Saturday, December 31, 2011

Survival of the Digitalest?" Are we really living in an age of Digital Darwinism?

"There is no spirit-driven life force, no throbbing, heaving, pullulating, protoplasmic, mystic jelly. Life is just bytes and bytes and bytes of digital information."
         -- Richard Dawkins, British evolutionary biologist, science author, TV/Radio personality


For all you digital diggers out there, check out this great article by Brian Solis. Indeed technology is creating deeper connections between brands and consumers and people.


Read and see for yourself if you agree that we really are in an age of Digital Darwinism.

Wishing you all an enjoyable, believeable, and DIGITALLY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Digitally yours,
The team at AllThingsDigitalMarketing

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Will Dance For Food Benefit - December 11, 2011: See some of what you missed!

"some eat and sleep dance, so others can eat and sleep..." -- Will Dance for Food 6th Annual Dance Showcase.

I am so proud of my niece, Mariel, for being a part of the amazing charitable event, it's 6th Annual Dance Showcase, "Will Dance For Food."


I was so excited to see her be a part of this worthy event and she was so happy to be a part of this wonderful experience to help those in need.

It is said that dancing comes from the heart, and indeed it does.

Seeing my niece appear and perform on stage with Mr. Robert Taylor, Jr. of "So You Think You Can Dance" group was truly a moment I will cherish.

It was so wonderful for everyone but I was especially proud and impressed to see her be a part of this amazing event -- it brought tears to my eyes,

I adore her not only because she is a beautiful niece but for her kindness and consideration for others and for her love and appreciation of the arts.

My hope is that all those dedicated artists who eat, sleep and dance so others can eat and sleep continue doing so that someday there will be an end to all this hunger and homelessness!

A full house auience woooooohoooooed the spectacular dancers at the 6th Annual Dance Showcase "Will Dance for Food" Benefit today at The Mary Lou Meese Theatre, Fox Lane High School in Bedford, NY.

The dancers represent the best of the most talented Westchesterites and were members of various dance studios throughout Westchester County. Also appearing was special guest Mr. Robert Taylor, Jr. "So You Think You Can Dance" luminary.

The Will Dance for Food performance on Sunday, December 11, 2011 was dedicated to Rosa W. Boone-Morgan, former director of The Westchester Coalition for the Hungry & Homeless, Inc.

Enjoy these "see some what you missed" videos:

Special Guest, Robert Taylor Jr. - Break it Down


FINALE - Groove is in the Heart - The Final Bows


The Will Dance for Food benefit aims to raise awareness and funds for the poor, hungry and homeless.

For more information visit www.foodclothingshelter.org

"some eat and sleep dance, so others can eat and sleep..." -- Will Dance for Food 6th Annual Dance Showcase.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Cloudforce New York - November 30, 2011: You should have been there!

Corporate Overview and the Social Enterprise

See what you missed by viewing opening keynote from Salesforce.com Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff. Benioff opened Cloudforce New York with a corporate overview and an explanation of the social enterprise concept. Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts also appears, offering a birds eye view of the luxury brand's social transformation. Recorded live from New York's Javits Center on November 30, 2011, this is part one of an eight video series.


Sunday, November 13, 2011

The INCREDIBLE Dancing Redhead at The LAB in NYC (10/30/2011)

Wanted to share my digital take while in New York City on 47th street. I passed The LAB (a roger smith collaboration) and found this incredible dancing lady. Wondering who is this incredible, athletic, dancing redhead?

Here's TAKE 1:




Here's TAKE 2:



Amazing how walking down the street in New York City can be so interesting and entertaining. Hope you enjoy!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

SMWF - North America, November 1 – 2, 2011: You should have been there!

See what you missed by reading some highlights of the SMWF (Social Media World Forum) - North America in NYC at The Jacob Javits Conference Center November 1st – 2nd, 2011.

The theme for this year’s SMWF conference was “Engage with the world of Social Media Marketing.”
On Tuesday, November 1st, over 2,500 professionals in all things digital and social media filled the exhibit hall at New York City’s Javits Centre to attend two days of one of the most premiere interactive conferences, SMWF. New to this year's event were panel discussion formats, tweet up panels, on stage interviews, open 'Q&A' portions, audience sourcing debates and break-out group discussions enabling attendees to explore in-depth the key social media platforms, and how they can enhance marketing.

There were over 100 leading social media speakers that read like a who’s who from all things digital marketers, social networks and brands providing a wealth of presentations about brand case studies with intensive workshops and plenty of networking among cutting edge players. The goal of the conference was to inform, interact, inspire and share how deeply social media can assist our businesses in connecting with and engaging customers. Mission accomplished!


"Track highlights included:
• Integrating social media into your marketing plan, and building your social media marketing toolbox
• How Social Media is being used for brand building
• How to engage with customers though Mobile Social Media and social media with mobile apps
• Building your Facebook, Linkedin, & Twitter marketing strategies
• Location based marketing
• Social Shopping - new influencers, voucher offers and real time social shopping
• B2B social media marketing
• Social TV – how social media is changing the way we interact with the TV
• Social CRM – internal social media, community building and management
• Top tips on selecting your Social Media Agency – the role of who does social media within your organisation
• Best practices for delivering PR campaigns across multiple Social Media platforms
• The new buzz word “Social Search”
• The Socialisation of the Internet with the impact of social credits and the open graph approach
• Social Gaming & Virtual Currencies
• Examining the differences between the Social Media market and other parts of the world
• Twitter applications and mash ups examined"

For many businesses, the trick is not just monitoring their social media conversations, but the ability to manage multiple social channels by combining elements of customer service, marketing and PR into a integrated customer and brand centric unit.

Among the booths I stopped by was Badgeville, an innovative social loyalty smart gamification platform. Using Badgeville, brands can reward users with real time achievements and reputation while at the same time driving user behavior, achieving business goals and measuring and optimizing user engagement. Badgeville looks like a fun way to keep customers connected to your brand.



Next up was a presentation by Jane Schactel, Director of Social Media for Bing and Matt Britton, founder and CEO of Mr. Youth.

Jane discussed the importance of two-way communications with users of products and the way users of social media tend to fall into four categories:


► Observers - not engaged but curious - like lurking;
► Fans who follow the brand and interact;
► Evangelists - people who actively post positive reviews/info about the brand, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.;
► Ambassadors - often celebrities or public figures and often paid for their endorsement.


The consumer-centric brand requires four things:.
1. Utility - meet a customer need;
2. Entertainment - publish content your users will enjoy but remember this is NOT a commercial;
3. Reward - reward users with coupons, contest prizes, etc.;
4. Recognition - give loyal users badges, a feature on the site, a special offer, etc.



Parting thoughts: Social media can give more relevance to search and search can give more credence to social media.

Lastly, I visited the Meltwater Buzz Booth, a social media monitoring platform. Melanie Zachariades explained how Meltwater Buzz can help you mine your social media mentions and gain insight from them.

So what do you think the long range effects of social media will be on brands? Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and a host of others are changing the ways businesses see and interact with their customers.

Many thanks to SMWF for continuing to provide such informative and exciting conferences!

by Carol Nissen
Writer, AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com
Digital Advertising and Marketing Director, Rhythm Dynamics

For more information visit: SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD FORUM
“Social Media World Forum is the leading social media marketing event that connects marketers, digital brand managers, agencies, monitoring, pr, gaming, tv, mobile and many other practioners and sectors embracing social media marketing. Running in London, New York, Cape Town, Dubai & Singapore, the SWMF event covers key areas such as building your social media marketing plan, social crm, social shopping, social search, monitoring & measurement, B2B social media, location based marketing, social tv, social reputation, community building, crisis management, gaming & virtual currencies, mobile social media and much more. Each social media series event will get right into the nitty gritty of these changes, giving delegates a way to learn, engage, debate and understand the latest in social media marketing. Our aim is to bring together the Social Media community worldwide to debate the hot topics, and network within a free to attend exhibition format. A fully packed agenda looking into how brands can use social media as a marketing tool, the latest tips and tricks, how brands are moderating and measuring their conversations and results, and how the major social networks are positioning themselves within the market.” For more information visit http://www.socialmedia-forum.com/

Sunday, October 23, 2011

If You Are Employed You Need Not Apply to this Job Posting! If You Are Employed Read This?

I read an article in today's Sunday New York Daily News "Gotta have job to get one,” by columnist and author Erin Einhorn about the way companies are advertising their jobs. Companies are including “MUST BE CURRENTLY WORKING FULL TIME” and phrases of this nature on the employment ads.

Is the issue at hand really discrimination or is it the fact that these ads are risking job productivity for companies? Many companies are beginning to realize that there is no basis for discriminatory ads that aim to exclude individuals they label as unemployed. Advertising of this nature is not only offensive to the professional seeking work but the ads are counterproductive for the company, and are an OXYMORON. According to the NY Daily News article, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office found at least 18 New York jobs requesting that “unemployed need not apply.” Stringer wants all discriminatory job ads banned.

Shouldn't the ads really read "If You Are Employed, You Need Not Apply?" Wouldn't this help corporate America stay productive? Searching for a job is a full-time job. Isn't it really a "slap-in-the-face" to a corporation when hiring managers' job postings exclude the unemployed yet promote full time employees? Aren't they suppose to be paid to work and focus on their jobs not looking for another job at work? In terms of costing companies thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in productivity, I certainly think so.

I have one simple question regarding "unemployed need not apply" job postings: "What defines "unemployed?" An employed person who has nothing else to do on the job but search for another job or a professional that hiring managers punish and label as "unemployed" yet seeking employment is more 24/7 than 9 to 5? Can another valid issue be that there are too many inexperienced or "overemployed workers" in the job market? There is truth to the fact that those unemployed tend to be the ones that really excel at work, and their superior is threatened that they can do their job and for less compensation, so they get let go.

Are hiring managers and human resources that blinded that they don't understand the hard fact that being unemployed is more challenging than full-time employment? Who do we blame – Washington DC or corporate America? How about blaming both?

Why is Washington DC still allowing businesses to post discriminatory ads to the effect that "unemployed need not apply?" This is one monumental time that I believe our government must intervene to end this counterproductive activity. Doesn't corporate America realize that by posting discriminatory ads of this nature, that they are not only hindering opportunities for professionals seeking employment but they are also decreasing corporate productivity? Encouraging full time employees to apply to job postings is not only counter-productive but it questions whether employees on the job are:

      ►satisfied with their work
      ►motivated to stay focused
      ►using time on the job to apply for other jobs
      ►aware of the consequences of low productivity
      ►dedicated and skilled to get the job done

According to the NY Daily News article President Obama has included a ban on employment status discrimination in his jobs bill but parties are quarreling over it. Even if this bill goes into effect, how can this be monitored? How do we prevent “we the unemployed” from being discriminated even with a ban on discriminatory job ads?

Why doesn’t the government charge an outrageous fee of $1,000,000 for every discriminatory job ad posted? I'm sure this would end these ads. The proposed million dollar fine would still be less outrageous than the discriminatory slap-in-the-face, baseless, job ads that exist right now. Plus, it would generate some nice chump change and create many jobs? Since 18 ads were identified already for New York (as per the NY Daily News article), that would total $18 million thus far -- just think of all the jobs it would bring and potential impact to the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.

As a senior marketing consultant I can assure you that being unemployed is working 24/7 -- having many jobs and wearing many hats. You are a simultaneous autonomous worker and team player, constantly researching, meeting face-to-face, social networking, writing, joining professional organizations, learning about new trends, industries, business models, etc. All this while going on job interviews, volunteering, taking courses to learn about new fields (related or unrelated to your job), learning about new technologies and software applications, budgeting, managing finances, cash flow, family obligations, etc.

When are Washington DC, human resources and hiring managers going to admit the fact that professionals labeled "unemployed" are essentially the ones with the competitive edge, the best skills and experience, and are constantly challenged -- not full-time employees?

It is about time that Washington DC, corporate America, and hiring managers realize that reinventing yourself costs time, money and deserves respect and appreciation.

Unfortunately the term "reinventing yourself" has evolved into becoming nothing but a negative implication and a huge farce in the business world. Thanks to all those baseless, discriminatory job ads which not only create the wrong messages to the job market but are a tremendous disservice to the culture, communications, productivity and philosophy of their company.

Discriminating against the unemployed not only adds injury to insult (yes, not the other way around) but also illustrates corporate ignorance and total disregard for the true key contributors in Corporate America - the real professionals, the risk takers, the innovators, the marketing professionals, the communicators, the solutions providers, the ones who aren’t afraid to stand up to the issues and speak up when bottom line is compromised, the story tellers, etc. Labeled "unemployed" yet more qualified and more equipped to perform any high level job currently paying $250,000 for half that salary. These inappropriately labeled, professional job seekers are the ones who change jobs, work in different fields, learn new things, are flexible and open to change, and have the incredible business acumen with superior skill set that businesses really need to improve productivity and increase profits. And they do it with accuracy, in half the time and for half the salary.

Many of what "the unemployed" have are what the "the full-time employed" need to have but simply lack. The "we-the-unemployed” are the key contributors and money-makers for Corporate America -- NOT the full-time employees who are at the same company for years, sitting at their desks pretending to be busy (no offense to the full-time workers, I am aware some of you really do work).

Why on earth do you believe there is very low morale among full time workers and why companies need to hire consultants? No it is not just to save money on benefits, that is a bargain mechanism for compensation. It is because their existing full-time employees are overconfident and really do not know what they are doing! Could it be that the employee wants to learn what the consultant does without adequately compensating? Isn't it about time that consultants stop being exploited for the sake of a corporation keeping an incompetent and unskilled full-time employee?

When are Washington DC, human resources and hiring managers going to accept the fact that being in a mid-level management or VP level job for years doesn't equate to doing the job or having the skills and competence to do the job (whether in a job for 1 or 40 years)?

When are human resources and hiring managers going to fess up to the fact that just because one is over 50 years old and not in a permanent position that that does not equate to lack of skill set or experience? Hiring managers and human resources need experienced workers, workers who:
      ►do the job more effectively and efficiently than existing employees
      ►identify errors and prevent errors from reoccurring
      ►provide many solutions to existing problems
      ►communicate effectively at all corporate levels (hey, somebody has to do it)

I've been on both sides - experienced being a full time employee and a consultant. I still wonder when are human resources and corporate America going to face the fact that it's not the economy's fault that their company’s error rate is highest and the productivity rate is the lowest at their company.

Much of the problem lies in companies’ dysfunctional and inadequate infrastructure and attitude that our company is too big (or too small) to fail and somehow, someway, Uncle Sam will bail us out again. This stigma is what hinders everything and every decision made on behalf of the organization.


It is unfortunate the previous bailout monies did nothing but help the already wealthy, well-connected, the ivy leaguers (and some non-ivy leaguers), the nepotism clan, and other general employees who are vested with the company. The wrong monies in the wrong places is another reason there are not enough jobs out there.

I was debating whether I should post this to my blog. If I do, it will potentially, negatively impact my job search for permanent employment; But then again, somebody has to do it!


LINKS TO OTHER RELATED RESOURCES

The Life Report by David Brooks Whether you are over 70 or in your 20s just starting out, you should read this and the comments. The Life Report is filled with very thought provoking articles and there was one which really made me question are professionals and executives in jobs for years really boring? If you haven't done so already, you should check this out.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Happy 100th B-Day Mary Blair!

Happy 100th B-Day to Mary Blair, American artist known for producing art and animation for The Walt Disney Company, and drawing concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella.


After the completion of Peter Pan, Mary resigned from Disney and worked as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, creating advertising campaigns for companies such as Nabisco, Pepsodent, Maxwell House, Beatrice Foods and others. She also illustrated several Golden Books for publisher Simon & Schuster, some of which remain in print today, and designed Christmas and Easter sets for Radio City Music Hall. Several of her illustrated children's books from the 1950s remain in print, such as “I Can Fly” by Ruth Krauss. Blair was honored as a Disney Legend in 1991.

Born Mary Browne Robinson on October 21, 1911, in McAlester, Oklahoma, her family moved to Texas while she was a small child, and later to California. In 1934, she married another artist, Lee Everett Blair (October 1, 1911 – April 19, 1993).


She was the sister-in-law of animator Preston Blair (1908–1994). Mary Blair died of a cerebral hemorrhage on July 26, 1978 at the age of 67.

Today, October 21, 2011 would have been Blair’s 100th birthday, Google paid homage to Blair's life and works with a doodle themed with colorful patterns.





Click here for more information about Mary Blair.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Happy 90th B-Day to Art Clokey - Creator of Gumby

Happy B-Day to Arthur "Art" Clokey, ) innovative pioneer in stop motion clay animation.
In 1955 Clokey produced Gumbasia, an experimental film about claymation. This film help him and his wife, Ruth,come up with the idea of his clay character, Gumby. Gumby and his horse Pokey became popular on American TV and later they got their own series “The Adventures of Gumby.” In the 1980s American actor and comedian Eddie Murphy parodied Gumby in a skit on Saturday Night Live. In the 1990s Gumby: The Movie was released, sparking even more interest. Born Arthur Charles Farrington in Detroit, Michigan on October 12 , 1921 he died in his sleep on January 8, 2010, at age 88, at his home in Los Osos, California after suffering from a recurrent bladder infection.
On October 12, 2011, which would have been Clokey's 90th birthday, Google paid homage to Clokey's life and works with an interactive logo doodle in the style of his clay animations.


More information about Clokey can be found at the following links:

Art Clokey: How Gumby got his name by Chris Gaylord, Christian Science Monitor
Art Clokey – Wikipedia
Art Clokey: Creator Extraordinaire

Thursday, September 29, 2011

OMMA Global New York, September 26 – 27, 2011: You should have been there!

"It's here. It's everywhere. And it's also all the time. Media has gone hyper-connective." -- OMMA Global New York City

See what you missed by reading some highlights of the OMMA Global New York
On Monday, September 26th, advertisers, agency, online media, and marketing executives gathered at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City for the Bi-Annual OMMA Global Conference. The event proved to be one of the most exciting conferences and provocatively focused on all things digital marketing, media and advertising.

Known by many as being the only, “two-day intensive that combines all of OMMA's single online marketing conferences into one,” the event included extensive overviews and presentations of the hottest trends and technologies in Social Media, Mobile, Display, Direct and Video for the Internet.

Google's workshop, "The Human Factor: Common Sense Ways to Foster Brand Engagement" featured a wealth of information including the following online-marketing-worthy tips:
► inclusion of your brand and message in every frame of your presentation connects the customer to your brand
► mobile advertising sparks even higher rates of interest
► use expansion panels only for extra info, not the main idea of your message

The Global General Sessions during Monday afternoon were top notch and provided innovative approaches and perspectives of our ever-evolving, hyper-connectivity, web-centric, world.

Digital marketing is indeed changing the way it interacts with consumers. Dermott McCormack, EVP Digital Media, MTV Networks, spoke about "The New Rules of Digital Content Currency" and the importance of becoming a trusted source of information by building on knowledge of your audience, content curation, the re-purposing of content for new mediums and the idea of wrapping your content in "value"

The web has a huge effect on advertising and marketing. Next up was Denise Warren, Senior VP and Chief Advertising Officer of the NY Times Media Group. Her talk opened with a description of how TIVO changed the TV landscape forever, giving viewers the power to program TV to their liking. Ms Warren then went on to illustrate how this customer/consumer now drives the innovation at the NY TIMES. They analyze their customer relationships and tailor their offerings to them relatively.

A very interesting point Warren brought up was that the "after hours" usage seemed to be increasing with desktops and laptops being used in the daytime while tablets and smart phones, etc., seemed to be increasing in the evening. Warren also spoke about "interstitial moments." An interstitial space or interstice is an empty space or gap between spaces full of structure or matter- think commute time, standing in line, waiting for the doctor, etc. These "in-between" times are being used by consumers and customers to consult tablets and smart phones.

To tackle the effects the web will have on advertising, marketing, consumer targeting and reach, the Tuesday afternoon presentation included a debate on Social Media sponsored by Webtrends titled, “Is Social Media ROI for Real, or is it a New Oxymoron?"

Topics included a lively debate on the rising importance of Facebook or not, the importance of drilling down into other social networks where your customers might be hanging out and the question "Do 'Likes' translate into Sales?" Participants included Jonathan Bellinger, Digital Strategy Director, JWT, New York; Brandon Evans, CEO, Crowdtap; Mike Germand, President, Carrot Creative; Morgan Simonson, SVP of North American Sales, Efficient Frontier; Michael Lazerzon, CEO, Buddy Media.

Round and round the web goes, where she stops, no one knows. So who do you think will dominate the webosphere? There are quite a few contenders -- Apple, Facebook, Google Android, Microsoft Mobile, and Twitter.

I enjoyed the 2 day conference. I was especially interested in the implications of social media and the new habits and modes of interaction people are starting to use. I came away with some new insights.

By Carol Nissen
Writer, AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com
Digital Advertising and Marketing Director, Rhythm Dynamics


OMMA GLOBAL is the two-day intensive tour de force of all our separate conferences rolled into one. It is for those advertisers, agency executives, brand managers, marketing managers, media planners, buyers, creative directors, sellers and marketing services suppliers who aim to be leaders of the interactive marketing revolution. For more information visit: OMMA GLOBAL NEW YORK

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Happy 13th B-Day to Google

Another B-Day surprise!
Did you know that today, September 27th, 2011, Google celebrates being a teen? Happy 13TH B-DAY again! Many of us have already celebrated 23 days earlier (September 4th). Although Google officially became incorporated on September 4th, they decided to have their official B-Day on September 27th. Check out their adorable Doodle, more suitable for a baby shower than for a 13th birthday, but still adorable.
More information including all of Google's past B-Day Doodles can be seen at this SearchEngineWatch article.


Here's my earlier blog celebrating Google's 13th.
Surprise to Google who turned 13 years old today (9/4/2011). And I am surprised that Google didn't post its very own Happy 13 B-Day doodle! Since I couldn't find one on the internet, I thought you'd enjoy my "Google Rocks 13th B-Day" doodle rendition (below).
So let's all celebrate the day Google became a teen. Ever since Google was born (September 4, 1998), there have been whirlwinds of internet momentum, controversary, and innovation. Google rocks and doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.
To think it took Larry Page and Sergey Brin less than 2 years to incorporate Google -- in 1996, both were PhD students at Stanford University, working on a research project when Yahoo! and AOL were the major search engines.

Thirteen years later Google has embarked on hundreds, if not thousands of innovations, ventures and acquisitions. Below is a brief timeline of my most notable Google milestones (note clicking on the table below, and then once again, will enlarge for viewing):


This chart will be updated regularly, do bookmark and visit frequently.

For more information visit these links:
Google Turns 13: A History of Google's B-Day Doodles by Danny Goodwin

Happy Birthday Google: Making Sense of the Web for 13 Years
by Stephanie Buck, writer at Mashable.com

Friday, September 16, 2011

Facebook Friend List Feature Gets Smart

"I get by with a little help from my friends." ~ John Lennon, English musician and singer-songwriter, and founding member of The Beatles













Did you know that Facebook added another feature, “Smart Friend List?”

The basis for this latest enhancement is that more and more Facebook users resist sharing content because they are connected to hundreds, if not thousands, of people with different interests. However, a user may be more likely to share more if they could segment their posts by their respective professional, family, friend, and community content. Also, this new feature can motivate visitors to be more engaged in their fellow friends’ respective content -- essentially, providing more of a solution to the existing, hardly-ever-used, “Friends Lists."

According to TechCrunch, Facebook already released this new feature but I just checked my Facebook, and couldn’t find it – I’m surmising it’s either still in Beta or still counter-intuitive. “Smart Friend List,” is conceptually similar to Google+ Circles, but different. “Smart Friend List” automatically builds upon a Facebook user's respective friends' profiles and enables the user to manually sort designated “Smart Friend Lists” or allow Facebook to automatically group. Another element is that “Smart Friend Lists” can be selected within privacy settings.

For example, when you opt in to the “Smart Friend List,” Facebook will automatically create "Smart Friend Lists" based on the demographics/geographics that you designate – e.g., colleges, employers, associations, cities, etc. Users have flexibility to manually edit these lists and also publish and filter to specific lists. Users will also have the ability to manually create 3 relationship levels within privacy settings -- “Close Friends,” “Acquaintances,” and “Restricted.” Connections you place in “Close Friends” will see everything you post; “Acquaintances” functions more like filter for news feed, allowing you to control what type of news feeds you want from a Facebook friend (e.g., new job or wedding announcements, etc.). This solves the issue of overloading your news feeds with excessive mundane posts from friends. “Restricted” are for those connections that you wish to be only allowed to view your public information (can be a competitor, relative, boss, etc.)

So is there really a need for "Smart Friend List?" According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, there really wasn’t much of a need because categorizing friends is difficult and less than five percent of Facebook's 750 million users, still a significant audience size, utilize the original Friends List tool. Facebook’s enhancement will certainly have plenty of feedback -- about 37 million potential “Smart Friend List” users. It will be interesting to see the growing reactions of “Smart Friend List” posted on Facebook blogs.

Many may choose to not welcome "Smart Friend List" for various reasons including the resistance to expose relationship information to Facebook’s interface. I'm OK with school, neighborhood, company, etc., But why would Facebook users want the world to know who their "Close Friends" are? There are all different sorts of predators on the internet, and this piece of information we can do without. Many more may prefer to leave their settings as is since it is time consuming to set up who should receive what and end up prefering to receive everything and post to everyone.

On the other hand some may have interesting information that would be dull for many of their Facebook friends, but truly amazing for another segment of friends. This new tool just might be the perfect solution to fulfill that communication need.

I have a concern for the children who are still using Facebook without parental permission or adequate parental monitoring their usage. A tool of this nature in the wrong hands may contribute to an already serious Facebook issue. According to an article on ConsumersReports.org on May 2011, there were 7.5 million children under 13 with accounts, violating the site's terms [1].

More information at the following Web sites:

• The Facebook Blog - Improved Friend Lists https://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=10150278932602131
• Facebook Smart Lists Automatically Group Friends With Shared Characteristics for Use With Privacy Settings http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150366908140560
• Inside Facebook http://www.insidefacebook.com/


SEARCH RESULTS STATS

SEARCH TERM           EXACT     BROAD
smart friend list         13,400    60,200,000


Here's another notable quote about friends:

"Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you." ~ Elbert Hubard, American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher


1. Five million Facebook users are 10 or younger". ConsumerReports.org. May 10, 2011. http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2011/05/five-million-facebook-users-are-10-or-younger.html. Retrieved May 15, 2011

Sunday, September 11, 2011

September 11th, 2001 – The Day The World Cried. Ten Years Later!

Can you believe it's been 10 years?
Photo below, "The Falling Man," by Richard Drew.

haiku ═ 911 ten ═ years later falling man is ═ still provocative

pin-straight
Falling Man

endless time still shows
the world

our
land, brave and free


by
Gloria
Buono-Daly


Emotionally charged, mixed feelings - 2001 to 2011. From Poet Laureate, Billy Collins' prose commemorating all of the 9/11 victims, "The Names," posted below, to one of the most provocative, unforgettable images by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew, of a man falling from the twin towers, positioned perfectly in the middle. The photo was taken at about 9:41 am on 9/11/01 -- 15 minutes before the 1st building, the South tower, collapsed. Videos would show that the falling man was actually a tumbling man in the air and this is one moment in his time that was captured. Note how perfectly straight, positioned in the middle and parallel to the burning towers the falling man is. The above photo was branded distasteful and voyeuristic -- never to be shown again, yet the incredible "falling man" is still around.

According to many articles and documentaries, there were about 200 people who jumped to their deaths, some were able to be identified only for the victim’s families and to provide closure for them. But there was no time to recover or identify those who were forced to jump prior to the collapse of the towers. We lost almost 3,000 lives that day.

Where were you on 9/11/2001?
I was working on Wall Street( on the corner of Wall and Water Streets). It was a beautiful, clear skied morning. I arrived early as I usually do and was at my desk on the computer when I heard a loud bang and felt rumbling underneath my desk at 8:46 a.m. I shouted "What was that?" Then 15 minutes later another bang, as some fellow employees arrived - initially we thought it was from a missile. Hard to imagine it would be the biggest single attack on American lives. I still keep on asking myself "how could this be?" I was curious and ran outside to see what was happening. As I was walking on Water St. and reached Liberty St., it was at about 10:00 am, I saw large billows of gray smoke, appearing to turn day to night, enveloping hundreds if not thousands of people running for their lives – apparently heading towards the river. I asked some folks what is happening and most were in such shock. With all the commotion, all they could say while they were running was “it’s down, it’s down.” At that moment, I thought another plane came down. I ran back to the office and learned from colleagues that the South tower collapsed (incidentally, this was the 2nd building hit). The North tower (1st building hit) collapsed at about 30 minutes later. And the world would never be the same.

"The Names" poem by Billy Collins posted below:
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart


Additional information at the following links:

║See CBS video, “The Passionate Eye,” http://www.cbc.ca/passionateeyemonday/video_player.html?fallingman&playerType=wmp

║Video “911 The Falling Man”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EFvGuIXIJc&feature=related Images of bodies hanging out of windows, holding on across the steel across windows, leaning out for air.

║Google Blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/ten-years-later.html


My two 911 haikus:
║ 911 ten ═ years later falling man is ═ still provocative

║ pin-straight Falling Man ═ endless time still shows the world ═ our land, brave and free

Search engine stats for the term 911
Match type    Broad         Exact
Google   981,000,000     431,000,000
Yahoo     246,000,000     240,000,000
Bing       245,000,000     242,000,000

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Happy 13th B-Day Google - on 9/4/11 Google became a teen!

Surprise to Google who turned 13 years old today (9/4/2011). And I am surprised that Google didn't post its very own Happy 13 B-Day doodle! Since I couldn't find one on the internet, I thought you'd enjoy my "Google Rocks 13th B-Day" doodle rendition (below).
So let's all celebrate the day Google became a teen. Ever since Google was born (September 4, 1998), there have been whirlwinds of internet momentum, controversy, and innovation. Google rocks and doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.
To think it took Larry Page and Sergey Brin less than 2 years to incorporate Google -- in 1996, both were PhD students at Stanford University, working on a research project when Yahoo! and AOL were the major search engines.

Thirteen years later Google has embarked on hundreds, if not thousands of innovations, ventures and acquisitions. Below is a brief timeline of my most notable Google milestones (note clicking on the table below, and then once again, will enlarge for viewing):


This chart will be updated regularly, do bookmark and visit frequently.

For more information, visit:
Happy Birthday Google: Making Sense of the Web for 13 Years
by Stephanie Buck, writer at Mashable.com

Friday, August 26, 2011

HAPPY 40th B-DAY WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY!

HAPPY B-DAY to you!

Friday, August 26, 2011
The League of Women Voters celebrates the fortieth birthday of "Women's Equality Day."



To think that almost a century ago, exactly 91 years ago, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitutional was passed and prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.

Happy 91st Anniversary Nineteenth Amendment!




The Amendment was drafted by prominent civil rights leader, Susan B. Anthony (pictured left) with assistant, American social activist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (pictured below).


It took another 51 years to form Women's Equality Day - at the urgent request of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY) -- in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.”

For more information visit
"League of Women voters recognizes anniverary of 19th Amendment" article by Christine Kneidinger.



In 1869, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) an organization dedicated to gaining women's suffrage. Anthony insisted that Stanton become president as long as possible; Anthony served as vice-president-at-large until 1892 when she became president. (pictured right, Anthony and Stanton in later years - Stanton seated)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

HAPPY 60th B-DAY TO Iconic photo "American Girl in Italy" by Ruth Orkin

Sixty years ago today, Ruth Orkin captured the imaginations across the globe with this iconic photo titled "American Girl in Italy." According to Ninalee Craig (also known at that time as Jinx Allen) , subject woman in the photo, 23 years old at the time, the photo was not a symbol of harassment as many assumed, but an honest portrayal of an American woman having a wonderful time in Italy and enjoying the moment of being admired by 15 Italian men. Ninalee Craig is now a great-grandmother living in Canada. The photographer, Ruth Orkin, who passed away in 1985, also co-wrote and co-directed the 1956 Oscar-nominated film "Little Fugitive." In a telephone interview Craig confirmed on NBC that the photo was not staged and "symbolizes independence and fearlessness not harassment," see Today People article by Laura T. Coffey. More photos by Ruth Orkin at Bulger Gallery.
For more information visit "American Girl in Italy: 60 years later" by Mike Kromboltz of The Lookout.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Did you know that August 6, 2011 the WWW turned 20?

Twenty years ago on August 6th, Tim Berners-Lee, created the most innovative invention in only 3 months and called it the "world-wide-web" (WWW). So congratulations to Tim Berners-Lee and a BIG Happy BELATED B-Day WWW - 20th B-Day! I'm a big fan of all things digital and just had to share the WWW 20th B-DAY was 8/6th in case you didn't know it. More info including video at this link:

http://www.linkedin.com/share?viewLink=&sid=s516986078&url=http%3A%2F%2Ft%2Eco%2FI9Gtlu7&urlhash=h6be&pk=member-home&pp=4&poster=4656978&uid=5506749028785721344&trk=NUS_UNIU_SHARE-title

Thank you Sarah ElBatanouny for sharing and spreading the news!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Why Are Corporate Blogs By Women Not Supported By Their Constituents?

"I do not think “real” leaders are the kind of paranoid people that get to the top quickly but fall quickly"
-- Grace Bosworth, President of Global 2 Local Language Solutions


"It's cool to get back up if you fall! But don't let the threatened and insecure -- males and females -- pull you down!" -- Gloria Buono-Daly
Whenever I begin another consulting assignment at a major corporation I observe and research the respective environment and Web site and end up with the same question -- “Why are the leading women's corporate blogs not being supported by women?”

This absence of commentary is a red flag and illustrates a much bigger problem at the company in the form of ineffective communication, counter-productivity, negativity and low morale. It only takes a few minutes to read a corporate blog and write a comment -- especially when the blogs are so interesting, informative and worthy of comments. For the past few years I have noticed that women at major corporations are not supporting fellow corporate women’s blogs.
Recently I contracted at a corporation with over 200,000 employees as a senior product marketing consultant and noticed that there were less than a dozen comments from one of their business unit's blogs yet there was a wealth of blogs on that corporate Web site. This lack of support is mind-boggling and serves no purpose but to breed negativity. How long can employees continue destroying what employers are paying them to build up?

Does this start from the top and trickle down to the bottom? Watch out, your company's stock may be headed for another plummet. I am always so positive and impressed by professionals when I work at a new corporation and learn about the company, especially by reading blogs from the corporate leaders, attending seminars, and navigating the corporate Web site. Yet, I do not understand why these major corporate blogs with the potential of having so many visits and views, do not receive the adequate feedback from fellow employees.

It ceases to amaze me of how the threatened and insecure employees intentionally thwart and insult the professional consultants -- the basis is obviously these employees are afraid that the new consultants will get noticed for their cost saving, productive contributions, and showing interest and support for corporate initiatives including blogs. Unfortunately, the productivity and business success is compromised because of these essentially useless and insecure employees. Yet, senior department heads are in the sand and corporations allow this to go on -- the familiar, AIG-ish, corporate status quo -- "Our government's bail-out money will pay our salaries; we're too big to fail," etc.

As a professional marketing executive who has been contracting for many Fortune 100 corporations and trust me, I get the big picture relatively quickly, I see many issues including lack of support, particularly among women executives. This is compromising the financial health of the corporation on a national and global level.

Negativity of this nature results in not only low employee morale and little or no ROI but dissatisfied customers.

Are professional women still living in the 1980’s when one women has to be thwarted in order for another women to succeed? Why is this sentiment common for women and not men? Could this be why professional women have not advanced as much as men? Have women turned competition into a game of back-stabbing tactics that do nothing but destroy the morale of a corporation? And what about corporate diversity and multi-culturalism -- is it destroying what women are working to achieve?

I believe corporate diversity is indeed compromised. Many top consultants have experienced their work thwarted and being intimidated by corporate employees. Whenever the consultants report the issue, their contract ends. A very common tactic, is when employees use inappropriate language in the form of misleading adjectives towards the consultant to make the consultant feel insignificant and themselves feel powerful and important. And we wonder why so few women make it to the top?

According to Grace Bosworth, President of Global 2 Local Language Solutions, “We wonder why women have not advanced as much as they should, but, when a women gets some kind of control, she acts as if she did it all by herself, and tries to push down anyone that comes near her level. We don’t try to help each other; we make it more difficult for each other. …The only thing I can control in this world is me, and I know that to change the world, I must first change myself. Do I look at a woman who has done well for herself with suspicion? Do I hesitate to spend time on a project that may not put me or my company in the limelight?… I do not think “real” leaders are the kind of paranoid people that get to the top quickly but fall quickly. We as women have to do better. Most of all, I vow to not say negative things about people I really don’t know. If we could all vow just that little thing, I see women taking great strides.”


So tell me do you believe corporate blogs by women are or are not being supported by their constituents? What are your favorite blogs? I’d be delighted to take a read, share my perspective and add them to this list.


Below is a listing of my latest favorite blogs by and about women:

Women in Business Don’t Support Each Other, and We Are Here to Change That
Is Eight Enough When It Comes to Success
Got Me Thinking: Is the Model of Masculinity Changing in America?
25 Things a Professional Woman Should Never Wear     (I’ll admit my biggest faux pas was putting my then, waist-long-hair back with a schrunchie)
Women Who Make Us Laugh
Google Made Her Rich, Facebook Made Her A Legend
100 Must Read Blogs by Women
Why You Should Stop Being A Wimp
Employers Feel A Talent Shortage
ClassyCareerGirl Blog
Making Sure Your Employees Succeed
Top 100 Websites for Women 2011
The Importance of Earnest Service, Thoughts from JM Byington & Associates, Inc.

PS This list will change but only with your help. So do send me your favorite blogs, bookmark this one and visit frequently. Thanks!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Do We Really Need One More Social Network?


According to one of Facebook’s investors, Reid Hoffman, the answer -- yes!

So far, Facebook has more than 500 million users yet FB has limitations which do not enable users to separate friends into different groups (e.g., friends, family, business, acquaintances, etc.) More information at this Forbes.com Tech article by Oliver Chiang.


Many companies are working on social networks including Google’s, Google+ project, a program still in beta testing which will have a lot more bells and whistles than FB and will be ready soon. More information can be found at Google's Official Blog. Isn't this what we've been looking for? Could Google+ (Plus) be the one and only, social media network we need?


*Top 15 Social Networking sites listed in ranking order as of August 2011 are listed as follows:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIN
My Space
Ning
TAGGED
orkut
hi5
myyearbook
meetup
badoo
mylife
friendster
multiply

*For more information regarding these rankings visit eBizMBA.com



Facebook, social networking, networking, media, reid hoffman, investors, Forbes, Oliver Chiang
For more information, visit http://blogs.forbes.com/oliverchiang/2010/09/27/facebook-investor-reid-hoffman-says-one-social-network-is-not-enough-launches-20m-fund/

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Did You Know Today is International Museum Day? Happy 34th B Day!

Today, marks the 34th celebration of International Museum Day, a date originally established by International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Every year International Museum Day is organized worldwide around May 18th. Recently, International Museum Day has been experiencing its highest involvement with almost 30,000 museums with organized activities in more than 100 countries. First celebrated in 1977, the International Museum Day takes in each year a specific theme or a slogan, and purports to give universal meaning in different countries and raise awareness on how important museums are in the development of society. The theme for 2011 is "Museum and memory: the objects tell your story." Many prestigious museums participate in this worldy event including the New York's Metropolitan Museum, the Royal Palace Museum, Luang Prabang, Laos in Asia and the Louvre in Paris, France, Europe.

Interesting Themes of the Past:
2010 - "Museums for social harmony"
2009 - "Museums and tourism"
2008 - "Museums as agents of social change and development"
2007 - "Museums and Universal Heritage"
2006 - "Museums and young people"
2005 - "Museums bridging cultures"
2004 - "Museums and Intangible Heritage"
2003 - "Museums and Friends"
2002 - "Museums and Globalisation"
2001 - "Museums: building community"
2000 - "Museums for Peace and Harmony in Society"
1999 - "Pleasures of discovery"
1998-1997 - "The fight against illicit traffic of cultural property"
1996 - "Collecting today for tomorrow"
1995 - "Response and responsibility"
1994 - "Behind the Scenes in Museums"
1993 - "Museums and Indigenous Peoples"
1992 - "Museums and Environment"


For more information, visit these resources:
http://icom.museum/what-we-do/activities/international-museum-day.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Museum_Day
http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Museum-Day-2011/178953758817864
http://art.broadwayworld.com/article/Frist-Center-Offers-Free-Admission-to-Celebrate-Museum-Day-518-20110517
Twitter hashtag: #musmem




MUSEUM, NYC, INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY, ICOM, CULTURE, GL