Helloooo Phoenix! Starting to see signs that indicate I'm nearing the end of my journey. #crawvan

Photo

Santiago, Big Bear and Pedro

While stopping at the El Paso Public Library's Cafe, I met Santiago, a friendly barista.

Crawford and Santiago

I also met these friendly guys, Big Bear and Pedro.

Big Bear and Pedro

Murder Capital of the World

A wrong turn can lead you to unexpected places.

Border Crossing in Juarez, Mexico

A Lava Manna Nap

A Man

I'm a late-twenty-something programmer/tech dreamer/potential entrepreneur from Lafayette, LA. I dig almost all forms of art/music/people. I crack intentionally lame jokes & love wordplay. I want you to start up a Chess With Friends game against me, but I'm not playing when driving. I'm also pretty risk averse.

I work for a startup non-profit called FiberCorps where I'm tasked with developing a well-connected & collaborative local tech community, as well as dreaming up ways to fulfill the organization's mission. That mission is to speed up the process through which widely-available broadband internet access impacts the lives of those that can access it. The previous description intentionally left vague. I can go into more detail if people are interested, but not until I stop for the night.

A Van

A Plan

Tweeting with friends is fun; making new friends & tweeting with them is funner. But getting said new friends to participate in a brief social media experiment is funnest, so that's now the objective.

The second half of my trip is going to be a little more focused on the experiment. Tonight, I drive to Phoenix, AZ. Tomorrow, I drive to Los Angeles, CA. Upon arrival, the experiment ends.

I'll either be filing reports through other contributors here or the #crawvan hashtag on Twitter. A report could be anything: a picture worth seeing from the road, what I'm listening to, random thoughts, etc. Anything = Anything.

How to play along:

• Tweet with me (@crawfordcomeaux) and others via the #crawvan hashtag on Twitter. This is a Twitter-based experiment, but using Twitter is NOT required.
  
  
• Comment on posts here.
  
  
• I won't type on my phone while driving, so I'll request on #crawvan to have someone call me on my Google Voice number, (818) 925-4269. The first person to call and provide their email address will be added as a guest blogger. That person will be filing the next report. Please don't post anything other than what's requested of you...don't be a dick. If nobody calls within 5-10 minutes of the request (and I'm not in a dead zone), I'll phone the report into one of the other contributors.
  
  
• If you or someone you know wants to add social-media-related graffiti to the van or just wants to take a quick photo, contact me via Twitter or over the phone with the I-10 exit you want to meet at and when. I'll put up anything as long as it's related to social media and can be safely secured to the van. I have duct tape, but if you can provide your own, that'd be swell! :)
  
  
• Spread the word!

I've got a feeling I've left something out of the plan, but if I remember anything, this post will be updated with the additional details (and a redundant post of simply the additions might be made, too).

- Crawford

The story so far

So I've made the nametag for the truck, had a blowout in the middle of nowhere, tweeted w/all my friends & torn up my voice singing along to good music.

And now I want more.

So before I really press my friends to share this experiment on the social news sites (Reddit, Fark, Digg, Slashdot, et al), I'm setting up this blog.

I've got a few friends volunteering to blog phoned in reports from the road, a homemade dashboard mount for the phone for picture taking, and a few other ideas.

I'll post the plan in a few minutes...

Intro

My name's Crawford Comeaux & I'm flying solo in a UHAUL truck from Lafayette, LA to Los Angeles, CA, arriving 11/23/2010. I heard about how boring this trip was, so I'm loaded up w/music, but thought it'd be fun to try connecting with people along the way. There's now a bigass nametag on the back of the truck, the #crawvan hashtag on Twitter, & this blog. Tweet at me (@crawfordcomeaux) or give me a ring if you fancy a chat at (818) 925-4269!