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.

My Social Media Mavens

When I attended a BlogHer08 panel and heard Gwen Bell espouse the joys of Twitter, I knew I had found a new mentor. Little did I know how many other amazing women I would meet over the next few days, who have since become a source of inspiration, education and empowerment. So, imagine my thrill at seeing Gwen, along with Laura Fitton, Erin Kotecki Vest, Ann Handley and 46 others honored as the 50 Most Influential Women in Social Media. Many thanks to Ron Hudson for showcasing these great women and introducing me to many more.

And to all my social media mentors, keep up the great work. Yours Truly will be taking notes.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Everybody's doing it. You have a few glasses of bubbly as suddenly it seems like a brilliant idea to write your sister an e-mail detailing everything you detest about her new boyfriend. Or you send a Colgate link that co-worker with the really bad breath. Or you compose a sappy love poem to your 8th grade boyfriend you haven't seen in over ten years. Not that Yours Truly has personal experience with this, of course. Purely hypothetical.

But, now everybody's talking about it. With Google's introduction of Mail Goggles, the burning question on everyone's mind- from the NYTimes, to our friends across the pond, to our friends across the office.

So, I'm dying to know: What's the worst e-mail you've regretted sending?

Break Out Your Brand Bib

Open source. What an incredible idea. Collaboration and sharing of resources to reach a greater good. No more "proprietary" models and secret boy's clubs. But, in closing the gap between the information haves & have-not's, certain services are bound to become obsolete. Is advertising one of them? Gasp! Seeing as I have a new baby to support and mortgage to pay, I certainly hope not. But innovations like Federated Media are making it much too easy for companies to control their own campaigns. They let you set goals, browse relevant targeted sites, create your own web banners and track their performance. So, why do you need little ol' me? Should I pack up my Pantone chips and call it a day?

As if I'd give up that easily. Let's be honest. Anyone can post 140 characters. And setting up a blog is as easy as picking a template and clicking a mouse. But, that's not enough to build a brand. The value lies in the relationship. In not only understanding the tools at your disposal, but how your audience wants to recieve your message and why that message is important. It's about understanding what your community wants from you and including them in the conversation. In a way, it's so much easier. Your customer is telling you EXACTLY what they want. Not that merely listening is enough. The business opportunity is taking those insights and turning them into something better for them.

It's a whole new game. And it's harder to quantify or explain with pie charts and ROI. It's a whole lot messier. But, hey, I feed a toddler everyday. I am used to mess. Mess is part of the process. Grab a bib, folks. The fun is just starting.

Fashion Musings on the Front Tuck

It's Fashion Week in NYC. Here in NOLA...not so much. But, I've noticed lots of fellas sporting the front tuck recently. That "carelessly" tucked in behind the belt look that is simultaneously casual but hip. The best explanation I've found comes from an unlikely source:

Much like how a mullet shows the world your business side in the front, and your party side in the back, the half-tuck tells one story on the right side, but a completely different story on the left. In encapsulates the contradiction that you are: The shy extrovert, the organized slob, the guy who likes to shop at Banana Republic but also likes to fall into the Gap when he’s feeling a little crazy. The half-tuck reassures the ladies that you’re a man who cares about personal grooming, but who, at the same time, couldn’t give a f##k. Who doesn’t like that?

Also known as the "frat tuck" and "half tuck", it's metrosexualizing the South. We are sooo 2006. Watch out, Bryant Park.