(2652,4,'2014-06-18 13:43:01','2014-06-18 13:43:01','In the past few weeks, I have been flat-out amazed at how some people act in business/networking situations. They\'ve not made a good impression.\r\n\r\nHere\'s how you too can make a bad impression:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Have a limp handshake (bonus points if clammy and sweaty too)</strong>. The other day I met the director of a local chamber of commerce. She introduced herself and gave me the limpest handshake I can remember. I wanted to say to her that she needed to work on a firm handshake, instead, I shuddered inwardly. Limp handshakes communicate lack of conviction and being tentative. And also, yuck.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Don\'t introduce yourself</strong>. I was at a small lunch gathering and a guy joined us late. He sat down and didn\'t bother to say his name or what his business was. I didn\'t find out until the end when he gave me his business card. Very few people require no introduction and generally, they don\'t go to small business gatherings. To me, not introducing yourself shows you are not aware of other people.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Be late</strong>. At the same lunch gathering mentioned above, where I was a first-timer, the organizer showed up more than 15 minutes late. Being late for a meeting you organized is inexcusable. Being late in general just shows a disregard for others.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Don\'t respond</strong>. Say we met at an event, and we exchange business cards, and we talk about having coffee soon, and then I send you an email (and then another) and I don\'t hear back from you. Yeah. I get it. You don\'t want to have coffee. That\'s OK, but if in the future you change your mind, you\'ve left me with a really bad impression. (This one also applies to social media. Check your @ replies on Twitter. Is someone asking you a question? Perhaps you should answer it).\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Attack the other person</strong>. The other day I met a business owner who is a big fan of the chamber of commerce. I am not since I don\'t usually find my target audience there. When she asked me if I was a member of her chamber, I explained why I am not. She got defensive and immediately began attacking me. She wasn\'t polite or constructive. She was just mean and putting me down.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a few more:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Be disinterested in other people or the topic being discussed.</li>\r\n	<li>Dress inappropriately.</li>\r\n	<li>Be dismissive.</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t pay attention and then ask a question that has already been answered.</li>\r\n	<li>Be negative.</li>\r\n	<li>Interrupt. Repeatedly.</li>\r\n	<li>Tell inappropriate (racist, sexist, etc.) jokes or stories. (Oh, it happens. All the time.)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nSome people will only try to make a good impression with people they are trying to impress and ignore everyone else. That\'s a guaranteed way to make a really bad impression (most everyone despises a brown-noser).\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t care about how you come across, then you should also not be surprised if you are not doing well in your business. Impressions matter. You only have one chance to make a good first impression, but you have multiple chances to make a bad impression.\r\n\r\nHave you dealt with these behaviors? What would you add?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','How to make a bad impression','','publish','open','open','','how-to-make-a-bad-impression','','','2014-06-18 13:43:01','2014-06-18 13:43:01','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2652',0,'post','',2),
(2653,4,'2014-06-18 13:43:01','2014-06-18 13:43:01','In the past few weeks, I have been flat-out amazed at how some people act in business/networking situations. They\'ve not made a good impression.\r\n\r\nHere\'s how you too can make a bad impression:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Have a limp handshake (bonus points if clammy and sweaty too)</strong>. The other day I met the director of a local chamber of commerce. She introduced herself and gave me the limpest handshake I can remember. I wanted to say to her that she needed to work on a firm handshake, instead, I shuddered inwardly. Limp handshakes communicate lack of conviction and being tentative. And also, yuck.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Don\'t introduce yourself</strong>. I was at a small lunch gathering and a guy joined us late. He sat down and didn\'t bother to say his name or what his business was. I didn\'t find out until the end when he gave me his business card. Very few people require no introduction and generally, they don\'t go to small business gatherings. To me, not introducing yourself shows you are not aware of other people.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Be late</strong>. At the same lunch gathering mentioned above, where I was a first-timer, the organizer showed up more than 15 minutes late. Being late for a meeting you organized is inexcusable. Being late in general just shows a disregard for others.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Don\'t respond</strong>. Say we met at an event, and we exchange business cards, and we talk about having coffee soon, and then I send you an email (and then another) and I don\'t hear back from you. Yeah. I get it. You don\'t want to have coffee. That\'s OK, but if in the future you change your mind, you\'ve left me with a really bad impression. (This one also applies to social media. Check your @ replies on Twitter. Is someone asking you a question? Perhaps you should answer it).\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Attack the other person</strong>. The other day I met a business owner who is a big fan of the chamber of commerce. I am not since I don\'t usually find my target audience there. When she asked me if I was a member of her chamber, I explained why I am not. She got defensive and immediately began attacking me. She wasn\'t polite or constructive. She was just mean and putting me down.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a few more:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Be disinterested in other people or the topic being discussed.</li>\r\n	<li>Dress inappropriately.</li>\r\n	<li>Be dismissive.</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t pay attention and then ask a question that has already been answered.</li>\r\n	<li>Be negative.</li>\r\n	<li>Interrupt. Repeatedly.</li>\r\n	<li>Tell inappropriate (racist, sexist, etc.) jokes or stories. (Oh, it happens. All the time.)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nSome people will only try to make a good impression with people they are trying to impress and ignore everyone else. That\'s a guaranteed way to make a really bad impression (most everyone despises a brown-noser).\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t care about how you come across, then you should also not be surprised if you are not doing well in your business. Impressions matter. You only have one chance to make a good first impression, but you have multiple chances to make a bad impression.\r\n\r\nHave you dealt with these behaviors? What would you add?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','How to make a bad impression','','inherit','open','open','','2652-revision-v1','','','2014-06-18 13:43:01','2014-06-18 13:43:01','',2652,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/06/2652-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2688,4,'2014-07-15 13:26:52','2014-07-15 13:26:52','If you are a service provider, you are probably really good at what you do. You are probably not so good at promoting yourself.  If,on the other hand, you are good at what you do and you know how to market yourself properly, you will have business coming out of your ears.\r\n\r\nI know because I deal with service providers---and I am one myself. Our first order of business should be to provide the best service possible. But our second order of business, and in order to keep business, is to market ourselves properly.\r\n\r\nHere are five easy and effective marketing tips:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Be ultra-professional</strong>. It should go without saying, but the most important thing a service provider can do is to provide good service and a good impression.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Be on time.</strong> Punctuality shows respect for your customer\'s time.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Honor your commitments</strong>. If you say you will do something, you must do it!</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Be straightforward.</strong> Is there an issue? Speak up.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Communicate</strong> what, how, why of what you are doing.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n2. <strong>Introduce yourself properly.</strong> When meeting with a customer, do not assume they know who you are. You don\'t have to provide your complete bio, but you should give your name and what you do. For example: \"Hi, I am Joe Smith. I am an AC tech with XYZ company and I will be checking your system today.\" Or: \"Hi, I am Gina, I will be teaching this beginner-level yoga class. \"\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Provide a leave-behind or take-with</strong>. It could be a brochure or a business card. It would be best if your materials have your website address and your website is good and up-to-date. You want to give the customer a way to contact you and to find out more about you.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Send a welcome/thank you letter, card or email.</strong> After you meet or provide service to your customer, send something! If you are an art studio, for example, and you just signed up a new art student, send the student a welcome note and any information the student might need. If you are a painter, and just finished painting your customer\'s house, send a thank you for your business card or email.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Ask for referrals.</strong> You should have a way to ask for referrals. You could simply have a line in your thank you letter saying that you appreciate referrals. You could provide a discount or a freebie for any referrals. For example, A teacher at the yoga studio I just started going to announced that if you bring a friend to the studio, you get a free class (mind you, the owner of the studio has done none of the steps above including not providing the bring-a-friend information).\r\n\r\nThese tips are meant to be the basic, everyday things you do for every customer, every time.  If you skip these steps, or only do one of them, you will miss out on simple opportunities that are already available to you.\r\n\r\nWould you add anything? If you are a service provider, what is your must-do marketing tip? Please share!\r\n<h4>Coming up on Thursday, week 2 of the summer challenge.</h4>\r\n&nbsp;','5 easy and effective marketing tips for service providers','','publish','open','open','','5-basic-marketing-tips-for-service-providers','','','2014-07-15 16:47:29','2014-07-15 16:47:29','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2688',0,'post','',0),
(2656,4,'2014-06-25 17:27:46','2014-06-25 17:27:46','As I mentioned in the last post, I am not a member of my local chamber of commerce, and never have been.  I am not alone. According to reporting in the Washington Business Journal (which I can\'t link to here because it is behind a paywall), membership is dwindling at the chambers of commerce in the Washington metro region.\r\n\r\nAlmost all of the DC metro local chambers have experienced a drop in members over the past ten years. The D.C. Chamber lost 15.7%, Montgomery County lost 17.8% and Fairfax lost a jaw-dropping 54.9%.  However, the chambers haven\'t experienced a drop in revenue, since they have increased dues and other income-generating programs.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons I haven\'t joined a chamber is because it is expensive and I feel there is little benefit. After all, there are plenty lower-cost to no-cost alternatives for networking purposes, not the least of is on social media. The other reason is that I find most chambers attract small businesses that may not have the budget for the marketing services I provide.\r\n\r\nI would guess that the ease of using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to connect with folks, and then maintain the relationship is behind the remarkable drop in membership for the chambers. Why pay dues when you can easily network with people who share your interests or whom fit other parameters like work in a certain industry, live in a geographic area and others.\r\n\r\nPerhaps the chamber model is no longer suited to our Internet-driven world. We no longer need the chamber membership guides to find people or services. We can look up services on any number of sites, like Yelp, which may even have ratings. We certainly don\'t need chamber networking events to meet people in person. One remarkable and low cost alternative is Meet Up. Meet Up hosts many groups of local people who share an interest, which can be as narrowly or as broadly focused as you like.\r\n\r\nDo you think chambers of commerce will survive another ten years? I\'d like to know if you are a member of chamber of commerce. Why or why not? Please tell me in the comments.','Is the chamber of commerce model still viable?','','publish','open','open','','is-the-chamber-of-commerce-model-still-viable','','','2014-06-25 17:27:46','2014-06-25 17:27:46','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2656',0,'post','',1),
(2657,4,'2014-06-25 12:35:42','2014-06-25 12:35:42','As I mentioned in the last post, I am not a member of the chamber of commerce, and never have been. According to reporting in the Washington Business Journal (which I can\'t link to here because it is behind a paywall), there are fewer and fewer members of chambers in the Washington metro region.\r\n\r\nAlmost all of the DC metro local chambers have experienced a 15 to 50 percent drop in members over the past ten years. That\'s a lot. They haven\'t lost revenue, however, since they have increased dues and other income-generating programs.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons I haven\'t joined a chamber is because it is expensive and I feel there is little benefit. After all, there are plenty lower-cost to no-cost alternatives for networking purposes, not the least of is on social media.\r\n\r\nIs the chamber model even viable as networking tool?','Is the chamber of commerce model still viable?','','inherit','open','open','','2656-revision-v1','','','2014-06-25 12:35:42','2014-06-25 12:35:42','',2656,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/06/2656-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2658,4,'2014-06-25 17:27:46','2014-06-25 17:27:46','As I mentioned in the last post, I am not a member of my local chamber of commerce, and never have been.  I am not alone. According to reporting in the Washington Business Journal (which I can\'t link to here because it is behind a paywall), membership is dwindling at the chambers of commerce in the Washington metro region.\r\n\r\nAlmost all of the DC metro local chambers have experienced a drop in members over the past ten years. The D.C. Chamber lost 15.7%, Montgomery County lost 17.8% and Fairfax lost a jaw-dropping 54.9%.  However, the chambers haven\'t experienced a drop in revenue, since they have increased dues and other income-generating programs.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons I haven\'t joined a chamber is because it is expensive and I feel there is little benefit. After all, there are plenty lower-cost to no-cost alternatives for networking purposes, not the least of is on social media. The other reason is that I find most chambers attract small businesses that may not have the budget for the marketing services I provide.\r\n\r\nI would guess that the ease of using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to connect with folks, and then maintain the relationship is behind the remarkable drop in membership for the chambers. Why pay dues when you can easily network with people who share your interests or whom fit other parameters like work in a certain industry, live in a geographic area and others.\r\n\r\nPerhaps the chamber model is no longer suited to our Internet-driven world. We no longer need the chamber membership guides to find people or services. We can look up services on any number of sites, like Yelp, which may even have ratings. We certainly don\'t need chamber networking events to meet people in person. One remarkable and low cost alternative is Meet Up. Meet Up hosts many groups of local people who share an interest, which can be as narrowly or as broadly focused as you like.\r\n\r\nDo you think chambers of commerce will survive another ten years? I\'d like to know if you are a member of chamber of commerce. Why or why not? Please tell me in the comments.','Is the chamber of commerce model still viable?','','inherit','open','open','','2656-revision-v1','','','2014-06-25 17:27:46','2014-06-25 17:27:46','',2656,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/06/2656-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2692,4,'2014-07-17 21:04:43','2014-07-17 21:04:43','I am fortunate to live right outside Washington, DC. Every summer, the area is invaded by hordes of tourists from across the US and from other countries. As a local, I often find it annoying to have to walk behind a slow group of tourists who are taking up the entire sidewalk or to have to battle with out-of-towners for elbow room at a new exhibit at the National Gallery.  But I need to remind myself that tourists are excited to be here, to see things they\'ve only read about and to get to know our nation\'s capital. They are a huge source of revenue for the area. And, they are getting to see things I may never get around to seeing.\r\n\r\nTo be a tourist requires curiosity. It requires advance planning and research but also the ability to grab an opportunity when you see it (free concert today at noon!). It requires learning how to get around. It requires a willingness to try new things.\r\n\r\nSo you see how being a tourist really requires some important skills to any communicator.\r\n\r\n<strong>Your challenge for this week is to be a tourist in your own town.</strong>\r\n\r\nI know that not everybody\'s hometown is Washington, DC, but every town has something to offer a visitor. If you are in a small town, it will be your challenge to figure out what that is. Why would anyone visit your town? And if they do visit, what do they do?\r\n\r\nHere\'s a few ways to be a tourist in your own town:\r\n\r\nGo online or call your local visitor\'s center or CVB (convention and visitor\'s bureau). Ask what the <strong>must-see attractions</strong> are. Check out at least one.  Or, pick up a tourist guide for your town.\r\n\r\nS<strong>pend a day walkin</strong>g around your town\'s downtown or main street. Walking...not driving.  Maybe take a side street you\'ve never been on.\r\n\r\nEat a <strong>meal at a new restauran</strong>t, somewhere you\'ve always wanted to try. (You could also go online to see what the top restaurants in your area are and choose one.)\r\n\r\nGo to a<strong> local park</strong>. Bring a picnic. Take a hike if appropriate. Perhaps you live near a river. What about renting a kayak or canoe?\r\n\r\n<strong>Take a tour led by a tour guide</strong>. Perhaps there\'s a specialized walking tour or an eating tour that you could check out. Don\'t know if they exist? Look it up!\r\n\r\nVisit a<strong> local brewery or winery</strong>. Take the tour, do the tasting.\r\n\r\nTake <strong>public transportation</strong>. If you already take public transportation, take a different method (if you always commute by train, take the bus or take a different route).\r\n\r\nWhen we live somewhere, we overlook what is there because we take it for granted. Sometimes, we don\'t even know what is there! By looking at our surroundings in a new way, we are seeing things differently. It may help boost your creativity or it may spark some new ideas.\r\n\r\nLet me know what you do! Tell me what town you played tourist in. Have fun exploring!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #2: Be a tourist in your own town','','publish','open','open','','summer-challenge-be-a-tourist-in-your-own-town','','','2014-07-17 21:05:34','2014-07-17 21:05:34','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2692',0,'post','',0),
(2660,4,'2014-06-26 17:37:35','2014-06-26 17:37:35','<h4>Namaste.</h4>\r\n\"The light in me honors the light in you.\" That\'s what <em>namaste</em> means in Sanskrit. It\'s a beautiful greeting that is often used at the end of a yoga class (or sometimes at the beginning).\r\n\r\nGood yoga teachers honor their students. They respect their limitations and seek to teach them to work with their bodies. What does this have to do with marketing? It\'s simple. Like yoga teachers, good marketers honor their customers  by getting to know them and understanding their needs and then customizing messages (and media) for the customers.\r\n\r\nYou should know that I have practiced yoga for more than ten years, and have been to many studios and had many teachers. I\'ve been taking a break for the past couple years, but yesterday, I attended my first class in a long time at a new-to-me studio.\r\n<h4>Not-so-good yoga teacher (no knowledge of students)</h4>\r\nThe teacher walked in to the studio and although she smiled and said hello to me, she did not introduce herself or ask me my name or more importantly, any questions regarding my knowledge of yoga. She also did not ask the class as a whole if there were any injuries or issues she should be aware of. She started the class (late but that is another story) and pretty much assumed everybody understood everything, to the point she was using the Sanskrit terms for many of the poses. As I mentioned, it\'s been a while, and I did not recall the difference between <em>utasana </em>(standing forward bend) and <em>utkatasana</em> (chair pose). Everybody seemed to be following, but I could not help but think a real beginner would be completely lost. And forget somebody with injuries although she did offer a few modifications (if your knee hurts, don\'t do this).\r\n<h4>Much better yoga teacher (customizes teachings to students\' needs)</h4>\r\nContrast her disinterest  with another teacher I had at another studio. He wanted to know how much yoga I had practiced and if I had any physical limitations. I told him that my knee had been bothering me and he made a point of explaining what I could do differently and how to protect myself from injury or further pain. <strong>He tailored his teaching to my needs</strong>. Instead of telling me not to do something because it hurt, he offered alternative poses or different ways of doing the pose.  He took into account the levels of knowledge in the class. It was very clear he wanted to teach yoga to people while honoring their bodies and their limitations (there is actually a Sanskrit term for this - <em>ahimsa</em>- to not injure).\r\n\r\nGood yoga teachers work to understand students\' limitations and then offer modifications. Good yoga teachers do not push students to do something that is not within their level of practice.  Good yoga teachers practice namaste --honoring others--by understanding those others.\r\n<h4>Knowledge + customization = smart marketing</h4>\r\nSmart marketers work hard to understand their customers. They know who and where their customers are and what they want and need. Then, with this knowledge, they tailor their marketing messages to the customer\'s needs.\r\n\r\nThink about the last spam email you got. Perhaps you got an email about a \"miracle\" diet pill or getting listed in a mythical directory. You probably deleted those emails right away because those messages were not tailored to you. Spam marketers are not smart marketers. They are mass marketers. They send the same message to everyone and hope something sticks.\r\n\r\nHonor your customers. Provide messages and offers that make sense for them.\r\n\r\nNamaste.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The namaste guide to smart marketing','','publish','open','open','','the-namaste-guide-to-smart-marketing','','','2014-06-26 17:37:35','2014-06-26 17:37:35','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2660',0,'post','',2),
(2661,4,'2014-06-26 17:20:31','2014-06-26 17:20:31','<h4>Namaste.</h4>\r\n\"The light in me honors the light in you.\" That\'s what <em>namaste</em> means in Sanskrit. It\'s a beautiful greeting that is often used at the end of a yoga class (or sometimes at the beginning).\r\n\r\nGood yoga teachers honor their students. They respect their limitations and seek to teach them to work with their bodies. What does this have to do with marketing? It\'s simple. Good marketers  honor their customers  by getting to know them and understanding their needs.\r\n\r\nYou should know that I have practiced yoga for more than ten years, and have been to many studios and had many teachers. I\'ve been taking a break for the past couple years, but yesterday, I attended my first class in a long time at a new-to-me studio.\r\n<h4>Not-so-good yoga teacher (no knowledge of students)</h4>\r\nThe teacher walked in and although she smiled and said hello to me, she did not introduce herself or ask me my name or more importantly, any questions regarding my knowledge of yoga. She also did not ask the class as a whole if there were any injuries or issues she should be aware of. She started the class and pretty much assumed everybody understood everything, to the point she was using the Sanskrit terms for many of the poses. As I mentioned, it\'s been a while, and I did not recall the difference between <em>utasana </em>(standing forward bend) and <em>utkatasana</em> (chair pose). Everybody seemed to be following, but I could not help but think a real beginner would be completely lost. And forget somebody with injuries although she did offer a few modifications (if your knee hurts, don\'t do this).\r\n<h4>Much better yoga teacher (customizes teachings to students\' needs)</h4>\r\nContrast her disinterest  with another teacher I had at another studio. He wanted to know how much yoga I had practiced and if I had any physical limitations. My knee had been bothering me and he made a point of telling me what I could do differently and how to protect myself from injury or further pain. <strong>He tailored his teaching to my needs</strong>. He took into account the levels of knowledge in the class. It was very clear he wanted to teach yoga to people while honoring their bodies and their limitations (there is actually a Sanskrit term for this - <em>ahimsa</em>- to not injure).\r\n\r\nGood yoga teachers work to understand students\' limitations and then offer modifications. Good yoga teachers do not push students to do something that is not within their level of practice.  Good yoga teachers practice namaste --honoring others--by understanding those others.\r\n<h4>Knowledge + customization = smart marketing</h4>\r\nSmart marketers are those that understand their customers. They know who their customers are and what they want. They also know why they have become customers. They tailor their marketing to the customer\'s needs.\r\n\r\nThink about the last spam message you got. Perhaps you got an email about a \"miracle\" diet pill or getting listed in a mythical directory. You probably deleted those emails right away because those messages were not tailored to you. Spam marketers are not smart marketers. They are mass marketers. They send the same message to everyone and hope something sticks.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The namaste guide to smart marketing','','inherit','open','open','','2660-revision-v1','','','2014-06-26 17:20:31','2014-06-26 17:20:31','',2660,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/06/2660-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2662,4,'2014-06-26 17:34:59','2014-06-26 17:34:59','<h4>Namaste.</h4>\r\n\"The light in me honors the light in you.\" That\'s what <em>namaste</em> means in Sanskrit. It\'s a beautiful greeting that is often used at the end of a yoga class (or sometimes at the beginning).\r\n\r\nGood yoga teachers honor their students. They respect their limitations and seek to teach them to work with their bodies. What does this have to do with marketing? It\'s simple. Like yoga teachers, good marketers honor their customers  by getting to know them and understanding their needs and then customizing messages (and media) for the customers.\r\n\r\nYou should know that I have practiced yoga for more than ten years, and have been to many studios and had many teachers. I\'ve been taking a break for the past couple years, but yesterday, I attended my first class in a long time at a new-to-me studio.\r\n<h4>Not-so-good yoga teacher (no knowledge of students)</h4>\r\nThe teacher walked in to the studio and although she smiled and said hello to me, she did not introduce herself or ask me my name or more importantly, any questions regarding my knowledge of yoga. She also did not ask the class as a whole if there were any injuries or issues she should be aware of. She started the class (late but that is another story) and pretty much assumed everybody understood everything, to the point she was using the Sanskrit terms for many of the poses. As I mentioned, it\'s been a while, and I did not recall the difference between <em>utasana </em>(standing forward bend) and <em>utkatasana</em> (chair pose). Everybody seemed to be following, but I could not help but think a real beginner would be completely lost. And forget somebody with injuries although she did offer a few modifications (if your knee hurts, don\'t do this).\r\n<h4>Much better yoga teacher (customizes teachings to students\' needs)</h4>\r\nContrast her disinterest  with another teacher I had at another studio. He wanted to know how much yoga I had practiced and if I had any physical limitations. I told him that my knee had been bothering me and he made a point of explaining what I could do differently and how to protect myself from injury or further pain. <strong>He tailored his teaching to my needs</strong>. Instead of telling me not to do something because it hurt, he offered alternative poses or different ways of doing the pose.  He took into account the levels of knowledge in the class. It was very clear he wanted to teach yoga to people while honoring their bodies and their limitations (there is actually a Sanskrit term for this - <em>ahimsa</em>- to not injure).\r\n\r\nGood yoga teachers work to understand students\' limitations and then offer modifications. Good yoga teachers do not push students to do something that is not within their level of practice.  Good yoga teachers practice namaste --honoring others--by understanding those others.\r\n<h4>Knowledge + customization = smart marketing</h4>\r\nSmart marketers work hard to understand their customers. They know who and where their customers are and what they want and need. Then, with this knowledge, they tailor their marketing messages to the customer\'s needs.\r\n\r\nThink about the last spam email you got. Perhaps you got an email about a \"miracle\" diet pill or getting listed in a mythical directory. You probably deleted those emails right away because those messages were not tailored to you. Spam marketers are not smart marketers. They are mass marketers. They send the same message to everyone and hope something sticks.\r\n\r\nHonor your customers. Provide messages and offers that make sense for them.\r\n\r\nNamaste.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The namaste guide to smart marketing','','inherit','open','open','','2660-revision-v1','','','2014-06-26 17:34:59','2014-06-26 17:34:59','',2660,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/06/2660-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2665,4,'2014-07-01 13:17:35','2014-07-01 13:17:35','Here are five guaranteed ways to increase the bounce rate on your website:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Use a small font</strong>. Or use a weird small font. Basically, make it hard for those of us forty-plus to read your content.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Clutter, clutter everywhere</strong>. Cram it full of stuff to make it seem like a contender for an episode of TV\'s Hoarders. Make it so busy I don\'t know where to look first. Or whether to look at all.\r\n\r\n3.<strong> Make the video (or audio) play automatically.</strong> Bonus points if it is really loud.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Make it hard to figure what you do, who you are or where you are located</strong>. If you want to be even more obtuse, make sure to use excessive and meaningless jargon.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Spelling and grammar mistakes galore mixed in with typos</strong>.Certainly, don\'t bother proofreading.\r\n\r\nYes, the five ways to increase your bounce rate are the five ways to turn off potential website visitors. It\'s not good, and I have experienced all of them on websites recently.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2666\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2666\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Bouncing Ball photo\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Bouncing Ball by Dave Murphy on Flickr[/caption]\r\n\r\nDo you know what the bounce rate on your website is? I don\'t mean the term (just in case, Google Analytics defines it as the percentage of single-page sessions, where the user enters your site but does not interact or stay on your site), but the actual number.\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t know it, I suggest checking your Analytics right now. Basically, the higher the number, the worse your bounce rate. A high bounce rate indicates that people are just not interested in your website, which in turn indicates that you have a problem.\r\n\r\nIn reality, you want to lower your bounce rate. You want to have the visitors to your website stay and not bounce off. Notice that the bounce rate does not have to do with the number of visitors that land on your site, but rather the number that stays. So, if you have thousands of visitors, with a 95 percent bounce rate you are doing much worse than a site with a few dozen visitors and 65 percent bounce rate.\r\n\r\nWhat makes you want to stay on the websites you visit? What makes you run away as fast as you can click that x on the browser tab?\r\n<h3>Get this blog\'s content delivered to you as soon as it is posted! Sign up on the right to get the blog posts emailed to you.</h3>','5 guaranteed ways to increase your website\'s bounce rate','','publish','open','open','','5-guaranteed-ways-to-increase-your-websites-bounce-rate','','','2014-07-01 16:11:57','2014-07-01 16:11:57','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2665',0,'post','',2),
(2666,4,'2014-07-01 13:11:52','2014-07-01 13:11:52','','160754346_dab3a98893_z','Bouncing Ball by Dave Murphy on Flickr','inherit','open','open','','160754346_dab3a98893_z','','','2014-07-01 13:11:52','2014-07-01 13:11:52','',2665,'http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),
(2667,4,'2014-07-01 13:14:31','2014-07-01 13:14:31','Here are five guaranteed ways to increase the bounce rate on your website:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Use a small font</strong>. Or use a weird small font. Basically, make it hard for those of us forty-plus to read your content.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Clutter, clutter everywhere</strong>. Make it so busy I don\'t know where to look first. Or whether to look at all.\r\n\r\n3.<strong> Make the video (or audio) play automatically.</strong> Bonus points if it is really loud.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Make it hard to figure what you do, who you are or where you are located</strong>. If you want to be even more obtuse, make sure to use excessive and meaningless jargon.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Spelling and grammar mistakes galore mixed in with typos</strong>.Certainly, don\'t bother proofreading.\r\n\r\nYes, the five ways to increase your bounce rate are the five ways to turn off potential website visitors. It\'s not good, and I have experienced all of them on websites recently.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2666\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2666\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Bouncing Ball photo\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Bouncing Ball by Dave Murphy on Flickr[/caption]\r\n\r\nDo you know what the bounce rate on your website is? I don\'t mean the term (just in case, Google Analytics defines it as the percentage of single-page sessions, where the user enters your site but does not interact or stay on your site), but the actual number.\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t know it, I suggest checking your Analytics right now. Basically, the higher the number, the worse your bounce rate. A high bounce rate indicates that people are just not interested in your website, which in turn indicates that you have a problem.\r\n\r\nIn reality, you want to lower your bounce rate. You want to have the visitors to your website stay and not bounce off. Notice that the bounce rate does not have to do with the number of visitors that land on your site, but rather the number that stays. So, if you have thousands of visitors, with a 95 percent bounce rate you are doing much worse than a site with a few dozen visitors and 65 percent bounce rate.\r\n\r\nWhat makes you want to stay on the websites you visit? What makes you run away as fast as you can click that x on the browser tab?\r\n<h5>Get this blog\'s content delivered to you as soon as it is posted! Sign up on the right to get the blog posts emailed to you.</h5>','5 guaranteed ways to increase your website\'s bounce rate','','inherit','open','open','','2665-revision-v1','','','2014-07-01 13:14:31','2014-07-01 13:14:31','',2665,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2665-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2668,4,'2014-07-01 13:16:13','2014-07-01 13:16:13','Here are five guaranteed ways to increase the bounce rate on your website:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Use a small font</strong>. Or use a weird small font. Basically, make it hard for those of us forty-plus to read your content.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Clutter, clutter everywhere</strong>. Make it so busy I don\'t know where to look first. Or whether to look at all.\r\n\r\n3.<strong> Make the video (or audio) play automatically.</strong> Bonus points if it is really loud.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Make it hard to figure what you do, who you are or where you are located</strong>. If you want to be even more obtuse, make sure to use excessive and meaningless jargon.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Spelling and grammar mistakes galore mixed in with typos</strong>.Certainly, don\'t bother proofreading.\r\n\r\nYes, the five ways to increase your bounce rate are the five ways to turn off potential website visitors. It\'s not good, and I have experienced all of them on websites recently.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2666\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2666\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Bouncing Ball photo\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Bouncing Ball by Dave Murphy on Flickr[/caption]\r\n\r\nDo you know what the bounce rate on your website is? I don\'t mean the term (just in case, Google Analytics defines it as the percentage of single-page sessions, where the user enters your site but does not interact or stay on your site), but the actual number.\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t know it, I suggest checking your Analytics right now. Basically, the higher the number, the worse your bounce rate. A high bounce rate indicates that people are just not interested in your website, which in turn indicates that you have a problem.\r\n\r\nIn reality, you want to lower your bounce rate. You want to have the visitors to your website stay and not bounce off. Notice that the bounce rate does not have to do with the number of visitors that land on your site, but rather the number that stays. So, if you have thousands of visitors, with a 95 percent bounce rate you are doing much worse than a site with a few dozen visitors and 65 percent bounce rate.\r\n\r\nWhat makes you want to stay on the websites you visit? What makes you run away as fast as you can click that x on the browser tab?\r\n<h3>Get this blog\'s content delivered to you as soon as it is posted! Sign up on the right to get the blog posts emailed to you.</h3>','5 guaranteed ways to increase your website\'s bounce rate','','inherit','open','open','','2665-revision-v1','','','2014-07-01 13:16:13','2014-07-01 13:16:13','',2665,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2665-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2669,4,'2014-07-01 16:11:57','2014-07-01 16:11:57','Here are five guaranteed ways to increase the bounce rate on your website:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Use a small font</strong>. Or use a weird small font. Basically, make it hard for those of us forty-plus to read your content.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Clutter, clutter everywhere</strong>. Cram it full of stuff to make it seem like a contender for an episode of TV\'s Hoarders. Make it so busy I don\'t know where to look first. Or whether to look at all.\r\n\r\n3.<strong> Make the video (or audio) play automatically.</strong> Bonus points if it is really loud.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Make it hard to figure what you do, who you are or where you are located</strong>. If you want to be even more obtuse, make sure to use excessive and meaningless jargon.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Spelling and grammar mistakes galore mixed in with typos</strong>.Certainly, don\'t bother proofreading.\r\n\r\nYes, the five ways to increase your bounce rate are the five ways to turn off potential website visitors. It\'s not good, and I have experienced all of them on websites recently.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2666\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2666\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/160754346_dab3a98893_z-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Bouncing Ball photo\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Bouncing Ball by Dave Murphy on Flickr[/caption]\r\n\r\nDo you know what the bounce rate on your website is? I don\'t mean the term (just in case, Google Analytics defines it as the percentage of single-page sessions, where the user enters your site but does not interact or stay on your site), but the actual number.\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t know it, I suggest checking your Analytics right now. Basically, the higher the number, the worse your bounce rate. A high bounce rate indicates that people are just not interested in your website, which in turn indicates that you have a problem.\r\n\r\nIn reality, you want to lower your bounce rate. You want to have the visitors to your website stay and not bounce off. Notice that the bounce rate does not have to do with the number of visitors that land on your site, but rather the number that stays. So, if you have thousands of visitors, with a 95 percent bounce rate you are doing much worse than a site with a few dozen visitors and 65 percent bounce rate.\r\n\r\nWhat makes you want to stay on the websites you visit? What makes you run away as fast as you can click that x on the browser tab?\r\n<h3>Get this blog\'s content delivered to you as soon as it is posted! Sign up on the right to get the blog posts emailed to you.</h3>','5 guaranteed ways to increase your website\'s bounce rate','','inherit','open','open','','2665-revision-v1','','','2014-07-01 16:11:57','2014-07-01 16:11:57','',2665,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2665-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2671,4,'2014-07-02 20:18:00','2014-07-02 20:18:00','In case you\'ve missed a newsletter, just check this archive.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/c3e405\" target=\"_blank\">July 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://mad.ly/3625c4\" target=\"_blank\">April 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"February newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/dc2584\" target=\"_blank\">February 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"December 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/bb9454\" target=\"_blank\">December 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"October 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/f27424\" target=\"_blank\">October 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"July 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/eb30f3\" target=\"_blank\">July 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"May 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/9003c3\" target=\"_blank\">May 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"March 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/d82a93\" target=\"_blank\">March 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"January 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/a12873\" target=\"_blank\">January 2013</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Newsletters','','inherit','open','open','','2509-revision-v1','','','2014-07-02 20:18:00','2014-07-02 20:18:00','',2509,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2509-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2672,4,'2014-07-03 16:29:19','2014-07-03 16:29:19','To readers in the United States, I wish you a very happy  Fourth of July! However you celebrate, I hope you have an enjoyable holiday.\r\n\r\nI\'ll be back next week to share some caffeinated views and to issue a challenge. Stay tuned!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Happy Independence Day!','','publish','open','open','','happy-independence-day','','','2014-07-03 16:29:19','2014-07-03 16:29:19','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2672',0,'post','',0),
(2673,4,'2014-07-03 12:37:15','2014-07-03 12:37:15','To readers in the United States, I wish you a very happy July 4th!\r\n\r\nMaybe it\'s a good time to declare independence from these:\r\n\r\nReliance on jargon and cliches\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Happy Independence Day!','','inherit','open','open','','2672-revision-v1','','','2014-07-03 12:37:15','2014-07-03 12:37:15','',2672,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2672-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2675,4,'2014-07-03 16:29:19','2014-07-03 16:29:19','To readers in the United States, I wish you a very happy  Fourth of July! However you celebrate, I hope you have an enjoyable holiday.\r\n\r\nI\'ll be back next week to share some caffeinated views and to issue a challenge. Stay tuned!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Happy Independence Day!','','inherit','open','open','','2672-revision-v1','','','2014-07-03 16:29:19','2014-07-03 16:29:19','',2672,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2672-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2679,4,'2014-07-08 16:55:21','2014-07-08 16:55:21','In the marketing communications world, it seems like summer is a quiet time of the year. People are on vacation. Summer Fridays are in force. This makes it a great time of the year to take on a few challenges.\r\n\r\nI think summer is a good time to shake things up. On a personal level, you may have certain goals for the next couple of months. Maybe, like me, you want to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Maybe you want to learn a new skill. Maybe you just want to have fun.\r\n\r\nHow about making it a challenging summer?\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2680\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7516553840_b65f327847_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2680\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7516553840_b65f327847_z-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"Obstacle Course at West Point\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a> Obstacle 14 from the West Point, The US Military Academy Flickr stream Photo by Tommy Gilligan[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor the next <strong>eight weeks</strong>, I\'ll be issuing a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> weekly challenge</span> to do with your writing, social media and blogging. Although there will be no scoring and no prizes (sorry), it\'s a way to shake things up and to make things better while you watch the thermometer hit 90 degrees and higher.\r\n\r\nThe first challenge will be posted tomorrow. To participate, simply read the post. Your comments are welcome here on the blog or you can post on Twitter using the hashtag #summerchallenge.','Make it a challenging summer!','','publish','open','open','','make-it-a-challenging-summer','','','2014-07-08 21:09:12','2014-07-08 21:09:12','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2679',0,'post','',0),
(2680,4,'2014-07-08 16:50:27','2014-07-08 16:50:27','','7516553840_b65f327847_z','Obstacle 14 from the West Point, The US Military Academy Flickr stream Photo by Tommy Gilligan','inherit','open','open','','7516553840_b65f327847_z','','','2014-07-08 16:50:27','2014-07-08 16:50:27','',2679,'http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7516553840_b65f327847_z.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),
(2681,4,'2014-07-08 16:54:43','2014-07-08 16:54:43','In the marketing communications world, it seems like summer is a quiet time of the year. People are on vacation. Summer Fridays are in force. This makes it a great time of the year to take on a few challenges.\r\n\r\nI think summer is a good time to shake things up. On a personal level, you may have certain goals for the next couple of month. Maybe, like me, you want to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Maybe you want to learn a new skill. Maybe you just want to have fun.\r\n\r\nHow about making it a challenging summer?\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2680\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7516553840_b65f327847_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2680\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7516553840_b65f327847_z-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"Obstacle Course at West Point\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a> Obstacle 14 from the West Point, The US Military Academy Flickr stream Photo by Tommy Gilligan[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor the next <strong>eight weeks</strong>, I\'ll be issuing a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> weekly challenge</span> to do with your writing, social media and blogging. Although there will be no scoring and no prizes (sorry), it\'s a way to shake things up and to make things better while you watch the thermometer hit 90 degrees and higher.\r\n\r\nThe first challenge will be posted tomorrow. To participate, simply read the post. Your comments are welcome here on the blog or you can post on Twitter using the hashtag #summerchallenge.','Make it a challenging summer!','','inherit','open','open','','2679-revision-v1','','','2014-07-08 16:54:43','2014-07-08 16:54:43','',2679,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2679-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2682,4,'2014-07-08 21:09:12','2014-07-08 21:09:12','In the marketing communications world, it seems like summer is a quiet time of the year. People are on vacation. Summer Fridays are in force. This makes it a great time of the year to take on a few challenges.\r\n\r\nI think summer is a good time to shake things up. On a personal level, you may have certain goals for the next couple of months. Maybe, like me, you want to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Maybe you want to learn a new skill. Maybe you just want to have fun.\r\n\r\nHow about making it a challenging summer?\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2680\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7516553840_b65f327847_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2680\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7516553840_b65f327847_z-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"Obstacle Course at West Point\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a> Obstacle 14 from the West Point, The US Military Academy Flickr stream Photo by Tommy Gilligan[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor the next <strong>eight weeks</strong>, I\'ll be issuing a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> weekly challenge</span> to do with your writing, social media and blogging. Although there will be no scoring and no prizes (sorry), it\'s a way to shake things up and to make things better while you watch the thermometer hit 90 degrees and higher.\r\n\r\nThe first challenge will be posted tomorrow. To participate, simply read the post. Your comments are welcome here on the blog or you can post on Twitter using the hashtag #summerchallenge.','Make it a challenging summer!','','inherit','open','open','','2679-revision-v1','','','2014-07-08 21:09:12','2014-07-08 21:09:12','',2679,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2679-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2683,4,'2014-07-09 16:13:32','2014-07-09 16:13:32','Starting <strong>every</strong> sentence with words or phrases such as honestly, frankly, truly or in reality.\r\n\r\nDescribing things using the <strong>same adjective or adverb</strong> every single time. You know, that show was terrific, it was fantastic, it was tremendous.\r\n\r\n(Over) relying on <strong>certain expressions</strong> (generally cliches) such as \"at the end of the day\" or \"right back atcha\" or \"takes two to tango.\"\r\n\r\nI think of these as verbal tics. We are not even aware that we are using these verbal crutches. And they can creep into our writing, especially in social media posts. They may distract readers and listeners or even make them tune out what you are saying.\r\n\r\nThe summer\'s first challenge is to rid yourself of verbal tics (or at least reduce them).\r\n\r\nHere are the three steps to take:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identify</strong> these verbal tics in your writing or speaking. Start paying attention to yourself and your writing. Do you find yourself saying certain things over and over?\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Figure</strong> out why you are saying this. Why do you have to preface your statement with \"honestly?\" Are you generally not honest? Is it just habit? Is there any other way to say this?\r\n\r\n3. Now, this is the hard part: <strong>eliminate</strong> the word or phrase completely. Try doing this for a day or two. If you catch yourself about to use one of your verbal tics, find another word or phrase to use instead.\r\n\r\nThis won’t be easy. We get into patterns and it’s hard to stop. And that\'s the point of this challenge: becoming aware of your patterns.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? What is your verbal tic? Are there verbal tics that your colleagues have that drive you nuts? Tell me!\r\n\r\nUPDATE:\r\n\r\nSeems that even the New York Times has verbal tics, as the article <a href=\"http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/16944.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">The New York Times lists its crutch words</a> points out. Verbal tics are crutches for sure!','Challenge #1: Tick off verbal tics','','publish','open','open','','challenge-1-tick-off-verbal-tics','','','2014-07-10 17:59:51','2014-07-10 17:59:51','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2683',0,'post','',0),
(2684,4,'2014-07-09 16:13:32','2014-07-09 16:13:32','Starting <strong>every</strong> sentence with words or phrases such as honestly, frankly, truly or in reality.\r\n\r\nDescribing things using the <strong>same adjective or adverb</strong> every single time. You know, that show was terrific, it was fantastic, it was tremendous.\r\n\r\n(Over) relying on <strong>certain expressions</strong> (generally cliches) such as \"at the end of the day\" or \"right back atcha\" or \"takes two to tango.\"\r\n\r\nI think of these as verbal tics. We are not even aware that we are using these verbal crutches. And they can creep into our writing, especially in social media posts. They may distract readers and listeners or even make them tune out what you are saying.\r\n\r\nThe summer\'s first challenge is to rid yourself of verbal tics (or at least reduce them).\r\n\r\nHere are the three steps to take:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identify</strong> these verbal tics in your writing or speaking. Start paying attention to yourself and your writing. Do you find yourself saying certain things over and over?\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Figure</strong> out why you are saying this. Why do you have to preface your statement with \"honestly?\" Are you generally not honest? Is it just habit? Is there any other way to say this?\r\n\r\n3. Now, this is the hard part: <strong>eliminate</strong> the word or phrase completely. Try doing this for a day or two. If you catch yourself about to use one of your verbal tics, find another word or phrase to use instead.\r\n\r\nThis won’t be easy. We get into patterns and it’s hard to stop. And that\'s the point of this challenge: becoming aware of your patterns.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? What is your verbal tic? Are there verbal tics that your colleagues have that drive you nuts? Tell me!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Challenge #1: Tick off verbal tics','','inherit','open','open','','2683-revision-v1','','','2014-07-09 16:13:32','2014-07-09 16:13:32','',2683,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2683-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2686,4,'2014-07-10 17:59:51','2014-07-10 17:59:51','Starting <strong>every</strong> sentence with words or phrases such as honestly, frankly, truly or in reality.\r\n\r\nDescribing things using the <strong>same adjective or adverb</strong> every single time. You know, that show was terrific, it was fantastic, it was tremendous.\r\n\r\n(Over) relying on <strong>certain expressions</strong> (generally cliches) such as \"at the end of the day\" or \"right back atcha\" or \"takes two to tango.\"\r\n\r\nI think of these as verbal tics. We are not even aware that we are using these verbal crutches. And they can creep into our writing, especially in social media posts. They may distract readers and listeners or even make them tune out what you are saying.\r\n\r\nThe summer\'s first challenge is to rid yourself of verbal tics (or at least reduce them).\r\n\r\nHere are the three steps to take:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identify</strong> these verbal tics in your writing or speaking. Start paying attention to yourself and your writing. Do you find yourself saying certain things over and over?\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Figure</strong> out why you are saying this. Why do you have to preface your statement with \"honestly?\" Are you generally not honest? Is it just habit? Is there any other way to say this?\r\n\r\n3. Now, this is the hard part: <strong>eliminate</strong> the word or phrase completely. Try doing this for a day or two. If you catch yourself about to use one of your verbal tics, find another word or phrase to use instead.\r\n\r\nThis won’t be easy. We get into patterns and it’s hard to stop. And that\'s the point of this challenge: becoming aware of your patterns.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? What is your verbal tic? Are there verbal tics that your colleagues have that drive you nuts? Tell me!\r\n\r\nUPDATE:\r\n\r\nSeems that even the New York Times has verbal tics, as the article <a href=\"http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/16944.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">The New York Times lists its crutch words</a> points out. Verbal tics are crutches for sure!','Challenge #1: Tick off verbal tics','','inherit','open','open','','2683-revision-v1','','','2014-07-10 17:59:51','2014-07-10 17:59:51','',2683,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2683-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2689,4,'2014-07-15 13:25:19','2014-07-15 13:25:19','If you are a service provider, you are probably really good at what you do. You are probably not so good at promoting yourself.  If,on the other hand, you are good at what you do and you know how to market yourself properly, you will have business coming out of your ears.\r\n\r\nI know because I deal with service providers---and I am one myself. Our first order of business should be to provide the best service possible. But our second order of business, and in order to keep business, is to market ourselves properly.\r\n\r\nHere are five basic (and simple) marketing tips:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Be ultra-professional</strong>. It should go without saying, but the most important thing a service provider can do is to provide good service and a good impression.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Be on time.</strong> Punctuality shows respect for your customer\'s time.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Honor your commitments</strong>. If you say you will do something, you must do it!</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Be straightforward.</strong> Is there an issue? Speak up.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Communicate</strong> what, how, why of what you are doing.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n2. <strong>Introduce yourself properly.</strong> When meeting with a customer, do not assume they know who you are. You don\'t have to provide your complete bio, but you should give your name and what you do. For example: \"Hi, I am Joe Smith. I am an AC tech with XYZ company and I will be checking your system today.\" Or: \"Hi, I am Gina, I will be teaching this beginner-level yoga class. \"\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Provide a leave-behind or take-with</strong>. It could be a brochure or a business card. It would be best if your materials have your website address and your website is good and up-to-date. You want to give the customer a way to contact you and to find out more about you.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Send a welcome/thank you letter, card or email.</strong> After you meet or provide service to your customer, send something! If you are an art studio, for example, and you just signed up a new art student, send the student a welcome note and any information the student might need. If you are a painter, and just finished painting your customers house, send a thank you for your business card or email.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Ask for referrals.</strong> You should have a way to ask for referrals. You could simply have a line in your thank you letter saying that you appreciate referrals. You could provide a discount or a freebie for any referrals. For example, A teacher at the yoga studio I just started going to announced that if you bring a friend to the studio, you get a free class (mind you, the owner of the studio has done none of the steps above including not providing the bring-a-friend information).\r\n\r\nThese tips are meant to be the basic, everyday things you do for every customer, every time.  If you skip these steps, or only do one of them, you will miss out on simple opportunities that are already available to you.\r\n\r\nWould you add anything? If you are a service provider, what is your must-do marketing tip? Please share!\r\n<h4>Coming up on Thursday, week 2 of the summer challenge.</h4>\r\n&nbsp;','5 basic marketing tips for service providers','','inherit','open','open','','2688-revision-v1','','','2014-07-15 13:25:19','2014-07-15 13:25:19','',2688,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2688-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2690,4,'2014-07-15 13:26:52','2014-07-15 13:26:52','If you are a service provider, you are probably really good at what you do. You are probably not so good at promoting yourself.  If,on the other hand, you are good at what you do and you know how to market yourself properly, you will have business coming out of your ears.\r\n\r\nI know because I deal with service providers---and I am one myself. Our first order of business should be to provide the best service possible. But our second order of business, and in order to keep business, is to market ourselves properly.\r\n\r\nHere are five basic (and simple) marketing tips:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Be ultra-professional</strong>. It should go without saying, but the most important thing a service provider can do is to provide good service and a good impression.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Be on time.</strong> Punctuality shows respect for your customer\'s time.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Honor your commitments</strong>. If you say you will do something, you must do it!</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Be straightforward.</strong> Is there an issue? Speak up.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Communicate</strong> what, how, why of what you are doing.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n2. <strong>Introduce yourself properly.</strong> When meeting with a customer, do not assume they know who you are. You don\'t have to provide your complete bio, but you should give your name and what you do. For example: \"Hi, I am Joe Smith. I am an AC tech with XYZ company and I will be checking your system today.\" Or: \"Hi, I am Gina, I will be teaching this beginner-level yoga class. \"\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Provide a leave-behind or take-with</strong>. It could be a brochure or a business card. It would be best if your materials have your website address and your website is good and up-to-date. You want to give the customer a way to contact you and to find out more about you.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Send a welcome/thank you letter, card or email.</strong> After you meet or provide service to your customer, send something! If you are an art studio, for example, and you just signed up a new art student, send the student a welcome note and any information the student might need. If you are a painter, and just finished painting your customer\'s house, send a thank you for your business card or email.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Ask for referrals.</strong> You should have a way to ask for referrals. You could simply have a line in your thank you letter saying that you appreciate referrals. You could provide a discount or a freebie for any referrals. For example, A teacher at the yoga studio I just started going to announced that if you bring a friend to the studio, you get a free class (mind you, the owner of the studio has done none of the steps above including not providing the bring-a-friend information).\r\n\r\nThese tips are meant to be the basic, everyday things you do for every customer, every time.  If you skip these steps, or only do one of them, you will miss out on simple opportunities that are already available to you.\r\n\r\nWould you add anything? If you are a service provider, what is your must-do marketing tip? Please share!\r\n<h4>Coming up on Thursday, week 2 of the summer challenge.</h4>\r\n&nbsp;','5 basic marketing tips for service providers','','inherit','open','open','','2688-revision-v1','','','2014-07-15 13:26:52','2014-07-15 13:26:52','',2688,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2688-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2691,4,'2014-07-15 16:47:29','2014-07-15 16:47:29','If you are a service provider, you are probably really good at what you do. You are probably not so good at promoting yourself.  If,on the other hand, you are good at what you do and you know how to market yourself properly, you will have business coming out of your ears.\r\n\r\nI know because I deal with service providers---and I am one myself. Our first order of business should be to provide the best service possible. But our second order of business, and in order to keep business, is to market ourselves properly.\r\n\r\nHere are five easy and effective marketing tips:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Be ultra-professional</strong>. It should go without saying, but the most important thing a service provider can do is to provide good service and a good impression.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Be on time.</strong> Punctuality shows respect for your customer\'s time.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Honor your commitments</strong>. If you say you will do something, you must do it!</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Be straightforward.</strong> Is there an issue? Speak up.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Communicate</strong> what, how, why of what you are doing.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n2. <strong>Introduce yourself properly.</strong> When meeting with a customer, do not assume they know who you are. You don\'t have to provide your complete bio, but you should give your name and what you do. For example: \"Hi, I am Joe Smith. I am an AC tech with XYZ company and I will be checking your system today.\" Or: \"Hi, I am Gina, I will be teaching this beginner-level yoga class. \"\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Provide a leave-behind or take-with</strong>. It could be a brochure or a business card. It would be best if your materials have your website address and your website is good and up-to-date. You want to give the customer a way to contact you and to find out more about you.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Send a welcome/thank you letter, card or email.</strong> After you meet or provide service to your customer, send something! If you are an art studio, for example, and you just signed up a new art student, send the student a welcome note and any information the student might need. If you are a painter, and just finished painting your customer\'s house, send a thank you for your business card or email.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Ask for referrals.</strong> You should have a way to ask for referrals. You could simply have a line in your thank you letter saying that you appreciate referrals. You could provide a discount or a freebie for any referrals. For example, A teacher at the yoga studio I just started going to announced that if you bring a friend to the studio, you get a free class (mind you, the owner of the studio has done none of the steps above including not providing the bring-a-friend information).\r\n\r\nThese tips are meant to be the basic, everyday things you do for every customer, every time.  If you skip these steps, or only do one of them, you will miss out on simple opportunities that are already available to you.\r\n\r\nWould you add anything? If you are a service provider, what is your must-do marketing tip? Please share!\r\n<h4>Coming up on Thursday, week 2 of the summer challenge.</h4>\r\n&nbsp;','5 easy and effective marketing tips for service providers','','inherit','open','open','','2688-revision-v1','','','2014-07-15 16:47:29','2014-07-15 16:47:29','',2688,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2688-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2693,4,'2014-07-17 21:04:43','2014-07-17 21:04:43','I am fortunate to live right outside Washington, DC. Every summer, the area is invaded by hordes of tourists from across the US and from other countries. As a local, I often find it annoying to have to walk behind a slow group of tourists who are taking up the entire sidewalk or to have to battle with out-of-towners for elbow room at a new exhibit at the National Gallery.  But I need to remind myself that tourists are excited to be here, to see things they\'ve only read about and to get to know our nation\'s capital. They are a huge source of revenue for the area. And, they are getting to see things I may never get around to seeing.\r\n\r\nTo be a tourist requires curiosity. It requires advance planning and research but also the ability to grab an opportunity when you see it (free concert today at noon!). It requires learning how to get around. It requires a willingness to try new things.\r\n\r\nSo you see how being a tourist really requires some important skills to any communicator.\r\n\r\n<strong>Your challenge for this week is to be a tourist in your own town.</strong>\r\n\r\nI know that not everybody\'s hometown is Washington, DC, but every town has something to offer a visitor. If you are in a small town, it will be your challenge to figure out what that is. Why would anyone visit your town? And if they do visit, what do they do?\r\n\r\nHere\'s a few ways to be a tourist in your own town:\r\n\r\nGo online or call your local visitor\'s center or CVB (convention and visitor\'s bureau). Ask what the <strong>must-see attractions</strong> are. Check out at least one.  Or, pick up a tourist guide for your town.\r\n\r\nS<strong>pend a day walkin</strong>g around your town\'s downtown or main street. Walking...not driving.  Maybe take a side street you\'ve never been on.\r\n\r\nEat a <strong>meal at a new restauran</strong>t, somewhere you\'ve always wanted to try. (You could also go online to see what the top restaurants in your area are and choose one.)\r\n\r\nGo to a<strong> local park</strong>. Bring a picnic. Take a hike if appropriate. Perhaps you live near a river. What about renting a kayak or canoe?\r\n\r\n<strong>Take a tour led by a tour guide</strong>. Perhaps there\'s a specialized walking tour or an eating tour that you could check out. Don\'t know if they exist? Look it up!\r\n\r\nVisit a<strong> local brewery or winery</strong>. Take the tour, do the tasting.\r\n\r\nTake <strong>public transportation</strong>. If you already take public transportation, take a different method (if you always commute by train, take the bus or take a different route).\r\n\r\nWhen we live somewhere, we overlook what is there because we take it for granted. Sometimes, we don\'t even know what is there! By looking at our surroundings in a new way, we are seeing things differently. It may help boost your creativity or it may spark some new ideas.\r\n\r\nLet me know what you do! Tell me what town you played tourist in. Have fun exploring!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge: Be a tourist in your own town','','inherit','open','open','','2692-revision-v1','','','2014-07-17 21:04:43','2014-07-17 21:04:43','',2692,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2692-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2694,4,'2014-07-17 21:05:34','2014-07-17 21:05:34','I am fortunate to live right outside Washington, DC. Every summer, the area is invaded by hordes of tourists from across the US and from other countries. As a local, I often find it annoying to have to walk behind a slow group of tourists who are taking up the entire sidewalk or to have to battle with out-of-towners for elbow room at a new exhibit at the National Gallery.  But I need to remind myself that tourists are excited to be here, to see things they\'ve only read about and to get to know our nation\'s capital. They are a huge source of revenue for the area. And, they are getting to see things I may never get around to seeing.\r\n\r\nTo be a tourist requires curiosity. It requires advance planning and research but also the ability to grab an opportunity when you see it (free concert today at noon!). It requires learning how to get around. It requires a willingness to try new things.\r\n\r\nSo you see how being a tourist really requires some important skills to any communicator.\r\n\r\n<strong>Your challenge for this week is to be a tourist in your own town.</strong>\r\n\r\nI know that not everybody\'s hometown is Washington, DC, but every town has something to offer a visitor. If you are in a small town, it will be your challenge to figure out what that is. Why would anyone visit your town? And if they do visit, what do they do?\r\n\r\nHere\'s a few ways to be a tourist in your own town:\r\n\r\nGo online or call your local visitor\'s center or CVB (convention and visitor\'s bureau). Ask what the <strong>must-see attractions</strong> are. Check out at least one.  Or, pick up a tourist guide for your town.\r\n\r\nS<strong>pend a day walkin</strong>g around your town\'s downtown or main street. Walking...not driving.  Maybe take a side street you\'ve never been on.\r\n\r\nEat a <strong>meal at a new restauran</strong>t, somewhere you\'ve always wanted to try. (You could also go online to see what the top restaurants in your area are and choose one.)\r\n\r\nGo to a<strong> local park</strong>. Bring a picnic. Take a hike if appropriate. Perhaps you live near a river. What about renting a kayak or canoe?\r\n\r\n<strong>Take a tour led by a tour guide</strong>. Perhaps there\'s a specialized walking tour or an eating tour that you could check out. Don\'t know if they exist? Look it up!\r\n\r\nVisit a<strong> local brewery or winery</strong>. Take the tour, do the tasting.\r\n\r\nTake <strong>public transportation</strong>. If you already take public transportation, take a different method (if you always commute by train, take the bus or take a different route).\r\n\r\nWhen we live somewhere, we overlook what is there because we take it for granted. Sometimes, we don\'t even know what is there! By looking at our surroundings in a new way, we are seeing things differently. It may help boost your creativity or it may spark some new ideas.\r\n\r\nLet me know what you do! Tell me what town you played tourist in. Have fun exploring!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #2: Be a tourist in your own town','','inherit','open','open','','2692-revision-v1','','','2014-07-17 21:05:34','2014-07-17 21:05:34','',2692,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2692-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2708,4,'2014-08-05 12:42:49','0000-00-00 00:00:00','We can talk all we want about communications strategies and tactics, but if we don\'t master interpersonal communications, we aren\'t going to achieve any positive results. And in a sense, all of it, macro and micro communications, boils down to saying the right thing at the right time and in the right amount. Of course, \"right\" is subjective. What is right for one person may not be right for someone else.\r\n\r\nLet me give you some concrete examples of what I mean.\r\n\r\nGeneric LinkedIn invitations--saying too little\r\n\r\nI get two or three generic LinkedIn invitations every week, 99% of them are from people I don\'t know and/or have never met. Sometimes they know someone I know. Sometimes.  These people, whom I don\'t know, are incapable of giving me a reason for connecting. The say too little. If they threw in a line saying why they are interested in connecting, perhaps I would go ahead and accept their invitation.\r\n\r\nSaying too much\r\n\r\nLast week, I had an exchange on Twitter with someone I know who works at a nonprofit organization I have supported in the past. He was making some political statements that I didn\'t agree with, and asked him about it. He didn\'t answer my question, but rather launched into a barrage of tweets, which he publicized to his entire stream (put my handle at the end of the tweet). In a private message, I called him on his behavior. He then sent me six or seven direct messages defending himself. And then he re-tweeted one of my tweets to his stream, and hashtagged it. Predictably, one of his followers called me a \"hater\" based on this. I was irate. I wrote this person a two-line email pointing out that I was now being attacked online thanks to his use of Twitter. He wrote back a nine paragraph (long paragraphs too) email. Two lines from me elicited nine paragraphs of defensive and extraneous commentary from him.  He said too much. And he didn\'t say what I would have wanted him to say, that is, that he was sorry. Instead, he told me all about his rights to express himself, and how he only cares about what his partner thinks, and about his health issues, etc. etc. Way too much information. Way out of line. He made the whole thing worse.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Saying too much; saying too little','','draft','open','open','','','','','2014-08-05 12:42:49','2014-08-05 12:42:49','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2708',0,'post','',0),
(2697,4,'2014-07-24 13:36:51','2014-07-24 13:36:51','Are you happy with your social media presence? If so, then please feel free to ignore this post. If you want to improve your social media presence, this post is for you.\r\n\r\nNow, let\'s take a look at your social media presence and then decide if you need to clean up your act. It\'s my summer challenge to you!\r\n\r\nFirst, you may want to conduct a<strong> social media audit</strong> on yourself. A simple one would be to create a chart listing where you have social media presence, how many followers you have and how many posts you have in each channel. For more advanced audits, you may want to check out these articles:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-audit\" target=\"_blank\">The 15-Minute Social Media Audit Everyone Can Do</a>\r\n<p class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/04/auditing-social-media-content/\" target=\"_blank\">Auditing Your Social Media Content: 5 Issues to Tackle</a></p>\r\nGood. Now we know where you are.\r\n\r\nNow, here are some suggestions for where to  start \"cleaning up\" you social media:\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean up your bio.</strong> Do you describe yourself consistently across social media?Is it time to update your bio? Has anything changed, perhaps you have a new website/business/focus?\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean up your image</strong> (I mean your profile pic). Do you use the same image across social media channels? Is it a current picture? Is it flattering?\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean out your Twitter lists.</strong> Are you following the people you want to follow? Are there people that just clutter your stream with information you are not interested in? Perhaps it\'s time to unfollow.\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean out your RSS reader.</strong> Do you enjoy reading all the feeds in your RSS reader? No? Well then get rid of those that you don\'t enjoy.\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean out your LinkedIn connections.</strong> Are the people in your network people you know? Could you reach out and ask for an opinion, referral or coffee date? No? Maybe you need to cull down your contacts. Your network should be more about depth than about breadth.\r\n\r\nAgain, these are a few suggestions. You may find that you want to concentrate on just one social network, or think about your overall strategy. What would you clean up? Please tell me in the comments.\r\n\r\nHappy cleaning!','Summer challenge #3: Clean up your social media act','','publish','open','open','','summer-challenge-3-clean-up-your-social-media-act','','','2014-07-24 13:37:03','2014-07-24 13:37:03','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2697',0,'post','',1),
(2698,4,'2014-07-24 13:36:51','2014-07-24 13:36:51','Are you happy with your social media presence? If so, then please feel free to ignore this post. If you want to improve your social media presence, this post is for you.\r\n\r\nNow, let\'s take a look at your social media presence and then decide if you need to clean up your act. It\'s my summer challenge to you!\r\n\r\nFirst, you may want to conduct a<strong> social media audit</strong> on yourself. A simple one would be to create a chart listing where you have social media presence, how many followers you have and how many posts you have in each channel. For more advanced audits, you may want to check out these articles:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-audit\" target=\"_blank\">The 15-Minute Social Media Audit Everyone Can Do</a>\r\n<p class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/04/auditing-social-media-content/\" target=\"_blank\">Auditing Your Social Media Content: 5 Issues to Tackle</a></p>\r\nGood. Now we know where you are.\r\n\r\nNow, here are some suggestions for where to  start \"cleaning up\" you social media:\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean up your bio.</strong> Do you describe yourself consistently across social media?Is it time to update your bio? Has anything changed, perhaps you have a new website/business/focus?\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean up your image</strong> (I mean your profile pic). Do you use the same image across social media channels? Is it a current picture? Is it flattering?\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean out your Twitter lists.</strong> Are you following the people you want to follow? Are there people that just clutter your stream with information you are not interested in? Perhaps it\'s time to unfollow.\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean out your RSS reader.</strong> Do you enjoy reading all the feeds in your RSS reader? No? Well then get rid of those that you don\'t enjoy.\r\n\r\n<strong>Clean out your LinkedIn connections.</strong> Are the people in your network people you know? Could you reach out and ask for an opinion, referral or coffee date? No? Maybe you need to cull down your contacts. Your network should be more about depth than about breadth.\r\n\r\nAgain, these are a few suggestions. You may find that you want to concentrate on just one social network, or think about your overall strategy. What would you clean up? Please tell me in the comments.\r\n\r\nHappy cleaning!','Summer challenge #3: Clean up your social media act','','inherit','open','open','','2697-revision-v1','','','2014-07-24 13:36:51','2014-07-24 13:36:51','',2697,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2697-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2701,4,'2014-07-29 13:43:14','2014-07-29 13:43:14','Last week,  for my eight-week summer challenge post, I<a title=\"Summer challenge #3: Clean up your social media act\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/summer-challenge-3-clean-up-your-social-media-act/\"> challenged you to clean out your social media channels</a>, such as your RSS feeds. I did some cleaning myself, and I finally removed Mashable from my feeds. It\'s been there for a long time but I haven\'t been reading it for ages, and just marking everything as read without so much as scanning it.\r\n\r\nWhen I first started on Twitter several years ago, <a href=\"http://mashable.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mashable</a> was <em>the</em> source for how-to information and stats about Twitter. If you wanted to understand social media, you had to read Mashable. But in the past year or so, Mashable has become a source for all sorts of news. As I write this on Tuesday morning, some of the headlines on the site include these:\r\n\r\n\"At Least 22 Civilians Were Killed in Ukraine Today\"\r\n\r\n\"12 Simple Tweaks That Make Your Resume Easier to Review\"\r\n\r\n\"10 Heroic Women of World War I\"\r\n\r\nDo you see anything about about social media? Well, perhaps I scroll through the home page I could find a couple of articles about social media, but they are lost in the morass of lifestyle, career and general news articles. Some of these wide-ranging articles are potentially very interesting (and shareable), but not what I subscribed to Mashable for. And, to make matters worse, Mashable\'s feed was overwhelming. There were around 60 new articles each day.\r\n\r\nSo here are the two issues with Mashable\'s feed:\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Too much content</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>2. The \"wrong\" content</strong>\r\n\r\nIn fact, we see one or both issues crop up in what I consider ineffective content.\r\n\r\nWith the first issue, too much content, you are overwhelming your readers. You are giving them so much that they end up not reading any of it.  For example, I see this happening with Inc. Magazine\'s RSS feed.  Every day, there are dozens of new articles. Too much.\r\n\r\nWith the second issue, the \"wrong\" content, you are not providing readers with the content they want or need. I see this happening a lot, especially for websites/blogs that usually put out business/marketing advice and that are now peppering this information with self-help and self-improvement tales. Now, I have absolutely nothing against self-improvement, but I don\'t go to Marketing King John Doe to find out how to be happier or fitter.\r\n\r\n<strong>There\'s only one solution to these content issues and that is to respect your readers.</strong>\r\n\r\nYou don\'t want to overwhelm your readers, and you want to make sure to respect their time. Too much content makes it hard for them to figure out what is important, what they should read. You should further respect your readers by providing them with the information they want and need.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Are you swimming in a sea of content and looking for the nearest island?  Or are you finding just enough content and all of it relevant to you?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Two content issues (or why I no longer read Mashable)','','publish','open','open','','two-content-issues-or-why-i-no-longer-read-mashable','','\nhttp://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/summer-challenge-3-clean-up-your-social-media-act/','2014-07-29 13:46:09','2014-07-29 13:46:09','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2701',0,'post','',0),
(2702,4,'2014-07-29 13:43:14','2014-07-29 13:43:14','Last week,  for my eight-week summer challenge post, I<a title=\"Summer challenge #3: Clean up your social media act\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/summer-challenge-3-clean-up-your-social-media-act/\"> challenged you to clean out your social media channels</a>, such as your RSS feeds. I did some cleaning myself, and I finally removed Mashable from my feeds. It\'s been there for a long time but I haven\'t been reading it for ages, and just marking everything as read without so much as scanning it.\r\n\r\nWhen I first started on Twitter several years ago, Mashable was <em>the</em> source for how-to information and stats about Twitter. If you wanted to understand social media, you had to read Mashable. But in the past year or so, Mashable has become a source for all sorts of news. As I write this on Tuesday morning, some of the headlines on the site include these:\r\n\r\n\"At Least 22 Civilians Were Killed in Ukraine Today\"\r\n\r\n\"12 Simple Tweaks That Make Your Resume Easier to Review\"\r\n\r\n\"10 Heroic Women of World War I\"\r\n\r\nDo you see anything about about social media? Well, perhaps I scroll through the home page I could find a couple of articles about social media, but they are lost in the morass of lifestyle, career and general news articles. Some of these wide-ranging articles are potentially very interesting (and shareable), but not what I subscribed to Mashable for. And, to make matters worse, Mashable\'s feed was overwhelming. There were around 60 new articles each day.\r\n\r\nSo here are the two issues with Mashable\'s feed:\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Too much content</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>2. The \"wrong\" content</strong>\r\n\r\nIn fact, we see one or both issues crop up in what I consider ineffective content.\r\n\r\nWith the first issue, too much content, you are overwhelming your readers. You are giving them so much that they end up not reading any of it.  For example, I see this happening with Inc. Magazine\'s RSS feed.  Every day, there are dozens of new articles. Too much.\r\n\r\nWith the second issue, the \"wrong\" content, you are not providing readers with the content they want or need. I see this happening a lot, especially for websites/blogs that usually put out business/marketing advice and that are now peppering this information with self-help and self-improvement tales. Now, I have absolutely nothing against self-improvement, but I don\'t go to Marketing King John Doe to find out how to be happier or fitter.\r\n\r\n<strong>There\'s only one solution to these content issues and that is to respect your readers.</strong>\r\n\r\nYou don\'t want to overwhelm your readers, and you want to make sure to respect their time. Too much content makes it hard for them to figure out what is important, what they should read. You should further respect your readers by providing them with the information they want and need.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Are you swimming in a sea of content and looking for the nearest island?  Or are you finding just enough content and all of it relevant to you?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Two content issues (or why I no longer read Mashable)','','inherit','open','open','','2701-revision-v1','','','2014-07-29 13:43:14','2014-07-29 13:43:14','',2701,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2701-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2703,4,'2014-07-29 13:46:09','2014-07-29 13:46:09','Last week,  for my eight-week summer challenge post, I<a title=\"Summer challenge #3: Clean up your social media act\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/summer-challenge-3-clean-up-your-social-media-act/\"> challenged you to clean out your social media channels</a>, such as your RSS feeds. I did some cleaning myself, and I finally removed Mashable from my feeds. It\'s been there for a long time but I haven\'t been reading it for ages, and just marking everything as read without so much as scanning it.\r\n\r\nWhen I first started on Twitter several years ago, <a href=\"http://mashable.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mashable</a> was <em>the</em> source for how-to information and stats about Twitter. If you wanted to understand social media, you had to read Mashable. But in the past year or so, Mashable has become a source for all sorts of news. As I write this on Tuesday morning, some of the headlines on the site include these:\r\n\r\n\"At Least 22 Civilians Were Killed in Ukraine Today\"\r\n\r\n\"12 Simple Tweaks That Make Your Resume Easier to Review\"\r\n\r\n\"10 Heroic Women of World War I\"\r\n\r\nDo you see anything about about social media? Well, perhaps I scroll through the home page I could find a couple of articles about social media, but they are lost in the morass of lifestyle, career and general news articles. Some of these wide-ranging articles are potentially very interesting (and shareable), but not what I subscribed to Mashable for. And, to make matters worse, Mashable\'s feed was overwhelming. There were around 60 new articles each day.\r\n\r\nSo here are the two issues with Mashable\'s feed:\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Too much content</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>2. The \"wrong\" content</strong>\r\n\r\nIn fact, we see one or both issues crop up in what I consider ineffective content.\r\n\r\nWith the first issue, too much content, you are overwhelming your readers. You are giving them so much that they end up not reading any of it.  For example, I see this happening with Inc. Magazine\'s RSS feed.  Every day, there are dozens of new articles. Too much.\r\n\r\nWith the second issue, the \"wrong\" content, you are not providing readers with the content they want or need. I see this happening a lot, especially for websites/blogs that usually put out business/marketing advice and that are now peppering this information with self-help and self-improvement tales. Now, I have absolutely nothing against self-improvement, but I don\'t go to Marketing King John Doe to find out how to be happier or fitter.\r\n\r\n<strong>There\'s only one solution to these content issues and that is to respect your readers.</strong>\r\n\r\nYou don\'t want to overwhelm your readers, and you want to make sure to respect their time. Too much content makes it hard for them to figure out what is important, what they should read. You should further respect your readers by providing them with the information they want and need.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Are you swimming in a sea of content and looking for the nearest island?  Or are you finding just enough content and all of it relevant to you?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Two content issues (or why I no longer read Mashable)','','inherit','open','open','','2701-revision-v1','','','2014-07-29 13:46:09','2014-07-29 13:46:09','',2701,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2701-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2714,4,'2014-08-10 10:10:58','0000-00-00 00:00:00','(Or how to get what you want while maintaining good relationships with people.)\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen bunch of articles about how people are now refusing to take coffee meetings. Mostly, they seem to argue that they are a waste of time. And yes, oftentimes they are...but mostly because people don\'t practice the art of the coffee meeting. Yes, I think there\'s an art to it and most people are not aware of it.\r\n\r\nWhen people are not practicing the art of the coffee meeting, what they are doing is not being respectful and appreciative of the relationship they have with the person they are asking to the coffee date. But by being artful about it, you are actually making it more likely that not only may you get something you want from the meeting, but you will also maintain and even strengthen your relationship.\r\n\r\nWhen there is no art,  what often happens is that people just ask for something (let\'s meet for coffee so that I can \"pick your brain\") and then, having achieved what THEY want, they leave the other person used.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a few rules to asking for a meeting (coffee or otherwise) and there\'s a way to make it even better.\r\n\r\nSo, this past Friday, I had a coffee meeting. But it achieved nothing for either party. This is what happened: \"Jane\" contacted me through LinkedIn. She is someone I have met a couple of times before and who recently started a new job, in a different industry. She had been in PR, and I was not sure if she had been laid off from her PR job, and now wanted to get back in. I figured she was contacting me to discuss career stuff. Also, she made it seem as though she was looking to catch up, on a friendly basis. Well, after an hour and a half of chatting, it turns out Jane really wanted to sell me on her new financial planning business. Except she never asked. When we were saying goodbye, and I mentioned that it would be nice to have another chat, she hemmed and hawed. It became clear to me (finally) that she was not being friendly, but rather, very indirect in her search for new business.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #1: Be clear as to you intentions. Ask for what you want. Don\'t be opaque. Make it an art: Learn how to ask and be friendly at the same time.</strong>\r\n\r\nA couple years ago I got another note through LinkedIn from someone I had met once. She wondered if I had time to speak. She was very business-like and set up a half-hour. We spoke on the phone for exactly 30 minutes. To the point she cut me off telling me she had to go.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #2: Be respectful of people\'s time. If you say you want to talk for an hour, it better just be an hour. Make it an art: Determine the situation. If you have time, and the conversation is going well, perhaps you can run over and avoid cutting off a person).\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Art of the Coffee Meeting','','draft','open','open','','','','','2014-08-10 10:10:58','2014-08-10 14:10:58','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2714',0,'post','',0),
(2705,4,'2014-07-31 14:43:20','2014-07-31 14:43:20','Before you think I am going to challenge you to move more, let me clarify that this is a writing challenge, not a fitness challenge. I am talking about <strong>active voice</strong>. Originally, I wanted to name the post \"Be less passive,\" but that sounded a bit too negative.\r\n\r\nMost every writing teacher, and probably even your own English teacher in school, makes a point of telling students to avoid the passive voice. And yet, especially in business writing, we see people using passive voice without any measure. \"The company was founded by John Doe,\" they write. \"The management team will achieve its objectives by implementing long-standing traditions,\" they add. And on and on.\r\n\r\nPassive voice is dull. It\'s boring. You know why? Because it isn\'t active! Passive voice is the equivalent of the couch potato, who just sits around, staring mindlessly at the television. The couch potato often feels bored (and boring). The couch potato hasn\'t done much lately so he doesn\'t have much to say.\r\n\r\nActive voice is more like an athlete than a couch potato, and therefore, has far more energy and zest for life. Active voice is the runner while passive voice is the straggler. Active voice gets to the point much faster, while passive voice is busy drawing out its words.\r\n\r\nYou see why active voice gives your writing more punch. It makes it lively. It makes it more interesting.\r\n\r\nSo, challenge yourself to use the active voice as often as possible. Because really, do you want your writing to resemble a couch potato?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #4: Be more active','','publish','open','open','','summer-challenge-4-be-more-active','','','2014-07-31 14:43:48','2014-07-31 14:43:48','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2705',0,'post','',0),
(2706,4,'2014-07-31 14:43:20','2014-07-31 14:43:20','Before you think I am going to challenge you to move more, let me clarify that this is a writing challenge, not a fitness challenge. I am talking about <strong>active voice</strong>. Originally, I wanted to name the post \"Be less passive,\" but that sounded a bit too negative.\r\n\r\nMost every writing teacher, and probably even your own English teacher in school, makes a point of telling students to avoid the passive voice. And yet, especially in business writing, we see people using passive voice without any measure. \"The company was founded by John Doe,\" they write. \"The management team will achieve its objectives by implementing long-standing traditions,\" they add. And on and on.\r\n\r\nPassive voice is dull. It\'s boring. You know why? Because it isn\'t active! Passive voice is the equivalent of the couch potato, who just sits around, staring mindlessly at the television. The couch potato often feels bored (and boring). The couch potato hasn\'t done much lately so he doesn\'t have much to say.\r\n\r\nActive voice is more like an athlete than a couch potato, and therefore, has far more energy and zest for life. Active voice is the runner while passive voice is the straggler. Active voice gets to the point much faster, while passive voice is busy drawing out its words.\r\n\r\nYou see why active voice gives your writing more punch. It makes it lively. It makes it more interesting.\r\n\r\nSo, challenge yourself to use the active voice as often as possible. Because really, do you want your writing to resemble a couch potato?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #4: Be more active','','inherit','open','open','','2705-revision-v1','','','2014-07-31 14:43:20','2014-07-31 14:43:20','',2705,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/07/2705-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2709,4,'2014-08-05 12:42:49','2014-08-05 12:42:49','We can talk all we want about communications strategies and tactics, but if we don\'t master interpersonal communications, we aren\'t going to achieve any positive results. And in a sense, all of it, macro and micro communications, boils down to saying the right thing at the right time and in the right amount. Of course, \"right\" is subjective. What is right for one person may not be right for someone else.\r\n\r\nLet me give you some concrete examples of what I mean.\r\n\r\nGeneric LinkedIn invitations--saying too little\r\n\r\nI get two or three generic LinkedIn invitations every week, 99% of them are from people I don\'t know and/or have never met. Sometimes they know someone I know. Sometimes.  These people, whom I don\'t know, are incapable of giving me a reason for connecting. The say too little. If they threw in a line saying why they are interested in connecting, perhaps I would go ahead and accept their invitation.\r\n\r\nSaying too much\r\n\r\nLast week, I had an exchange on Twitter with someone I know who works at a nonprofit organization I have supported in the past. He was making some political statements that I didn\'t agree with, and asked him about it. He didn\'t answer my question, but rather launched into a barrage of tweets, which he publicized to his entire stream (put my handle at the end of the tweet). In a private message, I called him on his behavior. He then sent me six or seven direct messages defending himself. And then he re-tweeted one of my tweets to his stream, and hashtagged it. Predictably, one of his followers called me a \"hater\" based on this. I was irate. I wrote this person a two-line email pointing out that I was now being attacked online thanks to his use of Twitter. He wrote back a nine paragraph (long paragraphs too) email. Two lines from me elicited nine paragraphs of defensive and extraneous commentary from him.  He said too much. And he didn\'t say what I would have wanted him to say, that is, that he was sorry. Instead, he told me all about his rights to express himself, and how he only cares about what his partner thinks, and about his health issues, etc. etc. Way too much information. Way out of line. He made the whole thing worse.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Saying too much; saying too little','','inherit','open','open','','2708-revision-v1','','','2014-08-05 12:42:49','2014-08-05 12:42:49','',2708,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2708-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2711,4,'2014-08-07 11:39:37','2014-08-07 11:39:37','Do you do much reading? I do, but rarely do I read classic novels, instead I spend a lot of time reading Scandinavian detective novels (I\'ve read almost everything by Hakan Nesser, Camilla Lackberg, Stieg Larsson, Arnaldur Indridasson, and on and on.)\r\n\r\nBut this summer, my book group has given me a chance to read something classic I have always wanted to read:  <em>Their Eyes Were Watching God</em> by Zora Neale Hurston.  It was published in 1937, and centers around a strong, black female character (Janie Crawford).  It was not well received when Hurston published it, but it has become a must-read in American literature. The dialogue is challenging to read, but Hurston\'s descriptions and how she captures a very specific time and place are a delight.\r\n\r\nSome book characters become iconic and often-quoted. Some lines, such as the first line of Charles Dickens\' <em>Great Expectations</em> (\"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....\") or <em>Hamlet</em>\'s \"to be or not to be\" become instantly recognizable.\r\n\r\nFor many of us, we last read classic novels in college or high school. We were all forced to wade through tough books such as <em>Moby Dick</em> (and in my case, I had to read it at least twice, once in high school and then in college). But now I am grateful to have read all about Ahab and his search for the great white whale, if only because I know that Starbucks coffee is named after the Pequod\'s first officer Starbuck.\r\n\r\nWithout reading the great works, we miss a lot of references. We miss a lot of cultural knowledge. Reading classics exposes us to truly great writing, which stands up to time, in some cases, centuries (we are still reading Shakespeare after nearly 500 years).\r\n\r\nWhy not take the dog days of summer to read a classic that you have always wanted to read? That\'s my summer challenge to you!\r\n\r\nIf you need some ideas, here are a couple lists to help you choose:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/\" target=\"_blank\">The Modern Library\'s list of 100 Best Novels</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6677.html\" target=\"_blank\">The top classic books everybody should read from Indiana University</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://classiclit.about.com/od/englishmajor/tp/aatp_mustread.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Must Reads in Literature</a>\r\n\r\nMany thanks to Jay Morris, of <a href=\"http://jmcomllc.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jay Morris Communications, LLC,</a> who gave me the idea to offer a reading challenge.\r\n\r\nLet me know what you read and what you thought. Happy reading!','Summer challenge #5: Get classic','','publish','open','open','','summer-challenge-5-get-classic','','\nhttp://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/','2014-08-07 11:40:15','2014-08-07 11:40:15','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2711',0,'post','',0),
(2712,4,'2014-08-07 11:39:37','2014-08-07 11:39:37','Do you do much reading? I do, but rarely do I read classic novels, instead I spend a lot of time reading Scandinavian detective novels (I\'ve read almost everything by Hakan Nesser, Camilla Lackberg, Stieg Larsson, Arnadlur Indridasson, and on and on.)\r\n\r\nBut this summer, my book group has given me a chance to read something classic I have always wanted to read:  <em>Their Eyes Were Watching God</em> by Zora Neale Hurston.  It was published in 1937, and centers around a strong, black female character (Janie Crawford).  It was not well received when Hurston published it, but it has become a must-read in American literature. The dialogue is challenging to read, but Hurston\'s descriptions and how she captures a very specific time and place are a delight.\r\n\r\nSome book characters become iconic and often-quoted. Some lines, such as the first line of Charles Dickens\' <em>Great Expectations</em> (\"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....\") or <em>Hamlet</em>\'s \"to be or not to be\" become instantly recognizable.\r\n\r\nFor many of us, we last read classic novels in college or high school. We were all forced to wade through tough books such as <em>Moby Dick</em> (and in my case, I had to read it at least twice, once in high school and then in college). But now I am grateful to have read all about Ahab and his search for the great white whale, if only because I know that Starbucks coffee is named after the Pequod\'s first officer Starbuck.\r\n\r\nWithout reading the great works, we miss a lot of references. We miss a lot of cultural knowledge. Reading classics exposes us to truly great writing, which stands up to time, in some cases, centuries (we are still reading Shakespeare after nearly 500 years).\r\n\r\nWhy not take the dog days of summer to read a classic that you have always wanted to read? That\'s my summer challenge to you!\r\n\r\nIf you need some ideas, here are a couple lists to help you choose:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/\" target=\"_blank\">The Modern Library\'s list of 100 Best Novels</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6677.html\" target=\"_blank\">The top classic books everybody should read from Indiana University</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://classiclit.about.com/od/englishmajor/tp/aatp_mustread.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Must Reads in Literature</a>\r\n\r\nMany thanks to Jay Morris, of <a href=\"http://jmcomllc.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jay Morris Communications, LLC,</a> who gave me the idea to offer a reading challenge.\r\n\r\nLet me know what you read and what you thought. Happy reading!','Summer challenge #5: Get classic','','inherit','open','open','','2711-revision-v1','','','2014-08-07 11:39:37','2014-08-07 11:39:37','',2711,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2711-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2713,4,'2014-08-07 11:40:15','2014-08-07 11:40:15','Do you do much reading? I do, but rarely do I read classic novels, instead I spend a lot of time reading Scandinavian detective novels (I\'ve read almost everything by Hakan Nesser, Camilla Lackberg, Stieg Larsson, Arnaldur Indridasson, and on and on.)\r\n\r\nBut this summer, my book group has given me a chance to read something classic I have always wanted to read:  <em>Their Eyes Were Watching God</em> by Zora Neale Hurston.  It was published in 1937, and centers around a strong, black female character (Janie Crawford).  It was not well received when Hurston published it, but it has become a must-read in American literature. The dialogue is challenging to read, but Hurston\'s descriptions and how she captures a very specific time and place are a delight.\r\n\r\nSome book characters become iconic and often-quoted. Some lines, such as the first line of Charles Dickens\' <em>Great Expectations</em> (\"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....\") or <em>Hamlet</em>\'s \"to be or not to be\" become instantly recognizable.\r\n\r\nFor many of us, we last read classic novels in college or high school. We were all forced to wade through tough books such as <em>Moby Dick</em> (and in my case, I had to read it at least twice, once in high school and then in college). But now I am grateful to have read all about Ahab and his search for the great white whale, if only because I know that Starbucks coffee is named after the Pequod\'s first officer Starbuck.\r\n\r\nWithout reading the great works, we miss a lot of references. We miss a lot of cultural knowledge. Reading classics exposes us to truly great writing, which stands up to time, in some cases, centuries (we are still reading Shakespeare after nearly 500 years).\r\n\r\nWhy not take the dog days of summer to read a classic that you have always wanted to read? That\'s my summer challenge to you!\r\n\r\nIf you need some ideas, here are a couple lists to help you choose:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/\" target=\"_blank\">The Modern Library\'s list of 100 Best Novels</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6677.html\" target=\"_blank\">The top classic books everybody should read from Indiana University</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://classiclit.about.com/od/englishmajor/tp/aatp_mustread.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Must Reads in Literature</a>\r\n\r\nMany thanks to Jay Morris, of <a href=\"http://jmcomllc.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jay Morris Communications, LLC,</a> who gave me the idea to offer a reading challenge.\r\n\r\nLet me know what you read and what you thought. Happy reading!','Summer challenge #5: Get classic','','inherit','open','open','','2711-revision-v1','','','2014-08-07 11:40:15','2014-08-07 11:40:15','',2711,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2711-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2715,4,'2014-08-10 12:07:02','2014-08-10 12:07:02','(Or how to get what you want while maintaining good relationships with people.)\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen bunch of articles about how people are now refusing to take coffee meetings. Mostly, they seem to argue that they are a waste of time. And yes, oftentimes they are...but mostly because people don\'t practice the art of the coffee meeting. Yes, I think there\'s an art to it and most people are not aware of it. I am not sure if it\'s rudeness, cluelessness,  or perhaps just lack of knowledge.\r\n\r\nSo, this past Friday, I had a coffee meeting. But it achieved nothing for either party. This is what happened: \"Jane\" contacted me through LinkedIn. She is someone I have met a couple of times before and who recently started a new job, in a different industry. She had been in PR, and I was not sure if she had been laid off from her PR job, and now wanted to get back in. I figured she was contacting me to discuss career stuff. Also, she made it seem as though she was looking to catch up, on a friendly basis. Well, after an hour and a half of chatting, it turns out Jane really wanted to sell me on her new financial planning business. Except she never asked.','The Art of the Coffee Meeting','','inherit','open','open','','2714-revision-v1','','','2014-08-10 12:07:02','2014-08-10 12:07:02','',2714,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2714-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2716,4,'2014-08-10 12:13:56','2014-08-10 12:13:56','(Or how to get what you want while maintaining good relationships with people.)\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen bunch of articles about how people are now refusing to take coffee meetings. Mostly, they seem to argue that they are a waste of time. And yes, oftentimes they are...but mostly because people don\'t practice the art of the coffee meeting. Yes, I think there\'s an art to it and most people are not aware of it. I am not sure if it\'s rudeness, cluelessness,  or perhaps just lack of knowledge.\r\n\r\nSo, this past Friday, I had a coffee meeting. But it achieved nothing for either party. This is what happened: \"Jane\" contacted me through LinkedIn. She is someone I have met a couple of times before and who recently started a new job, in a different industry. She had been in PR, and I was not sure if she had been laid off from her PR job, and now wanted to get back in. I figured she was contacting me to discuss career stuff. Also, she made it seem as though she was looking to catch up, on a friendly basis. Well, after an hour and a half of chatting, it turns out Jane really wanted to sell me on her new financial planning business. Except she never asked. When we were saying goodbye, and I mentioned that it would be nice to have another chat, she hemmed and hawed. It became clear to me (finally) that she was not being friendly, but rather, very indirect in her search for new business.\r\n\r\nRule #1 in the art of the coffee meeting: Be clear as to you intentions. Ask for what you want. Don\'t be opaque. Instead of saying \"hey lets have coffee\" say \"I\'d like to see fi\r\n\r\nA couple years ago I got another note through LinkedIn (I guess this should be a clue)','The Art of the Coffee Meeting','','inherit','open','open','','2714-revision-v1','','','2014-08-10 12:13:56','2014-08-10 12:13:56','',2714,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2714-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2718,4,'2014-08-10 09:33:31','2014-08-10 13:33:31','(Or how to get what you want while maintaining good relationships with people.)\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen bunch of articles about how people are now refusing to take coffee meetings. Mostly, they seem to argue that they are a waste of time. And yes, oftentimes they are...but mostly because people don\'t practice the art of the coffee meeting. Yes, I think there\'s an art to it and most people are not aware of it.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a few rules to asking for a meeting (coffee or otherwise) and there\'s a way to make it even better.\r\n\r\nSo, this past Friday, I had a coffee meeting. But it achieved nothing for either party. This is what happened: \"Jane\" contacted me through LinkedIn. She is someone I have met a couple of times before and who recently started a new job, in a different industry. She had been in PR, and I was not sure if she had been laid off from her PR job, and now wanted to get back in. I figured she was contacting me to discuss career stuff. Also, she made it seem as though she was looking to catch up, on a friendly basis. Well, after an hour and a half of chatting, it turns out Jane really wanted to sell me on her new financial planning business. Except she never asked. When we were saying goodbye, and I mentioned that it would be nice to have another chat, she hemmed and hawed. It became clear to me (finally) that she was not being friendly, but rather, very indirect in her search for new business.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #1: Be clear as to you intentions. Ask for what you want. Don\'t be opaque. Make it an art: Learn how to ask and be friendly at the same time.</strong>\r\n\r\nA couple years ago I got another note through LinkedIn from someone I had met once. She wondered if I had time to speak. She was very business-like and set up a half-hour. We spoke on the phone for exactly 30 minutes. To the point she cut me off telling me she had to go.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #2: Be respectful of people\'s time. If you say you want to talk for an hour, it better just be an hour. Make it an art: Determine the situation. If you have time, and the conversation is going well, perhaps you can run over.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Art of the Coffee Meeting','','inherit','open','open','','2714-revision-v1','','','2014-08-10 09:33:31','2014-08-10 13:33:31','',2714,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2714-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2717,4,'2014-08-10 20:20:00','2014-08-10 12:20:00','(Or how to get what you want while maintaining good relationships with people.)\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen bunch of articles about how people are now refusing to take coffee meetings. Mostly, they seem to argue that they are a waste of time. And yes, oftentimes they are...but mostly because people don\'t practice the art of the coffee meeting. Yes, I think there\'s an art to it and most people are not aware of it. I am not sure if it\'s rudeness, cluelessness,  or perhaps just lack of knowledge.\r\n\r\nSo, this past Friday, I had a coffee meeting. But it achieved nothing for either party. This is what happened: \"Jane\" contacted me through LinkedIn. She is someone I have met a couple of times before and who recently started a new job, in a different industry. She had been in PR, and I was not sure if she had been laid off from her PR job, and now wanted to get back in. I figured she was contacting me to discuss career stuff. Also, she made it seem as though she was looking to catch up, on a friendly basis. Well, after an hour and a half of chatting, it turns out Jane really wanted to sell me on her new financial planning business. Except she never asked. When we were saying goodbye, and I mentioned that it would be nice to have another chat, she hemmed and hawed. It became clear to me (finally) that she was not being friendly, but rather, very indirect in her search for new business.\r\n\r\nRule #1 in the art of the coffee meeting: Be clear as to you intentions. Ask for what you want. Don\'t be opaque. Instead of saying \"hey lets have coffee\" say \"I\'d like to see fi\r\n\r\nA couple years ago I got another note through LinkedIn from someone I had met once. She wondered if I had time to speak. She was very business-like and set up a half-hour. We talked for exactly 30 minutes.\r\n\r\nRule #2: Be respectful of people\'s time. If you say you want to talk for an hour, it better just be an hour.\r\n\r\n(As an aside, in this second situation, although this woman was very time-bound, she did not follow rule#1. She never was clear as to her intentions, which, it turns out, was to see whether I, or anybody I knew, had use for her market research services.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, she did not follow rule #1. She didn\'t tell me what she wanted (which, as it turns out seems to be a pattern, was referrals for new business). She respected my time and hers','The Art of the Coffee Meeting','','inherit','open','open','','2714-revision-v1','','','2014-08-10 20:20:00','2014-08-10 12:20:00','',2714,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2714-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2719,4,'2014-08-10 09:58:25','2014-08-10 13:58:25','(Or how to get what you want while maintaining good relationships with people.)\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen bunch of articles about how people are now refusing to take coffee meetings. Mostly, they seem to argue that they are a waste of time. And yes, oftentimes they are...but mostly because people don\'t practice the art of the coffee meeting. Yes, I think there\'s an art to it and most people are not aware of it.\r\n\r\nWhen people are not practicing the art of the coffee meeting, what they are doing is not being respectful and appreciative of the relationship they have with the person they are asking to the coffee date. But by being artful about it, you are actually making it more likely that not only may you get something you want from the meeting, but you will also maintain and even strengthen your relationship.\r\n\r\nWhen there is no art,  what often happens is that people just ask for something (let\'s meet for coffee so that I can \"pick your brain\") and then, having achieved what THEY want, they leave the other person used.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a few rules to asking for a meeting (coffee or otherwise) and there\'s a way to make it even better.\r\n\r\nSo, this past Friday, I had a coffee meeting. But it achieved nothing for either party. This is what happened: \"Jane\" contacted me through LinkedIn. She is someone I have met a couple of times before and who recently started a new job, in a different industry. She had been in PR, and I was not sure if she had been laid off from her PR job, and now wanted to get back in. I figured she was contacting me to discuss career stuff. Also, she made it seem as though she was looking to catch up, on a friendly basis. Well, after an hour and a half of chatting, it turns out Jane really wanted to sell me on her new financial planning business. Except she never asked. When we were saying goodbye, and I mentioned that it would be nice to have another chat, she hemmed and hawed. It became clear to me (finally) that she was not being friendly, but rather, very indirect in her search for new business.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #1: Be clear as to you intentions. Ask for what you want. Don\'t be opaque. Make it an art: Learn how to ask and be friendly at the same time.</strong>\r\n\r\nA couple years ago I got another note through LinkedIn from someone I had met once. She wondered if I had time to speak. She was very business-like and set up a half-hour. We spoke on the phone for exactly 30 minutes. To the point she cut me off telling me she had to go.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #2: Be respectful of people\'s time. If you say you want to talk for an hour, it better just be an hour. Make it an art: Determine the situation. If you have time, and the conversation is going well, perhaps you can run over and avoid cutting off a person).\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Art of the Coffee Meeting','','inherit','open','open','','2714-revision-v1','','','2014-08-10 09:58:25','2014-08-10 13:58:25','',2714,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2714-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2720,4,'2014-08-10 10:10:58','2014-08-10 14:10:58','(Or how to get what you want while maintaining good relationships with people.)\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen bunch of articles about how people are now refusing to take coffee meetings. Mostly, they seem to argue that they are a waste of time. And yes, oftentimes they are...but mostly because people don\'t practice the art of the coffee meeting. Yes, I think there\'s an art to it and most people are not aware of it.\r\n\r\nWhen people are not practicing the art of the coffee meeting, what they are doing is not being respectful and appreciative of the relationship they have with the person they are asking to the coffee date. But by being artful about it, you are actually making it more likely that not only may you get something you want from the meeting, but you will also maintain and even strengthen your relationship.\r\n\r\nWhen there is no art,  what often happens is that people just ask for something (let\'s meet for coffee so that I can \"pick your brain\") and then, having achieved what THEY want, they leave the other person used.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a few rules to asking for a meeting (coffee or otherwise) and there\'s a way to make it even better.\r\n\r\nSo, this past Friday, I had a coffee meeting. But it achieved nothing for either party. This is what happened: \"Jane\" contacted me through LinkedIn. She is someone I have met a couple of times before and who recently started a new job, in a different industry. She had been in PR, and I was not sure if she had been laid off from her PR job, and now wanted to get back in. I figured she was contacting me to discuss career stuff. Also, she made it seem as though she was looking to catch up, on a friendly basis. Well, after an hour and a half of chatting, it turns out Jane really wanted to sell me on her new financial planning business. Except she never asked. When we were saying goodbye, and I mentioned that it would be nice to have another chat, she hemmed and hawed. It became clear to me (finally) that she was not being friendly, but rather, very indirect in her search for new business.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #1: Be clear as to you intentions. Ask for what you want. Don\'t be opaque. Make it an art: Learn how to ask and be friendly at the same time.</strong>\r\n\r\nA couple years ago I got another note through LinkedIn from someone I had met once. She wondered if I had time to speak. She was very business-like and set up a half-hour. We spoke on the phone for exactly 30 minutes. To the point she cut me off telling me she had to go.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rule #2: Be respectful of people\'s time. If you say you want to talk for an hour, it better just be an hour. Make it an art: Determine the situation. If you have time, and the conversation is going well, perhaps you can run over and avoid cutting off a person).\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Art of the Coffee Meeting','','inherit','open','open','','2714-revision-v1','','','2014-08-10 10:10:58','2014-08-10 14:10:58','',2714,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2714-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2722,4,'2014-08-14 09:20:10','2014-08-14 13:20:10','(Or, stop writing in \"jargonese\".)\r\n\r\nLook up<a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jargon\" target=\"_blank\"> jargon in Merriam-Webster</a> and you find three definitions:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">1) Confused, unintelligible language</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">2) Technical terminology of a special activity or group</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">3) Obscure, often pretentious language, marked by circumlocutions and long words.</p>\r\nThen l<a href=\"http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/jargon\" target=\"_blank\">ook it up in the Oxford Dictionary</a> and you find this:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"definition\">Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand</span></blockquote>\r\nUsing  jargon, especially in professional or academic writing, seems inevitable. Anybody who has glanced at a medical journal or a legal brief knows that doctors, scientists and lawyers love to use jargon (thinking about the<em> ex parte injunction brought forth by the complainant</em>). But then again, those people are talking to their peers, where there is an expectation and more importantly, <em>an understanding</em> of jargon.\r\n\r\nHowever, in business or marketing writing, where you are trying to communicate with a wide audience, jargon should have no place. You don\'t want people to have difficulty understanding you and you certainly don\'t want to come across as pretentious, do you?\r\n\r\nWell, I am here to challenge you to go jargon-free in you business/communication writing, or at least to become more aware of how much jargon you are using and to ask yourself if there is a better and plainer way of expressing yourself.\r\n\r\nDon\'t think you use much jargon? Check this out and tell me whether you haven\'t been guilty of incentivizing your readers to drill down to find the low hanging fruit to achieve buy-in from the C-suite:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/business-jargon-words-we-never-ever-want-to-hear-again/story-e6frfm9r-1226651466738\" target=\"_blank\">16 business jargon words we never, ever want to hear again</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.theofficelife.com/business-jargon-dictionary-A.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2012/01/26/the-most-annoying-pretentious-and-useless-business-jargon/\" target=\"_blank\">The Most Annoying, Pretentious and Useless Business Jargon</a>\r\n\r\nSo please, drop the pretense and write in English, at least for a summer challenge.  Your readers will thank you and your detractors will stop thinking you are a pompous ass.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #6: Make your writing understandable','','publish','open','open','','summer-challenge-6-make-your-writing-understandable','','','2014-08-14 09:20:10','2014-08-14 13:20:10','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2722',0,'post','',1),
(2723,4,'2014-08-14 09:20:10','2014-08-14 13:20:10','(Or, stop writing in \"jargonese\".)\r\n\r\nLook up<a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jargon\" target=\"_blank\"> jargon in Merriam-Webster</a> and you find three definitions:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">1) Confused, unintelligible language</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">2) Technical terminology of a special activity or group</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">3) Obscure, often pretentious language, marked by circumlocutions and long words.</p>\r\nThen l<a href=\"http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/jargon\" target=\"_blank\">ook it up in the Oxford Dictionary</a> and you find this:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"definition\">Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand</span></blockquote>\r\nUsing  jargon, especially in professional or academic writing, seems inevitable. Anybody who has glanced at a medical journal or a legal brief knows that doctors, scientists and lawyers love to use jargon (thinking about the<em> ex parte injunction brought forth by the complainant</em>). But then again, those people are talking to their peers, where there is an expectation and more importantly, <em>an understanding</em> of jargon.\r\n\r\nHowever, in business or marketing writing, where you are trying to communicate with a wide audience, jargon should have no place. You don\'t want people to have difficulty understanding you and you certainly don\'t want to come across as pretentious, do you?\r\n\r\nWell, I am here to challenge you to go jargon-free in you business/communication writing, or at least to become more aware of how much jargon you are using and to ask yourself if there is a better and plainer way of expressing yourself.\r\n\r\nDon\'t think you use much jargon? Check this out and tell me whether you haven\'t been guilty of incentivizing your readers to drill down to find the low hanging fruit to achieve buy-in from the C-suite:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/business-jargon-words-we-never-ever-want-to-hear-again/story-e6frfm9r-1226651466738\" target=\"_blank\">16 business jargon words we never, ever want to hear again</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.theofficelife.com/business-jargon-dictionary-A.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2012/01/26/the-most-annoying-pretentious-and-useless-business-jargon/\" target=\"_blank\">The Most Annoying, Pretentious and Useless Business Jargon</a>\r\n\r\nSo please, drop the pretense and write in English, at least for a summer challenge.  Your readers will thank you and your detractors will stop thinking you are a pompous ass.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #6: Make your writing understandable','','inherit','open','open','','2722-revision-v1','','','2014-08-14 09:20:10','2014-08-14 13:20:10','',2722,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2722-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2726,4,'2014-08-20 09:53:56','2014-08-20 13:53:56','A few years ago, I had a client who thought I had a special skill: mind reading. Unfortunately for both of us, I am not actually able to read minds. I can sense moods (anger, disapproval) but I can\'t actually know what a person is thinking unless that person decides to tell me. In the case of this client, I did not do what she was thinking I should do, and therefore, the relationship went south.\r\n\r\nYears later, reflecting on this client relations episode, I concluded that that particular client was passive-aggressive. She had high expectations, which she did not clearly articulate, and then was extremely disappointed when her staff and contracted personnel failed to meet those standards.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, passive-aggressive behavior has become standard for many. Instead of confronting a problem, they hope the other party will sense their disapproval. If you\'ve dealt with passive-aggressive people you know they will often pretend everything is OK but do things like procrastinate or give the wrong information in an effort to subvert your efforts. Or they will give you the silent treatment. (You may want to read: <a href=\"http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/communication-success/201401/how-spot-and-deal-passive-aggressive-people\" target=\"_blank\">How to Spot and Deal with Passive-Aggressive People</a> .)\r\n\r\nIn social media, we see a lot of passive-aggressive behavior. On Twitter, we see it in \"sub-tweeting,\" in which a tweet refers to a specific individual without identifying him/her. We see it in random complaints, designed solely to shame the company but not actually get the problem fixed. You know the type: \"My phone service sucks thanks to @companyIhate ... I should switch.\" Or there is the re-tweeting and hashtagging of someone\'s tweet, in order to embarrass or mock that person (I recently had this done to me and it resulted in getting a couple very ugly tweets from random strangers).\r\n\r\nRecently, I saw some truly remarkable passive-aggressive behavior on Twitter from someone busy live-tweeting her condo board\'s meeting. She tweeted her displeasure at everything discussed. Never mind the condo board is not on Twitter and that nobody would even know to look for the hashtag this Twitter user made up. I read her litany of tweets with complete astonishment. She was present in the room--why not speak up and address these issues with the people she was so angry with instead of showing (and recording for posterity) her mocking displeasure?\r\n\r\n<strong>My summer challenge to you is to drop the passive-aggressive behavior and be direct. If there is an actual issue, get it fixed.</strong> Yes, it may mean confronting someone directly. In some cases, it may mean going offline and using the telephone to call the dreaded customer service to deal with a problem. In the end, the problem will be aired out if not resolved completely.\r\n\r\nBefore you go to Twitter to air your problems, why not follow excellent advice from Paula Kiger on Spin Sucks: <a href=\"http://spinsucks.com/social-media/complain-on-twitter/\" target=\"_blank\">Four Questions to Ask Before You Complain on Twitter .</a>\r\n\r\nIf you are upset or angry at someone\'s actions, why not discuss it directly? Here are <a href=\"http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/06/04/5-tips-for-communicating-assertively-without-being-passive-aggressive/\" target=\"_blank\">5 Tips for Communicating Assertively Without Being Passive-Aggressive. </a>\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Have you been victimized by passive-aggressive behavior? Or do you engage in passive-aggressive behavior yourself? The truth is we have all been on the giving <em>and</em> the receiving end of passive-aggressive behavior. Let\'s try to stop the cycle.','Summer challenge # 7: Be direct and get it fixed','','publish','open','open','','summer-challenge-7-be-direct-and-get-it-fixed','','\nhttp://spinsucks.com/social-media/complain-on-twitter/','2014-08-20 16:55:03','2014-08-20 20:55:03','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2726',0,'post','',0),
(2727,4,'2014-08-20 09:53:56','2014-08-20 13:53:56','A few years ago, I had a client who thought I had a special skill: mind reading. Unfortunately for both of us, I am not actually able to read minds. I can sense moods (anger, disapproval) but I can\'t actually know what a person is thinking unless that person decides to tell me. In the case of this client, I did not do what she was thinking I should do, and therefore, the relationship went south.\r\n\r\nYears later, reflecting on this client relations episode, I concluded that that particular client was passive-aggressive. She had high expectations, which she did not clearly articulate, and then was extremely disappointed when her staff and contracted personnel failed to meet those standards.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, passive-aggressive behavior has become standard for many. Instead of confronting a problem, they hope the other party will sense their disapproval. If you\'ve dealt with passive-aggressive people you know they will often pretend everything is OK but do things like procrastinate or give the wrong information in an effort to subvert your efforts. Or they will give you the silent treatment. (You may want to read: <a href=\"http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/communication-success/201401/how-spot-and-deal-passive-aggressive-people\" target=\"_blank\">How to Spot and Deal with Passive-Aggressive People</a> .)\r\n\r\nIn social media, we see a lot of passive-aggressive behavior. On Twitter, we see it in \"sub-tweeting,\" in which a tweet refers to a specific individual without identifying him/her. We see it in random complaints, designed solely to shame the company but not actually get the problem fixed. You know the type: \"My phone service sucks thanks to @companyIhate ... I should switch.\" Or there is the re-tweeting and hashtagging of someone\'s tweet, in order to embarrass or mock that person (I recently had this done to me and it resulted in getting a couple very ugly tweets from random strangers).\r\n\r\nRecently, I saw some truly remarkable passive-aggressive behavior on Twitter from someone busy live-tweeting her condo board\'s meeting. She tweeted her displeasure at everything discussed. Never mind the condo board is not on Twitter and that nobody would even know to look for the hashtag this Twitter user made up. I read her litany of tweets with complete astonishment. She was present in the room--why not speak up and address these issues with the people she was so angry with instead of showing (and recording for posterity) her mocking displeasure?\r\n\r\n<strong>My summer challenge to you is to drop the passive-aggressive behavior and be direct. If there is an actual issue, get it fixed.</strong> Yes, it may mean confronting someone directly. In some cases, it may mean going offline and using the telephone to call the dreaded customer service to deal with a problem. In the end, the problem will be aired out if not resolved completely.\r\n\r\nBefore you go to Twitter to air your problems, why not follow excellent advice from Paula Kiger on Spin Sucks: <a href=\"http://spinsucks.com/social-media/complain-on-twitter/\" target=\"_blank\">Four Questions to Ask Before You Complain on Twitter .</a>\r\n\r\nIf you are upset or angry at someone\'s actions, why not discuss it directly? Here are <a href=\"http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/06/04/5-tips-for-communicating-assertively-without-being-passive-aggressive/\" target=\"_blank\">5 Tips for Communicating Assertively Without Being Passive-Aggressive. </a>\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Have you been victimized by passive-aggressive behavior? Or do you engage in passive-aggressive behavior yourself? The truth is we have all been on the giving <em>and</em> the receiving end of passive-aggressive behavior. Let\'s try to stop the cycle.','Summer Challenge # 7: Be direct and get it fixed','','inherit','open','open','','2726-revision-v1','','','2014-08-20 09:53:56','2014-08-20 13:53:56','',2726,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2726-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2728,4,'2014-08-20 16:55:03','2014-08-20 20:55:03','A few years ago, I had a client who thought I had a special skill: mind reading. Unfortunately for both of us, I am not actually able to read minds. I can sense moods (anger, disapproval) but I can\'t actually know what a person is thinking unless that person decides to tell me. In the case of this client, I did not do what she was thinking I should do, and therefore, the relationship went south.\r\n\r\nYears later, reflecting on this client relations episode, I concluded that that particular client was passive-aggressive. She had high expectations, which she did not clearly articulate, and then was extremely disappointed when her staff and contracted personnel failed to meet those standards.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, passive-aggressive behavior has become standard for many. Instead of confronting a problem, they hope the other party will sense their disapproval. If you\'ve dealt with passive-aggressive people you know they will often pretend everything is OK but do things like procrastinate or give the wrong information in an effort to subvert your efforts. Or they will give you the silent treatment. (You may want to read: <a href=\"http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/communication-success/201401/how-spot-and-deal-passive-aggressive-people\" target=\"_blank\">How to Spot and Deal with Passive-Aggressive People</a> .)\r\n\r\nIn social media, we see a lot of passive-aggressive behavior. On Twitter, we see it in \"sub-tweeting,\" in which a tweet refers to a specific individual without identifying him/her. We see it in random complaints, designed solely to shame the company but not actually get the problem fixed. You know the type: \"My phone service sucks thanks to @companyIhate ... I should switch.\" Or there is the re-tweeting and hashtagging of someone\'s tweet, in order to embarrass or mock that person (I recently had this done to me and it resulted in getting a couple very ugly tweets from random strangers).\r\n\r\nRecently, I saw some truly remarkable passive-aggressive behavior on Twitter from someone busy live-tweeting her condo board\'s meeting. She tweeted her displeasure at everything discussed. Never mind the condo board is not on Twitter and that nobody would even know to look for the hashtag this Twitter user made up. I read her litany of tweets with complete astonishment. She was present in the room--why not speak up and address these issues with the people she was so angry with instead of showing (and recording for posterity) her mocking displeasure?\r\n\r\n<strong>My summer challenge to you is to drop the passive-aggressive behavior and be direct. If there is an actual issue, get it fixed.</strong> Yes, it may mean confronting someone directly. In some cases, it may mean going offline and using the telephone to call the dreaded customer service to deal with a problem. In the end, the problem will be aired out if not resolved completely.\r\n\r\nBefore you go to Twitter to air your problems, why not follow excellent advice from Paula Kiger on Spin Sucks: <a href=\"http://spinsucks.com/social-media/complain-on-twitter/\" target=\"_blank\">Four Questions to Ask Before You Complain on Twitter .</a>\r\n\r\nIf you are upset or angry at someone\'s actions, why not discuss it directly? Here are <a href=\"http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/06/04/5-tips-for-communicating-assertively-without-being-passive-aggressive/\" target=\"_blank\">5 Tips for Communicating Assertively Without Being Passive-Aggressive. </a>\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Have you been victimized by passive-aggressive behavior? Or do you engage in passive-aggressive behavior yourself? The truth is we have all been on the giving <em>and</em> the receiving end of passive-aggressive behavior. Let\'s try to stop the cycle.','Summer challenge # 7: Be direct and get it fixed','','inherit','open','open','','2726-revision-v1','','','2014-08-20 16:55:03','2014-08-20 20:55:03','',2726,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2726-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2730,4,'2014-08-25 09:43:27','2014-08-25 13:43:27','It\'s back and entering its third year! The <strong>How to Write Your Blog: A Hands-on Workshop</strong> will take place in Washington, DC on September 18, 2014, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.\r\n\r\nIf you\'ve been struggling to get your blog going or your current blog is gathering dust, this workshop is for you.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nYou will learn:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Elements to include in every blog post</li>\r\n	<li>How to find blog post ideas</li>\r\n	<li>Types of blog posts you can write</li>\r\n	<li>How to make your blog work for your organization</li>\r\n	<li>What to include and what to avoid on your blog</li>\r\n	<li>How to write attention-grabbing headlines</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThrough exercises and discussion, we will come up with a direction for your blog and help you to write great blog posts.\r\n\r\nRegister by September 11 to get the early bird price of $85.\r\n\r\nGet more details and register at: <a href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-write-your-blog-a-hands-on-workshop-tickets-12689967033\" target=\"_blank\">https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com</a>','It\'s back! How to write your blog workshop on September 18','','publish','open','open','','its-back-how-to-write-your-blog-workshop-on-september-18','','','2014-09-18 15:17:20','2014-09-18 19:17:20','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2730',0,'post','',0),
(2731,4,'2014-08-25 09:43:27','2014-08-25 13:43:27','It\'s back and entering its third year! The <strong>How to Write Your Blog: A Hands-on Workshop</strong> will take place in Washington, DC on September 18, 2014, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.\r\n\r\nIf you\'ve been struggling to get your blog going or your current blog is gathering dust, this workshop is for you.\r\n\r\nYou will learn:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Elements to include in every blog post</li>\r\n	<li>How to find blog post ideas</li>\r\n	<li>Types of blog posts you can write</li>\r\n	<li>How to make your blog work for your organization</li>\r\n	<li>What to include and what to avoid on your blog</li>\r\n	<li>How to write attention-grabbing headlines</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThrough exercises and discussion, we will come up with a direction for your blog and help you to write great blog posts.\r\n\r\nRegister by September 11 to get the early bird price of $85.\r\n\r\nGet more details and register at: <a href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-write-your-blog-a-hands-on-workshop-tickets-12689967033\" target=\"_blank\">https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com</a>','It\'s back! How to write your blog workshop on September 18','','inherit','open','open','','2730-revision-v1','','','2014-08-25 09:43:27','2014-08-25 13:43:27','',2730,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2730-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2738,4,'2014-09-04 09:16:41','2014-09-04 13:16:41','One of the houses in my neighborhood has recently gone up for sale. I presume it did anyway because this is the sign that went up in front of the house:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20140903_140136.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2739\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20140903_140136-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"20140903_140136\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe\'ve all seen for sale signs in front of homes. They generally look like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2740\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9421165069_43ba87b0f5_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2740\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9421165069_43ba87b0f5_z-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Boost the Market Value of Your Home&quot; by Dan Moyle on Flickr\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" /></a> \"Boost the Market Value of Your Home\" by Dan Moyle on Flickr[/caption]\r\n\r\nNotice anything different between these signs?\r\n\r\nIt seems that this is a case where a company is so anxious to have their format look different than the competition that it forgets about the function.\r\n\r\nYou can barely make out the telephone number and website of the realtor in the sign at the top. In fact, you\'d probably have to drive right up to the sign (and perhaps that is the intent). Also, the sign at the top does not have the words \"for sale\" anywhere on it. Someone passing by does not know if the house has already been sold or if it is for rent.\r\n\r\nSo the next time you are itching to change your graphic identity, remember that you need both form and function. <strong>If you don\'t consider what the piece is for, and how people will interact with it, you won\'t be doing a good job of communicating.</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Does having a real estate sign that looks markedly different than others make your home stand out?','You need both form and function','','publish','open','open','','you-need-both-form-and-function','','','2014-09-04 09:16:41','2014-09-04 13:16:41','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2738',0,'post','',0),
(2734,4,'2014-08-27 09:31:51','2014-08-27 13:31:51','Here we are, in the last week of August, and Labor Day is upon us. This means that summer is \"officially\" over, and so is the summer challenge series.\r\n\r\nThere\'s been a lot of chatter over the past couple of months about social media being addictive. Huffington Post UK has an <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/20/social-media-addict-digital-detox_n_5693987.html\" target=\"_blank\">article that states that quitting Facebook and Twitter is harder to do than quitting smoking! </a>\r\n\r\nCBS News, in the article <a href=\"http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-real-a-risk-is-social-media-addiction/\" target=\"_blank\">\"How real a risk is social media addiction,\"</a> shares that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has defined a \"Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).\" The article states:\r\n<blockquote>Symptoms for Internet addiction can be similar to addiction to anything else, and fall into two types of behaviors: an ever increasing need to engage with the object of the addiction, and a bad feeling when not getting enough of it.</blockquote>\r\nI feel that I check Facebook and Twitter way too often. Is it bad? Here are 1<a href=\"http://www.business2community.com/social-media/10-signs-time-take-break-social-media-self-0940327#!bK3S6u\" target=\"_blank\">0 Signs It\'s Time to Take a Break from your Social Media Self.</a> Do any of those ring true to you? In my case, I think Twitter definitely impacts my productivity.\r\n\r\n<strong>My final summer challenge to you is to take a break from social media.</strong> I don\'t mean quit it completely, but just take a few days off and see how you fare. With a three-day weekend ahead, now is the perfect time to do it. Why take time to be on social media when you can be social in real life?\r\n\r\nForbes has a helpful article (<a href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/06/need-a-break-from-social-media-heres-why-you-should-take-one/\" target=\"_blank\">Need a Break from Social Media?</a> ) that concludes that taking a break from social media can help your productivity and impact in the long run, and even provides three steps for how to do it.\r\n\r\nI am pledging right now to be off Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for all of the Labor Day Weekend. If you see me post, get on my case! Will you join me?\r\n\r\nHave a fantastic Labor Day Weekend, and make the most of the last few days of \"official\" summer!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #8 (final!): Take a (social media) break','','publish','open','open','','summer-challenge-8-final-take-a-social-media-break','','','2014-08-27 09:31:51','2014-08-27 13:31:51','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2734',0,'post','',0),
(2735,4,'2014-08-27 09:31:51','2014-08-27 13:31:51','Here we are, in the last week of August, and Labor Day is upon us. This means that summer is \"officially\" over, and so is the summer challenge series.\r\n\r\nThere\'s been a lot of chatter over the past couple of months about social media being addictive. Huffington Post UK has an <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/20/social-media-addict-digital-detox_n_5693987.html\" target=\"_blank\">article that states that quitting Facebook and Twitter is harder to do than quitting smoking! </a>\r\n\r\nCBS News, in the article <a href=\"http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-real-a-risk-is-social-media-addiction/\" target=\"_blank\">\"How real a risk is social media addiction,\"</a> shares that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has defined a \"Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).\" The article states:\r\n<blockquote>Symptoms for Internet addiction can be similar to addiction to anything else, and fall into two types of behaviors: an ever increasing need to engage with the object of the addiction, and a bad feeling when not getting enough of it.</blockquote>\r\nI feel that I check Facebook and Twitter way too often. Is it bad? Here are 1<a href=\"http://www.business2community.com/social-media/10-signs-time-take-break-social-media-self-0940327#!bK3S6u\" target=\"_blank\">0 Signs It\'s Time to Take a Break from your Social Media Self.</a> Do any of those ring true to you? In my case, I think Twitter definitely impacts my productivity.\r\n\r\n<strong>My final summer challenge to you is to take a break from social media.</strong> I don\'t mean quit it completely, but just take a few days off and see how you fare. With a three-day weekend ahead, now is the perfect time to do it. Why take time to be on social media when you can be social in real life?\r\n\r\nForbes has a helpful article (<a href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/06/need-a-break-from-social-media-heres-why-you-should-take-one/\" target=\"_blank\">Need a Break from Social Media?</a> ) that concludes that taking a break from social media can help your productivity and impact in the long run, and even provides three steps for how to do it.\r\n\r\nI am pledging right now to be off Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for all of the Labor Day Weekend. If you see me post, get on my case! Will you join me?\r\n\r\nHave a fantastic Labor Day Weekend, and make the most of the last few days of \"official\" summer!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Summer challenge #8 (final!): Take a (social media) break','','inherit','open','open','','2734-revision-v1','','','2014-08-27 09:31:51','2014-08-27 13:31:51','',2734,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2734-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2736,4,'2014-08-27 14:20:34','2014-08-27 18:20:34','It\'s back and entering its third year! The <strong>How to Write Your Blog: A Hands-on Workshop</strong> will take place in Washington, DC on September 18, 2014, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.\r\n\r\nIf you\'ve been struggling to get your blog going or your current blog is gathering dust, this workshop is for you.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nYou will learn:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Elements to include in every blog post</li>\r\n	<li>How to find blog post ideas</li>\r\n	<li>Types of blog posts you can write</li>\r\n	<li>How to make your blog work for your organization</li>\r\n	<li>What to include and what to avoid on your blog</li>\r\n	<li>How to write attention-grabbing headlines</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThrough exercises and discussion, we will come up with a direction for your blog and help you to write great blog posts.\r\n\r\nRegister by September 11 to get the early bird price of $85.\r\n\r\nGet more details and register at: <a href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-write-your-blog-a-hands-on-workshop-tickets-12689967033\" target=\"_blank\">https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com</a>','It\'s back! How to write your blog workshop on September 18','','inherit','open','open','','2730-revision-v1','','','2014-08-27 14:20:34','2014-08-27 18:20:34','',2730,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/08/2730-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2739,4,'2014-09-04 09:05:07','2014-09-04 13:05:07','','20140903_140136','','inherit','open','open','','20140903_140136','','','2014-09-04 09:05:07','2014-09-04 13:05:07','',2738,'http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20140903_140136.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),
(2740,4,'2014-09-04 09:05:52','2014-09-04 13:05:52','','9421165069_43ba87b0f5_z','\"Boost the Market Value of Your Home\" by Dan Moyle on Flickr','inherit','open','open','','9421165069_43ba87b0f5_z','','','2014-09-04 09:05:52','2014-09-04 13:05:52','',2738,'http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9421165069_43ba87b0f5_z.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),
(2741,4,'2014-09-04 09:16:41','2014-09-04 13:16:41','One of the houses in my neighborhood has recently gone up for sale. I presume it did anyway because this is the sign that went up in front of the house:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20140903_140136.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2739\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20140903_140136-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"20140903_140136\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe\'ve all seen for sale signs in front of homes. They generally look like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2740\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9421165069_43ba87b0f5_z.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2740\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9421165069_43ba87b0f5_z-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Boost the Market Value of Your Home&quot; by Dan Moyle on Flickr\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" /></a> \"Boost the Market Value of Your Home\" by Dan Moyle on Flickr[/caption]\r\n\r\nNotice anything different between these signs?\r\n\r\nIt seems that this is a case where a company is so anxious to have their format look different than the competition that it forgets about the function.\r\n\r\nYou can barely make out the telephone number and website of the realtor in the sign at the top. In fact, you\'d probably have to drive right up to the sign (and perhaps that is the intent). Also, the sign at the top does not have the words \"for sale\" anywhere on it. Someone passing by does not know if the house has already been sold or if it is for rent.\r\n\r\nSo the next time you are itching to change your graphic identity, remember that you need both form and function. <strong>If you don\'t consider what the piece is for, and how people will interact with it, you won\'t be doing a good job of communicating.</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Does having a real estate sign that looks markedly different than others make your home stand out?','You need both form and function','','inherit','open','open','','2738-revision-v1','','','2014-09-04 09:16:41','2014-09-04 13:16:41','',2738,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2738-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2742,4,'2014-09-10 09:32:42','2014-09-10 13:32:42','It seems that there is a new breed of call-to-action/pop-up ad that is seeking to shame you into an action and insult you if you choose not to take that action. I am not sure if it\'s a trend, or there\'s one provider that everyone is using for these, but lately I have seen them on several different organizational blogs.\r\n\r\nWhat is happening is that you will attempt to go to a blog post and before you can read the post, a large pop-up appears. The pop-up will usually be asking you subscribe to a newsletter and will be forcing you to choose between two options (one to favor the action and the other to <em>oppose</em> it), since there is no way to close the pop-up otherwise.\r\n\r\nThe yes option will be intensely positive. It will say something like this: Yes, sign me up for your newsletter since I care about the Earth and will do my utmost to help keep it clean. *\r\n\r\nThe no option will be oppositional. It will say something like this: No, I don\'t care about the Earth at all. I won\'t lift a finger to help keep it clean.*\r\n\r\n<address>*These are made-up examples but they mirror what I have been seeing on blogs and websites for various organizations.</address>&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMore traditional calls to action will provide two options that are more subdued and straightforward, something like  \"Yes, I\'d like to (subscribe, vote, etc.)\" and \"No thanks.\"\r\n\r\nObviously, just because you don\'t want to sign-up for a newsletter does not mean you do not care about the subject. Perhaps you don\'t want another newsletter. Perhaps you want to read the blog post before you make a decision. But yet you are being asked, by clicking on that negative option, to affirm that you believe or support that very negative sentence.\r\n\r\nThis a trend that should disappear and quick.<strong> Insulting and shaming people to support your cause, even if it is a great cause, is a form of bullying</strong>. Bullying your readers is never a good idea.\r\n\r\nHave you seen these? What are your thoughts?\r\n<h3>Improve your blogging! Come to the How to Write Your Blog workshop next week, on September 18, in Washington, DC. More details and registration here: <a href=\"https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com\" target=\"_blank\">https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com</a></h3>\r\n&nbsp;','Adding insult','','publish','open','open','','adding-insult','','','2014-09-10 09:32:42','2014-09-10 13:32:42','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2742',0,'post','',1),
(2743,4,'2014-09-10 09:31:47','2014-09-10 13:31:47','It seems that there is a new breed of call-to-action/pop-up ad that is seeking to shame you into an action and insult you if you choose not to take that action. I am not sure if it\'s a trend, or there\'s one provider that everyone is using for these, but lately I have seen them on several different organizational blogs.\r\n\r\nWhat is happening is that you will attempt to go to a blog post and before you can read the post, a large pop-up appears. The pop-up will usually be asking you subscribe to a newsletter and will be forcing you to choose between two options (one to favor the action and the other to <em>oppose</em> it), since there is no way to close the pop-up otherwise.\r\n\r\nThe yes option will be intensely positive. It will say something like this: Yes, sign me up for your newsletter since I care about the Earth and will do my utmost to help keep it clean. *\r\n\r\nThe no option will be oppositional. It will say something like this: No, I don\'t care about the Earth at all. I won\'t lift a finger to help keep it clean.*\r\n\r\n<address>*These are made-up examples but they mirror what I have been seeing on blogs and websites for various organizations.</address>More traditional calls to action will provide two options that are more subdued and straightforward, something like  \"Yes, I\'d like to (subscribe, vote, etc.)\" and \"No thanks.\"\r\n\r\nObviously, just because you don\'t want to sign-up for a newsletter does not mean you do not care about the subject. Perhaps you don\'t want another newsletter. Perhaps you want to read the blog post before you make a decision. But yet you are being asked, by clicking on that negative option, to affirm that you believe or support that very negative sentence.\r\n\r\nThis a trend that should disappear and quick.<strong> Insulting and shaming people to support your cause, even if it is a great cause,  is a form of bullying</strong>. Bullying your readers is never a good idea.\r\n\r\nHave you seen these? What are your thoughts?\r\n<h3>Improve your blogging! Come to the How to Write Your Blog workshop next week, on September 18, in Washington, DC. More details and registration here: <a href=\"https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com\" target=\"_blank\">https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com</a></h3>\r\n&nbsp;','Adding insult','','inherit','open','open','','2742-revision-v1','','','2014-09-10 09:31:47','2014-09-10 13:31:47','',2742,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2742-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2744,4,'2014-09-10 09:32:42','2014-09-10 13:32:42','It seems that there is a new breed of call-to-action/pop-up ad that is seeking to shame you into an action and insult you if you choose not to take that action. I am not sure if it\'s a trend, or there\'s one provider that everyone is using for these, but lately I have seen them on several different organizational blogs.\r\n\r\nWhat is happening is that you will attempt to go to a blog post and before you can read the post, a large pop-up appears. The pop-up will usually be asking you subscribe to a newsletter and will be forcing you to choose between two options (one to favor the action and the other to <em>oppose</em> it), since there is no way to close the pop-up otherwise.\r\n\r\nThe yes option will be intensely positive. It will say something like this: Yes, sign me up for your newsletter since I care about the Earth and will do my utmost to help keep it clean. *\r\n\r\nThe no option will be oppositional. It will say something like this: No, I don\'t care about the Earth at all. I won\'t lift a finger to help keep it clean.*\r\n\r\n<address>*These are made-up examples but they mirror what I have been seeing on blogs and websites for various organizations.</address>&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMore traditional calls to action will provide two options that are more subdued and straightforward, something like  \"Yes, I\'d like to (subscribe, vote, etc.)\" and \"No thanks.\"\r\n\r\nObviously, just because you don\'t want to sign-up for a newsletter does not mean you do not care about the subject. Perhaps you don\'t want another newsletter. Perhaps you want to read the blog post before you make a decision. But yet you are being asked, by clicking on that negative option, to affirm that you believe or support that very negative sentence.\r\n\r\nThis a trend that should disappear and quick.<strong> Insulting and shaming people to support your cause, even if it is a great cause, is a form of bullying</strong>. Bullying your readers is never a good idea.\r\n\r\nHave you seen these? What are your thoughts?\r\n<h3>Improve your blogging! Come to the How to Write Your Blog workshop next week, on September 18, in Washington, DC. More details and registration here: <a href=\"https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com\" target=\"_blank\">https://howtowriteyourblog918.eventbrite.com</a></h3>\r\n&nbsp;','Adding insult','','inherit','open','open','','2742-revision-v1','','','2014-09-10 09:32:42','2014-09-10 13:32:42','',2742,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2742-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2745,4,'2014-09-10 16:28:22','2014-09-10 20:28:22','In case you\'ve missed a newsletter, just check this archive:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/f95d35\" target=\"_blank\">September 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/c3e405\" target=\"_blank\">July 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://mad.ly/3625c4\" target=\"_blank\">April 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"February newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/dc2584\" target=\"_blank\">February 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"December 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/bb9454\" target=\"_blank\">December 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"October 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/f27424\" target=\"_blank\">October 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"July 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/eb30f3\" target=\"_blank\">July 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"May 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/9003c3\" target=\"_blank\">May 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"March 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/d82a93\" target=\"_blank\">March 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"January 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/a12873\" target=\"_blank\">January 2013</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Newsletters','','inherit','open','open','','2509-revision-v1','','','2014-09-10 16:28:22','2014-09-10 20:28:22','',2509,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2509-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2747,4,'2014-09-16 09:29:20','2014-09-16 13:29:20','Have you ever regretted saying something on social media? Or has something you posted on social media come back to haunt you \"in real life?\" Do you wish you could say what you really think but fear the consequences?\r\n\r\nSocial media seems to occupy a unique position of being virtual yet connecting real people in real relationships. We can broadcast our thoughts instantly, to thousands (or millions) of people around the world, while still having to be careful about the relationships we have in real life (IRL) with some of our connections.\r\n\r\nIs everybody in your Facebook world your friend or family member? Chances are you have a fair number of other relationships on Facebook--co-workers, professional acquaintances, people you knew in high school/college, people you met on Twitter, and so on.  Do you want to share everything with everybody or do you wish you could pick and choose? If you don\'t want to share something with a certain person in your Facebook, why are you \"friends\" with him or her?\r\n\r\nSometimes, you see people in real life (at professional events, etc.)  and feel forced to maintain a \"Facebook friendship.\" Unfriending on Facebook is a strange phenomenon, especially since most people use it to communicate that they no longer consider you to be in their social circle (although some people think of unfriending as simply reducing the number of people that they need to read feeds from).\r\n\r\n<strong>Not a friend, just an acquaintance</strong>\r\n\r\nBut wait, Facebook has an answer! You can designate people as \"acquaintances\" and then when you post you can choose to share with \"friends, except acquaintances.\" I just learned about this feature (and I am not sure how long it\'s been around). Clearly, many people are trying to separate close friends from acquaintances while becoming \"Facebook friends\" with anybody that asks.\r\n\r\n<strong>But what about friends/acquaintances who say annoying things?</strong>\r\n\r\nFacebook has had a \"hide\" feature for years. Twitter recently created a way to maintain ties with people you don\'t want to hear from. It\'s the mute button. Now, you can simply mute people you don\'t really care for while still following them.\r\n\r\n<strong>So can I say what I think?</strong>\r\n\r\nAnd then there is what we say or don\'t say. Should we say what we really think or should we be more politic? There was a recent poll that found people are not expressing their opinions freely on social media any more. I can see why. We don\'t want to offend and more importantly, we don\'t want to be attacked. There are many \"trolls,\" that is  people in social media who make it their business to be on the attack. They actively seek confrontation and are often very nasty. Or there are those people who are always arguing with you on Facebook or Twitter. If you say white, they will say black. Does every opinion need a counter-opinion?\r\n\r\n<strong>Is self-censorship the answer to all these social media conundrums?</strong>\r\n\r\nI think that at times you should follow the adage that if you have nothing good to say, don\'t say it. For example, if someone posts a picture of his/her baby, and you don\'t think the child is terribly cute, do you share your thoughts? Probably very wise to keep that opinion to yourself.\r\n\r\nSocial media seems to have made it difficult for people to understand that their words have real consequences. That you can insult and offend virtually. People routinely express their negative opinions. They don\'t like the restaurant you recently went to (and raved about), so they share their thoughts saying that it was disgusting, the food was gross, they got sick (you get the picture). They disagree with an article you shared, they tell you how stupid the author is, how ridiculous anybody is for having that opinion. And on and on.\r\n\r\nThere is no one correct way to do social media. Some people will always be offended and some people won\'t care. To some, social media is a place to cultivate relationships and to some, it is just a place to promote their product or business.\r\n\r\nI think it is always best to think about what you are going to say before you say it: Is it necessary? Does it add value to the conversation? Is it something you care about deeply? Will it make a difference? Will it hurt the other person? Does it really matter?\r\n\r\nPerhaps it is not self-censorship we need as much as a <strong>pause and think moment.</strong> Too bad there isn\'t a built-in feature for that on Twitter and Facebook.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is self-censorship the answer?','','publish','open','open','','is-self-censorship-the-answer','','','2014-09-16 09:29:20','2014-09-16 13:29:20','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2747',0,'post','',1),
(2749,4,'2014-09-16 09:29:20','2014-09-16 13:29:20','Have you ever regretted saying something on social media? Or has something you posted on social media come back to haunt you \"in real life?\" Do you wish you could say what you really think but fear the consequences?\r\n\r\nSocial media seems to occupy a unique position of being virtual yet connecting real people in real relationships. We can broadcast our thoughts instantly, to thousands (or millions) of people around the world, while still having to be careful about the relationships we have in real life (IRL) with some of our connections.\r\n\r\nIs everybody in your Facebook world your friend or family member? Chances are you have a fair number of other relationships on Facebook--co-workers, professional acquaintances, people you knew in high school/college, people you met on Twitter, and so on.  Do you want to share everything with everybody or do you wish you could pick and choose? If you don\'t want to share something with a certain person in your Facebook, why are you \"friends\" with him or her?\r\n\r\nSometimes, you see people in real life (at professional events, etc.)  and feel forced to maintain a \"Facebook friendship.\" Unfriending on Facebook is a strange phenomenon, especially since most people use it to communicate that they no longer consider you to be in their social circle (although some people think of unfriending as simply reducing the number of people that they need to read feeds from).\r\n\r\n<strong>Not a friend, just an acquaintance</strong>\r\n\r\nBut wait, Facebook has an answer! You can designate people as \"acquaintances\" and then when you post you can choose to share with \"friends, except acquaintances.\" I just learned about this feature (and I am not sure how long it\'s been around). Clearly, many people are trying to separate close friends from acquaintances while becoming \"Facebook friends\" with anybody that asks.\r\n\r\n<strong>But what about friends/acquaintances who say annoying things?</strong>\r\n\r\nFacebook has had a \"hide\" feature for years. Twitter recently created a way to maintain ties with people you don\'t want to hear from. It\'s the mute button. Now, you can simply mute people you don\'t really care for while still following them.\r\n\r\n<strong>So can I say what I think?</strong>\r\n\r\nAnd then there is what we say or don\'t say. Should we say what we really think or should we be more politic? There was a recent poll that found people are not expressing their opinions freely on social media any more. I can see why. We don\'t want to offend and more importantly, we don\'t want to be attacked. There are many \"trolls,\" that is  people in social media who make it their business to be on the attack. They actively seek confrontation and are often very nasty. Or there are those people who are always arguing with you on Facebook or Twitter. If you say white, they will say black. Does every opinion need a counter-opinion?\r\n\r\n<strong>Is self-censorship the answer to all these social media conundrums?</strong>\r\n\r\nI think that at times you should follow the adage that if you have nothing good to say, don\'t say it. For example, if someone posts a picture of his/her baby, and you don\'t think the child is terribly cute, do you share your thoughts? Probably very wise to keep that opinion to yourself.\r\n\r\nSocial media seems to have made it difficult for people to understand that their words have real consequences. That you can insult and offend virtually. People routinely express their negative opinions. They don\'t like the restaurant you recently went to (and raved about), so they share their thoughts saying that it was disgusting, the food was gross, they got sick (you get the picture). They disagree with an article you shared, they tell you how stupid the author is, how ridiculous anybody is for having that opinion. And on and on.\r\n\r\nThere is no one correct way to do social media. Some people will always be offended and some people won\'t care. To some, social media is a place to cultivate relationships and to some, it is just a place to promote their product or business.\r\n\r\nI think it is always best to think about what you are going to say before you say it: Is it necessary? Does it add value to the conversation? Is it something you care about deeply? Will it make a difference? Will it hurt the other person? Does it really matter?\r\n\r\nPerhaps it is not self-censorship we need as much as a <strong>pause and think moment.</strong> Too bad there isn\'t a built-in feature for that on Twitter and Facebook.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is self-censorship the answer?','','inherit','open','open','','2747-revision-v1','','','2014-09-16 09:29:20','2014-09-16 13:29:20','',2747,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2747-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2748,4,'2014-09-12 09:48:53','2014-09-12 13:48:53','Have you ever regretted saying something on social media? Or has something you posted on social media come back to haunt you \"in real life?\" Do you wish you could say what you really think but fear the consequences?\r\n\r\nSocial media seems to occupy a unique position of being virtual yet connecting real people in real relationships. We can broadcast our thoughts instantly, to thousands (or millions) of people around the world, while still having to be careful about the relationships we have with some of our connections.\r\n\r\nIs everybody in your Facebook world your friend or family member? Chances are you have a fair number of other relationships on Facebook--co-workers, professional acquaintances, people you knew in high school/college, people you met on Twitter, and so on.  Do you want to share everything with everybody or do you wish you could pick and choose? If you don\'t want to share something with a certain person in your Facebook, why are you \"friends\" with him or her?\r\n\r\nSometimes, you see people in real life and feel forced to maintain a \"Facebook friendship.\" Unfriending on Facebook is a strange phenomenon, especially since most people use it to communicate that they no longer consider you to be in their social circle (although some people think of unfriending as simply reducing the number of people that they need to read feeds from). For example, I had a pretty ugly disagreement with someone, and her husband (I guess he was playing the knight in shining armor, thinking he would come to her aid), unfriended me on Facebook and de-LinkedIn too. Meanwhile, she is still there. That makes it very awkward should I ever run into them in person. I know he doesn\'t want anything to do with me while she\'s on the fence or sees Facebook differently.\r\n\r\nRecently, I had a bad week because of the actions of someone in my Facebook world. Because I knew she would see it, I couldn\'t post anything about it. I wanted to share what was going on, but couldn\'t. It made Facebook so frustrating.\r\n\r\nBut wait, Facebook has an answer! You can designate people as \"acquaintances\" and then when you post you can choose to share with \"friends, except acquaintances.\" I just learned about this feature (and I am not sure how long it\'s been around). Clearly, many people are trying to separate close friends from acquaintances while becoming \"Facebook friends\" with anybody that asks.\r\n\r\nAnd then there is what we say or don\'t say. Should we say what we really think or should we be more politic? There was a recent poll that found people are not expressing their opinions freely any more. I can see why. We don\'t want to offend and more importantly, we don\'t want to be attacked. There are many \"trolls,\" that is  people in social media who make it their business to be on the attack. They actively seek confrontation and are often very nasty.\r\n\r\nBut then there are disagreements. If I post something and you find it objectionable, you may decide to point out your objection. If done respectfully, there generally should not be an issue. But then, you could be like a \"friend\" I had, who posted something I didn\'t like on Twitter, and I pointed it out to her. She then claimed it wasn\'t her opinion, she was merely re-tweeting. But she wasn\'t. She had added her editorial approval to it. I pointed that out to her and guess what, she hasn\'t spoken to me in real life since.\r\n\r\nOr then, there are people who are always arguing with you on Facebook or Twitter. If you say white, they will say black. Does every opinion need a counter-opinion? Do you always have to say what you think?\r\n\r\n<strong>Is self-censorship the answer to all these social media conundrums?</strong>\r\n\r\nI think that at times you should follow the adage that if you have nothing good to say, don\'t say it. For example, if someone posts a picture of his/her baby, and you don\'t think the child is terribly cute, do you share your thoughts? Probably very wise to keep that opinion to yourself.\r\n\r\nAnd yet, people routinely express their negative opinions. They don\'t like the restaurant you recently went to (and raved about), so they share their thoughts saying that it was disgusting, the food was gross, they got sick (you get the picture). They disagree with an article you shared, they tell you how stupid the author is, how ridiculous anybody is for having that opinion. And on and on.\r\n\r\nSocial media seems to have made it difficult for people to understand that their words have real consequences. That you can insult and offend virtually. And that is one extreme. On the other, is this constant fretting about what to share and what not to. If we disagree with something, why can\'t we express our opinion?\r\n\r\nThere is no one correct way to do social media. Some people will always be offended and some people don\'t care. To some, social media is a place to cultivate relationships and to some, it is just a place to promote their product or business.\r\n\r\nIt is always best to think about what you are going to say. Is it necessary? Does it add value to the conversation? Is it something you care about deeply? Will it make a difference? Will it hurt the other person? Does it matter?\r\n\r\nSo yes, perhaps practicing some self-censorship is the way to go.','Is self-censorship the answer?','','inherit','open','open','','2747-revision-v1','','','2014-09-12 09:48:53','2014-09-12 13:48:53','',2747,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2747-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2798,4,'2014-11-19 16:06:07','2014-11-19 21:06:07','It\'s like I am hearing the Pointer Sisters\' <em>Jump (For My Love)</em> song on repeat. It\'s that refrain \"more, more, more.\" I get emails urging me to get more website visitors. I see accounts on Twitter that claim they can get me more followers. I see announcements for webinars on how to get more blog readers.\r\n\r\nEnough!\r\n\r\nMore is not a smart communications goal. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">More is meaningless without qualifiers</span>. Yes, I want more Twitter followers. But I want followers that are genuine (as opposed to spam) accounts and who have an interest in what I am saying. I want more blog readers who will find what I write useful and may then share a post or sign up for my newsletter or hire me to do work.\r\n\r\nBut more in and of itself does not mean much. If a Facebook page has 4,000 likes but none of those \"likers\" shares information or buys products, then what is the point? If you have thousands of Twitter followers but are never re-tweeted, are you having an impact? If you get hundreds of website visitors but there is no \"conversion\" then what did you accomplish?\r\n\r\nWe see ploys for more all the time. You see TV stations running sweepstakes and exhorting people to \"like our Facebook page.\" You see link bait. You see forced sign-ups for newsletters before you can read an article or blog post. All these are trying to get more without caring exactly who those people are.\r\n\r\nYour communications goals should not be simply to get more. Your goals need to be specific. For example, you may want to reach more people in a certain geographic area or in an age group.\r\n\r\nAre you being bombarded by vendors trying to get you to get more? If so, what are your thoughts about it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','More is not a smart communications goal','','publish','open','open','','more-is-not-a-smart-communications-goal','','','2014-11-19 16:06:07','2014-11-19 21:06:07','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2798',0,'post','',0),
(2762,4,'2014-10-15 09:39:12','0000-00-00 00:00:00','Recently, I was forced to connect through Miami International Airport (MIA). For most people who fly to and from Latin America and the Caribbean, MIA is the departure point and the first port of entry into the United States. If you are traveling on American Airlines, you will most likely be in Terminal D, a newish terminal with 60 gates covering close to a mile in length and serving American flights exclusively. On both the outbound and inbound legs of my journey I had about three hours to spend in Terminal D.\r\n\r\nI went looking for food. A veggie burger at a \"sit-down\" restaurant was $15. A slice of pizza was $5.  A bagel sandwich at a large national chain is $8. The fish and chips I had an \"Irish pub\" was overpriced and had an 18% service charge tacked on automatically. All this would cost half as much out on Main Street.\r\n\r\nSo you are done eating. Now what? You could shop at MIA. You could spend big bucks on a Burberry coat or buy a Britto sculpture. Or maybe browse some electronics, jewelry or the duty free store.\r\n\r\nPerhaps you want to check your email. Well, at MIA this is going to cost you. No free Wi-Fi here. Not even at Starbucks, which offers free Wi-Fi at its non-MIA locations.\r\n\r\nMy point is that MIA wants you to spend a lot of money while you wait for your flight. It seems the airport authority is not interested in making travel anything more than expensive.\r\n\r\nJust 30 miles north of MIA is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport. The airport does not offer much in the way of dining, shopping or entertainment but it does offer free Wi-Fi airport-wide. Then again, Fort Lauderdale serves a lot of domestic flights.','How do you view your customers?','','draft','open','open','','','','','2014-10-15 09:39:12','2014-10-15 13:39:12','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2762',0,'post','',0),
(2753,4,'2014-09-22 16:01:58','2014-09-22 20:01:58','In his Sunday <em>Washington Post</em> article <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/after-30000-posts-big-picture-blogger-has-figured-a-few-things-out/2014/09/19/ef7002cc-3de9-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"What writing 30,000 posts taught this financial planner,\"</a> Barry Ritholtz, author of the On Investing column, says that not only are many readers choosing to believe what they want to believe, but that their reading comprehension is abysmal. He writes:\r\n<blockquote><strong>Reading comprehension is terrible</strong>. I am astonished how many people lack the basic reading comprehension skills to understand a 500-word essay. I give every piece a second edit to figure out how lazy and biased readers are going misinterpret, misunderstand and just plain old miss the point of the post.</blockquote>\r\n(Note: This is part of the last paragraph of his article that appeared in the printed edition of the <em>Washington Post</em>, but which is mysteriously missing from the online version of the article.)\r\n\r\nThis is sad and disturbing. Those of us who make our living from writing, depend on readers to understand what we say. If readers can\'t understand our ideas, then how are we going to make sure to get our point across? What is the point of writing? It doesn\'t matter how talented we are, if the readers don\'t get it, then it is not worth anything.\r\n\r\nWhat is behind this lack of reading comprehension? Is it that people are not being taught how to read well in school? Is it that people are stupid? Is it that writing has to be \"dumbed down\"? There\'s probably some element of all of these, but one bigger problem is that people are in a hurry. They are not taking the time to read closely.\r\n\r\nWe hear over and over how people are so busy. People are multi-tasking. People are frazzled. One consequence of this continual rush is that people are not paying attention to what they are reading.\r\n\r\nHow many times have you posted something or written an email including details about an upcoming event and the recipient will ask you for the exact information you have already provided. It happens to me all the time.\r\n\r\nCase in point: I wrote a short email to a friend telling her that I had missed seeing her at our book group and that I really didn\'t like the book.  She wrote back telling me that she has had some family issues and hadn\'t finished reading the book, and she also wanted to know what I thought of the book. Now, my email was five sentences long. One of those sentences was about my opinion the book. She clearly did not absorb what I wrote. Either she was preoccupied or in a hurry or both.\r\n\r\nIt seems people are no longer able to read closely. They skim through the information. In fact, when I teach my blogging workshop, I tell my participants that content should be scannable, since this is what people do when they read on the web.\r\n\r\nThis loss of reading comprehension concerns me. It makes me wonder how anybody is going to learn anything new, let alone anything complex. If we are promoting new products or ideas, this is going to be a huge obstacle to overcome.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Have you noticed that you have to over-simplify ideas? Have you noticed that people just don\'t seem to pay attention?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is hurry killing reading comprehension?','','publish','open','open','','is-hurry-killing-reading-comprehension','','','2014-09-22 16:06:20','2014-09-22 20:06:20','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2753',0,'post','',1),
(2754,4,'2014-09-22 16:01:58','2014-09-22 20:01:58','In his Sunday <em>Washington Post</em> article <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/after-30000-posts-big-picture-blogger-has-figured-a-few-things-out/2014/09/19/ef7002cc-3de9-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"What writing 30,000 posts taught this financial planner,\"</a> Barry Ritholtz, author of the On Investing column, says that not only are many readers choosing to believe what they want to believe, but that their reading comprehension is abysmal. He writes:\r\n<blockquote><strong>Reading comprehension is terrible</strong>. I am astonished how many people lack the basic reading comprehension skills to understand a 500-word essay.</blockquote>\r\n(Note: This is part the last paragraph of his article appeared in the printed edition of the <em>Washington Post</em>, but is mysteriously missing from the online version of the article.)\r\n\r\nThis is sad and disturbing. Those of us who make our living from writing, depend on readers to understand what we say. If readers can\'t understand our ideas, then how are we going to make sure to get our point across? What is the point of writing? It doesn\'t matter how talented we are, if the readers don\'t get it, then it is not worth anything.\r\n\r\nWhat is behind this lack of reading comprehension? Is it that people are not being taught how to read well in school? Is it that people are stupid? Is it that writing has to be \"dumbed down\"? There\'s probably some element of all of these, but one bigger problem is that people are in a hurry. They are not taking the time to read closely.\r\n\r\nWe hear over and over how people are so busy. People are multi-tasking. People are frazzled. One consequence of this continual rush is that people are not paying attention to what they are reading.\r\n\r\nHow many times have you posted something or written an email including details about an upcoming event and the recipient will ask you for the exact information you have already provided. It happens to me all the time.\r\n\r\nCase in point: I wrote a short email to a friend telling her that I had missed seeing her at our book group and that I really didn\'t like the book.  She wrote back telling me that she has had some family issues, and what did I think of the book. Now, my email was five sentences long. One of those sentences was about the book. She clearly did not absorb what I wrote. Either she was preoccupied or in a hurry or both.\r\n\r\nIt seems people are no longer able to read closely. They skim through the information. In fact, when I teach my blogging workshop, I tell my participants that content should be scannable, since this is what people do when they read on the web.\r\n\r\nThis loss of reading comprehension concerns me. It makes me wonder how anybody is going to learn anything new, let alone anything complex. If we are promoting new products or ideas, this is going to be a huge obstacle to overcome.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Have you noticed that you have to over-simplify ideas? Have you noticed that people just don\'t seem to pay attention?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is hurry killing reading comprehension?','','inherit','open','open','','2753-revision-v1','','','2014-09-22 16:01:58','2014-09-22 20:01:58','',2753,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2753-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2755,4,'2014-09-22 16:06:00','2014-09-22 20:06:00','In his Sunday <em>Washington Post</em> article <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/after-30000-posts-big-picture-blogger-has-figured-a-few-things-out/2014/09/19/ef7002cc-3de9-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"What writing 30,000 posts taught this financial planner,\"</a> Barry Ritholtz, author of the On Investing column, says that not only are many readers choosing to believe what they want to believe, but that their reading comprehension is abysmal. He writes:\n<blockquote><strong>Reading comprehension is terrible</strong>. I am astonished how many people lack the basic reading comprehension skills to understand a 500-word essay. I give every piece a second edit to figure out how lazy and biased readers are going misinterpret, misunderstand and just plain old miss the point of the post.</blockquote>\n(Note: This is part of the last paragraph of his article appeared in the printed edition of the <em>Washington Post</em>, but is mysteriously missing from the online version of the article.)\n\nThis is sad and disturbing. Those of us who make our living from writing, depend on readers to understand what we say. If readers can\'t understand our ideas, then how are we going to make sure to get our point across? What is the point of writing? It doesn\'t matter how talented we are, if the readers don\'t get it, then it is not worth anything.\n\nWhat is behind this lack of reading comprehension? Is it that people are not being taught how to read well in school? Is it that people are stupid? Is it that writing has to be \"dumbed down\"? There\'s probably some element of all of these, but one bigger problem is that people are in a hurry. They are not taking the time to read closely.\n\nWe hear over and over how people are so busy. People are multi-tasking. People are frazzled. One consequence of this continual rush is that people are not paying attention to what they are reading.\n\nHow many times have you posted something or written an email including details about an upcoming event and the recipient will ask you for the exact information you have already provided. It happens to me all the time.\n\nCase in point: I wrote a short email to a friend telling her that I had missed seeing her at our book group and that I really didn\'t like the book.  She wrote back telling me that she has had some family issues and hadn\'t finished reading the book, and she also wanted to know what I thought of the book. Now, my email was five sentences long. One of those sentences was about my opinion the book. She clearly did not absorb what I wrote. Either she was preoccupied or in a hurry or both.\n\nIt seems people are no longer able to read closely. They skim through the information. In fact, when I teach my blogging workshop, I tell my participants that content should be scannable, since this is what people do when they read on the web.\n\nThis loss of reading comprehension concerns me. It makes me wonder how anybody is going to learn anything new, let alone anything complex. If we are promoting new products or ideas, this is going to be a huge obstacle to overcome.\n\nWhat do you think? Have you noticed that you have to over-simplify ideas? Have you noticed that people just don\'t seem to pay attention?\n\n&nbsp;','Is hurry killing reading comprehension?','','inherit','open','open','','2753-autosave-v1','','','2014-09-22 16:06:00','2014-09-22 20:06:00','',2753,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2753-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2756,4,'2014-09-22 16:04:54','2014-09-22 20:04:54','In his Sunday <em>Washington Post</em> article <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/after-30000-posts-big-picture-blogger-has-figured-a-few-things-out/2014/09/19/ef7002cc-3de9-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"What writing 30,000 posts taught this financial planner,\"</a> Barry Ritholtz, author of the On Investing column, says that not only are many readers choosing to believe what they want to believe, but that their reading comprehension is abysmal. He writes:\r\n<blockquote><strong>Reading comprehension is terrible</strong>. I am astonished how many people lack the basic reading comprehension skills to understand a 500-word essay. I give every piece a second edit to figure out how lazy and biased readers are going misinterpret, misunderstand and just plain old miss the point of the post.</blockquote>\r\n(Note: This is part the last paragraph of his article appeared in the printed edition of the <em>Washington Post</em>, but is mysteriously missing from the online version of the article.)\r\n\r\nThis is sad and disturbing. Those of us who make our living from writing, depend on readers to understand what we say. If readers can\'t understand our ideas, then how are we going to make sure to get our point across? What is the point of writing? It doesn\'t matter how talented we are, if the readers don\'t get it, then it is not worth anything.\r\n\r\nWhat is behind this lack of reading comprehension? Is it that people are not being taught how to read well in school? Is it that people are stupid? Is it that writing has to be \"dumbed down\"? There\'s probably some element of all of these, but one bigger problem is that people are in a hurry. They are not taking the time to read closely.\r\n\r\nWe hear over and over how people are so busy. People are multi-tasking. People are frazzled. One consequence of this continual rush is that people are not paying attention to what they are reading.\r\n\r\nHow many times have you posted something or written an email including details about an upcoming event and the recipient will ask you for the exact information you have already provided. It happens to me all the time.\r\n\r\nCase in point: I wrote a short email to a friend telling her that I had missed seeing her at our book group and that I really didn\'t like the book.  She wrote back telling me that she has had some family issues and hadn\'t finished reading the book, and she also wanted to know what I thought of the book. Now, my email was five sentences long. One of those sentences was about my opinion the book. She clearly did not absorb what I wrote. Either she was preoccupied or in a hurry or both.\r\n\r\nIt seems people are no longer able to read closely. They skim through the information. In fact, when I teach my blogging workshop, I tell my participants that content should be scannable, since this is what people do when they read on the web.\r\n\r\nThis loss of reading comprehension concerns me. It makes me wonder how anybody is going to learn anything new, let alone anything complex. If we are promoting new products or ideas, this is going to be a huge obstacle to overcome.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Have you noticed that you have to over-simplify ideas? Have you noticed that people just don\'t seem to pay attention?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is hurry killing reading comprehension?','','inherit','open','open','','2753-revision-v1','','','2014-09-22 16:04:54','2014-09-22 20:04:54','',2753,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2753-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2757,4,'2014-09-22 16:06:20','2014-09-22 20:06:20','In his Sunday <em>Washington Post</em> article <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/after-30000-posts-big-picture-blogger-has-figured-a-few-things-out/2014/09/19/ef7002cc-3de9-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"What writing 30,000 posts taught this financial planner,\"</a> Barry Ritholtz, author of the On Investing column, says that not only are many readers choosing to believe what they want to believe, but that their reading comprehension is abysmal. He writes:\r\n<blockquote><strong>Reading comprehension is terrible</strong>. I am astonished how many people lack the basic reading comprehension skills to understand a 500-word essay. I give every piece a second edit to figure out how lazy and biased readers are going misinterpret, misunderstand and just plain old miss the point of the post.</blockquote>\r\n(Note: This is part of the last paragraph of his article that appeared in the printed edition of the <em>Washington Post</em>, but which is mysteriously missing from the online version of the article.)\r\n\r\nThis is sad and disturbing. Those of us who make our living from writing, depend on readers to understand what we say. If readers can\'t understand our ideas, then how are we going to make sure to get our point across? What is the point of writing? It doesn\'t matter how talented we are, if the readers don\'t get it, then it is not worth anything.\r\n\r\nWhat is behind this lack of reading comprehension? Is it that people are not being taught how to read well in school? Is it that people are stupid? Is it that writing has to be \"dumbed down\"? There\'s probably some element of all of these, but one bigger problem is that people are in a hurry. They are not taking the time to read closely.\r\n\r\nWe hear over and over how people are so busy. People are multi-tasking. People are frazzled. One consequence of this continual rush is that people are not paying attention to what they are reading.\r\n\r\nHow many times have you posted something or written an email including details about an upcoming event and the recipient will ask you for the exact information you have already provided. It happens to me all the time.\r\n\r\nCase in point: I wrote a short email to a friend telling her that I had missed seeing her at our book group and that I really didn\'t like the book.  She wrote back telling me that she has had some family issues and hadn\'t finished reading the book, and she also wanted to know what I thought of the book. Now, my email was five sentences long. One of those sentences was about my opinion the book. She clearly did not absorb what I wrote. Either she was preoccupied or in a hurry or both.\r\n\r\nIt seems people are no longer able to read closely. They skim through the information. In fact, when I teach my blogging workshop, I tell my participants that content should be scannable, since this is what people do when they read on the web.\r\n\r\nThis loss of reading comprehension concerns me. It makes me wonder how anybody is going to learn anything new, let alone anything complex. If we are promoting new products or ideas, this is going to be a huge obstacle to overcome.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Have you noticed that you have to over-simplify ideas? Have you noticed that people just don\'t seem to pay attention?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is hurry killing reading comprehension?','','inherit','open','open','','2753-revision-v1','','','2014-09-22 16:06:20','2014-09-22 20:06:20','',2753,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2753-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2759,4,'2014-09-29 11:43:13','2014-09-29 15:43:13','My nieces are a bit fussy when it comes to food. They don\'t really want to try foods they haven\'t had before. I once made a pasta dish, and my  four-year old niece looked at it with absolute horror. I told her she had to try it, and if she didn\'t like it, she didn\'t have to finish eating it. She tried it and she didn\'t like it (it had spinach in it, and she is not a fan since as she put it \"I don\'t like the green stuff\").\r\n\r\nSometimes you just don\'t know until you try, yet we seem to work hard to avoid finding out for ourselves. If we are researching hotels, we read reviews on travel advice sites. If we are looking for a service professional, we check out ratings. We ask around. We want information before we make a decision.\r\n\r\nJust today, I noticed what someone posted in a networking group in which I belong. She wanted to know about people\'s experiences with the group because she was considering joining. In my opinion, networking is personal. You will have your own experiences and it is always worth it to attend a meeting or two to get a sense of the people and if it is a right fit for you. What others feel is almost completely irrelevant.\r\n\r\n<em><strong>You just have to try it for yourself. Word of mouth and reviews can provide insight, but ultimately, what matters is how your experience goes.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The experience counts more</strong></span>\r\n\r\nSeveral weeks ago, I asked my Facebook friends if they had any handymen recommendations. My long-time handyman had retired due to injury and I needed someone to do a few things around the house. A friend passed on the name of someone who had done some work in his house. I contacted the handyman. He asked me to send him an email detailing what I needed done. He didn\'t respond. I called again. He assured me he would respond. He didn\'t. I called again. He was on vacation. Normally, I would have never contacted him again, but because he was recommended I did.\r\n\r\nFinally, about three months after my initial contact, the handyman came to  give me an estimate for the work. It seemed quite high but I scheduled the work since by this time I was desperate to get it done. The handyman sent two of his guys to do the work. They were nice enough but not highly skilled. They did not even have a tool kit with them (I had to give them a screwdriver!). They finished doing the work. The main handyman stuck with his original estimate. I questioned it and I ended up paying almost $200 less than he estimated (the work took one and a half hours and he had estimated five).  I tried working with this handyman based on a trusted friend\'s recommendation but the actual experience of working with him was not to my liking. I will not hire him again.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The marketing dilemma</strong></span>\r\n\r\nMany marketers spend time on getting positive reviews and referrals, and those can stimulate people to try a product or service. But ultimately, the customer/client experience is what counts. People will stick with something and recommend it only if the experience itself is good.\r\n\r\nThe dilemma for many marketers is that many times we are hired to stimulate interest, but have no control over the user experience. If a company has hired many marketers to try and drum up interest for a product or service, chances are it is not the marketing that is lacking. It may well be that the product or service is not living up to the marketing.\r\n\r\nWhat are your experiences with this? How does can marketing be better tied to user experience?','You won\'t know until you try','','publish','open','open','','you-wont-know-until-you-try','','','2014-09-29 11:43:13','2014-09-29 15:43:13','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2759',0,'post','',0),
(2760,4,'2014-09-29 11:43:13','2014-09-29 15:43:13','My nieces are a bit fussy when it comes to food. They don\'t really want to try foods they haven\'t had before. I once made a pasta dish, and my  four-year old niece looked at it with absolute horror. I told her she had to try it, and if she didn\'t like it, she didn\'t have to finish eating it. She tried it and she didn\'t like it (it had spinach in it, and she is not a fan since as she put it \"I don\'t like the green stuff\").\r\n\r\nSometimes you just don\'t know until you try, yet we seem to work hard to avoid finding out for ourselves. If we are researching hotels, we read reviews on travel advice sites. If we are looking for a service professional, we check out ratings. We ask around. We want information before we make a decision.\r\n\r\nJust today, I noticed what someone posted in a networking group in which I belong. She wanted to know about people\'s experiences with the group because she was considering joining. In my opinion, networking is personal. You will have your own experiences and it is always worth it to attend a meeting or two to get a sense of the people and if it is a right fit for you. What others feel is almost completely irrelevant.\r\n\r\n<em><strong>You just have to try it for yourself. Word of mouth and reviews can provide insight, but ultimately, what matters is how your experience goes.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The experience counts more</strong></span>\r\n\r\nSeveral weeks ago, I asked my Facebook friends if they had any handymen recommendations. My long-time handyman had retired due to injury and I needed someone to do a few things around the house. A friend passed on the name of someone who had done some work in his house. I contacted the handyman. He asked me to send him an email detailing what I needed done. He didn\'t respond. I called again. He assured me he would respond. He didn\'t. I called again. He was on vacation. Normally, I would have never contacted him again, but because he was recommended I did.\r\n\r\nFinally, about three months after my initial contact, the handyman came to  give me an estimate for the work. It seemed quite high but I scheduled the work since by this time I was desperate to get it done. The handyman sent two of his guys to do the work. They were nice enough but not highly skilled. They did not even have a tool kit with them (I had to give them a screwdriver!). They finished doing the work. The main handyman stuck with his original estimate. I questioned it and I ended up paying almost $200 less than he estimated (the work took one and a half hours and he had estimated five).  I tried working with this handyman based on a trusted friend\'s recommendation but the actual experience of working with him was not to my liking. I will not hire him again.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The marketing dilemma</strong></span>\r\n\r\nMany marketers spend time on getting positive reviews and referrals, and those can stimulate people to try a product or service. But ultimately, the customer/client experience is what counts. People will stick with something and recommend it only if the experience itself is good.\r\n\r\nThe dilemma for many marketers is that many times we are hired to stimulate interest, but have no control over the user experience. If a company has hired many marketers to try and drum up interest for a product or service, chances are it is not the marketing that is lacking. It may well be that the product or service is not living up to the marketing.\r\n\r\nWhat are your experiences with this? How does can marketing be better tied to user experience?','You won\'t know until you try','','inherit','open','open','','2759-revision-v1','','','2014-09-29 11:43:13','2014-09-29 15:43:13','',2759,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/09/2759-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2763,4,'2014-10-09 10:20:16','2014-10-09 14:20:16','Recently, I was forced to connect through Miami International Airport (MIA). For most people who fly to and from Latin America and the Caribbean, MIA is the departure point and the first port of entry into the United States. If you are traveling on American Airlines, you will most likely be in Terminal D, a newish terminal with 60 gates than probably covers nearly a mile and serves American flights exclusively. On both the outbound and inbound legs of my journey I had about three hours to spend in Terminal D. My experience shows me that MIA views customers (passengers) as a source of revenue--a cash cow. All the food is overpriced. A slice of pizza is $5. A bagel sandwich is $8. Things that would cost half as much out on Main Street. Water is $3.  There\'s shopping at MIA, Thomas Pink and Burberry and of course Duty Free. Duty Free is one of the biggest scams at the airport--all it means is that you won\'t pay taxes on the item, but the store is free to charge what it likes on it.','How do you view your customers?','','inherit','open','open','','2762-revision-v1','','','2014-10-09 10:20:16','2014-10-09 14:20:16','',2762,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2762-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2765,4,'2014-10-09 15:23:48','2014-10-09 19:23:48','Deborah Brody Marketing Communications works with businesses and non-profit organizations. We have experience with various industries, including hospitality/tourism, financial, real estate, marketing, legal and software development.\r\n\r\n<strong>Clients have included:</strong>\r\n\r\nACTON Marketing\r\nAlexandria Education\r\n\r\nBNA\r\nB’nai B’rith International\r\nCaribbean Basin Enterprise\r\n\r\nDKD New Media\r\nHotel Presidente (Costa Rica)\r\n\r\nFrontPoint Security\r\n\r\nKARRASS\r\nLaw Offices of Jason Warshofsky\r\nMemorable Costa Rica\r\n\r\nMiCORE Solutions, Inc.\r\n\r\nPebbles of Hope\r\nSimply Savvy Events\r\n\r\nSperry Van Ness\r\nStarWave Associates\r\nStateTrust Group\r\nStreamline Communications\r\nStudio Twenty-Two\r\n\r\nSW Creatives\r\nTabacon Resort and Spa (Costa Rica)\r\nThe Gary Rosenthal Collection','Clients','','inherit','open','open','','38-revision-v1','','','2014-10-09 15:23:48','2014-10-09 19:23:48','',38,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/38-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2766,4,'2014-10-09 15:26:10','2014-10-09 19:26:10','<strong>Pebbles of Hope</strong>\r\n\r\n--case study coming soon!','Recent Projects','','inherit','open','open','','40-revision-v1','','','2014-10-09 15:26:10','2014-10-09 19:26:10','',40,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/40-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2767,4,'2014-10-10 10:53:38','2014-10-10 14:53:38','A couple of weeks ago I was at Ronald Reagan National Airport waiting for a flight to Miami. I was checking my email, Twitter, etc. on my phone, when the woman next to me asked me in Spanish if the flight was about to leave. Luckily (for her) I speak Spanish, and I told her that no, not yet. I pointed at the podium, which was empty, and explained that the plane was not yet in and that when we got ready to board, there would be someone there making announcements.\r\n\r\nShe told me she was headed to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).  She showed me her boarding pass, and I pointed out her seat number and her group number, explaining she needed to wait for her group number to be called. Unfortunately, she spoke no English. None. I asked her if she had ever traveled before. She hadn\'t.\r\n\r\nHere she was, about to embark on an international flight, and she had not the faintest idea of what was going on or how to navigate the boarding process, which most of us take for granted. In Miami, she would be OK, since the announcements are made in both English and Spanish, but in Washington, the announcements are all in English. If I hadn\'t been sitting there (and been a Spanish speaker), I am not sure how she would have figured it out.\r\n\r\nWhich brings me to a marketing question: who do you communicate to?\r\n\r\n<strong>Everybody?</strong>\r\n\r\nYou can\'t communicate with everybody, obviously. There are too many variables. There\'s language obviously, and then there\'s level of knowledge. Do you assume that your audience knows certain things or do you explain everything thoroughly?\r\n\r\n<strong>Some?</strong>\r\n\r\nChances are, most communicators are aiming to reach only some of the total audience. This is called the target audience. Communications are tailored for the representative member of the target audience. So, in the DCA example of above, the gate agent speaks in English only because most of his audience speaks English.\r\n\r\n<strong>Nobody?</strong>\r\n\r\nIf nobody understands your message, then your communications are in serious trouble. You are making strategic and tactical mistakes. It has happened at the Miami airport, on flights to Spanish-speaking countries, the gate agents don\'t speak a bit of Spanish (and if they do, heavy accents and bad translating make it virtually impossible to understand).  Very few people understand and everybody is confused.\r\n\r\n<strong>When making communication decisions, you must consider your target audience (and then some). You will choose language, complexity of message, and what will resonate based on how you can reach the majority of your target. You will not communicate with everybody. But if you are communicating with nobody, then you have a problem.</strong>\r\n\r\nThoughts?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Are you communicating with everybody, somebody, or nobody?','','publish','open','open','','are-you-communicating-with-everybody-somebody-or-nobody','','','2014-10-10 10:53:38','2014-10-10 14:53:38','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2767',0,'post','',0),
(2768,4,'2014-10-09 16:49:28','2014-10-09 20:49:28','A couple of weeks ago I was at Ronald Reagan National Airport waiting for a flight to Miami. I was checking my email, Twitter, etc. on my phone, when the woman next to me asked me in Spanish if the flight was about to leave. Luckily (for her) I speak Spanish, and I told her that no, not yet. I pointed at the podium, which was empty, and explained that the plane was not yet in and that when we got ready to board, there would be someone there making announcements.\r\n\r\nShe told me she was headed to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).  She showed me her boarding pass, and I pointed out her seat number and her group number, explaining she needed to wait for her group number to be called. Unfortunately, she spoke no English. None. I asked her if she had ever traveled before. She hadn\'t.\r\n\r\nHere she was, about to embark on an international flight, and she had not the faintest idea of what was going on or how to navigate the boarding process, which most of us take for granted. In Miami, she would be OK, since the announcements are made in both English and Spanish, but in Washington, the announcements are all in English. If I hadn\'t been sitting there (and been a Spanish speaker), I am not sure how she would have figured it out.\r\n\r\nWhich brings me to a marketing question: who do you communicate to? You can\'t communicate with everybody, obviously. There are too many variables. Can you imagine if you made all announcements in several languages (although in Canada they are required to make all announcements in French and English).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Are you communicating with everybody, somebody, or nobody?','','inherit','open','open','','2767-revision-v1','','','2014-10-09 16:49:28','2014-10-09 20:49:28','',2767,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2767-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2769,4,'2014-10-10 10:53:38','2014-10-10 14:53:38','A couple of weeks ago I was at Ronald Reagan National Airport waiting for a flight to Miami. I was checking my email, Twitter, etc. on my phone, when the woman next to me asked me in Spanish if the flight was about to leave. Luckily (for her) I speak Spanish, and I told her that no, not yet. I pointed at the podium, which was empty, and explained that the plane was not yet in and that when we got ready to board, there would be someone there making announcements.\r\n\r\nShe told me she was headed to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).  She showed me her boarding pass, and I pointed out her seat number and her group number, explaining she needed to wait for her group number to be called. Unfortunately, she spoke no English. None. I asked her if she had ever traveled before. She hadn\'t.\r\n\r\nHere she was, about to embark on an international flight, and she had not the faintest idea of what was going on or how to navigate the boarding process, which most of us take for granted. In Miami, she would be OK, since the announcements are made in both English and Spanish, but in Washington, the announcements are all in English. If I hadn\'t been sitting there (and been a Spanish speaker), I am not sure how she would have figured it out.\r\n\r\nWhich brings me to a marketing question: who do you communicate to?\r\n\r\n<strong>Everybody?</strong>\r\n\r\nYou can\'t communicate with everybody, obviously. There are too many variables. There\'s language obviously, and then there\'s level of knowledge. Do you assume that your audience knows certain things or do you explain everything thoroughly?\r\n\r\n<strong>Some?</strong>\r\n\r\nChances are, most communicators are aiming to reach only some of the total audience. This is called the target audience. Communications are tailored for the representative member of the target audience. So, in the DCA example of above, the gate agent speaks in English only because most of his audience speaks English.\r\n\r\n<strong>Nobody?</strong>\r\n\r\nIf nobody understands your message, then your communications are in serious trouble. You are making strategic and tactical mistakes. It has happened at the Miami airport, on flights to Spanish-speaking countries, the gate agents don\'t speak a bit of Spanish (and if they do, heavy accents and bad translating make it virtually impossible to understand).  Very few people understand and everybody is confused.\r\n\r\n<strong>When making communication decisions, you must consider your target audience (and then some). You will choose language, complexity of message, and what will resonate based on how you can reach the majority of your target. You will not communicate with everybody. But if you are communicating with nobody, then you have a problem.</strong>\r\n\r\nThoughts?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Are you communicating with everybody, somebody, or nobody?','','inherit','open','open','','2767-revision-v1','','','2014-10-10 10:53:38','2014-10-10 14:53:38','',2767,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2767-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2770,4,'2014-10-15 09:39:12','2014-10-15 13:39:12','Recently, I was forced to connect through Miami International Airport (MIA). For most people who fly to and from Latin America and the Caribbean, MIA is the departure point and the first port of entry into the United States. If you are traveling on American Airlines, you will most likely be in Terminal D, a newish terminal with 60 gates covering close to a mile in length and serving American flights exclusively. On both the outbound and inbound legs of my journey I had about three hours to spend in Terminal D.\r\n\r\nI went looking for food. A veggie burger at a \"sit-down\" restaurant was $15. A slice of pizza was $5.  A bagel sandwich at a large national chain is $8. The fish and chips I had an \"Irish pub\" was overpriced and had an 18% service charge tacked on automatically. All this would cost half as much out on Main Street.\r\n\r\nSo you are done eating. Now what? You could shop at MIA. You could spend big bucks on a Burberry coat or buy a Britto sculpture. Or maybe browse some electronics, jewelry or the duty free store.\r\n\r\nPerhaps you want to check your email. Well, at MIA this is going to cost you. No free Wi-Fi here. Not even at Starbucks, which offers free Wi-Fi at its non-MIA locations.\r\n\r\nMy point is that MIA wants you to spend a lot of money while you wait for your flight. It seems the airport authority is not interested in making travel anything more than expensive.\r\n\r\nJust 30 miles north of MIA is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport. The airport does not offer much in the way of dining, shopping or entertainment but it does offer free Wi-Fi airport-wide. Then again, Fort Lauderdale serves a lot of domestic flights.','How do you view your customers?','','inherit','open','open','','2762-revision-v1','','','2014-10-15 09:39:12','2014-10-15 13:39:12','',2762,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2762-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2772,4,'2014-10-15 14:13:58','2014-10-15 18:13:58','In this age of social media, we always have an outlet for our thoughts, whether they be insightful and informative, or whether to express our frustrations and complaints.\r\n\r\nIf we want to share golden nugget from a conference, there\'s Twitter and a hashtag. If we want to lash out at our boss, there\'s Facebook (where we aren\'t friends with our boss). If we want to rant (or rave) about anything, we can post about it at length on our blog.\r\n\r\nMost of the time, there\'s no harm done. Except if you post when you are angry.\r\n\r\nWhen you are angry, you are caught up in the (negative) emotion of the moment. You are looking either to vent your frustration or to exact some sort of revenge. When you vent in anger in person (and not on social media), there are often (immediate) consequences. You may insult or offend someone and ruin your relationship with that person. You may escalate a situation (and in some cases, this can even lead to violence).  Or you may blow off steam, and calm down.\r\n\r\nBut when you are angry and you post on social media, the consequences can be greater and more long-lasting. Social media is the great amplifier. Your angry thoughts can go viral. And even more so, they became permanent. They can\'t be easily retracted. They are searchable and they can definitely be attributed to you.\r\n\r\nWe\'ve seen case upon case of people tweeting in anger (whether justified or not), and then facing consequences. There have been a few cases of passengers getting booted off a flight. Or people being fired for tweeting something.\r\n\r\nHere\'s the thing: Anger does not allow you to think clearly. You may not see the consequences.\r\n\r\n<strong>Angry and about to post? Take a pause. Put your thought into a draft. Wait.</strong>\r\n\r\nA few weeks ago, I had an unfortunate meeting with someone and I felt very angry and upset afterward. I came home and wrote a blog post, which would have upset that person had I published it. Instead, I wrote it and let it sit in the draft file. I still haven\'t published it. My anger is gone, and now I realize I don\'t necessarily want to have those thoughts, about a specific person and meeting to be \"on the record.\" Perhaps what happened was not as bad as I perceived it. Perhaps this person meant no harm.\r\n\r\nIf you must vent, write it but don\'t tweet it.  As a speaker at an event a couple of years ago said (I wish I could remember her name):\r\n<blockquote><strong>Never Twitter when you\'re bitter.</strong></blockquote>\r\n<strong>So, write it. But don\'t post it...yet. Come back to it when you are not as angry and frustrated.</strong>\r\n\r\nOnce you are calm, and revisiting your post ask yourself these questions:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Do you really want to put it on the record?</li>\r\n	<li>Is this important enough to ruffle feathers?</li>\r\n	<li>What do you expect to gain from this?</li>\r\n	<li>And, is it worth it?</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nHave you regretted posting something you wrote while you were angry? What were the consequences?','Angry and posting? What you should do instead.','','publish','open','open','','angry-and-posting-what-you-should-do-instead','','','2014-10-15 14:13:58','2014-10-15 18:13:58','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2772',0,'post','',2),
(2773,4,'2014-10-15 14:13:58','2014-10-15 18:13:58','In this age of social media, we always have an outlet for our thoughts, whether they be insightful and informative, or whether to express our frustrations and complaints.\r\n\r\nIf we want to share golden nugget from a conference, there\'s Twitter and a hashtag. If we want to lash out at our boss, there\'s Facebook (where we aren\'t friends with our boss). If we want to rant (or rave) about anything, we can post about it at length on our blog.\r\n\r\nMost of the time, there\'s no harm done. Except if you post when you are angry.\r\n\r\nWhen you are angry, you are caught up in the (negative) emotion of the moment. You are looking either to vent your frustration or to exact some sort of revenge. When you vent in anger in person (and not on social media), there are often (immediate) consequences. You may insult or offend someone and ruin your relationship with that person. You may escalate a situation (and in some cases, this can even lead to violence).  Or you may blow off steam, and calm down.\r\n\r\nBut when you are angry and you post on social media, the consequences can be greater and more long-lasting. Social media is the great amplifier. Your angry thoughts can go viral. And even more so, they became permanent. They can\'t be easily retracted. They are searchable and they can definitely be attributed to you.\r\n\r\nWe\'ve seen case upon case of people tweeting in anger (whether justified or not), and then facing consequences. There have been a few cases of passengers getting booted off a flight. Or people being fired for tweeting something.\r\n\r\nHere\'s the thing: Anger does not allow you to think clearly. You may not see the consequences.\r\n\r\n<strong>Angry and about to post? Take a pause. Put your thought into a draft. Wait.</strong>\r\n\r\nA few weeks ago, I had an unfortunate meeting with someone and I felt very angry and upset afterward. I came home and wrote a blog post, which would have upset that person had I published it. Instead, I wrote it and let it sit in the draft file. I still haven\'t published it. My anger is gone, and now I realize I don\'t necessarily want to have those thoughts, about a specific person and meeting to be \"on the record.\" Perhaps what happened was not as bad as I perceived it. Perhaps this person meant no harm.\r\n\r\nIf you must vent, write it but don\'t tweet it.  As a speaker at an event a couple of years ago said (I wish I could remember her name):\r\n<blockquote><strong>Never Twitter when you\'re bitter.</strong></blockquote>\r\n<strong>So, write it. But don\'t post it...yet. Come back to it when you are not as angry and frustrated.</strong>\r\n\r\nOnce you are calm, and revisiting your post ask yourself these questions:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Do you really want to put it on the record?</li>\r\n	<li>Is this important enough to ruffle feathers?</li>\r\n	<li>What do you expect to gain from this?</li>\r\n	<li>And, is it worth it?</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nHave you regretted posting something you wrote while you were angry? What were the consequences?','Angry and posting? What you should do instead.','','inherit','open','open','','2772-revision-v1','','','2014-10-15 14:13:58','2014-10-15 18:13:58','',2772,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2772-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2774,4,'2014-10-21 09:35:09','2014-10-21 13:35:09','Note:<a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/\" target=\"_blank\"> AMADC </a>is the Washington, DC chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) , which is a membership organization with chapters around the country. I am not a member of the AMA or AMADC, although I have attended its events in the past.\r\n\r\nLast Friday, the AMADC tweeted about its upcoming happy hour (or AMA Networking Events as they call them) at a DC restaurant. I clicked on the link and found out that to attend the happy hour, non-members must pay $45 while members can attend free. According to what I saw, the happy hour/networking event is a chance to mingle with other people. This is a description from the AMADC website:\r\n<blockquote>AMADC Networking Events are the place to get dialed into the DC marketing community. Make alliances for your business, find your next great employee, get active in the AMA, get career advice or maybe get your next job. Be sure to bring a ton of business cards, you are going to need them</blockquote>\r\nThere is no program, no speaker and at least from what I can see, no food or drink included in the price of admission. Just a chance to meet people (maybe).\r\n\r\nHere\'s my conversation with AMADC on Twitter:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2776 \" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\" alt=\"amadc\" width=\"598\" height=\"807\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAccording to the @AMADC response above, the free happy hour for members is a \"main benefit of membership.\" This however, is not even mentioned in the <a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/membership/local-benefits\" target=\"_blank\">AMADC\'s website membership benefits page</a>.\r\n\r\n(Annual membership in AMADC is $285, of which $220 is for national dues and $65 for chapter dues.)\r\n\r\n<strong>So, what is the marketing/strategic goal for the AMADC happy hours? Is the goal to reach non-members and show them value?\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\nAre these happy hours simply membership perks? If so, fine. If I am understanding this correctly, members get to feel as though they are \"saving\" $45 for each \"networking event.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a question though: members don\'t have to pay extra to attend. And while this may be a benefit of membership, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">just how valuable is it?</span> <em>Remember cost is not equivalent to value. </em>\r\n\r\nBut, if these happy hours/networking events are also a chance to reach out to non-members and perhaps even to recruit new members, then charging $45 is not accomplishing that goal. I can tell you that from experience, specifically with the AMADC.\r\n\r\nWhen I first moved to DC nearly ten years ago, I attended one of the AMADC happy hours at a bar downtown. The cost then was $25 (why the nearly 100% increase is another question).  I got to the bar, where I knew nobody.  There was a section reserved for the AMA ( right off the main bar, and not even clearly marked off). They offered no snacks, or drinks (or even discount drinks other than the regular happy hour stuff ). There were no name tags. Nobody offered to act as an AMA ambassador and welcome people. I tried talking to a couple of people but having a conversation over the bar\'s loud background noise was near impossible. In short, it was a waste of time and money. I could\'ve just gone to the bar on my own, ordered a beer, sat right next to the AMA DC section, and gotten as much out of it while saving $25.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the AMADC\'s goal to be in line with other organizations in town?</strong>\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, the other membership organizations in town also host monthly happy hours, however, this charge of $45 for a happy hour is the highest I have seen. For example, <a href=\"http://www.iabcdcmetro.org/\" target=\"_blank\">IABCDC</a> does not charge for its happy hours. Everyone pays for what they consume. Various communications meetups such as DC PR Flacks don\'t charge either. The <a href=\"https://www.prsa-ncc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">PRSA-NCC </a> charges everyone for its PRO Net happy hours ($10 for members and $15 for non-members) but the fee includes a free drink and appetizers.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the goal to encourage networking among members?</strong>\r\n\r\nOther organizations charge between $35 and $65 for non-members to attend chapter meetings, professional development events or luncheons/dinners. In fact, AMADC charges $50 to non-members and $30 for members for its professional development events. Bear in mind that at a professional development event or at a meal, people are getting a tangible benefit.\r\n\r\nWhy would networking be considered a more important benefit than professional development? Why not make professional development the perk of membership?\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the AMADC\'s goal to make money off networking events?</strong>\r\n\r\nObviously, when there is a cost involved for the organization (the meal, the room rental, etc.), there is a reason to charge both members and non-members. Many organizations use sponsorships to defray the overhead costs, and so that they can offer discounts to their members. For the upcoming AMADC happy hour, a local organization is sponsoring the event.  Since people have to pay for their drinks and food, there is no cost to the AMADC other than a room rental or guarantee fee, which I assume is being covered by the sponsorship. The non-member fee would seem to be a money-maker.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the goal to show non-members what they would save?</strong>\r\n\r\nPerhaps the AMADC is imagining a scenario where a non-member signs up for this event, has a wonderful time and makes a lot of new contacts, and figures that if he or she signs up for membership, he/she could go to this events \"for free\" thus \"saving\" $45.\r\n\r\n<strong>So what are the AMADC\'s goals?</strong>\r\n\r\nI don\'t know and I can\'t tell what the AMADC\'s goals are. It\'s not clear to me what it is aiming to accomplish by charging so much for a happy hour. In my opinion, there is little value to a happy hour and very little reason to spend $45 to attend one. Yes, I understand there is a networking opportunity. But as mentioned above, there are many other free and lower cost opportunities in town. Plus, going to a happy hour at a loud bar is not necessarily the best way to network.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Would you pay this fee? Why or why not?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the goal behind the AMADC\'s $45 happy hour?','','publish','open','open','','whats-the-goal-for-the-45-happy-hour','','','2014-10-21 09:35:09','2014-10-21 13:35:09','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2774',0,'post','',2),
(2775,4,'2014-10-17 13:24:36','2014-10-17 17:24:36','','amadc','','inherit','open','open','','amadc','','','2014-10-17 13:24:36','2014-10-17 17:24:36','',2774,'http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.bmp',0,'attachment','image/bmp',0),
(2776,4,'2014-10-17 13:29:25','2014-10-17 17:29:25','','amadc','','inherit','open','open','','amadc-2','','','2014-10-17 13:29:25','2014-10-17 17:29:25','',2774,'http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),
(2777,4,'2014-10-17 14:13:56','2014-10-17 18:13:56','Note: AMADC is the Washington, DC chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) , which is a membership organization with chapters around the country. I am not a member of AMADC.\r\n\r\nEarlier today, the AMADC tweeted out about their upcoming happy hour (or AMA Networking Events as they call them) at a DC restaurant. I clicked on the link and found out that to attend the happy hour, non-members must pay $45 while members can attend free. According to what I saw, the happy hour/networking event is a chance to mingle with other people. This is a description from the AMADC website:\r\n<blockquote>AMADC Networking Events are the place to get dialed into the DC marketing community. Make alliances for your business, find your next great employee, get active in the AMA, get career advice or maybe get your next job. Be sure to bring a ton of business cards, you are going to need them</blockquote>\r\nThere is no program, no speaker and at least from what I saw, no food or drink included in the price of admission. Just a chance to meet people (maybe).\r\n\r\nHere\'s my response:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2776 size-full\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\" alt=\"amadc\" width=\"1296\" height=\"864\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAccording to the @AMADC response above, the free happy hour for members is a \"main benefit of membership.\" This however, is not even mentioned in the <a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/membership/local-benefits\" target=\"_blank\">AMADC\'s website membership benefits page</a>.\r\n\r\n(Annual membership in AMADC is $285, of which $220 is for national dues and $65 for chapter dues.)\r\n\r\nIf I am understanding this correctly, members get to feel as though they are \"saving\" $45 for each \"networking event. \"They don\'t have to pay extra to attend. And while this may be a benefit of membership, just how valuable is it? <strong>Remember cost is not equivalent to value. </strong>\r\n\r\nPerhaps a better question is what is the reason or goal for the AMADC happy hours? Are they simply membership perks? If so, fine. But, if these happy hours/networking events are also a chance to reach out to non-members and perhaps even to recruit new members, then charging $45 is not accomplishing that goal. I can tell you that from experience, specifically with the AMADC.\r\n\r\nWhen I first moved to DC nearly ten years ago, I attended one of the AMADC happy hours at a bar downtown. The cost then was $25 (why the nearly 100% increase is another question, considering that AMADC is not providing anything).  I got to the bar, where I knew nobody.  There was a section reserved for the AMA (not in a private room, but right off the main bar, and not even clearly marked off). They offered no snacks, or drinks (or even discount drinks other than the regular happy hour stuff ). There were no name tags or e. Nobody offered to act as an AMA ambassador. I talked to a couple of folks, but trying to have a conversation over the game blaring on the TV sets was near impossible. In short, it was a colossal waste of time and money. I could\'ve just gone to the bar, ordered a beer, sat right next to the AMA DC section, and saved myself $25.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, the other membership organizations in town also host monthly happy hours. For the record, this charge of $45 for a happy hour is the highest I have seen for this type of event. For example, IABCDC does not charge for its happy hours. Various communications meetups such as DC Flacks don\'t charge either. Some do charge admission (like the PRSA), but include a drink and/or appetizers.\r\n\r\nOther organizations charge between $35 and $65 for nonmembers to attend chapter meetings, professional development events or luncheons/dinners. In fact, AMADC charges $50 to nonmembers and $30 for members for its professional development events. At a professional development event or meal, people are getting a tangible benefit. People pay for the chance to learn something or to eat something all the time.\r\n\r\nWhy would networking be considered a more important benefit than professional development? Why not make professional development the perk of membership?\r\n\r\nObviously, when there is a cost involved for the organization (the meal, the room rental, etc.), there is a reason to charge both members and non-members. Many organizations use sponsorships to defray the overhead charges, and so that they can offer discounts to their members. For the upcoming AMADC happy hour, there is a organization sponsoring the event. In fact, I would venture that the organization is not paying anything for the happy hour, and will in fact be making money from any non-members who attend. Perhaps then, the cost is to make money for the organization.\r\n\r\nStill, I would like to know what a non-member is getting for his/her $45 investment. Yes, I understand there is a networking opportunity. But as mentioned above, there are many other free and lower cost opportunities in town. Plus going to a happy hour at a loud bar is not necessarily the best way to network.\r\n\r\nAMADC should decide whether it is trying to attract new members or not and how to best do it. In my opinion, charging $45 for\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Why $45 is too much for a happy hour and what AMADC should do instead','','inherit','open','open','','2774-revision-v1','','','2014-10-17 14:13:56','2014-10-17 18:13:56','',2774,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2774-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2778,4,'2014-10-17 14:18:34','2014-10-17 18:18:34','Note: AMADC is the Washington, DC chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) , which is a membership organization with chapters around the country. I am not a member of AMADC.\r\n\r\nEarlier today, the AMADC tweeted out about their upcoming happy hour (or AMA Networking Events as they call them) at a DC restaurant. I clicked on the link and found out that to attend the happy hour, non-members must pay $45 while members can attend free. According to what I saw, the happy hour/networking event is a chance to mingle with other people. This is a description from the AMADC website:\r\n<blockquote>AMADC Networking Events are the place to get dialed into the DC marketing community. Make alliances for your business, find your next great employee, get active in the AMA, get career advice or maybe get your next job. Be sure to bring a ton of business cards, you are going to need them</blockquote>\r\nThere is no program, no speaker and at least from what I can see, no food or drink included in the price of admission. Just a chance to meet people (maybe).\r\n\r\nHere\'s my response:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2776 size-full\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\" alt=\"amadc\" width=\"1296\" height=\"864\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAccording to the @AMADC response above, the free happy hour for members is a \"main benefit of membership.\" This however, is not even mentioned in the <a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/membership/local-benefits\" target=\"_blank\">AMADC\'s website membership benefits page</a>.\r\n\r\n(Annual membership in AMADC is $285, of which $220 is for national dues and $65 for chapter dues.)\r\n\r\nIf I am understanding this correctly, members get to feel as though they are \"saving\" $45 for each \"networking event. \"They don\'t have to pay extra to attend. And while this may be a benefit of membership, just how valuable is it? <strong>Remember cost is not equivalent to value. </strong>\r\n\r\nPerhaps a better question is what is the reason or goal for the AMADC happy hours? Are they simply membership perks? If so, fine. But, if these happy hours/networking events are also a chance to reach out to non-members and perhaps even to recruit new members, then charging $45 is not accomplishing that goal. I can tell you that from experience, specifically with the AMADC.\r\n\r\nWhen I first moved to DC nearly ten years ago, I attended one of the AMADC happy hours at a bar downtown. The cost then was $25 (why the nearly 100% increase is another question, considering that AMADC is not providing anything).  I got to the bar, where I knew nobody.  There was a section reserved for the AMA (not in a private room, but right off the main bar, and not even clearly marked off). They offered no snacks, or drinks (or even discount drinks other than the regular happy hour stuff ). There were no name tags or e. Nobody offered to act as an AMA ambassador. I talked to a couple of folks, but trying to have a conversation over the game blaring on the TV sets was near impossible. In short, it was a colossal waste of time and money. I could\'ve just gone to the bar, ordered a beer, sat right next to the AMA DC section, and saved myself $25.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, the other membership organizations in town also host monthly happy hours. For the record, this charge of $45 for a happy hour is the highest I have seen for this type of event. For example, IABCDC does not charge for its happy hours. Various communications meetups such as DC Flacks don\'t charge either. Some do charge admission (like the PRSA), but include a drink and/or appetizers.\r\n\r\nOther organizations charge between $35 and $65 for nonmembers to attend chapter meetings, professional development events or luncheons/dinners. In fact, AMADC charges $50 to nonmembers and $30 for members for its professional development events. At a professional development event or meal, people are getting a tangible benefit. People pay for the chance to learn something or to eat something all the time.\r\n\r\nWhy would networking be considered a more important benefit than professional development? Why not make professional development the perk of membership?\r\n\r\nObviously, when there is a cost involved for the organization (the meal, the room rental, etc.), there is a reason to charge both members and non-members. Many organizations use sponsorships to defray the overhead charges, and so that they can offer discounts to their members. For the upcoming AMADC happy hour, there is a organization sponsoring the event. In fact, I would venture that the organization is not paying anything for the happy hour, and will in fact be making money from any non-members who attend. Perhaps then, the cost is to make money for the organization.\r\n\r\nStill, I would like to know what a non-member is getting for his/her $45 investment. Yes, I understand there is a networking opportunity. But as mentioned above, there are many other free and lower cost opportunities in town. Plus going to a happy hour at a loud bar is not necessarily the best way to network.\r\n\r\nAMADC should decide whether it is trying to attract new members or not and how to best do it. In my opinion, charging $45 for\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Why $45 is too much for a happy hour and what AMADC should do instead','','inherit','open','open','','2774-revision-v1','','','2014-10-17 14:18:34','2014-10-17 18:18:34','',2774,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2774-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2779,4,'2014-10-21 09:29:14','2014-10-21 13:29:14','Note:<a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/\" target=\"_blank\"> AMADC </a>is the Washington, DC chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) , which is a membership organization with chapters around the country. I am not a member of the AMA or AMADC, although I have attended their events in the past.\r\n\r\nLast Friday, the AMADC tweeted about their upcoming happy hour (or AMA Networking Events as they call them) at a DC restaurant. I clicked on the link and found out that to attend the happy hour, non-members must pay $45 while members can attend free. According to what I saw, the happy hour/networking event is a chance to mingle with other people. This is a description from the AMADC website:\r\n<blockquote>AMADC Networking Events are the place to get dialed into the DC marketing community. Make alliances for your business, find your next great employee, get active in the AMA, get career advice or maybe get your next job. Be sure to bring a ton of business cards, you are going to need them</blockquote>\r\nThere is no program, no speaker and at least from what I can see, no food or drink included in the price of admission. Just a chance to meet people (maybe).\r\n\r\nHere\'s my conversation with AMADC on Twitter:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2776 \" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\" alt=\"amadc\" width=\"598\" height=\"807\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAccording to the @AMADC response above, the free happy hour for members is a \"main benefit of membership.\" This however, is not even mentioned in the <a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/membership/local-benefits\" target=\"_blank\">AMADC\'s website membership benefits page</a>.\r\n\r\n(Annual membership in AMADC is $285, of which $220 is for national dues and $65 for chapter dues.)\r\n\r\n<strong>So, what is the marketing/strategic goal for the AMADC happy hours? Is the goal to reach non-members and show them value?</strong>\r\n\r\nAre these happy hours simply membership perks? If so, fine. If I am understanding this correctly, members get to feel as though they are \"saving\" $45 for each \"networking event.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a question though: members don\'t have to pay extra to attend. And while this may be a benefit of membership, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">just how valuable is it?</span> <em>Remember cost is not equivalent to value. </em>\r\n\r\nBut, if these happy hours/networking events are also a chance to reach out to non-members and perhaps even to recruit new members, then charging $45 is not accomplishing that goal. I can tell you that from experience, specifically with the AMADC.\r\n\r\nWhen I first moved to DC nearly ten years ago, I attended one of the AMADC happy hours at a bar downtown. The cost then was $25 (why the nearly 100% increase is another question).  I got to the bar, where I knew nobody.  There was a section reserved for the AMA ( right off the main bar, and not even clearly marked off). They offered no snacks, or drinks (or even discount drinks other than the regular happy hour stuff ). There were no name tags. Nobody offered to act as an AMA ambassador and welcome people. I tried talking to a couple of people but having a conversation over the bar\'s loud background noise was near impossible. In short, it was a waste of time and money. I could\'ve just gone to the bar on my own, ordered a beer, sat right next to the AMA DC section, and gotten as much out of it while saving $25.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the AMADC\'s goal to be in line with other organizations in town?</strong>\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, the other membership organizations in town also host monthly happy hours, however, this charge of $45 for a happy hour is the highest I have seen. For example, <a href=\"http://www.iabcdcmetro.org/\" target=\"_blank\">IABCDC</a> does not charge for its happy hours. Everyone pays for what they consume. Various communications meetups such as DC PR Flacks don\'t charge either. The <a href=\"https://www.prsa-ncc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">PRSA-NCC </a> charges everyone for its PRO Net happy hours ($10 for members and $15 for non-members) but the fee includes a free drink and appetizers.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the goal to encourage networking among members?</strong>\r\n\r\nOther organizations charge between $35 and $65 for non-members to attend chapter meetings, professional development events or luncheons/dinners. In fact, AMADC charges $50 to non-members and $30 for members for its professional development events. Bear in mind that at a professional development event or at a meal, people are getting a tangible benefit.\r\n\r\nWhy would networking be considered a more important benefit than professional development? Why not make professional development the perk of membership?\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the AMADC\'s goal to make money off networking events?</strong>\r\n\r\nObviously, when there is a cost involved for the organization (the meal, the room rental, etc.), there is a reason to charge both members and non-members. Many organizations use sponsorships to defray the overhead costs, and so that they can offer discounts to their members. For the upcoming AMADC happy hour, a local organization is sponsoring the event.  Since people have to pay for their drinks and food, there is no cost to the AMADC other than a room rental or guarantee fee, which I assume is being covered by the sponsorship. The non-member fee would seem to be a money-maker.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the goal to show non-members what they would save?</strong>\r\n\r\nPerhaps the AMADC is imagining a scenario where a non-member signs up for this event, has a wonderful time and makes a lot of new contacts, and figures that if he or she signs up for membership, he/she could go to this events \"for free\" thus \"saving\" $45.\r\n\r\n<strong>So what are the AMADC\'s goals?</strong>\r\n\r\nI don\'t know what the AMADC\'s goals are. It\'s not clear to me what it is aiming to accomplish by charging so much for a happy hour. In my opinion, there is little value to a happy hour and very little reason to spend $45 to attend one. Yes, I understand there is a networking opportunity. But as mentioned above, there are many other free and lower cost opportunities in town. Plus, going to a happy hour at a loud bar is not necessarily the best way to network.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Would you pay this fee? Why or why not?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the goal behind the AMADC\'s $45 happy hour?','','inherit','open','open','','2774-revision-v1','','','2014-10-21 09:29:14','2014-10-21 13:29:14','',2774,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2774-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2780,4,'2014-10-21 09:34:52','2014-10-21 13:34:52','Note:<a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/\" target=\"_blank\"> AMADC </a>is the Washington, DC chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) , which is a membership organization with chapters around the country. I am not a member of the AMA or AMADC, although I have attended its events in the past.\r\n\r\nLast Friday, the AMADC tweeted about its upcoming happy hour (or AMA Networking Events as they call them) at a DC restaurant. I clicked on the link and found out that to attend the happy hour, non-members must pay $45 while members can attend free. According to what I saw, the happy hour/networking event is a chance to mingle with other people. This is a description from the AMADC website:\r\n<blockquote>AMADC Networking Events are the place to get dialed into the DC marketing community. Make alliances for your business, find your next great employee, get active in the AMA, get career advice or maybe get your next job. Be sure to bring a ton of business cards, you are going to need them</blockquote>\r\nThere is no program, no speaker and at least from what I can see, no food or drink included in the price of admission. Just a chance to meet people (maybe).\r\n\r\nHere\'s my conversation with AMADC on Twitter:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2776 \" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/amadc.jpg\" alt=\"amadc\" width=\"598\" height=\"807\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAccording to the @AMADC response above, the free happy hour for members is a \"main benefit of membership.\" This however, is not even mentioned in the <a href=\"http://www.amadc.org/membership/local-benefits\" target=\"_blank\">AMADC\'s website membership benefits page</a>.\r\n\r\n(Annual membership in AMADC is $285, of which $220 is for national dues and $65 for chapter dues.)\r\n\r\n<strong>So, what is the marketing/strategic goal for the AMADC happy hours? Is the goal to reach non-members and show them value?\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\nAre these happy hours simply membership perks? If so, fine. If I am understanding this correctly, members get to feel as though they are \"saving\" $45 for each \"networking event.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a question though: members don\'t have to pay extra to attend. And while this may be a benefit of membership, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">just how valuable is it?</span> <em>Remember cost is not equivalent to value. </em>\r\n\r\nBut, if these happy hours/networking events are also a chance to reach out to non-members and perhaps even to recruit new members, then charging $45 is not accomplishing that goal. I can tell you that from experience, specifically with the AMADC.\r\n\r\nWhen I first moved to DC nearly ten years ago, I attended one of the AMADC happy hours at a bar downtown. The cost then was $25 (why the nearly 100% increase is another question).  I got to the bar, where I knew nobody.  There was a section reserved for the AMA ( right off the main bar, and not even clearly marked off). They offered no snacks, or drinks (or even discount drinks other than the regular happy hour stuff ). There were no name tags. Nobody offered to act as an AMA ambassador and welcome people. I tried talking to a couple of people but having a conversation over the bar\'s loud background noise was near impossible. In short, it was a waste of time and money. I could\'ve just gone to the bar on my own, ordered a beer, sat right next to the AMA DC section, and gotten as much out of it while saving $25.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the AMADC\'s goal to be in line with other organizations in town?</strong>\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, the other membership organizations in town also host monthly happy hours, however, this charge of $45 for a happy hour is the highest I have seen. For example, <a href=\"http://www.iabcdcmetro.org/\" target=\"_blank\">IABCDC</a> does not charge for its happy hours. Everyone pays for what they consume. Various communications meetups such as DC PR Flacks don\'t charge either. The <a href=\"https://www.prsa-ncc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">PRSA-NCC </a> charges everyone for its PRO Net happy hours ($10 for members and $15 for non-members) but the fee includes a free drink and appetizers.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the goal to encourage networking among members?</strong>\r\n\r\nOther organizations charge between $35 and $65 for non-members to attend chapter meetings, professional development events or luncheons/dinners. In fact, AMADC charges $50 to non-members and $30 for members for its professional development events. Bear in mind that at a professional development event or at a meal, people are getting a tangible benefit.\r\n\r\nWhy would networking be considered a more important benefit than professional development? Why not make professional development the perk of membership?\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the AMADC\'s goal to make money off networking events?</strong>\r\n\r\nObviously, when there is a cost involved for the organization (the meal, the room rental, etc.), there is a reason to charge both members and non-members. Many organizations use sponsorships to defray the overhead costs, and so that they can offer discounts to their members. For the upcoming AMADC happy hour, a local organization is sponsoring the event.  Since people have to pay for their drinks and food, there is no cost to the AMADC other than a room rental or guarantee fee, which I assume is being covered by the sponsorship. The non-member fee would seem to be a money-maker.\r\n\r\n<strong>Is the goal to show non-members what they would save?</strong>\r\n\r\nPerhaps the AMADC is imagining a scenario where a non-member signs up for this event, has a wonderful time and makes a lot of new contacts, and figures that if he or she signs up for membership, he/she could go to this events \"for free\" thus \"saving\" $45.\r\n\r\n<strong>So what are the AMADC\'s goals?</strong>\r\n\r\nI don\'t know and I can\'t tell what the AMADC\'s goals are. It\'s not clear to me what it is aiming to accomplish by charging so much for a happy hour. In my opinion, there is little value to a happy hour and very little reason to spend $45 to attend one. Yes, I understand there is a networking opportunity. But as mentioned above, there are many other free and lower cost opportunities in town. Plus, going to a happy hour at a loud bar is not necessarily the best way to network.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Would you pay this fee? Why or why not?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the goal behind the AMADC\'s $45 happy hour?','','inherit','open','open','','2774-revision-v1','','','2014-10-21 09:34:52','2014-10-21 13:34:52','',2774,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2774-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2861,4,'2015-02-10 10:27:57','2015-02-10 15:27:57','Yesterday, I came across an article about how the Jewish online magazine Tablet is dealing with comments. It has decided to charge a fee to allow people to comment in order to make it harder for trolls to post obnoxious (and often anti-Semitic) comments. But there is an unintended consequence, and that is that legitimate commenters will now be dissuaded from commenting as well. The barrier to entry may prove too high.\r\n\r\nMany websites have barriers to entry. Some are easily \"climbed\" and some are like Everest, impossible. Generally these barriers are subscription fees, sign up forms, or registration requirements.\r\n\r\nIn an effort to generate money from online readers, newspapers have added online subscription fees. That\'s a high barrier to entry. Some websites require registration, generally your email and a password. That\'s also a medium barrier to entry.  Yet other websites splash a newsletter sign-up before you can read the content, but generally you can close that out making it a low barrier to entry.\r\n\r\nThere are good reasons to create these barriers. After all, you may want to grow your marketing database or get some insight into who is visiting your website, or like many newspapers, you are looking for a source of revenue.\r\n\r\nBut barriers are not just mechanical. Your barriers to entry may be psychological. By that I mean that you may have barriers that have nothing to do with sign-ups and subscriptions, but more with to do with thought. For example, your website navigation may not be intuitive and may make it hard to for visitors to find what they are looking for.\r\n\r\nA more subtle barrier is the language that you choose to use on your website. Many tech and government websites are flush with jargon that is nearly unintelligible to an outsider. Some websites make it hard for visitors by having too much information (or too many words) to sort through.\r\n\r\nIf you have been seeing a low conversion rate on your website, a drop in visitors, or a high bounce rate, perhaps you need to examine whether you have created an unintended barrier to entry or have built a barrier to entry that is too high.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','How high is your barrier to entry?','','inherit','open','open','','2860-revision-v1','','','2015-02-10 10:27:57','2015-02-10 15:27:57','',2860,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2860-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2783,4,'2014-10-27 09:00:36','2014-10-27 13:00:36','<strong>Web design keeps changing</strong>\r\n\r\nThe wonderful <a href=\"http://ewriteonline.com/about-us/2011/04/staff-bios/\" target=\"_blank\">Leslie O\'Flahavan</a> gave a great presentation/workshop last week about new web design trends and how they affect web writing. You can <a href=\"http://ewriteonline.com/uncategorized/2014/10/how-web-design-trends-are-changing-the-way-we-write-content/\" target=\"_blank\">download it here</a>. Some of these trends include infinite scrolling (like on the Time Magazine website, where you can just keep scrolling down through endless articles) and the large-type front page (like this, on this page with <a href=\"https://medium.com/@penguinrandomus/a-to-x-writing-advice-courtesy-of-copy-chief-benjamin-dreyer-c00bd746b99e\" target=\"_blank\">A to X Writing Advice)</a>.  There\'s also a trend to include pre-made shareable content (usually pre-written tweets).\r\n\r\n<strong><em>How</em> people access a website has to be considered</strong>\r\n\r\nThen there is the need (this is <em>not</em> a trend) to have everything visible and rendering appropriately on any device people happen to be using to access your website--desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone.  Type has to be readable. Although these issues are solvable by good design and web architecture, web writers have to consider these when deciding how to present which information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Web writing is not quite the same as writing for print</strong>\r\n\r\nSince most every business, nonprofit and news organization is on the web, web/content writing is probably the largest type of writing being done today. Yet, it is not as if you can just take your print materials, digitize them and call it a day. Clearly, there is a lot to consider when you are writing for the web.\r\n\r\n<strong>What makes for a good web writer?</strong>\r\n\r\nCan just anybody write for the web? Not really. I think people can be taught how to write for the web, but not everybody has the ability to be like Leslie and be able to see what is going on in web design, spot trends and realize how these new changes affect web content.\r\n\r\n<strong>The five essential skills of a great web writer:</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>1. The ability to spot the trends.</strong> This also means keeping on top of UX (user experience) and other issues that affect how websites are designed.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Understanding how the new design trends affect what you write.</strong> It\'s not enough to spot the trends. You need to be able to see how those trends impact what content should be included and how it should be written.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Ability to write in short and long formats.</strong> As Leslie describes in her presentation, there\'s the snack and then there\'s the meal. You have to be able to write short, snappy headlines but also be able to write longer, more \"meaty\" content.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. Ability to synthesize information.</strong>  You are called on to write short descriptions, whether it be for pre-made tweets or web page headings. In order to do this, you must be able to take a lot of information and condense it. It\'s helpful if you can explain things simply too.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Visual and design sensibilit</strong>y. Being able to understand the role that visual and design play in how a website is read and viewed is key, as the ability to work with graphic/web designers to make your content look appealing.\r\n\r\nHave you noticed website writing has changed? Have you seen websites that look great but read poorly? What is your experience with web writing?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The 5 essential skills for great web writing','','publish','open','open','','the-5-essential-skills-for-great-web-writing','','','2014-10-27 09:00:36','2014-10-27 13:00:36','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2783',0,'post','',0),
(2784,4,'2014-10-24 09:23:28','2014-10-24 13:23:28','The wonderful Leslie O\'Flavahan gave a great presentation the other day about web trends and how they affect web writing. You can see it here.\r\n\r\nIt got me thinking about whether anybody can be a web writer. I don\'t think so. I think people can be taught how to write for the web, but not everybody has the ability to be like Leslie and spot the trends and how they affect web content.\r\n\r\n1. Ability to spot the trends\r\n\r\n2. Ability to write in short and long formats\r\n\r\n3. Ability to synthesize information\r\n\r\n4. Visual and design sensibility\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','','','inherit','open','open','','2783-revision-v1','','','2014-10-24 09:23:28','2014-10-24 13:23:28','',2783,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2783-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2785,4,'2014-10-24 13:51:22','2014-10-24 17:51:22','The wonderful Leslie O\'Flahavan gave a great presentation/workshop the other day about web trends and how they affect web writing. You can <a href=\"http://ewriteonline.com/uncategorized/2014/10/how-web-design-trends-are-changing-the-way-we-write-content/\" target=\"_blank\">download it here</a>. Some of these trends include infinite scrolling (like on the Time Magazine website, where you can just keep scrolling) and the large-type front page (like this, on this page with <a href=\"https://medium.com/@penguinrandomus/a-to-x-writing-advice-courtesy-of-copy-chief-benjamin-dreyer-c00bd746b99e\" target=\"_blank\">A to X Writing Advice)</a>.  There\'s also a trend to include pre-made shareable content (or pre-written tweets).\r\n\r\nThen there is the need (this is <em>not</em> a trend) to have everything visible and rendering appropriately on any device you happen to be using--desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone. How people access a website has to be considered. Type has to be readable. Although these issues are solvable by good design and web architecture, web writers have to consider these when deciding how to present which information.\r\n\r\nClearly, there is a lot to keep track of when you are writing for the web, where most of us turn to daily. Since most every business, nonprofit and news organization is on the web, web/content writing is probably the largest type of writing being done today.\r\n\r\nCan just anybody write for the web? Not really. I think people can be taught how to write for the web, but not everybody has the ability to be like Leslie and be able to see what is going on in web design, spot trends and realize how these new changes affect web content.\r\n\r\n1. Ability to spot the trends\r\n\r\n2. Ability to write in short and long formats\r\n\r\n3. Ability to synthesize information\r\n\r\n4. Visual and design sensibility\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','','','inherit','open','open','','2783-revision-v1','','','2014-10-24 13:51:22','2014-10-24 17:51:22','',2783,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2783-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2786,4,'2014-10-27 08:58:52','2014-10-27 12:58:52','<strong>Web design keeps changing</strong>\r\n\r\nThe wonderful <a href=\"http://ewriteonline.com/about-us/2011/04/staff-bios/\" target=\"_blank\">Leslie O\'Flahavan</a> gave a great presentation/workshop last week about new web design trends and how they affect web writing. You can <a href=\"http://ewriteonline.com/uncategorized/2014/10/how-web-design-trends-are-changing-the-way-we-write-content/\" target=\"_blank\">download it here</a>. Some of these trends include infinite scrolling (like on the Time Magazine website, where you can just keep scrolling down through endless articles) and the large-type front page (like this, on this page with <a href=\"https://medium.com/@penguinrandomus/a-to-x-writing-advice-courtesy-of-copy-chief-benjamin-dreyer-c00bd746b99e\" target=\"_blank\">A to X Writing Advice)</a>.  There\'s also a trend to include pre-made shareable content (usually pre-written tweets).\r\n\r\n<strong><em>How</em> people access a website has to be considered.</strong>\r\n\r\nThen there is the need (this is <em>not</em> a trend) to have everything visible and rendering appropriately on any device people happen to be using to access your website--desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone.  Type has to be readable. Although these issues are solvable by good design and web architecture, web writers have to consider these when deciding how to present which information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Web writing is not quite the same as writing for print</strong>\r\n\r\nSince most every business, nonprofit and news organization is on the web, web/content writing is probably the largest type of writing being done today. Yet, it is not as if you can just take your print materials, digitize them and call it a day. Clearly, there is a lot to consider when you are writing for the web.\r\n\r\n<strong>What makes for a good web writer?</strong>\r\n\r\nCan just anybody write for the web? Not really. I think people can be taught how to write for the web, but not everybody has the ability to be like Leslie and be able to see what is going on in web design, spot trends and realize how these new changes affect web content.\r\n\r\n<strong>The five essential skills of a great web writer:</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>1. The ability to spot the trends.</strong> This also means keeping on top of UX (user experience) and other issues that affect how websites are designed.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Understanding how the new design trends affect what you write.</strong> It\'s not enough to spot the trends. You need to be able to see how those trends impact what content should be included and how it should be written.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Ability to write in short and long formats.</strong> As Leslie describes in her presentation, there\'s the snack and then there\'s the meal. You have to be able to write short, snappy headlines but also be able to write longer, more \"meaty\" content.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. Ability to synthesize information.</strong>  You are called on to write short descriptions, whether it be for pre-made tweets or web page headings. In order to do this, you must be able to take a lot of information and condense it. It\'s helpful if you can explain things simply too.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Visual and design sensibilit</strong>y. Being able to understand the role that visual and design play in how a website is read and viewed is key, as the ability to work with graphic/web designers to make your content look appealing.\r\n\r\nHave you noticed website writing has changed? Have you seen websites that look great but read poorly? What is your experience with web writing?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The 5 essential skills for great web writing','','inherit','open','open','','2783-revision-v1','','','2014-10-27 08:58:52','2014-10-27 12:58:52','',2783,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2783-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2787,4,'2014-10-27 09:00:36','2014-10-27 13:00:36','<strong>Web design keeps changing</strong>\r\n\r\nThe wonderful <a href=\"http://ewriteonline.com/about-us/2011/04/staff-bios/\" target=\"_blank\">Leslie O\'Flahavan</a> gave a great presentation/workshop last week about new web design trends and how they affect web writing. You can <a href=\"http://ewriteonline.com/uncategorized/2014/10/how-web-design-trends-are-changing-the-way-we-write-content/\" target=\"_blank\">download it here</a>. Some of these trends include infinite scrolling (like on the Time Magazine website, where you can just keep scrolling down through endless articles) and the large-type front page (like this, on this page with <a href=\"https://medium.com/@penguinrandomus/a-to-x-writing-advice-courtesy-of-copy-chief-benjamin-dreyer-c00bd746b99e\" target=\"_blank\">A to X Writing Advice)</a>.  There\'s also a trend to include pre-made shareable content (usually pre-written tweets).\r\n\r\n<strong><em>How</em> people access a website has to be considered</strong>\r\n\r\nThen there is the need (this is <em>not</em> a trend) to have everything visible and rendering appropriately on any device people happen to be using to access your website--desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone.  Type has to be readable. Although these issues are solvable by good design and web architecture, web writers have to consider these when deciding how to present which information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Web writing is not quite the same as writing for print</strong>\r\n\r\nSince most every business, nonprofit and news organization is on the web, web/content writing is probably the largest type of writing being done today. Yet, it is not as if you can just take your print materials, digitize them and call it a day. Clearly, there is a lot to consider when you are writing for the web.\r\n\r\n<strong>What makes for a good web writer?</strong>\r\n\r\nCan just anybody write for the web? Not really. I think people can be taught how to write for the web, but not everybody has the ability to be like Leslie and be able to see what is going on in web design, spot trends and realize how these new changes affect web content.\r\n\r\n<strong>The five essential skills of a great web writer:</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>1. The ability to spot the trends.</strong> This also means keeping on top of UX (user experience) and other issues that affect how websites are designed.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Understanding how the new design trends affect what you write.</strong> It\'s not enough to spot the trends. You need to be able to see how those trends impact what content should be included and how it should be written.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Ability to write in short and long formats.</strong> As Leslie describes in her presentation, there\'s the snack and then there\'s the meal. You have to be able to write short, snappy headlines but also be able to write longer, more \"meaty\" content.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. Ability to synthesize information.</strong>  You are called on to write short descriptions, whether it be for pre-made tweets or web page headings. In order to do this, you must be able to take a lot of information and condense it. It\'s helpful if you can explain things simply too.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Visual and design sensibilit</strong>y. Being able to understand the role that visual and design play in how a website is read and viewed is key, as the ability to work with graphic/web designers to make your content look appealing.\r\n\r\nHave you noticed website writing has changed? Have you seen websites that look great but read poorly? What is your experience with web writing?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The 5 essential skills for great web writing','','inherit','open','open','','2783-revision-v1','','','2014-10-27 09:00:36','2014-10-27 13:00:36','',2783,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/10/2783-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2790,4,'2014-11-06 10:27:02','2014-11-06 15:27:02','Having attended a couple of professional development events in the last few weeks, I noticed that the organizers did little to guarantee people would a) enjoy the event and b) talk about the event (and by extension, the organizing group).\r\n\r\nEvent planning is a skill, and it is not easy. Too many volunteers and committee members think all they need to do is choose a date, book the space, order food and drink, and publicize the event. But those are the basics. To get more mileage from an event both for the attendees and for the presenting organization, you need to do more.\r\n\r\nHere are seven actions that will help you get more mileage from your next event.\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Designate volunteers to be organizational ambassadors/greeters.</strong> You will need more than the person greeting attendees at the door. These volunteers, who should be good representatives of your organization, will welcome people to the event and make sure they know where everything is located (food, restrooms, seats, etc.). But more so, ambassadors should introduce attendees to each other.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Your attendees will feel welcomed. They will meet at least one person (the ambassador). This makes your organization look welcoming and more enticing to non-members.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Prep your speaker(s) and/or presenter(s).</strong> Make sure everybody knows what to say so there is no pointless repetition. Divide up introductions appropriately. Make sure announcements and other information will be shared.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Messaging is important and gives attendees useful information. By prepping your speakers, you are ensuring your organization looks professional.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Use social media.</strong> Invite your attendees to tweet about the event (and give them a hashtag) or post summaries to their blogs and other social media.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage</em>: Social media amplifies. Enough said.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. Have someone monitor social media during and after the event.</strong> Make sure to respond to any questions or comments (especially if there is a problem--maybe the AC is not working or the Wi-Fi is spotty). Retweet and publicize your attendees posts.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Again, it amplifies, but it also shows your organization is responsive and embraces social media.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Be sure to incorporate time for Q&amp;A, and make it organized.</strong> Q&amp;A shouldn\'t be an afterthought, and it shouldn\'t be a free for all. Organizers should make sure to designate a time for questions. Whether you decide to have a microphone for the audience or take questions via social media, you should make it easy for people to interact with your presenters.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Your audience will get more clarity on issues and, again, it makes your organization look responsive.\r\n\r\n<strong>6. Create a recap of the event and post it to your blog/website and your social media networks.</strong> The recap of the event could include a summary of the presentation, contact information for the presenters, and photos of the event (and if you post photos on Facebook, people could tag themselves).\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Your recap is now shareable content for your website, blog and/or newsletter. Attendees will have something to reference if they want to talk about the event.\r\n\r\n<strong>7. Email all attendees a thank you and evaluation survey shortly after the event.</strong> You may also include a link to your recap (see above).\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives your more mileage</em>: You will have yet another opportunity to interact with your attendees while getting useful feedback. You could even have an offer for new members or discounts to future events.\r\n\r\nWhat would you add? What has been your experience when attending professional development events?','7 actions that will give your event more mileage','','publish','open','open','','7-actions-that-will-give-your-event-more-mileage','','','2014-11-06 10:27:02','2014-11-06 15:27:02','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2790',0,'post','',0),
(2791,4,'2014-11-06 10:25:29','2014-11-06 15:25:29','Having attended a couple of professional development events in the last few weeks, I noticed that the organizers did little to guarantee people would a) enjoy the event and b) talk about the event (and by extension, the organizing group).\r\n\r\nEvent planning is a skill, and it is not easy. Too many volunteers and committee members think all they need to do is choose a date, book the space, order food and drink, and publicize the event. But those are the basics. To get more mileage from an event both for the attendees and for the presenting organization, you need to do more.\r\n\r\nHere are seven actions that will help you get more mileage from your next event.\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Designate volunteers to be organizational ambassadors/greeters.</strong> You will need more than the person greeting attendees at the door. These volunteers, who should be good representatives of your organization, will welcome people to the event and make sure they know where everything is located (food, restrooms, seats, etc.). But more so, ambassadors should introduce attendees to each other.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Your attendees will feel welcomed. They will meet at least one person (the ambassador). This makes your organization look welcoming and more enticing to non-members.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Prep your speaker(s) and/or presenter(s).</strong> Make sure everybody knows what to say so there is no pointless repetition. Divide up introductions appropriately. Make sure announcements and other information will be shared.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Messaging is important and gives attendees useful information. By prepping your speakers, you are ensuring your organization looks professional.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Use social media.</strong> Invite your attendees to tweet about the event (and give them a hashtag) or post summaries to their blogs and other social media.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage</em>: Social media amplifies. Enough said.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. Have someone monitor social media during and after the event.</strong> Make sure to respond to any questions or comments (especially if there is a problem--maybe the AC is not working or the Wi-Fi is spotty). Retweet and publicize your attendees posts.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Again, it amplifies, but it also shows your organization is responsive and embraces social media.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Be sure to incorporate time for Q&amp;A, and make it organized.</strong> Q&amp;A shouldn\'t be an afterthought, and it shouldn\'t be a free for all. Organizers should make sure to designate a time for questions. Whether you decide to have a microphone for the audience or take questions via social media, you should make it easy for people to interact with your presenters.\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Your audience will get more clarity on issues and, again, it makes your organization look responsive.\r\n\r\n<strong>6. Create a recap of the event and post it to your blog/website and your social media networks.</strong> The recap of the event could include a summary of the presentation, contact information for the presenters, and photos of the event (and if you post photos on Facebook, people could tag themselves).\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives you more mileage:</em> Your recap is now shareable content for your website, blog and/or newsletter. Attendees will have something to reference if they want to talk about the event.\r\n\r\n<strong>7. Email all attendees a thank you and evaluation survey shortly after the event.</strong> You may also include a link to your recap (see above).\r\n\r\n<em>Why this gives your more mileage</em>: You will have yet another opportunity to interact with your attendees while getting useful feedback. You could even have an offer for new members or discounts to future events.\r\n\r\nWhat would you add? What has been your experience when attending professional development events?','7 actions that will give your event more mileage','','inherit','open','open','','2790-revision-v1','','','2014-11-06 10:25:29','2014-11-06 15:25:29','',2790,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2790-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2793,4,'2014-11-13 11:11:33','2014-11-13 16:11:33','A couple of weeks ago, I went to a networking event and met a public relations \"professional.\" We exchanged business cards. I sent him a follow up email (nice to meet you, etc.) to which he didn\'t respond. Instead, he added me to his enewsletter list. I was peeved. This guy, who didn\'t have the basic courtesy to respond to a personal email, just threw my email into his marketing list without asking me. I quickly opted-out.\r\n\r\nOther than being rude, was this guy doing something illegal? Was he being compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act (the very good acronym for <em><strong>C</strong>ontrolling the <strong>A</strong>ssault of <strong>N</strong>on-Solicited <strong>P</strong>ornography <strong>a</strong>nd <strong>M</strong>arketing</em>)?\r\n\r\nThe CAN-SPAM Act aims to reduce unsolicited direct marketing email. There are several parts to making your business compliant (you can read the <a href=\"http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business\" target=\"_blank\">seven main requirements on the FTC website and you can download a PDF with all the pertinent information</a>).\r\n\r\nIf you distribute an electronic newsletter, you need to be CAN-SPAM compliant. You can get booted off most of the email marketing platforms if you are not, and most of them make it easy to comply.\r\n\r\nAccording to the Act, the main requirements for compliance are these:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use false or misleading header information</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use deceptive subject lines</li>\r\n	<li>Identify the message as an ad</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a physical location address</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a way to opt out of further mailings</li>\r\n	<li>Honor opt-out requests within 10 days</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIt turns out that CAN-SPAM does not spell out who can be added to your email list (opt-in). In fact, the requirement is directed only at opting out. You must include a way to unsubscribe, and you must honor that request quickly. However,  if you do business with Canada or the European Union, things are a bit stricter. Both Canada and the EU require people to OPT-IN by giving consent. If you have a newsletter, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the<a href=\"http://www.lsoft.com/resources/optinlaws.asp#2\" target=\"_blank\"> opt-in laws for North America and Europe.</a>\r\n\r\nSo, it seems rude PR guy was, in fact, compliant with CAN-SPAM requirements since his newsletter did have an opt-out. Had I been Canadian though, he would have been in trouble.\r\n\r\nHere\'s the thing, just because something is legal, does not mean it\'s right. Although the US does not have the same stringent opt-in requirements as Canada or the EU, marketers should be aware of why those requirements may be a good idea. People don\'t want unsolicited email. It clogs up inboxes, which are already being inundated with real spam (somehow, these laws do not seem to inhibit the scammers and spammers).\r\n\r\nWhy not make sure you are asking people to opt-in to your enewsletter instead of only asking them to opt-out? All you have to do is have a sign-up form on your website. You can also ask people if they want to be added. Seriously, don\'t you want to communicate with people who are interested in your message instead of annoying people and then forcing them to opt-out?\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? How do you handle subscribing people to your newsletter?\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>UPDATE</strong></span>\r\n\r\nUpon further research, I came across a section in the FCC website that seems to imply marketers should get consent to send emails. It says:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<h4>Giving Your Consent</h4>\r\nUnder the FCC’s rules, texts and commercial email messages may be sent to your mobile phone if you previously agreed to receive them. For texts that are commercial, your consent must be in writing (for example, in an email or letter); for non-commercial, informational texts (such as such as those by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations, those for political purposes, and other noncommercial purposes, such as school closings) your consent may be oral.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">For commercial email, your consent may be oral or written.</span> Senders must tell you the name of the entity that will be sending the messages and, if different, the name of the entity advertising products or services. All commercial email messages sent to you after you’ve given your authorization must allow you to revoke your authorization, or “opt out” of receiving future messages. You must be allowed to opt out the same way you “opted in,” including by dialing a short code. Senders have 10 days to honor requests to opt out.</blockquote>\r\nNotice it says your consent MAY be oral or written. It does not say it MUST be. So, it is unclear to me if as a marketer, you HAVE to ask for consent.','Are you CAN-SPAM compliant?','','publish','open','open','','are-you-can-spam-compliant','','','2014-11-13 11:25:38','2014-11-13 16:25:38','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2793',0,'post','',0),
(2794,4,'2014-11-13 11:09:52','2014-11-13 16:09:52','A couple of weeks ago, I went to a networking event and met a public relations \"professional.\" We exchanged business cards. I sent him a follow up email (nice to meet you, etc.) to which he didn\'t respond. Instead, he added me to his enewsletter list. I was peeved. This guy, who didn\'t have the basic courtesy to respond to a personal email, just threw my email into his marketing list without asking me. I quickly opted-out.\r\n\r\nOther than being rude, was this guy doing something illegal? Was he being compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act?\r\n\r\nThe CAN-SPAM Act aims to reduce unsolicited direct marketing email. There are several parts to making your business compliant (you can read the <a href=\"http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business\" target=\"_blank\">seven main requirements on the FTC website and you can download a PDF with all the pertinent information</a>).\r\n\r\nIf you distribute an electronic newsletter, you need to be CAN-SPAM compliant. You can get booted off most of the email marketing platforms if you are not, and most of them make it easy to comply.\r\n\r\nAccording to the Act, the main requirements for compliance are these:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use false or misleading header information</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use deceptive subject lines</li>\r\n	<li>Identify the message as an ad</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a physical location address</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a way to opt out of further mailings</li>\r\n	<li>Honor opt-out requests within 10 days</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIt turns out that CAN-SPAM does not spell out who can be added to your email list (opt-in). In fact, the requirement is directed only at opting out. You must include a way to unsubscribe, and you must honor that request quickly. However,  if you do business with Canada or the European Union, things are a bit stricter. Both Canada and the EU require people to OPT-IN by giving consent. If you have a newsletter, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the<a href=\"http://www.lsoft.com/resources/optinlaws.asp#2\" target=\"_blank\"> opt-in laws for North America and Europe.</a>\r\n\r\nSo, it seems rude PR guy was, in fact, compliant with CAN-SPAM requirements since his newsletter did have an opt-out. Had I been Canadian, he would have been in trouble.\r\n\r\nHere\'s the thing, just because something is legal, does not mean it\'s right. Although the US does not have the same stringent opt-in requirements as Canada or the EU, marketers should be aware of why those requirements may be a good idea. People don\'t want unsolicited email. It clogs up inboxes, which are already being inundated with real spam (somehow, these laws do not seem to inhibit the scammers and spammers).\r\n\r\nWhy not make sure you are asking people to opt-in to your enewsletter instead of only asking them to opt-out? All you have to do is have a sign-up form on your website. You can also ask people if they want to be added. Seriously, don\'t you want to communicate with people who are interested in your message instead of annoying people and then forcing them to opt-out?\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? How do you handle subscribing people to your newsletter?','Are you CAN-SPAM compliant?','','inherit','open','open','','2793-revision-v1','','','2014-11-13 11:09:52','2014-11-13 16:09:52','',2793,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2793-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2795,4,'2014-11-13 11:11:33','2014-11-13 16:11:33','A couple of weeks ago, I went to a networking event and met a public relations \"professional.\" We exchanged business cards. I sent him a follow up email (nice to meet you, etc.) to which he didn\'t respond. Instead, he added me to his enewsletter list. I was peeved. This guy, who didn\'t have the basic courtesy to respond to a personal email, just threw my email into his marketing list without asking me. I quickly opted-out.\r\n\r\nOther than being rude, was this guy doing something illegal? Was he being compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act?\r\n\r\nThe CAN-SPAM Act aims to reduce unsolicited direct marketing email. There are several parts to making your business compliant (you can read the <a href=\"http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business\" target=\"_blank\">seven main requirements on the FTC website and you can download a PDF with all the pertinent information</a>).\r\n\r\nIf you distribute an electronic newsletter, you need to be CAN-SPAM compliant. You can get booted off most of the email marketing platforms if you are not, and most of them make it easy to comply.\r\n\r\nAccording to the Act, the main requirements for compliance are these:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use false or misleading header information</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use deceptive subject lines</li>\r\n	<li>Identify the message as an ad</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a physical location address</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a way to opt out of further mailings</li>\r\n	<li>Honor opt-out requests within 10 days</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIt turns out that CAN-SPAM does not spell out who can be added to your email list (opt-in). In fact, the requirement is directed only at opting out. You must include a way to unsubscribe, and you must honor that request quickly. However,  if you do business with Canada or the European Union, things are a bit stricter. Both Canada and the EU require people to OPT-IN by giving consent. If you have a newsletter, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the<a href=\"http://www.lsoft.com/resources/optinlaws.asp#2\" target=\"_blank\"> opt-in laws for North America and Europe.</a>\r\n\r\nSo, it seems rude PR guy was, in fact, compliant with CAN-SPAM requirements since his newsletter did have an opt-out. Had I been Canadian though, he would have been in trouble.\r\n\r\nHere\'s the thing, just because something is legal, does not mean it\'s right. Although the US does not have the same stringent opt-in requirements as Canada or the EU, marketers should be aware of why those requirements may be a good idea. People don\'t want unsolicited email. It clogs up inboxes, which are already being inundated with real spam (somehow, these laws do not seem to inhibit the scammers and spammers).\r\n\r\nWhy not make sure you are asking people to opt-in to your enewsletter instead of only asking them to opt-out? All you have to do is have a sign-up form on your website. You can also ask people if they want to be added. Seriously, don\'t you want to communicate with people who are interested in your message instead of annoying people and then forcing them to opt-out?\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? How do you handle subscribing people to your newsletter?','Are you CAN-SPAM compliant?','','inherit','open','open','','2793-revision-v1','','','2014-11-13 11:11:33','2014-11-13 16:11:33','',2793,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2793-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2796,4,'2014-11-13 11:25:07','2014-11-13 16:25:07','A couple of weeks ago, I went to a networking event and met a public relations \"professional.\" We exchanged business cards. I sent him a follow up email (nice to meet you, etc.) to which he didn\'t respond. Instead, he added me to his enewsletter list. I was peeved. This guy, who didn\'t have the basic courtesy to respond to a personal email, just threw my email into his marketing list without asking me. I quickly opted-out.\n\nOther than being rude, was this guy doing something illegal? Was he being compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act (the very good acronym for <em><strong>C</strong>ontrolling the <strong>A</strong>ssault of <strong>N</strong>on-Solicited <strong>P</strong>ornography <strong>a</strong>nd <strong>M</strong>arketing</em>)?\n\nThe CAN-SPAM Act aims to reduce unsolicited direct marketing email. There are several parts to making your business compliant (you can read the <a href=\"http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business\" target=\"_blank\">seven main requirements on the FTC website and you can download a PDF with all the pertinent information</a>).\n\nIf you distribute an electronic newsletter, you need to be CAN-SPAM compliant. You can get booted off most of the email marketing platforms if you are not, and most of them make it easy to comply.\n\nAccording to the Act, the main requirements for compliance are these:\n<ul>\n	<li>Don\'t use false or misleading header information</li>\n	<li>Don\'t use deceptive subject lines</li>\n	<li>Identify the message as an ad</li>\n	<li>Provide a physical location address</li>\n	<li>Provide a way to opt out of further mailings</li>\n	<li>Honor opt-out requests within 10 days</li>\n</ul>\nIt turns out that CAN-SPAM does not spell out who can be added to your email list (opt-in). In fact, the requirement is directed only at opting out. You must include a way to unsubscribe, and you must honor that request quickly. However,  if you do business with Canada or the European Union, things are a bit stricter. Both Canada and the EU require people to OPT-IN by giving consent. If you have a newsletter, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the<a href=\"http://www.lsoft.com/resources/optinlaws.asp#2\" target=\"_blank\"> opt-in laws for North America and Europe.</a>\n\nSo, it seems rude PR guy was, in fact, compliant with CAN-SPAM requirements since his newsletter did have an opt-out. Had I been Canadian though, he would have been in trouble.\n\nHere\'s the thing, just because something is legal, does not mean it\'s right. Although the US does not have the same stringent opt-in requirements as Canada or the EU, marketers should be aware of why those requirements may be a good idea. People don\'t want unsolicited email. It clogs up inboxes, which are already being inundated with real spam (somehow, these laws do not seem to inhibit the scammers and spammers).\n\nWhy not make sure you are asking people to opt-in to your enewsletter instead of only asking them to opt-out? All you have to do is have a sign-up form on your website. You can also ask people if they want to be added. Seriously, don\'t you want to communicate with people who are interested in your message instead of annoying people and then forcing them to opt-out?\n\nWhat are your thoughts? How do you handle subscribing people to your newsletter?\n\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>UPDATE</strong></span>\n\nUpon further research, I came across a section in the FCC website that seems to imply marketers should get consent to send emails. It says:\n<blockquote>\n<h4>Giving Your Consent</h4>\nUnder the FCC’s rules, texts and commercial email messages may be sent to your mobile phone if you previously agreed to receive them. For texts that are commercial, your consent must be in writing (for example, in an email or letter); for non-commercial, informational texts (such as such as those by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations, those for political purposes, and other noncommercial purposes, such as school closings) your consent may be oral.\n\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">For commercial email, your consent may be oral or written.</span> Senders must tell you the name of the entity that will be sending the messages and, if different, the name of the entity advertising products or services. All commercial email messages sent to you after you’ve given your authorization must allow you to revoke your authorization, or “opt out” of receiving future messages. You must be allowed to opt out the same way you “opted in,” including by dialing a short code. Senders have 10 days to honor requests to opt out.</blockquote>\nNotice it says your consent MAY be oral or written. It does not say it MUST be. So, it is unclear to me if as a marketer, you HAVE to ask for consent.','Are you CAN-SPAM compliant?','','inherit','open','open','','2793-autosave-v1','','','2014-11-13 11:25:07','2014-11-13 16:25:07','',2793,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2793-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2797,4,'2014-11-13 11:25:38','2014-11-13 16:25:38','A couple of weeks ago, I went to a networking event and met a public relations \"professional.\" We exchanged business cards. I sent him a follow up email (nice to meet you, etc.) to which he didn\'t respond. Instead, he added me to his enewsletter list. I was peeved. This guy, who didn\'t have the basic courtesy to respond to a personal email, just threw my email into his marketing list without asking me. I quickly opted-out.\r\n\r\nOther than being rude, was this guy doing something illegal? Was he being compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act (the very good acronym for <em><strong>C</strong>ontrolling the <strong>A</strong>ssault of <strong>N</strong>on-Solicited <strong>P</strong>ornography <strong>a</strong>nd <strong>M</strong>arketing</em>)?\r\n\r\nThe CAN-SPAM Act aims to reduce unsolicited direct marketing email. There are several parts to making your business compliant (you can read the <a href=\"http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business\" target=\"_blank\">seven main requirements on the FTC website and you can download a PDF with all the pertinent information</a>).\r\n\r\nIf you distribute an electronic newsletter, you need to be CAN-SPAM compliant. You can get booted off most of the email marketing platforms if you are not, and most of them make it easy to comply.\r\n\r\nAccording to the Act, the main requirements for compliance are these:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use false or misleading header information</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t use deceptive subject lines</li>\r\n	<li>Identify the message as an ad</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a physical location address</li>\r\n	<li>Provide a way to opt out of further mailings</li>\r\n	<li>Honor opt-out requests within 10 days</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIt turns out that CAN-SPAM does not spell out who can be added to your email list (opt-in). In fact, the requirement is directed only at opting out. You must include a way to unsubscribe, and you must honor that request quickly. However,  if you do business with Canada or the European Union, things are a bit stricter. Both Canada and the EU require people to OPT-IN by giving consent. If you have a newsletter, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the<a href=\"http://www.lsoft.com/resources/optinlaws.asp#2\" target=\"_blank\"> opt-in laws for North America and Europe.</a>\r\n\r\nSo, it seems rude PR guy was, in fact, compliant with CAN-SPAM requirements since his newsletter did have an opt-out. Had I been Canadian though, he would have been in trouble.\r\n\r\nHere\'s the thing, just because something is legal, does not mean it\'s right. Although the US does not have the same stringent opt-in requirements as Canada or the EU, marketers should be aware of why those requirements may be a good idea. People don\'t want unsolicited email. It clogs up inboxes, which are already being inundated with real spam (somehow, these laws do not seem to inhibit the scammers and spammers).\r\n\r\nWhy not make sure you are asking people to opt-in to your enewsletter instead of only asking them to opt-out? All you have to do is have a sign-up form on your website. You can also ask people if they want to be added. Seriously, don\'t you want to communicate with people who are interested in your message instead of annoying people and then forcing them to opt-out?\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? How do you handle subscribing people to your newsletter?\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>UPDATE</strong></span>\r\n\r\nUpon further research, I came across a section in the FCC website that seems to imply marketers should get consent to send emails. It says:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<h4>Giving Your Consent</h4>\r\nUnder the FCC’s rules, texts and commercial email messages may be sent to your mobile phone if you previously agreed to receive them. For texts that are commercial, your consent must be in writing (for example, in an email or letter); for non-commercial, informational texts (such as such as those by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations, those for political purposes, and other noncommercial purposes, such as school closings) your consent may be oral.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">For commercial email, your consent may be oral or written.</span> Senders must tell you the name of the entity that will be sending the messages and, if different, the name of the entity advertising products or services. All commercial email messages sent to you after you’ve given your authorization must allow you to revoke your authorization, or “opt out” of receiving future messages. You must be allowed to opt out the same way you “opted in,” including by dialing a short code. Senders have 10 days to honor requests to opt out.</blockquote>\r\nNotice it says your consent MAY be oral or written. It does not say it MUST be. So, it is unclear to me if as a marketer, you HAVE to ask for consent.','Are you CAN-SPAM compliant?','','inherit','open','open','','2793-revision-v1','','','2014-11-13 11:25:38','2014-11-13 16:25:38','',2793,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2793-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2799,4,'2014-11-19 16:06:07','2014-11-19 21:06:07','It\'s like I am hearing the Pointer Sisters\' <em>Jump (For My Love)</em> song on repeat. It\'s that refrain \"more, more, more.\" I get emails urging me to get more website visitors. I see accounts on Twitter that claim they can get me more followers. I see announcements for webinars on how to get more blog readers.\r\n\r\nEnough!\r\n\r\nMore is not a smart communications goal. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">More is meaningless without qualifiers</span>. Yes, I want more Twitter followers. But I want followers that are genuine (as opposed to spam) accounts and who have an interest in what I am saying. I want more blog readers who will find what I write useful and may then share a post or sign up for my newsletter or hire me to do work.\r\n\r\nBut more in and of itself does not mean much. If a Facebook page has 4,000 likes but none of those \"likers\" shares information or buys products, then what is the point? If you have thousands of Twitter followers but are never re-tweeted, are you having an impact? If you get hundreds of website visitors but there is no \"conversion\" then what did you accomplish?\r\n\r\nWe see ploys for more all the time. You see TV stations running sweepstakes and exhorting people to \"like our Facebook page.\" You see link bait. You see forced sign-ups for newsletters before you can read an article or blog post. All these are trying to get more without caring exactly who those people are.\r\n\r\nYour communications goals should not be simply to get more. Your goals need to be specific. For example, you may want to reach more people in a certain geographic area or in an age group.\r\n\r\nAre you being bombarded by vendors trying to get you to get more? If so, what are your thoughts about it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','More is not a smart communications goal','','inherit','open','open','','2798-revision-v1','','','2014-11-19 16:06:07','2014-11-19 21:06:07','',2798,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2798-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2801,4,'2014-11-21 09:07:10','2014-11-21 14:07:11','In case you\'ve missed a newsletter, just check this archive:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/p/9a6295?fe=1&amp;pact=26384901049\" target=\"_blank\">November 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/f95d35\" target=\"_blank\">September 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/c3e405\" target=\"_blank\">July 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://mad.ly/3625c4\" target=\"_blank\">April 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"February newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/dc2584\" target=\"_blank\">February 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"December 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/bb9454\" target=\"_blank\">December 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"October 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/f27424\" target=\"_blank\">October 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"July 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/eb30f3\" target=\"_blank\">July 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"May 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/9003c3\" target=\"_blank\">May 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"March 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/d82a93\" target=\"_blank\">March 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"January 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/a12873\" target=\"_blank\">January 2013</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Newsletters','','inherit','open','open','','2509-revision-v1','','','2014-11-21 09:07:10','2014-11-21 14:07:11','',2509,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2509-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2802,4,'2015-02-06 09:45:44','2015-02-06 14:45:44','I wrote this post back in November, and never published it. But today, I was reading the <em>Washington Post</em> and came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-stays-silent-but-privately-stands-behind-news-anchor-brian-williams/2015/02/05/e3d18cba-ad5b-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Farhi\'s column</a> regarding the Brian Williams \"scandal.\" In case you haven\'t heard about it, it involves Brian \"misremembering\" being shot at in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003.  Farhi writes:\r\n<blockquote>NBC News went into damage-control mode a day after the public symbol of the network, anchor Brian Williams, faced a <strong>torrent</strong> of derision and criticism for telling a story about his wartime reporting that has proved to be untrue.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs <strong>public disapproval roared on social media,</strong> NBC sought to protect and defend Williams, its lead anchor since 2004 and the most popular anchor in the nation.</blockquote>\r\nBolding is mine. Notice that Farhi writes about the \"torrent\" of criticism and disapproval...on social media. I stopped reading the article after these two paragraphs because I don\'t think there\'s a torrent, or a deluge or even a rainstorm of derision outside of social media. I think this is a <em>social media crisis</em>, where people in social media all seem to  outraged by the \"crisis\" and where the rest of the country (those people sitting around their living rooms watching TV in the evening) couldn\'t care less. Notice too that Brian Williams was on TV last night as if nothing had happened. And maybe it only happened in our little social media bubble.\r\n\r\nSo this is where I started this post back in November:\r\n\r\nWhen it started three years ago, I was a huge fan of Showtime\'s series <em>Homeland</em>. I was hooked and had to watch every episode. It bummed me out we had to wait nine months between seasons.\r\n\r\nBut when the third season started this past September, I was no longer enthusiastic. I watched the first couple of episodes and found that I just didn\'t like the main character Carrie anymore. She had become way too crazy (she actually considers drowning her child!) and demanding and unreasonable. The story line had strayed so far from the initial <em>Homeland</em> that it was another story altogether. I quit watching. I no longer care.\r\n\r\nBecause I no longer care, I am no longer living in the <em>Homeland</em> bubble. The bubble is one where \"everybody\" is watching and commenting. Everybody just loves it. Articles and blog posts abound.\r\n\r\nIt seems that when you believe something or are a big fan of something, you surround yourself with like-minded people and views. In fact, your views are being reinforced. At times, you actively avoid being exposed to opposing views.\r\n\r\nNotice what is going on with Uber and Bill Cosby. In case you haven\'t seen the reports, Uber threatened to expose the personal life of a reporter who was aiming to write an article about Uber. Several women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Both these cases are serious and they expose great flaws in a popular company and a beloved entertainer.\r\n\r\nMany articles, blog posts and Tweets have been devoted to dissecting the PR and communications shortcomings shown by both Uber and Cosby. But here\'s the thing: does it matter? People are still using Uber. And it was reported that at a comedy show in Florida a few days ago, the comedian got a standing ovation.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a disconnect between the world at large and the bubble we surround ourselves with. In PR and crisis communications, both Uber and Cosby are toast. They\'ve handled these situations poorly. But for those who don\'t delve into how things are communicated, who don\'t follow the news (and by the way, journalists are living in a bubble sometimes too), the concern is just not there. They don\'t care about Uber\'s threats because Uber gives them a convenient way to get places. They ignore the accusations against Cosby because they find him funny.\r\n<h4>What do you think? Are these controversies manufactured? Is the scandal for real? Are we living in a social media culture of outrage? Are we living in a bubble?</h4>','Are we living in a bubble? ','','publish','open','open','','are-we-living-in-a-bubble','','','2015-02-06 12:42:36','2015-02-06 17:42:36','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2802',0,'post','',0),
(2803,4,'2014-11-24 10:58:56','2014-11-24 15:58:56','When it started three years ago, I was a huge fan of Showtime\'s series Homeland. I was hooked and had to watch every episode. It bummed me out we had to wait nine months between seasons.\r\n\r\nBut when the third season started this past September, I was no longer enthusiastic. I watched the first couple of episodes. I just didn\'t like the main character Carrie anymore--she had become way too crazy (she actually considers drowning her child!) and demanding and unreasonable. The story line had strayed so far from the initial Homeland that it was another story altogether. I quit watching. I no longer care.\r\n\r\nBecause I no longer care, I am no longer living in the Homeland bubble. The bubble is one where \"everybody\" is watching and commenting. Everybody just loves it. Articles and blog posts abound.\r\n\r\nIt seems that when you believe something or are a big fan of something, you surround yourself with like minded people and views. In fact, your views are being reinforced. At times, you actively avoid being exposed to opposing views.\r\n\r\nNotice what is going on with Uber and Bill Cosby. In case you haven\'t seen the reports, Uber threatened to expose the personal life of a reporter who was aiming to write an article about Uber. Several women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Both these cases are serious and they expose great flaws in a popular company and a beloved entertainer.\r\n\r\nMany articles, blog posts and Tweets have been devoted to dissecting the PR and communications shortcomings shown by both Uber and Cosby. But here\'s the thing: does it matter? People are still using Uber. And it was reported that at a comedy show in Florida a few days ago, the comedian got a standing ovation.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a disconnect between the world at large and the bubble we surround ourselves with. In PR and crisis communications, both Uber and Cosby are toast. They\'ve handled these situations poorly. But for those who don\'t delve into how things are communicated, who don\'t follow the news (and by the way, journalists are living in a bubble sometimes too), the concern is just not there. They don\'t care about Uber\'s threats because Uber gives them a convenient way to get places. They ignore the accusations against Cosby because they find him funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Are we living in a bubble?','','inherit','open','open','','2802-revision-v1','','','2014-11-24 10:58:56','2014-11-24 15:58:56','',2802,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2802-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2804,4,'2014-11-24 10:59:48','2014-11-24 15:59:48','When it started three years ago, I was a huge fan of Showtime\'s series Homeland. I was hooked and had to watch every episode. It bummed me out we had to wait nine months between seasons.\r\n\r\nBut when the third season started this past September, I was no longer enthusiastic. I watched the first couple of episodes and found that I just didn\'t like the main character Carrie anymore. She had become way too crazy (she actually considers drowning her child!) and demanding and unreasonable. The story line had strayed so far from the initial Homeland that it was another story altogether. I quit watching. I no longer care.\r\n\r\nBecause I no longer care, I am no longer living in the Homeland bubble. The bubble is one where \"everybody\" is watching and commenting. Everybody just loves it. Articles and blog posts abound.\r\n\r\nIt seems that when you believe something or are a big fan of something, you surround yourself with like minded people and views. In fact, your views are being reinforced. At times, you actively avoid being exposed to opposing views.\r\n\r\nNotice what is going on with Uber and Bill Cosby. In case you haven\'t seen the reports, Uber threatened to expose the personal life of a reporter who was aiming to write an article about Uber. Several women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Both these cases are serious and they expose great flaws in a popular company and a beloved entertainer.\r\n\r\nMany articles, blog posts and Tweets have been devoted to dissecting the PR and communications shortcomings shown by both Uber and Cosby. But here\'s the thing: does it matter? People are still using Uber. And it was reported that at a comedy show in Florida a few days ago, the comedian got a standing ovation.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a disconnect between the world at large and the bubble we surround ourselves with. In PR and crisis communications, both Uber and Cosby are toast. They\'ve handled these situations poorly. But for those who don\'t delve into how things are communicated, who don\'t follow the news (and by the way, journalists are living in a bubble sometimes too), the concern is just not there. They don\'t care about Uber\'s threats because Uber gives them a convenient way to get places. They ignore the accusations against Cosby because they find him funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Are we living in a bubble?','','inherit','open','open','','2802-revision-v1','','','2014-11-24 10:59:48','2014-11-24 15:59:48','',2802,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2802-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2805,4,'2014-11-25 09:19:02','2014-11-25 14:19:02','Thanksgiving is two days away. If you are like me, you\'ve gotten lots of email and regular mail from companies and organizations you\'ve done business with or have donated money to. Some are simply expressing thanks, and others are reminding you that some people won\'t be able to eat on Thanksgiving (so give more money). Others are using Thanksgiving as a differentiator--sending holiday cards now instead of Christmas/New Year\'s.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with this, and I appreciate getting thanked or remembered at least once a year. But perhaps businesses and organizations should consider how to thank customers and supporters year-round.\r\n\r\nSo many times, we conduct a business transaction and afterwards there\'s nothing. What\'s particularly galling is when you donate or volunteer, and you hear nothing from the organization. A couple of years ago, I volunteered at a huge Christmas event. Not only was it very disorganized (which showed a lack of appreciation for volunteers\' time) but there was no thank you, formal (follow up email) or otherwise. I haven\'t been back since.\r\n\r\nA thank you--a show of appreciation--is an important marketing tool. I wrote <a title=\"Why a thank you is good marketing\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2009/08/why-a-thank-you-is-good-marketing/\">\"Why a thank you is good marketing\"</a> here five years ago. I still think it\'s true.\r\n\r\n<strong>So thank you! I appreciate that you took the time to read my thoughts. I am especially thankful for those who have shared my posts and/or taken the time to comment.</strong>\r\n\r\nHappy Thanksgiving to those celebrating! I wish you and your families a happy and relaxing holiday.','Thanks are not only for Thanksgiving','','publish','open','open','','thanks-are-not-only-for-thanksgiving','','','2014-11-25 09:19:02','2014-11-25 14:19:02','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2805',0,'post','',0),
(2806,4,'2014-11-25 09:19:02','2014-11-25 14:19:02','Thanksgiving is two days away. If you are like me, you\'ve gotten lots of email and regular mail from companies and organizations you\'ve done business with or have donated money to. Some are simply expressing thanks, and others are reminding you that some people won\'t be able to eat on Thanksgiving (so give more money). Others are using Thanksgiving as a differentiator--sending holiday cards now instead of Christmas/New Year\'s.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with this, and I appreciate getting thanked or remembered at least once a year. But perhaps businesses and organizations should consider how to thank customers and supporters year-round.\r\n\r\nSo many times, we conduct a business transaction and afterwards there\'s nothing. What\'s particularly galling is when you donate or volunteer, and you hear nothing from the organization. A couple of years ago, I volunteered at a huge Christmas event. Not only was it very disorganized (which showed a lack of appreciation for volunteers\' time) but there was no thank you, formal (follow up email) or otherwise. I haven\'t been back since.\r\n\r\nA thank you--a show of appreciation--is an important marketing tool. I wrote <a title=\"Why a thank you is good marketing\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2009/08/why-a-thank-you-is-good-marketing/\">\"Why a thank you is good marketing\"</a> here five years ago. I still think it\'s true.\r\n\r\n<strong>So thank you! I appreciate that you took the time to read my thoughts. I am especially thankful for those who have shared my posts and/or taken the time to comment.</strong>\r\n\r\nHappy Thanksgiving to those celebrating! I wish you and your families a happy and relaxing holiday.','Thanks are not only for Thanksgiving','','inherit','open','open','','2805-revision-v1','','','2014-11-25 09:19:02','2014-11-25 14:19:02','',2805,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2805-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2808,4,'2014-12-01 08:01:18','2014-12-01 13:01:18','In Sunday\'s <em>Washington Post</em> there is an interesting interview (<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/11/20/how-to-craft-a-successful-career-an-interview-with-etsy-ceo-chad-dickerson/\" target=\"_blank\">How to craft a successful career</a>) with Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy. In case you\'ve never had the urge to shop for handmade jewelery or other crafts, Etsy is <em>the</em> place to do that online. On Etsy, thousands of artists and crafters can sell their goods to a national/international market. It\'s a model that is working to the tune of $1.35 billion in sales.\r\n\r\nThe part of the interview that caught my eye as a marketing communications professional was this:\r\n<blockquote>Q. <em>What do the best sellers on Etsy have in common?</em>\r\n\r\nA. The best sellers on Etsy have really great photography. They also tell stories about themselves, how they’re inspired, how they make the things they sell. Those are the keys to being successful on Etsy.</blockquote>\r\nIn other words, to market yourself successfully you have to have a standout image and a great story. Your graphics and your storytelling ability is what makes you stand out from a really crowded marketplace.\r\n\r\nThis is true everywhere, not just on Etsy. If you are shopping for a product online, you need to be able to see what you are buying (<strong>the power of image</strong>) and know why this product is better than the rest (<strong>the power of storytelling</strong>).\r\n\r\nPerhaps if you are struggling to get \"eyeballs\" to your blog or website or buyers to your bricks-and-mortar business, you need to take Chad Dickerson\'s insight to heart. Perhaps you need to assess the power of your graphics and your story. Are they strong? Are they setting you apart from our competition (in a positive way, of course)?\r\n\r\nOh, and the other thing(it<em> should</em> go without saying) is that to be a good Etsy seller you have to<strong> have a good product that people want to buy.</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat makes you buy on Etsy or anywhere else? Do you assess the strength of the graphics? Do you read the description and/or story?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Would you make a good Etsy seller?','','publish','open','open','','would-you-make-a-good-etsy-seller','','','2014-12-01 08:01:18','2014-12-01 13:01:18','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2808',0,'post','',1),
(2809,4,'2014-11-30 10:44:19','2014-11-30 15:44:19','Have you shopped on Etsy.com? I have and bought myself several handcrafted gifts. There are thousands of sellers on Etsy.','Would you make a good Etsy seller?','','inherit','open','open','','2808-revision-v1','','','2014-11-30 10:44:19','2014-11-30 15:44:19','',2808,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2808-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2810,4,'2014-11-30 10:58:48','2014-11-30 15:58:48','In Sunday\'s Washington Post there is an interesting interview (How to craft a successful career) with Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy. In case you\'ve never had the urge to shop for handmade jewelery, Etsy is the place to do that online. On Etsy, thousands of artists and crafters can sell their goods to a national/international market. It\'s a model that is working to the tune of $1.35 billion in sales.\r\n\r\nThe part of the interview that caught my eye as a marketing communications professional was this:\r\n<blockquote>Q. <em>What do the best sellers on Etsy have in common?</em>\r\n\r\nA. The best sellers on Etsy have really great photography. They also tell stories about themselves, how they’re inspired, how they make the things they sell. Those are the keys to being successful on Etsy.</blockquote>\r\nIn other words, to market yourself successfully you have to have a standout image and a great story. Your graphics and your storytelling ability is what makes you stand out from a really crowded marketplace.\r\n\r\nThis is true everywhere, not just on Etsy. If you are shopping for a product online, you need to be able to see what you are buying (the power of image) and know why this product is better than the rest.','Would you make a good Etsy seller?','','inherit','open','open','','2808-revision-v1','','','2014-11-30 10:58:48','2014-11-30 15:58:48','',2808,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2808-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2811,4,'2014-11-30 11:05:29','2014-11-30 16:05:29','In Sunday\'s <em>Washington Post</em> there is an interesting interview (<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/11/20/how-to-craft-a-successful-career-an-interview-with-etsy-ceo-chad-dickerson/\" target=\"_blank\">How to craft a successful career</a>) with Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy. In case you\'ve never had the urge to shop for handmade jewelery, Etsy is the place to do that online. On Etsy, thousands of artists and crafters can sell their goods to a national/international market. It\'s a model that is working to the tune of $1.35 billion in sales.\r\n\r\nThe part of the interview that caught my eye as a marketing communications professional was this:\r\n<blockquote>Q. <em>What do the best sellers on Etsy have in common?</em>\r\n\r\nA. The best sellers on Etsy have really great photography. They also tell stories about themselves, how they’re inspired, how they make the things they sell. Those are the keys to being successful on Etsy.</blockquote>\r\nIn other words, to market yourself successfully you have to have a standout image and a great story. Your graphics and your storytelling ability is what makes you stand out from a really crowded marketplace.\r\n\r\nThis is true everywhere, not just on Etsy. If you are shopping for a product online, you need to be able to see what you are buying (the power of image) and know why this product is better than the rest (the power of storytelling).\r\n\r\nPerhaps if you are struggling to get \"eyeballs\" to your blog or website or buyers to your bricks-and-mortar business, you need to take Chad Dickerson\'s insight to heart. Perhaps you need to assess the power of your graphics and your story. Are they strong? Are they setting you apart from our competition (in a positive way of course)?','Would you make a good Etsy seller?','','inherit','open','open','','2808-revision-v1','','','2014-11-30 11:05:29','2014-11-30 16:05:29','',2808,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/11/2808-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2812,4,'2014-12-01 08:01:18','2014-12-01 13:01:18','In Sunday\'s <em>Washington Post</em> there is an interesting interview (<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/11/20/how-to-craft-a-successful-career-an-interview-with-etsy-ceo-chad-dickerson/\" target=\"_blank\">How to craft a successful career</a>) with Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy. In case you\'ve never had the urge to shop for handmade jewelery or other crafts, Etsy is <em>the</em> place to do that online. On Etsy, thousands of artists and crafters can sell their goods to a national/international market. It\'s a model that is working to the tune of $1.35 billion in sales.\r\n\r\nThe part of the interview that caught my eye as a marketing communications professional was this:\r\n<blockquote>Q. <em>What do the best sellers on Etsy have in common?</em>\r\n\r\nA. The best sellers on Etsy have really great photography. They also tell stories about themselves, how they’re inspired, how they make the things they sell. Those are the keys to being successful on Etsy.</blockquote>\r\nIn other words, to market yourself successfully you have to have a standout image and a great story. Your graphics and your storytelling ability is what makes you stand out from a really crowded marketplace.\r\n\r\nThis is true everywhere, not just on Etsy. If you are shopping for a product online, you need to be able to see what you are buying (<strong>the power of image</strong>) and know why this product is better than the rest (<strong>the power of storytelling</strong>).\r\n\r\nPerhaps if you are struggling to get \"eyeballs\" to your blog or website or buyers to your bricks-and-mortar business, you need to take Chad Dickerson\'s insight to heart. Perhaps you need to assess the power of your graphics and your story. Are they strong? Are they setting you apart from our competition (in a positive way, of course)?\r\n\r\nOh, and the other thing(it<em> should</em> go without saying) is that to be a good Etsy seller you have to<strong> have a good product that people want to buy.</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat makes you buy on Etsy or anywhere else? Do you assess the strength of the graphics? Do you read the description and/or story?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Would you make a good Etsy seller?','','inherit','open','open','','2808-revision-v1','','','2014-12-01 08:01:18','2014-12-01 13:01:18','',2808,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/12/2808-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2814,4,'2014-12-09 10:55:09','2014-12-09 15:55:09','Every time I go to the gym I see at least one person hanging on for dear life on the Step Mill. In case you don\'t have them at your gym, they are a \"workout escalator.\" Essentially, the workout consists of climbing moving stairs. Lots of people lean on the bars (yesterday I saw a woman whose upper body was horizontal, putting all her upper body weight on her arms) when the \"correct\" or more efficient way is to use the bars simply for balance and let your lower body do the work of climbing the stairs and keeping you upright.\r\n\r\nWhen you lean on the bars you are effectively <strong>getting an assist. </strong>You are trying to minimize the pain. But, as they say: no pain, no gain. Though it may look like you are working hard, you really aren\'t. You aren\'t getting the cardio you think you are and you aren\'t burning the amount of calories the machine tells you.\r\n\r\nThe same thing happens on social media when you rely on programs to post for you. You are getting an assist that makes you look like you are working hard when in fact you are not. Plus, you are not getting all the benefits of social media either.\r\n\r\nThere are many social media apps and programs designed to give you an assist. We may need that automation in order to keep up with the pace of social media, which is 24-7. The problem is when we rely on these assists for all of our social media presence and we forget to inject some of our own effort.\r\n\r\nThere\'s an account I have been following on Twitter for a couple of years. I say account and not person because almost all the tweets from the account are links to blog posts (old blog posts at that). And I have seen the same five or six blog post links tweeted out over and over and over and over. There is no personality there. There is no discussion. There is no interaction.\r\n\r\nI am sure the person who manages this account set up a program that will tweet the top blog posts every certain amount of time. This person pretty much set it and forgot it. This person rarely if ever has any exchange with anybody, never re-tweets, and only responds to direct tweets days later (if at all). <em><strong>This account is entirely reliant on social media assists. So although there is a social media presence, there is no social media benefit.</strong></em>\r\n\r\nSocial media requires  effort and attention. Get assists if you must, but don\'t forget that over-relying on assistance means that you aren\'t making as many gains.\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? How do you handle your social media accounts? Do you follow accounts that are completely automated?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','No pain, no gain (or, are you relying too much on assists)? ','','publish','open','open','','no-pain-no-gain-are-you-relying-on-assists','','','2014-12-09 10:55:09','2014-12-09 15:55:09','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2814',0,'post','',0),
(2815,4,'2014-12-09 10:55:09','2014-12-09 15:55:09','Every time I go to the gym I see at least one person hanging on for dear life on the Step Mill. In case you don\'t have them at your gym, they are a \"workout escalator.\" Essentially, the workout consists of climbing moving stairs. Lots of people lean on the bars (yesterday I saw a woman whose upper body was horizontal, putting all her upper body weight on her arms) when the \"correct\" or more efficient way is to use the bars simply for balance and let your lower body do the work of climbing the stairs and keeping you upright.\r\n\r\nWhen you lean on the bars you are effectively <strong>getting an assist. </strong>You are trying to minimize the pain. But, as they say: no pain, no gain. Though it may look like you are working hard, you really aren\'t. You aren\'t getting the cardio you think you are and you aren\'t burning the amount of calories the machine tells you.\r\n\r\nThe same thing happens on social media when you rely on programs to post for you. You are getting an assist that makes you look like you are working hard when in fact you are not. Plus, you are not getting all the benefits of social media either.\r\n\r\nThere are many social media apps and programs designed to give you an assist. We may need that automation in order to keep up with the pace of social media, which is 24-7. The problem is when we rely on these assists for all of our social media presence and we forget to inject some of our own effort.\r\n\r\nThere\'s an account I have been following on Twitter for a couple of years. I say account and not person because almost all the tweets from the account are links to blog posts (old blog posts at that). And I have seen the same five or six blog post links tweeted out over and over and over and over. There is no personality there. There is no discussion. There is no interaction.\r\n\r\nI am sure the person who manages this account set up a program that will tweet the top blog posts every certain amount of time. This person pretty much set it and forgot it. This person rarely if ever has any exchange with anybody, never re-tweets, and only responds to direct tweets days later (if at all). <em><strong>This account is entirely reliant on social media assists. So although there is a social media presence, there is no social media benefit.</strong></em>\r\n\r\nSocial media requires  effort and attention. Get assists if you must, but don\'t forget that over-relying on assistance means that you aren\'t making as many gains.\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? How do you handle your social media accounts? Do you follow accounts that are completely automated?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','No pain, no gain (or, are you relying too much on assists)? ','','inherit','open','open','','2814-revision-v1','','','2014-12-09 10:55:09','2014-12-09 15:55:09','',2814,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/12/2814-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2817,4,'2014-12-18 11:02:38','2014-12-18 16:02:38','Do you ever choose to fly an airline because of its brand identity? Or,  do you choose your flight based on schedule/price? I bet it\'s more than the latter than the former, but if all things are close, you may choose the brand you like the most.\r\n\r\nLast week, I took my first flight on Virgin America. I was going out to San Francisco and Virgin flies from Washington to SFO at least twice a day. I had heard good things, and I thought that Virgin, like Southwest or JetBlue, was a lower cost carrier. Well, it really isn\'t. Virgin charges a comparable price to the other major carrier (United) flying to San Francisco from this area.  And like United, Virgin charges for bags. Unlike United, Virgin charges for in-flight movies ($8 a pop). Virgin also charges for food, snacks and for premium (like Honest Tea) and alcoholic beverages. Pretty much the only thing that you can get for \"free\" is water, coffee and soda. But you order all of these items on demand, from your seat, via an in-flight on-screen ordering system. You want more water, you \"order\" it.\r\n\r\nAnd there are other differences. The seats are leather, there\'s more legroom, and the cabin has a purple light. The flight attendants seem a bit younger and \"cooler\" than most, and there is definitely no in-flight magazine (because print is so yesterday). But what is really different is the safety video. Take a look:\r\n\r\nhttp://youtu.be/DtyfiPIHsIg\r\n\r\nRead more about how this v<a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/3021770/leadership-now/amazingly-good-branding-lessons-from-virgin-americas-new-dance-video-yes-danc\" target=\"_blank\">ideo heralded a new brand strategy </a>for Virgin America in Fast Company.\r\n\r\nIt seems that even though Virgin America basically nickels and dimes its passengers, <strong>people enjoy flying with the airline</strong>. It just feels different--more fun and more hip. Even the vibe at the airport was different. Virgin shares a terminal with American at SFO. The Virgin side had funky chairs and work tables (with plug-in terminals). Lot of people were working at their laptops, with headphones on. Very few (if any) screaming children. Only one wheelchair request. The feeling was more tech-y, hip and relaxed. The American side felt darker, more stressed, more old-school.\r\n\r\nThe real difference may also be customer service. Our flight out of Washington-Dulles was delayed by two hours due to the huge storm that hit the Bay Area last week. The people at the podium immediately set to help out anybody who needed/wanted to change their flight plans. One of the crew brought out snack carts and  gave out free water and snacks. Everybody seemed calm. There was no grousing. A woman in the waiting area across from me told me she travels Virgin to California all the time for work. She told me it was rare for there to be a delay. She herself had connections out of SFO, and had to change her flight. She got on the phone with Virgin, and they were able to accommodate her. She was going to leave the next day, but when she left, she did not seem upset. The airline had taken care of her. The delay was not Virgin\'s fault, but rather Mother Nature\'s.  Virgin worked hard to lessen the impact of the delay and to accommodate its passengers (or guests as they call them).\r\n\r\nNow, would I fly Virgin again? Most likely. I would know to bring food on-board though, and maybe a movie on my smartphone. It would still depend on price and schedule, but all things being equal, Virgin wins out. It just felt better.\r\n\r\nWhat about you? Do you fly an airline because you like what it stands for? Let me know in the comments.\r\n\r\nUPDATE\r\n\r\nI just <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/18/these-airlines-lose-your-luggage-the-most-often/\" target=\"_blank\">came across this post on the Wonkblo</a>g on the Washington Post, which lists airlines on how often they lose your luggage. Virgin America is last on the list (loses the least amount of luggage). Now that may be because fewer people check their bags, or because Virgin is better. Either way, it is a good reason to fly an airline.','Do you fly a brand?','','publish','open','open','','do-you-fly-a-brand','','','2014-12-19 19:06:36','2014-12-20 00:06:36','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2817',0,'post','',0),
(2818,4,'2014-12-18 10:59:01','2014-12-18 15:59:01','Do you ever choose to fly an airline because of its brand identity? Or,  do you choose your flight based on schedule/price? I bet it\'s more than the latter than the former, but if all things are close, you may choose the brand you like the most.\r\n\r\nLast week, I took my first flight on Virgin America. I was going out to San Francisco and Virgin flies from Washington to SFO at least twice a day. I had heard good things, and I thought that Virgin, like Southwest or JetBlue, was a lower cost carrier. Well, it really isn\'t. Virgin charges a comparable price to the other major carrier (United) flying to San Francisco from this area.  And like United, Virgin charges for bags. Unlike United, Virgin charges for in-flight movies ($8 a pop). Virgin also charges for food, snacks and for premium (like Honest Tea) and alcoholic beverages. Pretty much the only thing that you can get for \"free\" is water, coffee and soda. But you order all of these items on demand, from your seat, via an in-flight on-screen ordering system. You want more water, you \"order\" it.\r\n\r\nAnd there are other differences. The seats are leather, there\'s more legroom, and the cabin has a purple light. The flight attendants seem a bit younger and \"cooler\" than most, and there is definitely no in-flight magazine (because print is so yesterday). But what is really different is the safety video. Take a look:\r\n\r\nhttp://youtu.be/DtyfiPIHsIg\r\n\r\nRead more about how this v<a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/3021770/leadership-now/amazingly-good-branding-lessons-from-virgin-americas-new-dance-video-yes-danc\" target=\"_blank\">ideo heralded a new brand strategy </a>for Virgin America in Fast Company.\r\n\r\nIt seems that even though Virgin America basically nickels and dimes its passengers, <strong>people enjoy flying with the airline</strong>. It just feels different--more fun and more hip. Even the vibe at the airport was different. Virgin shares a terminal with American at SFO. The Virgin side had funky chairs and work tables (with plug-in terminals). Lot of people were working at their laptops, with headphones on. Very few (if any) screaming children. Only one wheelchair request. The feeling was more tech-y, hip and relaxed. The American side felt darker, more stressed, more old-school.\r\n\r\nThe real difference may also be customer service. Our flight out of Washington-Dulles was delayed by two hours due to the huge storm that hit the Bay Area last week. The people at the podium immediately set to help out anybody who needed/wanted to change their flight plans. One of the crew brought out snack carts and  gave out free water and snacks. Everybody seemed calm. There was no grousing. A woman in the waiting area across from me told me she travels Virgin to California all the time for work. She told me it was rare for there to be a delay. She herself had connections out of SFO, and had to change her flight. She got on the phone with Virgin, and they were able to accommodate her. She was going to leave the next day, but when she left, she did not seem upset. The airline had taken care of her. The delay was not Virgin\'s fault, but rather Mother Nature\'s.  Virgin worked hard to lessen the impact of the delay and to accommodate its passengers (or guests as they call them).\r\n\r\nNow, would I fly Virgin again? Most likely. I would know to bring food on-board though, and maybe a movie on my smartphone. It would still depend on price and schedule, but all things being equal, Virgin wins out. It just felt better.\r\n\r\nWhat about you? Do you fly an airline because you like what it stands for? Let me know in the comments.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Do you fly a brand?','','inherit','open','open','','2817-revision-v1','','','2014-12-18 10:59:01','2014-12-18 15:59:01','',2817,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/12/2817-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2819,4,'2014-12-19 19:06:23','2014-12-20 00:06:23','Do you ever choose to fly an airline because of its brand identity? Or,  do you choose your flight based on schedule/price? I bet it\'s more than the latter than the former, but if all things are close, you may choose the brand you like the most.\n\nLast week, I took my first flight on Virgin America. I was going out to San Francisco and Virgin flies from Washington to SFO at least twice a day. I had heard good things, and I thought that Virgin, like Southwest or JetBlue, was a lower cost carrier. Well, it really isn\'t. Virgin charges a comparable price to the other major carrier (United) flying to San Francisco from this area.  And like United, Virgin charges for bags. Unlike United, Virgin charges for in-flight movies ($8 a pop). Virgin also charges for food, snacks and for premium (like Honest Tea) and alcoholic beverages. Pretty much the only thing that you can get for \"free\" is water, coffee and soda. But you order all of these items on demand, from your seat, via an in-flight on-screen ordering system. You want more water, you \"order\" it.\n\nAnd there are other differences. The seats are leather, there\'s more legroom, and the cabin has a purple light. The flight attendants seem a bit younger and \"cooler\" than most, and there is definitely no in-flight magazine (because print is so yesterday). But what is really different is the safety video. Take a look:\n\nhttp://youtu.be/DtyfiPIHsIg\n\nRead more about how this v<a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/3021770/leadership-now/amazingly-good-branding-lessons-from-virgin-americas-new-dance-video-yes-danc\" target=\"_blank\">ideo heralded a new brand strategy </a>for Virgin America in Fast Company.\n\nIt seems that even though Virgin America basically nickels and dimes its passengers, <strong>people enjoy flying with the airline</strong>. It just feels different--more fun and more hip. Even the vibe at the airport was different. Virgin shares a terminal with American at SFO. The Virgin side had funky chairs and work tables (with plug-in terminals). Lot of people were working at their laptops, with headphones on. Very few (if any) screaming children. Only one wheelchair request. The feeling was more tech-y, hip and relaxed. The American side felt darker, more stressed, more old-school.\n\nThe real difference may also be customer service. Our flight out of Washington-Dulles was delayed by two hours due to the huge storm that hit the Bay Area last week. The people at the podium immediately set to help out anybody who needed/wanted to change their flight plans. One of the crew brought out snack carts and  gave out free water and snacks. Everybody seemed calm. There was no grousing. A woman in the waiting area across from me told me she travels Virgin to California all the time for work. She told me it was rare for there to be a delay. She herself had connections out of SFO, and had to change her flight. She got on the phone with Virgin, and they were able to accommodate her. She was going to leave the next day, but when she left, she did not seem upset. The airline had taken care of her. The delay was not Virgin\'s fault, but rather Mother Nature\'s.  Virgin worked hard to lessen the impact of the delay and to accommodate its passengers (or guests as they call them).\n\nNow, would I fly Virgin again? Most likely. I would know to bring food on-board though, and maybe a movie on my smartphone. It would still depend on price and schedule, but all things being equal, Virgin wins out. It just felt better.\n\nWhat about you? Do you fly an airline because you like what it stands for? Let me know in the comments.\n\nUPDATE\n\nI just came across this post on the Wonkblog on the Washington Post, which lists airlines on how often they lose your luggage. Virgin America is last on the list (loses the least amount of luggage). Now that may be because fewer people check their bags, or because Virgin is better. Either way, it is a good reason to fly an airline.','Do you fly a brand?','','inherit','open','open','','2817-autosave-v1','','','2014-12-19 19:06:23','2014-12-20 00:06:23','',2817,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/12/2817-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2820,4,'2014-12-19 19:06:36','2014-12-20 00:06:36','Do you ever choose to fly an airline because of its brand identity? Or,  do you choose your flight based on schedule/price? I bet it\'s more than the latter than the former, but if all things are close, you may choose the brand you like the most.\r\n\r\nLast week, I took my first flight on Virgin America. I was going out to San Francisco and Virgin flies from Washington to SFO at least twice a day. I had heard good things, and I thought that Virgin, like Southwest or JetBlue, was a lower cost carrier. Well, it really isn\'t. Virgin charges a comparable price to the other major carrier (United) flying to San Francisco from this area.  And like United, Virgin charges for bags. Unlike United, Virgin charges for in-flight movies ($8 a pop). Virgin also charges for food, snacks and for premium (like Honest Tea) and alcoholic beverages. Pretty much the only thing that you can get for \"free\" is water, coffee and soda. But you order all of these items on demand, from your seat, via an in-flight on-screen ordering system. You want more water, you \"order\" it.\r\n\r\nAnd there are other differences. The seats are leather, there\'s more legroom, and the cabin has a purple light. The flight attendants seem a bit younger and \"cooler\" than most, and there is definitely no in-flight magazine (because print is so yesterday). But what is really different is the safety video. Take a look:\r\n\r\nhttp://youtu.be/DtyfiPIHsIg\r\n\r\nRead more about how this v<a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/3021770/leadership-now/amazingly-good-branding-lessons-from-virgin-americas-new-dance-video-yes-danc\" target=\"_blank\">ideo heralded a new brand strategy </a>for Virgin America in Fast Company.\r\n\r\nIt seems that even though Virgin America basically nickels and dimes its passengers, <strong>people enjoy flying with the airline</strong>. It just feels different--more fun and more hip. Even the vibe at the airport was different. Virgin shares a terminal with American at SFO. The Virgin side had funky chairs and work tables (with plug-in terminals). Lot of people were working at their laptops, with headphones on. Very few (if any) screaming children. Only one wheelchair request. The feeling was more tech-y, hip and relaxed. The American side felt darker, more stressed, more old-school.\r\n\r\nThe real difference may also be customer service. Our flight out of Washington-Dulles was delayed by two hours due to the huge storm that hit the Bay Area last week. The people at the podium immediately set to help out anybody who needed/wanted to change their flight plans. One of the crew brought out snack carts and  gave out free water and snacks. Everybody seemed calm. There was no grousing. A woman in the waiting area across from me told me she travels Virgin to California all the time for work. She told me it was rare for there to be a delay. She herself had connections out of SFO, and had to change her flight. She got on the phone with Virgin, and they were able to accommodate her. She was going to leave the next day, but when she left, she did not seem upset. The airline had taken care of her. The delay was not Virgin\'s fault, but rather Mother Nature\'s.  Virgin worked hard to lessen the impact of the delay and to accommodate its passengers (or guests as they call them).\r\n\r\nNow, would I fly Virgin again? Most likely. I would know to bring food on-board though, and maybe a movie on my smartphone. It would still depend on price and schedule, but all things being equal, Virgin wins out. It just felt better.\r\n\r\nWhat about you? Do you fly an airline because you like what it stands for? Let me know in the comments.\r\n\r\nUPDATE\r\n\r\nI just <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/18/these-airlines-lose-your-luggage-the-most-often/\" target=\"_blank\">came across this post on the Wonkblo</a>g on the Washington Post, which lists airlines on how often they lose your luggage. Virgin America is last on the list (loses the least amount of luggage). Now that may be because fewer people check their bags, or because Virgin is better. Either way, it is a good reason to fly an airline.','Do you fly a brand?','','inherit','open','open','','2817-revision-v1','','','2014-12-19 19:06:36','2014-12-20 00:06:36','',2817,'http://deborahbrody.com/2014/12/2817-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2823,4,'2015-01-06 14:39:02','2015-01-06 19:39:02','It’s hard to believe that we are in January. Of 2015. After clearing the haze left from the year-end holidays, and eying the still empty 2015 calendar in front of us, what better time to consider what you want to do with your blog this year.\r\n\r\nIn order to do something (bigger, better, more, less)—anything—with your blog, you should consider creating your very own 2015 blogging plan, which should include setting blogging resolutions and goals, and then listing a series of actions to get you there.\r\n\r\nTo me, a resolution is the guiding principle (for example, I want to be a better writer) while goals are a measurable way of achieving results (following the example, publish five articles during the year). Actions are simply the steps you take in order to get there (again, per example, research publications).\r\n\r\nSo here’s your bare-bones 2015 blogging plan:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Set a blogging resolution for the year (or as some people like to do, a focus word/phrase)</li>\r\n	<li>Set a series of goals (make sure they are specific and measurable) to help you achieve your resolution</li>\r\n	<li>List the actions you need to take to get there</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>Blogging resolutions (choose one or write your own)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Blog regularly and consistently</li>\r\n	<li>Get better results/generate leads/improve thought leadership</li>\r\n	<li>Increase blog readers</li>\r\n	<li>Restart a blog</li>\r\n	<li>Upgrade/change the focus/redesign the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Be more focused on your area of expertise</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Blogging goals (Pick and choose which would help you attain your blogging resolution and then add the specifics)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Create a blogging schedule/editorial calendar that includes topics, authors, target amount of posts, keywords, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Write a mission/vision statement for the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Set aside brainstorming time each month to generate blog post ideas</li>\r\n	<li>Spend more time on each blog post paying attention to grammar, spelling, fact-checking</li>\r\n	<li>Create better headlines for each blog post that will result in (more attention, more readers, better sharing)</li>\r\n	<li>Implement a blog promotion plan to reach target audience</li>\r\n	<li>Include graphics, video and/or audio in most or all blog posts</li>\r\n	<li>Write a target number of blog posts per week/month/year</li>\r\n	<li>Experiment with a different format (podcast, vlog, live blog)</li>\r\n	<li>Determine specific call-to-actions to include with every blog post</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Blogging actions (everybody should do most of these)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Update your blogging software, themes and plugins regularly or as needed</li>\r\n	<li>Review your current plugins and explore new or different versions (Do you still need all of them? What functionality is missing from your blog?)</li>\r\n	<li>Review your sharing capabilities (Any new social networks you want to include? Noticed any good sharing plugins on other blogs?)</li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Update your copyright line to reflect 2015 (do this now!)</span></li>\r\n	<li>Research your “competition”</li>\r\n	<li>Set your 2015 Google Analytics goals</li>\r\n	<li>Study your Google Analytics ( if you don’t know how—search for a tutorial or class)</li>\r\n	<li>If you use IFTTT, review and update your settings</li>\r\n	<li>Create graphics “warehouse” (whether server or cloud-based) where you can access and store your own pictures, images, infographics, video, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Research and select an image subscription service</li>\r\n	<li>Determine your blog loading speed and if it is slow, find ways to improve it</li>\r\n	<li>Make your blog responsive already! Do you see many people without smartphones around?</li>\r\n	<li>Update biographies, about us pages, gravatar pictures</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis is by no means a complete list. What would you add? What are your blogging resolutions and goals? What specific actions do you take to keep your blog running smoothly?\r\n\r\nHappy New Year 2015! Here\'s a virtual toast to you achieving great things with your blog this year. If you\'ve never had a plan for your blog, make 2015 the year to start!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Blogging resolutions, goals and actions for 2015	','','publish','open','open','','blogging-resolutions-goals-and-actions-for-2015','','','2015-01-07 09:06:43','2015-01-07 14:06:43','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2823',0,'post','',0),
(2824,4,'2015-01-06 14:36:32','2015-01-06 19:36:32','It’s hard to believe that we are in January. Of 2015. After clearing the haze left from the year-end holidays, and eying the still empty 2015 calendar in front of us, what better time to consider what you want to do with your blog this year.\r\n\r\nIn order to do something (bigger, better, more, less)—anything—with your blog, you should consider creating your very own 2015 blogging plan, which should include setting blogging resolutions and goals, and then listing a series of actions to get you there.\r\n\r\nTo me, a resolution is the guiding principle (for example, I want to be a better writer) while goals are a measurable way of achieving results (following the example, publish five articles during the year). Actions are simply the steps you take in order to get there (again, per example, research publications).\r\n\r\nSo here’s your bare-bones 2015 blogging plan:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Set a blogging resolution for the year (or as some people like to do, a focus word/phrase)</li>\r\n	<li>Set a series of goals (make sure they are specific and measurable) to help you achieve you resolution</li>\r\n	<li>List the actions you need to take to get there</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>Blogging resolutions (choose one or write your own)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Blog regularly and consistently</li>\r\n	<li>Get better results/generate leads/improve thought leadership</li>\r\n	<li>Increase blog readers</li>\r\n	<li>Restart a blog</li>\r\n	<li>Upgrade/change the focus/redesign the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Be more focused on your area of expertise</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Blogging goals (Pick and choose which would help you attain your blogging resolution and then add the specifics)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Create a blogging schedule/editorial calendar that includes topics, authors, target amount of posts, keywords, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Write a mission/vision statement for the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Set aside brainstorming time each month to generate blog post ideas</li>\r\n	<li>Spend more time on each blog post paying attention to grammar, spelling, fact-checking</li>\r\n	<li>Create better headlines for each blog post that will result in (more attention, more readers, better sharing)</li>\r\n	<li>Implement a blog promotion plan to reach target audience</li>\r\n	<li>Include graphics, video and/or audio in most or all blog posts</li>\r\n	<li>Write a target number of blog posts per week/month/year</li>\r\n	<li>Experiment with a different format (podcast, vlog, live blog)</li>\r\n	<li>Determine specific call-to-actions to include with every blog post</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Blogging actions (everybody should do most of these)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Update your blogging software, themes and plugins regularly or as needed</li>\r\n	<li>Review your current plugins and explore new or different versions (Do you still need all of them? What functionality is missing from your blog?)</li>\r\n	<li>Review your sharing capabilities (Any new social networks you want to include? Noticed any good sharing plugins on other blogs?)</li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Update your copyright line to reflect 2015 (do this now!)</span></li>\r\n	<li>Research your “competition”</li>\r\n	<li>Set your 2015 Google Analytics goals</li>\r\n	<li>Study your Google Analytics ( if you don’t know how—search for a tutorial or class)</li>\r\n	<li>If you use IFTTT, review and update your settings</li>\r\n	<li>Create graphics “warehouse” (whether server or cloud-based) where you can access and store your own pictures, images, infographics, video, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Research and select an image subscription service</li>\r\n	<li>Determine your blog loading speed and if it is slow, find ways to improve it</li>\r\n	<li>Make your blog responsive already! Do you see many people without smartphones around?</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nWhat would you add? What are your blogging resolutions and goals? What specific actions do you take to keep your blog running smoothly?\r\n\r\nHappy New Year 2015! Here\'s a virtual toast to you achieving great things with your blog this year. If you\'ve never had a plan for your blog, make 2015 the year to start!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Blogging resolutions, goals and actions for 2015	','','inherit','open','open','','2823-revision-v1','','','2015-01-06 14:36:32','2015-01-06 19:36:32','',2823,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2823-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2825,4,'2015-01-06 14:39:02','2015-01-06 19:39:02','It’s hard to believe that we are in January. Of 2015. After clearing the haze left from the year-end holidays, and eying the still empty 2015 calendar in front of us, what better time to consider what you want to do with your blog this year.\r\n\r\nIn order to do something (bigger, better, more, less)—anything—with your blog, you should consider creating your very own 2015 blogging plan, which should include setting blogging resolutions and goals, and then listing a series of actions to get you there.\r\n\r\nTo me, a resolution is the guiding principle (for example, I want to be a better writer) while goals are a measurable way of achieving results (following the example, publish five articles during the year). Actions are simply the steps you take in order to get there (again, per example, research publications).\r\n\r\nSo here’s your bare-bones 2015 blogging plan:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Set a blogging resolution for the year (or as some people like to do, a focus word/phrase)</li>\r\n	<li>Set a series of goals (make sure they are specific and measurable) to help you achieve you resolution</li>\r\n	<li>List the actions you need to take to get there</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>Blogging resolutions (choose one or write your own)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Blog regularly and consistently</li>\r\n	<li>Get better results/generate leads/improve thought leadership</li>\r\n	<li>Increase blog readers</li>\r\n	<li>Restart a blog</li>\r\n	<li>Upgrade/change the focus/redesign the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Be more focused on your area of expertise</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Blogging goals (Pick and choose which would help you attain your blogging resolution and then add the specifics)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Create a blogging schedule/editorial calendar that includes topics, authors, target amount of posts, keywords, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Write a mission/vision statement for the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Set aside brainstorming time each month to generate blog post ideas</li>\r\n	<li>Spend more time on each blog post paying attention to grammar, spelling, fact-checking</li>\r\n	<li>Create better headlines for each blog post that will result in (more attention, more readers, better sharing)</li>\r\n	<li>Implement a blog promotion plan to reach target audience</li>\r\n	<li>Include graphics, video and/or audio in most or all blog posts</li>\r\n	<li>Write a target number of blog posts per week/month/year</li>\r\n	<li>Experiment with a different format (podcast, vlog, live blog)</li>\r\n	<li>Determine specific call-to-actions to include with every blog post</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Blogging actions (everybody should do most of these)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Update your blogging software, themes and plugins regularly or as needed</li>\r\n	<li>Review your current plugins and explore new or different versions (Do you still need all of them? What functionality is missing from your blog?)</li>\r\n	<li>Review your sharing capabilities (Any new social networks you want to include? Noticed any good sharing plugins on other blogs?)</li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Update your copyright line to reflect 2015 (do this now!)</span></li>\r\n	<li>Research your “competition”</li>\r\n	<li>Set your 2015 Google Analytics goals</li>\r\n	<li>Study your Google Analytics ( if you don’t know how—search for a tutorial or class)</li>\r\n	<li>If you use IFTTT, review and update your settings</li>\r\n	<li>Create graphics “warehouse” (whether server or cloud-based) where you can access and store your own pictures, images, infographics, video, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Research and select an image subscription service</li>\r\n	<li>Determine your blog loading speed and if it is slow, find ways to improve it</li>\r\n	<li>Make your blog responsive already! Do you see many people without smartphones around?</li>\r\n	<li>Update biographies, about us pages, gravatar pictures</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis is by no means a complete list. What would you add? What are your blogging resolutions and goals? What specific actions do you take to keep your blog running smoothly?\r\n\r\nHappy New Year 2015! Here\'s a virtual toast to you achieving great things with your blog this year. If you\'ve never had a plan for your blog, make 2015 the year to start!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Blogging resolutions, goals and actions for 2015	','','inherit','open','open','','2823-revision-v1','','','2015-01-06 14:39:02','2015-01-06 19:39:02','',2823,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2823-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2826,4,'2015-01-07 09:06:43','2015-01-07 14:06:43','It’s hard to believe that we are in January. Of 2015. After clearing the haze left from the year-end holidays, and eying the still empty 2015 calendar in front of us, what better time to consider what you want to do with your blog this year.\r\n\r\nIn order to do something (bigger, better, more, less)—anything—with your blog, you should consider creating your very own 2015 blogging plan, which should include setting blogging resolutions and goals, and then listing a series of actions to get you there.\r\n\r\nTo me, a resolution is the guiding principle (for example, I want to be a better writer) while goals are a measurable way of achieving results (following the example, publish five articles during the year). Actions are simply the steps you take in order to get there (again, per example, research publications).\r\n\r\nSo here’s your bare-bones 2015 blogging plan:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Set a blogging resolution for the year (or as some people like to do, a focus word/phrase)</li>\r\n	<li>Set a series of goals (make sure they are specific and measurable) to help you achieve your resolution</li>\r\n	<li>List the actions you need to take to get there</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>Blogging resolutions (choose one or write your own)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Blog regularly and consistently</li>\r\n	<li>Get better results/generate leads/improve thought leadership</li>\r\n	<li>Increase blog readers</li>\r\n	<li>Restart a blog</li>\r\n	<li>Upgrade/change the focus/redesign the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Be more focused on your area of expertise</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Blogging goals (Pick and choose which would help you attain your blogging resolution and then add the specifics)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Create a blogging schedule/editorial calendar that includes topics, authors, target amount of posts, keywords, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Write a mission/vision statement for the blog</li>\r\n	<li>Set aside brainstorming time each month to generate blog post ideas</li>\r\n	<li>Spend more time on each blog post paying attention to grammar, spelling, fact-checking</li>\r\n	<li>Create better headlines for each blog post that will result in (more attention, more readers, better sharing)</li>\r\n	<li>Implement a blog promotion plan to reach target audience</li>\r\n	<li>Include graphics, video and/or audio in most or all blog posts</li>\r\n	<li>Write a target number of blog posts per week/month/year</li>\r\n	<li>Experiment with a different format (podcast, vlog, live blog)</li>\r\n	<li>Determine specific call-to-actions to include with every blog post</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Blogging actions (everybody should do most of these)</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Update your blogging software, themes and plugins regularly or as needed</li>\r\n	<li>Review your current plugins and explore new or different versions (Do you still need all of them? What functionality is missing from your blog?)</li>\r\n	<li>Review your sharing capabilities (Any new social networks you want to include? Noticed any good sharing plugins on other blogs?)</li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Update your copyright line to reflect 2015 (do this now!)</span></li>\r\n	<li>Research your “competition”</li>\r\n	<li>Set your 2015 Google Analytics goals</li>\r\n	<li>Study your Google Analytics ( if you don’t know how—search for a tutorial or class)</li>\r\n	<li>If you use IFTTT, review and update your settings</li>\r\n	<li>Create graphics “warehouse” (whether server or cloud-based) where you can access and store your own pictures, images, infographics, video, etc.</li>\r\n	<li>Research and select an image subscription service</li>\r\n	<li>Determine your blog loading speed and if it is slow, find ways to improve it</li>\r\n	<li>Make your blog responsive already! Do you see many people without smartphones around?</li>\r\n	<li>Update biographies, about us pages, gravatar pictures</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis is by no means a complete list. What would you add? What are your blogging resolutions and goals? What specific actions do you take to keep your blog running smoothly?\r\n\r\nHappy New Year 2015! Here\'s a virtual toast to you achieving great things with your blog this year. If you\'ve never had a plan for your blog, make 2015 the year to start!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Blogging resolutions, goals and actions for 2015	','','inherit','open','open','','2823-revision-v1','','','2015-01-07 09:06:43','2015-01-07 14:06:43','',2823,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2823-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2828,4,'2015-01-13 10:09:20','2015-01-13 15:09:20','You want to grow your blog. You want to write consistently. You want to be shared widely.\r\n\r\nAll bloggers do. But not all bloggers succeed.\r\n\r\nWith all things being equal, (posting well written, well research, thoughtful, grammatically-correct and spell-checked posts) what sets successful bloggers apart?\r\n\r\nSuccessful bloggers know the answer to this question:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Who will read this blog post?</strong></p>\r\nIn other words, they know and understand their <strong>target audience.</strong>\r\n\r\nIf you know your target audience, you will write the stuff that is relevant, useful and/or interesting to them.\r\n\r\nLet\'s say you are a plumber who blogs about plumbing issues. Who is your target audience? Is it potential customers? Or is it young plumbers who want to learn the business? If it is the former, then your blog posts would  perhaps be focused on what causes plumbing issues and do-it-yourself tips to keep plumbing working well. If your target audience is young plumbers interested in learning the tricks of the trade, you might write about how to get customers or how to find the best plumbing supply vendors.\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t define your target audience, and think about their needs, you will have an unfocused blog, and you will end up reaching no one.\r\n\r\nSo before you write your next blog post, ask yourself<strong> who will want to read this?  </strong>If the answer is not a member of your defined target audience, think twice about posting.','Before you write your next blog post, ask yourself this','','publish','open','open','','before-you-write-your-next-blog-post-ask-yourself-this','','','2015-01-13 10:09:20','2015-01-13 15:09:20','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2828',0,'post','',0),
(2829,4,'2015-01-13 10:09:20','2015-01-13 15:09:20','You want to grow your blog. You want to write consistently. You want to be shared widely.\r\n\r\nAll bloggers do. But not all bloggers succeed.\r\n\r\nWith all things being equal, (posting well written, well research, thoughtful, grammatically-correct and spell-checked posts) what sets successful bloggers apart?\r\n\r\nSuccessful bloggers know the answer to this question:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Who will read this blog post?</strong></p>\r\nIn other words, they know and understand their <strong>target audience.</strong>\r\n\r\nIf you know your target audience, you will write the stuff that is relevant, useful and/or interesting to them.\r\n\r\nLet\'s say you are a plumber who blogs about plumbing issues. Who is your target audience? Is it potential customers? Or is it young plumbers who want to learn the business? If it is the former, then your blog posts would  perhaps be focused on what causes plumbing issues and do-it-yourself tips to keep plumbing working well. If your target audience is young plumbers interested in learning the tricks of the trade, you might write about how to get customers or how to find the best plumbing supply vendors.\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t define your target audience, and think about their needs, you will have an unfocused blog, and you will end up reaching no one.\r\n\r\nSo before you write your next blog post, ask yourself<strong> who will want to read this?  </strong>If the answer is not a member of your defined target audience, think twice about posting.','Before you write your next blog post, ask yourself this','','inherit','open','open','','2828-revision-v1','','','2015-01-13 10:09:20','2015-01-13 15:09:20','',2828,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2828-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2831,4,'2015-01-20 10:27:30','2015-01-20 15:27:30','For several years now, there have been organized Days of Service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day across the United States.\r\n\r\nI love Days of Service. In 2013, I went to the big one organized around President Obama\'s second inauguration, where I joined thousands in putting together care packages for US troops. Yesterday, I went to the Montgomery County (where I live) Day of Service and learned to crochet squares, which will be joined together by other volunteers into blankets for needy people.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2832\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"225\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2832\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Crochet squares at Montgomery County MLK Day of Service\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a> Crochet squares at Montgomery County MLK Day of Service[/caption]\r\n\r\nYesterday, at the Montgomery County Conference Center, where the MLK Day of Service event was held, I saw hundreds of folks, representing various ethnicities and races, many of them children, all crammed together in a ballroom. All of them converging to volunteer in memory of Dr. King, to participate in a small project (crochet for one hour, like me) but selfless.\r\n\r\nHow do you get thousands of folks to volunteer? Generally, there\'s not enough budget for physical incentives (t-shirts, food, etc.) for everyone. People will need to transport themselves to the location and give up a chunk of their time. So why do people do it, year after year?\r\n\r\nAll sorts of people will take the time and devote energy to volunteering because there is payoff. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The payoff  is a feeling of accomplishment.</span> They  feel like they are helping out and perhaps, even making a difference.\r\n\r\nThe one big marketing lesson here is simple. <strong>People want do things that make them feel good about themselves</strong>.\r\n\r\nA powerful motivation to get people to do what you want (buy a product, sign up for healthcare, etc.) is to focus on making people feel good about themselves.\r\n\r\nHave you seen the TV commercials for Chantix (a medication to help people quit smoking)? The commercials tell the stories of individuals who decided to quit, generally because they want to live long lives for their families. They focus on how good people feel once they have stopped smoking, and what a great accomplishment it is.\r\n\r\nWe know good marketing understands and focuses on the intended target audience. Part of understanding a target audience is to know what will motivate action. Some marketers feel scare tactics work better (if you don\'t buy life insurance, you will be hit by catastrophic funeral costs you won\'t be able to afford). In my opinion, people prefer to feel good about their choices (if you buy life insurance, you will have peace of mind).\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? Do you respond better to positive or negative marketing?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','One big marketing lesson from the MLK Day of Service','','publish','open','open','','one-big-marketing-lesson-from-the-mlk-day-of-service','','','2015-01-20 10:27:30','2015-01-20 15:27:30','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2831',0,'post','',0),
(2832,4,'2015-01-20 10:08:05','2015-01-20 15:08:05','','Crochet squares','Crochet squares at Montgomery County MLK Day of Service','inherit','open','open','','10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n','','','2015-01-20 10:08:37','2015-01-20 15:08:37','',2831,'http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),
(2833,4,'2015-01-20 10:21:07','2015-01-20 15:21:07','For several years now, there have been organized Days of Service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day across the United States.\r\n\r\nI love Days of Service. In 2013, I went to the big one organized around President Obama\'s second inauguration, where I joined thousands in putting together care packages for US troops. Yesterday, I went to the Montgomery County (where I live) Day of Service and learned to crochet squares, which will be joined together by other volunteers into blankets for needy people.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2832\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Crochet squares at Montgomery County MLK Day of Service\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYesterday, at the Montgomery County Conference Center, where the MLK Day of Service event was held, I saw hundreds of folks, representing various ethnicities and races. Lots of them were kids. All of them converging to volunteer in memory of Dr. King, to do something small (crochet for one hour, like me) but selfless.\r\n\r\nHow do you get thousands of folks to volunteer? Generally, there\'s not enough budget for physical incentives (t-shirts, food, etc.) for everyone. People will need to transport themselves to the location and give up a chunk of their time. So why do people do it, year after year?\r\n\r\nAll sorts of people will take the time and devote energy to volunteering because there is payoff. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The payoff  is a feeling of accomplishment.</span> They  feel like they are helping out and perhaps, even making a difference.\r\n\r\nThe one big marketing lesson here is simple. <strong>People want do things that make them feel good about themselves</strong>.\r\n\r\nTo get people to do things (buy a product, sign up for healthcare, etc.), marketing materials and efforts need to focus on making people feel good about themselves. That\'s powerful motivation.\r\n\r\nHave you seen the TV commercials for Chantix (a medication to help people quit smoking)? They tell the stories of individuals who decided to quit, generally because they want to live long lives for their families. The focus of these ads is on how good people feel once they have stopped smoking, and what a great accomplishment it is.\r\n\r\nWe know good marketing understands and focuses on the intended target audience. Part of understanding a target audience is to know what will motivate action. Some marketers feel scare tactics work better (if you don\'t buy life insurance, you will be hit by catastrophic funeral costs you won\'t be able to afford). In my opinion, people prefer to feel good about their choices (if you buy life insurance, you will have peace of mind).\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? Do you respond better to positive or negative marketing?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','One big marketing lesson from the MLK Day of Service','','inherit','open','open','','2831-revision-v1','','','2015-01-20 10:21:07','2015-01-20 15:21:07','',2831,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2831-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2834,4,'2015-01-20 10:27:14','2015-01-20 15:27:14','For several years now, there have been organized Days of Service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day across the United States.\r\n\r\nI love Days of Service. In 2013, I went to the big one organized around President Obama\'s second inauguration, where I joined thousands in putting together care packages for US troops. Yesterday, I went to the Montgomery County (where I live) Day of Service and learned to crochet squares, which will be joined together by other volunteers into blankets for needy people.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2832\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"225\"]<a href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2832\" src=\"http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10923270_10152688031315028_3539864702966170471_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Crochet squares at Montgomery County MLK Day of Service\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a> Crochet squares at Montgomery County MLK Day of Service[/caption]\r\n\r\nYesterday, at the Montgomery County Conference Center, where the MLK Day of Service event was held, I saw hundreds of folks, representing various ethnicities and races, many of them children, all crammed together in a ballroom. All of them converging to volunteer in memory of Dr. King, to participate in a small project (crochet for one hour, like me) but selfless.\r\n\r\nHow do you get thousands of folks to volunteer? Generally, there\'s not enough budget for physical incentives (t-shirts, food, etc.) for everyone. People will need to transport themselves to the location and give up a chunk of their time. So why do people do it, year after year?\r\n\r\nAll sorts of people will take the time and devote energy to volunteering because there is payoff. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The payoff  is a feeling of accomplishment.</span> They  feel like they are helping out and perhaps, even making a difference.\r\n\r\nThe one big marketing lesson here is simple. <strong>People want do things that make them feel good about themselves</strong>.\r\n\r\nA powerful motivation to get people to do what you want (buy a product, sign up for healthcare, etc.) is to focus on making people feel good about themselves.\r\n\r\nHave you seen the TV commercials for Chantix (a medication to help people quit smoking)? The commercials tell the stories of individuals who decided to quit, generally because they want to live long lives for their families. They focus on how good people feel once they have stopped smoking, and what a great accomplishment it is.\r\n\r\nWe know good marketing understands and focuses on the intended target audience. Part of understanding a target audience is to know what will motivate action. Some marketers feel scare tactics work better (if you don\'t buy life insurance, you will be hit by catastrophic funeral costs you won\'t be able to afford). In my opinion, people prefer to feel good about their choices (if you buy life insurance, you will have peace of mind).\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts? Do you respond better to positive or negative marketing?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','One big marketing lesson from the MLK Day of Service','','inherit','open','open','','2831-revision-v1','','','2015-01-20 10:27:14','2015-01-20 15:27:14','',2831,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2831-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2835,4,'2015-01-21 12:42:34','2015-01-21 17:42:34','In case you\'ve missed a newsletter, just check this archive:\r\n\r\n<a title=\"January 2015 newsletter\" href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/594ec5\" target=\"_blank\">January 2015</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/p/9a6295?fe=1&amp;pact=26384901049\" target=\"_blank\">November 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/f95d35\" target=\"_blank\">September 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://madmimi.com/s/c3e405\" target=\"_blank\">July 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://mad.ly/3625c4\" target=\"_blank\">April 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"February newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/dc2584\" target=\"_blank\">February 2014</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"December 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/bb9454\" target=\"_blank\">December 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"October 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/f27424\" target=\"_blank\">October 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"July 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/eb30f3\" target=\"_blank\">July 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"May 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/9003c3\" target=\"_blank\">May 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"March 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/d82a93\" target=\"_blank\">March 2013</a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"January 2013 newsletter\" href=\"http://mad.ly/a12873\" target=\"_blank\">January 2013</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Newsletters','','inherit','open','open','','2509-revision-v1','','','2015-01-21 12:42:34','2015-01-21 17:42:34','',2509,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2509-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2846,4,'2015-02-03 13:48:34','2015-02-03 18:48:34','Right off the bat let me say I think having open but moderated comments on websites and blogs is the way to go. In the past year, several leading blogs have decided to go the no-comment route, arguing that discussions will occur on social media. That\'s fine, but part of having a blog is being social, and to me, social means allowing comments.\r\n\r\nThis morning I read <a href=\"http://elliott.org/blog/comments-care/\" target=\"_blank\">this piece</a> on consumer advocate Christopher Elliot\'s site, in which he describes how he will deal with comments (especially snarky or inappropriate ones). Basically, his team (don\'t we all wish we had a team, but I digress) will moderate all comments and flag inappropriate ones. If someone is flagged, he/she will be informed and eventually be disallowed from commenting on the site. Seems very fair to me.\r\n\r\nYesterday, Mark Schaefer on his {grow} blog wrote a post entitled <a href=\"http://www.businessesgrow.com/2015/02/02/online-audience/\" target=\"_blank\">\"I don\'t know my online audience and neither do you.\"</a> His point, with which I most definitely agree, is that you can\'t rely on social media actions and presence to really know who your audience is. There are many customers and potential customers who are just not active on social media, but may be actively doing business or thinking of doing business with you. They may be talking about you (gasp!) in person or emailing (gasp!) links but (the idea of it!) not sharing on social media. He says we can only identify about two percent of who it is that is sharing our content.\r\n\r\nHe writes:\r\n<blockquote>Pick any blogger who has been around for awhile (SIC) and ask them what percent of their audience comments on the blog — they’ll say it is about 2 percent.</blockquote>\r\nBasically, the issue of commenting boils down to motivation. Only very motivated people are going to comment on your blog. In Elliot\'s case, many of those are motivated by a desire to be unpleasant or controversial. In Schaefer\'s example, only a small percentage of a total audience takes the step of commenting.\r\n\r\nIt\'s important to recognize that all a comment indicates is that a motivated person has decided to interact with you on your blog (whether for good or for bad). By allowing it, you are encouraging interaction. By moderating comments, you are encouraging good behavior. By depending on getting comments, on the other hand, you are falling into a perceived popularity trap.\r\n\r\nA blog won\'t rise or fall on the number of comments that are on it, but rather on the actions that you want readers to take. Perhaps you want your readers to think about doing business with you. Or perhaps you want readers to think of you as an authority in a subject area. Whatever your goal is, try to figure out how to measure it. Your comments alone won\'t do it.\r\n\r\nYou are, of course, welcome to comment on this subject.\r\n\r\nUPDATE February 9, 2015:\r\n\r\nJust came <a href=\"http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2015/2/9/8007483/tablet-magazine-comments\" target=\"_blank\">across this article</a>, about Tablet Magazine, and a trial scheme to ask people to pay to comment. Should cut down on the crazy comments, but could also backfire by creating an obstacle to legitimate commenters.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Some thoughts about comments','','publish','open','open','','some-thoughts-about-comments','','\nhttp://elliott.org/blog/comments-care/','2015-02-09 20:20:04','2015-02-10 01:20:04','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2846',0,'post','',2),
(2838,4,'2015-01-26 15:53:09','2015-01-26 20:53:09','In the last few weeks, I have been noticing an inordinate amount of posts with this type of formulaic headline:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>[</strong>Insert number, generally  5 or 7<strong>]  [</strong>insert hyperbolic adjective such as surprising or best-ever<strong>] Tips to [</strong>insert desired action, generally improving or achieving<strong>] Your [</strong>Insert success-oriented result such as expert knowledge or success<strong>]\r\n</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Example:</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>5 Tips to Exponentially Improve Your Business Success\r\n</strong></p>\r\nThis is a headline formula sure to get attention. It is well-known that people love lists, tips and any headline with a number in it. Combine them all, and well, you have guaranteed clicks (also known as click-bait). And click-bait is exactly what these are. Very few, if any, of the articles attached to these headlines provide anything substantial. Certainly, not anything surprising. And many seem to forget what a tip is.\r\n\r\nAlthough the word tip has many meanings (including the point of a pencil, to topple something) the definition most of these posts refer to is this, from Merriam-Webster:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"ssens\">  a piece of advice or expert or authoritative information</span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\"><strong>or</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">a piece of advance or confidential information given by one thought to have access to special or inside sources </span></blockquote>\r\nBut here\'s the thing. A lot of what I am reading barely seems like advice and most of it is certainly not authoritative. For example, I read one of these articles entitled something like 5 Tips to Improve Your Writing, and one of the \"tips\" was \"don\'t lie.\" Seriously. Don\'t lie is not a tip, it\'s a given (and some of the religious persuasion would say it is a commandment).\r\n\r\nAnd then, there\'s an article I read last week about \"surprising\" ways to land a job. Here\'s one of the surprising ways: network. They may have well put in \"fill an application\" or \"send a resume.\"\r\n\r\nI understand why people are writing these headlines and constructing their posts like this. After all, following a formula is easy, and it usually gets attention. The problem is that when you don\'t deliver on the promise of the headline, people won\'t read anything you write anymore or at least won\'t look at it seriously.\r\n\r\nHere\'s my non-surprising tip: avoid click-bait posts.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Stop surprising me with your \"tips\"','','publish','open','open','','stop-surprising-me-with-your-tips','','','2015-02-02 10:36:28','2015-02-02 15:36:28','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2838',0,'post','',0),
(2839,4,'2015-01-26 10:37:29','2015-01-26 15:37:29','In the last few weeks, I have been noticing an inordinate amount of posts with this type of formulaic headline:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">5/7/10 (Surprising/Helpful/Unusual) Tips to (Improve/Increase/Achieve) Your (Nirvana/Success/Life)</p>\r\nThis is a formula to get attention. It is well-known that people love lists, tips and any headline with a number in it. Combine them all, and well, you have guaranteed link-bait. And link-bait is exactly what these \"articles\" are. Very few, if any, of them provide anything substantial. Certainly, not anything surprising. And many seem to forget what a tip is.\r\n\r\nAlthough the word tip has many meanings (including the point of a pencil, to topple something) the definition most of these posts refer to is this, from Merriam-Websters:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"ssens\">  a piece of advice or expert or authoritative information</span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\"><strong>or</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">a piece of advance or confidential information given by one thought to have access to special or inside sources </span></blockquote>\r\nBut here\'s the thing. A lot of what I am reading barely seems like advice and most of it is certainly not authoritative. For example, I read one of these articles entitled something like 5 Tips to Improve Your Writing, and one of the \"tips\" was \"don\'t lie.\" Seriously. Don\'t lie is not a tip, it\'s a given (and some of the religious persuasion would say it is a commandment).\r\n\r\nAnd then, there\'s an article I read last week about \"surprising\" ways to land a job. Here\'s one of the surprising ways: network. They may have well put in \"fill an application\" or \"send a resume.\"\r\n\r\nI understand why people are writing these headlines and constructing their posts like this. It\'s easy, and it usually gets attention. But when you don\'t deliver on the promise of the headline, the real surprise is that people won\'t read anything you write anymore or at least won\'t look at it seriously.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Stop surprising me with your \"tips\"','','inherit','open','open','','2838-revision-v1','','','2015-01-26 10:37:29','2015-01-26 15:37:29','',2838,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2838-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2840,4,'2015-01-26 10:40:29','2015-01-26 15:40:29','In the last few weeks, I have been noticing an inordinate amount of posts with this type of formulaic headline:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">5/7/10 (Surprising/Helpful/Unusual) Tips to (Improve/Increase/Achieve)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Your (Nirvana/Success/Life)</p>\r\nThis is a formula to get attention. It is well-known that people love lists, tips and any headline with a number in it. Combine them all, and well, you have guaranteed link-bait. And link-bait is exactly what these \"articles\" are. Very few, if any, of them provide anything substantial. Certainly, not anything surprising. And many seem to forget what a tip is.\r\n\r\nAlthough the word tip has many meanings (including the point of a pencil, to topple something) the definition most of these posts refer to is this, from Merriam-Webster:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"ssens\">  a piece of advice or expert or authoritative information</span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\"><strong>or</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">a piece of advance or confidential information given by one thought to have access to special or inside sources </span></blockquote>\r\nBut here\'s the thing. A lot of what I am reading barely seems like advice and most of it is certainly not authoritative. For example, I read one of these articles entitled something like 5 Tips to Improve Your Writing, and one of the \"tips\" was \"don\'t lie.\" Seriously. Don\'t lie is not a tip, it\'s a given (and some of the religious persuasion would say it is a commandment).\r\n\r\nAnd then, there\'s an article I read last week about \"surprising\" ways to land a job. Here\'s one of the surprising ways: network. They may have well put in \"fill an application\" or \"send a resume.\"\r\n\r\nI understand why people are writing these headlines and constructing their posts like this. It\'s easy, and it usually gets attention. But when you don\'t deliver on the promise of the headline, the real surprise is that people won\'t read anything you write anymore or at least won\'t look at it seriously.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Stop surprising me with your \"tips\"','','inherit','open','open','','2838-revision-v1','','','2015-01-26 10:40:29','2015-01-26 15:40:29','',2838,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2838-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2841,4,'2015-01-26 15:38:33','2015-01-26 20:38:33','In the last few weeks, I have been noticing an inordinate amount of posts with this type of formulaic headline:\r\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>[Insert number, generally  5 or 7]  [insert hyperbolic adjective such as surprising or best-ever] Tips to [insert desired action, generally improving or achieving] Your [Insert success-oriented result such as expert knowledge or nirvana]\r\n</strong></h5>\r\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong> </strong></h5>\r\nThis is a formula to get attention. It is well-known that people love lists, tips and any headline with a number in it. Combine them all, and well, you have guaranteed link-bait. And link-bait is exactly what these \"articles\" are. Very few, if any, of them provide anything substantial. Certainly, not anything surprising. And many seem to forget what a tip is.\r\n\r\nAlthough the word tip has many meanings (including the point of a pencil, to topple something) the definition most of these posts refer to is this, from Merriam-Webster:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"ssens\">  a piece of advice or expert or authoritative information</span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\"><strong>or</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">a piece of advance or confidential information given by one thought to have access to special or inside sources </span></blockquote>\r\nBut here\'s the thing. A lot of what I am reading barely seems like advice and most of it is certainly not authoritative. For example, I read one of these articles entitled something like 5 Tips to Improve Your Writing, and one of the \"tips\" was \"don\'t lie.\" Seriously. Don\'t lie is not a tip, it\'s a given (and some of the religious persuasion would say it is a commandment).\r\n\r\nAnd then, there\'s an article I read last week about \"surprising\" ways to land a job. Here\'s one of the surprising ways: network. They may have well put in \"fill an application\" or \"send a resume.\"\r\n\r\nI understand why people are writing these headlines and constructing their posts like this. It\'s easy, and it usually gets attention. But when you don\'t deliver on the promise of the headline, the real surprise is that people won\'t read anything you write anymore or at least won\'t look at it seriously.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Stop surprising me with your \"tips\"','','inherit','open','open','','2838-revision-v1','','','2015-01-26 15:38:33','2015-01-26 20:38:33','',2838,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2838-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2842,4,'2015-01-26 15:52:00','2015-01-26 20:52:00','In the last few weeks, I have been noticing an inordinate amount of posts with this type of formulaic headline:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>[</strong>Insert number, generally  5 or 7<strong>]  [</strong>insert hyperbolic adjective such as surprising or best-ever<strong>] Tips to [</strong>insert desired action, generally improving or achieving<strong>] Your [</strong>Insert success-oriented result such as expert knowledge or success<strong>]\r\n</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Example:</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>5 Tips to Exponentially Improve Your Business Success\r\n</strong></p>\r\nThis is a headline formula sure to get attention. It is well-known that people love lists, tips and any headline with a number in it. Combine them all, and well, you have guaranteed clicks (also known as link-bait). And link-bait is exactly what these are. Very few, if any, of the articles attached to these headlines provide anything substantial. Certainly, not anything surprising. And many seem to forget what a tip is.\r\n\r\nAlthough the word tip has many meanings (including the point of a pencil, to topple something) the definition most of these posts refer to is this, from Merriam-Webster:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"ssens\">  a piece of advice or expert or authoritative information</span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\"><strong>or</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">a piece of advance or confidential information given by one thought to have access to special or inside sources </span></blockquote>\r\nBut here\'s the thing. A lot of what I am reading barely seems like advice and most of it is certainly not authoritative. For example, I read one of these articles entitled something like 5 Tips to Improve Your Writing, and one of the \"tips\" was \"don\'t lie.\" Seriously. Don\'t lie is not a tip, it\'s a given (and some of the religious persuasion would say it is a commandment).\r\n\r\nAnd then, there\'s an article I read last week about \"surprising\" ways to land a job. Here\'s one of the surprising ways: network. They may have well put in \"fill an application\" or \"send a resume.\"\r\n\r\nI understand why people are writing these headlines and constructing their posts like this. After all, following a formula is easy, and it usually gets attention. The problem is that when you don\'t deliver on the promise of the headline, people won\'t read anything you write anymore or at least won\'t look at it seriously.\r\n\r\nHere\'s my non-surprising tip: avoid link-bait posts.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Stop surprising me with your \"tips\"','','inherit','open','open','','2838-revision-v1','','','2015-01-26 15:52:00','2015-01-26 20:52:00','',2838,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/2838-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2843,4,'2015-01-27 18:34:40','2015-01-27 23:34:40','<iframe src=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DR-Ox75S3bNvD01zpkolVqvBlo8PvC9htvgAI4MibU8/viewform?embedded=true\" width=\"600\" height=\"700\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\">Loading...</iframe>\r\n\r\n<strong>Email:</strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"mailto:info@deborahbrody.com\">info@deborahbrody.com</a>\r\n\r\n<strong>Call:</strong>\r\n\r\n240-803-DBMC (3262)\r\n\r\n<object width=\"230\" height=\"85\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"FlashVars\" value=\"id=5e012d4bc24b62a8912b0ad9c09d5ce21e51c5e2&amp;style=0\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://clients4.google.com/voice/embed/webCallButton\" /><embed width=\"230\" height=\"85\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://clients4.google.com/voice/embed/webCallButton\" wmode=\"transparent\" flashvars=\"id=5e012d4bc24b62a8912b0ad9c09d5ce21e51c5e2&amp;style=0\" /></object>\r\n\r\n<strong>Twitter:</strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://twitter.com/dbmc\" target=\"_blank\">@DBMC</a>\r\n\r\n<strong>Mail</strong>:\r\n\r\n<address>Deborah Brody Marketing Communication</address><address>PO Box 1435\r\nRockville, MD 20849</address><address> </address>','Contact','','inherit','open','open','','24-revision-v1','','','2015-01-27 18:34:40','2015-01-27 23:34:40','',24,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/01/24-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2845,4,'2015-02-02 10:36:28','2015-02-02 15:36:28','In the last few weeks, I have been noticing an inordinate amount of posts with this type of formulaic headline:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>[</strong>Insert number, generally  5 or 7<strong>]  [</strong>insert hyperbolic adjective such as surprising or best-ever<strong>] Tips to [</strong>insert desired action, generally improving or achieving<strong>] Your [</strong>Insert success-oriented result such as expert knowledge or success<strong>]\r\n</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Example:</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>5 Tips to Exponentially Improve Your Business Success\r\n</strong></p>\r\nThis is a headline formula sure to get attention. It is well-known that people love lists, tips and any headline with a number in it. Combine them all, and well, you have guaranteed clicks (also known as click-bait). And click-bait is exactly what these are. Very few, if any, of the articles attached to these headlines provide anything substantial. Certainly, not anything surprising. And many seem to forget what a tip is.\r\n\r\nAlthough the word tip has many meanings (including the point of a pencil, to topple something) the definition most of these posts refer to is this, from Merriam-Webster:\r\n<blockquote><span class=\"ssens\">  a piece of advice or expert or authoritative information</span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\"><strong>or</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">a piece of advance or confidential information given by one thought to have access to special or inside sources </span></blockquote>\r\nBut here\'s the thing. A lot of what I am reading barely seems like advice and most of it is certainly not authoritative. For example, I read one of these articles entitled something like 5 Tips to Improve Your Writing, and one of the \"tips\" was \"don\'t lie.\" Seriously. Don\'t lie is not a tip, it\'s a given (and some of the religious persuasion would say it is a commandment).\r\n\r\nAnd then, there\'s an article I read last week about \"surprising\" ways to land a job. Here\'s one of the surprising ways: network. They may have well put in \"fill an application\" or \"send a resume.\"\r\n\r\nI understand why people are writing these headlines and constructing their posts like this. After all, following a formula is easy, and it usually gets attention. The problem is that when you don\'t deliver on the promise of the headline, people won\'t read anything you write anymore or at least won\'t look at it seriously.\r\n\r\nHere\'s my non-surprising tip: avoid click-bait posts.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Stop surprising me with your \"tips\"','','inherit','open','open','','2838-revision-v1','','','2015-02-02 10:36:28','2015-02-02 15:36:28','',2838,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2838-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2847,4,'2015-02-03 13:48:34','2015-02-03 18:48:34','Right off the bat let me say I think having open but moderated comments on websites and blogs is the way to go. In the past year, several leading blogs have decided to go the no-comment route, arguing that discussions will occur on social media. That\'s fine, but part of having a blog is being social, and to me, social means allowing comments.\r\n\r\nThis morning I read <a href=\"http://elliott.org/blog/comments-care/\" target=\"_blank\">this piece</a> on consumer advocate Christopher Elliot\'s site, in which he describes how he will deal with comments (especially snarky or inappropriate ones). Basically, his team (don\'t we all wish we had a team, but I digress) will moderate all comments and flag inappropriate ones. If someone is flagged, he/she will be informed and eventually be disallowed from commenting on the site. Seems very fair to me.\r\n\r\nYesterday, Mark Schaefer on his {grow} blog wrote a post entitled <a href=\"http://www.businessesgrow.com/2015/02/02/online-audience/\" target=\"_blank\">\"I don\'t know my online audience and neither do you.\"</a> His point, with which I most definitely agree, is that you can\'t rely on social media actions and presence to really know who your audience is. There are many customers and potential customers who are just not active on social media, but may be actively doing business or thinking of doing business with you. They may be talking about you (gasp!) in person or emailing (gasp!) links but (the idea of it!) not sharing on social media. He says we can only identify about two percent of who it is that is sharing our content.\r\n\r\nHe writes:\r\n<blockquote>Pick any blogger who has been around for awhile (SIC) and ask them what percent of their audience comments on the blog — they’ll say it is about 2 percent.</blockquote>\r\nBasically, the issue of commenting boils down to motivation. Only very motivated people are going to comment on your blog. In Elliot\'s case, many of those are motivated by a desire to be unpleasant or controversial. In Schaefer\'s example, only a small percentage of a total audience takes the step of commenting.\r\n\r\nIt\'s important to recognize that all a comment indicates is that a motivated person has decided to interact with you on your blog (whether for good or for bad). By allowing it, you are encouraging interaction. By moderating comments, you are encouraging good behavior. By depending on getting comments, on the other hand, you are falling into a perceived popularity trap.\r\n\r\nA blog won\'t rise or fall on the number of comments that are on it, but rather on the actions that you want readers to take. Perhaps you want your readers to think about doing business with you. Or perhaps you want readers to think of you as an authority in a subject area. Whatever your goal is, try to figure out how to measure it. Your comments alone won\'t do it.\r\n\r\nYou are, of course, welcome to comment on this subject.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Some thoughts about comments','','inherit','open','open','','2846-revision-v1','','','2015-02-03 13:48:34','2015-02-03 18:48:34','',2846,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2846-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2848,4,'2013-04-26 17:38:26','2013-04-26 17:38:26','We work with clients to create or improve marketing and communications materials. In order to do so, we provide the following services:\r\n<h2><a title=\"Writing/Copywriting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/writing/\">Writing</a></h2>\r\n<h2><a title=\"Communications Consulting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/communications-consulting/\">Communications Consulting</a></h2>\r\n<h2><a title=\"Training\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/training/\">Training</a></h2>','Services','','inherit','open','open','','14-revision-v1','','','2013-04-26 17:38:26','2013-04-26 17:38:26','',14,'http://deborahbrody.com/2013/04/14-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2849,4,'2015-02-05 10:29:50','2015-02-05 15:29:50','We work with clients to create or improve marketing and communications materials. In order to do so, we provide the following services:\r\n<h2><a title=\"Writing/Copywriting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/writing/\">Writing</a></h2>\r\n<h2>Copy Editing</h2>\r\n<h2><a title=\"Communications Consulting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/communications-consulting/\">Communications Consulting</a></h2>\r\n<h2><a title=\"Training\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/training/\">Training</a></h2>','Services','','inherit','open','open','','14-revision-v1','','','2015-02-05 10:29:50','2015-02-05 15:29:50','',14,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/14-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2850,4,'2015-02-05 10:34:36','2015-02-05 15:34:36','Copy editing helps bring clarity, consistency, and accuracy to your documents.\r\n\r\nDepending on the document, you may need more or less editing. In all cases, your document will be checked for clarity (what you really mean to say), grammar, spelling,  punctuation, usage, and consistency.\r\n\r\nCopy editing fee: $65 per hour\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Copy Editing','','publish','open','open','','copy-editing','','','2020-04-09 10:33:41','2020-04-09 14:33:41','',14,'http://deborahbrody.com/?page_id=2850',0,'page','',0),
(2851,4,'2015-02-05 10:34:36','2015-02-05 15:34:36','Copy editing will rid your documents of errors and make them sound better.\r\n\r\nDepending on the document, you may need more or less editing. With lighter copy editing, your document will be checked for grammar, spelling and consistency. With heavier editing, your document will also get re-worked for clarity.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Copy Editing','','inherit','open','open','','2850-revision-v1','','','2015-02-05 10:34:36','2015-02-05 15:34:36','',2850,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2850-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2852,4,'2015-02-05 10:43:35','2015-02-05 15:43:35',' ','','','publish','open','open','','2852','','','2018-02-12 10:39:32','2018-02-12 15:39:32','',14,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2852',5,'nav_menu_item','',0),
(2853,4,'2015-02-05 10:44:23','2015-02-05 15:44:23','We work with clients to create or improve marketing and communications materials. In order to do so, we provide the following services:\r\n<h2><a title=\"Writing/Copywriting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/writing/\">Writing</a></h2>\r\n<h2><a title=\"Copy Editing\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/copy-editing/\">Copy Editing</a></h2>\r\n<h2><a title=\"Communications Consulting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/communications-consulting/\">Communications Consulting</a></h2>\r\n<h2><a title=\"Training\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/training/\">Training</a></h2>','Services','','inherit','open','open','','14-revision-v1','','','2015-02-05 10:44:23','2015-02-05 15:44:23','',14,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/14-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2854,4,'2015-02-06 09:44:23','2015-02-06 14:44:23','I wrote this post back in November, and never published it. But today, I was reading the <em>Washington Post</em> and came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-stays-silent-but-privately-stands-behind-news-anchor-brian-williams/2015/02/05/e3d18cba-ad5b-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Farhi\'s column</a> regarding the Brian Williams \"scandal.\" In case you haven\'t heard about it, it involves Brian \"misremembering\" being shot at in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003.  Farhi writes:\r\n<blockquote>NBC News went into damage-control mode a day after the public symbol of the network, anchor Brian Williams, faced a <strong>torrent</strong> of derision and criticism for telling a story about his wartime reporting that has proved to be untrue.\r\n\r\nAs <strong>public disapproval roared on social media,</strong> NBC sought to protect and defend Williams, its lead anchor since 2004 and the most popular anchor in the nation.</blockquote>\r\nBolding is mine. Notice that Farhi writes about the \"torrent\" of criticism and disapproval...on social media. I stopped reading the article after these two paragraphs because I don\'t think there\'s a torrent, or a deluge or even a rainstorm of derision outside of social media. I think this is a <em>social media crisis</em>, where people in social media all seem to  outraged by the \"crisis\" and where the rest of the country (those people sitting around their living rooms watching TV in the evening) couldn\'t care less. Notice too that Brian Williams was on TV last night as if nothing had happened. And maybe it only happened in our little social media bubble.\r\n\r\nSo this is where I started this post back in November:\r\n\r\nWhen it started three years ago, I was a huge fan of Showtime\'s series <em>Homeland</em>. I was hooked and had to watch every episode. It bummed me out we had to wait nine months between seasons.\r\n\r\nBut when the third season started this past September, I was no longer enthusiastic. I watched the first couple of episodes and found that I just didn\'t like the main character Carrie anymore. She had become way too crazy (she actually considers drowning her child!) and demanding and unreasonable. The story line had strayed so far from the initial Homeland that it was another story altogether. I quit watching. I no longer care.\r\n\r\nBecause I no longer care, I am no longer living in the <em>Homeland</em> bubble. The bubble is one where \"everybody\" is watching and commenting. Everybody just loves it. Articles and blog posts abound.\r\n\r\nIt seems that when you believe something or are a big fan of something, you surround yourself with like minded people and views. In fact, your views are being reinforced. At times, you actively avoid being exposed to opposing views.\r\n\r\nNotice what is going on with Uber and Bill Cosby. In case you haven\'t seen the reports, Uber threatened to expose the personal life of a reporter who was aiming to write an article about Uber. Several women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Both these cases are serious and they expose great flaws in a popular company and a beloved entertainer.\r\n\r\nMany articles, blog posts and Tweets have been devoted to dissecting the PR and communications shortcomings shown by both Uber and Cosby. But here\'s the thing: does it matter? People are still using Uber. And it was reported that at a comedy show in Florida a few days ago, the comedian got a standing ovation.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a disconnect between the world at large and the bubble we surround ourselves with. In PR and crisis communications, both Uber and Cosby are toast. They\'ve handled these situations poorly. But for those who don\'t delve into how things are communicated, who don\'t follow the news (and by the way, journalists are living in a bubble sometimes too), the concern is just not there. They don\'t care about Uber\'s threats because Uber gives them a convenient way to get places. They ignore the accusations against Cosby because they find him funny.\r\n<h4>What do you think? Are these controversies manufactured? Is the scandal for real? Are we living in a social media culture of outrage? Are we living in a bubble?</h4>','Are we living in a bubble? ','','inherit','open','open','','2802-revision-v1','','','2015-02-06 09:44:23','2015-02-06 14:44:23','',2802,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2802-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2855,4,'2015-02-06 09:45:44','2015-02-06 14:45:44','I wrote this post back in November, and never published it. But today, I was reading the <em>Washington Post</em> and came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-stays-silent-but-privately-stands-behind-news-anchor-brian-williams/2015/02/05/e3d18cba-ad5b-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Farhi\'s column</a> regarding the Brian Williams \"scandal.\" In case you haven\'t heard about it, it involves Brian \"misremembering\" being shot at in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003.  Farhi writes:\r\n<blockquote>NBC News went into damage-control mode a day after the public symbol of the network, anchor Brian Williams, faced a <strong>torrent</strong> of derision and criticism for telling a story about his wartime reporting that has proved to be untrue.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs <strong>public disapproval roared on social media,</strong> NBC sought to protect and defend Williams, its lead anchor since 2004 and the most popular anchor in the nation.</blockquote>\r\nBolding is mine. Notice that Farhi writes about the \"torrent\" of criticism and disapproval...on social media. I stopped reading the article after these two paragraphs because I don\'t think there\'s a torrent, or a deluge or even a rainstorm of derision outside of social media. I think this is a <em>social media crisis</em>, where people in social media all seem to  outraged by the \"crisis\" and where the rest of the country (those people sitting around their living rooms watching TV in the evening) couldn\'t care less. Notice too that Brian Williams was on TV last night as if nothing had happened. And maybe it only happened in our little social media bubble.\r\n\r\nSo this is where I started this post back in November:\r\n\r\nWhen it started three years ago, I was a huge fan of Showtime\'s series <em>Homeland</em>. I was hooked and had to watch every episode. It bummed me out we had to wait nine months between seasons.\r\n\r\nBut when the third season started this past September, I was no longer enthusiastic. I watched the first couple of episodes and found that I just didn\'t like the main character Carrie anymore. She had become way too crazy (she actually considers drowning her child!) and demanding and unreasonable. The story line had strayed so far from the initial Homeland that it was another story altogether. I quit watching. I no longer care.\r\n\r\nBecause I no longer care, I am no longer living in the <em>Homeland</em> bubble. The bubble is one where \"everybody\" is watching and commenting. Everybody just loves it. Articles and blog posts abound.\r\n\r\nIt seems that when you believe something or are a big fan of something, you surround yourself with like minded people and views. In fact, your views are being reinforced. At times, you actively avoid being exposed to opposing views.\r\n\r\nNotice what is going on with Uber and Bill Cosby. In case you haven\'t seen the reports, Uber threatened to expose the personal life of a reporter who was aiming to write an article about Uber. Several women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Both these cases are serious and they expose great flaws in a popular company and a beloved entertainer.\r\n\r\nMany articles, blog posts and Tweets have been devoted to dissecting the PR and communications shortcomings shown by both Uber and Cosby. But here\'s the thing: does it matter? People are still using Uber. And it was reported that at a comedy show in Florida a few days ago, the comedian got a standing ovation.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a disconnect between the world at large and the bubble we surround ourselves with. In PR and crisis communications, both Uber and Cosby are toast. They\'ve handled these situations poorly. But for those who don\'t delve into how things are communicated, who don\'t follow the news (and by the way, journalists are living in a bubble sometimes too), the concern is just not there. They don\'t care about Uber\'s threats because Uber gives them a convenient way to get places. They ignore the accusations against Cosby because they find him funny.\r\n<h4>What do you think? Are these controversies manufactured? Is the scandal for real? Are we living in a social media culture of outrage? Are we living in a bubble?</h4>','Are we living in a bubble? ','','inherit','open','open','','2802-revision-v1','','','2015-02-06 09:45:44','2015-02-06 14:45:44','',2802,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2802-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2856,4,'2015-02-06 12:41:49','2015-02-06 17:41:49','I wrote this post back in November, and never published it. But today, I was reading the <em>Washington Post</em> and came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-stays-silent-but-privately-stands-behind-news-anchor-brian-williams/2015/02/05/e3d18cba-ad5b-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Farhi\'s column</a> regarding the Brian Williams \"scandal.\" In case you haven\'t heard about it, it involves Brian \"misremembering\" being shot at in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003.  Farhi writes:\n<blockquote>NBC News went into damage-control mode a day after the public symbol of the network, anchor Brian Williams, faced a <strong>torrent</strong> of derision and criticism for telling a story about his wartime reporting that has proved to be untrue.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs <strong>public disapproval roared on social media,</strong> NBC sought to protect and defend Williams, its lead anchor since 2004 and the most popular anchor in the nation.</blockquote>\nBolding is mine. Notice that Farhi writes about the \"torrent\" of criticism and disapproval...on social media. I stopped reading the article after these two paragraphs because I don\'t think there\'s a torrent, or a deluge or even a rainstorm of derision outside of social media. I think this is a <em>social media crisis</em>, where people in social media all seem to  outraged by the \"crisis\" and where the rest of the country (those people sitting around their living rooms watching TV in the evening) couldn\'t care less. Notice too that Brian Williams was on TV last night as if nothing had happened. And maybe it only happened in our little social media bubble.\n\nSo this is where I started this post back in November:\n\nWhen it started three years ago, I was a huge fan of Showtime\'s series <em>Homeland</em>. I was hooked and had to watch every episode. It bummed me out we had to wait nine months between seasons.\n\nBut when the third season started this past September, I was no longer enthusiastic. I watched the first couple of episodes and found that I just didn\'t like the main character Carrie anymore. She had become way too crazy (she actually considers drowning her child!) and demanding and unreasonable. The story line had strayed so far from the initial <em>Homeland</em> that it was another story altogether. I quit watching. I no longer care.\n\nBecause I no longer care, I am no longer living in the <em>Homeland</em> bubble. The bubble is one where \"everybody\" is watching and commenting. Everybody just loves it. Articles and blog posts abound.\n\nIt seems that when you believe something or are a big fan of something, you surround yourself with like minded people and views. In fact, your views are being reinforced. At times, you actively avoid being exposed to opposing views.\n\nNotice what is going on with Uber and Bill Cosby. In case you haven\'t seen the reports, Uber threatened to expose the personal life of a reporter who was aiming to write an article about Uber. Several women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Both these cases are serious and they expose great flaws in a popular company and a beloved entertainer.\n\nMany articles, blog posts and Tweets have been devoted to dissecting the PR and communications shortcomings shown by both Uber and Cosby. But here\'s the thing: does it matter? People are still using Uber. And it was reported that at a comedy show in Florida a few days ago, the comedian got a standing ovation.\n\nThere\'s a disconnect between the world at large and the bubble we surround ourselves with. In PR and crisis communications, both Uber and Cosby are toast. They\'ve handled these situations poorly. But for those who don\'t delve into how things are communicated, who don\'t follow the news (and by the way, journalists are living in a bubble sometimes too), the concern is just not there. They don\'t care about Uber\'s threats because Uber gives them a convenient way to get places. They ignore the accusations against Cosby because they find him funny.\n<h4>What do you think? Are these controversies manufactured? Is the scandal for real? Are we living in a social media culture of outrage? Are we living in a bubble?</h4>','Are we living in a bubble? ','','inherit','open','open','','2802-autosave-v1','','','2015-02-06 12:41:49','2015-02-06 17:41:49','',2802,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2802-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2857,4,'2015-02-06 12:42:36','2015-02-06 17:42:36','I wrote this post back in November, and never published it. But today, I was reading the <em>Washington Post</em> and came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-stays-silent-but-privately-stands-behind-news-anchor-brian-williams/2015/02/05/e3d18cba-ad5b-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Farhi\'s column</a> regarding the Brian Williams \"scandal.\" In case you haven\'t heard about it, it involves Brian \"misremembering\" being shot at in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003.  Farhi writes:\r\n<blockquote>NBC News went into damage-control mode a day after the public symbol of the network, anchor Brian Williams, faced a <strong>torrent</strong> of derision and criticism for telling a story about his wartime reporting that has proved to be untrue.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs <strong>public disapproval roared on social media,</strong> NBC sought to protect and defend Williams, its lead anchor since 2004 and the most popular anchor in the nation.</blockquote>\r\nBolding is mine. Notice that Farhi writes about the \"torrent\" of criticism and disapproval...on social media. I stopped reading the article after these two paragraphs because I don\'t think there\'s a torrent, or a deluge or even a rainstorm of derision outside of social media. I think this is a <em>social media crisis</em>, where people in social media all seem to  outraged by the \"crisis\" and where the rest of the country (those people sitting around their living rooms watching TV in the evening) couldn\'t care less. Notice too that Brian Williams was on TV last night as if nothing had happened. And maybe it only happened in our little social media bubble.\r\n\r\nSo this is where I started this post back in November:\r\n\r\nWhen it started three years ago, I was a huge fan of Showtime\'s series <em>Homeland</em>. I was hooked and had to watch every episode. It bummed me out we had to wait nine months between seasons.\r\n\r\nBut when the third season started this past September, I was no longer enthusiastic. I watched the first couple of episodes and found that I just didn\'t like the main character Carrie anymore. She had become way too crazy (she actually considers drowning her child!) and demanding and unreasonable. The story line had strayed so far from the initial <em>Homeland</em> that it was another story altogether. I quit watching. I no longer care.\r\n\r\nBecause I no longer care, I am no longer living in the <em>Homeland</em> bubble. The bubble is one where \"everybody\" is watching and commenting. Everybody just loves it. Articles and blog posts abound.\r\n\r\nIt seems that when you believe something or are a big fan of something, you surround yourself with like-minded people and views. In fact, your views are being reinforced. At times, you actively avoid being exposed to opposing views.\r\n\r\nNotice what is going on with Uber and Bill Cosby. In case you haven\'t seen the reports, Uber threatened to expose the personal life of a reporter who was aiming to write an article about Uber. Several women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Both these cases are serious and they expose great flaws in a popular company and a beloved entertainer.\r\n\r\nMany articles, blog posts and Tweets have been devoted to dissecting the PR and communications shortcomings shown by both Uber and Cosby. But here\'s the thing: does it matter? People are still using Uber. And it was reported that at a comedy show in Florida a few days ago, the comedian got a standing ovation.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a disconnect between the world at large and the bubble we surround ourselves with. In PR and crisis communications, both Uber and Cosby are toast. They\'ve handled these situations poorly. But for those who don\'t delve into how things are communicated, who don\'t follow the news (and by the way, journalists are living in a bubble sometimes too), the concern is just not there. They don\'t care about Uber\'s threats because Uber gives them a convenient way to get places. They ignore the accusations against Cosby because they find him funny.\r\n<h4>What do you think? Are these controversies manufactured? Is the scandal for real? Are we living in a social media culture of outrage? Are we living in a bubble?</h4>','Are we living in a bubble? ','','inherit','open','open','','2802-revision-v1','','','2015-02-06 12:42:36','2015-02-06 17:42:36','',2802,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2802-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2858,4,'2015-02-09 20:19:39','2015-02-10 01:19:39','Right off the bat let me say I think having open but moderated comments on websites and blogs is the way to go. In the past year, several leading blogs have decided to go the no-comment route, arguing that discussions will occur on social media. That\'s fine, but part of having a blog is being social, and to me, social means allowing comments.\n\nThis morning I read <a href=\"http://elliott.org/blog/comments-care/\" target=\"_blank\">this piece</a> on consumer advocate Christopher Elliot\'s site, in which he describes how he will deal with comments (especially snarky or inappropriate ones). Basically, his team (don\'t we all wish we had a team, but I digress) will moderate all comments and flag inappropriate ones. If someone is flagged, he/she will be informed and eventually be disallowed from commenting on the site. Seems very fair to me.\n\nYesterday, Mark Schaefer on his {grow} blog wrote a post entitled <a href=\"http://www.businessesgrow.com/2015/02/02/online-audience/\" target=\"_blank\">\"I don\'t know my online audience and neither do you.\"</a> His point, with which I most definitely agree, is that you can\'t rely on social media actions and presence to really know who your audience is. There are many customers and potential customers who are just not active on social media, but may be actively doing business or thinking of doing business with you. They may be talking about you (gasp!) in person or emailing (gasp!) links but (the idea of it!) not sharing on social media. He says we can only identify about two percent of who it is that is sharing our content.\n\nHe writes:\n<blockquote>Pick any blogger who has been around for awhile (SIC) and ask them what percent of their audience comments on the blog — they’ll say it is about 2 percent.</blockquote>\nBasically, the issue of commenting boils down to motivation. Only very motivated people are going to comment on your blog. In Elliot\'s case, many of those are motivated by a desire to be unpleasant or controversial. In Schaefer\'s example, only a small percentage of a total audience takes the step of commenting.\n\nIt\'s important to recognize that all a comment indicates is that a motivated person has decided to interact with you on your blog (whether for good or for bad). By allowing it, you are encouraging interaction. By moderating comments, you are encouraging good behavior. By depending on getting comments, on the other hand, you are falling into a perceived popularity trap.\n\nA blog won\'t rise or fall on the number of comments that are on it, but rather on the actions that you want readers to take. Perhaps you want your readers to think about doing business with you. Or perhaps you want readers to think of you as an authority in a subject area. Whatever your goal is, try to figure out how to measure it. Your comments alone won\'t do it.\n\nYou are, of course, welcome to comment on this subject.\n\nUPDATE February 9, 2015:\n\nJust came <a href=\"http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2015/2/9/8007483/tablet-magazine-comments\" target=\"_blank\">across this article</a>, about Tablet Magazine, and a trial scheme to ask people to pay to comment. Should cut down on the crazy comments, but could also backfire by making it harder for legitimate\n\n&nbsp;','Some thoughts about comments','','inherit','open','open','','2846-autosave-v1','','','2015-02-09 20:19:39','2015-02-10 01:19:39','',2846,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2846-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2859,4,'2015-02-09 20:20:04','2015-02-10 01:20:04','Right off the bat let me say I think having open but moderated comments on websites and blogs is the way to go. In the past year, several leading blogs have decided to go the no-comment route, arguing that discussions will occur on social media. That\'s fine, but part of having a blog is being social, and to me, social means allowing comments.\r\n\r\nThis morning I read <a href=\"http://elliott.org/blog/comments-care/\" target=\"_blank\">this piece</a> on consumer advocate Christopher Elliot\'s site, in which he describes how he will deal with comments (especially snarky or inappropriate ones). Basically, his team (don\'t we all wish we had a team, but I digress) will moderate all comments and flag inappropriate ones. If someone is flagged, he/she will be informed and eventually be disallowed from commenting on the site. Seems very fair to me.\r\n\r\nYesterday, Mark Schaefer on his {grow} blog wrote a post entitled <a href=\"http://www.businessesgrow.com/2015/02/02/online-audience/\" target=\"_blank\">\"I don\'t know my online audience and neither do you.\"</a> His point, with which I most definitely agree, is that you can\'t rely on social media actions and presence to really know who your audience is. There are many customers and potential customers who are just not active on social media, but may be actively doing business or thinking of doing business with you. They may be talking about you (gasp!) in person or emailing (gasp!) links but (the idea of it!) not sharing on social media. He says we can only identify about two percent of who it is that is sharing our content.\r\n\r\nHe writes:\r\n<blockquote>Pick any blogger who has been around for awhile (SIC) and ask them what percent of their audience comments on the blog — they’ll say it is about 2 percent.</blockquote>\r\nBasically, the issue of commenting boils down to motivation. Only very motivated people are going to comment on your blog. In Elliot\'s case, many of those are motivated by a desire to be unpleasant or controversial. In Schaefer\'s example, only a small percentage of a total audience takes the step of commenting.\r\n\r\nIt\'s important to recognize that all a comment indicates is that a motivated person has decided to interact with you on your blog (whether for good or for bad). By allowing it, you are encouraging interaction. By moderating comments, you are encouraging good behavior. By depending on getting comments, on the other hand, you are falling into a perceived popularity trap.\r\n\r\nA blog won\'t rise or fall on the number of comments that are on it, but rather on the actions that you want readers to take. Perhaps you want your readers to think about doing business with you. Or perhaps you want readers to think of you as an authority in a subject area. Whatever your goal is, try to figure out how to measure it. Your comments alone won\'t do it.\r\n\r\nYou are, of course, welcome to comment on this subject.\r\n\r\nUPDATE February 9, 2015:\r\n\r\nJust came <a href=\"http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2015/2/9/8007483/tablet-magazine-comments\" target=\"_blank\">across this article</a>, about Tablet Magazine, and a trial scheme to ask people to pay to comment. Should cut down on the crazy comments, but could also backfire by creating an obstacle to legitimate commenters.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Some thoughts about comments','','inherit','open','open','','2846-revision-v1','','','2015-02-09 20:20:04','2015-02-10 01:20:04','',2846,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2846-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2860,4,'2015-02-11 09:44:31','2015-02-11 14:44:31','Recently, I came across an article about how the Jewish online magazine <a href=\"http://tabletmag.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tablet</a> is dealing with comments. It has decided to charge a fee to allow people to comment in order to make it harder for trolls to post obnoxious (and often anti-Semitic) comments. But there is an unintended consequence, and that is that legitimate commenters will now be dissuaded from commenting as well. The barrier to entry may prove too high.\r\n\r\nHave you ever thought about how a visitor interacts with your website? What does that person need to do to find what he or she is looking for? What information is crucial and how easy is it to access it?\r\n\r\n<em>If you have been seeing a low conversion rate on your website, a drop in visitors, or a high bounce rate, perhaps you need to examine whether you have created an unintended (and intangible) barrier to entry or have built a barrier to entry that is too high.</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMany websites have barriers to entry. Some are easily \"climbed\" and some are like Mount Everest, impossible. Generally, these barriers include \"mechanical\" barriers such as subscription fees, sign up forms, or registration requirements. Some barriers are more subtle, intangible, but still make it hard for visitors to access your content.\r\n\r\n<strong>Mechanical barriers: High, medium and low walls to climb</strong>\r\n\r\nIn an effort to generate revenue from online readers, newspapers have added online <strong>subscription fees.</strong> That\'s a high barrier to entry, since visitors will not only have to sign up, but provide payment. Some websites require <strong>registration</strong>, generally your email and a password. That\'s also a medium barrier to entry.  Yet other websites splash a newsletter <strong>sign-up</strong> before you can read the content, but generally you can close that out making it a low barrier to entry.\r\n\r\nThere are good reasons to create these barriers. After all, you may want to grow your marketing database or get some insight into who is visiting your website, or like many newspapers, you are looking for a source of revenue.\r\n\r\n<strong>Intangible barriers: Creating a psychological \"wall\"</strong>\r\n\r\nBut barriers are not just mechanical or even visible. Your barriers to entry may be intangible and psychological. By that I mean that your barriers are tripping visitors\' heads. For example, your <strong>website navigation</strong> may not be intuitive or clear and may make it hard to for visitors to find what they are looking for.\r\n\r\nAnother hard-to-quantify barrier is the <strong>language</strong> that you choose to use on your website. Many tech and government websites are flush with jargon that is <em>nearly unintelligible</em> to an outsider.\r\n\r\nSome websites make it hard for visitors by having too much <strong>content</strong> or information to sort through. Have you ever landed on a page that made your eyes and head hurt from information overload (or worse, visual overload)? Then you probably know what I mean, and I bet you just went elsewhere.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<h4>How would you classify your website in terms of barrier to entry? High, medium or low? Is it what you want or are you unintentionally turning visitors away?</h4>','How high is your website\'s barrier to entry?','','publish','open','open','','how-high-is-your-websites-barrier-to-entry','','','2015-02-12 15:44:14','2015-02-12 20:44:14','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=2860',0,'post','',0),
(2928,4,'2015-03-23 14:31:45','2015-03-23 18:31:45','Today is<a href=\"http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/national-grammar-day\" target=\"_blank\"> National Grammar Day</a>, and if there\'s one group that lives and breathes grammar, it\'s copy editors. (Note: you will find some that write copyediting and copyeditor as one word, but I decided to follow <em>Merriam-Webster</em>, which spells them as two words.)\r\n\r\nBy cleaning up your sloppy sentences, a copy editor makes your writing clearer. But not everyone has access to a copy editor. The next best thing is to learn what copy editors look for and apply it to your own writing.\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Follow a style guide and stick to it</strong>. Whether you have your own organizational style guide or you use a standard guide such as <em>The Associated Press Stylebook</em>, be sure to consult it and defer to it. You may want to write “Web site” but your style guide says it’s “website.” Don’t alternate usages. And check stuff that is likely to trip you up such as dates, abbreviations, addresses, and titles.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Be consistent.</strong> Make sure you are using the same spelling and style throughout your document.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Use a dictionary</strong> (and choose your standard). There are a couple big dictionary names: <em>Oxford</em> and <em>Merriam-Webster</em>. Choose one and stick to it and then use it to make sure that you are spelling [that word] correctly. And more so, <a title=\"Are you sure you know what that word means?\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/are-you-sure-you-know-what-that-word-means/\" target=\"_blank\">does [that word] mean what you think it means? </a>\r\n\r\n<strong>4. Watch out for often-confused words.</strong> Commonly confused words sound the same or are very close in spelling, but don’t mean the same thing. Some examples are effect/affect, defer/differ/difer, and compliment/complement. You can find exhaustive lists on the internet. Spell check won’t catch these mistakes but using the wrong word will most certainly alter the meaning of what you are writing.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Fact check</strong>. Make sure it’s Mary and not Marie and that February 14<sup>th</sup>, 2015 was a Saturday and not a Friday. Are you sure that\'s the correct address? You get the drift.\r\n\r\n<strong>6. Pay attention to your commas (and apostrophes, colons, etc.)</strong>. Nothing can derail a sentence faster than missing or improper punctuation. Also, take a stand regarding the <a href=\"http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/01/video-oxford-comma/\" target=\"_blank\">Oxford or serial comma</a>. Use it or don\'t, but be consistent.\r\n\r\nWant more? Check out<a href=\"http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/grammar-girls-editing-checklist\" target=\"_blank\"> Grammar Girl\'s Editing Checklist</a> for an overview of the various mistakes that copy editors look for, and you can even print it out as reference!\r\n\r\nIt\'s easy to get lost in writing your thoughts and not pay attention to the details. However, the details (grammar, punctuation, spelling) are what help to make your thoughts clear to your readers.\r\n<h4>How are you celebrating National Grammar Day?</h4>\r\n&nbsp;','6 copy editing rules to make you a better writer              ','','inherit','open','open','','2901-revision-v1','','','2015-03-23 14:31:45','2015-03-23 18:31:45','',2901,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/03/2901-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2863,4,'2015-02-11 09:38:12','2015-02-11 14:38:12','Recently, I came across an article about how the Jewish online magazine Tablet is dealing with comments. It has decided to charge a fee to allow people to comment in order to make it harder for trolls to post obnoxious (and often anti-Semitic) comments. But there is an unintended consequence, and that is that legitimate commenters will now be dissuaded from commenting as well. The barrier to entry may prove too high.\r\n\r\n<em>If you have been seeing a low conversion rate on your website, a drop in visitors, or a high bounce rate, perhaps you need to examine whether you have created an unintended barrier to entry or have built a barrier to entry that is too high.</em>\r\n\r\nMany websites have barriers to entry. Some are easily \"climbed\" and some are like Mount Everest, impossible. Generally, these barriers include \"mechanical\" barriers such as subscription fees, sign up forms, or registration requirements. Some barriers are more subtle, intangible, but still make it hard for visitors to access your content.\r\n\r\n<strong>Mechanical barriers: High, medium and low walls to climb</strong>\r\n\r\nIn an effort to generate revenue from online readers, newspapers have added online <strong>subscription fees.</strong> That\'s a high barrier to entry, since visitors will not only have to sign up, but provide payment. Some websites require <strong>registration</strong>, generally your email and a password. That\'s also a medium barrier to entry.  Yet other websites splash a newsletter <strong>sign-up</strong> before you can read the content, but generally you can close that out making it a low barrier to entry.\r\n\r\nThere are good reasons to create these barriers. After all, you may want to grow your marketing database or get some insight into who is visiting your website, or like many newspapers, you are looking for a source of revenue.\r\n\r\n<strong>Intangible barriers: Creating a psychological \"wall\"</strong>\r\n\r\nBut barriers are not just mechanical or even visible. Your barriers to entry may be intangible and psychological. By that I mean that your barriers are tripping visitors\' heads. For example, your <strong>website navigation</strong> may not be intuitive or clear and may make it hard to for visitors to find what they are looking for.\r\n\r\nAnother hard-to-quantify barrier is the <strong>language</strong> that you choose to use on your website. Many tech and government websites are flush with jargon that is <em>nearly unintelligible</em> to an outsider.\r\n\r\nSome websites make it hard for visitors by having too much content or information to sort through. Have you ever landed on a page that made your eyes and head hurt? You probably just went elsewhere.\r\n\r\nHave you ever thought about how a visitor interacts with your website? What does that person need to do to find what he or she is looking for? What information is crucial and how easy is it to access it?\r\n<h4>How would you classify your website in terms of barrier to entry? High, medium or low? Is it what you want or are you unintentionally turning visitors away?</h4>','How high is your barrier to entry?','','inherit','open','open','','2860-revision-v1','','','2015-02-11 09:38:12','2015-02-11 14:38:12','',2860,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2860-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(2864,4,'2015-02-11 09:39:23','2015-02-11 14:39:23','Recently, I came across an article about how the Jewish online magazine Tablet is dealing with comments. It has decided to charge a fee to allow people to comment in order to make it harder for trolls to post obnoxious (and often anti-Semitic) comments. But there is an unintended consequence, and that is that legitimate commenters will now be dissuaded from commenting as well. The barrier to entry may prove too high.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>If you have been seeing a low conversion rate on your website, a drop in visitors, or a high bounce rate, perhaps you need to examine whether you have created an unintended barrier to entry or have built a barrier to entry that is too high.</em>\r\n\r\nMany websites have barriers to entry. Some are easily \"climbed\" and some are like Mount Everest, impossible. Generally, these barriers include \"mechanical\" barriers such as subscription fees, sign up forms, or registration requirements. Some barriers are more subtle, intangible, but still make it hard for visitors to access your content.\r\n\r\n<strong>Mechanical barriers: High, medium and low walls to climb</strong>\r\n\r\nIn an effort to generate revenue from online readers, newspapers have added online <strong>subscription fees.</strong> That\'s a high barrier to entry, since visitors will not only have to sign up, but provide payment. Some websites require <strong>registration</strong>, generally your email and a password. That\'s also a medium barrier to entry.  Yet other websites splash a newsletter <strong>sign-up</strong> before you can read the content, but generally you can close that out making it a low barrier to entry.\r\n\r\nThere are good reasons to create these barriers. After all, you may want to grow your marketing database or get some insight into who is visiting your website, or like many newspapers, you are looking for a source of revenue.\r\n\r\n<strong>Intangible barriers: Creating a psychological \"wall\"</strong>\r\n\r\nBut barriers are not just mechanical or even visible. Your barriers to entry may be intangible and psychological. By that I mean that your barriers are tripping visitors\' heads. For example, your <strong>website navigation</strong> may not be intuitive or clear and may make it hard to for visitors to find what they are looking for.\r\n\r\nAnother hard-to-quantify barrier is the <strong>language</strong> that you choose to use on your website. Many tech and government websites are flush with jargon that is <em>nearly unintelligible</em> to an outsider.\r\n\r\nSome websites make it hard for visitors by having too much <strong>content</strong> or information to sort through. Have you ever landed on a page that made your eyes and head hurt? You probably just went elsewhere.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you ever thought about how a visitor interacts with your website? What does that person need to do to find what he or she is looking for? What information is crucial and how easy is it to access it?\r\n<h4>How would you classify your website in terms of barrier to entry? High, medium or low? Is it what you want or are you unintentionally turning visitors away?</h4>','How high is your barrier to entry?','','inherit','open','open','','2860-revision-v1','','','2015-02-11 09:39:23','2015-02-11 14:39:23','',2860,'http://deborahbrody.com/2015/02/2860-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
