Based in Mandan, North Dakota, the law firm specializes in a broad range of personal, business, and governmental law. They wanted a basic website that, in addition to a revamped image, provided clients and potential clients with an introduction to the attorneys, staff, and their areas of legal expertise.

An updated look with fresh photos is just what was needed.

A good site is a visual site, so we hired a local photographer to shoot new shots of the building, as well as new head shots of the attorneys and staff. Giving website visitors professional quality images to base their initial understanding of the firm, as well as what to expect on a visit, is a necessary way of providing trust.

With this new website, Kelsch Law Firm is able to manage and maintain their own content using our customized TodayCMS content management system.

The end result?

A professional online image that is fully updated with content that is easily managed.

The Facebook Pages Manager app is now available for iPhones.

Facebook Pages Manager joins the main Facebook app, and the Facebook Messenger app, as a complete set of tools to manage your Facebook presence with your iPhone or iPod. iPhone/iPod only, though, since the new app isn’t available for the iPad or Android devices yet.

Filtering options are available in the new app.

The Facebook Pages Manager app does exactly as it sounds: it helps you manage up to 50 Facebook Pages you’re the admin on. You can filter what you see to keep things simple.

Track your Facebook Page Insights easily on the go.

The new app has a matching look and feel of the standard Facebook app, and so using it shouldn’t be a challenge for regular Facebook users. It features navigation on the sidebar, and the app will let you perform a number of tasks via your phone. You can post updates and photos, of course, but you are also able to receive notifications of any new activity on your page. The app makes responding to comments and fan activity simple. The app also gives you access to page Insights. Currently, there is no ability to manage messages in the app.

The Facebook Pages Manager app make page management possible on the go.

If you’re an iPhone or iPod owner and you’ve been looking for a way to manage your Facebook Page(s), this latest offering from Facebook makes it possible. Expect updates in the future, including (hopefully) access to messages.

Taking notes might be as easy as choosing a pen or as complicated as choosing the right app.

Taking notes is a skill not only for students. We all make notes in life, for personal or for work reasons, and some of us are just a bit better at it than others.

All Notes Included

There are three considerations for taking notes, whether on paper or a computer, which helps us determine how we will take notes.

1. Where They’re Taken. Do you take business notes in one notebook or app, and make personal notes in another? Or do you lump them all together? No one way is best. Just find a way to make your personal preference work. If you’re losing your notes and don’t know where to find what you wrote, your system isn’t working.
2. What Kind Of Note. There are the notes a student takes in class, the notes we take at a business meeting, and the notes we make to ourselves. Students need to use their notes to study from and retain lots of information. The same can be said for business notes to some extent, but business notes often translate into tasks or “to do” items that we need to complete later in our office. The notes we make to ourselves are a bit of a different animal; they could be anything from creative brainstorming to outlining the things we need to accomplish in the coming week.
3. What Happens Next. Do you need to just pull the information off and add it to a task list before throwing the original notes away? Do you need to keep the notes organized for continued reference? What you intend to do with your notes affects the permanence and quality of how you take them.

Tip: Whatever system you use, be sure to put a date on the page every time you start writing. It’s helpful to know later on no matter what kind of notes you’re dealing with, and you won’t regret it.

Taking Notes On Paper

Yes, there are still a few of us paperphiles out there, those of us who enjoy pen on paper and don’t always use a laptop or tablet as our first choice in note-taking. We never have to look for an outlet or WiFi connection, but we do have to write fast and plan ahead. There’s no “undo” and going back to add space on an already-filled page. Using three basic ideas that we can fit into our own note-taking system will help organize the page and compete with the guy on the laptop next to us.

1. The Margin Call. Using the margin of your notepad, or creating one, allows you to notate your notes. It allows you to go back and add something when there’s no room in the main body of the notes. We can keep the main body of our notes clean while using the margin to note extra information, or call attention to an action item. The margin is also a great place for doodling for those that are honest and admit it.
2. The Home-brew Shorthand. Most of us don’t actually know shorthand, but we do come up with our own versions of it whether we’re aware or not. For example, using “w/o” for “without” or “b/c” for “because” saves a decent bit of writing time. If we’re writing with pen and paper, shorthand is going to be our best friend.
3. The Hieroglyphic Hierarchy. Traditional outlines work. The hierarchy they provide are ideal in notes. Many of you, like myself, may have come up with a second or third cousin of an outline, however, using dashes, arrows, colons and other markings and indentations. Creating a hierarchy while taking notes makes much less work later, when we have to use the notes.

Tip: Write down key thoughts and supporting content or actions, and avoid discussions that spiral down the rabbit hole. In a meeting or class, for example, a good speaker has organized his or her own teaching notes as an outline, and so it is easy to logically write them down. If this isn’t the case, or isn’t possible, write down the important concept, and leave space on your paper if you feel like that topic might be revisited because the conversation had gotten sidetracked.

Taking Notes Digitally

The general ideas of note-taking are still in play (particularly hierarchy) when taking notes digitally. The difference is that it’s not a matter of choosing which notebook and pen we want to use, but which piece of software or app we want to use. Digital notes have the benefit of allowing us to go back in and clean up the file after the fact, which we can’t do on paper.

Before choosing what we’ll use for our notes, we should determine what we need.

1. Collaboration-based. Do you need to share the notes with others? Are these notes for a group? Are you acting as the official note-taker, or do others need to see what went on in a meeting they couldn’t attend?
2. Cloud-based. Do you need your notes to be stored in the cloud so that you can access them from multiple locations, platforms, and devices? Are you going to want the ability to add notes at random whenever the pop into your head?
3. Project-based. Do you need to store multiple notes under the umbrella of one project? You’ll need something that provides a way to organize your notes.

There are many dedicated note-taking systems, each with their own benefits.

• Evernote, for example, provides a webapp, a desktop app, and a mobile app. We can type notes whether we’re online or offline, and they’ll be synced to our account the next time we’re online. It also allows for collaboration and the ability to create notebooks (projects) with notes underneath. However, some users find the interface a bit clunky.
• Springpad recently went through a major overhaul, and is what you’d get if you married Evernote to Pinterest. It has both a webapp and a mobile app, but no desktop app, meaning no offline use. Collaboration and the ability to create notebooks is one of many robust features.
• MS OneNote has evolved from its original connection to MS Office, and now has an app for the iPhone and Windows phone (no Android app) as well as a webapp. If feels much like using word processing software. Collaboration and sharing is possible.
• Word processing software or using something like Google Docs, is, of course, always an option too.

Tip: The same note-taking concepts apply (important facts only) but with a digital system, you have the ability to go back and delete, insert, and adjust space. It’s also easier to type faster than writing, and therefore, take more extensive notes. Be careful. More notes aren’t better. Don’t give yourself more to sift through and cleanup later. Stick to the important stuff only.

The Musts:

• Mastery of PHP. In fact, it would be great if you were a PHP kung-foo master.
• Experience with object oriented programing languages, especially JavaScript/jQuery.
• Experience with web MVC frameworks.
• Experience with HTML5 and CSS3.
• Some experience with WordPress.
• You’re willing to learn something new. Every day.

The That’d Be Greats:

• You can spell, say, and program in Node.js.
• You respond to the nickname “JSON Junkie.”
• Even your mom calls you a data nerd.
• You know that a Mongo isn’t a food.
• You’re not afraid of the command line. Prompt is your friend.

We live and breath by the do what you love, love what you do philosophy. We do everything we can to create this type of environment.

A few of the things that we believe:

• We believe that jobs are for suckers. We don’t offer jobs, we offer wide-open opportunities for you to enhance your skills and to make the state of Internet marketing better.
• We believe in “guidelines” far more than actual rules.
• We believe in ‘A players’ – those that play for keeps. We want smart, motivated, self starters that have a passion for what they do and the guts to take dreams and make them realities.
• We don’t believe in things like sick-leave and vacation time. We’re flexible. As long as the work is getting done, we’re happy and so are you. We believe that flexible environments encourage killer output.
• We believe in creating a community-driven, social, environment with plenty of room for new ideas and creative thinking.
• We believe in empowering those who work with us, and for us, with the tools and freedom they need to explore their own passions. Have ideas? Think like an entrepreneur? Todaymade is a place where individuality is encouraged and required.
• We believe that there is no certain way to do anything. New ideas and optimized workflows are daily realities here.
• We believe that you can’t stop learning. Our benefits include Audible accounts, free Kindle books, training budgets, and group development exercises that keep us all on point.

And finally..

• We don’t believe in resumes, so please don’t send us one. (LinkedIn profiles are allowed)

There is always time to create, even if we have to make time.

The same is true for creativity. Creativity is about making things, and this includes making time for it.

Make Your Space

Having a space reserved for being creative is necessary. Boundaries are both physical and psychological.

Setting aside an actual physical space trains us to learn when it is time to work and when it isn’t.

Writers, for example, might want to avoid dragging their laptop onto the couch and writing in front of the TV. Have an office or room dedicated to writing, leave the laptop there, and only do writing on the laptop in that room. Make the creative space sacred. When we’re in it, we know what we are there to do. We can relax in front of the TV, and concentrate on working whenever we’re at the laptop.

Set up boundaries and free up creative space.

Make Road Maps

Map out your creative process, and determine a destination if there is a project to complete. Mapping means we determine what time of day, or in what setting, we are most creative. Perhaps we get lots of ideas during exercise, and a good time to set aside time for being creative would be right after it.

Then, decide if the creative time is project-focused or just an exercise.

For a project, even if there is no set or looming deadline, it’s important that we make one. Without a deadline, we’ll find it easy to shove the project down the list and it will never get done until the last minute.

If we are not working on a specific project, but are instead using the time for creative exercise, set aside the idea of a destination, and just enjoy the journey instead. Let creativity take us wherever it wants, and just be creative for fun. In this case, it’s not about a final product that anyone will see, so we can free ourselves up from the need for achieving final-product perfection.

Make A Monastery

While we can’t going into seclusion like a monk at a monastery, we can do what we can to cut out distraction. This is where having a dedicated space is helpful.

Shut doors, turn off phones, do not disturb signs, alert your co-workers that you can’t take any meetings. Get our coffee ahead of time so we don’t have an excuse to stop in the middle of our work. We’re scheduling, remember, so there will be an end time. It might only be a half an hour, but we can know that for that half hour, no one will interrupt us.

Included in this is a ban on other interruptions, like…email. Facebook. Checking CNN. Anything but the act of creating is off-limits. The challenge is when the creating requires online research, for example. Refrain from clicking on links and going down the Internet rabbit hole!

We’ve gotten used to interruptions, and maybe even enjoy how they give us an excuse to avoid working. Start with a small block of time and see how well it goes. Start with 15 minutes. Then a half hour. Get used to a block of time that we dedicate to one thing only.

Very few people actually schedule time to think, create, and invent. But those that do are the ones that make history.
– Fast Company

The Importance Of Disciplining Your Creativity

We often think that discipline kills creativity. It hampers our ability to brainstorm and go off on creative tangents, we think, or we feel our work is best when that impulsive creative wave hits us.

No one disputes those moments of true inspiration when it seems like we can barely keep up with the great ideas that are flowing out of us, but those moments are less frequent than we realize. They are also susceptible to our emotions, our moods, and our situations in life. And, they are usually just the foundation of a great idea. That inspiration will hit a wall at some point. Without discipline, we won’t work past it. The person putting his entire creative life at the mercy of a whim won’t create or finish much at all.

Discipline breeds skill. Discipline clears the clutter that collects in our mind. Discipline forces us to flex our creative muscles. Discipline demands us to be creative in non-creative times, making our creativity all the better. If we can create during writer’s block while staring at a white wall with a looming deadline, we are truly in control of our creative abilities. Whims need not apply.

Take time today to schedule even just a small block of time dedicated to being creative. Whether it’s writing, drawing, or simple idea-generating — devote it entirely to creating. Don’t do anything else. See what great ideas are discovered.

Great blogs don't happen overnight.

Blogging is like a pair of jeans right out of the dryer — we gotta wear them for a while first. There are, however, a few things we can do today to make our current blog a notch better.

Be A Reader

Readers and writers go hand in hand. Writers are readers, or their writing will suffer in every way, from style of writing to freshness of ideas.

There are many rules of good writing, but the best way to find them is to be a good reader.
– Stephen Ambrose

Being a great blogger means we’re also a great blog reader. Reading other blogs means we may find ourselves commenting on them. This is how other blog readers find our blog. This is how we offer ourselves as an expert on a topic outside of our own blog walls.

Take Action: Find three new blogs to read today, with at least one being outside of your industry or usual reading comfort zone. Add them to your RSS reader if necessary. Read them for at least a week. Respond to a post on each at least once.

Be A Magazine Magnate

Our blog is a lot of things. It’s a blog, it’s a link, it’s a feed, it’s a magazine, it’s…Supercontent!

We can’t all be Conde Nast, but with Flipboard (for iPad) and Google Currents (for Android and iPad), our blog can become a digital magazine. Google Currents, in particular, opens the door and makes it easy for everyone to become a magazine publisher.

When we realize how many different ways readers can find and read our content, it should get us to step up our game a bit. Every post is our best post. Every post has images. Every post is stand-alone, meaning we don’t rely on our blog’s sidebar to help our readers find us online or on social networks. Instead of constantly fussing with a blog’s template, make the actual content super-strong. Our readers might never come to our actual blog; they might be reading it elsewhere.

Take Action: Find a new outlet for your blog content. Whether it’s through a feed, a digital magazine format, a mobile app — find a new way to serve it up. Note how it changes the way you think about the content you create.

Be A Sub Captain

Huge ambiguous goals are white whales. They are impossible to master.

"That goal is too big to handle, Captain!"

Let’s say our goal for our blog is to get more readers. That’s a huge goal. A big goal like “get more readers” doesn’t provide us with an obvious plan, so it makes achieving the goal pretty tough. What if we considered some sub-goals? Can we break down the holy grail of “more readers!” into some approachable steps in order to reach that ultimate goal?

We need sub-goals. We need to be sub-captains and take control of the small goals to master the bigger goal.

Let’s use our example, and ask ourselves how we’ll get more readers? The answers to that question become the smaller goals we focus on. Perhaps it would include beefing up our social media activity, or being more responsive to our current blog readers. It might be creating a better mix of content. Find these sub-goals. Work on them first. The big goal will follow.

Take Action: Write down one big goal for your blog. Write down 10 questions that relate to achieving that big goal. From those questions, come up with three smaller goals that are manageable, and will ultimately make the big goal a reality.

Be A Gracious Host

Like guests? Why not consider guest bloggers? Carefully chosen guest bloggers bring three things:

1. A fresh voice our readers haven’t heard.
2. Their own fans and readers.
3. A surprising view on how someone else sees our blog and what content they believe should be found there.

It’s great to be a guest blogger ourselves (that certainly brings traffic to our own site and street cred to our blogging abilities), but for our blog — it’s own “entity” and the subject of our discussion — how much better to be seen as the host? Our blog becomes the place writers want to be seen writing.

Mankind is divisible into two great classes: hosts and guests.
– Sir Max Beerbohm

Keep in mind that guests like to visit places that make them feel welcome and safe. Guest bloggers know that where they write reflects on their reputation as a blogger, so be honest about whether our blog is ready to offer that. And, of course, personal blogs might be better off without guest bloggers. We have to decide what we want to do.

Take Action: Determine what kind of content your blog is lacking. Create a guest-blogger policy that is clear and concise. Find guest bloggers, based on these two things, and invite them to participate. Consider new bloggers who are eager for exposure and who show great promise in their writing.

Be A Headliner

Forget about getting our name in the headlines. Let’s get our blog’s content up in headlines. Good ones.

With our blog being read on all kinds of platforms, the headlines for each post have never been so important. From feed readers to mobile-ready apps, the headlines we use for our blog posts might be the first (and only) thing our reader has to go by when they decide if they want to read or not. They might not see our pretty photos right away, or be impressed by our slick blog template. When it comes to content, the headline carries the weight of getting people to read.

Headlines should be direct, and not trying to trick people or be so clever as to be obscure. Their job is to tell people what they are about to read. People don’t like wasting time and don’t like to be made the fool of. They’ll only fall for it once. This doesn’t mean that there is no place for a clever headline or play on words; we just have to be sure we’re not lying or leading our reader on. Headlines that ask questions or specifically state an action the reader can expect to make are also great ways to hook readers. Some of the best headline advice can be found here.

Headlines are what bring our readers in. Perhaps this will be part of our “get more readers” sub-goals: improving our headlines.

Take Action: Brainstorm a list of headlines that would make you stop and read. Don’t worry about whether they seem ridiculous or even applicable to your blog. From that list, choose ten that you could use. Write those posts.

We’ve already covered Facebook’s many offerings on our blog, scratching the surface of some of the amazing tools available to us. Are we ready to dig beneath that surface and build a comprehensive Facebook marketing plan? Are we wanting to know more than just how Facebook functions, and instead learn the optimal way to use those tools?

This free course will tell you everything you need to know about the Facebook Timeline for marketing.

Todaymade is proud to make available our exclusive 13-part series on The Complete Guide To The Facebook Timeline For Marketing. In this free online course, we’ll be covering the basics of getting started and using Facebook all the way up to the advanced features that we can easily use to increase our brand’s presence in the eyes of our customers. From ways to get more fans to our Facebook page to how to best engage those fans, this online course covers it all.

Some of things that you will learn are:

• The importance of your real homepage, the News Feed
• 10 ways to get more fans to your page
• Using exclusivity to improve your Facebook following
• Seamlessly connecting your website and Facebook page together
• The basics of using Facebook’s Insights
• And much, much more!

Are you ready to get started? Head on over here and sign up!

The Homestead Act is alive and well on the Internet. Stake your claim!

The land was wide, open space, and the possibilities were endless. It was almost daunting, settling and starting brand new.

The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged settlers to start a farm by freely giving them the land. The settlers could have the land provided they did three things: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. That wide, open space was theirs for the taking if they wanted to stake their claim and fence it in.

The Internet is the new wide, open space, the possibilities still endless. Any businesses who don’t stake their claim are going to be run over the by the wagon trains of consumers heading online.

The Barbed Wire Of Feedback

Feedback can be positive and negative. Positive feedback is easy to deal with, but negative feedback puts fear in a business owner’s heart.

Feedback from customers is found in a lot of places, not just our website’s online help section. People are less likely to go through the trouble of voicing a complaint through the channels we set up, but instead turn to a favorite or convenient social media tool. With the explosive use of smartphones, customers are hopping onto their favorite app and telling the world what they think about our business.

It’s bad enough when we know about it, but not knowing about it and failing to identify a problem or quell a tide of disgruntled customers leaves us at the mercy of their barbed comments. If we don’t know where feedback is found, we won’t know what’s being said.

Having said all of that, we want feedback, negative or positive. It gives us a chance to find out what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong, and to show our customers how great we are about caring what they think and responding to them.

Stake Your Claim

If we own a business, we need to hop on the wagon train and stake our claim on the location-based social networks.

Most businesses set up an account on Twitter and Facebook, and, if they’re wise, use them more for just blasting out marketing information. They also use those networks to pay attention to feedback and respond to it. However, location-based social networking is where a lot of customers go to leave reviews and many businesses aren’t paying attention there.

For example, the visitor in town stops by our restaurant, and has a negative experience. She probably will leave a review, using her smartphone, but since it’s a review and not really a direct complaint, she’s not going to use Twitter or Facebook. She’ll use something better suited to what she wants to do. If we haven’t claimed our business on that social network, we’ll never know what she said, and we’ll never be able to respond.

Yelp

Yelp is a free online city guide that helps its users find places to eat, shop, drink, relax, and play. It provides recommendations based on the user’s location and opinions. Yelp is known for an active user-review base.

Yelp isn't all rants. People really do use it to share positive experiences, too.

Claim your Yelp listing here. You can also sign up for a free business account here.

Google Places

Google, being a huge provider of search and other content, makes a convincing argument for claiming our business on Google Places. Google Places provides many features that a business will want to benefit from. It improves our exposure from search traffic, provides a map with directions to customers, allows us to add photos of our business, and include relevant information about our business.

And, importantly, it allows people to leave feedback. While we can’t control what people are saying, and we can’t delete it (read what Google has to say about that here), we can at least be aware of it.  If we’ve claimed our place, we can also respond to it.

Find out how to claim your Google Place here.

Foursquare

Foursquare is another very popular location-based social network. It allows users to check in and receive badges based on their check-ins. It encourages photographs and repeat visits. This service has expanded beyond the original check-in aspect, now offering deeper local search and things like restaurant menus and reviews. Foursquare makes it easy for users to check-in and be active, so we don’t want to miss out on claiming our business on Foursquare. Plus, we can promote the fact that we are a Foursquare check-in site and use that to our advantage, too.

You can claim your Foursquare venue here.

Bust Sod, Not Heads

Being a homesteader means we break new ground, not heads. When we respond to negative feedback on these location-based social networks, we want to do it right.

Encourage Positive Reviews

Encourage your customers to leave positive reviews. Reviews are averaged, and while a negative review is tough to read, having more positive reviews will outweigh the negative. However, don’t bribe, or offer anything that might be construed as “payment” for a positive review. If your business is doing a good job and you have happy customers, encourage them to share that online. Make it easy for them on your website or email newsletter, guiding them on how they can go about it. Use the incentives options many of these location-based networks offer business owners. Helping your customers save money with a coupon or other deal when they check-in isn’t going to spur negative feelings for your business.

Respond Professionally

When faced with a negative review, respond professionally. Don’t be defensive, don’t look to start a flame war online. Your response can turn the tide, change opinions, and serve as a stronger presence than a negative review if done right. Apologize, and stress that you care about your customer’s experience and that you’re trying to make it better. If this is a bit much to choke down, wait a day after the initial reading of the review before responding so you get your immediate reaction out of your system. While we say it’s business, and not personal, some reviews can be tough to take. That’s OK.

Flag The Inappropriate

There are people who are abusing the review system. Maybe a competitor has employees leaving negative reviews, or you feel someone is somehow gaming the system. Flag the review, and let the social network handle it in whatever way and timeframe they choose to. That’s all you can do. By no means should you participate in like behavior.

The Three Homestead Requirements

Just like the original homesteaders of the 1800′s had three requirements, businesses today have three requirements when it comes to the Internet:

1. Find The Feedback
2. Claim Our Listing
3. Respond

It’s not enough to just open our doors anymore. Our customers have a voice beyond our customer service counter. They’re tearing across the Internet landscape. Stake your claim and be ready for them.

Why would you want to do this?

Besides the easy quick-access from your homescreen and time saved avoiding the browser, TodayCMS will look and feel like a native app. It will load without navigation bars, giving you more screen real-estate. It’s ready when you are, and it remembers your login.

Setting Up An Icon On An iPhone

On your browser app, navigate to launch.todaymade.com, and enter your username and password. It is important to enter your username and password before moving on to the following steps.

Navigate to launch.todaymade.com, and enter your login information.

The first screen you’ll see upon logging in is the stats screen. Click the send button on the bottom toolbar.

Click the send button once you're logged in.

This will bring up a screen with a menu of options. Click on the ‘Add To Home Screen’ button.

Select the 'Add To Home Screen' button.

The next screen will allow you to name the icon. You can customize it as you wish to something that works best for you. Click ‘Add’ when you have finished naming the icon.

Choose a name for the icon that will appear on your home screen.

The icon will automatically be added to your home screen.

The icon will automatically appear on your home scren.

Setting Up An Icon On An Android Phone

1. On your Android mobile device, open your browser app and navigate to launch.todaymade.com. Enter your username and password.
2. Once logged in, the first screen you’ll see is the stats page. Using the ‘Menu’ button on your phone, select ‘Add Bookmark.’
3. Give the bookmark a name, and then select ‘Add.’
4. Return to your home screen, and select the ‘+’ button. You have the option to add a Widget, App, Shortcut, or Folder.
5. Select ‘Shortcut’. On the next screen, select ‘Bookmark.’
6. Find the bookmark you just made, and select it.
7. The icon will appear on your home screen.

In one section of the book, Shenk noted that with the use of computers, our geography of learning has become singular. That is, we read, learn, write, communicate, buy, and sell all from the same geographic place: in front of our computer. He was concerned about how well we would retain information, since our memory and retention of information is often tied to the place and situation in which it was learned. By limiting where and how we learn (in front of a computer, reading/watching a screen), we have the potential to lessen our ability to retain information.

The same can be said for the geography of writing. Where we write has an impact on what we write in three key ways.

Writers need to consider not only what they write, but where they write.

Multi-tasking Is An Idea Sieve

We mostly write on a computer. While it might not seem different than sitting at a desk and writing on paper, or typing on a typewriter, there is a key difference: Our computers are connected to the Internet.

While blissfully able to do research right where we sit as we write, we are also able to “multi-task”, distracting ourselves with Facebook or email or the rabbit hole that is the Internet as we click and lose ourselves in web pages. Writers need to write. We don’t need any encouragement to be distracted and not write. Multi-tasking is a skeptical achievement at best, but for a writer, it can be deadly. It aids and abets idea loss, and idea distraction.

Multi-tasking is not the same as brainstorming or research; that is something we specifically sit down to do. When it comes time to write, our research and idea gathering should be done and ready to serve the larger purpose of writing. We should be ready to go. Don’t let our place of writing get in the way of writing.

 Finding Our Niche, And Then Never Leaving It

Shenk believed that an information society wouldn’t necessarily bring about broader information gathering or an expansion of ideas, but would make nichification easier. That is, it would make the gathering of the kind of information we were already drawn to that much simpler, overriding most people’s desire to leap into something new.

Should a marketing blog be only about marketing?

Maybe. But, from a writer’s perspective (and probably a grateful reader, too), a marketing blog that includes topics not commonly thought to be associated with marketing has more value. Branching out and extending our learning and writing of content from beyond our tightly fenced niche means we avoid recessive inward-looking writing. Be aware that self-limiting niche writing can quickly lead to dried-up ideas and writer’s block.

Getting Inspiration From A Place

Where we write influences what we write. If we only write on a keyboard in an office while staring at a wall, our writing actually reflects that in subtle ways. It might show up in the broad topics we choose, or the words and descriptions we write. Our surroundings become like background noise, rarely offering new inspiration. The outside doesn’t influence, because we aren’t even aware of it.

How do you let what’s around you influence your writing? Does locality have any effect on your writing?

Let’s say we write a blog for businesses, and we are about to write on customer service. We could research examples online and rehash facts and other opinions. But why not go to a local coffee shop during a busy time, get our notebook or laptop out, and just observe what happens? Why not use actual observation of customer service in action to come up with ideas for our blog post on customer service?

Author Lawrence Durrell said writers can tap into the “spirit of place.” While we can’t always get away from our desk or computer, keeping a notebook handy to jot down observations or ideas when we’re out and about helps tap into that “spirit of place” and we are able to bring it back to our writing later.

Escaping Data Smog And Getting A Breath Of Fresh Air

How do we successfully address data smog when it comes to our writing?

1. Consider where we write. We shouldn’t always write in the same place. While we might not be able to drag our computer everywhere, we can use a tablet, laptop, or notebook and pen in other physical locations and do some writing or idea generating or outlining. New environment, new inspiration. It kicks our imagination in gear because the stimuli, and ensuing memory of the moment, will be different.
2. Consider writer’s block. Writer’s block has a distinct connection to the geography of place. One of the solutions we previously discussed was to change the place we write. It works.
3. Consider your part. Write clearly and succinctly, keeping in mind that we don’t want to contribute to data smog. Cut the fat. It makes for better writing, and hit helps readers from being overwhelmed.

It isn’t just “creative” or fiction writers that should consider the importance of the geography of writing. Businesses and bloggers can benefit no matter what kind of content they are intending to generate. All writing is creating, and our creative mind works in amazing ways, picking up cues from everything. By limiting where we write, we limit what we write.

Nice and clean. It's how it was meant to be.

Awhile back, Julie talked about how to effectively use Gmail as a project management tool. A piece of great advice for a great tool, but what if your inbox is completely beyond repair? After years of reliance on Google’s wide open pastures of email storage and search-to-find, it was time for me to come to grips with my overwhelmed inbox. It was time to go inbox zero.

The Problem

The first step for making any needed change is to recognize the problem. I have always been one to email myself reminders and various to-dos. “Schedule this” or “clean out the gutters” were not uncommon messages in my inbox. Mixed in with business emails were reminders and errands; it was overwhelmingly unrelated and I wasn’t dealing with any of it. I had developed more than a few bad habits.

• Inbox clutter. I was turning things that weren’t email into email and cluttering up my inbox. Notes, ideas, and various to-dos that were much better destined for something like Evernote, or Google Docs.
• Search is not an excuse. Gmail has great search abilities. It just works, almost to a fault. My reliance on it was heavy, but it was also slowing me down. Every great search brought up multiple hits, requiring me to sift through them to find what I needed. Every important email should have its place and the unnecessary emails should be removed from consideration entirely.
• Everything has a purpose. Plain and simple, I was using the inbox like a storage unit. Things came in, but that is where they stayed. Good management requires that you make a decision on each email. Every email should be told what to do, and made to obey.
• Too much babbling. I was allowing too much noise to be allowed in as email. Email newsletters (irony), notes to self, and social media notifications were ruling my life. I needed balance, and the concept of less is more definitely applied.

It was important for me to realize that I wasn’t using my inbox optimally. The inbox is just that – a box for things that have just come in. It is where things go before they are sorted to their ultimate destination. An inbox is for sorting, not storing. I have always been someone who uses filters and appreciates the nifty tools, but found them less effective since I left so much in the inbox to rot.

The New Rules

If I was going to make the move to inbox zero, I needed to set up better habits in order to keep this problem from happening all over again in the future. My Gmail needed some new rules, and here’s what I came up with:

1. Deal with it. Everything in the Inbox must be dealt with. I will delete it, archive it, reply to it, or delegate it to another list or program like Basecamp. No matter what, something must happen.
2. Label it. Everything needs a label. Everything. Labeling a few things here and there doesn’t work. All things get a label, and it must become a habit. In inbox arm wrestling, habits win. Make sure they are good habits.
3. Labels are big buckets. One of the reasons that I had failed to use labels consistently was because my labels were too specific. Twenty very specific labels will quickly grow to 30, 40, and on. I committed to no more than 10 labels.
4. Unsubscribe it. Email newsletters are fine, and there are many that I read regularly, but there are others that just don’t belong. I don’t read them, but I somehow tolerate the daily task of throwing them in the trash. Not any more. Unsubscribe.
5. Zero it. At the end of the day, the Inbox needs to be zero. If something isn’t done it should be delegated to a to-do or task list of some kind. Sitting around in the inbox is not ok.
6. Use stars, but temporarily. Looking back, I had starred emails that were five years old. It’s doubtful that any of them were still important after all that time. Stars help remind me to deal with something that needs attention. Once it’s done, remove the star.

The Atomic eBomb

If good inbox habits haven’t been in place, there will be a lot of backlogged emails to deal with. For me, the right solution was to select all, click ‘archive’, and call it a day. I needed to start from a clean slate if I was going to start at all. This wasn’t my first trip down inbox-zero lane, but it was my first time in Gmail. I don’t know what it is about Gmail, but there is just something about that never-full search-heavy inbox that encourages users to let things get messy.

Life is better at inbox zero.

The inbox is an inbox again, made for sorting and delegating and not for storing. T0-do-list apps like Flow or Teux Deux acquire email subject lines that need to become tasks, and Basecamp acquires attachements and notes that matter to ongoing projects. Everything else gets a final decision – deleted, archived, or unsubscribed.

So, the deed is done, and the inbox is clean. A big thanks to Julie for the motivation to do the right thing. My inbox is under control – is yours?

With closer investigation, it is easy to see why Pinterest has added such a unique perspective to the greater social landscape. Pinterest isn’t our average social network, and that’s exactly why it matters. Internet Marketing Inc., recently released an excellent info-graphic on the subject. Here are a few of the things that we learned from the graphic, and our own personal experience.

Get to know your Pinterest. This is important.

Female Strong

Did you know that 80% of Pinterst users are female ages 25-34?

It’s hard to believe that percentage, but this alone makes it a big deal. Pinterest is the only major social network with a majority female demographic. As of 2011, Facebook’s female demographic was somewhere around 48%. Not bad, of course, but far less than the plentiful 80% that Pinterest offers. Until Pinterest, most social activity was dominated by males – who notoriously make fewer buying decisions than women. Now, that matters!

Most Pinterest Users are from the midwest. Way to represent!

Midwest Appeal

Pinterest users are very likely to live in the Midwest. This is unusual. When it comes to online technology, the costal areas are usually first in line for adoption and use, but not anymore. The Midwest is no longer just fly-over country. It’s arrived, and it’s ready to pin.

Visual Focus

With Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, the message is usually text-based with links and images occasionally included. This isn’t the case with Pinterest. Users pin images, which are prominently display in a ‘pin-board’ style view. Images are the key ingredient, while text is very much secondary.

This not only makes Pinterest unique, but aslo vitally important for many brands to consider. The ability to post images will change the strategy of many social media managers. We need to think about our content in new, and more visual, ways. We need to make it easy for Pinterest users to want to share our brand’s images.

Pinterest is visual.

The visual nature of Pinterest is one of the reasons that retail brands have had so much success with Pinterest. With Pinterest, social media is more like window shopping and a bit less about building relationships. In our own office we have seen retail clients gain as much as a 70% spike in traffic and orders from Pinterest activity alone!

Pin It and Click It

One of the primary reasons to use social media is to gain traffic for your website. In the business, we call this the click-through rate. When it comes to the likelihood of someone clicking a link in our social media feed, Facebook is still king but Pinterest isn’t far behind. In our business, we have watched Pinterest become the next best source of referral traffic after the heavy hitting Google and Facebook.

Want traffic? Pinterst delivers.

The most important thing to note here is how Twitter has been left in the dust. Twitter makes big promises for website traffic, but even with 20 times the users of Pinterest – it fails to deliver. We can get just as much traffic from Pinterest’s 10 million users as we can from Twitter’s 200 million. For marketers, those are incredible numbers.

Weekends Matter

Just because our business stops on Friday, that doesn’t mean the Pinterest users do! Traffic to and from Pinterest is the highest on the weekends, which is very unusual and not at all characteristic of social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The short story for brands is: “yeah, we’re going to need to you go ahead and come in on Saturday.”

Mobile For The Win

One ongoing trend in social media is the growing use of mobile devices. It is no surprise that more and more users are visiting social networks on their phones and tablet devices. This trend applies to Pinterest as well. It is easy to browse and pin on the go. The big question is, how does our website handle the mobile traffic? Brands that care need to be mobile ready. It would be terrible to lose all the Pinterest traffic that will come to our website if our website isn’t ready for it.

Victory After Victory

A few other feathers for the Pinterest cap:

• Pinterest is retaining two to three times more engaged users as Twitter at a similar time in history
• American users of Pinterst spend an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes on the network. Compare this to an average 36 minutes for Twitter and a mere 6 minutes for Google+.

The scope of relevant social networks that can make a different in our business is growing. Google introduced the fastes growing social network in history just a few months ago. Pinterest is growing quickly, too, but the real success story is the new dynamic that it created.

Pinterest is a revolutionary social network with a different kind of dedicated user that brands and organizations should be a part of. Get busy, and get pinning.

It’s a word that has surrounded social media marketing for years. We all know what I’m talking about — those Internet marketing gurus who are maybe a bit extreme, perhaps a little too enthusiastic for close comfort. They seem almost rabid when it comes to Internet marketing, touting Facebook as the next biggest and best business revolution. And now, it seems, the online marketing world is totally obsessed with QR codes.

QR codes put the burden on the customer, and obscure where they lead to.

It’s All About Adoptability

The difference between a QR code and a traditional graphic or image is one of immediacy. It takes a lot of work to scan a QR code.

We have to dig that phone out of our pocket. We then need to scroll, swipe, and search to find our favorite QR code scanning app. Then, we have to steady our hands, wait for it, wait for it…code grabbed. Then we wait while our phone processes and hops on a network to access whatever it was the QR code directed it to. And for what? To open a web page?

Couldn’t we always do that?

QR codes may be popular in Japan and in niche groups, but they are still a long way from mainstream here. Consider a recent study that found nearly 8 out of 10 college students weren’t particularly interested in QR codes:

Archrival, a research group that focuses on youth marketing, surveyed 500 students at 24 colleges and universities across the United States. They found that although about 80% of students owned a smartphone and had previously seen a QR code, only about 20% were able to successfully scan the example QR code they were shown.

Furthermore, about 75% said they were unlikely to scan a QR code in the future.
– CNN.com

Why are people reluctant to scan QR codes?

They need an outside app for their smartphone. They don’t know where the QR code will take them and if it is even worth the time. Some businesses foolishly use a QR code to take users to a non-mobile friendly destination. And, sadly, there’s a security risk. Malware and phishing scams easily make use of QR codes.

There is a big difference between typing in a URL and scanning a bar code. Sure, it takes time to type in a URL. But we type in URLs all the time, knowing what page we want to end up on. Scanning barcodes on the other hand – it’s fun when we first get our smartphone, but after a while, do we really feel like pulling out our phone, locating an app, scanning a QR code, scanning it again if the app couldn’t grab it, and ending up on a website that’s not offering anything special?

It goes against all the “rules” of marketing. QR codes put the burden of work on the customer.

It’s All About The Marketer

Who wins with QR codes?

QR codes are the epitome of a marketer’s idea if there ever was one. It promises a quick fix — “People can get to your website really easily!” — and neglects a lot of foundational issues. QR codes are more a navigational tool than a marketing tool, and shouldn’t be sold to businesses as anything else.

What does the customer really get out of a QR code? They get a “quick” link to a new website, maybe, or a block of text. Perhaps this will be perfect for the iPhone 7 which is already rumored to be sans-keyboard (all part of the minimalist Apple design strategy, sigh), but for most users, it isn’t terribly necessary.

Not only this, but photo-recognition technology is already out there and quite mature. The Amazon.com App can already recognize a box of cereal, and zip you of to the right place. Google Goggles continues to improve. Near field communication is picking up steam. We’re already more advanced than the barcode. Why not move on?

Marketers who push this in a quick-sell method, and encourage businesses to use QR codes willy-nilly without stressing the importance of ensuring that the QR code must lead somewhere worthwhile, end up creating a kind of QR code resistance in the end user. Users learn, after one or two disappointing experiences, that QR codes lead to something with little value or interest at the end of all that work. They stop using QR codes, because they don’t end up being worth the effort.

Until the customer has made a habit of scanning codes to get to where they need to go for navigation, please put away your projector Mr. QR code over-hypist. It isn’t in the best interest of the people that we serve. Customers don’t use or think about QR codes, and aren’t going to start, particularly if the codes are used poorly by businesses focusing on hype instead of help. It isn’t part of our user’s go-to strategy for Internet navigation, and we can’t create that habit by training them that QR codes are dead-end marketing ploys.

QR codes have a lot of hype surrounding them.

The Quick Fix Is Broken

Here’s the real problem. Let’s call her Brenda. She runs a hair salon, and is interested in using social media to reach out to her customers. It all sounds great so far. How should she do this? She has no clue where to start, so she registers for the $99 seminar by the local social media guru. Also great, until…

…the guru spends 45 minutes touting the next big wave of social media engagement – QR codes. Brenda is pleased. These things seem like the future. All there is to this whole social marketing thing is a few QR codes here and there? Wonderful! Life is good again.

The problem is, of course, that it just doesn’t work like that.

Social media is hard work. It takes conversation, content, and consistency. The quick fix rarely works, and poor Brenda has been mislead into thinking that if she builds her QR code, people will come. Just putting a QR code in her marketing material will bring people flocking to her business.

People won’t automatically scan our QR code if we haven’t already built the trust and conversation around our brand.

The Path Of Least Resistance

It’s true that there are a many examples of creative and successful uses of QR codes, and that creating a QR code is free and easy to do online, but they aren’t a guaranteed success for every situation.

QR codes might work with high-level coupons or in a large event situation, and people have been finding clever uses for them ranging from jewelry, geocaching, street art, and even (it’s true) cemetery headstones. These are situations, however, where the end-user of the QR code is actively wanting the information, and will do the work to capture the QR code. These aren’t true marketing situations.

When a business uses a QR code as a marketing tool, it means we’re putting the burden of work back on a customer in our advertising and asking them to scan our code for even more opportunities to be marketed to. What customer wants to do that? It really isn’t a plan for successful marketing.

A gimmick is a gimmick. People are quick to spot them and find the path of least resistance. And that path won’t be through a QR code to a website to nothing in particular. Good marketing makes it easy and obvious for the customer, and a QR code doesn’t provide either.

Fill up your inner space.

Aliens can cross the galaxy and cut through time, and, in this case, know exactly where you are. That’s right — the new Space Aliens website is location aware. But don’t worry — it isn’t self-aware. It’s here to serve you, not harm you.

Using the Google Maps API, we created a site that can determine your location on Earth with accuracy up to a five block radius. Once you hop on the site, you’ll automatically be served up with restaurant information and menus for the location nearest you. Easily browse the site and find exactly what’s available nearby; all content is customized for the nearest location.

Just remember: It’s only Aliens that are on to your location.

Space Aliens invented BBQ.

Space Aliens is a great place for family fun, and offers up some of the best party options around. It’s unfortunate that that was such a well-kept secret! Too many Earthlings didn’t know about the extra options that Space Aliens offers, because it wasn’t easy to find on the old website. This information was cleverly hidden on the old website, and it took some tricky navigation to learn about kids’ birthday parties, catering, and even carry-out.

Hidden, no more. We brought that fun-loving aspect of Space Aliens front and center, letting visitors quickly find out how to book a party and get it started. Parents can easily plan a birthday party for their child with a simple click on the “parties” menu option right from the homepage.

Facebook goodness from outer space.

Space Aliens now has outposts on the vast space of the Internet. We helped them claim their rightful place on planet Foursquare for each restaurant location, complete with a check-in special that active Foursquare users can enjoy. We also tuned-up their Facebook presence with shiny new pages for each restaurant, and integrated it all right into the site, making it easy for Earthlings to connect with each Space Aliens location and discover the events and updates that are unique to each location.

With this integration into the mothership, Space Aliens now has a unified message and look, with all of their social media activity coming together under one roof.

Galactic Blast Email Rewards are good for everyone.

And best of all, for the Earthlings who love good food and great prices, Space Aliens now features the best rewards program in the Bismarck area. The newly created Galactic Blast Email Rewards program really is out of this world. Through a simple (and free!) sign-up, Earthlings easily access great deals not found anywhere else, receiving notice of a promotion for each month. All together, it’s a location-savvy website with an amazingly unified message of tasty food and tastier savings for all of the Space Aliens restaurants.

Space travelers need to be in the 21st century, and Space Aliens can proudly lead the way with their brand new website.

One of the top-rated communication professionals on the social networks, Gini was recently named the number one PR person, according to Klout and TechCrunch, and number one on Twitter, according to TweetLevel. Her blog has received the 2010 and 2011 Readers Choice Blog of the Year.

Dietrich, along with co-author Geoff Livingston, have written a book about to hit the bookstore shelves: Marketing in the Round: How to Develop an Integrated Marketing Campaign in the Digital Era. Marketing in the Round talks about integration and how to optimize every platform to get the only thing that matters: results.

We had the opportunity to talk to Gini about tearing down silos and syncing our entire message (far less dangerous than it sounds) across platforms. We quizzed her on her take of the new Facebook Timeline for businesses. She shared how small businesses with a smaller marketing budget can utilize her spin-free concepts. You can find more of Gini on Twitter and on her Facebook page, and find out why Spin Sucks.

Seems like a waste, doesn’t it?

It’s a shame not to use the full power and possibility something has to offer, and with a few minor adjustments, Gmail quickly becomes much more than just an email system. It can help with “to-do” lists, work flow, and even personal project management.

Using Gmail labs and other setting features, you can use your Gmail for so much more than just messages.

Email management hinges on a couple of prerequisites: our ability to handle our own inbox, and our ability to not abuse the system in general. Once we’re fluent in those two abilities, we’re ready to pimp our Gmail inbox and turn it from a mere inbox into a workflow system.

Set Up Your Labels

The labels we create should be tailored to our preferences and to how we use our email. Our labels will likely accommodate family, friends, various organizations we’re part of, and whatever level of business we want to break our emails into. We might include “To-Do” as a label if we use our Gmail as a to-do list for ourself. Freelancers or self-employed readers might want to consider what kind of labels would help them in their project management and integration with other Google products.

The thing to keep in mind, though, is to avoid getting carried away with labels and sub-labels and sub-sub-labels. Gmail is easily searched; we aren’t using it like a traditional folder system. The labels are merely an organizational tool, and one we’ll need in the next steps.

Just remember: labels are not folders.

Set Up Multiple Inboxes

In the settings area, find the Labs tab. We’ll need to be sure we have multiple inboxes enabled. Be sure to save your changes at the bottom.

Enable multiple inboxes in your Gmail settings, under the Labs feature.

Once we have multiple inboxes enabled, head on over to the Multiple Inboxes tab. We may have to exit settings and go back in to see the Multiple Inboxes tab.

Once inside this area, we’ll set up the panes. In the example with this post, these extra inboxes are located to the right of the inbox. Choose whichever works best.

We need to decide which of our labels are our top five labels, which emails we want to keep out of the inbox yet still visible despite being archived out of the inbox. In the example below, the first item is the To-Do label. Make sure the format is as shown below. Sub-labels will have “is:ParentLabel-ChildLabel” as the format, with a hyphen between the parent-child. The Panel Title area is optional, but it is a good idea to give it a useful title that will help, at a glance, organize the page.

Set your inboxes up based on the labels you created.

Optimal Use Of The System

There are a few ways to optimize the use of this kind of Gmail setup:

1. Give respect to the inbox. The inbox should be kept clear or near clear all the time. It’s where we process and either act on, archive, or delete. The only time something should stay in the inbox is when we tell ourselves that the issue the email is about has not been completed. The inbox is for new and in-progress work. All else, delete or archive.
2. Assign a label when an email is opened. No exceptions, unless we know it will ultimately get deleted once read. Clear out the inbox by deleting, or by archiving labeled messages.
3. Set up the filter options. This is done in Gmail settings, and it will automatically assign labels to email that comes in often from the same recipient(s) in the same label category. Automation is good. Shave some time off of the label assignment.
4. Get familiar with Gmail search terms. Using advanced searches is what helps makes this a system that is usable instead of a huge monster of random years’ worth of messages. Google provides a nice system for conducting a search from the drop-down box on the Gmail search bar. Or, if we’d prefer a more hands-on method, we can learn some of those advanced search operations here.
5. For To-Do email, the subject matters. If we’re going to use this system for those quick transitory emails to ourself containing “to-do” information, make sure the subject holds the to-do, or a good summation of it. This creates a fine to-do list immediately visible in our multiple inbox setup. Once we’ve finished the task, delete the to-do email. They’re not needed. The same could be said for other project management emails that aren’t necessary for later referral.

Those Pesky Caveats

This system works best for larger resolution screens, though it works down to a 13″ screen. Additionally, it isn’t responsive. It won’t downsize to an adjusted or smaller window. And, of course, if we have an inbox already out of control, and a decade worth of email without a label, we can declare email bankruptcy and start fresh after a delete, or set our mind to do things right from this point forward.

Gmail offers a lot of other customization options, from different star markers, and whether we want our emails tagged as “important” according to Google. Experiment with these. Find out what combination works best for how we will ultimately use Gmail. As Google integrates Gmail more and more into its other products (chat, Google+, Docs, Voice), finding ways to become familiar with it as not just for messages but as a homepage for our workflow puts us ahead of the game.

The all new, mobile friendly, TodayCMS!

TodayCMS has always been the easiest and most powerful content management system in the region and, dare we say it, just about anywhere. The pride of TodayCMS is the simple user interface that still provides powerful control. If you can send an email, you can update your website.

A New UI

A big part of what has always made TodayCMS easy to use is a clean user interface. With the new look and feel, we have perfected this simplicity. You will notice a clean, new look that is both user-friendly, beautiful, and even optimized for mobile computing! The new TodayCMS looks, and works, great!

Sidebar Navigation

One of the most significant changes to TodayCMS is the new left-handed navigation menu. All of the editable sections of your site should now be available with a single click. This removes the cumbersome drop-down menus of the past and puts your content at your fingertips.

Speed Enhancements

Publishing is faster than ever!

Along with the visual make-over, the app also went on a diet. This version is lighter in weight, which means that users should see a definite improvement when it comes to speed.

Improved WYSIWYG Editor

The WYSIWYG editor in the new version has been completely reworked to removed some of the hassles that can come with modifying content on the web. The new editor is faster, cleaner, and grows right along with your content.

A Better Form Builder

In the new TodayCMS, building your own web form is easier than ever. The interface makes issuing updates a breeze, and gives you complete access to your data. All form submissions are backed-up, and can be downloaded as a CSV file in an instant. We’ve even integrated with PayPal to allow basic shopping cart functionality.

Mobile Ready

Let’s face it, it’s a mobile world. More and more of our lives are carried out on our smartphones and tablet PCs. TodayCMS will meet you where you are. TodayCMS now embraces our responsive design technology, making it easily accessible on iOS and Android devices. Just navigate to TodayCMS in your mobile browser, and let us handle the rest. With TodayCMS, it’s easy to make text and data changes to your website on the go!

The First Of Many

This new release is only the first of many enhancements that will be coming in the next few months. Think of the new TodayCMS as a clean canvas, ready for some paint. We are only a few weeks away from a brand new TodayPulse, and the beginning of an entirely new era in the history of our humble company.

Until then, happy updating everyone! For more information, or a demo, give us a call!

When it comes to writing, we just need to write.

Why Writer’s Block Happens

Writer’s block seems to happen when we least expect it, but there are a few predictable causes.

Give the rough draft a fair chance to exist. We want things perfect from the beginning, and so we self-edit as we write, choking the words before they can get on the page. Write freely and know you can edit later. When it’s time to write, write. Editing and refinement will follow.

Sometimes we write for other’s eyes. While our end goal is to have readers reading our work, the initial process doesn’t involve anyone but ourselves, our own eyes, and our own ideas. Writing for someone else is very similar to being uncomfortable with rough drafts: we are embarrassed by our clumsy initial attempts and constantly go back to clean things up when we should just be writing forward. It’s important to have an audience in mind for our writing, but we need to understand that the audience reads the final product, not the crazy notes and horrible paragraphs we start out writing.

Writing is work, and that’s a little surprising. The fact that it sometimes feels like work, that the words aren’t readily available on any given day, doesn’t mean we have writer’s block. It just means sometimes the words come easy and sometimes they don’t, but they do come.

Writing through writer’s block is the best way to show it who is boss, whether we do that writing on the project that is giving us grief, or on something else. Writer’s block is best thought of as project-specific, and not person-specific. If we’re stuck, that’s a statement about the writing at hand, and not us as writers.

Writing doesn’t just happen. It’s something we practice regularly, and can do on a schedule.

Don’t get it right, just get it written.
– James Thurber

Identify The Block

We need to know what kind of writer’s block we’re dealing with to find the best solution.

Is it the lack of an idea that is preventing us from even getting started? Maybe we have an idea, but we don’t know what to do with it, or how to get started. Or perhaps we’ve been writing and thought we were working through an idea without any issue until we hit the middle and found ourselves stuck.

Determine what it is that is keeping us from moving forward so we know what solution to look for.

I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.
– William Faulkner

Solve The Specific Block

Once we’ve identified what kind of block we’re struggling with, we can find a solution.

If the problem was finding an idea, we need to figure out how to generate ideas. A visual person, for example, might be inspired by doing random image searches online and using those images to create a backstory or concept. RSS readers, Facebook News Feeds, Google+ Saved Searches — these are all places to find content that serves as an idea springboard for our own. We aren’t looking to these to copy, but to jog our already capable writer’s mind into gear.

If the problem was that we had an idea but didn’t know how to get started, or we were stuck in the middle of an idea, we need our own personal system for breaking things down. Whether it’s brainstorming, writing random related thoughts down on cards and mixing them up, word association, writing a stream of consciousness, or using flow charts, we just need to find what works.

The easiest thing to do on earth is not write.
– William Goldman

Methods To Overcome

There are countless numbers of ways that writers overcome their writer’s block. No one finds the same success with each method. Anything that jars us into new paths of thought will work. Here are a few ideas to try:

• Change your geography. If you were writing at the kitchen table, move to the desk, or the front porch. Go to a coffee shop, or the library. Change the location of where you’re writing. Different sounds and distractions can jog the creative mind.

• Get creative. Clear your head by doing some creative writing exercises. Word associations, writing prompts, idea generation — anything to get your writing skills out of the temporary rut they are in.

• Stop, and write something else. As a last ditch effort, stop what you’re writing and work on another writing project. This is a last resort, since a huge part of writing is pushing through. You don’t want to get into the habit of not finishing. However, it sometimes helps to change your train of thought.

• Take break. Take a break, but only with the promise to yourself that you’ll come back and finish. Don’t let a writing block derail your project entirely. Finish it, taking a break if needed. But finish it. Get back on the horse that threw you.

• Get some exercise. Nothing like a walk or a run clears your head. It’s that change of geography mixed with endorphins. The heart gets pumping, the air clears your system — writer’s blocks seem much less deadly after a session of exercise.

• Work backwards. Maybe you need to write the ending first, or the headline. Our writing doesn’t have to happen in the order that it will be read. If you need to start in the middle, do so. Trust your editing abilities to pull it all together when it is all said and done.

• Work. Period. A block is no excuse to stop writing. Writing is work, and it isn’t based on a whim or a feeling. Write whether you feel like it or not. Sit down and write. Write through it. Write badly if you have to. Clean it up later.

Each writer is different, and so are the things that block them. Knowing that we’ll face writer’s block at some point if we’re serious about writing and blogging makes it easier to face. As long as we are willing to figure out what system or method works best in helping us get past the block, writer’s block is nothing to fear.

Your blog is not a monster.

Part I: You Must Write

Keep your blog alive by writing. This seems pretty obvious. Little or no writing kills a blog; no new or regular content means your blog is dead. No reader likes to stumble upon a blog with the most recent post dated half a year ago. Whether there is good content hidden in those old posts or not, readers often give a dead blog a pass. Content creation can be tough; everyone gets writer’s block. Find a method to help you create winning blog content, and find a schedule that you can actually keep.

Part II: You Must Grab Attention

Use great headlines that are supported by content that delivers what the headline promises. Headlines shouldn’t be too obscure or confusingly clever. They should tell a reader what to expect, and they should be a headline that makes a reader decide they want to read the article. Keep in mind that the headline will also show up in RSS feeds, searches, and shared across social networks. It has to be good.

Part III: They Must Care

Write about things readers care about. Knowing your audience is as important as knowing your subject matter. What you want to say might not be what they want to hear. It doesn’t mean you can’t write such posts for your own sake as a writer, but a blog definitely needs to have a larger portion of content that readers want to read. Take the mask off and write honestly to your readers; they care if you care.

A New Chapter

Get your blog involved in social media, since it is social media. For a long-time blogger, or someone entirely focused on blog-content creation, it is easy to just keep blogging and forget about the other chapters in the complete social media book. Share your posts on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest. Provide ways for your readers to share your blog content on social media networks through sharing buttons and links.

A New Beginning

Give old content new life by bringing it back to the surface. Link to old blog posts and reference your own relevant material from the past to help put things in new blog posts into context. Blogs aren’t really linear, and visitors might happen upon a blog without any previous knowledge of what is on it. Help them put your content into context. Help them stumble on other blog posts. Your blog is a web site, so help build an actual web that traps willing readers.

Part VI: Jason Lives

Don’t be obnoxious. An inflammatory blog might attract a certain kind of readership and conversational activity, but most bloggers aren’t desiring controversy or the resulting reaction. Particularly for brands, you don’t want to shock your audience into response because after a while, they’ll probably stop coming back.

Part VII: The New Blood

Link to other bloggers. Share other content. Give your reader the best of your world, and the best of other blogger’s worlds. Community isn’t just for readers — there is community found with other bloggers. Spread some of it around.

Part VIII: Taking Manhattan

Provide the opportunity to comment, and don’t ignore comments that are left on a blog post. The conversation on a blog provides an undercurrent of electricity, showing other readers they ought to read and join in, since others have. The blogging world is a huge metropolis, and readers like to find a bit of community on a blog.

The Final Friday

Provide an about page. Readers want to know about the writer since it helps them put things into context. They often use an about page (or the lack thereof) to decide if the person is qualified on the topic. Particularly on blogs the reader has never visited before, an about page helps them decide if they trust you or not.

X

A poorly planned blog is confusing to a reader. While many people might read your content on RSS readers or elsewhere, you still want your blog to look good. Included in this idea is to use smaller blocks of text and give your reader a break. A few sentences, as opposed to massive paragraphs, are best. A wall of text can be difficult to sift through on a computer screen or mobile device. Respect white space, use high-quality graphics, and don’t visually overwhelm readers.

Freddy vs. Jason

Avoid too much product promotion and too many ads. It’s not wrong to provide a way for readers to purchase your products or services, but a blog has to be more than merchandising and selling. At its core, a blog provides information and trust. It’s hard to trust the guy that does a hard sell every chance he gets. Besides, who really stays a loyal reader of a blog that is all about selling stuff?

Friday the 13th Remix

A blog that is alive has frequent content, regular readers, and conversation. The first one is within your control, while the other two will happen naturally. By following these 11 tips this Friday the 13th, we can keep our blog going — and possibly resurrect it — for an endless period of time.

A critical piece of this social layer is a design that grows alongside our aspirations. So today we’re introducing a more functional and flexible version of Google+. We think you’ll find it easier to use and nicer to look at, but most importantly, it accelerates our efforts to create a simpler, more beautiful Google.

Through a simplified method for customizing a profile and page, Google+ has made itself fairly easy and intuitive. Plenty of white space and easily accessible privacy settings, combined with a few tweaks to current features,  makes this latest iteration of Google+ the most user-friendly yet. It’s clear that with these changes, Google is leaving room for additional features and making future updates and add-ons a likely fact.

Google+ has gone through a major redesign, making it more user-friendly.

Easier Page Management

For Google+ users who are administrators on multiple pages, the new changes have made being that admin much simpler. Pages can be accessed through several locations. Users can click on their icon in the upper right corner and see the pages they are admins of, or they can hover and/or click on the designated “Pages” app in the left navigation pane.

Pages can be easily managed in several locations.

Finding Your Way

Navigation has been changed from a static collection of links at the top of the page over to the left sidebar as icons that can be moved by simple drag-and-drop. Moving an icon in or out of “More” hides or displays them. Hovering over an icon reveals actions we can take. The result is a more app-like feel that users are accustomed to today.

Go Exploring

A new “Explore” page for both profiles and pages gives us quick access to trending topics and posts that are currently hot on Google+. We can adjust how much of these kinds of posts we want to see in our home page using a slider bar. Trending topics are also visible on the home page of a profile, though not on a page. Trending topics also indicate how the topic is trending.

The “Explore” page is a great place for profiles and pages to find content to share and to find new people to add to our Circles. Our goal is to find great content for our home page, and going exploring will help us do exactly that.

Easily Find Content

Saved searches have been moved from the left sidebar and are now located under the “More” button at the top. By doing this, Google has cleaned up the clutter on the sidebar significantly, and placed all of our information sources in one spot. We can easily see what content our Circles contain, and we can also find content based on general searches from people we don’t have in our Circles. It’s a one-stop location for finding content to share.

The "More" button organizes our saved searches and circles.

Image Is Everything

In a move similar to Facebook’s Timeline Cover Photo and Profile Image, Google+ now offers a larger Cover Photo and smaller Profile Photo. The difference is that Google+ allows users to select one long graphic, or to break it up into the five individual images previously used. The five-image option is a fun way to tell a story with photos if an album is set up correctly. However, users who prefer a single photo now have that option.

We can choose one large cover photo, or five smaller photos for our profile.

Google+ has long been a favorite of photographers and artists. The new design is good news for them: it emphasizes and encourages photos and images. Our photo albums are also easily accessible from the left navigation pane, and photos shared in a stream are quickly linked back to the original profile or page’s photo albums. Hovering over an image in a feed will offer options to view photo albums or more photos by the user who posted the image. Photos and videos in the stream are now full-bleed, filling the space beautifully and making photos and images more prominent than ever.

Quick links below each shared photo or post in a feed make it easy to see the entire conversation —  using “conversation cards” —  and activity surrounding the post, including who +1′d and who shared the post. Simple toggle action will show and hide this activity, keeping the news feed visually clean and not distracting from the photos or posts themselves.

One complaint Google+ had suffered from was the news feed being cluttered. This new design, using the conversation cards and more emphasis on images and actual content, has helped clean it up significantly.

Connecting Made Easier

For profiles, Google set the chat interface to the right, and upped the visual look of it. This makes it more of a stand-alone element and gives it more importance than it had previously, when it was simply tucked into the left side of the screen with nothing to visually set it apart.

Google has wisely given their excellent Hangouts feature its own page on profiles as well. This page includes an always-updated list of invitations from people in our circles, easy access to public and “On Air” hangouts, and a rotating collection of popular Hangouts and other tips for using Hangouts. While pages don’t have this option yet (though they can still create Hangouts easily enough), individual users can start and even join publicized hangouts. Businesses who publicize their hangout make it easier for these profile users to find them.

All in all, the new design isn’t necessarily a feature overhaul, but simply a case of Google making Google+ a more inviting social network to be a part of. Businesses and individuals can easily make use of the powerful features and the continued integration of Google+ into the rest of Google’s products. This design upgrade and across-the-board integration of products is just one more reason to not ignore Google+ and focus solely on Facebook.