your fingertips from the comfort of your PC? How can it not be better to spend your golden years just a mouse click away from all the knowledge, places, and people you could ever dream of reading, seeing or reaching out and touching.

STEVE'S MOM'S BLOG...

With that in mind I was thrilled to see popular vlogger Steve Garfield proudly touting his mom's appearance tonight on ABC World News. Seeing popular blogger Millie Garfield, at age 82, talking with passion and enthusiasm about her blog, and Flickr, Twitter, community and "googling" was a delight and perhaps the best imaginable endorsement of blogging and so called social media. No wonder Steve is always plugging "My Mom's Blog." It is great, and so is she.

MAY I HAVE THE ENVELOPE PLEASE...

Seeing this thoroughly modern Millie also made me think of my own Dad, who, at almost 73, is as addicted to his Blackberry as anyone I know and who doesn't go anywhere without his iPod and Laptop. I am also reminded that the more things change, the more they remain the same. When I was in college, my Dad used to send me big Manila envelopes filled with Xerox copies of pages and pages of stupid jokes. Today, he still sends me the stupid jokes... but now it is by email.

So thanks, Dad, for the stupid jokes (and for being a tech savvy senior). And thanks Millie, for being a blogger and an inspiration!

Are the seniors in your life "connected"?

Here is Steve's "behind the scenes" video of his Mom's ABC World News interview.

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