What or whom are you influenced by when you are looking for a new product? It might be commercials, television shows, or maybe if you are like millions of other people around the world, you are influenced by bloggers. Gone are the days when you only read ads in the Sunday newspaper, or watch commercials on the television. Today many of us are being swayed commercially by social media, the internet, and other digital mediums. In fact, according to Marketing Charts.com, nearly 50% of blog readers say they purchase products mentioned in the blogs they read on a daily basis. That is quite powerful when you put it in perspective. So what about here locally? What kind of power and influence do

Sacramento locavore Amber Stott is documenting her life as a conscious consumer and her journey to eat as locally as she can with a food blog, Awake at the Whisk. She said she likes to start each day, camera in hand, with a walk through the garden. On a recent June morning, she snapped photos of plants in her backyard next to the American River.  Planter boxes were filled with watermelon, tomatillos, corn, squash, cucumbers, melons and peppers growing in various stages. She pushed aside leaves, peered under plants and squealed with joy when she found the first jalapeno of the season.  "With the garden, every single day there's something new. That's – for me – my favorite part of the da

So, your business has a website. Then you heard that blogs are the thing that every website needs to helps your business connect with customers. So, now your website has a blog... and you have no idea what to do with it. Enter Jennifer Bourn, owner of Bourn Creative and the guest speaker at the Social Media Club, Sacramento (SMCS) workshop, "Blogging for Business". The workshop, held at Drexel University in Downtown Sacramento on March 24th, aimed to help small business owners and other business bloggers ensure the rewards reaped through their blog is worthy of the time spent.  There is no question that blogging, whether for business or pleasure, requires a significant investment of time

Do you love talking about food? Do you flip to the food section of the newspaper before even reading the front page? Is a trip to the grocery store an excursion? For all you foodies, bloggers and lovers of Sacramento’s restaurants and food: The Sacramento Bee and The Sacramento Press have teamed up to bring you “Table Talk Sacramento: The region’s food community comes together for an evening of lively discussion.” There will be two panels addressing different topics, including “What Sacramentans Eat” and the quality of local food writing. Chris Macias will moderate the food writing panel. Macias has served as the Bee’s food and wine writer since 2008. The panelists include: Niesha Lofin

Sick of the Radio (SOTR) is a Sacramento-based website that covers indie art and music from Sacramento and around the world. The website has artist interviews, photography, art, music videos and even free MP3s. Started last February by 28-year-old Andy Johnson and his wife, Melissa, SOTR aims to share a love of the arts and offer daily inspiration for artists, musicians and art lovers. “We strive to expose all types of art to the masses,” Johnson said. “I am an artist and musician, and love the idea of an online collective of various artists.” Johnson has had the idea for the site for a few years. The birth of his son motivated him to make it a reality. “I’ve had the idea for the websi

The Sacramento Social Media Club (SMCSac) held another successful panel and networking event last week, this time focusing on “The Art of Social Media."  Four area artists--all working in different media--and an artist’s representative discussed their uses of social media platforms to further their art and their careers. Participating were Jen Stewart of Jen Stewart Photography; Eben Burgoon, co-creator of Eben07 webcomic; Marianne Bland, visual artist and manager of SactoMetro Etsy Street Team; Veronica Delgado, owner of Vera Icon PR; and Jeff Musser, visual artist and blogger. The evening began and ended with active networking sessions, fostered by a selection of artisan pizza (from Hot