Chic Geek

A few weeks ago, long-time friend, foodie and chef, Jim Hagy, posed a fabulous question on my Facebook wall about Internet picture-posting etiquette.
Hagy is not only proprietor of Chef’s Market Café in Goodlettsville, but he’s also an aspiring geek who is doing a great job of using new media and social networking sites to promote his restaurant and catering services.

One of the best things about having a hobby that is both professionally and personally relevant is that no matter where I go, folks want advice on social media and technology. I mean, all kinds of folks: my granny, non-profit execs, even the guy I sold my car to.
    I get a great deal of questions from friends, clients and strangers on all sorts of topics — from Twitter to email etiquette to PowerPoint.

You’ve just been laid off or let go, and of many critical questions racing through your mind, it’s safe to say “What happens to my personal data, photos, files and Internet passwords on my work computer?” is probably not one of them.
    If you are among the many folks offered only a few minutes to clean out your desk and be on your way, you will not have a chance to burn your files to a disk and clear your Internet search and password history.

Watching “American Idol” with a gaggle of opinionated, hilarious and snarky folk, you’ve laughed out loud, been slightly offended and learned something new. Someone just threw a sheep at you, forcing you to retaliate with a good strong poke. Clad in your favorite un-matching PJ’s, you aren’t at a rowdy bar; you’re on Facebook, interacting with a real-time stream of status updates while Simon serves up another thoughtfully crafted verbal bashing.

If you are a woman with an opinion ... about anything ... I’d like to challenge you to start a blog. I’m serious.
    You already know how to manage your information on Facebook. Lord knows you’ve had your say about various meaningful, heartfelt and humorous topics via wall posts and message chains. A blog is the natural next step.
    Plus, blogging platforms like Blogger, Wordpress and Posterous are so user-friendly that there really is no excuse not to do it.

Blogging Benefits

Third in line after “How did he propose?” and “Have you set a date?” often comes the nail biter: “Will you take his name?”
    For many women it’s a no-brainer. Of course (well, maybe!) you’ll take his name. You’re marrying him, aren’t you? Still for others (like me), the answer calls for a strategy.

Ah, the New Year’s resolution. Have you made yours yet? I had two 2008 vows: One, to take a picture every day, which resulted in my picture-a-day blog, Picalicious (picalicious.blogspot.com). I only missed four out of 365 days. Not too shabby! And two, get a column published. It was the first year I’ve ever achieved my New Year’s resolutions, and I give all the credit to creating a social community around them and finding a way to track my progress online.

As a child I hated them, but as an adult I’m positively addicted to handwritten notes. You so much as hug me on a bad day or surprise me with a soy latté, and you can bet you’re getting one.
    I’m a little embarrassed to admit it (and friends make fun of me for it!), but the urge to send notes overtakes me so often that during the year of my wedding prep, Mom actually asked me to stop mailing them to her.

Call me obsessive, but I cannot resist the weekly urge to check the pulse of my online self. I want to know what you see when you Google any combination of Margie, Maddux and/or Newman. It’s not that I think everyone is out there Googling me, but what if they do? What if “they” is my future boss or a high school friend? I want the search results for my online self to be a good representation of my real self, and it should be the same for you.

You don’t have a lot of spare time. So if you want to be your best at work and at home, you’ve got to make room for the stuff that matters. From today forward, you must filter.
    Think about how much information is flooding in, fighting for your attention and emotion every waking moment. There’s junk mail, email, SPAM, telemarketers, newspapers, TV shows, field trip forms, homework to check, bills to pay, credit card offers, Facebook notifications, PDFs you can’t read on your Blackberry and ... (sigh). I mean, really!