[NOTE: This week’s soundtrack is CIVIL WAR by Dillinger 4.]

Man am I feeling like I have been punched repeatedly. This week has been an amazing ride. Here are a few highlights for no other reason than to get some stuff off of my chest and hopefully entertain the three of you who may read this.

1. The week began with notification of two of four proposals getting accepted for the Nevada Interactive Media summit to be held at the University of Nevada on March 7. I’ll be discussing – and hopefully gaining feedback on – DCNR’s social media efforts. My friend and colleague, Ronele Klingensmith, and I will also be talking about how social media presents unconventional opportunities for public relations strategies – with, I hope, some cautions explored since social media appears to abused to death by marketers, “experts” and “consultants.” I was happy to hear any of my proposals got accepted considering that I have been a vocal critic of the event, primarily because of its perceived lack of transparency, organization and the event’s decision makers appearing unfamiliar with and disengaged from Nevada’s new media efforts. Needless to say, some of my criticisms have been off the mark; some though, I think were spot-on. In any case, it is going to be a good event, likely with some informative and lively discussions. The event dovetails nicely on a week of intelligent journalistic discussion.

By way of disclosure, here are the two proposals that did not get accepted: here and here. Anyone attending who would like the five minutes versions of these, feel free to hit me up at the event or head out to beers afterwards; although, I will likely not run the data on the Twitter Vote Report since the need is questionable, and I think the point has already been adequately made about the TVR.

2. On Tuesday I unwittingly discovered my local daily’s site had been hacked. In perusing my news feeds, I came across a curious headline, which appeared to have been up for days, from one of the paper’s online sister publications: “Reformed nerd, broom-stick squatter registers as sex offender.” The story was equally amusing. Enter Twitter. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and I first posted a short-link of story asking the paper if the story was a joke. Using tr.im, I was able to track in real time how many people continued to click on the story via Twitter, as sundry characters, me included, helped to keep the story alive via replies and re-tweets. It was a good (and amusing) opportunity to put to test a local, viral phenomenon. At the end of day, before the story was pulled, at least 160 clicks to the article were made after only being posted on Twitter. Perhaps most importantly, though, I had a very nice conversation with the paper’s online news editor (Kelly, if you’re reading this, beers are on me since I undoubtedly helped to make your life hell for an afternoon) and hope to meet with her soon about the future of online news and other topics.

3. I was barraged with media calls at work this week that actually began the week prior. Everything from rural newspapers and major metropolitan television news to the L.A. Times … we’re getting a lot of interest at the moment. I’m trying to keep up.

4. On Thursday evening, during a very long hearing at the legislature, I got word that my V.A. (virtual assistant), who unexpectedly disappeared without a trace in early January — something that caused me considerable headaches for about two weeks until I could find a suitable replacement (thank you, Shelli!) — was in fact in jail for credit card fraud. Double wow! And it’s not the first time. An anonymous email sent to me had links to arrest records from January and from 1999, also for credit card fraud. I responded back that for what it was worth, my VA had been quite good to me – professional, timely and generally effective. She was always pleasant on the phone and I even recommended her to a colleague in Las Vegas. I’m fortunate that I set up alternate email and phone accounts for my VA – which I still have control over – so that my own are separate and intact. My finances appear secure; however, my wife’s credit card received an unauthorized charge in early January. We were able to quickly handle it and were not liable for the money. I’m not saying there’s a connection, but it is the first time we’ve been hacked as it were, and it would be a fascinating, and disappointing, coincidence if the two were related. Needless to say, in hindsight I’m glad I’ve kept my VA accounts separate. Another lesson learned: I need a back up VA service just in case something else comes up in the future.

5. I gave an over-the-phone presentation to Nevada’s Rangeland Resources Commission to obtain funding for a project about one of Nevada’s most visible rural issues. I received excellent questions from the commission and am keeping my fingers crossed that the project is approved. My intention: to give a voice to rural interests about a problem that is driven in the media too much by activists and others with questionable expertise. I am having to keep this project separate from work since it is too unrelated to what we do, which that means I’ve taken leave and so on. If approved, the rest of 2009 will likely be very busy for me as this project evolves.

6. I attended the second monthly Reno blogger dinner on Wednesday. Since this blog rarely deals with local or even statewide issues I’m not sure my participation is really necessary; at the same time, my friends are involved and my interest in blogging is what keeps me engaged. It was nice to put faces to screen names, meet new folks and hear in person what others are doing. Ironically, there’s some tension and unease among blogging personalities which is apparently keeping some folks at bay. My perhaps idealistic view on this is that despite differences, however vast they may be at times, it is nice to sit down at the end of the day over beers. It’s easy to take potshots online – of which the most noted are delivered equally back and forth – but adherence to so-called new media is silly if it is allowed to get in the way of looking one another in the eye.

7. I’m now looking forward to a restful weekend.