#trending

(A group shot of the GoSmokies members who joined us for the hike. Photo courtesy of Frank and Bonnie.)

We have a niche social site called GoSmokies, which was built via Ning for enthusiasts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The site has been around for several years and pretty much moderates itself. I step in when needed, and have volunteer moderators who help me with approving members, managing any vitriolic comments etc.

Yesterday, we had our first GoSmokies group hike. The idea had been tossed around on the site for a while, and finally some members decided to organize the hike. When I learned about the idea, I got involved and had a banner printed and bought trailmix.

My boss, Jack Lail, and I joined the hikers at 9 a.m. in the Greenbrier section of the park. Two trails had been per-determined by the hike leader, Mike Maples, an unofficial park historian. About 25 people joined us (some from out of state).

We did a short 2-mile hike in the morning where we got to see a cemetery of people related to Dolly Parton. After lunch (everyone packed their own lunch), we had a longer, more strenuous hike that involved off-trail hiking and going through briers etc. This group was much smaller, but still as enthusiastic as ever.

I received many thanks from everyone who attended. It was the first time I had gotten to meet these members in person, and it was humbling to learn how much our site had affected them. It was a great example of how a news org can get involved with a niche community and really make an impact. There is talk of the group organizing a potluck in the park sometime soon.

Some of the brightest minds in social media in the country are coming to Knoxville Friday, April 27, 2012 for the second annual Social Slam!  - soslam.com

Social media professionals from around the world are arriving in Knoxville today for the second annual Social Slam social media conference, taking place at the Knoxville Convention Center downtown. 

Earlier this month, I spoke with SoSlam founder, keynote speaker and Knoxvillian, Mark Schaefer, for a brief conference preview you can read here.

The Twitter stream is already heating up in anticipation of the VIP party tonight and conference kickoff in the morning. You can follow the #SoSlam hashtag for updates from SoSlam tweeps.

A large mulch fire broke out near downtown Knoxville on Sunday, and with it came a massive cloud of smoke that can be seen hovering over the area even today.

(Photo by Saul Young/News Sentinel)

There is plenty of talk on social media about the effects of the fire — namely the awful smell that’s taken over the city and fear of potential harm from carbon monoxide — and we at the news Sentinel are no exception.

(This is a photo from News Sentinel sports designer Dave Goddard of ash from the fire covering his car when he left work last night.)

The KNS building, coincidentally, is right across the way from Shamrock Organic Products, where the blaze broke out. So today, when I came in, I understood more completely what everybody was complaining about.

The smoky smell in our newsroom is overpowering, even more than it is outside, likely because it’s trapped within our walls. Initially we all laughed when Tom Chester, our managing editor, offered up respirator masks — but it actually helped quite a bit.

(That’s me, donning a mask, and Jack Lail and Lauren Spuhler in the background.)

Goofy photo aside, the fire has affected many Knoxvillians directly or indirectly.

News Sentinel photographer Saul Young shot some great video and photos yesterday of the fire after it first broke out. And today, E.W. Scripps software engineer Mark McIntyre shot photos from our building’s roof that really put it into perspective.

Every so often, we’ll notice a story from a few years ago start generating traffic again. It’s always fun to figure out what’s causing the new interest.

Tonight, this 2009 story about moonshiner Popcorn Sutton’s death started showing up in our feed as a story people were reading.

The Discovery Channel was running a “Moonshiners” marathon, hence the interest in Popcorn. It took me a bit to figure that out. On a whim, I searched for the show and found out it was on all night.

I haven’t caught much of the show, but the season finale is Monday night at 10 p.m.

In the meantime, here’s our archive of Popcorn Sutton coverage.

This week, I decided to talk a bit about social media activism for our weekly #trending column.

The idea first occurred to me on Wednesday, after I caught wind of a video — “Caine’s Arcade” — that had just begun to go viral. Aside from it being a really great video and touching story, I was floored by the fact that after only a couple days, the scholarship fund set up for the young boy had already accrued $100,000.

The idea that so many people were moved enough to donate money after watching a video they found on a blog, or on Twitter or Facebook, struck me. And then it got me thinking.

Earlier in the week, my colleague Erin Chapin had shared an infographic she found on “slacktivism,” a term combining the words “slacker” and “activist.” Critics say these kind of “activists” are not really doing anything to effect change. Simply tweeting a link to a cause is not enough, they argue.

But the infographic shows otherwise. The facts and figures are really interesting. It says slacktivists are twice as likely to volunteer; twice as likely to ask for donations; twice as likely to take part in an event; and four times as likely to encourage others to sign a petition or contact a politician.

And when you think about how recent events have been brought to the forefront of the online conversation — the Trayvon Martin case, KONY 2012, SOPA, the “Bully” movie and movement, for instance — it makes sense.

I did a little more digging to see what else has been said about social media activism, and I stumbled across a really interesting PBS Mediatwits podcast from March 30. I mention some of the comments made by Change.org communications director Brianna Cayo-Cotter in my column, but the rest of the panel made some great points, too. It’s definitely worth a listen.

I also found a recent NPR segment, Social Media Changing The Nature Of Activism?, which talks about how social media has “can even bring issues to light that might otherwise have been overlooked by mainstream media.”

Over the weekend, I caught wind of the Texts from Hillary Tumblr that’s been trending around the Web.

The photos that started this - taken by Diana Walker for Time and Kevin Lamarque for Reuters - show Clinton sitting in a C-17 enroute to Tripoli and looking very engrossed with her phone.

The meme is hilarious and smart. And shows a no nonsense style of our  former First Lady. Joanna Weiss of the Boston Globe writes in an opinion piece:

Nearly every contribution falls along the same theme: Hillary’s not beleaguered, she’s in charge. This is the story the photo tells. The frown makes her seem impatient. The sunglasses make her look aloof, but also glamorous. Gone are the man’s-world accessories, the pantsuit and masculine haircut. Secretary Clinton is a woman, comfortably feminine, with long blonde hair, a chunky necklace, a giant broach.

Today, however, the meme catapulted to mainstream news after Clinton sent in her own version of “Texts from Hillary.”

That submission, with an actual LOLZ by Clinton, is already getting a lot of reaction: Politico, Huffington Post, Mashable, Time and the Washington Post have mentioned Clinton’s twist on the meme and the Associated Press has moved a story.

Some speculate that this vision of Clinton looking in charge, could help her if she runs for office again. While that’s in a few years, I’m just looking forward to seeing more snappy retorts from our Secretary of State.

The web was abuzz a few weeks ago after the publication of stories explaining how some job seekers are being asked to share their Facebook passwords during the interview process.

Mashable has published a smart list of tips to keep in mind if confronted with that question. I especially liked this idea for an eloquent response:

“I am very careful with my personal, private online persona and do not feel comfortable giving out any passwords. But you can feel free to look at my profile as it appears to you as a company right now, if you would like.”

Full story

Knoxville’s been a top-10 contender in at least five lists so far this year. We could even make “lists” a subcategory of this blog, since we’re finding Knoxville on a new list every week.

But it’s our friends to the Southeast in Gatlinburg who made the list today.

Forbes has named Gatlinburg one of “America’s Prettiest Towns,” as decided by travel experts.

“The wildflowers around Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are absolutely spectacular in the spring as they burst with wildflowers at their peak.”

Zain Habboo, National Geographic’s director of travel

In addition to the mountain backdrop, the article gives credit to Gatlinburg’s quaint downtown and outdoor activities.

The list also includes Newport, R.I., Taos, N.M. and Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Do you agree? Is Gatlinburg one of America’s prettiest towns?

(Photo Credit: William Britton/istockphoto)