Category: Positivity

Have you ever had an eerie feeling that someone was following or watching you? You whisk around quickly, or secretly peer through the curtains, but realize no one is there. You’re just being paranoid. You keep moving on with your life.

Sadly, stalking is a reality. Not just physical stalking…but also Internet stalking. Stalking is a terrifying crime that affects 3.4 million people in the U.S. annually.

This is a positive blog, and I’m not supposed to be talking about negative things, so why am I talking to you about stalking? If you don’t know Danny Brown (I have yet to meet him in person, but I’m sure he’s just as awesome IRL as he’s been through our online interactions), he created an amazing initiative called 12for12k – a social media led call-to-action with the goal of helping charities reach a wider audience through the power of social media.

Danny and his supporters have raised more than $100,000 so far, and currently, the focus is on supporting Jodi’s Voice. The purpose of the site is to provide an easy access point for information and links relating to Jodi’s Law and other stalking laws. Continue reading “The Reality of Stalking & How You Can Help Change the Laws”

We live in a 24/7 always connected, always on, always “plugged in” world. If you’re a social media enthusiast, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. You’ve probably slapped your own hand a few times for checking email during dinner, staying up way too late thanks to Facebook or tweeting too much during an event when you should be spending more time talking to people.

Many of us are so used to being connected that we find it hard to break that always available mentality when we go on vacation. Prime example: I was in Santa Monica this past weekend for a wedding, but it’s my one and only vacation this summer (not counting my honeymoon). Yet, I still responded to every tweet, email, Gchat, GroupMe message, etc. in a timely manner. I even took some time to campaign for me and my crazy kitty to win Identity PR’s cutest pet contest (give us a vote by leaving a comment!).

Did I enjoy my vacation and the wedding? Absolutely. But did I truly unplug during my vacation? Not even close.

That’s why I’ve decided us always on, always connected, social media enthusiasts need to take more road trips. Participating in the Chevy SXSW road trip with Team Motown was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Yes social media was a huge part of our trip, but so was the bonding time we had while we were trapped in a car for five days on the trip to and from Austin. Continue reading “Why We Need to Take More Road Trips”

I have a confession…

I have a perpetual fear of the unknown. Those “what if” questions nag at me constantly, and I hate not knowing what the outcome of something will be when I make a decision…particularly a big, important decision.

No, I’m not lucid. I know it’s never possible to know what will happen in the future, and we can’t live our lives in fear of making choices and decisions because we can’t predict what comes next. But I think long and hard about any big decision I make, and I do my best to make wise and strategic decisions. Naturally, I want to be sure any big decision I make will result in something positive happening in my life and/or the lives of others around me.

Perhaps my mindfulness has come back to bite me one too many times. I spend so much time weighing every option that I fear that ultimate point of decision time because there is no way to predict what will happen once the process gets underway. Continue reading “How to Combat the Fear of the Unknown”

This is a guest post by Kyle Stuef, a new media consultant for The Whole Brain Group in Ann Arbor, MI

One of the things I love most about working in social media and Web development is the sense of community within the profession. People are quick to share war stories, tips and tricks. If I have a project that is especially frustrating, I can take solace in the fact that someone else has been there and they are more than willing to let me vent over coffee. This is also one of the most appealing qualities of working in this industry in southeast Michigan.

On our trip down to Austin for SXSW, this seemed to be the trait of the “New Detroit” that was being trumpeted the loudest. Anyone who cared to listen got an earful about what it’s like to live and work in our area. We all care about the well being of our state. We all care about the well being of our friends and neighbors. We’re all in this together.

On the surface this is all true, but as someone who is constantly bridging the gap between Ann Arbor and metro Detroit, I can tell you firsthand, the divide between these two tech hubs is very real. It’s the dirty little secret of our community.

The Great Divide

When I started working in social media and becoming involved in the new tech community, we were scattered all over the place. New channels were taking hold, and companies were just starting to see a value in building a strong online presence. Not surprisingly, people were starting to get “real jobs” doing just that. I saw the people I was getting to know start to condense and consolidate. Perhaps it was more noticeable to me, because it seemed as if everyone was leaving the Ann Arbor area to move east to Royal Oak, Troy, Southfield and Ferndale. The community was growing larger, but it was growing more segregated. Continue reading “From Ann Arbor to Detroit: The Great Divide”

If you live in metro Detroit, you’ve probably heard about this little competition called the Chevy South by Southwest (SXSW) road trip challenge that I am participating in, along with seven other metro Detroiters.

We’ve been talking, tweeting, posting, sharing (you name it) about the road trip for a few weeks now. Maybe you’re sick of hearing about it. But hopefully, you want to know what you can do to help support Detroit’s two teams – Team Motown and Team High Five.

Team Motown member Kyle Stuef had to miss our fiesta, but he was there in spirit!

Unlike last year, the community has zero say in determining the winner. Chevy has chosen a group of judges, and those judges are using this Unique-o-Meter to score what we produce from our challenges:

1 – Seriously?! (not at all unique)
2 – Meh (effort is there, but not too original)
3 – Neither here nor there (middle ground)
4 – So close, yet… so close (pretty unique)
5 – Legen… dary (very unique)

We know there are 11 challenges in total (plus the option of three bonus challenges, where we can do whatever the heck we want), and we’ll have a limited amount of time to complete those challenges. But in terms of what those challenges are exactly – yah, we won’t know until they drop the bombs on us during the road trip.

We may be frenemies, but we gals on the Detroit teams have nothin’ but love for each other.

So, there may be a way you can support us. We really won’t know until we start the trip. On behalf of Team Motown, I want to thank everyone who has already shared words of encouragement, commented on our blog, retweeted us, liked and commented on our Facebook page, etc. It means a lot to know that we have an entire community behind us. In case you haven’t seen some of our pages and networks, here are all the ways to stay connected with our teams during the next few days:

Team Motown
http://motownsxsw.com/
http://www.facebook.com/teammotownsxsw
http://twitter.com/motownsxsw
http://www.flickr.com/photos/motownsxsw/
http://www.youtube.com/user/TeamMotownSXSW/
#motownsxsw

Team High Five
http://highfivesxsw.com/
http://www.facebook.com/highfivesxsw
http://twitter.com/highfivesxsw
http://www.flickr.com/photos/highfivesxsw/
http://www.youtube.com/user/HighFiveSXSW
#highfivesxsw

See ya’ll after Austin!

Photos courtesy of Team High Five

This article is part of my regular contributions to Metromix Detroit. See the original piece on the Metromix Detroit website.

Foursquare. Gowalla. Yelp. No, these are not words from the Klingon language. Foursquare, Gowalla and Yelp are platforms that have a location-based mobile feature, meaning that if you are connected to these platforms via your phone, you can “check in” and share your location with friends via social networks.

Now, why in the world would you want to broadcast your location? Because retailers and restaurants, including many in the metro Detroit area, are offering specials, deals and freebies for checking in to their location.

Two local restaurants using Foursquare to share deals with their customers are Rosie O’Grady’s in Ferndale and Zumba Mexican Grille in Royal Oak. At Rosie O’Grady’s, the mayor (Foursquare mayorships are awarded to customers with the most days checked into a venue over the last 60 days) gets one small coal oven pizza with one topping once a week while he/she is the mayor. Zumba is giving 50 percent off an individual order to customers on every 10th check in.


Rosie O’Grady’s in Ferndale

Eric Abrams, partner at Zumba, said his team dove into Foursquare about a year ago and have switched up the deals a few times. Their very first deal, a special on every third check in, was a huge success.

“We decided to start using Foursquare to reward Zumba customers because we found there were a lot of organic check ins from customers using the tool, so we wanted to have a presence,” said Abrams.

Abrams said they’ve received positive feedback from customers about how they’re using Foursquare, as well as suggestions on creating a special for the mayor.

By using these types of platforms to reward their loyal customers, restaurant owners are taking advantage of a marketing tool that allows them to embrace a new era in customer service. For 41-year-old David Benjamin of Troy, it’s all about the customer service.

Benjamin recently visited Maria’s Comida in Hamtramck. He became the mayor upon checking in via Foursquare, which entitled him to a free serving of chips and guacamole.

“I continue to choose restaurants I eat at based on two factors – food and service,” said Benajmin. “It seems the owners who are savvy using the latest tools and technology like Foursquare, Facebook Places, Yelp, etc. really understand that customer service must go hand-in-hand for an overall positive experience. I believe restaurants that truly understand the power of social media and reward their most loyal customers are the ones who will benefit the most.”

Forty-two-year-old Marybeth Levine from Canton had a similar freebie experience at Tim & Sally’s Awesome Eats in her hometown. Levine checked in to Tim & Sally’s one night and was really impressed to see that even though it’s a small restaurant, there was a special for a free cup of soup or chili after the third check in.

When she and her husband were deciding where to get dinner a few weeks later, Levine remembered that if they went to Tim & Sally’s, it would be her third check in and she could claim her free cup of soup or chili.

“That was the tipping point, and we went there for dinner that night,” said Levine. “I definitely think local businesses should be on Foursquare. First, it makes a good impression when someone goes to check in and finds an active account for a business. And second, just offering something as simple as a cup of free soup just might get a family of five in the door for dinner!”

While metro Detroit businesses haven’t focused much on rewarding customers through Facebook Places and Gowalla, Yelp is gaining ground on Foursquare in this market.

According to Annette Janik, Yelp’s community manager for Detroit, the following are a few metro Detroit restaurants that are offering deals for Yelp check ins:

• Beer Baron in Livonia – 15 percent off your beer and wine order
• Mudgie’s in Detroit – one free beverage with purchase
• Tongue Thai’d in Royal Oak – $5 for Tongue Thai’d Curry


Mudgie’s in Detroit

“Yelp check in offers are a nice way for businesses to give back to their customers and encourage them to come in again and again,” said Janik. “They encourage Detroiters to shop locally versus at big box stores, which is exactly what we need to lift the local economy. When local business owners take advantage of Yelp’s free suite of tools and post check in offers, it shows they are engaged and interested in interacting with their customers.”

So, all you smarties with a smartphone, if you love the idea of getting discounts and freebies from many of metro Detroit’s amazing restaurants, then I suggest you jump on the check in bandwagon. Who knows, one day Slow’s BBQ may offer up some free mac ‘n cheese for check ins!

Photos courtesy of Metromix Detroit

Saying “thank you” is a response many parents teach their children at a very young age. It becomes ingrained in us. If someone does something nice for you, you say “thank you.” If someone holds the door for you or picks up something that you dropped, you say “thank you.” If someone gives you a compliment, you say “thank you.” “Thank you” should be one of those automatic responses that doesn’t require much thinking or force. It should be natural and genuine. A simple “thank you” is very powerful.

I’ve been paying a lot of attention lately to how people express thanks online. Every day, we post and share other people’s content on the social Web. We tweet and post on Facebook about positive experiences with companies and brands. We write posts and online articles that highlight the good things people are doing around the world. Many times, those complimentary efforts are followed up with a “thank you.”

However, sometimes they aren’t. Think about the people who have hundreds and thousands of blog readers and the companies with hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook “likes.” Realistically, how can they thank each and every person who shares their content or writes something nice about them online? It’s impossible. If I tweet about a post from a blog that I know is highly trafficked, I don’t expect the blogger to thank me, even if I do include his/her handle in a tweet. I’m not offended if I don’t get a personal “thank you”, and I bet many of you would agree that you feel the same way.

Now, what about one of your friends (whether you know them personally or have only connected with them online). If a friend who is a blogger (say he/she is someone who doesn’t have quite the same amount of success as someone who is inundated daily with tweets, posts and messages related to his/her content) doesn’t thank you for sharing his/her content, are you offended? I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I’m offended, but I definitely appreciate those people who thank others for sharing their content. I’m more likely to keep reading and sharing if I know you are appreciative. I am happy to support people who I know don’t take that support for granted.

But saying “thank you” can easily get repetitive. I follow some people who thank every person who retweets anything they post, regardless of whether it’s content they created. I understand wanting to build rapport with followers, but in my opinion, that’s going a bit overboard.

I don’t think there comes a certain point (amount of time spent active on social networks or number of likes/followers/members, etc.) where you should start or stop thanking people. Everyone operates differently. Looking at just Twitter, here’s how I approach saying “thank you”: I always thank people who share my blog posts, give me a compliment, support me during a specific effort (like my upcoming Chevy SXSW road trip with Team Motown) or include me in a Follow Friday shout out. Sometimes I thank people publicly, and sometimes I thank them privately through DM. I don’t always thank people who retweet what I share. If someone I’ve never talked to or haven’t talked to in awhile retweets me, I use that as an opportunity to start a conversation.

I’m sure there have been times when I completely missed thanking someone. Between Tweetdeck, Twply and alerts on my phone, I’m confident I catch most tweets directed to me. But everyone misses the boat now and again. It’s definitely not intentional. It’s called being human (and busy!).

That’s just me. I’m interested in hearing what others think about saying “thank you” online. How do you thank people? Do you see a difference in how people express thanks in person and online? Is there a right or wrong way to express thanks online?

Photo credit

I had a really hard time figuring out what to put on my Christmas list this year. 2010 has been a pretty monumental year for me, with a new job, supporting MAL through a job change, getting engaged and joining new organizations. With all the great things that have happened this year, the gifts I’m most looking forward to are enjoying a few days out of the office and spending time with good friends and family.

While I had a tough time coming up with my Christmas wish list, it was quite easy to put together the below list for you, dear blog readers. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas or another holiday this month, and whether you’re a good friend or someone I’ve yet to connect with offline, here are my wishes for you this holiday season:

** I hope the chaos of the season doesn’t overshadow the true meaning of the holidays.

** I hope you take the time to connect with a friend or family member you haven’t spoken with or seen in awhile.

** If you are taking any vacation days, I hope you spend more time doing things you enjoy than checking and responding to email.

** I hope you remember the less fortunate and give what you can, whether it’s dollars, food or time volunteering.

** If you haven’t already, I hope you take the time to map out what you would like to accomplish in 2011, both personally and professionally.

** I hope you take the time to thank the people who most impacted your life this year. The method isn’t important, as long as your appreciation is sincere.

** I hope you eat your fill of good food and remember that there is always room for dessert.

** I hope you spread the joy of the season to at least one other person through a random act of kindness.

** I hope you watch at least one good movie or spend time reading one good book.

** I hope you look back on this year, feel proud about your accomplishments and know that you’ve grown as an individual.

Happy holidays to all!

Photo credit

The holiday season is in full swing (my favorite time of year!). While buying and giving gifts is a huge part of the holidays, it’s also common for individuals and companies to make charitable donations during this time of year.

There is no shortage of amazing nonprofits and charities to choose from, but if you’re looking for a unique organization to support this holiday season, check out World Clothes Line (hat tip to Ryan Doyle from the Live to Give Foundation for telling me about WCL). The concept is simple, yet brilliant: You buy clothing from WCL’s online store, and WCL matches the purchase and gives clothing to people in need in a country of your choosing. The WCL team then travels around the world to deliver the clothing.

According to WCL’s website, in cases of extreme poverty, clothing is often one of the first needs that gets ignored. Statistically, more than one billion people in the world live on less than one dollar a day. Almost 2.7 billion people (40% of our population) survive on less than two dollars per day. In these circumstances, daily necessities like food and water take top priority. Take a peek in your closet, then think about how many people in this world don’t even own one nice outfit.

Mallory Brown owns, operates and manages WCL, with the help of a full-time intern. There is no brick and mortar store, but merchandise is shipped from WCL’s office in Farmington Hills, Mich. WCL also has a merchandise partner, CreateMyTee, and international liaisons in Indonesia and Peru.

Mallory has an interesting story about how WCL came to be, and it all started with her meeting a family in Laos. I wanted to learn more about WCL, so I got in touch with Mallory to answer a few questions.

Since the company launched, how much clothing have you delivered to needy people, and approximately how many people have you helped?

WCL opened for business in September 2010. We are close to our first U.S. delivery, which will be followed by deliveries in Peru and Indonesia in the first half of 2011. We’ll travel and deliver clothes when we have enough to clothe an entire group (United States) or village (Indonesia/Peru) of people at once. Our goal is to provide a T-shirt, sweatshirt and pair of pants to each recipient. For some, these may be the first brand new clothes they have ever owned.

Can people choose for your matching donation to go to people in countries other than the United States, Peru or Indonesia (say I wanted you to give clothing to a family in Chile…is that possible?)

Since our team travels to personally deliver clothes to people in need, we specify exact countries for donation deliveries. Peru, Indonesia and the United States were chosen as our first three countries because I’ve personally explored and experienced the need for clothing in these locations. We hope to continually add more countries for delivery — so maybe Chile will be available in the future!

How many times a year does your team plan to travel to deliver the clothing?

As mentioned above, we’ll travel and deliver clothes when we have enough to clothe an entire group or village of people at once. The more we sell, the more often we’ll go!

How do you decide who gets the donated clothing in the country chosen by the purchaser? Do you get sizes of the people receiving the clothing ahead of time?

In the United States, we will deliver to low-income cities and/or regions that have been struck by natural disasters. Our first U.S. delivery will give back to Detroit – the city we call home. We work with two wonderful people – Miguel Gongora and Yude Andiko – to choose villages in Peru and Indonesia that are greatly in need. Clothing is matched for specific demographics of each group in need, so the sizes are appropriate for the recipients.

Additionally, World Clothes Line offers a Tracking Club, which allows customers to follow their “matched” clothes around the world. To join, simply check the “Tracking Club” box at the end of your checkout. Members will be updated with photos, stories and personal messages from those who receive their donated clothes. The $10 fee to join will be used to support our clothing deliveries.

How are you able to match every purchased donation?

Our entire business is structured to facilitate our “Buy 1, Give 1” philosophy and ensure that we can accomplish our philanthropic mission. We are a for-profit company that does not receive any grants or government aid. Through our customer purchases and team dedication, we are able to sustain our business, as well as give to others.

Any big plans for the future that you’re able to share?

We hope to continually expand World Clothes Line to include clothing collections and deliveries for many countries around the world. WCL has received phenomenal support in our initial months of business, and we hope it will become a recognizable global brand. You buy. We give. Together, we clothe the world!

What an awesome way to help people in need, right? I think it’s important to mention that WCL prints original designs on American Apparel clothing, which in my opinion creates the most comfortable clothes! I will soon be the proud owner of this “I wear my heart on my sleeve” T-shirt.

Check out the rest of WCL’s merchandise line, and please consider purchasing something and/or spreading the word about WCL to others.

Have you bought something from WCL? If so, share your experience in the comments. Or, share some of your favorite ways to give back and help people in need during the holidays.

Photo courtesy of World Clothes Line