Last week I had the pleasure of attending the invite-only 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) Preview Week, which includes two Press Days where OEM unveil the newest and greatest vehicles during massive press conferences and two Industry Preview Days where industry professionals gather, inspect, and observe the next generation of automotive.

Detroit's NAIAS is in the top 5 automotive showcases in the world and the industry pulls all the stops to make sure every attendee has the best experience.

I think Ford Motor Company hit the nail on the head with their Auto Show mobile app this year.

Face it, not everyone that goes to the Auto Show is interested in cars--some are dragged there by parents or significant others--and I bet the thought of someone not be interested in their new car is unfathomable for an OEM. But Ford thought ahead and found a way to not only make the Auto Show a game but also boost sales of their vehicles through a fun and interactive mobile app called Ford at 2013 NAIAS.

I downloaded it and I thought it was great!

What should companies have social media policies? What do social media policies mean for employees? How do companies and their employees benefit from social media policies? Where do you start when writing a social media policy? We'll answer all these and more!


Click Here to See Show Notes!

2013 started off strong with the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). If you've never heard of it, or didn't follow it this year, CES is where all the big tech news and developments are released for us nerdy folks to drool over.

Here are some of the big trends I noticed this year:

Wireless Charging
The tech world really seems to be getting behind the trend of wireless charging platforms for devices. It was announced on Monday at CES that 30 companies across the smartphone industry are joining the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) organization, which consists of government leaders and major companies such as Starbucks, AT&T and Google working to get rid of cable-based charging plugs and embrace wireless power. How cool would it be to be able to walk into Starbucks grab a coffee and place your phone down on a table to charge while you recharge? People are saying this could very much be a reality in the next year or so.

Gigantic Smartphones
Remember when our mobile devices were tiny little flip phones--smaller the better? Now we're seeing the trend of bigger is better when it comes to the newest and greatest mobile phones on the market. I'm sorry but this is a trend I can't get behind. The screens keep getting better, which in theory sounds great, but eventually I'll have to buy a purse to fit my mini HD TV/Phone. Fashion and functionality have me here.

Wearable Tech
Watches and wristbands were all the rage this year at CES. The Pebble Watch had to be one of my absolute favorites (and a wish-list item)! Pebble raised $10 million on Kickstarter for its smart watch before it became a reality. The Pebble syncs to Android phones and iPhones, and displays incoming messages and caller information. Users can also program it to send custom alerts. The e-ink style LCD display makes it easy to see in bright sunlight, and you can customize the way you want the time to display

Here's what you've missed this week:

• Instagram Users Reporting Profiles Directed To Facebook-Hosted Page - When Instagram users opt to report profiles on the photo-sharing application, they are being directed to a page hosted by its parent company, Facebook.
• Timeline Changes Are On Their Way - Changes appeared to be rolling out for all Facebook users in New Zealand starting on Wednesday. 
• LinkedIn Surpasses 200 Million Members -  LinkedIn now counts over 200 million members as part of their network, representing more than 200 countries and territories, serving 19 languages around the world.
• Facebook Stock Hits $30 - For first time since July, Facebook's stock hit $30 a share on Wednesday after several consecutive days of hovering around the $29 mark. The stock opened at $29.63 a share and climbed above $30 in early trading, a gain of more than 3% on the day.

And some cool stuff from some fellow bloggers:

• We Never Look Up by an anonymous Finnish mobile researcher is a new Tumblr catalog that captures beautiful black and white photography of people, heads down, on their mobile devices.

Are you (or your mom) ever in the position of not knowing whether or not to accept a particular friend request? Maybe it's a distant relative, an estranged friend, the kid with the locker three down from yours in middle school, a coworker, or just a complete stranger. At some point in our digital lives we all have this moral dilemma: to accept or not to accept.



Click Here for Show Notes!

Here's to a new year and more change for the city of Detroit!

And in case you missed it, both Grand Rapids and Detroit rank among the nation's Top 10 cities for best economic recovery.

Happy New Year! Here's what you might have missed while ringing in 2013:

Photo: Fat Mum Slim

So long, 2012! You had your ups and your downs but, overall, you were good to me. As the year came to an end I finally started to feel like I was getting on the right path to where I want to be in my life--both professionally and personally.

I also started to really get focused content on this blog. However, in the process, I've lost a little bit of the "me" factor so I came up with this list of goals for this blog:

• Add more of a personal twist
• Include a more Detroit aspect
• Give things personality!
• Don't be just a content aggregate
• Offer insight

Let's see how this goes! Let's toast to a new year!

I've posted about the HubSpot guides a few times in the past but I really can't stress their awesomeness enough!

It seems like every week HubSpot is releasing some kind of social media guide as a free download that tackles a very specific piece of social media, especially marketing. Some of the topics are pretty basic but I always finish the reading feeling inspired and energized to make differences in my strategies. And the best part about these guides is that they're mobile and incredibly short so you can read them quickly at your leisure whether it be on the bus, waiting in line, or in the bathroom.

This week I downloaded the How To Engage Fans on Facebook guide, which they describe as:

The key to engaging fans on Facebook is simpler than you'd think. 
Think back to the last social gathering, party, or dinner you were at. Who were people talking to the most? Why were people so engaged with that particular person? 
The people who are the most engaging are usually one of the following: 

• The most interesting 

• The most attractive 

• The most engaged themselves 

Voila! You now know everything you need to know about increasing the engagement between your customers and your brand on Facebook. Well, okay, there’s a bit more to it. Download this mini guide to unveil the rest.

I highly recommend downloading it FOR FREE and taking the few quick minutes to look it over! It is definitely time worth spent.

Download How to Engage Fans on Facebook for free from HubSpot.

As 2012 comes to an end we wanted to share all of our favorite and most hated social media moments and trends of the past 365 days.

Click here for the show notes.

Have you noticed advertising starting to pop up on your FB mobile app feed?

It was once the only place we were safe from Facebook's never-ceasing attempts to bombard us with advertising but now nowhere is safe!

To be honest, we all new this was coming... Facebook had to do something to make a buck and bring that stock back up!


How do you feel about the new ads littering your mobile feed?