When I asked BBF Tim Jackson, the Masiguy, (who termed BBF - best blogging friend) what social media meant to him, his first words were, "Social media is all about relationships .." Now that should come as no surprise for anyone who has dropped by the Masiguy blog.
Tim is a cyclist. Earlier this week he was in a pretty bad accident - post and photos from Kathleen King. From his friend Jim at Racer Blue Squirrel -
someone slowed down in front of him at the SD velodrome last night and tim tried to go high and ended up hitting the boards at 30mph +. he sustained a concussion [he was out for 5 minutes], broken ribs, a few fractured neck bones and a mangled thumb that will have surgery.
When I spoke with Tim yesterday he was a bit groggy but optimistic that all would be fine. He was hoping to be released from the hospital today.
Tim's friends are proving him right. It is all about the relationships as friends, from many blogosphere villages from bikes to marketing, reach out to him across continents to ensure that all is okay.
Jim's post has organically morphed into the MasiGuy Get Well Wish Blog. Drop Tim a note on Racer Blue Squirrel. Jim also set up a Paypal Get Well Fund for peeps who want to help out. Seems that insurance will not cover all expenses and Tim's recoop time will be awhile. He can't put any pressure on his knee for 12-weeks. So Tim .. well 12 weeks off the bike .. sounds like a nice time to begin that book ;-)
Sending you virtual hugs Tim .. you are right. It is all about the relationships!
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
CK said I had to go. But it would be taking time and $ from the budget. Marianne said I had to go. But I might have a project due. Drew said I had to go. CB and Ann and Lori said so too. But what about if .. if.. if..
It was the most amazing, magical weekend with conversations starting in the middle of paragraphs, as you would expect would happen with "old friends." Take a look at the fun ..
It's always a function of perception. What is great customer service to me may be horrors to you. What is a snow storm for me in Atlanta may seem like flurries to my friends in Boston or in Canada or in New York State.
For Max the inch of snow that fell in Atlanta yesterday seemed like a blizzard.
Lessons Learned: Don't assume that your perception about your product/service is the same as your customer's experience.
Thanksgivingtraditions .. Over the river and through the woods, To grandmother's house we go;
In 2007, getting to Grandma's house is less likely to be by sleigh and horse and more like arriving by a jet plane or in an SUV. It really doesn't matter how we find our way "home" or to be with the people who matter to us. Girlfriend, it seems to me that traditions become even more important when as Carole King sang so hauntingly - So far away Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore It would be so fine to see your face at my door (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=963Dr808Ddc)
When I moved from Boston to Atlanta I found that the lines blurred between family and friends. I also found that I had a need to create my own traditions. For Thanksgiving I always roast a turkey and make chestnut stuffing. This year my 17-year old nephew Scott has come to visit making the holiday extra special.
What are your Thanksgiving traditions? I asked on Facebook - "What's traditional to have at your Thanksgiving dinner?" Here are the responses ..
B.L. Ochman: My family does
a very traditional meal, with fish for me because I'm a vegetarian. My
favorite thing is the cranberry sauce my sister makes with oranges in
it. It's not about the meal though, it's about being together.
Christine B. Whittemore: We
blend French [my mom] with American for Thanksgiving. Turkey -bien
sure- but the stuffing is where the French influence comes in: no
bread, lots of fruit, nuts, sausage, garlic, etc. Thanksgiving is the
day when America eats better than France. Sidebar: C.B.'s adorable daughter Emma wishesMomma's Blogger's A Happy Thanksgiving. Too cute!
Sandi Karchmer Solow: Besides my parents, we've started to have smoked turkey (made using a Big Green Egg) as the main entree.
David Reich: What's traditional for me is that I always overeat -- majorly. There's turkey, veggies, chicken soup (often with matzoh balls) and my two major food weaknesses -- stuffing and mashed potatoes. I can - and often do - eat embarrasing amounts of both.
Carolyn Townes: Since I crash at some other family on Thanksgiving, I can't be too choosy! The basics, turkey and the trimmings, there is also salmon for the vegetarians.
Celeste Lindell: My blog post yesterday pretty much covered our Thanksgiving dinner, including the recipes!
Drew McLellan: We do a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the addition of an old family favorite -- a lime jello mold that has pineapple chucks and vanilla ice cream in it. It's excellent!
Gavin Heaton: Now, you know we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia. And, being a vegetarian, I am soooo unlikely to go for Turkey. But for a special event where I surround myself with family and friends, I almost always go for fresh, king or tiger prawns.
Yesterday I dropped by Cary Miller's blog and read that Lori, his amazingly wonderful wife had died after a brave battle fighting cancer.
I met Cary and Lori a few years ago in my blog travels and was instantly touched by their courage to chronicle their story and to let us in on the love they shared for each other. My heart aches for Cary and for me too. I lost a friend and my friend is hurting. That's what happens with real relationships .. sometimes your heart breaks when tears flow.
On Diva Marketing and in my talks about social media I tell marketers that yes, social media can be leveraged to support many marketing strategies from customer service to SEO lifts to product development. However, the power and importance of social media is in its ‘roots’ .. the ability to develop real relationships with people from all over the world. Where those relationships lead is up to you.
For those who are wondering about the blog title "Pebbles For Lori" - in the Jewish tradition when you visit a loved one's grave a pebble is placed on the grave as a sign that your loved one is remembered and a reminder that " .. her/his life continues to have an impact on others" - Rabbi Andrew Strauss
I was talking with my friend CK who shared this with me. - “Why do people die? To make life important." I know that Too Sexy For My Hair,
Lori's blog, will continue to be an inspiration and a source of comfort and that many pebbles will be left for her.
Don't you love it when out-of-towners put on a party for you?
NYC David Berkowitz is playing host at Gorden Biersh in Midtown to Hot'Lanta bloggers and social media buffs.
When: Tuesday 11-13 Time: 6pish - 9pish Where: 848 Peachtree Street Check out the Facebook Group for who you might be toasting a micro brew with Tuesday night. 28 confirms thus far.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
What do bloggers do when they meet up for a Totally CK Happy Happy Hour? Talk and laugh and drink and take tons of photos .. and then talk and laugh and drink and take more photos! Last night I stepped into the Iguana bar in Midtown and was greeted by Steve Woodruff's wonderful smile. What a lovely surprise to see the "father of George." Then I saw the amazing CB Whittemore and the awesome Ann Handley and knew no matter who else showed up it would be a blogger blast. Back from her European tour (I've always wanted to say that .. back from her European tour!) Carolyn Townes - the Wild W Wiki Woman - walked through the door. Then dear David Reich came in. Dana VanDen Huevel and Bill Flitter, coherts in the AMA Hot Topic workshop stopped by too.
Could it get any better? It could and it did with David Berkowitz and Kofi Annan! Kofi even brought along George. Will that monkey ever leave Manahattan?
I got to meet ultra cool divo bloggers Gary Cohn (Gary - send me your new blog link and I'll add it), Greg Verdino and the anon blogger Tangerine Toad - who doesn't look like a frog at all nor is he orange. Well .. I must say .. all those Divos were quite dashing.
And the Divas? Divine .. but of course! Special pink boa tosses to dahling CK for pulling another wonderful party together. Missed you Lewis and Alex and Valeria .. next time.
Lessons Learned: Virtual meeting places may seem odd but the relationships made online through social networks and blogs are as real and important as any you might make in any world. As Greg said to me, "See you on Facebook."
The Diva of Cx3: Creativity, Community, Conversation - CK, CK's Blog, came up with an innovative idea to help education corporate American about the Age of Conversation .. not necessarily the book but the concept. Begin at the top with the CMO. CK is giving away 5 Age of Conversation books to 5 Chief Marketing Officers at 5 F500. Sidebar: perhaps it should be the Diva of CX4? Creativity, Community, Conversation, CK.
Mario Vellandi, Melodies in Marketing, is playing too. Gotta check out his Convo Cone graphic .. a new twist on one of my fav desserts .. ice cream cones. Wonder where the jimmies go?
I love this idea so much that I want to play along too. My challenge .. who gets the book? CK is wrapping hers in shiny paper with a big red bow. I'm thinking shiny paper with a pink boa might entice the package to be delivered to the right person.
CK is sending to: United, Sears, Wal-mart, NBC and Saturn Mario is sending to: P&G, Baskin Robbins, Starbucks Arun is TBD.
I need your help. Who do you think should get the Age of Conversation book with the
pink boa wrap? The only rules are no duplicate companies and it must be a Fortune 500.
There is a tradition in Atlanta that closes Peachtree Street every July 4th. The Peachtree Road Race.
What began as a simple family walk through the Buckhead and Midtown areas of Hot'lanta, has grown into a highly respected 10K race. The Peachtree, as we fondly call the Race, attracts champion runners from every corner of the globe. However, at its heart, the Peachtree Road Race is still very much a people's race. Families and friends run together year after year to win one of the prestigous Peachtree Road Race t-shirts. Parties are held in the bars, restaurants and new condos that align the route from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park where people cheer the runners on their way.
This year Paula, who writes Astro Diva, not only continued her special tradition of running the Peachtree with her 17-year old daughter Lyndzey, but extended the mother-daughter team to include 12-year old sister Mackenize.
Traditions build memories, develop stronger relationships, provide stories to tell and help anchor the soul. My Fourth of July tradition .. making Johnny Depp Inspired Chocolat Ice Cream for Bobbi's (who runs the Peachtree too) let's-watch-fireworks-on-the-roof-of-a-midtown-condo and eat-junk-food-party.
Lessons Learned: Let's take our cue from the traditions inspired by the Peachtree Road Race and Paula, Lyndzey and Mackenzie. Traditions that you create with and for your customers can also build memories, develop stronger relationships, provide stories to tell and help anchor the soul. But traditions can be modified and made richer to include new people and ideas.
Sidebar: Thanks to Paula for modeling the cool 2007 Peachtree Road Race T-shirt!
I think I missed the cake and champagne but it's never too send virtual Happy Belated Birthday wishes to two of my Favorite Divos! And the Ultimate Diva!
Nope, Girlfriend, blogs are Not social media .. unless you add s-o-c-i-a-l.
Word of caution. Adding s-o-c-i-a-l to blogs may prove hazardous to your life. Talk to my friend CK
who had more than enough friends, thank you very kindly. So CK adds
s-o-c-i-a-l to her blog and what happens? You guessed it. Now she has
more friends. Turns out that is just fine with CK.
To understand that real friends can develop through blogs please read CK's story of how her BBF friend Drew McLellan coordinated a surprise memorial for CK's mom: The Momma Tree. I told the Momma Tree story to my friend Polli who told me that all of a sudden blogs clicked for her. She "got" the side of how people "typing in the dark" can come together to create global friendships.
As amazing as CK's story is, similar relationships are happened all over the blogosphere .. from bloggers in New England like Lewis Green and KD Paine and to Rajesh and Arun in India. But hold on .. what does this have to do with business or marketing you may ask. I'll borrow a comment I left for on a CK post ..
Many people don't understand how the internet works as a catalyst to
build relationships which can lead to friendships which can evolve into
a community.
Why is that important from a business perspective? Simple.
People like to do business with people they like. (That extends to
brands.) Building a business community is not necessarily about singing
Kumbaya but expanding a resource network.
How do you do coffee with Luc or Philippe or Kris from Belgium or Nettie and Connie in Texas when you're on opposite sides of the world? CK and Drew to the rescue .. drum roll please .. you host a Blogger Social and invite your friends to the biggest bloggy bash ever. More on CK's Blog including a survey where you can give your feedback on places and dates.
Me? I'm voting for a cruise and looking forward to Belgium chocolates from Philippe and Luc and Kris.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
This Friday Fun is dedicated to a very special young lady - Olivia King. Olivia is a typical kid. She's 10, loves school, her friends, her dogs and recitals. She lives in a suburb north of Atlanta. And she's pretty cute too.
But Olivia King is not your average 10-year old. She has Cystic Fibrosis. She needs a liver transplant. Her mom Barb and dad Dean are writing Olivia's story at www.caringbridge.com type oliviaking (no spaces).
Her friends are planning a fund raiser - Olivia King Shoot Out Golf
Tournament - which is part of The American Challenge Golf Tour. This is a Pro-AM tournament where you can play with a Pro. 18 Hole Qualifier-9 Hole Elimination Shoot Out. Top ten finishers qualify for Shoot Out competition.
Date: July 7th, 2007 Time: 8:00a Place: Orchard Hills Golf Course Newnan,
GA 1st Place Prize: $2000.00 (based on 22 entries)
For more information please contact the tour office 817-232-1773. Sponsorships are available too.
Update Donation Information. Your Kindness Will Help Olivia Raise $185,000*.
Helping Hands Ministry, Inc. (a Non-Profit 501 (c)3 Organization) P.O. Box 337 or 135 Main St. Tallulah Falls, GA 30573 Tel. 706-754-6884 Donations Are Tax Deductible Mark all donations to the "Olivia King Fund".
Note: Helping Hands does not have the ability for online donations. Helping Hands takes 8% of donations. If you don't
care about the tax break and want to make an online donation please go
to Mom Barb's PayPal Account. Use kingbkmp1@bellsouth.net as the email code. Or use the cool, nifty ChipIN widget that Carol Krishner kindly created. See Diva Marketing's right side bar.
*Insurance will not cover the total cost of Olivia's medical care.
.. to join together to spread the word to friends, family, neighbors, colleagues and anyone else about this from the heart project. Mom Barb is in the process of setting up an online donation site. If you have any ideas about how to help an awesome kid please drop a comment. Perhaps a mention on your blog or an email to your network? And if you have a suggestion on how to bring smiles to a little girl who is going through what no child should have to endure that would be great too.
Local News .. 11Alive coverage of Olivia King .. video and article.
Sidebar: Atlanta Bloggers, if you'd like your name added to this list, which seems to be turning into a "Where Are The Atlanta Bloggers?" let me know.
Update: With the inclusion of Helping Hands Ministry, Inc. coordinating tax deductible donations to the "Olivia King Fund" this raises efforts beyond the local Atlanta effort. I know bloggers have huge hearts, so I'm reaching out to y'all to help raise $185,000 for one sweet kid. If you've stumbled on Diva Marketing through the search engines or links, don't be shy .. you can help Olivia too.
What are you giving your dad this Father's Day? I bet he doesn't need one more tie. How about a donation in his name that will help a little girl give her dad more hugs?
Are you feeling lucky this morning? There is a lovely Mars trine Jupiter aspect on Mon. â 6/4. This is considered a very favorable and lucky aspect. Itâs also a very good time to grow your business. Youâll likely feel energetic and ready for action. Trust in your own level of knowledge to know not to fall for a scheme. If the chance is something well thought out and grounded, you just might want to go for it.
On the other hand, the following day on Tues., Venus enters Leo and that spells PARTY, PARTY. The kids are out of school and summer vacations are beginning. So that great idea to grow your business that you had yesterday may feel like too much work.
Try to stay focused on work. Just make sure to make social plans for the weekend. The planet of love also loves drama and is starved for affection and craves attention. So if you donât make plans for the weekend, you just may get the cold shoulder from your partner. Youâll unlikely get away with any excuse. Your partner will know if youâre coming from the heart, so donât even try being nice if you truly donât mean it. Venus has a long time in Leo, except about 3 weeks in July and Aug. It enters Virgo Oct. 8. If you havenât had a vacation in a long time, treat yourself to one.
Sidebar: Noticed that my friends at BlogHer have added an astrology blogger. The Astro Divas, Paula and Donna, are going on year 2 of writing about business astrology on Diva Marketing. They'd appreciate your feedback. Is this something you enjoy? Should Astro Divas continue? Let us know your thoughts and ideas. Thanks!
Sometimes you just gotta cheer the success of your friends. BBF Alex Geana has scored a blog with the prestigious Huffington Post. Way to go Alex!
What makes this especially sweet is that Alex is a young writer and playwright living in Manhattan and this opportunity might .. just might .. be a key to opening some doors.
What makes this especially new media is an online publication (incorporating blogs that are perceived to be as credible and real as their journalists' columns) is creating opportunities for young artists (and business people and non profits and students and and and)that never would have been possible a few years ago.
What makes this especially fun is we have an opportunity to watch the career of an artist in the making. Rock on Divo Alex!
1095 days = 3 years = the number of days that Diva Marketing (Blog)has been part of the exciting social media marketing conversation.
Little did I know when the I tenuously hit the publish button on May 19, 2004 it would be the beginning of an adventure that would .. >bring a new passion into my life >change the direction of my business >provide opportunities to make new friends from all corners of the globe >bring me a coast-to-coast tour of the U.S. of A >and even bring a bit of fame in terms of being quoted in many main stream media pubs and highlighted in the best seller book on blogs - Naked Conversations by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble. Still waiting for the fortune part to kick-in. (wink)
In their book, Shel and Robert ended our "conversation" with the remark -
"In our vision, blogging changes marketing more than marketing changes blogging."
In the three years I've been involved in business blogging I believe that Both have occurred.
Marketing
is morphing into a more conversational, customer-focused discipline.
While at the same time blogging is becoming more strategic with a focus
on supporting business outcomes. - Toby Diva Marketing
Yes, I do believe you
can have an authentic, honest, transparent conversation using social
media tactics and be accountable to goals and objectives.
Thanks to Merrill Dubrow, CEO blogger from M/A/R/C, a BBF and a BBBF (before BBF), for the gift of our interview.
Please help me blow out the candles of Diva Marketing's virtual cupcake
and make a wish for the continued evolution of this emerging industry. From the bottom of my heart,thanks to Youfor joining me in the conversations of this exciting new world. Looking forward to what is next in our adventure.
Update: Diva Marketing shares May Blog Birthday celebrations with BBFs CK, CK's Blog, Jody DeVere of Ask Patty and Josh Hallett, Hyku. Any other May Blog Bebes?
My heart
goes out to Virginia Tech's extended family .. students, parents, facility, staff and beyond.
There will be many who analyze the situation and review the hows and whys and what shouldas. In her post, Virginia Tech: Social Media in Crisis Planning, Marianne Richmond takes a different view. Based on how students in the year 2007 communicate ..
Students at Virginia Tech used mobile phones, digital cameras, social networks such as Flickr, Facebook and MySpace, blogs and video to communicate with each other and to document the tragedy in real time.
Marianne offers a simple but brilliant solution that every school should include in their crisis management strategy: Twitter. Create Twitter groups to relay important information during disasters.
Sidebar: Twitter is a mobile text messaging systems that allows groups to be formed without regard to provider. The history of the content is retained on a web page which can be public or private.
If I were a betting kinda diva, I'd say that the majority of college
students have cell phones. Those who don't have cells phones would learn about the
situation through friends, as well as from the buzz happening on campus. Faster, more effiecient than email or blog posts.
Last week I spoke at the Center for Disease Control and Preventaion about promoting public health through blogging. After the panel discussion some of the CDC's EMarekting team and I explored how Twitter could be used as a crisis communication tool. They immediately saw application in using this type of simple technology in remote areas during a disaster or disease out break. Overlay Google Maps and you have a visual Free alert system.
Crisis management in the year 2007 and beyond must incorporate processes and systems that reach people in ways in which they communcate. And then make it easy for those who have the information to extend it to those who do not. What would have been the result if Virginia Tech had a Twitter Group in place this week?
I encourage, no I challenge marketers involved in healthcare, education and the non profit sectors to step out of your comfort zone and present these types of new solutions to your clients. Not only will you appear innovative but you may just help to save lives.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
Today's Friday Fun is Three For Three. Girlfriend, so much fun and so little time!
One for One - Blogs and social media can help rebuild the corner grocery store relationship. But what happens when a supermarket tries to be Web 2.0 compliant?
Check out this
video about an Israeli supermarket where user generated content is produced by the customers from "the cheese to the cleaning materials." Comments are posted on the products and eggs have RSS feeds. A must watch for anyone who has sipped the proverbial blog or social media kool aid.
Two for Two - Scrapblog is a new entree into social media photo sharing. It's very intuitive .. even for a non geek person like moi. There's nice intro video. I'd like to see more options for the fun decorating thingys. The only glitch I had was inserting a YouTube video of Max. But that might have been my system and not the program. And no messy glue .. just clickable fun!
Heard it from: Shel Israel, Writer. Consultant. Nice Guy. Scrapblog is one of his clients and I had the opportunity to play around with it pre launch.
Three For Three - The winds of the blogosphere blow many interesting people into our lives. Tonight, just as I was about to post Friday Fun, up popped a comment on a previous Diva post from Atlanta artist Johanna Crider.
Not only is Johanna a talented artist .. Love her work! ..
but her story is touching. She is using her gift of painting to raise money for the homeless. She knows that story too well because she too was once homeless. This is her way to give back. The proceeds will go to the Calvary Refuge Center of Jonesboro, GA. Sidebar: This very Diva work is titled Little Miss Shopper
Tomorrow, Saturday April 7th, Johanna will be in Little Five Points - Finley Square at Euclid and Moreland. Nothing is more than $10.
If you miss the show check out her work online. Sidebar: This work is lovely .. titled Open Heart.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
Friday Fun wraps up a week that began with a post, Social Media Networking, about how to make friends online and ends with the importance of Best Friends complements of Max, my Westie pup and his best friend Tab
the Cat.
Max and Tab romp and run and wrestle as seven year old Lindsay (Tag's person) tells their story. It's a feel good watch that I hope you enjoy and brings a smile to the start of a wonderful weekend.
This one is special for Max's fans .. especially Wayne Hurlburt's sweet mom in Canada, Alf Nucifora who insisted Max would be perfect for me, and Donna Lyons-Miller (GourmetStation) her husband Jeff and the Royals who take such good care of him when I'm On The Road.
Now the marketer comes out .. let's spin this with a little experiment. I don't know about you but I am really curious to understand how those little YouTube videos bubble up. Is it the number of views? The voting? I can't even pull this video up in a category search. I have not a clue how anyone found it.
Any help you can give to a viral or wom pass along to encourage people to view the videohttp://youtube.com/watch?v=WWT6y1K7y9A would be appreciated. Periodically I'll post updated stats. Let's make Max a featured YouTube Favorite!
Today Venus trines Saturn which is good for being objective and practical in business matters. This is a good week to take the opportunity to be alone and contemplate your business strategies. What are your goals? What is working and what isn’t working?
Enjoy your week. Take time out of your busy schedule to relax and smell the coffee.
When I asked BBF Tim Jackson, the Masiguy, (who termed BBF - best blogging friend) what social media meant to him, his first words were, "Social media is all about relationships .." Now that should come as no surprise for anyone who has dropped by the Masiguy blog.
