View from the Roof Deck

If They Can Smile, I Can Smile

2011-12-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

On the whole, 2011 was not really a stand out year. I could go through my personal play-by-play but I won’t bother since Facebook has done that for me with Timeline.

I did have some great stuff happening with my career and a lot of fun traveling around, seeing live music. I spent time in San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, New York. I surrendered to my hair and now embrace the curls. I got to see both of my grandmothers, still whipper-snapping at 87 and 93 respectively. I have much more then I want for.

While the year floated along on a generally happy wave, some girlfriends and I went to Lake Tahoe for the 4^th of July. We had a great time – Tahoe is a phenomenal place to be in the summer. I got a really bad sunburn.

Lake Tahoe 4th of July sunset

One the way home from the trip, I noticed a message on Facebook from Michelle. She and I go way back to our days at KU – even as I type this, the memories come flooding in. Michelle’s message asked me to pray for the Berry Children. This caught my attention – Michelle is not the kind of person who forwards every random email.

The Berry family is not random at all. Michelle and her sister Jennifer grew up in Houston with Robin Berry. By default, if Michelle cared about them, I cared about them.

Berry Family
Peter and Aaron recovering

We learned more about their tragic story over the next couple of days. All three kids were injured, 2 paralyzed. In the other car that hit them head on, a 1.5 year old survived without a scratch but the one of the baby’s parents died too. I read somewhere that the accident was caused by the baby’s dad reaching for a DVD and losing control of the car. I think there is more that I don't know.

Moorea and I
celebrating her 10th birthday

I can’t stop thinking about these kids, especially the two boys who are left paralyzed. My niece is in a wheelchair and has a lot of disabilities. Another friend’s daughter was born with a really frustrating genetic disorder. I love both kids and they’re an amazing part of my life. That said, kids with special needs...well, have special needs. None of us really focus on that but feeding tubes, doctors and therapy are never what you wish for a kid’s life to be. As much as I love these kids, I know that its nothing compared to how their parents feel. It’s an advanced state of chronic worry. There is no love like a parents love. For the Berry’s, I was uniquely aware of the challenges that are ahead for their children – how would they do it without parents?

Me and Miss Sophie at the FD Golf Classic

Robin and her husband Josh were part of a big community – if I was grieving in the car on the way home from Tahoe, I could not imagine how they were all feeling. You did not need to know these people personally to be devastated.

In the weeks and months that followed, there were fundraisers, celebrities spreading the message and people all across the country offering to help. Michelle asked me to jump in and give a little direction on how to leverage social media. I ran their Facebook Page and Twitter accounts for a while. For a day or two, I neglected my day job. I felt really small.

Justin Bieber showing his heart

I couldn’t believe the press coverage. Somebody knew somebody and Justin Bieber got involved. Suddenly, celebs like JB, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Ellen DeGeneres were lending to the cause with the “Show Your Hearts” campaign. The results were just beautiful. Thousands of people used their hands to "Show Their Hearts" and used the campaign logo as their avatar, after donating some money to the Berry Trust.

Britney Spears and Ellen DeGeneres
"Show Their Hearts"

Josh’s brother and sister-in-law added the kids to their own family – which they embraced from the first moment. The support from close friends and the community is incredible. Progress reports about the Berry Children are both inspirational and tormenting. These kids were not just in wheel chairs and casts but a halo and leg restraints. Through it all, they seemed to beam at the people around them. It is tough to tell if they smile bigger playing video games with their friends or visiting with celebrities. I recall thinking, “If they can smile, I can smile.”

Peter and Aaron with Texans defensive end Antonio Smith

Photo: Houston Chronicle

The other day I looked in the mirror and realized that I still have lines from that sunburn. It has been 5 months. I have gotten back to my regular life and long since handed over the reigns of the Berry social media accounts. Now I’m just one of their many thousands of fans and followers, hoping that these children somehow fully recover. Its not likely but I still hope for it.

What’s amazing is how fast kids gravitate back towards being kids. No matter their circumstances. The Berry Kids, my two girls who have special needs, and really kids dealing with tough circumstances everywhere. And that’s what I keep going back to. I think, “If they can smile, I can smile.” Kids always do.

Ironically, it’s the adults in our world that don’t seem to get it. Our politics have become a game of "chicken". Our economy has become a gigantic exercise in finger pointing. We vilify regular people for getting sick, losing their job, losing their house (often all three triggered by just one). We think that money is the only thing to want and the only metric that measures happiness. The media often misses the heart of the story, instead highlighting “gottcha moments”. We take money from education and give it to corporations. If you’re a democrat, obviously you hate rich people. If you’re republican, obviously you hate poor people.

We should be ashamed of ourselves.

I wish there was a great quote or phrase that would make sense of the tragedy that formed around the Berry kids. I’ve thought about it for 5 months and still can’t come up with anything truly inspirational or wise. No one thinks they reach for a DVD and accidentally kill 3 people, orphaning 4 kids. The reality is that this story is just very sad and very real and very much like thousands of other kids who for one reason or another are facing a tough road ahead.

You know, if we could use the Berry story as an example, its how quickly people snapped into action. People just did it. Still, there are events and fundraisers to help these kids have a better future. We all looked for ways to help. That goes for the community, the family, celebrities, thousands of people likes me who never knew Robin and Josh.

I will probably never meet their kids either but I’ll always love them. Michelle originally asked me to pray - and I did. Today, it’s less like praying for them and more like rooting them on. I save the prayers - if there is a such thing as divine intervention, it’s us adults that really need it.

We have GOT to get it together, people.

Please, spread some love today, throughout 2012 and always.

THANKS to one of Jennifer's friends who corrected me:
Nice article although the driver that killed Robin and Josh didn't die. He's living on Arizona with his daughter.

I am the social media quarterback at Lithium Technologies. Clearly obsessed with social media, I just love monitoring brands and brainstorming engagement strategy. Sometimes I blog for work on the Lithosphere (as ErinKoro). Follow me on @erinkoro for personal stuff and @LithiumTech for #socialstrategy. Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com/

Social Media: The "Modern Weapon?"

2011-11-11T00:28:00.001-08:00

I like to watch Piers Morgan on CNN. To be honest, I don't know that much about him but I like his interview style. He’s graceful as he goes for the jugular. He must have a phenomenal booking agent.

Anyway, he’s got Colin Powell on tonight. They’re talking about how politics has changed because it’s ultra-exposed under the media microscope. Paraphrasing General Powell’s point, he says that when you consider the constant blogs, tweets and online commenting, its impossible to offer compromise without being call out for swaying away from a political extreme. The point is that compromise is something that really only happens behind closed doors. *Sigh*

Freedom of the press - one of our unalienable rights – is a necessary checks and balances. Is it naïve of me to think that the media (social or otherwise) is responsible for holding our public officials to some level of accountability? Is it possible that “exposing” ideas is actually having the opposite effect, limiting compromise? Instead of considering the other side, you’re only listening to your side? Could social media, something that I considered a true democracy, be a factor in political gridlock?

Piers Morgan called social media “the modern weapon.”

I always thought of social media as freedom of speech. But a weapon?

This resonates. Why? Because, ultimately, authenticity rules. I believe that is how social media and politics will evolve. I have to remind myself that while social media seems like its everywhere to me, we're still in its infancy. Anyone can use “listening” as a means to pander their base. Just hit the RT button to imply that you agree.

No.

Sometimes the loudest voice isn’t the right voice or even the collective voice. This is a quality over quantity thing.

Regarding politicians being afraid to compromise openly? That seems like an odd thing to reject. People have been protesting for weeks asking for compromise. According to “estimates” its approximately 99% of us, which is a majority, the last time I checked.

If there was ever a time to compromise out in the open, that time is now.

Isn’t it?

---

I am the social media quarterback at Lithium Technologies. Clearly obsessed with social media, I just love monitoring brands and brainstorming engagement strategy. Sometimes I blog for work on the Lithosphere (as ErinKoro). Follow me on @erinkoro for personal stuff and @LithiumTech for #socialbusiness. Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com/.

8 Ways to Subtly Connect Online

2011-10-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

8 Ways to Subtly Connect Online

We're sharing things on the web, but what is the web sharing with us? - The Next Web

2011-10-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Do you share things on the web? What are your expectations about your sharing and participation?

We're sharing things on the web, but what is the web sharing with us? - The Next Web

Dream Job is an understatement. Unless you like fresh air.

2011-04-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Its no joke, I really do love my job at Lithium Technologies. Its the combo of the team, a new skill set and really truly believing in the product, the growth of the space...bla bla bla. I'd quite *immediately* for a season in the new MLB Fan Cave - a place in NYC where two fans are "tasked" to watch every single MLB game. Every. Single. Game. Put me in, Coach.

Luckily, this is a social experiment and all of the inside action will be shared online. Meet the newest accounts I'm following on Twitter:

Click to follow @mikeyoh21 on Twitter

Click to follow @MLBFanCave on Twitter

Click to follow @rwags614 on Twitter

As a social media geek, I'm sort of intrigued at the numbers - these guys have only about 2200 followers between them. That doesn't sound like very much to me - I bet that many of Ryan and Mike's followers are still from their personal network at this point and the people at MLB put out a press release and EVERYTHING (pr joke). Anyway, it will be interesting to see the growth throughout the season. Is watching people watching the games as interesting as just watching the games? Is it even as entertaining as the English 50 Cent, hands down, the funniest thing I've ever seen on Twitter? We shall see. (BTW if you ever need a laugh, just check in on the @English50Cent, translating @50Cent's Tweets into the Queens English...hilarious & worthy of its own blog post, actually).

ANYWAY, here's the bottom line and the real reason for this post (as if it was not transparent already)...if anyone at MLB.com is reading...(Lithium Tech team, ignore this part), you need a little femininity in the mix...CALL ME.

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Lithium Technologies: "The Maven" in CRM magazine's "The 2011 Rising Stars"

2011-03-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

My latest post - work related!

---

Lithium Technologies: "The Maven" in CRM magazine's "The 2011 Rising Stars": "

Erin Korogodsky is Lithium's social media quarterback. Obsessed with social media, Erin has worked with clients like Newell
Rubbermaid, Wieden Kennedy and Vista Print to monitor their brands and
brainstorm engagement strategy. She is a frequent blogger on the Lithosphere (as ErinKoro) and you can follow her on twitter at @erinkoro and one of the team on @LithiumTech

Thank you to the editors of CRM magazine for naming us "The Maven" in their 'The 2011 Rising Stars' post.

According to Wikipedia.com, "A maven (also mavin) is a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from the Hebrew, via Yiddish, and means one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge."

*blush*

Its fantastic to be recognized as a rising star while also acknowledging experience working for over a decade with some of the world's most well known and respected brands. The results are game-changing and they're tied to real business metrics. This ain't about "friends and followers" any more. A few highlights:

HP has improved their organic search rankings by 300% and save more than $10 million in support costs

GiffGaff is a mobile network without a call center - customer issues are solved by community members (customers!). 95% of the issues are resolved in under an hour

Sephora has captured the conversations happening all over the web and brought their customers closer to the point of transaction in their community

What makes this "social success" are customers helping other customers. Powerful stuff. Real ROI. Social as a means, not an end. Thanks again for recognizing us as a "Rising Star." Lead by our obsession with our customer's success, we agree that the future is indeed, very bright.

Original post at http://lithosphere.lithium.com/t5/Social-Media-Monitoring/bg-p/spark

Can you please define "serious?"

2010-12-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

Ah, dating. It's on. It's off. He called. He didn't call. I called. I wish I didn't call.

It's a roller coaster ride.

And let's face it, I am lucky. Even with the up's and down's of dating, no one has more fun then I do, even with randoms I'm not sure I like. Or who I'm sure I don't like. Or who I like that don't like me back. Did I say I was lucky? Well, honestly, I have my moments.

Without question, my least favorite part of dating is the phrase, "I'm not looking for anything serious." (A suggested response is, "Has something serious happened?"). My single friends and I call this "The Heisman". If you're not sure why, think of the Heisman trophy. The prize is on one side and the guy is running and blocking to keep you away from it. Fun for the guy running. Not so fun if you're trying to grab the prize.

"The Heisman" can come in a few forms - a not so random statement on a first date, only texting and never calling, or, today's example, as part of an online profile.

This guy Matt had made me one of his "favorites" on okcupid.com and sent me an email (YAH!). We've had a couple of messages back and forth (promising!) and I thought, I'd better read this guy's profile (clearly, I've made the mistake of not reading the whole thing in the past). Here's what his said under the "You should message me if..." section:

YOU SHOULD MESSAGE ME IF...

"...You're looking for a kinda loose situation, like friends...we'll hang out, do stuff together, movies, the park and we'll be romantically involved but not super deep, just enjoying each other and the time we spend together. I'm not totally closed to something more developing, I just wanna be up front about my intentions, I'm not trying to get into a long term committed relationship right now, if could happen if I met someone that was just too awesome though."

So here's what I wrote to him, in what I'd bet a million dollars, is our final exchange:

Hi Matt -
I have enjoyed exchanging emails with you - your offer to have some fun over the holidays is very sweet and sounds like a good time.

That said, I'd rather not get together. I read your section about what you're looking for, which you said amounts to, "nothing serious." Paraphrasing, you do say that you'd be willing to give it a shot if they were "just too awesome."

Guess what? I already know I'm awesome enough :) I don't want to start by thinking that its already over because you don't want anything serious or that I have something to prove to you in order to qualify.

I don't see any reason to wonder if I'm awesome enough for you, while you avoid or are not ready for something serious. That is kind of a crummy thing to say upfront and really takes the fun out of getting to know you. I have found that its a recipe for someone to get hurt while the other hides behind the statement, "I told her I was not looking for anything serious."

That may be really harsh but since you are so upfront about that point, I thought I would be too and let you know how that feels from a woman's perspective.

Thanks for your compliments up until this point and good luck.
Erin

Just in case anyone was wondering how I really felt about it, I could have skipped that email and simply written two little words, "Fuck Off." Poor Matt. That guy never knew who he was dealing with.

Ain't the Future Mr. Korogodsky a lucky guy? (You better believe he is).

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Old Spice Guy: Engagement Worth Watching

2010-07-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first to admit it. Old Spice reminds me of my grandfather. Not that its a bad thing - one whiff of Old Spice and the memories come flooding in so fast that I'm practically moved to tears. I loved my Grandfather. He used to eat apples to the core, love the Chicago Cubs, chew Double-Mint gum, love us up and down, and yes, sport Old Spice. (Personally, I have always been a Drakkar Noir girl but that might be revealing a little too much about my self.)

So a few months back, when I saw the Old Spice Guy for the first time, at first I thought, what is that? The second time, I hit rewind 2X because I thought it was so funny. The third time, it was showcased at South by Southwest, highlighting humor in advertising and social media. Now, Isaiah Mustafa has signed a development deal with NBC and is known as The Old Spice Guy.

Now Old Spice Guy is replying to Tweets and Facebook mentions with personalized video's. Everyone from the Huffington Post to Demi Moore are getting personal replies from Old Spice Guy, in a towel, hanging out in the bathroom.

Maybe I am a little bit of a geek but since I work at Scout Labs, I am super excited when I see a company leverage things that are going well and turn them into social media phenomenons. It's special because it doesn't happen that often. That said, I think that the Old Spice team has done an awesome job making Old Spice sexy (and funny) again.

So far this week, the Old Spice Guy's buzz in the social web is up 859% with almost 4000 mentions.
Mentions of Old Spice spiked when Isaiah Mustafa, aka Old Spice Guy, signed a development deal with NBC and again with personalized YouTube Videos.
On Facebook, anyone can ask Old Spice Guy a question and you might get a video response! Some video's have been up for only 1 day and now have +40,000 views.
OldSpice on Twitter has 42,012 followers
Old Spice has their own YouTube Channel (I just joined 73,000+ subscribers)
Old Spice guy is well on his way into the English vernacular

Major news sources like Huffington Post, LA Times, the UK's Guardian are writing about this campaign.

Every day, I hear reasons why big brands can't engage in social media or reasons why its difficult to scale. I'm not calling BS here - it IS hard. What I am saying is that its time to think outside the box. These video's have got to be inexpensive to produce and distribute. They are personalized for individuals and accessible for the masses, all at the same time. They've leveraged social media touch points in many different directions. They've modeled for all of us how to put the puzzle pieces together.

So next time you watch these commercials, think to yourself, 'What about my product makes people laugh? What is ironic? What is provocative? What is timely?' And take those things online. Make them easy to share. Make them accessible to your fans, err customers, err audience, err, anyone who cares.

'Smell Like A Man, Man' is a brilliant campaign. Smart, sexy, funny and engaging. Clearly, Old Spice isn't just for grandpa's anymore.
"

Original post at www.scoutlabs.com/blog
Written by Erin Korogodsky @erinkoro

Vince Lombardi

2010-07-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

Vince Lombardi: "'If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.'"

REPOSTING: Modern history of human communication

2010-07-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

I love communication, so I was thinking about turning this graphic into wall paper. Collective *sigh of relief* that I live in a rental.

Modern history of human communication: "

With the announcement of Google Voice for everyone, the big G describes the history of human communication in the graphic above - and consequently, how Voice is the next step in the evolution. We begin with the tin cans in 1810, to the telephone in 1876, then the first email in 1971, and tada, we arrive at Google Voice in the present. Average international call cost per minute serves as the backdrop.

I gotta get me one of those vintage mobile phones of 1979.

[via]

Reposting: Notes from Gartner's Customer 360 Summit: Next Year Has Arrived

2010-07-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Gartner's Customer 360 Summit was a great conference for me. Man did I learn a lot. Here's Phil Soffer's notes. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Notes from Gartner's Customer 360 Summit: Next Year Has Arrived: "

Phil Soffer is Vice President of Product Marketing at Lithium Technologies. He has held a number of positions at the company influencing the direction of the platform, most recently running Product Management.

He is active on Twitter as @phsoffer and is a regular contributor in the Lithosphere where he is PhilS. 8WZ39PE8TDKD

This week I spent a few days down in Los Angeles at Gartner's Customer 360 Summit, and here are some personal impressions.

Lithium was there in force, with our new CMO Katy Keim leading the charge, along with Dan Ziman, Erin Korogodsky, and Alyce Lindquist. More importantly, our customers were there in force -- whether they knew it or not. Virtually every session I attended featured stories about things Lithium customers are doing in Social CRM, from Giff Gaff to Caterpillar to Best Buy.

Let me get the obligatory chest thumping out of the way. In his Tuesday session, Gartner's Adam Sarner unveiled this year's Social CRM rankings and, as Paul Greenberg reports, Lithium did really well.

Based on my in-person impressions, that's actually an even bigger deal than I had thought. Here's why:

Gartner has given its blessing and legitimacy to Social CRM in a big way. In his lively keynote address, Gartner analyst Ed Thompson predicted that social CRM will be a $1 billion market in 2011. $1 billion is a magic number in enterprise technology. Once a market hits $1 billion, you can't argue that it's a fad, or no longer a legitimate market.

Social CRM dominated the conference buzz. Lithium's booth looked like one of phone booth cramming stunts from the 1950s, and a lot of the prospective customers were asking interesting, informed questions. As someone who has worked in the social customer business for almost five years and is accustomed to thinking of that market as a scrappy underdog, I understand a little bit how the 'wait til next year' Brooklyn Dodgers must have felt after they won the 1955 World Series -- 'next year' has arrived for Social CRM.

Lithium's customers are the true leaders. If you wanted to hear from a real practitioner of Social CRM at this conference, there was no better session that Gina Debogovich's. In her low-key way, Gina was on fire about what SCRM means to Best Buy's brand and its employees. Although she didn't present, Verizon's Becky Carroll was also on hand to dispense her brand of social customer common sense. Indeed, if there's one message we heard consistently from the analysts we talked to, it was this: in a market that contains its share of breathless hype, our customers are walking the walk, and backing it up with numbers.

That definitely helped make this conference more fun than the usual run of conferences. Some other fun moments:

Dinners. One night we went out with Paul Greenberg and got to hear about his adventures in politics and how they led him to CRM. Let's just say some street brawls were involved, which I will try to keep in mind next time our CEO Lyle Fong gets on my case. If you get a chance to go to dinner with Paul, do it. The next night we went out with Becky Carroll, who in addition to working for Verizon and blogging about social customers also teaches what must be the funnest class at UCSD. Note to Verizon: Becky paid her own way for that dinner!

Stalking. We finally got to meet Gartner's Michael Maoz, who was very much in demand at the conference. We did this by hiding in the lobby and jumping out from behind a pillar when he arrived at 11:45 PM the night before the conference started. Katy signaled her interest in meeting Michael by coyly spilling a glass of red wine in his direction but not actually hitting him -- a clever move. He turns out to be a really interesting guy. Anyone who can make jokes in English, German, and Hebrew within two minutes and is a fellow admirer of Michael Chabon is okay in my book, even if he didn't know off the top of his head that Richard Hofstadter taught at Columbia. (He could not have known that Hofstadter is sort of my intellectual grandfather).

* New Stuff. This was my first time in the field demonstrating the Scout Labs product, and it creates a lot of fun moments. I had one guy come by the booth and I did a search on one of his competitors. Thanks to our real-time quote extraction, I got to show him with two clicks that only moments before, a disgruntled customer had posted that his competitor, 'Sucks A$$$$$$$$$$.' You can't buy that kind of goodness. Actually, you can -- and happily, Lithium did.

For all that, though, it's good to be home and back in the office. This is a lot to live up to, and we need to stay on it.
"

LiNC 2010: Paul Greenberg - 5 mins with an SCRM Expert

2010-07-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

I am still at Scout Labs and LOVING it. Everyone knows that. However - we're were acquired by Lithium Technologies a few weeks back, launching us into the Lithosphere (a kinda virtual place) and the cutting edge world of social CRM. #SCRM if you're cool like that.

Paul Greenberg is the god-father of social scrm (should any of that be capitalized?). Ironically, I'm surrounded by Godfather's and I'm starting to think this is just an expression used by people obsessed with Coppola. Wait.

Anyhow, if you're interested in a great explanation about why all this matters, watch this video. All the way to the end. Come on, its only 5 minutes.

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Ralph Waldo Emerson

2010-06-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "'The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.'"

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Ralph Waldo Emerson

2010-06-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "'Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis.'"

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

You Don't Need a Social Media Strategy

2010-06-23T12:51:00.001-07:00

Eric Weaver of RadarDDB and TribalDDB gave a great preso at the 140 Character Conference in DC last week. I love this info and will be digging into this presentation! When you see good stuff, you gotta share! Great work Eric! You can follow Eric on Twitter here: www.twitter.com/weave.

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

You Don't Need a Social Media Strategy

View more presentations from Eric Weaver.

Is your Twitter Pitch the New Elevator Pitch?

2010-06-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Is your Twitter Pitch the New Elevator Pitch?: "

At Scout Labs, we're on Twitter ~~every day~~ ~~a few times every day~~ a lot. I'd consider us to be 'Twitter savvy.' We're looking for mentions of @Scoutlabs, Scout Labs, @LithiumTech, our competitors, a few hash tags. I respond. I engage. I re-Tweet. I even wrote a blog post about why people should be on Twitter to begin with. You can't stop me.

We have 'rules of engagement' and policies that keep us from blasting our stream with messages that come across with message that is too 'sales oriented' and with the 'right tone.' We've thought it out, have a lot of eyes watching it and rarely miss a mention that includes something we care about. I typically use my @erinkoro account for Tweets from me and throw in a @scoutlabs when its work related. Come on, we preach this stuff every day and walk the walk. Or Tweet the Tweet (couldn't resist).

So today, I had an interaction with @chadarizona on Twitter that made me really think. Here's the series of Tweets:

Gulp. I have an elevator pitch down. I know our competitive advantages. I can demo the hell out of Scout Labs. BUT - What is my 140 character description of Scout Labs?? (Actually, less then 140 because I needed room for @chadarizona in the message).

I had a live one. He was in my grips. This is a sales person's dream. I even managed not to come off too much like a sales person. Sort of. But once I had @chadarizona's attention, I had to really think about what I wanted to say. I was away from my computer, on my iphone, couldn't use a bit.ly link to send him to some of our content - I had to just go for it. Here's what I came up with:

Grrr. There's a typo. And if I gave it some thought, I'd probably refine this a little bit. But what I got out of it was much more then just the opportunity to work with Chad. I got a little wake up call that if I'm going to use Twitter for lead generation, then I better have my Twitter pitch down.

So that brings me to a question for you - what's your Twitter pitch? Have at it - you got 140 characters, baby.

You might be wondering, 'what happened?!' Well I got about as much as I could hope for - first by having an actual 'conversation' with a prospect via Twitter and secondly, @chadarizona's interest. THANKS @chadarizona, I'm looking forward to working with you!

"

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Keynote: Three Ways Social Business Must Scale

2010-06-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Jeremiah Owyang of the Altimeter Group always has such great insight. This is a great presentation with sound advice about companies engaging in social media. Examples included and a shout out to @ScoutLabs on slide #35.

Keynote: Three Ways Social Business Must Scale

View more presentations from Jeremiah Owyang.

Happy April Fool's Day from Google, Kansas

2010-04-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love Kansas so I was all smiles when I opened up Google today and saw this:

What a sweet gesture since Topeka, KS has changed their name to Google, KS. Personally, I think its has a nice ring to it.

Funny, even though I spent 4 glorious years in Kansas (ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!!), I only went to ~~Topeka~~ Google once and that was to eat at the Olive Garden. Hey, I'm not saying my taste hasn't improved since then.

Thanks for the laugh, ~~Google~~ Topeka. This Kansas lover is happy to be done with March <*sniff*> and on to April.

More Here:
Google Changes their name to Topeka

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

On Company Culture: Why I Heart Southwest Airlines

2010-03-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of talk these days about company culture. You know - let's all volunteer together for a couple of hours! Weeeee, its better then working. Hey, here's a company t-shirt, go ahead and wear it on Friday's. Thanks for drinking the company punch, but "please" don't use that font in your email signature. Doesn't the expression "drinking the punch" refer to the Jonestown Massacre?

Culture is something that evolves, not something that is dictated. Its a subtle agreement by everyone and supported by everyone - kind of like a community. There's no such thing is "them" in a community - executives are not a "them". Employees are not a "them". Its a collective "we" and everyone has a voice. That's culture.

Then the .com boom went .com bust and culture became a little passe. Suddenly the mantra "we are under-dressed and over-paid" wasn't so cute anymore. Unemployment kinda sucked, actually, and I didn't really care if I had casual Fridays or a spontaneous game of foosball. What I wanted was a regular paycheck.

My next job was an old corporation with lots of rules and hierarchy. Not that they were not good to me, and I honestly learned a TON. But, ideas had to be "approved" and usually got added to the "suggestion box" that was round and lived under my boss' desk. Thank you for the security, here's a little piece of my soul. So how do you make sure that there's some structure so everyone knows what their job is but give people enough slack to actually be themselves? Contribute in a way the boss didn't think of?

Google has one idea. I've never worked there (I didn't go to Stanford after all - oh no she didn't) but I have lived in San Francisco long enough to hear a few ideas that came out of there. They're not just a search engine. They've built more tools then I could even list - tools that I use every day. I've lost track of the ones they've bought vs. the ones they've built. But I do know they've got a "strict" 80/20 policy. It goes like this - spend 80% of the time on your core job and 20% of the time on something you think will move the company forward. Whatever you want. Blank slate. Get creative. And people do. That's not the 80/20 rule I'm used to hearing about

Southwest Airlines is another great example. They used to be the "cheap" airline. I suspected they had a good culture because I read their In-flight magazine which always features some long term employee who's managed to save the whales while still building a 25 year career and launching their new compost program. That said, they used to make me wait in line for an hour before the flight so I wasn't stuck in a middle seat. Not only have they got a lot of those quirks worked out but they're actually pretty convenient. And their flight attendants are helpful and nice. They don't seem to be quit so bound by arbitrary rules. Don't get me wrong - there's still structure. But there's also room for their people to be, well, human.

This past week I was in Austin for SXSW (South By Southwest). I flew on Southwest to get there - mostly because their price was pretty good. Also, I love that they don't charge to bring bags (um, how am I supposed to travel without bags - charging for bags is asinine and super annoying that so many airlines all jumped on the bandwagon) but that's not the reason for this post. Here's what happened on my flight from Austin to LA...

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

Ingrid, one of flight attendants, got on the mike and asked everyone to close their window shade. She asked everyone to turn on their call light at the same time. Bewildered, every passenger did it. Then she announced that it was Conner's 8th birthday - "where's Conner??" When he raised his hand, he was obviously beaming. The call lights were his birthday candles, all lit up from the front of the plane all the way to the back.

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

They brought out a crown made of peanut packs and stir sticks. Conner was handed a "cake" made of a roll of toilet paper, decorated with wings and candles made of stir sticks (double does of candles, yeah!!). Ingrid and the other flight attendants were not one bit worried that their gesture would get them in trouble. They were doing something nice and creative because they could. It was about the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. It made me wonder what I could do for someone else just by looking around at the resources I had in front of me. Stir sticks. Peanuts. I never thought I'd say something so nice about a roll of toilet paper.

You know, just getting through the airport security line is enough to make you insane. Flying has become a pain in the ass - even good efforts are overshadowed by the embarrassment of the security line. Forget me wandering through security in my socks - did I really watch a TSA agent lift up a woman in wheelchair so they could ensure there were no explosives under her? REALLY? Could they at least put a few outlets around so I can charge my computer or phone when the flight is delayed?

This birthday wish was a true breath of fresh air. This is not the stodgy, annoying, inconvenient and frustrating experience I usually have while traveling. I'll be fair here - Jetblue and Virgin America are an improvement because of DirectTV and internet access. They still charge for bags but Virgin America's saftey video is hilarious - I'll give them that. Try to cash in your miles on United or American. You can go from LA to Orange County on a Wednesday for 100,000 miles. You're bumped, here's a free ticket that you can "cash" with a ticketing fee. You're welcome. Out of a thousand flights I've taken over time, I rarely leave feeling anything north of neutral about the airline. Its a commodity. Price driven. Just get me there on time and don't stick me in a center seat.

So why is Southwest really different? What is different about this flight from Austin to LA? The difference is their corporate culture. They allow their employees to be themselves. To make a kid a birthday surprise. To sing a little song. To tell a cute joke. To share their personality. To give of themselves because, heck, we're all on that plane together and we might as well make it pleasant. Even fun. Am I really still talking about an airline?!

There is a very tight relationship between companies and their employees. They represent each other. The company isn't in charge. Let's face it, if the employees are not happy, they don't really do much to spread the company love. In fact, they probably tell everyone they know how much the place sucks.

Employees are in charge and good leaders know it. Sure, leadership sets up the boundaries. But behind every company is just a group of people who would naturally do more, do their job better and probably not mind it, if you gave them the room to breath, to have a personality and know they won't be slapped on the wrist for wishing a kid a happy birthday.

This is the kind of stuff I believe in and one of my favorite things about working at Scout Labs. We're all expected to be ourselves. My ideas, while not always practical or even useful, are always listened to. I have a voice and I'm encouraged to use it. Shock, they think I'm capable of creating my own email signature. No one has ever told me that I shouldn't comment on a blog post about our company until its approved by "legal." No one ever asked me to get approval for going to a networking event, when I clearly represent my company. Those are things I do because I think its good for the cause.

Let's face it - it takes a lot of time, effort, money to enforce strict, arbitrary policies. These policies are derived from fear and assume that people will do the wrong thing without being forced to do the right thing. Bullshit.

Maybe the lawyers will disagree with me but I think it actually takes a lot less effort to let people be themselves. So what if your lunch break is 63 minutes instead of 59. Put that energy into positive encouragement and fostering ideas and see what happens. Google knows it. Scout Labs knows it. Southwest Airlines knows it and now so does Conner, a plane full of people and now all of you. Not bad for a roll of toilet paper and a couple of peanut packs.

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Be Twitspired.

2010-01-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

I've been using Twitter for about a year. At the time I considered myself a hold out - wasn't interested in Twitter until I knew it was here to stay. Its here to stay. (nomination for Understatement of the Year). All of my friends and most of my family are on Facebook. All. Of. Them. FB isn't going anywhere either. What's funny is that no one I know will even read this post unless I put it on Facebook. They're not the same. Here's why.

Facebook is your people. For the most part, you're only sharing info with the people you already know. Which is cool because its mostly personal. But Facebook doesn't really organize information so you can see all the commonalities in your life. For example - if you are looking for tips to train your dog and you don't know any dog trainers, Facebook won't help you.

Now Twitter is another story. Let's say I had a boyfriend (its possible) and a dog that always chewed up his shoes (Weezie would NEVER). Then I might tweet, "#dogtraining dog chews boyfriends shoes! HELP if you can THX." You know what? Cesar Millan might answer. In fact, if you added @cesarmillan in your question, he probably will answer. Follow his stream of tweets and he'll share some good stuff with you. He'll probably start following you too.

So you keep an eye on what he's sharing. And he keeps an eye on what you're sharing. And it might help someone else in the world if they're interested in the same stuff. Suddenly you're connected to someone's personality, even if you've never met the person. (thank you @jeffpulver for that insight).

So I started tweeting. At first just random stuff, a couple of thoughts, a few links here and there. No where near how much I used Facebook - frankly, still isn't. Sometimes I'd forget about Twitter for weeks. It takes a second to get used to the vernacular and style. Its not always easy to condense a thought into 140 characters. If you've ever thought "just get to the point already!" then Twitter is for you.

Suddenly I'm inspired. Maybe I should call it Twitspired. I just got back from the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Yes, everyone who's there is already ~~interested~~ PASSIONATE about technology. But what I couldn't believe was how many people were actually USING Twitter while we were there.

Just about everyone spent their time half looking at their palm centro (whatever, I'm getting an iphone) tweeting. If you wanted to be at the show and couldn't make it, just search #ces on Twitter and read the stream...thousands of posts that will tell you all the products people liked, a sense of where people hung out and a great collection thought leaders.

I'm starting to really get into this. My mind is racing when I get back from Vegas. Then I see that last night was TechCrunch's Crunchie Awards. I really wanted to go because of my job and my interest in technology and social media. Plus a few of my friends were going and it annoyed me that I didn't have a ticket. Getting in should NOT be the issue.

I got into MSH mode (make shit happen! #MSH). Now this isn't some concert ticket - posting on Craigslist an hour before the event isn't going to help me. I need to tap into the people who are focused on the details of THIS event - those people are on Twitter. Now. I know this because I searched on Twitter and the tweets were in full stream. #crunchie.

So I figured I would see if the Twitverse could help. Here's what happened. Start reading from the bottom of the stream.

Within 60 seconds, literally, someone who worked at TechCrunch hooked me up. And he did it publicly, which is why I know its cool to share this. @RobinWauters is a writer for TechCrunch. I'm guessing that he's keeping an eye on the hashtag #crunchies, which is much more relevant to him then anything listed here.

If that had not worked out, @jeffpulver and @mia tried to help by ReTweeting (RT) to their networks.

Either way, I was going to the event. When I got to the #crunchies, I literally name dropped this guy and showed them the tweets on my phone. Green bracelet on and in time to see @dropbox get a well deserved crunchie (hey, who doesn't want a monkey statue?!). A whole new group of people and I connected over a common interest. Some of them follow me now. Shit, I better think of something interesting to ~~say~~ tweet.

People are tweeting about all kinds of things and experiences. Want some entertainment? Try #ghettobabynames, #youwerecooluntil or #thisismydream. Its not just "I took a shower and the water was hot." Real people who have great stuff to share. It can mobilize people - sometimes by the millions - for more on this phenomenon, check out #140conf and think about the peope of #iran.

Twitter is invaluable for business.   Here's a couple of tweets I love @scoutlabs. Please pardon the shameless self promotion but they are great examples - *blush* this kind of stuff makes my ~~day~~ year. (FTW)

Don't think you'll be on twitter some day? I bet its inside a year. In fact, I'll take the under on that one.

Twitter has, and will, change the way we communicate. Even the newspaper industry will concede that headlines tell most of the story. Come to think of it, I could have scrapped this blog and instead tweeted "Twitter rules, got me into #crunchies - twitspired by #ces - sign up now!"

@erinkoro

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Bi-Coastal Curious

2009-11-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in New York City. Ahh...I'm still decompressing. My flight this morning was an early one and I'm completely sleep deprived. Already, I'm back at work, thinking about how I can make this start-up successful and as I wind down for an early bedtime, I have New York City on my mind.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It reminds me of a time, really not that long ago, when my whole family got together that one time of year. With so many different nuclear families and tons of friends to hook up with, its always a wonderful combination of chaos, careful winter driving, all my favorite Chicago-style food, seeing this band Mike and Joe at a bar called Durty Nelly's, many layers of clothes and people I loved by the dozen. I like to think of it that way, anyway. It has not been like that in a few years though. Last year, I stayed in SF and had a great Thanksgiving with Elana's family in Tiburon. It was beautiful and fun (they deserve their own post) but its hard to be with someone else's family when yours seems to have scattered all over the place.

This year, I opted for pure fun. Gina moved to New York a few months ago and I couldn't think of a better place to take a couple of days off. It worked out perfectly - I even felt great about a client meeting I had in Chelsea...and tonight, I'm sure I'll sleep soundly for the first time in a while. NYC is electric.

As if it was not amazing enough to see Gina, it turns out that Michelle (roommate from college) and Jill (one of my best friends growing up) were also in New York. I did see Jill a few months ago but had not met her son and she's newly pregnant and frankly, we just don't spend enough time together. Michelle. This is one of my favorite people in the world and I had not seen her in 3 years. Way, way too long. There used to be so many weddings and events to pull us all together and it just doesn't happen so automatically anymore. I saw them each for a couple of hours and just soaked up the love from my girls. I'm very connected to each of them for really different reasons and it felt really special to see them.

Thanksgiving dinner was just great - really, it was an F'ing riot. Gina's known for being a hilarious, sharp, warm, firecracker. Thanksgiving with her friends and family was like a room full of them. In addition to the "Elijah-like" missing guests (photos of people we wished could be there...Ted Koppel, General Wesley Clark, Barack Obama...a couple I'd need written permission to mention, each of their introductions was a toast to them and fun story of why we wished they could be there), there was an endless flow of wine, food and red candle wax that was dripping everywhere. When the 12 candle candelabra was bumped it created a spattering of red wax on the wall that Dexter might have been called to review...it was a completely entertaining dinner. Cleaning up was almost as fun. This is a good group. Gina's people are now my people.

We had dinner at Tracy's house. Did I say Tracy? What I meant was Tony Award Winning Tracy. No shit. So what if I held her Tony like it was my dog Weezie. And petted it like it was Weezie. And made Tracy show me the recording of her winning it twice. And from then on, stopped referring to her as Tracy and instead, Tony Awarding Winning Tracy. Because that's about the most bad ass thing I've ever seen. And I've seen some cool stuff - Kansas winning a National Championship, The Bears winning the Superbowl, Rita winning a car on the Wheel of Fortune...Tony Award Winning Tracy is right up there. And the fact that she's so warm and loving just makes you want to grab her and squeeze her. Which I did. Maybe a little too tightly.

Tracy's got these smokin' hot twin nephews. They're 35, tall, did I say hot yet? I might have gushed a little bit too much over them, too. So what. They both make a killer cappuccino and put on a very nice gun show. One is a chiropractor and he scared the shit out of me cracking my neck from here to China. Gina calls them the book ends. They do not miss a chance to give you shit about something. I like that. It was a super fun house to stay at.

Other attractions include a walk through Central Park, a true New York Deli breakfast, the Plaza Hotel, the movie Precious (that's another post altogether) and a fun night hanging out with Naomi's parents at the Rodeo Bar.

Saturday night was an amazing dinner with Gina's sister+husband and Adam at Nougatine at Jean-Georges (just go ahead and plan on ordering..um...EVERYTHING) and a killer time at the Empire Hotel Rooftop. So what if a drink is $14. (ok that was slightly painful but just like the vodka, it doesn't seem that bad after the 2nd one). Gina played Rachel Zoe for the evening and got me to wear some clothes a little out of my comfort zone, which is hilarious since I was actually wearing a turtle neck. Its New York City and calls for a little extra somethin' somethin'. I had to bring it.

I don't know how I made it to the MOMA the next day but I managed to rally after this killer Cuban breakfast. (chorizo and eggs? YES please) Tim Burton's exhibit at the MOMA was awesome and I LOVED seeing the Edward Scissorhands costume a note Tim Burton wrote to Johnny Depp, and a children's book he wrote and submitted to Disney while he was in high school, along with the rejection letter that Disney sent to him, these really wild sculptures...it was quite a display. The weather was amazing and if it had not been the MOMA, it would have been a crime to spend the day inside. I managed to get in a cannoli and one of those New York City tshirts made famous because John Lennon was photographed wearing it.

Fun mexican dinner last night. Even thought I went for the margarita, I still didn't sleep much knowing I had to be up at 3:45am. My flight landed at 9am and I went straight to work. I cannot believe I'm still awake right now.

New York City. I spent time with friends, got some work done, took the subway everywhere...I spent almost a week pretending like I lived there. And believe me, I thought about it. I'm already looking for reasons to spend time there for work. ("work"). I'd only been to New York a couple of times before but it was hotels and tourism. This felt different.

Its a damn good thing that I live in San Francisco and that I love it here. Otherwise, it might have been impossible to come back. Its official: I am (proudly) bi-costal curious. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com
Full disclosure: Adam coined that term bi-costal curious and I am shamelessly stealing it for my blog.

Pay Heed All Who Enter...

2009-11-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

I collapsed onto the couch and started flipping through my DVR. SWEET, I remembered to record "College Basketball Preview" which, I happy report, is a full 60 minutes of a Kansas season preview. This is practically heaven. Lots of recaps of wins, Kirk Heinrick getting an honor before the Mizzou game, senior night later in the season, overcoming a first half deficit to beat Texas. I'm actually starting to like Bill Self, even though he's not Roy Williams, who I still miss.

I realize I'm crying. And kinda smiling, at the same time. I love seeing all those kids jumping around on the bleachers of Allen Field House. I know they all tore up the University Daily Kansan to have confetti to throw around. They all have their keys right where the can grab them to shake, just at the right time. All their hands go up in perfect uniformity when someone's shooting a free throw. The traditions are endless. There is no free seat in the entire place. People waited in line for hours to get in.

This is the exact reason I chose KU. It really is. I had already gotten into Wisconsin - actually it was my dream school and I felt really proud when I got in. Those were such great months - the ones where I was applying to go to school. I could not wait to go to college and never considered staying home. I mean it - I was in the college counsler's office the first day of my senior year in high school. I already had many siblings who had either graduated or were in school ahead of me. I had visited, gotten a fake ID, wore the USC boxer shorts over my leggings (give me a break, that was 8th grade) ...college sounded awesome and I couldn't wait to go.

The schools I got into are: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Purdue and Illinios State. Six for six. Let's face it, I stacked the deck by not applying to Illinois (for starters). Actually, when I got into Wisconsin, my mom made a really big deal about it - stole the acceptance letter before I could get to it, put it in a frame, then gave me the frame as a gift for no particular reason...there was the acceptance letter from my dream school, everyone started to cry - it was very sweet...I had not thought of that moment in a long time. Madison it was. Go Badgers.

Then, I didn't feel like going to some dance in high school and I convinced my mom to let me visit one more school. I lied and said I *might* be interested in going to KU. I really wasn't. But even more, I did want to visit a friend who went to KU. A weekend away at college? I fought for that.

If I recall, I didn't drink anything but did manage to make out with 2 boys. That was big considering that I was still probably wearing braces. Oh god, I just got a flash back of me standing outside some stupid 18 year olds dorm room knocking on the door with him ignoring me - jesus, me at 17. Gulp. Back to basketball.

I was already in love with college basketball when I was in high school. I'll out myself and admit I had a big crush on Christian Laettner. Come one, that one shot against Kentucky? I had never seen anyone cuter do anything more bad ass. Plus a Chicago kid growing up in the 90's loves all things basketball - especially the Bulls, MJ and all that. Kansas basketball is legendary - I'll spare you the peach basket history lesson - there was no way I was coming to Kansas and not going to a basketball game.

So I bought a student ticket for $10. I couldn't use it because I didn't have a student ID. Somehow I just knew I'd find a way in. (As it turns out, that wasn't the first time). Here's what I did - I borrowed some kids class schedule and memorized it. Then at the entrance, I calmly explained that I had lost my student ID but had my schedule with me and a student ticket. I was prepared to show that I could recite the whole schedule with corresponding professors and lecture halls but when I got to the enterence, the guy got distracted by someone else and waived me in. We squeezed into the student section where there was absolutely no room. We had done some damage at the bookstore and I was decked out in a brand new sweatshirt. I almost forgot that I was still in high school. KU played Colorado. Chauncy Billups was on their team. Greg Ostertag played for KU and I actually saw him on the bus that weekend. (I probably blushed when Lisa joked he was my new boyfriend). Also on the team Greg Gurly, Scot Pollard, Jacque Vaughn...KU won (whoo hoo!). Rock Chalk Chant...

And with that, I was going to Kansas. There was not a doubt in my mind - I really fell in love with the place. Pretty sure that my friends and I did not miss a home game for four solid years. One of my greatest heartaches EVER was senior year, watching Kansas lose in the NCAA Tournament to Arizona. That was 1997 and I'm still bitter about it and cannot stand Arizona. Everyone who loves Kansas understands completely.

The memories with friends flood back in a second. We all were shaking our keys, waiving the wheat, singing out LET'S GO JAYHAWKS on que. We sang the alma matter. We knew the entire clapping sequence to "I'm a Jayhawk." I need to dig up the picture of me at graduation with Roy.

There is just something special about Lawrence, Kansas. If I ever see anyone wearing Kansas ANYTHING, I say something. Its not that uncommon actually. Believe me - its not just me being a freak. And its not just basketball - the other day I saw someone on the trial wearing a Kansas Relay's tshirt. (Actually she didn't go to KU and she did think I was a freak talking to her on the bus). BUT once when I was wearing a Free State Brewery tshirt, someone once walked into a laundry mat to ask me, "what do YOU know about the Free State Brewery?" Without missing a beat, I replied, "because with out beer, things don't seem to go as well." In the spirit of some level of privacy, I will not tell you what my California license plates read, but its completely Kansas related. And I catch people stopping at my car taking photos of themselves next to the plates. Its a fever. We've all caught it.

Now I've been quoted as saying, only thing I hate about the World Series is that baseball season is over (go Cubs). Now I'll say the only thing good about baseball ending is that college basketball is right around the corner.

So here we are at the start of another season. And as I'm watching this Kansas Season Preview, I think how funny it is that I don't even really know these guys anymore. And I do watch the games with the KU Alumni here in San Francisco, but I don't really know any of those people that well either (except Lori - so TOTALLY awesome to reconnect with you -and I need to get that Free State Tshirt you brought me from Lawrence!). I know the local weather guy because he went to KU (that's super fun). Yes - I still love it. The University of Kansas truly means a lot to me (a library with my name on it is part of my lotto dreams). I still feel hugely connected to my Kansas people - and amazingly there are a lot of you - we stayed together even before Facebook and email made it easy.

Now that I'm looking at the basketball court, I am realizing that there's a few things different - the Jayhawk in the middle of the court is just HUGE. In perfect Kansas trandition, the Jayhawk has slightly evolved. There are a few jerseys already hanging and they're a lot younger then me. They even got the Championship banner from a few years back. My favorite banner reads, "Pay Heed All Who Enter, Beware of the Phog."

Just like when I was at KU, they've started the year as pre-season #1. Now, we all know it doesn't really mean anything. But its a nice way to start. Especially if you're my friend Michelle and married to someone who went to Duke. Or Corrie, married to someone who went to Mizzou. Honestly, I don't know which is worse. (xoooooo)

Anyhow, the season is starting. There will be time spent in sports bars. There will be smack talk, alumni events, me and a couple of guys from the dog park going over games (I have to put up with Missouri people at 7:30am)....probably another visit or to the KU bookstore - well, web site these days. I'm excited and its only November. Don't even get me started about March Madness. What's truth is that its not just the excitement or the beer (although there's a lot of both)...but its all those memories that come flooding back. Sometimes I just watch the game in my apartment. And find myself tearing up a little bit. I still know what its like to be there. And that feeling never gets old. I'll never stop missing the days when that was practically everything.

Let's Go Jayhawks.

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

Work was really good. But I'm sad about Maggy.

2009-10-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

I just got a text from my friend Laura, asking me how my day was.

I'll be honest - I have not decided yet. Today was truly a day of mixed emotions. I started a new job today. Not just a new job, my dream job. Let's just say I wanted it bad and couldn't wait to start. After dropping off my dog (another post for another time...) I took the train and casually checked my Treo for any signs of life (usually it says, "No Upcoming Events." Not kidding). Laura sent me an email that said to call her ASAP.

Laura and I went to college together. According to Facebook, we have 72 mutual friends. When we were at Kansas, we were 2 of 16 girls who lived in a block of townhouses (I'll definitely have to blog about that sometime). Laura and I actually share cousins. We speak frankly about her daughter's genetic disease. She's told me I'm an asshole on at lease 7 occasions. She is *without a doubt* the glue that holds people together. Anyhow, Laura and I are tight. When she sent an early message to call ASAP, I dialed PDQ.

Laura said it wasn't good. Maggy died - ug, that's so blunt and harsh and exactly how it feels when someone dies. My eyes welled up. Laura said she was sorry to tell me when I was about to start my new job. Of course that didn't matter - I was glad Laura told me. I really liked Maggy a lot. She was about our age - I'm 34.

Let me start by saying that Maggy is not a super close friend of mine - we met only a few times. I know her because she had the same genetic disease as Laura's daughter - its called Familial Dysautonomia (FD). Its pretty serious actually - I think that we all spend a lot of energy pretending that it isn't. You can read about it online here. From what I understand, by living to be over 30, Maggy beat the odds by about two million percent.

Every year, Laura's family (along with so many, many others) put together a golf tournament to raise money for FD research. Its a highlight of my year - tons of KU people, their parents, their kids - really its like going to a wedding without any annoying bullshit (note: to all my friends/family who's wedding's I've been to, I'm obviously not talking about you). Anyhow, at the golf outing, there's a big dinner and silent auction afterwards. I think they have raised well over $200K in the past few years (someone correct me - its a big number).

At the Golf Outing, Maggy sold beaded jewerly. Of course its nice that she donates most of the money to the Golf Outing. But that aside, its really cute - necklaces, earrings, bracelets, fun funky stuff. The one I bought has these really great clear beads with these tiny little white ones that you can only tell are skulls if you look really, really close. Its very Ed Hardy and I love it.

Somewhere along the line, Maggy and I became Facebook friends. When we got connected, I thought about social media. What's really cool about social media is that everyone has true equal opportunity. You could be poor. You could be sitting in a wheel chair. You could be creative or dull or smart or dumb. You could know a lot about one little thing. There are people online that are interested in every single entry in the encyclopedia. There's really nothing stopping anyone from sharing or participating or tweeting or Facebooking (there is literally something for EVERYONE) and that's exactly what internet pioneers envisioned. They didn't know from political correctness or corporate media strategy. Its one of the few things in life where you get out what you put in. Acceptance and community are built in. Social media allows me to speak my mind here, has allowed me to reconnect with very old friends, maintain all kinds of relationships and, lucky for me, an opportunity to connect with Maggy.

You know how it is - you read people's status updates and suddenly, you're a yenta. Its perfect for me since I've always been interested in everyone's business. Let me tell you something - Maggy was a busy girl and I enjoyed watching her comings and goings. I recall tons of status updates describing plans having dinner with friends, bowling, movies...a lot like me, actually. She and I emailed a lot before last year's FD Golf Outing. I got to tell her how many compliments I got on that necklace. She was planning to sell a bunch more and was working hard to make tons of new creations. We were both really excited for another awesome day.

I was worried when Maggy couldn't make the Golf Outing. We all knew she had to be feeling pretty shitty to miss it. But that's FD. You're always a moment away from things feeling shitty. Most of the time, its just like the joy and love we all get. But then other times, its like nothing any of us can really imagine. I've seen it close up and I still can't imagine. But on that day, we had a lot of work to do so we just went on. Even Maggy's dad was there to support the cause - it was that important to everyone.

Anyhow, I really have not thought that much about Maggy since then. The golf outing was early August. I was already working on getting this new job and thinking only of my boy-crazy, career-driven self.

So today, on the way to my dream job, the beginning of the most opportunity I've ever had in front of me, I learn that Maggy is gone. I didn't know her that well, I really didn't. Of course its upsetting ALL BY ITSELF but it doesn't help that Laura's daughter, and so many others, still have FD and this is a reminder of just how dangerous it is. Enough about that.

Like most events, I have managed to turn this into a story about me. (Did I really just make a joke here?). Sarcasm aside, I do find irony that my friendship with Maggy got me thinking differently about media, about distribution, about voice. Does social media save the world? Fuck no. Some might even argue its not "helping" anything. But me? I'm for acceptance and inclusion. Always have been.

Maybe it sounds a little trite but I can't help but think that there's some connection to be made here. Maybe I'm supposed to appreciate my opportunities a little bit more because my perspective has been effected. Maybe I'm supposed to think of Maggy for inspiration - I don't know what anyone is supposed to really do when someone dies. All I know is that I learned something special from Maggy. It led me down a path that I'm excited about. I think she would have liked knowing that.

Today, Maggy's Facebook page is filled with messages of just how much she'll be missed. Her parents have updated her status. It reads, "Our beloved Maggy passed away yesterday morning. She ended a brave struggle and is now at peace. She loved facebook and her old and new friends. Thank you for giving her so much pleasure each day."

So I still need to text Laura back. By now, its almost 2am in Chicago but I bet she's still up. She's not a great sleeper, even when everything is swell. This news must have her rattled. I won't bother putting on a happy face - I'll let Laura know that my day was mixed. She'll understand. Work was really good. But I'm sad about Maggy. And I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes.

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

I Love Me Some Arnold.

2009-09-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

New Rule: Do stuff because you like it, not to meet men.

Applause

Realty: That's bullshit. I look for men wherever I go. Not because I'm desperate to meet men. More because I truly enjoy them. And I have this seek pleasure (example: men), avoid pain (example: loneliness) thing happening. I *think* that makes me a normal human being but I'll have to wiki it to make sure.

So here's what I decided. I am going to drop the expectations and just go do cool things that I've always wanted to do. On the list: many events from meetup.com, browsing events on Yelp.com, paying attention to professional networking gigs, etc, etc, etc. To add in the accountability factor, I'm going to blog about it. Hopefully to be entertaining. *fingers crossed.*

First up: Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks with the Commonwealth Club at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. That's exciting to me because I lived 2 blocks from there for five years and I LOVE Nob Hill. Best views in town, quite and peaceful with the beautiful sounds of Grace Cathedral church bells and the Cable Car passing by. The sun is usually shining. Sometimes you can see the famous San Francisco Twins sitting in window of the Nob Hill Cafe, eating their Tuesday evening supper. Parking is a bitch. (the sign of any spectacular SF neighborhood).

Arnold is there to bring attention to the 3rd year anniversary of AB32, "legislation that set California on a path of being a national and global leader in green economics..." as described on the Commonwealth Club blog. His presence reminds me of what it was like when Bill Clinton visited during his Presidency...electricity in the air, secret service detail everywhere, the feeling like you must be somewhere important if the President was breathing the same air as you. Arnold didn't draw quite the same slew of black suits but there were enough. He joked, "The UN gets Kadafi, you get me".

This event drew me in for a few reasons. First of all, I have always wanted to join the Commonwealth Club and go to their events. All kinds of people I like and respect have been a member at one time or another and always talked about the amazing speakers and access to info that you can't easily access anywhere else. Second, I am somewhat interested in green economics. We simply cannot treat the environment like our personal trash can. Third, I was interested in who, exactly, would be at this event. So what if I threw on a cute dress? And put on perfume? And high heels?

I was looking for a place to sit. By looking, I mean scanning the crowd for a few men sitting together, preferably ages 29-44 with at least one of them not wearing a wedding ring. I manage to find 2 guys, neither with a ring, one with his shirt undone one button too much. That guy at first asked me to borrow a pen, with small talk to follow. Then he nodded off about 1/2 way through the Governor's remarks. I observed that most of the people there had one eye on Arnold and one eye on their Blackberry.

I'll be honest, I never really thought much of our Governor. He took office after a special election, which I didn't agree with at the time. I wouldn't really ever vote for a Republican anyway, even if he is married to a Kennedy. I don't think that being famous makes you a good leader.

That said, now that I've seen Arnold speak, I have some what of a different opinion. First of all, the man is passionate. Not only about green economics but about California and the US. Arnold spoke about life in Austria after WWII, when there was no food, no resources, his family hauled water from the well and then shared it to take baths. Its understandable that wasting resources would irritate him. And kind of made me think of how easy it is to be wasteful and how its equally easy to alter my habits. I'm not going to commit to five minute showers but I will try to hurry my ass up. (You're welcome, future generations).

Also, Arnold loves women. Which I can really appreciate. In a time when all language from our businesses and politicians is all "on point, on message" it was nice to hear someone a little less sanitized and a little more human. Arnold was speaking of two women (I can't remember their names and can't find it online) who where responsible for actually executing AB32 - putting together the plan to reduce our waste, emissions, etc.

I'll paraphrase Gov. Schwarzenegger:

"I'm the luckiest man. I have strong women at work, I have strong women at home, everywhere I go, there's strong women."

Suddenly, I love Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now, he's a man who loves and respects women, not just a name or an actor or a politician.

On the way out, I walked slow and flashed a smile at a few people. I was looking cute and at a beautiful hotel. Since I had a few minutes, I figured I'd walk around a little to find a cup of coffee. I wandered up to the 23rd floor and watch the fog roll in across the city. I remembered many years that my friends and I picked either the Fairmont or the Mark Hopkins Hotel and indulged in an absolutely phenomenal Christmas Brunch. (Some Jews go to the movies and get Chinese food on Christmas Day. Some spend $90 on a champaign brunch buffet and eat so much and stay for so long that they're actually asked to leave. And some people ignore that request, needing one more trip to the dessert selection).

Coffee in hand, and back in the lobby, I saw a guy smile at me. I wasn't sure if he was local from the Commonwealth Club or someone staying at the hotel. Either way, he stopped to "check out the cigars in the window" then switched directions so he was walking in step with me. I sped up a little to see if he was walking with me or not. I didn't look at him again. About 30 seconds later, I turned around and he was totally gone. I had that moment of being in a beautiful hotel lobby and I spun around in a circle to see if this guy was in any direction. He was not. Serves me right for testing him instead of just saying hello.

I started laughing to myself. Why was I at this event again? Oh yes, green economics. And to seek pleasure. But who's keeping track.

Original post at www.viewfromtheroofdeck.com

One Crush After Another...

2009-09-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

The first time I felt it, I think I was about 12 years old. It was at a friends Bat Mitzvah - a roller skating party. There I was, chubby, face full of zits and more focused on softball practice then what any boy thought of me. There we all were, about 50 pre-teens skating around in circles, all big smiles. Out of know where, a cute boy grabbed my hand and skated around with me for a whole song. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before and I completely fell in love. That was the beginning of a horrible crush that lasted for 10 years. Yes, 10 years.

I am sure that I fell in love with the attention, being chosen, much more then the actual person. But once I felt it, I could not let it go. Through junior high and high school, I wrote his name on my folders and even on an old pair of sweat pants that I liked to sleep in. I wrote him letters professing my love and asking him to dances. Every single person in my class knew I liked this guy. I knew where he was going to college and applied "just to see if I could get in." (I did, thank you very much). I did have the good sense to pick a different school. We were actually friends, part of a pretty big group, so there were thousands of opportunities for me to take friendly gestures and turn them in to "mixed signals." And I did, every single time.

Speaking of college, I had another crush. This one also bad. We'd study together, hang out together, go to basketball games together, I always made myself available for him. We'd talk on the phone during summer and winter breaks and I felt really close to him. Then one time senior year, we finally hooked up. Once, and never again. I wanted more. I begged him to come over, to hang out with me at night, to let things develop. They never did. I literally cried and cried. I couldn't let that go either.

After college, I moved to California. I met someone at work who I really liked a lot. We got along, had a lot of the same friends, would go for long walks after work, happy hours, etc. After 2 years and much self convincing, I decided I had to tell him how I felt. Because I thought this would motivate him to love me back.

One day, I said, "can we talk sometime?" He said yes. But we never did. Then a couple of weeks later, I was having a very bad day at work and he said, "let's go get a drink." So we did and it turned into dinner too. Out of no where, he said, "there was something you wanted to talk with me about." It was now or never. No matter that I was very tipsy. No matter that my heart was beating out of my chest. Even though it was about 8 years ago, I remember it very clearly. Here's how it went:

(swallow, sip of drink, deep breath, GET-A-HOLD-OF-YOURSELF, ERIN!!)

ERIN: "The more I know you, the more I like you. And I wanted to know if maybe you saw more between us then just friends."

(This awkward moment was brought to you by ERIN)

HIM: "I was interested, and now I'm not."

I repeated this in my head a couple of times in fast forward. "I was interested, NOW I'M NOT."

I never really asked more questions. We went onto small talk. When the meal was over, we paid and I think I just ran up the hill to my apartment, hand over my mouth, tears streaming down. I had built up this moment in my head. Obviously, I was not wrong because at one point, he was interested. I didn't think it would turn out like this. I never asked what changed, never asked anything else at all. I had my answer and that was that. We remained friends and are still today. This isn't really about him - maybe never was. He's one of my favorite people and happily with someone else. I'm genuinely happy for him. I barely associate him with the whole experience actually. It was about me and my inability to realize that when a man wants you, he comes after you. Period.

So here I am years later, in another crush. We have a ton of the same interests. We laugh at the same jokes. He laughs at my jokes. Compliments me. I am in the friend zone. Big time. A little part of me hates myself for it. And why? Because I know better. Because by now, I've had experiences where men came after me. There was chemistry, interest, they were motivated to spend time with me, even without me asking for it. I have had some good relationships with good men. I know what it feels like to be actually loved, instead of wishing for love. Now I'm conflicted. I have feelings. They happen, no matter how much I try to divert my attention. And they'll calm down over time and flare up over nothing. I'm back to interpreting "mixed signals." Back to wondering if our friendship is disingenuous because I really feel one way, but act like I don't. Back to feeling bad about myself because I noticed someone who has not noticed me back. I literally feel invisible.

Dating feels like garbage sometimes. It really does. My experiences as of late have been very disappointing. Men giving me attention, only to blow me off after a date or two. (yes, I've dumped a few myself but that's another post). A man gives me attention at a party (insert other wonderful attention-receiving experience HERE) and suddenly, I'm 12 again, holding his hand skating in a big circle around the rink. I just want to keep holding on, keep skating, keep being chosen.

I'm that same girl after a couple of dates, when now it really matters to me. For more on this, check out my last blog post, "Butterfly, Don't Fly Away!" I get excited. I want more. I need more. I give more. I don't know how to just "be" and let it unfold.

I think that my psyche actually takes comfort in having a crush. If the outcome is unknown, its not dead yet. I have not taken a risk, I have not gotten hurt. Well, that's actually not true but I can only blame myself since the guy doesn't even know how I feel. I want to face it. I want to make SOMETHING happen. But my past experiences with crushes have not gone well. And I still feel like he should notice me. Shouldn't he?

The answer is yes. I am not invisible. Or unlovable. Or complicated. In fact, and exboyfriend gave me a compliment the other day. Some conversation lead me to ask him, "Do you think that I'm complicated?" He replied no. Then the next day, he emailed me again and said, "Because I can't leave well enough alone I have to say, you are very thoughtful and you have an analytical mind. You are complex but not complicated...complicated = drama. Complex = layers of personality. It's a subtle difference." (thank you smb, I loved hearing that).

Back to the issue at hand. Having a nasty, unresolved, equally exhilarating and disappointing crush. I know this isn't about the guy. I know its about me. Let's face it. I don't even know him, how he would treat me as a girlfriend, how he really is in relationships. I really don't. And I'm adult enough to know that it takes more then a crush to create a happy life.

What I'm realizing is that I am barely ready for the love of my life. I have been with people in the past who some how fulfilled one insecurity or another. I have had crushes to fill in the space between. That's where I am now. In the space between.

I am not going to tell this guy how I feel. I truly believe that when a man wants a woman, he goes to get her. And sometimes, I'm learning to accept, its simply not there.

Original post at http://viewfromtheroofdeck.blogspot.com/

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