Introducing Channel Signal – The Joy Trip Project

Introducing Channel Signal – The Joy Trip Project

You should never trust a reporter who claims to be an expert. As a professional journalist I’m constantly amazed by what I don’t know. Much of the work you’ll find here at The Joy Trip Project is the result of painstaking research. I seek out multiple sources, read up on the latest literature and get the perspective of knowledgeable people who can speak intelligently on the topic at hand. Add a little analysis and insight from my personal experience and the result is a balanced story that is thought provoking and compelling. Hopefully what you learn will allow you to draw your own well-informed conclusions.
With these same laudable reporting skills I plan to bring a little clarity to the world of social media through a dynamic new communications platform called Channel Signal. As part of a small team of market analysts I’m going to begin a series of reports and commentaries on various aspects of the Outdoor Industry. Future posts to The Joy Trip Project web site will include stories whose details derive from the thoughts and opinions of the key outdoor product design and development influencers as well as those working on behalf of environmental protection.
Using sophisticated monitoring tools Channel Signal (www.channelsignal.com) can conduct detailed searches of several different social media networks at once. The Internet has made it possible for just about anyone to be a reporter and share their impressions. If you’ve got an Internet connection for your laptop or a data package on our cell phone you can post your thoughts and opinions to dozens of social networks across World Wide Web. Blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are rapidly becoming a place where we discover much of our news and information. But with all that chatter it’s difficult to find reliable details you can use.
Channel Signal aims to take all that information and boil it down into concise reporting. High-level analysis will be available at reasonable rates to marketing and public relations professionals, but here at The Joy Trip Project I hope to point you toward the stories that offer valuable insight as you explore your active lifestyle.
But we’re going to need your help. Starting at the Outdoor Retailer Show later this month in Salt Lake City, Utah Channel Signal will host a live Twitter feed with news and analysis of the latest product innovations and services coming out soon from manufacturers of outdoor gear. I’ll also be tracking several different conservation initiatives as well as the many cultural events going on during the show. We want to hear from everyone who has an opinion to share on what they’ve seen or heard throughout the week.
At Channel Signal we’ll identify the most insightful comments and share them in our reporting. We’ll also tabulate each response and rate them as to positive, negative or neutral. You can find the results here or at the Channel Signal Blog at http://blog.channelsignal.com/
In recent years I’ve had the privilege to produce stories for several newspapers, magazines and Public Radio programs. After a long career as a sales rep in the outdoor industry I now blend my passion for writing with outdoor recreation and environmental conservation. Social media has become a very powerful tool to engage in an actual dialog where we can share our ideas and perhaps affect lasting change. I hope you’ll get involved. Drop me a note with your questions at info@joytripproject.com or follow my twitter feed at www.twitter.com/joytripproject. I look forward to hearing from you!  ~JEM