Those of us who blog know the challenge of creating valuable, interesting, accurate content. Blogging on a regular schedule adds to that challenge. I have discovered a method that works like magic. (more…)

I often talk about the “6 Ws” and how they are the basis for almost every strategy I design. This approach is easy and takes about 20 minutes. I usually use it at the beginning of a project, like when I’m writing a blog.  But you can use it anytime you need to get the creative juices flowing.  The six Ws are: who, what, where, when, why, and how (“how” ends with  w, so we’ll include it).

I discovered this process while reading The Back of the Napkin, by Dan Roam.  I learned that the solution to every problem can be found in a well-phrased question.  The best way to come up with that well-phrased question is to put all the questions in front of you and see which ones jump off the page.  One of them will hold the key. (more…)

I attended WordCamp Boulder last week.  The WordPress conference included 15 sessions, presented three at a time.  I followed what I refer to as the low-tech track — information for bloggers; as opposed to the high-tech track for developers.  Here are my notes, inspired by the presentations.

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A last-minute change in my weekend plans is allowing me to go to WordCamp Boulder 2010, and I can’t believe how excited I am. I’m sure my Facebook friends and family think I’ve completely lost it after seeing me post not once, but twice about this this afternoon. (And now this blog . . . that makes three times!)

Every time I say “WordCamp” I picture myself packing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my backpack with my sharpened no. 2 pencils and a notebook. It just sounds all so geeky.

I joined a local WordPress MeetUp networking group in April. One of my friends there challenged me to take the leap from wordpress.com to the much more flexible and interesting wordpress.org and see what I could do with it. Since then I’ve spent 140 solid hours sitting at this computer working on my websites (or do I call them blogs because it’s done on WordPress?). I guess I AM kinda’ geeky.

My first crack at a website was using a GoDaddy template about this time last year. Though I’ve migrated away from that, I have to say that I’m glad that’s where I started. Their support team is incredible, and much of my foundational learning happened with them on the other end of the phone.

The GoDaddy website didn’t offer a free blog feature, so that’s when I started experimenting with wordpress.com and created Part of the Plan. That was a good second step. By the time I got to wordpress.org, and started working on the site for 3D Communications, I could see no difference in the processes; just more power and options.

Now, each time I learn something new about wordpress.org – and that happens hourly – I realize that I’m barely scratching the surface. And I honestly don’t want to get into the business of building websites. It’s work!

My real line of work is social media management. But as a social media manager, I understand the importance of a good website in the overall digital strategy. I won’t hesitate to recommend WordPress to anyone who wants to try their hand at building their own site. Yes, it’s a lot of work. But it’s also really fun work. I guess that’s why I’m so excited about getting to spend a day at “camp.”

I’d love to hear how others discovered WordPress, and how it fits into your own website-building experience. Or, if you’ve managed to live without WordPress, how? (Comment button is located at the top of this blog.)

This morning I’m reflecting on some very good feelings about a young man I’ve never met, but to whom I’ve grown close over the past week. His name is Cody Marshall. He is on the U.S. Ski Team. Last week, Cody suffered a devastating (non-ski related) injury, and has been in a drug-induced coma while doctors treat him for head trauma. During all of this, his friends and family have been by his side – which is not the unusual part of this story.

The Marshall family set up a blog for Cody and they have been posting to it several times a day. Ski Racing magazine reported on the blog so that fans and supporters were aware of it. The first I heard of it came from a Facebook friend, a local ski coach, who sent a message out within a day of the accident. I have been reading the blog regularly, sending my own comments, and praying for the Marshall family every time I receive an e-mail alert of a new post.

Cody is making progress. He is opening his eyes, responding to pinch tests (which his sister and brothers and friends seem to be having some fun with) and showing other signs of improvement. It sounds like the medical staff have been amazing, and they’ve provided detailed explanations of every drug and technique they’re using on Cody – which have been included in the blogs. Along with these reports, I’m reading about the friends who are at bedside, and what they’re doing to support Cody and his family – particularly his sister, Chelsea (a World Cup racer, herself; pictured above), who I’m pretty sure hasn’t left Cody for more than a couple hours at a time.

This brings me to what I believe is the unusual part of this story. I barely knew of the existence of these people two weeks ago, other than what I read about their racing accomplishments. Today, they are part of my daily routine as I check on Cody’s progress, share a little of the emotion felt by his inner circle, and do all that I can do, which is to send my support to them through prayer and blog comments. That may not seem like much to some. But I know that if I were in the position of the Marshalls right now, I’d truly appreciate these contributions. And, according to their blog, they do.

These days I spend most of my time helping people understand the practical purpose of social media. Granted, many people get it; or else it wouldn’t be so popular. But I’m really looking forward to the day when businesses have figured out that they can use these techniques to connect to the emotions of their markets by sharing information in a genuine and unselfish way. The Marshall family – though their objective is quite different from the typical business – provide a great example of how to be sensitive to the needs of their audience, and as a result, have likely grown their audience beyond their wildest imagination.

Check out Cody’s blog, and join us in helping him through his recovery.