How old are you really?

I’ve recently been working a company called RealAge….check out realage.com its a great site that gives nutrition, fitness, medication, and relationship health tips.  RealAge also provided Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg-a pediatrician that serves as a spokesperson for one of my clients.

Dr. Jen’s publicist urged me to take the RealAge test the other day and now I’m hooked…so I know Im 24 years old, but based on how I live my life my body is actually 2 years older!  After you take the test the site tells you what factors are aging you (in my case STRESS, not enough calcium, second-hand smoke, not flossing regularly woops!).  Take the free test at http://www.realage.com/reg/regvar/st1.aspx?mod=LONGFORM.

PS, on another note, America, please stop voting for Sanjaya…he’s ruining my life.  I blame it on you, Votefortheworst.com!

First Day of Spring!!

Ok I’ve been getting quite a bit of grief for not posting lately…so I wanted to be sure to jump on good ole’ WordPress and give a hollerrrr to world wide web…

Happy first day of Spring and good riddance Winter!!  As I sprinted from my apartment this morning I was not so happy to find that the temp was in the teens…but my carefree happiness returned when I found out I get my iced coffees from Dunks free today (amazing). So yay for Spring, pastel colors, sandels and iced coffee!

I blame my lack o’ blogging almost entirely on Comcast and my up again, down again Internet service in Southie, but I guess considering I sit in front of a computer screen all day Monday-Friday I’ll take a very small amount of blame.  Regardless, Spring is a time of growth and renewal and colors and all things warm and fuzzy..so I think it’s only right for me to make a vow today to start blogging again!!

On another note, on the Boston PR front I’m going to an event on Monday that should be interesting:

Publicity Club of New England

Saying it loud and clear!

Using word of mouth, viral, buzz and blog marketing

Word of mouth is a pre-existing phenomenon that marketers are only now learning how to harness, amplify, and improve. Word of mouth marketing isn’t about creating word of mouth — it’s learning how to make it work within a marketing and public relations objective. Word of mouth marketing empowers people to share their experiences. It’s harnessing the voice of the customer for the good of the brand. And it’s acknowledging that the unsatisfied customer is equally powerful. Learn from the experts at this exciting panel discussion.

Moderated by Laura Tomasetti, managing partner of 360 Public Relations, the panel will include:

Dave Balter, Founder & CEO, BzzAgent

Walter J. Carl, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Communication Studies, Northeastern University

Jim Nail, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Cymfony

Just added: Lois Kelly of Foghound and author of Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing,

First 50 registrations will receive a copy of “Grapevine: The New Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing” co-authored by Dave Balter.

Monday, March 26
The Library at Hotel 140
140 Clarendon Street, Boston

6 pm Light Dinner
7 pm Panel Discussion

To Register
Please register by credit card go to http://www.pubclub.org and click on the link on our home page. To pay by check, please email kelly@pubclub.org to reserve your spot and then promptly mail your check to The Publicity Club of New England, PO Box 514, Rowley, MA 01969.

If you’re into blogging, or public relations, or social gatherings, or even better–all 3…come join me for a cocktail!!

More later:).

Pogue on “PR Parasites”

I came across David Pogue’s NYT post from a week or so back on the downside of being a tech writer.  Interesting read if like me, you’re in the PR industry.  David comments on a Gizmodo posting that is focused on the “PR parasites eager to suck away precious time.”  I work with a number of passionate, intelligent PR practicioners that truly want to aid and partner with reporters – not waste their time.  So I can’t say I agree with the description although I enjoy the alliteration…

The comment thread at the bottom is the most interesting by far…it starts to get pretty darn nasty.

What the Heck is Going On w/ My Favorite Airline?!

C’mon JetBlue, baby! Work it out!!

 JetBlue’s recent issues have been well publicized and some think this could lead to the airlines eventual demise.  I certainly hope not.  As someone who is not a big fan of flying the friendly skies–JetBlue has always been my saving grace:  Nice flight attendants, little delays, TV’s at every seat–what can beat that!?

I can’t say that I would be so supportive of True Blue if I had been one of the poor, closterphobic passengers forced to sit on a plane for 8 hours. One can only hope that whatever caused JetBlue to be unable to prevent the infuriating delays and hundreds of cancelled flights stemming from a Valentines Day snowstorm in New York will be righted and forgotten through JetBlue’s apologies and the creation of a customer bill of rights that promises vouchers to fliers who encounter delays.

David Neeleman, founder and chief executive, described the crisis as “a huge bump in the road” but said JetBlue would move past it.

 Note to readers:

A colleague of mine was chatting with a JetBlue staffer yesterday at the airport about their recent problems and he mentioned that in the next two weeks the airline will substantially reduce domestic and international ticket prices in a goodwill effort to win back customer loyalty. So if you wanted to take that trip but tickets were too expensive keep your eyes on JetBlue in the coming weeks, their prices should hit rock bottom.

Some Food for Thought

Happy Hump Day!  We’re only half way through the work week, it’s a bitter 12 degrees outside and wind chill is below zero!

…I thought everyone may need some food for thought on this lovely Wednesday afternoon. Here goes…

Elizabeth Taylor (born on the same day as me so I like her a lot!)

“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” Bette Midler “I never know how much of what I say is true.”

My favorite PR quote from Daniel Boorstin…

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.” 🙂

Paul Valery

“The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.”

 and words to live by…

Philip K. Dick

“Don’t try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.”More later…ciao

Superbowl Commercials…

Ok I’m such a girl…growing up I admittedly only watched the Superbowl for the commericals and the half time show.  Sad, I know.  The only time I really paid attention was when the Pats were in it. Man did I ever love Drew Bledsoe…

I have since forced myself into enjoying a sport where men run around throwing a strangely shaped ball and giving eachother concussions–especially if that mans name is Tom Brady0–but the commercials are still my favorite part (I’m not really into Prince).

So did anyone else think the Snickers commerical was a little over the top?  I personally think Bud blows everyone out of the water every year, and I don’t even like Bud products!  Remember the frog commercials a few years back?  Now, that was brilliant 🙂

 I guess this is their Superbowl ad that didn’t make it this year:

Imagine a World with no WWW!

Last night around 3:30 PM the unthinkable happened…our office’s Internet went down! 

Even worse…it was not back up until 5:15 PM!!

OK , so I’m purposely making this out to be much more dramatic than it actually was, but the reaction to the Internet being down was almost comical. Suddenly we were all confused and angry, scurrying around the office like chickens running in circles with our heads cut off.

Man, did I feel bad for IT.

 Anyway, the humorous display led me to think about our professions (PR that is) dependence on the Internet.  We are so reliant on the Web that we actually cannot function without it.  It made me realize that I never pick up the phone to pitch a reporter without my basic Web material in front of me… unless their contact information is right in front of me in Vocus, and their most recent article is open, and all the while I’m able to be checking my gmail, my outlook, and responding to a dozen IM’s then I’m rendered useless.  How sad is that?

I know it’s seen as a vice typically if one is unable to multi-task but c’mon…this is out of control.

Now, I was never part of the working world prior to the Web and to be honest, I can’t even fathom it? 

 Are will still at a point where we are progressing and making our lives more simple because of the web, or are we driving ourselves deeper and deeper into information overload?

Peanut Butter Makes You Skinny

Well according to About.com, good ole’ PB&J may actually help you lose weight: “Research has shown that snacking on peanut butter is an effective way to control hunger without weight gain.” I’ll let my eyes glaze over the need for moderation and plan on eating a jar of PB for lunch.  First article I read today, and great one!

I’m starting my Tuesday morning by already looking forward to the weekend.  Anything new and exciting happening in Beantown??  I know the Boston Wine Expo is coming up soon.  That should be a blast. 

PS–for the PR folks/enthusiasts– I landed my first noteworthy broadcast hit in January at CES.  Not all tech clients are broadcast-worthy so it’s always exciting when a good segment comes out.  Joel at PAN blogged about the NBC hit for our client iCache in PAN’s blog PR Speak.  The clip spread across the NBC affiliates (120 +) and spread like wildfire across the Blogosphere. It always amazes me how quickly bloggers jump on breaking news.

 Check it out if you have a minute–it actually is an exciting technology:

Time for work, more later…

Don’t be Shy…Come on In!

So I’m taking the big leap into the wild world of Web 2.0. It’s 4:50 PM on a Monday night, and I can declare officially that I am now an active member of the interactive Web.  A big thanks to Mr. David Parmet for coming to my agency and so eloquently teaching us the ways of the Web.  Dave–I know that sounds sarcastic but it’s really not!

More on me later…but for a good laugh today, courtesy of You Tube check this out: