Monday, June 29, 2009

Update from over at the new blog

Hey everyone! We've got some posts up over at TwentyTwenty, and still don't have the feed moved effectively. We apologize for the time being...it's a convoluted story that involves Lisa, our founder at 20SB, having limited internet in Kenya (surprising, no!).

Want To Plan A Blogger Meetup?

20SB Chicago Meetup!



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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Blogger Carnival: Looking Back

Head over to TwentyTwenty, our new 20SB megablog, for the newest installment of Blogger Carnival. There's free ice cream involved, so you better hurry!

Also, until we fix our Feedburner account, we'll be double posting over here. Our intent is to pull the original feed into the new blog, but we have a few hitches in that process. Thanks for your understanding!

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Friday, June 12, 2009

20SB Gets Pretty

We've redesigned 20SB!

And we have a new blog!

We'll be attempting to burn the new feed into this feed, so stay tuned. We're pretty sure it's not working yet.

Check out the new sites!

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Featured Blogger: LiLu


Our most recent Featured Blogger is LiLu, from Live It, Love It. She was nominated by her blogger peers! Go check out her blog immediately!



As a reminder, Featured Blogger is a community award given to bloggers by their blogger buddies and fans on 20SB. Head here to nominate, until we set up a new and improved submission/voting process.

Congrats to LiLu!!

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Name This Blog!

So I need to call in some help on this one… We’ve been frantically busy building 20SB v.2 in the past couple of weeks and one of the new things that you’ll see on the new site, is that we’ll be splitting our current blog into two niche purposes.

The blog will continue to function as our main blog, and will remain a communication with current and potential members. This means that we’ll feature 20SB-related news. In addition, we will be adding content to the blog that relates to topics of interest to the people who use our network.

So if I had to define the scope of the 'new' blog, I’d include the following topics:

20SB News / Events / Announcements

Personal Blogging

Twenty-Somethings & their Digital Influence

Twenty-Something Issues

Community Building

Blog & Social Media Tips, Advice, Resources


I want to make it clear that we're not launching another "How To Blog" or "How to Make Money Online" content blog. I also want to point out that we're going to use it to give you guys another outlet as guest bloggers and editors.

One focus of 20SB has always been Personal Blogging...blogging without an ulterior motive. It seems all the Social Media and Blogging Blogs out their are trying to help you become a professional blogger. We're not going to go down that road...we want to promote personal blogging, and help/encourage new bloggers with a useful resource.

That resource is you guys.

So we are looking for a new name for the blog and would love your input. The name needs to be relevant to the 20SB brand, as the blog will reside on a subdomain of this network and prioritize the community as its audience. Keep that in mind!

Please head over here to give us your input!
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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Milestone! 6,000 Bloggers!!

20SB welcomed it's 6000th member today! We gave away a Flickr Pro subscription to Miss A, who writes a very funny and snarky blog rife with photos, so we hope she'll enjoy the gift.

On to 7000!



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Monday, May 11, 2009

20-Somethings Get Wet!



You’re a twenty-something blogger. That makes you a trendsetter. No, seriously…you’re a trendsetter. Maybe you didn’t realize that, but it takes guts to put your thoughts and experiences in front of your readers, day in and day out, and your readers respect you for it. When we created 20 Something Bloggers, we wanted you to have a place to find people like you. What she didn’t realize at the time was that our community would become so much more than just a meeting place.

This year will be a big year for 20SB. We are hard at work behind the scenes to upgrade our network and to turn our burgeoning community into the best place for twenty-something bloggers to get together. You know what really makes 20SB awesome, though? It’s the incredible stuff you guys are doing all over the world.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with HandsIn, the world’s first fully interactive twenty-something’s charitable community founded by 20SB Featured Blogger Nicole Antoinette, to take our first collective action to create real change.

Starting today, we’re pledging to raise $5,000 for charity: water - the cost of building a clean water well in a developing country. Did you know that 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have access to safe, clean drinking water? That's one in six of us. Imagine if a thousand 20SBers didn’t have clean water.

Can you even imagine what your life would be like without clean water? Water is such an integral part of our lifestyle, from showering to laundry, washing dishes to brewing coffee, brushing our teeth to just having a glass of water when we’re thirsty - and there are over a billion people in the world who can’t do those things.

This is where charity: water comes in. charity: water is a 501(c)3 organization with private funding, and they use 100% of donated money for water projects around the world. They’ve harnessed the power of the internet to show donors exactly what their money is creating. Twelve months after we’ve reached our goal, we'll receive GPS coordinates and photographs of the completed water project we funded. Think about that; twenty-somethings will have changed a third world community forever. And donating is just a click away!

Here’s the thing: we don’t want you to break the bank. We want lots of you to donate a little. We want you to show the strength of your numbers; if 1000 of us skip a latte or dessert just once, and throw $5 towards the cause, we will have made a statement. Twenty-somethings care and we’re willing to prove it.

There’s more! The fantastic people at Brita (responsible for the FilterForGood campaign to reduce bottled water consumption) are sponsoring a prize giveaway for donors! So get wet with us by donating whatever you can to our charity: water fundraiser, and then head over to HandsIn be entered to win a Brita pitcher and 2 reusable water bottles!

For more information (and tips on how to get others involved), check out our fundraising resource page. Make sure to grab a badge after donating, and then help us spread the word! Again, the goal here is lots of little donations!

Let’s do this! Let’s build a world-changing twenty-something fresh water well and bring clean, safe water to an entire town in need! Read rest of these entry>>>

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

20SB Management Team

Outward Bound Training Camp For Children In Xian

Want to get involved with 20SB?

20SB is looking for some awesome members to help us manage the network and all of its various activities! We have worked up to this point as a very, very small team. Our intent is to make our community the number one destination for digitally-savvy twenty-somethings.


With our recent burst in growth, and the sheer amount of fun and exciting activities on the network, we'd like to build out a team and we'd like you to express interest if you have it!

Rather than be overly repetitive, please head to the network forum to check out what roles we'd like filled, and all the pertinent information.

Thanks in advance!
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Saturday, May 2, 2009

Featured Blogger Interview: Katelin

Lisa: This is an interview with Katelin of http://www.prettysandyfeet.com/

Hey Katelin

Katelin: Heyo

Lisa: You've been a member of 20sb for a really long time, right?

How does it feel to finally join the hallowed ranks of Featured Blogger?

Katelin: Haha, yeah I think I was in the 200s group

It feels pretty awesome actually, not going to lie, I wrote a whole post about it,

Lisa: Link us to the post!

Katelin: http://www.prettysandyfeet.com/2009/04/its-cool-to-be-blogger-in-april.html

Ta da!






Lisa: nice, thanks

For how long have you been blogging?

Katelin: It'll be two years May 9th

Lisa: happy early anniversary!

What made you start blogging?

Katelin: Well my friends and I had started one but that fell apart, then I had to read them all day for my job so I figured I could start one and see where it went

Now I don't know what I'd do without it

Lisa: Oh, I hear that big time

I know you just got engaged, and you love celeb news, but what are some other big topics that you blog about? and how would you describe your average reader?

Katelin: Well celebrities are the most constant topic since every Tuesday is dedicated to Hollywood news, and the engagement is so new I don't know how much I'll talk about wedding planning, but I also talk about my every day life, past college stories, share random stories I find online. It's all a pretty good mix of random, haha.As for my average reader, I'd say it's people that don't mind reading Hollywood gossip, enjoy random factoids, and are as easily amused as I am

Lisa: Do you use twitter and/or tumblr?

Katelin: I am most definitely a twitterer, I even got lucky, since I joined over a year ago that my name is my twitter account, makes it easy: http://twitter.com/katelin

Lisa: Oh lucky, hardly anybody gets their actual name

Katelin: Haha yeah and I don't know too many Katelin's spelled my way either

Lisa: Where do you live, where did you go to school?

Katelin: I live in good ole Pasadena, California, and for anyone that doesn't know where that is, just think Rose Bowl. As for college I went nowhere near California and trotted off to Denison University in Granville, OH, definitely a change from So Cal life

Lisa: Why'd you move back?

Katelin: Well I am truly a California girl at heart, I just wanted a change for college, I always knew I'd come back

Lisa: What has one of your most popular posts been?

Katelin: Haha that's funny you ask because my most popular one was from Monday, when I told everyone I got engaged over the weekend. Definitely the most comments I have ever gotten on a post that wasn't a contest

Lisa: Tell us your engagement story!

Katelin: Well I've been with Matt (the fiancee, man that word still makes me giggle) for almost 3 years, but I've known him 9 so I kind of knew we'd get engaged one day I just didn't know when.

But Friday he said he had the best birthday present ever (since my birthday was Saturday), and he was right, he surprised me and flew in my best friend from North Carolina, then we came back to our apartment for a surprise dinner, and after dinner he took me outside for "one more present"

And he told me to close my eyes, and when I opened them he was in front of me on one knee with a ring

Lisa: hooray!

Is there anything else you think the 20sb crowd reading this interview might want to know?

Katelin: Ummm, I met Joshua Jackson last Thursday and that was pretty amazing, since I'm a huge fan, and I can't do a cart wheel, and I don't like strawberries. All relevant stuff of course

Lisa: Very relevant

I don't like strawberries that much either, so we're basically twins

Katelin: What are your thoughts on zuchinni? Because if you don't like that either, then we are definitely twins

Lisa: sorry, I love it in spaghetti sauce or stir fry only.

I guess not twins, just close cousins or something

Katelin: That works too

Lisa: Perfect!

Well, thanks for the interview and have fun planning your wedding!

Katelin: Haha thanks I'm sort of secretly but not at all secretly excited :)

Lisa: I love secret-not-secrets!

well, I'll talk to you later then! Bye

Katelin: Byeee!



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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Chat on 20SB!

Hey 20SBers!

Today we launched the Chat Feature in the 20SB network, so drop by to check it out! It's been a bit buggy, but our admin team is working hard to make sure it's up and running.

For the time being, any trouble should be forwarded to @lfar or @dshanahan on Twitter (DM would work best), or you can email Admin.20SB(at)gmail.com.

The chat features has been a hit already, just on it's first day!

Come say hi!

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Monday, April 20, 2009

Worst Post Ever Contest: Meet your judges!

Maxie has a picture of Nick Carter taped on the ceiling above her bed so he is the first thing she sees when she wakes up. Her biggest dream is to go on Bret Michaels next show which she hopes will be Rock of Love - Trailer Park. She always agrees with Paula on American Idol and greatly admires her fashion sense. She videotapes herself as she'styping her blog posts so she can study her "form" because she believes blogging is the next great Olympic sport. She plans on one day opening a subscription site where her fans can watch her blog (aka train for the 2018 Olympics--after all, blogging is a winter sport. duh). Will you subscribe?

Lisa
hates puppies, but enjoys agonizing over stupid things she did in the past. She reads and sometimes replies to spam! Even the Nigerian prince ones! Lisa drives slowly in the fast lane and starts conversations in elevators. Lisa is a crying baby on an airplane. She says lol unironically, and wants to know if you've seen that really funny "Evolution of Dance" video on youtube. Have you?

Deutlich loves Crocs. She wears them every day. She thinks dating sites are dangerous, and prints out websites because she hasn't figured out web history or bookmarking. Deutlich goes on power walks wearing a swishy jogging suit and a fanny pack. Deutlich IS a fanny pack. She uses comic sans on her blog, and wants to know if you'll add her as a friend on ICQ or Friendster. Will you?

Muppet loves furry boots and mini-skirts because there is weather that calls for that. She also hearts Edward Cullen, and cherishes her large collection of animated gif images of him. She is currently on Atkins, and would be happy to walk you through her day to day progress and meal breakdowns. SHE ALSO LOVES CAPS (SO MUCH MORE EXPRESSIVE) and her beautiful yellow-on-white blog. Please pass this bio to 20 people otherwise 20 people you know and love will drop dead. You will, won't you? Read rest of these entry>>>

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Worst Post Ever Contest

Don't forget! Your submissions to the Worst Post Ever contest are due today! Read rest of these entry>>>

Friday, April 10, 2009

Worst Post Ever Contest

Photobucket

It's time for the worst post ever contest!

Rules: write the worst post ever! Create a post no longer than 600 words about any topic you wish (except nothing hateful or illegal or offensive, even though that would definitely be the worst post ever). Pictures are allowed. Just the worst post ever, you know?

To submit: email worstpostever @gmail.com subject: 20SB Worst Post Ever. If you're including pictures, you must also send an html file of your post and all pictures must be self hosted. Also include a link to your 20sb profile, please!

Judging: the panel will be myself and 2 or 4 other judges. (Email me if you're interested in judging). We'll narrow it down to the worst (best?) 3, and then we'll post those 3 right here on the blog for everybody to vote on.

Deadline: all posts must be submitted by April 18th.

Badge Design by Rini CS Read rest of these entry>>>

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The current featured blogger is Katelin from Gorgeous Footsteps in the Sand.



About: I'm a crazy curly haired Southern California girl who wears flip flops all the time and eats ice cream when it's raining. I can't do a cart wheel and aspire to attend the Academy Awards. I laugh at bad jokes and write about celebrities. My favorite color is yellow and I occasionally dance at my desk. Need to know any more? Just ask. Or read my blog. :)


(Past Winners)
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Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Featured Blogger: Laurie

Lisa: Hey!
Laurie: Hey, Lisa!
Lisa: I am catching up on reading your blog right now.
Lisa: Because I'm crazy behind in my reading.
Lisa: I am SO INTO IT.
Lisa: Okay, what do you want to talk about in the interview?
Laurie: haha
Laurie: Is that the first interview question?
Lisa: Yep.

[Pause.]

Lisa: Well. This interview seems about wrapped up then.
Laurie: I've already failed.
Laurie: Laurie: Most boring interviewee in the history of 20SB.
Lisa: Don't worry. I'll edit to make us both sound funny and interesting.



Laurie: So you're missing the 20SB meet-up!
Laurie: I learned via Twitter.
Lisa: Yes! I'm very disappointed.
Laurie: But for Kenya-- that sounds like a good trade.
Laurie: I'm just going to interview you now.
Laurie: Tell me about your childhood.
Lisa: Okay, this is so much easier!
Lisa: Are you going to the meetup?
Laurie: I haven't decided!
Laurie: I live a bus ride away from Chicago.
Lisa: Oh man, you should totally go.
Laurie: I know!
Laurie: I'm a bit nervous!
Laurie: What if I'm not as cool and funny in real life?
Laurie: I said that to some of my friends recently and they were like "... yeah."
Laurie: "Maybe you shouldn't."
Laurie: At first I thought the meet-up was a CONFERENCE.
Laurie: Like BlogHer.
Laurie: And I got really excited about that.
Laurie: Because I LOVE CONFERENCES.
Lisa: No, its more of a party, really.
Laurie: Right.
Laurie: I don't really do parties.
Lisa: Let's talk about your party life.
Lisa: Biggest party mistake ever was:
Laurie: Omg.
Lisa: I think mine is "skipping all parties to study"
Lisa: and also "continually avoiding the person I have a crush on".
Laurie: YES.
Laurie: I once threw a party specifically to invite my crush
Laurie: and by the end of the night he was sitting on my bed with my best friend.
Laurie: FML
Lisa: Next question.
Lisa: You started blogging the day after you ____
Laurie: I started blogging right after September 11th actually.
Lisa: 2001?
Laurie: Yeah.
Laurie: It hit me really hard and I think I had this really strong desire to reach out.
Laurie: I mean, I think we all did.
Lisa: How has your blogging style changed since then?
Laurie: It's changed a lot.
Laurie: I started out writing a lot of angsty poetry
Laurie: and talking about what I ate for lunch.
Laurie: It was more of an outlet for me.
Laurie: I don't think of my blog that way anymore, although it still is in some ways.
Laurie: It can be therapeutic for me, but that's not what drives me to write anymore.
Lisa: How long do you think you could go without blogging?
Lisa: Could you cold turkey quit?
Laurie: I went for awhile without blogging actually.
Laurie: When I was between blogs.
Lisa: "Between blogs" haha. That's a funny phrase. WE'RE ON THE INTERNET.
Laurie: hahaha
Lisa: What brought you back?
Laurie: I felt really out of touch with myself when I wasn't writing.
Laurie: I'm not one of those people who can write just for myself
Laurie: like sit at home and fill up spiral-bound notebooks that I never show anyone.
Laurie: So I just wasn't writing at all during that time.
Lisa: And then you forget to take that time to reflect, sort of.
Laurie: Right!
Lisa: Have you ever met up with bloggers IRL?
Laurie: I guess I did recently-- my New Year's Eve story was about a blogger hook-up!
Laurie: But I'm not telling who it was.
Lisa: Secrets!
Lisa: Is your blog a secret to family/friends?
Laurie: Not really.
Laurie: I mean, I don't really broadcast it at family reunions or anything.
Laurie: But I wouldn't say it's a secret.
Laurie: Most of my real life friends read it.
Lisa: Yeah, same.
Laurie: I'm amazed by anonymous bloggers.
Laurie: I don't know how they do it.
Laurie: It would make me a crazy person.
Lisa: I was at a party a few weeks ago and so many people were like "I read your blog!" which was funny. Because they don't comment? I didn't know they all read.
Laurie: Yeah isn't that wild??
Laurie: Every once in awhile an old friend from, like, middle school or something will send me a facebook message and be like, "I just wanted to let you know that I love your blog. I read it every day."
Laurie: And I'm like, "What?!"
Laurie: I mean, it's awesome.
Laurie: But it's kind of crazy.
Lisa: Exactly!
Laurie: I actually had a really funny experience a month or so ago--
Laurie: I wrote a piece for Design*Sponge awhile back about my city, so a lot of people here read my blog.
Laurie: Anyway I was sitting in a coffee shop, and a woman I'd never met saw me through the window and came inside to tell me that she recognized me from my blog!
Laurie: It was amazing.
Laurie: Now we're facebook friends!
Lisa: The best!
Lisa: Whats the blog you most recently added to your reader?
Laurie: I'm really into this new blog.
Laurie: It's written by two women who call themselves Harper & Beatrix.
Laurie: It reminds me of an American Bridget Jones' Diary.
Lisa: Cool! Sounds interesting.
Laurie: They're very smart and funny.
Lisa: I like both those adjectives!
Lisa: Say you had to describe yourself in three adjectives. What would they be?
Laurie: Oh man.
Laurie: I'm always awful at these ice-breaker questions.
Laurie: Like "If you could be any animal, what would you be?"
Laurie: I freeze up.
Laurie: I'm like, "... a penguin?"
Lisa: Oh yeah.
Lisa: Next up we'll play "Do Date Dump".
Lisa: Or "Who Would You Do".
Lisa: "Desert Island"
Laurie: hahaha
Laurie: "Would You Rather"
Lisa: This interview is going to turn into a slumber party.
Laurie: Let's just not go the "Truth or Dare" route.
Laurie: That was usually the point when I called my mom to pick me up.
Lisa: haha
Laurie: Well, Lisa!
Laurie: I better get back to this scintillating stack of work orders I'm supposed to enter.
Laurie: I lead a very glamorous life.
Lisa: Thanks for the interview!
Laurie: Thanks for the good questions!
Laurie: And for letting me off the hook on "Would You Rather".
Laurie: Talk to you soon!
Lisa: Yeah! Bye!


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Thursday, April 2, 2009

March Carnival Round Up


This month we went Green for Blog Carnival 13! We simply asked, "are you jealous? Irish? or environmentally conscious? Maybe you're rolling in greenbacks... or you played the Wicked Witch in your high school play. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, tell us why It's (Not) Easy Being Green."

 Here are some of the top submissions:

Sco Man with A Tribute

It was only recently that I started a discussion with my mother about my ancestry. I forget how the topic came up, but being that I'm 25 now it's probably a conversation we should have had a long time ago. Read the rest here.

Jessica tells us how It's Not Easy Being Green 

Last September, I wrote about some simple things everyone can do to live a more “green” life — that is, one that is more eco-friendly and eco-healthy — like buying organic produce, using public transportation and paying attention to energy consumption. Read the rest here.


The Freshest Oat shows her Green Disposition

They call my leaves blades, but I've never cut you. I've always been here for you. I love the feeling of your bare feet and the sound of children at play. Bring back the sun so that I can absorb the essential red light that keeps me alive - for I am living too. Deprive me of sun and water and like all other plants, I will shrivel and turn brown - an ugly representation of my dead self.  Read the rest here.


Phase:Next also thinks it's Not Easy Being Green

Being Irish in these United States is a life-long competition, and unless you're willing to put your all into your competition, you may as well drop out and turn in your pot of gold and pint of Guinness at the birth canal.  Read the rest here.

Sarahbration also wonders If It's Easy Being Green

Growing up I was one of two kids who brought their lunch to school in reusable containers and depending on the meal, a cloth napkin, and stainless steel cutlery. I'm not sure what elementary school is like now in that regard but at the time it was so unusual that I received an environmental award.  Read the rest here. 
Read rest of these entry>>>

Monday, March 30, 2009

What we're listening to this week (March 23-29)

(Stats from the 20sb Last.fm group)

Top Tracks

Kings of Leon- Sex on Fire


The Postal Service- The District Sleeps Alone Tonight


Lily Allen- 22


Jimi Hendrix- All Along the Watchtower


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Saturday, March 28, 2009

Facebook page

20SB now has a facebook page!

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

20SB Member Creations

20SB is excited to announce the launch of HandsIn, an organization created to inspire 20-somethings to change their world.  Part social network, part online magazine, and part volunteer coordination service, HandsIn aims to bring people together through dedicated community service and the shared commitment to a sustainable lifestyle.  The organization was founded by 20SB member Nicole Antoinette, who's tired of the stereotype of 20-something apathy and out to prove that small actions can have big results. 

In honor of the big launch, they're giving away a two part, $200 prize.  The first $100 goes to the winner (as a $100 gift card to the retailer of choice), and the second $100 gets donated directly to a chosen charity.  To enter, simply get active on the site between now and midnight (PST) on Friday, March 27.  Everything you do counts as one entry, so comment on a post, set up a profile, make a pledge for 20 Something Service Day, nominate someone who deserves recognition, submit content for publication, follow @handsin on Twitter, tweet about the organization, join the Facebook group- it all counts! 

Visit www.handsin.org now to join the 20-Something Change Movement!  Read rest of these entry>>>

Blog Swap 4!

For more details, and to register, go here! Read rest of these entry>>>