madia logan

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

What do Phoebe Logan and Steve Jobs have in common?

madia — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:24:59 +0000

What a week. Last Friday morning my grandmother took her last breaths and the following week, as I rushed to finish her funeral program, Steve Jobs passes away. My grandmother was 93 and the hardest moment of my life thus far was watching that casket slowly descend into the ground.

I have to chuckle though at the thought of Steve Jobs and Phoebe chatting while waiting at the gates. He’d say something courteous like hello ma’am and then strike up a conversation with a question like what did u do with your life? My gran would say something like well, I raised my children, and was a foster parent to over 140 children. I worked for UNICEF, and traveled extensively teaching and learning. I opened the first SDA church in Sanniquellie, Liberia and I also ran a 300 acre farm that was primarily rubber and cocoa but also grew other things like pineapples.

I’m sure Steve would have the generational sensitivity to understand that Gran was 93 and had no idea what a iPod was but I imagine he’d tell her about his family and that he co-founded a company that changed the way we use and see computers.

This odd pair share some real commonalities though.

1. very strong personalities.
Phoebe stood at a maybe four feet, six inches but she had a 6’7″ personality. They were both demanding, aggressive, and sometimes forceful. I think that sometimes it was intentional because they knew people needed to be pushed.

2. pioneers to lead the way
Phoebe Amanda Reeves Logan was born in 1917 in Liberia, West Africa. How common do you think it was that an African woman would and could lead a 300 acre farm and have a career as an educator, traveling to foreign companies? Steve left Apple, started over and ended up having his old company (Apple) buy his new company (NeXT) for a pretty penny. The whole time, he was clear on his objective and comfortable in the low moments that came along with his vision.

3: the void they leave:
Not sure if the death of a 93 year-old should be shocking but there’s really no other way to explain it. She’d always been here. At the funeral I heard my dad say “I never thought my mother would die.” We didn’t know life without her.

When I heard about Mr. Jobs i paused in disbelief. How could they let this brilliant guy die? I was disappointed that we couldn’t keep him longer and I wondered how Apple would continue to innovate without their not so secret weapon. They both expected greatness, showed fearless leadership and lived with conviction

- and they will both be missed.

madia

Hurricanes, Earthquakes and the like

madia — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:00:15 +0000

When you live in a place like D.C., you tend to worry about things like terrorists bombing the Pentagon or people attacking the President. Don’t get me wrong. Winter here is horrible. Whoever said it was mild has never lived through a Phoenix summer. But this week – I experienced an Earthquake. NO, I wasn’t visiting California, I was on the 16th floor of my work building and felt a shaking. You didn’t have to tell me to leave the building — but first (and here’s the tie in with my regular themes of technology and social media)

I went to google, typed in earthquake and looked at the news tab. NOTHING. So… I went to Twitter and BOOM!!! There were all kinds of comments. Did you feel that? DC earthquake started trending as a topic. And yes… I tweeeted before I packed the laptop and ran down the stairs. (all 16 flights thank you very much)

Twitter was first on the scene. People were talking about traffic (so I avoided it) and my relatives and friends were communicating with me that way when the cell phone was just not working.

Now with the Earthquake behind us, Hurricane Irene is upon us. There are a lot of cool things going on to keep people informed. I love the google map links to Hurricane Irene information. You can see the path and it’s really interactive. I also appreciate President Obama’s remarks and then the fact that the White House tweeted links to keep people prepared and informed. Then again, Barry doesn’t play when it comes to social media…

So in a time of unexpected weather, Twitter was used to confirm and share stories and when there was expected weather, Twitter was used to inform and prepare folks for the weather. Not bad. Not bad at all.

@madia for my digital tweets @lovemadia for my music tweets.

Embracing Otherness – TEDTalk with Thandie Newton

madia — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:27:09 +0000

You should know that I am a big fan of TEDtalks. These are short lectures about varied topics that are so interesting and informative. Thandie’s 15 minutes was about constantly feeling different. The way she references “the self” is similar to the way Eckhart Tolle references “the ego”. Her point is that the self can sometimes be an effective barrier to a strong connection to the world around you. I actually agree with her there. When we’re so caught up with ourselves, our ego, our needs – it helps us focus less on others’ suffering. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

http://www.ted.com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_otherness_embracing_myself….

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.

Resume Tips

madia — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:13:09 +0000

Summary:

Update the resume when you’re NOT looking.
Be creative with the format but keep a plain text version for the fun forms.
Feature relevant web information (like LinkedIn recommendations)
Watch your public profile online.

If you’re like the typical person, you update your resume when you’re looking for a job. So in 6 months or a year or two years, you’ll pull it out and do some editing, then send it out. Here’s the thing… sometimes you forget about your biggest accomplishments and in your rush to hit the apply now button you’re not very thoughtful about the edits. If you’re hasty in sending it, don’t you think others may be hasty in their review?

I remember to update my resume when I do performance evaluations with my manager. In my organization we do PE’s every year. When you sit down and talk about your accomplishments, they are fresh in your head – so updating the resume from there should be a breeze. I’m happy in my current gig but I want to be prepared if an opportunity for advancement presents itself. I don’t want to have to scramble to find/update/polish my resume.

I just worked on a new resume format because most of my work is now digital and many employers are looking for links to the work you’ve done. Since I’m edging more towards strategy and not actual web design, I didn’t feature a lot of the websites I built. I also featured two key recommendations from my linkedin profile and then gave a link to where they could read the rest of my recommendations.

FYI – When you apply for a job at some companies they look at your social media. I remember hearing about a girl that didn’t receive a position because of a racy facebook profile picture. People make judgments about you from your interaction in social media so watch how you speak or if you are one of those ‘freer’ spirits, just clean it up when you’re looking for a gig.

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.