Everything I've ever learned, I've learned from people along the way. This year, I've learned so much and have connected with really wonderful journalists who are maximizing social media opportunities (see the previous post.) And because of that, I've always tried to share the knowledge I've learned. I don't believe in keeping secrets, even though sometimes finding any amount of success is kind of like finding a honey hole when you're fishing. I'm not saying I'm successful, but I have had interesting people reach out to me in the last few days about social media strategy, Google authorship, YouTube, verification, SEO, Google search... and more. From journalists, to emergency officials... to social media hiring managers... it's been really interesting to see people reach out and ask how to better use social media for their companies. (Am I in the wrong business?! Should I be consulting?! jk) I want to help! I have a lot more ideas of where I think social media can be truly helpful and not just a "fun" bell and whistle... and you will probably start seeing that in my newscasts. But in the meantime, here's the compilation I put together to demonstrate how I've been using social media platforms. Since this submission, I have actually gone in different directions, but that's the nature of the beast.
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Journalists always say they're only as good as their last story. But, today I say thank you.  PHOTO: Stormy Henderson Thank you all so much for the well wishes! It was such an awesome feeling to know that family and friends were supporting us from all over the country by watching the livestream. Truly interactive! So, let me tell you how it works. The Mid-South region is the only Emmy region that broadcasts the event live on TV. If you live in North Carolina, you could've watched it on UNC-TV. We were told that if we won, we'd only get 30 seconds to talk before goodbye music would play. I was already pretty nervous about the whole thing... +Billy Stanley is one of my favorite Wilmington peeps and hangout'ers... and uploaded this to YouTube -- Aside from starting out my speech with, "I feel like I'm going to throw up," I forgot to mention a few things and people:
The work we do is judged, and it's not always a fair representation of who we are. Although I'm extremely grateful of this honor, it doesn't change anything on our end. I just hope you'll consider joining us on one of our many platforms. Bambuser and VYou are also great ways to strike up a conversation - I often use both for fun or for news!       Check out some of our favorite people on Google Plus!
Journalists- I learn something from these people everyday. They are leaders and innovators in news and social media: Amy Wood George Kiriyama Maria Quiban Melissa Carlson Sarah Hill - now with Veterans United Stefanie Cruz Some of my favorite Google Plus friends - These are people who are on the pulse of what's new with Google Plus, are loyal hangout'ers, or are social media experts. There are many more people to mention, but this is my personal short list: Anthony Ramos Billy Stanley Chad LaFarge Danielle Best Dan McDermott DeAno Jackson Diana Ridley Dori Storbeck Kim Beasley Kyle Salewski Larry Fournillier Linda Linares Matt Headley Michael Banks Stormy Henderson 
A Zumbathon is planned for Saturday, January 26th at Gold's Gym off Racine. Stacey Moulder is the organizer. She says she planned it to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Stacey's husband has served in the military for at least 10 years. Zumbathon details I met Stacey in a Google Plus Hangout - one that we host every night for Fox Wilmington News at 10. Do you have a community event? Let us know! If you've got a webcam, we may interview you from your home or event! 
Google TV released a new fan promo. And, I may have geeked out.
Thanks to Dave Neff for the screen shot!
I wanted to share the clip from my actual scene on 'The Following.' It's very quick (10 seconds) but I thought I'd post it for my friends and family. What did you guys think of the show?  I've been talking about it since the spring, but The Following is now here! It's brought to you by Kevin Williamson, the same guy who brought us The Vampire Diaries, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream. I can't wait to see Kevin Bacon on the small screen! It's about an ex-FBI agent who is in search of an escaped serial killer... the only problem is this serial killer has developed a following through social media... and calls on his fans to do the dirty work. It's unlike anything on TV right now, and it's already received some pretty good reviews. I had the most amazing opportunity making an appearance in the pilot. I saw the final cut, so I know I'm in there (unless there was a final, final cut.) I'm not really doing anything fancy, but my mom and dad are sure excited... and at the end of the day, that's all that matters! It was a super cool experience. The production put me up in a hotel in Atlanta, I had a driver, and I got my own little trailer. Hair and makeup was also thrilling, and then going on set was really too exciting to put into words. And for the record, I have a line like "The FBI is speculating..." which now makes me giggle a bit... because we all know how much the FBI likes to speculate. I should have said something but I didn't even think about it. I had an amazing time, though I think I'll stick to my day job! That line of work is really overwhelming.  I've been having a lot of fun cooking on Google Plus and sharing some Korean food with everyone! Today, I'll be livestreaming over YouTube to make japchae. I love this dish! We'll start at 6 p.m. EST. Larry Fournillier will be hosting as I show you how to cook this favorite Korean dish. It will be a lot of fun! Sign up for the Google Plus event to let us know you'll be watching! UPDATE: Here's the actual show! Grab the recipe and follow along! A few days ago, Mashable put out an article about Facebook wanting to charge you $100 to send a message to its founder Mark Zuckerberg. But, I just discovered that Facebook also wants to charge the same fee for contacting me. Huh?  Listen, Facebook. This isn't cool.
Why? Journalists are supposed to give a voice to the voiceless. I don't see how this helps our cause. How are people who don't know me supposed to send me story ideas? I'm sure viewers will only take this out on me... and I surely am not going to get a cut of this $100. And, even if I could, I wouldn't want it. My media ownership group also required all of its employees to set up a Facebook page. So, if this rollout comes to my page, will the station take some accountability for the messages? Certainly not; that is insane. I am just a local gal trying to cover the local news. As much as I'd like to think of myself as a really cool person, I'm simply not. I have always been accessible to people who want to be in touch, and this is really discouraging. And, let this be a lesson to anyone out there. If it can happen to me, it can surely happen to anyone - journalists, public figures, actual cool people... Why didn't Facebook give me a heads up? I might understand this more if there were verified Facebook users or a special designation given to those who come with $100 messaging. But again, I would've opted out. This is troubling to me. Most of my viewers are still using Facebook. UPDATE, 11:54 a.m. : There's been a lot of discussion on Google Plus and Facebook since I wrote this post. A couple of things here - I understand that the messages can still come through to my "other" inbox. But, again, I don't want my accessibility to be associated with money. I do not take gifts or money for my work (payola), and I can't guarantee someone out there will know Facebook is behind this $100 fee. Final thoughts, 24 hours later: After a long day of talking about this post, I have some final thoughts in addition to what I posted above. I realize this is only a test and that Facebook has to make money. That being said, I feel strongly that a journalist's accessibility should not be tied to money. In a real world perspective, if you walked up to me and offered me $100 to pitch a story, I would turn you down. I know it's under Facebook's discretion, but I would hope FB makes ethical decisions. Another point - if you paid $100 to spam me, how much unsavory content would I have to endure? Would I have the opportunity to report it? Are spammers with $100 to burn better than poor people who may have a good idea? The other box is a great idea, however I recently checked my other box and it had several legitimate messages that I missed. Why does it matter if I have an other box when I still need to check it everyday? I finally found the way to get to the other box via mobile, but it wasn't a way that you'd assume. Either way, I know this isn't the end of the world, but I do hope people voice their concerns if they have them. I'm not looking for a fight, I'm just looking for some consideration. CONTACT ME FOR FREE: Twitter: @MichelleLiTV Michelle on Google Plus Email: [email protected] PS - Thanks to my Google Plus friends Brian Parker and Stormy Henderson for bringing this to my attention. Also, as with every post on this site, this is MY opinion alone. 
I wanted to share a story about Kristen Campbell, the creator of Intuitive Color makeup. Here are the highlights: 1. Your makeup probably has toxic components to it, like plastic - even mineral make ups have some bad stuff. 2. Those components can be linked to causing and even cancer. 3. Celebrities Denise Richards and Courteney Cox have both used Kristen Campbell's makeup. 4. Intuitive Color has 3 key ingredients: mango butter, jojoba esters, sea buckthorn oil. 5. The people who made the Freaker USA Kickstarter video also made Kristen's Indiegogo campaign video. "This is why you don't give news anchors high-speed, high-tech phones." - Michael Banks, Google products enthusiast 
PHOTO: CNet
Some of us don't buy new devices when they come out because some of us have mortgages and car payments. If you're Bob Bonner or me, you wait until your boss hands you a new phone because your old one busted. Bob and I recently got the Samsung Galaxy S III - and even though it's not as super dandy as the latest device, we still think it's pretty cool. AND if you've seen that "Work Trip" commercial, you get what we're talking about. This is what Samsung says sharing videos is like: This is reality: By the way, ever wonder what's on that tape? I loved this blogpost about it - goes pretty deep.
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