#smwchicago + flower girl blog!

Dear old and new friends,

I'm happy to announce that I'm back on the blogging game after moving back to Chicago from New York City, reading a bunch on creating a better image online and realizing how much I love to blog!



In addition, I had an exceptionally enlightening experience at Social Media Week Chicago two weeks ago (September 23rd - 27th) which further confirmed my decision. I attended as many panels, presentations and parties as I could. I even got to see and speak with my old co-worker, Bill Rancic about our days working for the live TV show In the Loop with iVillage.


One particular presentation, "Save My Blog", conducted by Jimmy Greenfield and Julie DiCaro from the Chicago Now blogging network, got me thinking about revamping my old blog 24 Blogazine as I'm now an engaged woman, slowly and happily leaving my twenties. Jimmy and Julie asked us questions that had us all thinking about whether we really want to blog or just be on Facebook sharing our ideas. They also said the solution to our blogging woes is to find our platform and most importantly, just start blogging and soon enough the inspiration will come.

After sharing my fun-filled week (now viewable via live-stream) with my fiancee, he said something that really woke me up - "you can't be in this biz if you're not going to produce content" - definitely true as social media is all about the conversation and sharing your ideas/viewpoints with other like-minded individuals in the digital space. I've also been doing a ton of reading as my job hunt continues and my yearning to learn more about social media grows. I highly recommend Dave Kerpen's New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Likeable Social Media - a book that dives into how to improve your social media presence so that you can create a brand that people will love by knowing the right ways to market yourself and utilize analytics. These articles have also been helpful in understanding social media - trust me, there's not enough reading you can do on the subject.



Twitter Founder Ev Williams says the real trick [to online success] is to find something that's tried and true - and do it better. He also notes that, "we often think that the internet enables you to do new things,... but people just want to do the same things they've always done." Via Wired

If you're like me, visuals help to understand difficult concepts, so this article really clicked for me as it included an info-graphic, How to Generate Leads, complete guide, from branding through analytics by  Founder Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media who hosts monthly Wine & Web - one of the best Chicago networking and informational presentations on social media.

And just an FYI, while we're in the digital space it's important for us to learn how to tweet. Remember this: Don't do social, be SOCIAL- sincere, open, collaborative, interested, authentic and likeable. More here.

As you can see, I'm super excited to be back, and I'm hoping that my new found knowledge and previous passions will help you guys in some way. I'll be sharing my style + beauty ideas (inspired by my old blog 24 Blogazine), my love for photos and film, new discoveries around Chi-town and the online space, fun and healthy cooking tips, home design posts, leaving my twenties and more! Come on this journey with me and discover life's amazing potential in all of you.

xx your flower girl,
V

Ps. Keep up with all my future posts by following me blog with Bloglovin