I'm having a '12-year old' moment. Just for fun, which mangatar do you like better? The cartoon makes me look younger and thinner. Is that what's so appealing about them right now? More to hide behind or just good old fashioned web 2.0 fun? I just wonder. Now I need to go get a scooby snack.
I had a virtually great time at New Media Expo in Las Vegas.
This past week I've been busy doing some Olympic housework so that I could spend some quality screen time for two days with my favorite characters in the Land (or is it ether?) of Social Media (who happen to be real people, kind of like on Big Brother only better but my dad would totally disagree).
If you're a social media junkie like me who also happens to be a mom, I find that it helps with the mommyguilt when you can feel like you're rewarding yourself with geek time for having a clean we'll call it tidy, close enough dammit house. (That way I can tune in while the kidlet runs around the house and systematically undoes everything I just did to clean the house. Oh well, kept him busy and out of trouble.)
The two-day event to which I am referring is The New Media Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada which is winding up this evening. Ha, ha, I say this evening as it's really after midnight, but I know darn well most of them are still up and capping off the party tonight/this morning. I really would have considered going except that, as you might know, I've recently returned home from a very long cross-country road trip, so needless to say, I'm a little tripped out right now. (That and the fact that I have yet to spend 24 hours away from my son who is still not yet completely weaned, so the farm here still kinda needs the cow to show up and moo on occasion.) (And while we're being honest here, I know I wouldn't get my money's worth in liquor at Las Vegas anyhow because I rarely drink and I would be a super cheap date.)
I really want to say thank you to Tony Walla who has carried me around in his pocket (see illustration above) these past two days while he has been schmoozing and hanging out with all of the internebrities at the conference. It almost felt like I got to hang out with a bunch of them. Tony, through the powers of social media, was able to 'channel' TheMacMommy on his iPhone via Twitter and say hello to Geoff Smith and Lisa Bettany for me. He even promised pictures too! I can't wait to see them.
I've had lots of geeky fun these past two days hanging out in the chat room over at TWiTLive.tv and pinging my friends on twitter saying "what are you doing?" here and "where are you now?" there and "hey, Leo wants to talk to you, get over there!"
I even got some Leo Love™!! w00t! Ok, so how much of a dork am I? I even copied and pasted the text from the chat window into TextEdit to save it because Leo Laporte actually typed in the chat room to say hello to me. Is this the geeky equivalent of saving a dirty napkin in a scrap book? (Something about that dude just makes people giddy when he says hello. This was the second time he's said hi to me and I hope it will be one of many!)
This is what I love about social media. Even from my living room, while folding laundry and potty training my son, I felt like I was a part of the action because I could have my laptop on a table near by and watch a glimpse of the event on TWiTLive. I loved being able to communicate with the people who were there.
The fun really started when the cameras showed Victor Cajiao standing in the audience. So I tweeted Victor:
And, moments later, Leo follows me on Twitter, just sayin Victor was seated at the table interviewing with Leo Laporte! What a treat that was.
At one point it got really exciting as Rob Hanson and I made a concentrated effort to get Allison Sheridan back on the roster to talk to Leo Laporte on TWiTLive. Thankfully she got our messages and made it on 2nd to last! Whew!
I was even able to capture a screen shot of it and send it to her within moments of the broadcast. Boy, was that fun! (We're both suckers for instant gratification.)
The chat room on Stickam for TWiTLive was very, well, lively. I was even giving Santa Claus tech support as he was trying to join in.
Yes, Santa is real and he's even on Twitter! Don't believe me? Go follow him and get on his nice list now. It's August already!
While I was chatting in there, I also tweeted Geoff Smith to let him know some nice discussion about him had brewed. He even logged in and joined us in the chat for a bit. He let me know that he saw my tweet. It was a real delight to see him perform live the very next day! If you haven't already, you should really check him out. He's a new classic. I've really enjoyed watching his live concerts over on Ustream.TV. Just like with this event, I like to participate in Geoff's shows using seesmic. I've posted a couple of videos while interacting with the show. Lucian loves to sing along and it's great fun.
Well, they say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but that certainly wasn't the case for New Media Expo where the keyword is short for expose. All I know is I had a great time and didn't even lose any money.
Now, the challenge for you is: Can you count how many social media tools I've used to participate in these events? Maybe you'd like to try one out for yourself. It's great fun. Let me know by contacting me on one of the platforms. I'd love to hear from you!
"Hello blogger, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again..."
I'm still here. Just so you know, but I'm just swimming in a surplus of thoughts right now. It's hard to describe, but I'll try. It's not that I have nothing to say, but exactly the opposite. I have so freaking much to write about that I'm just overwhelmed. I keep getting distracted. I keep reading other blogs which in turn inspire me to write about so many different thoughts and ideas that I just don't know where to start.
I so totally wish I could write short and sweet little posts. I wish I could fragment my thoughts and ideas to make it quicker and easier to digest. I admire people who can keep it short and sweet. It actually takes me so much longer to write a post because I keep editing the hell out of it to make it shorter. And then look what happens. You see how much you need to scroll to get to the bottom of it and then all of the sudden, reading a single post becomes a rock climbing adventure where you're afraid to look down.
I keep starting posts and then not finishing them because something else just gets in the way. (Just to name a few: the end of nap time, bodily functions, interruptions while performing bodily functions (you know — toddler follows you into the bathroom/toddler doesn't follow you into the bathroom - damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of thing), sleeping (in increased efforts to combat my insomnia), housework, billable hours for clients, increased efforts to spend time with the Hubby because a sibling for Lucian just isn't going to make itself, and I read somewhere that you can't get pregnant by kissing, ahem, and the list goes on. ad nauseam. I think you get the idea. [See, that was totally unnecessary and I could have just deleted it, but then that wouldn't be me. It would be what I think me should be, so, I left it in.]
Some smartass once said "If you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all." Many times that phrase just prevents me from writing. It also prevents me from being honest and purging posting any feelings and thoughts I originally intended to host on this blog for posterity. That frustrates me a lot. I've been so tempted to create another more private blog just so I can rant about really personal things that eat at me, like family issues, frustrations in my marriage, or people who drive me nuts because I think they are fake.
Then again, what would be the point. Would I really gain anything from writing about it? Would it really matter if I just left out the fact that sometimes my family members aggravate the hell out of me? Doesn't that happen to everyone? Would I really want to read about it in the future? Worse yet, would I really want a family member or friend to read it? Does it enhance my blog any more by complaining about certain family members or friends? Some people's blogs thrive on that subject matter and I really admire the brass balls of some of them. I personally think it's all the stuff of what sitcoms were made for. Negativity just gets so much press, so why should I add to the problem when I can be part of the solution. Maybe I'll just try to remember that and move on with life and save my repetitive stress-injured typing cramps for something more worthwhile or productive – to me that is.
• My English teacher said, "Commas and periods belong inside of the quotation marks."I was taught English in the United States. Were you?
Ok, I feel much better now.
I ask myself these questions a lot lately: Does blogging keep you honest? What is your definition of honesty? For whom are you being honest? Yourself? Your readers? Why do you pay any attention to your readers? The answer lies in who I think those readers are.
I began this blog with the intent that "my" readers were comprised of a couple of close friends I've known for years before I even knew what a blog was and a couple more friends I made online after I found out what a blog and bloggers were. I also thought it would be a great way to connect with family members since I live so far away from them. I told my parents about my blog and even a couple of family members (only after having to explain what the hell a blog is). Then I figured that they just weren't interested and weren't reading it since I got no feedback from them on it whatsoever.
So, I started writing about stuff I thought other people might enjoy. I started to seek out others who share my same passions for technology and how I combine it with my adventures in being a new parent. I really enjoy writing about those topics and I also love getting feedback on it because I learn even more that way.
Basically what I'm trying to say now anymore is that I struggle with being honest with myself and keeping my blog what I want it to be.
I've noticed that I've picked up some readership recently. (The 10 people I thought read my blog once in a while have now mysteriously turned into 46! Maybe something is broken in feedburner?) While it humbles me that people would actually subscribe to my blog, I really hope that they are reading more than just the current post because I'm not always sweet and sunny. Sometimes the closet door creeks open and the darkness creeps out. The skeletons giggle, I hear them, mocking me. It's not easy going from bikers to big wheels. It's a constant struggle to be positive and honest about myself, my past, present and what I hope for my future.
Here is a to do list of personal issues I'm working on writing about: • my road trip home and back • being home and the vacation from the vacation • time spent with family and friends • things that annoyed me about time spent with family and friends that I'll have to find a delicate way of explaining so no one takes offense • my weight and how much it pisses me off right now • what I'm doing about my weight and my progress thus far • how I manage to annoy myself, my husband and my family about my need to document everything in our lives
Here is a to do list of fun techno-geeky goodness I can't wait to blog about but need to research and prepare more so it looks nice (translation: I'm a miserable perfectionist): • my trip to the Boylston Street Apple Store (with cool video clips I need to edit first) • my recent revamp of my son's tangerine iMac in his room • updates on my adventures in toddler-proofing my Mac & my review of the iSkin keyboard cover (waiting for the screen cover to be delivered in the mail) • how and why I torture myself with iCal reminders (3 just popped up while typing the last line indicating this post is already way longer than I intended it to be and I so hope it makes it live and out of the drafts folder) • ok, so maybe I can just cross that one off the list • I forgot what the next list item was going to be, shit • oh yeah, Front Row and how much of a crowd-pleaser it was while visiting with family and friends • my new method for organizing movies to show in Front Row • a totally kick-butt review of AlphaBaby (one of my most favorite apps for kids) • how we survived our cross-country road trip using technolog: what did we use and how did we use it • what WAS in my bag: what I packed vs what I actually used • even more stuff that I thought about last night but have forgotten right now but will remember later while taking a shower
So, I'm pressing the publish button now before this ends up back in the drafts folder! No more editing! I'm here and I'll keep writing after I get out of my procrastination funk.
My Baby Boy's First Hair Cut ok, ok, ok, I finally had the kid's hair cut. Are you happy Mom ? It is a very bittersweet time for Daddy and me. Our little baby looks like every other kid at the mall now. His long locks are gone. I'm going to have to figure out a way to pick him out of the crowd.
I like it, but only because society tells me I should. (translation: he may not get another hair cut till next summer)
Well, I didn't go without a fight. I had my friend Jen give him some blue spikes just to piss off my mom for fun.
My friend Jen is one of my best friends from high school. She has been doing things to my hair since the 10th grade. (except no one has touched it in the last 4 years so it is down to my butt now, but one of these days I will get a new do. maybe. In the meantime, she trimmed the ends and it looks less like Ted Nugent's beard.) It meant a lot to me that she was able to give my baby his first hair cut.
Ok, so July 11th is officially now in the can and the 3G iPhone is now out in the wild. Let the fun begin! So far, I see more negativity surrounding the 3G iPhone release and it's disappointing to say the least. Something tells me that my own birthing experience will end up being better than the first 48 hours of the iPhone 3G release.
I'm not looking forward hearing/reading about all of the whining and bickering over what will and will not work with the iPhone. It's kind of like people who have worked as a waiter or waitress; they will think twice before leaving a messy table with no tip since they have literally been in the shoes of the worker. I have been and currently am tech support and I know what it's like when something does not work for a bunch of people all at once. I also know what it's like to have been in a situation of trying to prepare a large group of staff for a major upgrade. It's not pretty and I do not envy Apple Store staff at the moment.
I hope that, like usual, Apple will come out on top and smelling like a rose or at least an apple!
That would be my poor, pathetic, fried shoulder with 3-day-old sunburn. Let the peeling begin. The other side looks almost as bad.
Of course we lathered our son in SPF 1000, but do you think we put any on ourselves? Yeah, well, there ya have it. I was just trying to be patriotic, ya know?
To my dear cousin Jenny, this is in response to your SPF 0 post. More proof that we are related tards.
I'm having a '12-year old' moment.
