I Lost You!

I hate it when I lose you! When I check Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, etc., and I don't see the avatar of my favorite contributors, I get a little panicky!

First rule of writing, blogging, social media chatting...DON'T CHANGE YOUR AVATAR ONCE YOU'VE ESTABLISHED AN AUDIENCE! It makes me a little crazy, and since I'm a functioning member of society with only a few neurotic peccadillos, I don't think it's just me. One of my favorite tweeters and Google+'ers has recently changed his avatar...an avatar that was very eye-catching, and now I can't find him with a quick review of my Twitter Stream. It only took me about a week to stop looking for him, and since my email is already the equivalent of the Autobahn, I'm not going back to his website, and signing up for email notifications of his posts! (No, I don't use lists...I use the Twitter Lottery - whoever is posting when I check Twitter won the 'MKJ saw your post' Lottery!)

I've Lost Him.

More importantly, He Lost Me! Just think of your favorite soda (okay, I'm showing my California accent...pop, if you will). What would you do if you were looking for a Pepsi, and couldn't find that familiar blue can anywhere, and your 2 yo was screaming in your ear, while pulling a clump of hair out right above that ringing ear? You'd just choose something else, or leave screaming yourself, right?!

One of my favorite Dad Bloggers recently asked his audience if they thought he should change his avatar since his daughter is now three (probably going on thirteen, because she told him to shave his beard), and the baby feet in his picture aren't current. I said very clearly, and as loudly as my ALL CAPS could get...NOOOOOOO!

Thank Goodness Michael Schmid of A Daddy Blog heard the outcry, and kept his baby and daddy feet avatar. He added some new pic's of his little girl (darling btw) to his homepage logo, google+ bar, and the like, but when I look for his Tweets, I find him, and feel safe and secure that the world is still orbiting the sun, and the dinosaurs are still extinct.

When you are first starting out, change away. Before you become more successful in your online presence, however, find the avatar that works for you, and stick with it until it no longer represents your brand at all - in other words...until your current brand dies, and a new brand rises from the ashes like a phoenix.

(Ladies who dye their hair, listen up...this also goes for suddenly going brunette when your avatar picture has always been blond!)

Anyone else feel strongly about their favorite people changing their brand image? Please share!

In the Face of Uncertainty

Stay True.

The start of the new decade has not brought the uplifting promise I thought it would. Tragedies in the world, continuing health care challenges and economic uncertainty all seem to bring happiness to a halt. Happiness is . . . well, that is another subject. This is business.

MommyLoves to Chat has been silent this past summer. We have been clinging as best we could to the slippery sides of this current worldwide economic colander. The economy has always represented a colander to me, but now the drainage holes are much larger and there are many more of them, so that it looks more like a very thin cheese cloth with huge holes than a colander.

Yes, I love to cook.

Cheese cloth or colander, it doesn't matter when faced with day to day operations and the way we do business. We don't change our philosophy. We don't change the way we treat our customers. We don't change the quality of our products. When we lose a vendor, admittedly, it is hard to find another of the same quality, but it ultimately works out. When a wholesale customer goes out of business - that one is much more tricky, however we gain more retail business online. Our customers still tell the difference between our products and those of our competition, and our customers still talk to their friends about us. Buying is still personal.

There are many factors that determine whether or not a company stays in business, and stays larger and more solid than the holes in the colander. Integrity and Flexibility are probably the most important. Integrity can't be taught, it must be chosen. Social Media represents flexibility AND integrity to me. The more a company can get its message out to possible customers, the more successful it will become.

Social Media, for many people, is just a many headed gossip column. I won't let MommyLoves simply advertise to our followers in our Facebook page and Twitter feed, and try to hook followers and customers with the celebrities who have enjoyed our products. I want to impart our philosophy, integrity and quality to our current and potential customers, and let our products and customers speak for themselves.

In the face of uncertainty there is fear, yes. Fear then compounds the uncertainty. I must admit that I have cut back on many things because of the fear of slipping through one of those holes, and being sucked down the drain. But, fear will never penetrate my integrity.

What about you?

I Love Dust

Being the project oriented person that I am, I was walking past my television this morning, and tut tutting the accumulation of dust on the screen which sported finger painted pictures courtesy of my two sons. A great sigh of frustration and discontent involuntarily escaped me as I wearily went to get a dust rag and tackle the latest dusting project. Then it hit me. I was looking at this all wrong.

I actually love the dust in my house now. The wonderful accumulation of dust reminds me of all the fun and exciting adventures and games I have enjoyed with my boys, the wonderful nights snuggled to my husband watching a movie, the great walks I have taken with my dog and the many orders I have fulfilled for my MommyLoves customers - all of which I have chosen to do rather than dusting my house.

I will smile the next time I see the intricate finger paintings on the T.V. screen, and relive the good times between dustings. I wonder what amazing adventures await between now and then?

What have you chosen to do rather than dust?