The LONE SIGNAL project, which officially opens on June 18th,  wants to send messages to an extraterrestrial intelligence (METI) using a former NASA radio dish near Carmel, California : Lone Signal: METI Teams Up With Citizen Science To Try And Make First Contact – Science 2.0

Lone Signal is going to start firing off messages on a recurring basis and its first target is Gliese 526 in the constellation Boötes, just under 18 light years from us. And they are going to let the public decide what those messages are, no prime numbers or atomic elements dictated by committees. It can be pictures of your cat, though if you just sign up you can only send one short text message – all the electricity to fire up a 97 foot dish and transmit into space doesn’t come cheap – and more elaborate stuff is only available if you contribute money to the cause. After it’s sent, you can monitor how far it has gone and discuss with other people in the Lone Signal community.

The article includes an interview with Jamie King of Lone Signal.