Sprint All-Star Driver pictures from Garage Area

Dale Earnhardt, Jr (top), Carl Edwards (middle), Tony Stewart (bottom) talking to the media on Friday before the Sprint Millon Dollar All-Star Challenge at Lowes Motor Speedway.

(Photos property of Media Mensch Networks/Andrew Kaplan, LinktoMotorsports, LinktoCharlotte) All Rights Reserved.

Sprint All Star Race and Media Celebrities

NASCAR is building up to the Coca Cola 600 on memorial day weekend, with its Sprint All-Star Race for a million dollars. The top drivers will compete in a final segment which will have only 10 laps for this million dollar prize. Driver Kasey Kahne compared it to driving the way they did when he first started racing as a youth.

The All-Star race is special this year as it is in its 25th running. Celebrities such as Kevin Costner and America's Most Wanted John Walsh are here to participate. Country Duo Montgomery Gentry will be the featured artists at the race.

This is one of the most fun days for NASCAR drivers. Many of the drivers live and work near Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, NC and have a chance to drive in front of family and friends.

Billboard Indie Artist Nicola Recommends Media Mensch

"Andrew Kaplan, founder of MediaMensch Networks, is an absolute whiz at online marketing, promoting and networking in virtually all areas, subjects and realms. He regularly features a host of emerging as well as well-known talents and personalities on his show "Media Mensch". As an independent artist, I was lucky enough to have him randomly stumble across my music online whereupon he subsequently invited me to do an extensive interview and feature on his show. The networking it provided me were invaluable and it yielded many more new fans and hits to my sites and ultimately my music. His spirit of cross-promotion and internet business savvy is like no other." - Nicola - NYC-Billboard Indie Artist - www.myspace.com/nicola

Kasey Kahne - 50th Anniversary of the Coca Cola 600

Kasey Kahne, and Bruton Smith, Lowes Motor Speedway unveiled the new trophy for the Coca Cola 600.

The Coca Cola 600 is going to be one of the top events of the year in motorsports.

Coca Cola, Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR - Fan Friendly

In these economic times, companies such as Coca Cola, Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR are teaming up more than ever to focus on their core customer, the dedicated race fan. (Top photo of Driver Jeff Burton and Coca Cola Executive)

Over the past few months, Lowes Motor Speedway, the site of the 50th Anniversary of the Coca Cola 600 and the annual million dollar Sprint All Star Race have continued to make fan friendly announcements

Here are some of the things that are being offered to the fans. Some lucky fans are invited to watch the press conferences with the media. For fans attending the race this year Coca Cola unveiled a BBQ event where they are building a 1/4 mile grill in the shape of an oval and inviting any fans with tickets to come to a free BBQ on the friday before the race weekend. Celebrity Chef, Tyler Florence, will be there leading 100 chefs. Imagine inviting 100,000+ people to a BBQ..hats off to Coca Cola and LMS. (Bottom Photo of NASCAR champion driver Jeff Burton serving up hot dog to MediaMensch executive, Andrew Kaplan)

Another change around the economy was Lowes Motor Speedway's creation of a 99 cent value menu. The idea is to make it affordable for the race fans who travel from long distances to still be able to afford the race. This is a critical time for NASCAR and racing. The message is clear and coming down from the leadership of the sport.

So in these economic times, remember who is your customer, who is loyal to you. Loyalty will be the one thing you can count on. It works both ways and the fans can see and feel it. So, Race fans "Start your engines" and head to Charlotte and Lowes MotorSpeedway for the Coca Cola 600 BBQ.

Social Networking Strategies - Your Authentic Self

Today, I was coaching a new client who was looking at ways to use social media for a job search and also to be able to more clearly understand how a public relations professional and writer might be able to harness these tools for themselves and their clients. As we went through our initial session on thing started to become very clear, the more you are true to your authentic self (not your job description, parenting role, etc) but to those things you are most passionate about, the more that social media will help you attract the people who ultimately will be the network to help you find a job in an area you are most passionate about.

My client had built a personal network in another state and had moved here with her husband's career move. We discussed how she could use social networking to not only reconnect with her former "in-person" network but also to attract people who had strong interests for her area of expertise --- in this case, public relations for politicians. As we moved through the coaching session, we also discovered her love for books and writing. I asked, if she has been asked to "recommend books" to her friend and she told me she actually formed and leads a book club. My response was that you could use Twitter and Facebook to influence and attract others who may be interested in the books and subjects you like.

One other thing she mentioned was she wanted to write a book about her mother. We discussed posting from time to time the life lessons her mother taught her. Again this is a way to attract those who may align with you emotionally or spiritually.

Last on the sports front, she was enamored with college football and especially one of the top teams in the nation. (Her son graduated from there) recently. I told her to post and tweet about the team and she would attract other fans and again extend her network with others passionate about the subject.

So at the end of the day if you post, tweet and provide others with information you are passionate and knowledgeable about it will open doors to a new network. In this new network of friends it may lead you to a new opportunity which in many cases was previously hidden from view.

Being authentic to yourself and your passions in social networking can lead to great success in connecting and in your life goals and visions.

My Journey in NASCAR

This is a story of exploration and re-invention...for those of you who are seeking a new path in your life journey..this is an example of how small steps and a long term vision can mean success. This story is about enjoying the journey.

A couple of years ago, a client and friend, Sean Owens, moved from the Charlotte Knights AAA baseball team over to head up a new area of group sales at Lowes Motor Speedway. He came into the position with with a small team and limited budget. His group decided to have a booth down at the big party that happens the week of the All Star Race and the Coca Cola 600 called "Speed Street". The main issue for him at the time, was that he needed to be at the track at night for the races and needed someone who could manage the booth at Speed Street at night. I told him it would be a great opportunity for me to learn from a "grassroots" level about marketing and NASCAR., so for a few late afternoons into the evening I ran their booth where they were giving away free tickets to the Fall race. I met hundreds of race fans from around the country and saw first hand how loyal they were to the sport. Many made this as their annual Memorial day trek.
With my marketing "eyes" I also had a chance to meet and hang out with some of the workers from sports marketing companies and large NASCAR "brands".

When the fall races came along, there was no Speed Street so Sean recommended that I be a concierge at the Suite level. This again gave me a view of the sport working as the person who was in charge of making sure about 8 to 10 corporate suites were set up properly and people were taken care of . I had the opportunity to work with suites from 3M, Bank of America, Carquest, Rusty Wallace Family, and a few others. I worked on Pole Night, the Busch Races, the All Star Race and the Coca Cola. They were long days, but invaluable in terms of seeing a different type of fan and business experience. I also had the opportunity to talk to the branding and marketing executives at many of these companies. One of other experience was meeting the Australian contingent and tv crew who came last year to cheer on their fellow countryman and NASCAR driver, Marcus Ambrose.

The next year for the races, Sean was put in charge of the corporate dining club at Lowes Motors Speedway, called "The Speedway Club". The Speedway Club members were people who came to Lowes on a regular basis. There was also a group of fans who purchased ticket packages which included dinner at the club plus "Pit Tours". There was an RV just outside the track for the Speedway club members to put their coolers, coats, etc. and part of my job was to just check them in and out "a glorified coatchecker". Again a different fan experience was seen. I had a chance to go out on the Pit Tours and walk around to see how the cars were inspected and to see how the Pit Crews were preparing for the race.

Last fall, I had been blogging on MediaMensch for over a year and asked if I could be put on the media list. I got accepted and soon started to go to some of the preliminary press conferences and local events leading up to the race. The new $80-zMax Dragway was also being build and opened at that time, so I had a chance to learn not only about NASCAR, but about NHRA drag racing. When the fall, Bank of America races came around, I was accepted for media credentials and had a chance to be part of the media which included national media such as ESPN, Fox Sports, XM radio and Sports Illustrated. It was a large learning curve to see how all the film crews went out to shoot segments, how the ESPN group updated their website content during the race including video clips.

Now that it is really the 3rd year around NASCAR, this year I see opportunities as a blogger and social media advisor to really participate more fully. The sport has really grown on me with the combination of marketing, technology, automotive, and entertainment. One thing I have seen at Lowes Motor Speedway is that the management team is dedicated to make this the most "fan-friendly" major league sport. The Speedway Motorsports team really puts on a first class event for the 200,000 fans who come from all over the world to watch the race.

I will have an eye open this year to see which teams and drivers and sponsors use Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools to promote their brands.

SPEED and Pinks Bring Innovation to zMax Dragway

Over the past weekend over 500 people drove their cars to zMax Raceway in Concord, NC to participate and compete in SPEED tv "Pinks All Out". One of the contestants was a 70 year old man who drove his vehicle all the way from Colorado to race.

Pinks started as a tv show in which drivers pair off and drag race 1 on 1 against each other. The loser actually loses his car to the winner. The executive producer, Bob Ecker, told me the show evolved because it was difficult to cast a show in which someone loses something they care deeply about. In this new version of Pinks called "Pinks All Out", the winning driver wins $10,000 in prize money and gets to keep his car.

zMax Dragway, called the Bellagio of drag racing venues drew 35,000 fans on Saturday to watch the taping of the show to be seen later this year. The Pinks team pulled out a few surprises in this production including the first time there would be 4 lanes with 4 drivers competing at the same time In order to fully capture this, a camera which could travel at over 100 miles per hour was installed so it could capture all the action, again a first for the show.

Other events that night included a rocket car which had a jet engine. I was on the top of the 4 story building and could feel the heat and the power of the jet engine, people on the ground had to cover their ears due to the deafening noise and down the 1/2 mile track the jet vehicle went in under 4 seconds.

Other vehicles which raced include NHRA driver Doug Herbert who flew down the track in his BRAKES (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe)dragster.

One of the highlights of the day was a visit to the war room of Pinks, where they keep track of all the drivers. In the war room is a 20 foot board with the entries of all the racers and where they stand. There is also technology to actually rerun the race on computer animation to show how each car is doing at each moment of the race. There is also the camera at the finish line to be able to determine photo finishes. The announcers are in the war room and decisions who make the final rounds are also shot in this room.


The combination of the newest dragway and the production crew and producers at PINKS and Speed TV made this a true event. Keep your eyes open for this later this year.

LinktoCharlotte Turns Two Years Old

LinktoCharlotte turns two this month. It has been an interesting journey building a community online. We first started out with a small group that grew to about 70 people in our first month and had our first meeting at the Carolina Panthers executive meeting room with 15 people. We have expanded from there to be on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and NING platforms. Each platform allows us to add or attract a diverse group of members interested in social media and networking.

About 20% of our members are people who are thinking or planning to move to Charlotte or are interested in networking here using virtual tools.

Today, our community is flourishing growing by 50+ members a week on LinkedIn and now on our new NING Site we have reached the 200 member mark. I have found the 200 person mark is a catalyst for larger growth, so we are now ready to begin to reach out to members with live events, online events, a newsletter and other activities.

We are beginning to talk to organizations who believe in this concept and are willing to sponsor or support this endeavor. We can reach 2000+ professionals on LinkedIn, the creative community on Facebook and all the Twitterverse.

In addition, we are working with other cities such as Phoenix, San Diego, and Las Vegas to begin to build those as well in 2009. In addition we have a significant group for LinktoMotorsports on LinkedIn which overlaps with its membership with LinktoCharlotte, so we have great momentum.

If you are interested in helping with publicity, community management, creation and support of our blog, speaking/sponsoring events or helping us find sponsorships. Please contact me at ewarriorbizdev@gmail.com or 704-293-2151.

MediaMensch Buzz - 10 Things about Twitter

Twitter is the latest new social media service or "fad" to reach the world. In may ways this simple idea os seeing what your "friends" are up to as morphed into something, I don't even think the creators believed. This is the first of a series of articles and stories with MediaMensch's journey into Twitter.

Here is a list of 10 things that twitter does. (and this is just the beginning of the list).

1. Provides on the spot live reporting faster than CNN

2. Allows people with similar ideas to find each other

3. Brings communities together around a common cause

4. Shines a spotlight on some of the top conferences and trade shows

5. Allows you to promote yourself or company as a "brand"

6. Flattens hierarchy and class systems by letting you reach top leaders

7. Provides you with a new platform for market research on a product

8. Magnifies your blogs, photos plus books, and articles that your are reading

9. Changes traditional television with live status updates from viewers

10. Feeds status updates into Facebook and LinkedIn,


To follow:
www.twitter.com/mediamensch (Andrew Kaplsn's take on life and media)
www.twitter.com/coachkaplan (social media tips and tricks)
www.twitter.com/linktocharlotte (a work in progress to magnify our social network)

Branding and Connecting Using LinkedIn and Facebook (Twitter too!) Teleclass

Social Media Teleclass and Coaching

Teleclass Only $99.95 Teleclass + 1 coaching sessions $299.95 Teleclass + 2 coaching sessions $499.95 Teleclass + 5 coaching sessions $799.95

The Road to eWarrior Success – Branding Yourself and Connecting in Facebook and LinkedIn! (Twitter too!).
1. What is Social Media?

2. Facebook vs. LinkedIn

3. How to Set Up Your Profiles

4. Building Your Connections

5. Public vs. Private

6. Using Social Media to Connect with Clients

7. Using Social Media to look for a Job

8. Search Engines and why they matter

9. How to use Newsfeeds, Videos, Links

10. On your way to success!


A dozen things about the Instructor, Andrew R. Kaplan
1. Over 30 years with sales and marketing technologies and media
2. Worked with the founders of MTV, ACT!, HBO, The Movie Channel,
3. Trained 5,000 Executives and IT Professionals as ACT!/CRM
4. Provided feedback to founder of LinkedIn during early stages
5. #1 voted article in MarketingSherpa.com’s Great Minds Series - Facebook Branding
6. Toastmasters International "President of the Year"
7. Dickinson College "Alumni Volunteer of the Year"
8. Created LinktoCharlotte.com a leading local social network
9. Created LinktoMotorsports.com, a leading social network by industry
10. "Ideas" and "Execution" for the Creative Community
11. Media Advisor to “2008 Green Idea of the Year” company for Charlotte
12. In 1997, created the term “eWarrior” for the transition of the Road Warrior

For references and background:
www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkaplan

Details for Payment and Registration.

99 Minute Training Class:
$99.00 for 99 Minute TeleClass
$299.95 includes private coaching session plus teleclass
$499.95 includes 2 private coaching Sessions plus teleclass
$799.95 includes 5 private coaching sessions plus teleclass.

Classes will be recorded.
If you are not satisfied or miss a class, you can call into a future teleconference at no charge.

Social Media Teleclass and Coaching

Teleclass Only $99.95 Teleclass + 1 coaching sessions $299.95 Teleclass + 2 coaching sessions $499.95 Teleclass + 5 coaching sessions $799.95

The Thousand Islands Scenery

Beautiful Photography of the 1000 Islands where I spend most of my summers.

MediaMensch Client - EVPowersystems Video

MediaMensch Client EVPowersystems has create an electric hybrid plugin for trucks. If you are curious about this, watch this segment. This company will create jobs and convert existing trucks into hybrid vehicles with their innovative plugin.

In April, 2008 EvPowersystems received the Charlotte Business Journals "2008 Green Idea of the Year"
In November 2008 EvPowersystems received $200,000 in funding from the State of South Carolina.
Founder John Dabels was featured in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?"


http://www.cn2.com/video.php?media_id=001082

www.evpowerystems.com

MediaMensch helped EVPowersystems client with marketing, pr and startup strategies including:
1. TV/Print/Film Media Strategy
2 .Social Media Strategy
3. Political/Governmental Strategy

Obama through the Teleprompter

How scripted are Obama's speeches? An interesting photo from the campaign rally at UNCC, Charlotte, NC on election eve showing Obama through his teleprompter.

(photo property of MediaMensch Networks, all rights reserved)

My journey for the election season

This campaign season was a fun ride as a political blogger. Here are some articles from my mediamensch blog. The first article about the primary very accurately makes some predictions about the candidates, their strategies and tactics and choice of Vice President. This journey took me from a chance personal encounter with John McCain in January to being recognized on the cover page of Salon Magazines, OpenSalon.com website on election day.

"Editor's Pick" of my articles on Salon Magazine's Opensalon.com


Blog post from May 8, 2008

Andrew Kaplan Viewpoint - Presidential Primary and Social Media - Who is Engaging Best Wins!!

Here is a post about my encounter with Howard Dean and my discussion about a lack of a facebook strategy..Less than one hundred people turned out for this rally and only a about 10 were under the age of 30.
Blog Post from July 2008

Politics - Howard Dean "Register for Change"

Blog Post from January 19, 2008 (two days before the SC primary). This is my story of a personal encounter with John McCain and how I ended up asking him a question about technology and competitiveness among the members of the "crowd of supporters" at a town hall meeting.

Politics, John McCain and Me

March 28, 2008 On the trail listening to Bill Clinton campaign for Hillary, early in the NC primary. At that point NC was heating up as a battleground state for the democratic nomination. This was also the first time I actually was in the "press" area as a blogger. There is also a reference to George Clooney in this piece. I had worked on his film Leatherheads as a featured extra and was able to be part of his press conference prior to the movie release. It was my first time as a blogger being in an official press conference.

My first Press Coverage Bill Clinton Campaigning in NC

Election 2008 - My Political Blog Journey

Making the cover page of Salon Magazine's Open Salon on election day 2008.
"Talking to the Venti Voters"














Making the Most Read article list on election day 2008

Obama on Election Eve - A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall

My political journey started in January with a call from my friend and now blog photographer Maurice as we decided to go see John McCain. Although, traditionally, I was voted democratic for presidential elections, I thought McCain might be different and wanted to see him unfiltered, first hand. I somehow walked into a town hall meeting and ended up two feet from his stage asking him one of the 8 questions posed to him that evening.

The end of the election 2008 journey for the is today. On election eve, in the pouring rain at times, I saw Barack Obama as he is on the threshold of the US presidency. The crowd of 10,000 plus waited for up to 3 hours to see him. He was scheduled to speak at 5:30 pm..and the crowd endured an hour of rain and some early political speeches. You could feel history being made. It was an incredible opportunity to not only be there, but feel like you did some how contribute to making a difference.

Tonight was also an interection of some of my personal media journey in politics.. Politics has been a passion of mine for most of my life. I had grown up in suburban NJ with a rabbi who marched and was jailed with Martin Luther King during the civil rights movement and who railed against the Vietnam war each week. This past 10 months, I had the opportunity to listen to, shake hands with and speak with politicians such as Obama, Biden, Bill Clinton and Howard Dean. I worked for a day at the Obama campaign headquarters in April and could see and feel how special his organization was both by the people and its technology it used.

Late in August, a friend had told me about Salon Magazines's Opensalon.com website and community. As a social media expert, I found this to be a fascinating place where passionate writers could blog and post articles on subjects from politics to family. I started to write some articles about my political observations in North Carolina. To my suprise a few of them made the home page and were "Editor's pick". The opensalon.com editor, Joan Walsh, I found out later is a regular on Chris Matthew's Hardball show and in the last month has debated with people on the far right such as Pat Buchanan and most recently Tom DeLay.

This has been a great journey for Obama, McCain and MediaMensch and for all of America.

Bank of America 500 - Jeff Burton - a Racing "mensch"

The Bank of America 500 was won by a 41 year old racing "mensch" named Jeff Burton. Jeff held off some of the top drivers in the field like Kasey Kahne and Jimmy Johnson and battled for the lead of this race. At the press conference following the race, Jeff was the epitome of professionalism and the goal of pursuing your life's goals and passions. He said he loved racing since he was 7 years old. He battled not only on the track, but was "the next star" about a decade prior. He told us he had to fight through some of the ups and downs of career to be in the position this year to win the Sprint Cup this year.

His wife was there at his side. She monitored his progress from the pits, and sat on the side of the press conference room as well. He discussed focus and life balance. When you are preparing for a race at this level, the driver and crew need to have total team focus for success. When the race is over, it is time to celebrate. He wants his teammates to also have other interests and balance in their lives. He had a healthy perspective of being at the top of your game, but realizing that this is just one part of your life.

His team owner, Richard Childress, battling a cold or flu, sat to Burton's left at the press conference and showed his pride in Jeff's accomplishments. Early in his career, Jeff Burton, was mentored by Mark Martin. Mark had instilled in him the idea that the next race you win might be your last, so enjoy it. It also allowed perspective of winning and losing as well.

Burton also showed that physically he works hard to keep his body in the shape of an athlete ten years younger. This is another factor in keeping himself as role model of integrity to others in the sport. At the time when the sport is moving to more branding and commercialization and away from the old legends in NASCAR, Jeff Burton is the bridge between the past and the future of the sport. He has the drive, desire and determination to bring home the Cup. NASCAR and its fans should be proud to have such a role model at the pinnacle of its sport.

NASCAR - Bank of America Week - Dollar General 300

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend the Nationwide Series - Dollar General 300 at Lowes Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch took the checkered flag. He has won twenty races this year NASCAR's , Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Trucks. Busch has won 8 Sprint Cup series races this year. He has another chance tonight at the Bank of America 500 to increase this total.

It was a night of rain, caution flags and a few wrecks with the race ending a little after midnight. The fans were enthusiastic and the drivers all seemed to be having a great time even with the delays.

Even with the gas crisis the infield at Lowes was full of spectators in their RV's and modified buses. This race gave me the opportunity to see the sport close up from the pit areas. The pits are a lot like going to war, you prepare and plan, you wait around and then their are about 20 seconds of adrenaline rush as the pit crews jump from the wall holding tires, large gas cans, and electric wrenches/drills.

During the race, there were some wrecks on the track in front of the pit area/near the start finish line. They towed the cars off the tracks into the garages. You could smell the fumes from the gas as they drove past.

Looking forward to tonight's race and learning more about being first person in the pits.

A time to Volunteer - Race Playce -

Yesterday was spent around motorsports working on Race Playce, attending a press conference for the NASCAR Hall of Fame and then over to zMax Dragway for evening festivities.

Race Playce is an a heartfelt volunteer effort to build a state of the art playground that is accessible for children in wheelchairs. According to the Parks and Rec website. Race Playce "will be a play area without barriers, accessible for all children regardless of their abilities, a place where all children can play together. The playground was designed by children who worked with a professional designer. It has a NASCAR racing theme with play areas distributed around an oval track."

It is one of the first of its kind in North Carolina. Imagine you are a child in a wheelchair, your friends can go to a playground and go down slides etc. in order to do this you would have to have someone carry you. Well in this playground there is a ramp up to the top of the slide. This playground is being built by approximate 4,000 volunteers from around the community including a large contingent from Bank of America. I arrived on the site and was assigned to a team of six people. Our job was to measure, cut, and install rails along the ramps. We were guided by skilled experts from the community and the parks department.

Perhaps you can use Charlotte, NC as a "role model" for building this type of park in your community.