soulati.com

Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging

Soulati-'TUDE!

Tomorrow’s Tech Today For Bodies and Homes

By

Today’s is so chock full of tech gadgets, apps, solutions and gizmos for all parts of the body, the home and our pockets that I have to share the latest incarnation of cool new toys with you:

  • Google, ever the inventor, is spawning , a Star Trek type of eyewear that puts a screen in the upper corner of the right eye and gives wearers the chance to take images, video and send mail without using a smartphone. The Google X lab is still honing the software, but a reporter got a sneak preview and insists this wearable electronic gadget is going to be the next biggest must-have toy.
  • Make no mistake, the Google piece above was well timed as is set to hit the market tomorrow! The iPhone latest iteration has carriers clamoring for more subscribers to big data plans while at the same time the big data plans are being limited so we pay more. iPhone 5 will run exclusively on 4G so data arrives quicker at less cost; figures the carriers would skew that to ensure more money in some way, shape or form.  (Aside: I have to wonder how Apple will continue to jolt the industry so everyone jumps when Apple launches? Consumers will tire of the next best plaything because cost to buy is so prohibitive when nothing is wrong with the current model, iPhone 4S…mumbled Jayme to herself.)
  • Tech for Tweens has taken shape in a software solution called that gives the highly profitable demographic, 5 to 12-year-olds to play fashionista and create unique designs and wearable art. T-shirts, leggings and dresses can be customized with little-girl accessories like ribbons and sequins, and the product is created and shipped directly to the budding designers’ hands.
  • is a square flat little box that looks like an iPass transponder. For $99, it senses changes in temperatures or vibrations and alerts homeowners via WiFi text message. If a plant needs water or the pipes are freezing in the vacant rental property, this gadget does the deal. has kids’ dental hygiene in mind with a $49 toothbrush sensor, a downloadable mobile game and cartoons to keep kids brushing for two minutes.
  • help everyone boost auditory skills without paying ~$8000 for prescription hearing aids. These over-the-counter devices are intended for kids who listened to loud music, construction workers using jack hammers every day and anyone else wanting to boost hearing with less price. Imagine the industry revolution right around the corner when another ridiculously costly device gets replaced by Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL for a total of $40…REALLY?!
  • Extreme heat or a bunch of teeny needles in your face are what’s being used to reduce or eliminate wrinkles for those wanting to beat the clock. A company called Ulthera went to market in 2010 with a machine that heats up to 150 degrees F and penetrates 4.5 millimeters under the skin to reach fibrous tissue that shapes the skin. Get this… is considered the most painful treatment and doctors administer narcotics or ibuprofen to help patients weather the aftermath of sagging necks and jowls. Ohmygoodness…is it worth it? Ask me in 20 years.
  • Guys? Promise, scientists are seeking They’re looking at Vitamin D receptors, inflammation as a culprit, Rogaine (a good solution), and hair transplants (that need to be repeated?), and anything else possible. But, sadly, a solution is far from ready to hit market. You know what? Bald is sexy, fellas…just sayin’, and it keeps you younger, too, without the silver fox look…so why not embrace your inner baldness?
Which device, app, gizmo or gadget appeals to your home and body of the future?

 

Triberr Meets Influence

By

ALT="Influence on Triberr, a tribe image, Soulati Media"We’re in the post social media adoption phase. Guess what? We’re also in the post Triberr adoption phase, too. If you’re a blogger and you’re not engaged on Triberr, well, you kinda missed the train; it left. (Kidding, there’s still time to jump on!)

Influence is a hot button. Many of us on the ‘sphere who have been blogging for more than two years were around with the launch of Triberr, and, boy, did the sparks fly with anti-sentiment. Perhaps DannyBrown will come back and join the tribes again? He was one who withdrew. Erica Allison said, no, then she said yes; hmm, I think that’s a flip-flop, right John Kerry?

Seriously, though, the inspiration for this post came directly from the horse himself. I spoke awhile with Triberr founder Dino Dogan yesterday. Dino and Dan Cristo and the gang are hosting TribeUp NYC in September, and the passion for that project is us. Yes, we bloggers who belong to tribes on Triberr. While I don’t know  Triberr’s mission statement, it’s pretty simple to say it’s all about being a resource for bloggers globally; to deliver tools and resources to take blogging to new heights and bring those of us who toil daily to keep our blogs alive along for the ride.

[Read more…]

5 Tips To Select PR For Start Ups

By

credit: enterpriseirregulars.com

The common thread amongst startups regardless of where they’re located and in what vertical they play is the solo entrepreneur or partner team launching the business.

The characteristics of these professionals are obvious — extreme passion for their business, a need to earn credibility to attract investors, a desire to control every aspect of the company, and the need for expertise to fill the gaps they don’t have.

Soulati Media has been working with many startups of late in varying stages from early bootstrap and go-to-market to companies with healthy sales but no team in place to push the product.

As a practitioner offering a powerful blend of business-to-business social media marketing and public relations, the biggest gaping hole I see is when the business owner crosses the bridge from internal focus to external strategy.

So often the infrastructure consumes every waking moment, and what comes soon after is the realization the team hasn’t put wheels in motion to go to market with a solid plan, financing or time.

What can be a hazard for the team seeking expertise to launch is the extreme knowledge and need to keep control of most every aspect of deliverables. There are financial concerns, ramp up and speed to market.

Tips To Make Start Up Launch Smoother 

From my perspective, often as the consultant joining the founding team or teaming with a solo business owner, here are suggestions to make the ride smoother:

  • Determine the knowledge gaps on the original team
  • Identify the breadth of expertise in the consultant you’re looking to hire
  • Know that a seasoned public relations practitioner often brings business, marketing and strategy to the team
  • Ensure the marketer you hire has the specialty knowledge needed to round out the team and lend new, valuable insight
  • Discuss budget early on; if a practitioner is willing to bootstrap with the team until investors are on board, then that professional should be a strong candidate

As a case in point, I recently discussed an opportunity with a startup to work in a vertical market I’ve wanted to tap for awhile. The fledgling company, yet to be seeded, is funding its infrastructure with Bobby and Mary’s college fund. I agreed to bootstrap the budget because I knew it would be an entry point to my future learning and experience in that sector.

Not too many PR practitioners will go that route to make such an investment; would you in  your space?

Behind Every Blog Is A Person

By

Yesterday, I permitted my fears (unfounded or not) to come directly to these pages for all the world to see. I asked for a hug, and you came out in my support. You also came out to whoop me upside the head and say “snap out of it already.”

Yes, I needed that and thank you.  I also needed to be a person, a human with fears and emotions, and needs. I needed to know if there was comfort in my future or uncertainty? I needed to vent the unsettledness that ruled me yesterday and the days prior to clear the way for the get-up-and-go ‘tude you all have come to expect from me.

Did you read The Jack B today? I just did before I sat down to crank out this post. He’s certainly sharing some thoughtful, personal, frightening, raw thoughts because he is a person behind his blog — real, fighting for his family’s future and his own.

We learned of the passing of someone’s child via a blog post recently, and this threw everyone into a tailspin. We heard of another losing his job with four children at home, and that provoked support and encouragement. We learned that a Twitter pal had found love and employment, and that has put him on a path of happiness.

You see, each of us has to be human at some point or another. Without that kind of persona occasionally peeking through, a blog would be merely mechanical and cold.

I want to say that your comments from yesterday’s post assured me we’re all in this together, regardless of whether we live in Costa Rica, Canada or Sweden. When someone is going through a rough spot, and seeks a bit of acknowledgment that it’s all going to be okay, a community becomes more than family. It becomes a hug.

So, while I allowed myself to show a bit of unusual behavior recently (stemming from a financial decision I made that has me fearful and positive), you saw a human behind this blog.

Thank you, kind family.

Life Stress Interferes With Blogging

By

Eat Chocolate! By Jayme Soulati

For nearly a week blog fodder mojo has stymied me. I have been paralyzed due to my disgust for the state of affairs in this world that profoundly affects my psyche and healthy outlook for my future. I wasn’t planning on writing about it until just now when the August 28, 2012 Wall Street Journal Health & Wellness section caught my eye. It seems fortuitous that I can validate my thinking and my blog posts with a national story that only enhances the fact that I am a worrywart.

The story, “Tricks from the Elderly to Stop Worrying; People Learn to Put Aside Negative Emotions and Focus on the Present, Which Leads to Healthy Aging,” makes a bold statement I hope to emulate when I’m older but it won’t help me today:

“The elderly learn to disentangle themselves from feelings of negativity and seem to focus more on present situations that bring pleasure, rather than on the future, researchers say.  They also tend to process negative information less deeply than positive information.”

And, there’s a great chart that says people in midlife tend to worry the most from about age 40 to early 50s, after which feelings of worry decrease. Talk about validation! There you have it; my paralysis of fear and worry corroborated by the Wall Street Journal!

So, I’ll get all these things off my chest and on to yours, and I’m hoping I’ll feel so much the better when I’m double nickels:

  • Mr. Akin running for U.S. Senate is disturbing. As a woman, as a mother, as voter, as a citizen of a free and progressive country where the fight for equality, the right to vote and the right to make choices I expect more from U.S. “leaders” who want to run this country and who insist on making ignorant statements. Does he have a daughter, a wife, a granddaughter?
  • The daily news of killings and shootings of innocent people attending religious institutions, movie theaters, schools, and retail establishments is out of control. I am seriously contemplating learning how to manage and carry a weapon of self-defense.
  • The cost of consumer goods and services continues to skyrocket yet no consumer or family is earning more income to support the ability to pay more at the cash register and fuel pump (today’s gas per gallon in my region is $3.95). American families are being gouged; something has to give.
  •  The medical and health care system in this country is in utter disarray. Hospitals are buying physician practices and charging triple the amount for the same MRI a person had three months ago. Insurance premiums go up annually (I have a $4500 deductible and so does my daughter; yet, I now pay $400/month for health insurance we can’t use, and I pay cash for dental.)
  • States are fighting down party lines against and for Affordable Health Care; what about the residents in those states who align with the new health care act who want those benefits but can’t due to governors who are blocking programs? What about those in the states who don’t want to buy health insurance but have to?
  • How can I afford to help pay for my child’s college when tuition and text books are skyrocketing annually with no end in sight?
  • Can I retire ever knowing I never had a corporate job to begin socking money into retirement early and knowing I will never have enough to be comfortable when I’m old?
  • If I out live the Medicare program and Social Security runs dry (as I expect it to), how will my golden years be supplemented with the money I’ve paid in since I was a13-year-old corn detassler?
  • People in this country hate each other so much, and I hear frequently how some wouldn’t mind seeing a few politicians lose more than an election. The anger is palpable and it’s harmful to positive attitude, and caring for human kind.
  • There’s been a swarm of earthquakes 130 miles east of San Diego over several days. Is the big one coming? There is drought in the U.S. racking up prices for grain, beef and other commodities. Rain and tropical storms are pummeling coastlines and the European continent. How can any of us prepare for eventual catastrophe?

Our children’s future is bleak. My future is pressurized by the need to provide for my child and ensure that I, as an aging parent with aging parents and a 10-year-old, am NOT a burden to my family.

There’s a lot on my plate and on yours (feel free to add your stressors below; it feels better).

On occasion I have to dump it all upside down and see where the balls land. I have to do a better job managing the stress, and I have to do it with exercise, proper nutrition and love.

May I have a hug, please?