So this spring I’ve been planning & scheming. PodCamp Philly is on the books and I’ve got PLANS for conference #4. This year I’ve decided I’m taking charge of the speakers and talk schedule for the conference. Along with that, I have some really fun things planned at the Saturday night social outing. No spoilers here. But trust me, you want to go.
NJ Social Media Hall of Fame
April 12, 2010 by ·
Breaking News on NJ Social Media Hall of Fame
Voting begins today until Sun. April 25, 11:59pm EST to choose the NJ Social Media Hall of Fame Inductees! Vote only once, by leaving one comment on the Facebook Fan Page (must be a fan to leave a comment), naming your choice of Finalist (hopefully Lynette!!) & briefly explain why they should be inducted into the NJ Social Media Hall of Fame.
List of Finalists to choose from (in reverse alphabetical order by Twitter user name):
- @tweetamar Itamar Kestenbaum
- @podcaststeve Steven Lubetkin
- @njplaygrounds Sheila Sayah
- @njfamilymag Lucy Banta
- @lynetteradio Lynette Young
- @leoraw Leora Wenger
- @jessicalevin Jessica Levin
- @jerseybites Deborah Smith
- @hhrmediagroup Don Povia
- @AmyVernon Amy Vernon
Rockin’ on the High Seas
November 11, 2009 by ·
You know where I’m going. Florida. Miami. Then on a big ship and on the high seas for five days / four nights. Without my husband or kids, but Rick Springfield. Yes, on a cruise. There will be *5* concerts, photo sessions, and many many cocktails. No worries, the rest of my family is safe at home enjoying their time without Mommy staying up late on the weekend and eating ice cream for breakfast. (Oh wait, I let them do that sometimes too!)
This is last years cruise that I couldn’t go on…
While away without a laptop (ZOMG!) or any real Internet access to speak of, I will have time to read, relax, lounge on the beach, stay up late, sleep in late, and get my shit together. Sometimes people need that. Collect their thoughts, sort through them, and move forward. Good thing for me I hit a ‘rockstar awakening’ a few weeks ago both personally and professionally, and this vacation could not come at a more perfect time.
My kids are healthy. My husband is amazing. My daughter is so intelligent. My son is talking more and more. My mom is *happy* for the first time in a long time.
My company is doing very well. I have office space of my own for the first time in a very long time. I have started hacking down vines and building my own path again. I’m able to volunteer my time and knowledge with several local business groups. The purple stripes are back in my hair.
I will miss all of this on my vacation, but at the same time I get to finish a thought, work out ideas, make new friends, and maybe – just maybe – I will get to meet (not just get my picture taken with…) a rockstar I have been completely crazy about since 1981 & the Working Class Dog album. Some would say I was late to the game – but I was 10 years old! (Rick is playing the entire WCD album start to finish in order at one of the concerts on the ship.) I now own every song he has ever released and have been to 15 concerts.
Anyone that I have fallen in love with their work, I’ve been able to ‘friend’ to some degree with social media tools. Not just friend as in “I can follow your updates & stalk you” but truly befriend them. Matthew Ebel and JC Hutchins come to mind (both *amazing* artists in their respective crafts.) Not having access to Rick Springfield is actually kind of strange to me.
Ok, I’m done rambling. I am done packing, now I just have to make a poster for my cabin door. Yeah, it’s a sickness….
Talk to you all when I get back! (And hopefully see you at Web 2.0 NYC!)
Giving BACK
August 24, 2009 by ·
No surprise I am a compassionate and empathetic person. At least I *hope* it’s no surprise! I also value other people’s time, opinion, experience, and feelings. And with that I want to tell you what I try to do every week. I give back to people that have given me something that makes me happy – or changes my life for the better – but I try to show that thanks in a way they need most. Money. Sometimes I can’t do it every week, but I at least try every week. Sometimes all I have to give is my time, a blog comment, re-Tweet, or a honest to God heartfelt complement or word of thanks. That I *can* do every day.
As strange as it sounds, I’m going on a Rick Springfield cruise this November. I’ve been to 10 concerts of his so far. Not only is the cruise a unapologetic gift to myself (from myself), but it does in a way reward and thank RS for /cough/ 30+ years of his music to me, he gets money from it. Not the most direct way to show my appreciation, but counting myself in a tiny percentage of rabid RS fans that would pony up the money and float around on the ocean for 4 days DOES say thanks better than any other way I could think of.
Secondly, I love love love Matthew Ebel, have for years, and finally realized that maybe I should show a ‘starving musician’ exactly what his music means to me – with money. So I bought a one year VIP subscription to his fan club and music. I already purchased every CD and track he’s released, but this was my above and beyond thank you for years of robots, ninjas, crayons, and piano ballads he’s made. I tell the world about him every chance. I am confident I have turned more than a few people into Ebel fans as well.
Drew Olanoff at Blame Drew’s Cancer is a story that kind of hit me in a weird way. I’ve met Drew at Podcamp Philly, and although I’m certain he doesn’t remember me, his personal story of cancer hits home closer than a lot of people may ever know. I remember very vividly when that Tweet came across when he brought the fact he had cancer public. The fear it struck in me to how it must feel to say it out loud, how it makes it real somehow hit me right in the gut. I bought a tee shirt, I donated to Livestrong. I gave money, but I’m not sure I made a difference. I sure as hell hope *he* does. Sometimes money alone doesn’t make it better.
Tonight I gave a few Starbuck coffee’s worth of money to my favorite author J.C. Hutchins via Podiobooks. I will purchase every book he ever writes. I have downloaded every audio novel he’s ever spoken. I wanted to thank him more, so I gave him some money. I am lucky enough to get to chat with him via Twitter every now and again, and would empty my pockets for him if I could just so he could sit home every day and WRITE. I absolutely love his work. I’m only sorry and sort of ashamed I hadn’t clicked that donate button years ago.
Am I so flush with cash I can click away at any PayPal Donate button I see? No. Am I more passionate about things I enjoy and love more than other people? Maybe. Do I feel that I need to show my appreciation for things I value in a way that *they* place value on? YES.
What do you value and love so much you would open your wallet & say “thanks”?
[tags]blamedrewscancer, jc hutchins, matthew ebel, podcamp, rick springfield[/tags]
