Giving Thanks

Again, I am up at 3 o'clock in the morning, got a sore throat going on and a lingering headache but thoughts rush in and out of my head. Surfing the web, I see all these Black Friday ads and a story of a person already camping out to get god knows what. Anyways, my thought at this moment is that even though I am not feeling 100%, I am thankful for these things. 

1. Family- Through all of the good and bad times, I am thankful I have immediate and not-so immediate family. It is good to have people around that care for you and that I can care for. 

2. Friends- Again, even though my friends are not my blood, they are like my family. All the people I encounter and become friends with are special and that I am thankful for.

3. My Dogs- I love my dogs, they are funny and do crazy off the wall things. I am fortunate to have the ability to have 3 crazy dogs to call my own.

4. My Health- Again, I can get a headache or a cold now and then but am glad I am able to seek any care that is needed to alleviate any bad things that may happen to me.

5. My thoughts- I am thankful that I am able to express myself through blogging or through the social networks. If there is a bad meal to be had, I am thankful I can express. If there is a good meal to be eaten, I am thankful I can tell people about it. If there is anything I want to share, I am glad there are outlets for me to do so.

6. Shelter, clothing, food etc... - I need to remember that I am thankful that I have these basic necessities for living. I also need to remember to give back to those that need these items. 

 

As Thursday approaches, I am happy to share my Thanks to you for reading my thoughts. What are you thankful for this season?

Posted via email from Jennifer's epiphanies

Taking a pulse

Social Media has become a big part of my life in the past two plus years. In fact, that is pretty much a big chunk of my everyday life. I am always monitoring what is happening in the world of social media, society, entertainment, and technology all from reading Twitter and Facebook. Keeping up with politics, local happenings, friends and PR Snafus are thrown into the mix as well. All of a sudden Social Media is no longer taking a back seat for businesses. I have seen a handful of workshops, webinars in my radar lately and decided to sit in on an actual in-real life conference full of everyday people, not the tech or the web crowd I am accustomed to. So here is my experience yesterday…

 I went to an all-day seminar where there were many fields of small business. The seminar was a comprehensive overview of social media marketing.  I got to meet a handful of folks; they were accountants, pet walkers, and other small media/ad agencies. I am pretty sure a lot wanted to know how to do B 2 B social media, which is totally different than B 2 C social media. But it was hard for me not to be curious what everyone did. While mingling, I glanced at everyone’s nametag, many of them customers of the hosts of the event. But then I remembered from something I saw on the Tedx SD twitter stream. Don’t ask what you do; ask what you are passionate about.  I took the line and asked a fellow attendee. “What are you passionate about?”  And she said, “Well, I do two things” I work for a designer and but I am passionate about yoga.” Later, I found out she was also a “happiness coach” from her business card that she gave me. I looked at her card and said, “oh you’re a yoga instructor and happiness coach”, and I was intrigued. She knew I was kind of taken back by the presentation from the seminar; in my opinion, the presenter was throwing out everything but the kitchen sink. As someone who is familiar with Social Media, my opinion was while the seminar/workshop provided lots of information; it also provided a lot of inaccuracies. While the buzzwords were thrown out there (conversation, engagement, relationship) and lots of stats, there was no ok…let us start and see the big picture, there was no taking a pulse of the audience (lots of B2Bs rather than B2Cs there). The seminar missed a lot of points on the “social” in social media but instead he taught that social media was another component of marketing. “If you know marketing, you know how to do social media”, was something I recalled. I think that is what left the bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I am biased but it takes skill and passion to use the social media tools out there and to have a virtual conversation.  I held my “finger (tongue)” on my twitter stream much of the time I was there, but I know some things had to be tweeted.  All was not lost. I learned that I knew the Gap / Facebook Places Case Study better than he recalled it.  Also, reaffirmed not to believe everything I hear. PS. Google is a good fact checker. 

 

I did take away from this conference was I was relieved when the designer assistant slash yoga teacher slash happiness coach said that I looked happy. In actuality, I was a bit steamed. Maybe it was an affirmation that I was happy knowing social media wasn’t just marketing. 

Posted via email from Jennifer's epiphanies

My Viva Elvis Experience

Last Month, I was fortunate to go to Viva Elvis through the BlogWorld/Cirque du Soleil partnership. Viva Elvis is unlike any other Cirque show. All the Cirque shows are all different but I haven’t seen the music of a Rock n Roll star in a Cirque show yet.  This show pays tribute to the King of Rock n Roll in so many ways, my senses were on overload (in a good way). Dancing, singing, jumping, acrobatic moves, a live band and the costuming were excellent. I liked the screaming girls and the video montages playing homage to the King. Many of the numbers were based on his songs and each one had a different tone.

Watching Viva Elvis made me wish I was a teen to appreciate the fan base Elvis had while he was alive, you could truly feel the love for him in the air.  The middle-aged couple next to me was singing along, you could tell they were the real Elvis fans. Yet, the modern day twist to his music made it easy for the younger crowd to appreciate his prowl ness.  If you are ever in Vegas and are looking for a great show to see, I highly recommend Viva Elvis. Tip: sit towards the front of the Theatre and have a chance to grab a really cool Elvis Scarf that falls out of the ceiling at the end of the show. Viva Las Vegas and Viva Elvis.

 

Disclosure: Cirque provided tickets. Thanks Jess Berlin and Jamie Helmick for organizing.

 

Image source: Cirquedusoleil.com

Posted via email from Jennifer's epiphanies

GAP's Facebook Places Promotion

I wanted to give a lowdown of this promotion since I have already had a couple of inquiries saying What? How?... (This post may be not coherent. It is 4:30 am now and I am half asleep.

GAP recently had a promotion using Facebook Places- the newest LBS to hit the almost saturated market (Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl and more).  GAP was giving away 10,000 pairs of jeans last Friday. But when did I find out? Thursday around 4 pm. When did they send the message out? Thursday at 3:32 pm. A few of my thoughts on this. 

1.  Their window was too quick. That was less than 24 hrs. to plan and no time to digest the promotion.  What if I wasn't checking FB that day? I looked at the message and initially thought, "Is that one of those Ipad schemes"? I guess I am skeptical that for FREE is not for real or there is a catch. But this was a legit deal, but not enough time to create Buzz or talk about it. Make the promotion go even further...before not after the fact that this already happened. FREE does help...Jeans are pretty pricey these days.

2. The event heading had no indication of checking into Facebook Places-  it was until I clicked further to find out how.  It was like someone decided that they needed a promotion fast and the day before.... They decided to post on their FB page the message title "GAP Free Jeans Giveaway Today" as an event invite. 

3. I don't think enough people know what FB Places is and how to use. I read a stat that only 28% only have smartphones. What percentage of them actually use FB Places and shop at the GAP? 

4. I read that the employees were not informed of what the GAP was doing. Doesn't look good when you know more than the sales lady about a promotion. I have done this before at Fresh and Easy. I actually walked a worker through their promotion in conjunction with AMEX. I felt good that I talked to them about it but also thought "isn't this the job of the store manager"?  See #1. Not enough time to educate...a. Use of FB Places b. How was this going to work if the lines were long (each store probably only had 10,000 pairs/2,551 US stores=approx 4 pairs each store to give away) c. there was also a 40% promo going on if you weren't able to get your hands on a pair of jeans. 

5. I also read that the customers didn't understand the promo and just showed up to claim their jeans. Not sure if any were turned away because they didn't have a smartphone to check into or if in conjunction with #4, was it a total fail experience?

6. Fast Company's article said it was a success. No jeans left and over 25,000 said they attended on Facebook. They only sampled a few stores in New York City (shopping mecca of the US) and when you say I'm going to attend an event on Facebook, it is just a push of a button. Not really a good measurement of attendence, it just an assumption. 

That said, Facebook places is new and when something is new there is room for improvement and you will always learn from this.  I do see my Facebook Friends slowly adopting the Facebook places feature. Personally, I use Foursquare and hope Foursquare does more like Facebook Places in terms of these types of promotions. 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Jennifer's epiphanies