11 Most Popular Places to Focus Social Media Efforts in 2012

If you’re feeling torn about where to turn for the biggest bang for your social media buck, seek solace in this list. Granted, 11 places to focus still sounds like a lot, but in the grand scheme of social media things (i.e., with hundreds of sites vying for our attention), this is a short list indeed!

1) Facebook. Need I say more?

2) Twitter. I’m continually surprised at how reluctant my friends and colleagues are about getting on Twitter. Though I personally don’t spend as much time there sharing and engaging as I should, Twitter is a goldmine for building networks with people from all over the world who you would otherwise never be able to meet and ultimately build relationships of mutual support. It’s not about tweeting meaningless mundane things. In fact, I find Twitter users to be far more likely to share and engage about newsworthy stories than their Facebook counterparts. And if you are a public figure, or have a product you’d like to see hit the mainstream, securing your Twitter name is imperative before someone else does!

3) YouTube. This is the number two search engine in the world, second only to Google. So if you don’t think your business is conducive to video-worthy content, think again! Know the keywords relevant to your product or service and get creative with it.

4) Google+. When I talk to people about this one, they moan and they groan. “Really, another social media site I need to update on a regular basis?” Uh, yeah! This is GOOGLE‘s social media site, so it’s no shocker that Google favors it in the search engine results. It really is easy to use, quick to update and well-worth the time and effort.

5) Tumblr. Of all the micro-blogging platforms, this is the big one and is poised to grow even bigger. It’s easy and fun to use, not only as a blogger but as a re-blogger (i.e., post interesting content and re-blog others, and chances are good they’ll re-blog you).

Read full article at FlutteringIvyMedia.com.

March Into Anarchy Scared the Hell Out of Me, and Other Reasons Why You Must Go

Founded in 1981, this is The Actors' Gang 30th Anniversary season.

I was warned. Though I don’t remember her exact words, the woman introducing “Satiristas Live: March Into Anarchy” at The Actors’ Gang Theatre last Tuesday night suggested those of us who may be uncomfortable with all that a “march into anarchy” implies should leave the building. I remember feeling only a tinge of amused discomfort because nothing within my realm of live theater experience could have informed the fear I felt for the next 90 minutes (a guesstimate, as the last thing on my mind was keeping an eye on the time).

Involving the audience is one thing. Scaring the hell out of them is another. Granted, I’m probably not representative of the masses. I hate being the center of just about any attention. Honestly, it was my worst nightmare – this march of bizarre characters milling, mingling, marching, crouching, running and jumping through the audience, expecting us to react and interact. Thank goodness my boyfriend was with me, seated on an aisle and comfortably deflecting as much attention from me as possible.

I thought I was going to a play, the ultimate observer’s experience. Instead I was involved in what seemed an eternal assault on my normal, my comfort, my personal space — at any moment, from any direction, from any walk of life. And that, my friends, is why “March Into Anarchy” is so f’ing brilliant.

Read full story at Fluttering Ivy Media….

Annie Potts Shines in AfterMath at Odyssey Theater Ensemble

Elliot Shoenman's "AfterMath" at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble is a haunting comedic drama starring the brilliant Annie Potts.

I’ve never been so close to acting so good as I was at L.A.’s Odyssey Theatre Ensemble for “AfterMath” starring Annie Potts. I sat in the front row just a few feet from the stage, and was blown away by the effortless authenticity of her every expression, movement and word. This Elliot Shoenman play — directed by Mark L. Taylor, and produced by Gary Guidinger and Linda Toliver — runs through March 13th, so there’s still time for you to witness the brilliance that is Annie Potts.

“AfterMath” is a comedic drama about a family coping with the suicide of the father. Annie Potts plays his widow and the mother of their two grown children, played by Meredith Bishop and Daniel Taylor. A family friend rounds out the cast, played by Michael Mantell. Together they make for a well-balanced supporting cast, all with impressive resumes of their own.

The story stays with you for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its basis on the playwrite’s father’s suicide when Elliot Shoenman was 18 and his younger sister was 11.

On stage, the real-life suicide note haunts the family via its larger-than-life projection on an interior wall.

It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate venue for this intimate story. I didn’t count the seats, but the Odyssey Theatre doesn’t seat many. I’m the worst at guesstimates of this sort, so I’ll keep the range large and say 50 to 100. In the best possible way, it feels like sitting on your couch watching a play performed in your very own living room, starring one of the finest comedic actresses in the world.

Read full story at Fluttering Ivy Media….

Jazz Sensation Liane Carroll is an ‘L.A. Virgin’ No More

Up until a week ago, my only exposure to live jazz music was what I remember when I spent a few days in New Orleans during spring break in college. Translation: I don’t remember much. So I was one lucky girl to spend an evening at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club last Tuesday night when they welcomed one of the world’s premiere jazz singers – London’s Liane Carroll.

“What struck me most was the abundance of energy emanating from this woman….”

An “L.A. virgin,” she called herself, this her first time playing in the City of Angels. “That was two songs together,” Liane said of her first number, “I forgot how to stop!”

I expected it to be heavy on the horns but most of the songs Liane sang were accompanied by her piano, her husband Roger Carey on bass, and Jason Lee Bruns on drums (whose company, Panout Music Group, produced the show). The flugelhorn did come into play toward the end of the evening when Jason Gamer took the stage.

What surprised me most about the show was not the brilliance of Liane Carroll’s voice; I expected that, and she delivered. What struck me most was the abundance of energy emanating from this woman, and her contagious, playful banter in between numbers – such an easy familiarity with the audience, telling jokes and sharing stories.

My favorite story is the one Liane told of her trip by train through Ireland with her daughter. That’s when she wrote “Dublin Sunrise” (aka “Dublin Morning“) – a love song dedicated to her husband Roger Carey. It’s such a beautiful ballad, and a particularly memorable performance watching the songwriter sing it to her muse as he plays alongside her onstage.

“Catalina delivers on ambiance and intimacy….”

Before the night was over, Liane remarked how much she loved the venue. Though it’s hidden away in a non-descript building you’d never expect to find a jazz club, the Catalina delivers on ambiance and intimacy. It’s a supper club too with quite a lengthy menu, though as a vegan it would be nice to see more veg-friendly fare. That said, the Greek Plate (minus the feta cheese) and the spicy Cajun fries hit the spot.

Read full story at Fluttering Ivy Media….

Social Media and the Tipping Point (Part 3 of 3): The Power of Context

In applying The Tipping Point to social media, we’ve covered the power of one message (the Stickiness Factor) or one person (the Law of the Few) to “tip” your campaign toward epidemic “viral” proportions. But the third and final agent of change (the Power of Context) referenced in Malcolm Gladwell’s book is all about community:

“If you want to bring about a fundamental change in people’s belief and behavior, a change that persists and serves as an example to others, you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs can be practiced and expressed and nurtured.”

You already do this in your social media communities – building relationships with a group of people who share your interests, background and/or goals. The right message, shared by the right person, within this community speaks to the Power of Context.

The Broken Windows Theory

Based on studies of the rise and fall of crime epidemics, Gladwell points to the Power of Context as it relates to the Broken Windows theory:

“If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge…. Broken Windows theory and the Power of Context are one in the same. They are both based on the premise that an epidemic can be reversed, can be tipped, by tinkering with the smallest of details of the immediate environment.”

Read full story at FlutteringIvy.com….

Social Media and The Tipping Point (Part 2 of 3): The Stickiness Factor

If the Law of the Few determines who is sharing your social media content, the Stickiness Factor determines why. You could have the attention of every key influencer in the social media world, but if your message isn’t memorable and/or important, the Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen (referenced in Part 1 of this series) won’t have any inclination to share it.

“The specific quality that a message needs to be successful,” writes Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point, “is the quality of ‘stickiness.’ Is the message — or the food, or the movie, or the product — memorable? Is it so memorable, in fact, that it can create change, that it can spur someone to action?”

So how do you do it? How do you create a blog post, Facebook update, tweet or YouTube video intriguing enough to attract attention, and substantial enough to evoke a response?

Again, it’s the Law of Attraction.

If your messaging is saturated with sales pitches, all you’re going to attract is negative attention. In the social media world, people are looking to find and share thoughts and information that inspires change in their life. Yes, products and services have the power to change lives, but it’s your job to “package” your messaging in quality content, not thinly-veiled promotions that prove you care little about genuine engagement.

Read full story at FlutteringIvy.com….

Social Media and The Tipping Point (Part 1 of 3): The Law of the Few

Before the first YouTube video went “viral,” Malcolm Gladwell wrote The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It’s about the kind of infectious behavior that spreads ideas, information and content – social epidemics ranging from the success of contemporary ad campaigns to Paul Revere’s historic ride through the countryide spreading the word, ”The British are coming.”

Though I didn’t read The Tipping Point with social media in mind, and the book by no means references it, the relevance is unmistakable. Based on his analysis of a number of case studies, Gladwell discovered three “agents of change” that can mean the difference between an idea or product that gets lost in the shuffle, and one that “tips” to epidemic proportions.

In this Part I of III posts on social media and The Tipping Point. Let’s look at the first agent of change, The Law of the Few.

We talk a lot in social media about the importance of connecting with social ”influencers” – those key people who influence masses of others, or at least those in a specific area or niche. In context of The Tipping Point, these social media influencers fall into three categories:

• Mavens, who collect and share information, not as a means of persuasion, but education.
• Connectors, who bring people together; if you’re linked to a connector, you’re one step away from having your foot in many worlds.
• Salesmen, who find an idea, cause or product they believe in and spread the word, determined to convince everyone else of its worth.

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The Spirit of Change at the Famed Bodhi Tree Bookstore

West Hollywood's Bodhi Tree Bookstore was founded in 1970 by aerospace engineers Phil Thompson and Stan Madson.

It was over 20 years ago that my mom handed me a copy of Shirley MacLaine’s Out On a Limb. I was in a real funk then, mad at the world, the prime targets my parents who had moved me the summer before my sophomore year in high school. Though I probably didn’t believe her at the time, I’ll never forget what my mom said of the book because it turned out to be so true:

“Maybe it will help you look at life differently and things as they are now won’t seem so bad.”

In fact, Out On a Limb was my first exposure to metaphysics and forever changed the way I perceive my connection to a higher power.

Flash forward to February of 2010 when I moved to Los Angeles. In my newbie studies of L.A. Weekly, I read an article about the closing of the famed Bodhi Tree Bookstore on Melrose in West Hollywood. It struck a cord with me, though for reasons I didn’t understand. I kept the article as a reminder to visit before it was too late.

Read full story at FlutteringIvy.com….

Why Social Media is Inherently Good [#SOCIALGOOD DAY]

Question of the Day: Can social media make the world a better place? (photo: Point Mugu, Malibu, CA)

On this Social Good Day, the question posed to us by Mashable and (RED) is this: Can social media make the world a better place? In my view it already does, simply by its very existence.

Even if you’ve never studied the law of attraction, or you write it off as “voodoo” science as my father likes to call it, I suspect you already live your life accordingly. 

Wherever you want change, that is where you focus your energy. Putting positive energy toward whatever goal you have in mind inevitably attracts results. That’s how your thoughts create your reality, provided you have the emotional motivation and necessary action to back it up.

Read full story at Fluttering Ivy Media….