By: Krystyl Baldwin

The 2009 Tasty Awards are coming to San Francisco January 14.  Featuring some of the best culinary and fashion arts of 2009 from television, film and the web.

Realizing that food, drink, fashion and design are all a dominate factor in video and television viewership, they did not have an award for their own achievements until 2008 at the New Media Tastemakers Summit.

The Tasty awards will showcase some of 2009′s best achievements in food, wine, and style programming.  Online, televised, mobile or cinema, celebrity or self proclaimed, everyone has an opportunity to win.

Hosted by food and travel television star Zane Lamprey, the show features a star-studded lineup of food and fashion TV celebrities.

Winners of the Tasty will be announced on January 14, 2010 at an exclusive red carpet awards show in San Francisco at the Sundance Kabuki.  Select portions of the show will be filmed for a televised broadcast to be aired in February 2010 to millions of households.

For more information, visit http://www.tastyawards.com.

To purchase tickets, visit http://tastyawards-2010.eventbrite.com

I’ve mentioned that I’m campaigning for the Really Goode Job contest. In the process, I’m noticing things, learning things, and making notes for future reference.

What Do You Need to Get the Job Done

My personal opinion, and I could be wrong, is that you don’t need – in fact, probably shouldn’t be – an expert on wine. I think knowing wine, having a familiarity with wine, and enjoying wine is a definite advantage. I think you need to be able to hold your own in a conversation with the winemaker, but being an expert might be a little much. The job is also a learning experience and more importantly, a sharing experience.

I do think you need to have a handle on marketing. I know they call this a Lifestyle Correspondent position, but in all seriousness, this is a “marketing the winery” position that leverages social media. You need more than to be a member of a couple social networks, you need to be able to join and influence the conversation. That was a shift that happened to me yesterday. I stopped having to campaign quite as hard because people were now asking me, “How can we help you?” I had become part of the stream of information at that point, as opposed to shouting at the stream to listen.

Never Discount the Power of Traditional Media

From what I can tell, there are a lot of entrants (there are around 400 of us after all) who are focusing purely on the social media/email aspect of the voting.

I sent press releases.  I sent them to local media and to my friends who work in marketing and PR (and could send them on). It got me a guest blog post on the web site for our local alternative weekly and a write-up from the wine blogger/writer for the Dayton Daily news, among other things. It also raised awareness. It got more people talking – people I couldn’t reach through Twitter or Facebook. A friend of mine will be on a popular local morning radio show on Friday and she’ll promote the video as well. Yep, I’m trying to leverage radio, a one-way communication medium. But again, you just can’t reach everyone through Facebook and Twitter, etc. You can only reach a certain demographic. Are things like AdWords traditional media? Even Murphy-Goode didn’t own the AdWords for this contest, which surprised me. I bought AdWords on the day I entered the contest.

Unclear Guidelines but New Friends

I think a lot of us entrants are a bit confused on exactly how much effect the popular vote has. At first, it seemed like the popular vote was more of a MacGuffin, distracting us. Now I’m not so sure. Does it show that you can drive traffic or does it just raise awareness for Murphy-Goode? Just yesterday I learned that voting continues for a week after the submission process closes, but that also coincides with the week that the anonymous HR firm is picking the Top 50. So do the popular votes matter? I still have no idea.

Via Twitter, I learned today that once the Top 50 have been chosen, the voting slate is wiped clear and voting begins again. Yep – the Twittersphere is going to be full of Vote for me! through at least July 7. But again, how much do the popular votes really matter? Is driving traffic what’s important, or personality? CV/resume and experience or just a damned good video? It’s like entering a beauty pageant without knowing the categories. So, is there an evening gown competition or just swimsuit?

Some candidates are receiving outside support from a company called VinTank. I’m a little weird about this, as I count a few of those candidates as my friends, as well as several of the folks at VinTank. I don’t really know what it means that they are being provided with “resources” during their campaign, which is why it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Once the final 10 are chosen, VinTank will be educating all of them on wine industry social marketing, if I understand it right, as well as whomever wins, regardless of whether they were part of the original VinTank endorsement.  Yeah, I’m a little squishy on this whole topic, but I felt obliged to mention it. (Oh, why aren’t I endorsed? I came late to the party due to some family issues, so it wasn’t even an option for me.)

On the plus side, a lot of the overall confusion is driving the entrants to talk to and support each other. It’s fun to meet all these other folks, everyone with a little bit in common. A support group full of the competition – you have to love the Internet. Whomever wins, I have to believe they’ll receive the full support of everyone in the competition.

Everyone is Doing It

So it started with what probably is the dream job – a year on a gorgeous island off the coast of Australia. Now it’s Murphy-Goode’s Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent. I got a blog comment yesterday promoting the Why I Need A Break contest. A “mom and pop” wine shop is sponsoring a contest to give you a vacation, but first you have to enter a 1-minute video, yada, yada, yada.

Find a new angle. My husband last night said, “The video thing is getting old.”  Actually, the video thing is rather an old technique, used on TV – what’s the difference between this and winning a prize on America’s Home Videos? Well, the prizes are certainly better this time around, but that’s about it. I don’t know – how do you, as readers, feel about everyone jumping on the “submit a video” bandwagon? Annoyed or Amused?

Even more interesting is where this is leading. My younger brother, soon to be a senior in college, is getting scared about entering the “real world” in a year. To score an interview at a marketing firm for a summer internship, he had to submit a video.

Exploitative? The Whiff of Desperation

I’ve had a few people take an entirely different perspective on the entire contest. In fact, it has turned them off of Murphy-Goode completely. Why? Because in a crappy economy, they see Murphy-Goode as exploiting many people’s need for a job. It’s true that as you watch the videos you’ll come across a slew of people who mention they’ve been laid off, are unemployed, recent college graduates, stuck in nowhere towns … In fact, I’ve seen a lot of LinkedIn group posts and blog posts that sound truly desperate. “I’m unemployed – I really need this Really Goode Job.”

Murphy-Goode is getting a ton of publicity from this stuntcasting job application process. So are they exploiting those who have desperation just rolling off of them in their video?

My take is no, they’re not, and I’ve thought about this a lot, watched a lot of videos. I think the video is a little like a super-quick job interview. Remember that old antiperspirant ad: Never Let Them See You Sweat. It applies here. I think if I was unemployed, I’d bill myself as a freelancer, not “laid off.”  I’d spin it. I would not put it in the video. Why am I a freelancer? That comes later, once you make it past the Top 50.

That’s just me, but it’s also why I don’t find this exploitative. Those who mention their dire straits are doing so intentionally, for reasons of their own. Murphy-Goode has no control over who enters their contest and why. Plenty of employed folks have entered the contest and are dreaming up ways to leave their current job for 6 months.

Learning About Myself

I never think I’m overly competitive until I do something like this and my competitive spirit rears its ugly head. I try to dampen it – in this case, I almost have to. On the off chance I make it to the Top 50, I’m going to Alaska for two weeks on vacation. I won’t be twittering for votes from the cruise ship or hiking trail.  In truth, that kills me, although the vacation will be good for me.

I’m also obsessive – something else with which this contest is forcing me to grapple. I’m trying, quite intensely, to not lose focus on Real Life in exchange for putting all my energy into acquiring the Goode Life. Reminding myself that I need to be part of the information stream, not the shrill voice at one end or the other.

Finally, I’ve been shocked at how much I actually want this job. When I first went into it so late, I figured I didn’t have a shot at all. But there’s always hope, and I haven’t let go of that glimmer. I also have hope that, after all is said and done, someone will look at what I created with Rainbowgoode.com and say, “hey! We should hire her to do our social media and marketing!” Basically I’ve created a portfolio just for this position that I can maintain as long as I want, whether I get the Goode job or not.

So there you go. Obviously I’m learning a bit about myself as we go through this process, as well as a bit more about marketing (and winery marketing) in general. There’s so much more going on with this contest than just a 1 minute video.

__

Visit Michelle @ http://www.wine-girl.net

Help Michelle Land Her Dream Job: http://bit.ly/reallygoodejob
Vote for Michelle and then tell all your friends!

More information at http://www.rainbowgoode.com

Not long ago I posted about the Murphy-Goode “Really Goode Job.”  Just as a refresher, Murphy-Goode Winery is offering a 6-month, $60,000 position to someone who wants to promote the winery via social media. They’ll even provide you with a rent-free home in Healdsburg.  Seeing as how I’m a wine blogger and a social media consultant, it seems amazingly up my alley. I want this job. Really bad.

In order to get this job, I created a video. I thought about embedding it below, but really, I want to drive you to the site to vote. You get a screen cap instead. So many people seemed to just sit and talk about wine. I think wine is part of the job, but understanding social media and marketing is more important. So I tried to tell a story, and I used the Wizard of Oz to do it. Of course, it’s also an excuse to dress up like Dorothy.

I also created an accompanying web site at http://www.rainbowgoode.com. It’s fun because it hosts the extended version (after all, it’s hard to tell a story in a minute) and the blooper reel. The blooper reel still makes me laugh. Dogs are fun to work with …

On the site, you can view the various ways I’m trying to market the video, trying to drive votes. I am using every bit of social media I think is relevant – from my LinkedIn groups to this blog, from Facebook to Twitter. I picked up some Google AdWords and grabbed some bit.ly URLs.  I’m amazed at the things that were available still.

I’d love to make the Top 50 folks, and hopefully, the Top 10. At the very least, maybe I’ll land a social media job of some sort from all this effort. But in order to do any of that, I need your votes.

The contest ends June 19, so vote soon and vote often!

Cheers!

__

Contact Michelle with news, stories, events, and more.
Email: michelle[at]writetech[dot]net

Vote for Michelle at http://bit.ly/reallygoodejob and spread the word!

http://www.wine-girl.net
http://www.rainbowgoode.com

by Michelle Lentz

My dream job. No ifs, ands, or buts. I want this job. But it’s open to you too – all you have to do is 1) move to Sonoma (Healdsburg) for 6 months to a beautiful home, 2) learn about wine, 3) tweet and Facebook about it, and 4) have someone pay you $10K per month for it.

Yeah, it’s #4 that’s the kicker, right?

I cannot even tell you how many of my wine contacts have sent me this job, which appeared in several wine newsletters over the last few days.

We at the Murphy-Goode Winery got to thinking about the new age of communications and we figured it was a pretty good thing. So to get going, we’re looking for someone (maybe you) who really knows how to use Web 2.0 and Facebook and blogs and social media and YouTube and all sorts of good stuff like that — to tell the world about our wines and the place where we live: the Sonoma County Wine Country.

In exchange, we’re offering you a “Really Goode Job” — a six-month job paying $10,000 a month plus accommodations!

We want to hire a social media whiz (your title will be “Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent”) who will report on the cool lifestyle of Sonoma County Wine Country and, of course, tell people what you’re learning about winemaking.

Did we mention that the compensation was $10,000 per month Plus accommodations in a beautiful home in picturesque Healdsburg, a popular vacation destination in our neck of the woods. Working hours are flexible. And all you have to do is experience wine and good living, and then tell people about it. (Do you play Poker, or Liar’s Dice? Don’t worry; we’ll teach you.)

You (we hope) will become part of the Murphy-Goode crew — for six great months.

There is a catch, of course. First off, everyone and their brother will probably apply for it. Next, you have to submit a video and fill out an application. As much as this is a marketing ploy (similar to the Australian Dream Job), I think they are actually serious about it as well. They’ll whittle it down to the Top 50 applicants, and then from there, the top 10. The Top 10 get to visit beautiful Healdsburg for an interview at the end of June.

Yeah, I want this job.

Michelle in Healdsburg, Nov 2008

__

Contact Michelle with news, stories, events, and more.
Email: michelle[at]writetech[dot]net
Twitter: @writetechnology, Friendfeed: michellel
Sites: Write Technology, Wine-Girl.net

by Michelle Lentz

It’s ridiculous how much I want to come to this little expo. It combines my two favorite things in this world: tech innovation and wine. I mentioned I have a wine blog, right?

My friend Alder, of Vinography, is on the Wine 2.0 board (as are many of my wine blogging brethren). He has described Wine 2.0 events as such:

There are a lot of wine tasting events out there that afford wine lovers the opportunity to taste wines of a particular type or from a particular region. There is only one event, however, dedicated to showcasing the wines and the wine technology that are pushing the envelope in the wine world.

Wine 2.0 started as a small group of entrepreneurs in San Francisco who found themselves at the nexus of wine and the latest internet technologies, and has grown to encompass a large number of start-ups, wineries, technology users, and wine drinkers. What began as a small get together in San Francisco has become something of a major social happening.

Wine 2.0 Expo is happening at this spring at Crushpad (2573 3rd Street, San Francisco) on April 2, 7 -10 pm. The event will host over 1,000 attendees, forward-thinking wineries, and wine-related tech companies. Tickets are $45 or 2 for $70. Day of tickets are $60/pp.

If you’re in the wine industry in one way of another and are interested in sponsoring, contact Cornelius Geary.

__

Contact Michelle with news, stories, events, and more.
Email: michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, Twitter: @writetechnology, Friendfeed: michellel, Blogs: Write Technology, Wine-Girl.net

Nominee for City Beat’s Best of the City: Vote for My Wine Education under Public Eye > Blog:
http://www.bestofcincinnati.com/

by Michelle Lentz

So the economy is tight and my Recession Wine series over on my wine blog just isn’t doing it for you. You need some real alcohol – for free. I firmly believe the economy will drive most of us to drink, sooner or later.

The solution is here – at least, it is if you live in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Honolulu, or San Francisco. Myopenbar.com is a site that is tracking events with open bars in your specified city. If your city isn’t there yet, such as Cincinnati, you can fill out a form and cross your fingers you’re not the only one requesting it.

In order to get all this free alcohol, you’ll have to deal with theatre openings, art galleries, receptions, and other things. Is it worth it? You choose. In some cases it might be a one price, all you can eat and drink deal, in other cases, it’s low prices – such as 80 cent cosmos. Most of the time, however, it seems to be free drinks.

I am in no way advocating that you go out and get yourself hammered. However, some of these might be neat occasions to meet other folks. The alcohol just makes the meeting easier.

__
Contact Michelle with news, stories, events, and more.
Email: michelle[at]writetech[dot]net
Twitter: @writetechnology
Friendfeed: michellel
Blogs: Write Technology, Wine-Girl.net

by Michelle Lentz

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be writing about some cool technology sites that focus on wine. Having just come back from the first ever Wine Bloggers Conference, it’s all fresh in my mind. My first big find was AbleGrape.

AbleGrape is a niche search engine, focusing on wine. It’s the brainchild of Doug Cook. Now, at the conference, I called Doug a wine superhero, considering he’s running a wine-related startup, he won the blind tasting challenge, and he showed up Saturday night with cases of some amazing (and older vintage) wine that was either donated by a San Francisco wine bar or straight out of his own cellar. Talking to him, and others, I learned more about the search engine.

Doug was once the VP of Search Engineering at Inktomi (bought by Yahoo!) before running off to make wine his focus in life. But as he was studying for his WSET, he discovered how hard it is to find up-to-date, authoritative information about wine on the Internet. I agree – you can find a lot of great academic information in books, but the Internet is lacking, or rather, the information is hidden. It’s why I often end up at the library when I’m writing an article, and I forego the Web.

Doug set out to change all that with AbleGrape.com, which indexes over 15 million pages from over 38,000 sites that focus on wine. The search engine lauched a soft beta in January, and has been indexing and improving ever since. AbleGrape thinks like a wine geek, which is nice. If you type in cab, you don’t get taxi. You get cabernet sauvignon.

According to their site, AbleGrape has some lofty goals, including indexing every trade, consumer, and scientific publication, as well as every organization, producer and academic research. Additionally, AbleGrape indexes “the best blogs in the world of wine, in any language.” (Full disclosure – my wine blog is indexed. Hooray!) AbleGrape offers filters you can use, including different types of press, commerce, and events, as well as regions, to narrow your search results. It also digs up those hidden search results, whether from academic wine associations to Wine Enthusiast magazine.

If you want to know more about a particular wine (as opposed to where to buy it), I highly recommend checking out AbleGrape. For wine writers and bloggers out there, AbleGrape also offers a widget to add wine search to your site. I haven’t done it yet, but it’s on my to-do list for this weekend. There is also a search plug-in for your browser.

One of the key points of the Wine Bloggers Conference is that to be successful, everyone should find their niche, even within the niche of wine blogging. I think AbleGrape has done that quite well with search. Someone at the conference asked Doug, “Why don’t you take on Google?” Doug had a great answer, and one I admire. “I can’t,” he said. “I focus on doing one thing, and doing that one thing well.”

–
Contact Michelle with your news, apps, and events via email, Twitter, Pownce, or FriendFeed. Visit Michelle at Wine-Girl.net and Write Technology. You can also catch Michelle presenting on Twitter at the upcoming DevLearn ’08 in San Jose.

by Michelle Lentz

One of the many reasons I’m excited about a Wine Blogging Conference I’m attending in the Fall is that Gary V. is one of our keynotes. From what I understand, he’s as upbeat, positive, and excited in person as he is in his videos. That should be a great way to kick off our conference!

With that in mind, I wanted to tell you about Gary’s latest idea – his floating wine festival. Gary wants everyone to join him next spring on a cruise. Well, not just any cruise – the Gary Vaynerchuk ThunderCruise. If I had the money, I’d be there in a heartbeat. (Someone wants me to attend to write an article, right? Maybe?) The rates really aren’t that bad, as Gary has negotiated some discounts. The cruise is April 18-25, 2009 and includes wine events throughout the trip. The cruise is round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale, with stops on a private island, St Maarten, Antigua, and Nassau.

Yeah, I really want to go on this cruise.

Check out the video …

_
Contact Michelle with your news, apps, and events via email, Twitter, Pownce, or FriendFeed.
Visit Michelle at Wine-Girl.net and Write Technology.