When: Thursday, February 12 – doors open at 6 p.m. Where: CANS Bar & Canteen – 500 W. 5th St. What: Food, fun and prizes Free nibbles provided by Charlotte Nightlife and CANS Emcee: Nate from 106.5 The End Raffles for entertainment, gifts and a cruise for two Local media celebrity appearances Wii bowling competition The great feeling you get when you do something nice Buy tickets now. Prices start at $5. Special perks for VIPs! 100% of ticket price goes to Charity: Water Imagine you’re thirsting for your favorite soda –...

I’m no good with a torque wrench but it’s a powerful tool in the right hands. And when it comes to networking, twitter (used well) would give even Chuck Norris a run for his money. This struck me like a direct message from the great Chuck himself when I was at BarCamp Charlotte Saturday. I met so many interesting people that I can barely remember them all. I’ve never had so many people come up and introduce themselves to me at an event before. Many conversations began with “Hi Lisa, I follow you on twitter.” Instant ice breaker....

Every time I get involved in a discussion about social media and how they fit in the marketing/PR puzzle, talk turns to rules. “How many people should I follow on twitter?” “How much is too much self-promotion?” “How many times a week should I blog?” “What percent of my tweets can be personal/off topic?” My answer is always the same: I don’t know. Sure, I can make suggestions, but only after asking a lot more questions. If anyone tells you she has definitive answers, especially without spending some time...

The secret to being extraordinary is simple – go against human nature. “Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.” ~ Anonymous 1. Ordinary: Rush to get in every game, pitch a tent on every platform and call yourself an “expert” after six weeks of non-stop twittering with the rockstars. Extraordinary – Be patient. Listen and read a lot more than you tweet and write. Concentrate on one social media network at a time. Experiment, observe and learn what works and what doesn’t. 2. Ordinary: Go...

My friend and I were having lunch on a restaurant patio the other day when a lime green Lamborghini roared past. “Your son would have gone bananas if he had seen that,” she said with a chuckle. She knows my teenager loves classic rock, skateboarding and expensive cars - and that he’s intense, artistic, quick-witted and wants to be everybody’s friend. My family and close friends know they’ll find my daughter by my side as I roll out the crust for Thanksgiving pies, that we’ll have to call my middle-schooler three...

There’s so much talk lately about getting more followers on twitter. If you’re a beekeeper do you really need 800 graphic designers following you? The “trick” to attracting a mix of followers you enjoy interacting with is to just forget about it. Forget the numbers - Look at your twitter stream. If you have a good mix of information, replies, retweets and personal nuggets, you’re having conversation. This is good. If you have a string of self-promoting blurts you are a twitter boor. People will like you –...

@DamienBasile: I’m on Twitter to help others by making their lives simpler/easier w/ biz/tech thru sharing what I find. @ginabad: just discovered it-I twitter for info for my blogs, for networking biz, and to meet new people. @PressReleasePR: to meet the kind of people that I have, learn from them and share their wisdom @blairblends: To map and understand for www.charlottetweets.com @egculbertson: first out of curiosity but now due to what I learn from the community @Keithdon: Connections that bring value that is unattainable elsewhere. Where...

Note: If you already know this stuff, please be on the lookout for someone who needs to see this and forward the link to them. Someone like the guy Mack Collier called out yesterday. Bless his heart. He’s like the Avon lady who solicited my mom on Halloween night. Mom opened the door to a pretty little ballerina and a pig-tailed UPS delivery girl. “Trick-or-treat!” they said shyly, as their mom watched from the street. As Mom offered them some goodies, the ballerina slipped an Avon book into her hand. Mom thanked the girls, cheerfully wished...