Don’t tell my boss… but, my job rocks. Seriously. There are a few friends of mine (don’t worry I’m not going to rat you out) who have to sneak around their old-school, suit-wearing supervisors to log-in to their favorite social networking site while on the clock.

Yet, the pull of these sites that allow you to connect with friends – real and “cyber,” stay informed of up-and-coming musicians and “secret shows,” as well as join professional-type networks is just too great. Me – well, I get paid to play on research MySpace and Facebook. (I know!) It is with good reason. Seriously.

These social networking sites have become viable marketing tools that not only bands and bars, but also artists and entrepreneurs view as a necessary piece of their promotions arsenal.

TCCi has had a MySpace presence for some time, and while it was informative and we did manage to “friend” over 800 people – it did not match our sister sites (the TCCi website and this blog – they’re pretty nifty, in case you hadn’t noticed.) So we put our noggins together with those folks from Paragon and Nicasio and TAH-DAH! We have a brand new face for our MySpace page. (And yes, we do have the dramatic before and after photos. Just hold your horses.)

It’s certainly not me.

But I did get back to my desk from lunch yesterday only to find this nice little juicy nugget from SMN‘s Scott Larson (over at The City Unfiltered).

The semi-inflammatory headline notwithstanding, Scott asks a fair question: Are we backing City/County government consolidation?

The short answer, is no. Admittedly, a policy wonk, I am not. I’ll leave that up to Miller.

However, after gaining a very cursory knowledge on Jacksonville’s “success” with their government consolidation, what I was saying was: “This sounds kinda cool. Why don’t we have one?” As in, literally, why don’t we? Why should or shouldn’t we?

Do I think some parts of our political system could benefit from consolidation? Of course. Am I condoning efficiency? Yep. Do I think it’s worth talking about? Sure. Was I impressed with Jacksonville’s presentation? You betcha.

Am I lobbying for City/County consolidation on behalf of The Creative Coast Initiative? Umm…no. I think that’s a bit of a stretch.

From Scott’s post:

Now I’m not going to say whether consolidation is a good idea or a bad idea. That’s not my role. But it is good to talk about in a Democracy.

Tomorrow, Wednesday the 26th at 6pm will be SNAP’s annual kick-off event @ Cha Bella Grill & Patio Bar.

Yea, we know that’s when cSpot usually is (last Wed of the month.) So, this month, we’ve decided to shake things up a bit and get our groove on with our buddies over at SNAP (oh, snap!) and make the party an even bigger one. Hells yea.

Dude, RSVP

Come one, come all. And let us know if you’re coming.

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And SNAP is…?

Formed in 2006, this cultural membership group allows folks in their 20s and 30s (and those young at heart) to take a more active role in Savannah Music Festival, the largest performing arts event in Georgia, held March 20-April 5, 2008. (P.S. The cheeky acronym stands for the Smart Noise Awareness Project.)

And cSpot is…?

cSpot is a slew of creative professionals who got tired of seeing each other only once or twice a year. So…they created a group to eat, drink, socialize and network with other creative folks. They open thier doors to any and every creative professional – design (web, graphic, interior, product, architectural, etc), development (yes, developers are creative), photography, marketing, art, theatre, whatever. If you get paid to think creatively or you are just open-minded and cool, well, you are invited!

Ok, I can hold out no longer. Between Fitz Haile’s persistent pushing me from behind to jump into the deep end of our blog, and the blood vessel about to burst to fill you in on some things happening around town, here is a first stab at this blog-beast.

It was my intention to start with an intentionally provocative title like, “Clueless in Savannah?” as away to discuss why so many people are so unaware of the incredible array of things that go on around them in the city on a weekly basis.

Yup. How many times have you heard the whiny refrain, “there’s nothing to do in Savannah, whaaa…..”

NONSENSE! Open your eyes! Wake up! Look around! Smell the sights, sounds and incredible array of arts and culture here. Yes, we hear it all the time even through our own weekly events calender now lists hundreds upon hundreds (781 to be exact) of events that occur over 7 days, 52 weeks a year. (just for the record, Savannah has 4.2 times more art galleries per capita than New York City, don’t believe me, query yellowpages.com and do the math)