Imagine this.  You’re hanging out with friends on a Saturday night and things are beginning to pick up, but that great moment when the night really gets set ablaze is still missing.  All of the sudden you hear a familiar guitar riff echo throughout the room….“just a small town girl, living in a lonely world….” (and hey, if you don’t like Journey, insert favorite song here)  You grab your closest friends and arm in arm scream the lyrics as loud as you possibly can with no regard for those around you.  A memory is made and the night is now a success.  Thanks to Me.dium, you and I, and all of us, can have these same experiences online.  Grab your friends, get signed up, and come surf, hang out, and party with me on Me.dium.  I’ll look forward to making some memories with all of you.

—User PJN on Me.dium and a new member of the community team.

… seriously. This is not a joke, I need old, but working iPods for a philanthropic project I have been hatching for a couple months.

Here is the 411

Last August, while I was working with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a member of our Board of Directors (and fellow marathon-runner) Brad Feld challenged me to get involved locally and have a positive impact.

So I came up with a ‘music therapy’ idea for the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center (RMCC) here in Boulder, CO called “Chemo Rocks”. I just got the go-ahead from the RMCC. Now I need your help, if you can provide it.

In a nutshell, I want to provide a library of iPods loaded with different types of music or play lists for cancer patients to “check out” and use while they are getting their multi-hour, in-office, chemotherapy IV infusions. The iPods stay in the RMCC complex.

My mother-in-law was the inspiration for this while we were in South Carolina visiting her and my father-in-law early last month. I gave her a fully loaded iPod Shuffle for Christmas and she has loved it in her last two chemo appointments.

I have the music, I have the iTunes Server Macintosh, I just need a dozen or more old iPods, iPod Nanos, and/or iPod shuffles. (256 Mb to 5 Gb capacity). I don’t need your music, I will wipe them clean and load them up. I just need your old hardware and will happily return any iPods we cannot use.

This is not a tax deductible type thing, I’m not an officially registered non-profit, nor is this project…

but think of the “karma points” you will score. Folks within Me.dium have already pitched in to the point that I will have “Chemo Rocks” up and running by Monday afternoon, 01-28-2008. This could be the start of something really big folks, and you could be able to say, “Oh yes, I helped the folks at Me.dium start that whole project.”
So that is my pitch. I need your old unused, but working iPods to help local cancer patients going through chemo therapy.

I know from frist hand experience that “chemo” can suck, but I also know that “chemo rocks”.

For more information about “Chemo Rocks” and how to help, contact me here. I am also often out in the “Me.dium Sidebar World” at Me.dium ID songbird.

If you want more info about me and my work this year, check out the following link.

http://austin08.livestrong.org/michaelbirdsong

Thanks for reading.

UPDATE: Dean will throw in a Me.dium t-shirt, stickers and any other schwag he can get his hands on to everyone who ponies up an iPod.

Hey everyone. Long time, no blog. So long in fact, that I’m sure many of you have never heard of me.

Okay, here is a quick review. When I started working here at Me.dium seven months ago, several coworkers (especially Carol, David, Dean and Tobias) told me they like for my involvement with non-profits like the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. They feel it is a good example of how Me.dium, and several other Boulder-area high tech companies are a different type of “Web 2.0″ companies.

This is all very personal to me. I just got through a skin cancer recurrence last fall (many at Me.dium World HQ wondered what was up with the bandages on my jaw and the horribly blistered, then chapped, lower lip). My wife, her mom, my uncle and my nephew are also all cancer survivors.

I feel so strongly about the support I receive from Me.dium, that I put my money where my mouth was when we launched the Internet Explorer version of our Sidebar last August. I can’t do that again this year, but I can be even more involved in other ways.

I’ll be mentioning at least one of those “schemes” (in which you all might be able to help) in an upcoming blog entry, but I figured I’d describe the most adventurous one (I’m sure my folks will say “crazy” one) in this posting.

This September, I am signed up to ride in cycling tour from San Diego, CA to east of Savannah, GA, 2912 miles in 26 days. The route map is right here.

I’m doing this partially because I want to raise money and awareness for cancer research and survivorship. Most importantly, my mother-in-law is currently over halfway through her first round of chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer. I’m doing this ride in her honor.

Sure, some “purists” will call this cheating, because I’m not doing it solo. However, it is hard enough to get the time off to pedal yoru bicycle across the USA yourself, let alone getting someone else to take time off to drive the support vehicle. Believe me, I tried in 2007, and it did not work.

Like I said, I have other “schemes afoot” and will need your help. Don’t worry my ideas for involvement of the Me.dium Community won’t involve giving $$’s. Others ways to make a positive difference exist. If many people in a community give just a little of themselves, the impact can be enormous. I have seen it happen firsthand. I know our part of “Web 2.0″ can continue to have a HUGE impact for the better. I am not alone in my views about REAL high tech philanthropy.

So thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more info on my next scheme after I get back from running the Walt Disney World Marathon on 01-13-2008 (and spending next week at the Resort ).

Me.dium was just named one of the most innovative technology companies by the Colorado Software & Internet AssociationWe’re going to be honored on Thursday, October 11at the CSIA DEMOgala event in Denver.The third-annual CSIA DEMOgala is a full day technology innovation conference and a series of events focused on discussions for nearly 1,000 leaders from Colorado’s advanced technology industry. Culminating this industry event is a discussion led by keynote speaker Tim Armstrong, President, Advertising and Commerce, North America for Google. The conference is one of the key events and initiatives created by CSIA, the premiere IT association in Colorado, to increase awareness, showcase the innovation in the state, and create business connections for Colorado technology companies.“Me.dium was chosen because of their innovation, technology and prowess in an industry that’s highly competitive across the world,” said Su Hawk, president of CSIA. “They were selected from more than 150 nominees from across the state and we are very proud that Me.dium is part of the innovative leadership in our state. CSIA is honored they will be demonstrating their technology in front of the technology community on October 11,” she added.The 2007 CSIA DEMOgala is the third annual celebration of the best and brightest technology innovations that Colorado has to offer. DEMOgala draws more than 900 key technology professionals, government leaders, business leaders, venture capitalists, investment bankers and market influencers. The event was begun in 2005 to showcase Colorado technology, and create a forum for discussion, connections and advocacy on behalf of the state’s technology industry, including IT/software as well as aerospace, GPS, robotics and more.In past year’s, CSIA’s DEMOgala has played host to some of the most important people and companies in technology. The two previous keynote speakers were Meg Whitman, CEO, eBay; and Jeffrey Rhoda, Vice President, IBM.Since DEMOgala’s inception, more than 100 companies have been selected in the showcase. Participating in this year’s conference are Me.dium, Acadium, AFComponents, Applied Intelligence Solutions, Associated Content, AWhere, Colorado FIRST Robotics Team, concept3D, Countermind, CSU Robotics Team, Developing Minds Software, DSST Robotics Team, EffectiveUI, EventVue, GoFast/Jet Pack International, Groople, Idol Minds, Kerpoof, Lijit Network, madKast, MapQuest, Mocapay, myDIALS, OmniBus Systems, OpenWorld Learning, Plasmon, Rebit, Retul, Secure64, Sentegra, Spatial Corporation, Tensegrity Prosthetics, VideoBloom, and Villij.Registration information to attend the CSIA DEMOgala can be found at csiaonline.com or by calling CSIA’s main offices at 303.592.4070.

We’re rocking to the beat of Girls Don’t Cry in today’s RockMe. Session. The girls are taking us on a ride through their music world online. They’re from New York City and hitting the music scene with a polished rock and pop combo. Check out our Dude of Music’s post to learn more about them.http://dudeofmusic.vox.com/Then, hop into the tour by joining the chat in your shout out board. Check out what inspires these ladies and let them know what you think!