Twitter is Broken for Me… Grrr
So apparently Twitter is working for everyone but me right now. I’m not thrilled. Twitter is being bad. I’d prefer it to be good. I guess my thing this week is making horrible little videos. See me grrr:
TotSpot and InternshipRatings.com at Web Inno 18
I was gabbing a lot at Web Inno last night, so I didn’t have too much time to take video. Luckily, I did manage to capture Michael from TotSpot and the Lauren/Stephanie dynamic duo of InternshipRatings.com with the Flip.
TotSpot is a scrapbook-like social site that allows parents to safely share all things “my cute kids” with friends and family. I obviously only got a really brief overview, but the site seems cute and certainly of interest to new and eternally excited parents. Thinking back to some of the choice photos from my early teen years, I’m thinking my parents would totally use this site to blackmail me… But oh, how I would get them back. Check the footage:
InternshipRatings.com wasn’t presenting at the event, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing Lauren Grunstein and Stephanie Gurtman, two Boston University students, take an idea and run with it over the past year. I met these two at last year’s PodCamp Boston 2 and since then they’ve launched their site and are seeing a fantastic level of participation from students across the country. The premise is that students go on this site and rate/tell all about their internship experiences at various companies across various industries. The site also serves as an advice hub for students curious about internships and career paths. Take a look:
This post can also be found on SHIFT’s blog http://snackablepr.com. (And yes, it’s important to know what people’s favorite snacks are.)
How I Felt About Web Inno 18
This is so video diary-esque, but I wanted to say loud and proud that I had a fantastic time at Web Inno 18 and definitely plan to attend more of these events. As I say in the video (which is long-winded and in which I think I say “psyched” about 17.4 times), I just love the energy around emerging businesses and startups in this space and I had a blast seeing it all in action tonight. Special thanks to my rockin’ client 211(me) for letting me loiter at their table and help explain their personalized mobile mashup service to interested passersby.
Web Innovators Group, you are teh cool.
[UPDATE: Allen Stern has alerted me that beyond saying “psyched” too much, I also say “you know” roughly 10,934 times in this video. Thanks for the heads up, Allen. This is why I don’t make many videos…]
It’s True: Amanda Gravel Can’t Make Coffee
We can thank Alexa “the birthday girl” Scordato for this funny, slightly embarrassing video. And yes, it’s true. I don’t know how to make coffee. However, I think I make a pretty cute Fail Whale.
Enjoy:
Social Honeycomb Helps the Honey Bees
Back in April I posted about the Help the Honey Bees campaign from Haagen Dazs. After I posted, I went out looking for the special ice cream I had read about on their site that supposedly was the key to my helping out the bees. I couldn’t find it anywhere! Totally discouraged, I guess I put it out of my head and hoped that somewhere, someone was eating that bee-helping flavor.
Fast-forward (because life is a cassette tape) to a couple days ago in my local Shaw’s Supermarket where I picked up a pint of Haagen Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet. I love peach-flavored treats, so I just grabbed it and went on my way. Cut to last night when I was indulging like a peach-addicted maniac, when I noticed I had purchased a pint of Help the Honey Bees sorbet! Social Honeycomb <3 Bees and Peaches. I explain (with Santogold- Creator playing in the background):
And here I am eating my sorbet, rambling about how I love the flavor of peaches and how good it feels to help the bees (ignore my laptop fan going crazy near the end):
P.S. I’m not drunk in either video.
P.P.S. Help the bees.
Today’s Honey: June 17, 2008
Dance has always been an important part of my life. I start teaching my summer dance classes next weekend, and so the honey I’m sharing is a performance I love with a song I adore. I know half of you enjoy the dance videos I share and half of you probably don’t, but this is just beautiful and I hope everyone can appreciate it.
Music: “Swans” by Unkle Bob
Dancer: Lauren Garrett, Steps Dance Company
Choreography: Calen Kurka
“Swans”
Video Pearls of Wisdom from the Pub Club Panel
I managed to capture a video at the end of the Pub Club “Buzz Word: New Media” panel on Wednesday night, and I wanted to share it with my readers. Brian Reich set it up, asking the panelists what PR pros should read or sign up for as a final word of advice. The speakers took the prompt in different directions, and I think there’s some good insight here.
Adam Ritchie thinks you should compare your company’s blog to industry leaders’ blogs and take a look at what’s missing or where you can learn from best practice examples.
Mike Volpe thinks that beyond reading something or signing up for something, every company should blog. He thinks if your company can’t blog, there’s something wrong because you should always have something interesting to share.
Patrick Richardson recommends that PR pros use the Internet as the marketing research tool it is. As he said, your customers are out there, opting in to conversations about your brand. His advice is that using RSS feeds is a great way to listen to these conversations and learn about your consumers.
Mark McClennan feels that too many companies are mute, but that the bigger challenge at this point is too many companies are also “blind and deaf.” There are effective, free ways to listen to and learn from all the things people are saying about your clients online. He also highlights that there are tons of PR pros sharing insight and information on the Web, and it’s important not to overlook these conversations as well. His parting words: You gotta listen and you gotta see.
Also, I won a copy of Brian Reich’s Media Rules. Share in my glee!
Social Networking Wars
Sometimes I feel a bit like the guy in this video. If you haven’t seen it yet, I hope you enjoy some giggles.
If it were you, what social networks would be chasing after you?
A Tiny Taste of PodCamp NYC 2.0, Amandalana Style
I met Alana Taylor, of Twitter song fame, on Saturday at PodCamp NYC 2.0. She whipped out her Flip and we made a moment. Check it out:
Twitter, What Are You Doing?
Twitter has been a brat for the past couple days. I’m only getting a couple people’s updates, and I know I’m not the only one having problems. I feel so abandoned.
Boo, Twitter. You suck this weekend.
