I date. I dig Social Media. And I spend a lot of time thinking about both. Because the problem is, like I always say, that in dating and in social media, it’s the blind leading the blind. Well, now, I think it’s time to pin down some answers. And that is what has inspired “Dating 2.0″ category on this blog. In each post, we tackle dating situations made sticky by this wired world we live in. I ask for your opinion. I give you mine. It’s fun, I promise. And maybe we’ll even set some standards along the way.

So far, we’ve tackled whether or not it is acceptable to getting a potential date’s phone number off Facebook and at what point to Facebook someone you are dating.

Photo Credit: iain

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The following is a guest post from my good friend, Michal, who is a twentysomething world explorer currently navigating life in the land of Israel.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

I took David’s question differently this time. I think this is a question that is on the mind of many 20-somethings. After we graduate college we enter an unknown world. For many of us this was the first time in our lives where there was not a definite framework ahead of us (after middle school came high school then college etc…) The 9-5 world was looming and although some were ready to go out there and make tracks in the corporate world, others were dreading the day of their first punch in on the time clock. (Personally, I was so fearful of 9-5 and the office life that after graduation I took off to South America for 4 and a half months by myself with a backpack, but that is a story for another post…) A year and a half after I received my diploma I began working at an office. While it is not as terrible as I thought, I still get nauseated at the fact that I may be doing this for a long long time. As I have settled into the 9-5 routine over the past year and a half I find myself asking, “Is this it?” Has my real life started? After having many discussions with my other twenty-something friends I find that many of them are asking themselves the same thing. While many of us enjoy our jobs most of us are not sure if we see it as a career (or maybe just me). Those of us who are not in serious relationships wait for that to start as well (yet another subject for a later blog post)

So when does the elusive real life start? Is it when you are married? When you have kids? Could it be a career milestone, when we feel we have found our place in the professional world? When we feel settled? As someone who grew up in several countries with family all over the world, I often worried that I would never stop asking that question. I thought that I would always feel somewhat lost and while I was living in one place I would always miss another. After having resigned myself to the fact that I would always feel this way I saw a Visa commercial and while I am loathe to admit that I got an epiphany as a result of a Visa ad I did. At the end of the commercial, the announcer asks, “What are you waiting for, a written invitation to live life? You have one; it’s called a birth certificate.” This line struck me as profound. (Damn you brilliant advertising geniuses!!) Real life for me began on December 4th, 1984 and will hopefully continue for a very long time. While there will be times that I and many others of my generation will feel lost and discombobulated life is constantly moving and it is best to enjoy it while you can. In the words of one man who I considered a mentor in high school (and whose advice I should begin taking again), “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbR7axof1wk

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Editor’s Note: Even though I’m cruising around the Mexican Riviera this week, per my recent resolutions, I didn’t want to neglect my blog. So I asked the very talented Vicki Boykis if she’d be willing to lend her time and thoughts to me and my readers. Vicki and I met at a tweetup last year, if you can believe it. She is an international trade analyst and product manager in Washington, D.C. and just like me, is a twenty-something Russian Jew trying to figure it all out. Below, Vicki shares some really great tips for moving.

1. Make sure you forward your (low-tech) address
Luckily, the easiest way to do this now is online.  I like to do this at least two weeks before I move and after I’ve signed a lease; that way, you can still pick up any spare mail still coming to your old address.  Also, change all your addresses for things online like Netflix, credit card bills, and anything else you don’t want to miss in your mail.

2.  Old packaging-keep as much of it as possible
Lots of apartments don’t have tons of storage.  However, what storage we did have in ours, I used to keep boxes because I knew I’d eventually need them for moving again.  I especially kept things like boxes from silverware and glasses, our TV box, and packaging for kitchen items like blenders.  This automatically makes it easier to put boxes into a bigger box and you don’t have to worry about how to wrap.

3.  Very carefully choose movers
Even if you don’t have a lot of stuff and tons of friends, it can still be a good idea to hire movers.  Last time, my husband and I moved from Alexandria, VA to Bethesda, MD (about 35 minutes each way), and it was a huge hassle.  This time, we’re hiring movers from Craigslist, but we made extra-sure to check them out online through references and making sure they responded on time.  A friend pointed me to Moving Scam, which has a list of tips to avoid when you’re looking to move.

4.  Evaluate: In my post, I mentioned that I as struggling to get rid of things.  Emotional attachments are huge blocks to moving more simply with less clutter, and we all struggle with getting rid of teddy bears from when we were 11.  The best tip I recieved on my blog was to take pictures of things I was especially attached to and keep the pictures, but to also keep a number of things you can still look back on.  The fact that there are tons of blog posts on this issue signifies that it’s a big one.

Good luck!  I know I’ll be needing it this weekend.

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Friends,

I have some exciting news to share — I am about to embark on what I’ve been affectionately referring to as “Julie in DC: Part II”.

This week, I am leaving Amplify Public Affairs and will soon be joining RADIUS, a corporate travel management company (TMC) serving multinational corporations with regional or global travel consolidation needs, as their Online Marketing Manager. I have learned a lot during my time at Amplify but am now looking forward to tackling this new challenge of developing and implementing a complete online marketing strategy for RADIUS.

My last day as Social Media Strategist at Amplify Public Affairs will be Thursday, April 15th and, after a quick break to cruise around the Mexican Riviera with my mother and sisters, I will begin my new role as Online Marketing Manager at RADIUS on Wednesday, April 28th

Additionally, this past weekend, I moved into the apartment of one of my closest friends from college, Mindy. I feel fortunate to be able to share my home with a friend and we have already had a lot of fun decorating and making plans for future hostessing opportunities.

If you’d like to receive my new professional and personal contact information, just send me a quick note. I will be making the appropriate edits online in the coming weeks.

Best,

Julie

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It’s always an fun day when Apple reveals the features of its newly updated Operating System (OS) for the iPhone. (Read all my iPhone-related blog posts.)

Here’s what got me excited about today’s announcement:

1. BLUETOOTH KEYBOARDS.  In a October 2008 post, I wrote: “Only once Apple takes my advice (Ha!) and creates a iPhone-compatible keyboard will I really be able to leave my laptop behind…“. Perhaps that time has come!
2. Multitasking! iPhone users have been waiting for this one for quite a while. Now, I can use other apps while listening to Pandora, etc.
3. Folders to group app – which I had been doing anyway by grouping like apps in separate pages. But this will certainly save time and make it easier to navigate. Also, for app addicts, this means being able to have 2160 apps instead of the current possibility of 180.
4. A better mail app! The ability to read by thread and to have more than one exchange account linked to a particular iPhone!

Check out the full live coverage from Gizmodo and engadget.

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April 1st, also known as April Fools’ Day, is a great time for companies to shed their corporate images and show a little personality.

Here are a few pranks I’ve seen so far today that I’ve really enjoyed -

“University President Dan Mote, who will resign his post in the fall, announced yesterday that to leave his final mark, he will push hard to get the school’s mascot changed from the diamondback terrapin to the endangered giant panda.”
Panda to be university’s new mascot | The Diamondback, University of Maryland’s campus newspaper

“The Johns Hopkins University announced today that it is bowing to the inevitable and officially changing its name to “John Hopkins.” ‘We give up,” university President Ronald J. Daniel said. “We’re fighting a losing battle here. And we strongly suspect the extra ‘s’ was a typo in the first place.’”
The “S” is out: We’re “John Hopkins” now | Johns Hopkins University

“Plenta™ (128 fl oz) and Micra™ (2 fl oz) cups arrive in Starbucks stores this Fall. Derived from Italian word for plentiful or small, the Plenta™ delivers coffee lovers record amounts of the world’s finest coffee beverages while the Micra™ delivers a quick and satisfying morsel of goodness.”
Starbucks Listens to Customer Request for More Sizes | Starbucks

“Early last month the mayor of Topeka, Kansas stunned the world by announcing that his city was changing its name to Google. We’ve been wondering ever since how best to honor that moving gesture. Today we are pleased to announce that as of 1AM (Central Daylight Time) April 1st, Google has officially changed our name to Topeka.”
A different kind of company name | Google

I’ll add my finds throughout the day as they unfold.

What are some April Fools’ Jokes you’ve seen today?

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This post is the fourth in a series which outlines iPhone applications that I find useful. Check out “My Favorite iPhone Apps” (October 14, 2008), “5 iPhone Apps That Rocked My World” (February 3, 2009), and “Seven Must-Have iPhone Apps” (June 20, 2009) to see my previous recommendations.

Boxed In	I’m not a big “gamer” on my iPhone, but I do enjoy a game that makes me work my brain. Boxed In certainly fits the bill for an addicting, intellectually stimulating game. In this puzzle game, you guide a robot through each level with your finger. There are boxes that must in the correct order and into the correct location in order for the robot to be able to make it through. I swear I used to play Boxed In on the computer maybe, oh, 15 years ago? In any case, it’s a fun little game to play!
LetsTans	LetsTans is another game I enjoy that allows me to put my problem-solving skills to the test. The premise is to correctly fit eight(?) shapes into an outline. The only downside is that I finished all the different configurations last night and have to say – now what? (There are additional similar games that one can purchase but I’m afraid I’ll run through them just as quickly as the original…)
LoseIt	I’ve included LoseIt in this list because it is a great, user-friendly, simple app to help one track their caloric intake, daily exercise, and weight. The accompanying website also has forums, different exportable reports and even predicts when one will reach their goal weight based on their weight-loss trend. Oh, and for extra motivation there are settings that will Tweet and update your Facebook when you weigh-in!
Meebo	I used to recommend IM+ as an all-in-one instant messaging application — until Meebo came out with its own. The “original” Meebo function is to serve as a web-based instant messaging aggregator. Now, the company brings those same capabilities to the iPhone. You can sign in to different instant messaging services while on the go. The interface is easy to use and you can sign in with your existing Meebo log-in (if you have one) or simply with the different services that you’d like to use.
TripIt	I do a fair amount of travel (mostly back to Boston although I have been lucky this year to have a full vacation itinerary as well). TripIt has been really useful for keeping all my airline boarding information in one place. It has further capabilities as well, but that’s what I mainly use it for. The app is an extension of the TripIt website which, again, lets you keep track of your travel. You sign up and then when you book travel, you simply forward the confirmation to an email. TripIt sorts it and allows you to see who will be nearby. A must-have, especially for business folks who travel frequently for work!
WhiteNoise	Remember those old machines with crickets chirping and rain forest noises that helped the masses (okay, so not the masses, but people from all over) fall asleep? White Noise is exactly what it sounds like – an app that has a variety of “white noise” sounds that can help lull you to sleep. My favorite? Waves Crashing. It takes me instantly to my summers on the Cape.

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I’m spending this week exploring the United States Virgin Island of St. John.

Hopefully, once I return, I’ll pen my reflections in the form of a blog post, but in the meantime, here are a few things that I’d recommend to someone travelling to the island:

• BRING YOUR PASSPORT. There are day trips to some of the British Virgin Islands like Jost Van Dyke and sans passport, your excursion opportunities become limited.
• A GPS will come in handy. St. John is incredibly hilly and its easy to get lost. Luckily, I had my iPhone on hand and have been using it quite a bit to get around the island.
• If you’ve got four people and are renting a car, the four door Jeep is worth it… The two-door Jeep creates quite a challenging workout for the two riding in the back.
• On a map, it might look like there are three ways to get from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay or vice versa, but in fact there’s only one – take Route 10 (also known as Centerline Road).

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After the initial shock of the news about the recent earthquake in Haiti wore off, my next thought was, how can I lend my support?

My immediate instinct was to do donate to The Red Cross since the organization’s mobile giving campaign (where participants can simply text a number to have a $10 donation be added to their next phone bill) was getting so much press coverage.

However, Vicki Boykis pointed me to the comments in this Reddit post that caused me to take a step back and re-evalute my decision. What the comments highlight and what I’ve found in my research is that The Red Cross, while a recognizable name, is not a great organization to support. It’s inefficient and too little of the money ends up going to relief efforts.

It seems that organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Partners In Health are able to put donations to much better use.

I urge everyone to support the relief efforts in Haiti in any way they can but please remember to check the credibility and effectiveness of the various charitable organizations out there. Good questions to ask include:

• Is this a legit organization? (Check with the Better Business Bureau to be sure.)
• What percentage of expenses goes to Program Services versus Fundraising or Administration? (Charity Navigator can provide this information and has a rating system for charities.)
• Will my donation go specifically to Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts or is it just a general donation to the organization?

- WHERE TO SUPPORT HAITI (LISTS FROM AROUND THE WEB) –

In case you are looking for more organizations that are raising donations to respond to the crisis, here are some aggregated lists from around the web that maybe useful to you:

• Haiti Earthquake Relief: 9 Ways to Help Now | Mashable
• How and Where to Donate to Haiti (and Avoid Scams) | Lifehacker
• Six ways you can help in Haiti. | What is left?
• Emergency Earthquake Relief for Haiti | Global Giving
• Helping Haiti: A Guide To Helping Haitians | Peter Greenberg Worldwide

- WANT TO DO MORE? –

CrisisCamp Haiti will take place this Saturday, January 16th from 9:00am to 5:00pm in Washington, DC. CrisisCamp will bring together volunteers to collaborate on technology projects which aim to assist in Haiti’s relief efforts by providing data, information, maps and technical assistance to NGOs, relief agencies and the public. Register here.

Matador, an online community of travelers, adventurers, and grassroots organizations, is organizing a volunteer trip to Haiti. Learn more here. (Thanks to @VastuDC for the tip.)

- DISCREDITED RUMORS –

In an age where there is so much information readily available to all, there’s also a lot of misinformation that circulates. A few rumors that I’ve heard and later found to be false:

• American Airlines IS NOT flying doctors and/or nurses for free to Haiti.
• UPS IS NOT shipping supplies for free to Haiti.

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