Ted Nguyen USA: Life's Short, so Live Big!

Happy (Follow) Friday: Kristin and her Fabulous Cake

2010-07-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday to everyone and a special "Follow Friday" to all those on Twitter. It's a Twitter tradition to recommend some of your own special followers to others in the fast-growing social media site.

My Follow Friday recommendation is to Kristin Slocum who works for Mobility 21 as the transportation advocacy group's communications manager. She is heading up some major initiatives and helping to transform the public face of transportation using both traditional and new media tools.

Aside from her stunning work as a visual communicator and public relations professional, Kristin and husband, Mike, will soon appear in a reality show of their own wedding on The Learning Channel's Fabulous Cakes.

Here is a little slice preview of the behind-the-scenes look at the making of their reality show set to air Aug. 2, featuring the centerpiece of any wedding celebration -- the fabulous cake.

Guest Blog: Lessons Learned as a PR Intern

2010-07-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

I asked Elmira Karimzadeh, our intern at the Orange County Transportation Authority and recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton, to share her tips with other interns and their employees.

Elmira is an extraordinary professional -- mature and experienced beyond her years.

She is an active participant of our nationally recognized social media team and spoke on a Gov 2.0 panel with other regional and national experts on how to increase citizen engagement.

Check out this slideshow of her work with service dogs, her visit to Bravo's the Real Housewives of County and this audio interview interupted by reality show star Jeana Keough after an exclusive runway show with pop singer Livi Franc.

Listen!

After hearing this audio interview with Elmira and checking out her six tips for a successful internship, please let us know what you think and share your own advice.

Listen!

By Elmira Karimzadeh
Guest blogger

My nearly two years at OCTA have confirmed my place in public relations.

Although school is valuable and necessary, hands-on experience is priceless. I have evolved from an intimidated third-year PR student to a confident young professional looking forward to my career in communications.

This rewarding journey has been challenging, thrilling and filled with lessons. These are my top six tips to maximize your internship.

1. Every successful writer has a great editor
When your boss critiques your writing, which is inevitable and eye-opening, pay attention. If you are attentive and ask the proper questions, the blood bath that has resulted from the overuse of red ink will mean more than just a bruised ego.

Learn from your mistakes, and be mindful of them with your next writing assignment.

2. Vary your writing -- don’t lose your creative edge
As a public relations professional, you’re a writer. At OCTA, I write a biweekly newsletter, press releases, facts sheets and advertorials, but I write on my off-time too.

Don’t allow your writing to become mechanical. A former professor once advised me not to limit myself to certain writing styles. Practice all writing styles- even those that are not relevant to your line of work.

I will never have to write a poem in my professional life, but that doesn’t stop me from doing so in my personal life.

3. Be proactive
A willingness to do extra work shows enthusiasm and positions you as a “go-getter.” When you have down-time at your internship, ask your supervisor or others in your department if there’s an assignment they need help with.

By asking for more work you showcase your abilities and kind gestures, of any caliber, will not be forgotten.

4. Read, read and read some more
Be informed on current events. Know the trending topics in public relations. Articles in main-stream and trade publications are filled with helpful advice.

Case studies are a useful way to learn from the mistake of others. Being well-versed isn’t just beneficial to you, but it makes for useful small talk with other professionals. It’s a networking icebreaker.

5. Network
Now that you’re caught-up on your morning read, put it to good use by participating in industry networking events.

Networking sessions are useful even if you’re not looking for an employment opportunity. It’s always good to meet other professionals who are contributing to public relations.

6. Continue learning
This next tip applies to life and public relations. Never close-off your mind to learning.

I’m a recent graduate and have much to learn about public relations, but I hope when I’m an experienced veteran – I’ll still be eager to learn about my field.

Next Food Stop: Xanh Bistro July 30

2010-07-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a music slideshow of our next foodie gathering at Xanh Bistro, a little "green" gem on the edge of Little Saigon. It's appropriately located across from Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley.

The restaurant's name also is fitting because "xanh" means green in Vietnamese, and its gourmet food prepared by chef/owner Haley Nguyen blends the freshness of the Southeast Asian cruisine with refined western culinary techniques. Her desserts perfectly showcase her skills.

The lunch is part of our regular Orange County tweetups or better known as twEATup because the emphasis is gathering for good company and great food. The non-hosted event is open to all -- just bring money for your portion for lunch and be ready to share everything and anything that makes you care.

Please RSVP here and feel free to invite anyone for the noon lunchtime gathering for Friday, July 30 at Xanh Bistro, 16161 Brookhurst St. in Fountain Valley. Post any questions or comments on Twitter at the "hashtag" of #OCtwEATup or post them to the blog.

Many of the photos are courtesy of Megan Enloe, a social media consultant and all-around wonderful person who cares about good people and of course good food. And here are some additional links for Xanh Bistro and Yelp reviews.

Live to Eat: Culinary Adventures

2010-07-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Live to Eat: Culinary Adventures

Celebrating the World's First Social Media Day

2010-06-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

I waited until one minute after midnight to post this blog and to shout: "Happy Social Media Day, Wednesday, June 30!"

It's the first global Social Media Day. Followed only by New York City, a gathering in Orange County, Calif. is expected to be the second largest in the U.S. and the fifth largest in the world.

The unique effort by the social media and blogging website Mashable has helped organize approximately 450 "meet-ups" or "tweet-ups" in 74 countries to celebrate the new social world we all now live and work in.

Approximately 300 people are expected to converge upon the Orange County Register's headquarters along with some of Southern California's foremost social media experts who are speaking at 625 N. Grand Ave. in Santa Ana, Calif. from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Pacific time)

Speakers and participants include Rochelle Veturis, Jonathan Lansner, Kevin Sablan, Kristin Slocum (who appear in this iReport) as well as Nancy Luna, Dustin Luther, Robert Watson, Morgan Brown, Bryan Elliott, Jim Marks and others. See this link for the full schedule of the afternoon's activities.

Listen!

And check out this audioBoo interview of some of the participants sharing a preview of the special opportunity to cultivate new tools and friendships as well as enjoy some great grub.

Thanks to Nancy Luna of the wildly popular Fast Food Maven blog, Twitter- fueled mobile trucks are serving food in the front lot for the first-of-its-kind gathering of social geeks -- Taco Dawg, Piaggio On Wheels, Calbi, Oh For Sweets Sake and Tropical Shave Ice.

Participants are using the hashtag of #SMdayOC to keep track of the live tweets for the social media event.

Happy Social Media Day -- June 30! But we have a feeling that every day is social media day because these high-tech tools are now integrated into our daily personal and work lives.

My Prezi Preview for Social Media Day

2010-06-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

I'm presenting on national Social Media Day Wednesday, June 30. Hundreds of social media newbies to veterans will converge upon the Orange County Register to learn new tips or further refine their new media tools.

I'm using a cool new tool to display my 10-minute tips on using social media in crisis communications and issues management to hopefully avoid a decade's worth of disaster.

Utilizing social media in crisis communications / issues management on Prezi

Picture-Perfect Protos: Honoring the Best of PR

2010-06-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a highly competitive person.

And throughout my nearly 20-year career in public relations and communications, I've submitted case studies on projects that not performed exceedingly well in the business world, but also had to meet the highest levels of documented success of the four cornerstones of effective PR -- research, planning, implementation and evaluation.

Watch an interview with John Wayne Airport Spokeswoman Jenny Wedge on the significance of the awards program.

And you can hear an audioBoo interview with PR university students attending the prestigious event for the first time.

Listen!

This year was no exception as we prepared entries for the annual Protos Awards for the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. But it was a bit different this year. As soon I stepped into the Surf and Sand Resort Hotel in Laguna Beach Friday evening, I knew it was unique.

The regular competitive edge was replaced with friendly smiles and a celebratory note. We were gathered to honor the achievements of our industry. And it was especially meaningful in the current economic recession where harsh financial realities forced all of us to do more with less.

The event emcee, Ric Romero, consumer reporter for ABC7 news, joined veterans in the profession to pay tribute to award winners in numerous categories and to recognize area university PR students -- Alicia Guiterrez of Cal State Long Beach, Jennifer Nguyen of Cal State Fullerton and Amy Chase of Chapman University -- as Shining Star Scholarship recipients.

As you can see from the above music slideshow, we were among the many honored for our behind-the-scenes dedicated work on behalf of our organization or clients. We took home awards for every one of the entries we submitted, including the only two prizes for social media programs and one for our interactive transportation-focused e-newsletter.

But the highlight of the night was sitting next to and chatting with a PR legend -- John van Barneveld of Public Communications Worldwide -- who won both the Distinguished Service Award for Individual and for Organization. See the video interview taken with my new iPhone 4 with the father-daughter Barneveld team and the TV journalist.

As the night progressed, I found myself cheering for every winner. It wasn't about who collected the most hardware, but a celebration of how much we have progressed as an industry.

The event was special because of the passion of a handful of PR professionals. Please join me in thanking Protos Chairwoman Ricca Silverio of Bock Communicatons and her hard-working team of:

EVENT COORDINATION, DÉCOR & ENTERTAINMENT
Nicole Hoperich, NDH Creative
Mairim Martinez, Integrated MarketingWorks
Julia Meza, Integrated MarketingWorks

AWARDS PROGRAM
Jocelle Untalan

PROMOTIONS & PUBLICITY
Laura Figge, Pacific Communications
Rachel Smith, GolinHarris

JUDGING & ENTRIES
Teri Sawyer, T&Co.
John Tomaszewski, Marketwire

SILENT AUCTION & RAFFLE
Jenny Corsey, Westbound Communications
Alexis Linn, GolinHarris

SPONSORSHIP
Kate Mossbarger, Global Results Communications
Julie Murphy, Kia

TROPHIES
Barbara Ruelas, Global Results Communications

COMMITTEE MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Jill Cagle, Building Industry Association
Courtney Day
Anne McNulty
Molly Smith, PRSSA, Cal State Fullerton

********************
Did you attend the event or experience it via live tweets? What did you think about the event and the recipients of the Protos honors?

I also welcome your thoughts about the future of the PR industry in our fast-changing world of real-time information.

PR Professionals Gathering for Protos Awards in Laguna Beach

2010-06-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

Top public relations professionals are gathering for the 35th Protos awards competition for the Orange County Chapter of the American Public Relations Society of America.

It's overcast in beautiful Laguna Beach, Calif. at the luxe Surf and Sand Hotel Resort overlooking the pristine Pacific Ocean.

But Orange County's brightest PR pros are here to celebrate the highest achievement in the industry -- the coveted Protos award. Meaning first in Greek, several hundred people hope to bring home the shinning trophy that symbolizes the best in public relations programs and tactics.

Follow the hashtag on Twitter of #Protos or #OCprsa for real-time updates on the action and who is winning what. We'll have photos, audio and video of the excitement building in Orange County.

What a (Bizarre) Day!

2010-06-15T23:39:00.000-07:00

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you my end-of-the-day expression is: "Oh, what a day!"

For me, it's an exclamation of how productive, dynamic, challenging or interesting the day was.

Today was more than that. It was just plain bizarre. First, I woke up at 2 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep -- partly because I'm always afraid I'll sleep through my alarm clock before important events.

We had a "Dump the Pump" kickoff event in Fullerton targeting both morning commuters and the morning news show.

KTLA's Eric Spillman interviewed me. Ever the plucky spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority, I espoused the benefits of trying transit: let someone else do the driving, enjoy a stress-free commute and get free flame-grilled chicken.

Yes, Simon Oh, our new intern from Cal State Fullerton, donned a six-piece chicken outfit as the camera zoomed in as he passed out El Pollo Loco gift certificates to happy commuters.

(This is when I fall asleep.)

He got a bit claustrophobic (code for embarrassed). So as his mentor -- of course -- I took over as the chicken mascot. By the way, the chicken has no name. What mascot is nameless? And after putting on the furry beast for a mere O.C. minute, I now know why no El Pollo Loco employee volunteered for the early-morning gig.

Of course, I'd do close to anything for a good visual -- including the chicken dance complete with props.

It was only 8:30 a.m. and I was already running late for the next assignment. I came back just in time for the OCTA board of directors meeting where the capacity-only audience applauded because our CEO won the honor as one of the top 10 public works officials in the nation, and the board approved a $1.2- billion budget.

Our next big event of the day was adjacent to a freeway ramp for the much-anticipated groundbreaking of a $328-million West County Connectors that will build carpool connectors and construct other improvements to the I-405, I-605 and SR-22. It's one of Southern California's most-travelled areas with approximately 300,000 vehicles each day.

After an interview with KCAL news, I was ready to make last-minute adjustments for what had been a well-executed event thanks to the superbly organized Christina Byrne, OCTA's community relations officer, and our team of PR superstars.

Nearly everything about the program was flawless. And instead of a cliche "shovel-in-the-dirt" photo-op, we planned for officials hold up oversized puzzle pieces and put them together. Get it? Get connected!

See below for a music slideshow of the event with photos courtesy of Megan Enloe, an extraordinary photographer and engaged citizen.

Then as we were taking our last photos, we heard a loud bang. "Oh, no! Did rubbernecker get distracted and slammed into three vehicles in front of it?" I asked myself.

The crash crunched cars like soda cans with smashed windshields. We were all frozen. Was anyone seriously hurt or killed?

Then suddenly two women from the car that rammed into the other vehicles leaped out and ran toward our event site. A half-dozen police officers chased them on foot. Then, I saw police vehicles and helicopters. Just great -- another SoCal high-speed chase but on our freeway connector event.

Without skipping a beat, Art Brown, our board director and mayor of Buena Park, ran after the suspects. Thanks to the retired law enforcement officer's fast feet, Brown helped nab one of the runaways. Police apprehended the other minutes later. It turned out to be a mother-daughter team evading the police.

Enloe, a Tustin resident and social media practitioner, ran with Brown and captured some incredible photos of the incident. Hear my audioBoo interview with Enloe and find out who she called a hero.

She is my hero for her care and concern to enhance the community. She's been there countless times volunteering her time to capture photo memories at many community events.

Listen!

After being up for more than 19 hours, I was ready to finally hit the sack and just sleep my crazy day away.

Just as I was preparing to sleep, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake rattled Southern California at 9:26 p.m. -- of course.

The temblor was the largest aftershock in a series that have hit the California-Mexican border area since a magnitude 7.2 shook Easter Sunday.

I wanted to blog about my interesting day, but was so exhausted that I finally fell into a deep sleep -- only to be awaken by my alarm clock and the dawn of another day full of possibilities.

What was your most interesting day? And what would you name the El Pollo Loco chicken mascot? I would love to hear about them.

Bonjour Vietnam: Scents and Sounds of Home

2010-06-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

I made a music slideshow above tonight to pay homage to my birthplace and as a dedication to my grandmother who died during my return to Vietnam several years ago. Why would I chose a scratchy French song?

A few years ago, I happened upon the song on the Internet. After the beautiful song was accidentally posted online, it immediately struck a worldwide chord among the Vietnamese community -- both inside and outside Vietnam. It's from an emerging singer of Vietnamese decent from Belgium named Quynh Anh.

The song -- "Bonjour Vietnam" was written by Marc Lavoine, a longtime French pop star and actor. The two later teamed up with a pop hit, "J'espère," that made Quynh Anh a household name ... at least in France, Vietnam and other places with large Vietnamese communities.

I had the chance to meet her last year at a concert in Orange County. I marveled at how someone who had never been to Vietnam could sing with such sentimental remiss. Perhaps it's because the longtime culinary and musical traditions had been steeped into her heart and soul as they had been for me.

After hearing that song again, I was feeling a bit homesick for my Mom's homemade noodle soup. It's not the ubiquitous Pho soup, a clear consume nuanced with beef stock and subtle spices and herbs considered the national dish of Vietnam.

Tonight, I'm forgetting Pho and turning my culinary attention to Bun Rieu Cua. It's made with ripe tomatoes that would put some Italian mothers to shame -- especially my Mom's version. It's full of delicious meatball-like morsels of crab and shrimp handcrafted by Mom.

I'm working up the courage and the appetite to try to make this wonderful dish. Luckily, I found these easy-to-follow instructions.

I'll give it a go. But I know it'll only be a temporary fix until I come back home for the real deal.

What's your favorite dish that reminds you of home? I'd love to hear about your comfort foods and read any recipes you'd like to share.

A Surprise Birthday and a Memorial Day Mashup

2010-05-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yep, I turned 41 today.

I helped organized an impromptu tweetup or a meet-up with Orange County's emerging social media community.

The lunchtime gathering occurred in the world's largest overseas Vietnamese community in Westminster, Calif., also known as Little Saigon -- which is not so little any more with its bustling restaurants, markets, coffee shops, offices, doctor's offices, banks, news rooms, entertainment and other cultural centers stretching into three other cities in the heart of Orange County.

These are the folks enjoying good food and good company with their Twitter links so you can follow them: @billrams @DianaWei @SaigonDotCom @RicDizon @MeganEnloe @tbatsjsu @SvenJohnston @TanyaSalcido @TheBigDebowski @TjKeenan @TravelCostaMesa @NormanNaylor @DealPerkOC -- and six others not using Twitter ... yet!

Check out these photos of the group from Tustin resident and social media advocate @MeganEnloe and follow the Twitter hashtag #OCtwEATup or #OCtweetup for future impromptu lunches and events in Little Saigon or other places in Orange County.

As I tried to rush back to the office to address an incident involving a tanker truck fire on the Riverside Freeway (SR-91), the 20 people enjoying good food and company asked me to wait. A birthday cake with candles and a blue Twitter bird suddenly appeared and the group started singing.

I was floored. The kindness of the group deeply touched me because it was much more than my birthday.

May 30, 1969 was among the height of America's involvement with a tiny tropical country in Southeast Asia that many people had never heard of.

The Vietnam War -- or as the Vietnamese call it, "the American War," was raging in the battle fields and in the political forum in the United States. It was a war that changed generations and left 58,000 Americans and approximately 2 million Vietnamese dead.

Why such a grim post on a happy occasion as your birthday? It's simply because my birth date has always fallen close to if not on the actual Memorial Day holiday in the U.S.

I can't help but reflect upon the memories of the people who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation's freedoms.

I can't help but well up with tears at my own father's passing decades ago so that his eldest son could earn the beautiful bounties of America. And I can't help it but try a little harder to do some good in this world.

I want to thank everyone who has made my birthday so special, but I also want to offer my gratitude to all who served to make America and this world a safer and better place.

Please share your thoughts. What does Memorial Day mean to you? How do you celebrate the holiday?

Think Twitter is a Passing Fad? Or a Water Cooler Fixture with Staying Power?

2010-05-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

We all have regular routines. Before going into my neighborhood Starbucks each morning, I would walk by the newspaper vending machines. Most of the time, I've already seen nearly all of the news displayed on the front pages.

Thanks to the power of Twitter, I have my news aggregated and ready for me when I wake up and glance at my iPhone. It's clear that I'm a news junkie.

As I was passing the news bins earlier this morning, the USA Today lead story jumped out at me. The headline below the bold blue graphic read: "Twitter Power: Learning from ourselves in real time." This summarized my nearly two-year experience with the 140-character-limit social media site with almost infinite possibilities.

After experiencing the aftermath of the Iran election and countless moments via shared with other Twitterers, I've concluded that Twitter is not a passing fad, but a really cool tool that has helped enhance my life. I am to do things faster, better, cheaper and smarter. And government and citizens can cultivate deeper understanding and more meaningful civic dialogue.

But the best part is being able to engage with wonderful people not only in Southern California, but throughout the world. I feel honored to learn from the best hearts and minds online thanks to Twitter.

And another amazing reward has been to actually meet some of these people who share some common traits -- independent thinkers, innovative minds and upbeat spirits.

From my first Twitter follower -- Andrew Galvin or @Andrew_Galvin of the Orange County Register -- to my 25,000th follower -- Matt B. Cole or @MattBCole who is a travel consultant from Tennessee -- thank you for enriching my life with useful nuggets of knowledge and even some fun water cooler chatter and juicy trivial tidbits.

Just Don't Call Them 'Mommy' or 'Daddy' Bloggers

2010-05-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

The award-winning Diversity Committee of the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society hosted a luncheon panel discussion Thursday on "Mommy and Daddy Bloggers" -- but just don't call them that.

They are people -- moms (and one dad) -- who happen to blog:

Kimberly Porrazzo, president and chief content officer, Churm Media Digital
Linda Landers, CEO of Girlpower Marketing
Adam Rogers, author of the "Back to Work Dad" blog on OCFamily.com
Heather Pritchard, local and national activist blogger
Theresa Walker, editor of OCMoms.com and The Mom Blog at the Orange County Register

Listen!

Some interesting facts on the power of women in the blogosphere:

Women in the U.S. control 83 cents of every household dollar
Women are now the heaviest Web users, with 11.5 million moms actively contributing to or reading blogs
When making purchasing decisions, today's women tend to choose online media as a resource above TV and print media

What do you think about the advice that Orange County's bloggers and PR pros shared? What are your tips on working with bloggers? I would love to hear your insights and suggestions.

Why Are Social Media Experts Quitting Facebook?

2010-05-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

On one of my last days in San Francisco, I met with Gov 2.0 Radio host and social media practitioner Adriel Hampton or @AdrielHampton on Twitter for an early morning chat before he headed to work at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office.

I wasn't too surprised when Hampton told me he recently canceled his Facebook account. He expressed concerns about Facebook's growing "anti-democratic" actions.

One of the nation's leading social media users, the Bay Area resident is joining other high-tech heavy weights in quitting Facebook over privacy concerns. He is part of a growing chorus of influential tech users and privacy advocates leaving Facebook over the social network's latest privacy flap.

Last week, Leo Laporte, a hugely popular tech podcaster and radio host, deleted his Facebook page live on his show.

I've been thinking about whether I should join the "Quit Facebook Day" protest May 31, which happens to be the day after my birthday. Perhaps on that day, it'll be the birthday of my privacy being restored -- sans Facebook.

It's easy to join the online protest May 31. Facebook users have posted information on how to bid farewell to Facebook for good.

What do you think? Are you quitting Facebook or are you willing to tolerate the social networking site's latest privacy gaffe? Or is leaving Facebook akin to trying to quit smoking -- you want to, but just cannot?

Chef Webber and his California Fusion Cuisine is Front and Center at SF's Venerable Cafe Kati

2010-05-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons to make a trip to San Francisco is to experience its world-class cuisine.

But after several culinary disappointments at highly recommended restaurants via Zagat and Yelp, imagine my distrust after a long-time family friend organized a group dinner at Cafe Kati, an Asian fusion restaurant.

After reading user reviews on Yelp and food critics' comments in Gourmet, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit magazines, I felt less jaded and more hungry for good food and good company. I found both in a cozy Fillmore / Pacific Heights restaurant and much more.

Listen!

Imagine our delight as the restaurant staff seated our group in a private room in the back of the restaurant. We found ourselves with the friendly chef/owner Kirk Webber who took it upon himself to share with us his passion of the blending of east-meets-west cuisine and his long-time love affair with food culture that began to bloom as he trained in classic French techniques in San Francisco and was further refined while working as a chef in Tokyo.

That's a long way from his roots back in the early 1980s of Orange County in an era that he described as devoid of cultural and culinary diversity.

The chef beamed with pride as he shared with us his restaurant's milestone of soon turning 20. That's a lifetime in restaurant years, especially in the ever-changing gourmet food scene of Northern California.

And if the delectable meal we enjoyed is any indication of things to come, Cafe Kati and its brilliant chef will be around for another 20 years to significantly contribute to San Francisco's delicious culinary journey.

In addition to the chef and his friendly servers, our group's food highlights included:

Appetizers

Vietnamese-inspired mango spring rolls

Crab Rangoon wontons

Peanut-crusted prawns on a bed of green papaya salad

Signature dragon roll of crispy prawns, avocado, crunchy cucumber wrapped with smoked salmon with a wasabi vinaigrette

Main courses

Grilled scallops served with a port red wine reduction of risotto of white corn, mushrooms, carrots and spinach

Miso-glazed black bass in a dashi broth season in a seven-spice Japanese spice mix, udon noodles, bok choy, green onions and a vegetable tempura

Grilled hanger steak in a sesame-soy marinade, spicy Spanish fries, green beans, yams, zucchini and sauteed spinach

Butternut-squash raviolis with a homemade sauce

What's your favorite restaurant in the Bay Area? And what would you like me to cover in future blog posts? I would love to hear what you think.

Know Before You Go:

Cafe Kati

1963 Sutter Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

(415) 775-7313

www.cafekati.com

Guess Where Another Prototype iPhone Landed? Good Morning, Vietnam!

2010-05-13T01:34:00.000-07:00

Either this is a huge hoax or it's another case of a new fourth generation iPhone gone a missing. And of all places, it landed in Vietnam.

The apparently brand new 14GB iPhone 4G is a cleaner design than the one purchased by Gizmodo. After being flashed before the cameras to "How Deep is Your Love" by the Bee Gees, the iPhone was taken apart with photos to prove it.

"It's a real Apple product," Tran Manh Hiep, a dealer for a mobile phone accessory store in Saigon told global news network AFP. "I plugged it into iTunes and it recognized it as an Apple device."

He then filmed the prototype next generation iPhone and shared his review of some the gadget's new features, including a front-facing camera and round buttons on the new sleek look.

Hiep also explains that this prototype is missing two screws on the right and left sides of the dock connector. That's different than the first prototype in Gizmodo, suggesting that it's a newer model and closer to the actual retail version.

Vietnam's tech-loving youth first posted the video on the TaoViet or Vietnamese Apple network.

Since being posted onto YouTube, the video has burst into worldwide popularity with nearly 1.2 million views in just a few hours.

Check out more photos from Engadget of this little high-tech hideaway or ... ahem ... stole-away that landed into Vietnamese hands.

What do you think? Is the iPhone a fake or is another Apple engineer in deep trouble?

Pho Tweetup: Twitter Never Tasted So Good

2010-05-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

If you're like the average American office worker, you're pressed for time during the lunch hour. It's rare these days to go out and enjoy a good meal with good company.

I often find myself eating lunch in my office. But I do deliberately try to get out into the world and experience Orange County's sunshine -- once in a while.

For months now, Orange County Register's Jon Lansner or @JonLan and I have been trying to go to Little Saigon in the heart of Orange County for pho, Vietnam's national noodle soup dish.

Pronounced "fuh," it's served with rice noodles, chicken, beef or vegetarian style over a piping hot clear broth that's been stewed for at least eight hours with spices. Then cooks sprinkle over each bowl sprigs of cilantro, sliced white onions and peppery scallions. And it was subtly delicious -- nuanced with spices and herbs at Huynh restaurant.

The customize-it-yourself dish is complete by adding your personal touch of fresh bean sprouts, Thai basil, Vietnamese coriander and rau ngai or Vietnamese saw-leaf herb. Add the garlicky Vietnamese red-pepper sauce and semi-sweet hoisin – and it’s nearly the perfect all-in-one dish.

Instead of just meeting over steaming bowls of pho and other tasty Vietnamese dishes, we opted to extend an open invitation via Twitter to anyone who wanted to join us.

Just a day ago, we tweeted #OCtwEATup or Orange County meet-up via Twitter with an emphasis on EAT. It made sense -- open conversations via social media, open table and great discussions with some new friends:

After the great conversations, the group of Twitterers stopped next door at a market with the scent and sights of fresh exotic tropical fruits.

While the group soaked in the culture, I had to run back to the office for a 1 p.m. conference call. I traveled internationally for lunch, met some new friends -- and didn’t even realize it.

A Special Tribute on Mother's Day with Lyrics to 'Lòng Mẹ' or Mother's Love

2010-05-08T23:47:00.000-07:00

Almost every Vietnamese knows the melodic "Lòng Mẹ" or Mother's Love.

For Vietnamese worldwide, it's a song of a mother's love "boundless like the overflowing Pacific Ocean," cresting wherever her children are.

Just like Americans celebrating Mother's Day, I hold my mother -- Anh-Nguyet Nguyen -- in high esteem. It's not just because her bravery 35 years ago in 1975 was responsible for us escaping war-torn Vietnam for a better life in America.

And it's not because she sacrificed everything after my father died in 1986 so all three of her children could be college-educated.

And it's not because she taught her children the value of hard work, persistence and treating others with respect and kindness.

It's simply because she is my mother.

So to all the wonderful moms out there, Happy Mother's Day! And to my own Mom: "Con thuong ma" or I love you, Mom.

My favorite rendition of the song is from Dalena Morton, a woman from Florida who isn't Vietnamese and doesn't even speak Vietnamese. I've also included the English lyrics of the famous song by the prolific composer Y Van.

English version of Mother's Love

Mother's love is boundless like the overflowing Pacific Ocean.

Mother's love is ceaseless like a gentle and sweet stream.

Mother's words is soft as an whispering rice field.

The lullaby (outside veranda), the declining-moon's shades, mother.

Mother's love for me is like the autumn moon.

Mother's love is like a breath of air playing on lake's surface.

Her vague lullaby is soft as a cadenced kite's flute,

rain and shine, all day long, playing with kids' singing.

Loving us, she spent many restless nights,

we had tight sleep, how happy our mum was.

Loving us, many days and many nights,

taking pains and troubles, she nursed us til grown-up age.

Through ups and downs, our thin mother doesn't mind.

All life's hardships make her sad head hoary.

All days and nights, she's glad for us wholeheartly.

Her sweet lullabies echo through years, interminably.

__________

Mother's love overflows villages everywhere.

Mother's love rises high, moon and mountains listen silently.

Her lullabies agitate mountains, streams, bamboo rows.

Pacific waves are quiescent when hearing her lullabies.

With all her heart, mum comforted us through childhood.

A great affection is soft as music and singing.

All day long, she admonishes us with ardent words,

engraved on our hearts through thousand of miles away.

Loving us, mum sang pleasant words.

To lull us to sleep, she didn't mind to have wakeful nights.

Many years, her tears flowed down like streams,

flowing in our hearts, her hair was already gray.

Whoever is on the road to somewhere far away,

despite all hardships through the whirligig of time,

though sunlights go dim but love will never fade,

always expect to be back under mother's shade.

It's 'Follow Friday' on Twitter

2010-05-07T00:49:00.000-07:00

Listen!

Users on Twitter started a weekly tradition that continues to gain strength -- "Follow Friday" where people recommend other Twitterers to their followers.

I visited former Cypress Mayor Tim Keenan or @tjkeenan on Twitter and Linda Keenan of Creative Media Recording for my first Follow Friday AudioBoo. The Keenans are one of my favorite people -- simply hands-down high-quality people.

I joined OCTA as its media relations manager in 2002 and Tim was the chairman of the board of directors. We worked on several high-profile news events and navigated through some sensitive issues that helped cement the organization's positive reputation.

Before sitting down for my official audio interview in a professional sound studio, I turned the tables on Tim and activated my AudioBoo app for my iPhone and interviewed Tim and Linda.

Listen!

I want to share my heart-felt thanks to Tim and Linda for their constant support and infectious bright outlook on life.

Journalism Day at Cal State Long Beach

2010-05-06T23:19:00.000-07:00

A recent graduate of Cal State Long Beach and a current student talk about how social media has altered the journalism and public relations landscape.

May 5 -- Cal State Long Beach's Journalism Department hosted the 2010 Journalism Day: "What Friends Are For: How Social Media Are Revolutionizing News and Public Relations."

I shared my insights on the dynamic changes to both journalism and public relations and how students should optimize opportunities in social media.

Other panelists included representatives from major print, broadcast, online and public relations organizations, local, national and international. For more information about the event, click here.

Chapman University PR Students Help Orange County Count in U.S. Census

2010-05-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Everyone counts. It's not a cliche for the U.S. Census Bureau because it's worth $400 billion in federal funding for local communities. Two student teams from Chapman University's public relations program were part of the nationwide effort to boost participation in the once-in-a-decade national count.

Under the counsel of their professor Joan Gladstone, a veteran crisis communications and issues management expert from Laguna Beach, both teams at Chapman won the highly coveted national mention honors.

The five-member teams worked on the Census case study that involved the four cornerstones of effective public relations -- research, plan, implementation and evaluation -- in the rigorous two-month Bateman campaign.

I was the professional adviser to the team that helped steer a PR campaign to increase participation in the Census among their peers at Chapman, Santa Ana City College students, Santa Ana residents and transit riders with a focus on the Latino community.

The other group, advised by former OCTA intern and community relations specialist Danielle Alvarez, a Chapman graduate who now works for Boost Mobile, honed in on Chapman students, the Vietnamese-American community and the homeless population.

As we listened to both teams' presentations Tuesday night (May 4), Danielle and I were struck by how polished and professional the students were and how brilliant they were in executing a highly strategic and creative campaign.

We agreed the competition brought out the best in all of us, but more importantly, it made a difference in the students' own lives and in the lives of the people they touched.

Ted Nguyen’s team:

Stephanie Baum

Candice DeForest

Janelle Maluenda

Jessica Pauletto

Courtney Shepard

Danielle Alvarez’ team:

Travis Culver

Maria Delano

Alyssa Mihm

Philia Pak

Amanda Vo

Listen!
Click here for an iPhone interview with adviser Danielle Alvarez and PR student Janelle Maluenda.

Listen!
Hear this iPhone Audioboo of one of the team's award-winning U.S. Census program.

Read more about the award from the Public Relations Society of America.

Reality Show: Let Them Eat Fabulous Cake

2010-05-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Visual communicator and social media practitioner Kristin Johnson and Orange County fire inspection official Michael Slocum wed April 30 surrounded by family and friends in a breath-taking ceremony.

At the beautiful setting of Rancho Las Lomas nestled at the foothills of Saddleback Mountain, TLC's film crew was on hand to document one of the centerpieces of any celebration -- the wedding cake.

Here is a short slideshow of the reality TV show's "Fabulous Cakes," with a sweet behind-the-scenes sampling of the celebration of the new Slocum family of Rancho Santa Margarita.

And please join me in congratulating the wonderful couple and offering a heart-felt toast -- to a delicious life!

Welcome 'Rail Safe Sarah' to the Blogosphere

2010-03-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

Join me in welcoming Sarah Swensson's "Rail Safe Sarah" blog as she provides critically important information on rail safety.

Sarah led the charge for a pioneering effort to reach out to Orange County's diverse communities. She organized a news conference and community roundtable to highlight the importance of rail safety awareness and solicit ideas on how community leaders could help.

OCTA Chairman Jerry Amante and O.C. Supervisor Janet Nguyen joined more than 100 community leaders and 17 members of the news media in the dynamic discussion.

We want to especially thank Kim-Yen Huynh, president of the Asian American Business Women Association, and Bobby McDonald, president of the Orange County Presidents Council, for hosting the successful event and generating enthusiasm for spreading the rail safety message.

Sharing Because We Care: OCTA's Social Media Guide for Public Involvement

2010-02-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

We have created this informational guide and online toolkit to share our thoughts and firsthand experiences using social media to help create greater public transparency, enhance public accountability and strengthen public engagement at the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). Please feel free to use this social media guide in developing your organization's social media presence.

We'd love to hear your feedback. How is your organization using social media? What have you learned? Was this social media guide useful to you? What are some ways we can use social media to create greater transparency and public engagement?

Download the guide here.

Historic Day for High-Speed Rail

2010-01-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Jan. 28 could be the birth date for high-speed rail in America. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Bidden are announcing the award of $8 billion in federal stimulus funds to help make bullet trains a reality across the United States.

California is the top recipient of federal funds with the Anaheim to Los Angeles portion of the statewide system an early winner among the contested systems vying for the jobs-producing funds.

Our friends at the California High-Speed Rail Blog are reporting that the Golden State is receiving approximately $2.35 billion in federal passenger rail stimulus funds -- $2.25 billion of that goes directly to high-speed rail.

"California has made signicant investments in passenger rail that have led to remarkable ridership growth," a White House statement read. "Over 5.5 million people per year now ride on California’s three intercity corridors, making these routes the busiest in the U.S. after the Northeast Corridor."

Check out this great map from the TransportPolitic blog of the winners in the race for stimulus dollars. California -- winning one-quarter -- is clearly the victor. But others winners of American Recovery and Reinvestment Funds:

Florida -- $1.25 billion to build a rail line connecting Tampa on the West Coast with Orlando in the middle of the state, eventually going south to Miami.

Illinois-Missouri -- $1.1 billion to improve a rail line between Chicago and St. Louis so that trains travel up to 110 mph.

Wisconsin -- $810 million to upgrade and refurbish train stations and install safety equipment on the Madison-to-Milwaukee leg of a line that stretches from Minneapolis to Chicago.

Washington-Oregon -- $590 million to upgrade a rail line from Seattle to Portland

North Carolina -- $520 million for projects that will increase top speeds to 90 mph on trains between Raleigh and Charlotte and double the number of round trips.

Working on the Railroad to Enhance Safety

2010-01-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

Constructions crews, orange vests and traffic cones are signs of the safety improvements coming to Orange County's rail crossings.

OCTA began the Orange County railroad crossing safety enhancement project in August 2009.

Construction crews have been working at railroad crossings in Orange, constructing new medians in the road to deter motorists from driving around lowered gates trying to beat trains.

Crews also are preparing each crossing for new pedestrian gates and railroad gate arms that will notify pedestrians when it is safe to cross the tracks.

Construction hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, with night work occurring between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

OCTA's railroad crossing safety enhancement project will enhance safety features at crossings throughout Orange County. For more transportation updates, visit OCTA's YouTube channel.Once the program is completed, participating cities along the entire rail corridor in Orange County will have the opportunity to implement a quiet zone in their communities. A quiet zone is an area along the tracks where trains do not routinely need to sound their horn.

Motorists and pedestrians can see the progress of construction work at the railroad crossings on La Veta Avenue, Palmyra Avenue, Almond Avenue, Chapman Avenue, Palm Avenue, Walnut Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, Meats Avenue, Batavia Street, Main Street and Eckhoff Street.

For up to date construction schedules and detour routes, visit the project Web site or follow the progress of the project on Twitter at @RailSafeSarah

2009 Year in Rearview

2009-12-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

Because of the economic recession, 2009 will go down as a difficult year for all of us. But we have risen to confront those pressing challenges and delivered for the people of Orange County.

Here are our top 10 transportation stories as we look in our rearview mirror of 2009.

What do you think were the top stories of 2009 and your predictions for 2010?

No. 1
Shovels Break Ground on Riverside Freeway

Underneath a banner that proclaimed "Getting to Work," officials and constructions workers grabbed shovels in November to break ground on the $59.5-million project that will relieve congestion and ease a chronic traffic bottleneck along the Riverside Freeway (SR-91).

This groundbreaking event signaled the long-awaited start of Orange County's largest federal stimulus transportation project that will build a new 6-mile eastbound lane from Anaheim to Corona.

The widening project will add capacity on the eastbound SR-91 freeway between the Eastern Toll Road (SR-241) and the Corona Freeway (SR-71).
"This project was ready to move forward when the funding for construction dried up. If it weren't for the federal funds through the stimulus program, this project would not be moving forward today," said OCTA Board Member Curt Pringle. "This is a huge benefit to our entire community. This investment will have a huge impact on many lives."

The project is funded primarily with $47.9 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) provided additional state funding of $5 million and OCTA contributed $6.6 million from 91 Express Lanes toll revenues.

No. 2
Bus Service Reductions Necessary To Offset Budget Crisis

Due to major cuts in state funding and significant drops in sales tax and fare revenues, the OCTA board of directors voted in November to eliminate 150,000 annual hours of bus service beginning in March 2010 through a combination of eliminating routes, reducing bus frequency, restructuring routes and reducing trips.

"Everybody has been affected by these changes, seniors, people riding ACCESS buses, students from high school to college, mothers with children," Director Art Brown said. "This is something the board does not want to do. If we had our way, we wouldn't cut a minute of bus service."

The board action means that since September 2008, OCTA has reduced 20 percent of bus service — a total of 383,000 annual revenue vehicle hours — to bring service in line with available revenue. OCTA faces a more than $330 million shortfall over the next five years.

No. 3
High-Speed Rail Plan Goes Full Speed

From vision to reality, high-speed rail in California and the nation took off full-speed ahead in 2009.

After the passage of Prop 1A last year, the California High-Speed Rail Authority had a major edge with public support to move forward. Then came the $8 billion available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). With OCTA's $7 million contribution to environmental work on the Anaheim to Los Angeles segment, high-speed rail gained a significant lead over any other segment in the nation, and stands a good chance to receive stimulus funds.

California requested $4.7 billion in ARRA funds for the entire Anaheim to San Francisco system. The Anaheim to Los Angeles segment could receive up to $2 billion, which would be matched with funds from Prop 1A for a fully funded project.

The 27-mile segment would connect to Anaheim via a new transit center, the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center. The station is currently in the environmental phase with construction anticipated to begin in 2011 and the station operational in mid-2013.

No. 4
Goodbye Art Leahy, Hello Will Kempton

The OCTA family said goodbye to Art Leahy at the end of March as he left his post as OCTA's CEO to head the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

A few months later, OCTA welcomed the former head of Caltrans, Will Kempton as he took the reins as the new CEO in August.

Kempton, a 35-year veteran of the transportation industry, brings to OCTA a broad understanding of transportation programs and policies that span the ranks of government from local to the federal level.

"I am impressed with this organization, the board and its employees," said Kempton during an information session in his first week as CEO. "I come to OCTA with my eyes wide open, this agency has a great can-do attitude. The board members are terrific. They are engaged and involved. I am excited about the opportunity to serve in Orange County."

No. 5
Bus Fares Increase Due to Economic Short Fall

The OCTA board of directors voted unanimously to raise bus fares beginning in January 2009.

Regular bus fare increased by a quarter to $1.50 a trip, day passes went up $1 to $4, a one-way senior trip increased 10 cents to 60 cents and senior day passes increased 25 cents to $1.25.

"The OCTA has experienced a 185-percent increase in fuel costs since 2005, and the agency's bus operating budget has experienced an $18-million shortfall," said Chris Norby, former chair of the OCTA board.

"That gap could increase to more than $30 million, depending on whether the state's multi-billion dollar budget gap is resolved."

No. 6
Keeping Pedestrians Safe - Undercrossing Opens in Orange

A new pedestrian undercrossing at the Orange Depot opened in August to pedestrians. The undercrossing allows passengers safer access to trains without having to cross the railroad tracks.

The city of Orange and OCTA hosted a community celebration to commemorate the opening and celebrate the city's important historic milestones depicted on a art instillation in the undercrossing.

"Between 1,500 and 2,000 people use that station every day," Director Carolyn Cavecche said. "Safety is an important issue for Metrolink, OCTA and the city of Orange," who worked together to complete a much-needed safety improvement to historic Old Towne Orange.

Crews constructed the $8-million underpass on budget and delivered the safety enhancement in just over one year.

No. 7
Orange County Sign Unveiled on Santa Ana Freeway

Are we there yet? If you're heading south into Orange County on the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the question just got a whole lot easier to answer. OCTA unveiled a new monument sign in July welcoming visitors and signaling to locals that they have left Los Angeles and are in Orange County.

"Orange County has long ago broken away from its rural and suburban roots and transformed into a distinct metropolitan area and the monument sign is an excellent way to show the unique character of our county," said OCTA Chairman Peter Buffa.

Standing nearly 20 feet tall, the sign was installed as part of the I-5 Gateway Project. OCTA is among 48 agencies around the state that are participating in Caltrans' gateway monument pilot project, which aims to define and signify the character of individual locations throughout the state.
No. 8
Imperial Highway Grade Separation Completed

Completed in December, nearly one year ahead of schedule, the Imperial Highway (SR-90) grade separation project widened and separated Imperial Highway from the existing railroad at the Esperanza Road and Orangethorpe Avenue intersection in Anaheim and Yorba Linda.

The grade separation eliminates wait time caused by passing trains for the 46,000 drivers that use the road every day.

The community has benefited from the project with improved pedestrian accessibility and reduced noise because trains will no longer routinely sound their horns as they pass through Imperial Highway.

Imperial Highway is the first among multiple grade separation projects occurring in the county during the coming years.

No. 9
OCTA Welcomes K-9 Transit Cop 'Foose'

Foose, a bomb-sniffing dog with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, became part of the first K-9 unit for OCTA in February.

The 2-year-old chocolate Labrador was brought in to work for OCTA thanks to the Department of Homeland Security and a $25,000 grant. Foose's mission: to sniff out suspicious packages on buses and rails. The transit K-9 unit also assists with other bomb-squad activity throughout the county.

Sheriff's officials say that bomb threats are not a big problem in Orange County, but that the new K-9 unit would help make the sheriff's department more visible. Foose and his partner, Deputy Timm Pusztai, started working together last December.

No. 10
Technology Improves Communications for OCTA

In the past year, OCTA has harnessed creative ways to reach customers through new technologies.

In November, OCTA launched Text 4 Next, enabling bus riders to use their cell phones to get the next three scheduled times the bus will arrive at their stop.

The OCTA Web site received a makeover in September, with improved navigation and new interactive tools. By providing improved navigation along with detailed information on all projects and programs, customers will find it easier to access information about their transportation needs.

Social media played an important part in OCTA projects this year. From creative messaging to providing media coverage at the SR-91 groundbreaking event, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube were cost-effective tools that conveyed important messages to OCTA's customers and stakeholders.

Gov 2.5 in Washington, D.C. -- Transforming Transportation with Social Media

2009-12-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

"Just want to mention that OCTA has done a remarkable job of staying in touch with its constituency.

"From the “CEOs Weekly Update” that arrives in my e-mail, to your Web news and audio-casts of interviews, to Twitter, OCTA has done a wonderful job of recognizing citizen concerns and addressing them in a concerned and transparent manner.

"Anybody can do a good job of communicating when times are good, but very few have credible campaigns when things are tough. Kudos for a thoughtful and effective approach to communicating with your public."

-- Alexandra Spencer, Women's Transportation Seminar of Los Angeles

Public Engagement: Clumsy Fingers, Steady Hand

2009-12-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

It’s pretty easy for me to get excited about social media because it’s about the core things that I care about – communications and relationships.

I’ve been in the public relations profession for more than 15 years on both the government and business side, and have experienced firsthand how social media is transforming how we communicate with each other.

As businesses are quickly adapting to the new landscape and figuring out how to utilize social media as part of marketing communications, government is following suit. At least, that’s the prevailing thought.

An argument can be advanced that government or the presidential campaign of Barack Obama fully employed and integrated social media tools – Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – into a powerful political arsenal against John McCain last year.

Upon capturing the White House thanks to a surge in young voters who overwhelmingly broke for the Obama camp by a 2-to-1 margin, the social media savvy team delivered on their change mantra, promising accountability, openness and transparency. And in doing so, they shined the public light on an all-too bureaucratic at best and secretive process at worst.

The White House created another YouTube video that featured its new media director, Macon Phillips, sharing ways the federal government is using social media as a resource tool for citizens.

“There is so much potential for how government uses the Web. But it won’t be realized unless you step up and participate,” Phillips exclaims. “So join your government at their Web sites and blogs, through videos and photos, in social networks, widgets and so much more.”

But then the brakes came on July 24 when White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged that the staff were blocked from Twitter. Gibbs even went further to say he did not Twitter and did not know why the executive office chose to block the popular social media site.

At least Americans outside the Oval Office had access to the official @WhiteHouse and @BarackObama Twitter accounts although their own staff from the inside did not.

The news hit home for me at the Orange County Transportation Authority, where I work as the department manager of public communications and media relations. After demonstrating the power and cost-effectiveness of social media, our communications team gained access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites. But other employees did not have access to the same information we were sharing with our stakeholders, the news media and the general public via social media.

President Obama’s trip to China in November took on new meaning during a familiar American-style townhall meeting in the closed-society of the People’s Republic of China.

The question making headlines came from the U.S. Embassy Web site and was read by Jon Huntsman, U.S. ambassador to China. “In a country with 350 million Internet users and 60 million bloggers, do you know of the firewall?" Huntsman read. "And second, should we be able to use Twitter freely?'

'I have never used Twitter. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone.'

In a country where the government censors Web sites and blocks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, here is President Obama’s response: "I have never used Twitter. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone. But I am a big believer in technology, and I'm a big believer in openness when it comes to the flow of information. I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable. They can begin to think for themselves. That generates new ideas. It encourages creativity."

The president continued by saying that he has "always been a strong supporter of open Internet use. I'm a big supporter of noncensorship. This is part of the tradition of the United States that I discussed before, and I recognize that different countries have different traditions. I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have ... unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged."

He concluded to the crowd of 400 hand-selected students from China’s leading universities: "I should be honest, as president of the United States, there are times where I wish information didn't flow so freely because then I wouldn't have to listen to people criticizing me all the time … I think people naturally ... when they're in positions of power sometimes think, 'Oh, how could that person say that about me,' or 'That's irresponsible.' … But the truth is that because in the United States information is free, and I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me, I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear. It forces me to examine what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis to see, am I really doing the very best that I could be doing for the people of the United States."

It wasn’t his candor of the free-flow of information (that we often take for granted as Americans), but the response that he doesn’t Twitter that caught my attention. His disclosure became a red-hot trending topic on Twitter. I also was perplexed at the huge disconnect between the White House ban of Twitter on its staff and the president’s rhetoric as he lectured the Chinese students in Shanghai on how access to information has made U.S. democracy stronger.

Are we really to believe the avid user of BlackBerry and tech-savvy president doesn’t Twitter because he has clumsy fingers? Does he not know that one can tweet from a regular-sized keyboard on a computer? And what are we to make of those highly personal posts from his @BarackObama Twitter account with more than 2.7 million followers:

· The morning of the Nobel Peace Prize announcement, he simply wrote: “Humbled”

· On Thanksgiving Day, he tweeted: “From my family to yours — Happy Thanksgiving.”

· “Michelle receives this year's White House Christmas tree yesterday. Watch the video: http://bit.ly/4o90RN” was the last tweet on Monday, Nov. 30.

Does this administration really think it can fool Americans, especially the generations that been bombarded with marketing and advertising campaigns most of their lives that they can smell insincerity a mile away? How open, transparent or authentic is this administration if they encourage open access to government and employ ghost-twitterers to get that message out without the benefit of public disclosure, and yet the president’s spokesman doesn’t utilize social media because he said we already see enough of him during news briefings?

But the true challenge is to continue to deliver on that promise of change in how government engages with its citizens

No matter what you think about the president, most people acknowledge that he and his team tapped into technology and harnessed the power of social media to maximize public engagement. One public relations practitioner at a recent national gathering of PR professionals even said that President Obama will be best known in history for unleashing the power of technology and bringing it into the hands of ordinary citizens to do extraordinary things.

But the true challenge is to continue to deliver on that promise of change in how government engages with its citizens. Perhaps the national setting inspires change, but its day-to-day implementation best happens at the local level in communities across America such as in Orange County. Tip O’Neill, the late speaker of the U.S. House, famously asserted, “All politics is local.” In today’s setting, it may be appropriate to say that all action is local.

I’m excited to come to Washington, D.C. for Government 2.5 to share our local story on our challenges in harnessing the power of social media, what we did to overcome numerous obstacles to build and sustain a successful new program called “Public E-volvement.”

Unlike the official White House Twitter account with more than 1.5 million followers that responds to only 2 percent, we’re doing better in Orange County albeit with a smaller but growing 15,000 followers. OCTA is responding to people 64 percent of the time. We’re trying to engage the public and building our numbers. And we’re working hard and gaining a following of other governments and public agencies to follow suit.

Abraham Lincoln said it best in the Gettysburg Address: “…that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

It’s up to all of us to read, listen, view, comment, disagree, share, participate and engage at the level of government where we can see tangible results – in the backyards of communities across America.

And it’s equally important for innovative employees in government to be brave and bold in contrast to the comfort of the status quo and actively do adventurous work for the public good – even with clumsy fingers.

Engagement before Thursday's OC/PRSA Social Media Panel

2009-11-18T21:15:00.000-08:00

Twitter-tistics for OC/PRSA Social Media Panel

2009-11-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

DRAFT of OCTA's Social Media Guide for OC/PRSA Panel

2009-11-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

We've drafted this social media guide and can't wait to hear what the online community thinks about it. Tell me what you like, what you don't like and how we can improve the guide to create greater transparency and public engagement.

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT

OCTA’s Public E-volvement Program

We have created this information guide and online toolkit to share our thoughts and firsthand experiences using social media to help create greater public transparency, enhance public accountability and strengthen public engagement at the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).

OCTA’s social media program is integrated into our public outreach efforts. It does not replace – but rather – enhances our ongoing communications and outreach work. OCTA’s public e-volvement program optimizes community involvement and public participation utilizing cost-effective social media tools to create opportunities for meaningful public engagement. That often means cultivating public participation with two-way communications with community members, stakeholders and other people.

People in organizations and businesses are taking the time to use social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. In today’s ever-changing media landscape with decreasing coverage from the news media and rapidly growing social networking sites, it’s crucial to be where the public is.

We hope that you will find the information contained in this guide useful in forming your organization’s social media plan.

Regards,

OCTA has consistently embraced this proactive communications approach by exploring innovation to refine our outreach to the community. In today’s world that means being an active participant in social media.

Social media is creating exciting opportunities to engage in two-way conversations with customers and stakeholders. People across the country are engaging with businesses and public agencies using these high-tech tools. What better way to know how to best serve your customers than to hear directly from them? Social media has enabled new ways to initiate conversations, track comments, respond to feedback and maintain an active dialogue with customers, stakeholders and the public.

Facebook

www.facebook.com/OCTA

YouTube

www.youtube.com/GoOCTA

Twitter

@OCTAnews – Joel Zlotnik

@OCTAbusupdates – OCTA Marketing Dept.

@RailSafeSarah – Sarah Swensson

@91fwy – Fernando Chavarria

@WCCprojectinfo – Christina Byrne

@TedNguyen – OCTA

On average on any given week, OCTA and its communications employees receive approximately 300,000 mentions. That’s a lot impressions or views online generated without the associated cost of paid advertising or promotions.

We directly participate in many of these conversations to ensure our community members know we’re listening and to share information and additional insights.

Twitter

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter Web site, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications.

Facts:

• 72.5% of the 44 million Twitter users joined during the first five months of

2009

• 93.6% of users have less than 100 followers, while 92.4% follow less than 100 people

• More than 50% of all updates are published using tools, mobile and Web-based, other than Twitter.com. TweetDeck is the most popular non-Twitter.com tool with 19.7% market share.

• There are more women on Twitter (53%) than men (47%)

• Twitter age demographic (% of total) Ages: 25-34 - 20%, 35-49 - 42%, 55+ - 17%

Twitter is the latest important component of our team’s social media strategy. By engaging in near real-time conversations, we have quickly addressed issues and provided information to community members. This proactive engagement has helped transform our cynics into advocates. Most importantly, we have built a strong reputation of transparency among the social media community in Southern Californians.

Twitter has become a powerful tool for OCTA for reputation / issues management, media relations, outreach for project studies and construction communications. We have experienced tangible results from difficult issues such as bus service reductions because of massive cuts to transit funding and decreasing sales tax revenue because of the recession. Because the tool has been used properly, Twitter has strengthen our ability to communicate with bus riders and transit advocates with empathy as an organization that cares about customers because they understand we’re trying to help to ease the impact of the bus cuts. Twitter also has generated numerous news stories and provided OCTA an opportunity to communicate directly with stakeholders on transportation studies and construction of freeways.

The limit of 140 characters in a tweet forces a concise message, but also contains links for powerful communications opportunities such as Web sites, news clips, audios or videos. Because these conversations and links are public, we can track and measure them for both qualitative and quantitative results.

We also have experienced other returns from our participation on Twitter such as increasing mentions and active support from other influential users.

Facebook

Facts:

• More than 250 million active users

• More than 150 million users log on to Facebook at least once

each day

• More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college

• The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older

• About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States

Facebook is a social networking Web site operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school and region. People also can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

OCTA began our presence on Facebook last fall as part of the Read to Work program to highlight the need for federal stimulus funds for shovel-ready transportation projects in Orange County. Since then, we have obtained federal funds for transportation improvements and increased our communications on Facebook to communicate with the public progress of those projects as well as added with numerous programs and projects.

With our Facebook page, our customers, stakeholders, public members and the news media are not only receiving new information as soon as we release it, but they also can go to our page history to see past items. OCTA’s fan page is not only accessible to our fans on the account, but to our fan’s friends. On average, people on Facebook have about 150 friends, each time someone becomes a fan of OCTA, their 150 friends see the information in a live news feed.

The Facebook fan page grows organically by word-of-mouth and friend recommendations. We’ve experienced a steady growth of fans without having to promote the Facebook page. As we are building online content, we are focusing on making the fan page a destination.

Not everyone will visit a company’s Web page everyday, but 150 million people visit Facebook on a daily basis. We are reaching people where they are everyday and partaking in conversations that are happening all over the site.

Our Facebook fan page serves as a hub for our other social media efforts. We post OCTA YouTube videos directly on the fan page as well as pictures to events and links to other project pages such as YouTube videos on the freeway groundbreakings, photos of construction milestones, slideshows with important rail safety information and other postings for community events.

Throughout the project pagers we have linked on our fan page, people who cannot attend events such as open houses can view PowerPoint presentations and even ask questions to project managers online.

YouTube

YouTube is a videosharing website on which users can upload and share videos.

Facts:

• YouTube will serve 75 billion video streams to 375 million unique visitors in 2009

• Every minute, 10 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube

• User base is broad in age range, 18-55, evenly divided between males and females, and spanning all geographies

• Fifty-one percent of users go to YouTube weekly or more often

Another powerful tool in communicating OCTA’s authenticity is YouTube. We have created a YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/GoOCTA where viewers can find all of the videos that our team has posted.

We’ve developed a segment called “Transportation in 2” using an inexpensive Flip video camera. We’ve been able to capture some major milestones on camera, including the unveiling the Orange County Gateway sign, the high-speed rail press conference and the SR-91 groundbreaking ceremony. We’ve had more than 6,000 views with all of the videos posted on YouTube.

Creating these videos is quick, easy and extremely cost-effective. The style of the video is not slick or overproduced – it’s authentic – which matches the tone of the current economic climate. Public feedback has been highly supporting with people sharing with us their appreciation of OCTA doing more with less.

Thousands of companies large and small are ramping up their social media efforts from large corporations to small neighborhood shops.

Conversations are happening about your industry, your company, your competitors and your customers whether you are there or not. What is your ROI (Return On Ignoring?)

10 Tips for Your Social Media Trip

1. Get in the know before you go. Do your research and seek to understand the online community. If you want to participate in social media, get engaged in social media by starting your own Twitter account and Facebook page, view YouTube videos and read blogs. There is no better way to learn and understand the culture, tone, best practices and protocol than by doing and asking for help from others online or offline.

2. Always have your ID card to travel online. You can’t be transparent if people don’t know who you are or who you work for. Never be sneaky and try to pull a fast one by planting comments, hiring people to go out and write positive things about you or your organization. And steer clear from ghost writing. Write it yourself and be the real deal.

3. Be your true self in the driver’s seat. Readers can see through spin, marketing and sales talk. Be passionate about what you do and let that show through your personality. Let people see you as a person, not a mouthpiece or logo for your business or organization.

4. On the Road Again. It does take effort, but if you’re passionate about your work and life, your posts will sing. If readers don’t see anything from you for weeks, they won’t see the value of following you on Twitter or Facebook. Share content with people regularly because you care about your reputation and your network.

5. Maximizing your Mileage. Share valuable information, helpful tips, problem-solving tricks, and meaningful insights. All of our time is valuable and if there isn’t value in the conversation, your existing network of people will stop listening to you and stop following you. Your virtual network may then become stagnant. Help people get value from the time they spend with you. By adding value to the conversation, their engagement with you is worth their limited time.

6. Two-way road. It’s about two-way communications, not a dead-end one-way broadcasting system. No one wants to hear about “ME, ME, ME” all the time without any opportunities for comments. If people post a question or issue to you, always address them by using common sense. Sharing a short thank-you will go a long way to respond to questions, comments and concerns. Make it a two-way conversation with the social media community.

7. Listen to the traffic -- horns, beeps, sirens and all. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. The larger part of two-way communications is active listening. Listen to what others have to say. Share your appreciation for the community’s suggestions and feedback. Listening will help you do your job better.

8. Learn from fender-benders. When you make an error, never be afraid to say you were wrong. Quickly acknowledge your mistake and sincerely apologize for that mistake by taking action to change or correct that mistake.

9. Share the Ride. Being part of a community is about sharing with others and learning from them. Don’t hesitate to be externally focused by linking to other followers or friends’ blogs, audio, videos, news articles or Web sites. Share what others have to say.

10. Get Your Kicks on Route 66. One of the most important but overlooked tips is to have fun with social media. It’s work for your business or organization, but the fun kind of work. If you’re not enjoying what you do, others will likely take notice and won’t enjoy the interaction with you. Be positive and have fun on this journey of social media that will take you to exciting places with amazing people you’ll meet alone the way.

___________________

“Fluent: The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report”

Organizations must:

Socialize with their customers because “top-down” advertising isn’t going to work by itself
Develop a credible voice along the parameters of engagement, humility, and authenticity
Make their social relationships more symmetrical—that is, with value for both the brand and the customer

This top 10 list for Twitter usage also is in the report:

1. Become familiar with Twitter by reviewing, or following, the activities of successful brands such as Dell (dell.com/twitter), Zappos (twitter.com/zappos) and Comcast (twitter.com/comcastcares).

2. Listen to what is already being said on Twitter about your brand.

3. Identify initial objectives for using Twitter, including what would qualify as a Twitter success story for your brand.

4. Look into competitive activities and potential legal considerations, especially if there is already a Twitter account that uses your brand’s name or other intellectual property associated with it.

5. Use the findings to decide on the appropriate opportunity such community building, tone of voice and method of engagement that may be right for your brand.

6. Since Twitter is an ongoing activity – even if your company is only listening in – dedicate a resource to monitor the conversations and competitors.

7. Map out a plan for the content you will share, including valuable initial content to pique user interest.

8. Integrate your Twitter account throughout your marketing experience, by embedding it as a feed on the company Web site, including its URL in communications and so forth.

9. Maintain momentum by following everyone who follows you, responding to queries and joining in conversations without being too marketing oriented.

10. Provide ongoing direct value through your tweets by continuing to listen, learn and fine-tune your Twitter activities.

Source: Fluent: The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report

Getting Started

Before you jump in to social media think about some basic questions:

• Why do I want to participate in social media?

• How can social media improve my business or organization?

• How will social media be incorporated into my overall customer experience?

We’ve developed an interactive online toolkit for OCTA’s Public E-volvement Program that contains step-by-step directions on how to get started on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Skype.

You can access the site at www.octa.net/SocialMedia

Social Media

Road Rules for Engagement

Abide by the OCTA Code of Conduct. Following the Code of Conduct will ensure proper navigation of social media and will help cultivate greater transparency and accountability for Orange County’s taxpayers.

Be transparent. Identify yourself and your relationship with OCTA. Like other public communications programs, only official spokespeople and those authorized project managers can speak on behalf OCTA and use OCTA images and logos.

Share public information. Online postings and conversations are public – not private. OCTA is a public agency with certain cases of private or confidential information. Respect confidentiality and protected information. The OCTA team is encouraged to share public information that will help contribute to public engagement. Because of OCTA’s role as stewards of taxpayer dollars to deliver transportation solutions, public involvement drives our work.

Be accurate and truthful. OCTA’s involvement with social media should help advance the free flow of accurate and truthful information by serving the public interest and by contributing to informed decision-making.

Contribute to the conversation. Communicate with online users as if engaging in a dialogue with people in a professional setting. Post meaningful and respectful comments, reply to questions and comments in a timely manner, and share thought-provoking or interesting information and positive engagement to enhance the online community in Orange County.

Rail Safety: Too Close for Comfort

2009-11-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

This news video is another example of the importance of rail safety. Thanks to the quick action of passengers and a train operator in Boston, the story does have a happening ending.

Jumping (Secretly) for LinkedIn Author Neal Schaffer

2009-11-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

Imagine throwing a party by broadcasting it over an intercom system and trying to keep it hush-hush for the honored guest.

That's exactly what happened when the close-knit social media community in Orange County threw blogger and author Neal Schaffer, an advocate for transportation innovation, a surprise bash to launch his new book on LinkedIn. It was no easy task to keep a surprise on the cost-effective tools of social media that rely on transparency and openness for power to drive information to users.

After a short ruse, Schaffer arrived in awe to the warm wishes of 150 people.

Groundbreaking for 91 Freeway and for Social Media in Orange County

2009-11-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

If you live in Southern California, you know about the notoriously traffic-choked Riverside Freeway (SR-91) that connects Orange County and L.A. to the Inland Empire.

Relief is on the way for the 91 freeway with shovels hitting the dirt to start construction.

The Orange County Register's Social Sundays column included the 91 freeway's social media groundbreaking today.

Just days before the groundbreaking, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) created a new Twitter account – @91fwy – to provide information about Orange County’s largest stimulus project. It’s a construction project to widen nearly 6 miles of eastbound lanes – a chronic traffic bottleneck – on the Riverside Freeway from Anaheim to Corona.

Tuesday’s groundbreaking event was OCTA's first to utilize social media to share instant information via Twitter and Facebook. Orange County’s savvy social media practioners joined TV, radio and print journalists in covering the start of construction for the freeway.

Orange County’s social media community provided live tweets of the groundbreaking by videotaping and conducting interviews posting content as the event was happening.

Tweets from the event reached more than 20,000 people with approximately 194,000 impressions or views. That’s a lot of eye balls online without the associated costs of traditional advertising.

In these times of greater public accountability and transparency, social media is providing impressive cost-effective results for OCTA. The new @91fwy Twitter account comes directly from Fernando Chavarria, OCTA’s community relations officer, who provides the public with firsthand knowledge and up-to-the-minute construction updates. He will tweet the widening project’s progress – and its impact – so the public can be in-the-know before they go.

Most importantly, @91fwy will help enhance OCTA’s public involvement program to help us listen to the public and address questions and issues as they are posted. Social media along with traditional outreach strengthens OCTA’s ability to communicate with residents, businesses, the traveling public and other stakeholders to provide the information they need.

Safety Treats in the Streets

2009-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

More than 5,000 people participated in the Treats in the Streets festival in Old Towne Orange. OCTA's safety team headed by @RailSafeSarah on Twitter decked out as a train engineer and shared with the youngsters safety tips for railroad crossings.

It's part of the Orange County Transportation Authority's rail safety program, the nation's first comprehensive program that involves rail safety devices at crossing and a public information program.

In addition to traditional treats, Sarah Swensson, OCTA's rail safety specialist, distributed items with important safety tips.

"It wasn't just a typical trick-or-treat evening of fun, but also included important safety reminders for children and their parents," Swensson said. "It was fun to see the kids' smiles and their costumes. But I especially liked the kids who matched my train engineer outfit."

Swensson and the OCTA team will make her next rail safety stop at Anaheim's spooktaculor event -- the Fall Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 in downtown Anaheim at the Center Street Promenade.

Transportation in 2: Impact of Bus Reductions

2009-10-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Monday, Oct. 26 is an important day for Orange County, especially if you're one of the 80,000 people who rely on OCTA buses to get to school, work, doctors office, grocery store or other important destinations.

The OCTA board of directors is conducting public hearing at 9 a.m. to hear from the community on proposed strategies to reduce bus services to address the devastating impact of state budget cuts and dwindling sales tax revenues because of the economic recession.

Tell me what you think. How should OCTA proceed?

Rail Safety: Critically Important

2009-10-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

This astonishing news story from CNN reminds us the importance of rail safety. That's why OCTA has undertaken a safety program throughout Orange County aimed at boosting public awareness of safety.

OCTA's Web site contains vital information about rail safety or you can get the latest update by following rail safety information specialist Sarah Swensson on Twitter.

Tell us what you think we should do to help promote safety in Orange County.

Doggone Fun Aboard Transit

2009-10-06T21:56:00.001-07:00

Approximately 90 people and 60 dogs participated in the Orange County Transportation Authority's annual service animal training to help calm the nerves of our four-legged friends and their human handlers with a bus ride that started in Fullerton, Calif. and ended with a fun-filled time at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif.

A special thanks to Pam Peters of the Garden Grove bus base for coordinating the training for Orange County's canines and their human friends.

OCTA media relations intern Elmira Karimzadeh, a Cal State Fullerton student, coordinated the news coverage for the high-paw event Saturday, Oct. 3 and captured the miles of smiles and constant tale wagging.

Twitter Gives Major Boost for High-Speed Rail

2009-10-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

Leaders from Southern California joined Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at a news conference Friday, Oct. 2 at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to officially announce that the state submitted a $4.7 billion application for federal stimulus funds.

Californians approved a nearly $10-billion bond last November for a high-speed rail system that could connecting Southern California to the Bay Area and Sacramento. Gov. Schwarzenegger said California would match the federal grant "dollar for dollar."
California's high-speed rail system would zip passengers from Anaheim to San Francisco in less than 3 hours. Experts concur that because of Orange County's early planning work, the Anaheim to Los Angeles segment of high-speed rail will be the first under construction. The line would take riders from Anaheim to Los Angeles in just 20 minutes, rather than the nearly 1-hour Metrolink train trip that my coworkers and I took to the news conference.

Listen!

"We are one in California with one application and one commitment to high-speed rail," said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, a board director of the Orange County Transportation Authority and chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. "That's why we want you to join with us in making a commitment and encouraging those representatives that you know in the

federal government so they know that we stand as one in the state of California for the support high-speed rail. We need your support in delivering it."

That help and support came in immediately via new social media tools such

as Twitter. During the news conference, twitterers in Orange County shared messages with their followers.

"High speed rail in CA -- now is the time to start," tweeted Ross Teasely of Dana Point.

Diana Truong, a UC Irvine sophomore, forwarded the support message to her followers on Twitter.

The Orange County Business Council tweeted: "Let the media know your support for high-speed rail."

"Fellow Californians: Please show your support for California High Speed Rail!" exclaimed Newport Beach resident Neal Schaffer, an author of a new book on LinkedIn, to his 40,000 followers on Twitter.

The Costa Mesa Conference and Visitors Bureau shared an audio interview from the news conference to its 1,300 followers. "Hear what Anaheim and OCTA have planned for high-speed rail connecting Orange County with LA and SF," the bureau tweeted.

Listen!

Within just 24 hours, the news conference and online community rally generated 100 tweets displaying Twitter's jaw-dropping power to reach 89,000 people with more than 180,000 impressions.

To learn how to share your support for California high-speed rail, visit http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov and http://www.octa.net/hsr or follow the latest on Twitter with the hashtag: #CAhsr or by following @CAhsr (the unofficial California high-speed rail blog but officially my favorite rail blog) and @CAhsra (the official Twitter account by the state's high-speed rail authority).

Or share your comments here. Do you think it's time to build high-speed rail? Or should other states get the $8 billion in federal stimulus funds?

Fast-Tracking the Future for High-Speed Rail

2009-10-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a 6:15 a.m. Metrolink train from Laguna Niguel to downtown Los Angeles for the big news conference and public rally for high-speed rail.

OCTA Board Director and Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, Will Kempton and representatives from Orange County will join other Southern California leaders for the news conference at 9 a.m. today (Friday, Oct. 2) at Union Station in Los Angeles.

Today is a milestone day for high-speed rail in California because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will formally request $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funds to deliver the much-anticipated transit system.

Planning experts widely agree that because of early planning work by OCTA and the city of Anaheim, the first segment of the California high-speed rail line will likely be constructed between Anaheim and Los Angeles.

I'm excited that after a decade of talking and planning, we're on the verge of building a modern rail system for the 21 century that Californians deserve.

Twitter Never Tasted So Good

2009-09-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Social media king Chris Brogan made a visit to Orange County Tuesday. To may homage to Twitter, the new author of "Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust" brought with him the wildly popular Kogi barbecue tacos, a perfect blend of Latino and Korean flavors, to Barnes & Noble for special book signing.

I joined Nancy Luna, Orange County Register's Fast Food Maven blogger, and the patient crowd outside near the OCTA building for an 1.5 hour wait. Like everyone, I wanted to experience for myself the delicious morsels of goodness that has driven Kogi to become America's darling example of Twitter's high-flying success.

Hear what O.C. residents had to say about their first bite of the hybrid tacos.

I also received a special opportunity to talk to the East Coast native about Orange County and social media before he presented to a standing-room-only crowd at Chapman University Tuesday evening.

Listen!

Public Agencies Getting Social Media

2009-09-24T23:46:00.001-07:00

Check out this video recap of OCTA's highly successful Gov 2.0 social media workshops on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Windmills: Harnessing the Power of Social Media

2009-09-20T01:05:00.000-07:00

Government representatives and other public agency officials gathered Friday for Gov 2.0 Deluxe Edition. This no-cost social media workshop at the Orange County Transportation Authority was a follow-up to the wildly popular Gov 2.0 event in July.

Orange County's superstars of social media shared strategies and hands-on experience on how to boost communications with these new cost-effective technology tools.

Neal Schaffer - LinkedIn
Marisa O'Neil - Twitter
Morgan Brown and Sarah Swensson - YouTube
Loren Nason - Facebook
Rochelle Veturis - Keynote

The special event also payed a special tribute to Neal Schaffer of Windmill Networking who authored a new book on LinkedIn due out in October.

Share your thoughts on social media and how it can be used to communicate with the public.

Transportation in 2: CEO Steers an OCTA Bus

2009-09-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

From Greece to Ginza, Munching Through Orange

2009-09-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

For more than 35 years over the Labor Day weekend, the must-be place for a dizzying array of international food is in Old Towne Orange.

It's a charming historic downtown next to the train depot and Chapman University where I get off the Metrolink train and hop on an OCTA bus almost every morning on my way to work. Metrolink trains and OCTA buses will take you the festivities.

This year's Orange International Street Fair is this weekend, and the culinary scene promises to be just as vibrant as past years. The theme might be "Music Makes the World Go Round," but it's the tasty morsels of goodness that make the appetite come back for more.

This evening in the heart of Santa Ana, I reunited with my favorite food blogger Nancy Luna or better known as the Orange County Register's Fast Food Maven. Nancy and I met six years ago when she wrote the popular "Honk" column for the Register and covered OCTA on the transportation beat.

I credit Nancy for recently helping me overcome my initial skepticism of Twitter and social media. I was excited to see her again as we were both guest speakers for an event hosted by O.C. Register reporter Serena Daniels and the California Chicano News Media Association in Southern California.

We talked about blogging, social media, transportation and this weekend's food festival in Orange. See the YouTube video above taken from my Flip video camera. It's dark because of the venue's mood lighting -- highly symbolic of the economic conditions we're all facing. But I hope you'll see the optimism we share from learning new communications tools.

Also, hear the interview from my iPhone AudioBoo. But you'll have to wait and read her recommendations for palate pleasers on her blog.

Listen!

Getting Offline and Talking Transit

2009-09-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Steven Chan, a UC Irvine medical student and blogger of the new TransitRiderOC.com Web site shared with his Twitter followers Tuesday that he was taking two Orange County Transportation Authority or OCTA bus lines to come to the OCTA store.

I intercepted Steven's tweet sent from his cell phone while riding the bus. I fired off a message from my iPhone telling him I wanted to meet him to say hello after being one of Twitter followers and blog readers for the past few months.

A big thanks to Steven for being a good sport as I did this impromptu interview with him using my Flip video camera. I also recorded his comments using my iPhone AudioBoo.

Listen!

Transportation in 2: Rail Safety Event Draws 700

2009-08-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

We organized an event in the sweltering heat to launch a countywide program to increase the public's awareness of rail safety.

Thanks to the more 700 people who joined us for this event to hear important safety messages while enjoying free food and drinks courtesy of numerous food vendors. Adults and kids alike participated in train rides, whimsical face painting and colorful balloons while enjoying snow cones, popcorn, iced tea, fruit drinks and 1,000 kobe beef sliders donated by Ruby's Diner.

A special YouTube drawing announced four lucky people who won some cool prizes donated by sponsors:
1. Inez Burgess of Orange won the grand prize of four Metrolink tickets and a Flip video camera
2. Ron DiMelfi of Anaheim won an iPod and two Metrolink tickets
3. Teri Edwards of Anaheim won a $100 gift card and two Metrolink tickets
4. Irene Colin of Orange won a $50 gift card

But the stars of the show were the newly constructed pedestrian undercrossing and the critically important message of rail safety. Here are some safety tips from the event:

7 Pedestrian Safety Tips
1. Trains can move in either direction at any time.
Look both ways before crossing the tracks.
2. Always expect a train.
Today’s trains are quieter than ever and travel faster than you think.
3. Look in both directions before crossing.
4. Cross tracks ONLY at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings.
5. Never cross when the gates are down.
6. Tracks are for trains only.
Never walk down a track – it’s illegal and dangerous.

7 Steps for Safe Driving near Rail Crossing
1. Approach crossing with care.
Slow down when you see a warning sign.
2. Prepare to stop when the gates begin to come down.
3. When the gate is down, stop your vehicle at least 15 feet from the tracks.
4. Only cross the tracks if you are sure your vehicle can completely clear the crossing.
5. Look in both directions before crossing.
6. If your vehicle has a manual transmission, use a gear that will not require shifting until you cross the track.
7. Keep going once you start, even if lights start to flash or gates come down.

The Safety Dance: Undercrossing at Orange Depot

2009-08-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

Transportation in 2: Come on Ride the Train

2009-08-21T17:28:00.001-07:00

Rail Safety Event Aug. 27 Serves Up Free Fun

2009-08-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

A unique feature of the new pedestrian undercrossing at Old Towne Orange is an art installation called, "Orange in Motion." A budget-friendly family event features 1,000 kobe beef sliders from Ruby's Diner, smoothies and other food along with face painting and kid games. And the best part: it's all free.

A new pedestrian undercrossing at the Orange Depot opened this week to passengers. The undercrossing allows passengers safer access to trains without having to cross the railroad tracks.

The city of Orange and OCTA are hosting a community celebration from 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27. OCTA Chairman Peter Buffa and Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche and Buena Park Councilman Art Brown will join other dignitaries in officially dedicating the undercrossing at a 5 p.m. special ceremony.

The free community event features 1,000 sliders from Ruby's Diner, snow cones, popcorn, smoothies and other drinks along with face painting, balloon-making, mini-trains for kids and booths on rail safety, transit services and other city services.

Community members may win prizes such an iPod, Flip video camera, train tickets and American Express gift cards.

"Between 1,500 and 2,000 people use that station every day," Director Cavecche said. "Safety is an important issue for Metrolink, OCTA and the city of Orange," who worked together to complete a much-needed safety improvement to historic Old Towne Orange.

Crews constructed the $8 million underpass on budget and delivered the safety enhancement in just over one year.

The city of Orange, OCTA and Metrolink built a new undercrossing connecting two rail platforms at the Orange train depot. Construction began in June 2008 and was completed this week.

Sheriff's Team Helps Keep O.C. Transit Safe

2009-08-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

OCTA Security Manager Bruce Gadbois, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, OCTA CEO Will Kempton and Transit Police Chief Lt. Jim Rudy discuss the future of transit security.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchins and Lt. Jim Rudy, chief of OCTA's Transit Security Services, discussed transit security issues with the Orange County Transportation Authority and its new CEO, Will Kempton this week.

The sheriff offered OCTA any assistance that the department could provide "to ensure the safety of Orange County's riders and to keep the transit system safe."

They also discussed vital security services provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department in its 15-year partnership with OCTA.

When the Sheriff's Department began providing transit security services in 1992, Cathy Zurn, then a sergeant, headed the department. Next month, Capt. Zurn retires from the Sheriff's Department with 30 years of service.

"The Sheriff's Department is proud to serve OCTA over the years," Rudy said. "We're going to continue that effective partnership and collaborative effort."

That effort has led to solutions to enhance safety from roundtables with coach operators and transit police, a successful anti-graffiti program and a strong working relationship that ensures OCTA continues to receive quality service.

In a July 29 incident, Deputy Tony Lim received help from coach operator Tony Aidukas in apprehending a repeat fare-evader. When the fare-evader became violent, Aidukas stepped in to help the deputy. Deputy Mike LaBarbera also assisted in the arrest.

Rudy also shared crime statistics that indicate that OCTA has one of the lowest crime rates in the country in terms of size and boardings.

Kempton thanked the Sheriff's Department for its service to the public and said he looked forward to addressing safety issues and other challenges that will inevitably arise in operating a large transit system.

Listen! Want to learn more about what it takes to keep Orange County among the safest transit system's in the nation? I did. To listen to my interview with the county's top law enforcement officers from my iPhone audioBoo application, click here.

A Sneak Peak of the New Undercrossing in Orange

2009-08-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

On my way to work this morning, I stepped off the Metrolink train and was excited to see construction crews putting the final touches on a new pedestrian undercrossing at the Depot in old town Orange.

Irma Hernandez of the city of Orange waved me down and was kind enough to give me a sneak peak of the city's newest transportation amenity tucked in the heart of Orange's historic center.

A unique feature of the pedestrian safety project is an art installation by Laguna Beach artist Marsh Scott called, "Orange in Motion.” Placed along the walls of the undercrossing, two panels pay homage to the city's past with a motif of oranges, leaves and blossoms made of stainless steel interwoven by stainless-steel ribbons imprinted with historic community milestones.

Hernandez also shared with me some other exciting news. The location of the former Cask 'n Cleaver steakhouse -- once a popular spot for rail passengers to grab a drink and a bite to eat before heading home -- will soon have a new tenant, Ruby's Diner.

The mega popular 1940s eatery based in Newport Beach plans to grill up and serve their juicy mini hamburgers called "sliders" at a community celebration to officially dedicate the new undercrossing from 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 27.

All are welcome to enjoy the many family-friendly activities planned for the celebration at the train station, 194 N. Atchison St. off Chapman Avenue near the Orange Plaza.

CEO Will Kempton Hits the O.C. Ground Running

2009-08-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

OCTA's new CEO takes a bus ride on his second day to work and compliments the courteous coach operator, the clean bus and the smooth ride.

OCTA's new CEO, Will Kempton, introduced his open-door policy to employees on his first day with a question-and-answer session at the OCTA headquarters.

Employees soon discovered that the new CEO is ready to take the reins and accelerate transportation projects for Orange County, including the high‑speed rail project.

"I am impressed with this organization, the board and its employees," said Kempton during an information session with employees Monday, Aug. 3. "I come to OCTA with my eyes wide open, this agency has a great can-do attitude. The board members are terrific. They are engaged and involved. I am excited about the opportunity to serve in Orange County."

Upon leaving his position at Caltrans, Kempton promised Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger he would deliver a high-speed rail groundbreaking in Orange County before the governor leaves office. Other goals Kempton hopes to accomplish while leading OCTA include building better partnerships with other agencies, increasing efficiency and promoting outstanding customer service.

When Kempton took the bus from Anaheim to the OCTA headquarters on Tuesday morning, Aug. 4, the 4-mile commute took a mere seven minutes. Kempton hopes to buy a home close to a bus route or train station so he can utilize public transportation everyday to and from work. He also took the bus on Thursday, Aug. 6, with an Orange County Register reporter and photographer.

"How can you know what the customers are feeling if you are not out there using the system as well," Kempton said. "Taking the train or bus to work is a great way to get to know our customers and improve our service."

Kempton, an avid jogger for 32 years, shared his walk-around management approach with employees, part of his new leadership style. The former Caltrans director wants OCTA to be a workplace of choice with great customer service.

With an initial three-year contract, Kempton looks forward to serving OCTA and working with the board to deliver transportation solutions for Orange County.

A 7-Minute Ride with New Transportation Chief

2009-08-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Will Kempton, OCTA's CEO, and Gilbert Patterson, a 20-year coach operator, discuss protecting transit funding and making OCTA buses a viable option for the public.

Gilbert Patterson was driving his regular bus route No. 83 that starts in Anaheim and ends in Laguna Hills.

The coach operator spotted two people dressed in business suits at a bus stop on Katella Avenue near the Disney resort in Anaheim Tuesday morning, Aug. 4. One had a computer bag and held a pocket-size video camera. The other had a briefcase and asked if he was on the right bus for the OCTA headquarters.

"Yes, I'll drop you off right in the front," the coach operator of 20 years politely replied, not knowing he was transporting OCTA's new CEO on his first bus ride to work in Orange County.

Will Kempton, 62, the former Caltrans director, took his seat among the other passengers, including a nurse, a service worker and a computer programmer.

Kempton, who has never lived in Southern California, browsed through a map to familiarize himself with his new home. He thumbed through different areas of the county until he heard the coach operator ask, "Are you really the new CEO?"

"Yes, I am."

Kempton and Patterson talked about the quality of the bus, the devastating impact of the national economic recession and state budget crisis on OCTA's bus system and how to make transit more of a travel option for members of the public.

"We've got great drivers with excellent customer focus," Patterson said. "I think you'll like it here."

Kempton replied, "I want to get out to the bases and meet you guys."

"Yes, I'm out of the Garden Grove base," Patterson said.

"Now, did I hear that you've been on the job for 20 years?" Kempton asked. "You look too young to be here for 20 years."

With a chuckle, the 42-year-old resident of southwestern Riverside County responded, "Well, you're too kind."

In just seven minutes, the four-mile bus ride from Anaheim to Orange was over.

And Kempton's second day on the job began with Patterson's parting words for his new CEO: "Welcome aboard."

Transportation in 2: New CEO's First Bus Trip To Work

2009-08-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

OCTA's new CEO, Will Kempton, took his first trip to work via an OCTA bus. From the Katella Avenue near the Disney resort area in Anaheim, the former Caltrans chief walked two blocks to a bus stop. He waited for a few minutes and then jumped aboard bus route No. 83 for the nearly 4-mile trip to OCTA headquarters in the city of Orange.

While on the bus, he barely had time to browse a map and talk to Gilbert Patterson, a veteran coach operator, about his plans to protect transit, because the entire trip took only seven minutes.

Transportation in 2: New CEO Talks About Enhancing Transparency at OCTA

2009-08-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

The wait for OCTA's new CEO is over. OCTA is welcoming the arrival of former Caltrans Director Will Kempton, who arrived in Orange County on Sunday after departing Sacramento. He started working Monday morning at OCTA headquarters and shared some remarks with OCTA employees Monday afternoon.

He is planning to take an OCTA bus from his temporary residence in Anaheim to work every day. The new CEO is searching for a home in Orange County pending the sale of his house in the Sacramento area.

Kempton, a 35-year veteran of the transportation industry, brings to OCTA a broad understanding of transportation programs and policies that span the ranks of government from local to the federal level.

OCTA's new CEO brings a deep commitment to public service. Prior to joining Caltrans, Kempton served as assistant city manager for the city of Folsom. Before that, he served on the city's parks and recreation commission for eight years.

Kempton, 62, began his career at Caltrans in 1973. He worked in various management positions in finance and in the director's office at Caltrans prior to his appointment as assistant director of legislative and congressional affairs from 1980 to 1985.

One of Kempton's greatest accomplishments was quickly completing the high-profile reopening of a freeway overpass in Oakland after it closed in 2007 for repairs due to a disaster involving a tanker truck.

Thanks to Will Kempton, the new East Span of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge is back on track with completion expected in 2013.

Kempton served as executive director of the Santa Clara County Traffic Authority for seven years. From 1992 to 2002, he was a partner at Smith, Kempton & Watts, a transportation consulting and advocacy firm that focused on major infrastructure programs.

His extensive experience will ensure Orange County remains a leader in providing transportation solutions for its residents.

"This is a very challenging time for every public agency in California. Finding a new CEO for OCTA with Will Kempton's transportation knowledge and experience at a time like this is a grand-slam home run for us and for everyone in Orange County," said OCTA Chairman Peter Buffa. "Will is one of the most respected leaders in transportation in the country, with a rock-solid reputation that will serve us well."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Kempton to run Caltrans and oversee 50,000 lane miles of state highways, an annual budget of nearly $14 billion with $10 billion worth of transportation improvements under construction and approximately 22,000 employees.

"I'm exceptionally proud of what Caltrans has accomplished over the past five years and it's been an honor to serve the people of California under the leadership of Gov. Schwarzenegger," Kempton said in a news release announcing his resignation. "During my tenure at Caltrans, I have worked in partnership with OCTA many times and I am looking forward to the opportunity to join an agency that is on the leading edge of transportation innovation."

'Transportation in 2' Debuts with Rail Safety

2009-08-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

My colleague Sarah Swensson, OCTA's community relations specialist, dove into the social media scene just this week. She's now on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

She made this YouTube video, the first of regular spots on transportation news called, "Transportation in 2." She didn't do this to create online buzz about a hip party or hype up self-serving fluff. Instead, Sarah is utilizing the power of social media to talk about something deadly serious: Safety along hundreds of miles of train tracks in Orange County.

With residents and visitors crossing the train tracks to get to beaches, schools or work, this message is particularly important in San Clemente, where Sarah visited a class of elementary school-aged youths on the beach learning about rail safety.

Here are some other train safety tips from Sarah:

Tracks are for trains!
They are private property. Walking, jogging or playing on or near the train tracks is considered trespassing and is illegal.

Trains will not always blow warning horns.
Quiet zones will soon be established in residential and business areas along the tracks, so trains will no longer need to blow their horns.

Warning signs save lives!
Approach all crossings with care and do not ignore any warning signs or gates.

As a motorist, never drive around lowered gate
As a pedestrian, always stop, look and listen for a train before crossing the tracks at a designated pedestrian crossing

Never try to beat a train!
Trains can take up to half a mile to reach a complete stop. Trains cannot swerve to avoid people or cars and cannot stop quickly enough to avoid a collision.

Be Rail Safe In Your Community
Sarah and the rest of the OCTA team are committed to keeping Orange County safe around train tracks.

If you are interested in scheduling a Be Rail Safe presentation at your school, organization or community, please call (888) 855-RAIL or RailSafety@octa.net.

Best Bits: 'Bravo for Wildly Successful Gov. 2.0'

2009-07-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

OCTA's Ted Nguyen, left, with Twitter author Deborah Micek and micro-blogger Mark Davidson, lead a discussion on using social media to boost public transparency.

From 'Social Sunday' Column of O.C. Register
As Posted by Jon Lansner on Sunday, July 26

Twitter features an instantaneous pool of information. So, sOCial sunday asked PR person Rochelle Veturis (@rochelleveturis) of LPA architects in Irvine to mine the Twitter river for a haul of Best Bits!

A hearty “Bravo!” for the wildly successful Gov 2.0 event hosted this week by @TedNguyen along with his friends and staff at the OC Transportation Authority.

Gov 2.0? That’s a term now synonymous with social media use by government agencies for communication and community outreach purposes.

The OCTA event featured a panel with some of the brightest stars in the Twitterverse. Attendees (from beginners to advanced) had the opportunity ask questions, meet other social media participants from Orange County, and return home with the ultimate resource – a public e-volvment toolkit.

Be encouraged by the fact that, yes, government and quasi-government agencies are sharpening their social media skills to save you money, work more efficiently and get relevant information into your hands in a manner that’s convenient for you.

If you’re not sure about your city’s social media offerings, shoot them a quick e-mail or look them up in GovTwit (the Twitter directory for government agencies).

The Dynamic Faces of Social Media

2009-07-23T03:29:00.000-07:00

Want to see how social media is done? Check out the video from the premier GOV 2.0 event hosted by OCTA and sponsored by the Social Media Club Orange County.

A special thank you to the Social Media Club Orange County, panelists and all those participating.

We hope you make it to the next activity. Find out more on OCTA's Facebook page or on Twitter -- @TedNguyen.

Overflow Crowd Gathers For The First GOV 2.0 To Increase Public E-volvement

2009-07-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ellen Burton, executive director of OCTA External Affairs Division, gets some assistance from Ben Boyce, an employee with Laer Pearce and Associates of Laguna Hills.

By Ted Nguyen
Manager of public communications & media relations

The best hearts and minds of social media gathered Tuesday, July 21 at OCTA to discuss how to utilize social media to create transparency and accountability as well as bring a level of authenticity to the seemingly endless and faceless bureaucracy of government and public agencies.

Billed as GOV 2.0, an overcapacity crowd of 75 Orange County professionals gathered to exchange tips and share best practices for wildly popular social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. It was the first event of its kind for government and public agencies in Orange County.

Public Already Gets Social Media

The growing number of Californians using online tools is astounding. It’s especially true in tech-savvy Orange County, according to a recent statewide survey.

Julie Chay, a public information specialist with OC Waste and Recycling, came to the event a bit intimidated by Facebook and Twitter. After spending two hours learning about social networking sites with Ryan Maloney, an OCTA community relations associate, she became a convert.

"It was great to have hands-on learning, so public agencies can engage with the community already communicating on these new media sites," Chay said.

Julie Chay, a Tustin resident and OC Waste and Recycling information officer, nervously awaits her one-on-one session on Twitter with Ted Nguyen, an OCTA manager.

Public Agencies Jumping on Board with OCTA

We planned for a capacity crowd of 50, but made room for the overflow numbers. Hundreds of other people followed the event via live Twitter updates and others from as far as Lithuania, Germany and Asia participated via a live streaming online video thanks to Social Media Club Orange County’s Morgan Brown.

After communicating with many of these giants of the twitterverse in the nation, never mind Orange County, I was excited to take part in an engaging panel discussion.

Community relations associate Kristin Johnson of OCTA, left, shows Tresa Oliveri, also of OCTA, and Rosemary Valdovines, a city of Westminster public information officer, how to use cost-effective tools to perform public outreach.

Bringing the Superstars of Social Media

I was nervous meeting them for this tweet-up. Knots in my stomach tightened as I was feeling oh-so small because my social media experience pales in comparison to these other power panelists. Come on, can I really compare to Deborah Micek who wrote the first book on Twitter? I’m so out of her league.

Then there is Mark Davidson, the king of micro-blogging. He has 46,400 followers! Me, a measly 750 that I was happy with just days before. Or Tami Abdollah, the L.A. Times reporter who got the Times well … ahead of the times with its strong presence on Twitter and Facebook. Or Joel Bishop, the social media guru of South Orange County, who also happens to be a Dana Point city councilman.

Or the faces in the crowd. Some are the superstars of social media. But what are they doing in the audience?!? I should be learning from them. Let’s switch places, especially Rochelle Veturis, the queen of Twitter. And then there is that darn Neal Schaffer. He’s always witty and posts interesting items. No wonder why he’s got more than 21,000 followers.

Dubbed the “power panel” by O.C. Twitterers, the panelists includes moderator Morgan Brown of TurnHere Internet Video, micro-blogger Mark Davidson, L.A. Times reporter Tami Abdollah, Twitter author Deborah Micek, Dana Point City Councilman Joel Bishop and OCTA public communications manager Ted Nguyen.

Sharing and Caring

After listening to the event’s moderator, Brown, a marketing expert from Aliso Viejo, introduce us, I felt even smaller. As we discussed all sorts of topics from how news reporters are using social media to cover stories, diverse ways the public engages with elected officials and public agencies to some pretty interesting discussion on how to avoid pitfalls of launching a social media program, I quickly felt better.

I did know a thing or two about this stuff. And I learned so much more from my new-found friends online and offline.

Then it happened. My "ah-ha" moment! I realized we’re all in this thing together. That’s the point of it all – to help each other "get" social media and share it. And that’s why I love the club’s slogan: If You Get It, Share It.

And we did just that. I passed out T-shirts that I paid for on my own dime to thank these social media veterans. Obviously, it would be a Twitter T-shirt with their online names. And we unveiled a new online tool for OCTA’s new public e-volvement program that will utilize social media to complement our traditional bag of outreach and communications tactics.
It’s in the Bag: Online Toolkit to Enhance Transparency in Government

Because we all serve the same Orange County public, we shared OCTA’s new e-volvement bag of information with other agencies.

I’ve already gotten comments from other public agency folks – John Wayne Airport, County of Orange, city of Anaheim, city of Westminster, city of Orange, the sheriff’s department, O.C. fire and others – thanking us for sharing the cool kit.

Because I take my professional mantra of "If you can’t evaluate it, don’t do it!" seriously, we tallied the results of participants’ written comments. Because of outpouring of positive live tweet postings during the event, I shouldn’t have been surprised by the written surveys. Most people filled out a survey before leaving – 55 out of 75 audience members. And a whopping 100 percent said they either "strongly agreed" or "agreed" that:

Panelists shared relevant knowledge and useful information

Panelists were engaging

Panel discussion was well organized

And 96 percent said they were interested in attending a future session on social media.

"Just attended an inspiring GOV 2.0 seminar on social media put on by OCTA," Julie Senter, a Long Beach PR consultant tweeted to her followers. This was just one of nearly 100 tweets on the premier event.

More Than Just Improving Transportation

At OCTA, we’re not the experts on social media by any measure of the imagination. But we have picked up some nuggets of knowledge and garnered success along the way. We've also experienced some pitfalls during our social media journey. As a public agency serving Orange County's taxpayers, we can’t help but share with others in government and public agencies because we care about enhancing our community.

For us, it’s not just about improving roads, freeways, railways and buses. It’s also about effectively communicating with the public and helping provide them with information they need to make their lives better.
Interested in more social media events? Check out the Social Media Club Orange County to get involved.

Best Hearts and Minds of Social Media

2009-07-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Meet the Power Panelists
Of GOV 2.0 Tweetup

Morgan Brown

Morgan Brown, director of marketing for TurnHere

Morgan Brown is the moderator for the July 21 GOV 2.0 panel discussion. Morgan is an officer with the newly organized Social Media Club Orange County.

Morgan serves as the director of marketing for TurnHere. With a strong background in online marketing, Morgan brings nearly eight years of experience in Web development, search optimization and marketing, permission marketing, loyalty program development, online application development and new media marketing.

Morgan joined TurnHere from New Day Trust Mortgage where he was the chief marketing officer responsible for brand development, online marketing and direct response online lead generation.

Prior professional experience includes online marketing positions at Interactivate, an online marketing agency, where he worked to develop online marketing and new technology strategy solutions for well-known consumer brands Sunkist, Little League Baseball, Sony Pictures, San Diego Padres, MasterCard, Nickelodeon, Universal, and others and SalesMountain.com, a consumer retail price search engine.

Additionally, Morgan has written several published articles and maintains the well-respected finance blog blownmortgage.com for which he was named to "Inman News Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers" for 2007.

Tami Abdollah

Tami Abdollah, L.A. Times reporter

Tami Abdollah is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, currently covering Orange County government, the Sheriff's Department and the Orange County Transportation Authority.

She has been with the paper about three years, and just came down to Orange County from L.A., where she worked downtown as a general assignment and environment reporter.

When Tami started with the paper, there were nearly no staffers on Facebook or Twitter. Since then, she's helped the numbers grow into the hundreds. Tami has run a blog as well as worked with video for the L.A. Times. She is a member of the paper's reader engagement committee, which was formed by the editor to work on outreach to readers.

Prior to the Times, Tami worked a couple short stints abroad with the Wall Street Journal in Paris and Brussels. In her spare time she enjoys rock climbing, cycling, skiing and the beach. She speaks a smattering of languages including fluent French, some Farsi and Hebrew. Her twitter account is TamiAbdollah.

Joel Bishop

Joel Bishop, Dana Point city councilman

Joel Bishop is a city councilman in the city of Dana Point. Last year, he was mayor of the beautiful seaside community.

Joel began his migration to Dana Point in the early 1970s when he frequented Strands Beach and dreamed of living in Dana Point. That dream was finally realized in 1994.

Joel has always been actively involved in any endeavor he pursued, and as such became interested in local issues and associations. He served on his homeowner’s association board, and then set his sights for the South Coast Water District.

In 1996, he was elected as a director of the South Coast Water District (SCWD) where he served for 10 years. The water district provides water and sewer service for most of the city as well as south Laguna Beach, and parts of San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. As a director and three-time president of the board, he struggled to keep rates as low as possible, while ensuring that aging infrastructure has been repaired or replaced.

Joel is a co-owner of a software and services company in Irvine. Established in 2000, the company has grown from 23 to more than 200 employees across the country. Joel is a strong believer in entrepreneurial spirit and aggressively working toward well-defined goals.

On a personal note, Joel is a father of two. Melanie is 21 and attends UCLA and Dylan is 18 and a senior in high school. Joel has a vested interest in ensuring that Dana Point remains family-friendly and retains the small town atmosphere we have all grown to love. Joel enjoys SCUBA, golf, bike riding, the beach, theatrical art, independent movies, and technological gadgets.

Appointments to public agencies
Representative, South Coast Water District
Representative, Transportation & Communications Committee Member Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)
Representative, Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG)
Alternate Representative, South Orange County Major Investment Study Group
Alternate Representative, Orange County Fire Authority
Ocean Water Quality Subcommittee

Mark Davidson

Mark Davidson, micro-blogging and social media strategist

Mark Davidson is a self-described promoter to the stars. Specializing in micro-blogging, social Web strategy and social media marketing, Mark is a product promoter and people are his “product.”

Mark helps people create, manage and promote their blogs online, using social-networking sites, social bookmarking and SEO techniques.

“I call what I do FACT-based marketing: Establishing Familiarity, Awareness, Comfort, and Trust,” his Web site notes. “I believe that’s what social media is all about.”

Deborah Micek

Deborah Micek, author of first book on Twitter

Deborah has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, has been a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine and Honolulu Star Bulletin, a radio show guest for the TV reality series, The Apprentice and is a life coach for the award-winning TV reality show, Dream Makeover Hawaii.

Getting free publicity has become a specialty for Deborah, a highly sought-after new media marketing consultant. Author of the first published book on new media marketing three years ago, “Secrets of Online Persuasion,” Deborah ranks among bleeding-edge experts and trendsetters – all while keeping things simple for her clients.

Deborah recently wrote the first published book on Twitter, predicting the trend more than a year ago. "Twitter Revolution" was published when there were less than 1 million users on Twitter.

With her degree in psychology, Deborah started RPM Success Group ® Inc. as her first consultancy company in 2000 with her partner John-Paul Micek, after running and selling several multimillion dollar companies. RPM Success Group ® Inc. became the only coaching company focused on the science of persuasion for small business owners to grow their business and build their brand from the inside out.

Deborah also is a co-creator of the world’s premier new media marketing software system, Blogi360.com that allowed Deborah the ability to give her clients the unfair advantage to level the playing field with large corporations with big budgets.

Ted Nguyen

Ted Nguyen, OCTA public communications and media relations manager

Ted Nguyen oversees public communications and media relations activities for the Orange County Transportation Authority. Ted has faced and overcome numerous public relations challenges during his more than 15-year work in communications.

His most-recent accomplishment for OCTA includes winning the communications industry’s most-prestigious honor, the national Silver Anvil award from the Public Relations Society of America in 2008 for best issues management program during a 10-day strike of bus drivers. The previous year, the OCTA team won the national award of excellence from PRSA for its community relations program for construction outreach for the Garden Grove Freeway (SR-22). In 2007, Ted was honored as the “PR person of the year” by PR News magazine at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Ted has garnered a solid reputation and grounded his communications team because he is a strategic thinker, a driver for innovation, a problem-solver and an ethical consensus builder. He led the OCTA team to be among the first public agency to utilize social media and was a pioneer in launching a comprehensive Web site detailing the progress of federal stimulus funds for transportation.

He has served on the board for the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and has been involved in dozens of volunteer community efforts to enrich the lives of families and children in Southern California.

In 2007, he helped raise funds to provide shoes, blankets, clothing and other essential items for an orphanage in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He raised funds through his network of compassionate professionals and personally delivered the much-needed items for the children in poverty-stricken Cambodia.

Tweet, Tweet! Bus and Road Agency on Twitter

2009-07-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

OCTA engages the public with online communications utilizing no-cost social media sites like Twitter, which has exploded in popularity.

From sOCial sunday Column of O.C. Register
As Posted by Jon Lansner on Sunday, July 19

sOCial sunday will frequently ponder how institutions — private and public, big and small — juggle social networking’s challenges and what wisdom we can derive from their ventures.

Ted Nguyen (@tednguyen) of the Orange County Transportation Authority explains why it works for his bus and road agency — in 140 characters!

It’s free! Social media are cost-effective ways to reach an audience that’s huge.
Conversation is already taking place, so we opt to be part of it. You can be engaged as much as you want or need to.
By cultivating relations with followers who trust and care about you, public agencies can achieve transparency and openness.
Be your true self – no fake accounts. I don’t hide behind the OCTA logo. I’m Ted Nguyen and share transportation tweets with the public.
I’m not hard-selling OCTA, but sharing information about services and programs, building relationships of trust one person at a time.
We share messages via conversations with followers and their friends. It’s e-version of word of mouth, the most-trusted form of engagement.
People follow others who share useful or interesting information and not self-serving fluff. Twitter is more powerful as a listening tool.
If you’re passionate about your work and life, your tweets will sing. It won’t feel like a task, but rather be an enjoyable online journey.
Go offline and tweet-up with others and see what they’re doing.
OCTA tweets include news of our new CEO and info links to Web site, Facebook, YouTube and other resources.
We’re honored that businesses turn to OCTA for help in social media. We learned social networking by doing social networking.

PS: OCTA hosts next Social Media Club Orange County on July 21 at 7 p.m. at OCTA HQ in Orange. All are welcome, especially government, education, special agencies, not-for-profits, etc. for a special free session on GOV 2.0. Follow the event #SMCOC.

A Big Welcome Home

2009-07-19T13:23:00.001-07:00

Crews unveil Orange County's new sign on I-5 at the O.C. - L.A. line.

Driving up the ramp on the I-5 you could see the nearly 20 foot tall sign, wrapped in an orange cloth ready to be revealed, and the sea of people in yellow construction vests and hard hats waiting to get the first glance.

I was among the crowd of elected officials, contractors and media folks who stood in the blazing heat to celebrate this occasion, which included comments from various individuals involved in the signs development.

As the program came to a close, the audience’s presence changed. Slight grins crept up the faces of those who were as eager as I to see a structure that will be admired for decades.

Laura Scheper, a lifelong Orange County resident, gave into the temptation and had to pose for some photos herself.

The unveiling was quick followed by a slew of pictures (I admit, I snapped a few shots of myself in front of the sign), and a brief traffic jam as drivers passing by took a look themselves.

The sign not only welcomes visitors and those returning home to Orange County, but it symbolizes the county’s transformation from a suburban community to a thriving metropolitan area. It was incorporated in the $325-million I-5 Gateway project, which is adding two lanes in each direction, reconstructing bridges and on- and off-ramps in a two-mile stretch between the Riverside Freeway (SR-91) and the county line.

I spoke with the fabricator from Outdoor Dimensions, Brian Pickler of Villa Park, and as he talked about the gateway sign, his boyish smile portrayed the authentic excitement he felt for being a part of a symbolic greeting in his home town.

Local dollars, supporting the local economy – that is what I will remember each time I come home and cross the threshold from Los Angeles to Orange County.

– Laura Scheper
Community Relations Associate Specialist

Unveiling Sign of the Times: Wider Freeways

2009-07-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

Check out the music slideshow of the big reveal of Southern California's newest landmark. It's a monument sign at the O.C. - L.A. line, a sign of wider freeway lanes in Orange County.

A boy, his uncle and the path of progress

2009-07-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

"Basket boats" transport people onto bigger boats and ships off Vietnam's long coastline.

The Intersection of War, Family
Technology and Transportation

By Ted Nguyen
Manager of public communications & media relations

I was born at the height of the Vietnam War in a town of 100,000 people off the coast of the South China Sea.

I learned about the death of former Secretary of Defense and Vietnam War architect Robert McNamera July 6 via Twitter on my iPhone as I sat on a Metrolink train on my way to work. During that ride, I began to reflect upon how much as changed in the delivery of news and information – big and small, happy and sad.

Robert McNamera, left, with South Vietnam Pres. Nguyen Van Thieu in front during a briefing of the war effort. Nguyen Cao Ky, South Vietnam’s prime minister, is in the background talking to U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson.

Christmas smiles in Saigon: Ted Nguyen, third from left, shares a holiday memory next to former South Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky, a prominent figure during the war. To the right is Cau Tam or uncle No. 8.

First Grandson, Uncle No. 8

Back in 1969, my father was approximately 50 miles away as an officer in the South Vietnamese navy stationed in Cam Ranh Bay, a strategic base built by the U.S. during the war that the Vietnamese call the “American War.” My mother gave birth to me in the predawn hours when all was quiet in the war-torn seaside town of Nha Trang.

A farmer balances baskets of water spinach behind the Nguyen ancestral home.

Along the Path: Family of Strangers

Upon seeing me for the first time since my family escaped during the collapse of Saigon in 1975, his eyes welled up as he squeezed my chubby Vietnamese-American cheeks and told me how much he loved me. All the while, I was feeling increasingly uneasy watching a grown man whom I never really knew sob before my very eyes.

“You were the family’s first grandchild – a boy,” he muttered. “You don’t know how hard it was for me to walk the entire day to Cam Ranh so I could share the news with your father that he has a new baby son.”

I realized the difficulty of my uncle’s journey back in the late ‘60s on dirt pathways through dense jungles and mountain passes. Just a day before reuniting with my extended family, I became car sick after enduring side-to-side motions and experiencing head-bouncing in the back of a rented minivan on Vietnam’s “modern” roads en route to my family's ancestral home.

The Vietnam War is a distant memory, especially from the tranquil beaches of Nha Trang.

Longing to Share Memories

As I saw Cau Tam's tears trickle down his wrinkled face, my heart sank at the full realization of what this experience actually meant. Soon tears began to fill my own eyes because I longed to share this precious past with my own father who died far too soon when I was a teenager.

“Your father was beaming with pride knowing he had a son,” uncle No. 8 said as he continued to stroke my now wet cheeks. “I walked the entire day, but I never felt tired because I knew how happy the news would make your father feel.”

The Hope that is America

As a child refugee in America, I have come to understand the blessing and beauty that is America. I now know the power of information to shape our democracy. Our nation is strong because her people have access to news, information and differing opinions.

In my relatively short lifespan, I marvel at the pace of change. My cousins in Berlin no longer live in the shadows of a wall dividing East from West. My aunts and uncles in Sydney and Melbourne visit relatives in Vietnam, acclimating their ears and mouths to the Aussie English accent to only leave them head-scratching and tongue-tied later when the American branch of the Nguyen clan visited.

Accelerating Transportation Information

Metrolink trains are examples of the wonders of technology in transportation that have transformed our lives.

Back in the 1980s, it would take weeks if not months for hand-written letters to be read and hand-wrapped care packages to be treasured. Now we instant message and video conference via Skype. It only takes a few days to send packages. We're also communicating on Facebook and Twitter – though it’s difficult to explain to them why we need to perform so much outreach and communications with freeway and transit projects. In Vietnam, people simply sell their land for whatever set price and quickly vacate their homes so roads can be built. My Vietnamese family still doesn't understand what I do in America. My chosen career of public relations is a relatively new but growing profession mostly fueled by multinational corporations.

Embracing Technology to Involve the Public

Like so many businesses and public agencies across the nation, OCTA has embraced technology to deliver news and information quickly and cost effectively. We were among the first transportation organizations to use YouTube to demonstrate the ease and comfort of our buses. The OCTA public communications team pioneered an interactive Web site with social media tools to communicate the status of federal stimulus funds. The dynamic site details to taxpayers how public funds are being invested to improve transportation.

We established multiple project and program pages on Facebook to connect with a fast-growing online community. And now we've found ourselves the first among public agencies using Twitter to share transportation news and engage in “tweeting” conversations.

A recruitment "e-poster" encourages people to work for a more informed community and for public agencies to engage the public to increase citizen participation.

Helping Public Agencies Get Social Media

And we’ve joined with the newly formed Social Media Club Orange County to share our social networking experiences with other people in public agencies, education and nonprofits with the goal of enhancing public transparency and creating online conversations with fast-growing numbers of new media users.

We’re proudly calling the free session “GOV 2.0” and it’s from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 at the headquarters of the Orange County Transportation Authority, 600 S. Main St., in the city of Orange. We invite people to come and "tweet up" with some quality community members who are passionate about sharing their new found treasures from the twitterverse.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m., social media experts will share one-on-one tips and provide personal assistance for people in public agencies and nonprofit organizations to get started in utilizing these no-cost social media tools that have exploded in popularity worldwide.

Beginners to social media are invited to participate in a step-by-step introduction. People are encouraged to bring their Wi-Fi enabled laptop computers or smart phones and will receive help in starting accounts with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

A panel will follow at 7 p.m. with a discussion on different strategies and techniques to help people in the public sector become familiar with how social media tools can help organizations become more transparent and responsive with the public. With overwhelming interest, the event has reached the limit of participants, and we are working to provide a video feed of the panel discussion to reach those who want to view the discussion from afar.

Sometimes doing the bright thing leads individuals to use the road less traveled.

Cultivating Community and Communications

Technology has brought sweeping changes across our social and political landscape. I can’t help but think about the possibilities if my father had lived ... of the wonder and look of surprise if only he could see how much our world has progressed. Or more importantly to me, I wonder how he would feel about seeing his baby boy all grown up and grasping all the best that America has to offer and all that makes her truly great – freedom with responsibilities.

It's because of access to information with increased knowledge and the connection with others that hopefully has led that baby boy to now making his little slice of the world a better place.

Special Commentary from our Business Partners in Orange County and Silicon Valley

2009-06-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

By Lucy Dunn
President and CEO of the Orange County Business Council

By Carl Guardino
President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group

Echo Your Support for Transit
Among the Halls of Sacramento

All of us have experienced the devastating impact of the economic recession on families and businesses across our nation and state. Transit is experiencing the most painful cuts in generations. As someone who may know firsthand the importance of transit, we wanted to share with you our effort to help protect this critical way of moving people.

Partnering for Transit Solutions

In April, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) made a difficult decision regarding the reduction of bus service in the county. Faced with a record shortfall of $272 million over the next five years, OCTA announced plans to reduce its bus service by 29 percent beginning in September, which could result in the elimination of 400 jobs. Although the outlook may be grim, OCTA is partnering with other organizations to address some of these funding issues. But we can’t do it alone. Your help is urgently needed.

The budget crisis jeopardizes bus systems statewide, leaving customers behind when the rest of America is going green.

OCTA is among many transportation agencies in the state facing difficult times by making dramatic service cuts to balance dwindling budgets. Caltrain, the train service that runs between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, will be forced to raise current rates and cut service.

Asking State Leaders to Restore Transit Funds

Transportation agencies across California are left with few options in response to drastic budget cuts made by the governor and the Legislature in February, which eliminated state funding for transit operations for the next five years in a budget agreement. We are asking state officials to explore ways to restore transit funding. With demand for public transit at the highest level in years, it is crucial that a solution be found to help fill gaping holes in the budgets of transportation agencies throughout the state.

We strongly urge our elected officials statewide to work together with us to find long-term funding solutions for transit. With the passage of Measure M in Orange County and Measure R in Los Angeles County, voters in California have proven that they are willing to pay for quality service in order to have safe and reliable transit solutions.

Google hired a private bus company to transport 1,200 employees to and from its offices in Mountain View, Calif.

Transit Helps Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Transit provides broad travel choices and delivers significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to meet state-mandated targets. Google ranks among large companies across the state that started using private bus services to transport its 1,200 workers on 32 buses. Reliable transit has proven to be an effective way to retain workers at Google while also reducing traffic congestion – a major aggravation for all commuters. Transit service also provides thousands of jobs at a time when the state can’t afford to lose any more.

Looking forward, traffic congestion and the need for public transportation will only grow – especially in car-loving California. Eliminating transit funding hurts Californians. People of all ages rely on public transportation. From students to senior citizens, transit is increasing in popularity because the alternative – sitting in traffic-choked congestion – is becoming less and less appealing.

Your Voice Helps Keep California Moving

We don’t expect the Legislature or other policymakers in Sacramento to magically reveal the golden key to funding transit operations. But what we do expect is a strong, assertive and collaborative effort to work together to address the problem, identify solutions and find ways to implement programs to keep our people and economy moving.

Now is the time for you to make your voices heard in an effort to restore public transit throughout California. We need to work together to find common-sense solutions.

Here are four things you can do:

1. Contact your local representatives and let them know the importance of public transportation

2. Write a letter to the editor to your newspaper

3. Share this information with a friend, family member or work associate

4. Share your personal story on the importance of transit on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

Thank you for your support and your efforts to help find solutions during this difficult time to ensure that transit systems continue to provide the much-needed services for people and businesses.

______________________________________________

Lucy Dunn is president and CEO of the Orange County Business Council, www.ocbc.org, the leading voice of business on important issues locally, regionally and nationally. OCBC works to enhance Orange County’s economic development and prosperity to preserve a high quality of life.

Carl Guardino is president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, http://www.svlg.net/, which represents 300 employers in Silicon Valley on issues that affect the economic health of the Valley and the quality of life.