One Day I'll Write for Hello Giggles

I joined the #cmmeetup group a  little over a year ago, and my key takeaway from attending this week’s meetup, was that I really need to keep going to more Meetups.

The panelists @jasonkeath (Social Fresh), @joeciarallo (Buddy Media), @matthewknell (AOL). Each of them had a unique, but equally as informative, take on the subject of Timeline for Brands, and touched on the undeniable value in Community Managers & creating engaging content. 

And that was a run-on sentance, but I wanted every part to stay in there, so I’m keeping it.

Two brands they mentioned who converted to Timeline, and were using the new format very well were Red Bull & the City of New York. They specifically called out the City of New York’s  #loveNYC contest, which is awesome.

Additionally, I learned about two sites I’ll definitely be using from now on: start.io & follower wonk. 

That’s all for now.

But, like I said in the title of this, these were just my notes that reminded me why I need to keep going to more of these.

When I first read that Oregon Trail was coming to Facebook I was so excited that I jumped out of my rotating desk chair.

(then jumped back into it, and made it my status…)

I love the Oregon Trail game because evokes feelings of happiness and joy.

Shooting Bison. 

Fording the river and caulking my wagon.

Leading my team safely to gold country.

That’s how I define good times.

But when I signed up for Oregon Trail on Facebook (loaded my wagon, picked my team, and set out West), I was hit with the unpleasant reality that Facebook was charging me for my happiness.

I’m not paying Facebook to let me waltz my people down a dirt path. Yes, the game is fun and extremely addicting, but I just won’t take out my Visa to purchase trail notes.

So I got over it.

I guess all good things have to come to an end, and in the case of Facebook’s version of Oregon Trail, that end came arose within 15 minutes.  

This was just an opinion post because I felt like writing, and don’t want to write about Charlie Sheen. If you’re willing to pay the money for any social games, I say more power to ya! But if you’re up for it, let me know which ones/why in the comments. 

I’ve given a lot of thought to Sponsored Stories on Facebook.

(…more thought than the average person should give)

I’ve come to this conclusion. Sponsored Stories will be very beneficial for marketers to invest in, but from a consumer’s point of view they make me feel used.

i.e.

I made this status the other day during the snowstorm:

It captured my frustration with the never-ending snow, and my frustration with this song that I find to be extremely irritating:

When I make a status, it’s intended to go out at that exact moment in time.

( cue the Whitney Houston ) 

If the status I made later appeared as a sponsored story ( let’s just say somehow it went out to my friends as a story for Diddy’s Ciroc Vodka  ) then I’d feel used.

Now, will this exact scenario happen?

No. 

The Sponsored Stories feature works like this, but hopefully you get the point of my Diddy analogy.

(and hopefully you don’t like that particular Diddy song.)

note: David Berkowitz’s Mashable article does a better job than I can of describing how Sponsored Stories may feel invasive to users. You can check it out here.  

What are your thoughts on the Sponsored Stories feature?

I like Facebook’s New Memorable Stories. The new feature inspired me to post about some of my favorite stories from 2010. 

1) Teresa from Real Housewives New Jersey Signed My Droid

I admittedly have a Bravo and Real Housewives obsession, so meeting Teresa from RHONJ was a great moment in time for me.

When I approached her table, I immediately asked her if she could sign my Droid cover. She smiled after hearing my request, (but it was the type of smile that implied she thought I may or may not be crazy). And then she signed.

I proceeded to thank her by saying, “AH. I love you!”, and went on my way.

(Note: My best friend’s mom asked her if she liked Danielle Staub in real life, and she does not.)

2) Dinner with Bitchin’ Kitchen

Blog World and New Media Expo was a 2010 highlight for more reasons than I can list. I’d HIGHLY recommend this event should you ever get the chance to attend.

One of the best memories I have from Blog World was being able to hang out with Nadia and Ang of the TV show Bitchin’ Kitchen.

Nights like that make me realize how much I love my life. 

3) I Learned How to Cook a Rotissary Chicken

(*this experience was inspired by my run-in with the celebrity chef I mentioned above)

So basically, I am a terrible cook. But this is only because I’d never put much effort into trying. (My college diet consisted of Panera, Chipolte, and Celeste Pizza). 2010 was the first time I decided I wanted to focus on cooking, and my first attempt was a rotissary chicken.

I learned I had nothing to fear but fear itself, and the gross bag you have to take out of the chicken.

I’m proud to announce it tasted delicious, (and that no family members fell ill after they consumed my dish.)

4) Met Doug Ulman

I wrote a post about this encounter, but thought I’d mention here how that story is by far one of my favorite to tell from 2010. (I’m sure meeting the CEO of Livestrong will still be a favorite story of mine for years to come).

5) My Buick Passed Inspection

6) Social Media Today Mention

I used Gap’s Foursquare special, and the way I was treated in the store left a sore taste in my mouth.

So I wrote about it.

And it got picked up by SocialMediaToday.com.

This was extremely exciting for me because it was one of the first times I realized that people were listening to what I wrote. (It was also exciting because Gap contacted me, and sent me a $25 gift certificate to apologize).

7) I Started My Own Personal Blog

I’d created several blogs for previous employers and friends, but 2010 was the first year I started blogging from my own point of view.

I decided I’d go with the theme that I start my day with Mashable, and that’s still more relevant than ever. Although Tumblr’s had some issues, I think I’ll be sticking with it for 2011.

This works for me.

8) Loyola’s First Ever Social Media Panel

I spoke about my blogging experiences, and how I use social media in my current position, during an event I organized at Loyola. I knew I wanted to bring this type of event to Loyola because I knew how nervous I was during my senior year. I wanted to create a four person panel that gave Communications/Marketing students “real-world” advice from recent grads.

In my opinion, we were successful. 

9) Graduated College

Oh, and months prior to speaking during the event at Loyola, I graduated.

(My sister and I graduated during the same ceremony. She received her Master’s, and I received my BA. Pretty awesome.)

So those were some of my favorite stories from 2010. Care to share any memorable moments here? Can’t reward you anything, but I will comment back :-)! 

A friend of mine asked a me few weeks ago what I thought about the future of Facebook. I answered that it’s interesting for me to think about it, but that I don’t know exactly how to phrase how it will evolve.

Being psychic has always been a dream of mine (literally, I used to dream I was Miss Cleo) but not a realistic goal.

I do know however, that I want to continue that conversation here on my blog.

I mainly use Facebook to talk to my friends and share funny articles/videos/inside jokes. I love laughing, so I love making my friends laugh as well. I also enjoy checking out what my friends are sharing in my newsfeed so I can “stay up to date” with what they’re doing.

I know that the idea of sharing with friends won’t ever go away. I could share with them through phone calls, texts, emails, or IRL, but it’s too hard to connect with everyone.

Note: This is not me saying “omg, it’s such a pain to have friends”.

I say it because I mean it, literally. There’s too much going on in all of our lives to meet in person and talk about everything we’d like to share.

Then I wonder, well, what is this Facebook thing, and why do I choose to share on it?

The answer hit me today, it might be for the trolling capability. For example, I just spent 15 minutes on “Alyssa and Steve’s Wedding Album” (and I don’t know Alyssa, Steve, or anyone in the bridal party.)

I think the fact that Facebook lets us check out people we don’t even know is a big reason I’m still using it. (i.e. Alyssa and Steve’s wedding looked pretty cool. Made me wonder if one day my wedding will be that fun.)

I’d love to hear in the comments what you think will happen with Facebook. And if that’s too broad a question (like it is for me), Why do you use it?

really.

(Second Note: I truly wish you a Happy Holidays. For those of you whom the Holidays stir up feelings of loneliness and pain, I hope laughter and love can carry you through.)