Ha! I didn’t get a face lift. . there are days where I do look in the mirror and wished I could get on though.

Anyway. . if you’ve seen my ole’ site it was kind of generic and old. Well I didn’t really spend time updating the site. I just post to it and added buttons to the side column.

Updating your site (if you have one) has a snowball effect . . you change one thing and then another. . and another. . and finally 6hrs went by and you’re sitting there frustrated because there’s still more to do. That’s when I decided to hire a little help. Two heads are better than one – plus if you hire someone that does it for a living, they’ll do it faster in less time. And you can do something that you’re good at like. . . sewing ha!

Anyway I hired Mint 102 – Sara and Angela gave my blog a cleaner, fresher look!

“Mint 102 is an event branding company. We take your event and make it into an unforgettable brand. From the logo to the website, we help you make an impression on your guests that will last a lifetime. Whether you are planning a wedding, baby shower, charity event or birthday party we work with you to make sure all of your collateral is consistent and impressive”

I started with a theme from StudioPress. . and was playing around with html. I found that StudioPress was user friendly and if I didn’t know the answer I could google it easily. But I still needed help because spending 6hrs on my blog on a Sunday blew chunks.

StudioPress + Mint 102 + me = Blog face lift

Before (just me. . )

After:

Huge difference right? Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from it. . and it’s makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy that it’s better. . sad that I made ya’ll look at a crappy layout for so long.

Mint 102  would like to giveaway some of the cute icons and help one of my reader with a small face lift on their icons. If you want a chance to win, leave a comment tell me what’s one thing you change in your surroundings be it blog related, home, or work.  Change is good right?

11.08.12 Winner is Lindsay!

I didn’t realize how much Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day would make my comments blow up. . . ending total 478.

Currently, I’m eating my breakfast and working on finding the winner – you should see it Friday morning.

(I think I’m falling in love with Pineapple. . . it’s just sooo yummy)

Did you miss out on the giveaway and you want more??? Maybe I’ll do another one next month. . .

I have a huge conflict with giveaways. . I think it’s great for getting readers, but my blog is kind of pathetic. Do I really want other people to read my weekly ramblings? Don’t get me wrong, I love all the comments and reading them but. . . if I get more readers that means I have to post more. . and produce more. . . more. . more. . more. . . Also my blog isn’t purely sewing (even though my last couple posts were all sewing all the time).

Very conflicted.

Well the modern quilt guild has put me in charge of talking about the in n’ outs of Social Networking.

What is social networking?

It’s website where you can connect with other people.

Why would someone want to social network?

In general, a person wants to connect with friends and family and keep them updated on what’s going on in their life.

Drawback?
*It’s just another thing to keep up with. . . besides chores, bills, family, dishes, laundry – oh wait I mention chores.

What are some of sites you can use to social network?
(Keep in mind use a site if you’re getting something back – basically is it worth it)

Blogs! Yes, a blog is a social network – it’s a modern day public diary. You can write stuff and post entries daily basis. New post show up at the top and visitors can read and comment on what’s posted.

There’s two main sources where you can start a blog – 1. Blogger 2. WordPress

What’s the difference?
The main difference is on wordpress you have to own a domain (web address).

Which one to go with?
Go with whatever works for you – blogger is super user friendly and easy to start.

Want more readers? Here’s some tips and tricks. . .
*Post often! A blog dies in readership when the blogger posts like once every 6mos. True there are some die hard fans that will stick around, but people like to see new info regardless if it’s daily or weekly.
*Advertise your blog! Use flickr, facebook, twitter, and other popular sites. Link it up!!!

Good Practices for bloggers (my suggestions here!)
*Comments! That’s right, you feel the love when you see comments but what about you? Do you comment on other peoples blogs? It takes a lot more work to comment but think about how far it goes for the author when you post a comment on their work. I bet, it makes their day. . .
*Support local! That’s right – we have such a huge community of craftiers, link up their blog and follow them. And when you see them at the next meeting, it’s that much easier to be friends since you’ve commented back n’ forth online.
*Sitemeter. Yes if you think you’re alone and no one’s paying your blog any attention – add a sitemeter. You’ll be surprised at how many hits you get a day.

Facebook! Facebook is a social utility that helps you connect with pretty much anyone you’ve come in contact with that you know their name. Grade school, high school, friends, family, even the neighborhood dog!

I use a application that posts my blog entries to my wall when I post – it’s called NetworkedBlogs, you can do a search on it when you’re in facebook. It’s super easy to install.

Flickr! Facebook minus everything except the pictures. When you start a flickr account, you can find friends via email addresses. So whoever you list as a contact – they can see what pictures you’ve upload. Also you can set permission to your pictures, so only certain groups can see it.

Just like blogs and facebook – people can comment or add notes(tagging) on your pictures.

Want more comments? Here’s some tips and tricks. . .
*How many contacts do you have? I’m not saying the more contacts you have the more comment you have. . . but if you only have 5 contacts then you won’t have that many comments/notes
*Add your pictures to the appropriate group
*Same applies as blogs as to your pictures – advertise and they will come!

Twitter! It’s like a miniature blog/or facebook minus everything but the status updates. Tweets can only be in 140 characters. Tweets can go to mobile devices too! If you dont tweet that’s okay – you can have access to other people’s tweets and just be a reader.

So there you have it. . . the skinny on social networking. If you’re at tonight’s meeting, I’m hoping to dive into each section with more tips n’ tricks.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions??? I’ll be here all week!

If you haven’t noticed. . . I’ve been busy working at update the blog layout. Stay tuned.

I won’t let the blog die. . . I’ve been writing in this blog for years. . . to give it up just cause my life is busy or another fancy, pants, networking site comes along isn’t cool.

I have a feeling that facebook & twitter will kill my blog. . . .