Sarah's Faves

Ready to let your geek flag fly on May 25? It’s a day to celebrate all that is geeky and nerdy in the world. It’s like your birthday, an Apple launch announcement, free bacon for lunch and a Star Wars marathon all rolled into one.

 What is Geek Pride Day?

An initiative to promote geek culture, celebrated on 25 May. The date was chosen as to commemorate the release of the first Star Wars film, A New Hope on 25 May 1977 (see Star Wars Day). In 1998 a guy named Tim McEachern started “The Geek Pride Festival” in Albany, New York. Next, the initiative was celebrated in Spain in 2006 as “Orgullo Friki” and spread around the world via the internet.

How can you celebrate? Look for Geek Pride Day activities on Plancast, order something from Think Geek to get a Geek Pride Day pin, or read a book in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) category.

*****BACON*****BACON*****BACON*****

Here on FAVES, we’re about to celebrate in true geek fashion. I’m giving away one, six-month membership to The Pig Next Door’s The Pig’s Heirloom Bacon Club*. This is bacon made from heritage breeds raised using sustainable methods (from farmers who care about flavor, not profit). As if you needed added incentive, right? Bacon delivered to your door each month. Boom!  

*Unfortunately, TPND only ships within the United States.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy the day!

What are you FAVES? Share them with me for future posts, right here.

photo credit: miss_rogue via photo pin cc

Who doesn’t love an animated GIF? Now, pair that animated GIF with short, concise recaps and we’ve got a winner, winner chicken dinner in GIF HOUND.

Recently created by Mike Hayes, social media editor at BuzzFeed, I was hooked after viewing GIF HOUND for less than a minute. Brilliant. Viewing animated GIFs highlighting headline-making news stories in short form actually relaxes my brain. The photos make me take pause before moving to the next and entice me to read the caption-length recaps.

The animated GIF above was one Hayes created to tell the story about Portland filmmaker James Winters who “enlisted his two sons and nephew to remake the classic music video as a tribute to Adam “MCA” Yauch who passed away on May 4.”

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I say an animated GIF is worth a million. You are onto something here, Mike.

Do you think animated GIFs are underutilized in the news industry? Share your thoughts in the comments.

p.s. Think I might to start making some for FAVES.

What are you FAVES? Share them with me for future posts, right here.

(Photo courtesy of GIF HOUND)

There are some seriously cool sports, government and entertainment openings over at ole Twitter. Looks like they’re revving up their production of curated and original online content. If you “live and breathe” the world of Twitter, you might want to check these out.

Associate Producer, Sports Editorial
New York City, NY

Twitter is changing the way athletes and teams connect with their fans. Twitter’s Media team is looking for an ambitious, highly creative individual to help tell stories using the wealth of authentic sports content on Twitter.

Hey sports buffs! If you’re an expert curator, know lots about sports and love Twitter, this could be your next gig. You’ll get to share sporting events from NASCAR, PGA, MLB and more. The right candidate has likely been a sports writer or blogger, and has experience covering sports live.

Associate, Government & News
Washington, D.C.

Have you participated in a Twitter chat around events like the State of the Union or presidential debates? This is probably right up your alley. You get to help produce the integration of Twitter at major political events and work with government officials, agencies and candidates to share real-time news and information.

Editor, Twitter Media Site
San Francisco, CA

The Content & Programming team needs a creative, ambitious writer and editor to both 1) help us tell the story of that transformation and 2) support our partners in those industries with data, case studies, and best practices. This is an opportunity for someone fascinated by the future of media to help define and drive it: you’ll be writing the playbook for the next two years of innovation.

Manager, Sports Creative Relationships
Los Angeles

Your task: nurture relationships, develop best tweeting practices and produce unique content in collaboration with high profile athletes and their teams. You should have a strong vision for the broad potential of sports on Twitter, while being rigorously focused on execution of specific content plays and event integrations.

What are you FAVES? Share them with me for future posts, right here.

What better way to walk the talk than to actually do it? That’s what Gary Vaynerchuck (@garyvee) recently did by sending thank you gifts to all 3,200 people who pre-ordered copies of his new book, The Thank You Economy.

Guess how he found out who bought his book in advance? It wasn’t an automated process. He personally read and reviewed each and every email with a receipt of purchase. Mad props to the Vaynermeister. So, what did people get? A personalized gift box chalk full of goodies from Gary and other brands who want to be associated with his brand. I’ll guess, based on the tweets and photos recipients are sharing, that Gary just made a big deposit in their emotional bank account.

who got their box? This was for peeps that pre ordered TYE months before it came out -“@markinhifi Thanks, @garyvee http://t.co/Ay4AYUeh”

May 9, 2012 9:03 am via Tweetbot for iOSReplyRetweetFavorite

@garyvee

Gary Vaynerchuk

This is a testament to the power of THANK YOU. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it adds a more sincere way to market. I mean, I like the idea so much I shared it as a FAVE! And I’m not the only one. Fast Company contributor Francine Hardaway says,

“Can you believe it? He’s thanking ME for buying his book when I thought I was thanking HIM for speaking at the Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference:-) And he is actually going by hand through his emails to find out who bought and sent the receipt. No one is doing it for him, and it’s not an algorithm. It’s a friend talking to a friend, expressing gratitude, authenticity, and loyalty.”

In the spirit of today’s post, THANK YOU for reading FAVES. I write this blog to help make the interwebz a bit more intimate and learn from each of you.

Want an alert delivered to your inbox each time something from your site is pinned on Pinterest? PinAlerts, still in beta, is like Google Alerts for your FAVE pinnable site.

Sign up is quick and painless and you have the option to add additional websites once your registration is finalized. Don’t have multiple sites? No problem. Add in your competitors to monitor who is pinning what from their site(s). It’s all in the name of competitive analysis.

Once your account is activated you’ll receive simple, bulleted emails with links to the pins, name of the images and date they were pinned.

If the thought of getting more email gives you hives, you can adjust email notification settings.

What can you do with the information? Use it as a pulse check to see which images get the best response, interact with people who care enough to pin your stuff, keep an almost real time grasp on your content and brand reputation. Doesn’t hurt that it’s free.

Check out PinAlerts for yourself and let me know what you think.

This weekend I announced my move as the new Chief Evangelist for Tracky. It couldn’t have come during a better (and more inspirational time) as I attended Mashable Connect (#mashcon) at Walt Disney World. People have asked WHY I decided to make this move, uproot my family and go “all in” on a Vegas startup.

Thanks to #MashCon, I took away extremely valuable life and business lessons that allow me to communicate my move and, hopefully, share inspiration with other entrepreneurs.

It’s all about the #partyofdavids (as in David v Goliath).

CAVEAT: This was much more eloquently put by the man who reinvented political campaigning, Joe Trippi (@joetrippi).

The #partyofdavids doesn’t only apply to social media and #gov20. Entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, rely on the masses (us little guys) to use their products, platforms and networks. The Davids are the ones getting things done. In fact, it’s one of the essential reasons I decided to join Tracky. The “little guys” are in the trenches. We are building “the next big thing.” We have willpower and determination — and a little bit of crazy — that big guys may no longer have.

When someone says, “Yah, but doesn’t Google do that?” Remember Wave? The biggest don’t always succeed at everything they touch. In addition to the smarts (and some funding) it takes spirit, heart and passion. Next time you’re discouraged think about the #partyofdavids and know that the small, but mighty can (and do) prevail.

The current state of email is broken.

This one is inspired by MakeLoveNotPorn founder, Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) (otherwise known as the woman who stole the show). She asked the question, “What if a brand solved the problem of email overload for all of us?” It gave me chills when she said it. Why? Because it re-framed the way I think about my new role. That’s what Tracky is DOING. There isn’t a good way to stay on top of it all, manage tasks, create content, respond on social networks, etc… You know the drill. Now it’s my job to get the word out to the #partyofdavids and help solve this problem.

Pass out the slingshots.

The businesses who provide the TOOLS to the #partyofdavids will ultimately win. Not as easy as it sounds. You need to create the tools the masses need (e.g. Apple) the way they want. Once you get the tools in their hands, not only has your business won, but your customers do, too.

The new marketing is complete transparency.

Don’t laugh this one off. If you work somewhere and the thought process is, “be careful what you post online,” you should probably ask yourself why. If you’re completely transparent, you have nothing to fear. I don’t mean to imply you should post trade secrets and internal documents online. This applies to honest online interactions. In fact, this doesn’t ONLY apply to social networks. It gets at the heart of what Tracky does with social collaboration. When you’re all working together on a project in a platform that allows you to get everything done, it eliminates the need for excuses, passing the blame, CYA, etc… Your transparency is the the final product you create and the steps it took to get there.

Disney really is a magical place.

I left Orlando with a sore back (darn you diaper bags) and a reminder of the power of children. Watching Baby K and thousands of other children interact with unabashed glee really did something to the ole ticker. I feel more inspired today than I have in a very long time.

p.s. No, not every post from now on will be about my new career. It just so happens that it’s my FAVE thing right now. We’ll get back to the FAVES format, stat.

Here it is my FAVE family, friends and colleagues, an announcement I’ve been waiting to share. It’s the chapter of life’s adventure myself, along with the Tracky team, are excited to share with you:

PR and social media consultant Sarah Evans (@PRsarahevans) announced (and tweeted) she’s joining Tracky, a Las Vegas-based startup, as the new Chief Evangelist and moving her family to the City of Lights.

Tracky is an open social collaboration tool that Evans believes has the potential to change the way we work together both online and off. This isn’t just press release kind of talk either. It’s already working for her. She’s fully embraced the product to do everything from changing the way she engages with audiences, receive pitches for her blog, Sarah’s Faves and even plan her family’s move to Vegas.

Evans originally joined Tracky’s advisory board and realized the HUGE potential of the product. She wanted a bigger role in the company and co-founders David (@davidgosse) and Jennifer (@jennifergosse) Gosse couldn’t say no to her puppy dog-like begging.

As Chief Evangelist, Evans’ role is a mashup of all her favorite things (which happen to be Tracky’s as well). She will continue blogging, speaking, attending tech events and consulting all over the country. When she’s in the fabulous Las Vegas office she’ll be in-house PR counsel and produce a new web show, Track Stars.

Want to send Sarah and the Tracky team your well wishes, jokes and quippy remarks? Use hashtag #ontracky.

As one of Evans’ best friends, Lindsey Brach said, “You would work for a company with a smiley face as their logo.” It’s true. Tracky makes meaningful connections and productive collaborations on a daily basis.

Need to get stuff done? You might enjoy Tracky. Go ahead and give it a try. We’re not the only ones who like it. They just won first place for “best web app” at Future Insights Live, judged by super smart peeps like Jason Calacanis — @jason.

At Tracky, we don’t want our community members to be humorless doer-drones; we want them to express themselves, be themselves, create a portfolio of projects that represents who they are, and feel empowered by the Tracky community to get amazing things done.

Tracky: Connect. Collaborate. Done.
Tracky is an online open social collaboration platform that encompasses to-do lists, live chat, calendars, task management, people and project discovery, social accountability, cloud-based storage and more.

Calling all Apple fanboys and girls! It’s pretty likely that the new MacBook Pro 2012 will be announced this June at WWDC. Want to be among the first to get one? There’s a giveaway for that.

I’m teaming up with the charming marketing wiz, Jason Sadler of @iwearyourshirt to give away the new MacBook Pro 2012 and spread the word about an online tool that will help to organize your life. It’s not too good to be true. It is true.

Jason and I are crazy inundated with emails, information, tasks and our personal lives — just like you. We teamed up to challenge one another to stop the insanity and get on track. Enter Tracky.

Tracky is a social collaboration platform and their online and mobile platform is, well, a game changer.

(I’m not the only one who thinks so. They just won first place for “best web app” at Future Insights Live, judged by super smart peeps like Jason Calacanis — @jason).

I’m constantly looking for better systems to get things done (GTD for the productivity enthusiasts out there). When CEO of Tracky, David Gosse (@davidgosse), demoed it for me, I was smitten. My reaction? This is project management for people who hate project management (or productivity apps, or simple to do lists, or whatever). Why? Because it’s not ONLY about a faster, simpler and mobile way of getting things done, it’s also about social collaboration – that is, finding people who are the best at what they do and being able to connect and collaborate with them. I need this to schedule my life, curate ideas and share information with my social circles and find other people I want to work with.

(We even used Tracky to plan this giveaway — down to the last, tiny detail.)

And now, that “little” giveaway I mentioned…

This giveaway will award a random participant with the nerdtasticness that is going to be the MacBook Pro 2012 AND it’s going to help Tracky get users, followers and spread the message of a better way to collaborate. Just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. The more actions you take, the more entries you get, increasing your chances of winning the MacBook Pro 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway closes on May 23, 2012.

Ever want to share a FAVE Twitter conversation you had with the rest of your followers? It was a time consuming (and often avoided) process…before today. Now you can easily share your thought-provoking banter, thanks to a new partnership between Storify and Tweetbot.

Tweetbot, called the best Twitter app in the App Store” by The Business Insider  released version 2.3 – today (Monday, April 30), complete with “share conversations” feature and Storify integration. Can I just voice my tech-entitled little voice and say, “FINALLY!!!!” This is one of those features I’ve been waiting for Twitter itself to create and it looks like I’m not the only one.

Many times I tweet with people and want to share our conversation either privately with a peer (via email) or publicly with other Twitter followers (via a tweet). Tweetbot now lets you grab an entire Twitter thread and tweet a link to it within Storify.

Wondering how this works? Well, if you don’t have an iPhone or iPad you may want to look away. That’s right. For now it only works for Apple fanboys and girls.

The good, old “how to” direct from the Storify team:

1. Download the Tweetbot app
2. Get a Storify account (if you don’t already have one)
3. See an interesting @reply on Tweetbot and swipe to the right to reveal the entire conversation.
4. From the drop-down menu, click to Tweet this Conversation
5. A new story is automatically created on your Storify account linked to your Twitter account. If you don’t have a Storify account or if your Twitter identity is not linked to your account, it will automatically create a new Storify user.
6. A tweet is generated with a link to the Storify story of the conversation. Add your own message and share it with your followers!
7. Your followers can now click on the link and enjoy the conversation on Storify.

On April 29, Kickstarter, the peer-to-peer crowdfunding site, celebrated their third birthday. Here’s wishing them many more successful years.

In a post reminiscing about the big launch, co-founder Yancy Strickler shares,

“In February 2009 we shared a closed alpha version of the site with friends. On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, the site went live. Perry launched the first project — Grace Jones Does Not Give a F$#% T-Shirt (Limited Edition) — and I was the first backer. Perry and I launched another project that day with our friend Claudia called New York Makes a Book.

The first successfully funded project was on May 3, 2009. It was called Drawing for Dollars and it raised $35 from three backers, Perry included. It was a start! Three projects were successfully funded that first week. As of this writing, there have been 21,922 successfully funded projects since.”

photo credit: SurprisePally via photo pin cc