Mystery Solved! The People Behind @FakeAPStylebook

While I love all things Twitter and most people on there (except for spammers and people who follow/unfollow repeatedly), every so often I come across a Twitter account that I can’t wait to share with others. @FakeAPStylebook is one such account.

Are you a PR person or journalist? Do you have the AP Stylebook sitting next to you on your desk at all times? Did you suffer through quizzes in college about the correct placement of commas? If so you HAVE to follow @FakeAPStylebook on Twitter (if you’re not one of the nearly 48,000 people who already are). The account provides “style guide tips” similar to the real AP Stylebook (@APStylebook on Twitter), but … well … with a twist. Besides throwing out random writing tips, the account also appropriately responds to users’ questions.

After coming across this account a few months ago, my coworker and I kept wondering WHO was at the keyboard creating these snarky tips? Was it an AP Stylebook writer who was fired? What it a PR person fed up with all the writing rules? Was it some guy in his parents’ basement (because we all know that when it comes to social media, it’s usually a guy living in his parents’ basement)? Well, the secret’s out: The main people behind @FakeAPStylebook are Ken Lowery, a Dallas copy editor, and Mark Hale, a friend of Lowery’s, based in Kentucky. But the account is more than just the two of them – it is maintained by a slew of contributors called “The Bureau Chiefs.” There are sixteen people, besides Hale and Lowery, based all throughout the United States (from NY to California), all who contribute to the account.

The account has been tremendously successful, growing exponentially in number of followers. The first day, they ended with 1,000 followers. The second day, Newsweek tweeted about the account which brought them hoards of new followers. By the end of the first week, they were at 9,000 and today have nearly 48,000 people reading their feed daily. As Hale brags, “We’ve officially passed the population of my small hometown, New Albany, Ind., according to the 2000 census figures.”

MediaShift has the whole story in its interview with the account’s creators, found here. The creators are also working on publishing a book, modeled after the real AP Stylebook. Again, another one of those, “Why didn’t I think of that?” ideas.

Halloween … Meet Social Media

I love Halloween. Dressing up in costumes is always fun, especially when you have someone to share your costume with. This year, one of my coworkers said to me, “Hey you and B should go as the Twitter bird and the Fail Whale for Halloween!” I couldn’t help but laugh. No, I’m not going as the Twitter bird (And B- would never go as the Fail Whale), but it made me wonder – what are some good social media costume ideas?

Luckily, I didn’t have to look far. Social media people have been talking about costumes for Halloween a ton this past week. There are a bunch of sites with ideas, and here are my 5 favorites:

Social Media Expert: Talk nonstop about your numerous friends and connections and how you know everything about how to get friends and want to share this information with everyone else. Repeat what you have said multiple times, especially about how you can offer tips on how YOU TOO can be an expert (via David Griner).

The Fail Whale and the Twitter Bird: Various websites (including David Griner and InventorSpot) have suggested going as the Fail Whale for Halloween, but why not take my colleague’s suggestion and make the costume perfect for couples? Fail Whale chases Twitter bird all night and may shout “Fail!” See picture (left) from InventorSpot for a sample costume.

Facebook: If you’re down to the last minute and still don’t have any costume ideas, don’t take the easy way out and show up without a costume. Why not go as your Facebook page? All it takes is a big piece of poster board with your profile filled out, and perhaps a place for you to stick your head in (where your Facebook photo would go). Bonus points for poking people all night.

iPhone: Why should you have all the fun on Halloween? Don’t leave out your pet – instead, create a fun social media costume for Fido. I love the iPhone costume for your dog (or yourself!) – so cute! (image from The River Current)

The Facebook Fairy: This is a more obscure, slightly nerdier costume (Because only true social media people will get it), but remember the bank intern who said he couldn’t work because of a “family emergency,” and then his boss found his Halloween party pictures (a fairy costume, nonetheless) on Facebook that same day? Why not dress in a similar fairy costume, wear a “Bank Intern” name tag and see if anyone knows who you are? Hey, when else do you get an excuse to wear wings?

For more ideas or to see some of the places that helped me make my list, visit:

• Nine social media Halloween costume ideas – David Griner
• Top 10 Social Media Costumes –  InventorSpot
• Facebook Profile Halloween Costumes: 50 Tips and Ideas – ReFace
• 20 of the Geekiest Halloween Costumes Ever – The River Current

Feel free to share some of your costume ideas. What’s the best (social media or not related) costume you’ve seen so far?

A (Half) Marathon of a Weekend

For those of you that know me – you know that I like to run. Those of you that know me even better know that this has not always been the case. I’ve always been into working out and trying out new things in terms of fitness, but it was only about two years ago that I started running – and actually enjoying it.

A few months ago, I bit the bullet and signed up for the longest race I’d ever participated in – a half marathon. And this weekend, I ran it. And it was awesome. I had a great time, am not too sore today (a day later) and am thinking of maybe doing one again in the future! What made it so awesome? Here are some of my tips – from a newbie runner.

• Start with small goals. I didn’t start running with the hopes of running a half marathon. Quite the opposite actually. My first race was a fun 5k, followed by a larger 5k (Race for the Cure), then a fun 5 mile race (Turkey Trot) and then a close-to-home 10 miler. This is over the span of just about two years.
• Track your progress. I started out with a Nike + system, but have moved over to just tracking my runs at Dailymile.com. It’s one of my favorite websites and I’m due to write a blog post about it soon! As for tracking my progress during the half marathon, I used a new service called Tweet My Time (from a Columbus, Ohio based startup company) which automatically tweeted my pace and results, live from the race. Pretty cool stuff huh?
• Have fun! You’ll notice that most of the races I mention above are described as “fun.” How is this possible? The first 5k I ran was part of a Pub Series- meaning tons of people just out to enjoy the run and then the free beer afterwords. The Race for the Cure was filled with hundreds of people, live music and entertainment. The Columbus Half Marathon is no different – there were bands at nearly every mile and hundreds of people cheering you on.
• Make a vacation out of it! While running a race close to home is sometimes the most convenient, running a race in a new place means new sights and sounds (read: less boring run) and a mini-vacation. On our trip down, we stopped at Heaven on Earth (aka Grandpa’s Cheese Barn). While in Columbus, I checked out the Nationwide Better Health Expo (where we picked up our packets and where the shirts in this post are from), saw Where the Wild Things Are and had a great pasta dinner with other running friends courtesy of B’s aunt. It made the whole weekend a less stressful event.

If you’re looking to start running, check out the Couch To 5K plan – it will get you from walking to being able to run a 5k in no time… and a half marathon before you know it!

Fridays@7: The Cleveland Orchestra’s New Concert Format

One of the things I love about living in Cleveland is the great access to culture and arts. When I visit B at Case (he’s in the law school), I’m within walking distance from the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Orchestra. I don’t take advantage of these opportunities nearly enough. This weekend, however, I was able to get dress-circle tickets (from B’s sister-in-law who works for the orchestra) to the Cleveland Orchestra’s first performance as part of its new Fridays@7 concert series.

What’s so cool about Fridays@7?

• Earlier start time, shorter program: Concert starts at 7 p.m. (just as the title suggests) and is only about 1.25 hrs long – meaning your whole night isn’t taken up by the concert if you don’t want it to be.
• No intermission: The 75 minute program does not include an intermission – meaning the music is played straight through and again, it ends earlier.
• Less formal: The musicians trade their formal wear in favor of more casual “urban black.” Attendees are told to feel free to leave their ties at home!
• Post-concert concert: If you want to stay at Severance Hall even after the program, there’s post-concert music to enjoy in the grand foyer.
• Food and drinks: During the post-concert entertainment, food and drinks are available. Though I, myself, didn’t get anything, I saw people eating some sandwiches and noticed a cash bar.

I think this format is a great concept – and could appeal to a much younger, Gen X and Gen Y audience who want to enjoy the orchestra but still have a free Friday night. Our sold out show was a night of Beethoven (the Piano Concerto No. 4 and Symphony No. 5) and was AWESOME. The pianist for the concerto, Mitsuko Uchida, was amazing and received a long standing ovation. After the concert, we stuck around to hear a few songs from the post-concert entertainment, Cyro Baptista’s Beat the Donkey – which was quite a contrast to the Beethoven we’d been hearing moments earlier. Beat the Donkey can only be described as new world music with crazy innovative percussionists. If you’ve seen Rachel Getting Married – think of the rehearsal dinner scene – that’s Cyro Baptista himself.

I definitely recommend you check out Fridays@7 – the next concerts include:

• November 20: Cello and Space with Alisa Weilerstein and guest conductor Jonathan Nott
• January 8, 2010: Tragedy to Triumph, with guest conductor Jaap van Zweden leading Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4
• February 19, 2010: Musical Obsession, with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst conducting orchestral excerpts of music by Richard Wagner
• April 30, 2010: Royal Drums & Trumpets, with baroque specialist Bernard Labadie guest-conducting Handel’s Water Music

For more info or to purchase tickets, check out www.clevelandorchestra.com.

Cleveland Bridge Project

Now that I am an official Ohio Ambassador, you may remember I vowed not to spend the cold winter sitting on my couch and moping- instead  I want to take advantage of all the activities (whatever they may be) Ohio has to offer.

Well, I am starting early. Thus weekend, fall came in with a bang- cold, windy and rainy. Normally this would mean spending my Saturday night gathered under a blanket, watching the latest Netflix and drinking hot cider. But how could I do that when the Cleveland Bridge Project (an expansion of Ingenuity Fest) was taking place? So I bundled up (with my new Target coat and Target boots of course), sucked it up and went out. Add I’m glad I did! We met up with some of B’s law school friends and explored the bottom level (which I never knew existed!) of the Detroit Superior Bridge.

It was awesome! There were bands playing the entire night, cool art exhibits, tons of people, and things to look at for the entire length of the bridge. Not to mention the fact that we could walk the entire length of the bridge (while cars were driving on the level above) was pretty cool.

Some of the highlights: The 36 views of a bridge was neat- some people had creatively put together footage of different parts of the city (during fun activities, too, like St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Wade Oval Wednesdays, etc.) and set them to music. To make it interactive, a guy had created a hands on way for people to vote which scene they’d like to see next- either via the exhibit or their iPhone. Another highlight? The standing water exhibits. On roped off portions of the bridge, you could see what looked like deep areas of standing water- a staircase going down into nothing but water and a room that was vacant but for a few feet of water. I tried to take a picture but the poor lighting (it WAS nighttime on the lower level of a bridge) made it difficult to come out.  A final highlight? The “Tell Me a Joke” guy! There was a guy set up in front of a blue screen with a microphone, asking people to tell him jokes. He was recording them and they’re all going to be compiled and made into some YouTube videos, DVDs etc. I am not one for fame, but I couldn’t help but take part. B’s friend Joey and I told the following joke (per B’s suggestion):

Joey: Why does a chicken coop have two doors?
Me:  Because if it had four doors it would be a chicken sedan!

Funny I know. So be on the lookout for my five seconds of fame!
All in all it was a worthwhile trip. I got to explore an area of the city I didn’t even know existed, and I managed to spend most of the night off the couch. Success!

Fun With Food – Cheeseburger Cupcakes

For those of you that know me, you know how much I LOVE baking. So I was super excited when about a month ago, the Social Media Club Cleveland had a meeting with the potluck theme of cupcakes and beer. The last time we had this theme I made some red velvet cupcakes. This time, however, I wanted to make something new and different. That’s why I made …. cheeseburger cupcakes!  Here’s what they looked like:

Don’t be jealous — or overimpressed. They were easy – and a hit! Curious how to make them? Here goes.

What you need: Vanilla frosting (I used Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla); Tubes of decorating frosting — red, green and white; Yellow food coloring; Yellow cupcake mix; Chocolate cupcake mix; Whatever ingredients the cupcake mixes call for.

What you do: Prepare your cupcakes per the mixes’ instructions. Make sure to grease the cupcake tins well so they don’t stick (you’re not going to use cupcake papers).

After the cupcakes have cooled, cut off the tops of the cupcakes – both the chocolate and the vanilla ones. This step reminds me of the Seinfeld “Muffin Top” episode. The tops and bottoms of the chocolate cupcakes will become the burger patties and both parts of the yellow cupcakes will be used as the bun.

Add yellow food coloring to a good amount of the vanilla frosting (now dyed yellow, this will be the American cheese). Then slather the bottom half of the yellow cupcake with the “cheese” and place a burger patty (half of a chocolate cupcake) on top.

Use the white decorative frosting to put small dots on the top of the yellow cupcake — this will look like sesame seeds. Use the red and green decorating frosting to put red and green squiggles on the tops and bottoms of the chocolate cupcakes. This will be the relish or lettuce and ketchup. Now you can put your burgers together — they should be layered yellow cupcake half, chocolate cupcake half, yellow cupcake half.

They were a hit at SMC and I made them again a few weeks later for my soon-to-be niece’s “housewarming” party (it was for the 18 month old’s new playhouse).

I can’t take credit for these cupcakes, though – I came across them on Flickr. Check out this Flickr photo group – there are step by step photos if my directions weren’t enough, plus hers came out looking way better than mine!

Good luck and happy baking!

YouTube … Why You Should Take It Seriously

I think a lot of people don’t take YouTube seriously. After all, how many of us associate YouTube with videos like “laughing baby,” “David after dentist” and “Will it Blend?” But  I think YouTube can be very useful for an organization when creating and maintaining its web presence. That’s why I was excited when I was asked to present on YouTube for Nonprofits at a luncheon yesterday with some of my other coworkers (who presented on other social media topics).

Are you also a YouTube naysayer? Do you believe that it’s “just for kids”? Well, to set the record straight (and so you don’t feel left out if you missed my presentation yesterday), I wanted to share with you some statistics and some tips on how to use YouTube – especially if you’re a nonprofit.

Think YouTube is just for kids? Some stats for you to keep in mind (from a Pew Internet Report)

• The share of online adults who watch videos on video-sharing sites has nearly doubled since 2006
• 62% of adult internet users watch video online (on a site such as YouTube)
• 41 % of internet users ages 50-64 watch video online
• 27% of internet users ages 65 and older watch video online

Clearly, there are more than just young folks checking out videos online and surfing YouTube. So what can you do?

Here are 5 tips for using YouTube, especially for nonprofits.

1) Create a Channel and Make It Yours

The first thing you should do when you decide to create a YouTube presence for your organization is to create and customize your own channel. Upload videos and create playlists. Write a succinct bio about your organization and link back to your website. Add a customized banner (perhaps with your organization’s logo and tagline) and background image. Your visual identity on YouTube should reflect your presence on your other channels (like your website), so your audience can easily recognize you.

2) Upload Your Own Videos and Favorite Others

Don’t feel like you need to immediately populate your channel with hundreds of videos. The best videos often aren’t just “talking heads” or interviews with your organization’s CEO. They tell a story – about your organization, who you’ve helped, what you do. Two to three good videos are better than fifteen boring ones that your subscribers won’t watch. Also, you don’t need a lot of original content to create a YouTube channel. Besides populating your channel with your videos, you can create playlists and favorite other people’s videos. If you stand for a popular cause, chances are you’re not the only one who has created a related video. Search for, rate and favorite other related videos that.

3) Collect Donations

Use YouTube’s call-to-action overlay to link directly on your video to an external donation site or your website. You can also add a “donate” box on your channel page to let people donate to your organization through Google Checkout.

4) Showcase Your Events

Do you host fundraising events? YouTube can be a great way to share events with those who are unable to attend and attract future attendees. You can create a video of the event highlights and upload it to your channel. The video should be no longer than three to five minutes and doesn’t need to be overly edited or produced. Tell your attendees at the event to be on the lookout for the new video(s) on your channel. If you plan on sending a thank you email to attendees, be sure to provide a link to your channel so guests can watch the video and share it with their friends.

5) Integrate Video with All of Your Social Media

Use your other social media involvement to drive traffic to your videos and your YouTube channel. If you’re using Twitter, tweet when you upload a video. Post your videos to your Facebook fan page. In your profiles on other social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Flickr, provide not only a link to your nonprofit’s home page, but also to your YouTube channel (and other social media sites). If you have an e-newsletter, link to your channel there. The more ways you share your YouTube presence with your existing networks, the more traffic you’ll drive to your channel.

You Say You Want a Revolution …

Well you know, social media is changing the world. That’s right, I’m talking about a social media revolution. Have you seen this video about the power of social media? I saw it a few months ago and find myself keep coming back to it — there are so many impressive statistics. For example, did you know that if Facebook were its own country, it’d be the 4th largest (right behind the US?)? Or that Ashton Kutcher and Ellen DeGeneres have more Twitter followers than the entire population of Ireland, Norway and Panama? Check out the below video to see these stats, and some more (and a shoutout to my alma mater, Boston College). Be prepared to be impressed. If this video doesn’t have you understanding the importance of social media, I give up.

Buy Local Cleveland!!

As a PR professional, I try not to blatantly post about or talk about my clients on my blog or my Twitter account. How ethical would that be? But every once in a while, a client of mine does something SO COOL that I HAVE to share it with you all.

One of my clients, Scentsy (they make scented, wickless candle) has created a program to give back to local businesses. It all started out when they were celebrating their fifth anniversary and wanted to give back to the local businesses in their community, Boise. They gave their employees and their faimlies $100,000 to spend at local family-owned buisnesses and held a shopping day this summer to spend the money. The program was such a success (you can see a video of some of the day’s events here), that Scentsy wanted to take the program to a national level — thus inspiring Contribute 2009, big help for small business.

What is Contribute 2009? The goal of Contribute is to inspire 100,000 people to take $50 and spend it at a locally owned business on or around October 12.  Or, looked at it this way:  100,000 people x $50 spent at locally owned businesses = a $5,000,000 economic infusion.  That’s huge. 

So why am I sharing this with you? I’ve signed up to take the Contribute 2009 pledge and plan on spending $50 at a local Cleveland business next month. Why don’t you sign up? There are so many ways you can spend your $50 — but here are some of the places I’m thinking:

• a local food place (I’m thinking Angelo’s, Sullivan’s or Melt)
• a local grocery store (maybe even one with local food)
• a locally owned store (maybe Geiger’s for a new Vera Bradley bag, or Second Sole for some new running shoes)

I’m actually getting excited about all the local Cleveland businesses that I could spend my money on. 

Anyone can take the Contribute 2009 pledge. Visit http://www.scentsycontribute.org/ for more information and to pledge to spend $50 to help small businesses on October 12. There’s also a cool tshirt you can buy if you like (you can wear it while you do your shopping – the cost of the shirt covers the shipping). So what do you think? Are you joining me and spending your $50 locally?

The Great Gmail Blackout of 09

Yesterday, Gmail was down. It was out for a few hours, causing mass chaos and widespread panic… well, not entirely. For the few of you out there who don’t depend on Gmail for your email (or those of you that found you could use Gmail from your iPhone or iGoogle) your world went on just as planned (Besides being bombarded on Twitter with GFail messages) and completely unharmed. But what about the rest of us who depend on Gmail for our every day interactions with the outside world? Those of us that use GChat (and its AIM tool) to stay in touch with family and friends? What were we to do?

During this Gmail blackout, I started to wonder, do we (or I) rely too much on the Internet? Have I come to just assume it will always be there? Do we take it for granted?

For me, the answer is clearly yes. I use the Internet for everything. It’s not just the place where I do the majority of research for work, stay in touch with friends, and stay entertained (where else will I find clips from Glee until the show returns next Wed?!) — but it’s where I keep my WHOLE LIFE. I don’t own a personal filing cabinent. I don’t keep hard copies of bills. I don’t even balance a check book. I do EVERYTHING online. Copies of my license, registration, credit cards, birth certificate, and more? All scanned into my computer and saved at a secure website. How do I keep track of my bills and checking account? I go to my bank’s website. I don’t even keep copies of my medical records, past doctor visits or vaccines — after all, a simple click tomy health insurer’s website will reveal all I need to know and more. And when Gmail went dark yesterday, I suddenly realized that my other websites (and by extension, my life) were just as vulnerable.

The Internet turns 40 today. And while 40 seems like a lifetime for me, it’s not that long ago that people didn’t have the Internet to rely on for their everyday needs.

Forty years ago, the Internet was just some crazy idea that most people could probably never envision. Even those involved with its advent probably never even imagined where it would take us today. And while people survived then without the Internet — how would we survive now?

It’s hard to imagine a world without the Internet, but think about how much we (not even just us social media geeks) rely on it. Sure, there are probably some upsides of a non-Internet world (newspapers and magazines would once again have their hey-day, phone books wouldn’t be a waste of paper, we’d be able to live more private lives and we’d probably all be a little more physically active) but can you imagine a life without the Internet? Would your electricity work? Would building security still work? Would your bank (whether or not you use online banking) still have everyone’s records, and know how much you have in your life savings?

So today, on the birthday of the Internet, I ask you to look back and think about what your life would be like without it. I know mine would be drastically different. And while the Web probably won’t be crashing anytime soon,  I think it’s time I invest in a filing cabinet. Or at least a large folder.