Lip-Sticking

Jingle Jingle - How we mingle

It's official - the net has gone social. Oh, you already knew that? You're already doing the 'social' thing? What? You were doing it before it was the "in" thing to do? And, you weren't even online?

Interesting.

Social media pundits, gurus, consultants, whatever you want to call them, seem to think Twitter and Facebook invented being social. But, I'm here to tell them that mingling isn't anything new. And, it works very well offline, as well as online. Actually, I think if you're not mingling socially offline as much as you mingle socially online, you're missing out on a lot. That F2F (face-to-face) connection is far more powerful than any tidbit typed in 140 characters.

A Lip-sticking Podcast with Melanie Notkin

This Lip-sticking podcast is with Melanie Notkin of Savvy Auntie, a smart, talented, and well-connected women who happens to be a PANK: Professional Aunt, No Kids. We were both on the Maria Shriver blogger call a couple of weeks ago, and we both came away shaking our heads.

For me, the Shriver Report was more about how the celebrities of the world could help the poor Moms of the world, and less about the "women's nation" Maria touted. For Melanie, the Shriver Report left out a large faction of women - the PANKs, who make up almost 50% of the female population in this country.

Are You Showing Your Face on Facebook?

…or another unsightly part of your anatomy, further south?

By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

People are still figuring out how to use FB in their business. And, I think it can be a valuable tool, depending on your industry and target customer. Facebook - unlike LinkedIn (which is all business, or should be) - is/can be a combination of personal and professional - which is both good and bad. Where's the line? It's your decision; what works for one may not for another. (All "rules" aside.) As Yvonne noted in another post, My Facebook is not your Facebook.

To be effective in any type of social media, people have to open up a bit and be human (which is an unnatural act for corporations, by their very nature)…with some discretion.

I don’t use Facebook as a direct business development tool; however, it’s a great way to keep up with people who may at some point be a referral source…or maybe never and that’s okay too…in the meantime, I enjoy “talking” to them on a regular basis, even when we disagree (Hey, Isaac – how ya doing?)

For me, FB is more personal than business but I do try to have some discretion; I may be "out there" but there is still such a thing as Too Much Information. And, yes, some of my clients are also friends (Which is breaking at least one rule.  Like I said, it's a personal decision.) Of course, I don't always agree with some of my friends (just like in real, 3-D life),  but I like and respect smart people, so we move right along most of the time.

BUT and it’s a big BUT…there are limits to what should be said in any gathering – be it a cocktail party or virtual.

Come to my Social Media Seminar

  True story: Recently I received an email from someone I did not know, about a topic I am quite familiar... the subject line was: How to Create & Monitor Your Social Media. I, along with dozens of others - whose emails were displayed in the CC column NOT the BCC, were invited.

Turns out I likely met the sender at a conference. It seems to be common practice to add conference attendees to your email marketing list, with or without permission, which is why I received this invitation.

We can discuss the inaccuracies around doing that (really, just because we met over coffee at a conference, does not give you the right to automatically add me to your email list - that's called spam and I don't like it; it leaves a bad impression)... but today let's talk about this invitation to their social media seminar.

Traveling from South Carolina to Chicago...Covering PMA's Annual Marketing Law Conference

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

The last couple of days I've spent in Myrtle Beach, SC visiting my parents who moved down here about three years ago from New York. My mom's been battling breast cancer which spread to her lungs, so it's been rough on her and my dad, especially the last couple of months. She seems to be improving from an infection she caught a month ago. That's the thing with cancer, it doesn't always kill you. But once you have it any little thing your body catches can.

Anyhow, I've been trying to talk them into hooking up the old computer that all us kids bought them years ago so that we can stay connected online. Last time they hooked it up they used the old telephone modem, so I explained to them how times have changed and they don't need to tie-up their phone line anymore.

We called the local Time Warner Cable company to try and get some prices and info for them and it was so confusing. After waiting on hold for a very long time we finally spoke to someone who gave us way too many options. Do you want the combination package with Internet and cable, or how about adding the phone to the package? For just Internet, what speed to you want? They offered us 5 different prices for different speeds. It shouldn't be so difficult!

Kicking & Screaming all the Way to Facebook

by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief of Social Media Strategy at xynoMedia

It's bedtime, but little Caleb wants a story. And after the story, he needs to pee. Then, he needs a glass of water. And, then he wants you to leave the light on. And, then he wants a kiss goodnight. And, then...and, then...and, then.

He knows it's time for bed. He's sleepy as a cat. He knows sleep is unavoidable and yet he keeps holding onto that one last minute of being awake. The above scenario usually ends up with Caleb falling into some sort of crying/whining jag and then eventually passing out in sleep from sheer exhaustion.

If you've ever been around little children, you've experienced this interesting nightly phenomena called "fighting sleep".

Similarly, I'm always amazed at how people attempt to justify not using social networking and social media. They will go to great pains and lengths to do so and in the end, the wind up sounding...well, like Caleb.

Your Questions and Concerns on HealthCare

Early this week I posted a video of Michelle Obama speaking about healthcare. This is a touchy subject, I guess...with a lot of misinformation and disagreement. I'm leaning toward the passage of the bill...and I also think a public option is a good idea (after all, my mother is on Medicare - that's government funded, and it works).

But, I don't have all the answers. I also get it when some people voice opinions against a public option. So, I trust you will all make an educated choice. With that in mind, here's a follow-up video where Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, directly responds to health care issues, including the cost of care and medications (medication is a concern of mine) and the whole "pre-existing conditions" problem (another concern of mine). See video below.

Facebook can be fun - despite my whining

Anyone who follows me on Facebook knows that I whine and complain about it all the time. It rarely does what I want it to. The apps work periodically, but mostly, not at all. And, clicking links in Facebook often freezes my system.

That said, I have become a convert. Donna (who writes for this blog, you may realize) is working with us to create some Facebook fan pages and so far we have one for the petblog - Scratchings and Sniffings, which is fabulous! I'm having so much fun with it. I did not expect to have fun with it. But, fun I am having.

Check out 2009's most popular Halloween costumes along with Hershey's Trick-or-Treat website

Halloween is quickly approaching which happens to fall on a Saturday this year, so there definitely will be an increase in trick-or-treaters and in parties. So if you haven't gotten your costume, or your kid's costume yet, there's still time. According to shopping search engine, SortPrice.com, here are the most popular kid and adult costumes this year:

Most Popular 2009 Kids Halloween Costumes

• Transformers' Bumblebee
• Batman
• Buzz Lightyear
• Cinderella
• Harry Potter
• Hannah Montana
• Traditional Princess
• Bakugan
• Dora the Explorer
• Sponge Bob SquarePants

Most Popular 2009 Adult Halloween Costumes

• Vampire
• Sexy Nurse
• Michael Jackson
• Star Wars
• Sexy Santa

So with kids it's the movie and TV characters that dominate the top spots again as usual. For adults I guess there's not much of a surprise there either with sexy costumes being what most women seem to gravitate to. I thought maybe Sexy Santa was a costume for men to wear, but instead the link to photos of the costumes proved me wrong.

Once Upon a Time in America

Once upon a time in America women were Moms who stayed home and lived in the kitchen. They bandaged bruised elbows, served cookies and cocoa and made sure the dust bunnies were banished to the wastebasket.

That was once upon a time. I was a child then. And, that person did not live at my house. Which why I think of that time as a misty fairytale era.

Today, women are active in all facets of industry - sales, communications, marketing, medicine, engineering, and any other career parth you care to name. Some of these women are Moms, i.e. - females with children, usually children still at home. Some of these women are executives at large corporations or small businesses. Some of these women are entrepreneurs. Some are single, some married, some choose to remain childless, some ache for a child but have none.