So...What's Next?!?

Where You Can Find Me

Yes, I am still on hiatus from this blog. I am sure I will be back, I just need a break.

In the meantime, I am still writing. More than ever actually.

Over at the TAG Community is where some of my more spontaneous writing is happening. I have written about:

Twitter Lists

Facebook's identity crisis

My perspective about why most agencies will not help their client's embrace social media and the three roles of a social media consultant. 

On the corporate blog I am exploring what I believe to be the top trends we need to watch in 2010 including Niche Networks and Gaming. I am also exploring some these ideas on my Facebook Business Page.

Over at Lens on Atlanta I have a blog dedicated to basic social media tips but I am also starting to explore some insights about raising children in the digital age. I am also starting to exercise my creative writing muscle there as well.

I am also spending a lot more time on Twitter lately.

I have been re-writing my business plan and making plans for where I want to go in life.

I am reading A LOT. I am almost through the book The Leadership Challenge and last night  I finished reading The Art of Community, which you can download here Download Jonobacon-theartofcommunity-1ed . 

Business is good and life is great. However I am looking forward to the changes that are on the horizon, which I will tell you more about, when I return from my hiatus.

thinking about shutting down this blog

I honestly can not find my groove for this blog anymore. I blog about social media stuff at ConceptHubInc.com I blog about various social media and business stuff on the TAG Community I have a blog regarding basic social media tips over on Lens on Atlanta AND I have a groups set up related to parenting, writing, and government 2.0 on Lens as well. I write about job search strategies in my Ning community and I have the boot camp community that I write in. I share family and friend stuff mostly on Facebook lately, so the BIG QUESTION is - what is this blog for anymore?

It used to be "an entrepreneur's journey" where I would explore my thoughts, doubts, ideas, and frustrations...but I am at a point I do not want to share those inner feelings on the open web as much.

So, what's next?....until I answer that question, I might not be posting here for awhile.

What Only A Parent Would Feel

It has been awhile since I have blogged here. The reason is that I have had a lot on my mind that I needed to work through, and this blog is not the place for me to work these specific things out on.

However I do want to share some of the feelings the have been weighing very heavy on my heart this week.

Late on Tuesday night I was having a hard time getting to sleep. I flipped open my laptop to see if there was anything interesting happening on Twitter. One of the people I follow, @turner posted an Amber alert for Somer Thompson. My heart sank.

I struggled to get to sleep the rest of the night and the next morning when I awoke I learned more of the story. 7 year old Somer was walking home from school with a group of friends and her older sister. She got upset after her sister reprimanded her and ran off. Her body has been found in a landfill in South GA. 

I have an 8 year old with a mind of his own who I often have worried about him running off on his own to do his own thing.

When tragedy like this happens we often say we cannot imagine what that mother is going through. I think we can and we struggle to keep from imagining. It simply hurts too much to know that it could be our child and we could be that mother. 

I will never forget when I heard about the Oklahoma bombings. My oldest son was still a small infant. I was working at Bennigan's and that is where I was when the news broke and the story of all the children who had died. It was the first time I was able to imagine such intense emotional pain.

In recent news there have been stories of teenage boys getting beaten to death by a gang of kids or burned over a money dispute. I immediately think back to the day when my teenage son was jumped by a self-proclaimed gang member and someone burned his book bag and I feel an overwhelming sense of lack of control.

I am very fortunate that I am able to raise my boys in a nice neighborhood. I read that more than 150 sex offenders lived within a 5 mile radius of Somer's home. That information prompted to check out http://www.familywatchdog.us to see how many offenders lived in my neighborhood. Not many. 4 with child related convictions, and they are not really that close to us. A few statutory rape cases charged against young men, and a few rape and a few lewd behavior convictions. Again, none are very close to where we live.

But armed with the pictures and information of those who have been convicted in the past, knowing my neighborhood is relatively safe, and knowing that although these stories are reported daily on the news, the reality is a very small percentage of the population ever comes close to experiencing such horrific tragedies, that does not give me any sense that I am in control or stop me from being able to imagine what that mother is going through. Only because I want to avoid such pain can I stop from feeling what she must feel like.

Knowing she cannot see her daughter's smile, experience her daughter's pure energy and enthusiasm and amazing unconditional love, or play games with her anymore makes me realize what I am missing when I do not take the time to appreciate the kids I have.

For the past few days, when my younger son asks if I want to play Rock Band, I do not hesitate, I say yes!

The Fun Theory

Light the Night

Everybody Needs to Watch This!!! Hillarious!!!

"Everything is amazing and nobody is happy"
Uploaded by Meowbay. - See more comedy videos.

Week in Review

This was a very compact week and some of it is kind of blurry. Let's start with a total flash back to 1988. Why? Because a high school friend posted this on Facebook and it is one of those songs that takes you right back to "that time."

Alright, now to recap the week.

My Family

My youngest stayed home from school on Monday and Tuesday. Monday he still had a fever every 8 hours or so, on Tuesday he was completely fine. I, however, was not. My head hurt and my body hurt and I just wanted to take some drugs and fade away for awhile. But I was home with my youngest, who was bouncing off the walls, so I did not get to hide away until my husband came home from work. 

However as I sit here and write this blog, I actually have the house completely to myself and honestly not sure what to do with such freedom. My youngest is staying the night at his nan's house and my oldest is at his first High School Homecoming Game. 

Concept Hub

I think I might have stumbled across something good. For several months I have been toying with the idea of an individualized training solution that was scalable. I built an invite only ning network with videos and books and a Q&A forum as a self-paced training solution, but there is an abundance of information there and still needs better navigation. Then a friend of mine who I spoke to in the past about the idea asked to sign up along with her business partner. We talked and I put together a personalized  10 session program for them at a value of $750 each. I posted some brief information on Twitter and another friend sign up. My first friend referred her aunt who signed up. I enjoy the one on one personalized training sessions, they are affordable to most people and it is scalable. Cool!

Community Outreach

Oh all the opportunities I have missed out on! I was supposed to attend a very cool fundraiser event for Africa on Sunday with my friend Stephanie who is doing some amazing work in photography, but I was contagious. I was dressed and ready to go to a girls night out comedy event last night that supported Start Up Chicks, when my headache got worse. And no I still have not scheduled an appointment to donate blood!

But what I DID do this week is give a social media presentation today to a full house at the Foundation Center for Arts & Humanities month. I was caught on film and it will be posted in a few weeks to view. It was a 2 hour presentation, so I am interested in how they will post the video...yeah I can talk about social media for two hours. Actually  8-10 hours if anyone wanted me to.

Goals for the weekend?

I have no goals. I have no idea what I want to do next. I am wondering around lost right now. I will catch up with you on Sunday and let you know what I wondered into.

What Business Communicators Can Learn From Rock & Roll

Last week I received History of Rock & Roll in the mail via Netflix. As I watched the progression from Chuck Berry to 80's Hair bands, I noticed a few common themes about the rise and fall of artists. I realized that these themes are lessons that business communicators can learn from.

1. The Message Has to Resonate

Musicians and song writers might write songs about their lives, stories, and experiences, but the songs that become hits are the ones that their FANS can relate to. The songs that seem to be written about their lives, stories, and experiences. The songs that are about the common human conditions are often timeless. 

The same is true for business communications. Your message needs to resonate deeply with your audience. They need to hear what you are about and say..."wow! you know me so well."

2. Relationships Matter

The paparazzi exists because people want to know about the lives of the people behind the music. Although we are attracted to the music that speaks to our heart we also want to know the heart of the artists behind the music. 

The same is true for business communications. We have so many reasons not to trust businesses lately, that they only way to gain our trust is by letting us know who you are.

3. You Can't Fake It

 

Shall I say more?

It seems, that yes...more needs to be said. Once Rock & Roll became popular, an industry was born. From that industry many fakes have been born. They rise and fall fast. The same is true when you try to outsource your communications as opposed to create a process to be real to your fans, the attention you attract will rise and fall fast. You cannot fake it and make it. 

What I learned by watching The History of Rock & Roll is that the best way to be a Rock Star Business is to sincerely have the right stuff to be a Rock Star and the be real and accessible enough to let your fans rock with you.

Scary Weekend

We got the scary decorations up.

 

But we also are dealing with the national scare....

My little guy, the one with friends who have confirmed cases of H1N1... has had his fever spike above 104 a couple of times this weekend.

I do not have a fever, but after waking up every 3 hours to check on him last night, I am not feeling so hot today.

Week in Review

Fall is here!

The weather has been an absolute delight this week. This kind of weather always puts me in such an optimistic mood.

I was thinking about that today. Why do I feel like everything is going to be great right when summer turns to fall? What I realized is that the major new beginnings of my life often happen in the Fall. 

I got engaged in the Fall.

I had my first child in the Fall.

I started College (FSU) in the Fall.

(Yes in that order...moving on...)

I started my first career job in the Fall

I started the job that changed the direction of my career, in the Fall

I started my company in the Fall.

Basically, it seems for me, new beginnings happen in the Fall. And I like new beginnings.

So, let's recap this past week, shall we.

My Family

My boys and I love to burn stuff. It is a way to release all the things we do not need to hold on to anymore. And it smells good.  

So this past week we spent some time burning some of the things that were representative of a bad start to a new school year for my oldest. 

It was also nice for me to sit by the fire with a glass of wine and tell myself it's all going to work out, it will all turn out fine. And I believe it will be. He is starting to find his groove and focus again and his grades have already started improving.

My youngest had his second week of chess club and is LOVING IT! (my little nerd :) ) I will be meeting with his teacher next week to see how he is doing, but it seems like the same as always. A rough start that will transition to a great year.

Unfortunately H1N1 has hit his school and the neighbor family is home with confirmed cases of the flu, so we are all washing our hands and crossing our fingers...

My oldest son, husband and myself have been watching Lost every night via Netflix streaming video. We are half way through season 3. Although the story keeps getting stranger, we keep our ritual to watch it together every night after my youngest goes to bed. I am not sure if it is because we are into the story or are just enjoying having something to do that is "ours." My oldest spent 6 years as an only child and I think he likes having these moments with his parents that he does not have to share with his younger brother.

Concept Hub

Wow! What an ego roller coaster ride. I recently read a quote that said "when you think it is all about you, God will find a way to humble you." That he did. The past year or so the social media space has become so noisy, and whereas I once was uncomfortable with the amount of attention that I received, now I wonder where all the attention has gone? The answer is it is spread thin. Very thin! Among all the new people in this space. I struggle with the direction I see so many people trying to go with social media though. Frankly I downright disagree with so much that is out there and I am sick of the self-absorbed people in this space. This is the part of the industry that really has been wearing me down lately. So I made a few decisions. One, I started joining the conversations again. I realized that the "been there done that" chip I was carrying around on my shoulder was not getting me anywhere, so I fired up my Twitter account and started seeking out some new and interesting people as well as some familiar people that I once learned from. I even attended a Tweetup last night!  

I also decided to dedicate some time to outlining a plan for the TAG Enterprise 2.0 society and possibly a related conference in the Spring.  I started blogging on the TAG Community more and developed a strategy for my own participation on the Lens site.

Notice none of this is billable. However, I was referred a few new clients who were told that I have been doing this social media thing for along time and was the person they needed to talk to. I also launched my first bootcamp and after tweeting about it had a few more people express interest in participating in a bootcamp. My billable hours this month might actually be higher than it has been any other month this year, all through word of mouth. Not counting my chickens before they hatch, but it has been a nice ego boost to get the vote of confidence from some great people.

Meanwhile I am still working with PBA on building a community at Lens. I have recruited a great guy to help with the outreach, someone who has been volunteering with me on Digitainment.

But for the most part, I am reading a lot, writing a lot, and spending time nurturing my relationships. 

My Community

I posted recently that a friend of mine and I have launched a new idea to match nonprofits with emerging artists. Well I set up a new twitter account to get some feedback on the idea, and 3 times now I have received notice from SlideShare that our slides were "hot on twitter" and were being featured on the front page of SlideShare. To date the slides have been viewed over 300 times, and I have not pushed them out to hardly anyone...

So, I decided it would be great if we could launch a few pilots in conjunction with some holiday campaigns. I have reached out to a CEO I know who runs a large agency that serves nonprofits and he has expressed interest in working with us. I am also talking to a friend who works at Big Brothers Big Sisters. I think we just might be on to something here.

Beyond that, I met with a potentially new client last week who told me a heart wrenching story about a woman who had some very rare complications while delivering her second child and almost died. In fact, 90% of the women who face this type of complication do die. Basically the blood does not clot and this woman went through 19 pints of blood! He was tearing up I was tearing up and the one thing that came to mind is how many times I keep telling the people at the blood bank, "not now, call me again later." Well, the people who need the blood do not have time for later. So I will be making my appointment to give blood. My family and I are also participating in Light the Night this weekend. Last year my husband took the boys and participated in memory of his cousin. This year I am going to join him.

Beyond that the weekend plans are to decorate the house for the fall festivities. I will post pictures.

Update

Light the Night is NEXT weekend...