Blog Author Mellissah Smith - Page 68

There is no other day of the week that everyone looks forward to more. Friday is the one day that we all celebrate. It's a little crazy and I am mean CRAZY as everything has to be finalized today! Reports need to be done, contracts need to come through and your desk needs to be left tidy.

In 140 characters or less, tell me a story, your opinion or share something relevant or irrelevant. #please

Twitter is the fastest-growing social media platform in the world, engaging more than 200 million active users who create more than 400 million tweets per day.

So fast is this open, real-time platform growing that between quarter 2 and 4 last year, active users jumped 20 percent in the US alone.

Why Twitter is so good for small business?

I don't know about you, but I am exhausted. It's only April and already my migraine has set in and isn't about to subside - unless of course, I make some hard decisions.

Business expansion has been exhilarating, hard work, fulfilling, adventurous, rewarding and above all, something that I am proud to say that I have made the steps to do. There is still a long way to go and the road looks very long, windy with ups and downs going far into the distance. Hopefully, I will pick up some hitchhikers along the way to keep me company and that the car will be full of people all wanting to head in the same direction. No doubt, there will be people who will want to get out along the way and those who will feel car sick but then, miraculously, they will get over it and start enjoying the scenery and the ride.

Never for a moment have I been mistaken that this is not going to test me and every single person in my team. It singularly has been the bravest thing I have ever done and although I am a person who sticks to a plan, I never imagined for a minute that I would be living in Atlanta, in a hotel room, desperately wishing that I was home in my comfy bed with my Maltese Schnauzer, Pip, perched beside me. Nor would I imagine that I would leave her for long periods of time in the care of another.

Starbucks isn't my favourite coffee blend

It's funny, this morning I wished I had a jar of vegemite beside me and coffee that didn't come in a Starbucks cup. Vegemite reminds me of home and I have deliberately not brought it with me for the journey so that I open a new chapter without being so glued to the past that I can't get out of my normal routine. It's the lack of comforts that somehow gets me through.

As the print media continues to shrink and decline, brand journalism is the buzzword on our industry's lips as content marketing evolves into engaging newsroom-style messaging.

The term "brand journalism" has existed for close to a decade, with Larry Light using the term in 2004. At the time, he was chief marketing officer at McDonald's and claimed that mass marketing no longer worked, introducing brand journalism as a method of recording "what happens to a brand in the world".

I love my job. It’s the difference between meeting oodles of fabulous individuals - and not. Day in and day out I meet great people, each with their own story.  Largely, they’re entrepreneurs.  Now, I love entrepreneurs. I love being around them, hearing what they have to say, conversing with them, learning from them. Their energy, their knowledge, their confidence, their stories, their drive. I haven't dropped a love drug prior to writing this despite it being the Tuesday after a 4-day long weekend - everything I'm saying is actually true.

I personally will never wear the shoes of an entrepreneur though because I can't have that cauldron-of-ideas bubbling without strategy and planning the detail. That's me. There are entrepreneurs and then there's me.

I don't know about you, but when I went to school, the coolest kids in the class who were destined for greatness somehow fell short of their schoolyard celebrity status and became, well, um, not as successful as their parents and friends first thought.

I remember all those cool  kids who seemed to have it all at the ripe age of 14, while I sat in the library reading a book because, quite frankly, I wasn't as cool, nor did I win any particular popularity contest to speak of.

Instead, I wrote my weekly debates and hoped that the cool kids' "coolness" would somehow rub off on me and overnight, I could hang onto their coattails too. But that was not to be - instead, I spent every free hour at school secretly hoping that one day I would be cool too.

When was the last time you watched an entire TV program without looking at your phone?

Can't remember? Don't worry, you're not alone. Deloitte’s multigenerational State of the Media Democracy survey polled more than 2000 consumers and found that more than 80 per cent of American consumers are multi-tasking while watching TV. This includes texting, streaming video, social networking and web browsing. And yes, live-tweeting a TV show or movie counts as well.

On top of that, 26 per cent of consumers own a laptop, smartphone and tablet, making them digital omnivores. Tablet ownership alone has jumped by 177 per cent in the past year.

What makes me #happy? The sun shining. My dog giving me a cuddle. Spending time with my family. Children. Winning. Getting sales. Building my company. Walking in the park. Reading a book. Being in love. 

The United Nations was onto something when they declared March 20, as the first International Day of Happiness. Aimed at encouraging countries to "better capture the importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being in development with a view to guiding their public policies", #happyday has certainly struck a chord.

Our in-house social media expert tweeted feverishly in both Australia and US on consecutive days about #happyday with great results. People from around the globe retweeted, shared and commented. People simply want to be happy.

I asked a few people in our office what makes them happy. 

Sitting in the Los Angeles airport after being in Miami Beach for an entrepreneur’s conference, I pick up The Mail on Sunday only to discover a story written about women who meet each other through work.

It’s been five days of the best Miami has to offer coupled by discussing entrepreneurial topics, life and success (or in some cases, lack of) with some very versatile, uninhibited entrepreneurs who all seem content to share stories and experiences while enriching each other’s lives through old-fashion mateship.