"STEP UP TO THE MICROPHONE"

This weekend, I'll be on a roadtrip. More specifically, I'll be on a geeky-tech social media roadtrip which we-- Leah Jones and I-- have fondly titled Viva NashVegas.

As many of you know, Leah Jones is the other part of the Pilcrow Lit Fest puzzle, as well a founder of Natiiv Arts & Media, where she teaches musicians, artists and writers how to use social media.

How did this come about? Ford Motors approached Leah and asked her about driving around in one of their vehicles for a week and she said yes. And, it seemed like a perfect time to announce that Pilcrow Lit Fest will become a dual-location festival this year, with a second festival being added to occur each fall in Nashville. Clearly, a road trip was in order.

Nashville's Hotel Preston is putting us up for the weekend, and in return we're hosting a tweet-up party in the hotel's bar, The Pink Slip. (RSVP here.) We're also getting together with local writer and publisher, the one and only Peter Cole of Keyhole Magazine, to show us what's what in Nashville. (More on him and Pilcrow Lit Fest/South later)

Sunday morning we'll be brunching with Melissa from Strawberry Beret at Ombi Restaurant. Word on the street is that brunch is a lovely, new thing at this place and they need all the support they can get.

This weekend, Watch us on UStream, periodically, where we'll be throughout the weekend when wifi access allows. How shall one know when? Watch Twitter, as Leah and I will both be tweeting en route, and throughout the trip. We'll also be posting words, pics and video on our blogs. And updating Facebook statuses. And updating my Brightkite status. And, maybe my FourSquare account, too, as locations allow. And most certainly our flickr photostreams (mine is here, Leah's is here) Basically, after Sleepover 2.0, Leah and I were keen to be involved in another video and live-streaming project and doing so while on the road seemed to be a fun experiment. If Ombi, the brunch place, has wifi, we'll also live stream part of our meal. Because why not?

See our itinerary here, and pics of ecah location as we arrive. Maybe video, too.

Read about our two live-from-the-car radio spots on BlogTalkRadio happening Friday morning and Sunday afternoon.

So, that's the plan. Wish us luck!