For the past four months I have been working at Raincity Studios as a co-op student and thought it might be nice to try and sum up my experience. So what did I learn? Well, a couple things struck me in the first week that I still find impressive.

The importance of including community in your projects isn't normally covered in class and so far my schooling has had a focus on siloed programming and development. Raincity really stressed community involvement and some of my tasks in the first week were drafting a blog post, introducing myself to relevant Drupal groups, digging into the code, and filing issues for small improvements, with the overall goal of letting others know what we would be working on. Building momentum on your work is a great way to keep yourself going and often people are even willing to help out. Being able to build on an existing project like the SMS Framework module by Development Seed really helped get our work off the ground and now that I see my code and ideas being picked apart by other community members, it's nice to know that others can continue to improve on our contributions.

Meet the Candidates!

Rolling along with the SXSW Get the Vote Out campaign, today's potential presenter is me, Dave Olson.

A wee rookie at last years' SXSW, I fell into a groove and rocked it hard, producing an epic barrage of social media extravaganza.

As for presentations, i'm a guy who obsesses about doing something innovative in form and message - i avoid hackneyed acronyms and run o' mill tech babble to create sessions with a positive vibe and useful edu-tainment which you ain't heard before. Here's what I offer for SXSWi 2009:

For your Consideration:

1) F@ck Stats, Make Art - Dave Olson - solo

Via a pictorial journey through his own career of creating grassroots art and publications, renegade social media producer and writer Dave Olson will extol, encourage and explain the importance of taming the intimidation, solving conundrums and digging deep to muster authentic creative self expression in the digital era.

2) Social Media for Social Change - Dave Olson + panelists

Tips and case studies on how social change focused groups with limited resources can use the web, and internet tools including mobile technologies, to spread their messages effectively and inexpensively, as well as rapidly activate constituents for campaigns and activities to effectuate local or international change.

Meet the Candidates!

Rolling along with the SXSW Get the Vote Out campaign, today's possible panelist is Kris Krug.

Krug is fresh off presenting at a social media Symposium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Social Tech Training, nextMedia, Bridging Media, Telefilm Content Creators workshop, Federation of Post-Secondary educators ... and more - See "Catching up with Krug Tour in Banff" for info.

Another multi-year veteran of SXSW, Kris puts forth two panels for Interactive 2009 covering topics he's well known for discussing: doing business in China and photography - check the blurbs:

For your Consideration:

1) International Business in China for Fun and Profit - Kris Krug + panelists

There are myriad misconceptions about doing business in China, but with a massive market, talented workbase and intriguing culture, there are also many compelling reasons for entrepreneurs to consider expanding their enterprises to Asia. Practical questions are answered by a panel of ex-pat entrepreneurs.

2) Become a Semi-Pro Photographer in 10 Easy Steps - Kris Krug + panelists

Think your shots are good enough to pay the bills? A panel of emerging photographers discuss how they've turned their passion into a paying gig after beginning as (sometime self-trained) amateurs and reveal the tactics they've used to build portfolio, grow audience and increase exposure.

Here is your chance to see Raincity Studios' DaveO in action.  It's all happening at Net Tuesday 4 - Podcasting for Social change, Tuesday July 8th at 5:30pm.

DaveO will be heading up and moderating a presentation on the art of podcasting: how to make a show; the benefits of micro-broadcasting; promoting your show; and how podcasting can spread your social change message.

The all-star panel features mobile guru, Roland Tanglao (also from Raincity Studios), John Bollwitt (audio engineer, and podcaster from RadioZoom and Crazy Canucks) and Rob Cottingham (social change technologist, humourist and Bedtime podcaster).

DaveO made a quickie video to get everyone excited about the presentation - check it out:

Net Tuesday4 is organized by Joe Solomon and hosted at Workspace with sponsor love from Communicopia and Social Signal.

Details

• Where: Workspace (400-21 Water Street) Vancouver BC
• When: Tuesday, July 8th, 5:30pm-7:30pm
• RSVP: Facebook, Meetup