Laura Lohr

Not Just an Alliteration

Facebook, Are You Following Me?

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Facebook is Tracking Me

Facebook Tracking

Lately, I have noticed something very peculiar. It seems like every single Google search I do, somehow ends up in the sidebar on Facebook in the form of ads. What is up with Facebook? Is Google in on it? I didn’t think Facebook and Google were pals. Days later, I noticed Amazon, Zappo’s, Target and any shopping I do shows up in my sidebar in a creepy, “we’re watching you” sort-a-way. Lately, the “sponsored stories” and ads have been jamming up my already busy feed and some of it? Well, sometimes it’s a little embarrassing. You have to be really careful what you search for/buy, because it is going to show up everywhere—Facebook tracking is following every bit of your web browsing.

Stay tuned, I am going to tell you how to stop Facebook from following you around. You won’t be completely rid of ads on Facebook. Ads are here to stay. HOWEVER, you can opt-out of Facebook web tracking, by blocking Criteo’s web browsing tracking methods. [Read more…]

The Sleek New Windows 8X HTC Phone by #Verizon

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In December, Mr. Bear and I got the opportunity to try out the new Windows 8 HTC by Verizon. When it came in the mail, I could not wait to try it. I opened the box and found this beautiful blue phone. I powered it on and was immediately excited by how fast it is! It has all the bells and whistles that we love and couldn’t wait to try the new operating system. I love how it fits perfectly in the palm of my hand and even Mr. Bear remarked at how light it is and how easy it is to hold, even with his bear paws big hands.

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Of course, the first thing I did was customize the menu to suit my social media needs. The Twitter and Facebook apps were incredibly fast and responsive. I have noticed with my Droid phone the apps have a lag in updates at times—but not with this phone! I was however, disappointed to discover that the Instagram app has not been developed yet, although doing a little research revealed that that too is in the works. With the Verizon 4G LTE network, I was blazing the internet in record speeds which made my little heart skip a beat, and I also got a great plan that let me send a 130 characters text message really cheap in all India.

The menu on the home screen features Windows 8’s live tile feature, instead of app icons. What I like the best about it, is that it displays live updates on each app, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, weather, e-mail, or any other app. It was a little bit challenging to figure out the new format, but with some playing around, I was navigating the tiles in no time. There definitely is a learning curve, like with any new technology. The screen is crisp and displayed video with great clarity. The sound was great, although the volume rocker was a bit difficult to adjust while on a call, as it is extremely flush with the phone body. The sound quality on calls was excellent, however and calls were clear on both ends.

The phone boasts a 8 mega-pixel rear-facing camera and front-facing camera. The camera took great pictures and performed better in low-light than my Droid Razr has performed. The screen resolution is A-MAZING with HD 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution.

I have come to love using Google Drive to store my important documents to view everywhere, but taking a document from Windows Office and uploading to Google Docs has sometimes resulted in a lack of functionality. With the Windows 8X, it features Windows Office, which makes it possible to view documents from anywhere, without losing the functionality within the doc. LOVE.

One thing that did not light my fire, was the battery life. I’ve been sporting my Droid Razr Maxx for over a year now and the battery life does perform better than the Windows 8X for my constant connection with social media. I found that the battery did not last an entire day when I used the combination of the camera, Twitter, Facebook and all the updating tiles.

All and all, this phone was fun to use and once I got over my initial frustration with trying something new, the Windows 8 OS grew on this creature of habit and Mr. Bear too. This fun little phone has great features and is a great phone for the Windows lover out there.

The Windows 8X HTC phone is $199 from Verizon Wireless with a two-year contract.

BlogHer 2012—My Thoughts and Critiques

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We got back from our trip to BlogHer and our Tour d’East Coast two weeks ago now. It was an exciting adventure and like any fabulous vacation, I am glad to be home, sweet home, savoring the memories. The BlogHer conference was a letdown this year; I am very disappointed to say. It was disorganized. It was chaotic. It was crowded. It was stressful.

The Bad:

1. They had over 5,000 attendees and that was way too many! The New York City Hilton was completely unprepared and unable to accommodate this many people. I was at BlogHer two years ago, with 2,000 less attendees and the cracks were beginning to show back then. Thankfully, we did not stay at the Hilton. I understand there was a 15 minute wait (and more) for the elevators during peak times. Yikes!

2. There was a stampede of pushing and shoving at the Martha Stewart lunch the first day. People were stuck on the escalators and could not get off. There were so many people on the upper level, where the food was served. It did not feel safe at all. I nearly had an anxiety attack and I was not the only one. I did not talk to anyone that had a different experience that day.

Here is the only surviving photo of the Martha Stewart luncheon. Somehow, I managed to delete every single, last photo from my DSLR camera before it backed up to the Cloud or my computer. EVERY ONE!

But, THANKFULLY, my friend Danielle of SimmWorks Family Blog saved the day and sent me some of her. I am totally appreciative! Thank you! Thank you!

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Here is Martha tweeting about us. 🙂

3. At the Katie Couric luncheon the following day, I was looking for a place to sit, but every single table I went to sit down at, one person was “reserving” the nine other chairs at the table. I finally sat down and held my ground at an EMPTY chair. I was tired of caring if people had saved seats for people that had not bothered to plan ahead to get a seat before I got there. I think saving a seat for one or two people is fine. More than two people? That really is unfair. This particular person I have been following on Twitter for some time now and she is a lovely, genuine, sweet person. I think the crowds brought out the worst in a lot of people. It was tense. Once her friends arrived, however, I felt like we left on good terms. (By the way, I still think this person is a very lovely person!)

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I am maybe ten feet away from Katie Couric. I thought she was great! She has some serious arm muscles too! Man!

4. The expo was so disjointed. Rooms with brands here. Rooms with brands there. It was completely different from last year. It was difficult to locate the brands I wanted to connect with. There was not a flow. Also, from what I understand, there was some bad behavior from other bloggers that completely had some brands totally turned off. I found that some of the brands were a little more willing to give away swag than to discuss relationships. Last year seemed a lot easier to make connections.

The Good:

1. I got to hang out with some of my very favorite people and meet some new friends along the way! It was wonderful to spend time with some of my friends I had met years ago and we get to see each other once a year at the conference.

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2. I went to a lot of really fun parties with a lot of fabulous people. It was so much fun! I have to blog about the Harley Davidson party, the Land’s End party, the California Dreaming party and The Odd Life of Timothy Green premiere that Allie and Mr. Bear went to. There were so many incredible experiences, they all deserve their own post!

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3. New York City was fantastic, as always! The city was bustling and full of energy all day and night. It was awesome to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, just the three of us. Mr. Bear and Allie spent the two days I was at the conference roaming around the city. They went to a tour of the NBC studio, to the Empire State Building, to the Natural History Museum and wandered aimlessly through Central Park. Allie had a blast playing on the playground, while Mr. Bear had a leisure chat with the other dads with their kiddos. The last day in New York, we took in a Broadway show together. I have always wanted to do this! Mary Poppins was a great show. I have so many posts to write! We had a blast.

4. This was the first time Allie was in New York City with us, outside the womb. (See my post about this!) It was exciting to be in Times Square with her. She was so in awe of everything going on around her.

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Allie and Crystal—This is the bear she convinced Mr. Bear she MUST have because all of her stuffed animals were at home. In her defense, Crystal went everywhere we did.

A New Chapter. New Opportunities.

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A little less than two years ago, I went to a pre-BlogHer meet-up with other local San Diego bloggers. I was nervous about going to the meet-up. I was nervous about my first time at BlogHer. I had been blogging for more than five years at that point and had few meet-ups with friends I had met online. For me, meeting people from online “friendships” was still a bit taboo. What if these people were creeps? What if they thought I was a creep? My anxiety was running high. I bribed Mr. Bear to come with me to the meet-up. I was afraid I might need him to rescue me.

Mr. Bear was reluctant to go. He had a long day at work and coming to this “blogging thing” was not something he really wanted to do. He was on the fence about blogging. He was not quite sure why I was so mesmerized by putting my whole life on display, nonetheless, he supported me because it made me happy. Happy wife, happy life, as the saying goes.

Hours later, I had made many friendships. I met many women I felt I had a connection with and those friendships have blossomed throughout the past two years. Mr. Bear never had to rescue me that night. In fact, he practically had to drag me away. Furthermore, the results of that meet-up and the blogging opportunities that followed changed his mind completely about this “blogging thing.”

Months after BlogHer, a friend I had met at the BlogHer meet-up posted on Twitter about a part-time opportunity at the publishing company she works for. I applied for the position. I got the position. It was only supposed to be a part-time, temporary position for three months. I have been there for over 18 months now. It was surreal! I got my first job since I became a mom on Twitter. It was awesome!

Next week, this opportunity will end. I was well aware when I got hired that this position could end at any time. With budgets, my own skill limitations, my time constraints with wanting to be at home when Allie gets out of school, and numerous other hurdles that could arise—this opportunity could be 3 months or 6 months, but likely not forever.

In the past 18 months, I have learned so many new things. I knew very little about marketing. I knew very little about publishing. I knew very little in many areas that I now know significantly more about. I have had a lot of things happen personally during that time, including health issues and various other challenges. I have learned many skills in balance and planning, as being a working mom has had its own share of obstacles. I have loved these experiences, by virtue of the growth I have seen in my life professionally and personally. I enjoyed my job and the people I have worked with. I have loved learning new things and developing new skills. When you want to market your websites or business, it is better to ask SEO firms and experts from North Gold Coast.

We leave for New York City and BlogHer next month. I know that new opportunities await with the networking I will do. Sure, BlogHer is parties, swag, and fun, however I will never approach another conference or meet-up the same again. There are friends to meet, connections to make, and grand possibilities ahead. It is all about the people. You never know what these fabulous experiences may offer. Two years later, I have many friendships from BlogHer 10 and the pre-BlogHer meet-up.

I walk away from this chance meet-up with a multitude of blessings: friends, job opportunities, new skills, a discretionary income, and no regrets. While I am sad to see this chapter end, I know in my heart there is something new on the horizon and I am anxious to see what is waiting for me.

Mamavation Monday #11

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What a journey the past couple of weeks have been! First of all, I have lost N I N E pounds! I cannot believe it! I am retaining a lot of water, presumably from the muscle break down and rebuilding from all the working out I have been doing. I only lost two pounds this week, which is small compared to last week. Two pounds? Damn right, I will take it! I think there is a bigger loss on the horizon. I have noticed changes in the way everything fits. I am letting my clothes be my method of measure.

My first week of marathon training was slightly challenging. I am trying to accept my current fitness level, all while attempting to change it. I can barely run a full mile without stopping and that is playing games with my head. I need to get out there and do it. Speed, endurance, and distance will come later. Also, fitting running in with the busy schedule is difficult.

Reality check: My schedule will always be busy. I need to figure out how to organize my priorities and fit everything in. I recently heard, “If you want to know what a person’s priorities are and what is important to them, look at what they spend the most time doing.” It is so true. If your priority and commitment is to family, you make time for them. If your priority is your faith, you make time for it. If your priority is good health and fitness, then spend your time tending to your health and fitness. Words mean little. Actions speak volumes. Message received.

The Mamavation Two Week Challenge continues to kick my butt. It has been a humbling experience. I have a lot of work to do to get my fitness back in order. On the other hand, I powered through it all and came out much stronger this week. I thoroughly enjoyed the kickboxing routines. The sit-ups made me curse, yet I appreciated the firmness of core muscles. The burpees made me cry and gave me a sense of accomplishment.

I am inspired daily by the amazing women at Mamavation. The support, the advice, the encouragement, and the resources are quite nearly overwhelming. I feel so blessed to be a part of this group and to be sharing my journey with them. Thank you to friends and family that have supported me in this process. Stay tuned next week for the link to vote for me as the next Mamavation Mom.

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