Social Networking and me

Ok, the secret is out, I am a social networking junkie. Now, I realize that the social networking "craze" is not for everyone - however it is no longer a fad... it is here to stay.

I thought I would take this opportunity to post my thoughts about the main social networks I use, how I use them, and how I view their various roles.

First of all, a crash course. Scott Monty, the head of social media for Ford Motor Company, stated the following about the "big 3":


LinkedIn is the business meeting; Facebook is the hallway conversation; Twitter is the cocktail party.

Facebook:
The bread and butter of the social networking revolution. Facebook was started exclusively for college and university students (I was one of them) and has since ballooned into a dominant force of over 150 million users.
I view Facebook primarily as a "social" place to keep up with friends and people I know in -- real life.
Jason Cash

Create Your Badge


Twitter:
Twitter is the true free for all. My initial reaction to the service was confusion. Since then, it has quickly become my favorite and most checked social network. As opposed to Facebook, I do not know (in real life) the majority of my Twitter "followers" and people I follow. It provides a great way to quickly share short ideas and links with people who have similar interest areas. I mostly interact with higher education or marketing professionals, and enjoy the connectivity of the community.
Twitter requires that all "tweets" be 140 characters or less, which forces everyone to get the point.

The other major difference is that you don't have to "follow" everyone who follows you. Some people or organizations I choose not to follow back, because they seem to be spammers.

Twitter Updates

follow me on Twitter

LinkedIn:
I prefer to use LinkedIn as a professional network. Primarily for people I have worked with in the past or present, or have another type of relationship. LinkedIn is my wad of business cards, and provides a great resource for networking and recommendations.

How do you use your social networks?

The new patio and deck stairs

After hours and hours of hard work and plenty of help, the new stairs off our deck and patio are finished! A special thank you to Paul for his help on the steps and to my dad mom and father-in-law for their help with the patio. I am really pleased with how it all turned out.

See pictures of the "inaugural camp fire" on the new patio.

Celebrating 1st year anniversary!

Hillary and I celebrated our 1st year of marriage together by heading up to Traverse City Michigan for the weekend. We enjoyed downtown TC, dinner at North Peak Brewing Company, and ice cream at Moomers, voted best ice cream in America! We also spent some time checking out The Village at Grand Traverse Commons (a former insane asylum). Dinner was very nice on the deck at Boone's Long Lake Inn.

Saturday was mostly spent visiting wineries. Lots and lots of wineries! Including:
Left Foot Charley's
Black Star Farms
Chateau Chantal
2 Lads
Ciccone Vinyard (owned by Madonna's dad)
Tandem Ciders
Leelanau Cellars (a personal favorite)

We enjoyed driving out to the lighthouse at Mission Point and also discovering the beautiful scenes of Suttons Bay.

Of course out weekend wasn't complete without getting the old wedding cake out of the freezer. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad!

Happy Anniversary to us, here's to many more!