If you have been paying attention to my Social Networks as of late I have been recently obsessed with the 1980′s hit TV Show, The Facts of Life.

There are television shows we remember fondly from our childhood, for me “Who’s the Boss”, “Growing Pains” and “The Facts of Life” are the few that come to my 80’s-born mind. When I heard that The Facts of Life had made its way onto Netflix Canada, I pulled it up on my TV and through my Nintendo Wii I became addicted to it all over again.

I instantly challenged my memory of the show and since I was born in 1981 and the show began airing in August 1979, I quickly realized that what I had watched as a child was actually reruns of the show. I certainly hadn’t watched all seasons and was surprised to relive some of my favorite 80’s characters enjoyably as an adult. It was also great to be able to watch all of the moments I had missed with the 209 episodes that they had aired back then.

Personally, I enjoyed each character, since Natalie, Tootie, Blair and Jo emphasize characteristics of one person. Mrs. Garrett was an instant favorite of mine as she displayed her wisdom upon these young girls striving to get through their adolescents. Her motherly perspective and insights added a learning curve to every episode.

The original premise of the show was quite simple. An all-girls school with a dorm mother who dealt with the facts of life for young women. Although compared to today’s television, the show would seem innocently written, but for the 80’s, The Facts of Life tackled many hard topics and social issues that were not easily talked about during that time.

This popular 80’s hit television show aired for nine full seasons and as we watched the characters grow and the show evolve, we too grew and evolved along with it. I do personally wish however that the ending had some sentimental flashbacks and possibly tears of its departure. Not to mention that (Warning: Spoiler Alert) Blair buying Eastland school and taking us, hard core fans back to the original set with a vibe that Blair had grown so much through the years that she now could easily step within the shoes of Mrs. Garrett who left in season 7. Unfortunately, there was no spin-off to this spin-off that ended on September 13 1988.

Even though you may have been an avid viewer at the time or are revisiting the show today on Netflix like I did, there still may be some unknown facts that you do not know about the television show The Facts of Life.

1. Outside writer’s in the third season wanted to write an episode that Blair (played by Lisa Whelchel) would find out that her father had no money and would become poor. Lisa, with the support of the producers of the Facts of Life, asked for this not to happen since for the long haul this would change Blair who had honed the character to be a funny spoiled brat. The writer’s listened and good thing or the Blair we remember would have never existed. Thank goodness Lisa had one of Blair’s “Brilliant ideas.”

2. The Facts of Life was a spin-off show for Mrs. Garrett from the hit TV show Diff’rent Strokes.

3. The exterior shots of Eastland were shot in Pomona, California.

4. To the surprise of many, Natalie was a created character after the producers along with Charlotte Rae, who played Edna Garrett, went to do their research for the show at an all-girls school in Bel-Air. Mindy Cohn (Natalie) just happened to be a student there who volunteered for the free doughnuts. After answering some questions to help build the plot for the show she was offered a role. Even though she was not auditioning for the show, Charlotte Rae felt she had reminded her of her real-life childhood friend named Natalie. This is how Mindy Cohn became Natalie and how Natalie came to life as the character was built around Mindy.

5. Natalie was not the only character named after someone near and dear to Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett). Andy was named after her autistic son and Cloris Leachman’s character, Mrs. Garrett’s sister, was named after her real-life sister, Beverly-Ann.

6. Real-life occurrences were counted in some episodes; one in particular was the episode of when Natalie’s father dies, Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett) narrates the death of her own real-life father’s passing in the 1950’s.

7. Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett) is from rural Wisconsin and her character was from Appleton, Wisconsin.

8. Famous faces before they were famous include Molly Ringwald and George Clooney. Though George played a regular returning character, Molly was a part of the original cast. Celebrity guest stars who were unknown then were David Spade (SNL), Helen Hunt (Mad About You), Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) Cloris  Leachman  (Raising Hope), Jami Gertz  (Sixteen Candles), Geri Jewell (Comedian), Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Mayim Bialik (Blossom, Beaches and The Big Bang Theory).

9. The reason Tootie wore roller skates for the first season of The Facts of Life was to avoid odd camera angles because she was too short.

10. Lisa Whelchel (Blair Warner) originally got a part on the show “Hello Larry”. Fortunately for Lisa (and us) she had auditioned for The Facts of Life too and got the part. The show “Hello Larry” only lasted two Seasons as The Facts of Life lasted for nine.

11. The Facts of Life has been off the air for 25 years.

12. Mindy Cohn (Natalie Green) has been the voice of Velma for 12 years on the beloved cartoon series Scooby-Doo.

13. Unknown actress Courtney Cox beat out Nancy McKeon (Jo Polniaczek) for the role of Monica on the 90’s TV show hit “Friends”.

14. Nancy McKeon got the role of Jo Polniaczek from her Hallmark commercials by being able to cry on cue.

15. The first episode of The Facts of Life had 7 original cast members. Come season two, the cast was trimmed down to include Mrs. Garrett and 3 of the original girls, Tootie, Natalie and Blair. It wasn’t until the second season when Jo Polniaczek was introduced.

16. Nancy McKeon (Jo Polniaczek) voiced many ABC Weekend cartoons including the voice of “Scruffy”.

17. In 1988, when The Facts of Life aired its final episode on NBC, it had earned the distinction of being the longest running NBC prime-time series at the time.

18. During the first season Blair’s mother was played by a different actress.

19. There were six spinoff attempts from various episodes and guest appearances all which were unsuccessful. In season 2, there was the episode Brian and Sylvia with Richard Dean Anderson and Rosanne Caton as an interracial couple. In season 3, there was “The Academy” and “The Big Fight” (seven boys at a military academy near Eastland, Bates Academy) and “Jo’s Cousin” (Donnelly Rhodes as a gas station owner with three kids). In the 9th and final season, there was “Big Apple Blues” (when Natalie decides to live in a loft in New York’s SoHo to pursue her writing career) and the final 2 episodes which were the pilot for a proposed series with Lisa Whelchel (Blair Warner) running Eastland. Earlier in the series, Jo and Blair’s high-school graduation from Eastland was the highest rated episode of the 4th season. This proposed an idea for Nancy McKeon (Jo) and Lisa Whelchel (Blair) to possibly have a spin-off.

20. Alex Rocco, who played Jo’s father, Charlie Polniaczek on The Facts of Life also played Nancy Mckeon’s father on two other shows, “Can’t Hurry Love” and “The Division.”

21. Lisa Whelchel (Blair Warner) loved Michael McDonald from the group the Doobie Brothers so much at the age of 16 that she even had a poster of him hanging on the wall in Blair’s room.

22. Tootie’s characters real name was Dorothy Ramsey.

23. In television history, The Facts of Life was the first television show to feature an all-female cast.

24. There is a reunion show of the Facts of Life which aired November 18 2001.

25. Tootie’s mother on The Facts of Life was played by her real-life mother, Chip Fields.

26. Jo is short for Joanne.

27. The Facts of Life was originally titled “The Girls’ School (aka Garrett’s Girls)”.

28. The name of the all-girls school, Eastland, was originally named “East Lake School for Girls”

29. The original cast of the 4 girls that were cut out of the show after the first season Julie Anne Haddock (Cindy), Julie Piekarski (Sue Ann), Felice Schachter (Nancy), and Molly Ringwald (Molly) did make periodic appearances throughout seasons 2 and 3 and a reunion show in the 8^th season, minus Molly.

30. Felice Schachter who played Nancy was the first cast member to be picked for The Facts of Life and unfortunately the first to be cut after the first season.

31. Lisa Whelchel was not the first Blair, in fact she was originally played by Geri Reischl in Garrett’s Girls on Diff’rent Strokes, but was replaced due to a conflicting contract she had with General Mills, giving the role to Lisa.

32. The Facts of Life was one of the first television shows to feature a person with cerebral palsy as a recurring character.

33. Reportedly, weight was an issue for the girls who ate a lot on set due to the crafts table always being stocked and a lot of waiting occurred between tapings. Lisa Whechel (Blair) was apparently sent to various weight loss programs and the producer changed the food on set. However, it is also reported that Mindy Cohn (Natalie) had the opposite problem as she was losing weight due to her love for dancing. The producers had said she was losing too much weight, as Natalie was known for being overweight, and asked her to stop. They compromised by putting baggy clothes on Mindy (Natalie) to make her look heavier than she actually was.

34. Alan Thicke known for his role as the Father on Growing Pains was one of the writers who composed the theme song for The Facts of Life. The lyrics changed from the first season to be heard during the credits at the end of an episode until it no longer played at the end. Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett) even sang some of the lyrics in the first season.

35. Mackenzie Astin (Andy Moffett) is the younger brother of Sean Astin (The Goonies, Lord of the Rings) and son of Patty Duke.

36. The Facts of Life had two TV movies; one was The Facts of Life Goes to Paris and the other The Facts of Life Down Under.

All episodes, including the TV movies are now available to be viewed on Netflix.

The Facts of Life: Then and Now

Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae)

Beverly Ann Stickle (Cloris Leachman)

Andy Moffett (Mackenzie Astin)

Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel)

Jo Polniaczek (Nancy McKeon)

Tootie Ramsey (Kim Fields)

Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn)

  [Sources: Hufffingtonpost, Wikipedia, IMDb, sitcomsonline, televisionhits, yahoo)

***

As social media demolished thoughts of being a fad and has established itself as an Industry that has not only transformed Internet Marketing as we knew it a few years ago, but is making its way into search. We have seen many dealers fight their presence of being online.

Some dealerships still have difficulty bridging the other known Internet components that have helped catapult success with the term social media due to fear, fear of being caught in the negative sentiment web.

Ah, sentiment. A word that has two meanings, it can either be good or it can be bad. But where does is start and stop? With your dealership.

Most people are not out to hurt your business, they are mostly wanting to be heard and to help others to or from experiencing what they did. Negative sentiment isn’t an attack about you, it is an acknowledgement of what was done onto the customer and this has nothing to do with social media.

In fact, people are talking about you whether it is amongst dinner, at their place of work or on review sites. This is not new, instead, social media has provided businesses with a platform to react quickly and easily in the hopes to change an upset customers mind, or thank them for their kind words.

It provides opportunity for the business to save itself, whereas multiple review sites can be harder to track and provides you with less control than a Facebook page your business owns. For customers, social media has become a faster and easier way for them to be heard and acknowledged whether the sentiment they leave is good or bad and believe it or not, what they have to say is not a personal attack upon you, it is rather, a way for you to learn, grow and gain awareness about your business.

It is up to you on how you perceive a negative sentiment, it is also up to you on how you will try and make it right. But be aware that what has filtered online did not start there. Nope, it started at your dealership.

A dealer can be wary of social media, but what is said there began internally.

Remember that it is not because of social media that your customer is expressing their upset; it is instead how they were treated in-store.

So whether we want to fear an outcome or rejoice it online, how the customer service was originated will always be first and foremost the direct contact with your dealership and that is where you need to spend your time worrying. Do you have employees that cater to the customer? Do you let customers leave unhappy? Do you care?

The answers to those types of questions are what you can expect from customers when they make their appearance on your social networks. Because whether it is good or bad, your dealerships internal commitment will display online.

[image via: blogging4jobs]

***

The meaning behind a “Social Recluse” as derived from the Urban Dictionary:

“A person who voluntarily removes themselves from social situations, or society altogether.”

May not be applicable to many others since the term can be from a compilation of things that have caused us to shy away from society and become a recluse without choosing too. Such things could include, shyness, a variety of anxiety disorders and one in which is a disorder that is for the social recluse, known as “Avoidant personality disorder”.

Any of which can be the contributing factor in which we will shut our blinds and for the most part contently remain reclusive within our own dwellings. I will state that I am not a doctor, nor do I have any degree in psychology.  I have, however, been affected by anxiety. Like many, the feeling of isolation that comes along with the side order of depression is often unsettling and leaves us in great discomfort.

In the United States alone an estimated 26.2% of Americans are diagnosed with some form of Mental Illness yearly; a subject many still don’t understand and unfortunately cause many to shy away from even sharing their pain.

Therefore curiosity has made me wonder if Social Media has helped those who either choose to be a Social Recluse or those who have been made to be reclusive from others. No matter what reason you would label yourself to be a Social Recluse, innately we are created to be social creatures, meaning we yearn for connections with others.

Social Media has provided a perfect outlet to enable people who are coping with various degrees of mental illness that forces them to hide away and often lose friends due to the inability to share what so many still scorn due to their ignorance.

Leaving loneliness and isolation a constant within the lives of those suffering inwardly, which makes me wonder if having access to people from afar has helped others to feel connected once again without having to explain themselves for when they make the choice to go online or offline, depending on how they feel.

Although my hopes are that people have found relief in the use of Social Media and has added to the lives of those who are socially reclusive. I do want to express that in an era in which emotions are valued, we do need to take time to learn about the darker side of what causes people to hide from expressing there’s.

Meaning, we need to become a little less judgmental at pain we cannot see, we need to be more understanding towards those who are coping with anxiety or depression and we need to be more compassionate period. Mental Illness cause people to suffer, no one needs to contribute to that pain. Instead I wish that social media eases the constraints that come with any disorder and helps you or your loved one find a little place of peace in this chaotic world.

[Sources: nimh]

via: theagenda

***

As Social Media has progressed in the past few years it is hard to keep up with what will turn the crank on gaining people who will be of value to you as you would hope to be to them. As a dealer trying to figure out the inner workings of the Internet may sound achievable until you try it and learn how much work is needed to put true effort into your social media sites.

Posting pictures or content of any kind to merely look active has come and gone. Much like an oil change is needed to up keep the maintenance of a vehicle, keeping up with what is necessary to ensure your social networks remain of quality, you need to care about your social media without truly knowing its ins and outs. Just like a customer depends on dealers to do the oil change and all is required on the customers end is for them to care enough when that light comes on within their car to alert them.

Social Media encompasses a variety of Marketing and SEO efforts you are already aware of and with its fast pace changes it will continue to grow while your biggest concern is selling the cars off your lot. The reality can become overwhelming but it doesn’t need to be, you just need to quit searching for gurus, you need your search to include people or vendors that actually care about vehicles, knowledgeable about them and care that your investment in them is to create a partnership with your Dealership.

You do not need to become an overnight social media wizard to participate; you simply need to make the choices that will benefit your Dealership’s best interest. This means you need to care like you do about your advertising and brand awareness. You need stop thinking as though social media is a separate entity from all of your work thus far, it all ties in together.

If you are looking to dive in or better yet, enhance your social media presence and efforts all you need to know is who is worthy of your time and money and by using the following guideline will help you further in your Dealerships success.

• Do your research when looking for social media assistance or take over.

• Ask other automotive industry friends or acquaintances when at conferences or trade shows

• Allow your Dealership to be willing to take part in Beta tests from vendors.

• Try to match your Dealerships expectations with your social media person or vendor and see if what they offer can fulfill some of the expectations you need, or if what they offer exceeds what you thought it would.

• Who you are looking for wants a partnership, which does not require you to know everything there is about social media. Nor will they expect you to physically participate, but you will need to have interest in what you invest.

After you have found your compatible person or vendor, your efforts will mainly need to be caring which requires you as the Internet Sales Manager or GM to keep aware of what is happening, especially in the numbers. Here is ideally what you need to do to keep your dealership moving forward online.

• Care about analytics and check to see if social networks are driving traffic to your website.

• Care about negative sentiment and be willing to have a conversation with your GM and discuss how to handle negative reviews, they happen. Be willing to be alerted of them and respond quickly.

• Care about your Consultation calls and show up, be interested and ask questions. Your main priority is to sell cars, where the sale comes from is not always known, brand awareness and connecting locally and with like-minded people is important to market yourself.

• Care. Care and Care.

You receive already too many phone calls and most likely have vendors reaching out to you left and right, do not fall short because you feel the pressure to be on social networks. Rise above and find people who care about your best interest and are confident in what they are knowledgeable in doing.

There does not need to be a disconnect because a customer does not understand how to do an oil change, just like there does not need to be one with not completely understanding the depths of social media. Like your customer, you want them to choose you for the qualities you possess, and because you know what you are doing. They do their research and look for you online. Are you there? Do you just exist? Or do you care too?

[Car care image via smmotors]

***

It is almost guaranteed that any business module you are currently using to track your business efforts does not attain the tracking necessary for social media.

Everything created to help businesses remain informed as a unit from each department would not have thought to include a section that would properly track social media efforts as preferred since social media changes faster than algorithms within Google.

Social Media changes too fast, either a new feature is introduced within a social network or a new social network is founded. These are just some of the regular changes that occur with social networks, we haven’t even calculated the industry from B2B that strategist target. Nor have we touched on the demographics needed to hone in on and most of all, we have yet to mention the continuous changing of social media strategies that are needed to remain relevant as the social networks change or new ones are born.

This is just the brink, as each social network has their own specific algorithm that with some, more than others need to be catered correctly to in order for the posts to be effective.

Then there are social tools that will help with time management and organization. These tools can be a third party one or for some companies, one would need to be made in house.

Finally, the most important ingredient are the expectations of the client and whether your business can fulfill them or will tweaking and making seamless adjustments possible, not only to new clients but to existing ones on a regular basis.

Which leads us to the overall initial question… does in house management matter when hiring a social media specialist? The quick answer is no.

As a business hiring it is your obligation to share the requirements of the potential candidate that you are looking for to help you not only deliver your social media products but with the hopes that their expertise will improve it. Making the requirement that they are confined to your business’s building is often a mistake too many businesses make.

You are most likely looking for someone who can be flexible, passionate, determined, reliable, experienced and friendly. None of which need to be seen in house, instead you are most likely limited your business by making in house management a requirement.

True social media specialists are global and the best are not always going to be found within your local area. Even if they are, bounding them to traffic and an office so you can see their face is not the forward thinking you are asking for, nor will it serve you great purpose as a business looking to succeed. You definitely need to be willing to look outside of the box.

Management can be easily done from afar if you hire the appropriate candidate to do social media. Keep in mind; you will need a candidate that does not need to be micro managed, takes initiative and one who is reliable. Without these skills whether they are in house or not, they will fail you.

Tools such as Skype, Google Docs and Google Drive are more than enough to help you keep in daily contact with your employee as well as finding or creating the appropriate tool to help measure the effectiveness of their efforts.

Mostly the requirements fall on you, do not settle for gurus and be flexible yourself when hiring a social media specialist, since you will need that as one of the traits you ask of them.

Businesses are used to having employees under one roof but that doesn’t mean it is the most effective way of doing business, especially when incorporating the world of social media.

[micro managing in social media image via thepeoplegroup]

***

You may have noticed some articles stating that you may not notice changes to Pinterest, but any avid Pinterest user will certainly take notice to its platform changes since the two newest changes are in areas in which you scale your pinning actions.

As a Pinterest user myself, I appreciated a quick read on the left-hand side which I would consider the news feed of Pinterest, where I could quickly review any new Pinterest shared board requests, new followers of boards and who repined my pins. Now, as you will see in a screenshot below, Pinterest has changed this area to News and it shows in long-form the latest repins where users now have to click yet another area to See All news.

[click to enlarge]

The second noticeable change is on your very own profile where your boards were located and displayed on the board its popularity as well as how many pins you had added to the board. Now with the changes to Pinterest, it shows again who repined from your board, basically duplicating information that shows on the new News area.

[click to enlarge]

I do not like the new look to the Pinterest platform as it seems to make what was a simple look more difficult and clunky. The UI was user-friendly and every spot seemed to have a purpose whereas now it looks too blended together and repeats information on your main page as it does on your profile questioning why there is a need for a See All link since it only takes you back to your profile.

I personally had a routine when signing in to Pinterest as it defaults to your profile, I then would click on the Pinterest logo to be taken to the main page where it would show the pins and repins of the people I followed on Pinterest and would scan the easily viewed repins of my pins, new followers, and see if any shared boards would interest me and reply to requests, if any.

I am unsure of why there seems to be a need to change Pinterest at all since it seems to be working already in its favor, better yet, if you are seeing the tested new changes, what do you think of the latest changes to the Pinterest Platform?

[pinterest changes image via kunocreative]

***

As children we all aspire to do great things and often dream of becoming someone memorable. As we grow into adolescence and adulthood, the world goes from innocent to egocentric and then to realizing that the world is a lot bigger than us, much like someone peering down upon small ants of people. This is the stage in which we reflect on our childhood dreams, on the days in which freedom was not only of the spirit but of the mind and in a world so big we question, Am I Relevant?

It can be a moment of disillusion or one that is joyful, either way it is a defining moment that most of the times leave us with more questions than it does answers. With that said, many of us have to follow the money trail instead of our dreams, worry about mouths to feed and if the roof over our head is going to remain sturdy or is the floor going to be taken from underneath us.

We not only become self-aware but alive about the world around us, how society has been built of beauty over brains, the media glamorizing tragedies and excuses are given to those who reside with evil. It is a scary transition that often leaves a puddled despair of tears.

We also find the truth about love and loyalty and realize where and to whom we want to place it, leaving many that used to surround us as friends within the paths of yesterday and build walls that are only torn down by a few.

In a world with so many people, why is there still loneliness? Why do people have to hide who they are to gain approval when the people they seek approval from are doing the exact same thing? Hiding.

We are all in search of belonging, in finding a place for our existence in the world to have a safe place to just be. Making an online society that stems outside of Government, traditional media and has grown much bigger than the original chat room; it is a culture all its own and it is known as social media.

Whether we intended to or not, we clearly and collectively needed a place to breathe out our own thoughts, to relish in interests that others could and would understand and to find a stage for the entire world to know that beyond our insecurities, self-doubt and flaws, grows a person that due to his or her qualities, good and bad, lies a person that is seeking for answers about life, to find truth in stories about the world and in search for a reliable friend to be honest about their life experiences.

Social Media has not only awakened us with the ability to share our imperfections but to learn to be proud of them and to discover that we in fact share in many of the qualities we hide offline to discover acceptance when we log online.

We have become and found many friends to provide and attain truths about companies; we now offer recommendations and reviews to even those of strangers. We have uncovered social instabilities that linger in our own backyards and have even been able to be truthful about the happenings in the world, in a raw state, not one that is glorified for ratings, but embarks on the realism that we all long to find.

Various blogging platforms have become loud speakers for people to voice thought and to provoke it, instead of simply becoming zombified by the society that judges us more on our bank accounts and weight, the same one that categorizes us into a class and turns us into numbers.

We are people, we have brains and thoughts and fears and loves and suffer loss and want to share in happiness, and that is why social media with all of its networks, bookmarking sites and blogs has sprung into such a strong union. Since after all, it has become our gateway to leave the tribulations that hinder us within society. Instead, opening us up to understanding and compassion that is built on opinions and intelligence, experiences and truths; no numbers here, but names, people who can relate and find comfort in the solace of another human being; quote, video, status update or blog post without the pending fear of judgement.

Here, in amongst the nested sea of IP addresses, you are relevant. You are no longer the ant of a person looked down upon. Instead, here you are able to share life as we were meant to, openly and honestly in a natural state. No need for masks or walls, no need to feel alone or unheard.

Together we have made a safe haven to be who we are together in all of our flaws and imperfections while sitting in our pajamas and conversing about events and life. We are relevant, no need for celebrities or endorsements to say what is needed or to love what or whom we do. We can just be.

Be able to breathe in the sanity that social media has helped humanize us once again and in knowing that our relevance matters to someone somewhere within the universe and that it expands from offline to an even bigger galaxy online of people who too needed to find someone like you.

You are acceptable as is, and your presence, your voice, makes a world of difference, where you belong is where you are and your life, it matters, it is relevant in the world of social media, so let it echo on.

***

If you wonder if kindness is still left within a world where we have consciously isolated ourselves at times through the advancement of technology that sometimes divide us from our offline worlds, while at the same time unite us online, the short answer is yes.

Many may have questioned whether our access to the communities online has removed us from the communities that are outside our doors and differentiate from our domains, a question that could only be answered through someone who had courage to challenge it.

Interestingly enough there is a documentary that tests this theory that uses the online community of Craigslist and a curious soul, Joe Garner, to see if kindness and community still existed within the land of technology and of opportunity, the U.S. of. A, in which unravels a journey to search out if people would still extend themselves to others; and the story is told within a documentary that can be seen on Netflix titled, Craigslist Joe.

Joe Garner decided to leave his world behind, his family, contacts, money, clothes and trade it in for the clothes on his back, his laptop, new empty cell phone and a toothbrush to see if the listing site, Craigslist would get him from one end of the country and back.

The amazing story unfolds a beautiful journey that highlights the ability to share each others lives with one another that blends both the online and offline world; ultimately highlighting our need for company, for a connection.

Garner takes us with him as he uses the trust of strangers to get him from one end of the United States and back home again and during his adventure does he not only find acts of kindness within strangers but provides many for others along the way all through the Craigslist site.

From finding places to explore, take part in, sleep, find rides, to sharing his soul by volunteering his time to help the less fortunate from kids to adults; spreading the kindness bug and giving back while he receives.

If you have yet to watch the Craigslist Joe documentary, which was also produced by the famous comedian Zach Galifianakis, it is the documentary of the year (in my humble opinion), not only will it help restore faith within humanity but shows us through Joe’s experience that even when you leave it all behind, endless opportunities can still arise and that kindness still exists, it is out there and that depending on how we use technology, community is what we make of it and that we can continuously share in it together.

***

Traditions are so important within my family, especially as the Holiday Season arrives. My mother plays a special role as she is the person who makes all the Christmas magic come alive, no matter how she is feeling, she pushes through to ensure that our traditions carry on the way she did when I was just a little girl.

My mother suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis and anyone who knows someone or suffers from this can relate to how debilitating it can become and making even the simplest of movements a struggle when flare ups occur.

Although it is hard to watch and know that there is nothing that can be done for the pain, this would never stop my mother from making our spirits bright and lightning up the house to make the warmth of a home blanket us as the winter winds swirl outside.

I have always been a sucker for lights; they are almost like the flickering spirit of Christmas as its soul lightens its way throughout neighborhoods around the world inside and outside of homes. However, my mother finds the strength to carry on as she always did when it comes to making Christmas come alive.

It truly is the best part of the Holiday, watching as our home goes from its original state to Santa’s kingdom, with big to small decorations lurking in every corner. It is similar to playing a treasure hunt game, always trying to find what has been newly added.

Though my mother lives with my sister and me, she knows how to make any home into the childhood home I grew up in. It is unbelievable as to how your home truly is where your mother happens to be. Making this Christmas reminiscent of many others and almost has you traveling back in time when exploring the various decor and ornaments that have journeyed throughout your life make yet another yearly appearance.

As this Holiday Season approaches its huge finale come Tuesday, it is wonderful to know that no matter where you are or how old you get, magic can still come alive with some thoughtful decorations and the heart of a mother. It is the best gift that can be received and it is priceless.

Happy Holidays from The Ryan’s

Socially Yours,

Erin Ryan

[Merry Christmas image via beesuarez]

***

As a blogger you know the dedication in which you make to your blog or blogs, not only do you have to keep up with ensuring that your plugins, theme, widgets and overall site is constantly updated, you too are responsible for making your site look clean and user friendly… oh and of course you need to write, silly me.

All of this combined is no small feat, blogging is a serious hobby that should not be taken lightly or if you have a blog, one should not be desolate, as if any words added would echo within its emptiness. A blog is a fundamental part of Social Media, in fact blogging is one of the very first social platforms related to the creation of the Social Media Industry and as it has evolved, it still remains more relevant than ever.

Keeping your blog updated with articles may mean that you will spend a lot of your spare time writing, depending on the frequency of your blog articles and the style in which you have it set up for your targeted audience.

Sure, it may be easy to write when it comes naturally to you and in that instance, probably your best bet, since I truly disapprove of forced writing. With that said, you do have an audience, that is of course if you are providing quality content, and that means they depend on you.

This is why responding to comments on your blog are just as important as the article you thoughtfully write. Without an audience, your blog is yet another one of many that are just blowing in the Internet wind, and believe me, there are many.

You do not want to be one of “those” writers, you must prefer to have insight and input on your articles and many times, more often than not, your readers bring life to your article.

The beauty of being able to blog is the idea of having your own words reaching the masses, however that is not always going to be the case and as a blogger you need to find a way to be okay with that. Someone is reading, most won’t leave a question or comment, but the ones that do deserve your attention, they are the ones who will likely return and now you as a blogger can give them the added incentive to want to.

People want to be heard, more importantly, they want to be acknowledged and if you are providing a service that shares information on whatever niche or subject your blog focuses on then you need to find the time to answer, respond, and use a plug-in that will help them get notified when you have responded to them.

A blog is just a blog without an audience, make yours come to life by valuing your readers with a response. Their voice matters, it is the most important one on a blog, thinking otherwise will decrease your blogging success period.

[comment image via TheNewsBlog]

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