Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

Don't like the life you have now? Get a second one! Perhaps you always wanted to be a Supermodel, beauty editor, the next Oprah with a twist. We've all been playing simulation games around the office lately with the recent October launch of Desperate Housewives: The game. A company called Second Life, has created something different, it's social networking in that familiar 3D simulated environment that is fun, but can be profitable as well. Users can create, design, own virtual land, meet people, engage in real business opportunities, convert virtual cash into real currency, own IP rights and much more.

More than 900,000 users have signed up to build homes, form neighborhoods and live out alternative versions of their lives in the 3-D, computer-generated world. This is not just for Generation L (liquid generation) audience/demographic, Second Life is sure to attract anyone who was labled a Generation Xer (1961-1981) to todays new Silent Generation (S 2001-). Players spend around $350,000 a day on average or a rate of $13 million a year. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about Second Life in the real world as advertisers and marketers are sure jump at ways to reach out to those who choose to build a second life for themselves online.

Strike Two for Edelman PR as Their Second Fake Wal-mart Blog is Revealed, via B.L. Ochman's What's Next blog

WallStrip, via Repliqa is a RocketBoom format web-show that profiles a different public company on the stock exchange every day .

Sofia Speaks The face (errrr cartoon illustration) of the Holy Mud Company rants about beauty, fashion, art, pop culture and...Politics!

Next Generation Insights (Young Adult Panel) The panel itself is informative, the technology (video tag) is cool too.

No, you don't have a case of DEJAVU. Busy day yesterday. Google acquired Jotspot (we love Jotspot and use it) & Conde Nast acquired Reddit because Digg wanted too much from Condé Nast. Whats on sale next month? Will it be Lipstick.com or Coutorture? What are the next hot Web 2.0 venture capital opportunities?

Still warming up to Second Life? I am asked about it almost daily and wanted to get some basic info posted for those friends who read our blog consistently. Backstory is here. Follow the links.

New World Notes

From April 2003 to February 2006, I was a contract writer for Linden Lab, creators of Second Life, primarily hired by the company to cover SL as an embedded journalist in an emerging society-- its controversies, its personalities, its innovations and ambitions, along with larger themes of identity, social norms and organization, and cultural expression important to online worlds in general.

That contractual relationship has ended, but the story continues here. -Wagner James Au

Second Thoughts Do's and Dont's for Big Business.

"Every human being is interested in two kinds of worlds: the Primary, everyday world which he knows through his senses, and a Secondary world or worlds which he not only can create in his imagination, but which he cannot stop himself creating." W.H. Auden

Second Life Herald The Second Life Herald was founded on October 23, 2003, by philosophy professor Peter Ludlow. Its mission, as described the next day, was to observe, record and study "the legal, social, and economic implications" of life in the virtual world. Originally established as the Alphaville Herald and reporting for the most part on life on the Alphaville server of The Sims Online, the Herald soon branched out into coverage of other massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds -- helped along by the murder of Herald publisher Urizenus (Ludlow's avatar) after Electronic Arts got wind of the stories the newspaper was printing about the scams and cyber-prostitution that were taking place within its game, and the company's indifference to reports of real-world violence.

I know this isn't exactly breaking news for everyone. However, for those who have lives and don't live and shop online exclusively, this may be news to you, it was to me. Many "recommendation" sites are popping up all over the Internet, yesterday a Fashion blogger referred me to one that is getting kudos in the New York Times; ThisNext.com. I was impressed just how organized this site was and even more impressed to find fashion and beauty bloggers I know doing Shopcasts there, such as Kristopher Dukes, The Jewelry Weblog, and Lola is Beauty.

What's a Shopcast? It's basically shopping and broadcasting combined. It's a playlist of products you recommend and you run them on a badge on your site and they also run on the ThisNext site, as well. You can create wishlists and also make recommendations by downloading a few buttons for your browser.

There are some really great recommendations just waiting for you to discover them, or if you feel so inclined, for you to make them at ThisNext.com

Yesterday Microsoft labs announce the first public release of Photosynth Technology Preview. Photosynth takes a large collection of photos of a place or object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space. With Photosynth you can:

* walk or fly through a scene to see photos from any angle;
* seamlessly zoom in or out of a photograph even if it's gigapixels in size;
* see where pictures were taken in relation to one another;
* find similar photos to the one you’re currently viewing;
* explore a custom tour or see where you’ve been; or
* send a collection to a friend.

• Edelman Public Relations Disclosure Follies (Raving Lunacy) Edelman to Fund a Second Life Business screams the headline over at Micro Persuasion.

• $6 Billion For MySpace? (The Blog Herald) Rupert Murdock, CEO of News Corp., told Australian investors that MySpace would sell for $6 billion.

• Users Respond To The Dove Evolution Viral I find the user created responses to Dove fascinating, it is as if through retouching themselves, and manipulating their own digital representation, users can reaffirm their feeling in their true body, and experience an apparent sense of liberation through mutating themselves, looking at it and being able to recognise how ridiculous and distorted standards have become.(Marketing Babylon)

• Pepsi goes organic with new product lines at Whole Foods Market (SpinThicket)

• B.L. Ochman Yawns At Big PR Firms Getting Into "Social Media" (B.L. Ochman)

• Personal Care Appliances - Global Strategic Business Report : This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Personal Care Appliances in Thousands of Units.

• Spinduggery, The Flack: Peter Himler posts about Jeff Jarvis' snarky comment insinuating PR professionals have dishonesty in their DNA. Jeff Jarvis, being the 'spin'-ster he is, should love the quote "you can’t polish a turd."

• KFC Logo Relaunch - From Space, Near Area 51: I know all of you are saying "I thought of that months ago." Ever since Google launched satellite imagery on its maps, I've wanted to pitch this idea to a client. While not the first, KFC is doing it on a grand scale; a nice publicity stunt. For those of you who know my New York address, you can see me on the roof of my apartment building with my dogs, frozen in time from space.

• Loyalty VS. Advocacy CRM Lowdown: Most companies think that their job is done when they manage to convert a regular customer into a loyal customer. They tend to forget the guy because now ‘he can take care of himself.' Wrong! Once you’ve converted a customer, your job becomes even more difficult.

• Link Karma From The Copyblogger: 21 Surefire tips for a successful blog launch, 10 things to consider when choosing a site meter, and the five W's of great content.

• Hotels offer lots of freebies during winter (just not in New York City), The Mercury News: Winter travelers can take advantage of a number of hotel deals. Properties are offering free nights, free gift cards, special rates and other perks.

• How To Stop Comment Spam Without Lifting a Finger, Tubetorial: If you're a wordpress user, you have to visit tubetorial. Quick, easy-to-understand flash video - enjoy.

• The European Newspaper Design & Concept Awards Europe‘s most innovative newspaper 2006: Look and learn. This year, Europe’s best designed newspapers come from Belgium, Norway, Finland, Portugal and Spain. 287 newspapers from 26 countries participated in the eighth European Newspaper Award.

Jeremy Wright is a serial entrepreneur, some have even said a blogpreneur for his focus on communications-oriented ventures. He has been involved in IT, programming and the business side of IT for nearly a decade. Jeremy is the President/CEO of b5media, a prominent blog network. He is the author of Blog Marketing, a business book on blogging and writes Ensight, a popular business and technology blog. Jeremy consults on blogging, communication, IT and time management.

What was your vision when you first had an inkling that you wanted to start b5media?
While it'd be nice to say there was some grand vision when b5 started, the truth is that it was a simple idea by Duncan Riley: partner with a bunch of bloggers to get more advertising. Then if we were going to sell ads, why not join them into a network? And if we were going to start a network, why not start new blogs? And if we were going to do that, why not hire authors?

So yeah, no clear vision initially, just a bunch of guys trying to have some fun and make some money. Who knows where it'll go though? We certainly have a vision and an amazing team and a fantastic group of bloggers that continue to astound me every day, but who knows what the future will hold, eh?

What do you feel are the benefits of being a part of a network?
There are obvious benefits. More traffic. Better traffic. Better ads. More ads. Higher paying ads. All of these mean that a blog that joins b5, or is started for b5, will almost always earn more money than it would on its own. It's kind of like hiring a book agent: sure, you give up 15-20% of your advance and royalties, but if they get you a deal that's 80% better it's a real no-brainer. And if they take all the heavy lifting of landing a book deal off your shoulders so you're less stressed, all the better.

Beyond that, you get free hosting, access to some of blogging's leaders like Darren Rowse and Brian Clarke, and you get to do it all while blogging about something you're passionate about and making some decent bucks for the privilege! It isn't really that hard of a sell when we have to pitch bloggers.

When The Sims first came out, I was an addict. You could find me completely absorbed into creating families, neighbors, homes and watching everything interact. So when I was told there was the same type of game online except that instead of just random characters, they are real people, I knew I had to go check it out.

It’s called Second Life and it’s a virtual 3-D world of real people role playing their second life. This is a place just for fun or to create a real money making business, but it is entirely created and owned by its residents. Sign up was easy and you have a few options of how you want to be involved. You can have a basic account, which is free, or a Premium account for a monthly payment of $9.95 which grants you more access to things like owning land, building, entertaining, being given a weekly stipend and also the ability to create your own business on Second Life.

My sign up time was about 5 minutes, just filling out basic information. The fun part was picking my Second Life name. You can give yourself any first name you want and then you pick from a list of pre-determined last names. Download time was about 10 minutes with a cable modem and approximately 1 minute to install. Make sure your computer is set to 32-bit color or Second Life won’t let you connect. Once you connect, there are a few must-reads you need to go through, such as terms of service and behavioral don’ts.

My first time connecting was a little frustrating, as my computer kept freezing. After 20 minutes of freezing and then unfreezing, I gave up. My second try (the next day) was a little easier and I was able to make it through changing my appearance (although some things I couldn’t figure out) and moving throughout Help Island. About 30 minutes into playing, things started to slow down again and my screen would freeze and unfreeze for about 10 seconds each time.

Second Life, whose population is 60% men and 40% women, is getting a boost from iVillage with a bi-weekly "Girl's Night Out." Girl's Night Out consists of a curator who takes iVillage members on a tour of Second Life showing them interesting locations and meeting remarkable residents. It's a way for members to group together and get a personal tour versus stumbling about on their own through Second Life.

No, that's not me in the top picture. Nor am I in the zebra top, although some say I am an animal. You won't find me pregnant in Second Life, because at least I can enjoy life there without the aches and pains of my little boy kicking my bladder constantly.

This bi-weekly event comes on the tails of brands coming to market their products on Second Life such as, American Apparel. However, iVillage's approach is different, instead of marketing or touting wares, they are trying to improve upon what is already there: a community of women. The effort is being organized by Electric Artists and The Electric Sheep Company.

You can keep up to date with iVillage's Girl's Night out at their website or read more about this new trend at Springwise.

Glam Media, a widely popular beauty, fashion and lifestyle network, has acquired $18.5M in Venture Capital led by Duff Ackerman & Goodrich Ventures, with participation from Accel Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, WaldenVC, and Information Capital. As part of the financing, CNET chairman and E. W. Scripps board member Jarl Mohn is joining the board of Glam Media. Glam Media’s website boasts a robust 8 million visitors per month.

Glam will be using some of these funds to purchase other companies that are either Web 2.0 technology companies or those with a very secure vertical platform with a highly engaged and targeted audience. As you might remember from my interview with Jeremy Wright of b5media, he really felt that vertical companies were the way to go.

Glam intends to spread its wings and expand internationally and add to its sales and editorial team. Glam has also announced that it has signed on with Hearst Magazines to distribute content from Marie Claire on their websites, as well as linking to and promoting other Hearst Magazines for subscription.

Glam Media became an idea in late 2002 and was launched at Fashion Week in September of 2005; the Glam Network soon came to life in December of 2005. Considering the fact that it has only been a little over a year that Glam Media has been on the web, I would have to say that their ambitious goals and the hardworking behind-the-scenes individuals are what make Glam Media the mega-success they are today. As a beauty Blogger about to have her blog join the Glam Network, I am more than excited to see such growth and focus in this company.

** Event Alert! ** THE CANDLE BUILDING New York City. A new face on NYLON TV, NYLON editor Jared Flint skips the line at 11 Spring St, the canvas for the Wooster Collective's street art show. He talks to Sara, one part of the Collective, about how she wrangled together over 40 international artists to tag up the walls of this historically graffiti-splattered building and, a street art aficionado himself, points out his favorite works from the likes of Dark Cloud and Shepherd Fairey.

MyBlogLog was sold last night to Yahoo for a rumored $10 million dollars. For a company that was only launched in 2005 and without venture capital or any money for that matter, this is not a bad profit at all. MyBlogLog is operated by 5 savvy guys spread across the country; Eric Marcoullier, Scott Rafer, John Sampson, Todd Sampson and Steve Ho.

MyBlogLog is a blog tracking and social networking site that we (Pierce Mattie PR) and I use on our blogs to track traffic, note specific trends in searches and to interact with other Bloggers across the world. MyBlogLog has widgets that I am very fond of, and you can see it our sidebar, which tell you the latest readers, but can also be a means for people to find you and your blogs when you read other blogs and have your avatar appear on their widget. By moving your mouse over linked words on our site, you can also see which are the most popular with our readers.

For my personal blogs, I joined MyBlogLog when they first started and it is amazing to see the transformation they have taken on. One thing I think is key is their ability to listen to what their users wanted and their personal approach interacting with their users. Most of my interaction was with Eric Marcoullier through a few private posts in my profile on MyBlogLog and also through email. He was always timely in his responses and I never felt like I was intruding by contacting him. He was always super friendly and never sounded like some corporate-type.

The sale of MyBlogLog means that the team will now be part of the Yahoo Developer Network, which can only mean positive things if you have watched MyBlogLog’s growth from the beginning.

Glam Media, as you know, is a top 10 women’s property network and recently announced its $18.5 Million Venture Capital acquisition and a partnership with Marie Claire. b5media, also recently announced securing $2 Million in Venture Capital and when I interviewed b5media CEO Jeremy Wright back in November, he mentioned vertical networks being the only way to gain traction in today’s market. Glam Media just happens to be a vertical network, so the announcement of a partnership is not surprising.

The b5media partnership with Glam consists of Glam selling b5’s ads, something they are good at doing and in return Glam reaches a wider readership through b5media’s blog readership with Glam’s ads prominently displayed on each blog in the network. The partnership means increased visibility and revenue sharing for both Glam and b5media.

Prior to partnering with Glam, b5media also secured a partnership with Feedburner back in November. You can read Feedburner’s press release and Aaron Brazell’s post on the Pro’s & Con’s of Feedburner fore more details. Aaron is the Technology Channel Editor and Technology Manager for b5media.

So what’s next for b5media? Jeremy Wright gave a great interview to 901am that posted today and stated that they were aggressively pursuing a few partnerships. I guess we’ll be hearing about more b5 partnerships throughout the year.

Chances are, if you are a lover of celebrity gossip or fashion, you are familiar with Popsugar and Fabsugar (my personal favorite), but did you know that there are many other facets to the Sugar Network? There are, in fact, 6 more Sugar blogs (with another 5 soon to be launching) and 1 Social Networking and Community site.

Lisa and Brian Sugar started the Sugar Network with $250k of their own money last year moving full speed ahead to find venture capital to cover the remaining costs to launch additional sites, which will feature a variety of videocasts and podcasts. Their network targets "trendsetting, passionate, smart women between the ages of 18 and 35." The Sugar Network is definitely one to be watching this year.

An overview of each site:

* PopSugar- The insanely popular (and addictive) celebrity news and gossip site. It’s choc full of video comments, candid pictures, interviews and everything else you can possibly imagine to learn the dirt on your favorite celebrity.

* FabSugar- A fashion, beauty and accessory guide. Beauty and fashion mavens can hear all about the latest trends, style tips, must-haves and where to buy them.

* TeamSugar- This is the community hub and Social Network where all Sugar members can post comments, discuss what is being written about on the other Sugar sites, post pages of their own and share in all things Sugar.

Last year we really began to see big name brands participate with creditable, professional blogs. These blogs generate valuable supportive word of mouth advertising for brands. Still in its infancy, many did it wrong, such as the Wal-Mart and Sony PS3 flogs. While many did it right through advertising their products on blogs and social networks through BlogAds and Text Link Ads, as well as, viral marketing with You Tube and Revver and speaking directly to blog owners to review their products.

Moving forward and seeing the success that dual exposure in print publications as well as digital media can bring, Ogilvy & Mather has forged a partnership with Technorati to aggregate blog content relevant to Ogilvy clients, then will work with Ogilvy's senior creative directors to integrate existing word-of-mouth into campaigns, according to MediaPost. I have to agree with this statement in their article: “The benefit of social media is that it allows brands to build a more authentic, participatory relationship with its audience than was possible in the mass media era," said Peter Hirshberg, chairman and chief marketing officer at Technorati. Where print media can still be successful, I think the future success of brands lies within the relationship it can form with its consumers through online media such as blogs and social networks. It is, after all, the connection your consumer feels with your brand, that gives you brand loyalty, continued referrals and strong sales.

Make sure to subscribe to PROBE for our February issue and read tips direct from Pierce Mattie himself on how to get your beauty brand the exposure it deserves.

With so many social networking sites beginning to dominate the internet, it’s about time there was one that had one main focus to bring people with the same interest together to connect and network. IQONS is to fashion what MySpace is to music. Created by Rafael Jimenez and Suran Goonatilake with co-mentor Diane Pernet, they bring experience to the table that will see this new social networking site blossom.

IQONS is the global social network where designers, fashion labels, magazine editors, models, stylists, fashion PR professionals, fashion enthusiasts and the like can connect and network with each other. IQONS only launched last month, but it is already building a presence online with 820 designers with an online profile. Through their profile you can get a more in depth look into who they are and browse through their “showcase.” A showcase is where you can upload your work for the rest of the network to see.

IQONS has a few ways that members can connect and promote their work through the site. Influential and highly respected fashion industry professionals, referred to as Iqons, review and comment on work showcased by members on the site; IQONS features one Iqon each month; they also give members 15 minutes of fame by spotlighting a member profile every hour on the hour. IQONS also creates projects with influential fashion industry professionals for members to take part in. The first one is with online fashion retailer Yoox.com for a design competition.

I think this a great way to network with others in the industry and I’ve already started to create a profile, or “Portrait” as they call it, there myself. If you are already on IQONS, tell us what you think of the site.

I often think of virtual worlds such as Second Life as a form of escapism from the real world and all of the stresses that come with “reality.” However, Second Life is beginning to mimic real life, and a little too much so for my liking. Somehow that fine line of virtual life and real life is slowly erasing itself and the two worlds are beginning to mesh.

In Second Life, you can convert your real money into the Linden and purchase things for your Second Life persona. I’ve never actually really understood why anyone would want to use real money to purchase something that is not tangible. However, I realize I am in the minority as Second Life is booming with virtual businesses converting that Linden into real dollars. Such is the case for Anshe Chung, Second Life’s largest real estate developer. Your Second Life persona can pay Anshe Chung Studios in Linden for your web based land and home, but in the end it is Chung with the tangible product: money in her non-virtual bank account, $1.6 million to be exact.

Because of businesses like Chung’s, the IRS has now stepped in claiming that any money made in Second Life is taxable. CNNMoney.com claims it to be similar as when selling on ebay. However, I’m not sure I can see a connection. On ebay you exchange real money for a real physical product. In Second Life, it’s virtual money for a virtual product. Is there an accountant out there that understands Linden? Is there a place on your tax form where you can report how many Linden dollars you made and if you are owed a return, is it given to you in Linden? I’m sure it can all get confusing.

According to Technorati, 175,000 new blogs are created each day by estimate of the 71 million blogs that they track. Everyone blogs for different reasons, but lately the idea of Bloggers being paid to write a review of a product by its brand has come under the microscope and leaves many wondering the ethics involved in performing such reviews. With blogs becoming a new form of media and in the beginning stages of being looked at as a form of journalism, there is so much gray area involved anyone is bound to wonder what is right and what is wrong when it comes to blogging for dollars.

The controversy stems from the ethics involved in giving a true unbiased review when you are accepting money by the brand that, one would think, does not want to have a bad review written about. Many feel that the review is tainted when a monetary payment is involved and others feel it is just another form of compensation when it comes to writing reviews. As one Bull Dog Reporter reader commented,

“How is this any different than a music reviewer accepting concert tickets, a fashion writer accepting clothes, or a golf writer accepting free greens fees? Influencers get paid, and they always will.”

I admit to the fact that I ignored the potential that social networking sites like MySpace had to offer me from a networking point of view for quite some time. I only really knew MySpace due to NBC’s “To Catch A Predator” and my local school district holding meetings for parents to monitor their children on the popular website. How could a social networking teen hangout benefit me in any way? What I didn’t realize was the “business networking” potential it held and that it would soon lead me to sites like IQONS, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Benefits to Social Networking:

* It allows you to connect with like-minded industry professionals
* It allows for networking beyond your current circle of contacts
* It gives your business a presence online beyond the typical corporate website
* It allows potential business contacts and clients to learn more about you
* It gives you the capacity to interact with others on a more “personal yet professional” level
* It generates referral-based contacts
* It allows for building professional relationships

What began as mere curiosity has now rendered me several contacts in the beauty and fashion industry. As a Blogger, it has helped me generate content for Pierce Mattie’s Fashion, Beauty and Jewelry blogs, as well as, content for my own personal blogs by making connections beyond adding someone to my “friends” list. While MySpace and IQONS have given me contacts such as Billy B. and Boaz David, LinkedIn has given me a connection to those professionals “behind the scenes” such as several owners of various beauty brands, the professionals of Glam Media and b5media and even venture capitalist, Deepu John.

The one mistake many make with their social network profile is to let it sit and think it will do all the work for them. You need to log in at least once a week and interact with others. It lends credibility and respect that you are there not just to “take,” but also to put forth an effort of sincerity into the relationships that you build there.

That’s really the main benefit of social networking—building solid relationships with those in our industry. Since Public Relations is a relationship-based industry, where better to utilize those skills than through social networking?

What do you feel are the benefits of social networking for business and public relations?

You've already created a Facebook sponsored group for your brand and your MySpace friend list reads like the white pages, so here's one new thing to add to your social media PR must-do list: Create a brand-specific social network on Ning.

Ning is a site where instead of just creating a page, you create a community with features like discussions, forums, and messaging. Instead of joining a myspace, you’re a creating a YOU-space, your own personal social network where brand-fans can upload their own content, blogs, videos, and pictures.

“We wanted to enable people to create their own worlds, not just join someone else's,” explains Ning founder and internet pioneer Marc Andreessen (he invented the first web browser) on his blog, blog.pmarca.com. “The more people learn what social networking makes possible, the more interested they will be in creating their own worlds, their own social networks, around every conceivable need and niche: their families, friends, cities, companies, start-ups, classes, hobbies, interests, political candidates, nonprofit activities, and so on.”

Another plus in Ning's favor is the ability for you to add RSS feeds so that you can update members of your network on any new content. Signing up is free and takes little time depending on whether you choose to use Ning’s templates or create your own fancier html code. You can also choose whether to make your network public or private.

According to Andreessen, 71,531 social networks have already been created with networks created by professionals and educators to MTV celebrity Kristin Cavallari, and the numbers keep on growing.

When it comes to creating truly customized social marketing, Ning's the thing.

Photo Credit: learnscience.net

Whether you are a makeup artist, photographer, painter or designer, an online portfolio community has just launched to give you a space on the web to not only set up a clean, professional and rich online portfolio of your images, but to also give your work more exposure and a great way to network with like-minded industry talent. Dripbook.com came out of private beta yesterday to showcase all it has to offer to the world of visual arts.

Dripbook is equally appropriate to the fashion scene as the fine art scene to the underground youth art scene. Painters, photographers, stylists and illustrators are equally represented. Dripbook also serves as a survey of the visual arts world, allowing users and viewers to find great artwork around the world.

Alex Wright, a New York based music photographer, is the creative mind behind Dripbook. In designing Dripbook, he took on the challenge of creating a place where artists can upload and organize their art into books, no matter the genre (even if they cover various genres) without the hassle of understanding code and plugins that go along with designing a website for yourself. The interface is easy for both the user and viewer, in that the entire site is HTML and doesn’t require anything extra for the portfolio to be seen. All users have a splash page, a profile, their book page and a place where other artists can comment on their work. The site is very clean, well laid out and easy to navigate.

I believe we’ll start seeing more niche social networks such as Dripbook, IQONS and PRVoices, as more industry professionals look for a way to see and be seen by other professionals in their industry, while avoiding the clutter of networks such as MySpace and Facebook.

See all that Dripbook has to offer at: www.dripbook.com

* Photo Credit: Alex Wright Photography via Dripbook

Online communities have become a major part in everyone’s lives. It is a growing trend that has become increasingly important for both young and old to have a place to communicate, network and share a piece of their personal lives. Among these online sites, social networks with a door policy have made their mark among those seeking a higher quality way of life. Building and exclusive network requires all the right connections and eVelvetRope has emerged as the pioneer in the luxury lifestyle category of social networking.

eVelvetRope provides an opportunity to reach a very specific demographic. It is an ideal vehicle for the targeted campaigns of lifestyle brands and services. This social network offers unique and highly effective promotional tools that enable event professionals to connect with their preferred audience. eVelvetRope members include entrepreneurs, world travelers, restaurateurs, leaders in online media, fashion, entertainment, medicine and many other professions.

eVelvetRope is an exclusive community of individuals with an affinity for cuisine, nightlife and leisure. By profiling members’ dining and nightlife preferences, eVelvetRope makes it easy to share recommendations of fellow members. eVelvetRope unites restaurateurs with foodies and wine lovers, fashionistas with designers, club owners with club goers and helps socialites keep up with each other’s social plans.

Each year, people from around the world make the same New Year's resolution; to get into better shape. The only problem is that after the first few weeks they've already started to stray from their program, and by March, most have dropped off altogether. I sat down with Kristi Molinaro, one of the resident fitness advisors for FitFiend.com, a social networking site for the fitness enthusiast, to get some tips on why people have such a hard time making fitness a part of their everyday lifestyle.

Read the complete post and Kristi's tips on our Fitness PR blog.

The race for the White House is being done in a way that has changed the face of Presidential campaigns from here on out. Sure, we still see the typical television ads, town hall meetings, debates and so forth, but the candidates seem to have come to the understanding that social media has huge reach--a different reach than traditional methods of spreading the word regarding their campaigns. Going viral seems to be the way candidates are progressing vs. typical PR. It has left me wondering, will we see a change come November in who is coming out to vote? Has it changed the demographics of who is coming out to vote in the primary and possibly behind "the movement" that has been attributed to Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama?

Just looking at the Democratic bid for nominee, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have MySpace pages. Both are on Twitter, which is interesting to note--Hillary Clinton has 1643 followers, has had 59 updates--but is following no one. Barack Obama has 13,712 followers, has had 75 updates and is following 13,048 (is he really though?) That's a pretty substantial difference and again makes me wonder if this places into Obama's "movement." (Has social media helped his campaign or is this organic?)

As always celebrities want to have their say on who they support and they are no longer just making a comment here and there hoping it will get picked up on the newswires, they are creating You Tube videos to reach a broader audience. For example, Jack Nicholson's video endorsing Hillary Clinton and will.i.am's music video regarding Barack Obama.

So what do you think? Are the candidates reach through social media bringing on and educating a younger audience of voters? Does it change each way the other campaigns and will campaign going forth once we have established Republican and Democratic nominees? Speak up in the comments!

Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me has been the beauty bible for most women (and men) for years. Now in its 7th and final edition, Paula Begoun’s most popular trustworthy source of information, has her on a global media tour and preparing her for the next transition in her career of educating the consumer from the truths and non-truths in the cosmetics industry—the launch of Beautypedia.

Read the full post on our Beauty PR blog: Beauty Pro

While many people wait until the last minute to file their taxes, others do the same when it comes to getting their bodies ready for swimsuit season. This year, invest part of your return towards something that will give back to you long-term; your health. We’ve searched for some of the hottest workout programs on the market today that will help motivate and whip you into shape. Who knows, you may even be able to use some of these as a tax write off at the end of the year.

Motivation is Key The most important part to any exercise program is motivation. Whether youworkout alone or have a gym partner, having positive feedback is key to continued success. FitFiend.com, one of many social networking communities geared towards fitness and health, recently launched with a number of interactive tools to help guide you on your path to a better body and overall health. Similar to Facebook, FitFiend.com allows users to connect with fitness and health experts, search for workout partners and trainers in their area, get fitness and nutritional tips, watch original fitness programming, read about the latest in workout trends, and interact with other fitness enthusiasts for positive feedback. The best part is that this service is free, but the benefits keep on giving. Log on today at www.FitFiend.com.

Read the full post on our Fitness PR blog.

Today marks the beginning of the first annual New Media Tastemakers Summit in San Francisco. Key players from blogging, vlogging, social bookmarking, among other vertical non-mainstream influencers will be collaborating and networking to discuss the ever evolving niche of new media. With industry giants speaking such as