Homes for Our Troops Builds Homes for Badly Wounded Veterans

I just learned about Home for Our Troops through a Facebook message I got from Goli Motar. The organization has a heartwarming mission, and the fundraising effort that Goli writes about is also rather amazing.

Please read Goli's Facebook message on my Mrs. Lieutenant blog to learn more.
___

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at Mrs. Lieutenant and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Internet Marketing: Going from the Horse and Buggy to a Horseless Carriage

Internet marketing is a subject I don't usually deal with in this blog. But in the last few days I've been running up against closed mindset attitudes about this very effective marketing strategy. So I want to share some thoughts with you about the need for an open mindset about marketing in cyberspace.

Websites and web marketing have changed dramatically in the last five years, with many new applications that weren’t available then. Websites today take their cues from successful blogs, which have everything up front and immediate – no waiting for flash intros or welcome pages with a few words on a series of screens.

If people don’t like what they see instantly, they are out of there and on to the next website.

Open mind marketing rule #1: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that what was true for the internet five years ago is true today.

Don’t assume that your website from five years ago is “good enough.” Take the time and effort to find out what’s new and what’s effective in the internet marketing world of today. Don’t drive a horse and buggy when there’s a horseless carriage available.

Open mind marketing rule #2: Don’t follow every piece of advice so that you are running around in circles without making any progress.

Understand that some advice is better than others, and that not every piece of advice fits every situation. Take your time to evaluate the information you’re learning and consider what makes sense for your particular marketing project, your own available promotion time, and your strengths and weaknesses.

For example, the social networking site Twitter can be an excellent marketing tool if your personality fits the Twitter modus operandi. But there are people who get easily frustrated with trying to stay on top of various conversation threads. If you’re one of these people, utilize a social networking site that better suits your personality.

Open marketing rule #3: Be flexible. If something doesn’t work for you, be willing to admit defeat and move on to another tactic.

Just because many internet marketers say that Facebook is a great place to create relationships, if using Facebook isn’t helping you with your marketing, admit this and switch to trying something else (although don’t get rid of your Facebook account).

Of course, you can’t give up after only a few days. All of the social networking sites take time and effort to utilize them effectively. But if you’ve given Facebook several months of effort, you should probably consider finding a better site for you to connect with potential customers.

In conclusion, if you want to pave the way for a successful online marketing campaign, you must be in it for the long haul with an open mind – ready to learn new things, try new things, evaluate advice, and be flexible.

And if you want to read an excellent book about having an open mindset, read Carol Dweck's MINDSET: The New Psychology of Success.

Ageism: Rearing Its Ugly Head in the World of Computers and the Web

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that for weeks I’ve been doing posts about do-gooder projects and I haven’t had a Scrooge post in quite a while. So be warned – today I’ve switched to my Scrooge hat.

This weekend I attended a conference at which I presented about my project Operation Support Jews in the Military. At the beginning of the conference when I couldn’t write down any information, a young woman told me she had two friends planning to be Jewish chaplains in the military. I gave her my card and requested that she contact her friends to email me.

Two days later I saw her at a time when I could write down emails. I asked if she knew her friends emails and I would contact them. (I know several simple email addresses by memory if I happen to use them frequently. I thought these two people might be good friends with whom she frequently emailed.)

She looked at me, then launched into an explanation about how she and her friends don’t use manual address books (as if I do!) and instead they keep all their info on computers (and thus she didn’t have the info).

I admit to rage coursing through me. How dare she assume that I’m computer illiterate and still use a handwritten address book! She knew nothing about me, but felt confident in her opinion that, because of my grey hair, she could patiently explain the new computer world to me.

Now I also admit I’m feeling somewhat guilty for how furious I got. And, I admit, I muttered partly to myself, “I’m sure I’m more advanced on the internet than you are.” (She didn’t seem to hear.)

In analyzing why I got so furious, I have concluded it is because this is my first experience of face-to-face ageism. Perhaps some people online think this about me (my photo with my grey hair appears with all my social networking profiles), yet no one says anything to me. And if they engage with me online they soon learn that I am very advanced in my use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging, etc.

This weekend at the conference the Hasidic reggae performer Matisyahu performed at the conference. Before he sang the first number he announced that he was on Twitter. That evening I “followed” Matisyahu on Twitter, and the next day he “followed” me back.

Last night when I watched the most recent episode of the TV show NUMB3RS (from Friday night) there was a minor subplot of Charlie’s father starting on Facebook. I applauded this minor subplot showcasing that more and more “older” people are getting on this social network.

Now I’m finished with this rant – the first in a long time on this blog – and I hope this post helps young people understand that they should NOT assume older people are not computer and internet savvy. If anything, older people may have social networking strategies to share with young people.

Want to ask me questions about Twitter?

Keeping Teens Safe on Social Media Networks

I’m a great supporter of social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook for business connections. Yet I understand that these places can be stalking grounds for cyberbullies who prey on insecure teens.

Sue Shellenbarger’s Work & Family column in the December 17th Wall Street Journal -- "Cyberbully Alert: Web Sites Make It Easier to Flag Trouble” -- is an excellent source of information on this subject for parents and teen educators.

The article explains the different abuse reporting systems on MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube, then concludes with this paragraph, with which I wholeheartedly agree:

Then, join the sites your child uses and learn log-in information and URLs. This will help you flag problems effectively.

Only recently I suggested this to a mother of a teen who wanted to join Facebook. The mother didn’t want to be bothered learning about this site so she told the daughter she couldn’t join Facebook. But what I wonder is whether the mother is making a major error because her daughter will probably join Facebook in secret, and the mother has given up the opportunity to police her daughter’s use of Facebook.

The article also quoted Parry Aftab, the executive director of WiredSafety.org. I hadn’t heard of this organization, so I went on the site and was impressed by the available information. If you need help dealing with cyberbullying, check out this site.

Perry Belcher Explains Social Media for Business Purposes

Christina Hills' Shopping Cart Queen blog had a great YouTube video by Perry Belcher explaining social media such as Twitter and Facebook in the context of business opportunities. The video is a deceptively simple explanation -- and one that's definitely worth the 10 minutes' running time. Enjoy!

Identity Theft: Don’t Help the Crooks

I got an email today supposedly from Wells Fargo security that was so clearly bogus. Every piece of personal identification from Social Security number to the PIN of the ATM card was requested. I deleted the message, but I worried whether some people might be taken in.

Just last night I friended someone on Facebook with whom I had already been in email contact. I was surprised to see that he had his month, date and year of his birth public. This is not a good idea if you want to avoid identity theft. And Facebook provides privacy settings that enable you to keep hidden the year of your birth. I emailed this person suggesting he remove the year of his birth.

I know it’s not possible to keep all personal identification safe. But, for example, when you’re on a cell phone in a public place, it’s probably not a good idea to say all the digits of your credit card aloud. If you must give your credit card number at that moment, step away from everyone within earshot.

Years ago I had a security clearance for a job with U.S. military intelligence in Munich, Germany, when my husband was an intelligence officer stationed there. I still practice some identify-protection techniques I learned at that time. For example, if I’m going to read one of my newspaper subscriptions at the car wash, I remove the visible address from the front page of the newspaper.

We can’t protect ourselves from identity theft, but we can try not to help the crooks.

The Email In-Box: How Many Emails – Let Me Count the Ways

Last night I deleted approximately 950 messages from one of my email accounts. Some of these messages I had clicked on and then saved for later reading. Others I hadn’t opened yet.

What made me take this drastic step? In recent days I had repeatedly reached 1000 messages, in which case my email account bounced back additional messages.

Therefore, I bit the bullet and said to myself: “You will never give your full attention to those 950 messages. Just delete them and take the risk that you’ve deleted something important.”

Most of the time I can’t understand people who don’t use email at all. Yet sometimes, such as when I force myself to delete 950 messages, I ponder how much simpler life was before the advent of email, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Friendfeed (the most recent social media platform for which I’ve signed up), etc.

In a nod to fair disclosure, I have also been unsubscribing to all the email advertisements for which I usually just click delete. I’ve decided to take the extra time to click on the unsubscribe buttons, some of which work and some of which don’t. I’m not at all sure I ever agreed to get many of these emails. So now I’ve taken the active step of getting rid of them.

Recently I got two different emails announcing a new book. Each of these emails was quite long, going on and on. I skimmed the emails, then decided to do a good deed:

I replied to these emails suggesting in each case that the person write a much shorter email with a clear headline and bullet-point benefits as to why we should act on the email. I explained that we are all so very busy that long emails are just way too much. Both people responded with thanks, so apparently PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge didn’t step on any toes those times.

But, honestly, that’s why Twitter with a maximum of 140 characters is so great – it keeps all of our tweets short. Who’s the famous writer of the 19th Century (or 18th Century) who apologized for writing a long letter because he didn’t have time for a short letter? It’s true that I often have to rewrite my tweets to stay within 140 characters. And I’m grateful for that limitation.

If only email had a limitation of 140 characters – or I’d even settle for a limitation of 280 characters.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Friendfeed

Honor a Veteran Event: Read About World War II Veteran John Savery

Have you posted a description, photo or video at
http://snipurl.com/mrslieutenant to Honor a Veteran? I hope all of you will do so.

The photo above is of John Savery -- a medic in Patton’s army -- in front of Notre Dame in Paris in 1945. His daughter Loretta Savery wrote such a beautiful description on the Facebook Honor a Veteran event page about his World War II experience that I posted her description on my Mrs. Lieutenant blog.

Check out this post at http://snipurl.com/johnsavery
for an example of what you could write about a veteran you know.

And spread the word about this opportunity to Honor a Veteran.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, John Savery, Loretta Savery, World War II, Patton’s Army, Facebook, Veterans Day

World War II Veteran: My Father Albert Zimbler

As I announced in my previous post, I'm sponsoring through the Facebook group MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL the event Honor a Veteran in recognition of Veterans Day on November 11 at http://snipurl.com/mrslieutenant.

Spread the word about this event -- five people (chosen through random.org) will receive prizes for participating. I want to encourage people to Honor a Veteran.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, Mrs. Lieutenant, Veterans Day, Facebook

Veterans Day Event on Facebook

I've just created my first Facebook event -- Honor a Veteran -- in recognition of Veterans Day on November 11th (through my Mrs. Lieutenant: A Sharon Gold Novel Facebook group page).

I hope you'll add a veteran to honoor at
http://snipurl.com/mrslieutenant.

Five submitters (as chosen by random.org) will win prizes for participating in the event.

Tell your friends about this worthwhile online event.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, Veterans Day, Facebook

Asking Forgiveness Publicly on Facebook and Blogs

A woman I’ll call Joan posted the following update on her Facebook page:

Joan is wondering how legit it is to make teshuvah [repentance] on FACEBOOK? In case it is o.k. I apologize for any time I wronged, offended, slighted, ignored, or hurt you!

In preparation for Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement, Jews ask forgiveness of people for any wrongs committed against those people during the year.

How interesting to think about extending this concept of asking forgiveness of others into the workplace. Because, although Facebook is a social media platform in which you have “friends,” in many ways the Facebook environment is more like a workplace – a place where you get together with others to achieve a mutual purpose.

And if we all carried around the sense that once a year we would have to ask forgiveness from all the people in our online and offline lives, perhaps we would be kinder to others, think more before we speak, and try harder to consider things from the other person’s point of view.

I hope that I can move closer in the coming year to achieving these goals. And I, too, publicly apologize for any wrongs or offenses that I may have committed during the past year to anyone in my online or offline life.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, Facebook, social media platforms, forgiveness

Social Media: Are You Letting Your Best Face Shine Forth?

For my blog Flipping Burgers and Beyond -- which gives advice for college applications, internships, jobs and careers -- I frequently post about social media mistakes concerning profile photos. In other words, I'm talking about the photos people use on Facebook or Twitter or other social media websites.

I just posted a new commentary on the profile photo, and since it is also a brief wrap-up of previous posts, I'd like to share this information with you.

Here's the link to the Flipping Burgers post about choosing the right photo of yourself:
http://snipurl.com/socialmediaphoto.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, social media photos, Facebook, Twitter, Flipping Burgers and Beyond

Facebook: Join the Group INFORMATION MAVENS

If you're on Facebook already, consider joining the new group I started -- Information Mavens. The idea behind the group is to share info that can help make people's lives easier. Some of the info I post on the group may also be written about here as a blog post. Yet the info on the Facebook group is only a link with a brief comment.

If you have friends on Facebook, invite them to join the group. The more people we have offering info to help others, the better we'll all be.

And if you're not on Facebook yet, consider joining it. Once you get the hang of the privacy settings and the other control options you have, I think you'll be glad you joined. Just remember NOT to post anything you wouldn't want your mother to see. (For free tips on protecting your image on Facebook, go to www.millermosaic.com).

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, Facebook, Information Mavens

Facebook: Important Basic Rules for Beginners on This Social Media Platform

I’ve just started a group on Facebook called Information Mavens – a place for people to post information that can help others.

Because of this new group, I’ve “friended” two women new to Facebook, and on both their profile pages I’ve noticed some basic “errors” about which I’ve told them.

Thus I wanted to write a quick post about these plus one major “error” that many people do in order to help other people:

• Do NOT put your birth year on your profile (it is NOT required). It’s good to put your birth month and date so people can wish you happy birthday. But to protect against identify theft, leave your year off.

Your profile photo should be of you alone and a close-up so we can see what you look like. As Chris Brogan said when I heard him speak in LA yesterday, if you have a good photo of yourself on social media platforms, you can be recognized when people meet you at a live event. (If you’d like more advice on profile photos, get my free report “7 Mistakes to Avoid to Protect Your Image on Facebook” at www.millermosaic.com.)

• Privacy settings are very adjustable on Facebook – it’s up to you how much you want people to see without being your Facebook friend. To make this decision, you need to decide what your purpose is on Facebook. If, like me, you want people to know about your novel and your blogs and your online businesses, you want to let as many people as possible find out about you. (But I still don’t put my telephone number and email on my profile page.)

And here’s the fourth important point thanks to MaryPat Kavanagh (www.queenofmarketing.com) and her valuable Facebook webinars:

• With a friend request – always include a reason you are asking someone to friend you (unless it is someone you already know personally). Do NOT just click the friend request without adding a personal message. If you have a connection, say what that connection is. Or if you just like the person’s profile info, say what in the profile info attracted you to making a friend request.

Although I do want to expand my friend circle on Facebook, after learning this advice from MaryPat I usually ignore friend requests of people I don’t know who don’t write a personal comment with the friend request. I figure it’s not a real request to start a Facebook relationship but just a numbers game.

Facebook can be a wonderful venue for making friends, learning new things, and promoting your blogs and businesses. But it is NOT a magic wand. You do have to put in effort and interest in order to get a good return on your investment.

I’d love for you to friend me on Facebook if we’re not already friends. Just be sure to tell me where we “met.”

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, Facebook, www.millermosaic.com, www.queenofmarketing.com, MaryPat Kavanagh

Asthma and Allergy Advice: Check out the Website of Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics

This morning at Starbucks two conversations about trying to solve asthma/allergy problems of children were taking place around me. As I personally know the frustration of trying to find the answer to a child’s medical issues, I wanted to share with you here the link to the organization that made such a difference in my family’s life when my children were young.

Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics can be a literal life-saver for parents who are at their wits’ end concerning their undiagnosed (or diagnosed correctly) children.

In a recent newsletter from this organization, an article brought tears to my eyes as I read the saga of a mother whose child’s doctors did not “see” that the child had classic asthma and allergy symptoms. Only when the desperate mother stopped accepting the doctors’ brush-offs did she find the medical help her child needed.

And what was most surprising in the article was that, for anyone who knows anything about asthma and allergies, the symptoms were classic. (This is in contrast to symptoms that don’t present as classic.) So why didn’t the child’s doctors notice what was going on?

Parents whose children are continually sick without any specific diagnosis must educate themselves in order to get the right medical care.

And if you’re on Facebook, join my new group Information Mavens. I’m hoping this group page will serve as a place for people to post information that can make other people’s lives easier.

Technorati Tags:
Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics, Do-Gooder Scrooge, allergies, asthma, Facebook, Starbucks

Miller Mosaic LLC – Working to Make Your Life Easier: Our Company Website Is Now Live

Our company website www.millermosaic.com is now live! And we’re very excited to have this portal site leading to our various other projects including www.estateplanningforyou.com.

If you go to www.millermosaic.com you can get the free pdf download “7 Mistakes to Avoid to Protect Your Image on Facebook.” And if you go to www.estateplanningforyou.com you can get the free pdf download “4 Important Questions You Should Ask About a Living Trust.”

Both websites provide information to make your life easier by helping you to avoid unpleasant situations. At Miller Mosaic, LLC we’re committed to sharing our information with you.

Technorati Tags:
Miller Mosaic LLC, www.millermosaic.com, www.estateplanningforyou.com, Facebook, living trusts, Do-Gooder Scrooge

Technology Has Its Dark Side

I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to figure out the steps for the Miller Mosaic site www.estateplanningforyou.com to utilize the functions of 1ShoppingCart.

Every single screen option in 1ShoppingCart has multiple decision choices and, while the support staff is quite helpful, the staff is not able to tell me which one of two choices is the better choice for me.

I even unsuccessfully tried to find an ebook to explain the decisions, although someone on Twitter did point me to YouTube videos that I’ll watch.

Why bother learning this new terrain? Because the technology when hooked up correctly will automatically fulfill functions that used to be done by hand. Thus, when I am eventually successful, this will be a tremendous system to have on www.estateplanningforyou.com.

Meanwhile, after struggling with this new learning challenge, I participated in a call with MaryPat Kavanagh, www.queenofmarketing.com, about utilizing the new Facebook layout. And, again, while there are all kinds of nifty things available, the things are only nifty if you can actually do them.

I understand how some people decide to totally stay out of the social media and ecommerce spaces on the internet. And sometimes, when my mind is exhausted by these new challenges, I wish I had never started.

Then I regain my energy and realize that this is the future. I’d rather be learning from the innovators than wait to be dragged screaming into this brave new world.

Technorati Tags:
MaryPat Kavanagh, www.queenofmarketing.com, www.estateplanningforyou.com, 1ShoppingCart, Facebook, do-gooder, Scrooge, YouTube

Social Media: Helping Others on a Global Platform

Social media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. – are internet platforms, I’ve learned, that fit with my personality. I’ve been listening to several free teleseminars this week about using the internet for business purposes. One main theme is that you have to give and give before you get.

What does this mean? Simply that you have to interact with the social media communities of which you’re a part, be genuine, and give away valuable information. Eventually, as Mary Pat Kavanagh of www.queenofmarketing.com says, people will do business with you because people do business with people they know, like and trust.

This is great for me because I always love to give people information. If I learn of something and I know someone who would be especially interested in that piece of information, I call or email the person. I truly believe that we should all try to help each other without waiting to be asked.

I admit this attitude can cause friction with my husband. If I pass someone on the street in Beverly Hills looking at a map, I’ll stop and ask if the person needs help. My husband will complain that I’m interfering – the person didn’t ask for help. But how many of us are uncomfortable asking for help, especially from a stranger?

What I always try to bear in mind is: What would I want to happen if I were the one standing there with the map? Of course I’d want someone to volunteer to help me.

Natural Information Provider

That’s why this expectation in social media of giving is so right for my personality – I’m a natural information provider.

And I’ve been on a personal intensive quest for the last few months to learn as much as possible about internet marketing. The quest started in connection with promoting my new book MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL. Now the quest has continued in preparation for promoting the material I’ve written as part of my FLIPPING BURGERS AND BEYOND philosophy for teens and young adults.

In the meantime, I’m always happy to answer questions about internet marketing. The internet world is so huge that there’s room for all of us. No need to keep our information to ourselves – we can all put our information out there to help others.

Technorati Tags:
do-gooder, Scrooge, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Mary Pat Kavanagh, queenofmarketing.com, Mrs. Lieutenant