Alpha Inventions Is Like A String Of Pearls

Alpha Inventions is like a string of pearls; it is a site that is set up to showcase websites and blogs in real time.  The string of pearls are the blogs and websites that rotate on a continual basis.  If you take the time to visit some of those sites, you will find all kinds of information, products, services and entertainment; not to mention, everytime that you visit one of those sites and leave a comment, you have an opportunity to create a relationship of communication with the creator of those sites.  It can also lead to more traffic for your blog or website.  It is a win-win situation for all involved; sort of like having your own PR, or micro-media center to shout out publicity about your writing.  Go check them out: http://alphainventions.com

I have moved my site to a new Url: WriteWhereYouAre if you are interested in reading more blog posts!

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Baby Your Blog

Well, this past week has been a lesson on nurturing my blog.  This past week was a week out of the ordinary and I was not able to nurture my blog in the way that I normally do.  I began to think on that thought.  A blog is a bit like a baby…it needs to be nurtured to grow and prosper.

How do you nurture a blog, you ask?  First things first, if you have a blog already you need to evaluate it’s well-being.  If you do not have a blog…begin one.  You need to think about what your blog is intended to accomplish.  Mine was initially set up to develop some discipline, commitment, and to help improve my writing.  As it evolved, I learned more…and therefore; I have discovered what I want and need.  Some of those things have changed with time; and now, I know that  my blog needs some adjustments.   That is ok, it is called growing pains; things that don’t grow become stagnant…they wither and die.  If your goals change for your blog, then you must make changes.  That knowledge requires some re-evaluation. 

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Special Needs-Growing Up Special Isn’t Easy

      If you are the parent of a special needs child then you know that growing up special in today’s world is not easy.  Finding ways to help your child be successful and to be as independent as they can be is often a challenge.  Too often those children, or young adults, are shuffled off to a seperate area or to a “special” program.  Acceptance is sometimes hard to come by.

        Therefore, it is vitally important to create an environment where your special person is accepted, loved, encouraged and challenged to spread their wings.  Finding appropriate venues to integrate them with “normal” or “average” peers is difficult. 

        When you are able to find a good fit…often you must force yourself to stand back and let them do and be.  That is easier said than done.  As a parent you are always in a protective mode…and you should be…but…you must also let them be as independent as they can be without interference.  🙂 

          Do you have some great experience that you could share with other parents of special needs children or children who have been adopted who struggle with issues?  If so, others could benefit from your successes and possibly even your struggles.  Check out this blog:  http://www.growingupspecial.com/  Introduce yourself and leave a comment.  You never know…you just might find others to share with. 

          

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Alpha Inventions-Have You Heard About Them Yet?

         Alpha Inventions, I wondered if you have heard of them yet?  I discovered them the other day when they made an appearance on my stat counter on my blog site.  I wondered who are they and; how, and why are they referring so many visitors to my blog.  Not that I minded the traffic; in fact, it was quite wonderful.  However, sometimes sites connect to your site that you wish had never heard of you; you know what I mean?  Some of them bring traffic that i don’t want associated with my blog.

         Anyway, i did a little sleuthing and found out it is a site that is relatively new.  From what i understand…it is a site that brings exposure to a multitude of sites-in real time.  So, as soon as you post to your site/blog others can see it at that moment.  In doing so, they are current on what information or products you are trying to bring to the world wide web.  I don’t understand all of the ins and outs of their algorithms…but, thankfully, it isn’t my job to understand it.  I am benefitting from someone else’s brillance.  That is ok with me.  In return, i hope that my blog brings something to them as well.

          Interesting though when you stop to think about the name.  Alpha Inventions…when I looked it up there were many definitions for Alpha.  Of course, we all know about the Alphabets…a listing of letters that begins with the letter A.  Then, there is the definition of Alpha as first or beginning-beta (as in beta testing).  Then, there is the definition of top of the line or dominant. And finally, to be the most prominent, talented or aggressive.  Congrats to Alpha Inventions for thinking outside of the box.  Think of it as free media publicity for your writings or your business/marketing site.  It is another tool to use to bring attention to your goals that you are trying to accomplish on your site.

            When you stop and think about it…all of those terms apply to http://www.alphainventions.com .  It is an experiment in transition i think.  However, a brilliant one…I think it will be fine tuned and will catch on like wildfire.  Like any invention…it will go through several phases of development.  In the meantime, enjoy the extra traffic that they send you…you won’t be sorry.

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Foreclosure of American Family Mint Farm-Help By Buying American

        Here is a story that illustrates the breakdown of American business.  Jim Crosby and his sister Linette are in a fierce and immediate battle to save their family owned mint farm business.  They are to be foreclosed on, any day now…they need to sell bottles of mint oil to save their business.  They are located in St. Johns, Michigan.  Michigan is one of the hardest hit states when it comes to the economy.  People here are struggling to hang on to the most basic necessities of life…this family only wants to be able to continue to provide a service to their customers…both old and NEW!  It is their dream to be able to continue marketing their mint oil.

         Their business has been owned by their family members since the early nineteen hundreds.  This is their legacy…and it needs an influx of cash, today.  You can visit their website ( http://www.getmint.com)  and help, to try to save an American owned business.   In a day and age where American business owners are moving out of the country left and right, to get cheaper labor and make more of a profit; it is nice to be able to support a company that has stayed in America while producing their product.  If you use mint oil for cooking, baking, tea, health aid, air freshner…or any other use…please buy from this company and help them stay in business…but, don’t dawdle…they need cash now to stay in business.  The bank that is planning to foreclose on them…could take their bottles of oil and they could take the equipment needed to continue producing the oil…thereby, putting them out of business.

         We have to make a stand for some kind of return to common sense…producing in America, selling in America and buying in America…this is how we build a strong infrastructure in the country once again.  You can build up business, jobs, and housing markets by keeping American’s working.  You want to strenthen the economy?  Stop buying everything from other countries (because it’s cheaper) and start supporting American owned and operated business that produce quality products.  The job or business that you save just might be your own!

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High Traffic Scores

       Yahoo… I am so excited.  I did a little test on this blog site on www.HubSpot.com.   I got a score of 48…which they say means that, out of the hundreds of thousands of sites that they have tested, my blog scores higher than 48% of them in terms of marketing effectiveness.   Whoooooo Hooo. 

         But, i am a bit confused.  I am not a marketer.  I just write a blog on all kinds of interesting subjects (at least they are interesting to me).  However, I have written on so many subjects…that evidently, i have hit upon enough various subjects to be effective! 🙂  Cool Beans, I say. 

         Technorati has given me a rank of 372,003 which puts it in the top 0.53% of blogs that they track.  Yes…but, how can this be?  I am not a very technological person.  I only started blogging about 16 months ago.  There are things that I have discovered, which would now cause me to do a few things differently were I to start up another blog…but, that is how I know that I am growing and learning.  That is alright…that knowledge can be applied to future projects.   There is so much more to learn.  It is interesting…but learning new things leads a person to discover new passions.  Before long, you start accumulating large amounts of information that crosses over into other projects or areas of interest in your life.

         If we knew everything when we started out trying something new…would we ever push ourselves to go a little farther?  Probably not, human nature wants to be on familiar ground…to feel confident and comfortable in what we do.  However, the most personal and professional growth comes from pushing yourself to test your mettle…doing something that you do not think you are capable of doing.  I never thought i could do something like write a blog; and have someone come to it, and be interested in what i wrote.  But, i discovered when i gave myself permission to do it for myself…then, i was able to follow through. 

         Everyone tells me that it is simply because of content…regular, consistent postings that the blog is growing.  Writing is fun, reading the interactions in the comment section is rewarding to me.  Touching on subjects that can inform, or, share information is exciting.  Getting to know regular readers is the best part; because, they start to share who they are and what is important to them.  Some of the readers even post things that make a difference in someone else’s life…such as the comments on triple negative cancer…or, suicide prevention; or, some other post that affects people in a real personal way.

         It is a challenge to find something in everyday life that gives a small glimpse into what is happening in the world at that time…trying to make sense of how it affects me or others, that I care about.  Still…reading the report on the rankings of the blog…was eye opening to me.  That is because that isn’t why I started to write the blog; however, it is encouraging to learn as i go… and find ways to improve what i do.

        On top of that…my blog received a Google page rank of 4; but, now that i know it has room for improvement…i want to make it better.   A four is not too shabby.  But, what really excited me was that in the area of traffic…the blog was in the top 4.61% of all websites. 

        This, is like winning some kind of award; such as an Emmy, or an Oscar…maybe a Tony; Is there some kind of award for someone addicted to blogging?  hahahah.  Ahhhhemmmm, I would like to thank my mom, and my dad, and my teachers, and my bus drivers, and anyone else who NEVER let me talk when i felt the need (just kidding) ….LOL     Blogging is fun….Go check out your website rating on www.HubSpot.com.  It is a great tool to work with; if you are in the hopes of improving your site and making it more effective by reaching the people you most want to communicate with.  Find out what you are doing right…and, oh by the way, did you find out anything that you could improve from testing your site on Hub Spot?

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What’s Little Ol’ Me Doing on a call with a Billion Dollar Marketing Dream Team?

          What’s little ol me doing on a call with a Billion Dollar Marketing Dream Team?  I remember starting out with a lot of self-doubt and I pushed myself to take a risk to either fail or succeed.  The only thing i can figure about my being asked to join the call is; that each one of those people started out with a goal, an idea or a dream.  They built up their businesses by learning and growing in their area of expertise.  They each had mentors, role models, and experts that they were smart enough to connect with.  This helped them with their goals and helped them to build up their accomplishments allowing them to live the life of their choosing. 

           The call is a free tele-seminar that i was asked to join, by businessman Michael Penland.  This call is for small business owners and internet marketers who want to grow their business larger and aren’t quite sure how to go about it or want to discover what they are missing.  Learning how to make extra money is never a bad thing when you are willing to work towards your goals.

            I am not a business-person.  I am a wife,mother, daughter and blogger.  I sure do wish to grow my blog; i would love for it to be bigger and better.  Michael Penland knows how to attract people who are good at what they do.  I would like to learn as much as the next person.  Michael heard about my blog and asked me to join on the call.  I am a bit nervous, as I am not sure where he will go with the short interview…there are others on the call who will have much to say; and, are very accomplished in what they do.  Let the call be an encouragement to your future; commit to the call by registering for free.

             If you have a business or website that you would like to grow…you might want to join the call tonight at 9pm eastern time.  It is free after all; and, if it helps you to discover how to make your dreams come true…then, it is worth sacrificing a little time on a tele-seminar.  Here is a link to register…there are only 200 lines open so hurry.  http://tinyurl.com/6k3tpr   Is your dream worth a little time on a call?

             

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Smart People

       Well, this morning there is breaking news that oil production is not keeping up with the demand for oil…this is a surprise to people; just now?  Come on…with the price of gasoline rising every week…how could they miss something this big?  Most of us commononers have it figured out already.  We need it…they have it…we pay for it…they profit from it…Simple right?  Well, not so much…you see we don’t have to be as dependent on foreign oil as we have been.  Smart people are looking at ways of altering their lifestyle to save money and make greener choices in their energy usuage.

           I say, smart people are trying to take back some control in their lives.  Everyone is trying to figure out, in their own way, what choices in their day- to- day activities they can make, that will cut down on their usage of gasoline and oil.  For some, it isn’t just about saving money…although that too is important…it is understanding that the plentiful supply of oil is not always going to be there.  We need to figure out alternative ways of heating our homes and businesses; as well as, getting around where we need to go. 

        I saw a newspiece the other day on television about how many more people are taking advantage of public transportation; regardless of their financial status.  It seems that the subway systems in some cities are overflowing with riders, busses are experiencing an increase as well.  Around the world where people have the option of using ferries, trolleys or railways, we are seeing more people access public transportation in numbers large enough to measure.  This is good, people are making smarter choices.

          Some great minds are working on designing alternative ways of producing and using solar energy, steam powered products, water powered generators, geo-thermal systems, wind powered generators…we need to look at all of these renewable sources in a serious way.  It is important to encourage people to make small sacrifices now to prevent huge sacrifices later.  Educating others about the dangers of being so dependent on oil as our only source of energy is very important. 

         Some celebrities are wise about leading the call to understanding the importance of changing our ways.  Brad Pitt is into architecture and design and can influence greener choices in his building projects; Leonardo DiCaprio is not only a strong voice; but, is active in his desire to educate others about the importance of respecting our earth, and it’s resources.  There are other celebrities who are encouraging hybrid cars as a way to make a difference.  Being an environmental activist is something we should all take on like Leonardo DiCaprio; here is his website to help educate others to the idea of protecting our environment. www.leonardodicaprio.org/

         Back to the breaking news part of things…today it was announced by Saudi King Abdullah that his country is increasing oil production.  The Saudi’s are going to put out 9.7 million barrels of oil a day instead of the past 9 million barrels.  That is good and maybe it will help with the high prices a bit.   

           Higher production is good and may help temporarily…but again, realizing that we do have choices that can also make an impact on our finances and on our planet is a powerful idea that needs to take root in more people’s minds.  Our future is at stake and the quality of our lives will be impacted by the choices we all make today & tomorrow.  We can no longer be in denial about the condition of our earth.  We have the power to affect positive change by our actions.  How is your life being affected by high gasoline and oil prices?  How have you had to change your lifestyle?  What smart choices have you chosen to make?

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Memories For Sale-Cheap…Clinton, Flowers, Jones

      I am a little bit surprised by the timing of the announcement, as it seems to me that these ladies would have gotten more mileage out of launching their website during the high point of Hillary’s historic campaign.   There is a new website that is offering to tell you all sorts of memories of Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones.   They are putting on video, memories of their times with Bill Clinton.  Their website is offering an opportunity for paying customers to listen to what they want us to know about the Clintons; and, their memories of their times together, for a cheap, bargain price of 1 dollar and 99 cents. 

         What is a shame, is that what should be, upon self-reflection, a time of acknowledging a personal low, in the area of accomplishments and deeds; instead, has become a celebration of those sorrowful experiences with financial perks.

        The sheer marketing genius of selling cheap memories for a cheap price is astounding.  Sad but true, there is always a market for such things that exploit the sensational aspects of life.  I am sure there will be no lack of paying customers…but like most things of this nature; it won’t last, and then what?  Isn’t it time to move on?

         Now, I realize that over the years that both Paula and Gennifer have tried other venues to get their thoughts, feelings and points across…but, let’s reflect a little here on the various ways they have expressed their rejection, humiliation, sadness, anger, and low self-esteem, in my opinion.  

            Let’s see… there was a dramatic  (sexual harassment) lawsuit in 1994 by Paula Jones against Bill, there have been media- driven news announcements, television shows, interviews, a book that was written by Gennifer Flowers about her alleged 12 year affair with Bill, musical tours, speaking engagements, nude photos in men’s magazines, boxing matches, offering up recorded conversations to the highest bidder, and last but not least, financial settlements.

         I guess…in my opinion…the circumstances of each woman’s relationship with Bill Clinton was sad enough in it’s very roots.  But the full growth, of each of their sordid stories, has been nurtured and fertilized by their need to have us all feed off of the fruit, of their in your face, here, is what happened to me situations. 

          I am afraid that this whole thing leaves a bad taste.  After all, by charging for your memories of those times…you have validated Bill’s low opinion of you…women he could use (or attempt to use for his own pleasure) and then discard when it no longer suited his needs.  Then, when confronted, he denied his connections to you…he devalued your worth as women.  Now, all of those who said that you had little class will feel justified in their opinions.  Once again, there will be ridicule instead of people understanding your version of past events.

          By capitalizing financially; and, seeking attention, for more fame and publicity….it seems that you’ve succeeded in taken self-destruction to a whole new level by willing jumping into the pool of degradation, after having been coaxed into it by Bill Clinton; and, his political foes and cronies over the years.

          Paula Jones has allegedly said that this website is a way of getting their words out there without someone else’s interpetations or corrections.  However, i think it has only opened them both up to more media attention and public opinion….therefore, more criticism.  It is at times like this, that your mother’s wisdom is best heeded; if you don’t have anything nice to say…it is better to say nothing at all.   Let’s just end this with the thought, that it is always best to respect yourself; so that others, will afford you the same courtesy. 

         

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Passionate Impact

        Have you ever felt passionate enough about something that you were willing to step outside of your comfort zone to make an impact on the subject? 

        Here is a story about a man who has been affected by the condition, cerebral palsy and wanted to raise funds and awareness for the United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan.  You can also choose to support their efforts here: http://www.ucp.org/ucp_local.cfm/87.  He is making his impact in an unusual and intriguing way.

           His name is Neil Sauter and he has a mild form of the condition.  The way that he has chosen to raise awareness, is to walk a total of 830 miles ON STILTS over the next six weeks across Michigan.  He started on May 5th and hopes to end the walk up by the Wisconsin/UP border.  He has already raised approximately $5,300.00.  He is making a passionate impact on this issue. 

          You can make a passionate impact on any area of your life that you choose.   Update:  Neil has completed his long journey on stilts…what an accomplishment.  Good job!  He was able to raise more tha 64,000 dollars by a matching grant program through the US Department of Education.   You can read more about this at:  www.stiltstory.org.

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