What would you do if Facebook disappeared?

So, my sister is tripping out, via text, and I am trying to assure her that life will continue but she really doesn't think so.  She's feverishly typing and there's all kind of autocorrect #FAILS.

The issue, her Facebook page and Fanpage were being hacked, at that moment.  Within a matter of hours she watched as her page was taken over, closed and subsequently locked!! 
It was detrimental, at least to her.  She wanted to make a call, send an email, and (of course) cry.
On a Sunday, Facebook is kinda hard to get in touch with, who'd a thunk it!?

As a small business owner, with  a brick and mortar business, she ran her entire life and business contact list on Facebook, posting pictures of her work, accepting appointments and reaching out to other nail techs across the country. (check out GlamNailz by Chloe)

Which leads me to the reason of this post.  
What would you do if Facebook disappeared?  Not if it never were invented, but if one second you were LIKEing pics and posts and then one second you weren't.

Would you be able to live without knowing everything your high school best-friend was doing?  Would your children have a hobby to fall back on?  Would you know about all of the new Jordan sneakers that are coming out (again)?

This past weekend I decided to go through my social networks, like LinkedIn and Twitter, and pull off emails of folks I know (or knew).  I had a goal of updating my contact list, reaching out to my network and launching a few new projects with people that were "already in my circle".  Mind you, I usually collect and then covet my followers and friends, oftentimes never really reaching out to them, but isn't that what these networks are about?  Making connections, scratching backs and ultimately getting a good rub down yourself (wait, that came out wrong, but I'll roll with it).

As I personally phished through LinkedIn, Twitter (all three accounts) and Google+ I noticed just how many "new" people I'd become acquainted with via social media.  Most of them I had only known through the internet, only to meet them in person and feel like old friends.

Hell, I met my husband on Twitter! And being new to San Antonio, I've contacted and been reached by  a ton of small business owners, bloggers and clients via LinkedIn and Google+.

Facebook and other sites built around the same social construct (the construct that it's not who you know, but on which network you meet them) have drawn multiple industry professionals to the flare of being recruited to a Fortune 500 company, getting a record deal, launching their products on The Oprah Winfrey Network, or maybe becoming a world-renowned fashion model.

But, what if all of that was taken away from us?  Would everyone's life still be "perfect", "blessed" and "highly favored"?  Would you still actively involve yourself in conversations with complete strangers?  Would Kodak still be in business (getting film developed use to be such fun)?

What would you do if Facebook disappeared?
I'll wait...

The Great Give Back - #TeamOgba volunteers

One of the first things we decided to publicly do as a small business was volunteer.  The opportunity came up to run a 5k for a local charity ... I declined, I really ain't about running.  But something I do love is cleaning, it's something my dad instilled in me.  When we first saw the posting on Facebook from the San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation for volunteers to clean up a home in an historic neighborhood, I jumped at the opportunity to help out.

Bout to get started ... we were all smiles and suited up!

By the middle of the morning I was covered from head to toe #teamnobugsonme

@MrOgba was doing the most!

We demolished the backyard

Found a few little treasures ... including a grapevine that I left by mistake. :(

Met some cool peeps.  

So, this tells me that I can get a garden... 

That's a mattress they're carrying ... I refused to touch it.

Here are a few pics of our fantastic Saturday.  And some before and after of the beautiful home we helped clean up.

The Before

The After ... all clean

Shout-out to the Team!

Thanks for the opportunity!

 Everyone, I'd love to find out what  you do to give back to your community, have you started your own initiative in your neighborhood?  Let me know in the comments section.

TTYL!

The RiverTini Pour-Off ... and Crawl-Home

Four months into managing BethanyEast PR here in San Antonio our newest client, Zocca was quickly invited to compete in the RiverTini Pour-Off at the Hyatt Regency ... it all came a bit sudden as I had only made plans to host a pre-Pour-Off event seeing as how registration had been closed for about a month (or 3) ... much to my surprise I got the call from the fantastica chicas at the Foundation asking us to compete since someone had dropped out. #highfive

Now, since being in TEXAS I've become a beer drinker, booty short wearer (just'once), bling-bling needer and margarita maker ... never have I been a place where being happy and comfy is so widely accepted, y'all know I'm from Detroit.  Working with the ladies at the Foundation was extremely easy and fun... the hubby (@MrOgba) and I had a blast at the event, especially trying all of the many (many many many many) martinis!

Check out some of the pics.

The evenings sponsor, Grey Goose!

ORO Restaurant had a good spread

These ladies loved the Zocca "Ferrari" Martini

@MrOgba, putting them back 

Our friend, Karen K. of the San Antonio River Foundation

By the end of the night EVERYONE was so nice! 

found this one on the Express News site

I want this job next year ... lest ye be judged! (smh)

The Judges Table

Candid Chili Pepper Martini 

Sweet Competition ... what's that about enemies being closer... our neighbors were so sweet ... until you tasted their martini ... SPICY!!

This guy spilled martini all over himself, so @MrOgba lent him an extra shirt ... j/k // but it's possible.

#TeamZocca

A viable competitor, Hotel Contessa/Las Ramblas ... 

The Guys from Hotel Contessa won last year.  They had an awesome presentation.

#200MartiniGiveAway .. Team #Zocca hooked it up!

My clients checking out the cuisine ... this food was REALLY good.

Team #WestinRiverwalk  #Zocca 

The winners trophy ... a giant martini glass .. congrats to Hofbrau!

By the end of the night @MrOgba were happy that we took the 10 minute bus ride to downtown San Antonio, driving home would have been all to interesting ... drink responsibly my friends.  TTYL

New Year, New Lessons ... Putting an End to my Beginning

Happy New Year Everyone!!

BiTC celebrated its FIFTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY yesterday ... and I never really cause a big fuss over it...I love my blog, but I don't really celebrate it like I should.  Instead I like to think back on my posts and think how they can be better, a skill I learned at the end of every school year during finals...

I have been a freelance publicist for almost 2 years now.  I've worked on campaigns in Detroit, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago and the DMV as well as completed tons of online campaigns.  It's been a weird year.

When I last talked about my employment situation I had just been fired from Nordstroms for reasons unknown, other than being a cool headed black girl. .. I took my new-found forced independence in stride, vowing never to go back on the clock again.  I created proposals for new events and drafted contracts with new clients. I hit the keyboard at 6am most mornings finding contacts in the media and focusing on gaining ground in the realm of B2B relations.

BiTC talked a lot of mess in 2012...

 Part of being freelance is creating my own schedule as well as managing my own customer service methods.  Which is often the hardest thing for new entrepreneurs.  Of course every one imagines being able to roll out of bed whenever you want, billing large clients for exuberant amounts of "consulting" hours, networking and laughing it up with other entrepreneurs over a glass of red wine and a t-bone steak....but managing a service-centered small business is getting more and more complicated.  Having 5 years of fresh corporate experience did not well enough prepare me for 2011, and neither did the 5 years I spent at Michigan (yup, I'm admitting to the 5th year victory lap...atleast I finished)

A quick move to San Antonio, TX put BiTC in a good place to grow

Real world experience taught me where to start learning when it came to building my small business.  

Whereas I have just gotten over the fear of "what if I can't pay my [insert life altering expense here]?" phase of being an entrepreneur...the phase where I find myself applying for a few open positions every now and then... to the "now, I demand a deposit before any services are begun." mindset of entrepreneurship.  

@darealChrisReed, circa '09
Woodward bus stop, downtown Detroit

In 2011 I focused a lot on finding the lessons I need to learn from ... or in my aunts' words, I got into a ton of trouble.  I took chances, and explored how to talk to people, what to say, when to ask for what you want and to walk away when people tell you NO...because I am obviously talking to the wrong person.

@BethanyEastPR, 2012 ... San Antonio, TX ..
still wide-eyed, not so much bushy-tailed

Now, it's 2012 and BethanyEast PR and Mgmt. Consulting has a ton of new projects, ideas and opportunities for clients and affiliates.  This year we will be creating marketing gold on an international scale. 

We've claimed the San Antonio/Houston and Austin circuit as our new home and are ready to make waves in the media, among diverse audience.  

The #BlackInTheCity blog will also be changing to include a well rounded approach to what it means to be Black in the City, in the Suburbs, in America (thanks Soledad) and in your own right ... this year I stand to prove that blackness may be universal, but it most definitely is not what it use to be.

I am putting an end to my beginning entrepreneurial lifestyle, this year marks the overhaul.  Stay blessed, learn often and ...

ttyl

Sun Up to Sun Up, Project Mgmt & Your Work Schedule

#focus

My new routine is growing on me.  I am working constantly to create a profitable livelihood, my new word to use in place of career seeing as how I am trying to bring my skills to the ca-front.  And the responsibility is looking good on me.  New tools and resources and being able to take advantage of such freely can give anyone the inspiration they need to remain productive ...  however it is the process of seeking out these tools that will show you just how much work it takes to actually ... well, work.

This week I pieced together a RFI for a friend that wanted to make a presentation to a local, promising, small business.  She wanted me to create a project plan and detailed scope of services that pertained to completing a string of tasks.  The end result, launching and maintaining a full out branding campaign for a new clothing company and relaunching its mothering urban entertainment company.  Easy enough. (side eye)

"I know how to get the work done." She explained, "I just don't know how to put it into words."

I set out doing research, compiling content, creating a project plan, budget and checklist.  I even put in a FAQ section for pizzazz.  Within a few hours she was forwarded a formatted PDF e-document composed to make the simplest of minds understand ins and outs of the services of my girls awesome work.

Like I said, easy enough.

What we do is sometimes so overwhelming to us that we forget just how we got to where we are.  I was greeted today by Black-life commentator Roland Smith on CNN giving his reasons why the African American unemployment rate is at its highest in 27 years.  Which really hit home because this means that as for as long as I have been alive the very community in which I live, love and rely on has progressively gotten worse.  Which only means to me ... that .. it must be getting better from here.  Coming from where I'm from (an eighties baby & Detroit-native) unemployment and the notion of entrepreneurship has always come hand in hand.

Optimistic .. i.e. "can't tell me nothing" #kanyeshrug

When asked, I replied, "Sometimes it is the Bridge that is greener,  and on top of all that, it connects BOTH sides."
*I visited the Japanese Tea Gardens this week with @IgboSwag, it was absolutely beautiful!

Being a freelance anything in the eyes of my Assembly Line-era family is the same as "not having no job".  However, my argument is this, wasn't entrepreneurship what started Motor City in the first place.  Wasn't it also such that further the independent civil rights fights for blacks in the 40s, 50s and 60s?  I mean, I don't think many large pharmaceutical companies were doing event sponsorships for Equal Rights Rallies.

Sun Up to Sun Up

My entrepreneur life is teaching me so much on a daily.  From sun up to sun up, is my newest mantra ... it describes my work day.  No naps, a few breaks, tons of phone calls and emails comprise my day.

I have gotten into the habit of not taking "no" as an answer.  And by keeping a well scripted log of my actions I am putting different spins on BethanyEast PR events and connections.  A string of lessons has taught me some key things:

• look for roads less taken when it comes to my industry,
• ask the right questions and do the research necessary to get the right answers
• be courteous of your time as well as other peoples time
• stay relevant and/or maintain knowledge of what is relevant

Simple enough right ...?

I know where I am.  Do you?

Upon this revelation, my girl who I had completed the earlier mentioned work shot me a GChat, "Thank you.  I don't know how you do it." ... my reply, "Me either."

• always be open to new lessons, continued lessons and old lessons.

What have you learned about your #werq ethic lately?  I am anxious to looking into more black-/minority-/oddly owned businesses and events ... talk to me people.

TTYL.

Good Hair: Beauty Trunk Show in San Antonio, TX

I know what you are thinking ... I thought you had dreads ... and that's true.  I do have dreads, but that isn't stopping me from hosting an event for my long and wavvy loving sistas.

The #GoodHair Trunk Show is an event for the masses, not only are stylists coming to shop for the most premium of Indian, Malaysian and Brazilian human hair, but the public is welcome to the event as well. 

We all know that San Antonio may not always have the best selection of beauty products for those women that like a little something extra and are more familiar with a premium grade of extension so I am teaming up with Glam Hair by Jay to host this event at TC's Hair & Nail Salon on October 3rd from 5-7:30. 

Attendees must RSVP at GoodHairTrunkShow.eventbrite.com, there is a $10 shopping fee, but don't worry, refreshments will be served and you'll get an awesome gift bag full of goodies to take home.  You can also RSVP via Facebook, but the price at the door may be slightly higher than advertised here.

Peep the flyer.... TTYL

South by Southwest Music Conference

So, if you follow me on twitter you probably recognize all of the #sxsw hashtags, but didn't really know what the abbreviation stood for ... well, South by Southwest is one of the largest conferences centered on Technology, Music and Film in the country. Its hosted every year in Austin, TX and this year I decided to make my out there.

Now being

from Detroit, I have been to my share of techno fests and winter-blasts ... but nothing could have prepared me for this. There had to be an extra 100,000 people in the small city, that reminded me a lot of Ann Arbor (home of my alma mater ...Go Blue), only with cactus. The houses, the hippie cultural, bicyclists and pedestrians took me back to a collegiate mindset ... I was ready to hit the streets, find some cool venues and experience the music.

The main way to find out what hot and whats the best thing to do at SXSW, is to literally talk to strangers ... something I do best. I had a great chat with this group of Battle Ready Black Chicks...very informative group of divas ...

I struck up a conversation with some awesome people this past weekend and these ladies gave me the one up on the good Bohemian concerts and who Youtube sensation DeStorm is ...

Thats the thing about being Black in the City, I can talk to just about anyone ... and get the information that I am looking for and then more.

It's all about being connected. Mostly because I am more about making a connection.

From left to right I saw people meeting, laughing and basically enjoying each other. There had to have been 100 bars on 6th Street's two-mile stretch, and every where we went, there was a welcoming atmosphere, great music, cheap drinks and good people ... once you get passed the bouncers.

On the second day...I strolled up on a few conversations with some very chill people ... including one of my (and my lil bro's)

favorite rappers, Black Milk. Look for that conversation tomorrow.

And I can't leave without telling you about the awesome food in Austin, everything wasn't tacos and free beer... I found one of the largest burgers in the city, at a fast food pace, for about $8, add a Miller High Life Tall Boy (what other beverage helps wash down a 3/4 lb. cheeser) and I had a $10 blissful lunch, with free wifi.

Now, as a dinner recommendation, I have to go Black on yall...since I been in Texas I have been trying to find a suita

ble soul food restaurant ... I mean, we ARE still in the south, right?

I came up on a small cafe called Carrob's ...and when I looked at the menu I noticed two very similar heart warming meal ingredients, chicken fried steak and mac n' cheese. I had done it, I had hit a quick lick...a soul food restaurant, right off 6th street, in the heart of Austin, this restaurant was obviously a student favorite, complete with outside seating and 15 minute wait for food. It's owners, Carol and Robert ...get it CARol and ROBert --> CARROB'S, were active, with just as much sweat on them as their barista, bus boy, and cashier combined. The couple describe their cafe more like neo-soul food restaurant, because of the vegetarian options.

Oh..and you know I had some fun...check me out ...#

More updates forethecoming ... and I am sharing some new opportunities with you all ... thanks to all of my new readers and ...TTYL!