January 4th, 2009 — Odd Ends
Chris Brogan shared his goals for 2009. He took a different approach than most though. Instead of coming up with a laundry list of specifics he tackled it with three words. A bit different I admit, but let’s see what his logic is.
If you want to try the process, it works something like this: think of how you want to be successful in 2009. Then, try to think in even broader terms. Extrapolate on the broader terms, and find one word to hang the idea on.
Meaning, don’t think as much “I want to lose 50 pounds and get back into my high school pants.” Try thinking “Fitness means I’ll be able to cover more ground.” From there, you can say “ground” might be your word. And then, when you look at that as a word, you see how it can open you up to even more meanings. “Ground” can remind you to get fit so you can cover more ground. It can mean to be “grounded,” like someone who feels calm and at rest.
Sounds radical doesn’t it? Does it work? It sure seems to for him.
I took a similar approach with my 2008 goals. My goals for 2008 were simple - have an interesting year, take opportunities. Let’s just say it worked out.
Some highlights from this approach - trip to Austin to visit with online friends, attended first bloggers conference (SOBCon), attended a Pulver breakfast in Vancouver CA, started the St. Louis Bloggers Guild, attended several Tweetups, and even put on a BarCamp, and more.
So yes, my goals turned out to be spot on. But how to follow up this year? Go with interesting and opportunities? This year I think I’ll concentrate on some other areas of my life.
My goals this year are driven by some realizations from last year. One, I’m not turning to God enough as a primary relationship. Not telling you how to believe, but I believe in a God that listens, cares, and is active in our lives. I’ve not been paying enough attention to that relationship. Most evident of this is my wife all but telling me outright to get it together.
Two is focusing on health. I’ve been slacking this past year. Oh, I’ve lost some weight, eaten a bit better and etc, but I’ve not taken it seriously. My wife has rocked the weight loss, and I’ve been her cheerleader. It’s time to let her cheer lead me on. It’s also time to take better care of my body as I’ve had more aches and pains this past year than ever before.
Third will be to build things. Build better work habits, build success in business, build a presence for St. Louis on the social media map, and more. I want to put my best foot forward into doing better at work, at creating a presence for myself, and getting a platform. I want to build relationships, build bridges, and build up others. Heck, I’m feeling charged up just talking about it.
So my three goals - God, Health, Build.
Chris’s three goals - Equip . Armies . Needles . (you have to read the post to get it)
What are you goals for 2009? Have you thought about them? How about considering lessons learned from 2008 as a good starting point.
January 2nd, 2009 — Blogging, social networking
I’m inspired by my Twitter friend, @freshfocus. Every Friday on Fresh Focus she shares the link love. Bonus - they are work and family safe.
Here are some links to some good posts to kick of your year.
The list of great New Years post is amazing really. That said, I’ve yet to do my own.
I’d love you to share yours with me here, or share the most interesting ones you’ve found. Also, do consider writing your own Friday Link Love post to share the wealth.
What posts are inspiring you already?
January 1st, 2009 — social networking
It’s a big list, the list of social networking sites out there. The shot above, from FriendFeed, shows the possible list of networks your can import there. It’s simply amazing that the list above isn’t even a large number of those that exist.
There are networks both broad in scope and very niche. Some networks offer many ways to share and interact while others only allow small text messages. Each network offers a slightly different experience than the next, and draws its own type of followers.
Ultimately what’s drawn me back to my favorites is the people. What is it about the people? It’s the interaction. I can interact with them directly, experience the content they created, or just keep apprised of events they are being part of. It’s also about being able to share with these people in some meaningful way.
The sites or tools that best represented that for me aren’t numerous, but they’ve survived by being ones I keep coming back to, even if it’s just to broadcast information.
- Facebook - What can I say, this one keeps drawing me back. What has given me? It’s given me access to people I know and introduced me to many I’ve yet to meet. It’s lead me to dinners, breakfasts, meet ups and online networking. I’ve been drawn into reading blogs, watching interesting videos, and learning about people’s lives. We’ve played, we’ve connected, we’ve been charitable. Lots of folks dismiss this site as just spammy. The key is to not wait for the site to bring you good stuff, but to go out and find it in your network of people. The other thing is to avoid signing up for every application you’re invited to. It’s okay and even smart to say no. Those two things will greatly improve your experience.
- Twitter - If you are into social networking and aren’t on Twitter, well you aren’t into social networking. Twitter is the simplest site to take part in technically but probably the toughest to do right. It’s one of the sites I’ve blogged the most about. Truth be told there is not right way to take part on Twitter, but it’s so easy to get wrong. It’s best feature is limiting messages to 140 characters. This means you have to keep it short and to the point. This is also it’s biggest limitation. It’s hard to follow one side of a conversation at times. Very little can be reference in a reply. The hidden upside is the huge number of available tools that work with Twitter.
- FriendFeed - This tool, mentioned in reference to the photo above, is really an aggregation site at its heart. Though you can post directly there as well. It’s biggest value is being able to see all of the various streams a person creates all in one place. Instead of following me for example in four different networks, you can just follow me on FriendFeed. You’ll get my Flickr updates, my Twitter updates, and more. It’s not just one way either. Users can comment on items in those streams as well as vote them up or down with Like and Hide. It ends up being a rather democratic view of the online world. Great tool if you want to follow someone like Scoble who broadcasts across multiple networks.
- Flickr - This site is the one that got me started in social networking. It’s still a favorite. This is first and foremost a photo sharing site. That very sharing though leads to ad hoc relationships, and from there to real relationships. Flickr groups grow organically more as much as on any other social network. The fact that it has groups give it an edge. An additional feature that gives this site an edge is tagging. Every photo can be tagged, as well as groups. Beyond tagging, the descriptions, titles and tags are indexed by search engines. (privacy settings permitting) This means your content isn’t just discoverable by accident as someone stumbles through your stream. It means that someone, on another network you share, who doesn’t even know you have a Flickr account can have the serendipitous chance to find your work, connecting here as well. This just happened for me.
There are other networks I spend time on and enjoy, but these few take up the body of my time online. Each has brought into existence or enhanced relationships. They all continue to grow, and connections overlap more ever day.
You can find me at each of these with the links below:
I look forward to connecting with you on any or all of these networks. Also, I’d love to hear what your favorites were for 2008.
December 31st, 2008 — Blogging, Business, Conference, social media, social networking
The year is over but the people of this year have left a mark on my life that goes beyond the turning of a calendar page. Support, encouragement, challenges, contests, and more were brought to me through and by these men and women.
I’d love to be able to break them down into a Top 10 list, or into distinct categories, or give each one a label, such as Top Pesterer. It won’t work. Each of these individuals has contributed in multiple ways to the course of 2008.
Simple messages across the void to in person meetings, these people shared and listened. This post is just to share a little bit about them, both to help remind me and to show respect. Join me please for this small bit of memory chasing.
In no particular order…
- Susan Reynolds and Connie Reece - These ladies, whom I met on Twitter, were two of my earliest encouragers and knowledge instillers. Susan is a complex person being artist, blogger, and business woman. Her hands on sharing about Twitter, Second Life and business were just a few of the things she brought to the table. She also introduced me to Connie Reece. Connie is a busy woman herself, being a leader of BlogHer, running a business, and also providing leadership for Social Media Club. Between them I was given a big head start in the social networking world and a spur to get serious about blogging. They lead me to the next folks on my list.
- Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker - Liz and Terry uncovered me as a blogger and social networker. This was in big part from Susan and Connie spurring me on. Liz and Terry not only included me in their circles, but Liz nurtured my inner SOB potential. It didn’t stop there, when next they invited me to attend SOBCon08. This event was the most significant event of year of my blogging and social networking life. I’ve written about SOBCon elsewhere on the blog but these two did more than provide a conference. They challenged me to take my blogging game to the next level. Thanks to their push, I won all expense scholarship to SOBCon08 via my blog. SOBCon brings me to my next group of folks.
- Becky McCray, Chris Cree, Rick Mahn, and Sheila Scarborough - I could write all day about these folks, but let me tell you what they have in common. All of them run their own business, all are bloggers, all are experienced in social networking. Best of all, they are part of my SOB Advisory Team. Each has given up their time, resources, and more for me and each other. Introduced to me at SOBCon, the bunch shared a vision of doing more than just keeping fond remembrances of that weekend. That vision has lead us to team up, sharing ideas, encouraging, and when needed, badgering each other. I can’t express enough how much I appreciate them.
- Trish Forant, Tracy Lee Carroll, Christine Taylor, Marti Lawrence, Glenda Watson Hyatt - These ladies may not realize it, but they’ve got a lot in common. All are business women, all are bloggers and social networkers, and something else. They’ve all been like sisters to me. Trish, Tracy and Glenda have been there with me pushing me on to get to SOBCon, take me to new heights in networking but it didn’t end there. Each of them has shared highs and lows with me this year. They have listened to me whine, laughed with me, cheered me, and told me when I’m being a smart-ass. Oh, they are so different in personality and tastes, each brings a unique style and wit to my life. All of them have taken the relationship beyond 140 characters. I hope we are always friends.
- Duane Myers and Erin Kotecki Vest - These two are a pair. A pair of what I’m not saying. One’s a Conservative, the other a Liberal. One likes scotch, the other a good wine. Both are social networking, blogging, and offline networking gurus. I’ve had a chance to learn at their feet so to speak. Duane and Erin have shown me things that challenged my views, ticked me off, and yet spurred me on. Duane and Erin don’t let you rest on your laurels, heck, they don’t rest on theirs, or for that matter, rest much at all. Both demonstrated to me the need to keep moving, keep working, and keep influencing. They’ve schooled me on my attitude, as well as talked me up. Neither probably realizes their influence this past year, Erin especially. I couldn’t pass up acknowledging them though. You could do worse than to just listen to them.
- Vicky Hennegan, Michelle Vandepas, and Karen Putz - I met these three at SOBCon08. Thanks again to those that lead me there. Vicky and Michelle saw more in me than just another blogger or social networker. These women, like those above, are business savvy, bloggers, and more. All have another wonderful talent, that of encouragement. They have drawn together, though with my stumbles, to form another group to share support, advice, and just listen. These ladies aren’t just sitting on the side lines online or off. Vicky and Michelle, and Karen too are involved in projects for coaching and educating adults and children. Because of them I’ve been moved to a spirit of generosity I’d never known. That’s taken the form of giving to and support numerous charities throughout the year but it went beyond that. They told me to give time as well, in the form of guest blogging and directly supporting other bloggers and social networkers to success. If you like stuff I’ve done this year, you might want to thank these three personally.
There are so many more of you that I’d like to mention. One group though has a bunch of you in it, the St. Louis Bloggers Guild. The Bloggers Guild is a change making group in St. Louis. I was asked to get in on the ground floor and couldn’t pass it up. (thanks to all of you above) The guild gave me a chance to be a better blogger not just in the writing sense but in terms of responsibility to others. Responsibility for honesty, courage, and respect to those offline and on. It also gave me a chance to lead, instruct, and share that wasn’t open to me before. Cheers to all of you!
Insert the other 2,000 names here. Thats for the ton of you that came along side this year. You listened, you shouted, you danced, you laughed, and you shared. You brought your best, your worst, and tolerated the same from me. I had the chance to meet some of you in person and feel incredibly blessed by that. A strong desire of mine is to meet as many of you as I can, even if it’s just to shake hands or give a hug.
I promise not be be a stranger. I ask that you keep me in your thoughts.
Thanks for one of the best years of my life - 2008. Cheers to you all.
Yours,
Todd aka tojosan
December 30th, 2008 — Odd Ends, social networking
The folks on Twitter gave me their list of best purchases for 2008. Do you see yours in here anywhere?
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These folks were very forth coming. My personal favorites are the shepherd and the biking shorts. Notice a trend though. Can you say Apple products anyone?
Thanks for those that participated.
BTW, you can follow these great folks by clicking the links on their profile names.
Happy New Year and here’s to another great year of consumerism.
December 30th, 2008 — St. Louis, social networking
Losing My Tech Virginity @ #BarCampSTL | The Database Diva: “Learning new social media skills makes my head hurt. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, yada, yada, etc., who has time?
For me, it’s like going to the gym: just one more job. Plus, everytime you add something to your plate, you must eliminate something else, right? And if it’s not sleep, then…what?”
Lori Feldman came to BarCampStL to discover something. She walked away with more than she’d imagined.
Lori shares with us her first experience at a BarCamp. Her first introductory thoughts…
The event was billed as, “Let’s get a bunch of St. Louis geeks and friends together and do something.” I wasn’t quite sure how I would contribute anything of value to these early adopters. Alas, I thought, I’m only a B.I.T. (blogger in training) and not technical. And there were “rules”, which, frankly had me pretty intimidated: “No spectators, only participants.”
And then she went from attendee to presenter…
After introducing myself around, I figured out what I could talk about, and decided to go for it. I would be the bridge between the technology and the business opportunity. Read a recap of my presentation. I got the only presentation slot left–the first one of the morning.
Lori rocked us with her lead in presentation. After that she just didn’t set back and relax. She jumped in and engaged those around her.
The whole experience was better for me because of her presence. Her curiosity, openness, and upbeat attitude kept the conversation and presentations going.
Thanks Lori.
Her final thought…
Time we all lost our virginity to social media marketing technology tools.
Cheers.
December 30th, 2008 — Blogging, St. Louis
Member Profile - Five Minutes With Todd Jordan « St. Louis Bloggers Guild: “If you want to know something about social media and networking, Todd Jordan is THE answer man. Todd blogs about an array of subjects – from parenting and photography to social networking. When not blogging at his home site The Broad Brush he guest blogs at Remarkable Parents.com and is also a contributor at Dad-O-Matic.com”
The above is the lead in for a profile article on yours truly. It’s an interesting read and might show you a thing or two about me.
Lisa Bertrand did a great job with this. She was very encouraging to open up and share. It’s great to be profiled by someone like her.
You can read the whole series of member profiles.
The St. Louis Bloggers Guild is reaching out to St. Louis bloggers, businesses and community. Please considering joining if you’re an active St. Louis area blogger.
December 25th, 2008 — social networking, tools
Damon Cort brings us another fun and interesting Twitter tool - First Follower. First follower shows you the first person you followed on Twitter that you are still following.
My answer? @bootload. Programmer and more. I met him via Flickr.
Damon is @dacort on Twitter. He’s also the founder of Tweetstats.
I recommend following both of these fine gentlemen, and of course, you can follow me.
December 25th, 2008 — holiday
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Jordan Family.
Quick Christmas morning advice.
December 23rd, 2008 — Games, Projects, social networking
Akoha VIP Starter Deck Christmas Giveaway | Gypsy Bandito: “So since everyone is giving away all kinds of schwagg this time of year, I thought that I would jump on the bandwagon. I’m giving away an Akoha VIP Sarter Deck to one lucky commentor. The deck is a Fall 2008 Edition, and includes 24 Real-World Mission Cards.
For those of you who don’t know what Akoha is, it’s a web-based game with reality-based play (very cool), and it’s designed to make the world a better place by changing the way people think about acts of kindness. But you can find out more about that by watching the video interview below with Akoha founder, Austin Hill.”
And so Gypsy Bandito kicks off his give away of the Akoha VIP starter Deck. I’ve already registered. He’s drawing the name on Christmas morning. It’s easy, leave a comment telling why you deserve the deck, a dirty holiday joke, or tell him why’s he’s Canada’s most influential person.
Akoha is a social game that takes place on and offline. It’s about making the world a better place. Check out Akoha.
