How I plan to RESET my life after social media 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - Posted by Allison Mol at 8:17 AM

As you may or may not know I am taking an extended hiatus from social media marketing (please see previous blog post) on September 1st. As my quit day quickly approaches I thought I would make a list of what I plan to do to transition back into real world. Here is my own advice on how to RESET:

1. DELETE ALL SM APPS- I began this process a couple of weeks ago when I reluctantly deleted my trusty Boxcar app. This was an app that pushed notifications from all of my accounts. I had a love/hate relationship with Boxcar. It was difficult. Kinda like throwing away photos of an ex-boyfriend. But once I did it there was an instant feeling of calm...from my phone (I think my phone actually thanked me)

2. READ- I finished a book a few weeks ago for the first time in 3 years. It felt GREAT! I used to go to dinner once a month with my girlfriends and they would talk half the night about what they were reading. I would chime in: "Did you see that tweet last week from____? I read an amazing blog post today about__" They would look at me like I was insane and then go back to summarizing. Oh how I wished I could know what they were talking about. I missed reading a good book. I felt smarter, better, inspired while reading. 

3. RECLAIM CONTROL OF MY HOUSE- Social media tends to swallow you. I could spend hours at a time on the computer and never look up. Because of this I have spent the last few years neglecting my home. My husband finally hired a housekeeper to come in and do laundry and scrub baseboards. He is firing her. SHIT!

4. SHOW MY HOUSE SOME LOVE- One of my favorite things is to find new treasures for my home that inspire me to paint, rearrange, or what ever. I have ignored repairs, remodels, planting and gardening for far too long. I wish you could see my weed (formerly known as flower) garden. I am also gathering stuff for a much needed yard sale. I plan to use the proceeds of this yard sale to re-do my dining room.

5. GET A HOBBY- I am trying to decide exactly what I will take up once I have my life back. The house will be empty and quiet. I cannot sit still for long. So I need a hobby. I am currently debating taking up paddleboarding, kayaking, yoga and even sailing. Any suggestions?

6. VOLUNTEER- What a great opportunity to actually spend my time helping others. My kids are gone so I will have time to whatever I want. I would love to become more active at the high school for my daughter's senior year. 

7. RETURN TO NORMAL- What is normal? I do not think I can remember. I vaguely remember chatting at my neighbor's house over coffee. I have some sort of recollection of laying in bed and watching tv or reading a book until I fall asleep. There may be a repressed memory of enjoying the outdoors with my family. If something funny/bad happened with my kids I always thought of posting it on Facebook first to share with strangers.  It became a knee jerk reaction! Before social media I used to call my mom, my husband, or a friend to share news with. Facebook became my normal. I was sharing important- private information with people I have mostly never met. Do they really give a crap about my family? No they do not. My husband began calling it "Anti-Social Media" God, I hate it when he is right.

8. MAKE NEW REAL FRIENDS- How many times have I started a sentance with "I have a friend who---." Friend? Really? This friend is one that I have never actually spoken to or seen in real life.  If I ran into this friend in a store I would probably walk right by them. I always made fun of my daughter who was talk about her friends on YouTube. Then I noticed the tables turned and she was making fun of me talking about my "friends". When Google+ introduced Circles I found there to be a huge grey area between  "Friends" and "Accquaintences" I would often have to stop myself and think about who I would consider a "friend".  I need more physical friends. Physical people to surround myself with that I enjoy.

I may still share from time to time what is happening in my life just not daily. For the most part I would like to disconnect from all of this more and more until I am normal again. I miss the old Allison. I am on a mission to find her. I may be leaving the party early but at least I am not the last to go. It will be nice getting out of the rat race. I just need to learn to survive on less cheese! 
Wish me luck! Feel free to call me. We can do lunch. I will have plenty of free time on my hands....

Sincerely,
Allison Mol
Social Media Socialite


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Early Retirement 

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - Posted by Allison Mol at 9:11 AM
This summer has been eye opening on many levels. As the summer draws to a close and the kids are preparing to head back to school (YAY!!!) I am faced with a difficult decision. I am taking an early retirement from my Social Media Business, Island Networking.
There are several reasons for this decision:
1. Savannah iDoctor- My husband and I started a iPhone repair business in Savannah a few years ago. Recently it has snowballed! Our phones ring off the hook and more recently we began repairing iPads and iPods too. I have decided to dedicate myself to making this business successful. If it kills me! :)
2. Burn out- Sitting behind the computer and my phone day in and day out I have officially reached burn out status!
3. Family- Recently my 6 year old wrote on his Mother's Day questionnaire at school: "What is your mom's favorite thing to do? Work on her computer" He didn't say play with me, read to me, cook for me, laugh with me, or any of my actual favorite things; instead he wrote what he sees me doing all day. He gets a good look at the back of my head, sitting at the computer all day saying "We will play in just a few minutes, when mommy is finished". Not exactly what I signed up for when I started my family.
4. Money- The money is a little better.
5. Freedom- When I used to say "I work from home and can spend time with my family any time I want"-it wasn't exactly the truth. The truth is I would spend hours and hours (sometimes 10+) "Facebooking and Tweeting". My husband was getting annoyed, my kids were getting annoyed and, frankly, so was I.

I love social media. I am a firm believer that it works for small and large business and I plan on utilizing social media to make our own business stronger. I just need to take a step back and try to focus on my family more. I forgot what it was like to read a good book. To enjoy a vacation without checking my phone 100 times a day. I forgot how it feels to sit at the dinner table and talk to my family. To go to the beach and not worry about if I posted this or that for a client. I want my simple little life back.
I will still be available for social media consultations. I still would like to help businesses plant their feet in the digital ground.
Thank you all for your support and helping me make a name for myself in Savannah. I have made many valuable friends in the social media field. It has been a fun ride and I am looking forward to a brighter future with Savannah iDoctor.

REMEMBER: Keep breaking those phones! (Then give me a call 912-484-7262!)

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Early Retirement 

Posted by Allison Mol at 8:55 AM
This summer has been eye opening on many levels. As the summer draws to a close and the kids are preparing to head back to school (YAY!!!) I am faced with a difficult decision. I am taking an early retirement from my Social Media Business, Island Networking.
There are several reasons for this decision:
1. Savannah iDoctor- My husband and I started a iPhone repair business in Savannah a few years ago. Recently it has snowballed! Our phones ring off the hook and more recently we began repairing iPads and iPods too. I have decided to dedicate myself to making this business successful. If it kills me! :)
2. Burn out- Sitting behind the computer and my phone day in and day out I have officially reached burn out status!
3. Family- Recently my 6 year old wrote on his Mother's Day questionnaire at school: "What is your mom's favorite thing to do? Work on her computer" He didn't say play with me, read to me, cook for me, laugh with me, or any of my actual favorite things; instead he wrote what he sees me doing all day. He gets a good look at the back of my head, sitting at the computer all day saying "We will play in just a few minutes, when mommy is finished". Not exactly what I signed up for when I started my family.
4. Money- The money is a little better.
5. Freedom- When I used to say "I work from home and can spend time with my family any time I want"-it wasn't exactly the truth. The truth is I would spend hours and hours (sometimes 10+) "Facebooking and Tweeting". My husband was getting annoyed, my kids were getting annoyed and, frankly, so was I.

I love social media. I am a firm believer that it works for small and large business and I plan on utilizing social media to make our own business stronger. I just need to take a step back and try to focus on my family more. I forgot what it was like to read a good book. To enjoy a vacation without checking my phone 100 times a day. I forgot how it feels to sit at the dinner table and talk to my family. To go to the beach and not worry about if I posted this or that for a client. I want my simple little life back.
I will still be available for social media consultations. I still would like to help businesses plant their feet in the digital ground.
Thank you all for your support and helping me make a name for myself in Savannah. I have made many valuable friends in the social media field. It has been a fun ride and I am looking forward to a brighter future with Savannah iDoctor.

REMEMBER: Keep breaking those phones! (Then give me a call 912-484-7262!)

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Google+ Day 1- First Impression 

Friday, July 8, 2011 - Posted by Allison Mol at 8:53 PM
For the past few days the buzz about Google+ has been nothing but positive. I think the timing of a new, fresh social media platform is nothing short of perfect. Just recently I found myself very bored with Facebook in itself. The edginess was gone. It was becoming diluted and monotonous.
So I decided to give Google+ a good old fashioned try.
My first impression is that is is sleek and smooth. Even the photos were impressive. The interface is pretty easy and fairly self explanatory.
The Circle of Friends concept is a springboard on organization. You are forced, so to speak, to organize your "friends" into different categories such as "friends" "family" "acquaintances" "other" etc. once you start accepting people into your inner circle. I like this. When I initially began Facebook I grouped friends into categories such as high school friends, Savannah friends,people I know, people I don't know and so on but this eventually fell by the wayside and all of my 500+ friends were lumped into one category. I like that, from the start, with Google+ you can group people together and can select which group is seeing each post.
It is very easy and interactive, more so than Facebook.
The only initial downside I have seen is the lack of support on the iOS interfac,e which I prefer, and many of my acquaintances do also. I am willing to wait for this integration because it will only be a matter of time before these apps are introduced.
I want to believe that Google+ will be the next "Big Thing" and will give Facebook a run for their money. Facebook is in a league of their own and they are long over due for some true competition.
Over the next few weeks I look forward to new and exciting things to learn from Google+ and I am proud to say I am an early adopter of the next BIG THING!
Stay tuned....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Dear Facebook Friends 

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 - Posted by Allison Mol at 8:30 PM
Dear Facebook Friends,
A few years ago I quit my Guiding Light habit because of you. Every day I would tune in to my "Stories" at 2:00 sharp. Followed by Oprah and sometimes even a little Judge Judy. I needed the monotonous dramatic stimulation to distract me from the kids, cleaning, bills, grocery or whatever else was calling my name.
Slowly, I was tuning into Facebook for my drama more and more. I even built a business around Facebook so I would have a really good excuse to spend hours behind the computer to watch the occasional drama unfold.
Who was divorcing? Who was newly in love? Who was fighting with their spouse? Who was on vacation? Who was getting married? Who is pregnant? Who was drunk Facebooking? Who was a hypochondriac? Who was funny and/or raunchy?
Lately, it seems, you guys are either living extremely boring lives with no drama or you all have started censoring your posts. What is happening? Don't you know Facebook is my entertainment? I have even found myself switching channels more and more to Twitter, Instagram, and (god forbid) those damn Real Housewives shows.
So please! Turn up the crazy! Entertain me! I need to say "Did you see on Facebook that so and so is dating so and so?" again. I miss you guys. Don't hold back!

Sincerely,
Allison

P.S. While you are at it, could you throw in some TMI here and there too? Thanks!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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5 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Create a Facebook Personal Page For Your Buiness. 

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - Posted by Allison Mol at 1:21 PM
Facebook has been around for several years now. Most businesses are catching on to the importance of social media to connect with customers. When I first started out marketing businesses using social media not a lot of information was known as to how to create a proper business page on Facebook. Depending on the type of business you had you either created a group page, a business page or opened up a separate Facebook profile altogether.
For some reason lately I have witness an influx personal business pages popping up all over Facebook. Either someone is giving them bad advice or they have been living under a virtual rock for the past 3 years. Here is a list of the top 5 reasons why you shouldn't create a Facebook Personal Page for your business.

1. Privacy- Who is really behind that profile? Once someone has accepted you as your friend on Facebook you will probably have access to all of their private photos and thoughts. As a customer, how do you know there isn't a pedophile sitting behind that profile checking out pictures of your children?
2. Customization- A personal page cannot be customized using landing tabs and customs tabs showcasing your specials, promotions, new inventory, etc. Also, you can select a custom URL to easily direct people to your business page.
3.Analytics- Facebook offers in depth analytics for your business page that you cannot get using a personal page. It is nice to know how many impressions you can get through each update. Also, stay on top of what you are doing right and wrong and who is coming and going. What times of day are you reaching the most people.
4. Terms of Use- It is against Facebook Terms of Use. You run the risk of having your profile deleted by Facebook for violating these terms. A while ago I actually had a client who had a personal page for their business with more than 1500 fans. One day it vanished. Every photo and contact was gone and I had to start from scratch. What a pain! Here is a blog post I wrote describing what happened when all was lost.
5. Convenience- Having a business page means you do not have to sign in and out to update your profile. This is nice when on the go and using a mobile device. You can just click your page and update.

Facebook has made it easy to transition your personal page to a business page. Although, you may lose photographs, you will be able to transfer each Friend over to a Like easily and quickly. Click Here to begin migrating your personal page to a business page.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me with any questions allison.mol@me.com or 912-484-7262

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Time for a Browser change? Maybe not... 

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - Posted by Allison Mol at 12:29 PM

For almost 8 years I have been a loyal Safari user. I have tried different browsers but always went back to the more comfortable Safari. Through peer pressure,  I was recently convinced that I was behind the times and was talked into to trying something new. After a twitter poll of my friends, I decided on Google Chrome. It was like teaching an old dog new tricks. I began familiarizing myself with Chrome immediately. Much like switching from a PC to a Mac, everything had to be relearned.  I had to set it up as a preference because Safari kept sneaking back onto my desktop (he was trying to tell me something). 
After using Chrome for a full 24 hours, I had an unfamiliar WARNING screen that popped up warning me of some sort of virus (see below). Scared me to death. Never before had I ever even been faced with the fact that I may be downloading a virus on my beloved Mac. 
Suddenly I found my self switching back to my good ol’ trusty Safari. I felt that I had cheated on Safari and was being punished. Say what you want but in the end I know to stick with the browser that I know best and could use blindfolded. Safari will never let me down, I hope I am forgiven. 

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