In celebration of Independence day I am doing something rare, although not unique. I am stealing a page from a pair of canons in American Literature, Emerson & Thoreau. I am going back to nature, into the wild, heading up for a long weekend with my family at my parents' remote lakeside home. The path up north has been tread hundreds of times. I have visited this land we call 40 Acres with it's cabins, glacier lake, lopsided dock, well water, and abounding wildlife for as many years as it has acres. An heirloom family laden Paradise. But here's the rub:

I am cutting the tether of technology. Pulling the plug! Well...for a handful of days at least. Four to be exact.

Being untethered this weekend (#techblackout) will mean no computer, no BlackBerry, no television (except I plan to cheat and watch Wimbledon!) no email, and this one pains me the most, no social media, no Twitter.

I'm not a real Transcendentalist. I love social media, society and the hustle-bustle of daily life. My way is a busy, electronic playground. But I have found that things we love can also become our undoing if we let them. So, I am declaring my independance from the ties (techstuffs) that bind me. This social experiment is more about FUNdaMENTALism. Skinny-dipping, that is metaphorically, getting down to the skin your in.

Seems a bit silly to say that I'll miss the constant communication with you all. The tweets, the cool bite sized info that fills the voids in the day, keeps my fingers busy, and in many ways warms my soul. But the techy tether is to be severed nonetheless. For these reasons:

I need to draw true warmth from my loved ones around me.
I want to sit and listen to the birds, feel the rift of waves on the side of the oar flanked boat.
I need to catch a large mouthed bass, with my father at my side.
I cannot hear, see, smell and taste as well when I am talking. (ie; tweeting)
I want to pay 100% attention to my husband who puts up with my social habits as best he can.
I plan to take a nap.
I plan to embrace the chatter of nature over the chatter of social society.
I need to plug back in to nature's outlet and feed my little outdoor girl soul.
I will sip wine, play bocce, shower with bottled water so as not to ruin my bought blondness.
I will be present, in the here and now, aware.
And, of course, I will take pictures.

The people I communicate with in social media have become more than robust personalities, they have become part of my daily life, they have become my friends. And it will be wacky to be totally with out that camaraderie. But, I'll be back Tweeting like it's going outta style on Tuesday.

Hope you all have a safe, wonderful, holiday!

(ps. very difficult to not be there for #followfriday, a day that make me smile all day. I'll catch up with you, though)

Leigh


dos-si-er :
noun a collection of documents about a particular person, event, or subject.

In teaming up with this incredibly inspiring group of youthful minded smarty pants, (a.k.a my Looking Glass Lane collaborators) we all had to create our own dossiers to bring with us to LGL. What ensued was outroaring laughter.
Now on Twitter and Facebook, I am seeing this Dossier movement take flight! It was a little dose of what we aim to illicit from our friends or readers at The Lane...coercion toward fun self-discovery. Let's face it...disclosure can be fun and inspiring. I am amazed at the incredibly souls who've tapped into the Dossier fun: (more arrive every day!)

Steph
April
Christeen
Jenn
John
Nakia
Keith

Here's where it started...
Suzanne "terra firma esoteric"
Morgan "Mega Glama Romantic"
Jen "ballsy hooligan"
Ria "sexy tech"

Enough ado. Here's mine...

Leigh

Looking Glass Powers:
Ability to hop up the average photo with a wave of a magic wand (a.k.a. Photoshop).
Ability to razzle dazzle with wordy words.
Ability to go invisible for a moment when the housework is looking for her.
Ability to conjure the inner child, rockstar, superhero, and spy in others in the Twitterverse.

Dress-up Closet:
Banana Republic, Chuck Taylors, Michael Starr T's, snug jeans. At least one stunningly simple black dress. And necklaces. Lots of pretty necklaces. OPI nail polish, preferably not self-applied.

Disguise:
SuperProductivity Cape. English school teacher armed with Burberry specs, tight skirt, and a ruler.

Go-To Gadget:
Nikon D300, iPod (ruined in washer) and the BlackBerry. All should be waterproof.

Vice:
Speeding and propensity for overindulgence. But never both at once!

Magic Potion:
Elixirs of choice include cold beer almost any flava and Pinot Noir. You won't catch her dead with a girly vodka drink. Followed by H2O in copious amounts.

Battery Recharge Hub (other than Looking Glass Lane, of course)
Augusta National Golf Course, the city of New Orleans or the back of the Harley Davidson.

Bratty Spoilers:
The first tee with a wide green fairway. When that doesn't fix her, feed her pizza and 23 oz of beer.

Owner's Manual:
Where the Wild Things Are
The complete works of William Shakespeare
Tweetdeck
The Joy of Cooking (ROTFL, just seeing if you're paying attention)

Weapon:
A lasso to gain control, her 3-iron with graphite stiff shaft, the unsuspecting somersault.

Nemisis:
Alter Ego
Bacon
Focus
High drama

How she gets to the Lane:
Rapidly and four-wheeling with a top-down Jeep. Perhaps in a bikini depending on weather conditions...

Secret Ambitions:
Spyhood

This is the part where I dare you, double dare you, to create your own personal dossier and share it with us. Here's mine:

How'd the dossier craze come about?
On the heels of our Bad Mother social networking event with author Ayelet Waldman, I've linked arms with four supergirl, lively hooligan bloggers from Twitter @MissIve @RiaSharon @ZenMommy @modernsinglemom to shake things up a bit! We have set a sight in motion called Looking Glass Lane or @LookingGlassLN that is duofold full blown playtime fun and savvy viral marketing. You may have seen us using #LookingGlass in tweets for reference. We feel that just because you're "all growed up" doesn't mean that playtime is over. While we envision a website "house" that you can visit for big kid Adventures in Wonderland, self-discovery, enlightening book clubs, worldly diversions, fashion and style sizzle.

Under construction soon, the site will be part swanky lounge, part bean bag chair intimate chats, part enrapture. We invite you and you inner six-year-old! Make sure you sign our guest book to be kept aware of exciting new developments on Looking Glass Lane. Cool new stuff like a working web site, delicious new capers, exciting marketing partners. Next we engage you, learn about you, and award & embellish you. (YAY!) Our next big adventure is being schemed...right now.

Hugest thanks to Rajesh Pancholi of R27 CreativeLab ( @r27 ) for his fabulous creativity and kindness on this project.

Perhaps it's some strange boomerang mommy karma that gives me the opportunity to read Ayelet Waldman's socially charged and brutally honest book Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace, before it officially hits bookstores this Tuesday, May 5th. This new book grew wings from her highly controversial New York Times essay, Motherlove which met caustic disapproval of the stoic moms hellbent on the idealism of being a perfect mom.

Follow this link to Join us MONDAY, MAY 11th at 12 noon EST:  

Ustream Live Broadcast

For those of you who know me, you've seen my candid, humorous, heartfelt illumination of my being a working mother. It's messy, let me assure you. My two year old just told me to "focus Mommy." In a social networking collaboration, I am linking arms with four other dynamite mothers who share my quest to be a good mother and an acceptance that we'll will never be on the public podium of Perfect Mom. We are a bevy of bold bloggers who want to conjure a conversation with you other mothers and fathers on the subject of parenting. Here's the important mommy topic d'jour.

When reading this passage from this insightful, bittingly funny book about the scrutiny of societal pressure on flawed moms like myself, I heard my voice in Ayelet's:

"I on the other hand, was supposed to be doing this good mother thing, this care-taking thing, this Gymboree and Music together and baby massage thing, but unlike my husband, filling my traditional domestic role didn't make me happy. It didn't feel like I had come into some deeper understanding of what it meant to be a woman and a mother. It just felt like I'd gone astray, that I was stuck in a hole I had dug for myself, a hole I was not supposed to want to escape. And complicating all this was the fact that I loved these children so much. "

Upending the lofty career aspirations of women like me in favor for a diaper-filled, domestic day in stay-at-home motherhood, seems shear madness. When my daughter was born and my (now ex) husband insisted that I opt to stay home, I felt up to the task after the thrill-of-the-kill highs of Sales & Marketing. I approached momness as I do everything, certain that I’d be successful. Little did I know that while I adore my children and earnestly try to be the attentive female pillar my mother was, I would fall short. Daily.

Even as a messy ponytailed youth, I wasn't ever found playing with dolls aping motherhood like my little sister. I was controlling the wind from a rock or unearthing nightcrawlers for an early morning fishing adventure with my brother. Of course, I wanted to have children and to share my life with them. But, the not at the sacrifice of all the other parts of me.

I contemplated the notion of Good Mother. Good Moms were even-tempered, child worshiping, healthy lunch bag carrying beings with a finely tuned calendar full of family planned activities, soccer games, school plays. I found myself like an actress, a Bad Mother in costume, donning the role everyone expected of me. A misfit.

Good mothers simply DO NOT let time slip away from them while working, look down and realize that they have missed picking up their kindergartner at the bus stop and would receive a call from the school transportation department who was holding a beautiful daughter hostage. Wiping away mascara, I faced the disapproving looks of school staff mothers who would have me wear a scarlet letter "M" for gross maternal negligence. They frowned at me.

Reading Ayelet's book made me open raw wounds of how I perceive myself as loving but impostor mother in relation to the really good moms out that abound. It made me commiserate with the author about the juggling that is required of working moms and gave me comfort that I am not alone in self-scrutinizing my maternal role. Bad Mother made me understand myself and forgive myself for my shortcomings. Even, laugh about them.

In an act of solidarity I've joined these the bright, brave bloggers:

Jen Wright, (@MissIve)

Ria Sharon (@riasharon)

Suzanne Tucker (@ZenMommy)

Morgan Siler (@modernsinglemom)

Yours truly (@fleurdeleigh)

Check out Suzanne Tucker's video on

BADMOTHER: How to Stop “Should-ing” on Yourself!@#

We are taking Badmotherhood viral by discussing this powerful book, its impact on us, and we are engaging with you about the honesty of motherhood, or in my case motherhoodlam. I plan to share my inner tug-a-war, selfishness and maternal inadequacies with you. And, here's the fun part you play. In return, please make my day by sharing your voice with us. For all you Twitter folks, join us on Twitter by including the hashtag #badmother in your tweet. Check out the live feed here .

We are going live in a no holds barred discussion the day before the book hits the shelves. The brave author/poster child for Bad Mothering, Ayelet Waldman, is joining us on Monday, May 11 th, Noon EST.

We want you to lend your voice, to pop in here and take part. We welcome an genuinely honest conversation with you. And since you tend to forget things like school lunches, don't worry. Sign up below and we'll remind you that day of our sit in chat with Ayelet. We will even send you a copy of the first chapter of Bad Mother so you can express your thoughts of this great piece of stirring writing.

Step 1: Sign up below to be emailed a free first chapter of Ayelet Waldman's Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace before it is available in print.

Step 2: Have a heart to heart with your inner mother and come discuss it with us on Twitter, in our blog comment sections, on Facebook in our Bad Mother online bookclub. We strive to give every mother, good, bad or otherwise a healthy forum.

Step 3: Plan to join us for the live chat with AYELET as her honest witty self. We will post the live stream here!!!

I rarely (o.k. never) go a day without Twitter impacting me. I tell a tale of the positive, educational, Tour de Force of this social networking land to everyone who will listen. A few people have asked me to help them to understand Twitter simply. So, I will remind you how to enhance your Twitter experience by using what you already know...from your Mom!

1. Hold Hands
Get out and get to know people. Take the initiative to meet new people, high five someone who deserves kudos, lend a hand to a follower in need. I started with people that I admired in the photography industry and branched out from there. Do searches on your interests to find cool folks to follow with common interests and like mindedness.

Awesome Twitter search tool: TwitPwr (link via @AlexKaris)

I typically peruse the person's Twitter homepage to be sure they are positive, engaging, and interesting. Then I "hold hands" and follow. If you need help, send me a Direct Message and I'll advise or watch Follow Friday happen for awesome suggestions of great follows.

2. Play Nice
My mom always said "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Which side of the of magnet are you?" The side that draws others in to stay or the side that repels? Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) first taught me that each day you should take some time to stop listen and reply to others in an engaging manner. Send out a few @replies to tweets that catch your eye. That type of playing nice makes Twitter rock!

3. Share
By all means, share with us your photos, your funny stories, your heartfelt causes, your hilarious links, your creative ideas and your sound opinion. There is no better global show & tell than Twitter. Don't forget to pass on through a retweet (RT) something that you find helpful or moving. Endorse your friends. They like that. It shows them you're listening while caring.

4. Never Arrive Empty Handed
Don't get stymied by having something super important to say. I have tweeted about cheese, Scooby Doo, and calling my cellphone to locate it. But Bring Something to the party. Providing value is the key with a good recipe of self expression, friendship, professional information, and promoting others.

5. Have the Best Intentions.
If you wander Twitter with good intentions, your followers will grow organically and your experience will be enriched. Ask yourself periodically what's important to you Tweet with that honest intention in mind. People who are self-serving and all about self-promotion have no "hidden" agenda. I unfollow that type of Twitter taker. Most of all, have fun with it! Right, Mom?

Leigh
@fleurdeleigh
ps. Even my MOM is on Twitter. You can do it!

The Twitter experience is nothing if not unique. How each of us tweet, how we share and what we draw from the experience creates our own Twitter Thumbprint. Nary a one the same.

When I was asked the other day, “How can I get a bunch of followers in a short time span” I drew silent. (Uncharacteristic, I know.) That is so not Twitter to me! I suddenly realized that the questioner and I were not ideological Twitter bedfellows. Clear to me was the fact that this fellow wanted numbers, big numbers, tons of cool followers for his home page. Ego buffering, perhaps. And as we spoke a bit more, I suspected that my Twitter Thumbprint which has allowed me the organic growth of a couple thousand new followers was not what he wanted out of Twitter.

I can only tell you that I find Twitter both a classroom and a playground bustling with wise teachers and hilarious playmates. The experience that I have had with Twitter these last few months has been remarkably positive. So, I will share with you my thumbprint.

Here’s how I twitter. If it resembles your intentions and goals for Twitterland, you may find it helpful. If you seek the transparent popularity that of the “10K followers in two months” folks deem possible, my thumbprint won’t suit you. And I'll fashion you a glittery "Muy Popular" paper crown.


Throw a line out.
After spending some time viewing others on the Twitter stream one day, I finally casted out my own line. Prior to that moment, my tweets were literally “What are you doing now? answers with little value to anyone but me who already knew the answer to that question in the first place. I had 67 great followers most of whom I knew in person and I followed double that. My lightbulb experience came when I began engaging in dialogue with other tweeple, retweeting what I found interesting, and seeking ways that I could do some of these awesome new followers a kindness. I shared their links, I recommended them to others, I left a sincere comment on their blog. I tweeted about it in a 140 character version of this, my Twitter mantra:

The moment when you stop viewing your followers as a SUM and see them instead as a SOMEONE, then Twitter becomes meaningful.


Be yourself, be sincere, be interested.
To truly benefit from this social networking tool you need to know your intention clearly. I am a friendly, upbeat person forever open to learning from others. So I behaved true to myself. Each time I had a new follower my first step was a visit to their home page to paruse their tweets and follow a website link. It’s easy for me to find a interesting bit about everyone, I like people, so I sent a DM thanking them for the follow with a genuine nugget about why I was glad to be following them. That’s when I started meeting many rockstar “someones.” Unfortunately, to keep greeting followers individually as they arrive has become too time consuming to maintain. Girl's gotta work, eat & sleep too.


Seek out followers with common interests.
Twitter is not one size fits all. Do a self analysis on your interests and plug it into Twitter Search. You'll be shown tweeple who are talking about that very topic. I do this every so often to get akin followers. I explained this to my mother who searched "gardening" "NCAA March Madness" and "cooking" to help her find some interesting new folks to follow. To each their own, follows.


Soak up the beauty of kindness on Twitter.
People who seek only numbers, will get only numbers. I found new true friends, creative inspiration, personal connections, support, caring, business advice and best practices, a large network of people whom I care about everyday and who in turn feed my soul. I have so many great Twitter experiences to share but this is a fine example of the sharing community that makes it so awesome: I uploaded a two hour interview off of my digital voice recorder into my Mac and it erased the files. Panic set in…I did a few somersaults to calm myself down…and then spent the next 45 minutes on hold with the technical help number.

In comes Twitter. I decided while on the phone to ask my Tweeple if anyone had a potential solution. Within a minute, four people @AzureMarcommTX @Kbzon @Mama_Red and @andypohl came to my rescue. I spent the next hour plus the phone with Andy, coincidentally from my town, who walked me through the whole thing. Crisis averted. Friendship solidified! Beer owed :)

Twitter's mark on me is pronounced (hmm. I am wearing a shirt that says "eat. sleep. tweet" for Pete's sake. That is why I wanted to share the ways that I have optimized Twitter for my enjoyment. Seek out your mark. Your Twitter thumbprint is your own.

Leigh
@fleurdeleigh

Scott Stratten
@unmarketing

Perhaps the best way to catch up with Internet wunderkind, President of Un-Marketing is to throw out a 140 character line in Twitter. For Scott Stratten (a.k.a @unmarketing) the self-labeled speaker and Jedi of viral marketing, Twitter is no tangent to be sure. Instead, it is a viral forum where he can help others (like him) build relationships, become a recognized expert in a field, build referrals and get current satisfied customers.

Because I have been afflicted with a penchant for social marketing on Talent Revolution, Facebook and Twitter, I have been able to witness Scott busy in action. You don't have to be online long before the @unmarketing sightings appear. He's everywhere. "On January 1, I vowed to go 30 days on Twitter with everything I got. And that's what I did. I literally, outside of teaching at the College a few times a week, I spent all my spare time on Twitter to build momentum," says Stratten.

What distinguishes Scott Stratten in social media also serves as the crux of the Un-Marketing approach: he is there for YOU, not himself. His amiable presence, his simple but savvy business videos, and his quick sense of humor have earned him nearly 10, 000 (fans) followers and a rock solid business. I can tell you first hand, it's not his song writing, singing ability or his music videos...(trust me on that one.)

Here's a Q & A with Canada's Scott Stratten:


Q: What was the catalyst behind the creation of "Un-Marketing"?

Scott: In the corporate world, I was a Sales Trainer. I kept hearing stories about the only way these people got new clients was to cold call and many them felt physically ill before going to do one. I asked each of them if they liked being cold called at home etc... and every one of them said no. I thought it was madness to try and market/sell to others in ways that you hated. Then after seeing all the costs VS returns on advertising etc.. and realizing that didn't work well either, I knew there had to be a better way. (cue the big drum sound) THE UN-MARKETING WAY!!!!!!!!

My theory (which is here) is that people buy from people they know, they buy from people they trust, and they buy from people that are viewed as experts. So in recruiting for example, since my career started out in HR and I used the services of recruitment firms from time-to-time, I used the firms that I learned from, that held sessions on how to retain good employees, that sponsored seminars with other experts, that gave me knowledge. In turn, that made me think of them as the authority in the field. That contrasts the other firms that would just cold call to tell me how great they were.


Q: For those of us who are new to Internet marketing, do mind explaining "Viral Marketing" and its benefits.

Scott: Viral Marketing is the same thing as word-of-mouth or "buzz" it's just usually attached to the online world. it's when you see something online and say to yourself "I HAVE TO SEND THIS TO ....." and off it goes. It has its own momentum.


Q: You have made 60 online movies that have been viewed over 60 million times. What was your initial reaction to such an overwhelming response, and what do you believe is the primary reason for this success?

Scott: The first movie I ever made was The Time Movie which was for my own motivational speaking business. My reaction when it blew up was to crap my pants. I was so unprepared for success that I literally turned off my computer and just sat there. (the entire story is on video ) However seeing something successful virally is pretty basic, and this is why the Time Movie worked: There are three reasons why something goes viral. 1. Emotional 2. Funny 3. WOW. If you can make someone feel one of those three things, they are gonna pass it around.


Q: You have become a Twitter mentor of sorts to countless followers. Tell us about someone who guided your Social Networking experience and how.

Scott: Well, I've been online since 1994. I don't mean I tried surfing the net for a bit off and on since 1994, I mean I've been ONLINE since then, I don't think I've ever logged off :-) And was doing social networking online before they called it that. I didn't have anyone show me the ropes, I used the same mindset as I did in HR and Marketing: People like to feel special, people appreciate it when you learn from them. My first big focus on Social biz networking online came with Ryze.com a few years ago then on to Facebook and now Twitter.


Q: Your famous tweet "Daily reminder to take 5 minutes to read other tweets and comment/reply/retweet. Nothing about you. Build, interact, give." hit home to me. Tell us your why you repeat it and have you ever received any unique or negative reactions to it? Like "Whaaat nothing about me...?"

Scott: I say it everyday for two reasons: 1. So it reminds people the best way to get is to give. We don't usually have to be reminded to talk about ourselves :-) 2. On Twitter 90% of people aren't online at any one time, and even fewer will see one specific tweet from you. So the more people I can have see it, the better. The only negative/unique responses I've had was one person said I recycle tweets, and that was wrong. So I told him to ask for his money back that he paid for the tweet and the unfollow button was right underneath my pretty picture.
**giggle**


Q: Go back a decade and share with us something you would have done differently. And something you're most glad you did do.

Scott: I would have positioned myself as the front man and made Un-Marketing a much more public brand, instead of being behind the scenes of everything. I know I have the personality and style that works out there (did I mention modesty too?) but just laid backed and worked off of referrals for years. That's not a way to build an empire, it's a way to go bankrupt, and I almost did. Never rely on one source for your business. I would of built multiple funnels that would perpetually bring business to me.


Q: You are extremely gracious when interacting in social media and I wonder if that becomes overwhelming. How to you manage to keep above your mailbox and maintain such an intricate network of followers, friends and clients?

Scott: I have a motto "If you believe relationships build your business, then building them should BE your business." My job is relationships, everything else can be delegated. I don't get email notifications anymore except for direct message. I auto-follow those that follow me, because if I tried to read every profile before adding them, THAT would be overwhelming. I use TweetDeck and it keeps it flowing.


Q: What projects and/goals are in the immediate future for Un-Marketing?

Scott: Have 20,000 followers on Twitter and then throw the biggest Tweet-up bash in Vegas the world has ever seen. After that... who knows :-)

We're in! We appreciate Scott for taking time away from the computer, Blackberry and business to enlighten us here at Talent Revolution. You are an inspiration and a role model and a man clearly living your ultimate career lifestyle.

Special thanks to my TR collaborators Chris Reed & Amanda Hite !

Leigh
@fleurdeleigh