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If you have been following me lately on Twitter, then you know that my site is experiencing growing pains. After over 10 years of having a website and having this blog for at least 4 of those years, I guess the timing for a move is inevitable.
So if you visit the website and you’re not able to view it you know why.

At least this will be the true test of my new service, since I now have the opportunity to be my own client.

As some of you know, I was lucky to win a registration to BlogWell – How Big Companies Use Social Media here in New York City thanks to Guy Kawasaki. I attended the event yesterday and took away some great tips and insights I can being to take steps on both in my clients’ sites as well as my own.

Here are a few tips that I took away (I would of tweeted these, but I was afraid I would run out of power on my phone.):

“Disruption is a threat and an opportunity.” – Steve Douty, EVP nGeneva

“Make sure content is relevant and consistent.” – Nestor Portillo, Microsoft

“(According to Tim Berens- Lee,) The web has always been social. – Rhonda Lowry VP, Social Media Technologies, Turner Broadcasting System

“Learning to take talk to people in real time about real issues. – Rhonda Lowry, Turner Broadcasting System.

“If you have to ask it its OK, then its not.” – Andy Sernovitz, Gaspedal
(Sounds like something my Mom would of said.)

“Its about having conversations, not lectures” – Larry Blumenthal, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

“Going from broadcasting to the challenge of forming relationships” – Marc Monseau – Johnson & Johnson

“My house (blog) my rules” – Marc Monseau – Johnson & Johnson
(This sounds like something Gram would say.)

To see what everyone had to say about the conference, follow #blogwell on Twitter.

“Just another manic Monday”, I told myself as I woke up and getting got my coffee. I noticed my cordless phone that said “Connecting…” meaning that it could not find the signal.

“Great, just what I need with a conference call at High Noon!”  What was I going to do?

I then called my father, master of all things communication tech (in my book, at least) and he reminded me to use the “old school” corded phone I had for the call.

So I picked up the phone to make sure I had a dial tone, disconnected the landline phone from its usual place and connected it to the modular jack near my desk and I was ready to roll with 5 minutes to spare.

The lesson here, always have a landline phone stashed away, you never know when you may need it.

(Note: Guess what, its one of those days and I was saving this post for a day week like this.)

Continue reading What may be the right lead for you…

Sunday night/ Monday morning, I had an asthma attack. Being a city kid, this is nothing new. However in my adult years, this particular attack was brought on by stress of getting everything done before the holidays, another death in the family and not to mention the roller coaster of temperatures in the Northeast.
Getting around is no fun. Right now I say I have about 70% of my strength back. Climbing up subway stairs is like climbing Mt. Everest (not that I have climbed it.)
I had to cancel and postpone most of my appointments this week. If a client absolutely needs it done today, and cannot wait, then I refer them to someone else, period.
Even though freelancing is important, there is nothing more important than one’s health. After all, what good am I if I am sick?

Instead of re-inventing the wheel this year, I thought it would be a good idea to re-visit past posts that are appropriate for the season. Continue reading Visiting the posts of holidays past

If you have a blog whether corporate, non-profit, or none of the above, and more than one person contributes to it, its inevitable that they leave for one reason or another. Continue reading What to do when blog contributors leave?

As Google stated, the flu going around. Here in Gotham (NYC) there has been many variations of the cold. My version is the sore throat that made my voice disappear.

In addition to following my own advice from watching videos online and jotting down my ideas, I decided that this was a good time to focus on things that don’t require vocal cords Continue reading Don’t lose your business when you lose your voice

I recently came back from the Creative Freelancer Conference in Chicago. Since it is still the season for Recommended Reading list, I thought I would compile a list of books mentioned during the conference.

• The Designer’s Guide To Marketing And Pricing: How To Win Clients And What To Charge Them by Ilise Benun and Peleg Top


• Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands by Jeff Fisher


• Time Management for the Creative Person by Lee Silber
• Self Promotion Online: Marketing Your Creative Services Using Web Sites, E-Mail and Digital Portfolios by Ilise Benun
• How (1-year) Magazine Subscription

Wasn’t able to make the conference? The festivities still continue online on FaceBook and Ning.

As you may know, I have been traveling on the road, meeting and connecting with professionals that are in the same boat. In addition to attending the eduWeb 2008 Conference in Atlantic City, NJ last month, thanks to Freelancers Union , I won a f*ree registration to the Creative Freelancers Conference in Chicago, IL.

If you are going to the conference(or not), join us in the pre-conference festivities on Facebook or Ning created by yours truly.

Once again, follow me during the conference at twitter.com/nextsteph or at del.icio.us/nextsteph.