Tricia Meyer

Affiliate Marketer, Blogger, and Consultant

Harry Potter Versus Twilight?

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Harry Potter versus Twilight. A rivalry of epic proportions, literally. Or is it?

Because I own a Twilight merchandise website, I have set up a number of different Twilight Google Alerts. For the last few days, those alerts have been dominated with links to sites debating the upcoming Harry Potter movie versus the Twilight movie coming out in November. Everyone wants to know who “wins.”

The odd thing to me is that it really isn’t a competition. Yes, you can figure out which will have more ticket pre-sales through Fandango. And yes, you can figure out which generates more revenue. But the bulk of the articles and forum posts are not about actual numbers. They are about putting Harry Potter as a whole and Twilight as a whole up against each other in some weird contest.

I read Twilight first. Read the whole series on recommendation of Janet and her Book Nook. I read it so fast and was so taken by it that I scoured the Internet for more sites to let me still live in the “Twilight” world. It was a little obsessive. I was so upset that it was over that I couldn’t even imagine reading anything else and liking it as much. Friends kept telling me to read Harry Potter, so I eventually gave in. I actually became more obsessed with HP than I was with Twilight!

Now that I have had time to reflect on both (including watching the first Twilight movie and the first 5 Harry Potter movies), I can say with certainty that there isn’t a competition between them. The only thing that ties them together is that they are both fantasies and there are multiple books. The themes are different, the audiences are different, the writing styles are different.

Harry Potter and Twilight can co-exist. Everyone will have their favorites. Wear your Harry Potter shirt on Monday and your Team Edward shirt on Tuesday. See Half Blood Prince in July and New Moon in November. There is room for everyone to love both in different ways and at different times.

Underground City at Walt Disney World?

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Everyone who knows me knows that I am an absolute Disney fanatic. I cry when I go to a Disney movie and see the castle before the movie starts because it reminds me of my Disney trips. I love the precision of Disney, the attention to detail, and the way that everything moves so smoothly. More than that, I love the memories that I have of my kids having birthdays in Disney, my husband and I running from ride to ride before we even had kids, and the true family time that we have spent together.

But the other thing that I love are the mysteries of Disney. So many things that you don’t know what to believe. Am I just seeing “hidden Mickeys” everywhere or are they placed there? Is there really an elite, member-only restaurant above the shops in Disneyland? (I know the answer to that one!) Is there really an underground city under Walt Disney World?

To answer that final question, check out this video from Disney Parks that I found on Youtube. It’s only 5 minutes but you actually get a glimpse “behind the magic”!

Edited: If you found this post because you are looking for places to have sex in Disney (which obviously a lot of you are), I don’t have any tips for you. But I found this article that may be of help. Okay, I do have one suggestion. That Bill Nye and Ellen Degeneris ride in EPCOT. I haven’t tried it, but there’s a lot of time in the dark, it’s hardly ever busy, and the benches are roomy.

[youtube1]1FFoLJjHICU[/youtube1]

Are You a Social Media Butterfly?

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Let me start out by saying that I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as a Social Media Butterfly until this morning. I was thinking about what I wanted to blog about and it kept coming back to me that I seem to be spending half of my time these days social networking on different sites. In my head I kept equating it to being a “social butterfly” and I decided to title my post “social media butterfly.” I did a quick Google search only to discover that lots of other people thought of this term long before me.

In essence, the Social Media Butterfly is the technical equivalent of the traditional Social Butterfly. You move from group to group networking and socializing. You may do it for fun or to futher your business. You know a lot of different people in different circles and enjoy making friends.

I wouldn’t say I’m exactly a social butterfly in my real life, but a big part of that is working in a home office and spending a lot of time and energy raising two kids. But lately I have absolutely become a Social Media Butterfly. In addition to my time on the Sunshine Rewards forum with those members (and the corresponding Twitter account and videoblog), I spend a good deal of time on Disney sites talking about both friends and business. I keep my Facebook page open constantly (partaking in a little Farkle, Mafia Wars, and even Farmville). I couldn’t get into Twitter much until I installed TweetDeck, and now I am addicted. Add to that my Ning sites (like TwitterMoms and Smaller Indiana). Oh! And my actual job…networking on various affiliate marketing sites and commenting on blogs. I even got a new phone that I could better text on because my other one was too hard.

It remains to be seen whether all of my time as a Social Media Butterfly is going to be profitable. It’s hard to figure out an ROI on the time that you spend Twittering. I guess I’ll give it a go for the rest of the summer and see where it takes me!

The Lonesome Blog

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Of all of the sites that I have, why is the one that I give the least attention to the one that is about ME? Part of it is probably the profit factor (this blog is truly a labor of love and doesn’t really make any money). But the other part is that I feel like I am already putting so much about ME out into the world that there doesn’t seem to be much left to say.

On any given day, I post at least a few Facebook updates as well as a few Twitter updates. Add to that a couple of forum posts in each of the different groups that I belong to. Then some emails back and forth with employees and family. With all that, I’ve pretty much told all that there is to tell about me in a given day. There just isn’t anything interesting left.

I promise to do a better job of updating this site about the news that has me interested. I need to install a fancy twitter feeder of some kind (any suggestions?) that will import my tweets into this blog. Plugin, anyone? Then I will at least feel like it’s worth it for you to visit.

What am I working on so much that keeps me off of here? A lot of blogging on my Twilight site (Twilight fans…I think they come out with something new every single day). Also Sunshine Rewards is taking a lot of time these days to retool and keep up with offer and shopping trends. Plus, the kids are home for the summer. Which means time flies by so fast I don’t even know what month it is.

I’ll be blogging soon about a couple of great conferences coming up this summer, Affiliate Summit and Blog Indiana. Until then, you’ll have to check me out on Facebook and Twitter to see what I’m up to. 🙂

My Favorite Quote: Proverbs

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I’ve been puzzling over this Tuesday Topic post all week. I have so many favorite quotes, but one kept coming back to my mind. I am careful for both business and personal reasons to not throw my religion in front of my members and friends too much. But this time, it was like it just wouldn’t go away. When it popped into my head this morning while I was jogging, I knew that I had to go ahead and post.

My favorite quote is actually Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all ways and He shall direct your path.”

I’ve probably lost about a third of you from reading now, but for those who I haven’t, hear me out. This passage is at the same time completely religious but also generally applicable. If you believe in God, it tells you that no matter what happens, He’s going to take care of you. But even if you believe in something (or someone) else, it’s a reminder that it’s not always our job to UNDERSTAND or make sense of what is happening to us. Sometimes we just have to let it happen and see how it is going to turn out. Life doesn’t always behave the way that we expect it to, and that’s okay. Because something is around the corner that will put it all into perspective.

So there it is. My contribution to the Tuesday Topic group (on Fhursday!). I’m feeling a little more peaceful just finally putting it out there.