Really? This is my job?

Look at your life, look at your choices...

2010-09-07T16:58:00.001-05:00

I have been having quite a few, 'how in the hell did I get here?' moments over the past couple of weeks. I find myself in client meetings, sitting in airports, or driving across Canada and wondering to myself, seriously, how on earth did I end up in this situation?

When I was really little, I wanted to be an archaeologist. I really wanted to dig up dinosaur bones.

And yet, somehow, I ended up in PR. Just saying...

I'll admit it, I still like a show with Marc Summers - what of it?

2010-08-04T09:57:00.002-05:00

One of the most interesting side effects of my job is that my child-like wonder with the world around me is rapidly diminishing. I am skeptical of pretty much everything.

For example, the entire time I was pregnant I REFUSED to get the H1N1 vaccine - because really, all the news stories covering the vaccine and the flu just seemed, hmmm, poorly orchestrated. They sounded like spin. They sounded like company message. And as a proud author of company message, I was bothered by the way they rolled out their 'life saving' campaign.

I have had countless conversations with my husband (who cannot even feign interest) in why some commercial or social media campaign is stupid - why they did it wrong, why it bugs me, how I would have done things differently. He nods along and as quickly as he can fast forwards through the commercials so as not to have to listen to me drone on about how asinine it is that the beginning of that anti-aging commercial says, "We didn't see this coming, but women picked us as the number one anti-aging skin product." You were shocked, you say? Why? Because you honestly kind of thought your product was crap?

Anyway, my last safe haven was the Food Network. I don't really watch much TV, but I can always have food television on as my white noise - I mean, I prefer the ACTUAL cooking shows more than the filler shows, and don't get me started on Food Network Challenge, I really can't handle that - but for the most part, everything on good ole' channel 32 makes me happy. But yesterday, I was watching this show called, "Kid in a Candy Store" which is supposed to be this random host roaming America finding unique desserts and candies. They highlighted pretzel M&Ms. I could see in my head the initial pitch the minute the segment started. I could visualize the PR team sitting around talking about how to better publicize the new flavors they were introducing. I could hear the little AAE saying, "Food Network has a call out for interesting desserts - I bet if we let them film the inside of the factory, we could be part of this show." And how unique are chocolate covered pretzels? UGH. Totally ruined.

Let me just say I can sympathize with reporters who want to speak directly with the source and have little use for me. I know I am a good guy, but I can see how they have been jaded. It has happened to me too.

I need a nap

2010-07-29T20:46:00.000-05:00

I read a blog post the other day about the death of the blog post. It made me think about my sad, sad blog that has been woefully ignored for the past year. Here is the deal - I went to Germany, sold a house, bought a new house, worked my tail off, had a baby, taught that baby to sit up, worked a little bit more, tweeted a lot - did I mention I had a baby? those suckers are time consuming - started a baby blog, worked even more. Whatever. There is no excuse, but dude, I have been doing other things besides blogging about work. But I think I will start again.

Just so everyone is clear on what I am working on, I am leading Bluetooth and Gemalto, playing along on ACCIONA and Nuventix and crossing my fingers pretty tight on some new business I am excited about.

Btw - that last blog post I wrote - the one about never blogging again - that is a delightful blog post. I am so clever sometimes.

I'm never gonna blog again, guilty posts have got no rhythm...

2009-04-06T23:15:00.007-05:00

That's right - if Seether can do it, so can I - I will 'cover' Careless Whisper to serve my own selfish purposes. That poor song just lends itself to mockery (hell, most Wham! falls into that category - but god I love it - hmmm, I wonder how many I can sneak in here...this blog post just took a very unplanned turn for the worst).

Do you have any idea how many FANTASTIC pictures of WHAM! are out there? Geez

So, last, last June, I gave you my heart - the very next day (two years later), you gave it away - so now I'm giving it to someone special. See, INK has started an official blog, freshINK, and I am now spread a little thin - and we all know I was such a posting fool to start with, huh? So now I am left to ask, if my best isn't good enough then how can it be good enough for two? I can't work any harder than I do. hmmm, that might lead you to believe I am not going to keep up both blogs, but I fully intend to. Really, just wanted to direct you over to my new baby. Plus, the rest of the INK girls are blogging (now you can meet the goofs that are always at the top of the page).

I just want to wake you up before I go-go -I am out of here kids. I know I have disappeared for more than two weeks before, but I am off on vacation and I am not tweeting, blogging, facebooking - I am taking a break from all of this social media hella-ballu. How do you know I will be back...well, you just gotta have faith. (I know, I know, that is George sans the WHAM!, but I couldn't help it)

card carrying member of NIMBY*

2009-03-22T22:29:00.005-05:00

So, I have a little secret to tell you. I know I will be judged, hated, possibly shunned from the blogosphere - but I just have to come clean. I loathe SXSW. See how I didn't say hate? Hate isn't strong enough. I loathe it. I abhor it. I live in denial for 11 months out of the year that it even exists then I spend the majority of March with my fingers in my ears yelling, LALALALALALA!

-Picture is the stolen from Andrey Dorokhov's flickr page - this picture rocks - as do the rest of his shots.

Here is the deal, the conference, in and of itself, isn't the problem - the panels are interesting (usually), the networking is freaking incredible, and the music and film are like a little virtual cherry on top of my interactive conference sundae. But the damn thing is in my backyard. IT IS IN MY TOWN, and I therefore hate it. I like to run around Lady Bird Lake, but during SXSW it is like a punked out version of frogger - getting to the lake, dodging the hipsters, the unloading vans, the herds of folks walking to their tweet-up breakfast - it is a nightmare. I like eating at any number of Austin institutions, but the wait associated with the influx of conference attendees is more than I can bear. I like watching March Madness with Longhorn fans, not a plethora of out of town visitors determined to support their alma mater in between panel sessions and Japanese punk bands (Peelander-Z is actually kind of cool, I have to admit it). But more than all of that, I don't want to go have drinks at Scoble's party, find the show with the most celebs or gather the most foursquare points - because my husband and puppies are waiting for me at home. My desk, with all its ridiculous demands, is waiting at my office. My everyday life has to run concurrently with the show and that is a nearly impossible feat.

As usual, I whined my way through SXSW this year, missing more than I saw, participating by following along on twitter, thoroughly enjoying myself when I did venture out, but for the most part kicking and screaming the whole way. Peace out, SXSW - I'll see you next year. And I will try to work on my bad attitude in the down time.

*Not the wind one - I love clean energy

I bet lesbians love Bluetooth

2009-03-17T11:18:00.003-05:00

I delight in Bluetooth references in pop culture - love them. Britney's horrific song Phonography (see previous post), keystone light commercials, and now, the freaking Big Bang theory is my new favorite (I can't embed the clip just yet, so you will have to click here to watch). As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I love me some Walowitz.

There are two other things about this that are interesting to me. 1) about three years ago I was facilitating an interview between Mike Foley, SIG executive director and Andy Ihnatko (Chicago Sun-Times tech journalist and all around very funny guy) when Andy announced that he felt "Bluetooth was just like Bacon - it makes everything better." Now I follow Andy on twitter, and I know he likes the big Bang Theory (seriously, how creepy for this poor guy - I swear I am not a stalker), so I am wondering if he a) remembers saying this and b) is at all pissed that this show stole his joke. I imagine he is kind of okay with it. 2) I love twitter. I really do. And I know I talked a lot of smack about hating twitter, but I have been converted - I love it now. And I loved watching all the other geeks that love twitter AND the Big Bang Theory re-quote the show last night. See here.

That's right. You gave it up. Now you gotta die. Those are the rules

2009-03-02T21:50:00.006-06:00

Interestingly enough, I stumbled across the below quote on a CNET blog rather than actually on twitter (where it originated), but it is just too delightful not to share.

"Social media is like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. No one actually knows how. When finally done, there is surprise it's not better."

Things like this make me proud to be the INK director for NEW MEDIA - not social media. Social Media sounds like it would leave you, uh, unfulfilled.

*Extra points to whoever names the movie the title quote is from.

If you light the fire, you can't then get rewarded for putting it out

2009-02-11T10:16:00.003-06:00

I work with the Bluetooth SIG (a client of ours) - I have for what seems like forever (in actuality, it has *only* been a little over five years now, but feels like forever). The most frustrating thing I deal with working on SIG PR is this fabulous group of 'security' experts that dedicate time, money and develop specific technology to hack Bluetooth (the horribly over-rated Bluejacking is a perfect example), put out a press release and do a huge media push screaming that the sky is falling. CHICKEN LITTLE, CHICKEN LITTLE - THE SKY IS FALLING - IF YOU HAVE BLUETOOTH, YOU ARE CERTAIN TO LOSE YOUR IDENTITY! BEWARE, BEWARE. Then these guys come to the SIG, "Hey, if you pay us, we will handle this crisis for you." Thanks guys - I appreciate you offering to put out the fire you started. It has always infuriated me.

There is a similar situation going on with United Airlines and Jason Tryfon right now, and I am honestly curious - does this make anyone else uneasy? Brief background: Jason had a bad time with a United flight attendant, he tweeted it, his tweet kicked off a small firestorm of 'I hate united' tweets, Jason wrote a blog post about how United needs social media help, now he has his sales staff cold calling United offering their services. I do not know Jason Tryfon at all, but I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn't start this (post the initial tweet) just to pick a fight that he could later use to his benefit. In fact, I am pretty positive he just posted a tweet because that is what you do when you are getting on a plane - tweet, tweet, tweet. But regardless, would it hurt his reputation to bash a company, then turn around and start pimping them? Surely this isn't a good model of how to get new business? As I said, I am just curious what others think.

I will say though, if someone came up to me, pushed me down and rubbed my face in the dirt, then said, "Hot damn, looks like you have dirt on your face, let me show you how to get that off" - eh, I probably wouldn't be to keen.

Look folks, I have the SAD...

2009-02-09T16:04:00.003-06:00

Lately, my online 'social' life is demanding more and more of my 'real' social life time. Tweet-ups, conferences, social media club breakfasts, happy hours, lunches - dear lord, the list is never ending and at all of these place I have to physically meet people that I had previously only 'known' through twitter or blog reading. It is really just too much for me. The beauty of all these new media/social media tools is that I don't ACTUALLY have to be social. My uncomfortableness doesn't translate in 140 characters, my unease does not come through in a blog comment - online I appear calm, collected, and aside from my obvious difficulty with simple spelling, pretty put together. I can be friends with you, without really having to be friends with you. Please note, my complaint has nothing to do with others - this is all about me - i have the social anxiety disorder through and through. Odd for someone working in PR.

Starr was hollering about how I needed to post - this is what I came up with. DAMNIT - I guess I am socially awkward online, too.

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig...

2009-01-12T00:26:00.002-06:00

To market, to market to buy...a Pre?

Finally home and rested from an extremely long week at CES. But long certainly doesn't mean it wasn't good. Honestly, from start to finish, this will go down as my favorite CES to date. It was busy, my feet were killing me, I didn't get nearly enough sleep and I lost the charger to my laptop - but the positives outweigh my laundry list of negatives, by far.

All three of our clients at the show had a good time, talked to the right people and continued to tell their stories - can't ask for more than that.

I, however, had a little 'social media' heyday at this show. I sat in on the Social Media Jungle hosted by Jeff Pulver - it was amazing. Lots of smart people sharing their views on the how’s/what’s/when’s/why’s of the crazy online. Jeff Pulver crammed a ridiculous amount of talent into a one-day event. If you are in a city on his 2009 breakfast tour, I highly recommend taking part. My two favorite speakers were Chris Brogan and Warren Whitlock - Chris had a lot to say, but was summed up with "ignore the folks who don't 'get it'" ('get it' was over used to the point where I kind of wanted to pull out my hair), and to 'stop talking about talking' - I love this. I know it doesn't sit well for my blog (since pretty much all I do is write about 'talking'), but it still resonates with me - get out and DO, DO, DO. Also, his story on why he considers himself a pirate is delightful.

Warren Whitlock talked about giving - to always give more than you get. He chatted up an amazing study about a can of soda - I am hooked. I like to think that I approach PR this way - my goal is always to help journalists, bloggers, tweeters, whoever out - then if it benefits me (or my client) in the end, great - but I am going to make a point of 2009 being my year of giving. I have also been pushing to work this to the front of our communications with some of our clients - I think we get caught up in the 'what have you done for me lately' mentality or definitely the 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine'...but the point is, it should never be stipulated. From now on, my first question will be, "how can I help you?"

I also got to attend Robert Scoble's 'It won't stay in Vegas' party and I have to say, the folks at the Parnassus Group know how to put on a blogger event that is both fun and beneficial to the sponsors. I hate to see events like this explode in popularity, because inevitably they turn into junkets that are lacking on true networking and instead just table after table of demonstrations - but I am hoping the best for them, because this event was fantastic and a highlight to my time at CES. AND I won a Sonos multi-room music system - talk about great swag. The folks at Sonos are sending it this week and I cannot wait to try it out.

Last but not least, I am cautiously optimistic about the Pre. I won't just run out and get one the moment it is released, but I am pretty sure I am going to have to get one sooner rather than later.

Overall, killer time at CES this year. AND I DIDN'T GET SICK. It is like a little CES miracle.

Bring on 2009...and CES

2009-01-04T17:19:00.006-06:00

Just zipped my suitcase and I am ready for my flight tomorrow - hooray for Vegas and CES. I have to watch my Horns from a sports book, rather than travel to the game, again - but I suppose, as far as places to watch football go, Vegas ain't a bad option.

Pretty excited about the show this year, as I have no booth duty whatsoever and instead will mostly be helping with parties (magicJack REVOLUTION on Wednesday, January 7th, Bluetooth SIG Best of CES 2009 at Tao Friday, January 9th - if you are interested in swinging by, let me know and I will get you on the list), attending the 'It Won't Stay In Vegas' blogger party and sitting in on the Social Media Jungle super session - where all of my little blogging heroes will be speaking - I might actually get to meet a couple of them (I'm talking about you, Toeman). I have several dinners with clients lined up, several interviews I have to facilitate - a busy, but as far as CES standards go, tame week.

OH - and I am going to be meeting up with Murray SawChuck, magicJack's magician of choice for the show. Hoping he teaches me some clever little trick I can use to shock and amaze all my friends.

See ya in Vegas!

the problem with just messing around...

2008-12-15T15:42:00.002-06:00

...online is that I link to things, sign up for things, try things out, etc. and then forget how the hell I did what I did when I need to do it again. Annoying.

Hit me baby one more time

2008-11-25T10:03:00.002-06:00

Britney has a new album out next week and I stumbled across the lyrics to one of her songs. I honestly have no words to express my joy here. Brit likes her Bluetooth and her hands-free. Apparently, Bluetooth is dead sexy.

15_Phonography.mp3 -

when opporutnity knocks

2008-11-18T14:41:00.002-06:00

You have to open the door. Or, ya know, participate in the interview or send the product for review. I'm just saying...

just don't piss 'em off...

2008-11-16T17:13:00.003-06:00

When things go wrong online, they go horribly wrong. Take the Motrin vs. Moms war that started on Twitter this weekend. Pretty crazy stuff.

When a product gets panned or someone possibly gets sick, or hell, when the bloggers all turn against each other...when the online world rallies, it gets, hmmm, out of hand pretty quick. I think this is one of the biggest problems I have when explaining social media, web 2.0, bloggers, whatever to clients. They want to know how to control millions of people voicing their opinion - I don't care how good I am at my job, I cannot control the entire blogosphere. And neither can they.

I am always encouraging clients to get involved, but I think they see these horrific meltdowns and they just shrink away. Then, the further away they get, the demands get more foolish. I had a client insisting we contact a forum and have them remove all negative feedback about their product - uh, okay...I'll get right on that.

And then I have another client who just posted anonymously on a NYT Bits blog post - in defense of this client, he wasn't astroturfing (if that is still what you crazy kids are calling it). Honestly, he was just trying to inform the journalist and the other readers of some information that had been left out of the initial post. I wish he hadn't posted anonymously - I am a firm believer in transparency. Post away...just claim your posts. I suggested as much, and I think the client is on board. But I understand his hesitation...the online is a scary place.

The deal is that old chant that it is all about participation is no joke. It really is all about participating – start with a facebook page or hell, just set up your Google home page to watch a few of your favorite sites. Make a comment or two, set up a profile on digg, go play around on Vanno (it is fairly new, but I think it has a lot of potential).

And yeah, sometimes the bottom drops out. So I guess the chant should be, "Participate, be transparent, but for the love of god, don't piss 'em off"

The light at the end of the tunnel...

2008-11-07T23:21:00.001-06:00

I have been fairly disenchanted with work over the past couple of months. Actually, I would say pretty much Q2 and Q3 were the closest I have ever been (and will ever be) to thinking that bagging this whole PR thing and going back to work at the GAP might be the best idea.

Pretty sure my blog posts of late have mirrored my negativity.

But today I got some fabulous news. Things are looking up. I think I might actually be able to like my job again.

What a night!

2008-11-05T00:34:00.001-06:00

OBAMA WINS!

I am not sure what else to say, but wow...just wow

2008-10-21T13:46:00.002-05:00

Thanks to BigWideLogic for posting. horrifying. I wonder if she can hear herself or if the voices in her head are a drowning out everything else.

but I WAAAANT one NOOOOOW....

2008-09-17T11:51:00.006-05:00

I have compared a-list bloggers to several things on this blog - Scoble was a high school quarterback, they were the cool kids at the lunch table, they were a fraternity - but I have never quite pegged them correctly.

Rafe Needleman has a micro-blog call Pro PR Tips, which is too damn funny. Read it from tip one all the way to the end - you will laugh the entire way through. But tip #29 sums up a-list bloggers better than anything I could have penned. LOVE IT.

"A-list bloggers are like angry, spoiled shoolgirls. Calibrate your pitches accordingly"

Best. PR. Advice. Ever.

Screw how many miles I ran...it's an election year

2008-09-14T21:39:00.006-05:00

I read quite a few different types of blogs - I have my runners and triathletes, my boys who wax poetic about the demise of print media, of course all the usual 'social media' big boys (and girls) that have developed entire careers around web 2.0, my snarky social commentary bloggers, hell, on occasion, I read mommy blogs just to remind me why I haven't had kids yet.

However, even though my netvibes account has several different tabs for each genre, it seems they have all, in the last week, become political blogs. Folks who normally just update the web on their marathon training are suddenly leaving commentary on why McCain might not be the best choice. Scoble has a desperate plea to all Democrats to make this election matter. Spots (who, lets face it, always kind of covers politics) is calling Palin to task for trying to 'pray away the gay.' It is amazing.

Twitter, my new best friend, is suffering the same kind of single-minded stream of conversation. I am not complaining. I think it is great. It is exciting to see the web-savvy American public focus on one very important thing. It gives me hope.

UPDATE: My runner from the above link developed a whole new blog for his political views, therefore allowing his training blog to remain a training blog - all this means for me is I now have ANOTHER blog on my netvibes to follow.

With a tweet, tweet here and a tweet, tweet there...

2008-09-07T22:02:00.005-05:00

I am usually behind the hype. I started my blog last year, not in 2002. I was so far behind on myspace, by the time I had a page, everyone else had moved on. I hated facebook (in fact, the jury would still be out if it weren't for Scrabulous AKA Wordscraper). I pretty much have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the wonderful world of Web 2.0, social media, new media, whatever you want to call it.

I think I might spend some time in the next week acquainting myself with twitter and friendfeed. Not a huge fan of twitter, so not sure how it will turn out, but you can only stick your fingers in your ears and sing for so long.

Damn you, blogosphere. Damn you, Facebook, Damn you, Twitter.

I swear to god, if I start posting tweets from my damn blackberry, I am going to sit myself down for a serious talking to.

UPDATE: Less then a week in and I have the TwitterBerry ridiculousness on my blackberry - twitter is FAR more addictive then facebook, myspace, blog writing/reading - all of it. I should really just jump on these bandwagons immediately, rather than dragging my feet. It is kind of like how I was with Spoon - I really wanted to dislike Spoon, but it in end, good music won out.

You can get the entire set, A to Z, for just 12 payments of $19.95...

2008-08-12T14:41:00.004-05:00

PR is a funny profession. Essentially, I am in sales - and probably, if I sat down and tried to decide on the worst possible job for me, it would be sales - but none the less, that is what I do. I knock on doors and often have them shut in my face. Journalist are NOTORIOUSLY pissy about PR flacks, 'I get too many pitches, I get too many emails, I am too busy to take your call, etc.'.

For the most part, I sympathize. I, too, get a lot of email. I, too, hate it when my phone rings with unwanted, or god forbid, sales, calls. I don't want to hear about things I don't care about and I certainly don't want to hear about things that do not pertain to me or my job. But for the most part, I believe in the treat people the way you want to be treated rule and I reserve my crotchety attitude for my friends and husband - they love me regardless - and present a generally genteel/pleasing attitude to strangers/colleagues/sales people/etc.

So if a journalist I am pitching wants to ignore me, totally fine. I can take a hint and, for the most part, I won't pester. If someone doesn't have time for my call or to respond to my email, I am okay with that...just remember I am here if you need me. And boy, if they need me, I better come a running. Which is totally fine. That is, after all, my job. And there are very few things as satisfying to me as getting the right information to the right person. Not spin, not messaging or an 'angle' - just delivering the facts and educating an interested party.

But the new trend I am seeing, is to to not only hate the messenger, but to now say that PR is useless or that PR is the problem. While both of those examples are Scoble, he certainly isn't the only offender. I don't pitch Scoble much because he wouldn't be interested in the majority of my clients, so I don't bother him. But I take offense for those PR flacks that are pitching him. I like to think, with my rose colored glasses on, that the majority of the folks pitching him sincerely think he would be interested and/or sincerely believe in their client and the product they are pitching.

But even if they aren't good at their jobs and they are just blanketing pitches out and they don't have a great product or a great story, even if they are annoying to the extreme - I am quite sure that if Scoble needed anything from any of them, they would bend over backwards to make it happen.

It is like the popular football player and the geeky nerd. Football player is 'too cool for this and that', completely hating on the geeky nerd, dissing his style, music, and social activities - until he needs his homework done.

I am never going to escape high school. sigh.

(Please do not think the irony of Scoble being the football player in my little 'play' is lost on me - it is not at all)

I'm checking out for a few weeks - see my schedule below

2008-08-07T11:23:00.001-05:00

Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!

"Yeah, I showed this to my daughter, and she just didn't get it"

2008-07-24T14:30:00.003-05:00

Alright - I am having a few issues with the embed code, but this video is fabulous...

oh, unhappy day...

2008-07-22T13:14:00.003-05:00

quite possibly my very favorite media contact ever is stepping down from his post

best of luck to him - but damn, so sad...

Hey Chicken Little, don't look now...

2008-07-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

That is just kind of Jackass, right?

2008-07-14T13:39:00.003-05:00

I don't know why the majority of the things that end up on morning news shows (local and national) are considered news. This is infuriating to me as a viewer, so I usually just don't watch. As a PR agent, it makes me flat balls-to-the-wall crazy. There is real news out there. Go cover that.

Love this video, though. Love the guy calling the reporter on his crappy journalism. Love just how pathetic the "on-the-ground coverage" is. But mostly, I love the shows producers, who obviously hate this douche bag as much as I now do - if they didn't, they would have pulled the cameras and shut it down as soon as it went south.

The times they are a changing...

2008-07-12T13:55:00.004-05:00

I still haven't completely decided where I am going with my blog - but in an effort to actually hit the same number of posts in 2008 that I did in 2007, I thought I would drop in a little note.

I did go back and read through a bunch of the stuff I wrote up here last year...on occasion, I think I might have actually said a few insightful things. I think it is mildly ironic that I started this blog right around the launch of the iPhone, and now the 3G is out and I am re-thinking the blog. Seems like the coverage and the excitement hasn't been as frenetic as it was for the first phone (thank god, cause it just pushes me right over the edge and I start flying off the handle at anyone I see carrying one).

I don't have any brilliant insights to share right now, so I am going to cheat and embed a video JT has up on LiveDigitally. My absolute favorite line is, "I'm Bluetoothing it - is that a verb?" Oh, how it will make LP's ears bleed.

http://view.break.com/530439 - Watch more free videos

starting over...

2008-07-07T12:27:00.001-05:00

Turns out, there are too many people out there blogging about blogging (and doing a much better job than I ever did) so I think I will refocus my blog (thus the new color). We will see what I chat about now...stay tuned.

Yeah, what Kyle said...

2008-04-10T22:14:00.003-05:00

HELP! I am drowning in the kool-aid

2008-03-31T22:32:00.000-05:00

I am on my way to the Bluetooth SIG All Hands Meeting in Phoenix, AZ. I have worked on/been involved with the AHM for the past four years, but I have never actually seen it first hand. I am looking forward to several rooms full of folks wearing, but not using Bluetooth headsets.

However, in my current running obsessed state, what I am really excited about is going for a little run in the land of the Ironman Arizona. I am just amazed that people compete in these races (it is 140 miles of biking, swiming and running, in case you didn't know). Anyway, a girl I have never met that runs with the same group in Austin I do has been trainging for this thing and I litterally cannot wait till race day (same day, kind of as Flora in London) where I will camp out in front of my computer and watch both her and Gilbert acomplish amazing things.

UPDATE: A surprising small number of headset-wearers-not-users.

UPDATE 2: It is insanely dry out here. Did a little four miler and my mouth was dry in about two minutes in. Texas may be hot, but at least there is some moisture.

Feed me, Seymour

2008-02-25T22:47:00.003-06:00

wow - this is absolutely fabulous. Scoble has a post up talking about how this will someday turn into twittering diapers. I have made no secret of the fact that I don't use twitter, I don't understand the need (or interest) in the tweet, but I can 100% get behind a plant and/or a diaper that twitters - genius, pure genius.

5957 to go...

2008-02-07T11:09:00.000-06:00

So Ryan, big dog over at Engadget, has a post on his personal blog that he hit 6000 posts and some 1.4 million words...this is incredible. As you can tell from my headline, I have a ways to go. He also mentioned that aspiring bloggers are pinging him a bit more lately (I am assuming looking for a job). Since Robert Scoble also, apparently, wants to work for Engadget, you have to figure it is a pretty good gig.

About two years ago Engadget had a call for submissions and I went back and forth on if I could work for them AND maintain any kind of credibility as a PR professional. I decided in the end no, so I never submitted. Right choice, btw - but, as Scoble points out, it certainly would be fun to travel the globe hunting down new technology for those guys. Anyway, 6000 posts is incredible.

I've been drinking the transparency kool-aid, clearly...

2008-01-14T14:49:00.001-06:00

I know I am a horrible blogger as I post my thoughts a week later, rather than twittering them as I have them - but oh well, right. Take me as I am.

Soooo...last week at the consumer electronics show I tried to swing by a press conference for a new wireless technology trying to make waves by bashing Bluetooth (I work with the Bluetooth SIG). I can't say anyone is really all that concerned about this 'competitor' - Rick Merrit announced they were dead in a roundabout way on Interconnects early last week - but I was intrigued to see what they had to say. Mostly, I was interested from a professional stand point - I am always curious to see where a company that develops messaging based on bashing their opponents goes from the initial splash - I was hoping this technology had something positive to say about themselves rather than just ripping on Bluetooth.

Sadly, I was denied entrance to their press conference. I suppose I have been living online too much lately in that I think transparency is key in everything you do, but I was shocked. I literally could not believe they wouldn't let a rep from the company they are tearing apart on their webpage and in press releases in to hear what they have to say - seems utterly ridiculous. Like calling names behind someones back and then hiding when they come to call you on it. I then asked if I could take a press kit, but the sour PR gate keeper said absolutely not. I pointed out that their press information is all online, and I could just download the information, and was told I could do whatever I wanted, but I wasn't getting the information from her.

I looked at the information online - seems like they didn't really have anywhere positive to go and they are just continuing with their 'better than Bluetooth' line. Sad really. If anyone from this technology (I just cannot give them more online coverage by mentioning their name, but if you are even mildly clever, you can crack the code) had come to ANY of the many SIG events at CES, we would have gladly chatted them up, let them have a press kit, pointed out why things at the Bluetooth camp are successful, and yeah, probably told them why we thought they would fail - but at least we would have had the balls to do it to their face. Transparency is key, not only in successful blogging, but also in not looking like a fool, apparently.

taking the blogosphere seriously...

2008-01-12T19:33:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned below, I sat on a panel at CES with the same title as this post. As I was perusing the web today, I came across this prank the Gizmodo guys pulled at the show. This is the number one reason why I hate bloggers - as a PR professional, I go out of my way to work with ANYONE who is interested in any of my clients - bloggers, analysts, journalist, regular joe-shmoes - anyone. My clients LOVE bloggers and spend excessive amounts of time and money trying to figure out how to best help them with their coverage - not trick them, not feed them messaging - but actually help them. And then one of them pulls something like this. If I were Motorola I would hunt down Brian Lam and give him a STERN talking to.

While the prank in itself is humorous, I suppose, it is disheartening to watch a representative from one of the largest tech blogs out there get into CES (after quite a bit of bitching in the years past about not being allowed in because they are just bloggers) and then pull this kind of shit. The good news for me is that as long as there are bloggers out there acting like this, there will be panels such as mine at CES.

Sitting in McCarren

2008-01-09T16:59:00.000-06:00

CES is over (for me) and now I have the rest of 2008 to recover and get ready for next year (although my performance was so stellar this year, I actually might not get invited back). This marks the first year I didn't have booth duty, so I spent the majority of the show staffing interviews, setting up at press events/parties or walking (if you can call the crawl with which show traffic moves walking) the show floor. Samsung and LG were really impressive. I remember a CTIA a couple years back where LG had a tiny little presence, and now their booth rivaled some of the other big dogs - very impressive.

I spoke at CES this year, sitting on a panel about taking the blogosphere seriously - not a huge turn out for the panel, but I actually really enjoyed the chat. Jerry of Jerry's Juice Bar (and fellow Longhorn) was on the panel along with Ryan Block (hmmm, what blog does he write for, I can't remember) and Pete with Buzz Metrics. I really enjoyed some of the other stories shared by panelists and I REALLY enjoy watching the way people react to Ryan Block. It is kind of like watching Walt walk through the Pep-Com event - people just go crazy and get a little star struck. Mostly I liked walking around the show with my speaker badge. Next year I might register as a blogger - perhaps every year I should try to have a different badge title.

Now I am waiting in the sports bar for my delayed flight considering a job move to an industry far removed from the world of consumer electronics...I'll let you know if I come up with anything interesting.

Things that make me cry...

2008-01-02T15:59:00.000-06:00

1. CES car/taxi/shuttle
2. CES schedules
3. CES speaking opps
4. CES

hmmmm, there appears to be a theme...

UPDATE:

5. Advancing slides

6. Engadget coverage reports

7. Cari wearing sunglasses and Jucy sweats

I have no idea...but I think they're after me...

2007-12-11T10:03:00.000-06:00

Oh how delightful...

'Leaning on Online Content' or 'When Numbers Make the Story more Interesting'

2007-11-19T16:31:00.000-06:00

As I have mentioned before, Mondays are set aside to read print publications. Lots of the weekly pubs are leaning on online content to support their print stories - driving print readers to the online sight (increasing unique visitors and therefore increasing ad revenue) and encouraging online readers to go buy the print version. For the most part, the online content is a collection of numbers, lists or research that clearly wouldn't fit in the print article, but is incredibly interesting all the same.

BusinessWeek had me checking out the cheapest places to raise kids (although I don't think I would move to a single city on the list) and how to save enough money to have kids (even with their advice, I don't think this is possible). But TIME has the amazing numbers - their cover story, 'One Day in America' is just interesting. How many Americans are happy at work? Print story reports that 9 out of 10 Americans are satisfied with their jobs - but the online story told me 39.5% of Public Relations Specialists are VERY Satisfied - and civil engineers are, in general happier in their jobs than the PR hacks - so Joc is happier than me. Utah consumes the least amount of beer (color me surprised) and D.C. drinks the most wine. The average commute in Austin is about 24 minutes (mine is, with a stop at Starbucks, 10 minutes tops) and that 20% of paying Gold's Gym members haven't been to the gym in the past 4 months. Last but not least, there is an 80% increase in risk of obesity among adolescents for each hour of sleep lost and 78% of people think sleep is a good alternative to cosmetic surgery. I am not sure how sleeping is going to increase my bust or fix the flab on my arms, but I will definitely give it a go. I will not be in the office tomorrow, I will be sleeping.

Anyway, it is nice to see online media and print publications work together and play nice (that sentence right there is what makes this blog post about social media).

delightful...

2007-11-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

What will they think of next? I was pretty pumped to see the secure simple pairing that utilizes Bluetooth and NFC, just because it is neat - but this takes it to a whole new level. Mostly, I love the fact that they simulate a 'real life attack'. I know most Bluetooth hacking threats are completely over hyped, but this one seems ridiculous. I am assuming this means in the real world someone would see you trying to pair your phone with your headset and then would stand within the 30 foot range and try to mimic your shaking? Fabulous.

I am probably on my way to becoming...

2007-11-12T15:05:00.000-06:00

All I have to say is...

2007-11-08T19:21:00.000-06:00

I'm not on the list. And I am sorry I have been away - I am gathering material and I will be back sharing my expert (yep, that is right, I said expert - CES thinks so too) opinions on the blogosphere and social media.

lalalalalalalalalala - I can't hear you...

2007-10-16T12:20:00.000-05:00

I have had it with Facebook. I seriously have. First of all, poking is weird. Flat out weird. It is an incredibly invasive adjective to use in order to get someones attention. It is kind of like on IM when someone uses the 'buzz' function. It is just creepy. A friend of mine, MP, says that poking is perfectly acceptable - but she likes Facebook and cultivates 'friends' - I have all of 9 friends and Robert Scoble is one of them, so really only 8 -- that is definitely all the effort I can extend to Facebook. The thing that kills me about Facebook is all the media coverage. Everyday there is another article out about how it is the 'adult' Myspace, or how companies can use Facebook to increase ROI or, my favorite (and what spurred this post) the Marketing Profs email newsletter promoting 'How to Reach Facebook's Millions of Members in 9 Easy Steps.' Is this coverage coming from some stellar PR team behind Facebook encouraging these stories, or is it just that the media has latched on to this the way they do so many other stories and they are planing to beat it into the ground? Regardless of where the stories are coming from, they are starting to make my ears bleed. So can we all agree that Facebook is cool, no one is really sure how to use it yet, and yes, 'friends' is a subjective term, and social networking surely is an incredible tool, blah, blah, blah and cover something else? DAMN IT - I just covered Facebook. It is like the freaking plague.

Is it one of the eight wonders? I think so...

2007-10-10T22:31:00.001-05:00

I am flying out to San Francisco (San Jose, really) for a Blogger party the Bluetooth SIG is hosting with Engadget tonight and some analyst meetings tomorrow. Being a bit of blogger stalker, this should be a pretty fun evening for me. I might finally get to meet Peter Rojas (I always miss him somehow). I will post pictures if I see anything cool (I think I might have actually remembered my camera…I never remember my camera).

Anyway, from my vantage point of 30k feet up, I just saw the Grand Canyon. It is pretty spectacular. It is exceptionally clear (the pilot just informed us if we looked hard we could see Vegas – I don’t believe him, but whatever) and you can really see just how massive the canyon is, the edges look as if they are carved with a jigsaw, and then, in the very center of each chasm is a tiny line (I am assuming the river, stream, whatever that actually carved the canyons)…absolutely incredible. For my friends who are reading this, get ready – I will be planning a rafting/camping expedition as soon as I have Wi-Fi again.

Back to spider solitaire…

UPDATE: Okay, the event was definitely bigger than we expected, lines around the building, with over 1000 people showing up. Until I add pictures, you can see Engadget's write-up (and see reader images here).

You say hello, they say goodbye...

2007-09-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

I stumbled into a career in public relations…it says so right in my bio on the INK web page. It is, without a doubt, a job I have developed quite a taste for in the past 3 years or so, but it definitely wasn’t a calling I felt since high school. Regardless, there are things about public relations that I immensely enjoy. In the last year, my interest has focused on trying to understand the blogosphere and trends in digital media. I love blogs. I love digital media. I am delighted everyday by the endless opinions that can be found on the web, as well as the often un-monitored feedback from readers. I am appalled and thrilled to realize I can consider myself part of the melee – and I can honestly say very few things now make me as happy as seeing a new comment on something I have written (seriously, every single person I know heard about B.Fuller leaving a comment - I think I even told random people I met in the grocery store). However, my new love is killing my original public relations love affair. From my first interview with J.Berman (when he was at EDN), to P.Mannion at EE Times ‘expecting’ my call, to L.Wirbel telling me ‘the truth about his ‘sked’ at CTIA’ – I have followed, read, respected and pitched the hell out of a group of journalists I affectionately refer to as my ‘EE guys’. I cannot wipe the smile off my face when I discuss Bluetooth, or any other technology for that matter, with these guys and they seem to, sometimes grudgingly, acknowledge that I do know what I am talking about. Unfortunately, my ‘EE guys’ are slowly being knocked off by the uproar from digital media – discussed at length here by b.fuller himself (read the comments too).

Blogosphere, you make it hard to love you…

Here a widget, there a widget...everywhere a widget, widget

2007-09-16T22:09:00.000-05:00

I don't even really know if that is what they are called, but I am delighted by widgets (the 'copy me' coding that allows me to add all sorts of nonsense to my blog, myspace page, face book, etc.). If you will notice, I now have a NikePlus widget in the lower left corner of my blog - it is a new challenge, so nothing going on yet, but pretty cool all the same (I always lose, so don't get too excited). Nike has the option set up all throughout NikeRun...you just click the 'copy code' button and you are ready to add the HTML code onto whatever page you wish.

I was watching the Emmy's tonight and noticed a commercial for coffee that directed you to go to www.wakeupspecial.com - which I did, and the next thing you know, I have signed up for a free sample of some creme brulee coffee. The coffee isn't really all that exciting. What IS exciting, is that I noticed that at the end of the little form I had to fill out for my free coffee, there was a little widget code - just waiting for me to advertise for Folgers and throw it up on my blog (of course, I didn't add it to my blog at the time, and now I can't get back to it, but still) - absolutely brilliant.

Now then, here is what I need - I need a widget that is some sort of image/icon/whatever that says 'Register here to win Longhorn 2007 Bowl Tickets' with a link back to the registration page on www.bluetooth.com/longhorns. Get to work.

No, I do not want any Quechup...

2007-09-11T17:24:00.000-05:00

Dwight Silverman said it best in his blog here and here, but Quechup really sucks. If you get an email from me inviting you to join, I highly suggest you delete it immediately.

Texas, Texas...Yee Haw!

2007-09-04T10:15:00.001-05:00

Two and a half years in the making the Bluetooth SIG has launched a sponsorship agreement with the University of Texas and Longhorn Football. The sponsorship contains two elements: 1) Push Marketing with in the stadium (Kiosks push out Longhorn content as well as a code to register for a chance to win 2007 Bowl Tickets where ever the Longhorns play) and 2) http://www.texassports.com/ and http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/ are both enabled with TransSend (a Bluetooth SIG developed web application allowing users to send content directly from their Bluetooth enabled laptop or PC to a Bluetooth enabled phone).

The overarching goal of this program is to educate consumers on new, and perhaps unexpected, use-cases for Bluetooth wireless technology. But MY overarching goal is to see the Horns go to the Sugar Bowl and hand-off free tickets to the winning Longhorn fan. So go to www.Bluetooth.com/longhorns and register to win.

HORNS UP!

Gone to Texas...

2007-08-29T15:21:00.001-05:00

WHAT STARTS HERE CHANGES THE WORLD

claiming my blog on technorati

2007-08-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

I probably should have done this a while ago.
Technorati Profile

In a world gone mad...

2007-08-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

I love print magazines. Love them, love them, love them. I spend a large portion of my day on Monday reading through the vast array of print magazines we subscribe to. It is interesting to note that some of the folks in Iowa are warming up to Giuliani, but others find his three marriages to be a problem and that 'several decades of sexual liberation and feminism and a decade of Internet dating' has led to the demise of the romantic movie (TIME). I am glad to see that Max Levchin isn't going to just stop working after selling Paypal for 1.5 billion in 2002, oh no, he is working on a way to make money off of the Widget (which, btw, my mother just asked me what the hell a widget is and if she needs them - I told her no, sorry Max) and I am sad to see that only about 60% of the population in New Orleans proper has returned since Katrina (FORTUNE). A friend of mine, 30 years old and HUGE fan of High School Musical, would have loved to find out 'Why do kids love Zac Efron?' and my younger sister was very interested in 'how schools are failing our smartest kids' - she is pretty smart and she doesn't feel as if she has been failed (TIME, again). BusinessWeek is focused on the 'Future of Work' and has poll results that are fabulously interesting. Fortune Small Business is in love with Babson University (came in tops on most of their 'America's Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs' lists). Fast Company covers how green Wal-Mart really is and the 16 year old CEO of WhateverLife.com, who makes me jealous (she is worth a LOT of money) and sad (she dropped out of high school) at the same time.

In a world obsessed with online coverage, blogs and INSTANT news, I think there is still a place for the print magazine. And while it is sad to see them fail (Business2.0) or get progressively smaller and shorter (Red Herring, TIME), reading the ones we get is the highlight of my Monday, every week.

Twitter, I hardly knew ya...

2007-08-17T10:47:00.000-05:00

Well, in all honestly, I don't know you at all. I don't understand twitter's appeal, and with a new social media (new media, social networking, etc.) tool introduced every 2.5 hours or so, you have to pick and choose - and I decided no twitter. I think this was a pretty good decision because I keep hearing people say they have found the 'next' twitter or a 'better' twitter. However, others have embraced it full heartily - and I have two examples of how it has hampered rather than enhanced their online experience. First, on Tuesday, Robert Scoble announced he was taking some time off blogging because, among other reasons, he went to review his twitter account and realized the content he was pushing out was 'angry, confrontational, disturbed, hurt, dismayed' and he wants to make the world a better place, not compete in the adolescent toned playground that has become tech blogging. Good for Scoble - of course, I am a little sad, cause I read him fairly regularly, but still, good for him.

The next example is an oldy but a goody. Back in April Steve Rubel of Edleman (much better blogger than I) twittered that he always throws away his free subscription to PC Mag, thus pissing off Jim Louderback and in the end, having to apologize on his own blog. Probably not the best week for Steve.

I think twitter is like the writing on the bathroom stall walls at a truck stop. And while it will probably be around for a while yet, I am fairly positive some other social media company will come along and throw a layer of kilz on the one sentence ramblings of twitter. And another one bites the dust.

UPDATE: Scoble's article in Fast Company this month discusses Twitter and how it is going to take over the world. Hmmm, how ironic.

UPDATE 2: Scoble is already blogging again. I guess he didn't mean it (which is a shame) - he better watch out or he will become the boy who cried wolf. And we all know what happened to him. People TOTALLY stopped reading his blog.

You got served, sucka...

2007-08-16T09:18:00.000-05:00

I kind of need this little yellow dancing robot. I have a birthday coming up, and seriously, I would be pretty ecstatic if I had one of these guys sitting on my desk. Mostly because he is just so damn cute when he stops dancing and looks around for you. As Engadget noted, you have to stick it out to the end when he throws down with the other robots.

My husband and I are not an ‘official couple’…

2007-08-07T09:34:00.000-05:00

I was just ranting to Cari about some of the tripe they show on the morning shows under the guise of news when an email pops up in my inbox from my sister pointing me to an article in the WSJ. Apparently, this is front page news for the WALL STREET JOURNAL (front page of the Pursuits section, but still). Are you freaking kidding me? First of all, if my iPod can cause a rift in my marriage, I am going to have to assume we were probably already headed down the divorce super highway, musical taste aside. Second, if all I needed was validation from a dime-a-dozen gmail account to feel I was ‘officially’ part of a couple, I could have saved my parents, his parents and ourselves a lot of money and time with the wedding planning. Seriously, you have to be kidding me. And how about the guy who gets up early in the morning to change the NetFlix queue in order to secretly get the movies he wants? How about you just say, ‘Wife, I appreciate you want to watch Sleepless in Seattle, and I am totally all for that, but do you think we could also add Attack of the Clones in there as well?’ – I mean, unless you are married to an absolute shrew (and a crazy OCD NetFlix freak) I would imagine this problem is solved. And it certainly doesn’t merit an article in the WSJ.

Not to get on a soap box about relationships, but seriously, no wonder the divorce rate is so high – if this kind of shit is really causing problems in marriages throughout the US, then I really don’t think gay marriage is what is threatening the ‘American Family’. Apparently, the real threat is not knowing how to build a new play list for your iTunes – WAY TO GO STEVE JOBS - Not only did you cripple Bluetooth on your jesus phone, but your interface is destroying marriages – how do you sleep at night?

to say this makes me sad is an understatement...

2007-08-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

The New York Times unmasked Fake Steve Jobs. They suck.

“A blog is an organism – you created this thing, then you starved it, and so now it has turned against you…”

2007-08-03T17:44:00.000-05:00

I like how I can relate anything back to my blog. For example, the above is a quote from something with just one little word change (whoever guesses correctly wins a prize). I feel like I have been starving my blog, and I really don’t want it to turn against me, but honestly, work has really been crazy. Anyway, I am a bit intrigued to see if anyone knows what the quote is from…I don’t know if it is a famous quote or if it is just something I picked up on. Also, I am mildly interested in finding out if I still have readers.

Crazy in the corner has a part in the show...

2007-07-27T11:19:00.000-05:00

Oh my faithful, I am so sorry I have been away. If you feel as if I have deserted you, please do not despair, I am always thinking of you – even if I am not posting. So, I was in NYC last week (I’m kind of a big deal – video link coming soon) and then I have spent the majority of this weekend outfitting Darrell K. with Bluetooth, so I am a little swamped. I should have my head above water early next week and I will be able to start posting regularly again.

Just a little story to tide you over: In NYC this past weekend my sister, her boyfriend and I went to the Village Vanguard to watch the Barry Harris trio play. Very enjoyable and a pretty eclectic audience, so interesting people watching as well. Andrew later pointed out there appeared to be a large Scandinavian representation in the audience. I didn’t notice this because I was too delighted by, what appeared to be, an incredibly eccentric groupie sitting right up front. Decked out in her Sunday best and I believe wearing every necklace she had ever owned in her life, she sat next to the stage, eyes closed, nodding in appreciation and smiling quite blissfully. When Barry opted to take the mike and sing rather than play the piano, her face quite literally became flush with excitement and sure enough, her lead group status was confirmed when Barry paused in the song for her to tweet like a bird (a nice accent to his rendition of Embraceable You). Anyway, the trio was great, the young 10 year old they brought on to play the drums was amazing (if a bit heavy handed) and the Village Vanguard was fabulously old and authentic – but the highlight of the show was definitely the bejeweled, crazy-hair (did I mention the crazy hair part?) groupie.

Hello, kitty...

2007-07-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

Engadget has a post up about a new Hello Kitty branded emergency gadget, and I love it. I have a lot of silly gadgets, and my favorite is still my Hello Kitty Bluetooth headset. It came with its own ridiculous carrying case with a mirror inside - it looks like an adorable little jewelry box. It is fabulous. There is no real point to this post, aside from the fact that Hello Kitty makes me smile.

Jenny told me to do it...

2007-07-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

So, I had my first experience with 'bullying' in the blogosphere. Without getting into the details, I am a bit ashamed to say that I am the mean kid on the playground and I took some kid’s lunch money. The anonymity of the blogs and the internet, in general, lends itself to creating bullies. But it also allows people who would not normally be bullies to stand up for themselves (I know I don’t fall into this category, but whatever). In the case of my little ‘mean kids’ moment, I was definitely picking at someone who had started it – with other people, not me, but again, work with me. Seriously, how often can you poke someone with a stick with complete safety? And for businesses, publications, retail sites, does the anonymity of the internet allow for more honest feedback? It is like the blogosphere is a giant comments box where you don’t have to be worried about being outed by your handwriting. I am not saying I am going for anonymity – I am on the full disclosure bandwagon – but that isn’t to say it doesn’t serve its purpose. Look at Fake Steve Jobs. I don’t know who he is. He could be a 26-year old college drop out living in his mother’s basement, but I still like his commentary - I think he is relevant and funny. Would I think he was relevant if I knew he was a college drop out living in his mother’s basement? Probably not. And people can post all over about the horrible experience they had with X (enter whatever here - retail store, hotel chain, ex-boyfriend, etc.) without fear of retribution – thus the beauty of anonymity on the web. Well, that and I can harass crazy people.

Also, as a little aside, as more and more journalists jump ship from their mother publications (alright, some of them are being asked, nicely, to walk the plank) and starting, or dedicating more time to, their own personal blogs, the average blog reader is getting quite a treat. I know he doesn’t need (or probably even want my recommendation) but everyone in my office should be reading Brian Fuller’s blog, Greeley’s Ghost. It is incredibly interesting.

oh sweet jesus...

2007-07-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

reason number 5,982 social media is NOT over-rated...

Also, I know I am woefully behind - but pretty sweet embedded youtube link, huh? I am a regular blogging maven, aren't I?

uh-oh...

2007-07-09T17:51:00.001-05:00

So, this fascinating article discusses the importance of 'a well thought out article' vs. a 'shallow blog posting' and why the first is a better option.

Just so we are all on the same page, I am pretty sure my content will always fall into the later category.

My blood is on your hands, Hernandez...

2007-07-09T15:29:00.000-05:00

For a brief, shining moment this weekend I thought I had a reader. A real, live, non-friend-who-has-to-read-this-lest-I-scream-at-them reader. I spent a few glorious days convinced I was suddenly a REAL and TRUE blogger. I was certain any second my rank would improve on technorati, someone would trackback to one of my 8 witty posts and the Fake Steve Jobs would call me up and we would have a chuckle at all the other fake bloggers.

Turns out it was just one of my clever friends pretending to be a real reader.

If you will excuse me, I will be in my office trying to figure out a way to hang myself with my shoelaces.

Rush

2007-07-03T09:18:00.000-05:00

I have a tendency to get a little OCD – I find one thing and I focus on it and beat it into submission in my head and then I lose interest in it (this is also known as stages 1 and 2 of blogging). Of course I am not abandoning my blog just yet – that would literally make me the saddest and most pathetic of all bloggers. Nope, I am sticking it out for the long haul – or at least the end of the summer.

Anyway, my focused nature tends to make me forget there are other things out there. Like with the techie blogs. I just assume the majority of bloggers are talking about technology. I mean, I know there are VCs that blog, C-level execs at CE and Silicon companies that blog, pundits, journalists, want-to-be journalists and then just straight up fanatics that blog. But for some reason, I really do think the majority of what is out there is humor, politics or technology. Turns out there are blogs for everything – quilting, infertility, new-moms, old-moms, preacher’s wives, etc., etc., etc. The internet has become the biggest Pan-Hellenic system in the world. I have already pledged – or at least made my top pick, cause I really want to go Kappa Delta Nerd, but I haven’t been invited yet, so we will see how it goes. I am a legacy with the nurses (my mom was a nurse) and my dad is all over health care, so I could probably pull a legacy acceptance there as well, but I am holding out for an invitation to the ΚΔÈ - I think the first couple of weeks of blogging are like initiation – and if you stick it out, gain a few readers, maybe a trackback from one of the senior members, then you are accepted.

In honor of the 4th and the bizarre hazing process of the blogosphere, I think I will blindfold myself, sit in a dark room, take shots of 151 and recite the Greek alphabet. Then I will post drunken comments on some of those senior members’ blogs – it is gonna be a hell of a week.

Seven posts does not a blogger make

2007-07-01T18:01:00.000-05:00

So I have spent a week and a half playing ‘blogger’ – there are things I definitely like and then there are the things that make me a little crazy. The positive ones first…I am delighted that I am suddenly involved in the blogosphere (that’s right, I even know how to spell it now), sharing my opinion (even if it is only with a couple of you) and, most of all, really taking an interest in all the other blogs on my ‘must read list’. If I hadn’t started this mildly insane endeavor, I wouldn’t have been able to watch Robert Scoble stand in line for his iPhone (which is mostly just endearing because the next day he went to Target to buy a new pair of jeans – who, I ask you, has a $600 dollar phone and a $15 pair of jeans?), I wouldn’t have read Jeremy Toeman’s post about amount of productivity the iPhone sucked out of the American market and been jealous that I didn’t think to calculate that first, and I wouldn’t been exposed to the hundreds of first hand pictures of the iPhone launch, allowing me to live the dream – even though I never really had the dream.

The things that makes me crazy?
A) iPhone coverage
B) how obsessed I am with posting
C) iPhone coverage
D) how obsessed I am with comments (the answer to this is, apparently, offer to give an iPhone away)
E) Freaking iPhone coverage

Although, I am excited to see the 'why would you do that to Bluetooth' posts starting to crop up.

What the hey, Stevie? You got a problem with the ‘tooth?

2007-06-28T14:39:00.000-05:00

In the interest of full disclosure, transparency and all the other buzz words that are almost as annoying as blogsphere, I work for a PR firm and we represent the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. I am, without a doubt, biased. I have been working on the Bluetooth SIG account for over three years and I have a huge soft-spot in my heart for the short-range wireless technology.

Seriously, Mr. Jobs, what is your deal with Bluetooth? I know there are all sorts of arguments for why you DON’T include Bluetooth wireless technology in your devices (for those of you who don’t follow this, they range from ‘the white wire is as much a part of the iPod brand as the apple’ to ‘Bluetooth would drain the battery’) but I just don’t get it with the iPhone. I do not understand. You did implement Bluetooth – well done there. But then you pulled a Verizon and crippled the hell out of it – what gives? I suppose the majority of the people that buy the iPhone won’t be concerned with the lack of object push or printing profile, but come on – A2DP? Seriously, what gives? No one cares about the silly white wire, Bluetooth’s battery consumption lessens with every new introduction of the spec and really, everyone wants to wear an O ROKR (well, maybe not, but I love mine), and come on – IT IS A MUSIC PHONE! What are you doing? I just don’t understand. And what makes it even more frustrating is you do such a fabulous job implementing the technology into your notebooks. I am just so confused. I have been telling people for weeks, “Surely it will support A2DP – I mean, how could it not? It is a $500 phone.” But apparently I know absolutely nothing.

Why Mike Arrington is fly and I am not

2007-06-27T15:55:00.000-05:00

a) I link back and discover things way too late. The blogsphere (seriously - shoot me) has moved on and yet here I am harping on why fighting isn't conducive to a happy blogging family and linking to week old articles.

b) If I could sell my blog "for 20 million and go live in Hawaii the rest of my life," there is absolutely nothing that could possibly motivate me not to do so immediately. I guess this is why, this is why, this why M.A. is hot.

UPDATE - There are, apparently, many other reasons why I am not hot (hot, in this case, referencing a good blogger)

c) write out Mike Arrington rather than saying M.A.
d) clearly explain it is important for my readers (the many thousands of you) to read the link prior to reading on in my post
e) I need to be more blatant in my mockery of hip-hop music

Jeez - stop telling me what to do

2007-06-27T11:27:00.000-05:00

Newsweek has a list of 181 things I need to know now (print and online - the online version sucks a bit). They also have a quiz to test my global IQ - turns out I am a global idiot. I have a bit of a bone to pick with the quiz though, cause I am fairly certain I don't need to know which presidential candidate is the richest. I know they all have more money than me - the rest is just details. I also don't have time to take a 130 question quiz. Well, I have time, but if I don't get a question right every other one or so, my motivation is going to go out the window. Newsweek, stop trying to make me feel stupid so I will religiously read your publication as to not feel stupid anymore. It is mean spirited.

Not to be outdone, PC World has a list of the 100 best blogs. Now, they aren't going so far as to say you need to read all of them, but it is certainly implied. First off, I am not on the list - and that kind of pisses me off (not a lot, cause I understand, but come on - I have been doing this for a week, when does the recognition start?). Second, the list included GeekSugar, which bills itself as a home for tech savvy young women - I would consider myself a tech savvy young woman and the, I don't know, five minutes I spent on the site literally made my skin crawl - so I don't think it would be a home for me (Cari, the one with the curly hair above, validated my reaction by making a face when I mentioned them). PC World, stop telling me what I have to read - it is too much.

Besides, if I spent all my time reading Newsweek and perusing all 100 blogs PC World likes, I never would have had time to read about Takeru Kobayashi's arthritic jaw. Damnit, I know an important story when I see it.

If you give them enough rope...

2007-06-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple of months, I have been kind of tracking how things move over blogs or through the blogsphere. Btw, I decided I hate the term blogsphere, but as it turns out, if you are writing a blog about blogging, well, I am screwed. So anyway, my interest was peaked with the Kathy Sierra/Chris Locke/death threats incident - I literally couldn't get enough. I read hundreds of blog posts ranting, raving, supporting and bashing the entire affair. And they all popped up in about 24 hours.

A couple weeks back I became obsessed with the Vimeo kids, the crazies in NYC who invented (I think) a thing called lip-dubbing, all because Mike Arrington thought they were clever and mentioned them on CrunchNotes. Anyway, I kept an eye on this one from the very beginning and sure enough, within a day or so of Mike's post, the ‘flag pole sitta’ video was everywhere. So, my point is, things move fast when they catch fire in the blogsphere (ick).

However, the thing most likely to ignite these days is the ridiculous fights. As of right now, Fred Wilson is fighting two different blog wars (one because he said something about entrepreneurs usually being young and another because Microsoft put out some ads that, apparently, Valleywag wasn't capable of discerning as ads). Of course, Valleywag didn't just take on Fred, they involved Om Malik who apologized and took down the ads, then CNet and their merry band of bloggers jumped on the argument and now Mike Arrington is all kinds of pissed.

It just makes me wonder, if we give them enough rope, do you think they will hang each other?

All the cool kids have iDildos

2007-06-25T16:38:00.000-05:00

On occasion, I find that I absolutely love my job and my connection to the silly, silly world of consumer electronics. I love that it is fully acceptable (and even expected) for me to spend a portion of my day reading the plethora of techy blogs and online coverage of a certain wireless technology. I love that the blogsphere is open, and people can comment on this coverage with their ever insightful (and often extremely educated) feedback. And most of all, I love the girl who posted the captured comment on engadget.

Where on earth do I go to get an iDildo?

Chris Locke and Brad Pitt

2007-06-24T22:05:00.000-05:00

As I tumble down the rabbit hole of blogging (I’m not sure one post qualifies as a tumble, but whatever), I have gathered about me the blogging bibles (starting with Cluetrain, but kind of reading Naked Conversations concurrently) in an effort to better understand exactly what it is I am getting myself involved in. I have to say I really like Chris Locke. I am not 100% sure I agree with the idea that blogs are allowing real conversation as opposed to just broadcasting company messaging – sure, they are changing the tone of the conversation and the way the message is coming across, but the messaging is still there – and it is still all about sales. Even as I write this blog, I do my best to make it interesting – selling myself, if you will – to recruit readers. Regardless, I like Chris – he has quite a snarky tone to his writing and I am a big fan of snarky. I am also a big fan of my sister-in-law. Jocelyn is a civil engineer, well-educated, fairly tech-savvy girl – she also happens to know her way around a snarky comment. However, the thing I like most about her is that as I told her about my week and mentioned my new blog and the books I am reading, she said, “Chris who? I’ve never even heard of ‘Cluetrain Manifesto’, what the hell is that? OH – did you see that Brad Pitt compared Angelina Jolie to Churchill – what an idiot.”

It is always nice to get some outside perspective on the thing you are obsessing over.

enter with a wimper...

2007-06-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

The blogsphere gives me a headache - mostly because in my line of work (public relations - I know, I know) clients are always asking me how to get coverage in blogs, and while I have a few good suggestions, over and over again I am told by those who blog that the only way to understand the blogsphere is to become part of it - so here I am. After years of lurking, I am casting my own line into the blog sea. You win, blogs - you win. Way to claim another victim.