Causing a Stir in Tok, Alaska

Well, I’ve been officially in Tok now for 28 days, and I’ve already caused a stir. And not just locally.

Since the Day to Day interview, I’ve heard that my video of me driving to the Tok General Store has been shown on a Chicago news station; then a Kansas TV station just did a Mommy Monday segment about the cold in Tok and showed some of my videos. I’ve spoken to a radio station in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and I slept through a live phone interview with a Toronto station (I still feel bad about that).

Also, as many of you know, NOAA has inquired into the -80 and -71 readings from the Davis weather station at my husband’s office. One of the guys is even coming down to check out the computer data from the station and analyze the positioning of the station monitor later this week. I’ll be sitting down with him over a cup of coffee and will interview him for this blog.

In the meanwhile, just about everyone I meet in Tok has heard about and is now reading this blog (Hi Tokites!). I know some people are probably wondering “why is she getting all this attention – she just moved here!” Well, it wasn’t my intention to draw so much attention so quickly, and it was just an odd confluence of events that started everything rolling.

But I did want to explain the reason I created this blog and the real purpose of the Living in Tok blog – something that may not be clear yet because all of this attention came far before I really got started.

First and foremost, I’m a blogger and love to share my experiences whether it be about social media marketing (Social Media Mama blog) or using the Internet for social causes (Social Media Social Good blog), not to mention my professional blogging gigs such as Entrepreneur Mom on WorkitMom, AK Techgirl at ADN.com and Web Worker Daily.

Second of all, my intention was to use Living in Tok as a promotional tool for the businesses and business owners in the community. I will be interviewing them and posting audio and video podcasts of those interviews as well as snapshots of their business establishments.

I’m not charging anyone for this project. I just know the value of the Internet to rural businesses, and when I come into a new community, I want to share my knowledge and skills in a meaningful way.

So stay tuned for more information about local businesses such as the Tok General Store and Caribou Cabins. As I meet more business owners, I’ll offer them the opportunity to talk about their businesses on this blog.

My hope is come summertime, folks won’t just stop in Tok because it is the first stop after the Canadian border on the Alaska Highway. I hope they’ll stop to spend some time with the folks here and do a lot of business in Tok, Alaska.

Posted by Aliza on January 19, 2009

https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2009/01/19/causing-a-stir-in-tok-alaska/