Blogging here for the past year has been a great experience for me. Keeping the content smart and fresh is a commitment requiring a lot of discipline – I vow to improve my frequency and consistency in year two –  but I do love it. Blogging publicly has opened me up to visibility, opportunities, learning and connections I could not have gained any other way. Blogging has also made me a better PR person and a more informed and credible social media practitioner as well. And although it sounds trite, I truly couldn’t have done it without the support and engagement of  each of you who read and comment on this blog.

Leo Bottary does a phenomenal job thanking all of the commentors on his blog and I’ve always admired that practice. You all are the cupcakes at this blog’s birthday party. Please enjoy a little link love as I celebrate this blogaversary with you – and if you see a blog or person below that you don’t know, I encourage you to pay them a visit. We enjoy all flavors here.

Thank you!

Chris Brogan – Joel Postman – Leo Bottary - Carlson’s Loveable Llamas - Andrea Hill - BlogWorldExpo - PR4Pirates - ITS Insider – Cool Moms Rule - The Cheezits - Best Seller Authors - The 270 - Rocky Van Brimmer - Mike McBride - Jennifer Laycock - Saul Colt - Carlita Pitts - Sameer Vasta - Alaina Sheer - David Mullen - Nathaniel Fuller - Cara Keithley - How Not to Write - Girlfriendology – Wine Me Dine Me – Advergirl - Daniel Johnson, Jr. - Thought Gadgets - Radian 6 - Megan Hofmann - Shane Haggerty – Kensington Victoria – Holly Michael - Ryan Swigert – Sarah Zaenger - PR Buzzsaw - Joseph Hurtado – Brandy J – Dawn Friedman – Ryan Squire – Jody Dzuranin – Cliffieland – Dan Rockwell – Sara Nichols Barton – Christina Christian – Oberers Flowers - Sundays with Stretch Pants – Scott Risner - Angelo Mandato – Mary Wehrle – Katie McCartney - Katawi Cato - Carl McKinney – Walker Evans - Nice Genes - Fabulously in the City – Bike Columbus – Buckeyes Blog – Restaurant Widow – Tell A Friend Promotions – Christina Mack – TechLife Columbus - CMH Gourmand – Richard Brennan – Kelley Bell - Linas Simonis - Country Savvy – Chris Abraham – Tarot by Arwen – Gary Hunt – Jenny McCutcheon – Tim Eby – Gary Moneysmith – James Seay – InnoGage – Andrew Miller - William Hessian – Savvy Auntie - Fernway Manor – Biffy Beans – Sandy Blanquera - Webbed Marketing – Maureen McCabe – Clinton Middleton – Andrew Miller – Awake and Dreaming – Tip Tail – Applesassy - Sean Carpenter - Kim Ratcliff – Sandeep Arora – The Social Path – Sparkplug 9 – Nathan McGee – Amy Johnson - Columbus ImPRessions – George Black – Dan Harris – Krista Holloway – Fahlgren Mortine PR - Patty Seybold – Hoye Mastery Center – Experience Columbus - LJ Jones - Jason Baer – Lee Odden - Fahlgren Advertising – Matt Betts – Alison Bolen – EyeCube – Social Media Showdown – Online Media Boot Camp – Brian Solis – Baskets by Bonnie – Barbara Wayman – Marina Goldshteyn – Ralf Appelt

My gift to you

Now, a gift for those who have read this far. Walking down a street in SoHo, New York recently, I noticed a long line of people queueing up at a small window in the side of a building. One by one, each person handed over cash and walked away with a small white box. I was intrigued, so we crossed the street to take a closer look. There to my delight was a storefront cupcake vendor selling the tiniest miniature cupcakes I’d ever seen.

Please meet my new obsession - tiny, adorable stuffed cupcakes from Baked by Melissa. Launched in 2009, Daily Candy, The New York Times and the world’s best cupcake blog, Cupcakes Take the Cake, have already raved about them, but these little gems are still a pretty well kept secret even among New Yorkers. You have to be in the know or just get lucky to find your way to the corner of Broadway and Spring in SoHo and pick yourself up a couple. If I could, I would send you all a delicious, tiny cupcake from Baked by Melissa – but since I can’t, I’ve at least shared my story about them. So now you know, and I hope you treat yourself next time you’re in the vicinity!

Now… what’s your favorite way to celebrate your blog, birthday, or both?

After my blog post last week attracted the attention of Beth Harte and other conference masterminds, I managed to finagle an #OMBC nomination or two (or four?!) via Twitter today. It was pretty fun.

So why do I want to go? I’m in awe of the great speaker line-up. I love the idea of a small, intimate conference where real connections and conversations can take place. And, to quote Beth in her video promoting the contest, I’m just that into them.

Now, why do I deserve to win? As you can tell from my blog, I love social media and learning. I’ll be an active, enthusiastic, engaged participant at the conference. I’m high energy and fun to have around. I’ve already blogged about the event twice now, two weeks in a row. Once I’ve won my spot at OMBC and paid my own way there, I’ll live Tweet, live blog and openly share everything I learn. And, last but not least, I’m very handy to have around in case of a zombie attack.

So, what do you think, dear readers - do I deserve a winning ticket? Please leave a comment here or send a supportive Tweet to @onlinemediabc if you want to help my chances!

Instead, I’ll share the story of how we returned home to find one of our dogs gravely ill. When we arrived at the boarding kennel at noon on Sunday 11/30, we were horrified to find Jack, our 8-year old mixed breed, acting weak, stiff and unresponsive. The kennel staff said he had been fine up until the day before, when he started exhibiting “quirky drinking habits” and foaming at the mouth. We wasted no time in rushing him to the emergency vet clinic and spent the day with him there.

Alas, after many tests, x-rays and too many zeroes after the dollar sign, we had no real answers. Their best guess was that he may have a neuromuscular condition, possibly myasthenia gravis. They offered to keep him overnight and transfer him to their internal medicine specialists in the morning, but we decided to take him home. The vets didn’t seem to offer much hope that he would make it, so we wanted him to spend the night at home with us. We seriously thought about euthanasia to put him out of his suffering, but we wanted to wait until morning and give him a little more time.

When we got home that evening, we tried to offer him food and treats, but he just wanted to sleep and cuddle with us. When we offered him water, he showed interest but he couldn’t lap it like normal – he could only bite at the water. The more I watched him, the more perplexed I was – he didn’t seem able to get any water into him, but why? Suddenly a lightbulb went off over my head and I realized he couldn’t swallow. At that point, my husband engineered a watering device which allowed us to drip water into Jack’s throat. At first he resisted, but then he felt the first few drops of water in his mouth and he was eager for more.

That Sunday evening and all through the night, we took turns staying up with Jack and dripping water slowly down his throat to rehydrate him. It was like feeding a baby bird. By morning he could lift his head up and was showing some signs of life, although still very weak and refusing all food. We drove him to our family vet as soon as they opened, begging them to take a look at his throat and sharing our experiences with the water tube and his inability to swallow on his own.

After more x-rays and further tests, on Monday 12/1 our vet diagnosed Jack with definitive megaesophagus (ME) and possible myasthenia gravis (MG). The news was devastating, to say the least, as there is no cure and not much treatment for this illness. Our vet did not have any experience with ME but she did tell us that we would need to manage his condition by elevating Jack’s food and water bowls, and giving him an acid control pill daily. She didn’t seem to hold out much hope. Despite the water we had given him, Jack was ill, dehydrated and weak – by this time he had not eaten anything in three days. Again, we thought about euthanasia as an option. We even discussed it with the vet and she said it’s an individual decision.

That night, fighting back tears, I began to research megaesophagus and found some incredible resources written by families of ME dogs – most notably a wonderful brochure called There is Hope. I joined the ME dogs Yahoogroup (a primitive, yet still wonderful form of social media!) and began to read countless stories via the email list, blogs and even Twitter about vertical feeding and what a difference it makes. We learned that veterinarians are not taught proper ME management in vet school; rather, the best therapeutic practices are those shared by word of mouth from one ME dog parent to another. These caretakers spend days and nights looking after their dogs, trying different methods, and documenting and sharing everything online via the email list. They are the true ME experts.

Following the advice we read online that night, and encouraged by emails of support from the ME community, we rolled up some raw ground beef into meatballs, held Jack up in a vertical position (spine 90 degrees to the floor), and dropped the food down his throat, relying on gravity to take it the rest of the way to his stomach. He fought us weakly at first, but again soon realized what we were doing and asked for more. That’s the night our miracle started. It’s amazing what a little food and water will do for a poor, sick, dehydrated and malnourished dog!

It’s been just over a week now and, within the confines of his ME diagnosis, Jack has completely recovered from his near-death experience. He is a happy, healthy ME dog who runs and plays and gets into mischief. He shows no MG signs whatsoever, and he’s handling his ME like a champ. He eats like a king – meatballs made of ground beef and fresh or canned dog food, fed by hand in the vertical hold position. We are managing his condition as well as we possibly can, and keeping the “worst case scenario” thinking at bay, thanks to a ton of advice and support from the ME dogs community. As a way of giving back to the community, I created a Ning group this week to help facilitate relationships and information sharing, particularly photo and video sharing, among caretakers of ME dogs.

I’ve been a fan of social media for years, but I never dreamed that one day it would actually save my dog’s life. I’m happy to say the new ME dogs online community site is thriving, just like this wonderful special needs dog of ours.

What would we do without social media?!

For now though, my imagination has been captivated by an event taking place tomorrow in Minneapolis. I read about it at Fabulously in the City and I am so in love with the idea that I have to pass it along.

The Minneapolis Art Hunt is the brain child of a young artist, William Hessian, whose goal is to bring “art to the people and people to the parks.” He has hidden 35 tiny original works of art – each a unique little octopus drawn and painted by him – around the public parks of Minneapolis. On Friday, October 17, residents get the fun job of exploring the parks and searching for these miniature artworks hidden in plain sight. William’s story about why he chose octopi, why he creates art hunts and why he chose the number 35 can be seen in this video.

I adore everything about this idea. It’s so social – it’s being spread by bloggers and William’s video can be re-mixed, mashed up, personalized and shared. The event itself is social because it encourages octopus seekers to go with friends; only one piece of art can be kept by each family, so if you want to keep hunting and finding more, you need to have a group with you. The idea of any kind of treasure hunt is so simple and wonderful that it appeals to everyone, from kids to the young at heart. At its core, this event is all about art, but it’s also about nature and being active outdoors. Let’s face it, there’s a metaphor here too – there’s already art all around us outside in our parks if we only take the time to walk around, explore and look closely.

I wish I could be in Minneapolis tomorrow to join the art hunt. Since I can’t, I’ll enjoy it virtually by watching for media and blog coverage. I’d also like to hire William Hessian to put on a miniature art hunt here in Columbus. He’s done them in several cities now and I think it’s time for us to have an art hunt of our own. This is a far better idea than those tired old giant street art sculpture installations that have gotten so popular in the last decade or so.

What do you think – could we get local businesses interested in sponsoring William to hide some tiny paintings in our wonderful central Ohio Metro Parks?

And in the meantime, what wonderful miniature art or hidden treasures have you found lately, right here at home?

This definitely falls into the category of “I wish I’d thought of that.” I’m so glad I get to work with the WM folks and I can’t wait to see who wins this trip to the New Marketing Summit.

And hey, while I’m at it… Webbed Marketing, Please Send me to the New Marketing Summit! Because, you know, it never hurts to ask.

One that really stood out was the engraving on the southwest corner of the grand old post office building next to Union Station. The inscription was written by Dr. Charles W. Eliot in 1911. I took a photo of it, but it didn’t come out very well. It reads:

Messenger of sympathy and love

Servant of parted friends

Consoler of the lonely

Bond of the scattered family

Enlarger of the common life

When I read those words, I think instantly of email and social media. Surely digital communications provide all of those things to us now. Do people really still send mail for these reasons?

I guess old habits die hard. I do still send birthday and holiday cards, and usually double-up with an e-card as well. Sympathy cards will never go out of vogue – the formality and familiarity of mailing a card seems the right thing to do in times of grief. Other than those instances though, I rely far more on email and social media – Facebook, blogging, instant messaging, Twitter, etc. – to stay in touch with friends and family. I certainly can’t think of anything that has “enlarged the common life” more than online communication.

What do you think – has postal mail gone the way of the dinosaur, or will it soon?

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?

When I think about the ultimate viral video, I think about Matt Harding. While traveling the world to avoid getting a real job, he had some friends videotape him dancing and posted the clips online. Before too long, his goofy dancing clips were so popular he had attracted a major sponsor, Stride chewing gum, and was able to continue his world travels on their dime. His latest video, the one I’ve embedded above, is truly viral. I’ve seen it shared absolutely everywhere, and I’m sharing it with you now.

What makes it so great? I think that ultimately, to go viral a video has to make you feel something. When we share a video or site or whatever it is we’re sharing, we’re not just sharing a link. We’re sharing the feeling – the experience of feeling whatever it made us feel. I shared a link to a crazy article today on Twitter because it made me feel a bit sick. I’m sharing Where the Hell is Matt? with you now because every time I watch Matt’s videos, they fill me with a nameless and indescribable joy.

Want to take your product, service, program or site viral? First figure out how to make people feel something. If they feel nothing, they won’t pass it on or talk about it with friends.

I’ve heard many marketers and bloggers say the key to success is to ”make me care.” When it comes to inspiring word of mouth, pass-alongs and viral activity, I’ll go one step farther and say the golden ticket is to make me feel something.

What do you think? What sites or links have you shared lately, and how did they make you feel?

1. Ride east on 161 from Columbus to Granville, then head into historic downtown Granville, cruise up Main Street and turn left onto 661. You pass the lower hillside of Denison University on your left and then suddenly you’re cruising up and down the biggest, most beautiful hills you’ve ever seen. Is this really still Ohio? you’ll think to yourself as you give The Wave to all the other bikers you pass. It’s a superb, curvaceous ride in both directions and you can catch a nice meal or some ice cream in Granville on your way back through.

2. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the gorgeous Hocking Hills area – basically all of the roads in and around the Hocking Hills state park. Just head southeast from Columbus to Hocking Hills and you’ll know when you’re close to the good riding roads because suddenly you’ll realize you’re having a lot more fun. I’m still somewhat of a novice rider, but even experienced riders find these twisty, hilly roads to be a challenge. It’s definitely a rush and you’ll find yourself grinning inside your helmet!

3. Riding through Amish country – nothing on the road but our two bikes and the horse-drawn buggies. I love it! We usually head east on 161 from Columbus, then northeast on 62 all the way up to Berlin. The area up there is so pretty and picturesque, with enough Swiss chalets and cheese factories to make you think you’re in Europe. Once you’re there, there are lots of opportunities to get off the bikes and stretch the legs while you pet farm animals, taste cheeses or shop in quaint little stores. It’s a good time.

Lucky for us riders, Ohio is a fantastic place to ride. There are some great sites available to help choose a route. And as soon as this rain stops and our schedules free up, I plan to be back out there on two wheels again. Safe and happy riding! And if you have suggestions for other great Ohio rides, I’d love to hear them.

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1. If I’m too busy to write a real blog post of substance, about PR or social media related topics, then I need to at least post a few sentences about a travel experience, dining adventure or some cool aggregated links every few days. I will hold myself to this.

2. I’ll minimize posting in my private/personal blog (livejournal) until I’ve posted something of substance here.

3. If I’m not blogging, I must at least be “out there” reading and commenting on other blogs I admire and respect. This will inspire me to write my own blog, and it will keep me active and engaged with the social media community I love.

And now, a quick travel adventure story since I haven’t posted anything in days.

On Sunday, to celebrate my birthday, my husband took my Mom and I on a llama trek at Blue Rock Station in Philo, Ohio. It was a beautiful day to learn about llamas and sustainable living. We met goats, chickens, a French speaking farm dog and some cool new people. We got to see and enter and have lunch in an Earth Ship, which was a cool experience and worthy of its own post. Best of all, we got to interact and trek with three marvelous llamas named Jojo, Sgt. Pepper and Baxter. We led them through beautiful woods on a hilly trail, picnicked with them in a lovely spot, then trekked back to their paddock at the Earth Ship.

Llama trekking is all about listening and responding, not unlike social media. Llamas are a new “community” for most people, so we have to learn their interests, likes and dislikes before we try to journey with them or engage them. For your own personal reference, llamas like to be led with confidence, they don’t like to be touched around their faces, and once you’re trekking along together they don’t mind being scritched on their necks or backs.

We had an absolutely marvelous time. It is $35 per person and I cannot recommend it highly enough – great for families, couples or any small group. You must have (or pay for) 5 people in order to reserve a private llama trek. Singles could easily arrange to go on a day when Annie and Jay are already taking other people and have a solo spot open. Blue Rock Station is about an hour and twenty minutes east of Columbus and it’s a pretty drive.

Llamas will give you a gentle face nuzzle if you’re doing things right – which gives you a great, warm, fuzzy feeling. It’s a lot like getting good comments on your blog.