Chicago Cubs' Postseason Dreams Unite

We are a Cubs family. When I was in elementary school, we were season ticket holders for years. Dad and I would go to games, but Mom never had much interest. As I got older, I got to bring my friends from school to the games with her ticket. My dad spent a week in Arizona at Cubs Fantasy Camp, my parents have an “A Cubs Fan Lives Here” sign in their front yard, and my dad has had CUBZ FAN on his license plates from the day you were allowed to go from 6 characters to 7.

Mom doesn’t understand any sports. She listens to me when I go on and on about stupid plays Jay Cutler made, or when I rave about Aaron Rodgers, and she spends time reading every article I write for NFLfemale.com although I imagine for her, it’s the same as if I were to hand her an article written in another language. Yet, she is absolutely glued to each Chicago Cubs game, since the Postseason has begun. She texts me throughout the game with comments and anxiety and thoughts on the plays. She doesn’t understand the rules, but that doesn’t matter. We can still watch the games together in our own homes and share the excitement of the chance.

It’s not easy to be a Cubs fan. We haven’t won a World Series in any of my family members’  lifetimes. Chicagoans like a challenge however, and we’re up for them and aim to overcome. It’s not like Southern California is some mythical place, we know it exists, we recognize that there’s no snow there, yet we still stay in Chicago despite freezing pipes, cancelled school days and brutal winters.

Chicago is consistently named one of the “Top 5 Friendliest Cities.” Chicagoans love to talk, and we especially love to talk about Chicago. Our city gives us a lot to connect on, we’ve got two Major League Baseball teams with their respective fans depending on where on the city map you grew up, we have the Chicago Blackhawks and their own winning records, and of course, we have the Chicago Bulls. Mention you grew up in Chicago to anyone over the age of 20 and somehow Michael Jordan’s name will still be brought up in the conversation. Walking through Chicago, you might think there is a game being played year round with any of our teams. We wear our pride on our clothing, with flags hanging from the windows of our cars, and many Chicagoans sport some sort of Chicago tattoo. We also connect around our city’s world-class food scene, the weather, and have you seen our architecture?

Social Media has facilitated the unity the Cubs postseason continues to provide. On social, we connect with like-minded people in various communities, and #FlyTheW has helped us to establish new communities, and find other Cubs fans within our existing communities in cities around the world. Maybe it’s a bandwagon, maybe people like to root for an underdog, or maybe hard-core MLB fans are just happy there’s still baseball being played in late October. I’m fine with it. Join us. We’re friendly, right? And just as welcoming. There will always be seats for new Chicago fans on our wagons. It’s fun to watch the Cubs games on Twitter. I enjoy seeing who is rooting for and against me, and I’ve even got some friends in New York that I look forward to smack talking with before each game and after each scored run. I’ve met more people online to chat with because of the Cubs. I’ve found I’ve got more things in common and more to talk about with friends, both online and off, because of the Cubs.

In what might be the ultimate literal symbol of unity, Mom has agreed that if the Chicago Cubs win the World Series, she will get a Cubs tattoo. I have 32 tattoos. 16 years ago, the day before I was going to get my first one, I asked her to come with me. Our family dog had just died, and I was going to take one of my mom’s photographs of him and get it tattooed on me in remembrance. She wouldn’t come. Throughout the years as I added to my tattoo art collection, I’ve asked her to join me and still, she wouldn’t come. I told her I would accompany her to HER first tattoo, and I, too, would get whatever Cubs image she chooses. More ways the Chicago Cubs Postseason will hopefully be uniting us. So, Cubs, win or lose, I’m already winning.

Understanding Faceboook Insights and Twitter Analytics

In yesterday's blog, we started talking about the importance of knowing how and why it’s necessary to continually be monitoring and analyzing your social media analytics. When I first began testing, I wasn’t ready to delve into tools and putting budget towards analytics just yet. Luckily, Twitter and Facebook have been doing more and more to allow users to monitor results on their platforms while in the app (or desktop).

Keep in mind – you have the ability to track almost any kind of data imaginable. That doesn’t mean that all is necessary and relevant to YOU. Sort through the data to determine what is most important for you to learn about your community to help further your ability to reach your goals and grow your engagement.

Facebook Insights                                                                                         

 

Each admin of a Facebook page has access to insights. You can find these by clicking the Insights tab in the Menu bar at the top of your page. This will give you ‘insight’ into your posts, your fans and your reach.

There are many things you can look at in Insights: weekly reach, how well each post has done, what is being looked at the longest…There are six ways Facebook breaks down the information:

1.      Overview – this shows how your page is doing, how many new “likes” you received, and how each post was received, how many people engaged with it, what times they saw it, how many people shared the content…

2.      Likes – This shows you how many new likes you have received and how many people have un-liked the page. If you are doing an ad campaign on Facebook, this is where you will see how many organic vs paid likes you have received.

3.      Reach – this data tells you how many people saw each piece of content you posted, if anyone liked it, clicked on it or shared it.

4.      Visits –  looking at visits will show you the number of times the different tabs on your page (photos tab, info tab, timeline, etc.) were viewed, and how any times people came to your page from a website outside of Facebook.

5.      Posts – this might be the most important piece to look at. Posts show you a breakdown of the days and times your fans are online, the paid and organic reach of your posts, as well as interactions with them i.e. comments or likes.

6.      People - I like to break down the people that like my brand’s pages. You are able to see the gender of the people that like that certain page, as well as their age and locations. Having demographic data for your community can further help you tailor your content to relate the most to them. Some people call this “creating target audience personas,” but I’m not a huge fan of that term.

Facebook Audience Insights

               You can further break down the information on all the people that have “liked” your Facebook page. There are five ways Facebook has broken down this information: Demographics, Page Likes, Location and Language, Facebook usage (are your visitors coming from mobile, desktop, etc) and Activity (are people coming to your page to shop? Just to gather info?)

Once you become more comfortable looking at and analyzing this data, it will help show you what sort of content your audience is looking for from you, so you know what to post more of or less of. This information will also give you a better idea of what you might want to spend money on: posts that might be worth “boosting,” or whether you should begin Facebook Ads at any certain time.

This is just the beginning of all the Facebook Insights offers. Which insights have you found to be most helpful?

Twitter Analytics

Midway through 2015, Twitter rolled out their native analytics platform, available to all Twitter users. In Twitter Analytics, you are provided with a 28 day review of the response for each tweet – what people have RTd, mentioned, clicked on and marked as a favorite.

Just like Facebook Insights, Twitter offers you a variety of measurable metrics. The options that I have found most useful are:

1.      Tweet Activity -  If you click on any individual tweet, you are shown all the engagement on that tweet, including clicks on URLs if there is one in the post, how many people clicked your username in response to reading that specific tweet, and clicks on images if there is one in the post, expanded details.

a.      This is further broken down into 3 sections:

                                                    i.     Impressions – here you can choose a date range to see how many impressions you have received on your tweets. It is broken down by organic impressions and paid (promoted tweets, ads, etc) You are kept within a 91 day (random) window for the dates you can choose to analyze. Most valuable here could be the “Impressions by Time of Day,” so you know moving forward, when most of your community is available to speak with!

                                                   ii.     Engagements – There are no filters here, but you are given a wide range of information including: Impressions, Retweets, Replies, Favorites, and User Profile Clicks. What I have found interesting is how many times I have had a tweet retweeted, without the person actually opening the link included in the tweet. In my eyes, I see this as people beginning to have trust in what I (or my brands/clients) are tweeting and see it as beneficial. Also, that could show that certain words and headlines resonate with our community.

2.      Followers – This might be my favorite analytic on the Twitter interface. Not only can you see the demographics of your followers, their marital status and location, you can further break down the information via the Lifestyle tab. The information here shows you the Top 10 interests of your followers. By learning the subjects your followers tweet about the most, you are then able to join conversations about things that interest them, find things you have in common with to help begin engagement, and get a better understanding of the content your followers would be most interested in receiving from you.

Have you checked out your Twitter Analytics Dashboard yet? I’d love to hear what information and what tabs have been most meaningful to you. Tweet me @lucyrk78 and share some of your data with me!

Be Who You Are

When I was 17, I started smoking. I was afraid that my parents would find out and be upset with me, so I hid my cigarette pack under the driver’s side seat in my car. Perhaps one of the most obvious hiding place, my mom found them. Her response wasn’t what I expected – rather than being upset with me for the act of smoking, she was more upset with my hiding it. I’ll never forget what she said, “Be who you are. If you smoke, say you smoke.” (yes, I've told this story before in a blog, but it's made a huge impact on the me of today!)

I wish I could say that from then on, I always had the strength of character to be “who I was,” but as I’m sure we can all relate to, that’s easier said than done. We still live in a pretty judgmental world. And I believe that as long as we do, we will care or worry what others think. Perhaps we don’t always suffer from those feelings of wanting to be liked or fit in more than we feel we do, but I don’t think anyone could honestly say that 100% of the time, they never think about it.

Personally for me, it has taken over 30 years to get to a point where I’m not afraid to stand up for what I believe in, or share honest opinions and thoughts when asked a direct question. For a long time as a child I was really shy and didn’t want to share strong opinions. I’m not even sure I allowed myself to form them, content to just agree with the majority in hopes that would make me look like I was “one of them.” Trying to be “one of the crowd” has brought me through some experiences that were nothing if not learning experiences – of what NOT to do my life. I allowed myself to be led astray almost exclusively each time I tried to do something simply to fit in. That has played a HUGE part in shaping the Lucy of today. How do we build more of that self-confidence and self-esteem? My answer? By doing esteem-able things. And the more you stand up for yourself, the more I find your self-confidence and esteem grows.

Do I worry that people won’t like me for some of the things I believe or say? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it prior to sharing or admitting certain things, but worry isn’t the word I use. I hope that people feel like I do – I respect people more FOR sharing their beliefs and thoughts, whether I agree with them or not. Obviously there is a caveat to this – I wouldn’t respect someone if they said something in the vein of “I think we should kill all the people that _____,” but those people aren’t in the communities I keep myself in, so it’s a non-issue. I have friends of different ethnicities, religious beliefs, that work in different industries and that grew up completely opposite the way I did. How boring would life be if everything agreed with you? Would you not be a bit mistrustful of those people? I mean, how can anyone honestly think the exact same things you do? And if you were to find that 1 in a million person, what you could you possibly talk about? I find that discussions or debates, even arguments, always lead to my looking at things through a different lens. Does that mean I’m then swayed to their way of thinking? No, but sometimes.

When you know that someone speaks their mind and is constant in their thoughts and their actions and way they conduct themselves in life follow those thoughts and beliefs, it’s much easier to know how to engage with that person. You don’t have to worry about which “side of them” you’ll be dealing with, and you’ll know what people to have what conversations with. These are the people I find myself looking at as my “influencers,” those that I know are strong enough in their beliefs that if I want an honest opinion or thought or piece of advice, I can go to those people and not have to wonder if they’re just saying what they’re saying to appease me, or to make me like them more than I already might. I find it exhausting when people seem to “go both ways” on topics – it’s confusing, one day they say one thing, and the next time we talk about the same topic, they suddenly seem to have flip-flopped into thinking something else. I understand that feelings change and grow and that’s FINE, but I’ve seen it happen mid-sentence and that just makes me feel the person is saying what they THINK I want to hear. How well does that ever work out? For me? Never well. I’m not a mind-reader, and I don’t want to be one.

Does this always work in my favor? Nope. But because I have the courage of my convictions, I recognize that I might face disapproval, but I’ve gotten to a point in life as an adult that I believe in myself.  I, as much as I can, surround myself with other people that are confident in who they are, and people I can trust and believe when they talk. Does this make me arrogant? I hope it’s not seen that way. Just because I believe in myself, that doesn’t mean I’m right all the time. Haven’t we all had a situation we thought was 100% one way, and it turned out it wasn’t at all? I don’t find that confidence = arrogance, unless ego is involved. If you come from a pure place, ego doesn’t generally enter into it, right? Am I like this every minute of every day? Nope. I am not sure that’s even possible as humans. Of course I have self-doubt at times. But I work on it. Is it sometimes easier to just “go with the flow” and not express yourself or your differing ideas? Sure. We’re human, we make mistakes and sometimes it’s easy to take the easy road.

Have you ever experienced a time that you stood up for yourself and your beliefs and it wasn’t taken well? I’d love to hear some of your experiences with this….

REVIEW: Bob Dylan - Shadows in the Night

Shadows in the Night is Bob Dylan’s thirty-sixth studio album. It was released by Columbia Records on February 3, 2015 and contains 10 songs originally made famous by Frank Sinatra, though Dylan chose these songs and put together this arrangement himself for this album.

From the first song “I’m a Fool To Want You,” Dylan set the tone for the entire set, evoking feelings of lost love, sadness and melancholy made even more emotional by his gravelly (though less ragged than we have recently heard) tone and wistful tempo. For those that gave up trying to understand the Dylan of late, straining to make sense of mumbled lyrics, I implore you to give him one last chance. His voice on this album evokes the Dylan we came to love way back when. Song after song, Dylan’s enunciation is clear as he sings each word with purposeful meaning. Dylan proves that at 73, he is still a singer - strong of voice and just as able to stay one step ahead of all who try to pigeon-hole him or believe he’s nearing the end of what his voice can handle as ever.

Although over 30 years have gone by, I still remember where I was when first introduced to Bob Dylan, and I imagine this is true for all of us true Dylan fans. The songs on this album are not his, yet they are. Having never heard Frank Sinatra sing any of the songs showcased on Shadows in the Night, one wouldn’t think twice if told these songs came from Dylan’s own writing. Bob Dylan has made a career of pining for women he once loved, writing about some of them with biting lyrics ruing the day he met them, and regretting parts of his past. When a despondent man asks “What’ll I do with just a photograph to tell my troubles to?” in “What’ll I Do,” you see this as easily something Dylan would have written in a song fit for Blood on the Tracks.

Unlike the Dylan we have come to love, this album is short – 10 songs lasting less than 40 minutes played all the way through. An homage for sure to Frank Sinatra’s time, when albums were shorter and didn’t include those Dylan-esque songs that can last over 10 minutes. It would be easy to brush over this record and stick it in the tribute album category, but this is not that. Dylan is paying tribute to Sinatra by choosing these songs, but taking them and becoming one with them, making each one his own. In doing so, in a way only few can, the listener is drawn in, carefully listening to the story he spins for us, feeling as you imagine the man in each song felt as these times in his life were occurring. In the first notes of the first song you immediately your attention is called to the sharp difference between Dylan and Sinatra, as there is not the sweeping production Frank Sinatra used, but rather Dylans usual five piece touring and studio band. For those of us that have literally followed Bob Dylan, you recognize the precision and mastery of Charlie Sexton on guitar. Making up the rest of the band is bassist Tony Garnier, guitarist Stu Kimball, percussionist George G. Receli and perhaps the most notable of all, the sound of Donny Herron on pedal steel guitar.

Esteemed and experienced are the members of the band. On this album their sound is raw, almost as if you were listening to them play at an intimate gathering of their closest friends. The production, or lack thereof on this latest release also bolsters that feel, adding to the realism. Recorded live, listeners are drawn even closer as we pick up on paper rustling and the light catch of Dylan’s breath.

Worth exploring, is the marketing route Dylan embarked upon for this albums release. Personally, with over 25 years of professional background in marketing, I have to admit that I honestly have not yet solidified my thoughts on this. Rather, I (at least at time of writing this article) prefer to pose questions, both to myself to ponder and to you all, to crowdsource your thoughts. The premise began with Bob Dylan (and?) Columbia Records choosing 40,000 AARP members at random to send this album to, free of charge. The sole interview Dylan took the time to give, went to AARP, rather than the obvious Rolling Stone. This begs a few questions:

1.      Does Bob Dylan not believe these songs are as timeless as they truly are, and that his target market falls solely with the AARP crowd?

2.      Is Dylan finding (or subconsciously believing) that millennials are no longer fans or discovering his music?

3.      Have we all really gotten this old?!

As a lifetime Bob Dylan fan, I loved this album. I loved hearing Dylan SING and I will always love songs that tell a story. At the same time, this album evokes deep feelings of woe, the songs are slow and inherently sorrowful. I kept waiting for the next song to lift us up, to give us a short break from feeling all the feelings, the next “Like a Rolling Stone,” but that song never came. This is a heavy album.

Buy this CD. Seriously. If you’re still on the fence, download these three songs first: "I'm a Fool to Want You," "That Lucky Old Sun," "Some Enchanted Evening." (THEN go buy the CD)

Twitter: @lucyrk78

 

Track Listing

1.      I’m a Fool To Want You

2.      The Night We Called It A Day

3.      Stay With Me

4.      Autumn Leaves

5.      Why Try To Change Me Now

6.      Some Enchanted Evening

7.      Full Moon and Empty Arms

8.      Where Are You

9.      What’ll I Do

10.   That Lucky Old Sun

20 Things Chicagoans Never Say

 

1.      It’s 2am. There won’t be a line at Garrett’s.

2.      I’ve never had deep dish pizza.

3.      There’s 2 feet of snow and a lawn chair at the curb. I wonder why?

4.      Freeway.

5.      Let’s take the 90. Unlike our friends in the West, we’re on a last name basis with our expressways.

6.      Yes, I’d love to spend the day on Michigan Avenue!

7.      Want to get Superdawg? I can just run in and pick it up. Why sit in the car?

8.      I don’t own a North Face.

9.      Who’s Billy Dec?

10.   Let’s grab lunch at Taste of Chicago. It’ll be fun.

11.   What windchill?

12.   I never put on weight in the winter.

13.   Wait til next year? Nah. We’re goin’ all the way THIS year!

14.   I sure wish I could find a Starbucks.

15.   Jay Cutler totally deserved that contract.

16.   Michael who?

17.   I’ve never dated a guy with a beard.

18.   What do you mean “The Mob?”

19.   The Dan Ryan? Easiest way to get around the city.

20.   Earthquake!

Michelle Has Blown Into Chic-ago!

This past Thursday night, Blowtique, Chicago’s premier blow-out only salon as featured in Vogue’s recent “Best Dressed” Issue, introduced Michelle Sparkling Wine to press and tastemakers in Chic-ago. Guests enjoyed her company along with tasty macarons, complimentary blow-dry styles, custom nail files, door prizes, and a gift basket raffle benefitting Locks of Love, which has for fifteen years provided prosthetic human hairpieces to children and young adults who have lost their own hair from any diagnosis, disease or accident.

 

Michelle is a fresh take on the sparkling wines of Domaine Ste. Michelle, who have been crafting highly acclaimed, quality wines in Washington State for more than 35 years. 

Michelle is flirty, feminine and fun, featuring refine cuvees crafted in the traditional method champenoise style from winemaker Rick Casqueiro.

Michelle comes to the party in three styles sourced from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes in Washington’s Columbia Valley. Predominantly a blend of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Michelle Brut features delicate flavors of apples and citrus with vibrant acidity. Michelle Extra Dry is a slightly sweeter wine with notes of cream and a toasty finish. Michelle Brut Rose is a medium-dry sparkling blush wine made predominantly from Pinot Noir grapes, with soft impressions of berries. “We enhanced the cuvees for more body and concentration,” Casqueiro explains. “The wines are elegant, with bright flavors, beautiful structure and crisp acidity.” Michelle’s newly and stylishly dressed as well – in an elegant bottle shape labeled in white with soft pastel accents of pink and blue.

 ABOUT MICHELLE

Michelle by Domaine Ste. Michelle is the largest producer of sparkling wines in Washington State. The winery has crafted highly acclaimed wines for over 35 years since the wines were introduced in 1978. Michelle wines are crafted using the traditional method champenoise technique. The winery offers a Brut, Brut Rose and Extra Dry Sparkling Wine.

 

ABOUT BLOWTIQUE CHIC-AGO

Blowtique is Chicago’s PREMIER blow-out only salon as featured in Vogue’s recent Best Dressed Issue! Catering to the locks that make Chicago fabulous, Blowtique introduces patrons to the idea that a blow-out can be as convenient and as accessible as a polish change. From “the Sunset” to “the 5^th Avenue” (and every stylish street in between), Blowtique tames the manes of women everywhere!

ABOUT LOCKS OF LOVE

ocks of Love, a public non-profit organization that provides vacuum fitted hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. They meet a unique need for children by using donated human hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. Others have suffered severe burns or injuries or endured radiation treatment to the brain stem or other dermatological conditions that result in permanent hair loss. The vacuum fit is designed for children who have experienced a total loss of scalp hair and does not require the use of tape or glue. The prostheses they provide help to restore self-esteem and confidence, enabling these children to face the world and their peers. The organization, which began operation in 1998, provides the prostheses to children under the age of 21. These hairpieces require between 6-10 ponytails and take approximately 3-4 months to manufacture. Thousands of bundles of donated hair arrive as a result of the national publicity that Locks of Love receives in newspapers, magazines and television programs. It is estimated that children comprise over 80% of the donors, making this a charity where children have an opportunity to help children.

 

Why Chicago Is > Los Angeles

 

 

 

1.       Chicagoans will tell you like it is. Though this may not always be want you want to hear, they’re not telling you what they think you want to hear, or what they think will advance their position in some way with you. They’ll speak the truth.

2.       If a Chicagoan asks you “What’s new?” or “How was your day?” they will sit and listen to hear your answer. It’s not just a space/time filler question when a Chicagoan takes the time to engage you. They won’t ask you the question then proceed to tell you about themselves, or check their phone, or aimlessly play with their phone to avoid hearing your answer.

3.       Chicagoans are real people. We’re not all the same size, with the same “latest” hairdo and clothing. Chicagoans are who they are, and are comfortable with who they are (for the most part). When you look into a Chicagoans face, you can see that they’re having thoughts. Actually thinking, right there in front of you. Not just looking you up and down, comparing your thigh size to theirs, your dress size to their own, seeing how they are better than you, guessing how much money you make and what you do, and thinking how sad it is that you have to work in the first place.

4.       If you’re in Chicago and a native asks you out to dinner, know that you can actually eat said dinner at the designated time. Your dinner partner won’t simply be consuming water or a side salad or booze and claim that they’re “too full” from those items to eat anything else. The native won’t have spent the last hour eating alone in hiding in their apartment so they won’t be hungry at the dinner, and no one will see them eating.

5.       “Nobody walks in LA?” Well everybody walks in Chicago. Even if it’s raining. Even if it’s snowing. Even if it’s hot. Why? Because we’re human, and humans walk. Don’t tell anyone, but humans even sweat when walking in the heat. I know, Angelinos, I’ve just given up one of your biggest secrets, but it’s gotta be said sometime. Another reason why? Because Chicagoans know that their “walking outdoors days” are often numbered due to weather that will surely come, so they take advantage of the time they can spend out of doors.

6.       Chicago. Is. Beautiful. Not artificially beautiful with pretty trees flown in and forced to survive in a desert they’re not accustomed to, but with true beauty. With a gigantic natural lake and a beautiful skyline.

7.       Chicagoans know that good things come to those that….wait for it….work for it. Not simply those that are born into it.

8.       Chicagoans work. They’re not afraid to get a little dirty on their (non) designer clothes. You won’t ever sit in traffic at random times of the day not moving an inch in your car wondering, “why is everyone on the road right now? Why isn’t anyone working?” Because everyone will be.

9.       Chicago isn’t afraid to show it’s age. We’ve got historical buildings and a rich history of mobsters and fire that people are all too excited to share with a newbie. Not everything was “just built” and looks it.

10.   People who live in Chicago love living in Chicago. If you happened into Chicago on any given day, you might think it was “Chicago Pride Day” as the majority of the people you pass will be wearing clothes with their favorite Chicago sports team’s logo emblazoned across the front, or a Wrigley shirt of some sort, or simply the Chicago flag (and some will even have said flag permanently inked somewhere on their body). You won’t overhear the majority of people complaining about the city or the people or the fakeness or saying, “At least the weather’s great,” in hopes of trying to convince themselves, along with the person they’re speaking with that they haven’t made the mistake of their lives moving to this city. Yes, we all complain about the winter, but then, guess what? Spring comes. Every year. Like clockwork. You can even (literally) set your watch to it, so to speak. And just like that, you’re back with nothing to complain about. Except the sales tax.