I've recently had my eyes opened to a local Facebook yard sale site.
It has, quite simply, changed my life.
I now get to drive to the usual meet-up spot (the parking lot of an old Blockbuster, known in the group as BB) several times a week to make my exchanges.
I buy, I sell, I pass judgement.
Can you believe she didn't so much as wipe the crumbs out of the bottom of this??
Can you believe she would show up without exact change?
Five minutes late? Really? Who does she think she is?
This thing is rapidly growing in popularity. I believe the moderator recently mentioned it is now over 4.000 members. There are sometimes dozens of cars in the lot, hastily coming and going.
To those not in the know, I'm sure the whole thing looks pretty shady. Like there has been an explosion in drug-dealing in the mini-van set.
We sit in our cars, glancing anxiously around for our anticipated exchange partner.
Will she show??
Is that a silver Rav 4? Damn, it's an Escape.
Checking Facebook messages, jotting things down in our little notebooks.
When we spot the vehicle we've been waiting for, we get out and look around surreptitiously, then hold the item up to the window. A nod. Money changes hands and the coveted item is handed over.
Psst! I've got a Longaberger. $10.
Yankee Candles, over here. Get 'em while they last.
Vera Bradley! I've got Vera Bradley!
And we're a very anachronistic group. Yeah, we've got our own lingo. Like:
NWT, EUC, SFPF, BB, NIB, GUC, ISO, BUMP, PM, OOS, PPU.
SFPF stands for Smoke Free Pet Free Home.
I've not used that one, myself. Though I have been tempted to describe my items as coming from a WHPBTDS home. That's: We Have Pets But They Don't Smoke.
I'm thinking not many people would intuitively get that acronym.
The group has a moderator, which you can think of as a hall monitor. She makes sure folks aren't posting homemade items, pets, or inappropriate stuff. The other day someone posted a picture of a racy t-shirt. It had swear words on it. The horror! No sooner did the seller write GUC from a SFPF home, then two or three people put the moderator's name in the comments, so she would come investigate. I can just picture these ladies wearing pigtails and shirts buttoned to the neck, shooting their hands high in the air and yelling, "Teacher!!"
After all, you just can't DO a thing like that on this site. Racy t-shirt seller was the equivalent of a burned out meth head with rotting teeth, and the rest of us are all respectable medical marijuana dealers, and the two just aren't meant to mix.
I'd write more, but I've got a meet up at BB scheduled, so I've got to scoot. I'm scoring a storage ottoman and selling a Bananagram with a busted zipper.
**********************************
Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.
Top Mommy Blogs - Click To Vote!
Thanks!
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Class Reunion
I’m celebrating something today.
A reunion.
And while my high school reunion IS fast approaching, that’s not the one I’m referring to.
I’m talking about the April 2012 MNINB Platform Challenge Reunion.
I know, it’s a mouthful. I’ll break it down…
April 2012: A year ago.
MNINB: My Name is Not Bob. The name of the blog of Robert Lee Brewer (whose name is not Bob). That’s Robert Lee Brewer of Writer’s Digest fame, for any non-writerly folk out there. He’s a writerly-type extraordinaire, and he had the grand idea to put his knowledge out there for folks like me.
Platform: This is what you want if you’re a writer that hopes to be published. Why? I don’t know, but all the agents whine platform, platform, platform All. The. Time. Apparently you need it, and size matters. As in, they want to see a lot of followers and lots of traffic and a large presence in all the sundry social media venues.
Challenge: Because I’m challenged.
Reunion: The folks who went through the challenge formed a bit of a band. A family. And it’s extremely cool. At first, we were calling ourselves the Not Bobbers, but now we’re all grown up and we go by Wordsmith Studio. Isn’t that the bomb? We have our own blog and a badge and everything.
See?
Anyway, we realized that we had all learned so much during the platform challenge and then in the ensuing year, and we said, “Wordsmithers? We should have a reunion of sorts so we can all reflect on how we’ve grown and what we’ve learned.”
Only it was going to be way better than a real reunion because nobody would be talking about how much weight the prom queen had gained or how pot-bellied and balding the varsity quarterback had gotten or how Mr. Most Likely to Succeed was still living with his mother 30 years later.
Each of us that wanted to attend the reunion had only to sign up for a date in April and write up a piece about all that reflection and growth.
And so this is mine.
From the challenge, I learned that it’s not enough to say “If I build it, they will come.” Not in this digital age, anyway. You have to build it, and commit to adding to it, and sharing it, and engaging with others till you become that cool party house that everyone wanted to hang out at. You know, the one with the laid back parents and plenty of chips.
And I’ve learned that a lot of this process is fun, but some of it is tedious and downright hard. With this reunion, it’s time to look back at what I was taught, and figure out what I learned and what I still use. Just like those school subjects so many years ago.
For example, Twitter and Google+ and Linked In and SEO? That was math for me. I learned it, but it’s not easy for me and I don’t enjoy it. I know how to use the basics enough to get by, but you’ll never catch me dabbling in it just for fun.
Facebook and Blog Hops and Guest Posting and editorial calendars? That’s my English. A bit dry and dreary at times, but it comes easy and I kind of enjoy it.
Pinterest? Art class! It’s fun and it’s easy and I love it.
Creating blog posts and reading comments and checking my stats? Those are the after school activities that I do because I choose to do them, not because the state mandates that I take the class.
Of course, there are a few areas I need improvement in, and I need to work on those skills. Kind of like taking an adult education class at the local community college. For example, I suck at engagement, so I really need to beef up my skills there. It’s partly a time issue, but I know I can’t blame it entirely on that. And I need to find a way to allow readers to follow me by email. I tried to put an email-following widget in my sidebar once, but I failed. I need to retake that class. Summer school?
Clearly, I learned plenty during the challenge, even if it wasn’t all fun. But where did it get me? Am I more successful now as a writer than I was in March 2012? I’d say yes, I am. When I look back at where I was in terms of platform before the challenge compared to now, I can see an enormous change. My blog followers have grown from numbering in the teens to over 500. My monthly page views have grown from about 4,000 to five times that amount. I have a healthy following on Twitter and Pinterest, and a Facebook fan page that’s none too shabby. Besides the increase in traffic and followers, my “searchability” has improved tremendously, I’ve received a few awards, and I’ve had essays published in magazines as well as in several books. I’ve been interviewed a number of times, and I receive queries for guest post submissions and advertisers on a daily basis. So yeah. HUGE difference for me.
Besides reflecting back at what you’ve learned and how far you’ve come when you’re at a reunion, you also apply that to your classmates. Where are they now? So I ask, what of my fellow “students” from this graduating class? Well, I am nothing short of amazed. When I think of their collective creative genius, their fortitude, and their leadership skills, I am blown away. The Wordsmithers is an organized and efficient group, with a board of directors, committee members, and an ambitious yet grounded vision. They are intelligent, supportive, inquisitive, and talented, and I am humbled and honored to be a part of this incredible group. What’s that expression about sisters? Chance made us sisters, choice made us friends. That can be applied quite neatly to the Wordsmithers, as well.
So now, drink in hand, I stand at the corner of the room and look out at my Wordsmith classmates, drinking, laughing, dancing under the lights at our reunion. We all went through it together, and we all emerged knowing more. We each took away something a little different, perhaps, yet this common thread has been woven into a rich and beautiful tapestry.
Here, hold my drink. I want to go dance….
************
Read it.
Like it?
Follow it.
Please?
Thanks.
(Follow my blog by adding yourself as a follower with Google Friends Connect in my sidebar!)
***************************
Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.
Thanks!
***************
Rudeness disclaimer:
I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.
A reunion.
And while my high school reunion IS fast approaching, that’s not the one I’m referring to.
I’m talking about the April 2012 MNINB Platform Challenge Reunion.
I know, it’s a mouthful. I’ll break it down…
April 2012: A year ago.
MNINB: My Name is Not Bob. The name of the blog of Robert Lee Brewer (whose name is not Bob). That’s Robert Lee Brewer of Writer’s Digest fame, for any non-writerly folk out there. He’s a writerly-type extraordinaire, and he had the grand idea to put his knowledge out there for folks like me.
Platform: This is what you want if you’re a writer that hopes to be published. Why? I don’t know, but all the agents whine platform, platform, platform All. The. Time. Apparently you need it, and size matters. As in, they want to see a lot of followers and lots of traffic and a large presence in all the sundry social media venues.
Challenge: Because I’m challenged.
Reunion: The folks who went through the challenge formed a bit of a band. A family. And it’s extremely cool. At first, we were calling ourselves the Not Bobbers, but now we’re all grown up and we go by Wordsmith Studio. Isn’t that the bomb? We have our own blog and a badge and everything.
See?
Anyway, we realized that we had all learned so much during the platform challenge and then in the ensuing year, and we said, “Wordsmithers? We should have a reunion of sorts so we can all reflect on how we’ve grown and what we’ve learned.”
Only it was going to be way better than a real reunion because nobody would be talking about how much weight the prom queen had gained or how pot-bellied and balding the varsity quarterback had gotten or how Mr. Most Likely to Succeed was still living with his mother 30 years later.
Each of us that wanted to attend the reunion had only to sign up for a date in April and write up a piece about all that reflection and growth.
And so this is mine.
From the challenge, I learned that it’s not enough to say “If I build it, they will come.” Not in this digital age, anyway. You have to build it, and commit to adding to it, and sharing it, and engaging with others till you become that cool party house that everyone wanted to hang out at. You know, the one with the laid back parents and plenty of chips.
And I’ve learned that a lot of this process is fun, but some of it is tedious and downright hard. With this reunion, it’s time to look back at what I was taught, and figure out what I learned and what I still use. Just like those school subjects so many years ago.
For example, Twitter and Google+ and Linked In and SEO? That was math for me. I learned it, but it’s not easy for me and I don’t enjoy it. I know how to use the basics enough to get by, but you’ll never catch me dabbling in it just for fun.
Facebook and Blog Hops and Guest Posting and editorial calendars? That’s my English. A bit dry and dreary at times, but it comes easy and I kind of enjoy it.
Pinterest? Art class! It’s fun and it’s easy and I love it.
Creating blog posts and reading comments and checking my stats? Those are the after school activities that I do because I choose to do them, not because the state mandates that I take the class.
Of course, there are a few areas I need improvement in, and I need to work on those skills. Kind of like taking an adult education class at the local community college. For example, I suck at engagement, so I really need to beef up my skills there. It’s partly a time issue, but I know I can’t blame it entirely on that. And I need to find a way to allow readers to follow me by email. I tried to put an email-following widget in my sidebar once, but I failed. I need to retake that class. Summer school?
Clearly, I learned plenty during the challenge, even if it wasn’t all fun. But where did it get me? Am I more successful now as a writer than I was in March 2012? I’d say yes, I am. When I look back at where I was in terms of platform before the challenge compared to now, I can see an enormous change. My blog followers have grown from numbering in the teens to over 500. My monthly page views have grown from about 4,000 to five times that amount. I have a healthy following on Twitter and Pinterest, and a Facebook fan page that’s none too shabby. Besides the increase in traffic and followers, my “searchability” has improved tremendously, I’ve received a few awards, and I’ve had essays published in magazines as well as in several books. I’ve been interviewed a number of times, and I receive queries for guest post submissions and advertisers on a daily basis. So yeah. HUGE difference for me.
Besides reflecting back at what you’ve learned and how far you’ve come when you’re at a reunion, you also apply that to your classmates. Where are they now? So I ask, what of my fellow “students” from this graduating class? Well, I am nothing short of amazed. When I think of their collective creative genius, their fortitude, and their leadership skills, I am blown away. The Wordsmithers is an organized and efficient group, with a board of directors, committee members, and an ambitious yet grounded vision. They are intelligent, supportive, inquisitive, and talented, and I am humbled and honored to be a part of this incredible group. What’s that expression about sisters? Chance made us sisters, choice made us friends. That can be applied quite neatly to the Wordsmithers, as well.
So now, drink in hand, I stand at the corner of the room and look out at my Wordsmith classmates, drinking, laughing, dancing under the lights at our reunion. We all went through it together, and we all emerged knowing more. We each took away something a little different, perhaps, yet this common thread has been woven into a rich and beautiful tapestry.
Here, hold my drink. I want to go dance….
************
Read it.
Like it?
Follow it.
Please?
Thanks.
(Follow my blog by adding yourself as a follower with Google Friends Connect in my sidebar!)
***************************
Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.
Thanks!
***************
Rudeness disclaimer:
I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Chicken-Scratch-Saturday: Quippsy
OK, so here's something a little different for me -- a paid review.
There's a brand-new social networking game in town, and its name is Quippsy.
They contacted me a while back and invited me to check them out. I did.
Pretty cool!
In a nutshell, Quippsy is a site for you to post all the cute, clever, funny things your kids say throughout the day.
You know, all those things that you later say,
"I wish I had written that down"?
Yeah, those.
Now you can, and without the fear of losing the receipt you wrote Junior's quipp on!
Quippsy is super easy to use. You can log-in through Facebook, then go ahead and post your quipps! Viewers vote the quipps as cute, smart or funny, and then each week the votes are tallied and the best from each category is chosen.
Now, you might be thinking that you already post the cute things your kid says on Facebook, so why do the same thing on Quippsy? I'll tell you why. On Facebook, all the memorable things your kid said or did will be buried under all the times you went to the gym or raked the leaves or took a picture of the dinner you just made. If you ever decide to compile them, you're sunk. With Quippsy, it's all in one place, AND, you'll have the option of compiling all these memories into a memory book! Can you say gift item? Plus, if you still want to post those things on Facebook, you can, right from Quippsy. What could be easier?
Once you join, you will have the option of signing up for a basic membership (free), or a gold membership ($10/year), and of course you can read all about these membership levels on site.
In fact, the good people at Quippsy created a custom "landing page" for all Life on the Funny Farm readers! Just click on over to Quippsy at this link and get the low-down on how to get started.
They are actually offering my LOTFF readers a FREE gold membership when they visit through this link. How awesome is that?
So what are you waiting for? Head over to Quippsy today!
Wow, I really DID just sound like a commercial there, didn't I? Maybe I have a new career ahead of me!
Image courtesy: quippsy.com
************
Read it. Like it? Follow it. Please? Thanks.
(Follow my blog by adding yourself as a follower with Google Friends Connect in my sidebar!)
***************************
Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.
Thanks!
***************
In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.
Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop, Natural Living Mamma's Natural Living Mondays, The Chicken Chick's Clever Chicks, A Cat-Like Curiosity's Monday Mantras, Ponder Wonder's Soul Food Monday and @ Home Take 2's Mom's Monday Mingle
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday, Crafty Garden Mama's Tuesday Greens, and The Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny, Tilly's Nest's Down Home, and Crafty Spices Wordless Wednesday
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop, and Two In Diapers' Mommy Brain Mixer
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday, Fresh Eggs Daily's FarmGirl Friday, Little Becky Homecky's Fantabulous Friday, @Home Take 2's Weekend Blog Walk, and Oh So Amelia's Friday Chaos
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop, and Tutus and Tea Parties' Pinteresting Party.
Since today is Saturday, that means I'm linking up my post "Stress Relief" with Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop, and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up; and "Good Will Halloweening" with Tutus and Tea Parties' Pinteresting Party.
Come join the fun!
****************
Rudeness disclaimer:
I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.
There's a brand-new social networking game in town, and its name is Quippsy.
They contacted me a while back and invited me to check them out. I did.
Pretty cool!
In a nutshell, Quippsy is a site for you to post all the cute, clever, funny things your kids say throughout the day.
You know, all those things that you later say,
"I wish I had written that down"?
Yeah, those.
Now you can, and without the fear of losing the receipt you wrote Junior's quipp on!
Quippsy is super easy to use. You can log-in through Facebook, then go ahead and post your quipps! Viewers vote the quipps as cute, smart or funny, and then each week the votes are tallied and the best from each category is chosen.
Now, you might be thinking that you already post the cute things your kid says on Facebook, so why do the same thing on Quippsy? I'll tell you why. On Facebook, all the memorable things your kid said or did will be buried under all the times you went to the gym or raked the leaves or took a picture of the dinner you just made. If you ever decide to compile them, you're sunk. With Quippsy, it's all in one place, AND, you'll have the option of compiling all these memories into a memory book! Can you say gift item? Plus, if you still want to post those things on Facebook, you can, right from Quippsy. What could be easier?
Once you join, you will have the option of signing up for a basic membership (free), or a gold membership ($10/year), and of course you can read all about these membership levels on site.
In fact, the good people at Quippsy created a custom "landing page" for all Life on the Funny Farm readers! Just click on over to Quippsy at this link and get the low-down on how to get started.
They are actually offering my LOTFF readers a FREE gold membership when they visit through this link. How awesome is that?
So what are you waiting for? Head over to Quippsy today!
Wow, I really DID just sound like a commercial there, didn't I? Maybe I have a new career ahead of me!
Image courtesy: quippsy.com
************
Read it. Like it? Follow it. Please? Thanks.
(Follow my blog by adding yourself as a follower with Google Friends Connect in my sidebar!)
***************************
Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.
Thanks!
***************
In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.
Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop, Natural Living Mamma's Natural Living Mondays, The Chicken Chick's Clever Chicks, A Cat-Like Curiosity's Monday Mantras, Ponder Wonder's Soul Food Monday and @ Home Take 2's Mom's Monday Mingle
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday, Crafty Garden Mama's Tuesday Greens, and The Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny, Tilly's Nest's Down Home, and Crafty Spices Wordless Wednesday
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop, and Two In Diapers' Mommy Brain Mixer
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday, Fresh Eggs Daily's FarmGirl Friday, Little Becky Homecky's Fantabulous Friday, @Home Take 2's Weekend Blog Walk, and Oh So Amelia's Friday Chaos
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop, and Tutus and Tea Parties' Pinteresting Party.
Since today is Saturday, that means I'm linking up my post "Stress Relief" with Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop, and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up; and "Good Will Halloweening" with Tutus and Tea Parties' Pinteresting Party.
Come join the fun!
****************
Rudeness disclaimer:
I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.
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