QUOTE

Life is not about discovering our talents; it is about pushing our talents to the limit and discovering our genius. ~Robert Brault

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How to Strike a Pose

This week we are celebrating the National Urban League (NUL) Centennial Conference in Washington, DC.  I had the pleasure of being able to hang out in the press room at NUL with some of my blogger and social media colleagues.  We were in attendance to blog about and live tweet for President Obama's speech on education reform.  With a couple of hours to kill before we would be escorted to the press pit, we started to do what we do best... take photos for our sites!  In a selfish, "I want my photos to look good" way, I started sharing some of my tips on how to pose for the camera.  Here are my top five photo op rules for the ladies:

1. A slight tilt of the head can save you in bad lighting.
2. Putting your hand on your hip will slim you down and  make you look smaller than you actually are.
3. If you slightly bend your knee and point your toe you'll have a better silhouette
4. Try to turn sideways rather than being shot straight on from the front if you are worried about your weight.
5. When all else fails, a beautiful smile will make any picture look good!

Here are some photos of the ladies and I after we went over a few of the tips above.  Of course my photographer gal pal needed no direction... look at her pose.  I love it... and I'm so stealing that pose from now on!

Now get out there an strike a pose!

A New Paradigm For Modern Dating? Combining the Real World and Internet World With One Flirty Card

I'm single and yeah, OK, I've thought about internet dating. However, I have a whole mental block towards hooking up with someone from a dating site. I'm not sure what my aversion is. I live, work and play online so one would think this would be a natural transition. Still, there's something about meeting someone on a dating site that creeps me out. The idea of a "flirt card" creeps me out even more! Yes, I've heard the eHarmony commercials about how they have matched up thousands of couples and how their matches have lead to more marriages... blah, blah, blah. Still, it just makes me very uncomfortable. Meanwhile, can you just imagine someone handing me a black card that says: "Let's hook up". Can you say "where is the trash can"?

Amplify’d from www.intent.com

Imagine that you are chilling by yourself in some coffee shop or bookstore. A non-creepy good-looking stranger--who may or may not have been eyeballing you or the book you have been reading for the last ten minutes--passes by your table and nonchalantly places a small black card next to your cafe drink before heading out the door. The card says: "I'm hitting on you" and below, a website code for looking up the your admirer's profile to learn more or to send a message. Super-creepy? Or a little intriguing? Consider it the flirty equivalent of a Facebook poke in real time. According to this recent article on the New York Times, passing along a flirty card with an online code to your personal profile may be the next dating trend that combines real world encounters with online interaction. Cheekd.com is one website that provides a paid membership for users who want their own personalized cards with their personalized internet code to discreetly pass along to any alluring-looking cutie or hunk that catches their eye--be it on the subway, a club, a bookstore, or yoga class. As the article goes on to explain: Users receive calling cards to dole out to alluring strangers they encounter in their everyday lives, be it in a club or in a subway on their morning commute. Recipients of the cards can use the identification code printed on them to log onto Cheekd.com and send a message to their admirer. A pack of 50 cards and a month’s subscription to Cheek’d, where users can receive messages and post information about themselves, is $25. There is no fee for those who receive cards to communicate with an admirer through the site. Each Cheek’d card has a sassy phrase like “I am totally cooler than your date,” or, for those with no regard for subtlety: “I’m hitting on you.” Ms. Cheek is dreaming up specialized card sets, too. One for New York City singles will have lines like “I live below 14th Street” and “I hope my five-story walkup won’t be a problem.” Flipmedating.com is another dating website that markets the same concept: a pack of 30 cards and a three-month membership for $24.99. Each card is printed with the message that reads way cooller in written form than spoken outloud: "I’ve said ‘what if’ too many times ... not this time.” Read more at www.intent.com

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Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. ~Confucius

Oldspice Campaign: Social Media or Social CRM?

I'm sure you've been reading a lot about the Oldspice social media campaign. Other than looking at that find hunk of a male specimen (and don't tell me you did not notice how fine that brother is) was it a true social media campaign. Sure, they got lots of followers on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and honestly, what brand doesn't want that kind of exposure, but what does that mean if you can't translate that into something tangible? Sometimes it IS just about brand recognition, which Oldspice did very well. Come on, when was the last time you even THOUGHT about Oldspice, let along blog about it? The question remains, however, will you purchase the product for anyone other than your grandfather? Things that make you go.... hmmmm

Amplify’d from www.jmorganmarketing.com

Hello ladies! (this is only funny if you have seen the Oldspice commercials, otherwise this is a bit awkward for all of us…) Over the past few weeks you may have seen that the Oldspice man has been responding to comments on youtube, facebook, and twitter by creating individual personalized messages for people essentially creating a type of collaborative relationship between the brand and the customer, but is the Oldspice campaign a social media campaign or a social CRM campaign?  It’s a bit hard to tell just by looking at the front end piece of what’s going on but based on what I have seen it looks like just a social media campaign.  Why? It seems as though the goal of the Oldspice campaign was to build awareness and visibility,which it did quite well.  Since the personalized videos have launched Oldspice has garnered hundreds of thousands of facebook fans and tens of thousands of new twitter followers (and youtube subscribers).  However, as far as I can tell the campaign did not move beyond that first level of awareness.  I actually had a great chat with Brent Leary about this.  Brent and I agreed that a key difference between a social media and a Social CRM campaign is the deeper level of integration.  Social media is great for visibility and awareness but taking it further into actual influencing purchase decisions and driving a business result is where Social CRM comes into play. So if the Oldspice commercial was a social media campaign, what would have been needed in order to consider it a Social CRM campaign?

See more at www.jmorganmarketing.com

 

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Early steps to find breast cancer prone to error

First they tells "do a daily breast exam". Then they say, "breast exams are not an effective form of detection for breast cancer". Now we learn early detection is so difficult that mistakes, ones that could be emotionally and physically irreversible, are more the norm than the exception. Ladies (and the men who love us) let's do all we can to continue to support breast cancer research!

Amplify’d from www.msnbc.msn.com

As it turns out, diagnosing the earliest stage of breast cancer can be surprisingly difficult, prone to both outright error and case-by-case disagreement over whether a cluster of cells is benign or malignant, according to an examination of breast cancer cases by The New York Times.

A '30-year history of confusion' Advances in mammography and other imaging technology over the past 30 years have meant that pathologists must render opinions on ever smaller breast lesions, some the size of a few grains of salt. Discerning the difference between some benign lesions and early stage breast cancer is a particularly challenging area of pathology, according to medical records and interviews with doctors and patients. Read more at www.msnbc.msn.com

 

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QUOTE

Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching? ~Dennis and Wendy Mannering

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Gladys Knight on Giving Back

Gladys Knight shares the importance of 40th Anniversary of the Essence Magazine and how she is giving back.

Ladies, do you know your health risks?

Often thought to be only a "man's disease", heart disease is far and away the leading cause of death of American women. A new study out of Canada is lending some more light on this unforgiving killer.

Amplify’d from health.msn.com

FRIDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Women with the most serious type of angina are three times as likely as men with the same condition to develop severe coronary artery disease (CAD), researchers have found. In the study, Canadian researchers analyzed the medical records of 23,771 patients referred for a first diagnostic angiography. They found that women over age 60 with the most serious type of angina (Class IV) had a 21 percent higher absolute risk of developing CAD than did men. Women younger than 60 had an 11 percent greater risk of CAD than men in the same age group. When the researchers factored in other variables commonly associated with CAD -- such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and age -- they found that Class IV angina increased the risk of CAD by 82 percent in women and 28 percent in men. The study also found that men were more likely to have severe CAD than women (37 percent versus 22 percent) and that women with severe CAD tended to be significantly older than men with severe CAD (70 years versus 66 years). The study findings are published in the July issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine. Read more at health.msn.com

 

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High heels can shrink muscle... say it ain't so!

I knew the Sex In The City characters were not normal! A new study reveals women wore heels for an average of about 60 hours a week experienced the most pain and had the worse muscle shrinkage. Thank goodness flip fops are back in style *looks side eyed at my Prada shoes!*

Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

A new study shows that regularly wearing high heels can cause muscle and tendon changes in your legs. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Wearing two-inch heels five or more days a week shrinks a woman's calf muscle fibers Only die-hard fashionistas appear to be at risk Stiletto-lovers should stretch frequently to keep muscles and tendons strong, says Garber RELATED TOPICS Culture and Lifestyle Footwear Health and Fitness (Health.com) -- You may want to think twice before strapping on those sky-high Manolos. A new study shows that regularly wearing high heels can cause muscle and tendon changes in your legs -- to the point where wearing flats or flip-flops can be painful. Wearing two-inch heels (or higher) five or more days a week shrinks a woman's calf muscle fibers by 13 percent, on average. It also thickens her Achilles tendon -- which attaches the calf muscle to the heel -- by 22 percent, according to the study, which was published Thursday in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Read more at www.cnn.com

 

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Some people want it to happen, some wish it to happen, others make it happen. ~Anonymous

Back Stage at Essence Music Festival 2010

It goes without saying, although I'll say it anyway, one of the highlights of being on the press junket for the Essence Music Festival Presented by Coca-Cola is having access to the concerts.  But aside from being able to see Janet Jackson blow up the Louisiana Superdome, Mary J. Blige steal the show on the last night of the festival or LL Cool J "rock the bells" like we were back in the 80's, I also had the pleasure of being able to ask questions in the press room of some of my favorite artists who were performing during the music festival.

Over and over again, one theme seemed to ring true for everyone that was interviewed.  Each person talked about giving back to our community and reaching back for the younger generation of musicians.  In the clip below, Gladys Knight talks about the significance of this year's 40th Anniversary of Essence Magazine and her new business venture.



For the ladies... the coolness of LL Cool J on giving back and his new distribution deal...



Raphael Saadiq talks about being a mentor and a good role model...

2010 Essence Music Festival Presented by Coca-Cola is committed to African American Women!

The 16th Annual 2010 Essence Music Festival Presented by Coca-Cola kicked off yesterday in New Orleans. This is arguably the country's largest gathering of African-Americans celebrating Black cultural, achievements and music. It is during this festival that we celebrate who we are and what we do! The focus of the Essence Music Festival is often on the performances which are the largest gathering of black musical talent in the world. However, there is also a major emphasis on reaching out to African American women and helping them to live a positive and inspired life. Leading this charge of encouraging and empowering African American women are “The Lady Power Brokers”, as I like to call them. They include Michelle Ebanks, President, Essence Communications, Inc, Angela Burt-Murray, Editor-in-Chief, Essence Magazine and the woman coined as the “God Mother” of the Essence Festival, Ingrid Saunders Jones, Senior VP, The Coca-Cola Company and Chair, the Coca Cola Foundation.

Coca-Cola is the exclusive presenting sponsor for the Essence Music Festival, a role they’ve held for the close to two decades. Coca-Cola’s goal is “to promote moments of happiness while specifically reaching out to African American women and moms. Recognizing that all women are beautiful, Coke colored the town of New Orleans red declaring this “Red Weekend!” in a movement to celebrate our beauty, independence and fun nature. The programs this weekend are designed to not only entertain us but to encourage us to cultivate our minds, bodies and spirit. We as women often neglect all three of these aspects of ourselves so I am inspired and impressed by the company’s commitment to not only giving us healthier beverage options, such as DaSani water and their recently launched Gold Peak Tea line, but also in their concern for our complete well being. I had a chance to speak with Ingrid Saunders Jones who is an inspiration to women everywhere in her grace, style and philanthropic commitment to sustainable communities. Come back to my blog to hear more from my interview with Ms. Jones as she shares her deep commitment to the Essence brand, the tie-in with Coca-Cola and her pride of being an African America woman.

If you are in New Orleans, stop by Coca-Cola’s Happiness Stations throughout the Convention Center featuring R&B artists, dance teams, a celebrity chef, Coca-Cola commemorative bottles honoring Essence Magazine’s 40th Anniversary and much, much more!