Twsunami-mania

Today, a tsunami, predicted to hit the Hawaiian islands – the after-effect of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake hitting Chile hours earlier, killing hundreds – came up quite a bit short of its forecasted strength. Water levels overall barely rose a few feet. Instead, the "titanic wave" produced by the earthquake, came in a surge of web traffic to major (and minor) web media outlets of onlookers awaiting visuals of the anticipated event.

This "virtual tsunami" became something of an odd phenomenon (one of many we've seen in the wake of natural disasters or crises, combined with the increasing popularity of this newer conversational/interactive news coverage.) People were actually looking for their own "off-the-beaten-path" news source, not just following CNN, KTLA, FOX, etc., but accessing a variety of live video coverage on the web, surf-cams, Ustream footage, Skype - you name it. I, the jilted journalist, was surprised by people actually reaching out, creatively, for their own feed of info, not just having it "fed" to them. 

I myself, followed the whole brouhaha on Ustream. What made that particular coverage so unique was the stream of Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and other social media posts from web-watchers, commenting and providing additional information of the incoming tsunami alongside the broadcast. People who had specifically signed up to become a part of that channel's feed.

It seemed that the live video coverage could hardly keep up with the rush of information flooding in from all over the world - updates on the receding of water from the shoreline, water buoy readings of dropping water levels miles out from the coast, even minute-by-minute countdowns from people around the world on when the wave was supposed to hit. 

You don't get more realtime than that! Matter of fact, I found myself getting bored because the slated event itself, could not keep up with the flood of news predicting its arrival. I heard people screaming with their fingers on a keyboard how the reef was showing, the reef was showing...

I watched an onslaught of information, shout-outs, predictions, countdowns, prayers, admonitions, the occasional phishing scheme, and even marketing ploys filing down the right hand side of my screen. The coverage far exceeded the excitement due this disappointing natural non-disaster. 

100% FAIL for the tsunami = an ironic 10% WIN for Hawaii, 90% WIN for Social Media and New News. 

I'm sure there's more to be said, but I'll leave it for someone else to say today, my mind is fried.  

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Posted via email from Kellyfornia on the state of... well, things.

Hipster Consignment Stores

So Hipsters, have you heard of Graffiti Beach yet? If not, how much a hipster are you really? Just a question. Well, to help get you in the know ;), Graffiti Beach is an interesting concept geared toward "creating a mobile selling platform for Emerging Brands." Not as novel as it sounds, but done in a new light, with the younger generation in mind. The consignment store has been doing this very thing for years, or maybe more accurately, is the the swapmeet, as sellers sit in their booths, waiting to pounce on the next unsuspecting person happening by. 

Anywhoo - those of you looking for the next counter-sub-indie trend popping up in a (sub)urban/urbanizing area near you:

Graffiti Beach’s Next Pop-up @ The Camp in Costa Mesa!!!
Dates & Time: Sat. Feb 20th 1pm - 8pm, Sun. Feb 21st 12pm - 5pm
Venue: The Camp – 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa Ca

Expect a hipster mixture of: 

Beachwear, Graphic Tees, Skateboards, Accessories and Artwork. A bikini fashion show, although it is pretty chilly out (at 6:30 p.m., Flamenco Guitartis Tomas Michaud both days, nouveau portrait artists Ryan Lee and Karla Ortiz will be doing live drawing (SEED People’s Market, 2nd Floor), & my friends, Meleesa and the girls from Meleesa the Salon in downtown HB, will be there as well. Plus, 3 up-and-coming bands - Gorgeous Got a Gun, Hindu Pirates and Semi Sweet - will be performing in The Camp’s gallery space.  

A little about the event from it's own creators:

"Watch out Hipsters — there’s a new scene in town!!! Graffiti Beach is anything BUT boring…it combines fashion, music and art all in one gig! This concept is embracing the new trend in Pop-up retail by hosting 2 to 3 day events at which emerging brands sell their merchandise at wholesale prices directly to the public. Cool and unique vendors that have jumped on the Graffiti Beach wagon include Tavik, MNKR, Love Nail Tree, Reiter Photography, Domestic Doll, Skarf and Bettinis to name a few."

Apparently the latest pop-up shop/event in Hermosa Beach last December, was such a smash that Graffiti Beach owner Melanie Michaud decided to triple its size the next time around. Shoppers at the event were offered "great deals on unique products and listen to acoustic sounds from Veronica Torres and Celeigh Chapman."

Here's the schedule of events for this weekend:

Saturday, Feb 20th – 1pm to 8pm
3pm – Semi Sweet (Band Performance)
5pm – Gorgeous Got a Gun (Band Performance)
6:30pm – Bikini Fashion Show

Sunday, Feb 21st – 12pm to 5pm
1pm – Hindu Pirates (Band Performance)
3pm – Tomas Michaud (Flamenco Guitarist)

Portraits are $50 and you may see samples of both Karla and Ryan’s work by visiting http://karlaortizart.blogspot.com and http://ryanleesketchbook.blogspot.com. You may book an appointment or bring a photo and the artist can draw it on the spot or at a later date and will mail it to you. Portraits begin at $50 depending on size and medium. E-mail Ryan at RyanLeeArt@gmail.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

And hey, just stop by to check out some great art, eats, and tunes at the Camp, which is a pretty slamming place in itself.

For future events, or to learn more about Graffiti Beach, visit their site @: www.graffitibeach.org

Check out there blog @: http://graffitibeach.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/graffiti-beach-is-revolutionizing-the-world-of-retail-with-a-mobile-selling-platform-for-emerging-brands/

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Posted via email from Kellyfornia on the state of... well, things.

Quick List on 1st-time Social Media Coaching

There's a lot of need out there for coaching people on the "how tos" of diving into the Social Media scene. Sometimes it can seem like rushing white water rapids passing in front of many a people, and that can be an overwhelming jump to take, just to get wet and try out the waters. So here's a quick list of things to consider offering as advice or training to the Social Media Newbie:

1. It's Ok to just Dive In! Computer software, unlike Typewriters of the past don't cause permanent mistakes. No WhiteOut is needed to make a fix. This is one of the hugest barriers to get through with the Boomer generation exploring Social Media. I like to call them the "Marble and Metal" Gen., because everything for them was so grounded in earth and metal, you can't erase mistakes made on those materials. It's what has helped me be patient in explaining the ways of Social Media to those older than me. Anyways off the soapbox.

2. Set a Daily/Weekly "Twittness" Schedule for yourself: (can apply to all Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.) get in the habit of just getting online at the same time everyday to just check the stream of information, and the flow of the conversation. It will also just get you in the habit of posting on a regular basis, it's a discipline like any other. Which leads to point 3.

3. Post at least once a day: this keeps you in the stream of what's going up on Facebook/Twitter - keeps people seeing you. The more they see you, the more likely they are to respond to your posts. It creates familiarity.

4. Stay True to Your Voice: don't be all over the place with what you post. Be intentional on your messaging. If you are posting for a motel ministry, don't include random posts that don't apply to your cause, such as a a sale coupon. 

5. Content is King! keep your posts relevant, and useful. As often as possible include links to articles or another page that you post on. You have a 200% higher chance of someone reading your post when it includes a link, because it A. requires action, and B. is a surprise, like a teaser.

6. Converse, don't just Broadcast: save that for the TV and Radio commercials. The greatest thing about social media is the ability to truly engage with your audience. Talk with them, commend them on a post you like, repost their stuff to others so they can see it. You do this and people will start watching you more, and engage with you, because it builds trust. Get to know your audience, then you can better gage what type of posts to place in each media outlet/venue.

7. Have a Plan: Don't think just day-to-day in your posting. Make a long-term plan that looks at where you are hoping to go with your Social Media, be intentional about your Tweets. 

I think that's enough for now. Seven feels like a good number. Start with those and You will do pretty well. 

Also here's a great blog article on how to better engage Facebook fan page fans. 

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-better-engage-facebook-fan-page-fans/#more-1433

And this blog post is for more intensive Twitter users, setting long-term plans for Ministries/Groups that plan on having a larger audience and following. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/8-simply-steps-to-growing-a-quality-twitter-following/#more-1426

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Posted via email from Kellyfornia on the state of... well, things.

Anti-Social Media

This week I worked the budding "Social Media" angle of a highly-attended conference for pastors in Southern Orange County. And in the midst of my scurried frenzy to simultaneously post sound-bites from the sessions to Twitter and Facebook, get mini-video interviews with attendees for the web, write a blog post, perform some customer service duties with people engaging on Twitter, (you tired yet, cuz I am) and attempt to eat my breakfast between keystrokes - I fell upon some interesting observations. 

During the first day of the conference we doubled our Twitter following by more than 200% and overall more than tripled it by the end of the 4-day event. People were responding to my posts, to my personal responses to their posts, to my responses to their responses - I mean we were all becoming one big happy Twi-family. 

Then I made the colossal miscalculation of asking my Twitter following (or crew) to meet me in person at the conference, during the breaks between sessions. 

Although I myself made some great connections from the experience (five pastors from Italy, two from Tennessee (all new & fast friends)). Over the four days of the conference, we were visited by, I think, 8 people out of the roughly 1,700 in attendance - more than 600 of which were following us all day on Twitter, plus the 1,110 on Facebook. 

Now I know that some of our followers were online and not even physically present at the conference (as per one of my favorite twit pics from a fellow who posted a shot of his laptop in his lap, live-streaming the conference, in the background his feet clad in only socks). However, I also know people saw the posts, as the only time someone did actually make their way over, it was when I promised some Swag on their arrival. 

Which led to my apostrophe, "lightning just struck my brain," (epiphany, for those who didn't get the Hook reference). That although I feel that Social Media is merely a conduit to begin social interactions - ones that should eventually (if possible) be engaged as well, in real time and space - there are many out there who see it as the replacement for such social encounters. 

I see Twitter amplifying the anti-social tendencies of some, while allowing them to feel actually more socially healthy because they are conversing over the web. Of course, these people completely discount the fact that they have near absolute control over when they engage, disengage, respond or pay notice to anyone - the same behavior would not fly in a different setting. 

Could you imagine if our real-time/space conversations were carried on in a similar manner - I just stand there for 20 minutes before responding to a request because I first wanted to answer an email from my boss, and check movie times for when I go out tonight? Yeah right, uh, I think halfway through that wait, the other person in your conversation would have left the room, if they have any dignity, or their own life. 

Yet, people everywhere on Twitter are using this social media thing as a substitution for dealing with people in the here and now, right in front of their faces. I have friends who have virtually cut off all friendships, but are confident that they are socially healthy because of their number of Facebook friends. No joke. As my old editor Carol Chambers says: "You can't make this stuff up."

So I guess if you read this, I'd love to hear your take on the whole thing - what do you think about Media Socializing substituting our real-life relationships?

This is

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ęᄔÿf☼яתּエ@ and I walk the social media beat.

Posted via email from Kellyfornia on the state of... well, things.

Whaaaat!?!?!?

<p>Created by Oatmeal</p>

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Posted via email from Kellyfornia on the state of... well, things.

Whuffle Envy

According to some random person who posted from somewhere in the world onto Wikipedia: 

Whuffie is the ephemeral, reputation-based currency of Cory Doctorow's science fiction novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. This book describes a post-scarcity economy: All the necessities (and most of the luxuries) of life are free for the taking. A person's current Whuffie is instantly viewable to anyone, as everybody has a brain-implant giving them an interface with the Net.

The term has since morphed into a synonym for social capital, including its use in the title of the Tara Hunt book The Whuffie Factor. 

Basically, what Wiki was trying to say is that Whuffle = your popularity factor. 

If you want to think this concept is still just a think of futuristic sci-fi fantasy, not applicable to today's capitalism, money-grubbing based global marketplace. Wrong! Whuffle is here, now and prevalent in our culture; you've seen it. Look to the left bar on your Facebook profile or better yet, fanpage, and look at that number of friends of fans. How many followers do you have on Twitter?

That's your whuffle. 

Do you not find yourself continually checking that number and rating your "worth" in the Twittersphere by said number? Gosh knows I do. 

Think about it: wanna get a message spread. The more friends/fans, increases the probability of your message getting seen and /or sent exponentially. I want people to know me so that they will spread my messages. I want to be as quick to the punch and as effective as those other people with 5000 +, 10,000 + or more followers. What am I doing wrong? Why is my whuffle so low? I'm suffering from severe Whuffle Envy. I long to gain more friends. I feel follower greed creeping inside of me, and realize that, like my father once said, "you can take money out of the picture, but you will always have currency and with it, always people greedy to make it all theirs." 

and then...

I realize that I'm worrying about a word called Whuffle, and I laugh. Twitter on fair Kelly, at least 118 people are listening somewhere, ooh just went up to 121. My stock's ah-rising. 

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Posted via email from Kellyfornia on the state of... well, things.

PASSIVE EXPLOITATION = lame mini trend abuse of wife

I'm writing this to tell you that I will not be discussing Crying Wife, EVER except for this warning: If you've heard about crying wife, don't go there, have some dignity. It's a lame exploit of a person, period.

As the rock pillars say in the underground passages in the Labyrinth: "Don't go, Turn back before it's too late."

Or the worm before them, "Don't go that way, never go that way!"

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Posted via email from Kellyfornia on the state of... well, things.

The Spandy-Mom

You know what really chaps my hide? Actually this one makes me giggle a bit, the not-so-in-shape mom wearing super high-tech exercise gear. (I see dozens of them, twice a week during my daily stops for my own addiction fill at the local Bucks.) Those of us who actually exercise, and by this I mean sweat, know that more often than not you wear grubby comfy clothes, like those old loose sweatpants, the tank with holes in it that is just too banged up to where in public otherwise.

It's like taking a busted car in for a paint job. Each Friday I enter the coffee shop to a Music-Man mass of women "Picking and talking" a little, and I have to constrain my laughter, pulling it inside for what I call the Snicker Giggles. (or sniggles).

But, I do fear these women, because one day, biologically I too could become one of them. So if you ever see me at Sports Chalet, with a pair of high-priced Nike spandy-pants stretched out in my hands, Please, Please, Please smack me in the face and remind me that I have multiple old sweat pants at home for the sweating in.

"Spandex: a privilege, not a right." - Matt Lillard 

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