6 Commandments of Blogging

Aww, shucks…

So, you want to start blogging. To which I say: Are ya sure?? Are you ready to be wiped out, tossed around, shocked senseless, thrown into the deep end of the Internet ocean– and love it? Oh ok, then, jump in! Here’s some help:

1. Start writing. Keep writing. Write some more. Are you spent? That’s nice– keep writing (or drawing or photoshopping, or whatever your primary content medium is). Come up with 5 posts you would feel comfortable showing your grandma, your boss, and the person you have a crush on. ‘Cause this is the World Wide Web, baby, and once you press ‘Post,’ there ain’t no going back. So, did you like all that writing? Could you do it next week, and the next and the next and the next? GREAT!! Now add at least 25% time for formatting, images, and the unexpected time-sucking details you never imagined would come up. P.S. This does not include outreach and promotion. Hey, just trying to be real with you.

2. Collaborate! Get a buddy who can share the load with you, or keep you accountable, or be a source of inspiration when you’re stuck. If you know someone else who is blogging–and that you can talk to when you need help and feel dumber than a brick–it helps keep you on the constant blogging treadmill. It also helps you sidestep the panic-inducing downward spiral of Internal Self-Doubt, because you can bounce an idea off of someone rather than chase all its myriad tails around your rapidly dwindling sanity. (Speaking of collaboration, check out the blog of my partner-in-crime, Vidya Spandana. She’s an entrepreneurial balllller!! And Kris Israel is my original blogging trainer. See the co-promoting? That’s tip 2b: Remember to share the traffic love and credit your sources of inspiration!)

3. Post, and let it go 🙂 Don’t attach traffic expectations to your posts, at least at first while you’re still testing the waters. Keep writing (see #1). Don’t give up on posts or hide them away because they’re ‘not quite there yet.’ That being said… if it’s really not working, chuck it. As you practice, you’ll learn the difference. Hold yourself to deadlines. It will be easier to focus your content and prioritize editing when you’re sweating like it’s your first paper of your first class of freshman year. (And hey, at least you know your writing is better now…hopefully…) Commit to following through with that last 10% or 15% percent, or whatever point at which you start to question the premise of your post. Keep writing, keep editing. Then post, and let it go. Note: Do track your views, but at 10 min, 30 min, and 1 hour after posting on social networks. Not, like, 30 times in the first 5 min. You’re just setting yourself up for disappointment. One more time? Post, and let it go 🙂 Ahh.. 🙂

4. Test-case your titles. Ask a friend or two (or the collaborator from #2) to vet your title. It’s hard to see the hook of your piece when your nose is pressed to the fish tank and you’re reaching over the top of the glass with an awkwardly bent elbow and your tongue is sticking out from ‘concentration.’ Just ask a fish! (a.k.a. someone in your intended audience.)

5. Trust the random urges. You never know where online traffic will come from. The bizarre interests that spark your curiosity probably don’t exist in cultural isolation. They might seem intellectually odd when you think about them too hard, but if they still just seem to ‘make sense’ or you have an unstoppable passion for writing about it, then do it. Those posts are the ones that often work a lot better than you thought they would. Example: I love fencing, and took it up in college. Around the 2012 Olympics, I wrote a blog post explaining the basics of fencing. It seemed odd at the time and off-topic for my blog, but I couldn’t sleep one night because the post was writing itself in my head. I peevishly got up, finished it over a few hours, and went to bed at 4 am. Sure, I was tired that day at work, but it’s been my most viewed post yet, generating views from at least 15 (and closer to 30) countries around the world every day. So random, soooo awesome.

6. Get ready for the rush. There’s NOTHING like watching the views pile up once you’ve found a miracle elixir of culturally relevant content, a great title, and well-timed promotion. It’s freaking MAGICAL!!! It’s almost as great as riding unicorns.

Here’s the flip side: For every intoxicating success, there are 4-5 mediocre post responses, and one dismally, soul-crushingly disappointing release. That’s the way it goes, at least at the beginning. But you will get better, and the victories are totally worth the failed attempts.

And once you start practicing, you can apply this NOTE of musical wisdom: The best composers know the rules well enough to break them. ;D

Meme of Ryan Gosling from lamiki.com; Smurphy riding a toy unicorn? That’s all original.

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Stories International: Peaceful Islam?

Peace out, homegirls.

Update: As of Dec 15, 2012, this photo is the #1 search result for ‘peaceful islam’ on Google images. It appears in front of intensely violent photos and political cartoons: two smiling little girls in pink veils, throwing up peace signs. Right on.

There are many sides to any story, issue, religion, or hot-button event. How do we know which side is true, which one to believe? In the U.S. at-large, there’s a tendency to push forward examples of violent Islam over peaceful ones. If you’ve got a strong stomach–really, people, this is not for the faint of heart–try searching Google for images of ‘peaceful Islam.’ Surprised by pages upon pages of intensely violent imagery? Yea, me too. Except the search results today actually had some examples of non-violent Islam, as compared to earlier this summer when there were none. Still, the overarching idea I get from these photos is one of radical, violent Islam. Huh, interesting, Google. Might want to check your algorithm, and your definition of ‘peace’…

In response to an offensive video depicting the Prophet Mohammed, demonstrators in 20 countries across North Africa and the Middle East attacked U.S., British, and German embassies. Western media outlets have been all over these stories, perhaps trying tp prove the inherent danger of Islam. These violent reactions are clearly not accidents or flukes, nor are they simply a reaction to a single video. As the New York Times put it, the “broadening of the protests appeared to reflect a pent-up resentment of Western powers in general, and defied pleas for restraint from world leaders, including the new Islamist president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi.”

My Facebook newsfeed, however, has told another version of the story. Besides the violent attacks, I’ve seen multiple postings about peaceful protestors, people all over the world speaking up for an end to hateful messaging and policy. There’s the La Akrah tumblr (which means ‘I do not hate’ in Arabic), photos of Libyans mourning Chris Stevens, an article questioning The Innocence of White People, and this article contrasting Newsweek’s inflammatory cover with pictures of everyday Muslims fulfilling their right to pursue happiness. (Oh wait, that inalienable right is just for Christian Americans? Sorry, my bad.) It’s been a great example of why I love social media: because, rather than be subject to the Mighty Editorial Agenda of national media executives, we as users get to determine our own media influences.

On the whole, people tend to accept information supporting their pre-existing perception of the world. I know I’ve been sharing images and stories about peaceful Islam despite the fact that four Americans died after the attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya. I can’t deny that some Muslims engage in violent activity to defend their religion. But I also can’t deny that Christians and Jews engage in violent activity to defend their religion (i.e. abortion clinic bombings and the systematic militarization of Israel’s youth). I just don’t think any good can come from persistently dehumanizing a whole segment of the world population, regardless of their religion, nationality, or ethnicity. The more we drown ourselves in exclusively supportive ideas, the harder it is to relate to those who disagree with us. I mean, who really benefits when regular people start negating nuance, stop communicating with our opponents, and become increasingly biased toward what we already want to believe? Extremists of all stripes, that’s who.

Social media is absolutely incredible because it can unite people across geographic borders and allow for generous self-expression. It’s the closest we’ve gotten to teleportation. On the flip side, our ‘likes’ feed into what we want to see and continually reinforce comfortable ideas.

Right now, I have no grand conclusions to offer on this violent, self-perpetuating clash of civilizations. Instead, I’m leaving it open-ended. But as Facebook continues to shape individual political consciousness, I wonder–and I hope you will, too–if we will start to see more intensely isolated social identities, or if these new media technologies will foster greater appreciation of the story on the other side. I’m personally hoping for the latter, even if Google seems to be confused as to the definition of ‘peace.’

Image from Association for Citizenship Teaching.

5 Tips for Meaningful Social Media

As a social media strategist and writer, I’m driven by meaningful content. What does that mean? It means I believe in the teams I work with and the brands I represent, and my writing and outreach reflects that. It means I prioritize high-quality content and relationships. It means genuinely connecting with people is just as important as engagement metrics. If you’re overwhelmed by ‘the noise’ of social media and aren’t sure how to stand out, we should talk. In the meantime, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Be human. Amongst the swirl of SEO tactics, writing like a human will set you apart in a big way. Remember that it’s a conversation. Add value and personality. Be relatable and entertaining. Listen, and respond appropriately. The biggest offenders of robot-speak? Twitter users. Hashtags are great for targeting an audience, but the intended message is lost when a tweet is full of hashtag spew. If I add hashtags that don’t fit in the main sentence or title, I try and limit myself to 3 at the end. I also try and make them into a somewhat sensical phrase, ’cause it’s just more fun that way. (i.e. #sustainability #education #FTW).

2. Titles, titles, titles. This is a big one. As a blog contributor a while back, my posts would always get tagged for title editing. At first I was offended and frustrated–“you don’t even like the whole theme of my post??”–but I quickly realized the importance of the title on the social media marketplace. People are skimming at best, and if you don’t catch their attention with a good title, they’ll just keep right on going. Keep in mind that CAPITALS and excessive exclamations (!!!) tend to have a repellant effect. ‘Top 5’ or ‘Top 10’ lists are a good go-to (yup, I went with the obvious on this one), but a dynamo title is telling, intriguing, and amusing. Ask yourself: would you stop and click on that from a long list of titles? If not, try again. And again. (And maybe again.)

3. Not all platforms are created equal. Depending on your social media strategy, you’ll want to focus your efforts in a few platforms that support your goals. First, which media (text, photo, and video) make sense with your objectives and your personal interests. How much of each medium? Once you’ve launched, keep your platforms separate in your mind even while you’re coordinating posts across them. Yea, it’s tricky, but the style is different on each, and success on one doesn’t mean success on the others. You might be blowing up on Twitter or Pinterest, but if that translates to hyperactivity on Facebook or LinkedIn, your viewers will get content fatigue. No bueno.

4. Excuse yourself. When you make a mistake, own up to it. Address it promptly with humor and humility, and replace it with something more memorable. Gaffes should be avoided at all costs, but they’re also opportunities to check in and re-evaluate your approach. Also: take a break! Even a 24-hr moratorium on one platform will help rejuvenate your mind and focus your message. Feeling drained, or just plain gutsy? 24 hrs, no social media (with scheduled posts if you reeeeally have to). If the idea alone makes you panic, then it’s time for #5.

5. Breathe. Before you post: Take a deep breath, re-read your work, and see if it looks right. Make any changes. Looking good? Sweet. Breathe again, post, and move on. While you’re hunched over your computer researching trends, pause and take a breath. When you start to panic about the text on a screen, take a breath. Remember that everything is replaceable and anything can be fixed EXCEPT your time and breath. So take a moment, take a breath…and exhale. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been internally whirling over this stuff, only to find that I’ve been holding my breath, and for who knows how long. Social media won’t exist if we can’t breathe. First breathe, then post. It’s what makes you alive, what makes you move, what makes you think. Breathe. Be human. Be social.

This little mischief-maker is the Word Wizard. Watch out for this one…

Images from Wisdom of Life and Smurk Media, respectively.