Hottest Valentine’s Day Date Ever.

Not many people would agree to a first date on Valentine’s Day.  All the pressure and potential awkwardness are enough to make someone avoid it.

However, my husband and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day.

And so, while this is a special day for couples everywhere, it’s especially meaningful for us.

Each year, our Valentine’s Day is different.  There have a been a few years where we’ve exchanged extravagant gifts.  Others, especially the year our son was born, it’s a little more low key.  

This year though, I want to use Valentine’s Day to set a precedent for the rest of the year.  And give my husband my ATTENTION.  My full, present attention.  So this means instead of counting a half-asked conversation where I’m multi-tasking…erm…playing Angry Birds while my husband tells me about his latest mountain bike ride as a full conversation…I’m going to put down the device when he’s talking to me and really listen AND ask questions AND look him in the eye.

Sounds so simple.  But when I really think about it, my ability to multi-task has diminished in some ways my ability to give 100% attention.

Please tell me I’m not the only one.

And please tell me you’ll take the Offlining pledge with me.

Because while cufflinks, a tech gadget, and (in my husband’s case) a mountain bike part are nice.  Our undivided attention?  That’s hot.

Wow.  I think this is the longest I’ve gone without posting a personal blog post in a couple of years.

It’s a new year and with it there have been some changes in my life.

First, I left Planit at the beginning of the New Year.  Shortly after leaving, I accepted a new role at FlexPaths as Online Marketing Director.

Those who have known me for a while will understand why working for FlexPaths is such a great fit.  While my background in marketing and business development spans over a decade now, since becoming a mom (it was about this time five years ago that I had just found out I was expecting) I’ve been passionate about striving for work-life balance.  It’s hard since I’ve inherited the workaholic gene from my Dad.  And when I say balance, I don’t mean giving up one for the other.  It’s been a topic I’ve often blogged, tweeted, and Facebooked about and it’s something I know that is not just limited to moms.  Recent grads are working full-time while juggling a master’s degree.  Dads are sharing more of the home management and child-rearing responsibilities (I know my husband does!).  And a lot of adults are now providing or contributing to the elder care of their parents.  So how do we remain productive and profitable without it being at the expense of our health and well-being?

Which brings me to the bottom line:  Flexible work doesn’t just benefit the employee’s well-being.  It positively impacts an organization’s profitability through increased productivity, oftentimes decreased overhead costs, and improves retention rates of top talent.

So, to bring it full-circle…FlexPaths is a web-based software solutions provider that helps companies leverage a flexible working culture.  In other words: we help companies implement a flexible workforce for opportunity - not accommodate it as an obligation. I could continue on here about our products and advisory services, but instead, I highly recommend you check out our recently relaunched website instead.  Oh yeah, and I’m blogging over at our work. smart. blog as well.

One huge change that comes with this new job is that even though I’m still working full-time,  I am working out of a home office.  This is a huge challenge for me, though probably not for the reasons you’re thinking.  When it comes to working, I find I need a physical boundary.  That’s why I’ve loved working in an office environment because when the work day is over, I always make a point to leave my laptop at the office unless there are extenuating circumstances.  I always have my iPhone of course, but still…something about that physical boundary helps.

Now?

It’s a little bit more difficult.  Since technically, I never really leave the office.

But thankfully, I call a few of the most renowned work-life and flexible workforce management experts my colleagues…who, by the way, all work remotely as well.

I have to admit, I love working in-house versus being at an agency.  Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of things I miss about agency life.   The thrill of the new business pitch, problem solving and brainstorming for big consumer brands.  However, I am 100% invested and passionate about the future of the workforce and have been since the leadership courses I took in college.  I’m inspired by folks like Daniel Pink and Alexandra Levit.  And to be able to embed and immerse myself in an organization with a mission and values I believe in…you can’t really beat that.

So what does this mean for this blog?

I’m going to change it up a bit. 

As much as I love writing about marketing and social media…it’s what I do…all day.  Up until recently, it made sense to blog my opinions, insights, and predictions about marketing and to share social media resources.  We talk about “practice what you preach” and thus far, my blogging has been a tool to preach what I’ve practiced through working at an agency everyday. 

However, with this blog, I’d like to now put into practice what I know I’ll never be able to preach about.  And that is the attempt to achieve work-life balance.  There’s mastering the art of the digital strategy and providing senior counsel in a social media crisis.  But finding the holy grail of blending work and life and being truly effective at both?  I can say with complete confidence that it’s going to be all about the journey for me because right now I’m not even sure where to find that destination.  Luckily for me, I have an independent child and a husband who will pick up my slack at home time and time again.  But there’s so much more I could be doing to create more quality time with my family, to nourish my body, my soul, and my heart not just for myself, but for those around me.

With that said, there is no shortage of really smart people writing about marketing and social media.  In fact, I highly recommend C.C. Chapman, Outspoken Media, Metrics Man, Don Bartholomew, Top Rank Blog and Marketing Profs to name a few.

So.  If you’ve made it this far through my superfluous post. I’m hoping that you’ll want to embark on this journey with me. 

Want to find me across FlexPaths social channels?  Follow FlexPaths on Twitter, Facebook, Slideshare, Plancast, and LinkedIn.

Image Source: Mike Baird

I requested my invite, have you?  Do you care?

Truer words.

startupquote:

You have chosen the wrong path if it’s not fun. And you are probably not taking enough risk if it’s not hard and rocky sometimes.

- Marc Benioff

Yes, I realize I’m waiting until the eleventh hour to make my 2011 prediction for the marketing and social media world.

In 2010 we saw Facebook and Groupon rise to be the Belles of the Ball in the online space.  Whether we like it or not, the ex-boyfriend we thought we’d never see again when in college…the one we told to “Have a nice life” and meant it as we turned around to never look back…well, he can now friend us on Facebook.  And there’s no limit to the number of brands we can “like” on Facebook, especially when we can win a free trip to Cancun, an iPad, or exclusive previews of samples.

And those of us who never clipped coupons or considered ourselves bargain hunters now look forward to daily deals in our local areas, sometimes 80% off experiences, thanks to companies like Groupon, LivingSocial, and BuyWithMe.  Local experiences not enough to make you excited?  We can obtain more of what we covet (but don’t necessarily need, although my fashionista friends would argue that it’s all relative) with luxury daily deals sites like Gilt, One Kings Lane, and RueLaLa.  *none of the links to these sites are affiliate links*

I’ve purchased something on most of the sites listed above and when it comes to Facebook, I’m fans of a lot of brands, but couldn’t list all of them off the top of my head if I tried.

Which brings me to my prediction.

2011 will be the year of long term relationships.  Now that social media has gone mainstream, it’s no longer a tertiary channel for brands to reach their target audiences.  It’s become the focus for many.  And the investments we’re seeing are proof of this. 

But now that brands have succeeded in converting social media to become another touch point, another channel for reaching the people, what’s going to make them stay?  What’s going to keep their attention.

In other words, if you’re a brand that offers a sweet contest with an incredible grand prize so that you can build your Facebook fan page from 1,000 fans to 25,000 fans overnight…how do you know that when your competitor offers another contest, offering a bigger and better prize or discount or (insert incentive here)…they’re not going to flock to that fan page.  Leaving you with 24,000 fans that only come back when you can trump the offer you’re getting now.

And for daily deals…the salon that’s offering their signature $200 cut & color for $20 through a daily deals site…what kind of experience and incentive are they going to offer when the customer walks in so that said customer comes back a second time.  Because if you’re a daily deals subscriber, you know that it’s almost certain that there’s going to be a salon deal at some point during the week.

We talk about measurement:  reach, impressions, uniques, tonality.  Moving the needle is so important.  And setting benchmarks and defining success are crucial to understanding if you’re reaching your business goals.

However, what are brands doing to truly foster the relationship and stay top of mind after the initial contest on Facebook or the deep discount has been redeemed?

It is my prediction that in 2011 the smart brands and the agencies they hire will focus on the answer to this question.  And that the term “retention” will occur with as much frequency as “conversion”.

What are your predictions for 2011?

Dear Santa, I would like The Thing for Christmas.  I’ve been a really good girl this year.  Well, most of the time.

Thank you. 

Jessica

Home page

I just ordered @cc_chapman & @marketingprofs book, Content Rules (Amazon link), for my Kindle.  Anyone else reading? 

Very excited to finally see for myself what these two prolific, smart, and thoughtful have already shared with scores of people around the world.

Great post by @ginidietrich from @spinsucks …this kind of arrogance reminds me of how some big web 1.0 CEOs acted during the internet bubble (in the late 90s) before it burst.  We all know the end to that story.  I’m wondering if this kind of behavior will set the precedent or if those who aspire to build a business like Zuckerberg’s will respect the media in order to take it that much farther?

The Facebook PR Mess with “60 Minutes” | Spin Sucks