Social Media Day in the OC!

Yesterday, I attended Mashable.com Social Media Day representing @HiltonCostaMesa at the Orange County Register (@ocreggie) office located in Santa Ana, CA.  Santa Ana's (Orange County) meetup was ranked 4th largest in the world and 2nd largest in the US, behind NYC, based on attendance.  The ranking did not surprise me as I have previously attended many local tweetups and larger Social Media events within the past year which only seem to grow larger and more frequent.   The hotel also hosted a Social Media event partnered with "ConnectOC" back in February which drew in nearly 400 social media folks in the building.

According to Mashable.com, Social Media Day is defined as "A day that honors the technological and societal advancements that have allowed us to have a dialogue, to connect and to engage not only the creators of media, but perhaps more importantly, one another." This was a truly unique event clearly fueled by social media that included various food trucks (@longboards, @calbibbq, @tropshaveice, @piaggioonwheels, @Ohforsweetssake, @TheTacoDawg, @BrcelonaOntheGo), speakers, a press room tour, and connecting with other professionals IRL (in real life).

I showed up a bit late and missed the first few speakers, but eventually met up with my hospitality friends in social media @TravelCostaMesa (Costa Mesa CVB), @HiltonAnaheim and @Anaheim_OC (Anaheim/OC CVB).  Each speaker had a 10 minute run with a different topic or theme.  I sat in the overflow room just in time to hear @rochelleveturis speak on the topic of "Putting a personal touch behind your social media efforts".  One of her messages: "A personal brand isn't a logo. Every piece of content is a clue (in building your brand)". Robert Watson @TopBrokerOC, on "Executing a social media business plan" said "People buy people before they buy products".  Robert being in the real estate industry, knows there is nothing more important than referrals and stresses the importance of using Linkedin.  Bryan Elliott @BryanElliott, founder of LinkedOC spoke on "Building passionate social communities" and Ted Nguyen, the Communications Manager of Orange County Transportation Authority spoke on how to "Utilize social media for issues/crisis management". 

Some very powerful messages were made from some pretty influential social media folks.  Like Bryan Elliott said "Join groups that are relevant to you. Surround yourself with people way smarter than you".  If you are new to Social Media, the message is clear: don't be afraid.  Everyone using social media is here to support each other.  Follow the hashtag #SMDayOC for more information. 

Be sure to follow us on twitter @HiltonCostaMesa

Our Newest Team Member

The Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa would like to welcome Sheena Mehta to the Sales and Catering Department . Sheena will be our Senior Catering Manager specializing in the Wedding Market.

 
Sheena has great hotel experience having worked at the Anaheim Marriott and the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort as a Social Catering Manager.  Sheena also spent the last 2 years in Austin, Texas opening up her own hotel.
 
She was born and raised in Orange County and has a 14 month old son, Ishan. In her spare time, she likes working out (especially spin class!!), cooking, and reading. She also loves to watch movies (when she has a free minute!!).
 
"I'm so excited to be a part of the Hilton Team" says Sheena.  For more from Sheena, please follow her Wedding Blog at http://hiltonocwedding.blogspot.com/

Review of Bristol Palms Restaurant

Upon arriving at the Hilton hotel in Costa Mesa, one of the first things you notice is the big open area where the Bristol Palms Bistro is. Walking into the restaurant area, you have a couple of seating options within the restaurant. You have your choice from their Bristol Palms California Bistro, Bristol Palms Bar, or the Bristol Pizza Bar. A friend and I decided to sit down in front of the brick oven pizza bar where there’s a chef that makes the pizzas in front of you. I glanced over their lunch menu and quickly noticed a couple things I wanted to order. I couldn’t decide between their Kobe burger, sandwich, soup, or pizza. I am a sucker for a good pizza, especially when it’s made right in front of you with tons of different toppings to choose from. When my friend said she was ordering a pizza, I quickly crossed that off my list since I could just try hers. I saw that they offered a lunch combo, which was your choice of two from salad, soup, and sandwich. I opted for the seafood chowder and the mango chicken salad sandwich. While we were waiting for our lunch, we enjoyed watching the pizza making and the TV that was right above the pizza oven.

Our food arrived promptly and to my surprise the lunch combo came with a whole sandwich instead of the usual half that restaurants give you when you order a combo. I took a bite of my soup and got a mouth full of seafood in my first bite. That is exactly how I like my seafood chowder, tons of seafood and not just veggies. My chowder had huge pieces of crayfish, shrimp, and clams in it. Next, I moved onto my mango chicken salad sandwich. At first, I was hesitant about the chicken and mango mixture, but it went perfectly together. In the mix were chicken, mango, onions, celery, cilantro, bits of jalapenos, and just enough mayo to hold it all together. I ate half my sandwich and all my soup before realizing I needed to save room to try a slice of pizza. She gave me a slice that was topped with pepperoni, tomatoes, black olives, and red onions. The pizza was delicious and the pizza chef did not hold back on the amount of toppings and cheese either.

After dining here, I definitely want to come back to try the Kobe burger. Surprisingly the food is not overpriced for being in a nice hotel. The Bistro Bar would be the perfect place to spend happy hour with a couple of friends. The tall palm trees also add such a nice touch to the large open area.

--Written/Reviewed by Cindy Wang
Click Here to View the Bristol Palms Dining Page