Social Networks to help that Summer Fitness Routine
It will officially be summer this Friday, June 21, and for me summer is about getting healthy. Usually, I try to start my healthy eating and routine exercise right after school is out in May, but alas, the middle of June seems to sneak up on me pretty quickly. For those who are in the same boat and need a little extra help starting their summer fitness routine (before summer is officially over) here are some social networks that offer an extra push, no matter what your workout style.
Are you into long distance and adventure? If so, Daily Mile is your secret weapon. Daily Mile is a way to track your workouts and mileage, search for routes, and map your own. Daily Mile allows users to connect with friends and challenge them on particular routes. Even better, it is not just for runners! On Daily Mile users can log swims, bike rides, runs, and other fitness routines.
If competition is your game than you will love FITOCRACY. The goal of FITOCRACY is to make fitness more fun by turning it into a game. FITOCRACY excites the completive side of each person by granting points for each work out and awarding badges for every milestone hit. You can sign up to challenge your friends and family and engage in chats with other people who use the network. It is a great way to stay motivated and keep your friends motivated as well.
Wanting to cut a few pounds, but need some external support? Extra Pounds is perfect for those who work best with a support group and additional information. Extra Pounds provides a wide range of diet blogs and articles, support groups, logs, and food dairies. Extra Pounds provides a strong sense of community, which offers motivation for each user. One of the key aspects of Extra Pounds is the food diary spread sheet which allows you to log, and plan, your meals and see how much you need to exercise to burn off those extra calories.
Want to explore even more social fitness networks? Check out this post by Mashable.com that hits even more!
Mobile Trends for 2013
With mobile technology rapidly growing and changing it is exciting to see what we can expect to happen in the future. I discovered an article written by JWT on the 13 Mobile Trends for 2013 and picked out a few that I already see happening in my own mobile use.
Million Ways To Say Hi
Yes we still make calls on our mobile phones, the original purpose, but today there are so many faster, more exciting, and richer ways to stay connected to our friends and family. With apps such as FaceTime, Skype, and SnapChat we can visually connect with our friends for a more personal, and fun, way of communication.
Revolutionizing Transactions
Mobile devices have the potential to revolutionize transactions in places where bank account cards are the exceptions. Mobile devices offer a way to make payments whether that is the water bill, paying for groceries, or loaning a friend money. I am an avid user of Chase QuickPay, a feature on the Chase Banking App that allows me to send and receive money from friends and family, whether they bank with Chase or not.
Video Unleashed
It is ironic to think about how for a while SmartPhones were getting smaller and smaller, but today the screens are starting to get larger, while the width of the phone slims down. Today’s mobile devices, whether an iPhone, Android, or tablet, are offering larger, more clear screens with the capability of viewing movies, TV shows, and even live sporting events. I am an owner of a Nexus 7, which I bring everywhere, and routinely watch Netflix’s and downloaded movies while at the gym, traveling, or just lying in bed.
Mobile as a Sixth Sense
This may be my favorite part of my mobile devices – the capability to look up anything, anywhere, in a matter of seconds. Ask anyone; whenever I have a question I look it up. Often at dinner, during simple conversations, I will whip out my phone to search for the answer. My sister makes fun of me, saying I’m a bit nerdy, but really I just appreciate the gift of mobile technology and plan to take full advantage of it.
Pin, Pin, Pin Away
How many times have you pinned something to a board, clicked on it and it took you to an “unavailable” page? You have this great recipe or work-out tip you want to try and then suddenly you’re back to square one. Frustrating.
However, there’s hopeful news. Pinterest is working out these kinks in hopes that pins will start to become more useful.
Pinterest is working with well-known websites so that pins will have helpful information along with them. Recipe pins will have the website attached with the ingredients, servings and cook time. Movie pins will have the actors and actresses information along with ratings and reviews. Even without pinning something, the “website” icon is available to direct you to more information.
Along with the updates, Pinterest is going through all old pins and updating information that goes with the pins. From now on, pins that have more information behind the pin will have an icon below the picture.
For more information on your pins, or broader categories, you can click on the icon next to the Pinterest search bar. Topics like history, kids, design, DIY, art, gardening, food and more are all expanded on with hundreds of pins.
Aside from the internet, Pinterest has also made quite the stamp on it’s mobile application. A Pin It button is now available on the mobile app. Pinterest is encouraging pinning regardless of your location!
Now with every pin there is the assurance that information will help further your knowledge about that topic. So your recipe box should be filling up, movie list growing long and your DIY list should be letting your creative juices flow!
This post was written by Marcella Hoard.
7 reasons I’m thrilled about AllFacebook Marketing Conference 2013
AllFacebook Expo 2012 attendees – the smartest man in social media, Brian Carter, along with an uber-cool crew of Adryenn Ashley, Hyla Molander, Caroline Love and others.
When: June 5, 2013
Where: Hilton San Francisco Union Square
Each year MediaBistro hosts AllFacebook Marketing Conference which provides the world a deep look into Facebook innovations and issues impacting both social media and digital marketing. This year it will take place at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square on June 5th. The event is filled with topnotch speakers and provides up-to-the-minute information that will help you and your organization succeed in Facebook Marketing. I’ve attended the last two years and am very excited for this year’s conference. Below are 7 reasons why you should book your ticket now to attend the AllFacebook Marketing Conference! While you still can – its still not too late! I’ll be attending along with Firebelly Vice President and lead of our Dallas Office – Misty Sanford.
1. Facebook Focused Education.
The conference tracks include: benchmarking your key metrics, boost your Facebook page’s performance, Garner publicity by leveraging Facebook’s Graph Search and organic timeline messaging ads, harness the power of social media successfully, prepare for the emergence of social and cross-platform games initiatives that are changing the landscape and to deliver news that stands out in the newsfeed and positions your brand as an expert source
2. Top notch speakers
The speaker line up is top notch. Kathy Mota, Toyota; Shannita, La Opera; Steve Bagdasarian, Fiksu; Scott Bain, Spruce Media; Damon Brown, TechHive; Jay Budzik, Perfect Market; Lisa Buyer, The Buyer Group; Mark Charkin, King.com; Mark Cooper, Offerpop; Patience Elfving-Yi, Kenshoo Social; Jeff Ferguson, Fang Digital Marketing; Jason Jedlinski, Tribune Broadcasting, Justin Lafferty, AllFacebook – and that’s only 1/3 of the list. And Denis Yu – the Asian Sensation and my good friend will also be in full effect!
3. Smaller conference means better access to speakers
Since it’s still a smaller conference, there is a higher speaker to attendee ratio – which is always a good thing. The University of California San Francisco campus is a welcome change from stuffy hotel locations that most conferences are held at. Everything is centralized – meals, coffee breaks and sessions.
4. 3rd party platform attendance
Some of the top 3rd party platforms and tools for Facebook integration purposes will be there. AllFacebook, PostRocket, AgoraPulse, Offerpop, and Ampush are just a few of the attendees. And if you didn’t know – AgoraPulse has one of the most dynamic leaders – none other than Emeric Ernoult!
5. Diverse audience base
There are people from agencies, non-profits, government agencies, game developers, app developers, PR firms, Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.
6. Superb moderators
There are some superb moderators lined up: Damon Brown – Lead Write, Todd Tweeny – Avertech, and Justine Lafferty – AllFacebook for showing commitment and interest to the audience. All three are committed, bright, and energetic about the diverse topics at the conference. Plus you’ll get me as a moderator as well!
7. It’s really social
This will be a conference rich in conversation and discussion between breaks and during meals. In addition, there will be numerous evening groups heading out for dinner and drinks. Last year the after hours location of choice was the Redwood Room at The Cleft – I can’t wait to see what the choice will be this year. There will definitely be a huge point of differentiation for me – the ability to get to know people, their interests and build relationships. I made some great friends from all over the country last year and expect to make more this year. Not to mention the private parties where you’re sure to meet exceptional people to learn from or do business with.
This is a conference I highly recommend. It is hype-free with valuable education and loads of opportunities to meet cool people. My sincere thanks to Mediabistro for always putting on a fantastic show!
Interview with Chanelle Schneider, Millennial Specialist
With all the studying being done on Millennials, Firebelly decided to interview one of the top Millennial specialist, Chanelle Schneider. Chanelle is a freelance social media manager, the founder of #GenYChat, and currently works as the community director at My Rising Tide.
1. What do you think makes Millennials different?
The over 80 million of us were born with qualities that make some of us have a desire to transform our realities by travelling beyond traditional boundaries. Others among us are natural comedians who share our opinions on social networking sites while working to better society through fostering harmonious relationships. If you think of us as a circle in a Venn diagram, however, you’ll see that we can share these characteristics with Baby Boomers and GenX’ers. What differentiates Millennials, though, is the world in which we’ve come of age. So, our tech savvy is with digital tools. We watch television with a few hundred of our closest friends on Twitter; we call when we’re ten minutes away; and, we actually like labels when we give them to ourselves.
2. Are there misnomers about Millennials that you work to dispel? Can you elaborate on these?
Let’s start with the misnomer “Millennial”, which actually pertains to Millennium. We reach a new generation approximately every 21 years. A new millennium comes every 1000 years.
3. Recommendations on qualities of communications that brands should utilize with Millennials?
Brands should optimize their communication based on demographic and psychographic analyses of their target audience. A brand should always consider that their target believes higher quality means higher faith in the product. If the brand doesn’t believe in it, why should they?
4. Are Millennials early adopters of technology?
Not entirely. There are Millennials who have never used an e-reader. Being an early adopter of technology is behavioral and, usually, an indication of a certain economic status as opposed to generational.
5. Where are Millennials likely to find their information?
When I was growing up, I was told to “Look it up” when I asked a question. Today, I ask a search engine. Other sources of information include social networking sites. We are much more likely to trust information that comes from our personal networks. As the Community Manager for My Rising Tide, I’m working to develop a community for motivated people in need of access to the knowledge and tools needed on their path to success. We’re partnering with career and life coaches, HR professionals, subject matter experts, and like-minded peers to provide real-time insight via Twitter chats and actionable advice via articles. Our brand ambassadors are Millennials with amazing, inspiring success stories. This burgeoning community dispels misconceptions of young people every day by earning each accomplishment and giving back to their community in the process. Right now we’re on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. We will have our own website up soon and will look to broaden our presence as our community grows.
Make sure to follow Chanelle on twitter for more information on Millennials and #GenYChat, a concept-based chat the discusses ideas for improving communication between different generations.
