MediaJoltz

Its midweek and things here at Mediajoltz are going very well. Life is good today and I wanted to acknowledge someone who has helped to make it that way:

Bryan Pope: I met Bryan through a video shoot for another association about November of 2004. Since then he has become an advocate and best friend. It is through his advice that Mediajoltz even came to be. He is a great marketer, leader and truly cares about those he helps. His program called My Marketing Day is changing lives and improving businesses across the state.

So you started your blog on Blogger.com but want to make sure people enjoy reading it. Here are some tips that I’ve picked up and am going to start using to make my blog more enjoyable:

Use Headers and Subheaders
In order to break out of the monotony of an all one paragraph page

Keep Paragraphs Short
When writing a paragraph, make sure you keep the paragraphs short. This is one that I need work on. People do a lot of scanning when visiting websites and they want to be able to get your opinion quickly. Lots of text is taxing on the eye and they will skip it.

Use Whitespace
Having whitespace-the negative space around your text- makes your page look less crowded and more inviting.

Add pictures

This picture was taken from Problogger.net Blogging for Beginners Series. I highly recommend you read the posts they have there!!

Feel free to add what you like to see from your favorite blogs. I will continue on Wednesdays to layout more tips on Blogging

Thanks to the Podsafe Music Network once again for providing the awesome music for the podcast. Check them out-awesome music and great for podcasters like me!

In this interview I talk to Enoch Chapman of Wasatch Dev, cousin of CC Chapman of Managing the Gray about the future of technology and what businesses can do if they don’t seem to find the time to jump into technology themselves.

 Mediajoltz 06 Podcast [42:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Really! It can be done. I’ve decided that every Friday I am going to post about how to use technology in your personal life and I wanted to share this with everyone!

Go online to find that personal time.
I realized that from the time that I got up in the morning, until I went to bed, I was surrounded by media and working, but wasn’t taking the time for myself. Even during my workouts I would listen to podcasts and get my mind thinking and stretching.

So I decided that I need to take some time for myself.  I starting looking and researching online workout websites and came across MyYogaOnline.com. They have some free videos to check out the quality and the classes they offer.  I personally think that the web video quality is outstanding and find their classes to be a relaxing workout, connecting mind and bode before jumping into the stresses of the day.

MyYogaOnline has classes for all levels of yoga classes, they have pilates classes and meditation classes.  They even have a section of videos dedicated to yoga at work!

You do need a good internet connection, but don’t need a windows based PC to watch the videos.  They have easy instructions in their System Requirements that instruct you on how to install the free plugin that allows Mac users to watch Windows Media  called Flip4Mac.

Make sure that you are not neglecting yourself by taking time to do things you like to do.  This doesn’t mean you have to give up technology for it, but make sure you have some time each day to relax!

What are some things you do during the day to relax?

I had a good Heart to Heart today that got me thinking really hard about why I blog and then the bigger picture why am I involved with social media.

The first things that came into mind were the benefits for branding and it is cool and to start getting into conversations with new people as well as friends and then, well, then I decided I needed to dig deeper than those answers and be totally honest with myself about what I am doing and why I am doing it, other than the regular business reasons.

I got into new media because of my husband, actually, who doesn’t do twitter or blog or is even active on Facebook. He hasn’t done a podcast now for quite some time and while he listens to podcasts, it is very passively “being involved.”

I’ve always been the one getting involved. I was a ham when I was younger as evidence by this video, I’m the one with the doll:

I don’t really like writing, other than fiction short-stories, which is why I probably am having such a hard time writing this blog.

But after long thought, here is why I am blogging, podcasting, getting involved in new media:

1. I am scared to death of being alone. My husband just got a new office out of the house and it has been working wonderfully because he gets so much done. I on the other hand miss him so much. Him getting an office means that I am going to be at the house by myself. Being online talking with others helps the hours to pass by.

2. I revel in feeling included. All through highschool and college I never smoke, drank or did any drugs. My first date was in college and I didn’t have sex until after I married my husband. I was an “outcast” while growing up because not only did I not do those things, I didn’t go to parties where those activities were occurring. I was unpopular and very uncool. The thing that got me through it all was my love of softball, I played highschool, summer and fall seasons leaving me only 2 weeks out of the year were I didn’t have practice at night. How does this relate to New Media? I’ve got a new passion that is so exciting to me that I can be involved and be included! Anyone can be, the communities being formed out there are unbiased and uncritical of who you were/are. New Media is a connection of brotherhood and sisterhood no matter race, color or background that is exciting to me.

3. I love to help people. Almost to a fault I try to make everyone happy and help where I can. So if there is a community built to help others, to let voices and opinions be heard and to create friendships I want to be in it. I love to have connections to rely on and also become a good source for them. If someone is in need of a connection, I’d love to help. If someone was moving somewhere to any part of the world, it would be awesome to hook them up with help.

4. I want to keep learning. Once again I bring up my dear mother, she is so excited that she is typing 39 wpm now after a few months of using Mavis Beacon typing lessons. In a very few years she is going to be so lost. I want to keep learning and growing. I want to be on top of my game for as long as I can.

So I will keep writing and blogging and podcasting and making friends. All the while spreading my name and branding my company and fulfilling personal needs as well.

Why do you blog?

This post comes from a Q/A I saw on Linkedin where a man bought the domain name GEICO.TV You can read the whole thing here at: Linkedin Answers: I own the domain Geico.TV

Geico as you can imagine has since sent a letter discussing the serious results that could happen if this man did not relinquish the domain name over to the Geico company. The man asked on Linkedin what others would do, could he win a case like this.

This question now has over 100 answers.

Most of them say that he doesn’t have a case, and I believe he doesn’t either, because GEICO does have the trademark license to anything GEICO. BUT the man does now own the .TV domain name.

Now I have no lawyer knowledge and this is simply my opinion, but this is why it is important to have your trademarks squared away-it shows ownership of the name, so someone else can’t come and take it from you. GEICO takes to court the proof that they were using the name GEICO before this man.

BUT my main question is why the heck does GEICO not own the domain name to their company no matter if it is .com, .net .org??? They are a large enough company to pay the $40 a year for the .TV domain name??!!

I heard on the radio a commercial that says “you wouldn’t let someone into your purse and just steal something without a fight, so why would you let someone steal your property on the internet, BUY YOUR COMPANY NAME!”

Even if you are a mom and pop shop get online and buy the name of your company. Protect the name that you care about.

And speaking of protecting your name that you care about, have you bought your name online too. What if you become famous and then someone else owns the domain to your name??? I’ve got lorrirandle.com make sure you have yours!

It is official. Without making light of Attention Deficit Disorder I am officially calling out all those, including myself who have SMAD: Social Media Attention Disorder.

For some reason I have a hard time getting my blog post a day and my podcast a week. It could be that I am starting a new job while working for another and learning to balance the two. It could also be that I keep bouncing from project to project and never seem to get anything done.

So I figured that today’s post could be for me and hopefully ya’ll could benefit too!

Tips to Find time to Blog:

I went to Google this morning to search on help for blogging more consistently and found this awesome site: Blogging for Dollars Blog written by Angela Booth.

I think she makes some excellent tips in her post Blogging Takes Time: Ten Blogging Time Management Tips. Please take the time to read her article all the way through!

Here are the tips she mentions:

-CREATE A FILE CALLED BLOG IDEAS. You could do this on your computer word processor, create a real file and cut out magazine articles or check out Delicious-an online bookmarking site.

- WRITE FIVE TO TEN BLOG POSTS AT A TIME. I need to take this to heart, it is hard for me to write everyday, so I need to pick a few topics and write ahead of myself.

-AUDIO BLOG. No, not a podcast, but while you are driving, just grab that recorder and talk about stuff.

-ASK FOR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OTHER BLOGGERS. I think this is something else I need to do, with connections like Mitch Joel and Chris Brogan who could offer more experience than myself alone. I try to do this with the podcast, but to line up schedules to interview is definitely a lot harder than if they could write a post on their own time and email it to me…hmmm

-OUTSOURCE/HIRE A BLOGGER. I actually don’t agree with this one. If you don’t have time to blog, I don’t want to come to your site and read someone else’s opinon, BUT if it is a corporate blog then maybe you could get away with that.

-GET OVER PERFECTIONISM! I never knew I was a perfectionist until I started blogging and podcasting. Especially podcasting, I don’t know how many takes I do because I don’t like what I said. Maybe sometime I’ll include all the bloopers at the end of a podcast just so you can see what I mean!

-THINK ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE. WHAT CHALLENGES DO THEY HAVE? Well today is purely selfish for myself, but I hope that you get some good from it too. If you have any topics you’d like me to cover, email me mediajoltz@gmail.com.

-RESEARCH BLOGGING-GET UP TO SPEED ON BLOGGING. What is new? What are others finding works better in blogging? What is happening? Are there any tips you know of that could help you to blog?

-SCHEDULE BLOGGING. Do NOT just assume it will get done and NEVER say I’ll do it later. Make sure you actually schedule time to do it like you would a meeting. I also want to add to this, shut down anything that could be a distraction. For me that would be my iTunes and email program to make sure that I don’t get into something else. I think this is my biggest problem in trying to blog…

-WRITE PRODUCT REVIEWS. Thats kind of what I’ve done here and there on other posts talking about Skype, Blendtec, and BubbleGuru.

So there you have it. This is a challenge to you and I to be more consistent with our blogging. I will start next week… Just kidding!

MY GOALS: 

Take time to blog without distractions

Write more than one post 

Ask another blogger to write a post this month 

Schedule the time to write a post.  I’m going to write the rest of this week’s posts tomorrow morning between 7am and 9am. 

What do you do to make sure you take time to blog?