Bostone Pizza claims that they are Boston’s “only authentic NY pizzeria, featuring thin crust Neapolitan and deep dish Sicilian pizza.”

I tend to like my pizza covered with the most outrageous toppings you can think of.  I also love it prepared in a variety of ways. For this reason, Bostone caught my attention. But when it’s my first time in a joint? I opt for a straight slice of cheese. That’s just how I roll.

Well, the slice did not disappoint. But you must remember that there are tons of lunchtime options around here. Newbury Street alone offers everything from Indian/Chinese fusion to Spanish tapas. How can a pizza parlor compete?

I think Bostone is going to be just fine.

While dining, I checked in on Foursquare. I also chose to share my location on Twitter. Within an hour, Bostone sought me out and recognized my patronage. Trust me; this sort of thing makes a difference. I think that many of Boston’s plugged-in professionals and undergraduates would agree.  

The next time I’m looking for lunch in downtown, I think I’ll try Bostone’s Mediterranean with extra feta.

Make Your Debut

Whether you are an established professional or a graduate looking to catch a break, you must take the appropriate steps to establish your online identity. Start a blog that focuses on your professional interests and then create accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to promote your endeavor. 

Employers are not going to seek you out. You must make sure your voice is heard loud and clear.

Share the Right Information

When using Twitter to aid your job-hunt, you must be somewhat strategic. What sort of information are you sharing? If you are not reading and re-tweeting articles that cover topics relevant to your field, you are not doing all you can to brand yourself online. That account executive at XYZ PR is not going to notice you if you are solely tweeting about Cheetos and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. Well, that would probably catch my attention, but I’ll save that for another blog entry…

Go Against the Grain

Do you have an opinion? Do not be afraid to share it! Let’s face it, the social media landscape is filled with @-kissers who love to offer groundbreaking comments like “great post!” on all the hottest blogs. The folks who stand out are those who respectfully voice differing opinions and engage others in conversation.

Pull the Trigger

So you’ve built your online presence and traded messages with a few established professionals. Now what? Pull the trigger!

Ask your new contacts if they would be willing to sit down for an informational interview. This is an excellent way to learn more about your industry and put yourself in front of the people who matter the most.

Think you are done? Not by a long shot!  Ask your social media contacts if you can contribute to their blog as a guest. Start a Twitter-Chat or organize a Tweet-Up. Ask everyone for referrals. Above all else, stay relevant!

Do you have a success story you are willing to share?

I waited until I could purchase the device at a reasonable price – and that is not something I am ashamed to admit.  When an upgrade offer of $99 for the phone with a two-year contract came to my attention, how could I say no?

As an iPhone user for a little over a month now, I have difficulty remembering how I functioned without it. Today, I’m going to share with you a few apps that have changed my life.

Facebook for iPhone and Echofon

I’m going to lump these two applications together. Do they really need an introduction? Well, yes. Not everyone sits on TechCrunch all day. Elitist bloggers please take note!

Facebook for iPhone allows access to your Facebook account in ways you never imagined. The application has a grid-like menu that provides easy access to all of Facebook’s most important features and makes sharing photos incredibly easy. Push notifications  – which should have been a no-brainer from the start – only recently arrived, but who cares? It’s just an added bonus. I would have used it no matter what. Afterall, this is Facebook – we use it, we love it and we cannot live with out it!

Echofon is routinely touted as the best free Twitter app on the market.  It loads fast, offers multiple features and allows you to view profiles with ease.  Although push notification features are only available by purchasing Echofon Pro, I’m not terribly disappointed.

Pandora

Distractions – i.e. real life – have disrupted my intake of music over the years. I no longer attend local shows as often as I once did and I’ve become less willing to take risks with my discretionary income. The solution? Pandora Radio!

After entering a song or artist you enjoy, the service automatically selects music and artists that are similar. Although I was already familiar with Pandora, I was overjoyed to hear there was a Pandora app available for the iPhone. Pandora is the type of service that seems made for mobile devices. I would have to guess that users get way more mileage out of this app than they ever would just using the web-based version.

Are you familiar with the Music Genome Project? If not, take a look. It’s an incredible project and the reason why you can enjoy Pandora today!

Dragon Dictation

Dragon Dictation is a speech recognition program that translates your spoken word to text. Once translated, you can text or email instantaneously. Its accuracy is quite impressive and it also allows you to add punctuation.  The app has received some rave reviews with good reason; long texts and emails now take only seconds to create and edit before before they are ready to be sent.

However, usefulness alone has not been enough to shield Dragon Dictation and its creator Nuance from controversy.

As TechCrunch reports, some terms of the service’s End User License Agreement lit up the blogsphere late last year when word that the app collects the names in your address book became publicized.

Nuance soon issued a statement explaining that it only collects contact names so Dragon Dictation can better recognize them during the translation process. The company also issued an update to the app which gives users the opportunity to not share this information upon first use. 

Dragon Dictation is too good to be free. Hop aboard before they start charging!

Honorable Mentions:

TweetDeck

I have been toying with Tweetdeck for the past couple weeks and I find it to be incredibly useful. It has become especially handy when I participate in Twitter chats from my phone because it allows me to create streams divided by hashtags.

Can 19% of the market really be wrong?

I Am T-Pain

Okay, the I Am T-Pain app really didn’t change my life, but it is a hell of a lot of fun to play around with. Even CNN thinks so!

Use this app to sing along to your favorite auto-tuned cuts from T-Pain himself.  Once complete, simply upload them and share with friends!

Zombie Hunter (7DA)

I have not wasted this much time on a videogame since the halcyon days of Nintendo.

If you are as big a zombie fan as I am, you have to check out ZombieHunter 7DA. You will find hours of delight in cutting down hordes of the undead while completing various missions designed to help save the world from “mutation.” The graphics on this game are top notch and the replay value is through the roof! Best of all, it’s free!

What are the iPhone apps have you been using?

That is the long and short of it. I advise you to take my word for it too. The reason? Well, the press release for this announcement is borderline unreadable.

What went wrong? Well, a few things. Let’s take a look:

1. Not Making Each Word Count

At almost 1000 words, this release is too long. Did we really need a full paragraph explaining that this new company plans on having a website and a Facebook page?  Also, I understand the point of endorsements by opinion-makers, but a quote from hardcore legend Freddy Cricien discussing Madball’s career is completely off topic. It should not have been included in this release.

2. Jargon

Buzz words are sometimes necessary, but I think we have a case of overkill on our hands. Take a look at the following excerpt:

“Pioneers in the hardcore and metal scenes, and former partners at Ferret Music, Warner Music and ChannelZERO, Conroy and Severson have proven track records for innovative thinking and unwavering tenacity. Their abundance of experience has taught them how to spot cutting edge talent and propel them into the spotlight.”

Terms like “innovative,” “unwavering tenacity,” and “cutting edge,” reek of contrivance and continue to hide the facts that are really important. The term “cutting edge” is even used again in the very next paragraph.

Perhaps the biggest issue here is that the name of this endeavor is not made very clear. Most of the release refers to it as “Good Fight Music.” However, there are instances where it is referred to as “Good Fight Entertainment.” I have found pages on social networking sites referring to it as “Good Fight Records.”  Are these all the same thing? Can the names be used interchangeably? When your reader is confused, you are in trouble!

3. Unanswered Questions

Last but not least, there is an unfortunate lack of information here. This announcement is newsworthy because Conroy and Severson founded Ferret Music – one of the biggest labels in the history of the hardcore/metal music scene. So…what’s going on with Ferret right now? Has it ceased to exist? If not, who is running it? The label is home to a slew of bands not mentioned as artists who will be releasing music under the Good Fight Music name. Have their contracts been terminated? Even a nonfan has to wonder what has become of the label that launched these men’s careers.

I did not write this to attack Ferret, Good Fight Entertainment/Good Fight Music or anyone involved. After all, this is huge news. Two hardcore/metal pioneers are branching out in a new direction. Hardcore stalwarts like Madball and Disembodied have a new label to call home. In many ways, this is another step towards the legitimate recognition of heavy music.

Though the bottom line still stands; I was ready to stop reading this press release by the third paragraph and this is coming from a fan. I imagine a journalist’s attention span would expire much sooner.

Potential employers are doing background checks by using social media? Really? “Re-tweeting” is a great way to spread information on Twitter? No way!

For a long time, I assumed these posts were purely for SEO purposes. I then realized these posts exist because they really are needed. I am constantly amazed by some of the material I see shared by individuals who actively use social media – especially Twitter – to professionally brand themselves. That being said, here is a quick reminder of what you should actually be sharing…

Your Personal Side

I have written about this before, and my opinion still stands. It really doesn’t matter what the Social Media Elite have to say about what you had for lunch. You must convey to the public that you are a human being. That means talking about on your favorite sports team, your favorite music and even your favorite food.

My answers!

1) The Boston Red Sox

2) Hardcore punk and metal

3) Indian food – all day, everyday!

Your Thoughts and Opinions…Within Reason

Acting like a robot is pretty self-defeating. The folks who stand out are not afraid to go against the grain. If you have a differing opinion, don’t be afraid to share it. You will be surprised by the amount of people willing to get to know you because of it. This does not mean, however, that you should be screaming from the rooftops about every controversial topic you can think of. It is usually a good idea to stay away from politics and religion.

My answers!

1) I contemplate deleting my Facebook account daily.

2) The reason I stay clear of political debates is because most people are not interested in sharing ideas. They are interested in telling you why you are wrong.

3) Alf’s real name is Gordon Shumway. Did you know that?

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Twitter is not just about tweeting. In fact, there are a whole slew of activities you can take part in such as file sharing, activism and even some game playing. Just because you are using the service for professional purposes, doesn’t mean you cannot have a little fun, right?

Check out Mashable’s list, “Things to Do on Twitter Besides Tweet.”  This will help you accomplish all of the above. These guys will never steer you in the wrong direction.

My answers!

1) Not really an answer here. Instead I am going to fully admit that some of these tools are lame.

Did this post help? I hope so. I think I actually learned from it!

What did you learn? You can at least tell me your favorite food…

Stay Classy, Twitter!

For those not in the know, Meghan is back in the spotlight only this time it doesn’t stem from an appearance on cable television.

CNN summarizes:

“Meghan McCain is breaking her silence following a wave of media attention over a picture she posted on Twitter Wednesday night.

The revealing picture of herself in a tank top, which left little to the Twitterverse’s imagination, immediately drew harsh criticism from other tweeters, prompting an upset McCain to declare of the social networking Web site, “What once was fun now just seems like a vessel for harassment.”

The photo in question featured a curvaceous McCain in her weekday evening attire. I will not be sharing it here, but it can be found with a simple Google search. She has now taken to her blog at the Daily Beast to proclaim that she is not a “slut,” and to defend her actions.

McCain is certainly not a “slut.” Anyone saying otherwise I do not agree with, so let’s just get that out of the way right now.

However, that does not changes the fact that she willingly shared this photo and attached no thought of the repercussions.  Perhaps she is still is having a bit of difficulty navigating the world of media relations?

McCain willingly shared a photo that contained sexual connotations and that inevitably is going to cause media interest. In her blog she makes mention of the sexual double standard that exists in the media and I completely agree with her. However, McCain doesn’t exactly go out of her way to remind us that she has a history of contributing to the same double standard she is now condemning. After all, she did publicly tout the effectiveness (and display her admiration) of Rep. Aaron Schocke’s decision to release photos of himself sans shirt!

So where does this leave us? Does McCain really have the right to decry a tactic that she once championed? What are your thoughts?

Please leave any sexist or political comments at the door…

The folks over at Brodeur Blog are just a few of the many who have recently noticed a change in the way major theatre productions do things these days, noting that, “Broadway marketing [has become a] sophisticated machine with many shows rapidly embracing new and social media to entertaining and creative ends.” 

Their assessment couldn’t be closer to the truth.

Take a look at the Jersey Boys Blog. It contains a plethora of information for anyone even remotely interested in the production. It contains interviews with regional cast members, reviews from the original members of The Four Seasons and Broadway box office reports. It comes fully equipped with sharing capabilities and links to social networking sites dedicated to the show. It updates almost daily.

It’s certainly not as technically impressive as the official website, but for a casual theatergoer who enjoyed the show and wants to learn more about The Four Seasons and the folks who brought them to life onstage, it is an excellent source of information.

Content will always be king, and JBB delivers.

Many people believe PR to be a business full of glamour and perks run by bad guys who are all about spin and damage control.

I happen to have a more humble opinion on the matter because I recognize that communication as a fundamental aspect of the human condition.

From a baby crying for its bottle to a business owner offering a product they believe in. Nothing happens unless we communicate clearly and objectively. No progress. No meaningful relationships. Nothing.

Communication is an art that is not mastered overnight, but instead perfected overtime. It requires hard work and dedication. It is about making sure we get back to basics.

Without communication we would cease to exist.

So, why public relations?

Because we need to be reminded of this.

A little background, courtesy of the Huffington Post:

“It all got started during a discussion of George Bush, who McCain acknowledged was a less than perfect president. But McCain also pointed a finger at the Obama administration in Bush’s defense, saying she felt that the Obama administration “has to stop completely blaming everything on its predecessor.” When Maher asked McCain if she really thought this is what Obama is doing, McCain said “I do to a degree.” A clearly annoyed Begala immediately shook his head and said “not to enough of a degree, I’m sorry not nearly enough.” He then began to explain how President Reagan blamed Jimmy Carter for years, to which McCain responded blithely “you know I wasn’t born yet so I wouldn’t know.” Going in for the kill, Begala fired back “I wasn’t born during the French Revolution but I know about it.”

Let’s face some facts here. Meghan McCain is the daughter of a well known Republican senator from Arizona…and that is it. She is not a political pundit and as she displayed, has no understanding of policy or history.

I truly respect what the Republican Party media relations people are trying to do here. Ms. McCain is a young face that has the potential to attract a whole slew of young folks who would normally not give the GOP a second look. However, this is only true if given the right opportunities and this television appearance was not one of them. She was sent out on national television without a moment of preparation from advisors and as a result looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Watching her try and run for cover whenever she got in over her head was more cringe-worthy than a Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon.

I do have to give credit to Ms. McCain for even appearing on the show. But her lack of preparation and the damaging results truly highlights a media relations effort gone the way of the buffalo.

Time recently ran a photo-essay titled “The Faces of Iran” which can be viewed here. Do you see what I see? Young people attending university. Thriving art and business communities. Modern cityscapes.

This photo collection single-handedly shatters misconceptions held about Iran, its people and its culture.

Where was this humanity from the mainstream media when the President of the United States deemed Iran a member of “The Axis of Evil?” Where were the photo-essays during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York City in the September of 2007?

This is not a political post. I’m simply pointing out that our perception of Iran and its people until recently has been defined by photos of Ahmadinejad and that has been unacceptable.

After all, George W. Bush certainly did not win the 2000 United States presidential election with 99% of the popular vote.