Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the erstwhile evil genius from Phineas and Ferb, has taken social media on in his own inimitable style. His weekly YouTube web-series, Doof Daily, takes aim at the most important things ripped from today's headlines. Like goats yelling like humans yelling like goats.
We're huge Phineas and Ferb fans in this household. Jasper is especially entranced by Doof's eye-rolling daughter, Vanessa, and Roo feels a special bond with the boys' micromanaging/romance-happy big sister Candice. I was especially moved by Doof's loss of his best friend, Balloony. Pure pathos.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz is voiced by Phineas & Ferb co-creator Dan Povenmire. The show airs Friday nights at 9:00-9:30 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel, and also stars Vincent Martella as Phineas Flynn, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Ferb Fletcher, Ashley Tisdale as Candace Flynn, Mitchel Musso as Jeremy, Caroline Rhea as mom Linda Flynn-Fletcher, Richard O'Brien as dad Lawrence Fletcher, Dee Bradley Baker as Perry the Platypus, Alyson Stoner as Isabella and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram. "Phineas and Ferb" is a production of Disney Television Animation.
With money tight for most families these days, it's important to know that you're spending it on things your family can really use. I know I rely on a handful of bloggers' recommendations on entertainment and gift ideas, especially when holiday shopping is involved. It turns out, I am not the only one who likes to get an unbiased opinion before letting go of that cash…
Moms love Facebook -- but they TRUST blogs. And 92 percent of moms active in social media are buying products as a result of a social media recommendation.
Those were among the key findings of a new study, "How Moms are Using Social Media RIGHT NOW -- and How You Can Make the Most of It," conducted by Child's Play Communications, specialists in connecting companies with moms. The results were presented for the first time at the eighth annual Marketing to Moms Conference in Chicago, October 23-24th.
Child's Play reached out to the 1200 moms in its Social Savvy research network -- almost all of them regularly active on blogs and social networks -- to explore five key questions:
What social media platforms do moms currently favor?
How has that changed?
Why?
What social media platforms are impacting purchasing decisions?
What products are moms buying as a result of social media recommendations?
Among the study’s findings:
Facebook, Twitter and blogs were the three most popular social media platforms among moms surveyed
Pinterest was the platform that most moms (63 percent) tried for the first time this year
Instagram topped the list of technologies moms (28 percent) were likely to try next
Polyvore and Olioboard were among the new services these early adopters were exploring
Moms are spending more time on Facebook than in the past (64 percent of moms) and less time on Twitter (33 percent)
Of all social media platforms, blogs impacted moms' purchasing decisions more than any other (80 percent)
Toys were the No. 1 kids' product purchased by moms as a result of social media recommendations
“The study results underscore how moms’ immersion in social media has dramatically changed their purchasing behavior,” said Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child’s Play Communications. “Alongside recommendations from family and friends, it is the most valuable tool for companies that want to market to mothers.”
In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I am a member of Child's Play Communications' Team Mom network. No compensation has been provide, I just think these results are interesting. As usual, all opinions are my own.
I'll admit it, I am massively addicted to Pinterest, the site that lets you create virtual pinboards to share inspiration across your social networks. Many of my friends and family are similarly afflicted, including my husband, who probably spends even more time than I do on the site. He's an artist, so collecting visual inspiration is technically part of his job. Why is everyone else so Pinterest-crazy? Well, aside from its clean visual presentation and ease of use, it's a ton of fun. Many people use it to hoard recipes or ideas for home remodeling projects. As a blogger, it's a terrific way to find people with common interests and to share my posts. Pinterest is quickly becoming a go-to search platform for tutorials and shopping, popular with consumers and marketers alike. So how can you optimize Pinterest for your personal use?
Kelby Carr is a friend of mine and she is also the founder and CEO of Type-A Parent and the Type-A Parent Conference. She recently published Pinterest For Dummies, which addresses many of these issues. Her book is organized to be a helpful reference for everyone from total Pinterest novices, who have not yet requested or received an invitation to join the site, to established Pinners who are looking for ways to expand their skill set and learn some new tips and tricks to use. I learned quite a few!
In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received a copy of the book to facilitate this review and the giveaway copy is also being provided. As usual, all opinions are my own. Especially the good ones!
The #140 Conferences in 2011 were about discovering and finding meaning, and realizing that it's not about technology. It really is about people, about how some people are discovering their voice and how other people are discovering other people's voices. Amplification is occurring that is creating a reawakening of humanity on one level, spirituality on another level, and the ability to affect change all at the same time. You now have people who never realized that they had the power to influence and to do, who are.
I used to think that these platforms were transitory; that something would evolve into something else. What I didn't realize at the time was that we are living through truly what is a social revolution. That is a social revolution as an "ism."
We know history says things like Communism, Fascism, Marxism, and Capitalism. There are a lot of isms. This is the internet "ism." It is one of the unintended consequences of 43+ years of the Internet.
We are seeing what happens when you are living in a world where hundreds of millions of people can discover each other, and communicate directly; where barriers to entry and in fact gatekeepers slowly go away. We are seeing what happens when people discover each other, discover that they can feel and connect, and can touch and engage. We now have generations of people who realize that they are living in a world of 7 billion other people, and where for the first time in our human history every voice matters. There is profoundness in terms of where this brings us.
A Reawakening of Humanity
I believe we are seeing a reawakening of humanity. People are discovering and feeling, maybe for the very first time. They understand that they can actually stand up and affect change not even realizing that is what they are about to do.
Although I still think that there is a need to have face-to-face interaction with people. These technologies allow an intensity in terms of connectedness we can feel. When we can read someone's Facebook status and start to cry as a result of it, or laugh hysterically, or just smile, we realize that through this digital medium, feelings are emanating. For example, if you have searched someone on Twitter, or wrote something and you cried because of it, maybe it was the loss of someone, or maybe it was frustration, then you have experienced this connectedness. As a result, words are turning into feelings and those feelings are turning into synapses in our minds.
There is a different world out there. If we close your eyes, we will start to visualize a world, which is not necessarily the one in front of us. When we get to the point where we can start hearing people whose voices are based on what we are reading and believe that when we type something we are really speaking back, it is a much different place than what we see.
There is a virtualization even though we are in the physical. There is still something happening spiritually, that is touching, changing, and connecting many of us. Some of us, unfortunately are kind of numb to it. They do not get it. They feel something but they do not know why they feel it. There are other people who actually have this intense ability not only to feel, but sometimes affect positive change. So these technologies are helping us accelerate some things.
Where does this leave us in terms of negative consequences? Well, short term tactical, yes, there are probably some negative affects because nothing is perfect. We are always evolving. I would like to believe that there is such a thing as a good failure. We have good mistakes. We learn, we develop, and we apply. The only failure I think is not to use these technologies. To ignore them, that is the failure. To try them out and see where it goes, to see where it takes us, that is the blessing of being alive.
The Power and Meaning of One Hug A Day
In all of my travels in the U.S., Europe and Israel, I have learned to hug. I have learned the power and meaning of a hug a day. I believe if you hug someone today, it is like sharing with them a concept of embracing today, making today matter. I am finding that more and more people are hugging, more and more people are connecting, and they do not even know why, but they are. We will start to see the after affects of what it means to be better connected.
There is nothing in Israel that is different than in the States, that's any different in Europe in terms of the ability for people to connect with others. We are all human beings after all.
We may have different issues here that are amplified based on the society that we live in, but at the end of the day we are still people, and there is that human energy that drives everything.
Jeff Pulver is the Founder and Curator of the #140Conf events worldwide and a heck of a nice guy.
her comment... Social media has enabled me to connect with more people, become more outgoing, and has facilitated me being able to better connect others with resources and support causes that are important to me.
I know you will be shocked but I have never been much of a career girl. I've had lots of jobs, good and bad, but nothing I really loved and excelled at aside from doing promotions for my college radio station. In retrospect, I kind of wish I'd payed more attention in advertising class instead of booking bands and making flyers all the time. At the time, I didn't really think that was viable work but it sure beat selling records at Tower. (I will admit that selling records at Waterloo was actually pretty awesome most of the time I worked there.) I always had a sense of unease with anything remotely corporate and kept to the odd jobs I felt meshed best with my self-imposed underdog status. Suffice it to say, being gainfully employed has never been my forte but, luckily, I've always had a knack for social interaction.
Why am I telling you this? Since I started blogging, I've developed an unhealthy interest in the world of social media. I like the unpredictable juncture of emerging technology and bare-bones person-to-person contact. Having been off the job market for some time now, I've been perusing business books and trying to figure out where I should start looking once Jasper is in school full time. Basically, I want to know how to put everything I already know to work NOW, which is almost entirely different than the work world I was in a decade ago, pre-kids and settling down.
I was pleased to be able to review Jay Baer and Amber Naslund's new book The Now Revolution because it doesn't waste a lot of time trying to convince you that the social web is here to stay. It pretty much assumes you already know that. What it does do is tell you how you can implement some simple changes to help you become more adaptive and keep up with the world around you.
Baer and Naslund break it down into “7 Shifts To Make Businesses Faster, Smarter & More Social” that are immediately actionable. The case studies cited are engaging and applicable and the whole thing reads like you're talking to a peer, not being preached at, which was refreshing. (In fact, the only time they lost me was when they started using football analogies. The business stuff I could wrap my head around but I know nothing about televised sports…) Oddly enough, there are a zillion parallels between using social media for business and parenting. Listening, empowering, respect, forward-thinking… good for your kiddos and good for your corporate culture.
Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!
In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received a copy of the book to facilitate this review but all opinions are strictly my own.
***Click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***
Earlier this week, I was in Ft Lauderdale, Florida for a meeting with Elmer's. You might remember the awesome Bag It Forward campaign I was part of at the beginning of the school year. I was an ambassador on that campaign, through Collective Bias and now there is another spate of Can You Top This craft challenges going on. It's an amazing community and Elmer's wanted to learn more about how we, as bloggers and moms, approach crafting and shopping for craft supplies.
Elmer's was actually holding their annual conference and we were invited to come a bit earlier and meet with their marketing and sales folks. The Collective Bias Glue and Glitter community representatives were Kim from Crafty Mama of 4, Mel from Mama Buzz, Tonya from Create-Celebrate-Explore, Alicia from Making Time for Mommy, Keonte from Mommy 2K and myself. We ate tons of great food, shared plenty of opinions, learned a lot about Elmer's and their family of products (which includes Xacto, Krazy Glue and Giddy Up, along with a plethora of others) and really felt like we were being heard, which is kind of a rarity in blogger-business relationships, in general.
We stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66, which was gorgeous even though it reminded me a lot of Dexter with the outdoor walkways, marina access and tropical splendor. It was almost criminal that we didn't have enough time to check out the beach or pool. Next time…
Of course, we bloggers have a habit of photographing our food. Here's some evidence that I fell off the wagon slightly with my 31 Days Challenge: macadamia-crusted sea bass and creme brulee. I ended up leaving half of the ginormous portions on the plate, so it wasn't an epic fail. I did feel guilty about doing that but it was a crazy amount of food!
Besides, there were wheat grass shots for breakfast in the morning! Pretty but not very tasty… imagine the taste of freshly mown grass.
I had thought we'd be doing more crafting but it ended up being more brainstorming and talking about products and usage. We did have an Iron Craft challenge involving kitchen scrub brushes and Elmer's embellishment, which was hilarious. My team's contribution was inspired by a snail spotted on a wall at the hotel. Can you spot the top secret Elmer's product?
Disclosure: In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that my travel and lodging expenses were provided but all opinions are my own. Including the great feeling that Elmer's needs to make a glue gun. Don't you think?
This is the coolest thing I've seen in a while. Invisible People, the blog that puts the homeless population in the spotlight, literally, is now empowering them by teaching them to use social media to reconnect with the rest of the world. Watch the We Are Visible intro video and try not to be inspired…
We actually did follow through after Free State Social and start a local social media group. It's called Digital Wichita and we're now the prairie outpost of Social Media Breakfast, meeting at 7:30am on the third Wednesday of each month at Mead's Corner. We've had three or four meetings thus far, launched our Digital Wichita Facebook group and a dedicated site is forthcoming.
Heated discussion about current trends in the field at our last meeting resulted in me creating this new logo representing the vitality in our organization:
Yeah, we could probably use some new blood. If you're in the Wichita area and have an interest in social media, please try to stop by a Digital Wichita meeting. We'd love to have you in our pack!
Yes, I realize that Evo was nearly a month ago and I haven't really blogged much since then. Family issues, summer doldrums, running behind. You know the drill. Anyway, it's hard to express just how great Evo was, both as a social event and as an inspirational, learning experience. I was lucky enough to win a paid registration via Clever Girls Collective and shared a room with pals old and new from Collective Bias, which made it a more affordable (and fun!) trip.
"The connection that can only happen when we let go of who we think we're supposed to be and embrace who we are."
I got to spend a lot of time with my Collective Bias friends, as I mentioned, but I didn't end up taking many pictures. Thankfully, everyone else seemed to be toting impressive cameras! Sandy Jenney managed to be everywhere during the conference AND still post her pics and videos instantly, proving that she does indeed have mad organizational skills. We were the early birds, arriving on Wednesday morning, so we got to take the cabriolet down the mountain to the Farmer's Market.
It was great to spend time with old friends and meet so many new friends in person, way too many to list here. I wish I'd taken more photos of everyone. (As a sidenote, Karen Walrond has made me vow to be less camera shy. I hate being photographed but I am trying to squelch the urge to run and hide whenever I see a camera. Yes, you are welcome to hold me to that at BlogHer next month.) It felt good to be around such a diverse and vibrant group of women. And the handful of men who braved the estrogen fest!
There was some celebrity spotting, too. Danny Masterson a.k.a. DJ Mom Jeans played at the local bar he owns (photo courtesy of the indefatigable Kadi Prescott) and the adorable and talented UKOne Eskimo performed acoustically and plugged in at Evo.
If you look closely, you can see me snapping the picture in the reflection, wearing the YummieTummie undercover tube top that Zippy won and gifted to me. Of course, I was too shy to wear it solo so I had a lace top over it. Wuss. You can also see Esther's gorgeous curls, which were apparently created with a spiral iron. I am so going to have to get one…
This last picture was taken at the closing party at Park City Mountain Resort after I rode the alpine coaster. It was an amazing experience but I felt like I was cheating on my kids, seeing all the locals with their kiddos, taking advantage of the zipline and slide. It was unfathomably gorgeous. Next year, I hope to bring the whole family to Evo '11 so they can share in the experience.
I had an amazing time at the very first Free State Social in nearby (well, two+ hours nearby) Lawrence, although you probably wouldn't guess that by the number of pictures I took. Three. Is that even possible? I totally suck, I know. Here's the thing, though. I was more into hanging out with people and talking to them than in taking photos. Yes, I was actually being social at a social media conference– imagine that.
The speakers were all really great. We all knew the out-of-towners would be fantastic: Chris Brogan, Sarah Evans, Jeremiah Owyang, Shawna Coronado, Ellyn Angelotti, Scott Raymond. Each had a great way of relating their personal stories about social media and took time to answer questions from the audience at length. (I am fairly sure that Jeremiah made the audience's collective head explode.) Insightful and inspiring. The local panel was great, too, although honestly they could have gone on for a lot longer. Zena Weist and Ramsey Mohsen, Tony Botello and Shea Sylvia talked a lot about the importance of community, integrity and the value of blogging.
Chris Brogan, Briana Saunders, Shea Sylvia, Jeremiah Owyang
The Lawrence community TweetUp was a highlight after the first day although I must admit I only made it to two of the destinations. I am told that we got the first swarm badge in Kansas at The Sandbar, which many folks were thrilled about. Also Fail Whale shots and the pretty blue drink you see below.
Ramsey is a KU grad and heartily endorsed the "shark attack" at The Sandbar. It comes with a grenadine-filled shark that you upend, swirling like blood into the azure sea… so cool!
Of course, Ramsey is also the one who coerced the lovely Zena Weist and myself to climb onto the bar for a local tradition known as "the hurricane." Thankfully, he is a merciful videographer and captured brief moments of what ensued.
Now, if you've ever wanted to see Chris Brogan, Sarah Evans and Shawna Coronado dance on a bar for an uncomfortably long time (just call me leadfinger), well, here you go:
I had a couple of hours to reflect upon Free State Social while I drove home. It was very Kansas- big and wide and open for possibilities. A bunch of us Wichitans are planning to get a social media breakfast group together this week and see what happens. Keep the momentum going. Ease on down the road, so to speak.
My pal Kathleen posted a great Tech Tuesday tutorial on setting up a fan page on Facebook yesterday. So of course I had to go and try it immediately. If you're a Facebook afficionado, please consider becoming a Fan of Superdumb Supervillain. Even if you only check it every once in a while to see if your kids are cuter than your high school paramours' spawn, I'd love it if you joined up! Apparently when I get 25 fans, I can set up a permanent vanity address instead of it being an offshoot of my personal page. And perhaps then I'll be able to figure out how to get my posts to show up…
*** the grand prize winner is Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology! ***
We've been very busy in Austin, learning more about Genesis Today's amazing superfruit product line (exciting new products are in the works- I'll tell you more soon!) and viewing the finalist presentations. Take a look at my Flickr stream and our Whrrl stories. The grand prize winner will be announced later tonight! I am sure we'll be tweeting like crazy.
And like I said… exciting things are in the works for Genesis Today!
When we moved to Wichita, I thought it was a small town. Now, of course, I know there are over 500,000 residents and it's pretty stinking cosmopolitan compared to much of Kansas and the outlying regions. Every once in a while, we take drives and try to find small towns to visit but invariably we do this on Sundays and even if we do find uncharted territory, chances are everyone is in church and all the storefronts on main street are closed. Chances are, if you didn't grow up in Kansas, you're not going to find the cool places without a little bit of help.
My experience with Hutchinson had previously been limited to our annual pilgrimage to the Kansas State Fair and visits to the Cosmosphere whenever out-of-towners visit. I had no idea Hutchinson has been nurturing a vibrant downtown redevelopment, nor that its civic and business leaders are embracing social media. Janet Regier, Director of Marketing at the Cosmosphere, and LeAnn Cox, Director of the Greater Hutchinson Convention/Visitors Bureau graciously invited nine bloggers to visit Hutchinson on a Blogger Fam ("familiarity") tour. Most of us were from around Kansas but others came from Oklahoma, Iowa and Texas. We were whisked around for in-depth tours of some of Hutchinson's most popular attractions and I think it's safe to say that we all had a wonderful visit.
I knew I would like the Cosmosphere, having been there before, but being able to tour their education department and archives was really impressive. As the nearsighted progeny of two generations of pilots, I am embarrassed to admit that the flying bug never really hit me and I grew up with space travel as a reality, not a dream. As we received a VIP tour from Cosmosphere President and CEO Chris Orwoll, I realized just how cool the concept of space travel is. The magnitude of it. The wonder of it. Getting to touch the hatch from Apollo 13 was really phenomenal. To see the mission journals with chicken-scratched calculations and contemplate how totally awesome it was for these astronauts to travel to outer space in a non-digital era… (they used sliderules, people!) Just mind-blowing.
Everyone who works at "the Cos" seems to genuinely love the place and its mission. Joel Walker, the VP of Education, showed us around and even tethered us into the multi-axis trainer and stuffed some of us in the teeny tiny Soyuz. He also told us more about the educational programs at the Cosmosphere and now I honestly can't wait for Roo and Jasper to be old enough to attend some of them. All of the programs espouse three core values: teamwork, communication and leadership and the levels range from daycamps for elementary school kids to more in-depth programs for older kids and teenagers. There are overnight camp-outs, an Intergenerational Elderhostel program for grandparents to attend with their grandchildren and even a "Girls Night Out" program that tries to keep Girl Scouts engaged in science. The crown jewel of their educational series, the Future Astronaut Training Program, is in its 24th year and sounds absolutely amazing:
Campers train in the Cosmosphere's camp simulators - the Space Shuttle simulator, 4-G centrifuge, multi-axis trainer, Soyuz trainer and stress simulator. They also build and launch rockets, tour the Hall of Space Museum and explore the night sky. Advanced campers perform underwater scuba exercises, conduct ropes course team training and travel to Johnson Space Center in Houston and Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Many campers also make life-long friends.
Joel and his colleague Howie G also host an online show called What's Up @ The Cos? that has one of the most amusing theme songs I've heard in a while. We spent a lot of time at the Cosmosphere and it was like a second home in Hutch. Getting to watch the IMAX projector being loaded and seeing an after-hours show was such a treat. And the reflection of the Blackbird was just too good to pass up, even with my point and shoot…
Another fantastic destination was the Kansas Underground Salt Museum, which takes you 650 feet below the rest of Hutchinson. No matter how windswept the prairie is, it is always cool and comfortable down there. I don't think I have ever experienced such total darkness! The history of the mine is interesting and the subterranean labyrinth holds government files, Hollywood archives and memorabilia and a 250 million year old bacteria found trapped inside a salt crystal that just may be the oldest living organism on the planet. Who knew?!
I loved visiting the Indian Creek Bison Ranch. I've actually bought buffalo meat from owner Jerry Schmidt at the Farmer's Market in Wichita so it was really interesting to see the herd up close and personal. They are beautiful animals and I couldn't believe how close we were to them. I felt the carnivore's guilt about munching on a delicious pepper jack bison jerky stick while snapping pictures of them. But they are free range, hormone and vaccine-free, happy looking critters so that is something, right?
Even the hotel we stayed at was pretty remarkable in its own way. The Grand Prairie Hotel & Convention Center is gigantic. My room was huge and clean and had space-themed carpet that added to its kitschy charm. I was totally floored by its indoor pool area, which also has a space theme. It was kind of like a tiki bar atmosphere, but space… I will definitely have to bring the kids back for this since the main pool is one foot deep and I suspect they would have a blast.
The beauty of Hutch is that ordinary citizens love their town so much that it's contagious. Case in point: What's Up Hutch (WUH) is a website that acts as sort of de facto online bulletin board for the city. It seems refreshingly community-driven. I love the self-deprecating humor in this mission statement: …we thought Hutchinson, KS really was cool enough (not the coolest ever, just cool enough) to have a magazine, a place for discussion, a place to share thoughts and opinions, a place to find out SOME of the cool stuff that just happened and maybe get a heads up on SOME cool stuff to come.
Third Thursday nights are hopping in downtown Hutch, thanks to some intrepid business owners. Artist Jennifer Randall's Gallery 7 is the epicenter of the Third Thursdays which seem to bring out a cross-section of Hutchinsonians. It was really inspiring to see young girls riding their bikes down the street and people of all ages and walks of life milling around on a spring evening. I could see community in motion, from the brisk business at the Anchor Inn, a bustling Mexican eatery, to the laid back vibe of Metropolitan Coffee and the many boutiques and antique shops that stay open late to cater to the hometown crowds. I bought a bunch of gadgets at Apron Strings, a sort of hometown Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table with a gorgeous cooking demonstration facility and just about anything you could want for your kitchen.
It's easy to eat well in Hutch. I was only there for a day and a half but we enjoyed some incredible meals. The Airport Steakhouse is actually in the airport and has fabulous steaks– a no-brainer recipe for the perfect dinner. Carl's Bar has been a local institution since 1945 and recently moved into the old Strand Theater building. It's sort of a swanky dive with build-your-own sandwiches and pizzas. And shuffleboard, of course!
Speaking of old theaters, I almost forgot to mention our tour of the lovely Fox Theater, which has been restored to its full art deco glory. I know I am probably missing something! Believe me, our two day tour of Hutchinson was a whirlwind of activity. I had no idea that there was so much to do and see. It makes me want to go back. And also take a closer look at my own "boring" community…
Special thanks to Cody Heitschmidt, Hutch's social media savant, for including me on this tour.
, due out later this summer.
