Instead of a Hard Hat I think I Need Some Valium

I'm not huge on change.

If you are familiar with The Color Code personality tests, I'm a blue. Most people are a mixture of several colors, but not me. I'm a blue-blue. One of the traits of a blue-blue is that they are very resistant to change at first, but once they have embraced it they are the strongest supporters of said change.

My mother introduced the The Color Code to my sisters and me when we were in our teens. Growing up she used to make whoever we dated take the test so she could psychoanalyze them. She would guess what color (or color combo) they were before they took the test and most of the time she was right. I remember being a young teen sitting in our family room reading the quiz questions to a guy I liked.

"What word best describes you? a. Relentless b. Indifferent c. Suspicious or d. Naive"

"Um... what does relentless mean?"

"DAAAAD! What does relentless mean?"

What? My father is a human dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus all rolled into one! If I was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and had to pick one life line, it would be him. Growing up it was a normal thing to hear one of my sister, my mother or of course me, yelling out questions to him while we did our homework.

"Dad! How do you spell conscience?"

"Dad! What's the capitol of South Carolina?"

"James! Do you say afterwards with an s or afterward with no s?"

"Dad! Can I borrow ten bucks?"

Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the Color Code... or rather my resistance to change.

I'm changing my blog and it scares the shit out of me! I am not an expert and I'm learning this whole technology/programming/hosting/domains/bribe people with booze thing as I go. I am completely dependent on friends helping me in their free time, which means it's taking a little while. WHICH IS FINE (please don't stop helping me)! I'd rather it takes a little while, you know, so I can ease into the transition and embrace the change. I'm telling you all this so that if you are a blue-blue like me, you can anticipate the change and prep your embracing skills. It will be great! GREAT I tell you!

<--Insert nervous yet hopeful laugh here.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

A Small Fish in an Ocean of Blogs

It's silly I know, but my little blog really means a lot to me. What started out as a hobby and fun way to keep friends and family updated on my life, has become an accomplishment of sorts that I am actually proud of.

I started blogging just over a year ago. My very first post was called "The world is your oyster", a brutally honest raw exposure of myself. I didn't have a name or an identity to my blog then, and truthfully I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew I wanted to write.

A large part of my inspiration for going back to college was this blog. I knew I had ideas and stories I wanted to share, but I also knew from a technical standpoint my writing left a lot to be desired. So last summer, I walked into the Salt Lake Community College, 2 weeks before classes were scheduled to start, and enrolled. Again, I had no idea what I was doing. No game plan. I just knew it was where I needed to be.

Sitting here reflecting, feet propped up on a chair - laptop warm in my lap, it's fun to think of some of the highlights my silly little blog has brought me.

- I remember the first time I got a comment from a blogger I, for lack of a better work, idolized. People like Caveat Emptor, Black Hockey Jesus and the amazing Jenny the Bloggess. It may seem silly, but it totally made my day to think that something, however small and trivial, in my blog sparked their interest enough to visit AND leave a comment.

- I remember coming up with the name for my blog and asking my friend and blogging mentor Sarah what she thought of it. "Honestly I think it's fucking brilliant and wish I would have come up with it." A better compliment has never existed. She helped me register the domain name and set things up.

- I remember getting approved to have ads on my blog through the BlogHer network. It only took 6 months of having them, but I got my first check too. I celebrated by going to coffee with Sarah just this last weekend.

- As it turns out the whole being a student and a blogger really worked out in my favor recently too. I am headed to the BlogHer convention in Chicago in a little over 3 weeks. Truthfully there is no way I could have afforded it without the discounted student rate and I am so happy they offer one. I'll try not to cuss when I pay next months tuition now.

- Last but certainly not least (cliche much?), the highlight of my evening. Getting mentioned on the "Here is the good news happening around our GiST network" email for finally getting the balls to get the tattoo I have been talking about for over 2 years. Seriously, how cool is that?

I know I am rambling on a bit and a lot of these things may not seem like a big deal, but I am a firm believer it's the little things in life that count and you should celebrate ALL victories.

Thanks lovely Internet for giving me more reasons to celebrate! Oh, and the local wine store says thanks too.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Netspeak: OMG WTF

I debated posting this at all, but decided I'd give it a try and see how the response was. I present to you, the first half of my cause analysis essay for English:

“LOL! OMG ur so funny! ROFL! When am I gonna c u nxt? WTF? Its been like 4ever! I miss my BFF! :)” For those of you who are not fluent in Netspeak, the literal translation would be: “Laughing out loud! Oh my gosh, you are so funny! I’m rolling on the floor laughing. When am I going to see you next? What the fuc0k? It’s been like forever! I miss my best friend forever! (smiley face)”

Netspeak, a form of internet/text slang used to shorten keystrokes through the use of acronyms, keyboard symbols and by abbreviating words (Wikipidea), is fast becoming one of the foremost communication tools among youth. What started out as a casual internet conversation tool between web programmers has grown to encompass email, instant messaging (IM), text messaging and most recently social networking sites such as Twitter.

It makes sense that as technology and our means to communicate advances, so should our written communication language. Unfortunately, to a large segment of the population, this is not the view shared.

There are several reasons for disapproval. First, the continuous use of Netspeak has had a negative effect on the spelling and grammar in children born from 1990 onwards. One teacher who was responsible for grading essay’s for the state, recently came across a paper in which the student simply wrote “IDK”. The teacher stated that she wasn’t sure what to be more worried about, the fact that the student didn’t write an answer, or that she was too lazy to write out the three words, “I don’t know.” (Matthews). Another teacher stated that the most common form of Netspeak she was exposed to came in the form of using “u” for you, “r” for are and “l8tr” for later (Jones).

Many fear that today’s youth will be ill-equipped for college or to enter the workplace when they come of age. Using abbreviations, along with spell check accepting common forms of Netspeak, is downplaying the importance of learning to spell. That is, until you need to hand write a correspondence or someone looks over your notes.

The second largest cause for concern is the decrease in proper verbal communication skills. Many find it is much easier to converse through the various forms of written Netspeak. The pain of rejection is lessened exponentially when it is served in a written format, making a look of disappointment and trying to interpret body language a thing of the past. People are simply forgetting how to communicate face to face, and when they do, improper dialog is getting worked into the conversation. Go to a mall or a Jr. High School and you will hear countless examples of Netspeak being used in verbal format. This may not be a problem when speaking among friends, but in business situations it can make one appear to be unintelligent or juvenile.

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* If you are interested in the second half of this essay, write me an email (blogfullyyours@yahoo.com) and I will send it to you. Otherwise, your comments and constructive criticism on the topic are always welcome.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Furthering My Social Marketing (i.e. nerd) Training

I'm a little late to get this post up, but better late than never (story of my life!), right?

Last Thursday I went to my first Social Media Club of Salt Lake City (SMCSLC) meeting. I had a great time. Actually... I had social anxiety until I recognized some happy familiar faces, Erin (Finding SLC/Poor Penmanship) followed by Susan (Off The Chest).

Most of the time (surprisingly) I understood what everyone was talking about, although I still always end up with a worried look on my face in pictures. Good news was that I sat next to the lovely Roby Storms who kept me laughing and tried to answer my questions on the "harder" stuff like where to pick up the latest Social Marketing fashion trends or why mommy bloggers tend to dismiss other bloggers as unimportant.

Luckily my transition to nerdom has been underway for a little while now. I had my iPhone with me, which turns out is a good thing because it serves as a pass to get into the "cool kids club".

All kidding aside, I had a great time. I am truly fascinated by the new revolution that is Social Marketing. For my industry, it is one of those ships that comes sailing through and you either need to jump on board or get left behind. I've obviously chosen to jump on board and I am looking forward to attending future events and to growing my knowledge which will (hopefully) make me a more marketable/sought after employee.

Cheers! Hope to see you at the next one!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

My transformation to nerdom is almost complete

As I was driving home from school I started thinking about my day. I went to lunch with my friend Sarah and was reflecting on our "we only have an hour so lets catch up on everything that has been happening over the past 2 weeks" conversation. We talked about the stresses of juggling both school and work. Then we discussed blogging and Google Analytics. Next up was the BlogHer convention we are going to in July. We followed our lunch up with talking about iPhones and whether or not to use them as iPods as well. I think we discussed boys for a total of 5 minutes (ED don't be mad. It's not that you are not important or interesting baby, because you are... and special too....and you can bench like 350 lbs so that's cool too.)

I remember a time, not so long ago, when my conversations were all about who is dating who, where I went out to last weekend, Oh my god where did you get that outfit!, sex, and other fun trivial topics. Now I discuss technology and school. I Twitter. I blog. I facebook. I wear glasses more often than not and right now I am sitting with a pencil in my hair.

The worst part, I ACTUALLY considered making a pie chart to illustrate my social life now versus a year ago! Yeah! I have become that girl. People used to call me to see where the action was at!

But never fear! I promise not to get boring on you (or me for that matter)! Spring break is only a week away and I plan to take full advantage of it.

I WILL HAVE A LIFE AGAIN... even if it only lasts for a week.

Blogfully yours,

Summer