Recently saw Lebron's new commercial....http://huff.to/drXFKO outstanding! Then I had to think as a small business...
What should I do?
Should I be who you think I am? You'll never amount to anything...
I didn't sign a 14 million dollar contract this year...but I can if you believe in me.
Should I just give up my dream? You're too small time...
But I know I can succeed.
Should I be the villain some people think I am? I know you've done bad things...
Yes, but I'm a good person, and that other girl is gone.
Should I go into another line of work? You'll never make this work.
I have passion for what I do.
Should I stop using social media? You aren't smart enough to make massage work in that world...
But I am smarter than you think.
Should I give up? You should, let US win the fight...
I have more to give, to myself and my daughter.
Should I give up?
.....
never!
and, none of you reading this should give up either! Love and success to you all! Until next time... ;)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Now I can't have friends...
Hello all,
Blondernaut here from orbit (when am I not up here?).
Little tweak I recently ran into. It has been well chronicled about my epic battle with @twitter (well, epic to me...they still don't know who I am), now my old standby Facebook has joined the fray.
Now, let me begin, I understand the reasoning (maybe not the process) behind what is happening, but as a budding social media strategist...I am disheartened. Imagine your favorite blond cheerleader turned Massage industry pro (that'd be me by the way!) sitting down to facebook. Bang! I log in, expecting to see hundreds of messages from friends and prospective clients and just new people that are draw to my magnetism (well, I really never have HUNDREDS of messages, maybe 1 or 2, you say PO-tat-O, I say po-TAT-o) and I am immediately faced by an ominous message from the FB realm.
I won't quote it (I didn't write it down) but basically, I have friend requested TOO MANY people and now my friend making ability will be shut off for two days if I don't vacate my friend requests. HUH? I thought FB was for people looking to be friends with the FACES (hence, Facebook) that we see when online. Apparently, I was wrong. See you are only supposed to 'friend' people you are already friends with. OOOOOHHHH, I was confused. See I didn't know that, and I am in a quandary...if I'm already friends with them, do I really need to FB them too? Albeit a fun way to stay up to date with (previous) friends and family, I really want to meet NEW people.
So, now my ability to reach out and show the world my irresistibly is severely hampered.
Then the blond kicks in and I think...RIGHT, because all the people with 5000 friends (famous people and all the others) really DO know and interact with their 5000 friends....silly me! I then jump to the messages that I sometimes get when I 'friend' an interesting looking person, "Do you really know this person?" FB asks me. Really?
I get requests all the time. Some I accept, some I do not. I simply hit the 'accept' or 'ignore' buttons due to my willingness to meet a new person....is that too hard for everyone to do? If you get a request from me, just ignore me if you like, why the national security alert?
The more 'friends' I have, the more interesting my day is, the more possible contacts I have, and the more business opportunities I could fall into. FB would be pretty boring if we all just stuck to who we already know...I would have never interacted alot with Diane Guercio, Dana Moos, Tamara Dorris, etc. (met on twitter, but warmed up to on FB).
I will bet many would disagree with me, FB is a more protected community, blah blah.
It just reminds me of the @twitter battle. Those that HAVE now want others NOT to have. No one is going to tell me that FB is not a powerful business tool, and now I am being hindered from using it to its capacity.
Maybe I can land my orbiter on someone to cheer me up....
Blondernaut here from orbit (when am I not up here?).
Little tweak I recently ran into. It has been well chronicled about my epic battle with @twitter (well, epic to me...they still don't know who I am), now my old standby Facebook has joined the fray.
Now, let me begin, I understand the reasoning (maybe not the process) behind what is happening, but as a budding social media strategist...I am disheartened. Imagine your favorite blond cheerleader turned Massage industry pro (that'd be me by the way!) sitting down to facebook. Bang! I log in, expecting to see hundreds of messages from friends and prospective clients and just new people that are draw to my magnetism (well, I really never have HUNDREDS of messages, maybe 1 or 2, you say PO-tat-O, I say po-TAT-o) and I am immediately faced by an ominous message from the FB realm.
I won't quote it (I didn't write it down) but basically, I have friend requested TOO MANY people and now my friend making ability will be shut off for two days if I don't vacate my friend requests. HUH? I thought FB was for people looking to be friends with the FACES (hence, Facebook) that we see when online. Apparently, I was wrong. See you are only supposed to 'friend' people you are already friends with. OOOOOHHHH, I was confused. See I didn't know that, and I am in a quandary...if I'm already friends with them, do I really need to FB them too? Albeit a fun way to stay up to date with (previous) friends and family, I really want to meet NEW people.
So, now my ability to reach out and show the world my irresistibly is severely hampered.
Then the blond kicks in and I think...RIGHT, because all the people with 5000 friends (famous people and all the others) really DO know and interact with their 5000 friends....silly me! I then jump to the messages that I sometimes get when I 'friend' an interesting looking person, "Do you really know this person?" FB asks me. Really?
I get requests all the time. Some I accept, some I do not. I simply hit the 'accept' or 'ignore' buttons due to my willingness to meet a new person....is that too hard for everyone to do? If you get a request from me, just ignore me if you like, why the national security alert?
The more 'friends' I have, the more interesting my day is, the more possible contacts I have, and the more business opportunities I could fall into. FB would be pretty boring if we all just stuck to who we already know...I would have never interacted alot with Diane Guercio, Dana Moos, Tamara Dorris, etc. (met on twitter, but warmed up to on FB).
I will bet many would disagree with me, FB is a more protected community, blah blah.
It just reminds me of the @twitter battle. Those that HAVE now want others NOT to have. No one is going to tell me that FB is not a powerful business tool, and now I am being hindered from using it to its capacity.
Maybe I can land my orbiter on someone to cheer me up....
Huh??
"You really should give up!" Well, they don't know me very well...
"You really should give up!"
"But I don't want to"
"We are a lumbering beast and don't care what you say, little fly."
"Yeah, but sooner or later, you will have to stop and try to swat me."
Oh, sorry! Just letting you in on my internal monoluge. Yes, those are the things that careen around my head from time to time.
To clue you in, the above is what I am left to think about my ongoing twitter battle. Some people think, (and have said) Paula..it's not that important, just let it go.
Honestly, I agree it's not...but it makes for a fun blog post.
"You really should give up!"
"But I don't want to"
"We are a lumbering beast and don't care what you say, little fly."
"Yeah, but sooner or later, you will have to stop and try to swat me."
Oh, sorry! Just letting you in on my internal monoluge. Yes, those are the things that careen around my head from time to time.
To clue you in, the above is what I am left to think about my ongoing twitter battle. Some people think, (and have said) Paula..it's not that important, just let it go.
Honestly, I agree it's not...but it makes for a fun blog post.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Anyone out there, I know you are!
Hey folks,
The view from the Blondernaut's location is beautiful, yet troubling. Now I'm here, blogging (me? blogging?) and the view from space (or cyberspace) is great, I get to watch all my twitterers and facebookers and linked-iners doing their thing.
Yet, therein lies the problem. I am watching. I interact on a limited basis, throw out my massage deals. (I'm a massage therapist btw...oh? you didn't know that? facebook friend me, or follow me on twitter, I promise I'll follow back!) I comment here and there. I don't feel I have really interacted on a substantial basis. I have 'friends' or 'followers' (much love to @heyamaretto @danamoos @chrisbrogan and my 850 friends on facebook) but haven't connected on a professional basis. [@heyamaretto is Diane Guercio, realtor from Norther MA area, @danamoos is Dana Moos, realtor from the ME area, and @chrisbrogan is Chris Brogan, social media guru].
I feel literally like an astronaut, floating high above looking down on all the activity.
I guess the next level of activity should be undertaken (duh, right?). Now I have a two fold obstacle. 1) To have more meaningfull interactions online with my miriad of friends and 2) (more importantly) To build enough trust for my online friends to utilize my massage services. It all begins with what some sales people refer to as a "get". I have to obtain a "get" (i.e. a person, preferably high profile) to book my services.
"Blondernaut to mission control"
"Yes, I'm coming back down to earth soon, I like the view, but I like being on the ground too, in the middle of the action."
"What's that mission control?"
"Why yes, I have my massage chair today, would be HAPPY to make an appointment....can I just land this thing first??"
The view from the Blondernaut's location is beautiful, yet troubling. Now I'm here, blogging (me? blogging?) and the view from space (or cyberspace) is great, I get to watch all my twitterers and facebookers and linked-iners doing their thing.
Yet, therein lies the problem. I am watching. I interact on a limited basis, throw out my massage deals. (I'm a massage therapist btw...oh? you didn't know that? facebook friend me, or follow me on twitter, I promise I'll follow back!) I comment here and there. I don't feel I have really interacted on a substantial basis. I have 'friends' or 'followers' (much love to @heyamaretto @danamoos @chrisbrogan and my 850 friends on facebook) but haven't connected on a professional basis. [@heyamaretto is Diane Guercio, realtor from Norther MA area, @danamoos is Dana Moos, realtor from the ME area, and @chrisbrogan is Chris Brogan, social media guru].
I feel literally like an astronaut, floating high above looking down on all the activity.
I guess the next level of activity should be undertaken (duh, right?). Now I have a two fold obstacle. 1) To have more meaningfull interactions online with my miriad of friends and 2) (more importantly) To build enough trust for my online friends to utilize my massage services. It all begins with what some sales people refer to as a "get". I have to obtain a "get" (i.e. a person, preferably high profile) to book my services.
"Blondernaut to mission control"
"Yes, I'm coming back down to earth soon, I like the view, but I like being on the ground too, in the middle of the action."
"What's that mission control?"
"Why yes, I have my massage chair today, would be HAPPY to make an appointment....can I just land this thing first??"
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I want to be Paula!.....no, really I want to be @paula!
Little quickie for my Blondernaut blog. Arrrrgghhh, I know, I know, I said I would write more. Old habits are hard to break, what can I say? I had a fire lit under my 39yr old rear (which still looks 29 might I add) back in May. Really, the arrival of my baby Sera flicked on the perverbial light switch and I was left saying....You know what self? I have to DO more.
As part of that, I have been trying to be a motivated writer. But guys (er....twittergirls) I have never done this stuff before, so that is why my posts are so few and far between!
Anyway, I digress.
Synopsis of recent interactions with twitter.
"hello, twitter, it's me. could i bother you to get the @paula handle, i see no one is using it, and I'd REALLY like to have it."
silence
"hello, twitter, it's me again. um, i know you're busy, but could I get the unused @paula handle. it's just sitting there, and I'd like to be @paula, it sounds cool."
silence
"um, hello, twitter, it's me again again. i don't see why I can't have the @paula handle. No one is using it."
silence
"ok, twitter. I know you are holding the @paula handle for a time when some famous 'Paula' calls, like Paula Abdul, or Paula Deen, or Paulie wants a cracker, but I think it is pretty crappy that I haven't gotten the handle. Fair is fair and I have called dibbs! As you well know, Dibbs is a legal term and you cannot reneg on that!"
Ok, I really didn't write the third message, but the first 3 are pretty accuate. As of this date, the horrible little blue bird still hovers over my treasured @paula account on twitter. Now, I've been accused of being a lot of things....Blond, former pro cheerleader, twice divorced...believe me, I've heard a LOT. I have never been accused of being paranoid. I think I am dead on with the whole "twitter is waiting for Paula Abdul to take the handle" thing. Operationally, is there any reason not to release a handle? No. Even if you answer me and say "Well Paula, they are doing it because of [insert reason here]...I will throw one of my classic tantrums and shake my head wildly saying "NO no no no no" much like my stepkids have done at Toys R Us.
TQs Unite! Any help, bullying, winks, nods etc. you can give me to help me in my quest would be a god send. What do I have to do? Really? Twitter is a great forum, but rather disconnected on the Customer Service side. "You're issue has been resolved" Really? Did I get an email about that? Oh, no I didn't. PLUS, I don't know who input that RESOLVED status, little unseen twitter critter from customer service, but the only way I consider it RESOLVED is when I have the handle....resolution I think not!
Ok, Blondernaut to Mission Control....I am on final approach....Yes Control, I am done with my rant and am now calculating vectors for landing. What's that Control? Yes, you just heard my hairspray can in the transmission background. There will be cameras on the runway when I land this thing, and I have to look my best.
As part of that, I have been trying to be a motivated writer. But guys (er....twittergirls) I have never done this stuff before, so that is why my posts are so few and far between!
Anyway, I digress.
Synopsis of recent interactions with twitter.
"hello, twitter, it's me. could i bother you to get the @paula handle, i see no one is using it, and I'd REALLY like to have it."
silence
"hello, twitter, it's me again. um, i know you're busy, but could I get the unused @paula handle. it's just sitting there, and I'd like to be @paula, it sounds cool."
silence
"um, hello, twitter, it's me again again. i don't see why I can't have the @paula handle. No one is using it."
silence
"ok, twitter. I know you are holding the @paula handle for a time when some famous 'Paula' calls, like Paula Abdul, or Paula Deen, or Paulie wants a cracker, but I think it is pretty crappy that I haven't gotten the handle. Fair is fair and I have called dibbs! As you well know, Dibbs is a legal term and you cannot reneg on that!"
Ok, I really didn't write the third message, but the first 3 are pretty accuate. As of this date, the horrible little blue bird still hovers over my treasured @paula account on twitter. Now, I've been accused of being a lot of things....Blond, former pro cheerleader, twice divorced...believe me, I've heard a LOT. I have never been accused of being paranoid. I think I am dead on with the whole "twitter is waiting for Paula Abdul to take the handle" thing. Operationally, is there any reason not to release a handle? No. Even if you answer me and say "Well Paula, they are doing it because of [insert reason here]...I will throw one of my classic tantrums and shake my head wildly saying "NO no no no no" much like my stepkids have done at Toys R Us.
TQs Unite! Any help, bullying, winks, nods etc. you can give me to help me in my quest would be a god send. What do I have to do? Really? Twitter is a great forum, but rather disconnected on the Customer Service side. "You're issue has been resolved" Really? Did I get an email about that? Oh, no I didn't. PLUS, I don't know who input that RESOLVED status, little unseen twitter critter from customer service, but the only way I consider it RESOLVED is when I have the handle....resolution I think not!
Ok, Blondernaut to Mission Control....I am on final approach....Yes Control, I am done with my rant and am now calculating vectors for landing. What's that Control? Yes, you just heard my hairspray can in the transmission background. There will be cameras on the runway when I land this thing, and I have to look my best.
Do you know what your Bio is up to?
Do you know what your Bio is up to?
Hello all! A few months ago, I resolved to have more blog postings. I promptly followed this up by being silent online, go figure! While the heart is in the right place, the fingers sometimes lack motivation to type. I just wanted to let the fellow TQs know I am learning and do not want to let the ladies down!
Recently did a minor overhaul on the website, www.rapturemassage.com. My website is very basic, I will be first to point this out, but Web.com provides an affordable layout for my needs at this time. In the future (hopefully sooner than later) I will be replacing it with a more jazzy site. I re-wrote much of the verbiage and moved some photos around, no heavy lifting.
During the overhaul, I was bouncing ideas off of fellow spa professionals I work with (the chaps at Beleza Spa in Chelmsford MA are really wonderful professionals and friends!) and got advice that my Bio page was TOO in depth and too personal. HUH? TOO in depth?
When I originally wrote the Bio page, I felt that I should let my prospective clients know a little about me, including something about my family. I don't believe I was too deep in the information I gave, but I wanted to connect on a personal level to visitors. I think this idea came from the fact that, currently, I am a small mobile massage company with exactly 1 masseuse (yep, that'd be me!). My husband is co owner with me and does a wonderful job scheduling clients. He also takes care of the obtaining products we use, transport, and set-up/break-down on job sites. However, I am the one who performs the actual massage work.
It was suggested to remove much of the 'personal' information referring to my off the job life. I fully understand the suggestion, and have trimmed down the information greatly. I did look online to many massage sites, as well as pro fitness sites (companies and individuals) and found a good percentage had 'in depth' bio pages, such as I had. Many others had Bios much like what had been suggested to me.
I opted for the trimmed down version at this time. Has anyone else had this cross their minds? Are we missing out on a more personal connection with our clients?
The Blondernaut contemplates....
Hello all! A few months ago, I resolved to have more blog postings. I promptly followed this up by being silent online, go figure! While the heart is in the right place, the fingers sometimes lack motivation to type. I just wanted to let the fellow TQs know I am learning and do not want to let the ladies down!
Recently did a minor overhaul on the website, www.rapturemassage.com. My website is very basic, I will be first to point this out, but Web.com provides an affordable layout for my needs at this time. In the future (hopefully sooner than later) I will be replacing it with a more jazzy site. I re-wrote much of the verbiage and moved some photos around, no heavy lifting.
During the overhaul, I was bouncing ideas off of fellow spa professionals I work with (the chaps at Beleza Spa in Chelmsford MA are really wonderful professionals and friends!) and got advice that my Bio page was TOO in depth and too personal. HUH? TOO in depth?
When I originally wrote the Bio page, I felt that I should let my prospective clients know a little about me, including something about my family. I don't believe I was too deep in the information I gave, but I wanted to connect on a personal level to visitors. I think this idea came from the fact that, currently, I am a small mobile massage company with exactly 1 masseuse (yep, that'd be me!). My husband is co owner with me and does a wonderful job scheduling clients. He also takes care of the obtaining products we use, transport, and set-up/break-down on job sites. However, I am the one who performs the actual massage work.
It was suggested to remove much of the 'personal' information referring to my off the job life. I fully understand the suggestion, and have trimmed down the information greatly. I did look online to many massage sites, as well as pro fitness sites (companies and individuals) and found a good percentage had 'in depth' bio pages, such as I had. Many others had Bios much like what had been suggested to me.
I opted for the trimmed down version at this time. Has anyone else had this cross their minds? Are we missing out on a more personal connection with our clients?
The Blondernaut contemplates....
Chris Brogan's Trust Agents
Possibly premature in my review, but I figured I should blog...establishing good internet habits and all.
When I initially saw Mr. Brogan's (hence after this refered to as 'Chris') book, Trust Agents, at Barnes and Noble, I was intriguied. We have the briefest of history, you see. We have spoken briefly and are linked on several different social media sites. We have not met in person yet, but he seems to be of a good sort. His media expertise and clout are unquestioned. (I honestly feel like David to his perverbial Goliath when interacting on twitter.)
My cynical side said "$24.95 for 250 pages??!!" This was a brief flash, mind you. The man, as stated above, has unquestioned prowess in his field.
I even hesitated to being writing this, as I have not completed the book. I have to give is a thumbs up regardless. It is a perfect guide to our social media world. It gives simple explanations. One even gets free suggestions on how to be more tech savy in how to use the internet, focusing on one's particular field.
Most importantly, for me anywhoo, is that it has begun to drive my mind into new areas. On more than one occasion already, I have found myself reading and saying (to self...which for a blonde is a big thing) "Wow, I hadn't thought of that" or "I have to try that to see if it works" and biggest yet "HOW can I apply that to massage therapy in general, and specific to my business?"
The third is most rewarding for me. Not that Chris has inspired me to want to change the massage therapy world (he inspires me, don't get me wrong) but he has ramped up my drive to make my mark in business...if any of that made sense, please let me know!
The most perplexing aspect of social media for me is that, for ME, it seems that the social media craze is more geared to other businesses, not mine. I don't see a lot of 'blueprints' out there as it applies to my field. Massage is hard to sell, let's face it. One is bringing, essentially, a stranger into their lives to TOUCH them....that requires trust.
Trust....oh! right Trust Agents! That brings me to a final point. As I said, I don't find a lot of blueprints as to how to use social media to 'push' massage or 'drive' prospective clients to me. However, there is a feeling I get from Chris's book that is very promising. That feeling is possibility! Chris's book is a blueprint for us all, it is very user friendly and, I think, applicible for all of us, whether we are selling real estate, or.....giving a chair massage.
Kudos Mr. Brogan. I will continue reading and learning......and bugging you!
When I initially saw Mr. Brogan's (hence after this refered to as 'Chris') book, Trust Agents, at Barnes and Noble, I was intriguied. We have the briefest of history, you see. We have spoken briefly and are linked on several different social media sites. We have not met in person yet, but he seems to be of a good sort. His media expertise and clout are unquestioned. (I honestly feel like David to his perverbial Goliath when interacting on twitter.)
My cynical side said "$24.95 for 250 pages??!!" This was a brief flash, mind you. The man, as stated above, has unquestioned prowess in his field.
I even hesitated to being writing this, as I have not completed the book. I have to give is a thumbs up regardless. It is a perfect guide to our social media world. It gives simple explanations. One even gets free suggestions on how to be more tech savy in how to use the internet, focusing on one's particular field.
Most importantly, for me anywhoo, is that it has begun to drive my mind into new areas. On more than one occasion already, I have found myself reading and saying (to self...which for a blonde is a big thing) "Wow, I hadn't thought of that" or "I have to try that to see if it works" and biggest yet "HOW can I apply that to massage therapy in general, and specific to my business?"
The third is most rewarding for me. Not that Chris has inspired me to want to change the massage therapy world (he inspires me, don't get me wrong) but he has ramped up my drive to make my mark in business...if any of that made sense, please let me know!
The most perplexing aspect of social media for me is that, for ME, it seems that the social media craze is more geared to other businesses, not mine. I don't see a lot of 'blueprints' out there as it applies to my field. Massage is hard to sell, let's face it. One is bringing, essentially, a stranger into their lives to TOUCH them....that requires trust.
Trust....oh! right Trust Agents! That brings me to a final point. As I said, I don't find a lot of blueprints as to how to use social media to 'push' massage or 'drive' prospective clients to me. However, there is a feeling I get from Chris's book that is very promising. That feeling is possibility! Chris's book is a blueprint for us all, it is very user friendly and, I think, applicible for all of us, whether we are selling real estate, or.....giving a chair massage.
Kudos Mr. Brogan. I will continue reading and learning......and bugging you!
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