Hi everyone!
I have some exciting news! This is Mona has a new home – ahem, a NEW AND IMPROVED HOME!
This is Mona has its own home now at www.thisismona.com
Please join me at This is Mona for thoughts on digital meets advertising meets strategic thinking meets creative meets design meet random GOODNESS!
Today I had lunch with some family friends. Among the group was an old friend of mine who is Autistic, to name one of her disabilites. Her therapist is a wonderful lady from Atlanta who owns a program for Accelerated Learning. Once she grasped the line of work i’m in she started probing me a little as I could tell her interest was piqued. She explained to me in brief what her practice entails, leveraging neuro technologies to stimulate or accelerate learning for individuals with mental disabilities and challenges. She started talking about her interest in leveraging digital by means of SEO. In my mind, I thought that was the smallest fraction of opportunity. I engaged her a little with some Web 2.0 speak:
We are in an era of conversation and participation.
The way brands and businesses communicate has moved passed the monologue state and into a realm of dialogue. This is especially important if her aim is to educate.
Now that’s really as far as it went for now. She asked if she could contract me for consultancy for digital strategy. I declined and offered her my work for free. We’re going to touch base within the next few weeks to a month as she’s busy traveling, working with my friend and connecting with her firm in Atlanta remotely while in Beirut. That’s what really impressed me. She’s already savvy with online tools that facilitate her working with my friend, while communicating with her staff in Atlanta through Skype, Go to Meeting and the sort. She’s also on Twitter, but hasn’t really cultivated her profile.
This will all be a piece of cake as she’s pretty much “wired”. All my consultancy might entail is a few coffee meetings at Starbucks to show her how to gear up her business for interactive social means of educating others. I’ll probably guide her initially with the following:
First things first, build your digital profile. Whether it be in form of a website, a hub profile, a blog or what not. You already have something very interesting to talk about, the hard part’s done.
Second, venture out like you would a trade floor or a conference for networking. Network on the likes of Twitter, Women’s Post, the blogosphere and the like. Invite participation. Educate by means of conversation and involvement.
Those are the essential first steps. Of course, we have not yet had our first official meeting so depending on her specific objectives, the strategy might change. This is just as I see it right now. I’ll update you as we progress. This is exciting 
There probably isn’t a God!
No, this is not my motto. This hails from an Atheist group who have publicly voiced their raison d’etre. Their “There probably isn’t a God!” is making the headlines - moving headlines.
Their messages are featured on buses, first rolling out in London and claims from others to have been spotted in Toronto as well. The group have also stamped their campaign by way of a microsite, which I have to admit, scores some points for simplicity and a somewhat social experience.
I stress the word “some” because I have in a manner of speaking been dubbed as stupid by these folks, which I think is bad taste. Apparently, because I have beliefs in a higher being, I am stupid and brainwashed. In the section of the site that invites you to read and share in stories of no God, it welcomes users with the following: Read the stories of normal everyday people who aren’t stupid, and haven’t been brainwashed into believing in supernatural beings. Ouch!
(On a good sport- kinda positive -end of note: nice use of the ever moving tag cloud that deep links to the social specifics)
I, like so many of you, was so refreshed to hear such an eloquent, inspiring and grammatically correct speech from the new President. I was on Twitter and Facebook, following the posts of others when I noticed someone wrote the funniest comment, “So THIS is what a President is supposed to sound like, I seem to have forgot”. Too true my friend. To that note, I wanted to post a few snippets of Obama’s speech, especially the bits that really stood out to me.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.
“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”
I came across this video from a fellow BBDO’er in Toronto on Twitter. This video was produced as part of AARP’s U@50 challenge on YouTube. The contest, launched in August 2007 (yes, this is an oldie but definitely still a goody), gave people between the ages of 18 and 30 the chance to submit short videos on the subject of what they expect their lives to be like at age 50. The goal of the U@50 Challenge was to encourage intergenerational dialogue enabling young people to speak their minds and give AARP insight into their views.
Watch it. Read it. Listen. The ending is classic (don’t fast forward to get there!)
This is hilarious! Those of you have careers in advertising, you’ll surely get a kick out of this!
Twitter / mmonaa
