Outside the Box Archives - Page 20 of 31

Successful Blog 25-Word Birthday Challenge

October 24, 2006 by Liz

Whoa! You Folks Are Good!

Writing something that has meaning in 25 words is about as challenging as it gets. That didn’t stop these folks. Here are the bloggers who took up the gauntlet fo the Successful Blog 25-Words Birthday Challenge Post.

THE WINNERS ARE
$25 ipopin Gift Certificate
— Sheila
10 Ways to Make It Great!
— Joe
Walking on Water Essay
— Starbucker
Guest Post or Interview
— TechZ

Winners were drawn randomly.

A concoction of well written, witty and entertaining content, it excites the reader and involves you to the fullest with every post. Simply put, extraordinary. –TechZ

Sharing her knowledge, fun spirit, and generous (linking) nature, ME “Liz” Strauss writes Successful Blog to help you become an SOB – Successful Outstanding Blogger. –Becky

Successful Blog helps bloggers become better at what they do (improve writing, grow their audience, make more money). Come and join the fun. — Scott B.

My favorite is Tuesday Night
cause spelling doesnÃ¢â¬â¢t count
and you can link your site,
There are drinks in the sidebar
whatever your delight.
(+1) BermaShave –Joe

Ã¢â¬ÅWhat adjectives do people use to describe your blog? Nice, pleasant, somewhat interesting? Scrap it! Start reading the Successful-Blog and make your blog OUTSTANDING!Ã¢â¬Â –Innovation Zen

Ã¢â¬ÅCÃ¢â¬â¢mon. LetÃ¢â¬â¢s talk!Ã¢â¬Â ThatÃ¢â¬â¢s how Liz Strauss warmly welcomes Successful Blog conversations. She listens, links, nurtures and guides. A blogosphere Insta-Friend….just be nice.
–Sheila

Successful Blog – an active voice for positive communication and community with stops for pizza, great views, and a little vacation every Tuesday. –Rick

A good blog is like a four-lane mountain road Ã¢â¬â fascinating, stimulating, inspiring and smile-inducing Ã¢â¬â and that metaphor fits Liz and her Successful Blog perfectly
. –Starbucker

If the essence of blogging is community; Successful-Blog is that essence. If you donÃ¢â¬â¢t feel welcomed here, itÃ¢â¬â¢s time for another session with your therapist. –Carolyn

I love to read Successful Blog.
I hope some day IÃ¢â¬â¢ll be one.
If I canÃ¢â¬â¢t I wonÃ¢â¬â¢t despair
I know IÃ¢â¬â¢ll always read one! –Ann

Successful-Blog is a bung-puller. That’s the plug that holds all the
good stuff in the beer cask; pull the bungÃ¢â¬âit’s all yours. –Saml

“With Successful-Blog Liz Strauss has built a friendly community where writers and bloggers can come together, share ideas, and grow better at what they do.” –Chris

Successful-Blog is a fun community where you can rub elbows and learn from successful business professionals, writers, bloggers, and even a code writing donkey.–Chris

Something clever just for fun,
Successful Blog is turning one,
‘Cause it’s late I cannot wait,
But want to say “Your Blog is GREAT!” –Sandra

Please accept my Ball of WhacksÃÂ®
Ã¢â¬â My entry to your Gala Bash Ã¢â¬â
YouÃ¢â¬â¢ll love it Ã¢â¬â itÃ¢â¬â¢s really true Ã¢â¬â
Play with it till you turn blue! –Roger von Oech

Successful Blog is one of the coolest place to meet new people and leave a comment in the blogosphere. Long Live Open Comment Night! Yay! –Phil

HARTÃ¢â¬â¢s Hypothetical Entry #1 – HAIKU FORMAT
The Successful-Blog
Your Host Is Always Friendly
Come! Join The Party

HARTÃ¢â¬â¢s Hypothetical Entry #2 – LIMERICK FORMAT
Bloglines has all of my feeds
I use it to track all my needs
But If youÃ¢â¬â¢ve got a business
You too can witness
Why Liz is on my Daily Reads!

From Thilak @ Tech Buzz:

Bloggy Life Question 26 — Do You Wish to Comment?

October 22, 2006 by Liz

Money for Nothing?

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life hypothetical question. . . .

About two weeks ago, you visited a blog that had a post about a cause that you believe in Ã¢â¬â helping homeless children get a solid education. The post you read was well written and quite moving. You left a comment about your feelings and your ideas, thanking the writer for a great posting. You actually linked to the post and shared the link with a few friends.

This afternoon you received an email from that writer, she was writing you with an offer. Since you are passionate about the same issue, would you want to help in raise awareness? Would you want to read and comment on other blogs discussing the education of homeless children? A group that she is part of is willing to pay you $5.00/comment and provide you with a list of 50 blogs on which you might comment.

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Bloggy Life Question 25 — Would You Blog as the Opposite Sex?

October 15, 2006 by Liz

Mr. um, I mean Ms. er, Sir, Ma’am?

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . .

You’ve been approached by a well-financed enterprised to blog for them on a high-end blog, called Views. The blogging team will be you and one other person, someone of the opposite sex. Each of you will be paid US$60,000/year to post at least six times a week about your opinions on any topic– from music to arithmetic.

The blog will be launched with a massive media blitz, and you’ll have access to the resources of an entire media library for photos and content.

The catch? Each of you must blog under the guise of a member of the opposite sex — in other words, you’d be switching roles — and your contract binds you to keep your true identity secret.

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Bloggy Life Question 24 — Hello, Blogger, I’m Her Parent!

October 8, 2006 by Liz

Uh – Before You Go Out the Door . . .

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . .

You daughter who’s 16 has been reading a the blog of a young man who is 19. You’ve visited his blog. He writes about cars, music, and girls — lots and lots of other girls. His blog shows plenty of pictures of them. He’s not a shy boy about his relationships. Your daughter and this boy been reading each other’s blogs for several months and leaving comments.

Today your daughter has told you that the young man is coming to visit your city and will be staying at the local chain motel. She’s so looking forward to seeing him. What ground rules do you set for the visit?

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Bloggy Question 23 — Would You Live Blog the Wedding?

October 1, 2006 by Liz

Now What Do You Say?

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . .

A friend since childhood, your lifelong friend, is getting married in your hometown to another close friend of yours. She reads your blog and comments often. They both do, but neither one has a blog of their own. They still live in the town where you all grew up. You’ve not been back there for years.

You’re going home for the wedding and looking forward to seeing the friends you’ve not seen forever. It should be quite a party.

You step off the plane, and the bride and groom greet you with great fanfare. During the early conversation, while waiting for your bags, she drops the bomb. “I see you’ve got your laptop. We were thinking . . . it would be so cool if you live blogged the wedding. Would you do that as a wedding gift for us? Please, please, please.” You look over at the groom and he shrugs.

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

A Friday Priorities List — 2 Rules and a Bunch of Ideas to Leave Work Behind

September 29, 2006 by Liz

I’ve been thinking how, at one time in my life, the ones who saw the worst of me were people I was closest to. It’s like the song.

You always hurt the one you love, the one you shouldn’t hurt at all. You always break the kindest heart, with a hasty word you can’t recall.
.

I’m listening to Willie Nelson sing it now. (Moonlight Becomes You)

I was young. I let my guard down with them. It was a sign of trust that I let them see my bad side. Gosh. don’t you bet they were thrilled I would do that for them?

I’m a slow learner sometimes.

Imagine if everyone dumped their bad feelings on loved ones in the name of trust.

I’m not quite sure what woke me up. When my brain and my heart finally reattached, my thinking kicked in. I realized that I was treating people I hardly knew far better than the ones that I loved. I was a success at working for a living, but not such a success at having a life.

2 Rules and a Bunch of Ideas

So I made this list that I check every Friday. It’s not written stone — more like it’s etched in ice. But it does remind me what to think about when Friday rolls around. It’s two rules and a bunch of ideas to focus on so that I leave work behind.

Two Rules

RULE 1: Weekends are recreational or recuperative.
RULE 2: Except in rare emergencies, all work is “want to,” not “have-to” stuff.

A Bunch of Ideas

Plan an activity with someone I love just because we want to do it.
Spend time listening to someone special.
Do something spontaneous with a friend.
Make someone laugh.
Call someone I haven’t talked to in years.
Learn something new with a friend or a loved one.
Read a book.
Take two naps.
Make cookies. Find lots of folks to share them with.
Do something I’ve never done before.
Do something I’ve not done in years.
Do something that someone else decides is important.
Try on some gratitude and generosity

Of course, your list might look totally different from mine . . . .

Now I let my closest people see the best of me. I like me a lot better this way. As it turns out, they seem a whole lot nicer too.

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