Did you all hear about the helicopter crash that happened in Aurora, IL on Thursday?  I get upset everytime I hear about it, and since it is fairly local, it hits home.  We use to live in Aurora near Copley Hospital where I think this happened.  Also, as a mother, it breaks my heart to hear of a little one dying.  The little girl (who was one) was being taken by helicopter to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.  It seems as if the helicopter hit a radio tower.  They aren’t sure if the lights were working on it.  However, the tower operator swears they were on.  From what I have also heard, this tower was used as a landmark and it was referenced on maps that should have been on the helicopter.  I wonder if the families of all involved in this should be talking to helicopter accident lawyers (you can find some at HelicopterAccidentAttorney.com). The pilot of the helicopter was a father who worked two jobs to support his six kids. It is a sad story all the way around.

What floors me is that two years ago, the FAA was asked to force the companies who run these helicopters to give the pilot night goggles and training and devices that warn pilots about obstacles and terrain. They would only recommend it which means companies aren’t going to do it. Not surprising, the pilot of this crash did not have these safety devices. The rate of these helicopters crashed are at an epidemic, and as of right now, nothing is being done. That is almost as sad as these senseless deaths.

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Izea is having a pilot program to help them spread the word about IZEA sites, products and services, create a stronger bond within our existing community, and provide provide product insight and assist in continuing innovation. They are looking for some people to give them a hand and want to know why we think we are a great fit for this position.  What do you get for doing all this for them?  Well, there is no hourly rate (darn!).  However, you will get a $1500 travel fee, Ted Murphy’s phone number with access to him, a blog makeover, the ability to try out new products before anyone else, recruiting bonuses, Postie Packs, etc.  As you can see, there are a ton of fringe benefits.

I wish I could say that I was one of the first members.  However, PPP started in July of 2006 and I joined up in September.  I had started my blog to keep in touch with my parents and friends in Green Bay, Wisconsin (I live in Illinois now).  In 2006, I only had my daughter, and she was growing up so fast.  However, as a stay at home mom, we really did need me to make some extra money.  Since 2004, I had been doing freelance work for various companies (creating websites and such).  That extra money paid for satellite TV, daily newspaper, internet access, etc.  It also allowed me to step out of my mommy roll and allowed me to be an adult again.  However, as anyone who works freelance will tell you, sometimes there is a lot of work out there — sometimes there isn’t.  I came across PPP on somebody’s blog (I don’t even know who) and signed up.  That was the beginning of this fantastic journey I have taken over the last 2 years with them.  My blog has went through my ups and downs of my family (there is a miscarriage and my son’s birth involved in there).  Currently, I am a work at home mom.  I still freelance, and now that I have 5 blogs under my belt, I consider myself a professional blogger.  I am lucky.  I make enough money to pay for the extras we need and want (see basement remodel), so I must be doing something right!

What do I know about marketing?  Well, one of the places I freelance for considers me their social media manager.  I have accounts at places like StumbleUpon, Digg, Mixx, Reddit, Yahoo Buzz, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, etc to name a few.  I even have joined a new bookmarking service called tagfoot that is still in beta and requires an invite to join.  I promote all of my blogs using social media.   I belong to several social networking sites such as Facebook, Namyz, Ryze, LinkdIn, Twitter, SocialSpark, Entrecard, and several forums.  I even was a moderator for six months on the Izea forums!  I also belong to MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog.  I also moderate over at Chicago Moms Like Me (which is a social networking site for Chicagoland moms).  Here are my stats for this blog for since October 1st:

I was able to achieve these numbers due to social media.  I think I would be extremely helpful in recruiting a crew for several reasons.  I know a lot of posties just due to being here so long.  When my son was born, Amy ran a baby pool on the forums for me ( I can’t find the link due to the boards not letting me search that far back).   As a moderator, I had several posties tell Izea not to get rid of me as a moderator, so I get along great with the posties on the forums.  I know several of the posties personally like Robyn, Elizabeth, Corrin, Christine, Julie, Breezie, Drew — just to name a few.  I know I am missing a lot of people in that list, but it’s just a start.  I try to help when possible too — check out this thread on the forums about bluehost and hostgator for hosting.  I often get emails and tweets from people with questions, so I think I am considered a very approachable person which definitely makes recruiting much easier.

What events have I attended?  I was at Blogworld last year:

I also attended PostieCon and did a cake plow (that alone should score me some bonus points):

In January of this year, I attended the Social Networking Conference in Miami.  I actually ran into Ted there.  However, I didn’t bring my camera, so no pictures for that conference.  I worked a booth here also, so I do know how to do that.

In April, I attended the Sony Mommy Bloggers Event with Laura and Heather who also are posties:

In May, I went to Agency Bootcamp here in Chicago:

In August, I was invited to the Pampers Mommy Blogger Event:

I also attended Izeafest this year:

Also, I have been invited on October 23rd to attend the Epson and Sparkplugging Girls Night Out (pictures to come).  As you can see, I’ve attend several blogging events and conferences this year.

Three conference I would have loved to attend are SNSX, Blog World Expo, and BlogHer.  However, travel expenses for these three events were not in our budget this year (especially with the downturned economy).  I own a  laptop that follows me everywhere.  I actually use my laptop so much that many of the keys have the letter rubbed off them!  I do not have an aircard.  However, my husband tells me when my cell phone contract is up at the end of the month, he’d like to get an iphone (so any iphone advice is appreciated).  I have heard that you can use your iphone as a modem of sorts, so does that count?

I would love to have Ted’s ear.  There are several things that drive me completely insane with Izea, and I would love to hear what he has to say about them.  I have to be honest, I don’t think my actual resume is this long!

What do you think?  Should I be picked as an Izea Insider?

EDIT:  Here’s a pic from the Epson/Sparkplugging Event:

I was also asked to join the Social Media Club here in Chicago.  I missed last night’s meeting due to not having a babysitter, but will try attend other ones.

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One of the things I have to write about the Pampers Mommy Blogger Event was meeting the CEO of Unicef Caryl Stern.  Pampers and Unicef have teamed together to rid the world of tetanus. When we got to talk with her, there was not a dry eye in the room.  Let me show you why:

First, to get a better understanding, you need to watch this video.  I need to warn you though, it will break your heart.  I watched it again today, and it still brings tears to my eyes:

This is not some marketing piece that Pampers did. This is an inhouse video that we begged them to let us show the world. I’ll admit, before this, I didn’t see the big deal. We all get vaccinated, so you don’t even think about tetanus. However, after watching these poor babies, how can your heart not go out to them? Let me give you some basic facts and statistics:

*Tetanus spores are found in soil, animal excretion, and can be airborne
*It acts through a production of a a toxin that effects your nervous system
*This disease rages through newborns within days of their exposure to the bacteria
*140,000 newborns and 30,000 moms die from this
*The fatality rate is 70%-100%
*Symptoms include muscle rigidity, painful muscle spasms, inability to eat, and seizures triggered by light or touch

If you didn’t watch the video, let me explain how these babies and moms are getting this. In Africa, there is no way to sanitize your hands before you deliver a baby. They use sharpened sugar cane to cut the umbilical cord, and they pack your wounds with dirt. Do you see a problem here since tetanus lives in the very dirt that they are using to stop bleeding?

Here is the crazy part of all of this; it costs 5 cents per vaccine. Yes, I repeat 5 cents.

I know my next question was “What can we do about this?”  There are so many things you can do to help get rid of this terrible disease.

1.  Buy specially marked Pampers with the sticker up above.  You are buying diapers anyway, now you are helping a child. By the end of the year, they will have more Pampers products with the sticker.  Make sure you watch for that.

2.  Clean out your change.  If you can get one vaccine for a nickel, can you imagine how many vaccines you could provide with the change in your house.

3.  Donate.  You will notice in my sidebar that I have this widget:




If you donate, make sure you use this. Then your donation will be earmarked for this vaccination program.
4. Blog about this. If you want to include this widget on your blog, let me know in a comment or by email. I will send you the code. We seriously need to raise awareness on this. The more of us who carry this on our blogs, the more people who know, the more people who donate, and the more children who are saved.
5. Talk to people you know about it. Again, get the word out. I have told everyone I know about this since I have gotten home.
6. Give with your kids. In my house, we are going to take the loose change we have and make a donation in my kids names. They are never too young to teach them about charity, and what better of a cause than one that helps children.

Pampers has sponsored 45 million vaccines already since they started this campaign. They also gave 1,000 vaccinations in my name, and gave 1,000 vaccinations for each blogger that was there (there was 15 in total).  In a rough economy, I know it is hard to give, but truly, a little can go a long way.

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