My Dan Pallotta Inspired Halloween Costume: I’m Overhead

Posted by On Filed under Doing Business Differently, Pause for Reflection
My Dan Pallotta Inspired Halloween Costume: I’m Overhead

I’m personally and professionally fascinated by analytics and the idea of return on investment (ROI). I spend my working days in Google Analytics, Facebook and YouTube Insights, e-newsletter stats and more.

When it comes to my personal giving to non-profits, I’m just as intrigued by numbers.  I tend to “invest” my thoughts, energy, time and finances quite vertically: I drive deeply down into issues and give there, rather than here and there to many causes.

In doing this, I come across terms like effectiveness, efficiency and overhead, which are very often cited by non-profits as reasons to believe an organization is “good.” This is, of course, in addition to (and sometimes an after-thought to!) the actual impact an organization has.

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Facebook and FourSquare for Downtown Programs

Posted by On Filed under Doing Business Differently, Marketing
Facebook and FourSquare for Downtown Programs

On February 1st, I had the pleasure of presenting at a Vermont Downtown Networking Meeting.  Present were a dozen or more downtown programs, such as Montpelier Alive, Revitalizing Waterbury, and the Barre Partnership, along with their staff, volunteers, and board members.

I spoke about the value of social media for Vermont’s downtowns, as a way to engage citizens, neighbors from surrounding communities and tourists. Specifically, I covered Facebook events, Facebook advertising, FourSquare, and I touched on editorial calendar planning a bit at the end.

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Experiments with a standing desk

Posted by On Filed under Doing Business Differently, Health 1 Comment
Experiments with a standing desk

For the past seven months, I’ve been on my feet at a standing desk.

It all started when I started at Vermont Tech. My office was previously used by a vastly different department, so I somehow had three desks and three filing cabinets, all of which were empty and didn’t serve my paperless work style. I realized I could start from scratch in designing the space – and it is a gorgeous space.

I’ve heard, for the past few years, that sitting all day is killing us desk jockeys. In 2011, NPR reported that “…researchers are beginning to suspect that even if you engage in regular exercise daily, it may not be enough to counteract the effects of too much sitting during the rest of the day.”

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Recommendation from Ellen Hoil, VP at Nutritional Therapeutics

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“The work we did with Michelle was fantastic. She set up our social media while teaching our staff how to maintain it, and continues to help us better our sites and reach. Overall her work has been more than exemplary.”

Ellen Hoil

Vice President (June 2005-Present)

Nutritional Therapeutics

Learn more about my marketing / digital / social media clients.

Recommendation from Ellen Hoil

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After A Vacation: Fight the Back-to-Work Blues

Posted by On Filed under Doing Business Differently, Health
After A Vacation: Fight the Back-to-Work Blues

Many of us are returning to work today or tomorrow after some vacation time.  We’re probably also facing a horrendous number of e-mails, voicemails and a stack of work to start right away, despite still having “vacation brain.”

Simultaneously, you may ask if the vacation was really worth it. But not me. The vacation is always worth it. Let me tell you why and it might help your Monday go a bit smoother.

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Recommendation from Ben Rose, Executive Director of the Green Mountain Club

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Recommendation from Ben Rose, Executive Director of the Green Mountain Club

“When I was Executive Director of The Green Mountain Club, we were fortunate to have Michelle Barber working as one of our information specialists in the Visitor Center. In my experience, Michelle is friendly, bright, professional, and reliable. I recommend her as a creative, positive person who is a student of organizations, offers constructive ideas, and is a great person to have around!”

Ben Rose

Executive Director (1998-2011)

Green Mountain Club

Ben Rose Recommendation

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