Lara Kretler’s blog

Chris Brogan, social media guru extraordinaire and sort of a mentor-from-afar for me (and for a lot of people, I’d warrant), recently posted a list of things he’s working on and how his readers/community can benefit. I thought that was such a cool idea that I’m going to do the same here. It’s worth noting that my list is far smaller and humbler than CB’s, but that’s because I sleep. A lot. I really do best with 7 hours a night!

Twitter Webinar with Webbed Marketing – I’ve been working with the Internet marketing rockstars at Webbed Marketing for over a year now and I love our partnership. I learn something new every time I meet with them. Now, they’ve asked me to join them in presenting a webinar about using Twitter for business. It’s free and open to anyone on Thursday 8/28 from 2-3 p.m. EST, so if you can make it, go sign up. The Webbed folks put on free webinars about once a month, and they’re always extremely informative and useful. Be sure to get on their mailing list to hear about future webinars and talks.

Social media presentation for the Ohio Insurance Institute – This one’s not open to the public, but it’s interesting. It seems absolutely everyone is excited about finding out more about social media! I’ve presented on this topic recently to PR professionals, college and university development and communications folks, consumer care/customer service leaders, and now insurance company communicators. Social media is on just about everyone’s minds and lips these days, and I feel fortunate that I get to share what I know and continually learn more as I help others figure out how they can use social media.

Blog posts here, there and everywhere - As you may have noticed, I took a break from blogging recently. I had a wonderful vacation in DC last week touring, exploring and eating far too much good food. During that time I unplugged completely – didn’t get online to Tweet, email, blog or even read the news. Our lovely old B&B, the charming and quirky Tabard Inn, didn’t have televisions so we truly were unplugged in every sense of the word. It was a nice break, but at the same time I felt guilty about neglecting my blog and the others I write for – The Central Ohio Network and a very exciting, soon to launch PR blog (more on that soon!). So a very real goal, and a plan I’m putting into action immediately, is to write prolifically whenever I can so I have blog post drafts “on deck” and ready to publish whenever I need them. This way, when life gets busy or I go on vacation, I can still keep the blog posts coming and share good information with you all.

So now, dear readers, I am curious. How much sleep do you need? What are you working on in the world of social media and PR? And do you take time to “unplug” when you need to?