#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie (List of 12s for 2012!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

Happy New Year Nerds! It’s my first TNTML post of 2012 so I’m sticking with the “new year” theme! Like many nerds, I love making lists. To-do lists are the most common for me. I make these daily to stay on task with both my personal and professional life. In fact I’ve even added things to my to-do list after I already accomplished them, just so I can check it off. C’mon I know I’m not the only one who’s done this before! Fess up if you have ;)!

Instead of resolutions, I shared with my network that 2012 means making “Lists of 12s”!

I’m working on lists of 12 new restaurants to try, 12 new places to go, 12 marketing goals for my business and the list I’d like to share with Talk Nerdy To Me Lover is, 12 tech/web/social media related things I’d like to do in 2012! (Yep I’m sharing my nerdiest list with all of you!)

• Pinterest- We all know about my food porn addiction I recently joined Pinterest and wow, it’s any food porn addict’s DREAM! I have 2 boards related to food. My Sweet Tooth is filled with gorgeous, mouth-watering sweets. Rather than just look at these images and drool, in 2012 I’m going to actually make at least 2 desserts I’ve pinned on Pinterest. (Give me food and I’ll cook but please note I have virtually zero experience when it comes to baking sweets so this is something new for me!)



• Facebook- Part of what I do for my Marketing clients is work with them to create customized social media profiles that are cohesive with their brand and website. You know the old saying “The Cobbler’s children have no shoes”? I spend a lot of time helping clients create a marketing strategy that effectively integrates social media and Facebook is one of the main tools I use. However, even though I help clients with this, I personally haven’t had an opportunity to customize my own Facebook page. In 2012, I’m going to redesign my Facebook Page so it’s cohesive with my website and brand.  
• Yelp- Write a minimum of 12 new Yelp reviews in 2012
   
• LinkedIn- I’m grateful that I’ve received so many positive recommendations from my colleagues, clients and partners on LinkedIn. I’m truly humbled by reading the things people who have benefited from my work. I’ve been meaning to create a “Testimonials” section on my website by transferring many of my LinkedIn recommendations. In 2012 I’m going to create a “Testimonials” section on my website based on my LinkedIn recommendations.
   
• Gmail- I’ve created folders and filters for many emails, but not all. I have thousands and thousands of unread messages in my inbox. I’ve trained myself to skip over unimportant emails such as ones from newsletters I don’t recall signing up for or emails related to people connecting with me on a social network but this still means there’s clutter in my inbox. In the past few days I’ve already unsubscribed from about 15 email lists and removed over 4000 messages from my inbox. I have over 8000 to go! In 2012 I’m going to get my gmail inbox down to zero, for the first time ever!
  
  
• Evernote- While Evernote helps me stay organized; my Evernote itself needs to be organized. Whenever forward an email to my evernote the email doesn’t get categorized into a folder immediately. This is one of the main ways to update my Evernote so I definitely have some cleaning up to do. In 2012 I’m going to clean up my Evernote account.
  
• Foursquare- I’m a total Foursquare lover! <nerdy tangent>Make sure April 16^th is marked on your calendar for Foursquare Day it’s on 4/16 because 4 squared = 16</nerdy tangent>. I’m currently a Super User- Level 2. The highest Super User Level is 3 and I’ve read that it’s virtually impossible to become a Level 3 Super User but my wordplay mind comes to fruition because in the word “impossible” I just see the words “I’m possible” so in 2012 I’m going to become a Foursquare Super User- Level 3!
   
• YouTube- I’m not a regular YouTuber but I’m currently working on an awesome Social Media related video that will be published soon. My goal is to get at least 1 million views on this video. I know that sounds extreme especially since my current YouTube videos have views only in the hundreds. I’ve got a good feeling about this video and in 2012 I’m going to get 1 million views on my social media related YouTube video.
   
• Twitter- All of my Twitter followers were gained authentically through people finding my page and being interested in topics I tweet about. I’d like to continue being a resource on Twitter but also build up my Twitter following with more people who are engaged in conversation and content I post. In 2012 I’m going to grow my Twitter following to over 5000 while keeping in mind this must be done authentically through just being me!
  
  
• Phone- My Droid 2 just isn’t cutting it! Rather than continue to complain about how my phone is slow in 2012 I’m going to get a new phone!
   
• Laptop- My laptop and all the information it contains is literally my most valuable possession. It contains photos, music, confidential documents etc. It used to be backed up on the cloud but my subscription ended and I haven’t had a chance to renew. Whether on the cloud or on a hard drive, in 2012 I need to make sure I back up my laptop again!
   
• Blogging- My last in my list of 12s is something that will keep me accountable for 1-11 on this list! And that’s to write a follow up blog post in 6 months and then right before on 2013 on what items have been checked in on this tech/web/social media list of 12!

Wishing everyone the best of the best in 2012! Thank you again to @JenFriel for having me a part of her community and everyone who reads my posts. I’ve really appreciated the tweets, Facebook Likes and Subscribes and emails! It makes me happy to hear from you so please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time!

#thatisall

Click here to follow Melodie on twitter and check out her blog over yonder!

#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie (There are Plenty of Fish at Comic Con)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

Any reader of this site knows that nerds dominate the online dating scene. I mean our very own @JenFriel has gone on over 109 okcupid dates in 9 months and even survived getting suspended from OKCupid! Our beautiful @itsmejoolie had a big dating adventure prompted by OKCupid and, we got @casetines , A Dude in the OKC Corral and not to mention the lovely @itsjessweaver met her husband on Plenty of Fish.

Online dating uses math and other nerdy algorithms to match people up, in addition it gives you a chance to screen people based on your criteria and find out how tech and online savvy someone is even before you meet them. Sounds pretty rad to me! Oh and I recently learned Online Dating Is Now Officially A More Popular Way To Meet People Than Bars And Clubs! How does this relate to me you say? Well I’ve got an EPIC online dating story for you. Even more epic than when I found out I was targeted on a craigslist missed connection.

A couple years ago I set up a profile on Plenty of Fish. Not taking it too seriously I didn’t really log on much or go on many dates through that site. I sent a few emails back and forth with one particular dude after he sent me a fairly generic note: “Hi, would you be interested in talking and perhaps sharing date night this Friday. I'm new to this and quite interested in having fun with the new venture! Take care” (Note: Plenty of Fish deletes old messages and I no longer have an account so I can’t actually log on to screen shot messages. The messages also don’t show up in email notifications so you have to actually log in to retrieve them. However, I did copy and paste this text and found it in my email inbox). I don’t normally respond to generic messages but I recall being intrigued by this dude’s profile so I messaged him back asking him more about what he did for a living. He explained to me how he was starting his own business and then proceeded to ask me out again for that Friday night (Our messages were exchanged on a Monday). I intended to reply back but since I wasn’t taking the site too seriously it wasn’t a priority and completely slipped my mind to log back on to set up a date for Friday. At this point I had giving him zero personal information so he had no way of emailing or calling me outside of Plenty of Fish.

Fast Forward to Friday of that same week and Comic Con is in town! Comic Con comes to San Diego every summer. Pretty much the largest nerd/geek fest ever! I’m talking over 130,000 nerds and geeks all in one place! My friend had a 4 day pass and couldn’t make it that Friday so she let me borrow her pass. I took the trolley down to Comic Con and spent about 2 hours walking around the expo hall in what can be described as Halloween on crack. Nerdy costumes galore!

The Gaslamp (Downtown San Diego) is booming during Comic- Con. As soon as I stepped out of the convention center, I see a fairly long line at the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Truck. The line keeps growing.

Dude behind me in line: What’s going on here?
Me: I think they’re giving out free ice cream

We ask the person in front of us and it’s confirmed. Free ice cream! Who could resist that deal? The dude behind me in line strikes up a conversation with me.

Dude: Were you just at Comic-Con?
Me: Yep. My friend let me borrow her pass for the day so I went to check it out for a couple hours. What about you?
Dude: Yep. I was just there too. Same situation, my friend had a 4 day pass but had to work today so she let me borrow her pass. Me: Cool what did you think? Dude: It was crazy I’ve never seen anything like it.
Me: Yeah I’ve been the last few years just for sightseeing. I always love seeing the costumes.
Dude: (Changes subject from Comic Con) So are you from San Diego?
Me: Yeah, I grew up here and have spent most of my life in San Diego. How about you?
Dude: My parents live here and I just got back from traveling and teaching English in Thailand for a year.
Me: That sounds like a cool experience! What do you plan to do next?
Dude: I’m starting my own business in the restaurant industry. We partner with restaurants and offer a wine club people can join so they can avoid corkage fees at restaurants when bringing their own wine.
Me: That company sounds really familiar, I think I’ve met someone from your company before.
Dude: Oh really? I have one other partner but we really haven’t launched yet.
Me: Hm…I swear I’ve talked to someone recently who works for a company that does exactly what you’re describing. Are you in the Chamber of Commerce? Or any other networking groups?
Dude: Nope
Me: Weird, I know I’ve met someone from your company before.

Finally we make it to the front of the line for ice cream! We continue standing on the street and talking while eating our ice cream.

Dude: There is a similar company in Las Vegas that recently ran a Groupon deal. That might be where you heard of it.
Me: Yeah I am on Groupon’s mailing list, must be it So at this point we both convince ourselves that I’ve never heard of his company. Even though I still know that I have. Either that or I was going crazy!
Dude: (As we’re finishing our ice cream) So what are you doing for the rest of the evening?
Me: I was going to grab some food and check out the concert at Petco Park.
Dude: Sounds fun, I’m pretty hungry, ice cream doesn’t cut it. Want to go grab some food at Happy Hour?
Me: Sure! Let’s do it.

We started walking around to find a place for Happy Hour. We see the Palm Restaurant so decide to go there. We sit at the bar, order a couple appetizers, drinks and our random meeting at Comic-Con has basically turned into a date! There is nothing nerdier than meeting at Comic Con, right?! Our conversation continues. We discuss our hobbies, backgrounds, places we’ve traveled to. At this point I’ve probably spent over an hour with the dude I just met in line at an ice cream truck outside of Comic Con. He starts talking about his business again and his dog.

Dude: Do you have any pets?
Me: No. I love animals but don’t have time for pets right now. Do you? Dude: Yeah I have a dog. I really missed him when I was in Thailand.

All of a sudden if dawns on me as to why everything he was telling me sounds oh-so- familiar.

Me: OMG You messaged me on Plenty of Fish! That’s how I know you, that’s how I heard about your company because you described to me in an email what you did for a living and how you’re starting your own business in the restaurant industry!
Dude: Holy Shit! Are you serious?
Me: You started talking about how you missed your dog when you were in Thailand and I remember you saying that in an email to me!
Dude: Wait a minute I totally recognize you now! I remember all our emails.
Me: WHOA I even remember your last email to me was asking me out for Friday which is TODAY! Sorry I never replied, I don’t check that site regularly. But apparently I didn’t need to since we’re still out together on Friday!
Dude: No worries, I understand how it is. Look I’m even wearing the same shirt as my profile photo (Orange shirt)
Me: This is crazy! I can’t believe out of the thousands of people at Comic Con we would end up here together.
Dude: If anything, this gives us a great story to tell.
Me: I’ve had some pretty crazy things happen to me but this tops the list. We’re both still in awe that the universe brought us together in the way that it did through random occurrences that I guess aren’t at all random.

We finish out food/drinks, pay and walk over to Petco Park where there was a concert going on to catch the end of it.

The pseudo date was ending so he asks me how I got downtown.

Me: I took the trolley.
Dude: I’m happy to give you a ride back if you’d like.
Me: Sure I’m parked at the Trolley station.

He drops me off at the Trolley station and we say our goodbyes. We were both still in shock by our meeting. I mean what are the odds of meeting in the midst of 130,000?! Not only just meeting but actually talking, hitting it off, deciding to continue hanging out together that same night?! Now you’re probably wondering what happened after our epic meeting….Oh the suspense…..NOTHING! Absolutely nothing! I believe that everything happens for a reason so the reason for me meeting the dude was for the sole purpose of giving me this amazing story! And it really is true; there are Plenty of Fish at Comic Con!

#thatisall

Click here to follow Melodie on twitter or find her on facebook here and check out her blog over yonder!

#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie (Wordplay Turns Me On)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

I already confessed that  I’m addicted to food porn and shared the nerdy ways I get my fix. Well I have another confession to make…WORDPLAY TURNS ME ON. A lot.

Before I continue a song is in order to accompany this post:

Jason Mraz sounds so dreamy as he sings about Wordplay! That’s the first way I get turned on by wordplay, but it doesn’t stop there. I just can’t get enough!

Words With Friends- My all-time favorite social game! What better way to connect with friends over an educational game that really makes you use your brain?! At one point I had 10+ games going on simultaneously. I’ve actually taken a break from playing but I follow Words With Friends on both Facebook and Twitter and I love learning their Word of the Day! I know this sounds extremely nerdy but it’s so fun to learn new, obscure words to add in my vocabulary. After all I have mastered the art of learning something new every day So what do you say? Are you ready to play now?

Two of my favorite documentaries revolve around wordplay. I love documentaries because I feel like I’m getting a behind the scenes peek at a topic or subject I find interest. The first documentary I love and highly recommend is titled, none other than Wordplay!

Will Shortz, the famous Puzzle Creator (yes he really has this title) for the New York Times gives you the inside scoop on how crossword puzzles are created. From crossword puzzle tournaments to crossword puzzle clothing, to one of the most genius crossword puzzles in history that was said to predict the winner of the Clinton-Dole Presidential Election in 1996, Wordplay is a must see for any Nerd! My wordplay documentaries don’t end there. Another favorite of mine is Spellbound!

The competition is fierce as you get a glimpse of kids preparing, training and participating in spelling bees!

I love pun-ny jokes. I’m talking super cheesy, corny, eye roll worthy jokes. You know, the ones you might find on Laffy Taffy wrappers. They’re wholesome, clean and extremely inspired with wordplay elements. Before I end this post I can’t resist sharing some Laffy Taffy Jokes with you!

What is smarter than a talking bird?-- A spelling bee
Why don’t oysters give to charity?-- Because they’re shellfish.…
How do you get a peanut to laugh? -- you crack it up
How do billboards talk? -- Sign language!
Why did the bowling pins stop working? -- Because they went on Strike.

Alright I’ll spare you the additional groans with the jokes, but I seriously love it! From music to movies to games, wordplay is everywhere and I still can’t get enough! I leave you with wise words from the Buddha  “Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace”.

#Word

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mymelodie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketingMelodie
Blog: http://www.marketingmelodie.com

#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie (Yep, I’m a Craigslist Missed Connection)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

When I think of Craigslist, I think of a place where I sell furniture and buy discounted tickets. But we all know there are so many other things you can accomplish on Craigslist. In fact, here are 10 things to do on Craigslist. Aside from that, I'd like to preface that I  attract so many unique situations into my life and Craigslist attracts so many unique situations on to their site. This connection is the only reason I can think of as to how I ended up on Craigslist's "Missed Connections" section but even more intriguing to me is that I actually found the ad about me. Although this happened years ago, it's still one of my favorite stories to tell about all my social media and internet adventures.

In 2007 I was snowboarding in Big Bear one weekend with some friends. We were on the shuttle bus taking us to the resort and conversing with other bus riders about how cold it was that weekend. We were staying in a cabin but our pipes were frozen which meant no hot showers in the freezing cold weather (remember I'm from San Diego so anything below 60 is freezing to me). At that time I was working in radio so I was also talking about my job to people on the shuttle. I love meeting new people and have no problem striking up a conversation with almost anyone. When we arrived at our destination, I said goodbye to my fellow shuttle riders and we all went our separate ways to enjoy a fun weekend snowboarding.

The following week when I was back in San Diego I was listening to the radio and they were talking about funny ads on Craigslist's "Missed Connections". I've used Craigslist for many things but I've never been on the "Missed Connections" section so I decided to check after hearing the radio bit. I log on and almost immediately an ad jumps out at me. I had to take a double look and sure enough there was an ad about me on the "Missed Connections" section. I actually freaked out a little thinking, did this really happen?! The first time I check this section of Craigslist there is an ad about me?! WOW! It just makes me wonder how many times I didn't check the site when there may have been an ad about me. Here is the actual ad:

"Ok so I thougth you were cute and I said something stupid, and I do agree with that your friend said... hell I creeped myself out too afterwards. Anyways you had a snow board, said you worked for 93.3 as a promotions person, I offered my place so you could take a shower because your place has frozen pipes. So maybe lets hang out if anything."

Now you're probably wondering if I ever contacted the guy who wrote this ad? I decided not to contact him since I didn't remember who he was. So even though I don't have a crazy follow up story about how I met a guy on Craiglist's "Missed Connections"  I still think this is a top moment in my internet adventures. Has anyone else ever used Craigslist's "Missed Connections"? I would be interested in talking to someone who actually met up with their missed connection! Well, here’s to having a blast through social media and internet adventures!

#NerdsUnite

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mymelodie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketingMelodie
Blog: http://www.marketingmelodie.com

#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie (Confession: I’m addicted to [food] PORN)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

When I introduced myself to everyone in the Talk Nerdy To Me Lover Community, I listed a bunch of things that excite me in the Nerdy Realm. What I didn’t mention is that I’m addicted to food porn! And Social Media only fuels my addiction.  If I was me in another life, Marketing Melodie would be Chef Melodie! I love to cook and I am obsessed with food porn. I’m not a voyeur but I do love looking at the delicious food you’re putting in your body! It makes my mouth water! 

As a Nerd, even my outlets for food porn are pretty nerdy! How am I satisfying my Food Porn craving? Take a look!  

Social Media Updates- I’ll start with my own community. Anyone who posts what they’re eating for lunch should be banned if there’s no accompanying photo! Stop teasing me by posting about how delicious your meal is, unless you’re going to give me a glimpse! When I check Facebook updates my eyes automatically gravitate toward food photos. I can’t help it, they turn my senses on! I occasionally post food porn photos myself!

Food Blogs- Images trump text in blog posts, which is why I love reading food blogs. The good ones are full of food porn and luckily there’s an abundance of food bloggers out there! We’ve got our very own #FoodForThought Foodie on this site!

Hear me YELP!- Yelp is great for so many reasons. I’m able to find new spots to check out and it also gives me the opportunity to share the places and restaurants that I love. One of my favorite parts of Yelp is the food photos users post! I get a glimpse of so many different dishes from one restaurant by other consumers which means these photos are authentic, real and delicious!

Reading, because, DUH! I’m a Nerd!- Just like social media updates about food without photos should be banned, cookbooks without photos shouldn’t even be published! I love flipping through cookbooks, reading the recipes then looking at photos of the final product. My favorite food book is a MUST for your coffee table. It’s called, Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth. Tucker Shaw documents every single thing he eats in a year through photos! I’m so intrigued by this book! It’s like an adult picture book. He lives in New York so I definitely want to visit some of the restaurants he dines at next time I’m in the city!

Food Shows Galore!- All of my favorite shows have food in them! I love watching Iron Chef, Top Chef, Man vs Food, Cupcake Wars and more! I could watch Food Network and the Cooking Channel all day! My dream (and I’m putting it out there to the universe) is to be a guest judge on a food show! I also have a bucket list of restaurants that have been featured on shows I want to dine at.

I’m coming near the end of my confession. I must say this post took me longer than normal to write.  I also must admit that Food Network has been playing in background this entire time. Oh and I took a break to finish cooking a Butternut Squash Casserole that was in the oven and of course I’ve been eating the entire time I’ve been writing this post too! Happy Eating everyone! 

#NerdsUnite

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mymelodie

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketingMelodie

Blog: http://www.marketingmelodie.com