Volunteer Opportunity: Kink On Tap Media Monitor

You may have noticed that over the past year, Kink On Tap went from only producing a podcast, to producing a podcast and gaining a Twitter following, and publishing news Briefs, and covering conferences. That’s because I’ve been exploring new ways to spread sex-positive media to the rest of the world, and getting a little help from my friends along the way. And now, I’m very pleased to announce that Kink On Tap is looking for a few more kinky people to join our little adventure in sex-positive new media as officially designated Kink On Tap Media Monitors!

What’s a Media Monitor, you ask? Good question! If Kink On Tap were a living, breathing organism (and I’m not saying it isn’t) its Media Monitors would be its heart-muscle.

Kink On Tap Media Monitors take the pulse of the mainstream and independent media landscape (newspapers and blogs), digest as much as they can, and share it with us and the world using a combination of social media tools. The twist is in that last bit: unlike a traditional media outlet, Media Monitors won’t be publishing for or even from KinkOnTap.com, but rather for themselves and from a variety of social networks, including Twitter and Delicious.

A good Media Monitor is someone who is already paying attention to the type of things we talk about on the show, is dedicated to the cause of spreading accurate information about sexuality as it relates to politics, health, culture, technology, or other topics, and is skilled at writing full sentences with strict length limitations (like, say, 140 characters). It helps if you’re already familiar with social media or are eager to pick it up.

The 2 main requirements for Kink On Tap Media Monitors are:

• Write no fewer than 4 and no more than 16 Kink On Tap Briefs per month for inclusion on the Kink On Tap website. (A Brief is an 80 to 200 word synopsis of an existing article; we’ve even got Brief writing guidelines.)
• Post no fewer than 3 links in Twitter updates from your own Twitter account with the hashtag #KinkOnTap each week.

Doing this will probably take you anywhere from 1 to 3 hours a week, tops, and even less if you’re already reading sexuality blogs, news sites, or consuming other similar media. And don’t worry: I’ll tell you everything you need to know to do a great job. (Most of it’s even written down for your reference already.)

Here’s why I think you might enjoy volunteering:

• You’ll hone your editorial skill.
• You’ll become a social media ninja.
• You’ll stay abreast of current events in sexuality.
• You’ll be further promoting your work.

But most important of all, you’ll be helping to get important information to people in a way they wouldn’t necessarily get otherwise.

If this sounds interesting to you, check out the full description of a Media Monitor on the Kink On Tap Wiki, and then submit a volunteer application. If it doesn’t, but you still want to volunteer, then drop me a line to let me know that, too.

Again, you can read more about the benefits of being a Kink On Tap Media Monitor on our wiki, and then submit a volunteer application. I’m looking forward to keeping the water cooler all hot-but-not-actually-bothered with you. :)

Kink On Tap 33 publication delayed due to personal attacks

Last Sunday, Emma and I recorded an episode of Kink On Tap 33 with the ever-delightful (if unfortunately under-caffienated) Sarah Dopp. I know that many of you expected to see the podcast version go live sometime yesterday or today, but sadly it’s still not ready. I’m sorry for the delay in publishing it, and I hope to have it all online by Thursday evening.

The reason publishing Kink On Tap 33 is delayed is due in large part to the fact that my energy has been drawn to defending myself against vicious defamation from a blogger incited to slander me by the Salvation Army. I’m annoyed at the inconvenience this personal attack has had on my week but I’m optimistic that I can return to publishing Kink On Tap episodes in a more timely manner soon.

Thanks for your patience, and also for your support. Being slandered by people you don’t know, who fail to get their facts correct about you or your actions, who are incited by a faceless, nameless insinuator that refuses to engage with you, is a fucking terrifying experience. I’ll be glad for the extra sleep tonight.

Tonight’s Broadcast of Kink On Tap 29 has been cancelled.

Regrettably, I am sad to announce that tonight’s Kink On Tap broadcast for Valentine’s Day is cancelled due to personal reasons. We’d very much appreciate help informing any chatters who show up in the chat room. Thank you!

It is my hope that Kink On Tap broadcasts will resume next weekend.

Update: Since it’s been asked, we wanted to make clear that no, we are not intending to end Kink On Tap. Really. We’re working some things out, and hope to return next weekend. In the mean time, consider spending the hour or so watching some KinkForAll Providence presentations. We think you might like May’s “On Dichotomies” one and Emma’s “Sensuality” one.

What is Kink On Tap worth to you?

When I first started recording Kink On Tap shows, I did it because I wanted to share the feeling of inspiration I had after having awesome conversations about sexuality with my friends. What better medium with which to do that than the Internet? Since that first recorded conversation in 2007, some things have changed, but many others haven’t.

Recently, my dedicated co-host, Emma, and I concertedly begun asking for donations from you. We’ve put donation buttons in the sidebar on KinkOnTap.com, an audio billboard at the beginning of each show, and we’re mentioning our requests for donations during live broadcasts. We thought it was about time to tell you why we’re asking you for your financial support.

Kink On Tap is still about sharing interesting conversations with inspiring people as broadly as possible. It’s still about self-empowered learning, analyzing news stories, blog posts, and other ideas with a critical, informed eye. It’s still about making you a part of the conversation, and connecting you with resources that help you understand your own or others’ sexualities and the things that impact it, or that you can use to help someone else do the same.

Kink On Tap is a labor of love

I love what Kink On Tap has done for me. So, as you can imagine, it’s very difficult for me to put a dollar amount on it. When I asked Emma about it, she had difficulty for the same reasons.

We can’t put a price tag on the conversations we have on Kink On Tap, we can’t enumerate how much fun we have on the shows, and we can’t quantify our hopes for its future. Most of all, we can’t guess what monetary value you’d put on the information or insights you receive when you listen in.

We could try. We could think up an hourly rate, calculate how much work we put in, and ask for donations to reimburse us for that effort. But that’s not really why we need your donations.

We aren’t looking to be reimbursed for “hours worked.” We give those hours willingly, and eagerly. We sneak it into our work days on lunch breaks and put the hours in after we go home—sometimes forfeiting hours of sleep—and generally we enjoy it very much. If we were doing this for profit, frankly we’d be going about things all wrong.

Why we need your support

Although running Kink On Tap in the black instead of the red would be nothing short of wondrous, the real reason we began asking for your contributions is because we want to live in a reality where everyone has the freedom—including the economic freedom—to sustain themselves with what and who they love. For us, a part of that is producing this show.

As we strive to improve each episode, we are facing costs. These costs come both in terms of physical equipment and the limitations imposed by our rents and bills. Neither of us have dedicated money to put into this show, and we’ve spent hundreds of dollars and months of effort learning, implementing, and refining the show to get this far. We’re pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished and we’re going to keep at it.

Between both Emma and I, each Kink On Tap show takes between 20 and 50 hours of work every week, and we’ve been doing this every single week without missing a beat for the past 5 months, on top of the rest of what we’re doing. Last week, I quit my job in order to be able to put more time into this project, and others like it. We should say, both of us will still have other sources of income, so it’s not like we’re risking personal bankruptcy.

Nevertheless, Kink On Tap is not a negligible portion of our cash flow. If we’re going to keep Kink On Tap going, and especially if we’re going to be able to keep making it better, the reality is that cash is simply necessary. But rather than lock away the value of the show behind a pay wall or ask for dubious sponsorships, we’re turning to you, our audience, for support.

Your contributions go to things like saving up for a sound mixer so that one day Emma and I can do the show in the same room without a technical battle. They go to getting better headsets for ourselves as well as our guests. They might also go towards paying someone to help us post-process the shows, or transcribe them so we have searchable, textual archives, or maybe even getting improved video recording.

But even more important than any of that, your donations go towards telling us that we’re on the right track. When you contribute money to help fund our work, you’re telling us in no uncertain terms, “Yes, I found value here. It’s important to me that you keep doing this.” We cannot possibly thank those of you who have already made one-time contributions enough—your financial support is a heartfelt vote of confidence, and such votes are immeasurably appreciated.

How to support Kink On Tap financially

We’re asking you to donate to help keep Kink On Tap going. But we still can’t put a price tag on the value of the show for you, so we’re giving you options for how to fund us:

• Sign up for a recurring monthly contribution in $2, $5, or $10 USD amounts. You will continue to be able to view live Kink On Tap shows, as well as download the podcast for free regardless of whether or not you contribute any money—ever.
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• At any time, you can also make a one-time contribution in the amount of your choosing:
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With $5 a month, you’re contributing a maximum of $1.25 per show. That’s less than one-fifth the price of most movie tickets (and some schmancy lattés!), and our shows are longer than some movies! If you watch us live on Sunday evenings and join in the chat, it’s also way more social than going to the movies. ;)

All contributions are currently processed via PayPal, which also accepts all major credit cards, but we’re working on supporting Google Checkout soon, too. Since we wholeheartedly believe in openness and transparency, we also invite you to view our monthly accounting totals at any time, which does not publish your name or any other personal information, so you have more information with which to choose the contribution amount that you feel is right for you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and for being a friend, ally, or supporter of outspoken sexual freedom and honesty.