Becoming Superwoman and Finding My Passion

Asher enjoys Garden of the Gods (and his chicken).

As I balanced Asher on one arm and rested his bottom on the counter while he breastfed, I carefully took the plate with the baked potato out of the microwave. Mr. T was sick, I was working from home and juggling an exhausted, teething 5-month-old, incoming messages and broken websites, and an ailing spouse. I am superwoman. Hear me sigh, yawn, and move along.

Motherhood isn't what I expected. Then again, what did I expect?

Another Shabbat has come and gone and I literally said "Baruch ha'Mavdil," made sure Ash was sleeping soundly, and checked on my computer's backup while running a bath. Mr. T is at shul still, and those precious 10 minutes I just spent soaked in bath-bombed sudsy bliss are about the most relaxing moments I'll experience all week. Just me, bath water, and silence.

I'm in the middle of reading Biz Stone's bio and take on life creating and launching Twitter, one of my most favorite social networking platforms on the planet. An early adopter, I joined the network in 2008. I've been Tweeting for 6.5 years and joined before 99.9% of other current Twitter users. Oddly enough, that was almost four years after I joined Facebook, where I also was an early adopter. The thing about Biz Stone's book is that he and I are complete opposites in many ways, but the way he talks about passion, emotion, and drive for what you do pulls at my heartstrings as it has during every incarnation of the "what am I doing with my life?" internal dialogue I've experienced.

As I balance motherhood, a career, and the desire to do what I'm truly passionate about, I'm really battling internally.

In a perfect world, I've always said I'd be a writer. I've been running Just Call Me Chaviva since April 2006, and before that I spent roughly 8 years on LiveJournal. My story, the narrative that runs through my head on a daily basis, is what I've wanted to write for ages, the joke being that as soon as the book advance shows up I'll be able to put everything else on hold, move into the mountains, and devote myself to composing the work and growing all of my own food (Mr. T's on board, believe me).

I love the work I do, but I've discovered that in just about every job I work I'm taking on more and more of the other stuff that isn't what I'm either good at or passionate about.

Biz Stone talks about how he and Evan (a Nebraskan, mind you) were working on a podcasting startup when they suddenly realized that neither of them (nor anyone on their team) really cared about podcasting. They didn't listen to podcasts. It wasn't their jam. So they found a way to restart and refocus on something they were passionate about. For Biz, that was the social web.

Since I started LiveJournaling back in 1997 or 1998, my focus has always been on storytelling, on reaching out to the universe in the hopes that it would reach back to me. It's where my passion and focus in Judaism come from, the idea that I can reach out to some higher power and a network of Jews around the world -- past and present mind you -- and find some type of answer, commiseration, understanding, acceptance.

From the moment I began writing -- really writing -- I found my way through journaling (technically my first diary dates to a Precious Moments journal circa 1992), Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, and so on. If the platform allows for narrative and storytelling, I'm there. It's my passion.

And that goes for clients, too. The power of personal storytelling is something that I've transitioned into working for brands, and that ... THAT is my passion. Using the social web to create dialogue and build a narrative. To create a story that is meaningful to the consumer and brand-altering for the client. It isn't about making money, it's about building connections, empowering your advocates and evangelists, to create an ecosystem that is larger than your own office and internal structures.

I just have to figure out how to make that what I do every day. To dig through the weeds of the "extra" stuff and focus on my passion.

Maybe someday I'll write a book. But it seems like right now isn't that time. The universe hasn't seen fit to throw some money at my feet to get started, so for now I'll stick to what I'm good at on the small scale. Humans are storytellers. It's always been our jam. It's what we do. It's how we convey emotion, understanding, innovation. It seems so simple, but it's so overlooked.

The only thing I have to do now is to remember to stop and give myself a chance to keep storytelling here on the blog. It's been weeks since I last posted. I opened Blogger so many times to sit and write. To share what's going on. To detail a typical Sunday with an English husband playing for the all-Jewish softball league, drinking tea and wearing a flat cap, listening to the umpire say, "You're going to have to be closer to the base than that." To express the pain of a changed body shape, a child who seems to scream no matter how much homeopathic Orajel and Tylenol we give him, whose gas could easily take down an army, but who is still the most beautiful, amazing, precious gift I could ever have asked for. To explain how strange it is to be back in a place where the community grew and changed without me and how I'm coping with being better accepted and invited out now that I'm married and have a child.

I'm still finding my rhythm. I'm still fleshing out what being superwoman really means. I'm still trying to figure out who I am, where I'm going, and what HaShem's plan for me is.

Israel Under Fire

I'm safe. I'm alive. I'm helping with a new type of diplomacy -- the one where social media tzars run the universe and information is only posted when it's confirmed and accurate. I'm part of an amazing team.

If you want to see the most up-to-date and accurate reports of what's happening, please watch my Twitter feed @TheChaviva, and be sure to "like" Stop the Rockets on Facebook.

Stay tuned. This is going to be a doozy.

SXSW 2013: Give Me Some Love!

Okay folks -- it's that time again. Time to spread your love this way!

The illustrious Panel Picker for SXSW Interactive 2013. Yes, it's really far away (March), but the voting and panel picking starts now. The public's opinion accounts for roughly 30 percent in the final decision process, so you clicking the "thumb's up" button really does make a huge difference. But wait, what is SXSW?

Scheduled March 8-12, the 2013 SXSW® Interactive Festival will feature five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders, the SXSW Trade Show and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new digital works, video games and innovative ideas the international community has to offer. Join us for the most energetic, inspiring and creative event of the year.

I spoke on the first "Jewish" panel at SXSW Interactive back in 2010, and in 2011 I created and hosted/participated in the only Jewish panel at SXSW with the illustrious @susqhb. This year I simply attended SXSW Interactive, thanks to a delicious grant from the ROI Community (of which I'm a 2011 alum).

So at this point, it's a chazakah -- I simply have to go again. Yes, I'll be in Israel, but guess what -- there are ways to make magic happen and I believe in that.

So please go and give my panel -- Getting Social at the Niche Nonprofit -- your love and a thumb's up, and be sure to Tweet it and Facebook it so that we get PLENTY of votes! Here are the details:

Description
If you're AARP or PETA, you've got hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people backing your niche, nonprofit cause. But when it comes to smaller, localized nonprofits, the work can be a lot more lonely and daunting. Reaching, let alone finding, your audience and engaging them with innovative platforms is soul-breaking work. 

Questions Answered

1. How do you find a very niche audience in the social universe?
2. How do you engage with your audience across social platforms?
3. How do you scale DOWN the campaigns that larger nonprofits find success in?
4. How do you create a social campaign on a shoestring budget when you're standing alone?
5. How do you sell the product and the effort to a board or funders who are skeptical -- at best -- about social media?

Oh, and while you're at it ... also give a thumb's up to my bestie @Mottel's panel: Transcendent Tech: Is G-d Rebooting The World?

Social Media and Genocide

According to a poll completed recently by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 94 percent of Americans think genocide is a concern and that it could occur today.

Clearly we haven't come very far since the Holocaust, let alone Sudan or Rwanda. That poll finding makes me sad but also makes me wonder why we don't have more faith in ourselves and mankind.

The study's findings were announced, evidently, as Hilary Clinton spoke at the USHMM about how social media could be the answer in genocide prevention. According to one Zimbabwean, more than 70 percent of Africans own cellphones, and 60 percent of those who have cellphones use them for social media.

My question is: How do you prevent genocide by Tweeting about it? Or by Facebooking it? Or even by posting a video on YouTube (where, as another recent study -- this one by Pew -- found that a majority of people turn to the video service for news updates)?

After all, some of the most heinous crimes go on behind closed doors or are hard to spot.

What do you think: Do our new-fangled devices and Social Media have the power to squash a fear that appears to be very real and very alive in the minds of Americans today?

Disgusted: Social Media Squashed at Religious Girls School

I'm horrified.

Beis Rivkah High School in Brooklyn makes girls sign NO SOCIAL MEDIA contract. And if they have a Facebook? Fined for $100 or kicked out.

“It’s not a modest thing for a religious Jewish man or woman to be on,” Benzion Stock said.

Because we want our Jewish teens to grow up not knowing how to use and interact with basic technologies that will inevitably be necessary in the workforce? Because we don't want to give our Jewish girls the opportunity to connect with Jews and Israelis all over the world? To build friendships and connections? To find long-lost relatives? To connect with what the global Jewish community is doing and experiencing?

Why don't we just say "You're going to be a stay at home mom, so you won't need it."

Or, you know, we could TEACH our kids how to use social media. No one is doing that. Instead of TEACHING our kids how to use Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms, we're shutting them down in fear. We're squashing a beautiful and necessary resource. But since we're so afraid ourselves, we just can't muster the strength for a Social Media Curriculum. Because we don't understand the technologies and aren't willing to, we are harming our Jewish girls! Modesty? Someone should tell that to the entire Chabad movement, then, shouldn't they. Or to all of those Orthodox business owners who sell diamonds or food online. Or to the Orthodox restaurant owners with websites and Twitter accounts.

It's like saying, here are a bounty of amazing books. But since we're not sure how you're going to interpret the texts, and it might brainwash you, we're not going to teach you how to read.

Bravo, Beis Rivkah. Bravo for sending us back in time.

Jewish Synergy: Social Media & The New Community

If you couldn't make it live online for my SXSW Interactive core conversation "Jewish Synergy: Social Media and the New Community," you can catch it online on UStream!





I'd love any feedback or comments. My plans for camera setup failed miserably, so we came to you live from @susqhb's laptop (even my laptop was hating on me).

If anything, zip to the end and catch the amazing, beautiful, bouncing baby boy, Baby Boo!

SXSW Interactive: It Begins!

Well, it's that time of year again, and I'm at SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX. (If you recall, I was here last year on the "Judaism 2.0" panel.)

I pitched a panel, as many of you might remember, called "Jewish Synergy: Social Media and the New Community" and it got picked and I picked @susqhb to co-panel with me. So here I am, after an interesting and sort of horrible flight in from Jersey to Dallas (will blog about this later, watch out AirTran) that almost got me in too close to Shabbat. There are gobs of awesome folks here, including @mottel and @wifeofmottel, and I was talking to the awesome folks @yoogot -- a new site coming up that is better than eBay and everything else, because it helps you figure out what to do with your stuff: repurpose, sell it, donate it, etc. (and one of the founders is a super-tall Jew, so, relevant) -- about a Conan O'Brien spotting last night at a bar. I'm praying I'll run into him ... that tall hunk of Irishman that he is. Last year it was Ashton Kutcher, this year, I'm shooting for CoCo.

I haven't been to the Apple Pop-Up store, but I've heard the store itself isn't very impressive. But still, I'm going to get me an iPad 2, no matter what it takes.

Stay tuned for stellar updates, a blog post about AirTran #failing, and more. Until then, just ruminate on how disgruntled I am that the Trade Show doesn't open until tomorrow. There will be good stuff about keeping kosher, meeting strange and new people, and, well, like I said, more. Like trying to figure out how to balance work and fun at the same time, when they're all happening on my computer.

Time for caffeine!

Some Uncommon Questions

Photo a la OneShul.

I'm busy at work in my second semester at NYU in the Education/Jewish studies dual M.A. (yes, I already have one M.A. from the University of Connecticut in Jewish studies, but you can't have too many, right?), and I've discovered that my technological and social media know-how is a huge boon to my experience. In just about every class so far, I've been able to pull on my experiences online to make connections that are ever-so-much-more important when it comes to education, and not just in the Jewish world. Social media skills are what we have to teach students, because at some point, I have no doubt in my mind that such skills will be a prerequisite for just about every job out there.

Along with the growth of social media and online networks, however, come questions. I've been thinking more and more about these questions, and as I prepare for my panel at SXSW Interactive next month, I really would like some kind of insight into whether we have answers or whether we've moved along quickly enough to even be able to consider answering these questions. And these are just a few. Ready?

• Yichud. Basically this word refers to the prohibition of men and women who are not married from being in seclusion or in a private place together. There are a bajillion ifs and buts tied to this law, but that's the basic gist. This means that I wouldn't invite a single man or a friend's husband over to my house for coffee, k? Now, my question is how we apply the laws of yichud in a digital age. Is it okay to text and email with a woman who is not your wife? With your wife knowing? Without your wife knowing? I'd say the former is okay, the latter violates yichud. What about online chatting or messaging through Facebook or Twitter via Direct Message? How do we apply the laws of yichud to Social Media? Should we? Is it being too strict to think that it should be? You have to consider that just as it was "dangerous" for a man and a woman to be secluded privately because g-d knows where it would end up, so, too, have people found that in the digital age, private communication is quite the same thing, just in a different medium. Thoughts?
• Davening. There are great collaborative communities online like OneShul from PunkTorah.org that create an online space for prayer (davening), but can you count in a minyan (a quorum of 10 men needed for prayer) if you're only there digitally?

I guarantee you these are two things that the rabbis of old never would have considered, even on the most distant of horizons. So how do we approach these kinds of things today? My big thing is the idea of the New Community, which exists online, where people in the most remote of locations can find a community and participate Jewishly online. This community comprises a bevy of denominations and boasts synergy in a beautiful and innovative way. The question is: Are we ready for it? I know the Reform community is, but what about the Orthodox community? How do we approach life online via halacha and modern sensibilities? 

I'm a Statistic, and That's Okay.

I give you, the world's most awesome info graphic. Ever. It breaks down Facebook & Twitter by demographic, knowledge and use of the service, and more. This is the kind of stuff that makes me giggly and social media gooey. Enjoy!

If I Walked Off the Pages of My Blog

As a departure from my last post -- which I could probably now call "Sleepy Time Hair Covering Mayhem!" -- I'd like to talk a bit about an article I spotted on Twitter thanks to @critiques4geeks about what brands look like, in the physical.

"What Kind of Person is Your Brand?" details the personality that is depicted by a brand, what it looks like and sounds like, what people think of it, in the sense that it's sort of a living, breathing organism more than a word or identifier. The writer did a survey with photos of people being matched to brand names like Starbucks, BP, and Google, and the results were not shocking. Starbucks = soccer mom; Google = hip Asian guy; and BP = old, white, curmudgeonly man. The point, the writer says, is that we project personalities onto brands, whether we mean to or not.

It reminds me of how in many languages, nouns have gender. So, for example, an autobus (אוטובוס)in Hebrew is masculine, while oogah (עוגה), or cake, is feminine. There have been studies done for years where people are asked to match pictures to objects, and most of the time -- if people are from cultures where nouns have gender -- people match the item to its gender image. So a cartoon drawing of a cake would have female characteristics, while a bus would more likely be trained Thomas the Tank Engine style.

Maybe the connection is loose, but it makes sense to me.

The writer goes on to explain three types of brands:

1. The brand that we sort of take for granted. We don’t swoon when we see the logo but we trust it. If it were a person, we’d say hello, and perhaps go for a beer at the local bar. I go to my local grocery store every week and like it well enough. But if a competitor opened up down the street, I’d have no hesitation in trying it out. 
2. The sort of brand that we really, really like. We would like to have dinner with this brand, even go on a date. I feel this way about my Marvis Toothpaste and my Happy Socks. I’ll go out of my way to buy it. 
3. The sort of brand that we’d bring home to meet our parents. We want to marry this brand. Harley Davidson, Apple, and even Crayola Crayons. People get tattoos of these brands’ logos inked onto their bodies.

This all, of course, makes me wonder: What kind of brand am I for my readers? How do you all see me? My picture is plastered all over this blog, so you all know what I look like, and many of you have even met me and know that my real-life personality and my blog personality are pretty close to one-in-the-same. And I know that the term "brand" is hard to use when referring to a person's personality and created content, but I do have a brand. Social media professionals are brands. Mine is kvetchingeditor, which means you can google that term and find every last bit of content I've created, not to mention all the facts about me that you do or don't care to know. My brand stands for very specific things, whether my readers know it or not. As a brand, kvetchingeditor is a fine purveyor of Jewishly-themed, sometimes academic, and always thoughtful content. But the question is, if I had a storefront, what kind of brand would people see me as?

Anyhow, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what kind of brand you think I am. If I walked off your computer screen, would you give me a firm talking to? A hug? A slap on the back? Would you take me home to mom and dad or a dinner party? What kind of person is my brand?

Shall We Schmooze?

A girl can't speak on a Social Media panel without her MyTouch 4g, can she!?

Monday night, I had the privilege of sitting on a highly esteemed panel of Social Media pros for the MetroImma Social Media Schmooze. I had anticipated writing an awesome recap of the event, but, thanks to a few awesome individuals, a recap already has been written -- times two!

Check out AlarBean's take on the event, as well as panelist In the Pink!

It was most excellent to finally meet many people in person, including @alarbean, @rivkaht, the most amazing moderator in the world @critiques4geeks, @rafiber, and more! Not to mention, of course, the countless old (e-)friends who also made it in.

Overall, the event went really well, and it was nice to be able to share my experience and expertise with newbies and old pros alike. The one thing I would like to mention is that someone asked how we bloggers make money -- if we make money. I joked that I'm waiting for the book deal, but there's a truth here. I don't make money on this blog, I make things. I get products to review -- food, clothes, books, you name it. But I haven't made a cent, as far as deposits into my bank account go, in the four-and-a-half years that I've been running Just Call Me Chaviva. Am I upset about this?

Sure.

But in the end, I don't blog for fame and fortune. Sure, I love being able to influence people and speak to people's hearts and help converts through the positive and present the oft-overlooked Judaism that we all should be embracing. But we all have bills to pay and mouths to feed. I'm blessed to have a husband that has a good job, a job that allows me to be in school full-time (on scholarship, that is). And at the end of the day, I'm not losing it over an inability to make money.

It'd be nice. In a perfect world, I'd make money off of the very few ads I keep here on the blog (people don't like ads, plain and simple), but I don't, and I'm okay with that. I didn't start the blog to make money, and to change my mission statement at this point would be uncomfortable. Of course, I also have to point out that this isn't a perfect world. I'll keep bloggin', as long as y'all keep reading!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Come One! Come All!

I expect every last one of you to be there. Okay, every last one of you in the NYC area. Freebies and good time with techno-Jews and ... it's going to be awesome. I promise. And if any of you *really, really* want to come and don't think you can swing the entrance fee, let me know and we'll work something out. Begin press release!

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MetroImma.com Hosts Jewish Social Media Shmooze Event on November 15th!!

NEW YORK, November 15, 2010 – MetroImma.com, the only online social networking site geared towards Jewish moms, will host its Jewish Social Media Shmooze event Monday, November 15. This event is geared towards moms who are interested in learning how brands and bloggers are utilizing social media tools to create brand awareness and a following. Hosted by MetroImma and Esti Berkowitz of Primetime Parenting, the panel will be moderated by guest speaker Stephanie Grayson-Zane, a communications expert and social media enthusiast. Panelists include Ken Krimstein, author of Kvetch As Kvetch Can; Hadassah Sabo Milner, blogger at In the Pink; Chaviva Galatz, blogger at Kvetching Editor, and Jodi Samuels, co-founder of MetroImma. (That's meeee!)

The web site that offers a Jewish twist to the standard areas that interest moms – schools, how to save money, cooking, beauty, fitness, travel with children, juggling marriage and children, and other general childrearing issues – is always looking for ways to bring the online community together for an offline and personal experience. All women are invited to attend this phenomenal event where they will learn best practices to expand their client base and turn themselves into a household name.

The MetroImma Social Media Shmooze will take place at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, 450 Lexington Avenue, 40th Floor, from 5:30 – 8:00 pm. The event will kick off with a tweet-up where guests have the opportunity to network. There will be raffle prizes and gift bags, and refreshments will be served.

Sponsors include: Lisa Brandes from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, jdeal.com, Shutterfly, diaperbuds.com, Oh Nuts!, Manischewitz, Kosher.com, Bagels & Co., Shmirawear and more!

Entrance is $10 in advance, $15 at the door. All attendees are asked to bring ID.

Please RSVP to events@metroimma.com. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.metroimma.com/events/jewish-social-media-schmooze-1.

About MetroImma.com
MetroImma.com is a one of a kind social networking site that focuses on the Jewish cultural aspects of marriage, parenting and raising children. With an initial focus on the New York area, MetroImma plans to provide active forums featuring other cities. What makes MetroImma unique is that it offers a Jewish twist to the standard areas that interest moms – schools, cooking, beauty, fitness, travel with children, juggling marriage and children, and other general childrearing issues. The site is organized across mommy-focused groups that are run by subject matter experts who moderate discussions and provide advice. Members can also initiate their own groups and conversations and keep in touch with other mom friends in a fun and user-friendly environment. MetroImma is a division of JMedia Connections Inc. For more information, visit www.metroimma.com.

The Facebook Anthem?

If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest ... in the world. It reminds me of Nebraska, where Husker Stadium became the third largest city in the state on game days (at a meager 80,000 something). If Facebook were a country, would it have an anthem? Would it have a flag? Would its president be Mark Zuckerberg? It's a weird thing to think about. But it also creates some kind of fusion, of people the world over. It's like we really do exist under a single set of dictates. The Facebook Constitution (aka the terms of service and privacy agreement).

Anyhow, here's a fun updated Map of Online Communities by the folks at xkcd.com on the current landscape of the interwebs. Click on it to make it huge. I highly recommend this, because you'll see all the funny and quirky details.

Judaism (and the Web) Saved Me

I've wanted to write a book for a long time. My desire to write a book (i.e., get a book deal) has only been ramped up by the fact that my Social Media life has really taken a positive upswing (my greatest pride is connecting converts to one another and to helping converts find a positive space to thrive). I have no idea where to begin, and I don't even know if I have the time to do such a thing. I already figure that a second book would be in order after we make aliyah (okay, a girl can dream, right? Tuvia, you reading this?).

The other day, on a bus ride home from the city where I got to hang out briefly with the illustrious @EstherK, it came to me. A book title and a rough abstract (at least for half of it). So, I give to you, daringly, something I wrote on a NJ Transit bus a few days back. Let me know what you think. Oh, and if you know a book person, hook a Jewess up.

“Judaism (and the Internet) Saved My Life: How My Soul Found and Socialized Me.”

No pull is greater than the pull of belonging. Having some little corner in a greater universe to call your own is to be comfortable, at ease, happy. 


When I came to Judaism, I was depressed, alone, and without a place to claim a niche. I was wandering, and emotionally and mentally it was to a most dangerous place. I’d spent my entire childhood attempting to figure out the universe, feeling aged beyond years even as a Tween, and in high school attempting to plan out my own end. The world was too big. It was too much. And I didn’t belong anywhere. I fit into no puzzle, no square hole or round hole or Christmas Tree-shaped hole. I couldn’t take it, and no one was going to stop me from taking it by the horns. I threatened suicide once. Late at night. My world came crashing down at the age of 16. And then, it was like it never happened. My parents forgot, my friends forgot. I didn’t forget. I got better, I told myself. I didn’t need meds, and I didn’t need a doctor. No shrinks for this deep-thoughted teen! So I threw myself into religion, Christianity, the force I’d battled for years, but I needed something. I tried, I made that community my community. At least, I thought I had. But it was a lie. A sham. I admitted to myself and to my friends who I really was, a non-believer, caught in my own mind and my own thoughts, I had my own beliefs. And then, out of nowhere, I was alone. With my thoughts, of course. I had no people, no category, I was statistically the cheese that stands alone. I grew inward, I lost myself. In college, Judaism saved my life. The community, the niche I’d fought so hard to find, to no avail, was present and accounted for. I suddenly belonged, I had people, I had a history, I had a shared dream. I had a home. 


When I came into my own on the internet, I was, once again, without friends, without a sense of community, without a place to call my own, even within myself. I was a hermit living in one of the major hot spots for 20-somethings in the U.S., Washington D.C. I even lived like a hermit, in a basement apartment, three steps down through a dirty old garden, and I was in a hole. Like a Hobbit. I could sleep until four in the afternoon without seeing a sliver of light. My loner habits continued, even after I moved to Chicago and became even more entrenched in my e-life: my blog, my Twitter, Yelp, they were my outlets. The internet saved my life. On more than one occasion. It pulled me out of my hole, after a bad breakup, and it threw me into a social scene of like-minded e-thinkers, and it made me whole again. I had e-stalkers, e-haters, and, most importantly, I had e-friends who became IRL friends who accompanied me on outings for prime pieces of meat at local steakhouses and indulged my love of thin-crust pizza. I was re-socialized. I was loved. I was welcomed. I was part of something, something huge and nebulous and beautiful. I was a part of the New Community. The 2.0 e-club. I made it. I branded myself, I became Chaviva. The Kvetching Editor. 

SXSW 2011: Vote!

CLICK AND VOTE FOR MY PANEL!

Okay folks, I called upon you last year to help vote-in my friend's panel for SXSW Interactive -- a gigantic tech and social media festival held over five days in March in Austin, Texas, leading up to the actual and original SXSW Music festival. This year, I've submitted a panel because I saw how successful and powerful our being at SXSW Interactive was, and I want to develop our ideas more succinctly this year. Thus, I submitted the following and I really really really need you guys to log in to the site and vote for the panel:

Jewish Synergy: Social Media and the New Community

In the 21st century, religion has found its way to the internet via social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, making the ability to discover new avenues of belief, observance, and involvement in entirely new ways. The question is: Why are some more successful than others in embracing and executing this form of digitizing an ages-old religion full of individuals, organizations, associations, events, synagogues, schools and more? How does one convince reluctant groups and individuals to embrace Social Media? And, perhaps most importantly, how can those who hail Social Media develop and grow this new global Jewish community that exists almost exclusively online? This panel will extend efforts made on the Judaism 2.0 panel from 2010, and it will focus on the benefit of Social Media in synergizing the broad Jewish and Israeli communities through the wires and waves of the internet!

So please, please, please vote for this panel. I'm excited to have the opportunity to attend SXSW Interactive again, and I think that this very-focused approach can really help move some mountains for organizations and individuals in the Jewish community. If the panel gets picked, hopefully I can convince some daring souls to head up the panel and really make the conversation lively and awesome. 

If you didn't notice it up top there ... 

CLICK AND VOTE FOR MY PANEL!

Connected in the City

Living near NYC has its perks, big perks. A hub of Social Media life, NYC is bustling with events and meetups and Tweetups and creativity that breaks the boundaries of anything I was involved in in Chicago and definitely Connecticut.

I missed out on the #140conf partizzle that Jeff Pulver put on this past week, only because it rocked out on Tisha B'Av, but I'm blessed tomorrow in the city with the Future of Jewish Nonprofit Summit (an all-day extravaganza of great minds meeting to talk turkey) and in less than two weeks I'll be back in the city for the Jewish Schmooze event at the JCC of Manhattan. I've blogged about FOJNP (event's tomorrow, you can still show up and join us!), but here's the 411 on the Jewish Schmooze event, which I hope y'all will consider coming in for! Check out the event over on MetroImma.com, too!

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Want to tap into the incredible online presence of Jewish-flavored social media networks that can increase the visibility of your brand? Join Metroimma and Prime Time Parenting for a very exclusive social media event.

Jewish Social Media Schmooze is an event for Jewish authors, musicians, film and television producers, and entrepreneurs--all creative individuals that weave their Jewish heritage into their books, CDs, television, and film. Learn how creators engage in conversations and interact with their fans, followers, and inspire individuals via social media platforms (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs) and build long-lasting relationships.

Guest speaker and moderator Jessica Abo, anchor and reporter at NY1 News.
Participants include:
Allen Ganz, Co-Founder, Metroimma.com
Chaviva Eliana Galatz, Writer and blogger,www.kvetchingeditor.com
Rabbi Motti Seligson, Media Relations, Chabad.org
Dave Weinberg, recently named one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Personalities Online” by the Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA)
Itamar Kestenbaum, Moishe's Moving Systems Social Media & Manager
Lisa Grunberger, Author, Yiddish Yoga

Cost: $15
Raffle prizes, goody-bags and refreshments will be serviced

To RSVP, send email to events@metroimma.com.

Please send any questions via email to jewishshmooznetwork@gmail.com.

For advertising opportunities please contact ads@metroimma.com or 262.692.0123.

The Winding Journey to Social Media.

It began when my parents purchased a computer in 1997. We got AOL, and for the first time in my life, I had instant messenger and access to the outside world. The big, bad, e-world of strangers. I remember meeting some kid online (okay, I was a kid too, at the ripe age of 13/14) who lived in Arkansas. We actually "dated" online, which was weird, because we'd never talked on the phone or in real life. Needless to say, it didn't last long, but it was my first true taste of what the World Wide Web had to offer.

I created a MySpace page, started a LiveJournal, and really got the flavor of chat rooms. I joined groups on LiveJournal, made random friends on MySpace, and started to become a pro in the world of early social media platforms. I was hooked, I was addicted. My dad had to put a time limit on my e-time, in fact, which kicked me off the web at 1 a.m. I was that hooked.

When I got to college in 2002, I didn't have a computer of my own. I relied on my roommate's computer to keep my LiveJournal very active, and I instant messaged there as well. Then, in 2003, I purchased my first desktop computer and my first cellphone (I was a little behind the game in the cellular department). My LiveJournaling took off and I met my first "real" online boyfriend (who, yes, I would later meet in real life and move in with while living in Chicago, actually), and I started to meet people In Real Life that I'd met online on MySpace (scary).

I joined Facebook the moment it was available at my university, got GMail when it first came out, and became a quick devotee of all things Google. In April 2006, I decided to venture away from my LiveJournal and start a real blog -- a topical blog, this blog. I stopped going to MySpace so much, and embraced Facebook in a serious way. I joined Yelp in 2007, and I took a real dive into the world of meeting strangers In Real Life that I only knew on the web. In January 2008 I joined Twitter, and I went to my first Yelp function where I met a boatload of strangers who were awesome and not scary at all. From that point on, I realized that Social Media and the e-world was more than meets the eye: it was a networking extravaganza of awesomeness and friendship.

In 2008 my blog really took off with followers, and since then I've managed to loop in tons of new readers, new Twitter followers, Facebook friends, and a degree of Social Media presence that earned me a #5 on the most influential Jewish Twitterers by JTA. I spoke at SXSW Interactive 2010 as an expert on Jewish social media, and I've been tapped to moderate a panel discussion next month in NYC at the Jewish Shmooze event. My blog is my top priority (after Tuvia, of course), and I feel guilty if I don't Tweet dozens of times every day. I try to keep up on Facebook, but it's hard sometimes.

You can find me on Yelp, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Blogger, Daily Photo Booth, Flickr, YouTube, 12Seconds.tv, last.fm, Foursquare, and ... the list just goes on and on (I also have a lot of inactive, defunct spots like Brightkite, that are in my name).

Just Google "kvetchingeditor" and tell me what you find. I've branded myself, and that's a success story in Social Media. People know me by my handle, and because it floats across the web, I'm lucky that it's consistent.

Sometimes, I sit back and wonder whether it's all been worth it -- the amount of time wasted playing games on Facebook while waiting for my Twitter to update on Hootsuite or an email to come in from some connection about some function, and my overall conclusion is Oh oh oh YES!


All I have to think about is the people I've met and how they've enriched my lives. I can't count the number of Twitter and Blogging connections I've met In Real Life who have become my closest and dearest friends. Is it worth spreading my entire life all over the web and sharing my experiences with the most distant of strangers? Without a doubt.

That's what Social Media is about: selling yourself/your brand to complete strangers in the hopes of building lasting connections and creating important, life-changing conversations over a variety of web platforms that highlight user-created content.

Of course, it isn't for everyone. I got started on this all 13 years ago (man I'm old), and sometimes it feels too big even for me. But I wouldn't change my experiences for anything in the world. This is the future, folks. Embrace social media. It's the present and the future. Don't believe me? Watch this awesome video below (hat tip to @bryfy).