What I Learned from BlogHer ‘10

Yes, I am still recovering from BlogHer ’10 in NYC.  As a blogger first and marketer second, I have known about BlogHer for years, so I could not miss the chance to be part of  the conference now that it was conveniently in my backyard.  As an internet marketer, it was very good to send someone from the office to observe how the brands interacted with the 2500 women bloggers at the conference. I was thrilled to be the sacrificial lamb.

After surviving both Sparklecorn and Cheeseburger parties, I have regrouped and have begun to think about the brands we represent at DragonSearch and what we can do next year.  Blogher’11 will take place at the San Diego Convention Center in California, and my chances of attending will be much greater if I go wearing my marketer hat!  I like California, so with this handy guide, I can make suggestions to some of our bigger accounts about how to appeal to the hoards of Bloggers at BlogHer. (more…)

Help Me Find You in a Sea of 2500 Blogging Women!

Amidst the last minute scramble of getting ready for BlogHer ’10; I have a list of Bloggers that I would love to find and connect with in New York City this weekend. Of course, I know there will be way too many incredible women who I want to meet and who I should meet and I know I won’t get a chance.
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DragonSearch & 33Oxclove’s Geeky Tech Party!

Well.. not really… officially what we did was “Invite Local Hudson Valley Internet Marketers, Web and  Graphic Designers, and Web Programmers to Talent Meet-Up” as a way to meet more local people in the area that shared skills that are important to both DragonSearch and 33Oxclove as we both continue to grow.

Successful Technology Talent Meet-up (more…)

Setting Up Family Social Media Policy Rules

Creating a Family Social Media Policy: part 3

So, you believe now that you NEED to have a Family Social Media Policy and you have finished the Steps to ensure that your Family Social Media Policy is a success, now it’s time to actually making the Social Media Policy for your family! 

Again, how you go about doing this should work for your own family dynamic.  Maybe you and your spouse hammer it out and announced the new regime or maybe a family meeting works best in your home. In any case there are quite a few things to think about:

What Defines Social Media to Your Family?   (more…)

Creating a Family Social Media Policy: part 2

Now that I have convinced you that you are a bad parent and the lives of your loved ones will be ruined in Creating a  Family Social Media Policy: part 1, we shall look at the beginning steps.  As with all things parenting related, creating a family social media policy will involved education, monitoring and rules.

One of the first hurdles to get over is convincing your children of WHY a Family social media policy is important. Granted, you might not parent by democracy, but  by educating your kids (and other family members if necessary) why it is important, there is a better chance of compliance through that understanding so let’s discuss first some reasons to avoid internet blunders.

The Importance of An Online Reputation

While it can seem like out of site equals out of mind, once you hit send it’s not really gone! (more…)

Creating a Family Social Media Policy: part 1

A Facebook comment  on my post  about needing a Personal Social Media Policy inspire me to think about the need for a Family Social Media Policy. Social Media Policies are not just good for businesses, not just good for people, they are good and necessary for any organization and that includes a family!

Why Develop a Social Media Policy for Your Family?

Let’s think about it for a second.  The internet use to be fairly simple. We all had weird screen names that included many odd numbers since the whole world was on AOL and there could only be so many johnnycakes 3000. No one was who they really were in real life and the rules were simple: hide  everything!

• Don’t post a real picture of yourself.
• Don’t name your kids names.
• Never let it out where you work or even what you do because “they” might be able to figure out that SuzieQ239 who works at Macys really is Susanna Metcalf from ladies intimates.

It’s gotten much more complicated now. (more…)

Hudson Valley Jobs Available in Kingston Technology Companies

DragonSearch and 33Oxclove Invite Local Hudson Valley Internet Marketers, Web and  Graphic Designers, and Web Programmers to Talent Meet-Up

Finding jobs in the Hudson Valley can be a challenge for many job hunters, but for two local Kingston, NY technology companies finding qualified employees is even more challenging. As other companies are laying-off employees and cutting hours, DragonSearch (http://www.dragonsearchmarketing.com/) and 33Oxclove (http://www.33delivered.com) are looking to use an informal technology talent meet-up to meet prospective employees.

Sharing Offices & Hudson Valley Job Searches

Both local technology companies share office space at 280 Wall Street in Kingston and work together on various projects and, until earlier this year, were jointly owned.  Rather than continually collecting resumes off of multiple job listings, they hope to identify valuable talent and access the incredible range of professionals.

We are seeking individuals who are passionate about the internet; creative digital marketers, web developers, programmers, graphic artists, project managers, internet geeks, bloggers, application developers.  In some cases, formal training is not necessary. For instance, individuals who are very active in social media, spend much of their personal time online and are able to navigate their way through different kinds of website profiles could be well suited for working with social media or link building. Perhaps you have built websites for friends and relatives, or designed an interactive game in your spare time. If you have a passion for this type of online focused, creative work, we would love to talk with you.

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Social Media Policies; not just for Businesses Anymore

As social media consultants, one of the things we do at DragonSearch is to help our clients develop a social media policy for the company and their employees. We have created a seven plus page document that discusses as many of the needed concerns, issues, and possibilities that are relevant for a business social media policy and their employees. After all, social media networking is social.. so the more people involved, the more social it will be. However, every business, whether they are active in marketing on the social level or not, should at least be discussing what they find acceptable for their employees. No one wants to find out they need a policy after an employee tweets all the company secrets or some other social blunder.

What About Those Social Media Blunders?

There was a really great article in Social Times this week by Andrew Rosen about protecting one’s self from social media remorse.  I thought it was a really needed article because I have had many of the same conversations with people about the very issue and other related things like integration of our public selves through social media.   As more and more of our lives, or history and our personalities gets online though social media interactions, the number of blunders or awkward situations will continue to grow.  Of course, we are all human and mistakes will be made , but now it’s really really public and often, once you hit send, you can’t get it all back! But the article talks about what to do after you have blunder, not how to avoid the blunder in the first place.

So I started thinking about my almost 10 years of being all over the place online and honestly there is only one major blunder that I wish did not happen. In the same span of years, I have taken down one blog post, edited one cousin on FB, and back down from one discussion.  Not a bad track record, I think. So I started thinking about why I don’t have a major issue with so much of this stuff… (more…)

Local Solutions for Ulster Country Tourism

In my last blog post, How Ulster County Can Use Social Media to Promote Tourism, I expressed my feelings after attending the Ulster Tourism Conference.   Based on almost half of the topics that were promoted for the event (Viral marketing via YouTube and other social media, Effective public relations in a digital age, Influencing travelers’ decision through online media) , and the presentation, I did feel that it was a missed opportunity to bring the industry players together and teach them how to work together with social media to benefit Ulster County Tourism and our economy overall.

So, until the Tourism Advisory Committee sends me my engraved invitation to join with promises to listen with baited breath to every word I utter, I’m going to present some of the social media tactics that we encourage our clients to use her at DragonSearch. Of course, I have personalized it for Ulster Country Tourism, but really any small business of struggling industry can apply to their own marketing. (more…)

I attended the Ulster County Development Corporation & Ulster County Tourism‘s Ulster Tourism Conference held at the Kingston Holiday Inn on May 4th.  As part of the local community and also because we serve clients who need to promote their own local tourism destinations, I signed up months ago to hear more ideas about what people are doing in our area.

The conference was well attended, clearly showing that many local people cared enough about this subject to spend the time and money to learn about how to drive tourism in our area. It makes sense, after all, many of them are small business owners who count on out of town business to make their living and keep their employees paid.

Ulster Country Tourism: Working Together

The conference started with a common theme I have heard lately: working together as a community.  The first speakers spoke of the Ulster Tourism Industry not fighting over the same slice of pie anymore, but collectively joining forces to better not only individual establishments, but our whole community; our economy, our employment base, our tax roles.  Increased tourism benefits all who live here.  So, as a firm believer in community and reaching out, sharing information, etc. I thought it was off to a great start. (more…)