Here is the one I created with my family – I love the way it turned out.  I laughed so hard (we are so NOT hip-hop, which is what makes it soooooo funny) I couldn’t breathe.  If you want to create your own (there are different versions) with up to five (5) people’s faces, click on the video to do it, or go to http://ElfYourself.com.

I don’t believe I recorded this until my Senior year in college, and in this version (which had to be edited, because we had a stumble toward the end and had to start that part over – hence the laughter all of a sudden, because you don’t hear the comment I jokingly made about the informality of the concert).  But on the piano is the Dove award-winning Kyle Matthews (singer, songwriter extraordinaire).  Well, he wasn’t a Dove award winner back then, but eventually was, and wrote the massive Christian hit “We Fall Down” that Bob Carlisle and others recorded (along with a lot more songs).

Another college friend recorded it on an album in the late 80’s or early 90’s – a jazz singer named Gwen Hughes.  She put her own twist on it, and it was an Atlanta Jazz Radio favorite for a while.  I think she said it was a good “makeout” hit?  hehehehehe

Anyway, I am going to post some of my old songs on here just so my Facebook friends can access them – they’re not for professional reasons.  So if you were at the coffeehouses way back when, these are for you.

Penny Haynes (aka Penny Pinkus)

Furman University, 1982-1986

Penny Haynes, http://OnlineCommunityMagazines.com

Everyone is at a different level of knowledge, and in a different situation.  Therefore, information that may be “old news” to one person can still be revelational to another person who is not that advanced.  So make sure that every post, podcast and page offers something of value to the people that will consume your content. 

Tip #9

Make every word and post count.  Give people something of practical value to use immediately every time you share something.  And don’t assume that they already know what you know – they probably don’t!  Gary Susman shares the following:

“If you’re blogging or podcasting to promote a business or your own personal brand, the questions you should be asking yourself are:

What can I post that will add value for the reader?

What do my readers want to know that I am equipped to tell them?

Which ongoing discussions of issues would be enhanced by the addition of my 2 cents?

Blogging, like any other social-media activity, is really participating in a conversation; it requires listening as well as speaking. That said, the adding value part is pretty easy, even if it’s just a quickie post linking to something posted elsewhere that you think would interest your readers.

You don’t have to be eloquent or long-winded, just enthusiastic about your subject. Whatever is topical in your field will keep you supplied with subject matter. It’s not important to blog frequently, just often enough so that readers know you’re engaged in what’s happening in your field, and that you have something new to offer whenever they visit.”

- Gary Susman Arts and Entertainment Journalist/Social Media Consultant, http://popculturewarrior.wordpress.com

Remember that what you post today could change someone else’s life tomorrow.  It could provide their “aha” moment and alter their business or personal direction.  So make the most of your knowledge, and share it as often as possible.

Penny Haynes, http://www.RSSzine.com

Subjects covered include:

• what is a podcast,
• what is the purpose of podcasting,
• step-by-step instructions for podcasting,
• audio book creation,
• password protected Wordpress posts,
• quick installation of WordPress,
• what is an RSS feed,
• how long should your podcast be,
• software to use,
• how to re-purpose and re-package your contact.

Links discussed:

• http://1stPod.com
• http://DigitalBusinessBooks.com
• http://CommercialCreationCenter.com
• http://RSSzine.com

We are bombarded by tons of information every day, but sometimes something just sticks out and you suddenly pay attention to it.  Personally, I believe that our subconscious is always at work, seeing everything and filtering out the things we don’t want to pay attention to.  In the previous tips we talked about changing your mindset to see things you normally don’t see.  In this tip, we’re talking about following your instinct – and a topic – that just seems to come to you.

TIP # 8

Go with your gut (and interests) and start there.  Then cluster related words and expand your ideas.  Before you know it, you’ll have a series in the works!

“There’s never a lack of subjects to write about. Keep your eyes open and trust your instinct. If something interesting jumps out at you, take note. Literally.

Read the newspaper and circle “faits divers” noteworthy items that catch your eye. Ask yourself why it is those particularly snippets of news made you stop. See if there’s a link to an area of expertise you, or someone else has, take it from there.

“Clustering” helps. Circle a word and write as many associative words around the central one. Next do the same for each of those words. Go on until there’s a shift in your consciousness, the AHA! moment – the instance when you know what it is you want to say.

If you want to stay ahead of local reporters, read newspapers of countries in a different time zone. Always trust your guts and instinct and you’ll hook’em baby!”

– Judith Van Praag author/journalist, artist/designer, public speaker http://hopefilledjars.blogspot.com/

I like Find-A-Word puzzles – always have, since I was a kid.  I like to look at all of the words in the list and then look at the puzzle to see what “jumps” out at me.  I clear out as many words as possible that way. 

Then, I systematically look for each individual word, BUT I do it with the thought that my subconscious has already seen that word, and will show me approximately where it is. 

95% of the time, it works, so I know the subconscious is accumulating information that the conscious mind is not paying attention to.  So why not put that to work in your content creation?

Penny Haynes, http://www.RSSzine.com

Sure, some topics are timeless, and people will always want to know “how to” do something. But other topics cause spikes in interest AND in search engine hits, and capitalizing on those areas of interest can help bring more traffic to your content.

TIP #7

So find out what people are talking about and searching for and try to incorporate that topic into your post.  Remember when Britney Spears shaved her head?  If you put “bald Britney” in your posts, you would have gotten hits you otherwise wouldn’t have had at that time.  Just make sure that the lesson you attach to the time-sensitive topic is NOT time-sensitive, and will make sense and be relevant when people find your post at a later date. 

But don’t take my word for it – listen to these experts:

“Topical and timely topics get a lot of reads, so before you blog, ‘cast or write, do some reading. Check out your Twitter feed to see what your community’s buzzing about. Read your local paper and a few industry rags. Then get to work with comments, observations, additional insight, etc.”

– Margot Carmichael Lester writer, consultant, activist, rabblerouser http://www.thewordfactory.com

“I use social media sites like Twitter to see what people are talking about. It usually sparks an idea for me, often several of them. I also subscribe to many RSS feeds, and they help me with research and idea generation.

Someone might post in their blog about how to find a good graphics designer. That might jog my memory, reminding me of how I shopped around to find a great PHP developer. That might prompt me to right about tips for finding a good web developer. It might also help me find a person to network with who might be willing to do a guest post on my blog.

Finally, I think the fear of running out of ideas is worse than the experience of it. So I keep a notebook where I jot down random ideas that occur to me, ones I don’t intend to act on right now. When I feel stuck, I turn to my notebook and find that an idea has been hiding in there, just waiting to be explored.”

–Monica Willyard Research Assistant at Veterans Administration  http://scannersguild.com/

So keeping abreast of timely topics can give you great content creation ideas.  And if you keep the lessons timeless, but the topics relevant, you can double your visibility and hits.

Penny Haynes, http://www.RSSzine.com