This is kinda on the DL…Awakening the Bay is going GLOBAL, get on board

This note is for all holistic practitioners, professionals, students, businesses, communities, organizations, groups, etc.—basically anyone working in the field of holistic living, in all its many flavors.

As you may already know, we launched Awakening the Bay, which is an online community-based, holistic network and open-source directory, earlier this year.  The BIG IDEA was to educate, enable and connect “conscious people” in order to nurture their holistic programs, workshops, events, businesses, and activities to become economically, socially, and spiritually sustainable, as well as to inspire all who visit our site to live, work and love in a more holistic way.

But then our peeps, down south, in Santa Cruz, asked, “Can we be considered part of the Bay Area?”  And our friends in Oregon whined: “Heeey, what about us?!”  And apparently there is some bizarre Bay Area cosmic connection to Costa Rica and Bali, and even India, as well.  And our neighbors to the north became vocal (“Ever heard of Vancouver?!!!”) Then of course, England and France…well, it just did not stop.  The message was clear:  “What about us over HERE?”  The bottom line is everyone is connected.

So yes, ATB is going global (soon we will be changing the name to reflect this) but we are already listing holistic practitioners, professionals, students, businesses, communities, organizations, groups, etc. in cities around the globe; it is no longer a “travel and tours” thing.  If you were to visit our Events and Workshopssection right now, you would find festivals in Oregon as well as events as far as the Orkney Islands (hint: Scotland.)

So NOW is the time to invite EVERYONE from Down Under to Norway to Mongolia as far south as South Africa to add their events/workshops/activities/classes/retreats etc. to our Eventsand Workshops Calendar (FOR FREE—just FREE dollars!) as well as list in our Holistic Directory (this costs $100 for a yearly listing in the Directory.) 

You can start promoting your IMPORTANT work NOW, for FREE—just create a profile page on our site (login—and you can do this via FaceBook) and make sure to put all your contact info, including websites, blogs, and other social media connections.  Then start adding activities directly to the site at http://www.awakeningthebay.com/addactivity  and you can also mention these events on our FaceBook page (this should be super easy to find on FB—“Awakening theBay”.) 

Also make use of the FREE community board for messages of any kind—sharing wisdom; need a ride; need someone to teach Watsu in Bali; whatever!

If you wish to be included in our Directory, contact our man Charlie Stebbins at charlie@awakeningthebay.com.

Anyway, this is an opportunity to market yourself, your important work, to your ideal audience, as well as others.  In a month’s time, according to the Google Analytics Gods, we have jumped 3,456% in visits to both our site and our FaceBook page (I do not even know how this figure is possible, but I trust the Google Analytics Gods.)

Join us – you grow; we grow; and ultimately THEY grow and then we all grow. (That's a lot of growing!)

Live your bliss,

Kelly N Patterson

ATB Community Manager 

kelly@awakeningthebay.com 

Attention travel writers, travel writer-wanna-be’s, and travel whores—Meet HearPlanet!

Question:  Who are you going to trust more, Lonely Planet’s opinion of a particular hostel in Budapest, or your good friend, Al’s opinion? 

Welcome to 2011, when travelers no longer need to lug around a 5-pound, outdated travel guide made of tree organs, just to decide where they are going to eat, sleep or visit next.  Meet HearPlanet: your geo-audio directory of the WORLD. 

Think Yelp meets National Geographic meets Pandora—all on your phone, on your GPS system, in your ears…think of how much room in your luggage you will save (not to mention the exorbitant cost of overweight luggage on your flights!)  You are free to travel and tour, at your own pace, in your own language, solo or with friends, whatever frosts your pumpkins….no longer part of the tourist caravan, and with insights about local hotspots, restaurants, hotels, parks, etc. from locals, friends and professional tour guides and agencies alike (whatever you prefer!) And of course, you are welcome and encouraged to add your own perspective on places as well!

Imagine the planet as one mammoth museum, and HearPlanet is your audio guide to everything!  And the best part?!  Well, a la wikipedia-style, this geo-directory, from your favorite watering hole to famous landmarks to entire cities, is written by people just like you (or if you prefer an “expert” opinion, there are expert travel and tour channels such as America YouthHostels Channel and other big names in the travel industry.)

Of course the best way to really grasp this whole concept is to check it out for yourself.  HearPlanet is ALWAYS seeking more content and for travel writers, history buffs, writer-wanna-be’s, and travel whores, this is the perfect opportunity to share your knowledge and experience with the world (as well as add to your writing resume!)

Essentially, in tech-speak, HearPlanet’s platform aggregates and organizes location-based information on points of interest, including landmarks, restaurants, hotels, and recreation spots, and delivers it to people, on-the-go via their mobile devices, and this is your opportunity to be part of the audio travel guide revolution.  It is not just your “story” but literally, your “voice!”

To sample current HearPlanet material, to contribute, and all just click here.  Know that submittingcontent is user-friendly (if I can figure it out, and I am blonde-- you sure as hell can!) and recording your own voice is all part of the submission process and can be done from your laptop, and then broadcast to the world!

Questions?  Feel free to contact me at kelly@hearplanet.com, because I am the new HearPlanet “Ambassador-at-Large”