Word Glow

The Farmers’ Market of Today

Michele — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:36:36 +0000

Many things have been said about the internet being like a bad neighbourhood, and that can be true. You don’t have to go far before someone tries to sell you something that would make a longshoreman blush. We can sit around and find plenty of things to complain about, but in the end, the internet is a global community. If you’re reading this, you are a member of that community.

Things have developed to the point where every person with access to a computer could now make themselves a free website. That’s pretty staggering when you consider that the internet wasn’t even commercialised until the 1990s and now a quarter of the people on Earth are using it.

What I’m saying is… it’s up to us, all of us who are doing our little projects in our little corners, to get ourselves online. The internet is what WE make it. If regular people make websites, the dark alleys and sleazy cons will be relegated to the sidelines and a colourful farmers’ market will be ours to stroll through.

Singing the Praises of Google Docs

Michele — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:32:55 +0000

Are you trying to collaborate with someone and having trouble?

Are you working on a project and getting lost in the various drafts?

We’re finding google documents really helpful and would be happy to give you a quick run down on how these work. We can:

put all your info into one draft
share this draft with anyone you like via email
have a conference call with everyone to demo the features

A large part of writing is making a good plan and this is one tool that can really help get everyone on the same page.

Bread and Jam

Michele — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:51:59 +0000

The bread and butter of life doesn’t have to be dull. What you do to earn a living can go from hum-drum to enlivening quite quickly in fact. I’m not talking about running away to join the circus or dumping all the responsibilities that you have accumulated; I’m talking about turning your bread and butter into bread and jam.

The butter in this case, is the way you always do things. You grab the butter and you spread it on. It’s not complete crap; it’s your BUTTER for god’s sake, but it IS the usual. Whatever is ordinary in your world. So, I’m challenging you to go to work as you normally do, to start doing your tasks as you normally do. But then, when you open your mental refrigerator and reach for that butter… that tool or approach that you normally use… just stop. Reach a bit farther in. Grope around.There’s jam in there. Something red and juicy. Something that you bottled up long ago. Preserves from another sunnier season: old core values that you haven’t really been honouring, flavour that really tastes like what you believe in, a funkier-monkier style than you usually let out of the jar. The jam is your essence, what makes you – You! The thing that all of us admire in other people – confidence, enthusiasm, joy.

These things can creep back into your life if you start making these little baby choices. Jam instead of butter. Chances are your clients will perk right up and smile at your pizzazz. Who knows, they may even respond in kind. The main point though isn’t to look cool or impress others, it’s to be happier on a day to day basis. To feel more alive. Life’s too short to waste your time doing things in the same old deadening way. Showing a bit of your true self doesn’t have to be scary. It can be delightful delicious and in fact, nourishing.

Need a Professional Idea-Sorter-Outer?

Michele — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:55:55 +0000

Many of the people I talk to about starting a business website are hesitant. I hear things like, “I just need some more time to get my ideas together,” and “I’m working on my bio… soon I’ll have a draft that’s good enough to share.” To this, and all the other hesitations, I say: don’t worry about that! Every business owner is struggling with this problem: how do I find time to talk about what I’m doing when I’m too busy doing it?

So much of writing is about curiosity and listening. A writer can ask you the right questions… questions you would never ask yourself, and draw out your key messages into a clear and simple format. You don’t have to waste your time “getting ready” to create your website or “setting up” your business properly. Your ideas and values are all there, locked up inside you. It can be very tough to articulate these core things in a room by yourself. A writer should really be called a Professional Idea-Sorter-Outer because ideas tend to bounce right out in conversation with a good listener.

A few weeks of chatting with a writer and you’ll have tight chunks of content, tailored to your audience, that you can use in your website, and also re-use in your brochures and promotional materials. You’ll also have a clear message that will make it easy to blog, and taglines that will unify your letterhead, business cards and overall business identity.

With some great help, you could have your website now instead of someday.

Your Website? It’s Ok to Start Small

Michele — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:52:58 +0000

Some of my clients have this idea that starting a website is just too daunting. “How will I afford the hosting costs? I’m just not ready for that kind of responsibility.” What they don’t realise is that the world has changed while they were busy working on their dreams. There are many ways to get a professional looking site up without paying for hosting at all! A small, free site is a great excuse to get your ideas polished up and on display.

Once your site is up and looking great, you’ll wonder why you ever hesitated. It lends credibility to your business, and gives your clients and colleagues a point of reference for you and your work. Besides, you can always schedule in a website-facelift for a year or 2 down the road. By then, you will have had a chance to test it all out, see what you like, what you don’t like and what bells and whistles you’d love to add. You don’t have to understand it all now and launch a huge expensive site right away. Let the process evolve naturally and you just might enjoy it!

It can be really inspiring to see your work displayed in a professional format. You never know how much energy this will inject into your business until you get started.