On July 16, 2010 my Top Follow Friday was Mr. @KeithPrivette. In my post I mentioned his RV, @PullingTin, who Tweets and has its own Blog.
@KeithPrivette @PullingTin
I believe that Keith and his “PullingTin” are onto something with the social meida + the great outdoors + technology. I had the pleasure of diving into the topic more with Keith!
DM: Your name and location.
KP: “Keith Privette. Watertown, MN.”
DM: Why are the outdoors such a passion of yours?
KP: “The passion really developed in college. For two spring breaks my friends and I (which I contribute the influence of my outdoors passion) went to the Great Smokey Mountains and the Grand Canyon. Real typical for 11 guys that live together hey?! Then, when I met and eventually married Tara Privette, her family introduced me to duck hunting, fishing, motorcycling, 4-wheeling, deer hunting, and then RV’ing. You can say that once you do it, you love it and the passion finds you! Now, with having two kids, Joey and Jace, getting them outside and doing all kinds of outdoor activities are an endless amount of family memories and quality time.”
DM: What made you decide to get an RV? When did you get it? And WHY did you name it?
KP: “Tara Privette’s parents, Eric and Nancy, had bought one for RV’ing and motorcycling (technical term is a Toy Hauler) and we met them at a RV park by my house, saw it and wanted one! That winter we ordered a Rockwood Roo Hybrid. That was in 2006. We have had two others since then; MaxSport R-Vision and then this year we upgraded to the Springdale by Keystone.
The name (PullingTin) came when I was trying to decide on a blog domain name for talking and sharing our adventures in RV’ing. I do believe the movie Pushing Tin came out around that time, so I figured a little play on words explain what we are doing with a travel trailer. This was a way to have a digital journal of all our family memories. I also have a written journal of each site we have stayed at since we have started. This is to keep the little things like window passes, site number, registrations, passes to local spots, etc. I have taken a picture of every site we have stayed at along the way. I have also taken a picture of every site number:
DM: What prompted you to make your RV “social” with a Blog and Twitter Profile?
KP: “When the social platforms took off in the last couple years, I figured I would have some fun with this name and get a twitter, foursquare and gowalla account. It really has taught me about giving an inanimate object a personality. Good learning along the way! I have not done the fan page yet, that might be a little too overboard right?”
DM: Any current case studies of the good, bad and ugly outdoor spots and technology?
KP: “The biggest thing I have found is the lack of coverage. For example, I was staying at Palmer Gulch in South Dakota. GREAT resort, great amenities and services no slighting that a bit. Palmer Gulch has a twitter account and a fan page that they send out the daily activities on these accounts and do a little interaction, very little. I was there for 5 days, used their name several times, and they never once reached out. I had very little coverage the whole five days. The wi-fi was weak and the cell coverage was non-existent. If I could have awakened in the morning (in PullingTin), pulled up Twitter on my EVO and then saw what was going on that day, I may have been more engaged with the Park. I see this lack of coverage a lot! I understand, but I do believe social+technology+outdoors can come together to connect us better than ever!”
DM: What are you currently working on with this (outdoor + technology) project?
KP: “Currently working on a podcast through the Social Media Breakfast Twin Cities to talk about this subject with some industry representatives. I have a pretty good cross section of folks from the outdoor industry with some doing many aspects of social media and some doing very little. This will definitely be a good discussion. And this discussion hopefully leads to the bigger idea of the Social Media Breakfast Twin Cities being a 2-day event at a campground to expand the discussion across this whole community, and doing it at a site in a circle around a campfire in very outdoor fashion! That being said, there was a little snag put into this plan for at least getting it done before the snow……..Pulling Tin was damaged in a hail storm and American Family decided to total the vehicle instead of fixing it, which decision has still confused me. But never fear, we are getting another one, we just have to wait because we cannot find the Springdale that had our specifications.”
DM: Where do you hope to find it one year from now?
KP: “Hopefully more and more outdoor facilities invest in either better wi-fi or start building some cell towers on their properties. Also, I hope to see more stories how social media and technology are helping to connect us to each other and the outdoors from the everyday persons perspective. I feel some organizations have hi-jacked this conversation to the extreme measures (about green) that turn many off to even have a discussion.”
DM: Do you actually think people want to be connected EVEN when they are on “vacation” in the great outdoors?
KP: “The perspective I see is that with social media+technology+outdoors we use all three a lot before heading into the outdoors, a little in the middle of being outdoors, and a lot after via talking about experiences, rating and reviewing venues and following up with people that want to go to those spots. (Just to clarify when I talk of outdoors I mean just about anything you can do outside – dog parks, hiking trails, river canoeing, campgrounds, back-country camping, resort towns, all-inclusive wood resorts, hunting, fishing, snowshoeing, skiing, mountain climbing, spelunking, mountain biking, running and parks in general.) These are all locations that people can connect, meet up, get to know each other and also help preserve for the next person!”
DM: What are some companies you’d like to partner with to explore this social media + outdoor + technology initiative?
KP: “Gander Mountain, Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, Midwest Mountaineering, Sear’s Outdoor and Sporting Goods, Duluth Pack, Rapala, Cresliner, MN DNR, KOA, Keystone, Sprint, Verizon, Foursquare, Gowalla, Google Maps, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Minnesota Hospitality. I know many of the things are local to Minnesota, but I need to start local to go global! But you know me, always looking to partner and collaborate!”
DM: Just for fun: If @pullingtin had a wife, what would her handle name be?!
KP: “@mrspullingtin! Funny you ask this question. I had been trying to find a way to get my 2004 Ford Excursion into the mix! Currently (Pulling Tin) is a male and I was thinking about making the #UAV (Urban Assault Vehicle) female and have them be married…..oh that would take this to a whole other level!”
For more information on the Pulling Tin 2010 Adventures, click HERE.
