I totes <3 gchat.

Someone at my last company asked me what "less than three" meant. Adorable, right? <3 = less than three to the untrained chatting eye. I learned that emoticon during my love affair with AOL Instant Messenger in High School and College.

I remember signing onto AIM--- hearing that annoying chirping just waiting... waiting for it to sign you on so you could wait for your crush to IM you. Oh yes, I was that girl. Especially in high school. Then college came along and I had my very own computer where I could leave up AIM overnight. If my computer restarted while I was asleep I would almost have a panic attack the next morning--- what if someone IM'd me and it was lost? They're going to think I am rude! I must post the following away message "UGH! If you IM'd me last night PLEASE send me exactly what you said again because my STUPID dorm's electricity booted me off......" Ah, don't you miss passive aggressive away messages?

Enter G-Chat. The next generation's AIM. Gmail- the mail client offered by Google- debuted right around the time I graduated college. I think that's why their Chat feature is so popular for people my age. In a recent chat with DMBosstone he wondered what made Gmail so popular to begin with? The no spam policy? The easy search function? I have no clue. All I know is that 5 out of every 7 recent graduates use Gchat on the job (yes, I made up that stat. But if you have the means to do the research I bet you'll find it's pretty darn close).

While we're not using sad song quotes or hilarious inside jokes as our away messages anymore, Gchat has slowly become my generation's AIM. Yahoo and MSN Messengers never took off among us. But Gchat has given us everything we need and more. So thank you, Google. And thank you Gchat. You've helped Generation Y, the Millenials, transition from our AIM filled days of teenage angst to our twentysomething days of work related hyperlinks and lunch stories.

*Note- I still use AIM every once in a while. But when I sign on my Buddy List is much less populated than in the days of college. No one signs on anymore. But at least ten people are always online when I sign into Gchat.

My CNN Quote

This Saturday evening I was sitting in my parent's living room watching CNN with them. Don Lemon was on, giving commentary about the stimulus package and the economy. He was reading Twitter responses (tweets) on the air and I started to follow him (@donlemoncnn). I talked to my mom about how amazing it was that he was reading these tweets on air and encouraging live talk and dialogue in his report. He then posed this question, "tweeted", on his Twitter Account:

To which I responded:

Apparently this was good enough to get on-air. According to my Twitter friend, @dariasteigman:

But I missed it! I'll be searching for a clip online that I can post or link to. Isn't this really cool though? Our news has evolved so much that reporters can interview people WHILE they're online. Amazing.

This is how you use Twitter correctly. Great job, Don Lemon! I'd think this was great- even if I wasn't quoted! In Peter Shankman's "How to Pitch a Reporter” HARO call last week, the media panel discussed pitching via Twitter. While some of the panelists said this method was good, others said they don’t even know how to use Twitter. I think that’s an accurate representation of our media market right now - all over the place with opinions and preferences on digital vs. traditional methods. What do you think?

Update: I found the clip! Watch it below. I got a "good one" from Mr. Lemon.

This video is property of CNN. I give all credit to the producers and reporter, Don Lemon. Please do not reproduce.

Bum Saturday

I've been in my PJ's all day. This is Day 2 of my wisdom teeth being taken out. My right side feels fantastic. My left side is swollen and sore. I'm sitting next to my Mom who is recovering from getting her thyroid, lymph nodes and some tissue near her vocal cords removed. We're watching Hairspray... I wasn't sure if I'd like this movie but I really do. It's good!

I did some work on my Twitter profile, unfollowing people that I don't converse with and updating my background. Check it out and let me know what you think: http://www.twitter.com/meggiepoo.

Don't take my wisdom

Teens {or in my case, full grown adults} often have their wisdom teeth removed. But there's no evidence this painful procedure prevents future trouble.

That's the conclusion of a careful review of dental studies by a research team {I deleted the specific Doc Names and boring numbers}. The bottom line: If impacted wisdom teeth are not causing trouble, there's no evidence that removing them helps or hurts future health. But there is some evidence that removing teens' impacted wisdom teeth "to reduce or prevent late incisor crowding cannot be justified," the researchers conclude (According to FoxNews).

Either way, I'm getting mine removed tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. But wait, it gets better. I'm 24 years old. I had them removed for the FIRST TIME when I was 19 years old. They removed my bottom teeth and said "oh don't worry, you don't have uppers!" They were wrong. After tomorrow I won't have uppers. Oye.

The World Needs Camp Counselors

The economy is going to explode. The world is ending. The Earth is melting.
Man, I'm tired of all this talk.
Anyone else?

On a better note, a contact at The Fresh Air Fund sent me some information on their Summer Counselor Program. They're now accepting applications. They're looking for college-aged men and women who love to work with children. You can find more information here: http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us/. And if you don't want to be a counselor, they're also looking for good "host homes" to house the campers. Check it out!

The last time I was a camp counselor I loved it. It was the summer before my Junior Year of College. At the time some parts were awful; I thought we could be doing better, safer activities and I couldn't wait to leave. However the kids were just amazing. I think that's why I have the idea in my head that I'll be a great Mother one day even though sometimes I forget to put shoes on before I walk out the door.

Anyway, last time I was a Camp Counselor the world was a much different place. Can't it just go back to being that way?

Pic of us at Inauguration...

My cousin Eric tracked down a CNN clip on YouTube from Inauguration. Here is a screenshot of us. Yes, it's very blurry. I was bundled up in a black hat and two scarves so you can barely see me. You can't tell it's me unless you knew what I was wearing. And if you know what Eric looks like, you'll know that is definitely him.

You can view the clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y88a9EpQid8

This angle is at about 4:14.