For many of you that travel frequently for business, you know that weight loss or even a diet are things that don’t cross your mind.  Between getting your life back in order from the previous trip, assuring loved ones that you’ve got to take this trip and the pressure of closing the deal, there is not much time to address the fact that your pants or skirt don’t fit the way they used to.

There are any number of variables that can hinder you from making smart dining choices while you are on the road and go the opposite direction of weight loss.  Maybe you can’t find anything organic on the menu at the Sheraton in Atlanta or maybe it’s as fundamental as not having a predictable routine away from home.  Peter Greenburg, the author of The Traveler’s Diet:  Eating Right and Staying Fit on the Road, seems to think it’s the latter.

Listen up, businessmen.  He makes good points about changes in schedules and never knowing if you’re going to dinner at 7 across town or at 9 in the hotel.  That’s not even taking into consideration the cocktails you have before dinner or having to skip meals due to meetings.  But, as Green points out, it’s not all doom, gloom and kaboom to your waist line.

On his website, Greenburg points out some basic tips that fall into the “why didn’t I think of that category”.  And they don’t even involve that loaded term “diet”.   Here are some of his tips:

• Always make sure the break basket or chips and salsa is on the other side of the table.
• Eat only half the sandwich.  (I’ve been doing this a lot recently and it’s amazing how well this one works.)
• If you know that you’ve got a lunch scheduled, then load up on breakfast early with eggs or oatmeal.

Many of his points highlight the need for self control.  It’s basic, but it’s so difficult to do.  I recently spoke about this with one of the leading multisport coaches in the USA at Triathlon Training Systems.  We were chatting about one of his clients, “Joe”,  and he said that the biggest obstacle for him becomming faster was being able to “push away the plate” when he was eating.  Don’t finish everything on your plate.  It’s that simple.  Or is it?  I think about that now when I’m on the road.  It’s simple and it’s helping me me keep off the lbs.  What are you going to do on your next trip?

There is no doubt that you’ve been influenced by any number of celebrities and musicians in your life.  Between Leif Garrett defining how you approached gardening and Debbie Gibson providing your life-long concept of fashion, you’ve learned a lot.  This installment of “The 5 List”  is dedicated to the country music icon, Eddie Rabbitt.

As you know, I’ve been writing “The 5 List” posts imploring you to dig deep and equipping you with some solid smoke break conversation.

Your boy Eddie Rabbitt was known for being able to deliver feel good country tracks that had a knack for blowing up the pop charts too.  Carving out that niche in country music back in the late 70s and early 80s was monumental.  Very few were able to cross over from country to pop.  Juice Newton was able to smoothly make that leap; as was Chrystal Gale.

Look below and learn 5 things from your boy Eddie Rabbitt.

1.  Even if you are from Brooklyn, you can still become a country music stud

2.  The more you look like a lion, the better your odds with the ladies

3.  Singing about rainy nights really gets the ladies hot and bothered

4.  Sometimes people will try to turn you every which way, but loose…But don’t let them!

5.  There are a definite number of steps you can follow to win her love

Spending 24 hours on the Summit of Everest sounds like it would be as fun and easy as drinking boiling water for 20 minutes with no break.  Three expert Sherpa brothers are going to attempt staying at the summit of Everest about 20 times longer than is typically allowed (for “increased probability of certain death” reasons).  The average time spent at the top is a mere 1 hour due to winds that can whip across the mountain at 100 mph and temperatures that can drop to -25F.

Usually, the time spent by mountaineers on the top of any major summit is limited.  The reality is that the air is thin, guides have strict time schedules and the longer you hangout the harder it is to get started again.  Though Sherpas have legendary status and are known to have the skills, power, knowledge, experience and humility that all mountain climbers aspire to have, 24 hours of on the summit of Everest is a monumental challenge.  It makes breaking the home run record in baseball seem about as significant as jumping over a puddle during a rain storm.

Beyond all of the other adjectives used to describe these three Sherpa, “ballsy” would be more apt.  These men will spend more than 24 hours in what is called “The Death Zone”.  The Death Zone begins at an elevation of 26,000 ft/8,000 m and extends all the way to the summit of Everest at 29,035 ft/ 8850 m.  The Death Zone requires that the human body be on supplemental oxygen tanks because the air is so thin at that altitude that you’ll die within minutes without this extra/pure oxygen.  This will be the temporary home for these Sherpa temporary in what will be the longest 24 hours of their lives.

Experienced Everest climbers, Phurba Tenzing, Pemba Dorje and Nima Gyalzen have collectively summitted Everest 16 times. Dorje has a guru-like status, as he’s set the world record for the fastest ascent of Mt. Everest at eight hours and 10 minutes.    It typically takes other climbers about four days to reach the summit from Base Camp.  The current record holder for the most time spent at the top of Everest is 21.5 hours by Chhiri.  Apparently, he didn’t sleep the entire time for fear of never waking up.  Literally.

The band Beirut has created a wonderfully simple music video concept ripped straight from the bowels of creativity.  Less is more nearly all of the time, folks.  That is exactly what Beirut has done.  They’ve not only decided to create a live music video for their track called “Nantes”, but they introduced the music in such a way that will have you asking yourself, “Why hasn’t anybody thought of that before?”

They’ve managed to set themselves apart from other bands of any genre.  This is key for their brand.  Let’s face it, bands are moving, breathing brands.  Can you, off the top of your head, identify key traits associated with Guns n Roses, The New York Dolls, The Sex Pistols, etc?  Those are all strong brands…ahem…”bands”.  Branding is key in music, as it is with all products and services.

Here are the 5 things to take away from the “Nantes” video by Beirut:

1. Less is more
2. Music doesn’t have to be overly-ProTooled
3. Euphoniums in any band are awesome
4. Setting your band/brand apart is key…people will notice
5. New Order’s live “Temptation” video from the early 1980s has some legitimate competition

See the video below:

Denny’s, the popular chain restaurant, managed to misprint their Twitter address on their menu at the end of 2009 and have done nothing to correct it.  If you were to go to Twitter.com/dennys you’d find Denny Hsieh’s Taiwanese page.  Whoops!

There are a few things at play here.  Not only was it a mistake by the marketing department / ad agency, but also a failure of the PR department.  Once the misprint was noticed, Denny’s and their advertising and marketing divisions should have taken steps to address it.  Additionally, the PR team should have generated a few statements for online media addressing the misprint and how they were going to get things back on track, etc etc.

Here are 5 things you can learn from this Denny’s branding, marketing and PR fail:

1. Mistakes aren’t “the end of the world” if you address them swiftly and across the appropriate channels
2. Due diligence is a must prior to any major proclamation, print run or press release
3. Implement processes that are followed without fail with vendors and outsource partners
4. Ensure that the lines of communication between the PR, marketing and advertising departments are clear
5. Own mistakes in the Internet world.  Otherwise, online communities will ensure that nobody forgets your mistake(s)

LA based art and object creators, Electroland, have outdone themselves with their creation of the Urban Nomad Shelter.  Not only does it provide a place for homeless people to sleep, it is pleasing to the eye like a piece of modern art.

If you’ve spent any time on any skid row or highway underpass in the world, you’d know that there is a need for the Urban Nomad Shelter.  Sure, it’s pleasing for the eye of the person driving by in a car, but it’s the only logical solution for housing the homeless on their terms.  Sometimes a homeless person may find an old camping tent, but they are heavy and difficult to transport.  This shelter enables the person to blow it up and deflate each day.

Since we all know municipal governments aren’t going to do much about the homeless problem other than issue tickets, this would at least help the community in which the homeless people are sleeping.  It would be a win-win, but not a solution.  Thanks for doing your part, Electroland.

There are plenty of corner cafe bars in Paris, but only one can wear the mantle of the only place that serves cocktails in baby bottles.  Though it looks like a cool, swanky bar in the 6th district of Paris, Zero de Conduite has a dirty little animated secret.  It’s theme is cartoons.

The 6th district in Paris is a refined place akin to a Hiroo, Pacific Palisades, Highland Park Village or Manhattan.  One would never know that a bar so close to The Louvre would be so outlandish and fun.  At first glance, the menu tells you that it’s a whimsical and cartoony sort of place.

With each menu, they provide a small dry erase board for use with the numerous board and card games they have available.  What is more fun than playing Trivia Pursuit in Paris while drinking a Vodka passion fruit cocktail out of a bottle?  Answer:  Nothing on this planet.

If you are into cartoons, animated movies or are just up for a fun time, head to this cozy little bar on Rue Jacob (near Saint Germain boulevard and the Saint Germain des Pres metro station).  I promise you’ll leave with a smile.

Daikanyama is a hidden area just south of Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan.  Though it’s so closely located to a main train and subway station, Daikanyama is nestled in a quiet area and is home to the hippest area of Tokyo.  From the hottest in retail store design, hip cafes, fashion straight from the runway and very small crowds, this area of Tokyo is worth a few hours.  Think “Paris meets Tokyo”.  This is definitely something you want to put on your list of “things to do in Tokyo” if you have just 3 days or even a few weeks in Tokyo.

The challenge in locating Daikanyama is that the train line that serves that area is off the radar for most tourists and travelers.  The best way to get there is to walk.  Speaking of walking, you’re going to do a large amount of it while in Japan.  Bring comfortable shoes.

The easiest way to get to Daikanyama is to exit Shibuya Station from the Hachiko Exit.  Though this exit puts you on the opposite side of the station, it’s the easiest to locate in Shibuya Station’s maze of exits.  Below you’ll find a link (in the blue text below) that will enable to you visually see how to get there and back.  If you’d like the step by step version in text, we tossed that in there too.

The Saiko Daikanyama Loop

1.  Get to Shibuya Station.  Look at the yellow signs above and on the walls to find the “Hachiko Exit”.  Shibuya station is MASSIVE with a zillion different train lines and levels and stuff.  Don’t let that throw you off.  Hachiko is a VERY well known exit.  You’ll find it easily by just saying “Hachiko deguchi wa?” and people can point you in the right direction if you miss all of the signs.

2.  When you exit that, look for the police box and giant map to the right.  Can’t miss it.  Pass it and take a right.  That will take you under a shaded rail line.

3. At the main street signal about 100 meters up, take a right and take that all the way down.

4.  Walk down for about a mile or so, then turn right where the map tells you to above

Once you feel like your in the belly of the area (you’ll know when) begin to make turns down the alleys and side streets.  That’s where all of the hippest shops are located.

Back when most of the USA was mourning the attack on Pearl Harbor, national park officials were making videos about the glory of feeding the bears in Yosemite National Park…by hand.  In 1941 the parks services created a promotional video highlighting all of the great elements of Yosemite:  skiing, driving a car through the trunk of a giant tree and feeding bear cubs by hand.

I don’t pretend to eat bark and shower in the river everyday, but I feel that we know a thing or two about backpacking in Yosemite.  One of the little adages we like to live by goes a little something like this:  don’t leave anything with a food or chemical scent in the car because a bear will come out of the woods, leave your car on blocks and steal your car stereo.

All kidding aside, bears destroy cars.  Just do a search on the Internet for a bear shredding a car at a campsite.  Apparently this lady in the sweet fanny pack didn’t get the memo that bears are sorta dangerous.  (fast forward to the 3 min mark)

So, bear with me, if Yogi Bear and the Hair Bear Bunch can destroy a car then we’re pretty sure you’re screwed if they come after you.  You can imagine our chagrin when we came across this video of people feeding bears and the Yosemite park rangers giving it the “OK”.  Things sure have changed.

Spending time in bear country is serious business, folks.  There is a great book called Bear Aware that gives wonderful advice on setting-up camp, parking your car, cooking, what to do when encountering a bear and much more.  It literally saved my skin once in the mountains a few years back.  Bear country is no joke.  Other than Yosemite, some other bear hot spots (especially in the summer time) are San Gorgonio, San Jacinto and Mt. Baldy.  During normal summer droughts, bears go further and further down the mountains to find food and water.

To learn what not to do, watch the video below.  The part to fast forward to is the 2 minute point.

You love MMA as much as the next guy that thinks he’s tough, but what if you had to wrestle a preying mantis on the website Japanese Bug Fights?  Could you hang as long in insect wresting as you do in your mind when your imagine yourself kicking the crap out of that jackass in the tight shirt that has something lame printed on it like “Affliction” or “Truth” or “Faith” or some other stupid faux philosophical blathering?

Frankly I think the centipede would kick the s#%^ out of you and all your gym rat friends like Chris Brown did to Rhianna.  If you feel that you could take on the tarantula like Conan the Barbarian does at the beginning of the film fighting in the pit, then you’ll need to bone-up on all 30 of the fights listed on Japanese Bug Fights. Our top pick is the Scorpion vs. the Crawfish in fight 11.  Take a look at how the crawfish gets yoked before his bout.  Sweet!

This is yet another example of the insanely creative stuff Japanese people come up with.  What other things have you seen come out of Japan that has you saying, “Sweet!”?

Hiroko Fukuda has brought us a fantastic book for learning Japanese called Jazz Up Your Japanese with Onomatopoeia.  If you’re like us and have had a challenging time learning another language, then you know the suffering and pain associated with conjugations, specialized vocabulary and not sounding like a total loser.

Not only does this book cover words that you’d never learn studying for the JPLT Level 2 or the JETRO test, it provides natural situations in which they can be used.  Genius!

We’ve included the 1st situation below to give you a taste of what they offer.  Have fun.

“A New Lease on Life”　ｂｙ：福田ひろこ

Takahashi of the Marketing Department at Heiwa Securities and his boss, Section Cheif Sato, drop by a bar after work. The beer has just arrived.

高橋　「今日は参りましたね、課長。もうへとへとですよ。」

佐藤　「がんがん飲もう。俺がおごるよ。」

高橋　「はあ。有難う御座います。まあどうぞ。」
（課長のグラスにビールを注ぐ。ビールがあふれそうになって。）

佐藤　「おうっとっと。。。。ぎりぎりすることばっかりで、喉もからからだな。」

高橋　「全くですね。一日中どたばたして、ぺこぺこ頭をさげまわって。」
（佐藤さんにビールを注ぎながら）

佐藤　「ま、こういうときにはじたばたしたって駄目なもんだよ。」

高橋　「はあ、どうも。 （注がれたビールを一口飲んで）うまい。冷えている。やっぱり すかっとします ね、ビールは。

佐藤　「ちびちび飲んでないで、ぐうっといこうよ、ぐうっと。」
（さらに高橋さんにビールを注ぐと、高橋さんはいきいよく飲み干して）

高橋　「課長こそどんどんいきましょう。」
（佐藤課長、このところ目立ってきたおなかをさすりながら）

佐藤　「どんどんはいいけど、水を飲んでも太る体質でね。まあいいか、今日のところは。」 　
（課長にビールを注ぎ終えたところに、注文したおつまみがくる。）

店員　「へい、お待ちどう、焼き鳥５人前。」

—————————————————————-
Vocabulary
へとへと- worn out, completely tired, exhausted
がんがん- extremely strong or violent action
きりきり- stress or tension or pain due to haste and hard work…tightly wound person
からから- completely dry…containing no moisture
とたばた- rushing around from place to place wildly (when used for oneself, it’s humble)
ぺこぺこ- bow one’s head in a fawning or groveling manner
したばた- to panic or become flustered when confronting imminent problem
すかっと- clear, refreshing…free from bad feelings
ちびちび- action done slowly and steadily
ぐっとう- action done with all one’s energy and focus
どんどん- action done continuously and vigorously…w/out hesitation or delay

ISBN 4-7700-2956-X

I find that I do a lot chanting “punks not dead” each night before I go to bed while The Jam plays in the background.  On the nights when we cry ourselves to sleep, it’s partly because we just don’t know where to go to find punk stuff.  We Fucking Bang has delivered us from our sadness by creating a punk map for Austin, Texas, USA (aka:  ATX).

All kidding and red plaid bondage pants aside, the Austin Punk Map is pretty darn impressive.  It helps people not fixate purely on 6th Street.  This site features venues that feature punk music, record stores that sell punk and vegan / vegetarian places to eat.  It also gives the ability to download files for the following GPS and cell phone devices:

• .kml file for iPhone / Google Phone / other poseur devices (+ google maps/earth/etc)
  
• .gpx file for open source applications (easily converted to all sorts of things)
• .csv file for Garmin / Navman GPS
• .ov2 file for TomTom GPS

Hey, and for the record:

I had no idea that being vegan was part of the punk diet, so to speak.  Our thought of a punk diet would be Mountain Dew, White Castle burgers, pork rinds, egg sandwiches and plenty of cans of crappy beer.  Soyrizo?  Hey kids, that’s not punk.  That’s Morrissey.

What happens when Deckstar, Dirt Nasty, Andre Legacy and B-Real get together for a Gammy party?  Pandemonium.  We were out in Hollywood at My House for the Deckstar Grammy party.  The turnout was huge and the surprise entertainment was great.

The Cosmic Kids opened the evening.  They always manage to spin great disco/soul music with their modern touch.  The tone was set.  After that B-Real from Cypress Hill spun a set for a while.  He was spinning some old G Funk anthems and the crowd loved it.  Little did all of us know that he was going to surprise us with a quick rap performance too.  He still has the chops.

Then Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy got on stage to get the crowd crunk.  They got the job done. Dirt Nasty did his “1980″ track.  I think New York DJ phenom Jesse Marco went on after him.  I happened to run into and see a lot of people that night.

I ran into A Girl Like You and she so kindly provided the photos you see in this post.  Check out her photos on her site and get stoked..  We also saw some of the El B Si crew, Eminem’s manager, comedian David  E. Taylor, DJ Killer Cam, the founders of Gnar Caps and many other local mover and shakers.  For those of you that don’t know the depth of Deckstar’s artists check out this who’s who of world famous DJs:  Peanut Butter Wolf, Steve Aoki, Glitch Mob, the late DJ AM, Jazzy Jeff and many other big hitters.

Deckstar seems to be growing and growing.  They’ve carved a unique niche for themselves as the premier DJ management firm with street cred.  Between internationally respected DJs like Grand Master Flash and Jazzy Jeff, ties to Mikey Avalon, Dirt Nasty, Andre Legacy, Paris Hilton and driving the Hollywood party scene Deckstar is becoming a bigger force to be reckoned with.  Stay tuned.

Gropers in Tokyo get a monkey wrench thrown in their plans after the JR train line launches “women only” train cars.  Japan has many things that make it endearing and unique.  However, one of the sleazier sides of the country are the perverts that grope and talk dirty to innocent women on the crowded trains in Tokyo and other major cities.

The sad truth is that Tokyo and it’s surrounding bedroom communities are overcrowded.  This becomes painfully clear each morning and evening when business people are commuting.  Like a bacteria in a stagnant pond, this is where the perverts thrive.

Finally, Japan Railways (JR) is beginning to do something about it.  This has been serious problem for so many years that they finally created a “females only” car on one of the busiest train lines (Chuo Line) for commuters to Tokyo that passes through the busiest train station in the world called Shinjuku Station.  Fortunate women who can get a space on the special “female only” car are able to be crammed like sardines like the rest of the commuters, but without mystery hands grabbing for their unmentionables.

Though perverts, “chikan”, prey primarily on Japanese women, ex-patriot females have been known to fall victim to the groping hands.  Women are told bits of advice here and there.  Sometimes conductors will announce over the loud speaker to be careful of gropers.

One way to ensure a groper thinks twice before whispering low perverted phrases or grabbing a woman at a future date is to get aggressive.  You can grab his wrist,  jerk his hand in the air and then scream “chikan!”  This employs the embarrassment tactic that is a highly effective angle in Japan.

Thank goodness for technology like Google Reader and We Are Hunted.  Between GReader, WAH and Glenn Friesen I’ve got my Swedish Electro R&B fix covered.

If you are a fan of electro pop a la early 1980s mixed with a dash of modern electronic music then you’ll love O’Spada and Staygold.  Below is a track called “Backseat” by Staygold.  They were joined by Spank Rock and Robyn.  Holy Sgt. Pepper meets Purple Rain.

Next up is a track called “Time” by a full band called O’Spada.  They are very much like electro meets, Swing Out Sister, meets Tina Marie.  Get your R&B groove going right here.

Red Cross is making it easier than ever to help the 2010 Haiti Earthquake victims  by enabling people to donate $10 via text message.  That $10 shows up on your next cell phone bill.  It is not a scam and is a fantastic way to leverage the mobile technology everyone has in the USA.  At the time of this article, they have already raised $8 million by text donations.   And you thought texting was just for things like Texts From Last Night or telling your friend that you are running late.

All you have to do is this:  Text “haiti” to the cell number 90999

It’s so easy that your druncle could figure it out at your next family BBQ.  To make it easier on yourself (depending on the type of phone you have) you can do what I did.  I added “Red Cross Text Donation” as a contact into my cell phone address book so that I could easily text my donation…and for possible future donations.

Still on the fence?

Let’s go over some of the last things you probably spent $10 on, shall we:

1. An overpriced and over-hyped vodka + Red Bull for that gal that turned out to have a tattoo of a bowl of gravy on her left shoulder
2. Your Netflix monthy fee
3. Dry cleaning on 4 shirts
4. A blended coffee drink for you and your coworker because it was your turn to buy
5. A plate of happy hour priced nachos and two happy hour draft beers

You get where I’m going with this.  You can make a legitimate difference by donating $10.  Sure you may be thinking that you don’t have the cash because the economy sucks or that you don’t trust how it will be allocated…blah blah blah.  Suck it up and take a chance by doing something nice for a family you will probably never meet in your life.  Do it because it’s the right thing to do.  And PLEASE don’t rely on Twitter as your trusted news source on this cool way to donate to families that need it.

I recently sat down with New Berlin at Intelligentsia in Silver Lake to talk about movies, world travel and his latest mixtape available for free download at Teleport Door.   Intelligentsia is the sort of place that stands out on Sunset in Silver Lake.  It, like its neighbor the Cheese Store of Silver Lake, represents the sleek foreshadow of what is to come in an area that is known for being equal parts grime and artsy.  It was the perfect backdrop for our conversation.

The Super Social mixtape is many things, but it is not contrived or boring.  Like his previous mixtapes, New Berlin ventures down a new road of uncategorizable sonic stylings.  The intro tracks lead the listener to believe the Super Social mixtape is a techno endeavor.  Don’t be fooled!  This mixtapes ebbs and flows from up-tempo electro to pop R&B to indie rock to vocal house.  This is the sort of mixtape one would hear at a club in Tokyo, Germany or Poland.  It was worth the wait.  Trust me.

Between Buggy Rollin and Junkyard Cyclocross, you may think that you’ve seen all of the creative and outlandish sports created in the last 10 years.  You haven’t until you’ve seen a freestyle pull-up competition;  More specifically, if you’ve not seen a tournament thrown by B-xtreme / N.B.X.A.  This crew of people have held two freestyle pull-up tournaments so far and I suspect that there will be many more popping up across the country.  Get ready to be wowed by guys that have more core and upper body strength than we ever will.

Here’s how it works.  A person gets a set amount of time to show off all of their freestyle pull-up chops.  Style and form are all that matters in this sort of competition.  They can do wide grip, narrow grip, overhand or underhand.  Everything else is up to the competitor.

The major players in this years competition in The Bronx were:  The Technician, Big Rebel, G.I. Joe, Omar, Bigz, The Bar Extrodinaire and many more from the B-xtreme and Highlanda crews.

When are we going to see a freestyle pull-up competition in Los Angeles?

 Sergio and the guys at Marketing Sherpa recently released findings from a social media survey they conducted.  Though there are no major revelations, it’s still great to keep one’s finger on the pulse of social media expenditures and how executives perceive this constantly evolving marketing channel.  

Here’s what they found:

1. 49% feel that social media has a future for generating ROI.  Additionally, they feel that conservative budget increases are warranted to achieve desired ROI
2. 27% feel that the value of social media is unknown; therefore, only done if time permits.
3. 17% feel that “why pay for the milk if I can get the cow for free”
4. 7% feel that social media is delivering measurable ROI and have desire to increase budgets liberally for a more refined execution [read: increased ROI and brand positioning]

They seem straight forward, but the two that truly jump out are numbers 3 and 4.  They represent the opposite sides of the spectrum. 

“Why pay for the milk if I can get the cow for free?”

There are two ways to look at this group.  On one hand, this mindset limits their ability to think creatively on ways to generate more top-of-mind-awareness and ROI.  This puts them “behind the eight ball”.  While their competitors are actively testing and generating positive results through their social media strategy, this group is too busy conducting their marketing through traditional- sometimes stale- methods.  

On the other hand, they may be like my parents were in the early 80s when the VCR was introduced to consumers.  Why pay full price for a product/service that will drop in price, solidify its best practices and be easier to leverage?  They may be lying in wait for the social media frenzy dust to settle.  This could ultimately position this group to hit the ground running without being limited by early stage social media limiting beliefs.

Early adopters writing the rules

The 7% of responders that feel that social media does nothing but add brand and bottom line value have a lot going for them.  They affect more change in the evolution that can ultimately, directly benefit how their business and/or vertical benefit from taking these new strategies seriously.  Somebody has to do it.  These early adopters are the trailblazers in marketing, corporate strategy and brand management.  

Social media early adopters take the calculated risk and reap all of the rewards.  Not only do they realize increased ROI and elevated top-of-mind-awareness, they can easily find themselves included in case studies that document the A players in specific verticals that are shaping how social media is successfully leveraged.  The Kogi Truck is a great illustration of this.

I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground on the evolution of these sorts of numbers.  In what category do you fall?