Boomerang

I’m what most people would call an RSS junkie. It’s a bit similar to the more commonly used pseudonym “news/media junkie,” though my addiction is blogs. I love receiving the feeds of a really good blog – and a person’s RSS feeds can say as much about them as what’s on their iPod does. For example, here’s a bit about me (based on my RSS profile):

• Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Daily , Mashable = I love music and social media
• Webware = I’m always looking for new web applications to enhance my productivity and sociability
• Seth Godin’s Blog = I believe innovation is a key to success
• TechCrunch = I’m a fan of new, innovative tech companies
• The Bad Pitch Blog = I believe pitching the media is an art form
• Wired Blogs = I’m really into gadgets
• FabSugar, Perez Hilton, ValleyWag = I believe a bit of humor and pop culture awareness does a heart good

Moreover, I love reading really good blogs – big ideas in bite-size pieces. Blogs are usually what I turn to first when I want to get the gist of a thing and I don’t have the time to sort through the detailed specs.

So when it came to searching for a PR agency, where I could plant my feet and continue growing as a PR professional, the Cohn and Wolfe Boomerang blog provided me with a small peek into the agency’s culture and people. After reading a few posts, and checking out how the company approached PR and social media, I felt that C&W had assembled a smart team and a work environment that was a fit for me.

To say the least, I’m extremely excited to join Boomerang as a contributing writer! I look forward to bringing my experiences working with clients in the technology, healthcare, media and entertainment fields, as well as my love of music and social media, to my posts. More so, I look forward to dialoguing with the Boomerang community, discovering more good blogs, and expanding my RSS roll call.

What do your RSS feeds say about you?

Recently a client asked me what he could do to increase his knowledge of social media and to be perceived as a “web-savvy executive.” While he’s already pretty sophisticated in terms of understanding the evolving online ecosystem, he felt was ready to take it to the next level.It’s a worthy goal, and I came up with a list that I think will not only help him talk the talk but also walk the walk.1) Participate in online discussions such as blogs and add your opinions, thoughts, and perspectives. Joining the online conversation is the best first step to become web savvy.  

2) Write an article on a topic you’re expert in or passionate about and post it to Wikipedia or Amazon’s new Amapedia website.  

3) Leverage Facebook and start using it to expand your network. I know people think that site is just for college students but it’s not. Technologists, journalists, and executives of all industries are joining en mass. While you’re at it, why not create a Fan page or even a Facebook group for your company.  

4) Start soliciting your LinkedIn network with questions pertaining to your industry. (What??!! You’re not on LinkedIn? That was even before step 1 so go ahead and register now.) Sending questions to your network allows you to connect (or reconnect) with colleagues and survey them for insights, as well as shows them that you value their opinions and knowledge. I like the fact that LinkedIn questions are public and come up in Google search results. 

5) Create an account on delicious and start bookmarking things you discover on the web. It’s also a great way to extend the distribution of your own digital assets (anything with a URL) and lets people find your content organically through search on that site. Make sure to include your name in summaries, if appropriate, and craft descriptive summaries, notes, and tags. 

These days the only thing that gets between me and the dozens of blogs I peruse each day is my thin framed glasses. I consider social media the main focus of my work life, and it wasn’t until my recent visit to Brazil with some friends that I realized blogs and social networks are an integral part of my personal life as well.

Before leaving for my dream trip, my “travel planner” and dear friend told me countless travel tips and personal stories she read on various travel blogs. In Rio de Janeiro, we met some wonderful people who appeared to be close buddies, but we learned that they met just a few days prior through social networking sites while looking for travel companions. What a great way to have some new friends to hang out with upon arrival.

As our trip came to a close, eight of us exchanged contact information and promised to “MySpace” each other once we returned home. In addition to email addresses, we shared personal web pages, IM screen names, and the URLs to shared photo sites where we agreed to upload the evidence from our crazy time at Carnival. Of course there will be a filtered set of photos for the family and coworkers - don’t want to have any of those online persona issues.

Now that we are all back in our respective countries, I’m interested to see how our in-person friendships translate to cyberspace relationships. We started the trip using social networks to find information and people, and now we return to those same networks in an effort to maintain our connections. We’ve come full circle using social media - just like a Boomerang to Brazil and back again!

 Green is everywhere. Even for the most eager and committed of us, it’s hard to keep up with the information, research, controversy, and opinions that are coming at us like water from a fire hose.

Last night, at the peak of exhaustion from caring for two sick kids, a long day’s work and a spontaneous dinner party, my husband asked, “What happens if we just don’t do green?”

(WHAT?!?! Not do green? Who are you? Are you on drugs? Don’t you care about our children? Are you the devil?)

Somewhat like suggesting that saving money is a bad idea, “not doing green” is not an option in this day and age. It doesn’t mean that I am immediately trading in my car, for example, but it does mean I won’t buy a new car that isn’t a hybrid. I can’t guarantee I’ll reduce the length of my showers, but I am exploring how to convert to solar. And that’s only in my personal time…

BSB (before second baby) I lived, in retrospect, an idyllic life. I worked from 7:30 to 7:30 – a short day for many of my clients – went home to a home-cooked (by my husband) meal, talked with my articulate and well-behaved 4 year old son, watched some TV or read a book and went to sleep.

Around month eight of my second pregnancy I panicked, realizing that maybe having another kid wasn’t such a great idea after all. My son slept in our bed, perpendicularly, with his head in my back and his feet in my husband’s face, for exactly three years and 49 weeks. It was only a combination of bribery and the fortuitous arrival of a cold that required codeine that got him sleeping through the night in his own bed. Why put myself through all that again? But, as they say, you can’t be sort of pregnant so along came my (lovely, adorable, brilliant) daughter.

Now it’s ASB (after second baby) and I am back at work as the Managing Director of Cohn & Wolfe’s San Francisco office. I am living parallel lives, both a new type of idyllic in their own ways. By the time I leave the house in the morning I’ve lived an entire day; by the time I head home from work I am buzzing with the thrill of it all – cool technologies, shifts in the media, clients that want to do interesting programs, new opportunities around sustainable marketing.

If all goes as planned, my two lives will get blended very soon.