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!

Israel Adventures: Take One

Kotel tunnels ... yummy. 

Greetings from Eretz Yisrael, which, by the way, is known as Medinat Yisrael when you're in the country (Eretz = land and Medinat = state, and thus it makes sense).

I have a million things to blog about, which I'll aggregate for you here (and hopefully expand on -- when necessary -- when I return in a week). Among these things are:

• The lack of self-awareness of a certain couple of super frum guys in front of us on the plane. I think there should be a rule about getting up from your seat for extended periods of time to daven and putting your SEATBACK in the upright position. You leave for an hour. I should get a break, right? 
• There was some big macher rebbe on the plane. No clue who he was or what his chassidus was, but he was really important. Really. First-class and first-on-the-plane important.
• My Hebrew sucks. My accent sucks. I'm angry at myself. I'll expand later. 
• I don't care who you are, or where you come from, or where you're going, or what you're doing ... bringing a box cutter in your backpack through security to the Kotel is ... sigh ... the most idiotic thing. EVER. 
• There was this kid that chased us down in the cardo (the market/shuk in the old Jewish quarter in Jerusalem) because he was haggling with us obnoxiously and we turned him down. I gave in, in the end, but for my price. I regret this. 
• We had the same tour guide for the Kotel Tunnels and the Hurva Synagogue. He was awesome. You want a charismatic leader? I've got one for you. Oh, and the sites were amazing, too.
• Why is it that when you ride a plane with some people or go on a tour with some people, you end up seeing them EVERYWHERE the entire time you're on vacation? Is Israel really that small? 

And, for now, lastly, Tuvia and I just returned home from the #BStweetup. For those of you not completely immersed in the Twitterverse (aka www.twitter.com), this was an event for Twitterers who follow one another and like to get together and geek out and actually meet one another in real life (IRL). I've met some of my best friends this way, so it was the perfect way to meet my Israeli mishpacha (family) during our stay. It was really nice to sit down to a huge meal in Bet Shemesh (hence the BS in #BSTweetup) with a bunch of Americans who've made their way to Israel for one reason or another. If anything, it's made the desire to move to Israel stronger. Knowing we have friends and a mishpacha here? It's a confidence booster. So, I give you, the Israeli Twitter Mishpacha: A Sampling. 

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).

A Meeting of the Minds!

Here's a teaser of our wedding photos, which now are up on Facebook. Unfortunately, you can only see them if you're one of my Facebook friends (sigh), so if you have problems viewing them, just let me know, and I'll hook you up!

Yes, folks, here you see the Twitter fame known as @mrs_Gruven @sebelsky @ravtex @susqhb @gruven_reuven @hsabomilner (and her KoD) @kvetchingeditor @schnit @elianahsharon @chicagoleah @alizahausman @ha_safran and @kosheracademic. I guarantee this photo will make it to the wall of my living room in 8 by 10 fashion :)

The Who's Who of the Jew Crew!

A thought ...

EDIT: If y'all can start this TODAY, that'd be AWESOME. I'd love to have some Tweets up and a few live ones coming in tomorrow. THANK YOU!

I have my Wexner finalist interview tomorrow (that will decide my fate as a future Wexner Fellowship Scholar for the next three years or so) in NYC. I've got a weird and interesting idea.

I was thinking about creating a specific hashtag (like #ChaviWex) and having my computer set up during the 30-minute interview (which starts at 11:45 EST) on one of those websites to auto refresh.

I'd ask my followers to write Tweets saying "hi!" to the interviewers and saying something AWESOME about me as a future Jewish Educator and how I show this on Twitter and my Blog. OR: Tweet something you've learned FROM me. Something maybe that I said that sparked you to go out and look for more information on something.

What do you think? Would you participate?

Live Bloggin SXSW: Part II, Oh to be Kosher

My mind officially has been blown out of the water. I never expected as much as I got here. I've spent the bulk of my time at the Interactive Trade Show, scoping booths by Google, Bing, and a ton of little startups whose names I subsequently have forgotten. I've got the stickers, however, so don't worry, I'll list them all and issue them their due credit in no time. But I am exhausted, running on a free cup of beer from Paypal for my recent woes with their purchasing system and third-party accessors, as well as an overpriced Starbucks latte that, interestingly, was totally worth it because it tasted about 30 times better than the kind I get in the store. Could the reason be that, well, I'm running on about 1.5 hours of sleep?

I've drained my phone twice today, checking in on Foursquare, taking photos and Twittering them, and trying to figure out where @Mottel is. So now, I'm hanging out in the "Chevy" Recharge Station where there are boatloads of little docks on tiny tables and around coffee tables and couches for people to sit, chill, drink free Sobe (not kosher) and hang. There is a crapton of free food here, and the bummer is that I can't eat any of it. MY hopes got up when I walked in and BAM, instantly there were free health food bars of some kind that happened to be OU-D; more on those later. And then? Everywhere cake and chips and salsa and candy and cookies and ... everything. Lots of beer. The amount of beer these people are drinking is insane! Oh, and hot dogs. And I've been craving hot dogs. What a wretched situation to be in!

I think next year I should push for some KOSHER vendors. I mean, how many Jews are here? Observant Jews? Probably not so many. I wonder if SXSW Interactive does any kind of demographic study. If not, they should. Heck, I'll do it for them.

So far, one of the most interesting things I came across was AOL Seed. Now, I hate AOL with every fiber of my being, but the Seed thing seems pretty gnarly. They outsource articles to people and average Joes can write for them, they pick the stuff, and ship it off to whatever vendor has requested it (Engaged, among them). So of course, being an editor, I had to ask -- Who does your editing? Bangalore, he said. BANGALORE!? Outsourcing your editing to foreign countries? Really? That's what really gets a copy editor down. Maybe I put the fear of G-d in him and he'll look me up, who knows.

Okay, I'm off to another adventure. The parties begin soon, and it's a million degrees outside. I'm praying it cools down ... this is no climate for a frum girl! Check out my Twitter stream for lots of fun photos, including a giant floaty Google box, half-naked cheerleaders, and MORE!

I'm one of the Top Influential Twitterers!

Slap me silly and call me flattered. Maybe I should say I'm Flittered. That's Flattered+Twittered. Is coining a new Twitter phrase that easy? You join Twitter, you tweet, you are in the Twitterverse, exploring the Twittersphere, and your pals are the Twitterazi or Twits. So let's see if Flittered catches on, and if it does, maybe my celebrity will grow even more!

At any rate, I'm Flittered because the Jewish Telegraph Agency, better known as JTA or in the Twitterverse as @JTANews, has named me one of the Top 50 Most Influential Jewish Twitterers! If that weren't enough, I'm shockingly ranked #5, preceded in excellence by the outstandingly awesome @YLove, of course. I'm blushing, really, I am. In the past few hours, I've had upwards of 40+ new follows. I think it's only good form to follow all the other honorees, so I'll have to get to that post-Shabbos. But right now, I have to say Yasher Koach to my fellow top 50-ers! I can't stop blushing.

@AlizaHausman, @EstherK, @yeahthatskosher, @susqhb, @hebrewzzi, @popjudaica, @diwon, @ModernTribe_Jew, @KosherWineGuy, @weinberg81, @frumsatire, @louismgreen, and @RabbiEE.

Most importantly: I can't wait to tell my rabbi. He'll be kvelling!

NOTE: For those who aren't all up in the Twitterverse, it's a micro-blogging community where your "tweets" are limited to 140 characters. You follow people, they follow you back, and it's a good way to meet new people, to microblog, to network, and more! Everyone from Ice T to Oprah to Ashton Kutcher to Barack Obama is on Twitter. Why aren't you?

People Really DO Care, Though!

This ties perfectly into my Rabbi asking about Twitter. Would it be inappropriate for me to send this to him? (I'm only half-joking, by the way.) Hat tip to the On Chanting blog!

I'm back ... but wait!

Wow. Really? Seriously? Best weekend I've had in a long time. Shabbos in Washington Heights in NYC with Susanne and friends, drinks with various bloggers and internet personalities such as Sara from PopJudaica.com , EstherK , Ezra Butler and Susanne , of course, followed by the meeting of Evan's mother and grandmother (she was elated to feed me gefilte fish) and the conclusion of the weekend eating at a "kosher style" restaurant outside of Hartford? Well, yes, it was pretty darn amazing. But I don't have the energy or time (I have boatloads of homework to do before I sleep) right now, but rest assured you'll hear about my Orthodox shul adventure, eating lunch at Yeshiva University, and clomping around in the rain all weekend.

Until then, though, please go check out the newest edition of Haveil Havalim -- edition #184 "A Barbarian Roars Again" over at A Barbarian Yawp's blog! (And whoa, I got a mention this week, wahoo!) Oh, and just for fun, check out this awesome picture from the weekend -- yes, those are Internet superstars Chavi, Susanne, Esther, Ezra, and Sara! Until I get a free moment ... Shana Tova and may your new year be ever so sweet!

The World Wide Web and Chavi.

I have plenty of responding/writing to do about my Faith post, especially since I received several e-mails on the topic in addition to those in the comments field. Believe me, that will probably come Sunday night after some weekend reflection.

But for now, I wanted to post about my last night.

This whole Web 2.0 thing boggles my mind. Twitter, for example. I signed up for it eons ago, and only a couple months ago did I finally log back in and take the time to realize that it wasn't nearly as difficult as I was making it out to be. In fact, there wasn't much to it, and now I'm pleasantly addicted to it. It's sort of like when I got my BlackBerry and it took me a full two days to really feel like I was in sync with it, and not that I was too old and outside the generational gap for that kind of technology.
So last night I went to my first tech-style meetup: A Tweetup. It was at a bar in downtown Chicago on Clark Street and was instigated by some folks at the Chicago Tribune via Twitter and the Chicago Tribune site. The meetup was actually meant for folks of all e-stripes: Flickr users, bloggers, Twitter users, etc. And boy was the showing impressive. I showed up in time to get myself a fancy paper Chicago Tribune hat (which I proudly display here, of course), not to mention a prized "Spoiler Alert" sign held by a one Stephanie Izard -- Top Chef Chicago winner! It's probably as close as I'll ever get to Stephanie, so I'll take what I can get.

But Stephanie, if you're reading this (which you probably aren't), mazel tov on the win and THANK YOU for holding the "Spoiler Alert" sign. Yes, folks, I'm a huge geek.

After my time with the Twitterers and other folks, I headed up north to Belmont and Sheffield for a meetup hosted by OyChicago.com, a website for Jews "in the Loop." I ended up settling in nicely with a crowd of cool folks, including a super cool Sarah Follmer, who has written a few articles for OyChicago already. It was a pretty stellar time, organized by the awesome folks at OyChicago. I just wish I had eaten dinner so I could have stayed longer. But alas, I wasn't feeling so hot so heading out was only very natural. Did I mention that I was a featured Jew You Should Know on the OyChicago site? Yah. So I'm sort of almost but not really at all famous.

I have to say the Web world has swept me up and has me in its grips. I'm a contributor at HeatEatReview.com and JewsbyChoice.org, not to mention that I have this blog and my weight loss blog as well. Really, the e-world is my oyster and slowly but surely I'm taking it by storm. People recognize me on the street (and someone last night at the Tweetup knew me from an event I'd posted) from my "work" on Yelp.com, as well. I'm busy on Facebook and BrightKite, and my Flickr account is growing since I bought a Pro Account, and some of my photos were even used on a music blog!

It's such a big place, the web is. And I'm glad to be so interwoven into it all. Let's just hope that when I head back to school in a couple months I have the same amount of time to devote to these passions I have for social media and networking.

Pesach and things.

So I find that here at work, I spend a bulk of my time doing one of about four things -- Yelping, Twittering, Google Readering or Blogging. It's not the most productive thing in the world, but it's also why I've claimed Shabbat as my own e-free break from society. I rustle up the web during the week and get a day of rest to recline and detach. So as I spend the bulk of my day prowling, I come across a lot of interesting stuff, I think.

A Simple Jew linked to this entry on Cross-Currents by Jonathan Rosenblum about the Five-Star Pesach. It's just what you might expect, analyzing where the Pesach week is going, especially when you don't have to worry about cleaning since you can just spend the week at a resort, right?

I thought this was an especially interesting link to come across considering this morning an Orthodox friend and I were discussing Pesach. I was lamenting that I've really only had two Pesachs on record, and that accounts for three seders. My first seder was a Hillel seder and it really set the course for what I hoped seders were. It was interactive and full of discourse and delicious food. The second seder was a community seder in Omaha that was equally wonderful and had about 150 or so people, though it didn't feel huge. The last seder I went to was last year and it was the 20s/30s seder at my former Reform shul and it was a Chicago-wide celebration that drew hundreds of people. The seder, though, was not good. They didn't even have Kosher for Pesach soda, which was pretty shocking (though when I thought about it later, a shul that can't provide Kosher wine on Shabbat probably wouldn't provide Kosher soda on Pesach). I was lamenting to my friend that Pesach is only once a year. For new Jews it's hard to get the rhythm and the traditions and everything down when it comes only once a year. Shabbat? Oy. Shabbat is a cakewalk now compared to the once-a-year holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and Pesach.

My friend was telling me how she has gone to the same seders at her in-laws for nearly a dozen years now. I was asking her whether the Orthodox community has community seders, and she didn't know. I'm guessing that the answer is no, except at these Five-Star Seders, that is. But it was definitely food for thought (badaching) and seeing that piece by Rosenblum seemed to fit in well.

I get really anxious around this time of year. I'm trying to plan out my Pesach week, making sure I buy everything I need so I don't resort to Matzo pizza for every meal, all week long (though I love, love, love matzo pizza). I've printed recipes, talked to my friend about her recipes, plotted gigantic quantities of kugel and charoset, and attempted to create a plot for recipes. But I'm just so horrible about planning ahead. I sometimes wish there *were* someplace I could disappear to for a week to just have all the chametz-free food there, easy as pie. Though, I will mention said friend did offer to make a little extra of her dishes to send my way, and this, well, is a blessing indeed.

At this time of year, though, I find myself worried that I'm going to mess up. That I will forget a certain quirk about Pesach and will end up noshing something secretly laden with chametz. This is why this year I'm shopping in the Kosher for Passover section of the Jewel. Hekshered items are, well, a little easier on the mind I guess. So far, though, I've only procured one box of matzo and one box of matzo meal and one box of the matzo ball soup mix. I need to get to town.

I read yesterday that Chassidim do not mix their matzo with water -- AT ALL -- on Pesach. They eat it only in its most pure form. Now, I don't know about you, but this seems like a difficult endeavor. I also wonder whether smearing cream cheese on a piece of matzo or something similar is even allowed? Since liquid would meet matzo. And the charoset? It has liquid in it, thus, when it hits matzo it would be forbidden, nu? So much I don't know! And this is the girl without a seder plate to her name, not to mention a matzo cover. Sigh.

On that note I was reading a few of the essays that came in my 60s Essays for 60 Years booklet I got at the debate the other night and was constantly reminded how much I need to learn about Hebrew, Jewish history, religiosity, spirituality, tradition, culture. It's so much, so vast. It just keeps multiplying! With every little bit I learn, there is a little bit more. It's almost frustrating at times, but at others it's such a blessing to have this never-ending possibility of learning.

So I'll continue to plan my Pesach week meals with the knowledge that sticking to a plan will be easier for me in the long run. I'll save some coin, maybe lose some weight, and hopefully after I get the meals figured out I can sit down and really consider what Pesach is and means. Until I get around to that, though, go read what True Ancestor has to say about Pesach over on his blog.