Thankful Thursday

This week's Thankful Thursday is taking a Social turn. I've have been called a Social Butterfly a time or two! :) And today I am Thankful for Social Media!

Let me start with Facebook: When my son was in High School, we were having a conversation about how when you are in High School, your whole world revolves around your friends! You are consumed by what they may or may not think of you, weather or not the right people like you or don't like you, etc. (though this is much more apparent in girls than in boys, or at least that is my experience!) And I was sharing with him that once you graduate, all that "stuff" no longer matters! And that most of those people you probably will never even see again. Then he reminded me that thanks to networking sites like Facebook & Myspace, people can, & are staying much more connected these days. That is so true! Due to Facebook & sites like it, the world today is a much smaller place! I recently met up with many friends I have not seen since High School (& that has now been over 25 years, but don't tell anyone I'm that old!) and it was due to Facebook where we all reconnected. You can read my thoughts about it & my Letter To My High School Self here. It's kind of a strange phenomenon that you can not see or talk to someone for many years & find each other on Facebook & suddenly you can know what that person is doing everyday if you want to! And it's just plain ol' fun! I've reconnected with childhood friends, "kids" that were in our Youth Group in another state, who are now all grown up & have kids of their own! Now that's scary! We used to keep in touch with friends & family members through Christmas cards once a year, but people move & it's easy to lose touch, it's a sad thing. But their Facebook page is always there (unless they delete it) & it's so much easier now to stay connected with all the people you care about & it can help new people you meet to get to know you better & quicker through your status updates & photos! Here's a link to my Facebook page. Friend me, if you dare! :) When we were planning Zach's graduation party, he of course didn't have addresses for all his friends, so we created an Invitation on Facebook & within minutes, over 300 invites were sent out via Social Media! And not having to pay all that postage is something else to be thankful for! Not to mention not having to lick all those envelopes! Yuck!

Next we're onto Twitter. If you are not on Twitter you should be! It is the coolest thing ever! The best way to explain it is that it's kind of like your Facebook status updates. You have 140 characters (& no more!) to answer the question: What are you doing?! You can put quotes, feelings or thoughts out there, they are called Tweets. (Tweet is what you do, Twitter is where you do it!) My kids have competitions to see who can get quoted the most by me on Twitter! :) They know that nothing they say or do is safe with a Mother who Tweets & Blogs! Company's are on Twitter promoting their products & letting their followers know about deals & discounts, etc. I promote my Blog & my store both on Facebook & on Twitter! You can follow Celebrities, Television shows, Professional Athletes, just about anyone! On Facebook you have "Friends", on Twitter you have "Followers." I tweet about books I'm reading & have met some authors who's work I love on Twitter! No kidding! I follow both, people I know & people I don't, I follow some politicians, and my favorite music groups, as well as other Bloggers & other Pastor's Wives or Mom's. I've had my local Mall, a local News Anchor, Book stores & Authors Tweet me. (That means they have either written a Tweet to me or about me) The T.V. shows The View & Bravo's The Real Housewives have Tweeted me! (Yeah, I'm famous!) You can read my Tweets here. And if you're on Twitter, let me know, and I will Follow you too! Try it you'll love it! And you can Tweet quote me on that!


And last, but certainly not least is Blogging. I love to Blog. It's my on line Journal, my Soap Box, my Dear Diary, a Scrapbook, a History Book, a Book Club, a Photo Album, an Outlet, my Therapy and so much more! My kids know that anything they say or do can very well end up being a Blog Post! And they like that. (If they ever didn't, trust me it wouldn't be on the Blog!) I laugh out loud and I cry as I pour my heart into my Blog. I've gotten tips and advice, and have learned how to do many things from reading other Blogs. I've discovered movies, plays, recipes & books I wouldn't have through someone else who Blogged about it. I've met many people I truly consider my friends, who I would have never met any other way, from all around the world, through our Blogs. Yes, in this day & age, Social Media plays a big role in our lives, and I for one am very Thankful for it. And Thank You, my readers, for being part of my Social Network. I am truly grateful.

I saw this quote on Twitter, and had to share it with you:

"Dance like the picture's not being tagged.
Love like you've never been unfriended.
Tweet like no one's following!"