Metrosexual

There was a super piece in the free Metro newspaper about SOTM, thanks to the excellent Tom Phillips who put the piece in and posed for a great SOTM himself.

Caitie and Amber

One day I found dozens of SOTM photos in my inbox. Immediately I thought I'd been spammed, but it turned out that all the emails were genuine. They'd been sent in by two young Americans, Caitie Quezada and Amber Willis from a little town in north Texas. I'll let Caitie explain their story, and keep an eye out for their work on the site.

"I live in the town of Fritch. Part of why i enjoy the pictures on your site is because, like you mentioned, they are a world away from the one i live here too. I often wonder, "what if i was born there? would i be the same person?" I plan on going to our local college, in Borger for two years (starting this fall) for an associates degree in the study of arts, however it doesnt offer a degree in photography. So from there i would like to attend a bigger school for a photography degree. I cant imagine doing anything else with my life, because nothing else makes me happier than capturing moments, that catch my eye, for others to share. I suppose I see the world differently than most people.. as a young teen i was always searching for a way to share myself with the world, and i finally found it :)

"One of my really good friends, Amber, loves photography too (I met her in photo class) and so we're always going out and doing photo shoots together. I told her about your website, and she too, fell in love. We picked a day we were both free and were going to take several sotm photos, but just of us. It turned into a full-blown scavenger hunt around town for friends and family that would like to join.

"As we drove around the small town of Borger, we also found my cousin, Tyler Reno, working on his car. which i thought would make a neat setting. He gave us his quote, which he was told one time when trying to fix his car. When we ran out of people we knew (neither Amber, nor I are extremely social) we came back to the town of Fritch, which is only about 15 minutes away from Borger. The two towns are practically inter-changeable. Everyone knows Everyone here!! We went to the only grocery store in town, and asked people to join.

"However Nuuanu Odell was the only one willing to participate. She's really out-spoken and honest, and when i asked if she was embarrased about posing, she laughed, and stated, "Who?! Me??!" We then went to one of the 4 gas stations in town, "Big Taylor's" as everyone calls it. This is like a "meeting place" for kids, to found out what's happenin' and where it's goin' down! We met our friend, Josh Leathers, there (the 'cuz i like to party' guy) and he was eager to help. He knows (and is friends with) EVERYONE in town and so he called up a few friends to meet us. Hillary, Shelby, and Rhianna thought the idea was awesome, and were a lot of help. Honestly, what we came up with was a lot of small town humor. Fritch has a population of about 4,000 people, and is located in the heart of the Tx Panhandle. (so we have a lot of rednecks here!!) But also, people really grow as individuals because of the small population. Amber and I (my name is Caitie Quezada) plan on taking more sotm photos of friends, and also of ourselves.

"Thank you for creating "someone once told me". It's extremely inspiring, and gives a small town-southern girl like me something to do!!!! :)"

High Times

The Sunday Times of Malta has featured an interview with me about SOTM, which has made me rather happy as Malta is the one place where I'd like to make an impact. Apparently my aunt and uncle out there saw it too, so that's even more of a bonus.

And if that weren't enough, there's even a competition being run through the excellent Malta Inside Out website, which requires Maltese entries of photographs that will be featured on the site. Alex Grech, the man behind the MIO website, has also set up a Flickr group for entries to be posted to - or you can send them through the Your SOTM page on this site.

MTV Staying Alive Week

Someone Once Told Me is supporting the MTV Staying Alive campaign together with The Body Shop and Spotify, because HIV and Aids prevention is a big deal and having safe sex is important too!

We asked a few friends in the media and music business to provide us with a window in to their lives with their very own exclusive Someone Once Told Me’s, the results of which will be seen all this week. There's a few celebs thrown in so check back to see which famous faces have taken part.

This is an important and worthwhile cause, because there are 33 million people living with AIDS and HIV, a number which is increasing by the day. Did you know, in a recent survey 75% of young people admitted they don’t use condoms? The majority of those (59%) believe that they have no chance of coming into contact with HIV and a further 15% think that it is not a virus that affects people under 25.

Another part of the campaign has seen MTV and The Body Shop also joining forces to raise money through the sale of a limited edition, tantalising lip butter which is on sale in the Body Shop around the world and online with £4 out of the RRP of £5 going to help fund sex education work and save lives. Also, if you choose to buy a SOTM Touchnote card of any of those who took part in the Staying Alive week, then all profits from that purchase will go to the Staying Alive campaign.

We've also been inundated with a fantastic response to making 'Play Safe' playlists using Spotify with the official site to find out more about what you can do to make a difference at Yes To Safe Sex.

You can make a pledge, create your very own related Someone Once Told Me or buy the limited edition tantalising lip butter from The Body Shop! So get involved but remember, most importantly, stay safe.

Manchester Week

A series of photos taken in Manchester was for one week on SOTM, starting Monday 17 March. I visited the city's Social Media Cafe and among the people I met was Sarah Hartley, online editor for the Manchester Evening News. Between us we cooked up the idea of featuring seven of the images I got during my visit to that excellent city over a particular week.

BT MyPlace

This SOTM is a tie-in with those nice people from BT MyPlace. Their service is described as “a pocket concierge”, already available from any wireless device using the BT Openzone outdoor Wi-Fi network covering central London and the West End. Once you’ve registered a few preferences (e.g. favourite food/club/music/shop/film genre), you’ll be shown content based on those favourites and your current location whenever you access the site via BT Openzone in central London and the West End.

Strictly For Grown Ups

So now there's an adult filter in place on the site. Any content that's for adult eyes will ask you to confirm you're aged over 18 and happy to view images or messages of an adult nature before it's made visible. I appreciate this isn't a foolproof system, but I've done all I can to prevent young or sensitive eyes from stumbling across content that they would rather not see.

Change We Need

Well, it worked for Obama. There have been a number of changes and improvements made to the site. There is now a Best Of page, with a selection of some of the strongest images SOTM has to offer. Also, the search engine is now much more robust, and you can not only make specific searches using "speechmarks" but also search for people by their names.

Also, there are now a number of audio commentaries placed on pictures, which should become a feature on almost all SOTMs taken in future. Click on the speaker icon and hear the subject explain, in their own words, who told them their SOTM, and why it stayed with them. It really adds a whole new dimension to the individual images and the site as a whole.

A few other tweaks - there are now icons allowing you to share your favourite SOTM images on sites like StumbleUpon and Digg, and also you can find SOTM's presence on sites like Flickr and Facebook among others. You can even now follow me on Twitter! Thanks to Max for all his hard work.

Chic Geeks

I've been introduced to some excellent and influential people lately, with a vast knowledge of the Internet, gadgetry and of who's who in this vast environment. Through attending events like the Tuttle Club and Creative Coffee Club I've met some damn cool types, who like SOTM and have kindly both posed and spread the word. Particular mention goes to Sizemore who was introduced to me by Jamillah (thanks m'dear!) and described as something of a "mover and shaker". He wants to get SOTM involved in a few events he's thinking of organising here and there - which sound superb - so watch this space.

Polish deConstruction

This innovative and highly-organised group held a Homeless Gallery in September 2008, and SOTM took part. It was great fun, I gave out 100 cards and took some photographs of those visiting. There were also some excellent photographs on display from the exhibitors. For more on this group check out Polish deConstruction

Happy Birthday, Someone Once Told Me!

On Sunday 7 September, 2008, SOTM became one year old. When I first dreamed this all up I set myself the target of running the website for a year - so I'm delighted to have reached that milestone. Now I'm going to keep going for as long as I can, to hopefully get the site noticed by the media and therefore bring it to a wider audience.

Thanks to everyone who's ever taken part in SOTM, or emailed in their support, or found someone for me to photograph, and thanks for sharing all the things that someone once told you. You've made many of my dreams come true.

Trevor's Tales

I got an excellent SOTM from Trevor, a young video-maker whose efforts are very popular on YouTube. His SOTM can be seen in the gallery, and his YouTube home page is there. One example of Trevor's work really made the news. He's promised to create an SOTM-themed video some time soon, so watch this space as that would be very cool indeed.

Open Up

I met the charming Loma who runs the really rather essential Open Magazine, which gives you everything you wanted to know about arts and culture and such stuff. Happily she liked SOTM and wrote a short piece on it, which you can see here. SOTM is always happy to get publicity, so hopefully there'll be a bit more of that to come yet.

Raising Eyebrows

I've made the acquaintance of the hard-working and entrepreneurial Phil and Becky, who run the excellent Eyebrow magazine, a well-written and sharp satirical take on the latest news from these shores and abroad. It's a really impressive effort by this industrious pair, and I recommend you take a look. Their obligatory SOTM picture can be found here.

Schmoozing and Boozing

I actually met Phil and Becky at Schmooze & Booze, a regular social event for young media types, organised with merciless efficiency by Helen Lewis, who displays a wisdom and organisational sense far beyond her tender years. The website is here, so drop Helen a line if you'd like to come to the next event - so long as you work in the media or PR, dahling. I took a number of SOTM shots at the bash I went to, which can be searched for in the Gallery.

Video Star

There are two videos on the site now. One shows a typical SOTM photo shoot, and was put together by the marvellous ladies at Pig Farm Productions.

The SOTM being taken in the video can be seen here.

I’ve also put together a video montage of several SOTM pictures, complete with a soundtrack from my very talented mate Nick.. Both videos can be seen on the Read All About It page.

Malta FM

A happy moment for SOTM – a magazine in Malta wisely decided to run an article on the site. Thanks to the brilliant Sharon Spiteri, FM magazine, distributed once a month with The Sunday Times of Malta, ran an interview and printed several photographs.

Anna the Angel

While out taking photographs of the fire in Camden, London, I met Anna ‘Logophobia’ G. Ramberg, and asked if she’d pose for SOTM as she has a great, striking look. She agreed and made for an excellent portrait. She then kindly offered to take SOTM shots herself.

The photos she has taken have been excellent and a welcome addition to the site. Search for her name in the Gallery, or check out this brilliant shot of hers, one of the best so far on SOTM. Well, it is of a stripper.

Student Shenanigans

I packed up my trusty camera and soon-to-be famous sketchbook in early February 2008 and headed to Bangor’s beautiful Victorian pier, following an emailed instruction to “meet us on the pier”. That message was sent by the excellent Siobhan Holt, editor of Seren, the student union magazine for Bangor University.

She had rounded up a posse of 15 students, who turned up for their photographs – I also got the chap who sells souvenirs on the pier to take part. The SOTMs had a romantic theme, as it was almost Valentine’s Day. During the trip I took what’s probably my favourite SOTM image, with a lovely message too. Many thanks to Siobhan and the Bangor crew, and I got three mentions in Seren including a double page spread.

Roll up, roll up, get your Facebook widget!

After much work, some wailing from me and a bit of teeth-gnashing from Max the website programmer, a Facebook widget has been born. You can download it by searching on Facebook, or accessing someone else’s widget, or by clicking on the Facebook bar underneath each photograph on this site. So far nearly 400 people have installed it on their profiles.

Back to skool

SOTM has been going into classrooms, with both Parliament Hill and William Ellis schools inviting me to come in and speak to several classes about the website. Apart from the slightly unnerving experience of being called “Sir” by people half my age, it was great fun and resulted in a good number of SOTMs that were taken by the pupils themselves. Many of these were excellent and one can currently be seen every week. There may also be an entire week of school work to be put up at some point, to make sure that some of the students’ work is showcased a bit quicker. Thanks to Emily, Ashling and all the pupils who took part.

Flickring through

SOTM now has a presence on Flickr – check it out, join the Someone Once Told Me group that’s on there and do tell your Flickr contacts about it. I’ve had a couple of photographs sent in from Flickr people who saw SOTM mentioned there, plus a number of hits, so it was a good move to sign up to it for sure.

And SOTM also has a page on MySpace too - add it as a friend if you're on there!

SOTM launch party

The Someone Once Told Me launch party took part on Saturday 8 September 2007 in London. Pictures by Marcus Yorke. Thanks to all who came.