For those of you who’ve been laid off, you likely don’t care what your boss went through before he or she made the decision to let you go, so I won’t belabor the point, but it’s not an easy thing to do.

I am much too emotionally involved with my colleagues. My Vistage group always tells me it’s business, not personal, and I have to distance myself so I can make the hard decisions without emotion. That’s like them telling me I can’t eat gelato anymore because it’s bad for me (so what if it is – it’s good!). It’s not in my DNA to not get emotionally attached so I make decisions that affect people much later than I should.

That’s why, when Arik and Valerie asked if I wanted to help with Help A PR Pro Out, or HAPPO, I jumped at the opportunity. Now I can help some of those I had to lay off last year, the pros I’ve met online who need jobs, and even strangers.

If you’ve missed the hub-bub around HAPPO, click on the link above, or visit last Friday’s FADS post about it. You can also fan HAPPO on Facebook and/or follow on Twitter.

I have heard from A LOT of companies and agencies already and I’ve heard from some of you who are looking for jobs, or looking to move to Chicago.

Let’s keep the momentum going.

* If you have job openings, comment here with a way for me to reach you before next Friday.

* If you are looking for a job, write a creative blog post about why you should be hired and post the link in the comments section here.

* If you are neither but want to spread the message, please let your communities know about this blog post, the HAPPO blog, and the champions below so we can all help.

* If you work for a company that provides services to communication professionals (i.e. Cision, Vocus, PCC, IABC, PRSA, Radian6, Alterian, Spiral16, MatchPoint, etc.) and you want to donate something to the cause, comment below and let me know how I can reach you in the next week.

* And, if you’re not in the Midwest, make sure to connect with a HAPPO champion in your area…or let me know if you’d like an introduction:

• Jeremy Porter (Atlanta)
• Kellye Crane (Atlanta)
• Doug Haslam (Boston)
• Jennifer Wilbur (Southern CA)
• Lauren Fernandez (Dallas/Fort Worth)
• Richie Escovedo (Dallas/Fort Worth)
• Justin Goldsborough (Kansas City)
• Arik Hanson (Minneapolis/ St. Paul)
• PR Cog (New York Metro)
• Deidre Breakenridge (New York Metro)
• Valerie Simon (New York Metro)
• Heather Whaling (Ohio)
• Adrienne Biggs (San Francisco)
• Danny Brown (Toronto)
• Mike Schaffer (Washington, DC)

Instead, however, I asked my Twitter friends what they would like me to write about and I got some great ideas!

* Brad Farris suggested how to feel like you’re in control of the business while traveling.

* From Bruce Smith: Trust.

* Scott Yurashek had an attention-grabbing idea: How the lack of public commentary has been lacking and how social media has made it interesting again.

* Troy Costlowhttp recommended how the intended message can’t be directly stated modestly.

* Several people suggested I write about how to get past writer’s block, which I guess I’m kind of doing by writing this blog post, even though I called them all smarty pants.

* And, God love her, Nancy tried to create a topic out of my wanting to veg out.

All of these are great ideas and you’ll see them as blog posts in the next few days. But this made me think…what would YOU like to see me write about?

* What kinds of conversations do you want to join?
* Is there someone you’d like me to interview?
* Is there anything you’ve always wanted to ask a CEO?
* Is there anything you’ve always wanted to ask a business owner?
* Is there anything you don’t understand about social media and need help?

The parameters are to stay within the PR industry, social media, or what it’s like to run a business.

If your idea is chosen as one of the blog posts, you’ll receive about 30 seconds of fame. And a fun surprise (which means I haven’t yet figured out what it is).

@3HatsComm I actually met Davina first when she commented on FADS, which drove me to her Web site and to find her on Twitter. She’s a PR pro in Atlanta and writes a really smart blog about the industry and the changes social media is forcing. She recently talked about trying to ride the coattails of social media giants and link bait, and what it means to our industry. She’s a smart one!

@Kuru_Footwear I don’t remember how I initially came across Nate on Twitter, but we quickly became friends because he lives in my homestate of Utah. He helps run an active shoe company, which was founded by his college buddy. We have great discussions about running a business because he experiences a lot of the growing pains we go through. If you follow him, offer a congrats – he and his wife are expecting their first baby!

@nicklucido I met Nick through PRSA, when he was in Chicago doing a tour of agencies. He’s a senior at Michigan State, but did his internship at Edelman this summer. The thing I like most about him is he’s not afraid to connect with PR leaders and he’s a great networker. He once asked me how PR students can get ahead and I told him to use social media to connect with the right people. He said, “I’m going to tell our PRSSA chapter!” I have no doubt he did.

@jennifervides I recently met Jennifer and quickly connected with her because she’s as crazy about football as me (though she’s college and I’m NFL). She told me she didn’t really have a NFL team so I’ve recruited a new Bears fan! She even sent me a TwitPic of her son wearing a Bears shirt. YAY!  After I met her, I was stalking her online, reading her blog. She has this amazing post about how much she loves her kid. Check it out here. I dare you not to be inspired by it.

@zoeyjordan My recommendation for Zoey is long overdue. I met her through @jeffmello because she and @shandrab were calling him the Lemon and I thought that was really funny! Since then I’ve learned that Zoey is an amazing writer who gives of her talent willingly and graciously. Everytime I hear her name it’s because someone is singing her praises.

@shandrab Shandra is the founder of Shea-Noel, THE interior design firm in the South. She is wicked creative and her mantra is to give people a better place to live because of both her humor and her design work. You have to check out her Web site to discover where the name of the company originated.

@Ted_Striker32 I met Ted because he, too, is a Bears fan! He helped support me on NFL opening day when the Bears lost and I lost $50 to the Vegas line. Don’t let his enthusiasm for the Bears and Cubs fool you though. This man is going to change the world…literally all by himself.

@GRIPCOMMPR My first recollection of Greg is when his dad fell ill and he went to spend many weeks in Florida with him, until he was well enough to take care of himself. Since then I’ve learned that he is strong in the franchise PR world and that he thinks about new business the same way as me. What I like most about him, though, is his self-depracating humor.

Past #FollowFriday recommendations:

Sept. 4

August 28

August 21

August 7

July 24

July 17

July 10

July 3 (which is a culmination of the previous five weeks)

For an easy way to follow everyone here, plus those on earlier lists, you can copy and paste the Twitter handles into NinjaFollow.