Social Media and a 21st Century Wedding

Just about anyone planning a wedding uses Google.  3 years ago I heard a lot of comments along the lines of "wow, it's amazing what you can plan on the internet!".  I don't hear that anymore because it is the norm.  I mean, who doesn't?

Technology and social media have made it possible to not just "google" your wedding but it to make more social, beyond just the ceremony and the party.

I have not seen it done much in South Africa at all but I sense that it two years it will be as passé as using Google is today.

So, how can you enjoy your wedding with social media?  Here are a few ideas:

Weddings tend to be collaborative - friends and moms LOVE to get involved.  How about setting up a blog using wordpress.com or blogger.com? This way you can keep everyone in the loop on the planning and prep stages as well as having an enduring record of what you went through.  Then you could use RememberTheMilk where all those "to do" lists can be kept with reminders by email or sms.  You can even get the apps for blackberry or iPhone.  Now everyone is in the loop and each knows what is done and still to be done.  And of course don't forget to create an event on Facebook. Throw away those post-its!

And for those up to the minute changes, updates and emergencies use a twitter hashtag such as #Hogarthwedding.

You can even plan your colour scheme at colourlovers.com!

One of the best things about a wedding are the fabulous gifts.  Having a registry at some fancy boutique is oh so 20th century.  Using an Amazon wishlist or MyRegistry.com you can create a custom registry from any store on the web and have it shipped to you.

And then we come to the day itself. I love the fact that just about everyone at a modern wedding is a photographer.  At the signing of the register, half the guests leave and the other half hover around the table taking pictures with phones and digital cameras.  Create a Flickr account and have all your guests upload the photos.  There are great shots taken at the reception that the official photographer would never get.  With smart phones these can be uploaded as they're taken! There is also the option to assemble these into a printed album using Blurb

At every wedding there are some important guests that can't make it - they live overseas.  Set up a webcam and let them watch the wedding live with streaming video.

Guestbook.  Really?  How about using Twitterfall and projecting well wishes and congratulations LIVE behind the dance floor? Using the same hashtag you created earlier it's a piece of cake and tweets are sent live by guests from their smartphones.  Of course, you'd still have to have the physical guestbook for the grand parents that were invited!

And lastly, everyone's favourite - music.  A low budget option that works well is to assemble iTunes play lists for the various parts of the evening.  And if there is Wifi available at the venue you could use Apple Remote and guests with iPhones can browse playlists and select music.

The options are endless and even more will become available.  It's social media for a reason.  We all love to be part of each others lives and be social and never before has it been this easy to be this engaged (pun itended)!

If you are planning a wedding using technology or if you have done so I would love to hear of your experiences.

Good luck!

Most of the research for this article was done using  mashable.com.

Change and Social Media: Are you Managing?

Just about everyone I know is aware that I decided to become a professional public speaker at the end of last year.

I was excited at the prospect of being able to impart knowledge that was valuable in the corporate arena which would give a new perspective, a new angle or something fresh that would allow a company or individuals within that company to have a new way or a fresh viewpoint and inspire change and a positive direction.

But with any new venture there are uncertainties and difficulties.  I struggled with these for 4 months but in April I met one of South Africa's premier speakers, Michael Jackson.  He refers to himself as "the other Michael Jackson" for obvious reasons.  A more enthusiastic and driven person it would be hard to find.  I thought I was inspired already but 30 minutes with him and I was more determined that ever that this is what I want to do. You can find out more about Michael at www.theothermichaeljackson.com.

In the 8 months since that fateful meeting an idea he had has been developing has come to fruition : To bring on a small core of new speakers who are competent and able to bring value to the corporate market.  Michael presents over 150 times a year and the demand is greater than he is able to give - unfortunately there are just so many bricks one man can lay in a day!

This culminated in a "speaker bootcamp" this past weekend in the wonderful town of Barberton.  That new core of speakers are:  Tove Kane, who has a along and distinguished record in broadcasting; Cyrus Rogers, a giant of a man who is a producer for Summit TV; Shelley Walters, a radio personality from a community station in Port Elizabeth and, of course, myself.

We have finalised our presentations with more in the pipeline in time to come.

Two areas that must be addressed by anyone who is working in a professional environment as well as the professional environment itself are:

Change:  For thousands of years the idea has existed that "change is the only constant".  This is probably more starkly true today than ever before in our history.  Change today is so rapid it boggles the mind and because of this being left behind is rather easy.  How is that change managed?  This is the subject of our first presentation, The Challenge of Change.

In the world of customer interaction the change described above is being driven more than anything else by Social Media.  Social Media itself is growing and changing so rapidly it's difficult to get a grip on it.  Enterprises have found themselves disengaged and that is dangerous territory in the social media age. The influence of consumer technology will disrupt corporate identity. And this forms the subject of our second presentation: Connecting business to the new economy through Social Media.

We are being managed by Unique Speaker Bureau who manage a small and very select group of speakers.  They are at www.uniquespeakerbureau.com

It's a very exciting time and done well there is prosperity for everyone. I cannot wait!