An open conversation between Moms & Marketers

Mid-January I realized I hadn’t seen Monica in a while as she was super busy planning the Mom 2.0 Summit (and all of the other things she does). So like any annoying, over-helpful little sister, I announced I was coming over one Saturday “to help” and that there would be no argument. Monica didn’t take my threat lightly. When I arrived she had a to-do list as long as my arm ready for me to dive into. And dive I did! I mean…. why not? Some of my favorite women in the world, the Kirtsy chicks, were involved so I was grateful and delighted to be a part of the project.

The next couple of weeks were jam packed with budgers budgets, the matrix, schwag bags and rock band. I spent far more time with Monica and with her co-planner, Amber, than I had bargained for and I absolutely loved every moment of it. I learned more from those two ladies about event planning than I ever did during my River Oaks wedding planning days! I even manged to convince one of my favorite graphic designers and SEO gurus, Matthew, to come to Houston and be a part of our SEO panel. He was the icing on my Mom2 cake!

I was the VIP/PR liaison and so it was with sleepy elation and a tummy full of butterflies (and a new dress to bolster my courage!) that I greeted the morning of the Mom2 kick off. I would be picking up Matthew and then Guy Kawasaki at the airport. Everything with Matthew went amazingly well but Guy’s pickup was a different story.

I was 15 minutes early to the airport and was able to snag a parking spot right in front of the terminal. There was no way Guy was going to slip past me! 15 minutes after Guy’s plane was supposed to land I picked up my phone to shoot him a text…. and realized the ol’ Blackberry was dead. Of course. An hour and a half later there was still no Guy. I was fully convinced that I had lost the Mom2 keynote speaker somewhere at Bush Intercontinental Airport and that the Kirtsy girls were going to strangle me. Too afraid to venture far from my big red truck (which Guy knew to look for) to find a payphone lest I miss him, I befriended a security guard with a phone. Dear Sterling (the guard) called the airport for me and we determined that Guy’s flight was WAY delayed. Thank God.

Thirty minutes later I had Guy in my possession and any nervousness I may have felt about a long truck ride with THE Guy Kawasaki was quickly replaced with a sense of calm when he climbed into my truck and said “I thought your truck was going to be way bigger! This isn’t that big!” Anyone who talks smack immediately upon meeting a Texas Gal who drives a big truck is beyond brave and okay in my book…. and they are DEFINITELY open game for return sarcasm. Next time I see Guy, my truck is going to be so jacked up, he’s going to need a ladder to get in.

Three days later…. the conference was over. The final panel was surreal; how could the conference already be over? Mom2 flew by in a series of amazing conversations, laughter filled presentations and one amazing concert. My evenings were spent with some truly amazing women and a couple of great guys. TONS of irreplaceable advice was received. In my opinion, Mom2 was beyond successful.

Have I mentioned yet how truly happy I am to have been a part of something so amazing?

work, work, #SEOchats and more work

Gwen Bell’s wedding was coming up and I swore I would not be taking my laptop, so I needed to bury myself in work…. the next week and a half flew by even faster than the conference had! Schipul was as amazing as it always is AND I got to participate in the first ever #SEOchat with the 5 Minutes for Mom ladies, Seth Jenks and Gwendolyn. I learned a ton from Seth and Susan! I don’t write about Macaroni, but SO many people stumble upon my blog by searching for Mac ‘n’ Cheese! Seth says it’s all in the URL baby. Who knew? If you missed the #SEOchat, don’t worry! You can listen to the podcast on Susan and Janice’s blog or search #SEOchat on twitter search.

The first chat was such a success, we’ve scheduled another one for March 16! This one is going to focus on Kyword Research. The whole series of chats are geared toward beginners so don’t be timid. Join us! And ask lots of questions. There are only 96 slots for the call so you better get in on the action early! Gwen is on her honeymoon so I’ll be moderating this one…. and things may get interesting. Don’t tell Seth.

Wedding bells and cheesy wonderful tweets

Last weekend I went to Boulder with Monica for Gwen and Joel’s wedding. We rented a house with Laurie, Laura and Gabby and I could not effin WAIT to land. How could a trip with the Kirtsy girls + Cosmopolitician NOT be a blast? Monica and I arrived at the house first and we quickly claimed the upstairs room (the kid’s room, as it came to be called) mostly because of the HUGE bathtub. What can I say. We find happiness in the little things.

Reuniting with Gwen at her “rehearsal dinner” was of course the highlight of the trip. Yes, I had just seen her at Mom2, but I sometimes think Gwen holds a little bit of my heart…. all the time. I miss her when we are apart! It was also awesome to finally meet this Joel I’d been hearing so much about

The next morning was a blast. We met at The Cup for coffee and breakfast (because Monica LOVES coffee) and then we girls were off to do girly things…. You know the drill. Hair, nails and gossip. And the nail place Gwen chose was the perfect venue for these things to take place. I mean, right on the wall at ten20 it says “A Place Where TV Gossip Is Forever Embraced. Diet Coke and M&Ms Are Always In Stock. A Place Where Havaianas Are The Dress Code. Laughing is Strictly Enforced. A Place Where Super-Sanitation is Super-Important. White Robes Stay at the Toga Party. A Place Where Hairlessness Is Fashionable.” I bed the ladies who opened the place love Perez Hilton!

The wedding was was truly truly amazing. It was warm enough in Boulder that we got to move it outside and I totally cried when Gwen and Joel read their vows. I think Jenny Slade summed it up best in her tweet “If you ever wondered whether digital and sacred could co-exist, @gwenbell + @jlongtine are proof possible.”

After Joel whisked Gwen off to Mexico for their honeymoon, Monica and I decided a trip to Estes Park was necessary. We packed it up with Gwen’s rocking wedding photographer, Holly, and her husband and headed up the mountain. What followed was beyond hilarious. We ate some steak, then visited the Stanley Hotel (THE SHINING!), I tried to convince Monica to let me pet some Elk, she said no, and then we played in some snow. I have to say; making a snow angel in minimal cold weather gear may be hilarious but is never a good idea. See this video if you don’t believe me.

Leaving Boulder was sad. I’d felt like I was in the little Kirtsy bubble in the Mountains. But is was good to be heading home. I missed my David.

So what’s next????

Tomorrow I leave for SXSW with a few other Schipulites. Brandi, David and Fayza will be riding with me so I’m sure the drive will be almost as fun as the concert itself. Besides all the rocking panels, I’m most excited about the is the “Girl/Guy” party on Sunday night…. Girls gone SXSW! It’s sponsored by my Kirtsy girls and Alltop so I’ll be getting a second chance to traumatize Guy and he’ll be getting another oppotunity to talk smack about my truck. The RSVP list is full so if you want an invite, you are going to have to hit up Monica, Laura, Amber or I for a bandana. That’s the only way in!!

And then what is Monday the 16th? The #SEOchat that you will all be on! 7 pm. I’ll “see” you there!

After re-reading this post I see two recurring themes. Monica and Kirtsy…. And I cannot think of any two themes I’d rather have.

Let’s put the brakes on this post so I can quickly explain what personal branding is. Personal branding is a concept that says you YOURSELF are just as marketable and brand-able as say… Target. The example I like to use is George Foreman. Ever heard of the George Foreman Grill? I bet you have. The man slapped his name on a grill originally marketed using middle of the night infomercials and now he and his grills are this crazy international brand with like six different “lines” of grills. I didn’t even know you could have more than one line of grills… much less six! I digress…

I am really trying to understand every facet of this personal branding thing. Really, I am! But sometimes the whole thing gets extremely daunting; I get really unsure of what direction to take. I have found a perfect solution to this sensation though… When I start to get overwhelmed I put on my headphones, turn my music WAY up, and turn to the blogosphere. I always find I feel much much better after my trip.

Well the whole point of starting this blog was to help others learn through my stumblings. At work yesterday I was talking to our awesome new hire, Alexis, about some of the things I’ve learned and a few of the places I go on the interwebs for inspiration… and realized I’m past due on a post on this very topic. It defeats the purpose of this blog if I’m not sharing the things I find! And I don’t want to be one of those posters who just posts to have another post.

Below are some AWESOME blogs that have really helped me out in my search for answers; some of them are extremely Social Media related while others are a bit more personal. If you are a newbie like me, I hope they  save you some time in your search… but more importantly, I hope they inspire you as well.

Drumroll please

1. CosmoPolitician: Monica has somehow managed to become this crazy force in Houston and it seems that everything she blogs about turns to gold. A must read for info on Houston events, travel and random stories about ghastley surgeries appendicitis. (And come on. You knew she was going to be number one on my list.)
2. Gwen Bell dot Com: Gwen’s blog is an inspiration to anyone getting started in Social Media. She touts balance in every aspect of your life and warns against getting so caught up in the interwebs that you merely count the number of friends or followers you have instead of focusing on the gifts you have to share. Gwen was voted one of the 50 most powerful +influential Woman in Social Media but even so, she is lesson in humility.
3. GoingStagg: David writes fearlessly about whatever topic he happens to find interesting on a given day; be it design, sports or energy drinks. His blog has shown me that there is no such thing as being timid online. Why not say what you want and write what you know?
4. Oat.org: Matthew Inman is an awesome graphic designer who has built an amazing personal brand on the foundation of his pretty pictures and even prettier code. He has kicked off several successful projects, including the free dating site Mingle2… and let’s be honest; the boys blog looks GOOD!
5. crowdSPRING: The company was created to help creatives from around the world mash up with people seeking those creatives. Their blog houses tons of amazing Social Media posts but my favorite is a weekly post where Angeline does a recap of all the cool links she tweeted the prior week. This wrap up post is where I have found some of my other favorite blogs!
6. Chris Brogan: This guy posts A LOT. I don’t like all of his articles, but the majority of his posts contain nuggets of Social Media gold.
7. The Personal Branding Blog: Dan Schawbel has dubbed himself “the leading personal branding expert for Gen-Y” and while I’m not sure if he is the “leading expert” I do really like his blog. He understands that jobs and job searches are changing and that a personal brand can be a a job applicant’s most important asset!
8. Web Strategy by Jeremiah: Jeremiah is a Senior Analyst for Forrestor research, a company devoted to providing their clients with insight into what THEIR clients want to know. Forrester research is also the company that my favorite Social Media books, Groundswell, sprang from.
9. Web Ink Now: This is one of my favs. Don’t really know why, maybe because it’s one of the first quote un-quote Social Media blogs to populate my Google reader? Anyway, David Meerman Scott is the author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR and his blog is a great resource for both personal branding AND Social Media ideas. He also provides great insight into what practices you should be avoiding.
10. and of course, Fayza. I’m not really going to go into a lot of description here. Fayza makes fun of Britney. People love her. People know her. And she’s not just sitting at home behind her computer plotting how she will take over the internet.

So those are my top 10 blogs! There are many other great GREAT blogs out there, but these are the ones I personally favor. I hope you find yourself inspired by at least one of them!

<whispering> I also love Perez but I already blogged about him once and you all know how I feel his Social Media/Personal Branding prowess. </whispering>

Many of you know I secretly LOVE Perez Hilton.  I think his blog is great.  And amazing.  And fantastic.  I consider it a great source for news I need to know.

Lately I have had to defend this love quite a bit so I decided to compile a top 20 list of why I love Perez Hilton.

Why Perez rawks:

1. Perezzers is always in the know
2. He announced that the new Macbook was being released on October 15 before anyone else
3. and he always has his finger on the pulse of the next big thing in music
4. In fact, Perez got to world premiere the first Leona Lewis song (not MTV!!)
5. He really cares about the Dalai Lama
6. and world peace (and you should too)
7. You can count on him to monitor the stock market for you
8. Or for up to the minute daily updates on that state of our economy
9. He really cares about your oral hygiene
10. and totally thinks you should NOT smoke
11. Perez is a huge proponent of voting
12. and is just as obsessed with Sarah Palin as Fayza and I
13. He even reminds our Canadian neighbors to vote!
14. I actually have a lot in common with Perez…
15. Perez and I both think Andy Roddick is sexy
16. hmmm… come to think of it, we have the same taste as in most men
17. and he loves dogs
18. Despite popular belief, Perez does a lot of good
19. He blogs about a non-profit once a day and encourages donating
20. Our own Houston Food Bank was actually featured post-Ike

The moral of this post? Don’t knock the Pretzel till you try him.