Leveraging LinkedIn

Do you use LinkedIn effectively? If you are interested, I'm leading a workshop at Graylyn International Conference Center in Winston-Salem, NC on September 16th "Leveraging LinkedIn."

Details and Registration HERE.

A Poem about Renewal

Renewal

frozen limbs bound in fear

eyes too dry for anymore tears

my heart lies latent in my chest

hoping, longing for endless rest

where are the dreams of days gone by

was it all some cruel perverted lie

can i move from this coffin skin

will my iced soul ever live again?

pain within, pain without

too parched my voice to release a shout

all that moves in this locked cage

is the glimmer of fire known as rage

where are the dreams of days gone by

was it all some cruel perverted lie

can i move from this coffin skin

will my iced soul ever live again?

explosion within, shattering these bonds

screams of life, demanding a new dawn

i will live, this day again will be

found zeal for life for i've been freed

here are the dreams of today my friends

laughter and wonder as this drama ascends

playing a part, living again

freed for the journey, ever to begin

freed for the journey, freed for this quest

living again to discover the rest

Truth's guided quest, a path of delight

ever onward, strive for the light

here are the dreams of today my friends

laughter and wonder as this drama ascends

playing a part, living again

freed for the journey, ever to begin

Beneath Still Waters

placid ripples radiate

out from the stone's wake

it falls into silence

downward

from a nameless toss it came

flying in a moment

failing to break gravity's spell

downward

descending the abyss

parting waters of primeval ways

stirring the reservoir of rage

downward

what life lies beneath

what longings to be stirred

what hopes become reacquainted

down there

a small pebble settles on deepest sediment

nests into it's new dark home

and something, disturbed, moves

down there.

Clean Up #FF: Number 3 - Don't Forget the Day!

(see below for explanation)

Time got away from you and Saturday rolls around. As you check your mentions from the previous day, you notice a long list of #FF that came in during West Coast time. What to do? You think about RTs and Replies. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Resist. Don't do it! It isn't Friday. Stop.

Clean it Up! It is just confusing to see #FF tweets on Saturday and (heaven forbid but it is true) on Wednesday!  If you need to reply or mention those who mentioned you (not a bad thing as long as you follow #2 above), file it away until the next Friday. Perhaps go ahead and pre-schedule your #FF tweets for the future. Resist the urge to #FF tweet like there's no more Fridays.

So move along now my Clean Up #FF crew. The clock is ticking. Today is FRIDAY!  #FF

Thus ends the Clean Up #FF List of 3.

Note: Lately #FF has become a post fest... It's insanity tweeple. Can that many people really know and like that many tweeple? All at once? It just feels wrong, phony and bad. Bad tweeple. Bad.

What to do? Options abound.  So we shall have a list. We shall. Let's call it the Clean Up #FF List! It will be a list of 3 (I love talking in rhymes). I'll be posting a daily list of 3 #FF Clean up ideas. Please join me in my quest to clean up #FF!

Clean Up #FF: Number 1 - Don't be a #FF Pimp

Are you tweet pimping? How many people do you suggest for #FF? If the answer is in three digits, you're a PIMP! Yes, I'm name calling you. P-I-M-P! PIMP! And I don't mean that in any warm and affectionate hip-hop kind of way. Na sir.

Clean it up! Take a few moments and choose from among your follow list the newest, brightest or dearest. Then mention them one or two at a time. Then - here's the hard part - stop! Return to your regularly scheduled tweeting. That's right. toss off that fur coat and top hat and pimp no more.

NOTE: Lately #FF has become a post fest... It's insanity tweeple. Can that many people really know and like that many tweeple? All at once? It just feels wrong, phony and bad. Bad tweeple. Bad.

What to do? Options abound.  So we shall have a list. We shall. Let's call it the Clean Up #FF List! It will be a list of 3 (I love talking in rhymes). I'll be posting a daily list of 3 #FF Clean up ideas. Please join me in my quest to clean up #FF!

Clean Up #FF: Number 2 - Don't waste the Tweet

(see bottom of post for explanation)

Now you are selecting your #FF few and preparing to tweet. If you just in mention them by name and some generic line like - let's see - "Here's @WilliamsKim and you should #FF him" - although it rhymes beautifully (and come to think of it that might make it tweet worthy) it doesn't REALLY tell me why I should. You have all that extra space. We do get a whopping 140 characters to tweet, so don't waste the tweet.

Clean it up! This recommendation was actually given to me by @DHatfiled.  Tell me why I should follow someone. Give me a adjective or verb (you remember those. right?) to describe the tweetworthiness (ok. I made that one up) of your #FF mention. Go ahead. Be kind. You can do it.

Note: Lately #FF has become a post fest... It's insanity tweeple. Can that many people really know and like that many tweeple? All at once? It just feels wrong, phony and bad. Bad tweeple. Bad.

What to do? Options abound.  So we shall have a list. We shall. Let's call it the Clean Up #FF List! It will be a list of 3 (I love talking in rhymes). I'll be posting a daily list of 3 #FF Clean up ideas. Please join me in my quest to clean up #FF!

Can We Clean Up Follow Friday? Please.

If you are using Twitter then you know about Follow Friday (#FF). It is a bit of a tradition and one of the oldest practiced in the Twitterverse (Twitter talk for the stuff on Twitter).  Lately I've been less than a fan of the day. It boils down to my opinion about the manner in which some tweeps (that's Twitter talk for people who use Twitter) are practicing the tradition.

The idea originated from @Micah (according to Mashable) as a way of suggesting a couple of people to follow and soon spread rapidly. The intent is great. You suggest people you like to follow to me (and your other followers ) and we all do the same. The process is simple. You just include the hashtag #FF* (Twitter talk for using the # sign in front of a word of letters to tie it to a specific theme)  in your tweet and mention the people you would like others to check out. The timing is concise. You do this on Friday and on Friday only. Before and after #FF we are about our regularly scheduled tweeting. So, what's not to like?

Lately #FF has become a post fest. Many people are listing the maximum number of people in a single tweet with only the #FF hashtag. They do this not once or twice but incessantly as if going through their entire following. Several times I have visited an individual's tweet stream (more Twitter talk but I'm not explaining. Use your imagination) and seen nothing but a long list of hundreds of #FF posts packed with peoples user names and the hashtag. Then there are those who get crazy with the Retweets (RT is more Twitter talk. Buy Twitter for dummies if you are still lost) of their #FF mentions. Someone #FF with my user name and I RT it. Then someone else RTs it and I RT it again. Last Friday I saw so many #FF packed posts, I felt - well - dirty - as in "solicitation" dirty. ugh. 

It's insanity tweeple. Can that many people really know and like that many tweeple? All at once? It just feels wrong, phony and bad. Bad tweeple. Bad.

What to do? Options abound.  So we shall have a list. We shall. Let's call it the Clean Up #FF List! It will be a list of 3 (I love talking in rhymes). I'll be posting a daily list of 3 #FF Clean up ideas. Please join me in my quest to clean up #FF!

Tomorrow #1 - Don't be a #FF Pimp!

*Note: the original hashtag for Follow Friday was #FollowFriday, but it got shortened to #FF so the #FF pimps to get in more mentions (yes. I'm ranting).