Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. Today’s question comes from Amy Throndsen, on Twitter as @amyserves: One of my most inspiring dinner parties was a few…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. The last few days, I’ve been feeling a little oogy, as a college roommate of mine like to say…
In my first attempt at video blogging, I tell a personal story to illustrate the soft side of social media’s benefits: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igqBkBClPYI] If you don’t have five minutes to spend — and I know, that’s long and I need to practice tightening up my story telling — here are the high points: I have a saved search in HootSuite for…
I like contrarian advice — not that I always agree with the devil’s advocate view, but I think it’s useful to challenge conventional wisdom and reconsider whether you still believe it’s true. For example: Do you really need to drink eight glasses of water a day? Is eight hours of sleep best for you? Should all couples be monogamous? Are…
In the three years I’ve been blogging here, I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to write regularly and to get to know topics and people that inspire me. Even more so, I’ve loved the chance to engage in conversations about those topics and people. Ages ago, when I was a young newspaper reporter, writing was mostly a one-way process. Occasionally…
If you’re looking for a little reading material today — maybe the Sunday paper isn’t doing it for you, maybe you’re a bit hung over from ringing in the new year, maybe you’re killing time ’til a college bowl game — I’m here to help. According to my WordPress stats, these were my 10 most-visited posts in 2011: Why the…
I feel a bit like I’m off to summer camp to meet my pen pals. Every Tuesday night, a diverse group of people participate in a Twitter chat using the hashtag #agchat — it’s a moderated online conversation of usually about a dozen questions on a focused agriculture topic, ranging from use of smartphones to farm regulation. Here’s how the…
I kept seeing people post this photo on Facebook but only recently stopped to read the poster. I encourage you to do likewise — it’ll just take a minute and with luck, it’ll make your heart feel good like it did for me. Mission for this week: ask the next person you see what their passion is and share your…
I love that the contributions to the “Things I Have Learned” series keep coming in. I asked a small number of my writer friends to participate at the outset, but now the majority of participants have volunteered themselves and that’s fantastic. Keep ’em coming, all! Today’s list comes from Amy Spooner, who I met when she profiled me for the…
Mark Zuckerberg, the gagillionaire founder of Facebook, apparently posted to his person Facebook page this spring that he had just killed a goat and a pig. No, not a sacrifice to the gods of Silicon Valley. Fortune magazine followed up and learned Zuckerberg has pledged to only eat meat this year from animals he personally kills. He wrote in an…
Today is installment #3 in the “Things I Have Learned” series, with this latest list coming from Amanda Hirsch, a friend I met thanks to the wonder of Twitter. Previous lists have come from: me Margaret Yang Amanda Hirsch is a writer and comedian. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, Jordan, their dog, Cosmo, and a lot…
Earlier this year, I launched Newvine Growing as a marketing communications consulting firm, with offerings including media training, social media coaching and strategic planning. One of my next steps is providing coaching to those who don’t have the budget for one-on-one consulting but would benefit from a cookbook with guidance on press releases, marketing materials and email newsletters, for example.…
My blogging to-do list includes several stories I’m excited about, so I hope you’ll stop back in the weeks to come for: a profile of Brook Eddy, a single mother of twins who made the unlikely move from nonprofit fundraising to starting a chai tea company that’s approaching $2 million in sales. Brook is an old friend of ours from…
I moved to New York City from Ann Arbor five years ago this month. Earlier this week I shared a laundry list of tourist tips, in part because visiting friends often ask for “real” guidance beyond what they’d get in a guidebook. Today’s post is more about the experience of being a New Yorker — five reflections on being a…
