Crisco National Pie Champion Dawn Viola now available for TV, Radio, and Web cooking demos

Orlando, FL, October 21, 2009 – Crisco National Pie Champion and food writer Dawn Viola is sharing her award-winning pie secrets just in time for the holidays.

Whether it's divulging the one ingredient that guarantees a flaky crust, or debunking the pea-sized mixing myth, Dawn's off-beat and engaging cooking demos will give listeners and viewers the confidence to bake perfect from-scratch pies, every time.
Dawn’s approach to pie making is a combination of tenacity and love. After a food allergy diagnosis made cooking with traditional ingredients an impossibility, Dawn took nearly two years to develop her award-winning Vanilla-Vanilla Bean Roasted Apple Pie recipe.
When she isn't making pies, Dawn is a freelance food writer and recipe developer for a variety of online publications. She has recently appeared on Food Network, Martha Stewart Radio, Fox News, Orlando, Chef2Chef.net and Desserts Magazine.
In addition to having the best apple pie in America, Dawn has also won awards for her non-baking recipes, including her Vanilla-Scented Pan Seared Sea Scallops with Tri-Grape Salsa recipe, and her Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup with Escarole.
Her persona is best described as fun, relaxed, and a little bit geeky, offering recipes in a style that is entertaining and easy to understand, no matter the audience’s level of cooking knowledge.
For additional information or to book Dawn Viola for cooking demonstrations, articles, or television and radio appearances, please contact Josh Neimand of WAGGMedia at (646) 807-9244 or WAGGMedia@gmail.com.
ABOUT DAWN VIOLA: 
Dawn Viola is a nationally recognized artist, award-winning competitive cook and food writer from Central Florida. She received a BFA in visual design, typography and creative writing from Swain School of Design at UMass, and worked in the design and marketing industry as a creative director and copywriter for over a decade before pursing an education and career in the culinary arts.

Contact Information:
Josh Neimand
WAGGMedia
(646) 807-9244
WAGGMedia@gmail.com

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Apologies

Quick apologies for the lack of updates.

WAGGMedia is in the midst of moving its offices. Regular updates will begin again shortly.

Thank you for your patience.

Feelings....nothing more than feelings...

A year ago, few even knew the term Social Media.

Now, not a day goes by where it's not in the news in some way, shape, or form. Whether it's Paula Abdul announcing she's leaving American Idol, a highly-touted young basketball player putting his career in jeopardy while showing off his tattoos (and some highly suspicious plastic baggies in the background), or an article discussing the latest trends, Social Media is everywhere and now fully a part of many of our lives.

But in a very personal arena that is filled with opinions good and bad, and feelings that run the gamut from happy to sad, angry to apathetic, how can a company trying to get a bead on how people really feel about their company or product measure, well, feelings.

According an article in the NY Times, there is now an emerging business tied into Social Media - Sentiment Analysis.

As scary and sci-fi it sounds, there are now programs already developed and more currently being developed that can translate feelings into cold, hard, data. And for a company trying to gauge where the public stands on something, data is a lot more measurable than feelings.

Still, it's an inexact science at best, and even those at the forefront of Sentiment Analysis will tell you that, as they did the NY Times in the above linked article.

But what does the future hold for this new field? Is it something that is a hot topic of the moment, and eventually will fade away to the next measuring tool? Or is it something that is going to become standard, much like Social Media has.

I'd bet on the latter. To a certain extent, many search engines already use public opinion when providing results. So, why wouldn't they incorporate your personal feelings on a topic when you're looking for information?

That being said, the potential slippery slope it creates could indeed cause a long slide.

What if you're online doing research on delicate topics like gun control or abortion? And previously, on message boards and blogs, you've made your opinion on the topic quite well known.

Are the majority of the results from your searching going to support your opinion because there are facts to back it up, or are they going to support your opinion because the search engine intuitively knows how you feel based on what you've said previously.

It sounds like something out of a Sci-fi flick - computers reading our minds and gauging our feelings. And it does seem a bit chilling.

Nonetheless, it's an exciting, emerging technology, and yet another important tool at our disposable as we continue to go forward in these exciting times. Learning how to use these tools, and harness their power can only help us more forward, both professional and personally, and as a society.

A world without Social Media

For the last few weeks, I was on vacation. For some of that time, I had almost no internet access. Three days with no access whatsoever, and another 4 days where only my Palm Treo 755p, which is almost like no internet access.

It was strange. Unable to update my blogs, to update my Facebook status, to send Tweets. It was almost like being stranded on a desert island, with no way to communicate to everyone back home.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not a total communications junkie. I don't have a Blackberry where I can check email 24/7, and nor do I want one. Yes, I am one of those people who constantly text, but when the situation calls for it, I have no problem putting down my phone.

This was different though. I enjoy Social Media. Heck, I've made it my career choice. But not being able to Tweet or update Facebook was certainly an experiment in patience. Yes, there have been times when I didn't update for three days, but the difference was, the access.

20 years ago, I'd go camping, and might lament missing my favorite TV shows. 15 years ago, I'd go camping, and miss this new thing called the internet. 10 and 5 years ago, I would definitely be missing the internet.

Now, it's Facebook and Twitter.

And based on some of the messages waiting for me when I returned to Social Media civilization, plenty of people missed me too.

Times have changed, and Social Media has become an important part of our world, on par with television and the internet in terms of getting your message across.

Facebook is the new morning paper

For years, I've told people that the internet was my morning newspaper. I don't read the newspaper as much as I used to - all the news i need is online, be it CNN.com, NY1.com, or any of the other endless sources of 24-hour news that exist on the 'net.

But in the past year or so, Facebook has been my source of news info. When I wake up, I *need* to know that Kristen is rooting her heart out for the local Roller Derby team or that Jimmie is looking forward to vacation with his family or that Dylan is working hard on the latest project at his job.

This is what news has become - it has become updates of the people we care about, not some stranger who was rear-ended on the Bronx River Parkway last night or shot in a trailer park in Tyler, TX.

And when *my* Facebook status indicated that this was how my day started now, the sheer number of responses from friends who did the same thing surprised me. Apparently, this really is where things have come, and where they are going.

One friend remarked "That is exactly why I like FB. I love knowing — however strange, banal or brief — how everyone is doing."

Another stated "Lol! Me too! But it's still reality and they're people we know so it's like catching up with a few hundred of your closest friends and family each day! So cool!"

And a third remarked "It is so bizarre but I do it, too. Then I blow through the NPR twitter feeds and email. All before my shower or speaking to another human."

On and on the responses came, all similar in sentiment.

Facebook has become the go to place for information about people in our lives - both personally and professionally.

Aside from the fun and relatively frivolous updates from our friends, seeing updates on your professional contacts may help you get that slight edge you need to close that sale, get that contract, or whatever it is you're trying to accomplish.

Social Media - when does your company get on board?

I recently read an article that discussed debunking the myths that Social Media was fast, cheap, and easy.

This touches on a solid point. That point being that a lot of companies hear about the next big thing - or the current big thing - and in an effort to get aboard, don't plan properly.

Rarely is anything that is put into place to reach a goal or accomplish something is fast, cheap, or easy at the beginning.

However, once the pieces are in place, Social Media can be quite cheap, can be very easy, and is without question very fast.

But building something takes time, costs money, and is often met with challenges that must be overcome.

If you want to go fast, cheap, and easy from the onset, the odds are good that whatever you're building will come tumbling down fast and easy, and the clean up won't be cheap.

Last month, I discussed with a marketing company in Texas their Social Media plan, and getting it up and running for them. Ultimately, they decided they weren't quite ready.

While I am a firm believer that companies need to be on the ball with Social Media and absolutely not let it pass them by, no one knows these companies better than themselves.

And if a company decides that now is not the time, then that is obviously a smart choice, as long as they begin to take the necessary steps so they can get involved with Social Media sooner, rather than later.

It is a train worth boarding. Don't let it leave you at the station.

Blogging - Invading our own privacy?

Blogging still baffles a lot of people. I've been doing it since the turn of the millennium over a decade ago, over a variety of platforms.

From political rants and stories of some minor health issues on Blogger to
lamentations on broken hearts and East Texas bars on Myspace to a
rambling on and off blog on my life to this one about the business I've begun, I've been putting my thoughts out on the internet for years now.

But why does blogging still seem to confuse and even scare people? Why are they reluctant?

Part of it, I am sure, is laziness and a lack of time. Heck, I just went more than a week without updating this blog, because, well, time got away from me. It does happen - no doubt. Sometimes, we lose track of time, and sometimes we really are too busy.

For the most part, however, I think we all really do have the time. Even if we only update a couple times a week, we're at the most losing, what, an hour of web surfing time? I would imagine that most of us could spare that time, and not be any worse for the wear.

So, if that's not the bigger reason, what is?

And the masses screamed "privacy!"

For some people, it's not an issue. Their life is an open book. For others, they struggle completely. And then there are those who's lives are an open book. I've got a couple friends who are sometimes called "mommy-bloggers", and they often find themselves straddling a fine line, protecting the privacy of their partners and children while writing about them at the same time.

Privacy is what you make it. When you blog, you're in complete control. You can discuss what as much, or as little, as you'd like. Your blog can be deeply personal, or superficial. It can be professional. It can be political. It can be a mixture of all three, or really, anything you want.

Blogs are just another tool of this information sharing era. They're a way of sharing information.

From a business point of view, it's a way to spend an hour a week potentially letting millions of people know about your business, at little or no charge.

It is virtually free advertising, and a simple Google search on nearly any topic will likely net you several blogs from people who are discussing that very subject. From social security lawyers to pilots to accountants, people in all sorts of careers blog.

Every one's doing it. Whether folks are involved with birds, bees, or educated fleas, everyone is blogging.

It is a way to possibly reach a nearly limitless number of people, and since you've got complete control of the content, it would be harder to find a more cost-efficient way to spend an hour a week.