Twitter Gras

I've been noticing a lot of Mardi Gras tweets and I love seeing the season through other people's eyes via their posts and TwitPics. Then I came across Tom Martin's experiment to live stream his weekend on Twitter. What a great idea!

But, I got to thinking about how cool it would be if everyone posted their Mardi Gras experience and tagged it with #mardigras. That way you could aggregate all the unique things people are doing around the city in one place and really get a 360-degree look at the festivities.

It works great for conferences, right. And if you have never watched your favorite TV show with the Twitterverse, you should try it. It's like sitting in your living room with a bunch of really snarky friends. Like tonight when @blathering totally called Collichio out on his roux knowledge on #topchef...but, I digress.

So, if you are out and about in NOLA for Mardi Gras, tweet it out and add #mardigras at the end. Or, if you are stuck behind your desk in Seattle wishing you were here, just search Twitter for mardigras and enjoy some real time vicarious living!

Happy Mardi Gras. Let's share our fun. Show us your Tweets!

New Job. New Media.

When I first met Adele I thought "She has great hair!" It only took a few minutes to discover that under those lovely locks is a crazy big brain. We are founding members of Net2NO, a secret speakeasy for New Orleans tech geeks (which is now gloriously not so secret with over 150 members, but that's another story). We became fast friends on Twitter, sharing resources, insights and more than a few laughs. We met "IRL" for a quick lunch that spiraled into a 2 hour geek-out. Now, six months later, I find myself in my dream job sitting across from my well coiffed mentor tossing around ideas and html puns.

In a dire economic environment riddled with lay-offs, I managed to land a killer position with a stable and cutting edge agency. I'm sorry, am I DREAMING?? Coming from a traditional advertising background, I know that marketing budgets are the first to be cut in hard financial times. Bye-Bye big shot TV director and craft services. And, dare I say, good riddance. Not to let the cat out of the bag, but there is an better way. *Shhh*. It's online. When Alec Baldwin is touting Hulu on network TV, you gotta think something's changing. Listen closely, Detroit, nobody is watching those beautifully crafted car commercials. OK, maybe a few folks are. I'll give you that. Hey, I watch Superbowl ads. But how can you know for sure that it's working? Where's your measurement, your ROI, your conversion?

Maybe I am getting swept up in my interactive love fest. Maybe I am part of the instant gratification generation. But, when I look at the analytics for a successful online campaign, I know my client is winning. When I get instant R&D from my prime demographic through social media outlets, I thank my lucky stars for not being behind a one-way mirror focus group in some unknown town. And when I have doubts and long for a craft service bagel, I look across my desk for instant gratification and relish my homemade blueberry muffin from #coffea.

Chuck, Mt. Everest, Earthquakes in Japan and... Hubby Love?

Hubby: I can't believe nobody told me that Chuck was in 3-D :(

Yours Truly: Were you expecting a secret decoder ring from the NBC team?

Hubby: I didn't get an e-mail. Nothing on Facebook. Not even a Tweet.

Hubby is not an internet geek. Or in advertising. He owns a cafe. (An incredibly delicious, truly one-of-a-kind cafe.) And, he is *dare I say* an "Influencer". That elusive group of early-adopting WOM mavens that marketers dream of.

Our conversation about Chuck is evidence that traditional advertising doesn't really work. Hubby figured that any one of our like-minded buddies would have filled him in on the obviously important fact that the show was in 3-D. I am sure that there was heavy marketing behind this little endeavor. TV? Print? Interactive? Whatever the medium, it completely missed the target audience... Or, maybe we live in a bubble. I am totally open to that possibility.

Except that my bubble just burst wide open. I am leaving a group of highly creative, inspiring ad people to explore the Web 2.0 frontier. It's an exciting venture, but not one without its "What the hell are you thinking" moments. I love my job. I admire the founders of my company. But, I have this gnawing beast inside of me that needs to be fed. That would be my inner geek (hungry little devil). So, I am abandoning my comfortable nest and flying off to a new agency that resides on the bleeding edge. And that edge overlooks a long, long way to fall.

Ironically, I am reading a book about a Mt. Everest expedition. Apparently, there are many terrifying edges to overcome before you get anywhere near the summit. And that's where I am heading. To the summit. To plant me flag.

Wait a minute! That expedition ended in mass causalities. OK, breathe. Think Chuck. Think about the future of communication where people get their information online and expect their networks to keep them informed. Think about the fact that when I am looking for breaking news I turn to my TweetDeck search cloud (FYI: there was an earthquake in Japan today). Remember that I haven't read a newspaper in months because I subscribe to the RSS feeds. And most importantly, when I question my choice, know that I will always have Hubby by my side reaffirming my convictions- whether he knows it or not.

So, there you have it. My first blog post in months. But, hopefully, not my last. Wish me luck on my expedition!

PS Thanks to BFF on the randomly appropriate reading material.