Bloggers meet up round 2.0

I went to my second Bloggers’ Meet Up last night, held at Doggets in Blackfriars. The drinks were on Stella - just wanted to say thank you for supplying us with copious amounts of soft drinks, beer and vodka! We had lots and lots of fun so thank you! You can view last night’s photos here.

 

The usual suspects were here but I also got chatting to quite a few interesting peeps: Andy Bargery (thanks for organising the meet ups!),Willem (at last), Hayley, Anthony, Julius, Cristiano and Chris.

 

See you all next month!

 

 

 

1 question, 8 answers: the social media meme

My blog friend C.B Whittemore recently tagged me in 8 more things, the social media meme with one question - what are 8 ways in which you’ve used social media?

 

1. My blog is my most important and exciting tool to date. I have not only met some wonderful people offline (Chris Brown, Reshma Anand, Organic Frog, Sandrine, Cedric, Steve, Annie Mole… apologies if I have forgotten anyone!) but blogging has also recently changed my life as I am just about to start my new role as a Social Media strategist.

2. Blogging has drastically changed my social media consumption - I created a web 2.0 lanscape last year and it’s very interesting to see how my social media consumption has evolved:

• I no longer use Myspace but I am still a huge fan of Facebook and found a few old friends from university on there
• I use bloglines a lot more than I did last year
• I have at last got round to updating my Linkedin profile and will be using it a lot more in the near future
• I am now using Twitter and Plurk which were not even on my radar last year…

 

 

3. Everyone is blogging about Twitter vs. Plurk but I still don’t know which one is the best for me. I love the look and feel of Twitter and follow an exciting community of Twitter friends but I get terribly annoyed by the outages. I do not particularly like the look and feel of Plurk but love the Plurk timeline… To be continued

 

4. Blogline is my fav tool to keep on top of my reading but I also recently discovered snackr, a cool widget that pulls random items from your feeds and scrolls them across your desktop

 

5. When it comes to my creative side, I use Flickr and Youtube. Although my interaction on both sites is limited, I enjoy posting photos and videos for everyone’s viewing pleasure.

 

6. Aggregators are currently missing in my tool box! Webjam, Friendfeed (don’t really like the look of it!), Netvibes – which do you recommend and why?

 

7. Facebook and French website Copains d’avant are a great way to easily keep in touch with your friends and even find lost friends and acquaintances. I recently hooked up with one of my friends from school in France that I hadn’t seen in 13 years!

 

8. What’s next? Seesmic, dubbed the Twitter of micro-blogging is the next thing on my list…

 

Now I’d like to tag: Chris Brown, Reshma Anand, Organic Frog, Sandrine, Cedric, Steve, and Willem

 

And whilst we may be playing with some or maybe all of the above, consumers are, on the other hand playing with the sites shown below!

 

My intra-ocular lens surgery

Greetings from France,

 

Something a little personal today. As some of you may know, I am currently in France for my intra-ocular lens surgery (IOL) until next week.

 

I’ve been wearing glasses since I can remember and have a fairly strong prescription (around -6.5D + around -0.5 astigmatism on both eyes). I started wearing contact lenses when I was 15 but became intolerant a year ago – I was devastated.

 

 I saw an eye surgeon for the time 5 years ago but was told my cornea was ‘abnormally thin’ (400 microns, an average cornea being 520 microns) and that laser surgery would never be an option for me (as it reduces the thickness of the cornea even more). But in March this year, I was told that IOL surgery would solve my problem and here I am in France typing this post.

 

An IOL is a small lens which is designed to be surgically inserted behind the cornea (the outer surface of the eye). Once in place it serves to focus the light accurately onto the retina (the back of the eye) thereby treating short-sight, long sight and astigmatism. The surgery is quite heavy with both eyes being treated separately under general anaesthetic.   

 

I had my right eye done yesterday and I am already blogging… not bad! I can see a little – it’s not great yet (definitely much better than what it was pre-surgery!)  but my eye-sight will take a couple of weeks to settle. I am getting my left eye done next Wednesday.

 

I will try to blog as much as I have already seen some pretty interesting ads (amongst other things!) on French TV.

 

PS: Sorry about the typos – I am on a French computer when an AZERTY keyboard!

A little something light and fluffy!

 

Photo taken at The Cans Festival - May 2008

 

I was tagged by both Sandrine and Christine ages ago but never found the time to do these memes! Better late than never

 

Christine tagged me on the 4×4 about me. There are four categories and 4 bits of information are needed for each category:      

4 places I have lived in:

• Lyon, France where I was born and grew up
• Canterbury – United Kingdom, my uni town
• London – I started off in Bow, East London, then moved to Willesden Green in North West London, and I currently live in Clapham Junction,  South West London. Each area is so different - I guess this is why London one of the coolest cities in the world!
• 4^th – who knows?

4 jobs I’ve held

• Sales Assistant at the Galleries Lafayette in Lyon
• Barmaid in Baa Baars, Canterbury’s meat market (god that was fun!)  
• Dance teacher (ballet)
• Qualitative Researcher since I graduated

4 foods I really like

• Jacket potatoes because they are soooooo versatile!
• Veggie sushis (as I am allergic to fish!)
• Pizzas from ‘Pizzeria da Michele’ in Naples – they are delicious!
• My mum’s cooking!

 

Sandrine also tagged me on the bloggers’ most useless chain! Each blogger needs to list 6 totally random, uninteresting thing about themselves… Since Sandrine is French, I’ll write that meme in French:

 

•  Niveau musique j’adore tout ce qui est rock, Indie et Britpop
• Je suis souvent habillée en noir… certaines personnes pensent que je suis goth ce qui n’est pas du tout le cas!
• Je suis myope comme une taupe ! Je rentre à Lyon la semaine prochaine me faire opérer des yeux
• J’adore Sex and the City et Eastenders !
• Mes amis considèrent que je suis la plus anglaise des françaises ! On me prend d’ailleurs souvent pour une anglaise - je ne sais pas trop si c’est un compliment ou pas 
• J’adore l’Europe de l’est

 

And now I tag everyone! Just link back to my blog and I’ll leave you a comment!

My Media Week

 

Marzipan Fruit Display - Milan

I have been tagged by Neil on the current meme sweeping the blogosphere - the media week meme.

Here we go…

What I have read…

• Wikinomics (How mass collaboration changed everything) – I just love that book! It’s fun, engaging and informative and the  website is simply fantastic. I can’t wait for round 2!
• The Celestine Prophecy – I recently started raja yoga meditation and my teacher recommended this book. The novel discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas which are often regarded as New Ages themes. A great read even though you’re not into yoga (kind of Dan Brown style!)

Next on the list – Amélie Nothomb Ni d’Eve, Ni d’Adam

What I have watched… I have been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time to go to the movies although there are apparently quite a few good movies out there at the mo… TV-wise, I am hooked on Dancing on Ice and I always need my daily fix of Sex in the City!

What I have listened to… A bit of everything and anything although I seem to be developing a passion for Blues and Jazz – I must be getting old! Ain’t Nothing but… is a must on a Thursday night!

Now, I’d like to tag – C.B Whittemore, Organic Frog and, Michael Wagner who has been a little quiet lately… all good Mike?

Have a great week-end everyone!

O! stands for outstanding bloggers!

2006 was the year of the z-list started by Mack Collier, 2007 is now the year of outstanding bloggers!  The “Outstanding Blogs” list started by Troy Worman. Thank you for including me!

 100 Bloggers, 37 Days, 3i, 43 Folders, A Clear Eye, A Daily Dose of Architecture, The Agonist, All Things Workplace, All This Chittah Chattah, Angela Maiers, Antonella Pavese, Arizona High Tech, Arun Rajagopal, AttentionMax, A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye, Badger Blogger, Bailey WorkPlay, Being Peter Kim, Brett Trout, Best of Mother Earth, Beyond Madison Avenue, Biz and Buzz, Bizhack, BizSolutions Plus, Blog Business World, Bloggers Showroom, Blogging for Business, Blogher, Blog Till You Drop!, Bob Sutton, Brain Based Business, Brain Based Biz, Brains on Fire, Brand Autopsy, The Brand Builder Blog, Branding and Marketing, Branding Strategy, Brand is Language, BrandSizzle, Brandsoul, Bren Blog, Business Evolutionist, Business Management Life, Business Pundit, Business Services, Etc., Busy Mom, Buzz Canuck, Buzz Customer, Buzzoodle, Career Intensity, Carpe Factum, Casual Fridays, Change Your Thoughts, Chaos Scenario, Cheezhead, Chief Happiness Officer, Chris Brogan, Christine Kane, Church of the Customer, Circaspecting, CK’s Blog, Come Gather Round, Communication Overtones, Community Guy, Confident Writing, Conversation Agent, Converstations, Cooking for Engineers, Cool Hunting, Core77, Corporate Presenter, Crayon Writer, Creating a Better Life, Creating Passionate Users, Creative Think, CRM Mastery, Crossroads Dispatches, Cube Rules, Culture Kitchen, Customers Are Always, Customer Experience Crossroads, Customer Service Experience, Customer Service Reader, Customers Rock!, Custserv, Craig Harper, ‘Cross The Breeze, Daily Fix, Dawud Miracle, Dave Olson, David Airey, David Maister, David S Finch, Design Your Writing Life, Digital Common Sense, Director Tom, Diva Marketing, Do You Q, Duct Tape Marketing, Empowerment 4 Life, The Engaging Brand, Essential Keystrokes, Every Dot Connects, Experience Architect, Experience Curve, Experience Matters, Experienceology, Extreme Leadership, Eyes on Living, Feld Thoughts, Flooring the Consumer, Flooring the Customer, Fouroboros, FutureLab, Genuine Curiosity, Glass Half Full, The Good Life, Great Circle, Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog, Hee-Haw Marketing, Hello, My Name is BLOG, Holly’s Corner, Homeless Family, The Idea Dude, I’d Rather be Blogging, Influential Marketing, Innovating to Win, Inspiring & Empowering Lives, Instigator Blog, Jaffe Juice, Jibber Jobber, Joyful Jubilant Learning, Joy of Six, Kent Blumberg, Kevin Eikenberry, Learned on Women, Life Beyond Code, Lip-sticking, Listics, The Lives and Times, Live Your Best Life, Live Your Inspiration , Living Light Bulbs, Logical Emotions, Logic + Emotion, Make It Great!, Making Life Work for You, Management Craft, Managing with Aloha, The M.A.P. Maker, The Marketing Excellence Blog, Marketing Headhunter, Marketing Hipster, The Marketing Minute, Marketing Nirvana, Marketing Roadmaps, Marketing Through the Clutter, Mary Schmidt, Masey, Masi Guy, The Media Age, Micropersuasion, Middle Zone Musings, Miss604, Moment on Money, Monk at Work, Monkey Bites, Movie Marketing Madness, Motivation on the Run, My 2 Cents, My Beautiful Chaos, Naked Conversations, Neat & Simple Living, New Age 2020, New Charm School, Next Up, No Man’s Blog, The [Non] Billable Hour, Note to CMO, Office Politics, Optimist Lab, The Origin of Brands, Own Your Brand, Pardon My French, Passion Meets Purpose, Pause, Peerless Professionals, Perfectly Petersen, Personal Branding , The Podcast Network, The Power of Choice, Practical Leadership, Presentation Zen, Priscilla Palmer, Productivity Goal, Pro Hip-Hop, Prosperity for You, Purple Wren, QAQnA, Qlog, Reveries, Rex Blog , Ririan Project, Rohdesign, Rothacker Reviews, Scott H Young, Search Engine Guide, Servant of Chaos, Service Untitled, Seth’s Blog, Shards of Consciousness, Shotgun Marketing, Simplenomics, Simplicity, Slacker Manager, Slow Leadership, Socially Adept, Social Media Marketing Blog, Spare Change, Spirit in Gear, Spooky Action, Steve’s 2 Cents, Strategic Design, Strength-based Leadership, StickyFigure, Studentlinc, Success Begins Today, Success Creeations, Success From the Nest, Successful Blog, Success Jolt, Talk to Strangers, Tammy Lenski, Tell Ten Friends, That Girl from Marketing, Think Positive!, This Girl’s Weblog, Thoughts & Philosophies, Tom Peters, Trust Matters, Verve Coaching, Viral Garden, Waiter Bell, Wealth Building Guy, What’s Next, WordSell, Writers Notes, You Already Know this Stuff, Zen Chill, Confident Writing, Idea Sellers, Tune Up Your EQ, Know HR, Mission Minded Management, Managing Leadership, Matt’s Idea Blog, Black in Business, Design Your Writing Life 

In memoriam

Moi et Mamé – Avril 2006

 Sadly my grandma passed away on Tuesday aged 85. She survived 2 cancers but was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2000. Her condition deteriorated last week. She was an amazing businesswoman, mother and grand-mother and will be greatly missed.  

Tu vas me manquer ma petite Mamé…

 

It’s my blogging birthday!

Blog till you Drop is 1 year-old today! I made it!  

This blogging journey has been filled with the unexpected but it has only just begun!

So here’s to my new friends:

• I’d like to thank Twan for being my first ever reader and for sticking by
• Chris Brown and Reshma Anand – it was fantastic meeting you! We’re only a plane ride away!
• Thanks to Mack for his friendship and for creating the z-list where I met so many great people
• Mike, keep creating, it freaks people out!
• Christine and Katia – thanks for the insightful posts. I am looking forward to the Bathroom Blogfest 2007!
• Tesa, we should hang out in London, or perhaps Hong Kong? What do you reckon?
• Thanks to the London bloggers Neil and Organic Frog for making the whole blogging experience local!
• And finally, kudos to the z-listers for being such a vibrant community.

Before I indulge in strawberries and champagne, I’d like to know what you think of Blog till you Drop. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!    

This has been a fantastic year and I look forward to my second blogging birthday!

Light at the end of the tunnel…

 

 

Something a little more personal today… I came back from a wonderful holiday in Italy this week only to face some radical changes in my life.  

My boyfriend David and myself have decided to go separate ways… David is a talented aspiring photographer and we will still be working together on his website. Stay tuned as I’ll be posting a link to his flickr account and website very soon.   

Secondly, I decided to leave my company yesterday as I did not feel fully satisfied with my current role. So yes I am back on the market! If you’re looking for a multilingual quallie/planner full of energy and passionate about brands, I’d love to hear from you. The prospect of not having a job to go to is scary (although I am on 3 months notice) but I am feeling terribly excited about this! 

Finally, I’ll be celebrating my 1^st blogging birthday in 11 days!  Stay tuned!

Totally thrilled!

 I just found out today that Blog till you Drop has been nominated in the Blogger’s Choice Awards in 3 categories!  

• Best Marketing Blog
• Best Blog Design
• Best Pop Culture Blog

 I am ecstatic!  Thank you! You can vote for me by clicking one of the banners below: