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Archive for July, 2008

Enabled Serendipity

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Guest Blog Post by @leahjones

I’m sitting at a bar in Chicago called Matilda’s. When I was here last week, I came with @amyguth and then @lisrock joined us. Hooray! @amyguth and I have known each other for years, but it was the first time I’d met @lisrock in person. We didn’t plan to hang out, but we know the areas we hang out in and were able to have a martini together.

This is what I call Enabled Serendipity.

It sounds like extreme web 2.0 jargon but it has become my favorite things about Twitter. Because of Twitter, I avoid stories that end with, “Oh man, I was there too. If I’d known you were there, we would have had such an awesome time!”

Enabled Serendipity is being able to turn an almost-coincidence into seeing someone face to face.

Last winter I was in the Jet Blue Terminal of JFK and saw that @chrisbrogan was waiting to board a Jet Blue flight as well. A direct messageâ€”and quick text message to his phone, after getting his number from mobile Facebookâ€”and we were having a beer. Without Twitter, we would have each had our lonely airport meal. Hell, without Twitter, @chrisbrogan wouldn’t be in my life.

In June I went to Israel for two weeks. The night I got to Tel Aviv, I missed my hosts and didn’t have their cell phone number to find them. It was a holiday, so making a last minute hotel reservation wasn’t going to happen. I dragged all of my luggage to a cafe, got on Twitter and said, “hmmm… no plan b and can’t find hosts. i’m near ben gurion and hadassah st, any suggestions?”

Within moments my phone lit-up and @taltalk came to rescue me. After getting promises that I wasn’t a murderer over twitter from the States, @taltalk came to get me and I stayed with her. That my friends, is Israeli and Twitterati hospitality.

A few days later I tweeted that I was walking around Tel Aviv, if anyone wanted to join. By 5PM, I was joined at Cuppa Joe by one of Israel’s biggest pop stars Ivri Lider. Hint: On Twitter he’s a little more incognito as @arturmon.

And these are just the recent stories. Due to the Enabled Serendipity of Twitter, I now have a global community. I’ve met people around the country and abroad. I’ve fallen in and out of something close to love. I’ve been able to make introductions that turned into jobs. I have a new group of friends in Chicago that don’t roll their eyes when I talk about nerdy-nerdy things and I’ve even got most of my family on Twitter including my mom @lindajones, twin sister @devivo, and older brother @ryjones.

But the most fun remains those moments when I can avoid saying “Oh man, you were there too?” and replace it with, “Remember when we met at a cafe in Tel Aviv?”

Guest post for Twitter Stars by @leahjones

Leah Jones is a writer, occasional talker, and the Digital-Culture Evangelist at Edelman Public Relations in Chicago.

More about Leah Jones can be found at:

http://www.edelmandigital.com/blog/authors.html

If you’ve enjoyed Leah’s guest post on digital culture, please consider reading some of the other articles she’s written or has appeared in on the web.

Leah Jones on Edelman’s Talkshop: Geeking Out in DC.

Leah Jones on Edelman Digital’s Authenticities.

Leah Jones on Chicago Tech Report.

Leah Jones on Liz Strauss’ Successful-blog.com.

Leah Jones on Twellow.com.

Leah Jones on Flickr.

I lean left politically, I’m a Zionist, I’m an observant, liberal Jew. I love Chicago, I love my friends. When I write about things I love, I probably wasn’t asked to write about it. Seriously, look at my stats, nobody really needs my help to sell their stuff. I write about Jewish stuff, dating stuff, writing stuff, friend stuff, weather stuff, event stuff, and weight stuff.

Tags: Chris Brogan, Edelman Public Relations, guest post, Leah Jones, Twitter, Web 2.0
Posted in Behind the Blurbs | 3 Comments »

Shannon’s Very Official Guest Post

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Guest Blog Post by @shannonpaul

Twitter provided my first real foray into social media.

Sure, I already had profiles on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace, but I was using them to stay connected to people I already knew.

When I began to use Twitter, it marked the first time I reached out to people I didn’t know on a social networkâ€”and many of them weren’t just any people, but they were some of the most intelligent, productive and creative individuals that I now consider part of my personal network.

I believe that the resistance many still have to online social networks centers around the outdated notion that connections formed online are not real.

This just isn’t true anymore.

Meeting people online isn’t just about dating. Other professional relationships and friendships formed online often move into so-called real life and have the same impact on our lives as those we form when we meet face to face or through an acquaintance.

Twitter is great for letting people get to know one another in a much more organic way than they would at a networking event or a charity dinner or even a golf outing, because Twitter provides a platform where people can chat, exchange valuable information, answer questions and offer support on a daily basis. As an added bonus, you can also observe how someone interacts with other members of the community.

Many of the people I now interact with, online, and offline, I came to know through Twitter. A few of them have even become some of my most valued professional contacts.

Many of my colleagues working in public relations at various stages of their careers have a hard time taking social networking seriously, but, at the same time feel pressured to engage half-heartedly because they read newspaper and magazine articles that proclaim social media is the next big thing in communications.

Luke-warm participation doesn’t work.

Temporary participation doesn’t work.

If you’re going to use social networking tools like Twitter to build your network, remember:

Take a deep diveâ€”spend time looking at other peoples’ timelines and get to know some of the people with the most followers. To find out who they are, visit Alltop and see how they interact with others.

Check out their URLâ€”read the content people you’re following are creating and engage in conversation about their blog or podcast by commenting on their posts. Almost everyone on Twitter has a URL in their profileâ€”click it and learn more about them.

Promote othersâ€”more than you promote yourself, your company or your clients. Use twitter to share links with your followers that they might enjoy and re-tweet links that have been shared with you from those you follow. Also, if you’re in marketing or public relations, be sure to disclose every time you’re promoting a client. Blanket disclosures don’t work.

Be humanâ€”this may be the most difficult to explain, but don’t just tweet about things that are in line with your agenda. Play a little and share who you are beyond what you do.

Recognize that life online is real lifeâ€”make yourself at home. To truly benefit from social networking, recognize that part of your life is now shared in the online space. Don’t use it to simply escape from your three-dimensional activities and responsibilities, but rather think of it as a more efficient means of building your network than attending every networking and professional development event in your geographical area.

Guest post for Twitter Stars by @shannonpaul

Shannon Paul is an Account Coordinator at John Bailey & Associates. At JB&A, Shannon provides assistance for such accounts as the North American International Auto Show, KPMG, OSRAM Sylvania, Macyâ€™s North, International Automotive Components Group, Harley Ellis Devereaux and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Shannon also worked as an intern with the Community Relations department of the NBA Detroit Pistons and WNBA Detroit Shock, Creative Breakthroughs in Troy, Michigan and at Henry Ford Community College in its Office of Public Information.

Tags: guest post, Shannon Paul, social networking, Twitter
Posted in Behind the Blurbs | 4 Comments »

Xcore’d: Comic-Con 2008

Monday, July 28th, 2008

Guest Blog Post by @christyxcore

Comic-Con is my escape from reality. It allows me to dive into the pages of stories and to immerse myself in a world where I can forget about everything that really matters. Comic-Con is a stress reliever.

I had an interest in going beginning 3 years ago because I wanted to see all the cool stuff and also to meet new people that share that common interest with me. I figured I’d even get to meet some famous people. This is why I go to both the Anime Expo and Comic-Con.

I developed an interest in anime in middle school when the series Pokemon was first getting popular. This led me to discover other anime titles and that’s what started my anime/manga hobby. I have been interested in these comics ever since childhood because of the heroes I had read about and would admire. My brother was always into that stuff and he helped me go to the comic book stores and buy me comics. My favorite was X-Men at the time.

I’m a nerd when it comes to conventions like Comic-Con. These cons are my complete escape from the daily realities that exist outside the walls my own personal nerd-fest. Comic-Con is like walking through a comic book, video game, or anime; it’s like walking through a bunch of these at once.

The thing that kills the fun at cons like Comic-Con is the waiting in lines but it’s always worth it in the end. Well, except for the line for Tite Kubo, the creator of ever-popular series Bleach. There were several hundred fans and the room was tiny! A majority of the people didn’t make it in and that was a big disappointment at the con for me. I didn’t get to see the creators of one of my favorite anime series. I had been looking forward to that for weeks! I guess that means I know what to expect for next year.

However, it was awesome to see other fans of the series like myself. I felt like I belonged. I fit in with these people because we all share the common interest of one anime on the surface and probably a ton more of other series and perhaps video games and other common interests. While waiting in line alone, I didn’t feel like I was alone because all the people around me were just like me.

The biggest attraction for me was the experience of having another Comic-Con under my belt. I believe that the highlight moment for me this year was the chance to be in the same room as Matt Groening and his genius.

Why do I admire him so? I grew up on his work. From when I was a toddler to my teenage years, The Simpsons was the only show back then that I thought was funny even though I didn’t know most of the jokes as a child but I still loved the characters and those funny moments I did understand. I would watch it religiously.

However as I grew up, I moved on from The Simpsons because it just didn’t entertain me as much as it once did. I discovered Futurama before I gave up on the Simpsons and I found a new work of Matt Groening that I absolutely admire to death.

Due to his writing staff having Masters and PhDs, they write more obscure jokes that only a select crowd could understand and get. As I grew up I got more into video games and technology and then I understood some more of the jokes they made in Futurama. Not all the jokes are about video games or computers. Some are just stupid humor but done in an excellent way.

I find the theme in Futurama to be a bit more complex than The Simpsons and has somewhat better jokes than The Simpsons, at least in the newer seasons. The storyline focuses on all the characters, and they actually progress; unlike in The Simpsons where they remain the same. The relationship between Fry and Leela is always changing and growing; it’s things like this that made me move from old-school Simpsons to new-age Futurama.

Comic-Con

From July 24-27, 2008 in San Diego, California, was the annual San Diego Comic-Con 2008. Despite the name, Comic-Con is not limited to just comic books. It’s more like “Pop Culture Con” because the variety of things to be found and explored within the convention center walls ranges from comic books to books to anime, movies and TV shows to video games and trading card games. Anything that is nerdy and popular will find a place in the ever popular Comic-Con International.

Comic-Con is a much more different experience than the other convention I have been to this month as well, Anime Expo 2008. Whereas such a convention is dedicated to the popular Japanese arts and animation and video games with an estimated attendance of almost 50,000 people from all over, Comic-Con is a convention where there is something for pretty much anyone, regardless of tastes, and has an estimated 130,000+ attendees from patterns of previous years.

I was able to get a free badge to Comic-Con for the last 3 years due to my brother’s employment at toy company Mattel, which grants him access to Professional and Exhibitor level badges and I have been invited to go every year with him. This year, I attended Friday and Saturday (July 25-26).

Star Wars Day

This Friday was Star Wars Day, where the main theme of the convention is that of George Lucas’ treasured sci-fi movie series, Star Wars. I like Star Wars myself, but I am not a diehard fan of it. However, there were plenty of Star Wars fanatics roaming around the Exhibit Hall dressed up in costumes that came straight from the Star Wars universe ranging from stormtroopers, Darth Vader, jedis, and there was even a Elvis Stormtrooper! Yes, thats right. An Elvis version stormtrooper. Truly one of the creative ones. And finding Star Wars merchandise was not a hard thing to accomplish, especially on Star Wars day.

It is lovely to see even young little children dressing up and showing the Star Wars spirit! There were plenty of little kids dressed up in stormtrooper or Boba Fett or jedi outfits. Even barely toddlers were dressed up and there was one particularly charming pair of toddlers that just made me stop and say â€˜aww…’. It’s quite a feeling to see such young toddlers that probably could barely understand the complex storyline of Star Wars dressing up like the characters. Star Wars is a sci-fi pop culture symbol and even the new generation of children are recognizing it so.

The Dark Knight - Joker Fandom

With The Dark Knight making record breaking sales from just the two weeks that it’s been out, there has been much recognition for Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker at the convention. Finding a Joker wasn’t hard to do, just walk a bit and you’d be sure to encounter one. There is one particular Joker that was easily one of the best around and truly my favorite Joker: the Nurse Joker. I almost mistook it for the real thing straight from the movie at first sight!

I could not really find anyone that was dressed up like The Dark Knight’s Batman (just the original costume from the comic books and cartoons) or Two-Face, and saw a few Commissioner Gordons. But the majority of Dark Knight people were indeed the Joker, and it’s not surprising since Heath Ledger’s performance as Batman’s nemesis was truly spectacular.

Futurama and The Simpsons

Matt Groening and his cast from “Futurama” and “The Simpsons” did their traditional panel in Ballroom 20 on Saturday July 26. I was lucky enough to make it to the panel, as I got in the line 15 minutes before the Futurama one started, and actually got in the room.

It was pretty much just a Q&A session for both shows, the questions being provided by fans that feel the need to ask critical questions (or just plain silly ones). I found the Futurama panel to be a bit more interesting than The Simpsons, but that’s only because I haven’t cared for the Simpsons since several seasons back. But it’s all good…

One question that is of high importance in the Futurama panel was whether they would be working on getting a new season of Futurama on the air. The answer? Depending on the sales of the movies currently out (Bender’s Big Score and The Beast With a Billion Backs) and the future sales of the other two movies, and whether Fox (it was their first year at Comic Con!) would get wind of how enthusiastic fans are for the series, it could be a small ray of hope for the future of Futurama.

Another question of some importance was about the development between Fry and Leela. Of course, they couldn’t say exactly what will happen, but there will be more development between the two in the next two movies. I guess there is some more development in BwaBB, but I have yet to see this one yet (yes, shame on me) so I wouldn’t know. I plan on seeing it soon though. But yes, more development on Fry and Leela’s relationship! Also: Katey Sagal (Leela) and Billy West (Fry, Farnsworth, Zoidberg) kissed in front of the hundreds of fans! In response to the Fry and Leela relationship question. It was certainly a surprise brought on by Billy West (which I got to actually meet in person at Comic Con 2006).

The Simpsons panel was pretty much the same as the Futurama panel, except of course it was the Simpsons cast of writers and animators. They did show a clip from the upcoming Treehouse of Horrors XIX and talked about future guest appearances in the series, with plenty of surprises.

Soul Calibur IV

There was the Bandai booth which featured plenty of upcoming video game titles to try out, with the highly anticipated Soul Calibur IV being the main spotlight with its release this week on Tuesday.

People were able to sneak a peek at all the playable characters, which have returning favorites and changed characters in relation to the storyline of the Soul Calibur franchise, and additional characters, including the first armor-clad female, Hilde. The XBOX 360 version will also have Yoda and the PS3 version will have Darth Vader, and both will have stages in relation to their respectable Star Wars characters.

Also, this will be the first time in which the character’s armor will be able to break during battle, changing their appearance slowly throughout the battles. Hilde’s full body armor can break into pieces and reveal her in just pieces of cloth, which of course will just make her more vulnerable. Seems that the costumes will be more towards the realistic side, which only adds to the completely realistic graphics.

Anime fans should have been pleased to know that Tite Kubo, creator of [adult swim]’s Bleach, made a rare appearance at Comic Con 2008 as well. Unfortunately, I had lined up about 20 minutes late, because I was unable to get into the panel. I am guessing they did not anticipate so many Bleach fans, because it was in Room 7A and the line was gigantic. Perhaps the people in charge should take that into consideration for next year.

A place where nerds of all kinds collide and bond over their shared common interest-pop culture. Comic books, books, manga, anime, television shows, movies, trading card games, art, video games, collectibles. Comic-Con has got them all.

Guest post for Twitter Stars by @christyxcore

Christine Chan is a student, writer, iPhone and MacBook user, gamer, otaku, Moleskine user, tech geek, and coffee lover.

Tags: Arts, Comic-Con International, Comics, Futurama, Matt Groening, San Diego, San Diego California, Simpsons
Posted in Twitter Stars Report | 5 Comments »

Liz Strauss is Going to Break the Web!

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

Guest Blog Post by @eeUS

If the internet goes down today we can all blame the founder of SOB (Successful and Outstanding Bloggers) list and the founder of SOBCOn (Successful and Outstanding Blogger Conference), @Liz Strauss!

The first lady of blogging, Liz Strauss has let it slip that she may indeed bring down the internet later today when she hosts the first Blog-To-Show mini blog show today! Liz has invited anyone who has a blog to showcase to join in the fun on her site today and showcase their blog to all her readers.

As reported earlier today by Lorelle on Wordpress, Liz is planning on showcasing about 260 blogs on Saturday, July 26th, that may just break the web in a 4 hour marathon, that’s still not over!

This reporter got a quick email interview with Liz during the frenzy.

What inspired the Blog-To-Show idea?

Liz: I like to give people reasons to connect to people and the best way to do that is to look for their common goals.

How many blogs were featured?

Liz: 260 blogs went up one at a time. It took me about 2.5 hours just to time stamp them all.

Do you have any idea how many visitors you got?

Liz: I was working for the first two hours and really didn’t get much chance to watch what was going on. Meanwhile, it’s not over yet… There are still 1.5 hours to go!

Do you know what the top 3 most visited blogs were in the Blog-To-Show?

Liz: I wouldn’t even know how to gather that information across the hours that this took place.

Anyone who knows Liz personally knows what a giving person she is. Liz is constantly giving to others and views her friends and clients success as part of her success. Liz has two main mottos that envelop exactly who she is as a person and business woman, they are “be irresistable” and “you’re only a stranger once”.

One way to experience her expertise is to get a copy of her new e-book, The Secret to Writing a Successful and Outstanding Blog which I can personally tell you is a fabulous book for a true insight into the world of blogging! I am in the process of reading it and as I told her, I find myself nodding along in agreement which is kind of weird for me to do! However, that is one of the reason’s I can recommend the book; it is spot on! Because of Liz’s expertise and experience, it is easy to read and applicable to many audiences. There are just some books that appeal to the masses and this book is one of them!

As the founder of SOBCon, Liz held a conference this year that had speakers from such diverse areas of the blogosphere as Anita Brusseze, Chris Brogan, Brian Clark of Copyblogger, Chris Garrett, Wendy Piersall, Lorelle On Wordpress, and David Bullock. These ladies and gents rocked the house along with Terry Starbucker, SOBCon co-founder.

For those that were unable to attend SOBCon07, luckily there will be a SOBCon08. There is not another conference anywhere like this conference!

You can connect with Liz on Twitter. Getting to know Liz is easy, following her friends on Twitter is a blessing, and reading her blog daily is an inspriation!

Updated 7:30pm:

Liz did not bring down the internet, bummer.

When I asked her how it went Liz said, “The Internet survived well enough, as I figured it might, my sitemap took a beating and my Twitterfeed has been put on pause for the rest of the weekendâ€”I forgot to turn off the260 individual posts.” She says she’s spending the rest of her night Twittering quietly.

Guest post for Twitter Stars by @eeUS

Vicky Hennegan is the President of RemarkableParents, LLC & Info. She is also an Enterprise Project Manager, Business Process Analyist, and End User Training & Documentation specialist at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

You already know that everything is happening now on the web. Itâ€™s where your kids are interacting with their friends. What you may not know is that itâ€™s also a forum that allows us to be in contact with each other and more importantly, to stay in touch with your kids.