Published 06.02.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (9)
So, the other day I gave a small presentation to my colleagues on the art of networking online and off-line. After the applause had died down (I know! I'm as shocked as you), someone pulled me aside and suggested that I "take my act on the road." I laughed, then I thought more about it (and laughed some more) and then realized that I have this space for exactly that reason.
I guess what shocked me most is that now that I have been in the working world for over 15 years, habits that I apply to my home and work life have become so ingrained I don't even have to think about them. These habits are like breathing to me.
Yes, this will wind up being a series of posts. I'm listing them a la my hero Steven Covey and his famous The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Alpha Mom Highly Effective Habit #1: Connect Online to Meet Off-line
I think almost everyone is most effective in person. Yes, online is fast and and can be furious, but the home run is taking an online relationship and developing it IRL, meeting face-to-face.
All that bonding that is done through moving prose or witty one-liners should be translated into in-person smiles, tears or fist-bumps.
Why do you think there has been a rise in online conferences in the past year? It's not just SxSWi or BlogHer anymore. But there's Mom 2.0 Summit, BlissDom, Startup Princess, and Evolution of Moms in Social Media. It's because online friends want to meetup and hug each other or eat cheeseburgers together.
(As an aside, that's also why marketers are very big into experiential events. Their dream is to have the products in the hands of consumers. If you've got a great product, the best thing that can happen is to have consumers using it and seeing its benefit first-hand.)
Bottom-line, is that I try to attend as many events as possible (sponsored or not) where I can put a friendly face, a warm smile, or a hilarious chuckle FINALLY to the sharp wit or thoughtfulness of acquaintances met online.
Here are some very recent examples of how I took online friendships and strengthened them with face-to-face fun (it was a busy week, that one!):
Look at how much fun I'm having in this picture. Seriously, online is fun, but off-line is so much better.
My friends Liz of Mom-101 and Emily McKhann of The Motherhood hosted a fun and charitably-focused Picnic with a Purpose on behalf of Hebrew National (I lurve their tagline). I was able to catch-up with some great online friends like Andi of Mama Knows Breast, LookyDaddy, Katja of Skimbaco, Betsy of Gray Matter Matters, Magpie Musing, Laid-Off Dad as well as make a couple of new friends, some of whom I had been following on Twitter for awhile like Carole of NYCityMama and Laurie of Bored in the Burbs.
Me and Renee Ross. Photo by Mom in the City.
Did you know that smiles are contagious, especially in person? Renee has a very contagious smile.
Online doesn't help you stay fit. Oh no, sitting on your tuckus all day just adds more junk to the trunk (I can attest). But, trying out the EA Sports Active personal trainer workout for the Wii, well THAT does a body good.
Less than 48 hours after the Picnic with a Purpose, I was FINALLY working out, drinking, laughing and crying with some lovely ladies I have known virtually for awhile. I couldn't wait to finally meet Jessica Smith, Renne J Ross and Jennifer James of Mom Bloggers Club. Luckily for me, I also got to chat with long-tome friend Alicia Ybarbo of Today's Moms and meet Nichelle of Style Mom (she lives up to her handle!). We were all at the launch party for EA Sports Active workout game for the Wii (which totally kicks' Wii Fit's skinny booty).
Plus, there was wine. Score!
Me and Renee Ross. Photo by Mom in the City.
The following day I was pampered at a nail salon party hosted by Katja Presnal on behalf of Pledge Multi-surface Cleaner. (No joke that cleaner is amazing-- NO streaks on glass-- and it can be used to clean your computer, too). I was able to chat up Kimberly of Mom in the City (with whom I share an eerily similar school and business background), Renne J Ross, Carole of NYCityMama and get to know some other lovely moms I have been following on Twitter for eons: Amy of Selfish Mom, Esti of Primetime Parenting, and Wendy of Babies Gotta Have It.
It was splendid. Plus, there were cupcakes.
I have to be honest, I don't understand the point of a web-based relationship if you can't develop or translate it into real life. Remember, people do business with people, not companies. And, socially-speaking a "Twitter Party" is no CheeseburgHer Party. Just sayin'.
So, as we approach the mother of all social networking events for women bloggers, BlogHer, don't be wary, be excited.
Or, just come find me. I'll be the one handing out Cheeseburgers (Saturday night afterparty, location TBD).
Plus, I would LOVE to meet you.
Published 05.04.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (14)
I have to admit that I am so tired of all the eye rolls from friends, acquaintances and even doctors after even the slightest mention that there are certain foods I AM CONVINCED adversely affect my son's behavior.
The typical comment (accompanied by a snicker) is These foods have been around forever, your son is not the first to eat them. These kids are fine and Chill Out.
But, now a kindred spirit in the form of mom Robyn O'Brien, founder of AllergyKids, has laid it all out for us mamas to understand in her book, The Unhealthy Truth.
I knew it! I am not crazy. The unhealthy, and unfortunate, truth is that since the late 1990s, our food supply has undergone a significant change where for example the package of boxed macaroni & cheese that you ate as a child is not that same that you are feeding your kids today. Instead our food supply is NOW laden with genetically-modified proteins, antibiotics, chemical additives and preservatives, all allergens irritating our kids' immune systems and contributing to a skyrocketing allergy epidemic.
Robyn O'Brien leaves no stone unturned going from food group to food group and telling us what we need to know. Really! There's drama, financial intrigue and politics behind the scenes of the FDA, CDC, and FAAN when it comes to Soy, Corn, Milk, Artificial Sweetners & Coloring. O'Brien is our generation's Erin Brokovitch sharing with us a John Grishamesque-tale wherein you expect Julia Roberts to be starring in the book's movie-version. Unfortunately, this isn't the Pelican Brief, it's a true story and our kids are the victims.
What Robyn O'Brien learned and has shared with us is that parents need to be the ones reading every label (if only that were good enough) and understanding from where their children's food is sourced because unfortunately our government has done a piss-poor job over the last 10+ years protecting our food supply. Until things change, parents need to be more active and responsible.
Now, you can read The Unhealthy Truth and get really mad. Or, you can read it and be motivated to act like Mama O'Brien. We can make our food safe for our kids and make laws to protect our children from dangerous foods just like the European, Australian, Japanese and Russian moms have already done.
See, our food has changed and new ingredients have been added that have NEVER been tested for safety. Don't you think our food should be clearly labeled so that we have a clear choice about what to feed our kids? I sure do.
The European Union has a law requiring the labeling of foods containing ingredients with more than 0.9% of genetically-modified content. We Americans have nothing. Heck, I had no idea corn (found in virtually all processed foods) and soy were genetically-modified. Shame on me? Shame on our government? Or, shame on the food industry?
It is possible for big companies to make and sell kid-friendly, family-friendly and healthfully-processed foods. They are doing it in many countries outside of the US.
In the UK, many US-based companies like Wal-Mart, Kraft, Coca-Cola, and the Mars Company have voluntarily removed artificial colors, the preservative sodium benzoate and aspartame from their products. Which begs the question why are these companies not doing a better job here at home?
Don't our kids deserve better?
What can you do? Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do.
1) Start reading food labels much more vigilantly again; we're very good about organic dairy, vegetables and grass-fed meats already. (The book provides you with a list of brands to trust)
2) Eliminate some of the worse offenders from my son's diet (Yellow 5 & Sodium Benzoate) swiftly.
3) Support initiatives to have a safer food supply. I went to Change.org, typed "food" in the search button, and supported actions that made sense. I'm not done here, there's much action to be taken.
Does this mean my family is going cold turkey and you'll never see us chowing down on some colorfully-processed foods? No. I love me some cheeseburgers & fries (with a shake to go with it) for special times and won't deny my son the same guilty pleasures on occasion.
But the bigger issue is getting the companies and the government to make it so that we parents don't always feel like we're playing bad cop but rather can walk confidently down our local grocery store aisles and shop for food without fear that it is making us sick.
If your child's health is important to you, then yes, The Unhealthy Truth is for you. It's intense (don't plan to fly through it like the Twilight series), but it's an important book, one that parents need to digest. I didn't feel there was any fear-mongering in it, but rather well-researched and important information about the connection between our food and why it is possibly making this generation of kids sick.
Photo sources (in order): Umeboshi Panda, yomi955, trekkyandy, Scoobymoo, Dyanna, kate at yr own risk.
Published 04.15.2009 | Permanent Link
I have written several times about my experience getting to know the folks at UNICEF through Pampers and their joint One Pack = One Vaccine Campaign.
I have been blown away by UNICEF's commitment to save the lives pf children of the world. No child should ever die from a preventable cause. Every day, 25,000 do. "Believe in zero" is the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's rallying cry. They fervently believe in zero and ask all those outraged by the unnecessary deaths of children to join them.
I am honored that the US Fund for UNICEF asked me to guest post on their blog.
I write about how my parents nearly immigrated to Africa rather than the United States as a baby and how that has framed my outlook on so much of the work that UNICEF is doing there.
Published 04.05.2009 | Permanent Link
While I was at the Mom 2.0 Summit in February I was interviewed by my friend Janice, one of the the two twin WAHM-sisters who run the fantastic site 5 Minutes for Mom.
Though I am so honored to have been interviewed by such a well-respected site, I haven't had the courage to watch or listen myself. You know how it is?
Here's the interview! Enjoy.
Now that you're done, click on over to 5 Minutes for Mom. They're wonderful women over there.
Published 03.13.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (2)
How cool is this? Guess what we are doing?
Okay, I'll fill you in. We are making oatmeal smoothies at Quaker Oats' Go Humans Go event. That's right. That's a BLENDER BIKE. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. And, it was a workout.
If you're new here, I'm the second one on the left, wearing the colorful scarf and yellow wellies. To my left is Joanna of MyMomShops and to my right is Brian of Looky, Daddy! To his right is Anna of Mommy Poppins.
Along with AskMoxie, Emily of The Motherhood, and Danielle of Foodmomiac we met at Times Square where Art Smith (Oprah & the Obama's favorite chef) was serving free Quaker Oatmeal breakfast to New Yorkers.
After we were filled with yummy hot oatmeal, we moved on to the main event, our trip to the NYC Food Bank (which Quaker Oats organized for us) where as a group we volunteered our time by sorting and packaging food for needy New Yorkers. The food bank at which we volunteered is the LARGEST in the nation.
The NYC Food Bank was so happy to have food there for us to pack. They told us that since the summer there have been periods where they need to SEND VOLUNTEERS HOME because they don't have enough donated food to organize.
Looky, Daddy! is definitely someone you want on your team when volunteering. He was so fast and furious that I couldn't get one non-blurry photo of him. Go Human Go!
During the hour or so that we were at the NYC Food Bank, we sorted and packaged 1,155 lbs. of food or the the equivalent of 888 meals. AND an additional 2,500 meals were donated in our names for our volunteer time and effort. Go Humans Go!
As I live-tweeted the day, I was so encouraged by all my Twitter friends rooting me and the blogger volunteer team on. Bloggers around the country asking how they too could get involved.
And, that is the point of Quaker's new campaign. Quaker has launched the Go Project, a movement that asks people to fuel up and “power their potential," and join Quaker and the Share Our Strength organization to fight childhood hunger in their communities.
I hosted the NYC Go Gathering which is the first of a dozen blogger Go Gatherings that will occur nationwide as bloggers with their friends and family volunteer for Share Our Strength at their local food banks and pantries.
Humans, volunteer your time. It does a mind, body and spirit good. Yours and others.
Here are a couple of the cool things Quaker is doing:
* Quaker is committed to donating up to 1 million servings of Quaker products made with whole-grain oats to Share our Strength to help provide nourishment and feed hungry families across the country. All you need is the 12-digit UPC number under the barcode on any Quaker Oats, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Quaker Life or Quaker Chewy package. Click here to enter a UPC.
* You could bring your own hunger relief idea to life in your local community. Each month Quaker will award 20 Go Grants of $500 so people like you can develop community projects to help combat hunger. Submit an application here.
Via Feeds
I'm the founding mom and the CEO of Alpha Mom. I'll be discussing the goings-on of this business or anything else that strikes my fancy. Yep, topics will run the gamut. If you have any questions, you can contact me at isabel@alphamom.com.
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