I just downloaded a new Adobe Air app (in the ever popular “beta”) called Skimmer. As of right now, it puts Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube & Blogger accounts all in one place. Since it’s beta, I’m assuming that more features are to come.

Oh, look. I can upload an avatar! I gotta do that *now*.

Go see it here: http://www.fallon.com/skimmer

We take clean drinking water for granted. We go to the sink, fill up a cup and off we go, but 1.1 billion people in the world don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water.

This Thursday night, the social media types in Wilmington will be gathering for the Wilmington Twestival to raise money for charity:water. Charity:Water is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean water to developing nations where unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease.

One of my favorite clients, Indo Jax Surf School, has generously donated a week long group surf lesson to be raffled off. There will be other prizes, drinks, food and the chance to meet a lot of local people that you may only know by their screen names & avatars. Plus, you’ll literally be saving lives.

Tickets are $15 online & you can get them at http://www.amiando.com/twestivalwilmington.html.

Credit goes to Ty Downing of Perspective Internet Marketing for kicking this event off locally at well as the Star News and a whole slew of volunteers & local businesses that are donating their time and resources.

What: Wilmington Twestival
Where: Port City Pub – Wilmington, NC
When: February 12, 2009 – 6:00 PM
Why: Charity:Water

Congratulations to client Abba First Mortgage for breaking the top 10 in number of mortgage applications submitted by a XSites customer.

Abba First is also now on Twitter where they can be followed for mortgage related news.

Now, I’ve just got to get that twitter feed on their blog…

I do a lot of social media. I’ve got accounts set up on just about every major social media site I could find, but I concentrate mainly on Twitter and Facebook. I don’t do a lot of shameless self-promotion not because I think it’s evil, but because I find it to be a personal turn-off. God didn’t wire me to be P.T. Barnum and it turns my stomach to see half-truths thrown out in the name of marketing.

Then I start getting followers on Twitter. They’re linking and pimping and demanding that I act NOW! There’s so many of them and, gee, they seem to be doing pretty well. Maybe I should do a little of that?

But I find a scrap of wisdom in my RSS feeds this morning. A quote from the prophet of social media marketing:

“Either you are on the path of the TV Industrial complex, and you’re prepared to promote and spam and spend and make average stuff for average people… or you are busy embracing the new media for everything it can offer.”

Read More: Seth’s Blog: What to do when the new thing doesn’t work

Ah, Seth, you are my hero.

I got the below item from Chris Andrews at City Buddha today (disclosure: City Buddha is a client) :

I would like to take this last oppourtunity to remind all of you about the fundraiser we’ve been having here at City Buddha.

We’ve joined forces with some of our fellow downtown business’ to help provide a little support to two very important organizations here in the Wilmington area. We’re accepting womens and childrens clothing, as well as personal type items for the Domestic Violence Shelter and Services. In addition to them, we’re also accepting pet items for the Pender County Humane Society(a no-kill shelter), pet food, collars, used blankets(can be used as bedding), as well as monitary donations for either group.

We know it’s tuff times for all of us, but please consider those who are less fortunate then us, and let’s try to pitch in. In return for helping out, we here at City Buddha are willing to give you 5% off your entire purchase for every item you donate, up to 8 items(or 40% off). Also for every purchase you make with donations, we’ll give you an entry for a chance to win a free nite stay at the Wilmingtonian B & B, a gift certificate at Caffe’ Phoenix, and a gift basket fillied with goodies for you to enjoy! Other partcipating business’ include,

Dog Gone Crazy

Edge Of Urge

Finkelsteins

So you can also go into any of these business and take advantage of various discounts with them as well. The drawing for the above mentioned prizes will be held this Sunday, Dec.21st, at 3:00pm at Slice of Life, 122 Market St. and Mayor Bill Saffo will be there to draw the lucky winner!

So again, you have thru this Sunday,to take advantage of this discount reward, and a chance to enter the contest. But more importantly, let’s try to help these people and animals out.

Chris Andrews / City Buddha

I was browsing through the racks at Barnes & Noble one evening when this guy standing next to me strikes up a conversation.

Stranger Dude: “One of your parents is Japanese, right?”

Me: “Um, yes. My mother is.”

And so we talk a little bit. He was of Japanese descent and worked as an engineer at one of the local manufacturers in town. ‘Seemed like a nice enough guy. I though maybe he just struck up the conversation because we had something in common. Then he gave me his card and said,

“I’ve got this side marketing business that I’m starting. Give me a call sometime. Maybe we can meet and I can go over it with to you.”

I was instantly deflated. I think I might have thrown his card away on the way out the door because I knew that “marketing business” was code for Amway. They would never say it was Amway because the training literature told them not to, but it was still Amway.

Here is the problem with participation in most all Multi-Level Marketing; It forces you to turn every single one of your personal relationships into a mark,  it reduces your friendships to potential clients, and it makes you look at strangers as revenue streams and not as human beings.

I’ve got to confess that many times I feel the same way about some people that I see marketing their wares on Social Media sites.

It’s not that I have a problem with people mentioning things about their business or throwing in the occasional link to something that they are trying to sell. What bothers me are the abusers; the ones that are on social media sites not because of the human interaction, but solely for the chance to make some money.

These people are easy to spot. They sign up for Twitter accounts and start out following over 1000 people before they make their first tweet. They never respond to a message unless they can throw a link in to something and they never disclose that they are getting a percentage of the sale on that new product they are recommending as the solution to your woes.

It’s all very schlocky and it has nothing to do with the spirit of community that is such a large component of what makes social media successful. It’s neither genuine nor honest.

It’s my belief that all good marketing tells a story and marketing online is no different. We get enough of “Buy now and change your life!” from the TV-Industrial complex. Shouldn’t Social Media be something different?

The Star News has organized a meetup tomorrow morning for all of you blog/social media types.

The Grand Poobah of NC social media himself, Wayne Sutton, is promised to make an appearance. If you look up hyperconnected in the dictionary, Wayne’s avatar is probably there along with links to his accounts on Twitter & about 75 other social media sites that you haven’t even heard of.

The man is a beast.

10 AM – Saturday, October 24th @ The Connection

link: PARROT: Sutton to attend Wilmington meetup