Taking just a little snapshot at key points along the Superbowl timeline, it was interesting to see what was working and what wasn't...

Superbowl First Quarter

About halfway through the 1st quarter (below), the Betty White / Snickers commercial and Doritos have taken an early lead with our laugh-meter.

After the end of the 1st Quarter (below) Joseph Addai is catching the attention of fans.  And, the Doritos commercial is still buzzing from the second spot with the guy in the jumbo coffin "living it up" with a casket full of doritos and TV set.  (LOL... yeah, I was kinda chuckling about that one.)

Superbowl Second Quarter

About halfway through the 2nd Quarter (below), the conversation seemed to be about how the heck did they get Jay Leno and David Letterman in the same room?  And, the Budweiser commercials are still a hit.  

Ahhh...wait for it... wait for it...there it is.  The buzz around Flo-TV seems mixed.  With references to the iPad, I'd say, on net, tweeps aren't a crowd that's gonna go rushing out to buy one.   

Superbowl Halftime

Superbowl Third Quarter

 Woot! Right after that onside kick by the Saints, is there any question what tweeps were buzzin' about?  "Wow. That's the gutsy move I ever saw, Mav."  (All you Gen-Ys still lamenting about Janet Jackson's role in The Who, get over it.)  ;) 

And, by the end of the third quarter, clearly Google's ad made a positive impact.  For my part, I thought it was a great rebuttal to Bing. 

 Superbowl Fourth Quarter

Ha ha... part way through the fourth quarter, how about that 2-point conversion by the Saints, eh?  "Challenge" refers to tweeps taunting Peyton Manning to answer the call... Interesting, too, how this far after the Google ad, it's still making the rounds.  

Congrats to the Saints for some kind of football game.  Absolutely awesome.  From the onside kick at the start of the Second Half, to the touchdown AND 2-point conversion and that last interception, the Saints played an absolutely stellar game.  Congratulations, champs.

Included also in the Success Modules -- but not in the video above -- is another video that shows MindBridj members how to customize the background of Twitter in a way that specifically brands their business. 

I'm also currently working on an "Orchestration" series that addresses Chapter 5 in our book about orchestrating your social media activities.  Though I can't release them all, I'll periodically post a few of them here as they get finalized.

By the way, I had a great local meetup today with a group of folks in a local social media group called the Social Media Mastermind group, Orange County (SMMOC).  If you're in the Orange County, CA area, I'd definitely say it's worth looking into.  (No cost.)  And, if you're not, it might be worth checking out anyway to see the kinds of topics, discussions and activities that you might consider for a group you start in your area.

Are there any similar meetups in your area that you'd recommend?

Interestingly (for me, anyway) I was asked at one point what it was that originally got me started down the path of being such a social media advocate. The interesting part for me wasn't so much the question, but rather my answer to it.

My answer came out so quickly and with such emphasis that, evidently, I must've given it some prior thought.

Basically, it was along the lines of having found it so darned refreshing to have stumbled into a world where at least one economic metric for building "wealth" wasn't so much based on how much you could accumulate, but rather on how much you could give away.

How cool is that?

If the familiar skit below is any indication of what's in the iPad--or what's NOT in it--then my hesitation is right on the mark. (Warning: I'm giving the vid below a PG-13 rating for language... but I still find it funny.)

Despite the disappointment I personally feel about the features I need in the iPad that aren't there, one thing seems clear to me, this latest round of tablet mania will (thankfully) bring a new round of competition and "one-upsmanship" in the marketplace that will serve us--consumers--well.

In fact, even now there're rumors about Apple having another Tablet in the works--one that's more like a Mac than an overgrown iPhone that doesn't let you make calls.

And, just this morning, these sketches of the rumored Google Tablet.

Photos credit: TechCrunch

For a conceptual idea of how the interface might work, check out this short (42 seconds) video mockup.

So, here's my ultimate question for developers... who's developing one like this one below? Give it to me!

Shyooh... What a week.  Launching a new site always kicks my butt.  ;)

Was it Dorothy Parker who said, "I hate writing, but love having written." (?)  Well, to paraphrase:  "I hate launching a new site, but love having launched it."  (Not as eloquent--nor original--as Ms. Parker, perhaps.  But you get the gist.)

When I first opened registration for the vBook via MindBridj.com I wanted to keep it in a beta (pilot) format initially.  So I stuck to a 5-day launch window.  (January 27th through 31st.)  That proved to be a good idea because, having essentially offered for free the digital version of the "carbon-based" product (which our publisher otherwise retails for upwards of $70), the interest was pretty healthy.  Now, I'll be asking for feedback -- and I expect to get a fair bit.  I'm already bracing for the work ahead of me as I intend to incorporate that feedback before making the product available again in a few weeks.

Anyway, thanks for indulging my absence these past few days.  Though I seemingly took a break from my blogging activities during that time, I can assure you I didn't stop writing.

I'll keep you posted.

Later this morning, I'll be going out with a message to the folks who signed up previously to be notifed about the date and time of the open registration window.  Like I said in my post yesterday, there will be an open date and a close date.  After the close date, we won't be letting any others in for a while so I can have time to get feedback and incorporate the feedback before opening it up again later on downstream.

I'll be posting information here after I let the folks on my priority notification list know about the registration first.

Anyway, I wanted to share the Chapter 6 video because it's the one that sums up the vBook and transitions to the Success Modules.  As it turns out, it also gives a good flavor for the theme and tone of the 20 some-odd videos that precede it and which comprise the sum total of the book.

I hope you'll join me in the first round of registrations.  Check back again to get an update.  Or, if you want, simply sign up on my site at MindBridj.com and I'll include you in the notification list.  If you know someone who you think would benefit from a free social media field guide, feel free to forward this post along.  Chat soon. :)

I'm getting ready to release it --the online videoBook version -- in beta mode this week.  Access will be free for initial registrants. 

But, here's the thing:  I'm going to keep registrations open only for a few days before closing the doors again for a while.  I want to keep only a few registrants for the time being.  That's so I can get feedback, while also checking for any bugs and make sure my video servers handle the load okay.  I've placed a sign-up form on my web site at MindBridj.com for those interested in getting on the priority notification list.

In the meantime, in response to suggestions about giving some kind of preview about the site layout and navigation, I responeded by creating the video below that shows some of the content behind the registration wall.  Check it out. 

In the meantime, you can also help me out.  Please do me a favor and give me a couple of your ideas about what you believe should absolutely be included in a really good social media training program.  Even after rollout, I intend to continue adding to the content; your feedback will be instrumental.  Here's the link to give that feedback.  Thanks in advance.

Related posts:

• About our next videoBook project;
• The Long Tail in 4 Minutes;
• MindMapping: A Keen Alternative To Online Video Tutorials.