Smokey and the Bandit & Social Media

Was the CB radio the start of Social Media? I had the pleasure of catching Smokey and The Bandit with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field on TNT HD or one of the 150 channels this weekend and could not stop thinking that we had social media decades ago, and it died! Why did it fade away? Was it a fad, will Facebook, Twitter and all my other widgets at the bottom of the page fade away like the CB radio? I would like to hear what you think, before I buy the next generation of SMART phones only to have them sitting at someone's yard sale in 10 years.

Lehigh Valley Zoo Penguins enjoy Spring like temperatures

Flickr: BlikArt's Photostream

The South African Penguins at the Lehigh Valley Zoo enjoyed the nice weather this past weekend.

Stretching your marketing budget

Every business should be looking to find new ways to stretch their marketing budgets in this economy. Social media has transformed marketing from a monologue about your organization to a dialogue, between your organization and your customers. Today's Morning Call article in regards to the social media success of the Lehigh Valley Zoo and its grass roots facebook page, offers a tesimony to how social media can offer you not only exposure in the tech/virtual world, but also some free PR in the traditional media outlets.

Ten Strangest Jobs in the Travel Industry

The Ten Strangest Jobs in the Travel Industry
By Ann Tatko-Peterson, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
January 30, 2009 -
Not your everyday job
Top 10 Strangest Jobs in the Travel Industry, according to Travel + Leisure.
--Hotel Falconer, Biltmore Four Seasons, Santa Barbara -- walks falcon around pool to shoo away seagulls.
--Airport Hunters, Zurich Airport, Switzerland -- chase off wild animals near runways.
--Coconut Safety Engineer, Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas -- picks ripened coconuts before they fall.
--Karaoke Taxi Drivers, Helsinki, Finland -- drive karaoke-singing riders.
--Duckmaster, Peabody Hotel, Memphis -- cares for five mallard ducks who live and perform at hotel.
--Tourism Ambassador, Japan -- role currently held by anime character Hello Kitty (pictured).
--Sewer Guide, Paris -- boat tourists through Museum of the Sewer under Paris' streets.
--Lego Professional Gluer, Legoland California, Carlsbad -- glues toy bricks based on designers' plans.
--Monkey Men, Amanbagh Resort, Rajasthan, India -- keep native monkeys from stealing guests' cookies.
--Manners Police, Venice, Italy -- keep unruly tourists in check.

Nothing builds a Team Like a Nose Dive

FORGET playing paintball. Companies are sending staff to experience a plane crash in simulators run by British Airways as the ultimate team-building exercise.
For £130 a head, employees are taken to a hangar at Heathrow where they board a shortened version of a Boeing 737 mounted on a motion platform.
After “takeoff”, they are plunged into darkness and put into a nose-dive from 3,000ft as the cabin begins to fill with smoke.
Once the plane has hit the ground, the “passengers” have to get out as fast as they can through the front and rear exits. By this stage, the employees are so pumped up that on three separate occasions businessmen have shorn through a half-inch steel bolt by hand so as to lift a 45lb overhead escape hatch and climb onto the plane’s wing.

This goes to show you what some companies will go through to build high performing teams. I recommend a day of Community Building with NorthStar Adventure at Dutch Springs. They will not only get you blood pumping, but will open the lines of communication in your organization, offer trust building opportunities and perform pre & post behavioral assessments to enhance the experience. Visit www.northstaradventure.com to learn more.