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How the arts and humanities foster creative business

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Last week, we also submitted this testimony from Gary Skulnik, President of Clean Currents. Here, he talks about how arts education fosters the kind of creativity he looks for in his employees. Read his testimony below!

Good Afternoon Council President Berliner and Members of the County Council:

My name is Gary Skulnik and I am the President of Clean Currents; a home-grown company that was developed, incubated, launched and now conducts business in Montgomery County, MD. As a business executive and partner of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, I am pleased to show my support today for the County Executive’s FY13 recommended budget for this worthy agency.

Clean Currents has had the good fortune to work with the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County in the Non Profit Energy Alliance, a creative partnership of the non profit sector, county government, and private business to provide clean energy to area non profits at rates that save them money, enabling them to focus more resources on meeting their mission. The Arts and Humanities Council was instrumental in making this happen. Without them, it would have gone nowhere. (more…)

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How the arts and humanities in Montgomery County spur tourism

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Last week at our Public Hearing with Montgomery County Council, Bethany Mattocks, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Conference and Visitors Bureau (CVB) of Montgomery County, gave a thrilling testimony on how the County’s cultural scene spurs tourism in Montgomery County. Read her testimony below.

Good afternoon President Berliner and honored Councilmembers. Thank you for all of the great work you do on behalf of our County.

My name is Bethany Mattocks and I am the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Conference and Visitors Bureau (CVB) of Montgomery County. Our primary mission is to promote Montgomery County as a destination for business and leisure travel. Our secondary mission is to encourage local day trips and provide tourism related resources for County residents.

I also serve on the Arts & Humanities Council Marketing Committee and on the Board of Directors for VisArts Rockville. I am a lifetime Montgomery County resident and grew up in Silver Spring. I have seen Silver Spring flourish in the past few years, largely due to the number of arts organizations in the area. It is rare that within walking distance there are major arts venues such as AFI Silver Theatre, Round House Theatre and the new Fillmore.

As a County resident, it’s fantastic that I don’t have to go all the way to D.C. to experience a live music concert; I can experience a live music concert just minutes from my house! And next Tuesday, I’m taking a mosaic tile class at VisArts. Thanks to support provided by the County through the Arts and Humanities Council, opportunities for the CVB to promote Montgomery County, our great quality of life, stellar visual and performing arts and humanities, are truly endless.
(more…)

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Link Roundup: Facebook+Instagram, arts education and creativity tests

Friday, April 13th, 2012

What a week! Here’s what we tweeted this week:

#MondayMarketing

Takeaways: As a digital native, I’m definitely guilty of this: “watching” a show on TV while working on my laptop (switching between Word, Facebook, Twitter and Gmail) while having my phone handy for miscellaneous things (like Instagram, which is only available through iPhone and Android). It’s turning our brains to mush and making things difficult for marketers. Not great for anyone involved.

#TuesdayTech

Takeaways: The internet was all atwitter of Facebook’s one million dollar purchase of Instagram, and here’s one digital strategist’s take on it: this is “the official shift to an image-powered web.”

#FridayFun

Advocacy activities regrettably got in the way of posting #WednesdayWinning and #ThursdayTips articles on their respective days, so here they are, under the #FridayFun hashtag:

Takeaways: Such a great story of how arts education helps kids build confidence and become lifelong artists!

Takeaways: It’s Friday. Test your creativity a little!

As always, follow us at @creativemoco!

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Link Roundup: CEOs tweeting, Instagram for Android and The Voice

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Here are the articles we tweeted this week:

#MondayMarketing

Takeaways: “Consumers believe C-suite engagement in social media can benefit how they view a brand and its executive leadership. The majority of survey respondents, 78%, said CEO participation in social media leads to better communication, while 71% said it leads to improved brand image and 64% said it provides more transparency.” Wow. On a related note, follow our CEO, @SuzanJenkins!

#TuesdayTech

Takeaways: Like Pinterest, Instagram is another new social media darling (click here to see how brands are using it). Instagram was previously only available for the iPhone, but now that they’ve released a version for Android, I see a lot more of my friends taking advantage of this free photo-sharing app. Will your brand join in?

#WednesdayWinning

Takeaways: I’m obsessed with The Voice. I’m really interested in the whole music-making/recording process in general, so everything from the blind auditions to the coaching sessions intrigues me. What’s even more exciting is that a Gaithersburg native is competing — and she’s good.

#ThursdayTips

Takeaways: Really interesting breakdown of the kinds of work that take up your time (Reactionary, Planning, Procedural, Insecurity and Problem-Solving). How does your workday stack up?

As always, follow us at @creativemoco for these daily article tweets!

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Link Roundup: Enewsletters, Timelines (again) and creative outlets

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Here are the articles we tweeted this week at @creativemoco:

#MondayMarketing

Takeaways: Pay attention to your subject line, keep it short and sweet and share quality content. A definite must-read for anyone looking to freshen up their email marketing!

#TuesdayTech

Takeaways: Whether we like it or not, Facebook’s going to flip the switch on Timelines for brands tomorrow. Here’s 10 examples of brands getting creative with the new Facebook Timeline layout — either through its design or how they’re using the layout as an opportunity to further engage their fans.

#WednesdayWinning

Takeaways: We had such a great conversation on Twitter last Thursday over the #whymoco hashtag! Everyone, from elected officials and community organizations to local businesses and residents, chimed in to answer the questions: What do you love about Montgomery County? Why should someone move here?

#ThursdayTips

Takeaways: This is an article written by a graphic designer about needing an outlet outside of graphic design. I can definitely relate to this — I’m a former pianist, and I’ve been itching to get back to tickling the ivories!

Be sure to follow us at @creativemoco to get these daily articles!

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Link Roundup: Gap’s social media policy, #loyaltyweek and 5 things to say to your

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

If you’re not following us on Twitter at @creativemoco, you’re missing out! Michael Orlove is moving from Chicago to the D.C. area to work for the National Endowment for the Arts, and we encouraged everyone to tweet under the #whymoco hashtag about why he should move to Montgomery County! Lots of great stuff — search #whymoco to see everyone’s responses.

Anyway, here are the articles we tweeted this week:

#MondayMarketing

Takeaways: This panel discussed engagement on Facebook beyond the sheer number of “likes.” (Apparently, page posts only reach an average of 16% of fans who’ve liked a page.) The panel talked about engaging with fans through third-party apps (like BandPage, Headliner.fm and Bopler).

#TuesdayTech

Takeaways: Gap packaged their social media policy in a digestible, relatable way — so, so awesome. I’m disappointed the full brochure and the full policy aren’t available for the public, but this teaser is certainly enough inspiration for our own social media policies.

#WednesdayWinning

Takeaways: TRG Arts has started a conversation on Twitter on how to build patron loyalty — join the conversation and see others’ thoughts at the #loyaltyweek hashtag!

#ThursdayTips

Takeaways: Basically, ask for help, give help and recognition and ‘fess up.

Follow us at @creativemoco for these daily article tweets!

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[INFOGRAPHIC] Let’s start with a dollar: the Economic Impact of the Arts & Humanities in Montgomery County, MD

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Did you know that in FY10, AHCMC’s 71 grantees created 3,448 jobs and stimulated the economy with $57,321,373 in total expenditures? Learn more about the economic impact of the arts & humanities in Montgomery County in the Let’s Start With A Dollar infographic after the jump.

(more…)

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Link Roundup: Live-streaming on YouTube, DC Arts Advocacy Day and working with crazy

Friday, March 16th, 2012

Here are the articles we tweeted this week:

#MondayMarketing

Takeaways: We’re not major advertisers on Twitter so we don’t have access to these special brand pages, but I still find these upcoming changes interesting: “Twitter has also shown signs of wanting Twitter.com to be a destination where users linger isntead of a portal that dispatches them elsewhere though outbound links.” Let’s see how this goes and if Twitter brand pages will extend to non-advertisers. (Maybe Twitter will follow Google and develop a Twitter for Nonprofits program?)

#TuesdayTech


Takeaways: Speaking of Google for Nonprofits…if your nonprofit is enrolled in that program, your YouTube channel now has live-streaming capability! We haven’t used it yet, but I have a feeling we will soon.

#WednesdayWinning

Takeaways: We’re all about supporting creativity, and our neighbors to the south lobbied their representatives on Wednesday. If you live in D.C., check out DC Advocates for the Arts‘ work and get involved there. (If you live in Montgomery County, click here to visit our Take Action page and learn how you can get involved!)

#ThursdayTips

Takeaways: Bullying can take place in the workplace. How do you identify a bully and how can you cope? Working With Crazy can help!

Follow us at @creativemoco for our awesome daily article tweets!

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Link Roundup: Facebook Timeline, adopting new technology and “layering”

Friday, March 9th, 2012

Here are the articles we tweeted this week…

#MondayMarketing

Buckle up, kiddos, cause a change is a-comin’. On March 30, all Facebook pages will automatically be converted to the new Timeline Design. Things you should pay attention to, among others: your cover photo, adding milestones to reflect your organization’s history and utilizing the new “pinned post” feature. Click through and learn all about it.

#TuesdayTech

Sometimes adopting a new technology can be as challenging as acquiring it. Read about how behavior modification can make your transition to a new technology less painful.

#WednesdayWinning

There are three Arts & Entertainment Districts in Montgomery County: Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton. Aside from providing tax breaks to artists, developers and businesses, they’re also major economic drivers. Click through for the story.

#ThursdayTips

Layering is the new and more effective multi-tasking. According to the article, you “do tasks that require different different ‘channels’ of mental functioning such as visual, auditory, manual or language.” For example, listen to a podcast while cleaning your desk, or go to the gym with a friend (to meet a social need and a health need).

Follow us at @creativemoco to get our daily article tweets!

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Link Roundup: Google+, Poetry Out Loud and creating a productive workspace

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

Missed our daily article tweets this week? No worries — that’s what our Link Roundup is for!

#MondayMarketing

Takeaways: I found this article to be really interesting. Its premise: most of your fans/followers just want to listen; they don’t necessarily want to engage with you. As a marketer, this doesn’t make me too happy, but as a consumer, it makes total sense. Do I engage with all 308 Facebook pages I like, or reply to all tweets of the 875 people I’m following on Twitter? Nope. I’m interested in hearing if this affects marketers’ strategies when it comes to social media, or if it just helps inform the analytics they get back.

#TuesdayTech

Takeaways: I really had such high hopes for Google+ but was waiting until some sort of critical mass was reached before investing work time in it. (I did find it funny when a multitude of “Google + Best Practices for Nonprofits” articles started popping up.) While I saw some brands use it amazingly well (The Muppets hosted a hangout) and watched friends abandon Facebook and engage more on Google+, I personally just couldn’t get the hang of it. I don’t want to write Google+ off, but it’s not looking good.

#WednesdayWinning

Takeaways: This was the third year that I’ve had the privilege of observing the Montgomery County Poetry Out loud competition, and the third year in the row that our local MoCo champ has advanced to the state competition. Congrats, Kari, and we wish you the best in the state competition this Saturday!

#ThursdayTips

Takeaways: The right workspace is all about the right reminders, tools, distractions and surroundings. If you have all four, you could have an incredibly productive (and creative) day!

Make sure you follow us at @creativemoco to get our daily article tweets in real time!

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