Monday, April 29, 2013

Twitter is My New Tamagotchi; Here's 4 Reasons Why

It's a popular joke among some of my best friends from college to obsessively relish the 90's, pretending that Bill Clinton is still President, TRL is our favorite TV show and nothing matters more than whether or not we will survive the inevitable Y2K. 

Much has changed for me now 2 decades later as my responsibilities have grown and my lifestyle has developed into that of a social media professional. I was daydreaming back to the 90s recently when I had this revelation: Twitter is my new Tamagotchi! 

Here's 4 reasons why:
  1. Tamagotchis required vigilant attention! I had to check to be sure my pet was happy just like I check Twitter to ensure there is mostly positive sentiment toward the brand I'm representing (and myself). If there are too many negative comments, your brand's presence online and in the market could quite literally die. You need to stay on top of the conversations surrounding your Twitter account to be proactive and address any such comments immediately and sensitively, and to celebrate and share compliments and successes with your community.
  2. I fed my Tamagotchi snacks to keep it happy; I feed my Twitter content to keep it relevant. Know your audience and share with them stories, trends, infographics and news that's relevant to their daily lives. This will generate more WOM and re-tweets, which in turn means more followers. More followers makes my Twitter happy. :)
  3. Tamagotchi could not keep out all of the clutter; I had to clean up its mess. When trying to figure out why my pet was in a state of unrest I would often check its "bathroom" section to find a bunch of.. well, crap. As mentioned above, smart content is key to growing your brand's social media presence. Be sure you aren't tweeting just to tweet and that the information you share is useful to your community. Don't fill their feeds with content even your Tamagotchi would consider waste.
  4. Tamagotchi got social! Updates to the popular pet included a connectivity option where users could link up and create a family of digital pets. Research your audience and connect with key players on Twitter to grow your network of people to whom you are listening and who are listening to you. 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

#PrayforBoston

I'm finding myself really affected by Monday's Boston Marathon tragedy. As a runner, the Boston Marathon is a feat I think of often and the runners who compete in it are athletes I look up to, never knowing their names, faces or backgrounds but admiring them for the ability to push themselves 26.2 miles, sharing the course with some of the strongest runners in the world. Many people who are not runners cannot understand how someone would find joy in the pain, persistence, dedication and drive it takes to lace up your shoes and run. Not because you're being chased or because you really need to get somewhere fast, just because you want to run.

When I look back at races I have run, what stands out most, more than the cramped leg muscles, achey feet and chafed skin are the people who cheered me on. My family on the side lines, strangers calling out their support and encouragement. I close my eyes and imagine the finish line in Boston when the explosions took place and see those familiar faces from my past mixed in with the scene's disturbing images in the media. It breaks my heart.

I've shared here my favorite joke and how I feel it applies to running, "Why did the idiot start hitting himself in the head with the hammer? Because it felt so good to stop." It was like a light went off when I heard that and thought, "Why did the runner start running? Because it felt so good to stop." The finish lines from races I've run are landmarks that symbolize some of the proudest moments of my life and prove to me that my mind, body and spirit are strong enough to carry me when I am tired, when I think I can't go any further, when I think I have no more to give. The explosions took place at the finish line and robbed so many runners of the opportunity to cross, to add that finish line to their life's atlas of ultimate accomplishments.

Hitting me closest to home is the death of Martin Richard, the 8-year-old boy from Massachusetts who was at the race to cheer on his dad with his mom and sister. My mom was a marathon runner before she passed away from a massive heart attack at 42. She is buried in her favorite marathon shirt. I remember watching proudly from the sidelines as we followed her, catching glimpses of this beautiful, strong woman at key points of the course and feeling so much pride that she was my mom. I can't even begin to imagine the way Martin's father must feel in the aftermath of this tragedy but I do think I can relate to the way this child felt before the attack, proud of his father and the other runners and hopeful to one day be strong enough to be among them. He will never have the chance to try.

The point of this blog is to look for the love in life and when tragedies like these strike I think it's even more important to try to find some kind of bright side in the darkness. There are countless images and stories of Monday's heroes. Those people who were on site and instead of running away, ran toward the explosions to help. The doctors and nurses of Boston helping those with severe injuries in their hospitals. Residents of Boston who opened their homes to displaced runners and their families. I feel so helpless and wish I could do something to help, or to prevent something like this from happening in the future but I don't know what to do. 

Really people, what is going on in our world? Where is the love?

my mom, the marathon runner 1994

Monday, April 15, 2013

I Finally Unpacked my Suitcase

Well hi there. It's been awhile since I've posted here. Embarrassed as I am for my extended digital devoid I want to get right back into updating you on the positives in my life and have SO much to catch back up on - I've been so busy but I've LOVED every second!

Since January I've pitched and secured hits with local and national media, met my first Columbus celebrity and two nationally recognized Wall Street Journal reporters (Walt Mossbert & Katie Boehret). I was inspired by presentations from and shook hands with both Max Brooks and Sebastian Thrun, pillars in the ever changing educational industry at the second largest educational technology conference in the country, OETC13. I met and led an incredible team of interns, teaching them my skills in media relations and gaining from them a revived passion for leadership and learning. We led the Social Media Command Center at OETC13 where our hashtag #OETC13 trended in Columbus, second only to the #pope!

I won $200 in Las Vegas, put my toes in the sand in Destin while there was snow on the ground for my friends back home, interviewed brand ambassadors for a street marketing campaign then traveled to South by Southwest in Austin to carry it out along with several media interviews and thought provoking panels. Last month I was away from home for 18 days on a trip to Chicago, Napa, Berkeley and LA. Check out the Tumblr I made, Eat Drink Love, to document that trip using the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 I won at South by.

It's been a crazy first quarter and I'm even more excited for 2013 and beyond than I was in January! I'll do my best not to take such a long hiatus since I the whole reason I started this blog was to share my positivity and inspire some happy thoughts. The sun is shining more so let's soak up that extra Vitamin D and look for all the love in our lives!

South by Southwest Interactive

St. Patty's Day in Chicago

The most beautiful place I've ever seen - Napa, CA