Archive for the ‘Web 2.0 Basics’ Category
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 |
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I wrote a post regarding my avatar
change on Collective-Thoughts. This post is a continuation of that. The
avatar I had chose at the end of that post didn’t work out. And since my 6 year
old daughter helped me come up with my final choice for an avatar I decided
to write this post in the form of a Child’s Story, "Goldilocks
and the Three Bears".
Image by Super
Dave Chen
TheNanny612 and the Three Avatars
TheNanny612 was a Young Lady who spent much of her days Social Networking.
She
had her own land in her part of the Web 2.0 World.
Normally this Social Media Lady would had been content to go about her usual
Social Networking, but on this day she chose instead to cut off her long curly
hair. Knowing that once she did this she would have to perform the duty of choosing
the right avatar for her part of the Web 2.0 World named Social
Desire.
It was on this day that TheNanny612 Avatar Journey began.
TheNanny612 didn’t think the duty of choosing
an avatar would be a difficult one. After all, what is the big deal, really?
An avatar simply is a picture to help members of Online Communities know who
you are…. is that really such a big deal?
So, TheNanny612 simply had her picture taken a few times with a cell phone.
She chose the best of the batch of pics, cropped it and sized it perfectly.
She made each picture into different sizes to easily accommodate the different
requirements at different Social Networking Communities. The smallest Avatar
size is 50×50 for Sphinn
and StumbleUpon uses
a 475×475 on its About
page.
TheNanny612 Avatar #1
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
She really liked this picture, but it was so dark. She didn’t realize how dark
until she had it resized to fit Sphinn’s
50×50 Avatar requirement. The size Avatar for Sphinn is so small & so dark
that it is terribly difficult to recognize who the picture is of….. That will
never do.
TheNanny612 sighed as she really thought this was going to be simple. "Oh
well.", she said as she moved on to the next stop.
She took a look at the first picture to see what the problem was and came up
with a few of things.
- To dark.
- Little Contrast. TheNanny612’s dark hair against the dark
chair. There was absolutely no contrast.
- The picture was taken with a Cell phone. The quality of
cell phone pictures aren’t always good enough to work with.
So, TheNanny612 decided that she needed to do things differently. She decided
to do everything completely opposite from what she did last time.
She dressed in a white blouse and sat on a light rug in front of a cherry stained
door. This is how the picture looked in its largest and smallest forms:
TheNanny612 Avatar #2
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
TheNanny612 was initially happy with this photograph. She likes the black and
white look and the contrast is nice. But, notice how the picture changes when
it is made smaller. The change in size makes it difficult to recognize that
its TheNanny612 at all. She began to think that there will be no
50×50 avatar that will be easy to recognize, but she knew that wasn’t true.
After all, her last 50×50 avatar was easy to recognize.
So, TheNanny612 went back on her search for the Perfect Avatar…. the Avatar
that was "Just Right."
The problems with the 2nd Avatar?? There were a few…
- It’s a lovely shot large, but when made smaller it is difficult
to recognize.
- The picture is simply to light. The black and white look
washes TheNanny612 out. She will not stand out compared to others which is
very important in Social Networking.
- The contrast problem in the 1st photograph caused TheNanny612 to dress
in light colors, but this did nothing for the photograph either.
TheNanny612 was truly frustrated. She asked out loud, "Why is this so
hard?" All of a sudden it came to her…. she needed to figure
out what made her original Avatar Memorable.
What made the Original TheNanny612 Avatar Memorable
- An
Unusual Head shot
- Sepia - I didn’t use Black & White….. Sepia added
a bit of color.
- Side Angle
- Not the entire head
- Nothing much else in the background.
More determined than ever TheNanny612 decided to stick with what seemed to
work with her original avatar. The most important thing to her was that the
avatar needed to look just as good small as it did large. And, up until this
point that had been TheNanny612’s struggle. She needed to stop posing so much
& get back to basics…. get back to what worked for her in the past.
TheNanny612 decided to hand the camera to her 6 year old daughter and allow
her daughter to snap a few random shots. Little did she know the perfect avatar
would be taken by the young child.
TheNanny612 went through all the photographs taken by her daughter that day.
She came across one that she felt would be a perfect fit if cropped just right.
This is what she came up with:
TheNanny612 Avatar #3
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
The first first Avatar was too dark, The 2nd Avatar was too light, and the
3rd Avatar was just right!!
With each Avatar mistake TheNanny612 learned something and the final Avatar
was the nicest in all the Land.
The Moral of this story…
Sometimes things don’t go well the first time around or even the 2nd.
But, as long as you make each a learning experience then the outcome is usually
good one.
The End.
Posted in Humor, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 |
Social Desire will be featuring
Guest Posts for the next few weeks. Today’s Featured Guest Post is
by Mark Dykeman.
Image by Steve
& Jemma Copley
Everyone’s got a Top Ten list, an 8 step guide, or some other how-to post to
succeeding in social media.
This isn’t one of those posts. Not exactly. Not really.
OK, maybe a little bit.
What I’ve done is to take each letter of the alphabet and try to find one or
two words that can be used to describe social media. I’ve tried to cover many
of the important points and aspects of social media that I’ve picked up through
my own activities. I hope you enjoy and find it useful.
The A – Z listing for social media
Ask/Acquire – social media is a place where we can ask
questions and acquire knowledge; there are tons of great resources out there.
Bold – push yourself and test your limits. Try things
that might have scared you in the past, either due to lack of confidence or
experience. Be bold!
Communicate – it’s all about the conversations.
Demonstrate – show people what you know; help educate
them. (note: I was very tempted to use the word "desire" here…
)
Evaluate – absorb everything you can, but keep a critical
eye open. As you meet different people you’ll gradually get a sense of who knows
their stuff and who doesn’t. Don’t accept advice blindly – think it over
and make up your own mind.
Friend – "friend" has become a verb in social
media, where you give or are given permission to share stuff with other people.
It’s a key component of social media, hence the word "social".
Give – contribute to the body of knowledge with your
own thoughts, ideas, tips, tricks, critiques, and others. It’s not valuable
if you keep it to yourself.
Help – as per give, take the time to do favors for other
people. Answer their questions; show examples. You get a lot back from this,
even if it doesn’t happen immediately.
Ideas – social media contains some of the coolest parts
of higher education – the discussion and refinement of ideas.
Join – if you’re going to be social, join groups that
interest you. It’s all about relationships.
Knowledge/Learn – this K and L go together like peanut
butter and jelly; learn stuff, increase your knowledge.
Mentor – help a beginner and you could have a good friend
for life.
Name – names are important, doubly so in social media.
Meet people, remember their names. They’ll do the same for you!
Open – be as transparent as you can. Consider different
points of view, as well. Speak respectfully, but freely.
Passion – that burning sensation isn’t an, um, infection,
it’s the power of love and desire when you discover something that you love
to do.
Question – questions drive social media. Why? Because
we all want to find answers!
Reveal – tell the world about yourself to the extent
that you feel comfortable to do so. People want to know something about their
follow social mediaites!
Share – as with giving, sharing means doing things that
don’t just benefit yourself, they benefit other people as well. Give credit
where credit is due and share the rewards!
Teach – again, show people what you know and we all
benefit.
Understand – this is critical, because language is an
imperfect means of communication. It can be very easy to misinterpret someone
else’s writing, especially if it hits an emotional hot button. Make sure your
reactions are tempered by understanding so that you know what was really meant
within a communication.
Vigor – show some life there, sparky!
World – it’s a big world out there and social media
will expose you to places that you never knew existed.
X-Ray – look inside and see what’s really happening.
Don’t be fooled by exteriors or pretenses. Get the real story.
Yearn – satisfy those self- actual cravings, at least
temporarily, through social media participation. But stay hungry – there’s
always more.
Zen – practice, be mindful, and learn constantly as
a path to enlightenment (of sorts). You might not become a spiritual master,
but these principles can still lead to fulfillment in social media.
Social media from A – Z – there it is. I hope you were paying attention
because there’s a test coming up!
(Of course, the test never ends… )
If you enjoyed this post check out more of Mark Dykeman’s work at Broadcasting
Brain, his blog about communication and social media.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Humor, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Tips and Tutorials, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 5 Comments »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008 |
Image by BdwayDiva1
Are Texting & Social Media Platforms causing teens to lack in Interpersonal
Communicative Skills?
I received a text from my oldest son last week that was very disturbing. He
was obviously too freaked out to discuss the topic with me face-to-face and
instead chose to tell me this uncomfortable piece of information via text messaging.
I feel I’m a very "with it" mom when it comes to
these things. Especially since being involved in Social Media is pretty much what
I specialize in. But, after this particular text I was left wondering….
“Are teens today lacking in Interpersonal and Communicative Skills?”
Generations have been dealing with the change in Technology for Decades…
- Rock-n-Roll
- Television
- Record Players
- VCR’s
- Telephones
- Computer’s
- Internet
- eMail
- Cell phones
- Web 2.0
- etc…
I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for any generation to make the transition and
today’s generation is no exception. I use text myself, but I don’t use it to
replace normal everyday conversation, but it appears that many of our teens
do. Many of
my friends and
colleagues I spend
time with
online have
children and
I’m very curious
of their thoughts on this…
Is Mobile Technology and Social Media taking away what our Children
should be learning during face-to-face Communication?
When I was a teen growing up I was forced to discuss things with my parents
face-to-face….. even the uncomfortable discussions. And, through each of these
discussions, as difficult as they were, they each were a learning experience.
Could Instant Messaging and Text be robbing our children from learning
some social skills?
Teens are breaking up with boyfriends and girlfriends over text…. and this
is completely normal. These uncomfortable discussions that all of us hated to
have were all a learning experience for me. Mostly, I learned tact and empathy.
Are our children growing up more selfish & cold because they can
avoid these conversations entirely?
I was never an overly brave teen. I didn’t have as much confidence in myself
as others and this made confrontation much more difficult for me. If I had social
media platforms and mobile devices available to me back then I’m positive I
would have been using them instead of how I had to deal with things.
Maybe I wouldn’t have succumb to peer pressure. Maybe I would have been braver
in what I told my peers…. in saying, "No!!". Or, maybe I would have
dealt with confrontation in ways that maybe teens are dealing with it now…
"text and Instant Messaging".
This might not sound like a major issue, but after the text from my oldest
son I’m not so sure about that.
I believe that many of the uncomfortable situations and confrontations I dealt
with growing up taught me many things and made me into the person I am now.
Who knows…. maybe I’m reading too much into this. But, I really don’t think so.
Teen Crushes
As I mentioned earlier I lacked a certain amount of confidence growing up,
so certain things were especially difficult for me. For example, telling a boy
I liked him. I remember having crushes growing up and the boy never knew. By
the time I was in Junior High I was still extremely nervous to tell a boy I
liked him, but I would try very hard to push through the fear. Making a point
to talk to him, pausing by his locker, dropping something nearby to see if he
would pick it up, and dialing the phone to call him. I say dialing the phone
because unless one of my friends was calling for me I don’t think I ever stayed
on the phone long enough to talk to the boy. Most of the time I would dial the
phone number and once someone answered I would hand up. Thank Goodness this
was before *69…. otherwise, I would have been busted for sure.
How would Texting & Social Media changed this process?
Well, I wouldn’t have had to be brave and start a discussion… Simple texts
are so much easier than real words. I would no long have to worry about blushing
in front of a boy. He wouldn’t even have to know how nervous I was. There is no
way via text he could hear my shaky voice, see my knees tap together from nerves
or see me blush from fear. This fact would have given me the confidence to flirt
via text.
What learning experience would I have missed out on? Over
the years of pushing through my fear of talking to guys I built confidence.
I learned what worked for me and what didn’t work for me. I realized that guys
thought I was sweet when I blushed. Actually, over the years I wasn’t nervous
to talk to most guys at all. My confidence increased enough that I could easily
talk to a guy. Would teen develop this confidence if they were doing all interaction
between themselves and guys via digital methods?
Breaking up with a guy
Okay, if telling a guy I liked him wasn’t bad enough….. breaking up with
him was so much worse!! I hated making someone unhappy or feel bad about themselves.
I am still horrible at that, but disappointment is a fact of life and dealing
with it is part of it. Break ups can be some of the most difficult conversations
to have, but to move to the next relationship… break-ups must be done.
Many of my friends were broken up with by notes in school. I was mortified
by this and fortunate enough that this never happened to me. However, in High
School I was in the middle of a long distance relationship, so all of our communication
was via phone and "snail mail". We would see each other only on weekends.
How would a Break-up have been different if I had text or Social Media Platforms?
What makes a break-up so difficult is the confrontation. It’s
usually not an easy conversation because many times the other person feels a
bit under attack or defensive. Texting a break-up (which let me just state….
is cowardly and never okay in my book) erases any face-to-face contact. No confrontation.
As a matter of fact you don’t have to answer any further calls or texts. This
is an easy way out. There is something to be said about "closure",
people!! How the heck do you get closure from a text or instant message? Unless,
of course, the entire relationship was done via text or Instant Message then
a break up should NOT be done in this fashion. I couldn’t imagine
sending a text like….
"Have I told you just now how much I’m in love with U???
No??
Chew on it, have a nice life… "
Check out these other "Break-up
Texts" . They are unreal!!
But, texts like the one above are being sent to innocent
(or not so innocent) boys and girls everyday.
What I have learned from having to break up in a face-to-face
way…
- Break-ups hurt
- Break-ups are an end to something that you might not be ready for
- tact
- empathy
- sensitivity
Dealing with Friends and Social Life in High School
I know that Social Life in High School means a lot to teens. It meant a lot
to me and still means a lot to kids. But, I also know that the peer pressure
and saying, "No" can be a sticky situation. I would never want to
go back and do high school over again due to the peer pressure I experienced.
I dealt with the peer pressure the face-to-face way, but how are the kids dealing
with it now-a-days?
Teens are using Social Media Platforms to deal with Peer Pressure.
They use text and instant messaging to say what’s on their minds. It not as
confrontational. Sounds less threatening, right? Nope!! To get revenge these
teens sometimes are using malicious ways to deal with their anger such as YouTube
videos, MySpace & Facebook public messages, non-private instant messaging
and other embarrassing ways. My thoughts are that because of the convenience
of social media ways of dealing that these same platforms are giving teens a
convenient & easy way to get revenge. This is making Peer Pressure tons
worse than it was when I was growing up.
What I have learned from dealing with Peer pressure face-to-face?
- knowing you have to deal with them face-to-face makes you be choosy who
is your friend
- Over time I realized what/who makes me happy
- I don’t always have to say, "Yes" to everything
- Could shut down the peer voices after school…. with text, Instant Messaging
& other Social Media platforms this is much more difficult.
I’m wondering if the lack of closure causes a teen’s need for revenge?
Could it be that communicating verbally face-to-face with someone forces closure?
Maybe with text and instant message there is no "end".
Telling Parents Bad News
I would like to think that conversations with parents hasn’t changed much since
I was growing up. But, even I know that’s not the case. I already admitted that
my son text me a message that he should have talked to me about in person. Why
did he do this? Because he felt it would be easier.
Was it? Well, probably. Temporarily anyway. And, probably by the time he approached
me in person I calmed down quite a bit. Did he learn as much from the whole
experience…. I’m not so sure.
And, I have some fond memories of when I was growing up of conversations with
my mother. I also have some memories of scary conversations with my mom. But,
bottom line…. they were face-to-face conversations. They were banter back
and forth that I believe made a difference in my life. Not only did I learn
something from it, but I also bonded with my mom. And, there is one other thing
that it left me with… something I can smile at later. Embarrassing situations
that I can smile at because I survived. Something I can laugh at by myself or
conversing with my sister.
I look back on those moments with my mom fondly…. now. However,
had I had the opportunity to get out of a sticky situation in an easier fashion
I totally would have.
Which brings to me back to the question, " Are teens today lacking
interpersonal communicative skills?"
What do teens have a fear of??
- Confrontation
- Rejection
- Disappointment
- Failure
- Embarrassment
What are they missing out learning??
- tact
- sensitivity
- empathy
- respect
- anger management
- communication skills
I asked the following question to my friends on Twitter, "What would have
been different 4 you had you had text & IM as teen? How would Break-ups,
dating, peer pressure been different?" This were some of the answer I received:
Click on the image to see in full size & with Profile Links
What are your thoughts? Are teens today lacking interpersonal communicative
skills?
Posted in Facebook, Parenting, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 21 Comments »
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 |
In the past few days I’ve noticed a few changes on StumbleUpon. They aren’t
huge changes, but changes none-the-less. These changes appear on your own StumbleUpon
page. What is cool about these changes is that you have a choice. You can choose to keep things
the same as they have been or change the way your Favorites page looks. And, deciding between keeping things like they once
were or changing it to the new display depends whether you are more visual or
not.
If you take a look on your Favorite Page on StumbleUpon and you have it set
to the standard view it should look something like this:
Now, take a look at the right section of this page. You will notice a section
that looks like this:
If you click on the link that says, "Show thumbnails" your Favorite
page on StumbleUpon will now look something like this:
Pretty cool, huh?! But, it can be changed even more still. Visually, I like
the way the above thumbnails looks on my favorites page. But, maybe for you this
way is too wordy and you would like to see more Thumbnails. Not a problem. You
will notice that there is a section that says, "Display: List Grid".
It should look something like the following image:
Right now your StumbleUpon Favorite page is probably on the default display,
List. Click on Grid to see the display change
to list your favorites as a grid using Thumbnails. It will look something like
this:
For example, when I stumbled the post, "Treating
Your Blog as a Business: 8 Aspects to Consider" it lists the screen
shot of the entire web page and It’s easier for me to look at the thumbnail
and know it is a DailyBlogTips
post. It probably has a screen shot of the entire web page because there is
no other image on that post. However, when I stumbled Brent
Csutoras‘ post, "Digg’s
April Fools… The Joke is on You!" the thumbnail on my StumbleUpon
favorites page is the image of Brent’s "digg-fools-buttons photo".
This could make just the thumbnails display on my favorites page more difficult
for me in the days to come to figure out what I stumbled without having the
description there too.
I DIG that I have choices on how I would like to see my StumbleUpon Favorites.
I love the way my Favorites look on one page. Visually, it looks awesome!! But,
I’m not sure if this is the best way for me to keep my StumbleUpon favorites
page. Again, it looks great!! But, it is hard for me to figure out what website
it is by the Thumbnails. Some Thumbnails are easier to figure it out than others.
Some of the Thumbnails are screen shots of the web page… making it easier for
me to figure out what favorite it is. However, some of the thumbnails are images
from the web page itself. Even though this too is cool it isn’t very easy for
me to always figure out which StumbleUpon favorite I stumbled.
Bottom line…. I love that I have choices. Which display do I enjoy the most?
The answer is, "I’m not sure, yet". For right now I’m toggling back
and forth between different displays until I figure it out. So far, it appears
that I’m leaning towards to the traditional basic original version of no thumbnails.
But, that is probably because I’m not really good with sudden change and I need
to work myself into it a bit. I’m usually a very visual person, so I’m guessing
that eventually when I get more use to it I will be using the Display page with
the Thumbnails in the List form.
What about you? What StumbleUpon Favorites Display are you using?
StumbleUpon
stumbleupon-tips
stumblupon-tutorials
Posted in Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 Basics | 18 Comments »
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 |
I have a little secret…. I’m the tooth fairy. It’s true. And, guess what
else?! I’m also Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, and Cupid.
Last week my 6 year old daughter, Hannah lost one of her front teeth and just
yesterday she lost the other front tooth. She is missing both of her front teeth
and as I stare at her beautiful face and her cute smile I realize how special this time is for her…. and for me for that matter. I haven’t seen her gums like this since she was an infant. And, it reminds me that she is growing up and how quickly the time goes.
So, as I do with all of my children when they lose a tooth I become the tooth
fairy. I grab my wings, tiara and wand from my "special closet". These
items sit next to my Santa, Easter Bunny, Cupid as they do for most parents.
These are roles that I am proud to hold and it got me thinking….
How has the introduction of Web 2.0 changed these Special Days for the Kids?
How Web 2.0 adds Pizzazz to our Children’s Holidays
Tooth Fairy
Easter & the Easter Bunny
St. Valentine’s Day & Cupid
- Try and Catch
Cupid
- St. Valentine’s Online
Kissing Game - I virtually kissed a frog to find out if I will spend my
days in the castle…. I found out that the frog turned into a gross gator.
YUK!!
- Kids can ask The Love
Duck questions and get answers.
- Kids can make a Virtual
Valentine’s Cake for their Friends or for their Parents.
Christmas & Santa Claus
Web 2.0 isn’t going to change the fact that usually around 8 years of age children
start wondering if these characters are real or not. It’s sad, but it’s true…..
children will figure it out. I actually had this discussion on Twitter
earlier today and found some interesting
ways that children found out that these Holiday Characters weren’t who they
thought they were. They were, in fact, their parents. There is no interactive
website that will change this fact. The only thing we can do is help our children
believe in the imaginary for as long as we can.
All of the above amazing Web 2.0 methods for kids to enjoy the Holidays doesn’t
change the fact that Parents will remain involved in helping their children
believe in the "Imaginary". But, I believe that these sites add a
bit to the excitement of the holidays. And, it doesn’t mean that as a parent
I am not going to stick to tradition…. I enjoy my many roles as a Mom. And,
my dress-up clothes are not going anywhere!! I loved dressing up as a child
and I still love dressing as an adult…. I wouldn’t change that for the World.
So, as I hang up my Tooth Fairy Wings, Tiara and Wand until the next missing
tooth in my household I am already dusting off my Easter Bunny Suit, pulling
out the plastic eggs, baskets and easter grass from the closet. But, I can guarantee
that a little Easter 2.0 will be on the way too…. nothing like a good Online
Easter Egg Hung to prepare the Kids for the real thing.
web 2.0 holidays kids children holiday fun games activities tooth+fairy easter valentines easter+bunny
Posted in Blogging, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 8 Comments »
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 |
Photo by chbradshaw
When I was a kid I would walk 6 miles to school in snow that was up to
here (points to his shoulders).
I remember as a young girl my Grandfather telling me stories like this. And,
when he would say this to me I would be thinking, "Thank G-d I wasn’t born
in the "old days"…. I would have had to walk to school for miles
and miles in snow up passed my head!!"
But, you know what? I think we were all born "in the old days".
I believe we all rolled our eyes at our Grandparent’s stories and we were all
pleased that we weren’t born in the "old days" and that our lives
were easier than our elders…. and, yet in time we all will become elders.
It was just yesterday I was talking with my 11 year old about writing a report.
My son was explaining to me what is involved in the 6th grade when you have
to do research for writing a report. And, I heard myself say,
"When I was in the Junior High (yes, it’s true…. they didn’t call
it Middle School back then) and I was learning how to research and write reports
we didn’t have the internet to do our research. We had to do our research
in a Library. We used a Card Catalog to determine where to find information
regarding what we were doing a report on. The Card Catalog told us what Encyclopedia,
Book, Magazine, Newspaper or Microfiche to find it in. Research took much
longer than the report itself. All my research was written out on index cards,
which was then hand written out on paper, spell checked with a dictionary
and typed out with a typewriter. The typewritten report was then double checked
and all typographical errors cleaned up with white-out and manually fixed."
My son just rolled his eyes at me. It was just at that moment it occurred to
me that I am one of them!! I am a Story Teller from
the "Olden Days".
Just like everything else from then to now…. Education has changed. The World
Wide Web changed education in the 90’s. And, Web 2.0 and Social Media has
Changed Education with the new Millennium. We now have what I’d like to call
Education 2.0.
How Web 2.0 has changed Education
Education
|
Education 2.0
|
- Homework - The teacher wrote homework assignments
on the board. The student would copy the homework assignments into her
daily journal to remember when she got home.
|
- Homework 2.0- The teacher still writes homework assignments
on the board.
- Student uses his Cell phone to text the homework assignment to
himself to remind him later.
- Student pulls up his homework assignments on the school website
when he gets home.
|
- Parents - Parents check homework. Because it has
been a long time since the parent has learned these materials herself
she reads the chapter in the textbook or goes over the child’s subject
notes.
|
|
- Studying -
- Students used their notes, text books and Study guides to study
for an upcoming test.
- Rewrite notes to help absorb the information.
- Fellow Students pass their notebooks around with classmates to
make sure they all have the correct notes.
- Study Groups.
|
- Studying 2.0 - Teachers still provide Study Guides
and textbooks to study. However, students don’t have to share notes
taken in class on notebook paper.
- Student rewrites notes to help absorb the information. But, rewrites
their notes online using a social platform, so that classmates can
share the notes…see mynoteIT
- Students chat via Instant Message to study.
- Study via school chat rooms
|
- Reports -
- Go to the Library to do research.
- Card Catalog to find out where they can locate the facts and information.
- Encyclopedias, Books, Magazines, Newspapers and Microfiche.
- Make notes on Index Cards.
- Hand write report and spell check using a Dictionary.
- Type report using a Typewriter or Word Processor (90’s).
- Putting together a report from research to end takes a very long
time…. students would know a month or more in advance.
|
- Report 2.0 -
- Students can do their research at home.
- Students have access to a world of information at the fingertips
via the Web.
- Podcasts, Wikis, Blogs, Vlogs, Picture and Video Sharing.
- Students have tons of software to choose from to put together
their reports…. all software has spell check to easily check the
student’s spelling without the need for a dictionary.
- Putting together a report from research to end takes a fraction
of the time as it once did.
|
- Oral Reports / Public Speaking -
- Research would be the same as above (look at Reports)
- Visuals that you would want to use for your oral report would
probably be hand made using poster board, markers, glue, and anything
else a student would need to make a point using visual stimulation.
Visuals would be time using imagination and materials.
|
- Oral Reports 2.0 / Public Speaking 2.0 -
- Research would be the same as above (look at Report 2.0).
- Students could get their visuals using social Media and Web 2.0
as well.
- Flickr
- Google Image Search
- Students can enter exactly what kind of visual they are trying
to put together into search to find how to make it. For example,
if you are doing an oral report on the Solar System you might enter
"how
to make the solar system" into search. Here you will find
plenty of choices of projects on how to build a solar system perfect
to use as a visual for your oral report.
|
- Tutoring - If the Student’s parents felt that she
was falling behind on her studies a parent would call the teacher or
Guidance Counselor so they could locate a Tutor to help study with the
Student at School or at home.
|
- Tutoring 2.0 - Tutoring no longer has to be done
at school at all. It can completely be done at home in several manners.
Tutoring 2.0 can be done via:
- Instant Message with the Tutor
- School Website during a tutoring chat one on one with tutor or
tutor with an entire Study Group.
- Online with one of the many online
tutoring groups.
|
- Cheating - Unfortunately, cheating was there then
and remains in education now.
- Write answers to Quiz / Test questions on hands, jeans or soles
of shoes.
- Get a copy of the Quiz / Test.
- Pass homework around to others to see.
- Get Cliff notes of a book (instead of reading the book) to study
for a test or to do a Report.
|
- Cheating 2.0 - Cheating remains, but it goes to a
whole new level of cheating.
- Text Message answers to friends
- Pre-written reports and essays found online.
- Using music players to record information
- uploading information to memory sticks.
- Emailing homework assignments to fellow classmates.
|
*I do not agree with cheating. It is listed here because whether we like it
or not…. some student’s cheat. I’m simply showing how cheating has changed with
the addition of Web 2.0.
My child rolls his eyes at me as I use to roll my eyes at my parents and grandparents.
I’m sure my children will experience the same thing with their children as well.
Technology has changed so much in the 30 some years I have been around…..
how much do you think it will change in the next 30?
Technorati Tags:web 2.0, social media, education, parenting, family, kids, children
Posted in Blogging, Social Media, Social Networking, Vlogging, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics, Websites | 21 Comments »
Monday, February 4th, 2008 |
Photo by *sean
The People Pleaser 2.0
We have all come across a People Pleaser at one point or another. People Pleasers
love making people happy. They seem to become happier themselves by making others
happy. They are super nice…. almost too nice, some might say.
If you have ever have been a People Pleaser yourself your life isn’t as happy
as it might appear to others. You appear happy on the outside, but on the inside
you are extremely unhappy. In order to not feel the pain you are feeling inside
you go above and beyond making others happy and ignoring the pain you are having
inside. The People Pleaser is usually over worked and under appreciated. The
People Pleaser will rarely speak up if they are feeling unappreciated. As a
matter of fact, they will continue helping others and saying "yes"
to things they shouldn’t just to make others happy. What you might not be aware
of is that the People Pleaser is probably very bitter
on the inside. They want to say "No" (and they should say "No"),
but they want so badly to be accepted and liked that they rarely, if ever, say
"No". Usually to the detriment of her/himself.
Being a People Pleaser in the real World is extremely difficult. But, what
do you think it is like to be a People Pleaser in the virtual World… where
online community is so prevalent? For the rest of this post I’m going to call
the People Pleasers on the internet People Pleasers 2.0.
The Pattern
below is associated with the People Pleaser, by Jay Earley, PhD
- I try to be who someone wants me to be.
- I am afraid to rock the boat.
- It is hard for me to know what I want.
- I avoid speaking my mind.
- I find it easier to go along with what someone wants or with their opinion.
- I fantasize about a strong person taking over my life and making it work.
- It is hard for me to express my feelings when they are different from someone
I’m close to.
- It is difficult for me to say No.
- I avoid getting angry.
- It is hard for me to take initiative.
- I try to be nice rather than expressing how I really feel.
- I want everyone to get along.
What happens when these people are involved with Social Media? What
is it like for the People Pleaser 2.0?
Anyone who has spent anytime reading this blog knows that I am extremely involved
in Social Media. But, what you might not know about me already is that 10+ years
ago I had some major People Pleaser issues. I did all I could to make everyone
around me happy only to find that I was extremely unhappy and unfulfilled. Over
the years, and much therapy later… I have greatly improved. But, I do have
to admit that with the addition of Social Media activities in my daily life
that at some points over the past few months I have felt those past issues and insecurities
creep back a bit. I can sense when these feelings kick in and for the most part can
overcome the feelings associated with the people pleaser. But, If I am feeling
this way I wonder if there are others feeling this way as well. Others who might
not realize that there are tactics to overcome these feelings.
Below, I have put together what I believe are the symptoms of being a People
Pleaser 2.0. These are not medical symptoms, but these are what I believe, through
my own experience, what being a People Pleaser in Web 2.0 would be like.
People Pleaser 2.0 Symptoms:
- Voting up on all requests from Friends, but you never ask for the favor
to be returned.
- Going through Friend’s submits on Social News Voting sites and voting all
up without even reading the posts first.
- Before naturally voting something up looking to see who else voted it up
first. Not having enough faith in your own opinions to vote anything up before
noticing if others agree too.
- These people never want to rock the boat in the social communities. So,
they tend to keep all of their opinions to themselves until they begin to
hear other opinions. They tend to side with other people’s opinions.
- People Pleasers tend to be frightened every time they publish a post. They
are afraid of other people’s thoughts on their posts because a People Pleaser
bases their feelings on how others feel.
- Comments on their blog is enough to make or break them. They feel elated
and happy when their posts receive good comments, but these people are coming
undone on the inside with each of the negative comments.
Learning how to say "No" to others and trusting your own opinions
enough to state them is so important to being happy. I am learning that myself.
Social Media is wonderful!! I love it, but I also know that with dealing with
people brings the pressures of making some happy and disappointing
others. It’s impossible to make everyone happy and if you are worried
about making everyone happy, who is making you happy?
More on overcoming being a People Pleaser and feeling confident enough
to say, "No".
How to Stop Being a People Pleaser
How
to Stop Being a People Pleaser - wikiHow gives you steps and tips on how
to stop being a people pleaser.
The
People Pleaser Pattern - Jay Earley, PhD highlights the People Pleaser Pattern,
sometimes known as compliance.
"People Pleasers"
Pay a High Price - Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D writes why people pleasers pay
a high price.
3
Reasons To Stop Being A People Pleaser - Journal-a-Day gives the readers
3 reasons that you being a People Pleaser must end!!
Being
Nice Can Be Hazardous to Your Health - Can being a People Pleaser actually
be making you sick? Yes, it can.
How
To Stand Up For Yourself - Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen shows you How to Practice
Being Assertive.
How
to Know the Right Thing to Do - srichinmoybio.co.uk shows you how to do
the right thing for you (not for others).
5
Ways to Develop Independent Thought - Tom O’Leary at PickTheBrain
writes a post on how to think independently.
How to Say No
8
Essential Strategies to Saying “No” - Leo Babauta offers a few
practical strategies For those who have trouble saying “no".
The
Gentle Art of Saying No - Here are the Top 10 tips LifeHack.org writes about
for learning the Gentle Art of Saying No.
How
to Say No and Stay Friends - Marco Adragna shows you how you can say no
to a friend without losing the friendship.
4
Quick, Easy Ways to Say No to People Who Take You for Granted - Jake Sim
offers these 4 great ways to stand up for yourself and say No.
How
to say NO and have people respect you for it - Say No and get the genuine
and lasting result you need to put in authentic effort and respect.
The Art
of No - Powazek explains the art of saying,
"No" for a Graphic Designer’s perspective.
4
Tips for Saying No: Take Control of Your Time - Here are some tips that
can help to bring some clarity and lighten up your mental ‘load’
when you want to say no. ThinkSimpleNow.com
How to
say "no" without feeling badly - Dawna Sinclair shares with us
how she got over feeling badly when she had to say "No".
Stop
being a People Pleaser - passou pela mente offers some steps on how to stop
being a people pleaser.
7
steps to start saying ‘No’ - The Birmingham News offers a very precise 7
step process to saying "No".
How to
Say No Respectfully - wikiHow gives you steps and tips to saying "No"
respectfully.
Say No But Say It
With Finesse - Can you say no to your boss, neighbor, child, friend or coworker?
If not you are not alone. Vannie Ryanes shows you how to say, "No"
with style.
Saying No at Work
The
time I learned to say “No” at work - ChiefHappinessOfficer shows
you that if you can’t say "No" at work then your "Yes" is
meaningless.
How
to say no to extra work without feeling guilty - Mitch McCrimmon posts some
practical tips for saying no on the job.
Getting
to No - Hannah Clark writes this excellent post on learning to say no you
need to start by identifying why you always say yes.
How
to say ‘no’ to overtime - MothersWhoWork writes this terrific
post directed towards mothers. She points out ways to say "No" to
overtime.
When
to Say No to Work - Geoff Williams shows you how to turn down projects.
Say
no to free work! - CreativeBits explains that even if someone is a friend….
say "No" for working for free.
Saying NO to Good
Opportunities! - Kimberly Stevens writes how you need to learn to say "no"
to good opportunities, so you could say "yes" to the great ones.
Saying No in Business - Clients / Customers
Freelance
Writers: How to Say No to Clients - The People’s Media Company shows you
how to now allow yourself to become overwhelmed by clients or projects.
Increasing
Your Marketing Agency’s Revenues by Saying "No" to Clients
- Andy Beal shows you why saying “no” to a client is often good
for business.
How
to Say "No" to a Customer or Client - Kori Rodley Irons offers
some little tidbits on saying "No to customers or clients.
When
Is It OK To Say No to a Customer? - Silvana Buljan offers suggestions as
to how to know when it is OK to say No to a customer.
How
to Say No to Clients You Want to Keep - Finding creative ways to saying
"No" to a client means that you can say "No" and keep the
client as well.
Technorati Tags:web 2.0, social media, social networking, social bookmarking, self improvement, saying no, people pleaser
Posted in Blogging, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 18 Comments »
Thursday, January 24th, 2008 |
A while back I wrote a post about how I just didn’t get Twitter. At that
time, It didn’t make sense to me to hear people rave about Twitter. But,
I must say….. Twitter is another Social Media Activity that I am really
enjoying. As a matter of fact, it is one of my top three favorite Social Networking
Sites.
Yes, I’m aware in my last Twitter post that I complained about the 140 Character
limit, but I found that for the most part the 140 characters that I am limited
to is perfect. It is just enough space to say what I have to say and I’m
done.
On Twitter the major players come out to play. They talk to their followers.
Not only do they talk to their followers, but many times they ask their followers
questions that will appear on future posts.
You can make Twitter as personal or business like as you would like. But, I
must say that I am enjoying the personal side of it. And, frankly, I see nothing
wrong with Business being Personal anyway. At least for me. I spend the majority
of my waking hours working…. Damn right, it is personal for me. And, being
personal with people and learning about them makes me happy. Me being happy
makes me a better business person. Blah, blah, blah …. Comes full circle.
You get it.
Some of the many, many reasons I love Twitter
Eavesdropping on other Twitters conversation is not only allowed,
but it is the norm on Twitter.
Tons of fun & plenty to laugh at.
Website Help.
If someone tries to communicate with me on Twitter I can ignore people
until later… they don’t have to know I’m there at that moment.
Plenty of Advice from one Twitter to the Next.
Efficient - Gotta love efficiency.
Blogging Ideas.
Travel Destinations - Great Restaurants, Site seeing Ideas
& the best hotels.
Vent - If you are feeling a bit irritated about this or that
vent on Twitter. Someone is always willing to listen or offer there own opinion.
140 Character Limit - Because I love short & sweet….
Get to the Point!!
The concept in incredibly simple - Did you ever hear of the
saying, "Keep it Simple, Stupid?" Well, it just makes sense.
Life & Death - I have read about baby’s being born and
people passing away. Reality, people.
Jobs - People find employment and employment finds people
on Twitter.. Including myself. I was contacted by someone on twitter looking
for help with Social Media Marketing…. and I was ultimately hired by that
person.
Discussing Politics.
Met Twitters in my Region.
Found out about events going on in my area.
Who needs Feed Readers anymore?? I can find out most of my
favorite Bloggers updates on Twitter. However, I do still use a Feed Reader,
but honestly it’s much less often.
Increase in Traffic.
Application Ideas.
New Blog Readers - Even someone that YOU
are a fan of.
Have a question…. any question!! Ask your Twitter followers.
You are bound to get many different answers.
So much less interrupting than standard IM’s. - People
can send me a quick message that is direct and to the point and I’m good.
Know what your friends are doing. It’s really cool to know
what the friends you have been networking with are doing every once and a while.
Makes their physical distance from you seen a little less far. And, many of
the friends I have been networking with on Twitter live very, very far away.
No popular crowd . Even the "Major Players" on my
Twitter Following list seem to participate a lot!! They converse with everyone
it seems. I do come across a few that seem to keep to keep to themselves or
talk amongst a smaller crowd. But, everyone has their own method of using Twitter,
so I won’t judge them. Whatever works for them.
Quick Direct Messages to followers. Direct Messages are perfect
if the topic is a bit more private and I don’t want it on the Public Timeline.
Time Management Ideas from Many. All of the Time Management
advice has been brilliant. And, once I try to apply them to my life…. they
probably even work.
A following in no time - There is something very “Rock
Star” about that.
Those are just some of my many reasons I am going to stick with Twitter. I
adore it and it is going to be part of my daily Social Media activity for a
long time.
Still, unsure about Twitter…
…here are 26 links to fabulous articles and posts that explain in
many different and unique ways why you should be using Twitter regularly. And,
how to use Twitter in the most productive and lucrative ways possible.
Twitter Guides
How
to Use Twitter - Tips for Bloggers - Darren of ProBlogger has been writing
a lot about Twitter in the last week…. and it is really amazing stuff. This
post Darren gets very detailed in this "How to Use Twitter" post.
Newbie’s
guide to Twitter - Rafe Needleman of Webware offers a very basic guide for
Newbies on using Twitter.
Mobile
Instant Messaging Meets Social Networking: Twitter - A Beginner’s Guide
- MasterNewMedia.org puts together a detailed Guide to Twitter for Beginner’s.
Your
Guide to Micro-Blogging and Twitter - Mark Glaser at Media Shift writes
his guide to Twitter and Micro-Blogging in general.
The
12-Minute Definitive Guide to Twitter - Fred Stutzman of AOL Developer Network
writes a general guide to Twitter. The 12-minute part has nothing to do with
the Guide’s length or the amount of time to read it. Fred just titled the article
using the 12-minute time to coincide with Twitter’s short 140 character limitations…
short and sweet. Hence, 12-minute Twitter Guide…. short and sweet.
Advanced
Twitter: Don’t Tweet Like A n00b - Brian Oberkirch offers some friendly
usage guidelines:
Twitter for Professionals (Marketing, Business)
Twitter: More Than
Messaging, It Can Generate Traffic - Neil Patel shows you how Twitter can
be used to generate traffic to your site.
Guide
to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR - Lee Odden puts together some
thoughts on using Twitter as a Marketing Tools. Plus, Lee includes Tips from
Twitters themselves.
17
Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owner
- You can always count on Maki of DoshDosh to put together an amazing Guide….
and here he doesn’t let me down Check out Maki’s Twitter Guide to use Twitter
for Marketing.
The
Big Juicy Twitter Guide - Caroline Middlebrook put together this amazing
Twitter Guide….. This guide is well known all over the Blogosphere for explaining
how to use Twitter successfully for Marketing purposes.
Eight
Ways Twitter is Useful Professionally - Anne Zelenka of WebWorkerDaily explains
8 ways that you can use Twitter Professionally.
Web
Strategy: What the Web Strategist should know about Twitter - Jeremiah Owyang
of Web-Strategist.com wrote this amazing post that will serve as a guide to
come up with a Web Strategy using Twitter.
A
Few Non-boring Ways to Use Twitter For Marketing - Rohit of Influential
Marketing Blog comes up with some non-boring ways to use Twitter for Marketing.
7
Ways Marketers Can Use Twitter - Ann Handley writes this post for Marketing
Profs Daily Fix in regards to how Twitter has a real use for media companies
and social-media-savvy brands.
Using
Twitter as a Marketing Tool - Carlos Granier-Phelps explains how you can
immediately reach your clients with breaking news at zero cost by using Twitter.
Twitter Tips
Twitter:
Use it Productively - Sometimes it can be difficult to see how to use Twitter
productively. Here Craig Childs gives you tips how to be productive using Twitter.
The
Several Habits of Wildly Successful Twitter Users - Bren from SlackerManager
offers some Twitter tips and advice.
The
10 ways I learned to use Twitter in 2007… (aka Why and How I use Twitter)
- Dan York of Disruptive Conversations gives 10 of his best tips he learned
in 2007…. trust me, they will still work in 2008.
10
Ways Twitter Can Boost Your Social News Profile - Dan Zarrella writes a
Guest Post for ReadWriteWeb about the 10 ways you can boost Social Networking
Profiles using Twitter.
5
Ways to Use Twitter for Good - Chris Brogran writes this great post on LifeHack.org
on different ways to productively use Twitter.
Confessions of
a Twitter Convert - Adam C. Engst of TidBits Networking writes a post confessing
his feelings on Twittter and tips on how it works.
Twitter
is Paying My Rent - Marshall Kirkpatrick writes this post giving you pointers
on using Twitter…. keep in mind that Marshall states that Twitter pays his
rent. So, I would totally recommend you follow these tips!!
How
Twitter Made My Website Better - Guy Kawasaki answer’s Chris Brogan’s Request
by writing this post on how Twitter made his Website Better.
Using
Twitter to Help Communities - Nate Ritter explains how non-profits could
best put Twitter to good use. Very Cool!!
Twitter
Me This: Brainstorming Potential Educational Uses for Twitter - Christopher
D. Sessums comes up with uses for Twitter in Educational Settings.
35
Twitter Tips from 35 Twitter Users - Darren asks he Twitter Followers for
Twitter tips and he was now let down. Here are 35 Twitter Tips from 35 of his
Twitter Followers.
Make sure to
follow me on Twitter.
Added after Post was Published:
200+
Internet Marketing Gurus on Twitter - Brian Chappell wrote this post for
MarketingPilgrim where he put together a comprehensive list of Internet Marketers
that use Twitter.
Technorati Tags:twitter, social media, blogging, social networking, web 2.0, social media marketing, online marketing, internet marketing
Posted in Blogging, Link Love, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 21 Comments »
Sunday, January 6th, 2008 |
This past Friday Darren Rowse of ProBlogger
wrote a post, Using
StumbleUpon to Get on the Radar of Other Bloggers . In this post Darren
wrote how he had taken notice of me and my work due to my stumbling his posts
a few times. He mentioned in this post that he recognized me as a person who
had stumbled his work more than once and he landed up taking a closer look at
my StumbleUpon profile where he noticed my many sites and even subscribed to
this Blog’s feed.
Darren Rowse mentioning me on his blog has got to be a definite high point
in my Blogging career so far. However, after taking 24 hours to sit back and
just think about how wonderful it was to be mentioned by Darren on ProBlogger…..
something occurred to me. What if my StumbleUpon profile was different? What
if I hadn’t taken the time to add clickable links on my Profile? If I hadn’t
taken the time to make my StumbleUpon profile stand out would this amazing high
point in my Blogging career have past me by??!! Jeeze, the thought makes me
shudder.
So, I wanted to take a moment and post a few things that I did with my StumbleUpon
profile that might have made a difference between Darren taken notice of my
work or not.
Why my StumbleUpon Profile Might Have Stood Out to Darren
- Avatar - I chose the same Avatar that I use on all my other
Social Networking Sites. This way people would recognize me from one Social
Networking Site to the next. I used an image of myself, but many people use
other things such as their company’s logo, cartoon characters or any other
graphic that makes them stand out. For me, it was just a basic picture of
myself.
- Profile Name - Again, just like with the avatar, I chose
the same profile name for my StumbleUpon profile as I use on all of my other
Social Networking Sites…. TheNanny612. However, I have to say, TheNanny612
is not a very good Profile Name at all. It has nothing to do with what I do
for a living….. It is actually more of an Inside Family Joke that no one
would understand unless I explained it to them. But, now that people already
recognize me as TheNanny612 it wouldn’t be very prudent for me to change it
now. However, this might have worked in my favor as well… I haven’t run
into another Profile Name that is even similar. So, it probably does stand
out quite well.
- Profile Details - Choose a well thought out description
of yourself. It shouldn’t be very long as readers probably won’t stick around
very long. Get right to the point. Write your details well, spell correctly
and be descriptive.
- Clickable Links - Make sure that any website links that
you would like to mention on your Profile Details are clickable. Your StumbleUpon
profile is a great place to promote your sites. When people of the SU Community
arrive to your profile page and want to learn more about you the chances of
these readers checking out your website are so much greater if your links
are clickable. I’m not sure if Darren of ProBlogger would have copied and
pasted my link into a browser had I not made my links clickable. So, this
is very, very important.
This is what my StumbleUpon profile page would have looked like had I not
made the links clickable:
This is what my StumbleUpon profile page appears like now with all the links:
It’s really simple to make a link on your StumbleUpon profile clickable. Let’s
say you have a site called My Site and it was located at www.MySite.com. This
is how you would make that link clickable on your SU profile.
Go to your StumbleUpon’s profile page and Click on the Link that says, "Preferences".
Once this page opens up click on the link that says, "Public Profile".
This is where you are going to edit your Public Profile. You will see a box
below where it says, "Introduce yourself to Everyone".In this box
is where you are going to enter your Profile details.
In the spot of your details that you want to be a clickable link you use the following code (changing mysite to your site’s info): <a href="http://www.mysite.com/">my site</a>.
(Don’t be alarmed, the StumbleUpon system will automatically add a "No
Follow" to the coding.)
Click Save Profile and when others take a look at your profile the phrase
"my site" should look like: my
site.
There is an area on the edit Public Profile page that you can enter your website….
it will look like this:
However, oddly enough, your website’s link does not appear on the first page
of your StumbleUpon Profile. Your viewers will have to click on the tab that
says "About Her/Him". And, then they will come to a page that they
will see the link of your website.
This is an extra click that the viewers of StumbleUpon have to make to find
your website’s link. This is another reason why I decided to make clickable
links on my SU profile page.
- Multiple Website Links - When I first opened my StumbleUpon
account 6 months ago I had 8 Websites that I wanted to list on my StumbleUpon
profile page, but not only did it look funny… it looked almost Spammy as well.
I had a discussion with Todd Mintz of SEMPortland
who suggested that I purchase my name, Shana Albert, as a domain for other
reasons than StumbleUpon. His suggestion was a good one for so many reasons.
And, having the domain ShanaAlbert.com
worked out on my StumbleUpon profile as well. The ShanaAlbert website is a
simple static web page with all of my websites and blogs listed on that page.
With a simple click on the link on my SU profile page a reader will be sent
to my website that has images and links to all of my sites. This way my StumbleUpon
profile will not be inundated with outgoing links. I don’t want a reader to
feel overwhelmed when they are reading about me….. I just want them to get
a sense of what I’m passionate about. And, I believe that Darren got all of
that from a simple look at my StumbleUpon profile.
Technorati Tags:stumbleupon, social media, social media marketing, smm, tips, tutorials, social bookmarking, social networking, blogging, problogger
Posted in Blogging, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 Basics, Websites | 27 Comments »
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 |
Social Media is an important part of my daily routine. Since I started adding
Social Media to my Daily Schedule I’ve seen an increase in daily traffic,
incoming links, sales on my Preschool
Curriculum eCommerce site and I’ve met the most amazing, brilliant
people that enjoy the same interests as I do.
It sounds wonderful, right? Well, up until last Friday I would have said an
energetic, “YES!!” Now, I’m not so sure.
Last Friday I was comparing what my goals were for that week and what I actually
accomplished. I was horrified to see that I fell short on many of my goals for
that week. For me, that rarely happens. I am ridiculously structured. I need
to be… I run a business out of my home while taking care of three children.
Schedules and "To-Do" Lists are what helps keep my crazy busy life
a bit more sane. So, when I saw my list having tons of items not crossed off
I was determined to see where all of my time was going. This is what I came
up with:
The following times aren’t exact, but gives you a rough idea of the
time I spend doing particular daily duties.
7:30 am
- Get up and start getting my 5 year old ready for School and make sure my
11 year old is awake and getting himself ready for school.
8:30 am
- Feed 4 year old Breakfast.
- Check email
- Print off ABC Home Preschool orders for the last 24 hours
- Process all Credit Card transactions
- Email Customers with their ship dates.
9:30 am
- Use my Feed Reader to check out the new Posts on my Favorite Blogs
- Stumble
and Sphinn posts appropriately.
- Comment on any Posts that I feel I can contribute to.
- Bookmark posts to come back
to later.
10:30 am
- Check out what’s new on Sphinn. Sphinn items I find interesting
- Stumble and/or Bookmark items I find interesting from Sphinn.
- Comment on Sphinn items.
- Check what’s new on FaceBook.
Respond to FaceBook messages and Notifications.
11:30 am
- Quick Stop at MyBlogLog
to see who stopped by my Profile
- Reply to Messages
- Quick Thank-you emails for Stopping by.
- Check what pages StumbleUpon friends sent me to check out…. Respond to
each.
12:30 pm
- Lunch for 4 year old and myself.
- Work-out and Shower.
2:30 pm
- Finish Writing a Post for one of my Blogs
4:00 - 9:00 pm
- Dinner, Homework and Family Time (Trust me, this time is not a break….
I’m sure you Mommies and Daddies know what I’m talking about.)
9:00 pm
- Begin online research on the next days post.
- Make Notes on the direction I want to go with post and any outbound
links I want to use
10:30 pm
- Process orders for ABC Home Preschool
- Package Orders for tomorrow’s shipment
12:00 am
- Go through Feed Reader once again
- Make Posts and Comments on other Blogs
- Sphinn / Stumble Posts
- Go thru Sphinn once again
- Stumble a bit
- Twitter
- Try to finish catching up on emails
Bedtime is between 1 am and 3 am. Lately it is closer to 3 am.
Keep in mind a few things about the above generalized schedule:
- Nowhere did I mention any interaction or quality time with my children.
I have a 4 year old who spends his days with me. So, the work I mentioned
above is done around my time with him during the day.
- I mentioned nothing about extracurricular activities for my children which
happens at least 3 times a week in which I also attend.
- In addition to this blog I have many
other sites that I work on.
- On a daily basis I speak and / or chat with the people I network with online. This
must be squeezed into my daily schedule.
- Daily tweaks and article writing for my static websites
The above schedule was just to give you a very rough idea of how my basic work
day goes. And, how much time, at a minimum, I work on Social Media. My plate
was full before Social Media entered my life. Today my plate is over flowing.
I love Social Media I just need to learn how to manage my time with it better.
If I attempt to keep going at this pace with a schedule like this I’m
sure Social Media will take my life. I am determined to come up with a Time
Management Plan for Social Media that works for me. As it is something that
is not only working for my business, but that I love very much.
During my research in the past couple of days I came across three wonderful
posts that offer some time management skills when it comes to Social Media.
- My
Half Hour Social Networking Plan - In this three part series Kevin Palmer
gives us the details of his 30 minute Social Networking Plan. Kevine breaks
his plan down into three posts 1. The
First Ten Minutes 2.
The Second Ten Minutes 3. The
Final Ten Minutes
- The
10-Minute Daily Guide to Building Your Social Media Profile - Ben Yoskovitz
offers some of his amazing Time Management Tips for Social Networking.
- 7
Ways to Own Social Media Before it Owns You - Brian
Wallace explains that Instead of suffering from social media overload,
look at a few other disciplines and tips for help.
So, please…. please Help Me!! Social Media is trying to take my life….
Do you have any suggestions? I would love to hear them.
Technorati Tags:social media, time management, social networking
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Time Management, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics, Websites | 21 Comments »
