Hey is anyone out there listening to AM Radio anymore? Hope so because we were just featured on Greg Skidmore’s radio show and blog Business Catalyst on WGCH in Greenwich, CT. Here the podcast here.

Enjoy!

Ok, I know it is Labor Day and that I should have been spending every minute with my beautiful family but they were tired from our trip to Southhampton (beautiful weather, great food and wonderful family made it the perfect trip) and I was drawn to my computer, more specifically to Facebook. I am so excited, I just had to share.

We as a company entered Facebook about a month ago well after we had a presence on MySpace for one of our clients. Myspace was a bit of a wild frontier and seemed to move quickly but once we were on there for awhile, we only had the same venues to work with: the one very active group we joined which linked closely to our clients’ product and our “friends” who seem to listen more than interact. Please note that while many agencies create digital ads for these spaces, we believe in creating communities and talking to people while growing the business so we are out there making friends and joining groups on behalf of our clients.

Well when we entered Facebook, it was different. First, it took awhile to become familiar with all that was going on (new apps created literally every minute in addition to a different interface from MySpace slowed us down temporarily). Robert Scoble, famous blogger and vlogger and one of our first friends, was making updates and additions on a regular basis which we could see on our mini feed which updates us about our friends, so I started to follow his path just like I did 4 years ago when I heard him speak live in NYC where he talked about blogging which, at that time, was a new and very strange thing to most of the world including myself.

I slowly have gotten into the swing of things by creating a profile page for myself/Creative Concepts and have uploaded a direct feed for this blog, a neighborhoods app so I can see who my actual neighbors are that are using Facebook (not many), I added a fun wall where I can post video, pictures, slides and more, plus I created a new group for the Business Smart Tools Conference which promotes the conference but more importantly, keeps a new/social media conversation going throughout the year.

I do believe that my intuition about blogging 4 years ago was on the money…I feel the same way about Facebook! Join the fun and let me know so we can be “friends!”

I just saw a great article in Wired about how Second Life isn’t adding up for the corporate sector. Coke and the NBA have been in there trying and while Second Life may have the cool factor, the cash register isn’t ringing for the marketers and their bosses!

Interesting because I have been saying this from day one. As one who advises clients on new/social media options, I checked out the blogging when it first got hot (loved it and saw great value), I checked out the podcasts (good for commuters but not everyone will have an IPod so it isn’t the perfect solution), I checked out video on Youtube and other sites (so cool and viral), I checked out Linkedin (great value but high maintenance) and MySpace (interesting but have to weed through a lot of riff raff) and Facebook (wild frontier with endless possibilities) and of course Second Life which, when asked, I said from day one it was cool but had no long term value (translates to sales) for the corporate sector.

Now at the Business Smart Tools conference in May, I invited Greg Verdino, then of Digitas, to give a demo of Second Life. With every conference, I want to present something that is way out there for those who aren’t messing around with the latest latest. He was great and it was interesting but many in the audience just didn’t see how they could use it to get their message out to their present and future customers. I agreed with them.

As Wired has mentioned, the concept of Avatars in an online community may evolve into something truly worthwhile for business, but until then, stick to the hundreds of other marketing options that exist online!

Well, the conference is over and I am finally at the point of catch up…I think.  I have great clients who ask for more…more than a blog, more than myspace, more than meebo…let’s go…can I ask for anything more?  It is a dream come true to have a client say they want to continue to move forward in the world of online communities where what a company says matters and how you do business matters even more.  Great stuff…I need to start writing my case studies.

Until then, here is something to ponder.  When the Business Smart Tools Conference was completed, we sent out a thank you to all attendees, speakers and demos along with some questions for each to answer.  How did you like the conference, did it meet your expectations…you know what I mean.  One thing that came back many times was, “where were the women?”  The only women involved were from Creative Concepts. 

As presenter of the conference, I tried to get some women involved and was very aware that there was no female participation from the podium except for myself.  I tried to contact 7-8 women and for various reasons, none could make the conference.  Some didn’t return my call, some didn’t follow up, one was going on her honeymoon (Ok that was a good one).   Maybe there aren’t that many women in the social media/corporate arena, maybe there aren’t many women who are up for the task of public speaking, maybe the women don’t see the value of getting out of the office and into the public eye…I wish someone could explain it because I don’t understand it.

Tonight I happened to be looking at info about the new markeing agency Crayon who has their offices in Second Life.  It is a mash up of talent and information….cool stuff…lots of chatter about them but where are the women? 

I know women for ages have been saying that they don’t have the same opportunities that men do…women aren’t getting paid as much…is that because women aren’t putting themselves out there in the same way?  Are they afraid?  Is it because women have families (please don’t use that one…I have 4 kids and one of them plays AAU basketball where I have literally seen every corner of CT for the last couple of months!)  Are women the innovators?  Are women the leading edge entrepreneurs who have a vision and follow up no matter what anyone says?  There is no excuse for a woman not to succeed in this new online world where the playing field has been leveled and the ones who win are the ones who get it vs. the guys who play golf and talk shop and make deals over a whiskey.

This is the biggest reason I love social media and this new online world…there is no seniority…everyone is scrambling to find the buck and make this work.  The most creative, and I mean creative in the sense of melding the business and online worlds, wins the prize.  Women have an unbelievable chance to make it here.  Where are they?  I guess you will have to come to Creative Concepts to find the perfect mix of female talent and social media know how!

Well, we have just completed our 2nd annual Business Smart Tools conference which took place May 15th in Stamford.  Based on my own personal opinion and the opinion of countless attendees, speakers and demo companies, it was a huge success on many levels.  I believe we hit every nerve so to speak.  First there was lunch, then demo companies who showed off very powerful products and/or services, then there were the speakers who talked about everything from the new media business basics to Second Life, and then cocktails that lead to lots of networking.

This conference is geared specifically for the business person.  We cover what works and what doesn’t for business.  We had many big companies: Xerox, GM, GE….some attendees wanted to see more from small and medium sized companies.  I agree with that but the only problem is those companies either don’t have a budget to get out and speak or they just aren’t in the space yet.  The big companies have the budget which allows them to jump into social media endeavors and create success stories and to make mistakes…we heard all about both sides.  This is a shout out to all midsize and small companies who want to share their social media/internet marketing stories next year!

We will post a few video clips on the site along with any powerpoint presentations that the speakers shared with us.

Keep your eye on the site, www.BusinessSmartTools.com, for news about this year and updates about next.

Well between working on the conference and managing clients, we have been busy but happy.

The most exciting client news is that Bigelow Tea has a myspace profile.  We discovered that the 2nd highest referring source to the Bigelow Tea website was myspace and so we wanted those already on myspace to have a Bigelow destination.  Between the groups/forums, announcing events and just getting to know new people, it has been a joy and well, a little addictive!  We look forward to welcoming many more into the Bigelow online community.

Now news about the Business Smart Tools Conference.  As I was reworking the agenda for about the millionth time yesterday, I got this rush of excitement.  Outside of organizing this event and be involved on that level, I couldn’t wait to attend the conference.  Panels/Speakers will speak about Trends, Past and Future, New Media Business Basics, Corporate Video for a YouTube Era, Second Life, a Virtual Existence for Business and The Real Story, Does New Media Work for Business featuring GE, Xerox, Economist.com and GM.

Now with a light lunch and a networking cocktail party to follow, it doesn’t get any better than this!!

Go to www.BusinessSmartTools.com to register….space is filling up!

Looking for a fast, informative and exciting way to learn about emerging technology?  Want to meet and experience tech start ups that will make history?

Join us on May 15th in Stamford, CT for a day to remember.

And don’t forget about the networking cocktail party to follow…lots of connections to made!

Go to Business Smart Tools to sign up.  Go to the blog for updates!

Well, today was interesting…ummm, not quite the right word!  I headed into NYC to check out the Ad Age Digital Marketing Conference.  This conference was $450 and for that I didn’t get a seat in the main area, didn’t get a program or extra handouts and didn’t even get water on the table (yes there were glasses but no water).

Yes the Ad Age Digital Marketing Conference succumbed to the let’s pack them in, let’s not plan, and let’s not work the event to take advantage of the speakers and guests!  Ok we heard about the Dove campaign (who hasn’t right), the panel was barely motivated to speak with Jonah Bloom moderating, and Abbey Klaassen seemed to have her favorite speakers (Manning Field from Chase) but was quite edgy with the audience (when no one had a question for one of the case study speakers, she asked if anyone understood what was going on)…lovely! 

Here is news for you Abbey, not only did we understand but we have heard it all before…don’t you have anything worthwhile to present to a group of people who paid $450…oh yes, you got your money and ran and didn’t look back. 

One redeeming note for Miss Abbey, after I went begging the staff for water and a program, Abbey gave me her program but couldn’t care about the others who didn’t have anything cause she needed to be “miked.”

On a positive note, I met Steve Rubel of Edelman and the Micro Persuasion blog.  What a nice guy.  After speaking with him, I didn’t realize what a fan I was! 

It is always good for me to attend various events and conferences to understand all facets of pleasing (and not pleasing) your audience.  I stil haven’t been to a conference like Buisness Smart Tools where the goal is truly to learn and share information…the speakers are the decision makers, the information is focused on how to make this digital/interactive/online stuff work in a business environment, the demos help expand the attendees experience and learn what is going on out there, and the networking is huge during the cocktail party where everyone gets up and walks around…a very big difference from hearing from some agencies who are winging it and having your lunch at your seat where you have sat since 9:00am.

Come to the conference in May and feel the difference…I promise enough water for everyone!

Well this week and last have been bustling and fun!  Here are some of the projects and visits with present and potential clients:

First we did a major hustle and got the Cruise Resort & World Travel blog up and running.  We announced an award and posted a press release while Nancy, the blog owner was traveling in Viet Nam, Bangkok and Singapore and posted her observations.  We have information about Nancy, contact information for booking a luxury travel vacation and a press page with links.  We have a blog roll that supports the visitors’ need for travel information from flight stats to where to work out in the US when traveling.  Look for more to come with this exciting blog from an luxury travel agency owner who knows and experiences the world!

For a site that I thought was maintaining status quo, one of the principals called with vim and vigor and wanted to rev things up…letters out to customers, expand the topics of the blog posts, reach out to peers….it has been easy to support The Orthodontic Center, a site that supports 2 blogs where both blogs have a different agenda and different readers.

Next I was on to visit Ruth Ridgeway whose site is about to go live next week so check back on this link.  Ruth is a hard working feisty event designer who knows how to please her clients and make something out of nothing when it comes to a party.  Her site is awesome…we are about to add some video so bookmark her site for future visits.

I then worked through the details of two more sites that are going to be awesome…both have blogs, both communicate well with potential site visitors…stay tuned…you know I will tell you something when there is something to show.

And to add to all of this, I went this week to visit a potential client.  The principal is bright, energetic and creative but still afraid of what a blog is and can do (search engine optimization, crisis management, networking to name a few!).  Many in the corporate arena think a blog is dangerous and out of control.  Dangerous, no, out of control, yes, in a great way. 

Take a look at the Bigelow Blog.  This is a prime example of a corporate blog hard at work and working well for the company (500% increase in visitors from last month).  The President (Cindi), the VP Sales (Bob) and the VP of manufacturing (Dean) all contribute to the blog plus we back them up with studies and web finds on the benefits and facts of tea.  They have a strong community outreach plus they were a featured weightloss team on ABC Primetime live…all fodder for the blog.  The fact that Joe Torre, Phil and Chris Simms drink Green Tea doesn’t hurt either…Bob blogs about them especially when they came to headquarters recently for a visit.  A corporate blog requires the CEO or head of the organization to be open with a sense of adventure and dedication and that is Cindi Bigelow to a TEA!  She is ready to head out the door to bring on new customers…stay tuned for more exciting developments from Bigelow Tea.

All of this coupled with the excitement of the Business Smart Tools conference which is coming in May.  Amazing and knowledgeable speakers plus demo companies (tech startups that are geared toward business) and the BST angel award where judges award the one start up that shows the most promise with consulting time from management and tech gurus…it is truly a show to behold and one that has solid content where you walk away satisifed and well fed with information that can change how you work today.  Check out the Business Smart Tools Blog for updates.

We at Creative Concepts have been busy with the best yet to come…look for more adventures in the not so far future.

For those of you who are in the midst of overseeing and guiding the corporate blog, has anyone ever put on the blog a “how to” section?  As we have pulled out of the gate with the Bigelow Blog, many of the visitors who are coming over from the main Bigelow website have never seen or been active on a blog.  The first way to alienate anyone is by presenting something that no one understands and so we have posted a “how to” section to help explain the many facets of the blog (entries, comments, how to comment, categories…).  It is a simple thing but necessary.  As we all become more immersed in this online world, don’t forget that there is a large majority of people out there who don’t get it or maybe they get it but they don’t know how to work it!

Speaking of this premise, this is the idea behind the Business Smart Tools Conference.  Business people everywhere have heard of blogs, podasts, RSS, and many other online tools, but they may not know how to use them when it comes to futhering their corporate strategies.  We provide the speakers who are in the thick of things, we provide a time to learn, we provide a time to chat and connect, we provide live demos of upstart companies who will make a difference in the corporate arena.  We do all of this in one day, in 6 hours, in Connecticut.  Who can ask for anything better than that!!