And you know what? I am really okay with that. So rather than going into a long rant about how much I suck at blogging, or making a promise to myself to blog more or even writing something thoughtful at all, I’m just going to tell you in a nice, neat, numbered list, what my life has looked like over the past two months.

1. I lost my happiness
2. so I quit my amazing job
3. I spent way too much time in my PJs
4. and watched too many sappy movies
5. but then I read a really amazing book about happiness
6. I started running again
7. and got organized
8. I spent a lot of time with my best friend Monica
9. which involved TONS of laughter
10. I started finding happiness all around me
11. and started wearing high heels again
12. And then out of the blue I got a wonderful job offer
13. I took it
14. and my first project was Mom2 (hooray!)
15. I changed a tire wearing a yellow dress
16. and fell in love with the Mom2 Crew all over again
17. I spent some time by a campfire
18. and did some more organizing
19. Today I woke up…
20. and discovered a peace in myself that I never knew existed

I would say that as tumultuous as they have been, the last two months have been two of the most AMAZING months of my life! And it all boiled down to figuring out how to solve my own problems… with a ton of help from my beloved friends of course.

And because this post wouldn’t be complete without it (and because it totally cracks me up every time I see it)…

Photo evidence of Jenny and I changing a tire in evening gowns. And in case there is any confusion, I totally stole this picture from Jenny’s blog. So I am Maggie and Me is Jenny… if that makes sense.

And because I think this post needs a picture of Jenny and I looking like ladies (ie, without our asses in the air), here is this one with she and I and Gwen that I love just as much as the tire-changing one.

And because why not? BANGS:

I posted a list of quick tricks for IDing SPAM and avoiding internet phishing scams on the Schipul Blog this morning but I think it’s a pretty important topic so I wanted to repost it here.

Especially since (and I’m not admitting anything here) I may have fallen for it… right in front of our IT director.

So yesterday I received an email that looked like this guy below (minus the pink arrows of course)… I clicked the “UPDATE” button and a window like this popped up… and holy moly.

At this point there was a whole lot of cussing and minimizing and I realized a blog post (or two) was definitely in order.

So let’s talk internet scams…

What questions should you ask when receive an email from your favorite site?

1. Who is the email from? If it’s not coming from the actual site that is requesting action from you then it is probably spam. But beware. Email addresses are super easy to spoof. Our example email looks like it’s from Facebook but when we check out the rest of our criteria for IDing spam, it’s clearly not.
2. Who is the email to? If it’s not “to” the email address that is tied to the account that is requesting action then ignore it. The example email was sent to a group address at Schipul but my Facebook account is tied to my gmail address so I know this is fake.
3. Who is the email addressed to? Social Media sites are created to be your buddy, so when they reach out to you via email they will almost ALWAYS use your real name (Dear Maggie McDonald) or your username (Dear MagsMac), if they don’t use a familiar name when they, then they do not know your account. SPAM!
4. Are they asking you to click a link in the email? If an email has failed all of the prior tests then most assuredly DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINKS in the email. Go directly to the site and check their to see if they need any info from you. If they really need something, you can bet they’ll tell you right when you log in and not just in some random email.
5. Even if the email looks like it’s from the site, beware! See point #1. Emails are easy to spoof. The example email includes the correct address for Facebook headquarters but that doesn’t mean it’s really from Facebook.

Check out ebays guidelines for IDing a legitimate ebay email. They take internet security VERY seriously and are a great company to use as your email benchmark.

So in summary, be careful what you click. If in doubt don’t click anything and head on over to the site requesting action for more information!!

Oh… on a related note. Twitter SPAM is out of control this morning. I have received no less that ten requests that I check out a site to help me “cleanse fat” and I’m either really insulted or assuming your account got hacked.

Tip: If you have entered your Twitter password into any third party software lately, I would suggest you change it lest you inundate your friends with DMs like these:

*** Avatars Starred to protect the innocent.

Well once upon a conference, I forgot about my blog because “things just got too busy.” Now the conference has come and gone and for the first time in two months, I find myself without an excuse not to visit this quiet place again. It’s home and it’s nice. But I haven’t actually been present here to enjoy it.

But once upon a conference, I found myself inspired again… and wishing I had never neglected writing at all. Oh how I wish I had a record of some of the hilarity that ensued when Ed said “Sure Maggie. You’re an event planner. You can plan the conference.”

Hold the phone please. Didn’t he realize I had been a wedding planner? At a country club? The difference between taupe and off-white is quite different than the difference between having wifi or lacking it (as I would later learn).

Well… The First Annual Schipul Web Marketing Conference (SchipulCon09 for short) was last week and thanks to the super smart crew I work with, our speakers and our sponsors, things just went fine. 200 people had a chance to come together at the Houston Zoo to learn some pretty amazing things… And I managed to avoid incorporating the wedding march into any intros.

So today is Monday and once upon a conference, I have realized that for the event planner in me, the most important lessons were not learned on stage.

And it is those things that SchipulCon inspired me to write about.

So what do I wish I had known before I started planning this conference?

1. The quietest person on your team will be the one who is always there when you turn around and need help.
2. Trucks are great for many things, but not moving popcorn machines when there is a chance for rain.
3. You can never have too many power strips.
4. Blogging Panels are ALWAYS better with Sharks.
5. When help is freely offered, take it with grace.
6. Check your speaker flight times… at least 36 times.
7. If you invite Ziv, you will do shots. No matter how many times you say no.
8. And no matter how loudly you say no, for that matter.
9. If you say “y’all” 40 times in the closing remarks, people will giggle.
10. Have someone outside of the team you can bounce ideas off of. This person will be your savior and one of your biggest cheerleaders.
11. Have confidence in yourself. But make sure you have a back up plan in case a meteor hits your venue.

And in case you were wondering… we went with white linen.

Since my bartending college days, throwing a great party has been my specialty so you can bet SchipulCon09 is going to be one. It’s this October 15 & 16 and yes…. we’re taking over the Houston Zoo!! In case you missed it yesterday, we announced that our keynote is going to be the lovely Deirdre Breakenridge but rest-assured that is not all the awesome-ness we have coming your way!! Over the next month, we’ll be making speaker announcements and rolling out some fun agenda items so watch the Schipul Blog or follow us on twitter for deets!

Who should you come to SchipulCon09?

1. Interested in Social Media? We’ll be breaking it down.
2. Consider yourself a super online Marketer? Let’s swap knowledge.
3. Want to converse with your audience or members? We’ll show you how.
4. Got a blog and don’t know what to do with it? Let’s talk.
5. Still don’t know what this twitter thing is? Come on!
6. Looking for a chance to Network and tell your story? Then we want you.

Right now we offering a super special registration rate that you don’t want to miss! For 49 bucks you get a two day pass to SchipulCon + all the fun we’ve got planned. Why wait?

And come on. You can’t tell this little guy no…. Can you?

I consider myself very lucky to have met a lot of amazing people through Social Media…. I have forged some really awesome friendships that transcend Social Networking Sites and make “real life” so much more entertaining.

One of those people is Richard Shaffer…. no one else can Direct Message twitter debates about the benefits of Boxed Wine (you can recycle the box) quite like he can.

And if you know me, you know I feel pretty passionate about how awesome box wine is: but my wine allegiance may be about to change and Angel Juice better watch it’s back!!

Why? Richard is Mr. Israeli Wine himself and he is on his way to Houston to showcase his wares. Until recently, Israel had only been able to export a few of their fine wines due to limited quantity. But that is all about to change… Join The Government of Israel’s Economic Office & Richard Monday the 15th as they take over the Reserve Room at the Tasting Room in Uptown Park to help kick off the launch of Israeli Wines in the US.

Houston restaurants have been stocking up on these wines for months in order to give you a taste of Israel and you better be ready! On Monday, it’s Richard’s job to stuff your brain with knowledge about these fine wines so when our restaurants start rolling them out, you can look like a super sommelier to all of your friends.

And did I mention Richard funny??

If that isn’t enough reason to be there, here are two more:

1. It’s only 15 bucks and it’s a recession y’all!
2. WWJD? (What Would Jesus Drink?)

And luckily I’ve got another opportunity to teach and to connect with some amazing people coming again soon!

The Indie Biz Chicks Conference is on May 6 and 7. Won’t you join me?

I’m speaking on Wednesday, May 6 at 1 pm EST. You’ll get more info on how to connect when you register!

Speakers include Gwen Bell, the Ladies of Handmade Detroit,  Jenny Hart. Topics will cover everything from Maximizing Social Media for Your Event to how to coordinate and AMAZING Craft Show. If you’re an Indie Chick (in your spare time or ALL the time) looking for a little advice and direction, this conference is the place for you.

Best part about it? Dressing to impress means attending in your yoga suit

Gladwell’s insight into into “success” is mystifying and staggering and humbling all at once. With Outliers, Gladwell irrevocably proves that there is no magical kool aid you drink to become successful. Success is about hard work (10,000 hours of it!), some special circumstance and a dash of luck.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my personal success since I finished the book and have spent a lot of time comparing myself to the “successful” people Gladwell talks about. What have I learned from this exercise? Comparing yourself to Bill Gates is extremely intimidating. To be honest, comparing yourself to any of the “characters” in Gladwell’s book is intimidating! My thoughts went something like this: “I wasn’t born in Canada in 1983 AND I didn’t have access to a computer at the beginning time or motherboards AND I’ve never done ANYTHING for 10,000 hours… will I EVER be a twittering beauty queen who can fly planes?”

Kidding. Sort of.

After my big think following Outliers, I realized something really important. I am never going to be Bill Gates, but you know what? That is not what I WANT to be. So I decided to outline my goals and measure my personal success based on those goals as opposed to the goals of people who came before me.

So what does Maggie want to be when she grows up?

I want to teach. I want to help people understand the magic I feel at my fingertips as I type. I don’t want people to be scared of Facebook or think Twitter is a dirty word. I want people to look at the internet as a tool they can use instead of an evil set of tubes. I want to explain things to people in a way that they understand and I don’t ever want anyone to feel stupid when I tell them something. I want to be a Public Relations Geek but I don’t ever want to be a know-it-all. I want to celebrate my small successes, and I want everyone I know to celebrate theirs.

I graduated with a Public Relations degree from the University of Houston. I ADORE people and can talk to anyone for hours. You are a radish farmer? Let’s talk about it!!!! I didn’t really count this love of people and the countless hours I’ve spent talking as “practice” though. Everyone talks, right? After sitting with my boss and brooding about my intimidation of the magical “10,000 hours” he asked me if I thought I’d done anything at all for 10,000 hours. My response? “Reading, Breathing…. Talking.”

So clearly ya ain’t Bill Gates sweet pea. You’re something a little different…. something a little “louder” I’d say.

For a PR Major, 10,000 hours of human interaction is a pretty beneficial thing don’t you think? But it is also a pretty common thing for people in my field because “people-people” gravitate towards Communication careers. So how will I differentiate myself from the rest of the people in my field? Luckily, I have a level of curiosity rivaled only by my cat. I started digging around on the interwebs 6 months ago and fell hopelessly in love. That is how I’m going to be little different than PR pros. So why am I intimidated? I know that my goal is to be a PR Geek and to help people; what is stopping me?

I’m not even CLOSE to being an expert, on anything internet related and that is half of my goal. 10,000 hours is A LOT OF HOURS. When I finished Outliers, it looked to me like an insurmountable mountain of CSS, HTML and Internet Speak. Where was I to begin?? It took me a little while, but I finally realized: If I am standing still staring at the mountain, I have not begun anything. To “begin” I realized I had to start celebrating the small successes that will get me to 10,000 hours.

So when did your climb begin??

When I first started working at Schipul, I thought a DNS cloud was that white fluffy thing that rolls over your house before a big storm. Who knew DNS had to do with the name of a server where a website lives?!? I looked around at my coworkers and they were all like Bill Gates to me. I had no idea what ANYONE was talking about half of the day! So what did I decide to do? Start the Schipul blog. By myself. WHICH MAKES PERFECT SENSE RIGHT? To me it did. How was I going to learn if I didn’t get down and dirty with it. God bless our IT Director’s patience. I think he could have set up the Schipul blog in 29 seconds or less but he answered countless questions and put up with me for the bajillion 4 or 5 hours it of Maggie-time it actually took.

To be a fly on the wall during one of our discourses would have been highly entertaining.

Maggie: So. I think Webfaction is possessed by the devil.* I can’t get the domain to shoot the right way and the nav makes no sense and their helpfiles are WORTHLESS.
IT Director: Are you sure you’re pointing the DNS to the right server?
Maggie: I think so. I wrote them support ticket.
IT Director: Yeah. I saw it.
Maggie: Did it make sense?
IT Director: (silence)
Maggie: No? Okay. I’m going to rewrite it. Be right back!
IT Director: (puts head on desk)

Poor guy. When it was all said and done, I gave him a big hug but he probably deserved something more akin to an entire keg of Bud Light and a bottle of tequila a case of beer. We got through it though, right?

And you know what I did when it was all said and done? I CELEBRATED! Why did I forget about all these little mountains I’d climbed when I completed Outliers? Because I let myself be intimidated. And I forgot for a second just how much I’d celebrated the “little” stuff just a few months prior.

The biggest most important but most often forgotten lesson in Outliers?

You did not get where you are by yourself. People and circumstances helped you out a long the way. You got a few lucky breaks and did some amazing things with them. No matter what your job is, no matter who you are, you’ve got a chance to be successful. You just have to walk through the door when it opens.

When you get to the other side, you may not be Bill Gates…. But you climbed a mountain and became your own sort of expert. Which I think is better than standing still any day of the week.

*Webfaction is great and not really possessed by the devil. I just didn’t get it six months ago

But really, I’m only kidding (a little). The truth is, the secrets only seem vast when you encounter certain Twitter-isms for the first time. Trust me. I had some pretty interesting and random thoughts when I first saw the following shortcuts and acronyms scroll across my computer screen! Some may even call my blunders “comical.”  I hope to help you avoid all of that!

1. The Hashtag

“What is the point of all the poundy-signs?”

Oh Twitter. Why you gotta be so intricate?? Really… what the heck IS a “hashtag”?

A hashtag looks like this: #. If you are new to Twitter, you may be thinking the same thing I was when I first saw this. “Why the f$%k are people attaching the number sign to words?!? Am I supposed to be randomly be doing that when like something??”

At this point, most normal people would have Googled “# sign on Twitter” but oh no, not Maggie. I asked Fayza, the Internet know-it-all, the above question. I got a really loud laugh before she sweetly explained to me that this “poundy-sign” was in fact called a “hashtag.”

So here we go. Hashtags are simply Twitter tags (or meta tags) that you add inline to your tweets by affixing a pound sign to the front of a word.  It functions by making that word stand out. Think of your hashtagged-word like a bookmark. You are putting that bookmark on a specific post. When people are tracking topics or conversations on Twitter that are related to your bookmark, your tweet will appear.

For example, during Hurricane Ike, many people attached a “#ike” to the end of their tweets. You can then see what everyone is saying about Ike when you search #ike on twitter!

There is an actual hashtag site that was created to track real-time conversations within the micro-blogging community, but it is no longer operating. If you try to search anything there, you invariably get a “504 Network Timeout.”  This is sad, because it used to provide users with some really cool reports and indexing features. Until it is back up again, stick with search.twitter.com.

Real tweet using a hashtag:

2. Tiny URLs

“How do people fit million-character posts in this tiny box?!”

My first day on Twitter, I tried to follow the sage advice of Monica , and be useful to my followers. Except every time I tried to post a useful link, it was too flippin’ long! Since I didn’t want to provide comic relief to anyone this early in my Twitter journey, I decided to obsessively click refresh on my browser until someone else tweeted a link  (I know, I know…I should have Googled it).

After a few people tweeted, I noticed they were almost identical, and lo and behold, they were TINY URLS! Tiny URLs?  Yes!  A place to make your URLs tiny!!! All you have to do is cut and paste your million-character URL into a box, click “Make TinyURL!! and it spits this cute little link back at you.

Need something even smaller? You can use is.gd! With both TinyURL and is.gd, the links are unbreakable and never expire. Perfect for tweeting!

Real Tweet using a TinyURL:

3. The Retweet

“RT your what?”

The simplest explanation of a retweet can be compared to using a quote in a high school term paper. If you use someone else’s words, you have to attribute them right? Well, with the “retweet,” or RT, if you liked what someone tweeted, you can post their tweet for your own followers to take advantage of, with clear attribution to the original tweeter.

On a more complex level, the RT really touches the base of what makes Twitter so amazing. For example, let’s say I tweet something that I think is super important, and I really want to get the word out about it; my followers will all catch that tweet. Chris Brogan happens to follow me, and he has a bajillion followers.  If he thought my tweet was interesting enough to retweet, then I have the ears of a TON of people I never would have been able to reach before. How cool is that?

Here’s how you do it: You type RT + @the tweeter’s name, and then cut and paste their tweet.

Real Tweet using a RT:

That being said, I have never blogged about Nintendo or even my Wii before. Tweet about ‘em? Sure. But dedicate an entire blog post to the thing? Never thought it would happen. My second run-in with a real life Nintendo Enthusiast and the events that transpired last night proved me wrong.

Let me backtrack a little. I first heard the term “Nintendo Enthusiast ” from an Enthusiast herself, Gwen Bell. She kicked off her reign with a Nintendo DS party in Boulder that she invited HappyKatie and me to attend. Sadly, we did not get to go to Boulder, but we got a second chance at Nintendo-Party-Dom when Nintendo dubbed Katie herself an Enthusiast.

“Woo-Hoo!” I thought when I got the Wii Fit Party Evite from Katie. “This party is going to be a blast!”

And it was.

Five sweet Wii Fit girls took over Katie’s house and plied the guests with healthy fare from Whole Foods and white wine sangria, while they walked us through various activities using the Wii Fit Board. It was truly one of the most enjoyable evenings I had in a long time. I went home quite sated and VERY sore. The icing on the cake? I also went home with my very own Wii Fit Board, Wii Yoga Mat and Wii Yoga outfit compliments of Nintendo!!!! How sweet is that?

It is only today that I realize no matter how much I got out of last night’s party, Nintendo probably got more because they have truly tapped into the Social Media groundswell. Clearly they understand that the groundswell matters. You put ten chicks in a room that are addicted to Twitter, and you are going generate buzz and content online.

What I think the most important thing to note about the whole party was that we were tweeting about Nintendo before the party even started and long before we got our unexpected gifts. No one forced us to tweet. No one held us down and said, “You can’t have any more white wine sangria until you tweet!” We just did it out of our own volition. And I would venture to guess it was mostly because we were all just so darn happy!

I mean, how could I NOT be happy listening to Monica talk smack about her balancing abilities or while I’m laughing and poking Fayza while she’s attempting the tree pose.  I watched in awe as the Wii Gamer Chicks racked up 900 rotations in the Hula Hoop game and I talked David’s ear off about it all when the party was over. Nintendo racked up a lot of Karma Points with me last night. That is why I’m talking about them today.

Crazily enough, I think there are lots of ways for organizations to mirror what Nintendo is doing, even without spending the big bucks. Why? It is all about garnering good will!

How can your organization use Social Media to make your peeps happy? Here are a few ideas:

1. If you’re having an event for your organization and you’re charging for drinks, offer everyone in your Facebook group a free one. This means you’ve gotta start a Facebook group first!
2. Broadcast discount codes on Twitter.  Then your followers benefit and feel the love. This will also boost the number of people who follow you, because you will be posting content that people actually want!
3. Send out newsletters that include tips and tricks for whatever industry your subscribers are in. Don’t make your newsletter all about you! These helpful tips will make your subscribers more likely to forward your newsletter on (Jeffrey Gitomer’s is a great example of a helpful newsletter).

The thing to keep in mind with Social Media is this:  BE good people, and good people will talk about you!

* I gave the Wii to David as a gift so it is not technically “mine” but whatever.

** Now I know you were dying to ask about my Guitar Hero skillz, so I will just go ahead and tell you the answer: I totally kicked Satan’s ass playing “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” on GH3…. I’m just not going to tell you how many tries it took

The last six month’s have been an absolute whirlwind. I’ve crammed so much Social Media and Personal Branding knowledge into this brain of mine that I’ve been on the verge of bursting for the last month or so.

Tonight I will get my chance! I am speaking to the DigiCom Student Association at Houston Community College on Personal Branding and The Art behind the Personal Branding RockStars.

I. Am. So. Excited!

Check out my slides, let me know what you think! I always enjoy and learn from your comments