GREAT ADAPTATIONS

As many of you know, I developed a big chunk of my sense of what the Internet can be, culturally, as an early participant in an online bulletin board called “Wacco.”

It existed first on Yahoo, and now continues as a newer Yahoo group and a large and growing website, www.WaccoBB.net.

I’d like to hear about other forums which have grown large through an onground community such as the Wacco bulletin board. I know of several which exist to serve a global community, coming together through common interests such as entrepreneurship or working moms, for example, but I’d like to know more about online forums which serve a specific region.

Let me know what you’ve seen out in the clouds. How do regional forums develop? Are people utilizing print material to let their community know, as WaccoBB does?

See more about the term “onground” here at the Examiner Glossary series. Please comment, and subscribe to the 100 day series there at the Examiner.

Suzanna

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If you don’t know about Marc Prensky, let me refer you to this pivotal piece of his in the link below. If you’re a teacher or a parent trying to understand how your child learns, you’ll want to read this six page article in its entirety. Time well spent.

Trained at both Harvard and Yale, Marc Prensky has created a number of games which are aligned with the brains of today’s young student and which teach them in ways they are extremely well prepared to learn. He founded the Digital Multiplier, an organization “dedicated to eliminating the digital divide in learning worldwide.â€

Parents and teachers certainly don’t have to reinvent the wheel in order to communicate well with today’s kids. They (we) just have to change our own orientation to what we call “round.†Marc Prensky is making this much easier than it sounds.

Your input is requested for the Glossary of Online Communication we are developing over at the Examiner. Here is the first Examiner entry: Online Communication. I ardently implore you to visit, comment, and subscribe. Give me 100 days to develop this glossary, and I’ll publish it at the end of the year. Let’s all help each other get on the map.

If you’re a Twitterer, feel free to send me your ideas, terms to define, or questions there – you’ll find me as Brainmaker.

Notes from Marc Prensky, (See Part 1, here.)

(Note: This is a guest post by Jenn Givler, as part of my Introductions series while I am away. Enjoy!)

Gandhi’s words are very wise. And, I’m sure you know that you need to take action, or nothing will change. But, what actions are the right ones? And, where do you even start?

That feeling of overwhelm can really get you stuck in inaction. And then, as Gandhi points out, there will be no result.

It all starts with planning. And, if you’re anything like me, the thought of making a plan sort of feels stifling… or confining. I mean, what’s the sense in planning when you have no idea what’s going to come your way in the next few weeks or months – you want to have the flexibility to take advantage of any new opportunities, right?

I’m not a natural born planner, I had to learn the value of planning, and I had to learn to do it in a way that allowed for a certain degree of spontaneity, but also helped me move forward and feel productive, and fulfilled.

The first thing to realize is that – the plan can change. Anything you develop can (and probably will) change. The second thing to remember is, stay true to yourself and only include things in your plan that feel really good deep down in your soul.

To begin planning for the things you want to accomplish, the first thing to do is paint a big picture vision of where you want to be in 6 months to a year. I often tell people to write an essay as if they were standing in their lives and had everything exactly as they wanted it.

This activity will help you devise the bigger goals, and then you can fill in the details. For example, let’s say you want to leave a full time job within a year. Once you can see that in your mind’s eye, you can start thinking about smaller actions that will get you to that larger goal.

Next, think about how much time you have to work specifically on your plan. Think about what you’ve already got in your schedule, and determine when you can fit your actions in. Set boundaries when working on your plan – if you plan to work for 2 hours, focus and get through the activities you want to get done.

Finally, start looking at what activities are serving you and what’s not. In other words, what are the things that will get you closer to your goal, and what are doing because you feel you should? Start to release those things that feel like “shoulds.â€

Planning and goal setting can seem dry and boring on the surface. But truly, it’s the only way you’ll make changes. Just remember, rigidity is not how life works, so allow for flexibility and new opportunities. If you get stuck, get help. There are many, many experts, books, web sites, and blogs out there to help you get what you need and move forward!

About Jenn
Jenn Givler is an Intuitive Business Coach. She teaches holistic business owners and healing arts practitioners how to promote their businesses. Through her Mindful Marketing program, Jenn teaches marketing techniques that help you connect with the people who need you, but don’t make you feel overbearing or aggressive. If you wish you were more courageous about marketing, check out her web site:

Create A Thriving Business

http://www.CreateAThrivingBusiness.com

Note: This guest-post is by Eileen Williams, the owner of “The Feisty Side of Fifty.” It’s part of my Introductions series while I’m touring. Enjoy! And be sure to visit Eileen at her blog.

Many women over fifty complain they become more forgetful. In fact, some have affectionately dubbed this phenomenon “mental-pause,†and there are real physiological reasons behind it. There are estrogen receptors throughout your brain, including the hippocampus, and this is the part involved in certain aspects of memory. So, when estrogen levels drop, your brain and your ability for recall are affected.

In fact, I know this to be true in my own life. Things seem to be slipping through the cracks, and every day brings fresh surprises and more than a few awkward moments. I have to confess to frequently drifting off into my personal, inner space—not certain where that is, but I can assure you it’s well endowed with black holes.

So, are we older gals forever doomed to sending out those embarrassing “I forgot your birthday†cards? Will we never again recall with ease telephone numbers, significant dates, or names of those near to us? Will endless searches for our glasses, important papers, or that great book we were reading be our final destiny? Not so fast—there’s some good news too!

In her book about women’s second adulthood, Inventing the Rest of Our Lives, Suzanne Braun Levine provides us with some exiting data concerning the aging brain. Dr. Francine Benes, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has discovered that there is a growth spurt that takes place in the human brain around the age of fifty. Myelin, which is the fatty layer that covers nerve fibers, actually grows about fifty percent during this time. This coating is responsible for aiding the brain to more effectively synthesize life experiences and to enhance the ability to make thoughtful judgments and prudent decisions.

Even better, the location of this growth spurt is found within the area of the cerebral cortex that is identified with emotional learning. Perhaps, as Levine suggests, this myelin growth factor may likely play a part in creating the highly revered trait that we call wisdom.

So, next time we hunt for our car keys, call our son by the dog’s name, or forget to tell our husband his boss phoned, we have to remember that somewhere in our noggin there’s a whole heap of wisdom going on!

Eileen Williams

The Feisty Side of Fifty

This is a guest post from Gina Gwozdz, CPA.

If you earn income from your website, your blog and/or your writing and you are not in collaboration with others, then for tax purposes, unless you incorporated you are a sole proprietors. The taxes for website owners, bloggers and writers, in this situation, is the same.

Gina L. Gwozdz is a CPA who specializes in minimizing taxes by helping to educate taxpayer. Visit her blog for more Tax Tips articles (http://GLGcpa.com/blog)

(Note: This is a guest post by Lisa Hunter, as part of my introductions series. Enjoy!)

What if “balance” and “slowing down” aren’t the answers to our overwhelmed lives?

You’re having one of those days. You know, the days where you feel like you’re running on a habitrail of endless to-do’s and not enough time to do them.

Your friends and loved ones keep saying, “You need to slow down. You need to create more balance in your life.” And you agree.

Problem is, you’ve tried countless times and it just doesn’t happen. You keep thinking things like…

“If only I could just get myself to slow down”
“If only I could follow through with being more balanced”

But for some of us, it’s not that simple…

Back when I was a performing singer-songwriter in the 90’s, I was driven with an unstoppable urge to get my music and message out into the world. I had endless energy for it and I was willing to pour that energy full-force into my career. At a certain point, though, I began to burn out. I reached for self-help book after self-help book, only to find them all telling me I needed to balance or slow down.

Among many other things, I tried meditating, deep breathing, yoga, time management, setting boundaries and “being” rather than “doing”. But those approaches never seemed to stick. I’d either do them and then go right back to driven-and-impassioned mode, or I’d forget to do them altogether and then feel like I failed.

If balance and slowing down are so important, why do we keep failing miserably at them?

My belief is that we’re not failing at all. We’re just being our selves. And some of us are high-octane people. Full of ideas, full of drive, full of passion and full of the will to follow through with it. Telling a high-octane person to “slow down” would be like telling a race car going 120 mph to suddenly go 20. The shift would be abrupt. And not very natural. It’s the same for those of us who “fail” at slowing down.

We ultimately would like smooth lives where we’re not crazily running around or working all the time. Most of us ultimately would like to slow down. But trying to slow down is not the way to get there.

I teach whole classes on alternatives to slowing down for busy, stressed-out and passionately-driven entrepreneurs who feel like they’re failing at having balanced lives. So I could go on and on. But let’s get a conversation started instead:

What snags have you encountered with trying to slow down?

And what would be your creative way to get to a place of “slow down” without having to initially slow down?
That second question might first hit as a bit of a brain teaser. But let’s see what we can come up with…

Lisa Hunter

Continue the conversation with Lisa Hunter on her website, Extraordinary Women Thrive.

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I just love this post from Sonia Simone: The 3 Secrets to Massive Online Marketing Success.

Reading it, I had Brian Clark in my head, his voice. It sounded different, like he was a little out of breath (the voice in my head, you know). Then I remembered, no, this is Sonia!

Then I saw that Sonia Simone is an Associate Editor on Copyblogger. I don’t know when this took place, but it gives me that warm rush of satisfaction along with a slightly smug smile as I sit and nod my head at the screen.

Sonia, the voice at Remarkable Communication, puts out fantastic, thoughtful, deep pieces on content and relationship-to-readership.

Seeing her as Associate Editor on Copyblogger makes me feel the strength and power growing in all our voices, our collective intelligence, on the world wide web.

If you could place a woman in a high-profile spot on the Internet today, where her voice would reach millions, who would she be?

Suzanna

(Note: This is a guest post by Jennifer Smith, Owner of Eco-Office Gals, part of my Introductions series while I am away. Enjoy!)

Green, Paperless, Eco-this and that, you can’t get away from the green effort these days. NOT growing green in your small business seems so much easier. After all, you’re just a small business, how much damage can you really do?

Regardless of businesses size or type, one fact remains static - the Earth isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but continuing to trash it will make it a hostile environment for every person and every business, no matter how big or small.

This is the realization that came to me as I started Eco-Office Gals. I spent ten years working as a real world administrative assistant not thinking twice about printing, shredding, filing & storing massive amounts of paper. Driving 35 miles each way to an office was an inconvenience to me and my wallet, environment was never a factor. Grabbing my turtle mocha cappuccino and Chinese take out from one of my many choices on Main Street was commonplace. It took reading, learning and willingness to become aware of the impact I had made and what needed to change. I also learned that taking steps, not leaps, was the only way I could make a difference.

Today is a good day for Eco-Office Gals if I didn’t turn my printer on, if I drank my coffee out of the same cup all day and ate last night’s dinner for lunch. Today is a great day for business if it succeeded in making another small business paperless, helped someone start an online business, or shared what I learned about making a smaller impact to anyone that is willing to listen, learn and encourage.

Eco-Office Gals strives to have a great day for business everyday. My mission is to share my green steps, useful information and resources that I find and provide a site where other small businesses can start taking their first green steps and in turn encourage others to do the same.

Eco-Office Gals – Small Businesses Growing Green One Step At A Time!

(Note: This guest post by Connie Boaitey is part of my introductions series. Enjoy!)

Podcasting is a driving force in the Web 2.0 evolution. It is giving rise to entrepreneurial empowerment through web-based multimedia. It is also providing new ways of learning and sharing information; moreover, podcast production tools are simpler and more accessible than ever to anyone with a computer.

Podcasting is egalitarian in its power to draw a wide audience of listeners, creating an opportunity which businesses of all sizes cannot afford to miss.

There are three immediate benefits podcasting can give any business:

1. Self-generating referrals.

2. Become the knowledge resource for your clients through podcasting.

3. Share changes and trends that are important to your clients.

Don’t get left behind while others capture new audiences through this exciting technology!

Want to know more about the explosive marketing potential podcasting can have on your business? Tune into my podcast “Jump Start Your Marketing†on iTunes or Podcast Alley.

Connie on iTunes

(http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284590580)

Connie on Podcast Alley

(http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=59600)

Do you have a podcast or want to start one? Please share your podcasts stories or questions.

Connie Boaitey
Web Visibility Coach
http://www.iConnie.com

(Note to readers: This is a guest post by Rebekah Jones, as part of my end-of-summer introductions series. Enjoy!)

Remember the old days? When you were seeking information on a topic or looking for that perfect gift, you knew exactly where to go. The librarian went to grade school with you and the department store clerk coached your son’s Little League team. You knew you could trust their judgment and advice. Today, we are constantly bombarded with information and advertising from every corner. With the advancement of the Internet, that has never been more true. Anyone can put anything on the Internet…and they do!
When we are putting our own sites online, we know that we are trustworthy. But how can we show that to our website visitors? People today are being taught evaluation techniques to implement when reviewing websites. If we understand what they are looking for, we can be sure to provide them with that information. There are four specific keys to website evaluation: Authority, Accuracy, Currency, and Objectivity. Let’s look at each of these very briefly.
Authority
When designing and creating content for your website, make sure you include exactly who you are. You might be surprised at the number of websites that share information or attempt to sell a product and yet never clearly state who they are or who the parent company is.
Accuracy
Hire a proofreader. Seriously. Many people do not take the time to have their website proofread and the typos and grammar errors that are usually sprinkled throughout are the biggest credibility killers.
Currency
People like to know when certain information was published. If you are blogging, the date of the post is usually displayed. However, if you are writing articles for your website or elsewhere, including the date of the article is paramount to keeping you credible in the eyes of your visitor.
Objectivity
Presenting your information with a minimum of bias is not as easy as it sounds! Your desire should be for your visitor to recognize the value of your information—not because you spoke passionately, but because you took a step back and shared the whole picture.
This is just a small taste of what you can do to increase the credibility of your website—and you! If you are interested in learning more about this topic, I invite you to register for my free teleclass. We will be discussing these four keys and looking at even more ways you can increase your website’s credibility.
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Rebekah Jones is a Virtual Assistant and Business Trainer for Real Estate Agents. She provides simple strategies for streamlining business tasks, thereby giving Agents the freedom to grow their business. Are you ready to minimize your time behind the desk and get back out there to meet with potential clients? Then be sure to visit www.rjprofessionalservices.com for your free information!