Turning into a Yuppie

No. Seriously. I am. Except for the plush downtown loft, which I can't afford (thank you, economy). Apartment aside, let's check the Yuppie checklist:

Wine lover
Vespa owner
Banana Republic shopper (okay, outlets and clearance, but it counts)
Foodie and cook
Central Market superfan

I think that about sums it up. I also just joined the Young Association Professionals group, an online community for young non-profit professionals. I've found a lot of groups in the past few weeks (longer, if you count my passive participation in the We Are Media project. I think these groups will serve me incredibly well - I already feel as connected as when I was a member of AAF (the American Advertising Federation).

Which brings me to my point (yes, I have a point): social networks are as valuable as you make them. Having a Linked-In profile is great, but if it's not updated, no one's going to find you in search results. Twitter all you want, but if you don't have any followers, no one's listening to what you're saying.

I'm working on a launch of a bunch of different social media for the museum, and I'm afraid of falling into what's basically the social media trap. If you don't update, you're obsolete. If you're irrelevant, game over. It's an intimidating prospect, but for an organization that currently has one blog post written about it, the risk factor is actually pretty low. I'm going to be leaning on these communities pretty hard for the next few months, looking for advice - but isn't that what they're there for?

Honestly, who isn't on facebook?

Well, to answer that question, my mom's not, but she knows my login information, so that's close enough. I'm pretty excited because I just launched the museum's Facebook page and, after some hard work (thanks Colin and Nic!), I think it looks pretty good.

I have to pitch a social media plan to the board next week, and I'm starting to get pretty nervous. Luckily, fate's on my side and I found this article, which sets me up for a lot of common objections and how to respond to them. Being prepared to present new media to a group of VIPs? Check.

I'm trying to decide what to blog about for the museum - I want a mix from exhibits (to go along with our podcasts), current women's issues, and discussion about the museum's future. I really want to start the conversation about the museum - there's nothing on blogs, twitter, etc. yet. Scary yet exciting!

In Vespa news, honking at me then waving and saying "nice wheels" is not a good idea. It does get my attention, but it makes me swerve, and I don't think I'll make an attractive trauma patient. Thanks.