Today, October 15th 2009, is Blog Action Day with the theme of Climate Change. I hope this post is able to contribute some small part to help raise awareness about this important issue.
Whether You Believe Or Not
There are people that passionately believe global warming is real. And there are those that just as strongly disagree with the concept entirely.
It’s actually quite interesting to consider how awareness for climate change has grown in the U.S. since the 1930s. First, it took a considerable amount of time to reach some level of scientific agreement about the problem. Then it took even more time to build up public awareness around the issue to the point where political action was seriously being sought and demanded.
It’s actually quite amazing how far we’ve come just since Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” in 2006. This year (2009), there are high hopes for some monumental outcomes arising from International talks at a United Nations meeting in Copenhagen this December. Check out 350.org for more information on the CO2 goals for this Treaty as well as the “day of action” planned on October 24th, 2009 to drum up even more support for a favorable CO2 Treaty Agreement.
But aside from the climate change awareness movement, the best way that I would respond to any naysayers of global warming is that we should care about our environment regardless of whether global warming or climate change will ever hit crisis levels. Read more »
I must admit that when I first saw the agenda for the Writer’s Digest Conference, taking place in NYC this year, I didn’t quite understand why there was such a big social media focus at the event. I wondered if the event organizers weren’t just jumping on the bandwagon of the latest online trends.
Gladly, my skepticism turned out to be quite short-lived. Right from the very first session I attended, I immediately understood that this apparent merging of topics wasn’t any kind of a forced fit, but instead was a natural union that made perfect sense. The book publishing environment is clearly changing — it’s not just about getting an agent and finding a publisher anymore.
I decided that since my learnings might be of interest to some of my fellow creative friends, I put together this list of 8 things I learned about “21st Century publishing” and how social media can be used to legitimately bypass the bombarded Gatekeepers and make you a successful Gatejumper. Read more »
I know I would be remiss to pass up on the opportunity to compile some observations and reflections about my first Affiliate Summit experience, i.e., Affiliate Summit East 2009 (ASE09), NYC, August 9-11, 2009.
I’m hoping this post will serve two purposes: first, to share with others what I learned; and secondly, to thank those that made the experience so worthwhile for me.
So, without further ado, here goes …starting before the beginning….
What affiliate marketing meant to me before the event was, having high hopes that simply slapping an affiliate link with a banner ad in the sidebar of my blog would somehow automatically bring in at least a few dollars a month of income. Obviously, that strategy had never earned me a dime. While I was otherwise rather familiar with many of the names, faces and issues of online marketing and social media…it’s just that I hadn’t really figured out how to use it effectively (as a business tool), yet. Read more »
Hunger probably isn’t an issue that is top-of-mind for many of us as we go about our busy lives. We probably used to only think about “The Hungry” on occasions like holidays, or when we read about the starving children in Africa, or perhaps when some town in a far away land got hit by yet another natural disaster.
We may respond by opening our wallets of sympathy and donating a few dollars to the cause of the moment. But, then, as our own daily lives again absorb our full focus and attention, we don’t give much more thought to it.
Hunger Is a Local Issue
Yet now as U.S. unemployment levels reach new highs, we may be becoming more aware than ever before of hunger issues at home. However, hunger in our local neighborhoods is not a new issue. ShopRite food stores have been fighting hunger in neighborhoods across six states served by their 217 stores for more than 20 years. Read more »
Okay, time is about up! The “100 Articles in a 100 Days” contest which I wrote about in my last post is as good as over.
While I started off with high hopes of accomplishing what I now realize was an overly-ambitious goal of completing this contest in about 1/3 of the allotted time, not surprisingly, that didn’t happen. But that’s okay. I’m still glad I gave it a go.
Surprisingly, I didn’t realize that I would learn as much as I did in such a short period of time. If you are curious, here’s what I got out of my brief participation in this challenge: Read more »
Today over 100 New Jersey bloggers will be participating in a campaign to bring attention to the current state of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) which is the largest food bank in the state.
In New Jersey, as in many states, due to the current economic crisis, food is down, funds are down, and demand is increasing. More specifically, “requests for food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent. Warehouse shelves that are typically stocked with food are bare and supplies have gotten so low that, for the first time in its 25 year history, the food bank is developing a rationing mechanism.”
Read more »
Election Day is just one day. One Day that has been a long time coming. One that will soon be here and will soon be gone. But is it an end or a beginning? Either way, many will say that it will be another four years before they get their chance to vote again. But, that isn’t quite true.
The General Election is no doubt a very important decision day. Yet it need not be a once-every-four-years event. This election period has been one of the longest and most polarizing in a long time. Combine that with the current financial crisis and the recent bailout package, one good thing that has happened is that people have again found their voice. Current technology is making it so much easier to get information, to organize a collective voice, and to get those voices heard. Keeping informed on the issues and participating to our government in any way that we can (including writing to our representatives) is something we can and should continue to do, Election Year or not.
Read more »
Blog Action Day 2008 has finally arrived! What a great campaign this has been. There was an appropriate amount of reminders to raise awareness, to keep the issue of Poverty top of mind, and to focus on the “Action” part of the event.
Here are three things that stood out for me in the months leading up to today’s “Blog Action Day”:
(1) From the folks behind “Blog Action Day”, there was a steady, yet appropriate, amount of buzz, a.k.a., reminders, in various online mediums, focusing not just on the upcoming event date but also on providing easy-to-consume resources as well as telling compelling stories of what people were actually doing for the event. This really kept the issue top-of-mind over a longer period of time (several months if I recall correctly) yet without being overly intrusive or annoying. All causes should be about more than just a one-day drive-by type of activity.
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Today is Blog Day 2008. Today, bloggers are being encouraged to get to know other bloggers by posting five new blogs to share. The five I’ll be listing might not all be considered “new” per se, but I chose these because each represents an authentic voice, that updates regularly, and honestly contributes to the conversation (without trying to make a quick buck like some internet marketers often do.) I haven’t met any of these five people personally, but from what I have read, I can vouch that these are all people that I would do business with and are people that you can truly trust! Enjoy!
1. ChrisBrogan.com. In my opinion, Chris is one of the best social media bloggers around. Chris posts regularly, contributes to the conversation, and shares a ton of interesting information about social media and beyond. Chris is also active on Twitter.
2. MaxGladwell.com. This blog is focused on ”Social Media and Green Living” and Max Gladwell is also active on Twitter.
3. Jim Kukral.com. Jim is a creative, authentic, and inspirational video blogger and marketer. I especially enjoy Jim’s “The Daily Flip” video posts. Jim is on Twitter, too.
4. Mom Goes Green. This is a quality blog that might be a little less know. It is written by Jim Kukral’s (above) wife and goes by the tagline of: “A Mom’s Journey to Green Living”. You don’t need to be perfect to be sincere. This Mom is on Twitter as well.
5. Jonathan Fields: Awake at the Wheel. Jonathan blogs about health & fitness, life, marketing, social media and entrepreneurship. He is another authentic voice and is also on Twitter.
Hope you have a great Blog Day 2008, too!
Isn’t it great when you attend an event and it greatly exceeds your highest expectations for it? Last weekend’s Empowerment Retreat did exactly that for me.
Right from the beginning, when I first arrived and opened the window of my air-conditioned car, I was gently greeted by the natural scent of pine trees in the serenity of the YMCA camp where this event took place. Not overcrowded, and nicely situated away from the day-to-day hassles of everyday life, there was an intimate feel right from the start.
At first I didn’t know what to expect. Most of the speakers slated to present at this event, I had not heard of before, yet I had high hopes just from having read their posted biographies. They did not disapoint. The event’s organizer, Carson Tang, can certainly be trusted to bring together a great set of quality speakers and attract a great audience of like-minded folks.
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