Norad Santa Tracking Map

I am tracking Santa Claus on my blog this Christmas. See below for the latest update on his global travel and stops - December 24, 2008. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas holiday and a very Happy New Year!!

New Graco Baby Website Launches

Tonight we launched the next generation of our Graco Baby Website. This was a collaboration between Newell Rubbermaid and LBi. A lot of people from the Graco Brand, Corporate E-Business Team and LBi put in months of hard work to bring this new website to life. It was a huge accomplishment for the entire team.

We also launched a redesign of our Graco Baby Blog that integrated design elements from the New Graco Baby website.

We are all very excited that we were able to launch prior to the holidays.

Bernaise Source Story on Sharpie Blog

I find myself catching up on another excellent post by Dan Greenfield, an Atlanta, GA focused communications, PR and Technology blogger. Dan writes the Bernaise Source blog.

Dan and I were on a Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) panel together discussing "Consulting 2.0 is...All About The Customer."

Dan also moderated an online panel on "Global Brands: Social Media Pays Off" that included myself, Adam Brown of Coca Cola, Jennifer Martin of CNN and Debbie Curtis-Magley of UPS.

Dan also wrote a blog post on the Newell Rubbermaid Sharpie blog based on an interview with me. He discussed our goals of creating a place that highlighted the fun, creative, artistic and innovative ways people use Sharpie pens. The post is titled: Sharpie Blog Puts Newell Rubbermaid's Social Media Strategy Into "Sharper" Focus.

Dan is a great resource on Atlanta based company, social media marketing activities and success stories. If you are exploring social media marketing and technologies like me, please reach out to Dan to connect with others in the Atlanta region and make sure to keep up with his Bernaise Source blog. There is much we can learn from each other in the ever changing and evolving social media ecosystem.

Newell Rubbermaid Social Media Marketing Blog Posts And Articles

It has been a very active past couple of weeks for the Newell Rubbermaid social media marketing teams. We have received positive recognition for our efforts from several influential social media marketing, PR and communications bloggers. Below are a list and links to these articles and blog posts:

• Fortune 500 Series: How Newell Rubbermaid Uses Social Media by Jennifer Leggio - Jennifer wrote an article based on a series of email interviews with me. She also writes a well respected blog: Mediaphyter A Communications Cocktail and can be found on Twitter at @Mediaphyter.

• A Blog Should Feel Like A Gift: 10 Ways to Improve Your Corporate Blog by Kami Hyuse - Kami and I first met at the University of Georgia Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communications CONNECT 2008 conference. She writes an excellent blog: Communication Overtones focused on what else, marketing communications and public relations. She is also a social media expert and excellent resource for new ideas and programs that work. Kami can be found on Twitter at @Kamichat.
  

• People Don't Trust Company Blogs. What You Should Do About It by Josh Bernoff - Josh wrote a highly controversial blog post and Forrester Research report on the general mistrust consumers have with corporate or brand blogs. There was considerable discussion on Twitter and in the blogosphere about this report. I think what was missed in all that discussion was the excellent corporate or brand blog framework proposed by Josh as part of his Groundswell blog post and research report. He also identified those doing brand blogging correctly including our Rubbermaid blog. Also, I believe the trust issue is important to consider and evaluate. I personally believe trust will grow as brands get better at blogging and developing content that is focused on problem solving, how to, fun, creative uses and opening a communications path for consumers to interact with brand employees. Josh Bernoff is also the author of the Groundswell book a great resource on social media marketing. Josh can be found on Twitter at @JBernoff.

• Rubbermaid - A Corporate Blog That Organizes The World by John Cass - John wrote a wonderful blog post on the Rubbermaid brand blog based on an interview with Jim Deitzel - The Rubbermaid blogger. Jim can be found on Twitter at @JimDeitzel and also manages the @Rubbermaid Twitter account. The blog post focuses on the Rubbermaid's blog goal of reaching out to professional organizers and those striving for a more organized lifestyle. The Rubbermaid blog specifically focuses on how to better organize your home. Several Rubbermaid Marketing Communications team members are active content contributors. John Cass blog is: PR Communications and he can be found on Twitter at @JohnCass.

• What Works For Newell Rubbermaid by Jennifer Leggio - Smartbrief also highlighted the article by Jennifer.

A very busy couple of weeks and I want to extend my appreciation to all the authors referenced above. As usual, I learn as much from them as they from me and the Newell Rubbermaid social media marketing teams and I value their perspective on the social media ecosystem.

Fun Findings In The Twitter Ecosystem

I spent some time exploring the Twitter ecosystem over the Thanksgiving holiday and the past couple of weeks and found some fun, interesting and very useful Twitter tools and information sources:

• The first is Julia Roy's, A Digital Girl Blog show Tweet Week. She delivers a quick overview of the week on Twitter including gossip, what's hot, and cool new tools and apps. Spend 5 minutes a week with her for a fun and irreverent show. She typically uploads new episodes on Mondays.

• Another fun find this week is CelebrityTweet. A place where you can "Stalk Celebrities on Twitter." Fun place to hang out and check in on people like Shaquille O'neal, Kathy Griffin and Al Gore .... to name but a few.

• If you are interested in your Karma on Twitter, check out Twitter Karma. A very cool service that shows you who is following you, who you are following, and who falls into the mutual friend category. It is a great way to view your Twitter network.

• Mr. Tweet is another interesting service that analyzes who you are following and who is following you and determines who you should consider following amongst your followers and adjacent network. A lot of fun and it helps you find interesting and influential people to follow.

There were also some interesting posts this week from Beth Harte and Tim O'Reilly that I highly recommend:

• Beth Harte broached the subject Is Social Media Scalable? This post inspired many insightful comments and a lively discussion.

• Tim O'Reilly wrote a heartfelt and in-depth post titled Why I Love Twitter. Again creating a lively discussion that as of 12/01/08 had 76 comments.

These were but a few of the interesting sites, services, blog posts and Twitter tweets I observed. Send me any you find to my Twitter address or leave a comment on this blog.