So Long 2012

Every day my mouse hovers near the WordPress Dashboard link on my Bookmarks Bar and never once makes it to the “click” phase. With each passing day I felt a little guiltier like I’m neglecting an important writing outlet. After all, I write nearly every day: working on short stories, outlining new ideas, the occasional pitch. I am, dare I say, prolific? Yet a blog post is seemingly out of reach and I wonder how many other bloggers struggle with the start-stop-start of blogging?

Six weeks are enough of a lag time though and let’s face it, the type-A girl that I am would be mortified if you looked at my archives and noticed there was a month missing (see: March and July 2012, not to be repeated). In thinking about my first foray back to blogdom after an extended absence I couldn’t decide on a topic, so I figured a brief synopsis on five events that would have been separate blog posts had I got my act together:

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Check Out the Scene by Checking In

When it comes to the world of social media I wish I could say I’m an early adopter, but the truth is I’m usually a day late and a dollar short, as the expression goes. I think it comes from my high school/alt-rock days where I pretty much eschewed all things mainstream, at least that was my rationale for not hopping on the Facebook bandwagon. But let’s face it, I caved to peer pressure. Although lately I find myself wondering why the status updates are always from individuals I went to high school with and I need to search for my actual friends in order to find out what they’re up to. Bottom line? My interest piqued and waned.

Then, I discovered Twitter. The epitome of specificity wrapped up in 140 character statements of cleverness. My initial thought was Twitter was a souped up version of Facebook status updates — share random thoughts with your circle of friends — but I quickly learned it could be so much more. Case in point? At the New York Times Travel Show I tweeted from the sessions, discovered a travel world within Twitter, a new community of individuals and picked up followers who were interested in the travel “nuggets” of information I was sharing. I was hooked and still am.

Next up? FourSqaure.

At first I avoided the location-based social network. I thought it was a bit scary on a couple of fronts:

1. Stalkers: people you don’t know finding out where you are.
2. Over-sharing: think about it. People know where you are + you’re not at home = PleaseRobMe.com. Nuff said.

But time and perspective caught up with me, so I decided to give it a whirl two weeks ago. I figured, it would be beneficial for work (the nature of digital communications makes social media a point of interest) and could give me something to blog about. And let’s face it – averaging one blog entry a month? I needed to step it up.

So, the other day I was en route to work, checking in at various locations: Red Bank train station, NY Penn and the various coffee shops I pass along the way. One day last week, I checked in at a tiny little coffee shop, the aptly named Piccolo Cafe. Complete with old copies of La Repubblica plastered to the wall, I was ushered into a world of cappuccinos and tasty treats. Along with the check-in came a whole slew of “tips” – which made me think of, what else? Travel.

I’m not sure how widespread the FourSquare phenom has spread to other cities, but it could actually be the perfect travel guide, complete with the local’s perspective. By checking in to whatever restaurant, train station, museum or hotel you happen to be at, you could get a sense of where you are, connect with other FourSqaure aficionados and/or learn what the locals think of their favorite haunts. It is, in a sense, a traveling guide book that goes with you wherever you go.

Now that’s making technology work for you.