Posts Tagged "blogging"

I Ain't Gonna Work Wit' You!

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Jul 17, 2009 in Business Tips | 16 comments

Okay.  If you know me, you know I write in two ways… (1) In real-time and (2) Honestly.

There are benefits to this…  I get to be present, in the moment and writing about things I’m actually going through and in being honest, I help out other people or at least let entrepreneurs they are not alone.  There are also downsides.  Generally, when I write about an issue I am going through, the person reads it and thinks, “That’s about me!” and is either right and gets to learn about my way of thinking or is wrong and hates me for having an opinion about them when it was never about them in the first place.

Luckily, I’m willing to take that chance and write honestly.

Way back in the day when I was struggling for new clients and prospects, I used to bend over backwards like crazy for clients.  If they wanted me to fly to the moon, jump through five hoops of fire and walk across coals while eating cockroach legs, I would… and I did.  Now, I still love and cherish and honor the process of getting a new client and I still stand in the place of gratitude of receiving this new, awesome business but I no longer compromise my own needs and my desired lifestyle to do so.

Case in point: I have a 100% virtually based business. I don’t have an office, I don’t have a physical space, I tried to do co-working once (even bought a certificate at a Twestival) but they never opened their doors so even that failed.  I have a love / hate relationship with working from Starbucks (love – coffee… hate – people who bring their babies into Starbucks and the babies cry and I can’t write a sentence with words let alone anything intelligent… just sayin’.. Mommas, don’t be angry – it’s just the crying ones that force me to do that!)

I also have zero local clients. Well, I have one but we’ve never met in person so it’s almost like she’s virtual too!  I’d say I was sad about this but I’m not.  I like to live my life online…  I like being on the Internet.  I get more done. In-person meetings are ineffective for me because of the time it takes to get dressed up, drive, find parking, get to the location, etc., etc., etc.  In fact, the minute someone suggests meeting in-person, I immediately realize it isn’t going to work.

I’m not trying to be mean to the people who like in-person meetings, it’s just not my style.

Ya... So! I Live Online!

So, what do I do?  Well, I could compromise my working habits but that’s not me. I am the kind of person who, when she realizes that travel puts a damper on her creativity, cancels a fun trip to San Diego.  You might say fun police, I say honoring what I need as a business owner and as a person.  Maintaining happiness and sanity.

So instead, I just don’t do it. I’d rather take the chance of losing business than do something that goes against my own beliefs, needs and standards of work.  It’s me and I need to honor that.  Most of my clients are fine working virtually.  We do great work, they are millions of miles away, some are in other countries and it works out great.  I get more done, I can stay in my pajamas and do what I do best…  Building kick ass online businesses.

What do you do when faced with something that compromises your beliefs and needs?

Bruno: The Movie with Important Lessons… Really.

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Jul 17, 2009 in Personally Speaking, Social Media | 6 comments

Last night, I went to see the movie “Bruno” and when I Tweeted out the fact that I was going to partake in this activity, I was met with mixed reviews.  People had heard crazy things about it, some had seen it, some thought it was funny and well… others were just plain disgusted by it.

I had also heard that Twitter bombed Bruno’s opening weekend at the box office.  Not sure the validity to it but even a search done on Twitter provided mixed reviews.

I have to say that I didn’t love it but didn’t hate it either. Here’s why…

The movie has a very surface level vibe to it.  The jokes aren’t “deep” and the humor borderlines on somewhat disgusting BUT (and there is a but) I think Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius.  Yes, I realize that’s going far but let me tell you why.

* SPOILER ALERTS –> DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO WATCH MOVIE **

In the movie, Bruno (a flamboyant Austrian fashionista), takes his show to America and visits with many different groups of people.  The idea behind the movie is really sort of elementary but it’s what he does with his interviews that matters.

Here are a few of my favorite examples and I’ll explain why I felt they were poignant:

Casting a Child for a Family Photo Session:  Bruno interviews these parents who are trying to get their child a starring role in this faux photo shoot.  When he is interviewing them, he is asking them a series of really odd questions about what he, as the photographer/coordinator, could do with their children.  He asks if it’s okay for them to be around lit phospherous (the parents agree – “Oh yes! Absolutely, my child actually likes that very much”) and other really, really far reaching examples.

At a “Straight Dave” Event:  Bruno, during the movie, realizes that maybe his being gay has something to do with him not becoming famous in America.  So, he creates this Straight Dave persona that resembled a WWE or UFC event.  He dressed up in camoflage, sported a mullet and went in front of the crowd cheering about being straight and such.  Then, his previous personal assistant comes in, comes up on stage and they begin to make out and such. People boo, throw chairs, throw drinks and leave.

So, why are these great examples?

I feel like Sacha wasn’t just making a movie about stupid, disgusting humor.  I think he was spreading the message about our intolerance and showing just what that looks like on the big screen. I think he was using a platform that could relate to different groups that may not otherwise see that sort of message and I think he did it cleverly.  There was shock value there and there were things that were totally unexpected.

Let’s look now at why this matters on a business scale.

In Dan Heath & Chip Heath’s book “Made to Stick” they talk about what makes some ideas stick and what makes others die.  There are key components to this.  The key components are:

• Simplicity
• Unexpectedness
• Concreteness
• Credibility
• Emotional
• Stories

Bruno, the movie, invoked all of these things.  In doing so, he was able to spread stories around bigger ideas like careless parenting, intolerance to homosexuality, religious extremes and many more issues. He did it in a way that many could relate to and in a way that had shock value.

I am sure he knew that in order to talk about some of these stories, you had to make people talk about the platform. The platform here being a movie with really dumb humor.

Some of you may disagree and see his movie as simply dumb humor and you may refuse to ever see it and that’s totally fine.  The movie isn’t for everyone.  However, the people who DO see it are getting these messages in a way that lets them go, “Huh… That’s really what it looks like from this end” and maybe… just maybe, that’ll change some mindsets.

If you saw it — what did you think?

WordPress Plugins for Charging Up Your WordPress Blog

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Jul 13, 2009 in How-To, Resources | 0 comments

via maxblogpress.com

Like this blog — loads of great resources!

Posted via web from Erin’s posterous

WordCamp Montréal » Schedule

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Jul 10, 2009 in Events | 0 comments

Posted via web from Erin’s posterous

Posting Full Blog Entry Via iPhone

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Jul 5, 2009 in How-To | 0 comments

Wow – I have found an app to make the execution of a lifestream epic It is a WordPress app made by Matt Mullenweg of Automattic Ok, I am sure he had help and such but yay! Love this app.