Most common question asked in January, “Whats your new years resolution?”
My question to them is, “Why wait until Jan 1 to create a resolution?”

I like to treat January first more like the renewal of the checklist of items I would like to accomplish over time. Some of my goals have always been on the list, never budging, for example, my quest to stay Awesome. Now, we all know how awesome I am (if you don’t agree, just play along), and s0 is Barney from HIMYM, but it is hard work to stay awesome. And no one person is an expert at being awesome (except Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse).

This is also the case for social media, a lot of people do social media, but no one person is an expert. It is a field in which we are continually learning, weaving from web 2.0 and beyond. And lets talk about all those apps and communities we can use, a list growing daily. I recently read Sandy Carters post on her 10 social media resolutions and instantly thought to myself, “I want to do those 10 things too”. Now, knowing me, 10 may be too many, so here are my 5 professional “checklist items” for 2010:

1. Engage and collaborate more. This consists of many things including blogging, tweeting, commenting and sharing. I find that the more I am engaged, the more I learn not just from reading, but also from experiencing. I think a good benchmark for me will be 1 blog post and share at least 5 great items (posts, articles, toys, whatever) a week.

2. Build my professional relationships. I am going to work on growing out my professional networks (not just on LinkedIn) and be more engaged (see #1) by sharing experiences and learning.

3. Attend more conferences. How many webcasts and virtual events can you attend and really stay focused? We all multi-task, and sometimes it takes over and does not allow us to fully concentrate on what we are wanting to hear. Also, with the way technology is moving, events like SXSW and CES have become a tech-geek’s grand dream. I would much rather see it all in person than rad about it on twitter screens.

4. Get Creative again. Coming from an advertising/design background and now working mainly in marketing and social media, I have become less hands on with the design process. Might have even lost a little of my skills in Photoshop (ha), so it is time to pick it all back up and stay active. Loving all the viral video stuff for IBM recently, lets push the envelope. CSS and CMS may rule the web now, but we can still make it pretty.

5. Develop my ‘Personal Goal Plan’. To be a great professional, you need to have balance, “Work to live, dont live to work” as my dad likes to say. Jeremiah Owyang calls his personal goal “Operation Bluewater“. I have yet to fully define mine (pretty sure it consists of Aruba) but when I do, trust me, you will be notified.

So (raises glass of water), here is to a great year ahead.