"Adversity is another way to measure
the greatness of individuals. I never had
a crisis that didn't make me stronger."
- Lou Holtz
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Digesting Eat Pray Love 2
I look at the Augusteum, and I think that perhaps my life has not actually been so chaotic after all. It is merely this world that is chaotic, bringing changes to us all that nobody could have anticipated. The Augusteum warns me not to get attached to any obsolete ideas about who I am, what I represent, whom I belong to, or what function I may once have intended to serve. Yesterday I might have been a glorious monument to somebody, true enough - but tomorrow I may be a fireworks depository. Even in the Eternal City, says the silent Augusteum, one must always be prepared for riotous and endless waves of transformation.
The chaos that I have let surround me in the past year was something that this world brought upon me to test my limits of self discipline, self sacrifice, and more important the transformation of myself. I had a conversation with a friend last night about not wanting to have looked to deep into my being over the past year because of the darkness that was surrounding me. When depression and loneliness surrounded my very well being I fought and kicked and self medicated. I fought the fight and I won.
I am a glorious monument to myself and I believe in that and cherish it. It took some changes that were not anticipated or even anything I could have been prepared for but I am now a more confident and radiant woman because of it. There is never a moment will you will be totally prepared for a riotous or endless wave of choas, but coming out on the other side is an accomplishment that noone can take away from you.
The chaos that I have let surround me in the past year was something that this world brought upon me to test my limits of self discipline, self sacrifice, and more important the transformation of myself. I had a conversation with a friend last night about not wanting to have looked to deep into my being over the past year because of the darkness that was surrounding me. When depression and loneliness surrounded my very well being I fought and kicked and self medicated. I fought the fight and I won.
I am a glorious monument to myself and I believe in that and cherish it. It took some changes that were not anticipated or even anything I could have been prepared for but I am now a more confident and radiant woman because of it. There is never a moment will you will be totally prepared for a riotous or endless wave of choas, but coming out on the other side is an accomplishment that noone can take away from you.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Digesting Eat Pray Love 1
To find the balance you want, this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have 4 legs instead of 2. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God.
I took a moment today to step away from work. Work for me is a binge i am on a 23 day binge without a day off. lately i work to survive. It is not a way of life I enjoy.
I am currently reading Eat Pray Love and took my "lunch break" to sit in a near by park to break away from my binge and enjoy the sun, the earth, the noise of children in the summer and let my mind be somewhere else. I am in the first "chapter" of the book. The above quote comes from when the main character goes to Bali and visits a medicine man and she asks for the clarity of letting god into her life and how to balance it with the distractions of the world. I am not necessarily saying I am becoming religious or event spiritual at this time but finding balance has always been a constant struggle. I even had a conversation about balance with my mother this morning. I would like to practice this mantra. I am going to make a conscious effort to do so. I have a feeling there will be many lessons learned about life, love and career in Eat Pray Love.
I took a moment today to step away from work. Work for me is a binge i am on a 23 day binge without a day off. lately i work to survive. It is not a way of life I enjoy.
I am currently reading Eat Pray Love and took my "lunch break" to sit in a near by park to break away from my binge and enjoy the sun, the earth, the noise of children in the summer and let my mind be somewhere else. I am in the first "chapter" of the book. The above quote comes from when the main character goes to Bali and visits a medicine man and she asks for the clarity of letting god into her life and how to balance it with the distractions of the world. I am not necessarily saying I am becoming religious or event spiritual at this time but finding balance has always been a constant struggle. I even had a conversation about balance with my mother this morning. I would like to practice this mantra. I am going to make a conscious effort to do so. I have a feeling there will be many lessons learned about life, love and career in Eat Pray Love.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
ahhhh... interpretation of life...
it is what you make of it and when you get better at it better things come along.
Love... learning to let go and give into the benefits of new experiences... can free your mind to believe in love again.
Career is a constant the one constant that I can depend every day.
it is what you make of it and when you get better at it better things come along.
Love... learning to let go and give into the benefits of new experiences... can free your mind to believe in love again.
Career is a constant the one constant that I can depend every day.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Gaga
Believe it or not I am going to the Lady Gaga concert tonight. I am a "fan" per se. I jam out to her music in the car while driving in traffic. She is some what of a sensation... Madonnaesque. I do believe she is a bit off her rocker! I am going with my girly girls for a night on the town. But... I will report back on the show. I do believe that it is going to be an amazing show! I hope my "costume" is up to par with the girls I am going with. I am not much of a "dress up in costume" girl.
So I will report back with a review of sorts on the night, the show, the happenings of epic proportions!
So I will report back with a review of sorts on the night, the show, the happenings of epic proportions!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Adventures Abound
You will be in the mood to experience a spontaneous adventure. You're a free spirit. As long as all prior commitments are handled, nothing and no one will stop you.
What I love about this horoscope for today is that I wish my life could be a spontaneous adventure everyday. Now ... how to make that happen!?
What I love about this horoscope for today is that I wish my life could be a spontaneous adventure everyday. Now ... how to make that happen!?
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Obessed with the Weather
So it is one of those hazy hot and humid summer days... the dog days of summer. I truely love! With days like today comes that line of thunderstorms that comes booming across new england cools us off. I have (let's just say) small obsession with the weather so today is an ideal day to watch the weather!
http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?ID=BOX&type=N0R
This is the radar that i use. It is so fun to watch the "action" coming across the state. Although we have already had some pretty severe weather this season already including micro and macro bursts, I do not wish any harm on anyone or for people's property to be damaged I just love to watch the wind and rain and hail and lightening!
Here here to Dylan from channel 7!
http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?ID=BOX&type=N0R
This is the radar that i use. It is so fun to watch the "action" coming across the state. Although we have already had some pretty severe weather this season already including micro and macro bursts, I do not wish any harm on anyone or for people's property to be damaged I just love to watch the wind and rain and hail and lightening!
Here here to Dylan from channel 7!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The beginning steps to developing Social Media Marketing Plans
The beginning steps for Social Media Marketing.
Not written by me... but endorsed by me!
7 Steps for Creating a Social Media Marketing Plan
by Maria Ogneva on 06/17/2010 10:05 5 comments , 10232 views
Categories: Social Media, Social Customer, Marketing
Tags: social media marketing, social media, social media marketing plan
This blog was written Aliza Sherman, not Maria Ogneva. Aliza is the co-founder of Conversify, a 5-year-old social media marketing agency offering strategic planning, as well as social media monitoring, management and measurement. She is also a social media pioneer who founded Cybergrrl, Inc. and Webgrrls International in the early 90’s -- and has been named by Newsweek as one of “Top 50 people who matter most on the Internet”. You can join Aliza in her June 23 Attensity webcast for a deeper dive on this topic:
"A blog isn't a business plan.”
I recently saw that tweet on Twitter, and it really hit home for me the perils of using a new technology or communications tool and thinking that mastering its use or even the fact that you are using it is all you need to know and do for your business. Adding new tools to your marketing and communications toolkit is not a plan. There is nothing strategic about blogging, tweeting and updating your Facebook status if you don't have a plan for not just using the tool but integrating it into your marketing mix. Right?
So how do you get started with a plan for social media? Social Media Marketing Plans (SMMPs) can be standalone documents but are more effective when a part of an overall marketing plan for your company. At a minimum, they should reference traditional public relations or marketing tools and tactics. Unfortunately, very few companies and organizations right now are thinking about the integration of social media marketing into what they've been doing marketing-wise. Instead, they tend to cage off social media marketing like a new wild animal in a zoo. It's nice to look at and fascinating to watch, but it doesn't quite fit into any of the cages with their other zoo animals.
When my company helps other companies with their Social Media Marketing planning, we take them back to some basic, foundational questions one might ask when coming up with an overall strategic plan, not just a social media one:
What?
Why?
Who?
Where?
How?
What?
as in...
What are you trying to achieve?
Why are you trying to do this?
Whom are your trying to reach?
Where can you most effectively reach them?
How are you going to reach out to them?
What are you trying to get them to do?
We also remind companies that Social Media Marketing is not necessarily a direct sales tool but is effective at:
1. Building a brand;
2. Building brand loyalty;
3. Turning loyal customers into evangelists;
4. Leveraging word-of-mouth marketing;
5. Turbo-charging the feedback loop.
Here are seven steps you should go through (at least) to get to the heart of your Social Media Marketing Plan. This is merely a starting framework for how to think about building out your plan and how to get to the information that should be in your plan.
1. What are your marketing objectives? Make sure they are attainable and measurable.
2. Who is your audience? Know where they are online and where they are already engaged in related, relevant conversations.
3. What are your assets? Examine your social media and online assets to see what you can leverage for full social media engagement. (See assets diagram.)
1. What tactics will you use? Choose the tactics that incorporate the most logical tools for what you are trying to achieve and who you are trying to reach.
2. What are your big ideas? Come up with some creative ideas that are repeatable and scalable to attract attention and provide value.
3. How will you measure results? Establish benchmarks, monitor and be clear what you are tracking and how.
4. Re-examine over time. What works? What doesn't? What can you build upon? What can you improve? What needs to be scrapped?
Remember: as Jeffrey Hayzlett, former Kodak CMO said: "Social media is not a campaign. It is a commitment." Your plan should cover both the immediate and short-term with an eye to the long term understanding that the technology changes daily. You may find that some of the tools you initially choose are gone by the time you get around to accessing them. Be flexible.
Not written by me... but endorsed by me!
7 Steps for Creating a Social Media Marketing Plan
by Maria Ogneva on 06/17/2010 10:05 5 comments , 10232 views
Categories: Social Media, Social Customer, Marketing
Tags: social media marketing, social media, social media marketing plan
This blog was written Aliza Sherman, not Maria Ogneva. Aliza is the co-founder of Conversify, a 5-year-old social media marketing agency offering strategic planning, as well as social media monitoring, management and measurement. She is also a social media pioneer who founded Cybergrrl, Inc. and Webgrrls International in the early 90’s -- and has been named by Newsweek as one of “Top 50 people who matter most on the Internet”. You can join Aliza in her June 23 Attensity webcast for a deeper dive on this topic:
"A blog isn't a business plan.”
I recently saw that tweet on Twitter, and it really hit home for me the perils of using a new technology or communications tool and thinking that mastering its use or even the fact that you are using it is all you need to know and do for your business. Adding new tools to your marketing and communications toolkit is not a plan. There is nothing strategic about blogging, tweeting and updating your Facebook status if you don't have a plan for not just using the tool but integrating it into your marketing mix. Right?
So how do you get started with a plan for social media? Social Media Marketing Plans (SMMPs) can be standalone documents but are more effective when a part of an overall marketing plan for your company. At a minimum, they should reference traditional public relations or marketing tools and tactics. Unfortunately, very few companies and organizations right now are thinking about the integration of social media marketing into what they've been doing marketing-wise. Instead, they tend to cage off social media marketing like a new wild animal in a zoo. It's nice to look at and fascinating to watch, but it doesn't quite fit into any of the cages with their other zoo animals.
When my company helps other companies with their Social Media Marketing planning, we take them back to some basic, foundational questions one might ask when coming up with an overall strategic plan, not just a social media one:
What?
Why?
Who?
Where?
How?
What?
as in...
What are you trying to achieve?
Why are you trying to do this?
Whom are your trying to reach?
Where can you most effectively reach them?
How are you going to reach out to them?
What are you trying to get them to do?
We also remind companies that Social Media Marketing is not necessarily a direct sales tool but is effective at:
1. Building a brand;
2. Building brand loyalty;
3. Turning loyal customers into evangelists;
4. Leveraging word-of-mouth marketing;
5. Turbo-charging the feedback loop.
Here are seven steps you should go through (at least) to get to the heart of your Social Media Marketing Plan. This is merely a starting framework for how to think about building out your plan and how to get to the information that should be in your plan.
1. What are your marketing objectives? Make sure they are attainable and measurable.
2. Who is your audience? Know where they are online and where they are already engaged in related, relevant conversations.
3. What are your assets? Examine your social media and online assets to see what you can leverage for full social media engagement. (See assets diagram.)
1. What tactics will you use? Choose the tactics that incorporate the most logical tools for what you are trying to achieve and who you are trying to reach.
2. What are your big ideas? Come up with some creative ideas that are repeatable and scalable to attract attention and provide value.
3. How will you measure results? Establish benchmarks, monitor and be clear what you are tracking and how.
4. Re-examine over time. What works? What doesn't? What can you build upon? What can you improve? What needs to be scrapped?
Remember: as Jeffrey Hayzlett, former Kodak CMO said: "Social media is not a campaign. It is a commitment." Your plan should cover both the immediate and short-term with an eye to the long term understanding that the technology changes daily. You may find that some of the tools you initially choose are gone by the time you get around to accessing them. Be flexible.
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