Ringing in the New Year with List of 12s for 2012!

Happy New Year! 2011 was amazing! And I’m excited for what 2012 has in store. For my first post of 2012 I’m sticking with the “new year” theme!

I love making lists. To-do lists are the most common for me. I make these daily to stay on task with both my personal and professional life. In fact I’ve even added things to my to-do list after I already accomplished them, just so I can check it off. C’mon I know I’m not the only one who’s done this before! Fess up if you have!

Instead of resolutions, I shared with my network that 2012 means making “Lists of 12s”!

I’m working on lists of 12 new restaurants to try, 12 new places to go, 12 marketing goals for my business and first list I made is of course related to tech and social media: 12 tech/web/social media related things I’d like to accomplish in 2012! 

1. Pinterest- We all know about my food porn addiction. I recently joined Pinterest and wow, it’s any food porn addict’s DREAM! I have 2 boards related to food. My Sweet Tooth is filled with gorgeous, mouth-watering sweets. Rather than just look at these images and drool, in 2012 I’m going to actually make at least 2 desserts I’ve pinned on Pinterest. (Give me food and I’ll cook but please note I have virtually zero experience when it comes to baking sweets so this is something new for me!)

Wishing everyone the best of the best in 2012! Thank you to everyone who reads my posts. I’ve really appreciate the comments, tweets, Facebook Likes, Subscribes and emails! It makes me happy to hear from you so please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time!

Marketing Melodie in 2011: A Year in Review

Happy 2012 everyone! I can’t believe another year has gone by. The start of a new year is always a great time for me to reflect on the previous year and set goals for the upcoming year but also appreciate the present moment and everything that’s led me to where I am today.

At the end of 2010 I decided to write Marketing Melodie in 2010: A Year in Review. I have a habit of discrediting many of my accomplishments because I feel like I can always do more. Writing this really allows me to appreciate and be grateful for everything that I have done rather than focus on what I haven’t. Just like I did for 2010 here’s a year in review of 2011 highlighting noteworthy events, clients, blog posts, friends, accomplishments, adventures and amazing opportunities.

*JANUARY*

While marketing is my expertise and passion, I have another passion; YOGA! I’m very grateful for one of my clients this year, La Jolla Yoga Center. Creating marketing campaigns and strategies for a yoga studio I love definitely makes me happy.  I trained their team on using social media to grow their business and helped them get set up on Facebook and Twitter. They’re definitely doing a great job connecting with yogis on social media!

I’ve been practicing yoga for a few years and really wanted to strengthen my practice and take it to the next level. I contemplated getting my yoga teaching certification for a while. It’s a huge time commitment and I was really on the fence. Well I made the decision to go ahead with yoga teacher training and can now say, if you are ever on the fence, DO IT! I am so happy I completed my Yoga Teacher Training and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I began my training in January and completed my 200 RYT Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training at the inspirational La Jolla Yoga Center, located right on the beach! I met so many amazing new friends, learned so much about myself and really took my yoga practice to the next level.

*FEBRUARY*

I hosted the 2^nd event in my Digital Media Dinners series. The topic: Social Media Branding. This was a great milestone because it officially turned Digital Media Dinners into a series rather than a one off event.  I taught strategies on how to strengthen people’s brand across various social networks including review sites such as Yelp, group buying sites such as Groupon and location based sites such as Foursquare. I incorporated a variety of sites because marketing and social media is growing beyond just Facebook and Twitter.

*MARCH*

Since I learn and receive so much from my online and social media community, I really want to give back. I did this by hosting Twestival San Diego. This event is hosted all over the nation using social media for social good by connecting communities offline on a single day to highlight a great cause and have a fun event. It’s entirely promoted via social media. Twestival San Diego was hosted at the Keating Hotel and all proceeds benefited the San Diego After School All Stars.

Me and a few other lovely Yogis were featured on KUSI demonstrating Bootcamp for Yogis run by my fellow yoga teacher trainee, Body By Mags. Check out the video below where I get my 5 minutes of fame while I’m smiling through holding a yoga tough pose and demonstrating yoga boot camp moves (Warrior has got nothing on me!).

VIDEO: Yoga Boot Camp Video

*APRIL*

I successfully pulled my second April Fool’s Joke on Social Media! Everyone decided to wish me a Happy Birthday on April Fool’s this year!

The first annual Foursquare Day celebration took place in 2010 and I hosted Foursquare Day Hong Kong. This year I was in my home town, San Diego and had the opportunity to host Foursquare Day San Diego for my community at R Gang Eatery. Check in specials, complimentary wine, cocktails, delicious comfort food with an upscale twist, friends, badges and a good time was had! Foursquare Day on 4/16 (Yep that’s 4 squared which equals 16) is officially, my favorite geek Holiday!

Oh not to mention, I met my first Celebrity Chef, Rich Sweeney @ChefRicSweeney from Season 5 of Top Chef who is also the head of R Gang Eatery. You can read all about my addiction to food porn and cooking shows here.

*MAY*

I was interviewed by the San Diego Reader on using LinkedIn for Job Seekers. I shared my insight, advice and was gratefulto have my article published both in their paper and online! You can read the full article here.

Another Geek Holiday takes place in May! Star Wars day on May 4^th! May the Fourth be with you! I celebrated with some fun posts on Social Media!

 

*JUNE*

I really want to help others with yoga passion so I hosted my first yoga event: Yoga For the Busy Body at Hera Hub! I really want to provide an opportunity for other busy professionals and entrepreneurs to have a chance to experience the benefits of yoga while teaching them poses they can do on their own despite their busy lives. That’s exactly what I accomplished at this event.

*JULY*

I was cast in a Microsoft Commercial!  It was such an amazing experience to work a full day on set as talent! You can read all about how I was casted in the Microsoft Commercial and then watch my commercial when it finally aired below!

VIDEO: Marketing Melodie’s Microsoft Commercial

 I hosted my third Digital Media Dinners in my series. This time I educated attendees on How to Build Your Social Media Community. I had generous sponsors, expert speakers, delicious food and of course a captive audience who made the event a success. Check out the event recap in the video below.

VIDEO: Digital Media Dinners- How To Build your Social Media Community 

*AUGUST*

I attended BlogHer for the first time as it was hosted right here in America’s Finest City. I connected with inspirational bloggers from all across the nation. It was great talking to so many people about their passions and seeing  them creatively share it with others through their writing. I had a good time at the conference itself, attending workshops, checking out the booths, the networking events, parties and left with more swag than I knew what to do with!

Oh and I met another Celebrity Chef, Brian Markaley in the Season Final of Top Chef Season 3. He was hosting a BlogHer party!

 *SEPTEMBER* 

Marketing Melodie is growing quickly! I sent out a call for interns and bring Allison Schummer @AllisonSchummer on board to help me!

Allison recently graduated from SDSU and I give her my highest recommendation to anyone who’s hiring as she’s currently on the market for a new job!

San Diegans experience a MAJOR BLACKOUT! But we united and got through it while making new friends! We proved that even during a black out social media still shines!

*OCTOBER*

Fall is in the air (even though it’s always sunny in San Diego) which means time for a new fall wardrobe! I attended one of my favorite tweetups ever, an Epic event at the Nordstrom Rack Plaza Bonita Grand Opening. I’m a very lucky person, I always win things and that night I won a pair of Designer Hudson Jeans.

In 2009 I said to the universe that I want  to meet my favorite author, Keith Ferrazzi. I finally met him 2 years later in San Diego at the Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD. He autographed both my books and I learned some awesome networking tips from meeting Keith Ferrazzi.

The Nerds United! I tweeted and connected with amazing new friends  from the Talk Nerdy To Me Lover community by hosting @JenFriel and the #nerdsunite crew in San Diego. We had a fun night at the Tilted Kilt San Diego and a nerdy sleepover!

You can read all about the things that make me a nerd here.

*NOVEMBER*

After completing a successful Digital Media Dinners series, I hosted my first Digital Media Now Seminar- Personal Branding on Social Media at Pangea Bakery Cafe. Attendees learned how to make their personal brand cohesive with their business brand.

I was honored with an opportunity to speak to NATAS- National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at their Social Media Workshop. Teaching television professionals how to use Social Media in their industry.

Thanks to the luxury car company, Infiniti and Social Media I enjoyed an amazing afternoon at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival. I also met my 3rd celebrity chef this year, Sam The Cooking Guy!

*DECEMBER* 

I hosted my first Digital Media Now Webinar on How To Integrat Social Media Into Your Marketing. It gave me a chance to share my knowledge with people who can’t always be available and in San Diego to attend an in person seminar. While there were challenges to work out with my first webinar, I received great feedback and plan to host additional Digital Media Now Webinars in 2012!

I celebrated my Birthday on my lucky day, December 13^th (It’s clearly not on April 1^st). In the photo below I’m dressed as a Monster, holding a class with an M and Minty Wonderland and Mozart cupcakes. Yep M THEME PARTY!

I began my new venture at National University. I was hired as a Course Developer and Adjunt Professor at National University. My first class starts in January where I’m teaching a marketing class on Interactive Strategies.

Wow a lot has happened in 2012! If you read this entire post or even part of it, THANK YOU!  As I reflect on 2011 I just can’t help but smile and be grateful for everyone and everything in my life right now. I am truly blessed and so excited to ring in 2012!

I’m pretty sure that makes me a Nerd, right? #NerdsUnite

It’s on the internet so that must mean it’s truel! I’m a nerd!! It all started a couple months back when I connected with the lovely @JenFriel from Talk Nerdy To Me Lover. We planned an awesome nerdy meetup in San Diego at Tilted Kilt Mission Valley and had an amazing time connecting with other tech/web/social media nerds. After spending a weekend with Jen and many amazing #NerdsUnite ladies, I felt both inspired and compelled to be even more involved in my community and continue telling my story on perhaps an even more personal level.

Well now it’s official! I’ll be guest posting on TalkNerdyToMeLover.com. My first post was me introducing  myself: #NerdsUnite: Inside the Marketing Mind of @MyMelodie. First things, first. Who am I? I’m a passionate Technology Entrepreneur, a Marketing professional, Speaker, Educator, Social Media Socialite & Enthusiast and many of you wouldn’t know this but I’m also a Yoga Instructor! Ooommmmm…..

As far as the nerd in me. I’m not 100% sure I’m a nerd but I’m pretty sure the below list of things I do make me one (At least a Social Media Nerd!). You be the judge.

• I get excited when I find out one of my friends uses Evernote and immediately start comparing lists them
• I’m thrilled to meet my favorite authors to get my books autographed! Most recently I met Keith Ferrazzi who wrote Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back 

• I am ecstatic when I unlock a shiny new Foursquare badge and admit that I’ll go to places that help me unlock more badges!

• Twitter has my answer for everything! I know there are things I can easily Google but I’d rather get person replies and recommendations from my network so I ask Twitter and Twitter delivers!
• When someone with a verified account follows me on Twitter, I do a little jump for joy.
• Getting a LinkedIn recommendation to me is what I consider WINNING!
• I love being on the Words with Friends Facebook page to learn new words every day!
• I was Carmen San Diego for Halloween! The Nerdy Super Hero with teleporting abilities, Computer/Video game character who taught 5^th graders geography.

Hey look! Marketing Melodie is on Mashable!

Who doesn’t love being featured on Mashable? It’s the top tech/social media website out there. Any appearance on Mashable is exciting and phenomenal exposure! My friend and business alliance @ChrisKirkman received thousands of downloads for his Digital Business card iPhone App uME when it was featured on Mashable . My nerdy friend @JenFriel who I had the honor of hosting in San Diego this past weekend, states that having her screenshot on Mashable was one of the greatest moments of her life! Well now I’m joining the Mashable Fame club!

I read Mashable articles almost daily but I don’t read every single one so I actually missed the post I was in. It was written by my friend @jbruin about essential apps for your iPhone. Reading iPhone articles aren’t a priority since I have a Droid, although I do keep up with Apple and even  honored Steve Jobs in my reflection on his life. Either way, this particular article made me Mashable famous, so I just wanted to share the great news with everyone. Of course my screenshot was from Foursquare which made me happy because I’m such a Foursquare enthusiast!

Before I end this post, have I mentioned how grateful I am for my Twitter community? I really can’t emphasize this enough. I would have never known about my feature on Mashable if it weren’t for a tweet I received. My followers are awesome and break news to me before I hear it anywhere else! They also look out for me and keep me informed when they see things that remind them of me. I had no idea that my very own Microsoft commercial aired until I received tweets from followers who saw it! Same goes for this Mashable article. I received a tweet from a follower who recognized my itty bitty avatar! Wow @swenggirl has a good eye!

Have you ever been excited to be featured somewhere? Have you experienced finding out news about yourself on Social Media? Well there you have it, my first appearance on Mashable!

Even During a Black Out, Social Media Still Shines!

Last Thursday September 9th, 2011 San Diegans experienced a blackout so significant it seemed surreal. Any glimpse of light was from the sun, phone lines were dead, gas stations and grocery stores were shut down. There was a scramble for batteries, flashlights and candles. I felt like I was living in an “end of the world” movie except we did have hope! The hope came in the form of Social Media!

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about the use of Social Media during a crisis. In June of 2010 I gave you a Glimpse of a Real Live San Diego Earthquake on Social Media. Experiencing natural disasters with the availability of Social Media enables people feel a sense of community. We know we’re not alone and feel a level of comfort to see others going through a similar experience.

Social Media also provides real time, live updates from people actually experiencing the disaster. With Social Media we’re are updated instantly and knowledge always provides a sense of security.

When the power went out, I immediately posted a Tweet. Seconds later replies started coming in and I realized the power outage was extended far beyond just my area.

Expecting the power to come back on any minute now, I sat around for a few minutes and saved documents. Twiddling my thumbs…5 minutes go by, nothing. We all walk out to the common area and bust out our phones. Phone calls are receiving no signal and text messages aren’t going through but we discovered Facebook still works!

After realizing we could still access Facebook, I couldn’t help myself and decided a Foursquare check in was appropriate. Many of my friends followed suit so soon we were all hanging out on Foursquare!

Priorities, priorities. Since ice would soon melt with no electricity in the fridge, cocktails were definitely in order.

Almost 3 hours later, still no sign of electricity. I got in my car to head home. Luckily, I live a few miles away. Unfortunately my car was completely on empty and judging by the bumper to bumper standstill traffic, I wasn’t even sure if I’d make it home. AAA to the rescue! I happen to drive next to a AAA truck as we were near the shoulder of the road. I politely asked for a little gas. Ask and you shall receive. A gallon of gas was enough to ensure I’d make it home.

I finally arrived home and decided pool time was the best option! What a great opportunity to lay out and relax!

The sun slowly but surely set. I realized I had absolutely no food at my house for dinner. I strolled to the grass area outside of the pool and to my surprise I have neighbors! I met many of my neighbors for the first time. Lawn chairs were out and candles provided light. My question of “What’s for dinner?” was answered as one of my neighbors brought out a box of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). MREs are the main operational food ration for the United States Armed Forces! Never did we think we’d be eating it for dinner. Nevertheless I enjoyed cheese tortellini.

The next day crept upon us and a little past 1am, the lights came on! Shouts of joy were heard all around the neighborhood! Once again, my first instinct was to post an update!

Social Media sure did shine to help us get through the Black Out! How?

- Phone lines were down! During my drive home I had KOGO-AM (San Diego’s News station) on blast. It was not surprising that they recommended people tweet them updates, rather than call in!

- SDGE provided real time updates on the Black Out through their Twitter account so anyone with phone battery left was able to check and share the updates.

- Once again Social Media allowed us to feel a sense of community with everyone experiencing the Black Out. It also allowed us to connect with those outside of the Black Out to keep them posted.

It always amazes me how times of crisis bring people together. I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity to meet my neighbors and prove it’s possible to enjoy a great night without technology. Did you experience the Black Out? How did your night go? Did you learn anything? In the end, San Diegans survived the great Black Out 2011 and I couldn’t be more proud of my city!

Celebrating #4SqDay with San Diego’s Favorite Foursquare Specials!

Happy Foursquare Day! I’m honored to host Foursquare Day San Diego at R Gang Eatery tonight! Even if you can’t make it, you can still celebrate Foursquare Day and the spirit of Foursquare each time you check in somewhere! To make Foursquare a tool that’s even more valuable I’ve asked my network their favorite Foursquare Specials. Here are some great specials people have shared with me. Please note, specials change periodically so you’ll have to check with the actual venue before going to see if the special is still valid.

Other resources to find Foursquare Specials include: 4SquareOffers.com. You enter your city, street or zip code to find offers near you. The Foursquare Blog also keeps up to date on many nationwide specials.

 

Bubs- There are 2 locations in San Diego: Pacific Beach and the Gaslamp. Both locations offer Free Tator Tots with your check-in and first round of drinks bought!

Cafe Coyote- Receive a free Mexicana Quesadilla Tortilla Appetizer with check-in and entree or cocktail purchase. The Mayor can ask the manager for additional specials

Chili’s Bar and Grill (Multiple Locations)-  Check-in and receive a free order of Chips & Salsa! The more the merrier; Check-in with 3-or-more friends and receive one free appetizer for your table!

Currant- Free Popcorn of the Moment or a $.10  Sangria or well cocktail on your 3rd check-in.

Del Mar Racetrack – Mayor receives a VIP paddock tour, four clubhouse admissions, their name on the tote board and will watch a race from the Winner’s Circle.

Double Deuce- Complimentary signature Double Deuce Welcome Shot when you check-in!

Harney Sushi-  50 cent small hot sake with check-in and purchase

Hotel Del Coronado- Check-in and buy a flight of wine to get a free flight of cheese or chocolate at ENO Wine Room. Valid after 5pm, Tues-Sat.

Pastalini Miramar (Multiple Locations) - 10% off your order w/ every check-in + free soda for the Mayor

Ra Sushi- Check-in and get a free order of Edamame or a Miso Soup.

Red Pearl Kitchen- Free Appetizer + 50% off all bottles of wine every day with check-in

Souplantation (Multiple Locations) – 15% off your bill with check-in

Sports Authority (Multiple Locations)- Spend $100 and get a $25 Cash Card. Check-in to unlock this offer.

The Tipsy Crow- 50% off your tab for every fourth check-in! Foursquare Mayor gets their tab 50% off anytime.

Wavehouse Bar and Grill- 10% off your bill with check-in. If you’re the mayor, you get $3 wells.

West Coast Tavern- 20% off on your total order every 3rd check-in!

 

There are many other great Foursquare specials offered around the city and nationwide. I’ll continue to update this list so if you know of other specials, please share them in the comments!

Next Page »