Passion: What does it mean to you?

Angelamaiers I've been assisting Angela Maiers post guest posts on her blog this month while she has been traveling. The topic is PASSION-Driven Conversations. She has invited "a diverse group of genius minds to the table." Included are "award winning educators, bloggers, college professors, children’s book writers, scientists, small business owners, leaders from the education and corporate world, social media gurus and consultants, three New York Times best selling authors, parents, and of course, students!"

It's been a pleasant and thought-provoking read as I prepare these blog posts to be published. Take a look and let me know what you think.

What are you passionate about? How do you express that passion in your work or life in general?

I've been thinking about passion a lot during the past year and especially the last month and I will start sharing those thoughts in posts here.

 


Happy Ghosts on MyBlogLog Widget

Mybloglog Why don't people just upload their photos? I could not believe how many of the faces on the MyBlogLog widget this morning were happy ghosts. What's the deal? 


Myblogloglogo I have always enjoyed the community of MyBlogLog. You can actually see who you are having a conversation with.  I clicked on some of the ghosts and found that they really are haunting the site. They might have started to create an account but there is no actual blog attached. Maybe it's time to eliminate some of the dead wood on MyBlogLog. What do you think? Do you enjoy the community? How important is it to you to "see" the person visiting your site? I understand the privacy issue, but it seems like this is something else.

Remember, blogging is about you...

and your business. I was reminded today (after reading a guest post at remarkablogger by Holly Jackson) that blogging isn't only business. It's about the person behind the business, too. After a lengthly hiatus I recently 2466424907_8770836286_mfind myself wanting to write -- and not always about business -- so her post was just what I needed to read at this time. Yes, I have a lot to say and by stifling myself about the personal side it also affected my creativity as far as the business posts go - at least that's my reasoning.

So bear with me as I sort out what the topics of conversation are here, outloud and in public.

Photo by squeezle on flickr


SOBCon09 is Next Week!

Can you believe it's almost May?

SOBCon is next week. If you're serious about blogging - or want to be - you have to attend this event. Check out all the people who are already signed up. Look at all the opportunities to learn and socialize with other bloggers.

Save-the-date-sobcon09 I still am unsure if I can attend. It's been a scary year so far for me and I have not been working as much as I would like. So my reasons for not attending have been based on finances. And then today a fellow blogger, Deb at debworks told me that Naomi from IttyBiz is unable to attend and is giving away tickets. You can be sure I went right over and signed up. And I told Jim about it because he really enjoyed SOBCon08.

I figure "if it's meant to be" we'll get tickets. It was a "meant to be" event that brought Deb and me together just as I am contemplating my future as a blogger.

Time is running out! Sign up today.

I'm sorry Naomi can't make it though. Be sure to check out the IttyBiz blog.


It's Official - Age of Conversation 2 is Now Available

Ageofconversation2cover Are you ready? After months in the works, Age of Conversation 2 is available for purchase in hardback, paperback and e-book at http://www.lulu.com/ageofconversation.

You have a chance to raise money for a charity (our goal is to raise over $15K for Variety) and hear what authors from 15 countries have to say. It's a collaboration that started in the spring of 2007 when 103 authors created the first book, Age of Conversation. It has raised over $14,000 for Variety, the Children's Charity.

Thanks to Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, we published again!

Only this time there are 237 authors.

Each author had a limit of one page and 400 words. The topics were

  • Manifestos
  • Keeping Secrets in the Age of Conversation
  • Moving from Conversation to Action?
  • The Accidental Marketer
  • A New Brand of Creative
  • My Marketing Tragedy
  • Business Model Evolution
  • Life in the Conversation Lane

Buy several today! You don't want to miss it.

Here's the final author list.

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G. Kofi Annan, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw and James G. Lindberg, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem


Age of Conversation 2.0

Last year more than 100 bloggers contributed to Age of Conversation. It brought in over $10,000 for Variety, the Children's Charity. Drew McLellan recently put out the call for writers for the next edition. You still have time to vote on the topic, too. Make sure you visit Drew's site by Feb. 3rd.

Psst... You can vote on the topic even if you won't want to be an author.

Here's some of the people who have signed up. (Thanks to Angela Maiers for the list.)

Drew McLellan, Luc Debaiseieux, Ryan Karpeles, Greg Verdino, Lori Magno, Gavin Heaton, Connie Reece, The Kaiser, Katie Chatfield, Tim Jackson, Doug Meacham, C.B. Whittemore, Becky Carroll, Gordon Whitehead, Daniel B. Honigman, Daria Rasmussen, Jay Ehret, Jasmin Tragas, Jamey Shiels, Organic Frog, Bill Gammell, Nathan Snell, Stephen Landau, Stephen Collins, Stephen Smith, Mark Earls, Steven Verbruggen, Neil Perkin, Brett Macfarlane, Dino Demopoulos, Chris Wilson, Asi Sharabi, Angela Maiers, Sandy Renshaw

Are you ready to add your name??

The authors from Age of Conversation:

Sandy Renshaw with Age of Conversation Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
Neil Vineberg

Related post:
The Age of Conversation if Available from Lulu

 

Have You Seen Any Outstanding New Blogs?

Onblogblack Troy Worman has created another award recognizing new blogs. New is defined as less than one year old. There's a few of them that I want to recognize. I'll add them at the bottom. So grab Troy's button to put on your blog.

The Original List:

About Every Little Thing by Lis
Abundance Journal by Belle Wong (Toronto, Ontario)
Angela Maiers by Angela Maiers
Attitude, Ultimate Power by Mel Kaye
C is for Corrie by Corrie Haffly
Confident Writing by Joanna Young
Continuum Wellness by Catherine
Creatorship by Barbara Sliter
Employer Ease by Carl Lingen
Get Fresh Minds by Katie Konrath
How To Be An Original by Lodewijk van den Broek
Innovating to Win by Jim Todhunter
Leadership and Other Ramblings by Eric Peterson
Lead Quietly by Don Frederiksen
Litemind by Luciano Passuello
Media Hunter by Sticky Advertising
Moment on Monday by Art Dinkin
My Beautiful Chaos by April Groves
Rooms of My Heart by Trinity
Runners Lounge by Amy Hunold-Van Gundy and Tom Green
Sui Generis by Derrick Kwa
Tamara by Tamara Dull
The Happy Burro by Joe Raasch
The Road Map by Ron Bland
ThoughtSparks by Phil
Wendy Piersal by Wendy Piersal
Yap 3.0 by Robin Yap
Your Human Experience by Paula Kawal
ZoomStart by Shane Navratil

My Additions:

Rita Perea Consulting by Rita Perea
Good and Beyond by Sherry Borzo and Marsha Hines
Enroute365 by Brenda Friedrich
This Ain't No Spin Class by Kelly Moore


The I List is Growing

This is a fun way to end the year - with an "I" list. For all the Iowa bloggers. Several of us have been posting lists of Iowa bloggers during the past year, but Drew McLellan (and Mike Sansone) turned it into The I List. What a great idea!

I've added a few links to sites that you might be interested in checking out: SmartPestSolutions | Around Des Moines | Association for Women in Communications DSM Alliance | Enroute365 | Essential Estrogen | This Ain't No Spin Class

Go ahead, add any Iowa blogger links that are missing, grab the code and post it on your blog.

Here's the list with my additions.

The I list:

Adam Carroll
Andy Drish
Around Des Moines
Art Dinkin, CFP, CLU, ChFC
Association of Business & Industry
Association for Women in Communications DSM Alliance
Babich, Goldman, Cashatt & Renzo
Barry Pace
BeatCanvas
Bill Grell

Blue Frog Arts
Brett Trout
Bridges Financial
Broom Wizards
C Wenger Group
Carpe Factum
Claire Celsi
Cloud Nine Diamonds
Compass Financial Services
Conference Calls Unlimited
ConverStations
Dave Dreeszen
Des Moines Families
Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen
DMWebLife
Do You Q?
Dr U Fantasy Football
DSM Buzz
Dwebware
Employer Ease
Enroute365
Eric Peterson
Essential Estrogen
Focal Point Multimedia
George Davison

Gift Idea Help
Home Know-it-All
Insight Advertising & Marketing
Iowa Bed & Breakfast Association
Iowa Biz
J. Erik Potter
Jann Freed
Jennifer Jaskolka-Brown
Josh More
Kyle's Cove
Maiers Educational Services
McKee, Vorhees & Sease
McLellan Marketing Group
NCMIC Insurance
Purple Wren
Radio Iowa
REL Productions
Rental Metrics
Rita Perea Consulting
Roth & Company
RSM McGladrey
Ruby's Pub
Runners' Lounge
Rush Nigut
Ryan Rossinick
Simplifive
SmartPestSolutions
Snap! Creative Works
Studio 24 Design
Sullivan & Ward's Iowa Law Blog
Swing Station
The Members Group
The Mitchell Group
The Simple Dollar
The Yin Blog
This Ain't No Spin Class
Transition Capital Management
US Rodeo Supply
Victoria Herring
Wade Den Hartog
Wealth With Mortgage
When Words Matter
White Rabbit Group

Related posts:

Recognizing Outstanding Bloggers
Z-Listers are now Pic Shots
Sharing the Z-List Collage
Z-List goes Interactive and Mobile on Wiffiti
Have you seen the Iowa Blogga Nostra?
Using Photo Flicks to Share Memories


Recognizing Outstanding Bloggers

OblogwhiteTroy Worman from OrbitNow! has started a blog meme to recognize outstanding bloggers. What's a meme?

  1. 100 Bloggers
  2. 37 Days
  3. 3i
  4. 43 Folders
  5. A Clear Eye
  6. A Daily Dose of Architecture
  7. The Agonist
  8. All Things Workplace
  9. All This Chittah Chattah
  10. Angela Maiers
  11. Antonella Pavese
  12. Arizona High Tech
  13. A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye
  14. Badger Blogger
  15. Bailey WorkPlay
  16. Being Peter Kim
  17. Brett Trout
  18. Best of Mother Earth
  19. Beyond Madison Avenue
  20. Biz and Buzz
  21. Bizhack
  22. BizSolutions Plus
  23. Blog Business World
  24. Bloggers Showroom
  25. Blogging for Business
  26. Blogher
  27. Blog Till You Drop!
  28. Bob Sutton
  29. Brain Based Business
  30. Brains on Fire
  31. Brand Autopsy
  32. The Brand Builder Blog
  33. Branding and Marketing
  34. Branding Strategy
  35. Brand is Language
  36. BrandSizzle
  37. Brandsoul
  38. Bren Blog
  39. Business Evolutionist
  40. Business Management Life
  41. Business Pundit
  42. Business Services, Etc.
  43. Busy Mom
  44. Buzz Canuck
  45. Buzz Customer
  46. Buzzoodle
  47. Career Intensity
  48. Carpe Factum
  49. Casual Fridays
  50. Change Your Thoughts
  51. Chaos Scenario
  52. Cheezhead
  53. Chief Happiness Officer
  54. Chris Brogan
  55. Christine Kane
  56. Church of the Customer
  57. Circaspecting
  58. CK’s Blog
  59. Come Gather Round
  60. Community Guy
  61. Confident Writing
  62. Conversation Agent
  63. Converstations
  64. Cooking for Engineers
  65. Cool Hunting
  66. Core77
  67. Corporate Presenter
  68. Crayon Writer
  69. Creating a Better Life
  70. Creating Passionate Users
  71. Creative Think
  72. CRM Mastery
  73. Crossroads Dispatches
  74. Cube Rules
  75. Culture Kitchen
  76. Customers Are Always
  77. Customer Service Experience
  78. Customer Service Reader
  79. Customers Rock!
  80. Custserv
  81. Craig Harper
  82. Daily Fix
  83. Dawud Miracle
  84. Dave Olson
  85. David Airey
  86. David Maister
  87. David S Finch
  88. Design Your Writing Life
  89. Digital Common Sense
  90. Director Tom
  91. Diva Marketing
  92. Do You Q
  93. Duct Tape Marketing
  94. Empowerment 4 Life
  95. The Engaging Brand
  96. Essential Keystrokes
  97. Every Dot Connects
  98. Experience Architect
  99. Experience Curve
  100. Experience Matters
  101. Extreme Leadership
  102. Eyes on Living
  103. Feld Thoughts
  104. Flooring the Customer
  105. Fouroboros
  106. FutureLab
  107. Genuine Curiosity
  108. Glass Half Full
  109. The Good Life
  110. Great Circle
  111. Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog
  112. Hee-Haw Marketing
  113. Hello, My Name is BLOG
  114. Holly’s Corner
  115. Homeless Family
  116. The Idea Dude
  117. I’d Rather be Blogging
  118. Influential Marketing
  119. Innovating to Win
  120. Inspiring & Empowering Lives
  121. Instigator Blog
  122. Jaffe Juice
  123. Jibber Jobber
  124. Joyful Jubilant Learning
  125. Joy of Six
  126. Kent Blumberg
  127. Kevin Eikenberry
  128. Learned on Women
  129. Life Beyond Code
  130. Lip-sticking
  131. Listics
  132. The Lives and Times
  133. Live Your Best Life
  134. Live Your Inspiration
  135. Living Light Bulbs
  136. Logical Emotions
  137. Logic + Emotion
  138. Make It Great!
  139. Making Life Work for You
  140. Management Craft
  141. Managing with Aloha
  142. The M.A.P. Maker
  143. The Marketing Excellence Blog
  144. Marketing Headhunter
  145. Marketing Hipster
  146. The Marketing Minute
  147. Marketing Nirvana
  148. Marketing Roadmaps
  149. Marketing Through the Clutter
  150. Mary Schmidt
  151. Masey
  152. The Media Age
  153. Micropersuasion
  154. Middle Zone Musings
  155. Miss604
  156. Moment on Money
  157. Monk at Work
  158. Monkey Bites
  159. Movie Marketing Madness
  160. Motivation on the Run
  161. My 2 Cents
  162. My Beautiful Chaos
  163. Naked Conversations
  164. Neat & Simple Living
  165. New Age 2020
  166. New Charm School
  167. Next Up
  168. No Man’s Blog
  169. The [Non] Billable Hour
  170. Note to CMO
  171. Office Politics
  172. Optimist Lab
  173. The Origin of Brands
  174. Own Your Brand
  175. Pardon My French
  176. Passion Meets Purpose
  177. Pause
  178. Peerless Professionals
  179. Perfectly Petersen
  180. Personal Branding
  181. The Podcast Network
  182. The Power of Choice
  183. Practical Leadership
  184. Presentation Zen
  185. Priscilla Palmer
  186. Productivity Goal
  187. Pro Hip-Hop
  188. Prosperity for You
  189. Purple Wren
  190. QAQnA
  191. Qlog
  192. Reveries
  193. Rex Blog
  194. Ririan Project
  195. Rohdesign
  196. Rothacker Reviews
  197. Scott H Young
  198. Search Engine Guide
  199. Servant of Chaos
  200. Service Untitled
  201. Seth’s Blog
  202. Shards of Consciousness
  203. Shotgun Marketing
  204. Simplenomics
  205. Simplicity
  206. Slacker Manager
  207. Slow Leadership
  208. Socially Adept
  209. Social Media Marketing Blog
  210. Spare Change
  211. Spirit in Gear
  212. Spooky Action
  213. Steve’s 2 Cents
  214. Strategic Design
  215. Strength-based Leadership
  216. StickyFigure
  217. Studentlinc
  218. Success Begins Today
  219. Success Creeations
  220. Success From the Nest
  221. Successful Blog
  222. Success Jolt
  223. Talk to Strangers
  224. Tammy Lenski
  225. Tell Ten Friends
  226. That Girl from Marketing
  227. Think Positive!
  228. This Girl’s Weblog
  229. Thoughts & Philosophies
  230. Tom Peters
  231. Trust Matters
  232. Verve Coaching
  233. Viral Garden
  234. Waiter Bell
  235. Wealth Building Guy
  236. What’s Next
  237. Writers Notes
  238. You Already Know this Stuff
  239. Zen Chill

What's a Meme?

264245_whats_that Lately, several people have asked me, "What's a meme?" The term originated with Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. There's a lengthy explanation at Wikipedia.

First of all, it rhymes with theme although I've heard some people pronounce it "mem" like in memory, or me-me like

It's a form of imitation - an idea that spreads from person to person. For bloggers this usually means quizzes, surveys, and questions that people link to and pass around on blogs. They can be interesting and give you insight into the personalities of fellow bloggers. Often people are inclined to participate on the weekends when they have more time.

For example, a meme might be “why do you blog?” You write a post on your site asking and answering the question. Then you “tag” other bloggers that you want to hear from. (This reference to "tag" is like the childhood game of "tag, you're it".) Since most bloggers keep track of links to their site (with RSS feeds) they will see the “tag” and respond on their site with a link back to your site and with links to the other participants.

When you write your post, there is often a blog tag to use that references the meme. By using this tag you can track how the meme has spread at Technorati. (This "tag" refers to Technorati tags - a method of categorizing blog posts.)

The reason most people participate is they get a lot of "link love" and it generates new traffic, some of whom may become regular readers. It's a good way to find new sites to read. Here's a site dedicated to the meme: The Daily Meme.

Have you participated in a good meme lately? Which one?


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