“Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.” -Mark Twain
Two ways to get attention
I saw this on Facebook on December 24th:
Although this is just a friend having a little fun, brands and companies do this very thing everyday.
Here’s how it works: there’s usually a way to force your message in front of people. Find it and abuse it.
This technique takes many forms. Keyword stuffing. Spamdexing. Those little annoying bots that spam you on Twitter with bad links.
There are (at least) two problems with this approach to social media:
1. The system changes often and is regularly updated to block these techniques.
3. Your results/interactions will ultimately be hollow. Repeat: shallow.
Of course, there is an alternative. Focus on helping your audience. Tell stories that matter. Use your energy and time getting better at writing. Share content that people actually care about.
You can take people’s attention or you can earn it.
Maybe the biggest reason to choose the second technique: do you know one person who is proud using the first?
Striking beauty is often found in strange places.
I took this picture from a rooftop in the town of Saint Louis du Lord in northwest Haiti. It’s in the poor part of a poor country. And the people (and ocean and sunsets and trees!) are absolutely beautiful.
Keep your eyes peeled for hidden beauty this week. Look in a few unlikely spots.
Change is the Only Constant
Remember when Internet Explorer ruled the world?
IE used to come preloaded on most PCs sold. Eventually on almost every computer, Internet Explorer was the undisputed browser champion.
No longer. I just saw a commercial on television for Internet Explorer. Chrome and Firefox are snapping at IE’s heals.
So, which things do you assume will never change?
Let’s get the easy ones out of the way: AOL, AIM, Friendster, Geocities, and Angelfire.
MySpace isn’t so hard to remember.
Printed Encyclopedias? We know the punch-line of that one.
So what about Facebook or Google?
One thing we should know by now: change is the only constant and nothing is safe.
![“Why don’t we break the rules already?” -“Some Nights” by fun.
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“Why don’t we break the rules already?” -“Some Nights” by fun.
The Balance of Chaos and Order, or Diving Into the Mess
Creativity is always messy. Writing is chaotic and inspiration can be spontaneous. Ideas come and go when they wish.
Building things that matter is hard.
This will never change.
In an effort to balance the chaos, I sometimes need things to be in order. Things that I can control.
I clean my house. Straighten the books on my shelf. Make lists and throw away clutter.
If both worlds are in disorder, it’s sometimes too much chaos. I fix the one that I can.
This certainly doesn’t magically erase writer’s block. Getting stuck still happens. But having more order does allow me to dive deeper into the messiness of creativity.
Four Things I Learned From Taking Strengths Finder
Intentionally learning more about yourself can bring out many emotions.
Excitement. Revelation. Fear. More questions. Direction. Anxiousness. Contentment.
I think I probably had a dose of each after finally taking the Strengths Finder test recently. What did I learn?
Photo credit: Bilal Kamoon (Creative Commons)
When I read received the results of the test complete with my top 5 strengths, the majority made complete sense. Phrases from a few of the strength’s descriptions even felt autobiographical and literally made me stop for a moment in disbelief at their accuracy. Others were easy to shrug off.
Aside from specifics about my personal test results, there were four things that I took away:
- Learning more about yourself provides clarification. Why am I like this?! While you ay already have a good grip on who who you, there are probably still parts of you asking this nagging question. Taking this test can shed light. Aligning life with your personality strengths will also show you where and how to best thrive.
- Learning more about yourself improves communication. What happens when you can put into words the parts of you that have always been hard to describe? Better communication. Better understanding. Better teamwork. We all want to be understood better.
- Answering questions often leads to more questions. But that’s the point, isn’t it? To travel the road of self discovery (sounds cheesy), you’ve got to know that it’ll get messy at times. The best constructed test could never give you all the answers, especially not one that takes less than an hour.
- Test results should never confine you to a box. It’s tempting to take a personality test and then lean heavily on the definitions the test spits out. Test results should be a description, not a prescription. It’s a starting place.
There were many other lessons and observations I’d love writing about, but first, I want to hear from you.
Have you taken the Strengths Finder test? What did you learn? What did you hate about what you found out? What did you find that helped you live life more fully?
One Thing
This week, do one thing you don’t normally do.
When you’re presented with an opportunity to make a choice and think, “I never do that,” then do it. You should do it.
Remind yourself that life has options and possibilities and new things to learn.
Pinterest is Freaking Me Out
I had dinner and dessert over at a friend’s house (married couple) the other night. When it came time for dessert, she excitedly pulled out her latest creation: peanut butter chocolate ice cream cups. She had seen the idea on Pinterest.
This is huge for social media. Huge really isn’t a big enough word. Do you know how long social has been written off as an imaginary, self-contained, and even worthless world? What I witnessed over dessert wasn’t people taking care of a fake farm on Facebook. It’s people seeing an idea, finding beauty/merit/inspiration in it, and then acting differently in real life.
