madia logan » General

Be Happy – Day 1

madia — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:54:18 +0000

I was reading this month’s Harvard Business Review. They did a spotlight on happiness in their Jan/Feb issue – and one of the articles (Positive Intelligence by Shawn Achor) tells about an experiment where participants were asked to pick one activity (of 5 available ones) and practice them daily.

After three weeks, people were significantly better and they’d created a routine that some chose to continue past the experiment!

Here are the five choices.

write down three things you’re grateful for
write a positive message to someone in your social support network.
meditate at your desk for 2 minutes.
exercise for 10 minutes.
take 2 minutes to describe in a journal the most meaningful experience of the past 24 hours.

Well I’ve been on my workout now for two days. (whoop) So I’m going to ambitiously try to do all 5 activities daily. Hey, at least I know I’ll do one!

Three things I’m grateful for:

1. Family – I was a little down this weekend, so I drove up to Philadelphia where my sister and brother-in-law watched movies with me and hung out. My sis and I met up with my mom too and we hung out. My aunt and grandma prayed with me annnnnd I got to see the latest family baby, Amanda Zarah. Good times.

2. Music – I’ve been listening to the mixed versions of my upcoming album and I feel so blessed to have made three albums. A lot of people sing and write, but to be able to make a project is such an experience and I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to find people in my life that support my music and believe in it. GO GET IT— 2.14.2012

3. Health – In yoga today I felt a little out of practice. But it wasn’t long ago that I was doing 4 days at Bikram Yoga, REGULARLY so I know I’ll get back in the hang of it. I’m just so grateful that I have the good health to pursue these workouts.

See ya tomorrow!

love,

madia

You HAVE to COME to Ben’s Next Door on Tuesday

madia — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:29:14 +0000

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]So my next show is at Ben’s Next Door and I’m rather excited.

madia @ Ben’s Next Door
Tuesday, January 10
9- 10:30 pm
1213 U St. Northwest,
Washington, DC 20009

Ben’s has a great tradition of supporting the artist community on U Street. The venue offers an intimate and fun setting where diners can listen to the sounds of artists like Kenny Wesley, Levi Stephens, Tamika Love Jones, and the list goes on and on. Their artist in residence Mr. W. Ellington Felton is really tied into the community and he works hard to bring talent to Ben’s and make music and the artist available to the local community.

Thanks to Chairman’s Reserve is also in order. They faithfully sponsor Ben’s Next Door Tuesday performances and support with attendance. I’ve seen Clyde Davis there myself and he comes out and brings folks.

When I practice with Zach Cutler (Guitar) and Boogie (Percussion) – we’ll fine tune and make any necessary changes. The set list covers songs from all three albums.

I am changing up the songs I’ll be covering because I’d like to show some different vocal qualities and I’m just in this kind of mood.

Set List

You
Come Over
Almost Doesn’t Count (COVER)
Love Like Mine
I Should Be Your Girl
Sweet Misery (COVER)
No More
Who You Made Me
Runaway LoveHer
Beautiful Surprise (COVER)
This Love

Cover Ideas
Beautiful Surprise (India Arie) –
The Love I Never Had (Mary J Blige) –
Almost Doesn’t Count (Brandy) –
Sweet Misery (Amel Larrieux) –

Not that it’s a huge deal but the operation is getting a little more streamlined in anticipation of my new album release on 2/14/12 – Go Get It. We can now accept credit cards so bring ‘em on!

Would love to hear your thoughts on covers and would love to see your face in that place on Tuesday. CDs are $10 and hugs are ON THE HOUSE.

love,

madia

I’m thankful for a new album!

madia — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:50:11 +0000

>> This was an open letter to my family and friends announcing that my new album will be out in three weeks. Figured I’d post it here as well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I can’t wait until I get to say what I’m grateful for this year, because after 5 years – I’m breaking my musical silence. My third album is three weeks away from launch and I am so happy and grateful to have it finished.

Here’s where you come in.

1. If you know of any holiday parties that need a performance, I’m there. It can be with a five piece band or just yours truly with a mic and an amp.

2. Join the mailing list (http://eepurl.com/hiKLI) if you’d like to receive musical updates from me. I’m not spamming anyone.

3. Talk to me on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/lovemadia)

4. Talk to me on Facebook! I’ll take an encouraging word. Whatever you got! (http://www.facebook.com/lovemadia)

5. Go on iTunes or Amazon and rate the first two albums. Those look kinda thin so it would be good to have some ratings.

Thanks for being there from the start.

Always,

madia

madiamusic@gmail.com

www.lovemadia.com

Truthfully by Brandy – First Cover

madia — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:18:05 +0000

Madia sings Truthfully (originally performed by Brandy) from madia logan on Vimeo.

So, I’ve started singing a lot. I’m singing some of my older songs, and some covers in preparation for the stage. I’d like to do some performances when the album is ready and that means being stage ready. Let me know what you think about this one and if you have suggestions for other songs!

love,

madia

Web Strategy

madia — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:05:36 +0000

A lot of people don’t have a good starting place when they’re envisioning their website, or even approaching a redesign. Here’s an introductory document I use to help friends and new clients organize their thinking. It is particularly helpful because it shows how to align your goals with your tactical steps. I really hope this helps! Let me know your thoughts and if there are any questions I can answer.

Ketchum and FedEx Team Up on Social Media Study

madia — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:23:40 +0000

Right before Thanksgiving I heard about this study, but what can I say? I was totally distracted by the evil turkey. Now that we’re all back and having leftovers I think it’s smart to take a look:

Here’s the website they launched to share the report. It does a good job of using video snippets to highlight findings, etc… http://www.2010socialmediastudy.com. If you want to just download the full report: http://www.2010socialmediastudy.com/PDF/FedExSocialMediaStudy_FindingsReport_FINAL.pdf.

Take your time. The report is actually a 39 slide deck but that doesn’t mean you can get through each slide quickly. I found this report to be validating because it’s a lot of the stuff I’m constantly saying, but now I can say 62 huge global brands agree with me.

Here are the insights I was able to glean:

Clearly defined goals are necessary. Not good to have but we can go without…
Reverse mentoring – having younger more knowledgeable staff train managers. Win/Win people.
Social media is a channel, not a strategy. If you’re not there you’re noticeably absent.
Communications has oversight but Marketing pitches in to help with products… and well MARKETING.
Companies approach to staffing for social media really depended on whether they wanted to lead, follow or observe. I love the obvious investment of resources showing the priority placed on the “channel”.
Wondering what the breakdown is? 10% lead, 75% follow, 15% observe.
Companies are still struggling with ROI of social media.

Selling an Artist – the lovemadia project

madia — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:23:50 +0000

So it’s kinda weird as a marketing person to also be an artist because when I’m in music making and selling mode, I switch into a marketing mind. I try to keep that mind as far away from the creative mind because I’ve never thought of my music as being for the masses. I also never wanted my image controlled by another person or group of people. Saw enough of that at 18 doing music and shows in NYC.

Now, working on the third project has given me an idea. I’m going to go through, step by step to show how I market this artist “madia”. Yes, friends don’t rush to remind me that I am Madia. I assure you I am always aware of that fact. But it’s kinda hard to show people marketing techniques without using an example and since I’m doing my own marketing and promotions with help from some awesome contractors — I figure we’ll make the process transparent and interactive. That way my friends interested in the process can check it out.

Segmentation is important so I didn’t want to mash the musical identity with everything else so I added a handle. Since I sing a lot about love, it seemed appropriate that I’d come up with lovemadia. Soooo, FB and Twitter identity is there. Going to work on the marketing strategy soon but make sure to check out the stuff that’s already up:
Facebook page and Twitter account. More later!

New Blog in the works

madia — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:42:54 +0000

Hey friends – a new blog is in the works. I’m going to focus on a broader scope of topics. If you know me well, you probably know how many things I work on.

I am feverishly writing my third album and thanks to life, I have a lot to write about.

I’m also working hard on the digital marketing front. There are lots of innovations happening and I want to talk a little more about that stuff in detail.

more to come.

Parents are great marketers

madia — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:13:16 +0000

Okay. Let me explain. Marketers look at the product or service their company is selling, think of the value to their target market, and communicate that value proposition to the customer. I’ve been asking a lot of parents about their experiences with children. I saw an interesting card in a paper store. (A quaint little store in Shirlington, VA – if you were wondering) The card read — “Children will ruin your life.” I posted this picture and asked my friends if this was true. Most parents thought it was funny and while admitting to the difficulty associated with children, they all said the pros outweighed the cons. They talked about how children enhance and enrich your life and that they couldn’t see life without their children.

I think that to some degree, parents have to market parenting as a lifestyle. I doubt anyone would say — I have ‘em and DON’T DO IT!!!!

Boss is Always Right, or is She?

madia — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:10:12 +0000

I’m rereading a wonderful (autographed copy) of Competing on Analytics. This is not a web metrics book. It’s more of the case for metrics. This excerpt from the foreward is exactly why companies should care.

“My journey is complicated by the fact that all organizations seek to please the leader, so there is constant pressure to give my otherwise lame and ill-considered views far more gravitas than they deserve. Beware, as this process can feel good and be dangerously addictive… Hence, it is critical to create and constantly cultivate an environment that views ideas as separable from people, insists on the use of rigorous evidence to distinguish among ideas, and includes a healthy dose of people both sufficiently dedicated and skillful to do the heavy lifting.
Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah’s

… as grandma says, ’nuff said.