My Foray into Social Media

In many ways, I’m an “all or nothing” kind of girl. With new technology, I tend to hold out, thinking “I don’t need that” and have nothing to do with it at all … until I try it out … just a little … then I’m hooked. I go all-out, diving in head first without looking back.

Case in point: facebook. I remember thinking what kind of book of faces would be helpful to me in any way? I simply disregarded facebook as something for a younger generation (subconsciously pondering the fact I used a term like ‘younger generation’ – ouch!) and nothing I needed to know. Then I heard it in a conversation, it was referenced in an email, a friend asked if I was “on facebook” … so naturally, I had to check it out to see what it was about. Just a peek. Well, hundreds of posts and dozens of photo albums later … I’m hooked. It's a great way for me to keep in touch with Army friends across the globe ... and nothing beats those "Welcome Home" photo albums!

Same story, second chapter … Twitter. I mean, really … Twitter? Could anything sound more silly? You can ‘tweet’ and ‘retweet’ and those you ‘follow’ and ‘follow you’ are your ‘tweeple’ … oh, and to avoid being a ‘twit’ – someone who doesn’t understand or use Twitter – you should sign up right away. I’m not making this up. Google “twitter vocabulary” online and you’ll see it all there. [On a side note, when did ‘google’ become a verb in the English language?]

Okay, so I was firm in my non-twittering stance … and then our brigade announced it would be using Twitter to keep us updated as our deployment comes to an end! I was shocked. Wasn’t Twitter for tweens? So … you see the punchline coming … I had a look. I signed up for my free account and, of course, I love it. I absolutely LOVE getting instant notifications from our brigade when there is an announcement. How convenient is that?

In case you’re not convinced of my ‘convenience’ argument, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, at an Army post far, far away … there was an FRG (Family Readiness Group) Leader. Her husband’s unit was coming home from a six-month training deployment and she must notify all of her FRG members of their impending return. She is happy to relay this message – they’re coming home! Birds sing. The sun shines. Happiness abounds. Once her phone calls are complete, she gaily dances to prepare herself for the homecoming ceremony. Alas! The phone rings again. The time for the ceremony has changed … no problem, she trills … and joyfully calls each of the members again. Tra-la-la … they’re coming home … oh! What’s this? Another phone call … and another … and another. The birds have flown, the sun has set, and she is frantically sprinting toward post, almost missing the ceremony for having been on the phone so many times.

Not the best fairy tale in the world (except the happy ending where the Soldiers DO come home!!) but you see my point. Now instead of making a dozen phone calls at every change in ceremony time (I don’t know the average number of ceremony time changes for each homecoming, but it must be at least 2 or 3 changes per each), everyone can receive their very own Twitter message! You can choose to have the messages sent to your cell phone (a feature that can be turned ‘on’ or ‘off’ for everyone you ‘follow’) or simply have the messages go to your Twitter page, where they remain, unobtrusive, until you login and check them yourself.

I also see that the Army as a whole is using many of these social networking and information sharing websites. Not only can you become a ‘fan’ of the Army on facebook and ‘follow’ Army updates on Twitter, you can share information from the army.mil webpage with: Digg, Diigo, Facebook, FriendFeed, Google Bookmarks, LinkedIn, Live, Mixx, myAOL, MySpace, Newsvine, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Twitter, and Yahoo Buzz! I can’t pretend to know what some of these are; perhaps additional research is required?

So there are a few of these sites that I understand and use, yet there is a world of others I have yet to conquer. For now, I’m a ‘fan’ of the Army and Army Well-Being; and I ‘follow’ them both on Twitter. Others I simply do not need and I will have nothing to do with them … yet. Stay tuned.

TORCH and ADVON

Photo: ADVON returning from a year-long deployment. Okay, I have to admit that after 15+ years as an Army wife, I don’t know what ‘TORCH’ and ‘ADVON’ stand for. Something about advanced party … but there’s no ‘p’ for ‘party’ … so I just don’t know. I do, however, know what it means. It means your Soldier comes home FIRST!! We’ve never had the honor of either of those designations. My husband somehow manages to get himself into the ‘stay-behind-and-make-sure-all is-well-out-here’ job and comes home late or last. Not that I’m complaining, though, as I am happy these TORCH and ADVON folks get here and get the place ready for everyone else to come home. In a way, it’s reassuring to me. The wheels are turning, the process has begun … our unit actually is coming home and coming home soon! Homecoming becomes reality, not just a long-sought-after dream. It’s good to see our unit patch and our unit Soldiers back at home, on U.S. soil and on our Army installation. It’s heartening to w

The Change of Command Ceremony

Last Friday, my Family and I participated in the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division change of command on Fort Hood, Texas. Hubby became the battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment and joined a wonderful group of "Red Dragon" Soldiers and Families. It's a dream come true for us ... one of those things you hope in the back of your mind you'll get to do one day, but know realistically that the chances are slim you'll get to do it. When I first saw his name on 'the list' that the Army publishes, I was elated for him. No one knows more than I do his passion for the Army and for the Soldiers in it. He is a wonderful leader and cares so much. We both knew that this would be the adventure of a lifetime. We explained this new job to our two boys (ages ten and six) as best we could and they kept saying, "We'll have 500 new friends on Friday!" as their summary of the discussion. =) The ceremony was amazing, a st

A Letter to My Cousin and Friend

As I was cleaning out our home office today, I came across an old college notebook from a writing course I had taken at Baylor. Our assignment was to write a letter to someone filled with memories of time spent together. I had chosen to write to my cousin Lori and, although it was a rough draft, I just had to post it. I finished out the last part and laughed out loud at some of the superfun memories with Lori, my cousin and friend. Dear Lori, As I reflect on the time we have spent together, I remember so many wonderful memories with you. Laughter always comes first to mind because we have shared so much of it. We start out giggling over some trivial nothing and soon are rolling in teary-eyed, side-splitting, I-can’t-catch-my-breath laughter. Days later, we will laugh again when one thought triggers another and we think of the same funny thing. After all, we are ‘more funny repeated.’ Our memories together are vast and varied for they have been collecting since, well, basically fr

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