Dear friends, clients and anyone looking for interactiveAmy,

I am on vacation until May 10th! I will be unplugging in Israel, where I will be celebrating my brother’s wedding with family and friends, Mazel tov Josh & Sivan!

You might see me pop on and off twitter, facebook, or LinkedIn, but only for fun and not very often…! Do you know how much it costs to access iPhone data abroad? Probably more than my plane ticket, and if ever I needed an excuse to stay off line, an astronomical phone bill will keep temptation away! But of course feel free to say “Shalom” if you see me online! I’m sure I’ll have plenty of adventures to report!

The past 14 months have been action packed ~ launching a business, working around the clock and networking up a storm. At last count I think I’ve sent over 10,000 tweets for clients… in addition to my own! No wonder I have a million conversations running through my head. Many people who meet me comment on my energy and passion, and that is also a huge reason people choose to work with me. Therefore it is my professional obligation to remain the interactiveAmy you know and love, and to better serve you, I need to recharge!

Until May 10th, I leave you with a classic, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RHTiXvELNg! I am Go-Go’ing on Vacation! (PS – Love the 80′s hair & outfits!)

Do you have any recharge secrets to share, and or favorite vacation spots for me to check out on my next trip?  It’s never too soon to start planning my next getaway!

Talk soon,

Amy

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In college I used to play a lot of Tetris, then when falling asleep I would see Tetris shapes drifting downwards as I drifted off to sleep.

Nowadays I dream in the tweet stream.  Perhaps indicative of too much time on twitter, I actually see a constant stream of tweets in my sleep! Of course when I wake up, I can’t recall if these are actual tweets that I have read through out the day, or if I am making them up in my sleep… but I am certain that the amount of information I consume in the day is probably the trigger.

I recently admitted on twitter and on facebook, that I wake up and check my email, facebook and twitter before my feet hit the ground.  I was very relieved to see that many in my network also do the same.

Do you check your email before getting out of bed?

Twitter updates answer the question ” What are you doing?” in 140 characters and tweets are a great way of communicating in a spontaneous and immediate way.  Appearing somewhat disjointed as though you are only reading half of the conversation, it kind of makes sense that this format has invaded my subconscious, as dreams don’t always makes sense either.

I wonder what Freud would have to say on the subject.  Please tell me I am not alone in my crazy twitter stream dreams, do you also see tweets in your sleep?

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I have been campaigning for a revival of “We Are The World” for ages.

Besides having a star studded line up and a catchy chorus, the “We Are The World” charity single shows the power of people uniting for change.  Social media allows to our voices to reach a worldwide audience, today the power of one can be amplified to around the world in a matter of seconds.

Originally written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie, and performed by a super group of over 45 artists, the charity single was intended to raise funds for famine-relief in Ethiopia.  “We Are The World” reemerged as the final performance of Michael Jackson’s public memorial service, when several of the entertainers gathered on stage to sing “We Are The World.”  Of course I would have loved for the song to come back over better circumstances, but it got me thinking about the message, and how the Internet and social networking has made the world a much more connected place.

Excerpt from We Are The World”

“There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it’s time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God’s great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me”

Social media enables us to be connected and interconnected with hundreds of millions of people at any given moment.  In addition to staying in touch with old friends and connecting with new ones, social websites are also used to express opinions, change established rules and break down barriers. Social movements can be launched from a laptop, and our voices can sing out to the world!  It’s our turn to make the world better!

Hugs Make the World go ‘Round!

One of my favorite examples of people using the social web to unite the world is Inspire Me Today Founder Gail Lynne Goodwin and her husband Darryl, who are literally wrapping the world in hugs! The Global Hug Tour will stop in 45 locations over a period of 5 months, giving at least 2,000 hugs in each location.  In addition to hugs, they will also be delivering an estimated $1,000,000 to important causes throughout the tour.  You can become a Hug Ambassador for a $10 contribution, which allows you to sponsor the delivery of a hug, and you can choose the city and cause where your donation will make a difference.

Start a Dance Revolution!

In addition to hugs, song and dance are also understood universally.  A guy named Matt inspired us to think about how we are all connected through YouTube and a goofy dance. Produced over 14 months, in 42 countries and with a cast of thousands, “Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)” video has been viewed over 22 million times on YouTube!

Thirst for Change!

On 12 February 2009 202 cities around the world held Twestivals, bringing together the Twitter community for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water. Twestival leveraged the Twitter audience to raise more than $250,000 in the most ambitious Twitter fundraising event to date! $250,000 funded 55 water projects in Ethiopia, Uganda and India providing clean water for just over 17,000 people.

For many, social media has changed our lives in some meaningful way. Collectively it is changing the world for good.

There are so many fantastic examples of how the World Wide Web has helped bridge cultures and connect people.   Please share some of your favorite examples of how social networks have enabled you or others to connect to people all over the world.

Now, imagine what will happen when the whole world gets connected…!

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Pitch Man Billy Mays

Long before the news of Billy Mays‘ death, I was planning on writing a Pitchmen post.  It is one of my favorite shows and there are many great lessons to learn from master pitch men Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan.  Billy Mays was found dead in his home on Sunday June 28th.  An autopsy is currently underway, but a heart attack is the suspected cause of his untimely death.

Many people claim to dislike infomercials, but when done well they are gripping, exciting and have at home viewers running to the phone to order a product they didn’t know they needed.

After years of working boardwalks and home shows, Billy Mays became famous after meeting the founder of Orange Glo International, a manufacturer of cleaning products.  Mays was hired to promote their various cleaners, including OxiClean, Orange Clean, and Orange Glo.  According to Inc. Magazine, this success propelled the company into the top 10 privately owned companies from 1999 to 2001.

Billy Mays had the ability to grab your attention and move you to action, watching him in action shows that there is a lot to learn about delivering a high impact pitch!

What makes Mays’ pitch so effective?

• A Billy Mays pitch is packed with nonstop energy – you don’t have to raise your voice to show passion and excitement!
• He knows the product inside and out, and can demonstrate the features & benefits in seconds – nothing sells your idea or product like a demo!
• Billy Mays presents with directness and authority – TV time is expensive and your audience’s time is valuable.  Get to the point and then reiterate takeaways.  Stay focused on key concepts to make sure the audience gets the message.

“As Seen on TV” products solve common problems that affect many people, but chances are your products and services can also help solve problems that people didn’t know they had!  Follow these tips and you are sure to keep your audience awake and engaged!

Moved to Order

My first experience with ordering from TV was the TimeLife Sounds of the 80′s collection. It was college, it was a have to have item for the party circuit!  I went on to order Pure Moods and various other compilation cd’s, but didn’t stop there! I am also the proud owner of the Big City Silder Station, the PedEgg and the Snuggie.

Have you ever purchased an “As Seen on TV” product, from Billy Mays or another pitchman?  What moved to buy from an infomercial?  In honor of Billy Mays, please share your favorite TV pitches and let us know about some cool products that you ordered from TV!

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News of Michael Jackson’s death, first confirmed by TMZ on June 25th, 2009, sent a tidal wave across the Internet.

The passing of the King of Pop set multiple records across Yahoo!, the front page story “Michael Jackson rushed to hospital” was the highest clicked story in Yahoo history, generating a whopping 800,000 clicks within 10 minutes and news of his death saw 560,000 clicks in 10 minutes. In addition Yahoo homepage traffic was five times higher than the amount of traffic it normally receives – Yahoo! News set an all-time record in unique visitors with 16.4 million people, surpassing the previous election day record of 15.1 million visitors. Yahoo recorded 175 million page views yesterday, the fourth highest after Inauguration Day, the day after the Inauguration, and Hurricane Ike. Whoa!

CNN reported a fivefold rise in traffic and visitors in just over an hour, receiving 20 million page views in the hour the story broke!

But that’s not all, a Google spokesman told CNET, that some Google News users experienced difficulty accessing search results for queries related to Michael Jackson. As users flocked to other sites, TechCrunch reported that TMZ, which broke the story, had several outages; users then switched to Perez Hilton’s blog, which also struggled to deal with the requests it received.

AOL consumer adviser Regina Lewis, who told CNN that, although the numbers weren’t in yet, the day should prove an historic milestone for mobile internet traffic.

“It could go down as the biggest mobile event in history,” Lewis said. Would you expect anything less from the King of Pop..culture that is?

Will you remember where you were when you found out that Michael Jackson died? Would you compare it with the death of John Lennon, Princess Di? Please take a moment to remember Michael and share some of your favorite Michael Jackson memories with us.

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