In the past, this blog has been a mix of my musings about being a young professional and a location to share my love of social media. That will absolutely not change – in fact, I am now lucky enough to work in the field of social media – but as my life has changed, I imagine that some of my posts will as well.

You may (or may not for all I know) be asking right now, “What has drawn me back to the world of blogging?” As many people in their late 20s and 30s are finding out, that infamous “work-life balance” is a tough nut to crack. I went to a great session at last year’s SXSW where the panel talked about how balance is impossible, but finding a work-life mix should be more the goal (more to come on that in a future post). I’ve become a bit more comfortable with the mix language, but I still find that it is hard to grasp.

You work all through your 20s to establish this career that has movement, satisfaction and allows you to do work that you love, and then out of the blue, it dawns on you that your work cannot be your life. And so you start on the mission of finding a balance. Work event vs family event. Exercise vs email. Cooking vs Networking. I’ve read extensively on the subject and concluded there is just no easy answer. Which leads me to the answer to the original question… kind of. I hope that through this blog and the feedback of others, I might hear some new perspectives and advice. I missed the research that I did for posts, the education that I obtained from my sources and my followers and the outlet that the writing provides.

Secondly, but not any less important, coming back to blogging is a way that I hope to work on my mix. For years I’ve talked about how much I miss it, and in addition to blogging I’ve talked about how I haven’t “had time” to watch new shows, cook or read books. I realized last year, after a keen comment from a friend, that it is not that I don’t have time, it is that I didn’t make time. I simply prioritized other things over it. So with that in mind, a re-prioritization of such, I founded a book a club that is going strong, I started cooking at home, and today, I started watching House of Cards (which makes me terribly homesick for DC) and I wrote my first blog post of 2015.

I hope you follow me on this adventure and chime in whenever you feel comfortable. Stephen Covey once said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” I am excited to make this a priority once again!

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Tumblr Numbers: The Rapid Rise of Social Blogging [INFOGRAPHIC].

1) Bekins Moving Company – @BekinsVanLines
Bekins is by far the most impressive of my Twitter customer service experiences. I had a great experience with the company up until the delivery of my items. I wasn’t being kept up-to-date on my delivery time and when I finally did get an answer, they changed the date.

I took to Twitter to express my unhappiness and Bekins not only immediately responded, but then took steps to correct the issue. They listened to me vent via Twitter direct message. I then received a personalized apology email directly from the manager of customer care, a call from customer service with the correct information and a manageable expectation and follow-up calls up until the delivery date. It was easy to overlook this tiny blip because the customer service was quick and efficient, and the goods were delivered perfectly.

2) Sears Automotive – @SearsAuto

This was the most surprising – and hilarious – of my Twitter business interactions. I visited Sears Automotive to get my car prepped for a recent cross-country trip. My sarcastic Foursquare check-in caught the eye of the @SearsAuto Twitter manager, and completely catching me off guard, he/she inquired about my experience. Not only did I receive great service in the shop – which made my comment completely unfounded – but  @SearsAuto responded and followed up gracefully; forever earning them a special place in my heart when it comes to auto service.

2) Whole Foods – @WholeFoods

While living in D.C. I was a pretty frequent shopper at Whole Foods. My store was always busy, so you came to expect a level of curtness from everybody in the store. However, one early morning the staff was just a bit too rude, so I took to Twitter to talk to Whole Foods’ very active Twitter feed. I give Whole Foods honorable mention here because they did respond. It took a couple of days and I was a bit surprised by their asking me how I would like them to respond to their staff, but the fact that they even bothered to write back and took what I had to say seriously, secured my business and has won them many a positive retelling of my Twitter conversation with @WholeFoods.

Alamo Rent a Car – @alamocares

One of the main things to understand about Twitter customer service is that just because you express unhappiness, doesn’t mean a company is going to move mountains for you. Understanding that expectation was key to my experience with @alamocares. I rented twice with Alamo, both times tweeting about my dismay, and both times @alamocares tweeting back that they were listening. To the Twitter team’s credit, they messaged me back right away. Unfortunately, once I took the conversation off of Twitter the tone completely changed.

I am not looking to smear any company names in this post, but I bring this up to point out that how a company converses with a customer once they are out of the Twitter spotlight makes a difference. I didn’t expect them to refund me everything, but rather care a bit more than was expressed. We agreed to disagree and that’s the price of business, but as I told them, I will not be renting from Alamo anytime in the near future.

[Source: OnlineMBA.com]

Okay, maybe most salary negotiations aren’t this intense, but when your living is on the line, it just might feel this way.

As a past insurance claims examiner, I was taught some of the “finer points” of negotiation: don’t talk first, silence is a bargaining tool, put a deadline on negotiations to move the process forward. However, as I’ve embarked on my latest job search, I’ve found these tactics to be outdated and irrelevant for today’s business world, especially when it comes to salary negotiations. I realize that the job market isn’t what it used to be, but as the job offers have started to come in, I’ve started to wonder how much room there actually is for negotiation in today’s market and what the best way is to determine how much “wiggle room” I have when it comes to compensation.

I’ve assumed some of the basic negotiation tenants, i.e. be flexible, don’t get emotional, know the averages for your industry and geographic area, but these were the tips I found to be the most helpful:

1. Let the employer bring up money first: allowing them to bring up the topic lets you know they are interested in you, and by the time it is brought up, you can feel more confident in negotiations knowing you have secured the job.
2. Consider the benefits package as a whole and not just the salary number: bringing home the bacon to pay the bills is critical, but you’d be surprised how much you’ll miss a 401K or health insurance if they aren’t available.
3. Understand what skills and achievements make you unique: employers will pay more for candidates with one-of-a-kind or in-demand skill sets, so make sure you highlight these professional qualities and bring quantifiable results to show how this can benefit their company.
4. Be comfortable with the process and the outcome: if you feel like you’ve been taken advantage of or are uncomfortable with the company’s tactics, there is a high probability that you won’t enjoy the culture or your co-workers, and there is no reason to set yourself up for failure right from the start.
5. Prepare yourself to negotiate for happiness: there are a number of factors – both monetary and lifestyle – that you should consider when negotiating for a job. Whether that is a salary number, flexible hours or telecommuting options, figure out your ideal work parameters before sitting down and be honest and flexible during negotiations.

1. Plan, plan, plan: The schedule of panels and meet-ups is vast and overwhelming; add the extensive list of parties to the mix, and you’ve got a scheduling nightmare. I would recommend mapping out your schedule before getting to Austin, taking into account the distance of the hotels and the potential for crowding. Always pick a couple of panels per time slot just in case one is at capacity.

On the same note, RSVP for parties early. Most of the RSVP times close on or before the first day of SXSWi, and while often they don’t even look at the RSVP list, better safe than sorry.

You can use tools like Evernote and Plancast to help you keep track of notes, links and plans for both the conference and the parties.

2. Throw out all of your preconceived notions of walking: Living in Washington D.C. for five and half years has given me some pretty finite rules for walking. It may sound silly, but ask any urban dweller and they will tell you that you stand to the right on an escalator if you don’t want to walk, and you get out of the way if you need to stop for any reason — otherwise you will get run over.

SXSW is an eclectic mix of people from around the world who are there to learn, chat and have fun, so they are going to walk slowly, stop wherever and whenever they want and congregate in the most inconvenient of walking paths. So, throw out the rules, take a deep breath and embrace the crowds.

3. Network, but don’t be a douchebag: The first day of the conference I attended a panel on “how not to be a douchebag at SXSW.” While funny, I couldn’t believe that people would actually defy the rules of common sense and sour the amazing SXSW environment. I was so wrong.

I attended panels where people interrupted speakers in mid-talk to challenge them with their “personal” experiences. I watched as attendees screamed smart-ass remarks at groups if they dared to slightly veer off topic and have a conversation. I watched in horror as people pushed business cards and pitches at speakers or audience members. Do not be these people.

There are plenty of scheduled meet-up times to network, and while SXSW is a powerful place for networking, start with an interesting conversation before descending into a “me, me, me” spiral of promotion.

4. You don’t have to pay for food or drinks: The array of companies who are looking  for your attention is insane, and they are willing to pay for it in the currency of food and drinks. Companies will hire food trucks, set up tents, organize massive parties and even stand on corners to feed you.

Word of mouth is usually the most effective way of finding these locales, but you can also follow Twitter feeds likes @SXSWfreeNOMS or @SXSWParty to help guide you. Sure, there are lines, but the food is tasty and I can’t tell you how many cool people I met while waiting.

5. Don’t spend all day inside panels: SXSW is playfully referred to as the spring break for social media dorks, and it is so true. The parties and playgrounds organized throughout the week border on the brink of excessive, so enjoy them.

With all the amazing speakers and panel topics, I felt like it was impossible to leave without missing some fantastic nugget of knowledge. But in retrospect, I also feel like I missed out on some cool experiences outside the convention center walls. Next year, I am working towards more of a balance.

For a full-size pdf: Social Media Landscape 2011

As a corporate communicator,  I’ve written countless pieces of messaging that explain the going-ons of human resources departments, and have spent a good amount of time preaching the benefits of trusting HR with questions or concerns – what is generally called an “open door policy.” 

I have always believed that the HR department is worthy of this trust, however, a recent conversation I had with a HR professional led me to question this belief. I couldn’t quite put these doubts into words until a friend sent me an article that talked about HR and the issue of confidentiality. The article, titled “Can an Internal Coach or HR Pro Be Trusted With Your Secrets?,” raises the question of whether an internal HR professional can truly be a reliable confidant if they are also expected to help make decisions about promotions or firings.

The writer, Jennifer McClure, was a former internal HR coach and she expresses surprise and sadness over this lack of trust. She says HR staff are unfairly “thrown under the bus” when it comes to confidentiality and credibility. As an internal coach, she was frustrated that her employees didn’t trust her to help because of her position within the company — even though she did understand the concern.

Should this distrust really surprise anybody, though? If you look back at the history of HR, you will find that the field was created by management at large companies to increase the productivity of staff who were negatively responding to a post-industrial revolution working environment. At the time of origin, the employers had little concern over employee’s mental health and more concern about their physical ability to produce a product, so HR became the mediator. Over the years, HR evolved as a way to enforce labor laws and ethical standards produced by the federal government, and today, has the added responsibility of ensuring employee engagement and satisfaction as a way to produce maximum business potential for management.

Since HR has these divided loyalties, Jason Seiden — in response to McClure’s article — argues that not all HR professionals are a danger to their employees, but that they need to be more clear about their dual roles since they are perceived to hold great power within the organization. He proposes that before having a conversation with an employee, the HR professional should say something like, “Remember, I have a dual role here. I have an obligation to the company, and I also have information that I can’t share back with you; please keep that in mind.”

There is no doubt that this is a controversial subject — McClure’s article prompted a bevy or emotional comments — and I have personally been forced to confront this issue recently. In my opinion, a bit more honesty, like the statement that Seiden proposes, would go a long way to build more credibility for HR professionals. 

I am interested in knowing what you think: Is trust an issue when it comes to HR? Is it just a well-known fact that you should stay away from that area or do you think HR professionals provide a critical support for employees?