Social networking is not for the faint of heart.

My first adventure into social networking was MySpace two or three years ago. I’d tried a couple of other sites, like Gather and Goodreads, but I never really got into them and consequently forgot my username and password. Well, that actually happens a lot because I’ve got too many of those, matter of fact I have logonarrhea.

Anyway, I really got into MySpace and had a blast seeing how many interesting “friends” I could add, reading bulletins and sending them out, and leaving comments on friends’ profiles. Although some profiles are too busy and annoying, I still believe MySpace is a good, free tool for creating a webspace for bands and projects. But I’ve moved on.

About a year ago a colleague tried convincing me that Facebook was better. It took a while for me to try it out. After all I already had a MySpace page, not to mention profiles on a couple of Ning sites—one for the SB Writers Conference and one for local producers. Those types of webpages are good for small, concentrated groups and can be customized to suit the participants.

I’m not counting Linkedin because it’s more of a professional or business site. You definitely need to build up your Linkedin connections if you’re looking for a job or more clients.

Finally I signed up for Facebook. The benefits surfaced right away. I didn’t have to pimp my profile or chose my top friends, and I can see what all my “friends” are saying, and the comments by their friends, as soon as I log on. Some people I don’t talk to too often and in person details don’t come up like they do online. But now I know that cool person is into kickboxing so I have something to talk to them about next time I run into them. It’s a fun way to get to know others better.

Then came Twitter. It’s amazing what you can say in only 140 characters. You can give your “Followers” business tips, a weather report, or a link to your latest blog post. How do you get Followers? I registered myself on a couple of Twitter directories, Twellow the Twitter Yellow Pages and WeFollow—which lists popular tags that help people find you and your content. But you don’t have to follow me to get my tweets, because I’ve set it up so you can just come here and look at that little box in the right hand column. Plus my tweets do double duty because when I post on Twitter my Facebook status is automatically updated.

One of the definitions of twitterpated is the ever increasing acceleration of heartbeat and body temperature. And that’s exactly the way I feel when I see somebody new is following me on Twitter.

If you need help building your online presence, contact me. If you already have made a place for yourself on the Net, and like this blog post, please click the SHARE button below to pass it along.

After the Jesusita Fire, I’d had enough of fire talk. I’d sat glued to the TV, watching Joe Gehl and Tracy lehr reporting on location while ash rained down and flames shot up on the split screen next to them. But I was in for some more when I showed up for Lars Nelson’s Adult Ed documentary class Tuesday night. His special guest was Jennie Reinish whose film Behind the Lines: Fighting a Wildland Fire depicts what we don’t see when watching such a disaster covered on TV.

In July of 2007 Reinish went to shoot stock footage of the mushroom cloud of smoke coming from the Zaca Fire. She stopped for a soft drink and happened onto an information kiosk manned by firefighters. Their conversation led to an invitation for her to film at the base camp. Because she was a documentarian and not mainstream media, she got access to people, like the incident commander. who didn’t normally grant interviews.

While watching her film, I was amazed to find out what goes on in one of those base camps. Independent contractors are needed to provide basic necessities, such as food and hot showers. They even bring in a souvenir vender to sell t-shirts with the fire’s name on it to keep up the firefighters’ morale. The film also shows the many agencies involved in battling a wildfire and the difficult duties they must perform.

Behind the Lines premieres Saturday, June 6, 7:30 pm, at Samy’s Camera, 614 Chapala Street. The event includes live music and some of the firefighters featured in the film will be on hand. You can have your photo taken on a fire engine, too. A $5 suggested donation at the door benefits Jesusita Fire victims through the United Way.

I’d watch the show even if I didn’t have to. I work for The Santa Barbara Channels, the nonprofit that runs Channel 21, SB’s culture, arts and education TV channel on Cox. Mainly I do marketing for them, but occasionally I find myself behind a camera. So there I am giving a count down and cuing host David Starkey at the beginning of most episodes of The Creative Community.

As David says, The Creative Community is a video archive of SB’s writers, poets, artists, musicians, actors, filmmakers, and other creative people in our community. The first episode I worked on featured Bill and Cheri Steinkellner who wrote for Cheers, one of my favorite sitcoms. I was hooked and have worked on every in studio episode since. Other notable guests have included Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn, who garnered one of only two of the shows hour-long episodes. The other sixty-minute show went to Andrew Davis, director of Hollywood films such as Holes—another favorite of mine. Author Erica Jong was the only non-local guest we’ve had, because she happened to be in town speaking at the Writers Conference. Other Writers Conference stars who’ve appeared on the show include Perie Longo, Barnaby Conrad, and Ernie Witham.

Being a writer, poet, playwright, and musician himself, David has his finger on the pulse of SB’s creative community, which makes him the perfect host. I’ve peered at David through the viewfinder of a camera for two and half years now, and seen him mature as an interviewer and relax as an on-air personality. He claims to be recognized wherever he goes.

A few shows were shot on location in places like SBMA for the migrant workers photo exhibit (I edited that episode), and a special at the home studio of painter, and Creative Community set and lighting designer, Ray Cirerol. Most recently, David took a group of poets out to Anacapa Island to do readings for the show.

With a wealth of talented guests, a now seasoned host, and over a hundred episodes in the can, it’s no wonder the show has won a few awards, both national and regional. First place national awards from the Alliance For Community Media went to interviews with Mike deGruy (2006) and Mary Rose Betten (2007), and a first place Western Access Video Excellence Award went to an episode with Annie Crawley.

Sample clips from The Creative Community are available on YouTube, or you can tune into Channel 21 Mondays or Thursdays at 4 pm, Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 10 pm, Saturdays at 6 pm, or Sundays at 11 pm, and see for yourself. You don’t have to watch it, but I sure recommend it.

A Latina lesbian accepted by her family is a refreshing change to see in the film world. Young Anna’s (Melonie Diaz) problem is not her sexuality but normal growing pains. She’s figuring out who she is, getting comfortable in her own small-chested body, and dealing with complications in relationships. Her journey starts when she, by chance, meets Sadie (Nicole Vicius) and gets drawn into a radical, micro feminist group called Clits in Action. The silly stunts C(i)A perform are not important to the film because the plot is all about Anna’s coming of age and standing up for herself.

Girls who ‘remember when’ will appreciate the Blondie-esque music, Sadie’s Jennifer Tilly like voice, and the small part by Guinevere Turner (Go Fish). All girls will enjoy the couple of scenes with Daniela Sea whose character Calvin is much like that of Max who she plays on The L Word.

The LGBT Kick Butts programs would probably agree that there’s way too much smoking in this film. And another problem I had was with an answering machine being used as a device for Anna to hear from girls without picking up the phone. She has a cell phone so there’s no reason for her to have her own landline at her parents’ house. The good news is, by the end of the film we know she’ll be moving away from home soon.

It’s not as trippy as you’d think, judging from the subject matter. It’s about a hermaphrodite. In this case, an individual originally thought to be a girl at birth and raised that way until puberty. Eugenides does give us extensive insight into “Cal’s” sexual development, but don’t expect Anias Nin type eroticism. After all, this is Oprah’s summer reading pick for ’07. The part of the plot that relates the tale of the Turkish-Greek, immigrant grandparents is reminiscent of the divergence in another excellent Oprah choice—I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. Basically, Middlesex is the coming-of-age story of three generations with a recessive gene. I must admit my favorite part of the novel was Cal’s high school crush on a girl referred to only as “the obscure object.”

What is your favorite Oprah book selection?