Internet Geek Girl

I like to write on planes.  Cranking the iTunes on my MacBook.  I am on a plane today.  7 years ago, all the airports were shut down. In fact, my whole city was pretty much shut down, except for the bars and restaurants. I remember very little except drowning our deep, unfathomable sorrow together in East Village.

Since that day, there have been other “9/11s” when I have sat around my house and cried, gone to memorials. A day of mourning.

Today I’m on a plane, going to a conference sitting next to a woman who speaks very little English. I speak no Spanish unfortunately. But she is wonderful to talk to and has a very nice smile. We’ve managed to learn a little bit about each other. She was born in Puerto Rico and currently lives in Manchester, NH and is visiting her daughter in Orlando.

My friend Steve Rosenbaum is a story teller. He has helped us to define what it means to be part of the 9/11 Generation. As Steve points out:

Each of us has a personal story, memories and feelings that we’ve pushed into a corner. The drumbeat to ‘move on’ is natural, perhaps essential. But I’d gently suggest that you make sure that your story isn’t lost or forgotten, as both historians and your grandchildren will hunger for it one day.

I actually do have stories.  But I don’t feel like telling them here. What I do want to point out is that we owe it to ourselves and the world to develop more successful domestic and foreign policies that safeguard our nation and our people from the horrors of terrorism. That’s what I want our leaders to focus on!  PHILIP BOBBITT and JOHN C. DANFORTH did a great job in the NYT Op Ed piece on 9/11 providing a list of questions on this issues that both Obama and McCain should answer. I wish they would.

I realize I’m just an InternetGeekGirl trying to make her way in the world. Today was not a 9/11 full of mourning for me. It has been pretty much business as usual. But September 11th is different and always will be.  I will always stop on this day, and find gratitude and peace.  As I always do, I focus on hope for the future, and send love to the many people who suffered from that great tragedy.

Photo credit: (CC) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com and bub.blicio.us (who took this picture while he was walking around NYC on 9/11/08 finding his own moment of silence and gratitude).

Jersey girl wanted a Hugh Card.

Jersey girl got a Hugh Card.

Big thanks to @shelisrael and of course @gapingvoid.

It’s a good time of the year to join a club. A good friend of mine is doing a “21 Club” - 21 days of yoga in a row. And now we have Blog 365.

What a great idea. I’m a little late to commit to the whole 365, but I really do want to make sure that blogging becomes more of a daily routine (it is if you add Twitter in, but that is a theoretical discussion for another time). Here are the suggested “rules” of the Blog 365 group (which is on Ning incidentally):

Rules:
- Blog everyday for 365 days.

- Feb.29th is a Free Day and will be the Blog365 day of rest!
(Thanks Leap Year)

- You do not HAVE to post to the same blog as long as you post everyday.

- No internet? Write your post locally and post it once you are back on the grid.

- Computer Broken? Grab some paper and do some old school blogging.

- A post is a post, not everything has to be in writing. Photos, YouTube videos, and the like are all considered content.

- Have fun, because that’s the whole point!

Note:
If you post offline work, consider changing the date on the post to reflect the day you actually created the content

Hmm.. I’m thinking of making another club. Call it…BlogOm! Let’s try 30 days in a row of doing yoga and writing a blog post everyday. Now that sounds heavenly. Any other yogi bloggers out there want to join me?

BlogOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Happy New Year friends. May 2008 be filled with good karma and many blessings. And may we all be new and improved every year.

I realize it’s a bit late into the year here for New Year greetings (or is it)? I was chilling in Florida for a bit, and I’m just getting back into the groove. But I couldn’t be more excited for 2008. Stayed tuned for many exciting announcements in the coming weeks.

But let’s start here, with Karma - Twitter Karma to be exact.

Let me explain because this is truly great social media story.

Dossy is my Twitter friend, he’s also a rad developer who lives here in New Jersey (go Jersey!). Back in December I was musing on Twitter about how I wish I had a tool that easily allowed me to figure out who is a reciprocal twitter friend and add followers to my list. As many of you know, I really love Twitter and more and more, I find it to be the most satisfying of all social networks. [Facebook is getting spammy - let's fix that people]. And surprise, surprise, Dossy made it happen. He built the thing!! I’m honored to have helped select the name btw. How very cool. Here’s the full announcement on Dossy’s blog.

I am amazed by the inspiration I find on Twitter, and the swirl of ideas that live in the petri dish of our online social networks. One person’s 140 character phrase is another’s software feature. Give to receive my friends, and please go give Twitter Karma a WHACK!

Peace Out!

A lot of people don’t know this about me, but in addition to be a leading expert in online marketing, I am one of the most informed sports fans out there. I’m talking every sport - football, basketball, baseball and surfing. I know it all. Stats, the names of the players, the colors of the outfits, the cities they play in, everything! I’m a sports fanatic. Now - I made a big mistake by making a bet with Chris Brogan regarding who would win last night’s record-making game between the NY Giants and the NewEngland Patriotz. I should have known better b/c that Chris Brogan seems to have insider information on EVERYTHING.

The game was an exciting one. Twitter was a flitter! @geniune @jasoncalacanis @mackcollier @dogballs @trishussey @chelpixie and many more were all callin’ the game. Bryant Gumbel could barely keep up with the Twitter crowd.

Always a good time on the social media merry-go-round. The game was close. As a true blue Jerseygirl, I had to stop and wonder - why did my team LOSE? It’s just not fair. So I took all my deep knowledge and expertise about online marketing and football and put together a list of why the Giants lost to the Patriots:

#10 - The Patriots obviously spend more time practicing and less time working on their website. Check out the Giants homepage today - all updated and ready to roll with real-time data and shiznit! The Patriots homepage has an out-of-date record front and center and they haven’t even put up the score or recap from last nights game!! Those web slackers really know how to throw the ball.

#9- The Giants have a twitter account (or someone started one), and the Patriots don’t. come one now. Everyone knows that if you waste your time twittering all day, you won’t be very good at making touchdowns!!

#8 - Although the Patriots have some issues with their online presentation skills, I have to say - their fans seem to be more passionate and therefore they are sending more online good karma and winning wishes to the team!! The Facebook applications by Watercooler reveal quite a differential. The NY Giants app has 1283 daily active users, while the NE Patriots App has 5014 daily active users. Since everyone knows that NYC Metro (that includes Jersey btw) is much more fun and exciting than New England (wherever that is?), you can see why more fans sit around watching football and playing with silly online applications to support their team. Guess that’s why they are 16- 0!

#7, 6,5,4, 3,2 - I thought it would be better to make this a top 10 list, but since I’m swamped trying to get ready for my trip to Florida - this will have to do.

And the #1 reason why the Patriots won last night - Tom Brady is cuter than Eli Manning.

That’s right. Comes down to which Quarterback is cuter. Simple as that.

Ok, ok, if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m not really a sports expert. Actually, I have no clue, but I like watching exciting, fun “hyped” games. If you’re looking for women bloggers who really do know the deal, be sure to check out the Female Fan on iVillage. Kinda Kool!

Mr. Brogan - care to make a wager for the Super Bowl?