Josh Shear
American Diabetes Association Seeks Board Member
This is cross-posted from the . What strikes me about this board position is that the metrics are well-defined. You don't just have to show up to meetings and generally support and promote the organization. If you can't raise $1,500, you're responsible for donating it, etc.
***
Position Name: Leadership Board – at large member
Job Summary: The Leadership Board–Corporate Development member provides access to resources or constituents important to accomplishment of ADA’s mission
Reporting Line: Position reports to Chair/President of the Board
Time Commitment: 4 hours per month from Sept. 1, 2010 – Dec. 31, 2010; Two year term, repeatable for up to 2 years
Corp Recruitment member is responsible for:
- Understanding the American Diabetes Association’s mission and programs
- Attending the local Leadership Board, which meets 4 per year
- Securing financial and/or volunteer support from the community and/or own company
- Utilize community contacts to support priority events
Raising Dollar Commitment:
- Market's financial goal for the fiscal year is $.5 million
- Raise or personally contribute $1,500 or locate a corporate sponsor(s) of equal value
- Generate support from own company or organization for priority fund-raising events; i.e., Step Out Walk to Fight Diabetes and The Tour de Cure.
- Participate in at least one fund-raising event and serve on one Executive Committee
Recruiting Volunteers Commitment:
- Recommending an assisting in recruitment of potential event or committee member throughout the year
- Use existing relationships to leverage opportunities and open doors to support ADA in reaching its market's goals
- Identify at least one non-participating company and create access for ADA
Reaching People Commitment:
- Participate in at least one program/advocacy event
- Work to create relationships with new corporations
Candidate Profile:
- Lives or works in the board area
- Possesses resources and contacts that can help impact the success of the local ADA
Staff Resources:
Director: Tom Czajak (315) 438-8687 x3666, tczajak@diabetes.org
Some Facts About Diabetes
» Total: 23.6 million children and adults in the United States—7.8% of the population—have diabetes.
» Diagnosed: 17.9 million people
» Undiagnosed: 5.7 million people
» Pre-diabetes: 57 million people
» New Cases: 1.6 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older each year.
Movie Review: Sex and the City 2 (spoilers)
I was a big fan of the . It was fun, it was women-positive, it was sex-positive, and sometimes, it even dealt with real issues, like cancer, divorce and gay marriage. And while it was serialized, you could pick up in the middle and play along and still have a good time.
I was disappointed in the when it came out a couple of years ago. It felt like an obligatory cap to the series, what with Big's return at the end of the TV show and all. There was more on-screen sex than necessary, the story was weak, and most of the fun was missing.
I saw the over the weekend, and had a good time. It was too long (147 minutes), but the fun was back. It was mostly devoid of plot, and where it tried to get with issues and controversy, the film mostly made a quick statement and got the hell out of Dodge without a debate.
Summary, with Spoilers – stop reading if you don't want to know.
• Stanford and Anthony get married. In Connecticut, of course, since New York is out of the question. In an over-the-top flamboyant wedding. Featuring officiant (wait for it) Liza Minelli, who sticks around to perform Beyonce's "Single Ladies." The dance number was classic Liza, and wonderful. Mr. Big gets hit on (briefly) by a guy and still feels like he "has it." The end.
• Charlotte's nanny Erin has big boobs and no bra. But while she spends a week in Abu Dhabi with the girls worrying about Harry and the nanny, it's all just a big laugh, because Erin prefers "other hot nannies."
• Conservatism in the Middle East. The girls get in a lot of trouble in Abu Dhabi when Samantha is caught kissing a man on the beach. They have to get out of their hotel and go home (the sheik who funded the junket cuts them off for the scandal), and when they return to the market for Carrie's passport (which miraculously is still at the vendor's stand), they find trouble again and are welcomed by fully-covered Muslim women who wear stylish clothing under their burqas. They escape the market in burqas. (This was probably the most poignant four minutes of the movie. It was almost an exploration of an issue.)
• Cheating. Carrie bumps into Aidan in the Middle East and winds up kissing him. And then decides to call Big. Who wanders the city for a day – torn up, he claims – and comes back with a diamond ring as "punishment."
I thought the series did a really good job addressing some frankly interesting issues, and the movie brings them up but glosses over them. Other than that, as I mentioned, it was definitely a fun time – much more fun than the first. And with whatever money put in for the wedding plug and Abu Dhabi put in for the good press (although the movie was too scandalous to actually shoot there), I'm sure the film was in the black before it hit theaters.
3.5 stars out of 5 – see it, but don't go out of your way.
Dropping the walls
Via
Some of you know me as someone who charges straight at a project and does everything in my power to not only complete it, but to go beyond expectation with it. Whether it's coming in ahead of deadline, or coming in on deadline with extras worked in, or to make it even prettier than you thought it would be, I always put in the extra time.
That's my promise with . Let's work together and see how I can wow you.
Foursquare in a small town
We spent the weekend in the Coxsackie, NY, area. It's about 20 miles south of Albany, but you'd never know it from looking around. And I have to use that "area" there, because the wedding was in West Coxsackie, the reception was in Coxsackie, and I'm still not sure whether the hotel was in West Coxsackie or New Baltimore.
The hotel gave us a sheet with some dinner recommendations, and we did some research. has a fairly professional website, and the menu looks good but a little pricier than we had hoped for; driving by, it looked a little like a run-down clam shack. The has a nice menu, but the website is on the unprofessional side and it was a bit in a different direction than we were comfortable driving.
So I opened my phone's app. What I don't like is that it appears to list locations in the order in which they were added, not either in alphabetical order (which would make a little sense), or in distance from my current location (which would make the most sense). What I do like is that there are places listed.
We wound up at , which was exactly like any middle-America post-high school football game pizza house you've ever seen in the movies: exposed brick, lots of white people, and waitresses who call people "hon."
There were no tips for anywhere local, and, let's face it, there were about 2 people listed as mayor of anywhere in town, but we enjoyed Paul's. JB had a bowl of clam chowder (that's clams in a cream broth with onions and potatoes, not tomato soup with clams in it) and spaghetti with meat sauce. I had a bowl of sausage chowder (corn, potatoes and onions with the sausage) and a white veggie pizza, which was mozzarella and ricotta cheeses with spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, onions and green pepper, all fresh.
I said a while back that I wound up not really being a fan of Foursquare. My attitude might be changing now that I understand how to use it. Which makes sense. I tell people they need to have a goal with Twitter if they expect to enjoy it; I guess I've needed that with Foursquare, too. More to come as I grow with the tool.
The 2010 Trash Transformation Project
The following is a partial press release from .
***
It is the pleasure of The Alchemical Nursery to present the commissioned artworks of the 2010 Trash Transformer Project!
The 8 artworks on exhibit represent the talents of 7 contemporary artists form the Central NY region, and include a diversity of methods including paint and ink on wood, mini and full size sculptures, and mixed media wall hangings. All contain salvaged or reused materials that make up at least 50% of the artwork itself, representing the insane practice of over-consumption and disposal that is taken for granted in modern society.
Each of the artworks is also being presented for auction through the silent auction process throughout the length of the traveling exhibit schedule. Bids have already been received at the debut exhibition. You can view the current high bids at the , and you can bid at any time by sending your name, telephone number, email address, and bid to info@alchemicalnursery.org.
Book Review: The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani
You know who's smart? .
A young entrepreneur and head of , Kabani's book is among the best social media books I've read – not least because it's a living book.
The problem with writing a book about anything social media is that social media is changing really fast. The book , for instance, came out in paperback in October 2008. Twitter has undergone so many changes since then, I can only imagine about 10% of that book is still relevant.
What Kabani does with Zen is start with the basics – how to use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, including how to set up your profiles and how to be found – and at the end of her book she gives you a link to and a pass code to get into the online version of the book, which is updated as new information becomes available.
Which means that when Facebook changes its look and procedures, suggestions for making your Facebook profile great are updated in the book.
My one hope for Kabani is that she hasn't buried herself (or her interns) under decades of book updates.
In addition to how-tos for Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, Kabani offers some good general purpose tips, like outline your overall social media strategy and know what you want to achieve for your business before you send your first tweet.
She also enrolls David Kaminski of to write a chapter on video.
Next up for me is going to be by Kodak's chief marketing officer, Jeffrey Hayzlett.
Syracuse First Relaunches Website
Below is a press release from buy local movement . The organization celebrated its one year anniversary with a joint event with Dolce Vita, which debuted a local menu, and by launching a new website with a database of local businesses.
***
June 4, 2010 Syracuse, NY – On this date one year ago Syracuse First was born. To celebrate, Executive Director and founder of SyracuseFirst Chris Fowler announces the launch of a new interactive website for the year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping as much money in the local economy as possible by encouraging people to buy in their own backyard. Fowler worked closely with local design firm 2ndNature — designers of such sites as Everson.org and dinosaurbarbque.com — to develop the site so consumers can easily access information to help them identify and patronize local member businesses.
The local buying and sustainable economy movement began more than a decade ago in Boulder, CO. Rooted in the belief that buying from local businesses rather than national chains stimulates local economies, more than 25,000 small businesses around the country participate in some type of business alliance supporting local shopping. Currently there are over 130 businesses and organizations participating in SyracuseFirst.
At syracusefirst.org, site visitors can educate themselves on the many important reasons to buy local, discover independent local companies to do business with, and other resources to help spread the word about the importance of sustainable economies. Individuals can also take the "Think, Buy and Be Local Pledge," to confirm their intention of support for a sustainable localist lifestyle. Individual citizens, nonprofits, and businesses (which are required to reside and conduct business primarily in Onondaga County) can join the SyracuseFirst organization online at various levels depending on revenue level directly through the site.
Fowler grew up in the Syracuse area and following career in public policy established Syracuse First in the summer of 2009 after learning about the BALLE model. BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, is a national movement to promote socially responsible businesses and bring together independent small business owners, government officials, and community leaders. Fowler is the first to admit changing people’s buying habits is an uphill climb but cites statistics that state "just a 10% shift in market share from national or global businesses to locally owned independents would generate an additional $130 million in new economic activity in Onondaga County."
2ndNature is a founding member of Syracuse First and has donated hundreds of hours of creative direction and web development throughout several phases of the project in an effort to ensure that the organization has a suitable online platform. 2ndNature is an award-winning design studio founded in Syracuse in 2002 by Joel Fairbank and Sage Young specializing in user interface design and motion graphics.
For more information on Syracuse First, please contact Chris Fowler at 315.396.6418 or chris@syracusefirst.org
Why social media isn’t working for your business
I've been told several times over the last month, "Social media doesn't work for businesses." Really? In that case, one of two things is going on:
- Your expectations are in the wrong place.
- You're doing it wrong.
Actually, I bet it's some combination of the two.
Setting Expectations
Approach social media like you would an in-person networking event. You don't walk in the door and expect people to write you checks because you're standing there. You meet people. You tell them what you do. You hand out business cards. You learn who others are, what they do. You take their business card. You have conversations. You build relationships. You nurture relationships. Maybe if you're lucky you get a sale out of the event, but more than likely you're going to have to do some follow-up work to get that sale. Or maybe you just nurture those relationships, exchanging emails or having coffee here and there, keeping yourself at the forefront of people's minds so that when they need your product, they come to you first.
It's the same thing with social media. Sure, if you put a link to your website on Twitter, you might get a sale or two. But if you converse with people, build relationships, nurture relationships, congratulate them on their victories and pass on their successes, they will think of you first when they need your product. If you're there when they don't need you, you'll be there when they do.
Your expectation shouldn't be, "I just tweeted a link to my website and signed up for Facebook. Why isn't anyone buying?" It should be, "I'm so glad I was able to build these relationships with people all over the world."
A successful social media campaign starts with meeting new people and building relationships with them, and having them eventually turn into customers. You don't start converting people at "Click here!"
Doing it right
I'm going to keep this brief, because frankly, there are hundreds of people who write about doing social media the right way, and we're all saying the same thing. Work on relationships. Be involved. Have conversations. Connect with people. Work your networks without being pushy. I want to recommend you read these blogs for some ideas. There are plenty more out there, too; these are just some of my favorites.
(disclosure: I've done work for this site)
Convention and relationships
I come back to frequently. Brogan's punchline is:
New marketing is more like: find people who make more sense. Start relationships with them before selling them. Learn more about them. Make the offer if it makes sense.
This isn't anything new. If you've touched your toe in on social media blogging, you've said this. I've you've ever advised people on using a social media tool, you've said this.
But are you doing it? Whether your social marketing is mediated or not – that is, whether you're looking for the sale in a face-to-face or an online environment – are you closing the sale before you've learned enough about the person to discover that you sell pipes but they need doors?
Sure, you do pipes, but if you knew someone who did doors, you could be selling their products to this new customer instead. And if you help the customer out when she needs doors, she'll remember you when she needs pipes.
True story.
On motivation
Take the 11 minutes to watch this video. It comes to me from via .
Motivation's a funny thing. I've been blogging on and off for almost 10 years now, and have seen very little money for it. You know why that's OK with me? Because it's fun and challenging. I can write about whatever I want, whenever I want, and on it's helped me meet and connect with some really smart people. That video above explains it all.