A Butterfly On The Wall

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!” – Muhammed Ali

The Heavyweight Champ. Photo courtesy of PredictEm.

I was going to title this post “A Fly On The Wall”. The problem is that when flies aren’t on a wall where do they like to hangout? The picture that immediately popped into my mind was that of a fly sitting on a steaming pile of poop or a fresh road kill. This is not the visual I’m going for. Please delete the unsanitary snapshot and replace it with the image of a lovely, striped butterfly gracefully moving its wings as it rests briefly in anticipation of the next flower it will feast upon.

As your friendly neighborhood butterfly I enjoy secretly listening to the conversations around me. This stealth reconnaissance has yielded some fascinating information I would never have discovered had I asked a direct question. I highly recommend developing this talent. This is not to say that if the conversation is of a highly personal nature I want to hear it. There are conversations that cause me to make a quick exit out the nearest door. I don’t want to know the results of your colonoscopy or your recent bout with extreme flatulence. Recently, however, I overheard a useful conversation my son was having on the phone with a friend.

“No, don’t post it to Facebook. Facebook is a pain in the butt; no one will see it on your wall. Use Twitter. Then everyone will know where and when we’ll all meet-up.” Continue reading “A Butterfly On The Wall”

Promoting Your Brand With Pinterest

Tim Ferriss, the Sensei of self-promotion.

As a writer you are your brand. Everything you post on-line, the picture you choose as your avatar, and every interaction you have with other bloggers defines you. If you didn’t realize that before, consider it now. You can look at branding as a chore, or you can use the myriad of social networking tools available and have fun showing your readers why you’re the author they want to follow.

Go ahead and Google personal branding articles – you can read these posts for days. Most of these articles will tell you, basically, the same crucial steps you need to take to successfully brand yourself. Take some time and peruse them. It is time well spent. Continue reading “Promoting Your Brand With Pinterest”