Posts Tagged ‘Blogs I recommend’

Honest scrap award? Huh? When Katie Favazza gave me the award, I was a little confused. The name doesn’t really tell you much. But, after tracking links back through over 50 blogs…I finally found an explanation: “This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.”

So..thanks Katie!!

Now, onto the rules of how it works:

1. Thank the person who “nominated” you and link back. {Check}

2. “Nominate” seven more bloggers to spread the happiness.{see list below}
   1. Brad Marley
   2. Suzanne Broughton
   3. Jon Buscall
   4. Parks Design
   5. Kyle Reddoch
   6. Kneale Mann
   7. Angry Julie Monday

I am a firm believer in having a knowledge channel that you can go to for ideas and inspiration – for me, that channel is my Outlook RSS feed. I have over 40 blogs that I subscribe to and read on a daily basis. They range from business marketing and social media writers to sites good for a morning laugh. A few of my favorites are on my recommended reading list. There are many more that I read, but I only add them to the sidebar once I have been reading them for more than a month and feel that they are worth something to my readers. Obviously that list is always growing…

Anyway, while browsing the current posts from the blogs I subscribe to, I noticed one from Ari Herzog. He shared how he adds one new blog to his collection every day. I do the same thing, just never thought about telling people how I did it. But, I liked reading about how he did, so I figured I would share how I add to my knowledge base.

1. Use StumbleUpon. The tool bar for firefox is fabulous (don’t know about the one for IE), all I have to do is click the ’stumble’ button, and a new website pops up in whichever category I have selected at the moment. More often than not it is a blog, since most of my categories are writing, blogging, photography or creativity related. You can then vote whether you like the page or not and it learns what you like and therefore the results get better the more you use it.

2. Twitter. I have twitter searches running for many different terms, plus all of my great followers…which leads me to finding a lot of great articles. Once I have clicked on an article, if I like it, I will browse the rest of the blog. If I find at least 4 or 5 interesting articles right away, I will subscribe to it. There is no harm in testing a blog for a few weeks, if it stops being interesting, I can just remove it.

3. Searching Technorati. Simply enter a key term or phrase that you want, and presto…a bunch of great new blogs to check out!

4. Blogroll’s of blogs I already read. I have found some of the most interesting blogs through the blogrolls on sites that I already love. Although I do get all my articles via a feedreader, I try to visit each actual site once a week…see if there are updates/changes to the site, etc. Most of the people I read have a list of other writers they like. I usually find at least 1 new blog to read each week this way.

How do you find new blogs to read? Do you constantly add new ones or read the same group?

Oh, and just in case you missed it on Monday, make sure you’re subscribed here too!

I had a post completely planned out for the day, talking about twitter and techniques for the more advanced users.

Then I read Brad Marley’s post about college degree’s. I wanted to write so many things, both agreeing and disagreeing with his point. I was frustrated because I couldn’t think of how to respond, and excited because I knew exactly what I wanted to say (I know, makes no sense, right?). Problem was, my answer was not going to fit in a comment box, nor did I want to place it in one (sorry Brad). I wanted to open it up further, I wanted to get heated, I wanted to be logical, I wanted to get creative…I wanted a lot of things (can you tell this issue is a hot button for me?). So, I finally decided the only way to properly address the topic was to write my own post about college degrees.

To start, Brad’s basic point is that while college can be good for those pursuing a field that needs a degree (doctor, lawyer, etc), college may not be the right choice for everyone. His conclusion is supported by his brother, who has a ‘can’t be taught, jene se qua, that can only be acquired by working in the field’ personality that got him a well paying job in a bad market without having a college degree.

*By the way, I’d recommend reading his entire college post though before continuing to my thoughts.*

So, here are my thoughts:

Brad is 100% right and 100% wrong.

He is right in the fact that you can not succeed as a doctor, lawyer, etc, without a degree. He is wrong in thinking college is not right for everyone. While you can succeed without college (many very successful people have), I believe that the point of college is not the little piece of paper you pay wayyy to much money for with your name on it. College can benefit anyone and everyone. I firmly believe that college is for building your character and helping you to mature and grow as an individual, and that is something that everyone needs.

I attended Cal State Long Beach and received a B.A. in Communications, and while that’s what my degree says, that isn’t what’s important. The communications classes I took, while it did improve my speaking, aren’t what makes me a hard worker and a talented writer. They are what helped make me confident enough to tackle being freelance. The experiences I had out of class were what made me stronger, more empathetic and understanding (sharing a room for 4 years will do that to a person). What it didn’t do was guarantee me a job when I graduated, but if I had expected it to, I really wouldn’t have learned anything.

Basically, I believe college is completely unnecessary to get a job, unless you need a technical/scientific degree, just like Brad states. But, I believe college is completely necessary for everyone for improving you as an individual. Getting the college degree just proves that you can stick something out and that you have dedication to achieve a goal.

Finally, I want to bring to attention that I didn’t say getting a 4 year degree at a certain type of college is necessary for everyone. I said college. “College” can mean receiving everything from an automotive technical degree (like my husband did), an AA degree (like my mother did) or a master’s degree (like my father did). College is whatever you make it…just make it yours.

What do you think (about either Brad or my thoughts)? Did you attend college? I would love to hear from someone who didn’t and is glad they didn’t or who did, and regrets it!

Me and Suzanne(emphasisisallmine.com)

Last night, I attended the first blogcrush meetup at the Veggie Grill in the Irvine Spectrum. First, the food was a huge shock. For those of you who have never heard of it/been there, it is a Vegan restaurant. I am not a vegan, far from it, in fact I wouldn’t survive if I could never have meat again. But, their food was pretty darn good! I would definitely recommend them to anyone – whether Vegan or not!

So, onto the event itself. It was absolutely wonderful! I got to meet some incredible women and learned a lot about the world of OC Blogging. I got to see my favorite photographers, Dana and Jeff Sipper: http://sipperphotography.com/blog/, who were the geniuses behind my photo shoot! I finally got to meet 2 Suzanne’s I have been conversing with through blogging and twitter for over 4 months, Suzanne of Twenty Four at Heart: http://www.TwentyFourAtHeart.com and the host, Suzanne of Alive in Wonderland: http://www.emphasisallmine.com. Both women were even sweeter in person than they are in their blogging/tweeting and I was so happy to finally get to talk with them. I think I convinced Suzanne/Twentyfouratheart to finally switch to wordpress from typepad…if you talk with her, help me out, she’s worried about transferring all the old blod posts. The group mingled for a while, and I got to chat briefly with Kara of Eli’s Lids: http://elislids.blogspot.com/ and Debbie from Peace Love and Momminess: http://peaceloveandmomminess.com. Both ladies are extremely interesting, and had great thoughts on where blogging was going, and why it is such an important creative outlet. When we finally stopped chatting, and decided to grab food, I was seated at a table with:

1. Julie of Angry Julie Monday: http://www.angryjuliemonday.com/
2. Marcy of The Glamorous Life: http://marcywrites.com/
3. Kristin from Meringue Bake Shop: http://meringuebakeshop.blogspot.com/
4. Stacey of OC Food Mommy: http://ocfoodiemommy.blogspot.com/
5. Roxanne of Me and My Monster: http://themomblog.freedomblogging.com/author/rhack/
6. Jeff from OC Metroblogging: http://oc.metblogs.com/
7. Martha from Melody Gibbons: http://melodygibbons.com/
8. Lorna from Califlorna: http://califlorna.com/

Our table was the best in the house (sorry to the other one, but we were)! We covered everything from what got us into blogging and what we feel creativity means to our favorite shows on TV (Criminal Minds, Chuck, House, American Idol, Lost, just to name a few). I am always impressed at the creativity of the individual and learned a lot from listening to this group talk about their lives, their blogging struggles and their experiences. Who knows, some of those tips/questions/concerns may show up in another post

Anyway, I just wanted to send a special thanks to a great group of people that are all worth checking out!

Today, problogger challenges us to pay special attention to one (or more) of our readers. The point of paying special attention to an individual reader is 2-fold. First, it benefits the person that you recommend by showing your other readers more about them and it shows that you value them. Second, it shows your readers someone new and interesting, and that you value your readers.

The problem? I want to pay attention to ALL my readers! So, I chose one of the techniques he recommends for paying attention to a reader, that allows me to pay attention to a lot of readers.

1. Run a Reader Poll and Highlight Answers in a followup post

The Question: What makes someone a creative expert?

Your responses to the poll will be put into a post later this week, with your answers (and links) and my thoughts on the questions as well. The question is one that I have wondered throughout my experience on twitter (as many claim to be one) and through my writing (as I believe I am fairly creative). So, what are your thoughts?

We are up to day #20 of problogger’s 31DBBB challenge and I am excited to say that I have made it this far. Not every day was right on time…but I was pretty close! Today’s post is about commenting on other blogs in your niche, or those of your readers. He lists a few benefits of commenting, but I think that he is missing one big one: You are working on improving your writing skills. The reason? It is easy to ramble for 500 words, even easier when you are the first one talking about the subject. But, when you have to comment about what someone else wrote, and there are already comments on the topic, it can be hard to come up with an original response. Which is where the ‘writing skills’ come in, and get improved. The more that you comment on blogs, the more creative you have to be. You want to be able to extend the conversation, give the person after you something else to think about or maybe give the writer something else to think about.

Just a few words of warning before you run off and start commenting on the blog of everyone you know…only comment if you can add value. Just writing ‘good point, liked the post’ does no one any good. If that is all you can say, don’t say it. Save your time for a blog that you can write a strong comment on, something people will be interested to read! Oh, and lastly, make your comments personable – get yourself a gravatar so people can see who you are (you’re not a grey box are you?).

With that, I am off to find some posts worth commenting on today – are you?

*thanks to D. Norman on Flickr…I loved this photo!

Active: You must stay active (mentally, physically or both) to stay creative

Boxes: Think outside them, inside them, above them, beyond them….

Curiosity: Because using creativity for ‘C’ wouldn’t have been creative!

Discovery: History has always found those who discover something new to be the most creative

Energy: In the form of natural energy or coffee, either way a sleepy mind isn’t a creative mind

Friends: Often the best ideas stem from a conversation with someone you know

Guess: Being right doesn’t make you creative. Sometimes the wrong guess can take you to the right place

Help: Get lost? Ask for directions. Lose your creative mojo? Ask for help.

Interest: If you don’t care about being creative you won’t be

Journey: If you can’t get creative in one environment, journey to another…

Kirsten: Ok, so it is a little self-promotion, but if you need creative ideas, you can always check here

Laughter: IT can be a great cure for stress, which can lead to writers block…

Money: It is always easier to dedicate more time to being creative if you’re getting paid for it (mind you I didn’t say easier to be creative, just easier to spend time doing it)

Nerve: Sometimes it takes a little stiring of the pot to get something good

Openess: You have to be open to the crazy ideas to find the ones that work

Practice: Just like anything else in life, creativity takes practice. Keep doing it til you get it right

Quit: If you are having trouble getting (or staying focused) quit for a while and come back

Remember: A lot of times I will remember an old conversation and it can create a new idea

Stimulation: Find whatever stimulates you personally, and use it.

Twitter: By far one of the easiest ways to get my jiuces flowing – thousands of conversations to start an idea

Understand: Your Limits!! (read my past post on creative limits)

Variety: Try different foods, different websites, different anything to give yourself a new perspective

Words: As far as this blog is concerned, you can’t be creative without words.

X: I tried…I really did…but nothing I thought of for X was appropriate.

Youth: Or age. Try talking to someone of a different generation and see where it leads

Zzzzz: Sleep is something we don’t realize we miss until we’re already missing it. Without sleep the brain can’t function…never good for creativity.

Phew! 25 out of 26 ain’t bad! What do you think, is the list sufficient? What are your ‘creative words’?

Have I mentioned that I love wordpress? I do. Wholeheartedly. Easy to use, fully cutomizable, creative and always improving. Today I found one more reason to love wordpress – new widgets! One of the new fun widgets is the rhyming widget! Trying to become a rap superstar or just love poetry? Type in any word you want, and it spits out hundreds of rhymes for the word…

Yes, it is silly. No, it doesn’t serve a greater purpose. But it certainly qualifies as creative and isn’t that what this blog is about anyway?

Just for giggles, I checked what rhymed with my name & with creative. What do you want to rhyme?

Now this is a creative way to keep your customers coming back:

Photo’s from a real baber shop in Poland.

how many haircuts do you need?

And who says men are smarter than women when it comes to marketing?

Have you seen any creative marketing techniques like this one (or maybe with less nudity, but the same idea?)

Attempting to be creative in the middle of a mess, with phones ringing, kids screaming and a million things to do is pointless.

Attempting to be creative in a neat and tidy room, without any interruptions, and nothing do do but focus on creativity is pointless.

Yup, I meant what I typed.

Your OCE (optimal creative environment) can not be determined by anyone but yourself. You know you better than anyone else, so let you determine how to be creative and where to be creative. The best way to find your OCE, is to try different things. If you know you can’t stand silence, try music, tv or even a white noise machine. If you aren’t sure, spend a few days with music and a few without. Determine which works best and stick with it. If you can’t handle the clutter, clean up. But, don’t be afraid to get it all messed up again by covering your desk with all your new, great creative ideas! The key is finding what works for you. But remember, what works now, wont always be what works, so you may want to mix it up. And, whenever you are trying something new, be sure to give it a few days before you say it works or it doesn’t, all of us have good and bad days in any environment.

For me, I do my best thinking curled up on my couch with my computer in my lap, the tv on a low volume with a repeat of a favorite show in the background (Family Guy, Simpson’s, Friends, Sex and the City…), and something to drink (usually non-alcoholic, but if I am realllly stuck, I will break out a glass of my favorite 2006 Far Niente Chardonnay). But, like I said, it doesn’t always work, so if it isn’t, I will sit in the middle of a busy Starbucks (the one at the corner of Antonio and Crown Valley in RSM works well) and people watch while I work.

Tell me: What is your OCE (optimal creative environment)?