Luanne's Mastery Journal

My name is Luanne Johnson. I am attending Full Sail University with the intention of completing the Internet Marketing Masters Degree Program. I'm a hard worker, a hard player, a self-professed nerd and I love to live life... oh, and my favorite color is purple. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luanne.johnson.3 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mouseylu Wordpress: http://nerdgirlextraordinaire.wordpress.com/

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Campaign Development... more like Me Development!

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Internet Law... not as easy as Legally Blonde portrays

           My initial goal for this class was to know and understand what is legal and illegal to do within the confines of Internet Marketing.  The more I learn about Cyber Law, the more I realize that no one can know everything there is to know about what is considered illegal in Internet Marketing.  Some basic common decency rules definitely apply.  Don’t give out information that isn’t yours to give.  Don’t use other people’s ideas/content without permission.  And don’t talk smack about people.  Following those simple rules should keep you out of almost any trouble. 

            My second goal was to familiarize myself with Creative Commons and Digital Copyright Laws.  Creative Commons is basically a way for people to allow others to use their ideas/content without all the legal confines of requesting permission.  Digital Copyright Laws are stricter and usually require paperwork and originator contact.  Your best bet is to just not use copyrighted material. 

            My third goal was to research Internet Marketing legal disputes and their resolution.  This goal was a little harder to accomplish as just searching, “legal internet disputes” brings up results pertaining to how to avoid them, or how to rectify them, not the particular cases themselves.  What I was able to find were basic cases of slander and libel and copyright infringement.  Cases where people talked smack or used things that didn’t belong to them without permission.  Hence, my first assertion that if you just don’t do that, you should be fine.

            I was not able to read The Law of Electronic Commerce.  Time constraints and day job responsibilities prevented me from having time for anything in addition to regular schoolwork.  However, it’s still on my “To Read Later” list.

            All in all, I learned a lot more than I was expecting from this class and I’m glad that my initial assumption was correct, and that it was a very interesting class.

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Mythbusters: Web

 I have to admit that Analytics are not usually my thing, but this class has made me think a little differently.  I was definitely a believer in the Analytics Myths that it’s all about the numbers and that it’s hard and boring.  I can’t rule out that it’s not boring, because it’s definitely not my favorite thing to do, but it’s not so much hard as it is time consuming.  Having studied the course content this term, I now know that all my previous beliefs about analytics were myths perpetuated by misunderstanding of the topic.  Analytics are a topic that will take additional study in order to understand completely. 

My goal for this month and this class was to be able to read, decipher and understand analytics so as to be able to report to clients and improve media platforms accordingly.  I don’t know as of yet if I’ll be able to do that with any degree of accuracy, but the course work for this month has gone a long way toward that end.  Obviously, more study will be involved after the course is over, but for now, it’s a good start.

I was able to start Social Media Metrics for Dummies, but between school, work, and the holidays, I have been unable to finish it yet.  Story of my life right now.  I’m planning on doing a LOT of reading while on my Holiday vacation and this is at the top of my list.  What I have read so far isn’t nearly as in-depth as what I’m learning in the class.

Researching and understanding the different usability features of various web analytics software’s has been relatively easy.  We’ve been working with various analytics platforms since the beginning of the degree program, so I’ve had plenty of chance to explore various platforms.  At this point, only free ones.

Beyond Web Analytics podcast, I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again.  The longer you listen to various podcasts, the less you learn.  I listen to over a dozen various podcasts.  Most of them are in the Internet Marketing field (in fact, only two aren’t) and they’re all covering the same information.  What’s the latest and greatest new thing on the Internet?  What new trick are all the big name experts talking about?  What social media conference is coming up next?  Who’s who in the marketing world?  No matter what question is being asked, they’re all answering it.  And usually, they’re not even answering it a different way than the last guy.  So, do I listen, yes, but I don’t usually learn much.

All in all, this class has been great for getting a better handle on web analytics and how to optimize a webpage to increase the statistics provided by analytics programs.  The Real World Applications we have been assigned have been helpful in showing me what a job in the sector would be like.  I can’t wait to get out there for real!!

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To FailBlog or Not to FailBlog... that is the PR Question...

I have to say, when I discovered I was going to have to complete a PR class in order to obtain my degree, I was a little nervous.  I'm not the most politically correct person.  I'm not easily offended and I sometimes forget that others are, so Public Relations probably isn't the best field for me.  That being said, I'm also open and honest, so maybe I'll be okay.

In the beginning, my goal was to be able to describe an appropriate course of action when responding to a Public Relations Crisis.  Having been through this class, I can now honest say that the appropriate response depends greatly on not only your business, but your audience.  That being said, as long as you respond quickly, honestly, apologetically and transparently, you can smooth over most crises.

My first task was to join the PRSA.  I have not done that yet.  Mostly because the $255 Dues and $65 Initiation Fee are simply not in my current budget.  Someday, I will join.  Until then, I follow them on Twitter and visit the website often for updates on current PR strategies and happenings.

PR bloopers are a vast source of entertainment for me.  They probably shouldn't be, since one is bound to happen at my current place of employment.  Probably on my clock as well.  But it's interesting to see what has happened to some companies and how they dealt with it.  PRFailBlog has become one of my favorite sites to follow. http://prfailblog.com/

My third task was to listen to the Inside PR Podcast.  Like podcasts on other topics, I find I never learn much.  Even as an audio learner, I don't usually get all that much from podcasts.  I do, on occasion, pick up an interesting tidbit of information, but in this case, I have yet to learn anything I didn't either already know or that we hadn't covered in class.

All-in-all, I'm glad this class is part of the degree program.  It is very important and I've learned a lot about Public Relations and how to handle the different aspects of it with my chosen business.

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Advanced SEO requires math... WHAAAATT???

When this class started, I was a little worried about SEO.   I wasn’t entirely sure what that entailed.  But SEO isn’t as complicated as I thought.  I’m not entirely sure if I can assess the SEO of a webpage without using software tools, but with everything I’ve turned, I don’t know if anyone can.

As far as memorizing the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Scale algorithm, it’s not necessary to memorize it.  It’s simple to find online at any time.  It’s the only algorithm that Wordpress uses to determine readability for your latest post.  It can be pretty complicated if you’re attempting to do it by hand, but if you’ve got a word counter, you’re good to go.  The F-K Reading Scale is:

According to this algorithm, the readability of this post is: 63.5

I’ve stated in past months that listening to podcasts hasn’t really yielded any new information.  This was still true for the SEO Podcast.  I didn’t learn anything from listening to this podcast that I hadn’t already learned not only in this class, but in previous classes.  It’s an interesting podcast and I think, if I wasn’t studying currently, it would be a great way to keep up to date on the latest in SEO techniques and information.

 This class has been extremely helpful in discussing the ins and outs of what to do and what not to do in terms of SEO.  It also focuses a lot on why SEO is so important.  Depending on how large your company is, you can still have a successful website with out optimizing for search.  The Oregon State University Chemistry Department website is a perfect example of this.  It is anything but optimized, but it’s still a very successful webpage: mostly because it is linked to a University.  Businesses don’t usually have those kind of connections.

All-in-all, I learned a lot from this class.  I was able to use my day job website in one of the assignments and I’m hoping that the information gleaned will allow me to make a presentation to my department chair in order to put some major work into the SEO of our site.

  Read-able,. (2014). Retrieved 22 October 2014, from http://read-able.com/check.php

Wikipedia,. (2014). Flesch–Kincaid readability tests. Retrieved 22 October 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch–Kincaid_readability_tests

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Time Management... I thought I had you down...

  I knew that any class that landed during September wasn’t going to get as much attention as my previous classes had.  What I wasn’t prepared for was that this would also be the first class I had problems with.   Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies is the 7th of the 12 classes I need to pass to complete my Masters degree in Internet Marketing.  It’s also the first class I will receive anything less than a solid A grade in.  And its not that the material is more difficult or that I’m just “not getting it.”  I’m just not able to dedicate as much time to it as I was the other classes.  I suppose that a good reason to not keep the fact that you’ve gone back to school a secret from your boss.  It’s hard to ask for time off to do homework if they don’t know you have homework to do.

Because of work, on monetary issues, I was unable to purchase a copy of Secrets of the Marketing Master, like I’d wanted.  So, obviously, I didn’t get to read it.  That being said, having read the synopsis on Amazon.com, it doesn’t appear to be very helpful or on topic with this class.

I joined the eMA as soon as I started attending Full Sail, back in March 2013 and was completing the Mastery Timeline assignment with which this post is an update on.  Other than a few interesting tidbits of information, it has not proved very helpful.

The Social Media Marketing Podcast doesn’t even begin to touch on most of the topics we’re discussing in this class.  And as I stated previously in regards to listening to podcasts regarding Media, the longer you listen to them and the more you listen too, the less helpful they become.  Podcasts are designed to market towards the beginners in the Marketing realm, not the people who’ve been in it for a while.  I do occasionally hear about some interesting new Social Media tool, or a new way of tracking blogs or some other interesting tidbit, but in general, I listen to an hour of podcast for those 10 seconds of information.  Thank goodness for the commute.

The class, however, has given me a new appreciation for time management skills.  Something I thought I was much better at until now.  And, I also believe that I’ve gotten pretty good at Google AdWords.

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Is there really any such thing as new??

  My overall goal for this class was to understand the importance of new media in the marketing field.  The conclusion I came too is that the level of importance really depends on what you’re marketing.  Personally, I think all businesses can benefit from a certain amount of Social Media and in this day and age, a business without some sort of web presence is practically invisible, but new media is not the be all and end all of Internet Marketing.

 I listened to a few episodes of “Internet Business Mastery Blog” and really didn’t learn anything new.  It seems, the more podcasts I listen to on this topic, the more recycled the information gets.  This leads me to believe that I should just stick with my tried and true podcast and stop branching out so much.

 Between my day job, school and summer, I haven’t had a whole lot of extra time for reading, but I managed to start the Social Media Playbook for Business.

“This book starts by defining "social media," "social networking," and other terms that may be confusing to the beginner, then discusses the current and projected growth rates of various social media sites. The author outlines a comprehensive strategy for success with social media, including practical information on watching metrics, establishing beachheads, determining your driver, building a checklist of driver "amplifications," and combating the "what now?" factor.” (Amazon.com, 2014)

If I was actually learning anything, I might be able to make more time to read, but since I’m not, I’m having a hard time making myself finish the book.

As far as the Social Media directory I had planned to make, I started with this graphic.  I discovered quickly that the term Social Media actually covers much more than I originally thought.  According to this graphic, Social Media also includes Virtual Worlds, Social Games, MMO’s and Livecast/streaming.  (Walczak & Walczak, 2009)

All-in-all, this class has been informative, it’s the outside work that I chose to do that has been repetitive and un-helpful.  At least I know that until a new big trend comes along, I’m pretty well prepared for anything New Media might throw at me.

    Amazon.com,. (2014). Amazon.com: Social Media Playbook for Business: Reaching Your Online Community with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and More eBook: Tom Funk: Kindle Store. Retrieved 25 August 2014, from http://www.amazon.com/Social-Media-Playbook-Business-Community-ebook/dp/B00EQ7SB18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408994686&sr=8-1&keywords=social+media+playbook+for+business

Walczak, M., & Walczak, M. (2009). Navigating the social media landscape | Magda's blog. Magdawalczak.com. Retrieved 25 August 2014, from http://www.magdawalczak.com/posts/navigating-the-social-media-landscape/

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Web Design and Usability for Life

When creating my timeline, I had this course pegged completely wrong.  Due to moving, I was unable to complete Building Websites for Dummies, but that doesn’t really seem to be an issue.  We aren’t exactly building websites so much as evaluating already existing websites for usability and functionality.

I did manage to learn a few more HTML code basics, although I have yet to figure out a way that I can apply them to either We Heart Nerds or my day job.  A very useful website that I was directed to by my day job “IT Guy” was http://www.w3schools.com/html/.  This website allows you to look for specific sections of HTML code that you’re looking for more information on.  I also discovered that this website was already using the <h1> tag described on page 17 of Walters’ book Building Findable Websites: Web Standards, Seo, and Beyond.  (Walter, 022008, p. 17). 

And ADA Compliance is a lot less complex than I had first thought.  Simple color schemes are easier to read for people with color blindness and as long as you tag your website properly, any Visual Impairedness Reader will pick things up just fine.

What I did learn from this class is that, even with the simplicity of our website, it is far from user friendly.  Numerous updates and changes need to be made in order for it to be as findable and usable as it needs to be, starting with the navigation menu, but definitely not ending with the tagging of each post.  I definitely have a lot of work to do.

  Walter, A.  (022008). Building Findable Websites: Web Standards, Seo, and Beyond [VitalSource Bookshelf version].  Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/MBS994979

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I Am Definitely NOT a Normal Online Buyer...

My goals for this class were, I thought, simple...

I joined the Web Enabled Brains Club as soon as I heard about it.  At this point, they’ve done nothing in-so-far as any club events available to online students.

Motivation of Online Buyer Behavior was interesting.  The author used Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need to determine why Internet Consumer Behavior is different than the Consumer Behavior of non-Internet users.  There was a large section regarding the mathematical equation they used to produce their statistics that really made me realize, I have been away from Statistics class far too long.

I’ve listened to about 7 random episodes of the “Marketing Smarts” podcast now.  While the information is good, I have yet to hear anything I haven’t already heard on other podcasts.  Granted, I’ve been listening to other podcasts longer, but still, there is only so much information you can cover on the topic of Internet Marketing before you start repeating yourself.  I will listen to several more episodes before deciding whether or not to continue following the RSS Feed, mostly because the speaker’s voice is pleasant to listen too.

From the class, I learned that if you think the entirety of the Internet is your market, you’re wrong, and that no matter what you think, there are always different ways to market to different parts of the population.  For example, I never really thought about the motivational differences between the people who frequent weheartnerds.com who prefer video over podcasts and vice versa.  Marketing strategies for these types of people should be very different; even though, they are both people frequenting the website.

All in all, I feel that while I may not completely understand Internet Consumer Behavior, I have a much better grasp on it.  I don’t consider myself to be a typical Internet Consumer.  Mostly because, according to Motivation of Online Buyer Behavior, 80% of all Internet purchases are impulsive and based on emotion.  I would be lying if I said I’d never made an impulse buy, but rarely, do I do that on the Internet.  (Svatošová, V. (2013).

  Motivaton of Online Buyer Behavior by V. Svatošová. (Svatošová, V. (2013). Motivation of Online Buyer Behavior. Journal Of Competitiveness, 5(3), 14-30. doi:10.7441/joc.2013.03.02)

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Telling My Own Story - Not as Easy as I Thought...

As far as my course goal was  concerned, I only accomplished half of it.  The aspects and details of a good brand story can really be summed up with one questions.  Did your story touch their heart?  It’s the emotional connection to your customer that makes them want more of your product.  If you’re not striking an emotional chord with them, you’re simply part of the every day noise.  As for writing my own story… I’m still doing the research.

I’ve started compiling story ideas.  Stories for my day job.  Stories for the We Heart Nerds website.  Stories for my personal blog, which I’m sad to say has become sorely neglected since I’ve started school.  And stories that just randomly pop into my head but don’t  have a platform yet. .  I’ve sorted all my ideas into my OneNote notebooks, so I always have access to them.  This has made it easier for me to add to it whenever an idea strikes me.

When I settled in to read Brand-Driven Innovation, I discovered that my digital copy had been corrupted, so I switched gears and am nearly finished with The Power of Un-Popular: A Guide to Building Your Brand for the Audience Who Will Love You, and Why No One Else Matters by Erika Napoletano.  In this book, the author describes in a very no nonsense way how to, 

“1. Find the people who will benefit from what you have to offer, and then tell them a story they want to hear.  

2. Become an approachable brand that invites conversation and a high level of customer input. 

3. Build your community and get your brand shared.  

And 4. Scale your brand in a way that ensures that it will survive its own growth.” (Napoletano, 2012)

I thought long and hard about purchasing The Logo game to brush up on my Brand recognition ability.  Then I realized no one would ever play it with me, as I’m the only person I know even remotely interested in this stuff.  So, I downloaded the Logo Quiz app for my phone instead.  It’s transportability is much higher than the board game and I can play it anywhere.  Best of all, I don’t have to have someone else to play it with.

Napoletano, E. (2012). The power of unpopular (1st ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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My initial goals for this class were to: 1. explore new platforms for marketing, 2. to continue tracking groups, RSS feeds, etc in order to keep abreast on the latest trends in marketing and 3. to join the Full sail Social Media Club.

Well, I joined the Social Media Club first thing.  I figured; why wait?  I continued to listen to the podcasts that I was already listening too and started listening to a couple new podcasts that focused more on marketing and less on Social Media.

As for exploring new platforms for marketing, I read a few articles about products I don't use, but didn't get a chance to actually demo any new platforms.  I explored CrowdTilt and Patreon, learned a couple new things you can do with Wordpress.org that can't be done on Wordpress.com and became much more familiar with Blackboard learning system.  In the end, I didn't get to explore as much as I wanted, but that's entirely my fault and has no negative reflection on the class whatsoever.

What I did learn from this class was the difference between In-Bound and Out-Bound Marketing.  Outbound Marketing is something that probably won't work for WHN until the company is larger and has a lot of content to promote.  

I learned how to research my competitors web pages in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses in terms of Search Engine Optimization, and Keywords.  

I learned the ins and outs of click fraud, why its bad, how to avoid it and what to do about it if you have it.

And I learned some basics behind Google AdWords and how Pay-Per-Click Advertising works.  While the class didn't really go into specifics, I learned enough about PPC to know it's not something that will work well for WHN.

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Inspirational Post of the week.   I recommend a tissue.

YouTube. (2014). INSPIRATIONAL - HOW GREAT I AM. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6xLYt265ZM [Accessed: 29 Mar 2014].

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Mastery Journal Timeline

Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership

Goal: To immerse myself in the role of mastering my chosen field by developing products that will help me to obtain employment upon graduation.

Start a blog or website that will become my portfolio.  Upload at least one item per month to showcase my media creation abilities.

Create a library of reference materials, both digital and print using various resources at my disposal. (EBSCOhost, Internet, Amazon, etc)

Search jobs in my field to familiarize myself with what is available, where and what the job requirements are.

Internet Marketing Fundamentals

Goal: Learning the broadness of marketing via the internet.

Explore new platforms for marketing (software, Social Media, Digital Content Creators, etc)  http://www.slideshare.net/e1kad/the-7-handsdown-best-internet-marketing-products-in-existence

Track groups, podcasts, RSS feeds, etc to keep up to date on the newest products and trends.

Join the Full Sail Social Media Club.

Business Storytelling and Brand Development

Goal: Discover the aspects and details of a good brand story.  Use those details to write my own story.

Start compiling story ideas.  (Digitally, using OneNote, so it is available on all my devices) https://skydrive.live.com/redir?page=view&resid=694006FCE2FD4F9!188&authkey=!AFYDcD2FcqSxdw8

Read Brand-Driven Innovation by: Erik Abbing. (Abbing, E. (2010). Brand-Driven Innovation: Strategies for Development and Design. Lausanne: AVA Pub)

Purchase “The Logo Game.” For use with brand recognition and study.

Internet Consumer Behavior and Analysis

Goal: By the end of class I will understand internet consumer behavior.

Join Full Sail Club - Web Enabled Brains.

Read Motivaton of Online Buyer Behavior by V. Svatošová. (Svatošová, V. (2013). Motivation of Online Buyer Behavior. Journal Of Competitiveness, 5(3), 14-30. doi:10.7441/joc.2013.03.02)

Listening to the “Marketing Smarts” podcast. (rss.marketingprofs.com/marketingsmarts)

Web Design and Usability

Goal: Become proficient in web design and usability strategies by being able to create unique, user friends websites using multiple platforms.

Read Building Websites for Dummies by Karlins and Sahlin. (Karlins, D. & Sahlin, D. (2012). Building Websites All-in-One for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley And Sons, Inc.)

Learn more HTML code. (https://tutsplus.com/course/30-days-to-learn-html-and-css/)

Familiarize myself with ADA Compliance issues for websites and digital media.  Stay current on those issues. (@Disabilitygov, @DisabledWorld, http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap5toolkit.htm)

New Media Marketing

Goal: Understand the importance of new media in the marketing field.

Listen to “Internet Business Mastery Blog: The Art of Internet Marketing” Podcast. (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/internet-business-mastery-business-development-and-internet/internet-business-mastery-blog-the-art-of-internet-marketing)

Read Social Media Playbook for Business: Reaching Your Online Community with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and More. (Funk, T. (2011). Social Media Playbook for Business : Reaching Your Online Community with Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and More. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.)

Start a Social Media directory.  A list of any and all Social Media platforms, their main features, cost, web address and marketing benefits.

Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies

Goal: To learn new and advanced strategies in internet marketing.

Read Secrets of the Marketing Masters: What the Best Marketers Do - and Why It Works .(Martin, D. (2009). Secrets of the Marketing Masters : What the Best Marketers Do--and Why It Works. New York: American Management Association.)

Join the eMA (eMarketing Association).

Continue listening to the “Social Media Marketing Podcast” (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/social-media-examiner/social-media-marketing-podcast-business-how-to-tactics)

Advanced Search Engine Optimization

Goal: Be able to assess the SEO of a webpage without the use of software.

Memorize the Flesch Reading Scale algorithm. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch-Kincaid_readability_test#Flesch_Reading_Ease)

Listen to “SEO Podcast: Unknown Secrets of Internet Marketing” (http://ewebstyle.podomatic.com)

Research the different aspects of SEO Analytics in order to optimize any website at any time.

Strategic Internet Public Relations

Goal: Be able to describe an appropriate course of action when responding to a Public Relations Crisis.

Join the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Research PR mistakes and company responses.

Listen to the “Inside PR Podcast” (http://www.insidepr.ca)

Web Analytics and Optimization

Goal: Be able to read, decipher and understand analytics so as to be able to report to clients and improve media platforms accordingly.

Read Social Media Metrics for Dummies. (Poston, L. (2012). Social Media Metrics For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.)

Research and understand usability features of the major Web Analytics software.  Be able to recommend best choices for various marketing plans.

Listen to the “Beyond Web Analytics” Podcast. (http://www.beyondwebanalytics.com)

Internet and the Law

Goal: Know and understand what is legal and illegal to do within the confines of Internet Marketing.

Familiarize myself with Creative Commons and Digital Copyright Laws. (www.creativecommons.org, www.copyright.gov/laws)

Research Internet Marketing legal disputes and their resolutions.

Read The Law of Electronic Commerce. (Davidson, A. (2009). The Law of Electronic Commerce. Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press.)

Internet Marketing Campaign Development

Goal: To develop and all inclusive marketing campaign for a business of my choice.

Join Full Sail Club - Pop Press (this will allow me to see how others promote events).

Read “How to Develop and Run a Marketing Campaign” (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/66016#)

Write a Business Plan Marketing Campaign for a business of my choice.

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My Inspirational Post for Week 3.  I am addicted to this song and like the author, never really thought if it in a different way than was intended, until this post.

Written by @LeviMote for weheartnerds.com (reprinted with permission)

Ever worry that it might be ruined

And does it make you wanna cry?

When you’re out there doing what you’re doing

Tell me are you just getting by, by, by?

Are you just getting by?

Where there is desire

There is gonna be a flame

Where there is a flame

But just because it burns

Someone’s bound to get burned

Doesn’t mean you’re gonna die

You’ve gotta get up and try, and try, and try

Gotta get up and try, and try, and try

You gotta get up and try, and try, and try

While driving this morning I heard the song Try by Pink containing the above lyrics. 

Now I know this is a song about love and loss and how we deal with it and why we keep doing it even though it hurts so much and this last section got me thinking about something I thought was worth sharing.

Where there is desire

There is gonna be a flame

As a person who wants more than anything to share his creative endeavors with the world and try to find some level of critical and monetary success at it, I must infuse my love, my passion, my very self into the things I create. These things range from tabletop & role-playing games to podcasts to articles to paintings; all of which contain a part of me. This is true for any creative endeavor. All of that is fine right up until the point where we show our creations to others, this is where the lyrics really hit home for me.

Ever worry that it might be ruined

And does it make you wanna cry?

Each time I take a creation and show it to a player, a publisher, a gallery owner a part of me worries that I will look foolish and be rejected. That a part of me, a part I am passionate about and laying bare for scrutiny will be stomped upon.

Where there is a flame

Someone’s bound to get burned

This is true of every creative soul I know. There is a fire burning inside of us to create, to explore, to express, to illicit emotions in others. Sometimes this fire leaves us burned as we fail to impart our vision or to spread our creative fire. For most people, this is the end as they take the burn as a sign that they should give up and go back to what is safe. 

I spent decades doing exactly this; retreating from the pain of misunderstanding and hiding in what was safe. Worrying that scrutiny and my ineptitude would extinguish the creative fire inside me. As Pink so eloquently puts it…

But just because it burns

Doesn’t mean you’re gonna die

This was the part I was missing for so many decades. My fear of failure, of judgment, of a lack of acceptance, or understanding from others left me paralyzed and my creativity languished. Now I understand that the only way I can keep from being burned by the fire inside me is to let it out, let it breathe. That collaboration and self-examination only serves to grow that fire inside me. Do I still fail? Of course, but then I come to the last 

You’ve gotta get up and try, and try, and try

Gotta get up and try, and try, and try

You gotta get up and try, and try, and try

Levi Mote

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Unknown. (2014). [online] Retrieved from: http://weheartnerds.com/post/78965829826/ever-worry-that-it-might-be-ruined-and-does-it [Accessed: 18 Mar 2014].

[luannesmasteryjournal-blog]

Links of the Week...

Diigo

Feedly - I've been using Feedly since Google Reader was discontinued.  And... I follow a lot of blogs, both for research and for fun.

LogoChefs - I decided that I wanted the Logo to be as all encompassing and as closely related to the Internet as possible.  What better than the at symbol?  A symbol used in email and Twitter, it is widely recognized as a symbol of the internet.  I also wanted the logo for my Mastery Journal to be simple.  Hence the logo with no verbage.

LinkedIn

[luannesmasteryjournal-blog]

What inspires me??  Self-help documents made in a way everyone can understand.  I don't know why, they just do.  This was the first one I ever heard.  I was 19 and was struggling with my first year of college.  Was I on the right track?  Who would I become?  Did it really matter?

steffyweffy777 (2007, May 24). Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

[luannesmasteryjournal-blog]

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Rob Logan (2008, May 26). Randy Pausch - The Last Lecture reprised [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BODHsU3hDo4

Assigned watching for Week 2 of Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership.

I was crying by the end of this video.  It's touching and oh, so true.  This guy gives good advise.