So, MY question is… where is she REALLY from?

Ten years ago, Jay Shafer downsized to an 89-square-foot house and reinvented both his lifestyle and career in the process.

Nothing.

“Control, this is flight MTS27 ready for TAKE OFF. Over.”

Again, nothing.

“Control, this is flight MTS27 do you read me? Over.”

Still nothing.

—–

THE UPDATE

—–

It’s been one year. One year since my Jetta caught on fire and melted on the side of I-65 South. One year since I was forced to sell my beautiful home in the suburbs as part of a messy & expensive divorce settlement. One year (almost) since my trip to New Zealand that forever changed me.

In that year’s time I’ve sold all my possessions leaving me with just my clothes and a few bedroom items (I have more furniture in my office than at the house I’m staying in), I’ve given away my dogs to be able to move (the only thing that made that bearable was knowing they went together to a good home), I’ve lost a business partner and project manager. And I’ve been trying to figure out what to do next ever since.

My freelance business has dwindled down to a trickle with clients not having the money to spend on projects. Chalk it up to a bad economy I guess.

I made the decision, not to jump ship, but to pursue other options back in March and get a “big boy” job. Ever since then I’ve been applying to jobs on a weekly basis and probably have been on a few dozen interviews both on the phone and in person. I was able to get the attention of Southwest Airlines for their social media position and hold it for a little bit, but they chose someone else. The same goes with every, single, interview I’ve been on since. If I’m lucky I get a “Thanks, but no thanks.” Often it’s just… silence. Nothing. More waiting.

That I keep getting rejected is fine. I mean, it totally sucks, but at the same time I know that’s not what God has in store for me.

The question is, then, what have I been created for? Where’s my sweet spot in the puzzle where I fit perfectly and add to the beauty of the over all “bigger picture?” I want nothing more than to do that which God has created me for, but I’m having a hard time figuring out what that is. I know it’s in a place of influence, but the platform I’m currently on isn’t much higher than a soap box.

I’ve been created to fly. My engines are running. I’m just waiting for clearance.

—–

THE TAKE AWAY / IN THE MEAN TIME

—–

I love to garden so I can totally relate to this. In order to produce more fruit and a thicker, fuller foliage we often times have to prune back our plants. I feel as if I’ve been pruned down to the root ball… all my stalks and stems have been chopped off; cut down to nothing. I’m just a heap of nubs. (Heap of Nubs… that’s a good band name. I digress.)

However, while growth on the outside isn’t flourishing, growth on the inside is. The roots are growing deeper; stretching for life-sustaining water. They grow deep so that when the rain (the blessing) comes, they can hold on and not be overtaken. They can withstand the blessing of water and begin to grow again.

Plants that don’t have a firm root foundation can easily be overcome by the rain and be washed away. Can’t the same be said for our own lives?

So this is where I am. I’m growing deeper (while sitting on the tarmac – if you’ll allow me to mix metaphors here) and reaching for that life-sustaining water (for me that’s God Word) so that when the rain does come – and I believe it will – I’ll be able to grow and flourish and not be overtaken by it.

Where are you? Have you been cut back? Are you waiting for clearance to take off? What gets you through the hard times?

I welcome your feedback.

This is MIKA’s sophomore album following his debut album “Life in Cartoon Motion” that released in January of 2009. You can purchase “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” on iTunes here.

(From Wikipedia:) Mika has described the album’s themes as dealing with his teenage years, and “in a sense is kind of part two” of his first album. In contrast to his first album which “contained innocent fairytales” Mika pitches the new album’s songs as “gothic Tim Burton-esque fantasies.”

Fans of Queen, Elton John and Marc Martel will love this one!

Oh, and be sure to check out MIKA’s new single, “Kick Ass (We Are Young)“

ScanLife produces a 2D QR Code (boxcode) that can be programed to do a multitude of tasks. One code may take your smart phone to the ad’s website, or if the article or ad is about an artists’ debut album, the code might take you to iTunes to download an exclusive single. Or maybe the code is on your business card. Once someone takes a picture of it with their camera phone through the ScanLife app, all of your contact information can be automatically inserted into their contact/address book. That, is cool.

The way it works is simple. Download the ScanLife app from the App Store, “scan” (take a picture) of the boxcode/barcode within the app and let it take you to where you need to be. That’s it!

Now print ads can offer you more information about the product they’re talking about. Stores can now offer exclusive incentives to those with the app. Artists and musicians  can now sell tracks right from a print ad. Who knew?

Below are examples of how business are using ScanLife:

Esquire Magazine is using ScanLife as part of their  “Esquire Collection” which details the essential wardrobe that every guy should have.  25 codes are connected to each individual item throughout the layout which gives readers a menu of options in one-click.

Morgans Hotel Group celebrates their 25th anniversary with a code that links to video and offers.

Scan this code to see blooper videos of a Fanta commercial in Scandinavia.

This code links to the book’s Amazon.com page for easy on-the-go online purchase.

Scan this code to get animated desktop wallpaper from NIKE.

How can you and/or your business use ScanLife?

The problem with SEO is that the public has caught on.  People know you can pay to have your results at the top. They also know how to “bend” the rules to manipulate the system. People know that SEO is a game, and consumers HATE games.

SMO is a term I prefer.  ”Social Media Optimization” is the marketing tool that businesses need to pay more attention to.  This isn’t about getting a Twitter account and forcing your coupon links down people’s throats. Nor is it about getting the most fans on your Facebook page.  SMO is much more.  It’s about establishing trust in the community, relationships in the community, and a reputation in the community…the online social media community.

SMO takes time.  There’s no microwave solution to leveraging Social Media for your business.  It takes commitment and work.  The way I see it, business leaders have two options for SMO.  First, they can hire an employee or employees to run their social media strategy.  Second, they can hire a firm to do it for them.  Some of the biggest companies in the world outsource all of their television advertising, and I think they will soon be outsourcing their social media marketing.

What’s your SMO strategy?

HT: 3Threat.net

Watch this video and learn about the Diesel Stupid Philosophy. Also, check out the website… they’ve got some killer stuff that’s uber interactive. Way to go!

A buddy of mine was looking at shirts on his computer and I glanced over and said, “Ooo, I like those. What’s that?” “L.L.Bean, man” “What?! That’s not my Dad’s L.L.Bean.” “No, it’s their new collection. L.L.Bean Signature.”

It was love at first sight. (I’ll take one of everything, please: shirts size: small; pants size: 32-30; shoes size: 10)

Not only does the Signature collection come with great clothes, they also did a FANTASTIC job at creating the perfect lifestyle video to go with it. And here it is:

and

caught my attention right away. “Wow, that’s a gutsy move on their part” I thought. And for a day or so, I was impressed with the coverage. Here was an oil giant accepting responsibility for their actions, but also making us laugh about it. Still though, it was gutsy and I appreciated that.

Then I found it was a fake account and it all made more sense. The fake site is gaining traction as it has over five times more followers and counting than the real @BP_America account.

And what’s coming from the @BP_America account? Nothing but dull corporate jargon without a glimmer of personality. That’s what attracted me to the fake one: personality.

People connect with people more than they do faceless, nameless entities and corporations. It’s 2010, y’all, and social media has been around long enough that companies should start getting this! Of COURSE @BPGlobalPR is getting more attention. Sure it’s irreverent, but he has the attention because the guy sitting on the other end knows how to engage an audience.

And what about BP? They should be doing a better job at connecting with their people. The fake guy created his own social media campaign called #BPcares and is giving away “Free BPcares t-shirts for only $25 to cover the shipping.” I doubt it’s real, but a GREAT idea!! C’mon, BP. Not only do you have a mess in the Gulf to clean up, but now you’ve allowed some socially savvy tweeter to smear oil on your image as well. You’ve got some catching up to do.

My all-time favorite so far:

And some other tweets from @BPGlobalPR: