Digital cameras and computers and portable media players are popular gifts for the holiday season. Instead of just smiling happily when someone (or you!) receive these as a gift, how about recommending a project to put those gifts to use right away? Here are some suggestions for projects you can start right there and then with your new holiday electronics gifts.
Take a Generations Photo Series– If a new digital camera finds its way into the family, why not take photos mixing up the various generations of relatives? One thing about the Holidays is that we often talk about those who are no longer with us. Photos showing a grandmother, a daughter, and a granddaughter are a great way to look back on past holidays and remind us where people have come from. Bonus Round- show your relative how to open a Flickr account, and if you’re REALLY nice, pay the $30 for a pro account.
Shoot a Holiday Memories Video– Most digital cameras now come with a movie setting, which often gets forgotten after the first spin of the wheel and only used a year later, again by accident. Capture some of the moments this Holiday with your movie setting? Need a topic? How about, “What do you remember most about the Holidays?” or “Between now and next year, I want to …” Bonus Round- hook your relative up with an account on Blip or YouTube.
Get Them Blogging– Whether it’s buying your parents their first laptop or it’s the new power game PC your nephew received, why not set them up with a free blog from WordPress.com or Tumblr, and show them how easy it is to share their thoughts with you or the world at large? Bonus round-If they’re into a specific topic, help them find a bunch of blogs in that format, and either start them using Google Reader, or at least get them subscribed to a few via RSS-to-email.
Media Players go GREAT with Podcasts– There will be plenty of new iPods and other media devices opened up this month. People will figure out quickly how to find music. Show them how to add great Podcasts that they might not normally have found on their own. If they receive an iPod, consider these iPod utilities from Lifehacker, too. For guides to great podcasts, check out Podcast.com, and don’t forget to see which of our rockstars has a podcast (down at the bottom of the list). Bonus round- show them how to get podcasting using a service like Blog Talk Radio or Talkshoe or Odeo.
Cell Phones as Media Makers– Someone will receive a new mobile phone this holiday season, and they’ll know all about how to make a call, how to get a ringtone, how to check their email. But what they won’t realize is that they’ve been handed a mobile media making device. If your phone has a number 2, your phone can be part of the moblogging crowd. Yep, with Utterz, a mobile media platform, you dial into a certain telephone number, press 2, and begin recording, just as simply as leaving an answering machine message. Only with Utterz, you’re part of a larger crowd of people choosing to make media this way. Other services to check out are Kyte and Qik. And don’t forget Twitter! Bonus round- set up a few family phones with Utterz and add each other into a friends circle. Now, your family can dial in, press 1, and listen to their friends and relatives like a little message-leaving party line.
Social Media Offline, Too– Don’t forget for a moment that these tools are just a way to extend the connection with people. Stay in touch with that, and don’t go crazy explaining the guts of all these technologies. Remember that some people will feel overwhelmed with receiving their new present, and might not be in the mindset of leaping into a career as a videoblogger. It’s okay. Go gently into this all, and have fun. Media making is about fun, too.
Now, if you do make some new media this holiday, it’d be cool if you shared it with the rest of us. Could you come back and leave a comment here that might point us towards your new, budding social media star? Or maybe you’ve got a suggestion I didn’t mention above. I’d love to hear your social media holiday project ideas, too!
And in case you can’t get back to a browser between now and the new year, I wish you the happiest of Holidays. Mind you, if you CAN get to a browser, I’ll wish you an even happier holiday tomorrow. : )
Photo credit, tanakawho