Impressions - January 2010 - (Page 6)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS On Being Social t never ceases to amaze me how quickly new technology changes the way we do everything. The latest is the social media explosion that is allowing people around the globe to share information in a matter of seconds. While social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have been around for a while, it wasn’t until recently that the value of participating in these networks — whether just for fun, to stay connected, or to spread news about our businesses — really proved itself to me. Two years ago, I’d have never imagined that “verbs” such as Tweeting and Facebooking would become part of my daily vernacular. Now second nature, I catch myself in the ofﬁce hallway saying, “I Tweeted that and it instantly got re-Tweeted.” Somewhere out there, my English professors are cringing and my children are beaming with pride that I’m ﬁnally cool. Impressions made its footprint in the social media space in 2009 by starting groups on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Admittedly, I was a bit gun-shy at ﬁrst; I didn’t completely understand the inﬁnite possibilities these sites could have in getting our important editorial content and Imprinted Sportswear Shows updates to the marketplace at lightning speed. But a little research and reliance on our well-versed editorial team’s knowledge of social networking was all it took for me to embrace this brave, new world. Understanding that Rome wasn’t built in a day, I know it takes time to increase the number of fans and followers we have in these respective social networks. But this past fall, I was involved in a Facebook group that showed me just how quickly a message could spread virally. My oldest son was one of ﬁve semi-ﬁnalists to be the ofﬁcial student blogger for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Three ﬁnalists would be chosen based on votes, so it was time to spread the word. A Facebook group called “Help Dylan Go to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver!” was formed for the two-week voting period. Within days, the group grew to more than 650 members who were voting daily to get him to the next level. It was mind-blowing to see that friends of friends of friends were joining from places as far away as Thailand and Sweden. If I had any prior doubts about the power of social networking, this phenomenon caused me to be an ofﬁcial believer. I encourage you to connect with Impressions to stay current with what we’re up to — it’s a great way to get back to our Web site for extended content and online exclusives. You can ﬁnd information on joining our various social networking groups at impressionsmag.com, or on page 4 of this issue. DECORATED APPAREL GROUP EDITORIAL OFFICE 1145 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 355 Alpharetta, GA 30009 (770) 569-1540, (800) 241-9034; Fax: (770) 569-5105 i ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER LAURIE GONZ • (813) 366-2877 LAURIE.GONZ@NIELSEN.COM ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE JEANINE MORGAN • (813) 366-2876 JEANINE.MORGAN@NIELSEN.COM SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE — CLASSIFIEDS DIANE KENNEDY • (770) 291-5519 DIANE.KENNEDY@NIELSEN.COM IMPRINTED SPORTSWEAR SHOWS 1145 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 355 Alpharetta, GA 30009 (770) 569-1540, (800) 241-9034; Fax: (770) 569-5105 SALES GROUP SHOW DIRECTOR NIKKI HOUSTON • (770) 291-5416 NIKKI.HOUSTON@NIELSEN.COM NATIONAL SALES MANAGER BRIAN THIGPEN • (770) 291-5415 BRIAN.THIGPEN@NIELSEN.COM ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ERIN CIANCIOLO • (770) 291-5486 ERIN.CIANCIOLO@NIELSEN.COM ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE JEANINE GOFORTH • (770) 291-5414 JEANINE.GOFORTH@NIELSEN.COM OPERATIONS OPERATIONS MANAGER EKITA SHAW • (770) 291-5506 EKITA.SHAW@NIELSEN.COM CONFERENCE CONFERENCE MANAGER LAURA CASKEY • (770) 291-5590 LAURA.CASKEY@NIELSEN.COM MARKETING SALES DEVELOPMENT MARKETING MANAGER CECE LOFT • (770) 291-5457 CECE.LOFT@NIELSEN.COM AUDIENCE MARKETING MANAGER EDITOR IN CHIEF ELAINE BARNES • (770) 291-5423 ELAINE.BARNES@NIELSEN.COM To comment on this editorial or to express your views on other matters, address your e-mail to mderryberry@impressionsmag.com.Impressions >> January 2010 Nielsen Business Media impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - January 2010

Impressions - January 2010
Contents
First Impressions
FYI
Art Inspires Winning Decorators
Tees Drive Core Business
Increase Online Visibility of Your Web Site
Production
For Screen Printers Only
Business to Business
Classifieds
Online Directory
Ad Index

Impressions - January 2010