I geeked out all weekend. And I liked it. A lot! My geeking out came in 3 waves. It all started Friday night….

Wave 1: #SlumberParty

I joined the 2nd half of the Friday night #SlumberParty Chat. It was my first ever. I got whacked immediately upon entering by @JessicaNorthey and @MelissaOnline during a wicked pillow fight. I started laughing and my husband said, “What’s so funny?” And I replied, “We are having a pillow fight at the #SlumberParty.” He absolutely could not understand the concept. Sometimes I think he thinks I’m crazy; making up events, people and actions!

@DabneyPorte put on an awesome chat, and I met many wonderful new people! I’m looking forward to the next one I can attend. Full #SlumberParty information can be found HERE. Note: If you do join, please be prepared to come equipped with PJ’s, a great attitude and a strong shield – these pillow fights can get intense!

Wave 2: Empire Avenue

I recently caught the Empire Avenue bug, though I knew nothing about it. I stumbled across an article last week written by Caleb Storkey. In the article, he mentioned the #SocialEmpire Facebook Community as a great resource. It is a closed group, but you can tweet to him to request access, which I did immediately. Once I was accepted, I was welcomed by several – in literally seconds. Now that’s the kind of community I adore!

Since I started in my new position at singley+mackie last week (which by the way ROCKS), I didn’t have the time to devote towards my Empire Avenue introduction; learning, interacting, setting up, etc. So I waited until Saturday. I then dove right in! Ready, set….

This is what it looks like immediately.

Empire Avenue: In the Beginning

And once you start setting up your profile, it will look similar to this:

Sarah Kay Hoffman: Empire Avenue Profile

I could spend all the time in the world trying to explain Empire Avenue, but I’m not going to reinvent an awesome wheel already created by Jeremiah Owyang. This is a great overview – Empire Avenue Provides Social Gaming Opportunities –and Challenges– for Brands.

Here is what I’ve already learned about it and by engaging in it:

1. The community rocks! You want interaction? You will absolutely get it!
2. It’s a little bit of everything all rolled into one: Gaming + Stock Market + Social + Networking.
3. You will be rewarded for taking part in all of your various networks: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr.
4. It’s highly addictive.
5. Virtual currency is “play” money, but you need to take it a little more seriously on the Empire Avenue.
6. This could be a very powerful platform for brands.

Some words of “reassurance:” It will get better! When I first signed up and started in, I must admit that I was highly confused. It’s challenging to navigate in the very beginning. I’m still navigating, and I expect to navigate for quite some time. But I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the ease of networking, learning and engaging once you do! So go ahead, get signed up and once you sign up let me know your Ticker by giving a “Shout On” on the “SKH Profile.” (How else am I going to invest in you?!)

Shout Out on the Empire Avenue

Wave 3: Pogo.com

Pogo.com: Sarah Kay Hoffman Profile Beginning

Why Pogo? Why now? More to come on this at a later point….

For now, here is what I will say: My iPad2 did it to me! I take my iPad2 with me each Saturday morning to our local coffee shop, and I simply just “play” on it. This past weekend I added some creative writing apps and free games. In doing so, I stumbled upon MONOPOLY for iPad. Yes, Monopoly; an all time favorite as a child. As I began doing research on the app, I realized that it was also on the Pogo.com site. And then I remembered that my sister-in-law told me how much they love Pogo.com – the whole family! Her children are all under the age of 10. They like the Poppit! game, Word Whomp, Mahjong Safari (now that they can spell it!) and Sweet Tooth.

I’m curious, so I began playing around on Pogo. I had a blast setting up my “Mini” (which is on the above screen shot). I am not done playing around with that, but I have a good start!

My first game ever was, “Daily Hot Shots.” Quick overview: You vote on “most likely picture” to win coins during Phase One. After a few votes, you move on to Phase Two where you dress your person for a Photo Shoot. Once the photo shoot is over, it’s submitted and then you return the following day to vote on all previous day entries.

Daily Hot Shots

Voting Phase

Photo Shoot

Final Photoshoot

I played other games sporadically here and there to check them out. There are so many! Something to fit everyone! And with each game and other things to do on the site, there is a “sharing” capability that I love! You can “like” or “share” with your Facebook Friends, and ultimately have the ability to play against them vs. other random people or the computer.  Here are all the categories:

Pogo.com Game Categories

I am already hooked, and I’m looking forward to finding an entire “pack” of games I like playing on my computer, iPhone or iPad2!

So there you have it – a total geeked out weekend for me. It’s now Monday,, and I’m excited for this week since I’m just a little “geekier” than last week! I would love to hear about your geekness this past weekend! What did you find? What did you enjoy?