I spoke to two classes of communications majors today about digital PR and social media marketing. It was a wonderful experience. The University of Maryland undergraduate course was called Comm350:  Public Relations Theory and their communications professor, Sahar Mohamed Khamis, was amazing generous and welcoming, basically handing me the reins to her class, sight unseen.  The class is described as:

The historical development and contemporary status of public relations in business, government, associations and other organizations. Application of communication theory and social science methods to the research, planning, communication and evaluation aspects of the public relations process.

Everybody was super bright and super nice to me. One thing I was concerned about is that in both classes I taught today, both Comm350, only a couple people had Twitter accounts and I think there were just a couple folks who have a blog or who had every blogged.  And these are our future PR professionals.  Of course, when I asked, 100%  of the students in both classes were on Facebook.  Natch.

Well, I presented my A Guide to Blogger Relations slide show and then took questions.  I told them that blogging, Twittering, and participating in the wider conversation would almost guarantee them a good job at a local or national agency after college.  I told them that they should all, separately or in concert, start writing a blog about their take on communication, on advertising, on popular culture, on television, on PR, on social media — that the thing they learn in class every day would be interesting to the blogosphere, seen through their young eyes.  That there is no doubt in my mind that you can really and truly write yourself into the job of your dreams and if they didn’t blog, all of them, they were darned fools (well, maybe I didn’t say it — it was implied).

I receive quite a thank you note from one of student from the first class, Miss Chelsea Clark, who not only asked a question but also said the following nice things — a mixture of review, testimonial, and, I dare say, her first blog post once removed:

I walked into my Comm350 class on Tuesday expecting to sit there taking notes for an hour and a half like usual. Instead, our professor announced we were  having a guest speaker. I was thinking to myself that this could go one of two  ways: really interesting and way better than cramping my hand taking notes, or  really boring and put me to sleep.

Our guest speaker took the floor and introduced himself and described what his company does. I’ve learned about blogs in PR before, but I was never really able  to link the two together. Yeah, so blogs are a new media outlet, but how does  that help clients? How do businesses personally benefit from random people  around the country writing about their hobbies and interests? I never really  understood the connection until Chris’ presentation.

He described how he would have his team search for blogs that were written about topics that relate to his clients and then send out mass emails to the  bloggers to ask them to write about his clients. He was worried that we would  think he was a spammer, but, having made many annoying calls and emails to  reporters myself, I knew how he felt. He then showed us results of actual  bloggers that wrote about his clients. He got so excited! We all recognized this  feeling, for being PR people ourselves, we know how satisfying it is to have free  publicity.

I thought that Chris did a really good job with his presentation. I followed what he was saying the whole time and enjoyed some of his nerdy antics. I think  some of the people in the class were less interested or maybe didn’t follow what   Chris’ company is responsible for, either because they were pretending to take  notes while really checking their facebooks or because they are still a bit  unfamiliar with PR and got a little bit confused.

For me, the presentation was enlightening, exciting, and interesting and showed me new ways of getting publicity without necessarily resorting to TV and  newspapers. I would definitely recommend him to other PR college classes that  are looking for guest speakers!

That, Chelsea, really made my month.  I appreciate the kind words and thank you, again, to professor Sahar Khamis

who will soon be coming out with a really compelling new book you should all pre-order on Amazon,  Islam Dot Com: Contemporary Islamic Discourses in Cyberspace.  I look forward to it.

Also, if you’re curious as to the content of the slide show and the presentation I did, here it is inline for your enjoyment… however, I need to record one with my insight, wit, and wisdom one of these days soon:

I received an invitation from Corbett Santana to attend what sounds like a super-cool inauguration party — if you happen to be celebrating in Berlin, Germany!  I will be in DC for the inauguration but I thought I would pass this on.

Barack Obama Inaugration Celebration/Party in GOYA
Goya, Nollendorfplaz 5 in Berlin
January 20th 2009
Come celebrate with “US”
LIVE from Washington D.C. on BIG screen!
The Inauguration Ceremony of BARACK OBAMA.

• 16:30 Doors open and we will project the entire Ceremony on a large screen in GOYA.
• 16:00 The ceremony starts at and ends at 20:00 (according to a press release from Washington D.C.)
• 20:00 Guest speakers from the different American abroad organizations. There is the POSSIBILITY the Governor Mayor of Berlin will make an appearance. THIS IS NOT CONFIRMED AT THE MOMENT!
• 21:00 Live Music from FOLKADELIC who played at the BABYLON Theater Election Party
• 22:30 DJ “Daddy-O” after playing Funky Soul Classics.

Tickets:  10-,€ & 6-,€ after 21:00
To reserve a ticket send a message to chair@demsinberlin.de
This is a by-partisan event all are welcomed!
There will be an after party at SURPRISE Club & Disco for those of you who find GOYA too expensive & stuffy. A shuttle vehicle will be available to transport you door to door from 22:00 till 12:00. Entrance and shuttle ride is free when you have a ticket for the Event in GOYA.

Please enjoy my latest AdAge Global Idea Network blog post, Social Media Are Truly Global — Just Ask a Slovakian: Don’t Underestimate the Reach of Twitter, Facebook: (Via Adage)

Social Media Are Truly Global — Just Ask a Slovakian: Don’t Underestimate the Reach of Twitter, Facebook

Recently, I was a speaker at a conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, called Daily Web. Everybody there was super-connected. Everyone was on both Facebook and Twitter. While I was at the conference, I received invites from my fellow attendees get connected on Twitter, Facebook and even LinkedIn.

During a break, I was told that there are about 60,000 Slovakian users of Facebook, using a mix of the available Czech interface and the English. They were all much newer to Twitter, but the conference did have a Twitter profile and I chose to create the hash tag for the conference, #dailywebsk. I was told Facebook is beginning to bogart the populations of local Slovakian communities and there are plans to localize Facebook into Slovakian the way that it is localized in the Czech Republic and Germany.

This got me to thinking. All of the Brits I have been meeting in Berlin are more keen on getting my “Facebook e-mail,” the e-mail that would allow them to easily find me on Facebook, rather than asking for a business card. Are cards going obsolete? Or, at the very least, are your Twitter and Facebook credentials more important on your site, your business card or your name tag than your e-mail, phone and fax?

All of my German friends are on Facebook as well, sharing images and adopting the social network with as much dedication and abandon as we do in the U.S. Same thing goes with my friends from Mexico and Colombia. When I attend conferences these days, I am likely to be recognized as @chrisabraham as I am by my name.

However, I admit that I live in a rarefied air and so there might be issues of connectivity, class and access that I am not addressing here. That said, I am still amazed whenever I take some time to click on over to Twittervision to watch a global representation of the whole Twittering world.

Because of the nature of Facebook and Twitter, localization works very well. Since both social networks allow you to easily communicate with your friends, and your friends are generally a lot like you. There isn’t a lot of cross-talk between English-, German- and Spanish-speakers.

There are no barriers, of course, between the different locales and the different languages. The barriers are emergent. Since I have quite a few Facebook friends and Twitter followers, 2,707 and 2,374 respectively, I get a lot of cross-talk between languages, and that pleases me. What makes me even happier is when I visit someone’s Wall, sort of like the publicly visible whiteboard that lots of students hang outside their dorm room. I often see a mixture of Spanish, German and English, all mixed up, according to each particular relationship.

The feeling I have, however, is that Twitter and Facebook are not perceived, worldwide, as American imperialism. And I think this is fantastic. Why is that? I think it’s because Facebook and Twitter created relatively neutral platforms and then got out of the way. This is especially the case with Twitter, which is perfectly inert: 140 characters. No context, only essential conversation.

After being a part of the Twitter community for a little while, the whole nature of it falls away and it becomes invisible, a simple communications vehicle, disassociated from its origins: like the phone, texting, TV, electricity, e-mail, the internet! Who cares who invented these things, after all, when each nation, culture and people ultimately make it their own. And this is what is happening with Twitter and Facebook — people are making them their own.

I really don’t use MySpace very much at all. In fact, I embarrass myself every time I look at my MySpace profile. That said, every band in Berlin has a MySpace profile, just like every other band in the entire world. Globally, you’re likely to see a MySpace address if the band you’re digging on has an internet presence. Even if your favorite global brand has its own website, there’s a good chance that they also have a MySpace address. A couple weeks ago, I checked out three bands here in Berlin and they all has MySpace URLs: Orchestre Miniature in the Park and Tim and Puma Mimi.

None of these bands think about the gross imperialism associated with their decisions; they have adopted all of this American innovation with complete ease. Back in the day, Friendster had a terribly time sorting out its business model internationally. Its success in Asia bogged down its servers while confounding its salespeople on how to make any money from all these community members who were dedicated participants but not generating any local revenue. It was probably because the worldwide ad networks and the global sales of ads were not there yet, focused mostly on the U.S. market. Now times have changed. Here I am in Berlin being served not simply German ads but also geo-targeted ads based on exactly where my data is being served.

I have taken all of this in due course and just considered it normal; however, I realized tonight that it isn’t normal. It occurred to me that folks might not know how thoroughly adopted these Web 2.0 platforms are worldwide. How many people around the world refresh Facebook and Twitter many times an hour at their workplace, the same way everyone does it, even among an ever-growing population in the Slovak Republic.

I am here in Bratislava, Slovakia, to attend the 2008 Daily Web Conference as a speaker. I am still a little in the dark but I do know that I will probably be totally amusing and use some variation of the below presentation, that I sort of practiced for your edification and amusement.  What do you think?  Is it enough for the Brightest Minds of Central Europe?

Last week Thursday morning, I participated as a social media PR expert and panelist in a very cool Bulldog Reporter PR University audio conference entitled Beyond Twitter PR. Here’s some information on the call-in audio conference:

8/28/08 – Beyond Twitter PR: The New Rules of Crafting a Powerful, Cost-Effective Social Media Strategy

New media communications, social media optimization, Web 2.0 marketing, Facebook publicity, even Twitter PR. No matter how you tag the movement—it’s clear today’s engagement media and online channels from blogs to online video to social networks and even virtual worlds are bonafide communication tools. Practitioners who can master these mediums and create PR-driven social media strategies that generate real results for clients and companies alike—are sure to rule the integrated and digital marketing mix (and budget). Join Bulldog Reporter’s exclusive panel of the nation’s foremost experts successfully practicing in the nexus between PR and exciting new technologies to learn how you can beat the competition and successfully incorporate Web 2.0 tools into traditional PR programs. If you’re new to the social media revolution and its impact on communications, this is one call that will bring your work (and career trajectory!) up to speed. If you’re already incorporating social media and Web 2.0 techniques into your PR programs, this 90-minute, intensive call is a sure way to take your online efforts to the next level and position your team, client or company well ahead of the competition, while engaging consumers, customers and public in exciting, productive and profitable new ways.

It was a very amazing speaker panel:

Kate Laufer, Senior Public Relations Manager, North America, Beam Global
Spirits & Wine
Paula Berg, Manager, Emerging Media, Southwest Airlines
Doug Hay, CEO, Co-Founder, Expansion Plus
Susan Getgood, Principal, GetGood Strategic Marketing
Chris Abraham, President/COO, Abraham Harrison

If you like what you read, you are welcome to listen to the event by either ordering the conference CD or by requesting it on demand.

CC Chapman blogged about the Life Changing Box, my mysterious client’s client, and I love being able to tease CC about it! And, like I always say, loose lips sink ships! (I know something you don’t know! Ha ha!)

Life Changing Box

June 17th 2008

I got a note from a friend pointing me to LifeChangingBox.com . No details. No hints. Just the URL to go and check it out. Since I knew this person I figured why not.

I spent some time putting words into it and seeing what it did. I don’t want to spoil the surprise but go ahead and give it a try. When you give it a word that the box likes it reacts positively to it. I’m still haven’t figured out if there are any key words that will make it go really nuts or not and what the end goal of the site is, but it is a fun for a nice break. One warning though is that the site loads with sounds so don’t have your speakers to loud. You can turn it off in the upper right hand corner.

What I have determined is that it is tied to a Facebook application as well where you can win prizes by holding the box. I had the box for a while, but didn’t win anything. As you can see below, you can go in every day and “touch” boxes that other people are holding in the hopes that when the box changes holders you’ll get it next. Sort of like an inverted, twisted game of duck duck goose if you ask me.

Word on the street is that this is tied to a television company, but I’m not getting any real answers from anyone I ask so I’m not sure. I did see a TV in one of the promo shots as a prize so who knows.

If you try it out and find anything cool that makes the box do things let me know. If you win a prize I REALLY want to know because I am curious to see what sorts of things it gives out.

Not sure this is “life changing” but it is certainly fun to play with.

Well, CC, you’re just gonna have to wait for it! Won’t be long now!

As you can see, I have been writing about Sadie Allison for years now — Dr. Sadie Tickles My Fancy with TickleKitty and See Sexy Dr. Sadie With Your Own Two Eyes On TV This Sunday — and just recently received 5 copies of Sadie’s new book, Ride ‘Em Cowgirl: Sex Position Secrets For Better Bucking. She’s a friend of mine — and she’s super cute and knows what she’s talking about! OK, I am sort of crushing.

Before that, Sadie penned three sex-help books, Tickle Your Fancy, Toygasms!, and Tickle His Pickle — but she has outdone herself with this book! Oh, and on page 97, the G-Spot is finally demystified! Come on fellas, you’re really missing out if you haven’t sorted out some of the magic little bits and pieces of lovemaking. Definitely a worthwhile endeavor for the both of you!

Here’s some of the stuff I have been able to steal from both Amazon and the Tickle Kitty website:

Enjoy an entire lifetime of sexual enrichment for the cost of a couple of cocktails!

• Fully illustrated to guide you. Over 100 tasteful point-n-play illustrations help you visualize your exciting new moves together
• Easy and fun to read. You’ll feel inspired by Dr. Sadie’s conversational style and hands-on encouragement
• Filled with secret touches. You’ll explore all the strokes, squeezes and sensations your lover wants (but isn’t telling you)
• She’ll start coming like crazy. Many of Dr. Sadie’s tips are designed to ignite the woman’s orgasms—including the wild and elusive “during intercourse” orgasm
• You and your lover are invited. Come discover how to reposition your bodies together for the most satisfying, fulfilling, mind-blowing lovemaking ever!

Product Description
Why is this today s best sex position guide? Instead of twisting you into impossible pretzel poses, Dr. Sadie illustrates hundreds of ways to shape your favorite sex positions into a more passionate orgasmic fit for the two of you. Comfortably! Even better, Dr. Sadie s fun, empowering hands-on coaching inspires intimate new explorations and sensational erotic touches. You ll reveal your lover s deepest sexual desires (and yours, too!) while triggering powerful orgasms like never before especially hers! Whether you re newly intimate together or long-time lovers ready to take the monotony out of monogamy this is the one lovemaking guide ready to create a lifetime of excitement, passion, confidence, supergasms, and un-wipe-offable smiles every morning after. Try it! And read it together…in bed!

Check out what’s inside Ride ‘Em Cowgirl!:
1. Your Passion Cocktail—How to shake awake your lovelife
2. Supergasms—The secrets to supercharging your orgasms
3. The Art of Penetration—Sensual entry secrets just for him
4. The Art of Being Penetrated—Sensual entry secrets just for her
5. Missionary Possible—New pleasure angles when HE’S on top
6. Doggystyle—Enjoy new come-from-behind victories
7. Ride ‘em Cowgirl!—Exciting moves when SHE’S on top
8. Spooning—Rediscover the world’s most romantic position.
9. Clitilicious—How to arouse her orgasm trigger every time
10. The G-spot—Finding and stimulating her deep pleasure spot
11. Backdoor Boogaloo—Why couples now say yes to this old taboo
12. The HE-spot—Finding and stimulating HIS hidden pleasure spot
13. Voluptuous Loving—Positions designed for our larger lovers
14. Pregnant Poses—Exciting positions for the soon-to-be-mom
15. Outercourse—An exciting alternative of good messy fun
16. Location! Location! Location!—Reasons to skip the bedroom
17. Vive La Difference—Exciting new ways to fit your lover to you
18. Sexy Playthings—Choosing the right sextoys for you

Appendix: Safety First—How to practice safer sex every time

Position Index—So many positions, so much time!
Excerpts from Chapter 9: “Clitilicious”

As opposite as the sexes often seem, women and men share one important sexual similarity—the workings of their sexual pleasure centers. Here’s why:

• The clitoris is micro-clustered with millions of the same type of erotic nerve endings found in the head of the penis.
• Men become erect during arousal—and so do women! As the clitoris swells with blood, it swells in size. Next time, feel it grow from small and subtle to round and firm as foreplay
  heats up.
• There’s rarely an orgasm without direct stimulation to the head of the penis. Likewise, there’s rarely an orgasm if you ignore the clitoris.
• The clitoris and the penis respond best when slippery-wet. Did you remember to pick up a good sex lube?

By understanding these similarities, it’s easy to see why it’s vital to stimulate the tiny but powerful clitoris directly, especially during intercourse. Guys…please read that last sentence again!

20 ways to supercharge intercourse

Between the two of you, you’ll find 20 warm, soft, active little clitoral stimulators that you’ll never misplace, need no batteries, and can lift the woman to the highest orgasmic peaks on earth.

They’re your fingertips—just add sex lube!

The fingertip secret is to touch the clitoris with slow, gentle caressing motions, matching the pressure and pace to the level of her arousal. Just be sure there’s lots of lubrication, start slow and soft, and you can’t go wrong.

Whoever is doing the arousing, vary your fingertip motions till you find a pattern that works: up ‘n’ down, side-to-side, round ‘n’ round, or even figure eights. For a real treat, try these motions with the tip of the penis.

About the Author
When you need answers about lovemaking, look to Dr. Sadie Allison, founder and CEO of Tickle Kitty, Inc., and ticklekitty.com. Dr. Sadie is a leading authority on human sexuality today, and author of the award-winning bestsellers Tickle His Pickle, TOYGASMS! and Tickle Your Fancy. She appears frequently on TV and radio, including E! Entertainment Television, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, Dr. Drew s Loveline and the Bob & Tom Show. She is a sought-after speaker, and is often quoted in national magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Redbook and Men s Health. She s a Licensed Doctor of Human Sexuality, having earned her degree from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She s also a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors & Therapists (AASECT). Her Tickle Kitty brand of sex-help books, sensual pleasure kits and sex lubricants enable her to assist more individuals and couples find greater joys in sexual pleasure.

Editorial Reviews
Review
YEE HA! for Ride Em Cowgirl!, Sue Johanson, host of TV s Talk Sex –Sue Johanson, host of TV s Talk Sex

Read this together and enjoy the pleasures to come., Ian Kerner, Ph.D., Author, She Comes First –Ian Kerner, Ph.D., Author, She Comes First

Dr. Sadie Allison combines sex education with erotic temptation so everyone can learn and enjoy. She s one of the great emerging sexologists of the 21st century., Dr. Ted McIlvenna, President, The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality –Dr. Ted McIlvenna, President, The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality

Audi’s also done a very good job below the hood. It’s a V8 FSI engine sporting 354 horses with a not so impressive 325lbs of torque. Another eyebrow raising feature is the very very impressive audio system – It’s got the Bang & Olufsen system with 12 speakers and 2 sub’s which put-out a deafening 500 watts music – sheer pleasure!. I always believed that music should not just hit you, it has to go through you! All in all, Very impressive! I can’t wait to get behind the wheel…and see what the 0-60 looks like! lol! I am joking, I am good law abiding citizen. And, the best part, you don’t have to barter an arm & a leg, the MSRP is about $50,900 pre-options. Pretty sweet price compared to the stuff you are getting.

I just posted my latest-and-greatest resume onto Craig’s List: San Francisco, Washington, DC, Seattle, and New York City

Social Media, New Media, Web2.0 Strategy, and New Marketing Expert

Interested in remote projects and contracts. Also interested in Washington-area on-site consulting and contract opportunities

MISSION
My passion is to use my experience and expertise in online community outreach and advocacy to promote and protect client online brands using my years of blogging, SEO, PR, marketing, and CGM professional experience.

PROFILE
I am an expert in online outreach, advocacy and marketing with over 10 years of online experience. My experience focuses on web strategy, including SEO strategy, technology strategy, and online marketing strategy. My skills include:

- Blogger: online outreach, advocacy, conversation, and messaging, blogger relations
- Technologist: expertise in community technologies, blogs, wikis, message boards
- Salesman: entrepreneurial nature with a very strong business network and web of personal relationships
- Marketer: Over three years of online buzz marketing, online buzz marketing, and online word-of-mouth marketing
- Producer: experience in designing and developing hardware and software solutions
- Strategist: design, develop, and implement web strategies and marketing plans to reach online consumers
- Promoter: online brand promotion, virals, organic SEO (search engine optimization), and paid advertising (SEM)
- Protector: online brand protection, defensive SEO, online crisis response, and online brand management
- Teacher: Blogging instructor, guest lecturer, and online teacher since 1996

CLIENTS

- Technology Strategy reports commissioned for Deutsche Telekom
- Web Strategy document commissioned by Diversion Media for Travelistic launch
- Web Strategy document commissioned by Friendster
- Word of Mouth campaign commissioned by HostNuke for EggDisk file storage service
- Online buzz marketing proposal commissioned by Red Bricks Media for their client’s use
- Client contact for Wal-Mart’s innovative blog outreach campaign, including prospecting and messaging (Edelman)
- Co-produced successful online advocacy proposals to GE, Nissan, Shell, the American Petroleum Institute (API), and Wal-Mart Realty (Edelman)
- Developed, deployed, and launched client and internal corporate blogs, marketing blogs, vertical industry blogs, PR blogs, promotional blogs, public affairs blogs, social networks, and podcasts, including Club TomTom, New Media Sense, Extreme Mortman, and others. (NMS)
- Client service work included Sci-Fi Channel (Mad Mad House, Tripping the Rift, Battlestar Galactica), Buena Vista (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), TomTom, Paramount Pictures, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Disney, Reebok, EA (UXO, Sim-City Online), RCA (American Idol CD), and NBC (Revelations), etc. (NMS)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Founding Partner, Abraham Harrison LLC — 10/2006-Present
- On-site training, briefing, and client pitching as online buzz marketing and SEO expert
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert, focusing on both brand promotion and protection in search
- Online Buzz Marketing, Online Word-of-Mouth Marketing, and Online Viral Marketing expert
- Consulting and guiding PR and Marketing firms in their creation of Online Marketing practices
- Technology Strategy reports commissioned by COMTEG for Deutsche Telekom and T-Online
- Work and expertise partnership collaboration between crayon LLC and Abraham Harrison LLC
- Online buzz marketing proposal commissioned by Red Bricks Media for their client use
- Designed and developed opt-in membership Email and messaging campaigns
- Developed online word-of-mouth marketing strategy and tactics used on Usenet, message boards, social networks, and blogs
- Developed online advocacy and outreach campaigns for clients’ products, services, and message
- Produced internal and client protective and promotional SEO campaigns and search strategy to highlight positive online conversation and suppress negative conversation on popular search engines
- Developed in-house expertise on blogging, new media, podcasting, technology, citizen journalism, and CGM, including training, teaching, and the development of blogging and online marketing strategy
- Managed online advertising campaigns using Yahoo and Google contextual ads
- Fully-monetized network of blogs and affiliate web sites
- Affiliate keyword marketing and contextual advertising
- Search engine optimization (SEO) and online promotion
- Administration of multiple WordPress, Moveable Type, and Drupal blogs on dedicated server
- Blog strategy and planning for high-traffic, high-profile blog relaunch
- Customized Moveable Type installation on CentOS dedicated server
- Transition from TypePad to newest Movable Type 3.34 install
- Monetization of blogs, including BlogAds and Google AdSense placement
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of blogs
- Manage Google Apps Premier hosting of Email for Abraham Harrison LLC
- Manage CentOS dedicated server hosting Drupal, WordPress, and Movable Type installations

Sales Representative, Visible Technologies — 1/2007-Present
- Sell and promote TruCast and TruView SEO and online advocacy ASP solutions online and in Washington, DC

Associate, crayon LLC — 3/2007-Present
- Work and expertise partnership collaboration between crayon LLC and Abraham Harrison LLC
- Audited all crayon LLC sites and blogs for SEO, UI, architecture, branding, and marketing strategy

Senior RSS Consultant, Hinchcliffe & Company — 1/2007-Present
- On-site syndication strategist for T. Rowe Price Information Technology (TRPIT)
- Research and development towards deploying a public, consumer-focused RSS product
- Solution included a customized ATOM 1.0 feed supplying daily mutual fund pricing
- Solution included a Google Gadget and a Live.com Microsoft Gadget alternative
- Solution included subscription strategies for Bloglines, Google Personalized Home Page, etc.

Director of Social Media, COMTEG.COM — 12/2006-Present
- Web2.0 strategy analyst for major European telecom company
- Produced case studies on Web2.0, Revver, digg, Google Reader, Google, YouTube, Helio, VOX, Dodgeball, Second Life
- Produced case studies on prediction markets: Inkling Markets, PROTRADE, Blogshares, Washington Stock Exchange (WSX), The simExchange, newsfutures, RealityMarkets, Consensus Point (Foresight Server, Foresight on Demand), NewsFuture (Prediction Trader)
- Produced case studies on online personal and public calendars: Google Calendar, Yahoo! Calendar, AOL Calendar, Apple iCal, Microsoft Live, Upcoming, Eventful,
- Produced case studies on blog and feed search engines: Ask.com, Technorati, Google Blogsearch
- Produced case studies on social networking sites: VOX, YouTube, digg
- Produced detailed studies and corporate recommendations on Web2.0 (web 2.0), RSS, widgetization (widgets, Google Gadgets, desktop gadgets), long tail strategy
- Produced case studies on online address books and online contacts and networks: Plaxo
- Direct engagement and recommendations for web2.0 strategy

Consultant, Travelistic.com, Diversion Media — 8/2006-10/2006
- Web strategy document commissioned by Nicolas Butterworth
- Word-of-Mouth and buzz marketing strategy document and hiring recommendations
- Search engine optimization (SEO) strategy document

Independent Web Strategies Consultant — 8/2006-Present
- On-site training, briefing, and client pitching as online buzz marketing and SEO expert
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert, focusing on both brand promotion and protection in search
- Online Buzz Marketing, Online Word-of-Mouth Marketing, and Online Viral Marketing expert
- Consulting and guiding PR and Marketing firms in their creation of Online Marketing practices
- Web Strategy document commissioned by Nicholas Butterworth and Diversion Media for Travelistic.com launch
- Web Strategy document commissioned by Friendster
- Word of Mouth campaign commissioned by HostNuke for EggDisk file storage service
- Online buzz marketing proposal commissioned by Red Bricks Media for their client use

Senior Account Supervisor, Online Advocacy, Edelman — 5/2006-8/2006
- Client contact for Wal-Mart’s innovative blog outreach campaign, including prospecting and messaging
- Spearheaded Working Families for Wal-Mart blog, newsletter, and activation list
- Developed online word of mouth outreach for Taylor Hicks webcast from Wal-Mart shareholder’s meeting
- Co-produced Exposing the Paid Critics blog for Working Families for Wal-Mart
- Co-produced successful online advocacy proposals to GE, Nissan, Shell, the American Petroleum Institute (API), and Wal-Mart Realty
- Designed and developed opt-in membership Email and messaging campaigns

Technology Strategist, New Media Strategies, Inc. — 9/2003-5/2006
- Developed online word-of-mouth marketing strategy and tactics used on Usenet, message boards, social networks, and blogs
- Developed online advocacy and outreach campaigns for clients’ products, services, and message
- Produced internal and client protective and promotional SEO campaigns and search strategy to highlight positive online conversation and suppress negative conversation on popular search engines
- Developed in-house expertise on blogging, new media, podcasting, technology, citizen journalism, and CGM, including training, teaching, and the development of blogging and online marketing strategy
- Developed, deployed, and launched client and internal corporate blogs, marketing blogs, vertical industry blogs, PR blogs, promotional blogs, public affairs blogs, social networks, and podcasts, including Club TomTom, New Media Sense, Extreme Mortman, and others.
- Managed online advertising campaigns using Yahoo and Google contextual ads
- Client service work included Sci-Fi Channel (Mad Mad House, Tripping the Rift, Battlestar Galactica), Buena Vista (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), TomTom, Paramount Pictures, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Disney, Reebok, EA (UXO, Sim-City Online), RCA (American Idol CD), and NBC (Revelations), etc . . .

Consultant, Blog Production and Strategy, BoldMouth — 8/2006-Present
- Blog strategy and planning for high-traffic, high-profile blog relaunch
- Customized Moveable Type installation on CentOS dedicated server
- Transition from TypePad to newest Movable Type 3.31 install
- Monetization of blog, including BlogAds and Google AdSense placement
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of blog

Director of Sales, eResources, LLC — 9/2002-9/2003
- Managed sales force and new business for the ITonDemand and the eResources Content Management System products

Senior Web Developer, National Legal Aid & Defender Association — 2/2002 – 9/2002
- Developed Web applications and content management system (CMS) developer using Zope, Python, and MySQL

Managing Director, beehive North America — 7/2000-2/2002
- President, co-owner, and co-founder of beehive North America, the North American office of Berlin-based beehive elektronische medien GmbH
- Sold and marketed software Zope application development training and services
- Clients included College of Exploration, The Nature Conservancy, and Space Telescope Science, and Pfizer Global Research and Development (PGRD)

Online Community Builder, Caucus Systems, Inc. — 7/1999-6/2000
- Online community, online conference, and online event facilitator and host
- Linux/Unix system administrator (LAMP SA)

Senior Information Engineer, FCBS — 12/1997-7/1999
- On-site consultant for US Department of Treasury Chief Information Office (CIO)
- Core duties included HTML, scripting (Perl, SSI), programming, graphic design, management, development, and deployment of the CIO Intranet and public website

Teacher, Education for the Arts (EFA), KRESA — 8/1996-6/1998
- High school teacher of the first fully accredited virtual online high school creative writing course for Kalamazoo, MI, Public Schools arts magnet program

Software Engineer, Proxicom, Inc. (Proxima in 1996) — 1/1996-8/1996
- Internet web application developer for the seminal web application company

Technical and Customer Support, Picture Network International (PNI) — 7/1993-8/1995
- Help desk for Industry’s second dial-up online stock photo agency
- Start-up funded and supported by SRA and Tribune Media Company

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Guest Lecturer on History Blogging, History in the Digital Age, American University — 1/31/2007

Guest Speaker, “What is RSS? And How can it change my life?,” AOL University, AOL — 2/8/2007

Blogging Instructor, The Writer’s Center — 2/2006-Present

Blogger, Because the Medium is the Message — 1999-Present

Stock Photographer, Pacific Stock — 1990-Present

Stock Photographer, Corbis — 1990-2004

Guest Lecturer on Public Affairs Blogging, SIPA, Columbia University — 10/15/1005

Emergent Technologies Advisor, Communications Advisory Board, Urban Institute.

Participant Member, Moderator and Speaker, Renaissance Weekends, Renaissance Institute

Partner of Counsel, Haft, Harrison & Wolfson, Inc.

Associate, Howard Rheingold Associates

Founder and Organizer, DC Zope Python User Group (ZPUG)

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The George Washington University, Washington, DC
- BA, American Literature, Minor Creative Writing, 1993

University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus, Honolulu, HI
- Intensive course work, French, 1992

University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- Junior year abroad, English and American Studies (EAS), 1990-1991

So, I have been trying to update my resume and keep it up-to-date. Let me know if there are any embarrassing errors, oversights, or mistakes.

MISSION

My passion is to use my experience and expertise in online community outreach and advocacy to promote and protect client online brands using my years of blogging, SEO, PR, marketing, and CGM professional experience.

PROFILE

I am an expert in online outreach, advocacy and marketing with over 10 years of online experience. My experience focuses on web strategy, including SEO strategy, technology strategy, and online marketing strategy. My skills include:

- Analyst: business intelligence, analysis and synthesis, futurist, case studies, industry predictions
- Blogger: online outreach, advocacy, conversation, and messaging, blogger relations
- Technologist: expertise in community technologies, blogs, wikis, message boards
- Salesman: entrepreneurial nature with a very strong business network and personal relationships
- Marketer: Over three years of online buzz marketing, online buzz marketing, and online word-of-mouth marketing
- Producer: experience in designing and developing hardware and software solutions
- Strategist: design, develop, and implement web strategies and marketing plans to reach online consumers and
- Promoter: online brand promotion, virals, organic SEO (search engine optimization), and paid advertising (SEM)
- Protector: online brand protection, defensive SEO, online crisis response, and online brand management
- Teacher: Blogging instructor, guest lecturer, and online teacher since 1996

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Independent Web Strategies Consultant — 8/2006-Present
- On-site training, briefing, and client pitching as online buzz marketing and SEO expert
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert, focusing on both brand promotion and protection in search
- Online Buzz Marketing, Online Word-of-Mouth Marketing, and Online Viral Marketing expert
- Consulting and guiding PR and Marketing firms in their creation of Online Marketing practices
- Web Strategy document commissioned by Diversion Media for Travelistic launch
- Web Strategy document commissioned by Friendster
- Word of Mouth campaign commissioned by HostNuke for EggDisk file storage service
- Online buzz marketing proposal commissioned by Red Bricks Media for their client use

Senior RSS Consultant, Hinchcliffe & Company — 1/2007-Present
- RSS strategy, development, and deployment for fortune 500 financial company
- Web widget and gadget research, development and deployment for Google Personalized Homepage
- Case studies of Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google, Dodgeball, Helio, Revver, Vox, You Tube, digg, Second Life

Consultant, Internet Analyst, Comteg — 12/2006-Present
- Research and analysis of web2.0 business and technology landscape
- Business intelligence and analysis of web2.0 business strategies
- Case studies of Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google, Dodgeball, Helio, Revver, Vox, You Tube, digg, Second Life
- Analysis and synthesis of Google’s overall and future strategy
- web2.0 and the long tail analysis and case studies

Consultant, Blog Production and Strategy, BoldMouth — 8/2006-11/2006
- Blog strategy and planning for high-traffic, high-profile blog relaunch
- Customized Moveable Type installation on CentOS dedicated server
- Transition from TypePad to newest Movable Type 3.31 install
- Monetization of blog, including BlogAds and Google AdSense placement
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of blog

Senior Account Supervisor, Online Advocacy, Edelman — 5/2006-8/2006
- Client contact for Wal-Mart’s innovative blog outreach campaign, including prospecting and messaging
- Spearheaded Working Families for Wal-Mart blog, newsletter, and activation list
- Developed online word of mouth outreach for Taylor Hicks webcast from Wal-Mart shareholder’s meeting
- Co-produced Exposing the Paid Critics blog for Working Families for Wal-Mart
- Co-produced successful online advocacy proposals to GE, Nissan, Shell, the American Petroleum Institute (API), and Wal-Mart Realty
- Designed and developed opt-in membership Email and messaging campaigns

Technology Strategist, New Media Strategies, Inc. — 9/2003-5/2006
- Developed online word-of-mouth marketing strategy and tactics used on Usenet, message boards, social networks, and blogs
- Developed online advocacy and outreach campaigns for clients’ products, services, and message
- Produced internal and client protective and promotional SEO campaigns and search strategy to highlight positive online conversation and suppress negative conversation on popular search engines
- Developed in-house expertise on blogging, new media, podcasting, technology, citizen journalism, and CGM, including training, teaching, and the development of blogging and online marketing strategy
- Developed, deployed, and launched client and internal corporate blogs, marketing blogs, vertical industry blogs, PR blogs, promotional blogs, public affairs blogs, social networks, and podcasts, including Club TomTom, New Media Sense, Extreme Mortman, and others.
- Managed online advertising campaigns using Yahoo and Google contextual ads
- Client service work included Sci-Fi Channel (Mad Mad House, Tripping the Rift, Battlestar Galactica), Buena Vista (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), TomTom, Paramount Pictures, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Disney, Reebok, EA (UXO, Sim-City Online), RCA (American Idol CD), and NBC (Revelations), etc . . .

Director of Sales, eResources, LLC — 9/2002-9/2003
- Managed sales force and new business for the ITonDemand™ and the eResources Content Management System products

Senior Web Developer, National Legal Aid & Defender Association — 2/2002 – 9/2002
- Developed Web applications and content management system (CMS) developer using Zope, Python, and MySQL

Managing Director, beehive North America — 7/2000-2/2002
- President, co-owner, and co-founder of beehive North America, the North American office of Berlin-based beehive elektronische medien GmbH
- Sold and marketed software Zope application development training and services
- Clients included College of Exploration, The Nature Conservancy, and Space Telescope Science, and Pfizer Global Research and Development (PGRD)

Online Community Builder, Caucus Systems, Inc. — 7/1999-6/2000
- Online community, online conference, and online event facilitator and host
- Linux/Unix system administrator (LAMP SA)

Senior Information Engineer, FCBS — 12/1997-7/1999
- On-site consultant for US Department of Treasury Chief Information Office (CIO)
- Core duties included HTML, scripting (Perl, SSI), programming, graphic design, management, development, and deployment of the CIO Intranet and public website

Teacher, Education for the Arts (EFA), KRESA — 11/1996-6/1998
- High school teacher of the first fully accredited virtual online high school creative writing course for Kalamazoo, MI, Public Schools arts magnet program

Software Engineer, Proxicom, Inc. (Proxima in 1996) — 1/1996-8/1996
- Internet web application developer for the seminal web application company
Technical and Customer Support, Picture Network International (PNI) — 7/1993-8/1995
- Help desk for Industry’s second dial-up online stock photo agency
- Start-up funded and supported by SRA and Tribune Media Company

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Blogging Instructor, The Writer’s Center — 2/2006-Present

Blogger, Because the Medium is the Message — 1999-Present

Stock Photographer, Pacific Stock — 1990-Present

Stock Photographer, Corbis — 1990-2004

Guest Lecturer on Public Affairs Blogging, SIPA, Columbia University — 10/15/1005

Emergent Technologies Advisor, Communications Advisory Board, Urban Institute

Participant Member, Moderator and Speaker, Renaissance Weekends, Renaissance Institute

Partner of Counsel, Haft, Harrison & Wolfson, Inc.

Associate, Howard Rheingold Associates

Founder and Organizer, DC Zope Python User Group (ZPUG)

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The George Washington University, Washington, DC
- BA, American Literature, Minor Creative Writing, 1993

University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus, Honolulu, HI
- Intensive course work, French, 1992

University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- Junior year abroad, English and American Studies (EAS), 1990-1991