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My National Novel Writing Month Alternative: HaNoWriMo

Jessica Smith — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:06:13 +0000

Every year since 2003, I've attempted to complete NaNoWriMo (short for National Novel Writing Month). The way I see it, NaNoWriMo participants have been using the Tweetup format for years before Twitter was in existence. What do I mean? People all over the world meet up in cafes, coffee houses, libraries, and other locations to write together after convening and connecting online. One of my the items on my bucket list is to write a novel. If it's one of yours too, I definitely recommend giving NaNoWriMo a shot. For ten years they've had everything we love about connecting via social media platforms...community, user generated content, sharing knowledge and lessons learned, and making friends that will last long after the month-long challenge is complete. Honestly, I've tried and failed every year since 2003 to start and complete my 50,000 word novel (the benchmark for having successfully completed the challenge). And this year, I'm not even going to try it because my November is already shaping up to be pretty hectic schedule-wise. But I do want to harness the spirit of writing every day. And I know there's a NaBloPoMo for those that want to write a blog post every day of the month. For me, my biggest challenge is certainly not going online every day and connecting. No, my challenge is that I don't connect with those people in my offline life nearly enough. So, for November, as an alternative to NaNoWrimo and NaBloPoMo, I'm declaring...

Being Humble is the New Black

Jessica Smith — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:48:30 +0000

I'm observing a pretty consistent trend that's risen at about the same velocitous rate as the social media platforms we use. Being humble. And while people have gotten their fifteen minutes of fame or power from creating a Twitter mob against a company or a company spending inexorbitant amounts of money to garner someone a million followers...those receive a flash of lightening of attention. However, they don't earn long-term returns with regard to respect, loyalty, or retention. At the influencer level, very few get and stay where they are by bringing down those around them, through sense of entitlement, or by demanding that people recognize their influence. Playing the martyr may bring them more than fifteen minutes, but I'd give it twenty-five at best. No. The companies, the brands, and influencers that have succeeded online have because they haven't been afraid of swallowing their pride, admitting when they're wrong, being accessible, and sharing what they've learned along the way. In other words: being humble. Need some examples to show you what I mean? I'd be glad to.

Kidpreneurs: Review

Jessica Smith — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:59:58 +0000

It probably comes as no surprise to many of you that when I was growing up, I always wanted to start a business. I had a lemonade stand, tried to start a neighborhood newspaper, and had my first summer job working for an hour a day for a neighbor's small business. That's why, when Adam Toren, co-author of the book Kidpreneurs: Young Entrepreneurs with Big Ideas!, offered me a copy of the book to review I enthusiastically agreed.

The #FriendshipExperiment

Jessica Smith — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:19:41 +0000

Most that know me well know that I'm a pretty avid social media user. I connect with old friends as well as those I've just met on Facebook, I tweet even when I'm on vacation, and get slightly panicky if I'm my iPhone is out of range or there's no WiFi. Part of that probably comes from the fact that many "in real life" friends are connecting with me digitally and many of those I've connected with online first have become offline friends as well. Gone are the days of the speed dial...now we've got direct messages, email, texting, and instant messenger. With this post I want to take the time (and encourage others to do the same) to spread some of this gratitude for the friends I have...

Bloggers' "About" Pages: What I Want to See

Jessica Smith — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:00:07 +0000

OK, so just about every blogger I know has an "About" page. Some may call it a media kit, some may call it a portfolio. Some bloggers put huge "PR Friendly" badges or badges letting us PR folk know that they're ethical. That's all fine and dandy, but here's what I really need to see so that if I think your content, your point of view, and your personality all jive with the campaign I'm currently working on: Ready? OK! (Yes, I was a cheerleader at some point in my life).

Gal to Gal Walk for Stage IV Breast Cancer Patients & Their Families: Join Team Jessica Knows!

Jessica Smith — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:12:03 +0000

As you probably know, October is National Breast Cancer month and before long we'll watch everything from our accessories to brands we love in the grocery stores turn pink. This year, our event is in honor of our brave past Gal to Gal Foundation President, Dorit Shapiro, whom you may recall lost her battle at the young age of 38 on October 12th of last year. It was only days prior that she was speaking out on behalf of the Foundation and its importance. No matter how busy life gets I never take for granted my best gal friends.

Type-A Mom Conference Recap

Jessica Smith — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:22:17 +0000

I think I attached music to my thoughts on Type-A Mom Conference because just like music can stir emotions, so can a great blogging conference. Listening to Casey talk about how she decided to take ads off of her blog because she wants it to be a place where she writes and nothing else. Or Cecily bravely talk about her journey to motherhood and her obstacles and losses that she had to endure to get there. Or when Danielle told me how it was a random Google search that led her to my blog and eventually our blogging community. Listening to all of them literally brought tears to my eyes. The good kind.

Microblogger Relations: The Next Pitch?

Jessica Smith — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:08:18 +0000

Now that I play on both sides of the street, an independent blogger and a public relations practitioner, I'm often hyper-aware of what pitches the teams I'm on are sending and who we're sending them to. With that said, it probably comes as no surprise that I can't help but think about how, as a blogger myself, I'd respond to outgoing pitches. There are usually three scenarios that happen:

Community

Jessica Smith — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:10:42 +0000

Tonight is the premiere of the new comedy, Community, starring my crush, Joel McHale. At first, I thought that I should start by saying that this connection to what the actual content of this post is about was close to nil. However, after further observation they're, well, kind of related. On Joel McHale's website, there's a link to the Joel McHale Fans Twitter Feed. At time of this post, the last time they tweeted was the beginning of August. However, looking at Joel's personal Twitter feed, he's followed by over one million people. Yes, I said one million. It's a shame he's only following a mere ten back. Let's give Joel a break though. He's a Dad. He's got a hit show on E! and now a series on NBC. And afterall, he's got a TV show called Community, he's not in the actual community business. Which brings me to the point of this post. Community. It's extremely easy to create a community these days. With a catchy name, an available url, and a Ning group, you too can bring people together from similar backgrounds who want to connect with likeminded people.

The September Issue: Why Anna Wintour Inspires Me

Jessica Smith — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:36:54 +0000