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.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
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. :)
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!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saying Anything You Want - The Difference Between Radio & Twitter
There is an "alternative" radio station in Seattle called 107.7 The End that I have been listening to for years. They introduced me to Nirvana, The Flaming Lips, Kings of Leon and more. They unapologetically brought me Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky. And I am not going to lie, at the time, I loved them for it.
Over the years, this station has gotten away with more outrageous comments on the radio than anyone would have expected in such a PC city and this afternoon, someone at The End tried to take this attitude online.
Below is a picture of what was published publicly on The End's Twitter account this afternoon:
Before I move on I want to clarify that I am not writing this post out of anger. I believe that the online space should be a space for reflection and rationality, not blame and hate.
I think that whoever published this post failed to understand the nature of the online space.
Radio, for a long time, has been a one-way medium. The station controls what you listen to. From music to talk shows, you hear the main content but miss out on the content that is being generated in parallel to the programing. This means that the listener doesn't know what any other listener thinks of the content being played(besides screened commentators). I believe this creates a lack of accountability. Radio is not held responsible for any of its content by its users.
The Internet, however, is a multidimensional space. Something is said and it can be copied, pasted, forwarded, posted, Tweeted, tagged, bookmarked, ranked, etc. Responses can be made to any of these forms and the original commenter has no control over the information as it spreads through out the system. We call this Viral Marketing if it is positive but have started denoting the negative iteration of this with a #fail sign.
Whoever posted the comment above must not have understood this difference between the two mediums and thus could not have foreseen the potential repercussion (psst I am giving this person a bit more credit than I actually think he/she deserves):
Personal opinions are one thing online but as a Brand you have to be aware that in this space you represent more than just a set of attributes you and your team came up with around a table one afternoon. You represent the team that you work for and the customers that buy your products or services.
Tomorrow morning, The End might decide that they did nothing wrong. That they stuck to their brand. That said, I doubt that "alienate" is something that any senior management from a radio station wants associated with their brand.
UPDATE: This morning, The End posted as statement that claimed that their Twitter account had been hacked.
This seems very fishy since someone was responding to the backlash from The End alias (unfortunately, I failed to get a screen shot of this) for about two hours after the original post went up. If the account had been hacked, the hacker would have posted the comment and watched the storm hit. He/she wouldn't sit there and defend whatever was said. As @jonathanlawson put it this morning, The End's "twitter hacking" explanation is disingenuous. They erased original tweets to dodge accountability. At least now we know the person that posted the original comment isn't the only one over there that doesn't really understand how the online space works.
UPDATE #2: Tech Flash and The Stranger comment on the event and Paul Constant makes a better argument for why it was not a hacker (he also has a screen shot of The End posts!).
UPDATE #3: And The End's response to criticism that it wasn't a hacker.
Over the years, this station has gotten away with more outrageous comments on the radio than anyone would have expected in such a PC city and this afternoon, someone at The End tried to take this attitude online.
Below is a picture of what was published publicly on The End's Twitter account this afternoon:
Before I move on I want to clarify that I am not writing this post out of anger. I believe that the online space should be a space for reflection and rationality, not blame and hate.
I think that whoever published this post failed to understand the nature of the online space.
Radio, for a long time, has been a one-way medium. The station controls what you listen to. From music to talk shows, you hear the main content but miss out on the content that is being generated in parallel to the programing. This means that the listener doesn't know what any other listener thinks of the content being played(besides screened commentators). I believe this creates a lack of accountability. Radio is not held responsible for any of its content by its users.
The Internet, however, is a multidimensional space. Something is said and it can be copied, pasted, forwarded, posted, Tweeted, tagged, bookmarked, ranked, etc. Responses can be made to any of these forms and the original commenter has no control over the information as it spreads through out the system. We call this Viral Marketing if it is positive but have started denoting the negative iteration of this with a #fail sign.
Whoever posted the comment above must not have understood this difference between the two mediums and thus could not have foreseen the potential repercussion (psst I am giving this person a bit more credit than I actually think he/she deserves):
Personal opinions are one thing online but as a Brand you have to be aware that in this space you represent more than just a set of attributes you and your team came up with around a table one afternoon. You represent the team that you work for and the customers that buy your products or services.
Tomorrow morning, The End might decide that they did nothing wrong. That they stuck to their brand. That said, I doubt that "alienate" is something that any senior management from a radio station wants associated with their brand.
UPDATE: This morning, The End posted as statement that claimed that their Twitter account had been hacked.
This seems very fishy since someone was responding to the backlash from The End alias (unfortunately, I failed to get a screen shot of this) for about two hours after the original post went up. If the account had been hacked, the hacker would have posted the comment and watched the storm hit. He/she wouldn't sit there and defend whatever was said. As @jonathanlawson put it this morning, The End's "twitter hacking" explanation is disingenuous. They erased original tweets to dodge accountability. At least now we know the person that posted the original comment isn't the only one over there that doesn't really understand how the online space works.UPDATE #2: Tech Flash and The Stranger comment on the event and Paul Constant makes a better argument for why it was not a hacker (he also has a screen shot of The End posts!).
UPDATE #3: And The End's response to criticism that it wasn't a hacker.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
My Favorite Videos 2009
Long. Short. Humorous. Touching. These are the videos that I would like to share with you as we head into the new year. Enjoy!
#5 Epic 2015 - Especially relevant with the development of Chrome, Chrome OS, Android, Google Goggles,etc
#4 I Feel In Love at the Apple Store - For every mac geek I know!
#3 Horny Turtle Humps Shoe - My wonderful friend Annie discovered this video and has since perfected the Turtle's cry of passion!
#2 Cory dancing to "Single Ladies" - Especially around 36 seconds into the video! Cracks me up EVERY SINGLE time I see this!
#1 Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams - Honestly, one of the most humbling and inspirational videos I have ever seen.
#5 Epic 2015 - Especially relevant with the development of Chrome, Chrome OS, Android, Google Goggles,etc
#4 I Feel In Love at the Apple Store - For every mac geek I know!
#3 Horny Turtle Humps Shoe - My wonderful friend Annie discovered this video and has since perfected the Turtle's cry of passion!
#2 Cory dancing to "Single Ladies" - Especially around 36 seconds into the video! Cracks me up EVERY SINGLE time I see this!
#1 Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams - Honestly, one of the most humbling and inspirational videos I have ever seen.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Announcing... Social Creature Media
My Dear Friends,
My business partner, Josh Dirks and I are very excited to announce our new social media marketing company, Social Creature Media.
Social Media is an emerging medium that has the power to engage consumers before, during and long after they enter the buying funnel. It gives marketers new opportunities to capture attention and build long-term relationships. The possibilities are endless and always changing, which makes this an incredibly fun and exciting space to be apart of.
We have been in sort of a "beta" mode for awhile and still have lots to work on but I am happy to say that the business is moving along. Still we are in desperate need of a website, a logo and an office (we are currently working out of Josh's basement). Any suggestions? :)
If you want to hear more about our business or about how it evolves, follow us on Twitter or friend us on Facebook!
Thank you for all your love and support!
Cheers,
Meg
My business partner, Josh Dirks and I are very excited to announce our new social media marketing company, Social Creature Media.
Social Media is an emerging medium that has the power to engage consumers before, during and long after they enter the buying funnel. It gives marketers new opportunities to capture attention and build long-term relationships. The possibilities are endless and always changing, which makes this an incredibly fun and exciting space to be apart of.
We have been in sort of a "beta" mode for awhile and still have lots to work on but I am happy to say that the business is moving along. Still we are in desperate need of a website, a logo and an office (we are currently working out of Josh's basement). Any suggestions? :)
If you want to hear more about our business or about how it evolves, follow us on Twitter or friend us on Facebook!
Thank you for all your love and support!
Cheers,
Meg
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
It's alright. Just be you.
It is really easy to get caught up in what type of image you are presenting to the world. Based on X, will people think I am funny? smart? trendy? attractive? etc?
And now with all the public methods of communication online (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn), the feeling is only intensified. Now you have to have cute profile pictures, legions of friends, funny links, witty blog posts, etc. I think it stifles creativity. It makes people over-analyze how people will react to the ideas and information they put forward.
One of the most freeing things though is being able to let all of this go. Yes, it has taken a bit of time but I've realized that the best face for me to put forward is my own.
This might sound obvious but I have done a lot of censoring of myself over the years and it has never done me any good.
I am a goofball. I say things that are not particularly intelligent. I speculate. I am not quite at a point where I try to formulate opinions about content I feel is beyond me but I sure like passing it on if it struck a cord. I cannot spell for beans! I love silly videos of people singing about falling in love at the Apple store. I like my unflattering pictures (to a point) because that is the real me and it is way easier to be me then try to pretend to be something else.
In conclusion, as I would write in Elementary school, stop thinking so hard about what kind of content you put out on the web. Obviously, you might want to limit somethings, like that drunken rant you posted about your employer or the pictures of the rave you went to the night before a big presentation etc. But all-in-all, real-time web is moving so fast and producing so much content that your dumb post on Tuesday afternoon about frogs coming up SPDY will be ancient history by Wednesday evening, 14 texts, 23 emails, 450 RSS feed posts, and 3,421 tweets later.
And now with all the public methods of communication online (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn), the feeling is only intensified. Now you have to have cute profile pictures, legions of friends, funny links, witty blog posts, etc. I think it stifles creativity. It makes people over-analyze how people will react to the ideas and information they put forward.
One of the most freeing things though is being able to let all of this go. Yes, it has taken a bit of time but I've realized that the best face for me to put forward is my own.
This might sound obvious but I have done a lot of censoring of myself over the years and it has never done me any good.
I am a goofball. I say things that are not particularly intelligent. I speculate. I am not quite at a point where I try to formulate opinions about content I feel is beyond me but I sure like passing it on if it struck a cord. I cannot spell for beans! I love silly videos of people singing about falling in love at the Apple store. I like my unflattering pictures (to a point) because that is the real me and it is way easier to be me then try to pretend to be something else.
In conclusion, as I would write in Elementary school, stop thinking so hard about what kind of content you put out on the web. Obviously, you might want to limit somethings, like that drunken rant you posted about your employer or the pictures of the rave you went to the night before a big presentation etc. But all-in-all, real-time web is moving so fast and producing so much content that your dumb post on Tuesday afternoon about frogs coming up SPDY will be ancient history by Wednesday evening, 14 texts, 23 emails, 450 RSS feed posts, and 3,421 tweets later.
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