Here’s the deal. I recently attended this awesome conference and that means I had to be really busy and engaged all day. See fig. 1

fig. 1

Okay, so by “really busy and engaged all day”, what I really meant to say was “being totally bad ass with my computer.” See fig 2.

fig. 2

Okay, clearly I had to call myself out was doing some work briefly during the conference. (For real, ya’all).

Anyway, back to the shoes. The conference has given me the excuse reason to be on TweetDeck all day to follow the post-conference conversation on Twitter (#GrowSmartBiz).

This evening I was messing around on Twitter because I was doing research on the hashtag for what has become the coolest blog post ever.

While I was on Twitter, I stumbled upon the most ridiculous link to the most ridiculous shoes I’ve ever seen. And that beats the whole ‘Chinese Foot Bondage’ thing that makes me cringe –I’ll spare you by not posting a picture of it, but feel free to look here if you absolutely need to see it for yourself.

So here’s the link to *the most ridiculous shoes I’ve ever seen.*

And here are some highlights from the post:

No comment.

Ow.

Whaa?

No foolin’, Ya’all.

**Also, feel free to check out this pic of  @cardcat (left) @maddiegrant (center) and I [@meganmcq] (right) if you’re in the mood for a laugh.**

Today, I met with a professor to chat about a paper and why I got a not so favorable grade on it. During our meeting he was really pissing me off. I mean who likes hearing about the ways we need to improve?  Didn’t he get the memo that everything I do is perfect and I always deserve A’s and that maybe his other students have to work hard but not me because I’m special? Hmm, so weird. I guess that got lost in the shuffle. Anyway, at one point the conversation literally went like this:

Him: You seem angry. Are you angry at me?

Me: No, not at all (fake smile, this is a complete lie)

Him: Are you sure? Do you want to punch me in the face? Go ahead, Sarah, hit me in the face.

Me: (uncomfortable laugh) That’s okay, I’m really not that angry.

Him: Do it. Come on. I know you want to.

Me: No really, it’s okay.

Weird, right? 

I feel challenged but not overwhelmed. I love that it’s three times the size as my other college (which doesn’t say much. Here it’s only 6000 undergrad). But most of all, I LOVE that I can sit outside in the sunshine all day long. Do my homework outside. Type on my computer outside (the campus is wireless). I love how warm it is in California.

I used to be a normal college student. I had my best friends, I was 18 and a freshman, I took a full course load and partied on the weekends (kind of. I’ve never been a good partier). But for the most part, I did the college deal.  I  lived in a dorm. I went on hikes with the mountain club and rode on the riding team. I said “Hi!” to every other person I saw walking around campus because I knew everyone.

Normal. For small liberal arts schools, that is.

This time though, at Chapman, I am not normal. I am a communter. I live 25 minutes from school. I know about 6 people on this entire campus (though I’m starting to recognize faces) I’m 22 and a senior…

And at first, all this was terrifying. I longed for normalcy–to be in a sorrority, to have a set group of girlfirends, to party the way I thought I should on the weekends…

But slowly, I’m realizing that I like it this way. 

You’re probably wondering: “What’s so great about being an anonymous person and not partying on the weekends and being 22 and still in school?” 

Well, at Chapman I have this new freedom to relax. I don’t know you so I don’t have to stop and chat and small talk.

Here, I don’t care what Joe Shmo did this last weekend when he threw up and made out with blah blah blah blah

I am actually focusing on my schoolwork now. Well, kind of…but more than before. 

For today, school is cool. 

And this is what it looks like big:

sexy right?

Megan and I…we are going to TAKE THIS BLOG TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!!!

Slash, I need to find a 50 x 50 google image of a shoe.

But after that, WE ARE GOING TO TAKE THIS BLOG TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!!

So…who am I? Well, aside from being Megan’s cousin, I’m just, like, a chick…I live in California…and I don’t surf and I don’t have blonde hair or carry around my dog in my purse. But I own one designer bag– does that count?

Cool so this is a good start. It’s going to be a beautiful relationship with you beautiful blog-readers.

Onto finding the perfect shoe!!

xoxo,

S

(PS I will only blog in pink. Because pink rocks)

So here’s why I’m also amused. Earlier this week I was conducting some research on Facebook for a client. Right after I signed on, I noticed I was logged in to Chat (an integrated instant messaging platform on Facebook). So I move my mouse to sign out and that’s where I saw it.

I’m sorry. I’m having trouble reading that. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

BAM!

Dost my eyes deceive me? No. That’s Stephan Pastis, Creator of the most amazing comic known to (wo)mankind.

Also, author of an amusing blog that parallels the comic strip.

All I’m trying to say is, my obsession admiration for Stephan now knows no bounds. And that all should be warned that Facebook privacy settings should be monitored and set to deter stalkers admirers from having potentially immediate contact.

So the other day I was driving to a client meeting and I was listening to the radio because I have a guilty pleasure of talk radio in the morning wanted to hear the news. During the commercials, I happened to catch a new Bud Light commercial that made me laugh out loud so that people in the cars next to me thought I was crazy I decided to share.

The “Real Men of Genius” commercial series promoting Bud Light are hilarious. The commercials are a faux-inspirational speech, complete with deep baritone narrator and tenor soul singer as back-up vocals that accentuate the mocking narrative.

My favorite motif includes the “cheers” to “Mr. Tee-Shirt-Launcher-Inventor” who will “give you the shirt off [his] back, at 180 feet per second.” He “Makes every section, a nosebleed section. [HIT THE DECK!]“

Okay, I don’t do it justice. Thus, listen to the whole thing below.

This commercial makes me wish Bud Light was a quality beer so I could purchase it to support the production of more “Real Men of Genius” commercials.  Oh well.

Regardless, there are Web sites who have archived several of the commercials I have not heard. It should keep me amused for awhile.

Enjoy!

Shoe: Concert Shoe. Note:Yes I know this is a man’s shoe. All will reveal itself as you read.

Last week, I had coffee iced tea with Tim, a dear friend of mine. We were discussing his recent venture in Colorado, eight-week long music festival for some of the most talented musicians in the country.

One of the reasons he was so inclined to pursue this program was for the networking opportunity it would offer him. These musicians will become some of the most influential in their industry, and having such an intense program for these promising individuals will help them form the basis for many of their future job leads.

This festival fostered authentic interpersonal relationships between members in the same industry.

(Here’s the part where I make the connection between coffee iced tea and social media):

…So this conversation gets me thinking about social media. I personally am of the framework that social media is meant to enhance the capability for interpersonal interaction, not replace it. Tim has laid the groundwork for use of social media. He was telling me how since the orchestra festival had concluded, everyone has been befriending each other on Facebook and writing on each other’s Facebook walls.

I just wanted to give Tim a standing ovation for this perfect demonstration of the correct way to conduct social media relationship building. Of course, I recognize that there are some difficulties (i.e., propinquity), that surround having ‘real-life’ interpersonal interactions. Life is not without its complications.

But here’s why I’m applauding Tim. Companies need to look to his example and recreate these gold standards with our constituencies when building our networks:

1. Being Authentic: Tim’s NBF’s (new best friends) were formed through a genuine passion for the music industry. They were all true to their roots and passions and by being true to oneself, we can better surround ourselves with those who have similar passions.

2. Storytelling: Imagine as if you’re conversing with your friends. You’re not *selling* what you do, you’re *telling* what you do. Communicating your story should enhance your audience’s perception of your personality alongside your knowledge about your profession. Just communicating with your audience, you will humanize your personal brand and become more respected and valued by your constituency.

3. Interpersonal relationships: If you want to use social media, use the tools to enhance the relationships you already have and foster genuine connections with new people.

4. Eliminating the “we/they” dichotomy: If you’re genuinely interacting with people, you are able to drop the “preaching” element of your story, and it’s an easier story to tell. What your network says to you should be as important (if not more important) as what you communicate to them. Ideally, you would want to respond and engage in open dialogue.

Ultimately, this list has one overarching theme: being true to oneself.

1.) To be authentic and 2) engage people via storytelling that 3) builds interpersonal relationships that 4) eliminate the we/they dichotomy, we must not lay an idea of who we want to be on top of our pre-existing personalities, we must live who we are.

Tim, congratulations on pursuing a field that embodies your true personality. You’re bound to reach your dreams by following what it is you are passionate about.

So I just got back from my fist time playing volleyball in about a month due to a few injuries.

While I was playing this evening, I became aware that I am not as quick as I used to be, even in comparison to just a few years ago. I can’t do the cool things I once could (i.e., pancake/roll–see below), but this could be because I don’t play every day for 2 hours a day year-round. I also have to play with contacts now. Ouch.

In fact, I’m only approved to play once a week less any additional injury. (It’s a good thing I think the number “3” is the number “1”—let’s keep that between you and me).

For me, this realization that ‘every day we’re getting older’ was a ‘carpe diem’ moment. I didn’t touch a ball for about four years but I’m glad I’m back on the court for as much as I am able to be. (This was a shameless plug for insisting that you follow your dreams, no matter how far-fetched you may imagine them to be, bla bla, etc. I’ve found I’m typically my own worst road block.)

On another note, the best part of this evening was getting to break in my new pair of NikeID Shox. They are actually supposed to be running shoes but I need to break them in slowly, and I think my actual court shoes may not be supportive enough for my broken foot.

Despite a few moral issues I may have with Nike, I have to tell you I like Shox. I also think that Nike made an amazingly brilliant decision to allow for personalization of various shoes. With their NikeID Web site, I can customize virtually every element of a variety of different shoes. From the ‘shox’ color to the color of my shoe laces–I even had the left heel personalized with my first name and the right heel with my last name. Pretty neat, huh?

In social media marketing, there’s a high debate that’s questioning the best way to determine if your campaign is successful. While this is one of the many issues that our industry seems to disagree on, I personally think that a campaign is successful by the amount of conversation that is generated about your company, product or message. (There are various ways to monitor for conversation and I’m sure this blog post may very well end up on a monitoring report about the company later this week.)

But I was thinking about it, and what a better way to generate a WOM conversation than by being able to create off-line user generated content (UGC)?  I can share my own individual story about Nike by purchasing these custom shoes. My shoes embody Nike’s corporate story. And since birds of a feather flock together, the people with which I converse with will ask me about my *totally awesome* shoes, and I’ll tell them to check out the site.

Win-Win. I get great shoes, Nike gets great publicity.

The same UGC concept holds true for other successful campaigns. President Obama’s campaign (Note: this blog is not politically affiliated) was very successful in garnering interest in his party for the election by having individuals create and display their own personalized version of his logo, among other social media tactics.

According to a white paper by Edelman entitled the Social Pulpit:

The MyBO Web site contained videos, speeches, photos and how-to guides that gave people the raw materials they needed to create their own compelling content in support of Obama. In return, supporters created more than 400,000 pro-Obama videos and posted them to YouTube. They also wrote more than 400,000 blog posts on the MyBO Web site.

In Obama’s case, this was all digital UGC. But the fact of the matter is that this digital UGC transferred from online to off-line action on election day. Pretty neat, right?

In essence, UGC may be one of the more important elements of determining if a campaign is successful. And that’s what I thought about while playing volleyball.

PS: Yes. I’m making social media connections while playing volleyball. Deal.

PPS: This was not a sponsored post.

Images via Gauntlet and  Planspark’s Photostream

So here’s the deal.Whenever I find a social media topic interesting, I like to conduct a fair amount of research on it before I begin a post so that I sound like I know what I’m talking about.  A few weeks ago, I noticed how many blog posts I had been reading about Google. Thus, I decided that it was time for me to understand more about Google’s capabilities.

Here’s the reason. I’m a Google child at heart. I’ve been on Gmail and Gchat since the time when you needed an invite to join (aka ancient Mesopotamia times).  I’ve noticed that there are so many more capabilities of Google that I probably don’t use but should. I mean, Google is a translator, a search engine, a navigator, an operating system, an Internet browser, a television, etc.

Google. When I joined. We communicated with hieroglyphics. No foolin'.

Ultimately, the reason why I wanted to begin this blog post was because Google is a social network. It’s the all-in-one. The creme-de-la-creme of social networking.

It’s like an iPhone commercial for applications, except for Google: Need a translator? There’s a Google for that. Need an email? There’s a Google for that…I’m already sick of the commercials and they don’t even exist (yet).

Point being is, Google is a social network, so I wanted to demystify it for my clients on my company blog.  And, I’ve been working on this blog post for awhile now. The problem is that Google is so large, every time I try to understand it all, it becomes more overwhelming. Luckly I’ve found a few great resources to help me out.

However, I’ve decided to narrow my post to the forthcoming Google Wave. I hope that I can secure an invite when it’s first released in September.

Image via For Ladies by Ladies