Words For Hire

5 Great Blogs You May Not Be Reading

Written by Karen D. Swim

One of the best things about the internet is the never ending stream of great reading material. It is a virtual bookstore that restocks its shelves on a minute by minute basis. I have found wonderful sources of information and inspiration through other bloggers, blog directories, Facebook, Twitter and more. I love the ease of inviting people into your virtual library and having them leaf through books to discover something of interest. It’s near the end of the week and the temperatures here are chilly. It’s a perfect day to grab something warm and curl up with a good read or five.

Sticky Figure - Steve Woodruff is a brilliant writer who graciously chooses to shine the spotlight on others. His daily Five in the Morning posts share his finds of great reads throughout the blogosphere. I have discovered wonderful posts that I missed and new blogs that were promptly added to my library.

Indie Business Blog - I discovered Donna Maria Coles Johnson and the Indie Business Blog last weekend. I now read the blog and follow this wonderful woman on Twitter. Her blog covers business and social media insights and her style is high energy, upbeat and warm.

Painting A Day - Janice Cartier is a brilliant painter and writer. She writes about art but has a way of drawing these wonderful parallels to life. I never fail to leave her blog without a brand new insight and a smile upon my face. She is warm, funny and brilliant. This blog should be in everyone’s library.

Solo PR Pro - This is Kellye Crane’s brand new blog. Besides being one of the nicest people on the planet, Kellye is a PR genius, a solo professional opening her storehouse of knowledge to share with everyone. Solo PR Pro is a wonderful online resource for PR and Marketing Communications.

Maximum Customer Experience - I could gush all over the page about how much I love Kelly Erickson. She’s smart, funny and knows her way around the business world. If I were throwing a dinner party, her name would be at the top of my list. Kelly teaches you to design a customer experience that will help you become a leader in your field. Business owners should definitely be reading this blog but her insights are applicable to everyone and her writing style alone will earn it a top spot in your library.

I loved this so much that I wlll plan to share more often. How about you, what’s in your library? Any new discoveries or old favorites?

What you Talking ‘bout Willis?

Written by Karen D. Swim

As if we had not tortured and twisted the American language enough, an entire new lexicon has arisen as a result of social media. Our language is now populated by pop culture colloquialisms, abbreviated text speak and social media-isms. Add industry jargon to the mix and you have a communication nightmare.

What Say You?

Me: Here in MI our local ABC station follows that practice, it’s great.

Twitter Friend: I’m new to twitter speak, what’s MI?

In the above exchange I used the standard postal abbreviation for Michigan – MI - assuming that I was being inclusive with my language choice. Think again. We have become so accustomed to strange abbreviations and new words on Twitter that MI could have stood for anything.

Another example:

Travis: I’ll work on the feed and get it corrected, thanks for your help.
Me: No problem, ping me when it’s fixed and I’ll add you to my reader.
Travis: Oh, I don’t use Ping yet but I know I should learn
Me: No, not Ping.fm the service, I meant email or IM me to let me know when it’s done

See how confusing our language has become. We have created a virtual tower of Babel where it’s a wonder that we are still able to carry on conversations. We are friending, tweeting, linking, plurking, kwipping, blogging, shouting, skyping and on occasion hitting each other on our cellies. No wonder, even Dutch words have taken on a familiarity for me of late. These days I am as comfortable with unfamiliar foreign languages as my native tongue of English.

Think Before you Speak or Text

Yes, your mother was right. I have stuck my foot in my mouth more times than I care to admit when I have not taken a moment to think before opening my big fat mouth. The removal of facial gestures and inflections makes communicating in writing even more hazardous. Pause before you hit the send button and make sure that your message will be read as intended.

So What Does That Have to Do with The Tea In China?

Now more than ever it is important to strive for clear communication. It is easier to have our words taken out of context, misunderstood or even unknowingly offend. Clear and simple language, free of jargon will foster understanding when communicating with a large and diverse audience.

Regional language and colloquial phrases are a wonderful way to add color to your communications but use them wisely. Phrases that are appropriate on one platform can be easily misunderstood on another.

I am going to make a greater effort to not be Misunderstood in MI, after all the whole point of social media is to communicate which implies being understood.

How do you manage our bourgeoning language? Do you have any personal practices or tips to share?

First Snow

Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

The snow fell slowly at first like tiny origami doves floating toward the ground. I watched as they fluttered past my window seeming to dance upon the air to a happy little tune. Wings spread as each flake tumbled and spun until finding its landing. It then fell faster as though someone had opened giant down pillows from the clouds, a flurry of white rained down falling quickly clinging to the grass covering it in a blanket of white.

Dancing flakes from heaven sounded winter’s clarion call. Six weeks ahead of schedule, she arrived when she pleased. Perhaps she would dance with autumn again, but that was her secret to share. Today she is here, her majestic robe of white spread across the city.

My novel in progress now stands at more than 27,000 words. Like the wind that carries the snowflakes I have danced and twirled wherever the story took me. It is not the story I thought I would tell, but I quickly learned I was not in control. I had an idea nearly a year ago rooted in a kernel of truth. It sat lingering in a word file waiting for the right season. NaNo arrived and my calendar said the season was here but like the fickle nature of winter my story did not follow my plan. It unfolded in its own time sometimes beautiful and sometimes frightening in the fury of her demands.

Today, I sit in awe of the words that spread across the page. Like the first snowfall, pure and untouched is my first draft – not yet tread upon or plowed, allowing other layers to fall. I wrap my hands around my hot cup of tea savoring the first snowfall and first words. It is a good day.

The Walking Wounded and Socially Fatigued

Written by Karen D. Swim

The other day I received an email notification that one of my Twitter followers was no longer following me. I clicked through to the follower’s twitter page and the most recent tweet (message) indicated that he was changing his twitter account un-following everyone and only following those who could have a direct impact on his business.

I was not offended by the un-follow but questioned the strategy. Is it possible to know who will impact our business? Human relationships are not linear so it is impossible to predict the trajectory of an interaction with someone you consider “unessential.” One of the benefits of having a broad social network, online or offline is the access to people beyond our immediate circle of influence. A social network like Twitter affords you the opportunity to be visible to a broad, diverse group and all those who follow them. That is both the benefit and the problem.

The interactions suddenly swell to a high level of noise and you look for ways to tone down the volume. Some are like me and simply take the occasional break from online interactions. Others may un-follow or quit networks altogether. Many have chosen to limit the interaction by shutting off their Facebook Wall or Blog Comments. Those who have a true need/desire can simply send a message or email.

With the rise of social networks we ripped the lid from Pandora’s box and unleashed a beast whose tentacles reach far and wide. As we choke on the glut of social interaction, we begin to question our previous adoration of those shiny new tools. Is it too late to tame this social beast?

The reality is we really do need people. We require some level of interaction in our personal and professional lives. Unfortunately, we cannot control how people choose to interact with us, or respond to us when we try to establish boundaries.

My advice is to look carefully before you leap into any social network. The honeymoon period will come to an end and you will be left with a relationship to manage. Is it worth your long term commitment?

Are you among the socially fatigued? How are you managing the balance?

References:

Pandora’s box
Shannon Paul - How to Participate in Social Media Without Being That Guy
Beth Kanter - Tips on Managing Multi-Memberships in Social Networks

The Thief Who Stole November

Image by Chris Seufert via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

In the United States today is Veteran’s Day. The holiday was originally known as Armistice Day and was to commemorate the temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany that went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” In 1919 President Eisenhower had this to say:

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those
who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

I don’t know about you but a day to honor heroism, freedom, justice and peace doesn’t seem to be a bad deal. But this Veteran’s Day it seems to be business as usual. Banks and schools are open and there is no parade or flag flying. This day like the rest of November has been forgotten.

Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving have been shoved aside while marketers turn our attention to Christmas. The stores have been decked out in Christmas decorations since November 1st. Wreaths, ornaments and wrapping paper sit next to the Halloween sale items. Christmas carols play in the background with hopes of putting shoppers in a buying mood.

November has been shelved like a cheap polyester suit. It’s as though someone declared, “There’s no money in Thanksgiving. Push Christmas, that’s where the money is at. Push it early and we’ll double our profits.” Well, I like November! I like the crunch of Fall leaves and impromptu football games. I love Veteran’s Day parades and little flags that you can hold in your hand. I like pausing for a day and being grateful for my freedoms. I love Thanksgiving Day - a day where we celebrate the things that really matter in our life. I WANT MY NOVEMBER BACK!

I know that the eocnomy is bad but is this truly the answer? To my thinking, our present economic state is all the more reason for savoring a month of Thanksgiving. What better time to connect with what matters and give thanks? Why wouldn’t we want to slow the pace down this month and allow our minds and body a break from the stress of this past year?

I’m not ready to deck the halls and ring the sleigh bells. I want tofurkey, and cranberry sauce. I want to gather with my family and marvel at how the youngsters have grown and laugh at my Grandmother’s jokes. I want to walk in a house filled with the warmth of family and inhale the intoxicating scent of cinnamon. I want to squeeze into a tiny little space on the couch and yell at the football game. Is it really necessary to squeeze out November to make a buck?

What are you seeing where you live? Is this November different for you? I’ll be watching the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special and looking for the last remaining pile of leaves. Join me?

References:

Veterans’s Day

Thanksgiving Day

The Pieces of My Life

Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

It was 5:00 pm on Friday. Normally, I would be doing a serious happy dance at this hour. I looked at the clock and realized that it was 5pm on a Friday and I needed to go to the bank. I had to make a deposit that could not wait for the next business banking day. No big deal, hop in the car and make the 5 mile round trip to the bank. Except, I didn’t have my car. I had no choice I’d have to get there on foot.

I run or walk to the bank frequently. It’s 2 ½ miles each way and a pleasant trip. Today was different. It had rained on and off all day and the trek to the bank only had concrete on one short block. It happens to be the block across the street from the bank, like a reward at the end of your hike through the perilous suburban jungle.

I threw on my coat, backpack and hat and headed out the door. I skipped the mascara because on my last trip to the bank, it rained on me and the result was not pretty. I felt like a human Pac Man (or woman) as I dodged back and forth to avoid the goose poop. I made it to main road and carefully balanced myself on the sloping mud strip that passed as our sidewalk. (For some odd reason, my township is not fond of sidewalks or even tiny borders that protect you from oncoming traffic.) I narrowed my eyes against the bright lights of oncoming traffic while trying desperately to avoid road kill (eww) and becoming road kill by the rush hour traffic that was whizzing by me. With all the grace of a football player on a balance beam I carefully picked my way down the road.

As yet another wave of traffic whizzed by, I imagined myself as one of the characters on the TV show Without A Trace. At the start of every episode, they show a normal person going about their routine and then they fade out – vanished without a trace. Unable to shake the image of me fading out on a dark suburban road on a Friday night, I panicked.

My head spun with crazy thoughts - What if I was snatched by mad truckers or a band of vagrants? What if a car hit me and I fell into a ditch and I was unconscious or dead? What if no one noticed I was missing and they didn’t start looking for 2 ½ weeks? What if they found my poor rumpled body? I wasn’t even wearing mascara! What would they think?

Earlier that day I read a post by Robert Hruzek which discussed what people conclude about you by observing you. On Without a Trace the FBI investigators piece together your profile by digging into the various aspects of your life. I wondered what would they think about me. Would they know that my kitchen drawer was partially open because I had considered eating my last Aristo bar but decided to save it? Would they know that the gray sweat shirt neatly folded on my bed was freshly laundered and one of my favorites? Would they know I hated my current laundry detergent and had only bought it in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint?

Would they dig in my email? Read my tweets? Open my file drawers? What would they think? What profile would emerge from the seemingly disparate pieces of my life? The question hung in the darkness looming over me like the storm clouds that threatened from the sky.
By 5:26 I had made my deposit and was walking out of the bank. The question greeted me once again in the darkness grabbing hold demanding to go all the way home with me. I opened my front door at 5:58 and stood for a moment. I looked around as a stranger might to gain a new perspective. The warmth and soft smell of cinnamon wrapped around me. I decided a stranger would like that too.

I then realized that I did not need to answer the question, I only needed to allow it to guide me in my day-to-day actions. However, I wanted to be remembered should also be the way I live my life. Was I living a life of purpose and intention? Am I treating people with kindness and respect? Am I using my gifts and talents in service to others?

I bounded up the stairs, renewed and resolved that the next time I left the house I would indeed be wearing mascara!

References:

Robert Hruzek, Who do you Think You Are?

Without A Trace

Pac Man

How Comfortable Are Your Customers?

Image by rscottjones via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

Well, today is November 5th and in case you missed it, the United States has elected Barack Obama as its 44th President. I did not want to allow the day to pass without acknowledging the historical significance of this moment. Yet, when I tried to form words this morning, I simply could not. Everything sounded trite or cheesy. I am quite frankly still absorbing the weight of America’s decision.

I have been fascinated this election season by the marketing campaigns, lessons in communications and of course the comments, opinions and reactions of voters. As a writer and marketer, this has been akin to hitting the inspiration lottery. I could devote several hundred posts to the nuggets of wisdom from this election but today I shall focus on the one thought that dominates - Discomfort leads to action.

I moved to Michigan from California a few years ago. Michigan has been in a one state recession long before the economy went south in the rest of the country. Most Americans were still happily spending and going about their business unaware of the declining economy in our little neck of the woods. However, that recession spread. Fuel prices soared, layoffs increased, financial institutions collapsed and wall street became a nauseating roller coaster ride. Suddenly, everyone was checking their wallet in search of the thief that was stealing the value of their dollar.

In short, many people became uncomfortable. We humans are funny, creatures of habit. Some of us like constant change and will mix it up “just because.” Most will stay the course until something shakes us up and forces us to change. Dave Navarrro wisely articulated this in a recent post on the impact of the wake up call. When we’re comfortable, we don’t rock the boat but discomfort leads us to action.

America became uncomfortable. Barack Obama tapped into that discomfort and offered a prescription for relief. People registered to vote, others who had not bothered to vote stood in line to cast their ballot. Obama reminded us that we were not comfortable, many had a wake up call and took action.

Pain. Discomfort. These words have great meaning to those in sales. You want to uncover pain and discomfort and offer your customers a prescription to make it all better. You are always offering the cure or the prevention to pain and discomfort. Always. You may have the best product/service/source of knowledge but if you can’t sell it then it’s worthless.

Whether you are an employee fighting to recession proof your job or a business owner seeking to stay alive, you are selling and pain is your key. How can you help your customer / employer avoid or relieve pain? Answering that question will take you far. If you don’t believe me, check out America’s next President.

I’m with Stupid

Image by swanksalot via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

I sat staring at my computer screen. There were words there and many of them even made sense but it dawned on me I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. You see, I’m writing a novel. At least I think it’s a novel. Three days into this NaNo thing, and I came face to face with my utter stupidity. I am clueless. I laughed at my utter lack of knowledge. I had never studied character or plot development, had I? If I ever knew anything before, I sure as heck couldn’t recall it today.

So, I sat and laughed at my arrogance. I was writring a novel without a clue. It made me wonder how many other things I didn’t know. Turns out I know more than I think and I know less than I think. I became prettty comfortable with being stupid for the moment. It wasn’t so bad. I remembered the words of my Appraiser professor, “If you don’t know something, fess up and get yourself some learning.” So, I figured fessing up to stupidity was actually a pretty smart move.

Wiser minds, like Jamie Grove, had warned this would happen. So I learned from his words. Lillie had warmly encouraged us all to give ourselves to write absolute green dreck. So l learned from her words. I had no idea where this story was going so I asked my characters. Turns out they had pretty strong ideas and even introduced me to some new people. So, I forged on typing my sometimes green dreck on the screen.

The experience helped me see some other things in my life from a new perspective. I grew excited, as I looked at my marketing plan and admitted my stupidity. I went in search of knowledge to learn what I did not know or to relearn what I knew in a new way. Things I had once ignored suddenly appealed to me. I was stupid and my resistance was gone. I became energized as I sought to fill in those empty spaces.

At the end of the day, a friend came to me and declared she needed my help. I laughed at the irony and gladly filled in her empty spaces.

Have you ever come face to face with your lack of knowledge? How did it make you feel?

Paralyzing Perfectionism

Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

“Getting through a first draft will require you leave perfectionism and self-criticism at the door. Fear not: We’ll keep them both safe and return them to you in December.” –Chris Baty, NaNoWriMo

As I read this line from my first NaNo email on Saturday, I realized that I would be all too happy to leave perfectionism and self-criticism behind. They are two attributes with deep roots in my life, nurtured by the childhood rewards of A pluses and gold stars, and strengthened by a lifetime of rewards for good behavior.

We humans are fond of perfectionism. We strive to be flawless. We reward 100% and beyond. We applaud it in school and in the workplace. Perfect is the ultimate compliment.

I worked in Healthcare for more than two decades. Imperfection could cost a life. For nearly ten of those years I worked for a clinical laboratory. A false positive, or false negative, lost sample or lost report were critical errors that affected the hospital, physician, and patient. Errors could affect a life and my bottom line. I became a Six Sigma trainer and learned the true difference between 99% and 100%.

Today, however, as I think of it I realize that even error free may not be perfect. An error free lab test is not perfect. Much of medicine is in fact, imperfect. As a writer, I can strive for grammatical and factual accuracy but alas, I will still not be a perfect writer.

I will never be perfect. The realization does not depress me but frees me. I will still strive to get there anyway because the true beauty is in the process, the journey itself. With my newfound knowledge, I will take the journey with a healthy balance of self-criticism and self-nurture. No longer will I allow the goal and it’s taskmaster to rule over me. No, I’m not perfect but the daily goal of trying to see how close I can get just got a lot more fun.

Chris, I really appreciate you safeguarding my treasures of perfectionism and self-criticism but I won’t be needing those back, thank you very much. I’ve replaced them with something far better - freedom. So far, it feels pretty good. If I change my mind, I’ll let you know.

How about you? Have you shaken off the shackles of paralyzing self-perfection? What tips do you have for balancing working toward quality without allowing it to stifle you?

Overview of Six Sigma

Trick or Treat?

Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

I awakened in the middle of the night, my cheeks wet with tears. I wiped away the tears and felt the crushing weight of grief. The grief was, however not mine but Nikki’s. Ah Nikki, so that’s her name! I had toyed with other names but last night she emphatically declared that Nikki would be her name.

All week I have pushed away my fears and anxieites about National Novel Writing Month. Yesterday, realizing that I was two days away, my characters fought to be given life. They are demaning that I get to know them so that I may tell their stories.

Nikki made me feel her loss at a time of day when I could not push her away and tend to other business. She tapped an old experience and forced my heart to feel her pain. My challenge is to tell her story so that you feel it too.

For years I have written for others. I have cloaked myself in their words and adopted their voices. I have written their words uncredited, a shadow in the background as they made the rounds as published author. I enjoyed birthing their vision. When my part was done, I silently retreated ready for my next role and costume change.

I had my own stories but feared I had lost my own voice. I reasoned there was no time for the foolish dreams of writing a book. I had to earn a living. I had responsibilities. There was always someone needing something from me. Where would I find the time?

For the month of November, I will selfishly carve out time every day to write my words and tell my story. I am both terrified and exhilarated. I am gripped with doubts daily - what if I run out of words, what if I really suck, what if the story is no good, what if the story is good and I can’t tell it. Today, on the eve of my writing challenge I lay those doubts to rest. I am committed to this time of focusing on my voice and my words. I am less concerned about the end result than I am with simply showing up for me everyday.

I may not have a best selling novel at the end of November but I am certain that I will have a better me. The draft of my story as a writer will have more words, more experiences and I’m sure growth.

Today, as much of the world dresses up in costume and engages in treats and trickery, I am chasing away the ghosts and gremlins that yell “Boo” in the night. My treat is not a sugary confection wrapped in pretty paper but the knowledge that I am taking on a challenge not because I have to but simply because I want to do it..just for me.

We all have those things that we want to do, right? The list of longed for goals that we tuck in a drawer rationalizing them away as silly fantasies or fun dreams that maybe, could, will happen someday. Today, give yourself a treat. Pull out that list and make time for one thing for yourself. They are only silly someday dreams when they are “out there” in the ether unattended to and undone. Chase away your own ghosts and goblins and take action on your behalf. Life does not have to be one long serious pursuit. Your desires and dreams are not silly, they are important because they are uniquely yours.

So, how about it, will you join me in treating yourself? Trick or treat? What’s your choice?

Words For Hire

5 Great Blogs You May Not Be Reading

What you Talking ‘bout Willis?

What Say You?

Think Before you Speak or Text

So What Does That Have to Do with The Tea In China?

First Snow

The Walking Wounded and Socially Fatigued

The Thief Who Stole November

The Pieces of My Life

How Comfortable Are Your Customers?

I’m with Stupid

Paralyzing Perfectionism

Related References

Trick or Treat?