Gina Bianchini, CEO of Ning shares her stories on DishyMix as well as her favorite recipe for Chicken Fajitas Gina-Style!

Ingredients:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast sliced vertically
1 yellow onion
1 package flour tortillas
1 bag of cheddar cheese grated
2 tomatoes cubed
Sour Cream
Guacamole

And for the Marinade:
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 lime juice
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix together and pour in Ziploc bag. Add chicken and marinate overnight.
Then, with a heavy, blackened pan or grill, cook up the onions, then add the chicken and cook over high heat until golden brown.
Serve in a flour tortilla (heated) with salsa, sour cream, sauteed and onions, etc.

“I wish I could say that it was a difficult recipe, but it’s not. That’s what makes it so perfect :-),” writes Gina.

P.S. For those who listened to the show and also wanted connection to Ning Developers who can customize enterprise and corporate solutions, you can contact Rachel Masters rachel at ning dot com. Tell her you heard about her on DishyMix!

Click here to listen to the show.

Gina Bianchini, Ning CEO on Top Tips for Attracting Members to Social Networks, Viral Expansion Loops and Listener Love

Coming up on this week’s show, Gina Bianchini, CEO of Ning gives DishyMix listeners advice for attracting members to a social network.

Let’s take that to the next level with Joseph Carrabis of NextStage Evolution. How do we need to attract women to a social site versus what it takes to get men to join and engage. Turns out, much of our reasons for “joining” are part of human behavior and the boys ARE different than the girls.

Joseph is a “technical anthropologist” who studies how men and women behave online. He’s guest blogging this month on DishyMix to answer my readers/listeners questions about human behavior and how we can communicate to and provide features for women and for men and how they are the same and differ.

Here are some things Joseph can tell us, but we want to know what you need to know.

Topics to which Joseph could respond:

• How do men and women shop differently online?
• How do social shopping sites work? How are they used differently by men and women?
• Does social media have a place in consumer consciousness?
• Twits or Tweets - can social media be a customer service tool? And to whom? And why?
• Is social media more important to Tweens or Boomers? Why?
• Gender Literacy: Who has it, who needs it, who wants it
• Gender in Story - Tips for Marketers
• Designing for What’s buying: Neurologic versus Anatomic Gender
• Keeping Secrets - Marketing to Men v Women
• Why are women like fire?

Here’s MY question for Joseph:
I’d like to know if I were launching a social networking site for boomers, what words would I use to entice men to join and what would inspire women to sign up? What words would be different? How would I evocatively articulate value so that I had a higher number of conversions? And are there any reasons that both men and women share in their desire to connect online with others?

You’ll see Joseph’s answer to this on an upcoming blog post.

Send me an email to susan at personallifemedia dot com or post the question on the DishyMix Fan Club here or comment below on the blog.

Here’s Joseph’s interview on DishyMix where he lays a foundation for this work.

Joseph Carrabis, Founder, NextStage Evolution on “Why People Do What They Do.”

Meet Joseph Carrabis, Chief Research Officer, author, inventor, musician, cultural linguist and genius. Susan talks to Joseph about being a cultural linguist, gender specific marketing discoveries, cultural anthropology and how humans, as social animals, are interacting with social networking.

Hear Joseph describe the differences between neurolinguistic modeling, psychodynamic modeling and psychosocial modeling and how our brains are still working with 10 million years of evolutionary history. Get details on gender differences in the ways women create networks to establish power and authority and how men establish power and authority to create networks.

Meet Vince Thompson, online celebrity host of Dog & Pony show, author of “Ignited: Managers, Light Up Your Company and Career for More Power, More Purpose and More Success,” and founder of Middleshift, a consulting company that helps Internet companies build sales and biz dev teams to drive online ad revenue.

On this week’s DishyMix we talk about: pot banging and creating something called your “Universe Map.” This is something really important. You will want to create your own simple Universe Map. We also dig into: Cave People; a concept called The Bigger Yes; five steps to true balance, something we all want; and creating your personal board of directors.

One of the things that Vince has been so kind to do is to give our listeners some autographed copies of “Ignited”. So this is how you will get one. Vince and I have decided that if you send an email to susan at personallife media dot com with your story after listening to the show you may win a copy of Ignited! If you learned something form Vince about being in the middle management that you wish you had known and could have applied that to some tragic career bad news story of your past, we want to know what that is. So send us an email about something you learned on the show and we may choose you to get a free autographed copy from Vince of “Ignited”.

Even if you hate your current job (50% of middle managers do!) Vince will show you how to have more power, more purpose and more success. You’ll understand what your “value proposition” is, and more importantly, so will those above, below and beside you. This is the best DishyMix EVER if you are working your way up in the world. Tune in, pass it along and get out your pencil. You’re going to want to take notes!

Related Links:

• Get a 20% discount from our sponsor ICE.com, the #1 Online Jeweler
• Get a Free Audiobook from Audible
• Isobar US: Largest Digital Marketing Network in 38 Countries
• Dishy Mix Blog
• The Performance Interviews
• BeIgnited Site
• Middleshift LLC

Every week without fail I interview a famous author, inventor, executive or industry pioneer about their work and their life on my DishyMix online show. I explore the both the “executive” side of the guest and the personality behind the “industry name.” I try to blend education and entertainment and always look for one “aha moment” my listeners can apply to their life.

This tribute is to the guests of DishyMix and the great experiences and advice they’ve shared.

Here are my “lessons learned.” What are yours?

Joseph Carrabis, Founder, NextStage Evolution explained why women love community and men love power and authority, even after 10 million years of evolution.

Julie Roehm Founder of Meta LLC lived through a hellacious reputation scandal and redoubled her value on the importance of corporate culture and finding one’s fit.

Brad Berens, Chief Content Officer of iMedia and ad:tech gave me the perspective that even Shakespeare cared about aggregating an audience 400 years ago.

Wenda Harris Millard, President, Media, Martha Stewart Omnimedia shares her famous expressions,“Speed kills (if you don’t have it”.) “Look, I have an MBA, too, so I get the analysis thing. And I certainly like to inform my decisions with good data, and I like to be very thoughtful. But, you know, at a certain point you have two alternatives. If they both look pretty damn good, hold your nose and jump.”

Bob Garfield, Ad Age AdCritic, NPR Personality, Experimental Essayist and Author gave me the courage to be more fearless as a writer and interviewer. His actions gave me permission to stretch and own my thoughts out in the world.

Sir Ken Robinson, Creativity and Innovation Expert made me realize that I was schooled in an outdated industrial revolution educational factory – aka “public school” – and I’d fight the rest of my life to expand the ways I could continue to make new trysts with life.

Steve Wozniak, EVP, CTO, CVO, Jazz Technologies & Co-founder, Apple Computer warned me that once the press gets a fact wrong, it is promulgated through the annals of history. Beware.

Seth Godin, Author, blogger, speaker and entrepreneur crystallized for me the new “atomized” landscape of the Internet information economy.

Eric Maisel, Ph.D., Author of more than thirty books on creativity explained to me that creative types are often not crazy or depressed, they may simply be having an existential crisis.

Mark Silva, Managing Director of Real Branding embodies success through following and then expanding on one’s passion, even if it starts with something as simple as a cold, frosty beer.

Sarah Fay, CEO, Carat and CEO of Isobar U.S. impressed on me the value of going long in a world of job hoppers by growing with the same company for 15 years.

Rafe Needleman, editor of CNET Webware.com shared a crazy little habit he had of writing precisely 180 words for story after story. Precision isn’t crazy and rigor can be good.

Patricia Martin, Author, RenGen and President, LitLamp Communications Group opened my world to a whole new way to define “cultural creatives” – the exciting, new Renaissance Generation.

Doron Wesly, VP, Strategic Services, Marketing Science Millward Brown showed me that being silly is almost always a delight to everyone.

Daina Middleton, former HP exec, now at Moxie Interactive proves that women can be tomboys one minute and 100% female the next and be loved by all in business and in life.

Mitch Joel, President of Twist Image taught me the three steps for creating a Personal Brand.

Mary Hodder, Founder and CEO, Dabble.com prompted me that everyone should try a lot of different jobs during their career because every experience gives one a unique and irreplaceable take away.

Pinny Gniwisch, Founder, EVP of ICE.com creates a living legacy for his faith – Judaism - by bringing the stories of his religion to hundreds of children a year through experiential learning.

Doug Weaver, CEO of Upstream Group reminded me that good selling ALWAYS includes reaching high, reaching wide and deeply understanding your client and that there is just no other way than to do the work.

SCROLL DOWN THIS PAGE TO LISTEN TO ANY OF THESE EPISODES.

Success Secrets from Famous Media and Internet Business Executives

Mark Silva, Managing Director of Real Branding, a independent interactive agency in SF and the guest of this week’s DishyMix weekly online audio show about digital marketers shares his rediscovered passion for painting with listeners. Here are samples of Mark’s work.

Recent painting of kids playfully dashing from waves at beach:

Quick illustration of my wife and me:

Mark Silva, Real Branding on Consolidating Social Maps, the “New School” of Beer and the Connected Agency

A big, directional demarcation point in the evolution of the web has happened. Meet Mark Silva, Managing Director of Real Branding — a watchdog for these shifts — on this week’s DishyMix podcast.

Mark is going to answer three DishyMix listener questions and guest blog his answers here on the DishyMix blog.

Would you like to win a book, a beer tasting or an hour of consulting with Mark, a Marketing 2.0 Guru?

Submit your question for Mark’s guest blog posts by sending your question to me at susan at personallifemedia dot com by May 1st. The three best submissions, chosen by Mark, will be awarded a prize!

1) One hour consulting with Mark Silva on 2.0 marketing. Confidentiality guaranteed. Ask him your pressing marketing questions.

2) Invitation to an exclusive Beer 2.0 session at Real Branding in SF, LA or NY - a quality beer tasting with an hour discussion about a burning topic/opportunity in 2.0.

3) An autographed copy of “Groundswell” by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research courtesy of Mark Silva.

Mark Silva, Real Branding on Consolidating Social Maps, the “New School” of Beer and the Connected Agency.

Please help DishyMix grow - send this blog post to anyone you think would benefit from Mark’s perspective or who would enjoy one of these prizes.

(Get consistent access to free, autographed books, discounts, promo codes and product/service freebies when you join my Facebook Fan Page for DishyMix.)

Rules of Engagement: Mark will choose his three favorite questions. The #1 choice will get to choose their prize of the three. The second choice will get to choose from the two remaining prizes. The final selection will be awarded the remaining prize.

Mark Silva, Managing Director of interactive agency Real Branding is on the DishyMix podcast.

One of his passions is beer. He’s tasted over 2,500 different brews and has deep mastery in both the product and the market.

Mark Silva, Real Branding on Consolidating Social Maps, the “New School” of Beer and the Connected Agency

Listen to the show to hear what’s happening in the forefront of beer-making and if you are enticed, here are some places you can score the brands he recommends:

In San Francisco, two great places for beer:

City Beer Store on Folsom btwn 7th & 8th

Toronado Bar at lower Haight @ Filmore

Beers we discussed on DishyMix:

(Each bottle can set you back up to $25, fortunately. They’re starting to price with wine as they go toe-to-toe in gourmet complexity and grandeur):

Russian River Brewing Company – not just beer 2.0, he’s also publishing using wordpress for his tribe of fanatical devotees:
http://russianriverbrewing.com/wordpress/
Mark’s favorite beers from Vinnie are Temptation and Supplication, 100% Brettanomyces yeast (what gives some Rhones that funk that connoisseurs love).

Allagash
Check out his barrel-aged offerings

Dogfish Head
Red & White, Pangaea and World Wide Stout are epic.

Lost Abbey Brewing Company
Check out Tomme taking on eBay on his blog

Avery Brewing

Firestone Walker Brewing

If you ever find their anniversary ale on a shelf buy it and be willing to bay 2x the price. It will be an unparalled experience

Doug Weaver, CEO of Upstream Group talks to me on this week’s DishyMix about what’s happening in online publishing and digital media sales.

Ad networks are changing the playing field. Media exchanges are shaking up the market. Sales revenue is down - a big surprise to publishers who have enjoyed steady growth since 2001.

Hear Doug’s recommendations for how you need to align your team today. Find out what kind of selling organization is required now to succeed in the long term - it may be very different from how you are staffing today.

Doug Weaver, Upstream Group on Digital Media Sales Talent, Faustian Bargains and the Advertising Revenue Shortfall

This is singularly one of the most actional interviews I’ve done on DishyMix. If you are in sales or biz dev or the CEO of a company employing online media sellers, this is a must listen.

I guarantee you will not only get food for thought - you’ll get a belly full of great ideas you can begin to employ today!

This week’s episode of DishyMix features Sarah Fay, CEO of Isobar US and Carat.

Six months ago big news rocked the ad world, the merger of Carat USA, the general media agency — think big TV box, print, outdoor, all the traditional stuff — and they merged with Carat Fusion, the digital agency that in a move forever changed the landscape of advertising. We’re talking about the merger of Carat USA that has billions in combined billings and nearly a thousand employees with the $500 million of the Carat Fusion and Isobar Network.

It’s all run by Sarah Fay, the CEO of Carat and Isobar US, a media strategist, a mutual tech enthusiast, a super connector, and a knitting momma.

Sarah Fay, CEO, Carat USA and Isobar US on Corporate Sustainability, African Safari and Managing Billions in Media Integration

On this episode, I talk to Sarah about managing billions of ad billings, creating Web 2.0 experiences for her clients and growing from 200 to 2,600 employees in a short five years. We also sing a “Roches” song together, talk about her family and going on safari among many other interesting tidbits.

I hope you’ll enjoy the show!

My 2008 New Year’s Resolution was to give up drinking bottled water. I could no longer support the level of trash I was generating, nor could I tolerate the fact that PET bottles are made from petroleum. I started carrying a SIGG water bottle and refilling it from the tap.

Yes, the tap, because drinking tap water is not what is going to kill me, that’s for sure.

It’s mid-April and I have rediscovered water fountains, am using mugs at office buildings and sometimes, though rarely, I just get a little thirsty when I pass on the bottled water that may be my only choice in a few situations.

Since this is a personal mission for me, I was thrilled to book a new sponsor on our podcast and blog network at Personal Life Media. Primo Water Corporation is the new sponsor for Living Green, Green Talk Radio, Inside Out Weight Loss, Beauty Now and the Joy of Living Creatively shows!

Primo uses Ingeo, the world’s first and only performance plastic made from corn - a renewable resource unlike fossil fuel, from which PET plastic is derived.  According to Primo, if all the plastic bottles made from crude oil sold today were made instead with Ingeo, Americans would save the equivalent of a billion gallons of gas each year.

Dave Burke, President of Primo will be interviewed on Living Green and Green Talk Radio - I hope you’ll tune in to learn more about this important issue, this new material Ingeo, how their water is “mineral enhanced,” their “zero waste” recycled bottle exchange program and their new line of Energy Star water coolers. This company from Winston-Salem, NC is doing all the right things. I hope you’ll support them!