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March 2010

March Madness 31 posts in 31 days

by JimRaffel on March 31, 2010

Thirty-one days ago I set out to write 31 posts in 31 days. This is it, the thirty-first post. Thirty here and one on QuickInternetPages.com (or QIP.com) the blog idea that was created by the 31 posts exercise.

Now, I am going to ramble a bit.

I learned a lot about me, writing and the fine art of blogging. It’s not as easy as it looks. I look now at the shear volume of content Chris Brogan and Mitch Joel turn out and just think – wow! They have both been producing at this pace for years.

I wont’ be continuing at this pace at least not for a while. My lifestyle and my business won’t allow for it right now. I will continue to write everyday. I just have a posting schedule I am going to adhere to until I have built up a bit of a post backlog. There will be exceptions to this if a great topic pops into my mind.

So, starting next week here’s the plan:

Sunday at 8:00pm Central – A new post at QIP.com

Tuesday at 8:00am Central – A new post at ColorMetrix

Thursday at 8:00om Central – A new post at JimRaffel.com

Over the last 31 days I learned that I enjoy writing about several different topics and not all those topics belong in one place.

Over at QIP.com I will write about all the behind the scenes techniques and technology it takes to keep a self-hosted WordPress blog running as your internet business home base. The dirty grimy nuts and blots stuff. You will also find some social media and community topics there but more as they relate to connection of the social media outposts to your home base.

Over at ColorMetrix.com I will write about color and the printing industry I am so passionate and yet worried about. I’m going to kick off over there with a post titled Color Conversation, that is rolling around in my head. It will be there by 8am next Tuesday morning. That will be followed up with an interview with print industry powerhouse and social media guru Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer of Kodak.

Here at JimRaffel.com I am going to stick to what I consider the fun stuff. Self-improvement, motivation, some social media with real world spin and perspective. I’m not a journalist I am a commentator. I call it like I see it.

That’s my take on the last 31 day of posting, anything to add?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisarupp/

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Continue Reading 4 comments }blogging, color, personal development, priorities, social media, Twitter

Fast Failure Breeds Success

by JimRaffel on March 30, 2010

That idea you have, try it. Develop a quick plan, with low cost and get a prototype whipped together quickly.

Is fast failure really easier in the software world? I read a story years ago about the first Palm Pilot prototype being carved from wood and carried around by the inventor. He pretended to use the device for all the things he wanted to use it for. That way when the functional prototypes came along all the buttons and stuff had already been thought out.

A friend owns the three letter domain QIP.com. Over the last month or so we have had conversations and exchanged emails trying to find a way to turn this site into a revenue engine. The site generates tens of thousands of direct hit traffic every month (most from eastern European countries). Still, that’s a whole lot of native traffic that we should be able to generate revenue from.

In the 15 years QIP.com has existed it’s been too many things. That’s OK, however, because as of about noon today it became Quick Internet Pages. I had been talking with my friend about how blogging (as part of an overall social media and community strategy) has changed the way I do business. Over coffee a few weeks ago in California I told the whole story and he said why not turn QIP.com into a blog about that with ads to generate revenue.

My friend Pat and I have worked on several projects over the last 15 years. While none have made us rich all have managed to break even or even make a few bucks. Along the way we’ve both learned a lot about business in general and the internet specifically.

Time to tear a page from Brian Clark and Chris Brogan’s playbook and just start telling the story. That’s what QIP.com will be. A running story of what it takes along with the tips and tricks necessary to make a blogging platform like WordPress into a revenue engine.

Based upon things Brian and Chris has said over in Third Tribe Marketing we will be looking for guest bloggers and business opportunities to share on the site. If you are interested let me know, I have two eyes, two ears and one mouth for a reason. Your turn.

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Continue Reading 0 comments }blogging, motivation, personal development

Body Weight Only Exercise Routine

March 28, 2010

Over the last year I have had success with a body weight only workout routine. I am not a trainer and I highly recommend you contact your physician and a personal trainer before starting this or any exercise routine. The routine is a combination of stretching, push-ups, sit-ups and squats. I can complete this entire [...]

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Social Media and Customer Service

March 28, 2010

Recently I received this email from Matt Peters and it got me thinking… …when we strip away the technology and the tools (like twitter, facebook, 4square etc.) and look at the “social” part of the term “social media” – aren’t we really talking about really, excellent customer service? Maybe that’s the beauty of it – [...]

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Transparency in Social Media Communications

March 27, 2010

Warning this post is written to be Googlelicious and contains an above average content of sarcasm. (Hey, it’s the weekend and I feel like having some fun.) I try not to obsess over my web stats (OK, that’s a lie but I’m a blogger so cut me some slack). So after obsessing over my web-stats [...]

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Industry Meeting Displays Power of Many

March 26, 2010

Earlier this week I attended two days of meetings focused around graphic communications industry specifications, standards and best practices. There is nothing glamorous about this work. Almost 30 of us crammed into a small conference room. Not at a fancy hotel but graciously offered at no cost by Kodak (one of the member companies of [...]

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Idea Factory

March 25, 2010

Setting out to produce 31 posts in the month of March has resulted in the unintended consequence of turning me into an idea factory. Napoleon Hill wrote about the importance of ideas in Think and Grow Rich. His premise, which I share, is that you become what you think about. I think about helping others [...]

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Transparency is the Key to Honest Communication

March 23, 2010

I read this Chris Brogan post over the weekend and it reinforced the importance of transparency in honest communications with your community. I write a blog about real, authentic and sustainable, yet I reached a point yesterday when I knew my current schedule was no longer sustainable. I’ve enjoyed working 12-14 hour days more often [...]

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Karma Yields an Extra Day

March 22, 2010

I set my alarm for 3am this morning so I could get up and drive 325 miles to committee meetings that began at 9am. Well, they do start at 9am but tomorrow. There was a time I’d have been none to happy about this calendar failure. I picked up the phone and called my wife [...]

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Internal Mastermind Group Provides Answers

March 21, 2010

When faced with a tough decision, I often ask myself What would _________ do in this situation? Or better yet I pull together a group or four or five really smart people in my head to form an internal mastermind group. I first read about the internal mastermind concept in Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and [...]

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