#WordlessWednesday I love Clouds

I’m just fascinated by the clouds moving in the sky.  Different families, varieties, colors and shapes.  They look like moving cotton balls that you can walk on at 40,000 feet.  

Wordless Wednesday: The Truth Speaks

Everything isn’t always what it seems.  However, one thing remains and that is that all people need to be treated with respect and dignity regardless.

Wordless Wednesday: The Perfect Sunset

I’m speechless at the view of a perfect sunset.

New Oxford English Dictionary Words – Muffin top, Wassup, LOL, OMG & Taquito!

Image via Wikipedia

The NEW Oxford English Dictionary announced additional new words into the dictionary including, wassup, LOL, OMG & taquito. In addition to revised versions of Second Edition entries, the following new words were added:

about round, adv.
ambigram, n.
banh mi, n.
Barnard’s star, n.
bet-hedging, n.
bet-hedging, adj.
biker, n.
biologic, adj. and n.
calligram, n.
car crash, n.
couch surf, v.
couch surfer, n.
couch surfing, n.
cream crackered, adj.
crème de cassis, n.
Divehi, n.
dot-bomb, n. and adj.
dotted line, n. and adj.
drill-down, n.
dubplate, n.
Dutch colonial, adj. and n.
ego-surf, v.
ego-surfing, n.
English colonial, adj. and n.
fabless, adj.
fnarr fnarr, int. and adj.
gnasher, n.
gremolata, n.
headline, v.
headlined, adj.
headlining, adj.
hentai, n.
heteronormative, adj.
heteronormativity, n.
Hindutva, n.
June, n.
kleftiko, n.
la-la land, n.
lari, n.
LOL, n.1
LOL, int. and n.2
lumpenintelligentsia, n.
meep, n. (and int.)
meep, v.
muffin top, n.
non-dom, n.
non-domicile, n.
non-domiciled, adj.
OMG, int., (n.), and adj.
pap, n.5
pap, v.3
party-crasher, n.
party-crashing, n.
party-crashing, adj.
radioprotectant, adj. and n.
rotograph, v.
rotoscope, v.
rotoscoped, adj.
rotoscoping, n.
rototill, v.
rototilled, adj.
rotten egg, n.
Rotterdammer, n.
Rottie, n.
rottle, n.2
rotty, adj.
rouding time, n.
rough-cut, adj.
rough-cut, v.
rough-dress, v.
roughed-in, adj.
rough-in, n.
roughstock, n.
roulade, v.
roulading, n.
roulette, v.
roundman, n.
round-nose, adj. and n.
round-trip, v.
roupily, adv.
Roussanne, n.
roustabouting, n.
routed, adj.2
router, n.6
routery, n.
routineness, n.
rowdily, adv.
rowed, adj.3
rower, n.3
rowlock, n.2
Royal Free disease, n.
royalness, n.
rozzle, v.
RSA, n.2
Rt. Rev., n.
Rt. Revd., n.
Ru, n.
rua, n.
ruach, n.
rub-a-dub, v.1
rubber-banded, adj.
rubberization, n.
rubberize, v.1
Rubisco, n.
rubrene, n.
rubrification, n.2
rubus, n.
ruck, v.7
ruckly, adj.2
rude, n.1
rudimentarily, adv.
ruesome, adj.
ruff, n.10
ruff, int. (and n.11)
rufiyaa, n.
Rugby sevens, n.
rugelach, n.
rugulate, adj.
ruleful, adj.
rumble-de-thumps, n.
Ruminal, adj.1
rumminess, n.1
rumour control | rumor control, n.
Rumping, adj.
rumspringa, n.
run-and-shoot, adj. and n.
runathon, n.
runchick, n.
Rungu, n.
runiform, adj.
run-round, n.
ruote, n.
Rupert, n.
RUPP, n.
Ruppia, n.
rural economics, n.
Rurales, n.
ruralite, n.
Russellite, n.1 and adj.
Russellite, n.2
Russellite, n.3
Russophilia, n.
Russophobic, adj.
Russophone, n. and adj.
russula, n.
rusticate, adj.
rusticator, n.
rusticle, n.
Rusyn, n. and adj.
Ruthenic, adj.1
ruthenous, adj.
Ruthian, adj.
rutinic, adj.
rutting, n.2
ryanodine, n.
ryotei, n.
ryugi, n.
Second Coming, n.
singledom, n.
Skidi, n. and adj.
smack talk, n.
smack talking, n.
smack-talking, adj.
spinback, n.
state-run, adj.
stonewash, n.
stonewash, v.
stonewashed, adj.
suicide door, n.
taquito, n.
tetri, n.
tinfoil hat, n.
Wag, n.4
wassup, int.
yidaki, n

If you’re a wordsmith you can read the entire list of March 2011 updates here.

Let’s talk about it: What your favorite new Oxford English Dictionary word?

Google Goes Gaga for Lady Gaga (Video)

Everyone goes gaga for Lady Gaga and Google is no exception.  This week Marissa Mayer interviewed Lady Gaga at the Googleplex in Mountainview, CA.   Google created a phenomenal video that included Google Analytics, Search queries, YouTube searches and google search images:

 

Notable Statistics

There were over 54,000 questions submitted in 3 days via Twitter hashtag #GoogleGoesGaga and Lady Gaga’s Youtube channel.

Lady Gaga is one of the top searched people on Google.

Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance music video has over 360 million hits!

Lady Gaga is famed to be the most downloaded artist in Internet History!

 

Google Goes Gaga for Lady Gaga – – The entire interview (viewer discretion advised):

 

Musicians & Google. Are these exclusive interviews  the beginning of a Trend?

Business for Blogging – Live Blogging from Bloggy Bootcamp

Speakers: Lisa Leonard, Amy Bradley Hole, Danielle Liss, Francesca Banducci and Tiffany Romero

Intro Speaker – Tiffany Romero (@TiffanyRom)

How many of you have a separate bank account for Blogging Business.  If you are making more than $3000 you want to have a separate bank account

Education write-offs: Blogging, Website, Web hosting site. You want to be aware of setting up business by obtaining Lawyers. Do not google the lawyer.

Francesca Banducci: You want an attorney to help you make heads or tails of the contracts.

Tiffany Romero: Get the help that you need. Act as though you are owning a business. Get that .com. When you get the media kit make sure it matches your blog design. Ask for help

I.  Branding yourself – Speaker Amy Bradley-Hole (@Amybhole)

Branding isn’t a bad word.

How a personal brand can help your blog:

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What are my distinguishing characteristics and personality traits? Think about the stuff that people recognize about you right about the time they meet you?  When your friends describe you what do they notice about you?
2. What are my guiding principles and values? Things about you that will never change?
3. Role on the web? What are you going to do on the internet?
4. What is my promise? What do you promise readers they will get by reading your blog?
5. What is my story? Think about what is your story.  You better claim your story before someone else does.  What brought you to the point where you are today?  Think about it like an “About you” page.

Once you answer the questions above.  If there is someone else doing the same thing, scratch it out and start again.  You have to be different.  Promises if you think long and hard you will be different.  Figuring out what your Brand is simple.  If it’s simple why is it so hard.  Of you ask to own it.

It is however, harder for women to brand or change your brand.  When you get to root of who you are can sometimes be painful and uncomfortable.  However, it is so so worth it.    If you know your brand.   Every time you consider writing a blog post or have a question and ask yourself – – Does this opportunity match my brand?

Brand does not equal niche.

For more information about Branding check out Amy online at following:

http://bebetterbranding.com
http://twitter.com/letsbetter
http://facebook.com/BeBetterBranding

Speaker – Tiffany Romero (@TiffanyRom)

• Her brand is connecting women. The secret to success is support.  She uses the same handle. She uses the same picture on her Twitter, Facebook and all online profiles.
• Blogging Business relationships: Word gets out about how you are to get along with.  Don’t bad mouth people.  If you become a bad liability – – its over.
• Any idea on blogging she buys the .com.  This is her interesting hobby.  Put the word “the” in front of the blog business.
• Take legitimate feedback about your brand.
• If she gives out every secret.  She gives it up.  Every time one of us gets better – – we ALL get better.
• Question – Do you need to be making income to start a corporation.  Answer:  No.  It costs money to set it up.  It is worth it.

II.   10 Business Tips for Business Blogging – Lisa Leonard (@lisaleonard)

Intro – Lisa Leonard is one of the first person who took Blogging for Business to the next level.  She has a great presence online.  She is in the jewelery business. (Tiffany Romero).

Here are 10 tips for Business Blogging:

1. Use amazing photos – Whatever your product is make a storyboard.  If you have beautiful pictures, people will come back.
2. Have a unique story – If you can be unique.  You have a market.  Even if you are selling someone else’s products have
3. If you are selling business – Have a unique approach to selling a business. People want to see what is happening behind the scenes.  People will feel more connected to you.
4. Network with other bloggers – She started partnerships with other bloggers and that is what launched her business into new levels.    Marketing Tools – Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest (insanely beautiful pictures), Instagrm.  You can do it well.
5. Build your newsletter – My emma email marketing tool was used to build newsletter.  Generated a lot of sales.
6. Hire and delegate your tasks – Don’t hire your best friend.  Shipping
7. Keep good data and consult your gut –  Put together profit and loss sheet.  What does it really cost and what your charging.  What is next product going to be.
8. Get inspired – What inspires you.  Know what inspires you.   Refreshes you and gets you excited about business.
9. Keep brand image that is consistent – From business cards, to your pictures on your blog. Don’t get pissed off & blog about it.
10. Keep debt to a minimum – In current economy you want to keep costs down.  It can cause stress if you have a lot of debt.  Not having lots of debt causes freedom.

Speakers – Tiffany Romero (TR) & Francesca Banducci (FB)

• Learn to use different tools (ie Instagram, etc..) (TR)
• Everyone in this room has a  unique experience.  80% of business don’t have that experience and you can make this your business. (FB)
• You may want to consider tweeting for other businesses and know how to engage properly.  Use hashtags #. (TR)
• For products – Make sure you know how to isolate and identify demographic for twitter followers. (TR)
• Put together scope of work. Set time points.  For example.  After 3 months we will evaluate the work to see if this works out for you.
• Stand up for yourself. – Don’t do stuff for free.

III.   Contract Law for Bloggers – Speaker – Danielle Liss (@danielleliss)

Intro – Daniel is an attorney.  Her passion is to help Bloggers with Contract Law.

Who do you enter contracts with? Brands, Ad Networks, Hosting companies, Corporations

Types of contracts
Formal written contracts, oral contracts, written contracts in multiple parts, like email chain.

What is a contract?
In order to have a contract there needs to be an offer and a contract.

Contract Fundamentals (Translation)

• Consideration – How much you’re getting paid.
• Term – Don’t sign a contract without a term.  Make sure contract states that everything needs to be done in writing.
• Confidentiality – Don’t disclose what you learn on the job.  Blogger will not disclose information learned during performance of the agreement.
• Non-disparagement – Don’t trash talk your company
• Non-compete – You can’t do similar work with X for a period of X years.  Highly litigated.  Negotiate length of time or distance.
• Choice of Law – Agreement was drafted in state governed by the laws of the State of California.  Common provisions and states where the company is located.  Important this is to have a provision so that you know which state law will govern.  If no Choice of law provision, try to get one in.
• Indemnity – If a company gets sued you will pay for companies defense.  Make sure it states due to your negligence.
• Brands – If you are working with Brands, inquire as to whether or not they carry advertising insurance.  This may a part of their companies liability insurance.  Ask them if they have advertising insurance.  This may only apply to larger companies.

Terms you want!

• Modifications to be made in writing, signed by both parties.
• Don’t agree to type 1 indemnity claim
• Indemnity only if there is negligence.
• Termination of the agreement after 30 days upon written notice.
• No non-compete or shortest possible term.
• No AAA Arbitration – EXPENSIVE!!! More expensive than regular lawsuit.

IV.   Developing A Media Kit That Works for You – Speaker Francesca Banducci (@SITSgirls)

Download Media Kit Worksheet to help you prepare your Media Kit here: Hands on Media Kit Workshop Worksheet

Pretend your a brand and asked  for a media kit.  A media kit talks about you and what you can offer an advertising company detailing various options for advertising.

Why do you need a Media Kit?

• You decide to take monetizing seriously.
• You need way to tell people why they should work with you.
• Your blog is growing
• You want to effectively communicate with PR & Branding.

Your job as a bloger is to sell your best asset. Make sure to highlight whatever you do best in your media kit.

Common elements of Media Kit:

• Blog focus or niche.
• Social Media influence.
• Traffic Stats
• Reader demographics
• Sponsorship opportunities and rates.
• Publicity your blog has received.
• Editorial calendar

Traffic Generation & Monitoring Tools:

• Everyone should have a google alert.
• Crowdbooster.com measures true twitter reach
• Spend time writing good content. (example of good content @childhood)
• Where you focus attention is where you get results.

Five Essentials for media kit:

1. Provide call to action – Be specific about what you offer. Include list of services you provide, 125×125 graphic, sponsored posts, giveaways, sponsored tweets.
2. Offer testimonials of work with other brands – Postive reviews, facebook posts or mentions.
3. Get visual – Add professional looking headshot, Provide screenshots of your site, show graphic of stats.
4. Highlight your elevator pitch – 31 day challenge day one.  Be enthusiastic
5. Cover Basics

Additional Reading:
How To Fire Your Ad Network And Start Making Money From Your Blog
Blog to Business
30 days of SEO

Wordless Wednesday: The Beauty of Architecture

The Getty Museum - Los Angeles, California, print 2011 © Eva Smith

 

 

The Getty Museum - Los Angeles, California, print 2011 © Eva Smith