The Internet Chef Talks to

Public Relations, New Media Consultant and speaker                     ~ Sarah Evans

“Food is love. What is one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

Pic by Rubber Slippers In Italy

While our family has a different name for this dish, I believe it’s called “pane fritto” or fried bread dough. What makes it special? My Italian mother comes from a long line of women who make this dish when some old fashioned family time is needed. The dish itself isn’t magical, but it’s the centerpiece of a fully loaded kitchen table including Italian sausage, various cheeses, jams, jellies, etc… Pane fritto is typically made in large quantities (at least in our house) so family and close friends are typically called a day or two before to come over and dine. I have the fondest memories of pane fritto nights and the love and conversation they sparked. By the way, everyone has a particular way they eat their pane fritto. I prefer mine with honey and butter quickly followed by a bite of Italian sausage with Munster cheese.

Sarah Evans Bio and Social Media Links

Website: http://www.prsarahevans.com/

http://www.sevansstrategy.com/

Twitter: : http://twitter.com/prsarahevans

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sevansstrategy

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/prsarahevans

Sarah is the owner of Sevans Strategy, a public relations and new media consultancy. It’s her personal mission to engage and employ the use of emerging technologies in all communication that connects her with a rapidly growing base of more than 45,000 people.

A self-described “social media freak,” Sarah created and moderates#Journchat, the weekly live chat for PR professionals, journalists and bloggers on the microblogging platform Twitter. She runs her own blog at PRsarahevans.com, shares a daily resource for PR professionals called Commentz and interviews celebrities and news makers via Sarah Evans LIVE.

Sarah also serves as the social media correspondent for SWAGG, a mobile app launching this fall allowing consumers to purchase, personalize and exchange gift cards directly from a mobile device. Evans engages celebrities and online influencers at key events throughout the year, including the Mercedes-Benz celebrity polo tournament in the Hamptons and the Atlantic Records BET Awards where she interviewed A-listers Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian Odom, recording artist and music producer T.I. and others on how they use social media and their smart phones.

She most recently worked with a local crisis center to raise more than $161,000 in three weeks via social media and is a team member of the Guinness Book World Record holding #beatcancer.

Sarah can be seen in the February 2010 edition of Vanity Fair’s America’s Tweethearts, Forbes’ 14 Power Women to Follow on Twitter and Entrepreneur’s Top 10 Hot Startups of 2010.

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The Internet Chef Talks to

Leading Author, Global Thought Leader & New Media Analyst                     ~ Brian Solis

“Food is love. What is one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

Photo Credit: Travis Vachon

My mother is from Madrid and she brings to the United States very traditional values around food and family. To choose one dish from an array of home-cooked spanish favorites is almost possible…after all, everything is made with love right?

However, not to let you or anyone reading this post down, I would say that fond and lasting memories of my childhood are what they are because of Tortilla Espanola. Now, for those who know the majesty of true Spanish Toritilla, please skip ahead. For everyone else, let’s start with a very basic definition. Unlike the flat flour or corn tortillas we know so well, a Spanish Tortilla is closer to a fusion of an egg frittata and a potato pie.

To me, Tortilla Espanola is the ultimate comfort food.  Typically the tortilla measures between 8-to-12-inches around and is usually 1-2 inch thick with potatoes, eggs, onion, and sometimes with a very special Spanish Chorizo that was reserved for special occasions. Typing this is actually making me hungry…

Of course the taste is as simple as it is majestic. It hits every taste bud just right. But for me, the most special and memorable experiences around Tortilla Espanola is my mother’s presentation and the smile she cast pridefully…she knew she would send us into gastronomical delight. Her smile was always contagious and the love that is always a critical ingredient in her recipe would spread to our stomachs and our hearts.

With love to my mother. Thank you for the wonderful memories that unfolded around her cooking…then, now, and in the savory times ahead.

Brian Solis’s Bio and Social Media Links

Website: http://www.briansolis.com/

Twitter: : http://twitter.com/briansolis

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thebriansolis

Author of the acclaimed new book on social media and business, Engage!, Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has influenced the effects of emerging media on the convergence of marketing, communications, and publishing. He is principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media and business strategy consultancy in Silicon Valley, and has led interactive and social programs for Fortune 500 companies, notable celebrities, and Web 2.0 startups. BrianSolis.com is among the world’s leading business and marketing online resources.

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Thomas Marzano aka @ThomasMarzano

“Food is love. What’s one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

The one family dish that is engraved into my DNA is a local dish from the region of Puglia called Panzerotti. This is a dish my grandmother “Nella” would prepare for birthday parties and she would be in the kitchen for hours to prepare the laborious dish for the entire family. It is one of those dishes that everyone adores as it is incredibly tasty and can be eaten with the hands, so kids love it too! As a child I was always excited when it was my birthday as I knew this would be on the menu. Unfortunately my grandmother, who was a wonderful cook, passed away a few years back. But I did manage to steal a few of her signature dishes, this being one of my favorites. Every now and then when I feel like some intense kitchen labor I prepare this dish and invite friends over. Everyone loves it and it is always a feast accompanied with some great red wine. A dish that I hope will remain in the family for the next generations to come, as an ode to my grandmother.

Thomas Marzano Bio and Social Media Links

Website: http://www.marzano.nl

Twitter: : www.twitter.com/thomasmarzano

Thomas Marzano is Creative Director for Online Brand Communications at Philips, based at Philips Design’s headquarters in The Netherlands.

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8 Under Handed Ways McDonald’s Markets to your Kids.

Photo credit : The Craze of our lives Blog!

The last time I checked, I wasn’t living in a bubble. My family and I  live in a leafy inner suburb of a large sprawling metropolis. We own a flat screen  TV, a little  car which we’ve affectionately  named ‘Brutus’  and all manner of technology to keep us connected to the world around us. Our children attend the local school and we are a part of the wider community at large. So what chance do we have of surviving the McDonald’s predatory marketing onslaught?!

From Cradle to grave are the marketing techniques/strategies that McDonald’s employs to get you in and get you hooked to the food and that overall” McDonald’s experience”. “Would you like fries with that?”  has become the catch cry of a generation.  Once you start looking, you begin to realize that McDonald’s marketing is  everywhere, that Jolly Happy Clown is peddling his dirty hamburgers in some equally dirty and underhanded ways meant to bypass parents (or ‘the gatekeepers’ as McDonald execs refers to parents) and market directly to your children, and you may not even be aware that it’s happening.

Such as been the success of McDonald’s  marketing and  advertising, parents’ resistance to the McDonald’s product is dulled by the  clever and clandestine tactics employed by this Food System Industrialist. Here are 8 Under handed Ways that McDonald’s markets  to YOUR kids!

NOTE: Before you start to read these Top 8 Sneaky marketing strategies of the sixth largest brand in the world I would like you to keep one thought in mind. McDonald’s Aim is to sell your kids more Hamburgers, Fries and Soda! 99% of what they do is commercial ~ they are in the business to sell more  Hamburgers, Fries and Soda! That’s it. They disguise their primary objective behind charities and  social responsibilty which in fact is only done to Sell More Hamburgers, Fries and Soda.

At School

McDonald’s spends 40 % of its multi billion dollar marketing budget* on marketing directly to kids and what better way to indoctrinate them than at school. As school is a place of learning and holds a high level of trust with kids, the presence of McDonald’s helps to boost its brand perception through positive brand association by leveraging their appeal within the education system.

‘MC Spellit’ competitions, ‘Ronald McDonald roadshows’ to tackle bullying and even ‘McTeacher evenings’ at the local McDonald’s to raise money for the school. McDonald’s has identified the grossly underfunded education system as an easy way to market its so called Social responsibility. But please remember McDonald’s is in the business to sell your kids more Hamburgers, Fries and Soda!

Hospitals

The hypocrisy is astounding. McDonald’s has managed to work its way into the Hospital system. The place where you go to get better when you’re sick is housing a “family” restaurant whose Main aim is to sell your kids more Hamburgers, Fries and Sodas! McDonald’s food is responsible for high levels of food related illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes  and obesity levels within children that are 4 times higher than that of 30 years ago*.

Hospitals all around the world, including Pediatric hospitals have McDonald’s in their lobbies and food courts, and some have McDonald’s as the ONLY food option!

The above picture even made it on the wildly popular FAIL BLOG! Go the FAILS!!!!!!!!

On the Sports Field

McDonald’s has done a “wonderful” job at tying in some of the most well known sporting personalities around the world. NBA superstar LeBron James has signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with McDonald’s. What message is that sending kids? Eat McDonald’s and you too can become a basketball superstar? NOT likely! McDonald’s also sponsors other top athletes like Serena Williams and Michael Phelps who only help to give the perception that a diet high in Fat and sugar  like the type McDonald’s sells is conducive to maintaining high levels of athletic excellence. More myth than reality one would suspect. And don’t forget that McDonald’s sponsors the largest sporting event on the planet ~ The Olympics.

Once again, McDonald’s are targeting kids through their sporting heroes and using positive brand associations to improve their perception of being a good choice, because if the best player in the NBA is in  a McDonald’s commercial that means that McDonald’s is the best for me!

Even the Clown is in on the act with Ronald being officially marketed as McDonald’s ” ambassador for a balanced, active lifestyle” *. This wouldn’t be so hard to comprehend  if McDonald’s main aim wasn’t to sell your kids more Hamburgers, Fries and Sodas!

Happy Meals and Happy Playgrounds Equals Happy Kids?

The invention of the happy meal and playgrounds  helped to secure McDonald’s as THE family restaurant and target the little ones they were intending to capture. As children are guided by what’s  fun and exciting rather than nutritional value and health, the Happy Meal and colorful playgrounds holds every child’s fascination. Something greasy, something sweet, a new toy to unwrap and a playground to let loose on.

McDonald’s were able to lure kids and their Mums and Dads at alarming rates as kids got hooked into the “McDonald’s experience”  and parents were able to relax and have a little breathing space over their ’McCappuccino’. Have your own McDonald’s birthday party and sit in your very own themed McDonald’s high chair. From their first birthday, they are being seduced back in time and time again by collector toys, undercover playgrounds and food that has had the largest and most negative impact on the industrial food system and how we eat today.

Billions of dollars are spent every year to ensure that your kids eat more Hamburgers, Fries and Sodas!*

McEducation

If McDonald’s can’t make it into your child’s classroom, how about the classroom makes it to McDonald’s? About 5 years ago McDonald’s started offering nutritional classes or school field trips for kids to come to a McDonald’s restaurant and learn about nutritional health. All the while they are learning about nutritional health they are doing so in one of the  establishments that is partly responsible for the current childhood obesity epidemic.

On one hand they are learning about the nutrition of vegetables and then they get to make their own McDonald’s hamburger. Now which part of this so called educational trip do you think the child is going to remember? What vitamin can you find  in a carrot or which comes first, the all beef patties, then the special sauce… oh that’s right and then the lettuce and the cheese and pickled onions on a sesame seed bun.

There is NOTHING educational in this field trip as McDonald’s Aim is to sell your child more Hamburgers, Fries and Sodas.

Map of McDonalds Restaurants in the United States by weathersealed.com

Location Location Location

Don’t think for a second that the location of a McDonald’s restaurant is coincidental. McDonalds goes where the kids go. Shopping malls, main streets, entertainment complexes and of course their main location beaker. Schools.

As Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s so adequately put it “ Back in the days when we first got a company airplane, we used to spot good locations for McDonald’s stores by flying over a community and looking for schools. Now we use a helicopter, and its ideal”*

In one American city, a recent study showed that 90% of McDonald’s restaurants were within walking distance of a school*. McDonald’s is the billboard that kids walk past or drive past every day as they make there way to school. A magnificently placed billboard that only acts to encourage your kids to eat more hamburgers, Fries and Soda!

Charitable Trusts

Probably the most disturbing of them all is McDonald charitable trusts and social responsibility programs. All the great work that is done within places like Ronald McDonald House is done by McDonald’s with one primary focus in mind. Yup you guessed it, to sell your kids more hamburgers, fries and soda.

As former CEO Fred Turner explained McDonald’s involvement in charitable activities ” We got into for very selfish reasons. It was probably 99 percent commercial. It was an inexpensive and imaginative way of getting your name before the public and building a reputation to offset the image of selling 15 cent hamburgers”*

If McDonald’s are so committed to these charitable trusts, why not give anonymously without the need for names like Ronald McDonald house or McHappy Day? Please note how the McDonald’s name and logo is ALWAYS prominent in any charitable advertising ~ please see the disturbing image above!

Building Brand Loyalty

McDonald’s knows how important it is  to create customers for life and they throw the ‘big bucks’ at advertising and marketing to ensure this happens. This wouldn’t be so terrible if the products they were selling were beneficial to the consumer, but when there main aim is to sell your kids their core products which is Hamburgers, Fries and Soda, terrible doesn’t even begin to describe the long term effects and impact that this is having on your child’s health.

It’s never to early to get them started in the McDonald’s craze either, with products targeting under ones and there besotted parents. Once the child can eat solids its Happy meals and playgrounds. As that child  becomes a teenager and first job is looming they could become fry cooks and work the drive in before heading off to McDonald’s very own Hamburger University where they can get a McDegree. I’m not kidding about any of this by the way.

With so many positive associations for the child and young adult when they become parents, where do you think it will be that they take their little angel? The evolution of our species seems to be the ability to hop in our cars and drive our kids to McDonald’s.  Its been conditioned into us since birth.

There are many methods that McDonald’s utilize to market their products. What are your thoughts on McDonald’s and their marketing strategies? Can you name any others or is it just a storm in a soda cup?

*Read more at retireronald.org

Want to do something about it? Join Corporate accountability International

Khayyam Wakil aka @iamkhayyam

“Food is love. What’s one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

Photo Credit: "vaishy67"

Food is love, no question.

In my culture you literally have to put your hand over your plate, bowl or glass in order for family to stop serving, shoveling and pouring that love. The comforting warmth of Aloo Gobi has been from a very early age the favorite amongst favorites.

For those that are not familiar with what Aloo or Gobi is, let me explain. The Aloo part is potatoes and the Gobi part is cauliflower. Doesn’t sound appetizing, but once the ginger and onions are opened up and softened down, the spices mingle in a dance that drench these wonderful vegetables in a zesty mouth watering dish. It was almost always served with roti, although on occasion, naan would be consumed – didn’t really discriminate Tearing away small triangular pieces and scooping out mouthful after mouthful, something about that soft texture and spicy bouquet that always had me coming back for more. My other favorite as a child was spaghetti, but thought the spicy dish could be romanced a little bit more easily

Khayyam Wakil Bio and Social Media Links

Website: http://iam.ki.am/

Twitter: : www.twitter.com/iamkhayyam

One day, Khayyam had a question. Why couldn’t he get his Tiger Onitsuka shoes ordered into Canada from Zappos? He jumped on Twitter and asked the CEO of Zappos this exact question. Within minutes, he received a direct response. In that moment Khayyam realized the power within social networks. Khayyam’s ten years of experience in print and identity design was about togo ‘virtual’.

Khayyam quit his comfy agency job and ventured out to put traditional networking on its head. Within months of immersing himself in the social space, he earned the trust of his quickly growingcommunity, which branded Khayyam as one of the most influential people to follow. Companies were now turning to Khayyam Wakil for consultation on how to produce the same results for their brand, product, service or vision.

Today, Khayyam utilizes his collective experiences in design, entrepreneurship, public relations,event promotions and social media strategies to help those that need awareness and eyeballs. In 2009, Khayyam stepped into the role of Creative Director at Esultancy, a start up agency specializing in strategy and consulting in New York. Perks Consulting acquired Esultancy andKhayyam assumed the role of Media Director.

Khayyam is currently a partner with IQMZ, a boutique agency, which provides hi-level strategy and engagement campaigns amongst other online solutions.

Khayyam was fortunate enough to have a hand in Bill Cosby’s social campaign and town hall meeting that attracted 750,000 unique viewers and over the course of the 80 minute broadcast, 1.4 million viewers. Khayyam also serves on the UN’s Social Media Envoy to End Malaria, in addition, aided in the Microsoft Xbox launch of Project Natal also known as their new product Kinect at the E3 Conference.  Currently working on a mobile karaoke solution for Music World Entertainment in partnership with MySpace which is set to launch beginning of the new year.

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The Internet Chef Talks to

Leslie Carothers aka @tkpleslie from

“Food is love. What’s one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

Growing up, my Dad was the cook in our family. He loved waking my brother and I up on Sunday mornings with the equally delicious aromas of sizzling brown bacon and soft yellow butter melting on the griddle just waiting to receive it’s dollop of … pancake batter.

Yes, pancakes. Anyone who knows me well knows I love pancakes. My Dad made pancakes-his special *one scoop of batter* silver dollar pancakes -every Sunday morning for us all for as long as I can remember until I left home for the first time at age 20.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Keith

What says love to a child more than waking up with those smells , walking down the hallway through the bright morning light filtering through the open weave pale green curtains, getting a big morning hello hug from your Dad and turning around to see the one perfect miniature pink rose picked from his tiny oval garden outside the front door awaiting your Mom who is still reading her morning paper in bed?

Whenever, in the ensuing years, I came home from college, from a relationship gone south, from work stress, for the holdidays- his pancakes, his soothing words, his big morning hugs were awaiting me and, by the time I left, all was right again with the world.

It’s been five years since Dad passed away from cancer. My brother, who had begun making Dad’s silver dollar pancakes and crispy bacon long ago on Sunday mornings for his own three boys and wife, is able now, whenever I visit them for the holidays or summer vacations, to bring back the comfort of my father’s presence to me whenever I visit t just by waking me up to those familiar smells wafting down the hallway that brought me such a feeling of love all of my life.

Leslie Carothers Bio and Social Media Links

Website: www.tkpartnership.com a social media agency for the home furnishings and related industries.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lesliecarothers

Twitter: : www.twitter.com/tkpleslie and www.twitter.com/tkpsev

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheKaleidoscopePartnership

Leslie Carothers is the Founder and CEO of The Kaleidoscope Partnership- a social media marketing agency for the home furnishings and lifestyle industries headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. She has been in the furniture and design industry for the past 28 years and writes the well known blog, *Retail Ideas* for Furniture Today magazine at http://furnituretoday.com. She is a well known micro-blogger on twitter on all things furniture, interior design and eco as @tkpleslie.

Her business partner, Sev Ritchie, heads their Boston office. Sev has been in the furniture and gift and home business for 10 years and is the widely acknowledged North American expert on all things web and e-commerce for the industry.

Both Sev and Leslie are well-known international speakers for the furniture and lifestyle insdustries on topics relating to internet marketing, SEO, social media and ecommerce. Through the leveraging of their online communites and their offlline networks, they offer a USP to their clients based on their years of knowledge and relationships within the furniture and related industries which produces very strong sales and business opportunity results for their clients.

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The Internet Chef Talks to

Myriam Thibault from “Mytinerary”, Gourmet Travel & Walking Tours

“Food is love. What’s one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

Tough question – so many family dishes to pick from!! My nanna’s apple cake was a favourite, and probably the first cake I got to bake as a kid. My Dad also does a mean chilli con carne which is kind of his signature dish for family reunions. However, I’ve decided to pick another dish instead, my 70yo nanny’s out-of-this-world flower doughnuts.

You see, because my parents were both working full-time when my sister and I were younger, we would spend A LOT of time at my nanny’s. It was a very special place for us. She was minding other kids as well so it was a place with toys all over the place – I loved being there. She was a funny character, that woman. On the one hand she was really super strict (teaching us table manners, overseeing our homework etc), on the other hand she really cared about us, and I think that really translated into the food she would feed us.

Every day, her husband would pick us up from school for a homemade lunch, and then we’d be back again after school for the famous French ‘gouter’ (afternoon snack, usually fresh baguette, butter and a chocolate bar), and would stay there till 7pm-ish. Sometimes, when my parents had to work late, my sister and I would even stay there for dinner.

We ended up spending so much time there that our nanny became like a third grand-mother to us, in fact we called her “Mamie” Clement (for nanna). And she played a huge part in shaping my taste from a food perspective, introducing us to all sorts of regional French dishes such as “Beef Bourguignon”. Now I can’t say I liked everything, but she was quite strict so I had to finish my plate anyway – in retrospect it was a good thing because it helped broaden my horizon in terms of food and flavours.

Now “Mamie” Clement owned a family house in the heart of Burgundy, and we would spend quite a lot of time there in during school holidays. She had an amazing kitchen garden, they had their own beehives and made their own honey (just delicious…). And a huge garden where we would play all day long, that’s where I learnt how to ride a bike, for instance. Anyway, one of her signature desserts during summer holidays was flower doughnuts. Just a-ma-zing. Really fluffy and soft, coated in coarse sugar and dipped in that honey I was just talking about. Back then, cooking with flowers was unheard of from me, so the dish was really exotic… The flower she used were “acacia” (they’re related to the wattle family but look a bit like mini magnolias). Ohhh, what would I give for a bite of these flower doughnuts again!

So that’s me, folks. It’s not a ‘family’ dish per se as “Mamie” Clement wasn’t really family. But to me, family is about caring, sharing, educating, nurturing and putting up great food on the table – and she certainly was doing all of this!

Myriam xx

Myriam Thibault’s Bio and Social Media Links

Website: www.mytinerary.com.au

Blog: www.detours.typepad.com

Twitter: : http://twitter.com/myriamthi

Passionate blogger Myriam Thibault is a 30-something French expat living in Sydney – born and bre(a)d in Paris, France.

She’s been passionate about food for as long as she can remember. Unofficial sources confirmed she even said ‘macaron’ before saying ‘maman’, and ‘tapas’ before ‘papa’. The said mother is still shaking her head in disbelief…

An avid traveller, Myriam has visited all five continents, from Rajasthan to the Sahara Desert, Bilbao to Rio de Janeiro, Paris to Sydney. She wishes she could go on a round-the-world tour as her honeymoon, but husband (and bank account) seem to disagree. She’s among those who firmly believe that one of the best ways to discover a country and truly understand its culture is with a knife and fork in hand. Or chopsticks. Or fingers.

After a successful career in PR and Marketing, Myriam recently started a company called “Mytinerary”. Based in Sydney, Mytinerary is a boutique travel & events consultancy which delivers the ultimate gourmet experience by creating highly personalised itineraries, private tastings and deluxe walking tours for individuals and companies.

Myriam’s philosophy is to share with her clients the Sydney that she loves – its flamboyant dining scene, passionate chefs and sommeliers, vibrant cafés and small bars, rich cultural heritage, talented creative community and dramatic landscapes.

What makes Mytinerary different is Myriam’s incredible passion for Sydney as a world-class gourmet destination, and her focus on a more local, contemporary experience – taking you behind the scenes and beyond the city icons.

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The Internet Chef Talks to

New York Times Bestselling Author & Leading New Media Marketing Thinker ~ Chris Brogan

“Food is love. What’s one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

Photo Credit: Craig Dugas

My favorite dish that reminds me of family and makes me smile is shepherd’s pie. It’s a very simple Irish dish, and the version I grew up with was the most common of common foods: ground beef, potatoes, corn, butter. What makes this a favorite is that it was always served in my home as if it were a treasure and a treat, and I never once questioned whether it was a luxurious meal. My mother and father simply presented it as if it were. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my family made it all work, and in such a way that it wasn’t much of a story around the table.

Now, years later, my own family isn’t all that interested in shepherd’s pie. My daughter prefers filet mignon to any other cut of meat and my son doesn’t eat foods that aren’t beige or orange (like macaroni and cheese). I travel the world for business, and on occasion, I’ll find myself in a restaurant that boasts of a shepherd’s pie. Theirs always has something a bit more exotic to it, but if I close my eyes and pretend, I can remember the warmth of a family that protected me from knowing times were tough, and fed me with simple food that filled the belly.

Chris Brogan’s Bio and Social Media Links

Website: http://www.chrisbrogan.com

Twitter: : http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dotchrisbrogan

Trust Agents by Chris Brogan & Julien Smith

Chris Brogan consults and speaks professionally with Fortune 100 and 500 companies like PepsiCo, General Motors, Microsoft, and more, on the future of business communications, and social software technologies. He is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Trust Agents, and a featured monthly columnist at Entrepreneur Magazine. Chris’s blog, [chrisbrogan.com], is in the Top 5 of the Advertising Age Power150. He has over 11 years experience in online community, social media, and related technologies.

Chris is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency serving primarily Fortune 100 and 500 clients, and president of Human Business Works, an online education and community company for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs.

Chris is also the cofounder of the PodCamp new media conference series, exploring the use of new media community tools to extend and build value.

He has 16 years of enterprise telecommunications and wireless experience prior to all this.

Click HERE to contact Chris

Chris Brogan Photo Credit http://becky-johns.com

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Sydney’s Walsh Bay Sets up An Arts Table For 1000

Tickets are still available to Palette on the Pier ~ An Arts table For 1000 which kicks off at 7:00pm on Wednesday 27th October on Pier One of Walsh Bay. Tickets are $150.00 per person all inclusive and can be purchased by clicking here >> Palette on the Pier 2010

Nestled under the watchful eye of the Sydney Harbor Bridge is a hideaway community of arts, culture, food and business. Pier after pier of restaurants, cafes and creative spaces make for the eclectic group known as The Walsh Bay Precinct home to the Sydney Writers Festival and the prestigious  Biennale of Sydney.

At the heart of this community lives and breathes multiple arts and cultural  organisations  including The Australian Theatre for Young People and The Sydney Dance Company. It is with the keen involvement of local businesses around The Walsh Bay precinct and there passion and commitment to the  arts that has seen the development of an annual fundraising dinner on the pier at Walsh Bay to coincide with Sydney’s Crave International Food festival  ~ with all proceeds this year going to Regional Arts NSW.

Lara Scolari, “Abstract painting” 2010. Oil on board which will be up for auction on the night

Brigid Kennedy, a champion campaigner for Walsh Bay and its incredibly diverse community of artists and businesses, has the exciting  role of coordinating a magnificent open air 7 course degustation dinner for up to 1,000 guests on the pier at Walsh Bay on the evening of Wednesday 27th October.  Her catering business and cafe  Simmer on the Bay along with 5 other Walsh Bay restaurants will be donating their time, produce and staff to the ambitious evening in an incredible act of generosity towards Regional Arts NSW.

Canowindra regional wines will be represented by Swinging Bridge Estate and Rosenay wines who along with other vineyards from the same area   have donated cases of their finest grapes to match a menu created by the group of chefs who will be responsible for feeding the evening’s guests. An Italian style tasting plate by Chef Roberto Taffu of Ventuno Pizzeria will be matched with  Toms Waterhole Semillion 2010, followed by Savory duck meat balls on mushy peas created by Chef Adam Humphrey of Restaurant Arras and matched with a 2009 Falls Wine Chardonnay.

Charly Wrencher ,“The Pass”.

As well as an evening of tempting food and wines, there will be a silent art auction with some beautiful Regional pieces up for offer.  Live music and  entertainment will fill the enclave that looks on to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and guests will be wined and dined in the name of Art. The recipients of this year’s inaugural Palette on the Pier fundraising dinner Regional Arts NSW,  is a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to  developing the  arts in small rural communities which in turn helps to interrupt the anti-social cycle of behavior by giving back a sense of pride and self worth.

Chef Brigid Kennedy from Simmer on the Bay  along with chefs Serif Kaya from Ottoman Cuisine, Chloe Kinajil from Firefly, Adam Humphrey from Restaurant Arras and Roberto Taffu from Ventuno Pizzeria with the help of many staff and volunteers  are proud to bring you an evening of entertainment and fine food to create a global experience which is the Walsh Bay Precinct.

Tickets are still available to Palette on the Pier ~ An Arts table For 1000 kicks off at 7:00pm on Wednesday 27th October on Pier One of Walsh Bay. Tickets are $150.00 per person all inclusive and can be purchased by clicking here >> Palette on the Pier 2010

The Internet Chef Talks to

Stefanie Michaels a.k.a @adventuregirl

and asks her Just One Question…

“Food is love. What’s one family dish from your childhood that holds a special place in your heart?”

YES! Food=love to me.

Eating for me means happy times. I came from a large Italian family on my Mom’s side, and a tiny Italian one of my Dad’s side, but non-the-less, they both offered this everything from scratch foodie haven.

I had gourmet dueling grandmothers who would cook all day long. My Mom’s side were known for the heavier sauces and meatballs, my Dad’s side, the Northern Abruzzi area, best at creating chicken based lighter sauces. Needless to say, holidays were about passing bowls of pasta dishes to 30 or so family members and friends. It was time for celebration.

Braided bread, homemade lasagna, hand rolled pastas, biscotti, and Pizzelles- delicate lace like cookie with flavors of vanilla, orange and anise are my favorite.

And, mostacholi which is what we call it- most people know it as penne pasta. My Grandma would hand roll each one so delicately, then create this light tomato and basil sauce to pour on top.

Those are my favorite memories, watching my Nonna Lucia in the kitchen with her rolling pins, smelling of Jean Nate perfume and flour. Then sitting down at the table for her quick wit, heavy Italian accent, and of course her amazing homemade pasta.

Something special was given to me by my father, when Nonna passed,  her rolling pins, which I cherish to this day.

Stefanie’s Bio and Social Media Links

Website: http://adventuregirl.com/

Twitter: : http://twitter.com/ADVENTUREGIRL

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adventuregirl

Stefanie Michaels, known to legions of fans as “Adventure Girl®,” has carved a unique niche in the world of travel and entertainment.  Her website, AdventureGirl.com, has been utilized by millions looking for tips on exciting places to visit, be it sleeping in an Ice Hotel in Reykjavík, Iceland, swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas, or tapping into the chicest eco-friendly destinations in travel today.

But with almost 1.5 million followers (and growing) on Twitter (Twitter.com/Adventuregirl) it’s her status as one of Twitter’s “Top Global 100” and “Top 50 Tweeple to Follow” that has really accentuated her reach to fans and travelers around the globe, cementing her reputation as the go-to girl for everything travel, and then some.   Her staggering number of followers is also the reason companies from every facet of the global travel industry – from international resorts to socially conscious charities and events – are clamoring to have her experience what they have to offer first-hand in the hopes she will report about their unique qualities, offers and opportunities to her legion of loyal followers.

Michaels’ meteoric rise on Twitter has been highlighted by some of the most influential press outlets in the world, including Vanity Fair Magazine (February 2010), dubbing her “America’s Tweetheart,” TIME Magazine (May 2010), CNN (“5 Twitter Stars You’ve Never Heard Of”) and Forbes.com (Aug. 2010) who touted Michaels as #1 in their list of the “20 Best-Branded Women on Online.”

A sought-after spokesperson in the media, Michaels is the travel expert for Travel + Escape Channel’s “UberGuide” series, with regular appearances as the social media/travel expert for E! Entertainment’s “That Morning Show” and the eco-travel expert for Discovery’s “Planet Green.” She garnered the coveted spot as the green lifestyle expert for The Huffington Post, and has been an expert travel reporter on CNN and FOX News, with continuous television show appearances across the US, most recently on a two-part technology segment for “The Rachael Ray Show” and celebrity guest for Al Roker’s ”Morning Show.”  In addition to her on-camera appearances, Michaels has been frequently quoted in press outlets including the The New York Times and CNN.com.  In addition, her travel pieces have appeared in magazines and online outlets across the globe including Affluent Worldwide, Elite Traveler, Self, People Magazine and Access Hollywood.com.

In addition to reporting on the most recent developments and innovations in travel, recommending must-have travel apps and giving honest and valuable travel tips and advice, Michaels utilizes the reach she has to her many followers on Twitter to help promote causes and events that are important to her. She is one of the new media luminaries named to the United Nations Social Media Envoy Group, including Bill Gates, Aston Kutcher, Larry King and Gen. Colin Powell, tasked with inspiring and activating social media audiences in support of malaria control, and helping to raise funds for 50 million mosquito bed nets in Africa to help eradicate malaria. In addition, Michaels launched, in conjunction with the International Children’s medical charity Operation Smile, the “140 Smiles (in 140 characters)” campaign, to unite the Twitter community to help raise funds for 140 underprivileged children to get life-changing surgeries to correct facial deformities.  As the official Twitter Smile Ambassador, she is committed to helping spread the word about the groundbreaking work Operation Smile performs.

The past year alone has been indicative of Michaels’ exciting and varied adventures as she defied gravity (tapping into a dream of one day traveling to space) when she, along with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, participated in the inaugural flight of Las Vegas’ ZERO G, an airplane ride that lets passengers experience zero gravity, and hit the ocean’s depths to swim with black-tip and lemon sharks in the waters of Oceana.

Michaels’ work as an author is equally exciting.  Her book Adventure Girl’s Guide to Adventure Travel…without Breaking a Nail was last year and upcoming books will feature the next editions in her Adventure Girl’s Guide series.

Michaels’ passion for travel started when her parents took her on her first flight at six-months of age.  Little did those friendly skies know what they were in for. She has since traveled extensively both for business and pleasure.  It has always been about adventure for Michaels, who embodies the spirit of her greatest heroine, Amelia Earhart, and lives by Earhart’s mantra:  “If someone asks you on an adventure, never refuse.”

A Los Angeles native, Michaels began working in commercials at the age of three. Her love for acting was overshadowed by her self proclaimed “geekiness”.

E-mail was the new means of communication in the nascent internet years and, it turns out, the ideal medium for Michaels.  She became an online tour guide for fans who wanted to keep track of her travels. Michaels created Travel Partners, a web site where she kept a photo journal of her excursions. The site became a go to destination for fans, and in 2001 Michaels hosted an online travel show, “Adventures with Adventure Girl.”  Visitors to the site entered online contests to win dream adventures with Stefanie Michaels, film crew in tow.

Michaels, who calls the world her home, resides in Los Angeles, CA, with her husband and a houseful of rescued pets, currently talied at five dogs and three cats.  She attended UCLA’s journalism program, is a member of Boston University’s Archeological Institute of America, The North American Travel Journalists Association, The Society of Professional Journalists, Screen Actors Guild, and The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

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