When 1,000 Words Won't Come... Fitzgerald, The Jazz Age, and The Harlem Renaissance

(Photo: Sharon Drummond)I find myself in an interesting predicament here where I'm actually fascinated by the subject matter, but really don't care about these essays that I need to crank out.

I'm familiar with the material.  Literary essays are sort of a different beast though because it's not quite enough to write an essay demonstrating that you've read the material.  You have to form some other opinion about the piece, or context, that someone possibly hasn't yet, and then support that argumentative statement with the remaining 970 words.

To read more about the Jazz Age, I checked out Bruccoli's, Before Gatsby: The First Twenty-Six Stories, for some supporting references.  Fitzgerald is actually a fascinating writer.  He describes things like, "Lips that looked like a remembered kiss." I wish I could just read his short stories all day and not have to write this.

Anyway, back to my ongoing point in the Writing Category of this Blog, writing is very much a process, and I had to take this essay on the ninth grade way: Thesis, Outline, now Mechanically Write.

I need 1,000 words to come from this:

The Jazz Age was a time of reckless abandonment for a young rich white American population, and it was a time of social ground taking for the black population of America, while racism still ran deep below the surface.

I. Intro. (What was so roaring about the 20's?)

II. How were white Youngins running reckless, and why?
    A. F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the term Jazz Age with a collection of short stories that chronicled the wild behavior of a carefree youth mingling in the upper class of society.
    B. Stories of partying in The Jelly-Bean
    C. Stories of partying in The Camel's Back
    D. Classist / Racist Overtones in The Camel's Back segueing into III

III. What exposure and mingling occurred between blacks and whites?
    A. Langston Hughes talks about the partying in Harlem.  While there was a period of broad acceptance between both races, the "normal" person didn't notice it.  "And if they had, it hadn't raised their wages any" (Hughes 218).
    B. While it seemed a period of tolerance, the black culture actually sacrificed real heritage to put on an act.

IV. Consequences of Both:
    A. Hughes mentions the crash of 29, everyone was in line for social assistance..."sent Negroes, white folks, and all rolling down the hill toward the Works Progress Administration" (Hughes 216).
    B. Fitzgerald in Babylon Revisited (how much did people lose?)

V. Summary.

That's actually plenty to work with. 

You can get at least 50 words from each citation.  This pulls in a resource from outside of class.  I think the thesis is acurate and edgy enough to keep interest.  It's not particularly original though.  It doesn't take much observation of the Harlem Renaissance to realize it was degrading to a beautiful culture.  I do think, however, that some great things came of it.

Like always, there only remains words to put on paper. 

I want to emphasize though that the outline is a tremendous lifeline, and if you are stuck you should not go to bed until you at least crank out an outline...even if a crappy one.  If you abandon creativity, and just stick to your outline, a paper will emerge.  You can doll it up later if it's even needed.

How Do I Set a Custom Size for my YouTube Video Embed?

(Photo: Image placeholder for Beauty Within TV website setup.)This is a pretty basic step, very basic actually, but another client was coming across a glitch in loading YouTube videos to her website.

When you click Share on a YouTube video, and hit the Embed option, there are a couple of default sizes to share it out as.  The smallest of those is 560px wide by 315px tall, though, and for many sites, that's too wide, especially if they have multiple columns setup.

After clicking Embed, follow these three steps below, using the accompanying screenshot with arrows.  I warn you, it's utterly simple.  Don't be insulted that I posted this.  It's just easier to pass a picture.

1. In the "Custom" box, near the size options, type in 500 in the "Width:" field, where I've placed the blue arrow on the picture.
2. That will automatically update the width and length in the code, as indicated by the red arrow.
3. Highlight, and copy the updated code, as circled by the yellow square in the photo.  That is the code you need to paste into your website content.  (Be sure you have changed any WYSIWYG editor into HTML mode.)

(Photo: Image Screenshot with 3-Step Embed Process)Take care,
Chad.

Want Personal IT Support?

• I'm running a special collaboration offer from This Blue Couch.  See Details Here.

Related Articles:

• How To Create a Website vs. Design a Website: Simplifying the Process.

Two Easy Changes to Get More Screen Space on Your Netbook

(Photo: Acer Netbook using Firefox Full Screen View)These are so simple, I feel silly for even posting them.  Worse, though, I feel silly that it took me so long to start using them.  Take a look at the three graphics here, starting with the one above, and notice how they go from best, to worst, to nice compromise.  It's a subtle change, but it has a huge impact on reading webpages and e-books on your netbook laptop.

I've had my Acer Aspire 11.6" netbook laptop for three years and it has been the best IT purchase I've made next to my iPhone.  My review of it is all positive.  I'm a Windows trained IT, so I'm partial to the OS (please quiet the Apple fan-boys), and with Windows 7 correcting most of my complaints with Windows Vista, this netbook combo has been my business power house!

The biggest hurdle with any netbook, however, is usable screen space.  This Acer is 11.6" diagonal, so that gives you a smidgen over 10" wide of viewing, and not quite 5.75" tall of viewing.  This is superb for media viewing, but is a nuisance when trying to read.  In netbooks, you don't have the luxury of turning your machine sideways and switching to Portrait aspect.

(Photo: Acer netbook screen showing 4.5" readable screen.)Even worse, if you add on an Internet browser's address bar, and one or two toolbars, plus the Windows Taskbar on the bottom, your up-down reading space is reduced to almost precisely 4.5".  I'm measuring it right now with a tape measure.  The number sounds bleak, and the lack of space is definitely not subtle.

Solution:

There are two wonderful ways to work around this, and three years later, I'm kicking myself for not using them sooner!

1. Embrace the Firefox Full Screen Viewing Option for Web Surfing.

2. Move the Windows Taskbar to the Left or Right.

This is so simple, I was reluctant to admit that I never did it.

The first one (see very top image) I discovered on accident.  My wife used my laptop, and when I got it back, my Internet browser kept toggling between full screen and normal depending on where I put my mouse.  Generally dynamic screen displays annoy the crap out of me, but I was reading something for a college course, and I found myself turning Firefox's Full Screen view on so I could read more.  After that, I got used to the dynamic URL bar popping down, and I rather enjoyed  having all this extra breathing room. 

At just about an inch, my Browser's tabs, address bar, and toolbars take up a significant 17% of readable up-down screen space!

The next one should have been much more obvious, but I guess I'm just a reluctant administrator.  With only 5.75" up-down space, every vertical inch matters!  With 10" horizontal, there's actually a good chunk of storage room to the Left or Right.  Move the Taskbar to the Left or Right.

(Acer with Windows Taskbar moved to Right.)I always resisted this because as an IT administrator, it was a pain to figure out every single user's "custom" configuration.  Windows was so cool when it first came out because people could go crazy with colors, shapes, and sizes.  Graphics were up-side-down, task bars were all over the place, and things were hidden here, and bigger there.  I was a fan of keeping that taskbar on the bottom where it "belonged."

This however is just stubbornness, and it was actually hurting the functionality of my business laptop.  It took me about a day to get used to grabbing my stuff from the side.  I found that I preferred the Right over the Left because on the Left it disturbed my reading more. 

How Do You Do It?

Again, the changes are ridiculously easy. 

1. To get into Firefox's Full Screen, hit the orange Firefox menu button at Top Left, and there's an option for Full Screen there.  You can toggle in and out of it by hitting F11. (F11 will also give you full screen in Internet Explorer, but it's not a true full screen.  The URL bar is still there.)

2. For your Taskbar, right click on any empty space in the Taskbar, click on Properties, and next to "Taskbar location on Screen:" select Right or Left.  Click OK.

Super simple, but the impact has been a joy!  Give these two modifications a whirl and let me know if they increase the value of your netbook.  I recommend netbooks to any business owner I talk to since they're small, portable, and lightweight, but pack a powerful Windows package.  I prefer Acer brand over the Asus, or eEe brands, for the durability of its keyboard.

You can buy a good one of all three though on Newegg.com for less than $400.  Feel free to run any options you're considering by me through the Contact forum.

Want Personal IT Support?

• I'm running a special collaboration offer from This Blue Couch.  See Details Here.

Twitter Makes a Great News Aggregator. Why I Don't Subscribe to #TeamFollowBack. (Plus: Pay-Per-Click Tweet Data)

(Photo: Coletivo Mambembe)Yesterday over coffee at Puccino's in New Orleans, I helped my Grandfather @DocTyree setup his Twitter account.  The irony is that two years earlier I helped him setup his Facebook account, and now I've sworn off the Facebook, and preach about the effectiveness of Twitter's open forum.  It's like a big chat room, with more specific features.

My argument for Twitter is very simple, and it completely circumvents the drama behind Facebook's privacy changes.  I don't care about Facebook much.  I go into great lengths about why I deactivated my account, and although it was tough bumping into all these family members, over Christmas dinners, that were still catching up via Facebook, I still hold to the principles I outlined in that article above, and am holding strong.

Twitter Makes a Great News Aggregator.

That's my number one case for using Twitter.  From my Twitter feed, I get distilled headlines (since their character limit is 140 per post) from media sources, companies, and people that I'm interested in hearing from.  I follow @TheMotleyFool, @Gizmodo, and @CurbedNY just to name a few.  I follow updates from some of my business partners, updates from investors in the city, updates from business icons I look up to, and also some about SEO, etc.  Most of these updates will include a link for further reading, if I want to dive deeper than the headline.

There's something for everyone there, and it's all distilled.  I'm hitting that point a couple times and will get back to it.  My Grandfather, for instance, flies small prop planes.  He can follow his local aviation groups in New Orleans, he can follow news sources he likes, and he's also a fan of Engadget.  They're there too (@Engadget).

Why I Don't "Follow Back."

This brings me to my headline point.  It's become popular on Twitter to "follow" someone just in hopes that they will follow you back.  I find the idea ridiculous.

When you read crappy SEO articles, or "How To Get More Twitter Followers" articles, that's usually the number one piece of advice.  Follow a TON of people that are related to your topic, and they will follow you back.  It's become a popularity contest, which was my biggest beef with MySpace, and my second biggest beef with Facebook.

One big name comic that I run into often even lamented, almost offended, that he was going to "unfriend," and "unfollow," anyone who didn't follow him back yet.  He was gonna do it!

I think that's missing the point of Twitter. 

If you follow 2,657 people, you will never be able to catch up with all those headlines!  Now your Twitter becomes one way, where you just use it to post about your most recent blog post to your 2,000 followers, without considering the fact that they're really not "following" you since they have an equal 2,000 "followers," that are only following since you all played that stupid #TeamFollowBack game.  Nobody is reading anything there.  It doesn't create any value.

Data Based on Cost Per Click Tests.

I've tested this, and measured this from two angles.  I recently started pursuing paid, or sponsored Tweets as an avenue to drive traffic to this blog.  The method does fit into a larger marketing scheme, but the way it's advertised it misleading until you see the actual data.

I used an acquaintance's account to Alpha Test the idea.  He has over 20,000 followers...but he also follows over 14,000 people.  Him and I have discussed the fact that he in no way can keep up with the people he follows.  He just goes to specific accounts that he knows he wants to read now.  Unfortunately, that negates any real use of a Twitter mobile app, or website experience.  Where I have all my data in one aggregated news feed, he has to browse to different pages.

Data wise, we ran a series of Tweets using Google Analytics to track incoming traffic.  The numbers are much lower than advertised on major ad platforms that will let you buy a Tweet.  One Tweet brought in 18 clicks, another 30, and another in the 40's, but it was much less than the advertised 75 to 80.  Granted this varies wildly based on content and headline, but I feel like the four or five trials we ran setup a good base.

If the cost per Tweet would have been a flat $30, that cost per click would range from $1.66 to $.75.  For this blog, I really can't justify more than .30 per click.  My only point in that data though, is that number of followers really doesn't say much without factoring in the ratio of followers to following.  If someone is following 2,015, and they have 2,040 follower, I would rough estimate that they only have about 50 actual followers.

Twitter is Rife With "Follow-Me Spam."

The follow-me Spam phenomenon is my second observation for our data.  When I started getting more active on this blog, and on Twitter, more people started "following" me.  But not really people, per se.  They are marketers.  They have handles like "BestSEOman," or "AdsenseGuru," and their descriptions don't describe them so much, they describe a pseudo why-you-should-follow-me-back pitch.  They are propagating the one way Twitter.

Some people even put in their descriptions that they are a member of #TeamFollowBack, and this is where we disconnect.  I'm just not interested.

The result is a sea of Twitter users, Tweeters, that are Tweeting in the wind.  The dialogue aspect of Twitter is lost, and you get no real value out of your timeline, your news feed, when there is so much potential to digest small relevant bits of info on topics you actually want to follow, from people you would actually care to hear from.

The 140-Character Gem.

One of the most confusing aspect of Twitter to new users, right next to the Hashtag business, is why updates are limited to 140 characters.  I've always had a strong hunch, but I tried to dig into Twitter's blog archives for a definitive answer, and I can't find it.

Without corroborating my assumption, I believe Twitter's limit was based on the fact that the service was heavy on SMS text messages in its infancy.  When I was stationed in Bahrain for a year, there were extensive networks of texters.  We would text the crap out of each other...and these text always had low character limits.  Before smart phones came out, the text message had a definite length you couldn't exceed before it broke up into other messages, and that would start eating into texting plans.

No matter what the actual reason though, the 140-character limit is actually my favorite part of Twitter now.  It forces you to distil your message.  A headline like "Why #TeamFollowBack Drives Me Nuts, and What I Think is a Better Way to Use Twitter," has to be shortened to something more direct like, "Why #TeamFollowBack is Stupid, Use Twitter as an Aggregator," instead.

This is good for the writer and for the reader.

The writer is forced to evaluate his words, and boil points down to their most salient points, and the reader get's very precise sound bytes that they can act on or pass over.  As long as you keep your following to under 200, you can digest news and topics from all over the world in about 10 minutes of surfing your timeline on Twitter.

Twitter Fits Well with the Bigger Picture.

Twitter is great.  But it doesn't cover everything.  It's not as personal as Facebook, but at this point in my Internet relationship, I'm OK with that.  I don't want that.  Twitter does a fantastic job of distilling ideas, though, and distributing news across the world quickly!  It becomes a good part of the blogosphere when you use it for micro-blogging, and quick networking.

I use it as a news feed, but recently I've been using it as a bookmarking tool also.  When I stumble upon blogs that have good stuff, I'll look for the author's Twitter feed and follow that for a while to see if it creates value for me.  When I determine that the posts don't cover what I'm looking for, or that I'm getting it from a better source, I unfollow.  It's that simple. 

You can use Twitter for a variety of reasons, and it fits into a larger marketing and networking plan, but please don't fall into the #TeamFollowBack nonsense.  Use Twitter to glean valuable information from the world and Internet, and to pick up on emerging trends.  It's good for that.

Merry Christmas, 2011!

(Photo: Mellody tried dressing the cat in a Santa Suit. Didn't work well.)We're packing up the car and driving from New York to New Orleans in a few hours.  Hopefully on the road by 3AM to avoid the NYC traffic.  Should be a packed five days with family and parties.  I'm dragging Mellody reluctantly along.

This is my 11th Christmas since I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard when I was 17 years old.  This will be the third or fourth one that I've spent home in that time; I can't remember.  I'm used to it by now, but I always treasure it when I can make it down there. 

I was born in New Orleans, but truth be told, I've spent so little time there (about 12 years total) compared to away, that I don't really know what I call home.  The closest thing resembling any roots for me is here in NYC now, and over the years here, especially over this last one, I've come to accept it as my place of domicile.  ...a busy, churning machine where my Republican vote is tossed into a dark void.

Anyway, filed under the personal blog section of this weblog, I just wanted to lock some of these memories in.  A loving family is like a crisp spring in the desert.  It rejuvenates, refreshes, and your sister probably caught you trying to swim naked in it.  Hang on to the moments you get, and even if they're not frequent, try to make them regular.

In my first year in the Coast Guard, I was assigned to a 378' Patrol Boat out of San Francisco.  I was living aboard the boat that year, and remember swirling in the Captains chair, high up on the bridge, overlooking the estuary between Oakland and Alameda, talking to my family on my first cell phone.  It was Christmass 2000, and the sudden pang of wanting to hop into my car and drive home to see them took over me.  Then the big-boy realization that I would have to subdue that, and carry on, forced natural emotion back in its cage.

It's been there ever since through a LOT of travel with the U.S. Coast Guard.  I'm honored to have served such a great mission, but almost 12 years in now, I feel the dust settling around me.  I look forward to this visit, and I also look forward to growing deeper roots in my home, NYC, this coming year too, while preparing my separation from enlisted service.

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Enjoy your family.

Your Small Business Needs IT: The Original Business Power IT Landing Page

(Photo: Simple IT Solutions from original Business Power IT landing page, circa 2006.)

Prefix: This was the original landing page (photo and content) for a business venture of mine called Business Power IT.  It was a DBA in New York.  The aim was to sell an information product.  I explain why I abandoned that model in this article here.  All of the information offered in this package is now free on the blog through the Business IT category.  I have a similar IT Consultation offer, but it's focused more on collaboration with other small business owners.

I launched this business effort in 2006 or 07 on a custom Squarespace page, and for some reason thought it would be smart to turn all the "I" pronouns into "We."  I'm sorry for making you endure that!  I could change it, but this is up more for historic archive than anything else.  So suck it up.

What Are Small Business "Solutions?"

If we had 10 Algebra problems that stumped us in our business six times a week, what's the best way to increase our productivity?  Should we get our niece to help us out for seven of them and kick around the other three?  That's a bad example though.  Most people hate algebra, so let's try a different one.

If a wholesaler increased his shipping costs to you by 51% and you were within an hour's drive of his warehouse, what's the best way to keep up or (maybe even) increase productivity for your business?

1. Suck up the added costs and "roll with the punches?"
2. Murmur and mumble to companions about what a pain shipping is?
3. Or could you (now this is crazy here!) get comfortable driving a utility van and make two trips a month out there to visit your rate-hiking wholesaler? 

...two hours a month, a little coffee on the road, to increase profits by 51%?  Seems like a no-brainer to most of us, but who knows?  Small Business owners are still stressing about small computer glitches or paying geeks-for-hire $126 an hour to do fixes they're more than capable of doing themselves!

What's the Solution?

1. The solution to the first example is to learn a little algebra and stop letting a handful of terms and variables keep your business down!
2. The solution to the second example is to learn how to drive a utility van (which requires no special license) and stop letting logistics keep your business down!
3. The solution to computer woes is to... learn some basic computer skills (surfing the Internet is not "basic skills") and stop letting a computer keep your business down!

How Difficult is This?

From your Windows machine, hit the Windows Key + R.  Type in, Notepad, and hit Enter.  Now type a little note to yourself that says something to the effect of, "This is semi-cool.  My, that was pretty easy!"

Not Difficult at All!

Knowing one hot key certainly doesn't make you a computer whiz.  And it really didn't "fix" any problems.  But it saves you time and it encourages outside-the-box thinking.  Maybe next time an application locks up on you, you'll try hitting WIN+D to get the frozen application off your desktop and allow you to take further restorative measures.  That's a whole lot better than throwing your Medicine Balls at the screen!

What Else Should You Know?

• How do you recognize a good running IT system?  Does it meet your business needs?
• How could you better organize your files to increase business efficiency and computer efficiency?
• How do you ensure your computer isn't the easy victim on the Internet playground?
• What's the difference between Adware, Spyware, and Viruses and what can you do about any of them?
• How do you get your business back and running when the computer finally croaks?
• Why the heck is your computer dragging along when it used to run fine?

You Don't Have to Be a Pro!

It doesn't take a degree in Information Technology to know and utilize these things!  You don't have to devote countless hours in a week to stay on top the game!  Technology does change rapidly, but many founding principles stay the same and cross over between platforms!  You owe it to your business to grasp at least the foundation!

Your Business Needs IT!

You can't avoid it.  Technology can make or break the competition!  Here are solutions.  Here is understanding.  It is really within your grasp.  We introduce to you our simple, entertaining, and educating expose: Your Business Needs IT.  If you're ready to end the frustration now, get your copy here!  You've got nothing to lose but wasted time and resources.  Stop tossing efforts into the wind!  View our guarantee.

Included, is: [This was absorbed into this blog as the Business IT category.  It's free.]

• 14 Chapters, 126 pages, filled with insightful and simple instruction designed for small businesses.
• 5 bonus appendices on topics like the comprehensive Table of WINDOWS Hotkeys, or Top Seven Time Savers that every business owner should know and use.
• Detailed index for fast searching.
• Straightforward, on-target whit and instruction that you know and love from Business Power IT.

What are the Options?

Businesses require IT, period.  If your computer starts acting up and you require it for business, your usual options are limited.  You can:

• Buy a new laptop from $300 (at the cheapest) to $2,400 at the high end.
• Buy a new tower from $500 to $2,400.
• Hire a geek-crew support site to consult you over the phone (once) for $79.99.
• Hire the same crew to support you in person (once) for $129 - $350.
• Bring it in to a local computer shop for $50-an-hour repair.
• Get your nephew to help you for free and pray that he's around everytime your business IT glitches.

Those options are terrible! [See my current IT Collaboration Proposal Here.]

What is the Best Option?

This is so simple it's baffling:  Do it yourself!  You can't always do it yourself, we know, but if you can do one thing yourself, you saved $80 at the least.  If you can do two things yourself, you saved $160.  If you can do both of those twice during the life of your computer, you saved $480!

You don't have to be a doctor to keep your body healthy.  You don't have to be a mechanic to run your car well.  You don't have to be an IT to be a smart computer user!  Educate yourself and implement it.  Buy the ground-breaking Your Business Needs IT manual for $29 today (shipping included) and start saving money and time now!

Too good to be true?

• Download real sample pages from chapters of the book.  It's all there.
• View the Table of Contents.

Our Guarantee:

We're going to make this as simple as possible for you.  Write us if we can make the guarantee any more plain-English than this. 

• We guarantee that this course is original and rich with valuable content.
• We guarantee that this course will make you a better small business computer user.
• We guarantee that this course will make your business more efficient.
• We guarantee that you will learn and grasp valuable fundamental concepts that are critical to your operations!

Save the receipt.  IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED, if you do not love it, if you cannot use it, send it back to us just like you received it and include the receipt.  That's it!  We'll mail you a money-order with your money PLUS an extra $5 to cover your shipping expenses.  No questions asked!  Our genuine goal is to better your business.  If we didn't do that, we don't want to hold your money.

We have faith in this product!  It's 100% guaranteed.

Order Now and start you way to the head of the crowd!  There's no reason to curse at and boil over a piece of plastic and metal.  Join us at Business Power IT and let our partnership increase the value of your business!  We look forward to hearing back from you.  Order your copy now!

--

[This business effort was rolled into this blog, This Blue Couch, and you can find most of the information in the Business IT category.  It your want a personal Business IT consultation for your small business, see those details here.]

Don't Ignore The Subtle Signs, Look For The Patterns in Your Life.

(Photo: StevenM_61)The Universe has a way of speaking to us, and that is worth listening to.  I don't suggest chasing after every single Déjà vu, but don't ignore the subtle signs.  I was reading Erin Pavlina's Blog and she has a great little post about How to Tell the Difference Between a Sign and Coincidence published.

Recently, I found out that the number 8 was prominent in my life.  Like freakishly so.  I'm fascinated by Jewish mythology, and as such, the Hebrew language, but one thing I've never bought into was numerology.  Jim Carrey in The Number 23 is enough to make my eyes roll, but when I started cataloging all the 8's in my life, it was eerie.

I used a simple uniformed convention to get this, and I'm going to lose most of you here, but for those that stay, you'll see what I mean.  For this observation, you take any set of numbers in your life and sum them up.  If that answer is higher than 11, sum those two also. 

For instance: my current zip code is 11978.  1+1+9+7+8=26.  2+6=8.

Coinkidink, right?  Except that ALL of these numbers in my life add to 8:

• 6-digit birth date: 09+07+82=26=8
• 10-digit phone number: 8
• Social Security number: 8
• Bank Member number: 8
• Bank Pin number: 8
• My dog's NYS Registrations number, even! 3026816=26=8
• How many total siblings do I have, including me? 8.
• What time is it RIGHT now as I look at the clock on my computer? 12:41. 8.  Seriously.
• When I first reported this, freaking out on Steve Pavlina's message board after I learned what 8 meant, that message posted at 08:45.  =17=8. 
• [It's the next day, I'm editing this, glance at the clock and it's 9:08. =17=8.  See what I mean?  Eerie.]

It's Psychotic, I know.  But it caught my attention.  I was in no way a believer before, but Mr. Pavlina had a breathtakingly smart way of explaining the 11:11 phenomenon.  Most notable about his explanation though is that if you allow something in your environment to be a sign, it will be a sign.  Allowing that, you can use the phenomenon to shore up intuition.  You can listen to what the Universe (God) is saying.

It becomes the "still voice" that I was always told to listen for when I was growing up in Sunday School.  It becomes recurring devices to aid your intuition, and if you test them frequently, they become reliable.  I smile now with every confirmation.

Examples

11:11, for example, is most commonly associated with times on a clock.  If you register with that sign in your life, and you ponder something, you might look up at a clock as you think about it.  If the clock is on 11:11, you're on the right track.  Your higher conscience is telling you to grab that bull by the horns and dance with it for a while.  If, perhaps, the clock reads 11:09, it's close, but you're a little premature.  Sit back and let things unfold.  Continue in your diligence, but this one is still maturing.

I started approaching the recurring 8's in my life in the same manner.  I see 8's in street signs, in number combinations like phone numbers, and sometimes as trailing digits.  If it's 9:08, that 8 jumps out at me.  Furthering that, for giggles, when I add it, 9+8 is equal to 17. 1+7=8.  I just see them now.  They jump out at me. 

What's interesting to note is that some of the numbers in my life are a digit off, if they're not an 8.  They add to 7's or 9's.  Still pretty eerie.  I use it though.

Things that I already know that I'm done with, or ready to move on from, like my Military career, don't add up at all.  Conversely, things that I know are in my general plan come in at, or around 8.  I keep getting American Express credit card offers, but I know it's too soon for me to apply.  For giggles, when I add the numbers on the fake card they send me, they add to 7.  Close, but not quite there.

I also use it as an exercise to increase total awareness of my thoughts and environment.  If I happen to glance up and see an 8 pop out, I try to recall what I was thinking about.  Often times this happens on the way to work.  I'll look up just in time to see one of the 35 MPH street signs passing by my truck.  Right after that, I'll slow down behind a school bus and it has a simple blatant "8" stenciled on the back door. 

This happens to me.  I'm allowing myself to have fun with it now.  It's become dialogue between me and my reality.

Subtleties And Patterns

In any case, my original point in this post is that signs are subtle.  They are often very quiet, and don't really speak until you are listening (then they get amusingly loud).  With that same understanding, however, not everything is a sign.  The point is to find the patterns, and allow yourself to respond, thus creating dialogue.

(Photo: My Majestic Pit Bull. We communicate with subtle signs.)My wife and I live with and care for a beautiful Pit Bull Mix, pictured above.  He is the quietest dog that I've ever cared for in my life!  He rarely barks, doesn't scratch doors, and occasionally whimpers when he wants to tell me something.  Normally though, he stands somewhere, or looks at me, when he wants something.  It's subtle.

Not everything is a sign from him, but if he looks at me three times in a row, and he's been standing decidedly by my back door, he wants to go out.  I've tested this sign, and it's become dialogue between me and him now.  It's subtle, and if you didn't know him you would miss it, but it's effective because he and I have included these signs in our lives with each other.

Further, I accept him as a choice in my reality.  There is a reason Roscoe is in my life.  When I started tuning into subtle signs more, it occurred to me that Roscoe had been sending them all along.  He makes me more aware of subtleties because that's all he and I have to communicate with.  Now when I catch his signals, I thank him and God for that awareness and our communication.

He's become an affectionate living parable of love and awareness in my life, and for that, among many other things, I love him dearly.  He's a blessing.

What Does Any of this Matter?

This can all be taken as hocus pocus, but it fits into business and entrepreneurship also.  You, as a leader and innovator, have to be in tune to subtle indicators.  You have to anticipate trends before they actually manifest, and you have to make bold decisions with limited data sometimes.

I also use this exploration of signs in my life as an experiment to trust my intuition more. I go with my gut often now, test the results, and if they are good I store that feeling as a reliable indicator.  It creates a stronger gut, so to speak.

My wife has recently asked why I do this thing or another. I answer, "because I had a whim and I want to follow my whims."  Follow whims.  See where they lead.  If they work out well, recall the feelings surrounding them.  If they don't work out well, dismiss it as a coincidence. 

Cultivate an awareness of the signs that are around you, the ones that steer you right, and learn to tune into them!  Where you want to take it from there is up to you.  I choose to apply it to my daily life and my business, and you can do the same.

Why the Amazon Affiliate Link Doesn't Bother Me, and FTC Disclosure by Bloggers Does!

(Photo: Louis Gray)I don't know how to put this delicately:  I don't care about Amazon Affiliate links.  I don't.  They don't bother me.  I use them, and Amazon pays me 4% of your purchase price, starting out, without charging you a dollar more.  This is public info on Amazon's Affiliate Page.  It creates mutual value for all parties. 

Let's assume that the average book price is $12.  I like books.  I read a lot of them.  To talk intelligently on this blog, I reference books, and I recommend them.  IF I am recommending them anyway, AND Amazon will pay me 4% of the sale if you click through and buy, why not?  I don't see any compelling reason not too.

The notion that I would recommend a book that doesn't make sense to the conversation is 1.) just weird, and 2.) a moot point because if it doesn't make sense to you, you don't buy it.  If you see book XYZ recommended, and it makes sense to the conversation, and you like to read, and you buy book XYZ for $12, Amazon will pay me a whopping $0.48 for that recommendation through my affiliate link.

Whoa!  Clear out the banks!  I need some room for that quarter, dime, dime, and three pennies!

This bothers me most because of the big to-do that is being made of the FTC disclosures "required" by blogs.  I was reading an interesting article about effective words in marketing, and I noticed that he had the words "(affiliate link)" tagged next to his book recommendations.  Why?

When you hover over the link, it's obvious that it's an affiliate link.  Now the extra text interrupts the flow of conversation.  Now, when it was just a relevant resource that enriched our conversation, it is a weird elephant in the room.  Oh, he used an affiliate link...can't click on that.

Go away.

About the FTC: Reviewing the Disclosure Source Code

I like the Federal Trade Commission.  They're out there to protect you and me from the big guy that is keeping us down using unfair trade practices.  According to their own About Us page:

"When the FTC was created in 1914, its purpose was to prevent unfair methods of competition in commerce as part of the battle to 'bust the trusts.'"

These guys are on our side.  Here's something that I agree with, which is published in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16 (Commercial Practices), Part 255, and is the root of all these FTC Disclosures that blogs are running away with.

"Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experience of the endorser. Furthermore, an endorsement may not convey any express or implied representation that would be deceptive if made directly by the advertiser." 255.1 (a)

Endorsements should be honest.  I agree.  And to an extent, I understand the need for this:

"When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement ( i.e. , the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience), such connection must be fully disclosed." 255.5

(e.g. Jessica Simpson is getting paid to say all that great stuff about Proactiv acne solution...even though Simpson admits in other interviews that she actually used Acutane.)  That leads into this, which I also agree with:

"When the advertisement represents that the endorser uses the endorsed product, the endorser must have been a bona fide user of it at the time the endorsement was given. Additionally, the advertiser may continue to run the advertisement only so long as it has good reason to believe that the endorser remains a bona fide user of the product." 255.1

Proactive doesn't feature Jessica Simpson anymore.  They have other celebrities now.  And it's possible that Simpson slapped some of the stuff on her face anyway, during the time of the endorsement.  But did anyone actually believe that she was making those statements for pure giggles?  And does that mean that we have to put silly tags on EVERYTHING, every time?  I beg to differ, with the Simpson case being just one of many examples.

What is TV Doing?

My biggest complaint with this is that it's not happening anywhere else.  And this isn't just some moan about how unfair this all is; this is common sense!  The other day, when you saw American Idol, were they really drinking Coke from those bright red Coke cups on the judges' tables?  No.  That's an endorsement.  There was not however a bright little sticker on the cup that said so.

When your last favorite team won the Super Bowl, and the MVP drank from an energy drink, was there a little sticker there also that said endorsement? No.  What about when Tiger Woods wore an entire outfit of Nike?  Was there a sticker that said endorsement?  No.

And the last time that I rode in the NYC transit system, and the entire train car was outfitted in some weird Discovery Channel motif...did I see a sign that said, "Advertisement."?  No.  Because it's freakin' obvious.

That is my major objection. 

I don't think that Brett Favre gives two breaths about Wrangler Jeans, but you sure see him wearing them a lot!  ...because it's an endorsement, emphasizing my point.  When I'm driving down the Long Island Expressway, or coming back through the Lincoln Tunnel, I don't get a note on the side of the advertisement, letting me know that this billboard is an advertisement.  It just is.

That gigantic billboard is an ad.  Those graphics on the steps in Grand Central Station make an ad.  That's City Hall trying to balance its budget!  They're advertising.

...and so am I.  But not as arbitrarily.  I actually use the things I talk about.  I actually enjoy them.  I seek out their affiliate programs, and I use the affiliate program tools to recommend great services to you.  That's why Amazon Affiliate links don't bother me.  That's also why I gratuitously click through other blogger's links when they are pointing to something that sounds interesting, and the link is supported by intelligent conversation.

See my entire FTC disclosure here.  But first, read this book on how to make money with Amazon Affiliate Links ;)  (DISCLAIMER: That's an Affiliate Link! ...and I've never read the book.  I just want to annoy someone.)

How To Create A Website vs. Design A Website: Simplifying The Process.

(Photo: litherland)I want to make a clear distinction between two things here:  Creating a website is a very different process than using graphic design to beautify a website.  Designing a website is not necessarily creating a website.  When you're making a business website, you want to make a good website first, and then look at design elements.

There are multiple approaches to both creating and designing, but for most business owners I want you to meet somewhere in the middle.  I lie; I want you to err toward making simpler websites, with great structure, effective content (notice I didn't say great, even though great is good), and dressed with well done graphics.  You don't have to be a graphic designer to make a great website though.

The analogy I use most is that of building a house, and then decorating that house.  Let's consider this house our storefront.  Let's also allow that a finished house includes routine dressings like floor moldings, quality door knobs, well crafted siding, ect.  It's a sound, livable home, and we want to put a business there.  There are two errors that are made most frequently.  Follow me in the analogy to illustrate each one.

1. Trying to fix a crummy site with graphic design.  You can't walk up to a wobbly home where the windows have a weird slant to them, the roof pitch isn't even, and the door is hanging on one hinge, and proceed to hang garland around, paint the door neon green, have beautiful calligraphy artwork commissioned on the front to say, "open," and put a new cash register in there with a cute sticker on it, and consider yourself in a good "home."

2. Having all design, and no organic content.  Likewise, you can't have the most beautiful TV home, made with beautiful matching colors, perfectly laid shingles painted around the edges, a gigantic running fountain in the AstroTurf green front yard, and then walk in to find no toilet or sink, no fourth wall on rooms, and no space between decorations to hang stuff like Tax Authority certificates, or industry certifications, then call this a livable "home."  What's the fountain for?  [Edit: for all you designers our there, the fountain is Flash, in case you didn't guess ;)]

The Smarter Way: The Key to Great Websites

I suggest a more holistic approach to creating business websites.  Websites have functions.  People expect websites to answer certain questions, especially if it's a business.  They expect content that will set the website apart.  They expect actionable content that guides them toward a solution or addresses some need, or enriches their time spent with you.

In the Corporate World this concept is gaining popularity in the buzz words, "results driven problem solving."  Small business owners know that there really is no other way of solving problems.  That buzz phrase is stupid, but we want to approach our websites from the same mentality.

I encourage you to build your website with the notion that you are publishing interactive, valuable content about what problems you solve, who you are, why customers should trust you, and how they can get to, or invoke the solutions you offer.  Consider it a live presentation filled with rich material that you deliver to an audience who can interact.  Present that material in an organized way, and THEN dress it up with well crafted, well placed, elegant design elements.

You can stop reading now, and have the entire gist of making great websites.

If you want to continue reading though, I'll give you examples of this done well, and resources that will help shore up this belief.

Click to read more ...

You Want to Remember People's Names Better? Start Getting Them Wrong!

(Photo: Joseph West Photography)Forgetting a person's name feels really awkward, and it probably happens to you all the time!  I'm one of those fantastic-with-faces-but-terrible-with-names guys, and I deal with the name blanks frequently.  Normally, I'll come right out with it and just ask for the name again.  The really awkward moments happen when you forget that one.

When I was dating, I came up with a clever go around for that, but it's a little too flirtatious to use in your everyday business and networking.  If you want to remember people's names better, put yourself on the spot.  This will fix it.  Make it a point to send them off at the end of the conversation using their name! 

"It was Tammy, right?  Thanks so much for your help!"

Playing this name game will invoke three cognitive gems that will increase your name retention drastically!  The first two are prevalent in Pimsleur's language learning system which is very effective.  I used Pimsleur in 2004 as a primer into my Spanish.

1. Anticipation.  This is simply an engaging factor.  If you know that you're going to end your conversation by testing yourself on their name, you hang on to it a minute longer.  Instead of trying to look engaged, you actually are engaged.  This will impact the person's perception of you positively, also, which is good for your business and relationships.

2. Graduated Interval Recall.  In essence, this is learning and remembering in micro-steps, but what is more powerful in this is that the successful recall elicits pleasurable internal and, in our case, external rewards.  It dopes the brain with positive feedback

   In Pimsleur's learning course, you're incrementally challenged and positively rewarded internally when you hear the answer match what you said.  When you are live with a person, though, you get the benefit of external rewards also. This feels even better, and digs that brain groove deeper.  You'll ask, "It was Tammy, right?"

   Tammy's eyes are going to light up (external reward one), she's going to smile (external reward two), and she'll verbally confirm your recollection (external reward jackpot).  "Yes. Thanks."  Big smiles!  It feels good to everyone.

3. Pain Avoidance.  Pain avoidance is the third reason this works so well.  For it to work though, you have to commit yourself to risking the pain.  You have to be willing to throw that name out there no matter what!  You want to invoke the pain avoidance factor at the beginning of the conversation and not at the end, as in I better remember this name now, from the beginning, or it's going to be painful in the end, and not I forgot her name so I'm going to avoid pain at the end and not ask.  You have to throw it out there, or you don't grow.  "It was Tammy, right?"

If you get the name wrong, it's embarrassing, but that's the point.  Don't sweat it.

"No. It's Christine, actually.  But that's ok.  What was yours?" 

She'll still smile because you tried, but her eyes won't light up.  You guys will shake hands, walk away, and think about how awkward that was.  You should be able to take solace in the fact that she forgot yours also, and the experience is still a reward, it's just a negative one. 

Most people don't remember names.  It's the rare few who do that really leave an impression on others.  You become more persuasive, and more attractive when you remember names.  Play this name game.  People will feel more comfortable around you, and enjoy themselves when you come around.