in all the excitement of losing (via theft) and finding joanie, i thought this would be appropriate to share.
KALW is one local SF public radio station. yes, we have more than one. they recently did a story on how social media can help find stolen bikes. listen to the epic (in the true sense of the word, not the recently overused version of the word) story of how one man found his stolen bike SIX YEARS LATER.
take a listen.
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
finding joanie
well, was pretty devastated to be leaving for work on thursday morning to find my bike wasn't in the apartment entryway as it has been on and off for years. my roommate said he noticed the door was propped open, but no one moving anything in or out. that must have been when it happened.
i wrote this and posted it everywhere i could think of on social media. facebook, twitter, google +, flickr, pinterest, stolen bike registry, craigslist, filed a police report. set up an IFTTT.com account and had 5 recipes "spamming" my inbox and texts. i also went old school and took a picture of her to local bike shops. went to flea markets in sf, friends went to east bay flea markets. i looked around homeless encampments for chop shops and random bikes. and then i got numb and started to plan a life without joanie.
and of course i tagged Jenny Oh, that amazing reuniter of stolen bikes. she's basically the 6 degrees of kevin bacon for bike thievery. we had a few false starts out there, but it was awesome to know that eyes are out there and we're keeping a lookout for bikes to return to their rightful owners.
sure enough...someone saw her post on fb and this is what happened:
so in order to pass that karma on forward, i'm posting a pic of Meryl's bike. you can contact us here, leave a comment, and i'll get in touch with her.
joanie did not escape unharmed, but she's back. and i can't believe it. power of social media and taking matters into our own hands is incredible!
it does not fix the inherent real issue of inadequate bike parking in apartment buildings, nor does it solve the issue of bike thieving jackholes, but it's something. it's community. and i'll take it.
thank you so much to everyone who retweeted, reposted, commented or just even thought, "wtf, someone stole joanie?!" a special shout out to those who went flea market and division street hunting with me. also to those two that bought me chocolate, it was much appreciated. as last week in america proved there are bad people in this world doing unheard of things (or just being a bike thief), but there are far more good people to counteract those actions.
also, 1/2 of her namesake is joan jett. don't mess with joanie.
i wrote this and posted it everywhere i could think of on social media. facebook, twitter, google +, flickr, pinterest, stolen bike registry, craigslist, filed a police report. set up an IFTTT.com account and had 5 recipes "spamming" my inbox and texts. i also went old school and took a picture of her to local bike shops. went to flea markets in sf, friends went to east bay flea markets. i looked around homeless encampments for chop shops and random bikes. and then i got numb and started to plan a life without joanie.
and of course i tagged Jenny Oh, that amazing reuniter of stolen bikes. she's basically the 6 degrees of kevin bacon for bike thievery. we had a few false starts out there, but it was awesome to know that eyes are out there and we're keeping a lookout for bikes to return to their rightful owners.
sure enough...someone saw her post on fb and this is what happened:
Well, basically, I woke up in the morning last Thursday and found a red bike in my front yard with the seat post sawed off and immediately said, "FUCK! Some random bike in my front yard, where the hell is mine?!" And mine was gone. Whoever stole hers, traded it out for mine. I think someone definitely scoped me out and knew that I had a bike. My friend Kelsey Simmen reached out to Jenny Oh to post about my bike and on Jenny's page, I saw a picture of Melyssa's bike and said, holy shit! I have that bike! I hope Karma pays me back.
so in order to pass that karma on forward, i'm posting a pic of Meryl's bike. you can contact us here, leave a comment, and i'll get in touch with her.
joanie did not escape unharmed, but she's back. and i can't believe it. power of social media and taking matters into our own hands is incredible!
it does not fix the inherent real issue of inadequate bike parking in apartment buildings, nor does it solve the issue of bike thieving jackholes, but it's something. it's community. and i'll take it.
thank you so much to everyone who retweeted, reposted, commented or just even thought, "wtf, someone stole joanie?!" a special shout out to those who went flea market and division street hunting with me. also to those two that bought me chocolate, it was much appreciated. as last week in america proved there are bad people in this world doing unheard of things (or just being a bike thief), but there are far more good people to counteract those actions.
also, 1/2 of her namesake is joan jett. don't mess with joanie.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Life and the elements, outside of social networks.
Found this image interesting before reading its article (which I now have read) and thought I'd share.
I may not be the most avid FB user, but cannot simply ignore the power and connectivity of the social platforms out there.
Here in San Francisco we are exposed and breathe technology like no other place in the States, and the globe.
The best in hardware and software is within miles and once you leave the Bay Area, you know how cutting edge the bubble is. The newest kids in the block such as Hipstamatic, Instagram, Path, Square and now Pinterest -just to name a few- are all located within a mile.
Keeping this post between work interaction and getting outside, we recently learned about a non-tech, well food product per se, Bay Area local +well-established company rewarding its employees (every single one) with a Public Bicycle: Clif Bar Bike Benefits. You may have had more than a few bites in the past, Clif bars are great.
At any rate, weaving through Yahoo's Flickr and Google's gmail+blogger, is how the 3 of us here (CTX, Ade +I) initially met here in San Francisco a few years ago. Mainly, because we were probably not at home clicking away, but we rode our bikes for work and play most of the time. And for example the Calitexican and I first met interacting randomly and chatting it up quickly thanks to Duby's awesome tie, on a Friday many Critical Mass years ago.
On the flip side, great to see an Amsterdam company involved and encouraging people to realize there is life outside Facebook. A friendly smile and a chat is far cooler than a LIKE.
I think more companies should encourage not only the bicycle and social use, but the fact that there is something very crucial to the mental wellness and that is the IRL: in real life.
Having worked for a highly desirable company, which I shall refrain from naming, my team was AMAZED that I actually walked to the food market or cafeteria during my lunch break. And this was an unwritten issue, and I certainly felt the friction. For an hour, I decided that during my lunch I was not to answer emails (how dare I not have lunch on my desk) but I was ok answering the phone, you know just in case of an 'emergency'.
Well that job is far behind me, and the point here is that with the accessibility to connectivity, many companies and jobs do expect a 24-hour devotion. In my personal opinion this is very wrong. I am a firm believer of a being passionate about your job and working very hard for success, but many of these expectations seem quite unreal.
To wrap-up a short thought here about the importance of being outside and interacting with other real humans other than your keyboard, or smart phone -- how do you integrate your bike/social life around your dedicated time of work/parenting/daily duties?Does your work schedule change the ways or the time you dedicate to it? What efforts or challenges have you faced?Do tell.
I may not be the most avid FB user, but cannot simply ignore the power and connectivity of the social platforms out there.
Here in San Francisco we are exposed and breathe technology like no other place in the States, and the globe.
The best in hardware and software is within miles and once you leave the Bay Area, you know how cutting edge the bubble is. The newest kids in the block such as Hipstamatic, Instagram, Path, Square and now Pinterest -just to name a few- are all located within a mile.
Keeping this post between work interaction and getting outside, we recently learned about a non-tech, well food product per se, Bay Area local +well-established company rewarding its employees (every single one) with a Public Bicycle: Clif Bar Bike Benefits. You may have had more than a few bites in the past, Clif bars are great.
At any rate, weaving through Yahoo's Flickr and Google's gmail+blogger, is how the 3 of us here (CTX, Ade +I) initially met here in San Francisco a few years ago. Mainly, because we were probably not at home clicking away, but we rode our bikes for work and play most of the time. And for example the Calitexican and I first met interacting randomly and chatting it up quickly thanks to Duby's awesome tie, on a Friday many Critical Mass years ago.
 |
| via bear bicycles |
"You’re outside on the streets, not locked into a car and can easily interact with other cyclists or pedestrians. That can be by chatting, or just a friendly smile. If you see us cycling around on our Facebook bike, please say hello!"Well, no kidding.
On the flip side, great to see an Amsterdam company involved and encouraging people to realize there is life outside Facebook. A friendly smile and a chat is far cooler than a LIKE.
I think more companies should encourage not only the bicycle and social use, but the fact that there is something very crucial to the mental wellness and that is the IRL: in real life.
Having worked for a highly desirable company, which I shall refrain from naming, my team was AMAZED that I actually walked to the food market or cafeteria during my lunch break. And this was an unwritten issue, and I certainly felt the friction. For an hour, I decided that during my lunch I was not to answer emails (how dare I not have lunch on my desk) but I was ok answering the phone, you know just in case of an 'emergency'.
Well that job is far behind me, and the point here is that with the accessibility to connectivity, many companies and jobs do expect a 24-hour devotion. In my personal opinion this is very wrong. I am a firm believer of a being passionate about your job and working very hard for success, but many of these expectations seem quite unreal.
To wrap-up a short thought here about the importance of being outside and interacting with other real humans other than your keyboard, or smart phone -- how do you integrate your bike/social life around your dedicated time of work/parenting/daily duties?Does your work schedule change the ways or the time you dedicate to it? What efforts or challenges have you faced?Do tell.
ps. Bear bicycles post here:
xxo♥ la meligrosa
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