On Getting my Life Back....

AHHHHHHHH...... yes, I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's shining brightly. After spending most of my vacation week and two 14 hour work at home days, the ASSessment is done! (At least what I could do at home.) I still have some activities to do with the kids at school this week, then I'll gladly pack the binders up and ready them for UPS pickup.

So, now that the HUGE monkey is off my back, I can focus on moving forward. I've been thinking about which direction I want to go in terms of my whole brand and new media presence and have spoken to someone that I trust about revamping my site(s). That is definitely a priority at this point and will get the ball rolling for other changes coming down the pike.

During an evening of chatting with Chris Penn about a variety of things, the convo turned to the social media circles and I mentioned that there were sooo many things cropping up and that living in this world takes up time. He said something very profound which made me sit up and think:

"Just don't get too caught up in it. We spend a lot of time learning the tools of social media without DOING something with them."

So, that's it... not just spending time playing and meeting people, which is fun and nice, but to use them to work towards our goals. Trouble is, when you're not really sure where it is you want to ultimately end up. For me, my initial foray into the online world and community began as a Patriots Super-Fan but there is so much more out there and so much more that I'm interested in.

• Yes, I'm intending on continuing to use new media to move forward with my Patriots passion, but there's always that fine line that I walk between wanting to take it to the next media level and remaining "The Fan".
  
• I'm a Special Educator, and love what I do. Unlike many in the podcasting community, I don't share their aspirations of "quitting the day job". Of course, this may have to do with the fact that the Pats Passion which fuels my podcast is a past-time and hobby, while I love working with my students and if I HAVE to work, there is nothing else I'd rather do. (Of course, if I didn't have to work, I would be home in a minute, but that's not even a realistic thought.)
• I LOVE podcasting and the community itself. However, having a podcast about the Pats requires ample time in the Patriots community as well. Time that I used to spend hanging with Pats people in the forums and chats, is now shared (and at times replaced) with time hanging with the podcast/new media community folks.
  

• I still plan on starting a non-sports related podcast and it's just a matter of getting a chunk of time to get it up and running.
• Of course, I'm learning about the technology as I go along, as I'm a geek world "new blood". (I've been a book nerd my whole life, but fairly new into the tech world, so every day is a learning experience for me.)
  

So, where am I going? What direction am I taking this? What am I going to DO with it? Steve Garfield has some ideas on this subject as well Thing is... I love many things but they're not necessarily related... Yes, they are all tied together through this new media world but there are just so many hours in each day and we've just one life to live. I guess time will tell....

Btw.... just 37 days of school left so I'm REALLY going to get my life back soon!

Technorati: assessment, Chris+Penn, Steve+Garfield, Autism Podcast, patriots, brand

Blog Tag: 7 Songs that I Love

Just before bed I saw Chris Penn's Twitter post, telling me that I've been Tagged but I had to wait until this afternoon to read up and see what it was all about since I can't access much online at work. So, I need to pick 7 songs that I love (only 7.. that's not easy!) He was tagged by Chris Brogan who was tagged by 7 year old Aidan Hatch.

Since my listening time is usually limited to podcasts and podsafe music, it truly is what I enjoy these days. At work, I always have classical or instrumental music playing in the classroom and put it on when I need to really focus on a challenging task but I literally listen to all podsafe music otherwise. So, my list is made up of podsafe music and public domain compositions. All are Kid-Safe as well :-)

I Know You're There by Matthew Ebel
Canon in D by Pachelbel
Sun Again Will Shine by Slackstring
Without You by Black Lab
Lillian a Portrait in Sound by Jim Fidler
Mother by Kevin Reeves
You Stood by Me by Esther Grondahl

So, rules are that you site the people in your chain, in this case Aidan Hatch, Chris Brogan, Chris Penn and include this post when you tag the next person.

People I tag are: Steve L., Charles Cadenhead, TheDiva & ChelPixie, (I'll save some of you other Twitters for other people to tag :-) )

Technorati: Aiden+Hatch black+lab blog+tag Chris+Brogan Chris+Penn Esther+Grondahl Jim+Fidler kevin+reeves matthew+ebel music Pachelbel Slackstring

Friday Catch-Up and Branding Decisions

It's FRIDAY!!! woooohoooo! Can you tell I'm happy? :-) Most M-F workers usually are and I'm no different. It actually was a very good day at work today... come to think of it, it was a very good week!

I've got a busy weekend ahead with heading out to eat tonight then tomorrow we have tickets for PPAC to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I've got tons of homework to finish and lots of web type stuff to do.

This leads me to the place I'm at right now. I've been thinking alot about which direction to go head in, in terms of the website as far as a redesign and hosting options. I've been contacted by someone who would like to overhaul it, and need to find a new hosting service as I haven't been happy with mine since the summer. There is so much to think about... I KNOW it needs an overhaul and have it on my infamous TO DO list as I've outgrown my initial footprint in the online world, but it's scary to think of someone else doing it... (Don't we mothers usually have trouble letting go of our babies?)

Then, there is the cost factor. If I decide to host with the folks that do the web design it will cost me more than triple what I'm paying now BUT things will be done right. I'm also SOOO at a crossroads in terms of my "personal brand" since I've always been known in Patriot Nation as Mrs. B and most of my online presence has been as a Pats fan. Thus, kcardoza.com was born for all things NOT Patriots football. (Too bad karencardoza.com was already taken although it's just "parked" as of right now.) So, there's so much to think about with all of my things going on. Patriotworld.com for all things Tedy Bruschi and New England Patriots. The podcast show notes site, for links and blog, and this blog for my personal ramblings. I think that CC Chapman has the right idea with a blog in his name as the hub with all of his other things linked from there.. Oh yah... of course, I still plan on starting another non-football podcast which will add yet another dimension... yikes! So, I'm quite overwhelmed with the decisions right now and need to take some time to really think about the big picture.

Added a new blog to my list at right.. Christopher Penn of the Financial Aid Podcast started a personal blog this week as well.

Technorati Tags patriots patriotworld mrsb cc+chapman Christopher+Penn
personal+brand