Drop Box Rules and You're Invited

I am a big fan of Dropbox. Drop Box is an online storage and file management system. Your account is free and comes with 2 GB of free storage.

By downloading the free software, your PC or Laptop is connected to the Dropbox 'cloud.' When you save a file to your local folder, a copy is saved in the 'cloud.' Each time you log on to your computer, the files in your folder are synced. Here's where it gets fun. Download Dropbox on another computer or get the free app for your mobile device and your saved files are synced and accessible from every device. I can even access everything from the web using most any browser and my account log-in information.

Dropbox also allows you to create public folders to share your files with others. Have a large file that is a problem to email? Place it in Dropbox and then simply share the link to it with a friend.

Feel free to visit Dropbox and take it for a spin!

Word Wednesday - Thanksgiving Holiday Truths

First, the facts... Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving in Canada falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the United States. Because of the longstanding traditions of the holiday, the celebration often extends to the weekend that falls closest to the day it is celebrated. (content taken from Wikipedia "Thanksgiving")

And now for something creative (and tasteless)...



Top 15 Southern Holiday Gathering Truths

1. That favorite dish your mom makes is still as good as you remember.
2. Somebody in the family is in trouble with the law again this year.
3. You are probably the only one driving a Honda.
4. Smoking is still expected inside at all times.
5. There is NOT, no matter how much we talk about it, an annual family tradition.
6. You will be expected to participate in the annual family tradition.
7. You are expected at Christmas if you didn’t visit for Thanksgiving.
8. Football will be explained with hunting analogies.
9. Hunting will be explained with football analogies.
10. There will be no raw, steamed, green or leafy vegetables at the holiday table.
11. There is always something that needs to be fetched from the store.
12. You will talk for hours and never really say anything.
13. No matter how hard you try not to, you will spend hours trying to figure out what everyone is really saying.
14. You are related to everyone there and you won’t know half the people.
15. Everyone there loves each other as best they know how.

Finally, You will either leave this holiday gathering thinking your family is a dysfunctional tragedy or the funniest assortment of people you could ever imagine – it depends on you.

The Social South - Murrells Inlet, SC

I grew up in South Carolina and lived in the small community of Murrells Inlet during my high school years. I loved it. We often refer to the place as "a quiet little drinking village with a fishing problem."

So, I'm headed 'home' this week to spend Thanksgiving among the Spanish moss, live oaks trees and gazing at the inlet waters as they calmly ripple and cast a dark reflection back at me. There is a certain aroma smell to Murrells Inlet - a thick mix of mud, shell fish and salt water that sticks in the back of your throat - embedded with memories.

My mother and step-father's home is one of those Thanksgiving destination places. Every walk and flavor of family life will descend on them this week. We will eat, talk, eat, laugh, eat, eat and sit lifelessly in front of the TV while planning our next trip to "The Walmarts." It will be a traditional taste of all things South.

How about you? Thanksgiving plan? Traveling?

Sunday Coffee Cup - Bermuda

If I could find a way to live in the sea, I would. Swimming, snorkeling or diving in tropical waters is one of my deepest pleasures in life. There is something marvelous about being in the sea. I’ve thought about the experience and why it attracts me so: In part it is being suspended, held aloft in the thickness of the sea’s insulating waters. Perhaps it is the way the world – up there – seems to be left behind and a whole new world of colors, muffled sounds and elusive creatures appears. Maybe it is even the impending danger of surrendering to the risks of the wide open ocean. I love being in and around the sea.

There is one vacation destination I’ve traveled to more than any other - Bermuda. Bermuda is a British colony that sits alone in the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. About 400 miles due east of North Carolina, Bermuda is an island less than 4 miles wide and about 24 miles long.  It is a great place for enjoying the ocean’s sights and sounds. Snorkeling and diving are easily accessible, and the aquatic adventurer is never disappointed.

Today’s Sunday Coffee cup is from The Lobster Pot, one of the local bar and restaurant spots. Every time I reach for this playful mug it brings with it serene memories of many hours spent basking in the salt, sun and scenes of Bermuda’s seas.

Airport Waiting

While the air roars overhead
Methodical. Arrhythmic. Pulsing.
While the seconds tick away
Tick. Tock. Humming.
While cars stop and go
Lights on. Lights off. Horns.
While I await your arrival
I don't dare breath until
Your touch down
Into my heart
Again

Word Wednesday - Rankle

rankle

   \RANG-kuhl\ , verb;

1.

To cause keen irritation or bitter resentment in.

2.

To continue to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment
within the mind; fester; be painful.

Rankle - I seem to have a persistent hankering for a rankle with 
that rascal.

Internet Summit Raw! - Raliegh, NC

This year's Internet Summit is a blast. Large crowd (1,800+) and fast moving presentations and topics tracks.

It will be a while before I sort through all my notes, but here snap shot of some RAW (and I mean straight from the pad, raw) notes from today's session on Online Video... See if anything strikes you as significant.

#isum11 Online Video @fiddlinlady Donna DelMarco

One upload, one time for all platforms. find the right tools

Video to mobile to app for conversion (wine exp)

Tactical examples...

Contest - watch video, answer questions, enter contest.

Keep contest interactive with video

Use customer testimonials via video - link to social watering hole for target group

Video for customer training and support, product demos, how to videos, etc.

Monetization - traditional advertising has moved to video, but new is that it is ok to charge for content of video. Like a white paper? Charge email for viewing?

Need 100 k viewers/ month to consider making revenue on advertising. CPU is low.

In video ads from sponsors, advertisers, etc.

Selling video content - lighter living. YouTube video briefs to drive full version on website.  Selling expertise.

Online Video - @SamKimball Live Steam

Live steaming Video - the golden age of online video

The power of a Live Moment

5 key value pro for Live Video

1. It's a lean in moment
2. Natural for Social Intergration
3. Real time feedback and sharing
4. People watch live longer 9-12 mins per video per viewer
5. Brand messaging stands out with a higher CRT.

How do you do it?

Platforms and web destinations, social integration, results in. Illinois sof channels and  a real opportunity to extend the live event


Live stream video has been the democratization of broadcasting

Most platforms will display on all devices and an hd multi bit rate

Consuming categories

1. Entertainment. 15%
2. Gaming
3. Music
4. News and politics
5. Business and finance
6. Spirituality
7. Sports
8 life blogging

How do we leverage live? Via a custom campaign

A Holistic approach
1. Video production can be simple
2. Web development
3. Promotion driving viewership. you have to have a way to get people there

Social
Brand/sponsor Integration
Use a full service video production company if it is a huge event
Consumer RSVP ad unit (be reminded via email)
Do social or go home!
Per roll ads
Banners with RSVP ads
In banner video of the live stream


Effective Strategies for Successful Webinars @ciscovideo Jamie Beck

Webinars are a huge cost savings over regular meeting
Scale small to many
Leverage local and regional talent on a global base
Allow attendance anywhere ... Use mobile?

Risks:

 Multi tasking of participants (ie not paying attention)
Too many bad Webinars equal bad rep
Easy to screw up
Free limits value perceived

How tos...
Clear title and message
Offer something of value and incentive for accepting (online drawing at end)
Keep invitation short and sweet
Use Social to supplement email invites
DONT - text only invite, complex registration

The presentation.
Don't text death people
Keep it to the point
Keep it onetime and end on time
Turn off entry notification.
Pre test connection and equipment
Don't read your slides

Best practices
Offer an incentive
Use video - people want to see your face
Always share your material afterwords
Always give time for q&A
Engage - polls, multiple choice, questions

Resources
Google Webinars software and pick one
Webinars blog

Internet Summit - Raleigh, NC 2011 #isum11

I'm headed to the annual Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC this week. I was going to write a post about it, but I met Jess via some of the Social Media buzz going on about it, and since she has done such a nice job with posting about it already, I'll refer you to her for the details and expectation settings around the Internet Summit 2011.

Be sure and tell her I said hello - we bloggers like all that connectivity stuff, you know!?

Feel free to follow the online chatter on twitter via #ISUM2011 or get all the details at the O-FFICIAL website -http://www.internetsummit.com/

Sunday Cup of Coffee - Gary Larson's The Far Side

Does a morning cup of coffee ever make you laugh? Every time?

Gary Larson’s “The Far Side” comic series has been a part of the twisted humor of our family for years. Nothing is sacred with Mr. Larson; he’ll poke fun at animals, people, religion, and politics – often in the same strip.

“The Far Side” daily comic calendar was a fixture on our dining room table for years and one of the anticipated Christmas gifts to be unwrapped each year – usually from my wife to me. When Gary Larson decided to discontinue ‘The Far Side” in 1995, we were left humorless – no joking. We’ve tried for years to find a daily humor calendar to compensate for the loss.

This morning’s cup of coffee is compliments of Gary Larson’s “The Far Side.” The mug is over 17 years old and belonged to my wife prior to our marriage. Each time I use the mug it reminds me of two things: 1. The need for regular laughter in my life, and 2. That my wife was at least partially insane before she married me.

If you would like to stroll down memory lane with Larson's comics, visit TheFarSide.com to spend some money.

Word Wednesday - Amiss

a·miss   [uh-mis]  Show IPA
adverb
1.out of the right or proper course, order, or condition; improperly; wrongly; astray: Did I speak amiss?
adjective (usually used predicatively)
2.improper; wrong; faulty: I think something is amiss in your calculations.

Amiss: Of all the misses that I've missed, she was without a doubt the most amiss.