It's true, I do have small hands and (huge) ideas! If you're interested in hearing me, really my voice, no more writing here, check out the conversation and interview with Jun Loayza of Viralogy- Awesome Revolution.
I talk about the big risk and leap I took in moving West to Boulder, how I got my job at Lijit and find out what really drives me, my passions and the secret career I've always wanted.
I think Viralogy's Awesome Revolution mission and series of Awesome Bloggers is fantastic. Jun gives a voice to bloggers and their community, because the human touch goes so far. Check them out on Twitterand their website, here.
I couldn't help but post this commercial from Coca-Cola: Encounter. I may have even shed a tear, they're truly a brand that seeks to invoke movement and inspiration.
If you haven't heard of 12for12K yet, here's your chance. This involves 12 charities for 12 months this 2009, to raise $12,000 per charity. This philanthropic charity effort is relying on the "combination of social media and fund-raising." The charity chosen in January 2009 was War Child and this month is Stop the Silence. Without a doubt, I'm in and you can grab the blog badge here (see my sidebar). Recently, as I made my regular visit to Danny Brown's blog I noticed the 12for12K promotional video had been released. It's very well-done and inspiring, so if you also feel it please feel free to pass it along, donate and spread the word. I'm in, are you?
"When there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance."-St. Francis of Assisi
Good morning and welcome February! I recently discovered the musician, Oren Lavie and I just love this video. It's unique and rhythmic. I like the style and how their whole day happens...in bed. Intrigued, just watch Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie. It's a beautiful song.
"We had an idea. Go to a place. Ask fifty people the same question. Film their responses." This collaborative, independent film is driven by Crush & Lovely creative studio and Deltree productions. Their idea began on the streets of New Orleans, which is portrayed by the video I found today and had to post. On their site, http://fiftypeopleonequestion.com the response was so positive from this New Orleans video they proclaimed,"now we're traveling to more cities (sister cities to be exact) and asking new questions. Always just trying to capture a little slice of humanity."
The authenticity and genuine nature of each person captured on this short film is raw and honest, which to me, represents the connectedness that human beings have regardless of outward or surface level differences. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...
Starting today, Monday the 12th, YouTube teamed up with Congress in order to help give a glimpse of life in Capitol Hill to people across the United States. Two Web pages are unveiled, one is for the House and one for the Senate. It's unique in that each lawmaker is able to create their own personal, video channel on the site. The site is even equipped with a map of the United States, so if you don't know your elected officials you can select your State. Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube says, "People out there don't really know what senators and congressmen do on a daily basis," as he talks about how the YouTube channel will give the public a sense of what they're doing. I agree, because although we hear or see the final result we aren't able to always watch the innerworkings of what goes on with our representatives to reach the end goal. What do they do each day? I wonder this often and now I hope to interact more on a personal level, instead of writing a letter they may never read.
Financially, YouTube doesn't expect to grow from the channels, as they won't be carrying advertisements. However, if popularity grows so will YouTube's audience base.
Each member of Congress will have control over his or her channel. These pages plan to highlight members on a rotating basis and host events, like community chats where constituents will be able to interact with their representatives. I hope this project brings more transparency to the government while also offering more accessibility to Congress.
“New media technologies help facilitate timely dialogue between representatives and their constituents, and this will only strengthen our democracy,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement released by her office. To learn more about the project watch this video:
Although this project is older, I recently stumbled through it again and thought a re-post was necessary. Poignant. No wonder women have body issues...
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto Co-CCOs: Nancy Vonk & Janet Kestin ACD/Writer/Art Director: Tim Piper Production Company: Reginald Pike Director: Yael Staav Music: Vapor Music, Toronto
Talk about virtually spreading the joy. Two recent campaigns, Ace Hardware's "Ace Your Face" and OfficeMax's "ElfYourself" have created a promotion that allows consumers to upload their own face choices into humorous greeting cards.
In it's third year, this week 57 million elves has been created during the first three weeks of the most current campaign. Statistically, users have been averaging 15 minutes (double the 7.5 minutes last year) on the site and has created 4.5 separate elf-centric videos. OfficeMax boasted 11,088 blog posts mentioning, "ElfYourself," which is doubled from last year.
I think this is a great representation of a brand engaging their customers. Through this fun and free gift they've created a niche within social media by creating brand association.
Furthermore, with a recent partnership with JibJab, ElfYourself added a Facebook application, which 600,000 users have tried out. JibJab's technology allows users to merchandises the elves from their videos onto printed greeting cards, ornaments, mouse pads, coffee mugs and playing cards. A great carry over into their product line to increase sales.
Here's a little holiday cheer and sampling of ElfYourself with me and a few co-workers from Lijit: @tarable, @JMalan and our boss, @PQBoulder. We have the moves.
As a proud alma mater of Champlain College (I've become a bit of a public relations poster child for them) I wanted to include a guest blog post from my friend, Kat Maund, a Senior at Champlain pursuing a degree in Business Management with a focus in Marketing/Sales.
I will note that with my passion and work in social media, I continually find university's that don't talk about or offer information on any social media tools in their educational mix. I know senior level students in public relations at other large and well-known university's that don't even know what Twitter is or the value it offers in their field. With the help of some incredibleprofessors, Champlain offers classes such as online visibility, internet marketing, media communications, and contemporary media issues (the class Kat is currently taking). In these classes, (yes, I took them) students stay on top of new media technology and are encouraged to blog, use Twitter and work on real-life projects for companies to leverage their business. This real life project is where Kat comes in, so without further ado, I'll let her take the reins and explain.
Kat Maund
My Contemporary Media Issues class is competing (guys vs. gals) to see which team can get the most views on a Youtube video promoting 1% for the Planet. 1% FTP officially took off in 2002 with its launch at a Patagonia store in San Francisco, CA. Twenty-one businesses signed up on the first day and began giving 1% of their annual profits back to the environment. Some call it an "earth tax." Consumers want to know that they're investing in companies doing good deeds and that in turn grows member companies' profits and reputations. Talk about good PR!
"It’s about businesses recognizing that industry and ecology are inherently connected. It’s about realizing the positive effects of connecting businesses, consumers and nonprofits through philanthropy. And it’s about understanding that the true cost of doing business can be mitigated by a simple pledge to the planet."
Utilizing our social networking skills is crucial to winning the contest, so what better ways to encourage hits than to blog about it, tweet about it, and Facebook it? Not only do we win some pretty excellent swag from 1% FTP's member companies, but we are able to spread the word about the importance of giving back to our earth, a planet that has provided us with so much. Check out the video; the images are sublime and the song, "Sunshine" by Matt Costa, is a definite feel-good tune. Below is the video. After you watch it and if you feel inspired, ask your employer if they're giving back to the planet. If they aren't, challenge them to!
I live in Boulder, CO and am the Publisher Services Manager for Lijit, a tech startup. This blog covers my love for digital media, life as a Generation Y in a startup, daily inspirations and the connections I am perpetually making.
