Useful Youtube Videos On Blogging (Part 1)

Hi all! Well the last few days have been pretty busy and I realized I needed to do some more writing for my blog so I’ve decided to do a series on some of the useful Youtube.com videos I’ve found to help me learn about blogging and social media. I believe you can learn something on just about any subject by watching youtube. This has by far been the most useful tool I’ve found on how to create, promote, and edit my blogs and how to use different social media tools to get the word out about it. This series may not be in order as I will probably write some other blog content in between each of the parts but I hope you will enjoy what I‘ve discovered on Youtube.com . I am in no way saying that these are the only sources on youtube that discuss these things but these are the one’s I found first. I hope you enjoy the series and find it useful too. I’ll feature about 5 or 6 videos in each.

1. When I first decided I wanted to start blogging, I had absolutely no idea how to start. So I turned to my favorite place to learn something new, Youtube.com . This is the blog I found that taught me where I could create my first blog by BloggerHelp. They also have some other videos that are very helpful such as adding video to your blog, adding a gadget, adding a blog list, etc.



2. Once I started blogging on Blogger.com I need to know how to use some of their tools to help me add a link to my blog post. I didn’t have a clue how it was done so this video was very helpful by RealEstateSources.



3. I found this young man, professionalblogger, pretty informative. He has several videos that I found very useful. Whether you agree with his opinion on niche blogging or not he seems to know what he’s doing.



4. This guy, Relativity2, has a lot of videos on blogging that are very informative and focuses a lot on how your blogs should be perceived. This particular video is part 1 of several on Online Reputation Management Best Practices that he has done.



5. This is another young man that really seems to know what he’s talking about, JohnHM31 . He has quite a few videos on blogging and how to promote and make money with those blogs.



These are the first five videos that I have found extremely helpful in learning how to blog but it is by far not the only one’s I’ve referred to in learning how this blogging stuff works. I may not agree with everything that they advise but I take what information I like and use it to apply to my blog but I'm still learning every day. For more info on helpful videos, please check back with me later for further parts to this series. Please do not forget to cast your vote in my survey to the left of this blog and to leave a comment to let me know what you think of this post and of my blog. Thank you.

Happy Blogging!

Nora

Social Media and Human Nature

Human Nature? What type of person are you? Are you the type to be skeptical about everyone you meet asking yourself “Ok, is this person for real or are they going to hurt me?” Are you judgmental when you meet someone? Are you willing to give a helping hand to someone who asks for it or do you want to know what their motives are before you help them? When using social media tools like twitter and face book are you less judgmental and more open to help someone as long as it is not face to face?

If I ask myself this question and if I am perfectly honest? I would have to admit the fact that I am somewhat more judgmental when I meet someone face to face rather than on the internet. Coming face to face with someone for the first time in today’s society can sometimes be a little scary. In today’s world the news is full of stories of people luring others to meet them and then hurting or even killing them. To actually meet someone that you have never met or have barely talked to on the phone or internet doesn’t give you a lot to go on what that person’s nature is like.

I like to think that I trust someone until they give me a reason not to trust them but within reason. I try not to put myself in situation where something could go wrong. For example, Chip and I met eight years ago through a yahoo chat room. I was a young disable woman and interested in finding someone to hopefully spend the rest of my life with and I was willing to take a chance on finding someone through the internet; although I had heard many horror stories about doing this as well. My first plan was to not put myself into a situation that would be hard to get out of. We chatted online for a good couple of months and I didn’t even give him my phone number until just before we met in person. When we finally did meet in person, it was in a public mall where I knew most of the people who worked there because I had worked there as a food delivery service person to the store employees for tips. Needless to say, I was relatively comfortable meeting anyone there. We spent about a month or so meeting and dating at the mall and other places around town. At the time neither of us was driving since he has poor vision and my van was out of commission. As I got to know him and realized that he was a very nice guy and I was falling in love I eventually let him know where I lived and we spent a lot more time together.

Anyway, my point is that I’m the type that likes to know what I’m getting into and that I am actually helping someone when I give them assistance. Some people are more trusting from the get go than I am. Willing to give help without thinking about it first. I wish I was a little more like this but sometimes I think it can also get you into some trouble that you didn’t count on.

There are two people on twitter that I really have to say that I admire. They are usernames Amtrekker and Twitchhiker. I first found out about Amtrekker on geocaching.com and then twitter. He is a guy that had a list of 50 things he wanted to do in his lifetime and he quit his job relying on the kindness of strangers from the internet to help him accomplish them by traveling around the U.S and Canada on a shoestring budget and not paying for a single night of accomodations. He then made videos and blogged about his adventures for all to enjoy. You can find his adventures here http://www.amtrekker.com . Twitchhiker is a more recent adventurer who, like Amtrekker, is traveling around the world as far as he can go within 30 days only through the kindness of strangers from Twitter. His adventures can be found here http://www.twitchhiker.com . I really have to say that the adventures that these guys have been through really have strengthened my trust in human nature. The kindness that has been shown to them is overwhelming and goes to show that there really are more good, helpful, and reliable people in the world than the news on tv would have you believe.

Happy Adventures and Happy Blogging!

Nora

What Is Marketing and Social Media To You?

Hi all,

Well today I'm about to start a topic that I'm sure may open up a big can of worms sort of speak? It has to do with marketing and social media? Lately as I'm acquiring more and more followers on twitter I'm noticing a steady trend of people describing themselves in their bios as "marketing experts" and "social media experts". Now to tell the truth I'm still kind of fuzzy on exactly what marketing and social media "really" means? I have not gone to school and taken any kind of marketing or social media classes, so you can call me an ignoramous about the subjects although I do have a couple of associate degrees in word processing and office tech from back in the day? I have an "idea" what they are but it seems that everyone has a slightly different definition themselves? I guess it depends on what they are trying to sell?

My understanding of marketing first comes from the wiki definition of marketing :

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. [1] The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to market, as in shopping, or going to a market to sell goods or services.

Marketing practice tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. It is also concerned with anticipating the customers' future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market research.

Marketing is influenced by many of the social sciences, particularly psychology, sociology, and economics. Anthropology is also a small, but growing influence. Market research underpins these activities. Through advertising, it is also related to many of the creative arts. The marketing literature is also infamous for re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture.

Now, from this definition I get that marketing(in may laymens terms) is the selling "of a way" to sell a product or service to the public? Kind of like a person behind the success of someone else? Or in other words, like an agent or manager is to an actor, a secretary is to a boss, a wife behind a successful husband, or husband behind a succesful wife? This is my basic understanding of what marketing is but I could be all wrong?

As for being a "social media expert" as I noticed some of my followers describe themselves? That is a totally different kind of *cough* "important title"? The wiki definition of social media is:

Social media are primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories and experiences. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM).

Now my laymens understanding of social media is basically that you like to talk to people through internet and mobile devices (period). That's not to say that what you talk about is not of importance? The subjects of which you talk about can help you gain new friends, a job, gather information, discover new places, hire someone for your business, and just keep you from being lonely, etc.

So, I guess someone who claims to be a social media expert means that they talk using these means a lot. As for me I guess I'm a social media expert wannabe. Right now, I'm mainly just a twitaholic since that and facebook are about the only social media tools I'm using on the internet right now. I don't even own an iphone or mobile device at the moment; a sad feeling just came over me:(, so I'm stuck doing my social media interactions at home.

Sooo! My question to you is:



Now please, please, please, if you wish to leave a comment about this blog, please DO NOT leave an advertisement for one of your marketing products. I'm only interested in hearing your opinions about what marketing and social media is to you. Do you use it for business or socializing? Any discussion is welcome other than self promoting yourself or business. Thank you.