Social media marketing | Liz Hover's Diary of a Web Gal

I don’t usually post this type of content but I wanted to share this video with you.

I love strong females. I’m inspired by them and driven. Adele strikes me as a woman who is in charge. I’m very motivated by that at work.

I’ve been reading The Anti-Social Media blog for little while now but today I reached a milestone.

I am officially declaring it as my most favourite blog. Ever.

This is the post responsible: The 4 Stages When You Have Nothing To Blog About.

Sometimes I get a bit bored reading social media marketing advice from so-called ‘experts.’ Jay Dolan, the writer behind the blog, tells it like it is.

You should watch this video below featuring Jay. It’s pretty obvious why his blog is so funny. He’s one smart cookie.

What have you been reading here on Diary of a Webgal over the last 12 months?

You’re a hungry lot when it comes to Twitter and other social media tools.

Let’s look at the 10 most popular posts. They’re listed most popular to least.

1. Ten amazing, minimal WordPress themes

2. Instant Eyedropper for Mac

3. A guide to using Twitter

4. Stuck for tweet ideas? Need a cure for Twitter block?

5. Using Facebook and StumbleUpon to increase traffic to your blog

6. 20+ super cool websites to visit

7. Guest post: Foto Friday and how a Winnipeg photographer used social media as a gift

8. Guest post: Using social media to build your brand online

9. Attend social media seminars in Winnipeg 2010

10. Great links for learning about Twitter

Again, in a break from the normal schedule here I’m posting something that I usually wouldn’t. Perhaps this means I’m getting more personal on my blog.

Recently, a number of things have made me think about stuff I like – ingrained in me from childhood.

One of those things is a traditional Christmas song which I’ve posted below.

I was raised a Catholic. At around age 9 or 10 I was allowed to decide if I wanted to go to church. I decided not to go. I no longer believe in the Catholic faith nor do I practise it. But I do continue to enjoy some of the tradition that accompanied it.

For years – since I was in primary school (under 10) – I have loved this song. No idea why. Never given much thought to it. I think nostalgia plays a big part.

I found an interesting interpretation of the song which I wanted to share with you.

I present to you: Good King Wenceslas sung by a deer and a bear.

Ocassionally I’ll write a post here that is nothing like the stuff I usually add to this site.

Well, dear reader, this is one of those posts.

Three important things happened this week which I want to tell you about. Each thing is something I’m very proud of and, in two cases, incredibly honoured.

We’ll tackle this chronologically.

Monday marked my first session with a personal trainer.

And now I can’t walk.

I’m told things will get better. I beg to differ.

I’ve never been to the gym. I’m not someone who really thinks too much about my six pack. I enjoy life. I drink. I smoke.

I cycle to work during the summer months. Faithfully. But during winter I tend to hibernate. I’m 36 which is the unhealthy side of 35 for drinkers and smokers. And I might have a little extra padding. More than I really need.

My job as website manager and the way I spend my leisure time means I’m sitting in front of a computer. All the time.

It was time to get a personal trainer.

Circumstance led me to Lindsay Hamel who happens to be someone I’ve known (of) for years. And before you think that my blogging (or my dog’s blogging) has turned me into a millionare, think again.

In Winnipeg the cost of a personal trainer is not out of reach (like some larger cities, and certainly like London, England where I’m from). With a little less drinking and smoking, I should be able to cover it.

Just before heading off to my session with Lindsay yesterday afternoon I spied an incredible blog post in my inbox: Women in blogging: 125 fearless female bloggers by Kristi Hines who runs Kikolani.com.

Please know that I am just a Brit gal fumbling at blogging.

Imagine my total shock when I noticed myself on the list. Yes! Me. What was I doing there? It must be a mistake. Honestly, I felt sick and my heart was beating fast (further confirmation that my impending visit to Lindsay was a decision well made).

You must be familiar with these types of list – sometimes they appear in the weekend sections of the newspaper showing the top employers or entreprenuers in your area. In the blogosphere they’re also usually a fairly good indication of who you should be paying attention to.

I am honoured to be listed.

And the icing on the cake was, today, finding out that my dog’s blog Hi, I’m Sadie Shih Tzu has been shortlisted for a Canadian Weblog Award in the ‘Best Design’ category. This means that she is in the top five blogs being considered for that accolade.

She was originally nominated in three categories. Independent jurors select the top five in 37 different categories.

Admittedly the other four blogs in the ‘Best Design’ category kick arse so I don’t know if Sadie’s will win but to be shortlisted is amazing.

I’m too late for Thanksgiving but I’d like to give a little tip of the hat to all that stuff: thank you for supporting me on Facebook while I moan about aching muscles; thank you to you dear reader for visiting this blog; thank you for inspiring me to produce content and get creative with Sadie’s blog. I have much to be thankful for (but Lindsay, I am NOT thankful for lunges).

For those of you who’ve attended my workshops or other presentations you may recall a little comical shtick I have regarding my lack of a modern mobile device.

I’ve always had a cell phone but only ever used it to make phone calls and the occassional text message.

Because I know my (limited) way around a computer and seem to have a grip on this social media stuff, folks assume I know my way around the mobile world too. I don’t.

It’s not that I’m stupid. I’m just not particularly seduced by gadgets and toys. They have little relevance in my life since I’m usually always in front of a computer. I just haven’t needed an iPhone.

For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, let me explain: during my social media presentations I mention mobile access to sites such as Twitter and Facebook but without much personal experience because ‘my partner won’t let me have an iPhone.’

I say it in all my presentations because it usually gets a good laugh but also because it was true.

Until last weekend.

My other half said to me ‘You work hard. You deserve a good phone.’ I was astonished. I have been unsuccessfully campaigning for an upgrade to my little Sony Ericcson (which looks something like this) for close to a year. I even persuaded my partner’s boss (who has a bit of an important job at our regional daily newspaper) to remark in a meeting that I really needed an iPhone.

Turns out I didn’t really want an iPhone anyway.

Presented with the choice of owning a shiny new smartphone I really had no idea what I wanted nor what I would really do with it once I got it.

I put word out on Facebook and Twitter asking for advice about what smartphone I should get.

The replies were wide-ranging. Here are a couple.

I still had no clue what to do so I got on the interwebs and looked at which smartphones were available from my mobile provider, Rogers.

I narrowed it down to a handful that ‘looked’ interesting.

A couple of friends had also strongly recommended I get an Android phone. Don’t ask me what that is. Click that little link back there to find out.

What I liked about Android was the idea of open source development – allowing anyone to create apps. That just struck me as a positive philosophy. Let’s face it, I had little else to go on.

And so this past Sunday we headed to the Rogers store and I walked out the proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy Captivate. It looks pretty. Everything is displayed in HD quality and when I was fiddling with it in the store it seemed fairly intuitive to use. I’m not an impulsive buyer so I played around with a few devices until I was sure I was making the right choice.

With my purchase made, I certainly felt different – like I’d finally arrived in the 21st century. It felt like everyone else was using this kind of gadget except me.

Now that I have the phone – and bear in mind it’s only been a couple of days – I’m still not sure what to do with it.

I checked my email on the bus on the way to work yesterday and felt all ‘mobile.’

But any new-found enthusiasm was quickly squashed when my phone rang yesterday and I couldn’t work out how to answer it. Honestly, I’m not a technophobe.

Conversely it was in that same moment that I realised how vital it is that I have this phone.