Two Coffees and a Few Ptches – A Fun Collaboration

It all started with a tweet…and coffee. But that goes for many of the fun things I do with my life lately. Being involved in Social Media has allowed me to meet really interesting, insightful and generous people. What’s more, here in Orange County, Calif., we like meeting in real life. I remember attending one of those social media conferences and a blogger from the East Coast was surprised at how many of us West Coasters, and OC peeps (in particular) knew each other in real life. It’s true. We do enjoy each other’s company both on and offline.

Marie Walker Riddle aka @livinlime on Twitter was one of the first people I had engaged with on Twitter, but it wasn’t until a year ago that we actually met in person. We even shared a ride from OC to LA but that’s another story.
 

As the school year was about to end, Marie and I met up at Portola Coffee Lab in Costa Mesa to brainstorm, whilst our kids were in school – which meant of course that we had limited time.  One of the many ideas that came out of that meeting was a series of blog and vlog posts about different beaches in Orange County.  We ambitiously said we’d visit a beach a week with our children.  Two months into the summer, we’ve only visited 3 but since then not only have we become better friends, but so have our children.

We shoot with no scripts and basically take photos and videos as we visit a beach. Marie then interviews our tween sons (They are both 12 years old) and asks them questions on camera, then later edits a vlog.

We’ve also been having fun with the Ptch iPhone app as you can see below. If you are unfamiliar with Ptch, it is the DreamWorks backed app that allows users to piece together photos and video assets into one video. You can add captions and music from a wide range of licensed music.

This is Marie’s Ptch featuring our visit to Strands Beach at Dana Point. It was the first time for my family and I to visit and it was a lovely experience.

Our next outing was set for Aliso Creek Beach in Laguna. We ended up going to two beaches that day and get this – two Ptches!

Here’s my Ptch

With just a few more weeks before the new school year begins, Marie and I can probably squeeze in just one more beach trip together but I’m pretty sure, there will be more collaborations in the future.