Mediaphyter – A Communications Cocktail

A few months ago my friend Aaron Strout tagged me in a blog meme — and I failed. So he tagged me in one he wrote yesterday called “7 Things You May or May Not Know About Me.” In truth, he originally didn’t tag me. He merely called out my previous lack of participation. Vowing to prove him wrong about me (you hear that, Aaron, I do “play nice in the sandbox!”) I opted to join in the fun. That said, here is my list:

1. I used to co-manage Powerslave.com, “The Voice of the Northern California Underground Metal Scene.” When I moved to the Bay Area in 2000 I fell into the local music scene and started doing my own independent promotions and pro-bono PR work for local bands (a side gig – I did high tech PR full time). The co-founders behind Powerslave.com “acquired” me and I then ran the show promotions, marketing, partnerships, community engagement and wrote editorial. We sold the brand and Web property  in 2003. The co-founders of the site — both technical geniuses — now work at Blue Coat and Yahoo.
2. I did about two years of competitive improvisational comedy with ComedySportz and often say I try to apply the principles of its lessons to my life. It was a tremendous experience — three levels of classes and then advanced workshop in which we did performances. I wish I had the time to do it again.
3. I am deathly, irrationally terrified of crickets (or anything in the cricket family). They are shifty. They jump around where you least expect it. I understand that in some cultures they are good luck but in my mind, they are terrible and loathsome and evil.
4. My best friend in the whole wide world is a widowed mother of three young boys, who left Gulfport, Mississippi, for Alabama after Hurricane Katrina almost destroyed her home. She is my reality check, my touchstone and the most amazing person I’ve ever known. She keeps me grounded when the Silicon Valley “bubble” threatens to yuppie-tize me.
5. My first concert was Alice Cooper — and my mom took me. I was about 14. Since then, including local bands, I’ve been to 250+ concerts (no lie). Everything from “Ozzfest” and Dimmu Borgir and Opeth to Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli and much in between. I abhor large stadium concerts, however, and prefer smaller venues.
6. I am the last person in my family’s bloodline on both sides. My father was an only child and my mother’s brother never had children of his own. I joke with my friends that it’s “Darwinism at work.”
7. I have some odd obsession with Canada. I haven’t spent a significant amount of time there but I have dated more than an average amount of Canadians considering I’ve lived in California most of my life. Something about that accent, I suppose. Or maybe it’s my obsession with hockey. Or my fondness for the cold.

I am tagging:

• @joelpostman | Joel Postman
• @ryankuder | Ryan Kuder
• @maevenaughton | Maeve Naughton
• @colleencoplick | Colleen Coplick
• @rslux | Rachel Luxemburg
• @doverbey | Derek Overbey
• @demosthe | Patrick Burrows

According to @astrout, here are the rules: