Weekend Web Guide

Just in case there's a moment this weekend where you actually want to spend time at your computer - you know - glued to it like it's a weekday- here's a short list of some of my favorite sites.For honest, entertaining and helpful relationship advice whether you're single or dating, check out The Date Report from HowAboutWe.

For gift ideas, fashion and all around regular inspiration for women, check out my favorite blog Cup of Jo by Joanna Goddard.

For a regular dose of creative inspiration, add Visual News to your RSS reader.

Saturday Night Live

Yesterday, I ventured into Queens for the first PS1 Warm Up Party in Long Island City. The 45 minute wait and $15 entry fee was worth it. Except for ex-boyfriends (thank god), I ran into people from every area of my past - a former college classmate, former MAS classmate, former coworker - you get the idea. And of course met some new, interesting people. But as is usually the case with a night out in New York City, my adventure did not end at the first stop, nor the second, or the third.Fast forward a few hours and one delicious burger later - I found myself sitting at a LIC bar with friends, talking to a very tall Kiwi and Cypriot (I had to look that one up). Naturally, the conversation very quickly evolved from "what do you do" to "where did you go to summer camp." Or something like that. To which my friend and the Cypriot discovered that they went to the same summer camp in Serbia the same year. And then all our heads exploded.

It never ceases to amaze me how everyday in New York, I experience a moment or two where people of very different backgrounds connect in the most unexpected ways.

A few beers later, I found myself waiting for the 7 train into Manhattan to take the long journey home to Brooklyn. No sooner had I sat down than 3 young, non-fratty guys, one holding a guitar, asked me "What song would you actually pay us to play?" I quickly saw an opportunity to knock off a line item from my bucket list and accepted their invitation to sing with them in Times Square. Oh, there's something I should add. The guys were taking turns holding a sign that read "I slept with Snooki last week. Please help." I knew this would be interesting.

We sat in the street, pulling up lyrics from our iPhones, surrounded by laughing, picture taking tourists as we attempted to do Katy Perry justice. One guy told me that in Chinese-American culture, when parents want to say something very important, they will say it in English. He described his mother very painstakingly, and carefully telling him in English that "He needs to go to college so he doesn't end up busking on the streets." Listen up kids, you can go to Yale and still end up busking in Times Square. These are hard times. Ten minutes in, a game of planking ensued, the tourists energetically arranging their friends' bodies into the letters NYC.

This is a story about how the internet has brought us closer together IRL.

The boundary between strangers and new friends has significantly diminished as social networks like Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare and Instagram have allowed us to peek into people's lives. Viral internet and pop culture phenomenons like planking, Snooki and the widely accepted meaning of PBR has given us a common language so that we can relate to one another. The knowledge that everyone is easily Googleable with a first name and a few key details allows us to more intimately connect with someone we've just met. We've taken the play mentality of the internet and brought it into our daily lives. Why go straight home after an already fantastic night when you can take a short detour sitting in Times Square, trying to sing, surrounded by tourists and a guy holding up a crazy sign?

"Dating" 3.0

Picture this. A new app comes out that's all the rage - at least if you're a nerd in the advertising/ tech community. We'll call this app "Color." Naturally, you try it out because you're curious. It takes you a good five minutes to realize this app can either attract stalkers, be used for dating or potentially expose you to some saucy material while you're sitting at work. A few pictures and comments later you realize you have a few admirers ... digital admirers that is. In fact, they're fighting each other for your attention and the chivalry that you've never seen in person suddenly comes out in their comments. A day later, one digital admirer outwits all the rest and you reveal a tidbit that shows your identity. Five minutes later, you get a Facebook request. As the old saying goes, curiosity usually gets the best of you - so you accept.In the weeks that follow, you have a series of back and forth Facebook messages with the intention of actually meeting in the flesh. Despite working for the same company, you haven't crossed paths. A slow response rate and abbreviated messages indicate that maybe he's not that interested. Okay.. you think. It's not like we've ever even met. You browse through a dating site wondering if you actually have time to date and spot an old message you sent to a dating profile weeks prior. It's him ... weird ... But he never responded. Hmm. A few days later there's no response to your message and you think whatever it was, it's over. But wait. He has just requested you on FourSquare.

Finally.. a moment you were completely unprepared for. It's a crazy day at work and you're running around, stressed and frazzled. And who do you run into - him of course. You can hear in his hello that he is pleasantly surprised. After one more round of Facebook messages, there's radio silence. A few weeks later, he has changed his relationship profile to "In A Relationship" which to my understanding, women have to practically withhold sex to get their boyfriends to do that or be dating for an extended period of time. So you wonder... is this what has become of "dating" in 2011? Dare I say dating 3.0? And you tell yourself that maybe next time, maybe you'll control your curiosity and not fall down the web 3.0 rabbit hole. 

A Little Review in Internet Pop Culture

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHxmRSYDazE&w=640&h=385]Via a San Francisco advertising agency called Venables Bell & Partners. For a behind the scenes company that most of us probably haven't heard of, this looked like a pretty expensive commercial to produce. Wow, must have been an interesting shoot.

Tête-à-Tête Tuesdays with Molly

Margaux Zion is a Social Media Consultant, specializing in interactive customer experience. She works with retailers in the Fashion, Cosmetics, and Home Products industries to make shopping as easy and FUN for people who don’t love shopping as much as she does.

When not glued to her Tweetdeck feed or Tumblr dashboard, she works as a makeup artist, painting some of fashion’s freshest faces. Follow her on Twitter @margauxz or catch the occasional blog update at margauxzion.tumblr.com for a little insight into the world of all things Margaux!

To introduce you to my readers - we met last year at my birthday party via a mutual friend but then didn't have a quality introduction until a few months ago. And it was all uphill from there.

Can you give me a brief introduction of what you do for MAC?

I am on the Online Product Team- a position that is synonymous with “mystical psychic wizard.” I use social media to assist customers with cosmetic product selection that they cannot touch or see in a physical store. I cannot see them, and they cannot see me, [hence] the mystical psychic wizardry. I worked as a freelance makeup artist and in a MAC retail store for years previous to this promotion- the product knowledge I’ve amassed in combination with my loquacious personality and savvy for social media was logical next step.

This is only what I do for MAC, though not at all what I do in my secret alter ego as a Social Media Consultant.

Talk to me about your background. You were a costumer for a Soap Opera. How in the world did that happen?

That was my wildcard career. When I was in college for Textile Science before I worked for MAC, I volunteered my services as a dresser at New York Fashion Week. My uncle, who is a Broadway Producer, caught wind, and decided I needed to be in the Theatrical Wardrobe Union. He literally walked me directly into the President’s office where I registered on the spot. The President, a well-poised, elegant woman, phoned the supervisor at the now defunct Guiding Light soap opera, and in her best showbiz voice:

“Heeeeeeey! I have a GREAT new girl here, MARGAUX! She is so ENTHUSIASTIC, and has a GREAT SMILE; you’ll just LOVE her! She just registered; she’d be GREAT for the show! I can’t talk now, but let’s do lunch! Bye babe!”

I went to work on the show the very next week, and the rest is history. This is where I decided I needed to embrace Social Media for my livelihood. I used to sit in hair and makeup in between shooting and sign the actors up on Twitter and made Facebook groups for our adventures making the television show. Then soap fans started to follow ME, and I knew I had something.

The show was very dear to me. We were cancelled last year, (ON APRIL FOOL’S DAY!) and I miss it very much. It was a privilege to work with such an outstanding group of people.

Switching gears here -what are your three favorite MAC products at the moment?

Three products I wear no matter WHAT the look, are Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, (Buffed with the #182 brush) Opulash Mascara, and Fast Response Eye Cream. I have over 1,500 individual MAC Cosmetics products in my “stock" so choosing color would be a very hard decision to make.

Over the last few weeks, we've attended a TON of techie networking events and I've noticed that you're the social media, networking, friend-making queen. When did you enter the Twittersphere? What are some tips for quality networking? And how do you keep track of all your contacts?

I just really like meeting new people. I’m a really talkative person and this reflects both in the real world, and online. Twitter is actually a very evolved form of social media for me- I used to regularly post and moderate on Ezboard communities and LiveJournals as early as 1999, and still keep in touch with friends I made then, today.

Quality networking doesn’t mean you have to reach the widest audience by talking to a million people. It means that you have to meet the right audience by talking to people who want to know more about what you already know a lot about. It's also helpful to be somewhat interesting, friendly, and approachable. This attracts people’s interest in your character, and lets them know that you’d be a super awesome/knowledgeable/hardworking member of the team. I naturally smile a lot both online and off- it's a lot like dating.

As for keeping track- I have Oompa Loompas. That was a joke. I have FIT interns. Also a joke. (I’D LOVE TO HAVE ONE, THOUGH!!!) I have a special cheat sheet and a little black book, nothing too fancy. I also have a bookmarks folder titled: “REALLY AWESOME WEBSITES” for all the new utilities I liked at NYTech Meetup, etc.

Interns... not a bad idea. Inquiring minds want to know - i.e. ME. While at the last Tech Meetup, I noticed that you often managed to add someone via Twitter, Tweet, and reference a presenters comments within the Tweet before they were finished talking. What Twitter program do you use? And how do you do this?

Haha! I did do that, didn’t I? As I said before, I am a very chatty person- tweeting instead of talking keeps me from interrupting people who are supposed to be talking!

I like Tweetdeck for personal use- it's a very easy dashboard to control my two Twitter accounts, Facebook profile, two Facebook Pages, and Foursquare account. (C’mon Tweetdeck! Integrate Tumblr and Wordpress next!) I also monitor updates with MAC related hashtags; MAC fans are pretty much really nice people, with a lot of artistic insight and brand enthusiasm. Social Media is exactly how to find conversations about things you really like and want to discuss with others.

For my professional clients, I am currently discovering Postling, a web-based social media management tool for brand management. It allows me to keep track of all my blog posts, tweets, status updates, comments, and all return correspondence. I met the Co-Founders through NY Tech Meetup and they are really smart guys with a great product.

You interact with people from all over the country. How do you think the soccer mom from the middle of Wisconsin will benefit from the technological revolution?

I think she has it better than us New Yorkers. Media consumes our space like none other. She can sit in her nice quiet SUV, waiting for the kids to come out of practice, and choose what types of media she wishes to take. She may use her shiny new tablet device to coordinate recipes and prepare dinner later in the evening, read her Cosmo mag in a digital reader, or order groceries from her local market to be assembled for pickup or delivery…. The possibilities are endless! I wouldn’t be surprised if a new wave of tech startups are designed and marketed as productivity apps by and for busy moms!

Hmm. I think you're on to something. Any developers out there DM me @missmolls. Tell me more about using technology and social media in retail. How do you think our retail experience will evolve over the next few years?

I think that phase one is over now and that most companies integrated e-commerce in the late 90’s. Many e-tailers now provide Live Chat services- a great service for shoppers who cannot experience products using their 5 senses and must rely on an expert.

With the explosion of social media, the virtual shopping experience is going to be huge; filled with rich content, more useful, personalized services. Even advertising will be smarter and less annoying because it will be properly targeted and more interactive in nature. I don’t want to reveal too much, because building the e-commerce experience is one of my current projects. My specialty is landscaping the customer experience for virtual retailers. There is so much work to be done, but most retailers understand that this dynamic shopping experience is essential to keeping loyal customers.

As far as physical stores and retail events are concerned, Diesel had an amazing promotion a few weeks ago, inviting traffic into the store with a free t-shirt for the first X number of foursquare checkins. Heavy store traffic is what makes a store seem cooler so this was a brilliant idea. Also, aside from the brands that users may follow on Twitter or Foursquare for great tips and shopping guides, there are great networking apps like FoodSpotting and Fareshare. There are even apps for retailers to use geo-tagging apps to drive customers into stores.

And finally, dream big. What's your next upcoming project?

Ah! I can’t talk about it! I’m always working on my dreams, I’ll be sure to let you know when they come true.

Internet Week New York - Yahoo Provoke Summit

It's been a week and I finally have time to give a recap of some of the highlights of Internet Week New York. On Monday, I attended the Yahoo Provoke Summit with an introduction by Ze Frank. I'm not entirely sure how to describe Ze other than genius, cultural anthropologist, thinker and web pioneer. Okay, that will do. In his 45 minute riveting talk he successfully connected a few lines of Corinthians 13:1-13 "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me" to how the biggest challenge for advertisers is to create meaningful connections between people. How did he do it? I have no idea but I will relay some of the ideas he spoke about. Puer Aeternus = the eternal child. In the land of Facebook, games like Farmville and FourSquare, have we entered a state of puer aeternus? What exactly is "work?" Ze argues that work is that attempt at creating an authentic, emotional connection with our peers and future peers. The Modern Day Pirates summed up Ze's point that in his "view, advertisers should not restrict their visions, but rather should present them to the internet and engage their target audience.  If the product is worth marketing, it will find its supporters, and they will rally around it in a way that money cannot buy."

After Ze's presentation, Nick Parish from Contagious Magazine led a panel discussion with Bre Pettis from MakerBot, Matt Szymczyk from Zugara and Seth Goldstein from Stickybits. Check back with Modern Day Pirates for company descriptions. Bre had some thought provoking comments and told me later that he should have started a fist fight among the panel to entertain the audience - but really, he was interesting enough. He thinks that IP (Intellectual Property) is dead and that everything will be open source. Digest this one for a bit. Imagine you run a small non-profit in Africa and you need an online donation infastructure. 5 minutes later, you're up and running - no cost to the organization. Now think about pharmaceuticals, education, architecture.. He also believes, coming from working in the American school system as a teacher, that education is dead. In keeping with the sharing of knowledge, he believes that the education of the future will be through sharing over the web. So maybe he's trying to get on the TED speaker radar... but he definitely has a good point. 

And finally, Iain Tait, Global Interactive Executive Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy discussed how to evolve an advertising organization to better facilitate this type of higher level, thought provoking creativity. As I'm sure we've all read before - the most successful organizations are the ones that encourage the "best stuff" to win. It's no longer about "the man" pushing his ideas onto us in the marketplace and the same should hold true for an ad agency. The successful ad agency should have hungry, ambitious, evolved and creative people that are dedicated to working and winning as a team. Creating integrated and innovative campaigns is not about ego or ownership but about sharing and the collective win.

Wow.. I see a theme here. Collective. Human, emotional connection. Sharing. In 2006, Time Magazine voted "You" as the "Person of the Year." It seems that in 2010, this concept of individuality has evolved to recognizing the importance of all of us and not just thinking about our own needs, but the needs of the collective.