We each have different needs as it relates to our professions – but we all have one thing in common when it comes to blogging . . . we want to provide relevant content for our readers and hope that they connect with us and continue to come back and comment.

Some of the best ways to learn how to improve your own business blog is to be a devoted reader of other blogs. It could be a plugin that you discover that could be the missing ingredient, a layout or theme that catches your eye or simply a style of writing that really inspires you.

Here are a few links for inspiration to grow your business blog awareness and your eventually your audience.

The 50 best business blogs – Times Online

Small Business Blogs – Forbes.com Best of the Web

Top 10 Business Blogs for Women | Little Pink Book

Top Business and Entrepreneurship Blogs

Top 10 Business Blogs to Bookmark

What are your favorite business blogs to read? Why?

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[This post originally written for Linking Triad]

(If you don’t know who Lou Holtz is :: From wikipedia -Holtz is the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 20 rankings. Holtz also coached the New York Jets of the NFL during the 1976 season.)

What are your goals?

Reading over Jack Canfield‘s The Success Principles this morning and on page 56 there it was. . . this quote from Lou Holtz. I am no big sports fan, but could absolutely appreciate the story of what changed his life.

In 1966, after a personal set back, Lou’s wife gave him a copy of The Magic of Thinking Big, by David Schwartz. In this book, David encourages you to write down all of the things you want to accomplish in your life. This simple act would change Lou’s life and help him make history. By owning his goals and having a daily reminder of what he wanted to do – Lou was able to achieve nearly all 107 goals he set for himself.

As I continued to read about Bruce Lee’s letter and Jim Carrey’s check, it was apparent that these success stories all had one thing in common. . . clearly defined goals.

Ask anyone who has achieved success (could be someone you know personally or admire) and they will tell you that having clear goals of what you want in your life is vital. Whether it is writing it in a letter, a journal or on note cards. . . write them down today!

You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming - Jim Rohn.

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Do you have clear personal goals?

What goals do you have for your company or career?

How do you stay on track when you hit a roadblock?

Share your success story with us about a personal success you have achieved thanks to your goals.

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[This post originally written for Linking Triad]

I decided to pull together the top 10 How To’s for Linkedin based on questions I get asked most often as well as where I like to turn for answers. We are all constantly learning and helping each other along is what community building is all about!

1) LinkedIn How-Tos from Dave Taylor « Linked Intelligence

2) LinkedIn SuperGuide -Tutorials, Tips and Tools

3) LinkedIn – How-To Help and Videos – For Dummies

4) Get Ahead on LinkedIn – Wired How-To Wiki

5) Tutorial: How-to Add/Embed Video On A LinkedIn Profile Page

6) How To Merge Multiple Profiles On LinkedIn

7) How to Remove a LinkedIn Connection | Peak Profits

10 ways reporters can use LinkedIn to find sources, track changes at companies

9) HOW TO Optimize Company LinkedIn Profiles for Search & Lead Conversion

10) How to Use LinkedIn – How To Information | eHow.com

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What HowTo’s Have helped you use LinkedIn more effectively?

How much time do you spend on LinkedIn on average per week?

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[This post originally written for Linking Triad]

Here are the results thus far. . .

It’s not surprising that the majority of those polled responded with 5+ hours per week. Many citing that there should have been another choice of 11+ hours.

A few who responded are online because of the nature of their business. But to me, that is irrelevant. As a wired society we are all spending more and more time ‘plugged in’, and it will be interesting to see the new usage statistics come out for 2011.

As we all have seen, so much can happen in very short period of time on the web. Case in point : Google+ Growth Rate Shattering Competition. Yep, you read right – it took Google+ only twenty-four days to reach twenty million users. 24 days.

As with any study there will be a ‘heavy users’ group where a small percentage make up the majority of time spent online and since the number of mobile-only households overtook the number of landline-only households in 2009, that means that the average time spent online on sites like twitter, facebook, and now google+, will continue to grow as the global internet penetration rate continues to climb.

Currently 56% of Americans Check Online News Daily with 24% going to four or more unique online news sites daily. Think about it. Where do you get your news? Do you read an article shared by a Facebook friend? How about click a link while you’re on Twitter? The way information travels to us is through our networks. Who we follow, fan or watch.

Check out these 20+ Mind-blowing social media statistics: One year later. It really puts in perspective how much the internet and social media has changed our personal lives and the way we do business.

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Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, Co-Founder / CEO of Apartment Therapy Presenting to Withit at High Point Market

Thanks to long time twitter friend Julia Rosien, who just happens to be the Withit 2012 President, I attended the WithIt Educational Breakfast at High Point Market this morning featuring keynote speaker Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy.

For those of you who may not know . . . Apartment Therapy is one of, if not THE, top design blog. They receive 7 million unique visitors per month (PER MONTH!), their reader base is 59% women, and they currently have 18 full time and 170 freelance design bloggers that contribute to their success!

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan’s presentation “10 Things You Need to Know about Apartment Therapy” shared Maxwell’s personal philosophy and and the mission that has changed the way millions approach creating a home. Regardless of whether you’re a renter or own your own home Maxwell says that “your home is a path not a place.” He went on to share the “Design’s purpose is beyond “stuff” it’s how you, your family and friends feel in your home.”

10 Things I Learned About Blogging from Apartment Therapy at the WithIt Educational Breakfast at High Point Market

1. Have a mission.
2. Know your purpose.
3. Be a resource.
4. Collaborate with guest bloggers.
5. Share your passions online and off.
6. Know your blog’s “prime time” – the better you know your readers the more your can offer them information they crave when they are hungry for it.
7. Visit your readers blogs and participate in their success. Comment, share and celebrate!
8. Paths are often blurry. Your success comes from knowledge of yourself and knowing where you excel.
9. Don’t be afraid to put people in the rooms when taking photography of your projects.
10. Environment affects learning – make sure your blog is the right environment for your readers.

What did you learn from Maxwell’s Presentation?

How will it change the way you connect with and build your community?

Follow Apartment Therapy on Twitter and show them how much you like them on Facebook!

Be sure to enter Apartment Therapy’s Room for Color Contest!

I have to say that the first “oops I left my cell phone on” moment brought the room to a chorus of roarous laughter – due in large part to the timing, Maxwell’s great sense of humor and the ring tone that blasted the Day-O tune.

The second ring was quickly silenced by a blushing attendee. In the tables around me, I saw that everyone was quietly checking their phones to make sure their ringer was off. . . a reminder that, for those of you who know me from the Linking Greensboro Luncheons, I try to offer before the event starts out of respect for the speaker & those attending the event.

The third ring was the worst. It was a cell phone grenade. Not only did the person continue to let it ring as they made it toward the exit from across the ballroom – they answered it “Hello, Hold on a second I’m attending a conference . . .” to stunned looks from everyone they passed on their way to the door. Maxwell paused until the person left the room and continued with his brilliant presentation without skipping a beat.

My TECHiquette tip for the next time you are attending an event or anywhere in public that your cell phone will be a distraction to those around you . . . put your cell phone on vibrate.

And if the call that you receive is important . . . PLEASE for the love of all things etiquette, let it go to voice mail until you leave the room and are in a situation to give the caller your full attention and NOT be a disruption to those around you.

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As a speaker, how do you handle the situation when a cell phone grenade goes off?

How do you handle the situation when your cell phone accidentally goes off at an in opportune moment?

Do you have a ritual of checking your phone before you take you seat at an event or enter a quiet space?

[UPDATE] Be sure to check the your alarms on your phone too! I was attending Julia Rosien‘s presentation and had an alarm go off to my deep embarrassment. Just because your ringer is off does not mean that your phone will be silent!

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[This post originally written for Linking Triad]

I don’t know about you, but I had this question pop into my head recently. . . funny how some of the greatest conversations and lessons happen at events. My most recent lesson came from a conversation I had after the presentation by Julia Rosien of Social North – “The Digitally Savvy Retailer – Using Emerging Technologies to Engage Shoppers (and sell more stuff!)”.

I was speaking to Denise Osborne of Accessory Design Services and we were chatting about how, as a designer, it was difficult to be your own client. I believe that it’s the same regardless of what industry you’re in.

When the day is done, the last thing you want to think about is more work . . . you need rest so you can stay focused for your own clients. This mindset leaves little room for keeping your environment, online or off, where you need it to support you and offer what you need to succeed.

Here are 5 Tips For Putting You First

• Set quarterly goals both personally and professionally. You can’t accomplish much if you don’t know where you are going.

• Schedule weekly “meetings” with yourself to focus on tasks that will help you reach your quarterly goals.

• Reward yourself. You heard me. Whether it’s a nice dinner out, a new suit or a weekend off. When you accomplish milestones – DO IT! Small rewards will keep you motivated and on task.

• Spend time alone. For many that is a challenge due to the fast paced demands we all face on a daily basis. Regardless of your circumstances, find time to do something that you love, even if it’s only 15 minutes at a time.

• Read more. In today’s tech heavy life it’s important to develop a habit of making time to read. Books, Blogs, news and articles – be sure to keep up to date on the latest information related to your industry both locally and nationally.

What are some ways you have successfully made you your best client?

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[This post originally written for Linking Triad]

Every day there is a new call, text, task, meeting, play date, family emergency or event to add to the chaos of modern living. We schedule, plan and make long ‘todo’ lists – but we can only fit so much into 24 hours.

Here are 15 ways to calm the chaos and claim your success!

1. Access Your Responsibilities. Make 3 separate columns on a sheet of paper (family, work, community) and be honest with where you are spending your time. Look at what you can start saying no to, delegate or eliminate completely from this list.
2. Schedule Private Time. If you want to claim your success, you need quiet time to rest your mind and reflect on what you have, need to and hope to accomplish. Treat this alone time with as much respect as you give a client meeting.
3. List Your Goals. Write your top 5 immediate goals on a piece of paper and keep it with you. Goals are beacons in the chaos. Personal Goal Setting serves to remind us of what is truly important and helps guide our decisions in our day to day life. At lunch, in between meetings, while waiting in line at the grocery store – as often as you can – LOOK AT THIS LIST. When you complete a goal, replace it with another one from your master goal list.
4. Chuck Your Stuff. Schedule time each month to get rid of clutter. . . at your office, home and your car. Have 4 boxes handy (donate, give, put away, throw away) to make this process more organized. A favorite book is Lose 200 Lbs This Weekend: It’s Time to Declutter Your Life by Don Aslett and Carol Cartaino.
5. Learn to Say NO. For many of us – saying no is difficult. This article by Zen Habits is a great place to start learning how. 7 Simple Ways to Say “NO”
6. Create a Board of Advisers. Whether you are a seasoned professional or a young adult, having a trusted and varied group of people who you can turn to for advice and guidance is priceless. This post from Inc. Magazine is perfect to get you started : How to Assemble a Board of Advisers
7. Study the Masters. Regardless of your profession or trade there is, inevitably, someone (or many) whom you admire. Learning from Leaders by reading their blogs, following them on twitter, reading their books and when the opportunity arises – engage with them. Focus on a more respectful studying of what has made this person a success . . . that includes their failures.
8. Create a Vision Board. What The Heck’s A Vision Board—and How Can It Change Your Life? Cut out images from magazines or use your own images, sketches and pictures to create a living life plan of what you want. You can easily create or purchase a cork board to hang in a private room to create your masterpiece. When you achieve a goal on your board – take a photo, then replace that accomplishment with the next goal.
9. Read More. There is a wealth on knowledge on the internet that comes at you at break neck speed. Taking time to read and learn things that will help you reach your goals will give you much needed rest while you still fill your head with valuable knowledge. Success Books is a great blog that has reviews of Success Books, Blogs, Podcasts, Websites and other tools that will help you claim your success.
10. Sleep. All too often we make poor judgement calls when we have not had enough rest. From bad driving, short temper, dozing off in a meeting – none of these will help you reach your goals. Learn more about how much sleep you need from the National Sleep Foundation.
11. Learn How to Manage Your Time. At the end of your day write the top 6 priorities for the next day. Number them from 1 to 6 in order of importance – tackle each task until close of business. What ever you did not finish gets bumped to the top of your list for the next day. This advice comes from Ivy Lee, known as the “founder of public relations” and the man who gave this same advice to Charles Schwab back in the 1920′s.
12. Turn Your Phone Off. When you are faced with a task or meeting that needs your undivided attention – turn your phone off. . . or for those of you who are parents – at least put it on vibrate. Giving the task and the people in front of you your undivided attention will go a long way in helping you reach your goals. Remember to Turn Off That Cell Phone! Business Etiquette Still Counts.
13. Follow Up. Whether by phone, email or handwritten note – make time each week to touch those that have made your week great. Keep a list of those that you want to stay in contact with and schedule alerts that remind you to reach out. Here is an oldie but goodie post on The 10 Best Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools.
14. Organize. When you are organized both in the physical and virtual worlds your everyday tasks take less time. Think of how much time you waste searching for files, tools, clothes or that thingy that you need to finish that home project. Woman’s Day has a fantastic list of 100 Ways to Get Organized.
15. Ask for Feedback. It’s a good rule of thumb to always ask for feed back. Whether it’s for your new recipe, your recent blog post or that project you just completed. Not everyone will respond and you may not always like what you hear – but those willing to offer constructive ways that you can improve what you are doing . . . they will be the hands that guide you and helps you climb out of chaos. Learn How to Offer Constructive Feedback.

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What tips would you offer to conquer the chaos and claim success?

[This post originally written for Linking Triad]

Qwikster

The end game is for Netflix to dump the DVD rental service because it’s a hell of a lot more expensive to maintain than streaming. The logistics of moving physical discs can be a gamble. It’s costly in part because of the inventory that must be maintained. Distributed across the whole network of subscribers, DVDs strategically placed according to anticipated subscriber viewing habits. We’re talking about a huge inventory and a lot of chance to mistake.

Steaming costs are mostly determined by the price of the licensing. Each title is separately licensed or as part of a library, licensed for viewing on the streaming network. Starz provides a huge library, and Starz is leaving Netflix. After Starz has left they can renegotiate the terms of their licensing. Placing their price higher because the demand is there. Obviously people want streaming.

Why keep up with DVDs when you can watch the same movie on your phone, your computer, your XBox…? It’s a lot more convenient to watch the movie wherever you are. No worries about scratching the DVD, or losing it. You pay for the licensing. Not the physical disc.

So Qwikster is setup for the fallguy. It’ll be the company that captures the late adopters (and the no-adopters). There will always be a place for the physical rentals. Some people need to touch that DVD. Some don’t have internet. Some just won’t frackin change.

Now enter the tiered bandwidth pricing proposed by Time Warner, Comcast, AT&T… You pay based on how much you download. Now think about watching all those great movies on Netflix. Each movie paid for with two subscriptions: one to your internet service provider, the other to Netflix. That’s the hidden cost of this new system of streaming media.

Am I happy about Qwikster? NO! I don’t like change either and yeah, I’ll probably subscribe to both of the blood sucking ass monkey service providers: both Netflix and Qwikster. I’ll even pay for my high speed internet too… I’m an adopter.

It will be interesting to see what sociologists make of this behavior shift in another 10 to 15 years. I assume we’ll snicker at the bulky public display of smart phone use like we do looking back at the shoebox sized phones of the 80′s.

It’s becoming common to see signs at retail establishments, banks, and service providers stating “No Cell Phone Use While Checking Out”. The use of smartphones in public has become all pervasive. Even in restrooms where I’ve heard the man in the next stall having an animated conversation on his cell… Yes even there.

Recently the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency (aka BART) shut down cell phone use in the train station to discourage public protests. The public, according to polling by KPIX-TV CBS 5 released Monday night support this decision. So no thumbing at the train station!

In the United Kingdom, the London riots were encouraged along, at least in part, by social media, specifically Facebook. Two young men received 4 year sentences for inciting riots via Facebook posts. In this case they were sitting at home typing on their personal computers. But it could just as easily have been done with thumbing smartphones while walking around a supermarket.

There are very real world ramifications for smartphone use. Societal influence via social networking (Facebooking and Tweeting, etc.) starts in many cases with the internet in their pockets: the smartphone.

Smartphones being so inexpensive now show no class distinctions. Even Cricket offers smartphones. (Cricket is an inexpensive cell phone provider that has no contracts.) There’s also TracFones (those pay as you go phones you can pick up in a convenience store).

Smartphones are a game changer, just as the personal computer was a game changer. And by extension, the PC connected to the internet changed the world.

So what’s next? Smart glasses? Surgical implants that place video monitors in your cornea? Cloning was once sci-fi… so don’t scoff at cyborg models just yet – we will likely see them in our lifetime. Scientific American posted an article in February, 2011 that shows a promising step towards bionic eyes.

The future is coming. Thumbing is just the beginning.