WhipperSnaPR

My blog posts have been lagging lately and I have many topics I want to catch up on, but, alas, work calls….work,work,work. The joys of being at the bottom of the pecking order

However, I must take a quick minute to recount my most frustrating and typical whippersnaPR moment of the year. Last night, Josh convinced me to join him at a “celebration for political bloggers” hosted by the Harvard Berkman Center. Initially, I had some reservations about going; I don’t tend to blog about politics. But, I figured, hell, I have a degree in political science and I can find an excuse to “celebrate” almost anything! So, I went. I had no idea I would run into such big names! (here’s more on the attendees from Josh)

The first, and more positive whippersnaPR moment of the evening, was getting to chat with Steve Garfield. I happened to casually mention that I’m noticing a trend in companies wanting to build the next MySpace or YouTube and I sparked his interest! Hurray for the whippersnaPR! We had a great conversation about how “citizen journalism” can really effect viral marketing and I hope we get to continue that conversation in the future.

I’m still kicking myself over the second moment of the evening. This is a perfect example of the downside to being a complete whippersnaPR. Last night, I met David Weinberger. I was a little late to jump on the band wagon, but most of the people who’ve ever had to work with me know I’m a huge fan of the Cluetrain Manifesto. My thesis advisors can definitely attest to that; they were constantly yelling at me that I was quoting too heavily from the manifesto. Despite this pathetic, whippersnapr-ish fandom of Cluetrain, I failed to recognize who David Weinberger is! aurgh!!!

All night, I kept saying, “who is that guy? I know I should know him. I know I’m a fan, but I can’t remember why.” Luckily, I got the chance to chat with him at all… but I never got the opportunity to say something profound and entertaining and completely whippersnapr-ish. At least I didn’t make a fool of myself fawning over him all night!

Anyway…today, I’m having a typical, “I’m such an idiot,” Napoleon Dynamite moment…

Update: The inverview went really well last week, but I didn’t make it into the actual article, which can be read here. It is actually very well written with a great sense of “humour.” Oh well… there’s always next time. Anyone else want to chat about Zipcar?
I’ve often thought that I am Zipcar’s biggest word of mouth marketer. I love their service and I will tell anybody and everybody about it! I talk about zipcar nonstop! I’ve even blogged about it.

Well, that blogpost has come in handy! A reporter for the Toronto Star has found me and wants to chat! How exciting and how lucky for zipcar! They should give me free stuff. I want a t-shirt!

With one cross-country road trip and one full month of work (and therefore, one paycheck) behind me, I’m finally falling into a new routine.

It is definitely not as draining or stressful as my old schedule… but just as time consuming. And still, I have not bought into my own blogging as yoga philosophy. I must make blogging a habit!

As an update, the roadtrip was so much fun! It was great meeting Josh’s mom in New Mexico, escaping speed traps in Kansas and surviving torential rains in Cleaveland! I especially loved being able to spend some time with my mom and friends in Illinois.

The weekend on Cape Cod was equally exciting. I was able to catch up with my friend Dave who lives in Georgia and spent the last 3 months in Africa and I was able to get some quality kayaking time in!

Now that life is getting back to “normal.” I am settling into a nice routine at work. I LOVE my job! It is so fun The best part is that this job is by far harder than my last job. It requires more responsibility, commitment and serious thought; yet, it is more fun, less stressful and all around more enjoyable! This was a great move for me career-wise and a perfect example of why you must trust your gut. When your work plays such a large role in defining who you are, you must be sure your job is an accurate reflection of who you are and what you want to be.

I’ve spent almost two years studying and analyzing blogs; and, on several occassions, I’ve tried to write my own…. failures, all of them. They’ve failed, not because I had bad ideas or poor writing skills, but mostly because I lacked the consistency and committement to keep them alive.
What I’ve learned about owning a blog is: blogging is not simply a hobby, it is a way of life. Inspired by a friend who is taking a month-long intensive yoga course, I like to equate it with yoga. I’ve never tried yoga in my entire life, so I might be a little off here…but, as I understand it…

In order to get the most out of yoga, one has to do more than go to a weekly class at the Y. “Yoga” should be integrated into everything from breathing to eating to sleeping. Blogging is the same way; I need to learn how to live the blogging lifestyle. And, considering it has taken me over a week to write this post… I’m not doing so well.

This will be my initial challenge.