Tweet Away Bambino!

Soooo, I often get asked if it is always necessary to be involved in the latest, hottest, trendiest of trends when it comes to social media. To that, I answer: no. The great thing about social media is it's ability to adapt to the human element. The real question should be: Do we have to find newfangle ways to make social media seem more, I don't know, ridiculous? No? Just a little treasure a friend forwarded to me that I thought I'd share : I give you Kickbee, a monitor that tweets your baby's fetal movements. Yeah.

Check out Kickbee here.

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Breaking News: In the Spirit of Hope??

I came across this article yesterday on Gawker and I just had to share. See, it seems that now that Obama has been elected, us folks from the browner persuasion are now the hottest accessory. Yes, African Americans have now replaced the mini lap dog in the Louis Vuitton dog carrier on the red carpet. Who woulda thunk it? Only in f$%&*#g America...No wonder my popularity has surged. I'll see you on the red carpet!

Read the Gawker Article

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Breaking News: Political, Ahem, Entrepreneurship

Image via Wikipedia

According to the Feds, President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat was to be sold to Ebay-style. If the accusations against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich turn out to be true, they would be right in line with the Windy City's astounding tradition of corrupt big-city politics. Here's an article from one of my favorite outlets, Slate, examining Chicago's long-standing love with vice.

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Suburban Confidential

I know, I know- I have not posted in a while, and this probably started to take on the shape of one of my many abandoned creative "epiphany" projects. But I have a good reason. Read on.

So as life would have it, I am in a perpetual race to keep up with myself. Now, I don't think that I am busier than anyone else (that would make me a presumptuous oaf, would it not?), but I do know that I contribute to my own frenetic lifestyle because I lead a secret double life. Don't tell anyone.

Hmm. What could it be? What's her other schizophrenic personality? Stripper? (Please, not enough courage, flexibility or coordination). Trucker? (Nah, hate long road trips). Politician? (I won't touch that one...). Nope, while all of these are great choices, I try to live my life on the edge- I am like the female James Bond! Mistress of disguise!

Yes, in my other life, I double as a suburbanite. And you too can enjoy the suspense, the drama, and the action of bake sales, PTA meetings, condo board meetings and soccer practices, and dinner parties!

This is a sharp contrast from my other life where I am a social media/communications/fashion and beauty Empress. And I have to straddle these lives simultaneously. They could possibly complement each other, but because nothing in my life is streamlined, they are oftentimes fighting for attention. And because my child will ALWAYS win, I usually will have to tweet while organizing his class holiday party. Update my Facebook status from soccer practice. Conduct conference calls and visit showrooms on my way to and from book club meetings, coffee clutches, and dinner parties. Run a campaign, blog, and network while attending pilates class, traveling, checking spelling, guitar lessons, Cuong Nhu class, dinner and 8-yr old sleepovers. Run a business. Run a household. Meet with clients. Change the oil. Engage in non-profit work. Organize a play date. Perfect recipe for Sake Kasu Marinated Sea Bass for me, Chicken Fingers, Macaroni & Cheese and Carrots for the kid. Plan for web show, update business plan, write proposal, digg this, SocialMedian--ahh, you get the point. AND in between the little bit of time I have left over for myself, I try to date (yes, I am single blogverse- just putting it out there...)

I am myself, but I am not. I am unconventional enough to be conscientious when I am among the older, married, "super-stable" & suburban friends as well as with my "hip", unattached and single friends. I am proud enough to share stories of loose teeth, soccer goals, client wins and wine pairings. Present and free enough to head to a tweetup, speed dating, sample sale, fashion show and Common concert. My American Dream consists of fabulous shoes, a touch screen Blackberry (WITHOUT all of the sub-menus, please) an eco-friendly condo, a Malbec, a compassionate, civic-minded child, and rum-soaked banana cream pie. I love every minute of it.

There I go off on my tangent again. My original point was: If I am away for awhile, it's not because I moved on to something shinier, I am just keeping pace with life- my life as a super- sexy double agent! What's more desirable than a woman who can multitask with the best of them? You can always catch me on Twitter....

How do you manage your chaos??

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Breaking News: Ugly Fashion

Celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon, who has dressed celebrities Paris Hilton and Janet Jackson, and profiled in 2003 on America's Next Top Model, was convicted on Thursday in Los Angeles of raping and sexually assaulting aspiring models, some as young as 14. Full story below.

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Lessons from the 1%

If I had one penny for each and every time someone blamed the economy for everything from layoffs to the lack of soy milk at my local coffee shop (don't laugh, it's happened), I would not have to make my living begging for your attention. However, there is an entire rarified demographic out there who are reaping some serious financial benefits even during these tough economic times. Yes, these folks would be the ultra-wealthy, and those who market to the ultra-wealthy.

I dug up this YouTube video highlighting a iPod shuffle that is blinged-out beyond belief. Who needs this stuff? More importantly who's buying this stuff? Now, I would shudder to think of the type of person who is able to intelligently justify the need for an mp3 player draped in precious stones, but I know someone out there can and is buying one right now.



Nevertheless, this example of overindulgence points out a good basic marketing lesson when it comes to segmentation, positioning and strategy that we can all use. You too can sell a $99 product for $40k by establishing trust (in this example, Apple has established brand equity), offering value and customization (the diamonds). Nadine Wong of Morgan Stanley's Private Wealth Division states it best in this BusinessWeek podcast "Selling to High Net Worth Clients": it's the little things that make a big splash and count the most. Good rule of thumb.

Socialize My Style

Where do I sign up to be a style expert? I mean, seriously. I think I manage to clean up pretty nicely and have an eye for detail. I understand the psychological and cultural importance of fashion. I follow the immutable laws of chicness (I think). I ooze lotusity. And oh boy, do I have an opinion about EVERYTHING. So, where's my show on Bravo? Or Style Network? C'mon, the web?

Until that day comes (and believe me, it will.....muaahh!), I will continue to play around with Polyvore, a great web-based application that allows you to mix-and-match images anywhere from the web. It's allows someone like me to create style storyboards, or sets, that help guide my creative projects. Currently, I am redecorating my digs- guess what I print out and carry when shopping for everything from paint to curtains? Trust me, I have shopping ADD, so it helps....

If you truly love putting together images, design, styling and planning as much as I do, you can go all out and do this with Photoshop, which I normally do. However, being that I spend 400% of my day on a the web and my phone, having the built-in social capabilities to share my love with the world is an A++. It's easier for me to grab, arrange, embed and post to Facebook, Digg and Delicious. Just call me the Nina Garcia of social media (let me have my dreams, please!).

sexy techie by nataliesblack

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