Roxanne Darling
Saving Hawaii’s beaches and open space is a widely shared commitment – not just among those of us who live here but even more so perhaps for the millions of visitors to Hawaii! Everyone is invited, as even those of you who may never visit have likely experienced calm and inspiration from looking a Maui sunset or listening to the rhythm of the waves while watching an episode of Beachwalks.tv.
I am part of the social media team that is helping raise funds for the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT) on January 28, 2012 and their annual fundraiser. We are putting social media to a test. In the past, this has been a local event that targets local attendees who bid on deluxe local packages. All of that is the same this year, however HILT is adding several social media options. I am blogging here to enlist you, dear reader, in our activities and to create an additional central clearinghouse for all of the social media assets being created!
Here Are The Main Activities
Luau hosted by Old Lahaina Luau on Saturday January 28th. That is also our “must be done by” date as we will be announcing all of the fund-raising totals at that time. Buy a ticket or a table.
Live Auction Packages. We KNOW the live auction will be a hit – there is a track record on that! But what about the social web? Can we build the buzz as well as the commitment to make a dent in supporting the Hawaii Island Land Trust? View all auction packages here. They are also listed below for your convenience.
Share-the-Cause Love: No matter what, we appreciate your help in raising awareness of our ʻaina (that means land in Hawaiian). Please blog about it, tweet about it, and if you are here – treat it as your best friend!
Resources – Use As Often as You Like!
- Like HILT on Facebook and share your stories of Hawaii. Recommend them and help build their community.
- Follow the Hawaii Island Land Trust on Twitter @HiLandTrust. They have an emerging account – help them grow their follower base!
- Use our event Hashtag: #BBTB2012 (BuyBackTheBeach 2012) so we can include you in the conversation.
- Make a donation now and then do it again as often as you wish by January 28th. Let’s get “social media” an honorable seat at the “donors” table.
- Buy a ticket or a table and join us at the luau on January 28th.
- Tell your Hawaii and especially Maui friends about these packages and recommend they attend the luau in person.
- Help thank our many sponsors and donors; links below.
- Friend, Like and share HILT photos on Flickr.
Follow and Tweet These Peeps: Hosts and Donors
HOST: Hawaii Island Land Trust: @HILandTrust
SUPORTERS:
Old Lahaina Luau: @oldlahainaluau
Mana Foods
Skyline Adventures
Sempra – Solar, Wind, Natural Gas
Boeing
Follow and Tweet the Social Media Team
Peter Liu: @PeterLiu47
Melissa Chang: @Melissa808
Sarah Burns: @TheOhanaMama
Liza Pierce: @AMauiBlog
Roxanne Darling: @roxannedarling
Sara Tekula: @spectekula, our fearless leader
Use and Share our Shortlinks
Link to the main event page: http://bit.ly/BBTB2012
Link to the $5K Challenge Details: http://www.hilt/org/bbtb-5k
Link to the PayPal Donate Page: http://bit.ly/bbtb5000
Discover What Our Social Media Team is Blogging About
A Maui Blog: My Favorite Beaches on Maui Part 1
A Maui Blog: Buy Back the Beach Benefit: Five Things
The Ohana Mama: Calling All Hawaii Lovers – Let’s Buy Back the Beach!
Nonstop Honolulu: Let’s Buy Back the Beach
Peter Liu’s Kaiscapes: Help Buy Back the Beach in Hawaii
The Ohana Mama: Kuleana – Hawaiian Word of the Day
A Maui Blog: Buy Back the Beach $5K Challenge
Lots more to come! Please bookmark this page so you can see all the updates!
Here is an UPDATED list of the Auction Packages & Videos!
Afternoon with W.S. Merwin
Ancient Days in Wailea
edible Hawaiian Islands’ “Sentenced to Feast”: Dinner Party Exclusive
Great Scope! Haleakala
Guided Kaupo Hunt & Private Dinner with Chef Brian Etheredge
Hawai‘i By Air, Land & Sea
Hike the Cloud Forest of Waikamoi
Kauai Family Fun
Ku‘uipo Makena
Ole Longboard
One Wild Week in Wyoming
Vintner Vonderland Napa Valley
Waihee by Moonlight: Guided Hike & Dinner
Wailea Shutterbug Workshop with Randy Jay Braun
It is the last day of 2011 and I want to add an exclamation point of gratitude on each of my blogs – most of which suffer from neglect from me. It was my friend and Maui blogger Liza Pierce’s idea: let’s all write a blog post for January 1st! So, I’ve set this to post just one minute in to the new year. Happy New Year!
I am starting on this blog, as this is the easy one! (I have at least three more I am aiming for.) This past year, I was hired by the Lānaʻi Visitors Bureau (LVB) to run a social media marketing campaign for them, based on a very original concept created in discussion with Mr. Keliʻi Brown, who is the PR director for the Maui Visitors Bureau (MVB). For those of you outside of Hawaiʻi, Maui Nui, as we call it, or Maui County, encompasses not just the island of Maui but also the islands of Lānaʻi and Molokai. So the MVB provides support to the LVB.
Lānaʻi is was the least known of the Hawaiian Islands. There are only three hotels! So we wanted a program that would shine the best light on this beautiful place, something that would go deep and not just be about “one more trip to Hawaii.”
First, though, watch the video! It is a quick one minute. Then keep reading for more on this program.
New Media Artist-in-Residence Program from Roxanne Darling on Vimeo.
You can read more about the setup of the New Media Artist-in-Residence program here, but in short, it involved the hand selection of seven well-known bloggers who each spent a week on Lānaʻi and who also agreed to collaborate in supporting the other team members throughout a six month period in 2011. Of course there is more to all this than meets the eye, but for now, in this post, I have two goals.
First I want to thank my clients at Maui Visitors Bureau and Lānaʻi Visitors Bureau for taking a chance with me on this innovative program! This is the second time I have worked for MVB and they are so willing to get out there and do what it takes to keep Maui Nui a top travel destination! Plus, they are willing to tolerate my at times demanding ways. Thank you so much, Terryl, Lynn, Keliʻi, Charity and all of the board members.
Second, I wanted to share the results – with you. Luckily, I had already prepared this video for our local Hawaii chapter of the Social Media Club’s year end party, which featured our social media accomplishments of 2011. The preso’s were played throughout the night on the big screen, so I made this without a sound track. I also want to thank my colleague and SMCHI president, Tara Coomans, who assisted me with the interpretation of the results and the ROI formulas.
We also received great coverage online. Be sure to read this summary over at Media Post and listen to my interview on the This Week in Travel.
Bottom line? Visitor spending was up nearly 28% on Lānaʻi, far more than on either Maui or Molokai.
Plus, I have been hired to run this program again for LVB in 2012! Lots more ideas are percolating of course, but for now, I share my gratitude for a wonderful year in 2011 – in so many respects, and am very excited about the big possibilities in 2012 – the year of the Dragon!
UPDATE: Please help me also thank the wonderful team of bloggers we had on this inaugural run! Visit their blogs and search for “lanai” to read all about their trips. Here they are, in order of their visit to Lānaʻi:
Shannon Hurst Lane of The Traveling Mamas
Chris Gray Faust of Chris Around the World
Matt Long of Landlopers
Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere
Kara Williams of The Vacation Gals
Sheila Beal of Go Visit Hawaii
Melanie Waldman of Travels with Two
My colleague and brilliant marketer, Tara Coomans, created an open playlist on the music sharing service Spotify, and has invited anyone to help beef up the party mix for our annual Hawaii Social Media Year in Review partee. Yes, of course you are invited!
But about the Spotify Playlist: Great idea! I thought. But it is easier said than done. So here is a quick cheat sheet. Of course, you will require a Spotify account before you can add any songs to the playlist.
- Visit Spotify and set up your account.
- Then navigate to Tara’s playlist.
- Then click the “I have Spotify” button and the desktop app will open for you if it is not already open, and take you to the playlist.
- Subscribe to the SMCHI Playlist.
- Peruse the current songs, then decide what song you would like to add next.
- Use the Search function to find your way to that song.
- Then right-click on the album art and choose “Add to > SMCHI Playlist.”
- Or, if you are on the iPad, click the small “i” in the upper left corner, then choose ”+ Add to” > The SMCHI Playlist.
This was a quick and unfancy post – and I hope it helps!
See you on the dance floor,
Rox
As the founder of the Social Media Club Hawaii chapter and a very active social media consultant here in Hawaii, I am often invited to attend events and receive services for free in exchange for social media buzz – aka tweeting, facebooking, photographing, and videoing about my experiences.
Though I thoroughly enjoy myself when I am on site and do pour myself into the activities at hand, I have this persistent nag of discomfort. I’ve been letting it percolate as I gather information and sort out all of the energies that are in play – just what my “systems analyst” mind likes to do!
I am ready to open up a conversation about this practice as I think we can do better.
In case it is not obvious why brands engage social media influencers in this manner, let me summarize as I see it:
- Brands give things away for free in exchange for buzz.
- Brands hope to use influencers to build their own influence and market their products and services.
- Brands save money by giving things away free as compared to hiring said influencers to work on the brand’s behalf.
- Brands save time by having the influencers organize themselves and manage their messaging, as compared to planning a social marketing campaign.
- Influencers get freebies and possibly a chance to build their own influence, by association.
Here in Hawaii community, is not just a buzz word, it is a really big deal. Words, deeds, and intentions travel quickly on the coconut wireless as well as on social media. It has made me more sensitive, I believe, to the pulse of the community as an ongoing aspect of what I do and how I experience the community. As a new resident of Maui, I have dropped in to many well-established communities of people – each with their own energies and hierarchies. I am literally feeling my way around and am committed to as much transparency and openness as possible.
I think I have nailed down the key reasons why I have threads of discomfort woven into my own participation as a guest tweeter or member of a volunteer social media team:
1) Those of us who get freebies are set apart from those who don’t. For some, this could actually hurt participation as friends and peers who were not invited for free, feel left out. (Have you experienced this? I would like to hear about it.) Social media constantly pushes up against high school clique issues, and as a believer in best practices, I want to make social media activities more inclusive not less. The theory has been to get the influencers on board first and the masses will follow. But what if some of the influencers are left out and choose to hide the event info from their friends and fans? What if they develop a negative feeling toward the brand that persists after any individual event? What if the masses begin to doubt credibility because of the pay-to-play underlying mechanism? What if the brand loses credibility only by featuring cheerleaders and not objective reviewers?
Bottom Line: To me, there is risk for the brand and the influencer to actually lose positive sentiment/respect in the community – at least here in close-knit Hawaii. By inadvertently creating cliques, we are anti-community building.
2) Those of us who accept the freebies generally get less value than the brand, on a dollar-to-dollar basis. Looking at this strictly as business, we are providing our services for below market value in most cases based on the dollar cost of the service/product being given. This reminds me of that old saying, “Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?” Now if this is for a nonprofit cause, we have a different basis. So let’s take that off the table. But regarding for-profit businesses, they are paying very little for professional social media services. Consider a free meal or ticket or service in exchange for many hours of social buzz. They are also missing out on the best quality those influencers could provide them. If the brand makes judgments about the efficacy of social media based on these relatively random, unstructured free services, that would be a mistake.
Bottom Line: To me, when we work for free, we social media professionals devalue ourselves and do not help brands understand the full value of social media – regardless of the outcome of any given event – if for no other reason they are not getting our best work. OTOH, do you think working for freebies is a viable way for a newbie social media practitioner to build their expertise and business practice? Maybe I am jaded, having been at this for so long, and knowing with certainty the knowledge and value I can bring to a brand.
3) The third challenge is the FTC guidelines for disclosure. Bloggers in particular are held to a very high standard. (Tweeters not as much yet but the intent still applies.) I try to append my tweets at least a few times in the conversation with things like [gift] so readers know I am being comped. But I admit I do a lousy job of it and have never been given instruction by a brand to disclose. In a community, though, people have a way of finding out. When it is not out in the clear, I think there is enhanced risk of creating ill will as well as running afoul of the law.
Bottom Line: FTC rules require disclosure of freebies. We could all use clearer guidelines and easier practices to accomplish this.
So how do we improve on this? I have a few ideas and I am quite certain you readers can help add to this conversation. I want to hear from influencers and brands and community members about how we can collaborate in ways not that are not just win-win (you and me) but win-win-win (you, me, and the community aka marketplace).
Here are some ideas to get us started. I expect to modify them as I get more input from you. It requires an upgrade in your brand’s use of social media, but I think our time has come for that. Free tweetups were a great way to learn and connect but I think they have out-lived their usefulness to the brand, to the influencer, and to the consumer.
- Stop giving away freebies and instead create standard business transactions.
- Have a business goal for each event and hire influencers accordingly.
- Make it an open process, so you expand your pool of support rather than restrict it.
- Have at least a part-time social media consultant or staffer for your brand. There is too much to figure out on your own or in a scatter shot manner.
Here is how this could work for each event or launch:
- Have your social media staffer/consultant define the scope of work, outline the goals and metrics, determine criteria needed to meet said goals, and agree on a working budget. It does not have to be big! Keep in mind, the adage “you get what you pay for” still applies with social media.
- Put out an open call for social media assistance and include your performance criteria. Your goals will determine the relative balance of skills you want: photos, tweets, video, blogs, local/mainland followers, peeps/business users, etc.
- Provide specific and measurable assignments to your team and equip them with as much background info as possible so they can do a great job for you.
- Measure and report on your measurements.
- Rotate your hiring to give as many people a chance to collaborate as possible – building your de facto network of influencers as well as good will.
Since this represents a significant change for how we have been doing things here in Hawaii, I would really like to host a chat IRL to talk about these ideas and how we might go about implementing them. If you want to join in, please let me know! Leave a comment here or email me: roxanne@barefeetstudios.com. I will get it organized and post details here, and of course also across the social web. My goals are to strengthen our community (this includes personal relationships, as well as both business and consumers), to strengthen support for social media best practices, and to support the social media professionals in our midst.
Photo Credit: Mannequin Clique by quinn.anya on Flickr.
First, mahalo to Apple for giving us such a stunning home page in honor of Steve’s passing from this world. I am bursting with feelings tonight as I write this post. Which could go in so many directions.
What I take from him and the way he lived his life is the feverish attachment to being who he was. He was a perfectionist, and not afraid of it. He was odd, and not afraid of it. He was brilliant, and not afraid if it. He was emotional, even tyrannical, and not afraid of it. Many will suggest that more companies should be perfectionistic, or cultivate oddness, or confuse brilliance with determination, or tolerate tyranny “because Steve did.”
I don’t. Because it is not about copying. It is about simply being the singular person he was without apologies. When any of us are that clear about our true essence, there are no discrepancies even though one man’s dedication to his true nature surely upset many others’ apple carts!
Dozens of companies and hundreds of products have tried to copy what Steve produced at Apple. None of them can begin to touch the genius of genuine Apple products. It seems easier to simply copy than to work for and support original thought. I know; I fall into it myself repeatedly. But I only experience true joy and divine inspiration when I bring forth me, as me, and no one else.
What I learned from Steve was that his childhood didn’t matter. That his gift (his choice) in this lifetime was to simply be Steve. He was the perfectionist who transformed our world with a simple statement that was not grammatically correct: Think Different. And much of this transformation took place in the schools and universities where language is taught! Ahh, the delicious irony of it all.
I got my first Macintosh in 1986 – it was a Mac 512K. I also nearly got a divorce, as my husband (at the time – we did eventually divorce!) was so irritated that I would stay up until 3 and 4 am writing a book on my new computer, teaching myself desktop publishing with Ready, Set, Go and setting up databases for the students in my aerobics workshops in FileMaker 2! Jump 20 years to the launch of our internet tv show, Beach Walks with Rox. Can you imagine? Having the tools in our hands to shoot a 760-episode series that has attracted millions of viewers around the world? It’s because of Steve, and the dedicated teams of people drawn to collaborate with him.
Our business would not have been possible without Apple computers. The things we have created for ourselves and our clients – they all flow from the genius that centers around the love affair between hardware and software, design and function. All nurtured by iPods and new apps, coming like a dozen red roses on random anniversaries. It sounds corny, and Steve was never that, but he did understand love and creativity more profoundly than any other businessman I can even imagine.
When he fought for each of those perfect products, he was fighting for me, and for you, and I will be forever grateful to him for the epic example of a divine being having a human experience, that he was.
As I was writing this, my MacBook Pro battery went to 0%. I took a screen shot for you – as it is not believable! The computer stayed alive while I went for my power cord and plugged it in. This is the power that we have to connect with something so much more than any one of us alone. Even if we are not aware of it, it is there, for us. (Click to see it full size.)
I leave with no advice, only gratitude. I have no explanations, only awe.
This post title was crafted for me inadvertently by Mike McClure, in a tweet he posted with information about a conversation I will be leading this Thursday in Detroit. It is being hosted by the Social Media Club Detroit chapter and the #Tweetea community, with the venue provided by ePrize. As I am in the process of writing a lot these days, I wanted to bounce some ideas around the room in Metro Detroit (aka “the D”) to get new perspectives and possibly some case studies.
My working title for the book is “Running Your Business As If None of It Matters.”
Just in the run up to this event, several ideas have shown up. I present four of them to you here, in gratitude to my new friends in the D, as I look forward to many more (ideas and friendships!) come Thursday, 6 October 2011.
Walk Through Discomfort via Samantha Welter
I want to share this blog entry from Samantha, as it illustrates really well three of the concepts I feature in my book: creating comfort with uncertainty, the luxury of living in a time when we can actually be who we are, and the mechanical truth that sharing some of our inner thoughts actually builds self-confidence. Here is her money quote, for me:
Add in the fact that social media relationships have an interesting business-mixed-with-pleasure dynamic, and it can be hard to ascertain who is real and who is just marketing themselves as real. In the age of the personal brand, taking the brand out of the personal can be an uncommon occurrence.
I’ll admit that I’m relatively uncomfortable putting this out there. But again, I have to walk through the discomfort and be true to myself.
This is a Game and It is Real via Therran Oliphant
One of my activities in advance of the Detroit trip was to create and share a circle on Google+, asking for assistance on people to add. As I added people, I visited their profile pages so I could learn about them. (I just love how social media enables us to meet and greet in advance of doing the same in person! It adds so much energy and high vibes to events in my experience.) This is how I met Therran Oliphant, whose short tagline got my attention. “This is not a drill. Play like you’re in the game.” The word “game” is one of my green flags – as I do believe we are all playing one huge game here on earth. To frame this as a game, which is something fun, challenging, and “just a game” changes my perspective, soothes my worries, inspires my creativity, and so on. It is altogether different than the framework of “life or death” importance. I am enjoying teasing apart the conflicts we have in playing vs. working. Social media actually has played a role in bringing the fun back to work, and we have only just begin IMO!
Crowdsourcing of the Unlimited Kind with Mike McClure
Pardon the Star Wars hijack, however I think we are just beginning to really take advantage of “crowdsourcing.” For most of us, this means tossing a question on Twitter and waiting for the answers to flow in, from our fellow humans. The next step of that for me is to just have the intention, and then let the answers flow in. I have been wanting to write this blog entry for a few days. But the focus was not present for me. To be fair (to me!) I have been moving in the past few days to our new home on Maui. And I am getting on a plane tonight for the D. Yet I also like to wait until it feels right. If age has taught me anything, it is that there is always enough time if I stay grounded. So this morning I read my mentions on Twitter, and right there, from @mikekmcclure, was the title of this entry. From there, all else has flowed. Let’s talk about the third step of this process at #Tweetea!
Harmonic Convergence with Nikki Little
After I posted on the Facebook wall for SMCD about being in the area, Nikki reached out to me about organizing an event during my visit. Though our connection is social media on the surface, when I went to her personal blog, Essential Elements, I realized instantly this was a more soulful convergence. She is a PR and Communications professional, so I assume she does not write without intention and forethought. I fell in love with her blog categories: Creativity, Happiness, Love, Passion, Positivity, and Success. What more needs to be said? Only that I am so grateful to Nikki for spending her time and energy to help welcome me back to Detroit – a place where I spent many years growing up, more often than not filled with the angst and turmoil of feeling as if I had been dropped in the wrong nest!
Clearly, that has changed, now hasn’t it? I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, arms full of Aloha coming your way to the D!
Please bring your ideas of how life is working for you outside of traditional rules and tribal practices, and/or how social media has expanded your confidence and consciousness.
My partner @Shane sent me a link today “Why They Stopped Using Foursquare” by David Berkowitz. It summarizes a number of my social media friends and peers who have weaned themselves off this geo-location social network also known as a check-in service. As Shane reminded me, he stopped using them almost a year ago: yet again he changes his behavior in advance of many of his peers. (If only we could trade in his futures stock!) It is a long-standing aspect of our company. We are extreme early adopters – which means a lot of talking greek – or shall I say geek – to those who won’t know about these trends for years.
As a trainer, this early adopter thing works fine – I get my juice from showing people how things work and that doesn’t go away. However, it is also my job as a trainer to give people the latest and the greatest info on topics. As big a splash as Groupon made in the market and all the talk about extravagant valuations and their turning down a $6B offer from Google less than year ago, it turns out they may not have a sustainable business model. But enough about Groupon!
I was never a fan of FourSquare, as the mayorship and the discounts hold no attraction for me personally. I do use Gowalla now and then, but very strategically. I mostly use it for two reasons: to support the small biz where I am checking in (I think this type of crowd-sourced marketing can be very useful to small businesses) and to market myself in subtle ways. The places where I choose to check in emanate a type of energy that I am interested in sharing with my network: airports and beaches figure in a lot! For the brand of Roxanne Darling: I like being one who shares adventure and beauty with others. I can be their chill out moment in an otherwise harried day.
The good news about right now is that businesses and nonprofits are at last paying attention to social media. The bad news about now is that many are running scared and are “following” without really thinking first. We now have lots of data about how people behave on social networks and lots of good examples of campaigns and strategies that produce positive results. But because the territory of social networks in general is still confusing and overwhelming (understandably so!), many businesses tend to copy rather than investigate.
I also believe many people run without thinking into social media in part for a genuine desire for a deeper human connection. I support that intention, though it is such a complex phenomenon! While you and I might be connecting, company X is mining our data and a stalker or a house thief is planning his next move.
On a larger note, social media is reaching a tipping point. Now that we can all be publishers, the noise level is extreme and the competition for attention drives too many to simply resort to link bait strategies in lieu of thoughtful conversations. Or to offer Groupons that get you a lot of business but it turns out to cost a lot of cash and not produce return customers. (Which is why I got on the Groupon thing above…I knew this was coming!)
Everything we do is training our customers. If all we ever offer are deals, they will only want us with a deal. Social Media actually has the ability to offer so much more, but we have to understand it well enough to make use of it. I love talking about podcasting because the consumer data on it is so telling. When you build trust with an audience, they will respond with all kinds of love including market transactions. 90% of active podcast listeners have taken an action (40% made a purchase) subsequent to podcast advertising #podstudy via Tom Webster.
The really interesting apps these days are the ones that are integrating into CRM services, directly enabling a deeper understanding of what the customer wants and when and how to deliver it. There is an easy primer on the topic here on the Social Media Examiner and 18 Use Cases of Social CRM from the Altimeter Group here.
In contrast my friend and PR expert Piia Arma, shared this data today about the continued erosion of trust in PR and Advertising professionals. Meanwhile, my colleague at Social Media Club Tara Coomans outs Twitter for some of its empty promises.
I think it is useful for a profession to be able to examine itself as Piia and Tara have done above. I think it also useful for us to help guide you, the unsuspecting experts in other fields about how to use it well. My main advice is often to go for quality not quantity. It is an idea that I addressed years ago in “Are you addicted to big numbers (it’s three years old!) and that is often cited in the concept of 1000 True Fans.
What if we could just fine tune our radar and create communities of interest to be able to connect and yes buy and sell too, without having to shout and discount all over the place? This is happening too. I know that social media still holds enormous promise, but it’s easy to miss unless we take off the rose-colored glasses and stop running after trends. Slowing down has enormous value. Taking time to learn can only enrich us – this applies to me as much as to you.
Consciousness is everything. And so much more useful regardless if you are an early adopter or last one to the party. I’ve been both, and it doesn’t matter so long as we have our feet underneath us! This time in history is about freeing ourselves from having to fit in. Even sheep can survive alone in the field. Savor it! And tell me how you do it so I can add to my consciousness database.
Photo Credit: Sheep Alone by neate photos on Flickr. (What a concept!)
We are graciously featured in several articles in today’s PBN as we call it locally. Social Media is really getting a lot of coverage these days and deservedly so. I want to thank them for all the interviews and quotes and I want to welcome YOU to our Bare Feet Blog! Lots of their content is for subscribers however you can get started with these:
Hiring Managers Buck Trends When it Comes to Klout, Pacific Business News, August 19, 2011
Businesses dive into social media then learn to swim, Pacific Business News, August 19, 2011
Yacht broker sails into social media waters, Pacific Business News, August 19, 2011
I’ve made a short video (less than 3 minutes), for you, to point out a few things not to be missed while you’re here and to give you as personal a welcome as possible. Please keep reading below the video for several links and shortcuts that I don’t think you’ll want to miss!
STEP ONE
Look around our site! There are over six years’ worth of howto articles, case studies, and testimonials for you to check out. Click the link to your right called “Explore Our Topics” to see the full list, or use the Search box, or click on any of the tag links in each article to find more of the same. You can also explore by year – just click on “Explore the Archives” to your right and see what we were doing back in 2005, 2006… Here are some of the hottest topics right now:
Social Media
Strategy
Howto
STEP TWO
Be sure to join our free email list here for KnowHow Cafe. The signup form is in the right sidebar of every page here on our website. You’ll be sent a link for a free eBook once you sign up; it is guaranteed to give you information you don’t have about classic social media case studies and the all-important tips for creating and managing your “profile” on various social networks. KnowHow Cafe is our educational division. We offer live classes in Honolulu and on Maui and will be launching our online learning community one of these days. Use coupon code “rox” if you like – but everyone gets the same free ebook! The codes simply help us find out how people learned about us.
STEP THREE
Please visit our Hawaii Chapter of the Social Media Club. SMC is a global nonprofit educational association dedicated to developing and sharing best practices in social media. Our Hawaii chapter started in 2008 (courtesy of yours truly) and we welcome you to attend our free events. The next one is in October. Be sure to join our free SMCHI email list to hear all about local events. While you are there, please meet the local Professional Members – they and their websites and Twitter links are all listed in the right column of the SMCHI website. Contact any of them for assistance in developing your social media skills and strategies!
Please do use the Share links immediately below and/or leave a comment about what topics you would like me to cover in our next series of KnowHow Cafe classes!
Last week I collaborated with two of my Social Media Club colleagues, Philippe Tassin and Tara Coomans in a three-hour consultation with the very cool folks at Montgomery Motors. If you don’t know them, they are a sixty-plus year old, family-owned, and Hawaii-born and bred company that sells motorcycles and related cool gear.
There are a number of things about this meeting that really rocked the house:
- Ross and Ann and their marketing consultant Clint really know their brand, their customers, and their business and want to keep growing it stronger and larger. (Seriously, lots of small businesses can be too close to what it is they do well, and this makes it hard to work on marketingplans – social media or traditional.)
- I got to do this with two awesome colleagues! Who, on any other day, could be classified as competitors. Being able to work together though is a particularly strong feature of social media. We pros recognize that the space is huge, and no one person knows it all, much as we try.
- We worked in the truly functional and creative-juice-hub known as the ING DIrect Cafe in downtown Waikiki. Part of their business model is to share their space with outside groups, knowing that we will tweet and blog about them in a most flattering light. Please follow the local peeps @INGdirectHawaii on Twitter.
- The bonus gift for me was that I asked Ross and Ann at the very last minute , as we were all leaving, for a short video testimonial. They said yes! Then they rocked it as one take wonders. See for yourself below!
Then check out Montgomery Motors’ website, Twitter, and Facebook and tell them they are video rock stars!
I shot and edited this video on my iPhone 4 using iMovie on my short flight home from HNL to OGG, aka Honolulu to Kahului, Maui.
Tomorrow I am working with an esteemed group of coral reef scientists here in Hawaii to illustrate various ways to use social media. I will be using a version of The Social Media Game, an interactive learning process originally developed by my darling colleague Beth Kantor a few years ago. I’ve updated it and added 12 more “tools” – and am still missing a lot of those available to us today. It just shows you how much app and platform development continues in the sphere of online social networks and mobile options.
The confusing part is also very good news: it is very arbitrary whether we call something a “social network” or an “online broadcast” etc – most of these tools listed below easily fall into many of these categories! I’ve stayed as true as I can to Beth’s original designations though have added 50% more options! And my savvy readers will recognize right away many more that I have not (yet!) included on this list. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments so the net iteration will be even more thorough…if also more overwhelming for those who have not yet entered the social media space.
Note: I am rushing to get this live and will be updating it. Leave a comment so you can be automatically updated when changes occur! Second Note: In the PDFs below, I added even a few more tools!
Question from the workshop: How to find Twitter users in Hawaii? Check out WeFollow.com.
Here are the files I used to create the game cards and the situation cards. Please download, print, and use when creating your next Social Media Strategy. Mahalo nui to Tara Coomans for dropping in and assisting us in the game strategy session today.
social-media-tools-2011-07 (PDF)
situation-cards-2011-07 (PDF)
overview-time-commitment (PDF)
Listening
Google Analytics
Set up automated reminders for any mention of your org name or your product/service keywords.
How often should you get reports? Who will review & act?
www.google.com/analytics
Yelp/Trip Advisor
Customer-generated reviews of products and services. You can interact with them directly.
Have you claimed your business? How will you deal with negative reviews?
www.yelp.com
www.tripadvisor.com
Google Alerts
Set up automated reminders for any mention of your org name or your product/service keywords.
How often should you get reports? Who will review & act?
www.google.com/alerts
Social Network
Drupal
Customized content management systems (CMS) where your staff can access and edit the website and users can create their own blogs within your main site.
Is there a dev & support budget?
www.drupal.com
Facebook
Set up an organization page on an existing popular social network to connect with others.
What will you name your page and what will you feature there?
www.facebook.com
Ning
Create your own niche online social network with ready to use blogs, RSS feeds, forums and more.
Do you have a community on the ground to support an online community? Or would you be better served to set up a community inside another social network?
www.ning.com
LinkedIn
Use for recruiting, research on potential contractors, ask/answer questions, create org profile.
When will you set up your profile? How can you ask for referrals? What about your staff?
www.linkedin.com
Communication
Email List
Talk to your key supporters often.
How often will you use this and what data or content would you like to include?
www.mailchimp.com
www.verticalresponse.com
www.campaignmonitor.com
Twitter
Web and mobile updates. Hash tag conversations. Share links.
Is your target audience familiar with using this tool? How’s your understanding of social media etiquette?
www.twitter.com
Mobile Texting
Instantly text message your audience about urgent updates to their cellphones.
How will you collect and manage cellphone numbers?
www.group2call.com
Skype
Free or low cost calls over the internet with ability to record and conference.
Will you create audio or video interviews using Skype? Will you connect with others at low cost?
www.skype.com
Collaboration
Basecamp
Commercial online project and content management system for internal use. Helps organize your team, save assets, plan events, archive files and processes.
Can you make time to learn a new system to save time?
www.basecamphq.com (Our Bare Feet Affiliate link)
Google+
Just now opened to the public, you can chat in private circles, video chat on the fly, and coming soon you can live stream video from within Google+.
Can you make time to learn a new system to save time and extend your communication abilities?
plus.google.com
Exploration
Allow your staff to explore and learn more about the social web.
Where will you start? What do you want to know to move forward?
Google.com
www.mashable.com
Training Programs (Sign up for ours! www.knowhowcafe.com)
Wiki
A wiki provides groups with collaborative publishing and work- space. Great for group editing documents or projects.
Confident about collaborating? Who will be the wrangler?
www.wikispaces.com
Social Bookmarks
Help organize your own presence on the web by tagging your own pages or pages related to your mission.
Willing to make an effort to tag and share so others can find you?
www.stmbleupon.com
www.delicious.com
Private Groups
Facebook & LinkedIn allow you to create private groups. Manage invitees; they discuss and share.
Where do you and your staff spend more time?
www.facebook.com
www.linkedin.com
Hashtags
Create custom tags for your org & events or concepts. Prepend with a # sign, aka a “hash” mark.
Have you created your main tag? Are you checking for duplicates?
www.hashtracking.com
Tweetup
Host an event organized on Twitter. Raise money, share info, meet face-to-face (IRL).
Does your venue tell the story? Are you more influential in person?
www.twtvite.com
Media Content
Podcasting
Create audio-video stories of your projects and campaigns. Let users subscribe in iTunes.
Do you have a small budget for gear? Can your staff produce this content regularly?
www.blubrry.com – Podpress wp plugin
Flickr
Create or archive photos online to share with others. You can also share find photos of other’s you can use under a creative commons license.
Will you create your own or use others? Create a group too!
www.flickr.com
YouTube
Create or archive videos online to share with others. You can also share other’s videos.
What can you post? How will you share your channel with others?
www.youtube.com
uStream
Create a live (and recorded!) video stream of key events.
What stories make sense in real time? Who can monitor the chat?
www.uStream.tv
Use QR Codes
Embed the custom graphic into your flyers or printed material. Lets users w smart phones jump directly to a webpage or get SMS.
Do you have a specific info page?
www.qurify.com
SlideShare
Share powerpoints and PDFs that can be embedded on other sites.
Do you have compelling presentations and/or data to share?
www.slideshare.net
Online Broadcast
Other People’s Blogs
Find other bloggers passionate about your cause. Ask them to write about you.
Are you willing to do the research and pitch these bloggers?
www.technorati.com
News & RSS Feeds
Capture other people’s content using their RSS Feeds and aggregate (display) them on your website.
How will you choose your feeds? Do you have a feed?
www.feed.informer.com
www.feedburner.com
Project Blog
Organization uses blog to support projects and events. Can have many authors
How will people know about blog? Will you add share links?
www.wordpress.com
Personal Blog
Individual in organization writes personal perspective on a topic related to your org’s mission.
How will people know about the blog? What links will it include? How often will you post?
www.wordpress.com
Or a custom WordPress blog via standalone hosting:
www.greengeeks.com (our Bare Feet affiliate link)
www.hostgator.com (our Bare Feet affiliate link)
Mobile Apps
A photo-sharing social network built around mobile apps plus artsy filters.
Do you have a smart phone? What photos are worth 1000 words?
www.Instagr.am
FourSquare/Gowalla
Geo-location app, users check-in at your place, share with friends.
How can you support your regular fans/customers? Who will monitor this social network?
www.foursquare.com
www.gowalla.com
Tout
15-second videos straight from your phone to Facebook, Twitter, Email.
Do you have basic video skills to make yours engaging?
www.tout.com
Facebook Places
Facebook creates geographical places that allow people to “check in” when they are there.
Do you already have a place? Are your fans checking in? Are you responding?
www.facebook.com
Event Tools
Eventbrite
Sell tickets, email attendees, print name badges, free for free events, social sharing tools included.
Why just sell tickets when your attendees can share on FB & Twitter in one-click?
www.eventbrite.com
Since moving to Maui, I have become involved with the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. Their annual fundraiser is this weekend and we are intend to raise $5000 via online connections so that we qualify for a matching donation of another $5000! Watch the video then keep reading!
Download this episode here. | 2:52
HILT has secured a matching donor. If we can raise $5000 in online donations by January 28th, the donor will match us with another $5000. I think we can, but alas, it is going to be up to all of us to get this done. Please donate here now.
This is your chance to double your gift and help preserve those precious Hawaii scenic lands and beaches. Please watch the video - there is even a clip of Lexi Dogg at the end, chasing her ball in our back yard. Mahalo nui BeachWalks fans - I am counting on you to share your love of Hawaii with the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust - and make a donation by 5 pm HST Saturday, January 28th! And follow me on Twitter Saturday as I will be at the event - a special luau at Old Lahaina Luau in Lahaina! Please support the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust - do it for Lexi!
Please follow me on Twitter and Facebook Saturday as I will be sharing the amazing luay festivities with you! @roxannedarling and facebook.com/beachwalks.
Friend them on Flicker to see more beautiful photos of reserved lands throughout Hawaii.
Hawaiian Word:
Kuleana - responsibility
Please support the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust.
Watch the waves on South Maui as they fold in and out - a metaphor to stay in the flow in 2012 even if life starts coming at us sideways. These waves are doing just that and it so gorgeous! Watch the video, then keep reading...
Filmed on the iPhone, edited on the iPad - brought to you by "The Better Something Than Nothing Department!" Wishing you a wonderful new year and another chance to live the life you dream of living, right here right now.
Hawaiian word:
Pelu: to fold, turn over and under, to bend
Watch the waves coming sideways; enjoy the tumble in 2012!
Enjoy your own deserted beach on Maui! Leave your cares and footprints in the sand, they'll disappear.
I just love how many cool tools are available now as compared to when we started Beachwalks way back in 2006! While we are working on a new web site design, I intend to share some short mobile videos that I can make on the fly. Let's get back to the waves and the serenity folks! Coming to you now from the magic of Maui! And this one is in HD!
#HowCoolIsThat
iPod | 1:23 | To Embed or Email: click above
Hawaiian Word:
Hele hoʻokahi: To go alone
A short wide pan of beautiful Maui to support you any day, any week.
iPod | 6:38 | To Embed or Email: click above
We originally filmed this episode for Memorial Day in 2006. But it clearly stands out as a timeless message, and represents the true essence of Beach Walks - even though it was not filmed on a beach! It was completely unscripted, no shot list, we just showed up and worked as fast as we could before the sun set. Sometimes, you know the universe is on your side. Today's show was filmed at the Hawaii Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 50,000 leis were donated, and over 100 young Boy Scouts placed a lei and a flag on each gravestone. I was quite stirred to be in the presence of death while smelling the sweet scent of plumeria lei. Though most of those buried here are from modern wars, this "punchbowl" of an ancient volcano was the site of Hawaiian aliʻi burials and human sacrifice of those who violated the kapu or taboos.
Hawaiian words:
Puowaina: hill of sacrifice
Kaua: war
Kapu: taboo
Maluhia: peace
A poignant visit to the Cemetery of the Pacific.
Come swimming with us on Maui and listen to the sounds of whales underwater.
iPod | 3:30 | To Embed: click above
We were visiting Maui as guests of the Maui Visitors Bureau and were booked for a sailing canoe venture. This was going to be the highlight of my week as you all know how much I love the Hawaiian canoe! But, the wind was in town and the trip was canceled, much to my disappointment.
Maui is not called the "Magic Isle" for nothing though! Since we were already at the beach, we went in for a swim. The water is clear and beautiful so naturally I was underwater straight away. And then I heard something really familiar, but familiar only from my iPod not from "real life."
Sure enough, it was the whales singing to me, "Don't be disappointed Rox! We're out here in the deep water reminding you all is well! Swim in this warm beautiful sea and you'll find fun and pleasure all around you." I cannot tell you how excited I was! In all my years of being underwater and seeing whales from boats, I have never once heard them singing while underwater. It was such a good reminder for all of us on vacation: don't get too attached to any one thing! As Vene said, "there are treasures and mysteries awaiting us" - if we let it all flow.
Links:
Maui Sailing Canoe Adventures
Ulalena
Please go explore the VisitMauiBlog for more stories, photos, and videos of our week on Maui. It is the perfect way to spend a little time on Maui and to plan your next vacation or business retreat. Mahalo nui to the Maui Visitors Bureau for inviting us to be their guests.
Hawaiian word:
Hoʻokalakupua: magic
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS
Get Beach Walks by Email
Download Beach Walks in iTunes
Become a Fan on Facebook
Join our online community, The Reef
channels-verification: 702025e904a1
Come swimming with us on Maui and listen to the sounds of whales underwater.
We're on Maui! Meet musician George Kahumoku at the Ulupalakua Ranch.
iPod | 4:07 | To Embed: click above
I was hired by the Maui Visitors Bureau to assemble a team of new media bloggers and podcasters to participate in a week-long press trip to Maui. You are the lucky beneficiaries! In this second episode, filmed on-site at the Ulupalakua Ranch, I introduce you to George Kahumoku, a slack key guitarist and multi-talented person - like so many Hawaiians! You must watch this to learn about his many talents. I love the title of today's episode as it has the rhythm of the Hawaiian language in these long yet simple words. Just say each one slowly as it is written; or do as my friend Shel Israel suggests, and say it 10 times fast!
Please go explore the VisitMauiBlog for more stories, photos, and videos of our week on Maui. It is the perfect way to spend a little time on Maui and to plan your next vacation or business retreat. Mahalo nui to the Maui Visitors Bureau for inviting us to be their guests.
Hawaiian word:
Kani ka pila: play music (an afternoon tradition in Hawaii)
Ulu: to grow, spread, protect
Palakua: to ripen to perfection
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS
Get Beach Walks by Email
Download Beach Walks in iTunes
Become a Fan on Facebook
Join our online community, The Reef
Interview with slack key guitarist George Kahumoku at Ulupalakua Ranch on Maui www.kahumoku.com.
We're on Maui for the Celebration of the Arts at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. Come take a hula lesson with us from Kumu Hula Lopaka Bukoski.
iPod | 6:01 | To Embed: click above
I was hired by the Maui Visitors Bureau to assemble a team of new media bloggers and podcasters to participate in a week-long press trip to Maui. You are the lucky beneficiaries! In this first episode, filmed on-site at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, you get to meet my kumu hula, or hula teacher, Lopaka Bukoski. I think you will be mesmerized by his knowledge, his lyrical use of Hawaiian chanting and language, and of course by the dancing! In Hawaiʻi, many of the kumu are men, and just like in this class, both men and women are hula practitioners. By the way, you can see the staff of the Ritz-Carlton performing in the lobby especially for this weekend of Hawaiian culture at the end of this episode.
Learn more about the Celebration of the Arts here, and please go explore the VisitMauiBlog for more stories, photos, and videos of our week on Maui. It is the perfect way to spend a little time on Maui and to plan your next vacation or business retreat. Mahalo nui to the Maui Visitors Bureau for inviting us to be their guests.
Hawaiian word:
Hula: dance
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS
Get Beach Walks by Email
Download Beach Walks in iTunes
Become a Fan on Facebook
Join our online community, The Reef
Come hula with us on Maui!
I am in Austin, Texas for a program with Lola Jones and we went to Barton Creek for a lunch break. It was a perfect opportunity to remember the rocks in the river are part of the fun! I am sure you'll get the metaphor.
iPod | 2:54 | To Embed: click above
Many of you viewers know I took a 5-day silent retreat with Lola Jones last year and that in addition to all the technology and social media training and consulting I do, I also give Divine Openings. I was here in Austin to gain some more experience and knew that you Beach Walks viewers would appreciate some flow analogies, some water footage, and of course a few pups! (We were joined by Honey and Sophie on the hike.)
Please visit my page on Lola's web site to learn more about how you can stay happier in the flow of your dynamic life. There is lots of free stuff there, including audios and videos.
Hawaiian word:
Pōhaku: stone
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS
Get Beach Walks by Email
Download Beach Walks in iTunes
Become a Fan on Facebook
Join our online community, The Reef
The rocks make rivers more fun.
I created this episode in July 2006, talking about the wonder that is Bode Miller and how he goes for the spirit of skiing perhaps more than the medals. Today he won a gold medal, and I think it's worth re-visiting. You'll likely be able to see the changes we have made at Beach Walks over the past four years! Here is the original episode Beach Walk 146.
iPod | 5:30
My hero du jour is Bode Miller, the so-called "bad boy" of downhill skiiing. I really dislike those kinds of labels, especially in cases like this where I believe he is a true ground-breaker. He offers up a very different way to live a life, one that is not invested in the results of what you do. He is one of the most competent skiers on the planet yet he is not invested in winning. He could ski in private, and choose not to be in competition, but part of the deep pleasure he has is giving the spectators an inspirational experience — and more often than not that distinctly includes not winning the race.
What if competition were not just about winning, which means only one person or team gets to be happy with the result? What if it were also about seeing how you perform under pressure? What if were also about being able to go places and do things that are not otherwise available? What if it were about the process and not the result? When it is, there is no way to lose.
Try this on today: Don't get invested in the results of what you do. At it's core, it is a radical thought.
You can read more and watch the CBS video here.
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS.
Get Beach Walks with Rox delivered by Email.
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Bode Miller's free spirit revisited from 2006.
This walk on the beach in Maui is a type of shadow play and a rare glimpse of seeing Secret Cameraman at work!
iPod | 1:57 | To Embed: click above
This is a little venture into avante garde film-making, as the camera perspective and what you see on screen is a bit unusual. No talking, just walking and some gorgeous waves here to wash away whatever shadows may be dogging any of us. On a side note, I had the most fun interview ever with Dave Moyer and Kym Huynh of Wordcast Conversations and they got me all energized to post a new episode! I'll post the link to it when it goes live.
Please visit Kenneth Makuakane's web site to learn more about his new CD, The Dash. I think his music works perfectly in this episode and he is so generous to share it with us.
Hawaiian word:
hoʻoaka: to cast a shadow
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS.
Get Beach Walks with Rox delivered by Email.
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Shadows and waves playing on Maui.
As I am here stretching and reaching to get out of my cocoon and transform into a truer version of me, a Beach Walks viewer sends me this link from YouTube about an amazing dog. I am totally inspired and hope you will be too. Thanks so much Celeste! You can meet Celeste in this episode of BeachWalks.tv.
Love, Rox
Update: They have disabled embedding on this video. Please visit this link to watch it on YouTube.
From the original post:
"Surf dog Ricochet's inspirational video highlighting her journey from service dog training, to turning disappointment into a joyful new direction, to surfing with quadriplegic surfer, Patrick Ivison, to fundraising for charitable causes. She is currently leading a fundraiser for a six year old boy named Ian who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a horrific car accident that claimed the lives of his parents. If you'd like to help Ricochet help Ian, please go to http://www.ripcurlricki.com. To follow her on Facebook... search for "Surf Dog Ricochet". Thank you for watching, and donating to her charitable cause."
Does this story feel good? It pays to pay attention to the words coming out of your mouth.
iPod | 4:22 | To Embed: click above
We use words all day everyday yet rarely stop to feel the energy they pack. I think it is the energy that causes confusion, less than the definition sometimes. We assume others think words feel the same way but they often don't! We assume that a "story is just a story" but it's not! It is also the energy from that story. I aim for feel-good energy, so that determines what stories I choose to tell or not these days. What about you? Does re-telling that story, no matter how righteous, make you feel bettor or worse? If you connect with the energy, it may influence where your mouth and mind go today.
Here's an old episode on "Making up stories"
Hawaiian word:
Moʻolelo: story
Vote for us please: Beach Walks with Rox for Best Online Video Web Series http://mashable.com/owa/votes/category/38?c=38 #openwebawards
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS.
Get Beach Walks with Rox delivered by Email.
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Does this story feel good?
Big Beach, Little Beach: clothing optional on one, anxiety optional on both! We are on a business retreat on Maui, staying at the Hotel Wailea, soaking up the Maui lifestyle.
iPod | 3:42 | To Embed: click above
We as creatures of God, a part of the Divine, have been incarnating for millions of years, yet somehow the discomfort for being a physical being seems to be dragged along with each generation. The refusal to dance for fear of looking or feeling silly. The great lengths we go to for fashion and food. When itʻs Halloween fun, great! When it drags us down or keeps us home, not so much. Here at Big Beach on Maui, with the clothing optional Little Beach just over the hill, join us for some beautiful scenery and breaking waves. Come roll in the pleasure that can be found inside your skin, once we get the mind out of the way.
Hawaiian word:
Kohana: naked, bare, alone
Vote for us please: Beach Walks with Rox for Best Online Video Web Series http://mashable.com/owa/votes/category/38?c=38 #openwebawards
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS.
Get Beach Walks with Rox delivered by Email.
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Big or Little, find comfort in your body.
Big Beach, Little Beach; big ideas, small details. We are on a business retreat on Maui, staying at the Hotel Wailea, and filming at Big Beach/Little Beach.
iPod | 3:46 | To Embed or Email: click above
At home we have a small place with low ceilings, and no view. At the Hotel Wailea, we have a large room, high ceilings, and an incredible view! The shift in our thinking as a result in the shift in our environment is providing a contrast that was long overdue for us. It reminds me of the value of alternating between big view and little view.
Hawaiian word:
ʻIkena: view, scenery, knowledge
Vote for us please: Beach Walks with Rox for Best Online Video Web Series http://mashable.com/owa/votes/category/38?c=38 #openwebawards
Subscribe to Beach Walks via RSS.
Get Beach Walks with Rox delivered by Email.
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Big Beach, Little Beach, big ideas, small details.
iPod | 3:17 | To Embed or Email: click above
Programming code is just like cooking - sometimes you can guess the right mix and make a copy of something, but other times you need to know the original ingredients. Knowing when and how to tell the difference? Usually you only learn that on the back side, after you give it a try. I am not a big fan of the "fake it til you make it" school. I prefer authenticity and simple truths. Having said that, I also believe we are each free to try anything we want. If you are selling yourself as something you are not though, seller and buyer be aware.
Hawaiian word:
Maka: raw, fresh
Vote for us please: Beach Walks with Rox for Best Online Video Web Series http://mashable.com/owa/votes/category/38?c=38 #openwebawards
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Your starting ingredients matter.
iPod | 2:20 | To Embed or Email: click above
I am out of town and left my intended footage back on my main hard drive so I found this remnant from last winter! It's got a mood to it I think, and it's dedicated to dog lovers and long shadows everywhere. The sound is minimal - just the sweet romancing rhythms of gentle late afternoon waves. Co-mingled with Lexi's steady breathing, and a reminder from my friend Lola Jones to "breathe for pleasure." I hope we at Beach Walks can cast a shadow of grace on you today. Mahalo for your patience in our absence.
Hawaiian word:
ho#699;oaka: to cast a shadow
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Breathe for pleasure with Lexi Dogg!
iPod | 4:09 | To Embed or Email: click above
We meet the loveliest people through Beach Walks. A while ago I met Yoshiko Hino, a viewer from Japan who connected with me on Twitter. Like myself, she has visited Hawaii many times and fell in love with the place! She is now making plans to move here. She is a very talented jewelry designer - you can see the Hawaii influence in her work. You can find her on Twitter @yoshikocat. She also does sales, which is easy to understand as she has a way of connecting with people.
Hawaiian word:
Neʻe aku: to move away
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Help Yoshiko move to Hawaii!
iPod | 7:35 | To Embed or Email: click above
Rox is back on the beach this week with a little "beachwalks philosophy" debriefing and looking back at the overnight embark on the USS Nimitz. Shane has dropped in a few more clips that we also wanted to share with you. Over the past few decades, it appears the military has learned some things the rest of us are still catching up on. If you provide good training and you have reliable procedures and consequences, then just about anything is doable. The main point stressed to us was that the military exists primarily to prevent war, not win war. The appropriate show of force and the claiming of one's authentic power, can deter the large majority of problems. In recent history, it seems to me more a problem with our civilian leaders than our military leaders in terms of making reasonable decisions. Without rehashing the tired arguments of the past (remember I was a student at Berkeley in the 70's and an antiwar protester and still prefer peace over war), what have you learned from the Nimitz series?
Want to start at the beginning of the Nimitz Series? Click here for Episode 1.
Be sure and check out Melissa Chang's series in the Honolulu Advertiser.
Check out our photos on Flickr.
Watch an actual takeoff here at Bytemarks' blog.
Watch an interview with Admiral John Miller, filmed by Nathan Kam.
See other DV embark reports from Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, Ryan Ozawa, Charline Li, and more links from each of those pages too.
Hawaiian word:
Kāohi: prevent
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Nimitz wrap up back on the beach: lessons learned.
iPod | 7:13 | To Embed or Email: click above
Lots of shout outs from the crew of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and a chance to find out if the advertising slogan, "Join the Navy and see the world" is more fact or fiction. Meet sailors Dave Bennett, Captain Mike Manazir, Christopher Currelley, Hannah Mason, Alexus Espinoza, Christopher Burchfield, Jeremy Newton, Ramon Sturdivant, Scott Martinez, Patrick Dauphinais, Kayla Johnsen, Sonya Stephens, and Ben Kohlmann.
Want to start at the beginning of the Nimitz Series? Click here for Episode 1.
Be sure and check out Melissa Chang's series in the Honolulu Advertiser.
Check out our photos on Flickr.
Watch an actual takeoff here at Bytemarks' blog.
Watch an interview with Admiral John Miller, filmed by Nathan Kam.
Hawaiian word:
Ao: world
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Shout outs from the crew of the USS Nimitz.
iPod | 8:25 | To Embed or Email: click above
Petty Officer Kayla Johnson gives us a tour of the enlisted berthing quarters and talks about the more personal side of being on board an aircraft carrier for six months. Find out about relationships and BBQ's, and take the best seat on the boat with us. It's a sunrise like no other.
Be sure and check out Melissa Chang's series in the Honolulu Advertiser.
Check out our photos on Flickr.
Watch an actual takeoff here at Bytemarks' blog.
Watch an interview with Admiral John Miller, filmed by Nathan Kam.
Hawaiian word:
Pukana lā: sunrise
Subscribe to Beach Walks with Rox in iTunes. (Please leave us a review too!)
Join our online community, The Reef.
Become a Fan on Facebook.
Kayla Johnson talks about relationships and BBQ's.
Nicotine may be beneficial to those with memory impairment and Alzheimer’s. I guess it doesn’t make sense to just call it a bad drug anymore.
My sister sent me a link that set off a delightful chain of thoughts and I wanted to share them with you. I often talk in platitudes, yet here is a street level example of what I mean when I say there is no absolute good or bad, right or wrong. Life is far too rich for that!
First, the link: Nicotine Patch Improves Memory in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment. And now for the bottom line:
By specifically activating those remaining receptors, nicotine can boost the function of surviving neurons. And research done in cells suggests it might even protect neurons from Alzheimer’s disease.
Many other studies have shown alertness benefits from nicotine so this makes sense to me. Then there is the “accelerated metabolism” side effect too and nicotine is starting to look like the perfect drug for women over 50!!! Especially when you consider a patch in lieu of actually smoking. He he.
My mom, 87, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 83. Curiously, she was a smoker for many years, long after my Dad quit. We thought she was being stubborn though also heavily influenced by the addictive qualities of nicotine – which of course may well be true. What if she were also delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s at the same time???
Perhaps some inner guidance of mom’s kept her smoking well past everyone else wishing she would quit. I just love all these twists and turns away from the pretend black and white versions of reality!
It’s just another way of saying there truly is a silver lining to everything, if we are open to cuddling up in it. It is that place out there in “the field” beyond all notions of right-doing and wrong-doing as Rumi says. Chalk up another one for flexible truth and situational awareness.
Photo Credit: My last nicotine patch by SolGrundy on Flickr.
Love,
I was talking to friends on the phone from their car today and I had a momentary memory lapse: we were talking about last year’s New Years Eve. The mom was saying, “Remember, we were all together at our house?”
Slowly it was coming back to me as I spoke. Meanwhile, from the back seat, comes the voice of the first grader:
At first I couldn’t remember either but then I went quiet and went inside my mind and then I started to remember it all!
I just love watching as her awareness and self-awareness come alive in synchrony with an expanding vocabulary.
Then I saw this article on the NYTimes.com called The Joy of Quiet by Pico Iyer. He says,
In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — often in order to make more time. The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug.
I chuckle, as 12/31 is also my birthday, and I often try to make at least some if not all of it a silent retreat. That is two way silence by the way. Not speaking yet also not listening to the outside. Technology especially included! My friend Peter Liu retreated this past week. As he slowly emerges, he had this endorsement on Twitter:
Then of course later I look up and there is this banner ad displaying on the web page in front of me:
For me, the silence is not to fulfill a spiritual obligation. It is simply – to remember. To remember my connection to the whole hologram of all that is and to remember how many choices I have in any given moment. To remember that I am ultimately safe; no matter what happens I shall return to the unlimited state of everything and nothingness, just like you. To remember that life is but a game – one that we are creating and playing in the same moment, safe and free at all times.
Special thanks to my friend Liza Pierce who suggested in our Maui bloggers group that we each post something on January 1, 2012. I really appreciated the idea and happily ride the thread of energy to get here today!
I am also contributing this to my friend Tania Ginoza’s compilation of New Year’s Resolutions coming soon to her Maui Shop Girl blog. Though I don’t do resolutions per se, I do love this “do over” that we get every January 1st and the surge of inspiration and energy that often accompanies it.
Happy New Year – isn’t it fun we get to start over again?
Photo Credit: Quiet by towardsthesunset on Flickr
Lots of new age philosophers promise this. In my reality (as truly we each have our own realities…) this is true some of the time, not all of the time. Yet. Since it is a goal of mine, I like to acknowledge when it happens, so I can put the spotlight on my successes and generate energy for more of the same!
Last Sunday, my guy Shane was arriving in Albuquerque at 11:30 pm. He would then be driving about an hour up to Santa Fe. Having lived in both cities, I know that summer nights at 5000’ to 7000’ (above sea level) are cool and clear like few other places on the planet. And as you may recall, Saturday was the full moon, so there would be a big waning moon in the sky around that time.
At around midnight Shane calls me. “Did you order me a convertible at Hertz?”
I said, “No, however for just a brief moment around 11:10 pm MDT I had a brief thought of how cool it would be to drive the open road from ABQ to SAF in a convertible.”
That was it. A passing fancy. And voila, a convertible appeared on his rental contract, billed at the Compact Car rate.
All I have left to say, is what I might say on Twitter, via hashtag syntax:
#howcoolisthat
Translation: How. Cool. Is. That.
It’s very freakin’ cool and I love it when that happens! Attached here is the actual car he drove. (Thanks baby for taking a nice photo for my blog.) Check out his gorgeous photography at www.shanerobinson.com.
Do these “inexplicable” things happen to you? Do you allow a wider intelligence to play in your life? I would love to hear your stories of how all this “plays” out!
I updated my blog software today before adding a new entry; the whole thing broke! It was due to a plug-in incompatibility. It fit in perfectly with what I had logged in to write about!
One of my current transitions is completing some client projects that I have procrastinated on. The reasons don’t matter but the energy does: I have lost interest. This is stirring the pot for me and bringing up a lot of frustration, anger, disappointment, and the like. I slipped off my wagon earlier today and attempted to unload this on my partner. Silly move! He’s not that good a listener on these sorts of things, AND, boy am I grateful for that!
Why? Because unloading on another person is a very inefficient way to deal with these kinds of feelings. Much smarter to take them to the Source, and unplug them from the he said-she said-they said stories. Those stories just perpetuate the feelings, they don’t dissipate them! All that matters is that the feelings felt bad, that got my attention, and now I can look at what I want to be doing with the preciousness of my time and of me.
When you realize that everything is moving you in the direction you want, it is easy to embrace. Easy to let go of that which hurts, feels bad, etc.Everything that happens to you is 100% for you.
And isn’t it brilliant that the Universe can have all this interplay (you complaining, him responding “poorly”, you waking up to a better plan…) with utter disregard for a balance sheet? It does not have to make sense to a human mind (partner acting irritating to help me redirect consciousness) or satisfy earthly rules of math. (Who knows if/how this made sense in his universe!)
That is the point of living here in our overlapping yet parallel and individual realities.
None of these actors in my play are good or bad per se; they are just filling roles that I have created to help me become more conscious of who I am and what I want. We are acting in each other’s plays all the time. The roles and the scripts themselves really are not the point. There is no need to track them, measure them, compare them.
The point is to keep moving in the direction of bliss, of grace. By being grateful for every feeling, every incident, every actor, I can do that even when I am so-called “feeling like crap or pissed off or down in the dumps.”
You know it is easy to feel grateful for the “feels good” stuff. But your life will shift dramatically when you are grateful for the yucky stuff!
Photo credit: Grateful by Gamma Man on Flickr
I blog therefore I remember.
The energy that has been created upon the news of Osama bin Laden’s assassination is vibrating at such a high level here in my corner of the universe – the United States of America. It gives us students of consciousness an opportunity to ride the waves and expand our understanding of “how life works here now and in the hereafter.” Jump to the end to watch a video about the conflict of war and peace I filmed in 2006 on this topic at the “Punchbowl” Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
First let me my state my belief to give you a frame of reference:
I believe we are all expressions of God, of the universal intelligence that populates all Universes seen and unseen. That of course includes, you, me, Barack Obama, and Osama Bin Laden. I do not believe in absolute good and evil; I do believe these are concepts that “we” of universal consciousness created to make life here as humans more exciting. I believe that when we all die, we return to the source of all things tangible and intangible. I believe we choose what sorts of roles we want to play when we incarnate and that life here on Earth is very similar to the dramas we see at the movie theatre. At the end of all the entertainment, the curtain rises and we are all safe.
This belief allows me to see Bin Laden as a fellow traveler from the Divine source and also be able to feel a sense of joy at the mastery of gamesmanship in his capture that was demonstrated by the U.S. forces, not least of whom includes the “cool cat” aka Commander in Chief, President Obama! I do not experience a conflict of consciousness though I personally prefer peace over conflict and truth over deception. I am sharing in the joy that surrounds me just as I shared in the profound sadness of 9/11. To experience emotions is one of the “rich media” highlights of being alive in this great movie drama called Humanity.
I understand the sadness, grief, and anger the “other side” feels at the loss of their super hero, as indeed Bin Laden was a super hero! Though I suspect it pales in comparison to what the people of New York City experienced on 9/11/2001. The point of consciousness is not to run from or repress our feelings, but to embrace them and breathe with them, then frame them from that larger world view that this is all a game. We are all ultimately safe. Death is a departure from the here and now but also a reunion with the omniscient presence from whence we came.
All of which further strengthens my understanding that this — life here now amongst us humans — is really just a game. We are living in the most spectacular playground where we each, as soul entities, are free to do and say whatever we please. Yes, there are limits and there are consequences; these are the limits we clearly understood as we chose to incarnate. These limits actually enhance the game, add to the drama, and give force to the unbridled joy we experience at the moment of any “victory.”
So if you consider yourself a peacenik, a person of nonviolence, I hope to comfort you in the preferences you have chosen and which you are free to defend and promote in this lifetime. (Who knows, perhaps next time some of us will be curious to see what it is like to be a “bad guy or a bad girl”?) But your peace-loving values do not preclude you from having moments of joy as one team (our team?) scores a stunning goal.
If anything, we could speculate that those of us who prefer peace have inserted our energy into this struggle between Bin Laden and the USA, which has now resulted not in World War III, but in a classic surgical strike that caused minimal loss of life and destruction! Even if you don’t buy “we are all a piece of God” you can still be happy for the extraordinarily minor fallout from Bin Laden’s capture.
I leave you with this Beach Walks with Rox episode that was originally filmed for Memorial Day in 2006. I’d love to hear your comments on this as I am interested in knowing fellow students of consciousness who embrace the celestially large picture in times of great confusion or tumult.
I was recently named #24 on the Most Influential Women in Social Media.
I was also selected as one of 40 women in IT for "Do IT Around the World" - a book and 24-hour "day in the life of women in IT project.
Our program Beach Walks with Rox has been featured in these books:
Dave Evan's "Social Media Marketing an Hour a Day"
Jennie Bourne's and Dave Burstein's "Web Video: Making It Great, Getting It Noticed"
We focus on using technology smartly to build your business; this includes strategic planning, internet technology consulting, online/offline business integration, database management, project management, business networking, and search engine optimization. Contact me for an analysis of your company's social web score.
I am an experienced expert speaker and trainer in technology and health issues - from e-commerce and email to stress management and productivity styles. Programs are highly interactive and consistently rated excellent. Please visit Bare Feet Studios to see an updated speaker profile.
- 2009 - PresentDivine Openings Giver / Divine Openings with RoxI offer dogma-free enlightenment that can affect every aspect of your personal life as well as your business. This is a very forward concept of transformation and personal growth that is powerful and very personal. It helps you release old ideas about suffering and struggle, through a very simple process that does not include rules or formulas or steps.
- 2008 - PresentFounder / Socialize Your EventWe help event managers use social web technology to:
* increase attendance and market buzz
* strengthen connections onsite
* train all of your constituents in how to use social networks like Twitter and Facebook and social media like blogging and YouTube
Our services can be provided virtually and in-person, depending on the degree of engagement you choose. Our home base is in Honolulu, Hawaii, so please be certain to contact us for any events you are hosting in the Hawaiian Islands. - Feb 2006 - PresentCo-Creator and Star of Beach Walks with Rox / Bare Feet Studios LLCWe created the popular daily internet TV show, Beach Walks with Rox. It won three Vloggie Awards in Nov 2006, is rated as a best of on Network2.tv the BBC Online and other online video sites. We have viewers in over 70 countries and our goal is spread a little aloha for you every day.
We usually film outdoors on the beautiful beaches of Hawai'i. Please join us! - Jun 2000 - PresentPartner & Co-Owner / Bare Feet Studios LLCBare Feet Studios offer full service digital publisher. We specialize in trends, strategy, and helping to promote internet literacy for business and nonprofits. We have over a decade of experience in database integration, audio & video streaming, web development, search engine optimization, and content management systems. We offer strategic consulting, keynote presentations and public speaking, along with technical development services. Our clients include www.lannan.org, the Maui Visitors Bureau, and www.herecomestheguide.com.
We have numerous additional lines of business, from social media training to our internet TV show. I love the internet and how it is connecting business and customers while raising consciousness across so many disciplines. - 2008 - Dec 2011Co-Founder and Social Media Advisor / KnowHow CafeMost of the exciting and effective web-based tools these days are free or very low cost. But knowing how to use them smartly for your business? Not an easy task! You can spends days and weeks (time-consuming and expensive!) researching and teaching yourself or you can pay us (or another qualified consultant) high hourly rates to get personal consulting and advice.
OR! You can join KnowHow Cafe and gain access to high quality tutorials, screen casts, white papers, e-books, discussion forums, and teleconferences that show you how to do the things you want.
Join us at the cafe to learn about topics such as online video (from how to create your own branded internet tv show to where to host your files to how to build a community of viewers) to using social media for your business and personal goals.
We are launching in late September 2008 however you can sign up now and get an early adopter discount! Just visit our site and enter the code "LinkedIn." We'll take it from there. - 2008 - Dec 2011Founder / Social Media Club Hawaii ChapterI am a founding member of the parent organization, Social Media Club. (Http://www.socialmediaclub.org) and have launched the Hawaii chapter. We have monthly meetings and visitors are invited to join us. The Social Media Club exists to develop best practices in using social networks and new media for business use. It was founded by Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells in San Francisco.
- Mar 1987 - Dec 2011Coach; Trainer; Public Speaker / Roxanne DarlingI provide telephone and email coaching on communication skills, management styles, systems development, lifestyle behaviors, and raising emotional IQ levels. I have worked with many successful individuals as well as for Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, Hughes Electronics, and Marathon Oil Company.
I have 20 years experience as a trainer, covering business and health topics. I have developed training manuals, full course curricula, and consistently earn 4.8 and above, with 5 being tops, for course delivery. I have presented programs in over 37 states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland , and Germany. - 2008 - 2008Founder / Podcamp HawaiiI am the founder and producer of Podcamp + Wordcamp Hawaii, held in 2008.
We began discussing this even in 2006 and the time has come for Hawaii to hold it's own Podcamp (and WordCamp too!) event.
Podcamps are unconferences, that bring together students and experts of new media, blogging, and social networks to learn from each other and create media.
Our event is part of the global Podcamp conference circuit, all of which are licensed by the Podcamp Foundation, founded by Chris Brogan and Christopher Penn.
Please join us on October 24 & 25, as a Speaker, an Attendee, or a valued Sponsor. Our event was held at the beautiful, state-of-the-art Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, HI with over 400 live in-person and thousands more who joined us over the internets. - 2007 - 2007Contributor / Grasshopper new MediaI was a guest podcaster on health and personal growth topics. This site is currently undergoing renovation and old episodes have been removed by the site owner during the transition.
Students at the brand new Hawaiian music program at UH Maui. They are raising funds for a $200,000 matching grant. Can you help? I'll post a link later!
I live in Hawaii and play in the ocean often! Plus: Video Podcaster, Business Owner, Social Media Advisor & Trainer, Divine Openings Giver
