@Social Media | Networking – BIZCATALYST 360°: Recent Episodes
BIZCATALYST 360
Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.
–Amy Poehler
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life, losing sight of the importance of cultivating meaningful relationships. We may find ourselves surrounded by individuals who neither challenge nor inspire us, leading to stagnation and complacency. However, by consciously seeking out and nurturing connections with those who push us to grow, we open ourselves up to a world of possibilities.
Imagine being part of a group where ideas flow freely, creativity is celebrated, and each member is committed to personal and collective growth. In such an environment, your potential is no longer limited by your own perceptions or self-imposed boundaries. Instead, you’re constantly exposed to new perspectives, innovative thinking, and the unwavering support of like-minded individuals who believe in your ability to achieve greatness.
These relationships act as catalysts for change, propelling you forward in ways you may never have imagined. When you surround yourself with people who challenge you, you’re forced to step out of your comfort zone and confront your limitations. This discomfort is where true growth occurs. It’s in these moments of challenge that you discover strengths you didn’t know you possessed and overcome obstacles you once thought insurmountable.
Equally important are those who inspire you. These individuals serve as living proof of what’s possible when you dare to dream big and work tirelessly towards your goals. Their achievements ignite a fire within you, motivating you to reach for your own aspirations with renewed vigor and determination. Their stories of triumph over adversity remind you that setbacks are merely stepping stones on the path to success.
As you spend time with this carefully curated group, you’ll find yourself evolving in ways both subtle and profound. Your mindset will shift, your skills will expand, and your confidence will soar. The collective energy of the group will fuel your personal growth, pushing you to become the best version of yourself.
But this transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It requires commitment, vulnerability, and a willingness to invest time and energy into these relationships. It means showing up consistently, engaging in meaningful conversations, and being open to both giving and receiving support. As you dedicate yourself to this process, you’ll witness a remarkable change not only in yourself but in the trajectory of your life.
The beauty of this approach lies in its reciprocal nature. As you grow and evolve, you, in turn, become a source of challenge and inspiration for others. This creates a powerful cycle of mutual growth and support, elevating not just individuals but entire communities.
The Company We Keep
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
The company we keep has the power to shape our lives in profound ways. By intentionally surrounding ourselves with those who challenge and inspire us, we set the stage for personal transformation and lifelong growth. As we embrace this philosophy, we open ourselves up to a world of endless possibilities and the joy of continuous self-improvement. Said best by Jim Rohn;
Choose wisely, for in doing so, you choose the path of your own extraordinary journey.
Editor’s Note: Enjoy our evolving Exploring Our Shared Humanity Series HERE
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, professionals across London and beyond are seeking smarter ways to connect with potential clients and partners. The sheer volume of outreach required to maintain a robust pipeline can be overwhelming, particularly for those juggling multiple accounts or managing diverse client portfolios. Fortunately, modern technology offers a solution that not only streamlines these efforts but also enhances the quality of engagement. By embracing intelligent tools and strategic approaches, businesses can transform their networking efforts from time-consuming chores into efficient, results-driven campaigns.
Why Automation is Essential for Modern LinkedIn OutreachThe traditional approach to LinkedIn prospecting often involves manually sending connection requests, crafting individual messages, and tracking responses across multiple conversations. This method, whilst thorough, demands an extraordinary investment of time and energy. For sales teams and solo entrepreneurs alike, the hours spent on repetitive tasks can quickly add up, detracting from strategic work that drives real growth. Automation addresses this challenge head-on by handling the mundane aspects of outreach, freeing professionals to focus on building genuine relationships and closing deals.
One of the most compelling reasons to automate LinkedIn messages for prospecting is the ability to scale efforts without sacrificing personalisation. Modern platforms enable users to manage campaigns across multiple accounts from a unified interface, rotating profiles within the same campaign to avoid triggering LinkedIn’s security protocols. This approach ensures that outreach remains both safe and effective, even when targeting hundreds of qualified profiles each month. Moreover, the integration of targeted filters and segmentation capabilities allows for context-driven messaging that resonates with specific audiences, rather than relying on generic templates that fail to capture attention.
The Time-Saving Benefits of Automated MessagingThe hours saved through automation are nothing short of remarkable. Research suggests that professionals can reclaim up to four hours per week simply by adopting intelligent inbox management and scheduling features. This time can then be redirected towards high-value activities such as refining messaging strategies, analysing campaign performance, or engaging in deeper conversations with warm leads. The efficiency gains extend beyond mere scheduling, as tools capable of automatically withdrawing old connection requests help maintain a clean profile and prevent the clutter that can arise from unanswered invitations.
Furthermore, automation supports the orchestration of multi-step drip campaigns that guide prospects through a carefully designed journey. Instead of sending a single message and hoping for a response, teams can set up sequences that include initial connection requests, personalised follow-up messages, and strategic check-ins. This structured approach ensures consistent touchpoints without the need for constant manual intervention, allowing campaigns to run smoothly even during busy periods. The ability to reschedule campaigns to avoid weekends or respond to market shifts adds another layer of flexibility, ensuring that outreach efforts remain aligned with business objectives.
How Automation Enhances Response Rates and EngagementWhilst the time-saving aspect of automation is significant, the true measure of success lies in the quality of engagement it generates. Studies indicate that the average LinkedIn invite acceptance rate hovers around thirty-seven per cent, with cold outreach response rates languishing at just over ten per cent. However, top performers who leverage intelligent automation and personalisation can achieve response rates as high as thirty per cent, demonstrating the power of a well-executed strategy. The key lies in balancing automation with human-driven conversations, using technology for research and orchestration whilst preserving the authenticity that drives meaningful connections.
Effective automation relies on real-time account intelligence and intent signal integration to ensure that messages are both timely and relevant. By analysing data such as recent job changes, company announcements, or engagement with specific content, automated systems can craft outreach that feels informed and considerate. This context-driven approach stands in stark contrast to generic blasts that often damage brand reputation and erode trust. When prospects receive messages that acknowledge their current situation and offer genuine insight, they are far more likely to engage, leading to higher acceptance rates and more productive conversations.
Metrics such as connection acceptance rate, reply rate, and meeting conversion provide valuable feedback on campaign performance. Best-in-class teams target acceptance rates between thirty-five and forty-five per cent, reply rates of fifteen to twenty per cent, and meeting conversion rates of twenty to twenty-five per cent of engaged conversations. Achieving these benchmarks requires a commitment to quality over quantity, focusing on smarter messaging rather than simply increasing volume. Automation tools that integrate with CRM systems and platforms like Sales Navigator or InMail enable seamless tracking of these metrics, empowering teams to refine their approach based on real outcomes.
Best Practices for Setting Up Effective LinkedIn AutomationEstablishing a successful automation strategy begins with laying a solid foundation. Clean, verified data is the bedrock of any effective outreach campaign, as inaccurate or outdated information can lead to wasted effort and poor results. Before launching a campaign, take the time to segment your audience not merely by category, but by context. This means grouping prospects based on their specific challenges, recent activities, or industry trends, rather than relying on broad demographic filters. Such nuanced segmentation allows for messaging that speaks directly to the recipient’s current needs and priorities.
Personalisation remains paramount, even within an automated framework. The goal is to craft messages that feel human and authentic, avoiding the robotic tone that often plagues generic outreach. Keep messages concise, ideally between three and six lines, and focus on the recipient rather than your own product or service. Reintroduce context if reaching out after a period of silence, and always include a simple call to action such as a yes-or-no question. This approach respects the prospect’s time whilst making it easy for them to respond, increasing the likelihood of a positive outcome.
Choosing the Right Tools and Platforms for Your OutreachThe market offers a variety of automation tools, each with unique features and pricing structures. When selecting a platform, prioritise compliance with LinkedIn’s rules to avoid account restrictions or bans. Look for solutions that offer built-in personalisation capabilities, AI-driven messaging, and seamless CRM integration. The ability to manage multiple accounts from a single unified inbox can be a game-changer for agencies or teams handling diverse client portfolios, allowing them to split work by team or client with separate workspaces.
Popular options include cloud-based platforms that mimic human behaviour to avoid detection, outreach assistants that extend across LinkedIn, email, and other channels, and tools that combine LinkedIn automation with cold email campaigns. Budget-friendly alternatives are also available for smaller teams or solo entrepreneurs just starting their automation journey. Pricing typically ranges from around seventy-nine pounds per sender per month for starter plans, scaling up to agency and unlimited tiers that accommodate larger teams and higher volumes. Many providers also offer affiliate programmes, creating opportunities for partners to earn recurring commissions.
Crafting Personalised Templates That ConvertEven the most advanced automation tools cannot compensate for poorly crafted messaging. Templates should serve as flexible frameworks rather than rigid scripts, allowing for customisation based on individual prospect details. Begin by identifying something personal or relevant to the recipient, such as a recent post they shared, a mutual connection, or a company milestone. This demonstrates genuine interest and sets your message apart from the countless generic requests that flood LinkedIn inboxes daily.
Next, clearly articulate the reason for your outreach in a way that aligns with the prospect’s interests or challenges. Avoid pitching your product or service in the initial message; instead, focus on offering insight or sparking a conversation. The best outcomes often arise when the primary goal is simply to elicit a reply, rather than immediately pushing for a demo or meeting. Keep follow-ups respectful and limited, with a maximum of two additional touchpoints if the first message goes unanswered. This restraint helps preserve your brand reputation and signals respect for the recipient’s autonomy.
Timing also plays a crucial role in message effectiveness. For business-to-business outreach, the optimal days are typically Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, with the best windows falling in the morning between nine and eleven or in the early afternoon from two to four. Scheduling tools allow you to queue messages for these peak times, ensuring your outreach lands when prospects are most likely to be receptive. Additionally, the ability to edit or cancel scheduled messages provides flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, such as shifts in market conditions or updates to the prospect’s situation.
Ultimately, the future of LinkedIn sales outreach lies in the synergy between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. Automation should enable relationship-building rather than replace it, serving as a force multiplier that amplifies the impact of thoughtful, context-driven messaging. As we move further into this decade, the teams that thrive will be those that send smarter messages, not simply more messages. By investing time in the thinking behind the outreach and leveraging technology to execute at scale, professionals can achieve sustainable pipeline growth whilst maintaining the authenticity and respect that underpin lasting business relationships.
Granted, some entrepreneurs write off pay-to-play media as “less legitimate” than earned and shy away from it completely. Others will invest in these options, feign surprise and humility when the article goes live, share it liberally while basking in a sea of “congratulations” and “you deserve it” comments… but otherwise, WAIT for some benefit of said media to find them.
In my opinion and experience, both options are wrong.
CAVEAT: I have been around this industry a long time and am a writer by trade, so I have never had to pay for media. BUT I have built my media options over decades. Pay-to-play shortcuts my process and can be used by anyone at any time. This mini-guide will show you how to do it right.
Used strategically, pay-to-play options aren’t just a shortcut — they’re a lever. A Trojan horse. A precision tool for getting in front of a very specific person, audience, or opportunity. And the people who understand this are running circles around the ones still arguing for “purity” in media and/or buying feature articles that provide little more than a fickle boost to your ego.
THE REAL PROBLEM WITH PAY-TO-PLAYThe problem isn’t the model, but how most people use it. They hit “publish,” share it once on social, and hope someone important notices, or hope all of the applause (from those who already know they exist) will somehow trick the algorithm into funneling more attention their way.
Spoiler: NO AMOUNT of visibility works by accident. It is FAR better to INTENTIONALLY and STRATEGICALLY CHOREOGRAPH the attention you want.
So let’s talk about how to take a paid feature and turn it into something that opens doors — invitations, partnerships, referrals, opportunities, and yes… the attention of a new industry or someone very specific.
THE SECRET IS SIMPLE: TREAT THE PLACEMENT AS A TOOL, NOT A TROPHY.The article itself is not the point. It never was. What you do with the article is what will separate a placement from being an ego builder or a bottom-line builder.
Here’s a five-step strategy to build the latter:
STEP 1: DEFINE THE EXACT OUTCOME YOU WANT.
Don’t bother setting vague goals like “visibility” or “brand awareness.” I’m talking about targeted, name-it-out-loud outcomes:
I want to get on X person’s radar.
I want to land Y Y-level opportunity.
I want to be included in Z conversation.
I want to break into this new industry.
When you start with the end goals, the article becomes a vehicle — not a vanity project.
STEP 2: BUILD THE ANGLE AROUND THE OUTCOME.
Most people write articles about themselves. Strategic players write articles about ideas, conversations, and insights that position them next to the people they want to reach, or within the industry they want to pierce or dominate. If you want to get on a very specific influencer, investor, or leader’s radar, you don’t pitch yourself — you pitch your thinking. You contribute something meaningful to the exact topic they care about.
This is how you earn alignment without begging for attention.
STEP 3: POSITION YOURSELF AS A PEER, NOT A FAN.
Nothing repels high-level leaders faster than someone trying to impress them. Yuck: A well-constructed article STRATEGY will place you:
- In the same conversation
- At the same table
- With a parallel level of insight
Not “I love your work, please notice me,” but: “I am contributing something of value to the space you operate in.” People respond to peer energy. Not pedestal energy.
STEP 4: DISTRIBUTE THE ARTICLE WITH INTENTION.
This is where most people fail, so here’s how you do it right:
Pretend that no matter the stage or reach, NO ONE will see your amazing article unless you personally send it to them. Send it privately to the exact people who would value its insight (including — strategically — the person you hope to reach, the person you quoted, the industry you mentioned, the author you referenced, etc. ) Share it through channels that matter: targeted associations, curated communities, newsletters, and industry groups. Repurpose it into multiple authority assets: a micro-op-ed, a podcast pitch, a strategic tag on LinkedIn.
In other words: don’t wait for discovery. Manufacture it.
STEP 5: FOLLOW THE ATTENTION. MULTIPLY IT.
A single paid feature can become:
Three podcast bookings.
A collaboration request
A panel or speaking invitation
A foot in the door with someone influential
A conversation starter with a brand or platform you want to court
But only if you treat it as an asset — something to leverage, not something seeking applause.
I have admittedly been a little weak on promoting pay-to-play media options. I am a PURIST after all. I don’t even do JVs or affiliates because I like to keep it pure with my audience. BUT my timidity around this AMAZING TOOL has cost my clients.
Authority doesn’t JUST go to authors or those seen on the BIG media stages. Authority goes to the people willing to use every tool available — wisely, strategically, and unapologetically.
Paid media isn’t cheating.
Paid media isn’t lesser.
Paid media is simply ONE doorway.
And the smartest leaders don’t argue with doorways — they walk through them, then turn around and invite opportunity to meet them there.
THE BOTTOM LINE
A pay-to-play placement can be the cheapest, fastest, most controllable way to generate strategic attention — if you know how to choreograph it. When done well, it does far more than give you a publication. It gives you positioning. It gives you alignment. It gives you access. And sometimes… It puts you directly in the line of sight of exactly the person you wanted to reach — without ever having to knock on their door.
Message me if you want to know the 35+ outlets that I can position YOU on… I’m doing something special between now and the start of 2026.
If you’ve ever posted an Instagram Reel and wondered why some videos blow up while others barely move, you’re not alone.
The truth is, high view counts don’t happen by luck. They’re the result of clear signals that Instagram’s algorithm picks up on — signals that tell the platform your content is worth showing to more people.
Let’s break down what really pushes Reels to the top, and how using tools like Stormlikes’ Instagram views can help give your content the strong start it needs.
- Instant Engagement Sends a Powerful SignalWhen someone watches your Reel right after you post it, the algorithm notices. If those early viewers watch the full clip, rewatch it, or interact with it in any way, Instagram assumes it’s interesting. The more early engagement you get, the more the platform tests your Reel with bigger groups.
That’s why creators often use Stormlikes’ Instagram views — instant, real views give your video a push in those first crucial minutes. With a stronger start, your Reel becomes more likely to reach people outside your follower list.
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Watch Time Matters More Than AnythingInstagram wants to keep people on the app. So if your Reel holds attention, it automatically ranks higher. Here’s what counts as strong watch behavior:
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Watching the whole video
- Watching it again
- Slowing down to read something
- Staying until the final second
If people swipe away too fast, your reach drops. A simple trick? Hook viewers within the first second — a surprising action, bold text, or a direct question keeps people watching.
- Consistency Builds Trust with the AlgorithmPosting one good Reel won’t always create a boost. Posting consistently shows Instagram that you’re an active creator worth promoting. When you upload regularly, the algorithm begins testing your content with more people.
And when you combine that consistency with the strong push from Stormlikes’ Instagram views, your account gains steady momentum instead of random spikes.
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Reels That Spark Curiosity Get Shared MorePeople share content that:
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Teaches something quickly
- Makes them laugh
- Feels relatable
- Offers a “wait, what?” moment
Shareable Reels spread farther because Instagram counts each share like a vote for your content’s quality. The more shares, the more views you earn — and the cycle continues.
- Social Proof Still MattersA Reel with 50 views looks less trustworthy than one with 5,000. People are naturally drawn to content that already seems popular. High view numbers make new viewers more likely to tap, watch, and stay longer.
That’s exactly why many creators boost their posts with Stormlikes’ Instagram views. It increases view count fast, making the Reel look active — which then attracts even more real viewers.
Final ThoughtsHigh view counts don’t happen because of chance. They’re the result of early engagement, strong watch time, consistent posting, and smart use of social proof. When you combine great content with a boost from Stormlikes’ Instagram views, you give your Reels the attention they deserve right from the start.
In the end, the creators who grow fast aren’t just lucky — they understand how Instagram actually works and use every tool available to rise above the noise.
Why Smart Creators Pay Attention to Momentum — and How Buy Followers From Blastup Fits Into the Strategy
Growing an Instagram audience isn’t just about posting pretty photos or trendy Reels. It’s about building momentum. And momentum on social media works a lot like a snowball rolling down a hill — once it starts growing, it gets bigger and faster without much extra effort.
This powerful force is called network effects, and understanding it can completely change the way you grow your Instagram presence.
What Are Network Effects?Network effects happen when something becomes more valuable as more people use it.
Think of popular apps like WhatsApp or Instagram itself. When only a few people were using them, they weren’t very exciting. But the more users joined, the more everyone wanted to join too.
The same thing happens with your Instagram page.
When people see:
- A higher follower count
- More likes
- More comments
- More activity
…they’re more likely to trust you, follow you, and engage. This creates a cycle that keeps building on itself.
Why Follower Count Still Matters TodayEven in 2025, follower count is still a first impression metric. People judge your brand, your credibility, and your value in seconds.
If someone visits your profile and sees:
- Low followers
- Low activity
- Empty engagement
…they often click away immediately. They assume you’re new, unproven, or not worth their time.
But when they see:
- A strong audience
- Active engagement
- Quick growth
…they instantly feel like you’re someone to follow. This is the power of social proof.
The Momentum ProblemThe toughest part of growing on Instagram is the beginning.
When you start from zero:
- Your posts get shown to fewer people
- The algorithm doesn’t trust you yet
- You don’t rank in hashtags
- People don’t notice your content even if it’s good
This is where many creators give up.
How Buying Followers From Blastup Can Help Kickstart GrowthThis is where smart creators use tools like buy followers from Blastup to break through the early dead zone.
Not to “fake” popularity — but to unlock momentum.
Blastup gives you:
- Real-looking follower numbers that improve your first impression
- Faster early growth so your profile doesn’t look empty
- Stronger social proof so people feel safe following you
- Better chances of the algorithm trusting your page
When you boost your follower base early, more real people feel confident engaging with your content. That’s how network effects start working in your favor.
It’s like giving your Instagram page a small push so the snowball starts rolling.
Network Effects After the KickstartOnce your page has a foundation, the cycle becomes stronger:
- More followers →
- More engagement →
- Better reach →
- More new followers →
- Even stronger social proof
And it continues.
Suddenly, Instagram is working for you, not against you.
Final ThoughtsGrowing on Instagram isn’t only about creativity — it’s also about strategy. Understanding network effects helps you see why audience size matters and why smart creators use tools like buy followers from Blastup to jumpstart their presence.
If you want to break out of the “zero traction” stage and start building real momentum, boosting your early follower count can be the move that changes everything.
Your growth doesn’t have to be slow. Sometimes it just needs the right push at the right moment.
When it comes to social media, momentum is one of the most powerful forces you can build. It’s that moment when your content stops feeling slow, your follower count starts rising faster, and everything begins to move in your favor.
Many creators spend months waiting for this shift, but the truth is simple: the faster you grow, the faster the platform pushes your content.
That’s why so many creators look for ways to get more followers right now—not later, not “someday,” but today.
Momentum Makes Algorithms Pay AttentionPlatforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube don’t just look at what you post. They look at how people respond to it. When your account grows quickly, the algorithm sees it as a signal that people care about what you’re doing.
Fast growth tells the platform:
- “People enjoy this.”
- “This creator is worth boosting.”
- “More viewers should see this content.”
That sudden spike in followers can trigger the algorithm to test your posts with bigger audiences. And if those new viewers engage, your reach can snowball fast.
Fast Growth Changes How You Feel About CreatingMomentum doesn’t just change numbers—it changes your motivation. When you suddenly gain new followers, everything feels more exciting. You start posting more, trying new ideas, and staying consistent without forcing yourself.
Here’s what creators often notice:
- You stop overthinking every post.
- You feel confident showing up more often.
- Your content becomes easier to make.
- You feel like success is possible—not distant.
This mindset shift is critical. It’s easier to keep going when you can actually see progress happening in real time.
Followers Attract More FollowersPeople love joining what’s already popular. When someone visits your profile and sees steady activity, they are far more likely to follow you. That’s the social proof effect.
A profile with growing momentum says:
- “Others already trust this creator.”
- “This content must be valuable.”
- “I don’t want to miss out.”
That’s why creators aim to get more followers right now—fast growth makes you look relevant, active, and worth paying attention to. And once your profile looks alive, real people naturally want to join.
Consistency Becomes Easier When Growth Is FasterLet’s be honest—posting every day feels hard when nothing is happening. But when your content is gaining traction, consistency becomes natural.
Momentum creates:
- Higher engagement
- Better energy
- More creative ideas
- A stronger connection with your audience
In other words, growth fuels discipline. The more your account moves, the easier it is to show up again and again.
The Momentum Effect Never Stops… Unless You DoMomentum is like a rolling snowball. At first, you push slowly. Then the snowball grows. Then it rolls on its own. And soon, it becomes something much bigger than you expected.
But you must stay active, stay visible, and keep your growth going. When you take steps to get more followers right now, you’re not just raising your numbers—you’re setting off a chain reaction that can transform your entire creator journey.
Fast growth doesn’t just change your profile. It changes everything.
Online influence has become an essential part of modern leadership. CEOs who build a strong presence across digital platforms can shape industry conversations and strengthen trust. Influence does not come from loud messaging or constant posting. It grows from authenticity. With thoughtful habits and a strategic mindset, CEOs can establish a credible voice that resonates far beyond their organization.
Share Expertise With Purpose
A CEO’s influence increases when they share insights that bring genuine value to others. Thought leadership posts, interviews, and commentary on industry trends help audiences see the leader as a knowledgeable and reliable source. Rather than posting generic statements, CEOs benefit from focusing on topics where they have deep professional experience or personal conviction. This creates a voice that sets them apart.
Engage With Audiences Thoughtfully
Engagement is a key factor in online influence. Responding to comments, acknowledging feedback, and joining relevant conversations show that the CEO is listening. This kind of interaction makes leaders feel approachable and grounded. It also allows them to understand what matters most to their audience. The tone should remain respectful, consistent, and reflective of the company’s values.
Maintain Consistency Across Platforms
Consistency signals reliability. While CEOs do not need to post daily, they should maintain a steady cadence that keeps them visible without overwhelming audiences. This includes aligning messaging across channels such as LinkedIn, company blogs, and industry publications. Mixed messages can confuse followers and weaken influence. A coherent presence helps reinforce a CEO’s viewpoint and strengthens familiarity with their leadership style.
Use Data to Guide Content Decisions
Digital platforms offer valuable insights into what resonates with followers. CEOs can review engagement metrics to understand which subjects drive meaningful interaction. Data driven decisions help refine content strategies and reduce wasted effort. Paying attention to audience response also encourages continuous improvement, allowing messages to evolve alongside industry trends and organizational priorities.
Seek Outside Perspective When Needed
Even the most skilled leaders can benefit from external guidance. Some CEOs work with strategic communications firms to strengthen their online presence, refine their messaging, or prepare for high impact announcements. Outside support provides an objective view and helps ensure the leader’s public voice remains clear and aligned with organizational goals.
Building influence online is an ongoing process rooted in authenticity, clarity, and engagement. CEOs who approach digital presence with purpose can shape conversations, build trust, and elevate both their personal and organizational reputations. Look over the infographic below to learn more.
Technology—darling readers—has become both our most dazzling muse and our most demanding companion. From the flicker of the first computer monitor to the glow of our smartphones today, it has reshaped how we work, communicate, and even breathe in the business world. Yet, as I sat in a meeting about a new platform called UniContact, designed to streamline every contact, lead, and conversation, I couldn’t help but wonder: When does “streamlining” start to feel like spinning?
I already juggle LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, six emails, and two CRMs (and that’s before morning coffee!). The question isn’t just how much technology we can use—but how much we truly need.
The Double-Edged Gift
Technology has elevated our efficiency beyond imagination. Meetings that once required cross-country flights now happen from our kitchen counters. The clatter of typewriter keys has faded into the gentle hum of laptops, while offices stretch from skyscrapers to sunlit patios by the pool. We are mobile, flexible, and global.
But beneath this gleaming progress lies a quieter truth. Our devices have blurred the line between working and living. According to the American Psychological Association, over half of Americans now work weekends, respond to emails when sick, and log in after hours. “Flextime,” once hailed as freedom, has morphed into an endless tether.
As the philosopher Adam Alter explores in his book Irresistible, we are becoming subtly addicted—not to the technology itself, but to the dopamine drip of constant connection. Our workplaces have become digital ecosystems that reward immediacy, not introspection.
The Human Equation
So, how do we reclaim our balance? The solution isn’t to rebel against innovation but to redesign our relationship with it. Organizations can nurture healthier digital habits by setting boundaries and building tools that serve human rhythm rather than override it.
Leaders must ask: Does this app empower creativity—or distract from it? Does it spark innovation—or exhaustion?
And we, as individuals, must reframe our mindset. Technology should be the elegant brushstroke that enhances the painting of our professional lives—not the frame that confines it.
The Modern Weave: Challenges and Choices
The digital workplace brings both opportunity and obstacle. Among its greatest challenges:
- Security & Privacy – safeguarding the threads of trust in every click and conversation.
- Resistance to Change – reminding teams that transformation isn’t loss—it’s evolution.
- Integration Overload – too many tools without a clear design can become digital clutter.
- Remote Realities – connection without cohesion can unravel team spirit.
- Burnout & Boundaries – the glow of the screen must never eclipse the glow of well-being.
Each challenge invites creativity. Each solution—whether cybersecurity, communication tools, or culture shifts—becomes part of the great tapestry of transformation.
Salonista’s Closing Thought
In the end, technology is neither savior nor saboteur—it is simply a mirror. It reflects the pace, pressure, and priorities of our age. How we use it defines not just our productivity, but our humanity.
Let’s design digital worlds that work for us, not through us. Let’s keep the soul in the system. Because even in a world of algorithms and automation, it’s still the human touch—the thoughtful message, the creative spark, the kind reply—that keeps the workplace truly alive.
Have you tried Facebook ads only to have your ad rejected because of the image? Or has your ad not converted in the way you had hoped? Typically the image you choose can be the culprit.
The good news is that you don’t have to be a graphic designer to create good images (although, of course, hiring a graphic designer is a great idea) but if you are on a tight budget, you can create something that will both convert and get approved.
Facebook Ad Sizes
The first step is to understand what ad image sizes work for each type of ad. The ad image sizes can change frequently. While there are many good “most recent ad size” charts out there, the best way to know for sure is to check with Facebook directly.
via How to Create the Best Image for Your Facebook Ads – Andrea Vahl.
Social media can be a very taunting trend. Do I tweet or post? Do I need to respond to every complaint people send my way? Social media is a growing feature in addressing customer service for many companies. Lack thereof can negatively affect your business and, vice versa, active social media can greatly benefit it! But how does one go about approaching all the tweets, posts, follows, likes and comments? Here is a simple presentation, laying out some simple steps to use social media for customer service. Believe us, the numbers don’t lie! Take note of all the stats presented (good and bad) because they will greatly help your steps in achieving customer service expertise through social media!
via How to use social media for customer service | The Webinar Gazette.
The data is mind-boggling:
Twitter users send 500 million tweets a day. A billion people watch 6 billion hours of YouTube videos every month. Advertisers are falling all over themselves to get at Facebook’s 1.3 billion active users. And WordPress says 400 million people view 17 billion blog pages each month, including 120 million new posts and comments.
Those are staggering numbers, but who generates all that stuff? Countless millions post online to promote themselves, build their personal brands and grow their networks. They believe it’s somehow beneficial to their business and their career. For many, it is their business and their career.
However paltry and misguided the pursuit – while highly profitable for Google and Facebook, the vast majority of that user-generated content is done pro bono, i.e. for free – a surprising amount of it is business-related. It crosses all borders and touches all demographics. And that does spell opportunity for enterprising folks to capitalize on.
While that may seem harmless enough, it’s not. To say it’s gotten a little out of hand has got to be the mother of all understatements. All that content is affecting us in ways we’re not even aware of. And it’s profoundly influencing our next and probably even our current generation of executives and business leaders, and not in a good way.
via Real Leaders Don’t Follow | Fox Business.
These days, every time a large political demonstration takes place somewhere in the world, it seems to set off a discussion of the Internet’s role in facilitating it, whether by allowing protesters to rally support from both domestic and international sources, report developments from the ground, communicate their demands to government leaders, or document police abuses. What tends to be overlooked, however, is the Internet’s other role in political movements of this sort—that is, its effects before protestors ever take to the streets. The Internet has quietly but profoundly shifted citizens’ desire to act or organize politically in the first place by influencing their perceptions of their government’s performance.
via The Other Facebook Revolution | Foreign Affairs.
Is there such a thing as a perfect tweet?
I like to think so. Certainly, there are strategies, guidelines and norms to follow on Twitter to maximise user engagement, awareness and interest. And there are many things you simply should not do unless your intention is to drive people away.
At the very least, simply by using proper grammar and punctuation, sourcing your facts and figures, uploading an image, tagging others and using hashtags in your tweets, you will significantly increase the odds that your message will be seen by others and, as importantly, read and shared.
Each social network has its own best practices, and this visual from CJG Marketing provides a wealth of tips on how to write perfect posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
Embedded from CJG Digital Marketing
We can’t predict the future with 100 percent accuracy, whether it is 10 years from now or 100 years from now, but we can look at where today’s technology is headed for a glimpse of what Internet may be like in the future. At the pace things are moving, it’s possible some of us may even be here to see it turn into reality!
This infographic from whoishostingthis team takes a closer look at what will the internet technology look like in the near future.
via What Will The Internet Look Like In 100 Years – infographic | Digital Information World.
by Heidi Schwende, Featured Contributor
Leverage social to showcase your skillsHere’s whyTHE 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Social Media Examiner revealed that in their study of over 2,800 marketers
- 92% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business
- 89% want to know the most effective social tactics
- 68% plan on increasing their use of blogging
- 65% want to learn more about the benefits of Google+
On any given day of any given month we are optimizing social media to at least 20K websites worldwide for our clients. We know that social media cannot be ignored for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which are the social signals that search engines look for to rank your online relevance.
Our perspective on social media marketing involves a steady and eloquent stream of content that fosters a connection between brand and customer. Through the online social environment your brand is one vital step closer to your customer base, thereby gaining you insights, engagement channels and customer loyalty that are absolutely invaluable to your business. Think of the social media world as your podium to showcase on a really large scale, what your brand is all about.
Social media is a quintessential channel for engagement, there’s no doubt about it. So just how do you develop and executive a social media strategy tailored to your company? And how do you empower your team to do it
Here are 6 quick tips for youEfficiently utilize major social platforms like, yes, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google My Business with flare and business savvy
- Set attainable goals that meet your brand’s vision
- Accurately select the right social media tools that will fulfill your specific objectives
- Generate that all important engaging content for your target customers
- Capture social campaign metrics and analyze your results
- Take a big-picture approach across all your social media initiatives
- Integrate and standardize your social channels to your web presence
The results will astound you* Social media marketing will boost your brand’s accessibility and you will see results * An overall stronger relationship with customers * Healthier customer retention * Customer loyalty an advocacy of your brand * A new awareness of what your customers want * The ability to promote one-on-one rapport with your audience * A definite up-turn of your brand visibility * Greater command over your brand’s public reputation * An increase in your brand’s social clout * You’ll discover new channels to generate leads * Foster brand recall across all audiences * And a better general overall understanding of the nuances of communicating on each social media platform
My advice is not to go it alone. Forget about the skeptics who think social media is too risky for getting a brand noticed. Hitting it big with social media just takes strategy, wit and resilience. Once your content is shareable, the rewards will be worth it.
by Jane Anderson, Featured Contributor
DO YOU NEED a compelling reason to read a book? A catchy title piques my interest, the cover might be a magnet, but what really clinches it for me is a quick glance through the table of contents and a discerning scan of a few key chapters. I have yet to be tossed out of a bookstore for lingering too long with multiple books opened while I make a decision. A World Gone Social is one of those rare books that impressed me enough to purchase the eBook as well as the hardback copy. I could write in detail what I learned and what you will want to learn, but that means hours of my time and hours of your. That could satisfy one of the tenets of this book, ‘less media, more social’, but let me explain how this book impacted my understanding of what it means to go social. When you pick up your copy, you can see how it affects yours.
Mark Babbitt and Ted Coine’ explore how the Social Age changes business on every level. To quote them, “One of the biggest challenges since the Industrial Age is not Social Media. It is transparency.” This book expertly describes the impact of ‘more social, less media’ to the point that readers understand how to transform old methods to new. Social is not campaigning to broadcast your message, but rather to engage: anticipate, listen, communicate in conversation. The key is aiming for OPEN collaboration as the norm, which can only be attained when both customers and employees are actively engaged.
Social Media is not one word. There is Social, then there is Media. In the Industrial Age, media was king. Marketers prepared the message to broadcast. Let the media pick it up and further broadcast. Campaigns were planned, scheduled, conducted, and measured. Nowhere in that process is the word ‘engage’. Social is practically defined as engagement. Being engaged is the cornerstone of social. Social is word-of-mouth, it’s connecting, it’s interacting, it’s being involved, it’s listening, it’s being transparent. Social starts with employees. The authors discuss the effects of engagement on employee relationships and their emotional investment in the organization, on loyalty, on trust, and on satisfaction. To back up from that fact, social starts with the recruiting process. Organizations putting social to good work are champions at representing their brands. They don’t just post job openings, they mentor, they blog, they build relationships. They are present on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+. They set the stage for hiring employees not just because they have the skills, but because they fit the culture and the position.
Customer Service is a leadership issue. In the Social Age, customer experience comes first. This goes far beyond the Industrial Age philosophy that ‘the customer is always right’. The authors talk about the framework for every organization which consists of three roles: making, selling, and serving. Regardless of the role, everyone serves the customer. Social media has taken customer service public in ways that didn’t exist in the Industrial Age. Listen, you can’t afford to have satisfied customers, you need engaged customers. Service is what the customer sees and feels – and they talk about it – all the time. As a leader, grasp this central formula: Leadership + Culture + Service = Profits Learn about it in Chapter 12.
This book is a goldmine for organizations who want to become champions of the Social Age. There is too much to share for one short book report, so let me cover just two more of my favorite chapters – then I’ll let you off the hook. I encourage you to pick up your own copy of A World Gone Social. I’d let you borrow mine, but it is literally inked up, and highlighted in yellow, pink, and orange. Definitely not going into any resale.
Flat: The New Black grabbed my attention immediately. I have long been curious about the concept of the flat organization. There are authors and business consultants who understand it, work with them, and easily envision process without boundaries and structure without silos. The authors delve into the specifics of what it means to have a flat organization – no managers. Huh? I know. That’s what I said, and the authors recognize this will be a hurdle for traditional large organizations. Still, after reading about the intent and proven benefits of organizations void of the widget & line org chart, I am ready for that culture. Seriously! Read the chapter and you will be inspired by how organizations are working flat. Two keys required to pull it off: 1) must have mature, responsible, adult team members; 2) must be very specific on expectations and performance. Read the chapter to formulate your own thoughts on the flat organization and find out how organizations function without hierarchy and why employees perform better in flat organizations.
The OPEN Challenge: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Network – so this was my favorite part of the book, probably because I am ordinary. But I am also an information junkie and a chronic knowledge sharer. If I learn something new, I go in search of someone to teach it to. No surprise, then, that the pages where Ted and Mark defined the benefits of living and working in the Social Age were captivating. I’m paraphrasing here, but in essence they said: Every individual has expertise in some areas but is completely ordinary in others. Together we comprise an extraordinarily powerful network of knowledge, imagination, skills, and abilities to solve any challenge. Each of us can tap into that network to mitigate the chasm between the knowledge of what some know and what we do not. There is power in OPEN methodology and the authors describe how to tap into it, create it, develop it, and thrive in it.
OK wait! I said only two chapter summaries and I’d let you go, but can I just have two more minutes? You will really want to read and absorb the chapter Building a World-Class Team for the Social Age. The authors ask penetrating questions leading to a quantified assessment of readiness for leading your teams to be ‘more social, less media’. They implore you to look at the reality of your current employer brand and they show you the inside view of an OPEN community. Ted and Mark suspect your organization already has the making of an OPEN community.
Provided at no extra charge, is a Social Sanity Check. If you’re on social now – get it and use it. If social is on your wish list, get the book now – the Social Sanity Check will be there when you’re ready to go.
In late summer, Mayfield and CRV co-hosted a dinner for entrepreneurs at e-commerce 2.0 companies, including Brit& Co, Dolls Kill, Dropship, Indiegogo, Kiwi Crate, LeTote, Massdrop, Pebble, Peek, Poshmark, The Hunt, Tophatter, Touch of Modern, Trendalytics, Udemy and Urban Remedy. These executives discussed the factors making e-commerce cool again for investors and founders, focusing on how evolving technology and business platforms (primarily through mobile devices, and social media) are changing the rules for the 6 C’s: content, curation, customization, community, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding.
New conceptions of mobile and web-based commerce are pushing companies beyond the usual “treadmill of marketing spend versus inventory buildup versus thin margins” that has previously plagued startups engaged in the art of the consumer-facing sale. As mobile becomes more of a balm for e-commerce’s traditional woes, here are a few things that entrepreneurs should consider for their budding businesses.
via Changing The Rules Of E-Commerce | TechCrunch.
Taking the time to plan out your social media efforts for certain events and holidays can make or break the social engagement you see at those times.
Just because it only takes a few seconds to read a tweet doesn’t mean it will only take a few seconds to write it. In fact, crafting the perfect social message often takes multiple steps, people, and days.
Why It’s Important to Use a Social Editorial Calendar
Sometimes companies can churn out social posts very quickly. Oreo, a company known for their strong Twitter presence, was able to send out this tweet during the 2013 Super Bowl mere moments after the power went out:
via 4 Steps for Creating a Social Media Editorial Calendar | Sprout Social.
We are fired up to share our latest infographic with you! Google Analytics isn’t just about page views and bounce rate. Did you know that you can use it to calculate the value of different actions on your landing page?
The infographic is based on data from our recent report, Google Analytics Usage Among Marketers. We wanted to walk you through the basic steps of calculating your ROI with Google Analytics. Want to learn more? Check it out below.
via Infographic: A Short Guide to Calculating the ROI of a Landing Page with Google Analytics · Formstack Blog.
No one clicks on your links. No one comments on your posts or shares them. Why? There are a number of possible reasons, but the most likely is that your copy sucks. Fortunately, when it comes to raising the engagement level on your social media posts, the answers are as old as human psychology and advertising in general. The concepts are the same, even if the medium has changed and a few tweaks are necessary. Here are 10 tips that will get you more attention on social media.
- Define and Express Your USP
Every business should have a USP, or unique selling proposition, that differentiates it from the crowd. Otherwise you’re lost in the crowd with little hope of being noticed or garnering any significant share of the market. Why should potential customers buy from you instead of your competitors? Once you can answer this question, go through the exercise of turning the tables and asking the same question about your competitors objectively – why should they buy from them instead of you?
via 10 Copywriting Tips to Drive More Engagement on Social Media | Social Media Today.
From the streets to academia, Rick’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. He transitioned from a law enforcement officer to a PhD holder, driven by the belief that true public safety isn’t just about skills but about understanding people. Hear how his father’s influence and his own experiences shaped his mission to humanize law enforcement. Rick emphasizes the need to develop emotional intelligence, empathy, and self-awareness, qualities often overlooked in traditional promotion methods.
Learn about the nuanced role of emotional intelligence in law enforcement leadership and how it can transform interactions within the force and with the community. The conversation delves into the modern challenges that law enforcement faces, from the impact of technology on human connections to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rick shares valuable insights on situational awareness and understanding emotional cues to foster trust and effective communication.
In an intriguing discussion on the role of social media in law enforcement, we explore how some police departments successfully combat misinformation through proactive communication. Imagine a dream dinner with historical figures like Marcus Aurelius and Abraham Lincoln, contributing to the conversation’s depth. Finally, Rick highlights the power of sharing expert knowledge on platforms like LinkedIn to drive positive change in public safety. Join us for this enlightening episode and become part of a mission to make a lasting impact on the world.
(03:10 – 04:18) Leadership Development in Law Enforcement
(09:08 – 10:10) Promotion Based on Competency and Development
(14:39 – 16:05) Leadership Coaching in Public Safety
(18:28 – 19:33) Humanity in Future Policing
NEWSLETTER: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64e2b9…
SERVING JOURNAL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSNSY1M1
I researched the dark side of social media − and heard the same themes in ‘The Tortured Poets Department’Angeline Close Scheinbaum, Clemson University
As an expert in consumer behavior, I recently edited a book about how social media affects mental health. I’m also a big fan of Taylor Swift. So when I listened to Swift’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” I couldn’t help but notice parallels to the research that I’ve been studying for the past decade.
It might seem like an outlandish comparison. What can the bestselling album of 2024 have to do with research into the dark side of social media? But bear with me: Taylor Swift lives in the same social media-saturated universe as the rest of us. That may be why the melancholic themes of her album resonate with so many people.
With young people out of school for the summer and spending free time on social media, now is a time to put on some tunes and think about mental health and what is called “consumer well-being” in the transformative consumer research area of scholarship.
Here are three Taylor-made takeaways that shed light on some of the themes in my latest edited book, “The Darker Side of Social Media: Consumer Psychology and Mental Health.”
Lesson 1: Modern life through the social media lens can get you downIf you’ve been feeling out of sorts lately, you’re hardly alone: Anxiety and depression can be exacerbated by overuse of social media, research summarized in Chapter 1 shows. And social media use is on the rise.
The average American teenager spends nearly five hours every day scrolling TikTok, Instagram and the like, polling shows, while adults clock more than two hours a day on social media. Such could be compulsive social media use and overall overuse.
Digital life can simulate addiction and sometimes manifest as a distinct form of anxiety called “disconnection anxiety,” researchers Line Lervik-Olsen, Bob Fennis and Tor Wallin Andreassen note in their book chapter on compulsive social media use. This can breed feelings of depression – a mood that recurs throughout “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Oftentimes, depression goes hand in hand with feelings of loneliness. Social media has, in some ways, made people feel even lonelier – nearly 4 in 5 Americans say that social media has made social divisions worse, according to Pew Research. In our book chapter, my graduate student Betül Dayan and I consider the prevalence of loneliness in the digital world.
The pandemic showed the world that social media relationships can’t replace physical company. Even celebrities with hundreds of millions of followers simply want someone to be with. In the song “The Prophecy,” Swift sings of loneliness and wanting someone who simply enjoys her presence:
Don’t want money/ Just someone who wants my company (“The Prophecy”)
Lesson 2: Comparisons will make you miserableSocial media is a breeding ground for comparisons. And since people tend to portray idealized versions of themselves on social media – rather than their authentic selves – these comparisons are often false or skewed. Research has shown that people on social media tend to make “upward comparisons,” judging themselves relative to people they find inspiring. Social media can breed false comparisons, as what someone is aspiring to may not be authentic.
This can lead to what researchers call a “negative self-discrepancy” – a sense of disappointment with one’s failure to meet a personal ideal. As researchers Ashesh Mukherjee and Arani Roy note in their book chapter, social media makes people more dissatisfied with their own sense of control, intelligence and power. This, in turn, can worsen stress and anxiety.
The theme of comparisons comes through loud and clear in the song “The Tortured Poets Department,” in which Swift castigates a partner with literary pretensions – and herself for dating him. Swift may be the most rich, famous and successful pop star on the planet, but comparing yourself with even more heroic figures is sure to make anyone feel worse:
You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith. This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’re modern idiots. (“The Tortured Poets Department”)
Lesson 3: Bullying isn’t a minor problemIn today’s social media-focused world, bullying has transitioned to online platforms. And arguably, platforms breed bullying: People are more likely to engage in cruel behavior online than they would face to face.
Policymakers increasingly recognize bullying as an important political concern. In their book chapter, researchers Madison Brown, Kate Pounders and Gary Wilcox have examined laws intended to fight bullying.
One such effort, the Kids Online Safety Act, which among other things would require online platforms to take steps to address cyberbullying, recently passed the U.S. Senate.
Lawmakers aren’t the only ones taking bullying seriously. In her latest album, Swift refers to bullies in her own life as vipers who “disgrace her good name” and who say insults that stick with her for a long time. Themes of reputation and bullying have run throughout Swift’s entire body of work – hardly surprising for someone who has lived such a public life, both online and off.
I’ll tell you something ’bout my good name. It’s mine alone to disgrace. I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empath’s clothing. (“But Daddy I Love Him”)
It is not known whether overall social media use or overuse alone causes some of these outcomes, but our research does demonstrate that in many ways there’s a darker side to social media when it comes to consumer well-being – even for celebrities. So if you’re going to see the Eras Tour in Europe this summer, you might want to leave your phone back at the hotel.
Angeline Close Scheinbaum, Associate Professor of Marketing, Clemson University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Safety is a concept that can be manipulated to justify nearly anything.
~Bruce Schneier
In recent years, a troubling trend has emerged in group discussions, particularly in professional and social settings. When faced with ideas that challenge their beliefs or worldviews, some individuals retreat behind the claim, “I don’t feel safe.” While personal safety is undoubtedly crucial, this phrase is increasingly misused as a shield against intellectual discomfort, stifling meaningful dialogue and growth.
The concept of safety in discourse originally aimed to protect vulnerable groups from genuine threats or discrimination. However, its scope has expanded to include protection from ideas themselves. This shift poses a significant threat to open dialogue, critical thinking, and the exchange of diverse perspectives.
When someone claims they “don’t feel safe” in response to challenging ideas, they often conflate emotional discomfort with actual danger. This false equivalence does a disservice to both the individual and the group.
The act of verbalizing “I don’t feel safe” in a discussion setting can have an immediate and chilling effect on open, honest, and candid conversation. It shifts the focus from the ideas being discussed to the emotional state of the individual, often leading others to self-censor or tiptoe around certain topics. This disruption can derail productive exchanges, preventing the group from delving into important issues or considering alternative viewpoints. The mere utterance of this phrase can create an atmosphere of tension and caution, where participants become more concerned with avoiding offense than engaging in meaningful dialogue.
Moreover, this retreat to perceived safety can be seen as a form of intellectual cowardice. Growth – both personal and societal – often requires us to confront ideas or situations that make us uncomfortable. By avoiding these confrontations, we limit our ability to refine our own beliefs, understand others’ perspectives, and develop the resilience necessary to navigate a complex world.
The “I don’t feel safe” response can also be weaponized to silence opposing viewpoints. By framing disagreement as a threat to safety, individuals can effectively shut down conversations and paint those with different opinions as aggressors.
This tactic not only impedes productive dialogue but can also create a chilling effect, where others become hesitant to express their views for fear of being labeled as threats.
It’s essential to recognize that discomfort is not synonymous with danger. Feeling challenged, confused, or even upset by new ideas is a natural part of learning and growth. These feelings should be embraced as opportunities for self-reflection and expansion, not avoided in the name of safety.
Individuals, too, must cultivate resilience and openness to challenging ideas. This involves developing the ability to engage with concepts that contradict our beliefs, to consider them critically, and to respond with reasoned arguments rather than emotional retreats.
When faced with the urge to claim, “I don’t feel safe” in response to challenging ideas, we should instead ask ourselves: What about this makes me uncomfortable? Why do I hold my current beliefs? How can I engage with this perspective productively, even if I ultimately disagree?
By reframing our response to intellectual challenges, we open ourselves to growth, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the world around us. We must recognize that true safety lies not in avoiding discomfort or using “unsafe” as a defensive mechanism, but in developing the strength to constructively face it head-on.
In conclusion, while personal safety remains paramount, we must be wary of using “safety” as a shield against intellectual discourse. By embracing discomfort, engaging with challenging ideas, and fostering resilience, we can create more robust, dynamic, and enlightening group discussions that benefit all participants and society as a whole.
In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, online courses and platforms have emerged as game-changers, offering learners unprecedented access to knowledge and skills right from the comfort of their homes. This digital revolution has transformed education, tearing down barriers like time, location, and cost, and empowering individuals to pursue learning opportunities tailored to their unique needs and interests.
The accessibility of online courses and learning platforms is perhaps one of their most significant advantages. With just a few clicks, learners can tap into a vast library of courses covering virtually every imaginable subject. Whether you’re eager to master a new language, refine technical skills, or explore niche topics, there’s an online course perfectly suited to your needs. This accessibility is especially beneficial for busy individuals or those in remote areas, who may lack access to traditional educational resources.
Completing a Lectera online course and earning a certificate comes with several advantages. Firstly, it provides tangible proof of your newfound knowledge and skills, which can enhance your resume and credibility in your field. Moreover, they demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning and professional development, which can impress employers and open doors to new opportunities.
Moreover, online courses offer a level of flexibility that traditional classroom learning simply can’t match. Learners have the freedom to study at their own pace, seamlessly integrating education into their work, family, and personal commitments. This flexibility not only accommodates diverse lifestyles but also allows learners to tailor their educational journey to suit their unique preferences and learning styles.
Another standout feature of online courses is their emphasis on personalized learning. Many platforms leverage cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to customize course content based on each learner’s abilities and preferences. Adaptive learning algorithms analyze learner performance and deliver personalized recommendations, ensuring that learners receive the support and guidance they need to thrive.
Furthermore, online courses foster a sense of community and collaboration among learners. Through virtual study groups, discussion forums, and interactive assignments, learners can connect with peers from around the globe, exchanging ideas and collaborating on projects. This collaborative learning environment not only enriches the learning experience but also cultivates valuable networking opportunities and a sense of belonging within the global learning community.
Beyond individual learners, online courses and platforms also offer significant benefits to organizations and businesses looking to upskill their workforce. Many platforms provide tailored corporate training programs designed to address the specific needs of companies, enabling employees to acquire new skills and knowledge relevant to their roles. This investment in employee development not only enhances job performance but also boosts employee satisfaction and retention, ultimately driving organizational success.
However, amidst the plethora of online learning resources, it’s crucial for learners to approach them discerningly. Not all courses and platforms are created equal, and learners should conduct thorough research and evaluation before making their selection. Factors such as accreditation, instructor credentials, course content, and user feedback should all be considered to ensure a high-quality educational experience that aligns with their goals.
In essence, the digital age has ushered in a new era of learning, characterized by the unparalleled accessibility, flexibility, and personalized learning opportunities afforded by online courses and platforms. Whether you’re seeking to acquire new skills, advance your career, or simply satisfy your curiosity, embracing the power of online education can unlock a world of possibilities and propel your learning journey to new heights.
For the better part of the last decade, I have been on LinkedIn where I would average close to 3500 views for many of the posts I did. Several of them went viral, A lot of them were blog posts in which I attempted to educate new business owners on the ins and outs of effective communication. I published more than 300 blog posts when they gave a shit about that stuff. And I commented a great deal on the posts I both agreed and disagreed with.
You could say I was a pretty good member. I can only recall getting three warnings, but there were probably a few more since I am vehemently anti-idiocy.
Over the years I had built up a modest following of about 3500 souls.
Then one day, about a week ago now I found myself locked out of the site. The way to get back in was to go through what turned out to be a constantly repetitious set of functions that took me absolutely nowhere.
The only reason I have any presence on that site at the moment is because my posts are being published by my friends at BizCatalyst 360°. I hope they will publish this one because perhaps it will get through to someone at LinkedIn who can, at the very least, explain to me why this is happening.
LinkedIn, as many of us know, is primarily a recruitment site. But it’s also a site where a lot of business issues and political issues are discussed. And of course, they are, especially in America, where LinkedIn’s largest audience resides, pretty much intertwined.
As a Canadian who pays a lot of attention to US politics, I like to think that my point of view, if nothing else is semi-objective. If I were an American I would probably be a Democrat as opposed to a Republican, because in Canada I am pretty much a Liberal, mainly because the Conservative party in our country hasn’t had any solid leadership for decades.
The weird thing is that LinkedIn only tells you that you are in trouble and never bothers to explain why that is so you can course correct.
If I am in trouble for something I did, and they explained that to me, I would definitely stop doing whatever that was because A) I am not an idiot and b) I am a professional writer and it’s a relatively easy thing for me to do.
During the course of trying to get back on LinkedIn I reached out to a LinkedIn friend with whom I am also connected on Facebook, and he, in turn, reached to LinkedIn out on my behalf.
Lo and behold, the response he got was something that sent me to the same link I get every time I try and open LinkedIn myself. And round and round it went.
Sometimes I get the feeling that the lights are on there, but nobody’s home.
So for the past week, I have been in the process of learning to live without it. And you know what, life is not so bad. I belong to several other sites and it seems, at least at the moment, that the longer I live without access to LinkedIn, the less I miss it. The only thing I do miss about it is a small discussion group that I belonged to that consisted of four very bright people that I have gotten to know.
I can keep up to speed on a lot of the stuff that interests me, especially the wild west show that AI has turned into and the US political circus through several emails I receive regularly.
Plus, in a couple of weeks, my pool will be open and I can start meditating on a new series of short stories that I will write at the end of the summer season.
Who knows, maybe LinkedIn has actually done me a favour by locking me out the way they have. Hopefully, I will still have a presence there through my published BizCatalyst 360° posts. I’ll try to make them as useful as I can, because what’s the point of having more than fifty years of experience in the high end of any business, without being able to share your insights.
So to quote, the master, Bob Dylan, which I often do.
“Time will tell
Just who has fell
And who’s been left behind
When you go your way
And I go mine”
We should have more coffeehouses, more cafes, more “third places.” More places where people can get together that’s not work, not home, and where they can interact with people who are different from them.
~ Eric Weiner
I recognize, I acknowledge, and I am grateful. In French, these three concepts are expressed by one term: “Je suis reconnaissant.” A term that clearly captures my sentiment when it comes to the “third place” that we call Our Friendship Bench. I witness with amazement the magic that transpires week after week. I acknowledge that the magic is borne of the wonderful collection of human beings gathered. And I am grateful to play a small part in the humanity discovered within.
The Third Place: An Anchor of Community in Turbulent Times.In our fast-paced, fragmented modern world, we could all use an uncomplicated gathering spot to relax, make new connections, and be reminded of our common bonds as human beings. This is the role the “third place” plays in healthy community life. The term was coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg to describe the core settings of public life outside the two usual environments of home (the first place) and work (the second place). Your third place could be the comfortable coffee shop where you’re greeted by name, the corner bar where you join friends for a pint, or the public park where you feed birds while chatting with familiar faces. These neutral gathering grounds serve as a lifeline of sociability in our increasingly impersonal and disconnected times. They are the “great good place,” as Oldenburg called them – welcoming homes away from home that help local communities preserve their identity and social ties.
With the stresses and uncertainty we all face today, having an accessible and accommodating third place is more essential than ever. It provides a calming anchor point, a hands-on reminder of community’s stabilizing presence beyond the impersonal realms of cyberspace and mass media.
In our third place, we are temporarily liberated from the roles, hierarchies, and StatusSphere performance pressures of the workplace and home life. We gather as equal human beings simply looking to make connections over lighthearted conversation and shared experiences. These equalizing places nourish human relationships and a sense of belonging at the grassroots level. They are the modern equivalent of the community well where generations gathered and bonded over mundane routines in a comfortable setting. This communion with familiar faces in a real-world setting is the antidote to social media’s superficial facsimile of connection.
In the words of Ray Oldenburg: “The nature of a third place is one in which the presence of a “regular” is always welcome, although never required. Membership is a simple, fluid process of frequent social contact, renewed each time by choice of the people involved. Eventually, social bonds develop through a type of informal intimacy. The important aspect of these relationships is that they occur outside of any commitment and exist solely in the realm of basic human respect.”
Make Our Place Your PlaceOur third place is called Our Friendship Bench – where more and more people have gathered for an hour or so every Thursday for the past four years. A place where we welcome new friends and old as we connect to a shared reality while cultivating that elusive sense of belonging craved by so many –now more than ever. We invite you to make OUR place YOUR third place. Grab your seat on our virtual Bench any Thursday or every Thursday. No costs. No rigid agendas. No sales pitches. No judgment. No kidding – just a bunch of good human beings rediscovering humanity at its best.
Meanwhile, take a moment to stroll throughthe special keepsake above (recommend that you download) –created to capture the “magic” of our Bench.
Every Thursday almost without fail when the clock clicks over to 11:30, I click a Zoom link and join a group of outstanding, smart, engaging, warm, wonderful people at Our Friendship Bench.
As a big anniversary approaches for ‘The Bench,’ we fortunate members have been asked to submit a short piece on what The Bench means to us, and why we keep coming back.
I’m honored to be a part of the Bench and as I said, barring wind, rain, dark of night, or plague of computer virus I click the link every Thursday for 60 more minutes of time with my Bench buddies. Why is that?
A few reasons. Someone once said ‘if you’re the smartest guy in the room you’re in the wrong room.’ Bench is thus just the right room for me, as I learn so much every week, gemlike insights into human behavior, reaction, perspective, or resolution. My life has been characterized by an ever-growing and ever more intense desire to know more, more, and yet more. I’m gathering in as much knowledge and hopefully wisdom as possible before the long, dark, and utterly silent night overtakes me, putting a stop to my search. The Bench serves that purpose.
Our Friendship Bench is perhaps the only place I’m able to be utterly vulnerable and openly-sharing with my own feelings and opinions, no matter the topic. To experience criticism or rejection there is inconceivable.
But what brings me back to that Zoom link every Thursday morning is something I realized only recently. The Bench is not transactional. There is give and take, for certain, but never with a commercial and/or monetary bent. No one is required to contribute; no one is discouraged from it. All of us are there for the warm and wonderful opportunity not found in many places today, a venue where we can truly be ourselves, without fear or favor, and are accepted.
It really is that simple, and that rare. The origin of the Bench goes back to pre pandemic times, remember those? Then we found ourselves benched by a microscopic coach demanding an oxymoronic social distancing. So thanks, Dennis and Ali for the welcome, and the amazing experience. Thursdays will never be the same.
Editor’s Note: Grab your seat alongside Byron and so many others any Thursday at 11:30 AM Eastern HERE
At the time of this writing, it’s mid-January 2024. There’s still plenty of time this year for you to think about how to use Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If you were to think like professionals in the field, like InSync Media Marketing Agency, how would you approach SEO in the near future? Here are some potential strategies:
Rewrite Your Old Posts to Suit E-E-A-TFor those that don’t know, Google used to really emphasize something known as E-A-T, which was “Expertise,” “Authoritativeness,” and “Trustworthiness.”They have since added one more ‘E” for good measure, “Experience.” Now it’s E-E-A-T. Take a look at your old posts and see how you can write them to suit this new metric. How can you show that you are both an expert and experienced at something?
Basically, you want to show that you have done the things that you are writing about and didn’t just sit for three hours doing a deep dive into it. Doing this can really help your rankings as Google recognizes the updated post and adjusts things accordingly.
Don’t update all your old posts though. Only pick the ones that are evergreen, which means they will always be topical, no matter when someone reads them. Ask yourself if that’s the case with each post. That should guide you on when to rewrite something. Do an audit every quarter to see what should be updated and what should be left along.
Redo Parts of Your PostsRedo Keyword ResearchJust like people change passwords, they also change what keywords they might be interested in looking for. Take a look at what particular keywords might be popular at the time by using SEO software. Then you can see about using new keywords or possibly retargeting.
Redo Your HeadersHeaders are more than just a guideline for your readers so that they will know what the subsequent paragraphs will be about. They are great for Google to target so that it will know what the user is interested in. You should also structure your headers in a way that it makes the entire piece flow like it should and be judicious about how you use h2 and h3 tags to get this working like it should.
Ideally, you’d start off with an H1 and then an H2 along with two or three H3s before a second H2 and several H3s. That will show the reader what they are going to be looking at. Of course, you can add and subtract based on how long you’re going to make a post.
Redo Your Meta DescriptionsA lot of people view the meta descriptions as a throwaway part of writing a post. They just tack several vaguely related words and call it a day. This can wind up costing them a good amount of potential traffic. It’s time to take this part of the post very seriously and redo them in the best way to reflect what you’re all about. This is very important if you use Google AdWords. You could make extra money by seeing what is working and then adjust your writing based on that.
Redo Your Content HeadlinesThe internet is full of posts and people usually gravitate to the ones that have interesting headlines. You can work on yours so that you can have something to reel people in. There are some that like to do it in a “bait and switch” way where they write something outlandish and then the post itself isn’t remotely related to the headline. It seems to be a bad trend – there are a lot of online games that show gameplay that is very different from the real game. People may download the game but delete it when they realize they were duped.
So, while you can write intriguing headlines that get attention, make sure that the content that is underneath is what the headline billed it as. You won’t keep an audience for long if you are like the game companies. Also, you could have the headlines include the current year in them.
Redo Your ImagesYes, having successful SEO results doesn’t just rely on having the right words. You also need to optimize any images that you have on the site. You can do this a variety of ways. Make sure your filename has an actual name. Google won’t know what IMG248240 is, but it will understand “Michael Jordan 1988 slam dunk.”
Just like metadata, people often pay little attention to crafting alt text correctly. While it’s a great way to help people who are handicapped view images on your site (that’s a bit of good karma right there), you can also write the description in a way that will get Google’s attention.
Yes, size does matter. If you have an image that is very high-definition and is large in storage size, that can slow down your site load time. While it might not bother someone who is using high-speed internet at home or work, it can make those who are using smartphones impatient. Google will ding you for that.
Be Extra Thorough With Your Proofreading Your posts are a reflection on your writing skills. It can be easy to make spelling and grammatical errors when you’re trying to set up a base of posts. But when you go back and look, it can be embarrassing to see those mistakes. So, make it a part of your work to look through your writing with an extra sharp eye and see what kind of errors you made. This way, when your re-written posts get re-indexed by Google, you’re going to have something that looks nice and polished.
Make Sure the Content is AccurateWhile you’re mostly aiming for evergreen content, you also want to make sure that the facts in the post are all still accurate today. You would want to update it and note that Pluto is NOT a planet anymore, for example. That way, you will still be able to keep your E-E-A-T score high, which will help your search engine rankings. Having outdated info can hurt you, since people won’t trust the information that you give them.
Make Sure All the Links Are Still ActiveHere’s another great way to lose people. You’ve probably encountered something like this when visiting another site. You see a link to something that interests you, and you click it and get … “404: Site not found.” That irritated you, right? You don’t want to make people irritated when they visit your site. Make sure that all the links go to the proper websites and see about fixing any broken ones or even removing ones that the original website has not updated or redirected.
Consider Working on Your Backlinks and Other LinksThis one is a bit more controversial. Some people swear that it’s worth doing things like adding internal links, external links, and backlinks. Others see it as a waste of time and that your content should be enough. It’s still a good idea to run a test and see what kind of results you’re getting from any kind of linkage before you completely pull the plug on doing them.
Make Your Content ShineYou might think this suggestion is a bit too hard. Writing is subjective, right? Not necessarily. There are ways you can write in a way that will get people’s attention. You can use certain sites to get rankings on how SEO-friendly a particular post is. Then you can write around that number to improve it before you send it back out to the world.
There are other things you can do, like reading other posts and seeing what makes them so interesting to read and popular in search engine rankings. You’ll instinctively say, “That’s good writing there…” Ask yourself how are they both accessible and trustworthy? See if you can bottle that up yourself and reap the benefits.
Working in SEO is a constant balancing act. It can feel like Google or the other search engines are constantly shifting the board by changing the algorithm. This isn’t a job where you can just “set it and forget it.” One new tweak of the algorithm can take a post that you had a lot of views on and send it to the search engine graveyard. That’s why you always need to check your statistics and insights to see what has changed and then figure out what you need to do to get back on top.
It can feel like you’re playing a game where you’re trying to hit a spot, and it keeps moving. When you do it hit it, it can feel exhilarating, but that’s a temporary feeling. But if you treat it like an adventure and even a competition to see what you can do to build up your site to become monetized, then it can make each day feel brand new and exciting.
This isn’t an ironclad guarantee that doing these SEO tweaks will make you have a successful 2024. There’s an element of luck in this too, and the whims of the people doing the searching can be quite fickle. Still, you’ll give yourself a much better chance of achieving your goals than just standing pat. Whatever success you do have, the effort will be worth it.
As part of my series of interviews about “5 things you need to know to create a very successful podcast,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Ramona. Steve Ramona discovered networking was the real deal at a very young age. He is on a mission to teach the world how to network correctly. His passion for the Law of Increase is his secret sauce. Podcasting now is the new way to network and build an incredible inner circle; the ability to bring value/serving is a skill that will increase your networking!
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you more. Can you tell us a bit of your “personal” backstory? What is your background and what eventually brought you to this career path?
I worked at my family’s health club when I was 18 years old. I learned the power of building relationships and a large network. Once I learned that, I was able to launch a career as an entrepreneur working with a restaurant and an ice cream shop, then running my own business for 7 years. I realized how building business relationships helped me launch all of the projects I started. Now, with the #1 Small Business Marketing Podcast, I use my extensive network to get guests, referrals, and a large audience. I learned the value of serving people before you do anything else. Just last year, I gave out over 1000 referrals, almost 100 a month. This has helped me grow to a point where my income is the highest it has ever reached.
Can you share a story about the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you started podcasting?
Picking one story will be challenging, but I will give you this one. Leigh Steinberg, the sports agent for Patrick Mahomes, and the movie Jerry Maguire was based was a guest on my show. Now, if I did not have a podcast, there would be no way for us to connect. I reached out on LinkedIn and asked him to be on my show. He said “Yes,” and we did a great show. That has led to many other high-profile people like Roy Firestone, who has done 5000 interviews with ESPN and was a great guest.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
People ask me all the time how to get started with a Podcast. I learned that it is to start recording content. The more you record, the better you get. My first recording was not sound. When the recording started, I said 3 2 1 record. It was my starting point, which should have been recorded. I never did that again. I left the Podcast up, which still had hundreds of views. People only care about hearing the content.
How long have you been podcasting and how many shows have you aired?
I started my first show on Oct 4th, 2022. I have over 280 shows.
What are the main takeaways, lessons, or messages that you want your listeners to walk away with after listening to your show?
There are three things I want to get across. Was the audience motivated, inspired, and educated? I find if you hit all 3, you have a grand slam. You still have a homerun of one or two show up.
In your opinion what makes your podcast binge-listenable? What do you think makes your podcast unique from the others in your category? What do you think is special about you as a host, your guests, or your content?
My shows are positive stories. People overcome significant obstacles and come back stronger. The paraplegic who climbed a 9000-foot mountain to show you can do anything. Prisoners who changed their lives with God are now doing incredible things and many more. I, as a host, shut up and listen. I learn from my guests. My notepad is usually complete after a show. I care about my guests and what they say. I use my servant’s heart to guide me through my show. How can I bring value to my audience and see my guests stand out?
Doing something on a consistent basis is not easy. Podcasting every workday, or even every week can be monotonous. What would you recommend to others about how to maintain discipline and consistency? What would you recommend to others about how to avoid burnout?
I was doing 3 to 5 shows a day. I LOVE podcasting and learning about people. I also use it for my business. I get to know my guests to get into their network and grow my business. This keeps me really consistent. What I have done over a year and a half, many people have not. With over 280 shows recorded, the percentages show people stop at 50 recordings. Find value in your show like I do. It will keep you recording and enjoying the experience. Building relationships is the lifeblood of any business that wants to stay in business and scale.
What resources do you get your inspiration for materials from?
Referrals are a great resource. People hear my show and send me an email saying, “This person would be a great guest.” I also use LinkedIn as well to learn about people’s stories. Being on other Podcasts gives me a ton of resources as well.
Ok, fantastic. Let’s now shift to the main questions of our discussion. Is there someone in the podcasting world who you think is a great model for how to run a really fantastic podcast? What are the ingredients that make that podcast so successful?
The best ingredients are first Shut Up and listen. You see the host doing this makes for a good show. Having a conversation is always the best model. Think of your show as a table at a coffee shop. I and my guest are sitting at the table, and the guest says something that motivates someone to lean over and say “Tell me more about what you’re talking about.” This is why the audience will reach out to the guest. That are wanting more. You do that, you are modeling an incredible show. Josh Tapp, who is my mentor, has an incredible Podcast called “The Lucky Titan.” He does this with all his guests. Anyone can do this.
Which is why Podcasts can be so special and powerful.
You are a very successful podcaster yourself. Can you share with our readers the five things you need to know to create an extremely successful podcast? (Please share a story or example for each, if you can.) Shut up and listen. I did this with a guest and learned all about them. Gave them value and they gave me the opportunity to partner with him on a billionaire-dollar business. Always ask. Reach out to people and ask them to be on your show. I think I have had 1 person in over a year say no. Asking Roy Firestone, a sports Journalist, to be on my show, with 5000 interviews. He said yes, and my Podcast received a considerable boost.
The title and theme are important. I started with the title of Serving in Business. It was a good title but too broad. Once, my friend Rich told me you have a Servant’s heart. It was a game-changer. Many people listen just because of the title.
Be Consistent. People will stop listening to your shows if you are not consistent. I will do 3 to 10 weekly shows to bring fresh content to my channels. One of the reasons is that my 9800 subscribers stay with my channel. They know something new is coming soon.
Leverage your guests. I always think about how I can bring value to the guests — a referral, resource, or tip. I learn during the show their desires, passions, pain points, and challenges. I had a guest I did this with. She loved the show so much that she shared it with her network. I received 20 referrals and 2 incredible guests on my show. Serving with value with everyone you meet.
Can you share some insight from your experience about the best ways to: 1) book great guests; 2) increase listeners; 3) produce it in a professional way; 4) encourage engagement; and 5) the best way to monetize it? (Please share a story or example for each, if you can.)
- Ask. Then, tell people exactly what you are looking for in a guest. Have a link ready with all the information you need for the show.
- Make sure your guest shares with their network. Create a newsletter with updates to new shows, sponsors, and tips weekly. Lastly, if you are making money, invest in YouTube marketing. I have done this with great results.
- I have a unique way of producing my shows. I do not edit my shows. I keep the raw. This is supposed to be a conversation, not a TV series or Movie. Have unique questions. Ask questions as you listen to your guests.
- Ask again. Tell them you would love to have them listen. Ask good questions to get engaged. Guest gives something away. A newsletter helps to keep you on top of mind with your audience. Go out and be on other shows.
- Sponsors are the usual first answer (which I have), but even more so, I have an offer. They will ask you once you share it with your guests (after you bring them value and serve them). Referrals will come from everywhere. I get 3 to 10 referrals a day. Leverage your guest’s network and build partnerships with them
You can then go out and campaign weekly for your partners, and they will pay you. I make a lot of money doing this by helping others.
For someone looking to start their own podcast, which equipment would you recommend that they start with?
Start with any device you can record on Zoom. Zoom is probably the least expensive way to start a podcast. Once you get better and make more money, you can invest in better equipment. I use the Vocaster 2 Headset and mic combo.
Ok. We are almost done. Because of your position and work, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I want to start a community called Serving Each Other. I do this in a mastermind with high-income earning business people. Do this for everyone. You never know what someone can bring to you, whether poor or wealthy.
How can our readers follow you online?
Here is my website https://www.servinginbusinesspodcast.com/
And follow my newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64e2b98cca259e13f0890575
Thank you so much for sharing your time and your excellent insights! We wish you continued success.
Editors’s Note: This Interview originally appeared on Authority Magazine and is featured here with permission.
For small business owners and entrepreneurs, good time management is key. It’s different from being an employee because you’re the one who must make sure you use your time well.
Making the Most of Your Time
Have you ever said, “I wish I had more time,” or “I can’t find the time”? We all say things like this, but we don’t often stop to think about it. We all have the same 24 hours each day. So, what makes some people get more done than others? It’s all about how you use your time.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that on average, people spend about 5 hours a day on fun stuff like social media, even during times they could be doing something productive.
Avoiding Time Traps
A big problem for many of us is wasting time. This can happen in many ways, like spending too much time on social media or struggling with disorganized files. Some common mistakes include not knowing what’s most important, putting things off, trying to make things perfect, taking on too much, and getting distracted. I want to help you spot these traps and use your time better, which will help me, too. We’re all learning and improving.
Figuring Out Your Time
There’s a saying by Charles Bruxton, “You will never ‘find’ time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” Think about how you spend your day. How much time do you spend on things that make you money, and how much on other stuff, like fixing your website or checking social media? Using tools like Toggl or RescueTime, or even just writing down what you do each day for a week, can show you how you really use your time.
How to Use Your Time Better
William Penn said, “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” Once you know how you spend your time, you can start to use it better.
Tips for Better Time Use:
Use a Calendar or Project Tool: Break down big projects into smaller tasks with tools like Trello. This helps you keep track of what you need to do.
Get Help with Some Tasks: If there are things you don’t like doing or that take up too much time, think about getting someone else to do them. This could be work tasks or even things like yard work.
Keep Distractions Away: Close tabs you don’t need, log out of social media, and turn off notifications. Apps like StayFocusd can help you stay away from websites that waste your time.
Do One Thing at a Time: Trying to do many things at once can actually slow you down. Instead, set specific times for different tasks, like checking emails at one time and working on a project at another.
Tools to Help You Stay on Track
Here are some tools that can help you manage your time better:
Toggl: Keeps track of how long you spend on websites and apps.
Workflow: Helps organize your tasks and works with other apps you use.
1-3-5 Rule: Helps you choose and organize your tasks by importance.
Evernote: A place to keep your notes and ideas in one place.
Using these tips and tools can make a big difference in how you manage your time. In the end, it’s up to you: is it more about managing your time or managing yourself?
As a business owner, you want to maximize your profit where you can, and one of the ways that you can do that is by improving your reach. To improve your reach, you need to get your name out there so people become familiar with who you are, and one of the best ways that you can do that is with backlinking.
It’s something that’s come to fruition in the last decade or so, but backlinking can make a big difference to your business. External links, inbound links, and link building are all different ways to ensure you can get other websites on your portal. It’s something that sounds very simple but isn’t always the simplest thing to get started if you’re not aware of why it’s so important in the first place. Whether you do it to earn 10% commission or you do it because you want your name out there, backlinks are going to be something you should embrace if you want more for your business. For example, if you’re a dentist and you’re providing articles to your clients on your website every day.
Having an external link to a top-notch website to back up the things you’re saying may help. Getting your audience to click through to another blog can help somebody else to get their name out there, and you can earn Commission on that. You should always ensure that when you create a backlink, you are making the audience open another tab or window instead of making people leave your website. That means that your website is still going to be relevant and not forgotten about. So if you need to learn now why backlinks are so important, let’s take a look below.
- Backlinks improve your SEO. You know that Google’s algorithm can make or break your business. If you’re not at the top of the search engine results pages, then you need to figure out a way to get there, because otherwise, people are not going to find your business. Despite the thousands, millions, and billions of pages on Google, it’s the ones that come up in the first page or two that are relevant. If you do not appear on those first 2 pages, your business is unfortunately not as relevant as you think it is. When a search engine starts to curate your website, you need to check the quality of the links and that’s what a search engine crawler does. Having backlinks can improve your ranking.
- Backlinks work as endorsements for your website. Nobody just puts a link to your website because it’s a marketing platform for your business and others. It’s always a good idea to go the extra mile. You should ensure that it’s a reliable and quality source that you are putting on your site, so adding links can give sudden approval for your content on that website. This means that you need to choose links that are authentic. When those authentic links then make their way to your platform, it will be easier for your business to thrive. With the help of backlinking, you don’t need to make much effort to truly thrive.
- You could increase your traffic. When you have referral sites you are going to be able to build more traffic lines to your website. The more backlinks you have from quality websites, the better the chances of increasing your web traffic from other angles, which will help with your visibility and your name in somebody else’s algorithm. If your website doesn’t have support from the relevant authority websites, it can be very hard to grow your current audience. Focusing on growth is important.
- Backlinks build trust. Building both trust and authority for your brand is important, and with backlinks, you can do that because it shows that other businesses think your business website is worth it. It’s so important for you to focus on your brand as much as you can, and with backlinks, it’s easier to cement that reputation of yours.
- Backlinks help to promote your business. When you welcome new visitors from other websites, they’re going to add to the list of people who are your new audience. More people will get to know your brand, and that can increase your marketing overall. Conventional marketing is expensive, but with backlinks helping you, you’ll be able to help your brand to find a better voice of its own.
In the bustling realm of e-commerce, mastering the art of driving online sales and optimising conversion rates is a vital pursuit for businesses aiming to thrive in the digital marketplace.
With the ever-expanding array of products and services available at the click of a button, it is imperative for online businesses to adopt strategies that not only captivate potential customers but also transform casual browsers into loyal patrons.
From refining product presentation to streamlining the checkout process, let’s delve into the pivotal tips and best practices that can propel businesses toward e-commerce success, fostering a robust online presence and maximising sales conversions.
Crafting a Captivating and User-Friendly Website Design
At the heart of a successful e-commerce venture lies a captivating website design that seamlessly integrates aesthetic appeal with user-friendly functionality. A visually appealing and intuitive website layout not only captures the attention of online visitors but also ensures effortless navigation, allowing customers to explore products and services with ease.
From clear product categorisation to strategically placed call-to-action buttons, an optimized website design cultivates a seamless user experience that encourages prolonged engagement and facilitates a smooth path to purchase, ultimately enhancing the likelihood of sales conversion.
Optimising Product Presentation and Descriptions for Enhanced Engagement
Compelling product presentation and descriptions play a pivotal role in captivating potential customers and guiding them toward making informed purchase decisions. High-quality product images that showcase products from multiple angles, accompanied by detailed and engaging descriptions, serve as crucial tools for instilling confidence and trust in online shoppers.
By providing comprehensive product information, highlighting key features, and addressing potential customer queries pre-emptively, businesses can empower consumers to make confident and informed purchasing decisions, thereby bolstering sales and fostering a sense of satisfaction and trust in the brand.
Streamlining the Checkout Process for Seamless Transactions
The checkout process serves as the pivotal moment of truth for online businesses, representing the culmination of a customer’s journey from exploration to purchase. A streamlined and hassle-free checkout process is crucial in preventing cart abandonment and ensuring a smooth and efficient transaction for customers.
By implementing a simplified and intuitive checkout interface that minimises unnecessary steps and offers multiple secure payment options, businesses can create a seamless and frictionless transaction experience that encourages customers to complete their purchases effortlessly, ultimately leading to increased sales and heightened customer satisfaction.
Implementing Customer Reviews and Testimonials for Social Proof
In the dynamic landscape of e-commerce, the power of social proof cannot be overstated. Customer reviews and testimonials serve as influential tools in building trust and credibility, providing prospective customers with valuable insights into the quality and reliability of products and services.
By encouraging satisfied customers to share their experiences and feedback, businesses can leverage the persuasive impact of positive reviews, fostering a sense of authenticity and reliability that resonates with potential buyers.
The integration of customer reviews and testimonials not only enhances brand credibility but also instlls confidence in hesitant customers, facilitating increased sales and encouraging repeat purchases.
Personalising the Customer Journey for Tailored Experiences
Personalisation lies at the core of cultivating meaningful and lasting relationships with customers in the e-commerce landscape. By tailoring the online shopping experience to align with the unique preferences and behaviours of individual customers, businesses can create a sense of exclusivity and relevance that fosters customer loyalty and satisfaction.
From personalised product recommendations based on previous purchases to targeted promotional offers that reflect customer interests and preferences, personalised customer experiences not only nurture a sense of connection but also drive increased engagement and repeat business, contributing to enhanced sales and customer retention.
Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing for Customer Engagement
Email marketing remains a potent tool for nurturing customer relationships and fostering continued engagement in the e-commerce sphere.
By crafting targeted and personalised email campaigns that deliver relevant and value-driven content, businesses can stay connected with their customer base, providing them with timely updates, exclusive offers, and valuable insights.
Moreover, with the seamless integration of Smallpdf’s reliable converter, offering hassle-free PDF file conversion, businesses can effortlessly share comprehensive product information and instructional guides with their customers in a convenient and easily accessible format.
Finally, through the strategic use of segmented email lists and tailored content that addresses customer needs and preferences, businesses can foster a sense of exclusivity and relevance, driving heightened customer engagement. They will also help to encourage repeat purchases, ultimately contributing to increased sales and brand loyalty.
Using Social Media Platforms for Brand Visibility and Engagement
Social media platforms serve as vibrant hubs for brand visibility, customer engagement, and community building in the e-commerce landscape.
By establishing a robust social media presence and engaging with customers through compelling content, businesses can foster meaningful connections, spark conversations, and cultivate a loyal and engaged customer base.
Through the strategic use of interactive posts, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and customer-centric content that resonates with the target audience, businesses can foster a sense of community and belonging, driving heightened brand visibility and customer engagement, ultimately leading to increased sales and expanded brand reach.
Incorporating Customer Loyalty Programs for Retention and Repeat Sales
Customer loyalty programs serve as effective tools for incentivising repeat purchases and fostering long-term customer relationships in the e-commerce domain. By offering exclusive rewards, discounts, and special offers to loyal customers, businesses can cultivate a sense of appreciation and value, encouraging continued engagement and repeat sales.
Through the strategic implementation of tiered loyalty programs, referral incentives, and birthday rewards that cater to the unique preferences of individual customers, businesses can foster a strong sense of brand loyalty and advocacy, driving increased sales and establishing a dedicated and enthusiastic customer base.
Ensuring Seamless Customer Support and Service
In the competitive landscape of e-commerce, delivering seamless customer support and service is paramount in fostering customer satisfaction and loyalty.
By offering multiple channels of communication, including live chat, email, and phone support, businesses can provide customers with accessible and responsive assistance, addressing queries and concerns promptly and effectively.
By prioritising a customer-centric approach that places customer needs at the forefront of all interactions, businesses can nurture a strong sense of trust and reliability, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately leading to increased sales and positive brand advocacy.
Conclusion: Nurturing E-Commerce Success through Continual Optimisation
Mastering the art of e-commerce is a continual journey marked by the commitment to ongoing refinement and optimisation. By implementing these crucial tips and best practices, businesses can elevate their e-commerce endeavours, fostering heightened sales, increased conversions, and lasting customer relationships.
Through a holistic approach that emphasizes user experience, personalisation, and customer engagement, businesses can navigate the dynamic landscape of e-commerce with confidence, establishing a strong brand presence and solidifying their position as industry leaders in the digital marketplace.
I have been fascinated by the inclusion of AI in everyday life. Just before typing this, I was paying bills. It was interesting that I couldn’t pay my Spectrum bill online from my laptop with either a debit card or my banking info, however, the Mobil app worked just fine. I have four pages of Mobil apps. Does makes it interesting to navigate your phone!
ChatGPT does make conversation easier but what is the price to our human nature? I write articles, poetry, and books besides working as a flooring designer and customer/ business development service in a software company. Appreciate the clean edits, though does my writing if I use it lose part of my soul? It’s handy to have a filter available all the time but does it increase the superficial quality of human interactions?
My background includes a school that is excellent in science and engineering and from a family full of PhDs, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. I love the wonders of technology. I go almost weekly to a technology coffee group. There are fascinating people to meet, projects to hear about, find awesome resources, and keep up with new developments! Our world is constantly changing and it’s an exciting time to learn.
Today at the Coronado Optimists, the Superintendent of Schools was our guest speaker. This was exactly what he was talking about, the nature of education has changed. Information is so readily available, that the direction of education should shift to teach students to apply what they know.
Almost everything we do in the modern world has a website, a mobile app, or a chatbot! Personal communication is reduced to messenger and texting. It has become increasingly difficult to find a person to talk to, I believe that has much to do with the increase in suicides.
Social isolation is not necessarily bad; most people crave solitude at least occasionally. Being alone can be relaxing, meditative, and rejuvenating. Social isolation typically refers to solitude that is unwanted and unhealthy. Socially isolated people may lack friends or close coworkers, and they often feel lonely or depressed. They can suffer from low self-esteem or anxiety. The following symptoms associated with social isolation are warning signs of unhealthy social isolation:
- Avoiding social interactions, including those that were once enjoyable.
- Canceling plans frequently and feeling relief when plans are canceled.
- Experiencing anxiety or panic when thinking about social interactions
- Feeling distress during periods of solitude
- Feeling dread associated with social activities.
- Spending large amounts of time alone or with extremely limited contact with others
Social isolation can involve emotional isolation, which is an unwillingness or inability to share one’s feelings with others. When socially isolated individuals lack emotional interaction and support, they can become emotionally numb — detached from their own feelings.
https://publichealth.tulane.edu/blog/effects-of-social-isolation-on-mental-health/
An observational study showed that spending more than a few hours per week using electronic media correlated negatively with self-reported happiness, life satisfaction, and self-esteem, whereas time spent on off-screen activities (in-person social interactions, sports, or exercise, print media, homework, religious services, working at a paid job) correlated positively with psychological well-being, among adolescents.33 Other observational studies have linked spending more than 2 hours a day on social networking sites and personal electronic devices with high rates of suicidality and depressive symptoms among adolescent girls, although youth who sustained high levels of face-to-face socializing were relatively protected against the negative consequences of too much time online.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/
My other role is as a sales and design person. I love this as I enjoy getting to know people and talking with them and that is the main reason for my success: communication. I think back to when for 12 years I was away from my family, living in another country. I spoke with my parents every week, and my sister every other week. Currently, I speak with my sister in another state daily as well as message a handful of people every day, many of us have challenges, and having a little support makes a big difference! I always imagine when on the phone that the person is in the same room as me. That’s part of the reason I have kept my pen name “ Salonista”, and also my radio handle, reminiscent of the salons of the 1920s where all the artists and intellectuals gathered.
Society is feeling pressure to be the standard version of yourself, just like everyone else, which seems to hinder creativity and innovation. Everything is turning into the box store/amazon of everything. The one thing that technology can’t replace is the care and understanding of being a human! Seeing a friendly face filled with love and compassion. The accountability idea came from the fact that many are trying to hide behind impersonal AI and chatbots to avoid responsibility. This way they won’t have to deal with disappointments and fear.
I work some hours in an online business, they totally love AI for the reason they don’t have to interact with customers! They can avoid human interactions and emotions. Emotions make us human! I was born responsible and love the joy of solving something and sharing in human happiness: seeing a smile, getting a handshake, and saying thank you and you are welcome!
One of the delights I’ve found with having the internet all these years – something I could NOT have imagined growing up in the late 1940s and ’50s – is the worldwide connections we all can have.
- Learning
- Laughing
- Helping – giving and receiving
- Seeing ideas we might never have considered if not for writers all around this small blue planet we all inhabit who write across so many platforms.
And so much of it is FREE.
Yeah, you know that word, and you know it’s one of my absolute favorite 4-letter “F” words … right?
And whether the content is found here on BizCatalyst 360o, LinkedIn, Medium, or any other platform, we have the chance to learn, to grow, to make ourselves even better than we were before.
Many times for free.
But even when I have to pay to read it, something I’m willing to do … sometimes.
So what’s my beef?
- The paid subscription requirement that is not quickly shown.
- The inability to read more than the top two or three paragraphs the first time we’ve even read one article on that platform or by that author/company before we have to subscribe to see it all.
- The tease of subscribing and then finding out there’s no free option. And even if there is … for some of us, it might come too late.
That happened again to me recently, and I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming. The article was right up my alley, so I wanted to read it. But because I couldn’t beyond the second paragraph without paying, I clicked off.
And since I had never read anything by the author before this, I had very little information to help me make the right decision. Yes, the topic really resonated, but two paragraphs don’t ensure that I’ll like the whole thing.
Now I do understand that publications of all sorts need money to exist. They have costs associated with publishing, even on the internet.
But my issue here is transparency.
- There are many subscription requests that come AFTER we’ve read several articles from the same author and/or publisher, and we’re notified each time we read one so we can decide up front what to do. We have time to decide if the content in those several articles is what we’re looking for.
- I understand that kind of thinking; I have actually paid for two and not paid for a couple of others. Of course, with a free subscription that many publications/authors do offer along with their paid ones, I can decide about it later … right?
- And the best part? I know WHY I am saying yes or no, and I appreciate being given time for that.
Is this something you’ve noticed … or am I the only one?
How did you decide what to do?
I value your thoughts!
Jusneel Mahal, The Conversation and Mend Mariwany, The Conversation
Ever found yourself scrolling through social media late at night and accidentally buying something you regretted? In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we talk to an advertising expert about recent research into how social media can overload our brains and make us buy products we don’t need or want.
Matthew Pittman is a professor of advertising at the University of Tennessee in the US. In 2022, Pittman and his colleague Eric Haley, conducted three online studies on Americans aged 18-65 to examine how people under various mental loads respond to advertisements differently.
“Our brain has limited resources and it can also be taxed if we try to do too many things at once and once those resources are depleted, there are usually negative consequences,” says Pittman.
If you’re on the fence about a purchase and you’re under cognitive load and you see a lot of likes or a lot of comments, or maybe it’s very attractive people in the ad that look happy … click, I’m gonna purchase it.
Pittman found that those who weren’t under cognitive load made more balanced purchasing decisions. But the group that they told to scroll through their Instagram feed for 30 seconds and then look at an advert was more susceptible to cues such as the comments and likes associated with it.
When asked to describe their rationale for buying a product, Pittman was surprised that those under a high mental load had diminished sentence and language capabilities. He found that Instagram put subjects in a mentally exhausted state because they were consuming different types of text, photos and posts.
People that were not under cognitive load gave grammatically normal sentences that flowed logically, such as this ice cream looked tasty, or I liked the colors, but when people were under cognitive load, even their sentences were more fractured. Which explains why I can’t explain to my wife why I consistently make stupid purchases.
Listen to the full episode of The Conversation Weekly to hear the different ways social media impacts our processing abilities and decision-making.
Matthew Pittman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany with production assistance from Katie Flood and our intern Jusneel Mahal. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. The executive producer is Gemma Ware.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Talking about your problems with friends is some of the oldest advice given to people in distress. Women are often credited with being better at this than men, to the point that many bestsellers have been written about the differences between male and female communication styles. (Remember Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus?) Talk therapy has been around for a long time. At some point though, the Oversharing Monster may arrive.
In the digital age, “oversharing” and “TMI” have become shorthand for anyone divulging too much personal information, especially over social media. However, this is a new name for an old problem that recently resurfaced in my life.
Back in junior high, I had a few close friends with whom I shared some of the details of my dysfunctional home life. I even visited the school nurse on several occasions, looking for some kind of assistance. One day, as I approached one of those friends, she held up her hand and said, “I don’t want to hear any more stories about your family.” I then noticed a certain amount of eye-rolling and dismissiveness on the part of the school nurse, who, I realized, just wanted me out of her office. It was my first encounter with the Oversharing Monster.
It is not surprising to learn that talking about oneself is rewarding — biologically.
In Scientific American’s article about a study done at Harvard, Adrian F. Ward wrote:
“These results suggest that self-disclosure — revealing personal information to others — produces the highest level of activation in neural regions associated with motivation and reward, but that introspection — thinking or talking about the self, in the absence of an audience — also produces a noticeable surge of neural activity in these regions. Talking about the self is intrinsically rewarding, even if no one is listening.”**
In fact, the article states that we may spend 60 percent of our conversations talking about ourselves, and that increases to around 80 percent of our communications on social media. However, Amy Morin in Forbes cautions that “using social media like a personal diary and treating acquaintances as if they were a therapist, however, can have serious consequences.”
Rejections of “talk therapy” in junior high with my close friend and the school nurse fall into that “serious consequences” category. Every few years I realize I’ve fallen back into that habit by picking up on subtle, and not-so-subtle clues from others.
Most recently, pandemic isolation and working from home has isolated me. My significant other is an essential worker, so he leaves the house every day and deals with a high-stress job. My work is also stressful but for very different reasons than his. People dealing with immediate needs surround him; I am alone but beset by many immediate needs that arrive electronically.
When he comes home from work, he wants some quiet transition time, while I am ready to babble on about my day and my frustrations.
I thought we were doing a good job taking turns at this, but again, some subtle and not-so-subtle clues told me otherwise.
First was the institution of not talking to each other right away, aside from general greetings. Missteps in this area have caused some of the most disagreeable feelings we’ve ever encountered in 10 years together.
Then came the interruptions, subject changing, looking at the phone, and leaving the room while I was in mid-sentence. Not so subtle there. And even though there have been apologies, I realized that this was more my problem than his. The Oversharing Monster had taken residence in my house.
Suddenly I saw that every email I sent to a work friend was becoming a novella of complaints. My outlook on certain areas of my life was becoming darker and more pessimistic. I was overthinking imperfect situations, and spending way too much time being anxious and irritable. I wondered if I was becoming (or re-becoming) what psychologists describe as a “help-rejecting complainer.”
In the Family column of The Atlantic, Lori Gottleib defined this personality:
“For help-rejecting complainers, complaining is a way of being. They find comfort in going on ad nauseam about their plight while giving excuse after excuse about why any suggested course of action won’t make matters any better.”
Considering the study that showed how rewarding it is to talk about yourself, it makes a lot of sense. And even if it hasn’t developed into a personality disorder, it is still a problem. In the New York Times article, “Why Talking About Our Problems Helps So Much (and how to do it), Eric Ravenscraft writes:
“Crucially, not every form of talking about problems aloud can help. In fact, multiple studies examining college students, young women, and working adults suggest that co-rumination — or consistently focusing on and talking about negative experiences in your life — can have the opposite effect, making you more stressed and drawing out how long a problem bothers you.”
Ravenscraft goes on to give suggestions on best practices for talking about your problems. He advises that choosing the right person to talk to is important. Perhaps someone who has had a similar problem and resolved it, is not a “co-ruminator.” He also reminds us (especially me) “… if you need a lot of talk time, try spreading your conversations out to multiple people. One person can get worn out, and having a broad social support system lets you distribute that load.”
He also recommends finding a therapist and considering that person as a personal trainer helping you get fit. His other important advice is to allow yourself time to vent, but then take a break from it.
In this he reminds me of the advice from one of my favorite books of all time, “I’d Rather Laugh, How to Be Happy Even When Life Has Other Plans For You,” by Linda Richman. (Yes, the real Mike Meyers’ SNL “Coffee Talk” inspiration.) She says to allow yourself a “pity party” where you can ruminate or wallow or just focus on something that is bothering you. The catch is, the “party” has a time limit, after which, you have to get out of your pajamas and rejoin the world.
As I write this, the irony of revealing my battles with the Oversharing Monster is not lost on me, even as I try to evict the creature from my brain. This, of course, is another opportunity for me to talk about myself, and get my brain to release some mood-enhancing hormones from my reward center — which is an addictive process in which the brain craves more of those reward hormones. The struggle is real.
As humans, we’ve been designed with our very own unique blueprint. We come from diverse ethnicities or cultures, and practice different religions, along with differentiating social & political constructs.
Each and every one of our divine essence is beautifully crafted, but one aspect connects us all. Our human spirit traverses this earthly journey, with the desire to connect , belong & feel heard.
We aspire to live a meaningful intentional life of purpose. Doing so from a position of unconditional acceptance, love, kindness & understanding.
This article was prompted after attending a “Friendship Bench”. An incredible community of humans whom I met during a period where many felt disconnected during Covid. I boldly prefer naming the group as a soul movement! Each week a group of strangers (souls) from around the globe meet. The demographics, achievements, titles, or roles are so diversified, yet so interconnected. Highly educated professionals, writers & successfully published authors, speakers & many others in very senior positions. Then equally others who might not have any high-profile careers, degrees, or accomplishments.
What’s so beautiful to witness, is that every single individual is granted more than simply a virtual seat at the “virtual bench or table”. This type of honouring is the most authentic purest form I’ve ever encountered! Each person met with respect regardless of their status or titles.
Some might not feel the need to speak up, preferring to listen and hold a sacred safe space for others sharing their stories & life testimonies. Others articulate their compassion, feelings, emotions, and empathy in the chats.
Tonight I felt called to join the call after not being able to for a while due to either time zone differences or work/family commitments. I joined a few minutes late. Oh boy but was I grateful to be gifted with a heartfelt rendition of a song. It was written by one of the many humble down to earth-wise sages in the community. The theme was about our mothers! It was so touching, I felt it to the core & depth of my soul. I could connect, see, feel & relate to every word. When Mac finally shared the meaning behind the lyrics, it was even harder to hold back my tears, as there was so much resonance.
What unfolded thereafter, was a sight to behold. Whilst some met previously & others not, other than through LinkedIn’s platform, tonight we were unified and one with each other. Our souls met one another, with no judgement, simply feeling the anguish, sadness, and pain endured as if it were every single one of ours to bear. An outpouring of sincere recognition! To those expressing their deepest grief & gratitude for being able to endure, remaining resilient & persevering in their pursuit to overcome.
The sacredness of a gathering like this cannot be truly articulated, but rather felt. We find ourselves in another’s stories, even whilst being worlds apart.
The most salient departure point is how vital it is for us to meet one another from the soul’s perspective. Here we see only truth, no deception or illusions.
We are more similar than we want to admit. The magic lies in affording one another the freedom to express, to feel heard, understood & acknowledged. Doing so from a place of validating the other as an equal when being vulnerable, not attaching criticism, disgust, labels or shame. Vulnerability is praised, in a manner where everyone demonstrates a keen curiosity to honour, know and learn more.
Wouldn’t our world be a better place where we live in harmony seeing one another’s souls as no different to ours?
Deep gratitude to Dennis and the team for cultivating spaces for others to have a safe place where their voices matter! To others sitting on the outskirts of the bench, what are you waiting for, join this wonderful movement for the greater good of your soul & humanity!
It doesn’t matter if you are trying to have a conversation with a two-year-old, preparing for a large employee meeting, or developing an intense marketing plan to double your client base. It could be over if you don’t use all four learning styles to capture their attention.
There are four learning styles: visual, audio, verbal (reading/writing), and kinesthetic/tactile. I keep these four approaches at the forefront, whether coaching, speaking, writing, or marketing—even in my relationships. There is nothing worse than blabbing to your partner on a three-hour trip to Denver only to find out he would rather hike and talk. In this case, you might be audio and him kinesthetic.
Learning style deets:* Visuals (65% of the population) are captured by colors, photos, demonstrations, charts, etc. They want the nitty gritty and fast and are unlikely to read long content without random visuals popping up. * Audios (about 25% of the population) rarely read content. They are attracted to audiobooks, podcasts, music, conversation, in-person meetings, and brainstorming/think tanks. * Verbal (reading/writing) learners (less than 5% of the population) want to read the text/content or take notes. These peeps take notes and grab the handouts after a presentation so they can review what they might have missed. They would rather read the blog or script from a podcast than listen or watch. * Kinesthetic/tactile peeps are the hands-on, active types (less than 5% of the population). They get bored fast if not entertained or allowed to participate or move while communicating and learning. These guys would rather figure it out themselves and get back to you. And if you do a stand-up sit-down exercise during a long meeting, you will keep the attention of these guys.
If you want to reach 100% of any audience, remember this: people retain 80 percent of what they see, 20 percent of what they read, and 10 percent of what they hear. Therefore, if you are losing your audience or your marketing plan isn’t working, it doesn’t mean you are not a whiz, or you are humdrum. Likely, you haven’t nailed your audiences’ learning styles.
It is pretty easy to figure out where you and your tribe fall. Just think about how it is going for ya right now! Has a chunk of your audience nodded off during your finger-pointing PowerPoint? If so, you have some audio peeps in the room. Have you tried helping your teenager with an English assignment, and they can’t get it? You might have a kinesthetic on your hands. Your son might understand Shakespeare by acting it out or watching a video.
If your relationship(s) or business is not flourishing, go back to the drawing board. Figure out how your niche can appeal to all four learning types. Capture their attention the way THEY need to receive it.
How do learning styles use the various social media platforms? The online world was forced to grow and diversify rapidly—those who didn’t have been left behind. From entertainment to marketing, shapeshifting and pivoting are a must. Praying to the Lord and hoping something sticks isn’t enough.
For example, the digital revolution started over two decades ago, and very quickly, it became apparent which types of learners were initially attracted to which social media platforms, though nearly all of them now serve all learning types because they had to!
LinkedIn hit the scene around 2003. They were the leader in business networking. It took decades for them to realize they needed to soften the collars of their starched Polo shirts and realize they could still conduct “business” and succeed as an employee-recruitment playground without being so stiff and crisp. Comedy can expand your business, gang.
YouTube soon hopped on board. And the visual peeps could barely control their excitement, whether they wanted to learn how to make a killer lemon loaf, launch a how-to series, or dance the night away to the Top 40. This audience captures all learning styles beautifully.
In 2006, the Twitter bird (X as it is called today) flew in. This platform initially focused on short text messages to multiple followers. Yay for the read/write learners. But for the first five years, it was ugh for the rest of us. They soon allowed picture and video uploads, which greatly attracted a larger audience.
The same year, Facebook hopped on the wagon. They focused on all learning types right out of the gate —images, memes, and videos. Before long, live videos, stories, reels, and, of course, ads followed! I know…ads, but they sure piqued the interest of the visuals and kinesthetics.
Instagram grabbed the attention of visual peeps around 2010 with creative layouts using in-your-face images and videos. Since then, they have joined the gang with reels, shorts, and entered a more complex video world.
Here we go…TikTok came in 2017. To me, it is, frankly, the best platform to capture all types of learners and all niches. I know…political arguments haunt this platform. But you can listen to a hurricane tracker, make a killer carrot cake, learn a dance craze, solicit every type of business client, sell products, and turn your cat into the Grinch with its newest filter.
Also, several platforms pay consistent content creators to use their platforms. That approach might also be for you.
I believe business isn’t about business. Business is about people. And everyone is different, so…you must find them and keep them interested. Rarely these days do clients or customers just show up.
You already know this, but today, most people want to see things in the moment. You have about 30 seconds to grab someone’s attention. Live content has become spicy even for business. And honestly, all platforms are now addressing most of the learning styles.
I recommend you rotate your methods and content library. Don’t hesitate to repurpose or cut and paste to all your platforms. Set a schedule. Maybe on Mondays, you can post text with no photo. Tuesday, you go live cooking from the kitchen. Wednesday, you ask open-ended questions. Thursday, you share a moment with your dog. Friday, you recruit clients in a live video from your desk. And so on. Be creative. Be consistent. Be prepared to pivot. And win the game with learning styles.
In summary, if your partner “doesn’t listen” or comprehend what you say, he or she is likely visual. If your grandma reads the paper versus watching the news, she is likely a verbal/text learner. So meet them where they are.
To understand yourself, your clients, or your family better, complete the VARK questionnaire https://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/
Figure out your audience and communicate with them by using their learning styles. It is like using a magic wand.
We all use Instagram to post pictures and stories and get likes and comments. More than that, we use it to check out what others are up to. But there is a different perspective through which businesses see Instagram– a platform for reaching current and potential customers.
As a result, more and more businesses are hopping on the idea of using Instagram as a marketing tool. Since it is a free and easy-to-use application with a vast user base, it is considered useful for growing a business.
In that regard, any startup must include Instagram marketing as a crucial part of their marketing strategies. This platform can help you build a brand image and sell products and services. Moreover, it authentically connects you to the audience to build personalized relationships, exhibit your unique voice, and grow your following.
That said, every business has an Instagram account, and not all are successful. Therefore, it is essential to understand how to navigate the avalanche of content on Instagram and plan and execute an Instagram strategy.
So, let’s guide you through the tips to make the most of Instagram for the success of your startup.
Quick disclaimer: to use Instagram and make the most of its tool, you need the internet, as in reliable internet to ensure you are not left stranded in the middle of a live session, for example. Therefore, we would suggest subscribing to Spectrum Internet, which offers high-speed internet and 24/7 customer service. You may check with Spectrum Servicio al cliente (For Spanish customers) to learn more.
Anyway, check out the tips below:
- Focus on Posting Quality Content
Instagram is a social media tool primarily used to connect with others and for entertainment. The proportion of entertainment, however, is high. The users tend to engage with pages that offer unique, creative, and relatable content. They share amazing content on their stories, feeds, and with followers through DMs. Therefore, creating good content can help a brand get more reach and followers.
As a startup, you must plan well ahead for your content strategy for Instagram. From deciding on the theme of the posts and formats to type of the content, you must ensure it piques the interest of the audience. Make sure your content is sharable to drive high engagement.
You can post creative and attention-grabbing posts, stories, IGTV, and reels. However, it is important to know that although Instagram is known for images, videos, and reels, it has already taken over. From Instagram stories to IGTV, video is the most enticing format for content on Instagram– or any other social media platform.
- Engage with Your Audience
Instagram is a low-key personal branding site where you showcase your products and services without sounding promotional. Moreover, its features like direct messaging, likes, and comments make it a conversational platform. Therefore, it can be said that it bridges the gap between brands and audiences. You must leverage all these features to engage the audience in meaningful interactions in all your business capacities online. Doing this can help you make close ties with your audience and get more conversions.
For example, you may go live and show what you are doing at the moment or provide a sneak peek into behind-the-scenes product formation processes. These are simple yet key tactics to engage customers.
What’s more, you can reply to comments quickly and keep the engagement rolling. You may run contests and giveaways and ask questions. Giving shoutouts to followers who mention your brand or products is another way to keep your customers engaged.
- Leverage Influencer Marketing
As deduced by Influencer Marketing Hub, Instagram is the most popular social media platform for Influencer marketing. It is said that a great number of businesses are willing to dedicate half of their marketing budgets to influencer marketing.
Well, influencer marketing refers to the process of brands collaborating with online influencers to market their products and services. The influencers are no less than celebrities on social media. They have the outreach you need to grow your business. Partnering with them can significantly increase your social media outreach.
For example, social media influencers may post a picture, video, or story regarding your brand or products, and you will get more reach with that. It simply works best to improve brand recognition.
Therefore, it has become a crucial part of Instagram marketing. For your startup, you may begin with small, but eventually, you will have to partner with high-profile influencers.
- Use Hashtags
Hashtags are crucial to use on Instagram; they provide a quick and easy way to expand your reach when you are marketing. All you have to do is add a few hashtags relevant to your content under your pictures and videos, and that will help users find you easily and better your chances of growing your business.
- Run Targeted Ad Campaigns
Efforts to get followers organically will remain part of your marketing campaign forever. However, to get quick and quality leads, it is important to run targeted ads. In this way, you can save your time and effort as not everyone on the platform is your audience. You must filter Instagram users and create targeted ads to get conversions.
Final Thoughts
Instagram is a handy tool for individuals and businesses alike. For start-ups, it can fuel growth if used correctly. Check out the aforementioned tools to understand how you can use it for the growth of your business.
We all use Instagram to post pictures and stories and get likes and comments. More than that, we use it to check out what others are up to. But there is a different perspective through which businesses see Instagram– a platform for reaching current and potential customers.
As a result, more and more businesses are hopping on the idea of using Instagram as a marketing tool. Since it is a free and easy-to-use application with a vast user base, it is considered useful for growing a business.
In that regard, any startup must include Instagram marketing as a crucial part of their marketing strategies. This platform can help you build a brand image and sell products and services. Moreover, it authentically connects you to the audience to build personalized relationships, exhibit your unique voice, and grow your following.
That said, every business has an Instagram account, and not all are successful. Therefore, it is essential to understand how to navigate the avalanche of content on Instagram and plan and execute an Instagram strategy.
So, let’s guide you through the tips to make the most of Instagram for the success of your startup.
Quick disclaimer: to use Instagram and make the most of its tool, you need the internet, as in reliable internet to ensure you are not left stranded in the middle of a live session, for example. Therefore, we would suggest subscribing to Spectrum Internet, which offers high-speed internet and 24/7 customer service. You may check with Spectrum Servicio al cliente (For Spanish customers) to learn more.
Anyway, check out the tips below:
- Focus on Posting Quality Content
Instagram is a social media tool primarily used to connect with others and for entertainment. The proportion of entertainment, however, is high. The users tend to engage with pages that offer unique, creative, and relatable content. They share amazing content on their stories, feeds, and with followers through DMs. Therefore, creating good content can help a brand get more reach and followers.
As a startup, you must plan well ahead for your content strategy for Instagram. From deciding on the theme of the posts and formats to type of the content, you must ensure it piques the interest of the audience. Make sure your content is sharable to drive high engagement.
You can post creative and attention-grabbing posts, stories, IGTV, and reels. However, it is important to know that although Instagram is known for images, videos, and reels, it has already taken over. From Instagram stories to IGTV, video is the most enticing format for content on Instagram– or any other social media platform.
- Engage with Your Audience
Instagram is a low-key personal branding site where you showcase your products and services without sounding promotional. Moreover, its features like direct messaging, likes, and comments make it a conversational platform. Therefore, it can be said that it bridges the gap between brands and audiences. You must leverage all these features to engage the audience in meaningful interactions in all your business capacities online. Doing this can help you make close ties with your audience and get more conversions.
For example, you may go live and show what you are doing at the moment or provide a sneak peek into behind-the-scenes product formation processes. These are simple yet key tactics to engage customers.
What’s more, you can reply to comments quickly and keep the engagement rolling. You may run contests and giveaways and ask questions. Giving shoutouts to followers who mention your brand or products is another way to keep your customers engaged.
- Leverage Influencer Marketing
As deduced by Influencer Marketing Hub, Instagram is the most popular social media platform for Influencer marketing. It is said that a great number of businesses are willing to dedicate half of their marketing budgets to influencer marketing.
Well, influencer marketing refers to the process of brands collaborating with online influencers to market their products and services. The influencers are no less than celebrities on social media. They have the outreach you need to grow your business. Partnering with them can significantly increase your social media outreach.
For example, social media influencers may post a picture, video, or story regarding your brand or products, and you will get more reach with that. It simply works best to improve brand recognition.
Therefore, it has become a crucial part of Instagram marketing. For your startup, you may begin with small, but eventually, you will have to partner with high-profile influencers.
- Use Hashtags
Hashtags are crucial to use on Instagram; they provide a quick and easy way to expand your reach when you are marketing. All you have to do is add a few hashtags relevant to your content under your pictures and videos, and that will help users find you easily and better your chances of growing your business.
- Run Targeted Ad Campaigns
Efforts to get followers organically will remain part of your marketing campaign forever. However, to get quick and quality leads, it is important to run targeted ads. In this way, you can save your time and effort as not everyone on the platform is your audience. You must filter Instagram users and create targeted ads to get conversions.
Final Thoughts
Instagram is a handy tool for individuals and businesses alike. For start-ups, it can fuel growth if used correctly. Check out the aforementioned tools to understand how you can use it for the growth of your business.
As we mature into adults, we inevitably engage with one another, not solely within our familial bonds, but in social interactions. What binds us is the necessity of our earthly existence.
Without social connections, self-sustenance would be unattainable, especially in today’s world, where global interconnection is paramount for our well-being.
If we examine any objects within our environment, such as the items currently in our apartments and homes, we will find that practically the entire planet contributes to shaping our living spaces.
Now, the question arises: what comes next? What follows is our need to participate with one another, not solely in order to create self-serving alliances and to organize our lives, but more so, to achieve harmony with nature.
Now, the question arises: what comes next? What follows is our need to participate with one another, not solely in order to create self-serving alliances and to organize our lives, but more so, to achieve harmony with nature.
Nature urges us to establish harmonious connections with one another. To the degree that it interconnects on various levels—the still, vegetative and animate—it compels us to form a unified societal framework marked by mutual support, integration, encouragement, unity and inclusion in a single, cohesive picture. That is why we have been created as social beings, and such unification is next stage of development that we are being led to.
Emily Hemendinger, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of digital connection: In the absence of in-person gatherings, many people instead found themselves face-to-face with their co-workers and loved ones on a screen.
Videoconferencing has provided many benefits and conveniences. However, it isn’t surprising that constantly seeing ourselves on screens might come with some downsides as well.
Prior to the pandemic, studies showed that surgeons were seeing increasing numbers of patients requesting alterations of their image to match filtered or doctored photos from social media apps. Now, several years into the pandemic, surgeons are seeing a new boom of cosmetic surgical requests related to videoconferencing. In one study of cosmetic procedures during the pandemic, 86% of cosmetic surgeons reported videoconferencing as the most common reason for cosmetic concerns among their patients.
Despite the fact that many aspects of life have returned to some version of pre-pandemic normal, it’s clear that videoconferencing and social media will be with us for the foreseeable future. So what does that mean when it comes to appearance satisfaction and making peace with the image that’s reflected back at us?
For the past 10 years, I have worked as a specialist in obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders, and anxiety. Since the pandemic, I, too, have seen increasing numbers of therapy clients reporting that they struggle with appearance concerns related to videochatting and social media.
Zooming in on image and appearance dissatisfactionEvery person has perceptions and thoughts about their appearance. These can be neutral, negative, or positive. We all look at ourselves in the mirror and may have even experienced distress while looking at our reflection.
There are a number of factors that may lead to appearance dissatisfaction. A preoccupation with thoughts, feelings or images of one’s own appearance is linked to the action of “mirror gazing,” or staring at one’s reflection. Researchers suggest that this type of selective self-focused attention and mirror gazing can lead to negative fixations on specific attributes or minor flaws, which in turn intensify the preoccupation with these attributes.
Other factors that can contribute to appearance dissatisfaction include low self-esteem, societal beliefs around appearance, peer and parental influences, temperament, and genetic predispositions to mental health conditions.
Appearance dissatisfaction and negative evaluations of self are associated with depression, lower self-esteem, habitual negative thinking, and increased social anxiety. What’s more, research suggests that these preoccupations can contribute to the development of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors, such as frequently restricting food intake or exercising without refueling.
The ‘Zoom’ effectWith the ubiquity of Zoom meetings, FaceTime calls, selfies and the constancy of documenting our lives on social media, access to our own image can often feel inescapable. And for some people, this can magnify feelings of appearance dissatisfaction that may have been more fleeting before the Zoom era.
Since the pandemic, screen time has increased for both adults and children. What’s worse, recent research suggests that the video and photo reflections we see of ourselves are distorted.
Videoconferencing, taking selfies, and posting on social media are visually-based activities where appearance is often the primary focus. All of them have in common the fact that a person’s image is either live or shared in an immediate manner. Perhaps not surprisingly, these image-based platforms have been significantly associated with appearance dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
One study found that those who engaged in more video chatting appearance comparisons, meaning those who looked at others’ appearance during a video call and sized up their own appearance in comparison, experienced lower appearance satisfaction. This study also found that people who used more photo-editing features on video chat platforms were more likely to compare themselves with others and spend more time looking at themselves on video calls.
One thing that is unique to videoconferencing is that it allows people to easily compare themselves with others and watch themselves sharing and speaking in real-time. A 2023 study found that discomfort with one’s appearance during videoconferencing led to an increased fixation on appearance, which in turn led to impaired work performance.
Researchers also suggest that appearance dissatisfaction is associated with virtual-meeting fatigue. The research reports that this could be due to negative self-focused attention, cognitive overload, and anxiety around being stared at or being negatively evaluated based on appearance.
This last point is notable because of the difficulty video chatters have in determining where other users are looking. Using the concept of the “spotlight effect” − our tendency as humans to overestimate how much others are judging our appearance − this difficulty may lead to more anxiety and individuals believing that others are evaluating their appearance during a video call.
How to combat appearance dissatisfaction in the digital ageIf you find yourself criticizing your appearance every time you hop onto a video conference call, it may be time to evaluate your relationship with your appearance and seek out help from a qualified therapist.
Here are some questions to consider to help determine whether your thought patterns or behaviors are problematic:
- How much of my day is spent thinking about my appearance?
- What sort of behaviors am I doing around my appearance?
- Do I feel distressed if I do not perform these behaviors?
- Does this behavior align with my values and how I want to be spending my time?
Another strategy is to be intentional about focusing on what other people are saying in a video conference instead of peering at your own face.
When it comes to helping others who might be struggling with appearance dissatisfaction, it is important to focus on the person’s innate qualities beyond appearance. People should be conscious of their comments, no matter how well-intentioned. Negative comments about appearance have been linked to worsened self-esteem and mental health. When viewing yourself or your peers on video and social media, try focusing on the person as a whole and not as parts of a body.
Reducing screen time can make a difference as well. Research shows that reducing social media use by 50% can improve appearance satisfaction in both teens and adults.
When used in moderation, videoconferencing and social media are tools to connect us with others, which ultimately is a key piece in satisfaction and well-being.
Emily Hemendinger, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
In this episode of The Sanity Project Podcast, host Joanne Victoria interviews LinkedIn expert Daniel Alfon about how to use the platform for business success. They discuss the importance of having a strong LinkedIn profile, identifying, and reaching out to ideal readers, and the counterintuitive nature of LinkedIn. Daniel provides practical tips for adjusting visibility settings, building a high-quality network, and creating educational content. They summarize the key takeaways, emphasizing the value of investing time in a strong LinkedIn presence and leveraging the platform’s capabilities. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights for business owners and entrepreneurs looking to improve their LinkedIn strategy.
Quotes* ‘Focus on your profile, not your company page.’ * ‘Treat your profile like a website.’ * ‘Create educational content.’ * ‘Invest time, not money.’ * ‘Determine what action you want the reader to take.’
Cancel Culture has been a buzzword for the last decade. It is a massive exodus, an about-face, a retraction of support when the masses do not agree with an individual’s comment, behavior, or stance regarding potentially “controversial” subjects. Some of the most recent celebrities to be “canceled” are Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Timberlake, Ashton Kutcher, and Mila Kunis may be added to the list in no time.
In my opinion, some “cancels” are warranted, but some can be simply canceled due to improper behavior in public (or so they say), such as James Corden losing his temper with restaurant staff. I am sure none of us have ever done such a thing. Hey, I wasn’t there, so I am only privy to so much of the inside scoop, so maybe this has become a consistent behavior for him, and as they say in baseball, “You’re out!” I dunno. However, I do not consider the reasons to cancel James in the same bowl of soup as canceling Harvey Weinstein. Chrissy Teigen—don’t get me started!
I am all for doing the right thing and banding together in solidarity to “cancel” horrific people like R. Kelly or standing up for human rights when someone disses another’s religion or sexual preference. Stay in your own lane, man. Why is there so much judgment towards others? My answer? They’re bored.
So before I go further, I support standing up for right or wrong, in case you are unclear. But I am also an advocate for “block” and move on. Don’t leave a comment. Don’t address the haters. Leave the trolls swirling around in the murky water under a bridge. Unfortunately, blocking cannot be compared to being canceled. Most trolls just pivot to another poor soul.
There will always be trolls and people who have nothing better to do than create Catfish profiles to become keyboard super villains pounding out hateful words deep into the midnight hour. Hurt people, hurt people. Right?!
Admittedly, I have become the Block Queen of America. I have no problem finding those three little dots on any social media platform, heading to the privacy setting, and hitting BLOCK. As a side note, I have also blocked real people from my life. Sometimes, you just have to whiteout some evil-doers.
Since I started my TikTok channel three years ago, I have been exposed to more trolling and hate comments—mine and those I follow. I encourage others to completely ignore them and head to the ellipses. And block. I no longer address any of them.
So, while I support the Cancel Culture on significant issues, I ask you to consider being big boys and girls and ramping up the block strategy when someone misbehaves. Take the high road. Trolls and haters are blood-suckers waiting to tick you off just before they close their eyes each night, anxiously waiting to rise with the sun and start all over again. Do not feed into their cravings. Just hit block. And if they come back…go on repeat. Block again.
Where attention goes, energy flows. Focus on the good. You do you, Boo. Do not feed into their frenzy, and you, too, may become the Block King or Queen.
Celebrate the power of unity with “Better Together” Song Around The World, featuring Jack Johnson, Paula Fuga, Lee Oskar, and talented musicians from around the globe. This beautiful, feel-good song was a single, released in February 2006 from Jack Johnson’s third studio album, “In Between Dreams,” and was inspired by his love for his wife. “Better Together” has a universal message that “it’s always better together” when we lead with love as the answer.
None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.
~Mother Teresa
Join us on Our Friendship Bench any Thursday or every Thursday at 11:30 AM Eastern if you’re ready to do small things with great love and create something wonderful while making new friends along the way. Click below for more︎
Discovering Magic: At The Middle of a Bench
Because it’s ALWAYS better when we’re together …
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My partner and I decided we needed to learn, understand, and implement a marketing and promotion program to create and execute campaigns to give our books and those of our clients the best opportunity to become a #1 bestselling new release and/or #1 best seller.
Why did we do this? After writing books that did not achieve what we hoped, we invested time, effort, and money to first understand the publishing/distribution/marketing business and second to develop a sustainable and repeatable program. We interviewed authors who had experienced success and disappointment. We learned how to identify and overcome the landmines, myths, and obstacles that negatively impact authors.
We tested the program on ourselves before offering it to clients. We now have multiple bestselling books. In May of 2021, our Trust the Process – Book Marketing Program was offered to clients. How has that worked?
In the 22-month window from May 2021 to March 2023, our campaigns have produced 11 consecutive Amazon #1 bestselling new releases in multiple categories and two award-winning books.
Our message to authorsSo, you want to write a book. As hard as that is marketing/promoting and selling your book is even harder. The average for book sales is 250 copies. The author makes on average $500. Did you pour your heart and soul into writing a book for this? Don’t you want more? What are you doing to make your book stand out? Do you have a marketing/promotion plan BEFORE your book is finished? The sad fact is most authors do not have any type of marketing/promotion plan.
Let’s look at the facts:* 200 million Americans say they want to publish a book. * Somewhere between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books are published every year in the US alone. That is at least 11,500 books published each week.
Let’s look at the myths:As stated above, the sad fact is that most authors do not have any type of marketing/promotion plan. They mistakenly assume the publisher or editor or illustrator or writing coach will do the marketing. Publishers publish. Their job is to get the book finished and ready to be released. They do not run marketing campaigns. It is up to the author to market their book. Most do not have the expertise or the time to create and execute a comprehensive marketing and promotion campaign.
Most authors do not understand all the steps for a book to go from an idea to a finished product. Initially, I didn’t understand the process and was misled or completely misunderstood the marketing & promotion process. Here are the eight common steps to get a book from idea to a product. Note: none of the eight include marketing and promotion of the book.
- Write the book: Start with an idea or a concept. It is best to start with something you know. Try to visualize how you see the book flowing. Write your thoughts and arrange them in the order according to the flow in your mind. This is the creative part of the process. Most authors think this is the hardest part. It’s not. This is just step one.
- Edit the book: The author makes their best effort to edit the book, but as we all know editing what you wrote does not usually go well. Authors tend to see what they intended to write not what is on the page or computer screen. This is where a publisher usually comes into play. Most books will need a line edit and copy edit.
- Line Editing is focused on the content, style, and language used within the manuscript. A professional line editor may point out sections that can be improved, parts where the style is inconsistent, issues with pacing, or overuse of certain words or phrases throughout the manuscript.
- Copy Editing is focused on making sure a piece of writing is accurate, clear, and correct. For example: checking the facts; checking the math; ensuring that the writing is free from libel, plagiarism and conforms to the ethical standards of the publication and the profession.
- Proofreading: Review the manuscript for corrections. This may require two or more rounds of editing for a manuscript of 60,000 words.
- Final Proofreading: Review the entire manuscript plus interior formatting review and confirm proof. Final edits are made as needed.
- Manuscript Review: Author approval or comments and corrections. This may occur two or more times.
- Book Design and Cover: Design of front and back cover with author’s approval
- Publishing the book: Self-publish or contract publishing
- Distribution of the book: This is order fulfillment not marketing or promotion. The author can do it themselves. Contract with a publisher or use Amazon for order fulfillment.
The publisher will market the book myth:We just went through the eight common steps in the publishing process. None of them include marketing and promotion. The publisher may write a press release or social media post. The burden of marketing a book falls directly on the author, not the publisher. Publishers publish they do not market or promote. We do.
In Penguin Random House/S&S antitrust trial it was revealed that out of 58,000 trade titles published per year, half of those sell fewer than one dozen books. LESS THAN 12 BOOKS!!!
I will post to my social media myth:Large social media alone is not enough. While becoming a published author is a major ego boost, very few receive income or effectively leverage their book to expand their brand and business. Far too many authors equate likes, followers, and social media connections with increased revenue. Nothing is further from the truth. Never confuse activity with results.
“The pop star Billie Eilish, who now has 102 million Instagram followers and 6.7 million on Twitter, sold just 64,000 copies of her self-titled memoir from May 2021 to December, according to the New York Times. Justin Timberlake, who now has 64.5 million followers on Instagram, only managed to sell 100,000 copies of his autobiographical collection of observations, Hindsight, in the first three years. And the media personality Piers Morgan, who has 7.9 million Twitter followers and 1.8 million on Instagram, managed to move just 5,650 U.S. copies of his book, Wake Up: Why the World Has Gone Nuts, from September to December.”
“If being a celebrity with millions of followers does not guarantee high book sales, what does? Is there any hope for the rest of us?”
~ The Enigma of Book Sales May 9, 2022, By Alesha Brown
Trust the Process – Book Marketing ProgramWhile no campaign can guarantee a #1 bestseller, our campaigns dramatically improve the odds. They are a proven layered multi-step process to build a brand that will significantly increase exposure, awareness, authority, credibility and ultimately create multiple streams of revenue.
Consistency and frequency of the message matter. One post, email, letter, or Facebook live is not effective. For example, everyone knows Coca-Cola and Mcdonald’s, yet every day we see ads, commercials, etc. for these products. Our campaigns keep your message in front of the target market.
The key is to surround yourself with people who have been where you want to go. Keep in mind, many people, friends, family, colleagues, associates, etc. will offer their opinions and ideas on how the author should release and or promote their book. Most have never created and executed such campaigns. The secret to walking on water is to know where the rocks are! We will show you where the rocks are!
Executing a successful marketing/promotion strategy requires the cooperation of all parties including but not limited to; the author, writing coach, adviser, and publisher, who must agree to follow the steps listed in the Trust the Process Statement of Work and take subsequent instructions from.
When does a campaign startWe start our campaigns before the book is finished. The best campaigns build a groundswell of demand before the book is released.
Three stage campaignOur base-level campaigns have three stages.
- “Priming the pump” in anticipation of the book(s) launch.
- Launch campaign
- Post-launch follow-up
The investment will vary depending on the level of depth.
Are you ready to take control of your marketing/promotion? Let’s see.* Why are you writing this book? * Have you written a book before? If yes, What were the results? Did it achieve #1 bestselling status in any category? * Are you looking to leverage the book to create multiple revenue streams? * Are you willing to invest in your marketing, and promotion campaign? * Are you willing to be coached? * What genre is your book? * Are you willing and able to commit to and follow the campaign – prelaunch, launch, post-launch – potential multiple-month contract? * Are you willing to invest in your book’s success? * Will you put in the time and effort to do the tasks assigned to the author? * Do you have an email list and an email program (MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc.)? * What organizations do you belong to as a member, adviser, volunteer, etc.? * Who is your publisher? They must be willing to follow our plan (post the book where and when per the plan). We can suggest a publisher if needed. * Do you need someone to assist you with the writing, formatting, and editing?
As you move through the decision process to write a book, you will hear many stories and claims from publishers, editors, illustrators, friends, and associates. Ask yourself this question, who has created and executed marketing and promotional campaigns that have achieved 11 consecutive #1 bestselling titles and two award-winning books in 22 months?
Magic happens when people Trust the Process. Message Melissa Van Oss or Frank Zaccari on LinkedIn. Let’s talk.
We live in a digital world and the requirement to sell anything online brings about challenges with our cyber security. As authors, publishers, and content creators we are all keen to sell our products via this medium, in doing so we have to be relatable to our customers, that inevitably means sharing personal information.
Most of us turn to social media to promote ourselves and what we have written. Unfortunately, this is where criminals also operate and seek out opportunities.
Scams and account takeovers are commonplace on these types of platforms and have the potential to ruin your business and hard-won reputation.
I am a former police officer and a firm believer in the phrase, ‘prevention is better than cure’ hence I have put this short piece together with that in mind. It is written from the perspective of a small business owner and author alongside my set-up and experiences. It may not be the same for everyone but for most of us in this arena, I am taking an informed guess that what I will share here will be common for a lot of us.
- Do you hold any customer data?
- Do you have social media accounts?
- Do you manage your website yourself?
Even if you only have one of the above, then you and the data you hold are at risk, unless you take precautions to protect it. Despite what a slick cyber security salesperson may tell you, there is not one single solution that will stop you from suffering a data breach. What you ‘can’ do though is lower the risks significantly.
Customer data – when someone orders content from you, invariably they will provide their name, email, and home address, maybe even details of the payment provider. What are you doing with it once the transaction is complete?
Ask yourself, do you need to keep it? If a cybercriminal gets into your systems and steals their data, you have suffered a data breach and will have certain obligations. Do you need all that upheaval to deal with, or would you prefer to be doing something else, like promoting your business for the right reasons?
Tip – weed what you don’t need!
Social media – a great place to network, make contacts and promote your business but it is also the prime hunting ground for those with malicious intent.
When you are looking for leads be wary of the posts that are designed to create your curiosity, “Look what I’ve found”! “I have got a surprise for you”!, “You’ve won a prize”! etc, etc.
The intention is to get you to click, and then lo and behold you have introduced malicious software (malware) into your device. Your social media profile could in turn get taken over by the criminal who starts to connect with your client base. Something else you do not want to have to deal with.
Tip – things you click can be tricks!
Your website – It may be the case that you manage your website, or you outsource it to a friend or a company. Make sure the admin password is ‘long and strong’ and do not share it with anyone else, it is the equivalent of the master key for your digital front door. Also, ensure that security updates are applied promptly (things like plugins too for WordPress). If you don’t attend to them, the vulnerabilities are not addressed, and you are leaving the windows open for digital burglars.
Tip – If you are not sure, get someone ‘in the know’ to help you
Finally, one of the best ways to protect all your online accounts is two-factor authentication. This is like a double lock on that digital front door. The way it works is that you enter your credentials into say, your Facebook account, the system will then require a code from you, normally generated via an authenticator app on your smartphone. Something that is only in your possession (or should be).
No code, no entry, it’s that simple and a great way of keeping scammers, fraudsters, and thieves out of your accounts.
Stay safe out there, it’s a digital jungle!
If you partake or want to partake in interviews, one of the first things you may encounter is the fear of going on-camera. Why? Watch the Video I Made for You to Get My Reasons.
We design technologies, from social media to sociable robots, that give us the illusion of companionship and reassure us that we will never be alone. Because being alone is perceived as a problem and we try to solve it with connection and, paradoxically, in doing so we contribute to building our isolation.
In truth, loneliness must be seen also in a positive way, giving it space, because it is an essential condition for self-reflection, for finding ourselves, and for truly appreciating others.
It cannot be denied that the spread of mobile phones inhibits the development of proximity.
Most people spend almost all of their time making calls or looking at their smartphones, almost escaping the possibility of having a conversation with a neighbour. It can be objected that this too is a form of communication, after all, we also talk on the telephone.
True, but it is not the sounds that circulate, but the letters typed and sent via SMS or WhatsApp. The co-presence, the sharing of a common space and time, as well as the corporeity that accompanies all our direct discourse is missing. This risks leading to a sort of progressive disappearance of the real counterpart.
With face-to-face conversation, we are present to our interlocutor. We form and grow on the careful and profound exchange that also involves the emotional reactions contextual to the discourse.
To make up for this deficiency, emoticons have been created, which should express the various emotional expressions of the dialogue. However, they are a pre-packaged surrogate for that complex universe that is our emotions, and being standardized they end up erasing any personality index and making any form of improvisation impossible.
The perception is that the conversation is almost frightening, due to its “too many variables”, while on the web it can be interrupted when you want and in addition, you can do other things at the same time.
The “escape” from the conversation has also infected many younger families in which parents often fail to prevent their children from using their smartphones at the table, thus renouncing their responsibility as educators. Also because often they too are focused on mobiles.
There is another aspect that characterizes communication in the digital age and it is the intensity, the frequency with which we become the subject of an ever-increasing number of messages, information, and images with which we are not always able to keep pace and we no longer have time to stimulate our creative capacity.
The risk is that social networks end up falsifying our understanding of intimacy itself and with it our understanding of ourselves. We have gone from a real relationship to a pure sensation; from empathy to a sense of empathy; from the existence of a community to the sense of community
Certainly, the solution does not want to be giving up social media and technology in general, because it is undeniable that they have expanded our relationship opportunities. But a more careful reflection on the relationship we establish with this extremely powerful technology is necessary for more critical and balanced use. In other words, it is necessary to establish more aware relationships: with technology, with others, and with ourselves.
If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.
~Fred Rogers
We hold this space as an opportunity to showcase those people we encounter now and then who simply show up every day with a radiant, uplifting spirit coupled with a genuine willingness to give back. That said, as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of this award-winning global media digest and CEO/ReImaginator for 360° Nation, I was delighted to have the opportunity to get better acquainted with Marc Joseph, Co-Founder of BabyBoomer.org, whose mission is to be part of Boomers’ daily lives – not only to help them find what they need but also enrich their lives and find new friends with similar interests
Who is Marc Joseph?
Marc Joseph is better known as Gramps Jeffrey. Gramps Jeffrey’s children’s book, “I Don’t Want to Turn 3”, explores what goes through a toddler’s mind that parents are so desperate to understand. It is based on the true experiences he has had with his 6 grandchildren that were born 2 each to his 3 Millennial daughters. Gramps Jeffrey is the pen name for Marc Joseph whose first book “The Secrets of Retailing…How to Beat Wal-Mart” was written to help entrepreneurs and small businesses compete against the big guys. Arianna Huffington read his book and asked him to contribute to the Huffington Post. He has written over 100 articles about small businesses, education, the homeless, and several other nonprofit topics dear to all of us. Gramps is currently the co-founder of the new site www.babyboomer.org which pulls together news and resources for the baby boomer community. Gramps and his lovely wife Cathy live in Scottsdale, Arizona where 2 of his grandchildren live. 2 more live in Austin, Texas, and 2 in Orlando, Florida.
We would like to hear about your professional journey up to now, and the wisdom gained/lessons learned along the way, including any pivots/course changes.
In the first part of my career, I was in corporate America helping run major retail chains in the department store, discount store, and dollar store industries. I then decided to become an entrepreneur which I learned to appreciate in my early life because, on both sides of my family, they too were all entrepreneurs. I have started 3 companies of which one I took public in the B2B Internet world. 50% of businesses fail in their first 5 years of business. So, lessons learned along the way include:
- Make sure your product or service is actually wanted by customers. 42% of businesses fail because they think they have the greatest item since sliced bread, but they are the only one who likes the product. I learned early on as a buyer for a department store, that you do not buy for what you like, you buy for what your customers want.
- Make sure you have enough capital to survive the first 6 months as if you had no sales. 29% of businesses fail because they just don’t have enough funds to sustain their early development.
- Build a team around you that is smarter than you are. 23% of businesses fail because the owner has such a big ego, that they cannot recognize their weaknesses and don’t find a staff that can complement their abilities. Along with this, the entrepreneur needs to make sure they are communicating and sharing their vision with everyone in the company to create a shared experience.
Tell us about BabyBoomer.org and the inspiration behind it.
The Baby Boomer generation is as diverse as any generation before and after it. There are major differences in political views, diversity in religion, and ideas of how our lives should be lived. But the one thing Baby Boomers do have in common is a connected shared experience. When we were growing up there were only 3 TV networks and we all had landlines, so we all were exposed to the same information.
We all experienced the Kennedy assassination, Martin Luther King’s assassination, the landing on the moon, Vietnam, riots in the streets, and birth control becoming widespread. We have our shared music whether it is Elvis, the Beatles or the Beach Boys or 3 Dog Night, The Association, or the Supremes. We have the movies that brought us together like Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Jaws, Animal House, Star Wars, or The Godfather. So, we actually have more in common than what splits us apart. Because we are not a homogenous group, there has never been one single trustworthy source to speak to our many and varied interests. We know there are various digital tribes or pocket groups of Baby Boomers who are already online —divided by geography, special interests, access to specific experts, or ideology. Areas that we want to highlight to bring us together include but are not limited to caregiving, international and domestic travel, the ex-pat lifestyle, grandparenting, antique cars and memories, healthy eating, finance, retirement, healthcare, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and fitness. Pickleball, volunteering, giving back, and how to leave a legacy.
What’s unique about it, and who is your ideal audience/participant?
Our content is made up of contributors and authors who are either baby boomers or write about topics that would be of interest to our generation. The site consists of the best podcasts, blogs, videos, books, and articles related to our interests. Whereas, when we started the site, we anticipated our audience would be baby boomers like us, but what has evolved is traffic is also coming from the baby boomer children and grandchildren trying to figure out what makes our generation tick.
When did you launch BabyBoomer.org, and what’s been your biggest challenge so far?
BabyBoomer.org is a new site launched in September of 2022. Our biggest challenge so far is finding the right content to turn it into a destination site. We call this Phase 1 which we are just about done completing. Phase 2 which launches shortly will be to let the world know who we are.
Any noteworthy surprises along the way?
I was totally surprised by how quickly we were embraced by contributors who want to reach our core market. They then shared their experiences with other potential contributors, and it helped us build the site faster than we thought possible.
What distinguishes your business from others in the same profession?
Our site was built by baby boomers for baby boomers. Our contributors are passionate about the information they want to share with our audience. As we get older and there is more time behind us than in front of us, we realize it is truly our mission to educate younger generations. By doing this we create our legacy and that is what this site does.
What’s the next big thing and/or greatest challenge for BabyBoomer.org?
Our greatest challenge is letting the 70M baby boomers know we are here to help educate, enlighten, and help them on the next phase of their journey. When you are kids, you have lots of friends, but then life gets in the way of building a career and family, and we do not have as many friends. Our site wants to help restore that sense of belonging and finding others who have the same niche interests as you do.
As an experienced leader and entrepreneur, what’s non-negotiable for you?
Your word is your bond. In today’s world of unscrupulous salespeople amplified by the ease of using the Internet, it is more difficult to establish great relationships that will benefit both parties. Once these relationships were based on face-to-face meetings, but in today’s world with COVID lingering, we have turned into a Zoom society. How do we establish trusting relationships that will last a long time? This trust is what is non-negotiable to me and each day we must earn it.
How can our global audience learn more about you and BabyBoomer.org?
- https://babyboomer.org/
- https://www.facebook.com/BabyBoomer.org/
- https://twitter.com/babyboomer_org
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/babyboomer-org/
- https://grampsjeffrey.com/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/gramps-jeffrey-3b022b214/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcjoseph/
- https://www.facebook.com/grampsjeffrey/?business_id=193853812379998
- https://twitter.com/AuthorGramps
- https://www.instagram.com/authorgrampsjeffrey/
- https://www.pinterest.com/hellogrampsjeffrey/
Bonus Question: What one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
I am a substitute teacher at our local high school and middle school. There is such a shortage of teachers, that I would urge everyone to volunteer to help educate this greatest generation our country has ever produced. We are all looking to leave our legacy, and pass on these decades of knowledge we have learned from not only the mistakes we’ve made, but the positive experiences we have had. What better way to pay it forward than helping our communities influence our future generations…
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to now add BabyBoomer.org to our expanding global network of special media alliances, setting the stage to enhance the visibility of our respective writing communities. Visit Become A Content Contributor if you’d like to have your BizCatalyst 360° Articles syndicated via BabyBoomer.org.
Consistency is perhaps the only known path to serendipity
The relentless generation, dissemination, and repurposing of information on an ongoing basis has made people dependent on technologies that can help them find relevant information in the minimum amount of time possible. Therefore, the important role search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing play in retrieving and presenting the most relevant information (terms such as googling or googlization are often used to describe such activities) is undeniable.
The growing advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and its sub-fields of deep learning (DL) and natural language processing (NLP) are making it possible for search engines to produce the best results for the search query in a tick. Given the vast amount of available information, humans will never be able to find information as efficiently as a search and query bot does anyway.
As such, in hindsight, information retrieved through search and query bots (SnQ bots) can play a significant role in knowledge creation, repurposing, and management. The increased sophistication of generative AI-based applications (e.g., ChatGPT; read more: https://www.academiasolution.com/ChatGPT) is further contributing to the use of intelligent machines to provide the best information (within the limits of algorithm design and learning acquired by the machine through training), resulting in the availability of a lot of information. Therefore, it is safe to say that the level and amount of available information that we are coping with are simply unprecedented.
Unsurprisingly, a huge amount of knowledge on project management is available online too. A simple Google search for the term “project management” yielded over 3.5 billion results and over 130 million results in the Yahoo and Bing search engines.
It raises the question of whether it is possible to use the information resources (project- and non-project-based) made available by SnQ bots in any way possible, and if so, what could be some of the ways in which it can be done?
Some research has looked at these questions by exploring the role of search volume generated by SnQ bots (e.g., Google search volume) for user queries and its impacts on issues such as the prediction of COVID-19, return on stock, investor trading, obesity patterns, and so forth. It indicates that the information identified by SnQ bots is regarded as useful and worthy of understanding issues and building corresponding solutions. In hindsight, it also underlines the possibility of leveraging these vast resources of information in a coordinated manner for assorted purposes, including teaching and learning.
However, interestingly, not much has been done to understand the impacts of search yield for project management-focused search results. That is despite the fact that searching for a common term like ‘project management’ yields 3.5 billion records. It shows the breadth of knowledge available that could be tapped and tactically used for assorted purposes to grow the knowledge boundaries of professions. Not every link that is found by SnQ bots is relevant to the search, but surely one can still find useful information. So it makes one consider how this vast resource of information on project management can be used.
With that in mind, we have looked at some of the possible uses of search volume generated by SnQ bots as well as possible ways in which it can be done. Surely, examining potential uses and solutions is not easy, but at least this brief discussion will build initial thought, and that has been done below.
Possible uses of search volume generated by SnQ bots
- For research
Just like the prior studies, research can be carried out to investigate the relationship between search volume for different key terms (e.g., project management, project delivery, and project management certification) and the growth, expansion, or obsoletion of a project management niche (e.g., agile project management).
Such research will be very useful for trend analysis and making predictions for the future. It will then help project management bodies and other stakeholders plan their activities for the short, medium, and long term. There are other areas to explore as well. For example, which certification and accreditation (offered by a certain body) should be continued, and which should be discontinued, and what innovations are needed in knowledge management education, training, and certification? What kinds of innovations are needed for improving the effectiveness of project management knowledge or modernizing project management? How can project management programs offered in universities be made more effective in providing cutting-edge, relevant learning?
- For learning
Searching the internet is ‘digital breathing.’ In hindsight, it is something that we cannot afford or want to live without. Given the technological advancements in creating workaholic SnQ bots, we often take for granted the usefulness and worthiness of the information made available to us in a tick. Have we ever paused for a sec and thought, ‘Oh, how sweat! these unseen creatures are so kind in making our lives easy by enabling access to information that we didn’t even know it ever existed.
So, one potential use is to go beyond the use of search engines for information retrieval to make it a learning and exploration platform for assorted purposes, such as corporate trainings, school (all levels from primary to the highest level possible) learners’ learning, and exploration, and the advancement of knowledge sharing in a coordinated way.
An example could be the formation of volunteer “Fav-Share” (i.e., crowd-sharing-based) groups. As we normally save or tag sites and good online resources as favorites in our fav folders, this simple tendency can be utilized for a much more useful and larger purpose. That is, people in these purposefully created groups can keep saving favorites on an ongoing basis, just like we all do, and after a while, they can share their saved favorite sites with people within the group. It can be done for dedicated keywords. So, a routine thing can become very useful for learning and exploration. It will help learners critically analyze their choices and discuss why they thought a piece of content (e.g., text, image) was useful.
And the advantages of this extremely simple thing are multitudes, such as (but not limited to):
1) These crowd-sharing types of groups are free and don’t require any additional resources or access than they are likely to have in their day-to-day lives,
2) People in these groups don’t do any extra work or make an extra effort, as they will only tag a link when they come across a useful link,
3) Group members’ search activities will help SnQ bots learn and get better at generating search outputs. So, it will help create the common good.
4) Anyone can form these types of groups at any level for private or official purposes as suits their learning and knowledge-seeking purpose and needs without any limitations whatsoever, and above all,
5) Sharing is caring (or perhaps fav-sharing is digital-caring).
In this way, free information is transformed into free, useful information. One small addition of word, one giant purpose of netizen served, so to speak (Thanks to famous words of Niel Armstrong).
- For case studies
Given the wide-ranging aspects (e.g., social, technological, environmental, and regulatory) involved in the search and retrieval of information using SnQ bots, they make a good platform for studying them as case studies. For instance, one can look at the case of search engine A vs. search engine B output for different keywords, and so on and so forth. So, the possibilities of creating case studies are enormous, given the volume and variety of content shared on these platforms.
Concluding remarks
Information is the most vital asset for progress. Transforming information availability into purposeful information availability is what we really need, given the deep oceans of available information resources. Obviously, it is a positive thing that requires consideration and finding ways and means to leverage it for assorted uses. Just like other disciplines, a significantly large pool of information is also available on project management. It deserves some attention.
As such, we have discussed a few possibilities of use and some possible ways in which information produced by SnQ bots can be used for more directed and dedicated purposes. Needless to say, the possibilities are endless. The ones discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg to stimulate some thoughts. This is analogous to standing on the beach and contemplating the vastness and depth of the ocean, as well as the unknowns associated with it. But hopefully, the discussion presented in this article will help people consider developing some coordinated efforts to use this freely available and dynamically updated information in some way.
Note: This article was previously published on: https://www.academiasolution.com/Googling
The emergence of data-driven mass surveillance “is threatening to turn privacy into a relic of the 20th century,” says the anonymous YouTube creator known as Ordinary Things. Meanwhile, state-funded troll farms are spreading disinformation and curating chaos on platforms meant to connect us and revolutionize the way we live. Ordinary Things gives an enlightening account of the internet’s strengths and weaknesses, warning that the fight for a free internet is a fight for our collective future.
You probably know of the “Six degrees of Separation”; the outcome of an experiment back in the early 1960s showing that for any person on the planet to reach any other person on the planet, nobody would need to go through more than six people to reach each other.
Naturally, we don’t personally know the other five people. If we did, we would contact that other person directly and skip a degree or more. (I should name that the world had 3 billion, not 8 billion, inhabitants in the ‘60s; on the other hand, we have social media. Perhaps the number is now seven?)
For years, I have been LinkedIn-connected with Jeppe Vilstrup Hansgaard, the CEO of Innovisor, a company that does worldwide organizational development consulting from the entry point of Organizational Network Analysis (ONA). And no, this is not a pitch for you to recruit them for analyzing your company. Bear with me for another couple of paragraphs.
What I particularly like about Innovisor’s work is that it is founded on data. By now, they have millions of connections depicted in their database, not just from harvesting organizations’ internal files for who messages whom, phone calls happening between whom, and meeting rosters, …, but from actually talking to the employees. Both Jeppe and Innovisor share insightful articles on how ONA helps organizations understand who their secret heroes are, how silos impair their performance, the true cost of attrition, what factors impede inclusion and belonging,… – you know, the important stuff we should care more about than the quarter-by-quarter stock price development.
One of the ways to measure a network is to calculate how many people, on average, each member needs to go through to reach any other member of the network. The lower the number, the more cohesive the network.
If the whole planet was a network, this number would evidently be six (or perhaps seven). There is your upper limit. If anybody in your organization needs to go through more than six people to reach somebody else, you are failing spectacularly.
Per chance (or not): in organizations, cohesion correlates positively with bottom-line results. One reason is that people don’t sit with problems for too long when they know whom to ask for help.
When I saw Dennis Pitocco’s Points of Light post, the picture in the piece looked almost like an Organizational Network diagram, inspiring writing about this subject, and Jeppe mentioning Mark O’Brien in a recent post made me want to finish that thought.
My guess is that to reach Dennis, nobody in the BizCatalyst network will need an intermediary. If that is so, for those on LinkedIn, everybody in the network are 1st or 2nd connections. (That usually means that we can message each other on that platform if need be. Thank you, Dennis.)
I am not good enough at reaching out to new members of the network, but mention you are a BizCat in an invitation to link and I accept, no questions asked. (As you are connected with Dennis, you can even send me a message. I can be slow on the uptake if I haven’t yet crossed paths with you. Thank you for inviting me to link, by the way, I am now spurred to do better myself.)
I regularly get invitations showing that we already have 5, 17, 41, 187 connections in common so I am positive that the BizCat network is a very cohesive body.
What is the effect of reaching out toward newcomers? That they wish to stay in the network. That is no different than in an organization or a neighborhood. It takes people who know the place and culture to acculturate the new people, and if newcomers never get to feel that they belong, they are probably not going to hang around or participate. Perhaps they only get to know the other newcomers who also feel lost? How useful is that to the community at large if there is no transfer of organizational/cultural knowledge?
When Innovisor does the analysis, they are way fancier than just looking at who are connected with whom through LinkedIn. They look at who interacts with whom? Does a relationship go both ways? Whom do you ask for help? Whom do you have lunch with? Whom do you recommend for what tasks? Who meets outside of work?
Whom do you trust? Who trusts you?
This is no different in the 360° Nation network. Innovisor would probably analyze who supports your writing and whether you support them in return. Do you like or comment, on LinkedIn or on the BizCatalyst site? Do you message each other? Set up direct calls? Do you “meet” outside of LinkedIn? How do BizCats partake in other of the activities under the 360° Nation umbrella and get to know each other in other ways than through LinkedIn posts and comments: Friendship Bench, Salon 360°, Byline 360°, showing up at Encounter 360° in Tampa…
This is a bit like who plays fuzzball in the breakroom even if they are not on the same team.
Or perhaps BizCats have collaborations that have nothing to do with 360 Nation? Some might not happen on LinkedIn. Members show up on each other’s podcasts. Use each other in their resp. professional capacities. Go to the No Longer Virtual Summit. Hang out on their own Zoom accounts, or – gasp – in person! Like friends, from no professional motivation at all.
Like in organizations, the 360° Nation network also has some “siloing”.
Silos can be caused by geography. It is hard to attend activities if they happen in the wee hours of the morning. While I am a little in doubt about Mark Ried, I am almost sure even Susan Rooks sleeps between 3 and 4 am, and just like it is always past 6 pm somewhere; somewhere on the planet, it is also always inconvenient to be on Zoom at 11:30 am ET. Even if a second Friendship Bench was scheduled for a different time, it would probably just create two core groups attending each one of the benches. Aka silo.
Silos can also be caused by subjects. Interests attract. There are around 1000 contributors on 360° Nation, and I probably don’t know 80% of them. Of the ones I do know, some I interact with daily, and some I hardly ever see. (Some I really miss seeing but they don’t have time to write as often after the pandemic closedown ended, and that throws a wrench in LinkedIn’s algorithms. Do you know who your “gang” is so you can tag them if you have been offline for a while and get into the loop again?)
Which means that silos also can be reinforced by algorithms. The people you interact with regularly will keep showing up in your feed. Do you unprompted remember the people you used to interact with regularly but who now don’t show up in neither notifications, nor feed? And perhaps tag them from time to time? Or visit their activity page to get them back into your notifications by commenting unprompted on their latest posts? How many bells have you rung to make sure you get updates?
Gradually, a central network member can end up on the fringes. Perhaps they are temporarily too busy to be active on LinkedIn, that is the positive story. Otherwise, they may unwittingly be sidelined when they need their network’s support the most.
I know I am not nearly good enough at catching this, either.
Our brain (and emotions) have not caught up to 1) a network of more than 150 people or 2) how our “social life” is dictated by algorithms that can be good or bad or have unintentional quirks. Don’t feel sad or sidelined but holler, tag, DM, ring bells, and ask for the network’s help, energy, and reposts…
After all, BizCatalyst 360° is also about supporting each other’s endeavors.
Back in the day, before you could buy your weed at a seedy little store in some strip mall, you had to rely on people like me. I was a weed dealer back then. I would buy my weed, by the pound from a guy who I only knew as English John. When I got it home I divided it up into lids, which were about 3/4 of an ounce.
The weed itself was in two forms. Half of it was buds; the other half was called shake. It was all weed, and it would all do the trick, but the buds created the perception of quality. So when I re-bagged the weed I always made sure to balance the offering between the buds and the shake. That way, everybody was getting a deal that played to their perception.
I don’t deal weed anymore. I kinda miss it, truth be told. Not so much for the money but for the social aspect of it. The visits, the catching up, the gossip. All my customers were in the advertising business like I was, and back then there was always something going on. Being on top of things was important.
Lately, one of my oldest friends has started to recommend podcasts to me. I actually act on friends’ advice because, to me at least, the podcast world is like a bag of weed.
A few buds but mostly shake. A few interesting and enlightened people and a whole lot of others are pushing some agenda that has little to do with helping people understand the whole picture.
I make it a point to try and listen to at least one podcast every few days. Over the course of the past year, that’s what I have concluded. A few are the buds, who are interesting and tend to take an objective view of whatever they’re on about. The rest are the shake, which are the self-serving or agenda-driven.
And what do you know…it’s the good old 80/20 Rule That Governs Just About Everything. 20% buds, 80% shake.
So if you’re one of those people who listen to a wide range of podcasts religiously, you can be pretty sure that 80% of the time, you’re hearing propaganda of one kind or another, and 20% of the time you’re hearing something that either is or comes close to being the objective truth. As always, it’s up to you to separate the buds from the shake.
Amanda Baughan, University of Washington
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had an unfortunate Saturday routine. I would wake up in my studio apartment and immediately turn to my phone, telling myself that I would get breakfast after quickly checking Twitter. An hour or so later, I would look up and realize what time it was – and how ravenous I’d become. I had become totally absorbed in looking at memes, snark and the 24 hour news cycle.
This experience sparked an idea: What if, instead of people becoming “addicted” to social media – as users often characterize their excessive engagement – they’re actually dissociating, or becoming so engaged that they lose track of time?
I’ve researched people’s social media use for four years as a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, and my collaborators and I decided to design a study to test this theory.
What is dissociation?Many researchers think dissociation occurs on a spectrum. On one end, there is the kind of dissociation that is spurred by trauma and associated with PTSD flashbacks. Then there are common, everyday experiences of dissociation, which involve attention being limited to a narrow range of experience. Everyday dissociation can be passive or active. Spontaneous daydreaming is a form of passive dissociation, while reading a book is an example of active dissociation. In both cases, you can become so immersed in a fantasy or story that time falls away and you lose track of your surroundings. You might not be able to hear someone calling your name from another room.
Dissociation is part of healthy cognitive functioning, as mind-wandering helps you learn, and combating stress though deeply engaging in hobbies can boost your mood.
Dissociation is a process that is defined by focused attention that leads to a reduced sense of the passage of time and reduced self-awareness.
Amanda Baughan, CC BYWhat does dissociation look like online?When online, however, dissociation can reflect zombie-like behavior – scrolling for hours without realizing it, not being aware to one’s surroundings while scrolling, or scrolling on autopilot and then realizing you haven’t actually paid any attention to what you’ve read. Have you ever seen someone so absorbed in their phone that they start walking across a street, oblivious to oncoming traffic? They’re likely dissociating.
Typically, behavior like this is classified as smartphone or internet addiction.
However, researchers have begun to push back against the narrative of addiction to describe excessive smartphone use, explaining that the behavior – even if it’s a source of distress – should not be considered addiction if it’s better explained by an underlying disorder, is a willful choice, or is part of a coping strategy.
I am of the belief that choosing to play Candy Crush for three hours a day is not necessarily “addiction.” I do, however, think that the complete disconnect people experience from their surroundings and sense of time passing is an interesting phenomenon to explore. Therefore, I wanted to understand if people are dissociating during their phone use.
In our study, we recruited volunteers to use a custom mobile app alternative to Twitter, called Chirp. Forty-three people used Chirp for four weeks, cycling through four different design interventions, coupled with in-app surveys. We then selected 11 of them to interview about the experience.
We found dissociation occurred in nearly half of our participants, and they often expressed a sense of disappointment afterwards, saying that they would have rather have engaged in a different activity with the amount of time they had spent online. However, some said their time on social media was meaningful to them, and the fact that they were connecting with real people was valuable, even as they dissociated.
Cultivating online agencyUnderstanding social media overuse as a byproduct of dissociation, rather than addiction, can help destigmatize social media use while empowering users. This framing also helps explain why social media sits in a paradoxical position: people have frustrating relationships with social media platforms that they are simultaneously unwilling to quit.
Seeking escape from the present moment through deep absorption – including absorption in social media – is a natural, common, and often beneficial thing to do. However, when users spend much more time dissociating online than they would have consciously chosen for themselves, they become frustrated and conflicted. And many social media platforms exploit this tendency by keeping people “on the hunt” for new content through algorithmic design.
This suggests that it is possible for users to have healthy and satisfying relationships with social media – even when dissociating is involved – if the platforms can also help their users disengage.
How design can reduce dissociationIn our study, we deployed several interventions to help pause or reduce dissociation while scrolling on Chirp. One intervention that was particularly effective was requiring our participants to sort their content into lists by topic – say, news, sports and reality TV – rather than having all subjects appear as an avalanche of information on one main feed. People could then click different tabs to view their lists. We found that many users would only scroll through one or two tabs before exiting the app.
We paired this intervention with a “reading history” label that informed our users when they were “all caught up” with previously viewed tweets. Participants said that this helped them feel more in control and less likely to lose track of time.
Of course, many current social media companies, such as TikTok, rely on algorithmically-determined, constantly updating content. Similarly, on Instagram and Twitter, popular and trending content gets inserted into a feed of followed content. This makes it impossible to ever get “all caught up.”
In these cases, past research shows that many people would appreciate reminders to log off before 30 minutes of use. Otherwise they become disappointed with the time they’ve spent. These reminders could be inserted into regular content, which is something TikTok already does.
Users can do this for themselves by becoming familiar with the suite of digital well-being tools at their disposal. Viewing usage page statistics and setting timeouts is already available across many sites, although many of these settings are turned off by default.
However when more people use these tools, it signals to the companies that they should continue to invest time and resources into developing them.
Amanda Baughan, PhD Student in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
There is a war going on in the world that is much more insidious than any war waged with conventional weapons. It is the battle for control of what you think and believe. And I’m not just talking about marketing and media.
These attacks are quickly taking root in our society. But you probably wouldn’t notice because it is all exceedingly believable. I’d love to give you some examples, but it’s the nature of this beast to be undetectable.
My theory here is that certain aspects of artificial intelligence are being weaponized and turned into irresistible cocktails that almost no one will be immune to, simply because we won’t really know that it’s happening.
I also believe that this is only just getting cranked up. A year from now, you probably won’t be able to tell what’s real and what’s not. And most of what’s not is being created by people who simply want to control every aspect of our existence as if marketing, religion, and entertainment weren’t quite doing the whole job.
A couple of weeks ago I watched a series on Amazon Prime called The Capture. It was all about how people in the espionage business are starting to use AI in different ways to influence the outcomes of elections in Britain. I guess you could call it Science fiction. But I would not be at all surprised that the technology they employed in this series actually exists in the world today. And I also wouldn’t be surprised if it was being used in various ways to make certain things happen that would benefit whoever is paying the freight.
The tech to pull off these deceptions is being created by some of the brightest minds on the planet and financed by some of the most powerful people and groups. Their objective is simple. Control. It’s no longer enough to make a product and make it good enough so that a lot of people buy it. No, what you have to do these days is control the thought processes of the buyers to keep them constantly favourably disposed to whatever it is you want them to buy.
I know this paints a pretty bleak picture of the AI world. But there is a bright side, sort of, and that is that AI is also being employed in the identification and treatment of diseases and the development of tools to monitor your general health. And that makes sense because the people who are trying to enslave us need us to be healthy enough to be good consumers.
The news media will go nuts over all the innovations that AI is bringing about. But they will be totally quiet about the downside risks of it all as it starts to play a much larger role in our lives.
It’s not because the media is stupid or short-sighted, but because it is controlled by many of the very people who will be using AI to control our lives.
There’s an old expression I learned from my days of working on Procter & Gamble brands. The expression is ‘Caveat Emptor’ which Means Let The Buyer Beware.
This was one of the guiding principles that Procter based their whole business on. In marketing, it translates into: ‘Never make a product that will not meet or exceed the buyer’s expectations.” They knew, mostly from experience that people are aware and will make judgements on things based on their own experiences.
But in today’s world, AI is making this principle obsolete, and that will, in my opinion, bring about a slow and steady decline in the quality of just about everything. And the weird part is that we probably won’t even notice. And the powers that be will keep getting richer as their investment in AI cultural engineering pays off.
And there is another expression that comes to mind going forward, and that is this…Keep your eyes on your fries.
Wow. How can that task be taken on? Well, it requires masterful storytelling, a relentless devotion to serving others, and building, and nurturing an ever-expanding community. Where? Globally.
Enter Gillian Whitney, doing that very thing daily. She is a wise woman of wit and insight who knows changing the world happens one story, one person, one video at a time. Easy Peasy. And yet she has a system. Who is Gillian Whitney? As a video marketing coach, Gillian helps business professionals make videos in a way that is comfortable for them. She loves sharing easy-peasy solutions to help folks get started with video. She believes every business professional needs to be using video to market themselves. Video boosts your online visibility, increases sales, and promotes your business like no other marketing tool.
Gillian is a citizen of 4 countries and a digital nomad. She currently resides in Las Vegas, with her husband and beloved globe-trotting dachshund. Gillian Whitney VideoEasyPeasy.com
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In these times it is quite common to hear about social loneliness, mainly attributable to technology.The research on the motivations that drive us to communicate online has identified mainly five: maintaining social relationships, meeting new people, social compensation (compensating for communication difficulties present in offline relationships), social inclusion (the need for belonging to a group), have fun. Therefore, the motivations are mainly relational and relationships with others assume fundamental importance when we decide to connect to the network.
The Internet and social networks allow us to stay constantly in touch with our friends, to meet new people who may be on the other side of the world, to be updated on everything that is happening, and to facilitate our approach to others, making us more casual.
We want to be in control of situations and technologies seem to promise us this power. We increasingly tend to flee from direct relationships and prefer mediated communications.
Never in human history has there been so much communication, which, however, does not lead to dialogue, which today remains the most important cultural challenge.
In the new digital world, ignoring whoever is in front of us to answer a cell phone call or reply to a text message has become the norm.
Sounds unbelievable, but with the proliferation of text messages and social networks, it has come to consider it more polite to reply with a message, perhaps mileage, rather than calling that person to speak directly. In short, it is thought that text messages have the purpose of minimizing intrusions into other people’s time. Instead, I think it’s just the opposite: it’s better to send messages or use similar technologies only for impersonal or urgent matters.
The fact is that human relationships are complex, demanding, and often difficult to manage, and for this reason, the technological medium is surprisingly useful for relationships with distant people. They are very powerful tools, yes, but not yet as powerful as a look, a gesture, or an authentic contact. Furthermore, social media often offer us a distorted, we might say “adjusted” view of reality.
Instead, the face-to-face conversation is in real-time and there is no control over what will be said.
Whenever possible, we should appreciate more the richness of face-to-face conversation, because it creates more meaningful bonds with others, helps us to learn more about ourselves and the world around us, to listen to each other, and also through that verbal communication which is not always possible in online interviews.
Abandoning the internet and eliminating virtual communications is clearly not the solution. We run the risk of isolating ourselves. Especially for people who grew up with it, the internet is an indisputable part of life’s ecosystem, creeping into every crack, regardless of our conscious decisions. But with a little goodwill and common sense, one can learn to use technologies to complement, rather than replace, relationships. Also because today we know that, if practiced in excess, solitary distraction on a screen reduces happiness and can lead to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
It’s a sort of mirror room in which we don’t confront each other, we don’t really expose ourselves to the dialogue which, instead, presupposes that I want to expose myself to someone who thinks differently, even running the risk of being wrong.
We won’t go back to the life we lived before this kind of technology, of course. However, we can and must use it carefully, even in the interest of our health.
The world of web design is constantly evolving, and we are seeing a new wave of designers embracing new fonts and typography. So I’ve put together this font generator, which will allow you to build a custom font that can be used across all websites.
In a recent study, we found that over 95% of the people surveyed say that fonts influence the way that they feel about a brand. So, we decided to dig deeper. We went straight to the source—our designers and web developers who helped us create the world’s top fonts. Using our in-house Aesthetic font generator, we asked them to describe the perfect font for different brands. The results were stunning.
Here’s a free font generator that allows you to create fonts that perfectly match your branding style. It has been tested by designers all over the world and has been proven to work. With the Aesthetic Font Generator, you can easily create stunning, custom fonts using the aesthetic features of CSS3.
The Importance of Aesthetic Fonts in Design and BrandingThe typeface a designer use is just as important as the color they choose when designing a web page or branding a company. When designing a logo, one of the first things designers consider is the font they want to use. Because logos are often used to represent a company, a logo’s design should be aesthetically pleasing. A good designer will pay attention to the spacing, weight, and readability of a font, as well as how it blends into the rest of the design elements. A poorly designed logo could make your business look unprofessional and cheap. For more stylish fonts do visit our Cursive Text Generator.
How Our Aesthetic Font Generator Can Help You Find Your Unique Style?If you’ve been searching for the perfect font, you’ve probably found yourself clicking through page after page of font options. But the search can be pretty tedious, especially if you’re looking for something that’s unique, creative, or simply fits your personality. We came up with an idea to make the process of finding the perfect font a little bit more fun, and a little bit more personalized. Instead of just choosing the same typeface over and over again, let our font generator help you discover what kind of personal style your fonts will have. Discover more personal style fonts by checking out our Old English Text Generator.
Exploring the Wide Range of Font Options Available on Our Aesthetic Fonts GeneratorIn web design, font selection can be a fun and exciting process. Choosing a font to match a specific website design can be tricky, but with our font generator, it’s not impossible. There are hundreds of font options that come with the aesthetic fonts generator, but only the top 40 are listed on the site. These fonts are all unique and interesting, and if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you can upload your own to see if any of the top options work for you.
Conclusion:If you’re looking for the best-performing, long-term, high-quality fonts on the market, then you should start here. Here’s why: these are the exact fonts that we’ve seen perform across our web testing platform and we’ve made sure that each one has been thoroughly tested by us. The result? We’ve compiled a list of the fonts that consistently produce better conversion rates than other font types.
Twitter provides us with a wonderful platform to discuss/confront societal problems. We trend Justin Bieber instead.
― Lauren Leto
I could write a book on my love-hate relationship with Twitter. But I choose to keep it short, like Twitter is. Twitter, with its 140-letter character limits aimed to be a world and society-changing platform.
One can get access to celebrities directly, following them and reacting to their news, views, and rants. Twitter has made the world the common man’s oyster. Official government news, announcements, and comments about movers and shakers – through their ‘official handles’ directly connect with their ‘followers’. The most followed people have more than 10 Million followers.
The platform went through an upheaval starting with the US 2016 elections. Fake news and political canards flew thick and fast in the elections, and for the first time, Twitter along with Facebook proved the power of social media to swing an election by influencing micro-targets. Major issues like Make America Great Again, Black Lives Matter, Me too, and the January 6 Insurrection got dissected and weaponized into decisive swings and action among people on either side of the aisle.
Fake news driven by dogma, fuelled by passionate rhetoric, fuels binary thinking. People who participate tend to react than respond, getting into slang matches, often personal and then the downslide happens. This extends further, using ‘hashtags’, to propel and fuel a topic or a point of view, which then reaches a volume and becomes a ‘trending topic.’ A video or a text content could go viral.
One of the offshoots is the meme-making industry. There are specialist meme makers – often viral, witty, satirical, and sometimes, venomous memes, and spiral into ‘trending topics’.
I switched on Twitter as a necessary means to reach writer, reader and publishing communities. It worked well for me, but the distraction of ‘trends’ and the tweets on the feed is a dirty magnet, attracting me to potentially explosive conversations. The urge to react, considering the taunts (again, the mistake of getting consumed, is on the beholder, in this case, me) was overwhelming. So, I switched off. It is a decision I choose to live with these days, but the impact of the cesspool does not leave me easily. So I decided to get it off my chest.
The whole atmosphere on Twitter today is a chaotic, toxic environment of celebrities, newsmakers, and trolls, trying to run down each other. The devolution of a democratic platform that started with a noble intention is what I call the ‘Twitter travails’.
These are personal views, so I won’t apologize. There is a more balanced forum that exchanges views and despite differences, the exchanges are open-minded and fair. I wish short form-social media would be like that, but it is not, so I would be living in a fool’s paradise if I believe so.
Passion and Dogma:A common human has things to say. The ‘things to say’ are quintessential opinions. Opinions are funny, in the sense that they are perspectives without facts. They are instinctive, emotional, and biased, and form the basis of reactions. The common human seldom dons the thinking hat, for the verbiage of the reaction, which we shall call ‘opinion’ is a culmination of fear, frustration, insecurity, bias, and conditioning. The ingredients of opinions are the basal negatives of human instinct.
The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure of the holder’s lack of rational conviction. Opinions in politics and religion are almost always held passionately.
― Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays
The key operating word in Bertrand’s quote is ‘passion’. Passion is the fundamental premise to opinion, and it defangs the ‘rational conviction’. Religion and politics, especially in the cesspool of equitable, untethered, and undeterred access – which today is called ‘free speech’, have armies of passionate believers who track and troll intending to shut down the contrarians.
In my article on ‘Binary Humans’, I had written about how do passion fuelled by dogma creates a whirlpool of reactions and counter-reactions, leading to an explosive atmosphere. The passionate propensity of the trolls and followers to precipitate any news that scores for them. The emotional chain is not broken, but wave after wave of canards, myths, and fake news is floated. This is no less than propaganda, well-oiled and organized, almost Gobbelsian in magnitude.
It might sound alarmistic, but passion is blind and so is anger. When these two causes of blindness combine, it is total darkness. We see the lack of dignity and politeness in responses, with trending hashtags, being ‘called names’. To score a point and have the last word at the cost of human dignity is exactly why the cesspool of Twitter has become toxic.
Any crack that is visible in human society is yanked open, and salt is rubbed without mercy on the wounds. Religion, science, politics, race, and nation – all these are the labels of identity that the leaders and their passionate followers wear, and the proverbial binary yardstick is applied.
I am not saying that there are good, utopian, meaningful, and open-minded conversations. They are. But they are like a little speck, swept aside in a feed that washes over like a tempestuous sea.
The heroes and the villainsThe second dimension to this toxic twitter is the celebrities and trolls. Unlike other social media – including Facebook and Instagram, Twitter is considered more ‘official’. Celebrities have two legs to stand on – their fans or followers, and their vanity. The followers feed their vanity and the celebrities pander to the followers. This is a normal phenomenon going back to the pre-Internet era.
But there is a big difference. The road to fame has gotten easier, and more importantly, more instantaneous. We see overnight celebrities, based on single events.
A kind of banalization of celebrity has occurred: we are now offered an instant, ready-to-mix fame as nutritious as packet soup.
― J.G. Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition
While celebrities have Instagram handles and Facebook pages, Twitter is where the real flesh-and-blood action happens. I am not sure why, celebrities have a thing for Twitter and the trolls are looking for blood. Now, they say, any news is good news, because celebrities love to ride the ways. Their followers create the high tide based on the type of news, for the celebrity or against.
The instant celebrity is a product of the Internet Era. They have unlimited access to their followers. But for every vain hero, there is a vicious villain on the prowl.
Celebrities often think that social media is an apparent safety net. The physical distance yet the electronic proximity. If you consider that there is a virtual fence, there are three types of followers who jump over this fence.
Cyberstalkers and Trolls:The first one is the fan – the fanatic one – who resorts to stalking. Cyberstalking is an issue that celebrities deal with. More often, the Twitter handle of celebrities are run by their social media managers, but the fans don’t know that. The depth of fanaticism can obliterate the physical distance that is considered a safety net. Cyberstalking has the power to mentally harass the celebrity despite the safety perceived through physical distance. Cyberstalking can happen to even common, non-celebrity participants of Twitter.
The second one is the troll. A troll has two specific characteristics. They almost always have an opposite point of view. They also act like cyber-stalkers
Both cyber stalkers and trolls have one common characteristic. They are insecure people. But cyber stalkers stalk because of their obsessive nature, while a troll does it because of jealousy. The insecurity of many people today turns them into passionate but harmless participants. Cyberstalkers and trolls are a subset of these insecure people.
They only feed off of self-righteous rhetorical argument, trolls—even plain old reason doesn’t stand a chance.
― A.D. Aliwat, In Limbo
The short point here is that cyberstalking and trolling are done by people with broken minds. One cannot ignore the impact that they can cause both mentally and physically, even if their intrusion or assault may not be physical. The compulsive need of celebrities to share and engage with their followers puts them in a vulnerable position. This is where ‘vanity’ meets ‘jealousy’, a toxic cocktail of virtual, social interaction.
It’s dangerous to fool yourself into believing the online world is ‘virtual’ and the person behind the keyboard can’t inflict real-life harm.
― Ginger Gorman, Troll Hunting: Inside the World of Online Hate and its Human Fallout
Trolls have multiple roles. They can be the bloodhounds of those ‘passionate dogmatic’ leaders (the ones we saw in the earlier part), individuals with no agenda, or fans of celebrities. But trolls have one thing in common – they are messengers of hate. They carry hate in their heart. This hatred comes from self-loathing, which in turn comes from their insecurity.
Trolls can gang up and have pitched battles, much like the one on the streets. We can see this in ‘trending topics’ of opposing themes. This is where polarization begins. Polarization is the ultimate goal for those who want to succeed at any cost.
For the past number of years, I have chosen a word for the following year. Some of the words I have chosen are Grace, Nourish, and Harmony.
This year, as we move forward into 2023, I have chosen once again the word Connection.
Change the dance of your conversations to build connection, invest in relationships, and empower others.
~Sharon K. Summerfield
For me this past year I have navigated several health issues. I cannot begin to express how much it has meant people checking in. Simple questions how are you? Is there anything you need? And how can I help? All these questions and creating space to listen helped to build connection.
Our next health crisis honestly is not another flu, it is loneliness.
Over the past number of years, the ways we connect have changed. We have numerous tools to connect. Having more ways to be “on” and connected has created more disconnection. This is the time for Grace.
May we give ourselves grace and embrace the possibilities of a new day.
~Sharon K. Summerfield
As Dr. Vivek Murthy shared in his book, Together – The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, and in his conversation with Brene Brown, finding those ways to connect and share our stories is vital to our well-being.
When we look at ways to prevent and recover from burnout finding those ways to create connection is key. It is so important we consider how we are coming together, does this energize us? In what ways can we create greater harmony?
In creating harmony we find new ways to blend the melodic rhythm in the dance of life.
~Sharon K. Summerfield
As we look at ways to give ourselves grace and create harmony it is also key to consider what will nourish us. There are times when we need to pause and consider what do I need in this moment. This can be as simple as taking time to meditate, go for a walk, or just be.
Let us nourish our body, mind, and spirit by eating with greater mindfulness.
~Sharon K. Summerfield
As we move forward into 2023, to build connection we first really need to look at how we can yes more often to ourselves. This does mean carefully looking at our true priorities. When we are invited to attend various events and meetings, both personal and professional, it is so important we ask ourselves will this energize me? Taking into account everything on our plates, can I bring my best to this activity? Or do I need to pause and share my thanks for the invitation and send regrets.
Finding those ways to connect with others begins with how we connect with ourselves. We can then choose.
In what ways can you create greater connection in your life?
Be kind.
Be patient.
Be nourished in all you do.
These days, one thing your business can’t afford to overlook is social media. If your business isn’t active on social media and engaging with its target audience, you’re going to be left behind, and you can’t afford to let that happen. If your main competitors are further ahead of you in terms of engaging with the relevant demographics on social media, they’ll have an inherent advantage.
That’s why we’re going to talk today about some of the things you can do to give your business more of a boost on social media. If you recognize that you’ve been falling short in this department recently, it’s a good idea to take action and do something to change that. The good news is, there are plenty of steps you can take.
The ideas we’re going to discuss and explain today will all help you take strides forward in terms of how your business handles social media. So read on now and find out more about what it takes to give your business the boost it needs.
Optimize Your ProfileFor creating a powerful online presence, a profile must be thorough and professional. Select a username for your profile that is simple to remember and reflects your brand. Write a clear, succinct bio that emphasizes the work that your company does. To make it easier for people to find you, include business-related keywords in your profile.
The more effort you put into the fundamental things like this, the easier it’ll be for you to make strides forward and ultimately grow your online audience. That’ll make it easier for you to reach new customers and make more sales online as well.
Engage With Your AudienceBuilding a devoted following on social media depends on engagement. To get people talking about your brand, reply to messages and comments, hold giveaways and contests, and design polls and surveys. A great way to boost engagement and get people talking about your company is to create a community around it.
You have to be creative and think about how you can encourage that engagement because it won’t just happen by itself. You really have to give people a reason to communicate and interact with the posts you’re making on social media. If you don’t, they’ll keep on scrolling.
Create Quality ContentTo make your content more engaging, use pictures, videos, infographics, and other visual aids. You can also write engaging captions and descriptions. To ensure that your content is reaching the right audience, it’s also crucial to understand the different types of content and how they affect various social media platforms.
Creating quality content is easier said than done, though. It takes work and preparation to research the kind of content that’s going to appeal to your target audience and then produce it. Of course, you can work with outsourced partners to make that content for you if you can’t or don’t want to do it in-house.
Use Paid AdvertisingPaid marketing is a fantastic way to increase the visibility of your company on social media. It enables you to use various ad formats, target particular audiences, and test various ad copy. Finding cost-effective methods of advertising is crucial because it can be expensive to advertise.
Of course, if you have a large budget to work with when creating your social media strategy, getting your content in front of your audience is a little easier. But it’s more than possible to gain traction with a more low-cost and organic approach as well. Don’t feel like you have to spend a huge amount of money on advertising if you can’t afford to. Instead, focus on doing it the organic way.
Analyze and OptimizeTrack important metrics, such as engagement and reach, using analytics tools to spot patterns and trends. To enhance your social media strategy, experiment with different strategies, modify the mix of your content, and figure out what works best. To determine whether your efforts are having an impact, it’s crucial to measure your social media ROI.
You need to keep an eye on all of the key metrics if you’re going to fully understand how well your overall strategy is performing. It might also be helpful to stay on top of social media trends taking place on the platforms you use and in your niche. If you act quickly, you can really take advantage of the latest trends and potentially go viral as a result.
Choosing the Right Social Media PlatformsIt’s critical to keep in mind that not all social media platforms are created equal when discussing social media. The audiences and demographics of different platforms vary, so what works on one platform might not work on another. Based on where your target audience is most active, it’s critical to pick the appropriate platforms for your business.
For instance, LinkedIn might be a better platform for you than Instagram if your target audience is primarily B2B. Not all social media platforms will be relevant to your brand and what you’re trying to achieve, so why waste time on them?
Creating a Content CalendarPlanning and organizing your social media content requires creating a content calendar. You can schedule your content in advance using a content calendar, ensuring that you post regularly and at the appropriate times. Additionally, it enables you to schedule various forms of content, including blog posts, videos, and images, to keep your audience interested.
If you don’t want to do this kind of prep and logistical work yourself, you could hire a social media VA who can do it for you. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of a better-prepared and managed social media strategy without necessarily having to do the work yourself.
Collaborating with InfluencersA great way to broaden your social media reach is to work with influencers. By collaborating with influencers, you can gain access to their audience because they have a sizable, engaged following. Be on the lookout for influencers who have a sizable fan base in your sector and share the same principles as your brand.
This is a strategy that more and more businesses are now using, and if you haven’t explored it before now, you should think about it. If your niche has influencers in it that have already built audiences online and on social media, you can potentially harness that fact to get your brand and products in front of those audiences.
Create a Consistent Brand VoiceFinally, you need to think about the voice with which your brand speaks when posting on social media. It needs to be consistent and in line with the principles and values of your brand. If you fail to do that, your social media postings will look messy and your brand won’t be as easily recognizable as you want it to be.
Everyone who controls or oversees your brand’s social media strategy should understand what the brand voice needs to sound like. If you have multiple people producing content in their own way rather than in the voice and tone of the brand, you’ll never succeed in creating a brand voice that people recognize.
As you can see, there are plenty of steps you can take if you want to help your business go further and achieve more in terms of how it performs and engages people on social media. If you’ve been doing pretty poorly in that department recently, be sure to make the most of the tips we’ve discussed today.
Mayank Kejriwal, University of Southern California
From in-crowds to power couples, network science uncovers the hidden structure of community dynamicsThe world is a networked place, literally and figuratively. The field of network science is used today to understand phenomena as diverse as the spread of misinformation, West African trade, and protein-protein interactions in cells.
Network science has uncovered several universal properties of complex social networks, which in turn has made it possible to learn details of particular networks. For example, the network consisting of the international financial corruption scheme uncovered by the Panama Papers investigation has an unusual lack of connections among its parts.
But understanding the hidden structures of key elements of social networks, such as subgroups, has remained elusive. My colleagues and I have found two complex patterns in these networks that can help researchers better understand the hierarchies and dynamics of these elements. We found a way to detect powerful “inner circles” in large organizations simply by studying networks that map emails being sent among employees.
We demonstrated the utility of our methods by applying them to the famous Enron network. Enron was an energy trading company that perpetrated fraud on a massive scale. Our study further showed that the method can potentially be used to detect people who wield enormous soft power in an organization regardless of their official title or position. This could be useful for historical, sociological, and economic research, as well as government, legal, and media investigations.
From pencil and paper to artificial intelligenceSociologists have been constructing and studying smaller social networks in careful field experiments for at least 80 years, well before the advent of the internet and online social networks. The concept is so simple that it can be drawn on paper: Entities of interest – people, businesses, countries – are nodes represented as points, and relationships between pairs of nodes are links represented as lines drawn between the points.
An abstract network, at left, shows lines between points representing relationships. The network on the right shows a small fragment of a real-world network of West African traders, based on data from Oliver J. Walther. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2015.1010152. Mayank Kejriwal, CC BY-NDUsing network science to study human societies and other complex systems took on new meaning in the late 1990s when researchers discovered some universal properties of networks. Some of these universal properties have since entered mainstream pop culture. One concept is the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, based on the famous empirical finding that any two people on Earth are six or fewer links apart. Similarly, versions of statements such as “the rich get richer” and “winner takes all” have also been replicated in some networks.
These global properties, meaning ones applying to the entire network, seemingly emerge from the myopic and local actions of independent nodes. When I connect with someone on LinkedIn, I am certainly not thinking of the global consequences of my connection on the LinkedIn network. Yet my actions, along with those of many others, eventually lead to predictable, rather than random, outcomes about how the network will evolve.
My colleagues and I have used network science to study human trafficking in the U.K., the structure of noise in artificial intelligence systems’ outputs, and financial corruption in the Panama Papers.
Groups have their own structureAlong with studying emergent properties like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, researchers have also used network science to focus on problems such as community detection. Stated simply, can a set of rules, otherwise known as an algorithm, automatically discover groups or communities within a collection of people?
Today there are hundreds, if not thousands, of community detection algorithms, some relying on advanced AI methods. They are used for many purposes, including finding communities of interest and uncovering malicious groups on social media. Such algorithms encode intuitive assumptions, such as the expectation that nodes belonging to the same group are more densely connected to one another than nodes belonging to different groups.
Although an exciting line of work, community detection does not study the internal structure of communities.
Should communities be thought of only as collections of nodes in networks? And what about communities that are small but particularly influential, such as inner circles and in-crowds?
Two hypothetical structures for influential groupsIn a manner of speaking, you likely already have some inkling of the structure of very small groups in social networks. The truth of the adage that “a friend of my friend is also my friend” can be tested statistically in friendship networks by counting the number of triangles in the network and determining whether this number is higher than chance alone could explain. And indeed, many social network studies have been used to verify the claim.
Unfortunately, the concept starts breaking down when extended to groups with more than three members. Although motifs have been well studied in both algorithmic computer science and biology, they have not been reliably linked to influential groups in real communication networks.
Six examples of motifs with four nodes. Mayank Kejriwal, CC BY-NDBuilding on this tradition, my doctoral student Ke Shen and I found and presented two structures that seem elaborate but turn out to be quite common in real networks.
The first structure extends the triangle, not by adding more nodes, but by directly adding triangles. Specifically, there is a central triangle that is flanked by other peripheral triangles. Importantly, the third person in any peripheral triangle must not be linked to the third person on the central triangle, thereby excluding them from the true inner circle of influence.
The second structure is similar but assumes that there is no central triangle, and the inner circle is just a pair of nodes. A real-life example might be two co-founders of a startup like Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, or a power couple with joint interests, common in global politics, like Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Understanding influential groups in an infamous networkWe tested our hypothesis on the Enron email network, which is well-studied in network science, with nodes representing email addresses and links representing communication among those addresses. Despite being elaborate, not only were our proposed structures present in the network in greater numbers than chance alone would predict, but a qualitative analysis showed that there is merit to the claim that they represent influential groups.
Examples of the two structures found in the Enron network. More such structures are present in the network and cannot be explained by chance alone. Mayank Kejriwal, CC BY-NDThe main characters in the Enron saga are well documented by now. Intriguingly, some of these characters do not seem to have had much official influence but may have wielded significant soft power. An example is Sherri Reinartz-Sera, who was the longtime administrative assistant of Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron. Unlike Skilling, Sera was only mentioned in a New York Times article following investigative reporting that took place during the course of the scandal. However, our algorithm discovered an influential group with Sera occupying a central position.
Dissecting power dynamicsSociety has intricate structures at the levels of individuals, friendships, and communities. In-crowds are not just ragtag groups of characters talking to one another, or a single ringleader calling all the shots. Many in-crowds, or influential groups, have a sophisticated structure.
While much still remains to be discovered about such groups and their influence, network science can help uncover their complexity.
Mayank Kejriwal, Research Assistant Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Southern California
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Sharing knowledge is the most fundamental act of friendship. Because it is a way you can give something without losing something.
~Richard Stallman
Billy, a loving and loyal dog, became an internet star in 2020. His owner, Russell, had broken his ankle and was using crutches to walk. Soon the dog also began to hobble when walking with his owner. Concerned, Russell took Billy to the vet, who said there was nothing wrong with him! He ran freely when he was by himself. It turned out that the dog faked a limp when he walked with his owner. An amazing example of two spirits overcoming challenges as one.
Celebrating 1,000+ ContributorsWell, we’ve had the honor of walking with so many others over the past decade-plus, overcoming any number of challenges in our quest to build something different, something unconventional, and indeed, something “for good” … The foundation of this incredible journey has been laid one special brick at a time —each representing a treasured writer/contributor ready and willing to show up and freely share their infinite knowledge and wisdom of experience. It has truly been an extraordinary “gift” for us and for our global audience, as all of those bricks now total a thousand plus!
The best moments in our lives are not the passive receptive relaxing times…the best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.
~Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
So it is with deep appreciation that we extend our sincere thanks to every one of our talented Columnists, Featured Contributors, and legacy Contributors who’ve provided us with those “best moments”, allowing us to use the gift of their wisdom to build a solid foundation of knowledge “for good.”
Ps. And for those who often ask, how can we help? We’d love to be able to complete our circle of wisdom by noting that we’ve got writers on EVERY continent –so if you can send one our way from Antarctica (penguin scribes welcome ;-), we’d very much appreciate it!
Creating a memorable personal brand is not something that happens overnight, but the work you put into it can help you reach your career or business goals.
Your personal brand is the way people perceive or remember you. It is what you are known for. Having a personal brand can help distinguish you in your career field or business industry.
Think about Elon Musk, he has a personal brand. Elon Musk himself is known as a visionary and an inventor. His projects Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink all reflect his visionary personal brand. Elon Musk’s projects show that he stands for pushing the limits of what is currently possible.
Whether you are trying to excel in your career or be known for your businesses, a personal brand can help. Creating a brand shows your values and highlights your strengths. When a prospect is looking you up online, your personal brand can give them a snapshot of what you represent.
It is a way of expressing who you are and your long-term vision.
When your personal brand resonates with you and your values, you attract people in your inner circle whom you connect with.
These days, you can use the Internet to your advantage to build your personal brand. In the long run, the personal brand can help you sell a product or course or distinguish your reputation in your industry. Plus, the work that you put into your personal brand can compound. People will reach out to you knowing your expertise. You may receive requests for speaking engagements. If you launch a product of your own, you could have an audience of people who trust you.
Follow these five steps as you grow your personal brand:1. Start with a story. Stories drive our world. They evoke feelings, take people to another world, and help others associate themselves with you. How did you get to where you are today? What is the why behind your work? Tell a story people will resonate with. 2. Create a brand promise. A brand promise is a statement that communicates what followers can expect from you whenever they interact with your brand or company. It can turn into a tagline on social media. Regardless of the businesses you start or the products you launch, what is the brand promise that will tie those things together? 3. It might sound unusual at first but doing research will help you get clear on who your brand is for, as well as the brands in your industry they follow. The research you do can create lifelong superfans. * Who do you want to impact? Who do you want to receive your message? * Which brands in your industry does your audience follow? * What words or phrases will you use? * Ask people to list traits about you that stand out to them. Maybe it is your openness, yes attitude, extraversion, and more. How can you use that to your advantage in your brand personality? 4. Build your online presence. Get started building digital platforms so that when people stumble upon you online, they can learn more about you. * Your website is your digital storefront that tells people about what you offer. It can also be the archive for your blog content. * Social Media Platforms. The content you post on social media can reach your existing audience, expand your audience, and be shared across platforms. * Sending newsletters to followers’ inboxes can build a personal, intimate relationship. * The small details. Use headshots and graphics that convey your brand personality. Keep that personality in everything, including your email signature!
5. Think long-term. Thinking long-term helps you get crystal clear on where you want to take your brand. What is the purpose of your brand? How can building your personal brand help you in the long term? In what way does it align with your goals?
Through creating recognition, branding can be the elevator to achieving your goals. Feel free to be human! You don’t have to trap yourself in the box of your personal brand.
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