All articles in Sue’s World

Social Media Therapy, Sue's World, Twitter

KGSR Radio, New Kid in Town, and Twitter

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car_radio artThis morning I turned on the radio in my car to hear one of my favorite Eagles’ songs, New Kid In Town. I had a very nostalgic little drive to my neighborhood grocery store. This song came out in 1978, the same year I graduated from high school.

On my way back from the store what I didn’t expect to hear was “Tweet to Win!”. K-Geezer (a.k.a. 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin) engaging their listeners on twitter? I guess I don’t listen to the radio enough to realize it’s becoming the norm. I decided to do a search, and sure enough, I found a site that lists radio stations on twitter.

New Media and radio seem like a natural fit in many ways. When you think about traditional advertising, (Radio-Television-Newspaper), it’s clear who has had the edge all along. In fact, radio perhaps was the very first form of social media marketing using technology. They have been engaging with their listeners since the very beginning. I’m not saying they did it well, but they were getting feedback and engaging none the less, even way back in the early days of radio.

Continue reading KGSR Radio, New Kid in Town, and Twitter →

Creative Austinites, Sue's World, YouTube

Ferrets, cigarettes, and lasting friendships

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If it wasn’t for ferrets and cigarettes, who knows if I would have even met one of my best friends, Cheryl Finfrock. In the late 80’s we were introduced to each other by mutual friends. They knew that we were both looking for a roommate and finding it increasingly challenging because of our individual vices. I had a nasty cigarette habit, (haven’t smoked for 14 years thank you very much) and Cheryl had ferrets, (can’t remember exactly when she quit those).

We decided to be housemates and became close friends. I didn’t mind if a ferret poked it’s head out between the cushions of the couch occasionally, and she didn’t have a problem with my smoky bedroom. Cheryl was the first person to impress upon me that psychotherapy is fun! She is a true therapy enthusiast. She is all about self-reflection and questioning her own motives. Cheryl loves to analyze her own thoughts and feelings, as well as those around her if  they are game. I think her paintings are merely an extension of that process.

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Today my cool friend is an accomplished painter with a very impressive body of work. Last night was Cheryl’s art opening at Wally Workman Gallery, one of Austin’s most prestigious galleries. It was a real Austin scene. Here’s a little video snippet from the event. Continue reading Ferrets, cigarettes, and lasting friendships →

Networking, Sue's World

Social Networking: “The Costanza Method”

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The best and the worst aspect of social networking is one in the same.

There’s always a party going on online anytime, day or night, filled with interesting, creative, intelligent, funny people that want to have conversations, share their lives, offer business advice and connect.

Believe it or not, this was a recent revelation to me. I had one of those “A-ha!” Oprah moments, or whatever you want to call it. I must confess that the never ending Web 2.0 party is pretty addictive, but I try to remember it’s just an accessory to my 3D life. Just like going to a real party, two or three hours is more than plenty.

george costanza

Remember the Seinfeld episode (Season 9, Episode 16) where George Costanza devises a new social strategy after Jerry suggests he use some stand-up techniques? Continue reading Social Networking: “The Costanza Method” →

Linkedin, Sue's World

Austin’s 2009 Kick Ass Award Winners

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the-kick-ass-awardHow about this for a surprise birthday party idea? On your birthday, ask all your friends over and then give out awards to the ones you think really “kicked ass” in the last year! So it’s the guests that get surprised, not the birthday boy or girl. Well, that’s exactly what my friend Spike Gillespie started doing about a decade ago and now it’s an Austin tradition called the “Kick Ass Awards“.

Continue reading Austin’s 2009 Kick Ass Award Winners →

Sue's World

An Enthusiastic “Hello World!”

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This is the first entry in my new blog; my therapeutic social media journal if you will.  In case you didn’t know, I am pro therapy, both giving and getting. To me therapy means being reflective, figuring things out by talking or writing, viewing situations in a totally new way, and having the luxury of getting a different and/or unbiased perspective whenever possible.

Regarding social media, I’m no expert, but I am an enthusiast. Enthusiast, hmmm…  isn’t that really a positive way of admitting my obsessive-compulsive tendencies? But wait, if you think about it, obsessive-compulsive is just a negative way of describing someone who is very focused. And since I am not my mother, i.e. I try to see the glass half full, I choose to describe myself as a very focused New Media Enthusiast!

sue-and-momc. 1965
Wayzata, Minnesota
Mom and Me

Looking back on this photo I can’t help buy wonder why I was so bundled up,  but my mother was dressed as if it were a warm spring afternoon. I didn’t know it at the time, but I now understand that my mother showed her love in cryptic ways, like how tight the scarf  was tied around my head. She was obsessed with my ears being covered so that I wouldn’t catch cold.

When I look at this photo I think of four things;  I never liked scarves, that jacket was from a garage sale, I had just gotten in trouble for something, and I wanted to hold the kitty.

Sue's World

Pikes Peak Freewheeling

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This is the only post that survived my previous blog. I couldn’t resist. It was an experience of a lifetime and I just had to include it.

Pikes Peak had been closed the previous three days due to heavy snowfall and ice. We were at 14,110 ft elevation, it was 25 degrees, and the winds were gusting to 30 mph.

It was three weeks ago, but I still start hyperventilating when I talk about it. My sister Nancy and I took a cross country road trip together in August and we had a blast. The highlight was definitely when we road mountain bikes down from the top of Pikes Peak to the bottom. We went from 14,000 to 6,000 elevation in just twenty miles. The guides told us at the end that we were one of the fastest groups of the summer, and were traveling at 35 miles per hour at times! Yikes!

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I happened to pick up this brochure, “Pikes Peak By Bike – The Ultimate Ride”, as we were getting ready to head out of Manitou Springs, Colorado. My sister is 56 and I’m 48, and after looking at the brochure Nancy said, “Let’s do this! Come on, we won’t want to do this in 5 or 10 years, and we’re right here. So let’s go for it!”

Continue reading Pikes Peak Freewheeling →