3 Steps to Creating a Social Media Will

Posted by On Filed under Marketing, Pause for Reflection
3 Steps to Creating a Social Media Will

Several friends have passed away over the last few years. For months after their passing, Facebook still told me whether or not they were online. Google+ suggested I add them to my circles. And Twitter suggested I invite them to join.

Most disturbing of all were the Facebook reminders. Birthdays were the most shocking: being asked to wish someone a happy birthday, months after their passing, with their smiling face or familiar profile picture popping up in my feed all day.

This got me to thinking about what was happening with their account and started my research social media wills. Yes, it’s that kind of will: a way to protect and even pass on your (digital) property after your passing.

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Failure as Part of the Bucket List Experience

Posted by On Filed under Bucket List, Pause for Reflection
Failure as Part of the Bucket List Experience

This post was previously published on the BucketList.org blog in November 2014.

Are some of your bucket list goals pretty wild? Way outside your comfort zone, not to mention your budget, skill or ability zones? And are you afraid you may try and fail at some of these goals? Then you and I have some things in common.

My bucket list is the To Do list of an adventurous, athletic, wealthy genius. I love who I see when I look at that list: Michelle on top of mountains, Michelle racing cars, learning languages and living like an expat, owning a radio station and fighting with nunchucks.

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Tracking Campaigns, for Non-Profits and Small Businesses

Posted by On Filed under Marketing 2 Comments
Tracking Campaigns, for Non-Profits and Small Businesses

Within Google Analytics, non-profits and small businesses can track where website traffic is coming from in several different ways. For example, you can track referrals or Adwords through the acquisition tab.

But what if you’re running a campaign and you want to track how it’s performing across channels? For example, how do you track a holiday message as it performs on social media versus your e-newsletter versus digital ads?

That’s when you need Google’s URL builder.

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6 Tips for the Best Beach Vacation (Landlubbers Edition)

Posted by On Filed under Bucket List, Money 1 Comment
6 Tips for the Best Beach Vacation (Landlubbers Edition)

This post was previously published on the BucketList.org blog in August 2014.

As cold temperatures move in on the northern hemisphere, many are looking to book beach vacations in the coming months. In my first year of getting out of debt, a beach vacation was a top bucket list priority for this Midwesterner living in the Northeast.

Now, there are lots of websites to help you find a great beach spot and figure out what to do once there, so this post is written more for those who’ve never really spent a week on a beach before.

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Community Supported Enterprise: New Leaf Deli and Market

Posted by On Filed under Doing Business Differently
Community Supported Enterprise: New Leaf Deli and Market

I’m very interested in the “Community Supported” model, as in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Community Supported Restaurant (CSR) or Community Supported Enterprise (CSE). So I was delighted to hear of another shop going CSE in Vermont.

The Shelburne News reported that New Leaf Deli and Market, formerly Natalia’s Market, has new owners, a new look, and a new business model.

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Skydiving: The Thrill Seekers Bucket List Goal

Posted by On Filed under Bucket List
Skydiving: The Thrill Seekers Bucket List Goal

This post was previously published on the BucketList.org blog in August 2014.

Skydiving was one of the first bucket list goals I crossed off, mostly because it doesn’t take a lot of time or money. It also became one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.

A lot of people said I was crazy and shook their heads, but eventually I found four coworkers willing to strap a stranger onto their back and jump out of a plane with nothing but parachute.

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Three Years at a Standing Desk

Posted by On Filed under Doing Business Differently, Health
Three Years at a Standing Desk

A few years ago, I wrote about using a standing desk for the first time. I’d like to provide an update, especially since I’ve continued the practice for quite some time now.

When I started working at my last job, the furniture in my office was set up for an entirely different type of department, so I was lucky enough to be able choose all of my own furniture. I’d already seen another colleague at his own makeshift standing desk and decided to give it a go.

Read about that here.

When I started working at my current job in 2013, office spaces were being remodeled and re-purposed and, coincidentally, there wasn’t even a spare chair for me, so I took that as an opportunity to pull together some materials for a standing desk.

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