The challenge of prioritizing
Posted on November 30, 2009
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I’m sitting here hungry as a hostage, yet I decided it was time to finally update this “blog” of mine. I expect to find myself being Googled a lot more in the coming week.
What have I been up to since the Sept 30 post? Let’s backtrack for a moment, shall we… I’m not exactly sure HOW I managed to omit such information, but I spent Sept 11-14 in New York for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. For some reason I talked myself out of going to Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 concert at the garden (I don’t know, I don’t know) but I kinda felt like I was there since I followed the color commentary on Twitter.
I went to the Custo Barcelona, Caravan, and Abi Ferrin runway shows. Custo was in tent in Bryant Park so that was very exiciting for me. I spotted Chris Noth (a.k.a. Mr. Big) at the Caravan show. It was a perfect SATC moment, lol. The Abi Ferrin fashions were brilliant, colorful and inspiring. It made me want to visit Costa Rica–she got her inspiration from the island. What else… I hung out with some friends, nearly mastered the subway, visited the Guggenheim for the first time, and bought a cute purple coat from H&M. That trip was a gateway drug. Expect for me to return to NY in Sept 2010 for a longer duration. How long I stay is directly linked to how well I can bribe my mother into watching the children, HA!
October yielded my favorite holiday, second only to my birthday. I dressed as a Playboy bunny and did some party hopping (lol, no pun intended) with two close friends. It was all properly documented for my personal photo albums.
November ushered in my dear daughter’s 11th birthday. I committed to hosting a sleepover for her, so she and 7 of her friends pretty much had the run of my house on Nov 14. Me against the tween army. I kept them busy with crafts, food, and Rock Band. Overall things went smoothly, however I did take note of which girls were obedient and which felt like house rules didn’t apply to them. In the morning, I made them french toast to get them nicely sugared up for their parents’ return.
The Snoop, Chris Brown and Raphael Saadiq concerts came and went without me in attendance. I wanted to be there, but I didn’t score press passes, so yeah… kept my little dollars to myself. I was coerced into buying advance tickets for Jay-Z at the AAC though. I probably could have gotten press tickets for that, but I didn’t want to risk missing HOV twice in a row. That would just be a travesty.
I’ve been doing a lot of legwork for Glamour also. Between participating in challenges for Estee Lauder and a few others, I was chosen to host the Dallas Canon Ball. What is that, you say? Well Canon Powershot teamed up with Glamour for a promotion, and as a value add the Glambassadors were given a budget to host a party (complete with a Glamour/Canon step and repeat for the photos) to get in some experiential marketing for this campaign: http://glamalert.com/canon/. It took some pulling strings and calling in favors, but the Dallas event will be held at Couture Confections Bakery on N. Henderson Ave and will feature a DJ, champagne and cupcakes. It’s Dec 4, you should come.
On the professional front, I made acquaintances with one of the leaders of a group called the Alliance of Technology & Women. We were in a networking meeting together. And after my brief presentation on using LinkedIn to target companies in a job search, she was very impressed with the kid. A few discussions later, and I’m slated to do a speaking engagement. Here’s my topic:
Successful Corporate Use of Social Media
Everyone says your business should be using social media, but how do you decide if you belong on Facebook or LinkedIn? In this discussion, you will receive insights to deciding which mediums are right for your business needs. Understand the commitments involved in social media engagement, and learn ways to track your social media impact. Finally, you will see examples of successful use of social media in the corporate arena.
It’s going to be a 15-minute presentation, with 15 minutes allotted for Q&A, taking place on Dec. 15. I’m excited, but not really nervous. That is a good thing!
I’ve also started doing some writing for the new SoulTrain.com. The site just relaunched yesterday, but the amount of traffic generated by the Soul Train Awards made for a great launch. The portfolio is updated with the work I’ve written for them.
My Stallion Sports Marketing imprint has been picking up steam as well. My client, Tarell Brown received a contract extension from the 49ers, landed a starting position, and is a regular play-maker. I update his site and send out newsletter a lot more frequently than when we first started. I’m also about to start talks with his former high school football coach to begin preparations for the 2010 summer sportsfest. Tarell already got great turnouts as a rookie with word of mouth promotion of the event. Now that he’s a starter, and has someone in town to do adequate publicity and marketing for the event, it should be greatness! I sooo can’t wait.
Finally, I’m still squeezing in my online grad work at Gonzaga. No one should ever have to do two classes at the same time, while trying to live a full life. It’s a beating. LOL. I have become a devotee to Google Calendar. Without it, I’d be lost.