A Surprise Birthday and a Memorial Day Mashup

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?

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

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









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?

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

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.



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!

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

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:

@JonLan

@Gallagherstar 

@DeanSoto 

@travelcostamesa 

@saigondotcom

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

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

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.



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

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

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



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


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

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!