Do-It-Yourself Social Media Day

For Social Media Day, I chose to attend the largest event in Los Angeles.  It turned out to be at a small storefront restaurant (closed for the event) and was more about promoting a particular non-profit organization than creating a forum for social media enthusiasts to interact.  Needless to say, it was a disappointment.  Apparently some other social media events were more on-target and successful, but this one was nothing but a disappointment.   My fellow social media enthusiast Andrew Tarr (of AndrewTarrFanClub on YouTube) had attended the event with me, and we quickly decided this event wouldn't prove to be very productive.

Instead, we went to a casual coffee house/restaurant and had our own personal Social Media Day MeetUp. Our primary topic of discussion turned to the rapid pace of technological change and the corresponding shift in personal communication.  We agreed that the society is still in the formative stages in the development of social media / social networking.  The challenge for anyone delving into this world is to plan a strategy in a constantly shifting landscape.  As Andrew noted, where once common career advice encouraged individuals to visualize where they wished their lives and careers to be in three or five years, those working in social media, or in a field that employs social media skills, are faced with the challenge of planning for a future that is highly unpredictable.   Where will social media be in five years?  After all, YouTube is only five years old.  Twitter in 2006.  The iPhone came out in June of 2007. Facebook is the grand old man in this group - it began in early 2004 as a service for college students.  The task of anticipating opportunities in the future is a tricky proposition for those of us interested and active in the social media world.  We also agreed that trying to ride that wave is mind-blowing.

How do you think social media will evolve? We'd love your feedback!  Click below to comment!

Welcome to Social Media Day!

As someone who thinks of himself as a social media advocate, I'm naturally interested in Social Media Day, a world-wide gathering of social media enthusiasts.  I'm curious about the nature of the events today.  Will these gatherings be dominated by people who love Social Media for its own sake - obsessive users with no real goal other than to create a presence?  Or will these events draw those who are using social media to achieve specific goals and aspirations.  I'm attending one of these events in Culver City tonight, and I'll also be following reports and other vlogs about Social Media Day in an attempt to gain a better understanding of just where society at large stands in its practical, useful use of social media.

You'll notice that I've added a Flickr application in the sidebar, which will not only feature some of my impressions of Social Media Day, but some of my video production activities as well.  I'll post a vlog as well, and provide some additional observations here.

Remember to interact - comment on this or other blog entries, and please take the poll in the sidebar.  You subscription to my vlog on YouTube is also apprectiated!

Don't Be a Social Media Spammer!

One of the more challenging tasks of driving your social media brand is creating awareness.  While there are many tools out there to help you along the way, and even automate many actions, your drive to make your life easier could actually lead to some fairly negative results.

For example, if you're a vlogger, there are a number of methods you might use to notify your friends and followers just what's going on in your world.  For simplicity's sake, let's take a look at how three services - YouTube, Facebook and Twitter - can work together.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Cam! (or, Don't Let Tech Get You Down!)

One of the great aspects of developing your social media brand is that you don't need a huge investment in hardware.  You don't need the best camera to get the best results.  I thought it would be valuable to our readers to share Andrew Tarr's experience of taking technical adversity and turning it around into real results.  He shares some valuable tech hints as well.  Enjoy his story!


A small group of friends and I have been shooting these nutty shorts for YouTube over the past month or two, mostly with my Sony Webbie HD, Sony's version of the ubiquitous Flip camera.   I like the Webbie because unlike the Flip, its lens isn't stationary; it swivels around so can see yourself in the viewer as you shoot. 

On our most recent venture, nobody could make it but me and my friend John. No problem, I thought. We'll just stick the Webbie on a tripod and shoot ourselves. Great.  So we came up with a cool idea, and off we went.  Well no sooner did we get our first two shots in the can, than my Webbie died.  No, not its battery.  The camera itself.  Dead.  "Bummer," we mused.  It was such a cool idea. We'll have to get together again sometime in the next couple weeks.  


But wait!  

Teen Social Media Entrepreneur Andrew Brackin

SOCIALTIPS.COM is just one of several sites created and led by teen "social media entreprenuer" Andrew Brackin.  The site itself is a good source of information, but I encourage you to look closer at this and the family of sites Brackin has created.  He not only knows his audience, but has taken a leadership role among his peers in building effective teams to achieve his goals.

He also created TUNEVIBEZ.COM, which is an internet radio station - with an entirely different team of like-minded teens presenting their own programs.  And yes, he's done his homework and is doing it with all the necessary permissions in place.

Finally take along at the heart of the operation, BRACKINMEDIA.COM, which is a superior corporate site to many I've seen.  Remember, this is a teen.   He's still in school.  He's already very much a pioneer in a new field.

He has a vision, and he's using social media to achieve it. 

Rich Does the Willy Wonka Thing!

See my additional notes on this vlog in the entry below!

Chocolate My Way

When I heard about http://chocomize.com ,  I couldn't resist trying it out.  It's a website that allows the user to order a specially customized chocolate bar.  You decide the type of chocolate bar (milk chocolate, dark, or white), and the ingredients that go into it - fruits, candy, spices, nuts and seeds, decoration and even more.  My latest vlog details my order; I'll soon post my tasting experience.  It shouldn't take too long; within an hour of completing the vlog, I received an email that my chocolate bar had already shipped!

It's a pricy proposition - all told, the 3.5 ounce candy bar with five custom ingredients cost me a total of $7.70.  Shipping is always $6.95, no matter how many chocolate bars you order.  I was also given the option of upping their standard donation to a selection of non-profits, adding $1 to my order, for a grand total of $15.65.  Not exactly a store-bought chocolate bar, but with the ingredients I included, it promises to be a unique culinary experience!