Kelly Olexa is a blogger/vlogger, fitness fanatic, Ford Fiesta Movement Agent, and partner at full-service eMarketing and Social Media Consulting firm Sacrilicious Marketing.

Kelly O knows social media and fully understands what it means to “be youself” online.

If you don’t already, please make sure to follow Kelly on Twitter and leave some comments on her blog.

1. When/how did you start blogging and what were you first posts about?

I started blogging in January of 2008. My purpose in starting a blog was strictly for accountability in my diet/exercise commitment. I’d been READING other blogs and commenting and thought, why not? My first posts were then, and are still now, about my fitness journey~ what I was experiencing that day, what my challenges and frustrations were/are, what I was having success with, the products I use and recommend, etc.

2. You also do a lot of video blogging (vlogging). What feels more natural: to write a blog post or talk in front of a camera?

At this point, I’d say it’s more natural for me to vlog.

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Seesmic is the company behind the widely used Twitter + Facebook Adobe AIR client Seesmic Desktop.

Johann Romefort is Seesmic’s CTO and an influential leader in the construction of the future of the open, real-time, and very social web.

I am sure you will find his thoughts (sent all the way from Bucharest) to be very interesting, fun, and insightful.

Please make sure to check out all the fantastic stuff that Seesmic is doing, and don’t forget to follow Johann on Twitter.

1. How did you first get involved with Seesmic and what does your role as CTO consist of today?

I met Loic when Seesmic was still 2 pages on a notebook. At that time I was searching for a challenge, so I began to work with Loic right away, and built the first version with another developer in Bucharest. My role as a CTO has been evolving a lot since I started, as we now have 12 engineers around the world which require some management as you could expect. Apart from managing our amazing tech team, I’m also involved in the product process, and I’m creating prototypes to validate ideas or technologies.

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We are very excited about the Palm Pre and its new webOS. This awesome looking smartphone with a powerful OS has both a touchscreen AND a keyboard. This thing is going to be hot and it might be the most important product release for Palm and Sprint in a long time.

The Sprint “Now Network” commercials that feature the Pre have been on TV for a while now (must I say it, we love them!), and there have been several rumors about an early June release. With all the rumors going around, we just can’t wait to finally get to see the Pre.. in person. Or at least find out the official release.

Well, the early June rumors are only getting more interesting.

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David Siteman Garland is an entrepreneur,  speaker, and host of “The Rise to the Top,” a show that is entertaining, empowering, and energizing entrepreneurs.

1. Tell me about how you started “The Rise to the Top.”

It all started in a coffee shop. I felt like there was a market need on television for a show designed for forward-thinking young and young-at-heart entrepreneurs, and also room for events and resources to really help people grow their business and get involved with the community. I saw what was out there and honestly thought we could do it better by bringing in extremely interesting guests and delivering helpful content. I went all in, invested everything I had in getting it started and was fortunate to land some early sponsors who believed in me and the concept. The most crucial aspect though was surrounding myself with great people simply by asking for help. I talked to everyone I knew and said “I‘m doing a TV show and this is what I want to do but I’m not exactly sure how to do it. If you think it sucks, punch me;  however, if you like the concept I would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.” A bunch of nudges later I had a solid network of people who had years of experience helping me.

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The Guatemalan Twitterer Jean Anleu (@Jeanfer) has finally been released*. Bail was paid through the support of his employer and the people who sent donations via PayPal. Jean expressed his thankfulness and relief in this interview (Spanish).

Once able to log-in to his Twitter account, Jean changed his background and profile pictures, removed his name and other personal information, and protected his account (removing himself from the public Twitter timeframe and allowing only people he approves to be able to view his updates).

He also removed most of the content on his WordPress blog.

While Twitter has put a strain on the Guatemalan government (as posted on Spanish blog “Alt1040“) and many have called this an example of the Streisand Effect, it is possible that people in countries where freedom of speech is not encouraged will have to think twice about posting observations and/or opinions on Twitter and other social networks.

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Guatemala is currently enduring a political scandal that involves the murder of a whistleblowing Guatemalan lawyer named Rodrigo Rosenberg and a video that emerged on YouTube shortly after (see the bottom of this post). In the video, the lawyer predicted his assasination stating that if anybody watched the video it was because he had been murdered by corrupt government officials (and approved by president Alvaro Colom). The claims are just accusations at this point, but it has definitely created quite a stir with Guatemalans, and has started to get attention worldwide.

As the YouTube videos and transcripts spread through the internet, thousands started commenting and sharing links on social networks, resulting in a rampant protest against the government. While demonstrators started protesting outside the presidential palace in Guatemala City, others posted their outraged thoughts online.

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Regardless of whether you are a marketer, journalist, software developer, CEO, or just a 13 year old kid with nothing to do, everyone could could use a little more time offline.

Here are 5 great reasons to spend some time away from the internet… before it’s too late.

1. There is nothing like breathing, smiling, far-from-perfect real people

The internet has come a long way and it now allows us to communicate with anyone, almost instantly, but giving the online world too much value can keep you from the much more important things in life. Real people are out there waiting for you to live life with them and the web will often make you forget it. When we are online, we are only interacting and collaborating with a minuscule part of the real people behind all those strings of data, misspelled sentences and  shaky videos. There is much to be lived with family, friends, and even strangers. You will need to disconnect in order to really connect with them.

2. Your ego is lying to you

Constantly writing about your thoughts, ideas, and opinions is a great way to express yourself, but freedom of speech doesn’t mean that you should only be concerned about your own 140 characters of brilliance. The more time you spend online, the less in touch you will be with reality. It is likely that you will get used to the comfort of hiding behind a screen and seeing others as a means to an end. It is also likely that you will place too much value on the idea of “being someone”. One thing is to present yourself in a good way and offer your skills and abilities to a world that might need them, but it’s another thing to think you need to be marketed 24/7 no matter what. You are not just a brand. You’re much more than that.

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