
Instead of having a link to each social bookmarking website, you have a single link to all of them!

Instead of having a link to each social bookmarking website, you have a single link to all of them!

In 2002, William Kamkwamba from Malawi was unable to continue with his secondary school education, as his parents couldn’t afford the school fees. This was just after two terms in Form 1 (high school freshman), and he was 14 years old. But his desire to keep reading and learning led him into a library at a nearby primary school in Kasungu, and to a book on how to make electricity. He went ahead and made a windmill that powered a single light bulb in his house just following the instructions in the book. (more light than any other house in the village)
About three weeks later he touched a computer for the first time in his life, opened an email account, and four weeks ago he started his own blog. Comments and congratulations are coming in from around the world, and in the words of one of the organisers at TED, there is a “firestorm” of interest brewing for William Kamkwamba and his Windmill Blog.
Thank you Unleashing the Mind: William Kamkwamba, Malawian Genius, and the New Media BY Steve Sharra, Ph.D. - The Sunday Times 08 July 2007
Five years ago I started working with career coaching client’s to post their CV’s online - so that they could ‘drive’ employers and job search traffic to them.
These gradually transformed into full-blown blogs and I found that these people were getting great job offers and project opportunities virtually overnight!
In fact the results were so astounding that it wasn’t long before I was strongly recommending that every client considered a personal blog. Darowski says that ‘Blogging is the perfect way to give an employer a detailed sales pitch .. to show they can talk the talk.’
Joshua Porter has some interesting thoughts on why blogs are the new CV or resume but he and his commentators do not begin to explain the amazing phenomena that clients of mine experienced the night their blogs went live - they were getting next-day job offers from people who had NOT seen their blogs.
The answer to this conundrum must lie in the personal analysis and career decision-making that is a natural precursor to beginning blogging. Once you have a clear idea of who you are and what you want to do - you can start to tell the universe and attract the people who you would like to work with, talk their language and sell your future.
Can you imagine a dentist practice that installed a private bakery for its clientelle, giving away a brown bag of donuts to every lucky customer? You’d sure want to tell someone wouldn’t you? Or would you?
This is the amazing ‘true-life’ story described by a well-known ‘Word of Mouth’ Marketing practitioner. Me, being of a keen student of human nature - always wondered if those sweet-tooth-challenged clients might just eat the buns on the way home.
This ‘Magic Word of Mouth’ writer (whose name I wish I could remember, maybe a member of WOMMA) went on to describe another popular buzz-phrase ie. WIIFM (sounds like a radio, doesn’t it?) or ‘What’s In It For Me?’ (You knew that already, right?) It’s the thought that according to theorists usually occurs to the public when faced with any business proposition.
Now this type of self(ish)-questioning aspect of human nature also rang bells with me because in many circumstances I believe it can actually defeat the purpose of ‘Word of Mouth’ marketing.
You see if someone makes or sells something that is unique, rare, impossible to find, of great personal value to the buyer and gives them kudos, raises their ‘face’ value, then that person or group may not want the general public to know where they bought it. They ‘Don’t want to give the game away’. A classic example of this is from that famous blog The English Cut.
Thomas Mahon found that it was difficult to market himself as an independent tailor because clients liked to keep him for themselves and then he started blogging. Now Thomas works in both the US and UK designing and tailoring suits for his blog readers globally.
His friend, Hugh Macleod of Gaping Void believes that there are many ways ‘Word Of Mouth is not created, Word of Mouth is co-created.’ and that ‘People will only spread your virus if there’s something in it for them. They have to be complicit in your success.’
Making good conversations and selling your ideas, wares and persona is what blogging is all about. If you’d like to find more ways of making your blog effective as a personal selling tool then make sure you read Brian Clark’s: The 5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With A Bang.
Let’s talk about what works for you.
Sounds good, looks good and donates to charity!
When I heard that Apple were donating $10 from very purchase of their RED Special Edition iPod Nano to the Global Fund to fight aids in Africa, I knew it was just what my blogging readers would want.
All you have to do to be eligible to win this prize is to add your comment that describes your favourite blog and why you love it.
To enter the competition and win that iPod - just click on the iPod picture. (isn’t it gorgeous!)
Good luck!
Kindest
Margaret
In a remarkably lifting tirade Janet Street Porter has condemned blogging as ‘Uncool’ and says that the web is fast becoming ‘Clogged up with blogs’.
It is nice to know that we have arrived.
Just because no one wants to interact with her blog - she rails at the Guardian for being in her opinion ‘Blog crazy’. ‘If’ she asks ‘The Guardian is the home of the blogger, what’s the point of hiring all those expensive writers and columnists to fill it up if bloggers can unleash a torrent of words on every subject from toe nail clippings to Paris Hilton?
The point is that journalists should be good at both sets of skills otherwise they’ll find themselves excluded from the mainstream - blogging!
“Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.” — Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84)
One of my friends has a blog on Energy Sustainability that has risen from 3/10 Google ranking to 4/10 Google ranking in a very short time! Congratulations John!
If you don’t already check the ranking of the sites you visit - it is a simple job to download the Google Toolbar and install it in your browser: http://toolbar.google.com/index_xp.html
Beware, though it can become a little bit obessional and change all too radically - should a Google robot crawl your blog and find a link that takes it off-site…..
In spite of death threats, fearless fifteen year old blogger Ava Lowery has written an award winning blog called ‘Peace Takes Courage”.
Interviewed by a member of the US media who asks Ava at the end of her most recent anti-war animation of photos of injured Iraqi children - “But you do support the troops?” Ava replies that she has had nothing but encouragement from troops and their families.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” - E. E. Cummings
Exploring this site you will find out why business blogging is the new ‘bricks and mortar’ for your online presence and how to turn it in to a fully functioning web site.
Over the course of the next few weeks you’ll find seven things that you MUST have on YOUR blogs to attract media attention and easy and inexpensive ways of promoting your web address.
“If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just.” – Anita Roddick, Body Shop Founder
I’ll show you how to drive traffic to your blog effortlessly.
And provide you with hundreds of hand-picked resources for publishing your blogs, mostly free or at ‘laughable’ prices.
“A couple of hours in a hot kitchen can teach you as much about business and management as the latest books on reengineering or total quality management.” – Tom Peters Consultant and Author