Ashlynne Solvie of the Normal Cornbelters was the recipient of a free @AtMidwest Conference ticket given at one of our TweetUps! She is smart, enthusiastic and just lovely! I wanted to include her in our interviews because she brings a great perspective to the conversation of walking the social media talk!!

How do you walk the talk re: social media?

Because of what my job entails, I’m the only person in the office, the only person in my family, and the only one of my friends who has somewhat of a grasp of all the dynamics of social media. I’m not pro by any means, but I do know how to use social media for business vs personal, use lots of badges and widgets, and link some very cool tools up to my accounts to make my life easier!

What one practical tip can you recommend regarding the use of social media?

You MUST use some sort of tool that allows you to plan our your posts & schedule them to go live at a later time… this has saved me! I have used HootSuite & TweetDeck. They both make my job a lot easier. I like to plan a few posts that will go live over the weekend, that way I don’t have to find a computer at all during my days off work!

What do you think is the perfect age?

Numerically, I think the perfect age is 23. I might just be saying that because I am currently 23… so maybe the perfect age is the age in which you are during your 1st year out of college. I have seen in family & friends that the first year after college is where all your previous years of life really start to make sense and take shape. For me, I am 23, almost 1 year out of college, working my 1st “real” job, paving the path to my dream career, meeting new friends, networking with other professionals, and finding a balance between my interests/hobbies/passions, beliefs, opinions, and goals while still having the most freedom possible to seize any opportunity that comes my way! This is my own perfect age because I have absolutely nothing holding me back from chasing something, no matter how big or small.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

My guiltiest pleasure is most definitely chocolate! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet, brownies, cookies, reese’s… you name it, I’ll eat it!

What are you really good at?

I am good at a crazy mix of multi-tasked attention to detail & focus. As I sit here and write this email, I have checked any incoming emails, checked our facebook page, answered my phone, crossed something off my to-do list, and yet this email is about to be finished and was never once forgotten!

Name one thing you will never understand.

There are things that I don’t WANT to understand… But something I’d like the answer for that I will never understand is why some girls like guys with long hair! Not hair that is sorta shaggy… I’m talkin’ LONG hair, like a lady style

Share something on your mind lately

Something on my mind lately has been health and fitness. I have done some “research” lately about what to eat, what not to eat, how to train for races, etc. I’m absolutely fascinated by the physical ability of the human body to perform all it’s functions…. run marathons, lift weights, digest food, breath and blink without thinking, etc. As a retired athlete, I find it frustrating that I’m not longer eligible for most team competitions that really count (rec leagues and intramurals don’t count in my book!). I really want to reach a physical fitness level in which I can think to myself, “This is as good as I’ll get. This is the peak of my performance.” I know I have not yet reached that point so I’m actually excited to get better and better with my fitness interests!