How was your July 4th Weekend? Do you have photos or videos uploaded? Send me an email: eva {at} evaabreu {dot} com or post them on the NJ Social Media Facebook Page.

Talk to you soon,

Eva

Many things happening, life at laser warp speed, but it’s all good. How about you? What’s going on in your part of the world?

Many people have asked about the book; it’s taken a long and winding detour, but is definitely not grounded, just docked in a temporary holding pattern. I’m afraid to make any further date commitments and would rather surprise everyone and just release it when it’s finally ready to take flight, and then I’ll announce it. Question to all: Should I make it available as just an e-book only, or e-book and paperback? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Currently planning the first NJ Social Media Conference on Friday, June 18, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza - Somerset. Lots of details to take care of, if you’re interested in helping behind the scenes, I’ll gladly accept your help and hopefully, give you the opportunity to learn some new skills and add some experience to your resume. Contact me for further info.

Hoping to have the chance to catch up with you soon, so you can update me on where in the world you are these days : ) Drop me a note, or hit me up on Twitter or Facebook to fill me in.

Above all, share the fun in your life ; )

Regards,
Eva

Photo credit: Creative Commons Flickr user Oskay , Windell H. Oskay, www.evilmadscientist.com

(in fact, that’s how I got started in learning about today’s Social Media, when I started experimenting with writing blogs for my organizing coaching business and moderating a network that I created on Ryze, called Sort Thing Out - Getting Organized which has since faded into the background, with the advent of Twitter and Facebook and who knows what’s next!)

Recently I’ve been doing a series of presentations about Decluttering and Organizing, including a 10 week course at OLLI-Rutgers Continuing Education and several workshops at the Edison Public Library and Sayreville Public Library.

We’ve been covering a whole host of topics, including decluttering and organizing electronic files.

So, I figured I better walk the walk… especially after experiencing a system meltdown. What better time to do some much needed e-cleaning?

In digging through e-archives, here’s an blog post that I wrote back in 2005 from a blog that is no longer active:

Thursday, October 13, 2005
“Living with Less”

As a follow up to my previous post on gift-giving, here are a few thoughts, coming from a local Holistic Moms group meeting and from other sources that I’ve read about in the past, regarding how to curb the excess materialism and prevent the “buy me!” syndrome with your kids:

1. Ask your relatives to cut back on the number of presents they give to your kids (this is a tough one, especially with “old school” family members, or long distance grandparents).
2. Ask for clothes, instead of toys.
3. Request gift certificates, savings bonds, or money for college fund.
4. Suggest giving books, instead of toys.
5. Donation Birthday Party, where guests are asked to bring either new or gently used books, videos, etc. to donate to a local charity. I did this with my kindergartener, for two years in a row. It wasn’t easy, he wasn’t too happy about it, but I did remind him, quite often, that he would be getting the toys on his “list” from us, and from his aunts & uncles.
6. For every new toy received, an old toy has to be donated.
(There are definitely more ideas out there, this is just a quickie summary).

Otherwise, as moms, we find it very frustrating to try to fight the Media, the Mega-toy stores and the Message that society conveys: “gotta have that! I NEED to have that!”.

What are your thoughts or suggestions on how we can make a difference with our children to curb the excess toy syndrome? What is the “little something” we can do every day, to try and reinforce this change of habit with our kids, to “Live with Less” stuff? Feel free to post your thoughts in the Comments section.

Is this still relevant today?

With today’s economy, can we learn to live with less, regardless if you have kids or not?

What can you clean out today? (Got any old hats or baseball caps like the one above that have lived past their prime?)

Let me know if you do any releasing, clearing, or decluttering today.

…leaving you with Eva’s Edict: “Throw It Out Thursday”

• Take 10 minutes and sort through a pile to release today. Leave a comment or tweet me back with what you’ve released.

Talk to you soon,
Eva Abreu, NJ Social Media
Twitter: @Eva_Abreu

Creative Commons photo credit: Flickr wfyurasko

Photo by Albany_Tim

That’s what goes through my mind when I travel, regardless of how luxurious or scenic the place is. There’s no place like home (at least for me).

Sure, I go back and visit certain vacation spots that I really like, but I always return back home again.

The same goes for Social Media (and this is just my own personal opinion); it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there (all the time).

Photo by Albany_Tim

I know I’ll probably upset some folks who do spend their time online, all the time; and by no means do I intend any disrespect at all.

It’s just for me, I like to have a balance between my online social networking time and my offline, F2F time (face-to-face or phone-to-phone time).

For those just starting out in learning about social media and feel like they are missing out because they don’t have a lot of time to spend, I say: relax, take it one step at a time, one site at a time, and try it out, even if it’s just a few minutes at a time.

I recommend approaching social media as if it were a vacation:

• Take some time to plan and do a little research
• Ask around for some advice on where to go and what to do
• Keep your personal belongings safely stowed
• Realize that your suitcase might get opened and your dirty laundry exposed when you least expect it
• Upon arrival, look around, spend some time and learn the culture and language
• Engage in conversation with the locals
• Most important: Food. What did you have for lunch? We’d all like to know ; )

What are your thoughts about spending time on Social Media?

Leave a comment below or send me a tweet on Twitter

Happy travels!

Regards,
Eva Abreu

Three Things to Live By:

• Stay Healthy
• Stay Focused
• Stay Connected with Younger and Older Generations

…more to come.

What are your 3 Things to live by?

~Eva Abreu

Fox News: President proposed budget ends the possibility of astronauts returning to the moon

Please leave your comments below.

Time and space permitting, I’ll include selected comments in my forthcoming book, Reaching for the Moon and the Stars, The Legacy and Influence of the Apollo Generation.

Thanks and regards,

Eva Abreu, Author
Reaching For The Moon and the Stars
Book Pre-Orders

Please answer the questions below and return via email. Make sure you have permission of any person, business or organization that you mention. Thanks!

Regards,

Eva Abreu, follow me on Twitter
NJ Social Media Business Columnist: The Home News Tribune, Courier News, myCentralJersey.com

Q1: Tell us about your Twitter business success story.

Q2: How long did it take from initial contact with the other Twitter user, up to this point? (i.e. How many days/months did it take from the first time you connected with this Twitter user, until you reach a milestone in your success story)

Q3: How long have you been on Twitter?

Q4: How much time per day do you spend on Twitter?

Q5: Your contact info: Email, Telephone number, your website

Q6: For verification: Please provide the contact info for any person, business or organization that is mentioned in your story.

Please email your responses to eva at evaabreu dot com

Connecting with Social Media: Emerging from the dinosaur’s “tar pit”

Here’s the episode from Desperate Housewives on ABC mentioning Twitter.

For experienced users of Social Media:
Q: Do you “get” Twitter? What advice would you give to a new user of Twitter?

For the rest of us “dinosaurs”:
Q: Are you still trying to figure out what Twitter is all about? What questions do you have about Twitter?

Please post your responses, questions and replies in Comments.

Thanks for your feedback!

Eva Abreu, NJ Social Media.com
Email: eva at evaabreu dot com

The first topic is: Social Media Networking Events (tweetups, face-to-face networking, etc).

• What questions do you have about Social Media Networking Events?
• Do you have advice for first-time attendees or coordinators?

Please leave a comment below with your questions or tips and advice.

Looking forward to hearing your comments!

Thanks,
Eva Abreu
NJ Social Media

Photo credit: Intersection Consulting