I am a Type Bee and here’s why. I was born with the initial B, I type a lot, I’m a laid-back Californian, and I’ve metamorphosed into a Honeybee. As you read my weekly column, you will most likely turn into a Honeybee as well, if you aren’t one already.

Blogger or Buzzer

Although I’m not a natural-born blogger, here goes my first blog column. It’s not that I’m the mousy type—let’s just say I’m comfortable with cats. I enjoy curling up, stretching out, relaxing, preening, minding my own business. The Typepad blog I started was starved for my attention. Then, all of a sudden in January 2008 I discovered that I’m a natural-born buzz-er. It’s quite easy to talk up a storm about a great book, an innovative web design, and…David Archuleta! From the moment I heard David’s golden, honey-toned voice, I have talked about him, listened to him, attended several concerts, I’ve even flown to see his hometown of Murray, Utah. And, I’ve learned to blog just so that I can buzz.

The word ‘buzz’ has been foremost in my mind lately. I’m ‘DA Buzz Type,’ the type of person who won’t stop until everyone I know knows what I know about David Archuleta. Not so long ago the only folks who were likely to hear me were my family, friends, neighbors, and townspeople. The Internet has changed the concept of buzz forever. Now I—you—they—we can all buzz. Collectively, we create a buzzing cacophony, nay, a beautiful symphony for and about David Archuleta. It’s a simple formula that works almost effortlessly because it springs forth out of sheer joy. For all you literal-minded folks, there really is a formula and here it is.

Buzz Formula:

“Buzz = Word of Mouth + Word of Mouse”

Source: Wise Geek

Royal Premium Honey

For more than 1½ years I have been using both mouth and mouse to buzz about David Archuleta. Though I am old enough to remember typewriters, trust me, I’m not using a Royal typewriter to type my sweet buzz. It’s called a keyboard now,—eek! there’s a mouse here too. What is produced is Royal Premium Honey! The buzzing reached a peak last summer on the Hey! Nielsen website, the first hive for the DA Honeybees. David Archuleta fans were more than 400 members strong on Hey! Nielsen. We created lots of buzz and kept David No.1 in Music for many months, far ahead of more than 2,000 musicians! Last October on my trip to Salt Lake City, I gave an informal marketing presentation to Team David members. One of the slides is this beehive image representing all the Honeybees who were on my H!N message board. You’ll probably find your username here, because many of you have re-created the Honeybee Hive here at DA Buzzing dot org, or DAHoneybees.com, if you prefer. haha!

DA Honeybees 2.0

The dynamic Internet known as Web 2.0 provides interactivity between producer (David) and consumer (fans), and also among those groups, with social networks, blogs, wikis, and media sharing sites. We fans of David are connected to him, his producers, his band, and to one another through the mechanisms provided online. You can “find me, follow me, and friend me” all from the comfort of your couch. The buzz we create is expressed exponentially: buzz¹⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰ every time we buzz.

Many of us fans of David have been experiencing a steep learning curve. Before David (B.D.), we did not have Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube accounts. We had never “tweetered” in public if we could help it. We had not fed at the trough of an RSS feed. We chatted on the telephone, not with a keyboard.

Today we David Archuleta fans are guerrilla marketers. The tools we use are time, energy, and imagination. Like a well-formed beehive, we do our “BUZZness” to the best of our abilities with grace and generosity of spirit. Our aim is to tell the world about this rising star. Our methods may be simple but they are highly effective. Email is a good example. With every email message, we help to broaden the audience for David’s music.

3 Easy Ideas for Email Buzz:

• send a monthly DA newsletter to email contacts
• create a DA email signature with links to his official website, a favorite David quote or song, a link to your DA Buzzing author page
• write personal notes recommending David’s songs, weblogs, Twitter updates

Buzz Song

Remember I told you that the word ‘buzz’ is in my head a lot? ‘Buzz’ is an onomatopoeia, so I Googled that too and found out that Todd Rundgren wrote a funny song called “Onomatopoeia”. Here’s a snippet.

Onomatopoeia in proximity ya
Rearrange my brain in a strange cacophony
I get a feeling somewhere that I can’t describe
It’s sort of uh, uh, uh, uh
A sound in my head that I can’t describe
It’s sort of whack, whir, wheeze, whine
Sputter, splat, squirt, scrape
Clink, clank, clunk, clatter
Crash, bang, beep, buzz

Gotta go now—my bowl of BuzzBee is ready and I hate when the milk makes my honey-nut Cheerios soggy. Catch you next week! Until then, here’s a thought….

Buzz-phrase

God is like a honeybee, He doesn’t mind me calling Him that; for when you are kind – sweet – He nears, and can draw you into Himself.
– St. Francis of Assisi

Creating Sweet Buzz for David Archuleta

SongsWhen I first saw and heard David Archuleta sing, it was more than a year ago. At the time, he was auditioning for American Idol’s Season 7. He was a shy 16 year old boy and he sang “Waiting on the World to Change,” a song made popular by singer John Mayer. It was January 22, 2008. Coincidentally, it was also my birthday. I will never forget the gift I received that day, listening to this young man sing!

I remember thinking as I watched David Archuleta for the first time, what an adorable young man. I was intrigued by his story of vocal paralysis. I was wondering to myself, can he really sing? But when he opened his mouth and those first few notes came out, I was pleasantly surprised. There was something very special about him. He was wonderful. He had a unique sound and the sweetest, most humble character I had seen in a long time. He was truly endearing!

During the audition, David was nervous and he forgot a few words, but he kept his cool and showed the judges his talent. He was impressive. He had a voice that was powerful and it had such a soothingly beautiful sound. I just kept thinking …wow, he is really great, I hope he makes it. When I knew he had made it through to the next round, I began watching American Idol every week. I wanted to see, hear and learn more about this amazing young man.

David’s “American Idol” Audition on January 22, 2008

That was more than a year ago and I am a hooked fan for life. That night back in January 2008, David Archuleta captured my heart with his rendition of “Waiting on the World to Change.” From that moment on, I wanted to hear David sing anything and everything! So the song I would like to share this week is “Waiting on the World to Change,” the song that started it all for David and many of us fans.

“Waiting on the World to Change” was written by John Mayer for his 2006 album titled Continuum, on Sony’s label. It was produced by John Mayer and Steve Jordan. It won John a Grammy in 2007 for Best Male Pop Performance. It is a bluesy rock song about disconnect and hope. The song’s theme discusses the current world condition and how powerless the youth of today feel about it. But, they are hoping things will change.

David singing “Waiting on the World to Change” at Fox 13-Utah, July 2008

David Archuleta is a big fan of John Mayer’s music. “Waiting on the World to Change” was a great song choice for him to sing during his AI audition. It got him through to Hollywood, and the rest, as they say, is history!! 😉

David Archuleta, the Voice