Our Favorite Blogs 2009 - Reviews by PC Magazine

I need more blogs to read like I need a hole in the head… but here it is.. 50 more blogs to explore. There are some i can toss out the window—Average Cats? No Thanks…

But the book blogs…and how about the one—Not Always Right—there’s a customer service reps dream come true!!

which ones tickle your funny bone?

Our Favorite Blogs 2009 - Reviews by PC Magazine

Creating Great Visuals for your Content

the value of visual thinking in social business

By David Armano

darmano.typepad.com

Social business design vs. just social media design

Which of your 5 senses would you fear losing most? -- sight
The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing- Publilius Syrus

Visual thinking-- changing our thinking process to be more visual

Expressing ourselves through a visual medim = Art

Design = combines form and function to perform a task

making a visual message requires a messy analysis.. behind simplicity is complexity

History of the Internet-- Vimeo (find link?)

Getting Visual in 4 "Ms"

Metaphor- comparing your content to an image that is already familiar
Model- condensing your content down to a visual that communitcates the idea visually (Bloom's) Mindmap- "Back of the Napkin" Dan Roam (slideshare), you see the relationship of different words and ideas in relation to one another
Manifest- "to make obvious"

6 steps to Getting Visual

1. Emphathize: See the world as a child

• observe, notice the little things that other miss
• ask, ask questions, even silly ones
• explore, entertain your curiosity

2. Memorize: commit thoughts to memory

• draw, or write down key words

3. Analyze: Take a step back
4. Synthesize: Filter signal from noise
5. Visualize: See it, then do it
6. Materialize: make it tangible, make it stick

• i.e. the 4 c's of commuity- 1. content, 2. Context, 3. connectivity, 4. continuity

How do you visualize a "dynamic signal"?

For example- Twitter= Streams of data (streams, to oobvious to overlook)
What does a signal look like? (radio tower)
image: A wavy line, with random ripple radio signals at intervals.


Q&A:
What software do you use? Adobe illustrator,
Software not as important as the concepts... could be done in word, or ppt.
Social Marketing Compass-- Brian Solis Jess
Check list of rmaking content more visual:
use your brain and see what you are doing.

Why your content should be visual:

--Gets people's attention quickly
--Helps us learn faster and more effectively
--Let's people do their own thinking
--Helps us tell stories

Where to start:

Envisioning information, Tufte

Selling to the VP of No, Gray

The Back of the Napkin, Roam

Don't Make Me Think, Krug

Writing Better Blogs

By Wade Kwon
www.birminghamblogging.com

Better Writing

Why improve your writing?
- you owe it to your readers
- there's only two kinds of writing-- good and bad
- it's how you stand out among bloggers

Goal review
- what is the goal of your writing?
- what is the goal of your blog?

Read good writing
- blogs
- magazines
- newspapers
- books
- save clips

Practice, practice, practics
- often, daily if possible
- helps writers block
- helps devlop writing skills

Passion is everything!

What does this mean to the reader?
- sum it up in 1 sentence.
- sum it up in 1 word.

Revise, revise, revise
- make first paragraph count
- get someone to read over it.
- or put it down and read it later
- cut by a third
- spell check
- incorporate reader feedback

Tools
- Q&A/ FAQ
- opinion- forces you to think critically
- lists
- surprise--do something out of your box, contrary opinion, original thought,
- humor

Better Blogging

Get organized
- important on a blog page
- include a roadmap if needed
- pick a game plan- sections, lists, chronologically?
- Q&A

Write conversationally
- SEO and Keywords-- make it difficult to write conversationally if you think too much about it.
- Don't use "click here"
- but incorporate links- with headlines, with title tags,

Think Visually
- bullets
- bold keypoints, sentences
- break up paragraphs
- subheads using < h2 > tags

Think about time of your readers
- write a long version, but add a sort version at top
- add "related posts" at bottom

Think Meta
- headline- clever vs. SEO friendly, short vs. long, Think CNN.com,
- sprinkle keywords throughout post- tagcrowd.com,
- use tags

So you might not win the Nobel Prixe, but instead....Recognition, Fans, Satisfaction for a job well done.

good reminders of good writing... and ways to think about writing for the web.

Kitchen Updates, and Technology Tests

Testing a Flip ultra HD camera.... and showing off my partially completed kitchen. :D

I took this video this morning before I left for work... I've uploaded it directly to the blog from the camera itself... SNAPPY! I think I might need one of these for myself!!

Storyline Online

Found this link through the SouleMama website listed in my Inspiration links.

I’ll have to give it a try soon… any of you with little kids might find it entertaining.

 

It’s stories read by actors from the Screen Actors Guild. The story featured on the main page right now is “Me and My Cat” read by Elijah Wood—Frodo himself. :) 

 

Enjoy!

Storyline Online

Giddy about Kitchens

I think it's time to do a house post!! We are ready to paint in the kitchen.. which is one step closer to cookies in the oven! Here's some before picts:

Here's some demolition Picts:

AND... Here's the reconstruction: (ready to paint)

Testing a new program called Screenr. It does screen capture and then publishes into any kind of format you might want to deliver it in-- iPhone, URL, Embedded code, MP4, etc, etc, etc...

On our way home from a theatrical adventure: Shakespeare and Annie. Satisfying and relaxing.

This Video is Inspiring me lately... anyone else feeling like they are just bursting to create something? ANYTHING!

Dezeen » Blog Archive » Ink Calendar by Oscar Diaz

this is a cool looking calendar with a fascinating design concept… the ink seeps into the paper and colors each day as it arrives.. I’d like to see it in action.

Alas, that requires a trip to Spain… anyone??? 

Dezeen » Blog Archive » Ink Calendar by Oscar Diaz

SnowDays - Popular Front

mmm… a little snow to remind us of cooler days… :) 

SnowDays - Popular Front

I'm at the Larry Miller Motor sports park today, wathcing cars go FAST! (and testing mobile blogging)

A New Bread Recipe to Try

I'm posting this here so i'll remember to try it..
This is from one of my student teachers I had in my classroom back in the day. Thanks Sharon!!!

One Hour Bread--THE BEST BREAD RECIPE EVER!!!!!

This recipe is for a LARGE mixer. If you have the standard Kitchen Aid (like I do) then you will need to half this recipe. You can also make it by hand--but it is written for a mixer.

**This recipe calls for 2 ingredients that you may not be familiar with. It is worth going out and finding the ingredients and keeping them on hand--you will never go back to your other recipes again!**

Ingredients:

10 1/2 c White Flour
1/2 c sugar
1 TBsp Salt
3 Rounded TBSP of SAF INSTANT YEAST (this is important--this is the kind of yeast that you don't have to proof before using it--you just add it to the dry ingredients.)
3 TBSP Liquid Soy Lecithin (This is sometimes found in the health part of the super market--by the supplements and stuff like that--it is awesome to use as it has an indefinate shelf life so it is great for food storage!
4 c Hot Tap Water

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients together in mixer. Use a measuring spoon to make a well in the dry ingredients to pour the lecithin into. (The lecithin is the STICKIEST stuff to work with ever--if you pour it into a measuring spoon you will never get it out--so instead just make 3 little TBSP wells and fill them up with lecithin). Then add the HOT tap water and start mixing. The dough should be REALLY STICKY. It should be so sticky that you wonder what you did wrong and you will want to add more flour--BUT DON'T--and if it isn't sticky enough, add 1/2 -1 cup more hot water to reach the sticky consistency. Then turn your mixer on and let it mix for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, spray your counter and all your pans with pam spray. When the 5 minutes is up you can pam spray a spoon or your hands to scrape the dough out of the mixer bowl and onto the greased counter. Then you only knead the dough a couple times and shape into your bread, rolls, twists, pizza--WHATEVER.

Start your oven preheating to 350 and let your shaped dough rise for 25 minutes--covered with pam sprayed suran wrap (for breads and rolls--for pizza-just top and bake now without letting rise). Then bake. Bread for 25 mins. Buns, rolls, mini loafs for 15 mins. Enjoy! This is the easiest and quickest bread recipe you will EVER find! It is worth trying it for yourself! And I love that it takes such few ingredients! I really is an awesome recipe to have for food storage purposes as it only takes 6 ingredients.

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

The video is a bit long (20 minutes)—but caught my attention—and made me resolve to remember to take my bags with me to the grocery store!! 

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

Did You Know?

Mind boggling and exciting all at once. :) Enjoy!

Piano Marvel - Home

How about virtual piano lessons… $15 a month.. any takers?? this looks AWESOME! 

Piano Marvel - Home

World Digital Library

Doing some research for work… and just wanted to test this blog thing..

I thought this was an amazing site… Images, documents, etc. for the ENTIRE WORLD!!

Check it out!! 

World Digital Library Home