“So you really hurt yourself, didn’t you?”  Tiffany asked me the other evening.  “It has to be bad, because I know you.  You’re a shake-it-off kind-of-gal.  I’ve seen you run through some pretty bad pains.  You rest and then you’re back on your feet in no time.  But this has got to be bad if you’re not running for weeks.”

Yes, it really is that bad.  Taking deep breaths still hurts, so I can’t even imagine how I could run when it feels like I am being crushed.  The pain conveniently sits under my bra line, so underwire brasseries only make it worse. 

For the past two weeks since I crashed my bike, I’ve tried differently physical activities to test my limits.  Swimming hurts.  Mopping and sweeping the floor is a painful chore, but at least now I have a valid excuse for an untidy house. 

Fortunately, sitting at my computer is pain free, which is doing wonders for my backside.  Blogging, shopping on-line, tweeting on Twitter, updating my Facebook and watching videos You Tube do not require heavy breathing.  Well, I guess it would depend on what videos I view on You Tube and of course, I am referring to comedy sketches, because laughing still really hurts.  What did you think I meant?

“What does a mommy blogger runner write about when she can’t run?” Lori asked me the other day.  Then, Tiffany also commented on the variety of interesting topics on Run DMT since my injury.  At least I am expanding my blog’s reading audience!

So, what exactly does a “mom on the run” write about when she isn’t running?  She writes about how she has missed running for a fortnight and feels like her body is turning to mush.  And have I mentioned my face is breaking out too?  I need my stress release again.  I want my ultimate “me time” back before I lose my mind as well as my body.  Since bruised ribs take about month to heal, I only have one more fortnight to go!

                                 On Thursday, July 23rd at 1:00pm EST, The Mom Entrepreneur will host Christine Gallagher of Communicate Value who will present Learn How Facebook Can Help You Reach Potential Customers and Rapidly Grow Your Business (Part 1).

This interactive Webinar will explain how to apply Facebook marketing techniques to a small business, add Facebook to your Business Marketing Plan without spending a ton of time or money and “socialize” in under 15 minutes a day while attracting interest and attention to your business. Part 2 of this seminar will be presented in September.

The event is sponsored by Me Time apparel company, which offers tips, articles, products and advice for busy ladies at its site.

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO REGISTER, please click here…>

You can also listen to a podcast interview with the presenter about what will be offered during the Webinar.

Following a stressful week from my final exams, I went to Chicago with Lindsay Allen (in the teal shirt) for a social media un-Conference.

Even though I had no idea what an un-Conference would be like, I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to learn more about PR, see Chicago and meet up with people like Allan Schoenberg, Mike Pilarz, Amy Mengel (see a post I wrote with her help here), Christine Hartter, Nikki Stephan, Lauren Weber and Ari Adler (who, by chance, is not an M&M in real life!).

The Ragan Web site said, “There will be no speakers at the un-Conference, meaning we’ll all be learning from one another. However, there will be conference facilitators leading all of the idea-generating, problem-solving sessions.”

This unstructured environment was great because it enabled public relations professionals to ask for advice and trade ideas and strategies with their peers. People talked about Twitter, Facebook, blogging, building relationships and more.

When the facilitator asked for blog success stories, not many people raised their hands. Lindsay whispered, “Rachel! Raise your hand! Raise your hand!” So I actually gave a quick, impromptu spiel about how I started blogging and how it has been effective in my career to a couple hundred people. I even got a few cheers when I announced I was a CMU student.

In addition to the discussions, another valuable aspect was the networking. After the un-Conference, many people made arrangements to meet-up (or tweet-up). Having dinner with people you had only previously known from Twitter is a great experience. And people you already know will introduce you to more great professionals.

Have you ever been to an un-Conference? What did you like about the Ragan un-Conference?

And here’s a picture of me at the un-Conference taken by Lindsay’s MacBook. The Drake was a great place!

The recession has changed everything for Gen Y. While we continue to embrace idealism, meaningful change is much harder.

And while young people have the best intentions to be part of the communities we live in, we’re being challenged by a number of conflicting events that contribute to a lack of involvement in local community.

For starters, disillusionment towards faith and religion has forced the institution to turn its reign over to Facebook as chief community builder. And despite the fact that our social circles are shrinking and loneliness is increasing, we choose where we live, in part, by how easy it is for us to maintain our quasi-anonymity.

Our friends “move in the same circles we do and are exposed to the same information. To get new information we have to activate our weak ties,” Albert-Laszlo Barabasi explains in his book Linked (via Valeria Maltoni).

So all of our Facebook and Twitter friends (those weak ties) are actually “critical to the creative environment of a city” sociologist Richard Florida reports, “because they allow for rapid entry of new people and rapid absorption of new ideas.”

Life and community, my friends, just isn’t the same. And nowhere is this so obvious, in-your-face and damning than the current alarm of the real estate market.

Before the economy collapsed, young people were being locked out of the housing market by astronomical housing prices and by our predecessors, Generation X and the Baby Boomers, who grew even richer.

Now that the housing market has collapsed, it means more young people are content with not owning a home. But as the prevailing American sentiment goes, if you don’t own something, you don’t have a stake in the future of our country. Young people don’t buy that. Literally.

Ownership is an antiquated belief belonging to another generation. Gen Y abandons ownership. Instead, today’s young people subscribe to a culture of services and leasing.

We subscribe to services that allow our lives to be easier – Peapod, Mint, Netflix, Pandora, Alice, and ZipCar to name a few. More and more individuals do this in order to pay less, acquire more, and change whenever the desire hits.

“Owning a car used to be the key to freedom,” one millennial marketer argues. “But now younger generations are seeing car ownership as a liability that ties them down.”

And being tied down is the last thing the transient Gen Yer wants. “Owning a home also ties workers down,” NY Times columnist Paul Krugman reports. “Even in the best of times, the costs and hassle of selling one home and buying another — one estimate put the average cost of a house move at more than $60,000 — tend to make workers reluctant to go where the jobs are.”

That’s cool with Gen Y because we plan to move in a month or two for that tech job, relish inner-city downtown life, or can’t see the sense in purchasing a home when we’re going overseas in June to work at a NGO anyway.

“Houses simply do not fit in very well with the demands for flexibility, mobility and continuous innovation in the creative economy,” Florida reports. “They cost a lot and suck up a ton of capital.  They are energy sinks and most people and families don’t use or need all that space.  They’re environmental disasters.  There is a growing body of economics research which suggests home ownership is associated with lower rates of productivity, lower incomes, and higher rates of unemployment.”

Gen Y will certainly grow up at some point, make commitments, have a family and settle down – indeed, research shows that is our every intention. But we are doing so at a later age, and by then, it may be too late and the world too different for local community to thrive.

Changing quarters.

What do you think? Will the housing crisis and Gen Y’s attitude towards ownership change community forever? And if you don’t own a home and aren’t connected to any particular institution, will you have any reason to contribute to the local community? Does it matter?

All Things Workplace says you should work on being likeable to be successful. I thought this was interesting. Recently I had a conversation with Jessica Lawlor from PRowl Public Relations about negative blog comments, which obviously mean there are a few people who don’t like you.

According to All Things Workplace, “your like-ability impacts your credibility and your credibility impacts how influential you become.”

I think this is interesting. I don’t work too hard at trying to make people like me. I think you learn in elementary school that you can’t be everyone’s best friend. I’ve been very focused on being driven, credible and ambitious. I am always willing to help people out, so I thought that made me likeable enough.

But, I’ve found that some people find it strange that I spend so much time blogging. Some have even reacted negatively.

In a reply to a Twitter post by Penelope Trunk, I said, “I’ve found that people think I’m not normal because I have a blog…I tell them that I’m just ‘driven’ and ‘ambitious’“

A PR professional I follow replied, saying “That’s ridiculous…“

It is. But this is how I replied: “If they only knew the doors my blog has opened for me in my career…they would be starting one too!“

And it’s true. This blog has opened countless doors and windows. I’m pretty sure the roof is about to blow off.

I’ve met a lot of great PR students and professionals through this blog. I’ve also attracted the attention of those who are offering internships. I’ve been blogging for almost a year now. It has helped me develop my own style in writing, has improved my skills overall and has taught me a lot about PR and social media. It also has given me confidence-I would never have written such a personal post six months ago.

Maybe these people are just jealous (link from Guy Kawasaki). But they could have a blog too. It’s not very hard to start one. Maybe they simply don’t understand.

How do people outside of the blogosphere react to your blog?

Rachel M. Esterline works as an account executive for Central Michigan Life, the nationally award-winning school newspaper at Central Michigan University. She is as an account executive for PR Central, CMU’s student-run public relations firm and as a public relations executive with the Student Government Association. Additionally, Rachel serves on the executive board of the Public Relations Student Society of America at CMU and has completed a seven-month internship with her university’s public relations and marketing department. Rachel will graduate in May 2010 with a degree in public relations with minors in journalism and communication.

A year ago before I started blogging, I had never heard of personal branding. I didn’t fully understand the concept until I had read several blogs about it.

Last February, when I started “A Step Ahead,” I leaped into social media and personal branding. Social media is a great tool for creating and communicating your personal brand.

• Blogs
  My blog has been my top tool for building my personal brand. My original intention when starting blogging wasn’t to build a brand. I wanted to write about my personal experiences as a public relations student. My blog has not only improved my skills as a writer, but I also have built a brand. People, like Dave Baker, have recognized who I was because they have read my blog. Professors, classmates and friends have asked me to explain blogging.  My brand includes social media knowledge, public relations experience and writing skills due to this blog. Commenting on other blogs helps your brand as well.
• Twitter
  My dad always said, “Birds of a feather fly together.” Basically, you are who you associate with. On Twitter, I am able to associate with and talk to PR professionals and students from around the world. Twitter also is one of the top referrers to my blog. A few months ago, I thought Twitter was one of the most ridiculous tools I had ever heard of. But, as I have used it and seen its effectiveness, I believe Twitter is a great tool for networking, brand building and public relations
• Facebook
  I recently launched Learn it, Live it, Love it, a public relations book group open to all PR students and professionals. After starting a Facebook Group, I invited probably close to 100 people from the PR field. Many of them accepted the invitation. Through Facebook, I was able to reach many people and spread the word about a group I started. This has helped strengthen my brand (because I am the founder of Learn it, Live it, Love it) and also the new brand of the book group. I also posted information about the book group in various PR-related Facebook groups I am a part of.
• LinkedIn
  I love how LinkedIn works as a virtual resume. When people “connect” with me, they are able to view my experiences and other professional details. This helps build my brand as a knowledgeable, ambitious PR student.

How have you built your brand? What has worked best for you? How has branding affected your career?