June 8, 2010 by Tegan.

Most people, besides Chuck Norris, face adversity at some point in their lives. I have been thinking a lot about this in recent months. Along with not writing lately, I figured I would jot down a few thoughts. This post is not a spectacular take on something in the marketing world, but I hope you can relate. I started this blog with an open mind and find that posts come at me during the strangest moments!

Adversity may come in the form of a weight loss challenge, unemployment, or a difficult task at work. Whatever it may be, how you overcome adversity matters more than any form it can take on. I strongly believe that you are given tests to see what you can handle.Everything happens for a reason. God doesn’t give you anything you can’t overcome.

In the workplace, stay true to yourself and work hard. Overcome adversity through confidence in your abilities and believe in yourself.

If you’re struggling outside of the office, surround yourself with the people who love and support you. For me, it is the people in and out of the office that help me keep truckin’.

(Me with 2 of my best friends)

Above all, find strength within yourself. When things get tough, don’t give up on yourself. Stay strong and fight. Be your best self and show others your best self. This is more important than ever in times like these.
Hurricanes Oil Spills Corruption.

I hope you find this inspiring in your time of need. Unless you’re Chuck Norris of course. He doesn’t take advice. He just gives it.

Get at me! @teganzimmerman

Posted in Career, Life, Uncategorized | 8 Comments »

March 10, 2010 by Tegan.

I recently had the pleasure of attending Think Tank Live (see previous post) and I learned a lot from the experience. One of the things that stuck with me is the concept of social network ownership and connecting with others online.

It can be a little abstract. Allow me to explain.

As we all know, social media and conversations about the importance of establishing an online presence have exploded over the last decade.  We set up Twitter pages and link to our pretty, new blogs in hopes to brand ourselves and our businesses online. Almost everyone has his or her own Facebook or Twitter handle.

The keyword here is own.

We consider our Twitter and Facebook handles “ours” when in reality they don’t necessarily belong to us at all. Yes, they may be in our name and we may claim ownership of them as they represent a part of ourselves online, but take a step back.

We do not own these spaces. We are simply renting them and personalizing our allotted share of their network.

Our pages and handles are property of the social network we sign up for and can be pulled out from underneath us like a rug at any time.

Taking this into consideration, what would you do if your Twitter account just stopped working?

You couldn’t log on and your account was somehow suspended. Twitter support wasn’t much help and the only solution to your problem is to start over and sign up for new account.

What would you be left with? What about all of those 1,000+ followers? Would they even notice that you had left the Twitterverse?

We strive to create meaningful connections online but how many of us actually go beyond a basic online connection? I encourage you to take your online connections offline (tweetups, networking events).

Not only offline, create deeper connections online as well (LinkedIn, email conversation, guest blogging). Shout out- I recently had the joy of creating a deeper online connection with Philip Nowak and Bryan Brown. You guys rock.

As someone who was forced to ask myself these questions (my Twitter has been acting up), I’m striving to deepen my connections online and take a few offline by attending more tweet ups and networking events in the future.  

Social media insurance, enhance your online connections.

What will you do to insure your online relationships?

 (Speaking of, connect with me further on LinkedIn and Twitter!)

Posted in Career, Public Relations, Life | 4 Comments »

February 26, 2010 by Tegan.

The clock strikes 7:50 AM and I’m caught in a stream of people rushing down Madison Street. Brief cases, expensive handbags and people of all shapes and sizes rub elbows with one goal in mind, get to work.

I walk to my office every Monday through Friday from Olgilvie Transportation Center and I can’t help but observe this crazy scene of human behavior. (The pre-Starbucks behavior is even more interesting!)

I see lots of glazed over eyes, Blackberries, iPhones, iPods, and dirty looks. Some things I don’t see a lot of include smiles, manners and human interaction.

No one really smiles at each other while waiting on the corner. Not many will strike up a conversation and don’t mind hitting the occasional commuter with their briefcase. (Man that I always see walking near the Walgreens. Your briefcase has rammed me in the knee multiple times. It hurts. I know you know. Say excuse me!).

My roommate, Rebecca, calls her brother a robot. He gets up and goes to work everyday, comes home to read the paper and then goes to bed only to wake up and repeat that schedule.  I immediately thought about the scene on Madison Street every Monday-Friday morning at 7:50 AM.

Are we all just robots programmed to live a life of routine?

We take the same route and hustle to work, put in our time at the office, go home and get up to do the same the next day.

Rebecca asked me if I thought I was a robot. A part of me said yes.

I take the same route to work everyday and although I may not hit people with my handbag, I’m another person in the sea of robots hustling to work on Madison Street. My life after work is semi-interesting. I attend various fitness classes, play with my dog and hangout with my family (I consider myself pretty lucky to have an employer that promotes a healthy work life balance).

I definitely have some “robotic tendencies” in my life but I think I’m doing pretty well compared to some folks I see at 7:50 AM. I’m not too robotic to smile at the fellow commuters shivering next to me on the crosswalk.

What do you think? Are you a robot?

For those that do think they might be robots. I challenge you to do something different in your life. It can be as simple as taking a new route to work, saying hello to the person standing at the crosswalk with you, downloading songs from a new band or taking Pilates.

Personally, this blog is a way for me to break out of my robotic tendencies. Other strategy includes tackling the man near the Walgreens that slams me with his briefcase.

Posted in Career, Life | 3 Comments »