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For more information, contact: Note to producers and guest bookers: Neenah Pickett is available for in-studio interviews in the Tri-state area, and phone interviews all other markets. Woman on 52 Week Journey Finds Humor and Hope, but No Husband! Neenah Pickett spends 2009 searching for her husband by harnessing the power of online and in-person communities with the end result being not at all what she expected. NEW YORK, N.Y. – December 31, 2009 – Most adults have shed their New Year's resolutions months or even weeks after making them. Their lofty goals to lose weight, be a better person or to turn their love life around are often too broad, lacking a structured, tangible plan, which many lifestyle experts say is key to making resolutions stick. Neenah Pickett, a 43-year-old media consultant, however, devised a plan--a 52 week plan to be exact. As time counted down, she was determined to find a husband by December 31. Picket did manage to sustain her search throughout the entire year, as chronicled on her website 52weeks2findhim.com. However in spite of much effort, she ultimately failed with her resolution; ending the year without her Mr. Right. Her strategy was to connect through an interactive online environment with as many people as possible by going public with her search. And connect she did, receiving just under six million hits on her site (averaging 14,000 new users per month). It gave potential suitors greater access, but also provided a support network, which she feels became the blowout surprise. "There's no way I would have kept at it for 365 days if I hadn't received all the encouraging emails on a regular basis," says Pickett, a Central New Jersey resident. She received thousands from around the world. "I even had people stop me on the street and in restaurants telling me they were cheering me on." Social networking sites, such as dating websites, blogging sites, Facebook, Twitter and others, allow strangers and loved ones to connect on new levels. Nielsen reports that two-thirds of the world’s Internet population belongs to a social network. Studies show activities include looking for love. According to a 2007 global research study by Synovate, 25 percent of respondents eventually met their life partner online. A UK study shows that social networking sites have taken over bars and clubs for the number one place to find love. OnePoll.com, the marketing company that conducted the research, reports one in four Brits is dating – or has dated – someone they met through online community websites. Over the course of the year, Pickett did succeed in meeting potential suitors. She went on over 30 dates in 2009, which she says is more dates than all previous years combined. But where did she go wrong? Pickett said, "If I had to live this year over, I still would have taken this journey. The experience I had was well worth the effort. But sometimes you can try very hard and still not get what you want. I definitely didn't do everything right, but overall; I don't think it was wrong." She believes trying and failing is a life lesson everyone has or will face. "I like the idea of giving it my all much better than spending my life wondering "what if.'" When asked about feelings of disappointment and failure she says, "I'd love to spin this in some way where I sound heroic and successful. But that's pride talking. I pursued something that was really important to me and it didn't happen. I loved the journey, I truly did, but I would have liked a slightly different outcome." Over the course of the 52 weeks, Pickett gave herself weekly challenges. Some were far fetched, she says, "the goal was to open myself up to new experiences and have fun in the process." These challenges included, spending time at a bowling alley and a golf store, taking part in a fundraiser with farmers, going to bars, church outings and barn dances. She says she stalked guys at bookstores, invaded firehouses with cookies, acted helpless in the men's department, visited a barbershop, took a class at Home Depot, and traded places with married moms - three of her girlfriends who spent a week finding love online for her. Now that the year is over, Pickett looks forward to resting. In 2010, she will do as she stated on her site: take a year off from pursuing love. However she still believes in the love journey and hopes to spend the year developing ways to make finding love possible for more people. "Love's become too hard to find, too difficult to hold onto. This isn't how life should be." For more information about Neenah Pickett and her campaign, visit www.52weeks2findhim.com. To schedule an interview, contact info@52weeks2findhim.com. ### |
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