Girls In Tech

Have you been on a mystery trip yet?  It’s the newest trend in meeting new and interesting people IRL and incorporates social media and socializing in the LA area.  Founded in 2003, the mission of Mystery Trip LA is give people in Los Angeles the chance to experience unique and fun events, eat great food, explore forgotten treasures, discover little-known gems and to interact with the bizarre characters that make our humble little city so wonderful.

With the upcoming holiday season, Mystery Trip LA is the perfect event for friends, co-workers, business and networking associates and anything in between.  Whether it’s tours of historic LA landmarks and odd museums,  meals at socially-conscious restaurants and from gourmet food trucks, or sumo wrestling and roller derbies, you can be sure that you will 1.  have a great time and 2. make your friends envious with your check ins and unique badges.

Most recently Mystery Trip LA was recommended by CitySearch as the next big party movement and was a featured event on EyeSpyLA.

Check out http://mysterytripla.com/ for details on upcoming events or to plan your next party.

brought to you by: laurelk.com

Posted in All Chapters, Girls In Tech, Los Angeles | 1 Comment »

Brands with a clear social media strategy are continuing to use Facebook to drive customer loyalty and connect with their base.

Swarovski Elements is kicking off the holiday season with daily giveaways for their Facebook fans. From December 1 to December 7, Swarovski Elements will give away 50 Swarovski Crystallized products every single day via their Facebook fan page.

With a potential customer base of over 500 million users, e-commerce marketers have come to see Facebook not only as a place for socialization and building brand loyalty, but also as a platform to drive sales.

Swarovski Elements has also dipped a toe into F-commerce, launching the Swarovski Elements store on their Facebook fan page. Fans can browse through Swarovski-enhanced pieces from brands like Victoria’s Secret, Talbots, and Henri Bendel and then click through to the online store to complete their purchase.

Embracing e-commerce on the Facebook platform is allowing Swarovski Elements to go beyond collecting fans to igniting consumerism.

For entrepreneurs who want to sell on Facebook, there are several options, including startups like Payvment, Big Commerce, or a custom solution.

Tags: e-commerce, facebook, social media
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Plonk Wine Merchants is bringing the wine purchasing experience into the digital world with a bang.  Founded by native LosAngelista Etty Lewensztain, Plonk Wine Merchants brings wine lovers artisanal and rare wines from around the globe, including biodynamic wines, organic wines, and wines made from sustainably grown grapes.  Each wine is hand-picked by Lewensztain herself and is priced at just $30 per bottle or less!

Lewensztain is certified by the esteemed Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and the American Sommelier Association and an ambitious online entrepreneur, but at 28, she isn’t exactly opening up $100 bottles of wine every time she has dinner with friends.  One of Lewensztain’s goals in founding Plonk Wine Merchants was to create high value by “turning cheap on its head” – providing her customers with high-quality wines at cheap prices from small production wineries, rare varietals, and off-the-beaten path growing regions.  “For everyday drinking, you don’t need to spend a lot to buy great wines if you know where to look,” she explains.

Plonk’s Innovative Online Experience

Lewensztain makes innovative use of the online platform by providing Plonk Wine Club members with an interactive experience – online wine tastings with winemakers from all over the world.  Included in Club members’ monthly delivery are three wines featured in the online tasting and Club members can join in on the tasting.  In addition, each wine on the Plonk website is accompanied tasting and pairing notes, as well as video review, with interesting facts, such as information about the growing region, for those interested in a little extra wine education.

The Plonk Wine Merchant site also includes Lewensztain’s Plonk Blog, aimed at making wine digestible for everyone by explaining the basics and demystifying it.  Her blog also includes wine pairings with recipes from Los Angeles chefs, as well as tips on buying good, inexpensive wines.

Online: The Future in Wine Sales

Lewensztain chose to open as an online retailer because “it’s the future in wine in terms of sales.”  More and more, people are buying online and even brick and mortar stores are selling an increasing amount of wine to online customers.  In addition, as an online retailer, Plonk can focus on a larger, national customer base.

Being in the online space, however, also presents new challenges for Lewensztain, who has extensive experience in traditional wine marketing.  “Focusing on SEO, getting people to notice you, and getting return customers in the online space requires patience,” she explains.  As part of her online and social media marketing efforts, Lewensztain guest blogs for various websites in addition to creating value-added content for her own blog.  She has written blogs for eatdrinkbetter.com on topics such as biodynamic and organic wines and wine allergies, as well for menuism.com’s blog, including a three-part series about “wine geek lingo.”

To learn more about Plonk Wine Merchants, its unique offerings, and its ambitious female founder, visit Plonk on Facebook and follow Plonk on Twitter @PlonkOnline.  And if you’re wondering what in the world “Plonk” means, take a look at the top the page on the Plonk Wine Merchants’ website…

Meredith Davis Williams can be reached at 213-426-2144, mwilliams@millerwillamslaw.com, or @MerEsqLA.

Tags: Etty Lewensztain, Girls in Tech Los Angeles, Meredith D Williams, Online Retailers, Online Wine Sales, online wine tastings, Plonk Wine Merchants, seo, wine, wine club, wine marketing, Wine reviews, wine technology
Posted in All Chapters, Los Angeles | No Comments »

By Guest Blogger: Karin Xie

Want to get a glimpse into the future of media and mingle with the “who’s who” of the emerging media industry? You are in luck! Business Insider’s IGNITION conference is taking place on December 2-3, 2010 at the Time Warner Center in New York City and Girls in Tech members are invited to participate in this exciting, inaugural event.

With an impressive lineup of keynotes and lunch seminars covering topics from iPad, Facebook, sports, advertising to augmented reality, IGNITION will help you navigate the fast-changing new media landscape, stay on trend and make better business decisions. A few speakers who stood out to us are –

·         Arianna Huffington, Co-founder, Huffington Post

·         Jason Kilar, CEO, Hulu

·         Jon Miller, Chief Digital Officer, Chairman & CEO, Digital Media Group, News Corporation

·         Deanna Brown, President & COO, Federated Media

·         Sarah Chubb, President, Conde Nast Digital

·         David Kirkpartick, Technology Journalist & Author

·         Kevin Ryan, CEO & Founder, Gilt Groupe

Thanks to our friends at Business Insider, Girls in Tech members get 20% off when you enter “girlsintech” upon registration!

Posted in All Chapters, Girls In Tech, New York | No Comments »

Dating industry is a very competitive marketplace. Currently, an online dating is a 700 million dollar industry. People are trying to meet through friends, telephone chat lines, matchmakers, or online. Internet dating services are the most popular way to find a match. However, there are so many website to choose from! At present, the US market consists of over 1000 dating websites. From the consumer stand point, it is very hard to decide which service to use. Dating websites look alike and have very little in service differentiation points. Most of them are catering to the same public audience. They require filling out a long application and you have to pay a monthly fee. More daters are migrating to the social network sites like Facebook, where they can find more personal approach in dating communications. As a result, the industry faced a decline in growth from 70% a year to just 10% a year.

According to Census data, in the United States, 58% women and 48% men use online dating services and the demographics is one of the main factors affecting the demand.

San Francisco based website GetDateCandy is offering a new, creative, and more “human” dating concept. If you are a female in the San Francisco area, on GetDateCandy website you can find a cute, fun, intelligent, and already prescreened guy. The GetDateCandy team not only writes a “review” about a potential dating candidate, it also posts information about him from his female friends. This valuable information gives you a chance to see a candidate from a female point of view. The website even provides you with an “Advice Candy” along with a profile! To contact a guy you need just to send your Facebook link and GetDateCandy.com team will do the rest.

This new startup launched its operations a little more that a month ago. They found a unique customer niche to serve. GetDateCandy is trying to change the dating industry. It is looking into understanding the consumer’s needs and finding new ways to create a five-star service.

So far the search on GetDateCandy website is free of charge. Just submit your email address and find yourself a date!

Posted in All Chapters, Girls In Tech, San Francisco | No Comments »