Successful Blog

Spring on My Bike

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I've been thinking . . .

I wasn’t much of an outdoors kid, really. I lived in my head. My imagination was plenty. I could find worlds there that kept me busy for days. I could find castles and dragons, and knights and ladies — except on the first days of spring, then I was torn away.

On the first days of spring, I was on my bike seeing how the neighborhood had changed.

There was something about moving from the blacktop of Main Street to the bricks of Congress Street over by Washington School where the kids were playing again. There was something about feeling the change in vibrations through seat of my bike as I made my way there.

I’d stop by the swingset. I’d give it a try one more time. Nothing like a swingset to make a kid feel like she could fly. Then back it would be to my bike to see where the neighbors had been all winter and what they’d been doing.

There’s something about that first real weekend of spring that makes the whole world feel new again.

On the first day of spring, I didn’t even mind homework. . . .

I’m not the type to ride a bike in the city, but I sure am the type to enjoy a spring day — or even a day that reminds me that spring is coming.

This morning, I look out the window and see a blue, blue lake. The harbor is blue and so is the lake beyond it. Any minute now the sailboats will be returning.

I’ll be having that spring bike-riding feeling all weekend, because I can’t help but enjoy being alive when I’m thinking that way.

Liz's Signature

Above the Fold: BRAINPRINT — bytecomics.com/blog/

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What Would a BRAINPRINT Look Like?

ABOVE THE FOLD

In a comment over at Performancing on March 6, Troy Shanahan said “I wouldn’t mind you having a skim over my blog… but it’s so badly laid out that I really don’t expect too much improvement.” It sure sounded like he thought his blog was a mess.

I thought to myself, here’s a guy who seemed like he felt in trouble, but I went and looked. His only problem was an over used template that he hadn’t made his own. It seemed to me that a few changes would make a big difference . . .

So I invited Troy to get tweaked Above the Fold. Here’s how the Above the Fold Tweak Process works.

  1. I make a “before” screenshot.
  2. We talk through some changes for readability.
  3. The blogger makes the changes.
  4. We talk while the tweaks are in process.
  5. I take an “after” screenshot and share the results in a post.

Tweaking BRAINPRINT

The blog:

URL: http://byetcomics.com/blog/
Blogger: Troy Shanahan

Before

Unfortunately I took this before shot of the About page on Troy’s blog. I hope you’ll be able to transfer what you see from this page to his new home page. I didn’t realize that until after we were well in the process. My mistake — sorry.

BRAINPRINT

Three Tweaks that We Agreed Upon

In this series, we concentrate only three important tweaks for each blog that is featured. On Troy’s blog, those three tweaks were these.

  1. We would put up the header he had designed.
  2. We’d adjust the template to work with the header.
  3. We’d decide on a color palette that worked.

Troy and I started with the header. What we did first was go to the byet comics site and look at what’s there. We looked at that header and back through some of the comics. Somehow we got on the idea of doing a collage around one character. Troy went off and did that.

When he came back with the header in place, all I could say was “Wow! What a difference!”

It took awhile to figure out how to get WordPress not to show the type for the name of his blog and the subhead. Finally Troy realized the answer was to use display: none; in the style sheet.

The next adjustment was choosing the color palette to match the header. Adjusting the “a link” to green. We used a color tool to get the right one. H2 sidebar heads went to the right shade of orange.

We made other changes. Can you see them?

For the results, turn the page now. [Read more…]

Change the World: Just Show Up . . . BE There

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Meet Me for Lunch Tomorrow?

Change the World!

When I went to the UK for the very first time, it was on a business trip. It was escorted from publisher to publisher by a dear friend I’d known for 9 years a that time. He was a buttoned up Brit. I was an American with too much personality. He was my credibility with the rest of the British citizens and publishers I was meeting along the way.

I was such an interesting experience to spend this time with a friend of so many years and so much time spent talking on this side of the water. I knew him well. We had many times over cognac figured out how to solve all of the problems of publishing and the greater world. We knew each other’s foibles, idiosyncracies, and downsides, and still loved each other.

He knew how self-conscious I was about folks who pick up me at the airport. I knew that no one ever saw him in a shirt without buttons up the front.

Still it was revealing to see him in his natural habitat.

On the day before I left the UK, he dropped me at my hotel and said, “Shall we have a leisurely lunch before I take you to Heathrow tomorrow?”

I said, “It depends on who comes to the door.”

A slightly sad, shy smile crossed his eyes, not his mouth. He’d said from the day we met he loved the American sense of irony. That was his way of saying he liked the way I told him the truth.

“And what would the lady prefer?” was his answer.

“I’d like YOU to SHOW UP — all of you. Not that guy in the tie I’ve been with all week. If HE comes, I’m closing the door, eating lunch alone, and taking a taxi to Heathrow. That guy is boring.”

He said, “I understand.”

The next day, a man with a grin showed up. He was live, wearing a sweater over his buttoned up shirt. We had lunch at a bistro that served the most wonderful fruit brûlée. I can’t tell you what we talked about. I don’t remember, but I remember we laughed a lot.

He was there. It was real. It was what friendship is about.

He showed up and he has ever since.

I can’t tell you how my world has been better because of it.

It really means something when you know someone will be there.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

Change the World!.

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.

We Talked about Finding Our Dreams in Business and in Life with Tariq Khan!

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We Talked About Dreams!

Hi Everyone! Every week Sandy and I try to think how to sum all that we talked about but you know it’s impossible to capute the joy, humor, and comaradarie of 4 hours in one simple blog post. And as much as I like taking a clever comment and sharing it here. It sure takes time and once in a while it embarrasses folks.

So we’re going to stop trying to do the impossible, to retell a fabulous memory, and instead let you enjoy the comments as they were said whole.

It was a busy night. We were talking about how to find and follow our dreams in business and in life with guest host Tariq Khan from The Kitchen Table. Tariq asked and answered questions that got us all thinking.

Wow!

You can read all about it in the comments section.

Here are some cool links we shared.

Thanks to everyone for the cool links and for being part of the conversation.

See you next Tuesday? I sure hope so.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

WANT TO GUEST HOST AN OPEN COMMENT NIGHT WITH ME? PICK A THEME AND TELL ME ABOUT IT. C’MON IT’LL BE FUN!

One Question, One Question, 1/2 Meme . . . Overly Started, But Not Begun

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A Great Question Deserves

. . . a question?

Once upon a time . . . well, actually it was yesterday . . . Tully designed and suggested a new sort of meme. . . .

This meme, called, “One Question, One Answer,” is brilliant. . .

. . . It’s meant to get the right questions to the right people and the right answers on the right blogs. . . .

It covers every contingency, except for one — Tully chose to start the meme,

. . . with me.

You Should Have Known, Tully

You see, I’m the sort who . . . likes to have fun with these things.

I always change memes from what they were to something else.

Tully, I don’t mean to be a pain. . . though I don’t mind worrying and wheezling though a loophole . . . for some fun.

I’m a global thinker. Details overwhelm me. They overtake me with feeling that I might overlook something that I should be overseeing, and that makes me overly careful about things I shouldn’t be fretting over at all or ever. I probably should just get over it.

You see?

That’s why I have to ask my question.

Could you go over that again?

Um . . . er. . . What I mean to say is,

. . . Could you, would you, write the simple how-to steps

so I know exactly what to do?

I’ll link to them as the how-to do this meme.

I’ll answer question, pass the meme on, and be smiling, just as I am now.

After all, I am the nice one. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

What Lorelle Said Yesterday . . .

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The Successful and Outstanding Blogger Conference – Will You Be There?

The SOBCon07, the Successful and Outstanding Blogger Conference, will be May 11-12, 2007, in Chicago. If you want a closer relationship with your readers, and the increased traffic and benefits thereof, make a point of attending. — Lorelle at WordPress

Read the entire article. It’s an awesome description of a blogger’s growth.

Well? Will you be there?

–ME “Liz” Strauss