Thursday, January 22, 2009

Inauguration 2009: Making Up David Cantero

Although I had originally planned to enjoy a nice long weekend with my husband and baby by the warmth of our fireplace, I instead had the good fortune to participate in the 2009 Inauguration by working as a makeup artist for David Cantero, reporter for TelevisiĆ³n EspaƱola.

There are more photos to come, but here are several from my phone that I had a chance to upload.





Fortune Cookie Forshadows Changes

Several weeks ago, I cracked open a fortune cookie and my fortune was this: "There is no education like adversity."

It didn't take long for me to forget about the fortune and put it to the side.

Last week I decided it was time for me to invest some effort and energy into making my home office a little more "me" and so I began rearranging and decorating, taking my husband's lighthouse collection out of the room and bringing my daughter's stained glass lamp into the room. I even purchased a fun framed bulletin board to put on the wall. As I was putting everything together, I ran across the old fortune and I pinned it to the bulletin board thinking it was true enough and a good reminder of how to look at uncomfortable situations.

Yesterday and today I had an unfortunate "educational" series of exchanges with a person whom I used to call a friend. At least part of the problem stemmed from the other person not understanding how a platform like Twitter works.

I share this with you so that you may benefit from my experience.

This is what I have learned:

1. If you are active within social media, there could be misunderstandings from people who haven't acquainted themselves with the technology yet.
2. Direct conversation is best when trying to overcome misunderstandings.
3. We are not living in an age when everyone is knowledgeable about popular modes of communication. Don't assume!
4. Ask before accusing
5. People usually strike out when they feel cornered or trapped. Look for causes beyond the immediate for an explanation of why someone is striking out at you and try to be empathetic.

I'm not sure what will happen next with this situation, but I am trying to be reasonable and calm. Are you curious about your own fate? Click on the online fortune cookie...if you dare!

Friday, January 9, 2009

TwtApps Offers Beautiful Simplicity: Twtcard, Twtpoll, and Twtvite

How often have you wanted to ask your followers on Twitter or your friends on Facebook their opinions on a topic? If you are anything like me, this has happened a lot and being able to reach out and talk to a large number of people at one time is one of the boons and busts of social media. The "social" part is clearly critical, but how do you collect all the opinions in one place? Hello hello twtpoll! twtpoll allows you to poll your connections and check on the progress in one place!

Mashable shared two other Twitter apps that look interesting...might be worth checking out!

TwtApps Offers Beautiful Simplicity: Twtcard, Twtpoll, and Twtvite