Bits you may have missed this year!

Hello! I've missed you. How have you been? I want to give you a big hug!

I had nearly completed this blog post a week ago and then, BAM!, blogger had other ideas and then deleted the whole flipping lot.

This year is going by scarily fast. I can't keep up with it! Still, it's better than being bored and boring and feeling like time is dragging.

This is a bit of a quick recap of some of highlights of 2013 so far! More to come, I hope. No, there's no 'hope' about it. There will be more highlights if I have anything to do with it.

Let's dive in!

Newsletter: I thought it high time I start a monthly newsletter; Notes on social media, photography and doing the work you love. It's something I think I should have done a long time ago really, but better late than never. There have only been two issues so far and it's been an interesting process, which I've written about here.  Also, there comes with it a little pressure (self imposed I guess) of 'Will people like it? How will I feel if they unsubscribe? Will anyone subscribe to it?'. But sure, you have to try these things and ignore any self doubts or you wouldn't do anything. And I'm so appreciative when someone subscribes! If you would like to get it too, please feel free to subscribe here!

The first and second Birmingham Social Media Cafe events of the year have gone really well with a great turn outs and a interesting mix of social media peeps from the city! 29th March will be the next event so come along if you are in/near/can get to Bham and want to mix and mingle with peeps with a shared interest in social media for work and play! 

Digital City Social Graph by Brian Simpson

I went along to the BBC's Digital News Day in January. It was a day of events aimed at people in involved or interested in digital media in the city. I blogged some hyperlocal thoughts that came from the day and the seemingly increased demand for hyperlocal news sharing.

First London EyeEm Meetup

Photo by the Wheyway

EyeEm is a Berlin based photo app and it's become a very strong rival for instagram, especially after the instagram terms and conditions debacle.

EyeEm ambassadors are getting on board in lots of cities around the world, and I was invited along to the first London EyeEm Meetup which was arranged by Dirk Singer.

Photo by Kaaren. Pay attention everyone! :) 

Check out EyeEm's blog about the chilly but fun photo walk around Greenwich and check out awesome photos from the event. 

'My' book launch!

For the first time I have contributed to a book! And not just any old book, it's the Community Lover's Guide To Birmingham!  My chapter was a about the 4am Project and creating a global project from scratch and not waiting for the right time or any one's permission. The chapters should be available to read free online sometime, so I'll give it a shout out then! Lorna Prescott has made a great Storify about the launch event!

Being Social!

One of my goals this year is to be more social. The going-out-and-seeing-people-in-person kinda social. A friend said that he thought I go out and about all the time, but really, I don't! I can be quite a hermit, lost in my own happy world of work. I know that I do need to get out more and meet up with friends more often, so with that in mind, I'm arranging Being Social Days. I'll pick a day, get in touch with friends, and schedule a whole day of meeting and chatting and catching up. So far so good! I think this is a nice addition to my generally going out and about!

There's a few of my highlights of the year so far. I am seriously scared about how fast this year is going!

And I really don't want to neglect this blog. I guess Karen Strunks Media is getting it's share of blog posts, but I do want to spread them out evenly. If in doubt, just stop by karenstrunks.com which is where I keep track of everything under one roof!

How is your year going so far? Is it going to quickly? Is it exciting enough? Do you need more excitement in it? What are you looking forward to the most?! We've still got about 10 months to fill! :)

Say Hi on twitter @karenstrunks 

My 4am Project interview in Touch Base magazine 2011 and what I've been up to in 2012

About a year ago I did an interview about the 4am Project with Jayne Howarth for Touch Base Magazine.

I received the pdf recently, so here it is in all it's glory! Thanks Jayne.

If you click it, it will become bigger!

Just wanted to mention that really. I like to keep a note of interviews etc when I can and keep an online record.

2012 is in full swing. I'm just keeping my head down and getting things done. 

Though I have had my first nights out of 2012 last weekend. Yeah, party animal!

They were much needed as I hadn't been out properly since before Christmas - when I managed to catch a bad cold. 

Night 1 was an evening of drinkies and cocktails with a very good friend who I hadn't seen for far too long! She's a fantastic lady, who is so supportive and amazing to be around. 

Night 2 was a party to celebrate Nicky's and Sas's birthdays! Fantastic night and great to catch up with good friends who I had't seen for a while. I also got a bonus belated birthday pressie from Sas! 

Perfect! A lovely mix of Red and Animal Print. My favs!

I had a good excuse to wear my Big Hair Bow!

On Monday it felt like New York City was calling me. I received this stunning gift from a friend. The photo doesn't do it justice. I'm keeping on my desk right in front of my monitor so I look at it every day. 

Then when I got home, I post card from my NYC pen friend was on my door mat! 

They both made me really happy! 

Yesterday myself and Nicky went to Acton in London to deliver a talkaboutlocal training workshop. It went really well, and we have got some new people starting their wordpress hyperlocal blogs. 

I was catching a train back to Birmingham from Euston and mentioned this to my best friend who lives in Cumbria. Well, she was only travelling home from London from Euston at the same time, so we were able to snatch 10 minutes best friend time together! Yay! It's always great to see her, even though it was for such a short about of time. We are meeting up again in Preston as I'm going to Local Gov Camp and we are seeing each other afterwards for dinner. And I just CANNOT wait for March as we are having a long weekend away in a 17th century cottage in the middle of nowhere in Wales! 

Me and my BFF!

This Saturday I'll be going to the first Birmingham Girl Geeks events and doing a little talk about social media and the 4am Project. It's free to come along, and boys can come too! See you there I hope :) 

Next week I'm off to Liverpool for a talkaboutlocal training day. We have quite a few workshops coming up so I'll be heading to Cornwall, Southminster, and back to London a couple of times soon! 

Then on Friday 27th it's the first Birmingham Social Media cafe event of the year. Come along to that too. It's free, and a great place to meet creatives and businesses who share a love for social media. Meegloo are sponsoring coffee! Check out Meegloo's free app too! 

Oh, and I've written a chapter of a book! It's for the Community Lover's Guide To The Universe that Podnosh is curating and the Birmingham edition is called Militant Optimists; people who knuckle down, get things down , give things a go and get the community involved. For my chapter I have written about the 4am Project.  The book should be out in the next few months and an online version will be available to download for free. I'll keep you posted!

Okay, gotta dash! Just a flying update. Say hello on twitter @karenstrunks :)