@BigHeadAsian rocking the crowd at #OCSMS! Great information Justin!!

When an event is over, your work has just started!! Build your team!!

While I am in California for the Orange County Social Media Summit, I plan to take and publish tons of photos. We are a visual society :)

You can keep up and check out my photos here, on my Facebook profile as well as with my Instagram account. Enjoy seeing California through my eyes!

Everyone knows that I'm an Apple fan and geek; so it shouldn't surprise you that I was excited to have my phone select the Cupertino, CA time zone upon my arrival :))

Landing at the Orange County/Santa Ana John Wayne Airport (SNA) was great! Very cool statue and plaque of the Duke.

First palm tree sighting outside of the airport and the hillside behind my hotel.

More photos to come....enjoy!

This will be a busy and fun week for me as I travel to California for the #OCSMS.  Honestly, I can't wait!  Taking part in the Summit, learning from peers and meeting friends face-to-face for the first time is going to be a great experience!  This type of an event, combined with meeting these friends is what fuels me; I love meeting and networking with people that share similar passions that I do.

I finally have the opportunity to meet @RochelleVeturis, @HaleyVeturis and @ChelseyVeturis in person, along with several other Twitter and Facebook friends!  Saying I am excited is a huge understatement!

Over the next week, I plan to publish posts about my trip and this experience, along with an ongoing video series about my California adventure.  I hope you will join me and enjoy the #OCSMS as much a I will! We can all learn from the best in the social media and marketing industry!

Want to connect with me?  That is easy, I am always on!  You can Friend me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter, add me to your Circles on Google+ watch my videos on YouTube and connect with me on LinkedIn. 

 

You may have seen some Tweets or posts recently that included #OCSMS or references to The Orange County Social Media Summit. If you live in or around Orange County, California, you should sign up and attend!   The Dynamic Duo of Rochelle and Haley Veturis created this event for the social media in Orange County.

I am beyond STOKED and EXCITED to be part of this amazing event! Through the graciousness of Rochelle and the entire team that created #OCSMS, an invitation was extended to me to be part of the Summit.  In addition to meeting the other keynote speakers and panelists, I get to meet several virtual friends in person for the first time. I can't wait!!

Unlike most events, this is a social media event created by the social media community. 

• Created by the social media community, for the social media community in Orange County, enjoy speakers and panelists who started at ground zero, and have found their voice—in different ways—through the “socialmediaphere.”
• No one started off as a huge brand, with a large list of contacts.
• Driven by their passion for people and new media tools, they’ve experienced business success, personal growth, increased web traffic, and scores of other benefits, from simply being present, and being themselves in social media.

Our commitment to you, is to provide a safe and authentic learning environment, where you can come, take notes, ask questions, and connect with people who care. Speakers will lay out their strategies for you, step-by-step. You’ll learn how to think bigger and outside of the box to create breakthrough results.

From blogging, to making videos, to posting tweets and Facebook updates, we’ll cover:

• The top social networks, and benefits and tips about each
• Shortcuts, lots and lots of shortcuts—we’ve worked hard to uncover these secrets, and we’re ready to share them with you
• How to listen to your customers/potential clients, and repurpose their feedback in meaningful ways
• How to create content that will bring you qualified leads
• Easy, ready to use techniques you can employ as you explore, get engaged, and find your personal groove online—whether it’s for business, a favorite cause, or to create your own, solid brand.

Wondering about the keynote speakers?

• They are the real deal; no snake oil salesmen—here.
• Between them, they amass more than 225,040 Twitter followers, 7.6 million friends on Facebook, 627,000 views on YouTube, and more than 10,000 connections on LinkedIn.
• They have each used their power and influence to support worthy causes, that benefit and serve others outside of themselves, including: the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Compassion International, Gavin’s Groupies, Stand Up To Cancer, Cameron Siemers Foundation for Hope, American Red Cross, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Irvine Public Schools Foundation, HomeAid Orange County, Baldwin Park Dogs, and the Amanda Foundation, to name a few.

We look forward to serving you through this fun and informative, full-day event. If you can't attend, you can watch the event via a live stream using the link below. 

Event Hash Tag: #OCSMS

OCSMS Event Registration - http://bit.ly/JUOiLg

OCSMS: Livestreaming link - http://saddleback.com/ocsms

Volunteer Event Producers: @RochelleVeturis and @HaleyVeturis (two-thirds of the O.C. Triumvirate).

Join us in Orange County or via the streaming link!  Connect. Teach. Share.

Want to connect with me?  That is easy, I am always on!  You can Friend me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter, add me to your Circles on Google+ and connect with me on LinkedIn.

 

If you are on social media, and specifically on Facebook, you've experienced the joy of being wished a Happy Birthday by your friends or followers. Isn't it great? Seriously, reading all of those Happy Birthdays can be a rush and turthfully it makes you feel good!  Well, unless you are trying to forget your birthday; but Facebook won’t let that happen. 

What I find curious is how people manage or approach their birthday online. Let me explain. I have observed that some people change wall settings so that you cannot write on their wall on their birthday. This puzzles me. What are you saving your wall for? Games? Videos? Other things? Some don't acknowledge that you wished them a Happy Birthday. Why would you not say thank you? Others choose to post a blanket Thank You on their wall on their birthday instead of thanking each person individually. Some simply "Like" each birthday wish, but do not respond. 

What do you do?  Why? 

For me, I choose to personally thank each person that wishes me a Happy Birthday. Here's why: that person, whether we interact regularly or not, took time out of their day to say Happy Birthday to me. The least I can do is acknowledge that and say Thank You. In my mind, it's the very least I can do. I believe I owe it to them. Maybe I think that way because I am getting older and I value every birthday. It truly is a day to celebrate! 

I have read about an app that will do a blanket thank you to everyone that posted on your Facebook wall for your Birthday. I would never use that app and don’t suggest using it. It is too impersonal, and it goes against everything I believe in social media: engagement and actually being social.

Now, I am not saying any of the methods described above are right or wrong. It is a personal choice. As of this writing, May 1, 2012, I have 2,741 friends on Facebook, if they all wished me a Happy Birthday, it would take quite a while to respond, but that’s okay. Last year on my birthday, there were hundreds of birthday wishes and I responded to each one of them. Again, it is a personal choice.

Social media is about engaging, being social, developing and building relationships. To me you cannot do that when you don’t respond.

Those are my thoughts; what are yours?

Want to connect with me?  That is easy, I am always available and will respond!  You can Friend me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter, add me to your Circles on Google+, watch me on YouTube and connect with me on LinkedIn.

Oh, one last thought; when you are wishing others a Happy Birthday, be creative! Do not just write Happy Birthday or write the same thing on ten people's wall.  Make it a little more personal.

 

 

I will admit it, at times I am the world's worst at listening to what my body is trying to tell me.  Then, when my body has had enough, it gets my attention by making me slow down and take a break.  Or as Lucy asked in the Vitameatavegamin episode, "are you tired, run down, listless?  Do you poop out at parties?"  :)

So whether it is that nagging cough, lack of energy, or possibly a  more serious condition, listen to your body.  It was designed by our Creator to give off warning signs and signals.  When you start receiving those signals, shut the computer off, turn the phone off and take a break.

Rest. Relax. Rejuvenate. Listen to  your body

John

Jump the Shark is a term used to describe the moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline in quality and popularity.  Jon Hein created the phrase after the Happy Days episode where the Fonz literally jumped a shark on water skis.  That episode was labeled as the lowest point of the show.  Also think about Cousin Oliver joining the family on the Brady Bunch and Scrappy Doo joining the Scooby Doo gang.

How does this relate to product placement?  I'm getting there; read on and be patient.

According to Wikipedia, Product placement, or embedded marketing is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, movie videos, television shows or other programs.  It has been around for years, even during the era of silent movies.  In the film Wings (1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, there was a plug for Hershey's chocolate. We have all noticed product placements in our movies and television shows; in other words, it's nothing new.

How has Product Placement Jumped the Shark?  In the upcoming James Bond movie, Skyfall, Bond will not order a martini, shaken, not stirred, but instead order a Heineken Beer.  Oh the humanity!  

Heineken USA is using 007 to boost its flagship beer this year.  The ad campaign will also feature commercials directed by Skyfall's director and staring actor James Craig.

Part of my thought process here is I am a James Bond purest.  I believe the movie franchise was at its pinnacle with the only real James Bond, Sean Connery.  The movies had resurgence with Pierce Brosnan, but to me, all other actors have not been James Bond. I also believe that changing the iconic drink of James Bond is literally changing the character. What's next; a remake of Star Wars with Die Hard batteries powering R2D2?

 

There is more in play with product placement today. I believe companies, advertising agencies included, are looking for any method to reach their audience.  Movie audiences have changed over the years along with viewing habits.  Most of us are willing to pay a premium for an app that does NOT contain advertisements. We will consume content on OUR schedule and if at all possible skip the advertising.  Major companies believe a captive movie audience is a good method for advertising. How about being more engaging in social media and leave the product placement out of the movie?

 

To me, we have reached point that product placement has jumped the shark. As consumers, we pay less and less attention to these placements and one reason is because we have become adept at ignoring them, or CHOOSING how we consume content so that we aren't bothered with commercials.  Just one more reason why engaging your audience where they spend their time, in social media, is a good option.

 

Those are my thoughts, what say you?

Want to connect with me?  That is easy, I am always on!  You can Friend me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter, add me to your Circles on Google+ and connect with me on LinkedIn.