laurenspuhler.com

I’ve been lucky enough to kick off 2009 with a new laptop (and therefore, hopefully more blogging) and a new BlackBerry.

It’s so weird to be able to check Facebook, knoxnews or Twitter from my phone. Prior to this, I had no data plan and used my third version of a 3-year-old phone, after losing and damaging two others in 2008. Needless to say, I’m that person that needs to insure things.

And my previous laptop was going on 6 years old. I’m not hard on computers at all, but after 5 years, it was time.

So what have I learned/enjoyed/hated/endured most with this technical 360 in my life? My hands hurt. Bad! It can’t already be the sign of BlackBerry over-use after one week, can it?

UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit readers!

This past year has been an emotional one for my family.

My Grandmom recently passed away at 93 years old, my brother has survived multiple rounds of lay-offs at Morgan Stanley in New York City and my longtime family dog, Buffy, currently has heart and lung problems.

In previous years, I’ve taken for granted many things, including health, jobs, homes and family. Not so this year.

It means so much that my family (Buffy included) is able to visit my home in Knoxville for Thanksgiving. I hope the same good fortune and holiday blessings to anyone who reads this post.

A few months ago I started following @don_draper on Twitter. As an obsessed fan of AMC’s Mad Men, it was fun to see what Don, his wife, Betty, and co-worker, Peggy, said after each episode. The tweets were always relevant.

I began getting requests from every character on the show, which made me think one person was behind all the accounts. It was sometimes surreal to get the requests because I’d recognize the name, but wouldn’t know how I knew it until I saw the profile pic. Having TV characters and my personal Twitter account collide felt strange at times.

Today, a friend sent me a direct message revealing the identity of Don Draper on Twitter.

The account apparently began as Paul Isakson’s experiment extending a TV character into social media in real way. His plan was to turn the accounts over to AMC as soon as the research was through.

As it turns out, Twitter shut down the account due to violations of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

I was unaware of the DCMA, though obviously something like this exists online.

Eventually, a Web marketing team at AMC fought Twitter’s decision and got the accounts restored, giving a nod to the influece of Twitter.

Don Draper has nearly 4,500 followers, but only 391 tweets at the time I wrote this entry. I’d like to see him get more active. It would really be cool if AMC passed on clues to the show through the accounts, or answered questions from followers. Right now, the things I’ve read have been pretty generic and not adding anything extra.

I figured it was never really Don behind the account, so I’ll be waiting to see how AMC utilizes the accounts after the takeover.

I love Twitter. And though it’s down more often than it’s up lately, I still love it.

Recently, I’ve really been enjoying the connections I’ve made via Twitter to my home in South Jersey/Philly.

My two favs are the Philadelphia Inquirer feed, and another by book author Jen Miller, a Jersey girl who covers the heck out of South Jersey (my old stomping grounds). Both give me a good mix of local news and local goings-on, in Twitter-style brevity.

And both make me envious, yet exceedingly proud of where I come from. It’s amazing how often I need to defend my homestate and town. I’ve lived in five cities since I moved away from Jersey, and Knoxville, Tenn. is where I’m most on the defensive. Oftentimes, I’m talking to people who’ve never even been to New Jersey. Sigh.

While I love my new home in Knoxville and the fabulous things it offers (free, live music, top-notch concerts, fantastic friends/co-workers/family), it’ll never replace New Jersey’s spot in my heart.

Today, I watched one part of a new video-blog, in which Miller travels the South Jersey shore. I loved it, because it makes South Jersey look exciting and beautiful. She also visits The Pier in Atlantic City, the most upscale shopping destination in that part of the state and my favorite new place to visit when I head home.

She’ll be travelling South in upcoming episodes and will eventually reach my hometown of Wildwood. I’m a little nervous to see that one, since I get the vibe she’s not a fan. Wildwood definitely has it’s tacky, tourist-trap parts. But I can’t wait to see if she plays that up, or if she looks at it’s best feature: HUGE, free, clean beaches.

Either way, all I can think about now is my trip down the Jersey shore later this month. Thanks, Twitter!

And the someecard that inspired the cake’s message:

Everyone who knows me, knows I’m addicted to someecards.com. It’s my personal black hole. I go there and have no idea where the times goes. And I’m sure I annoy everyone when I go on my card-sending sprees.

Someecards is nominated in the humor category for a 2008 Webby Award. As I eagerly scrolled to that section to cast my vote, I was shocked to see it was up against I Can Haz Cheezburger.

Obviously, I should have expected as much. But this could create an interesting dynamic in our online department at work.

I Can Haz Cheezburger is my co-worker, Jigsha’s, addiction and I don’t know which will win. The furry cats have a leg-up with the cuteness factor, but I would argue almost everyone can relate to someecards. It has an uncanny way of tapping into exactly how people think and feel, especially when they “care enough to hit send.” I think my boss is on my side, though.

Just last night someone who shares my addiction wrote me:

If you know a better Web site than someecards, let me know, because if I were stuck on a deserted island and could choose only one Web site, right now I’m picking someecards (with the New York Times coming in a close second).

Anyhow, these two sites aren’t without competition. The three other nominees are: