Earlier this month, I attended the first ever VidCon Conference organized by Hank and John Green aka the VLOGBROTHERS. You could compare it to the ComiCon of YouTube,  bringing together all the stars in the space offline to share their stories and meet hundreds of their fans in real life. You could also sense this was the beginning of something that would be much bigger in years to come. Personally, it was a reality check of how much YouTube has evolved from an amateur content platform to a legitimate business whose players are making more than some talent in traditional media. Plus, not only are some of them making an actual living through the YouTube partner program, but they’re building a completely engaging community and fan base like no other with MAJOR consistent numbers to back it.

The Vlogbrothers were nice enough to have me as their “official interviewer” and I got to chat with all the speakers. I was basically like their Barbara Walters. I even tried to make a few cry… kinda. They will be rolling out the videos on their Vidcon YouTube page over the next few weeks. GO HERE TO WATCH OR ELSE!

Tags: hank green, john green, vidcon, vlog brothers

I interviewed Henry Alford, the author and NY Times writer, this week on CBS’ Backstage Live during The Early on Saturday. Lets just say we had a lot of fun. He recently started a weekly column called the “Crib Sheet”, which give you a list of 10 topical items for discussion from the past week– sure to make all of us more in the know or at least sound like it while schmoozing with friends over the weekend.  You can read it in the paper each Thursday or check it out online at NYTimes.com.

Tags: cbs, early show, henry alford, ny times

I’m loving this site- Trendwatching, which pegs itself as the “world’s leading consumer trends firm, relying on a global network of hundreds of spotters.” This month, their newsletter focuses on the trend of innovation- from hotel’s offering reading clubs and restaurants with Spanish classes, to ATMs that allow you to donate to your favorite charity and bamboo bikes benefiting entrepreneurs in the developing world. With all the noise around us, their list picks out those awesome and inspiring innovations happening all around us that we just might miss. Thank you!

Tags: shira lazar, shiralazar, trends, trendwatching

Some of you might know her as the award winning writer of Juno. Well now she’s trying her hand at hosting her very own Internet talk show. “Red Band Trailer” literally takes place in an old school 19′ Airstream International Trailer and I must say, it’s pretty funny. Here’s her first interview with actor Adam Brody:

Tags: adam brody, diablo cody, juno

I agree with that quote more than ever. I’ve got gigs but my job is being me and the best me possible!

I feel so lucky to be constantly meeting new people and surrounding myself with friends that I admire and inspire me daily. I stumbled on this profile tonight of my friend Rex Sorgatz in The New York Times- they describe him as a “new-media mogul and social butterfly”, which makes me laugh because the two do seem to go hand in hand these days. He’s also working on a very cool new restaurant concept called 4Food opening next month in NYC. It’s described as an “apple store meets fast food”. Yum dot com!

Tags: 4food, new york times, rex sorgatz

This has got to be one of the most awesome and practical slide show presentations I’ve seen recently:

Tags: social media

“Malaria kills one million people each year, mostly pregnant women and children in Africa. It costs Africa $30 billion annually. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Universal bed net coverage is the most effective malaria prevention tool.” –Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria

It’s an honor to have been a part of the Malaria Social Media Envoy since it launched on World Malaria Day on April 25th. Since then, we’ve all been tweeting, donating, vlogging and blogging away in order to raise awareness and money for the cause.

Below is a video a bunch of us involved did in April to help spread the word. Watch below to learn more! Thanks again to @catrific, @jason_pollock, @iamkhayyam, @iconic88, @thatdrew, @adventuregirl, @ashong

There are 10 new cases of malaria every second.

Take a few seconds now & donate $10 to #endmalaria at http://bit.ly/aDaKVu
or Text NETS to 864233 to donate.

Tags: #endmalaria, ashong, catrific, drew olanoff, iconic88, jason pollock, malaria, shira lazar

During the holiday weekend,  Jimmy Kimmel tweeted this hilarious video, which was then picked up by Huffington Post. My producer at CBS News sent it to me and the entire newsroom immediately fell in love with it too. In less than a week, it’s racked up over 1.5 million views. In it, Paul Vasquez also known as Hungrybear9562 on YouTube goes on a freak out over “Double Rainbows” he captures with his camera in Yosemite, CA. Here’s the video for your viewing pleasure. One word: awesome!

I tracked him down and interviewed him for CBS News- watch it  HERE.

Thanks to Mashable who then picked up the story on their site too!

Tags: double rainbow, hungrybear9562, paul vasquez, viral, youtube

It’s already Thursday but hope you’re enjoying your summer and had a great 4th!

I was in the Hamptons and bumped into a guy that looked like he came off a rave boat or from space. He was wearing a wetsuit looking jacket that had a huge solar panel on the back. It was a prototype for an actual product he’s working on that could charge your iPhone or iPod from anywhere. Very cool! To check his company out online go to: combhard.com

Tags: combhard, iphone, ipod, shira lazar, shiralazar, solar charge

Created by my friends and YouTube aficionados The Fine Brothers/ The Station. If you like old school 8-bit games or you’re simply a Twi-hard, you’ll be amused by this interactive video.

Tags: fine brothers, the station, twilight eclipse, youtube