Be a Social Media Ninja

March 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I’m lying here trying to fall asleep but because of a text I received this morning I just

Ninja

Photo credit: Seth W.

can’t. Can’t get the darn thing off my mind. The text said, “So what are you going to blog about today?”  I just know that until I write this post, I’m not going to be able to sleep.

So, what should I blog about? I could write about how on Saturday, our main septic tank pipe got clogged by a toy that the four-year-old flushed down the toilet (yes, that’s two toilet stories in a week). Or, about how Pickle came home from 4H Clover Clinic to make scones for his mom. Which was a great experience for him but somehow a flour bomb went off in my  kitchen. Another great topic would be how three of the five of us have had the flu in the last week and should buy stock in Kleenx, Mentholatum and Tylenol (never a dull moment).

What really sits with me is that text. See, it came from one of my social media ninjas, a term coined by Katie Pinke. This ninja of mine, is one who has hardly a moment to breathe because her life is so busy but she took the time out between her full-time job, milking cows, helping a cow have her calf and volunteer activities, (not to mention her own successful blog and social media presence) to push me to excel in my blogging. Something that is really challenging me at the moment but is oh so important. To me, this text means the world. The world.

So, today, I’m challenging you all to be better bloggers and social media neighbors by becoming someone’s ‘social media ninja.’  Be there to encourage them, give support, lend an ear or, provide them with a keyboard to cry upon. Just be there.

Special thanks to Carrie Mess, Sara Broers and Sherry Martz for being my social media ninjas in this wonderful journey!

Good night sweethearts, it’s time to go, bah, bah, dah, dah, sleep tight. :)

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Filed Under: Blogging, In the FarmHouse Tagged With: , ,

Agvocacy Blog Writing Inspiration

February 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Flying above the clouds, with my earbuds smashed into my ears, I had some quiet time to reflect. Like many of you, reflections of my husband, boys, farm, work and more crossed my mind. And, somewhere over those big fluffy marshmallows I began thinking about my blog. As you might have read, in recent months, the blogging gig has In the cloudsbeen at somewhat of a standstill. While life can be carefree, it is full of activities and rushing to and from. In the mix of it all, the blog became a low priority. What’s important to consider is that I was successfully writing prior to my break and I have all of the potential I need to once again blog continuously. Finding inspiration will be key to my success. But where do you begin?

A habit I’ve developed throughout my blogging career is snatching up eBooks on a variety of social media topics. One book which has caught my eye is “A Year of Blogging and Journaling Ideas” by Cynthia Louden. She provides phrases or words which encourage us to write something related to the words or phrases. A few of my favorite ideas include:

  1. The missing ingredient – Discuss mixing feed
  2. A simple solution – Any situation involving duck take would fit here.
  3. Just listen – Discussion about becoming a better agvocate
  4. A meal worth remembering – Meals during planting or harvest
  5. An “aha” moment – You’ve discovered a new ag related app for your phone
  6. Layers – Dressing for winter chores
  7. Gaining confidence – Driving a new tractor
  8. Explore – Post some farm photography
  9. Instinct – Knowing when its time to pull a calf, lamb or kid during delivery
  10. If no one was looking – I’ll leave this one up to you!

As you can see, each of the phrases spawned new concepts which could easily relate to agvocacy. Once you begin listing topics and ideas you are well on your way to a fantastic brainstorming session. In fact, as I read through Cynthia’s list my brain began turning about other types of lists. Such as a list which includes area Ag related events, functions which are preformed on your farm or a slew of questions you’ve been asked in regards to farming or ranching. In addition to creating more of these list related posts, I hope to soon complete a glossary of terms related to agriculture. I believe this will be an easy and convenient way for your readers to educate themselves about farming.

What ways do you find agvocacy inspiration?

Filed Under: Blogging, In the FarmHouse Tagged With: , ,

Testing, testing, one, two, pee

February 23, 2013 by 8 Comments

Have I ever mentioned I have a small bladder? Well, I do. Keep that in mind as you Toiletread today’s post.

Today was the AgChatFoundation’s Upper Midwest Regional conference and I was a presenter on Blog Writing. The conference went well and I loved meeting so many other agvocates; and drinking lots of coffee (#newyearsresolutionfail).

My presentation was based around writing a blog post and thus, I had a series of exercises for the attendees to complete. The end result would be a complete blog post. While the ‘class’ was working on the main body of the blog post I choose to take a quick potty break.

I ran out real quick and let my cohort Emily Zweber know what I was doing. What I didn’t realize is that I also told the class. Through the live microphone clipped to my jacket. I also didn’t realize I was sharing the sounds of the bathroom. Such as someone else’s toilet flushing. All live, loud and clear. Talk about embarrassing moments.

Fortunately, someone ran out to let Emily know that I still had my microphone on and she alerted me to the broadcast before I tinkled.

My natural response would be massive embarrassment. While there is some serious embarrassment, its a more of a moment that I’ll be laughing at for many days to come. *giggle, giggle*

So, how was your day?

(PS…thank you to my good friend Carrie Mess (@DairyCarrie) for the encouragement it took to pass this along to y’all.)

 

Filed Under: Meet The Magic Mama, Moments of Laughter, Random Thoughts Tagged With: , ,
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