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carriefreelance communications
April 2011
holistic media solutions
      
Carrie Jaffe-Pickett is an award-winning fiction writer, with 20 years of experience
in association communications. She has published articles in Redbook magazine and many others, and has received a novel-in-progress award. She has also been named one of 39 writers to follow on Twitter, and is the author of Six Degrees of Twitteration.
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Monarch Notes
3 Life Lessons Learned from Judging the Chocolate Show
Greetings!
Welcome to the Butterfly and a big hello to new subscribers! Happy spring as well.
So, it was tough work, but someone had to do it! I was thrilled to have been selected as one of the judges for the recent International Chocolate Salon, held at Fort Mason in San Francisco. While I have judged some events in the past, this was my first food-related event, and I really enjoyed it, not only for the obvious reasons of being able to snarffle down some delicious fudge, caramels, and liqueurs, but also for some little life lessons I picked up in, oh, about two hours' time. Here they are:
1. Don't be taken in by fancy covers and wrappers.
Something may look great, but it's what's inside that counts. It may sound corny, but a little reminder now and then never hurts. I was surprised a few times that the most delicious chocolates were presented in the most simple of wrappings. This is somewhat analogous to the designer outfit that falls apart after only a few wearings, or the special deluxe offering that's only a smidge better then the original.
2. Contrasts Rock - Who Added Chocolate to My Salt?
Have to admit, I'm not a salt fan and never add it to anything, but experiencing delicate salt crystals lightly sprinkled onto a chocolate or caramel -- this was bliss, and a total surprise. Who would have thought? The lesson? Allow life's contrasts to surprise you, they will anyway.
3. Know Your Category and How You Fit In, Or Not
There must have been at least 30 categories from which to choose the winners - best new chocolate, best gourmet, best caramel or toffee, fudge or liqueur. Many times in life, knowing what our niche is, or is not, is the most important step in moving forward.
More chocolate "philosophy" next year, as I hope I'm invited back to what was an awesome and entirely satisfying time!
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Animoto as a Great Video Tool
 | Menlo Pilates and Yoga
Studio Sessions |
Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I'm a big fan of Animoto, (affiliate link), which allows you to use your photos and videos of up to 10 seconds, to create impressive videos that look like they took hours to make. I chose Animoto to use for one of my current clients, Menlo Pilates and Yoga, so that I could have a lot of flexibility (no pun intended) in updating the video easily with new teacher and event photos as needed. The video has been effective on the custom Facebook landing page I created, and will be on the studio's new YouTube channel shortly.
For those wanting a mini tutorial on Animoto, you can check out my blog post on this. Good luck, and let me know on my Facebook page how you like it. PS You'll also like the music application, which gives you plenty of royalty-free options to choose from in several genres, including country, pop, jazz, alternative, and electronica.
Happy video trails - and not trials! - to you.
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The Guy Is Good
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| | Guy Kawasaski Enchants Audience at SCU |
It was a thrill to attend a special presentation at Santa Clara University earlier this month by Guy Kawasaki, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author of many books including, most recently,Enchantment. Not that I'm partial to butterflies (well, OK, I admit it), but I have to say that this was by far the best presentation I have attended here so far. Guy had a relaxed and easy presentation style, and his slides were so "right on" that I kept taking photos of them, and him. Thank goodness I was in the front row. Guy shared his insights as to how to make ourselves enchanting in business, and in life, in order to achieve our goals.
- Be Trustworthy
- Think in terms of ecosystems
- Overdeliver
- Remember the law of reciprocity
These are just a few of Guy's gems, and the book is truly a great read. I strongly suggest you pick it up, and learn the rules of Enchantment.
See photos from the presentation and read more about it here.
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Cool Tools
For Facebook Custom Tab: Hyperarts is a good site for creating your custom Facebook tab. While the more HTML you know the better in terms of customization, the program does easily allow you to embed your YouTube code so you can upload video onto your custom tab. Pretty cool.
For Uploading and Sharing Documents: Issuue is a neat site, where you can easily upload PDFs, which are then converted to shareable online documents, with their own URLs and customizable image views.
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Save 20% on Communications Packages Thru April 30th
Bronze: Includes one monthly service (see services listed below) and free one-hour communications assessment
Silver: Includes two monthly services and free one-hour communications assessment and web site review
Gold: Includes three monthly services, free communications assessment, free web site review, and free press release or professional bio write-up, plus any writing you need on a retainer basis
Choice of services: e-newsletters (writing, design, coaching), blog coaching and writing, pr and media outreach, social media brand management and coaching, web site writing, editing and proofreading for all print and online publications, e-book writing and coaching
To get started, call Carrie at 650-206-2682 for details and pricing, or e-mail me at carrie@carriefreelance.com.
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