I had a lot of footage from my Flip UltraHD lying around and it seemed a shame not to use it. The audio track is “Clocks & Timepieces” by the Detroit band Search The City. Some of the video is from Jolie O’Dell’s visit to Toledo, the Mashable #Hyatt4Good Tweetup Tour stop in Chicago, #Tattooleetup, and the July #Toleetup. And yes, the title and logo are a play on My So-Called Life. Who’s old enough to remember that show? Read the rest of this entry »

As many of you already know, my employer terminated my employment last Thursday. Since I was apparently officially employed until the end of the business week, I’m considering today “Day One” of my bout with unemployment. But make no mistake, I am not a statistic. I am not a victim. I’m a husband, a father, and a social media evangelist. A piece of paper from a former employer can’t change any of those things.

I’m getting ready to drop my son off at preschool, then head down to Bowling Green to Job & Family Services. With any luck, I’ll be able to secure unemployment benefits sometime in the next month or so. I’m not broke yet, but the money will run out in the next couple months. If unemployment kicks in, I can stretch that time out a bit and attempt to parlay this time off into a career in social media.

On the advice of my good friend and mentor Damian Rintelmann, I’m taking the next few weeks to continue networking. It’s my sincere hope that if people get to know me, they’ll see that I can bring something fresh to the table. Tomorrow, I’m leaving for Chicago for two days. In the evening, I’ll be attending Sarah Evans‘ launch party for Sevans Strategy. At that party, I’ll finally get to meet Brett Petersel. Brett has shared advice and connected me with  people on a number of occasions. It’ll be nice to finally have the chance to thank him in person. On Wednesday morning, I have the privilege of meeting with Leah Jones of Natiiv Arts & Media.

I have a busy week ahead of me. You’re welcome to come along for the ride. I’m going to try to document this metamorphosis as best as I can. I’ll be posting videos to Qik, tweeting updates to Twitter, and blogging here fairly often. This is about to get interesting…

Update: How… in the hell… did I forget to thank Ezra Butler?!? The man has been my most vocal supporter and a great friend throughout this whole thing. Sorry, Ez. It will not happen again.

I’ve chosen Gene’s Cowboy Hat for the first subject of my unofficial Spotlight On… series. The Gene in question is, of course, Gene Powell at Spoke. These features can usually be found on our TOLeeps blog, but I felt that this was more personal and that it was appropriate to share this story of heartbreak and betrayal here instead. As many of you know, Gene Powell is a social media catalyst in the Toledo community. Most of Gene’s friends, colleagues, clients, and acquaintances would agree that he’s a personable, energetic, dynamic individual. He improves the lives of everyone he touches. Everyone… except one. And that’s where our story begins. Read the rest of this entry »