Toby or Not Toby

How to Hold The Social Media Brush

2011-01-29T02:08:00.000-05:00

I have to credit my wife for something she tweeted out recently that made me stop and think:

"Social media in business is an art and not everyone is equipped to hold the brush."

I've been very fortunate in my roles in Social Media at both my previous firm and now at O'Connell and Goldberg Creative Public Relations, where I recently started as the firm's first-ever Director of Social Media. Fortunate in that the clients I have done Social Media for feel the level of authenticity is there when I'm trying to provide news and information about them.

Social Media for business is NOT an area where someone can come in, do two to three tweets, and move on to the next day. I have maintained during presentations I have given and among colleagues that is an art; however, it took my wife's tweet to make me want to write about the subject.

I subscribe to several basic principles when I think about Social Media and how to help a client's business:

1) Know your client thoroughly before sitting down at a keyboard; otherwise, you can do some serious damage.

It only takes one tweet, Facebook post or blog entry to destroy a brand's credibility. Therefore, if you don't know everything about your client and the way they want to be portrayed, step away and learn everything you can. I've always felt that when I was tweeting on behalf of Dunkin' Donuts' @DDSoFla account or posting as the Truly Nolen Mousecar on Facebook that I was an extension of their brand. In other words, I knew to inject fun into both brands while staying away from polarizing issues (i.e. not tweeting about politics or religion, not posting about creepy crawly insects at 8:30 in the morning, not mentioning competitors directly by name or retweeting tweets that do). If you don't brush up on your client, your language is stilted or your tweets may come across as too salesy.

2) Engagement over Quantity.

Too often, people think a brand's success is based on how many people are following them. What good is having 25,000 followers if you're sending out 2-3 tweets a day with open-ended questions and receiving no response? Likewise, I would rather have 250 followers with direct engagement via @replies while getting to know a client's followers. One of the great feelings I had when working on @DDSoFla was because of the direct engagement I had with followers, when I would ask questions of the followers, at least 4-5 religiously would respond. That won't come with just 2-3 tweets a day.

3) Tailoring the message

Having six Dunkin' Donuts accounts was a challenge. It would be easy to have sent the same tweet to all six accounts at once and call it a day. However, other than actual corporate @DunkinDonuts retweets that I did send out at once to these accounts, I believe one of the main reasons these accounts were successful from the start was because I was able to identify what was of interest in each key area. For example, I could talk about the #Rays on @DDTampaBay or the #Noles on @DDNWFL_SEAL or the #Dolphins on @DDSoFla. If I sent generic tweets, people would see through them quickly and not believe I knew anything about their area.

4) Following Key Influencers

Every business on Twitter should identify the people in their areas or across the country and world who can help become brand ambassadors. @DDNWFL_SEAL was a fun launch because I began following people in Tallahassee, Pensacola, Panama City Beach and Dothan, AL and began engaging them about their local Dunkin' Donuts. I also provided some giveaways to people who twitpic'd their local restaurant or answered trivia. In short, I built trust with them and they would in turn tweet about DD in a positive light. If you don't know who your customers are, how are you ever going to be successful with a campaign?

5) Followers are looking for Quality Customer Service; Don't let them down.

No business is perfect, as much as we want to believe they are. When complaints came in through Twitter about any of our clients, I worked very hard to get as much information as I could via DM or in Facebook email, offered a solution, and made sure to tell them we hoped it would not happen again. As a result, social media is one of the great lines of defense in shaping customer opinion; however, the danger is because of its immediacy, it can backfire. So if someone posts a complaint on a Facebook page and the business doesn't respond for 24 hours, or if someone says an event is two hours long but leaves an hour early with no warning, people will know quicker than you might imagine.

6) You don't have to be an expert to be successful.

I've never liked the "Social Media Expert" term that so many throw around in cyberspace. Bottom line - anyone who takes the time to learn the tools and develop relationships with followers can be successful. The big difference between me and most people is that Social Media is the passion that drives me, and as a result, I've spent most of the past 2 1/2 years focused on Social Media for business. As such, I try very hard to share the knowledge with others whenever possible, whether it's at tweetups or presentations.

If you have any questions about Social Media for business, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for allowing me to paint a picture!

2011 Goals

2011-01-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that 2011 marks my 10th year back in South Florida and in Public Relations. I feel very blessed to have done so many different things over the past decade, and with the advent of my interest in Social Media, it has led to making so many new friends I would have never met otherwise, both in PR and in other fields.

Some of the things I hope to accomplish this year:

1) With three outlets like Toby or Not Toby, Pitch to the Rhino and The Spear, I hope to provide information that others find interesting on a regular basis.

2) Now that we're in our new place, we are starting to win the battle with cleaning - I couldn't say that most of the past 6 years!

3) I want to continue attending meetings that I believe help me refine my skills, whether it's Social Media Club South Florida, Public Relations Society of America, Gold Coast Public Relations Council, speaking at universities or businesses, or anything else that interests me.

4) I want to continue researching different social media platforms and figure out how I can integrate them both personally and professionally. I feel like I read 2-3 articles a day about PR and social media and I always feel like I've bettered myself for doing so.

5) I want to spend quality time with my wife and kids, who always know how to make me smile.

If I can maintain the above five goals throughout the year, I know 2011 will be great, or at least better than when I hit the post the other night on my slapshot at #PanthersTweetup! Hopefully that's the only goal I miss all year.

Human: Born to Make Mistakes

2010-06-03T01:11:00.004-04:00

I was all prepared to write about how the Florida Marlins are getting 500 million dollars to build their new stadium but are charging fans FULL price to a baseball game that occurred IN THE PAST. Instead, as I sat down to write it, this occurred:

Armando Galarraga, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, had just retired 26 batters in a row. The 25th out was an amazing over-the-shoulder fly ball catch that preserved the perfect game (at the time). The lifetime 18-17 pitcher with a 4.62 ERA was one out from history. That is, until Umpire Jim Joyce made a call that will live in infamy.

On what would have been the 27th out and given Galarraga a Perfect Game (the 3rd in a month in Major League Baseball), Joyce called the baserunner safe. In regular speed, it was a questionable call at best. In slow motion, it was an AWFUL call. No one disputes that. Even with the slight bobble by Galarraga, the ball never left the webbing of the glove and his foot clearly hit the bag a full step before the runner.

The internet exploded after that. ESPN analysts, bloggers, Facebook and Twitter users quickly spoke, and came down hard on Joyce. People (including me) wondered aloud on Twitter if Bud Selig would overturn the call in the best interest of baseball or whether the official scorer would overrule the out call and change the scoring to an Error, which would give Galarrage a no-hitter (but not a perfect game).

I then stumbled upon a tweet sent out by my friend Mike Goldstein of ESPN 760 AM (West Palm Beach):

@Mike_Goldstein Jim Joyce: http://twurl.nl/gmzpw1 i think this actually makes me like him quite a bit. amazing that he knew it was wrong immediately.

After listening to his interview, I began feeling more and more sympathetic towards Joyce. Umpires never show their emotions, and when they do, they usually deny making mistakes. Yet, in this six minute radio interview after the game, he sounded as remorseful and upset as any umpire or referee I've ever heard.

While I was watching this, the following lyrics from a 1986 Human League song came into my head:

I'm Only Human,
Of Flesh and Blood I'm Made
Human,

Born to Make Mistakes

Instead of a Perfect Game, we are once again reminded that no one is perfect. Credit to Joyce for apologizing to Galarraga; credit to Galarraga for not going ballistic at the time of the call and for already accepting Galarraga's apology.

The biggest loser in all of this? The Marlins, who were all set to purchase unused Detroit Tigers tickets following the game had the correct call been made.

Friends: The Ones You Make Earlier in Life May Help You Later

2010-05-20T05:57:00.001-04:00

When I attended Florida State University in the early-1990s, I wrote for the FSView school newspaper. I originally started out as the student government writer, but then worked my way up to features editor. For my last semester in Fall 1994, I was the sports editor and even had a sports talk radio show five nights a week on WTAL 1450 AM.

I worked with a lot of great people, many who have gone on to do some amazing things. Sports Editor Manny Diaz is now the defensive coordinator with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Photo Editor Lance Rothstein worked for many years with the St. Petersburg Times and now resides in Belgium. Melanie McCullough went to work for Duke University and then the V Foundation before finding happiness as the Director of Communications for a church in Chapel Hill.

However, this blog entry is about one person in particular - then-Sports Writer Mike Avila.

Mike and I hit it off immediately. We had great sports discussions and wrote a lot of side-by-side pieces where he expressed one opinion and I expressed another. One particular memory I have is getting Mike a press pass to interview then-WCW World Champion and FSU football legend Ron Simmons before a match at the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee. Simmons totally broke character for the interview and Mike asked him excellent questions, including what it was like to be the first-ever African-American World Heavyweight Wrestling Chamion.

After graduation, Mike and I lost touch; through the years, I looked him up many times. Unfortunately, Mike Avila is a very common name and I never did locate him.

That all changed with Bobby Bowden's retirement. On December 2, the day after the retirement, I managed to stage an event on Twitter that included about 50-75 others who changed their avatar for 24 hours to Bobby Bowden. Gators, Hurricanes, LSU Tigers and Seminoles all participated in #Bobbyfor24.

One of the people who participated that day was a person on Twitter named @MikeAvila. When I reach out to him, we immediately realized who each of us was - after 15 long years, I had finally found Mike. It was no surprise to me that Mike has gone on to become a successful writer/producer/contributor for many news organizations in New York.

As 2010 moved along, Mike and I communicated often on Twitter. Finally, on April 16 (my dad's birthday), Mike friended me on Facebook. When I confirmed him, it said he had one mutual friend. I naturally thought it was someone we wrote with at FSView. However, to my surprise, it was a friend of mine from South Florida that I met through Twitter almost a year ago: @JoseBoza.

Jose and I are both in Public Relations and would often talk to each other at events about PR and other communications-related topics. Not once did we ever talk about sports, though.

When I noticed Jose was the mutual friend of Mike and me, I was curious. So on Saturday, April 17, I called Jose up to talk. I found out that he and Mike went to Coral Park High School together and he was a year or two behind Mike's class. At that point, I explained to Jose about how I knew Mike and that Mike and I were huge sports fans.

That led Jose to mention he had wanted to talk to me for a while because he could tell from my Facebook and Twitter posts that I was a big sports fan. He mentioned he had thought about starting a blog/website for a long time that dealt with social media and sports in a way not yet being done. The second he said it, my ears perked up and I began agreeing with him. He said he thought I would make a great partner on this venture.

After adding my good friend Jarret Streiner AKA @jarret23 (who I have known since high school and reconnected with a few years ago via a client event) to the team as our web designer, we went through some names until Jarret came up with "Pitch to the Rhino." It plays off the children's riddle, "What do you do to an elephant with three balls? You walk him and PITCH TO THE RHINO!"

One month to the day of my first conversation with Jose, we launched the site on Monday, May 17. It has been a fun project so far thanks to the support of so many on Facebook and Twitter, and one that keeps this old sportswriter-at-heart involved in sports

Had I not been such good friends with Mike back in the day and had Mike not friended me on Facebook, none of this may have ever happened. Thanks, Mike!

Coach Karma

2010-05-11T00:03:00.002-04:00

Karma is something I've always believed in - if you do something nice for someone, it will pay off for you down the road.

To the left is a photo of a Hess Express gas station in Tamarac, Fla. on the corner of Southgate Boulevard and University Drive. If you would have told me that my good friend Goldy and I would ever have an encounter there that would be something we'll talk about 10, 20, and 30 years down the road, I would have originally said there's no way.

However, that's exactly what happened on the evening of Friday, May 7. First, I must go back in time before I can go forward.

The Seminole Club of Broward County's yearly banquet with Florida State's head football coach was a date all South Florida boosters always circled. For 34 years, Bobby Bowden packed the house and told jokes. However, with new FSU Head Coach Jimbo Fisher on his first banquet tour, tickets were still in high demand because it would be his first speaking engagement as head coach in front of many boosters. In addition, with rave reviews from other Seminole booster clubs across the state regarding his speeches, the interest was at an all-time high.

My buddy Goldy had purchased two tickets with the intent of taking his dad; however, a conflict came up for both of them and they were going to be out of town the day of the banquet. Goldy offered me the tickets since he couldn't use them and I jumped at the chance. I invited my friend Tony (@AbeFroman21) to join me.

On May 7, I was running low on gas as I approached Woodmont Country Club, but because I was afraid I was going to be late and I didn't want Tony not to be able to check-in, I arrived at the event practically on fumes decked out in a garnet FSU shirt.

Once inside, thanks to Tony's Iron Arrow Booster status, we were afforded the opportunity to take a photo with Coach Fisher and interact with him.

In my brief time with Coach Fisher, I told him I had seen Part 1 of a two-part article about him in the May 6 Palm Beach Post regarding his love of hunting (the second part runs May 13). He told me he hadn't read it yet but that he does love to hunt as much as the author of that story said.

We then sat down, enjoyed dinner, and around 8:15, Coach Fisher got up and spoke passionately about his new job, his expectations, and took questions and answers from the crowd. After 45 minutes, he received a standing ovation and the event started to wrap-up.

While most stayed for a few minutes for a raffle, since I hadn't played golf earlier that day with the boosters, I got in my car and called Goldy, who was in between flights at the Atlanta Airport. The distance from Woodmont to the Southgate Hess is about 3 minutes tops. During the entire car ride, I gave Goldy a play-by-play of what Coach Fisher had said and why I liked everything I heard. I also thanked Goldy about 20 more times for the tickets.

I pulled up to the pump at Hess closest to the front door (and the photo in this blog is exactly where I was on the 7th when I was talking to Goldy).

As we continued to talk, a white Navigator pulled up right next to the curb and out stepped a man from the passenger seat. I cut Goldy off in mid-sentence. "GOLDY, You're not going to BELIEVE this. Jimbo Fisher is walking into the Hess station!"

Goldy thought it was as cool as I did, and I was hoping I would be done pumping my gas before Coach Fisher finished inside so I could approach him and tell him how much I enjoyed his speech.

As I started walking over to the front door, where Coach Fisher was about to come out, I told Goldy, "I am going to try and get Coach to talk to you, so sit tight."

Coach walked out and I gave it my best shot. "Coach, you were great tonight at Woodmont. I was hoping you could do me a quick favor. My buddy who gave me his tickets to the event because he ended up having to be out of town on business happens to be on the phone with me right now - could you please say hello to him?"

Coach Fisher looked at me for about two seconds like I was out of my mind. Honestly, I didn't blame him for doing so, and for a guy who had just spoken 45 minutes non-stop, I wouldn't have been upset if he didn't do it.

He then took the phone and did the thing that Goldy and I will be talking about for years to come:

"I wish you could have made it tonight buddy - we missed you!"

Goldy then spent the next 90 seconds speaking to Coach Fisher, who wrapped up their conversation by thanking him for buying the tickets even though he had to give then way and told him he hoped he would be able to support the team in person in Tallahassee this year. Coach Fisher then gave me my phone back, shook my hand, and was gone in the blink of an eye.

The second he drove away, I believe the next words out of both my mouth and Goldy's as we spoke on the phone was "AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH!"

I STILL can't believe this happened! Here's why I believe in karma and how it paid off for Goldy:

1. My buddy Goldy and his family run a charity event each year that benefits students that want to go to college, and through his tireless efforts, he continually gives back to these kids and their families and never asks for anything in return.

2. Goldy never asked for anything in return for giving me and Tony his tickets - he just wanted them to go to two people who would appreciate seeing Coach Fisher's first speech in Broward County as head coach.

3. I could've gotten gas before the event, but chose not to.

4. I could've been facing University Drive instead of the actual front of the station when Coach arrived - had that happened, I may have never seen him.

5. I had JUST seen Coach Fisher five minutes before he arrived and had taken a photo with him earlier in the night, so I obviously recognized him right away when he got out of the car - had I not been at the banquet, I'm not 100 percent sure I would have realized it was him.

6. Coach Fisher could have simply said no, but instead, he showed a side that has earned him two fans for life no matter what he does at FSU during his tenure.

As we reflected on the story a couple of times over the weekend, we still can't believe it happened. What sticks with me about the entire incident is that although Goldy would have enjoyed Coach Fisher's 45 minute speech, the 90 seconds he did share with Coach are a minute-and-a-half he will never forget. I'm just glad my phone didn't die during the call!

The Bible of the PR Industry

2010-05-05T01:24:00.001-04:00

As my Public Relations career has now reached 8 1/2 years, I received exciting news the other day: I'm featured on a five-person panel in the May 2010 issue of PR Week. This marks the first time in my PR career I've been included in our industry's "Bible", and I could not be happier.

My inclusion in this article is just an example of something I've always believed in: things happen for a reason.

When I was promoted to Manager of Social Media at the agency I work at at the beginning of March, we sent out a press release about my new position and responsibilities. One of the publications we sent the release to was PR Week, which, although no longer a weekly publication, is still the industry-leader when it comes to sharing PR stories from around the country.

A writer with their staff contacted me at work one day in late-March to ask me if I was interested in participating in their Master Class panel feature on Social Media for the May issue. The first thought that came to mind (besides yes) was - timing is everything. If my title hadn't changed when it did, I may have never gotten this opportunity.

The essential question the reporter asked me was, "How do you best incorporate offline experiences into social media strategy?"

Due to copyright restrictions, while I can't share the content of the story publicly (subscribers to the magazine can access the article in print and online), I will say this: anytime you can engage people online and build value offline, you're doing things the right way.

When the article was released on May 3, I discovered for the first time who the other four panelists were. To be featured in an article with people who have large social media followings like Todd Defren (@tdefren) and Chad Latz (@chadlatz) is something I will remember for a long time.

As I begin my 3rd month in my new role, I'm so excited of what's to come over the next 8 1/2 years and beyond. Hopefully, the highs will continue to exceed the lows.

#twHEATup's Success Should be Wake-Up Call

2010-04-30T00:23:00.004-04:00

Shortly after I wrote my April 21 blog about the first-ever Miami HEAT #twHEATup, I was excited to see the social media voice of the HEAT thought it was informative enough to retweet it herself under the @MiamiHEAT Twitter account.

I also became doubly excited when I saw that of the 311 accounts the team follows, they started following me, which has led to greater interaction between myself and their staff.

Now that a week has passed since South Florida's first-ever team-sponsored tweetup, I reached out to the team to see if they would provide me with details related to the event's success.

With special thanks to Stephanie Hoyos, Internet Services Coordinator for the team, she was able to shed some light on the subject.

For starters, she said the overall response on their social networks has been great and they sold out their inventory of approximately 50 tickets for the $50.00 event, which included a seat in Section 307, a halftime meet-and-greet with the Miami HEAT dancers, and a postgame meet-and-greet with HEAT legend Tim Hardaway. "We're very happy with the response and we're definitely planning on hosting more #twHEATup events," said Hoyos, which was music to my ears!

Hoyos was kind enough to also provide a photo of an added-value bonus that was included on the front of each envelope the #twHEATup attendees received when they arrived on Friday, April 23:

Inside the 5x7 black envelopes were passes for both meet-and-greet sessions and a Miami HEAT keychain, which was a special gift. According to Hoyos, the teams' Twitter experts personally handed out the envelopes at the end of the first quarter, which was just in time for the halftime meet-and-greet with the HEAT dancers (and the location and time were printed on the passes).

Then at the end of the game, the #twHEATup attendees had the chance to meet Hardaway, who signed autographs and took pictures, some of which were posted by the team at their Miami Heat Facebook page. The following picture is from that page:

The only downer, if there was one, is that this meet-and-greet took place shortly after Paul Pierce won Game 3 at the buzzer. Despite that, it appears the people in this photo and all off the attendees absolutely had fun at the game.

Now that the HEAT have proven a fan tweetup to be a success in the South Florida sports scene and have already indicated they will absolutely do more in the future, the question hopefully isn't IF the Dolphins, Panthers and Marlins will do one, it's WHEN.

Crawling Along: #ChevyPizzaCrawl An Amazing Experience

2010-04-26T23:26:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, April 24, I was fortunate enough to be part of an experience known as #ChevyPizzaCrawl. For those who don't indulge in social media that often, many businesses are starting to partner with one another in unique ways to try and drive their message home in an unobstrusive way.

Earlier this year, Chevrolet partnered with @LionCountry on #ChevyROAR, where several mommy and lifestyle bloggers including @McMommyLive, @TheTinyJEWELBox, @amandastewart and @vicequeenmaria drove around Lion Country Safari in several Chevy vehicles. The bloggers tweeted during their experience and blogged about it afterwards.

As good as that partnership was, Chevy raised the bar when Stephanie Camargo AKA @midtownchica, who works on Chevrolet's account at the Axis Agency, invited Craig Agranoff AKA @lapp, who handles WorstPizza.com, to create the #ChevyPizzaCrawl. The first one took place in Palm Beach County and combined five cars with five great restaurants chosen by Craig. Due to its overwhelming success, Chevy decided to go for Round 2, but this time in Broward County.

Both my wife and I were lucky enough to be chosen in the group of 20 people to participate. The five vehicles we were invited to test-drive (or ride in when it wasn't our turn to drive) by Ed Morse Sawgrass Chevolet in Sunrise were the Chevy Camaro, Corvette, Equinox, Malibu and Tahoe.

Meanwhile, Craig's itinerary of Pizza would take us to Davie, two stops in Fort Lauderdale, Coconut Creek and Coral Springs. The word of advice that returning veterans of the first crawl like @jarret23 gave us was simply "PACE YOURSELF - THERE'S FIVE RESTAURANTS! In exchange for driving and eating, all we were asked to do was tweet using #ChevyPizzaCrawl during the entire event. What a deal!

We started the day in the Camaro, riding over to Antonio's Pizza-Rant in Davie just east of 136 Avenue in the Publix Plaza. Since it was such a short ride, the driver made a right on State Road 84 and drove down to Weston Road before back-tracking. The car handled very nicely and, while it's not one I would own at this point in my life, I can see why so many like the Camaro.

If you click on the website that I linked to their name, it has a very old school feel to it. That's how this place felt. It had a very cookie-cutter feel to it. Don't get me wrong - the wait staff was friendly, and I actually enjoyed the combination of cheese, crust and sauce at this place; however, it was very similar to many pizza places I've been in before. I don't know that I would go out of my way to go there again.

For the trip to @PizzaFusionFTL, my wife and I rode over in the Malibu. I was surprised at how much I liked this vehicle. Among other things, the Dual DVD screens in the back were an unexpected feature. Our driver managed to miss the exit on I-95 that @TheReal_OnStar gave us. When we turned around and went back north, they sent us up Griffin east to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and the words "You have reached your destination" were said. Of course, we were nowhere near the restaurant yet, as it's up on Sunrise Boulevard at the Federal Highway northern curve.

When we finally got there, the @PizzaFusion crew had four pies waiting for us. Known for their organic offerings, I enjoyed the slice I had. Although several didn't like the Honest Tea we were given, I did in fact enjoy the pomegranate. All told, its their unique menu and organic flair that make this location memorable.

The third stop was @SlicePizzeria, which came highly recommended by @BeahBunnie. Located in Fort Lauderdale on SE 1st Street just west of Federal Highway and South of Broward Boulevard, I commandeered the Tahoe for my test-drive turn. As I currently drive a similar car, this was one I really liked. It handled very well and the "step-bar" that goes down when you first get into the car is a nice touch.

At Slice, the crew there REALLY got into it and raised the game an entire notch. Most places typically provide pizza and soda as part of the visit. Slice provided the following: Pizza, Garlic Knots, Sodas, ICEEs, T-Shirts and a half-stamped lunch card. The pizza itself was delicious, but what I will remember about this place more was how accommodating they were. As I have many friends who work or live within two blocks of this restaurant, you can rest assured I will let them know about this amazing find.

Stop #4 would be Amici's Restaurant in Coconut Creek, and it was Sara's turn to drive - she chose the Corvette Grand Sport. I can admit it now - instead of going Broward Blvd to 95 to Hillsboro Blvd, Sara and I figured how many times in our life are we going to be in a Corvette? We took the LONG way. Las Olas Blvd to A1A to Commercial Blvd to Bayview Drive to Cypress Creek Road to 95 to Hillsboro.

The beach was bustling and we did end up getting stopped by the Commercial Blvd. drawbridge. The car handled like a dream, and we finally made it over to @AmicisPizzeria about 15 minutes after everyone else. We were actually familiar with this place because a teacher Sara works with orders from there all the time. They are located in the plaza next to the Publix Plaza at the SW corner of Lyons and Hillsboro.

Amici's seemed to also understand, like Slice, that the way to our hearts was through free stuff. In addition to the pizza (which was very tasty and had a delicious pizza sauce) and soda, they gave us each free meatballs, free tiramisu, and a bottle of wine to take home with us. The Aqueduct Race Track sign hanging on the wall in this restaurant, which reminded me of my dad, made me smile the moment I saw it. I would definitely go back here.

Finally, for stop #5, my wife and I rode in the Equinox over to @SicilianOven of Coral Springs. I had never even heard of this vehicle until #ChevyPizzaCrawl, but I was most impressed by this one. Of all five vehicles, the Equinox is the one I could most likely see myself driving in the future. It seemed like a crossover vehicle and was spacious.

The Siciilian Oven was previously a DiSalvo's restaurant. Whereas before the place was very nondescript, it is now quite memorable from the wood brick oven to the amazing array of menu items. Their chicken wings and salad they gave each of us was a nice touch in that I would have never ordered chicken wings here on my own. They were quite tasty the way they were made. The Margherita Pizza I had here was probably my favorite pizza of the day.

At the end of stop #5, Stephanie and her team gave out awards and gift certificates for the best tweets, the best photos, best team spirit and other categories. We then got one more ride in the Equinox and parted our separate ways.

I applaud Chevy for their innovative way of connecting with a group of people who they knew would tweet and talk about them that day and for the foreseeable future. In addition, I applaud Craig for making an entire event around pizza tasting across a county. After all, everyone loves pizza!

In conclusion, it was special day my wife and I won't soon forget, and yes - I DID pace myself!

The TwHEATup Is On!

2010-04-21T22:37:00.005-04:00

After writing in this space on April 8 about the San Francisco Giants decision to have a Tweetup at their April 30 game, I mentioned that three of the four local South Florida professional teams were kind enough to let me know they were researching ways to continue increasing their social media activities with their fans in the future.

To that, I wondered aloud as to which South Florida team would be the first to take advantage and hold a TEAM-SPONSORED fan tweetup. (I was reminded two weeks ago some Twitter users staged a small tweetup at a Marlins game late last season but it was not sponsored by the team).

As it turns out, the weight took all of 13 days, as Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel broke the story in her Business of Sports Blog Wednesday afternoon that the @MiamiHEAT (whose Twitter name used to be @MHEAT) were using Game 3 of their NBA First Round Playoff Series against the Boston Celtics to stage the team's first-ever Tweetup.

In fact, they're taking the bold step of branding the event with a special name - twHEATup. Kudos to the person in the organization that figured out twHEATup and Tweetup are pronounced the same.

For $50, twHEATup participants will receive:

Seats in Section 307 (the special twHEATup section for the evening)
Halftime Meet & Greet with Heat Dancers
Postgame Meet & Greet with Former Miami Heat legend Tim Hardaway

Although parking is not included, the ticket price for this special event is a savings of between 16 to 40 percent off the normal single ticket price.

Hopefully, our friends with the Florida Marlins, Florida Panthers and Miami Dolphins will follow suit with tweetups in the coming weeks and months now that the Heat has stepped up and determined how to package the event. I said it was brilliant when the San Francsico Giants did this, and I applaud the Heat for taking a chance on something they haven't done before.

The only remaining decision for the twHEATup may be which hashtag attendees should use at the event, as the ad for the event shows #LETSGOHEAT and #BLACKisBACK.

Either way, hopefully this is the start of a new era in South Florida sports.

Know Your Audience

2010-04-19T23:59:00.004-04:00

I was sitting at work today when I received an email from a vendor of ours. The email template letter began with with three words that caused me to tune out everything else:

Dear Valued Client

In this world where new ways to communicate seemingly evolve each day, to receive a letter with this greeting on it tells me two things about whether you truly believe we're a valued client:

1) You chose convenience over thoughtfulness - Rather than spend the extra 10-15 minutes to mail merge with your customers' last names, to simply have everyone listed as "valued client" makes me feel anything but that way.

2) You chose chest-thumping over caring - Half of the letter from this vendor trumpeted every great thing this company has done during his long and storied history. Unfortunately for them, I didn't read a single, solitary word once they decided to not identify me by name.

Now, it could just be I'm overly sensitive to greetings because of the thousands of times in my life I have had people misspell my last name in a greeting (which actually doesn't bother me as much as when people start a letter to me Dear Tony!); however, when I get emails from vendors who have taken the time to learn my first and/or last name, i am certainly going to at least open the email and read it.

The bottom line: If you're calling someone a valued client in your greeting, it's as if you don't know them at all.

Role Model

2010-04-16T00:11:00.007-04:00

My father Robert would have turned 79 years old today. Life has been completely different for me these last 13 months.

This photo is probably my all-time favorite of my dad and I. On this particular day in March of 2005, me, my brother-in-law Ira and my dad made a journey to Dodgertown in Vero Beach to watch a spring training game. The tree over my left shoulder gave us shade the entire game, and we liked it so much, my dad had no problem joining us for trips in 2006, 2007 and 2008 (the final year Dodgertown was open before the team abandoned Florida for Arizona).

That's the kind of person my dad was. If I was interested in something, he became interested in it, too.

He was always a Dunkin' Donuts fan even before I started working with them from a PR standpoint - once I did that, he always made it a point to call me and tell me when he was visiting one for a cup of coffee.

He sat through two heartbreaking FSU losses to Miami in 2000 and 2002 in the upper deck despite being afraid of heights.

He originally began listening to Meat Loaf and Queen because I liked both groups.

He began using the internet in 2000 while I was still in Tallahassee so he could email me, watch music videos on YouTube and get sports news from ESPN, long past the average age of people who use computers.

He even let me explain Twitter to him, and understood it enough that when I showed him I was quoted in a Sarah Talalay article eight days before he died, he laughed (because the quote was about his short height) and told me he was proud of me.

I miss him the most in the mornings on the way to work - I used to call him religious at 8am to talk about sports, life and whatever else was on his mind or mine.

In short, my dad was my role model and I always try to do everything for my children that he did for me. I'm happy that my son had a great relationship with him and that he got to spend one year getting to play with my daughter.

Happy Birthday, Daddy. Enjoy the donut!

Proud Papa

2010-04-11T23:24:00.024-04:00

Today was my father's unveiling. It was nice to see so many friends and relatives come out and make it a point even 13 months after his funeral to be part of this solemn occasion.

Sometimes there's things your children do that you will remember for a day or two but quickly forget due to other great memories.

My son did something at the unveiling that 20 years from now I'll remember and still be as proud of him then as I was of him at the ceremony.

When my mother asked if anyone wanted to say any words about my dad AKA Robert AKA Bobby AKA Bob AKA Grandpa, my son raised his hand and walked over to the shiny new headstone which showed my dad was a beloved Son, Father, Grandfather and friend to all.

My son looked down at the headstone and said he misses his grandpa and he will always think of him whenever he watches a New York Jets game.

Then, he did the thing I'll never forget.

He sang Take Me Out To The Ball Game, and even as a six-year-old, not only did he get all of the lyrics right, he changed up home team to "Tigers", my dad's favorite baseball team.

When he concluded, the people that were there with us clapped while I welled up with pride. Thought my son only knew my dad for five years, they were a great five years. My son lost his grandpa at the exact same age I lost my grandpa (my dad's father). The difference is, while I wasn't close to my dad's father, my son enjoyed hanging out with my dad.

When we left the cemetery and got into my wife's car, I told my son how proud I was of him. He smiled and asked me if I could hand him his Nintendo DSI.

Kids!

A Giant Step

2010-04-08T23:50:00.009-04:00

First and foremost, I'm back.

I can't believe I haven't blogged since January 2009. I thought about deleting that entry after reading it over, but I figured that would be wrong.

Why did I stop blogging? Many reasons. My father passed away in March of 2009 and I went into a funk. When I'm at work, ideas come to me without much problem, but at home, the few times I tried to blog, I just couldn't come up with anything to say.

Then it hit me - I'm overthinking.

Some of my friends (@carrieimpactpr, @agustinap) challenged me to get it going once again. One of my friends (@jarret23) started his blog a week ago and has cranked out about one entry a day and is doing great coming up with ideas.

So I decided it's important for me to do this for myself and not get hung up on whether I have the perfect topic.

Which brings me to the San Francisco Giants and their April 30 Tweetup.

Surfing the internet this past weekend, I stumbled across the ad to the right. For $20 on April 30 in San Francisco, a fan would receive:

Panel discussion with social media experts (which, it turns out, one of whom is one of the Twitter co-founders)
First 1,000 fans receive official "Follow Us" Tweetup T-Shirt
Private pre-game Tweetup Party
Seats in the special Tweetup section
Partial Proceeds go to a local non-profit

When I saw this, the first thought that came to mind: BRILLIANT.

Finally, a sports team came up with a way to marry two things that benefit them in the long run: Putting a fair value on a package that would cause them to make money, and reaching out to a community of passionate fans who probably follow the Giants online, like I do with the #Rays.

The full details: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/ticketing/special_events/tweetup.jsp

What struck me as interesting about this is that Sarah Talalay, the talented Sports Business Writer from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writer, wrote a front-page sports story about our four local South Florida sports teams in March 2009, and the only team at that time with any true social media presence was the Miami Heat.

It's 13 months later, and when I reached out to all four sports teams (@MHEAT, @Marlins411, @MiamiDolphins, @FlaPanthers), three of them were kind enough to let me know they are researching ways to continue increasing their social media activities with their fans.

The bottom line: Anything that makes people feel part of a community and creates goodwill between a sports team and its fans is greatly appreciated.

The race is on - which South Florida team will be the first to take advantage?

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-14T00:47:00.003-05:00

Once again, a few weeks go by, and I become entranced in updating what's going on in my life. Since last I wrote:

I finally met my cousin Kenny's wife in person
I attended a fun reunion of old high school friends at Howl at the Moon in Ft. Laud
I saw the Seminoles win the Champs Sports Bowl in person in Orlando
I saw the Seminoles defeat Western Kentucky in Basketball in person in Sunrise, where I grew up
I saw Virginia Tech defeat Cinncinnati in person at the 2009 Orange Bowl, where I hung out with old friends Drew and Dave
I saw a couple of great movies
I had fun with Orange & Blue Donuts (which I never thought was possible)
I went to a couple of birthday parties with Bailey and Riley
I have yet to watch a complete NFL playoff game this season
I have continued working hard at my rehab on my left achilles tendon

With so many things over the last few weeks, I decided to sit down tonight and talk about my 2009 resolutions:

1) I intend to update my blog on a more consistent basis. With so many crazy things going on in my life at different times, I should always take a moment for myself and write.

2) I want to keep my house more clean. It has been a battle for 4 1/2 years now and hopefully one we start winning this year.

3) I want to earn my APR certification in PR. I have belonged to PRSA for over 7 years now, and finally feel like I have time to commit to going for it. This is one of those personal achievements that I will be quite proud of when I can have those letters next to my name.

4) I want to spend more time seeing friends and fraternity brothers in person. Over the last month, I have already seen more people from the old days and current friends than I can ever remember, so my hope here is to keep doing what I'm doing.

5) I want my wife to know how proud I am of her for her dedication to going to the gym, which in turn has made me have to commit to waking up earlier to dress both kids long after she's gone in the morning. So far so good!

6) I want my rehab to be over soon, not because I don't like to go (my PT is a great guy and very funny), but because once I do that, I can start walking again (like I used to in Tallahassee), which will then hopefully spur me to follow my old eating ways rather than getting off course (which is easy to do when you're on your back for 3 weeks and unable to walk long distances for almost 3 months).

7) I want the Seminoles to beat the South Florida Bulls (my wife's alma mater) in September 2009, so she can't go on and on and on about it for three years (when they have their rematch in 2012).

8) I want to keep expanding my horizons with Social Media - A lightbulb went off in my head back in late-August and I have been fiercely active ever since. Twitter is my favorite and I want it to keep taking me to heights I never imagined.

9) I want to hold my emotions in check this August when Bailey starts Kindergarten on his first day of school. Boy, that will be quite a day. At least his mom will be down the hall!

10) Finally, I want to try and read one book a month. I have ALWAYS been a terrible reader. I would like to try to stick to this plan, so if anyone has any books they recommend that they think I would like, I'm all ears.

Happy 2009 to all!

Life is But a Tweet Away

2008-12-23T00:48:00.005-05:00

Let me begin by saying I can't believe it's been over seven weeks since I last updated my blog. When I first started it, I fully intended to do it 2-3 times a week. However, between tearing my achilles tendon in mid-October and simply having other interests these days, I haven't found the time.

It's been quite an interesting year on many levels for me. I've had some rough patches but found a way to work through them. I feel more in control of things than ever before. I am not shy to voice my opinion and I've decided life is too short for games and drama.

I've got a beautiful wife who I first wrote to via http://www.jewishsinglesconnection.com/ (the predecessor to J-Date) on December 23, 1998, which means we have been together for 10 years now. She is my rock and my strength and I love her more than words can say. I'm trying hard to help keep the house clean and help more and more with things I used to put off.

We are fortunate to be blessed with two beautiful children - Bailey, our 4 1/2 year old son, and Riley, our daughter who turned one this past Sunday. They are both amazing children, and after so many difficulties trying to have both of the, we feel fortunate to be blessed with such wonderful kids.

My job at Tilson Communications is going well. I've been there for a little over 2 years and am enjoying the versatility of our clients. I am also speaking up a lot more and not shy when it comes to my opinion.

One discovery I made this year that has changed the way I approach everything is a micro-blogging service called Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/). In 140 characters, you tell people what you are doing, answer questions, and basically communicate with people of similar interests. I first discovered the service in late-August through a tele-seminar that I wasn't expecting to learn much from.

Then, a lightbulb went off. I immediately understood how great this service was. I saw it as a tool for personal and professional use. I try to integrate a little humor into my tweets whenever possible.

In almost four months' time, I have tweeted from events such as Dunkin' Donuts grand openings, Alan Snel's Tampa Bay Rays celebration ride, an FSU-Miami Football Game, Dania Jai-Alai, Pompano Park at The Isle Casino, an AC/DC Concert, the launch of @TrulyNolen on twitter, rehab appointments for my left ankle, and much more.

I have also discovered the power of people, as a Chicago-area PR professional named @PRSarahevans created a weekly group discussion at http://www.journchat.info/. Created as a way to bring PR professionals together with journalists to discuss relevant topics to each profession, it has caught on like wildfire and I have met so many great people over the last two weeks. In addition, I'm always taking the principles I learn in the discussions back to the office where I work and sharing with my great colleagues.

The way I have my Facebook account set up, my Twitter updates often reset my FB status. I have had friends make snide comments about the amount of updates I do.

You know what? If it makes ME happy, I'm not going to let others bring me down. If I want to tweet a set list from AC/DC, that's my choice. If my friends don't want to read it on FB, they can skip my page that day. If someone on Twitter doesn't like it, they can unfollow me.

So, fair warning to my Facebook friends - I'll be tweeting from our Nova High Class of 1990 (and other classes) reunion at Howl at the Moon this Friday night. Know why? Because I want to. Period.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all and too all a good night!

I Voted - You Should, Too!

2008-11-02T12:22:00.004-05:00

Voting has always been one of the most important things to me in my life. Despite my torn achilles and despite certain-record crowds for the 2008 Presidential Election, my wife and I braved the long lines on November 1 and went to Parkland Library about 20 minutes north of us to early vote. Thanks to some very nice poll workers and people in line, we were able to vote quicker than expected and everyone in line seemed to be full of pride no matter who they were supporting, and didn't mind waiting for hours at a time to vote.

I have always taken my right to vote very seriously. I remember pre-registering to vote in High School right before I turned 18 and then my first ever large scale election was the governor's race in Florida between Bob Martinez and Lawton Chiles. I voted that election (and all of the elections while I attened college) by absentee ballot.

I always understood how important it was to vote. I think part of that was because I had such a great American Government teacher like Mr. Kenneth Bass in high school. He was by far one of the best teachers I ever had and I gained an appreciation for the fine art of politics back then. Heck, one of my classmates from that very class is now the mayor of Hollywood, Florida, so he apparently gained the same appreciation!

Being off my feet as I will be, I'm looking for newer ways to follow Election Day without feeling out of touch. The Palm Beach Post (which is teaming up with many other Florida newspapers in this respect) is going to have a live, interactive Twitter Map that day, available at http://www.palmbeachpost.com/, often as the main art of on the home page, at least until polls close and maybe longer.

Reporters and observers will be at all the polling places, watching for problems, and a reporter from the Post will be tweeting what they see and hear (such as: broken printer, fainting, count problem, legal challenge, etc.) Each tweet (from a special account called PBP_votes) will appear on the map, with a bubble pointing to where the problem or news report comes from. As I am a tweet-a-holic, I can't wait to see how this all works (along with the other goodies at http://www.twitter.com/ that day as well).

So remember, no matter who you are supporting (whether it's Fred Armisten and Jason Sudekis or Darrell Hammond and Tina Fey), vote on Tuesday, November 4. There may be no right as an American more important than this.

My Wife Doesn't Have to Dress Up on Halloween - She IS Wonder Woman!

2008-10-30T12:09:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's been five weeks since I last had some thoughts to type here. Half of that was because I was busy and the other half is because, for those who don't know, I tore my left achilles tendon on Friday October 17 and have been on bedrest ever since. My surgery to repair it was on Wednesday October 22 and I have a doctor's appointment later today to get fitted for a cast so I can hopefully start getting back into the swing of things. My boss was kind enough to lend me a laptop this week so I could start getting back into the swing of things little by little.

My thanks to all of my friends from Twitter, Facebook, work life and real life (lol) who have continually checked in on me, who are praying for me, and who want to know if there's anything they can do to help. I appreciate all the sentiments and am so glad I have such great friends and so many people who care about me and my well-being.

That being said, I don't need anything. Want to know why? Because MY WIFE IS WONDER WOMAN:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SOtH1MNXtQ&feature=related

She has somehow managed to A) Get both kids ready for school (something I usually do), B) Leave me lunch by the side of our bed so I don't starve, C) Drop off the kids in the morning (something I usually do), D) Go to school to teach her 4th grade Rugrats, E) Check on me during the day, F) Pick up Both kids, G) Come home and work on the house (something I help out with) while I spend time watching tv with the kids, H) Make dinner for all of us, I) Bathe the kids (something I normally do), J) Dress them for bed (something i normally do), and K) Tuck the kids in for bed (something I normally do).

How she is doing all of this with a chipper outlook and no complaints, I'll never know. I truly married a special woman. I always knew that. I just didn't know that I married Wonder Woman.

So honey, in case I haven't said it enough...I love you more than words can say. You mean the world to me. Just tell me WHY you've kept this secret identity hidden for so many years!

Don't Change For You, Don't Change A Thing For Me

2008-09-25T23:48:00.002-04:00

My life has always seemed like one big 1980's mish-mash of songs. From "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths to "Nobody's Diary" by Yaz to "Bring on the Dancing Horses" by Echo and the Bunnymen, these songs remind me of so many good times in my youth. However, they seem even more poignant today.

One song that really reflects my mood lately is a song I discovered a few years ago by accident. During the 1980's, the only songs they ever played of INXS on the radio were "What You Need", "Need You Tonight", "New Sensation", "Devil Inside", and "Never Tear Us Apart." When I got Sirius Radio a few years ago, I instantly became hooked on Channel 22 - First Wave. On it was a song called "Don't Change" by INXS. I became curious and looked for it on YouTube, and it can be found at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMrL_4NyQr0

Something about this song has stayed with me since the first day I heard it. Then it dawned on me why. Without going into too many details, I've changed a lot of habits. I'm not as dialed in to Fantasy Football as I used to be. I don't watch a lot of sports on TV. I haven't watched a single Monday Night Football game this season as of yet. I go days without responding to friends' emails. There's many other things I could say here, but I think I've said enough.

Through it all, my wife and soulmate has been my rock. She has blessed me with two beautiful children is always there when I need her. Then, listening to this song last week, it became quite clear - the song foreshadows how 2008 started for me and where I am right now - if it wasn't for Sara, I don't know what I would do.

So honey, from the bottom of my heart...

I'm standing here on the ground
The sky above won't fall down
See no evil in all direction
Resolution of happiness
Things have been dark
For too long

Don't change for you
Don't change a thing for me

I look forward to waking up tomorrow and seeing nothing but sunny skies!

Boundless Energy

2008-09-07T23:32:00.003-04:00

As I get older, I am finding that while I still keep the same crazy hours I always have (i.e. 4-5 hours of sleep per day), I may be slowing down just a bit. In this picture of my daughter Riley and me, I think I'm ready for a nap. Riley, on the other hand, seems to be picking up my mantra at an early age.

Riley is 8 1/2 months old now (once again, evidence that TIME FLIES), and she is so different than Bailey ever was. As evidence of this:

1) She refuses to let me feed her without her grabbing her jar of food and getting her hands all filled with peas and stuff. Bailey was never a Grabby McGee!

2) She fights sleep at all costs. While this is similar to my schedule, I don't fight sleep - I just don't sleep. She will close her eyes and then force herself awake - we caught her doing this at Disney the other night, and it was really funny.

3) She is a lot more vocal than Bailey ever was at this age. While Bailey will not stop talking NOW, I don't recall Bailey making so many "ma ma ma ma ma" "ba ba ba ba ba" sounds at this age.

4) She tricked us in the van today on the way home - we thought she was hungry because she wouldn't stop crying, and when I stopped the car in Boynton Beach so Sara could feed her, she instead decided she wanted to play with Sara instead of eat and she kept cracking herself up about it. Sneaky little thing, my daughter.

5) Last but not least, she always cracks up around Bailey. Of course, I do too, but that's a totally different story.

Oh, to be that young again and be able to have that kind of energy. I miss those days!

A Night at the Palace

2008-09-03T23:11:00.014-04:00

It was very strange walking into one of my favorite places on Earth Tuesday night. As one of millions of people in this country that participates in Fantasy Football, we had our draft at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

I worked there from 2004 to 2006 and enjoyed every minute of it; however, I hadn't stepped foot inside since mid-2007 and so with so many enhancements since I had moved on, I was curious how it was all going to look to me.

As I drove in the front gate, I took this picture with my Sprint instinct. It's always so picturesque and I'm glad no one has tried to change the look of Addison Mizner's masterpiece which debuted in 1926 and the Schulz and Weaver add-on lobby of 1928. The palm trees have always given the hotel a special look on the way to the hotel's front valet area.

Since I was early (as per norm), I made a right when I walked in and proceed to the area I knew as the Piazza when I worked at the hotel. The old gold ceiling had been replaced with a clear ceiling skylight that definitely let the sunshine into the east lobby.

There was new carpeting and furniture throughout the hotel. The changes definitely grew on me last night in the time I was there.

Our draft was held in the Governor's Suite on the 6th Floor of the Cloister. The Cloister is the original of the hotel's five buildings. As normal for any fantasy football draft, we had plenty of pizza and beverages to go around but failed to start on time...big surprise. That seems to always happen!

It was my 3rd draft in 9 days, and I think I was ready to go on auto-pilot by the 10th round. If you haven't seen a group of guys and girls during a draft, it's quite a site - people telling other people they loved the pick - people telling other people that guy was 123rd on their draft board - people picking people only they've hear of - and people making plans to see each other during the season (but often failing to do so due to busy schedules and the like).

So how did it all end? It's always nice to visit old friends - even ones you worked at and know like the back of your hand. As for my team, solid for sure. I'm definitely ready for some football.

A Walk In The Park

2008-08-31T00:10:00.004-04:00

After running into an old friend today at a birthday party and telling her she should start her own blog because she has such a diverse background and so much to share with others, I thought to myself, "Why not me? Why not now?"

As I shape the direction I want this to take, I'm sure it will eventually take on one general theme. So forgive me if my initial thoughts seem to be held together by glue rather than cohesive thoughts.

When did my son get so big? I stumbled across the attached profile picture of him and I walking through a park in Parkland, Florida when he wasn't even two years old yet. He's getting so big so fast, and yet, he's still my little boy. He's been a great big brother to his sister, who hasn't gotten any teeth yet, let alone started fully crawling.

He's something else, that kid. I managed to lock myself out of the house the other morning with him AND my daughter inside (as we were getting ready to leave for daycare). After my life flashed before my eyes, I began frantically knocking on the door. No answer. I knocked louder. No answer. I knocked even louder. Then I heard a voice, "Daddy?" I pleaded with my son to let me in.

Naturally, he turned the bolt the wrong way and I somehow managed not to panic. I encouraged him to turn the bolt back the other way and then turn the door knob (which always opens from the inside). Sure enough, he did it, and I gave him a huge hug and told him how proud I was of him. He then said to me, "Daddy, I thought you were a stranger." That my four year old knew not to let me in without checking thoroughly first really made me feel good as a parent, and also made me realize that perhaps my wife and I are doing something right.

It's moments like these that make me treasure every walk in the park I've ever taken with him, and makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have two happy, healthy kids and a wife who is my soulmate.

Now if I could just get him to share the computer with me a little more - those darn Webkinz!