Social Media Part 1 of many

It is an amazing world we live in. Technology has made the world smaller than it ever was before by connecting people all over the world through social media. So what is social media really? Well, let's break it up into the two terms that we use to define it: social & media. I think social is fairly easy to understand that it is how we in engage with others (or at least I am going to define it that way…). Media we will think of as information that way we are not limited by a classical understanding by which one would limit the channels to which the information could and would come from. You could ignore my definition and opt for the Wikipedia definition and I think you will still be able to derive the same conclusions that I have in the following posts.

Types of social media include things like e-mails, chat rooms, message boards, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and I would venture to say that most things that you can find on-line would have some component of social media that they participate in.

Why is social media important? To answer that we need to consider what makes human being, well, human beings. I think at the heart of it is that we are by nature social beings and as we create, invent, and dream up technology we inherently look for ways to connect with others. These new and old technologies have made it possible for us to connect or “socialize” in ways we that were not possible in the old world before computers and telephones before that. Communities are no longer bound by geography and can be based on a simple love of rocks, trees, comic books, skateboards, art, music, pain - sorrows, tribulations, motherhood, fatherhood; it really is limitless in complexity and simplicity. These artificial communities exist not only in the abstract sense but they also have a firm foot in the here and now.

What does this translate to in “real life”? Marketers (like me) and businesses look to these communities as a way to market or hand sell to their consumers. We want to meet and speak to our customers and target market when, where, and however we can, on-line communities offer that possibility in a unique way.

Social media has become the heart and blood of how many companies find and sell to their customers. So the importance of social media is not only to the media, marketers, businesses, and sales people, but also to the consumer who can and do frame how they are marketed to. Consumers have a new voice and a new power for change.

We have seen various examples of this recently:

Toyota, Southwest, Tiger Woods, Sigg, and many more companies/celebrities have found out what happens when consumers have a voice and a viral voice at that.

Dreamy Voyage

Written By: James Mayhew
Illustrated By: Jackie Morris

Starlight Sailor is a new favorite of mine. I love the moody blue and gold that linger throughout this fantastic book. One of my all time favorite poems from when I was a child are combined with new life and versus. The red dragon, unicorn, and humpback whales make the the voyage of the paper boat only that much more special for the reader.

I would recommend this as a great gift for a special child in your life!




*I am an employee of Barefoot Books.

the great tollipop giveaway

I just heard about a super cool giveaway on Tollipop.com!

To enter the contest,go to Tollipop.com leave a comment . There are, however, several ways to procure additional entries that you can check out on her site!

*****

Comments will be open until my bedtime this Friday (April 17th), whenever that may be, and over the weekend I will announce the winners.

Earth Tales First Project

Bedtime in my house consists of tubbies, pjs, brushing teeth, and (my favorite part) bedtime stories! Most, if not all, families have some sort of bedtime ritual which is done every night with varying degrees of success (at least in my house). Last night we decided to begin reading Earth Tales, a great new title from Barefoot Books.

Discover how the rest of the world is 'Living Green'!

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales -
In this beautiful anthology of folktales, young readers learn how different cultures around the world live in harmony with the rhythms and patterns of nature. Discover how to tread lightly on our precious Earth by following the easy eco-tips and trying out some of the fun and creative activities that accompany each story

The perfect gift for any earth-conscious child!

We read the first story which is the Aboriginal tale of the begin of the world. Gabbie exhausted from a full day of running around like a monkey fell asleep part way through the story. Theo and I finished reading the story and were delighted to find a fun activity. Since it was 8 pm we planed to get painting as soon as we finished breakfast.



The directions said to use a brown or tan piece of paper...we opted for a brown paper bag. We really do our best to bring reusable bags to the grocery store, but every once in awhile we either forget, or buy more groceries than the bags we have brought will hold. I guess we have been doing a great job of remembering to bring bags with, since we were only able to find one bag.

We were instructed to create a picture using colors you would find in nature, like the Aboriginal people would use in there drawings. Colors like brown, red, yellow, and green we decided on the tempera paint that came with our art box. The directions suggested using paint brushes, cotton balls, fingers, and a few other things to create the Aboriginal art work, we figured paint brushes and fingers were enough for us. Using an empty pickle bottle to carry out some water to clean our brushes between color and we were ready.
We gathered up our supplies and headed out onto the porch.


After cutting up our bag into four nice sized bits we got down to business.


The directions explained that Aboriginal art work tended to be a about an aerial view of places and things. We used dots, circles, lines, representing things like grass, water, and bushes. Above you can see Theo's picture of a walk in the park.

Theo put the finishing touches on his second picture of the bush he saw covered in butterflies.

Here are the finished works of art! Gabbie had a lot of fun with dots. I asked her what the dots meant and she looked at me as though I was a small silly child and said in her best my silly mommy voice, "Mommy they are just dots".

Barefoot Books will be planting trees in partnership with Eco-Libris, for each copy of Earth Tales sold in the till the end of April in honor of Earth Day. If you would like to purchase a copy of this fantastic new title or check out what other great books please visit my Barefoot Books site;

www.ReadingBarefootBooks.com

Or to learn more about planting trees to offset the publishing industry you can visit Eco-Libris;
www.EcoLibris.net

Birthday!!! No Way 8

So, my super boy turned 8 yrs old last month. I really can't believe just how big he is. Not just how amazingly tall (and he really is tall) but more how he is turning into such a wonderful person. Since, heading back to school in January he has grown as a person so much. He has some great new friends and is really working hard to learn to read.

While Theo was at school I ran all over the place getting decorations for the house. We have not had the "friend party" yet but we have had two family parties. The cake pictures below is from the party we had with my parents on the night of Theo's birthday. It was the first time since Theo turn 1 that my parents were able to be with us on Theo's birthday.




This is one of my favorite pictures of Theo from his first birthday! I made the flower crown for him. It probably took me 2 hrs to make and I am sure he really didn't want to wear it...but it looks so incredibly cute on him.

Ruby Sky (Whoo Hoo Thats Right!)

Saturday: March 14 - 2pm-5pm

Ruby Skye Presents

BABY LOVES DISCO

Baby Loves Disco transforms San Francisco's hottest club into a child proof disco as children (6 month to 7 years) and parents looking for a break from the routine playground circuit let loose for an afternoon dance party featuring real music spun by real DJs blending classic disco. Plus, bubble machines, a chill-out area, diaper changing stations, a full spread of healthy snacks AND optional cocktails for non-driving parents.

Saturday afternoon is the new Saturday night. Come join us!

Advance tickets at: PURCHASE TICKETS