Social Media Amusings (Confession- I’m Addicted to food PORN)

Social Media Amusings is new series of posts full of fun things about me and things I come across in the social space that I feel like sharing with all of you. In my last post you guys found out that I’m a Sanrio Character. Today I have a confession… I’m addicted, I mean addicted! to food PORN!

And Social Media only fuels my addiction. Recently I was even given the opportunity to enjoy samples from over 170 Wine & Spirit Purveyors  and 70 of San Diego’s Top Chefs thanks to both Social Media and Infiniti!  If I was me in another life, Marketing Melodie would be Chef Melodie! I love to cook and I am obsessed with food porn. I love looking at the delicious food you’re putting in your body! It makes my mouth water!

 How am I satisfying my Food Porn craving? Take a look!

Social Media Updates- I’ll start with my own community. Anyone who posts what they’re eating for lunch should be banned if there’s no accompanying photo! Stop teasing me by posting about how delicious your meal is, unless you’re going to give me a glimpse! When I check Facebook updates my eyes automatically gravitate toward food photos. I can’t help it, they turn my senses on! I occasionally post food porn photos myself!

Food Blogs- Images trump text in blog posts, which is why I love reading food blogs. The good ones are full of food porn and luckily there’s an abundance of food bloggers out there!

Hear me YELP!- Yelp is great for so many reasons. I’m able to find new spots to check out and it also gives me the opportunity to share the places and restaurants that I love. One of my favorite parts of Yelp is the food photos users post! I get a glimpse of so many different dishes from one restaurant by other consumers which means these photos are authentic, real and delicious!

Reading!- Just like social media updates about food without photos should be banned, cookbooks without photos shouldn’t even be published! I love flipping through cookbooks, reading the recipes then looking at photos of the final product. My favorite food book is a MUST for your coffee table. It’s called, Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth. Tucker Shaw documents every single thing he eats in a year through photos! I’m so intrigued by this book! It’s like an adult picture book. He lives in New York so I definitely want to visit some of the restaurants he dines at next time I’m in the city!

 Food Shows Galore!- All of my favorite shows have food in them! I love watching Iron Chef, Top Chef, Man vs Food, Cupcake Wars and more! I could watch Food Network and the Cooking Channel all day! My dream (and I’m putting it out there to the universe) is to be a guest judge on a food show! I also have a bucket list of restaurants that have been featured on shows I want to dine at.

I’m coming near the end of my confession. I must say this post took me longer than normal to write.  I also must admit that Food Network has been playing in background this entire time. Oh and I took a break to finish cooking a Butternut Squash Casserole that was in the oven and of course I’ve been eating the entire time I’ve been writing this post too! Happy Eating everyone!

Networking Tips I Learned from Meeting @KeithFerrazzi in San Diego

I had the honor of meeting my favorite author, Keith Ferrazzi in San Diego this week at the Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD where he interviewed the renowned Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Co-founder of Qualcomm.  As I mentioned in my post welcoming Keith Ferrazzi to San Diego, there’s not a single time I recommend a business book that I don’t mention his best seller, Never Eat Alone! I’ve learned so many great tips for networking, connecting and building professional relationships through Keith’s books, blogs and videos. Meeting him in person really reinforced many of these tips  Here’s a glimpse of my amazing evening spent networking with entrepreneurs and meeting Keith Ferrazzi. I’ll end the post with valuable networking tips you can apply to the very next event you attend!

The evening started off with a networking dinner so of course, I had an opportunity to meet some great community leaders, UCSD students and affiliates. The photo below is a prime example of never eating alone!

I followed one of Keith’s golden rules for meeting the speaker at the event. Get to the speaker, before he goes on stage! I saw Keith Ferrazzi walk by and immediately went up and introduced myself to him. He’s extremely personable, enthusiastic and positive. I manifested this exact moment into my life because in 2009 when Who’s Got Your Back came out, I told Keith Ferrazzi that I would get his second book when I met him so he could autograph it and that’s exactly what happened!

 After enjoying a great dinner, Dr. Irwin Jacobs and Keith Ferrazzi took the stage. Keith Ferrazzi’s job was to be curious and ask Dr. Jacob’s questions related to the topic of “Why great relationships matter in business?” Keith did a great job at asking questions that prompted Dr. Jacobs to share his inspirational story. As both a Marketer and an Entrepreneur, I really resonated with both Dr. Jacobs and Keith Ferrazzi. I definitely learned a lot about having a vision and following it, being a great leader and of course networking! Below are some networking tips I’ve learned from Keith Ferrazzi, some of them definitely came into play during this particular event!

1. Reach out before the event- If you’re attending an event and want to meet someone specific, reach out to them before the event. I’ve already discussed how to work a conference before it begins. This tip is very similar. Social Media is a great resource that allows you to connect. Before attending the event, I tweeted Keith a bunch of times and of course wrote my post to welcome Keith to San Diego. Reaching out can also be done by a simple email. You can let someone know that you enjoyed an article they wrote, congratulate them on a recent accomplishment or connect with them on a more personal level if you know a hobby they enjoy. (In the tweets below I engaged several people in conversation about Keith Ferrazzi and I even received a reply from him acknowledging that he would see me tomorrow!)

2. Arrive Early- If you want to meet the Speakers, they’ll definitely be at the event at least 30 minutes before hand. Chances are the speaker won’t be bombarded by everyone else so you may have an opportunity to introduce yourself before anyone else. If you wait until after the event to try and connect with a speaker, chances are they’re going to be busy talking to everyone else and also thinking about going home so it’s harder to make a personal connection. I actually arrived at UCSD 30 minutes early so was one of the first one who was let into the room.

3. Talk To the Organizer- Arriving early also gives you a chance to find and introduce yourself to the organizer and let him/her know who you may be looking to connect with. Ask the organizer if there’s anyone they feel would be a great connection for your industry. The organizer knows everything that’s happening behind the scenes and everyone who’s going to be at the event. See if they can introduce you to some other attendees or even the speaker. When approaching the organizer, make sure to be mindful of their time since they’re probably still planning last minute updates and make sure to thank them for hosting you.

4. Ask Questions- After many presentations and panels there is often a chance for audience Q & A. This is your golden opportunity to get in front of the room and let others know what you do. Before asking your questions, clearly state your name with a brief intro. Since you have everyone’s attention, there very well may be others in the room who are seeking your service, product or who many want to collaborate with you. Asking questions not only gives you mic time, it also allows you to interact and stand out to the speakers and attendees.

5. Give Books as Gifts- Since the holidays are approaching so quickly, tis the season to start thinking of gifts for your prospects, clients and colleagues. Books are full of information and are personal because you’re recommending something that has helped you. Autographed books are even better! Keith reminded me of how great of gifts books can be as he was signing mine. He asked if there was anyone I’d like to give “Who’s Got Your Back” to so he could sign the book to that person. I didn’t have anyone in mind, so I just told him to sign his name in case I did want to give the book away as a gift. Well Keith came up with an even better idea by writing “Melodie’s Got Your Back”. This way I’m able to keep the book myself or also give it away as a gift.

Again, it was such an honor to meet my favorite author, hear Dr. Jacobs speak and connect with other Entrepreneurs. I’m grateful that attending the event inspired me to refresh my own networking skills, allowing me to share tips with you. If you have additional networking tips, please leave them in the comments below! I’m personally hosting a networking event and seminar coming up on Wed. November 2nd! If you’d like to attend my next seminar where you’ll definitely have a chance to apply these networking tips, you can register here. If it’s your first time attending one of my seminars, please email me: melodie at marketing melodie dot com and I’ll send you a code fore $10 off. Happy Networking and if you don’t already have Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your back, check them out at your local library or purchase them! You won’t be disappointed.

Welcome to San Diego @KeithFerrazzi!

This coming Tuesday October 11th, 2011, Keith Ferrazzi is going to be in San Diego for the  Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD. He’s interviewing Dr. Irwin Jacobs – Co-founder of Qualcomm. Keith Ferrazzi has been an inspiration to me ever since I read Never Eat Alone in 2008. There’s not a single time I’m recommending actionable business books that I don’t bring up Never Eat Alone. When he started his book tour for his next best seller, Who’s Got Your Back in 2009 I even blogged about why I wanted to meet him and top 3 reasons why Keith should come to San Diego. Keith even replied to me in direct message back in 2009 that I was so excited to receive!

Since that post I haven’t had a chance to meet him yet but I always believe things happen exactly when they’re suppose to happen so I’m thinking that tomorrow is the day I’ll finally meet Keith Ferrazzi in San Diego!

Never Eat Alone dispels the myth that  business relationships must be kept strictly professional. Business relationships can be rooted on friendship, authenticity and generosity just like personal relationships. I identified with this book so much because I use Social Media as a primary tool for creating marketing opportunities for both myself and businesses. If you read my recent post on being cast for a Microsoft commercial you’ll understand the many opportunities I’ve created for myself through Social Media by sharing personal stories.

Social Media is a medium that encourages people to be honest, authentic and real when creating marketing messages for their business. It personalizes and humanizes experiences for consumers, which is the exact type of connection Keith Ferrazzi emphasizes creating in Never Eat Alone. Keith, clearly understood the importance of building strong relationships even before Social Media became a prominent marketing tool. But since Social Media has revolutionized the way we communicate, Keith himself has also embraced the space through connecting with people on Facebook, Twitter and his blog.

If you’d like to join me in welcoming Keith Ferrazzi to San Diego tomorrow. You can register for his event here. You’ll learn Why Great Relationships Matter in Business. Dr. Irwin Jacobs will be in conversation with Keith Ferrazzi.

In addition to attending Keith Ferrazzi’s event tomorrow I’ve been nudging him on Social Media to see if he has some time come into San Diego a little early to enjoy a nice walk, hike or even a meal with myself and perhaps some other San Diego business leaders who are interested! If you’d like to connect with Keith in San Diego, please let him know! The San Diego social space has so many amazing leaders that I know Keith will have an opportunity to learn, collaborate and enjoy some great spots during his time here!

If you don’t already have Keith’s books, check them out at the library or purchase them below! I’ll write a follow up post soon after meeting Keith Ferrazzi tomorrow! I’m really looking forward to it!

 

 

 

If Content is King Your Library is a Royal Palace

This post is inspired by a place filled with infinite knowledge, new technology and an abundance of content .  This place is called the Library. Although not all libraries are created equal we can all agree that all libraries provide a place that supports education and knowledge. Read more