Tag Archives: Washington D.C.

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How YOU Can Attend the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama

With the holidays quickly behind us, many are looking forward to the next one: The Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama on Jan. 20, 2009. Indeed, many companies [at least in the DC area] are giving an added holiday to their employees in recognition of the day!

Other organizations are offering ways for individuals to get more involved and to attend:

The CASE Foundation recently launched a “Change Begins With Me: initiative that coincides with a free trip for two to the inauguration. The campaign calls for people across the nation to visit the CASE Foundation’s Web site and make a personal pledge to “be the change” in 2009 by finishing the sentence “Change begins with me…” No idea is too small or big…whether it’s a personal commitment regarding one’s neighborhood, school, community or world. As an added bonus, this person will also participate in the Washington, DC Martin Luther King Day of Service. To get the creative juices flowing, the CASE Foundation has some other great initiatives that allow one to take action and also lists ways to “be the change” on their blog. Entries will be accepted until 3pm Jan. 12.

The Presidential Inauguration Committee is also offering your potential “ticket to history” to ten lucky winners between now and January 8. To be considered, you just have to answer the question, “What does this inauguration mean to you?” If selected, you and a guest could be flown to Washington D.C., put up in a hotel, and be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Road Trip to Change. On a budget? No worries. Organizers, led by Horace Mackey, are gathering people in over 20 cities together in groups and car-pooling to the big day! If interested, you can still sign up, join the fun and make new friends along the way.

What have I missed? Are there other contests/opps out there not listed?

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Happy Birthday SocialButterfly…and Me!

Today marks SocialButterfly’s 1-year birthday.

This past year was full of surprises, new adventures, and has been such a great whirlwind that I feel much like the kitten in the picture – trying to catch my breathe and “paws.” My anthem for 2008 was “Too Blessed to be Stressed,” and many times, I found myself needing to be reminded of just that.

This past year, I:

Moved 4 times, one being from the middle of the Missouri River in Columbia, Missouri to the row houses of Capitol Hill.
Have been deliriously happy as a new bride-to-be. After a two-year, long distance relationship, my honey and I are now sharing the same city and enjoying building a new life together. Bless our hearts, we looked at 33 different places in DC before we decided upon our current apartment. Needless to say, I felt like we had earned our real estate licenses!
I graduated grad school, finished a fellowship, wrote and presented my thesis paper across the pond, and began a full-time gig doing what I love – social marketing and social media marketing.
Worked with a total of about 8 part-time volunteers, including my parents, one of my best friends, and a few people from our community in Arkansas, through a grassroots effort, created and built a fund raiser for Multiple Sclerosis and raised over $70,000 in one night – making my total efforts in four years of MS fund raising a total of $325k+.
Made many new friends and colleagues that continue to inspire me through Changebloggers, motivate me through connections on Twitter and online community, support me in my development and run the race with me….so to all you readers and friends, I hope I have done the same for you in return. If not, give me a little kick in the pants, and I’ll get going.

For 2009, who knows what will be next….but I promise you, we’ll be sure to keep it interesting. As a fellow reminder to both myself and my readers, keep perspective, and as a friend of mine once told me, “Keep the main thing, the main thing.”

Not only is it the blog’s birthday this week, but it’s also mine…in case the title through you for a loop. =)

flickr credit: loveberries
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(Ad Council and IAA) Survey Says: More Social Marketing!

At this past week’s International Advertising Association’s World Congress in Washington D.C, the Ad Council and IAA revealed results from the Ad Council IAA Member Survey on Social Advertising Programs. For all social marketers out there, the results are on our side.

Among the Key Findings, the following figures were given in support of social marketing:

57% of respondents felt their country should implement MORE social marketing campaigns than it currently has.
61% said their country NEEDS HELP developing social marketing campaigns.
90% of respondents expressed interest in sharing and learning MORE about research and creative materials for social marketing campaigns in other countries.

As I was in attendance during this conference, you can imagine how STOKED I was about this. I had to pinch myself. Here I was at the IAA World Congress, and did I hear right: We are talking about social marketing. The real social marketing. Not social media. I could barely contain myself. Then, it happens again, and then again. And then I realize, the IAA is trying to educate and send a message to the ad community: invest in social marketing!

But where were we social marketers? our experts in the field? our voice? Absent. Here was a chance to share our passion, knowledge, excitement and message with the very industry that we can work with….and we weren’t there. So, here is my message for this post. Social marketing is great and wonderful. But we can’t stay in our bubble. We’ve reached out to the non-profit community, but all advertisers aren’t bad. There are big movers and shakers who want to do good and see the value in doing goog. We need to integrate ourselves with them….not be divisive.

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These results were shared with the Advertising industry during the IAA presentation for the 1st Social Responsibility advertising awards. These awards were presented with cooperation between IAA and ACT Responsible. The Grand Prix winner was “Signature” for Amnesty International by TBWA/Paris. To see the rest of the recipients, go here.

(This was a web-based survey through Zoomerang among IAA members from December 13, 2007 to February 11, 2008. 204 completed surveys were received from member respondents in six continents. Respondents included respondents from advertisers, ad agencies, media outlets, research companies, trade associations and universities.)

Creative, Relevant, Modern, Insightful, Targeted Ads from…the Library of Congress?!?

Yes, it’s true.

If you are a resident of the Washington D.C. area and frequent the GalleryPlace-Chinatown Metro stop, you can’t help but notice the new ads for the Library of Congress…at every turn, corner and wall.

According to the Library of Congress blog, the ads support the new Library of Congress Experience, opening April 12 by purchasing ads through private funding and placing the ads in the DC Metro System:

“We know that once people are in DC and they learn about what we’re all about, they are much more prone to visit,” excerpt from the Library of Congress blog.

The ads illustrate what the library offers ‘At Your fingertips‘ through four distinct ads, each featuring one of four historically famous people who represent a common good. ‘Imagination‘ for Thomas Jefferson, ‘Integrity‘ for Abraham Lincoln, ‘Fame‘ for Marilyn Monroe and ‘Courage‘ for Jackie Robinson. The tagline featured on each advertisement is ‘Explore. Discover. Be Inspired.” And inspired we are! The Washington Post also recently featured the campaign as a larger story found here

Images from Washington Post.com

Catch the Wave with MLK, Jr.

What wave you may ask? The wave of effective positive change in yourself and in your community. At the Next Wave Take Action Summit 2008, the leaders of the future gathered and shared King’s inspiration with their visions for the next big wave of change.

Participants in this interactive 3-day program to learn how to create, develop and spread this ‘wave’ for social change. Speakers shared insights, knowledge and resources about copyright, trademark, gaining nonprofit status, business development, financial integrity, marketing, social marketing and fund raising. The main message: Before you can motivate/inspire/encourage/support others….you have to know who you are, where you’re are going, your strengths, weaknesses, etc.

As organizer Tambra Stevenson might say, “You’ve got to lead your own ship before you can have effective leadership with others.”

The social entrepreneurs who attended this past weekend’s summit are steering their own ship and others, addressing such social causes as:

– Eco-enterprise
– Youth literacy
– Financial literacy
– Health awareness
– Political engagement
– Poverty and welfare
– Health and Wellness
– and more!

Yours truly also spoke about the exciting field of social marketing and social marketing’s role in the growing field of social enterprise. Other summit speakers represented a kaleidoscope of organizations including: ASHOKA Foundation, IQ Solutions, OhMyGov!, GreenDMV, William James Foundation, First Environment, Chance Academy, D.C. Mayor’s Office on Community Affairs, Upgrade America, IBM, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Copyright Office, Nonprofit Roundtable, D.C. Office of Partnerships and Grants Development, Main Streets Anacostia, Creative Cause, DNC Women’s Leadership Forum.

In the future, the Next Wave Take Action committee plans on hosting an event to commemorate Robert Kennedy’s assassination. See you there!

DC Social Media Event with Robert Scoble and Gary Vaynerchuk

Will I see you here?

The event is now sold out! But many of us social media types in DC are going to go, and I am one of them. If you’re there, I’d love to put a face to the name!

Flickr: urlgrl and chasingfun

Robert Scoble is the social media guru who works at FastCompany TV and runs the infamous blog Scobleizer.

Gary Vaynerchuk runs the highly successful WineLibrary TV.

Social Media and Innovation Combine to Launch 1st Non-Profit Christian Movie Studio Where You Decide

Who’s more influential – Washington D.C. or Hollywood?

Stay with me. Obviously, not all may agree on the content. But, this is worth taking a few minutes to review even if only:

You enjoy social media
You like learning about new business models
You have a heart for nonprofits
Want to learn more about the power a community can have
You want to know how all the above can combine to create CHANGE

IJNP, In Jesus’ Name Productions, launched last week during the Cannes Film Festival. It’s promotional video is below. It’s a bit long, but fast forward to the last minute, and you can get the *details.*

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwVSUQtWaQ

In sum:

IJNP desires to leverage social networks with the purpose of uniting Christians around the world to have a ‘say’ in the making of film. IJNP offers Christians to have an influential role in determining which movies the studio makes and/or partners with.

For $10/month (the price of a movie ticket), members can be a part of ‘participatory film making’ from beginning to end through IJNP’s soon to be launched member social network.
- At 50k-100k members, movies on par with Hollywood can be made.
- At a million members, summer blockbusters can be made.
IJNP will work with the best Christian filmmakers in the industry and has integrated a Christian Film making Apprentice Program.
IJNP’s Advisory Board currently has representatives from Campus Crusade for Christ, Hollywood Connect, Luis Palau Association and Youth For Christ.
More details on how a financial gift breaks down, IJNP’s elected advisory board, ‘participatory filmmaking,‘ and learning how to get involved, visit the newly launched website.

First thoughts? And, this is posted in terms of looking at the non-profit business model and the use of social media through social networks.

This should be interesting… =)