Have you listened to yourself recently? Have you dug deep into what makes you, you and examined what you find? Did you like what you heard? Did it make you happy?
I want to hear new things. I want to say new things in a new way that makes me think. I want to believe that well thought out words can change hearts and lives. Will you join me in the effort to listen for those words?
Sitting here at SOBCon08 and Chris Garrett just finished his session “More Bang from Your Blog”. His delivery of his presentation helped identify direction and focus for many of us who struggle in creating good content.
The challenge at the end of the session was to create a 5-minute post, something that Chris used during his presentation. You can find Chris Garrett at www.chrisg.com.
Hey everyone, we finally have concrete news on the next Twin Cities Social Media Breakfast. SMB-TC3 will be held at Concordia University in St. Paul on May 16th.
After the fantastic turnout & and small space of the last event, we’ve been looking for a better space for the next one. It seems like there aren’t a lot of places that had what we seem to need for our event. Namely, larger space for 20 or more people, WiFi, centrally located, access to public transportation, and food/coffee.
All the spaces that did have enough space were actual conference facilities that start costing real money. Since this is a free event, we have no good way of paying of a larger space.
So, luckily, a number of people offered to check with the places they work at and we suddenly had a few options. The one that worked out first was at Concordia. Jason DeBoer-Moran works in the IT department at Concordia and was able to arrange a true, full-featured conference room for us to use. It meets all the needs of the group, save the one thing that makes for a good breakfast… food.
So, we’ll be bringing in food ourselves. Anyone who would like to donate a box of bagels, doughnuts, coffee, or fruit tray is welcome to bring it with you, or contact me to coordinate making that happen. Simply direct-message me via Twitter, email me (rickmahn at gmail.com), or message me via the MSBMSP Ning site if you want to “donate-a-doughnut”.
Agenda
So what’s going on at this event? Quite a bit for sure! Since there is open WiFi, space, projection equipment, and (did I mention) space we can do quite a bit.
Location
You can RSVP at: http://smbmsp.ning.com/events/event/show?id=2029643%3AEvent%3A1382 (requires simple registration)
We’ll be in the Library Technology Center Room 215 for the event. Here’s the location information:
The Concordia University Library Technology Center is located on the north side of the campus, near Concordia Avenue and directly east of the Pearson Theater. The Library Technology Center’s physical address is 1282 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104
Campus map:
Get an (original) copy of the campus map at: http://www.csp.edu/AboutUs/maps/color_campus_map.gif
On this map, The Library Technology Center is building 25, and parking can be found in lots A, B, E, & H.
I look forward to seeing everyone there! Our Social Media Breakfast Network at http://smbmsp.ning.com now has 50 members and I’d love to see as many people make it in person or via video as possible.
UPDATE: Fixed the date above, the real date is May 16th. Sorry for any confusion!
It’s something that I’ve been thinking about recently. For how much all these nifty tools have helped us become more productive, I think there is a percentage of creativity or inspiration that we give up. All productivity tools are things that can do harm to our work habits as much as they simplify a task.
Maybe it’s that most of these tools are single-task automation or simplification utilities and from that perspective are inefficient solutions. Take a close look at all your “social media†or “Web 2.0†tools and services – I bet most really only solve one real task with a few frivolous extras sprinkled on top.
I’m not sure what to do about this, but I look at my productivity today and compare it to a year ago. Back then I was chewing through thousands more feeds, had more ideas and, it seems, more time to write posts for my blog.
Today, I have client software installed that automatically checks my Twitter and FriendFeed accounts for updates. It notifies me with a pleasant tone that triggers me to quickly switch windows and check out the latest possible news like a rabbit hitting the feeder bar for a food pellet.
How is this productive? How is this helping me? I have Twhirl updating the main Twitter feed every 2 minutes – how many times am I interrupted in an hour? Right. 30! Think about that. Now add FriendFeed into the mix on its own (similar) updates schedule. How many times can you be interrupted in a day without losing focus?
Now I don’t mean to beat up on Twitter and FriendFeed – heck, I can come up with dozens of reasons why they help more than hinder my daily life. Email used to be the same. I used to use Microsoft Outlook. If the computer was on, so was Outlook – and what was that nice feature introduced in Outlook 2003? Pop-up notification… great. So that is where that bad habit was developed for me. Since changing to web-based email about three months ago, I find myself checking email much less often. I’m no less effective or timely in my communication either.
So it’s really how we use the tools – their convenience allows us to lean on them for help. Sometimes a little too much. As we’re creatures of habit it’s up to us to develop, groom, and manage those habits. If we start developing bad habits, it’s ourselves that needs to correct them.
So that’s what I personally need to do. Simply change how I use Twitter and FriendFeed. There are others, but those are the two that I really need to manage my time with the most.
How about you? What are your tricks & tips in managing these productivity tools?
Photo credit: Kate Tomlinson
I’ve been blogging for awhile now, but have been hesitant about publishing a number of posts here on my personal blog. Originally, I had included many more technology oriented posts, and blogging-related items. Lately, however, I’ve been more aligned with the “social media” and “personal branding” topics.
I’ve also had two other blogs that I have let slide in to near abandonment, for all the same reasons that almost all other early blogs are neglected. Too much work, too little time, and too many plans that weren’t thought out all the way.
I’m not announcing any new rejuvenation of these blogs, or of grand plans for them. The have, however, been on my mind again. Not in the original way of “if I can just get enough traffic…”, rather I’m now more interested in using them in different ways to express my ideas. To have different places to write different thoughts and concepts.
With the upcoming trip to SOBCon08, I’ve been again thinking of how best to utilize the platforms that are available to me. One blog was supposed to be focused on Snowmobiling (Snowmoblog), but is still a great place to talk about all sorts of things outdoors… and who says it has to be winter-oriented all year long? The other blog grew out of my passion for mobile technology (The Mobile Lifestyle), and would be a great place to talk no so much about gadgets as leveraging mobile technology to enrich life, actually “unwire” more often and so on.
So I’ve got some thought running around in my head. I’d like to be able to express things that don’t seem to fit on this blog. I’d like to do more with those sites than simply letting them sit there collecting virtual dust. Not sure what that’ll be, just kind of talking out loud about them.
Photo credit: rocket ship
Ah, it’s not much different than yesterday really…
I wanted to take a minute and say hello to everyone that I interact with online on a daily or weekly basis. Yes, today is my birthday and yes, I’m 40 today. I’m off to spend the day with family and while I’ll be checking in online, I don’t want anyone to think I don’t appreciate you stopping by, or tweeting me on Twitter.
I’m not real big on how old you are or aren’t, but will admit I’ve thought more about my birthday this year than I have since waiting for 16 to finally come around (and the drivers license we all crave at that point in life).
Whether it’s the things I’ve accomplished or yet to accomplish – the memories of the past or the dreams of the future. The years don’t bring cynicism as much as they bring experience and enthusiasm. Enthusiasm of how life takes wonderful twists and continues to surprise and enthrall us.
I’ve wondered recently of the choices I’ve made and the path I’ve taken to deliver me where I am today. Pondered the plans and surprises that have made me who I am at this moment. How delightful is it for us to be such dynamic beings, that so many things go into who we are, what we think, and how we approach life.
Yesterday marked a turning point in my life as big as my birthday today. It’s been exactly one year since I choose to take control of my career and life. A full year has passed since I stepped out of the corporate shell that was so secure and protected. It’s been a challenging year, with many, many unpredicted turns. Most pleasant, some not, but every one of them has pushed me to grow and discover things about myself, my life and career.
In the past year, I’ve had fun exploring social media, building my personal brand, and networking with dozens of great people around the world. Finding that there is a vibrant, growing social media community right in my own backyard of Minneapolis/St. Paul is just icing on the cake (no pun intended today)!
So, while it’s my birthday, I want to take this moment to thank you for being part of my life. For commenting here, tweeting on Twitter, linking on LinkedIn, coming to our local Social Media Breakfast events, trading emails or blog posts, IM’ing, thinking, and most of all sharing. I’m looking forward to more!
Thank you!
Photo credit: badboy96
I agree with @RealJamesWoods 100% on this suggestion!👇👇
It all started under Clinton
In (1993) Soros opened up a (HQ) in (NYC) for his Open Society
a month later ~ the National Voter Registration Act was signed into law by Clinton
Prohibiting the federal form used to require proof of citizenship to register to vote
Also making
HERO 🚨
Nick Shirley is finding so much fraud in CA, that they wanna pass a law that bans him from finding it
Shirley is right over the target... he's put off going to (IL) to go back to (CA)
Hit that like button if you appreciate what this young man is doing for the country
John Thune isn’t fooling anyone with his RINO tactics.
He is trying to delay passage of Voter ID and other crucial bills so that Democrats win the midterms and impeach President Trump.
He needs to be removed as Leader and primaried.
A 20-something kid with a cell phone camera just cut the national budget deficit by exposing hundreds of billions in fraud.
Turns out we didn’t need more taxation.
Only enforcement of our laws.
