February: Let the vacation planning begin!

Living in frigid Michigan, now’s about the time when I start drifting off into daydreams about warm weather and cabana boys. Unfortunately, travel planning has never been my strong suit. I have found Mashable’s 75+ Online Travel Resources helpful in getting me going, but I’m not even sure where to begin. So I’m opening it up to you.

What is the best vacation you’ve ever been on? What tools did you use to plan? What advice do you have for future vacationers?

I’m so excited to hear your comments!

Announcement: Switching to my own domain

I’m ready to go into 2011 with a few changes, so here’s the deal: I’m switching Being Business Casual from WordPress.com to my own domain and therefore officially launching kelleemontgomery.com. I will no longer be updating this blog after today.

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it! I’ll be posting a lot more content going into December and 2011 than I have in recent months, with a little twist. As I become more comfortable writing this blog, I’ve noticed my “tell it like it is” voice has started to break through its shell. Expect to see more posts on the REAL aspects of social media, the advertising and marketing industry and my life. Whatchu got for me 2011? Bring it on!

Sofia Dance Week ads make you wanna move

I’m really feeling these new print ads to promote Sofia Dance Week and the International Festival For Contemporary Dance in Bulgaria. Props to Saatchi and Saatchi for putting these together. I just wish I could read the taglines, but I have to assume it says something to the effect of:

Escape from your routine. Dance.

Nobody’s watching. Go ahead.

What do you think? Makes you wanna move, right? Or at the very least, smile.

Shrinking attention spans still advertised to

Associated Press just came out with an article about how :15 TV broadcast spots have taken over the typical :30 spot in commercial segments, which took over the 1 minute spot decades ago. The :15 spots are, in fact, cheaper, but now we’re being told they’re more effective than their longer counterparts. Interesting.

This kinda changes the game in terms of content. That means that messages have to be even more edited and direct that ever. No schmoozing, no background, just clear, concise messages about the product. Also, with cheaper :15 spots, advertisers can spend more on the frequency in the media buy to hit the consumer with repetition of their message.

Personally, I see the appeal. I’m more likely to read a tweet with 70 characters rather than the whole 140. I’m more likely to open an email with a strong short subject line. But TV and radio spots have been typically delivered with more content and imagery to develop the tone of the ad. Maybe it’s not necessary anymore.

I also can’t help but wondering if this trend will continue. Will our attention spans get even shorter? In 5 years, will the :8 spot be most popular among consumers? At what point does the commercial become too short where the message is not conveyed at all? One could argue that with the rise of DVR and TiVo recording systems, television broadcast ads will be obsolete in a few years anyway, right? So are we just condensing TV ads down to nonexistence?

What do you think? Do you shorter ad messages work better on you? Or are you craving more content?

Image Source: care2.com

Does your city inspire you?

This past weekend, I ventured to the Big Apple for the first time. I had this preconceived notion from movies and Law and Order reruns that New York was this HUGE city with a gajallion people and that I would feel like Macaulay Culkin in Lost in New York. That couldn’t have been farther than what I felt. I actually felt like home. The city felt welcoming, almost like I belonged there.

Now I’m not saying I’m moving to New York tomorrow or anything (just yet), but the city, without a doubt, inspired me to dream big in my life decisions. Work projects, personal relationships, evening jogs, I feel like I’m actually putting forth more effort in order to produce the results I want.

Does this sound crazy? Does your city (or any city for that matter) ever inspire you?

Here’s what I’d loved about New York:

1. People- There’s not really a typical look for a New Yorker because the demographics are so diverse. And the amount of people meant that I was rarely bored.

2. Attitude- The aura of people in New York was not the stereotypical loud-mouthed asshole. People were confident, but not obnoxious. Vocal, but not rude. Yet striving for the best life they could possibly achieve.

3. Food- China town, street vendor gyros, foldable pizza and authentic ethnic food from wherever my heart desires.

4. Unity- After 9/11, I was told by a friend that New York became a new place where people were caring and generally looked out for one another. The “city of one” energy is definitely present.

5. Lights- Bright lights have always made me feel comfortable. It probably stems from being on stage at dance recitals or something. Bright city lights signify bright future and opportunities to me, which, obviously, I love.

In honor of my love for a new change of urban scenery, I’ve created my ode to New York with pictures from circlebox blog.

Meatless Mondays are still going strong

I have to admit, it has been difficult to keep this Meatless Mondays promise that I made to myself. It has, however, made me much more observant of what I put in my body, which is why I wanted to start this thing in the first place. It’s also forced me to try vegetarian options at restaurants I normally would have passed on. Over the past five weeks since I’ve began this adventure, I’ve learned:

1. Tomatoes are good, I mean really good. I was always a tomato fan, but now I’d say I’ve crossed over into the obsession realm. I eat tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, sliced tomatoes with cucumbers and light ranch and good ole plain cherry tomatoes on the reg, not just on Mondays.

2. I look forward to Mondays now…because of sushi. As I’m driving home from work on Mondays, I call my favorite local sushi restaurant for a take out of one California roll and one Alaskan roll, hold the wasabi. The trick to find a local sushi restaurant you actually like, and, yes, it may take some time. My advice for finding a good sushi spot is that you get what you pay for- it may be worth it to spend a little more money. Once you find one you like, ask about lunch or weekdays specials.

3. My body actually craves vegetables. Especially after I eat something sugary, I can feel my body wanting something leafy, something green, something healthy to balance it all out. Thought veggie cravings were some sort of pregnancy-only myth (Nope, 112% positively not preggers), but I kinda like the feeling that my body naturally reaches for asparagus.

4. Meat tastes so much better when it’s forbidden. I appreciate my Tuesday night steak dinner and my Thursday lunchtime turkey sandwich 10 times more when I know there is a time when I can’t have it. You want what you can’t have, right? Same principle works with Channing Tatum.

5. My lunches are more interesting. Lunch is my biggest meal, mainly because I’m running around after work and I wake up too late for breakfast. Thus far, my Monday mid-day cuisines have included butternut squash soup, Zoup’s lemon lentil soup, Unagi rolls, avocado spring rolls, salmon Caesar salad, Veggie Jimmy John and Panera’s roasted tomato and broccoli cheddar soup. Not too shabby. Veggie options can be exciting and flavorful, who knew!

Anyone else trying the Meatless Monday trend? Or have any vegetarian recipes I should try? Leave them in the comments section, please and thank you.

*Image Source: www.ucsd.edu

Product Review: Samsung Epic 4G

Over Labor Day weekend, I re-upped my contract with Sprint, traded in my old Samsung Instinct and bought an Epic 4G, a member of the Galaxy S phone family. Before I go into the pros and cons list, I must say that I am very satisfied with this phone and it has saved me a lot of frustration in only the short month that I’ve owned it. Here’s my scoop:

Pros:

• Speed- Fast doesn’t really describe it, I think instant is a better word. The hummingbird processor allows the Epic to have minimal if any wait time between selections.
• Android Market- So many apps to choose from, most of them free, ready to be downloaded.
• Screen- The Epic screen is brighter and more vibrant than every other phone I’ve held it next to, even on it’s power-saving mode.
• Keyboard- After 2 years using the touchscreen on my Instinct, it didn’t always work properly, which could be really frustrating. I still use the touchscreen keyboard the most, but I’m glad I have the slide-out qwerty keyboard as a backup.
• Swype- If you don’t know what Swype is, click here. This is probably my favorite feature on the phone. Not only is it convenient, but really fun to use. I feel like I text more now because of it.

Cons:

• Size- The Epic is quite bulky. It really only fits into my pocket when I’m wearing sweatpants. For guys, obviously it’s another story, but for the ladies, I would say this is an “in-the-purse” type of phone.

• Price- It’s the most expensive of all the Galaxy phones with an additional costly data plan. In my research, however, it was still comparable to the Verizon and AT&T – iPhone data plan.
• Battery- With all the bells and whistles on the Epic, the battery does burn out quickly compared to older phones. I’ve combated this problem by getting an extra car battery charger, and it really hasn’t been that much of an issue. Also, using a task manager that kills your the apps you aren’t using is helpful.
• Proximity- Even though I know the feature is included, I’ve hung up on several calls because my fat cheek hit end call on my touchscreen. It could just be my phone, but I’m a little disappointed in this feature.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend the Samsung Epic 4G phone to my friends that I know would take advantage of its features. Do you have an Epic or an Evo? What do you think?

*Photo credit: link.co.uk

Social Media in the Workplace: Yay or nay?

Yesterday, I went to an awards banquet on behalf of my company. Before the awards presentation, my CEO sat on a panel to discuss the “Advantages and Pitfalls of Social Media.” I’d like to discuss what went down.

As you probably could have figured by my tag cloud, I’m in a full-blown love affair with social media. I think there is an appropriate social media channel for literally every industry and I can’t recommend it enough in on both a personal and professional level. That being said, you can see why I’d be surprised that most of the panel discussion (driven heavily by audience questions) was centered around how social media is creating a loss of productivity in the workplace. Granted this was a human resources-related event, but neglecting to highlight the tremendous advantages social media can bring to your company by spending a majority of the conversation on the negative aspects of social media seemed wrong.

I was so overjoyed when my CEO pulled out the quote, “Treat your employees like their adults”. As long as your employees know what they have to get done by when, should you trust them to do their job? After all, YOU hired them! To me, monitoring their every move and controlling how they manage their time is just creating an angry teenager needing to rebel. In fact, I’ve actually saved time on several occasions by contacting people about work-related issues via social media outlets because I didn’t have their email addresses.

If employees are wasting their entire day on Facebook and you block it, don’t you think those employees will find other ways to waste their time at work? Think about all the sites out there made entirely to fill time. Will you nix smoke breaks? Personal phone emails and phone calls? Use of cell phones all together to prevent texting and games?

Are employers just acting out of fear because of their ignorance about all the positives that social media can bring?

What do you think?

Your passion. Your life.

Image Source

No meat to start my week

Once the a new season starts, I like to look at it as a fresh start and make new season resolutions for myself. For a number of reasons, I’ve decided to implement “Meatless Mondays” into my cuisine lifestyle. And, because I’m writing a post about it, I’ll be more likely to take it seriously.

Meatless Mondays are a great way to save money, save calories and explore new culinary options. I know I’m among many who buy the exact same sandwich everytime they go to say, Jimmy Johns, but by branching out and actually TRYING the vegetarian options, you’ll find that they’re not all that bad. I’ve learned you don’t have to be a sprout-loving animal rights hippy to enjoy meatless foods.

In honor of my meat-free Monday declaration, here’s a link to 14 easy vegetarian recipes from the Hopeless Cook including the ALT (avocado, lettuce and tomato) sandwich, tomato soup and my personal favorite caprese salad.

I’m not promising anything drastic, but I am proud of myself for making this commitment. Does anyone participate in Meatless Mondays? Anyone have any favorite veggie recipes to share? Any encouragement? I’m gonna need it!

*Photo credit: www.Tonic.com