So Shane tried to remind me to post yesterday, and I didn’t get his message. So this post is for you, Shane.

Nothing new with me. Just the same old work. The SnowBall was a success last weekend. I’m not sure of the final headcount or the amount of money we raised, but the Globe said over 1,000 people and over $50,000. Not too shabby.

Other than that, I’ve been pretty lame: lots of catching up on Lost lately (have to be ready for January 21st). I was also chosen to present on Northeastern’s “5 Under 25″ panel on January 29th, that highlights the experiences of 5 alumni under the age of 25.

Oh yeah, and for all the financial/accounting people: Bernard Madoff was arrested yesterday. Which means that one of our clients (actually a whole family) may have lost $150 million in investments. Here’s the formal complaint filed by the FBI Agent. As a side note, this really makes me want to be an FBI Agent again.

To end on a good note, it’s finally Friday. And after a crappy week (all around) and a stressful exam schedule for Shane, I can’t wait for it to be the weekend (not to mention xmas break for some). Pub crawl tomorrow and then some xmas shopping Sunday. Anyone want to join?

Some of you may know this already (and some of you may be involved *cough* Amanda), but I’m involved with a non-profit called Santa Claus Anonymous which hosts a SnowBall every December to raise funds for children and family programs in Boston. The event is entirely volunteer run and 100% of the proceeds go to the 3 beneficiary charities, which are chosen each year.

Tickets are $65 each and can be purchased online or at the door.

Also, we’re looking for volunteers to fill about 30 hour-long shifts throughout the night. So if you have experience in, or any desire to learn, ticketing, registration, casino dealing, mall santas, or just being a good volunteer, please let me know.

Hope to see you there!

Last night, at a WBUR gala, I sat with one of our clients, Deborah Stone, who is an accomplished writer and professor of Political Science at Dartmouth, and we had a stimulating conversation about the fine line that online social networks rides between deteriorating and strengthening physical community and interaction.

The small New Hampshire town where she lives, Deborah said, was “the town equivalent of a depressed person.” No one in the town, which is made up mostly of older folks, knew each other, let alone what was going on in the town. The town lacked any sense of community or pride. So Deborah created a small town “glossy” newsletter where community members can submit stories or editorials, town happenings, and even profile local citizens. The newsletter, Deborah said, helped revitalize the town and she has seen a sense of community develop based on this publication alone. However, she posed to me this question: could an online community have this same effect on a physical community that the newsletter did?

I was stumped. Because in reality, I know for a fact that an online community or newsletter would not be effective in this situation. Because most older people don’t even have access to the internet, let alone use social networks. However, even the younger people in the town seem to gravitate toward a more traditional community. Deborah informed me that, in fact, the library is almost the social center of the town, even for young people. So in this instance, no, I do not think that an online community could come even close to building the sense of community that this town needed.

But the older generation has to face the harsh reality that technology is changing and with it are our communication methods. What is at stake is that our grandparents, and even our parents, are being left out of these developing social networks and communities and, therefore, miss out on valuable virtual interactions.

I have plenty more to say about this, but I don’t want to bore you to tears. I’d rather hear your opinion instead. Do you think that an online community can replace physical interactions and “traditional” media in order to create a sense of community? Pros/cons? What is at stake when transitioning between an online and a physical community?

So every November my friend, Amanda, and I host a birthday extravaganza to celebrate our birthdays, as well as all of the other awesome people born in November (lest we forget P. Diddy [November 4th], Yanni [November 14th]; and Billie Jean King [November 22nd] to name a few). Like usual, we’ll go where the night takes us, but we’ll most likely start with bowling at Jillian’s and end the night on a high note (literally) at Jake Ivory’s, our favorite dueling piano bar.

The Extravaganza is on Saturday, November 22nd and the festivities begin at 8pm(ish). After months of planning, it’s finally here so don’t miss it!

So every November my friend, Amanda, and I host a birthday extravaganza to celebrate our birthdays, as well as all of the other awesome people born in November (lest we forget P. Diddy [November 4th], Yanni [November 14th]; and Billie Jean King [November 22nd] to name a few).

Like usual, we’ll go where the night takes us, but we’ll most likely start with bowling at Jillian’s and end the night on a high note (literally) at Jake Ivory’s, our favorite dueling piano bar.

The Extravaganza is on Saturday, November 22nd and the festivities begin at 8pm(ish).

After months of planning, it’s finally here so don’t miss it!

So someone named Heather posted a survey of WordPress bloggers’ presidential picks last week and the results were unsurprising. But it got me thinking about all of the “liberal media elite” comments that Palin made during the election. It’s obvious, even by Heather’s survey alone, that the liberal media is in no way “elite.” In fact, the media is dominated by average Joe’s without an agenda other than to express their opinions.

One of reason’s Obama won was because he was (and still is) able to embrace user-generated media rather than just traditional media outlets. In fact, McCain and Palin’s appearances in traditional media (namely TV) backfired, and were used by bloggers and social media-users in support of Obama. Videos of the Republican pair’s appearance on SNL spread like wildfire in blogs and on Facebook. But this was only to the detriment of their campaign. Albeit, some conservative blogs, like Jonathan Martin’s Politico blog, saw it is positive for the GOP, but honestly the stint was just another chance for Palin and McCain to make fools of themselves.

Yes, I understand that there are conservative bloggers out there, but let’s face the facts: liberals tend to be more tech savvy and supportive of change and democracy – and that’s what social media represents.

So I met with Todd Defren from SHIFT Communications today at his office in Brighton. Basically, I wanted to get his advice on re-entering the PR industry after my stint in accounting.

I’ve been following Todd’s blog, PR Squared, for the past couple of years, and he is really on the forefront of the changing PR industry. He unknowingly helped inspire me to get back into PR. I was honored to get onto his busy schedule.

He imparted me with some valuable advice: get your name and face out there, and brown-nose. With such a competitive industry, you really have to make yourself stand out in a noisy crowd.

So with Todd’s advice in mind, I will be sure to keep my blog updated (hopefully with legit content), Twitter more, and get my name out there as much as possible.

Todd, if you’re reading, thanks again!

Ok, so maybe I’m not as good at this blogging thing as I thought I would be…I promise, I’m going to start updating this more.

First off, thanks for the birthday wishes!

Secondly, the election is finally over and I couldn’t be happier, at least with the Presidential pick. I am really disappointed in the people of California though. And that includes the politicians that made Proposition 8 a ballot question in the first place. I agree with the ACLU in that something as important as equality and rights should not have been left up to a simple ballot initiative and popular vote. This is an issue that will obviously not die anytime soon.

The Mormon church, which helped lead the fight for Proposition 8 claims that the ban “is not against any group in our society. Its sole focus is on preserving God’s plan for people living upon this earth throughout time.” Well I think Melissa Etheridge has a very appropriate response: if I don’t get equal rights, then that means I’m not a full citizen, and that in turns means that I don’t have to pay taxes. “Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away.” Couldn’t have said it better myself, Melissa!

My correction tape makes a clicking noise when I use it…thus advertising to everyone that I have made a mistake. Damn.

Q-tips

Bathroom garbage cans

Springy mattresses and feather pillows

Barefeet

Breakfast cereals

Milk in a plastic jug