EchoDitto

I'm thrilled to report that EchoDitto New York has officially moved to our new Canal Street office! We're so excited to have our very own space, with a real conference room, two private offices, plenty of open space, a lovely kitchen sink and our own bathroom. The furniture is being assembled as we speak, and Anne and I are finally not sitting on the floor anymore. Some highlights of the past few days include:

• A fascinating trip to Ikea last Friday (my first time ever!) with Anne and Harish. I loved the almond torte in the cafeteria, but next time, I say we order it all online. Also, we're convinced they do something to the air to dehydrate customers so they buy more Lingenberry Juice.

Now that spring is here (well, maybe not so much in NYC, but it's coming!), thoughts turn to chocolate bunnies, March Madness and of course, spring cleaning. It's a good thing that EchoDitto recently launched the new Seventh Generation website to help smart, environmentally conscious consumers not only find the right cleaning products, but also connect with like minded individuals. Some highlights of the new site include:

• consumer-generated product reviews
• forums for discussing the environment, new product ideas, healthy living
• a new corporate blog called 7Gen, in addition to the Inspired Protagonist, SVG President Jeffrey Hollender's well-respected blog

As many of you know, EchoDitto recently returned from New Orleans, LA, the site of this year's company retreat. We spent an amazing four days enjoying the grandeur of the Buckner Mansion, gorging ourselves on gumbo, jambalaya, po' boys and bread pudding, and of course, laying the groundwork for an exceptional year ahead. We come back to our offices in New York, Washington and Boston feeling smarter, stronger and excited to share our learnings with our incredible clients.

The summer after I graduated from high school, my friend Tracy and I took off for a six week adventure through Europe. This was 1994, and the word "Internet" and "cell phone" were most definitely not part of our vocabulary (although I would guess that some of my co-workers were already online at this point, being the forward thinkers that they are). Armed only with a "Let's Go Europe", we treked our backpacks from hostel to hostel, occasionally calling ahead from a local pay phone to reserve a room at our next destination. Each week, I'd call my parents collect to let them know I was still alive, and to catch up on the news from home. Sometimes I dropped postcards in the mail, many of which arrived long after I returned from my trip.

A few months ago, I posted about my friend Mooki's son Toby, and his battle with neuroblastoma. Since June, Toby has endured two surgeries, 4 additional rounds of chemotherapy, countless raditation treatments, and the latest assault on his four year old body, excruciating 3F8 infusions. It's been a long road, and there's still a ways to go, but Toby continues to fight hard and keep smiling as best he can.

A group of parents whose kids are fighting this terrifying disease recently started a group called Band of Parents, whose mission is to increase public awareness about neuroblastoma and to raise funds for the development of novel therapies. They are working in partnership with a team of doctors at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a leading cancer center based in New York City.

UPDATE: My iPhone is now fixed! I bought a replacement part, and my genius husband fixed it for me. It only took 3 hours and a few panic attacks on my part.

When I first got my iPhone, I was on cloud nine. For real. I came home from work that day squealing about how cool it was, pulling up pdfs and accessing visual voicemail left and right. I took it with me on a trip to San Francisco and bragged about it to every person who would listen, including my very bored seatmate. Finally, I could leave the house with one device that did everything, including allowing me to watch Grey's Anatomy episodes on the train ride home to Brooklyn.

As most of you know from previous blog posts, EchoDitto New York recently moved offices. One of the best parts of the move, aside from the shorter commute home to Brooklyn, is that I now get to sit in the bullpen with the developers. I've been working closely with web developers for almost ten years now, and I never cease to be amazed at how much you can soak up just by being in the general proximity of certified web nerds. It's actually kind of amazing.

My second job out of school was at a startup Internet radio company called SOUNDSBIG.com. While the company ultimately went the way of many 1999 dot coms, it opened the doors to a world that has become my professional home. And while the work I did at SOUNDSBIG was fun and interesting, the best part of the job was sitting in the bullpen with the developers. I learned HTML, dabbled in Adobe Photoshop, and even got to borrow a copy of ASP for Dummies (technically speaking, that's where it ended for me, but I did get a lot of admiring glances from MIT grad students on the train ride home from work that day). I learned the merits of Quake (I still remember silently willing my coworkers to stop screaming about the previous night's events), became comfortable with technology, and was introduced to Napster. Ahh...Napster.

EchoDitto New York is on the move, heading over to 81 Franklin Street in Tribeca tomorrow. And while it might just be a few short blocks from our current Soho office at 116 West Houston Street, it's still a world of change. So in honor of our move, I thought I'd share a few things we're going to miss about our old digs, and some things we're looking forward to at our new place.

Leaving 116 West Houston (sad):

1. More than anything, we will miss the proximity to Mamoun's. Home of the $2 falafel sandwich, Mamoun's was lunch at least three times a week for most of us EDNYers. Harish and Jason took me there for my birthday last year (special baklava treat for dessert!), and it's a rite of passage for our DC coworkers paying us a visit in NYC. And yes, it is possible to eat falafel every day. I swear, you don't get sick of it.

*Overheard while waiting in line for the ladies' room at BlogHer 2007

The third annual BlogHer conference kicked off on Friday at Chicago's Navy Pier. As BlogHer founders Jory Des Jardins, Lisa Stone and Elisa Camahort told a packed auditorium during the opening session, this year's conference drew 800 particpants, making it the largest gathering of bloggers ever (regardless of gender). Wow. And what a gathering it was. Bloggers from all over the country and around the world came together to discuss the latest trends in technology, the art of self-promotion, effective strategies for building community online, and how blogs help all of us express ourselves and explore our personal and professional identities.

My friend Mooki's son Toby is three years old. He's a beautiful child, with big brown eyes, and soft curls. We did a photo shoot together a few years ago, and I didn't want to let him out of my arms.

Tomorrow morning, Toby is having surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. About two months ago, he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare type of cancer that mainly affects children. Almost immediately after his diagnosis, Toby's friends and family rallied to his side. An email from Mooki's brother to 25 friends and coworkers inspired a friend to start a blog: http://tobypannone.blogspot.com, which has become the centerpiece of Mooki and her family's communication with loved ones.