It wasn’t so bad, I grabbed every available notebook and continued writing, albeit much more slowly. I was able to phone customers and email correspondence was handled through my phone so all things considered the week went much better than it could have however it got me to thinking about our dependence on technology as internet based businesses. It’s a double edged sword sometimes.

I read an article today in the NY Times about the health hazards of being an online content writer. While I don’t believe I’m at the same risk as the folks in the article, because I do allow for time away from the computer, I workout, and I eat healthy, it does raise some interesting points about balance and how technology influences the immediacy of our lives and businesses as writers. You can view the article here

I guess what this whole week without a computer has taught me is that it is important to have systems in place to back up technology in the event that something breaks down and that it is important to be able to comfortably operate in the absence of technology.Technology is a wonderful thing, no doubt about it. Without it, my business model and my profits would look much different! However, every once in a while a broken computer can be a good thing too, right?

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I made a change to my blog’s style sheet yesterday morning and actually remembered to check the site with an alternate browser. Much to my surprise, the blog was a mess with Internet Explorer, despite looking perfect in Firefox. I backed out the change I just made, but that didn’t fix the problem.

So the search was on to find the cause. No easy task, since I couldn’t remember making any other recent changes. Luckily it didn’t take too long to discover the consequences of neglecting to close an HTML heading tag.

Of course there’s no way to check all the different browsers, but the two most common are still Internet Explorer and Firefox. IE users are split between version 6 and version 7 and I don’t know if you can install both on one system. Here are last month’s stats from the W3 Schools site:
IE7 - 22% of users
IE6 - 30.7%
Firefox - 36.5%

Hopefully from now on I’ll remember to check after every change. What I really should do is keep a change log…….

~Linda
Who always has been resistant to change.

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Luckily, I’ve been setting my business up the last year to sort of tick over even if I need time off.  I especially made sure to do this when we were  hit with a health scare a few months back…

I posted that my son had a lump in his neck and the doctors told me to “wait and see”… well after the lump didn’t go away and in fact it got bigger.  They sent him for tests, no conclusive results.

The doctor kicked things up a notch and said that we should do a biopsy just to be safe because they didn’t know for sure whether the lump was cancerous or not…

So we waited and days before he was due to go in… the lump disappeared!  So the doc cancelled the biopsy and we decided it must have been some sort of infection and have put it behind us…

But boy were those days scary.  I did also think what if I had a job to go out to or didn’t have the flexibility with my work that I now have?

Once again, I feel extremely grateful for the position I am in and most of all that my son’s okay. 

When events like this happen they really make you stop and think… without health nothing else really matters much at all.  I’m grateful today we’re all healthy and well.

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Several years later, (where’s that sheepish emoticon when you need one?), I found myself looking for a time tracking tool. I’ve become so busy with several different projects and businesses that I really don’t know what’s making money and what’s just eating my time.

For me a time tracking device had to be:

Simple. If I have to read a manual on how to use it, I don’t want to use it.

Something I could RSS or put on my homepage so I was reminded to use it each and every morning when I booted up.

It has to be able to generate reports. After all what’s the purpose of a time tracking tool that doesn’t?

It has to have a stopwatch type feature so I can just click the button when I begin a project and click it again when I’m done.

It has to have the ability to input information (in case I forget to use it.)

Oh, yeah and I didn’t want to pay for it.

Sounds like a tall order but I actually found one that meets all of those criteria and more.

It’s called http://timegadget.logicsmiths.co.uk/

It isn’t the prettiest tool on the web and it’s in beta but it’s the best darn time tracking tool I could ask for! I’m even using it:-)

Do you track your work tasks and if so, what tools or software do you use?

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Unless you’re coming into this business with tons of experience in doing everything, there will be a learning curve - and you will make mistakes. People will point out something that you’re doing wrong or a customer will complain about your quality… and how you respond to these criticisms will determine how well you grow as a businesswoman.

I can tell you that I never LOVE critique but I do appreciate it and make a real effort to learn from it.

How have you embraced criticism?

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We all do what we feel is best for our children under our circumstances.  And personally, I can’t say for sure which way is best because each situation is different.

For example, tell the mom who lost her 5 year old to measles that you choose not to vaccinate and she’ll surely tell you please to reconsider.  On the flip side ask the mom who has several autistic children about vaccines and her warning may be different altogether.

There’s an intersting post about vaccines on the forums… it’s good to hear the different perspectives on this issue…

 View forum post here

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Facebook

Twitter

Ning

Blogs like this one

Each one a part of the growing force, sweeping across the internet in the form of social marketing. None of these networks existed when I started in my online journey. We had other ways of connecting, none of which compare to the vast multi-media experiences that exist today. I’ve been watching the evolution of marketing online for a long time.

Two recent experiences had me analyzing the differences in marketing over the past ten years more closely than I have in the past. The first was having the opportunity to interview Jason Alba in my role as media and public relations specialist here at Internet Based Moms. You know, the position that gives me the freedom to write for this blog on a Sunday afternoon. (You’ve got to love the flexibility to schedule your contributions around the schedule of your family…reason #5983 that being a work at home mom rocks!)Anyway, as part of that interview we discussed social networking and how it’s  affecting marketing. I came away thinking, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

I was reminded of this again, earlier tonight as I read Melody Thacker’s post on “The Unwritten Rules of Social Media”.

You’d think by now it wouldn’t have to be spelled out for people. There are perfectly effective and respectful ways of attracting attention to your product or service. There’s no need for anyone to spam or scam. Even greed can’t be used as an excuse, since many ethical marketers are enjoying quite financially (and otherwise) fulfilling lives.

Building relationships has always been at the core of the most effective marketing campaigns. The fact pre-dates the Internet by more years than I can count. Possibly back into the age of caves - not that I was around then, no matter what my sons may think - but I have read things to that extent.

It should be obvious that being rude in the delivery of your sale message will dilute if not totally negate the message.

What’s the point of that?

Social networking is really just small town life on steroids when it all gets boiled down to the basics. People don’t like to hang around or do business with rude, annoying, loud or questionable people. In a small town, they get talked about. Online, they get blogged and twittered about.

For those who provide quality services and products at reasonable rates and who advertise and market their products with integrity and respect…there’s no  need to worry excessively about social marketing. Your good reputation translate into valuable feedback and referals within the social networks that your target market uses.

Of course, you’d be well-advised to jump into the fray and get involved with communities that appeal to you. It’s just a good idea to explore what social networks have to offer you, whether you join with an eye on business or just because you happen to like a certain activity - you’ll likely find the benefits of belonging to an online community to be priceless.

This is true of even the most rudimentary of social networks, online and off. Being a member of a group often has unexpected rewards in other areas of our lives. As Melody said  it is natural that people gravitate towards friends and other people they know for advice over that of a marketer.

On major advantage that social marketing provides is the unsurpassed ability to intimately know our target market. You can learn more about your market than ever with polls, surveys, focus groups and anecdotal  stories. Social marketing opens up the ability to be in tune with your target audience like never before.

You just have to be nice about presenting your business and follow the rules.

That’s not that hard, is it?

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Yesterday, I spent the day cleaning. I only managed to get the main floor clean, but instead of working into the night and getting the whole house clean - I declared it good enough and walked away to enjoy the evening.

Instead of logging on to the computer when I had declared the housework done, I grabbed a book and read. Now, I alwas read a lot. The difference is that last night I didn’t take breaks from my book to log in to check my email or see what was going on on twitter.

Today, once I am finished posting here I will log off the computer and get the family ready for the magic show being hosted by the town at the community centre.  The entrance fee is a donation to the food bank and all of us are excited about getting out as a family. My middle son is especially excited, as he’s interested in performing magic tricks and has tried out a few simple ones on the family ad naseum trying to perfect his technique.

I had logged on with the intention of checking my email and touching base with a couple of my forums and I have done that.  Then I thought I’d write a quick post here to write about what I’m doing differently this weekend, because I think that many of us try too hard to do too much and end up sacrificing our families as a result of trying to be successful in our businesses.

I know I’m guilty of that!

I’ve read all the literature and I know I’m supposed to take time for my family and try to seek balance, but I seldom apply it to myself. I’m always one to say, “Well, that sounds good in theory, but I don’t know how to do that in my real life.”

So I just wanted to say - the only way to do it in real life is to just do it.

Take it one step at a time and declare one evening or one weekend a non-multitasking time and follow through. I think you’ll be surprised at how wonderful it feels to make time for teh magic in your life.

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I know there are other schools of thought out there that give strong credence to using the New Year as a fresh slate and a good point to make change, set goals and so forth and for this reason this year I decided to jump on board and create two goals for myself.

They are:

#1 The one touch rule. I got this one from my mother and the rule means you only touch something in your home once before putting it away. In my home we have the habit of shuffling clutter ( I REALLY dislike clutter) from room to room. So by adopting this rule for myself, I hoped that the home would stay cleaner. Let’s just say its 1/4 cleaner than it was because I am only one of four.

#2 Help! I decided that this would be the year I would ask for help. Notice how wonderfully measureable and specific my goals are! Sheesh, you’d think someone who wrote about goal setting would be able to set better goals! Anyway, I’m working on the asking for help thing. It’s a work in progress. I first need to figure out what I need help with. Any suggestions?

So….how are your New Year’s Resolutions going? Are they long, lost and forgotten or are you right on track?

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I wish I could clearly define what it is I like so much about these kinds of projects. It’s what I should be in business doing, but I can’t figure out what it is or how to market it. LOL!

I love coming up with an idea, researching it, gathering resources and tools, organizing and setting up the “program,” laying out the web pages, and even doing much of the writing.

What is that?

Anyway; it’s good to have my head up for a minute to look around, say “hi,” and to see what everyone else is doing.

Just a few more details to tidy up and I’ll be all set for the release. I’ll “see” you again then.

~ Linda
–heading for the finish line

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