That being said I learned about social media over the past ten years from my grandmother.

My grandmother, Mimi, is 82 years old and lives on Cape Cod with my grandfather. She raised a family of eight children. She watched both of her brothers pass decades ago. And, until the early nineties, she was the primary caregiver for my great-grandmother who suffered profoundly from Alzheimers. Watching her mother devolve from a sassy seamstress from Brooklyn to a paranoid, fragile stranger, ennervated my grandmother.

Enter stage left, a desk top computer from Mimi’s children. Mimi could not be distracted from this wonderous invention. She was writing poems again, writing emails and completely engaged in a newer, bigger world. As a woman who always regretted not going to college and becoming a reporter, she was exuberant about this tool. We set it up by a window where she could monitor Joshua’s Pond and any anti-wetland’s activity. (She is the uber-environmentalist. Ask her about kettle ponds.)

It became a running joke in our family to call Mimi when you had a computer problem. She had taken apart her hardrive early on and fixed problems that Dell couldn’t quite manage on the phone. She currently runs a private Yahoo group for her immediate children (and grandkids) to post pictures, send messages and share recipes.

Yet, no one saw this coming in 1997. Mimi began to join writer’s chat rooms. Poetry chat rooms. Every Sunday night the family knew not to call her because her modem would be in full swing. Mimi, in her 70’s at this point, was developing relationships and friendships many of which she still has today. Mimi did not give her name to these online poetry friends but she gave them her poetry. For the next decade, Mimi hopped on-line and listened, wrote, critiqued and eventually published a book of poetry. There were also a few awards in there as well.

My grandmother and I communicate a lot by phone and email. She is on Skype frequently. She likes to check in on my bulldog Shakespeare (he has a fickle skin condition) and see what new antiques I may have purchased.

But, mostly we talk about words. I listen to her poetry, give her feedback and in turn she asks me lots of questions about New York and technology.

A few months ago, I received an email from Mimi asking me how to Bcc someone. I called her immediately. “Mimi, who do you need to blind carbon copy?!?” She giggled. She replied, “Just tell me how to do it, America.”

So when people mumble about social media having no discernible ROI, I mention my grandmother. She leads a vibrant, meaningful life filled poetry, wetland protests and local senior’s pilates classes.

Mimi recently had cataract surgery. I called her when she was out. My uncle picked up the phone and said that she was sleeping. I jokingly told him to not let her near the computer for the day. He replied, “Too late.”

Twitter account, @marthastewart, that she was accepting callers for her afternoon Sirius radio show.

I recently took to Martha when she and her esteemed pooches, Francesca and Sharkey started to blog at The Daily Wag. I love dogs.

The Daily Wag, written by a staff member of Stewart’s team, is an ingenious endeavor. Sponsored by Purina with links for products and charities, The Daily Wag offers dog lovers (a rabid bunch; pardon the pun) well-written content, ridiculously cute photos, a robust comments section and a purview into an intimate aspect of a celebrity’s life.

When Martha answered my call, I gushingly applauded the efforts of her dogs’ writing skills. I asked Martha when her French Bulldogs were going to start Twittering. Martha replied that they needed to first master blogging before Twittering.

Martha chatted effortlessly about Francesca and Sharkey’s respective work ethics, and how the pooches were angling for raises. (Francesca, if you do not follow the blog, is by far, the smarter of the two and according to Martha, held her ground about the raises). Martha was quite humorous playing along with her team of canine social media ambassadors

Martha and I connected around shared values, not products. In other words, we were two women with known affinities (one woman more known than the other) who shared a breezy exchange because we both loved dogs.

I do not recount this story to demonstrate that I was able to get Martha to open up and act silly. However, I do want to point out, something about our exchange that is crucial for PR professionals pitching ideas to bloggers and journalists.

The blogger and journalist are no different than you or I. We are professionals that collectively face a devastating economy where our work and how we execute our work is paramount. Given this new economy, time is precious, content even more so.

To that end, pitching is a new ball game, especially to bloggers. Bloggers will be receptive to those who have done their research, interact authentically with them and add value to their community.

Simple tips for pitching a blogger: Read the blog you would like to pitch. Read the archives, the comment section, and the archives. Get a feeling for what this blogger is passionate about.

There will also be opportunities to be part of the blogger’s community (Join their Facebook, Twitter). You should take every advantage to add value to their community by thoughtful commenting, suggesting relevant links and engaging with other commenters.

When you pitch, make sure you know how the blogger prefers to communicate. Most bloggers will post their emails. A word to the wise: bloggers loathe seeing a PR pitch in their comments’ section.

Pitching to a blogger is an art not a science. It takes time, engagement and mutuality.

END NOTE: The day after I spoke with Martha, she announces on Twitter that Francesca and Sharkey now have a twitter account @thedailywag. They have more followers than I do.

According to Wiggin, Main Street America manages credit limits and not savings. So while the media covers every minute of bailout package’s debate, Americans need to know about their money, Wall Street and the government’s role in the economy, now more than ever. Wiggin’s stresses that Americans need to take charge of their money and their understanding of the democratic process if our country is to survive a recession.

Wiggin, who spoke to me a few months back, breaks down the economic crisis into four deficits.

The Budget Deficit:

The budget deficit is the difference between what the federal government spends and what it takes in revenues annually. At present, the federal budget is running a deficit. During the past 40 years, the government has run 35 budget deficits and only five surpluses. To defray a deficit, the government can cut spending or raise revenues. However, this slows the government down. Now, Social Security during this time, has run, large annual surpluses. Since the early 1980’s, the government has dipped into the social security surpluses to pay down the federal government debt.

By 2017, the social security program will pay out more than it receives. I refer to this as the looming Silver Tsunami. Baby Boomers start needing their Social Security, which has offset federal deficits. Unless the country raises taxes dramatically or the federal government closes down, Americans will be begetting the largest history of debt to its children. And, this is not ethical.

Right now, currency is what takes the biggest blow. The public doesn’t understand deficit and debt, so don’t know how to hold politicians accountable.

The Personal Savings Deficit:

As a country, we live beyond our means.

The economic trouble we are seeing on Wall Street is the result of saving deficit. In the past a couple would save money and make a down payment on a home. There were no adjustable rate mortgage 30 years ago. After the tech bubble burst and 9/11, there was enormous competition for riskier and risker borrowers. As a result, people now manage credit limits and NOT SAVINGS.

In stark comparison, the average Chinese couple saves 40% of each paycheck, not knowing what tomorrow will bring.

Americans haven’t seen a rainy day so they do not save for one. Most American’s live from paycheck to paycheck.

Our traditional values have been discarded. People don’t change behavior until crisis. And, the value of currency is hard to define…in what currency do you save money? The government prints money but that places currency in jeopardy. We can pretend and dole out $700 million dollars but we need to borrow from future generation and overseas.

The Trade deficit:

The United States and China have an important relationship that public needs to understand. We are exporting more than we are importing. We are not manufacturing the goods we used to. Developing economies are less dependent on US consumption. As the US exports our production of goods to China, China re-invests in the US by purchasing US treasuries. If China were to ask us for the money they have invested, the US interest rates would sore and the blow would be crippling to the US economy.

More of the US debt purchased by banks and foreign lenders. Foreign entities own us. Reliance on foreign lenders will not have our interest in mind.

The Leadership Deficit:

We need to be harder on our politicians. Expect government programs to cut back. The purpose of I.O.U.S.A. is to empower Americans to know more about our economy. The more the people know, the more congress will know. We need to talk about social security, without promising more.

The budget committee with Greenspan comprises bankers! Not elected officials. No one is standing up. NO one is addressing issues.

Is there hope: Yes! Focus on balance, an attitude we bring to government. Americans need to hold their politicians accountable. Americans should expect that the government will cut back on programs.