Putting the Pieces Together

fitting the Pieces of your life Together
When I was a child my life was whole.
Everything I did revolved around: my parents, my house, my brothers, and my friends. They all fit nicely together. Then as I grew older pieces of my life started to stand on their own, apart from each other. School became a place that was separate from the rest of my life. My school friends were different than my “home” friends, and the two didn’t mix, except maybe once a year for birthday parties.

As I became a teenager, the things I talked about with my friends became separate from what I talked about with my family. My basketball friends were different than my “hanging out” friends, which were different from my “home” friends.

This type of fragmentation continued and reached a peak when I was in college. I related to people based on how I knew them; work, school, family, friends, church, sports, etc. The contact I had with people, and the way I acted, varied with each group. My life was fragmented, and at times I really didn’t know who I really was. At my core I was a whole person, but the different facets of my life were very different, and sometimes at odds with each other.

After College, I moved to a new state, I had a new life, and I began re-arranging it (sometimes unconsciously) into the things that were important to me. Now that I’m married with children my personal life is on an even keel, family mesh nicely with my friends and and their wives and kids, and my parents, etc.

My professional and “online life” was altogether different. My web presence was divided into my different online activities. In one place I would talk about upcoming public speaking events, in another I would write about gluten free news, another graphic design, and just about anywhere else I would be discussing internet marketing or social media. We all wear different “hats” throughout the day, but in order to simplify my professional life, and my online activities I created this website that allows me to put the pieces back together.

Podcasting is Here (Again)

podcasting

Lately I’ve been thinking more about podcasts. To many, the “Golden Age of Podcasting” came years ago when iTunes became a household word.

The cool kids loaded up their ipods and off they went.
“What’s the difference today?” you ask. The difference is that not just the cool kids have the devices to play podcasts anymore, it’s the majority of Americans.

Not only that, unlike with the old iPods, streaming media allows us to hit play on virtually any podcast, at anytime. Just as long as your smartphone has a 3g or 4G connection.

Not impressed? don’t have time to listen to podcasts?
Not so fast, I didn’t say you had to listen to them.
What you should know about podcasts is that in 2012, 29% of Americans have listened to a podcast. That’s nearly 1/3 of all people!

Chances are that some of your audience is among those people.
Podcasting is an excellent form of content marketing, another chance to get the valuable attention of your audience.

And if you haven’t heard, Apple will soon be taking podcasts out of iTunes (where it’s sometimes hard to find) and moving them to it’s own stand-alone App.
This move should give podcasting an extra boost.
So if you’ve ever considered starting a podcast, now may be a good time to put your plan in motion.

Here are a few helpful links about podcasting:
How to start a podcast

Easy to use, Podcast publishing tool

How to get your podcast listed on iTunes

10 Podcasts That Will Feed Your Brain

 

The Online Brand Camp is a Podcast that I started with two friends in 2011, you can find and listen to episodes here.

Contact Jeff

Get in touch with Jeff