Social Media and More

Creating Personalities and Brands on the Web

Social Media Day Los Angeles with Mashable and CBS

Social Media DayMashable and CBS News joined together at the rooftop studio of CBS.com’s What’s Trending for the second annual Social Media Day in Los Angeles.

The event, created by Mashable and held in 90 countries around the world, included 1400 meetup’s.  I was fortunate to have attended the Los Angeles gathering at CBS’s What’s Trending headquarters along with many of my social media friends.

Adam Ostrow, Mashable’s editor-in-chief welcomed us at the rooftop party with a 360 degree view of Hollywood. Shira Lazar, producer and host of What’s Trending gave us a tour of their studios, where Evan Lowenstein, founder of Stageit was performing and streaming live .

Social Media Day

Jeremy Pepper, Marsha Collier, Adam Ostrow, and Julie Spira

Guests enjoyed cocktails from Veev, wine from One Hope, a photo booth from Polite in Public, and snacks from Pop Chips and Pretzel Chips.

No social media event would be complete without a contribution to social good. HeadBlade, who provides razors and grooming products for the shaved head look, donated $1 for each tweet with the hashtag of #SMDayLA to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.

Among the attendees were my social media friends Amanda Coolong, Marsha Collier, Curt Buthman, Michale Pilla, Heather Meeker, Matt Meeker, Melissa Rowley, Marla Shulman, Seth Shapiro, Calvin Lee, KW Low, AV Flox, Alana Joy, Robert Moran, Kevin Winston, and Andy Sternberg. Many thanks to Marsha Collier for taking the photos.

How did you celebrate Social Media Day? Share your thoughts and follow Julie on Twitter @JulieSpira and like us at facebook.com/SocialMediaandMore

Eat, Tweet, Blog – Thoughts About BlogWorld Expo

Julie Spira and Omaha Steaks Executive Chef Karl Marsh - BlogWorld

Julie Spira and Omaha Steaks Executive Chef Karl Marsh - BlogWorld

I must admit after returning from BlogWorld 10, the world’s largest social media conference,  I regretted getting on the scale. I spent most of my time at Blog World eating, tweeting, and blogging.

There was no shortage of food being discussed and consumed at the 10th annual social media and blogging conference. The TECHmunch stage was one of the highlights of the event. Everything from co-founder Rick Calvert’s personal favorite salsa recipe to my friend and author Marsha Collier interviewing Craig “Meathead” Goldwyn, the barbecue whisperer from AmazingRibs.com.

I very much enjoyed the TECHmunch panel, Working with Brands at the BlogWorld kitchen and regretfully missed the Fancy Fast Food Challenge with Erik Trinidad from FancyFastFood.com.

One of the highlights was the BlogWorld Bistro Tasting hosted by Omaha Steaks at the Foundation Room at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Executive Chef Karl Marsh was on hand serving amazing appetizers including Filet Mignon Spring Rolls, Bull Wings, and Jumbo Cooked Shrimp from their collection. Much to my surprise, their dessert display included Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies and Cream Puffs. They now have an iPhone app called Steak Time.

From PR plans to setting up your digital kitchen to the many private tastings throughout Las Vegas, We ate, tweeted, and blogged the whole conference through.

Congratulations to Rick Calvert and Dave Cynkin, co-founders of BlogWorld on a very successful and wonderful experience for social media enthusiasts. It’s time to go on a BlogWorld diet, but  I look forward to seeing everyone again at BlogWorld 11.