Successful Blog

The Mic Is On: We’re Making Each Other Laugh

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

The Mic Is On

Here’s how it works.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

Tell Me Something Funny

Sometimes friends just get together to share fun and laughter. The bar is open. We’re with friends. Let’s just have some fun. Let’s

  • tell stories
  • show videos
  • tell jokes
  • relate strange and silly happenings
  • share comics
  • and just be silly for once.

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey . . . and flamenco dancing (because we always get off topic, anyway.)

Oh, and bring example links.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
image: sxc.hu
Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

The Generosity Connection that Lifts Us Higher

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Community Raises People Up

At any moment, most of us are doing fine, but a few are feeling the hill’s too high or the burden’s too heavy. So those who can reach out to those who’ve lost the spirit.

At times like that, generous folks reach out to show us how to push through and climb up. It’s hard to know which reach will make a difference.
People get back on track and move forward, keeping their eye on the goal.
Sometimes on the way to that goal people get impatient, feel deprived, or forget the folks who helped.

Then someone generous of spirit stops long enough to say something like this

I wouldn’t have pushed through if you had not been there.

It’s a gift to hear that.

The generosity connection lifts us higher.

Tell someone …
you’re there to help.

Thank someone …
who’s been there for you.

I love you all.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
image source: sxc.hu gwyther77
Work with Liz!!

If you haven’t had a chance yet, add your $500 wish to the list. I hope you win!

Open Mic 7pm Chgo Time: It’s about Laughing

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Join Us Tonight

JOIN US TONIGHT AT 7PM

Tell Me Something Funny

Sometimes friends just get together to share fun and laughter. The bar is open. We’re with friends. Let’s just have some fun.

Oh, and bring example links.

The rules are simple — be nice.

Do be nice. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Inside the SEARS Wishbook — A $500 Grant a Wish Giveaway!

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This post is a sponsored post on behalf of SEARS via Izea.
The opinions, memories, and words are mine.

Every year when I was a kid, my mom would sit us down with the Wishbook from Sears. She’d have us make list of what we wanted for Christmas…. The tradition came with a solid promise that at least one item on each list would end up under our tree. My list kept me busy for hours — busy dreaming, and wishing, and learning the life skill of filling out order forms.

When I got with this special assignment, Would I be part of the SEARS “Don’t Just Give a Gift, Grant a Wish” program? You can bet that Wishbook was the first thing I thought of — the miles of lists and the piles of wishes all through my childhood.

The request was simple: I would get a $500 gift card to buy whatever I wished. Then I would go to Sears.com to put together three $500 gift packages — so a lucky reader will get to choose the one they wish. Two cool complicated, positive problems to solve. Who wouldn’t go for chance like that?

More about my wishtory in a minute.

Towels, Socks, and Underwear

Ah walking into the the Sears Flagship store at State and Madison in Chicago — It was like walking inside the Wishbook for real. I met @AmyDerby, who brought her camera, at the coffee shop in back. Amy and I fueled up on coffee. (I had a caramel latte.) Then we got a cart, looked around … wandered aimlessly … stopped to look at the “Chipmunks Movies,” and talked about passing lyrics to Chipmunks songs with @Starbucker via Twitter. Not many folks know the words anymore.

Shopping is more fun with someone you like.

We walked on overwhelmed by the clothes, jewelry, and beauty products. They’re nice, but not what I’m after. We didn’t really know where to look first. How do you wish when you’re surrounded by so many things and your holdiay shopping is already done?

Don’t you just love the towel all lined up that way? I never buy any because it makes me want all of the colors. Where would I put them?

Luckily I had asked Grandma whether she had one more holiday wish I might grant. She said, “Do something for yourself, but remember — get socks and underwear.” So we over to the socks. We played a bit with the multi-toed muppet socks. Then I picked out three pairs of dress socks for meetings … 3 pairs of socks for $10 …

Time for a new plan, this rate we’d be there until 2020. Underwear was out.

Wishing for a Good Night’s Sleep — Pillows and More!

My wish was a good night’s sleep. Nights are short in my life. Sleep is precious.

Down the elevator, past the luggage, through the rug aisle, straight for the pillows we went. Big, beautiful, fluffy pillows. The best white down pillows were what I was after. My husband and I hadn’t bought new pillows this century. Now we were talking wishes happening — four of them.

For better sleeping, my husband wished for an electrostatic air filter — fresh air in a high rise building is a wish worth having. On the way to the that filter, we stopped and got him a hair trimmer he’d been looking at the night before. It took two seconds. When we said we wanted, Iza, the woman who helped us with the pillows, knew exactly where to find it.

We’d got those wishes, but one wish was still whispering in my head. We were off to electronics.

That’s When We Met Dick Tracy

We saw iPod accessories, brand name computers, and a display of Flip Video cameras (already have one and love it). I was in blogger heaven.

I was headed to a real camera to replace the grainy iPhone photographs on my blog. Problem is, I didn’t know what I wanted. I called @BeckyMcCray who advised in a flash — pun intended. Now I could talk to the man — and he was the man — Richard Tracy. He answered every question I asked — and a few that I didn’t — about my new Olympus FE-360 camera. Amy took our picture while we talked. That’s it up there.

Boom! I had a camera I knew would make my pictures look good.

That afternoon Amy and I had a meeting planned. So we took a few more pictures and I talked to the guy who would be holding my stuff until the next day. Amy took care to see that details were looked after in fear that I’d get back and my packages wouldn’t be there.

We took light stuff with us. Well, we got the camera at merchandise pickup in 1 minute and 40 seconds. Gosh, they were nice. One person brought the camera to us, but three people found reasons to smile.

The whole shopping adventure cost $558.81 — and $57.32 of that was taxes.

One Hitch, But a Happy Ending

The next day, I returned with my husband to pick up the huge pillows and air filter. A manager on the elevator recognized me and said “Hi!” My husband was impressed. Unfortunately, the guy who said he’d be working when I returned wasn’t there and my stuff wasn’t either. No one seemed to know where to find what I’d bought and I had a meeting in an hour.

Special Thanks to Jessica, the third floor manager, who came to the rescue. She problem solved by thinking through who might have moved it and where. She realized that my stuff was placed in layaway overnight. Jessica turned around an almost unhappy ending to what might have been a perfect experience. Her thinking got me to my afternoon meeting just in time with everything. No harm, no foul.

Granting a Wish for You!!

The second part of this cool assignment was to put together three Grant Wish Packages that I thought a reader here might enjoy. That was pressure …

ENTER TO WIN!! A $500 WISH PACKAGE Giveaway!

The second part of this sponsored assignment is where I hope your own wish comes true. I’ve put together three Grant a Wish packages. (Well, @Tojosan and my husband helped me with them.) The winner will receive the package he or she selects. You’ll find the official rules here.

The Three Wishes I Designed To Choose From Include

Chicago DVDs Wish

Toshiba 10.2″ WIDESCREEN PORTABLE DVD PLAYER
Sears item# 05799414000 Mfr. model# SDP101S $349
And 11 DVD Movies all Made in Chicago

  • The Dark Knight DVD
    (Widescreen, Special Edition, 2PC) $22.99
  • Wanted
    (Widescreen) $20.99
  • I Robot DVD
    (Widescreen, Special Edition, 2PC) $14.99
  • The Blues Brothers
    (Widescreen, Anniversary Edition, 2PC) $14.99
  • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
    (Widescreen, Special Edition, 2PC) $9.99
  • Road to Perdition
    (Widescreen) $7.99
  • Risky Business
    (Widescreen, Anniversary Edition, Deluxe Edition) $14.99
  • The Untouchables
    (Widescreen, Special Edition, Collector’s Edition) $9.99
  • Proof
    (Widescreen) $14.99
  • Chicago
    (Widescreen) $9.99
  • Wayne’s World
    (Widescreen) $7.99

Cool Tools Wish

Images, Music, and Words

How to Enter to Win a Wish!!

You can enter via blog comment, tweet, or blog post.

To Enter by Comment: Leave a comment here with the name of the wish package you would like to win.

To Enter by Twitter: Tweet out the following message: “RT @lizstrauss please grant my wish to win the #Sears (package name) – tweet to win your own wish http://urlbrief.com/1aba4d”

To Enter by Blog Post: Write a post about the contest and linking back to your post. Be sure to leave a trackback or a comment linking to your post.

Good luck with the contest, and I want you to win a wish too. I got a chance to meet some wonderful people, to remember what wishes are about, and how fun they can be.

Don’t Just Give a Gift, Grant a Wish — and if you get a chance, tell a wishtory of how someone made a wish come true for you.

And remember there’s only one rule: BE NICE!

My Wishtory

Some cool kids — real celebrities — are telling their wishtories over at Sears.com
Mine is simple. You’re looking at it — my blog.

My Dad didn’t give me a chance to visit his saloon … he showed me the meaning of community.

Every holiday card I write brings back thought of those wishbooks, and I sign most with hope that all of our wishes come true. This year SEARS didn’t just give me a gift, SEARS granted me a wish of my childhood … one that I’d never, ever that would come true. That’s me, sitting with the lighted reindeer, thinking I’m probably not the right age for next year’s Wishbook cover, but knowing I have the feeling they’re going for.

Thank you, Amy, for coming with and getting these pictures for me.

If you want to know more about Sears Gift Cards, that’s here.

The preceding was a sponsored post. For more information about the sponsor SEARS or the contest see Izea.
It’s the spirit of the season!! Thank you.

Thanks to Week 164 SOBs

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muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

muddy teal strip A

Dad's Workbench: A Dad Blog
Ewa in the Garden
Fashion Grail
The Floating Frog

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

deep purple strip

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Why I Like to Know Who’s Following Me . . . Extreme Twitter Personalities

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Not everyone who does these things is a faker, some are just learning how things work.

Before Twitter got to be such a phenomenon, it seemed only the natural thing to say “hello” and follow back folks who followed me. Every person was an opportunity to learn more about the dynamics of the blogosphere, who hangs out here, and how the conversation really works.

When business conversations came to Twitter it became even more. Client relationships are being formed and forged there. New products ideas are being born there. People are finding jobs and recruiting people fill job openings. Opportunities like that get people talking and that got more people Twittering. It’s almost an explosion of fast and furious growth. Fast growth always has it’s problems — on the people side of Twitter one of those problems for me is how to sort the fakers from the followers.

Who’s Following Me?

You may have bumped into them, the Extreme Twitter Personalities. I’ve seen my share. Some follow you so that you’ll follow them. Then they disappear hoping you won’t notice they’re gone. Some do more nefarious things.

Because we talk about who we are and sometimes say personal things, such as where were going or who we’re with, I like to know who’s following me. I follow almost everyone who follows me, but I check them one at time. I use these traits to watch for Extreme Twitter in my Twitter Stream.

The ones I notice first do of these things:

  • The GAMER — sends an auto Direct Message that says “Thanks for following me! … ” It asks me a question or to click a link. When I try to Direct Message a reply, I find out that the person is not following me. The gamer never has an interest in learning about the other person.
  • The CLUELESS — sends an auto Direct Message that says “Thanks for following me! Would you tell me, how did you find me?” I followed this person because he or she followed me.
  • The MURDER MYSTERY WRITER — follows 2000 people without a tweet. I was feel like I’m in slasher novel where a group of people have been invited to a weekend at a mansion where there is no host. I suppose this could a silent listening account.
  • The SEX SELLS SHILLER — has a sexy picture and a tweet or two about how I can make a six-figure income. Again this Twitter usually has a girl’s name with Candylim12 and is following thousands. She’s a friendly girl with lots of accounts.
  • The TWITTER TROLLS — talk to people who don’t know them or jump on sentences out of context to criticize or pick fights. The controversy the cause, though entertaining at first, is a waste of time. They do it for followers and attention.
  • The INFORMATION FONT — only passes on links to things people might want to read — the links come too quickly for the Twitter to have checked them out.
  • The BROADCASTER — has a home page filled with tweets with his or her own url.
  • The RETWEETER — reads links that others tweet and passes them on, hardly ever talks. This is a service.
  • The INTERNET MARKETER — only tweets about why people need his or her product.
  • The MAGPIE — puts ads in an already overly chatty twitter stream.
  • The ROMANCER — quickly switches to IM to try to talk about personal romance ideas.
  • The PARTY TWIT — Can’t spell on certain occasions and parties every night.
  • The LIVE TWEETER — wants you at the conference too and seems to be at a conference every day.
  • The CAT TWEETER — tweets as if channeling animal he or she has bonded with.
  • The STALKER — is this square box avatar is following 1, 2, 3 people only.

    • The NOOBIE — Could be doing almost any of these things by accident.

Keep in mind that Twitter does have its glitches and beginners don’t always get everything right from the start.

What makes Twitter so fun and useful is that connects people to converse about almost anything … my guess is most of us have been a few of the above on a given day. And we’re all extreme to someone who thinks far differently from the way we do. Twitter seems to have room for all except those who cause danger or harm.

Some I hope I’ll never be. Some I block right out of the box. Some I wait to see if they’re just getting started. I’m grateful when noobies say so in a tweet so that it’s obvious what’s going on.

If I’m not sure about someone, I usually

  1. look at who’s already following them
  2. ask someone who might know
  3. or do what @KurtScholle told me he does.

When something looks just a little off @KurtScholle told me his solution is to keep a file called Twitter to Consider when he’s not sure whether he wants to follow back. Great Idea.

What other Twitter Extreme personalities have you found? What’s your response to each?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Image: ADOdesign