Internet Geek Girl

A few weeks ago I was introduced to the Bob Woodruff Foundation and their fund raising effort TweetToRemind, a campaign focused on raising $1.65 MM by Memorial Day.  This money will be used to help service members get the help they need as they integrate back to society.

As you know, I believe in the power of social media and in particular Twitter and Facebook to help energize others for good. People like Chris Brogan, Missy Ward, Shira Lazar (and let’s not forget Ashton Kutcher)  have mobilized online to support a variety of charities.

Today, Bob Woodruff challenged us to answer a simple question – Who Are Your Heroes? For me, heroes are volunteers. People that spend their time and efforts on behalf of helping others and who do it for free. It can be committing to regular, small, random acts of kindness toward strangers; helping out at your local church, school or charitable organization; or even online efforts like this one and those listed above to help raise money and awareness for a good cause!

My best friend since 5th grade, Amy Callahan, is one of those volunteers and my greatest hero. Amy lost her fiance on 9/11 and took that sadness and pain and did two things: a) built a camp for children who lost parents and relatives during 9/11 and b) built a beautiful life for herself and rose up from the ashes and found love. Both are equally important to me. Until we learn to care for ourselves, we cannot care for others.

Regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq (or war in general) there is no denying the sacrifice and effort military personnel provide on behalf of American citizens and our ideals. I know it is so depressing and hard to hear all the sad stories and read statistics on death and killing.   I often feel like I don’t know what I can do to help. As we gear up for the kick off to summer and zero in on our Memorial Weekend plans, I’d like to suggest a small way you can get involved – donate dollars and tweets!

I am using TipJoy to give $5.25 per day leading up until Memorial Day (which is on 5/25). Won’t you join me in giving either through PayPal or TipJoy?

P.S. Big Thanks to Rick Calvert at Blog World Expo

I don’t always know the exact contacts to make something happen. But rest assured, I know the person that knows the right people.  So when it came to supporting TweetToRemind, I reached out to my good friend Rick Calvert of Blog World Expo.  Rick has been a long time supporter of the online community supporting military personnel, their families and friends – the “Mil bloggers.” Thanks to all of his contacts that energized their networks.  I look forward to meeting you all in Vegas in October!

Hi friends. I just wanted to share this great video by my social-media pal Gary Vaynerchuk. That’s VAY – NER – CHUK. It is only 2 minutes long so check it out. Having worked on a project with Gary, I can tell you that he has a great attitude and positive approach to business. I appreciate that and value kernels of wisdom that help me to stay focused on gratitude (throughout my very busy day). Gary is so dynamic and eloquent with his advice. Thanks for sharing Gary!

10/2/1996. 11 years ago today. The day Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer. According to Lance, “The day I was diagnosed with cancer was the day I started to live.” I recently read Lance’s book, “It’s Not About The Bike” and I was inspired all over again. I don’t own a bike nor do I do triathlons. I make an effort to eat well and I go to the gym and walk outside every week. Lance has inspired me to run a different kind of marathon – the one where every day you try to appreciate all that you have and share positivity with others. It is a challenge at times, but well worth the effort. There’s no question that Lance’s physical achievements are commendable, but I have always appreciated Lance’s spiritual accomplishments – his commitment to positive thinking and the ability to heal oneself. More importantly, his ability to share this experience and energy with others. That’s what I digg!

Oh yeah – plus he has his own laptop!!

Tomorrow is my birthday. I’m having a big ‘ole party in NYC. More importantly, I created an opportunity to raise money for a cause I believe in. Give to receive! Please help me celebrate my birthday by making a donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. For those of you that attend, we’ll be passing around the “proverbial pickle jar” and handing out cool treats for all donors (big thanks to ChrisB at the Lance Armstrong Foundation).

See you @ 230-Fifth tomorrow at 6 pm (ish).

Steve Rosenbaum of Magnify.net posted a beautiful remembrance of 9/11.

I will never forget that day. It is hard to put into words how I feel about 9/11, having lived a few miles away from Ground Zero and having personally lost friends. It’s also hard for me to think about all the anger and bitterness in the world and how violence begets violence. I understand anger, but I feel better when I see examples of people that took that anger and channeled it into something good. Someone like Amy Callahan and her family.

Amy Callahan, my best friend for 25 years, lost her fiance Scott Hazelcorn on that day. Amy is being featured on The Oprah Show today, highlighted for her hard work creating Camp Better Days, a camp for children that lost parents and loved ones on 9/11. On Oprah’s site, Amy stated:

“A few weeks before [the attacks], [Scott] and my brother and I had a conversation about starting a camp for kids in need,” she says. “I had no idea at the time that it would have been these kids.” To help ease her grief, Amy says she threw all her energy into the camp. “It gave me a purpose,” she says.

For Amy and the hard-working staff and supporters of Camp Better Days – It’s about the kids!!!

Since 9/11 I have come to believe strongly in the power of compassion, love and gratitude. I pray that each of us take small steps to incorporate more compassion, love and gratitude into our lives. I am inspired by the children who, despite the horrific loss of their parents, are able to forgive. If they can do it, can’t we?

Those who know me know that I?m a big believer in White Boards and Lists. I love lists. I regularly update my update list. This week, I have felt a bit guilty (useless emotion) about not having more entries ready to go since launching this blog last week. But, I?ve been watching Oprah.

And in accordance with her infinite wisdom, I?ve decided not to beat myself up.

Getting into the groove of blog-writing is an acquired skill. One that takes time. Some of my friends and colleagues like Shawn Collins, Wayne Porter, Vinny Lingham, Shmuly and all the others in my blog roll ? well, they?ve all been at it for a long time. I?m a virgin blogger. So I?m going to give myself all of Q2 to get this rolling. Let?s consider this, in the parlance of my profession, a beta blog through June of 2007.

Back to my love of lists. What follows is my list of goals for growing this blog. If there?s anything I take more seriously than my lists, it?s my goals. A list of goals? Absolutely. Here goes:

• Write blog entries often, even if they?re short.

• Get immersed in the blogosphere: read more blogs and comment on blogs. On that note, Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder and CPO (Chief Persuasion Officer) of Future Now, Inc. had a great post this week about what compels one to comment on a blog. Well, you can read my comment about why I comment. I hereby state that the first person who posts a comment on this, my baby blog, gets a prize. (I am a good great gift-giver btw).

• Get plug-ins for WordPress (soon!) and improve the look-and-feel of my Theme. (Although I must confess, there is something old school and cute about this WordPress default.) I?ll just jazz it up, daddio.

• Share my blog. If it just so happens to get readership, great. There are a lot of groovy technical ways to share and get my blog promoted and listed. I know how to do it, and I?ll make the time to do it.

• Most importantly: enjoy the process. Isn?t that what it?s all about?

Questions: Why do you have a blog? Does your professional blog give you personal pleasure as well? Do you think certain personality types are more likely to blog than others? Do you have any tips for a how a new blogger can improve their skills and promote readership of their blog?

Can’t wait to hear from you.