The Joy Trip Project and Channel Signal want to connect with the connectors

The social media mainstream is a force to recon with. In a crashing wave of millions individuals are making their opinions known around the world.  Using Internet-ready smartphones, laptops and other web surfing devices Bloggers, Tweeters, Facebookers, Flickrphiles, Podcasters and YouTubers set the course of the info-stream even while they’re navigating it. With clever ideas expressed in less than140 characters or lengthy web log commentaries these jacked-in data hawks are moving the flow of conversation to new and exciting places. The best and brightest among them are the influencers, those individuals whose content is thoughtful, compelling and worth passing along to others.

It’s these influencers that I follow to keep up to speed on what’s going on in the world outdoors. Even though they’re fully wired, outdoor influencers can put their gizmos down long enough to get outside for a long trail run, a mountain bike ride, a few telemark turns or even just a dogwalk to the local farmer’s market. When they come back they post their experiences to share with others and fuel the conversation. And now as a new media analyst for Channel Signal I’m looking to connect with as many outdoor influencers as I can. I know quite a few, but I aim to find more, many, many more.

A few weeks back you may have read a story on The Joy Trip Project about my friend Steph Davis. She’s a professional base-jumper and wingsuit flier out of Moab, Utah. Her blog and video posts on the web site High Infatuation make for a popular landing stop for those inspired by a fully engaged active lifestyle. Her site caught fire in a blaze of discussion when she reported that her entire kit of base gear was lost on a United Airlines flight from Zurich to Washington/Dulles airport.

“The whole bag had my custom wingsuit and a parachute with my sponsor’s logo printed on it,” Steph said in an interview. “There was some climbing gear and other stuff. All included it was worth about $12,000. At first United was only going to give me a $250 travel voucher. I said uh-huh! This is how I make my living.”

Over the course of a week or more hundreds of people posted their comments online and expressed their displeasure with United’s indifference to Steph’s circumstances. Most pledged never to fly the airline again until her gear was returned or compensated in full. The Twitter posts came in a flood that pretty much overwhelmed United with bad publicity and the executives in customer service finally caved. They wrote Steph a check for the replacement cost of her gear and she’s back to jumping out of planes.

Steph Davis is an influencer. Using the power of social media she was able to shift the tide of a bad deal in her favor and may have made it a little better for the rest of us. How likely will it be that United, or any other airline for that matter, blow off customer complaints in the future?

It’s influencers like Steph who can raise awareness for a variety of different issues and causes that are important. People like Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, have successfully used social media to help educated people on the harmful effects of climate change. Organizations like Conservation Next and Changents have created social media platforms to get people involved and keep them motivated to work toward positive change on a local level in their communities. Individuals working alone or in small groups can help to influence those around them to make a difference in the world.

These are the people I’m looking for, influencers who prompt their friends and acquaintances to get involved and take some kind of action. In the outdoor space this includes people who are engaged in conservation initiatives, those working toward environmental justice, anyone pushing the performance envelope in exploration or adventure, someone with a bright idea about how a piece of gear might be improved or made better, or just some random guy with an ax to grind who can make a concise compelling argument that makes good sense. Maybe it’s someone like you or someone you know.

I’m putting together a list of outdoor influencers. Drop me a note with a Twitter ID, Blog address, Facebook page profile or a solid point of contact and I’ll check them out. Write to info@joytripproject.com. Give me an idea of what makes them a good outdoor influencer and I’ll get in touch. As we get fully into the 2010 year in adventure lets get the conversation rolling.   ~JEM

I’d been feeling inadequate. In my wanderings through the twitterverse it had become clear to me that I just didn’t measure up.  Out there were tweeters far more potent than I am with big followings.

I had twitter envy. Tweeters with followings of 22,000 or more were making time with huge audiences of twitterotti. And all those tweetile enhancement posts just made me feel all the more self-conscious and insecure.

“Want to grow your following? We can help.” “Grow your following and extend your reach. It’s easy.” “Like to have a bigger following every morning when you get up? Let us show you the way.”

They say the first step in finding a solution is realizing that you have a problem. “My name is James. And I have a small following.”

Hey, tweetile dysfunction is nothing to laugh at. Your ability to tweet effectively defines who you are in the world of online media. Earlier this week I approached a major product manufacturer in the hopes that they might sponsor my blog. When the director of public relations asked, “So how big is your following?” I immediately changed the subject too embarrassed to answer. “It’s OK,” she said. “It happens to everyone?”

The size of your following ultimately determines whether or not people will take you seriously. Your following is crucial if you expect more people to view and pass along your messages. It was obvious to me that if I was going be an engaging and compelling producer of new media I had to invest in tweetile augmentation.

Later that same evening I met for cocktails with several faculty members of University of Wisconsin school of business. “The most effective tweeters are those that follow at least as many people as follow them,” said media relations director Melissa Anderson. “That way you grow your network with people who have interests similar to yours.”

So the next day I gave it a try. The Public Broadcasting System created a twitter feed for the new documentary film “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” by Ken Burns. I had reported on several events leading up to the mini-series’ release since January. To date I’ve posted three podcasts and two photostreams telling stories about the film and the people behind it. I figured the followers of the PBS National Parks tweets would be a good group to reach out to. So I clicked on all 698 twitters on its list of followers.

Through the next 48 hours my following grew to 212 individuals. No kidding. That was up from 12 on Friday morning. And it’s still growing. But my excitement was fairly short lived as I quickly discovered that the bulk of my new followers were jerks like me trying to pump up their numbers by following anyone with a pulse. Suddenly my email in-basket was filled with direct messages from people trying to sell me something or invest in some harebrained get-rich-quick scheme. It didn’t take me long to realize that the size of my following was pretty much irrelevant.

If my network is peopled primarily by those more interested in themselves than the issues related to my work as journalist, I’m wasting my time. Like shallow men and women who define their value to the opposite sex with their physical attributes enhanced by medication or surgery, the superficial relationships I might establish by tweeting with random strangers would be meaningless, lacking in substance and lasting value.  I am far better off with a small dedicated following of tweeters. And those who boast large audiences in the tens of thousands should be suspect. Tweeters should be judged instead by the quality of their content and the consistency of their message.

The best tweeters follow and connect with thoughtful individuals who possess a sincere curiosity for the subjects they espouse. As for me I follow issues related to outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, acts of charitable giving and practices of sustainable living. Those tweeters I follow and those who follow me should value these issues as well. It is this audience of true believers who will make worthwhile contributions to the ongoing discussion of these topics so crucial to the survival of our planet and the joyful pursuit of our lives as human beings.

For me at least to tweet otherwise would indeed be dysfunctional.