Oct 2, 2008 | blog
Sometimes I spend time just generating ideas for blog posts, and they make it into this list or that notebook (though you couldn’t tell by my current lack of posts ;). While I can’t claim this idea is original, I do indeed want to share this list – I’ll probably not use them in the near term and it may be inspiration to someone to write a great post that I’d love to read.
So without further rambling, here is a list of 50 blog post ideas (kinda heavy on social media), for you to take and repurpose for your needs.
- Working your social media juju
- Training your ninjas
- How organizations can’t succeed with the social web
- How organizations can succeed with the social web
- Why don’t we "offshore" to middle America?
- Looking for the fast buck? Try looking for fast customer satisfaction instead.
- Don’t wait for your brand to succeed, make it succeed
- Internet Rock Stars and other fairy tales
- Like the A-List? It gets even better on the Z-List
- Don’t read the news, make the news
- Your time is now
- Success is defined by those wishing to achieve it
- Success doesn’t define you, you define success
- Social media is like good BBQ, mmmm
- Have a product? Build a community.
- Blog your way to a better job
- Yes, it’s easy to say…
- It isn’t about social media, it’s about being social
- Why social media isn’t about selling anything
- Building a better branded you
- Host an event – here’s how!
- Social Media Ninja – Tools of the Trade
- Wishing is good – doing is better
- Walk tall, blog proud
- Taking the work out of blog ideas – 100 topics for your blog
- Personal Brand: It is about you
- Corporations and Facebook: They do mix
- Getting Buy-In from the Mail Room: Why it’s important to include people who do real work
- Hosting an event? Check in with these folks.
- I’m not dead, I just don’t blog
- You’re Dad’s blogging – what do you do now?
- Things social medians could learn from an old-time community social
- Your Grandparents Were Social Media Gurus – Here’s Why
- Busy? Just press pause.
- We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
- Are you a social giver or a media taker? Here’s how to find out.
- A bridge to nowhere – the promise of social media that was.
- Social Media’s Red Light District – Beware
- Following the white rabbit of social media
- Brand identification – why your picture is important
- When it rains in social media land, do you build an ark?
- Giving 100 ideas away
- But wait! There’s more!
- Things I wish I had known when I started blogging
- Things I wish I had known when I started social networking
- Corporate social media and other oddities
- Changing the focus of your blogs topic
- There’s a blog post in here somewhere
- Wishing isn’t as good as doing
- Social Media Success Stories from the Road
If you don’t mind, I’d love a link back to this post or my blog if you use one of the titles verbatim, if only so I can follow up and read yours. Don’t sweat it if you don’t want to. Have fun!
Oct 1, 2008 | blog, happiness
About a year and a half ago, I started experimenting with the Aside feature of WordPress, and thought it was neat. While I didn’t like the way they lacked titles, I did like how they were supposed to be concise and to the point.
What came out of it for me was a growing series of posts entitled "Happiness". These posts started as Asides, mainly from a point in my consulting career where I was a little disillusioned as to the amount of success I was having at the time. Which is to say: "not much".
I started using these posts as inspiration, to point out to myself what made me happy at that moment in time. In the beginning, I truly just picked the first happy thought that passed through my mind and posted it.
Since then, I’ve done much the same thing, though from time to time, I do struggle with a "good one". I don’t like to repeat myself, though I know I do. Also, I’ve tried to be inspirational to others when the muse strikes. I succeed in that maybe 20% of the time I think. My real inspiration to continue these posts is that they continually reward me, and that’s all it needs to do at any rate.
So I hope this helps answer questions as to why I post "Happiness".
Oh, and you can get the "Happiness" RSS Feed here!
Photo credit: Amy Gwen
Sep 27, 2008 | blog
Events are fun. Events are just meetups with a bit of structure. As I’ve been hosting social media breakfasts here in Minneapolis & St. Paul, I’ve been thinking a bit about what makes these types of events worth attending, what makes them special.
It’s really the people that attend. Folks from many different industries, genres, interests, and backgrounds make up the mix. The varied group is a sampling of the total social media population that we interact with online. This group is made up of the early adopters of their respective industries. They lead the way and help guide their industries or groups in the use and exploration of these new ideas and technologies.
Events are also great places to network. With such varied participants, people get a chance to meet and greet. They get to talk with people they may want to (or need to!) do business with. It’s a chance for folks to build their network in the offline world and be able to do that most important aspect of networking. Look someone in the eye, get a firm handshake, and really evaluate them in person.
It does matter. Especially for local events where you need to have that network of folks that you’ll work with or look out for. You share your community with them. Your kids grow up in the same environment and what each of you do and how you participate matters to the outcome of it all. It matters.
Another aspect is simply meeting people who do the same things you do. Explore the same spaces you do. You can learn a lot, not just from each other, but from talking about how you do things. It triggers new ways of thinking of things, opens new doors to everyone involved. That induces change, and change is an exciting ingredient in life.
Sep 26, 2008 | blog
So it’s been a great day here in Minneapolis this Friday. Got a chance to know a few folks from the office better – that’s a good thing. Got to spend a nice evening as a family this evening – that’s a good thing. Made myself write a little bit – and that too is a good thing.
What will be more interesting is if I can continue to write a bit this weekend. That’s my plan, and I think it’ll be worth the time invested to get back to blogging, which I really do enjoy. It’s bothersome that I ever let myself get off track and worried that I wasn’t writing what people wanted to read. Wrong thing to worry about, I know.
What is or was wrong was to allow myself to get sidetracked by too many side-shows on the social web. It’s a great time-sink to explore the latest & greatest. Fun too! However, it really is a delicate balance of habits, and knowing when you’re spending too much time on any one tool, network or site is key to gaining the strengths of those sites and leaving the weaknesses behind.
What’s the answer to it all? Moderation. Just like enjoying a nice adult beverage, it’s only enjoyable in moderation. Also, you get the chance to explore and learn things more in-depth and find how they can augment your life positively rather than simply taking up time just to update statuses and read walls.
So take a break from Facebook, lighten up on your twittering, take a walk and bring only your thoughts with you. You’ll learn a lot more than what folks are doing right that moment if you can let yourself take a breather.
Sep 26, 2008 | blog
Time for some basic blogging & regrouping this weekend. I’ve been pressing hard on work and letting my writing slide, and this just won’t do. I don’t know what I’ll be writing about in the next 48 hours, but I know that I’m going to go back to the basics of blogging for me.
I guess I’m starting today (so maybe it’s 72 hours – I dunno), and will be simply sharing ideas, stories and such that simply occur to me during this time. It’s more to get back in the writing groove than anything else. Since jumping headfirst into IT consulting more than a year ago, I’ve been distracted from blogging. Not really being able to focus enough attention on writing down those thoughts that keep running through my mind.
So this is the first post of the weekend, I’m starting early and hope in the end, to rediscover the writing habits I’ve neglected for the last many months. While I don’t expect anything grand, I’m sure there’ll be a few fun gems. Well see.
Anyway, get ready to enjoy another great late-summer/early autumn weekend folks.
