V.L. Thompson's Blog, page 23
August 13, 2013
Help, My Client Wants to Gossip!
Article from blog.psprint.com by Valerie Thompson
I love writing these types of posts because, although as artists we need to know how to create eye-catching imagery, as business owners, we have to know how to navigate those tricky situations that can sometimes make or break a business deal.
I recently had a consultation with a client. We knew some of the same people, as they were a referral from another client of mine. Being the friendly person that I am, it is imperative that I make new clients feel that they can talk to me casually (I hate stuffy meetings!). But when this particular client started a rather detailed, albeit negative conversation about another client of mine, I had to make a decision on how to handle it.
In most towns, people run in circles. Once you meet someone, you’ve really been linked to a whole network of their friends and colleges, and you’ll be surprised at who ends up knowing whom. This is a great way to get your business name out there and into the minds of people who will refer you to future clients. It is also an easy way for people to talk about each other and for hearsay to spread among people who had nothing to do with the particular situation they’re discussing.
What does this all have to do with you? Well, when I was sitting there listening to my future client talk in not so favorable terms about my present client I did what any smart person would do who wants to keep her business and the peace. I kept my mouth shut! Here are four things to do when confronted with business gossip…
1. Keep your mouth shut!
Whatever is going on between client No. 1 and client No. 2 is none, I repeat, none of your business. You are not to take sides, judge or comment; you’ll only be shooting yourself in the foot! If you comment or offer an opinion, you not only risk offending the person you’re having the conversation with, but that person may have no problem relaying what you’ve said back to someone else, or even worse, your other client! You may think that it’s harmless conversation, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry in this case.
2. Change the subject
You were meeting about graphics for this client’s custom mailing labels, not the latest soap opera. If pleasant conversation gets too far off track, jump back in with your next meeting point, or give a quick update on the decisions that you’ve agreed on so far. Once your client sees that you’re not interested in participating in the gossip, they will probably move on.
How To Create Meaningful Work Relationships While Working From Home
Article from fastcoexist.com by Kerry Schofield
Telecommuting saves time and money, but it’s a lot harder to have important interactions over an instant message. Luckily, there are a few simple solutions.
With more and more of our professional and social lives moving online, telecommuting is fast becoming the rule rather than the exception in the workplace. Earlier this year, Marissa Mayer took a lot of heat for banning Yahoo’s employees from working remotely, and now other companies are beginning to follow suit. Is this some sort of fascist, oppressive backlash against a more modern and progressive way of doing business? I dare to say that Mayer was onto something–face time helps us build far more meaningful relationships than chats and phone calls. But there are ways to create meaningful, professional relationships when space and time get in the way.
DUNBAR’S NUMBER
Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Oxford, developed the concept of the “Dunbar’s number”, a theoretical limit on the size of the social network that the average human can maintain. His work demonstrates that in primates (i.e. monkeys, apes, and yes, humans) the larger the brain, the bigger the social network. Even in humans, that number is surprisingly small: just 150.
Do some digging, and you’ll notice that the number 150 shows up in a lot of human social networks. It’s the standard size of an Ancient Roman military unit, the average size of a hunter-gatherer group, the average number of friends people have on Facebook, and it’s precisely the reason why social network Path has a friends limit of 150.
Virtual networks are designed to allow our limited cognitive and emotional resources to process more interactions by making them easier, quicker, and more global. While there is more opportunity than ever before to expand our network of contacts around the world, evolutionary psychology and anthropology tell us that to bring in new people, we have to sacrifice our relationships with existing ones.
Not only are we limited to around 150 people in our network, the number with whom we can have a truly close relationship is astonishingly small–just five people, usually three family members and two friends. A romantic partner–especially a new relationship–counts for twice the amount of social-cognitive processing, leaving us with even less capacity for forming new close relationships.
The implications for workplace friendships are clear: smaller teams make for closer relationships and a greater understanding of our colleagues. For large companies, individual departments and sub-departments will likely form their own partially independent social networks. After all, we’re still hunter-gatherers at heart. These findings have implications for informing policy on a wide range of business practices, from marketing to office design.
August 12, 2013
YouTube Expands Live Streaming To Channels With Just 100 Subscribers, Opens Custom Thumbnails & Merchandise Links To All
Article from Tech Crunch by Frederick Lardinois
Google today announced a number of updates to YouTube that will allow more video producers to use YouTube for live streaming. All channels in good standing with at least 100 subscribers will be able to live stream from their accounts within the next few weeks.
By bringing the number of required subscribers down to 100, Google is opening up this service to a large number of new users. Earlier this year, Google dropped changed the limit to include channels with at least 1,000 subscribers, so there is a clear trend here. It’s not clear, however, if Google will ever open up live streaming to all users on YouTube.
With today’s update, YouTube is also giving its users the ability to upload custom thumbnails for their videos. Until now, YouTube told its users to make sure that they shoot their video with thumbnails in mind, so that they can select a good one directly from the video. Starting today, users can simply upload a custom thumbnail for their shows. As Google notes, though, it will revoke the ability to upload these thumbnails from creators who don’t follow its Community Guidelines.
Another new feature in today’s update is the ability to use annotations to link externally to online stores and the user’s associated websites, which will give users new ways to monetize their shows.
Read entire article on Tech Crunch.
How to Find Your Passion
Article from WikiHow by Jamie Bresee, Wpendy, Tom Viren, Imperatrix and 30 others
Your passion is the reason you wake up in the morning, and just the thought of it can keep you up late with excitement. But not everyone knows exactly what his passion is right away. Don’t worry — whether you’re looking for your passion to find a new career, or if you’re looking to get completely immersed in a new hobby or activity, there are a number of things you can do to find your passion.
Brainstorm
Think about what you love to do. To find your passion, you should first take a look at your own life and see if you’re already doing something that you love — but just not doing it very often. Figuring out what you really love to do and channeling it in a productive way that turns it into a passion can help you explore your heart’s desires. Here are some of the things you should ask yourself when you brainstorm what you love to do:
What are my goals?
If I could do one thing for the rest of my life, what would it be?
What do I love to do?
What would I do, even if I didn’t get paid to do it?
What makes me feel like nothing else exists?
What activity makes me feel completely in my element?
Think about what you’ve always dreamed of doing. This is different from making a list of all of the things that make you happy. Here, you’ll have to write down all of those things you’ve always dreamed about, but haven’t done because you don’t have the time, the money, or because they’re impractical or even slightly scary. Here are the questions you should ask yourself as you brainstorm what you’ve always dreamed of doing:
What is the one thing I have always dreamed about, but never got to do?
What did I want to do when I was a child?
Do I have an impractical dream that I once abandoned?
Is there something I’ve been afraid to try because it takes me out of my comfort zone?
Is there something I’ve been wanting to do but haven’t done because of financial fears?
Is there something I’ve always wanted to do but haven’t tried because I’ve been afraid I’d fail or just not be very good at it?
Is there something that someone I know does that thrills me?
Create a game plan. Once you’ve written down the answers to your questions, you may have a better idea of the type of things that already interest you or the things that you’ve always wanted to try. Now that you have a bit more information, you can create a plan for finding your passion. Here are some things you can decide to do:
Make a goal of trying at least five things on your list. Plug them into your calendar. Make a plan for actually doing these things as soon as you can, even that means within a year, if the activities are more complicated, like traveling to a foreign country.
Make a goal of trying a few completely new things that take you out of your comfort zone. They don’t have to be on your list — you can just try a few more things that pique your interest, even if you haven’t necessarily always dreamed of doing them or tried them before.
Prioritize your potential passions. Decide which things you’d like to try first. You can try the ones that sound most intriguing first, or you can try the most practical ones first
Use Your Interests to Your Advantage
Turn a beloved hobby into a full-time passion. If there’s already something in your life that fills you with excitement, joy, and self-worth, then you should try to turn that hobby or activity into a full-time endeavor. Though it may scare you to make a big life change, if you know there’s something you already love, then you should spend more time pursuing it to see if it’s your passion.
Your hobby could be anything, from ceramics, painting, or poetry, to teaching yoga or screen printing.
If you can’t make money with your passion (like running marathons, for example), then you can find a way to make that hobby the central passion of your life by getting involved in the running world in some other way.
You can transition slowly into spending more time doing your favorite hobby to see if it’s your passion. If you’re afraid to drop everything and devote yourself to this hobby full time, then take baby steps. First, spend the entire weekend pursuing your hobby. If this makes you realize how much you love it, then spend the whole next week pursuing your hobby. After that, you can see if you want to spend all of your time devoted to this activity.
Rekindle a childhood passion. You may feel like your life has become too routine or boring for you to have time for dreams and passions, but there must have been a point in your life when you had a real dream to pursue something courageous and exciting. Think back to your childhood self, and the things you used to dream about when you were a kid or even an adolescent. See if you can find a way to transform these dreams into a passion.
If you always wanted to be an astronaut, then maybe this idea doesn’t appeal to you quite as much anymore. But think about why the idea appealed to you in the first place — maybe because it involved exploring space, science, or adventure — and see if you can find a new passion out of that.
Be brave. If you wanted to be a singer or an actress, it’s never too late to try to fulfill your dreams.
Unfortunately, you may have to take a practical approach in some cases. If you wanted to be an Olympic gymnast when you were ten and you’re forty now, it’s unlikely that there’s a gold medal in your future. But if you were once really passionate about gymnastics, see if you can involve yourself in it in some other way, such as being a trainer, coach, or being involved at a gym in some capacity.
If you were lucky enough to keep a journal when you were younger, go through it. See what passions sparked your fancy, and what dreams you wrote about again and again.
Combine your talents. Maybe you have more than one talent, like doing tricks on a BMX, and you love to write. Could you see yourself writing books on BMX riding and tricks, or true stories about how those riders started out doing what they love? Here are a few other ways to combine your talent:
Maybe you love to write poetry as well as interpretive dance; could you interpret one of your poems, or write a poem about your love for dance?
If you’re a talented writer, make the most of your writing skills. If you love something, blogging about it or making a website about it will help you share your passion, use your writing skills, and develop your love for what you’re doing.
If you have a passion for languages and an unrelated field, such as animal rights, see if you can use your language skills to work as a translator or interpreter in that field.
Read entire article on WikiHow.
The Audacity of Christian Certainty
Article from mpchristianity.com by Brad Harmon
During his presidential campaign, President Obama published a book entitledThe Audacity of Hope. I love that title. It’s one that could be used to describe Christianity, but I’m afraid that instead of “rejoicing in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2
) we have, by and large, become a religion that has become audacious in our certainty.
This is great when it applies to the security of our salvation through Christ (John 10:27-30), the reliance on God to keep His promises (II Peter 3:9), or trusting in our faith as the only evidence we need (Hebrews 11:1). The problem is that we have a tendency to extend this audacity of certainty to our own interpretations of God’s word (I was reminded of this fact many times in preparing for the 20 Entrepreneurial Lessons from Creation series).
The Great Struggle Between God and ScienceThere is a great cosmic battle between the church and science. Each is out to destroy the other. Agreement with science is a blasphemy against God while agreement with God is a blasphemy against reason. Really? Says who? Yes, there are those on both sides with agendas so some of these arguments are valid; however, is God at odds with science? I think not.
God wrote the laws of science. He is not at odds with them, but neither is He bound by them. True science is discovery via the scientific method. A scientist’s job is to observe and explain within these confines. When a scientist says that there is no evidence to suggest or confirm an assertion from the Bible is true, why do so many Christians take offense at that?
Throughout the history of Christianity there have been powerful members who have opposed scientific ideas as blasphemy, and then proceeded to do some of the most horrific acts in the name of Christianity to silence these ideas. It turns out that the earth does rotate around the sun, the world isn’t flat, and on and on. It also turns out that the Bible never disagreed with these findings either.
Biblical Creation Versus the Big Bang and Evolution
Compared to the debates roaring today, those disputes between the church and science were small potatoes. It’s a little terrifying to think about what they would have done with people like Stephen Hawking proclaiming the universe created itself or Richard Dawkins declaring that God is a delusion.
Science has taken on its own audacity in recent years sounding more and more like a religion in its own right. They have gone far beyond the scientific method, and are now openly attacking the Bible, Creation, and the very existence of God. Sadly, Christians have taken the bait and staunchly defend their ideas of Biblical science. Are they defending what the Bible really says though?
Is the universe only 6,000 years old? Were the days in Creation only 24 hours long? When did dinosaurs roam the earth? Are there gaps between the days in Creation? Has this planet been populated before us? Is there a case for Biblical evolution? There are so many different “Biblical” views about Creation, but which is correct? Isn’t there some audacity is saying your account is the right one?
The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Every Brand
Article from Fast Company Written by EKaterina Walter
Pinterest has captured our visual fancy like no other network before it.
The image-driven network’s meteoric rise in only a few years shows the site is more than just a pretty community for people interested in fashion and lifestyle: Marketers are all over Pinterest’s lead-generation aspects, and online hits on products from the site have proved a marketing sensation. According to a study by Shareaholic, the site drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined.
But marketers still struggle to define what makes for a successful Pinterest content strategy–and what does not. Based on my experience with Pinterest analytics and with the support of Pinterest-savvy folks at ShareRoot, I have come up with a list of metrics that marketers should pay attention to when it comes to this social network. Below, you’ll find a helpful infographic that lays all the data out.
First, let’s start with the definitions.
PIN
Pinterest helps people organize the things they love through the use of pins. A pin can consist of an image or video of a gift, recipe, destination, or quote. In order to populate your brand’s Pinterest profile, your team will need to collect and pin individual pins to boards on your brand’s profile.
BOARD
Your brand’s Pinterest profile is made up of boards, with pins on each board. A board is an opportunity for your brand to showcase various themes/interests/passions of your brand. You can create as many boards as you like, but you want to make sure that each board has a purpose and strategy behind it. Pinterest users can follow individual boards, or entire Pinterest profiles.
PINNING
In order to turn a piece of content into a pin on Pinterest, a Pinterest user needs to take the first act of pinning the item. In order to pin a piece of content your brand owns, you can click on “upload a pin” to pin an image or video that lives offline, and “add from a website” to pin an image from online.
Read entire article at Fast Company.
Waterproof Shower Notebook lets you write down those important mid-shower thoughts
Everyone has that one special spot where they are able to clear their mind, and do some of their best thinking. Maybe it’s under your favorite tree in the park, or on your back porch. Wherever it is, if you need to get your creative juices flowing, this is the spot to go. For me, that spot is in the shower. Whether I’m taking a long hot shower, or soaking in the tub, most of my best ideas originate there. Unfortunately, writing them down can be a bit of a challenge, as water and paper aren’t the best of friends.
If you do most of your best thinking while relaxing in hot water, then you’ll love thisWaterproof Shower Notebook. This special notebook has 80 pages that will hold whatever you write in them, regardless of the water pouring down from above. You can even write in it while it’s completely submerged in the tub.
August 10, 2013
New Smartphone Software Predicts Users’ Mood
Article from abcnews.go.com by Jon M. Chang
The smartphone could end up moonlighting as a mood ring in addition to its job as a computer. MoodSense, a new software package in development by Microsoft Research and Rice University in Texas, doesn’t rely on a camera to capture your smile or a microphone to hear you scream in anger. Instead, it predicts moods from what you do with your phone.
Lin Zhong, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice, saw mood as an important factor in how people interact with one another. “For example, when we deal with a spouse, it’s very important to gauge [his or her] mood to make sure you have a smooth relationship,” he told ABC News.
But asking someone about their mood or even saying how you feel out loud could be considered intrusive and even rude. “It’s become a little obnoxious to tell people [on Facebook or Skype] whether you’re feeling great or sad,” said Zhong. “If a computer can do it automatically, it’s a more socially acceptable way to share your mood.”
Zhong and graduate student Robert LiKamWa developed MoodSense to track how smartphone users spend their time across different activities such as email, websites and phone calls. Every couple of hours, the software asks users to rate both their happiness and their activity level on a scale of 1 to 5. Eventually, MoodSense gathers enough data to predict how users feel according to their recent activity. After the orientation period, the researchers said MoodSense could predict a person’s mood with 93 percent accuracy.
August 9, 2013
My Business Failed! Now What, God?
Article from Marketplace Christianity written by Brad Harmon
One of the most trying times in an entrepreneurs life is when everything goes south and you are forced to shut the doors of your business. As this recession keeps its stubborn stranglehold on our economy, entrepreneurs by the thousands face the decision of holding on for another day or calling it quits.
Every entrepreneur is different, but for many this will be a gut-wrenching and life-altering experience that ranks just short of losing a child. The toll it takes on one’s psyche is not to be underestimated. It can cause the strongest of us to become immobilized in self-doubt and grief. I have been there myself.
As a Christian Entrepreneur, it can be one of the most trying times of our Christian walk shaking the very foundations of our beliefs and stretching our faith to the breaking point.
Were We Not Faithful?
After examining our experience against the traditional reasons that businesses fail, it’s natural for us to start questioning God about why our business failed. Did God punish us for something? Were we not faithful stewards of the business?
Far be it from me to speak on behalf of God, but my I’m pretty sure that if this is the situation then He will quickly reveal our transgressions to us. It’s not likely that closing down our business was His first attempt to let us know.
We know from Scripture that God chastens those He loves. We are all fallible beings this side of Heaven, but continued willful disobedience could result in God getting our attention through the failure of our entrepreneurial ventures.
Were We Not Called?
The failure of an entrepreneurial enterprise is seen by some as a sign that either there is no such thing as a calling to be a Christian Entrepreneur or that the entrepreneur who closes their doors misunderstood God’s calling.
The fundamental error in this logic is assuming that God sees success the same way that we do. Does a calling from God to be a Christian Entrepreneur ensure our ventures will all be monetarily profitable? I see no evidence of this.
As Christians, we are often guilty of judging ourselves and others by results rather than by actions. We share the Gospel and, unless there is a conversion, we count it a failure forgetting that we are not charged with the converting but the telling.
Tethering our calling to our financial success means we fail to grasp what it means to be a Christian Entrepreneur.
Read entire article at Marketplace Christianity.
Why a Closed-on-Sunday Policy is Good Business
Article from Marketplace Christianity written by Brad Harmon
can’t tell you how many times when we are deciding what to eat after church on Sunday that a chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A pops into my head. More often than not, I actually verbalize this craving only to hear my wife tell me, “You know they’re closed on Sundays.” Drats!
Chick-Fil-A takes great measures to make their Closed-On-Sunday policy as much a part of their branding efforts as the chicken sandwich itself. It’s a policy that their founder Truett Cathy adopted when he opened his first restaurant, and they have continued it for nearly 65 years despite Sunday being one of the best days for business in food service.
As a Christian, I certainly applaud the policy; however, I wonder sometimes if, as an entrepreneur, it’s good business.
God Honors Those Who Honor Him
Starting with the most obvious benefit, as Christian entrepreneurs our primary focus is on honoring God and our secondary focus is on making money. This philosophy is completely foreign to most entrepreneurs who only focus on the bottom line; however, our bottom line is ultimately in heaven.
When Chick-Fil-A sat down to write their Corporate Purpose, this is what they drafted.
To glorify God by being a faithful steward to all that is entrusted to us.
To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-Fil-A.
When you drive by a closed Chick-Fil-A store on Sunday, you can’t help but think that this is a company which truly believes their Corporate Purpose.
By the way, Chick-Fil-A has reported record sales every single year without exception despite being closed on Sunday.
It Shows How You Feel Towards Your Employees
In an industry where employees often do not know when they will be working until the shift schedule is posted each week, it’s nice to know that you have a guaranteed day off.
Cathy believes that by giving his employees Sunday off as a day
to spend with their family,
to worship and renew their spirit,
to fellowship with their friends,
and to rest and recharge their batteries,
the company has a workforce that is better equipped and rested to serve quality products with a great attitude the other 6 days of the week.
His employees love working there so much that the company enjoys a turn-over rate in the low single digits. That is an incredible feat by any company, but it’s unheard of in the food service industry. Imagine all of the costs he saves with such low turn-over.
Read entire article at Marketplace Christianity.
