As weekends go, this certainly was one

I don't think I've written anything about the election that happened here in WV over the weekend. It took place at the state convention for the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women (WVFDW). My county chapter was the host. I've shared a little bit about how busy our group was preparing for that. But the election? Not so much.

I was nominated for vice-president. Traditionally, the assembly accepts the recommendation of the nominating committee, everyone sings kumbaya, and you go to a banquet. But not this year.

Three of the top board positions were challenged by floor nominations. Mine was one of them.

The woman nominated for president and I ran as a team. She went down in the first ballot of the day, and I realized then that I didn't need to give quite as powerful a speech as I'd planned to. It was referred to by one witness as a kamikaze speech.

WVFDW is a club, politically oriented, obviously, but not beholden to the public. It's nice, though, to know the members of a group you've served for several years appreciate you and welcome your contributions.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Don't get me wrong: MANY, many women approached me and told me how much they appreciated my work for the organization. (I took care of the website and created most of the memes for the Facebook page. Oh, and started a blog, a newsletter, and a Zazzle shop.) From my brief parenthetical resume, you can see I was a big contributor to the digital side of things.

The nominee for president came up with the ideas. Having more time than she, I executed them. We really are a good team. As I said in my speech, she's the spark plug and I'm the mechanic.

But talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words. You don't show me you value my service by then voting me out.

I learned a lot from the entire experience, most of which I will keep to myself. What I will share is this: For Democrats in West Virginia, longevity trumps all. The longer you've been a member, the longer you've had a D beside your name, the better. The lifetime Democrat who is a charter member of WVFDW wins the prize.

Which is silly, really. If you want your group to grow and attract new and younger members, you look at records. My record, and that of the nominee for president, has hundreds of thousands of digital fingerprints all over it. Social media is where those potential younger members are. And that's where we worked the hardest, while also creating the newsletter to make sure we were reaching those who don't spend much time online.

Without being too melodramatic about it, I guess I'm making my way through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. You don't have to have all of them, and you don't have to have them in that order. But most people experiencing an impactful loss feel some or all of these emotions to some degree.

I'm pretty sure I skipped denial and went straight to anger. I'm not sure bargaining is relevant. I feel stuck between mad and sad right now, and I'm really very close to acceptance. I will be all right. I'm already making plans for how a way to work on issues that mean something to me and to other progressive women who feel that WVFDW chose a different set of values.

There was a lot of discussion at this meeting about adding a standing committee just for social media. And after all was said and done, it was added. The social media team will no longer serve at the pleasure of the president, but will be an elected office and a voting member of the board.

I'm happy about that.

I'm just sad I won't be on it.

Thank you, Facebook. Just … thank you.

This post has been churning in my brain for a few days. Time to let it out, I guess.

I am a social media junkie. Not Twitter so much, although I do have and use my account. But don't take away my Instagram, Pinterest, Blogger or Facebook, please.

Especially Facebook.

As both of you know, I live in the Middle of Nowhere. And if you know me in real life, you know I'm not kidding. Twelve miles to the nearest Tiny Kroger. Forty-five miles to a somewhat adequate mall. An hour to Sam's Club and it takes 90 minutes and crossing the state line to shop at Target.

Being so isolated took a real toll on me when I first moved here, 17 years ago. I'd lived in Columbus, Ohio, near many shopping and recreational and entertainment opportunities. I was plugged in to a social and support network that met all my needs and allowed me to give back.

And then I met a guy. A very nice guy, who also lived in Ohio but who was originally from southern West Virginia. And one day he moved back home. As guys do. And we did the long-distance thing. As couples do. And then he asked me to sell my house and quit my job and follow him to the Middle of Nowhere.

And I did. As girls do.

Many years after I moved here, he asked me to marry him and I said yes and we'll be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary next week.

But we've known each other for 21 years and I've lived here in the Middle of Nowhere for 17 of them. Time flies.

I had a hard time making friends here. I just couldn't find women my age who weren't already plugged in to their groups of friends. I didn't really try very hard. I stayed connected to old friends with email. I redecorated our house. I bought a lot of yarn. I started volunteering.

And one day I found Facebook.

I was not an early adapter. Facebook launched in February of 2004. I joined October 26, 2008 (but my first post, oddly wasn't until November of 2009). Less than two weeks after joining, Barack Obama would be elected President of the United States. I worked on his campaign here in southern West Virginia and met some great people. I give the President all the credit for my finding friends, finally, more than a decade after I moved here.

Maybe some of those friends were already on Facebook, although I kind of doubt it. I don't know why I took that plunge. But I'm really glad I did.

The internet had been keeping me connected to long-distance friends, but not in the same way Facebook does. There were these things called "forums" and "listservs" and, of course, I emailed a lot. I started blogging in 2006. (Good lord, have I been spouting drivel for eight years now? I guess I have.)

But Facebook is up-to-the-minute and, with a smartphone and a data plan, always available.

When I joined Facebook, I had two grandchildren. Now I have seven.

When I joined Facebook, I had a few real-life friends and a few more long-distance ones. Now I have hundreds, and some of those virtual friends are also real-life, up-close-and-personal ones.

I've been accused of being too plugged in, mostly by those who live in cities and work with people and have a lot more social opportunities than I do. Or, conversely, by the less tech-savvy who just aren't interested in an online presence and don't think anyone else should have one either. (Pardon the snark.)

My level of plugged-in-ness feels just right to me. I'm engaged, informed and involved in a way that just wasn't possible without Facebook. I've gone from being a shy, backward, inward-facing loner to a somewhat more outgoing and certainly less awkward joiner.

I take and post photos from my almost-daily walks, and my Facebook friends tell me they really look forward to those views of my Middle of Nowhere. I love that they like going on my walks with me, even if they do so virtually.

I was elected to a position at the state level of a group I've belonged to since President Obama was Candidate Obama. I was on the local ballot this spring and won my election. I've met all kinds of important people and learned that they think I'm pretty important, too.

The icing on the cake was getting ready for that high-school reunion. The planning committee had a presence on Facebook and I could see who was registering and look forward in a very real way to the weekend. I reconnected with classmates I hadn't seen or even thought of in years – decades, even. What a blessing it's been!

So say what you will about Facebook – how they change things and there's no privacy and it's a time-suck and whatever. I'm sticking with it, gratefully.

After all is said and done, it is, after all, free. And for once, I'm getting way more than I paid for.

Politics has taken over my social-media life

I helped conduct a social-media workshop at the WVFDW annual meeting last weekend. There were three of us; my focus was Facebook. We didn't go into all the available social-media outlets, or we might still be there, talking to an empty room.

Much like Ted Cruz did most of the night. I couldn't watch.

So here it is, nearly 9 a.m., and I'm just now getting around to blogging. Because I've been twittering tweeting since 6:30.

Not everyone who registered for the convention attended our session. (We didn't expect that.) I hope the ones who opted out are already down with the Facebook and the Twitter, but I suspect those who chose not to stay are the ones who don't even have computers.

Yes, there still are people who aren't online.

Those who did sit in seemed engaged and asked a lot of questions. I helped a couple women set up a Facebook page for their group.

And I learned a lot about Twitter.

I've had an account for a couple years, but I rarely ever look looked at it. Now, though? I. Can't. Stay. Away.

So I added a little Twitter button over there on the right, and if you'd like to read snarky liberal comments, follow me. That's mostly what I've been retweeting. (Wow. No autocorrect on the word retweeting.)

Photo session is this afternoon. Stay tuned for progress pictures tomorrow.

If I can tear myself away from the little blue bird.