While the masses of Americans endured the freezing temperatures of DC to bear witness to history in the making, a bunch of Orlando bloggers and I camped out at the Izea offices to share in the experience of welcoming President Obama into office.

Quaker Oats sponsored my Inaugural Viewing event as part of their “Start with Substance” campaign and it was a great way kick off the day.

A huge spread of Quaker Oatmeal with all the toppings, eggs, bacon, fruit, coffee and juices were served up. We feasted until our bellies were full – and then some – as we waited for the man-of-the-hour to take center stage.

Whatever side of the political fence you sit on, there is no mistaking the fact that today was a day of great moments.

I was particularly inspired by this passage in President Obama’s address:

“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

The use of the words “non-believers” reminded me that Obama’s vision for America is all-inclusive.

While I may not have agreed with all of his points, I don’t have to. That’s one of the best parts about being a citizen of this great country

Yes, today I am extra-proud to be an American. Not in the flag-waving, Lee Greenwood, hyperbole kind of way… More of a personal-responsibility, stand together and do something that makes America rock once again, kind of way.

Special thanks to Ted Murphy for opening up the Izea offices for the event.

Here are two sets of photos to enjoy…

Many of my readers know that I’ve made it a personal mission of mine to help less fortunate families and do what I can to help eradicate the wicked that is breast cancer.

Over the last two years, I’ve helped raise nearly $150,000 for March of Dimes, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Susan G. Komen For the Cure and the National Breast Cancer Foundation through my efforts with Affiliate Summit and AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com.

I’ve also gotten behind many other efforts that share the same beliefs as me. Today, I am delighted to announce that I am supporting Quaker Oatmeal’s “Start with Substance” effort – a campaign which encourages consumers to feed their families and “fuel it forward” to those less fortunate.

From January 12th through February 28th, consumers can visit www.startwithsubstance.com and enter the UPC (barcode) from any variety of Quaker hot cereal and for every UPC entered, Quaker will donate a bowl of nutritious oatmeal to Share Our Strength – up to 1 million bowls of oatmeal! And that, my dear readers, is something I can embrace – especially given the fact that I’ve been a Quaker Oatmeal Maple and Brown Sugar girl since I was a kid

I’ve also been chosen as one of fifteen bloggers around the country to host an Inauguration Day viewing party, in which Quaker Oats will provide a hot oatmeal bar with all the tasty toppings to my guests. It’s Quaker’s way of sharing the experience with families as they watch the ceremony and embark on a fresh start with the new First Family.

I will be hosting the party at Izea’s corporate office in downtown Orlando (150 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 412) beginning at 10:00am on Inauguration Day (1/20). I can’t thank Ted Murphy enough to allow me to use their office space as we take in this historical event. It’s sure to be an amazing experience.

I am also very grateful to Quaker Oatmeal as they will be donating two cases of oatmeal as part of their “Start with Substance” campaign, to Rock for Hunger, a local community effort that I’ve grown very fond of.

If you would like to attend the Inaugural Viewing please get in touch with me at missyward@gmail.com or on Twitter at Twitter.com/MissyWard. If you’re on Facebook, you can also RSVP here: http://cli.gs/quakerrsvp.

I also encourage you all to visit www.StartWithSubstance.com to learn about Share Our Strength’s mission to end childhood hunger and share your own oatmeal tips and photos with the QuakerMan!

Entrepreneurs and anyone who has worked for a startup, can sense it happening.

It is that moment in time where you become aware that a catalyst has been unleashed. Your company, that you’ve put your heart and soul in, is about to transform.

And, you know exactly what’s in store for you.

I know this phenomenon very well as I’ve had the good fortune of working for a few startups that have undergone this curiosity. I’ve also witnessed it in my own company.

In many cases, it was a singular event that sparked the metamorphosis – a tipping point, if you will.

To be a part of the aftermath is extraordinary.

This is how I felt during the Izea Advisory Board meeting this past weekend.

Ted Murphy, CEO of Izea has assembled a powerhouse of a board, including Michael Brito, Chris Brogan, Brian Clark, Jim Kukral, Neil Patel, Wendy Piersall and Jeremy Schoemaker.

One could almost feel the energy in the Izea Conference Room from the collective brainpower behind the barrage of ideas being hurled at Ted. I am humbled to be part of such a great team and hope that my contribution vis-à-vis affiliate marketing proves beneficial.

Getting a thorough understanding of where Ted wants to take SocialSpark.com was exciting. It is evident that they are at the threshold of being unstoppable when it comes to monetizing social media.

Their recent Kmart campaign is proof-positive that SocialSpark’s online marketplace can clearly connect advertisers with bloggers and create buzz. I’m looking forward to the other great brands that are being brought on board.

If you haven’t checked out SocialSpark.com, now is the time to take notice as they are undoubtedly onto something extraordinary.

Here are some pictures of the Izea Advisory Board Meeting and Dinner which was at Taverna Opa – the place to go to in Orlando for Greek food and fun.

And really… what is Ted Murphy, if not fun?

Ted Murphy, CEO of Izea is at it again. He submerged himself in a bathtub full of cereal to launch a new promotion on Ted.me.

Ted’s giving away 52 boxes of cereal to a lucky winner on his blog. On top of that, if he gets 500 comments on his post, he’ll donate 52 boxes of cereal to a local food bank.

Here’s where I come in. I’ve already adopted a Central Florida family for the holidays and am also sponsoring some silent auction items at another holiday party benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But that said, I’m always up for another good challenge that benefits my local community.

So, if Ted gets his 500 comments, I will match his 52 boxes of cereal and donate it to whatever local food bank he desires.

While I must admit that Ted’s way of going about things is a little over the top at times, to quote a tag line in a Quaker Oatmeal (my favorite) commercial… “It’s a good thing to do and a tasty way to do it!”

So hop on over and post a little comment about your favorite cereal or how goofy Ted looks. Be a sport — It’s for charity!

Last night, Doterati (Central Florida’s association for interactive marketers, media and the tech community) held a creative networking event during the Create Chaos Conference in Orlando.

While I didn’t get over to Create Chaos this week (I’ve had way too much Chaos going on with being on the road for the last month), I did attend the Doterati event.

A session was held entitled “Juggling Creativity and Business”, which is so right up my alley on any given day. The panelists included Scott Allen, Chuck Southworth, and my local buddies and colleagues, Ted Murphy and Sterling Raphael. They all recounted the trials and tribulations of leaving their cozy corporate jobs working for “the Man” to strike out on their own and create their businesses.

There were several take aways for me but most importantly was one that was also a topic of discussion during a roundtable discussion at last week’s ShareASale Think Tank — “Getting rid of slacker employees.”

It seems that a lot of first-time business owners struggle with personnel and the inevitable decison on whether to fire an employee. Ted Murphy apparently dealt with this issue when he was starting his company. He offered his advice to cut the cord quickly and stop spending time trying to justify an employee that isn’t awesome.

The event was a Doterati recruitment instrument and I hope that some of the folks that attended actually signed up. As a founding member myself, I can tell you that annual dues are a mere pittance, compared to what you can get out of the association. I urge all Central Florida marketers to sign up.

Thanks again to Tara Lamberson and the rest of the Doterati committee for putting this gig on and I look forward to participating in future events.

Here are some pictures of the event.

Just back from Izea Devasaurus put on by Ted Murphy, Founder/CEO of Izea. The idea behind Devasaurus is to get the Orlando Dev Community to meet the folks at Izea, foster local innovation and get us crazy O-town folks mingling.

I got to check out their offices, which were pretty cool and their new innovation, CloudShout which is a tool that enables conversation across blogs and websites. I have to tell you, I was very impressed. While I didn’t get the Dev Mumbo Jumbo, I definitely got the idea of what they were trying to accomplish — and it rocks.

They opened up their request for blogger and dev invites today for their alpha phase and I just signed up. They also announced their “Gadget Challenge” in which they are inviting developers to create the coolest gadgets for a chance to win a $5,000 prize to be awarded at IzeaFest.

Unfortunately, I will not be attending IzeaFest this time around as I’ll be walking 60-miles in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-day as captain of Affiliate Marketers Worldwide. Maybe the lucky winner, will donate some of their winnings to the walk

There are some slides of the presentation in my pictures.

Check them out and let me know what you think about CloudShout.