Harlow Newton, Boulevards Networks
/ SFStation.com

A true socially responsible entrepreneur at heart, Harlow has more than 20 years of experience as a business owner, from being one of the founding partners at SF Station, to starting a successful travel
services company and environmental non-profit organization.

After selling SF Station to the Boulevards City Guide Network in 2006, Harlow has been working as the Director of Digital Marketing & Strategy for the Boulevards City Guide Network. During his 10 years with SF Station, Harlow built and established long-term business relationships and strategic partnerships with local businesses, media companies, and community and public organizations. With a rolodex of over 8,000 contacts, Harlow continues to develop unique and innovative business partnerships, brand awareness campaigns and digital marketing programs for his clients and partners.

Harlow studied business, public relations and psychology at San Francisco State University through an interdisciplinary studies program. Harlow is currently building Buenaventura, an eco-adventure lodge and rainforest retreat on his 170 acre property in Costa Rica, scheduled to open to the public in the summer of 2010.

American Express has created a forum it calls the AMERICAN EXPRESS TASTEMAKERS INDEX. It’s like a city site for food and other picks. Here’s a recent post:

EATING HEALTHY IN THE NEW YEAR? AMERICAN EXPRESS TASTEMAKERS DISH ON THE TOP NEW YORK RESTAURANTS FOR GRABBING A HEALTHY BITE

Tastemakers share tips on eating healthy while eating out in the New Year

NEW YORK, January 25, 2008 — For many Americans, better health tops the New Year’s resolution list. But for the millions of foodies in New York City, eating healthy while eating out is not always easy. Today, American Express issued its Tastemaker Index and in it, Tastemakers dish on some of the best New York restaurants where diners can get a fresh, healthy meal to help them keep that New Year’s resolution. The Tastemaker Index is a monthly alert which provides an insider’s look at the hottest restaurants recently dined at and talked about on American Express Dish®. Dish is a community web site dedicated to connecting people who love to dine out.

The Tastemaker Index reveals the Top Restaurants for Healthy Dining. These rankings are based on the number of charges made by Tastemakers at restaurants. While they don’t account for a restaurant’s size or hours of operation, they do reflect the dining trends of an exclusive group of food-loving Cardmembers.

NEW YORK CITY: Top 5 Healthy NYC Restaurants
RESTAURANT
1. Mizu Sushi
2. Café Metro
3. Estiatorio Milos
4. Spice
5. Republic

Source: American Express Dish Tastemakers

More on Dish
What Dish provides that is unlike any other dining resource is the web’s most robust combination of dining offers, information and insights, including peer restaurant ratings, expert picks and instant reservations among other features. Available in New York and San Francisco, Dish is an ongoing platform, allowing diners to tap into the insights of a diverse group of passionate Cardmembers and celebrity foodies, better known as the Dish Tastemaker community.

In addition to the existing features and offers on the site, Tastemakers are encouraged to come back often to check out new offers from Dish. New York Dish’s latest promotion called “Table for You” awards gift certificates and reservations at some of the city’s most exclusive restaurants. American Express posts a featured restaurant and asks a thought-provoking question such as “which menu item inspires your imagination?” Tastemakers with the most compelling submission win a $400 gift certificate from the featured restaurant. Check out the Table for You contest by clicking on the banner on Dish’s New York homepage and find new restaurant gift certificates to win in upcoming weeks, including ‘Cesca and Babo among others.

The ad:tech conference produced some very useful information. Here’s a post on Mashable about How Diggnation Makes Money from Ads:

Hosted by “Internet Superstar” co-hosts Martin Sargent and Gator, the live event was a good way to end the ad:tech conference here in San Francisco. It was the first time something like this had been done for the conference, and it was a pretty fun (and funny) way to end a conference that’s all about monetizing business from ad revenue.

Sargent and Gator’s guests included Kevin Rose, Ask Ninja, Jeff MacPherson of Tiki Bar TV and Wine Library’s Gary Vaynerchuck. Each guest got to play a clip from their show, and Ninja was there “live” via satellite to do his thing. And as entertaining as it was to get all these web-famous personalities on stage together, the topic of discussion was on advertising revenue and how it’s applied to their programs.

Rose said that Diggnation is pretty picky about its sponsors, which is evident in the product placement you’ll typically find in a given episode. Vaynerchuck, on the other hand, gave a useful speech on the monetization capacity of his core business thanks to his expansion of his product through the creation of a made-for-web program.

The key takeaway? Advertising is about the product and the content. Get that right, and you’ll be all good, when it comes to advertising. This is typically easier when you’re already a trusted source or name, and even MacPherson noted he had filmmaking experience that lent to the ability for him to better create content. But you get the point. Do what you love, and advertisers will love you.