Hi Everyone,

Now I am sure you are all tired of all the negative news surrounding our economy right now.  Frankly as a newbie to NYC it's weird how many of my old West Coast friends are texting and instant messaging me questions on how everyone in NYC is doing.

This shows me that not only am I hearing a lot about this crisis since I live in NYC, but everyone around the globe is glued everyday to the market numbers, the television sets, and the internet feeds on the most recent decision on the bail out plan.

Well, first off I'm sorry that this post just perpetuates all of that by adding more economic noise to the net.  But I really want to talk about how social networking and all of the cool new toys we have developed in the past 10 years or so are really changing how people can cope with this crisis. 

Yes, you can look at it in the negative way, "oh cell phones, and blackberries, and internet feeds are just making a time like this worse, having the information pushed at you on every device."  Or you can look at it in the way that I do, remembering that these tools were initially developed to keep you connected.  And that's it.  It's then up to you, the user, to determine what you want to stay connected to during these times.

I personally, choose to not have the market numbers fed to my phone or to my laptop, instead I have the following:

GHC on my homepage (I have to keep up with what's going on with all of you!)

NYC weather feed (always smart on the east coast I have discovered)

Yahoo Travel Alerts (I love to travel & I'm always looking for ways to see my friends and family)

AOL Instant Messenger (Again, I love my friends in California and this is the best way for me to stay in contact)

Pandora (Free online music radio set to the tunes I like, right now positive tunes and fun dance music to keep me going!)

Email (To see who has messaged me on my many social networking sites, added pictures, or commented)

If you look at this snippet from my list of gadgets and sites I stay connected to, you'll notice that all of these are made to have a positive affect on my life, and they all do!  Yes, sometimes the travel site bothers me when I see flights increase due to gas prices and that I have to pay for my snack aboard, but for the most part the social networking tools and internet apps that I CHOOSE to bring into my life make me happier.

My advice, turn off the news one night this week, hop on the net and connect with an old friend.  Or, better yet why don't you use that blackberry or cell phone to actually CALL someone?? 

Even better, if you just can't stop thinking about the economy, why not jump on the GHC and post a message board or write a blog and get out your frustrations and concerns.  Ask some questions, get some answers, use our social networking tools to pool resources, ban together, feel strength in your numbers!  I know many small businesses are feeling alone right now, with their banks leaving them, and no comfort of big box HR departments.  Well, remember you're not alone, that's why we built the Channel!

Until next time...

Happy Blogging,

Jessica