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.

Back to the blog

Hey all - I'd be surprised if anyone's checking this blog for updates anymore, considering it's been months since I've posted anything! Anyway, I've moved to Dallas, found an apartment, fallen in love with my job, and bought a Vespa!

No wonder I'm so tired!

Anyway, I'm going to transition this blog from all about me to all about the things I'm working on, things that interest me, and, to be honest, a lot of stuff about social media and non-profits. I've started religiously reading blogs like Beth Kanter's blog on non-profits and social media and Museum 2.0.

Apparently I'm going to be in charge of the museum's social marketing strategy, anything from Twitter (Follow me!) to Facebook to... whatever else I can figure out. This also includes writing a blog, so I'll be updating here more regularly to get my writing style back!

Newest find: Be The Media, which describes itself as a Social Media Empowerment Guide for Nonprofits. I'm joining in with the community in hopes I can share and (especially) learn about how I can use Web 2.0 to get interest up, increase attendance, and, most of all, share the mission of this amazing museum I get to work for.