Internet Geek Girl

Jersey girl wanted a Hugh Card.

Jersey girl got a Hugh Card.

Big thanks to @shelisrael and of course @gapingvoid.

Ok, ok…I know I haven’t posted in awhile. And I truly feel bad about that. It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks - jetting from NJ to SF, Silicon Valley, Santa Barbara and back. Stay tuned though, because there are changes in the air for InternetGeekGirl. I got some very good advice from a leading editor in the tech industry, and a re-launch will be happening on my 1 year anniversary - March 9! As a side note, (and I’m happy to have deep philosophical conversations about this), I have been Twittering the whole time.

NB: See all the cool pics and reviews of “InternetGeekGirl and her bub.blicio.us friends Meet in Palo Alto to Fill the GapingVoid and Have a Conversation!” (here and here).

In other news…it’s time for Affiliate Summit! I’ll be arriving in Vegas this Saturday, and excited about the Social Media Panel, which I will be on with the following Twitterati: Sam Harrelson (moderator), Deborah Schultz, Chris Brogan, Tris Hussey, and iJustine. Don’t forget to follow @AffiliateSummit and @asw08 (group account) on Twitter.

We will be giving away t-shirts from cool, web2.0 start ups during our panel - so if you’d like to send yours along to the Rio Hotel - feel free. Here’s the address (make sure it arrives no later than 2/24 and goes to my attention):

Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino

3700 W. Flamingo Road

Las Vegas, NV 89103

1-800-Play-Rio
ATTN: STEPHANIE AGRESTA (AFFILIATE SUMMIT - ARRIVAL DATE 2/23)
Cell: 646-408-3318

InternetGeekGirl will also be the hostess with the most-ess in the blog lounge, so we’ll pass them out there as well.Refreshments provided by B5 Media.

BTW - don’t miss Andrew Wee’s Affiliate Summit Las Vegas Survival Guide!

See y’all in Vegas!

Happy New Year friends. May 2008 be filled with good karma and many blessings. And may we all be new and improved every year.

I realize it’s a bit late into the year here for New Year greetings (or is it)? I was chilling in Florida for a bit, and I’m just getting back into the groove. But I couldn’t be more excited for 2008. Stayed tuned for many exciting announcements in the coming weeks.

But let’s start here, with Karma - Twitter Karma to be exact.

Let me explain because this is truly great social media story.

Dossy is my Twitter friend, he’s also a rad developer who lives here in New Jersey (go Jersey!). Back in December I was musing on Twitter about how I wish I had a tool that easily allowed me to figure out who is a reciprocal twitter friend and add followers to my list. As many of you know, I really love Twitter and more and more, I find it to be the most satisfying of all social networks. [Facebook is getting spammy - let's fix that people]. And surprise, surprise, Dossy made it happen. He built the thing!! I’m honored to have helped select the name btw. How very cool. Here’s the full announcement on Dossy’s blog.

I am amazed by the inspiration I find on Twitter, and the swirl of ideas that live in the petri dish of our online social networks. One person’s 140 character phrase is another’s software feature. Give to receive my friends, and please go give Twitter Karma a WHACK!

Peace Out!

A lot of people don’t know this about me, but in addition to be a leading expert in online marketing, I am one of the most informed sports fans out there. I’m talking every sport - football, basketball, baseball and surfing. I know it all. Stats, the names of the players, the colors of the outfits, the cities they play in, everything! I’m a sports fanatic. Now - I made a big mistake by making a bet with Chris Brogan regarding who would win last night’s record-making game between the NY Giants and the NewEngland Patriotz. I should have known better b/c that Chris Brogan seems to have insider information on EVERYTHING.

The game was an exciting one. Twitter was a flitter! @geniune @jasoncalacanis @mackcollier @dogballs @trishussey @chelpixie and many more were all callin’ the game. Bryant Gumbel could barely keep up with the Twitter crowd.

Always a good time on the social media merry-go-round. The game was close. As a true blue Jerseygirl, I had to stop and wonder - why did my team LOSE? It’s just not fair. So I took all my deep knowledge and expertise about online marketing and football and put together a list of why the Giants lost to the Patriots:

#10 - The Patriots obviously spend more time practicing and less time working on their website. Check out the Giants homepage today - all updated and ready to roll with real-time data and shiznit! The Patriots homepage has an out-of-date record front and center and they haven’t even put up the score or recap from last nights game!! Those web slackers really know how to throw the ball.

#9- The Giants have a twitter account (or someone started one), and the Patriots don’t. come one now. Everyone knows that if you waste your time twittering all day, you won’t be very good at making touchdowns!!

#8 - Although the Patriots have some issues with their online presentation skills, I have to say - their fans seem to be more passionate and therefore they are sending more online good karma and winning wishes to the team!! The Facebook applications by Watercooler reveal quite a differential. The NY Giants app has 1283 daily active users, while the NE Patriots App has 5014 daily active users. Since everyone knows that NYC Metro (that includes Jersey btw) is much more fun and exciting than New England (wherever that is?), you can see why more fans sit around watching football and playing with silly online applications to support their team. Guess that’s why they are 16- 0!

#7, 6,5,4, 3,2 - I thought it would be better to make this a top 10 list, but since I’m swamped trying to get ready for my trip to Florida - this will have to do.

And the #1 reason why the Patriots won last night - Tom Brady is cuter than Eli Manning.

That’s right. Comes down to which Quarterback is cuter. Simple as that.

Ok, ok, if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m not really a sports expert. Actually, I have no clue, but I like watching exciting, fun “hyped” games. If you’re looking for women bloggers who really do know the deal, be sure to check out the Female Fan on iVillage. Kinda Kool!

Mr. Brogan - care to make a wager for the Super Bowl?

And what a year it has been. I am grateful for all my awesome friends and colleagues. Hope you enjoy these shots from the many industry conferences and networking events I attended this year. Thank you all for your support. Have an awesome holiday and successful 2008.

I look forward to seeing you next year!

Last week Hugh Macleod used his cartoon defibrillator and his witty word smithing to revive blogging! Last December at this time, the analysts at Gartner made their predictions for 2007 and they said that blogging will peak next year and all the hype will fizzle out. They weren’t the only ones writing about the death of blogging. Hugh on the other hand has provided us with quite a different view on this (still emerging) media:

If you have something to say, then a blog offers a cheap, easy global medium in which to express yourself. This is as true now as it was three years ago, regardless of what the groovy cats in Silicon Valley may be up to.

Whether you have the time and the talent for it, “i.e. the skill and the will”, is another matter altogether. Also, whether other people will want to read it, is something one has little control over. But in both cases, the same is true for all other media.

This got me thinking - and truthfully - feeling quite guilty for not blogging lately. Blogging is not dead for me (as the title suggest, I’ve just been insanely busy). I suppose Twitter and Facebook serve as creative outlets for the time-deprived. [NOTE: I posted my 1000th Tweet on Nov. 5th, which means I did about 230 Tweets in a month.] Yum… metrics! Bottom line here is - in 2008, I commit to making more time for me and for blogging! (Are they one in the same?!?)

I think my Twitter, Flickr and Facebook are important tools that go hand and hand with this blog (not separate from it). In fact, I think all marketers would benefit from maximizing the cross-promotional synergies of blogs, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Magnify, Utterz, Seesmic, , and all the many social networks out there. Hey and let’s not forget off line expression. Be creative and build your micro brand (or macro one!)

If Marshal McLuhan is right and “the medium is the message,” the focus should be on the various ways human beings extend themselves, and how these extensions affect our relationships with others (and as a marketer I would add, with companies).

You may *prefer* one form of extension to another, but IMHO if you’re not making use of the depth and breadth of what’s out there, you’re not doing a good enough job. Fear not - there are lots of people out there to help you.

In addition to my (now relieved) guilt - the real message here is that Hugh’s work really cracks me up. I love his clever cartoons and bon mot. I know, so do lots of people (1840 Followers as of 10 pm EST on 12/7) . I’m just a fangirl! Oh yeah - I’m also just the cutey-pie you met in a bar.

(photo credit: Howard Greenstein)

Those of you that know me know how much I believe in the power of Social Media, Conversational Marketing, and the Relationship Economy. This past Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007, I saw that power in action at my Birthday 2.0 event.

People make a party (and a social network for that matter). We had a great crowd. It would be too hard to mention everyone, but big thanks to the following colleagues for joining in: Ted Shelton (my partner at The Conversation Group), Brian Shaler, Howard Greenstein, Steve Rosenbaum, Courtney Darling, Karen Jackie and Dana Rockel, Adam Broitman, David Berkowitz, David Blumstein, Allison Keisman, Bonnie Halper, Jay Bryant, Vidar Brekke, Marty Secada, and those that I can’t find URLs for: Sondra Stewart, Gerry Beyer, Cathy Campbell, Polly Lieberman, Swetal Petal, Yana Lyubovitsky, Keith Knight, Roma Sachar, Carrie Kaufman, Tim Keelan, and EVERYONE ELSE!

The early bird “unconference” discussion focused on usage patters on Facebook. Brian Shaler did a great job summarizing some key points. Read his blog here. I’ll be expounding on this topic in another post soon!

In addition to my party, I felt the web2.0 birthday love with almost 50 wall posts on my Facebook, many skypes, text messages and of course, the Twitter messages wishing me birthday greetings in under 140 characters. I also have to give a big shout out to all those that donated to my fund raising efforts for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and to Chris Brewer at LiveStrong for all his support. I am grateful for all my amazing friends, family and colleagues. Social media birthdays show us the power of this medium and ultimately the true power that comes from people connecting!

Featured Flickr pics are here: InternetGeekGirl and HowardGr!

One last post script. Julia Allison unfortunately did not make the party. She went wasted two hours at the Google event in NYC instead. I don’t know Julia personally. If I had known she was going to have such a bad time, I would have made sure she knew about Birthday 2.0! Julia - you have an open invitation to all future events with Stephanie Agresta and The Conversation Group!