Successful Blog

A Tale, Sister Marlene, Stephen Covey, Mike Sigers, & Power Linking

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The Princess Engineer of the Kingdom

King Mike Sigers had lost 13 of his Knights of the Blog. They were being held in the dungeons of the kingdom of Technorati. (add melodramatic music here) Chained to the wall, they were allowed no visitors. No messages were getting out. None were getting in. It was cold, damp, dark and forgotten . . .

In fact that was the problem. When warrior King Mike spoke to the elegant King David, offering a ransom to retrieve his noble Knights of the Blog, King David promised to look into it. But unbeknownst (add other old words here to beef up the drama) to King Mike the castle was so large that no one could find where the dungeon was in which the guards had stashed 13 Knights of the Blog. No one knew where they were being held. The Knights, alas, were lost.

No matter what King Mike had tried, he received the same promise, yet no relief. He had appealed to King David for a reprieve. Yet his Knights of the Blog seemed destined to languish in the dungeons of Technorati for eternity or longer. (add awful music by Yanni to make it sound as if milleniums have gone by).

Enter the lovely engineer-princess, Janice, her light shines so brightly that everyone lays down their swords.

She asked, “What is the problem?” Then she took up her engineering degree and lit the hallways with her charm. Our lovely princess made short shrift of the task. She found those Knights of the Blog in no time and set them free. Meanwhile, King David seeing the problem, rolled up his royal sleeves, and started checking other dungeons for other missing Knights of the Blog and found some too.

King Mike was reunited with his Knights and sang the praises of the Beautiful Princess Engineer and Royal Head of the Team of Customer Service in the Kingdom of Technorati.

A fabulous ball was held, and everyone wanted to dance with Princess Janice. They realized now that she is even more valuable than at first she seemed to be.

Me? I took home my ailing Knight Blog, who’d lost 80 links in her chainmail from 7 months in the dungeon, and broke the sad news that she now would have to be a squire. We drank bad wine and retired.

Sister Marlene, Stephen Covey, and Mike Sigers

Sister Marlene would like that story. She’s an 80-something, brlliant woman who has the life experience and wisdom of at least six people. She’d like Janice who just did without asking for anything. The first time that I met Marlene she said

There is no act of kindness or mercy that does not benefit both parties.

I knew immediately that what she said was true. When I am unconditionally generous, I make myself a little better.

Stephen Covey explains what you need for Sister Marlene’s statement to be true

The third character trait essential to Win/Win is the Abundance Mentality, the paradigm that there is plenty out there for everybody. –Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Fireside Books)

Mike Sigers in his Simply Good post this morning brings that challenge to our front door.

Now, do me a favor and do a post, Trackback or whatever and let the world know that there is, in fact, an individual [Janice Myint] at Technorati who cares and who can get it done.

Power Linking

I awoke this morning wondering why we’re quick to criticize Technorati, yet we are slow to reward the one who works the hardest for us. It just doesn’t seem smart, right, or good business.

We complain about A Listers getting favor, having power. But we horde our power undercover. We don’t use power we have–the power to give links to each other. The more linked we are together, the more we show what we want and don’t want to happen in the blogosphere. The more we become one giant A Lister on our own.

Links don’t cost money. They don’t take things. I give away more than I get each week, and it doesn’t hurt me or my blog. Are we too short sighted to see how linking to another blog can promote our own blogs and give them value–especially if we link to someone who is dedicated to providing us with a tool that brings us readers?

Link to What You Value

I’m with Mike. If you have asked Janice to help you, or you plan on doing so, what’s wrong with giving her link love and letting her know you value what she does?

You can link to Janice at: http://janicetechnorati.blogspot.com or http://janicemyint.blogspot.com/2006/03/good-linky-linky.html

Remember there is no act of link love that doesn’t benefit both parties.

Or, for the cynics in the crowd, my mom would say

Reinforce behaviors that you value;
what will follow is human nature;
you will get more of the behavior that you reinforced.

Janice, the Beautiful Engineer Princess of the Kingdom of Technorati has proven beyond a doubt that she will do what she can to help us succeed. A link in her direction, just might get her more power to hire more like her . . . Then she can do more in the castle to get more Knights of the Blog freed from the dungeon and out working for us again–promoting our brands and our businesses.

It’s a happily ever after kind of ending that could be.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Technorati Without Janice–We Won’t Have to Know
Put Your 2Cents In–What’s Technorati Worth–Without Janice?

The Mysteries of Chartreuse BETA

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Welcome Friends of Chartreuse BETA . . .

You may not know about this place. The Massif de la Chartreuse in France is known for it’s scenic beauty and mysterious caves.

[Reproduced with permission from www.braemoor.co.uk. Click on the map to see more details of the Chartreuse area,]

The Massif de la Chartreuse is not half so interesting or mysterious as Chartreuse BETA.

I’d only go walking the Massif de la Chartreuse with Chartreuse BETA. He’s a prince of a fella.

Please feel welcome to look around. Stay as long as you like. Snacks and beverages are in the sidebar. Tips are not allowed. Comments are always welcome.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Great Find: Surfing the Net with Kids

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Something for the weekend. . .

Great Find: Surfing the Net with Kids by Barbara J. Feldman
Type of Site: Interactive site for families
Permalink: http://www.surfnetkids.com/
Target Audience: Families

Content: As the “Cat in the Hat” book starts out, “It was a rainy day . . .” The next day when there’s nothing to do, or you just want to play on the computer with your kids, have I got a place for you. Surfing the Net for Kids is a portal to web sits for kids that brings together everying from color book activities to Harry Potter game sties. You’ll find History, Science, and information for kids of every ages. It will keep you moving through great games and content for hours. Click the screenshot and have a look.

Wish they had this when I was a kid.

–Me “Liz” Strauss
Why I Don’t Play Monopoly with My Husband
Internet Slang Dictionary and Translator
Fun Find: Button Generator.com

Great Find: Absolutely Del.icio.us Tool Collection

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Folksonomy and tag categories got your eyes crossed?
Has social bookmarking started controlling you rather than the other way around?

The Addiction

Hi. My name is Liz and I’m a social bookmarker.
At first I just did it on the weekends to keep track of a few sites and articles I liked. Then I started social bookmarking to get new ideas. Soon it became a daily habit–once, then twice, then many times a day. I got to recognize submitters names and tastes. I started submitting myself–things I saw that I liked.

Social bookmarking utilities were both a great boon and a great downfall to my productivity. I could go there to find a passel of spectacular ideas. But more and more I found myself lost in an enchanted forest, thinking I’d leave after the next look, or the next, or maybe the next. The disorganization of the folksonomy became an addiction–I kept thinking the next title I saw might be the fabulous prize I was looking for. It was intellectual gambling.

That’s when I knew I needed help, and I found it at Quick Online Tips.

The Prescription

Finally, someone has collected tools and tips from all over the Internet to help Social Bookmarking addicts.

Great Find: Absolutely Del.icio.us – Complete Tool Collection from Quick Online Tips
Type of article: List of posts on tools for using Del.icio.us
Permalink: http://pchere.blogspot.com/2005/02/absolutely-delicious-complete-tool.html
Audience: Anyone wants to make the most of social bookmarking
Content: This list offers well over 100 posts that discuss how to use del.icio.us to get the most out of it. You’ll find the Beelerspace Beginners Guide as well as the popular Slacker Manager post, the Several Habits of Wildly Successful del.icio.us users. Most of the hints and helps here will work with any social bookmarking utility you use.

Click the screenshot to begin a new life of tackling that taxonomy.

If you try this at home, don’t read the entire list at one sitting. Choose one or two to explore each morning. Then come back to tag my best work to share with your friends. 🙂

Benefits for the “Magic Middle Man”

Social bookmarking is a powerful tool for research, idea generation, and promoting your business. It’s a great way for those of us in the Magic Middle to exert our control as an audience. Learning how to use it efficiently and effectively can

  • boost personal productivity,
  • offer ideas to promote your brand and your business,
  • provide a venue to showcase your best work to a wide audience,
  • and has an immediate, if short-lived impact, that may gain a few new readers.

Of course, I exaggerated the downside of social bookmarking at the start of this article, but the temptation to spend too much time exploring is also very real. How do you keep social bookmarking from eating up your time? How do you use it to its best advantage?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Great Find: Controlling Your Online Identity
Stand-Alone Trackback Tool from WhizbangTech
WhosWhoo?! at Yahoo?

Here’s Four for Mike

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Four for Four

When my son was four, my husband was forty-four, they both were my business managers of sorts. We’d discuss my business problems, and they’d give their advice, each in their own fashion–one the engineer and process piper, the other the master of alphabet letters and all things thoughtful or graphic.

Now I face a dilemma, and I need that four-year-advisor now.

You see, one of my dear, dear readers has “tagged” me. You might know him. His name’s Mike Sigers. His blog is Simplenomics. The tag in question is a tag of fours.

I read his post link four times. And answered it with four sounds. “ouch, ow, ooh, oh.”

You see, in my life I’ve had four jobs as a teacher, wholesales shirt rep. for Van- Heusen, a Publisher, and a writer. That’s easy. I’ve been to more than four places on vacation and business–Sydney, Dublin, Bologna, and London. I’ve seen four movies I can watch over and over Beautiful Mind, Armageddon, Silverado, and Sleuth, but I’ve only ONCE been tagged by a blogger.

To tell the truth, deep down I get self-conscious when people are looking straight me. My life is pretty boring. Who’d want to read about it? But this is for a friend and a reader. Business is all about relationships. So what does a blogger do? Especially a nice one. I am the nice one after all.

A Four-Year-Old Advisor

I thought about what my four year old’s advice would have been,

Mom, I thinked about it and my think said “Is there a clown suit involved? No. Do you have to stand on your head? No. Are there letters? Yes.”
Mom, you should do it for your friend.

How can I argue with sage business advice like that? Okay so here I go.

Four TV shows I love to watch when I watch TV (if they’re still on) NCIS, The Apprentice, Two and a Half Men, and Business Unusual. Four books I read I really love are The Once and Future King (White), I Touch the Earth, the Earth Touches Me(Prather) Creativity (Csikszentmihalyi), A Beautiful Mind(Nasar), and a bonus Illusions(Bach).

Four websites I visit daily? It’s more like forty. Let’s see there’s Tom Peter’s blog, all of those at Bloglines, several SOB blogs, check the b5 media blogroll, and I go exploring business blogs daily. Four places I’d rather be are the same four places I mentioned earlier. My four favorite dishes are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, flourless chocolate cake with no extras, pizza in Bologna, Italy, and a good porterhouse steak with mushrooms.

A special note to Mike and all of my readers:

As I finish this I hear four tunes that play in my head
I Live in the Groove (Paul Carrack) and Surrender (Lisbeth Scott). I know there must be More than This (Peter Gabriel) and I will be your friend when you feel your Back Against the Wall (Alan Parson Project).

Now I tag Chartreuse BETA , Copyblogger Brian, Brian Shih, and Cas at Brightmeadow.

Can’t wait to hear more about you guys now. Don’t leave me standing here. Say something. 🙂

I think I need to go find the automatic flatterer now. I’ll be back right after.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

A Message for Everyone!

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This is a motivational link that was sent to me by a very close friend.

It was developed at The School of Computer Science and Engineereering at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Thanks to them and to my friend, KB.

Who says that flattery can’t be fun?
Hope you enjoy it.

How This Link Works

  • Click on the link.
  • A screen prompt will come up.
  • Type your name in the prompt.
  • Sit back and enjoy the message.

Share it with friends.

This is the link:

Do come back to see me again!

–ME “Liz” Strauss