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Driving around the backroads of Sonoma County, it is clear how gorgeous the countryside of this county is. Anyone who knows me, either online or in real life, knows how addicted I am to taking pictures…. It doesn’t hurt that I have an endless amount of beauty to capture here in wine country.

Well, my new addiction to posting my photos is the social networking site specifically for iPhone users: Instagram.

I use this site as a way to show off what I am up to, but it is also great for brands to instantly turn their iPhone pictures into works of art to show off to their customers. For more information, please check out: 5 Key Takeaways From Brands Rocking Instagram. Sonoma County brands can use it to show off behind-the-scenes action of their businesses.

If someone asked me at the age of eight what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have had one of three different responses: A lawyer, a teacher or the person who writes commercials.  The third dream of mine is the one that I ended up pursuing and even though my dream was crushed by the decline in TV advertising, I knew even at a young age that the marketing world was the world for me.  Good thing the world of internet advertising allows for more creative thinking and versatility than the in-the-box model of the TV advertisement.

Over the years many people have told me that I would make a great teacher, that I have a commanding voice (I think they mean loud) and now it is official – I am breaking out the glasses, the khaki pants and a plain blue blouse (memories of Mr. Murdock and Mr. Kaufman my two favorite teachers in high school) because I am going to start teaching social media classes for the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau.

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From a PR standpoint, Twitter is great for starting conversations with key influencers in any industry.  It is an easy way to make friends and get your message across.  But it is also an easy tool to shoot yourself in your own foot if used improperly.

Case in point: A Vice President at one of the largest PR firm’s in the United States was visiting one of their largest clients in Memphis, Tennessee.  After landing in Memphis, he tweeted:

“True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, ‘I would die if I had to live here.”

The large client saw the tweet and, needless to say, was not pleases that this VP was trashing the city that they are headquartered in.  For more, please read Former CBS News Correspondent David Henderson’s article on the subject.

This foot in mouth scenario is a great reminder that what happens on the internet, does in fact, stay on the internet.  And is available for all to read.

The irony of this is that the VP was headed over to visit the client to discuss Social Media strategy.  I think he needs to take a spoonful of his own advice. Using Social Media for a brand is all about creating relationships and building content that will help your brand.  He was a part of the brand for his agency and rule #1 in Marketing: Do not bite the hand that feeds you.

I know that not all of my tweets are all about work related issues and I cannot judge anyone for making a comment without thinking. We are all human.  But it has definitely got me thinking about my online persona and what I say online.

It has been a little over a week since my life was completely changed. Yes, I got laid-off. It has been a huge blow to my money situation as well as my sometimes overly exaggerated ego, but thanks to the support of friends both at Hamilton Partners and around Healdsburg, I have come to terms with my first (and hopefully only) lay-off.

The reasoning is as straightforward yet complex as it sounds. People don’t print as much as they used to, thus they buy less ink. Yes, many more factors are involved, but it is pretty simple. It is cost effective, sustainable and smart to not print as much no matter who you are or what you print. A simple theory…. The complex part is that this trend has been going on for sometime, yet some have been so obsessed with trying to figure out HOW to get people to print more that they never took the time to look or ask WHY?

Thankfully, this set back has made me realize what is important in life and it isn’t sitting at my desk staring at the computer until I can barley see straight anymore.

Part of my new plan: I already promote different Healdsburg events such as parties, concerts, art openings, wine tastings, etc., so why not try to turn event promotions and planning into a career.

For Healdsburg Magazine, I will be contributing content about local events in and around Healdsburg, populating and promoting the What’s Happening calendar and promoting the site via different social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

As my last post described, Healdsburg Magazine is an Online New Media magazine that discusses real life in Healdsburg, including reviews of local restaurants, retail stores and wineries.

Please take a look, and let me know what you think at: 

http://healdsburgmagazine.com

YouTube is the latest social network that is offering brands free demographic data about users who click on their offerings. These facts will highly influence how bands, TV shows, movies and consumer products are marketed virally on the Web.

A feature called YouTube Insight, introduced in March, gives YouTube account holders a range of statistics, charts and maps about their audiences, and it is free!

YouTube is becoming the world’s biggest focus group

The data bring some science to what has in the past just been a crapshoot in terms of knowing who exactly is watching/reading a brands viral marketing efforts.

I know I already mentioned the latest “viral” hit: Weezer’s music video “Pork and Beans.”

The video was posted on May 23 and in less than two weeks, over 5.5 million have watched it, and now because of Insight we know that 65% of viewers are male. And after three days, 38% of viewers had discovered the video on other websites where people had posted it.

With this information, Weezer is planning on figuring out how to target the same demographic groups that watched the video, and how to reach out to those that didn’t.