Updates – Joseph A Federico

Travel Efficiently and Safely During a Pandemic

August 19, 2021August 19, 2021
by josephafederico

As more and more people get vaccinated against COVID-19, traveling is increasing quickly. If you have an upcoming vacation or work trip planned, there are a few things you should consider when traveling post pandemic.

To ensure the smoothest travel experience as possible, you must do something before you ever leave for the airport. You must pack patience. A good way to be patient is to allow extra time to get to the airport, park, check-in, TSA etc. Lines are long for airline counters and security, as staffing has not caught up with demand.

Also, some airport parking lots are full, and you might have to find offsite parking, which takes longer to get from your car to the airport. If you arrive at least 2.5 hours before your flight, you won’t feel rushed which will make you be more patient as you go through the process to get to your gate.

Is it safe to travel? Learn more!

Another way to be more efficient when travelling is to not check your bags. It is a huge time suck to wait in line to check-in your bag and then retrieve your bags at your destination. This could waste almost an hour of time. If you can, carry on and follow all of TSA carry on procedures.

Masks, masks, masks!

Yes, the federal government still requires you to wear mask on public transportation, this means on aircrafts. Pack your mask, wear your mask in the airport and on the aircraft. It must cover your nose and mouth. Crew members are required to enforce this rule, so please make life easier for everyone and comply. You do not want to end up causing yourself and 150 other passengers a delay over not complying with the mask mandate.

This leads me into treating and respecting your flight crew.

They are there for your safety, first and foremost. They are trained in medical procedures, handle hijackers, self-defense and a ton of other things that they rarely are seen using, thankfully. During the safety demo, they say you can be fined or imprisoned for not following crew members instructions. In recent news, the FAA has been increasing fines on people who do not comply with their instruction.

With travel can come delays, and sometimes, you are stuck on the aircraft. One thing I do to help my with delays, is I pack my own snack bag and I ALWAYS bring a bottle of water with me aboard. I pack a mix of nuts, granola bars, baked chips and/or dark chocolate. This helps me from getting HANGRY and losing my patience. Being delayed and hungry is not a good combo for most!

You’ve arrived at your destination and now it is time to head from the aircraft right to the rental car, since you did not check in a bag.

To make sure you have a car when you arrive, reserve it as soon as possible. Rental car companies sold off most of their fleet during COVID and rental cars are very limited currently. One bonus of this is sometimes you will get upgraded to a better car for free due to limited availability on certain classes.

The last and one of the most important things to do… Download your airline, hotel and rental car apps.

You can check into flights, cars and hotels from the apps. You can also get your digital boarding pass and hotel keys. If you need to make a change to the reservation, most apps allow you to do so, avoiding long hold times to reach a customer service representative, thus saving time!

Having these apps in the palm of your hand saves time by avoiding having to wait in line to deal with counters or kiosks and working with humans.

I learned over the years that this was one of the best things to do to cut down on time and make my travel experience from home to hotel the most efficient.

Safe and happy travels!

–Your trusty airline representative

(image sourced by Business Insider)

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The Social Media Merry-Go-Round

May 24, 2021May 24, 2021
by josephafederico

–Joseph A. Federico, CEO of Anchors To Dusk Publishing & Media

Some say social media isn’t for them and others have a false and preconceived notion that by simply having a conversation about marketing, that said conversation would quickly degrade into one about advertising and dollar spend. Let me stop right there and say that is absolutely incorrect.

So, what is social media? Why are we fascinated — to the point of being obsessed — with accumulating likes, shares and pins? When and how did this start? And more importantly, where is it going?

We’re not going to dissect the story in its entirety…I’ll save that for a paid consultation or weekend retreat (Yes, I offer those, too…). But for now, I’ll gently dive right in and offer the abridged version.

You’ve heard of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. And by now, all these years later, who hasn’t? Facebook — one of the most popular social platforms to-date — started off as a “social” platform that was created to allow college students to communicate with one another, to share campus happenings and build virtual communities with the same cause.

It wasn’t until 2005 — around the time I dove head first into the publishing and marketing scene — that Zuckerberg and his crew had expanded the platform and began allowing the general population to reap its benefits. Wait, benefits? Yes. Facebook opened the floodgates and invited ordinary people to become more actively “social” and encouraged them to “peacock” …to show off and let their proverbial freak flags fly.

Sure, social media may have originally been created for/used to allow people to paint organic portraits of themselves or how perfect home life may have been, or even to allow loved ones to stay in touch…but that was just the beginning. The beast that we now know as social media today evolved at record speed. And most people still to this day, don’t know how to properly navigate through this landscape.

To be on social media is to have access to a special power, to be able to take control of your narrative, to tell the story that’s hidden deep inside of you on your own terms. It’s also up to you to tell the world about your business and how it’s owned and operated. It’s a gift.

Let’s go back even further than Facebook’s inception, and dissect an even more unforgiving platform called Friendster…and Hot Or Not before that. Those social arenas held the basic functionalities of the now-Facebook: Chat, Liking, Sharing…but on a much smaller scale.

Friendster allowed users to request and nurture virtual friendships with strangers across the country. I don’t believe it even had a blog or article section at the time or allowed for organic self-expression. It was a simple tool that allowed people to become “friends” with others, plain and simple.

Now Hot Or Not, that platform’s main objective was to get people to rate others’ looks and decide whether or not someone was attractive. Think of it as a platform where influencers gathered, but they weren’t selling products or signing-up to become brand ambassadors. Platform users were essentially selling themselves…for ratings. Think of Hot Or Not as the grandfather to modern dating applications, such as…well…the list is truly too long and boring to even mention.

Now that a number of years have gone by, we’re facing the dawning of a new age of social media. One of the first rules you have to follow is this: Organic content is now and forever will be king. Long gone are the days when a company would post a coupon, for instance, online and hope consumers would purchase their product or take advantage of said sale. The future is not in sales…it’s in how a brand makes a customer or client feel.

Which brings me to my next point… It’s time to integrate nostalgia marketing into every facet of your social media campaign. Think about how you felt when you purchased your own pack of gum with the allowance you saved up as a teenager. What kind of gum was it? What flavor? Where were you when you popped that first piece into your mouth? Who was around you?

See what I’m getting at? I’m attempting to evoke emotion and to set you up — the proverbial customer — to purchase a product. The landscape within the digital marketing world is changing due to the global pandemic. We want to be comforted and coddled and not to have to think about the detrimental news we see on our social platforms or hear about on television. We want to be happy and it’s up to large brands and corporations to deliver that to us. We deserve that much.

It will be interesting to see how social media will evolve in the next 5, 10, or 20 years and how society will adapt to an entirely new set of rules and regulations. I know that I, for one, am counting down the days.

(Article originally published in The Global Achievers, March 2021)

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Masters of Horror: Choosing the perfect model

February 3, 2020February 3, 2020
by josephafederico

As you may have read in the past – namely for projects such as Voudou Juice and soon-to-be Voudou Juice Origins: Cody’s Story – I have a soft spot for male models. That’s just me being 100% transparent and honest with you, my adoring fans and readers.

Truthfully, however, I feel that by choosing a real-life young man to portray one of my wild and crazy characters, the reader will attain a better experience overall – a story of my very own that I’m sharing with the public. You’ll get to vividly envision my words through male beauty. And besides, one of the missions I’m currently on is to push the envelope – through words and through explicit visuals.

So, without further ado, I’m here to announce my newest model, Riley Holley. You have a chance to explore the depths of his creativity and why he is so interested in the horror genre.

Explain why you wanted to model and how this has given you that opportunity:

I’ve modeled before, but chose to go to school for a degree instead of jumping into the modeling world like some of my fellow childhood friends; they now travel the world doing what they love. I couldn’t be happier for them.

But, this gives me the opportunity to jump back in where I left off, trying different styles. For me, it’s not about the money…although, that would be nice. I find it soul-grounding for one to do something they enjoy, yet, challenging at the same time. It gives oneself an opportunity to indulge in bringing characters to life and the manifestation of one’s own concept of emotions and world views.

Explain your background and how these projects, being a book cover model, has given you the freedom to be yourself:

Growing up in the south as a homosexual man, I had limited resources and opportunity due to the biased beliefs of others. Being a book cover model gives me the wonderful chance to express myself and give characters life. The freedom of creativity brings great joy and pride in doing a project like this one.

Being a clinical mental health counseling grad student, I find exploring the darkest parts of the human mind fascinating. Participating in horror book covers allows one to step out of one’s norm, pushing them to let that animal we humans keep in a cage. I find all sides of this concept beautiful and terrifying. Through these projects, I hope to see all sides of the subconscious of ideas flow out in producing nerve-tingling pictures for the viewers’ pleasures. That makes one question the deepest part of one’s character, no?

Why do you love all things horror?

Who doesn’t?! Horror is like the dark subconsciousness of our mind that always wonders, “Could I ever be that evil, vile, bloody and brutal?”

To me it’s like connecting with your alter ego – some being harsher than others – that you’re allowed to let out and to fear of what could be, when we or someone loses control. It makes me feel alive by how it makes my heart race. To be scared is to be alive.

I’ve always been a jumpy person and believe it was my punishment for loving the scare people. It’s a price I must pay, I suppose…

What’s your favorite horror movie and author? Why?

The “Saw” series would have to be my most favorites! This is most likely due to the psychological horror aspect behind it. I have always loved how it took a twist in what I consider to be traditional horror movie form that includes a group of people. I don’t have a favorite author yet, because I just love so many.

How do you feel the horror genre best relates to the LGBT community?

Interesting question… I guess it best relates because our lives themselves are like a horror movie to some extent; there is fear, hurt, blood, death, etc. in the human experience, right? The horrific events that have been taking over in our modern word tie-in to this as well.

And, to be honest, it’s a damn shame there are so few LTBTQ+-genred horror movies and books out there, too. Many LGBTQ+ antagonistic characters in books or movies are terrifyingly absent and to me that is horrifying, too. Why is that?

Similar to a time of witch hunts, our community is driven to shame, suicide, eradication and inner turmoil from the social and cultural norms that have developed based off religious beliefs. If we look back to the past, homosexuality was considered normal human behavior in many cultures.

Religion came into play, with men and armies fighting for power, and it left people who engaged in “abnormal” practices to fend for themselves and be shunned from society’s good graces. They were treated like cattle and seen as not being worthy of life, justice or even safety.

It is possible for social and cultural norms to change over time with the influence of educated, open-minded and reasonable people. I can go on this rant for ages, though…

What do you hope to get out of being a book cover model? Why? How?

I’d like the courage to express the dark side and bring such great characters to life! By using bloody themes and folklore, I hope to feel more comfortable over time. For without darkness there is no light, in between this, creatures shall take flight.

Growing up, what kind of southern folklore or scary story stuck with you the most? Why?

Not many southern folklores buzzed about my family during my upbringing. But growing up having Native American blood in my family, my grandmother would pass down stories. Such stories would be about burial mounds and how they were sacred, and also how the Blood Wolves of the great Native War protect and harm the families of all bloodlines.

One other thing that was prominent in my youth were dream catchers; but dream catchers can be a terrifying spellbinding tool as well, so one must be careful with whom they receive it from. Weaving spells are used in creation of dream catchers, so one’s own subconsciousness can be embedded without the casters knowing. Those are the few that have stuck with me throughout the years.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I want to say thank you for this opportunity and for allowing me to explore myself through such works. This is a wonderful chance to grow and explore while completing what the spice of life really is all about.

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Kaden Roach: Using Instagram to Impact

January 25, 2020January 25, 2020
by josephafederico

I can achieve anything I need through God’s grace and the understanding that I am enough through what God has. Growing up, I knew I had always wanted to make a difference in the world. The ability to leave an impact on someone’s life through my existence is so powerful. That’s why I started to really focus on growing my Instagram (@kadenrroach) to reach as many people as I can.

In high school, I was fascinated with performing and having people know my name. That’s all I wanted at first, to be noticed. I was involved in choir and show choir. I sang in talent shows, danced all over the town, and eventually became dance captain of our school group. These performing skills really shaped me into who I am today. Throughout my time in high school, I just wanted to be famous, but now that I look back, I realize that I just wanted to impact as many people as I could. Since I was performing at the time, that’s how I would make my impact.

Will TikTok be bigger than Instagram?

I would then further my impact through social media. I became so influenced by models and magazines. I decided that was my next move to make an impact. There was nothing I would have loved more than to model for an agency and be on the cover of a magazine; I wanted to show the world that a small South Dakotan boy could make it big. I would go around town and take pictures with my camera with my brother, and I still do. Then, I’d take these fun pictures and post them to my Instagram. After a while, some exciting things started to happen: I had brands like Starbucks, Target, and Alive! Multivitamins start following me. I even got to do my first sponsored post with LIFEWTR. Today, I still am trying to grow and continue to work with more brands. It is such a rewarding and fun feeling.

As much as I still love to do that, I got another rewarding feeling through motivational books and helping others. This made me discover my passion to become a life and health coach. I recently went through a hard time, and God and motivational books were there for me. They helped me so much, and I would love to return the favor and change people’s lives with my book one day.

25 tools to boost your Instagram!

I am currently getting certified as a life and health coach through the Health Coach Institute in Idaho. My goal is to inspire people and help them along with some of their hardest journeys. Through God, I know that this is all possible. I then combined all my passions and have turned them into one.

Now, as my Instagram is growing, I write motivational messages along with the posts to help inspire people. As I am learning through my life and health coach journey, I am taking that knowledge and using it to help as many people as I can. I have done posts on taking a mental health day, sleep, drinking water, and even a nice one about what Thanksgiving truly means. As my passions continue to grow, I wish nothing but to make an impact through modeling, singing, writing, and using Instagram as that platform to do so.

Launch your small business now!

I have opened my mind up to loads of things this past year and it has helped me tremendously. One of the most important things I have learned is that I am enough. I learned that I have what it takes. I am strong enough, capable enough, and worthy enough. No one else can hold that same magic that I have inside of me. No one can see the world like I see it, and to be able to bring out my views and share them through these creative ways is powerful. No one else is going to fulfill your dreams until you start believing in yourself. That’s what I have done this year. I have learned to believe. I am ready to take my education and continue to make that impact on the world.

The world can be a dark and sad place, but if I can brighten it up a bit, then that is the most rewarding thing. You must show people that the mountain you were assigned can be moved.

That’s how I am using Instagram to make an impact.

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Joshua Scantland: Acting and Me

January 3, 2020January 10, 2020
by josephafederico

-by Joshua Scantland

I am where I am today because of two things: I insisted on taking the road less traveled and I am consistently surrounded by exceptionally supportive people. I came from a place where we didn’t have much and the plan for my life was to be a laborer like my father and his father before him.

By the encouragement of very supportive friends and teachers, I decided that I wanted to do something different; it wasn’t an easy path or decision to make, but I took it. I took the more challenging road. I became one of the first in my family to go to college and eventually became the first doctor in my family. Each step of the way, I had people that believed in me and gave me a chance.

How did I become an actor? Oh, right. Well, when you forge uncharted roads, you tend to take detours. I spent much of my life trying to figure out what I wanted to do, so I spent a lot of time trying everything. I’m not even going to try to list them all here, but I had a great time with it all. Now, I constantly find ways to do as much as I can, because this is now who I am. After much searching, I finally found medicine and absolutely fell in love with it. I’m drawn to hybrids, and medicine is a hybrid of many things, much like acting.

As the scientist in me grew, so did the artist. Long before I loved science, I loved the arts—literature, music, film, and performing arts. If medicine is my passion, acting was my first love. I was a shy child who somehow found comfort in being the class clown—always getting myself into trouble.

In high school, teachers encouraged me to take theatre classes to channel my young energy. So I did, thinking it was going to be an easy pass. Little did I know how much I would love it—it had become a catharsis for someone like me.

The theatre director at my school recognized my passion and encouraged me to try out for school plays. I’m so glad that he did, because it set so many things into motion for me. I was shocked with how comfortable I felt on stage, being a shy kid and all.

Since that time, I’ve continued acting minimally during college and medical school. However, I stepped away from it to focus on school, research, and work. Eventually, I’d begin to feel like an unfinished novel; I was proud of what I had, but there was more to be done. I had to return to my essence.

I decided, despite my own personal hesitations, to silently pick up acting again. I never truly stopped acting, but a part of me had let it go long ago when the tunnel-vision of academia superseded everything. I was worried that colleagues and family would disapprove, so I kept it a secret; none-the-less, I had come back onto the scene with more determination than ever before. I was going to give it everything I had!

I was scared. There were so many thoughts that were a barrier for me. What if I had to choose between the two lives? What if I took a bigger bite than I could handle? What if I fail? But, I decided to proceed despite those thoughts.

With determination, I took acting classes, recorded myself acting, and then put myself out there—hustling to find work despite working 60-80 hours a week. I was told the process would be hard, there’s no lie in that, but I was never told how amazingly supportive people would be. I didn’t have to look very far before I found a gold mine in the Midwest, with exceptional talented people who are consistently willing to help one another. It’s been such a blast.

Since taking that first step, I’ve accomplished much to be proud of. I landed talent agents with offices in Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Louisville—and they believed in me!

This past year, I got to act for up-and-coming directors from Los Angeles, be on set with Jesse Plemmons, auditioned for roles in big films such as “Cherry” (almost got to work with Tom Holland!), co-star in an independent feature film, and lots of opportunities to support local artists with my talents. I couldn’t ask for more.

Some of these opportunities were obtained by my agent, but much of it I sought out on my own. Someone may say, “Audition? That’s not an accomplishment.” It certainly can be, simply because that means you made the cut somewhere so that the director is willing to look at you while you talk, and as an actor, you have to learn to relish in that moment.

One of the first questions I get is, “How do you make time for it all?” It’s always the same answer…exceptional time management and self-discipline. I would give my evenings, nights, weekends, and vacation time just to have the opportunity to act.

Some of those projects were low budget productions, so it would virtually be volunteer work, all in the hope of creating something impactful. There were times where I would be “on set” for many hours in between work shifts—I would work 12 nighttime hours before going on set for 12 hours just to get back to being on call for another 12 hours. This is the level of dedication it takes to make it work.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always like this, but I’ve had to get creative with how I manage my schedule. And when I get on set, I try to be the hardest working and most punctual person there, I come well prepared and I am always kind and courteous to the other cast and crew, because I know how hard they are working on their grind. I respect their dedication and I want to honor that.

Not everyone has this level of discipline, and that’s okay, but I think it’s important to have if you want to master any craft. I think I developed this sort of discipline from my military experiences and being the first in my family to go to college—this forced important habits at a young age. Not everyone needs these types of experiences to find discipline, but I was a reckless kid, so I needed the structure.

It didn’t take long before my efforts were being rewarded—with more work. For a working actor, “more work” is worth more than gold. I kept finding work because someone else remembered me from a different job. Whether it was me being easy to work with on set, the level of dedication I had in the craft, or because I went the extra mile for people—associates kept recommending me.

So, how do I make it possible? Well, I truly don’t, but the teamwork aspect does. Cheesy, I know, but there’s truth in it. Every aspiring actor or medical student who asks for advice, I always tell them that you can never go wrong by putting people first.

When you go around seeking to be generous, people see that and give it back threefold. But you can’t anticipate getting something in return, because not everyone will and people know when you’re doing it for repayment. You have to do it because you want good things to happen to good people.

The New Year has just begun, and I already have seven projects lined up. This speaks for the potential that other people see in me and I am motivated by it. I work because they believe in me, and in turn, I believe in others.

Whether it was a poor kid trying to break the mold by getting into medical school or getting to audition for big names, someone gave me a chance! I wouldn’t be where I am today if someone didn’t give me a chance to show myself. I carry that with me every day, and I use that when we are selecting physician residents entering our program or when someone wants me to work with them on set.

Because I’m in medicine, the next question I usually get is, “Where do you go from here? Do you plan on leaving medicine, do you want to be in Hollywood?” Well, the honest answer is, I hope to foster a growth within both and find a way for my lives as a clinician and actor to co-exist.

It sounds silly, but I was partly inspired by Nike’s campaign “Are your dreams crazy enough?” Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy, ask if they’re crazy enough. I legitimately started to ask myself, “Are my dreams crazy enough?” When I realized the answer was “no,” I decided to take up acting again with more sincerity than ever before, despite being very busy already! It brings balance to my life.

I wanted be sure I was fulfilling my craziest and wildest dreams. I want to be in Hollywood, but still have a place in medicine. Is that possible? I don’t know, but I won’t know until I found out.

But I believe that I can because I have seen how generous people can be.

For more information on Joshua Scantland, click here.

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Samuel Rudd Fitness and Beyond

December 21, 2019
by josephafederico

I’d like to introduce my newest client, Samuel Rudd. He is a creative powerhouse, Independent Distributor at Herbalife and owner at Top Seed Lawn and Landscape, LLC. Not to mention, he is an aspiring fitness model.

Just like everyone, he has had ups and downs in life. He continues to learn new things each and every single day in order to assist him in overcoming some hard obstacles that have been thrown his way. He is a firm believer that God offers him difficult tasks, because he knows that he can handle them, and they will turn him into a stronger individual.

Master Rudd has been an Herbalife Distributor for over 8 years and continues to explore valuable information in order to help others understand the basics of nutrition. When it comes down to it, he truly enjoys telling people that Herbalife products are not a “miracle fix” to their health issues. They are more like tools to help fulfill the nutritional gaps we may miss by ingesting a poor diet.

He loves Herbalife products because they are based off the knowledge of cellular nutrition. Rudd has seen tremendous results by using the products himself and wants to help others achieve their desired wellness goals, and be a leader that creates more substantial leaders in the future.

Improving his health helped Samuel gain more confidence in himself, and he connected with new and upcoming photographers that needed to grow their portfolios. And currently, he is more driven to succeed and improve other people’s lives all around.

Ultimately, in the future, Master Rudd would also like to start a microbrewery with his father while growing his client base for his MLM business, and his lawn business, too. Creating good-paying jobs and amazing opportunities for employees to excel in is one of Rudd’s top priorities. He wants to be able to fulfill his dream with the successes that come into his life within the next 5-10 years.

Samuel Rudd is a simple young man with big dreams, and wants to take a bite out of life starting from the inside out, taking one step at a time.

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Healthy Holiday Season

December 12, 2019December 12, 2019
by josephafederico

Holiday seasons are filled with laughter, family gatherings, good food, gift exchanges, and making lasting memories with loved ones. But honestly, holidays are filled with overeating, ruining our daily routines, dealing with over-invited friends and family and spending too much money on gifts. We all like to keep a warm smile and cheerful persona, but deep down, we are all suffering, and we would be glad that we survived the holidays.

I am not writing this for the sake of entertaining you, but bringing real lasting solution to manage holiday stress and keep yourself healthy – mentally, physically, and emotionally. Setting healthy boundaries in budgeting gifts and learning to say “no” (politely) can help your mental health.

If we evaluate our lives, many of our issues are self-inflicting choices. Why not prevent this in the first place? Higher credit card bills during the holidays or feeling obligated to always saying “yes” can be mentally stressful. Our first obligation is to take care of own personal needs, because if we do not take care of our own “self’ properly, we can not help people around us when needed.

With the busy holiday season, our personal routine can be at jeopardy, too. Making sure to eat a balanced meal, supplementing with proper nutrients/vitamins to support our body (ex. taking extra Vitamin D during the winter) getting restful sleep, being active (i.e. yoga, high intensity exercise, indoor/outdoor running, group fitness classes), and avoiding excessive drinking can go a long way for our physical needs. We tend to over-indulge during the holidays, then set goals for the New Year to be active and fit. Let us set a great intention now by building a personal routine that can forge a better outcome for the New Year.

As a pharmacist who specializes in holistic/alternative medicine and phyto-cannabinoid medicine, I would also add cannabidiol (CBD) to this health routine. CBD has been shown to help with inflammation, promote health and well-being, relaxation and immune balance. Who says extra relaxation bad for you?

It’s your call. Make it count.

If you have any questions about vitamins, health, cannabidiol (CBD), please reach out to me anytime at john@robinsondrugshop.com or visit my pharmacy – Robinson Drug & Compounding Center – in Mendham, NJ.

D.H. John Kim, Pharm.D, FAARFM
Owner and Wellness Consultant of Robinson Drug & Compounding Instagram: @dr.john.pharmd

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Potential Social Media Suicide

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019
by josephafederico

Potential Social Media Suicide: My reaction to Arielle Pardes’ “I Am Immeasurable: My Life Online – Without All the Metrics”

I’m sitting here, on my “off” day today – a day after a partner’s holiday party, a long yet productive work week, one where I hustled my ass off to close a contract with an amazing talent – and finally had time to peruse an issue of WIRED…from March 2019!

If you’d read my article from last week, you’d know that yes, I’m still a slow reader. I don’t have as much time as I’d like built into my schedule for creative synapses to get a workout with such activities as reading, or let’s say, for instance, working on (three!) novels. It’s reality, and I have no choice to be alright with that…for now.

I digress…

So, I’m extremely engrossed in the ever-changing world of social media, and am attempting to situate myself as the “Social Media Guy,” that as I began to type this up, I caught myself before I added a slew of pound symbols to words I’d normally identify as keywords on social media platforms. Need more sleep, much?

Jumping right in, I was mortified at first when I began reading an article by Ariel Pardes. Oh Jesus, girl, why would you want to go silent on social media? was my first thought. So, without further ado, I’m going to share a snippet of said piece, then add my two cents to close this thought out.

Pardes boldly starts out by saying, “Social Media is a death carousel, and by the start of the new year, I wanted off. National policy and news stories continued to be steered by the tweets and retweets of @realDonaldTrump. A photo of an egg had surpassed 30 million likes on Instagram. Children were eating laundry detergent and setting themselves on fire in exchange for followers. The phrase ‘late-stage capitalism’ was appearing everywhere.”

I rolled my eyes immediately, but then, similarly to the women in the meme where on one side, she offers a grotesque face, then on the other side, her eyes widen in contemplation, I was suckered in. Okay, missy, what have you got to offer?

First off, Pardes isn’t the first journalist, or even social media manager for that matter, to threaten to leave social for good. From March to this month, now November, social media content has gotten even worse. Starting with laundry detergent (Okay, that was gross…but if it was a marketing stunt, even I have to admit there was something clever there, and those little squares do look tasty… Oh please, as if you hadn’t thought about it before!) to detrimentally expensive political content that’s being questioned daily, social media content is easy to get caught up in and sometimes, is hard to hop off on a high note.

Pardes continues, “So I purged. Not the social media accounts, but the numerical machinery powering them. Likes. Retweets. Views. Followers. Subscribers. The metrics by which the words, photos, videos – what’s known, in toto, as content – are made valuable. I installed a series of browser extensions that promised to leave the content intact but expunge those boldface, sexy, ubiquitous numbers that cluttered and dominated my feeds.”

I’ve been taught, and self-taught, and educated on the fact that content requires to reap likes, retweets, views, followers, and yes, even subscribers. To this day, I tell clients, “It’s not about the numbers, but…it’s about the numbers. You feel me?” Then I proceed to offer explanation on how my team and I plan on attacking an evolved voice and grow a persona from the ground up.

However, there is something so say about the notion of simply sharing content – unfiltered, organic, personal content – for the sake of sharing content…not to get likes, retweets, views, followers, or even a paid partnership. That’s a refreshing idea to mull over, don’t you think? If we simply lived our lives on social the way we so desperately think we live them from day-to-day, we’d be much happier.

But, then how would capitalism work and run its course? The Kardashian-Jenner crews of the world would be nothing, because although I think they, and other celebrities, linked-up with smart managers and run tight business models, there’s no substance once the iron curtain gets peeled back.

And let’s be honest, do we really want to hear blasé opinions and see makeup-less appendages not holding cans of popular beverages? No. The world of social media would fall to ruins within days.

I digress again…

So, Pardes, right… She manages to explain how she dropped the numbers and says, “My guide to denumeration was Benjamin Grosser, an artist and assistant professor of new media at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Grosser builds little UX hacks for liberating Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from the hegemony of hearts, notifications, and follows. Install one of his extensions, log on, and you’ll find the room looks the same – but the curtains and crown molding have disappeared.”

So, is Grosser the “great and powerful” OZ in this situation?

Personally, I don’t buy it. We live for justification. And, admittedly, so do I. We’re too deep down the rabbit hole.

Please like and share this article. It will help me to sleep better tonight.

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Launch Your Small Business This Fall

November 18, 2019November 18, 2019
by josephafederico

So, here I sit in my humble little apartment in Morristown, staring outside at (what’s left of) the leaves and baking homemade pumpkin bread. The work weeks seems to get longer and longer, as do the days around the northern hemisphere during this time of year, and I have to fight off the urge to crash in my pajama set from J.Crew all day and sip holiday-flavored beverages from Starbucks.

Alright, let’s be honest, for those of you who know me (which I hope is a lot more after interacting with this article), I can’t sit still for the life of me. So, although, yes, I am trying my hand at being a bit domestic today, here I am, tapping away at an inspirational article about small business.

I had picked up Entrepreneur’s Startups this past April at the Atlantic City Airport as I was headed to the Carolinas to visit with family for the Easter holiday. The usual was packed in my carry-on bag: earbuds, all of my unfinished manuscripts, several pens, a change of clothes in case my luggage got lost, and horror-genred books. What I didn’t have was any reading material that pushed me, really forced me to look into the (sometimes harsh) mirror of entrepreneurship. I was on a journey to explore the unknown…facts I didn’t know about the world of small business.

And although the fact of the matter is, admittedly, I’m a slow reader, I truly did soak up all the trade secrets and have been applying them to my own experience (or sometimes, lack thereof) from Entrepreneur’s Startups. Which leads me to my next trick: sharing them with you, my amazing and eager readers.

For the sake of saving some time, I decided to jump right in and offer some of my own advice, starting with the section of the magazine entitled, “Start Your Own Business: This is When to Launch,” and it may be found on page 30 of the publication, just in case you’re following along.

The editors start off with a bold statement. They say, “Starting a business doesn’t have to be an all-or nothing commitment. The key is to map out a plan that puts your company on track to succeed.” Now, I must say that yes, you should have all your I’s dotted and T’s crossed before thrusting yourself into entrepreneurship; be sure to have investors lined-up should you require that assistance, and assure your finances are in order should your endeavor head south for whatever reason. However, I disagree with the statement that your business venture “doesn’t have to be an all-or nothing commitment.”

I’m sure you’ve spent months or years agonizing over the “the next big thing,” right? Choosing logo colors and writing out business plans are half the fun, but executing a small business is no small feat. I suggest applying the “ride or die” method to your dream. Use proper caution, but head right to the top floor.

Within the middle of the page is expert advice offered by the editorial team and business expert Arnold Sanow. They say, “Does all work and no play make entrepreneurship no fun? Some entrepreneurs who run part-time businesses based on hobbies, such as crafts or cooking, find that going full-time takes all the fun out of the venture.”

Business expert Arnold Sanow states, “Going full-time turns an adventure into a job.” Well yes, I do agree that entrepreneurship may not be for everyone. However, I must say that your business venture must, must, must start with a passion of yours. What sparks your soul? Are you a professional that feels stuck in a dead-end job?

Those are some questions you must ask yourself before deciding to take your passion project full-time. Over the years, I have met the most passionate people who have taken their crafting business, for instance, or their spice of life in the culinary arts, and brought their dreams to life. Now, again, that’s not to say they haven’t faced some form of trial or tribulation to the road of success, but it’s worth it in the end.

“If the road to success is meant for everyone, then I don’t want it,” is one of my personal inspirational statements. And truthfully, I loop back with myself from time to time and assure I’m following my truth.

One of the statements that I wholly agree with is the following: “There are a number of investigative factors to consider, such as the competition in your industry, the economy in your area, the demographic breakdown of your client base, and the availability of potential customers. If you are thinking of opening an upscale beauty salon, for example, evaluate the number of affluent women in the area and the fees they are willing to pay.”

In Morristown alone, there are approximately 7-9 marketing and public relations agencies. However, after heavily researching my location and observing the needs of my potential target demographic, I found out that each of the agencies, although labeled as “marketing and public relations,” offers something completely different from one another. And the kicker was that none of them offered social media and persona building services. That’s when I took a leap of faith and jumped from part to full-time. I felt I was satisfying a need people and/or companies didn’t know they needed.

Now, toward the end of the article in Entrepreneur’s Startups, the editors state, “If you’ve got your heart set on a business that traditionally requires a full-time commitment, think creatively: There may be ways to make it work on a part-time basis. For instance, instead of a restaurant, consider a catering business. You’ll still get to create menus and interact with customers, but your work can be done during evenings and weekends.”

Again, I do agree with the “take it slow” method when necessary, however, I suggest adjusting your daily commitments against how much passion you’re willing to put into making your dream a reality. Ask the questions, commit to a schedule and launch.

Have any questions or comment regarding the article? Not sure where to start when it comes to small business ventures? Being in the social media and marketing industry for over 12 years, Joseph A. Federico is the go-to agent for all of your small business needs. Contact him today by clicking here, or head to JosephAFederico.com.

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Matthew Blazi Talks Blair Witch

October 28, 2019October 28, 2019
by josephafederico

Matthew Blazi is an author and has just released 8 Days in the Woods: The Making of the Blair Witch Project. He’s not only a fan of the infamous Blair Witch, he’s a die-hard ‘90s fan!

8 Days in the Woods tells the story of how the idea to make a small budget film turned out to be one of the biggest films in 1999. The story of how “The Blair Witch Project” is rooted in the desire to create a horror film that was set apart from everything that had been coming out in the mid ’90s.

8 Days covers every aspect of the making of “The Blair Witch Project” from inception to release. It details how Haxan Films built a world by creating a mythology and meticulously executed an unconventional film shoot that wasn’t meant to be the film we saw. Originally set out to be a documentary-style film, quickly turned into what many call the first true found footage film.

“As a fan of the ‘Blair Witch Project’ since the first trailer dropped online, I have always felt that the film was more important to the horror film genre in modern times that most understand. From the time I saw the film in the theater in 1999. I needed to know more. Visiting the house from the end of the film before it was torn down, to now conducting ‘The Blair Witch Experience’ each year, I try to share with others what I feel makes ‘The Blair Witch Project’ so unique,” Blazi states.

8 Days in the Woods can be found on Amazon.

Be sure to pick up this spooky read just in time for Halloween. Happy haunting!