SOB Business Cafe 05-09-08

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 4 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Christine Kane has a new mantra. It seems to be working well for her.
In her incredible new book, Steering by Starlight, Martha Beck writes about a mantra she made up…

Just This

Conversation Agent has a timely question.
. . . I was inspired with the body of work surrounding social capital — the value of personal relationships in the workplace.

Are You a Social Capitalist?

Cubicle Nation has a reponse to life’s changing terrain.
I was halfway through writing on another topic when I got this call on my cellphone.

Is life just one damn thing after another?

Get Rich Slowly has software to manage something we can all use.
“How much time do you spend blogging?” people often ask me.

“I don’t know,” I say. “A lot. Probably forty to sixty hours a week.” I’ve always wished I could provide a better answer to that question. Now I can.

RescueTime: Free Time-Management Software

Inspirationbit has more than a bit of news and a question. Can we help out?
What I’ve learned about the corporate world the last few months I wouldn’t find in any book. It is a crazy, unreliable world out there, full of uncertainties. And although I’ve got my plate full with concerns at the moment, my future somehow doesn’t feel as unpredictable — at least I know that it all depends on the way I conduct my business.

Design Costs vs. Values

Rick Mahn has few words about ownership.
There is some growing interest in the Personal Branding space on scenarios of people with the same name. I was fortunate enough to have a great conversation on the topic with Kristen King of BizChicksRule which she turned into What if Your Name Is Jenna Jameson?

Who Owns Your Name?

Related ala carte selections include

Copyblogger has written a classic.
It was three years ago today that they wheeled me in for emergency surgery, and I said goodbye to my wife, not quite three-year-old daughter, and newborn son. I knew that sometimes people don’t wake up from brain surgery, and this might be the last time I saw them.

The Snowboard, the Subdural Hematoma, and the Secret of Life

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: Great Finds

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SOB Business Cafe 05-02-08

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 9 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

All Things Workplace features a description we might find familiar.
Helped orient you to your job
By “orient,” you mean get my photo IDs and have me sign a bunch of papers, then yes…otherwise, that would’ve been the actual people in my dept.

Systemic HR: This From The Real Workplace

Connected Content features an explanation we could all us.
Too many folks, not just tech writers, work for companies that seem caught in an endless loop of misdirection and no direction. They have processes and flowcharts that, while detailed, don’t always reflect what’s actually having to be done on a day-to-day basis…many times at management’s own instruction.

Why Tech Writers Feel Like Bartleby The Scrivener

David Bullock features a look at the order of stuff.
Are you checking the right things in the wrong order and not getting the results that you want?
Too many times when I speak to clients, they are using the right tool at the wrong time.

Understanding Sequencing: Optimizing Your Sales Process Correctly

Thomas R. Clifford features a way to test stickiness.
I think you’ll have fun taking this little quiz. I did! The “The Stickiness Aptitude Test,” or SAT, was designed by The Heath Brothers and Guy Kawasaki.

Are Your Ideas Sticky? Take This Test

Lives Less Ordinary features another view.
The images above are all taken through the viewfinder of my children’s kaleidoscope. Every time I slightly adjust the kaleidoscope, the patterns change. The components remain the same, but the view alters radically.

Meme: Passion Quilt - Kaleidoscopic

Best of Mother Earth features a new natural attitude supplement.
In the land of what I do best, I sort all that hype and gobbly gook and help my clients figure out what might be a fit for them. I like everyone to feel that they actually know why this stuff is going into their body.

Attitude Vitamin “B” Happy

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Chris Brogan features new beginnings.
Start at your own pace, and go as slowly as you need to for you to feel comfortable getting to understand all these services, but here is a list . . .

Starting Points for Online Presence

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: Great Finds

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Test Drive OneBigPlanet! It’s a Cool, New World of Internet Commerce

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 3 Comments

A More Sensible Way to Buy on the Web

Keep an eye out. A new service is coming to the Internet. You’ll find it as part of your social network, and it will make the way you buy things online easier, faster, and more intelligent. It’s the power of OneBigPlanet, a patent pending Commerce and Loyalty platform that leverages the power of the Internet, an intelligent algorithm, Web 2.0 and your personal preferences. I’ve seen it in action.

Here’s a bit of the history and a little about Eric Aubertin, CEO and founder of One Big Planet.

In 2002, Eric Aubertin founded OneBigPlanet Corp., where he pioneered a patent pending Web and Mobile Commerce and Loyalty Platform for social networks and organizations. He had a vision of changing the way people consume and saw a market opportunity to develop an easy to deploy but comprehensive solution that would empower social networking sites, portals, membership organizations and associations to foster strong and long-term relationships, as well as assist them in monetizing their sites. The members would benefit by gaining access to exclusive deals and advantages as well as useful consumer tools and information that would enable them to save money and time.

Previously, as CEO and Founder of eFundraising.com Corp, Eric Aubertin had invented a patented e-mail and web-based fundraising system that was acquired by Reader’s Digest in 2000 for the sum of $27 million

Last Friday, I enjoyed a meeting and conversation with Mr. Aubertin and OneBigPlanet Marketing Services Director, Sonia Gasparini. They showed me around the platform and showed great patience with my curiosity. I was asking questions and having ideas. It’s quick to see how it makes life easier.

Imagine being able to build your own Internet shopping mall complete with

Products and services organized in over 20 drag & drop categories.
Instant rewards (discounts) tailored to your preferences and interests (no points/miles to collect)
Cool tools: Consumer Calendar· Travel Power Search· Restaurant Reservations that remind you and update when you move locations.
Personalized for us. Modular for the network who offers it.
Consumer information to make smarter purchasing decisions.

You expected those things, didn’t you? So did I. Think of the real power of bringing all of that information AND US together in one place. Consumers get a new way to lead the conversation.

SOCIAL SHOPPING Is Simply Consumer Driven!

I like the OneBigPlanet term for it — social shopping.

Share your preferences with friends. Never buy a lame gift again.

Participate in consumer forums.

Create your own consumer groups.

Meet others with similar consumer profiles.·

Refer merchants you like.

Give feedback so we can improve your future consumer experiences.

It was amazing to see how OneBigPlanet simplifies Internet commerce. It’s a dashboard for all things shopping. I’ve been dreaming of a personal assistant to organize my consumer life. This would take over that burden. I’d join a community just to use it.

Apparently the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agrees with me.

First and Only Commerce and Loyalty Platform for USCC Employees and Members

New York, NY – April 22, 2008 – OneBigPlanet®, the leader in Commerce and Loyalty Platforms for social networks and organizations, will implement a tailored member portal for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce(USCC). Employees and member companies will have access to an abundance of unique benefits, deals and Advantages. National associations, state and local chambers will also be invited to share this “One-Stop Consumer Portal” with their respective members.

In addition to powering the USCC’s Member Benefits Program, OneBigPlanet will offer their member businesses the possibility to position products and services on its member portal. By providing exclusive deals, the USCC’s member businesses will have access to a multitude of social networks and organizations, translating into millions of potential targeted customers.

At the end of our conversation, Eric and I talked about the future goals for OneBigPlanet. I was interested in what might be the opportunities for small businesses and online entrepreneurs — clients and readers — to participate by offering their products and services in the future. I’ll say I wasn’t disappointed with answers or the possibilities.

Until I saw OneBigPlanet, I hadn’t thought about how I shop online. How much time would you save if you could do all of your commerce in one place?

Tune in and take a test drive April 29th. Sign up for the videocast now!

No disclaimer. I’m passing on my enthusiasm for a great idea. Great ideas done well deserve attention.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

Tags: Great-Find, onebigplanet

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SOB Business Cafe 04-25-08

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 2 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Pick the Brain is talking about deciding for yourself.
One of the most popular articles I’ve ever written covered the subject of building self confidence. The chief criticism of this article was that you can’t just decide to be confident. You either have confidence or you don’t.

The Confidence Feedback Loop

Flooring the Customer is talking about getting local about being global.
In preparation for a trip to Mexico, I needed Pesos. I regularly make use of ATMs to obtain foreign currency. But, I also like to have some foreign currency in my pocket as I get off the plane in case I can’t find an ATM at the airport.

Citibank: Are You Listening?

The Copywriter Underground is talking about telling your story.
I’m talking about targeted pitches, where you pick the clients, projects (or causes) that interest you, and then pitch them. In a rare example of me taking my own advice, that’s exactly what I’ve done.

How to Pitch New Clients, How to Pick Them, and Why You’d Want to do Either

WowNDad! is talking about fact and opinion.
Subjective information lives inside of the mind, it comes from an insider perspective. It is the things that you “know”, for example how you feel about something, or information that is abstract from the things around us. Objective information comes from an outsider perspective, it is the things that multiple people can observe and agree upon.

As a Matter of Fact, That is a Matter of Opinion - Tune Up Your Thinking

Lisa Sabin-Wilson is talking about seeing the light.
A few months ago, she just disappeared without a word. She didn’t just vanish - - she left, in her wake, seven projects in various stages of completion. Some almost completely done… some only halfway done…. some just started. Seven of them.

Optimism Tax Paid in Full

the Art of Non-Conformity is talking about connectedness.
See, I’ve never used Myspace… or Facebook… and hardware-wise, I don’t have a Blackberry or an expensive MacBook laptop. I just have Gmail, a $3 Skype microphone I bought in Belgrade last year, and a $500 Dell laptop that does everything I need.

So, about that social networking thing…

Related ala carte selections include

The Ripple Effect has started a cliffhanger.
“My boy almost everyone I meet at a Starbucks is fascinating. They all have a story and so desperately want to tell it and will…all you have to do is ask.”

How I Became a Starbucks Stalker - Pt. 1

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: Great Finds

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SOB Business Cafe 04-18-08

Filed Under Great Finds | 4 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

45 Things is reporting on a trend we might not have spotted.
She was at the top of her game. She was a lawyer who traveled all over the country, handling big shopping mall real estate deals. She had four young children, a terrific nanny, an easy-going husband, and a family proud of her achievements.

But what no one knew was that she was an addict.

More Professionals Vulnerable to Addictions

Lorelle on WordPress is reporting a global decision in response to an individual infraction.
The details of the blogger and content in question is a bit vague, but this is not the first time, nor the last, that international courts have made a sweeping judgment against WordPress.com due to the actions of an individual blogger.

WordPress.com Banned Again: Why Aren’t You Concerned?

Copyblogger is reporting the facts in simple sentences.
I wanted to be an editor or a journalist… but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going. ~Richard Branson

The Richard Branson Guide to Making Money With Blogs

Sparkplug CEO is showing off it’s new brand and reporting in with content spectacular.
What you make per hour, per ad, or per project is directly proportional to how much you value your own time, expertise, and contribution to your clients.

You are Worth What you Say you are Worth

Chris Brogan is reporting on the qualifications of a social media expert.
There are lots of people throwing “social media expert” out there. Hell, I had it as part of my “about” on my blog, but I’ve chosen to just say that I advise people. It’s more accurate, because expertise is fairly darned fleeting out there right now.

What I Want a Social Media Expert to Know

Christine Kane is reporting on irresistible reasoning.
And so little about the joy of writing. Writing to write. Not to sell, woo, seduce, hypnotize, or get more subscribers to your blog. Just pure writing.

11 Irresistible Reasons to Write Everyday

Related ala carte selections include

Lisa Sabin-Wilson is reporting great news and not so great news because of it!
I have, roughly, 2.5 months to get it done! Judging by my last ‘go round’ with writing a book - I’m going to need all the spare time I can grab onto over here.. which means that SOBCon ‘08 is, sadly, out the window.