Look who's baaaa-ack!

Wow, I'm kind of amazed to see the disrepair this little place has come into while I've been working on BellaDonna Grotto, school, the retail job, and consulting gigs.

I'm going to save on the tl;dr. Here's the "short enough, did read" version: I'm back. Get ready, blog; you're about to be pretty again.

The new blog!

I am now posting regularly at Circle City Style.

My ambitions are changing right along with the circumstances of my life. Marketing, public relations, and social-media craziness will always keep a place in my heart. But I started this particular blog to aid me in a job search. I've decided I'm going about it wrong. I sought stability, and employment in a corporate environment, and the more I go on, the more this feels like a wrong path for me. Moreso, it feels like a dead end. I'm paying the bills, but even though I've impressed a few of the right people within this company, it seems that my efforts are not enough to get me out of the call center environment and into a more suitable, creative place. I've carefully studied some top people, worked hard to impress them, and and I've had my ideas, at best, stolen or completely ignored. I am so done playing a game that's gotten me nowhere. Maybe it's inexperience or naivete. Maybe I just don't have enough money. Maybe I'm not schmoozing enough with the right people. But I know, within the deepest parts of me, that I am made for better than this.

I'm not sure what direction I will take this blog in right now. What I do know is that I want to step into a more entrepreneurial direction. I'm going back to school for a two-year program in fashion and costume design. This and music are two creative fields I've long been interested in, but never pursued. I'm too old to go on floundering, and young enough that I still have a chance to chase these dreams. Circle City Style is the first step in getting my name and my new brand known. I'm formulating a more solid five-year plan including work in design, vintage-clothing sales, and fashion writing and marketing. Now is the time. The creative scene in Indianapolis is stirring in just such a way to make me believe I'm in the right place.

It just feels serendipitous. I feel like this is why I've been struggling so. This may just be what I was meant to learn. Stay tuned, and please check out Circle City Style, Indy's first and premiere street-style blog.

Many thanks and much love,

Leah

Somehow it seemed appropriate.

We're all, around the world, sharing a victory dance as the Chilean miners finally emerge from the underground, 69 days after they were first trapped. My heart is with their families. My faith is restored. I can't see this as anything less than a miracle.

For some reason I have this song in my head, and it seems appropriate. We're one people in celebration. This is much too rare an occurrence. Let's share it and rejoice in every way we can.



Crossposted to hicksvilleliterary.blogspot.com

Look at these awesome things!

I'm in the process of getting out a blog post that's really tough to write. I'm trying to make lemonade out of lemons. That is, I'm turning around a couple of pretty darn hurtful and frustrating, sour situations, wringing the lessons out of them, sweetening with a little insight, and serving it up in hopes that we'll all be able to grow once it's been shared. I'm having to be patient with myself, because yes, it has to hurt if it's to heal, but this one really smarts. So please bear with me. I'll have it out by Friday.

Meantime, here are some items you really ought to read if you haven't yet.

Starla West wrote a great post on the importance and effect of the color you choose to wear. Consult it, especially if you're off to a super-important pitch or interview and want to make sure you're evoking the right mood in your audience. Color does have power. Use it right.

An update: If you're a reader on my Twitter account, you already know I'm not writing for Indygeek anymore. I love the guys, I wish them the best... but it just isn't the optimum environment for me right now. Some things were said, some other things were misconstrued, there was some conflict, but for the sake of my online rep and John's, it's not my place to go into things. I am in love with the potential I see within Indygeek. I really want to see the site improve and take off, and I will cheer when and if that happens. It's just not something I see myself being able to contribute to presently, given some big differences between John's leadership style and my own.

Anyway, out of fondness for John and Alex, here's a roundup of my favorite posts from the site during my time there:

The Looxie wearable camcorder -- John's right. In today's document-everything, social-media hungry world, this nerw tech development could be quite the big deal. It looks awesome. I want one.

The Best of GenCon 2010 Video: 

10 surefire ways to beat post-convention depression -- I ventured into some geek humor. I had to include this. It's the most fun I've had writing an article in years.

86% of Recruiters Use Social Media to Research Applicants -- just a friendly, geekly reminder to watch your online etiquette.

And here's the archive of my social-media articles, if you're so inclined to check it out. I'm still embarrassed, in hindsight, at my halting, stumbly 4square education. I shall try not to drop the ball on a social media marketing big-freakin-deal in the future.

I'll probably go ahead and post the next few months' topics on here. I really enjoy this stuff, and if I don't presently have a venue to geek out on it, I'll just create my own. Stay tuned, y'all.

Don't let a miniature disaster wreck the brand you've worked to build.

Miniature disasters and minor catastrophes
Bring me to my knees
Well I must be my own master
Or a miniature disaster will be
It will be the death of me

This weekend, I had the discomfort of witnessing a miniature social-media marketing disaster that never should have happened.

MyCarDoc.com has provided a positive experience to a significant number of Indianapolis residents in the past several years. In fact, this weekend’s events are the only bad publicity I’ve ever seen for them. In defense of proprietor John Cannon and his wife Suzan, they handled the fallout wonderfully. But by being proactive rather than reactive, I believe the whole mess could have been completely avoided.

The company got off lucky. They’ve got a great reputation and a well-established brand in the area. A less-strong company could be severely damaged by a hiccup such as this, so pay attention, small-business owners. We have a new case study as to why a proactive crisis communication plan needs to be Priority # 1 in everyone’s new-media strategy.

It was a perfect storm, of sorts. My editor at IndyGeek, John Fox, received some shoddy work from a (now former) employee of MyCarDoc. On Friday, September 3, I heard that John’s van was running worse after his $200-plus tuneup than it had been before. He and his wife had to postpone their Labor Day weekend trip because of these issues.

(note: Since both of the main characters in this narrative are named John, I’m going to simplify things by calling my editor, John Fox, Fox. The proprietor of MyCarDoc.com, John Cannon, will heretofor be known as Doc. Got it? Good! Let’s carry on then!)

Fox sent Doc a Twitter message around 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Unbeknownst to Fox, or well, any of us in Interweb-land, Doc’s Smartphone was on the fritz. He couldn’t check his Twitter, and did not get the message until some nine or ten hours later. By this time, a hopping-mad Fox had gone on quite the Twitter rampage:

At this time, I myself was freaked out by the fact that the employee who had disabled Fox’s van had also serviced MY car, unaware that said employee had already been terminated for negligent work and for doing personal errands while on the job. Would there be more damage to come?

I was also quite upset at the slow response time on Doc’s part, as I was also unaware he couldn’t access his tweets. I didn’t know Fox hadn’t tried to reach him the old-fashioned way, via phone.

I was this close to ending my own, up until then satisfactory, relationship with Doc’s shop.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the only time I’ve seen issues in Doc’s Twitter reaction-time. I direct-messaged him about two months ago, in a panic, because my driver’s-side window was stuck in the down position and I needed advice. The entire night and half a day went by before I received a response. I should have just tried calling, but I didn’t have his number in my phone, so Twitter was my only resource at that moment.

Anyway, by the time Suzan Cannon jumped into the conversation, Fox had made six negative tweets. I’d made two. People were getting curious and concerned, tweeting Fox with questions about his experience. Within 24 hours, Suzan and I able to help facilitate a sorting-out of the issues, and my personal impression of the company was fully repaired. Suzan did a masterful job dealing with each of the FORTY-EIGHT disgruntled tweets that were generated by this unfortunate event. All repairs were done under warranty, free of charge.

Fortunately, Fox and Doc were able to talk man-to-man and resolve all issues by noon on Saturday, September 4. I saw Fox’s tweet on the issue and cheered:

Presently, I’m unable to see whether the debacle caused any permanent damage to MyCarDoc’s brand. I sincerely hope it did not.

I am relieved to see a positive end result, but disappointed at how simple it could have been to avoid this in the first place. Keep in mind, I’ve used MyCarDoc in the past, as a positive example of what to do as a successful social-media marketer. Doc is a liked guy, and this was the first negative publicity I’ve ever seen for his business. This is impressive. But if I had a say in strategy, I would say a beefing-up of technique is in order.

First of all, the moment their offending employee was terminated, I would have drafted a short announcement for the company blog, something like this:

Dear Valued Customers,

We have unfortunately had to let go of an employee due to below-standard performance. As a responsible, ASE-certified garage, we carefully screen and vet employees, and we are improving these processes to hopefully avoid future issues. Please know this employee’s failings are not a barometer for the standard of service you can expect from MyCarDoc.

We’d like to take this opportunity to re-state that MyCarDoc services are under warranty. If you notice an issue with the outcome of work received from this terminated employee, or any MyCarDoc mechanic, please come forward, let us know, and we will resolve your issue free of charge. If you haven’t noticed an issue, but did receive work from this terminated employee and have concerns, please call us so we can check over your vehicle for quality assurance.

We’re sorry for this issue, and we’re doing everything to make it right. We also appreciate your patience, as the termination of this employee has created a backlog. We’re working extended hours to get on track as quickly as possible.

Thank you for your friendship, and for your business.

 I would then tweet the link to the blog-post, a few times, scheduled at four or five-hour intervals. This proactive approach would let customers know what to look for and what to expect. In addition, I would keep a Word copy of this post on file, to use as a basic template in case (God forbid) a similar issue should present itself in the future.

Also, if I were Doc, the second I noticed my phone acting freaky, I would have called Suzan or a trusted employee, given the MyCarDoc Twitter login information over, and had a tweet sent out informing, “Due to technical difficulties, Twitter messages may have a substantial delay in response. Here’s our phone number, please call if you need quick assistance.” I would also set up some kind of alert-system, so direct messages from cute, panicked little women in need of advice (cough cough) would have quicker help to get out of panic-mode and on with life.

We all love our technology, but clearly, tech has hiccups. I hope the above example illustrates how important it is for any business, large or small, to have a solid contingency plan. More than one (VERY TRUSTED) person should have access to make crucial announcements, if the main social-media spokesperson is not available or is suffering a difficulty. Also, if you haven’t already, sit down –RIGHT NOW— and brainstorm potential risk scenarios, from minor to worst-case. Set up some templates for your blog and other new-media strategic outlets, in case Murphy’s Law should show its ugly face.

It just might save your business.

Quit overthinking and just DO it already!

The Ditty Bops - Wake Up @ Yahoo! Video

Wake up and smell the coffee
Rise and shine
The early bird gets the worm
Strike while the iron's hot
And whistle while you work

Stay on the trail
Keep your hands and arms inside the train
Don't stray
Watch your step
And wipe your feet
Draw inside the lines

So it's been almost two months since I last posted. Yes, I'm aware of how unacceptable that is, and I ask for your forgiveness, dear readers. It appears that even in all my infinite wisdom (snerk), I do not have all the secrets for not getting stuck in a rut.

Life just came at with me with crappy situation after crappy situation, and no amount of my screaming "Cut it OUT, life! I've got crap to do!" came to any avail. I quickly went from simply whelmed, to quite overwhelmed. And instead of using my writing to help process this and bring forth new wisdom (learned via failure, no doubt, but wisdom gained nonetheless), I... well, just kinda threw my hands up. Got so caught up in trying to do things "right," that I just kind of ground to a halt.

 I mean come on. Really? We were made for so much more than this. Megafail on my part.

Fortunately, this failure, too, leads to greater wisdom.

I let various circumstances push me into over-thinking things. Advancement opportunities within my current work place seem... well, rather stagnant at the moment. And my brain did not go into encouraging directions: "Is it me? Is it a failing within the corporate structure here? Am I dreaming the wrong dreams? Am I just not good enough? What's WRONG with me? Is there even a point? Why do I feel like I'm being chewed on by a corporate machine and not growing at all?"

I saw a counselor. I re-thought my thinking, and started coming back a little at a time. I've now got a monthly column at Indygeek.net, I've been networking like crazy, writing special pieces from time to time, compiling a little list of places I'd like to guest post, but... even though things were going great on Indygeek, I was suffering from a MAD case of blogger's block here in my own corner of the Intertubes.

For starters, this blog is morphing into something entirely different than it started out as, and I'm not even entirely sure what that is yet.

But y'know what? Especially after all the learning I've taken in at this year's recent Blog Indiana conference, my conclusion is... to not think about it right now! I'm just going to take down ideas as they come, write what I want to write, and let this place evolve organically.

Yes, you must be thoughtful about what you put out there, and about where you want to go. But don't forget the point of all of it.

Breathe deep
Speak out
Make up your mind
Be brave
Follow your dreams
Listen to your heart
Close your eyes
Make a wish

We are the only ones who can watch out for our butts.

A funny thing happened on my way out of the office today.

A little thing, but relevant to and symptomatic of how things have seemed to go in recent days.

I signed out of my computer, left the building, and got all the way to the parking garage before I realized that I'd forgotten my ID badge.

(Insert your choice of expletive I wouldn't post here)

This was going to be an ENORMOUS hassle. I have to finish an article today, get my oil changed, and start getting ready for this weekend -- and dealing with security to get into the building is a big enough pain in the butt in the morning, when everyone is actually there. If you forget your ID badge, your manager has to come to the security desk, vouch for you, and escort you to your unit after you've been given a temporary badge for the day. My manager was gone. It was late! Most of my entire unit was gone! This was probably going to add on a good 15 minutes, and that's if I was lucky.

It was unavoidable, though. I'd rather deal with those guys than the parking-garage staff thinking I was a liar trying to freeload on parking fees. That'd be an even bigger headache.

I dragged my feet reluctantly back into the building. People were shuffling out, glad to be done with work and go home to their families. There was only one man at security, and he was hunched over the computer, on the phone. His back was to all of us. Osama Bin Laden himself could be standing behind him, waving his arms, and this guy wouldn't see it.

I could be the good employee, get his attention, and go through the aforementioned bureaucratic procedure.

I nonchalantly sauntered by, instead. I was just one in a crowd of many employees. He never noticed the lack of badge. I breezed into the office, snatched my badge off the desk, and was out of there in two minutes, credentials now properly in hand.

Guys, I know it isn't a big deal. Nothing happened.

But I work for a major insurer. These security staffers are entrusted not just with protecting the lives of the few hundred employees in my building, but the protected health information of a whole lot of people. So, yeah, nothing happened this time. I wasn't a crazed gunwielder or a criminal intent on selling your health information. In fact, I work my tail off daily to help you, and to protect you and the security of your records.

But it did unnerve me a bit, and I may have a chat with the security desk in the morning. I feel a bit bad about doing this, because I know how the way big corporations do things. The security staff probably have all kinds of weird procedures, red tape, protocol, and such (I know I do!), which make it much harder to do their actual job. Which should be to protect our lives and the important files of our customers.

But it's just one symptom of what seems to be a Band-Aid society. Was it like this when I was growing up? Shirking because it's "not my problem" or, worse, neglecting what truly is your job? It makes me a little less happy at having been able to avoid that security-badge hassle.

Sure, your own mistake could be no big deal. Maybe you work at McDonalds, and you got lazy and put two pickes on that burger instead of three. Big whoopin' deal.

But what if? What if a kid runs into the street while a crossing guard is busy checking out some hottie nearby? Or, say... what if there's a financial regulator watching porn instead of thumping greedy bank execs who are taking gambles with your retirement, your mortgage's stability, or pretty much the entire economy, as it turns out?

Wouldn't the Mineral Management Services workers who smiled and nodded to their oil-exec friends have been better friends if they'd, oh, I dunno, called them out on the corner-cutting that's now drawn scrutiny upon the whole industry, and inflicted massive, ongoing destruction on the Gulf of Mexico? Were the lives of eleven men and countless sea creatures worth it?

Are there any among us with still-unshaken confidence that these crises are a fluke that won't happen again? How many of us are checking ourselves? How'd it become so rare to do the right thing, whether one or two lives or millions hang in the balance?

We are the paradigm shift that needs to happen, folks. We are the ONLY ones who can watch out for our own butts, and those of the people around us. Personal responsibility is not just a nice idea; it's something we must nurture for our own sakes. And social, or corporate, responsibility are only this on a larger scale. We've gotta use our heads here.

If it were easy, and if our current society rewarded it, we'd all already be on that path. But today, now, is where you and I can put our feet upon that path.