Marcie Taylor

Tag: 30-day-blog-challenge

  • The Challenge Sweeping the Nation

    The Challenge Sweeping the Nation

    I suck at challenges. I apologize to anyone who has challenged me to push ups or questionnaires, thirty days of blog posts or 90 days of videos. Sorry, it’s just not my thing. Maybe it’s because I do not have a competitive bone in my body and the idea of someone “throwing down the gauntlet” does nothing to motivate me. And it’s not because I’m scared of failure but more because I’d rather not start something that I may possibly not finish.
    I didn’t even do the Ice Bucket Challenge… technically, my kids did it for me because they thought it was fun.
    And then, just the other day, I decided to film the #mannequinchallenge for one of my clients and it turned out really well. So once again, I did not take on the challenge myself.
    So yeah, I am unchallenged by these challenges personally. Too often they are chain letter-like and even threaten the non-challenger with some horrible fate or worse, the guilt of breaking the challenge chain.
    I’ll tell you what the real challenge is right now: It’s the FUTURE! It’s figuring out our next steps in the days, the months and the years that follow that colossal decision (mistake?) that America made last week.
    These are challenging times we live in. Just a week into this “new era,” it seems like it is suddenly okay to hate someone just because they are different from you, they are a different race, religion, sexual orientation etc. As an immigrant, woman of color, mother, human being, I will admit that I am a tad bit frightened of this scenario. But I will not cower in fear and be paralyzed by inaction.
    This is our challenge:
    To speak up when someone is being mistreated or bullied
    To keep calm when confronted by someone angry
    To do something to make a difference
    To love when everyone else hates.
    Will you accept this challenge? I know I will.

  • Travel Tuesday: California Dreaming

    When you find yourself stuck at home with a foot of snow blocking the driveway, and a restless toddler in tow, it’s easy to find yourself California dreamin’ .  There’s something about California, and it’s more than just the weather, it is an attitude, more laid-back than its East Coast counterparts. It is the people, it is — a state of mind.

    Five years ago, my family decided to move from New Jersey to Southern California, and we’ve never looked back since – adapting easily to the Mediterranean climate and the chill attitude. My boys and I have been, in a word, California-fied!

    Since moving to SoCal, we’ve hosted visiting family members from the East Coast and overseas. Between playing host to out-of-towners and writing about “staycations,”  I sometimes feel I have become an ambassador for California tourism.

    ***

    Last summer, I attended the Discover IE Toursim Summit at the Ontario Improv. Discover IE is the marketing campaign of the Inland Empire Tourism Council (IETC). It was a very interesting summit that provided insights on tourism not just for the Inland Empire but for California as a whole. It was also the first breakfast meeting that I had experienced that was hosted by a stand-up comedian. His name was Darren Carpenter and I tell ya, he kept us in stitches at 7:30 AM. Presentations were made by Lynn Carpenter, vice president of marketing of Visit California and Joel Greene, founder & host  of Curiosity Quest & IE Explorer TV.

    Steve Pontell, CEO and president of National Community Renaissance moderated a panel that included  Gillian Zucker, president of the Auto Club Speedway, Rick Shoup, president and CEO of Big Bear Lake Resort Association, Kimberly Adams, president & CEO of Temecula Valley Conventions and Visitors Bureau, and  Sharon Estep, Marketing Director of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa.

    The travel and tourism industry is of vital importance to the California economy.

    Just take a look at these facts:

    “Total direct travel spending in California = $102.3 billion in 2011 (7.6 percent increase from 2010 spending)

    Travel spending in California = 893,000 jobs, with earnings of $30.4 billion.

    Travel spending generated the greatest number of jobs in arts, entertainment and recreation (221,000 jobs), and accommodations and food service (523,000 jobs).

    Travel spending in 2011 generated $2.3 billion in local taxes and $4.0 billion in state taxes.”

    Source: California Travel Impacts by County 2011, by Dean Runyan Associates, April 2012

    But the facts only back up the reality that Californians and transplants like me and Rob Lowe (!)  already know.  Check out this tourism video created by Visit California featuring the actor, the official “unofficial” California tour guide.

    http://youtu.be/Oq-gpHLZRLc

    LIKE Visit California on Facebook. Order a copy of your free visitor’s guide and watch more of Rob Lowe’s travel videos at www.visitcalifornia.com. Follow Discover IE on Facebook.

  • Can I Pick Your Brain?

    Go ahead, pick my brain. No, really. I do enjoy brainstorming. But don’t buy me a cup of coffee and call it a consultation. That’s another matter. For now, let’s share ideas and see what happens.

    No matter how connected we are to each other online and through technology, nothing beats the human connection. You can chat with me online for months and nothings would come of it. So if you’re in town or a local, let’s get together and chat.  Sitting face to face over a meal and having a conversation, can sometimes lead to a worthwhile project. Who knows?

    Coffee | Little Italy, San Diego
    From my Instagram Feed @marcietaylor

    I do enjoy brainstorming especially when it leads to inspiration and collaboration.  If I had a dollar for every idea I’ve had, I’d be as rich as (insert rich person of choice, like Richard Branson or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or Kim Kardashian).  Unfortunately, “Official Brainstormer Jobs” are hard to come by these days. I don’t think the position exists because in fact, brainstorming should be part of all jobs. Thinking creatively , seeing things from someone else’s point-of-view, working with others are essential to any brainstorming session – and every job when you think about it.

    I believe brainstorming is most valuable when it leads to action. Sometimes we get too caught up in ideas and fail to move forward.

    Brainstorming Photo | Marcie Taylor
    Do you have to be smart to brainstorm? I don’t think so. But you do need to be open – to new ideas, to different perspectives, to challenges. Most of all, you have to LISTEN.

    Okay so maybe you live halfway around the world and we are on opposite time zones. That doesn’t mean we can’t brainstorm now can we? Heck, we can do a Google+ Hangout and see what happens.

    I am grateful for social media – for every channel and platform – that allows us to put forth, gather and listen to new ideas and new ways of thinking. I’d like to think of Twitter, for example, as a universal Brain Trust – a whole universe unto which you can seek advice, ask for help, new ideas, different ideas. Join a Facebook Group and brainstorm online. Read books, watch videos, talk to people beyond your circle and experience life to enrich your own creativity.

    And yeah, contact me if you want to brainstorm. I’d love a cup of coffee.

  • Walking and Running to Raise Funds and Find Cures

    We walk to find a cure for cancer.

    Marcie Taylor| Race for the Cure Orange County

    We walk to end Alzheimer’s Disease.

    Marcie Taylor| Alzheimer's Walk Huntington Beach

    We walk, run, and bike in different “thons” for charity but I wonder if we’re making any real difference.

    These organized charity events successfully raise millions of dollars for research, but more than money, I realize that we are making a difference. We are creating awareness. We are creating a community of caring people.. We are showing support for those affected by these diseases. We are providing hope.

  • Coming Together After Disaster With Social Media

    Friday night and I’m home flipping between the Undercover Boss and the telethon benefiting the Red Cross in the wake of Hurricane Sandy,which affected many people on the East Coast. The hour-long telethon “Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together” featured performers who came from places affected by the storm including Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi from New Jersey,  Billy Joel from Long Island and Christina Aguilera and Mary J. Blige from New York City. As telethons go this one was brief and only lasted an hour but it did raise $23 million.

    This natural disaster hit home for me, as it was only 5 years ago that I lived in New Jersey, over an hour’s drive to the Shore. I have happy memories of summer weekends at Seaside Heights and cannot believe the devastation that beach town has gone through.

    Seaside Heights After Hurricane Sandy

    photo credit: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region via photopin cc

    I followed the #sandyhelp hashtag through the night and so it got me thinking about some of the great ways Twitter can help in the aftermath of a natural disaster. We’ve seen it in action during the 2011 Japan Earthquake/Tsunami , the 2009 Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) that affected the Philippines, and many other world events.

    Twitter and other social media channels have definitely become invaluable tools in time of crisis and natural disasters.  It helps that Twitter can be accessed with mobile phones, and that means not having power is not a hindrance to its use. Though Twitter (and other social media including Facebook, for that matter)  can sometimes be a great time waster, used for good, social media is a powerful instrument that can create positive outcomes.  Even President Obama knows this — on Tuesday, he @barackobama hopped on the Red Cross @redcross Twitter account as a volunteer to thank people for their support.  Read the tweet here.

    According to social analytics firm Topsy, over 3.2 million Tweets with the hashtag #sandy were sent in 24 hours. More than 20 million tweets were sent containing the words “Sandy” and “hurricane,” as well as the hashtags #sandy and #hurricane between Saturday, Oct. 27, and Thursday, Nov. 1,

    Here are three major reasons why Twitter is one of the best social media channels during a natural disaster.

    1.  Twitter is one of the quickest and most powerful ways to keep in touch

    Uncertainty is one of the worst things that happen during a disaster. That fear of not knowing if a loved one is safe can drive one insane with worry.  Without phone lines and computers, a quick tweet of reassurance can help.

    And speaking of help, although Twitter is a great way to get attention for someone’s plight, this week,  the Fire Deparment of New York  @FDNY had to remind New Yorkers to call 911 in an emergency and not to tweet for help.

    2. Twitter is a great way to broadcast and disseminate information.

    When power is out and all conventional ways to communicate are down, social media can provide the means to disseminate important information about shelter, food, roads, aid etc.

    Twitter even blogged a helpful list of resources as Hurricane Sandy was getting ready to hit.

    3.  Twitter is a great means by which people can come together.

    In 2009 when I was a virtual Twitter newbie, I tweeted about my homeland the Philippines in light of the catastrophic Typhoon that claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands. I wondered out loud on Twitter about feeling helpless and broached the idea of a fundraiser. Not long after a local cafe @ParadisePerks tweeted back that we could use her cafe as a venue for a show. In two weeks, a friend and I had organized a benefit show and raised money that we sent to the typhoon victims through a non-profit organization.

    Here’s some Bon Jovi to end this post, recorded during the NBC Telethon to Benefit the Red Cross for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

  • TV Goes Social

    In another life, I’d be a couch potato. Seriously. I do enjoy television. These days, with no time to watch television shows when they are actually aired, the DVR is my best friend. I also like that I can look up a hashtag on Twitter or check a show’s Facebook page to see what I missed or to check out what’s coming up. Despite naysayers warnings, social media has only served to enhance my viewing experience, not replace it.

    Here is a list of 4 TV shows using social media to engage with its audience:

    1. Fringe on Fox Saved by Twitter Hashtags
    On its last season, Fringe has consistently used Twitter hashtags to engage its audience. This sci-fi TV series created by by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci premiered on the Fox in 2008. It stars Anna Torv (Olivia Dunham),Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop), and John Noble (Walter Bishop), as members of a Federal Bureau of Investigation “Fringe Division” team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security. It is called that because “fringe” science refers to unexplained occurrences much like The X-Files before it. Now they are in a battle to save mankind from “The Observers.” The action is gripping, but the human drama and philosophical aspects even more captivating.

    Here’s how Fringe uses twitter to engage its fans. As with many shows on the Fox network, a hashtag accompanies each episode allowing fans to comment, tweet, discuss the show. Hashtags like #turningpoint and #followthetapes give clues to the Fringe shows without giving too much away. What’s cool is, for a fan like me, who misses an episode, I can simply search up the hashtag and find out what I missed. For non-fans, trending hashtags could entice them to watch a show they otherwise would never have heard of.

    http://youtu.be/JOP9OvewoYA

    Follow @fringeonFox on Twitter, and if you are a sci-fi TV fan (or come on, an old Dawson’s Creek fan, admit it), you will not be disappointed. FRINGE will probably go down in history as the TV show saved by Twitter hashtags. Read Social TV Digest’s post about that here.

    2. New Girl Rewards Fans on Social Media

    New Girl starring the so-called adorkable Zooey Deschanel @zooeydeschanel is somewhat new but has instantly gained a TV following with its strategic use of social media to create not just a new sitcom but a phenomenon. If by phenomenon you mean, over 244,000 Twitter followers and 1.9 million Facebook fans, over a relatively short period of time. It helps that the show is truly hilarious and has such a gifted cast (My personal favorite? Max Greenfield as Schmidt, @iamgreenfield on Twitter)

    New girl has used twitter hashtags like #trueamerican and #mcmouse to grow its audience. The hashtags, released before an episode airs, are related to events happening in the storyline. In addition, followers have access to exclusive content like behind-the-scenes photos and videos. But perhaps one of the best features of its fan engagement is awarding one new follower with “Fan of the Week” status which is includes a shout out during the live television broadcast!

    Follow @newgirlonFox on Twitter.

    http://youtu.be/eCTu1Q3g9eU

    3. Pretty Little Liars Engages Fans on Various Platforms

    If there were an award for the show that was most engaged on social media, it would have to go to Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family. Pretty Little Liars (#PLL @abcfpll on Twitter) is based on Sara Shepard’s young adult-novel series about 4 friends, namely Spencer Hastings (played by Troian Bellisario), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell).

    According to Bluefin Labs, Pretty Little Liars received the most comments on Twitter for a cable drama during its season 3 premiere. The ABC family series’ June 5 season premiere racked up a record 534,000 tweets during airtime. 100,000 of them were posted in the first five minutes, and it peaked at about 34,000 tweets per minute.

    Like the other shows, specific hashtags air during the actual show. One of the things, that makes #PLL different is that the cast and creators actively engage online. Cast members, like Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson and Keegan Allen, are encouraged to reach out to fans via social media including Twitter and Instagram. It also helps that the show’s core audience is social savvy.

    From @LucyHale89s Instagram Feed – a behind the scenes look at the Halloween episode with guest Adam Lambert

    4. The Voice Connects with a Social Media Correspondent

    Finally, there is The Voice. Or should we say #thevoice that uses hashtags and Twitter to get fans to communicate not just with the judges but with the contestants as well. While the banter on the show by the judges especially Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) and Adam Levine (@adamlevine) is fun, their Twitter conversations are even more entertaining!

    Comments appear in a letterbox during the show, kind of like pop-up videos on VH-1. Which leads us to… yes, Christina Millian the live social media correspondent of the show. Like a VH-1 or MTV VJ from back in the day, Christina appears in between segments to call on fans to sound off via Twitter; she also fields questions for contestants from fans. She live-tweets the show as well via @cmillianofficial, her own account with 610,051 followers as of this writing.

    Follow @NBCTheVoice on Twitter

    Blake Shelton The VoiceSurely there are more television shows that are using social media channels to engage their audiences but these are the shows currently on my DVR. More than being able to connect with my favorite show and its cast, what I love about social media, is being part of the communal experience of watching TV – albeit late and on my own time. There is still that sense of community that exists when one is able to discuss a show’s episode and hypothesize about its meaning, with a fellow fan halfway around the world.