Billville

My Favorite Blogs about Business, Social Media & Writing

Evin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:11:32 +0000

I am often asked as a blogger what blogs I read and often rattle off one or two that I can’t live without, but thought it was high time I put together a list of those about business, social media, and writing to share with you. I also compiled a massive list of all the blogs I like to read, in all topics.

Those in bold are ones I read on a daily or weekly basis or written by people I know and admire in the ‘real world’.

If you know I read your blog or if you have a fabulous blog, please tell me so I can add it here.

BUSINESS & SOCIAL MEDIA

Blue Ocean Strategy

Donal Cahalane

Ignite the Promise by Baldwin H. Tom

Seth Godin blog

Sinead Duffy’s Personal Development Blog

The Social Media Marketing Blog

SustainableWork

WRITING & GRAMMAR

Chica Writer

Cork Non-Fiction Writers Group

Daily Writing Practice

Diary of a Crafty Chica

Eats, Shoots, and Lays

Illusions of Intimacy

Maison Celeste

A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

Romance Author Kemberlee

Telecommuter Talk

Wyrdsmiths

Highlights of the Week – Jan 5-19, 2011

Evin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:15:37 +0000

To kick things off, I am sharing links to posts for the past two weeks. There may not be a trend or theme, but it may be a nice read for you to enjoy over the weekend. So, here we go, my first ever Blog Highlights of the Week

BUSINESS, FINANCE & INTERNET

Fantastic post about Saying No by @chrisgarrett

Social Media for Small Businesses, Local Organizations, and Ordinary Citizens Trying to Get the Word Out from my blog Billville

“Should I work for free?” A helpful flowchart: http://jhische.com/workforfree.html

My most interesting discovery about debts & living within your means in 2010 was… from Allan Cuthbert

I am full of optimism and expectations for 2011! We have new thinking for the new year. Ignite the Promise Blog by Baldwin H. Tom

SOCIALMEDIAINF0: 7 Quick Ways To Turn A Bad Day Into A Good Day http://bit.ly/e3GIzO

SOCIALMEDIAINF0: 9 Helpful Tips To Deal With Negative People in Life and Business http://bit.ly/aWfwuL

2010 in Review – WordPress Stats are Pretty from my blog Cooking Peas & Q’s

With change come new expectations and the anticipation of something different. Ignite the Promise Blog by Baldwin H. Tom

Apple is hiring quite a few in Cork: http://www.jobs.ie/Apple/

Apple’s revenue about to overtake Ireland’s GDP http://url.ie/8wos (shared by @adrianweckler from @patrickc)

Apple lovers wanted work full/part time in the Compub Cork APR Store. Must have love of all things Apple Email CV to ger@compub.com (via @macmanley)

Listen to or read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech from August 1963. http://wp.me/pl7ee-PL

FOOD & COOKING

Classic Beef Stew for a Rainy Day from my blog Cooking Peas & Q’s

The French equivalent of the Lonely Planet guide has showered praise on Cork restaurants http://ht.ly/3D6bG

GOOD: Feast Your Eyes: How Starbucks’s new Trenta compares to your stomach’s capacity http://shr.gd/hCusOk

Weekend Bytes: My Desire to Make Preserved Lemons from my blog Cooking Peas & Q’s

Come Dine With Me is coming to Dublin. Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway and CORK!!! http://www.tv3.ie/comedinewithme

Things I Can’t Cook Without from my blog Cooking Peas & Q’s

TRAVEL

Deciding What to Pack When Relocating from my blog 40 Shades of Life

Aer Lingus and Ryanair Airlines add new routes from Cork and Shannon

First Thing’s First: Top 3 things to do upon arriving to live in Ireland from my blog 40 Shades of Life

Top 100 Sports pics of 2010 – Cork in at number 30, no really!!

ART & CRAFT

Oversized Hat for a ‘Just Right’ Big Head from my blog Spring Stitches

Taffy Twist Cowl from my blog Spring Stitches

Handmade Baby Gifts from my blog Spring Stitches

Hedgehog Fibres is now on Facebook.

Mattress Stitch Tips to Help You Finish! – Knitting Daily

How To Pick Up and Knit Stitches – 2 Ways | KNITFreedom

Working With Double-Point Needles

Test Pattern TV Cover: Matt Richardson @ Make: Online writes: When Jason received a flat screen TV for Chris.

Fabulous video of gorilla crochet of Wall Street bull. Art Yarn: OLEK Strikes again )

LIFESTYLE & SHOPPING

My New Year’s Resolutions for 2011 from my blog 40 Shades of Life

Beating the Winter Blues from my blog Spring Stitches

Thoughtful Baby Gifts from my blog Freckled Past

We’re looking for inspiring women and we want your help | Prudence Magazine (Ireland)

P.S. I heard the public outcry from two of my readers and will keep this blog active. One thing I will start doing is sharing a weekly summary of the blog posts I read and wrote.

Ghost town blog: Are you there readers? It’s me, Evin.

Evin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:09:04 +0000

Here I am sitting on a bench in a beautiful park, chatting away when I realize I don’t see anyone around. Well, not quite, but almost. I’ve noticed in the Blog Stats that Billville isn’t isn’t feeling the love, so I will be evaluating whether to keep writing it. It takes time to research these topics and if no one is reading the posts, I might as well spend the time on posts for my other blogs (I have five others: 40 Shades of Life; Cooking Peas & Q’s; Spring Stitches; Half Full Philosophy; Freckled Past, which is insanity to discuss at another time).

So, what do you think? Yes, I am asking you, my three to five readers, what you want to see happen with this ghost town blog. Shall I keep chatting and have faith that even when the stats are low it’s quality of readers that counts? Give me a shout in the comments if you think this blog shouldn’t give up the ghost.

Social Media for Small Businesses, Local Organizations, and Ordinary Citizens Trying to Get the Word Out

Evin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:16:08 +0000

Last year, I was part of the planning committee for a breast cancer fundraiser. The Pink Auction was an event held to auction off handcrafted textile creations made by Irish artists. After six months of blogging, Tweeting, and Facebooking about our efforts, we neared 1,000 Twitter followers (we now have 1,028 people following @PinkCork). This was done with me and my co-chair volunteering our time and skills and absolutely no money to spend on advertising. The experience gave me a whole new appreciation for how independent artists, small businesses, and determined individuals get the word out.

Photo by Tatyana Ogryzko

I’m not at a desk in a large corporation with an entire marketing team or editing team to help me with my research and blog posts – it’s just me at a big desk in my living room thinking I’d like more information on something then creating a blog post with what I find. It’s that simple and surely it’s a familiar setting for others. Social media may be most popular for keeping in touch with friends, having fun, or promoting business, but what about the middle ground? For those of us who are not with a big company or just out for a good time online, social media resources can help us aim higher – and reach higher while building a brand identity. So, let’s narrow the gap in knowledge and get in there.

Here are some interesting articles, blog posts, and resources I found:

10 Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips

The Art of Creating a Social Media Press Release — SocialFish

A Template For A Small Business Social Media Presence

12-Step Social Media Guide: Put your Local Business on the Map

Personal Branding in Social Media | The New School (88-MIN VIDEO)

Social Media Marketing to Small Businesses

30 Valuable Lessons Learned Using Social Media for Small Business

Cincinnati State launches social media program | Business Courier

Opening Up Social Media for Local Small Business – Danny Brown

8 Social Media Sites for Local Networking

How to Use Social Media for Personal Branding » Techipedia

Personal Branding and Social Media Optimization in Action | Social …

HOW TO: Leverage Social Media for Career Success

5-Steps for Creating a Social Media Marketing Campaign for Your Brand

Can Social Media Save a Local Business?

5 Ways to Grow Your Local Business with Social Media

10 Ways To Build Your Local Twitter Community

Social Media, Blogging and Why It’s Perfect for Local Small and Local Businesses

How to Drive More Customers to Your Local Business With Social Media

Building Community and Driving Local Business with Social Media

Importance of Business Cards And Social Media

Let’s Talk: Social Media for Small Business – Duct Tape Marketing

Social Media Marketing for Small Business – www.wilsonweb.com

Manners 2.0 – Being Polite and Respectful Online

Evin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 10:26:12 +0000

This post is trying to focus on the upcoming new year with a focus on self-improvement through kinder and more polite communications online. With more and more friendships having the bulk of their communications through Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace, there is a reason to wonder if common courtesy, politeness, and self-respect have carried over to the world of social media from the real world. Have you ever seen a status update or photo on Facebook and wondered why someone would share that with the world? Or maybe you blocked someone and then thought, is that the Internet equivalent of a restraining order? Perhaps you’ve even asked someone a question on their wall only to see it later disappear unanswered. Well, these resources may help you muddle through that and I am adding a bit of my common sense to the mix between the links.

Facebook Can Be Fairly Private and Polite with a Few Small Adjustments

If you want to extend your Facebook friends to those who aren’t in your ‘circle of trust’ or immediate family, definitely follow steps to create friend groups and assign privacy settings to those groups. It means that your boss won’t see photos of you boozing it up on the weekend and your parents won’t see pics your friends tag of you. This is probably also important if you are dating multiple people at once!

Ultimate Facebook Guide: How To, Tips, Tricks, Etiquette by Kevin Eklund

The Facebook commandments by Reihan Salam of Slate Magazine

Top 10 Facebook Etiquette Rules by The Shark Guys

Privacy Control Info on The Facebook Blog

How to maximize your Facebook privacy from CanoeTech Blog

How To Keep Your Private Facebook Info Safe

Facebook: Threats to Privacy (2005, MIT)

If Someone Asks You a Question, You Don’t Have to Answer It. It Is Probably None of Their Business

In this day and age when an Internet survey asks personal questions, many of us do not hesitate to answer questions, no matter the topic. But really, the question asker should have no expectation of response given it is your right to retain your information at any given time. Even if you just don’t feel like telling someone what color socks you are wearing, they have no valid recourse to get upset.

Social Etiquette and Good Manners from All Experts

Facebook Etiquette Rules People Still Break from Sherweb blog

Blocking Someone on Facebook or Twitter is a Socially-acceptable and Fairly Informal form of Restraining Order

Amazingly, blocking someone on Facebook can be done because they annoy you or because they have stalked you and threatened your life. I can’t think of another option in life that gives people so much control over what they are exposed to. All the literature says no one will know you’ve blocked them, but use your common sense and realize that if you were friends before you blocked or if you have mutual friends, they will find out and be hurt, angry, or relieved. Facebook says there’s no way to tell you’ve been blocked but if you were friends with someone or ever sent someone a message or posted on their wall, it will be obvious when suddenly your name has been replaced with “Facebook User”. If you are going to unfriend someone, have the decency to write them and explain why. I unfriended two people this year simply because I barely knew them and we never communicated. I explained this and wished them the best in individual notes on Facebook BEFORE unfriending them. After all, neither did anything to offend me, I just had too many friends and wanted to stick with people I actually interact with.

Facebook Etiquette: Deleting Friends by Peggy M. Parks

Facebook Etiquette: Cruel to Be Kind, in the Wrong Measure from Newsome.org

What Happens When you Block Someone on Facebook from Buzzle

How to Unblock Friends on Facebook from Buzzle

Just Because You Have Mutual Friends, Doesn’t Mean You Need to Be Friends

There are many wonderful people out there, but accepting or initiating a new friend request means you will have one more person who sends you updates in your News Feed. Would you rather hear about this nearly-a-stranger is doing on Farmville or see updates on your best buds back home?

Facebook Etiquette: 10 Rules for Better Socializing from PCWorld

Loose Gravel: Facebook Etiquette: To friend or to ignore?

Not Everyone Recognizes the Value of Your Farm, Your Mafia, or Your Virtual World

Games are for your entertainment and, honestly, they are much more fun to play than to read about someone else playing so consider limiting what you share so your friends don’t block you from their News Feeds. Because one day you may share that you are a grandmother and no one will still be listening.

Game Etiquette from Facebook

Farmville social gaming etiquette

Understanding the Unofficial Mafia Wars Etiquette

Facebook Etiquette 11: Game Notifications | The Bucking Hoarse

Etiquette | facebook games

Rules of FarmVille Etiquette | Facebook

Sustainable Energy Innovations

Evin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:44:29 +0000

We all know that sustainable is an important word as we face global warming and oil prices, but is really being done? Is it all solar panels and windmills? I was curious and spoke with a student at University College Cork who is working on her Ph.D. in energy sourced from waves! And that’s just the tip of the crest.

Here are interesting articles, white papers, and blog posts:

WIND

Wind Energy – Sustainable Stuff (UK)

Wind Energy – Natural England Board

Research – Energy – - What are the key advantages of wind technology?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power

Laser Guidance Adds Power to Wind Turbines | Wired Science | Wired.com

Renewable energy in the Netherlands

Danish Wind: Too Good to be True? – July 2004.pmd

Irish Wind Energy Association, Sycamore House, Millennium Park …

Change in public attitudes towards a Cornish wind farm …

Download – CONFLICTS BETWEEN ELECTRICITY LIBERALISATION AND WIND …

Wind energy in South Africa: time to implement

Offshore Wind Energy Ready to Power a Sustainable Europe

The Irish Wind Energy Association Annual Conference

An overview of the Portuguese wind power sector

Wind Energy Forecasting Issues Paper

WIND ENERGY STRATEGIES FOR EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

WAVE

Wave Energy Technology Development in Ireland

Ocean Energy Test Site

Wave Tidal Ocean Energy | Inspiration Green

Ten-Point Plan – University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii Energy …

Ocean Energy | Environment and Energy Management News

A Rising Tide: Wave Energy in the United States and Scotland Holly …

Reports – Puget Sound Tidal Energy

Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies – Pelamis Wave …

Catching the global ocean energy wave – IDA Ireland Investment …

Realising Ireland’s Ocean Energy Potential

Hydrokinetics Power Systems in Massachusetts – Mass.Gov

EVERYTHING ELSE & A BIT OF ALL

White Paper on Sustainable Energy – Cape Gateway

The role for renewable energy

White Paper on Energy and Climate Change

Critical Surveys Wind Energy Policy, Planning and Management …

Opening address to Wind, Fire and Water: Renewable Energy and …

Renewable Energy and Sustainability– An Evaluation

Renewable Energy in Ireland

DELIVERING A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE FOR IRELAND

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR RURAL AREAS

Renewable Energy Power For A Sustainable Future Pdf | .:: FitriPDF …

The Evolving Renewable Energy Market

A Blueprint for Today’s Sustainability White Paper

ENERGY

Finding the Energy

RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY REVIEW IRELAND The rapidly increasing …

Energy White Paper

CLEAN ENERGY: NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

Last-minute Marketing for Christmas

Evin — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:15:47 +0000

For businesses around the world, Christmas is a time when red can turn into black with a little green – at least for your company’s finances.

Here are some helpful resources for those of you wanting to have a bit more push to your pre-Christmas marketing:

Last minute online marketing ideas for Christmas

Comprehensive Guides to Christmas Promotion Strategies of Online Shops

4 Top Tips To Keep Cash In Your Business Over Christmas

Marketing Strategy During Recession – Marketing for Christmas

Some Wonderful Internet & Direct Marketing Business Strategies

Christmas Promotion Strategies Articles – Page 1 – ArticleSnatch.com

Merchants planning holiday strategies – TheInterMountain.com

10 tips for affiliate marketing campaigns Christmas

‘Christmas’ is winning ‘The War on Christmas’

Lessons From Christmas 1947 – Diva Marketing Blog

Comprehensive Guides to Christmas Promotion Strategies of Online

Give A New Identity To Your Online Business On This Christmas/New Year

Getting Your Website Ready for Christmas | SIM Blog

Money Making Business Ideas for the Holidays

Merry Christmas!!! | Online Marketing Management Business Strategy

75 years ago.(christmas marketing strategy)

Comprehensive Guides To Christmas Promotion Strategies Of Online Shops

In the Business of Retro

Evin — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:55:39 +0000

Vintage, retro, and times of yore bring up nostalgic sentiment and a bit of novelty fun – so how does that work when it’s fashion, a building, or an entire business plan.

Climate Corps 2010: When Buildings Go ‘Retro’

Why Retro Business is In Part 1 – Coming Up With Business Ideas
Why Retro Business Is In Part 2 – Coming Up With Business Ideas

Old Communist brands don’t die, they go ‘retro’ – NY Times

London Market Tightens for Retro Business

Saab Plans A Retro Small Car – Motor Trend

Gym opening models man’s ‘retro’ college days | nbs.gmnews.com

C/B/1173. Retro Clothing Retail Store: Business Plan |Papers4you

How to Start a Retro Store | eHow.com

Retro To Go: Architecture

Vintage and Retro 70′s Designed Architecture / eightyone design

AWESOME ARCHITECTURE » Retro-Future: Glorious Urbanism

Googie Architecture – Retro Planet

Why Social Media is Good for Newspapers

Evin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:57:53 +0000

Hobe Sound Currents is a new newspaper in Florida and I am honored to be writing a column for the publication, but it is also a reminder that newspapers and social media are more closely linked than ever before. It’s not just websites these days, even Hobe Sound Currents is on Twitter!

Here are some interesting articles:

Social media strategy for newspapers | LORI MARIE TODD

10 Ways Newspapers are Using Social Media to Save the Industry from Mashable

Digging Into Social Media to Build a Newspaper Audience from Nieman Reports of Harvard Business School

How Newspapers Use Twitter

Newspapers Not Effectively Using Social Media from WebProNews

Social Media Influence on UK Newspapers

Top U.S. Newspapers On Twitter

Why Newspapers Need to Heed Facebook

Social media for newspapers

The Future Newsroom: Lean, Open, and Social Media-Savvy

Orlando Sentinel top editor talks Facebook, Twitter and newspaper

How our university newspaper used social media to find news and break it

Newspapers and Social Media – LoveToKnow Social Networking

Newspapers Take Interest In Social Networking | WebProNews

Stop Press: Publishers Start to Take Social Media Seriously

How Newspapers Should Embrace Social Media

The Social Media Revolution: Exploring the Impact on Journalism …

Case study: social media and how it’s affected newspapers

Case Study: A Dallas Newspaper’s Social-Media Strategy Goes Far

Study Claims That Newspapers, NOT Blogs, Still Dominate The News

Study: Kindle falls short as newspaper delivery device

Birmingham Post: A Regional Newspaper Case Study (slideshow presentation)

New Media Page: Newspapers adopt Facebook plug-ins to engage

Study: Social Media Closing In on Newspaper Websites – AOL News

Danish Newspaper Embraces Social Media | Mindjumpers

Newspapers Missing the Benefits of Social Media | Facebook

Top Newspaper Facebook Fan Pages

Fostering Community With Social Media, a slideshow from the Midwest Newspaper Summit 2010

The Pink Auction, Creative Textile Fundraiser for Action Breast Cancer

Evin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:10:15 +0000

Pink Auction has kept be busy lately, which has distracted me from sharing new posts here. As co-chair of the Pink Auction, my time has been spent writing blog posts for the Pink Auction blog, contacting Irish textile artists to tell them about the event and solicit donations, and share my enthusiasm for the cause by spreading the word on Twitter, Facebook, and Ravelry. Julie Anne, fellow co-chair and inspiration behind the Pink Auction, and I are Tweeting about the event, our milestones, and retweeting as@PinkCork.

Perhaps you would be interested in helping us spread the word or in attending the auction in Cork City. The Pink Auction seeks donations of high quality textile art. Creative textile art includes: fashion, jewelry, home accessories, and other items. We also appreciate donations of wool or textile supplies for pre-auction workshops or to be used in the creation of auction items to fill category gaps. Once our donations are received on the 10th of September (being commemorated with a drop-off event at Vibes & Scribes), we will create a catalogue of the items to encourage interest and anticipation of the auction event.

Though I’ve neglected to write new posts for Billville, I have been writing lovely posts for the Pink Auction blog. Check it out to find out more about the event, access links for Free Pattern Friday, and learn new textile skills from How To Tuesday posts. I sincerely hope that after you’ve visited the blog, you’ll:

• follow us on Twitter

• donate your own creative textile, fashion design, or fibre art to the Pink Auction (donation form here),

• print our flyer and give it to your local fabric and wool shops and community craft group,

• attend the auction at The Imperial Hotel in Cork City on the 10th of October, 2010. Please come by to see the beautiful auction items and stay to bid on those that strike your fancy.

It’s all in aid of Action Breast Cancer.