Posts from the ‘Web/Tech’ Category
Hitting midlife is not for the weak. But a positive out of getting old(er) is the desire to focus in on what is really important. Looking for meaning, the meaty part of life.
I’m in that fuzzy stage right now, not entirely certain where I should go or what I should do next. I absolutely love my career, my work and my clients. I love my family and have acclimated (sort of) to rural Alaska.
To slake my thirst for meaning and purpose in my life, I’m giving back a lot this year. Last year, I gave to a number of causes and projects through Kickstarter, Indiegogo and other crowdfunding sites, hoping that my small gesture combined with other people’s small gestures would lift someone closer to their dreams.
This year, I’m giving a lot of my time and sharing my knowledge and skills in social and mobile marketing with nonprofit organizations through my impromptu #GiveBack13 Project. (Eight nonprofits served, 44 to go).
To shake things up, I’m jumping on an RV tomorrow – #RVSX – to head to South by Southwest Interactive. I wasn’t planning on being there, but when the opportunity showed up in my news feed, I took a leap of faith and signed up.
My mission: I want to see how I can be of service. I will be seated in the Convention Center lobby – pink tiara and boa at hand (so you can find me) – willing and available to offer impromptu consultations about digital marketing. Or just to talk. I hope you’ll stop by to say hello!
I’ve also signed up to attend the Good X Global event. GoodxGlobal is a first-ever day of events dedicated to the local and global power of social good, technology and entrepreneurship. Sunday, March 10th 11am-6:30pm, Austin City Hall, 301 W 2nd St in Austin - REGISTER HERE.
I’m not sure exactly what I’ll learn or where this exploration will take me. But I’m open. And I think being open is key.
So…what puts the meaning in YOUR life?
[This is the 3rd blog post I've written as part of my partnership with PGi. You can read the original version on their website here. Learn more about their elegant and easy video conferencing iMeet.]
You’ve got your business plan for 2013, have set some goals to grow, are hitting the ground running, but chances are you’ve neglected a very important area for growth. You.
With all the demands of work and life, we tend to neglect the life side of the equation and even more often, ourselves.
One way to stretch your mind and expand your skills to breathe new life into work life is to include some form of more formal learning in your week. Simply put, take a class! Continuous learning may happen each day as you work, however, taking a break from the routine and immersing yourself in guided lessons can inspire and motivate you in new, even unexpected ways. Read more
If you know me, then you know the core purpose behind just about everything I do is to share knowledge to empower others.
This was true when I started Cybergrrl, Inc. back in the 90s and has been that inner compass, that has guided me with every business I’ve started.
Giving back and doing anything it takes to help others isn’t always the best thing for a company’s financial bottom line, but it is good for the soul. I often discount my rates to help clients in need, even if I can’t always afford it. I also turn down money from entities who are doing things that aren’t in sync with my values. If I don’t think I can be helpful, if I don’t think my work can empower and inspire others, I won’t do it. I’m stubborn that way.
Even though my firm belief in the importance of giving back can put a damper on my earning capacity, I don’t think I’m losing. Being able to contribute – even in a small but steady way – to help others is some of what brings meaning into my life. If I cannot incorporate giving back, teaching and sharing into my every day work, then what’s the point?
In that spirit, I’m donating some of my time each week in 2013 to help a nonprofit organization with their online marketing. I am seeking 52 organizations who would like to pick my brain and get some of my recommendations for how to be more effective at what they are doing online to further their causes.
If you know me, you know that I’m partial to women’s issues, girls’ issues, environmental issues, animal welfare, and hunger issues. I’m very interested in the global aspect of these issues. That’s not to say that I won’t consider working with a nonprofit representing other causes. I will carefully consider each submission based mostly on if I think I can be helpful.
If you represent a nonprofit, please fill out the following quick form with a brief summary of what your organization does and where you might need help online. Please include a URL and contact information.
If you know of a nonprofit who could use my help, please fill out the form with a brief summary and contact information or a URL.
And if you’re just reading this, please retweet, post, pin, and otherwise share with others who might be interested in my offer.
Many thanks!
I recently had the opportunity to keynote SheCon12 in Orlando, my second time keynoting this conference. Last year, my keynote was: Smart Ways to Use Future Tech and Social Media.
This year, I wanted to root my presentation in some fundamental qualities that make apps successful and useful to us. And I used Pinterest as my framework, both explaining what we’re learning from Pinterest and how to better understand and leverage it.
Here’s the presentation. Let me know what you think!
I must preface this explanation of an online scam by saying this: I’ve been online since 1987, and until yesterday, I had never fallen for an online scam. I’m mentioning this because any of us can fall prey to the constantly evolving methods of online scamming that occur, even those of us with decades of Internet experience and those of us who are in the business of helping others avoid online scams.
Now on with the scam that snagged me this week.
I love Twitter. I trust Twitter. This is relevant because I was accessing Twitter via an iPod Touch and at the log-in screen, I was invited to take a quick survey for a prize. Wow. How cool!
So I responded to three quick, innocuous multiple choice questions.
Then I got to choose a prize. WOW. A MacBook Air? No way! OK, Twitter is awesome. Of course they would offer incredibly awesome gifts.
