Trusted where stories shape culture.
From broadcast networks to community media and mission-driven organizations, I bring strategy, clarity, and creative direction to the work that moves people
You can almost measure the freedom of a society by its tolerance of satirists.
The code writer and the screenwriter have to work together.
There is room and need for artful ridicule and cultivated wit.
SXSW Keynote Speaker, Baratunde Thurston is a politically-active, technology-loving comedian from the future. He is also the author of How To Be Black and Director of Digital for at The Onion.
Taken at ACC- Room 6
SXSW Interactive brings together some of the world’s most creative and forward thinking professionals, from a wide rage of disciplines.
We- at Campaign Consultation, Inc, and Eye Byte Solutions, LLC – are hosting “Geek The Cause”… a special event at SXSW designed to leverage our collective grey matter to forge new ideas and innovative strategies to address some of our most pressing social concerns.
If you’ll be at SXSW on Sunday, March 11, 2012 please register for a ticket and join us!
You know how you go to a conference, rush from panel to panel, wish you could talk to the presenter one-on-one, and then have wave at someone across the room you really want to talk to but can’t approach because the room is too crowded? Well, What’s Next DC is not one of those conferences.
What’s Next DC, a one-day marketing and communications conference that focusses on the latest and greatest innovations and trends we should focus our efforts on, is more about networking and strategizing than stale lectures. We were treated to a series of presentations, small group breakout sessions, niche talks and one-on-one time with the presenters.
I got a chance to chat with four What’s Next presenters who shared advice on what companies would keep in mind when thinking about “social”.
Special thanks to Vanessa French, President, Pivot Point Communications, for inviting me to cover the conference. Also, thanks to What’s Next DC host, Tod Plotkin, who spoke to me about his impression of this year’s What’s Next DC.
Thirty days ago I embarked on my Get Fit mission. I committed myself to getting in better shape and eating healthy. Being a Geek Diva, I’ve had a few of my favorite apps helping me along the way. Here are my two top fitness apps that are helping me get it in!
The first one I can’t do without is Lose it!
We all know you will succeed at weight loss if you write down what you eat. With Lose It!, you set goals and establish a daily calorie budget that enables you to meet them. The key here for me is also recording your exercise. To get started I determined how much weight I wanted to lose. For me it’s two pounds per week. After plugging in my measurements, Lose It! told me how many calories I can have each day in order to reach my goal. But, and here’s the kicker, the more I workout, the more calories I can consume. So, if want those French fries, I can have them… I just know I have to work out an extra hour to stay within my daily meal plan.
Then there’s the Nike Training Club app.
This app has become my very own personal trainer. You can use it anytime and take it anywhere. I pull it up on my iPad or iPhone and I can plan a 15, 30 or 60-minute workout and let me tell you… it is a WORKOUT! You decide if your goal for the day is to get lean, get toned and get strong. Not familiar with one of the moves, not to worry, there’s a video from one of the Nike Professional Trainers to show you how to get it done.
Ok now, no excuses… get out there and JUST DO IT!
If you are anything like me you have lots, and lots, and lots of apps on your smartphone. Some of them you use all the time and there are others you’ve totally forgotten about. I have the ones I use daily, Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare, but there are some apps that have been revolutionary for me. Yes, I said “revolutionary” as in “bringing about a major fundamental change”. Here are five of my favorite apps that I didn’t know until recently I couldn’t live without.
I recently returned from my second year at the Interactive track of South by Southwest, often affectionately referred to as the “Spring Break for Geeks.” SXSWi 2011 brought us exciting panels and events by thought leaders, innovators and presentations who represent the brightest minds in emerging technology. It is here where new digital works, mobile apps, video games and innovative ideas get rolled out to those of us who are always looking for the next “big thing”. As we converged on Austin Texas March 11 – 20, my first impression of SXSWi 2011 was how much it has grown from last year. With more venues and attendees than ever, this was a Geek Diva, Gadget Girl dream. One of the hottest trends, by far, what the incorporation of Group Texting and I’m excited to see where this technology is going. Another highlight for me was getting a chance to interview some of the power brokers and power users that I only see or communicate with online.
I got a chance to talk to Dennis Crowley, CEO and Founder of Foursquare at the Pepsi Max Foursquare Playground.
I also caught up with Pete Cashmore, CEO Mashable, which by the way was named the most buzzed about brand during SXSWi in a study by Ad Age and I also got a chance to talk to Romany Malco who hosted Geek Games at the Mashable House.
But the real highlight for me, as always, is geeking out with the Geek Divas. I got a chance to speak with a couple of of the veteran SXSWi attendees, Lynne d Johnson, Senior Social Media Strategist at R/GA and SXSWi panelist Shireen Mitchell, founder of the no-profit Digital Sisters/Sistas. I also spoke with first timer Beverly Jackson, Director of Marketing and Social Media for The Recording Academy/The GRAMMY Awards along with returning attendee and marketing professional, Shannon Mouton about the diversity, or lack thereof at SXSWi 2011.
Here is what they had to say about Blacks in Tech and Women in Tech at SXSWi 2011.
It’s that time of year again when thought leaders, power users, creatives and the best in technology and innovation get together at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas to exchange ideas. As we once again prepare to converge on SXSW for the Interactive track let’s look back at the Geek Divas who shared their takeaways from SXSWi 2010. Some of the roles and titles have changed; many of our takeaways from last year are even more relevant today. However, one thing remains exactly the same, we will all come together to meet up IRL, we will share ideas, we will network and we will have a great time geeking out together.
Take a look at where we were last year and if you’ll be there this year… look for us… because SXSW… here we come!
I recently signed on as an ambassador for the Dell Education for Good (Ed4Good) social media initiative in Washington, DC at Thurgood Marshall Academy in S.E. The initiative is part of Dell’s SXSW Interactive (SXSWi) outreach effort in Austin, TX later this week. If you don’t already know, SXSWi is a five-day event that brings together the best and brightest minds in technology, social media and innovation. The goal for Ed4Good is to have those of us attending SXSW “bring a little of our hometown with us, doing something great with social media and a local school, while also supporting our community.” In preparation for Ed4Good coaches like myself are teaching social media classes to students across the country to not just show them how to use their web interactions to entertain and engage with friends, but to also “connect, collaborate and build support for important causes.”
I taught my class to an eager group of students taking an elective course on Digital Media Literacy. It seems fitting to use Thurgood Marshall Academy for this particular Ed4Good program. The schools mission is to prepare students to succceed in college and to actively engage in our democratic society. They serve 390 students in grades 9-12K and you may have seen the school featured on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric in a piece that highlighted their 100% acceptance rate for graduates from school.
<br/>Watch CBS News Videos Online
As the DC coach for Ed4Good, it was my job to not only teach a social media class but to also help the students develop a strategy to raise awareness for a cause of their choosing. After much deliberation, the students decided we would put our social media efforts behind a campaign against animal cruelty called “UnFURgivable” as in “it’s unFURgivable to be cruel to animals”. Our goal is to have the students and their supporters do enough Tweets, blog posts and Facebook comments to trend across the social web on March 10, 2011. We’ll be working hard to make a difference over the next 48 hours. Then, on Thursday, March 10, just one day before the start of SXSW, Dell will use their new Social Media Listening Command Center to aggregate and monitor all of our community Internet efforts across the country. Dell will use its social media monitoring and measurement tools to identify the best local effort by the nationwide teams and reward the school with the most traction on the web up to $10,000 dollars in prizes.
Here’s where you come in:
Please help our cause by following @unFURgvble on Twitter. Then, on Thursday, March 10, 2011 please RT @unFURgvble as often as possible using the hashtags #WDC and #ed4good to identify our Washington, DC Education for Good efforts.
Spread the word:
Please tell as many people as you can about the unFurgivable efforts within your social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.).
Participation is about:
The students have already started their Twitter social media initiative… here’s an example of what’s being Tweeted…
What is the guiding force behind our lives? Are our decisions made from free will or are our happenstance a matter of fate? These are the burning questions one is left with after watching the movie, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU. I recently got a chance to check out this brand new flick when Liquid Soul Media produced a 20-market HBCU advance screening tour for the film.
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, starring Matt Damon and Anthony Mackie is a must see. It’s one of those movies that entertains you, keeps you on the edge of your seat, sprinkles in a good love story, and makes you think… really… really… think. Howard University hosted the screening in Washington, DC. We were treated to a question and answer session after the movie with one of the movies stars, Anthony Mackie, and the film’s Director, George Nolfi. Mackie is best known for his feature films, television series and Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Drowning Crow, and Talk.
Nolfi, who is also the screenwriter for the film, is responsible for such blockbusters as The Bourne Ultimatum, Ocean’s Twelve and The Sentinel. In THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, Nolfie brought to life the affair between a politician and a ballerina affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart through twists and turns that will leave you wondering about your own life by the time the film is over.
Make sure you add this movie to your things to do list when THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU opens up nationwide on March 4th, 2011. I’m giving it two thumbs up!
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU Do we control our destiny or do unseen forces manipulate us? Matt Damon stars in the thriller The Adjustment Bureau as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he’s ever loved across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York.www.theadjustmentbureau.com
“This is not just a conference, it is an “experience” advertised What’s Next DC in reference to their all-day event on Monday, January 24, 2011. I have to admit I had high expectations of this “experience”. Monday was one of the coldest days of the year and I had to transfer on the Metro subway twice to get to the Georgetown University Marvin Center in Northwest DC. Needless to say, I was none too happy. I don’t like the cold, I don’t like getting anywhere at 8 o’clock in the morning, but I DID like What’s Next DC. Hosted by the Green Buzz Agency, What’s Next DC aimed to give us a unique conference experience while sharing some of the most innovative trends in Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising, and Communications. Tod Plotkin, Principal at Green Buzz Agency talked to me about how What’s Next DC came about.
Shonali Burke, Principle, Shonali Burke Consulting, was by far one of my favorite speakers. She not only talked to us about how we can redefine Public Relations in the 21st Century, but she included shoes in her presentation. What woman doesn’t love a good shoe story? She is smart and witty and shared with us that “true PR” is about building relationships. She also included some insights on how digital and social technologies are changing the game. I spoke to her about the new PR and the one thing she wanted us all to get from her presentation.
My favorite quote of the day came from KaBOOM!, CEO & Co-Founder Darrell Hammond when he said, “if you want to be remarkable, do remarkable things”… duly noted and added to my “things to do” list for 2011! The speaker who made me shout “hurrah” was Reggie Bradford, CEO & founder of Virtue Inc. Bradford spoke about social media best practices for communicators using Facebook. Don’t tell my Twitter family, but Facebook, by far, is my most useful social media marketing tool. I turn to Twitter for news and fast information sharing but it’s on Facebook that I grow communities and do outreach projects for my client. I use Facebook personally and professionally to promote my own endeavors and that of my clients, AmeriCorps VISTA and AmeriCorps VISTA Alumni. Branford’s pearl of wisdom was “being on Facebook is not about followers but rather best practices and being able to measure success.” Indeed it is.
Not so much a conference but more like a round of quick-fire presentations with networking mixers thrown in throughout day, What’s Next DC offered just the right amount of information to get us interested in the topic but not so much overkill that it made us want to fall asleep or walk away early. Oh, and if you did somehow manage to get bored or if you simply wanted to spend a little more time with a presenter, there was an opportunity to join them in-the-round for a small group discussion. Hats off and a big high five to Green Buzz Agency for a job well done and giving us case studies, strategies and personalized solutions to our most challenging issues regarding “digital marketing in a networked world”. I forget which presenter used that phrase but he is the same one who said we should never use the words “social media” or “campaign” anymore. Of course, in my day job I’m a Social Media Specialist for Campaign Consultation, Inc. I guess I’m going to have to get new business cards very soon!
With the photographer of the day!
Loved the bank of Geek Divas who were live-tweeting at the event. Left to right, Lisa Byrne (@DCeventjunkie) Nakeva Corothers (@nakeva) and Shireen Mitchell (@digitalsista)
Shonali sharing her insights during her presentation
BLOG PDATE: Thanks to Chirpstory.com I read the tweets from #WhatsNextDC and located the unamed presenter who wants us to take “social media” and “campaign” out of our vocabulary. It was Matt Goddard of @r2integrated. You can find his What’s Next DC presentation here.
#WhatsNextDC tweets from Chiprstory.com
Just before Tyrese Darnell Gibson, also known simply as Tyrese, hit the red carpet for the Kennedy Center Honors, I caught up with him at a Georgetown Hoyas game to discuss a venture near and dear to his heart, “Community in Schools.”
Tyrese, an R&B singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, model and former MTV VJ first came to my attention when he did his very first TV interview on BET’s Video Soul. I was a young Senior Producer and he was a model looking to crossover into the music business. Fast forward several years and we found ourselves in a sky box at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC reminiscing about old times and talking about the dire state our youth find themselves in.
While the official announcement won’t be made until next month, Tyrese spoke to a few select DC bloggers and I about his upcoming appointment as the spokesperson for “Community In Schools” and his role as the voice of the youth and the mission of the program.
You may think of him as only a pretty face and a talent singer/actor, but to his friends and the children he represents, Tyrese is a beacon of hope.
At a time when dropout rates are an issue in all communities, The Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., estimates that dropouts each year cost the nation more than $300 billion in lost income. Community In Schools is making it their mission to beat those odds. Tameka Green, CEO of Community In Schools in the Nation’s Capitol shared with me the program’s mission to combate the dropout rates in Washington, DC.
Championing the connection of needed community resources with schools to help young people learn, Community In Schools goal is to help students stay in school, and prepare for life.
Congratulations and many thanks to Tyrese and Community In Schools for taking on the challenge of decreasing school dropout rates and for their continued dedication to our youth. To learn more about Community In Schools go to their website at http://www.communitiesinschools.org/ and look for the announcement of Tyrese as their new spokesperson coming in February.
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