Confession: I’m no grammarian.  And I’m no grammar police.

Seriously, I corrected someone once, and it was at that point that I realized that nobody likes their grammar corrected right there on the spot.  Nobody.

But there are certain things that, when I hear them, I want to correct them.  In the moment, I tell myself, “Don’t be a nerd.  Don’t be that guy.  It’s not worth it.”  So indulge me, for just a minute.  Maybe you’ve heard some of these.  Maybe you’ve uttered them.

Misspoken words & phrases

• It may be the fastest way to get your caffeine, but it’s not expresso. It’s espresso.
• The phrase isn’t “flush out an idea.” It’s “flesh out an idea.”  Unless, of course, it’s a bad idea…and you can flush those down the tube.
• Feeling trapped?  You’ll never be able to “exscape,” because that’s not a word. However, you may be able to “escape.”
• “I could care less.” Yes, you probably could.  And you’d probably get to where you “couldn’t care less.”
• You can’t walk “acrossed” the parking lot. You walk “across” it.  Or you have “crossed” it.
• There is no such thing as a Chester drawer. Many companies produce “chest of drawers,” though.
• “For all intents and purposes,” you should never say, “For all intensive purposes,” unless you’re trying to illustrate a point of what not to say.
• Supposedly never, ever has a “b” in it (ala, “supposebly”).
• The word nuclear only has one “u.” It never has two.  Even if you’re my 7th grade science teacher (seriously, she said “nucular” every single time)
• You can be  doing “especially” well, or offering “exceptional” service, but it’s just not possible to be “exspecially” happy about things.
• Ever said “a-whole-nother”? All you’re doing is splitting “another” apart by adding an entire word in the middle.  Don’t do it.  Don’t make “a-whole-nother” word like that.

What phrases bother you?

Are you the “grammar” police?  Say it ain’t so!

 

(image by Sandy Lee)

I listen to music a lot, especially when I run.  And I change things up quite a bit with new music.

Here’s what’s currently on my iPod:

• Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More
• The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow
• Amos Lee: Mission Bell
• The Black Keys: Brothers
• Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors: Chasing Someday
• The Decemberists: The King is Dead
• Hillsong United: Aftermath
• The Village Church (Matt Chandler) Podcast

What’s on your iPod, right now?

 

(image by Natilee Dee)

As a way of validating their profession:

• Hair dressers have to have edgy hair
• Mechanics have to have a project car
• Farmers have to have Carhartts
• Teachers have to have an ugly sweater
• Used car salesmen have to have a mustache and too much cologne (just chuckle and move on…don’t be offended)
• Coffee baristas have to have a conspicuous piercing, tattoo, or both
• Hipsters have to have strange facial hair and an article of clothing that makes them look really old
• Musicians have to have a black t-shirt and skinny jeans
• Real musicians have to have a ‘favorite band’ that nobody has ever heard of

I’m a young pastor, and I’m trying to figure out what it is that we’re “supposed to have.”

What do you think?

Fill in the blank: If I see a guy with ___________, I know he’s a pastor.

 

Ever wondered how you can use Facebook or Twitter to drive traffic back to your blog or website?

If this is the question you’re asking, then I hate to burst your bubble, but you’re asking the wrong question.  You’re starting off on the wrong foot with your approach to social media.  Because social media is about giving, not getting.  And when you approach an outpost (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) as a means to an end, social media folks can sniff you out a mile away.  And they’ll quit following you.

But I do think that, utilized well, social media outposts can help drive traffic to your blog.  And providing potential readers/customers (depending on the goal of your site) with information on how to better reach your site can be a great form of customer service.  But how do you use them to effectively drive traffic to your site?

What you should do

1. Remember: social media is about giving, not getting. Be generous with ideas, quotes, stories, and praise of others.  If you’re using outposts as a means to simply drive traffic flow to your blog or website, your voice becomes a noise that people will tune out.
2. Post about other things. It’s okay to alert people that you have a new post…but make sure you don’t do that twice (or more) before you update with something other-than your own site.  Don’t be a social media robot, only telling people about your awesome site.  Let us know you’re a real person.
3. Alert potential readers whether this is a new post or a re-post. Most people don’t mind clicking on a re-post, especially if they haven’t read it already.  But it’s common courtesy to let people know that this post isn’t hot off the press.
4. Follow-up: if it’s more than 1 day old, it’s not a new post. Social media is rapidly changing and growing.  And if something is more than a day old, it’s hardly considered new.
5. Use a leading question or statement. Make it a bit provocative.  If all you say is, “New post! Check it out! http://…” then I’m less inclined to click through.  Give me a reason to click the link.
6. Use a link shortener. It allows you to add in that leading, provocative question, because you’ll have more characters to use.
7. Read and respond to your followers. Everywhere you post updates, comments, thoughts, and replies, you’re branding yourself.  Because everywhere you do this, you have to login.  And when you leave quality responses, it encourages others to read your posts.
8. Share.  Share.  Share. Have I mentioned that social media is more about giving than getting?  Your generosity and encouragement encourages the same in others.

What you should not do

1. Don’t just talk about your site. If all of your updates are links back to your site, it feels like you’re not entering the conversation, but that all you care about is padding your own site’s stats.  It smacks of self-centeredness.  And, like I said above, nobody likes a social media robot.
2. Don’t post an outpost update more than twice, linking back to the same blog post. It may sound confusing, I know.  But all I mean is that if you post the same link on Facebook or Twitter more than twice, you’re going to drive traffic away from your site.  At least in the long-run.  I think it’s fine to post twice, but if you do it more, you seem to be reaching.
3. Don’t be a sneaky ninja. Posting two completely different thoughts on Twitter that each link back to the same blog post, causing me to click through twice…not cool, my friend.  Nobody likes being duped.

Have you found that social media outposts drive traffic to your site?

Have you found yourself frustrated by those who publicize their site too much?

 

I love blogging.

In fact, to date, I’ve written 347 blog posts.

Given that there are over 133 million blogs, and that 1 in 5 update their blog daily, it’s apparent that many, many people throughout the world like blogging as well.  I’m guessing you’re one of them.

And I think I just might have an idea why.

10 Reasons Why Bloggers love Blogging

1. The immediacy of the feedback. Within 30 minutes, you can get Retweeted.  Mentioned.  Get a Facebook “like.”  Facebook comments.  Comments on your blog.  Replies to comments on your blog…all of which immediately tell you whether your post was a success or a flop.

2. The quickness of publishing. Have an idea?  Watch a video?  A quote move you?  Throw it up on the blog…right now.  No need to wait on a publisher to review and edit.  No need to wait on a webmaster to get back in front of their desk to push your post live.  You can publish right now.

3. The freedom. Since it’s your blog, you can publish what you want, when you want, how often you want, with the consistency and length you want.  You can include pictures, videos, and links…or not.  Your choice.

4. The design. What you write can look cool on a page.  That’s motivating.

5. The platform. Many of us don’t have the chance to communicate with mass numbers of people every week.  Yet God has gifted us to do so.  Blogs give us that chance.

6. Work out our thoughts publicly. Instead of sitting in your office and stewing over thoughts and ideas on your own, blogging gives you a chance to work those thoughts out loud.  And I, for one, find great value in extroverting my ideas.

7. The interaction. Iron sharpens iron.  I think somebody said that.

8. Global reach. Instead of just sharpening your iron in a conversation with one or two friends, blogs give you the chance to sharpen it with hundreds, or even thousands, of people around the world.

9. Sharing. So much of the value of social media is found in sharing ideas, insights, and wisdom with others.  Successful bloggers give away more than they ever get.

10. The challenge. Blogging isn’t easy.  Condensing the content.  Focusing it.  Consistently posting high quality content.  It’s a challenge, but one that bloggers love.

Why do you love blogging?  What did I miss?

 

I’m going to start posting more consistently on the topic of social media.  Because I use it.  And so do you.

How do I know?

You’re reading this blog right now.

You also likely use other forms of social media (platforms thriving on interaction around user-generated content), like

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Vimeo
• Ping.fm
• MySpace
• Wikipedia
• Yahoo!Answers
• FourSquare
• Gowalla
• LinkedIn
• Spoke
• Google Reader
• Reddit
• Digg
• Flickr
• StumbleUpon
• Posterous
• PostRank

I wish I had all of the answers, but I often find myself with more and more questions when it comes to success in social media:

• Why do some blog posts take off, and get thousands of hits?
• Why do others, some of my favorites, fall flat on their face?
• Why do the seemingly meaningless status updates get the most comments?
• Why do the posts I take the most time crafting sometimes get no traction, and the ones I put together on a whim go viral?
• Why do I sometimes get loads of comments and no retweets?
• Why do I sometimes get loads of retweets and no comments?
• Why do I think it’s cool to check-in using FourSquare…but nobody else seems to think so?
• Why do some people I know and connect with off-line quit following me on-line?
• What’s the next social media trend?
• What’s next for my blog?

It’s questions like these that I wrestle with.  They keep me moving forward, pursuing continued effectiveness online, and with my local ministry here in Clarksville.  If I’m not moving towards an increasing effectiveness, it’s time for me to quit.

What social media questions are you wrestling with?

How do you measure effectiveness on your social media platforms?

 

As Christmas rolls around, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with a lot of people you don’t normally spend a lot of time with.  People you don’t know or care about remember much about because you don’t get to see them that often.  And for most, the holidays involve sitting around and…talking.

So what do you do when your random uncle plops down beside you and it gets awkward because he doesn’t say anything?  Or your grandpa’s younger cousin that you’ve never seen before…what happens when she insists on sitting in the recliner across from you, and you have nothing in common?

Enter the art of small talk.

Small talk can carry you through the thickest difficult moments.  And it can help you seem like a hero who knows everybody.

Or, just like years past, if you don’t do it right, it can make you look like the jerk that hates Christmas.  And nobody wants to be that guy.

The art of small talk

1. How’s work going? Not a bad leading question.  Since most people work, you’re pretty safe here.

2. Where’s the rest of your family? Whether they’re somewhere else in the house, or they didn’t make it down this year, you’ve got your bases covered.

3. Did you try that ______? (examples include ham, turkey, pork tenderloin, pecan pie, etc.)  In this, you don’t even have to say whether you like the item in question or not.  Don’t show all of your cards right off the bat.

4. Gosh, how long has it been? Classic.

5. How are the kids? Everybody likes talking about their own children.  Everybody.

6. Talk about your kids. Easy, no?  See…told you you could do this.  Remember, everybody likes to talk about their children.  You included.

6. So what keeps you guys busy these days? Hobbies, pastimes, TV shows, and movies are always easy to talk about.

7. How was the drive in? Since we’re in the Christmas season, traffic was probably bad.  The kids probably complained.  They probably left later than they wanted.  This is a guaranteed winner.  Trust me.

8. You guys have any snow yet back home? If you live in a warm climate (like I do), this is a time to lament not having any snow in your area.

9. It’s so _____ (either ‘cold’ or ‘warm’) outside! Think quick on your toes.  This one’s not so tough.

10. I see you’ve been all over Facebook lately. Oh, wait…that’s what my family tells me.  Scratch that.

11. How long are you guys hanging around?

12. The _____ (sports team from their area) is doing ______ (either ‘good’ or ‘bad’) this year. This is a dangerous one.  If you don’t remember where the person’s from, or don’t know which team(s) are in their area, just steer clear of this one.

13. Have you seen Uncle ______? He’s looking good this year, isn’t he? Gotta be careful here, too.  If Uncle _____ isn’t looking great, your cover will be sniffed out.

14. Look at all those gifts! By the time all of the family arrives, there will likely be lots of gifts under the tree.  Capitalize on it.

15. So what else is going on? Keep this one in your back pocket.  After all other questions are exhausted, you can come back and back to this one.

Now you’re ready for any Christmas moment that your family may throw your way.

Got any additions for me?

 

I read incessantly.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, according to Strengths Finder, I’m a “learner.”  I enjoy the process of getting more information, uncovering new concepts, and learning from others.

And I do a lot of reading over the holidays as I’m sitting around, relaxing with family.

And when I read, I have to have certain things with me.

Essentials when I read

1. Pen and paper. If I read, I’ve got to take notes.  90% of what I read is non-fiction, and I feel like I’m wasting my time if I don’t capture my thoughts through the book.  And what I love about the Kindle is that I can take notes right on the device, and view them later at my personal Kindle page.  (you can set yours up HERE)
2. My computer. Not so that I can check emails and process my Excel spreadsheets…but because I want to interact with others as I read.  I don’t have it open the whole time, but I like to have it handy so that I can process things out loud with a broader community, and read reactions from others who have read the book as well.  If I don’t have my computer, my iPhone works well.
3. Background noise. I can’t listen to music while I read (because my mind starts singing along), but I don’t like to read in a room all by myself.  I like to have a bit of noise, of some sorts, in the background.
4. Natural light. I much prefer natural to artificial light…which makes me just like 99% of humanity.  Sitting outside, or by a window, is a prime reading spot for me.
5. Coffee. This doesn’t even need an explanation.

The only problem I’ve got right now is that I’m reading so many books at once.  Currently, here’s what’s on my Kindle and active:

1. The Purple Cow, by Seth Godin
2. The Next Christians, by Gabe Lyons
3. The Me I Want to Be, by John Ortberg
4. E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber
5. The Barbarian Way, by Erwin McManus

What are you reading right now?

What are your reading essentials?

Are the holidays a good time for you to read?

 

In honor of all of the extra time you’ll spend with your family this season, please leave a caption below.

(HT: Awkward Family Photos)