Rachele Cermak | Life Stream & Portfolio

Video will be posted soon!

Post of video to come.

Look onto the shelves of my bookcase. These titles serve as an invitation. You’ve already made it into the house. Stop for a minute while standing in front of these sheets of paper resting on top of their more intact relatives. What color is the wood? Are the bindings cracked? Did I write my name inside the cover?

Pick one up. Is it dog-eared and highlighted? This one still has its college bookstore USED sticker stuck on. This one has never been opened.

You thumb through one with yellowed edges and mildew scented cologne. As the sun sets, casting a cut-out shadow through the blinds, a photograph drops from one of its pages.

I am passionate about slam poetry. I want everyone that attends an event to get goosebumps, hate a piece, cheer for a poet, boo a judge and tear-up a little bit. Just feel something!

The National Poetry Slam is in its 21st year and it coming to Saint Paul August 3 – 7. This is a big deal!! 80 teams from all over the world will be competing over 5 days. Most cities will plan for this a year or two out. Saint Paul only had five months (the contract was signed in February). Now Nationals is two months away!

I love getting people excited about slam, not just because I write and get a natural high when performing, but because it’s guaranteed to make you understand life from different perspectives. So when asked if I would like to use my understand of social Internet environments, I gladly accepted the staff role as NPS 2010 Community Manager.

My first step in the marketing plan: Simple community awareness. We’re starting with a Facebook page and Website that people can search for and receive basic information from about slam. Our event will be posted on like-minded Facebook Fan Pages. Press Releases will be sent out on the local and national level.

Second step will start in July, as we accelerate the excitement. This will include releasing the line-up of venues that have signed on to support NPS and hold bouts over the week. This line-up will be posted on every major online events calendar so visitors can quickly share the information. Facebook will also be a major tool in not just sharing the event, but allowing for conversation to start surrounding it.

Two weeks before Nationals we’re going to push our Twitter page which will help poets keep up to the second tabs on all of the events. I’m going to have designated Tweeters in each bout that will post the scores. Each of these people will be listed under the NPS Twitter profile as “Scores” so people can easily follow along with whats happening.

Once the events start I want to have something occur connected with Foursquare, so that when people check-in to so many bouts that they can be recognized for it. But I don’t know how easy it is to create a badge for the event.

I have other ideas that I’ll most likely be sharing soon, just have to approve them first. But in the mean time if you have any contributions on how social media would help the National Poetry Slam, I’d be 100% open to comments and discussion about it.

Oh, and don’t forgot to “like” the Facebook Page.  Thanks!