Friday Favourites from Mick Sharpe Crême de la crême HOAs for the past week.

Friday Favourites from Mick Sharpe Crême de la crême HOAs for the past week.
I've been busy this week. I definitely have some catch up viewing in store.
It's still Friday here in Oregon. :)
#hoa   #hoashows  

Originally shared by Mick Sharpe

For the love of coffee

I had hoped that things would be a little quieter this week but not so. Who needs sleep anyway? Plenty of coffee and a few matchsticks for the eyelids got me through most of this week’s cracking content.

In last week’s post I mentioned the new series from Lisa Engles looking at The True Value of Return on Engagement. I had high hopes for the remaining three episodes and I’m happy to say those hopes became reality. The second show Using G+ For Your ROE Strategy (http://goo.gl/4flWob) featured Yifat Cohen looking at the disconnect between the old style push advertising and the ask your friends reality of the buying process. Yifat and Lisa give an excellent overview of current good practices and opportunities using G+.

In show 3: Authentic Engagement (http://goo.gl/ra5Mzr) Lisa talks with queen of the hashtags, Mia Voss about being yourself (except when you can be Khaleesi!) and perhaps more importantly finding the place where you’re comfortable being yourself when you engage. Mia shows what can be achieved once you find your voice and live in your own light. Remember no one can be a better you than you!

Denise Wakeman helps wrap up the mini-series in The Art and Science Of Monetizing Your Engagement (http://goo.gl/J5x73Y). It certainly is an important topic for all businesses and Denise does an excellent job of guiding us through the opportunities, helping us break through the barriers and avoid the pitfalls. This has been a great exploration of the changes in marketing and advertising and getting the most out of your engagement. Well done to all involved.

In the Magic Reading Room

Azlin Bloor alerted me to this innovative HOA from BIG FUN Education and I’m glad she did. In Thinking Outside the Book: Let’s Roar with K-3 (http://goo.gl/lV3jQi)  Annabelle Howard introduces UK Artist and Author Paul Stickland to school children in Hawaii and Argentina. Paul reads through the book Dinosaur Roar and then talks with the children about how it came together and answers their questions. Great to see this kind of global engagement with the youngsters. Top marks all round.

Double Espresso anyone?

Get your caffeine fix in the latest #TNTBootcamp (http://goo.gl/aPIqGh) as special guest Ana Hoffman joins Christine DeGraff and Ronnie Bincer for a detailed discussion of the tools and techniques that Ana uses, to great effect, to generate free traffic to her website. Ana certainly knows the things that work to bring in traffic and what’s even more impressive is that Ana has achieved this success in spite of a Google penalty. This one is a no brainer if you are looking to make the most of your blog. Get some coffee and enjoy.

It seems like an eternity since the last Paradigm Shift so I was very pleased to see its return this week. Alexandra Riecke-Gonzales and David Amerland answer the question Are we all just Narrators Writing Reality? (http://goo.gl/6fr3BG) Everybody loves telling a good story and Alex and David demonstrates why narratives are essential for business. So many good points in this show that I just find myself having a bout of nodding dog syndrome. It’s a #monthlymust for me. Always draws in some great questions from the audience and take a look Kristin Drysdale’s comment narrative Narratively Naive: The Rising of the Plusheart. Oh and for the oldies out there Alex wants to know about the 1980s - anyone for Mullets?

Safety first

Always a fan of information for the lay person I was impressed with this new show from Black Lotus. Episode 1 of DDoS and Cybersecurity Power Talk, hosted by the inimitable Mia Voss has MaAnna Stephenson looking at the ongoing Distributed Denial of Service attacks and some of things site owners should be thinking about to protect themselves. Some really good points about forgotten sites, strong passwords (never repeated for other logins!) and getting in a professional. Good to see this kind of advice brought to the masses.

We all know how important circles are for controlling the content of our stream and keeping track of your growing relationships with other Plussers. Managing your circles is essential, but often time-consuming, so any short cuts are welcome. Christine DeGraff gives us an excellent overview of Circloscope in Denise Wakeman’s How to grow an active, engaged following on Google Plus - An introduction to Circloscope (http://goo.gl/0dX0uP). Christine shares the story of the meteoric rise of Bandit in an experiment to demonstrate that you don’t need a massive following to get some great engagement. Circloscope was instrumental in the process and Christine shows how you can apply the same to your own audience building efforts. I couldn’t do without Circloscope and if you’re committed to being here for the long term, you’ll find it invaluable too. I particularly liked the blacklist demonstration that enables you to avoid the uncircle/circle merry-go-round that can annoy the recipient with notifications.

By the power of Greyskull

Wade Harman stands up for The Underdog (http://goo.gl/NARL9f) and throws in a little He-Man for good measure. You can see by the comments and reshares that this post resonated strongly with many. Do take the time to click through and read the full blog article. I particularly liked this line from the article As long as you are thinking of your followers, whether 5 or 5 million, you will never be considered the underdog by them. Serve your audience is always good advice. Nice job Wade.

Thinkers corner

Drawing on the Bandit experiment Nicholas Cardot asks us What is the real measure of influence? (http://goo.gl/9bCh6q) There are some fine thoughts raised in the post and the ensuing comments. I would also recommend the comments on Christine DeGraff’s share (http://goo.gl/LnA8rd)

I come back to Colin Walker’s #write365 project for this next post. Colin has excelled in this project to share his thoughts every day inspired by various aspects of the online world. Globalisation (http://goo.gl/ZnARNO) reminds us of the opportunities for connection with people far too remote to visit under normal circumstances. I always enjoy Colin’s live thoughts set out in virtual print. I’m sure you will too.

Bruce Marko has been firing on all cylinders recently and Bridges of Fire (http://goo.gl/f6tZSq) is a prime example of #MarkoKoolAid. An inspirational piece of hope and resolve. It does take some effort to keep moving forward as door close or bridges burn in front of you. When next faced with that situation I’m sure to recall this post, shake off the doubt and set to the next obstacle in my way.

And finally…

Dance seems to be the theme of the week in these two videos. The first surfaced by Denis Labelle yesterday is from Justine Rivero Now they've gone and done it… (http://goo.gl/EF2Cm6). I’m still trying to get the tune out of my head but hey...who doesn’t love Lego?

The second, via martin shervington is from Peggy K Only the power of dance can stop jaywalkers in their tracks... (http://goo.gl/ClaTDR) shows how a little innovative thinking can make a difference to pedestrian safety. Dance on everyone!


Have a great weekend wherever you are

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Created by Mick Sharpe of Bitingedge