This week the Burning Man festival draws closer in Black Rock, Nevada. We decided to turn to our friend, Halcyon, who has been providing free videos with tips for your trip for several years now. Skullyboom is all about the intersection of art and technology, which makes John ‘Halcyon’ Styn the perfect subject to interview.

With roots deep back into web one point Oh! John has been at this a long time. Since his first website, http://prehensile.com, he’s gone on to work for Sony’s E-commerce, been sued by Fruit of the Loom, featured in Wired magazine, won a Webbie, MC’d the SXSW web awards, started an international hugging movement, run a blog on NBC, and become an icon at his beloved Burning Man festival.

Along the way he’s coined the term “digital intimacy” as well as created a global platform for his true life’s mission – teaching the world to love more and fear less via the internet He currently lives in the San Diego area where he broadcasts his live Hug Nation webshow every Tuesday, except when he is at  “the Burn.”

SB: How did you start Hug Nation?
H:After 9/11, I was living in a webcam house, experimenting with ways to connect the world with technology.   HugNation was the result.   We would have people all over the world tune in and hug themselves in front of a webcam at the same time.  The goal was to break down nationalist walls and show that “the world would rather hug you than hurt you.”  Eventually my grandfather became the co-host and helped HugNation grow into a non-denominational shared moment of Love & Connection.   I still host it live, via webcam, every Thursday.

SB:After you launched Hug Nation you went on blog for NBC. Can you tell us about that?
H:It was a project called “Fears. Regrets. Desires.”  Each week I would do a video blog about a fear and invite others to share.  It was an attempt to connect us by showing that we all have  fears – and are far more alike than we are different.  Unfortunately it launched right before the economic downturn and was  eventually abandoned.  Still, it was pretty cool to see my pink hair on NBC.com’s homepage right next to a article about President Obama.

SB:We hear you are now consulting with Myspace. Can you give us your thoughts on the differences between Myspace and Facebook?
H: Facebook is an amazing tool for connecting with friends and family.  MySpace is great tool for broadcasting beyond your real-life friends.   There still is no perfect tool for how I use the web…but I’m hoping to help change that at MySpace. ☺

SB: How does you use the internet and social networking sites to spread your brand of evolutionary culture? How do you subvert commerce, or co-opt the system, to promulgate your own ideas?
H:I used to think of the Internet as this massive digital sledgehammer that I could use to attack the status quo…but I’ve mellowed.

Now I think of it more as a vibration amplification machine.   People doing good things get noticed, and their ideas spread.  Instead of outward actions,  I am more focused on acting from integrity, sharing  publically, and then letting things happen.  Every action creates ripples in the pond and the Internet turns those ripples into massive waves through collective action.  What I have learned is that those waves cannot be created by  brute force or marketing dollars.   The momentum must come from Integrity and Truth.

Musically what sounds are you into at this time?
Pretty Lights and Fort Knox Five are two bands I am in love with.

What are the best sites to listen to new artists and get fresh tracks from?
I’m pretty sure I’ll start using MySpace now. ☺

You have become an icon at Burning Man over the last twelve years since you started going. What made you stand out? Why is your message resonating, in your opinion, as opposed to other people?
Consistent hair color branding is probably the main thing.    ☺  But if people resonate with me,  I think it has a lot to do with the “Integrity Momentum” I mentioned before. I have been transformed by Burning Man and speak about it from the heart.  I share my lessons and passion without an agenda. I have nothing to sell.  I just share my path.     As that path has grown in gratitude and joy, it has resonated with more and more people.

SB: Why Pink?
H: Pink has all the “Love” vibe of red without any  of the aggression. Plus, we’re all pink on the inside.

SB:How have art and technology merged in your life? How do you combine the two?
H:I consider “Art” to be “The way you live & express.”   In today’s world, a massive amount of living and expressing is done via technology.  Our collective streams of tweets, posts, and pics IS art.   Our responsibility is to make that art beautiful.