Facebook and Twitter…

… are fun, but the real meat is in your own online property. Just because Facebook is a great place to share recipes and accolades, and Twitter is a battle of wits, don’t neglect your blog because that is where you leave your mark. I’ve never seen anyone win a “top fitness status’ or a ‘Top 100 fitness tweets’ award, but where you will be truly noticed is where you can control your ‘property’.

I see plenty blogs being more and more neglected due to the time requirement to stay up to date on the Social sites. Facebook isn’t too bad, as your conversation is tidy and in one place, but twitter, wow. I close my eyes to sneeze and I am lost. It moves SOOO fast!

Question: How do you follow twitter? just concentrate on a few close twits? or do you try to follow along with your entire twtterati?

Blogs are still my favourite place to hang out. I like the thoughtfulness of the content where you can stop and really put down on ‘paper’ what you mean and feel. I read tons of blogs. One of my favourite things to do when I have a little extra time is to just dive into the blog world and just follow links from one blog to another, learning and getting to know new people. I’m not a serial commenter like some, but I try to make my presence known when I have something to add to the conversation.

On my own blog (this here blog) I am probably as narcissistic  as anyone on here, but I try to promote what I truly like (races, products, people), so that adds a bit of softness to what could be seen as a very ego-centric blog. I think what saves me from a quick blogger death by unpopularity, is my passion for running, and my passion for writing about it. I think that’s the key to any good blog. Passion.

Have passion in what you write. It is really hard to be passionate on Facebook. And even harder to be passionate on twitter. Own your content. Don’t mess with trying to create a brand on Facebook, as Facebook is where you advertise your brand.

That said. I am here on Facebook, and here on Twitter.

Speaking of passion. I have a little shout-out to make to a Pharmacist. She may never read this, but it is worth it to point out a person who went the extra mile and made my life a little easier today.

We are pretty sick in our house. Andrew has had Croup, a bad cold and now bronchitis. he has been given some antibiotics and is on the mend. Ever since he started pre-school in January, he has been bringing all kinds of bugs home.

I have had varying degrees of a cold for 6 weeks now, and I think I am finally on the mend. It got so bad that I finally got some antibiotics to look after an upper respiritory infection. But what I think finally scared the bug away is I took some buckleys. I take a knee and get the shakes when I take this cough medicine because it tastes so unreal bad, but the relief from my symptoms is immediate. I am feeling as good as I have in a long time. Not 100% but WAY better than the 30% I've been at.

Traci has been dealing with almost the same stuff as me for almost as long and went and got some antibiotics for an ear infection. Yesterday when she tried to get her prescription filled, our local pharmacy didn’t have the dosage on hand and we had to wait to hear from the doctor to see if a different dosage was ok to use. He was gone, and he doesn’t work on Fridays. So, we go pick up the prescription order and head out to try and get the right dosage. I drive down the road and the first place I go is the Shoppers Drug Mart in McKenzieTown and I walk up the the counter to be served by the possibly the most appropriately friendly person I have met. Rhonda (Help, Help me Rhonda, as she says it so I don’t forget it (I didn’t)) doesn’t have the dosage either. When I explain to her how we can’t get our doctor on the phone, she dives into her personal phone book and starts calling around to other pharmacy's, starting with the closest one and working outward. She is calling to her competition, with no possible way to get paid for any of her service. Between calls, she is helping other customers in her incredibly cheerful way, the getting right back to her calls. After about 5 tries, I hear a little squeal from her, and sure enough she found what we need and with a very grateful thank you, I am off to pick up the antibiotics for Traci. I left there feeling important and happy. Without Rhonda’s non-required efforts, Traci may not have received her antibiotics until Monday, and there is no telling how much sicker she may have been.

Thanks Rhonda! You truly rock and are a model of how people should treat each other. My parents keep get their prescriptions there and have been super happy from day 1!

I am feeling so much better that I am actually looking forward to my 29km run this Sunday. I am going to be running downtown, so if anyone is interested in joining up for all or part of it, just drop me a line and we can make an arrangement.

that says ‘Rouge Parking Lot’. It’s where I’ll start on Sunday morn at 9am. ‘