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  • Justin 12:46 am on May 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , jdot, , social media marketing, startups   

    Projects, Playoffs, and a Pivot 

    It’s hard to believe that we are just a couple of days from moving into the hot, sweltering days of Summer in Atlanta. With June just around the corner, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to send a quick note with some updates on me and the projects you (may) know I work on.

    Social Saints — my baby
    If you didn’t already know Social Saints is the marketing technology consultancy I started in 2008. Over the past two years (without a website believe it or not) we’ve been able to secure some great clients and really explore our service offerings to see what the Kingdom needs. We are now set to launch or web presence in the next few weeks and really take our position as a premier marketing consultancy for the faith-based sector.

    As of now we’ve got a couple of clients under our belts with a few more in the pipeline. Currently we’re working on themichalemahaffeyproject.com [or mikethroughmusic.com] and Batiste Music . The Michael Mahaffey Project is a new, multi-dimensional gospel performance by Michael Mahaffey. Though I can’t disclose any major details, I can say that Mike’s performance will give you some additional perspective and send you on a journey through sacrifice, service and triumph. I’m excited to see the finished product and I’ll let you know when the site is ready so that you can all purchase tickets [Atlanta, Georgia - September 2010].

    As far as Batiste, we’re still working out the details but to date, Socials Saints will create a layered social media campaign leveraging their various networking, fans, and contacts. The plan is to allow people to get to know Batiste more while generating awareness for their music and performances. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know when some of our work “goes live.”

    A Couple of New Projects and a Pivot
    Let me start with the pivot. We recently celebrated our 10,000th user on DIGITALGUESTLIST and so with that milestone behind us, Joe and I decided to take a look at what DGL has to offer and make some adjustments. Thought I can’t talk too much about it yet, we are currently reviewing some changes to the DIGITALGUESTLIST platform. A UI change, feature simplification and a new approach for platform users and marketers will totally change the benefits and utility of DGL. Stay tuned over the next few months.

    In addition to my Social Saints clients and a DGL pivot, I’m also in the process of starting two new start-ups. Both of them are tech start-ups and in my honest, but biased opinion are both game changers. One will focus on a new way to foster conversations about your favorite online content with friends, while the other focuses on providing small businesses with a new way to connect with their customers. I know, I know my descriptions are vague, but within the next few months it will all makes sense.

    Well that’s all I wanted to say for now. Forgive me for my vagueness but I will share more with everyone soon! Until then be blessed and be safe

    -Justin

    Oh and to make the title of this post relevant… yes I am a NBA fan and I’ll be watching the Celtics and Lakers play over the next two weeks! If you want to link up and watch (and live in the Atlanta area) let me know.

     

  • Justin 5:44 pm on May 5, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: DOA, Funny, humor, swagger, viral video, wagon   

    Oh… yea! Gotta go get me one of these! 

     

  • Justin 3:07 am on April 21, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: blackberry, twitter, ubertwitter   

    5 Reasons Why I'll Continue To Use UberTwitter 

    A few nights ago I took a few minutes to download the official Twitter for Blackberry client and my initial thought was; “Wow! This is nice!” I immediately found appreciation in the; super fast connectivity, direct message integration and the beautiful user interface. To simply put it, the official client is slick… real slick.

    While these 3 benefits are nice, I must say that the official Twitter Blackberry app is missing a few things. First let me clarify something. For the average user the official app is great but as a power user I decided I need a bit more. I put together a quick list of reasons why I’ll still use Uber Twitter.

    1. Classic Retweet – Twitter’s explanation about how and why the chose to build the official retweet function makes complete sense to me but it’s not flexible enough. I prefer having the ability to create some commentary surrounding the message as a way to express myself and classic retweeting gives me that option. What would be great is a way to mention a particular message so that users can continue to include commentary around the original tweet.

    2. The Uber Bar – This is a GREAT feature from Uber Twitter and I’ve come to appreciate its utility. Essentially the Uber Bar is a universal book-marking system that allows you to quickly access users from an auto-expanding navigation bar at the top of the application. This is great for quickly accessing your friend or favorite brand’s tweets.

    3. Multiple Accounts – This is pretty self-explanatory. Uber Twitter supports quick access to multiple accounts while the official Twitter application doesn’t. The lack of support isn’t a big deal to most users but for brand managers it’s a drag. I guess the one upside is that you can’t accidentally send brand tweets from your personal account or even worst sending personal tweets to your brand followers… Yikes!

    4. Font Options – Though the official client gives you the ability to change the font size and family, I personally would like more options. UberTwitter gives you the ability to edit the font size and family for consumption and creation. I prefer a slightly larger font when I’m creating a tweet, while enjoying the extra real estate when reading tweets.

    5. Photo Sharing Options – Uber Twitter gives users a few options for photo sharing while Twitter only integrates TwitPic. Though it gets the job done I have an account with TweetPhoto so the integration Uber Twitter has works really well!

    That’s about it. I hope that this is helpful but I’d love to hear what you think. What Twitter application do you use on your Blackberry and why?

     

  • Justin 8:28 pm on April 14, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bone, marrow   

    Atlanta: Be The Match, Life Saving Action Needed! 

    Hi Georgia/Atlanta area friends,

    A good friend of mine, Shelvis Smith, is trying to get as much help as possible in assisting his mother. His mother has a very rare blood cancer and they are searching for a bone donor match. Testing only consists of allowing them to swab the inside of your mouth and takes about 10 seconds. If you or anyone you know is able to go out to the testing sites it would be greatly appreciate and heavenly rewarded!!

    Please pass this on to any and everyone you know!! Also please see Shelvis’s email below for more information.

    Thank YOU!

    ————– Shelvis’s Email ————-
    Friends,
    Thank you for your well wishes and prayers for my mother! Please join me this weekend to find a life saving match for her.

    Bone Marrow Drive #1
    Event: Bone Marrow Drive @ Hidden Valley Community Fish Fry? ??
    Date: Friday, April 16, 2010
    Time: 4:30pm-8:00pm
    Location: Hidden Valley Club House Across the street from 4265 Hidden Valley Drive, College Park, Ga. 30349

    Bone Marrow Drive #2
    Event: Bone Marrow Drive @ New Life Youth Day Services
    Date: Sunday, April 18, 2010
    Time: 9:00am-2:00am
    Location: New Life Presbyterian Church,
    6600 Old National Highway, College Park, Ga. 30349

    Please Note: Testing only consists of wiping a cotton swab against the inside of your mouth. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call me @ (404)201-3512
    Gratefully,
    Shelvis Smith

    —-

    Please, please, please do your absolute best to stop by either of the 2 locations to be tested for bone marrow compatibility AND bring a friend. This simple test literally takes less than 10 seconds and it could save a life! Please pray for Shelvis’s mother and the strength of their family through this trying time.


    If you have questions or live in the Atlanta area and need a ride please call me at 404-425-9968.

    Be the match, be the solution.

    Thank you and God Bless,
    Justin

     

  • Justin 12:10 am on April 2, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: aardvark, buzz, gmail, google   

    Prediction: Google will roll Aardvark into Buzz 

    Trying to see the future is good for the imagination and spurring innovation but in my personal opinion isn’t very fun. Furthermore, predicting what a large, highly innovative company with deep pockets will do next either requires some sort of magic eight ball or a knack for making really good guesses. Since I possess none of the above I tend not to participate in making predictions but with Google’s recent moves I thought I’d give it a shot.

    With the recent acquisition of Aardvark and the release of Buzz, Google is adding an additional approach to its social media technology strategy. By adding the “put Google anywhere” model (think Google FriendConnect) with tools that draw users back into their existing products to consume content (Google Buzz) Google is looking to cover a lot of ground in the social media space.

    Now with Aardvark under the umbrella I have a feeling things could get really interesting. Here’s 5 reasons why I believe Google will roll Aardvark into Buzz.

    1. Access to friends – one of the greatest and meaningful features of Aardvark is that you can get answers to any question from anyone and you don’t even have to know them. Heck your social graphs don’t even have to come close to one another. However, I believe that every once in awhile you want answers from your friends or at least the colleagues you respect or have a rapport with. Integrating Aardvark into Buzz will give users the best of both worlds.
    2. Relevance – Another strong point of Aardvark is the way it matches questions to those who have expressed knowledge or expertise in the particular subject matter. Using this “classification” will allow any Buzz user to wear a hat of expertise and offer their knowledge to others.
    3. Access to answers (and questions) – Google at its core, is about search and since Aardvark is about questions I believe it’s safe to assume that the new acquisition is about searching for relevant answers to ANY question.
    4. User experience – I believe a fusion of Buzz and Aardvark would make a powerful and extremely useful tool for users. Being able to ask a question, review responses and derive answers in one place will make Buzz a contextual king and ultimately drive more accuracy and relevance for its search results.
    5. Where else would they want to put it? – This is my most straight forward prediction. Simply put, aside from renaming Aardvark “Google Ask” or “Google Answer” I can’t imagine where else they would put it and maintain a high level accessibility. Keeping it as a standalone product isn’t a bad idea but providing results (answers) within a familiar system just seems more appropriate.

    Look I’m not expert and to be honest all of my reasons are shots in the dark. For all I know Google may keep Aardvark exactly the way it is, though history tells us differently. I just thought I’d take a shot, now let’s sit back and watch. Actually… Let’s take cue from Aardvark and ask a question. What do you think?

     

  • Justin 4:26 pm on March 14, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Under Construction: Yes I'm still working on Me! (part 1) 

    Today during my moment of meditation (just after morning prayer) I began to realize that I have a issue and it’s a self-centered one. My issue: Being told what to do. You see I believe that I am a hard worker and I’ve even been told that “I work “too” hard,” but there’s another problem. I’m also a very stubborn individual. Combining those two attributes makes me a very passionate person, and when it comes to how I spend my time, all I want is to do things MY way.

    Just over 19 months ago I left Corporate America because I was tired of being told what to do and when to do it. Furthermore, most of what I was being told to do I didn’t agree with making me feel like a puppet and knowing that my opinion didn’t matter much. Therefore when a business partner/friend/entrepreneurial colleague tells (not ask) me what to do OR makes a decision that affects me without my input, I become rebellious and defensive. Now you’re probably thinking, “Justin what a childish and immature thing to say and do.” Well my response to you is 3 fold. First of all I realize that it’s not a very mature thing to say, but in my desire to live my life bucking the “system” I realize that a little immaturity and “free” thought is necessary. Secondly it’s “my” time (rather the time God let me have) so who are you to dictate how, when and why I use the little time I have (life is short). Lastly, if you want to be the boss go find some employees, otherwise understand that we are partners and therefore I require the respect of such. Delegation is cool and I understand the need to get things done, but seriously I DON’T LIKE being told what to do. This is especially true if you can’t do what I can do and you’re not positively contributing to my way of life (ex: writing me a check, cooking my meals, paying my bills, funding my childrens’ college fund, washing my clothes, etc.). As partners, colleagues or whatever you want to call it, it’s important to understand that I view our business relationship as a mutual understanding that we are going to do whatever is necessary to get the job done, and to get it done right. Also in this mutual understanding I expect for my thoughts or opinions to mean something and be considered when deciding how we do business. If this is not what you’re thinking then you can feel free to; a. contribute positively toward my way of life (see above) OR b. find someone who is willing to do what you want, when you say you want it. To simplify it a bit, if I wanted to be told what to do I’d simply go back to work in Corporate America. It’s as simple as that.

    Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest let me say this and I’m done. I am still working hard on me. I’m learning how to submit to a greater cause (in business and life) in hopes of taking things less personal and being more productive. However having said all of this and knowing what you know of me do you think I’m going down without a fight? So yea… I’m still working on me — I’m still under construction.

     

  • Justin 10:00 am on January 25, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: change, , politics   

    Funny… but what if! 

    Ha ha ha! I can’t stop laughing at this. Personally I think Obama is doing an ok job but I do expect more. Nonetheless, this video is hilarious! Though it’s meant to be funny what if our president just gave up? How would you react? Surprised? Apathetic? Furious? Before you answer though, here’s a better question. Have you given up? Do you think it’s the President’s job to initiate change, or do you think we all share a part? Either way, enjoy and let me know what you think.

    -J.

     

  • Justin 3:08 am on January 25, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: skribit, social   

    5 Reasons I Use Skribit 

    Ok, I’m just going to put it out there! Writing for a personal blog, consistently, is likely one of the most challenging task of my online life. Between my to-do list, ongoing projects, staying connected with friends and family and answering email, I rarely have the time needed to consistently produce quality content for my blog. Add in the fact that it’s hard to come up with topics and my blog is often a content disaster. Though the first set of excuses are completely on me, there is a solution to the second on. Enter Skribit.  At its core Skribit is a tool that enables you to take suggestions for your blog or website and manage those recommendations in one spot. It also lets you see what the rest of the web is planning to write about, keeping you abreast of trending topics and possibly inspiring your next blog post. Now there are quite a few other features that make Skribit great but I’ll leave that up to the tour. Now the site does a great job of revealing its features but I didn’t want miss the opportunity to tell you why I use Skribit!

    5 Reasons Why I Use Skribit

    1. It’s really helpful- Though I only have a few hundred unique visitors per month, the suggestion box seems to be a place for the “regulars” to voice their opinions about what I should write about next.
    2. Easy to use – I literally installed the Skribit widget in about 30 seconds. Once I did, I immediately shared it with friends and family to see if there was anything I should write about (since I cover such a wide range of topics). Another idea is to add a link to your Skribit blog profile into the signature of your emails and/or email marketing messages.
    3. Flexible – I imagine that the team over at Skribit’s initial idea was for bloggers, but the service can really be used for just about anything. In just a few minutes you can integrate it on websites, Facebook profiles (tricky but doable), corporate blogs or any other site you may create original content for. I suppose it’s up to you.
    4. The team – Paul Stamatiou, Lance and the rest of the Skribit team are great people. Lance has given me quite a few pointers on a couple of my startups and Paul is just a good guy to know in the Atlanta (always in the know).
    5. It’s an Atlanta startup – Skribit is an Atlanta based startup and is one of a handful of startups still in active development from Atlanta’s Startup Weekend. Though I believe you can build a great startup anywhere, I do believe in supporting Atlanta based startups, so if not for the other 4 reasons I would support them because they’re based in Atlanta alone.

    Well have you signed up yet? If not check it out and let me know your thoughts. Oh and feel free to suggest something… my Skribit widget is located on the left.

     

  • Justin 7:13 pm on January 20, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Compassion Quick Notes (What the church can do to bring Haiti Hope) 

    So I hoped on the Pastor’s call for Compassion, to see how Social Saints could be a helping hand to the churches and pastors looking to aid Haiti in it’s time of need. The call was encouraging but also a reminder of how much needs to be done. I decided to share some quick notes from the call and a few thoughts of my own. Here is a quick list of things to consider as you pray or look to respond to the needs of Haiti.

    What to do…

    Right Now: The consensus is to pray and give (money) as often as you can. Where it’s Compassion, the Red Cross or any other organization, just make sure they are a reputable company/organization. Of course tangible goods are welcomed however be mindful that the infrastructure in Haiti is shambles so much of what can be sent won’t make it to a specific person , family or group, in need for quite some time.

    That was really all we covered on the call but I thought I’d share with you my thoughts on what we can do after the camera crews have left.

    In the coming weeks (6 to 12 weeks): Continue to pray, continue to give money and look to give specific things. As the dust settles and the rubble begins to be cleared, the need for specific things such as clothes, school items, tools, and even toys will become more prevalent. It is then that we should look to give tangible items and focus on the specific needs of people (outside of basic needs).

    In the future / Long Term (3+ months): Plan to go. Pastor Shaun King of Courageous Church gave a great message on Sunday, where he focused on being the Church (yea with a capital “C”) we should be, by focusing on what we can do, not what we can say. With that thought in mind, I encourage anyone who can go, to go and make it a personal mission to help with your own two hands. You can help rebuild homes, or churches, assist orphanages in the care of thousands of young people, or merely be a ray of hope to someone who feels alone. We have to remember that this country is starting over, literally so almost anything you can think of will be helpful.

    What are your thoughts? What do you plan to do?

     

    • Jasmine Bacon 10:09 pm on January 20, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Great note as a reminder that Haiti will need long term aid and not just aid until the next big story hits. I was researching today what organizations I can volunteer with that will have a direct impact on Haiti. Good read!

      • Justin 5:03 pm on January 23, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        @Jasmine Are you planning to go? If so. when? If not, have you thought about going?

  • Justin 3:06 pm on January 9, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    10 things to consider for 2010 (in no particular order)! 

    HAPPY NEW YEAR! Typically I don’t make New Year resolutions because I don’t like procrastination (why wait for a new year to make changes in your life) but I thought I’d share with you my personal goals for 2010 to maybe consider for yourself. Now I didn’t plan for there to be 10 items, I just wrote what was on my heart and it just so happened to be 10 things. I’m sure I could find more but here we go; 10 things to consider for 2010.

    1. Let’s start by doing something different this year!
    2. Let’s throw out conventional wisdom and shock the hell out of the World (literally)!
    3. Let’s earn more but consume less.
    4. Let’s take steps to build healthy communities and destroy poor habits.
    5. Let’s expect less of the World and anticipate more from God.
    6. Let’s work smarter and harder (when it’s time to work).
    7. Let’s forgive faster than we forget.
    8. Let’s allow prayer to be our first, second and third option but let us not be afraid to ask for help.
    9. Let’s be faithful to those we love (family, friends, significant anyone) and honest with ourselves.
    10. Though every move you make changes the World, let’s make sure each move is divinely ordered!

    What do you think? Will you join me? What would you add to the list?

     

    • Karlina 4:03 pm on January 9, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Good list. I would add to stick to goals and plans that we make. Also add to use deadlines as not to let time slip away; because time is all we are really thinking of when the new year comes around. So let’s make get things done and make things happen in 2010

      • Justin 6:16 pm on January 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        I agree! We should always include time in our goals. We should also make sure they are measurable and realistic. Great points. Thanks!

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