Wednesday, November 11, 2009

you can't touch...Kristin Rohan!!

I had the pleasure of attending SMCSYD – Social Media Club Sydney last night at UTS, with fellow #nscm ers. Kristin Rohan and Tony Cosentino.

The topic was Building and Managing Online Audiences and the special guest was MC Hammer, yes THE MC Hammer!!

Now I can be honest with you, my #nscm buddies, I went last night because I had heard the SMCSYD was a great event with quality speakers but I thought MC Hammer’s attendance was the token celebrity, with a major sponsor, not that he would contribute to the content and information on the evening!

Well shut my mouth and paint me purple !! I was so impressed by his knowledge and skill as well as being in fine form for a man over 40!!

I was a fan of MC Hammer 1.0 but I am inspired by MC Hammer 3.0!!

This man lives and breathes what he is talking about, he adds value to any converstation.

He spoke of being authentic, engaging and being the centre of your information universe & more!

Unlike other visiting celebs, he didn’t take himself seriously and had a laugh with the room about his past.  He even answered the following questions posed via Twitter feed (too chicken to say in person??) and via mic:

  • “What can and can’t you touch?”
  • Do you feel and tweet differently when you are wearing your Hammer pants?

On a serious side he answered questions about future apps, technology he uses (yes he IS a little geeky), how does Social Media handle the challenges of the poor and language translation, what does he see as the future of social media and will it change the world.

I liked his answer to the question:

Q: “Your star shone very brightly for a short time, do u think if social media had been around, your career would have been different?” (this is from memory not transcribed)

A: “I wouldn’t wanted anything to be different! I love the journey I have been on.  If things have gone differnetly, I would not be speaking to you now”  He added, he believes in the Butterfly Effect – if one thing had been different this would then affect many more outcomes.  I loved it!! He is so REAL!

Our divine Kristin had tweeted Hammer directly (yes note I am now on second name terms with him!!) and made him a gorgeous gift of vintage fabric envelope with a gorgeous card inside finished with a choc satin ribbon, and got to give it to him and even got a hug!!

He was so divine, even telling off Rob Rohan (Mr Krisitn Rohan to us) for taking her out of the USA!!

Sorry, Rob, Tony and I missed the hug shot as we were watching it live!!)

Kristin is one of my heroes!!

Another hero of mine is Tony Cosentino – despite this tweet during the event:

Here it is incase your eyesight is like mine:

Tony has been the only reason I have not picked up Wordpress and the Ecommerce plug-in and submerged it in a bath!

He is a professional, honest business man with a lot of integrity with an AMAZING previous career.

He is a great encouragement and a fabulous coach.  More importantly he is very generous and a wonderful man!

A new hero of mine is David Peachey.  A footballer who played here then overseas and is now with the Rabitos (please be inpressed that I can recount this, sport like techie things are not my strengths!!!)

David started the David Peachey Foundation in 2004 with the goals:

• Providing educational scholarships & overseas exchange opportunities for school students.
• Allocating sporting grants to talented indigenous youth.
• Engaging in the ongoing reconcilliation process & personal development of indiginous youth through mentoring & cultural immersion camps.
• Delivering education, health & sports programs in regional & remote indigenous communities throughout Australia.

Thanks to Tony’s iniitative of speaking to David about #pianostairssyd (more on this soon), I got to speak to David one on one.  So inspiring!! He is actually being the change he wants to see in the world!

David’s focus is on education not sport, he proudly told me that only 2 of the kids play footy! 2 new recipients are doing medicine at Sydney Uni…fantastic. 

David is giving hope to the children and communiities where there was none – what an amazing legacy!

I enourage you all to visit the site and learn about the foundation. 

http://davidpeachey.org/

Keep an eye out for the next SMCSYD! It is a great event and although I did not meet so many of the attendees last night there is a great assortment of people.

All I can say is that the connections I have made via Social Media (Kristin & Tony amongst them) have definitley enriched my life and business and I look forward to more adventures, experiences and stories!!

J

@NancyGeorges

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Posted via email from North Side Coffee Mornings

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

the gorgeous people you meet online..Pete & Dave

Being online does not mean that your offline manners and sensibilities do not make the same impact.

I had the pleasure of meeting Pete Goodlet @petegoodlet and David Gale @daylesford_dave on Twitter.  A comment was made about blogging and the challenges.  I replied it is easy, even my Mum is on Twitter, Facebook & has a blog (she IS an extraordinary woman).

Buoyed by this, off they went!! And how!  I watch the chook video on the blog whenever I need a giggle!! J

Turns out that they are super creative, funny, talented and simply gorgeous people and I enjoy chatting with them.   Pete is an artist, not just a good ‘drawer’ but  a poet too!!  They work from a studio /gallery in Daylesford (yum!) that is c. 1865 – how can beautiful things not come from that!!

Pete very generously sent me some of his cards – one that even looks a little like me!! (pic below)

The blog: http://petegoodlet.posterous.com/

The Website:  http://www.artpetegoodlet.com/

Checkout and or buy the cards onEtsy:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/artpetegoodlet

I will visit them one day and I hope when they are in Sydney we will see eachother and I feel that we will be firm friends for a long time to come, enriching all of us and making us smile!

And it would not have happened if Pete didn’t Tweet and I didn’t hear him!!

Ps: in case you don’t know, I am a stationery addict and wholesaler – but only the good stuff!

I nearly don’t want to give the cards to people ….actually I think I will arrange them on the wall of mmy new office….stay tuned!!

Posted via email from Miss Manners' posterous

Friday, November 6, 2009

divine fun : 16 October 2009

Where minds meet,

Brains share &

Lives are enriched with Integrity,

Honesty, loads of Laughter

& Yummy Food!!

Posted via email from tweetSHAREgrow

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

some things just don't translate!!

Couldn’t resist taking this shot at a major intersection.

Yes you read right:

  PETs MUM HOUSE

Grooming Boarding

Made me giggle!!

And why the 2 phone numbers???? 

But seriously – who made the sign??!!

Posted via email from Miss Manners' posterous

Monday, October 19, 2009

techies still use paper & pens!

@ #nscm last week, I was so happy to see that the tech savvy Kristin Rohan @kristinrohan and my Wordpress master Tony Cosentino @justbecos actually use a notebook and pen as well as their funky little gadgets!!

That’s Tony’s moleskin in the background!

There’s nothing like bits of appers and intersting info re-discovered as you flick thru your book!!

Kristin’s printed satin notebook is choc-filled with papers, mementos, cards, ideas and musings!


Tony with notebook at the ready

Long live Paper!!

Posted via email from Paper Magnolia

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Social Media 101 - Part 3

Have you read Social Media 101 - Part 1 & Part 2? This post will make more sense if you have.
1. http://magnoliasolutions.blogspot.com/2009/10/social-media-101-part-1.html
2. http://magnoliasolutions.blogspot.com/2009/10/social-media-101-part-2.html

We have covered; What is Social Media and Networking sites MySpace & Facebook.

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is the social media of the moment, despite starting in 2006. Twitter asks users to answer “What are you doing right now?” in 140 characters or less. It is, in essence, a status update or a micro blog.

Like other social media sites, Twitter users are encouraged to connect and interact to build relationship and communications. ‘Twibes’, a wordplay on Tribes, are people with common interests. Connecting with members in your Twibe of interest ensures you get the most from your interactions and make better quality connections.

At the moment, on the Twibe site (www.twibes.com), there are:
o 21 ‘Retail’ Twibes
o 40 ‘Sales’ Twibes
o 19 ‘Customer’ Twibes
o 29 ‘Gift’ Twibes
o 35 ‘Shopping’ Twibes
o 40 ‘Shop’ Twibes

That is 184 Twibes that you as a Gift Retailer can interact with immediately. Once you find a Twibe you would like to join, you simply hit the button and enter your Twitter account and password (the first time only) and the information is automatically attached to your account.

It is important to make your ‘Tweets’ interesting and relevant.

Although Twitter is mainly text based you can upload photos to sites such as Twitpic (www.twitpic.com) and write a comment which will automatically update your Twitter status (too easy!). If you have more than one photo per topic then it is best to upload on your site, Facebook or blog and then Tweet about that via a link.

Twitter retail store application:

· Update Stock just in or on its way (create excitement)
· Communicate instore promotions
· Create ‘Spot Special’ excitement – clear stock that is not moving at what is normally a quiet time
· Interesting stories your have read online
· Interesting magazine articles
· Keep emphasising the thing that makes your store different
· Connect with complimentary businesses to promote your business
· Connect with suppliers, customers and other local businesses
· Connect with relevant Twibes


The Social Media landscape should be a little clearer for you now, next up: Blogging!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Social Media 101 - Part 2

Have you read Social Media 101? This post will make more sense if you have. http://magnoliasolutions.blogspot.com/2009/10/social-media-101-part-1.html

To understand where we are now, let’s look back a few years.

My Space (www.myspace.com) was launched in 2003 and quickly became ‘the’ must-join site. It predominantly engaged and was used by Gen Y, artists and musicians. It was easy to dismiss as it did not have an obvious business application, even though it did launch many bands and artists worldwide. It connected them directly with their market and encouraged direct interaction. For the first time, people could have a ‘personal’ interaction with their favourite artists, as well as other people that spanned time zones, countries and demographics.

My Space challenged Gen X and older. We did not share our personal information with perfect strangers! We were more private and did not see a place for this social site in our lives.

Facebook (www.facebook.com) quickly followed and was not as easy to dismiss or ignore. Initially, developed in 2004, as a ‘keep in touch’ tool for Harvard graduates, Facebook quickly spread around the world and across many generations. It allows users to have their own FREE mini-website and a voice. Users set up their page, invite people to connect with them and share information, photos, music and videos. It was the photo application that was quickly adopted by users and lead to Facebook’s incredibly rapid adoption among the not so tech-savvy public.

Facebook Applications were added to extend the interactions on the site. There are over 35 000 applications on the site, ranging from surveys, quizzes, petitions, fortune telling & real time chess! In addition to a personal page, Facebook allows business pages, blogging, advertising, creation of group and events. All of these tools/applications can be used to promote your business and develop a close relationship and interaction with current and new customers.

Pages can be public, so that anyone can view them, or private, where connections are made by invitation only. Generally, personal pages are private and people must request or be invited to connect. Business Pages and Events are generally open and can be followed at the click of a button.

Facebook users can post regular status updates, comment about information on friends’ pages or join a conversation on public interest pages. The choice is endless, the result is a closer immediate interaction. The beauty of Facebook is the ability to use images and text to make it more interesting.

Facebook retail store application:

· you can create a page for your store
· link to your website, blog, twitter
· provide store location & contact details
· update your status daily with: new stock in store, sale information, product information, funny short stories, nice customer interactions, website updates, loyalty program information etc
· upload pictures of your product lines
· invite customers to upload pictures with your products or experiences
· ask questions and engage your customers (Discussions tab)
· provide reviews / testimonials of past sales (Reviews tab)
· add a calendar of in-store events to your page so customers know what is coming then review it and upload photos after the fact
· remember to promote your Facebook page instore on your information and on your website and other media

Next, we'll cover Twitter & Blogging....

Subsequent posts:

Social Media - Part 3. http://magnoliasolutions.blogspot.com/2009/10/social-media-101-part-3.html


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