THE PAINTING TOUR rolled onto my street in Cashel last night and I'm learning a lot about the art and zen of creative social networking from Liam Daly.
I can't finish a chat with Liam in less than two hours and feel very guilty that we ran on past midnight on his first evening in County Tipperary. Liam's subtle use of Twitter, Picplz, Latitude, Google Plus, Audioboo, Latitude and Street View is a case study in getting results from social media. I chatted with him about the GPS dimension of his cycle tour of Ireland because I've confused myself while depending on a single kind of mapping application. You can click on the audio clip attached to my blog post and hear us talk about some of the anamolies of mapping services.
I started watching Liam as he cycled from Dubin into Wicklow, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Wexford, down through Cork and Killarney on his #paintingtour of Ireland. He spent a few days in Clare and Limerick before allowing me to hold him hostage for two evenings in County Tipperary.
Like other gadget lovers, I sat riveted to my seat as Liam described how his Motorola Xoom tablet fell off his bike while cycling down a hill. The tablet was zipped up inside a protective sheaf and was hit and run over by a tractor. The thing still works!
During several of Liam's painting sessions in Cashel, I've upload 337 high resolution images of his six weeks on the road. They include classic pub scenes, trademark Kerry landscapes, Irish roads, and bicycle maintenance.
The things I'm learning from Liam will fold into third level modules I teach in Media Writing, Social Media, Public Relations and Group Exhibition. And most importantly, I've learned things from Liam that will help me convert some of my work to e-books.
You can host Liam or commission him to cycle to any spot on the island in order to do a painting.
While the trip is not being done specifically for charity, Liam will auction a painting from the trip for Shine and making it possible for people to donate to Shine as he cycles into 32 counties of Ireland.
The Thirsty Gargoyle -- "EolaĆ and his Painting Tour: Week Five"
Subscribe to The Painting Tour. Or listen to his adventures--more will follow now that he's upgraded his Audioboo recorder.
Here's a list of people connected with the Painting Tour.