Come to the Social... Social Media That Is...

Sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things"

Twitter and Facebook and Blogging and Wordpress
More things to master to make money and impress
Where are the days where all a nerd had to do
Was take out a tissue and sneeze out Achooo!!!

Webinars and teleseminars and virtual greetings
I met my boyfriend at a fab Go-to Meeting
He had the keywords linked over my heart
After he sold me that joint venture Mart

When I'm tweeting
When I'm texting
When I'm friending you

I can't ever be rude or web cam while nude
cause I never know who's who.

Darren Scott Monroe - How Tweet It Is...

Ever stay up 24 hours Twittering? Find out why Darren did & where you can download his free "ebook 101 Solutions in 24 Hours via Twitter" featuring resources such as ebooks, manuals, guides, mp3's and links. Darren also leads a Tribe of Soultsters who's goal is to connect the music to the masses. He is also an informational HUB for Web Marketing, The Music Business and Web Development. Here are some of Darren's sites!

www.DarrenMonroe.com
www.BIZ4DaSoul.com
www.4DaSoul.com
www.HugaHost.com

And don't forget to go www.DarrenMonroe.com and download the Great Twitter Saga, "ebook 101 Solutions in 24 Hours via Twitter" which one day will be renamed "Night of 1,000 Tweets".

Jingle All The Way

You know, if the truth be told, I never really understood marketing, I mean how it works. When I was growing up watching t.v. commercials, for example all I ever did was make fun of them. Most of them created this strange reality with a product attached to it. I had no idea who bought these items or why they would want them. Friends & I would sit on the couch, trying to ignore the wire V on top of the tube and be somewhat entertained by great leaps in logic and attempts at persuasion. I mean, if you asked me if Ajax Laundry Detergent was stronger than dirt, I'd say it's etched in my brain somewhere. I even acted it out riding around on a pretend horse broomstick singing off key of course my Sir Lancelot version of the jingle at a party for a bunch of six or seven year olds. I have the same recollection of standing in line dreading drinking a vaccine. The only thing I ever liked about commercials was the jingles. The fact that someone could have a job making up songs about products like cereal, vitamins, bug spray, starch, soda, insurance, anti-acid and toilet cleaners gave me a sense of the surreal, yes in it's own way like a Dali painting or some short science fiction novella. I never understood how they worked though. I can't really think of anything I ever bought from watching commercials. Oh wait, Mr. Machine and slinky. Mr. Machine and slinky. You can never escape it all. But for the most part, shiny metal objects that moved was the only brainwashing that worked on me.

Why I stopped Blogging for a while

You know, when everyone else starts to do something, my tendency is to run in the opposite direction.

Trial by File

I recently took part in an online group project. It was all about collaborating and putting out an ebook in a short amount of time. Let me stress - short amount of time.

One thing really blew me away. It wasn't what I expected would amaze me the most about this process, like "working together" themes.

This is it - some people were just so good at writing, editing & getting to the point. I mean, maybe my favorite writers (like James Joyce and Aristotle) tend to go on, and I know I'm the queen of run-ons, non sequiturs and ok, bad puns. But near project deadline, to actually experience people who took a thick rope of text and turn it into a Haiku - with such clarity and ease.... made me realize two things:

1. I really suffered writing papers in school. I don't think they did.

2. Having an idea and writing it for others to understand is a process.
Maybe it's just having an organized mind. Maybe it's a skill you pick up. It's blogging my mind.

Amazon Grace

Man, I always get caught up in the free shipping option at Amazon. Like for instance, I was pre-ordering a book today by Seth Godin so I could be in a membership tribe he's starting.

Now I know I don't like being in any group really, I share the same point of view on this matter as the late great Groucho Marx who said "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member".

I mean, how do you be a big proponent of individuality, creative thinking, originality, out of the box thinking, in fact no shape thinking, and form a membership group out of people who are like that? Tribes.

However, I'm a fan of Seth's, and from the books and seminars I have attended, I'm sure his Tribe will be more like the set of all non-membering sets. I'm already in the Null Set.

That's probably the only math term I remember, thanks in part to the terrifying Mr. Schudel, my 7th Grade Math teacher, who referred to the class as "ill mannered children" if any verbal response was uttered prior to a long drawn-out traditional and proper hand waving ceremony.

Anyway, I got grabbed into the vortex of wanting for only $11.99 more, to qualify for the free super saving shipping. So, I went back and ordered a book to cover the difference. As I was checking out, I thought, well, why don't I get a few more books now that I have the Super Saving Shipping - tighten the old belt and all.

Well, four other books later, I am ready to check out. I actually complete the order. Then I see it. Expected date of arrival October 27th.

Gasp. I know the pre-ordered book "Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us" (which made me think of the yam ceremonies of the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea, Ringo Starr's drum set and that episode of the Twilight Zone "To Serve Man") would be delayed, but my other four books were now slated not to arrive for a good two months. What to do?

I found out that I could cancel my order or arrange it so I could just order the pre-order without penalty.

Now I was back at square one. Do I get one extra book I can wait for 2 months for along with the Tribe book or do I just get the Tribe book and well, not get an Amazon special?

I went back in my account and got the pre-ordered book. Then, again, I paused, went back and added another book, to make the free Shipping Super Saver.

I was about to check out when I realized I had just spent more money to save money.

That's how I grew up - my mom bought the Cheese Doodles strictly for the free Scotch tape in the bag.

A nagging voice inside of me pointed out, "you know, the shipping for the pre-order is only $3.99. You'll get the book faster without..." as the free shipping delays the book by a week - or so Amazon claims.

Maybe it was my mood, but I canceled the other book I used for the free shipping and went for broke.

Now I kind of wonder if this has to do with marketing or math. As I recall Mr. Shudel yelled a lot and didn't like ill mannered children.