Insights&Inspiration

My Tweets Over Time (via TweetStats)

Now that I have been using Twitter for some time – from jumping on the bandwagon, to experiencing the learning curve, to really beginning to understand the value – I thought I would share my experience in hopes that I can educate some of those who are still misinformed about usefulness of Twitter and as such have not yet given it a shot.  Though Twitter may not be for everyone, not giving it a shot due to being misinformed is just a shame.

So heres a summary of my experience with Twitter, in all honesty, in hopes that it will enlighten those who are still struggling to understand the platform and its usefulness.

• Stage 1: Twitter, Shmitter!
  Why would I want to listen to people Tweet that they are “on the porch”??  Come on..

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I owe the inspiration of this post to the following quotes:

“To leverage Twitter to its strengths for maintaining more personal dialogs, well-educated personnel need not just monitor the Twitter presence, but actively engage. Getting value out of the free Twitter service is an investment in itself.” from Bryce Marshall at imediaconnection.com:

And “How many participants you have on your social media properties is far less important than how you interact with them.” from Larry Weintraub at imediaconnection.com. (more…)

This is just a great little story I want to keep spreading the word on.

The ESPN E:60 story itself, along with the two teasers, are just really well done pieces highlighting a great story with a great message.

The focus of the story – Chelsea Baker – is just playing a sport she loves and giving it her all. But by doing so, she is also really helping to break down some huge barriers in women’s sports in general.

You go Chelsea!

Chelsea Baker E:60 Teaser

Chelsea Baker E:60 Teaser 2

Or if you have a few minutes, watch the complete ESPN E:60 story

We were having a wonderful visit with my grandparents just recently.  They are really our favorite people – happy, vibrant, smart – both in life choices and overall intellect.  Though they could retire and live off of grandpa’s fireman pension and their social security, they choose to continue to both work so that they can live comfortably, affording the extra luxuries that they only now are able to spoil themselves with.

I found myself looking at them and hoping that Ryan and I are as happy and comfortable as they are when we are their age – a discussion Ryan and I have had numerous times.  We see a lot of similarities in their relationship dynamics and hope that we are able to be in a similar position as they are in 50 years from now.  I started reflecting on what it would take to make sure we follow a similar path, and why it is that so many families seem to miss the mark on this one.

Smart life choices is huge – but consciously maintaining the relationship is really the key, I would venture to guess. (more…)

Now that my daughter, Makenzie, is nearing the one-year mark, she is really starting to interact with her environment in an actively thoughtful way. Though going from crawling to walking is no doubt the biggest milestone yet, sometime the little milestones are just as exciting to witness.

For example, she is now beginning to assign words to inanimate objects (her first inanimate object word: “baseball” – thats my girl!).

And just yesterday I got her dressed but hadn’t put her shoes on yet.  I then walked into my room, leaving her behind me for a moment, only to turn and see her walking towards me carrying her shoes that she had found and picked up completely on her own – as if to tell me its time to put her shoes on now.

She has even figured out how to scroll through my photos on my iPhone! (more…)