And yes. Occasionally, I favorite my own tweets. Don’t you?

Last night, I attended Network Solutions’ (wordy) Network Stars Atlanta Seminar: Learn How Your Small Business Can Effectively Compete Against the Big Players at LITKitchen. It was a sold out - and diverse - crowd (about 175 people, I think) and I enjoyed the event.

The first 30 minutes were dedicated to networking, munching (on some great food) and drinking. Honestly, I tried to keep a low profile since I’m in the middle of revamping my web business and don’t want to explain what I’m doing or take on any new clients.

Things got started with Shashi Bellamkonda who lobbed questions at the panel (Geoff Livingston, Christina Warren, Brent Leary and Toby Bloomberg). Attendees also got a chance to ask questions or voice their opinions.

Geoff Livingston was the most pragmatic panelist. He’s the CEO of a public relations firm in Washington, DC and extolled some of the often-heard cautions about being “careful” of what you write and how you present yourself online. I get the basis of his position but I’m a little tired of the hyperbole. Also, he is too conservative about social media and networks for my taste (I suspect his clients are as well).

For instance, he complained about the “noise factor” on Twitter which is an argument I’m tired of hearing. If your sole/primary reason for using Twitter is business and you are getting too much “noise” in your Twitterstream, you are following the wrong people. This isn’t a problem with Twitter; it’s user error. Frankly, I like a mix. Reading tweets from people who only publicize their start-up activities, marketing strategies or political positions doesn’t interest me. Big whoop! Including “noise” from interesting people about their daily life activities adds value to my social network experience because it helps me to understand who they are.

More disturbingly (for me), Livingston shared a story about how he didn’t bother to vet a potential employee because he looked at her Facebook page and saw pictures of her doing shots of alcohol. That really turned me off. I recognize there are employers who view life in this way (I’ve worked for some of them). But any employer that doesn’t recognize I have a personal life - and respects that it’s personal - isn’t one I trust or would want to lend my skills any longer.

Luckily, there was one attendee who challenged this position saying she thought the whole point of blogging (and social media) was to share yourself with your reader (I applauded her). If we’re so worried about everything we share online, why exist online at all? The point is to decide why you want to share (whatever it is), identify your goals and strike a balance. I’m not saying everyone should share everything. But if you’re so wound up and guarded, it makes me think you are hiding something and makes it difficult for me to trust you. I’m radical like that.

Christina Warren touched upon this a bit. As the youngest person on the panel, she related how her experience with social networks and as a writer differs from some of the other “strictly business” goals and how being accessible and transparent (to a point) helps her socially and in gaining business opportunities.

Brent Leary erred on the side of caution but seemed more flexible than Livingston. He’s a CRM consultant who writes for Black Enterprise and other blogs/magazines. He had a good grip on business practices and expectancies (which I appreciated). He’s also very funny.

Toby Bloomberg had the best balance and real-world stories of how she’s leveraged blogging and Twittering to expand her client-base and create new business opportunities. Social networking is not just a hobby; it’s an integral part of her success. In fact, she’s the reason I attended. Toby emailed a personalized invite (somehow, I missed my invite from Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs).

My favorite highlight of the night was when attendee Grayson Daughters offered a passionate explanation of how she uses Twitter on her iPhone to communicate and stay connected (she also poked at Atlanta’s absent mainstream media). This spawned a slew of questions aimed toward her. Clearly, she needs to be on the next panel of one of these things.

Honestly, I didn’t learn anything new at the event. I’ve been blogging since 1998 and I joined Twitter a month after it launched. I already get social networking. But I did get a good sense of how small businesses are viewing blogging/social media and attempting to venture into the space. This is important to me since small businesses tend to be my clients. Overall a good score for Network Solutions.

I finally got around to creating my first playlist on 8tracks. It’s title “Hip Is The New Black” and includes 8 tracks of nu blak/progressive hip/indie rock/wave grooviness. I just realized I could embed my mix on my blog. Sweet! Now if only 8tracks scrobbled to last.fm, that would seriously rock. Also, I’d like to be able to control the play order; they seem to play randomly.

Trippy.

Many of the people included in the list are at the top of their game; published speakers, and the like. That’s an aspiration of mine. Sure, I spend my days (and nights) buried in code and Photoshop, consulting with clients, test-driving new social networks, and putting out CSS fires. But there isn’t a heck of a lot of my work online. I don’t link to my work from my Twitter account or draw a lot of attention to the design/development work I do.

I just do the work.

But It seems I’m just a little too comfortable working my magic out of the spotlight. If I want to command the type of clients and income of industry leaders on a consistent basis (and I do - I really do), I’ll need to change my modus operandi with the quickness!

I have already begun. I created a new Twitter account last month to focus mostly on web design/development, social media, etc. I haven’t begun using it yet. But once the redesign is done on my design/development site, I’ll write/interact more under that persona and link like crazy.

That’s the plan, anyway. And with SXSW 2009 only four months away, I’ve got to get crackin’!

Oh, and welcome.

For 7th and 8th grade I was bussed from my rather pristine, racially mixed Catholic School to a mostly white public school (part of Chicago’s controversial “intergration” plan).

I’d been warned to be careful around public school kids (they were “dangerous”). During the first week, I saw two girls arguing. I’d noticed them before and found them intrguing because they wore tight blue jeans (I was still accostumed to seeing girls in Catholic skirts).

In retrospect, these were some fast, foul-mouthed girls.

One girl told the other: “Eat me!” which got a big response from the crowd watching. I didn’t understand what “eat me” meant at the time (late bloomer). In response, the other girl said: “Kiss my bloody coochie!” and got a bigger response. I didn’t understand menstratuation at the time, either. But I knew what “bloody” and “coochie” meant. And I thought it was gross! I stayed away from those girls after that.

As soon as I got home from school I and asked my mom (IN FRONT OF COMPANY) “Momma. What does ‘eat me’ mean?” She asked where did I hear that and I told her at school. She told me she’d tell me later after her company had left. I’m sure she wanted to pull me out of that school the next day.

By the way, she never got around to telling me what “eat me” means.

1. It’s original
2. It’s possibly dangerous for those susceptible to epileptic fits
3. It’s NSFW

via: Nerd with Swag

I’ve got to get back on my feet
I feel like I’ve been sleeping
Sweet, sweet time
Has been a real good friend of mine

Waiting for that change of season
Oh the winter’s been so long
Searching for that rhyme or reason
You’ve just got to

Move on
Hold it together, move on
Life’s so short, move on
Only time will set you free

You put your fears behind you
Better get yourself where you wanna be
I think of all the days and nights i spent crying
And i move on

I’ve been in and out of favour with love
Because I gotta tell you
I’ve been things i never wanted to be
And then some angel called me up
He told me I was sleeping
Said don’t waste time
‘Cos even angels say goodbye

Waiting for that change of season
Oh the winter’s been so long
Searching for that rhyme or reason
You’ve just got to

Move on…

And oh, there goes another season
Getting hard to find a decent song to play
But oh, I guess I got my reasons
Everybody thinks I’m doing a.o.k
They ought to know by now

[Chorus]

You put your tears behind you
Better get yourself where you wanna be
I think of all the days and nights I spent crying
Before my angel set me free

I’m gonna be lucky in love someday

- George Michael
“Move On”

I’ve never been turned on by being tickled. Perhaps you have? I dunno. Is this unusual? Let me know.

Background Music:
Joey Negro and The Sunburst Band - Moving With The Shakers
MySpace | Amazon