It’s the first day of a new year, a time when there is much talk about making New Year’s Resolutions. There are many people with advice on: how to do it right; on whether or not any of the resolutions we do make will even last very long; or whether it even matters any more to make resolutions at all.
What made it easier for me this year was that I had already spent the past month or so, with pen and paper, figuring out what I wanted to do differently for the upcoming “unprecedented” economic environment that we’ve been told awaits us.
Yes, I agree, for me and maybe for many of us, this will be a year of going back to basics.
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Not all people are fans of blogs. There are many people that rarely read blogs much less bookmark them or ever revisit any that they may have bookmarked in the past. Many people probably don’t even know how to find good blogs if they wanted to.
Important and fair questions that are often asked include: “Can I even trust blogs?” and, “What do bloggers really know anyway?” My answer to that would be: “Probably more than you realize.” And, the best way to realize and appreciate what blogs have to offer is to find out for yourself by simply taking a closer look. Here’s how…..
First, it’s always easiest to start small by reading just a few blogs at first to figure out what you like and find useful. As your selections increase, it will become more efficient f0r you to subscribe to Blog Feeds and manage those subscriptions through a Feed Reader such as Google Reader.
The benefits of subscribing to multiple blogs in a RSS Feed Reader (a.k.a., Aggregator) include the following: Read more »
Often the most important advice given to bloggers, writers, or anyone in social media (and probably in business, too) is to be helpful.
Whether you believe in good karma or not, it is not often disputed that if you are helpful to others without expecting anything in return, you’ll be surprised at what does come back to you in return. If your intent is the opposite, you may still get results, but more than likely not the same as if you did otherwise.
For me, the tricky part is in knowing what other people find helpful. Being helpful means different things to different people. There are many ways to be helpful.
I would say that the extremes on the ’scale of helpfulness’, if you will, would probably range from being totally selfless to being totally selfish. If helpfulness were put on a scale, I would put the following fifteen ticks on that ruler (generally ranked here from better to worse, though I’m sure some of you might re-arrange the order somewhat):
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Inspired by Chris Brogan’s advice in his recent post, “If I Started Today“, I put together my own list of what I’ve found to be 50 reasons to start blogging (and/or in social media) even if you don’t have a clear-cut business plan or idea.
My best advice is to start small and build from there. And, always remember that “starting small” is not the same as “playing small”.
Here are fifty things that I believe are best figured out along the way:
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More and more, we see and hear about social media, social networking sites, and micro-blogging tools. You probably heard about how the current election was impacted (some even say won) by the grassroots efforts of social networking strategies.
Amid all of this social media enthusiasm, there have also been recent reports about how the older forms of Web 2.0, namely, blogging, is dead or at least dying. This has prompted some to wonder if we should be dropping the old tools for the new.
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Blogging about politics is always risky. Usually quite early on, a reader will recognize which party you support and will respond accordingly — they’ll either keep reading if they identify with you or they’ll move on if they don’t. Few stick around to hear what someone of an opposing political party wishes to espouse unless they’re looking to judge that opinion and its believer as being ridiculous. I say this because I, too, have been there and done that (and try as I might, I still go there more often than I’d like to admit). We are all human (if that’s an acceptable excuse, I don’t know; you be the judge on that.)
I could avoid the topic all together, or not. As citizens, I don’t think we can continue to avoid these difficult conversations. I would agree that fighting for the sake of fighting doesn’t accomplish anything. So what do we do? How do we approach these conversations respectfully while still being true to ourselves as bloggers and as citizens with points of view looking for solutions and not as journalists that are obliged to be objective in their reporting of events?
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When does Change begin? When is Change in progress? And, when is Change complete? Or, is Change always around us, especially lately?
As of the end of the Democratic National Convention and the beginning of the Republican National Convention, so far, there has been a lot of commentary that is exposing, what I see as, ”Change” that is already taking place. Here is just some of the commentary on Twitter that has stood out for me:
Unlikely Possibilities Are Arising:
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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!
I’ve always known that Ethics can get complicated and many times falls into a big gray area.
And, I personally place honesty and integrity quite high on my list of values. Yet, I’m surprised to be finding more and more people raising arguments to justify why it’s okay to get close to crossing the line on ethics. And, I’m starting to wonder if I might not need to be more flexible in my judgements of people that do flirt with or actually cross that line.
Intentions do make a difference. If someone does something wrong (and, of course, that is all relative, too), but if it is done out of ignorance or out of good intentions, then that should be taken into consideration in our evaluation of that behavior.
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Thought I’d share my Favorite Tweets of the the Week.
Got the idea from Max Gladwell.
Scobleizer Clearing the air with Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/6y56e4 about 6 hours ago from web
jowyang I spent time with Friendfeed’s founder yesterday. Information important to you and your friends MICRO-meme tracker http://tinyurl.com/5f6×46 about 8 hours ago from web
On Twitter I go by Figmentations; so these next three involve me!
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