Blogs

Recently I had the honor of meeeting the lovely and powerful Queen Afua.

For those who may not know who she is, she is the author of such books as "The sacred woman", "Heal Thyself" and "Overcoming an angry vagina."

The event was for a grand opening for The Afrikan Woman Institute of Atlanta.

I received some powerful messages and

I saw some things that I did not expect to see at the venue.

Some danced and some cried.

I danced.

SoulSeed Tees was a vendor as well and I learned some valuable things that I wanted to share:

• Know your venue
• Check out the facility where the event is to be held
• Find out if there is an admission to get in & if so how much
• Make sure there has been adequate advertising

In keeping my experiences real

I have to say that economically working the

event was not worth the 5 hour drive or the money that was spent

because there were not enough people,

the facilties were small and there was an admission to see Queen Afua speak on Day 2 .

Charging an admission affected the spending of the buyers at the event on Day 2 I think.

There are many elements to consider when working events I see.

By no means am I knocking the Afrikan Woman Institute of Atlanta.

I think as they grow they will be valuable to the community.

The venue was just not very beneficial to the vendors that attended.

Does anyone else have any tips or shared experiences on vending?

I am all ears.

Flies. They walk over s**t. They trample through carrion. Their babies are maggots. I know they’re God’s creatures. I know they have a purpose. I know they have as much right to life as I have. But. I hate flies. I abhor them. I despise them. I kill them.

Unlike spiders, flies do their best to announce their presence. They fly recklessly around the room, eventually two centimeters from my face always at eye level. And they buzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Twitter for me is like a fly. All day long tweople buzz their quotes from Ghandi and the Dalai Lama around the head of the internet. They recklessly toss their products and free offers in my face, whether I want them or not. They fly around my home space and stop to show off the long trains
of conversation they’re privileged to have with this celebrity or that entertainer. They distract me with insignificant news of being stuck in traffic or of how busy they are buzzing in their followers’ ears.

As an independent publisher, I know only too well that Twitter is a necessary tool that can empower someone like me who’s responsible for establishing her own reader base. After I’ve posted this piece on my blog, I’ll head straight to Twitter to inform those who are following my tweets of its existence. When I read an enlightening article from a Muslim woman on wearing a naquib, I retweeted. When my book is released, I will announce it. I do indeed have a powerful, ready-made venue at hand for spreading my messages. But at what point does a tweeter become as pesky as my friend the fly?

A celebrity that I USED TO follow repeatedly tweeted her request to increase her reach to 10,000 followers. She tweeted a message that went something like this:

“I follow hundreds of people who don’t follow me. People, why aren’t you following me back?” Is there a magic number of followers you need to interest sponsors and advertisers? Is it to prove how popular you are? I used to follow another person who’d save up at least 10 inspirational saying
just so she could tweet them at the same time, in succession. If I want to be reminded that “early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” I’ll read up on my Benjamin Franklin.

I love the tweets that link useful writing tips. I love links to articles that teach me something about another culture. I forward articles and link to blogs that show black women doing something creative and positive with their time here on earth. I’ll check out the websites of twitterers of quality. I may even buy their products. Quantity is just that, and I won’t waste my time following up on someone who buzzes about waiting in line to pump gas or about how delicious organic apples are.

We’ve become so obsessed with numbers that we’ve lost sight of what they really mean. My understanding of Twitter etiquette is that if I follow someone, s/he’ll follow me back regardless of who I am or what I might stand for. Chances are, s/he will never know about my writing process or about my daily life as a black woman living abroad or about how I overcame the
limitations of my identity. Therefore, s/he will not read my book. So what’s the point? I may lose a follower or two or a hundred. But, then again, I’d rather communicate with people who are actually willing to listen to my message than simply be an irritating fly in their ear.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The first post of this blog was published originally in January of 2007, but a catastrophic crash in October of 2008 (before I knew about the importance of backing up my database) caused me to lose all of those
early posts. Prior to this blog for my consulting business I had a personal blogthat I began in the fall of 1998 (before they were actually even called ‘blogs’). So with 12 years of blogging experience under my belt, I
thought I’d write a post about what being a blogger has taught me about life.

1. Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want your parents or your children to see.
In the early days, I didn’t tell my parents that I kept a blog. I felt far more free to write whatever I felt like writing when I was pretty sure that they weren’t reading it. Well, the day eventually came when my dad, bless his heart, discovered my blog one day when he googled me. Thank goodness he didn’t find anything embarrassing, but it might have been a more awkward conversation had I been writing about something that they would not have approved of, or would be embarrassing.

Aside from your parents and off-spring, be mindful that your employer or colleagues might also discover your blog, so be mindful of what you write and publish online.

2. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
Your blog provides you with the opportunity to stand up for what you believe in, to take a stand for your beliefs and defend the ideals that you hold dear. There will be people who will agree and there will be people who will disagree with what you have to say, but don’t let that dissuade you from writing from your heart.

3. Be authentic.
One of my favorite quotes on this topic is by Dr. Suess, and he said, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter won’t mind.” Authenticity totally shines through in everything you write. Don’t try too hard to sound witty, or take on a fake persona. Your individuality is the gift that you offer to the world. Let it shine through.

4. Always publish your best work.
Don’t fall into the trap of waiting until you “get discovered” before you start coming up with fabulous content because it’s the fabulous content that will get you discovered. Write your posts like everyone’s watching. Edit ruthlessly. Find a writing partner to edit and/or proofread for you. Ask for feedback from your readers, and strive to always improve your writing.

5. Having a platform is powerful.
As your blog readership grows you will discover that you are creating a platform for yourself. Your blog is your own media outlet. Don’t squander your chance to put forth your message. Take your blog seriously and others will do the same.

6. Avoid negative posts and bashing or flaming.
Avoid writing scathing posts and railing with negativity about a person or a group. If something has gotten you angry and upset, you might want to take some time and process it and choose the most intelligent course
of action rather than firing off a vitriolic post that you may regret sooner than later.

7. It takes a village.
The blogoshpere is a community, so reach out to other bloggers and create relationships. Offer to guest post on your favorite blogs. Link to your blogging buddies from your blog. Be as supportive as you can of other bloggers within your community.

8. Encourage other bloggers.
Be sure to leave positive comments on other blogs. Find something encouraging to say that goes beyond, “great post.” Show that you read the post and write a comment that adds value and builds up the blogger.

9. It takes commitment.
Maintaining a blog is not easy. With all of the other responsibilities in your life, it can be a challenge to commit to writing three to five blog posts each week and managing all of the other tasks inherent with the job. Determine at the outset if you think you can be committed to maintaining the publishing schedule before you begin.

10. Persistence pays off.
In the end persistence definitely pays off. When you have a blog that is getting decent traffic, a steady flow of comments and good reviews you’ve really got something to be proud of. Don’t give up when things get challenging because the only way to fail is to give up.

If you’re a blogger, please feel free to leave a comment that shares a life lesson you’ve learned from blogging. You are welcome to visit my blog, http://www.productivepen.com, for more posts about writing, online marketing and personal development.

Re-introducing...

Inky Indies... Yay!. Originally began in 2006. Welcome to the Inky Indies Consultant Opportunity 2010. Inky Indies is the exciting party-plan, direct sales channel of I Love Inky, a Eco chic, culture conscious, fun, but values driven manufacturer of nature inspired, yummy and unique hair, beauty and lifestyle products with fabulous benefits for woman of color, but used and loved by everyone!

To get off to a great start, we are looking for Founding Kings and Queens [Team Leaders] one, two or three for every state for this awesome ground floor opportunity. Each Founding Team Leader will receive referrals for their state. Thus, giving them the advantage to build a fantastic team. Hee, hee!

So here's the deal. Enrollment is basically FREE, because I Love Inky will give you back your $35 enrollment cost in "Fast start credit", which means you can then use it towards one of your 3 kit options, priced at $35, $75 or $125, so you can start seriously supplementing your income pretty much right away. Werd Up!

Your enrollment includes training, a free Indie web page. Access to the Eco office portal area where you can download all your business paperwork, like, your product brochures, order forms and training guide. This way you can print out only what you need. 100% Eco-friendly style baby.

Your kits, once chosen by you will ship 14 days after this special enrollment offer closes on August 23rd 2010. However as a courtesy we'll give you immediate [within 1-3 days] access to your Indie web page and to the Indie Eco office portal. This will give you the opportunity to look around and complete new Indie consultant and product training while you wait for your kit to arrive, so you'll have something to do! Weekly online meetings and periodic training events will be held. Scheduled events will be posted to the Indie Facebook group and the Eco office portal. So don't forget to check both areas regularly.

I Love Inky is looking for highly motivated, dedicated individuals only. People that truly want to make some serious lolly, supplement their income and or build a business into a career. I Love Inky officially re-launches on July 23, 2010. Only the first 50 people to enroll by the deadline August 23rd 2010, will receive this special basically FREE enrollment offer!

Example Free Indie consultant web page. http://iloveinky.com/indies/sites/sophiascott.php The name, telephone number, and state you use to enroll with, will be what is shown on your Indie web page. So pick wisely. You can also add a small 75x75 photo of yourself if you like.

Here is the linky to enrolly https://www.iloveinky.com/pages/Join-Inky.html

Main website: https://www.iloveinky.com Email: emails@iloveinky.com Tel: 917 720 2073

Peace, Love, Inky XOXO