SubscribeAdventures of Flying in San Diego + Sony Walkman Winner!
Positive karma is amazing. As I announce my winner of the Sony Walkman W, I also get to share new Sony products that I received and an amazing adventure I had thanks to both Sony and Klout! To pay it forward I hosted a contest to give away a Social Media/ Fitness Swag Bag. Since the contest was launched around Earth Day and I wanted to both learn and share more tips for going green, I asked the question: “How are you going green?” as the ticket to entry for the contest. I learned so many new tips that I’ll be compiling in a future post so thanks to everyone for participating. And now to announce the lucky winner…CONGRATS TO:
JEFF SMITH! Winner of the Sony Walkman W and Social Media/Fitness Swag Bag
Now you’re probably wondering about the rest of this blog title, Adventures of Flying in San Diego?! Yes, last Friday I literally flew! Here’s how it all went down and how I ended up in the air. Klout perks have won me over in the past. I’ve received so many goodies from them and last summer they sent me on a weekend getaway at the world class resort, Terranea. This time Klout invited me to Sony’s Digital Imaging Workshop.
I enjoy capturing memories by taking photos but I’m certainly not a photographer in any way. So when Sony invited me to their Digital Imaging Workshop at the gorgeous Estancia Resort in La Jolla to learn how to take better photos and video while also offering me the new Sony Nex, plus the Sony Action Cam to practice on and take home, I was beyond grateful and all in! We started the afternoon by getting acquainted and enjoying a nice lunch at the Estancia. There were media folks, photographers and other online influencers.
After lunch, we were ready to learn. The best part of the workshop was getting all of our goodies though. It really felt like Christmas in April .
The best way to learn is by doing, so immediately after the workshop we took a walking tour of the resort to practice our photography skills. There were so many vibrant colors from nature, beautiful architecture and plenty of sunshine for us to practice our shots. The tour was nice and relaxing, but our day didn’t end here.
Sony and Klout were very smart to plan more adventures for us that would allow us to practice our newfound photography skills. I felt like I was on a very exciting school field trip as we a hoped on a bus to the Birch Aquarium. The Birch Aquarium offers one of my favorite viewpoints in San Diego so I spent a little time getting different shots of the view. I also practiced getting the perfect panoramic shot. Next I toured the aquarium and captured so many great photos of sea life. Our time here was limited though because we had to hop back on the bus and head to the Torrey Pines Glider Port.
This stop was an absolute thrill and once in a lifetime opportunity. I first signed a 20 page waiver….never a good feeling knowing there is a reason for such a long waiver. Then I was strapped into my equipment and seconds later I was lifting off! I felt my heart skip a beat an then quickly starting elevating higher and higher. I felt like I was in a dream while flying in San Diego and as soon as we got a little more stable up in the air, I began to calm down and was able to enjoy the beautiful view from an angle I’ve never seen before. It was an amazing experience and I captured it all on film with my Sony Action Cam! The videos came out so crystal clear and in such good quality despite my shaky hands. My only hang up with the Sony Action Cam is that I can’t actually see what I’m filming or review the footage on the actual video camera. I understand it’s intended to be small but I would like to have even a small screen to review the video on the spot. Regardless, it’s still awesome. Check out the video, you’ll feel like you’re flying too!
Safety first! Getting strapped in before take off.
After flying in San Diego, things settled down a bit as we made our way back to the Estancia to wind down with happy hour and get ready to test our food photography skills with a gourmet five course dinner. I’ve admitted before that I’m absolutely addicted to cooking shows and food porn. I take tons of food photos but I really never understood the best way to make it look professional. I learned about different lighting strategies, angles, plating techniques and how to make my food look even better. By the end of dinner, I was stuffed, exhausted and very happy with my new tech toys and an amazing story to tell about flying in San Diego!
A huge thank you once again goes out to both Klout for inviting me and Sony for setting up our day to remember! If you’re interested in having me attend, promote or feature your event on Marketing Melodie, please feel free to contact me. I’m open to any opportunities and adventures that are a fit for my lifestyle and will often write a blog post about it to share and document my experiences.
Chevy Volt, The Good, The Bad and what to expect with an Electric Car
Ever since I can remember I loved being able to help the earth through recycling, reusing and reducing in every way possible. When ringing in the new year in 2010, my resolution was to stop using plastic water bottles and carry a reusable one (this is the one resolution I have actually kept!). I always bring my own reusable bags to the store. I also shared tips on ways to go green at work and these tips even got featured on television!
Recently, I decided that I wanted to go green with driving, so I started doing research on different ways to do this. I signed up for various car share and ride share programs, I educated myself a bit more on public transportation options and have researched different cars that are more fuel efficient. During my research on fuel efficient cars, of course I came across the Chevy Volt.
I learned about the Chevy Volt a few months ago through Klout Perks when they were offering 3 day test drives to influencers. While Klout Perks have won me over with amazing trips and other cool stuff in the past, based on my location I didn’t qualify for the 3 day test drive. I was bummed because I really am in the market to purchase a fuel efficient car. Fortunately I was able to get connected with Chevy’s PR team. In Southern California, they are running an informal program called “Cars to People”. and through this program I qualified for a 7 day test drive. Electric cars are a foreign concept to many. Chevy knew that the best way for people to fully understand how the Volt works and to find out how it can fit into their lifestyle is to actually let people live with it for a few days and that’s exactly what I did.
First, here’s a tour of the car!
THE GOOD- Here’s what I love about the Chevy Volt:
- I feel so eco friendly when driving the Volt. Knowing that I’m reducing carbon footprint by not emitting any gas fumes into the earth while driving is a great feeling.
- The Volt is very spacious. I need a lot of trunk space. At any given time I’m carrying around 3 yoga mats, laptop bags, gym bags, groceries and more. The Volt can definitely handle all the stuff I carry around.
- No more filling up at the gas station. At least not very often. I personally dislike the errand of getting gas. I like to go as long as possible without having to fill up simply because I feel it’s inconvenient to interrupt my trip with a stop at the gas station. The Volt is technically classified as a plug-in hybrid so it does default to gas mode when the charge runs out which is a relief knowing that you won’t just stop in the middle of the freeway. In my experience, the Volt gets about 35-40mpg in the gas mode.
- Save on insurance. Yep your insurance actually goes down! I experienced this when I drove a hybrid and this is also the case for electric cars.
- Save on high gas prices. Less trips to the gas station means spending less on gas. At first I was curious if I was actually saving money since I expected my electricity bill to go up with having to charge the car. Since I didn’t have the car that long, I was not able to track this but below is a conversation I had on YouTube with an actual Chevy Volt owner. He explains to me how much it costs to charge vs. pay for gas. He also discusses the tax benefits and how much money he is saving overall by driving the Volt. It sounds pretty awesome to me!
- Reserved parking. We all know how difficult it is to find parking sometimes. This is especially true if you’re driving downtown at night. With my Charge Point pass, I had a designated spot so I didn’t have to drive around looking for parking or pay up to $20 for a spot. I got to charge my car while I was out.
THE BAD- Here are some things about the Chevy Volt that I feel can be improved.
- Lack of charging stations. This isn’t actually anything bad about the car itself, but in general San Diego has not really embraced Electric Cars. Therefore, charging stations are few and far between. In most areas, finding a charging station is not very convenient. There are 2 main companies that offer charging stations. Charge Point, which is what I was using and Blink. Charge Point only had 3 stations in all of San Diego. I was lucky to find one when I went downtown but there were none available anywhere else I went that week.
- Charge time. I was told that it takes 8 hours to fully charge the car if you’re doing it in a garage. It takes 4 hours to fully charge the car if you’re doing it at a charging station. The charge time is just too long. I had the car plugged into the garage for over 8 hours and it did not even charge completely after all that time.
- The distance you get on a full charge is only 40 miles. I really would like to see the car go further after being plugged in for 8+ hours. When I charged my car for over 8 hours, I only got 37 miles. I often drive more than 40 miles when I go out so the majority of time, my charge ran out and I was running on gas mode.
- You need a garage. Not everyone has a house with a garage. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to rely on charging stations which are few and far between. I have a designated parking spot, but no garage of my own. Luckily my complex manager let me borrow a garage for the week so I was able to charge my car. If I were to buy a Volt, it would mean paying extra for my own garage.
- The console is not very intuitive. After playing with it for a while, I was able to figure everything out and it became easy to operate. But initially it’s a bit confusing since there are so many different buttons.
Submit Your Ideas for Shit Social Media Experts Say- Part 2 #SSMES2
First off, if you haven’t seen Shit Social Media Expert Say, take 2 minutes to check it out! Let me know your thoughts, give me a thumbs up if you like it and please share it with your friends! In fact, Click to Tweet!
I am incredibly grateful for everyone who helped with the video, watched the video, shared the video and left me comments and tweets about it. Here’s why I’m encouraging everyone to continue sharing this video: Even though the “Shit Says” phenomena can be seen as just another funny internet meme, it’s really demonstrating how powerful Social Media is as a tool to really spread your message. My video is intended to be funny and even a bit annoying but nevertheless, it emphasizes how important it really is to have a voice in the social space.
What I love about the “Shit Says” meme is all the creativity it’s bringing out in people! My Twitter buddy @jennhoffman said it perfectly and I agree with her 100%: “The whole “Sh*t (insert group here) Says” trend is really bringing creativity out in people. Almost all the different incarnations are funny.”
There were so many more lines in the first video I wanted to say! Many got cut and some are just new ideas I had after making the video. Based on the great response I’ve gotten so, I would love to make a second one! And since we all know Social Media is about engaging your audience, user generated content and building community, I turn to you to help! Please submit your ideas for “Shit Social Media Experts Say” Part 2. Many of you already tweeted me great ideas so please keep them coming!
Here’s how to submit ideas for Shit Social Media Experts Say (Part 2). It’s simple! Just leave me your comments in this blog post. Or tweet me @MyMelodie using the hashtag #SSMES2! Looking forward to hearing from you and your ideas!
Marketing Melodie Presents: Shit Social Media Experts Say!
I told you guys I had a Secret Social Media Video Project I was working on. Well… the secret it out! I couldn’t help myself with this video. While watching the popular video “Shit Girls Say” and all the spin offs (By the way my favorite spin off is “Shit Yogis Say” since yoga is my other passion), I got a great idea to create a video related to my love for marketing, tech and social media!
I didn’t want to play a race or gender card but I did want to keep it personal to my community. Alright I’ll stop writing and let you watch the video. Please, please, pretty please share this if you find it funny, compelling or can relate to it in any way. Leave comments and spread the word! I’m aiming for at least 1 million views and since most people reading this are extremely tech savvy and influential in the space, we should have no problem achieving this goal!
And now for the feature presentation: SHIT SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTS SAY! (You know, the people who can run your Facebook and Twitter account)
Big thank you to @jennyjenjen for filming and editing the video, @robotfaith @iPodschun @ChrisKirkman for being a part of creating the video and @LoMagna for her ideas on writing the script.
Announcing my Secret Social Media Video Project!
I had an amazing 2011 and just 2 days into the new year, I got an idea for an EPIC Social Media video! What a great way to kick off the new year with a brand new project?! I knew I wanted to get this project off the ground ASAP so of course I turned to my community with a Tweet and Facebook update.
After responding to a few comments and sending out a few emails, within a few hours it was all set! I had my videographer, co-stars for my video and a time and place to film! Talk about making things happen quickly! Throughout all the planning, my good friend @LoMagna who knows me too well (She and I went to high school together and traveled to Hong Kong!) sent me a chat message as soon as she saw my post:
Yep @LoMagna was 100% spot on, even with the title of the video! Hence, why I had to bleep it out in our chat since it’s a secret! As stated in my chat to her, I’m so excited about this video. If you’re a part of my community on Twitter, Facebook or any other Social Network I know you’ll love it too and want to share it with all your friends! I’m doing this entire project just for fun, but I would love to see the power of viral videos work its magic so I’m aiming for at least 1 million views on this video!
Check out my List of 12s for 2012s. It’s # 8 “I’m not a regular YouTuber but I’m currently working on an awesome Social Media related video that will be published soon. My goal is to get at least 1 million views on this video. I know that sounds extreme, especially since my current YouTube videos have views only in the hundreds. I’ve got a good feeling about this video and in 2012 I’m going to get 1 million views on my social media related YouTube video.“
So now that you’re all wondering what the heck is this video that I keep hyping up?! Any guesses? Surely someone other than @LoMagna can guess what my video is going to be about!
Special thanks to @jennyjenjen, @ipodschun, @robotfaith and @chriskirkman for all being a part of my Secret Social Media Video Project! I seriously can’t wait to show you all what I’ve been working on! We’re doing final edits on the video and it should be up in the next day or so! In the meantime feel free to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel so you can be one of the first to be notified when the video is posted! STAY TUNED!
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 2nd 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
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 4th! 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
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 13th (It’s clearly not on April 1st). 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!
