Go to the Woodland Park Zoo. In the Winter.

As a kid growing up in San Diego, the world-famous zoo and wild animal park were two family staples. I remember going often. When I moved up to Seattle, I think it made my parents and I overlook the Woodland Park Zoo. I went to high school in this area, then college and eventually, lived only a couple blocks away, still without ever going.

On those summer weekends up on Phinney Ridge, I would sit at my local coffee shop and watch the overwhelming number of families, local and tourist alike, stream into the area to go to the zoo. What on earth were they thinking? The streets were packed. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like inside. A concentrated area full of young children, long-distances to walk and sometimes extreme heat (for Seattle that is).

That is what I remember.

But for some reason, yesterday I decided to go.

The weather was wonderful. A perfect winter day in Seattle. Sunny but cold. I wrapped myself in multiple layers, grabbed my gloves and ventured off to the zoo.

I cannot begin to describe what an enjoyable day I had.

The zoo was quite. A few bundled up families here and there. They casually walked instead of stampeding through the grounds as I had imagined. There was no rush.

However, the best part wasn’t the scarce crowd but the fact that on the first sunny day in awhile, all the animals were out. And so were their caretakers.

I met Junior. A fifteen year old Jaguar. He was wondering around apparently trying to find all of the treats hidden around his area. He’s either a very charismatic Jaguar or the sun and lack of people made him less shy because he came right up to the glass and looked at us. Observing us the same way we were observing him

Then there was Mr. Morgan, a 13 year old Colobus monkey. He sat on a tree stump right up against the fence. His caretaker was performing a routine feeding where he would ask Mr. Morgan to do certain “tricks” in order to receive food. “Grab your tail.” “Where’s your ear?” “Put your feet up.” Nonchalantly, the monkey did as he was told. The man placed his hand on the monkey’s feet, shoulder, tail and mouth. Someone asked what he was looking for. The man said he wasn’t looking for anything in particular at the moment. These feeding practices were simply a way to train the monkeys so that they could easily be examined without the need to immobilize them.

I waved good-bye and headed for the savanna. On the eastside of the zoo, I met Chai, a 40 year old Asian elephant. She lived with an African elephant in the same enclosure. I can’t remember her name. I learned that Asian elephants are the calmer breed and are the ones used in film. They would even add paper to an Asian elephants ears to make it appear as an African. Chai was hilarious. Asian elephants prefer to search low for food so she had this very silly movement with her trunk where she almost looked like she was vacuuming. It was feeding time for her but her caretaker was distracted answering our questions. In order to get his attention, Chai made a very fun breathing sound through her trunk that resembled blowing air through your lips. He signed a command to and she begrudgingly did a quick 360, winning a handful of carrots once complete.

I remember at this point trying to think back to a time where I had received such a one-on-one experience with an animal and it’s caretaker. It was the best learning experience ever and made me more cognizant of each animal and it’s unique characteristics.

I know there are a lot of negative issues when it comes to zoos but the number of “Endangered” signs plaster over countless exhibits made me think more about the value of a zoo. It’s because of this zoo and many others like it, along with donors, volunteers, caretakers and scientist that certain species of animals still exist. They work with different organizations around the world to protect endangered species as well as educate the public.

I really appreciated this at that moment.

I continued around the zoo. Laughing at a lion sunbathing with his paws crossed the same way my dog Magic does, getting a rare glimpse of a Hippo out of the pool eating hay and even coming face-to-face with a grey wolf.

After a few hours, the sun sitting low in the sky to the southwest, I exited the Woodland Park Zoo. I was very happy that I finally went to this Seattle landmark and glad that I had picked this day to go. I would recommend to every local, who feels similar about overwhelming crowds but is curious, go to the Woodland Park Zoo. In the winter.

Dear social mediaists, we all have something we can share...

I stood in front of 1500 high school students this weekend. I spoke, along side of my coworker, Buckley Shaffer, at the Oregon Association for Student Counsels Leadership Conference on Social Media Common Sense and how student leaders can be role models in the space.

It was exciting and overwhelming at the same time.

These are some of Oregon's brightest teens but beyond intelligence, they're driven. Driven to make their schools and communities better. They care and that's why they ride (for some it's across the entire state) to the little coastal town of Seaside for this leadership conference.

Standing onstage, I felt like a phony. Don't get me wrong, I will do this all day if that's what it takes to get the information out, but I enjoy a dialogue more. Where ideas can development and transformation with the brainpower of those in the room. Which is why I enjoyed hosting our two workshops later that evening so much more than standing on the stage (in the picture above) giving a one way presentation.

The best part about each of our sessions was that we started off with a question, watched the discussion develop, directed it as needed, and watched it turn into something uniquely relevant to the students in the room.

After all they've been living Facebook for their entire high school careers, they know the obstacles at their schools, and have interacted with the players on a daily basis, all they needed, as I found out from these workshops, was a little guidance. They wanted reassurance that they were moving in the right direction, that they had chosen the right platform, the right messaging, the right precautions to ensure that their projects were successful.

I just found it interesting because I see so many people in educational institutions who are afraid of social media, especially at the middle school and high school level. But the kids are already using it. They're trying to find success where others are too afraid to and they have little guidance or even support for that matter.

All I'm thinking to say is for those of us in the social media space, our skills are highly valued at this level. And if you have the time, I encourage you to volunteer to be an adviser or role model for one of these students and help them become social media advocates for their schools and communities.

I know I will be doing more in the very near future.

Also, here is our slide show, if you're interested in seeing what we presented:

Social Media Common Sense on Prezi

What's in a name?

There is one word in social media jargon that really bothers me and that's "voyeur". We use this term often to describe users online who consume others' content but do not generate any of their own.

Frustrated with the negative connotation that I believe unfairly stigmatizes this type of behavior, I decided to go on Twitter today and ask my community, you all, for recommendations on other possible names:

I didn't convey specifically why I was asking the question so I wouldn't skew any answer. The first response I received was from a colleague, who cemented (for me) the fact that when you hear the term "voyeur" your reaction is not warm and fuzzy but more ogling sleazeball:

The next response was even more scathing and really ruffled my brow:

Leech? Are they insinuating that consuming content online is equivalent to bloodsucking?

Timeout.

Let's go back to what I'm trying to rename. Users online who consume others content but don't generate any of their own.

Leech. I hadn't realize people felt so negatively about this type of behavior. Which I kind of feel is a misconception that I'd like to try to disprove quickly with an example.

Example #1:
I want to know more about Leeches. I go to Wikipedia and find their article on Leeches. I click on the link to one of the References listed at the bottom of the article and end up on a site with any kind of users generated content. I read. I smile. Because I now know that the medicinal use of leeches dates as far back as 2,500. Fascinating. And then I repeat this process whenever I desire to gain information about a particular subject and never publish any piece of content myself.

We can take this same example, change the objective - now I want to buy a Ford Explorer - commence said cycle of online exploration and see how the behavior that we are trying to define describes a behavior that is very common these days:


Is this behavior so bad that we'd refer to people who do it as leeches?

I hope you now understand my desire to find a new term. Back to more responses!

• @megrnelson what about "recreational users"? ...though that comes with no shortage of baggage, haha.
• @megrnelson we used to say "lurker" a lot.
• @megrnelson "Consumer" doesn't seem personable enough to me and I try to avoid using it. Reader? Listener? Customer? Participant?

And my personal favorite: @megrnelson Observer, Spectator, Witness, Onlooker or Bystander? From 4-6 creativity is exhausted until the beer kicks in.

Spectator! I liked the sound of that. My initial reaction to that word is in reference to a sporting event. Unlike voyeurism, it's a completely acceptable term and more flexible. For example, you could be a spectator at a soccer game. But then you could move to the fan section, cheering on the people "participating" in the game (speaking of... Can you hear Chivas sing? We can't hear a $%#ing thing! Go Sounders!).
And when I say "cheer", I really mean promote or share other users content. And finally, if you felt so inclined, you could play in the game by publishing your own content.

I know that is cheesier than the Mac & Cheese I had for dinner tonight (it was Kraft Deluxe!) but I really do think there is a need to change out "voyeur" with something more positive and productive, like Spectator.

That's what I've pulled out of the conversation I had with many of you on Twitter so far. I'd love to continue it at anytime, get more of your feedback and find other words that might work. Again, thank you to everyone for taking the time to respond to my post today. It's all very thought provoking.

Last but not least, I'd like to give a little shout out to Andrew for suggesting I turn today's discussion into a blog post. I hope you weren't disappointed! :)

A Year Later...

In honor of Year 2 of Social Creature Media, I've decided to start a new blog. In WordPress. This blog will continue on but will be more focused on the specific adventures of Meg Nelson. Since I needed an outlet were I could practice my WordPress skills AND do a little more daily blogging, I decided to create my blog Ever Wondered About.

To give you a little sneak peak, here is an overview...

Why do we call them “Quarterbacks”? Do spiders excrete anything else besides their web? How does an airbag work? Who developed the cooking process known as "Sous-vide"?

There are many times in a given day that I wonder where something originated, how something works or ask myself a questions about something I’ve encounter. So I decided to create a blog where I could find the answers out myself and publish them for you.

Also, for those of you who didn't see the companies video, here it is one last time:

Why location-based social networks are still worth using

Ask my coworkers, I have always been a fan of location-based social networks. While my use of them has waned over the past couple of months, I still think they have incredible potential. Which is why, when I saw Marshall Kirkpatrick's tweet this evening... "I should write a post simply about why location based social networks are worth using"...I decided to take on the challenge myself.

At the moment, most people I know have become discouraged with location-based social media. A compelling reason for divulging such insights is in all honesty lacking. Mayor? Who cares. Badges? I'm not a Girl Scout anymore. Checkins? I am sick of being that [insert appropriate word here] on the phone the second I walk into a bar or restaurant with his or her friends. And for all of you out there who are thinking about loyalty discounts and rewards, just know this: A free drip coffee for me once a week because I'm the mayor of my local Starbucks means nothing when I drink Chai tea!

This is where my, along with many others, frustration currently sits. The Foursquares, Yelps and now New York Times (wtf?) of the world have, in my opinion, lost sight of the prize. I understand that a startup/media organization needs to figure out a way to be profitable and getting in bed with corporate America is the easiest answer but I feel like that is diluting the real value of this product for the end user.

This is turning people off. Pushing people away. At a point when companies like Foursquare need to push mass adoption. And the only way to do that is by providing a perceivable value.

So here is what the perceivable value of these networks is to me:

In the age of content overload, we talk a great deal about the race to relevancy. For Google, providing relevant information is at the core of it's business model. But my question has always been what if we DON'T know we need to search for that information. It may be highly relevant to us but we just don't know it exists.

Many companies are already onto this but I will use Facebook in this example. They present you with information they think you should know, based on your own usage/interaction with their platform. However, at the moment that information is limited. They can't always account for your actions outside of their world. For example, Facebook knows that I have "liked" volleyball but it doesn't know that I play at an open gym every Tuesday night or that after volleyball, our group goes out and socializes over a beer or two.

Now as marketers and advertisers, our eyes light up and we all think... "Here is a great idea! Local bars and restaurants in the area should really make sure that they are offering happy hour specials or food specials to the group via social networks!" Don't get me wrong this is all good but there has to be value to the end users before this moment.

Back to the open gym...

I lived in the area where my open gym is held for OVER a year before knowing of it's existence. I had to physically go on Google and search for "volleyball open gym" to find a random website that actually had outdated information of the open gym night. Why did I have to do that?

If I had already self-ascribed to being a volleyball player and people who lived around me also "liked" volleyball, then why couldn't my location-based social network tell me that people who like volleyball go to Tuesday night open gym here?

This is the type of relevant information that I would have appreciated because I was living by myself, in a new part of town, after a majority of my friends had left the city. I would find this information far more compelling than a discount or a badge. And this is why I think location-based social networks are still worth using because of their potential to capture and utilize behavioral data for the benefit of their end user.

Can you crowdsource a bio?

I find it extremely difficult to talk about myself. In the first or third person. When it came time to create individual bios for our company profile page, I was the first one to run for the hills screaming.

Since then I have sat around night after night, staring at this word doc full of makeshift paragraphs and sentences. Some thoughts feel creative at the time, however, return the next night, I realize how unoriginal and silly they are. Just to embarrass myself a little a couple examples include highlighting my analytical prowess with a reference to the board game "221 B Baker Street", describing the moment I became aware of the power of discriminating information (an Inspector Gadget episode when Penny saves the day with her computer book) and showcasing my current experience of short-form communication with a bio created entirely out of soundbites. Like I said, not so original the next day.

Given my current trajectory, my bio will never be finished. That is why I am turning to my friends and family. HELP ME!

Here is what I need: An Intro.

I have no problem with the body of the resume, I just have trouble starting it. I can fill in the technical details of how I helped charter more efficient business practices or that I delivered strategic business solutions that increased overall ROI. That part is not my problem.

I just can't start it. "Strategic, proactive and creative, ____ possesses over four years..." "Despite his youthful appearance, ___ is an old hand at new business" "As an individual who has always loved technology, ____has been dabbling"

What do you think? Will you help me? Can I harness the power of my community to get my bio on the fast track? At this point, I am willing to try anything.

My Trip to Northern California Part 1

Cole and I decided, somewhat last minute, to take a trip to Northern California. We decided that we would check out Napa, swing through San Fransisco, and then hit Sonoma as we headed up the 101 back to Seattle. I don't have many pictures but I am going to do my best to recap the trip.

We left Seattle on Saturday morning and drove down to Portland to have lunch. We stopped at Bunk Sandwiches which had been on The Food Network but I also heard about it from several other people. Here is an image of the sandwich Cole had that day:


It was their Italian Pastrami sandwich, however, I was particularly happy with my Pulled Pork sandwich! The line was long but to me that almost always is a sign of something worth waiting for. After Portland, we drove down to Medford, Oregon. We planned on grabbing a bit to eat and then resting our little heads before the long drive to Napa the next day. Not expecting to find much in Southern Oregon, we were pleasantly surprised by the food and ambiance provided by 38 on Central. I think we would both agree that their Mac & Cheese with Rogue River cheddar was probably one of the food highlights of the week. But just wait, there are more to come!


In Napa, we stayed at a place called Vine Bello Resort. It is not normally the kind of place that Cole and I stay at but we got a great deal and it actually turned out to be the perfect location, even if we would stay somewhere else if we returned to Napa for a second time. This particular location forced us to familiarize ourselves with the entire valley.

The day after driving, we headed up Silverado Roard, apparently the most famous road in Napa. We saw four wineries that day. First, Grgrich Hill, known for it's winemaker, Mike Grgich, who created the Chardonnay for Chateau Montelena that beat the very best wines in France in a famous blind tasting in Paris. The story of this tasting has now been captured by the film Bottle Shock. After that we went to Groth Winery and Vineyard and then we headed over to The Miner Family Vineyard where a special treat waiting for us.

Cole had taken an International Sommelier Guild (ISG) course in Seattle a few years ago. As it turns out, Dianne, one of the woman he had taken the course with, had been working at Miner Family Winery for some time. When we arrived she took us down to her lab and took us on a tour of the caves that housed all of the barrels. We barrel tasted Tempranillo, Grenache and Pinot Noir.

This has got to be one of my favorite parts of the whole wine making process. I think when you taste the grapes directly from the barrel you realize what kind of effort and ultimately, love, goes into making a great wine. You get to see these wines in their preliminary states, which allows you to appreciate them much more once they are sitting in pretty bottles on your dinner table.

Next was Far Niente, a breathtakingly beautiful winery, fully of history, that sits above the fields of grapes just off of highway 29. We toured the facilities and walked through the expansive underground caves. I think the woman that was giving the tour said that the total square footage of the cave was equal to that of a football field! The winery, which was build in 1885, closed for prohibition but was then restored by Gil Nickel sixty years later. The interesting part for me was that Gil Nickel had an obsession with cars and on the property they have a barn full of the most outrageous old cars on the planet from a 1961 Chevrolet Corvette to a 1954 Bentley Continental R and last but not least, a limited addition 1966 Ferrari 500 Superfast.


Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....................

After Far Niente, Cole and I returned to the hotel to relax before a lovely dinner at Thomas Keller's Bouchon.

The next day, we continued on our journey through Napa wine country. A very cool part about this particular day was that we were visiting wineries that were pretty much owned and operated by women. We started the day off at Spottswoode and then headed over to a very boutique winery called Crocker & Starr, which is run by Pam Starr and Charlie Crocker. Both of these wineries were very impressive and I was very excited to have been privileged to see and taste both of them.

Cole saw one more winery that day. Since wine is his passion and I had a feeling he might want to geek out with his fellow winos for a bit, I thought he might enjoy it more by himself. So I stayed in the car and thus cannot remember the name of the winery.

A quick side note before I continue...wine is tough. It can be pretentious, arrogant and exclusive on one hand but it can also be dirty, down-to-earth and fascinating on the other. I am really happy that Cole and I took this trip because it gave me an opportunity to get closer to what I consider to be the "real" wine. I have a great appreciation for people like Cole and Dianne. They fielded every question I had and patiently explained in more detail when I needed a better explanation. They are the reason that I have begun to love wine. They have a passion that is indescribable. They know so much about wine and the process of making it but beyond that, they desire to spread that passion and knowledge to others. And in all honesty, I appreciate those type of people across all industries and different professions.

That evening, we were able to spend more time with Dianne in St Helena. We went with her to a restaurant that does a family meal for the locals from 5-7pm (I believe). I apologize for not being able to remember the name, I was just more focused on the company. The family meal is served in the cellar which has been converted to a cool bar area underneath the main restaurant. It was a lovely space and we had a great time chatting to Dianne about what she had been up to since being in Seattle and what she was doing in Napa. The night ended at Ana's Cantina with dollar bills and rolls of quarters wrapped in duck tape...


The next day we left for San Fransisco... which is a post for another night. :)

HealthWeis

My best friend, Debra Weisbarth, started a super fun and simple blog called HealthWeis about how to stay health and still live your life. She offers some great tips that will easily fit into your everyday routine. My favorite tip is about using a deck of cards to exercise.

Add it to your RSS feed and keep that New Year's Resolution!