relationships Archives - Page 28 of 54

The Cool Kids’ Guide to Blogging 2008

January 1, 2008 by Liz

Connections and Relationships on the Living Web

Everyone can see what the A-List bloggers are doing. People report daily on their every move. Knowing that is almost self-preservation in the way knowing what the teachers in high school are up to. But what’s going on under the surface? What’s new and cool where they live?

A signal comes through the noise.

It’s no longer a question of relationships versus information. Connections and relations are the living web. Today’s question is one of managing quality versus quantity of relationships and contacts. Just under the surface of what we see, we’re talking to each other in ways that didn’t exist when 2007 saw the first sunrise.

New apps let us meet to

We’re even ranking those ways for how they’re being used.

Jeff Jarvis is proposing a Social Airline. I like the idea.

Skype is being used by the mainstream. Utterz has gotten folks to “audiofy” short thoughts for friends to enjoy. We can’t go from one New Year’s Eve Party to another without a Twitter. Messages under the twitter time line are becoming business deals.

Brogan has Upgraded our Attention and PulverTV is showing us how live BlogTV works.

Have you seen an episode of seesmic or of SeeSmix yet? The cool kids are using twitter to talk about getting naked marimbas to appear in an episode.

Even all-text blog networks are changing in scope and presentation. The a team blog is featuring many of our friends. Even so some folks are still inventing ways to hide behind the words.

The more things change . . . My mom used to say, “One day we’ll all laugh about this.”

Social. social. social. Media. Media. Media. Connections. . . .

We’re moving from Web 2.0 “me,” to Web 3.0 “we.” Are you about relationships yet?

Where do you see it all going?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

THANKS to Week 114 SOBs

December 29, 2007 by Liz

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.

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.

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

7 Ways to a Remarkably Powerful, Personal Network of Bloggers

December 27, 2007 by Liz

How to Make Friends with a Blogger

Just this week someone was saying to me how surprised they were to find that bloggers are such helpful people. That got me thinking about how much all of you have been for me.

So much of what blogging has been for me is been the relationships that have started in comment box, A network of blogger friends is the hugest benefit of this hobby of communicating with everyone who stumbles upon our url. The folks we meet on our blogs are now the people with whom we’re doing business and sharing our goals.

People say that I’m a connector, here’s how those connections came about.

7 Ways to a Remarkably Powerful, Personal Network of Bloggers

If you want to meet and connect with bloggers, you have to go where bloggers hang out — blogs, blog meet ups, and social networking groups that are blogger haunts. When you get there, know a few things about what we bloggers have in common so that you’ll feel comfortable having something to talk about. Here are seven ways to connect with bloggers.

Use blogrolls. Bloggers are always clicking and connecting. We know the most efficient ways to get from place or person to another. Bloggers recognize like minds quickly and value the connections when we find one. Use the blogrolls on the blogs you read to find new blogs to widen your circle.

Promote bloggers who have great thoughts. The best form of connecting is to show folks what we value about them by sharing it publicly with our friends. We live on the web — a connected set of linked up urls. Link to bloggers who talk about what you’re interest in and you’ll find they’ll be interested in you. Don’t just concentrate on A-Listers. Great thinkers are writing on blogs that just started yesterday. You can help them get going.

Ask for help with a problem. Bloggers are flexible and agile. We’ve picked up the latest and adapt them to our needs — sometimes in ways that the developers hadn’t imagined. When you visit new blogs check the structure as well as the content, when you have a problem connect, connect, connect with bloggers. A blogger will know how to help. A simple question in a contact box with the words “Can you point me in the direction of the answer . . .” will often start a new relationship.

Do something to change the world. Bloggers love to make things better. One of the quickest ways to connect with bloggers is to design and announce a realistic, altruistic plan to improve or support a cause for someone else.

Avoid the wrong side of the links. Some bloggers aren’t the sort to connect up with. Keeping an eye on our zeal to connect is always a good idea. Spam and advertorial content is all some slimy bloggers ever offer. Those connections make a network weaker.

Value every second someone shares with you. Bloggers guard their time. We spend time writing great content, tweaking our blogs and talking to each other. Be authentic, be thoughtful, and be generous when you say hello that very first time. . . . and every time after.

Remember the people; forget the press. A blogger’s life changes quickly over time. In a few months, we can go from being a “newbie” to being someone folks want to know. The first notice by a big search engine, the first time we show up on a top ten list, the first page ranking at Google — these are our academy awards. When it happens to you, don’t let it change who you are. People don’t change their algorithms nearly as often as Google does.

So there they are 7 ways to connect with bloggers to form a remarkably powerful personal network. What they really say is Be real and be about the folks you want to connect with. Show up as who you are from the first moment and you’ll find folks will start wanting to connect to you.

Know any other hints I should add to the list?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Would you like to work with Liz to build your network?

Let Go of the Past to Own the Shiny, Bright Future

December 23, 2007 by Liz

I Still Remember When . . .

Last night I had a conversation with a dear friend. He brought up a relationship that has caused him some pain. I heard him retell a story I’ve heard him tell more than once before . . . only to explain again why what another person did was wrong and manipulative.

While he talked, he had totally lost connection with his smile.

I wondered aloud why he was telling me the story again. He told me it was because what had happened was so wrong. The rest of the conversation went something like this.

“I’m over it now.”

“No, you’re not. If that were true, you wouldn’t be talking about it.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“If you could shift your focus . . .”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe it’s not about what that person did to you, but how broken that person is to have done that at all.”

“You think I should go see her.”

“No, I think you should quit giving that person power. What if you make it about her and not about you? That event shows the screwy way that she looks at the world. It just happened to be you that got hurt that time. If you let it go, she no longer has any power over you.” . . .

It took me a long, long lifetime to learn what I said in that few sentences there.

It’s the same in business and in life. When we leave bad feelings in the past, we get new power over our future. It’s a good thought to hold during holiday times.

May your future be shiny and bright.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

THANKS to Week 113 SOBs

December 22, 2007 by Liz

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.

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.

Want to become an SOB?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Personal Identity: What's Your Mini-Intro?

December 19, 2007 by Liz

What Would I Say? What Would You Say?

It was my second or third trip to Brighton, England. Richard, Stephen and I were sitting at lunch, discussing business. Stephen is a friend and publishing partner I had met many times. We were discussing who would be at an upcoming book fair.

I described a person I thought Stephen would enjoy meeting.

The conversation changed course when Stephen said, “So, what’s my mini-bio?”

I tilted my head with a look and asked, “What do you mean?”

He replied, “From the minute I met you, every time you mention a person I don’t know you give a mini-intro. I’m wondering what you use for mine?”

I answered with the qualities that struck me as most him. “You’re, Stephen, proper, poised, and the most positive-natured editor I know.”

This morning, I woke up thinking about those mini-intros. I need a good “hello” for some folks I’m meeting this afternoon.

I was thinking it might be fun to introduce each other and to ourselves.
I’ll go first. My answer is in the comment box.

Introduce yourself and introduce a friend too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!