One of the big misconceptions of my exploits as a blogger is that my interest is self-serving. I understand that the URL is my name and yes, "the dude actually has a logo" lol, talking about this always makes me smile. It does because if you spend any time around me you would know that I am very pro-Caribbean in my outlook and I am always willing to share my knowledge to help out a situation.

Now for me, CoreyKGraham.Me is my "portal to the world". I see it as a domain where I can share my thoughts, ideas and experiences with the world. It is my hope that these posts will move the world forward, however small. My greatest pleasure actually comes when one of my blog posts helps people who I would not normally touch make more informed decisions, whether it is with their marketing strategy or their next smartphone purchase. My drive is to help others and to do my part to enhance this world.

Having said all of that I want to invite you to become a member of my site and subscribe to my newsletter so that I can continue to share with you. To be quite honest my decision to do this membership / subscribe to my newsletter drive is to set up the platform to offer freebies and discounts to you as the opportunity arises. I'll so no more you decide if its of value to you.

Alrite so get involved,

Subscribe Below

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www.SciTechIsKewl.com

www.SciTechIsKewl.com

Science took over much of my younger years. When my peers were caught up reading novels, I was into the science books exploring and reading about great inventors especially the "light bulb man" Thomas Edison. He is one inventor I really respect. I also was into creating things. I always had some new project I was working on putting together or experimenting with when I should have been doing homework or studying to get an A instead of a B.

There were some good times, I remember borrowing my mother's face mirror to make a solar cooker and staying up till 4:30 am writing code for my computer game among many, many other  things. Not all of my experiments went right of course … like the time I got a new science kit. I was all excited intoxicated but all the new ideas and possibilities filling my head. Immediately I started to experiment. I remember the last thing I tried on that first day of receiving the kit was removing my night light from the socket and putting wires into the wall socket…. Before I continue let me just make it clear that my night light was only used because of security concerns from my parents. 

Now, about that final experiment of Day 1 of receiving the science kit. Actually I made an equation which captures what I learnt brilliantly. It taught me -

wires + wall socket + small fire + burned wall socket = unhappy parents + l,

where l  = licks to impart a lesson imparted by my loving parents – don't get caught experimenting

My experimenting today, is most publicly apparent on this blog. Those of you who are longstanding readers of my blog would know that it is a constant evolution, there is always something new. I would say though, that in the Caribbean we don't always get to be on the creative side of technology as most of our technology is imported and maintained. Personally, I believe in creativity and innovation and I believe that we have alot of potential in this area. As a result, I am happy to be involved with the online promotion of the SciTech Expo In Barbados through Drenalin Productions.

Today, I want to remove the official hat and talk to you outside of professional allegiances, because too often we limit creativity to music, dance and visual arts. If you believe that creativity and a spirit of innovation should exist in our Caribbean Community, make some time to become involved in the SciTech Expo if even as a guest interacting with primary, secondary and tertiary students, professionals and other like minded persons.

You can

• share it on Facebook
• put it in your status
• tweet about it
• mention it to interested persons

See you later this week! Come and see exhibits in the area of agriculture, computer science, engineering, environment, medicine, health and technology

For More Information 

www.SciTechIsKewl.com

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Successful venture capitalist, Marketing Expert and International Entrepreneur, Bill Walsh is coming to Barbados to deliver a free seminar on "Vision To Wealth" at the Barbados Hilton on Thursday, March 18th 2010, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM. 

Now I was able to see Bill live at the Caribbean Internet Marketing Summit and he was very good. He spent 90 minutes showing some of the key ways to grow your business. Now from my vantage point he seemed to know what I he was talking about. His points centred around  the need to build a business with a strong foundation and with systems that win. Its also interesting that some of the top names in the personal development business have openly endorsed him. Brian Tracy gave him a testimonial and Les Brown has actually partnered with him to produce the Method and Motivation seminar. (http://www.methodandmotivation.com/)

It can't hurt to listen. I know I will be there! 

I have made the sign up process a little easier for you with the form below. Yes you know me I always treat my people good. 

[contact-form]

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• February 26, 2010 -- Review Of IABC Barbados Seminar – “When Social Media and Crisis Communications Collide” (3)
• February 24, 2010 -- When Social Media Strengthens The Hurricane – Business Communication In A Crisis (0)

Well this is some wonderful news for blackberry users. Here is an extremely reliable universal messenger now available on Blackberry for free!!! all the details are below but Shape Services has done it again! IM+ makes it easy to be connected while on the road.

The app could be easily download from our website: http://www.shapeservices.com/en/products/details.php?product=imlite&platform=bb

or wap site: http://wap.shapeservices.com/blackberry/implus_lite.php

You can check out my review of IM+ here

Official Release

Stuttgart-Boston—March 1, 2010 — SHAPE Services, once again in 2010 surprises BlackBerry users with good news, this time with the release of free ad-based version of its best selling IM+ Instant Messenger on BlackBerry. IM+ Lite is the only IM app for BlackBerry bringing so many features at no cost to the user.

IM+ Lite gives access to MSN®, Yahoo!®, Google Talk™, AIM®, Jabber®, ICQ®, Facebook®, MySpace, Skype™ and Twitter, thus allowing BlackBerry users effectively communicate on-the-go and experience a multitude of other great features, like file transfer, online translator and group chats.

SHAPE Services will continue selling its paid version of IM+ through various eshops and its website. In addition to all features of IM+ Lite, paid IM+ supports speech recognition and IM+ push notifications.

"Release of IM+ Lite follows other important releases announced only a few weeks ago, IM+ for Skype with free VoIP calling in WiFi zones and Business Card Reader. People love free apps and we aim to deliver exactly what the user needs” said Igor Berezovsky, SHAPE Services’ CEO.

About SHAPE Services:

SHAPE Services is probably the world's most successful mobile app development company, vendor of IM+, IM+ for Skype, Business Card Reader, RDM+, Mobiscope, xPlayer and Mobiola. Millions of customers worldwide use innovative apps created by SHAPE for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Mobile, WebOS, Java phones and web browsers.

For more information, please visit: www.shapeservices.com

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Christal McIntosh

This pod is one of the better one's so far. Founding president of International Association Business Communicators Barbados ( IABC Barbados), talks to me after “When Social Media and Crisis Communications Collide” Seminar.

Christal is a Corporate Communications Specialist at Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) and a Marketing and Public Relations Consultant. she is also a gifted singer and more.

• Christal also describes exactly what a Business communicator is? all about
• Christal shares a very intriguing of how IABC Barbados was born from a social network she created 2 years ago and more.
• She speaks to what the organization does in terms of developing persons in the business communication profession.
• She shares her her insights on tourism in the Caribbean and how social media can turn it around

Work Smart, Love Life

Corey Graham 2.0

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Richard Thomas – VP Professional Development

I attended the IABC Barbados Seminar yesterday entitled, "When Social Media and Crisis Communications Collide". It is actually my second time attending an IABC Barbados event since the launch of the organization on May 8, 2008. I must say has been a real pleasure to watch something grow. I believe its a part our human instinct. It was very fulfulling to be attending the seminar. 
(You can read my previous post here and  check out my review of the inaugural meeting here too. Actually u can see how this blog looked back then - Click here to see the first version of this blog – Go Retro

The Seminar

Gerard Braud of Braud Communications delivered a thought provoking but simple and logical presentation. He clearly identified the need for businesses and organizations today to have a well thought out crisis communication plan which will enable them to react quickly in times of crisis. He used striking examples to show how the immediacy of social media has now made it critical for organizations and businesses to respond quickly and effectively to any crisis impacting them.

The birth of social media no longer affords businesses and organizations the luxury of waiting a few hours … even days to make a statement to the public. He shows that time it took to-

• access the situation
• make a decision
• write the statement or press release
• get a statement or press release approved all the key players, in and organization

Those hours have not been cut down to mere minutes by the beast that is social media. 

He also showed that a business crisis is not only restricted to the big catastrophes like a natural disasters etc, but it is really any emergency situation that impacts the business or organization. e.g. an employee falling dead or executive mis-conduct. He illustrates that the crisis communication plan is not only about "saving the skin" of the business but it could also save real "skin" of the persons involved in the business both internally and externally. To colour this point he used the example of Virginia Tech University whose outdated crisis management plan meant that it took them just over 3 hours to respond to a shooting on their campus. This slow response time resulted in 29 students losing their lives because there was a second shooting!! 

He ended by showing how to develop an effective crisis communication plan. The key points I would distill out from his plan are actually pretty simple – planning, preparation and practice.

I throughly enjoyed the spirited discussion afterwards with the members of IABC Barbados and attendees of the seminar in general. It was good to get the Caribbean/Barbados perspective on this subject.

There were lots of interesting takeaways from the event which I am sure I will illustrate from time to time in future posts.

The Verdict

Overall it was a very insightful and thought provoking evening with some great food and networking after.

Special Treat

As a special treat, here is a podcast of a chat I had with the founding president of IABC Barbados, Christal McIntosh. In the pod, Christal shares the intriguing story of how IABC Barbados was born from a social network she created 2 years ago and more.

Listen to it here 

Work Smart, Love Life,

Corey Graham 2.0

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Mr Tycoon

I have a quick chat with Wahid Shakur A.K.A. Mr Tycoon after a very energetic and fun filled presentation at the Caribbean Internet Marketing Summit. Mr Tycoon shares with me insights as to how we learn. about how to learn, explains why he calls himself Mr. Tycoon. It was fun interview I am sure you will enjoy it to the maximum. 

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By mario zucca illustration

We hear a lot about social media daily and in your business I am sure you are approached often about incorporating these new tools into your strategies, right at the central nervous system. There are several people who are pro-social media, myself included, who are consistently sharing the benefits in every way possible and from every conceivable perspective. The thing is though what happens in a crisis? When the sea of social media tools and networks only serves to strengthen the hurricane?

Now for those of you in Barbados the International Association Of Business Communicators – Barbados (IABC Barbados), is putting together a teleseminar to discuss this exact point. Now for those of you outside of Barbados, stay tuned in, as I will be posting the key points from the session.

Christal McIntosh, President of the IABC Barbados expands on this - 

When a crisis hits, companies without a crisis communication plan may lose control of the story while management and the legal department are still agonising over the press release, says the head of a local organisation for corporate communicators.

“You can’t wait until the crisis is upon you to start figuring out how you will communicate with stakeholders and the wider public,” warns Christal McIntosh, president of the Barbados chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

“You need a written plan that anticipates the major crises that could affect your company, and spells out who is going to do what and by when, if any of those crises occur.”

McIntosh says the advent of social media has dramatically altered the speed at which companies have been accustomed to communicate when a crisis happens.

Read On Here

The Seminar Details

The seminar is scheduled for 6.00 p.m. on Thursday, February 25^th, at the Christie Room, Barbados Light & Power Annex, Garrison Hill, and will cost $40 for non-members.

Professionals interested in registering should call 626-6728.

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Solar Powered Plane

There are some days you wake up ice on the window to your dreams. Its not just cold on the window but its cold in your mind. The burning desire to get out of bed and get on with your passion simply is not there. I can appreciate this kind of feeling and today I wanted to share with you a video that really got under my skin and me to breath again.

Its Bertrand Piccard's talk at the TED Conference. He is a balloonist, psychiatrist, aeronaut, internationally renowned public speaker, president of the "Winds of Hope" humanitarian foundation and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, Solar Power Plane partner.(www.solarimpulse.com)

In the talk he uses his trip around the world in a balloon as a metaphor to show how we can move to different levels in our life and to describe his next major project, to fly around the world without fuel. 

First let me fully endorse the move to renewable energy. We must find better alternatives for fuel.

Here are a few interesting excerpts from the talk

"Pioneers are not the ones who have new ideas because new ideas are so easy to have. the Pioneer is the one who allows himself to throw overboard ballast, habits, certainties, convictions, paradigms, dogmas…"

"The most renewable energy we have is our own potential and our own passion."

If there are any dreams are goals that feel impossible you might need to throw a few things overboard. This is one of the core steps to better your personal development and also your leadership.

Enjoy!

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Have you ever sent an email that you poured to heart and soul in whether business or personal and you didn't get the response you were expecting? Actually you might not have gotten a response at all! 

Come on, admit it, you know very well what this feels like. You sit there after checking your email in total shock thinking, the recipient is just nasty and didn't listen or care right?

Let me offer you a slightly different perspective. Silence itself is a response. Depending on the situation its annoying and borderline stressful because  it comes with a range of possibilities and unanswered questions. Was it received? Did they read it? Are they so happy about it that they are speechless? Are they upset beyond words? Did they agree with you in any way? Sprinkle some creativity, stress and emotion into that and I am sure in the next 2 minutes you can come up with 99 more possibilities for that situation. 

Interestingly enough this can be expressed even in the average neighbourhood. A friend of mine was telling me about one time she was breaking into her own house and she noticed a neighbour saw her doing it but it was dark so she was sure her neighbour could not tell who it was trying to climb thought her window. The response was silence, not sirens or calls or anything. Total silence! Imagine that?

What's my point?

Let's take it back to the world of Digital Social Media. What does it mean when you don't get any replies to your status message in facebook, no @ replies on your twitter or email/newsletters?

In fact no one is commenting much on your posts, whether it is photos, video or a blog post? It means you are not cool enough? Or insightful enough? Well it probably does. Lol yes, I have to be honest with you and you have to be able to laugh at yourself. You should look beyond the surface. Take a step back and see the whole picture. Silence can mean so many things! Have you ever been to a show where a performer has the crowd so much in awe they are silent and completely attentive waiting for the next line or the next move? Is that silence bad or good?

This does manifest itself online, also. I am not saying comments are a bad thing. They are the greatest thing in the world and at the core of this thing we now call social media. My point is to interpret your silence correctly.

Last week how many unanswered emails did you have? What about status messages, blog posts? What did it mean? Now for those of you who are running long term social media campaigns for a client or your own company? If you take a look back over the last week are they any trends you see developing? 

My charge to you for this week is to understand your silent crowd. They might just represent the people who love to digest your ideas in totality as in an email or blog post. Your most avid and loyal fans, friends or supporters might actually enjoy your those status updates that keep them informed. It might now occur to them to comment on certain points. Weird from your perspective but natural from theirs!

And if you are still not convicted by that your silent crowd does exist. Stop for a minute and indulge me. Think of someone you really really respect in a passion you share. Anyone from your boss to a big celeb whoever you think. Do you know they could be keeping current on your status messages and other updates? Or it could be another respected person you respect who you have not me yet…

I know because it happened to me several times now.

To those of you using your social media to be silent, I must though remind you that the internet is not about silence. It can do alot for your personal Branding. As renowed Internet Marketer Stephen Pierce puts it,

"The internet does not require your permission, only your paticipation" Stephen Pierce

My message to you today is command your silence audience of your Social Media.

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• February 24, 2010 -- When Social Media Strengthens The Hurricane – Business Communication In A Crisis (0)
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