Successful Blog

Bloggy Question 85: Big Brother Just Bought Your Company!

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It’s Been a Great Run . . .

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 hearing rumors.

This weekend’s financial programs and news reports have confirmed it. Your mid-sized company has just been sold to a major corporation. Who knows why they bought it?

You know plenty about the corporation and their policies. You’ve been following them on the blogs for 2 or 3 years. The biggest issues are their stance against net neutrality, their attempts to squash anything opensource, and their flat-out policy against ANY employee or vendor blogging.

You read the corporate policy documents — they were passed around the Internet as examples of Big Brother. Basically, this buyout will mean that you will be required to close down your blog. It doesn’t matter that you blog about unrelated subjects — your content could not be connected to the company where you work or the corporation that bought it. The No Blog Tolerance rule is unbendable according to ex-employees of the behemoth enterprise who now owns your company.

How will you respond to coming ultimatum?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Related articles
Bloggy Question 84: Social Networking and Reputation — What Should Doostang Do?
Bloggy Question 83: $10MIL, Luxury Home, Would You Go Back to Web 1.0?
Bloggy Question 82: It’s the Truth, Well, Sort of . . .
Bloggy Question 81: A Nice Gesture
Bloggy Question 80: Internet Business Isn’t Credible?
Bloggy Question 79: What’s a Social Media Expert?
Bloggy Question 78: Like an Intriguing Blog Post Headline

Social-Networking Sites Are More Popular Than . . .

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Packed with Facts and Calls to Action

If you’ve been looking for the way to explain social networking and social media to someone who’s just getting interested. This should do the trick.

It’s a slideshare made by Marta Kagan, an online marketing, e-mail marketing, direct mail marketing — the list goes on — for this self-described “bonafide marketing genius.” This presentation is proof that she’s not just throwing out some title there.

Enjoy!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Are You Staying on Track?

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Beach Notes by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

Are you Staying on Track?

Compartments of My Life                         

Walking on the beach on Friday, I noticed the pattern made by a fisherman’s truck at sunrise. The close up looks like my life right now. Too many compartments! Spreading myself too thin.

Do you sometimes look at all the compartments in your life and wonder how they relate to one another. I have many exciting possibilities in my life right now. The challenge is to achieve simplicity, not be overwhelmed by complexity.

Getting on TrackI then looked  at the bigger picture the trucks tyres had made. So that was another challenging image.

Where am I heading? How well am I staying on track?

Beside the tyre tracks were a line of footprints.

To get on the pathway to freedom and success what I need to do each day is to set myself a simple daily path, put one foot in front of the other,celebrate each small win along the way and share that each day with my readers.

Then I will be living my purpose: Something I got clarity on back in May

Step By Step

I make a difference by inspiring others and empowering people to live lives full of joy, creativity and freedom.

I have this sitting on the computer screen. Today I will print this out and put this around the house, on the cover of my "imitation" Moleskin,and in the car. this will keep me focused and keep my vibes high.

Having a focus and a path mapped out each day, in line with my purpose will allow me to harmonize the compartments of my life and business.

 

Images: suzie cheel

Thanks to Week 141 SOBs

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muddy teal strip A

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.

muddy teal strip A

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

Wordle

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Make a Point with Wordle

Great Find: Wordle

Permalink: http://wordle.net/

Target Audience: Anyone who wants to present ideas graphically

Content:
Wordle makes tag clouds a presentation tool. It’s totally intuitive. They call it a toy, but it’s a tool as well. You can choose the type, choose the font, and choose the color scheme. Here are two I made in minutes this morning.

I made this one by typing in the url of this blog . . . click the image to see it full size.

And this includes terms essential to communication . . . click the image to see it full size.

NOTE: IF YOU COPY THEIR LINKS, you may need to delete the extra space at the line breaks for them to work.

Here are some ideas for using this tool.

  • Make presentation slides.
  • Collect terms during a meeting and wordle the result.
  • Make word portraits that describe people you know.
  • Make a Wordle greeting card.
  • Make a poster of your favorite words or sayings.

Check it out. I’m sure you’ll find even more ways to use it.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Related
Great Find: PictureTrail
Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: CoolText
Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: Pixel Ruler

SOB Business Cafe 07-04-08

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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

Pick the Brain is celebrating our ability to make our own success.
The brain has great difficulty in distinguishing between what’s true and what’s imagined.

Just Creative Design is celebrating the wonders of paper.
Paper has a feel, a smell, a look and a vibe that cannot be reproduced, no matter how many pixels you cram into a display. It has attributes that cannot be bestowed upon any other medium. It is something that enriches our lives and minds in ways most of us don’t even realise or notice. Paper is beautiful.

Debbie Millman is celebrating the joy of logos!
Click on the image, and then click on “all sizes” to see it in its full regalia.

The Marketing Fresh Peel is celebrating simplicity.
SIMPLE IDEA.

Zoomstart is celebrating the differences of the sexes.
Most products and services have a very specific demographic that’s either male or female. And your marketing has to appeal to the gender you’re selling to.

chrisjdavis isn’t celebrating a reunion with Alf.
But wait, there is salvation on the internets I am told, some wonderful person with stylish hair and perfect teeth I am sure, has released a stand alone app that interfaces with Hulu. Its a new day, everyone lives and they get a pony in every pot and a chicken to ride all their very own!

Conversation Agent is celebrating online as reputation managment experience.
Why online? Everyone is online. Online is easy to spot, track and measure. It boggles my mind why more companies are not listening and acting.

Related ala carte selections include

Middle Zone Musings is lighting some fireworks of his own doings.
OK, folks; this may come as a shock to you (bolt of lightning, crash of thunder), but there have been some exciting recent developments I just had to share with ya…

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

–ME “Liz” Strauss