Two Female Chicago Cops Need Beauty Supplies

I couldn't stop laughing. Two female Chicago police offers park in the middle of State St for a quick Ulta beauty store run. Nice parking spot ladies... :)

Sponsored Tweets Launches:Holly Madison Can Tweet for You

Izea's latest venture, SponsoredTweets, went live today.

You can signup to become a paid Tweeter or you can pay celebs like Holly Madison to tweet for you.

Will you be signing up for this service?

Chicago Real Estate Glut Forces Sam's Wine to Close its South Loop Store

I live around the corner from this location. The neighborhood was excited to see this addition to our retail shopping experiences, but alas, Binny's down the street may have been too much for Sam's.

Chicago Social Media Ladies Honored at Chicagonista Party

Thanks to MJ Tam who forwarded this video today. A few of us were honored at the Chicagonista/Chevy party last week.

Chevy - Chicagonista Social Media Soiree / Official Photos by Lahleyoo from Chicagonista on Vimeo.

July 22, 2009
@ Sushi Samba

Fine Photography by Lahleyoo - http://www.Lahleyoo.com

Brands, Twitter and PR

I wasn't too keen on this title, "For Companies, a Tweet in Time Can Avert PR Mess", but I did enjoy the content of the article. An piece in today's Wall Street Journal highlights  how a few large brands use Twitter to communicate with their consumers.

Twitter and social media is indeed powerful for large brands, but the economies of scale that it can present for small-mid sized business (especially moms and pops) can truly transform a business.

Do you run a small mom and pop?  How do you use social media, especially Twitter, to respond to consumer concerns?

image c/o Wall Street Journal

How a Chicago Domino's Franchise Owner Uses Social Media

I come from a family of local business owners. I know the importance of keeping your customers happy. This mantra is alive and well in Chicago.

Ramon, the owner of six Domino's pizza franchises, provides his customers with various ways to reach him...clearly posting his Twitter id (@DPZRAMON) and Facebook information on this poster. Ramon and his team are also known to provide their pizza to various social media events in and around Chicago.

Ramon will be speaking at the upcoming Gravity Summit this month.


I picked up an order from the South Loop store last Friday:

 

Making Trash Pretty

City governments could do wonders by painting trash bins, along with including helpful civilian messages like ,"taxes are due on x" or "support your local teachers."

Twitter is Taking Over Facebook in Email Links

Now this is interesting. It appears that marketers are including links to their Twitter accounts in their email marketing messages - more than they do for Facebook. 

I also found it interesting that more companies aren't including links to all of their social media embassies.

image via Clickz

Missing the Days of Hand Writing Thoughts on Paper

I have a drawer full of journals. Most of my writing took place on journeys overseas. The picture in this post was taken on a Swiss train, zipping from Zurich to Geneva. I intricately  made notes on cafes, architecture and event scoped out future business plans. I still take daily scribbles, but nothing comes close to the daily journaling I enjoyed in France, Hawaii, Vancouver, Switzerland, Scotland and England.

I'm currently in the process of digitizing my French travel journal, which chronicled my time in Lyon. The exercise of re-writing my experiences has been a hoot!

Today, I still write, but the thoughts come in spurts.

Are you a note taker? Keep a journal?