Overheard in New York

Don't we all rush in to share with our friends something funny/odd/peculiar/amazing/newsworthy/dangerous that you've overheard someone is saying to someone else?

I, personally, don't eavesdropping on purpose, per say, but if I happen to hear something that is worthy of my attention, I share it with my friends and family...

Say, how often have you passed someone on the street and caught a snippet of conversation out of context that was so funny or bizarre that you wanted to share it with someone else? There's no better place for this experience than New York City and not surprisingly, there is a website devoted to capturing these stray asides that make eavesdropping such a fun sport. And I just found out about it from my favorite blogger, a social media Guru, Paul Gillin.

Fashion's Night Out is out: First Look from Fashion Week, New York

September 8, 2011 was Fashion’s Night Out in New York and - in Milan, Moscow, London, Paris, etc. - and it was crazy, taking into consideration the fact that only once a year not only all stores stay open till late, but they offer discounts + celebrity sightings + refreshments + mini extravaganza entertainment.

As a bouqet of "complete" happiness for fashionistas out there, the streets were filled with huge crowds, everyone was happy and a little "drunk" from all the shopping and sightings.

Fashion's Night Out comes right in time for many of us to start our fall shopping – just in time for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week to kick-off today in New York City, which means the fashion bloggers (like Bryan Boy), style columnists (like Eric Wilson) and street fashion photographers will be in and about, so watch out and dress to impress. Remember – personal style counts! As a matter of fact, Scott Schuman has already offered a very first look from the Fashion Week this morning.

The New Era of False-Advertising: Rejuvination and Perfectionism

Not the news anymore, but it still bothers me.

It bothers because this matter has been brought up at least a couple of times in the past. And as much as many people know (by now) that all the ads and glamour shots we see on the pages of the glossy magazines are air-brushed and PhotoShoped. Models and celebrities do NOT look THAT perfect. They do have flaws too - they do have lines, pimples and birthmarks. They do have dark circles and yellow teeth. They do have facial and body hair. And not many people (in general) have even facial characteristic - or as they say - symmetric.

So, any time you open a magazine - and it mostly concerns the teenagers, who are more than anyone are concerned with body images and status - one thing should not be taken seriously - is the way how PERFECT the models and celebrities look like in the ads for cosmetics.

But we still do take it for real and it bothers us why the rare snapshots of celebrities in real life without make reveals a not-so-perfect and/or a not-so-young features? That means the cosmetics do not really make one younger by 10-15 years from using their products. Yes, good quality products do make a difference - but not a drastic, sci-fy one...

It’s not what you thought: The Next Big Market Opportunity?

You might have heard – over and over and a lot – economists and analysts talking about China, India and Russia as the next big market opportunities. But, as it turned out, they are not.

It’s not China or India. It’s Turkey.

Vans Custom Made: Too Fab for slip-ons

I do believe in a perfect combination of comfort and style. If I don’t look for it for my home sleepers – even though I try – I do seek it in anything comfortable for the outdoors. And stylish always needs to go with the “lasting long” quality – and not up to the first rain drops.

So, how amazing are these custom made slip-ons from Vans? These were made using Robert Verdi’s own personal collection of Hermes scarves.

Measuring Social Media Influence?

It’s a known fact (even if it’s not discussed openly at an office coffee room) that every office has a certain something-something boss who always finds a question that’s impossible to answer - and not because you lack the knowledge and/or experience, but because there is not a real answer to the question.

The question of such nature that I’m referring to is – how to measure social  media influence. In other words – how to measure the success of the social media? You can’t, really.

I keep thinking on how to actually answer this question, every time someone asks that. That’s why I really liked how it was defined by Mashable.com.

“Social media influence is a bit like oxygen – we "know" it's there and we know in some sense that it is essential for “life” if we’re in marketing, advertising or public relations”, but we can’t really physically touch, smell and taste it, can we? 

However, don’t get too discouraged and anxious at the thought that you won’t be able to answer this question, once approached again by your boss.

There are a number of tools – freely available on the Web – purport to tell us our overall social media influence or at least a bit of it. And while none is perfect or complete yet, using a combination of them can prove useful.

Here then is a roundup of tools that measure influence in the social web:

Washington, DC: 50 Fastest Growing Companies

Just as I returned from my two-week getaway from the U.S. realities and the proximity of The White House, I've learned the names of the companies that made the list of "50 Fastest Growing Companies" in Washington, DC.

These companies have grown consecutively over the past three years and it is time to mention them: