Spring Break

How do social networking and spring break relate? Well, in my case, thank goodness for Facebook!

My family (Mom, Dad, Sis plus me) is going on a cruise over spring break because my sister is graduating high school. We tried to get my boyfriend on the boat too, but the price to add another person to a room jumped up a TON! Unfortunately, it looked like my boyfriend would stay on land for spring break.

Thanks to a great travel agent in Enid, we got my boyfriend on the ship! Another family going from our neck of the woods had an extra space in a room, so Brandon will be "traveling with their party." The guy he will be "rooming" with is an OSU student.

Thanks to this gentleman's public Facebook profile, I was able to look him up. He is a normal enough looking guy, so spring break looks sunny once again!

Facebook put my mind to ease about my boyfriend rooming with our soon-to-be new friend. I am very grateful to his family for allowing this. I just need to pass on this generosity and keep the circle going. "Don't let the chain of love end with you."

If you are going on a cruise over spring break, maybe it's the same as mine! Hope to see you on the big boat!

Home Sweet Home

I went home this weekend and left urban America in the dust. I embrace rural America living and the quiet excitement that comes with it. I left to head home Friday, making it just in time to see the high school pep rally at the end of the school day. The game was the Eagles vs. the Cardinals "Battle of the Birds" in Oklahoma 8-man football.

I talked my boyfriend and his friend Nick into coming to the game and staying for the weekend, and I'm sure Nick thought he was being taken out into the middle of nowhere to die. Poor guy. He's from DFW.

Well, we lost the game (32-0 I think) and didn't even stay until the end. My boyfriend, Nick and I headed to a nearby town to grab a beer at the local bar. That stop didn't last long because the bar was DEAD!! On to my hometown, with fingers crossed, to see if the pool hall was open. We were in luck, and grabbed a beer and played pool. The juke box wasn't working properly, so Dixieland Delight and Tennessee River were some slow, boring non-famous Alabama song - definitely not bar material! Thank goodness we talked my dad into joining us at the pool hall. He entertained us with stories from his college days. It was cute how he was showing off in front of the boys!

Nick probably thought Saturday would get better. It didn't. After a lazy morning and my sister taking an hour and a half to get ready, my boyfriend, Nick, my sister and I headed to lunch. There was one restaurant open on this particular Saturday (sometimes there's two), so our lunch choice was made for us. Nick didn't enjoy it too much.

On to four wheelers! This was fun, except I was wearing a skirt. We spent a small part of the afternoon at my dad's shed/barn, riding the fourwheeler and playing with Bruiser, our bottle calf (now weaned) and the kitty who doesn't have a name yet.

At this point, I felt sorry for Nick and wanted him to have fun, but I was out of ideas. What else can you do? Too bad it wasn't homecoming! Then there would be a parade. I was tired of entertaining, so I sent Nick and my boyfriend home ...

But first we made a road trip to Kansas! The destination for our 15 minute trip (Yes, I grew up 15 minutes from Kansas) is a restaurant across the border. They have great chicken fried steaks. At least I fed the boys while they visited Deliverance, right??

I enjoy walking on the streets in my hometown, not a moving car in sight. It is peaceful. The stars seem brighter and the air seems cleaner. Rural America is a great place to live. I just hope Nick enjoyed the laid back living where we make our own fun. It isn't for everyone, but it is for me.

Don't let a bad pork producer ruin it for everyone.

I don't know if you've heard about PETA's latest stunt, but they recently released video of abuse on a swine operation in Iowa.

First of all, just because there are a few bad apples in the bunch doesn't mean all of America's pork producers are doing the same thing. I know producers to be rational, responsible caretakers of their animals. Why would a producer want to hurt an animal they need to make a living? Pigs are these people's livelihood. Also, the farm where the abuse occured is a family-owned operation, and has been for 30 years.

PETA began their investigation on this hog operation in June. They JUST released the video about abuse this month. If PETA is trying to protect animals from abuse, why did they wait three-plus months before coming the the "rescue" of the animals? It's because they really don't care about the animals. They are just trying to stir things up and make some more money from memberships.

Please read both sides of the story. Not all pork producers abuse their animals. For example, just because some people do drugs, it doesn't mean everyone does. Just because some people chew tobacco it doesn't mean everyone does. And just because some people are vegan, it doesn't mean everyone wants to become vegan.

I'm all about freedom of speech and having the right to do what you want. However, when groups like PETA spread lies and aren't truly helping any animals, it's not worth it. Don't believe everything you hear.

America's pork producers are going to great lengths to make sure animals are being treated fairly. They have programs for operations like Pork Quality Assurance Plus and Transport Quality Assurance. They also have a new responsible pork initiatve to gain public trust.

If you have more questions, visit the National Pork Board Web site at www.pork.org or ask me and I will try to get you to the right place to find answers. Check out the Pork Checkoff's YouTube videos. Listen to podcasts. Read blogs.

Don't let a few Negative Nancy's ruin your hunger for ham, pork chops, bacon or hot dogs. Read the other side of the story. Please.

How To: Network Socially

Here's a great article I found from ReadWriteWeb titled Five Ways to Use Social Media to Reach People Who Don't Use Social Media. It's a good read if you have time.

I found it through Twitter.

Mike Sansone is the person who introduced me to social networking and I only wish I was a better student for him. It's my understanding that he implements social networking into education. Check out his blog, find him on Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Myspace, etc. He's everywhere.

Just an FYI: I watched the Cowboys/Eagles game last night and was glued to the TV. I hope you all saw it! Are you a Dallas Cowboys fan on Facebook? If you are, you can play the trivia. It's really fun, even if you don't know the answers. At least now I can insert comments into my boyfriend's long lectures on how great the Cowboys are.

Just google it.

Q: What's the capital of Oregon?
How many inches are in a mile?
Is Duke part of the ACC?
Is Buffalo Wild Wings open until 2 in the morning?

A: Just google it!

I love the English language. I love how Google, a popular search engine, can be changed from a noun to a verb. I love "googling" obscure facts and whipping out my new Blackberry to quickly put out the fires of a fierce living room debate over the population of Tulsa vs. Oklahoma City.

These are all great things to google, but have you ever googled yourself? You might want to make sure your presence on the web is clean, powerful and positive. Of course, if your name is John Smith, that might be a little hard to control. My name is a little more unique than that, so I can find articles I've written, awards I've won, my contact information and even a couple photos of myself.

I googled myself today, and it was neat to go back and read old articles I've written and compare myself to the other Emily Kilian's of the world. One Emily Kilian is in a symphony. Another graduated from kindergarten last year.

Employers often google you or try to find you on a social network like Facebook or MySpace. Sometimes Facebook/MySpace profiles even come up in a Google search. My little sister created a profile on WAYN (Where Are You Now) in 2005. It still pops up when you google her name, and she hasn't even logged into her WAYN account for three years.

Again, I can't stress the importance of creating a positive image of yourself, even on the web. Having clean fingernails and good shoes may not be enough if Google finds something unsatisfying about you. It's a whole new world, Preppie. Get used to it.

Oklahoma Weather

You wouldn't believe the weather here in Oklahoma right now! It's been raining so much! Last night when we left Eskimo Joe's, we had to wade through ankle-deep water to jump in a car. The water was rushing through the streets here in Stillwater. They are only predicting more rain to come.

Because of this, kickoff for the OSU game vs. Missouri State on Saturday, Sept. 13 has been moved from 6:05 to 12:05. They are concerned Hurricane Ike will drop almost nine inches of water in this area. I hope we can get through the game without getting wet!

Seeing how OSU is getting word out on the change in kickoff has been interesting. They sent e-mails to all students, faculty and staff. It was announced on ESPN's Sportscenter. But, the announcement also spread like wildfire through Facebook. This is where social networking comes into play. I received a few group invitations about the time change, as well as a couple mass messages. Three years ago, when I was a freshman, I doubt Facebook would've been used to spread news like that. Times are changing, and we better stay up-to-date!

I heard someone say e-mail is quickly becoming an uncool thing of the past. Spreading news through Facebook and other networking sites is the future (and the present!). I encourage you to set up an account on Facebook and find friends in your network. It may even keep you from getting poured on when you try to attend a football game at the wrong time!

A New Beginning

As a communications student at Oklahoma State University, I have been told over and over about social networking and the importance of Web 2.0. Sadly, I have not learned any of this knowledge from a class or a professor. My knowledge has come from real-world experience. At an internship this summer, I learned all about Twitter, RSS Readers, Linked In, podcasting and blogging. This was all great information, but I didn't do anything with it.

Now I have another internship, and I attended a seminar yesterday about social networking. Some of the information I learned was a review from the summer, but I also learned about Second Life. It is interesting to me that businesses talk about the importance of social networking, but it is not mentioned in my classes. I will enter the workforce as a "real adult" in May. Thank goodness my internship experiences have taught me how people are recruiting for the real world!

Remember to keep your social networking tools professional and clean. They represent you and are nearly permanent. Whatever is on your site could be public knowledge. Check privacy settings to maintain who can and cannot view your information.

This semester, I hope to develop my social networking skills and help my friends and family wade through the deep waters of Web 2.0. I'll keep everyone up-to-date on my life, my internships and my new knowledge. After all, aren't we all in college to gain knowledge?