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Begging On The Streets

by admin on September 18, 2014

Last week I and some coworkers were in a different country with a language we do not speak having dinner at a restaurant with outdoor seating. This whole street, in fact, was lined with outdoor seating patios. We saw, a few restaurants down, a woman dressed in a makeshift white tulle dress carrying a basket and sign, followed by a larger party.

Eventually she made her way to our table. For her wedding shower, she was walking up to strangers who were having dinner and asking them for money. If they gave her money, she’d give them a piece of candy (a singular candy, like a peppermint). As she approached our table, she asked if we spoke her language. All together, we said NO and she left without propositioning us.
Unless this is a custom we had never heard of, I can’t believe it’s not tacky to interrupt people you don’t know at a meal to ask them to fund your wedding. Talk about a gimme!   0827-14

{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }

Kelli September 18, 2014 at 9:23 am

In Scotland, this is a tradition at the bridal shower.

Kirsten October 6, 2014 at 3:16 pm

There is no tradition of bridal showers in Scotland.

Anna October 18, 2014 at 5:54 pm

Bridal showers in Scotland? A new development there? I wasn’t aware that showers were common anywhere in the UK, although the hen night tradition is still very strong.

Roselin September 18, 2014 at 10:05 am

Was this in Italy?

Roselin September 18, 2014 at 10:19 am

I suppose I should post a complete thought.
There is an Italian custom like this, but it is done at the end of a reception. Not in the streets among strangers. There is also another Italian custom where the bride just wears a silk bag for guests to drop money in – traditionally this helps the father offset wedding expenses. There are actually several Italian wedding customs involving the exchange of money at a wedding.

Princess Buttercup September 18, 2014 at 10:31 am

O.o I have never heard of that. I’d be interested in knowing if that is a custom for that country or not.
I have a book of wedding traditions from all over the world, some recent and some old. I’ve not finished the book but I don’t recall running across something like that yet.

Sabrina September 18, 2014 at 10:54 am

I would guess that you were in Germany when this episode took place?

Here it is fairly common while having the hen night for the bride to be to be given a task or even multiple tasks to accomplish, before the proper celebration starts at a bar or club. One of these tasks could be that she was given a vendor’s tray with assorted items (could be candy, balloons, small schnapps bottles or other trinkets) and for her to have to sell those. These do not fund the wedding – I wouldn’t want to imagine how long that would actually take – but rather fund a round of beer/champagne on the night out.

Sabrina September 18, 2014 at 10:56 am

…oh, and I want to add – while the overall happening is a custom, no, it definitely isn’t customary to interrupt folks enjoying their dinner to sell trinkets; rather as I know it, people in pedestrian zones or in pub-lined streets are being approached.

licoricepencil September 18, 2014 at 11:04 am

I don’t know about wedding showers, but I do know that in Germany it is a custom for brides-to-be and their bridesmaids to dress up in dreidels and sell candies to raise money for their bachelorette party later that night.

Different strokes for different folks I guess!

admin September 18, 2014 at 2:01 pm

You mean dirndls, right?

licoricepencil September 18, 2014 at 8:05 pm

Yes, sorry! Blame autocorrect.

Cat September 18, 2014 at 9:14 pm

I liked dreidels better. I could see them spinning their way through the afternoon.

AthenaC September 25, 2014 at 11:36 pm

For comments like these, we need like buttons. :)

Sabrina September 19, 2014 at 4:20 am

Sorry, but not all of Germany does dress in dirndls :) This is usually done wearing your usual clothes or in matching t-shirts as technobabble describes.

nannerdoman September 18, 2014 at 11:09 am

Not knowing what country this is, I can only guess this is some quaint local custom–a misbegotten mishmash of Bridal Shower and Trick-or-Treat.

technobabble September 18, 2014 at 11:15 am

There is a thing that some girls do here (western Canada) during their stagette parties that is similar. Usually it takes place in nightclubs, though, and not sit-down restaurants. The bride-to-be will usually be dressed up by her friends in a white t-shirt that has “Buck a Suck” or some other equally in-your-face innuendo written across it. She will be given a bucket of suckers/lollipops and will have to convince people to buy a sucker from her for a loonie (one dollar coin), with the goal of selling her entire supply by the end of the night. I’m not sure what the money is later used for (either given to the bride, or paying for drinks for the party for the rest of the night?), but it’s something you see fairly often in my neck of the woods. Like I said, though, it is usually reserved to nightclubs, where people are usually lubricated enough to play along with good humor.

Luckily, my bridesmaids decided to forego the “asking complete strangers for money” portion of my bachelorette. They instead made Quidditch uniforms (the imaginary sport played on broomsticks in Harry Potter) for the seven of us attending, labeling each of us a different position on the team. Of course, as the bride-to-be, mine said “I’m a Keeper” on the back. I liked my innuendo more than the lollipop one :)

SMHL September 18, 2014 at 3:12 pm

I LOVE the Quidditch idea! Buck a suck is awful though. I’ve seen people go so far as to sew Lifesavers on to shirts for people to bite off. So tacky!

Jen April 6, 2015 at 4:11 pm

I unfortunately attended a bachelorette party once where, like you said, the bride had the lifesavers sewn to her shirt. She went so far as to reposition the shirt for each guy who paid so that the lifesaver in question was positioned in front of her…I’m not sure I can say it on this site…Let’s just say the centermost portion of her breast. Plus, she had a checklist of activities that included her making out with a random guy. Maybe I’m old-fashioned in thinking this, but I feel that if you still want to make out with random guys, you shouldn’t be getting married.

Emily September 18, 2014 at 3:23 pm

The Harry Potter theme is adorable! I love the “I’m a Keeper” shirt idea.

jay September 19, 2014 at 9:04 am

Okay, the “I’m a Keeper” thing is pretty cute.

Wendy September 19, 2014 at 1:05 pm

Ha! You’d have three “Chasers” and one “Seeker”, pretty cute! Not sure about the two “Beaters” though :)

technobabble September 22, 2014 at 10:25 am

MOH was the Seeker (which was funny, because she was the one that set up Husband and I in the first place), the other two bridesmaids were quite proud to be the Beaters, and my SIL-to-be, cousin, and other good friend were the Chasers. We got some pretty good pictures out of it, and there was one bartender that told us we were the coolest bachelorette he had ever seen :D

Mer September 19, 2014 at 2:44 am

This is quite common in Europe, I think, in different forms. Or used to be, most of brides don’t like this kind of action and many say this is one thing they don’t want to do (of course I can only speak for my culture) if they can get through the bridesmaids. Here (in Finland) this is however not for wedding shower as we do not have them, but bachelorette parties.

Generally around here the monetary amount they ask is “pennies” and they might be selling different things from kisses to condoms. And as some mentioned, this money is not for the wedding, it’s probably good for few drinks later in the night. The aim of this is more to well.. put the bride on the spot rather than gather money. Luckily the embarrassing bachelorette parties are not in the fashion any more so this is not seen that often around here.

Double You September 19, 2014 at 9:08 am

I’m from Belgium, and only recently I helped out a bride to be who had to sell a tray full of pink marzipan penises in a busy shopping street. And before that I remember a bride who had to sell her skirt… she started out with a long white wedding dress-like skirt, but everyone who made a donation was handed a pair of scissors to cut off a piece of it, until the bride was left with a mini skirt. So yes, I am familiar with the tradition. It’s mostly a harmless bit of fun, more for a laugh than for the money.

kingsrings September 19, 2014 at 4:33 pm

Now I’m wanting to take bets on how long it will be until this lovely custom makes it way to the U.S. I can just see bridezillas and bridal partyzillas everywhere thinking, “What a great way for us to raise money for the big, dream wedding that we can’t must have that we can’t afford otherwise!!”

Mer September 20, 2014 at 5:52 am

Well, it won’t be the same custom. I don’t think something like 10-20 dollars will help much with the wedding…

NostalgicGal September 20, 2014 at 3:16 am

I hope it doesn’t come to the US; just another way to embarr*ss or make a jack*ss of the bride and wedding party in the name of money. We have plenty of gimme’s going on already….

Laila February 15, 2015 at 6:27 pm

Already did!

I have seen this in my small Midwestern city more times than I would like to admit. As a Midwestern bride-to-be, I had to specify to friends that I DID NOT want this. It’s usually at nightclubs and it’s usually really rude and obnoxious.

LadyV September 21, 2014 at 1:32 pm

This ran on Thursday – last night when I was on a shuttle bus coming home from a concert, I ran into a situation like this for the first time. The BTB was selling Tootsie Pops – and it was pretty obvious that it was less of a money maker than a chance to have some fun. To me, it was a lot more tolerable than dollar dances, wishing wells, or “the cost of your gift to me needs to equal the cost of your meal”. The ladies weren’t pressuring anyone to buy (and yes, I have seen pressure brought to bear at wedding receptions for those who don’t contribute to the dollar dance/wishing well/other gimme pig fundraiser), they were having fun without being loud and obnoxious – and they actually had several people (me included) volunteer to buy a pop without them asking. Win-win – the bridal party had fun, and so did the people on the shuttle.

m September 22, 2014 at 5:58 am

This country you were in wouldn’t happen to be france, would it? The French usually do this sort of thing for the bachelorette party. They call it roughly translated “burrial of your life as a careless youth”. A bride will be given a series of embarrassing tasks all through the night by her friends as a means of getting the crazy out of her system before zmbarking on a new life as a serious married adult (guys do it too). It’s pretty hilarious and not meant to offend. The fact that this bride left you alone as quickly as she did tells me that she was in no way trying to extort money from you and that she knew that as a foreigner you were probably not familiar with this tradition. The money btw is not nearly enough to pay for a wedding, just enough for a round of drinks for the bridesmaods.

B September 24, 2014 at 7:19 am

So…you’re in a different country, yet when a custom you don’t know pops up, you instantly decide it’s tacky and rude? You don’t think that ooh, perhaps in the country where you are a TOURIST, they might have different ideas of what is acceptable etiquette at times? Or that if you could speak the bride’s language, she might have been able to explain it a little better? That this might just be a culture clash?

No, you just decide it’s wrong, end of story. Classy.

Lanes October 5, 2014 at 6:55 pm

I’m pretty sure asking complete strangers for money is tacky in any country/culture.

GKelly October 22, 2014 at 6:03 pm

Yeah, I’m too am having a hard time believing the bride was the rude one here . . .

Pat September 24, 2014 at 8:35 pm

This is also quite common at hen nights in France. The amounts are minimal and they are spent right away for a couple of drinks for the bride. The purpose is to embarrass the bride, who sometimes has to dress up a certain way (usually some theme to the hen night). In recent years, I’ve known a bride at her hen night to have to sing songs to strangers and dance with them in the street, another was dressed up like a Playboy bunny and had to sell lollipops, another was dressed like a big chicken and had to jump around people. While it is not common to approach people who are having dinner at a restaurant, I suppose the outdoor setting served the purpose quite well and the bride could get that awkward, make-fun-of-me part of the evening over quickly. To me, this is, while not exactly appealing, less offending than the wedding showers you have in America, which I see as gift-grabs where you have to bring a second gift to the bride in addition to the wedding gift you’re getting the couple.

Enna October 4, 2014 at 1:04 pm

Approaching people who are eating sounds a bit rude. If this is traditional and is only done for pennies for a bottle of wine that’s fine. If it is done aggressively or for significant sums of money e.g. £5 for one little sweet than that’s not on.

KC Kidder December 10, 2014 at 3:03 am

I do not know where this rude custom started, but can tell you it is common in Midwest USA. During the
Bachelorette Party, the bride wears a skimpy shirt emblazoned with “bride”. The Bride to Be and attendees , I shall not stoop to call them ladies, go from bar to bar drinking and selling candy suckers to pay for their drinks. If this annoying and rude custom came from another country, I can only say I wish they had kept it. If it was dreamed up here as a way to finance a party you can ill afford, I can only say that “stupid is as stupid does”.

MadBeatrice January 12, 2015 at 7:40 pm

Well, I know many people who do that, and it’s not ‘gimme’ in quite many countries. I lived in Austria and Germany (I’m from one of the Scandinavian countries myself), and this is done there, and not for ‘gimme’. It’s not money in that sense, a single penny is enough. It’s the act that matters. It’s not a wedding shower, as those are not really done in Europe. In my culture, for example, hosting a party for gifts, when it’s not a birthday, be it for a wedding or a baby or whatever, is considered a massive ‘gimme’. Few people here have bought into that american custom, but mostly they are seen as somewhat tacky and ‘gimme’. Personally, like Pat right above me, I think all forms of showers are remarkably tacky, and way more offensive than asking for pennies for lollypops for fun. To me it’s a gift-grabbing thing, and just feels weird. That does not mean I will judge all americans for their custom to have such parties. It’s a cultural thing, and should be treated as such.

What you saw likely was a part of a bachelorette / hen night (or, in my language ‘The Bride-Goose outing/ Geese Night). Often it’s twenty to fifty eurocent for a treat. It’s meant to be fun. I remember one time when I was out with my friends and a young man walks in with a sign saying ‘Kisses for sale, gentlemen 1 Euro, ladies 2 Euros’ with his bachelor crew. A friend og mine (A guy, with great sense of humour) asks one of the girls in the crew for her lipstick, we pass it around, go give the guy a 10 Euro bill, and then all kissed his cheeks and forhead until he was covered with kisses, much to his and his entourage’s amusement. It’s for fun, it’s for the hilarity and joking around.

Honestly I feel it’s somewhat judgemental to be in a foreign country and just label something you didn’t fully understand, or even tried to understand, as a ‘gimme!’. You applied your own cultural values to their culture. I suggest you ask a local what is going on next time before you decide they’re worthy of etiquette hell.

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Get Involved in Pa. Historic Preservation

A colleague of mine passed this information on to me. I in turn cleared the matter with the state, and am passing it on to you, my readers.
If you are concerned about historic preservation, now is a good time to get involved--at least if you are a Pennsylvania resident or you work in the state.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, in its role as the State Historic Preservation Office, is currently working to prepare a statewide preservation plan which will cover the years 2012-2017.
You can be a party to this process. Just sign up for and take the Pennsylvania Community Preservation Survey. If you'd like to do additional volunteer work, there's space on the online form to add that information. And urge your friends and colleagues to follow your lead on this important public issue.
The survey form is online at

For further information, contact Scott Doyle at (717) 783-6012 ( or Andrea MacDonald (717) 787-4215 (

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

FBW: Pumps and Dumps and Baby Bumps

Fifteen minutes ago, my child crawled over to where I was sitting cross-legged on the basement carpet, sucking down lukewarm coffee, and working on a blog post. He smiled up at me. He clapped his hands to signal, "Time for Patty Cake!" He tilted his head and sweetly said, "Mama?" Then he shut my laptop. So he's in his crib right now, taking a nap and/or thinking about what he did. Naturally, I feel bad that my 15-month-old has to compete for attention with you, lovely reader(s), but Pork Chop can't hit the Like button on Facebook yet. So you win!

I'm a little late to the whole mothering gig. Not that I'm pushing retirement, but I had my son a few week's shy of my 37th birthday. During my first ultrasound, the obstetrician, whilst checking my lady credentials, if you will, mentioned my "advanced maternal age." Actually, the term he first used was "elderly primigravida." I didn't know what the hell "primigravida" meant, but it's not like I heard anything past "elderly."

"What the hell is going on down there?" I wondered. Was my uterus sprouting chin hairs? Had the doc found an AARP card in my fallopian tubes? Did my vagine mail him a five-dollar bill for Christmas?

Sensing my concern, the OB explained that "elderly primigravida" simply referred to a pregnant woman over the age of 34.

Okay then. So the fetus wasn't wearing compression hose. Good news.

The bad news? My crotchal region is one chip short of BINGO! One low-pressure system shy of "Oww, my knees."

"Elderly primigravida." "Advanced maternal age." Those were the terms that welcomed me into the world of motherhood. And ever since, I've had particularly strong feelings about, what I'll call, "mom lingo."

Many of my friends and family members use mom lingo. So I feel terrible about silently judging them. Frankly, I prefer that my judgements be loud and public. If you're wondering whether I've been judging you, wonder no more. Here is a short list of terms and phrases that I find objectionable:

Baby Bump

A "baby bump" is the term folks have imposed on the bellies of pregnant ladies. I'm not really sure what was wrong with "belly" or "stomach," but someone somewhere decided that pregnancy didn't sound close enough to a jungle disease.

"Aww, look at your baby bump! You should probably treat that with a little benzoyl peroxide or something."

"Her baby bump is totes the cutest. But I'd stand back before it hatches. [whispers] Tiny spiders, y'all!"

Please. Just. Stop it.

Baby bump? You'd better wash your hands.

Pump and Dump

I am actually guilty of using this phrase, but I was strongly influenced by a fishbowl-sized mojito. Look, I get that this term isn't just cutesy; it's also accurate. Had a few drinks? Pump your breast milk and then toss that White Russian down the drain. The problem is that every time I hear "pump and dump"I imagine some poor mom hooked up to a breast pump as she squats on a toilet. And now you do too. Let's come up with some other phrase, shall we? Maybe "saving the baby's liver" or "absolving myself of guilt about drinking a fishbowl-sized mojito"?

I drank all of this. And then I ate Mexican food. You do the math.

Push Present

Okay, first, when did this become a thing? A gift for having a baby? I agree that labor and delivery are, well, laborious, but it's not like moms are doing dads a favor. Once pregnant, that baby's gotta come out. True fact, ladies.

But beyond my beef with the very idea of giving a woman a necklace or a fancy handbag to say, "Thanks for birthing," I take issue with the the term. Like "pump and dump," a very particular image comes to mind when I hear "push present."

Picture it: A woman in stirrups, seized by contractions. She howls. She grunts. She bears down. "I can see it!" shouts the doctor. A cheery burst of confetti shoots from the woman's hooha. And then, joy of joys, out pops a neatly wrapped box containing a blouse from Ann Taylor LOFT and a comfy pair of linen capris. Congratulations! It's a new outfit. Sorry, no returns.

This is so stupid that I can't even . . .

DD, DS, and DH

Are you kidding me with this? Dear son, dear daughter, and dear husband? How about "son," "daughter," and "husband"? Too many letters? How about "kids" and "spouse"? How about "family"? How about we not make our loved ones sound like government agencies? How about you don't force me to refer to my family members as "dear"? I always love my family. However, I do not always like my family. In all fairness, my family does not always like me. Sure, sometimes I'm Shelby's DW, but a lot of the time I'm his "OMGJR?" (Oh my god, Jess, really?) or even just his long, defeated sigh, which kind of defies an acronym.

No more. This is dumb.

Mucus Plug

Not slang, I know. But this is just way, way, way too accurate. I'm actually lobbying to come up with some euphemism to replace this one. "Baby stopper" has a certain appeal. "Stork cork" maybe? I'm open to suggestions.

Again, this is not really slang, but this term is misleading. Effacement is when your cervix thins or, eww, "ripens" before delivery. Until I took an actual birthing class, I thought being effaced meant that the baby was, well, see the picture below? Then you get the idea.

Where's mommmmy?

I'm not sure why we can't just say "thinning" instead of "effacement." When you're 9 months pregnant, it would be really nice to hear that something is getting thinner, even if that something is a delicate little pad of skin that's about to be massacred by your precious miracle.

Fur Baby

Look, folks, I know you love your pets. I love my pet too. She's a member of our family. We feed her better than we feed ourselves; we let her musk up all the couches and beds; we make peace with the tumbleweed-sized fur balls blowing through our home. But a "fur baby" she is not.

Yes, the dog is in the shower.
Because there wasn't enough hair in the drain.

First of all, unlike my actual baby, Sarah the dog has the decency to crap outside in the grass. And unlike my actual baby, Sarah the dog is content to sleep most of the day and night. And unlike my actual baby, Sarah the dog did not suckle from my bosom and thus turn that bosom into a deflated heap of chest flesh. However, both my Pork Chop and Sarah enjoy chewing on a good stick. But really, the similarities end there.

Unless you're nursing an Ewok, no more "fur baby," okay?

And that's it. That's my list. If you've used one of the above terms, I've thought less of you. But, for what it's worth, I just ate a slice of American cheese and a handful of Tostitos for breakfast.

  1. No matter what you call what you had going on under your sweater in the top picture, I love that outfit! The sweater. The shoes. The matching bag! Also, the drink in picture #2 is looking pretty damn good right about now, too.

    1. Full disclosure: I made my husband take that picture because my friends and family were getting pissed that I refused to post any pregnancy snaps. The shoes came off .5 seconds after the camera flashed. As for the mojito, it was amazing (sorry to rub it in).

  2. Just for the record, I where compression stockings and this post made me laugh out loud. By the way, I did get a card last Christmas with a five it it and no signature. Thanks Jess's vagina. -Sarah :-)

    1. Sorry, someone else's vagina mailed you that fiver. My vagina only dispenses quarters.

  3. i think I love that your sister and your dog have the same name. Never knew that! :) Great blog!!

    1. Thanks Kim #1! Shelby adopted Sarah (the dog) long before we even met. But the running joke is that, if we ever get another dog, we'll name it "Kim."

  4. I promise you every time I hear fur baby I think either tar baby a la Uncle Remus or, more often, a monchichi. I've used DS/DD/DH. I have. It was 1999 and I was in a parenting chat roo and had to fit in lest the mean overlord rulers of BabyCenter yelled GET HER! Bump is probably the one that irks me the most, with a present for pushing close behind (although, admittedly, I've gotten a gift with each child. It was called a baby). Would the Ann Taylor box hurt the woman coming out? *moves head side to side while wincing at thought*: square, big ass circle. Square, big ass effaced circle.

    1. Well, I'm glad you said, because I was afraid to -- "fur baby" always makes me think "tar baby." It's like everyone's dogs and cats are gonna break into "Mr. Bluebird on My Shoulder." As if "fur baby" wasn't horrible enough. And as for BabyCenter: The. Worst.

  5. Oh Jess, you make me LOL for reals. If I had been drinking something I would have snorted it. "Was my uterus sprouting chin hairs" is my fav. And by the by... I thought the cut-off was 35. Blurg!

    1. Girl, the cutoff is whenever your business end decides to shutter its doors, er, door. And I'm glad you got some LOLs out of your read. This was a vagine-heavy post, and that's not for everyone (but obviously for you).

  6. I'm really sorry I didn't get around to reading this post till bikini season was well underway, because I just laughed my ass off! Not to worry, I will show off my newly shorn ass at the pool tomorrow. Your're a comic genius.

  7. I was just trying to decipher dh this afternoon. I looked it up and was like you have got to be kidding me! How about HSHYSIGHSMH, short for 'haven't shot him yet so I guess he's still my husband'. It even includes the word SIGH, which I'm pretty sure is really clever.


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Monday, February 8, 2016

SISTER BARNEY TOOK ME AROUND ONE DAY.....I loved that she knew this land, and could take me to those people she loved when she was here before being sent to Ghana because of Ebola. One day she took me to her tailor, and I felt like I had stepped into National Geographic. His shops was made out of tin and just enough for two people and a sewing machine. His name is Santos and he is making me a couple of dresses that I pray will give him a little income for his family.

Back in the land of cloth and colors that I find some of my most beautiful people!

Santos and his sewing machine

Santos' family....

His little shop where he does fabulous sewing!

This young man is heating up the charcoal in the iron to press some clothes. And just think most of us send them to the cleaners or just plug in an iron!

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The Dos And Don’ts Of Social Media Automation

by • May 26, 2016 • Experts TalkComments Off on The Dos And Don’ts Of Social Media Automation7872

Social media isn’t for the faint-hearted. With the sheer mass of updates, shared content, ads, and billions of users it’s virtually impossible to always be available at the right time. And this is where social automation plays its role so well.

It allows you to be seen, without being actively online.

This kind of technology makes our lives a little easier, and everyday activities run efficiently, so it’s no wonder that automating social efforts has just become the norm.

But, simply relying on automation tools can be pretty risky too. Letting your audience know that there are real people behind your accounts is equally as important as sharing valuable content. It’s not about one replacing the other… it’s all about finding a balance between automation and hands-on community management. Don’t let automation ruin your reputation.

So, follow these tips:

Do: Automate Content And Figure Out The Best Times To Post

There are plenty of tools that will create a schedule for you, so that your content reaches people when they’re actually online, and ready to digest it! Use this to your advantage so that anything you post gets the level of engagement that you’re looking for. From Buffer to Hootsuite and Audiense, spend a reasonable amount of time searching for and testing a tool before you decide whether it really works for you.

Do: Make Your Messages Sound Human

No one wants to feel like they’re speaking or listening to a machine. Automation isn’t supposed to replace one-to-one human interaction on social media. Remember that it’s just a tool to make it easier to manage multiple networks at once. Spend some time really considering what your brand’s tone of voice is, and how this can be achieved in 140 characters or more. It’s really important that your audience sees a post, and recognises your tone as quickly as they would your logo.

If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:

Do: Share A Variety Of Content

Don’t fall into the trap of sharing the same thing over and over again. Yes, articles can be incredibly enlightening, but there are other types of content that are equally (if not more) engaging. Make an effort to share videos, infographics, quotes, GIFs, and text updates.

Don’t: Automate Conversation

Auto replies and direct messages can be incredibly frustrating for the people who receive them, for several reasons.

  1. They feel spammy,
  2. People know it hasn’t been sent directly by a real person,
  3. As they are sent to multiple users, it is incredibly difficult to make them feel personal.

Don’t irritate people before you’ve had a chance to connect with them. Start by building genuine relationships with community members, and then at a later stage you might want to consider integrating automated messages to a set of targeted users.

If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:

Don’t: Forget That Tone Varies Across Different Social Platforms

While you may want to share the same article on Twitter and Facebook, that doesn’t mean that it should be done in the same way. Many automation platforms allow you to create a single message for all of your networks at once. But messages have to be catered to the many different audiences, their expectations and needs. What needs to be said on Twitter in 140 characters, will be completely different to Facebook and LinkedIn.

Don’t: Automate Content That You Haven’t Read/Watched/Listened To

A great headline doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re about to read an amazing piece of content. And unfortunately, clickbait does exist! The last thing you want to do is damage your reputation by sharing content that leaves people feeling pretty disappointed (or even offended). Always make time to go through what you’re sharing. so that you’re remembered for all of the right reasons.

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Lakewood OH

Celebrate Mardi Gras with a taste of New Orleans

Celebrate Mardi Gras at the annual “Taste of New Orleans,” through March 30 at Salmon Dave’s Pacific Grille.

This is the 18th consecutive year that Salmon Dave’s has transformed itself during Lent to honor the food, drink and culture of New Orleans. There are few places in Northeast Ohio to experience authentic Cajun and Creole food, according to George Schindler, managing partner of Hospitality Restaurants, which owns Salmon Dave’s. “Our guests look forward to this annual event knowing they can enjoy the soulful pleasure of New Orleans cooking,” he said.

A special menu of Cajun and Creole favorites, Bourbon Street cocktails, New Orleans jazz and a Mardi Gras theme are featured throughout the Rocky River restaurant. “The roots of this cuisine are the essence of cultural fusion,” Executive Corporate Chef Shawn Cline said. “It’s a unique blend of French, Spanish, African and Caribbean influences that you really won’t find anywhere else.”

A Hurricane, a drink made famous at Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter, will get the party started. Salmon Dave’s makes the fruity concoction of tropical juices and rum using O’Brien’s secret recipe.

Take a culinary vacation, starting with appetizers like a bowl of Gumbo Ya-Ya ($7), cornmeal-crusted fried oysters with jalapeno tartar sauce ($9), mussels Mardi Gras ($10) or oysters Rockefeller ($11) prepared according to a traditional 1899 New Orleans recipe from Antoine’s. Hellfire crawfish salad is made with spicy fried crawfish, candied pecans, bleu cheese and buttermilk dressing ($14).

Crescent City entrees include Voodoo salmon with red beans and dirty rice ($22) and cast-iron blackened redfish with cheddar-andouille sausage mashers ($24). Bourbon Street shrimp are prepared in a Cajun tomato ragout ($21). Creole strip steak is served with a French onion potato gratin ($22). French Quarter bouillabaisse is whitefish, scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams and vegetables in a saffron-tomato broth ($23).

The celebration’s main attraction is the “Taste of N’awlins Feast,” offering steak Creole, Bourbon Street shrimp and Voodoo salmon on a platter with jalapeno cornbread and fried green tomatoes ($34.95). Visit the restaurant on Sundays and save $10 on the feast. The Davey “Gravy” Kasper Trio plays your Dixieland favorites on Sunday, beginning at 6 p.m.

Salmon Dave’s Pacific Grille is at 19015 Old Lake Road in Rocky River. Phone 440-331-2739 for reservations.

Visit the Burntwood Tavern now through March 1 and you can dine on Mardi Gras specials such as seafood gumbo, crawfish cakes and barbecued shrimp. There is a meal-sized crawfish Caesar salad, jambalaya and blackened chicken. The restaurant is also open for brunch on Sunday. Phone 440-333-6700 for reservations. The Burntwood Tavern is at 19304 Detroit Road in Beachcliff Market Square.

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