Let Gary Vee Pump You Up!

Mar 31, 2008 Blogs, Social Media

I think Gary Vee (Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV) could actually sell “snow to an Eskimo”!

I was going to blog about one of his other videos, but then he posted this one on Twitter. The other one will have to wait. I think if you listened to this one everyday – you wouldn’t need “The Secret” or “Seven Habits” or any other self-help book on the market. This guy oozes energy!

Gary Vee if you are ever in Toronto let’s grab coffee. Seriously, I think if you actually met this guy you would leave with good vibes.

Watch this video. Then subscribe to his website. Unfortunately, I am an unable to embed the video it keeps mucking up the layout to my blog – pushing my sidebars to the bottom.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tags: , gary vaynerchuk, Gary Vee, legacy, Michelle Kostya, Personal Brand, Videos

Monday Mini: Jack Kerouac

Mar 31, 2008 Books, Short and Sweet

Jack Kerouac was an American Novelist and Poet, one of the Beat Generation (along with William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg).  While much of his writing was influenced by drugs and alcohol – he had some interesting things to say about being yourself, and not following a crowd. 

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”

- On the Road (1957)

Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.

- 1950, Letter

Popularity: 12% [?]

Tags: allen ginsberg, being yourself, Jack Kerouac, MEGO, Michelle Kostya, On the Road, quote, Short and Sweet, william s. burroughs

Disney Twitters

Mar 28, 2008 Marketing & Communication, Microblogging

Everyone is talking about Twitter. Any why not? Twitter is now approaching a million users worldwide.

On the Web Strategy Blog Jeremiah Owyang says there are some things Google just can’t do but Twitter is his “social computer“:

While Google is great for finding information and websites, it’s NOT great for getting opinion, hearing nuance, or telling me relational information. With Twitter, I can ask information about opinions, and receive responses from real people (many I know, most I don’t) that often have first hand experience with the question at hand.

Of course, as he rightly points out you need a lot of followers to make this work well. Today, I asked Twitter for suggestions on why my Analytics/Stats programs would be so varied from each other. I had no responses. I asked who was participating in Earth Hour and I received four positive answers! Beyond Owyang’s social computer, B.L Ochman of the What’s Next blog offers this great list of what Twitter has become to her:

• a major source of business news
• a quicker way to find out what’s important today than my feed reader
• a place to find out what the people I’m interested in are finding interesting
• a source of live blogging from conferences and other events
• an excellent source of experts on various technical topics
• a place to build relationships through common interests
• direct access to many of my business heroes
• a place to (selectively) pimp my blog posts
• an international IM platform
• a place to take a break around the virtual water cooler
• a lot of fun

Here is another one, ” A terrific platform to have a two-way conversation with companies and their brands” – well at least with their employees! Dell has a number of employees on Twitter joining in on the conversation. I discovered today that Disney does as well!

I posted:

tried to book character restaurant at disney- completely booked – except 9pm. not good time for 2 year old! about 5 hours ago from TwitBin

A short time later I received the following correspondence from my friends at Disney!

Wow! I loved Disney before, now I am their biggest fan. I already told all my Twitter followers about the experience and four or five real-life friends. Disney didn’t offer to get me a reservation, or put me on the fast track – they didn’t need to. They just offered some friendly advice!

I would lay bets that in the future you will see more companies jumping in on Twitter conversations to offer a helpful hand. I only hope that they remember that the space is a community first, and that the tone and information offered need to fit the community. If Disney had Tweeted to me with some generic “We heard you mention Disney, get your tickets here link…” or “Disney is celebrating the Year of a Million Dreams, find out more link…” I would have felt my privacy (what privacy!) violated, and my conversation would have ended there.

This is just one reason why it is important for marketers to first join the community as an individual before using it as business application.

Marketers if you aren’t on Twitter? Why not? Refer to my prior post on Twitter if you responded a) Why? What is the point! b) Too Busy c) What is Twitter again?

___  ___ ___ ___

Update: As per comments from The Disney Blog -  I was obviously so excited that Disney was talking back – didn’t realize that it was The Disney Blog – just a great hard-core Disney fan! Disney fans are awfully helpful!  If you have questions for Disney specifically, however, he suggests using the hastag #dizhelp. Thanks Disney Blog!

Technorati Tags: disney,twitter,business application,social computer,michelle kostya,mego,word of mouth

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tags: business applications, disney, MEGO, Michelle Kostya, Microblogging

Get Active in the Digital Space

Mar 25, 2008 Blogs, Marketing & Communication, RSS, Social Media, social networks

One of the reasons I started this blog was to share the exciting tools I was learning about; RSS, Social Bookmarking, and Twitter – just to name a few. At work I talked non-stop about this new exciting digital space…but for the longest time I might as well have been talking to myself, and of course the other bloggers reading my blog!

That was until my colleague Janine attended the IAB’s Intensive One Day Course in Social Media Marketing and Web 2.0. Thankfully, Janine is the one taking over for me when I go on mat leave in four months! Which is actually why she was on the course in the first place. My job is Marketing Communications Manager for two small appliance brands, which means I plan and create our advertising campaigns, oversee the brand web sites, determine course of action for communication to retailers and consumers -amongst numerous other responsibilities. I have been pushing for the past year to dedicate more funds and resources to digital marketing, and in the last month or two it seems as though my constant blathering (and likely the blathering of others) has broken through. So to me, it was important that Janine understood the digital space – so that what I had started would be followed-through!

Last Wednesday she attended the course and she learned a lot. In fact, she came back and went over the book of slides with me – and I learned some more. She even made her first comment on my blog this weekend (and yes, Janine, I nearly fell of my chair!). In the comment she suggested reading a post on Mitch Joel’s Twist Image Blog: 12 Ways to Move the Social Media Conversation Past the Converted – exactly the dilemma I spoke about above! It was number 5 that converted Janine -in fact it was Mitch Joel teaching at the IAB Course. Many of the “12 Ways”, Joel mentions unfortunately are difficult for the average blogger (not so hard for the rock star of the Canadian digital space!). I don’t get too many requests as Marketing Communications Manager of my small appliance company or as a blogger to speak, or teach…although I did volunteer at the Talk is Cheap unconference.

I will continue to blog, and talk non-stop to my marketing friends and colleagues. It may take time but baby steps will get us there! Of course if the opportunity comes to talk, speak, be interviewed or write for traditional media – I am all over that too. That is what evangelizing is all about!

To those of you working, as I do, on client-side in marketing positions – if you are approving web sites, and new digital programs for your brands – don’t you think you should have hands-on knowledge of the field? You wouldn’t dream of approving anything in traditional marketing without having a full understanding of it as a communication tool – so why are you now just taking your agencies word for it? It isn’t too technical to get your hands dirty- that is the beauty of it all. Get active, get digital.

Welcome, Janine!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Tags: IAB, MEGO, Michelle Kostya, Microblogging, RSS, Social Bookmarking, social media, work marketing

Stealing from Myself: Blog Plunder

Mar 25, 2008 Blogs, Parenting and More

I wrote a lengthy post for my “other” blog – my mommy blog, or parenting blog whatever you might like to call it…

While writing it I couldn’t really decide where it should go…it is about blogging, ethics, and intellectual property – which led me to believe it should go here on this site. But it was about what happened to another parenting blogger and so I felt perhaps the content would be better suited to those who read my mommy blog.

In the end, I think the post could go in both places and since it is my blog post (written by me…) I can post it here to! If you read my other blog- apologies for the repetition!

So I am reading Twitter posts by the people I follow last evening and I notice Queen of Spain says:

If we’re all our own f’ing brands now how in the HELL do I control that when ANYONE can take my shit & post it like I freaking WORK for them about 1 hour ago from web

I am intrigued…so I go back and read the trail of conversation. Here is the gist of what I uncover.

*dramatic pause…

Or rather the boy decided to get out of bed and torment the cat, go for a washroom break, ask for water, and remind me that he wanted to take the stuffed dog to school tomorrow.

end pause*

So, there is the web site called BlogNetNews which claims to be a blog aggregator – one that “jumps a generation ahead.”

They state in their “About”

We are going to use your feeds and the feeds of top bloggers from your online community to create new content and information that will organize this slice of the Internet making it work better for bloggers and their readers.

What?! Your going take blog feeds and ones by “top bloggers” without their permission? Just plop it on your own site, where YOU collect the ad revenue and yet YOU create NOTHING. How exactly are you creating “new content…to organize this slice of the Internet”? Is this your 1-10 rating system perhaps? The ability to show the “most clicked” or “hot comments”?

It would be one thing if the site had permission to use the bloggers’ content- but it seems from reading Queen of Spain’s various tweets – she was never asked to contribute – rather her parenting blog suddenly appeared on BlogNetNews. And, BlogNetNews won’t remove her feed.

Now to give credit to BlogNetNews, like other aggregators, if you want to read the entire post, or if you want to comment you are directed to the blogger’s site. You can only read the first 7-10 lines of the post on BlogNetNews. Which means that BlogNetNews could potentially drive traffic to these blogs. At the same time, the Permalinks link back to BlogNetNews.

I am no expert in Intellectual Property and copyright, but I certainly hope that when I write this blog, or my MEGO blog, that I own that content. Obviously, other bloggers are free to quote me – that kind of access exists in copyright of any written material – printed or or digital. But, to take the entire feed as your own content without permission, without authority is unethical.

Access CopyRight in Canada recognizes 3 content users: Educational Institutions, Businesses, Public and Not-for-Profit.

Prior to copying, emailing, scanning, or faxing materials from periodicals, journals, newspapers and books, businesses need to legally secure permission from the copyright owner.

The same goes for Public and Not-for Profit – only educational differs where a licence:

gives educators and students advance permission to copy from millions of copyright protected newspapers, magazines, journals and books from around the world, complementing what is allowed under fair dealing, educational exceptions under the Copyright Act, and through the public domain.

I could find very little on copying digital content on the site, only licensing information to copy to digital formats (scans, Intranets etc).

However, this little tidbit suggested that when it comes to online content:

If no copyright notice is provided, or if the copyright notice does not allow the use you want to make, a good starting point for getting clarification or permission is to send an email to the site’s webmaster.

Obviously the web is a very different beast, where a “printed edition” doesn’t stem from one particular country where a licensing agent such as Access Copyright can help to determine help negotiate agreements between intellectual property owner and interested party, but it seems only common courtesy to do as Access Copyright suggested – and ask for permission!

What do you think?

UPDATE:

Visit Queen of Spain for her communication with the editor of BNN and if you are were unlucky enough to get scraped – make sure you contact him (his contact info is on her post).

City Mama also posts a link to another post which gives you more background on BNNs editor, David Mastio. Ironically, Mastio is a former GWB speech writer! And, quite obviously a serious douchebag.

Technorati Tags: intellectual property,ethics,blogging,copyright,michelle Kostya,mego

Popularity: 7% [?]

Tags: blogging, copyright, intellectual property, MEGO, Michelle Kostya, mommy blog

Monday Mini: Douglas Adams

Mar 24, 2008 Books, Short and Sweet

In honour of my blog “re-energizing” I am going to work on 1. Format and 2. Length by adding “Monday Minis” where I will inject you with a cool quote, saying or tag line.

This week’s quote is from Douglas Adams, the author of some of the best, most thought provoking, yet, comic books ever written. I am not sure of the source of this particular quote – I found it in the dedication of Richard Dawkin’s Book “God Delusion”- which I am currently reading.

Dawkin’s book offers the idea that just like everything else on earth, religion should be subject to science – and if we look at it scientifically – a supernatural God probably doesn’t exist. He asks the question why, when we have such natural beauty on earth, with so much to believe in – in science alone (the tides, the cycle of the stars and moons, and of course natural selection) – why do we need a supernatural God to believe in. This short and likely poor summary of Dawkin’s (so far) amazing book will give you something to ponder when reading

Adam’s quote:

” Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

Popularity: 6% [?]

Tags: Douglas Adams, God Delusion, MEGO, Michelle Kostya, Quotes, Richard Dawkins

Happy Egg Hunting…

Mar 23, 2008 Parenting and More

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tags: Family and Friends, holidays

Six Points of Change

Mar 22, 2008 Blogs, Web Tools & Applications

If you are a regular reader (welcome, to new readers!) you would have noticed that two weeks ago MEGOagain got a new look. Thanks to my friend Janice (who has been known to say “Friends don’t let friends use blogger”), who set me up on my own self-hosted site on Wordpress. My brother in England also helped with the move since the technical workings of my original blog were unknown to me!

The other day, I was listening Mitch Joel’s Six Pixel’s of Separation Podcast (episode 95) where he went over Six Ways to Re-energize a Podcast. So I thought I would see how it might help me revitalize my blog. With my long break from writing in January, and the move to Wordpress – perhaps it is time to revisit the blog. Re-energize, revitalize, revisit.

This is Mitch Joel’s Six Points of Separation – Six Ways To Re-energize A Podcast:
1. Format.
2. Length.
3. Feedback.
4. Voices.
5. Audio comments.
6. Quality.

How can I use these for my blog?

1. Format: With the move from Blogger to Wordpress, I made a big change to my format, adding a column which gives me more space to promote previous posts, top commenters, and of course my other social networks. I have also added an “About” page so you can learn more about me (if you are so inclined!). Eventually, I hope to add a “Books” page where I can include reviews, and top 10 lists of my favourite books. Despite no longer working in publishing – I am still an addict.

2. Length: This is one I definitely need to work on! Most of my posts are on the long-side. I will make a concerted effort to throw in a few short (yet, equally thought-provoking posts!). Of course if you want my really, really short micro-blogs you will have to follow me on Twitter.

3. Feedback: Comments are a big part of a blog – without them – it would be just an article on the web. Yet, most of my readers don’t comment. The comment field is simply not enough. I must ask questions, request opinions and encourage the feedback from my readers.

4. Voices: This is a tough one. How to add voices to a blog without adding additional writers to the blog? I read about 150 other blogs, from Mom-blogs, to Marketing, to general business blogs. I read many that often make me think – I could add to that conversation, and I have something more to say that can’t be said in a comment. Sadly, I “star” the article in Google Reader and forget about it. So now, I am starting “drafts” in my blog writer, with notes on my initial thoughts and the article name – so that I can go back to it. I will attempt to bring in additional voices and opinions in this way. Bonus, it gives me added blog fodder!

5. Audio comments: For the purpose of the blog we will discuss “Comments”. How do I use the comments that I receive more effectively? First I think I need to conquer number 3 – how do I encourage more comments… then use those comments to create future posts as a continuation of the conversation.

6. Quality: Mitch Joel was referring to audio quality, but I will refer to the written word. I do my best to make this readable – but often in the heat of the post (and of course the limited time I have between work and a toddler!) I publish without taking a closer look. I am an old-school editor, meaning I prefer printing and editing on paper. However, my printer is in the basement because we no longer have a desktop computer, so my blogs don’t get printed and edited. I edit on the computer as best I can! If you notice a typo, spelling error or incorrect grammar – send me a message! I would offer a prize – but I am afraid with the number of errors I would be poor soon! **Please note, this is Canadian blog – so favorite and flavor – is correctly spelled when I type “favourite” and “flavour”.

Here is where I am going to add a 7th Point of Separation:

7. Promotion: What is a blog without readers? When I initially started my blog I listed myself on some blog listings, and of course on Technorati. I told all my friends about the blog (and anyone who would listen). But since then I have grown lazy in my promotion. So with my re-energizing efforts I have done a few things:

- Added Twitterfeed plugin- so that my posts get posted on Twitter as a tweet.
- My Twitter automatically goes into my Facebook status, but I will also add a note to Facebook when I add a post. I write two blogs and Facebook only allows one blog to be imported so my other one is being imported as a note.
- I add each post to my Google Shared Items – which automatically adds a link to Feedheads (Facebook) and my feed on FriendFeed.
- I have also tried promoting this blog on my mommy-blog and vice versa (See Is it a boy or a girl?)
- I added “Share This” so if readers like what they read they can easily share the post on: Facebook, Digg, Reddit, Technorati, StumbleUpon…etc

Do you have any other ideas on promoting my blog? Feedback on the new look? I would love to hear your thoughts on the changes I have made, and ideas on future changes.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Tags: blogging, megoagain, promoting blogs, six pixels of separation, wordpress

Making Concerts MORE Social!

Mar 19, 2008 Social Media, social networks, word of mouth

Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to attend one of the five Bon Jovi concerts in Toronto. The concert, part of the Lost Highway tour – was fantastic. The band played all the hits, and many new songs from the Lost Highway Album. Of course you don’t just go to the concert to hear the songs – you can listen to those at home. You go to a concert for the entire experience; the “being there”, the moments that are individual to each concert, the stage and the extravagance of the light and sound effects.

Our seats were in the 300s so we enjoyed the concert via the big screens. But others at the show were up close and personal with Jon Bon Jovi. He walked out on side stages and shook hands, and posed for pictures. Halfway through the show he showed up mid-way on the floor on a tiny box to sing, then walked back to the stage. I wouldn’t get much of a picture from my seats, but those folks on the floor were able to get some sweet photos.

It got me thinking at the end of the concert wouldn’t it be great if there was a place where we could share our thoughts, videos, and photos with others at the concert and perhaps others considering attending the same tour. It could use existing applications such as Flickr and You Tube of course to bring together a 360 view of the concert created by the attendees themselves. I would have loved to see some of the pictures taken from the 100s, and perhaps hear stories from folks who got to go back stage. I did a Google Search and can’t find anything like this. It seems we have plenty of ways to share our opinions on books (Amazon, Indigo, Visual Bookshelf for Facebook) and albums/songs through iTunes. A social site would allow sharing photos to videos and ratings and reviews for all types of concerts. Thinking of going to see Prince in concert – before you shell out $150 – check the site to see if it is worth it, where to sit, and what songs you might expect to hear!

At the concert they were selling the Lost Highway DVD. Imagine if the concert promoters could access attendees after the concert and sell them the video of the ACTUAL concert that they went to. I would absolutely buy that! I don’t want to buy a DVD of another concert on the tour – I want the one where he talks about Toronto, and shares a particular moment with a fan in front of everyone.

Ticketmaster allows you to customize a personalized page, but currently the only functions are setting up email alerts for your favourite bands, get directions and find local restaurants, and store your personal information for fast check-out. How about adding extra value to your concert-goers and concert promoters? Of course – there has to be away to take the info with you to your blog, Facebook or MySpace Page..

Doing my part to make CONCERTS EVEN MORE SOCIAL!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tags: bonjovi, concerts, music, socialnetworks, ticketmaster

Is it a boy or girl baby?

Mar 17, 2008 Microblogging, Parenting and More, Social Media, social networks

Normally this sort of post would appear on my mommy blog (www.okbabybear.blogspot.com) but I know some friends only read this blog…

I did a small survey of online aquaintances and friends through Twitter, Facebook and IM and the vote was 70/30 in favour of my second baby being a boy. Now, in honour of my love of everything digital I will inform all of you that it is a….

BOY!

Don’t worry I called my parents – I figure they gave birth to me so they deserve that. My hubbie will call his parents. The rest of you will find out through Twitter, Facebook, IM and this blog.

Want to see pictures of the Ultrasound visit my mommy-blog. I am also accepting baby name suggestions on the mommy blog!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tags: , Parenting and More