The Real Meaning of the Holidays?

As I am reading blogs and posts on twitter, I'm realizing more than ever that this holiday gift giving thing is just getting crazy. I tell you want I want, you tell me what you want and then we wrap it up and give it to each other at Christmas. All surprise or creativity is gone. We are essentially doing other people's shopping for them.

Here's where the exception comes in...I love shopping for my 6 year old son and seeing how excited he is on Christmas morning. He still believes in the magic of it all. I love shopping for a family that has fallen on hard times so that they can have the same excitement my son does on Christmas.

In most cases we can't eliminate the exchanging of gifts. I would just like to make it more meaningful.

So tell me what your family has done to bring back the true meaning of the holidays. Please!

Super Cool Stuff

Working on a super top secret event! Stay tuned!

New Finds

Some new finds online!

http://fuelingnewbusiness.com/ by Michael Gass

http://she-conomy.com/ by Holland + Holland Advertising

What have you stumbled across lately that's worthwhile?

Lawn of Shame

I have decided to use my blog for good not evil. And that good is to enforce the "good lawn" clause that most of my neighbors adhere to. However, there are a few that do not. Coincidently, within an hour of thinking of taking a picture my neighbor's lawn, he cut it. Don't worry. In another week, it will be a fright. Then he will be exposed. Weeds and all. I am watching. If the RV returns this summer it will be war.

Who's Following You?

About a year ago I heard about Twitter. I signed on and just couldn't figure out what to do with it. My first three "tweets" were something like "Trying to figure out Twitter". Compelling stuff, I know.

However, as the year went on I kept trying to figure it out and from the stats below, so did everyone else.



Over the last three months I have actively started "following" social media types like Chris Brogan, David Armano and Guy Kawasaki. They post interesting information and provide links to current articles. As I started getting more involved in Twitter, others started following me. It was kind of strange. There are the typical spammers but there are others that may actually be interested in what I have to say.

Then one day I received an email that said "Maria Shriver is following you on Twitter". The First lady of California!? I had found her on the list of 50 people that Demi Moore follows. Yes, Ashton and Demi are big fans of Twitter. (So is MC Hammer but that's another converstation.) Could Maria be actually following me? If so, I better step up my twitter game. Maybe she just has an automatic program in place to follow people who follow her. For now, I will just pretend that she is really interested in me.

From a public relations side of things, Twitter seems to be a very effective tool. Information is picked up quickly from your followers so you have to be careful of what you say. Many news sources are on Twitter and it can be an efficient way to get headlines.

It's another item in the long long list of social media apps to keep up with but that is my job.

You can find me at http://twitter.com/mdwstmediagirl.

I will leave you with this link. You know Twitter has made it when Jon Stewart makes fun of it.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=219519&title=twitter-frenzy

DVR Proof

The Huebner family hasn't been big American Idol fans in the past. At the end of last season my son and I started watching as David Cook won. He still knows who David Cook is and loves his song.

So this year we started watching it from the beginning and have had a lot of fun. It's a show we can watch together that's not Spongebob, Johnny Test or Pokemon. We get to watch a family friendly show together and I get to keep what's left of my sanity.

The thing I have realized - from an advertising standpoint - is that we are not DVRing this show. We watch it live. While DVRs are on the rise, there are definitely shows that are DVR-proof. This is one in our household. At 7:00 we are on the couch ready to cheer on Milwaukee's own Danny Gokey.

What are your favorite family shows?

Birthday Party Fiasco

Consider this my public service announcement of the week. A warning of sorts....

My son was invited to a classmate's birthday party this weekend. The location of this party was a new place called Monkey Joe's. We are familiar with the old birthday party stand by - Pump It Up. At Pump It Up, each birthday party gets it's own play area where the kids play together, jump around and have a great time. It's contained so the parents can watch the kids the entire time. After the playing is over they go to a separate room to eat pizza and cake. Everyone is tired and happy. Let's go home.

Monkey Joe's is quite the opposite. The main play area is HUGE. There are a minimum four parties going on at one time. Monkey Joe's is also open to the public at all times. This is the opposite of how Pump It Up operates. In this HUGE play are there a minimum of 100 kids and parents. The staff of the operation seemed half way interested in safety measures.

My child is only five so leaving him at any birthday party without our supervision is somewhat unsettling. It depends on where the party is, how comfortable he is with his surroundings and our relationship with child's parents.

In this case, the minute I stepped into Monkey Joe's I knew I was going to stay. HOWEVER, at least 50% of the children's parents felt the opposite. They left their kids to wander around a play area with 100 strangers. Public restrooms and all. Monkey Joe's does try to incorporate a safety feature with matching parent and child wristbands. But that does not stop anything that could happen anywhere else within the play area.

Perhaps I have seen too many Oprah and Dateline programs. I don't trust anyone. I certainly don't trust the general public who wanders in off of the street.

Monkey Joe's may be a great place to let kids blow off steam on a cold winter day. Just be responsible parents and be sure your kids are safe.

Random Thoughts for Friday

In spirit of integrating my blog and Facebook, I thought I would post the notes I wrote last night after being "tagged" with the Random Thoughts page that is going around Facebook.

1. I used to have dreams about being shot.

2. My favorite 80's movie is Breakfast Club.

3. I saw New Kids on the Block 2 times in concert.

4. I am happy with one child.

5. I was in swing choir in high school.

6. My minor in college was in Radio/TV/Film

7. I hate gummy bears, fruit snacks, and other gummy candy.

8. I have been to New York 6 times.

9. I love "The Soup".

10. My favorite vacation is sitting on a beach, drinking margaritas.

11. I liked college alot more than high school.

12. I was in an anti-drinking and smoking group in high school and then almost got caught at a bar on graduation weekend.

13. Wallace Bump (see Facebook friend) let us into said bar in 12. :) (am i remembering that right?)

14. I saw Miss Siagon in London.

15. I actually like running now. weird.

16. I think I will have to reinvent myself in about 10 years.

17. I love sleep.

18. My favorite drink is red wine.

19. I will never stop drinking Diet Coke.

20. I hope my child grows up to be a contributing member of society.

Try it yourself. It's easier than you think.

What's Next?

We have conquered Facebook and Twitter. What is going to be the next greatest thing to grab our attention next? Face it, those of us in marketing and advertising have limited attention spans. We pour all of our free time into getting up to speed on a topic. But we are easily distracted once our real clients demand our attention.

I am continually amazed at the time that people spend on these applications. The ones I am very impressed with are noted social media experts so it is understandable that they are going to be as passionate.

I actually don't want these social media sites to become fads. They have allowed me to reconnect with friends and former coworkers. And they will connect me with new professional and personal acquaintances.

So let's stay focused for a while and see what great things these sites can do personally and professionally.

New Year's Resolution

I have noticed that every one's New Year's resolution must be to get connected. I have had a record number of "friend" requests on Facebook. Everyone in advertising and marketing is working hard (or hardly working) to become proficient on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and whatever new application is going to be created tomorrow.

I think my New Year's resolution is going to be multi-faceted:

1. Find new ways to continue to evolve professionally. In this economy, what we did last year isn't going to be enough this year. We have to be better, faster, more efficient and more effective.
2. Be thankful for what I have - Great family, great friends and a good job. In that order.
3. Get people to read my blog other than myself. :)
4. Run something longer than a 5K.

Happy New Year to everyone!