Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Family News: A Perfect Partnership


Life is good in Keokea (Upcountry) Maui. At 3100 feet, Keith, Bentley and Tyler's organic garden produces fresh greens daily. We had a little bout with wild pigs on new years eve and lost our sweet potato's, but apparently that pig became someone else's dinner the next day - so the cycle of life keeps recycling.

Our September posting of Bentley’s We Are The Ones: Obama Speech Remix on YouTube continues to attract views (3274 as of 1/6/09) and favorable comments, especially after the election results (Yeah!) and the upcoming inauguration.

As our partnership matures (going on 9 years) and we commit to higher levels of social impact, our complimentary roles have become more clearly defined (and less resisted).

Besides being a fabulous songwriter and performer, Bentley is a fantastic researcher and writer. With so much information to digest in the world of social media, I asked her to explore social networking, blogging (writing/publishing) and affiliate marketing, as an experiment.

It seems that 90% of the monetized content on the web is about “how to make money on the web.” Is it true or just hype? Only one way to find out: try it ourselves! Although the returns haven’t yet outpaced the expenses Bentley’s efforts are producing recognition capital. Bentley’s favorite blog platform is Squidoo where she recently received “Lens of the Day (12-31-08)” honors (out of over 700,000 lenses) for her lens on New Years Resolutions under the screen name, “Paris17.”

Back in August at the Ranney Family reunion (photos in Flickr.com) at a remote island in northern Ontario – a 13 acre island on Lake Penache. We celebrated my mom’s 75th and brother Mike’s 48th.


Equipped with my nephew Chris’ guitars, Bentley and I wrote and recorded a song in honor of my parents 54 years together - which began during a 1952 Florida spring break in classic “Where the Boys Are” Connie Francis style (dad was a senior at Kenyon College in Ohio and mom had graduated from Ft. Lauderdale High). For those who know Bill & Jo Ranney, here's the song that celebrates their amazing life together (55 years!)

NOTE: Hosting a party on Maui? Bentley Kalaway has been entertaining Hawaii for 28 years. She brings a broad range of musical styles to any gathering and her soul-inspired original music adds an element of the sacred to your celebration. And when it’s time to boogie, she’s a virtual jukebox of danceable tunes. For even more fun, hire the duo of Bentley and Keith for a bigger sound (larger PA system), a 2nd guitar and vocal harmonies. You can hear Bentley every Monday night from 5:30p-9:30p at Tommy Bahama’s in the Shops at Wailea, Maui.

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