PDA

View Full Version : Monday September 19, 2005


NicoMoon
09-19-2005, 03:37 PM
Good Day All

As we mods and coordinators have discussed via e-mail, it seems that rather than communicate
privately just within our group of official leaders, we should be
posting here so all our members and visitors can be plugged in to
all the details of what we are doing.

There is so much amazing energy and activity going on behind the scenes
it just doesn't make sense to not share and publicize it. We need
more volunteers, and hopefully, as we show what we're made of, what we
have and can accomplish, that will serve to inspire wider participation.

It also should not go unsaid that we are forging friendships, and having
some good healthy fun in the process!

Kindly indulge my lack of communication! As you know, Franklin and I activated
this site before all systems were in place, so the past few days and this morning
we've been working on getting all our needed equipment in place and
functional so we can get moving on the phone in interviews.

Purchasing technology is not fun, but that's another story! So are our ongoing server problems!

Something to note today is the worrisome appearance of Tropical Storm
Rita. Our good member, Sparkie has posted the details, so this is
definitely an issue of concern, and something we might want to be
preparing for. If New Orleans or any of the devasastated areas take
another hit, it would be great for us to have a plan of action as
to how we can best be ready and for what! Let's plan, but hope
for the best! How the victims of Katrina could handle yet another
crisis is beyond me.

Clearly we are evolving from a place for frantic activity in the immediate
aftermath of Katrina into a resource for strategizing, planning and organizing
projects that serve the ongoing and still urgent needs of the displaced.

What we have accomplished so far is truly astounding. I know I keep
saying that, but we really do need to acknowledge the fact that our
participation here has made a huge difference for those who our members
have been directly involved in assisting and who knows how many others
who found what they needed here in the form of support, resources,
information and networking?

Moving forward, the urgent need that we can provide seems to be information
from the ground. The harsh fact is that although it's reported that
there are still HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people still displaced and
still being shuffled from shelter to shelter, still with no clue as
to what the future will hold, the story is taking a back seat now.

The plan is to begin to broadcast live interviews from the ground so
we can provide those who are still committed with the viable and accurate
information needed to keep moving on worthwhile projects, and to inspire
those who have yielded to complacency to get back onboard, and committed
to solutions for the long term.

I am working on finding other internet broadcasters who would like to
contribute to our online presence. We are seeking personalities who
can assist us in getting the message out that the project of rebuilding
lives devastated by Katrina has only just begun! We are also learning
the necessary skills ourselves, and those in our group who are willing
will be providing broadcast content also, in the form of interviews,
testimony, and commentary. This is a grass roots effort, and we aren't
trying to be slick, just effective in getting our "LET'S ROLL" message across.

So if you are, or if you know a broadcast personality who would like
to donate their time, technical assistance, a taped program, or an affiliate
program with
Livewire.fm, please contact me, NicoMoon@livewire.fm

We are exclusively broadcasting Katrina related content for the
moment, and will continue that policy for the foreseeable future.

We really cannot abandon these countless people, the old and young the ill,
the handicapped, homeless, unemployed, discouraged, displaced, and
disconnected! They do not have the resources or the information they
need to be expected to rebuild their lives on their own, and they
clearly do not have the needed support from the usual relief agencies
or the government. Tossing cash into chaos is not the solution.

Other projects in the works include

The development of an "adopt a family" project. This would involve
identifying and/or founding groups and organizations that would provide
housing, household furnishings, employment assistance, and all that
is needed to get a family or several families into permanent housing
in communities where they will be supported until they are back on their
feet and able to be self sufficient.

This is a great project, and a potentially huge one, so we have to
set realistic goals here, and carefully plan and strategize how to
best implement them.

Do we want to try to organize our own group of sponsors, or do we
want to solicit the support of existing groups, such as churches,
community associations, clubs, organizations and corporations and
help them get coordinated with viable families?

We continue to gather information on existing shelters for inclusion
in the ongoing katrinalist.net shared database project. This is a vital
piece of the puzzle, as we are realizing that the residents of these
shelters are not getting access to all the many generous offers of
support and resources. We must know where people are,how to contact
those who are running the shelters, identify specific needs, and
have a way to get the information to them as to what resources are on offer

Joy is working on a t-shirt design that will reflect the spirit of our
volunteer project here, the need for ongoing support.

Adrienne has requested a list of sites that are viable for crossposting.
Mundane as it may be, we must continue to get the word out, and drive new
visitors to our site.

We must also maintain communications with existing members, so an email
to all of them is also in the works.

Besides that, we need to develop a PR team. Sandy has volunteered to be
a media liason, but we need a more clear plan of action as to when
we begin to send out press releases, and what message those will be
conveying.

It doesn't seem wise to implement any PR plan until our systems are all in
place, which if all goes according to schedule will be by the end of the
week.

So, here's my summary of where we are as of today.

Those of you who have projects in the works are kindly requested to post
the details, including what kind of additional volunteer support you need, and
where you are in the process at the moment.

Franklin and I will continue to prioritize the completion of the technical
and equipment needs for getting our broadcasting to full functionality.

Those who have volunteered to provide broadcast content either in the form
of interviewees, or their own taped content are requested to get moving on
setting those up, ASAP.

We can broadcast pre-recorded materials, or live content from anyone who is
Shoutcast capable. What we can't do yet is conduct live phone-in interviews.

Did I miss anything?

For those reading along, I hope you find the inspiration to plug in and
join our fantastic community of true Livewires!!

If you have something to contribute, even just time, a project in the works,
an idea for a project, you are invited to join in. Just email or pm
me or any of our Forum Leaders, and let us know your details.

Livewire.fm will eventually evolve into the commercial project that was
originally planned, but the Let's Roll project will always be a donated
service. All of our future commercial services and subscriptions will be free
to all active volunteers.

We do not solicit any cash donations, only volunteerism offered freely, as are
our services and resources.

Signing off for now with gratitude and admiration for our great group of
leaders,

Nico Moon.

vervilledeb1
09-19-2005, 05:42 PM
Hello All,

I hope everyone is having a good day. Nico and Franklin I hope your purchasing of equipment and the ongoing problems with the server are finally getting resolved. 

As far as the development of the adopt a family program I have been putting a lot of thought into this. In my experiences of helping other families I have first turned to the organizations and churches within their towns. So far I have been very lucky in getting the help that was needed right away. Families who are doing the adopting so to speak could do the research to help find the telephone numbers of the local organizations. Care packages and any other donations as well as communication would be left up to the individual families involved. As I put more thought into this I will post more ideas. I am hoping with all the great minds and people here this will be a project that will come together and progress smoothly.

All equipment at this end is set and ready to go for interviewing. If we could get together and come up with a list of questions or ideas as to how we would like to proceed with this I am open to all thoughts. Lets just say in ALL my years on this earth reporter has not been on my list of have done! 

With the approaching of yet another hurricane or tropical storm I think Nico is right. We should have a plan ready just incase. These poor people have been through so much already. I can?t even imagine.

Okay, I think that is it from my end. I need to finish up a few more things and then I am off to find more projects.  I do hope everyone is well.

Thanks,
Debby

Adrienne
09-19-2005, 07:22 PM
Where I am. Whew that will take some writing! Also, this might be a good idea to have on a weekly basis so we all check in at LEAST once a week here and update the progress on our various projects.

Wonderful idea and information Nico and Debby. I have been in contact with Debby regarding some interviews. Pretty much waiting for a list of questions before I contact my people again. One wants more time and is feeling a bit shy I think which is understandable. I do volunteer to be a ginea pig so to speak with Debby though. If it isn't relevant or used that's no problem. I have no need of fame, only to let others know how one person and various others to help can make a difference, of course. As we all do!

I have currently been in contact with 'my family'; the house host to Katrina evacuees. They are settling in and the news is all good.

I received an email today from my original lost NOLA friend. She is okay and in Texas. However, she has a need. Her only request for me was a laptop so she can write! She is a published writer. She is unable to leave the shelter or housing she is in because she has a rash from the waters on her legs. She is going a bit nuts I think not being able to write or do much with that rash. She could be our eyes and ears, perhaps. She is an excellent writer and a wonderful person. My plan? I'm going to find her a laptop, of course. Somehow. Some way. First step is to post on the boards here and see if anyone has a laptop that they aren't using. Nico's free shipping link could come in handy with this. She most likely won't be able to get online, but anything with MS Word would work at least for now. :D

Ummm what else am I up to? Sent some links to Franklin to post or integrate with katrinalist. More possible interviews with some evacuees currently in southern california, as my sister works for welfare as a job coordinator so maybe she can at least use our job links for them. Awaiting word from her.

Need to know how to listen to our broadcasts. My Mozilla wants to know the program to open it with?

I have a cold but have been working all day. I plan on resting tonight :)

I am VERY worried about the new hurricanes. What about all our folks going out to the areas? I hear they're not allowing them in because of the hurricane warnings. This information is just staggering. I hope it doesn't hit at all!

Great job everyone. Debby, I can write up some sample questions if you want me to. Or, if you interview me for practice, maybe from that interview you can see what questions to ask? I don't know. I don't want to take it on and it is your baby but if a sample of questions will help you, I can just let me know.

Okay. Ba bye. :D

sparkie
09-19-2005, 11:58 PM
Great Ideas (above)

For what it's worth, what I remember from jr. high journalism & reporters. The 5 W's, basic questions to answer in story/interview:

who what where when why
Also,
how

And, I just rememeber I got an email recently about 3 great writing tips from Dale Carneige.
Good talks are organized around a formula:

YOUR INCIDENT?Should be an incident from your own life?one which taught you a lesson.

THE POINT---Answers the question: What does it want you to do or believe (that you think will help the audience) ?

THE BENEFIT---Answers the question: What is in it for me? Why would the audience care?

Everyone likes stories about other people?s lives, that is the incident part and the longest. The story should lead to the point and the benefit.

I'm still working on translating this to my use. I expect to be interviewed for a local newspaper about the project/organization,
STO-MAC (Skilled Trades of Michigan Aiding Citizens). I want to get the most bang for the 'buck'---the most help/donations of construction goods.

Keep the faith!!
Bye, Sparkie

meanjoybug5
09-20-2005, 09:16 AM
Ok, Mrs. Poohbah and fellow Mod Squad LiveWires

1. T-shirt--well I need input--I have 3 designs in the begining stages. Yes, I know--overkill. My specialty.

2. Contacted V.Shultz to see what can be done to find her a family.

3. Good News Nico---it seems I may not be going to NOLA for a few days--due to RITA.

4. On the RITA agenda---Any contacts we have on the ground need to be mined ASAP. Find out if efforts are being made to help evacuate those in the areas most likely to be hit.

5. Get on the phones, boards etc. see what assistance we can provide as far as getting people out if necessary. Anyone we know of in area---get a plan to get them out. Families and friends that remain in NOLA area shelters need to be urged to seek refuge elsewhere. Those beds may be needed by new refugees from this second storm--or the third thats right behind it.

6. Debby--I have some ideas also on the "adopt-A-Family" project, as far as co-ordinating and finding those who need help. Yes, I agree mining the resources of churches and others that are already on the ground is our best bet.

7. Has anyone thought about a LiveWire Foundation? A practical way to distribute funds from T-shirt sales and to organize our efforts for "adopting" families. Giving more power to our efforts on recovering and rebuilding.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. Hope all is well, and bless you each one, the efforts of a few effect many.

Let's Roll!

NicoMoon
09-20-2005, 12:07 PM
Hello All,

I hope everyone is having a good day. Nico and Franklin I hope your purchasing of equipment and the ongoing problems with the server are finally getting resolved. 


Thanks Debby! We're moving along with the equipment have some purchased, but this live call in set-up is a true dilemma. There is no definitive way to do it, there are solutions that start at 10 bucks and go up to the tens of thousands. It is a hair tearer, but we're looking for the simplest and most reasonably affordable solution.


As far as the development of the adopt a family program I have been putting a lot of thought into this. In my experiences of helping other families I have first turned to the organizations and churches within their towns. So far I have been very lucky in getting the help that was needed right away. Families who are doing the adopting so to speak could do the research to help find the telephone numbers of the local organizations. Care packages and any other donations as well as communication would be left up to the individual families involved. As I put more thought into this I will post more ideas. I am hoping with all the great minds and people here this will be a project that will come together and progress smoothly.

Yes, I think it would be helpful for us to construct a model program that would include how groups or individuals could find the families that fit their program, define the level of support offered, provide information on the community, etc.

This could be something that the groups could access from here and would include all the pertinent links to cooperative shelters, etc. So that would mean doing some pre-investigative work.

We could also possibly get info from shelters about families or individuals in need and post those specifics, no names included of course, and then have a match program that we could coordinate here. I'm thinking that might be a really good way to go, something we could handle that would also be effective.

All equipment at this end is set and ready to go for interviewing. If we could get together and come up with a list of questions or ideas as to how we would like to proceed with this I am open to all thoughts. Lets just say in ALL my years on this earth reporter has not been on my list of have done! :d

I think I fixed your failed smiley!! :D

Ok then let's get rolling with that. Before coming up with our list of questions, we have to know who we'll be interviewing. So those who have people lined up or in mind need to get that information to us. We'll have a pre-interview phone discussion with the guests, and then go ahead and record the interview. This is an informal format, so it's really just going to be a discussion back and forth, but we do need to make sure we get all the pertinent information covered.

We can set these up on a mutually agreeable schedule, since they'll be pre-recorded it doesn't matter when we do them. As we record them I'll set them up in our playlist and they'll just keep coming up in sequence. It would be really nice to have something streaming besides endless Public service announcements!

With the approaching of yet another hurricane or tropical storm I think Nico is right. We should have a plan ready just incase. These poor people have been through so much already. I can?t even imagine.

I know. How about if we put our heads together and do some research and thinking about how we might be able to contribute in the event of even more people being in need of housing and shelter in the next few days?

If we have a tangible project we can do a PR push, but we have to do that today, so all hands on deck!

Okay, I think that is it from my end. I need to finish up a few more things and then I am off to find more projects.  I do hope everyone is well.

Thanks,
Debby

Thank you, Debby!! I'm really in awe of your energy! And for someone of your many advanced years too!! You might be ancient, but you're sure feisty! :D

Nico

NicoMoon
09-20-2005, 12:19 PM
Where I am. Whew that will take some writing! Also, this might be a good idea to have on a weekly basis so we all check in at LEAST once a week here and update the progress on our various projects.

Daily is the best, but each of us has to contribute as we can and when we can, so however it works out is fine, IMO.

Wonderful idea and information Nico and Debby. I have been in contact with Debby regarding some interviews. Pretty much waiting for a list of questions before I contact my people again. One wants more time and is feeling a bit shy I think which is understandable. I do volunteer to be a ginea pig so to speak with Debby though. If it isn't relevant or used that's no problem. I have no need of fame, only to let others know how one person and various others to help can make a difference, of course. As we all do!

Right, this isn't about finesse and fame, it's about getting information out.

More on the interviews in my official daily post!!

I have currently been in contact with 'my family'; the house host to Katrina evacuees. They are settling in and the news is all good.

Great news! Are they up for an interview?

I received an email today from my original lost NOLA friend. She is okay and in Texas. However, she has a need. Her only request for me was a laptop so she can write! .......

Definitely put up a request thread!

Ummm what else am I up to? Sent some links to Franklin to post or integrate with katrinalist. More possible interviews with some evacuees currently in southern california, as my sister works for welfare as a job coordinator so maybe she can at least use our job links for them. Awaiting word from her.

Thanks, and please keep us informed about that.

Need to know how to listen to our broadcasts. My Mozilla wants to know the program to open it with?

I'm not familiar with Mozilla, but most browsers use a default media player like Windows Media Player, Real Player, Winamp. Maybe you need to download one. They're free. It's just a matter of having one installed on your computer, and your browser knowing to open it when you click on a media file.

I have a cold but have been working all day. I plan on resting tonight :)

Hope you're feeling better today! I'm downing Vitamin C like crazy. I'm beginning to wonder about these internet viruses, they seem to be effecting more than just our hard drives! :D

I am VERY worried about the new hurricanes. What about all our folks going out to the areas? I hear they're not allowing them in because of the hurricane warnings. This information is just staggering. I hope it doesn't hit at all!

Yep, we need to be thinking this through starting right now!

Adrienne
09-20-2005, 02:17 PM
Great news! Are they up for an interview?
No. It's too soon for them. They have not contacted me directly again too, just the host family. They need their space and I will be sure to mention it when I speak with them.

Definitely put up a request thread!
I did. And I emailed Walmart and Oprah :p

I'm not familiar with Mozilla, but most browsers use a default media player like Windows Media Player, Real Player, Winamp. Maybe you need to download one. They're free. It's just a matter of having one installed on your computer, and your browser knowing to open it when you click on a media file.

OH. Duh. WMP should work!

Hope you're feeling better today! I'm downing Vitamin C like crazy. I'm beginning to wonder about these internet viruses, they seem to be effecting more than just our hard drives! :D

I TOTALLY agree. Ya'all got me sick :p

Also, still looking for about 2 hours of statistical work/help for my article. Obviously, it is not my first priority and takes time. Posted it somewhere.

Take care. Im keeping an eye on RITA. I just found out my original friend and her family are back in Louisiana. I don't have much information on them but I will worry.