In the opinion of some people, if a writer uses their talent to blog for a living, they're disingenuous, dishonest, and untrustworthy.

I recently read someone who I hold in high esteem say that they'll unfollow a person who is paid to blog because they can't trust that person anymore. I could have let that comment get to me but I didn't. You see, I am...

Some of the most popular methods of internet advertising to develop in recent years are the many aspects of social media. Networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are more than just places for family and friends to connect, they've become places for businesses to hock their wares and for corporations to push their brands. Blogger, Wordpress, and Squidoo are just a few spots where you can create free web pages and blog about your life or what you're selling.

Yet, social media is not rea...

This article appeared in the June issue of Saathee Magazine

Last month's edition of Saathee featured a terrific article introducing you to Twitter, by Gail Martin of DreamSpinner Communications.   She explained the 140 character system conveying ideas called, "Tweets" and gave some great advice on using Twitter to increase your business's visibility. 

Twitter can be a valuable tool to generate traffic to your business's website and raise the number of hits you receive on a regular ba...

I used to work for a radio station, where I produced and sometimes hosted a show that highlighted new music from established artists and music from artists trying to break into the industry. They could be on independent labels or large labels, it didn't matter. The show was even called, The New Music and Indie Label Show. Not an overly creative title, but it got the point of what the show was about across well enough.

My job was to go through the hundreds of packages from bands and agencies ...

There is a mistake among writers on the internet that I see all too often. When I come across the error, I stop reading, re-read the sentence, look for the author's name and credentials, go back to what I've been reading and often don't finish the article. This one little mistake has taken away enough credibility (in my eyes), that I no longer want to hear what the writer has to say. I'm not saying I never finish reading, I'm saying that sometimes I don't.

Here's an example of the mistake th...

Writing a paper involves reading. A great deal of reading. In fact, writing is all about reading. A writer who doesn't read is usually not a very good writer. By reading, we learn how to write better. We can appreciate the beauty of another author's words on the page as they describe the human condition. So often we writers are Empaths, soaking in the world's emotion. We reflect everything that everyone around us is feeling, by taking it to the page. When someone else writes a really great li...

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Internet Killed the Newspaper Star

As a writer and journalist, one might think that when the day came, that the newspaper died, I would personally, take it very painfully. As an idealistic kid, I used to think I'd grow up to be a double or triple-column, half-page writer in some major newspaper…naturally, I'd also be writing the great American Novel, Oscar winning screenplays, and directing all of my own films. 

Twenty years ago, we didn't see it coming. The fact that t...

Today's social media world has nurtured a landscape in which a level of camaraderie develops online that normally wouldn't be felt in person. Often, a person's identity and information is available because of their business and their desire to gain new clientele. But, when is too much information – too much? When you're writing about being in the airport on Twitter, the world suddenly knows you're not at home. If any of the "pals" you've made along the way know you're single, live alone, an...