WomensLearningStudio

Next to last page has good graphic of pd model they are using.

I am collecting models of professional development processes as research for our about us process re-design

Tips for having an about us page that really gets people interested in doing business with you.

Focus on facts, figures, accomplishments. "Forget what you do. Customers don't care about what you do; they care about what they receive: solutions and benefits."

The Bog Tyrant's take on 12 of the Best About Us pages on the internet, and why he likes each of them.

Interesting blog by a blogger who has successfully blogged his way into making a living and sharing how to market your blog.

Susan Greene, a freelance writer and editor of web sites and articles, describes how creating a personal connection with potential customers is crucial on your About Us page. Tell stories, connect with visitors, be creative.

Another About Us page article

Bryan Eisenberg's blog about the About Us page and what to make sure is included in it. Interestingly, he doesn't seem to follow his own advice on his own About Us page!

Another About Us page resource

video by Clay Johnson on how our reactions to email (email apnea, heart rate, etc.) affect us and how we get trapped into our own bubbles ("minor media outlets" give us more and more of what we show interest in). Consume deliberately, information over affirmation. Be really conscious--Rescue.com--to study internet use to reflect and insert some diversity Go local--what's happening in your house, neighborhood, than national preoccupations Clicks have consequences--for yourself, other people when you read, you vote for it Go for source information, not package info-if you don't have literacy how to get over hurdle. Digital literacy is the future of literacy itself. Getting closer to source material--stay with mostly local news case for conscious consumption

Video by Clay Johnson on import of health information diet, big think website. April 24, 2013. Rescuetime.com--measures your intake of info on computer--makes you a more conscious consumer, how much time spending on email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Loves samebox.com--for pay subscription service--advanced spam filter, only puts important messages before you, emails you a digest at the end of every day of everything else Trying to live an ad free lifestyle--just as expensive as paying for content. ex--Domino's pizza commercial convinces you to buy pizza instead of making dinner. Use ad block on firefox and chrome to reduce exposure to ads. Cut cable to stop exposure to TV advertisements--"makes for weird bar conversations sometimes"

video (18 minutes) by Clay Johnson, February 2012, hyping his book The Information Diet. Goes to food analogies again and again--pizza tastes better than broccoli--and abundance of entertainment, affirmation, and fear is secret pact between customer and media producers online. What is it that people want? What we tell them through our clicks and searches is that we want to be right acc: to Johnson. AP story--poll economic worries pose new snag for Obama. On Fox news, it says that Obama has big problem with white women. They changed headline and reduced story by 600 words, taking out everything positive about his work. They know that readers will read something negative about president. "Opinion tastes better than news." How AOL should make its editorial decisions--they want to spend no more than $84 on a piece of content. How they decide: traffic potential (using SEO to find out what people are searching for--no one is searching for Pentagon Papers or broccoli); bottom of list is editorial integrity because it is market inefficiency. Believes that we are living in land of info abundance where we want to be affirmed, not told the truth. SEOs complete the inquiry to present tabloid types of info that attract us and distract us and misinform us. Our clicks lead to poor information diets, a disease. Make a whole news movement, a slow news movement, demand that media change. We as readers need to upgrade. information over-consumption, not overload enable infoveganism--eat food, not too much, real food at bottom of food chain. 2. Use source material--show your work. 3. Let me pay you for ad free experience. 4. Content is not a commodity (for news producers)

blog by Clay Johnson on Lifehacker, 2.23.12, on starting every day as a producer of information, not as a consumer. Excerpt: "The production of information is critical to a healthy information diet. It's the thing that makes it so that your information consumption has purpose. I cannot think of more important advice to give anyone: start your day with a producer mindset, not a consumer mindset. If you begin your day checking the news, checking your email, and checking your notifications, you've launched yourself into a day of grazing a mindless consumption. Starting your day as a producer means that your information consumption has meaning: the rest of the day means consuming information that is relevant to what it is that you're producing. Waking up as a producer frames the rest of your habits. You're not mindlessly grazing on everyone's facebook's statuses. You're out getting what it is you need to get in order to produce. Waking up as a producer is procrastination insurance. But there's something else that being a producer does: it gives you more clarity about what it is that you think."

blog post by Clay Johnson, Information Diet author, Lifehacker, Excerpt: "First, let's define notification. In the context of our discussion, a notification is something that comes from a service that the service deems worthy of your attention: The scarlet box at the top of every Google page notifying you of things happening in Google+. The messages you get from Twitter telling you that you have a new message. The email icon that shows up in your system tray telling you that you have a new email. Facebook letting you know what you're missing out on Facebook. Your sister's latest move in Words with Friends." Besides being disrespectful to your attention, notifications like this do something else that's much more nefarious: they train you to be a passive consumer of information rather than an active one. If we don't control the notifications we're receiving, we're forced to react to them: from Google's big red box, to Living Social's notification for a deal on backwaxing." Besides being disrespectful to your attention, notifications like this do something else that's much more nefarious: they train you to be a passive consumer of information rather than an active one. If we don't control the notifications we're receiving, we're forced to react to them: from Google's big red box, to Living Social's notification for a deal on backwaxing."

Great list of tools to cut down on the arrival of distracting emails in your inbox, The Information Diet website, Clay Johnson

How to hack an RSS feed to reduce overload by Dawn Foster, Gigaom, 3.25.2011.

In research on CoA communities, went to NYC CoA to see what they offered and ran across the most active site so far. See excerpt below for rebooting your life offered by The Transition Network, which I think is the women's group that Lisa knows. Is relevant to WLS. See book title on Reboot your life, Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break in excerpt below. "REBOOT YOUR LIFE - A special workshop on taking a break and making the most of it Are you feeling: Disengaged and too tired to figure out how to change that? A yearning for an adventure, or extended travel to recharge your batteries? A need for time to heal your heart and/or body? Or to get on the path to wellness? Like you need to plan for your "retired" chapter or already retired and wanting a more fulfilling life? Two of the co-authors, Rita Foley and Jaye Smith, will share important and useful insights gained from their four years of research, interviewing over 300 individuals and 50 organizations for their book, Reboot Your Life, Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break and from their workshops. With both discussion and fun exercises the authors will cover important topics such as : Overcoming emotional hurdles to taking time off work Turning job loss into an "unexpected sabbatical" Managing and planning for the stages of your Reboot Break Pre- retirement planning Deflecting robbers of your time What can I do next? Living a life of balance and passion Reboot Partners workshops, book and talks have been featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and on Martha Stewart radio, Oprah's OWN Network, and WPIX New York."

Second story by Eric Nelson offers good reasons for volunteering during transitions to build relationships, references, reach clarity on new directions, etc. January 29, 2013.

Experience Matters Arizona has interesting self discovery exercise and graphic to complete on Ideas, Motivations, Skills and Interests, Dreams, Financial Insights, and Values.

Blog post by Kerry Hannon, November 7, 2012, Next Avenue--where grown-ups keep growing, a PBS sponsored site. Raises issues that WLS is concerned with. 3 Tips 1. Set up a free LinkedIn account. Create a winning LinkedIn profile. 2. Open a Twitter account. "Follow people or companies who interest you and ones you might want to interview for someday." 3. Share, ask, and engage. "Identify an online community of 'thought leaders' who discuss your field...

Blog post by Carol Ross, May 21, 2012, Next Avenue PBS, on how to present your "unique promise of value" (William Arruda) on your calling card. Showcase your brand on LinkedIn. Tips: Post a (good) photo with your profile Put the summary section to optimum use --brand story--compelling statement of your distinctive value, a backstory that explains how you go to be so good at what you do, and an aspirational statement. Make your Specialties Section special Align your experience section with your summary section Be choosy about your recommendations Guidelines to develop your brand story--be introspective, gather feedback, identify a theme, describe formative moments in your life.

Interesting and vast website, Next Avenue, sponsored by PBS, that has loads of resources under Technology, Reinvention & Inspiration, Style, Travel, Arts & Entertainment, Passions & Pursuits, etc. Relevant to WLS.

Very nice poster/advertisement from University of Phoenix on top ten skills for successful 21st century worker. Note emphasis on leadership, communication, global citizenship, entrepreneurialism, and accessing, analyzing and synthesizing information

guest blog by Zoe Madden-Wood on creating a healthy and energized network around a particular issue, with lessons learned in her initial efforts to grow her network. She mentions June Holley's Network Weavers Handbook, which has a great checklist to help you grow your network by weaving connections.

Network weaving is a nice term for creating and growing a network. Although concentrating on organizational networks, there are good steps for anyone.