Did you do this, too?

I’ll admit it. I sent out a flurry of “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” hybrid-type announcements: news, wishes and an invitation to a social media event.

No sales stuff, but not too much tinsel and sparkle either.

After I let the boys open a box from a friend tonight [ who ALWAYS wraps EVERYTHING] and found that nothing was wrapped, I was a bit deflated. Yes, it’s a theme gift. Yes, I’ll love it – I …

That’s the question I got from another mom – also with three kids and also the owner of a creative agency.

We know each well other from in-town connection points, but we hadn’t “met” on the internet until a few weeks ago.

She wanted to know how I’d been able to accomplish so much online.

Let me stop right here and tell you: this is not a self-promotion post. [I will share the same “secret” with you: many, many small …

Last night I watched “And in the end,” the final episode of “ER.”

When the show first came out, I watched it religiously. It was more relevant to my life then.

Why? My work revolved around hospitals, home health care, residency programs, organ and bone marrow transplants, and heart disease. My business really took off when I contacted every Chicago health care organization communications contact and asked them if they would like to receive my quarterly newsletter.

Business crossed over into real …

Yesterday, I took our oldest daughter to vote, her very first time.

She did touch-screen. I colored in the circles.

Then, we went to Starbucks for our free coffee. “With love from corporate,” our barrister said as he handed over the tall dark roast.

Later, it was on to an afternoon of teacher conferences. All throughout the day, I kept avoiding making a big decision.

Although I had a ticket for two to the Obama rally in Grant Park, I was concerned about …

“Take it easy, but take it.” Studs Terkel, 1912-2008

Chicago’s master storyteller, Studs Terkel, passed away yesterday at the age of 96. If you don’t know his work, I hope you’ll take the time to browse the Chicago Tribune’s  coverage on the life of Studs Terkel. By studying Studs, you can learn a lot about so many things: Chicago, life, storytelling, grace, humor, performing, listening, wisdom, jazz, music, media, radio, romance, politics and humility to name a few. To get a …

One of the reasons I love being a blogger is: I get to communicate with other bloggers online whenever I want. But, meeting up in person sometimes takes some doing. When I got a personal invitation from Wendy Piersall to attend a ladies night out event, I replied immediately – I’ll be there!

Thanks so much to Wendy Piersall, CEO of SparkPlugging, Epson and Barbara Jones of the One2One Network for hosting a fabulous night out on Lake Shore Drive! I …

Take a look at these guys. Heads on sticks with a lever to open and close their mouths, they’re meant to be child’s toys. Do you see them as talking heads or puppets? How does opening and closing on demand relate to the way organizations manage communications?

Technorati Tags: organizations,communications,public relations,talking heads

Image Source: Barbara Rozgonyi, copyright 2008 from the 2008 zoo collection

1386 miles in 5 days – that’s what it takes to meander to Ely, Minnesota and back from our town. Here’s what I learned along the way . . .

1. It pays to ask for a good view. That’s how we woke up to watch dawn breaking in Duluth.

2. People will still follow you on twitter, even if you’re taking a techno-break.

3. Bringing a laptop along is a must: for directions, restaurant reviews and local orientation.

4. Having two shutterbugs …

Today’s Tweet Cloud . . .

A collage of links, twitter IDs, words, phrases and locations, tweet cloud arranges an artful collage of what you talk about on twitter. Words that pop out on mine that I like: 800th, Chicago, family, france, glow, happy, lead, loves, media, produced, requested-often, social, vacation, works, wow and writing. To check out anyone’s tweet cloud, go to www.tweetcloud.com and type in their twitter ID. Find me on