Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Skate America – An Olympics Preview 



Those who follow this blog know that I am an avid figure skating fan and try to attend as many live events that I can (budget and time permitting).  I try to see at least one live competition a year ever since I went to Boston in 2016 to see the World Championships.

Seeing skating live is much different than on TV, not only are the costumes more sparkly in person but I get a different appreciation for the skaters’ speed and ice coverage.  The energy is much different at a live event, too that you can’t get by watching on TV or Youtube.  There are also opportunities to meet the skaters and other fans, which is fun!

This year, I made the 250 plus mile trek (and I do mean trek) to snowy Lake Placid to attend Skate America, which is part of the six event Grand Prix series that occurs every fall.  Top tier skaters from around the globe compete twice for a place in the Final, which takes place in Nagoya, Japan December 7-10.  Only six are selected from each discipline (Ladies, Men, Dance and Pairs) to compete based on their results from the six events.

Skate America is usually held in mid-October but it was changed this year to Thanksgiving weekend presumably for NBC sports to promote the Olympics, where figure skating is a usually a top audience draw.  With the Olympics happening in less than two months’ time, I will give my impressions how this event may impact who gets selected for Team USA.  The team announcements will be made the first week of January, following US Nationals in San Jose, CA.

Ladies:  The US has three ladies’ spots for the Olympic team.  At this event were two of the top contenders, current US Champion Karen Chen and veteran Ashley Wagner who won a silver medal at Worlds in 2016 and has three US titles.  Both Chen and Wagner had a challenging competition here with Chen suffering a hard fall during her “On Golden Pond” short program and Wagner withdrawing from the competition mid-skate during her “Moulin Rouge” program due to an ankle injury. 

The big story at Skate America was Bradie Tennell, who was not on the radar as a serious contender for the team until this event.  Tennell had two clean programs and scored over 200 points overall, securing a bronze medal behind the gold and silver medalists from Japan, Satoko Miyahara and Kaori Sakamoto.   Tennell is one of the few American women with a stellar jump technique and has been consistently landing them in smaller competitions.  Many had not heard of her before this event, but now she is a one to watch to contend for the US title.  Other contenders to make the team are Mirai Nagasu, who was 4th in the 2010 Olympics and now has a triple axel in her arsenal of jumps and Mariah Bell, last year's bronze medalist at Nationals.



Men:  Another headlining story at Skate America were the gold and silver medalists: current US Champion Nathan Chen (no relation to Karen) and Adam Rippon, who had the title in 2016.  Chen is the one you will be seeing all over the Olympic commercials (he has endorsements with Coke and Bridgestone Tires, among others) and has made a name for himself the past couple of seasons as one of the few US men to consistently land difficult quadruple jumps to compete internationally.  Some are predicting he could win gold at the Olympics!

Rippon is a veteran who is not known for landing quads but his consistent quality of performance and artistry.  His program to "Arrival of the Birds/Exodus/O (Fly On)" choreographed by Dancing With the Stars' Benji Schwimmer has been a crowd pleaser the past two seasons.  During his free program, Rippon fell on his quad lutz jump and dislocated his shoulder.  To the crowd’s amazement, he got up and popped it in and continued to land all of his jumps and mesmerize the audience.  He even won that segment of the competition over his teammate Chen!  (Not to mention cleaning up bugs off the ice before his skate - see video below)



Chen (who had a stellar short program to the song “Nemesis” by Benjamin Clementine, scoring over 100 points) faltered in the free skate by popping a few jumps due to issues he was having with his skates.  He still had enough of a lead from his short program to win by about 10 points.   Another American skater, Ross Miner, competed here and placed a respectable sixth out of ten skaters who completed the competition.  (There were two withdrawals here due to injury; Russia’s Maxim Kovtun and Israel’s Daniel Samohin, who also dislocated his shoulder during his freeskate.  Figure skating is no joke!)



I expect to see Chen and Rippon (who also share the same coach, Rafael Aryutunyan) on the Olympic team.  The third spot is up in the air now, but my bet is on fan favorite Jason Brown, who did not compete at this event.  Chen and Rippon also qualified for the Grand Prix Final here, which can help solidify their campaigns to represent USA in PyeongChang.  (By the way, I was lucky enough to meet Rippon after the men’s free at a local restaurant and congratulate him on his performance).

ETA 12.1.17: Jason Brown will also be going to the final, with the withdrawal of China's Boyang Jin.  This is the first time there have been three US men in a Grand Prix Final since 2009!

Maia and Alex Shibutani take their bows following their free dance
Dance: Two time and current US Champions, siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani won the gold here, surprising nobody.  They got well deserved personal best scores for their Latin themed short dance and their free dance to Coldplay’s “Paradise.”  The Shibutanis will be named to the US team, along with Madison Chock and Evan Bates and Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, who did not compete here.  All three of these teams will be in the Grand Prix Final.

Two up and coming US dance teams, Kaitlyn Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker and the Parsons siblings (Rachel and Michael) placed 5th and 9th here, respectively.



Pairs:   The US only has one spot on the Olympic team for pairs, which will most likely go to married pair team Alexa and Chris Knierim.  They were US champions in 2015 but were out for most of last season due to a serious illness that sidelined Alexa for months.   They have great elements such as their triple twist and throw jumps but struggle on side by side jumps, which left them in 5th place here, among stiff competition from the top teams from Germany, China, Canada and Russia.

Still, they are the most polished of the US pairs and will be selected over teammates Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier (who won the 2017 title in the Knierim’s absence) and Deanna Stellato and Nate Bartholomay, who placed 7th and 8th here, respectively.


If you’re still reading this (lol), I hope you enjoyed my analysis of the US skaters at this event and watch them compete in PyeongChang in February.  I also plan to travel to San Jose for the senior level events and will be sure to blog my impressions!



Andrea Goldstein is a digital marketing
professional with a passion for pop culture.
@nydigitalmarket on Twitter




#olympics #skateamerica #nathanchen #adamrippon #bradietennell #alexaandchrisknierim #figureskating #shibutanis #shibsibs

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Happy 396th Thanksgiving America! November 23, 2017

This has been posted annually with minor revisions since the first 2012 Thanksgiving post! Enjoy 



"My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor." 
~~ Phyllis Diller, American stand-up comedienne, actress, voice artist, and comedienne, best known for her eccentric stage persona and her wild hair and clothes.(b. July 17, 1917 – d. August 20, 2012)


Happy 396th Thanksgiving Day America!

Thanksgiving, referred to by many Americans as "First Thanksgiving" was originally celebrated by the Pilgrims and Colonists after their first harvest in the New World in the year 1621 when they invited the Wamponaog Indians to their autumn harvest feast. 
Photo above right of a food decoration for Erntedankfest, a Christian Thanksgiving harvest festival celebrated in Germany courtesy of Wikimedia.org.

AllThingsDigitalMarketing blog would not stand to it's allthingsdigitalmarketing motif without a collage of "Thanksgiving Google Doodles" past and analysis of Google's basic design structure over the years. Besides the Google logo differentiating itself from the other search engines (e.g., Yahoo, Lycos, HotBot, etc.) it symbolizes uniqueness and mold-breaking vision. Below are Google's Thanksgiving doodles from the very first doodle in 1998 through present. (This collage will be updated with the most current Google doodle asap, so bookmark and visit frequently). Interesting to see what Google will do this year.




































The very first Thanksgiving doodle was posted in 1998 (see collage above, lower right). Note how the clean, conservative signature Google logo design breaks all the conventional rules of branding and logo design. Ruth Kedar, graphic designer of Google's doodle, created one of the most recognizable logos (within a few years, Google's logo became as popular as NBC proud peacock and the CBS eye, also known as the "Tiffany Network"). Below are examples of standard branding rules Kedar obviously ignored:
        •   Don't incorporate more than 2 bold colors (Google uses 4 bold colors, playing with colors created a very child-like, playful yet bold design);
        •   Never over-kern letters (Google has excessive, uneven spacing in-between letters. Even though they have made a few changes (the latest in May 2014) the spacing is way off and obvious to the naked eye);
        •   Stay away from simple, elementary fonts (The original choice was the world's most popular typeface -- "Times Roman;" However Google's simple, chisel-style "Catull" typeface was selected for the subtle, sophisticated sans-serif design which incorporated old world writing style (e.g.,chisel and quill) with new age digital.

Google signature brand elements remained unchanged for the first Thanksgiving doodle (1998) with the exception of an exclamation mark and cartoon-like turkey, respectively at the very end of the word Google.

From a market branding perspective, Google doodles illustrate how breaking rules can be very effective -- violating traditional guidelines of logo brand management yet not minimizing Google brand equity. Interestingly, Google's Thanksgiving doodles gradually integrate design motifs within the Google letters (e.g., doodles from 1999 through 2002).

Beginning with 2003 to the present, Google doodle design integration spread to multiple letters with some doodles entirely replacing actual letters -- particularly with the 2008 cornucopia and in 2010 Google doodle's entire letters were replaced with food servings from the design by Food Network's Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.



Can you think of other brands who have broken the rules with their logos and still maintained their brand?

Do you think breaking the rules for logos would work for other brands.

The 2015 Thanksgiving Google doodle is not animated. Here's the 2014 animated Thanksgiving doodle. Isn't is adorable? Enjoy!

To view the 2013 animated Thanksgiving doodle, click here!


RESOURCES: Links to Thanksgiving doodles past
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2016  
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2015
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2014
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2013
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2012
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2011
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2010
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2009
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2008
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2007
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2006
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2005
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2004
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2003
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2002
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2001
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-2000
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-1999
  • https://www.google.com/doodles/thanksgiving-1998

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Although Thanksgiving is celebrated by many in religion and cultural traditions, it is also a world-wide (non-religious) celebration. Photo right miniature pumpkins by Gloria Buono-Daly (taken at Stew Leonards, Yonkers, NY, October 2013). 

Our 16th President of the U.S.A., Abraham Lincoln, declared Thanksgiving Day a national holiday to be held annually in November during the Civil War (1863). Although New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday in 1817.

Not surprising, many Native Americans as well as other individuals disagree with the way Thanksgiving is mentioned historically particularly in text books, school classrooms and other periodicals. They believe millions of deaths resulted from the long and bloody war between Native Americans and European settlers and call Thanksgiving a "day of mourning." A History.com posting, reports that since 1970, protesters have gathered on Thanksgiving Day at the top of Cole’s Hill, which overlooks Plymouth Rock, to commemorate a “National Day of Mourning.” Similar events are held in other parts of the country. 

Photo below left of Black Friday sale courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.

This Thanksgiving for sure many will eat, drink, and sleep while others will shop till they drop for many things especially electronics, smart phones and iPhones.
Samsung usually advertises their new products and for sure many will consider the latest Samsung Notebook 4 (released in mid October).

So be on the lookout for discounts if you are interested. Not surprising, iPhones will not have discounts.

Phone companies offer no-finance monthly plans with a slight discount if you lock yourself into a 2 year plan. Since many are not opting for cell phone lock-ins, you may find great deals for comparative, non-Apple products.
What will you be doing this Thanksgiving Day?

If you plan on being in New York City, there's always the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, this is the 90

th year.

This year, there are many performers including Mariah Carey, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, and Trey Songz. Click here to view the complete line-up for this year.

There are plenty of things to do on Thanksgiving -- see links below in the "Resources" section.

Thanksgiving Day (Jour de l'Action de grâce in Canadian French) is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.

Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations.

Resources: 

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2014 R, TimeOut
 NEEDTOBREATHE to Play at 88th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade , Urban Christian News
Ruth Kedar On Designing the Google Logo Google BlogoScoped
10 Reasons Not To Spend Thanksgiving with your Family, Babble by Disney
5 Tips for Viewing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade , LuxeAdventureTraveler
How to do Thanksgiving without Family, Elephant 


Please remember to check out the links in the resource section above and share this on your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks you enjoy! Thanks! 

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia.org unless otherwise indicated.




This Thanksgiving post is a reposting of previous AllThingsDigitalMarketing annual Thanksgiving blog posts.

Visiting this blog frequently and sharing this with your social media and professional network is much appreciated. Thanks.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Happy Veterans Day America! Let's give thanks to all our veterans and families November 11


Happy Veterans Day America!

Veterans Day honors those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces and is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11th. Last year the theme was
 “Courage – Honoring All Who Served”  is the Veterans Day theme this year


Veterans Day coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. Thank you to all of our Veterans and families.

The United States originally observed Armistice Day and it was renamed to Veterans Day holiday in 1954.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day as November 11, 1919.

Seven years later, the United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution (June 4, 1926), and requested that President Calvin Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11th.
Photo right of soldier with folded American flag courtesy of wikimedia.



I was fortunate to receive this interesting article from one of my dearest cousins about my late father and his 3 brothers(total 7 brothers, 1 sister) who served during World War II.

Coincidentally, major hostilities of World War I formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect.


Do you plan on doing anything this Veterans Day?


Many celebrate with family and friends, and there are so many special ways to celebrate.

For example, sharing photos of loved ones who have served in the armed forces (I've just done that via the photo above), posting to your social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, blogs, etc. Also the traditional VD Parades, especially in New York City.
Photo below right of bald eagle courtesy of wikimedia.

Parades are wonderful especially for children. Being creative with children is also an excellent way to help them learn about history and Veterans Day. Have them read various periodicals (e.g., books, newspapers, magazines, internet, photos of soldiers, etc.) and ask them to draw pictures of various images that remind them of Veterans Day such as our American flag, relatives in uniform, Veterans Day Memorials, and our national emblem, the bald eagle. And you can also enjoy the parade at home with family by watching it on TV live or online  ~ Watch the Parade!

If you happen to be in New York City, there's always the Veterans Day Parade, this year, the theme is “Honor and Remember, Home of the Brave” commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the end of World War II and the 25th Anniversary of Desert Shield. Organized in New York since 1929 by the United War Veterans Council (UWVC) this parade is the largest Veterans Day event in the nation with over 25,000 parade participants, and this year marks the 87th year! 



The wreath laying ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the Eternal Flame in Madison Square Park (located in the Flat Iron district of New York City) and the parade begins at 11:25 a.m. and ends 3:30 p.m.


Photo below left of Aviation High School at Madison Square Park during the NYC Veterans Day Parade courtesy of wikimedia.


The parade goes up Fifth Avenue, from 26th to 52nd Street. The route is 1.3 miles (approx. a 35 minute walk).

The Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard are also represented.

If you can't be there, you can still see the parade live at PIX11 ~ America's Parade to Air on PIX11



Resources:
▼   Visit this link and share the 2015 Veterans Day Teaser Poster http://americasparade.org/share-the-2015-teaser-poster/
▼   America's Parade to Air on PIX11 http://americasparade.org/pix11-to-air-americas-parade/
▼   Veterans Day 2014: Deals on meals for military personnel, New York Daily News,
▼   Veterans Day Parade in New York City,About Travel,
▼   America's Parade in New York City,About Travel
▼   Veterans Day Parade information on Wikipedia
▼   Office of Public Affairs http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/

This is a reporting of a previous VD post with updates. Please bookmark this blog and share this with your social media and other networks. Thanks.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Know Your Value Conference with Mika Brzezinski


Mika Brzezinski, best known for co-hosting MSNBC’s Morning Joe (with her now fiancé, Joe Scarborough), is a bestselling author of books for professional women.  One of her titles, Knowing Your Value (Hachette Books), is a guide “to empower women to claim their worth at every stage of their personal and professional lives.”  (Hachette is releasing a revised version in September 2018)

Brzezinski has recently expanded the Know Your Value brand by hosting live events and a new website. One such event was held on October 30th at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, featuring such luminaries as Martha Stewart, Jane Pauley and Sarah Jessica Parker, not to mention Joe Scarborough, who acted as co-host.  Oh, and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped by to declare it “Know Your Value” day (and presumably to court women voters)!


The day was packed with interviews, panels, and workshops covering personal branding, salary negotiating, health/wellness, re-launching a career after taking time off to care for family, body language, millennials in the workforce and more.  There was also a contest featuring three everyday women who, after some professional coaching and styling, pitched their value.  The winner, Tiffany Hamilton, received $5,000 after an impassioned one-minute speech which made WNBC’s New York Live host and judge Sara Gore get teary eyed (NBC’s Willie Geist and InStyle’s Laura Brown were the other judges).

Brzezinski also spoke throughout the day, advising women how to Know Their Value:

1) Stop Apologizing - Women say “I’m sorry” too often and in the process, diminish their value in comparison to men.
2) Get Your Data – Have metrics handy of the value you bring to your company’s business. Think how much revenue did you generate or how much did you save the company by implementing a project?  What awards have you won?
3) Respect First, Friendship Follows – You are not at work to make friends but be respected for your value.   Relationships are important at work, but they need to respect you first.
4) Dress for Your Message – Wear clothing that makes you confident and expresses your brand.
5) Use Silence for Your Advantage – When asking for something – make your case and ask, then be quiet.
6) Press Reset – You can always try again if you don’t succeed the first time.

Here are some highlights and tips from some of the Know Your Value presenters:


Martha Stewart, now well into her 70s, keeps her creative juices flowing by always being curious, reading and getting out to meet new people.  (She also memorably described her TV co-host Snoop Dogg as intelligent, funny and always reeking of pot!)


Sarah Jessica Parker has parlayed her “Sex and the City” fame into a successful shoe line.  Although a shoe line was always a natural extension of her brand and many wanted to work with her, she refused to compromise on quality and decided to work with Manolo Blahnik CEO George Malkemus to bring her shoes to market.  She also says to learn the business she “is quiet and learns” and surrounds herself with people who know more than she does, so she can learn. She also spoke of having a strong work ethic, being reliable and watching how you treat others.

News anchor and journalist Jane Pauley, who was diagnosed as bi-polar when she was 49, talked about self-care being important for all women, not just for someone who is managing a physical or mental illness.  She gets plenty of sleep and takes her medication daily, describing her 50s and 60s as the best years of her life.


InStyle’s Editor in Chief Laura Brown is known for her “kooky” Instagram  account which she describes as a magazine of her life.  She advises women to be authentic and use their inner 8-year-old as a guide to what makes them happy.  She is also using InStyle to highlight “badass women” such as Cate Blanchett and write about social change through interviews with political figures such as former Vice President Joe Biden.


The BBC’s Katty Kay, who co-authored The Confidence Code, advises women to assess why they deserve a raise, list achievements and prepare and strategize before asking her boss.  She also says that persistence is key and making it a win/win for the employer.  She also says not to cry and learn to respond to objections in real time.


Body language expert Janine Driver gave a riotous presentation where she gave some great do’s and don’ts.  She said to focus on voice and posture and to shake hands while facing someone with your body, and to grab your chin to show confidence and stature.  She also explained why Hillary Clinton shimmied during her debates with Donald Trump – it was done to control anger – it’s impossible to stay angry when you are shimmying!  Some don’ts included not to shrug (shows uncertainty and not caring) or to shake hands with your body turned to the side.

Fitness guru Tracy Anderson spoke about the importance of daily exercise (30-60 minutes) for all women and they should choose something they enjoy.  She also talked about how important Instagram has been to her success with her #tamily hashtag that brings her fans together and connect.

In all, this was a great event and I applaud Mika Brzezinski and her team for pulling it together.  If I had a criticism, I felt she tried to jam almost too many topics into the day, so there wasn’t enough time to really dive into each.  (I was also expecting a complimentary copy of Knowing Your Value, having been to similar events where the book is always included in the price of admission.  In this case, they were selling books in the lobby to be signed by Brzezinski).


Andrea Goldstein is a digital marketing
professional with a passion for pop culture.
@nydigitalmarket on Twitter






#KnowYourValue #MikaBrzezinski #JoeScarborough #MarthaStewart #SarahJessicaParker #JanePauley #tracyanderson #laurabrown