Thursday, August 28, 2008

Summer 2008: A look back through social media... Thank You Twitter & facebook

Inevitably, as we begin this labor day weekend, one question comes to mind...
Has another summer passed us by already!?

The answer is YES!
My summer (another wonderful summer) has come and gone in an instant...

But, I did something very special for the summer of 2008... or what I will now call...
Summer 2008: 2.0.

This summer, as I traveled around the country, I thought it would be a very cool thing to blog what I was doing. I decided to tweet and facebook my summer by updating where I was and uploading photos. * see picture below.

Although it was certainly challenging to find time to do this... You have to imagine & realize that we were constantly traveling from place to place... (and part of the challenge was having enough cell service in the middle of the desert or while white water rafting .. thank you AT&T )

But, rest assured, I managed to update quite a few times with my whereabouts thank you my beloved iphone! But, I already went on a rant on my obsession, so let me continue for a minute.

As I often struggled to update my whereabouts and watch my 29 campers, I often would think... Is this really worth it? Who am I really doing this for? Sure, my friends got a kick out of following me and stalking my every move. My friend and PR gal @lexandthecity shamelessly stalked me and commented on my whereabouts.

But, when push comes to shove, (gasp!) I DID IT FOR ME!

For as long as I have been blogging and reading blogs, I have been a huge fan of Chris Brogan. Every time I meet him, he is the most encouraging and down to earth guy out there! I recently read a post he wrote about personal branding and how important it can be.

When I think about it, all of my tweeting and facebooking over the summer contributed to my personal online branding. All of my connectivity lets you, the reader or stalker or friend, know a little bit more about me. I like to think that my branding isn't just extra noise, but instead meaningful and interesting...

I must admit, it was pretty cool to update my whereabouts, especially now when I look back and can see where I was and what I was doing. But the funniest part about this is that I wasn't the only person to do this. My kids were also updating their facebooks telling their friends (and anyone who would listen) where they were and what an amazing summer we were all having! Coincidence? I think not... It just goes to show you how incorporated into our lives these tools are.

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