To a software developer, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing your software being deployed and used in the real world. It's a cliché with awesome truth: real artists ship (mugs above!)! Over the last year and a bit, I have been involved in the Raincity SIFT Tool which is an SMS, MMS and RSS text, photo and video social media aggregator (check out the fabulous SIFT and mobile podcast recorded with the incomparable Dave Olson if you want to hear me pontificate about this in a vocal stylee!) developed for New Media BC's Mobile Muse 3 mobile cultural and artistic research platform. Over the last six months or so, SIFT has been deployed and used very very successfully in many many events by Vancouver's Fearless City and the Resort Municipality of Whistler. After the jump: highlights of those events, and more on the people and technology behind SIFT.