Journey

Jamaica Pegasus Tweetup, The Second Edition

// September 4th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Cool Stuff, Life, Technology

The Jamaica Pegasus has done it again! They have staged the second successful Tweetup in Jamaica. A tweetup is a social event for twitter users to meet, mingle and socialise in person. The Pegasus first hosted a tweetup on June 18, 2010, it was the first event of it’s kind in Jamaica and was a huge success. Jamaican twitter users all over were talking about the event for months, wait, correction we are still talking about the event. When the second event was announced it took only 8 hours to fill the 250 person cap for the event, the previous event took 3 weeks (only 150 people). In total over 300 people actually attended.

Was it better than the last one? Definitely! The food was good, and Capt. Collin Hinds kept the music juggling. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, people were actually dancing on the dance floor. One thing to note was that people were actually socialising, in person, and not just tweeting away on their phones. Marcia Forbes, twitter’s Jamaican media queen, prepared a survey for attendees to fill out on twitter usage and demographics, I can’t wait to see the results in her upcoming book. Mrs. Prudence Simpson, head tweeter for @JamaicaPegasus was also out and about greeting everyone. Corve Dacosta recently interviewed Mrs. Simpson for his The Last Word series on his blog, take a read. A tonne of prizes were also being given away, my friends @persephone101, @byrumjr and @wabamonsta were all winners, as well as @sweetpersona who always seems to win something as well. There were several other winners as well for prizes like a weekend for two at Secrets Resorts, which is another twitter-friendly hotel.

I was glad to meet with a lot of tweeples (twitter people) at the event, the list is big so I won’t call names, but thank you all! Due to the larger venue I don’t think people mingled quite as much as the last one, but it was absolutely necessary given the volume of people. After the event a group of us ended up going to the 24/7 Cafe on premises to enjoy some Bailey’s Milkshakes and Sandwiches. We didn’t end up leaving The Pegasus until after 2 AM! My only disappointment in the night was that nobody jumped in the kiddies pool, I was betting on that next time I guess? I would like to thank The Jamaica Pegasus for organising a great event, I had a great time! Please see some photos below:

Tweet

The Jamaican Blogger Project

// August 27th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Cool Stuff, Technology

Yesterday Morning Nicky McFarlane came up with the idea of Jamaican Bloggers using the hashtag #jamaicanblogger to make blogs easier to find. Well, this is a prime case for social media, within an hour the hashtag was being shared heavily on twitter, and within a few hours over 45 blogs were tracked. I am currently tracking the term #jamaicanblogger, #jamaicanbloggers, “jamaican blogger” online to see how much it is used. Please see the widget below:

Also you can follow these bloggers on my twitter list: http://twitter.com/utenjm/jamaican-bloggers

To get listed please tweet your url and #jamaicanblogger also please encourage friends to share so we can get a full listing of Jamaican blogs. Eventually I will aggregate the data and post it online, so we can have a central library of Jamaican blogs. Also please share in the comments below how using the hashtag has helped you get more visitors, better search engine ranking or new twitter followers! Thanks

Tweet

Why I love Jamaica Hashtag

// August 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Social Media Marketing

Earlier in the year, after learning more about social media etc, I wondered, why can we not find more information about Jamaica online. I started tagging tweets with the #whyIloveJamaica hashtag so that people could easily find reasons to visit Jamaica. Currently the Jamaica Tourist Board is doing a great job with their @visitJamaicaNow and @askJamaica twitter accounts but we can do more!

Strawberry, Pineapple and Mango Mojitos from Twisted Kilt in Montego Bay, Jamaica

So when out and about in Jamaica while posting that great sunset photo, or even remembering moments just tag it! #whyIloveJamaica! I have also created a twitter account with the aim of re-tweeting those that use the hashtag, so that visitors can have a non-stop stream of reasons from real people and not just paid marketing. The internet wants real reviews, let’s give it to them!

How to use one Gmail address for multiple Twitter accounts the efficient way!

// July 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Cool Stuff, Social Media Marketing

Earlier I saw the following tweet in my feed from Ingrid Riley:

Embracing Social Media with Jamaican Hospitality

// January 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // Life, Technology

The internet has changed in so many ways since I first used it in 1996. From early on I realised the importance of branding yourself online. I created my first hotmail account with a phrase people would relate to me, followed by variations of one username for different forums and websites. It was only three years ago that I became aware of the true concept of online branding. Since then I have setup several blogs and websites to some degree of success.

2010 is a pivotal year because I plan to make this, a year of fruitfulness. Taking all of this online experience of trying different things and actually making it work. In December 2008 I launched my first major website RaceJamaica.com I was surprised at how quickly it took off and honestly was not prepared for that level of growth. During the past year it has had its ups and downs, with issues updating content fast enough and the quality of content on the site. The difference between this site and others before it, was that it is designed with social media marketing in mind. User contribution was supposed to be the main content generator for the website. Unfortunately my user base was just not ready to contribute. This year I plan on re-launching the website for the 2010 Jamaican motorsports season. Not only am I relaunching RaceJamaica.com but I am also launching a whole new online assault.

Besides all the goodies I have planned for RaceJamaica.com I am also working this year on properly branding myself. Recently the main question people ask me is “What is this social networking thing and how can it help my business?” followed by “Do I need to be on Facebook and Twitter?”. There is no basic answer. As a Jamaican I appreciate social networking, because that is how most business deals are carried out locally on a who-you-know and who-knows-you basis. People are the main reason why companies constantly support each other, whether it be a family, social, or background tie. Online social media works the same way.

What else is in the works? Well I have four main projects this year, that I plan to stick to, as time goes by and they are further developed you will hear about them. You can also check out my Official twitter page @dmitridawkins or keep checking this blog for updates, but the majority is yet to come! Don’t worry though, if all goes as planned, you will be hearing about it.  Ciao! Thanks for reading!

8 Ways to Prepare Your Pets for War – The Oatmeal

// January 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Humour

This is just hilarious, someone sent it to me on twitter, and I just have to share it with all of you.

8 Ways to Prepare Your Pets for War – The Oatmeal.