A few weeks back I joined Chris Lam and Won Novalis for Erik Deutsch‘s class on social media at UCLA.
“I don’t want to be sold, I don’t want you to provide me with information, I don’t even want you to show me a picture of a cat…I want to be INSPIRED! Dan Portnoy did just that by telling his stories.”
Talking with students about what I get to do with clients is truly one of my favorite things. Having the opportunity to talk with students, wipe away misconceptions, pull off the blinders and getting into the nitty gritty of how campaigns, stories and general communication can be used for the best possible good is a real joy.
A few students gave their thoughts on our time together.
“At first glance, what seemed to be just a regular ad campaign with some pretty pictures suddenly became real to me. It wasn’t just a picture but a picture of a “real” family benefiting from contributions to the United Way. I began to let down my guard. I wasn’t just being “sold,” but now emotionally involved. Suddenly, these guys at the United Way became heroes and they have the red capes to prove it!”
“Two of the industry’s top social media content creators talked about tactics they’ve used successfully to meet their client’s brand strategy goals. Let’s meet the contenders:
In this corner, Founder of Cup of Joe Social, Chris Lam — previously senior PR strategist for Fandago and Green Dot.
In the other corner, Dan Portnoy, the Head Honcho at Portnoy Media Group. Dan develops effective PR strategies to drive his clients Facebook likes from nil to mill; he’s also a crisis fixer.”
Read more from Jennifer Nguyen
Being paired with Chris Lam is wonderful. I think I learn as much as the students when she walks everyone through her campaigns. She’s smart, strategic and has massive results. The fun/wild part for me is that her methods are so different from my own. Color me impressed.
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Portnoy Media Group uses the influence of social networks to expand your organization's voice and tell your story. We connect people with your mission and enable your brand to be shared, discovered, and connected. Work with us as we empower your organization to dramatically extend your online presence and increase donations.
We’re teaming up with The Ogilvie Institute to put on their conference about faith and science. Here’s the first teaser, we’ll be posting more about it in the next week.
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This past weekend Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city officials hosted the 1st Annual Veterans Appreciation Day.
United Way of Greater Los Angeles was on hand to celebrate veterans and launch their report and action plan to support 25,000 veterans returning from service.
“United Way has set a goal to cut post-9/11 veteran unemployment in half by 2017″ – Elise Buik
“Given the current state of veteran services, thousands will be unemployed and at risk of poverty or even homelessness, which is why United Way has set a goal to cut post-9/11 veteran unemployment in half by 2017 with a four-pronged strategy that requires a cohesive partnership across all sectors to create a pathway to gainful employment and economic security.” – Elise Buik, CEO, United Way of Greater Los Angeles
Portnoy Media teamed up with United Way to talk about why they’re involved – check out the video.
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After a sold-out program in Silicon Valley, Social Media for Nonprofits is heading to Los Angeles on August 14, featuring an all-star lineup sharing practical tips and tools for leveraging social media for fundraising, marketing & advocacy.
Join me along with Giulia McPherson, CARE; Lee Fox, KooDooz; Lisa Rau, Confluence; Tom Kramer, Fundly; Michael Bellavia, HelpsGood; Stephanie Rudat, Movements.org; Richard Levy, give2gether; and Lauren Winkler, Save a Child’s Heart..
This stellar lineup will provide attendees with concrete insights and takeaways for nonprofits to use social media to advance their cause.
Discounted tickets are available for small nonprofits at $95. For-profit and larger nonprofits can use the discount code “Portnoy” to save $20 off $125 and $175 tickets. Registration includes access to the full conference as well as breakfast, and lunch.
For more information or to sign up, click here
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This morning I’m heading to Sacramento for the Housing California conference for 2 workshops about the internet and storytelling.
The first one is a redux of a tag team session (with Mark Horvath of InvisiblePeople.tv) on at The National Alliance to End Family Homelessness Conference. (Read Part 1 or Part 2) For this round, the lovely and talented Natalie Profant Komuro will be moderating the session. Here’s the session descriptions from the registration brochure.
The second session is an introduction on story based nonprofit fundraising or storytelling with a result. This is one of my most favorite things to talk about, it dominates my brain. How can an organization catalyze their audiences, increase volunteers and raise donations? Here’s a few ways that we’ll be talking about:
- Involving your constituents in the story
- Creating incredible content
- Working with hungry and talented filmmakers
- Tell the story of your staff as a catalyst to show the humanity of your organization
- Highlighting the bright spots
- Managing “the orchestra”
We’ll cover a lot of info and I’m going to attempt to record it. Â We’ll see how that goes.
If you’ll be at the conference, don’t be a stranger.
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This March I’m joining up with a phenomenal bunch of nonprofit leaders, CEO and supporters for The Ideation Conference. Â The Ideation Conference is the next step for Idea Campers, the attitude of sharing and improvement is the same but the conference itself steps it up a bit.
This years lineup features a gathering of leaders making a difference in their organization, community and their world.
From the site:
This conference could be called bootcamp, or a shine and polish but bring your team to see the man (or woman) behind the curtain and learn what motivates them, what they’re thinking and what’s on the horizon.
I’m thrilled to be joining this group of movers and shakers and every time I get to see this bunch it’s a great time of joy and lots of laughs – and then I learn something!
Also on the docket for this years lineup:
Aaron Young – Executive Driector of Boys and Girls Club in Santa Monica
Ben Keesey - CEO of Invisible Children
Ben Morrison – Founder of Laugh-Aid, Former Co-Host of Punk’d
Chad Mayer – Executive Director of ShareFest
Charles Lee - CEO of Ideation Consultancy
Chris Heuertz – International Executive Director of Word Made Flesh
Craig Watson – Executive Director of Arts Council for Long Beach
Esther Havens – Humanitarian Photographer
Jeff Shinabarger - Founder of Plywood People
Joel John Roberts – CEO of PATH (People Assisting the Homeless)
JR Kerr – Lead Architect for Aitreni Group
Keith Kall – Executive Director of National Foundation Corporation Development for World Vision
Lee Fox – Founder of KooDooZ
Mark Horvath – Founder of InvisiblePeople.tv
Mike Foster – Co-Founder of Plain Joe Studios
Nikole Lim – Founder of Freely in Hope
Randy Paynter - Founder of Care2.com
Rob Morris – Founder of Love146
Rod Arnold – COO of charity: water
Sam Oh – IT Director for Fresh & Easy
Scott Belsky - CEO of Behance
Sean Carasso – Founder of Falling Whistles
Tyler Marrick - Founder of Project7
For more info on the speakers – Click here
This year Ideation has added a day after the conference for a special session with Scott Belsky, CEO of Behance and author of Making Ideas Happen. I’ve already signed up to attend because The 99% conference was SOLD OUT and I want the inside track to the latest info.. And I think you should know about it too.
In the coming weeks I’ll share a bit more about my workshop. Join me for the Ideation Conference and then stick around for i2i – See you then!
UPDATE: Just got the inside scoop for a 10% discount code. Use IDEA10 when you register and save  some cash!
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“My fellow nerds and I will retire to the nerdery with our calculators.” – David Spade (Tommy Boy)
That nerdery is Vegas and the party is Blog World. Â This is my 3rd year attending and it’s always chock full of good info. If you or your team isn’t planning on going this year here’s a couple reasons to think about for next year.
Why should BlogWorld be on your agenda for your team next year?
- As much as consulting and coaching are my bread and butter – the more that a client is educated in the ways of the web, the faster we get to the good stuff! (Setting up a twitter account is good but we can do better!).
- Hear directly from the people that have been making the difference, setting the trends and shaping the stories you’ve read on Mashable, TechCrunch and the millions other places that are reporting on the web.
- Get introduced to the products that will be readily used in the year to come. Companies are launching services and they are looking to tell you about it. Â Last year I met the crew from PostRank – I use that account everyday now and their service is stellar!
- See how brands are using social media and then talk with them right after their presentation – their info in invaluable.
- Hear from your peers, the triumphs and the tragedies – it’ll make your use of social/new media better!
I’m sure there are more reasons and I’ll have a report back in the next few days on what I enjoyed the most.
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In 2007, I was made aware of the existence of human trafficking. It was a 12 minute conversation. It was one of those that I can remember all the circumstances – what I was doing, what my initial thoughts were and the jaw dropping reality that would cause me to shift my entire life just 5 months later.
Since the inception of the Idea Camp – I’ve felt it very important to be involved. At previous camps (Irvine, Washington DC) I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure to facilitate workshops, meet incredible people and build strong relationships with many attendees. It’s not hard to rally behind a group of people more interested in solving problems and learning skills with action in mind than another fad. I’m proud that Charles Lee and his team are putting a lot on the line to have conversations and facilitate workshops around the entire porn industry, sex trafficking and Internet safety. If you haven’t seen some of the more recent responses, please check them out to see what I’m talking about.
We’re especially thrilled to be a part of the Idea Camp crowd in just a few short days. Over the past couple years we’ve had the privilege of working with International Justice Mission on the launch of its film “At the End of Slavery” and again blogging about its “5 Weeks for Freedom” this past summer. We’ve also been left so enthralled with the film “Kavi” (8 months prior to the Oscar nomination) that we had to work with Director Gregg Helvey at any cost.
If I were to think about the best place for the PMG brand to show up, my first thought is not the Idea Camp about sex. The “knee jerk” reaction by many in just hearing about this subject matter has been to blast or condemn. This same condemnation could easily affect my company and place the brand in harm’s way.
Truth is, I’ve never wanted to helm an ordinary agency.
My hope is that this Idea Camp is a game changer. I don’t have any doubts about those who will be there (and watching online) – they want to see change and are willing to be the hands and feet to make it happen. I’m fully counting on great networking with many from around the country, sharing laughs and tears that true connection brings.
I hope to see you there!
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This post will most likely blur the lines between personal and professional and I’m ok with that.
Last January I met Charles Lee. We connected through Twitter and we met for a cup of coffee.
Believe or not I was nervous to meet him. He was the first Pastor to ever reach out to me in LA and he was also the creator of The Freeze Project (The international Flash mob that brings awareness to human slavery) Just One and Laundry Loves. He had major street cred and he wanted to talk to me. We met that day and talked about the work I do and the role that Portnoy Media Group plays with organizations. Then we talked about what he was working on and ways to possibly further the scope. A few weeks later, I got to join the guys from Deidox in facilitating a session on communication with film.
Since then I’ve been fortunate to be involved with Charles in a few other instances. (Idea Camp DC, guest lecturing in his class) The thing is, Charles is a thinker. He doesn’t waste time with half baked ideas. If I’m getting a phone call from him it’s because he’s got a lot worked out already and wants to get my take on a project that I’d be involved in.
Which is why I will always take his call.
Idea Camp
It was the first un-conference I’d ever been to and will have a unique place in my heart. What happened on that weekend I don’t think can ever be fully duplicated again. The timing for many of the facilitators and attendees was at the intersection of a communication shift. A bunch of like minded rockstars and gave all there ideas away for free. The difference between the facilitators and attendee was minimal. All barriers and egos removed. If you had a question for someone they had time for you – it was wild.
There’s another opportunity to experience that same kind of openness and it’s The Ideation Conference – Check it out here
Daniel Li
We didn’t actually meet at The Idea Camp but I heard that the web developer for International Justice Mission was going to be there and geeked out a little. So I reached out on Twitter – what followed was coffee in DC a month later. And a few months later I got the chance to collaborate with IJM on their film: At The End of Slavery. We also share a love of the Red Sox.
Dawn Carter
When I first met Dawn at Idea Camp she was holding a tutoring session for a few people about tech communication and the power of information in the now. But it was really after the event that I got to find out who she was. She’s super dynamic and I can’t even wait to get to collaborate with her at SXSW this year. See for yourself, watch this short doc about her – Click here
Josh Roberts
Josh has been/is responsible for my matriculation to the SoCal lifestyle. He’s introduced me to my first fish taco and is a great guy to just chill with. Many times when hanging with church staff/pastor it can feel like he/she’s doing me a favor by gracing me with their presence. Nothing could be further from the truth with Josh. He’s just a solid guy – he genuinely cares for people, has a lot of responsibility and doesn’t shy away from it at all.
Eugene Cho
I had never heard of Eugene prior to Idea Camp but I instantly became a fan of his while there. There a lot of people in my life that I’d categorize as cool and then there are those who just ooze it, Eugene is the latter. He does a whole bunch of inspiring things like One Days Wages. Hopefully he won’t remember me from my exploits at the Idea Camp facilitators meet up.
Most embarrassing moment of Idea Camp
The only was for embarrassment not to have any power is to share it so, here goes: All the facilitators for Idea Camp were gathered together before the sessions and we had a chance to share a bit about ourselves. Cynthia Ware facilitated the session and encouraged us to “really take your time and share who you are…” Then she looked at me and I took her up on it. I dominated a room full of brilliance for far too long by giving my life story. The worst part was I didn’t feel bad about it until after the session ended and the teasing began. Completely oblivious to my communication faux pas during the entire session – it felt like the verbal equivalent to a Cannonball at your Aunt’s wake at the country club. Dave Mahanes was the funniest in the aftermath, “Sometimes when they say share who you are, you don’t have to share all of you”
There’s also a slew of so many others like Marc Payan, EloraNicole, Russell Ramirez, Mel McGowan, Jim Gray, Laurence Tom, and Amanda Jones (there really are too many to mention)
Charles, you’re responsible for all of this and I love you for it. I’ll be watching my phone for the next adventure.
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Lots of activity this week around Mark Horvath.
For example:
Mark will be hosting a daily TV show at SXSW’s Non Profit Lounge (The Beacon: Lounge with a Conscience)
A lot more details coming very soon on this
He was recorded this week for a story coming up soon that’s launching on the radio (it rhymes with Crashional Public Radio)
SXSW launched his podcast that gives some incite on his Core Conversation “A Conversation About Social Change Through Social Media”
Check out his 3 minutes synopsis here
A little background:
This is the first of what will be at least 2 collaborations of Portnoy Media with Invisible People. Mark recorded about 4 takes on what his talk would be like and sent them our way. I immediately got on the horn with Chris Wygal at Audio Concepts (They produce The Drop Podcast) and mapped out what we needed and welcoming any additional ideas from Chris. This is clearly when having a reliable team is crucial. Since working with Chris for 6 years on audio projects we were able to stitch together a great take that really gives a sense of what Marks session will be like at SXSW ’10.
Are you going to be at SXSW? We should meet up, shoot me an email or say hello on Twitter
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