Supporting Epilepsy & Living with Seizures

Today’s post is not necessarily related to social media, but I am using the social media tools to help spread awareness about a very important cause, share my story, and let others know about a fundraiser event in Lansing, MI today.  The Epilepsy Foundation is an organization that I hold near & dear to my heart as someone who lives daily with epilepsy, and has experienced grand mal seizures throughout my lifetime. 

According to the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan, approximately one out of 10 adults will experience one seizure during their lifetime.  Nationally, about 2.7 million people have some form of epilepsy. Thirty percent of them are children under the age of 18.  The Foundation strives to close the treatment gap between what is being done for people with epilepsy & what SHOULD be done, Improve how people with epilepsy are perceived, accepted and valued in society, and empower those living with epilepsy and their families.  Looking at the Foundations second goal, I can not say enough about how thankful that I am for my parents and family members.  After discovering that I had epilepsy, I was never made to feel like I had a “Disability” or that I was different or should be worrying all of the time.  When I experienced a seizure, my family was there to support me, they acted calmly, and gave me the time I needed to recuperate.  I wasn’t made fun of, told that I was weird, etc.           

First Seizure: I experienced my 1^st full blown recognized seizure sophomore year of high school, in the middle of a class project down in the high school library – in front of my class, and other classes full of students.  I remember waking to see people hovering over me and asking me all sorts of questions.  I was confused, disoriented & in a bit of a haze….not understanding what was happening.  Then, I truly woke up to see myself being wheeled into an ER and the frightened & worried faces of my parents.

My Scariest Seizure Experience:  One minute I was driving 75 mph south down the highway on my way to work from a friend’s, looking at the Uncle John’s Cider Mill billboard & thinking about BIGGBY coffee.  The next thing I remember is seeing a police officer coming towards me through one door of my vehicle, and a paramedic coming through my driver side door asking me questions….all while looking out the front window and seeing the highway lanes heading north….but I was in some sort of field –  and I knew.  I had another seizure.

Worst Seizure Experience: was the first time a seizure left me feeling sorry for myself, completely helpless, and worthless. This happened a few months ago when I realized that I had had a seizure while making breakfast before heading to church.  And all I can say is that I thank God that I had placed my son safely in an exer-saucer just within sight around the corner- or he may have been severely hurt, not to mention scared.  Now that I have a young son, living with epilepsy has become a bigger deal.

 This is why I am holding this fundraiser today & why the Epilepsy Foundation is so important…..they strive to keep people like me safe, help families like mine understand what it’s like to support someone with epilepsy, and they work towards ensuring that not another moment is lost to seizures! 

 

  

Join me at Kelly’s Downtown Pub & GRill in Lansing, MI 

www.epilepsyfoundation.org

State of the Union – A Nation of Connectivity

“We are a  nation of Google and Facebook” –President Obama 2011 State of the Union Address

Photo from Ryan Witt

As Mashable posted in “This Morning’s Top 3 Stories in Social Media and Business”, the buzz around social media sites and their ties to innovation, the economy and industry trends is not a surprise.  Being a social media professional myself, I was not surprised that President Obama classified Americans as being such a nation of connectivity. Listening to his State of the Union address, I had some moments of self reflection.  After all, before delving into the social media world I never classified myself as “connected” or “tech-savvy”.  I often laugh a little when someone asks me how I hear about certain news stories, or know about special promos, free events, and more taking place around the world and locally.  Twitter and Facebook, along with Google and other sites have become an integral part of my professional and personal life; drastically changing how I keep up to speed on the latest news or topics of conversation.

 When discussing my switch to social media marketing, I often find myself explaining to others that it just…well, happened.  My journey started with an MSU New Media Class.  And through my studies and experience I can only explain to people that it’s not that we Americans have undergone some huge change. We’ve just changed how we are doing it.  “It” meaning anything from conducting business, banking, talking, publishing, forming relationships, etc.  Precedence is still given to who you know, more so than what you know. This generation has just taken that up a notch and we are now managing who & what we know online through a variety of site and emerging web technologies. With social networking, news, business, etc. we can connect and get what we need – fast!

 Through these new mediums and future technologies that are only now emerging, the future is bright, and there is a lot we can do to drive our own messaging, bring about a new era of entrepreneurs, improve our economies and change the way we do business.  I’ll close with what may be the most popular quote from President Obama’s speech:  “This is our generation’s Sputnik moment.”

Photo from: http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/pictures-from-president-obama-s-2011-state-of-the-union-address-picture

Driving Your Own Stories & Build a Better Community

Arrow pic. from Word ClipArt

In today’s world, everything is constantly changing.  And media is no exception to this rule. However, the importance or role of the “traditional” media has drastically changed over the past decade, especially when it comes to print.  In my local area in particular, the popularity of news sources such as the Lansing State Journal newspaper was a trusted and popular format some twenty years ago, however throughout the past years the subscription rate continues to decrease, staff has dwindled, and many more people turn towards online publications or quick email updates for their latest news updates.  In addition, more and more organizations are including live feeds of their most recent FB updates or Tweets, blogs, and “media room” on their websites

 Being of the younger and possibly more tech-savvy generation, I can say that I never read the Lansing State Journal newspaper anymore.  I will look at the City Pulse, or Lansing Noise from time to time, but overall I too have turned to online publications such as Capital Gains and online updates from various other providers to fill me in on the latest.  One main reason – the Lansing State Journal is no longer a trusted news source for me or many that I come in contact with.  This may be due to the fact that heir inability to provide good LOCAL coverage is astounding, and the percentage of negative topics compared to positive news stories in our community is quite frankly, only helping lead to the general negativity that surrounds our community.  I personally love the positive vibe that organizations such as LEAP, #Lovelansing, Accelerate Lansing, Capital Gains and countless others have brought to the Lansing community.  And these organizations and movements continue to work tirelessly to create a positive vision and movement for continuous improvements towards Lansing’s overall vitality.  But this couldn’t happen without all of them working collectively and linking via social media, professional networks, etc.  One thing that many of us have realized through the advent of social media platforms, is that we have the power to drive our own routes and create our own momentum.  No longer must we rely on media to share our story for us.  Yes, they can definitely help aid our endeavors-when they choose to cover the local stories- but we must take responsibility in building Lansing’s prosperity, instead of tearing it down! 

In summary, we can post our own news stories on our website, and then share the links on our social media pages or in monthly newsletters, e-blasts, blog postings and more.  All businesses that engage with their audience and want to keep them up to date on the latest should include a “Media Room” on their website.  I guarantee that it won’t be just the media will be looking at this for information on your organization.  So come on Greater Lansing…let’s drive our own news and let the media know what we really want to hear about!  #LoveLansing

Choosing the Best Marketing Tool for Your Campaign

When viewing my Facebook updates this morning, I was once again faced with answering a question regarding what the best advertising methods were for a campaign.  However, what left me with my mouth hanging open and a feeling of disbelief was the fact that this question was posted by a local marketing and design firm that advises clients from around the State of Michigan. 

 Now this may well have been a strategically placed question, to see how different demographics responded.  However, for me this signaled that they may not be sure sure what our local economy would responded to, and needed some guidance.  I was pleased to see that someone had already answered with the answer of “it depends on your audience but social media is the best”.  However as I read this response I was automatically formulating a response of my own.  Determining the correct marketing mix for your product or service depends heavily on your audience, however it also hinges on a variety of other factors.  These other factors include the type of product or service that you are trying to market, as well as making sure you have the right balance of marketing tools and linking all of the tool boxes in your toolbox together.  After all, a nail may not be of much use if you don’t have a hammer to pound it in with, and without the nail, something is not being held together.

Image from Mike Volpe's Social Media is BS presentation http://www.hubspot.com/webinars/social-media-is-bs/

Mike Volpe’s presentation of “Why Social Media is Bullsh*t”  struck me as a daring thing to say until I viewed his entire presentation.  Mr. Volpe was not saying that social media shouldn’t be used as a marketing strategy.  Instead he was pointing out that nothing can exist in a vacuum.  In order for social media to succeed and “revolutionalize your business”, you need to make sure it connects with other inbound marketing tools such as SEO, blogs, the correct keywords, etc.  But to me the key message was that to create a successful marketing strategy, you need to link everything together.  Social media should only be one part of your strategy; integrated with the other possibly “traditional” forms of advertising.  And not only this, but it is imperative that all of your techniques need to link together and feed each other.  To summarize, have social networking sites direct people to your website, have your website tie to your company blog, have your printed pieces show your website or phone number, your business cards include web information as well as your Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages, etc.

Social Media Campaign Ideas for the Holiday Season

Tis the season to be giving! http://mashable.com/2010/11/29/social-good-campaigns-holidays/ Thanks to Geoff Livingston & Mashable.com, today’s quick post involves some ideas of how to creatively use social media to give back! We are hosting a Greater Lansing Fundraiser in the new year , and you can bet social media will be part of that campaign