So Cool - Watch a Nest Full of Bald Eagles

I just bumped into this live (at least now at 8:55am PDT on 4/25) UStream Broadcast called Decorah Eagles.  Check it out:



Streaming live video by Ustream

So You Want to Be in the Liquor Business Like P Diddy? Here's Your Opportunity

I had lunch the other day with a Facebook friend!  And he was a Facebook friend I had not met before - and he's a super nice guy working on some really cool stuff.

Todd Buckley has a plan to hit it big and hit it local with his budding new line of Vodka.  He's done the research, attended the conferences, crafted a very tight business plan - now all he needs is a little bit of capital.  He's got two different versions of how to start off - small, using another distillers facilities and licenses - or all out, with the cost of all new equipment a location and ready to run licenses.  Difference in cost:  $20k or $500k+.

Either way, he is looking for investors / partners and this would be a great opportunity to get into the liquor business here in Washington state.  It could be an ideal situation for a chain of clubs, restaurants, bars, owners of any local bars would be good partners and would benefit from a lot of great exposure Todd will create with the major social media campaigns planned to launch the brand.

If you are interested in being considered as a partner and/or investor, please let me know and I will make a person introduction to Todd.  He'll be happy to share his business plan with you, but please do be prepared to sign a non-disclosure agreement.  Thanks!

Announcing Social Media Marketing Confab 2012

Happy Friday the 13th!  Today was supposed to be the day for the spreecast of the Social Networking for Business and Social Media 101 Reunion, but I just could not get it together in time.  Despite support shown by great people like Shauna Causey, Kathy Gill and Eric Weaver, I've been a little preoccupied and failed to make it happen.

The good news is that while working on a 'Professional Profile' and following the new book by Don Burrow and Deborah Drake called "Burn Your Resume - You Need a Professional Profile', I've remembered a couple of the early social media conferences I was involved in organizing - and want to do a more current version, with a lot more practical knowledge.  Disclosure:  It might also help me get some work.

Previous conferences have all had some awesome speakers and valuable content, but they were at an even earlier time in social media, a time when many businesses had not yet seen the impact of social media and had still not bought into it.

Today, most reasonable businesses have seen that they NEED to be using social media marketing in their business just to keep up with the competition, and the savvy businesses know they need to be using social media well to stay ahead of their competition.

At any rate, I have begun to plan Social Media Marketing Confab 2012.  The location and date have yet to be determined, but I am hoping for a nice venue, that will hold around 200 conference attendees, that is looking for some awesome visibility with the social media marketing crowd, either in Bellevue or Seattle, but will consider all possibilities.  It would be great to have it at Google or Adobe, especially considering that we've had the last two conferences at the Microsoft Conference Center and the local Microsoft Local Engagement Team doesn't seem to want to engage locally any longer ...

(I'm thinking there will be additional Confabs in other cities as well, so if you are in Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County or San Diego are interested in discussing, please contact me).  At this point, the target date is somewhere in the first week of June for the Seattle version.

So at this point, I'm looking for a venue, sponsors and speakers.  I've got a number of speakers lined up and will post a rough Program for the Confab in the next day or so.  Hoping to have a nice rousing session on live broadcasting - including people from spreecast, LiveStream, U-Stream, Social Cam and more, as well as a session on Using Video in Social Marketing - and really hope to get someone from YouTube to talk and let us know what maybe up in the future.

If you can help, or want to get involved - please let me know!

BellevueBusinessJournal.com and Eastside Entrepreneurs Social Network For Sale, Looking for Buyers or Partners

I have decided that I need to simplify my life and focus on some new projects that I'm being recruited for - SOOOO - I am needing to either find a partner or a buyer for two websites that have been a huge part of my life for a number of years now.

That's right - both BellevueBusinessJournal.com and the Eastside Entrepreneurs Social Network are looking for some new blood, in the form of a highly energetic and motivated partner or buyer looking to engage and connect with businesses and business owners here in Bellevue and on the Eastside.

It's very difficult for me to think about no longer being associated with these two sites, but they do take quite a bit of time to run and I just have not been able to dedicate the time or resources required to make them super successful ...

 

Broadcast Replay: What's in YOUR Glass? w @JoeConnector

Just got done broadcasting the first episode of "What's in YOUR Glass?" on spreecast.  Not a lot of participation, but thank you very much to all who participated and viewed - especially Dominic of www.decantez.com - a wine gifts and accessories store and Joy Stephens who let us know about the Okanagan Wine Festival happening in British Columbia May 4-14th.

Thanks again to all who viewed and participated.  If you have a wine that you would like to have me open on a future show, please let me know.  I can be reached at JoeConnector(at)gmail.com.

Today's Tech News from @JoeConnector on spreecast

Here is my first effort at delivering Today's Tech News via Broadcast, this time via spreecast.  I apologize for the technical problems related to the platform which is still in beta ...



Hopefully there is some information of value to you presented here, I realize it is a pretty rough draft.  I do want to deliver this type of news on a regular basis - and would love to hear your thoughts.

Here are the links mentioned on the broadcast:

http://www.shellypalmer.com

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/04/05/business/05reuters-google-viacom.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1333646242-8LnEYdGAWokvpoMG5mb7Qg

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-report-apple-investigates-wifi-issue-in-ipad-20120405,0,7986462.story

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/04/flashback-trojan-reportedly-controls-half-a-million-macs-and-counting.ars

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402595,00.asp

http://mashable.com/2012/04/04/twitter-opens-detroit-office/

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/04/google-glass-visor-geordie/

 

Joe Connector Would Make a Great Director of Social Media for Holland America Line

Just got done applying for the position of Director of Social Media at Holland America Line.  How cool would it be to work for an awesome cruise company right here in Seattle?

They have over 426 thousand 'Like's on Facebook!  What a great community!  @HALcruises on Twitter only has 12,430 followers which could (and should) be greatly improved.  Over at YouTube, they have a number of great playlists with 174 very well done and professional videos, but less than 1,000 subscribers.  Tremendous upside potential here.  As Director of Social Media, I would definitely be putting an emphasis on video - YouTube, as well as some of the other social video tools out there like spreecast.  How cool would it be to have live spreecasts onboard some of Holland America Line's best cruises?  We could be showing off the food, views, entertainment, etc, while people can tune in from all over the world to ask questions about the cruise (and how to book their next cruise).

Joe Connector Would Make a Great Social Media Manager for Jackson Family Wines

Yesterday, I wrote about applying for the position of Social Media Manager for Jackson Family Wines.  It looks like an awesome company to work for and I love that they consider themselves farmers, as I was known as Farmer Joe not long ago, when growing palm trees and citrus on my ranch in southern California.

Here are some of their social media profiles so you can check out the awesomeness of Kendall Jackson wines:

Jackson Family Wines on LinkedIn

Kendall-Jackson on Facebook

@KJWines on Twitter

Kendall-Jackson Wines on YouTube

This is a short video featuring the late founder of Kendall-Jackson Wines, Jess Jackson and are definitely words of wisdom.

April Showers Bring Joe Connector Job Offers, Allow Him to Keep His House

OK, so this is an optimistic headline (one that YOU can help make happen) - one that I wanted to start off with yesterday, but did not post on April Fool's Day - because it is NO JOKE.  I need a job - in the worst way.  I have been unemployed for way to long and am just looking for an opportunity - I will have no problem proving myself.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this crappy economy, seriously behind on house payments, utilities, child support and other very important obligations.  Not to mention not always getting enough to eat or being able to help support my friends and family like I should be able to.  It's getting very old - and this month it is critical.  If I do not start working VERY VERY soon, there is no doubt that I will soon be homeless.  Talk about motivation ...

I've started an all-out blitz looking for work.  I've posted banner ads large and small at BellevueBusinessJournal.com and EastsideEntreprneurs.com (I hope that nobody gets offended, but I am desperate - and I do use my time and resources to build and maintain both sites.  (See - I'm already a Social Media Manager - just unpaid ...).

Although I've always believed that my next job will come to me through one of my contacts, I also have a renewed energy to begin applying for positions that I see posted elsewhere including LinkedIn, Craigslist and various local and industry sites.  The first job that I applied for today was for a Social Media Manager position with Jackson Family Wines, makers of Kendall Jackson Wines, as well as many other well respected brands.  I've enjoyed their wines for many years, and after doing a little more research on the company (including watching and subscribing to the Kendall Jackson YouTube channel), I really love their dedication to quality.  Striving to produce the best wine possible is what they do and they do it well.  I would love to be part of this and will write about it more in another post - I've decided to write a short post about each and every job I apply for.

PLEASE let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment on the posts that you read.  YOUR feedback is very important to me.  Thank you!