Dancing With The Stars.. and Dining too!

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Jackie Ewing
Kevin Dundon at Raglan Road Orlando

Chef Kevin Dundon does his stuff!

Imagine how thrilled I was to receive an invitation for the hubby and myself to attend a Signature Dinner & Wine Event at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant at Downtown Disney in Orlando!  The executive chef, Kevin Dundon, is a well-known Irish personality and by all accounts, is a Star worth dining with.  Whether he danced or not remained to be seen!

Seated with the entertaining Jeff Houck of the Tampa Tribune and the lovely Katie Machol of the Creative Loafing Blog, myself and Eric Clapton (aka the hubby) thoroughly enjoyed the food, the company and the all-round invigorating evening.  BlackBerry wasn’t something on the menu, but we had them and used them to post photos of the evening and keep our followers informed of the fun.  Social Media has become such a part of [my] life that it’s automatic now to think of who might enjoy a picture or a quick comment on my current experience via Twitter or Facebook.

Before we begin

The little things that make it special

The attention to detail in the set up of the Raglan Room was superb – it was transformed from a very nice dining area to a timeless formal dining room in some famous Historic House in Ireland.  From the candelabra on each table,  to the crisp white linens and sparkling crystal right down to the menu presented with a fresh rose, it gave all indications of a more than wonderful evening ahead.

Rather than make you too entirely jealous and reel off each course that we had,  here’s a link to the menu and some photos of the fabulous fare before we polished it off.  While we enjoyed the fantastic food, wonderful wine and comedic company, the stars came to dance for us.  (Thankfully, none of us diners had to dance with the stars. )  They are really so good at what they do!

Here’s a quick look at what Danielle and Amal dished up for us – I would LOVE to see the contestants on Dancing With The Stars try some of these steps!

I thought there was no way I could eat all that food and survive to tell about it.  But – the portions were perfectly sized so that I could enjoy each of them, without exception!

Chef Kevin Dundon

Chef Kevin Dundon plays with fire

I had to have the lobster Uische Beatha (that’s Gaelic for Whiskey – or the water of life, as it’s commonly referred to!) and it tasted just as good as it looked being flambeed by Chef Kevin.  He looked like he was having way too much fun with the whiskey and the fire!

As we enjoyed our desserts and to-die-for Irish Coffees, Chef Kevin wandered among us posing for photos, signing books and menus and generally having a good time.  It was one of the most enjoyable evenings that my husband and I have ever spent over dinner!

The celebrity branding that Chef Kevin Dundon enjoys is the result of a LOT of hard work on his part.  Next post will be about how he branded himself as a celebrity and what lessons we can learn and use for ourselves.   Here’s a link to a video put together by the folks at Raglan Road Orlando, featuring Chef Kevin and the evening that was such a success!

Jackie T. Ewing meets Chef Kevin Dundon

Jackie meets Chef Kevin Dundon

Posted in advertising, celebrity, customer loyalty, customer service, Ewing Enterprises, facebook, facebook fan page, Fun Events, Jackie T. Ewing, Jeff Houck, Katie Machol, Kevin Dundon, marketing, networking, service level, social media, Twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Foursquare: How you can use it for your benefit

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Jackie Ewing

November 24, 2010:  A new badge added today by Foursquare

Getting your “baggage” handled by the TSA? Yeah, there’s a badge for that!

Click here to read the hilarious post about why Foursquare have added this badge to their check-ins.  Hope you find it amusing and it adds to the fun of your Thanksgiving this year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There’s been a LOT of hype lately how dangerous  location apps such as Foursquare, Gowalla and most recently, Facebook Places, are for people.  But, seriously, they’re only going to be dangerous if you don’t put a little thought into how you use them.

Foursquare Badges

Do you check-in?

I’ve been playing around with Foursquare now for about six months, just checking in to places that I visit regularly – my local grocery store, the video store, the UPS store, restaurants that I am meeting people at – just seeing how many badges I can add to my profile and how many points I can collect.  Grant it, I am not addicted as some folks seem to be, but it is still a little fun thing I like to do!  It amazes me that people will post their address and then let everyone know when they are at home and when they are not.  This is NOT a smart thing to do!

I’ve also heard tales where some ladies (not necessarily single!) have checked into a bar or club and been approached by some weirdo who acknowledges that they just checked in and wants to be their friend – loosely translated, could mean anything!  Thankfully, I have not experienced such a thing so it’s still fun for me!

Sometimes, when checking in somewhere, I’ll see a tip from someone else on that same location or a nearby location.  So far, I haven’t seen any that particularly interest or excite me, but at least I know they are there!  I have also left a couple of tips myself so that folks can see I have been to a particular place and my thoughts on it for them.  Part of my online visibility  program!

Foursquare gives me a free Guinness

Free Guinness courtesy of Foursquare check-in

Last month I got a free pint of Guinness when I visited Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant.  By checking in via Foursquare I got the special offering a free draught beer for one purchased.  So the hubby and I enjoyed our Guinness AND got one free.  Somehow it tastes better when it’s free! This month (September) Raglan Road have changed their special to a 20% off the Mayor’s entire tab.  I did have the Mayorship here, albeit briefly, and am on a mission to reclaim it this month so I can avail of this 20% off.  It’s a pretty darn good deal, as the food, drink AND service are pretty fabulous!

On an entirely different note – out of the blue, my daughter has decided to try out softball this season.  So, off we go to find the necessary equipment.  I checked in on Foursquare at Sports Authority (it almost becomes automatic as you are standing in line somewhere) and lo and behold, they offered an instant $10 discount for any Foursquare check-in!  You can’t beat free money.  So, we bought some things and got our discount and off to softball practice we went.

Now $10 may not seem a lot to anyone, but $10 is $10 and when we need more stuff for softball, where will we go?  To Sports Authority of course!  So we can get yet another $10 off whatever we have to buy.  Or perhaps their Foursquare special will be something different the next time we go – who knows?!

So, I do recommend using Foursquare and seeing what pops up for you in the way of specials or discounts.  You just don’t know which businesses are using it yet and which aren’t.  If you are curious before you go somewhere, check out Foursquare.com and see if they are on their already and if so, what special, if any, they are touting.  Don’t forget to share what you find!  It just might help someone else out. Feel free to post in the comment section below.  I’d love to hear what special or discount you’ve received as a result of a Foursquare check-in!

Foursquare

Foursquare specials - check them out

Posted in advertising, communication, customer loyalty, customer service, Facebook Places, Foursquare, Foursquare specials, Gowalla, Location Services, marketing, service level | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Swans, Goals and Definiteness of Purpose

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Jackie Ewing

I was out walking our dog with my 10 year old daughter the other night when we stopped to watch our local pair of swans cross a busy road to get from one lake to another.  Because Jesse – the dog, not my daughter – is apt to run at the swans, barking loudly, we held her back and watched their painful progress.

Ungainly crossing road

Swan is rather ungainly on land

They are rather ungainly creatures when on land – they waddled slowly; had difficulty getting down from one embankment and then up to another; didn’t seem to notice the cars – who thankfully noticed them AND slowed down.  But what struck me was their absolute definiteness of purpose.  Regardless of how slowly or awkwardly they moved or how difficult the ups and downs, these beautiful birds were bound and determined to get to their lake of choice.  Once they reached the water’s edge and pushed off into the lake, they transformed into those graceful creatures that have long inspired writers of fairy tales and legends.

For me, a mere mortal, it was a riveting reminder of how I should be approaching my own goals – slow, steady and with absolute definiteness of purpose.

Dr. Napoleon Hill says  Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.

No matter how I or my progress might look to others – ungainly, meanderingly slow – if I just keep my eyes on the goal, I will eventually get there.  And enjoy it when I do!

Swans a swimming

Graceful swimming swans

Think for a moment about your New Year’s Resolutions – how are you doing so far? Have some or all of them fallen by the wayside already?  Just pick them back up and start again!  You don’t have to wait until next New Year’s.  Pick your own starting point and do something to begin. Then take the next step, and the next, until, before you know it, you are almost there.

Do it with definiteness of purpose and you will enjoy both the journey and the arrival!

Posted in business, communication, constant education, growth, marketing, reaching goals | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What are your favorite blogs to read?

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Jackie Ewing
Blog Keys

Blogs are a great source of information

Blogs (web logs) are an absolute mine of information regarding marketing, social media, Harry Potter, mobile technology – whatever your passion, there are numerous blogs out there with great information for you.

I check in regularly to certain blogs so I keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and mobile media. Some of my favorites are Mashable, Social Media Examiner and Read Write Web.

Now I didn’t find these all on the same day. I waded through tons of links that folks had on their websites, facebook pages or I saw someone tweet them on Twitter. After a couple of weeks of reading, I chose the ones that resonated best with me. I pull great information from them all the time. I use it in my own business, I share the information with people that also use it in their businesses. You can check out my blog right here – The Edge.

Do you have favorite blogs that you like to read? Perhaps you’d like to share them with some other folks.  Just post a comment below with a link to the blog and a note as to why you like it.


Posted in business, communication, facebook, facebook fan page, Flickr, growth, marketing, Nifty Things, social media, Twitter, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment