I'm now of Facebook!

I'm not sure what took me so long, but I finally have a Facebook page for my business, Blue Frog Creations, LLC. If I've inspired you, enlightened you, or helped you through this blog, I ask that you jump over and click "Like." Don't let me be alone in cyberspace! I'd really appreciate it!

Social Media: Does it overwhelm you?

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, message boards, blogs: the world of social media is exciting but overwhelming to me at times. Ok, most of the time. I want to be in the know but when it comes to social media, I'm flying by the seat of my pants. You noticed, huh?!

So, I've decided to do something about it. Starting Feb. 1, I'm taking a class taught by Mark Schaefer of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. I trust that he'll have valuable information to share because I've come to know him as one of my clients. Through the course of producing a promotional video for him, I realized I have a lot to learn about social media.

It's at Pellissippi State and will be 8 hours over 4 classes. Here are all the available dates and times and how to sign up for "Social Media Marketing Workshop for Business."

Spring 2011 Class Dates:
Tuesdays, February 1-22 (8:30-10:30 a.m. or 6:30-8:30 p.m.)
Tuesdays, March 8-29 (8:30-10:30 a.m. or 6:30-8:30 p.m.)
Tuesdays, May 3-24 (8:30-10:30 a.m. or 6:30-8:30 p.m.)

What about you? How do you think social media could help your business?

Enjoy his video!

Twitter Phobia

When I heard that "Tweet" was voted word of the year for 2009, I decided it was time to take my head out of the sand and finally check out Twitter. I knew it was a social media--one of the key ways news and ideas were spreading like wildfire--but I had really dragged my feet on this one. Peer pressure had led me to join Facebook a few months back; wasn't that enough? Why did I need Twitter?

The irony is that I've always been eager to educate myself on the latest in technology. We were one of the first families in the neighborhood to get Atari, the Apple IIE, and one of the first Panasonic camcorders with sound. Even though that video camera was a two piece behemoth weighing probably 20 pounds, I jumped right in at age 12.

I got my first email in college, was booking flights through that amazing tool they called the World Wide Web by age 22, and had one of the earliest versions of IMovie home editing software. Technology doesn't scare me. I'm open to the latest and greatest. Ok, maybe that's not the entire truth.

The truth is as I've gotten older, I've lost some energy along the way. I've lost some of that gung-ho gusto to figure out what it takes to work the latest widget or software. I've got three kids, I don't recall the last 8 straight hours of sleep I've had, and my mind is buzzing with "Did Brooke take her medicine? Do I have all the ingredients to make the class cookies? Is that really my dog in the front yard tearing into the neighbor's trash? Crap!" Who has time to Tweet?!

In between loads of laundry and cleaning up trash (yes, true story), I decided to stop making excuses and jump on board. It seemed fairly straight-forward. Messages had to be 140 characters or less and they'd let you know when your message...oops, my Tweets tend to be too long. And then there were all the questions I had: When I tweet, who reads it? How are random people I don't know now following me? Who should I follow? I think retweeting is like forwarding an email, but I haven't tried that yet. A fellow tweeter advised me that http://bit.ly/ and http://tinyurl.com/ will be my best friends for links. Huh?

But I'm happy to report that good things do come to those who crawl out of their comfort zone to try a new technology. Yesterday I picked up two dozen free cupcakes from Pimento's Cafe & Market for becoming a fan on Facebook and tweeting. That was just in time for Teacher Appreciation Week and the MOMS Club valentine party. Yeah!

I'm sure in time, I'll learn the lingo and not feel so old. Be patient with me. I'm just now getting the hang of this blogging thing. So, do you Tweet?