Giveaways are good: BITNB Jesse Spears Tank.

I give big tips. I give apples to homeless men. I give a hoot. I give stuff away like it's my bidness. And lucky for you, and you, and you, I'm starting some giveaways on this here blog. They'll be regular. Not like every Tuesday regular. But regular enough that you should check back in once in a while. Ya know, so you don't miss a thing.

This week, Jessie B. R. (that's me) and BITNB (that's the often-mentioned-on-this-blog, amazing, unique tee collection, Blood is the New Black) are giving away one of my favorite pieces from the line. Designed by artist Jesse Spears, the Britney Spears tank makes a statement. And what that statement is is totally up to the wearer. I'm giving the shirt away. I'm not gonna tell you what it bloody means as well.

To enter this one, click here and retweet.

Or, fill out the below...




A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, December 27th. So keep an eye on your tweets (that sounds so delightfully dirty) and email to see if you won. Good luck!

Tech Crush: Wisdom from Biz Stone, Founder of Twitter. From his beak to my ears to your eyes.

If I had founded the 21st Century Silicon Valley equivalent of Wonder Bread during the baked goods revolution, I would have 2 assistants. I would wear Christian Louboutins and a perfectly coiffed hairdo. I would walk with the swagger of the much celebrated tech geniu-ette that I would be.

And then there's Biz Stone, Founder of a little platform called Twitter, who began this evening's remarks at the CAA Curious Series by telling us he had a large, gaping hole in his pants. Stone is young, witty and had no product in his hair. He was casual and smart and fabulous.

Here are some pieces of wisdom and interesting tidbits from Stone's talk this evening...

1. 'Twitter is about the triumph of humanity, not the triumph of technology.'

Much of Stone's talk focused on the way Twitter has connected us all. From alerts of the earthquake last year in California to the rallying of activists in corruptly-run nations abroad to notifications of a new dessert item from your corner bakery, individuals have taken ownership of their Twitterverse, using it to inform, share, and spread information to their fellow beings. Twitter, as it turns out, is a beautiful thing.

2. Twitter wishes to have a global impact--to serve places without internet (yes, there are still some places without wi-fi)--and to do so has emphasized a mobile functionality. The 140 character limit Twitter imposes on your updates was created because of SMS systems' 160 character limit. Twitter left a difference of 20 characters for the users' names. And here I had thought that Twitter just knew no one wanted more than 140 characters about your lunch and subsequent trip to the bathroom.

3. 'There are more smart people outside than inside.'

Stone shared with us the philosophies and 'assumptions' taught to all new Twitter employees during training. They ranged from the motivational to the inspirational. This particular bulletpoint was a great reminder that all the answers do not always lie within--yourself or your organization. Seeking help on the outside is not a sign of defeat--it is smart business.

4. Regarding Google Buzz, the newest Twitter-esque service from social giant Google, which launched today (you can find my blog on the product here), Stone said this: 'It's a way to interact with Twitter in your Gmail...it's going to be mostly tweets that you're looking at...Maybe they'll make a lot of money and we can share some of it.' Fantastic. Just fantastic banter Mr. Stone.

5. And regarding the silly, oft ridiculed name of the company, Stone admitted that 'the fact that people could make fun of the name and call it 'twatter' probably led to its success.' Well, that is one nickname for Twitter that I'd not yet thought of. But now I surely will.

Logging off,

@jessiebr

Volcom wants to send you to Hawaii. Cause the surf's up dude.

To promote its Pipeline Pro surf competition, Volcom is using Culture Jam’s revolutionary CMS program, PromoJam, to create a viral buzz around the event. Fans are directed to Volcom’s Pipeline Pro Twitter Contest page where they can tweet for a download of Volcom’s ‘BS!‘ movie, gain access to a live webcast of the competition, and a chance to win a trip to next year’s Pipeline Pro (um, in HAWAII, dudes!!), along with other great prizes.

Tweet to win, friends.

[Full disclosure - I work for Culture Jam. So no, I can't win the trip. But you can!]

Culture Jam. Innovative social media start up. Music marketer. My new employer.

In a perfect world, I'd lay on a beach all morning, hike in the afternoons and break for yoga and pasta lunches in between. In a slightly less than perfect world, I have to work to put the gluten free bread on the table. But in this slightly less than perfect world in which I am apparently not a woman of leisure, I have found an incredibly perfect job and for that I am grateful. I have begun work this week as the Marketing & Editorial Director at Culture Jam, a new social media start up in...wait for it...Santa Monica. I know I've never been a West Side girl. But...I am now.  

Culture Jam is a collection of groundbreaking concepts centered around creating a new value proposition for digital content creators and their fans. If you create culture for your fans, or if you are a fan of culture, Culture Jam will soon be your online destination of choice. Launching in 2010, Culture Jam will change the way content is distributed and consumed online.

PromoJam CMS is a versatile enterprise-level Twitter promotion builder and content management system that allows you to easily build branded viral marketing Twitter campaigns for your company, client, brand or artist on your own. PromoJam creates “tweet-of-mouth” campaigns that optimize the potential reach of each end user by leveraging the collective power of every user’s sphere of influence. Our intuitive plug and play technology makes creating and launching Twitter promotions as easy as one, two, three.

Recent PromoJam Clients have included Pearl Jam, Alicia Keys, Diddy, Rihanna, Muse, Live Nation, Regina Spektor, and TRV$DJAM. And upcoming projects we're working on include clients in film, fashion, sports and consumer products.

Check out our latest promotion with Pearl Jam and get a FREE download of the band's live version of 'Just Breathe'.

Follow Culture Jam on Facebook.

Follow Culture Jam on Twitter.

And stay in touch as Culture Jam brings online content to the next level.

If a tree falls and no one tweets about it...

I know exactly where hundreds of my friends, acquaintances and ex-boyfriends are right now. I know what my coworker is listening to several cubes over. And I know what you ate last night for dinner...with whom...and what celebrity was sitting next to you. You likely know even more about me.

Because when something funny (or sad, or thrilling, or quite possibly mundane) happens these days, we are all rushing to our desktops and mobile phones to let the rest of our thousand person networks know about it.

It is human nature to seek acknowledgment. Even before computers, how many of us would wish our good deeds to go unnoticed, our funny stories to go untold, and so on? But with the rise of Facebook and Twitter and all the systems that interconnect these multiple social networks, it seems that a feeling is not valid, an action not significant, a sick family member not really disheartening, unless we can gain the feedback and cheers and sympathies of our peers.

This realization is not a new one. Many have already commented on the direct relationship between increasing use of social media and our increasing levels of narcissism. But what I really want to know is...

If you feel something in the forest...and no one's around to tweet about it...does it warrant feeling at all?