Archive for February, 2010

Posted on February 15, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

#28DaysofDiversity: People of color impacting the social web. Day 15 Ilina Ewen @ilinap

As we all know, February is Black History Month. It’s a month where we honor those who have made an impact on American culture for equal rights, those who have invented, those who have a helped others and those who have inspired everyone to be the best they can be, not only as a person of color but as a human.

As someone in the technology/web/social space, I often travel and attend various events in the industry and notice a huge lack of diversity, and when it comes to getting attention from mainstream media/tech blogs it’s almost impossible. That’s why I’m starting 28 Days of Diversity on SocialWayne.com. The goal of 28 Days of Diversity is to feature someone new everyday for the month of February for just being awesome in their own right. The list will include some of leaders in the social web space, startups, bloggers, conference organizers, IT professionals and friends not ranked in any particular order. Each post will include a picture, bio, two links from the selected person and this paragraph. So for the next 28 days, come back to visit SocialWayne.com to see who’s on the list. For day 15, I would like to introduce to some and present to others: Ilina Ewen

Website: http://www.dirtandnoise.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ilinap

Ilina Ewen is a seasoned marketing and branding consultant. Seasoned, of course, is just another way of saying she wore neon leg warmers before they became a fashion “don’t” the second time around. For the last six years she has run her own marketing consulting firm, iFactor. Ilina acts as the voice of the consumer to ensure her clients’ positioning, messaging, and implemention resonate with their target audiences. She is a blogger and active social media butterfly. When she’s not working, tweeting, or writing, you can find her wrangling her two sons, building LEGO masterpieces, or whipping up something healthy and delicious. Ilina blogs at Dirt & Noise, WRAL moms, Foodie Mama, Deep South Moms, and Triangle Mamas.

Come back tomorrow to see who’s next on the list.

Also check out past entires on http://28daysofdiversity.com

Posted on February 14, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

#28DaysofDiversity: People of color impacting the social web. Day 14 Hajj E. Flemings @hajjflemings

As we all know, February is Black History Month. It’s a month where we honor those who have made an impact on American culture for equal rights, those who have invented, those who have a helped others and those who have inspired everyone to be the best they can be, not only as a person of color but as a human.

As someone in the technology/web/social space, I often travel and attend various events in the industry and notice a huge lack of diversity, and when it comes to getting attention from mainstream media/tech blogs it’s almost impossible. That’s why I’m starting 28 Days of Diversity on SocialWayne.com. The goal of 28 Days of Diversity is to feature someone new everyday for the month of February for just being awesome in their own right. The list will include some of leaders in the social web space, startups, bloggers, conference organizers, IT professionals and friends not ranked in any particular order. Each post will include a picture, bio, two links from the selected person and this paragraph. So for the next 28 days, come back to visit SocialWayne.com to see who’s on the list. For day 14, I would like to introduce to some and present to others: Hajj E. Flemings

Website: http://www.brandcampu.com/
Twitter: @HajjFlemings

Hajj Flemings is the founder of Brand Camp University (BCU) the premier personal branding 2.0 conference and author of ‘The Brand YU Life: Re-thinking Who You Are Through Personal Brand Management’. Currently he operates as a personal brand strategist, author, speaker and adjunct lecturer focusing on the topic of personal branding.

He has been featured on ESPN.com, BusinessWeek.com, BlackEnterprise.com, various blogs and travels nationally speaking. His clients include Walt Disney, Ford Motor Company, Skechers Footwear, U.S. Department of Defense, University of Michigan, Iowa State University, and Davidson College to name a few. His book was selected as one of Fast Company Magazine’s 2008 Readers Choice Business Books of the year. He is one of the authors featured in ‘Age of Conversation 3’ a collaborative book that brought together over 200 of the world’s best marketing, social media and brand thinkers which is due out in 2010.

As a college student he designed the Equator sneaker that was sold and distributed nationally through a Michigan based company named Mavade Footwear. Hajj was also a managing partner of the Broken Chains Design Group, a small graphical design firm whose ad work has been published in GQ, Men’s Health, and Detail magazines.

He received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and his MBA from Lawrence Technological University. He is a former collegiate athlete turned adjunct lecturer at his alma mater, Michigan Technological University (MTU). In 2006 he wrote the personal branding curriculum at MTU which he currently teaches.

He recently started working with Michigan Technological University Online MBA as the Program Ambassador/Social Media Coordinator. In this position he manages the social media strategy while cultivating online and offline communities to build awareness in the program.

Brand Camp University – Personal Branding 2.0 Conference

With a desire to be a major player in the personal branding industry he started the Brand Camp Personal Branding 2.0 Conference in 2008. He has taken a personal responsibility and a great deal of pride in creating one of most diversified social media conferences in the country.

Brand Camp is an interactive personal branding and social media conference. The conference features keynote speakers, topic driven panels and workshops that provide attendees with the tools, strategy and inspiration they need to compete in a global economy and share their passion with the world. One of Hajj’s goals is to take the Brand Camp to new markets and he is actively seeking strategic sponsors and partners to make this a reality.

He resides in Michigan and is married to his lovely wife, Kasandra.

Come back tomorrow to see who’s next on the list.

Also check out past entires on http://28daysofdiversity.com

Posted on February 13, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Google sent me a Valentine's Day Card

Just in time for Valentine’s Day Google mailed out some Google Adsense Valentine’s Day cards. Aww sweet.

One of the messages on the card says, “Because nothing says I love you like free traffic like free traffic to your website.” The card also have an offer for $100 free Google Adwords and the other message says, “We want to overload your servers.” Take a look.

Thanks Google, Happy Valentine’s Day to you and the AdWords team too.

Posted on February 13, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Shares from the Social Web: RSS feeds for February 13th

Today, while reading RSS feeds in Google Reader, I came across these interesting blog posts and wanted to share them with you. Some of the post topics range from WordPress themes/tips, to marketing advice, to various social media examples. I hope you find some of them interesting. If one of them was useful to you or if you have a comment about one, let me know in the comments. Thanks

Shared Woman’s Last Stand: Dodge Charger Commercial Spoof.

Posted on February 13, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Technorati covers the #28daysofdiversity project via Don Martelli @bigguyd

When I started the #28daysofdiversity project I really didn’t know how well my peers and others would receive the project or if it would gather any attention outside of the targeted demographic. But thanks to Twitter & Tim Lavallee @timlav others found out about the project and today it was featured in the LifeStyle Section on Technorati. Tim introduced me to Don Martelli @bigguyd who’s a former journalist for the Boston Globe, serves as the vice president for MS&L a PR firm in Boston and works as a an editor for Technorati.  Don interviewed me about the #28daysofdiversity project and asked a few questions such as what is the project’s goal, where did the project’s originate from and what have I learned from it. Check out an excerpt below.

So far, #28DaysofDiversity has featured an impressive line-up, including, among others: Tristan Walker of Foursquare; Gwen Peake of Ford; Jessica Faye Carter founder and CEO of Nette Media; and, Amani Channel, an award-winning video producer, and specializes in traditional and new media.

“Overall the experience has helped me get to know these people personally and not just as a person I interact with online,” Sutton said. “We [society] don’t stay connected enough. We don’t talk enough. Building relationships is very important and in talking to these talented people, it has helped me learn a lot about them and about myself for that matter.”

To read the rest of the article you can find it online here: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/28daysofdiversity-with-wayne-sutton

A big thanks to Don Martelli and Technorati for the interview and to Tim Lavelle for the introduction.

I have been interviewed by another online publication about the project too. As soon as it’s online I’ll let you know. Thanks to everyone for their feedback and support. You can see 13 out of the 28 here: http://28daysofdiversity.com