by Yvonne DiVita

So the song from Oklahoma goes: "June is busting out all over; All over the meadow and the hill"... and on and one. The song celebrates the sun, the grass, the warmth ... the end of cold weather, keeping us all indoors.

My backyard is a jungle. That's what June is giving me. The dogs don't mind. They nose around for bugs, or whatever it is that is so fascinating there on the ground. They find secret places to do "their business"... behind a towering bush or clump of overgrown grass, thinking they are hidden. The jungle of the yard is play to them. To us, it's a reminder that winter is over and it's time to think lawn...etc. 

Why are people so intent on making their lawn look... well kept? What purpose does a manicured lawn serve? When did we as a species begin to pay so much attention to our lawns, as if weekends exist to putter around the garden, mow the grass, tend to the trees, plant more flowers? I guess if you have kids, it's important. Frankie, shown here, probably prefers a grassy backyard.

We're not big on lawns. Yes, we need grass for the dogs. Else we'd put stone throughout the yard. But, we aren't big on chemicals to make the grass grow. Or worrying about how long it is this week. Or, planting flowers to make it look prettier. Don't get me wrong, I love well manicured lawns and flowers and gardens of vegetables. But, I am not capable of taking care of them so... I don't have them at my house. I admire them from afar - from the kitchen at my daughter's house, from the patio at my brother's, from my couch... as I watch HGTV.

All of this is a part of the change from spring to summer, from that quick moment of watching the sun melt the last bit of snow off the tree limbs, to reveal the buds eager to burst forth. And, in our lives, we, too, are emerging anew. We feel a tingle of energy in our bones - we walk a little longer in the morning, we stay up a little later in the evening, we sigh the eternal sigh of happiness - glad that we made it through another blustery winter - where the wind and cold and blizzardy weather threatened to do us in! Despite central heating!

June truly is busting out all over - beyond the meadow and the hill. It's busting out in the strip malls (lots more activity as you drive by or stop in for a coffee); it's busting out all over in the neighborhood (with the laughter of children playing out doors, the barking of dogs cautioning other dogs to stay out of their yards, and the scampering of prairie dogs - or squirrels - intent on today's breakfast or lunch). Each spring that beckons the coming summer is a part of the bursting out all over, isn't it? When June arrives, it may not officially be summer, but in our hearts and our feet it is. (seriously... didn't you get the flip-flops out weeks ago?)

I often wonder how it is in climates that do not have weather changes. How do they celebrate the coming warmth and abundance? 

Sad for them.

by Yvonne DiVita

A good friend of mine, Bruce Peters, sent me a link to a blog post he called "eloquent." A lonely post. A post with amazing clarity - written with perspective, by a 22 year old author.

On this day, this Friday at the end of a tremendously busy week preparing for the BlogPaws conference, I took a minute to read this post again...and to reflect.

The Opposite of Loneliness

"We don't have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that's what I want in life," wrote Marina Keegan on CrossCampus. "What I'm grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I'm scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place."

She's writing about graduation. The passage of time. The feelings of a young woman about to embark upon the unkown.

How many of us remember those days? Back when four years of our lives - lived within a small community of 'friends', professors, various business people who wandered in and out of our classrooms, and a family member or two - was abruptly coming to an end. Yes, the word is abruptly. Because no matter how much you prepare for it, when it happens, you're left... with a certain level of ... loneliness. I think.

I remember. But, my world was different than the one Marina describes. "In the heart of a winter Friday night my freshman year, I was dazed and confused when I got a call from my friends to meet them at EST EST EST. Dazedly and confusedly, I began trudging to SSS, probably the point on campus farthest away. Remarkably, it wasn’t until I arrived at the door that I questioned how and why exactly my friends were partying in Yale’s administrative building. Of course, they weren’t. But it was cold and my ID somehow worked so I went inside SSS to pull out my phone. It was quiet, the old wood creaking and the snow barely visible outside the stained glass. And I sat down. And I looked up. At this giant room I was in. At this place where thousands of people had sat before me. And alone, at night, in the middle of a New Haven storm, I felt so remarkably, unbelievably safe."

Sadly, at no time in my college years did I feel...safe. But, this is not about me. It's about Marina, and the words in her post that will live on, growing along our senses, those of us who read her post, tickling our thoughts like green, soft ivy. Words that will echo in the hearts of her friends and professors, long after the moon and stars have risen over Yale - bringing the end of one moment in hundreds of lives, while beckoning the morning sun in others. The wonderful sentiments passed on by this amazing young woman, saying, "We're so young. We're so young. We're twenty-two years old," a realization seldom voiced by those of her tender age...  profound in its admitting.

I muse on this today, with tears in my eyes, full of memories from those dim days of yesterday and the loneliness in my life back then - and wonder if togetherness is the opposite of lonely, and if, in togetherness, loneliness still touches you when... you remember.

The piece referenced here was written by Marina Keegan '12 for a special edition of the News distributed at the class of 2012's commencement exercises last week. Keegan died in a car accident on Saturday. She was 22.

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

The London Summer Olympic Games are now only 58 days away from the opening ceremony. You can see the exact countdown on the Official Website here. I've been blogging about the Olympics since the 2008 Summer Games were held in Beijing and much has changed over the course of four years. The 2012 Games are being proclaimed by many as the first social-media Olympics, so this is sure to be one of many posts that I'll write.

Longtime sponsor of the Olympics, Visa, has launched their first "social-by-design" integrated marketing campaign for the Games, Go World. The "global cheer" campaign is the largest in Visa's 25 year history as a sponsor of the Olympic Games.

The initial thinking behind the campaign came about during some early brainstorming sessions. The marketing group together with their agency team realized that this summer many fans will likely be cheering for the athletes through social-media channels, so why not organize the cheering and own it? Visa then turned to its own Olympic focus group, the 60 Olympic athletes who make up Team Visa, which include swimmer Michael Phelps, runner Lopez Lomong and tennis player Li Na. The athletes told Visa that cheers, in fact, do make a difference.

The campaign's focus is to turn the passion of fans into online cheers that will help inspire the more than 60 Visa-sponsored athletes (Team Visa), as they prepare for and compete at the Games. Fans can upload a text, photo or video cheer they've created for the athletes. Visa's Facebook page is the global hub which is collecting all the consumer-submitted cheers along with responses and videos from athletes and their stories and training. Fans can also submit "one-click cheers" on Visa's YouTube channel and through partner websites including NBCOlympics.com, Yahoo! and Sports Illustrated. Over the next several months, Team Visa athletes are expected to also reach out to their social networks with stories and updates on how the encouragement from fans is helping them.

The Visa Facebook app allows people to view the cheers either by Top Cheers, Athletes, Country or Sport. There is also the Visa 2012 Fan Inclusion Contest which will choose up to 28 video or photo cheer submissions as winners. There are four separate contest entry periods and 7 winners from each period will be chosen. Each winner will receive $5,500 and may have his or her video or photo included in a Visa television commercial for the London 2012 Olympic Games. This contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and ends on June 15, the same time the Global Cheer submissions will end.

Of course there is also a sweepstakes for a chance to win one of two trips to London to see the Games. Participants can enter daily up till June 10 but must be residents of the U.S. and Like the Visa Facebook page. Trip includes airfare, hotel and event tickets. I just entered!

Visa has stated that they will measure the success of the campaign using several traditional business metrics such as transactions, card activations and usage. They also measure brand metrics such as awareness and perception as well as the satisfaction of their merchants and banks. Social engagement is a particularly important measure in this campaign which will include likes, video views, uploads of cheers and shares to gauge success. Right now their Facebook Go World App says over 7.3 million global cheers have been uploaded. It appears to be off to a very good start.

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Don't you just love staring at a blank screen? I know I do (just kidding!) Even after all of my years of writing, I am not a huge fan of the blank screen. I just know it's taunting me to "Get Writing!" or something equally as obnoxious. To thwart it I have a to-do, or in my case a to-write, list. Take that, blank screen! I kind of know what I'm going to blog about or put as a Facebook status update and that, my writerly friends, is a boon to my creativity. 

Consider these benefits then make the investment of time it will take to draw up an editorial calendar:

• Hold yourself accountable. If you’ve taken the time to put together a calendar, you’ve already taken the first step and it makes follow through that much easier. If you have staff or contractors with whom you work, share a copy of the calendar with them so they can focus their efforts on your vision.
• An editorial calendar is a commitment. Putting a date/deadline to a task, typically helps you get it done.
• Cross it off. Imagine the feeling of accomplishment you’ll have when you look at your editorial calendar and can cross items off of the list.
• Planning your day/week/month/year becomes even easier. Big picture planning helps you with follow through.
• Creativity will soar. If you don’t have to sit down every day and wonder, “What am I going to write about” your creativity frees itself from that worry and allows you to simply create from the jumping off point that you’ve built.
• Don’t forget the trending topics. Don’t get so tied to your editorial calendar that you’re not flexible. Check trending topics, this is easy to do on Yahoo! news feeds or the trending topic feature through Twitter. If you’re an accountant and there are breaking news items in tax codes for example, work that into your daily updates or a blog post.

For many entrepreneurs, taking the time to pull together an editorial calendar will make facing the day and keeping your marketing plan on track much easier than staring at a blank slate on a daily basis. Remember, social media and blogging need to go hand-in-hand with your entire marketing plan as it needs to be a cohesive effort. 

by Yvonne DiVita

Facebook wants to know what's on my mind. Here's what's on my mind...

1. Living life to its fullest. While I have limitations set on me by my health, I often think I'm missing out on some of the best things in life just because I am a passive observer. 

2. Laundry. Somehow, I don't think anyone on Facebook wants to know I'm thinking about laundry. So, I won't elaborate on it here.

3. My kids. Yes, I think about my kids every day. I miss my daughter and her family back in Buffalo (hi Frankie!) and I miss my son, a lot. I miss my Mom and my sisters and I so miss my brother. But, none of the missing makes me want to move back to NY.

4. The election is on my mind. I am baffled by the way people think. I am baffled by the fact that certain people, who profess to be of faith and religion, still want to cut spending on healthcare, on education, on the arts and sports - on the very things that set humans apart from other 'animals'. 

5. Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and more. I see the value in these online networking tools. They bring us closer together in strange ways (some of the people you are friends with on these sites... you will never meet in person), but they also divide us, don't they? I wonder, sometimes, how we can prevent that division from growing - or, if we even want to. (and why do I have more followers on Pinterest than on Facebook?)

6. Automation. I definitely think about automation a lot. Is it okay to automate everything? How many people are put out of work by automation? What happens to them?

7. Innovation. After automation, I ponder on innovation, a lot. To me, we live in the most innovative time ever. For folks who are out of work and whose living is being compromised by technology - this is your chance to make real change. Be innovative and tap into your artistic talents. Yes, you have them. Use them. You were born to create, not mope. Create something we have never seen before. I bet a whole lotta people will buy it. Here's a place to start - local to Denver/Boulder but worth tapping into because the Art as Action performing group takes innovation beyond the next level, all the way to the stars. 

8. Shark tank. I love watching Shark Tank on Friday nights. Here's a big thing I've learned from the so called experts on Shark Tank - no one will ever care as much about your big idea, as you do. If you can't make money at it, don't ask someone else to help you make money at it. Make your own way - and then, if you really think you need a partner, consider Shark Tank. But, don't let them brow-beat you. They don't care about you or about new ideas or innovation. All they care about is money. Sort of likes banks. And, we all hate banks... don't we? Well, don't we?

9. Naps. I think about naps a lot. I love naps. I've been a nap taker since I was... a child. I never got over the value of a nap. No, I do not mean 20 minutes. I mean, 1-2 hours. Oh the joy of a good nap, especially in winter. (maybe I was a cat in a previous life - I sure would like to be one in my next life, and I want to live with Caren Gittleman)

10. Lastly, dinner is on my mind. Did I remember to take it out of the freezer? Do I need to go to the store for it? Am I out of bay leaves? What if we skip dinner today - will I lose a pound or two? Being Sunday, do we eat dinner at 3:00 today, or our regular 6:00? So many choices and concerns. In the end, I believe dinner is overrated. Until I start feeling hungry, around 3:30.

bonus!!! 11. It goes without saying that I think about my pets all the time. They are always here with me and I love them to pieces! As we get closer to BlogPaws 2012, in Salt Lake City, I'm reminded that I should let readers here know that you are welcome to attend. You do NOT have to be a pet blogger to attend a BlogPaws conference. If you're thinking of using social media to further your career or create a new business, we will deliver everything you need to get started!

Of course, you do need to like pets... there will a lot of them there. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Wait... that should be, dogs and cats and ferrets and guinea pigs, oh my!

So, come on - come to the best social media marketing conference on the planet - full of education, fun, frolicking, pets and pawties... you'll be glad you did!

What's on your mind? 

by Yvonne DiVita

We all do it. Procrastinate. Some of us are more guilty of it than others. We push off tasks that we aren't ready to do - to tomorrow or next week or next month. And, when it comes time to do those tasks, we're less prepared to tackle them than we were at the onset. Why?

Experts abound to explain why people do this. In the end, knowing why doesn't always solve the problem.

Take travel for business, for instance. Me, I hate traveling. If I have a business trip on my schedule, I'll ignore it till the cows come home. Almost as if it might go away if I pretend it's not there. The problem then is - by the time I realize it's practically upon me, the cost of airfares have gone up more than $100 and I'm angry at myself for not planning ahead. <sigh>

I don't do that with my hair. Hey, I know when it's time to get a touch up! And, I plan ahead for it. 

I don't procrastinate with my meals. Hey, I know when it's lunchtime and I stop to eat. LOL (sometimes I do get busy and suddenly it's 2:00 and I haven't had lunch and...that's not really procrastinating, is it? It's just being busy.)

I don't procrastinate with my blogging, either. I blog regularly. I often blog ahead of time - and set my posts to publish on a certain date and time. 

Therefore, when wondering why I procrastinate about... housework or travel, the answer is easy. It's because those are things I don't want to do. So, I put them off. Easy peasy. Overcoming the dislike of those things could solve the problem, but I have no clue how to start liking travel and housework. I used to read Fly Lady for the housework issue, but that's fallen off my radar. Maybe I'll go back to her. The travel... not likely to find a solution to that. It isn't travel per se, it's flying... because airports are so unfriendly these days. (no, I don't mind the actual flying... I hate having to park 3 mi from the actual airport, waiting for the shuttle, undressing to go through security, sitting around, etc, etc, etc...)

Any suggestions? 

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

The big Facebook IPO day came and went last Friday. It was a huge disappointment and the stock continues to get worse this week. I'm glad I'm not one who bought any of it. First General Motors announced a few days before the launch that they're pulling all their Facebook advertising, $10 million worth, because it hasn't delivered effective results. Then a study comes out that says nearly half of Facebook users never click on ads. This survey was conducted by advertising agency Greenlight which found that 44% of Facebook users “never,” or will ever, click on ads or sponsored posts while using the social media site.

However, General Motors is not walking away from Facebook by any means. They stated that Facebook is still a very important part of their marketing strategy and they will continue to focus on creating engaging content on their page and to solicit feedback from their fans. So this says that content is still king and always has been, no mater what the medium. Running promotions on your Facebook page and offering your fans chances to win prizes and receive special discounts and offers is still one of the top reasons that users visit and Like a Facebook page. Those users that engage on a page by entering a sweepstakes or contest and then share that activity with their friends is the type of social media advertising that is working.

Fans of Rail Europe can come back to the page every day, play the game and enter for a chance to win. They can also find out the answer to the previous day's question and whether they guessed correctly. It's fun and at the same time a great way to educate users on the many diverse areas of France. I've been randomly drawing a winner a day and have noticed that there are many repeat players. A person can play every day, but only win once.

Another great thing about this promotion is that we were able to get it up and running very quickly. I have been using a Facebook application called Shortstack which has many different tools and widgets that you can use to put together a program such as this without the need for building a custom app. It did take some time on my part since I had to set up 31 different days that link to 31 different databases. But I was able to do it and I'm not a developer. I did, however, get some help from one of the Shortstack developers who added a line of Java script code that enables a hotspot in the image to automatically open up each correct daily form.

The Facebook page Insights show a significant increase in reach since this promotion was launched and it appears that many of the visits have been paid, therefore the ads are working. The number of new Likes jumped dramatically on the first and second day of the promotion, double what the previous week was showing. Since then it's averaging about 50% more likes each day. So we'll see if this continues.

So please check out the promotion here and let me know what you think. Would something similar to this be a good fit for your Facebook brand page?

Here's today's photo and devinette question. Do you know the answer?

A hunting lodge built for the first Francois, it’s the largest chateau in the Valley Loire. Where am I?

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Just when you get a handle on Facebook, it changes the next day, right? You update your page and your banner photo and the next thing you know, it’s changing again. Now with the recent implementation of Timeline, are you making the most of your time on this social media platform and is it working for your business the way you hoped it would? There are many steps you can take to enhance the time you spend on Facebook.

Here are five steps you can take to make your business more visible on Facebook:

1. Did you know that Facebook has its own ranking system? It’s called Edgerank and it measures the information that you will see in your newsfeed. The more relevant and the more frequently you post, the higher your Edgerank and the more loved you will be by Facebook and the more frequently you will appear in the newsfeeds of your followers.
2. Are you cultivating active fans or are they lurking about? If you have 200 active fans you’re better off than if you have 2,000 lurkers. Many people may follow your newsfeed but never comment and they aren’t helping your rankings or making your newsfeeds show up in the active list.
3. Do you use Facebook ads? You can set the amount you want to spend but it can’t hurt to try them and see how they will work for your business. A Facebook ad will help you promote your goods or services. Feature your posts and ads based on the demographics that you choose.
4. Do you have a Facebook strategy? If you’re simply popping in with no “good” reason, your content won’t be seen. You need to keep your followers engaged and build conversation. Ask questions, solicit comments, build fans as well as followers!
5. Follow the “rule of three” every day. Post three status updates, follow three new people and comment on three updates posted by your followers.

Making Facebook an integrated part of your overall marketing strategy will amp up your visibility, gain you more quality followers and above all, make you stand out from the crowd as an expert in your particular specialty. All of these steps will eventually lead to more sales, and that’s what it’s all about, right? 

By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter  

Choosing to operate from abundance not scarcity. Once you make the decision, all other choices flow from that foundation.  And, I'm not talking about how to make more money.   

You don't have to pay a life coach. You don't have to buy books. You don't have to attend seminars.  You don't have to sign up for webinars. You don't have to research "how" to practice abundance.  

You don't even have to talk about it with others. 

You can keep it very, very simple. You choose to operate from a perspective of abundance (or, as some people say, to practice abundance.)   

The choice is a matter of deciding, in a flash of a synapse.  Sure, you'll have your bad days, 3 a.m. fear attacks, and selfish thoughts. I certainly do.  But I always come back around to abundance. It makes me far happier and works far better than anger, distrust, and fear. Some days it's more of a struggle than others.  My mother, unfortunately, operates from scarcity, and always has, even before her move into assisted living. So, I get a daily chance to reaffirm my choice of abundance (and - I admit - some days I walk all the way home fuming...deep, cleansing breaths, Mary...)

As for mo' money - I could use it. I don't obsess about it. I've long said, "It's only money. I'll make more."  And - as my friend Janet notes - "We have money, Mary.  We just don't know where it is."  

Scarcity of spirit is too depressing. Simply choose abundance. 

P.S. Simple isn't always the same as easy, is it?  

Read more: Abundance Vs. Scarcity

by Yvonne DiVita

From satire magazine, Free Wood Post, this ditty on the wife of a certain Republican candidate. While a 'spoof'... it's actually believable. And sad because while she may not have said it, I know women who would applaud this heartily.

Why Should Women Be Paid Equal to Men?

At a meeting with the “Moms For Mitt” group yesterday outside Philadelphia, PA, Ann Romney was asked her opinion on Lilly Ledbetter and equal pay for equal work regarding women’s employment. Without hesitation she responded with another question that seemed to shock even the most staunch conservatives in the room.

“Why should women be paid equal to men? Men have been in the working world a lot longer and deserve to be paid at a higher rate. Heck, I’m a working mom and I’m not paid a dime. I depend on my husband to provide for me and my family, as should most women… and if a woman does work, she should be happy just to be out there in the working world and quit complaining that she’s not making as much as her male counterparts. I mean really, all this wanting to be equal nonsense is going to be detrimental to the future of women everywhere. Who’s going to want to hire a woman, or for that matter, even marry a woman who thinks she is the same, if not better than a man at any job. It’s almost laughable. C’mon now ladies, are you with me on this?” 

Well done, Sarah Wood.<author of the story> 

I laughed out loud. Hope you do, too.