Follow Friday People I Want To Meet
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Community
Usually my #FollowFriday post is people I am recommending you should all follow because I think they are bad-ass. Each week follows a theme and this week it is people I think you need to follow that I really want to meet. In my position at Roger Smith Hotel I meet a lot of amazing people as they travel to New York city, attend events here or just stop by for a beer on their way home. I would say I am both fortunate and lucky with the amount of real life friends that have developed from in-person meetings. That is why this post is so important to me. I know there are so many more people to meet and connect with, for real.
Here are my current three:
Name Michelle A.K.A. @MissSarcastic
Location New York
Web YouTube Channel
Bio My vlogging Twitter account, where I lay the sarcasm on thick and nothing is professional.
I have followed Michelle for a while and find her to be entertaining, smart and real. Her above bio makes her fun, the bio below makes her interesting. Bio I have a thing for social media and tech, and a bad beta user habit. I’m part of BrewPR and a NYU Adjunct Professor teaching social media. As soon as I started to mention Michelle’s name around some of my friends I realized how many friends we had in common and they all speak very highly of her!
I believe she may even stop by the hotel today… sure would be nice to cross one off the list before the day even ends.
Name Seth Godin
Bio Seth has written twelve books that have been translated into more than thirty languages. Every one has been a bestseller. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything.
American Way Magazine calls him, “America’s Greatest Marketer,” and his blog is perhaps the most popular in the world written by a single individual. His latest book, LINCHPIN, hit the Amazon top 10 on the first day it was published and became a New York Times bestseller.
As an entrepreneur, he has founded dozens of companies, most of which failed. Yoyodyne, his first internet company, was funded by Flatiron and Softbank and acquired by Yahoo! in 1998. It pioneered the use of ethical direct mail online, something Seth calls Permission Marketing. He was VP of Direct Marketing at Yahoo! for a year.
When I think of Seth Godin my thoughts are this; When people say “think outside the box” I imagine Seth asking “what box.” Innovative thinker, inspiring writer and breaker of conformity. Seth’s views on education, the workplace and challenging the ‘norm’ make him a hero to me and someone I think we should all follow. Meeting Seth would complete the circle of books, blog posts and real person.
Name AJ Bombers A.K.A. @AJBombers
Location Milwaukee, WI
Web http://ajbombers.com
Bio Milwaukee’s best new hamburger joint, smoke free and loads of p-nut bombs. Where everybody knows your name. Well, at least your twitter name.
There is not a lot to say… why would I not want to recommend a place that has “gi-normous’” orders of fries and has replied to every tweet I have ever included them in?
I can’t think of a better use of social media from a restaurant… nothing even comes close. I want to meet everyone that works there – in many ways I feel as though I already have!
These are my #followfriday picks for this week. I already follow them all in one way or another and I believe you should as well… If you have ever met any of these people please let me know what you thought (or warn me, especially about those burger people from Milwaukee)
Happy Friday all ~ Enjoy the weekend!
Three Day Weekend = Three Cool Friends !
Posted on 28. May, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Community
We are lucky here at the roger smith hotel to have an inspiring, creative and passionate group of loyal friends that support us on many levels. As a small token of our appreciation and in an attempt to repay what these people bring to our community, we will be featuring three new people every Friday as our ‘follow Friday’ list. Follow Friday, a concept born from the creative mind of Micah Baldwin, has lost some of what we believe Micah started it for, purpose. Do not get us wrong, when @RSHotel shows up in any #FF or #FollowFriday lists it is an honor. What seems to have happened though is too many people are trying too hard to pay homage to their friends without truly letting us know: who, what or why these ‘lists’ of people are worth following.
Have you ever taken a road trip? Not a day trip. What I am talking about is a multi-day excursion encompassing different states, cultures and obstacles along the way. If you do this alone it can be fun, do it with a group of people and it becomes life changing. In March I was lucky to be a part of an initiative by Chevy in which eight groups from around the country were given the opportunity to drive to SXSW in Austin, TX. There were five of us: Me, two people I knew well, one I had just met and lastly one I didn’t meet until the morning of our departure. Three of these people live in NYC and they are my Follow Friday focus this week. Khayyam Wakil, one of the five will appear in a future post… for now he gets this brief cameo (luv ya buddy)
When you are in a car for four days with people the trials and tribulations can either make you want to kill them, hug them, laugh with them, cry with them and in this case all of the above 
Most importantly you get to ‘live’ with them. Not as acquaintances, not as someone you nod to at a cocktail party – you get to experience their idiosyncrasies – what really makes them click.
I was honored to travel with this group, they added value to my life and have the innate ability to be genuine, outspoken and stand behind their values. For this I applaud them, embrace them as friends and strongly encourage you to do the same.
Sarah Simmons: Hands-down the Matriarch of the Chevy Tahoe. The voice of reason, organizer of insanity and most of all – just one of the most wonderful people to have a conversation with.
Nick McGlynn: Opposite of Sarah – Creator of insanity, A.D.D. overload master and photographer extraordinaire. Nick also possessed a skill none of us could match… he, for some reason, was the ONLY person that could consistently communicate with the On-Star ‘voice’. Thank you N-I-C-K !.
Jessica Randazza: PR and networking genius. Jessica kept us laughing, kept us calm and most of all was the ‘smile’ of the group. Willing to do anything for the cause- dressing in tinfoil, arm-wrestling a diner cook and getting a Chevy tattoo (in Sharpie). Most of all a loyal friend.
As we head into this long holiday weekend remember this:
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. Memorial Day is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all. I strongly believe the three people I featured this week give there all every day and I am lucky to call them friends.
Have a Safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.
B
Sarah Simmons:
Sarah is Food and Wine magazine’s Home Cook Superstar. Sarah spends her days crafting new recipes and making instructional cooking videos in the hopes of helping others to become superstars in their own kitchens.
Tell her what you want to make!
Twitter: @SarahmcSimmons
Blog: homecooksuperstar
Nick McGlynn:
Nick currently does freelance event photography for various companies including his own site Random Night Out. Most recent full time job was at Gawker Media where Nick worked in their video department editing clips and managing interns. He also throw a monthly media event called Obliterati.
Twitter: @NMcglynn
Blog: nickmcglynn.com
Jessica Randazza:
A public relations and social media strategist for a global public relations agency with an extensive focus on nonprofit and consumer and currently resides in New York City.Its Jessica’s mission and desire to stay engaged in emerging technologies that enhance the way that consumers and individuals connect online. Which means she spends a lot of time on her iPhone — in fact she never puts it down.
She’s also is co-founder of ColdPavement, an exercise in meeting and talking with people you may or may not know in the communications field.
A graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, vegetarian cook extraordinaire, shoe enthusiast, struggling seamstress and yogini.
Twitter: @JessicaRandazza
Blog: jessicarandazza .com
And the Winner Is… “Henry’s Rooftop Bar”
Posted on 17. May, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Hotel, Lily's Restaurant
It’s official! The name of the terrace on the 16th floor of the Roger Smith Hotel will be called
“Henry’s Rooftop Bar” and here is the winner with her entry:
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“You should name the bar after Henry…he’s pretty much the cutest thing in the world and I think you should appreciate him a bit more around there.”
Our Fearless leader on 'his' terrace @RSHotel
We are all excited for the bar to open on Memorial Day Weekend, 2010. Henry is particularly anxious for his new Summer hang-out. Many people have had the pleasure of experiencing the terrace during events on the 16th floor Solarium. Now, for the first time in over 5 years, we will be opening from 5-10pm Monday-Friday with a full bar, wine, draft & bottled beer and food.
Stay tuned for a few ‘warm-up’ events leading up to the official opening !
Three People You Should Know
Posted on 14. May, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Community
We are lucky here at the roger smith hotel to have an inspiring, creative and passionate group of loyal friends that support us on many levels. As a small token of our appreciation and in an attempt to repay what these people bring to our community, we will be featuring three new people every Friday as our ‘follow Friday’ list. Follow Friday, a concept born from the creative mind of Micah Baldwin, has lost some of what we believe Micah started it for, purpose. Do not get us wrong, when @RSHotel shows up in any #FF or #FollowFriday lists it is an honor. What seems to have happened though is too many people are trying too hard to pay homage to their friends without truly letting us know: who, what or why these ‘lists’ of people are worth following.
This week we kick it off with three people very dear to me (Brian Simpson) and us (the Team at Roger Smith Hotel). We have included a brief bio on each person, their passion and how to connect with them. Please take a moment to read about our friends, you will find they are all very valuable not only in their fields but more importantly as people.
Happy ‘Follow’ Friday !
Elizabeth King:
Elizabeth is the author of “OUTSMARTING the SAT” (Ten Speed, 2008) and President of Elizabeth King Coaching, Inc., a test preparation company based in New York City. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Cultural Economics and is the recipient of a Mount Holyoke College Class of 1905 Alumnae Fellowship and a Mount Holyoke College Bardwell Fellowship.
Blog: StayOutOfSchool.com
StayOutOfSchool.com investigates why one of the greatest, albeit hard-headed, creative thinkers of our time advises young, creative college graduates to stay out of graduate school. The exploration will reach further, though, into how institutional education at all levels, creativity, individuality, and the fruit of “the school of life” have long been at war. Ultimately, Stay Out Of School aims to critically assess those issues most relevant to the 21st century thinker and innovator and recommend ways to bring those issues to light inside the classroom and ingratiate them into American culture.
Twitter: @ElizabethOnline
Adam Hirsch:
Chief Operations Officer of Mashable - The #1 Social Media News Site Co-Founder of My Social Dog – The first social network to connect local dog owners in real-time
Adam Hirsch is the COO, responsible for event planning (MashMeets, Open Web Awards, Conferences, etc), partnership and sponsorship opportunities, marketing, client relations and of course, Pete’s “2nd in Command.” Always on the hunt for a partnership or opportunity to improve Mashable. Adam is a New York City native and a graduate of Cornell University.
Blog: Mashable.com
Founded in July 2005, Mashable is the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Media news. With more than 15 million monthly pageviews, Mashable is the most prolific blog reviewing new Web sites and services, publishing breaking news on what’s new on the web and offering social media resources and guides. Mashable’s audience includes early adopters, social media enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, influencers, brands and corporations, marketing, PR and advertising agencies, Web 2.0 aficionados and technology journalists. Mashable is also popular with bloggers, Twitter and Facebook users — an increasingly influential demographic.
Twitter: @AdamHirsch
Steve Etzler:
Business Development Institute (BDI), founded in 2001 in New York City by Steve Etzler and managed by Maria Feola, is a leading conference and webinar producer for communicators. Our programs educate while providing valuable networking opportunities to our attendees. Over 8,000 leaders have attended our programs on the latest trends, issues and opportunities that impact communicators. The quality of our speakers, program topics, format, network, and value are what differentiates BDI from its competitors.
Blog: BDIOnLine.com
On January 13, 2010, Business Development Institute and PR Newswire hosted the first event of 2010: Social Integration – Harmonizing Social Channels into the Marketing, Communications, & Service Platform. Over 250 people attended the case studies and two interactive roundtable sessions. BlogTalkRadio has provided an audio cast of the case studies with presentations from HP, NHL, PepsiCo, Harvard Business School, Michelin North America, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, and Sprint Nextel . To access the audio cast, please visit www.bdionline.com/socialintegrationrecording.html.
Twitter:@bdionline
Twittering Through Chemo: Brian Simpson & Drew Olanoff @ SXSW Conf
Posted on 22. Apr, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Community, Hotel
When I tell people that cancer saved my life, I get the same look every time, Bewilderment. If not for cancer I am not writing this post. Those of you that have become my friends are not reading it (and you’re not my friends)
I would not have had the courage to leave my career and fight for something bigger, more important. The friends that I have made combined with the joy and love I have experienced in the last eighteen months have made me realize this is living. Its about actually getting the most out of life with no excuses. Life is filled with mistakes, heartache and pain – no matter how optimistic you are. Surviving cancer has made me (and this will be a fun over use of overused words) a guru-maven-expert-cowboy-ninja-coach-superuser-connoisseur and master sage of finding the good in everything.
Its there, we are all good people.
The video in this post is a shortened version of my talk at SXSW with my friend Drew Olanoff. Without cancer mine or his, we are not friends. I BlameDrewsCancer for creating our friendship…see, even cancer has a good side. Thank you to all that attended our talk & to all of you that have supported and encouraged me.
Special thanks to Hugh Forrest and SXSW for the amazing opportunity to share our stories and a forum to hear the stories of others.
To @DannyGoulash & @Adwal for editing the video and The Team of The Roger Smith Hotel for the time and support to do it all!
Bsimi
Brian Simpson and his journey to Vermont
Posted on 19. Apr, 2010 by Editor in Community, Hotel
It has been almost one full week back in NYC after an amazing two weeks at The Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT.
I was lucky enough to escape the city and spend time amongst the residence as they entrenched themselves in their passions; fiction writing, poetry, sculpting, painting and sometime a little of all these disciplines.
The experience truly opened my eyes to the world of self expression and the importance of art in any form.
Beyond the art, poems and pieces created, the real experience was getting to know all of the amazing people and where each gets their inspiration from.
Allen, Bruce, Vanessa, Donna, Anne, Claire, Geoffrey, Emily, Kester… trust me this list goes on and on… Thank you all for your friendship – I look forward to staying in-touch and seeing what comes next from all your creative minds.
Special thanks to Gary & George for being fantastic hosts and to Ariel for ridiculously good food !
Social Media in Sweden: Andrea Jovell Swensson
Posted on 15. Apr, 2010 by DanielKalmar in Community, Hotel
Adam Wallace of the Roger Smith Hotel met up with Andrea Jovell Swensson, PR consultant for the Swedish company “Tillväxtakademin” (translating to Academy of Growth) in Sweden. In true Roger Smith fashion, they sat down in Lily’s Restaurant for a quick bite and started chatting.
Here, Andrea sheds light on her own perspectives on what Social Media and Twitter means to the business world, how it is used in Sweden and how fast it’s growing! Check it out.
Zane’s Crib in Dallas, TX
Posted on 19. Mar, 2010 by DanielKalmar in Community
In February, Adam Wallace and Cesar Avery of the Roger Smith Hotel had the opportunity to visit Twitter friend and Roger Smith supporter, Zane Aveton (@zaneology). They got the chance to take a tour of Zane’s “building”, a 6,000 sq/ft photo lab that they gutted and turned in to a beautiful loft. What they have done to the space is quite impressive!
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand ‘Check-Ins’
Posted on 20. Feb, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Community, Hotel, Lily's Restaurant
Last Thursday afternoon I received a call from my friend Julia Roy. Julia had been approached by Susan Dominus, of The New York Times, to participate in an article Susan was doing on the social network FourSquare. Julia asked if it would be O.K. to do the interview at Roger Smith Hotel. Her reasoning was to hopefully include other FourSquare users in the article. (on most nights there is someone here “Checking-In” on FourSquare) This gesture alone shows why people like Julia excel in social media. FourSquare is a way of sharing your dining, shopping, traveling, museum hoping, train riding and sight seeing experiences with other people.
FourSquare is about the strength of community. To quote Kenneth Hartley Blanchard “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Julia could have done the interview on her own and it would have been great. She would have shared it, the twitterverse would have re-tweeted it and the world would continue to spin about one thousand miles per hour. Instead, Julia recognizes the greater strength and potential energy of community. Everyone has an audience: Damien consults on building your companies brand. Clay has studied under Seth Godin and now assists a variety of businesses with their overall strategies. Jill has a loyal community on YouTube as a videographer that surpasses most of its users. I (Brian Simpson) work at Roger Smith, a hotel that has become a go-to business for all types of social media personalities.
Collectively the story became what platforms like FourSquare stand for… connecting friends and strangers with commonalities to create conversation.
Jill Hanner's NYSC Mayorship
It was a great night and we at The Roger Smith Hotel wanted to thank Julia for including us. I/we would also like to thank Jill, Clay and Damien for sharing their unique and individual insights as to why FourSquare is important to them.
“Beyond Twitter: An App That Truly Lets You See City”
JOIN FOURSQUARE NOW: Here
Susan Dominus
Special thanks to: Susan Dominus, writer for the NYT and Nicole Tung Photographer for the NYT
DEW’ing It Well
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Community
Back in December Karen Hartline invited me to the DEWmocracy Event here in NYC. I, along with a bunch of other NYC caffeine junkies, was able to get a firsthand glimpse of what DEWmocracy was all about. The Pepsi Company
@Bsimi blocked from @PepsiCo... huh???
(links to Twitter page even though they have blocked me?) truly handed the brand of Mountain Dew over to their fans /evangelists! It is a twelve month – 7 stage process that has allowed for the creation of three finalists. From flavor to color and even label the brands new product will come from the people.
What's your pick...
Your brand becomes so much more valuable when you stop talking about it and others start ‘screaming’ about it!
