Please check out my newest blog - Tango!

I've started a blog documenting my adventures in Argentine Tango (not hiding under a rock, as has been the rumor! ;-) )

Visit My Tango Diaries

Helium's Most Productive Writers' Getting Their Creds

The National Press Club teams up with Helium

"The 100-year-old National Press Club has extended membership invitations to Helium’s five-star writers. Qualify and you can apply to the news club that the nation’s most notable journalists, government officials and top news sources call home.
This partnership recognizes the value of citizen journalism and helps spread awareness of its importance to the new media landscape. This is the first time in the National Press Club’s history that it has reached out to a non-traditional news outlet."

Find out more here:

http://www.helium.com/national-press-club?emailloc=jh75f

My Op-Ed is up!

My very first Op-Ed is up. The Naomi Wolf / Dove Campaign for Real Beauty piece is up on Lucire.com here:

http://lucire.com/insider/20080215/is-naomi-wolf-pulling-punches-for-doves-real-beauty-campaign/

Woot!

I'm back with Lucire.com

Many thanks to Jack Yan for picking me up again, I'm thrilled to me writing for Lucire once more. He will be running the Sugarluxe piece and possibly the Naomi Wolf Op-Ed as well. I'll post the links as soon as I have them. It's always exciting to work with Jack who is one of the best writers I know. He pushes me to write my best stuff, I think.

Sugarluxe at the Blanton Museum of Art Austin Texas

Austin's Blanton Museum of Art Hosted Artist Chandra Michaels Sugarluxe Trunk Show February 9, 2008.

This was a terrific show and amidst fantastic art and accessories, and I even got to geek out over the brilliance of vector graphics with Chandra!

Michaels' artwork has gained so much attention she even has a room (number 504) at the famed Hotel des Arts in San Francisco!

Associated Content Article here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/594037/austins_blanton_museum_of_art_hosts.html

Helium Article here:

http://www.helium.com/tm/858595/chandra-michaels-super-sugarluxe

This will soon be on Lucire.com and Associated Content - links to follow...

I work on one of the largest college campuses in the country . .

and I had know idea about this... This is an astounding video and very well done piece that I found through:

http://experiencecurve.com/

Naomi Wolf and Dove'S Campaign for Higher Sales, I mean, Real Beauty

This is really sort of a preview for an Op-Ed that's going to run in Associated Content and, hopefully, Lucire, - but I was actually so fired up about the event, it took me almost three weeks to write the silly piece! I actually took that long to edit it down! Here's a sneaky-peaky.

###

In its quest to become a brand associated with more than a bar of soap, Dove has launched an enviable feel-good campaign that seeks to remake the way women feel about beauty advertising. Dove ads challenge the domination of thin, pouty-lipped supermodels in beauty advertising. When critics claim the ads are simply good for the bottom line, Dove rolls out the press releases. Dove claims it's "walking its talk" by reaching out to millions of women, young and old, through its Self Esteem Fund, uniquely ME! The Girl Scout/Dove Self-Esteem Program, and Step Up Women's Network, a Hollywood-based non-profit organization. All of these causes serve women in fantastic ways and are certainly worthy of support.

That's great for Dove, but what Unilever?

Unilever, Dove's parent company, also makes Axe, whose ads feature scantily clad, thin women who are the very stereotype Dove is trying not to portray. The ad is geared for men, but the message is clear to women in the audience. "This is the picture of attractiveness."

EffingTheDog - My New Favorite Productivity Site / Blog

I may have mentioned my frustration with email and lack of organization skillz, so I set about searching the intarwebz for help. Of course there are the usual helpful sites that I'm sure I'll type up into a useful article at some point. Meanwhile, I'll be enjoying this site:

http://effingthedog.com/

My first article on Helium - Yay!!!!

I did it - I'm no longer a Helium virgin! I finally published my very first article on helium here:

http://www.helium.com/tm/809545/choose-cream-first-decide

Woot! Now I just need to get my other 14 articles out of my "to do" queue!!

Curse of the GMAIL "Add Star"

I must admit I still haven't gotten used to the GMail "never delete another email" system. I miss having an empty Inbox. And now I have to deal with a new problem - serious "Add Star" abuse. This is the "I don't want to deal with this right now but I really should do something with it later" button. The problem is... that's as far as it ever gets.

I now have 58 starred emails.

And I can't remember what half of them are starred for. sigh... I doubt that was the intended use of the label.

It reminds me of (and I'm seriously dating myself here), "Where there's a Will There's an A" Study Skills Tutorial. It advises quite strongly against using a highliter for studying to learn any material because all you're really doing is delaying the learning process. When I use "Add Star" - I'm delaying any task associated with that email. The problem is, I don't have time do the task when I'm reading the email. But I very likely won't have time later either. So what do I do?

If you're job hunting - go beyond Googling yourself!

Here's another link I got from Bzzagent - but I'd actually seen it before and completely forgot to post it:

Pipl
http://www.bzzagent.com//p/3293059132/mkjohnson

Search your name and find out what's out there on the World Wide Web about you. Hiring managers and recruiters are using search tools to find out everything they can about you before you ever walk in the door so you should know what's online before they do.

If you're a journalist, I also found out that this is a great way to find out if you still have stuff archived online. Anywhere you can point to a byline is a good thing! So good luck and happy hunting - even if it is a bit creepy.

Lulu.com for Bzzagents

Another thing I get for not paying attention to Bzzagent. As it turns out Bzzagents knew about Lulu.com a long time ago and had been spreading the word - I could have gotten started there lol! So if you're a BzzAgent and you're curious about self-publishing anything - artwork, ebooks etc, check it out:

http://www.bzzagent.com//p/6646719777/mkjohnson

Back in the BzzAgent Saddle again

I know I said I was going to focus on writing articles and nothing else - and really I am - I promise. Except for this one thing . . .

I had fallen out of routine with Bzzagent, but I got an invitation that I just couldn't refuse. Most offers to participate (campaigns) are free. But with higher dollar items, you have to pay part of the cost of the product. This time the invitation was for a Plantronics CS70N™ Professional Wireless Headset System, a system that usually retails around $300. Through Bzzagent, I could try it out for $99. DH and I have been jonesing for a headset (for which we will now be armwrestling for, I'm sure) so we're using what's left of the PayPal account and going for it. To help even more we'll be doing a his and hers review of the equipment and giving it a very thorough test drive. Then we'll have to probably flip a coin to see who gets to keep it lol.

HowToDoThings.com - another place to write and earn

I've submitted my bio and summary information to another site to write for:

http://www.howtodothings.com/faqs

Hopefully I'll be able to crosspost or rework some articles here too and see some royalties from this site as well.

The set up reminds of ChaCha's initial set up a bit where you need to provide a bit of a background on your subject strengths. Does anyone else have any experience with this site?

88 More days: Earn money upfront for articles on Helium.com

Helium’s Write & Rate Reward-athon

http://www.helium.com/reward-athon/

What it’s all about
What a way to start the year: Three months (and a bit) of opportunity to earn extra rewards while you build your writing reputation and portfolio on Helium.
From January 7 through April 14, 2008, Helium will reward all its starred writers with bonus payments for each new article they publish on Helium. Qualifying members can earn big money on Tax Day, April 15.

It’s simple: As a starred member, you can earn a bonus payment for every article submitted. And the rewards increase based on your number of stars. A one-writing-star member can earn $1 for every article submitted until April 14. A five-writing-star member can earn $3 for every article submitted.

Requirements:

At least one writing star

And because all our members need to rate, a minimum of three rating stars by the end of the program

Your Helium account information filled out with full name, postal address and phone number

I really need to get on this! I signed up ages ago with Helium and haven't written anything, concentrating on Associated Content instead. Does anyone have direct experience with Helium and how their requirements differ? How they pay etc.?

I finally get to hold my book!

I received my book yesterday in the mail!! There's nothing quite like it. But of course I immediately started picking it apart and thinking of changes I should make to it. This was partly due to the fact that in the same batch of mail I received a tax guide work book from my former CPA that looked very polished. It had some very usable format ideas in it that I may emulate.

First of all, in the print version of my book, the backgrounds of my pictures are far too light.
Second, the footers contain my copyright which certainly don't need to be on every page.
Third, some of the pictures and comments, while friendly in tone in the e-version, appear too personal in the print version, and should probably be adjusted.

Other than that, I'm thrilled beyond measure. This weekend's project is to fix up the .png once again and pop in some better-contrast pictures. Resubmit and hit "go"!

How to Build a Business: Expert Guidance for Entrepreneurs

(ARA) - Starting your own business takes passion, patience, perseverance and access to resources. Knowing how to achieve and exceed your goals requires the right advice and support. According to a recent survey conducted by CIT, a leading global commercial finance company and the Economist Intelligence Unit, middle market business executives stated that attributes like “strong customer relationships” and “having a financial institution who deeply understand their business or industry” are more important to their success than just the strong balance sheet. “We are challenging the traditional ways lending institutions approach customers,” says Chris Reilly, president of CIT Small Business Lending Corporation (SBL), a unit of CIT. “Our ingenuity and depth of experience has made us the largest independent commercial finance company in the world. We understand that strong relationships are at the core of business.” Reilly has a few tips for entrepreneurs who are running or planning to start a business: * Craft a solid business plan. It’s your roadmap and the key to helping your business succeed. If you don’t have a business plan, seek advice from reputable small business advisors who know your business and can help you create and update one along the way. * Build a good relationship with your bank manager and creditors. Ask for their help and advice in building your business and show a genuine interest in solving problems. * Find a lender who offers more than just a loan. As your business grows you’ll benefit from the solid advice and guidance that comes from a lender that understands the needs of businesses as they grow from start-ups to success stories. Select a lender that can help you build relationships that will build on your successes. * Create a community of encouraging people. Develop a network of entrepreneurs that you see regularly with whom you can exchange ideas. The relationships you build with these individuals, organizations or trade groups will provide you with an outlet to problem solve, share successes and learn from other entrepreneurs. * Act with determination. If you have a good idea, be determined to stick with it through the start-up years and don’t be disheartened by the small setbacks that all growing businesses invariably face. For more information about starting a business, small business lending and advice to business owners, visit http://corporate-finance.cit.com and select Small Business Lending. Courtesy of ARAcontent

Beauty Industry Icon Shu Uemura Dies

Japanese makeup artist Shu Uemura died on December 29 of acute pneumonia, according to CosmeticDesign-Europe. I can't believe it. When I worked as an independant makeup artist, I dreamed of making enough money to outfit my entire kit with his line, it was so good, so highly pigmented and long wearing. It's still one of my very favorite color lines for photography.

When the Sephora I worked in first opened we waited and waited for the Shu products to arrive. It was right after 9/11 and all the powder products had been held up in customs. Shu Uemura wasn't available in such a wide range anywhere else nearby and we were desperate for it. Our call list was pages and pages long. When it finally arrived, we couldn't keep it in stock for months.

A great icon has been lost to the industry.

Day 9 - My eBook is going to press on Amazon

and I'm so nervous!

I purchased a Distribution package from Lulu.com and though the process could not be easier, I find I'm more nervous than ever. Lulu.com suggests that you keep yuor product in draft until you have your hard copy in your hands and can actually look at it to see if there are any errors or changes you want to make, so right now my book is only available as download.

I can hardly wait to see it. I'm actually going to be in print! WooT!

In other news, I am taking advantage of Ms. Bass's (of My Debt Free Goal's) Mentoring program to get a little momentum going so I can be self-sufficiently employed by summer. I'm making an income, it's just not quite enough yet. I think a little more input from her might be just what I need to tie some of my programs together.

You need this - Lifehacker's Top 10 Underhyped Webapps

In fact if you haven't bookmarked Lifehacker.com - just do so now. And put it on google reader while you're at it.

Or maybe I just need more hobbies...

http://lifehacker.com/342765/top-10-underhyped-webapps