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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

Third Tribe Marketing is my Drug of Choice

March 4, 2010

If you’re going to be powerless over something why not make it something positive – right? For me it’s this place: Over the last year I have been replacing negative high risk behaviors with guaranteed negative outcomes with the exact opposite. The Third Tribe community is now one of my favorite places to run and [...]

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Blogging is How I Live Real, Authentic and Sustainable

March 3, 2010

It’s real because writing is the doing part of thinking. It’s authentic because my writing comes from the heart about what’s going on in my life right now. My life is sustainable because my thoughts turn into words which in turn become actions. Earlier this week I had the privilege to speak at MKELive’s Ignite [...]

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Stuff I Like About WordPress

January 7, 2010

Not too long ago I wrote “Stuff I Like About My Mac“, and it was well received based upon Google Analytics. So, this will be my second “Stuff I Like” post with more to come on appropriate topics. I have been using WordPress for about four years now. Early on I was simply an author [...]

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