Successful Blog

Q&A All Day TODAY! Discuss, Share, Find Out! Meet Smart Folks!

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12 Hours of Conversation — Looks Who’s Here!!

Everyone is invited. Stop by, listen in, ask questions, and meet some new friends.

Think theater of the imagination meets speakers and participants in the comment box for conversation.

Why the comment box and not some new technology? The comment box offers a different experience — slower, more intimate, with room for everyone to bring long thoughts and serious questions.

When: TODAY 11 AM Central Time (GMT -6hrs)
(See the clock in the sidebar)

Where: Successful-Blog.com

What: New Post and Speaker Every Hour

How It Works:

  • Each hour a new blog post will publish.
  • The featured expert will be ready to talk with you about your ideas, questions, predictions, and thoughts in the comment box.

It’s that easy. You know how.

Who:

11:00 – Liz Strauss on How to Build a Personal Development Network
12:00 – Mark Carter on Saving The World With Social Media
1:00 – Lucretia Pruitt on Twittering the Way that Works Best for You
2:00 – Andy Sernovitz on Amazing Word of Mouth for Your Blog
3:00 – Mary-Lynn Foster on Podcast and Blog Interviewing Tips
4:00 – Easton Ellsworth on Visionary Blogging Improvements
5:00 – John Haydon on Social Media and Trust Online
6:00 – VickyHennegan on Writing for the Web
7:00 – Becky McCray on Successful Entrepreneurship
8:00 – Shannon Paul on Internet People and What They Do
9:00 –Angela Maiers on Literacy and Learning in the 21st Century
10:00 –Terry Starbucker on Pitching Social Media to Clients — 5 Key Questions for Potential Clients

Bring your own link to leave to share information about blogging, social media, and ROI of Relationships on the Social Web

C’mon Let’s Talk!

We haven’t done something like this since 2007!

Special thanks to Vicky H ( @eeUS ) for helping to get this arranged and together.
— ME “Liz” Strauss

Register Now for SOBCon09 Explode your network!

Collaboration Tools

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One of my favorite things to result from my experience at SOBCon last year were the fantastic collaborative efforts that I was able to put together with other attendees.Online College Blog and School Reviews provides a list of online apps for managing your own collaborations.

The question is, what are you waiting for?

Collaboration

Working with others means managing the thoughts and ideas of more than just yourself. Don’t go crazy trying to keep up with everything; instead, use these collaboration tools to keep connected, share ideas, and work together on projects successfully.

Collaboration

Working with others means managing the thoughts and ideas of more than just yourself. Don’t go crazy trying to keep up with everything; instead, use these collaboration tools to keep connected, share ideas, and work together on projects successfully.

  1. Backpack. Whether you are working with fellow students or in a professional setting, Backpack allows for easy collaboration with features such as shared to-do lists, announcements, calendars, files, and even centralized discussions.
  2. Basecamp. Basecamp makes project collaboration easy and smooth. Share files, track time, schedule milestones, assign projects, make to-do lists and more.
  3. Highrise. If your business need a tool to manage your contacts, leads, and on-going deals, Highrise offers a centralized way to share everything happening at your company.
  4. writewith. For writing projects, this app keeps everyone together with shared documents and tasks, discussions, and more.
  5. iLeonardo. This social network allows you to collaborate on research with friends or others who happen to be working on the same subject you are.
  6. LooseStitch. Create outlines, share with others, and keep all your changes together with this tool that helps facilitate brainstorming and working together.
  7. Famundo. Families and organizations alike will find useful ways to use Famundo to keep calendars, to-do lists, shopping lists, share photos, and communicate in one place.
  8. Thinkfree. The free services with this app include document creation and sharing, file access and sharing, collaboration with colleagues, blogging, and iPhone access. Other services for a fee include server access, complete mobile access, and an alternative to MS Office.
  9. Pidgin. Download this tool so you can IM with anyone on 16 different IM accounts.
  10. MeetWithApproval. Plan a virtual meeting with coworkers or clients or organize a face-to-face using this meeting planner.
  11. Thinkature. Collaborate, organize your thoughts and research, and prepare your paper or project with this tool.
  12. ProBoards. Create a discussion board easily and quickly so you can collaborate. You can also leave the discussion for others to access as well.
  13. ThinkFold. If you have a group working together, it can get confusing and messy trying to track everyone’s ideas. ThinkFold allows groups to create interactive, real-time outlines without all the trouble.

Read more –>

You Want More Influence? Tell Us Why …

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It’s All in the Why

When I was a kid if I asked my dad for something small, like a quarter to play the jukebox, his answer would be, “Give me good three reason why.” Not every reason was so good at first, but I learned to think up reasons before I gave the request. That lesson stuck and stayed all through my life.

So I wasn’t that surprised when I read this study years ago.

Dr. Ellen Langer, a Harvard social psychologist, took a document to a line of people at the copier and said, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?”
Some 60% said “yes.”

But when she added a “reason,” by saying in similar circumstances, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?” The number jumped to huge 93%.

I searched the web for the original study. Can’t find it. But memory says that she went a third time with a reason involving a deadline and that number rose close to 100%.

Tell me why …

Subscribe to my blog. –> Never miss information like this.
Tweet this please. –> Get more followers.
Follow me on Twitter. –> I’ll share what I value with you.

If a simple why makes a difference, imagine the effect of a reason that’s meaningful.

Your turn …

Write something you want us to do and why we should do it in the comment box. It’s a chance for you to influence what we do.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!! See what you can do!

SOBCon09 Comment Box Conference / Q&A — 12 Hours Tuesday Feb. 10

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An Expert Every Hour and Q&A for 12 Hours

Everyone is invited. Stop by for a while listen in and meet some new friends.

Think theater of the imagination meets speakers and attendees in the comment box for conversation.

Why the comment box and not some new technology? The comment box offers a different experience — slower, more intimate, with room for everyone to bring long thoughts and serious questions.

When: Tuesday, February 10th

Where: Successful-Blog.com

What: New Post and Speaker Every Hour
11:00 a.m. – 10 p.m. CT (GMT -6hrs)
Watch the clock in the sidebar.

When and Who:

11:00 – Liz Strauss on How to Build a Personal Development Network
12:00 – Mark Carter on Saving The World With Social Media
1:00 – Lucretia Pruitt on Twittering the Way that Works Best for You
2:00 – Andy Sernovitz on Amazing Word of Mouth for Your Blog
3:00 – Mary-Lynn Foster on Podcast and Blog Interviewing Tips
4:00 – Easton Ellsworth on Visionary Blogging Improvements
5:00 – John Haydon on Social Media and Trust Online
6:00 – VickyHennegan on Writing for the Web
7:00 – Becky McCray on Successful Entrepreneurship
8:00 – Shannon Paul on Internet People and What They Do
9:00 –Angela Maiers on Literacy and Learning in the 21st Century
10:00 –Terry Starbucker on Pitching Social Media to Clients — 5 Key Questions for Potential Clients

Bring your own link to leave to share information about blogging, social media, and ROI of Relationships on the Social Web

C’mon Let’s Talk!

We haven’t done something like this since 2007!
— ME “Liz” Strauss

Register Now for SOBCon09 Explode your network!

Twestival Comes To Chicago: A Great Cause & Great Connections

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February is the month of relationships and relationships matter. They’re what keeps us going, gives our lives meaning, and keeps our hearts beating with purpose. Throughout the world, the folks on Twitter have started to use the relationships they’ve formed their for many good purposes. One of those is series of events called Twestivals. The Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects.

The Twestival in Chicago is this week. I asked Mark Carter to write a few words about it.

On 12 February 2009 175+ cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

Chicago’s event will be a casual, fun night of social networking for a cause. You’ll have a chance to meet your online friends and some offline friends.

We’ve also set up a Facebook group at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59499469458&ref=mf
so people can connect before AND after the event. We’ll be posting pictures, reviews, comments and continuing conversations long after the event is over.

And for a quick, direct way to learn more and get involved:

http://www.chicagotwestival.eventbrite.com

If you’d like to get involved or have questions email me anytime at mjcarter (at) savingtheworld.net

Hope to talk soon!

If you’re from Chicago, stop in and “Tweet. Meet. Give.”

If you’re in another city, see how you can be part of a Twestival near you.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Thanks to Week 172 SOBs

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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.

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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.

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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