Pretty much the best Valentine’s Day present I ever received.

Welcome back to the 2nd annual Valentine’s Day Swap!

Per usual, I am without a Valentine. But last year’s swap was so much fun that it made me forget all about that minor tidbit.

Below are the guidelines for this year’s swap. Things went beautifully last year, so I only made some minor tweaks, but let me know if you see any red flags. I’ll be sure to send the final guidelines to all participants with their match.

• Fill out this form by January 25th.
• Receive your match and final guidelines by February 1st.
• Buy your Valentine $20 worth of treats and goodies – this can be candy, trinkets, accessories; anything you’d think they’d enjoy. The $20 does not include shipping.
• Mail your goodies (anonymously!) by February 7th to arrive by the big day. I suggest USPS flat rate boxes and be sure to get a tracking number, just in case.
• When you receive your package, hold out until Valentine’s day to open and then Tweet or blog about what you received.
• On Valentine’s Day reveal yourself to your match and enjoy your treats!! (If you don’t figure it out by the end of the day, I’ll be sure to share the matches.)

Please only signup if you intend to follow-through. We don’t want to leave anyone without a Valentine! While I want to make sure everyone has a wonderful Valentine’s Day, I can’t be responsible for any packages that do not arrive. And that’s some shit karma if you signup and then never send send your Valentine some love. Try and live with that guilt!

Hugs and kisses!

I’m employing the Social Media Rule of 3 this morning — If I’ve tried to chat it up with someone three times on Twitter and they haven’t replied, I’m unfollowing.

It may sound harsh, but let me explain.

Obviously, there are exceptions to this totally arbitrary rule. I don’t expect Jay-Z to take my restaurant recommendation and reply with what he ordered as an appetizer and some people Tweet such interesting links that they’re worth enduring the cold shoulder, but if someone is (relatively speaking and totally at my discretion) my peer and they engage with others regularly, then I expect (want? need? maybe there is a deeper issue here) them to acknowledge my attempt at conversation. I make an effort to respond to everyone who Tweets me — it’s not that hard and it’s quite rewarding. I can’t even list the friendships forged just by replying to a random Tweet.

I think of it like this — not responding to a Tweet is like not answering the phone. If someone never picks up when I call, why would I keep calling?

Now, don’t go thinking I’m all Bitter Betty on Twitter. I love Twitter! And I don’t get my panties in a bunch when someone unfollows me. Could it mean they think I’m vain and obnoxious? It could. Did I perhaps offend them in some way? Potentially. But most likely, they just aren’t interested in what I have to say. And that’s okay. There’s a lot of people that I really really like in person and read their blog religiously, but I’m just not that into their Tweets. So we don’t follow each other. No big deal.

There’s other, more concrete, reasons why I unfollow people on Twitter (direct messages, Twitter parties, giveaways…), but this one seems the most personal (and has the most exceptions). Do you have any social media rules of your own?

I’ve been feeling a bit disconnected from the blogging community (I even took a little blogging break recently) for a while now. Over the years, niches (and cliques) have formed and I don’t feel like I really belong anywhere. So when Jessica (and her co-host Ashlee) invited me to join the fall color swap (nail polish and scarves – who could say no?!) I saw it as a way to connect with the people behind the blogs.

Christina was my swap partner and she couldn’t have been sweeter. We exchanged emails and blog comments, and that Julep polish and I now have a date with a manicurist this weekend.

Thanks to Christina, Jessica, and Ashlee! This was good for my accessory wardrobe and my blogging juju.

Well, at least not for the next week or so. Thing have been crazier than crazy and I need a bit of a break. At the end of the day, I just want to crawl into bed with my wiener dog and a good book and relax, so I’m going to indulge myself for a while.

Talk soon!

Pssst...That’s my office! I made the gif while fiddling around with the Cinemagr.am app. It’s so fun!

You’re going, right? You’re going to be there? Good. (I’m a bit of a hermit, so it’s good to know that friends will be there.)

I’m so not digging the blogging conference scene lately, which is what makes BlogathonATX so great. It’s literally a day of blogging. Write posts, ask questions, get technical help, and stuff your face with local snacks. No highfalutin keynote speakers or sore feet from walking the conference floor all day. Just loads of practical blogging advice from a rainbow of personal and professional bloggers.

And snacks. Did I mention the snacks?

I’m going to be doing a little blogging Q&A (and because I’m not above bribing you to come talk blogging with me, I’m bringing treats), so tell me – what do you want to talk about? In your perfect blogging world, what would you raise your hand and ask a room full of bloggers?

And treats. Did I mention I’ll be bringing treats to my Q&A? You should probably come.

So, wear your snakin’ pants, bring your laptop, and let’s do this thing. You can only get this kind of blogging goodness in Austin, so take advantage. The joint will be packed with really fabulous anti-social people, so you better be there. I’ll be the one in the corner with the smudgy glasses and her face smushed in TweetDeck.

 BlogathonATX
Saturday, September 15th from 9 am to 9 pm
Tech Ranch Austin
Register Here!