(This is Part 1 of a 2 part series. The second part, and interview with Graham Wallington, founder of WildEarth.tv can be found here.)

Day in and day out, all over the interwebs, social media freaks like myself are pointing out companies engaging in social media, either making case studies of what not to do or showcasing those companies that seem to be doing it “right” (a subjective term, perhaps). Ford is one of those falling into the latter category, thanks largely in part to one Mr. Scott Monty, who we in the Detroit social media scene are proud to call one of our own. Of course, it’s not just businesses that are embracing social media, as exemplified by Beth Kanter, the most prominent voice in social media for nonprofits. I could go on.

Personally, one of my deepest interests is how social media is applied (or can be applied) on a much broader spectrum. Consider the pope on YouTube. While I’m not going to sit there and watch the pope’s YouTube channel, I still think it’s pretty cool how even the Vatican is utilizing the new tools to spread its message.

Not long ago, I was followed on Twitter by @wildearth, whom I followed back without thinking much more than, “Oooh, big pretty kitty!” upon seeing their Twitter page. I never paid much attention, until one day I saw this in my tweetstream:

I couldn’t resist clicking the link, and indeed, there was a leopard, live on steaming video. I’m a sucker for wildlife, so I sat there, and I watched. Then I started poking around WildEarth.tv, curious as to what it’s all about.

It’s amazing.

WildEarth.tv is an online-only wildlife channel that broadcasts LIVE every single day from the Djuma Game Reserve in South Africa, a vacation destination for those wanting to go on African safaris. While you watch, there is also a live chat on the side of the video so you can talk about the wildlife with other viewers. There is a counter to see how many other viewers are watching at any given time, and every time I watch there are at least 100, sometimes more than 500. All footage is archived, so that you can visit the best moments caught on video, like the one below, which is the very first time these leopard cubs were seen by the crew. (Warning: cute overdose ahead.)

[Read more...]