It was an honor to be interviewed by Custom Filterz for their blog. You can read the interview by clicking here. It was fun to talk about my current favorite social media platform and how it applies to my business and personal life.
Because I talk about it, but it wasn’t included in the post, I give you a sample of my daily coffee snap that I’ve become known for.
I’d love for you to join the fun and follow me on snapchat!
While I was in Texas this past week, I got a chance to have coffee at RE:defined Coffee House. It was extra special since I planned to meet a friend from snapchat.
I walked in and immediately liked the vibe. There were comfy couches and chairs to sit in and cool things to look at on the wall.
Looking up was fun, too, as it was still decorated for the Christmas holiday and it was pretty.
I had a cup of brewed coffee. I meant to go back and ask again what kind it was. It was their coffee of the day and all I can remember is that it was a medium roast from Central America. It was good with citrus and chocolate notes.
They had a goodie case but I didn’t partake. I probably should have because I drank more coffee that day than I have in a long time!
The best part is that I met my friend, Amanda (ARay), from Snapchat.
We sat and talked like we had known each other forever. The best part of social media, in my opinion, is meeting IRL.
I will definitely stop by RE:defined Coffee House again when I’m in Grapevine!
I’ve written before about my reason for being on social media. It’s to be able to have coffee with a friend anywhere in the world. I’ve had coffee with one of my snapchat friends, nessamakes, who happens to live just a mile away from me. But we were heading to Jacksonville, FL for the Mrs.International Pageant and I was excited to see that one of my other snap friends, Dapromoqueen, lives there. I made arrangements to get together with her.
We met at a cute coffee shop called Urban Grind Coffee Shop. It was an easy walk from the Omni Hotel where we were staying and was on Laura Street. Now, I don’t like when someone calls me Laura (even though it’s my given name) but I had to have a photo with the cool Laura Street sign.
When Dapromoqueen aka Tory, arrived, we had to snap about our meeting, of course. We had a fun time visting. She’s so nice and genuine and I love that we felt like friends right away.
When we got ready to head back to the hotel we took a photo together. I’m really tall AND I had tall wedge shoes on. Tory was prepared for work and had flats on so I was WAY taller than she was. It was pretty funny!
THIS, my friends, is what social media is about in the real world. At least for me. I know I have a friend to share coffee with anywhere I go. I’m so glad I got to meet Tory. I hope I’ll get to meet you when I am in your town!
Yesterday, as I was riding my bike, I was thinking about just how awesome social media has been in my life. I love nothing better than to engage with new friends all over the world. And, really, isn’t engaging with people the very definition of social?
I used to love twitter so much. I still do but the truth is, it’s just not as much fun as it once was. The people I was friends with in the beginning have moved off of twitter and over to facebook. Fortunately, I connected with them there so I haven’t really lost anyone that I cared about but I’m sad that I don’t have the extensive conversations I used to have on twitter. I still work it really hard but that’s just it: it’s harder now than it used to be to have a conversation on twitter. At my gym in California, I was talking to one of the guys and he said, “Oh, twitter is just a broadcasting platform”. Umm, no it’s not. Is that what people think now? Is that why it’s changed so much?
I have twitter followers from around the world. 53 different countries! I love that but talk to me, please!
Over the past year or so I’ve fallen madly and passionately in love with snapchat. By it’s very design, it’s an engagement platform and I’m rather blown away by all of the incredible people I’ve connected with there.
As the reigning Mrs. Southwest International, I have my community service platform to promote and I’ve done it well on snapchat. I’ve had conversations with people all over the world and I’m set to make appearances as Mrs. International in five foreign countries should I win the international crown.
I’m absolutely amazed to have connected with people who realize that keeping kids safe from concussions is a message that needs to be spread far and wide and I, personally, will not rest until I’ve told everyone. Just this morning, I connected with another of my followers who is, himself, a former hockey player and a TBI (traumatic brain injury) survivor. I learned that his mom has been helping TBI survivors for 26 years through a foundation she started. That’s good stuff she is doing.
The reason I connected with him is because, in his snap story today, he asked what the meaning for Snapchat ROI is to you. To me, currently, it’s the connections I’ve been making for my platform. But it will no doubt change over time as my life changes.
This is the sort of thing you miss if you aren’t social on social media, though. You will never make the incredible connections that could change your life. I love people and I love social media. I will keep engaging my little heart out on all platforms because, truly, social media is a dream vehicle that can take you anywhere you want to go!
Snapchat is such a great platform to me. Although it’s my smallest network, it’s definitely my most engaged network. Yesterday, I had a lengthy discussion with a woman in The Netherlands about concussion and CTE. This morning, I had a new follower who coaches football for first and second graders in Texas. I talked to him about CTE and Flag Until 14. I even had one person who follows me be so interested that I was working against CTE that he googled me and found out I was a powerlifter as he is! So, anyway, I love snapchat. smile emoticon
I love Snapchat. It’s so much fun. Ever since I learned about the stories, thought about how I could use them in mine and my clients’ businesses, and connected with some really cool and creative people, Snapchat has almost caught up to twitter as my favorite social network.
I received a shout out the other day from another snapper and got a bunch of new followers. That’s fun. Getting to know knew people on any social platform helps me to achieve my personal goal of being able to have coffee with a friend anywhere in the world.
I have my settings set to where anyone can send me a private snap. Normally, that’s not a problem. Until it is. Until is’a penis lying in my inbox.
I get a lot of kids, under 18, trying to flirt with me, telling me I’m beautiful. That’s kinda funny and I tell them to think of me as beautiful like their mom or their grandma. But the penises…
So this morning, instead of the fully exposed penis of yesterday, I got this message:
At least he asked, right?
So then I start thinking. Maybe I’m over thinking this but I’d rather overthink it and be protected than to under think it and be in jail. Coming to my big question:
If I open an unsolicted photo of a child’s penis, can I be considered a pedophile?”
It’s pretty easy to guess that some of these kids are under 18. I don’t want to see any penises but the age of the sender and my opening of the snap without knowing what it contains makes me wonder.
So younger, hipper lawyers than the one in my family who doesn’t know social media, what is the answer to this? Should I be doing a better job of protecting myself from unsolicited porn? Where in the legal realm exactly does this fall?
I’ll be waiting patiently for your answers with my “Who can send me snaps” moved to “my friends”.
Earlier this week, I received a message via Linkedin from a recruiter. All in caps:
LAURI,
VERY INTERESTED IN TALKING WITH YOU.
CALL ME AT 918.XXX.XXXX PLEASE.
Okay, so it seemed urgent and I called her back. She had no idea who I was. I read the message she sent me back to her and then she wondered if I was looking for work. I told her I could be if the right opportunity came up. She wanted to meet with me immediately but I told her we were heading to Dallas. She wanted to know when we’d be back and I told her Thursday night. Could I meet then? No, we have a prior engagement and Friday I spend with the glambaby. So we arranged to meet at 10:00 a.m. this morning.
I got ready, did my hair (which takes a considerable amount of time), put on make up, got dressed in something more than the shorts I’d otherwise be wearing today and went to meet her at Starbucks, a place she chose.
I waited and waited and waited some more. David told me that after 15 minutes, I could leave, that it was long enough and I did. I gave her 20 minutes since I arrived 5 minutes early.
So I wonder. Why on earth did she waste my time like that after she was in such a hurry to meet with me?
I will no longer consider doing business with her. I’m not working for a reason. It’s so funny because she told me that they package candidates so they can get the best opportunity. “Because you just don’t know what companies are doing these days.” Um, yes I do and it looks like you have just done it to me!
I started being concerned, even before I left this a.m., that what she wanted to offer me was a multi level marketing situation. There are a lot of jobs I would entertain but two I absolutely will not is anything in multi level marketing or insurance sales.
I was prepared to turn her down if that were her plan. I do think I’d like a job but I’ve turned down everything that’s been offered to me in the past couple of years because I want what I want and not something else. I don’t need to work, I want to.
Here’s something I know. I am going to be a good “get” for the company I let hire me. I am well 
Before I throw my considerable influence behind an employer, I’m going to make sure that the employer is worthy of it.
I’m annoyed that this woman wasted my time on the Memorial Day weekend but it’s just given me a heads up that I really need to get more info before I take my Saturday morning and waste it on something I wouldn’t want to do anyway.
Respect goes two ways. I promise not to waste your time but please don’t waste mine.
I was super excited to be selected as one of the brand ambassadors to receive and review Spin Sucks before it was released.
I’ve long been a fan of Gini Dietrich and consider her a mentor and a friend. She is a smart cookie!
The book is great. I learned things I didn’t know and I implemented them while I was reading. I’ve only ever done this with one other book.
Gini is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a digital marketing and communication firm in Chicago. In this book, she tells you how important it is to recognize how public relations and reputation management has changed in the digital age and gives you great suggestions of how to make this work for your company.
I loved the actual real life stories of companies who have done it right as well as the ones who have done it wrong. There is much to be learned from both!
If you have a business today, I strongly suggest you read this book so that you know how digital media can impact your company and how you can use it for growth and success.
I was reading Gini Dietrich’s new book and in it she says that even if you give someone your recipe, they will never be able to make it like you do. She was using a cooking analogy for why it’s okay to let people know how you do your business but it’s really true.
I am known all over the world for My Cookies (a.k.a. Lauri’s Cookies). I give the recipe out freely and it’s a really precise recipe. And, yet, I still get people asking if I left something out or changed it so no one could make them like I do. The answer to that is no. Because you will never be able to make them like I do so I don’t have to. 🙂
Back when we lived in Clearwater, the Tampa Tribune interviewed me. I gave them the recipe for my cookies and for my Kahlua Fudge Poundcake (which is extremely photogenic, by the way). Being a Rottmayer in the day of phone books, it was hard to hide and when my cookie recipe didn’t turn out, my phone rang off the hook with people wanting to know why. I give pretty detailed instructions so I couldn’t give them an answer. I could only ask, “Did you follow the recipe exactly?”
In the facebook group for Gini’s book, I left this info about the cookies to confirm what Gini had written. This had Gini and others ask for the recipe. A quick search of my blog showed that I have NEVER put this recipe here. I couldn’t believe it. So here it is.
The #SMTulsa Conference is coming up in less than a month now and I hope you’re making plans to attend.
This will be my first time at the conference and I’m honored to also be speaking on Thursday a.m. about the importance of having a social CV.
I’m super de duper excited my session is one of the first so we can get all that out of the way and I can hang out in the other fabu sessions being offered!
I’m really looking forward to seeing my friend Becky McCray, who will be the keynote speaker, and meeting other twitter friends that are also on the speakers roster.
The conference is March 20-21 at the Aloft Hotel in Downtown Tulsa. Click here to get all the info you need to register for the conference.
See you there!