Well... it's been a good 6 months since I checked in last; way for me to practice what I preach! I suppose the big question is: what have I been up to during my hiatus from DaphneHager.com? The answer is: a lot. "A lot" includes working on Poetic Systems, copywriting for some great clients, summer school, buying a home, speaking at my very first event with my husband, working on the gracefully growing OnlyKaty.com with my brother, fighting for some ducks, and dreading the Fall semester that starts next week.

Some Things I'd Like to Touch On

I'm so excited to say that I spoke on behalf of Poetic Systems on social/new media at an event for Houston Realtors put on by Friendswood Development Company. We touched on networking tools, blogging, etc. and how Realtors can implement them into their business routine in order to reach clients online. We also held an on-going one-on-one session during the event where individuals could ask questions custom to their unique situations. We received great feedback and it sounded like attendees got something out of it (that was the goal...). Here's a highlight video (you'll get to see a glimpse of so-serious me):

Matt put out a review for attendees to look over that also includes the slides we used. I'd say the biggest thing I took away from doing that event is that there are still so many people out there who are barely opening their eyes to see the influence of the Internet and its potential to shape their business' future. I would say to other Web marketing professionals to view no lesson as too rudimentary to touch on; things as simple as copy-and-paste are still not fully grasped (I literally found that one out during the one-on-one sessions). The best part of it all is: now all those "stubborn" people are beginning to listen and want to learn!

Moving on. Let's talk Mint.com

I'm obsessed. Mint.com is a free online personal finance service that tracks your spending, saving, and investing habits. During setup it attaches to your bank info (it works with almost all banks that offer online account management) and from then on syncs and tracks your transactions. It makes neat graphs, tells you your debt-to-cash ratio, your net worth, creates budgets... stuff like that. It automatically updates when I make payments on my house, credit cards, and if I had an auto or student loan it would update that, too. I don't know the people who made Mint and I'm not being paid to plug them, I just love it. It let me know that between me and my husband, we spent WAY too much on food in July, and we didn't even realize it at the time. Now I can look at my budgets with the Mint iPhone app before I decide to buy a cute pair of shoes (a double-edged sword, but I suppose it's for the best). I'd say at least try it out. It won't hurt and it's super easy to set up!

School

In other news, Fall Semester '09 starts for me this Monday. I'll be taking Professional Selling, History of Globalization, Politics of Globalization, Intro to Organization Behavior & Management, and Elements of Marketing Administration. I think I'll make it!