How to Maintain Your Humor During Difficult Times

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Have you felt a little depressed and anxious lately? Welcome to the club! It’s a pretty big club, and nobody wants to be the president. In fact, nobody wants to be in the club. People would much rather pretend they weren’t in the club. Some would prefer that no such club existed. But exist it does.

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Realize You’re Not Helping by Adding to the Hand-Wringing

There are already plenty of Chicken Littles, running around squawking about the sky falling. One of the big issues is nobody knows what’s going to happen. The science isn’t all in yet. We get plenty of new stories every day. It’s all anyone is talking about, actually. Nobody thinks the virus is going away any time soon, but complaints about being bored really don’t help. What to do instead? Post inspirational photos and messages. For instance, have you seen the posts that Arnold Schwarzenegger is making, with him and his mini-horses (“fueling up with Whiskey and Lulu?”) Some may say they’re tone-deaf, but I think they’re wonderful.

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Photos by Hot Rod Homepage

Don’t Repeat Rumors

There are so many rumors right now. And the hoaxes and conspiracy theories are everywhere! Social media amplifies the craziest rumors and theories, with people believing they’re real. Please check with Snopes or the World Health Organization or some other legit source. Also, you probably don’t want to overshare right now. More about Oversharing. What to do instead? Tell the truth in as clear and succinct a way as possible. There’s already enough chaos!

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Stay Away from Stories

That is, making up a weird story about what’s happening doesn’t help anything or anyone. Saying it’s the end of the world, even if you think Armageddon is here, just adds to the confusion.

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Unless They’re Funny Stories

On the other hand, gentle humor, pictures of your cat, and National Puppy Day are all perfectly legit right now. It seems like we’re all balancing the extreme seriousness of the situation with sillier-than-normal memes, videos, and stories. If you need a list of Hashtag Holidays, SproutSocial has a pretty good one. And maybe you’re making up your own holidays, too.

How Are You Dealing with These End Times?

I’m joking! But really, if you’re staying at home, how are you keeping your sanity? Let me know with a comment!

#Digiblogchat Questions March 24, 2020

 

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On March 24th at 1:00 p.m. pdt, our topic for #Digiblogchat will be Coronavirus–how to help your community! With questions by @LazBlazter  #digiblogchat

Please add the #digiblogchat hashtag so everyone can find you and your tweets! 

Q1. What’s happening in your community right now in terms of #Covid19? 

Q2. How can people help each other with #Covid19 support? 

Q3.  Who is your priority in terms of #Covid19 support and why? 

Q4.  How are your families coping with digital apps across the generations? #Covid19 

Q5. What apps are you sharing and recommending to cover work and social needs? #Covid19 

Q6. Anyone using @carehood or @neighbourhood to coordinate support for each other? #Covid19 

Q7. What impact is this having on you, employees and business relations? #Covid19 #digiblogchat

Q8. Are you now learning digital skills from youngsters around you? #Covid19

Q9. How can we help businesses under pressure? #Covid19

Q10. How can we help our Doctors, Nurses and volunteers during this medical pandemic? #Covid19 

Bonus:

Q11. Who wants to do the first  #DigiBlogChat video chat this weekend? ( using Zoom or Happychat)

 

This Is What Happens When You Work from Home for the First Time

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Think about when you did anything the first time. And this time (that is–right now!) you were probably forced into working from home, too. Am I right about that? Nobody who works in an office (especially the extroverts!) suddenly wants to work from home. Beyond the usual stuff of needing your technology to be set up, here’s what it’s like to work from home.

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You Might Get Lonely

Yep. I said it. To prevent loneliness when you work from home, you’ll need human contact, even if it’s virtual. Luckily, we have Zoom and telephones. You can have a virtual conference, a meeting, or just a talkathon with friends. You can even use it as an extension of a hobby. My knitting group will be having a Zoom Knitathon this week. For more about hobbies, see this: A Good Hobby Will Make You Feel Delighted. Another way to be around people is to join Twitter chats! My chat #DigiBlogChat is on Tuesdays at 1:00 pm PDT. We have a different topic every week, and it’s free! Here you go: How to Join #DigiBlogChat.

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You Could Overeat

If you’re bored because you’re not used to working from home, you might eat all those frozen Girl Scout cookies you’ve been saving for a special occasion. After all, it’s Armageddon now, right? So what the heck! And that wine? You’re not supposed to hang out with groups, so you might as well drink it yourself. If you’re one of those people hoarding, how about hoarding some halfway-healthy stuff? “When I recognize that I want to eat something more out of boredom versus actual physical hunger, I brew myself a cup of hot tea.” says Alissa Rumsey, R.D., C.S.C.S. Read more things nutritionists do when they might eat out of boredom. Turns out that nutritionists are a lot like you and I.

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You Might Get Less Exercise

If you’re not getting up to hit the water cooler or grab a coffee from the breakroom, you’ll probably need to make a conscious effort to get exercise. It’s easy to sit in one spot all day long sulking or not moving. And since you might not be able to go to the gym right now, you’ll have to figure out something else. How about hiking? Or walking around a lake? There are lots of ways to get exercise without going to the gym. Cycling is another way.

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More Time with Pets

And by pets, I mean cats. And dogs, too. My cats love to get on my desk while I’m trying to work. They cover up the calendar and sprawl across the desk. Sometimes they try to take my glasses and knock stuff onto the floor. Having a cat is usually so much fun!

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Zero Commute

Another plus of working from home is not having a commute. Of course, you might wear the same pajamas all day, too. (I’ve been guilty of that.) That could be a plus…but also a minus, depending upon how you feel about it. What are some of the plusses and minuses of your working-from-home routine?

#Digiblogchat Questions March 17, 2020

On Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 1:00 pm pdt, our topic is: Is automated content generation a good or bad thing? with Randy Clark!

  1. How familiar are you with automated content generation?
  2. How much of what we read do you think is written by robots?
  3. Would you consider using AI for content generation, editing, or publishing?
  4. If you used AI for content generation what type of content would you turn over to robots?
  5. How can you tell if something you’re reading was written by a bot?
  6. How could AI content development help writers?
  7. Did you know there are books written and edited by robots?
  8. What are the possible pitfalls of automated content development?
  9. What are the potential benefits of automated content development?
  10. Are you ready to share your office with a bot?

A Good Hobby Will Make You Feel Delighted

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As I write this week’s blog post, the world is reeling from the Corona Virus panic. Nearly every news story is about how events are being cancelled, new sanctions are being imposed, and more people are getting sick. It’s enough to cause anxiety and worry for even the most calm people among us. What to do? How about delving into a hobby instead of going to that conference–since it’s just been cancelled?

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Hobbies Take Us on a Mini-Vacation

For me, there’s nothing like a hobby to get away from the stress and stop thinking and worrying over things I have no control over. When I knit something, listen to a podcast, or cut out pattern pieces to sew, I’m a million miles away. Time disappears and I forget to eat. If you still need to be connected, you might like How to Use Social Media and Keep Your Mental Health.

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Hobbies Make Us Happier

If you tend to overwork, having a hobby can definitely make you happier. Not only do you learn something new, you often get out into the community through your hobby, too. For instance, I’ve met loads of wonderful women through knitting. We meet for coffee, knit, and kvetch about everything under the sun. Having more social connections leads to greater happiness in many studies. You can read about some of my stretch goals (which include sewing and knitting) here: How to Make Stretch Goals That Make You Stretch.

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Hobbies Give Us More Dimension

If all you have to talk about it work, isn’t that a little one dimensional? Last week I was at Window Works (a client of mine) for the Women in Construction Luncheon in San Francisco, and met a woman engineer. She asked me what I do when I’m not working. It turns out that she’s a ballroom dancer! Along with being a structural engineer, she enters dance competitions. Besides being ultra-cool, having a whole other hobby makes her more interesting.

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Why Not Have a Hobby?

Jaime L. Kurtz Ph.D. in her article Six Reasons to Get a Hobby, says “Consider the possibility that you’re not as busy as you think.” We all waste time on social media, Netflix, and “doing something close to nothing, but different than the day before” as Prince once sang. But having a hobby seems to have gone by the wayside. And if you have a structured hobby, she says, chances are you’d finish up that work so you could scoot off to your book club meeting. Without a hobby, work expands to fill the time we have. And active leisure is invigorating, says Kurtz. Wouldn’t you agree?

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What’s Your Hobby?

Do you have something that you love to do when you’re not working? What is it? Leave me a comment and thank you!

#Digiblogchat Questions March 10, 2020

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Today we’re excited to talk to Samir (@Connecinet) from @tweepsmap about scheduled threads on Twitter!

Here are this week’s questions!

Q1.  What have you heard about Twitter threads? 

Q2. What are the advantages of using Twitter threads? 

Q3. Do you post your twitter threads all at once or build them over time?

Q4. How often do you measure engagement stats on your tweets?

  1. Daily
  2. Weekly
  3. Monthly
  4. Never

Q5. Do you use a scheduling service for your social media posts and why? 

Q6. Have you tried to schedule Twitter threads before? #digiblogchat

Q7. How do you pick hashtags for your tweets? 

Q8. Do you know which words or hashtags resonate the most with your followers?

Q9. Do you have any tips for composing Twitter threads? 

Q10. Is there anything you wish you could do that’s not possible to do with your current scheduling tool?

 

 

 

How to Cure Writer’s Block: Ten Best Ways

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Every writer experiences writer’s block from time to time. Sometimes it’s because you’re using all your creativity up (at least that’s what some friends say). Others cite exhaustion. No matter the reason, there are ways out. Here are some ideas for you!

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Brainstorm

Once you’ve brainstormed, you may be able to pick a topic from all the ideas you have. As my friend, Randy Clark says in How to Defeat Writer’s Block, “You may have to play with the steps to fit your style, but if you follow the basic structure, you’ll defeat writer’s block too.” Randy writes thousands of words every week, so he’s a good one to listen to.

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Mind Map

I’ve written about mind mapping before. It’s a lot of fun, and you get to engage your creative side, too. Read more about Mind Mapping in How to Come Up with a Year’s Worth of Blog Content. Mind mapping doesn’t even feel like work, so you might be able to trick yourself into thinking that you’re playing and cure your writer’s block. And if you’re a visual learner, which most people are, mind mapping will really appeal to you.

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Dream Your Way out

This might sound crazy, but here’s something that works for me. Leave a notebook and pen by your bed. Think about writing right before you go to sleep. When you wake up, write down the first thing that comes to your mind–often your brain will work while you’re sleeping and you’ll be surprised. The trick is to be nonjudgmental as you write. That is, don’t think about it too much.

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Ask Friends

Ask a few friends what you should write about. Or ask your mom what you do–that could lead to a few laughs. Or you could ask your friends if they have a clear impression of what you do in your business (or whatever you want to blog about). No? Ask them what would help clarify your role or your business. Take that idea and run with it.

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Rewrite an Old Post

Did you write something that nobody read or commented on? How about rewriting it? You could also turn it into a video! You could even do a blog post about why you think nobody read that post.

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Add Uplifting Images

If you’ve written something without any images, add an image or two. Or use a different featured image. Since we’re all visual creatures, sometimes the image is more important than the words, unfortunately. And a positive image can change the feel of a piece of content.

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Read What You Don’t Usually Read

Yesterday at a concert, I found an old copy of The Whole Earth Catalog, published in 1971. What a treasure it was! Lots of little reviews of books (many for under a dollar), notes, little drawings, stories that continued from page to page. I must’ve spent a good 90 minutes flipping through the old weathered pages.

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Respond to Someone Else

You might get inspiration from someone else’s video or blog post. Mention them in your post, and make sure to let them know you’ve written about it. For example, I wrote a post recently about oversharing (with a thank you to Mitch Mitchell).

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Crowdsource

Ask your social media connections what they’ve done about writer’s block. Adopt the best ideas. To crowdsource using social media, you could ask your connections on Facebook, put it on Twitter, create a video and post it on YouTube, and so on. One of the most excellent examples of crowdsourcing I’ve seen lately is the way the Netflix show Diagnosis uses it. Check it out.

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Write about the Block

You might want to run straight into the fire by writing about your writer’s block (I know–so meta, right?)! Sometimes you’ll see a way out by exploring your own feelings, triggers, and fears by answering your own questions. Is there something I didn’t cover? Let me know in the comments!

#Digiblogchat Questions March 3, 2020

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This week, we’re excited to welcome Hila Shitrit Nissim (@Hila_Shitrit), VP of Communications at @Promodotcom  talking about Video Marketing and Small Business Growth.
Here are this week’s questions!

 

Q1. Why do you think video is so popular as a marketing method for SMBs?  

Q2. What are the things that consumers appreciate in video content that help resonate better? 

Q3. What are some things consumers do not want to see in video content? 

Q4. How do you think video marketing has changed recently? 

Q5. What are some features you think video marketing tools should all have? 

Q6. What are your favorite resources/tools for creating online content? 

Q7. Which social networking channels seem to be the most effective for video marketing? 

Q8. What are your tips for creating the most effective videos for online marketing? 

Q9. What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to creating videos? 

Q10. What type of video ad do you prefer to watch? 

  1. testimonial/review on a business
  2. Funny video (using humor)
  3. Factual sales video/explainer video
  4. Inspirational video 

Focus on Lifestyle When You Have a Difficult-to-Sell Service

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When your service is particularly difficult to sell, you need to get people to know, like, and trust you. That process takes time. I’m thinking of services that have a very long sales cycle, such as real estate.

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What Does Lifestyle Mean?

Lifestyle is describing your client’s daily activities. That could mean hobbies, where he or she shops, what colors they like, and so on. Ideally, you know a lot about that person and could even make a drawing of how they like to dress, right down to their favorite pair of shoes. You might even know if they have a hat they wear all the time. In this article from American Express: 7 Excellent Ways to Attract New Customers, former OPEN Forum community member Nicole Beckett, president of Premier Content Source says “Have a crystal clear picture in your head of exactly who you’re targeting.” And goes on to say “Think about what makes those types of people happy, sad, scared, relieved, and then think about how you can make their lives a little easier.”

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Ideal Client Profile

There is some controversy over whether an ideal client profile means a fictional person. I prefer to think of a composite of the best traits of your best clients. If you could take those traits and put them all in a blender, that would be your ideal client profile. No need to name names! Which client has the best attitude? Who comes up with great content to share? And who has beautiful photos? You get the general idea. Not clear on your ideal client profile? You might want to check out Who Are You Writing For? Target Audience and Social Media.

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Realtor Example

Say you’re a realtor. There are some very clever realtors out there–and the real estate market is very saturated. But you don’t have to just talk about real estate. You could talk about your clients’ lifestyle. Say your typical client is in her 50s and wants to retire soon and enjoy home-cooked meals and traveling. Talk about the local sights where your clients would locate, fun cooking events, and so on. Anything that lets your ideal clients get to know you personally helps them to know, like, and trust you. You might like this article: Why the 80/20 Rule Works for Your Social Media.

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Harley-Davidson

Today I was watching a video about the Harley-Davidson brand and how they’ve become a lifestyle brand. Their ideal client, however, has been an older white male (Baby Boomer) motorcycle rider. How can they pivot and welcome younger riders into the Harley universe when they’ve become so associated with just one type of rider? After all, they’ve had some of the most loyal fans ever! What other brand can boast of loyal fans who get their logo tattooed onto their bodies? But to change and be inclusive of women, younger riders, and people of color? That can’t be easy!

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Do You Focus on Your Client’s Lifestyle?

Why or why not? Leave me a comment! And thank you!

 

#Digiblogchat Questions February 25, 2020

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Our February 25th #DigiBlogChat is a special one, focused on living kidney donation. Our special guest is Amy Donohue, who is a living donor herself. Amy is a great friend and advocate for kidney donations. Listen more about Amy and her Social Media Stole My Kidney adventure on Ignite Phoenix:

 

Here are the questions:

  1. What have you heard about kidney donations?  Do you know any kidney donors?
  2. How do you become a living kidney donor?
  3. What are the emotional consequences of being an organ donor?
  4. The physical consequences? (Recovery? Normal food? Exercise? Scarring?)
  5. How healthy do you need to be to donate?
  6. Do you know someone on dialysis or had kidney issues? How did it affect them and their family?
  7. What kind of impact would it have if you donated a kidney?
  8. How safe is it to have just one kidney? What happens to the remaining kidney after one is donated?
  9. Are there ways that social media can help create a kidney community?
  10. What would it take for you to be a kidney donor? (Multiple choice on Twitter)
  • Parent got sick
  • Family member asked
  • Best friend needed it
  • Stranger or Celebrity needed

 

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