When I finally got around to my voice mail, I figured it would be from an issue that I already took care of. Instead, I hear this:

“Um…this is kind of a random request but….”

On the other end was a reporter for the Des Moines Register. She was doing an article on Mega Bus – the discount bus service that I often take around the NY metro area. You see, I recently became the mayor of the Mega Bus on Foursquare and she found my name, did a little investigative journalism, and ended up tracking me down.

I didn’t get a chance to be interviewed – I took much too long to return the call – but I thought it was a revealing story about how our broadcast culture is changing things. A reporter half the country away needed help. She needed someone with experience using a business that was coming to the local community. A google/twitter search later, and she found me. This was not possible a few years ago…

As Twitter gets their archives pushed into the Library of Congress, we are starting to gather millions upon millions of data points that will reveal something about human behavior. My migratory patterns – where I check in on Foursquare – are revealing about who I am, what I do, and many behaviors associated with it. Taking that to a macro level, you can’t help but ponder what sociologists, anthropologists, and other -gists will be able to glean from that information. I think it’s pretty exciting.

On a related note, today is Foursquare Day (4 squared = 16. So 4/16 is Foursquare Day). My girlfriend Alana and I are hosting a Foursquare Day party at Faegan’s in Syracuse NY. If you’re in the area, I would love it if you can join. The Eventbrite link is here: George and Alana’s Foursquare Party.

The Roger Smith Hotel is pulling it off.  On Twitter the other day, I called Brian Simpson of the Roger Smith the David Van Ronk of the New York Social Media scene.  Van Ronk was dubbed the “Mayor of MacDougal street” and while “mayor” might have a different connotation in the social media world thanks to Foursquare, Brian has served many as a conventional one might.  Brian has helped cultivate the Roger Smith to be the Social Media haven.  The other night it culminated in having over 50+ people at the Roger Smith checking in on Foursquare.  Brian was there, somewhat in the shadows, watching as multiple events that centered around Social Media took place.  DigitalSomethings was upstairs.  A Tweetup downstairs.  Watching them mix and marry into an amorphous cloud of people, you can’t help but feel like something special is in the works.

Now, I’m new to town.  I haven’t known the regulars in the Social Media scene here for that much time.  I just know that the Roger Smith has a reputation from those in town, and a mythos to those out of town.  It probably feels like what places like the Gaslight, Gerde’s, Cafe Wha? and the Folklore Center must have felt like to the folk crowd.  As social media, mobile, and location based technology becomes motivation for offline events, what other venues and hubs will develop?  The Roger Smith is one of the first ones that I discovered.  I don’t need to keep track of check ins to see who is the “Mayor” of that place – and maybe even of this New York scene in general….

Today is Delurker Day – which means that if you are reading this, you need to leave a comment below.  Judging by my Google Analytics – there are a bunch of you out there.  From random places around the country and some foreign ones.  It’s fun to see where everyone who is reading my blog comes from – so when you leave a comment, just say where you’re reading from.  I’m a firm believer that blogs are supposed to be communities – communities of friends, family, people with similar interests and passions – whatever it is, the most important thing is community.

So here we are – please leave a comment and let me know where you are.  I’ve been doing it on some of my favorite blogs that I lurk on….

Tonight, I appeared on my friend Danielle’s MomTV show.  It was fun to just pop in and say to my blogging friends.

What they never see is what happened today. My friend Anissa Mayhew had a stroke last night. Watching from work, I fought back tears every time a read a blog post about all the people in the blogosphere that Anissa touched in some way. I never had the pleasure to work WITH her, but I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her laugh, say something off color and hilarious, and just bring joy to the people around her. As I read these funny stories and heard all the tweets coming through the stream, I couldn’t help but be amazed at what was happening. It’s a beautiful thing – to realize that through social media, we’re not alone.

Ultimately, it’s the community. The community is amazing. We saw it with Maddie. I saw people support me after BlogHer. We’re seeing it now with Anissa. In small and large ways, so many of us have been touched by the power of Social Media and community. It’s an amazingly beautiful thing and I can’t help but be humbled by its power.

Anissa – you have the entire internet pulling for you. We love you and we’re here for you.

My time at Crocs was an eventful one.  The last two and a half years of my life were perhaps the happiest I have ever had.  I enjoyed the sun and fresh air of Colorado.  I met some amazing friends.  And I was able to create something I am very proud of for a company that I will always hold dear to my heart.  I finally was able to work in Social Media and use my passion for this form of communication to build a true community around a very well known brand.  It was something that I received great kudos for – whether through official channels or pats on the back at conferences – and for that, I am forever indebted.  The opportunity I have at R/GA would probably not be here if it wasn’t for Crocs.

Photo by @greeblemonkey

Crocs, however, is bigger than I am and I leave behind a social media program that will be in very capable hands.  It’s bittersweet to have to walk away from something I built – knowing that I will no longer have a say in how things are handled – but I feel that the passionate consumer base that I helped organize will be there for whomever takes the reigns.  I’m excited to watch things from the sidelines, to simply be a member of the Crocs community, and to watch the brand, my colleagues and my friends grow.

The personal and professional pressures that I felt really made this decision an easy one.  I simply felt the tug of the city – watching the Yankees win the World Series, listening to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys belt out ballads to the boroughs – I couldn’t help but want to return back to the only place that felt right for me.  Professionally, I loved my time at Crocs but wanted new challenges – I wanted to apply my skill sets in new ways and R/GA provides a greater stage for me to shine.  Agency life will be vastly different.  It will test me in so many different ways.  Yet, in this crucible, I feel I will become a better professional.  I’m excited and I’m glad all of you will be around for the ride.

In the end, like with all social media, I couldn’t have done it without the crowd.  With out all of you out there who read my tweets, my blog posts, who followed my every move on the social web – thank you so much.  It was all of you that made the 12 hour days easy.  It was all the smiles we made together that made this job fun.  You were there for me through everything.  It was your enthusiasm to listen to me that made me who I am.  There is an African proverb that says that the path to greatness is paved by giving thanks to the great that came before you.  You, all those readers and people that follow me, are the greatness that has come before me.  Whether you’re a friend I made in Boulder, contacts I made through the industry, or random pixels of an avatar of someone I never met – I am truly thankful.  Leave a comment below so I know who is out there and who made this past two and a half years the greatest of my short lifetime.

The process is actually really simple – just three steps.

Step 1) Next time you get an application request in the upper right corner of Facebook, click on the link.

Step 2) Click on “Block This Application” which is located right below the request.

Step 3) Happy Dance – your Facebook Feed will be free of all annoying applications! Seriously – this has been a godsend to me once I learned how to do this and Mona’s tweet made me realize that, perhaps, not everyone knows how to do this. Since doing this, I don’t get annoying applications that I do not want to be a part of. (I am on Farmville – hence the Farmville notifications).  I have blocked virtually ALL applications.  You can unblock them very easily – just do a search for the application and unblock it.  I would imagine that most people will not be unblocking applications when they block them.

So, Mona – hope this helps!  MWAH – I love ya!

That brings me to the main crux of my answers on to the three questions: relationships.  While I know Elaine in the real world – social media allows people to be brought together to form a collaborative atmosphere.  Seeing how people who, in many other businesses, would be deemed competitors help each other out is why I love to be involved in social media.  If I make any mark in my career, I want it to be that I helped everyone I could as much as I could.  That’s how the best relationships are built…

For me, that answer is easy. I do it because it is the best venue for me to express myself. Whether it’s thoughts on Social Media that I haven’t found a venue for internally, my appreciation for art and fashion, music reviews – whatever it is – my blog serves as a centerpiece for those conversations. Because of that, it has become one of the best representations of my personality – catering to each unique interest I have while also staying grounded to who I truly am. For me, I could not function without my blog and I write every single post – whether the long format ones here or the ones pulled from my posterous account – with a passion that I hope inspires others.

So, when I had a chance to sit down with some bloggers that I’m friends with – I asked them that simple question. Every blogger had a different answer, but in the end it came down to personal passions. It often came down to community as well – whether that’s a community of moms or a family – and that, to me, is a beautiful thing.

Watch this video and, in the comments below, let me know why you blog.

I want to thank the following bloggers for taking the time and sharing my stories – not all of them were able to be included in the video:

Amanda at HighImpactMom.com
Ann Marie at ThisMommaCooks.com
Beth at ThePlusSizeMommy.com
Drew at BenSpark.com
Danielle at ExtraordinaryMommy.com
Christine at FromDatestoDiapers.com
Monica at MommyBrainReports.com
Melissa at ConsumerQueen.com
Kim at CraftyMamaof4.com
Katja at Skimbacolifestyle.com
Debba at Girlfriendology.com

(Editor’s Note: Not sure why my comments aren’t working on this post. I’m trying to troubleshoot. Sorry for the inconvenience. If you can comment though, leave one. I love hearing why people blog…)

(Editor’s Note 2: Comments are back up – please comment on why you blog!)

I arrived in Vegas a lot earlier than I planned and was able to attend Pistacio’s opening Keynote.  From there, I checked into the hotel and unwound from my travels.  I went to Pool ‘Con with Jeremy Tanner, Andrew Hyde, and Jeremiah Owyang for a bit before heading back to the convention to check out Scott Monty’s keynote during lunch. (Editor’s Note: Thanks to the Fiesta Movement from providing impromptu travel arrangements).

The convention center was a buzz of activity.  People were coming in from their travels, attending sessions, and just conversing in the lobby.  The lobby, for me, is always where the best things happen during these conferences and Blog World was no exception.  I was able to connect with so many people that I work with, get introduced to some of my professional idols, and just converse about various things surrounding blogging that I grew as a professional every second I was out there.  It was also nice running into the friends that I so rarely get to see.

The next few days were a complete buzz of activity.  I met so many new people and connected with so many friends – it’s hard to keep track.  I do want to give a shout out to the people on my two panels: Jenn Fowler, Lucretia Pruitt, Lindsay Lebresco for the Panel on How to Work with Big Brands and Not Be Treated like a Mommy.  For my panel on Blogging as the Springboard to community – we have Jeremy Tanner, Jennifer Van Grove, Keith Burtis, and Bryan Elliott.

Considering it was Vegas, I actually kept things relatively low-key.  I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends away from the craziness of the parties.  While this was definitely better for me health wise, I did miss a chance to see a lot of people that I wanted to spend time with – and cause some mischief with weddings and false rumors (Editor’s Note: Did Barry ever show up?).  Tech Karaoke relieved some of that – as I was able to get on stage in front of most of the conference and sing “Rump Shaker” with Wayne Sutton (along with a background dancing appearance by the Queen).

You can take a look at the live updates that I’ve did during the weekend using the tag “BWE09″ on this site and via Twitter. Also, here’s a Flickr Slideshow of the search “BWE09″ to capture the weekend.  I don’t know what people posted on there but that’s part of it – I can’t capture everything from the weekend in just a few words.  This probably will summarize everything a lot better than I could: