I wanted to take a moment to speak my mind on sponsored blog postings, affiliate marketing and sponsored tweets It’s a really controversial topic in the blog world right now, especially considering the FTC’s new endorsement and testimonial policies. Additionally, since I’ve signed up for sponsored tweets (by IZEA Inc.), I feel that it’s important to share my thoughts on the subject with you.
I find affiliate links, sponsored blogging and tweeting perfectly acceptable, provided that the post is disclosed as a sponsored discussion. I also find that sponsored postings are best with a product that the blogger will stand behind.
I know a lot of people think sponsored links, posts, etc. are selling out. However, if you’re going to take time out of your day to provide content to an audience and if time is money, isn’t it okay to at least profit a little bit on sharing knowledge, information and advertising space?
Additionally, I think that if you are going to evangelize, rave and rant about a product that you’ve tried out, isn’t it fair to get something out of it? Think back to the 90’s when we were all wearing GAP hoodies, boldly stating where our money was going in exchange for status. They’re getting free advertising because we wear the label and talk about the product. If the opportunity is there to profit on something you’re already doing, would you take it?
I should clarify what I mean, though – not all reviews & endorsements are advertising. I like how Sheila of Family Travel Guide stated it:
If you’re paid to say nice stuff, that’s advertising. If you get free stuff and are asked to say nice things about it, that’s advertising. There are rules that apply to advertising, so you’d better know when you’re doing it (the blogger) and when you’re seeing it (the consumer.)
So first of all, I want you to know that this is not my primary source of income… (I really hope that’s obvious) I’ll always try to share relevant, helpful content with you, but when it comes down to it, this is my personal branding blog. If you want to read more of my true, daily life personal blog, check out my Posterous. However, this is where I’ll share content, links, tips and tricks. I happily work for a local SEM firm in north Orange County, CA. While I’m happy to make money on here (domains, hosting and beautiful themes don’t exactly pay for themselves…), it’s not the entire goal of keeping this blog. I keep this blog to share what I know and discuss what I’m learning with you!
One major goal that I DO have is to build and keep your trust – any information I share is either researched and confirmed, a personal experience, or is explicitly speculative. By explicitly speculative, I mean that I will let you know I am speculating on something and sharing my opinion. Like I said, I value your readership and trust and I’ll do everything I can to maintain them both.
I understand that some of you may disagree with posting affiliate links and sponsored blog posts, and I also understand that I may lose a couple readers in doing so. However, I want you to know that I don’t take sponsored posts, tweets and affiliate marketing lightly.
Therefore, I’m happy to share my personal policy (and promise) on sponsored blogging, tweeting, and affiliate marketing.
So thank you for your support, comments, and most of all for reading! I hope that this clarifies any questions that you may have, and if it doesn’t, please ask! And while you’re at it, tell me: what are your thoughts on sponsored blogging, tweeting and affiliate marketing?
**UPDATE: Dec. 28, 2009**
I’ve moved my blog disclosure policy itself to it’s very own page because i find it that important. Happy reading!
We all have a special geek in our lives, and during this holiday season, we have an incredible opportunity to show our appreciation for the joy they bring.
Just roll with me here, please?
So over the next week I’m going to share my recommendations for holiday gift ideas for the geeks in your life!
Today, we’re going to start with…
The Essentials!
1. iPhone 3G S
Yep. I will forever plug my favorite product on the planet because it’s basically every mobile gadget I need and more. It’s processing power is incredible, and paired with a simple, beautiful user interface, you have one sexy toy. Sure, you’re stuck with AT&T unless you’re okay with voiding the warranty and risking bricking upon OS update, but Apple’s customer service and the beautiful simplicity and utility of the phone more than compensate. It comes in 16GB and 32GB, both in black and white, with a 3.0 megapixel camera, autofocus capability, built in digital compass, incredible accessibility options, universal search and voice control. For more technical specs, check Apple’s site.
Price Range: $199-$699 (Pending Contract and Memory Capabilities)
2. Droid Eris
I like how Kevin Rose put this: I am Android curious. If I were to recommend any other phone that ISN’T an iPhone, this would be the one. Open source development, a smooth UI, reasonable price point, and not being stuck with AT&T makes this gadget a great addition to any geeks arsenal. On top of that, Google has done an incredible job of integrating their own services. Seamless transfer of your email, calendars and more (if you use Gmail and Google Apps) are a killer selling point on their own.
I actually got to play with one this weekend, and I have to say, though it took a couple minutes to get used to actually using buttons, it was really easy to adjust. You have 7 pages (I think one is defaulted as your speed dial page) and on each page you choose your app to keep open. Yep. It’s already open and ready to go. Nice, right? You don’t have to wait for it to load. Big win, if you ask me. Finally, unlike Motorola’s Droid, the Eris has multi-touch screen (an expected feature at this point) and it’s super lightweight. I played with a Droid as well and I was shocked at how heavy it is – seriously, it’s like a cold metal brick. The Eris is lightweight with a sleek design. It doesn’t have a flash on the camera, but it’s 5.0 megapixels. Pretty nice, right? I’m definitely a fan.
Price Range: $99-$469 (Pending contract)
3. iMac
Ohhhhhhhhmygod. The new iMac..
I need a second- just have to catch my breath here
Ok, we’re good. The new iMac integrates top of the line features such as dual core processing (with available quad core processors), a beautiful Backlit LED Widescreen display, a High Performance Graphics card, and it runs on Snow Leopard. It retains classic iMac features such as the built-in iSight camera (awesome for vlogging and live streaming), a FireWire port, SD card slot and 4 USB ports. Additionally, it’s a green machine, meeting Energy Star standards, and many components are made of recyclable materials. If that isn’t enough, the Magic Mouse (see below) and wireless keyboard come standard, PLUS it’s sleek design makes it a super sexy addition to any office or home.
Finally, I can’t evangelize Apple’s Customer Support enough. Their service reps, Geniuses and everyone else on the floor at the Apple Store are friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. Their technical support is unmatched by ANY computer company – seriously.
Standard features depend on size, but you can load it with a 2 TB harddrive and up to 16 GB’s of memory (again, this depends on the size). You can check Apple.com for more technical specs.
Price Range: $1199-$1999 (Standard Specs)
4. Flip Ultra HD
Beyond easy to use, compact, great battery life, and incredible customer support. Who could ask for anything more?
I have a Flip Mino HD (because I wanted to customize it) and though it’s been put to great use, I have a twinge of regret for jumping the gun on it. The next gens are rumored to include WiFi and YouTube uploading capabilities, BUT as of right now those are rumors.
Price Range: $199-$229
5. Nikon CoolPix S70
A goodie on my wishlist, desirable because I have a thing for touch screens and I’m a little bit over the lack of flash on my iPhone. Nikon’s CoolPix line has a great variety of point & shoots for anyone’s needs. I like the S70 in particular for it’s resolution (12.1 megapixels), large OLED display (3.5 inches) and HD video recording. It also comes in a few different colors (I like Champagne & Beige or Champagne & Light Brown myself… hint hint) and charges via USB. You can find more specs at Nikon’s Coolpix site.
Price Range: $299-399 (Depending on where you buy it)
6. Magic Mouse
The world’s first multi-touch mouse (yet another incredible Apple innovation). To sum it up simply, it’s an ergonomic trackpad, allowing you to click, double click, drag and swipe through pages all from your fingertips alone. It is wireless, connecting via Bluetooth and uses laser tracking, instead of the standard mouse’s optical tracking. It’s incredibly responsive, beautifully sleek, energy efficient and it feels great in the hand.
Price: $69
7. An Awesome Laptop Bag
I had a really really hard time deciding on just one, so here are a few:
Belkin’s Messenger Bag Friendly for both the ladies and gents, this well padded, adjustable strap messenger bag holds up to a 17″ laptop. It’s plush lined, has compartments for the items you use the most, and a removable pouch for your power cable and cords.
Price: $49-$59
UrbanJunket’s T.O.T.E. Laptop Bag Feminine and functional, this bag includes some great organizational features including a removable clutch, laptop compartment, and standard item compartments. My favorite feature? The 2 removable straps that allow you to carry the bag as a messenger bag or as a backpack. It comes in many colors (Ecru, Violet, Indigo, Scarlet, Magenta, Grass, Chocolate, and Black) and it’s built with eco-friendly materials. A win all around!
Incredibly chic and urbane, these handmade bags are built specifically for the size of your laptop. This bag stands out from the crowd with compartments especially for your gadgets and gear and a unique design. Because they are handmade, however, they are very limited in quantity..
Price: $170
8. Blue Microphone’s Snowflake or Yeti
If you do audio recording of any sort, whether it’s podcasting, vlogging, video production or livecasting, a great microphone is absolutely crucial. Blue Microphones are top of the line and at $69-$149, you really can’t go wrong. My 2 choices are both USB mics.
Snowflake:
The basic, classic choice for a single person recording, optimal for podcasting and narration. Snowflake uses a cardioid pattern (basically, it picks up sound from the source directly in front of it, but it won’t pick up as much sound from the sides and rear of the mic).
Price: $69
Yeti:
This mic does everything. You can change the pattern settings to better pick up based on the type of recording you’re trying to make. From solos to full choirs, the Yeti is an incredible choice for recording music, interviews, podcasts, conference calls and more.
What geek do you know that doesn’t love coffee? Give the gift of the highest quality caffeine and share the joy with the monthly coffee tour. There are a few different options, so shop around. My recommendation? The 12 month Classic Tasting Tour ($159). It’s 1 pound per month of Peet’s most popular blends and roasts for an entire year of caffeine-laced love.
Price Range: $41-$299
10. Coffee Warmer
While we’re on coffee.. I actually just got a killer little coffee warmer for $8 (yay Black Friday deals!) at Target. I haven’t been able to find it online, but my secondary recommendation is the Mr. Coffee Beverage Warmer. If it is anything like mine, it is a simple heating plate that keeps your ceramic mug and it’s contents warm for hours. Additionally, if it’s lukewarm, no worries – the plate warms it up beautifully!
Price Range: $9.99-$12.99
So that’s it for the essentials! Stay tuned for my favorite mobile & smartphone accessories, workspace necessities and super fun geek toys.
I’m really excited for Tweetie’s 2.1 update, which was just released the other day. YAY! Now if you don’t know what Tweetie is, it is a Twitter client for the iPhone, available in the App Store for $2.99.
The reasons that I’m really excited about this update are that Atebits has integrated the new RT and list functions, on top of adding a couple of its own little perks.
Retweets
Okay, I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding the new retweet functionality. All opinions aside, I think Tweetie 2.1 has done a lovely job of integrating it with a few awesome features.
•Retweets are dog-eared in bright pink (really- you cant miss it)
•Both the original tweeter and retweeters avatars appear next to the tweet
•The original tweeters username appears alongside the retweeters handle
Sidenote: Don’t you LOVE the irony of @MayhemStudios‘ tweet there? <3
Lists
I happen to really enjoy the new Twitter lists and Tweetie 2.1 integrated them as well.
•The lists you or other users appear on are shown in a drop-down menu on the user’s profile page.
•The lists you follow appear in the ••• menu (the account/extras menu as I like to think of it), below the My Profile, Favorites, and Drafts set.
•You can create new lists and manage the members of your own lists as well.
Page Breaks
One of my favorite things about Tweetie for Mac is that it makes it easy to keep up with a high follow volume by giving users the option of seeing their entire timeline from where they last left off. Tweetie 2.1 also gives this option, but in a different way.
•A page break appears where you last left off, picking up where you are currently reading.
•If you want to read what happened in between those 2 points, tap on the break and it will load that section of your timeline.
And now for some bonuses!
Video & Image Support
Tweetie has added video support! Can I get a “Yayyyy!”?
I’ll give myself a yay. Yayyy!
•They’ve added some great image support services and video support, including Posterous and YFrog for video.
•THEY ADDED POSTEROUS TO VIDEO AND IMAGE SUPPORT! (sorry, I’m a little excited about that one- my Posterous is a little neglected..)
I’m still waiting on Flic.kr and tr.im support (for URL shortening, obviously). However, if I were feeling ambitious, I could API it up and add them in myself. Anywho…
Auto Rotate
I don’t know about you guys, but I happen to like the portrait keyboard/mode. I get a little frustrated when I’m laying down and my screen goes all landscape, because then I have to readjust myself after finally getting comfortable and contort my body to be able to tweet and read and then I can’t find a comfortable position and once I do finally get comfortable again the screen goes landscape.
It’s a vicious cycle.
Fortunately, Tweetie 2.1 caught on to the times and gave users the option of Auto Rotating. WOO!
•Auto Rotate options are Always, on the Compose Screen Only, or Never
•Browser Rotation is a separate option altogether.
Geolocating Support
Yep. You can tell your followers where you are while you tweet.
•A little red pin appears in the corner of your tweet (next to where it’s usually dog-earred)
•Following the pin shows your location on Google maps, but stays within the app.
So those are some highlights of the Tweetie 2.1 updates. If you’re an iPhone user, I’d STRONGLY recommend Tweetie 2 (I promise – it’s worth far beyond $2.99. Really.). If you’re not already using Tweetie or you’re not an iPhone user (and I mean user as a pun- I debated on whether or not to use “iPhone junkie” instead), which mobile app do you use to tweet?
One of my super-mega-awesome teammates took a video of my partner/co-captain and me dancing the first section of our teams routine. He was also kind enough to send it to me. YAY! I’ve seen a video or 2 of myself social dancing, but it’s been a while and I’d like to think I’ve improved significantly since that point. Video really helps with honing in on strengths and weaknesses. It’s one thing to see yourself in a mirror. It’s something completely different to see yourself from a lens. Thus I was really excited to see how my partner and I look, figure out what we’re doing well and what we can do to bring those strengths to the parts that need more work.
SOOOOOOOOoooo with no further ado, here is the video of my partner, Diego, & me dancing salsa section 1 of our routine, choreographed by the incredible Andy Tran.
If you know me, you know I have a bit of a salsa dancing addiction. If you didn’t…
My name is Resa. I have a problem. I dance salsa incessantly.
Fortunately, it’s actually a pretty amazing habit and the only harm I’m doing is on my knees.. and my sleep cycle..
Since I started dancing, though, I’ve learned a few things that transfer to daily life.
1. Live In the Moment
In salsa, you are carrying a conversation with your partner. If you are leading, you are telling your partner where you want her/him to go, what steps to take, and what you’re about to do, while expressing your style and thoughts on the music. If you’re an awesome lead, you’re also expressing your thoughts on your partner.. (wink wink!). If you are following, you are waiting for and responding to these commands while adding your input in the form of styling.
What is unique about these dance floor conversations is they are completely unspoken. These commands are given solely by physical gestures – a lift and push from one hand, a press on one side of the back – and they can vary from person to person. Some leads are forceful, some expect response from the gentlest of gestures. Similarly, some follows provide more tension and may respond faster while others may provide a gentler hold.
Thus in salsa, it is crucial to live in the moment – your presence is absolutely imperative to your partner. If you can’t be there with him/her, you can’t act on the commands he is giving or give her the assurance that your commands won’t land her on the floor or tangled in another couple.
Similarly, the most successful projects you take on are the ones you focus on and live inside of. Think of it this way: if you can crank out a quality product with 15 minutes of dedicated, focused work, why would you waste an distracted hour and a half on a similar but sloppier outcome?
Because that’s time I can clock!
…shut up.
But really, imagine how much more productive you could be by cutting out the world around you and being present in the moment, focused on the task at hand.
2. Observe and Emulate, But Make It Your Own
I learned how to dance salsa by going to clubs. My friend played in the band at the Conga Room at LA Live and I would go with him almost every weekend. I would sit back for a while and just watch what other people were doing. When I was asked to dance, I would dance and try to apply what I had seen.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Now it wasn’t/isn’t a perfect system. However, I have learned a lot about dancing by observation, trial and error. Hell, I learned bachata by watching.
Quick lil sidenote: I used to hate bachata. It always reminded me of the dirty old dudes grinding up on the young girls at quincaneras & weddings & such. Then I tried it with someone who was really good at it… TOTALLY changed my mind. Long story short, BE OPEN MINDED!! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Now the idea here is to use this in real life. How?
Observe those who are successful in your field. What makes them successful? Are their basics/foundations technically sound? What do they do to make the basics and common moves their own?
Now take that and run with it. Keep the basics – they’re called foundations for a reason. They’re universal and everyone you dance with will understand them. Now what do YOU bring to the foundations to make them your own? What makes people remember dancing with YOU?
3. Give People A Chance
Now I’ll throw out a disclaimer here: I don’t intend for this to sound shallow, petty, or derogatory. I’m just calling it as I see it.
That being said…
When going to salsa clubs, being a young, attractive woman, there are a lot of men to choose from. They range in age, size, shape, attractiveness, and there is an INCREDIBLY wide range of experience and skill levels.
I learned early on that one of the best ways to learn new moves, styles and following techniques is to dance with a lot of different people. Sure, you can have a consistent partner, but I like to keep things shaken up. Everyone brings something different to the table – a different dip, a variation on a basic move you may never have tried..
One of my FAVORITE people to dance with is Sexy Martin. Sexy Martin is known, nay infamous, for making every woman he dances with look like a rockstar. Every time I dance with him, I discover something I had NO idea I could do. Seriously. One time, he had me in this crazy dip where my head was inches from the ground, one foot in the air.. I don’t even remember how I was positioned, but it was SO. COOL.
Now consider this thought when you’re working with someone else. Perhaps they’re not going to be a match for your business’ needs, maybe they’re not going to work out as a partner. However, they may be able to bring something to the table that you can learn from and bring to your own business. Be open to other people and their ideas and be VERY careful not to pre-judge. Trust me – people have a tendency to be surprising. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
For a girl, this means missing a lead or tripping up on a move. For a guy, this means getting a lead for the move you’re trying to accomplish wrong.
Now I’m still really new to salsa, so it’s not unusual that I’ll miss a lead. Thus, I’ll play it off and ask to try the move again. I’m still learning, so I want to understand what my partner is trying to tell me. Additionally, each new move is a new addition to my dance vocabulary. Thus, I want to learn everything thrown at me.. or everything I’m thrown into. Same thing for guys – sometimes you need to feel out a new move and mess it up a few times before it’s a piece in your repertoire.
We’ve all made our share of mistakes, be it business, dating, life in general.Neil Patel blogs often about the early mistakes he made in developing his business(es) and the multitude of ways he has learned to grow and develop as an entrepreneur as a result. Screwing things up often shows us one possible way NOT to do something. Trial and error.
When I first started this blog, I was completely new to WordPress and I frankly had NO idea what I was doing with CSS, much less PHP. I broke this site MANY many more times than I’d like to admit. However, each break took me one step closer to understanding what all these seemingly obscure characters meant. Now I’m close to fluent in CSS and I’m comfortable with writing and editing PHP.
I know it’s not necessarily the best way to learn, but it’s certainly one way to learn how to do things BETTER.
So what do you do?
Salsa, to me, is an escape. It is a way to force myself to live one moment at a time while connecting with another human being. Fortunately, the escape is rich in lessons that I can bring back to reality with me.
What have you learned from your favorite pastimes?
I'm a twenty-something online marketing professional, specializing in front end development. I'm also an Apple evangelist, social web enthusiast, salsera/bachatera and Disneyland fanatic. I make geek look good.
