Adventures in Driving

A couple years ago a friend left me with her Mini-Cooper for the weekend. Since it was the same size as the princess, I took her to an empty parking lot and we tried it out. This was her first experience behind the wheel.

Fast forward two years, she has her permit. She is 16 and isn't playing anymore. Tonight, I pulled into a church parking lot (I should have prayed first), and let her take the wheel.  She did a really good job. The only real danger was maybe driving off the right hand side of the road, and my fingerprints may be permanently embedded in the handle on the passenger side of the car.

I may need a prescription for valium...or maybe investing in Driver's Ed isn't a bad idea. .....Why why why don't they teach it in school here?...Mama doesn't need anymore gray hairs.

Don't Close the Door by Opening a Window

Pet Peeve Alert:

When I click a link from a website and it takes me to a new page in the current window - sending me away from your site, it makes me feel unloved. I  think you do not want me to actually visit your site, learn about your products and services, use them and then tell my friends about them.

Links should open in a new window.  Why? because I may see something shiny, get distracted and never get back to your website.

Join My Tribe: Technology is a Learning Tool

In his book “Tribes”, Seth Godin defines a tribe as “ a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”  Kumbuya.com has taken the concept and built a site that combines the ideas of tribes and making money.

When one joins Kumbuya, you can join and create tribes around an idea, a hobby or an industry. Members join tribes around topics they enjoy. If a member then has a product or service that relates to the a particular tribe, they post a link, and people with an interest in the product or service will see it. For example, if you sell hand painted wine glasses, posting a link to a wine tribe would be good for business ;)

I do not personally sell a product or service, but through my work with Computer Explorers,  I have developed a passion for all the technology that is now available for students and teachers. So I created a tribe called “Technology is a Learning Tool.” If you have a product, service or interest in Technology Education - Join me and let’s share some stuff.

Shut Up and Kiss Me: getting back to the basics of social

Have you ever tried to guide a newbie through using social media for business? It can make you crazy. 

Blogging has been around for a long time...not Great Wall of China long time...but a long time ( I don't feel like digging through Google to find the right answer - so I am embracing vague here.) I forget that not everyone has been hearing the same things over and over for years like I have. I feel inspired to address the basics again. To quote Uptown Girls "the fun is in the fundamentals" (again, they may have been quoting someone else, but I still don't feel like Googling).

Know your audience - unless your audience is full of Ph.Ds, don't use words like "pedagogy"...because they are the only people I know who use that word - and others will have to look it up. 

Keep it Simple (KISS..and you thought I was being forward with my title of this post) – there is no rule on how long a post needs to be – there is no reason to agonize over each post like it is a novella.  If that is what you want to do, then write the novella. My favorite blog is The Burning House, it is completely crowd sourced and is made up of photos and lists, pretty simple.

Stop selling - no one is going to read your blog, watch your video, or listen to your podcast if you are just talking about how awesome you or your products/ services are. ...That is what late night infomercials are for...let the experts drone on for hours.

Let your ego take a nap - no one wants to hear you ring your own bells all the damn time. (It’s ok to talk about a class you took to give back ground discussing the alien on your face)….I mean go ahead and talk about yourself but people are going to talk about you behind your back and not in a flattering way, #JustSayin.

Over sharing – You do not have to share a link to every possible article relating to your industry, no one has time for that. Some of us need to file our nails and stuff.  Share what strikes you and listen to your audience. Actually that is the best advice I can give – listen…just listen

The Care and Pheeding of your Teen

Three days ago Mashable posted  Pheed: The Next Social Craze for Teens.  Then three days ago I face-palmed myself HARD.

My daughter asked me two weeks ago if I had a Pheed account. She explained it as an app that is  combination of Twitter and Pinterest. I joined (AK Stout was already there), I haven't done anything with it yet....but shoot!...If I had listed to my teen - I could have scooped Mashable..I would have been able to say - gee thanks for telling me what I already know.

But...I failed to poke around enough to really give anyone a good idea what it is.  I can tell you it launched last October and is a way to share video, pictures, audio...I think what the platform is trying to do is be the Twitter for those who communicate better through audio or visual creation.

So If you are looking to be one of the cool kids or to keep an eye on your teen's online life - give the app a look-see.

Is that an Alien on my face?

I am 3/4 of the way through the Certified Franchise Executive program. I spent February 16th and 17th sitting in day long sessions that will give me credit toward this certifiation. Session one was Strategic Thinking and Planning. Session two was Achieving Higher Performance for Yourself and Your Team Members. The main speaker for the Achieving Higher Performance was motivational speaker Bob Davies.

Davies has his Masters of Education degree in Psychology, so he tied a lot of the "why we do things the way we do" to how our brains work. Since we weren't a room full of shrinks he put concepts into more down to earth ways than synapses and electromagnetic waves.

The thing that rang true with me was the little voice inside your head that tells you not to do something. The little voice that says "no, what will people think?" or "I can't do that." The coach relayed this to the Alien in the Alien Movies. Picture it attached to your face...saying NOOOO!!!! - our job is to pull the alien off, say thanks for caring and throw it away. ...for the rest of my time at the conference I became aware of my alien.

I like my alien. If you knew the things that pop into my head, that the alien says no to...I didn't wolf whistle that young man and release my inner cougar. I didn't tell those young girls to get some self respect and go put some clothes on (we were in Las Vegas.) I didn't tell the people asking silly questions of Condoleeza Rice to sit down until they had something good to contribute to the conversation. I didn't tell the guy monopolizing the panel discussion to sit down or to please take note that the audience was falling asleep.

I am happy to be aware of my alien and in the future I may be more willing to pull it off my face and say "thanks for caring", but I think I will keep him around a little while longer.

Me: The Good, The Bad and The Eccentric

Last week I attended my third International Franchising Association conference. For the first time, I was recognized by my online persona. The first reason was for doing this live streamed Google+ Hang Out offering tips for first time attendees: 

Great! right? well once you get past the part where I am looking at the wrong computer screen and the fact that the cuss word didn't come out of my mouth in an audible manner. So yes - it fulfilled its purpose and I look great in turquoise. 

The other thing that was a conversation starter, from no less than 3 people,   Followed by a suggestion that they friend me so that they too can be entertained. This post from my Facebook page: 

I decided to run to Walmart - threw on my jeans, bra and hoodie...standing in line at the check out I look down and my hoodie isn't zipped all the way up....it's just a matter of time before I end up in a People of Walmart email.

Yup - people asked me if I was all dressed...It's a good thing I embrace my eccentricity.