McChrystal, Rolling Stone and Journalism

My latest piece for YPNation focuses on the repercussions of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his comments in Rolling Stone. The article and McChrystal's resignation are now old news, but my commentary looks at how this debacle could affect the media. I predict that journalists are going to have a very difficult time getting access to top officials in the future because of what happened with McChrystal. Check it out here and let me know what you think.

YP Moms Looking for Work-Life Balance

My latest story for YPNation is on a subject that's always been of interest for me: work-life balance. I think most young women with career aspirations and the hope to one day have a family realize that they'll be faced with the challenge of how to make it all work. I interviewed some intelligent, interesting women for this piece and they all had different and realistic solutions for the working mom dilemma.

Etiquette for the YP Job-Hunter

Last week, my story for YPNation focused on using traditional etiquette tips and practices after a job interview. It was interesting to hear experts saying that old-fashioned etiquette may make a difference in the job hunt. Look for a follow-up article on cover letter and resume tips coming next week...

The ups and down of the rental market

My latest story for YPNation is now online. (It's actually been published since Monday, but I was busy cheering on Marathon runners-- more on that in another post.)

Anyways, it's about the changes in the apartment rental market in the past year and a half and how YPs have influenced those changes. I found it interesting to see how much young professionals have impacted the market and how they continue to impact it.

Check out the full story here.

A little inspiration...

My latest story for YPNation is now online and it's a profile of an inspiring young professional. Shannon Varney was laid off from his financial management job at the beginning of the economic downturn and sank into a depression. But he was moved into action and created his own non-profit organization; a career move he never thought he'd make.

Check out the rest of Shannon's story at YPNation!

Women's History Month

In celebration of Women's History Month, I'm profiling eight "honorary YPs" for YPNation this week. I've found some interesting women from history who made notable career achievements in their twenties and thirties.They may not have know what a "young professional" was, but we're honoring them as YPs today! Two new women will be profiled each day, so check out YPNation's homepage for the updates.

The series begins today with Charlotte E. Ray and Victoria Woodhull (above). They were both trailblazers and one was very controversial, but you'll have to visit YPNation for the full story!

Woodhull photo is in public domain; from Wikimedia.

The Scoop on Running Groups

My latest story for YPNation is now online. It's on running groups and some of the surprising benefits of joining for YPs. I enjoyed researching and interviewing for this story. It made me think about joining a running group! We'll see... Check it out!

One Year of My Own Audience

It's been exactly one year since I began My Own Audience. Yay! I'm taking a cue from Un Bel Oiseau and celebrating my blog's first b'day!

I do have to admit that I started this blog as more of a job strategy than anything else. I figured that most positions I'd be looking at would require blogging experience, so I needed to become part of the blogosphere. I started this blog to gain on-the-job skills, but it's ended up being a great creative outlet. This blog has also kept me brainstorming, writing and taking photos. I'm so glad I started My Own Audience, even if my intentions for starting a blog were more professionally-minded than anything else.

And on my blog's first birthday, I have some fun writing-related news: I've started contributing to a really great Web site, YPNation. The site is aimed toward young professionals and features news and commentary, social networking and links to resources on the Web. I'll be writing about a variety of topics, including the media industry. My first piece for YPN is about my old friend John Edwards and The National Enquirer.

Happy reading and Happy Birthday, MOA!