Following Fans

There are all kinds of blog tours (blog carnivals, memes however you refer to them) to help gain blog readers. There are also comment loops to increase traffic and twitter parties almost every night to help you gain followers and get people reading your info.

What I've noticed a lot of lately are a lot of "Hey want to follow my Fan Page?" requests. I myself am included in this request statement.

No matter how much you update, send invites for followers, add Like buttons linking to the page, etc. I've found it hard to gain followers on the Fan Pages I admin and keep the Fans engaging on the Fan Pages.

My Facebook Profile and Twitter Profile are growing steadily and I am thankful for that, but it seems unless you are a HUGE corporation a lot Fan Pages don't increase in numbers the way that other networks do.

So I've Got A Plan....

Following Fans!

It works like the blog tours, but with a few simple rules if you would like to participate

• You must have a Facebook Fan Page that get updated AT LEAST once a week (preferrably more to keep your audience engaged)
• Remember to be HELPFUL to the pages you LIKE (Thumbs Up, Comments etc)
• If you REALLY REALLY REALLY like their content, make sure to add it to your Page Favorites

Remember the more you give the more you get!

How Do YOU Join in the fun?  Just put the info the boxes below

1. The Name Of Your Facebook Fan Page
2. Your Email (it won't be displayed)
3. The URL for your Facebook Fan Page (IE http://www.facebook.com/Those2Girls6DegreesOfUs)

When you hit submit it will make a clickable link to your Fan Page. What are you waiting for? Submit yours & start checking out the others listed. A little LIKE can go a LONG way!

Eminem Dr Dre and Those2Girls

Driving home today the new Eminem/Dr Dre I NEED A DOCTOR tune came on.  As I'm singing along I came to the realization that their solid friendship is a lot like Diane & my friendship, with the exception of the F-Bombs & Rap Skills.
I know that sounds WHACK (Gangsta enough for you?) but it's true.

We always have each other's back no matter the situation.  We believe in each others goals and are always open to see what new challenges/fun/adventures are coming our way.  We know what Dre & Marshall are talking about when they say about others talking SMACK (see I can do this).  We've been told that we're draining, loud, intense, our ideas won't work, we will fail miserably trying, I could go on, but just like that DUO we don't let any of that noise get in our way.

Why did I write all of this?  Diane needs some cheering up.  She's been ill all week (& truthfully for the better part of month) and needs some encouragement.  She's frustrated and feels that the doctors, pharmascists, natural food store services reps etc. aren't listening to her

But I'm listening.

Sometimes I lean on her, sometimes she leans on me.  Sometimes she's Eminem & Sometimes she's Dr. Dre.

Take a listen & you'll know what I mean



When she's back to perfect health, who knows what we'll tackle next.  Do you have someone like this in your life?  Who's your Eminem?

Boobfest from my Perfect little Perch

Last June I was fortunate enough to attend Boobfest.  No it's not a festival of boobs, but it is a festival FOR boob health!
Dee aka @CocktailDeeva spoiled us all with food, fun and fabulousness all for an important cause.  She raised funds to participate in the Weeknend To End Women's Cancers.

That was last June

Flash forward --> Dee has been very inspiring to the women who converse with her online & in real life. 

• She and sparked a movement with her #BeKind video
• Turned shoe swapping into a benefit for local food banks.
• She taught us all how to use technolgy to start convos with our kids via her #DearDaughter video
• Is always supportive of the people around her

January 1st everyone was announcing their resolutions.  Right now I am so VERY thankful for all the wonderful things that happened in 2010 I decided my resolution was to #PayItForward .  I told Dee that my resolution was to help her with whatever I could this year.  I'm glad she knows I'm true to my word.

I got a message from Dee saying that this year she wanted to add a twitter element to BOOBFEST 2011 & would I be interested in hosting the twitter party right from her party.
I immediately said yes!  Not only was I excited, I was honoured that she would entrust a part of her event to me aka the #TwitterFairy.

I had my only little spot which I called my #TwitterFairy perch.  I was able to interact with guests at the party and with the online donaters.  It was the best of both worlds.

Not only did I get to know more about the online participants, I also had a great perspective of everything going on in the KITCHEN PARTY.  (See what what happened here), which included capturing my now FAVE pic of Dee

When the online & in person parties ended the donations totaled $11,000.00

We'll DEFINATELY Drink to that

(thanks Diane for taking over camera duties!)

Please know that the fundraising continues over at Boobfest.ca where you can contribute to Dee's 2011 walk.

I can't begin to describe what an amazing night it was, but I hope this #TwitterFairy earned her wings!



Twitter Hashtags & Twitter Parties! Are you in the LOOP?

Hi Everyone!

I know of two twitter parties this week.  Wednesday night @YMCBookalicious is having a book club one & Thursday is the @Boobfest twitter party.  I've been telling people about them, but then this happens...

I hear "but they are so confusing"
So I respond with "FOLLOW THE HASHTAG"
Which then I hear "what does that mean?"

So here is the way I follow twitter parties.  1st I use tweetdeck.  I have instructions about tweetdeck on this post. Twitter for pals not yet on twitter
Further down on that post I explain tweetdeck.

Now that you have tweetdeck all fired up there is a trick.  A hashtag which is essentially the number sign  #  and it makes whatever is right beside it searchable.
In tweetdeck if you click on the hashtag, a new column pops up & lists every tweet with that hashtag in it, and updates the stream as new tweets come in.

If for some reason tweetdeck is not your preference I've started using a different site that it works on as well
Kurrently.com searches both Twitter & Facebook for that hashtag & constantly auto-updates it as well.  Plus in the left column you can pick the speed you want it to update.

Test it with our FAVE hashtag #TiaraARMY Send out a tweet & put #TiaraARMY in your tweet.  Everyone following the #TiaraARMY hashtag will then see it in their feed.

How does this help? Well first off you will connect with a bunch of new twitter folks that have the same interest as you.  Second you can participate in TWITTER PARTIES!

What are Twitter Parties? Well they are a convo about a common topic.

Wednesday (March 30, 2011) night @YMCBookalicious will be hosting a Book Club Twitter Party for Jodi Picoult's  "Sing You Home" You can read more about it here Rembember to use the hashtag #SingYouHome to particpate/follow along.  Wanda is great & will help you get the hang of it!

Thursday (March 31, 2011) night I am lucky enough to be hosting @CocktailDeeva 's @Boobfest twitter party.  Make sure to register here to "Help Save First Base" (that always makes my chuckle).  With you registration you have the chance to win some fabulous prizes while helping this very worthy cause.
For more info on Boobfest, make sure to check out Boobfest.ca

Don't worry about twitter ettiquiette (which will be a separate post) during a twitter party because they move very fast!  Just make sure to keep a positive attitude & remember to have fun.  Who knows you might form a friendship or two via the twitter party. 

If you have any advice or favorite sites you use for hastags/twitter parties, please leave it in the comment section!  I'd love to here about it too!

& remember if you have questions be sure to hit me up @Those2Girls

Happy Twittering All!

International Women's Day 2011 And What I Did For It

Today marks 100th International Women's Day.  Usually I take this day to talk about how I'm very lucky to live in a country where I have rights as so many women around the world do not.  I also talk about how thankful I am to the women who fought for those rights, and how we need to appreciate everything they went through to do that.

This year I decided to talk about something different.  I decided at 7:30am this morning after I watched this


It's about my label... and it's about a post.  A post that I have re-written several times.  A post I submitted to a few sites regarding my family situation.  No one ever published it.  I figured my story wasn't worth it then.  I made me think it was too harsh for others to hear.

Until this morning.....

___________________________________________________________________________

The Truth Is...  I'm a Single Mom

But I’ll never tell you that when I first meet you. Why? Because you’ll treat me differently. It’s happened before. It’s like the episode of Sex In The City when Miranda is trying to buy an apartment and she says “It’s just me” everyone is taken aback by it all.


I wasn’t always single, but at no point after my son was born did I refer to myself as a Married Mom, so why would I start calling myself a Single Mom? I’m a Mom and a good one at that! (cue the roaring crowd).

I love meeting people. I love hearing their stories. I dislike when they start out with “Well I’m a Single Mom” I just smile and nod. Your marital status should have no bearing on who you are. It’s about you, not who you’re with. If you are married and happy that’s great! If you’re single and happy why can’t that be great too?

Apparently a lot don’t see it that way. Once people do find out that I’m single I hear the most awkward things “but you seem so cheerful I would have never guessed you’re alone” or “do you find the holidays tough financially and emotionally being a Single Mom?” I don’t know how to respond to those statements. I usually just stammer something about I’m fine and all is well, but really I think that the person inquiring thinks less of me.

Really what is a Married Mom? Obviously she’s a Mom that’s married.

What is a Single Mom, well that’s a whole new can a of worms

She could have always been single, and raised a child on her own. She could have been married then widowed. She could be divorced with full custody. She could be divorced with split custody. The scenarios are endless. Great Moms are great no matter the circumstances. We all run kids activities, wipe runny noses, wash too many loads of laundry, and wish for a few more hours of sleep.

That’s the group I want to be in with. So The Truth is … I’m a Mom
_______________________________________________________________________________

There is it my label about me being ME
Thanks to Mabels Lables for sparking something what would have been labeled as just another TUESDAY Morning.

How Tweestock Made Brantford My 2nd Home

It all started on Twitter (of course it did, all the great things do).

@unmarketing 's Scott Stratten sent out a tweet.  He was working on the #unbook at the time & asked how business owners felt about Trade Shows.  I messaged back asking him if he would be interested in hearing about it from a show organizer's point of view (I am never afraid to ask, I figure the worst people can say to me is no & I'm okay with that).  Scott said SURE & I was very excited to be given this opportunity.  Fast forward several months and not only did Scott read my take on it, HE QUOTED ME IN THE UNMARKETING BOOK!

(this is my current claim to fame.  I spent most of the summer saying, not only am I in a Book, I'm in a book THAT PEOPLE ARE READING-this is a big deal to this little KW Gal). 

I can't thank Scott enough.  It's brought a lot of attention to MeFest and my co-host Diane & I are eternally grateful for it.
But we're also thankful for a whole other reason.
We gained a new set of Friends because of it.  They live in Brantford Ontario.

Diane and I headed off to the Unmarketing Book Launch in Sept 2010.
It was the first time I got to meet @LindseyJay face to face.  She brought @Trevor_Cherewka with her.  The four of us chatted about tweetups and how they have so many in Toronto and area, but that's a lot of travelling for us.  Lindsay said that Trevor organizes Tweetstock in Brantford and how fun it was.  We said that it's just down the road from KW & we would love to attend the next one.

A few weeks later Trevor messaged me asking me if we would speak at the next Tweetstock.  I agreed, but unfortunately Diane wasn't available.  This posed a bit of a problem.  If you know or follow me, I'm very social.  I love the back and forth of a conversation, coming up with ideas, learning about new things, so this would be easy right?  I found myself standing in front of a group of people talking to them about using twitter in an engaging way, only to find out most of them weren't on twitter.  So my talk became a bit of a ramble but after the speaking part I went back to having convos with the people in attendance and really loved how they were open to trying twitter (and taking Tiara pics!).

Since then I have been back to Brantford several times and my new pals have come to events in KW as well.  I was so excited to hear that the @TweetstockCA team were going to have both @KathyBuckworth and Scott Stratten for #Tweestock4 , but then quickly saddened by the fact it was the same day as TEDxWaterloo.  Just because I didn't think I could make it work it didn't stop me from helping my pals get the word out about such an #EPIC event!  It took until the week of the event to get all the quirks worked out so that Diane & I could arrange to GO TO TWEETSTOCK4 !!!  Yes I was that excited when I found out I could be there.  Upon arrival we were welcomed with open arms Literally (I warn people that I hug & take lots of pics).  The event was fantastic take a look here.  We had friends from London to Oakville that made the trip and the energy in the room that day was UN-believable (see how I threw that in there).

Hours later we arrived at the after party only for me to realize that I left my camera behind.  All of my pals hopped on twitter (remember the people who didn't have twitter just months earlier) and were messaging the organizers and the @SandersonCentre to let them know what had happened.  The following day I was informed that my camera was found and for fun Trevor tweeted out that a camera was found.  So many tweets came in saying that it belongs to @Those2Girls .  It made me feel so good to know that so many people were looking out for me.

As you can see I do have my camera back in my possession and speaking with Diane I said, once this weather breaks I can see us spending most of our time in Brantford (aka now my 2nd home). 

Should you Buy Local JUST BECAUSE they are LOCAL?

This post is a jump off from my facebook wall earlier this week.  If you're my pal on facebook it can be found here http://www.facebook.com/lisamcdonald122/posts/110348422373884

The gist of it was that my pals made a vlog at a Williams Coffee Pub.  It was brought to their attention that there are a lot of locally owned cafes in KW and that they shouldn't give their money to a CHAIN.

I have experienced both sides of this.  For the better part of my life I worked for a franchise, now I work for a small business, so I feel I can speak about this fairly.

Many people think that working for a popular franchise means constant money coming in.  It doesn't.  There are quotas to be met, if they aren't, hours get cut and a lot of pressure is put on the staff.  So by deciding to avoid these places affects the paycheques of the employees and their working environment.

Small businesses have a lot of challenges too, as they strive to stay original in order to compete in a market with sometimes much larger competition.

FOR ME, it all comes down to CUSTOMER SERVICE!

I have gone into a chain store and have felt like a number, but I've also gone to chain where everyone there is smiling, chats with me and knows what I want to order.

On the flip side I've gone into small businesses with one location and been greeted warmly and appreciated for the dollars I have spent there, but that is not always the case.  I have also visited small businesses that take one look at my son's hockey button on my coat (which I proudly wear!) and have them stick their noses up and turn the other way.  Apparently Mom Jeans and Hockey pics mean that my cash is not welcome there.

I have tons of stories both good and bad from both types of businesses.  I will always go back to the ones that were friendly and helpful.

Here's a fun fact Williams originated in Stratford (I put Brantford on my Facebook, but either way they are both close to KW) http://www.williamsfreshcafe.com/williams-story
So the by the whole "only LOCAL businesses" logic, that means if a small business becomes successful and expands into different areas you should no longer support them?  What sense does that make?

What influences your choices on where you shop, go to eat, etc?  Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts? I'd love to hear if any of this rings true with you or am I way off base.