Recently a financial services provider for Clockwork (the Geek Girls have day jobs at Clockwork) sent a note asking us where we network for business.  I assume our contact was hoping to meet other small business owners like us and thinking that attending such events would be the best way to do that.  Without thinking I started to answer, but it was tougher than I thought to come up with any kind of meaningful list of networking events that I attend regularly to connect with business contacts. I stopped trying and simply responded that the majority of significant connections I've made over the last few years have been made via social networking.  In fact, I had tweeted only days prior that I was struggling with a particular experience with this financial services provider and, while I received several responses from competitors, I heard nothing from anyone from the brand itself.  It was unfortunate, actually, because this is no small brand.  In fact it's huge.  The idea that they seem to have a very minimal (if they have one at all) social marketing presence seems sort of backwards.

I am a horrible client.  I am one of those people who finds myself prefacing many conversations with 'do as I say, not as I do.'  Recently, when discussing the content needs for a client's website, we were addressing the elephant in the room -- the logical reason for a blog for their business, the potential for real contribution to an industry dialogue, and their feeling of overwhelm when confronted by the responsibility of creating that much content.  They aren't alone.  I hear this every day, from clients in every industry who want to take advantage of the fluidity of the web, and the new channels for communicating a message. But the idea of committing to regular blog entries, or having to think of interesting ideas that often, just leaves them stymied.  And believe me, I get it.  I get overwhelmed with the responsibility of my work, my life and then, on top of all of that, this blog.  Life is overwhelming.  Being interesting is just not easy.  So I thought I'd share with you what I share with clients -- just a few inspirational pointers to help get you started down the path to creating compelling (relatively speaking) content.

One of the hardest things to explain to people who are unfamiliar with Twitter is hashtags. Many things about Twitter are not immediately self-evident, and hashtags are one of them.

While issues around being a working mom aren't what Geek Girls Guide was created for, they are related. And today I read a something that I cannot let go unanswered.

A prominent mommy blogger (who I'll refer to as MB) appeared on a national talk show on 10/14. I refuse to say who she is, or what the show is, because I don't want to give them any more attention. Mainly because I think both parties are guilty of sensationalizing the working vs. stay-at-home moms issue for their own personal gain.

Here's the gist of MB's argument (as quoted in Huffington Post on October 14th, "I wouldn't outsource loving my husband, why would I outsource loving my kids?"

I have big, stankin' problems this statement, and with the way in which it was presented. Let's begin the rant, shall we?

In our third podcast we talk about some ways to think about social media for job searching. It's more exciting than it sounds! (Not really, but just go with it.)

Geeky reader Ellen wrote in to say, "Please explain what the Cloud is."

Her question was very funny to me — only because we recorded a podcast a few weeks ago on exactly that topic! But, I screwed up the audio file and now we need to re-record it. Bummer. But, here's how I replied:

Last year, Nancy and I hosted a conversation about women in Interactive (I can't remember what we called it. I just remember the original title, "WTF: Where the Females?" which they revised to something more innocuous).

Last Monday, Dave Schroeder (@flashbelt) and I hosted a discussion at this year's MIMA Summit titled, Closing the Gap: A Discussion About Diversity. This year's conversation was, quite rightly, expanded to cover issues beyond just gender. It was designed to be a group discussion, but in preparation Dave and I put together an outline. (You know, just in case everyone got all Minnesotan and didn't ask any questions.)

The other day I was surfing the radio and I landed on a discussion on talk radio about parents who text when they are with their children — in the park, at home, wherever. The radio host was inviting people to call in and give their opinions. Texting while parenting:  good or bad?  I couldn't call; I had reached my destination.  But my first thought was this: parents need to stop judging each other.  Just. Stop.

As a Geek Girl, and a parent, I am so deeply appreciative of how technology has enabled me to be a more present, available mother that I want to talk about it here.

In a recent interview with Andy Santamaria at Connecting Me To You, Nancy described me as her favorite "organizational tool." Frankly, it's true. I'm a tool, and I'm organized enough for the both of us.

And, since I've officially outed myself to the world as a GTD devotee, people have starting asking me about what my office setup looks like. So, I'm starting here with a tour of my home office. (If you enjoy this, you can truly consider yourself a geek.)

Okay, so running itself isn't really geeky, but stay with me: how I started — and kept up with — running is.