Boomers' Blog

What’s your approach to engaging with a social media site that is new to you? Do you like to gradually wade into the waters of this site? Or do you prefer to simply jump in and figure you will learn how to swim in the unfamiliar waters? I am always fascinated by the approach taken by different folks when it comes to becoming familiar with a social media site. Some people prefer to take their time with a new social media site. They set up a profile, gradually add connections, and then sit back to see what happens. There are some pluses [...]

In reflecting on my use of a variety of social media, I have come to the conclusion that there are some “rules of the road” that contribute to a positive experience on social media, no matter which platform you are using. Here are Joyce's Social Media Rules of the Road: Be yourself. Although the nature of your remarks might vary a bit among social media platforms, keep a consistent persona. Doing so will make people more apt to reach out to you and to trust you. Take the high road when posting. Keep in mind that at some level, everything [...]

Blogging and social media go hand in hand. True, you can have a very satisfying experience on social media without blogging. Yet, once you blog regularly, you as a business owner, someone passionate about a cause, or simply someone with a creative bent, can spread the word even more broadly via social media. I got started with blogging back in April of 2012 shortly after my website went live. By late July, I was blogging twice a week, and for the most part have been blogging that often since then. One of the many things I find beneficial about blogging [...]

Happy New Year! There is something about starting a new year that reminds of starting a school year. Both are about beginnings. What social media adventures are you planning to take in 2013? If you have only participated in Facebook, maybe this is the year to try out Twitter. If you have been more professionally oriented and have only been active on LinkedIn, then consider checking out Pinterest. For the longest time (since 2008), the only social media platforms I participated in were Facebook and LinkedIn. Then in 2012 I decided to get active on Twitter, plus I got on [...]

For me, LinkedIn is my “home base” when it comes to social media sites. Tonight I pay tribute to the social media site that offers me so much. I became active on LinkedIn exactly 4 years ago this month, the same month I got active on Facebook. What drew me to LinkedIn, and what still keeps me anchored there, is the opportunity to network professionally with people from all over the world. Here are 5 reasons why LinkedIn works for me: I have been able to learn from a variety of experts through the Groups feature, the Answers feature, and [...]

Who introduced you to the social media platforms you use? Or you did just find them on your own and start using them? For most of the platforms I use, there is typically one person who nudged me onto that platform. It was Barbara Bailey, owner of Visibility Consultants and founder of Business Women For Women, who encouraged me to check out Pinterest. At first, I simply dabbled in Pinterest, popping into it now and then, creating a few boards, pinning a few items, but not really pursuing it strategically. By the time I took the Digital Marketing with Pinterest [...]

This week I have been preparing to give a talk on retirement to one of my Toastmasters clubs. The reason I chose this topic is because my husband and I plan to retire from our full-time jobs one year from this month. There are many aspects to planning for retirement. I find that Richard Bolles and John Nelson cover the key aspects very well in their book What Color is Your Parachute? For Retirement: Planning Now for the Life You Want. The part of the book that was especially meaningful to me was the section the authors called “The Three [...]

That’s the name of the certificate that I just achieved at Colorado Free University. To get it, I had to take at least 11 classes that related to either online marketing or social media. Often they covered both topics, as they are very interrelated. The classes ranged from 2-4 hours in length, and I took a total of 30 hours of classes over a four-month period. I figured out today that if I added in my driving time, that I just invested the equivalent of a 40-hour work week in developing myself professionally. There are many ways that we can [...]

Do you like to wish your Facebook friends “happy birthday”? I do. It is a way of honoring them on their special day. One thing I notice when I go to “events” and see whose birthdays are coming up in the next few days is that some people’s age is listed. Others do not list their age. As a protection for you, I recommend that you do not allow your age to show on Facebook. Some people put a fake birthday as well. However, I think it is OK to list the birthday, as in mine is listed as December [...]