Successful Blog

12: Mihaela Lica on Safeguarding Children on the Internet

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Tell Us How We Can Help

Mihaela Lica

Mihaela Lica has a soft voice that speaks clearly. She is warm, thoughtful, and easy to know. She wants the message of Blogger Power: Safeguard the Web for Children heard around the world. This week, Mihaela emailed me and we talked about how I might help.

Hi Mihaela, Welcome! Would you me about the problem and the solution you proprose?

Hi Liz. As you know, there are many anti-porn campaigns online, some quite aggressive. I think the reason why these campaigns fail is that their initiators fight against pornography as a whole. This is not a solution. We live in a free world and pornography is a matter of personal choice. It’s normal; some say it is even healthy that adults are consumers. But do we really have to drag children into this world?

As long as the porn sites will offer free tours, free previews or other free contents, there will always be a chance that kids stumble upon such materials. So we think that the simplest solution is that the porn webmasters make it more difficult for kids to access explicit adult materials by requiring a login. The idea is based on a real world fact: porn magazines are distributed in plastic foil wrappers. That’s the “login” offline. We are aware that some kids might still make accounts, but not so many as see nowadays porn pages by accident.

Skeptics will probably see this as a small step. Others will say that the porn webmasters will not change their ways because they want to make money. But kids are not paying customers. So the porn sites will not have so much to lose financially by applying such a measure. On the contrary: they will increase their possible clients database. And that’s an advantage.

I don’t say this is going to be easy. But I believe that the porn webmasters of the legal sites will understand our request and work with us. By showing civic conscience they have a lot to win.

How can I and the folks who are reading this help?

If you would just spread the word. Talk about this initiative. Ask bloggers to address a polite request to the porn webmasters to determine them to “help keep minors out by adding a simple registration gateway” as Jon says. We welcome any kind of support except material support. No money, no donations! No tricks! Just words. Or images. I think any kind of support is welcome: even a nofollow link to the Blogger Power official website might help! We can only thank our bloggers by adding links to their entries on a special page. Artists may show their support by creating a banner, button, graphic… whatever they want. Those who don’t have blogs may comment on Blogger Power (we have a special comments page), on your blog, on any blog that posts such an entry. Every voice matters!

If webmasters want to support our initiative but don’t have blogs, they could place a support banner or logo somewhere on their site. We’ll link back. This is the only way we can say “thank you”. We’ll even link back to pages that support the initiative without linking back to Blogger Power. As we cannot monitor links in real time (we only count on Technorati) it would help if our supporters contact us shortly at bloggerpower@yahoo.com and give us the exact URL to their post.

So this is what we need: awareness. I see bloggers joining for “cool stuff” like Tino Buntic’s 2000 bloggers. I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t join for something that could change the Web for the better. I believe in people! I do believe that we all understand how important it is to act responsibly, especially online.

Once again: THIS IS NOT ABOUT RESTRICTING ANYONE’S FREE SPEECH!

And one more thing: if porn webmasters understand our request and implement the registration form prior to giving free access to explicit content, we’ll give them credit! We’ll thank them as well. This is fair play!

Mihaela, why write to me? Why ask us?
[Read more…]

Joe Hauckes, Are You Really Coming to SOBcon 07?

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Will You Be . . .

counting the comments during the LIVE OPEN MIC NIGHT, and will you write a poem like you always do on Tuesday nights?

I can’t wait to meet you, Joe Hauckes, in person at

SOBCon 07 button link

to hear about your home renovation and the alien on your dresser. Is the alien coming with you?

Liz's Signature

The Secret’s Out: SOBCon 07 Is in Chicago May 11-12!

SOB Business Cafe 02-23-07

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SB Cafe

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

Don’t take out your tools to answer the question posed by Creating Passionate Users.

Seth’s Blog states the two things most folks get from blogging.

Marketing Profs ask about whether we’re paying attention to our readers.

Copyblogger suggests a Roman statesman as your next blog consultant.

9:o1am diggs up another kind of trademark story.

Problogger offers the fine points to blog conversation.

Related ala carte selections include

Word Sell has age old advice about Search Engine Marketing.

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

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

No Worries for You, Me, and Martha . . .

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I've been thinking . . .

When I worked in publishing, a beautiful young woman named, Martha, worked as the communications coordinator for my department. She is an amazing person, other-centered, gracious, gentle, and soft-spoken.

Martha and I would meet every morning and she was always able to tell me the exact location in the process of any lesson or piece of art across some 10,000 pages. She understood my quirks and habits. I often think on her as St. Martha.

She is such grace. I hear her say “Oh Liz,” and flash a radiant smile — the sort that people remark upon — as she reads that last paragraph. When Martha would get the slightest look of stress, I’d rush to say, “No worries,” and explain the possible worst-case outcome.

One day Martha said that she realized I picked up that phrase, “No worries” when I traveled in Australia. We talked a while about the work I used to do there. She told me she hoped I always used that phrase, “No worries.”

A few years ago, Martha moved to Houston. Gosh, I miss her. . . . This week Martha gave birth to her first born, a son.

So I write this for you, and for me and for Martha.

What ever we’re worrying about right now . . . worrying won’t fix it.

Worrying about it only takes away our brain power. With our worrying, we’re more likely to make our problems worse, not better. Our worries throw off our brain chemistry. They divert our best problem-solving energy. They channel our thoughts to a place where our negative imagining gets in the way of actual progress. We’ve left behind any chance of positive reasoning.

Change one little sound in that word, worrying and we find it’s wearing.. Oh how wearing worrying can be.

When I’m stuck in a loop, in which I can’t seem to stop worrying, I take a walk, fly a kite, clean out my closet –- do something physical that I know I can easily accomplish. I put my thoughts into the world. I get my blood moving into my brain. I let my subconscious work on the problem without my interfering help. It doesn’t need the road blocks my worrying keeps putting in the way.

That break from fretting and over-analyzing my situation brings me new energy and information. I come back refreshed and ready to face the problem minus that stress that I most surely was causing.

New resources show themselves more quickly. New solutions appear on the horizon. I figure out much more easily whether I need to find some help.

Losing my worries for a while always has a positive impact.

No Worries, have a weekend instead.

Liz's Signature

High Times Shopping In The Sky Mall

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Sometimes I Don’t Get Marketing

Now I’ll be the first to admit that there are some things I just don’t get.

One Way to CC It logo

For example I don’t get most things that have to do with home decorating. When Christmas rolls around my wife will take some classy looking ornaments and, say, arrange them on a side table over a snazzy table cloth with some glass bead strings snaked around the table.

It looks great! But I never would have thought to do that on my own. To my way of thinking ornaments belonged on a tree. Arranging them festively on a table would never have occurred to me.

This sort of thing has become a running joke in our marriage. We’ll see something along those lines and she will turn to me. Do you get that? You don’t get that do you?

Nope.

It looks great and all. But that someone would have taken the time and effort? Don’t get it.

I’m really OK with not getting some things.

I get most things about business. But there are some things about the whole marketing thing that I just make me shake my head. Nope. Don’t get that either. [Read more…]

The 5-Point Strategy to a Powerful Network

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A Networking Story

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Last Sunday, we released the announcement for SOBcon 07. It’s a relationship bloggers’ event. We lived our message. We reached out to our friends for help in spreading the news — if they believed the event was worth talking about on their blogs. Most everyone we asked to help has blogged about the event. We’re so grateful.

When we reached out to the folks to ask their help, something happened behind the scenes. Certain people I wrote emailed me back almost immediately. A few called or skyped. They had questions about the event. Those people, all friends and colleagues, contacted me for one of these reasons.

  1. They knew the people involved, and offered congratulations.
  2. They asked for more information upon which to make their decision.

In networking terms, their friendship, influence, and credibility and my friendship, influence, and credibility were talking to each other.

The 5-Point Strategy to Building a Powerful Network

Networks of people can be powerful influencers. A network of influencers expands our knowledge and our reach by engaging the power of “WE.” The problem is that networks take time to build and require attention.

You might have heard “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”

That’s not exactly true.

A powerful network requires two qualities: limited size to keep it sleek and easy to interact with, and people of like mind so that their connections and your connections are likely to be of the same quality.

Here is the 5-point strategy to build that powerful network.

  1. What you know is important. Learn as much as you can. Know what you know. Know its value. Don’t over value it. Don’t under value it. Understand how common or rare your knowledge and skill set are.

  2. Networks are built from relationships. Address books are filled with contacts. Relationships grow and expand as they age. They also require time and interaction to be of value. To build a top-notch network of people, choose people you would bet your reputation on — people who have your standards and similar goals. They will always connect to other people that you want to know.

  3. Who knows what you know is important. Read that again. Who knows what you know is important.Do you know the influencers in your market? Find ways to share your expertise with people who have influence. Influencers naturally talk about people who are great at what they do. Influencers are often asked for recommendations. How might you offer them a service that would put you on the edge of their network?

  4. Take an interest and be the first to offer a favor. When you meet someone of quality, ask questions, listen actively, and be the first to give a favor without strings. People remember sincere curiosity and true generosity, especially the first time it happens. Make friendships and relate positively to everyone that you meet.

  5. Listen for when a mentor appears, and welcome him or her gladly. Mentors are hard to find when we’re looking. They find us and show themselves by offering advice or wisdom to see whether we recognize it. Don’t miss (or mistake) the mentors who will come your way, offering their experience and connections. They see something in you.

These five points will lead to a network that is more powerful than most folks develop. It will be a group of people within the larger group of folks we know — a network built from relationships that are thoughtfully matched. Not everyone we meet is a lifelong friend. We already knew that.

Why am I thinking of kissing frogs and a prince?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help you find focus or direction, check out the Personal Virtual Manager on Work with Liz!! page.

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