The social service is a bit like Facebook, but with greater privacy and exclusivity — it allows a maximum of 150 friends — and an emphasis on mobility since it works only via smartphone apps for Apple iOS and Google Android.

I’ve been using Path for just a few months. Here’s what I shared with him:

I, in theory, like the idea of Path being more private. But what I’ve found is that my sense of self-censorship is so well honed that I can’t find anything to say on Path that I wouldn’t say on Twitter (or perhaps Google+, depending on whether I feel like editing characters down).

The result of two months of using Path has been simply that I tweet less, and also that I’m missing my closest peeps whom I usually keep up with on Twitter because I just haven’t been in Twitter.

I do really enjoy seeing the photos and following the whereabouts of my friends with kids. That is stuff they definitely don’t say much about in other channels (that I also bother to follow them in).

I’ve made a point to only friend people I’d really, really want to share my personal life with and know about their personal lives, and as such I don’t have a critical mass of fellow users. It’s just quiet. I imagine this is what a lot of people feel like in Google+.

Path doesn’t seem to do much that other services don’t already do for me. If the whole point of Path is to share with only your closest 150 real life friends, why would I then want to push Path posts to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and/or Foursquare?

It sure is pretty-looking, though. I love the presentation of the timeline, although if I were following more people I imagine I’d have a problem scrolling through all of their stuff. Seems like that would play better on a tablet than on a phone. The sleep/awake feature is nifty and unique, even if it’s entirely useless.

I want to like Path a lot more than I actually do. It’s lived in my home row for a couple months and I’m reluctant to move it. But I don’t feel like the small benefits of a few kid pictures and more personal glimpses from a very small group of people outweighs the bandwidth it takes to use it in the first place.

That self-censorship concept was a bit of an aha moment for me. I already share quite a bit, I think. Many times I would start to post something to Path, and then I’d ask myself “Why don’t I just tweet this? It would go farther and be more likely to get a response.” Then I’d delete it and not post anything anywhere.

I think Path has viability, just not for me. I also think some of Path’s user interface concepts will live on somewhere.

Komen’s decision on Planned Parenthood divides its supporters — and loses some

Minneapolis engineer Erica Mauter said she learned about the flap “on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus simultaneously.”

‘In keeping with my values’

Mauter has made pledges to friends who have participated in Komen events in the past, but had never given directly to either organization until yesterday. When a friend tweeted about her gift to Planned Parenthood, Mauter, who is known to her tweeps as @swirlspice, was struck.

“I said, ‘That makes sense,’ so I did, too,” she said. “In thinking and talking about this issue in the last couple of days I realized it is in keeping with my values completely.”

One point I’d make that didn’t make it into the story is that the extreme ease of online giving allowed people to respond swiftly in a way that was not just perceivably but actually helpful. It’s always easy to throw money at a problem. However, in this particular case, a funding shortage for Planned Parenthood was a specific result that could be directly addressed. I made my donation to Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota through giveMN.org where I already have an account through which I donate to other Minnesota-based nonprofits.

[Mayor/Councilmember],

I’m so pleased to hear that the city of Eden Prairie has proposed a domestic partner registry! My partner and I lived in EP for three years. We now live in Minneapolis, but we do still own a house in EP (on which we pay taxes) and I work in EP.

I just read the Eden Prairie News article re: the January 5 city council meeting. I’m very pleased to hear that the city attorney and city manager could answer some of Councilmember Aho’s concerns. There are a few more I would like to address.

As you know gay marriage is already illegal in the state of Minnesota. Regardless of whether the people of Minnesota vote to enshrine bigotry into our constitution this coming November, gay marriage will still be illegal in Minnesota.

More and more Minnesota cities are creating domestic partner registries. Eden Prairie is not exactly leading on this, but would still be far far ahead of most cities. There was so much pride and enthusiasm when EP was named CNN Money’s Best Place to Live in America in 2010. This can only add another positive to the list of reasons why.

The following reason is the most impactful to me: The primary benefit of a registered domestic partnership, at this point in time, is for a person in a DP to take advantage of DP benefits offered by their employer. A private employer. My employer, [redacted], while it was owned by [redacted] and now as it is owned by [redacted], offers such benefits and requires documentation for them. Luckily we did not need them during the time we lived in EP because my partner is adequately insured by her employer. If we had needed any of those benefits, I would not have had access to them because we couldn’t have registered anywhere. This did play a small part in our choice to subsequently move to Minneapolis.

Regarding the concern that people may attempt to mis-represent the state of their relationship in order to register, I’ll suggest that it’s analogous to voter fraud in that there isn’t actually a problem there. Not to mention that people – straight and gay – do get legally married when they are truly desperate for access to health care regardless of the actual state of their relationship with the person they’re marrying.

Lastly, the absence of a DP registry in Eden Prairie does adversely affect some residents. Enacting a DP registry does not adversely affect any residents.

Thank you for your support of a domestic partnership registry for Eden Prairie thus far.

Erica Mauter (formerly of [address redacted])

The ordinance was approved!

Lynx success makes die-hard fans “verklempt” as many take first-time trips to an away game during the Finals

MINNEAPOLIS – Erica Mauter is among the Minnesota Lynx faithful who traveled to Atlanta to see her team attempt to sweep the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals. She arrived in Georgia’s capital early this morning and instead of staying with good friends of hers in the city decided to book a hotel room close to Philips Arena because “my time here is all about the game.”

Mauter, a chemical engineer who graduated from the University of Michigan and is active in community service groups in Minneapolis, is a longtime season ticketholder of the Lynx. She, along with friends who are also dedicated fans, arrived early to games one and two then stayed out late, after saying hello to players, to head over to Hubert’s, a sports bar in the Target Center to dissect the night’s match with fellow basketball heads.

After 12 summers of disappointments with just two short postseason appearances, the Lynx reached the conference finals for the first time in franchise history this year. Now that the team is in the best-of-five championship title series, die-hard fans like Mauter who have stayed loyal to the team over the years are making first-time trips to an away game to watch their beloved Lynx battle.

Confidence in Reeve

When asked if she was excited that the Lynx named Cheryl Reeve head coach before the beginning of the 2010 season in December 2009, her response was quick.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” she said. “I had been paying attention to Detroit, my hometown team and knew her background as an assistant for the Shock.”

Even though the Lynx missed the playoffs in Reeve’s first year at the helm, Mauter said she and other season ticketholders felt confident that the team was on the upswing and would be a force to be reckoned with this year.

“I just felt confidence in her,” said Mauter. And after listening to the former Detroit assistant talk, said she and other fans were appreciative that Reeve did not use a lot of “coachspeak” to convey her message about her vision for the Lynx and the weaknesses of the team.

“There were so many other things that went wrong last year before I could even think about the coaching,” said Mauter. “Given the problems we had with injuries and other stuff, I didn’t feel like she was given a chance to show what she really wanted or could do as a coach.”

And then the Lynx won the Maya Moore sweepstakes. The 2011 WNBA Rookie of the Year has not disappointed in her first season. She averaged 13.2 points per game and 4.2 rebounds during the regular season and with the exception of getting into foul trouble during game two of the Finals series, her output has been just as impressive in the postseason.

Now that the Lynx are playing for the 2011 title, it sometimes feels overwhelming for some Lynx fans.

“When I step back to think about it, in just those terms, and not in the middle of a game, I get verklempt. It’s like a dream come true. I would be very proud of everything the team has accomplished this year because they have blown away every other season they’ve had, far and away. But to come this far and not finish it would be kind of sad, but I’m going to cry either way. I’m totally going to cry.”

Away Game First-timer

What made Mauter decide to travel to Atlanta?

“This is the first. I’ve never traveled to an away game for a team that I follow ever so this is definitely a first for me,” she said. “I’ve already made the investment as a season ticketholder to commit to supporting the team and it was feasible for me to make that trip. So I said ‘I’m going to take advantage of it.’ It helps that it’s an easy trip and I know people down there to visit and stuff so it’s like ‘OK, let’s go.’”

While the fans have been patient over the years, Mauter says they are also appreciative of the fortitude of Lynx long timers Seimone Augustus, Candice Wiggins and Charde Houston. While Augustus is the team’s leading scorer, Wiggins and Houston have taken on roles as reserves. Houston was a WNBA All-Star in 2009 and Wiggins has had bad luck with injuries.

“I think they have all been really mature about ‘here’s what coach asked me to do, and I’m going to do it for the good of the team,’” said Mauter about the trio. “This is what they say and I’m inclined to believe them: ‘If we win a championship, it doesn’t matter how we got there. We did what was asked of us and here we are.’”

Mauter is also appreciative of how the players conduct themselves off the court, interacting with fans and becoming involved in the community.

“If you get attached to the Vikings, it’s not because you said ‘hi; to the team,” she said. “It’s not because you connect with them personally. You might think you do. You might think that you have a connection with these players.”

She contrasts that with the connections fans have with WNBA players.

“But what I love about the WNBA, especially as a season ticketholder, is that you do have incredible access and they are so very giving of their time, so it feels more personal to me. I feel very invested in their success because I’ve gotten a chance to talk to all of them and they are all super nice and very smart and really good at what they do. I want them to succeed the way I want my friends and family to be successful in things.”

Reposted with permission from Hoopfeed.com.

Click through or listen here:

Radio’s funny. I sit on the aisle and she sat next to me on the steps for the whole game. I ended up with the one sound bite in which I cop a cheesy Minnesotan accent in a weird voice!

It was a neat experience, though. I enjoyed chatting with her. Basketball’s not usually her beat (because who goes to MPR for sports?), but she was having fun at the Target Center. I told her having her there kept me the calmest I’ve been through a Lynx game all season.

MinnPost’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) is made up of Minnesota groups and organizations serving young professionals in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, as well as individuals in the same age group. Membership is free and open to all young professionals.

Answering the questions helped me really crystallize the things I’ve been thinking about and working on this year. I sound like such a grown up. When did that happen?!

1. What is your current state of mind?
It’s a heightened mix of hope and hopelessness.

On the positive side, I’m winding down one career and planning the next. That transition is thrilling in both good and bad ways. Change is exciting! Change is scary!

The opportunity to go back to school and craft a course of study that is interesting and unique to me is more compelling than I expected (as opposed to my highly-structured undergraduate engineering experience).

On the other end of the spectrum, the news of the world is, well, you know. There’s a lot going on and it’s not possible for me to fix it all.

I’m trying to flip this into a positive experience by exploring what I can actually do that will effect tangible change and be fulfilling.

2. Where would like see yourself in five years?
My medium-term goals are more focused on how I’m living than what exactly I’m doing.

I’d like to live a more mindful existence. I want to look back on what I’ve done and see a pattern of thoughtful choices that reflect my values.

I’ve spent a good chunk of this year creating space for this thought process and digging into what those values are, what those choices look like, what that choice-making feels like.

I’m still hopeful that becoming a more authentic me will translate into meaningful work and a means of supporting myself and my family.

That said, I’m angling towards graduate study in some flavor of organizational leadership. I’m eager to see what emerges on the other side of that.

3. What actions, strategies, or professional networks have been most helpful to you in building your career?
First I’ll cop to the fact that I have no interest in climbing a corporate ladder.

I’m not sure if my dream job is at a small company, a nonprofit, self-employment, or what. I do know that I’ve gained a lot simply by showing up for things that interest me.

I’ve had a blogging habit since 2002, so I’ve taken myself to a number of local and national tech conferences and presented at a few.

My primary fun time is spent singing with the Twin Cities Women’s Choir. That has evolved into volunteer opportunities, my first board service opportunity (which has catapulted me on to others) and some incredible networking.

Along the way, I’ve learned things, met people and been inspired.

All these activities are entirely outside my primary career, but they’ve set me up with knowledge, skills, and a network of people to help me move on to the next one.

4. What is always on your to-do list that never gets done?
I have a perpetual list of things I want to try on my websites. They’re either a bit too tech-y for me to do quickly, require a bit of strategy that I haven’t put thought into, or are things I don’t actually have a reason to use but look cool anyway.

There’s also a pile of stuff in our back room that my wife would really like me to clean up.

5. What do you order at a coffee shop?
Dirty chai. That’s a chai latte with an espresso shot.

I’ll be moderating a panel called Your Social Media Solar System.

Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Etsy, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. The social media universe keeps expanding, and most of us swing between thinking we obviously must use every single tool and app out there to raise our profile and thinking that it’s all a waste of time without any return on the investment of our time and energy. The answer may be to choose one or two platforms to be the sun in your social media solar system and let all of the other tools and apps and channels be the planets and satellites that revolve around your primary platform. This panel will review the various social media opportunities and their strengths and weaknesses as a vehicle to feature your crafty work.

I’m not crafty or DIY at all, but I do know my social media tools. I’m looking forward to presenting Kathy Cano-Murillo, Nancy Malay, and Stacie Tamaki who will help other creative geeks and geeky creatives figure out what’s out there, what to do with it, and why they should bother.

I attended BlogHer in 2006 and 2007, the second and third years of that conference. Those events were a turning point in my life in some ways, so I’m happy to help out and give back.

POST-CONFERENCE UPDATE: The panel went smashingly well! I started the session with an overview of the most popular social media tools and surveyed the audience regarding awareness and usage. I then led the panelists through a discussion of what tools they like and why, how they came to those conclusions, how specifically they use those tools, and how those tools help them meet business goals.

The session liveblog was provided by Patti Nichols (@pattinichols) who did a fantastic job capturing a wide-ranging discussion. Panelist Stacie Tamaki had her own write-up as well.

The BlogHer folks put a lot of structure around preparing each session and participant, including suggested formatting, conference calls, and ongoing feedback. As a relatively new presenter and a first-time moderator, I really appreciated that. That’s some serious quality assurance! It’s a preparation model I’ll continue to use going forward.

The focus of the “Community and Connections” discussion was to tell the participants what it is about the Twin Cities that makes us stay. The short answer, of course, is “community and connections”! But what does that look like?

I started out acknowledging that part of the challenge is the fact that making friends as adults is a completely different experience than making friends as a kid. Up through college, you’re constantly thrown into situations where you’re meeting new people and expected to have fun with them. Not so as an adult, and as such you’re going to have this challenge wherever you live that is not the place you grew up in.

In some ways the answers are easy and cliche. Get a hobby. Volunteer. Join a church. Do whatever it is that you like to do anyway. At 11 years of Minnesota living, I had the least tenure out of all of my co-panelists. They did a great job of giving some context of what Twin Cities life is like relative to other well-characterized big cities. The key point I wanted to make – which is the point I make to anyone I’m trying to sell on visiting or living in the Twin Cities – is that we have all the amenities of any big metropolitan American city, and they’re all so much more accessible.

I also shared that my blogging experience fundamentally changed the way I experience living here. It gave me incentive to try new things, avenues to find new things, and I met people doing interesting things. As much as that sounds like a sweepingly stereotypic New York Times article on Millennials, it’s the truth.

My big takeaway was one of my co-panelists describing Minnesota Nice as a code of conduct. I openly bristled at the mention of it. He had a much more interesting and measured frame. One thing’s for sure: Minnesotans sure do love to talk about Minnesota Nice.

In the case of fresh.mn, I’ve reaped all the rewards and social capital to be had. I’m not willing or able to give anything more to make that site bigger, better, or even much different.

In the case of cinna.mn, while I find the topic of minority issues in Minnesota to be very much deserving of attention, I’ve had to admit that I cannot currently give it that attention. Additionally, The Dish newsletter has been rendered largely obsolete by social media.

I’ve elaborated a bit on my personal reasons. It’s time for a new chapter in life.

Onward and upward!

Video of my segment is here.

Julio, being the tech guy, snagged a copy of the video and uploaded it to YouTube, which I will embed here.

You really should click through and also watch the bonus web-only segment in which we play a little game called “Technology Hot Potato.”

Everything about this experience was so great. I got to meet John and chat with him and Julio before our segment. Cathy Wurzer and Eric Eskola and all the staff at tpt were super friendly and encouraging. I’d love to do it again if they’ve got an opening. I owe this one to John Daenzer. I met him when he worked at WCCO; he’s now the VP of Interactive Media at tpt. Thanks for the opportunity, John!