Washington DC under The Fog…
The photos you are about to see were all taken on a very Foggy day in Washington DC in January 2013! All photos taken by me..
Florida Supercon June 30th, 2012
I went to this year’s Florida Supercon. This was my first supercon or comic book convention ever, and I must say… I really enjoyed it. Here are some of the pictures I took. Enjoy! 
The Social Flow
How it all has changed
This day in age hearing the term social networking is nothing new. We are all aware of the tremendous strides social networks such as Facebook, Youtube & Twitter have created for the world in itself. It has quintessentially changed the Internet for the better and created what we thought the world wide web was into what the world wide web is, a network of interlinking content at a centralized point of return. Essentially, it cause’s your social network to be the source of pertinent and relevant news on a daily basis. Whether that news be about a family member or the birth of a famous actresses baby, chances are if your on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter, somebody somewhere is talking about what’s happening in the world.
Your friends are my friends
Facebook as of today has a little over 800 million active users. And of these users on Facebook chances are they come into your store or website on a regular basis and enjoy the products you sell. Facebook is a great retention tool, to keep customers up to date with what your doing with your company, such as renovations, promotions, specials, discounts or just to say hello. The beauty of Facebook for your company is you are creating a network of reachable customers who already like your product enough to want to be a part of your network. So like the very popular Verizon wireless commercials with hundreds of people behind the main actor, those are your people and your message is sent to them as soon as you choose to talk to them. Being social isn’t hard it’s just the messaging we choose to send out that can be difficult for some.
Do you want to constantly send out the same repeated message of “BUY HERE!! BUY NOW!!!” and expect a return from your social networks when you don’t engage well with your network?
Self Promotion is the Best Promotion
In marketing you have to maintain the belief that self promotion is the best promotion, A simple yet not so radical idea. YouTube is a world wide phenomenon that has changed the way we view media and entertainment for ages to come. They have created a simple and very unique concept we can all appreciate in their motto alone “Broadcast Yourself”. By having a social network as unique as YouTube under your company’s belt your opening the doors to video marketing and creating self made commercials for the world to see. Never before were there such open avenues to get your products seen or heard about using the Internet in this capacity. By thinking outside the box and utilizing your current resources, such as current employees you can essentially form a group of participants for a video you would want to put together to promote your company. You would find that most people enjoy being creative and sharing their creative insights, especially if they will be receiving recognition for their work. Make it fun and make it interesting and im more then positive you will receive great feedback and willing participants.
The people search engine
Twitter is unique social network yet its really micro-blogging in real time. It’s far from a Facebook and its no YouTube, It only allows you to post short, quick 140 character messages to your followers or anyone who is searching for what your talking about. It allows you to group specific words by adding hashtag’s (#) to find your tweets later on all in one place. But twitter isn’t just amazing because you can find all your relevant messages in one place, its amazing because its like a real time search engine for new and prospective customers.Imagine a chiropractor doing a search on Twitter for someone talking about “Back Pains”…
If you look at the example below, you will see messages from a number of people with back pains in the Miami area.
Gold to a gold miner is in the mines that he digs, while gold to a business looking to expand into social media is in the quality of its clients and as far as it’s messages reach.
Twitter can help in the acquisition of new customers while finding loyal ones who were there all along, waiting for your services and just having a conversation at times. Having this ability to directly interact with potential or current customers gives you the advantage, like grabbing the social bull by the horns. Instead of waiting for you customers to find you and reach out to you, you reach out to them in their time of need or just at the perfect time of that interest.
Twitter is also an amazing tool to use to help achieve visibility on a product, video or website. By using Twitter to push your website links, YouTube videos or Facebook page fan growth, your potential at using this people network will expand your visibility exponentially.
The Social Flow
The problem most company’s have is finding a personality to fit their company’s online presence, and this can prove to be difficult for some but easy for others. Being social isn’t easy, especially when the voice you are defining is that of your company’s, But this, shouldn’t be a deterrent. Remember you are a unique content hub for your clients and current and future fan base, you provide the content flow that gets channeled through your feeds. If you chose to provide sports updates to your fans, that would be perfectly fine, even if your company didn’t sell those products. The reason this is a valuable concept is because your clients,customers and fans are interested in more then one thing, they enjoy many things!! And in order to promote engagement on your pages and have people talking about your product, its beneficial to filter engaging topics through your feed to have your page more active and recognizable.
A Miami Night… (Full)
As I awake to the sound of a pulsing alarm, my hand swings and hits my phone to the floor. The red buzzing light continues to scream as the phone slides to the corner. My eyes blood shot from the previous night’s endeavors, half drunken and half awake. I stumble outta bed, one hand on my crotch, rubbing my forehead to stop the pounding of my headache.The memory of back to back shots and laughter still fresh in my mind, as a horse stream of yellow piss exits my body. With my eyes shut, I still see hints of red, blue and white flashing lights and napkins being thrown in the air, with drink glasses hoisted up like flags of ships in this sea of arms. Her green eyes the most prominent in my memory but, her lips like poison as she kissed the back of my hand to leave a perfect outline, to ensure I wouldn’t forget her when I woke. With seven perfectly written digits under her lips I kiss the lip outline and begin to wash my face.With each splash of water on my face, the aroma of cigarettes and oil washes away. The lipstick on my collar not as cooperative as the kisses on my neck, I look up at the mirror and can’t help but smile…
To think the night all started with a single beer and fifty dollars in my pocket and ended with 3 phone numbers and a drink umbrella. As I dry my face and step into the kitchen, I see the disaster of what seems to have been a sex hurricane. I see clothing tossed every which direction, a bra hangs from the ceiling fan which is still spinning slowly; and single stiletto sits perfectly on top of my refrigerator.The silhouette of a beautifully shaped woman lies sideways in my bed, covered in my black silk sheet. Her curves a well defined symmetry like that of glass vase, raised at her hip and dips over her abdomen and raises at her breast. Her face turned as she sleeps, seemingly pleasant and into her dreams, I look at her from the foot of my bed.Intrigued, I slowly pull the covers from her sleeping body, watching the covers gently glide over her body exposing her beauty. She turns and curls in a fetus like position trying to recapture her comfort. I slowly position myself behind her and curl up against the warmth of her beautiful body, as her hand begins to caress my forearm. I place my hand upon her stomach and make small circles along the outside of her navel. I feel as if time was paused and the world around me is non existent, she is the center of my world and I don’t know her last name.
After what felt like a lifetime, she turns face to face with mine, her breathe harsh but bearable. Her eyes like green emeralds shining underneath clear water, she stares at my eyes and smiles…She places her left hand softly against my cheek; almost simultaneously I feel every vein in my body squeeze, as if I were being drained. Shock waves of a painful surge begins to fill my body with a paralyzing effect, I feel as if razor blades are tracing my veins from within me. Lying beside her defenseless as she smiles and stares into my eyes, and caresses my cheek. My mouth parts as I gasp for my last bits of air, my eyes solely focused on hers with the eyes only a dying man can describe.
My mind begins to filter out memories just as fast as the movies depict; tunnels of lights and instances of my life pass me as if I’m on a walking escalator. Everything seems so perfect, as I pass childhood memories, practical jokes and past lovers. The reality that I’m dying in this peaceful solace has yet to settle in, and with what feels like every last bit of energy I have, I push myself off her and fall to the floor.
My eyes blood shot and my chest yearning for every next breathe, the lack of oxygen causing my lips and fingertips to turn a bluish color. My speech slurred and incoherent I can’t put together a sentence to save my life. As I try and compose myself from this vivid brush with death, I can hear faint laughter coming from atop of my bed. She laughs and recaptures her comfort under my sheets as if nothing happened; I regain some composer and cautiously peer over the side of the bed to see her resting unconcerned with my plight.My attraction to this woman prior to my near death experience was high, but this occurrence has brought about an odd fascination to know who she is, or what she is…
