Blog on Connection Cafe

The super awesome Jordan Viator of Convio fame asked me 2 weeks ago to write a guest blog for the Convio "Connection Cafe" blog site. I was so honored and excited and talked her ear off about strategy and philosophy of social media. It was right after NTC so she filled me in on some of the awesomeness from that.

anyway I had just arrived in San Francisco to prepare for the 140 Smile launch and got her e-mail reminding me she needed the blog today. OOPS--time flies when your planning a crazy Twitter campaign. So I wrote it in the back of the airport shuttle and quickly found out that typing while dodging San Francisco traffic is much like riding that spinning thing at the carnival after you've eaten 4 corn dogs, cotton candy and a Slurpee. Anyway, here it is.

Thank you so much Jordan for letting me ramble on about my little baby, can't wait to do the follow up and how we helped over 140 children!

talk about chatty

I was on @KenLudwig’s web radio show yesterday and chatted (at length) about Operation Smile, Twitter and 140 smiles! Click below, it’s May 26th, let it fully download and the fast forward about 13rd of the way. I’m right after “California Dreamin” Listen Here

So I chat a bit but what a great conversation with Ken! Plus, he's a stones fan too! Love it!

And the smiles keep coming

Wow, I am just more and more excited and inspired. I had some great calls and fun news about our launch event. I have also heard from some incredible folks whom I admire.

When I first left my post as Donor Relations Supervisor and took on Operation Smile's social media efforts I serendipitously started following @kanter. Ironically the very first week I was to create a Social Media Strategy, Beth was offering her now famous We Are Media workshop through Nten. This incredible workshop helped me form my plan and gave me the confidence to soldier on for smiles. (i also met incredible folks like @rachelannyes and of course Beth)

Anyway--So of course I was really hoping Beth would join us for the launch event of #140smiles campaign. Well, she's coming and much to my pride and excitement she even wrote a blog post.

CHECK IT OUT!

Rock on #140smiles!!!!

mini-media tour

I chatted up the killer guys at Twooting today. They have a daily podcast all about Twitter which makes them a fitting partner to help us get the word out about #140smiles. It was a great interview and we are so excited that they are donating 10 Smiles to the campaign--WOO HOO---So amazing. I am truly moved by how people are coming together to help us reach our goal--and the campaign hasn't officially launched!!!!

WOW!

Then I had a very rockin call with @kenludwig for his radio show. The interview was awesome and beyond just sharing the stories of our medical volunteers and patients, we got to bond over our mutual obsession with The Stones! Rock on Ken!(archive soon to come)

Everything's moving along and I think we may reach our goal--the world (tworld) is making smiles happen!

less than a week and counting

I am officially not sleeping and determining just how many knots an intestine can create. I am so excited for my little baby project #140smiles to launch. The response has been fantastic, people are clamoring for more information on the campaign. We've also hit our 100 person mark for the launch party and half of the TWTRcon attendees still have not reserved theirs (only 75 left!)!

This is such a collaborative effort, I am in awe of the work Common Knowledge, Modern Media and Adventure Girl have done to make the campaign and launch super fantastic. I hope it meets the standards of those who have already raised their hands in support of the campaign. (holy mackrel-@pistachio, @missrogue, @jason_pollock, @shelisrael the list goes on). We are hoping everyone visits the site on 5/30 (day of the launch) and starts a twitter team to mobilize their followers for micro-donations to reach our goal of changing 140 children's lives.

There has been an amazing outpouring of hearts on Twitter helping people like the incredible story of Eric De La Cruz . Twitter is oddly enough somewhat of this utopian community where people truly respect and dare i say love one another. @iconic88 is clouding my Twitterstream with messages of random acts of kindness. I am learning about the teachings of Kabbalah from @yehudaberg.

I am hoping this notion of doing good and helping the world will continue on May 30th when we ask the Twitterverse to join us in helping to bring smiles to children around the world.

How often do you take your ability to smile for granted? whatch this video and I bet you won't anymore! AND, I hope you'll join us on May 30th for #140smiles!

missing SXSW

Just re-read my blog from SxSW and am missing it---what a great experience!
Click Here to read the SXSW SMILES journal

social media's so bright, i gotta wear shades!

SO many wonderful things have started to materialize since the New Years Bell tolled and the start of 2009. I switched gears in my professional role from Donor Relations Supervisor, managing my International children's medical charities Donor Relation Call Center and grassroots fund raising to a role doing a very similar function only using social media.

I met some amazing mentors and contacts very early on by attending the We Are Media workshop from NTEN in Feb. and then had some great conversations and learning experiences from SxSW Interactive in March.

The more I learn, the more I feel like it's o.k. to listen to my instincts. While I may not know the jargon and the latest trends in web marketing, what I have always had a knack for is relationship building. Talking to people, anticipating their needs, predicting trends and acting on my instincts.

These traits have served me well in various fields including the restaurant business, retail, marketing and radio. They also helped way back when I donned a purple with and face glitter in my role as a professional clown! (thank god that was pre-social media and the pics are non-existent).

I am reflecting on all of this this because I recently had some really amazing conversations with folks who are outright terrified of social media. People who I have always respected and admired for their incredible intellect, innovation and professional prowess are now asking me for my thoughts and ideas related to social media. And, while I'm not an "expert" like my colleagues and mentors, and I don't speak fluent tech ease, I realize I do have some valuable perspective and information to help them get their toes wet in social media.

I also realize that there are no experts. Everyone is learning, we're all in this together which certainly echoes the very notion of "social" media. You can't get a degree in it because surely by the time the commencement speech is over the technology has changed. But the philosophy remains the same. And the philosophy of Social Media is what seems to have corporate America shaking in their loafers.

While I have a ways to go to maximize my understanding of the total picture if the world wide web, I am uniquely qualified to dive into the pool of Social Media philosophy and strategy. I started as a user and evangelist starting with Friendster in 2002 and then Myspace, DeviantArt, Etsy etc etc. I am now an official Facebook and Twitter addict and am anxiously looking for the next great way to communicate.

And the communication is the key-social media has created an incredible community to learn, grow, explore, elevate and inspire. The playing fields are becoming more level and the walls are being broken down in more ways than you can even imagine.

In the coming weeks I will have some personal benchmarks that will prove to even more solidly tie me to this insane online world and I can't wait to see where it all takes me. The lessons are pouring in from my mentors are invaluable as are the conversations, tweets, blogs and webinars. I'm grabbing some sunglasses (with non-reflective lenses to reduce the screens effects on my eyes) because this social media future is so freaking bright...bring it on!