Blog... success or fail? You decide.

"Don’t think you are, know you are. Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" -Morpheus, The Matrix


For my blogging class we have been asked to search the vast online world for an article on blogging tips. I found "5 Pop Culture Quotes for a Memorable Blog".


The quote above explains how the concept of "faking it until making it" does not apply to the world of blogging. 


Blogging is most successful when it is 

• transparent 
• engaging
• discussion-oriented
• honest
• interesting

As Morpheus once said... "there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." I know what to do, therefore, I need to do it... action beyond thought.

Pinterest has won me over!

I avoided joining Pinterest for some time but after having all my friends and family tell me to join, I decided, why not?

Pinterest is the best thing for anyone getting married, having a baby or a Martha Stewart wanna-be. I am divorced, no babies in sight and don't do crafts as often as I used to.

What Pinterest has done for me is to inspire me to cook healthier, lose weight/tone, and start running. I was surprised how many awesome food recipes are on there and work out ideas! My friend Rachael wants me to do the Memorial half marathon this April with her and after seeing a simple 4-week running plan on Pinterest, I figured, why not? 

I've been on Pinterest for a few days and I already bought a blender to make healthy fruit/veggie smoothies for breakfast and started running.

Here is week 1 of my 4 week running plan, I did the 1st today and survived:

	Warm-up Walk	Run-Walk Plan	Cool-down Walk	Total Duration
1st	10 min	1 min run, 1 min walk (5x)	10 min	30 min
2nd	10 min	1 min run, 1 min walk (7x)	5 min	29 min
3rd	10 min	2 min run, 1 min walk (5x)	5 min	30 min
4th	5 min	2 min run, 1 min walk (7x)	4 min	30 min

Tomorrow morning, I will make my first Spinach Smoothie:

• 1 sliced frozen banana
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1/2 cup low-fat organic yogurt
• 1 cup low-fat almond milk
• Fill it to the top with spinach leaves

Blend and ta-da!

Pinterest provides an outlet for anyone and everyone. If you seek it, Pinterest probably has it. Assuming the smoothie goes well, it is safe to say... j'adore pinterest !

What I learned about blogging...

For my class assignment I am going to reflect on what I learned from an article entitled, "State of the Blogosphere 2011."

This article breaks down all the blogs over 2011 and tells who blogs, why they blog, and what they blog about... pretty much everything you need to know.

One could drown in the sea of pie graphs but the section that stood out to me the most was the breakdown of the blogging dos and don'ts.

The over all message was about being active with your blogging (responding to people, good or bad) and turning any response to a positive one. This reminded me of basics taught in my public relations classes. Engaging your audience, being genuine and responsive is what makes a successful blog.

The success of a blog can be determined by how you feel about it/what you gain emotionally or financially. I hope to connect with people, learn something, amuse someone and maybe even turn a slight profit one day.

First blog, here goes nothing!

I believe the first blog should set the tone and expectation of what is to come. So, here we go!

Today I attended my first Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) meeting at the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum. The guest speaker was Cynthia Reid, the VP of Marketing for the Oklahoma City Chamber. She spoke about Oklahoma and how she did research/launched a successful campaign targeting the states on the west coast to consider moving here.

She mentioned how in the media, Oklahoma is known for bad weather and ignorant people. Oklahoma's problem is that we are too humble about our proud state! We need to take the example from the proud state of Texas. Everyone knows of Texas and people do not mind moving there. Why let Texas be the only state that people know of? We need to promote and discuss Oklahoma in a positive light!

The way I hope to contribute to this cause is to make sure that when I mention occurrences of life, to be able to really explain it in such a way that people outside of Oklahoma can understand the love that is here.

• Oklahoma is the biggest, small town. This is my favorite aspect of Oklahoma! Behind the accents are kind, genuine voices. People actually care about you and are unafraid to help a stranger. That is so rare these days!

• Oklahoma is the best kept secret. We might not be the Austin TX artists or musicians, but our local art and music scene has grown and continues to grow. You can enjoy the art and music scene of the Plaza District and the Paseo Arts District, the exotic foods of the Asian District and the downtown night-life of Bricktown. All of these are noteworthy places to explore.

• Oklahoma is growing. How many cities can say they are currently building the cities tallest skyscraper, moving a major highway to allow for more growth, maintaining a steady housing market, making national family-friendly ratings like when CNBC listed Edmond OK as No. 1 on its list of 10 Perfect Suburbs and enjoying a new basketball stadium for a newly bought, successful NBA team?

I have lived all over the world and continue to travel as often as I can and I can honestly say every time I had the option to move back to Oklahoma, I did. If you are here, be proud of it and explore Oklahoma, there is so much to learn and see! If you aren't from here, consider visiting. We have a lot to offer. If you're a business, consider Oklahoma the perfect place that is centrally located and continuously growing!

Explore OKC's digital magazine, VELOCITY.

I would like to end with my favorite quote regarding Oklahoma... "Well, I've never been to heaven
but I've been to Oklahoma."-- Three Dog Night.