Eventbrite is a simple but powerful tool to manage, promote, and sell out your event. I’ve used it in the past and can attest that it takes the process of planning an event — be it a class, a meetup group, a yoga retreat, or a concert — and makes it simple and professional.
As a user, the interface is clear and easy to understand, and makes it feel like you are buying a ticket from a professional ticket agency.
As an organizer, you can plan the fun things about your event, without having to worry about building an RSVP system, creating tickets, or collecting money at the door.
This week I had a great interview with with author, speaker, and social media pro Krista Neher.
As usual, for the full interview — and trust me, we had great energy and lots of fun sharing stories — make sure to download and play the podcast. The summary below highlights what we cover:
Krista’s background
- Her start at Proctor and Gamble
- Working on marketing for brands like Tide and Folgers Coffee
- Her transition to a startup
- The founding of Bootcamp Digital, which teaches companies how to use the web and social media to build their business
Her travels from Canada to Cincinnati
- What does that have to do with bowling?
Social engagement
- Not the kind of engagement you like – we’re talking on a train to New Jersey
Boot Camp Digital
- What makes a truly good social media program?
- Huge opportunity to show businesses how to do their own social media
- “You’re doing it wrong” – what is the #1 thing companies are doing incorrectly with social media
- Why “free” social media is a problem
Photographs. With billions of Facebook photos being tagged, Tumblr, Flickr, Instagram, camera phones, Flip cameras, low-cost high-res DSLRs and more, there’s no doubt there’s huge numbers — and business potential — around this industry.
One of the companies trying to take advantage of this is Stipple. I spoke with cofounder Rey Flemings, and you can listen to the entire podcast for his insights. Highlights include:
What is Stipple?
Imagine this: You tag a photo in Facebook, but your friend grabs it and brings it outside Facebook’s network and puts it on their blog. Thus, you lose all of the tags.
Today I speak with Shaun Sanders, a graphic designer specializing in infographics. I met Shaun through our mutual friend Alexis Ohanian, who hired Shaun to produce some awesome infographics for Hipmunk.
Listen to the podcast for the full interview, but here are the highlights, thoughts, and things that we discussed:
Definition of infographics
I view infographics as another option in a marketer’s social media arsenal. Surprisingly, there are a lot of people that don’t know what the term means when I told them my plans for doing one.
The easiest, old school comparison I make is like the USA Today “Snapshots” that would appear in the newspaper, using cartoon-esque images to represent data. You know, like the quantity of pasta consumed:
Shaun jumps in to give me us a more purist definition: Data visualization
The key: Crossing data visualization with fun, color, and additional elements
“Infographics work because most people will look at them vs sending them a long text article. Because it comes across as fun cartoon, they are more likely to check it out, as well embed it and share it on Facebook.”
2) The second is the continuation of “old school” media such as newspapers and publishers trying to monetize their products as web and digital tablets evolve. Check out this interesting article, which shows that magazines like the Atlantic are already moving beyond phase one of the tablet era (replicate your publication for the iPad) and into phase two, which could be an HTML5-based freemium model with upsells:
3) The third is that Y Combinator keeps cranking out cool startups that are taking advantage of emerging trends, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to sit down with several of them to discuss their vision. Today is no different.
I sat down with Jeremy Mims, co-founder of Ownlocal, who is actually on his second venture-backed startup. OwnLocal makes a suite of products for local businesses to succeed online, a byproduct of which is making newspapers and other publications considerably more money.
We discuss:
- Jeremy’s background and how he got to his point
- How he got connected with Y Combinator
- The challenges of reaching local small businesses
- How he structures partnerships
- What kind of investors he’s had
- How a local hardware store could sell more hammers
- And finally, time travel
So go ahead and listen to the podcast on this page or from iTunes, or read the full transcript below:
When it comes to working out, there are questions that come up time and time again:
- We all know we SHOULD work out, what can be done to make sure I DO work out?
- How can I find the time to work out on a crazy schedule?
- How do I keep from getting bored with my workouts?
- How can I keep better track of my results?
- Why do personal trainers cost so much?
- How do I see results once I’ve reached a plateau?
And for the Apple fans out there…
- My iPhone can do just about everything, but can it make me look better naked?
On this week’s podcast, I spoke with Nick Gammell, the CEO and Founder of Gain Fitness in his attempt to answer all of those questions.
He comes from a good pedigree of brains and brawn… a lifelong athlete and former college football player to address the workout side of things, and an analytical brain with experience at Deloitte consulting and a little tech company named Google to fuel the technology side.
After chatting for just a few minutes, it became clear that I was the perfect demographic for his product.
- I enjoy working out but don’t have a lot of time
- I generally do the same workouts so need variety to get out of a rut
- I like to track my progress and see results
Some people spend their entire careers building toward that one, life-fulfilling, amazing job.
Others will look back as they retire and be able to point to some good jobs, some great jobs, and a few missteps.
But in looking at the career path that 27-year-old Soraya Darabi has already taken so far, it could serve as a blueprint for “How to develop a well-rounded social media resume in the digital age.”
In fact, it is interesting enough that going through her career progression was all that was needed in terms of structure for this interview. As time ran out on us, I knew I wouldn’t get to address a topic that she explores often — the challenges women face as entrepreneurs and the advantages of being a woman in business.
Thus, we didn’t get to delve into what it was like being featured as one of the young rising female stars on the cover of a prominent business/technology magazine, but hey, I’d already been down that road before.
Ironically, we glossed over her first job where we briefly worked together, when she was a Communications Coordinator at CondeNet (now Conde Nast Digital).
And while no job is perfect, here is why Conde Nast is such a great place to work… you get exposure to so many aspects of a business that you can’t leave here without furthering your career.
The overarching mothership has its roots in the publishing industry for sure (making it great for writers, editors, designers, and fashionistas), but their drive into the digital space has been prominent (and in some cases, dominant), giving Generation Y a playground for web designers, writers, and engineers, not to mention iPhone, iPad, and social media platforms. For someone looking to work in PR/Communications, the strength of Conde’s brands goes a long way.
Jim interviews Byron Bennett, owner of a NYC chocolate shop about how a small business uses Facebook, Twitter, QR codes, Websites, and his experience with Groupon.
It’s one thing for media companies to be on social media, but lately I’ve been fascinated with how small businesses are doing this. I met with Byron Bennett, the owner of The Chocolate Library, a small-business in Manhattan’s East Village and we discuss the challenges he faces.
Besides, he just happened to bring along some of his amazing inventory of chocolates from around the world. He tells me that 97% of people enjoy chocolate.
Count me in as one of them.
Summary of Topics covered:
BACKGROUND
- Byron’s background at a wine store before he started this business
- Why wine stores and supermarkets need a kiosk to help shoppers
- The similarities between wine and chocolate
- The effect of luxury goods during a recession
- The story behind the “library” classification in his store, and how he ended up on The New York Times.
Jim interviews Michelle Ward, aka The When I Grow Up Coach, who explains exactly what a life coach is, and how she helps creatives going through career transitions.
What the heck is a “Life Coach” and why would I need one? Well, this week Jim interviews certified life coach Michelle Ward, also known as The When I Grow Up Coach, to find out her journey and answer those questions.
Summary of Topics covered:
- Michelle’s lifelong passion for theater and entertainment, leading to a cameo on Saturday Night Live and (off, off) Broadway
- Her transition away from the arts and into a “grown up” job
- The intense, unmistakable moment that she knew she could not work at her full-time job another day
- Her transition and training as a certified life coach, leading to helping more than 100 creative people devise the career they think they can’t have
- How she has expanded her business from 1:1 coaching to group sessions and workshops
- The development of “Operation Creative Career Cheer,” a 50-page illustrated rhyming career change workbook
- Yes, a rhyming career change workbook. I told you she was in theater, right?
We also discuss
- How she uses social media and referrals to get clients
- Who should go to a life coach, and how they will benefit
- Macro trends of people overwhelmed at work and wanting to get out of the cubicle
- How are millennials approaching their career differently than others
- How do they measure the ROI of a lifecoach
- Examples of success stories, from Israel to Japan to Minnesota
Today I interview Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn and self-published author of the religious thriller, Pentecost.
- Download the podcast via iTunes
- Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below:
For the full interview — a must-listen for anyone wanting to self-publish their own book — please listen to the podcast.
Summary of Topics covered:
Joanna’s amazing journey
Joanna Penn has had quite an amazing journey from the UK and a Theology major at Oxford (hence the religious thriller), all the way to New Zealand and Australia, and now back to the UK.
As a full-time IT employee, she started her writing career with non-fiction books such as How To Enjoy Your Job and the basic ways of marketing.
She once tried to do the full-time author route and take an extended period of time off in order to write “The Great American (Australian?) Novel,” and tried signing on with traditional publishers, but it didn’t pan out.
Intrigued with the rise of digital publishing, print-on-demand, and using social media as a marketing platform, she started a blog and podcast called The Creative Penn. Joanna immersed herself in everything going on in the industry, and became a trusted source for information, while also interviewing dozens of authors.
Eventbrite is a simple but powerful tool to manage, promote, and sell out your event. I’ve used it in the past and can attest that it takes the process of planning an event — be it a class, a meetup group, a yoga retreat, or a concert — and makes it simple and professional.![[del.icio.us]](http://thehopkinsonreport.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
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On this week’s podcast, I spoke with Nick Gammell, the CEO and Founder of 
