by Marty Coleman | Nov 4, 2011 | Blog World LA |
For me the best type of travel is about the new. But my first travel experience this week of Blog World LA, where I am speaking Friday, was about the old.
I spent my years 6-12 in Los Angeles. We lived on the beach in Playa del Rey, not far from Santa Monica and Venice. Coming back there was one iconic LA landmark I knew would make me happy to see it.
As odd as it seems now, when I was 10 years old my adventurous friend Don and I rode our bikes to LAX to check out the new moving sidewalks we had heard they had there. I mean, come on, how cool is that, a moving sidewalk?
We actually didn’t live that far away, but it was quite the adventure for us 10 years olds. I rode my very hip Stingray bike with the banana seat and the chopper handlebars.
So, what was this iconic landmark? It was, and is, the LAX’s Theme Building in the middle of the airport. I loved that building as a kid and it was even cooler when we were able to ride our bikes right up to it and lock them to one of the walls.
That building was one of the earliest buildings I remember and really helped my fascination and love of architecture ever sense.
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 2, 2011 | Blog World LA, Will Rogers |
I am taking off for Los Angeles to speak for the first time at Blog World, a humongous conference on…blogging. I am speaking at 4pm on Friday. My topic title is: The Napkin Dad Explains: Six Stop Signs on Creativity Road. Wish me luck!
I was raised in California. First on the beach in Del Mar, near San Diego, then up in Los Angeles. I love LA. The conference will be downtown and we lived at the beach but we used to drive in a number of times a week so my sister and I could swim with our swim team at the LA Athletic Club. Bad pollution made breathing hard but besides that I loved it.
I remember the daughter of a movie star was in our swim team, she had red hair I think and I had a crush on her. The Rolling Stones had a song out back then called ‘Pretty Ballerina’ maybe? Anyway, they had some song that was the song I attached to her. I still think of her whenever I hear that song.
I now live in Oklahoma, thus I can make fun of both states in my drawing today. I love Oklahoma. I haven’t met a daughter of a movie star here, that I know of. But I love it nonetheless.
If you are going to Blog World, make sure to find me and say hi. And of course, COME TO MY PRESENTATION!
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Will Rogers, 1879-1935, American humorist and movie star from OKLAHOMA.
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 28, 2011 | Networking - 2011 |
It’s the last day of my pre-BlogWorld Self-Talk on how to get the most out of my networking opportunities.
NOTE TO SELF: Ask yourself these questions before tweeting. Would I say it in person to the person standing next to me? Would I have to whisper it for fear of it being overheard? Would I have to be drunk to say it? Would I have to be crazy irate to say it? Would I have to be a mean, hurtful jerk to say it?
More questions to ask myself, whether talking online or in person: Am I bragging? Am I hogging the conversation? Am I asking questions as well as answering them? Am I sensitive to interest level and appropriateness of what I am saying? Am I listening as well as being listened to? Am I having a conversation or giving a monologue?
I like twitter but it sure can be noisy, rude and dumb if you let it. Not much different than if you are at a cocktail party or other social gathering. You can have mindless chit chat, deep conversations about ideas, drunken rants about all sorts of conspiracies or just pleasant pleasantries with pleasant people. I should remember to practice being the person I want to be, no matter if what I am saying is for the birds or some other animal.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Chris Pirillo, blogger.
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 27, 2011 | Networking - 2011 |
If you had been networking with me you would know it is day #4 of Networking Week at the New and Improved NDD!
I am not a blogging superstar. I am a blogger, and I do have plenty who read and follow the NDD but I am not a superstar in the blogging community. I am, however, going to Blog World where many of those superstars will be. I will recognize some of them and introduce myself. They won’t know me from Adam (or Eve). But nonetheless I will let them know I admire their work and how they have helped me in whatever way they have. I promise I won’t stalk them. I might hover a bit, but no stalking.
Maybe someone might actually come up to me and say they know who I am but I won’t know them. It’s not an impossibility, but it is not likely either (at least not until after my presentation). I am cool with that. I am there to meet unknowns and knowns alike since both might need what I offer and both might have what I need, who knows. I hope most of the other people attending or speaking are there for the same reason.
After all, Fame is no guarantee of importance.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Aileen Katcher
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 26, 2011 | Keith Henson, Networking - 2011 |
Today is day 3 of my pre-Blog World self-reminders on all things network and blog.
Ok, so I am going to Blog World in a week. I am not too worried about the information I let out while I am there. I don’t drink so it’s not likely I will get drunk and say something stupid. Then again, I can say stupid things while totally sober. But I do have information to give, that is why I am speaking there. And I don’t want all of that information to get out beforehand, at least not in it’s complete form, until I am ready to present it. Some is good, but all would diminish my presentation and I don’t want that.
But for me to have a successful trip it will come down to editing my information. Not just my presentation information, but ALL my information. Is what I am talking about while I am at Blog World going to be focused or is it going to be just a big hot mess of whatever. Am I going to be on plan, on target while I am there, trying to learn and help others learn or am I going to be distracted in both my commmunication and in who and what I pay attention to? I don’t mean I will not allow serendipity and casual conversation, of course I will. but I don’t want to spend an hour talking in the expo about a digital tool I have no intention or ability to use just because they are giving away something shiny. I don’t want to forget why I am there and what my goals are.
I don’t want to be pissing into the wind.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Keith Henson, 1942-not dead yet, American electrical Engineer and founder of the L5 Society – promoting of space colonization.
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 25, 2011 | Anonymous, Networking - 2011 |
In anticipation of my trip to speak at and attend Blog World LA next week I am using this time to talk to myself (and others) about what will be important for me to pay attention to while I am there.
Today is all about ‘The Plan’.
I find it hard to do all the things necessary to have a commercially successful blog. I do a lot, but it hasn’t been quite enough yet. One of my goals this year, and in particular at Blog World in LA next week, is to learn better, to learn again, the art of planning in social media and blogging. Of course to do that I need to plan it. So, I am learning how to plan by making my plan to learn how to plan. Sounds like I need help!
What tips and tricks do you have for me and my readers when it comes to planning, especially in the world of blogging, social media and conference attendance?
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 24, 2011 | Networking - 2011 |
I am going to be speaking and attending Blog World LA next week. In anticipation of that event I am going to be talking to myself this week. I want to remind myself of why I am going and what I hope to accomplish while I am there. Hopefully what I say to myself will resonate with others who are going to this, or any, conference.
It’s such a well understood idea that it is a cliche: You must cultivate relationships in networking to get ahead. I agree with it, as far as it goes. The problem is it doesn’t go far enough. It is not enough to collect contacts like so many vegetables at harvest time. For me to feel and be successful at networking I want to transform my private garden into a community teaching garden.
I have many areas where I need the expertise of other gardeners in the blogosphere. Wordpress, database development, monetizing, you name it, I need help with it. But I also have some expertise as well; art, design, writing, content creation, If I want my fellow blog gardeners to help me in my areas of need then I need to be willing to help them in theirs.
But wait, isn’t that what I am doing by speaking there? Yes, it is what I am doing and I am very hopeful my session, Six Stop Signs on Creativity Road (Friday 4 pm) will be of great benefit to many. But my session is going to last an hour. With people talking to me after (if I am lucky), maybe another 45 minutes. The conference lasts 3 days. Am I going to single-mindedly pursue harvesting from other people’s garden during the other 70 hours or am I going to set in my mind that I am in a community garden where I will look for opportunities to plant encouragement, motivation, inspiration, knowledge and friendship in at least equal portion to what I harvest for myself?
I like a community garden.
Marty, The Napkin Dad
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Dr. Ivan Misner
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 19, 2011 | Life Sciences - 2011, Proverbs, Quote Authors, Series |
The following is a correct statement:
Today is Day #3 of Life Science Week
The Glory of Confusion
One of the most satisfying things about studying science, even at my amateur level, is the glory of discovering how many things are contradictory truths. It doesn’t make sense that both are true, but they are. I like that, even as it confuses the bejesus out of me. I am not a big fan of confusion, but I am a big fan of that feeling of understanding that comes after it! That is why I study and/or try stuff that is really hard and confusing (ask me about php and mysql database stuff…THAT is confusing!)
The Life in Life Science
I think what maturity I have came into being when I started to realize that my understanding of the world and my response to it wasn’t some absolute truth. It was my truth. It was affected by my biology, my family, my DNA, my experiences, my body, my decisions. I think that is one of the hardest things to deal with in a marriage, for example, is realizing that your spouse is not thinking about your life together exactly as you are. His or her understanding and response is completely and utterly different than yours, even if there are areas of overlap. How you cope with that truth is key to whether you will have a happy and successful marriage.
The Beginning of Maturity
It is true that we all have different truths of how the world works, why it is that way, and what our response should and will be to it. Understanding that everyone’s truth is a profound truth that deserves to be understood and respected, even if it causes stress and complications in life, is the beginning of maturity.
The Better Truth
After all, how can any of us move into a better, more accurate understanding, a better truth so to speak, unless we can acknowledge the truth we already are living.
Drawing and commentary by Marty ColemanQuote by Neils Bohr, 1885-1962, Danish physicist
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 18, 2011 | Isaac Asimov, Life Sciences - 2011 |
For the life of me I can’t believe it’s only day #2 of Life Science Week at the NDD.
I had a conversation once with a friend once where we were talking about what we believed. We asked each other questions and some of my answers were, “I don’t know.” and some were “This I believe.” His answers were all, “I don’t know.” He was unwilling or unable to state, “This I believe.” about anything. In his mind the declarative statement was one he couldn’t step back from once it was made. He didn’t want that restriction on him. The conversation was frustrating for me as a result. We had no no base from which to explore, so to speak.
Having that ‘Eureka!’ moment is a great moment in life. Finding something, whether material, intellectual or spiritual, is wonderful. But the declaration of finality can also shut off possibilities. It’s overdone and it gets in the way of further discovery often times because your mind closes off.
But I also have the attitude that it’s ok to say you believe something. You aren’t making a vow that you will always believe it. You are simply saying, “As of now, I am starting with this as true. I might find it’s not true in the future, and if I do, that is fine.”Scientists do that. They start with certain assumptions of truth. They are willing to test those assumptions to see if they hold up. They don’t test them every day, all the time. Many of their assumptions will be with them all their lives. But a good scientist is always willing to entertain the notion that something they believe may not be true. They are willing to say “hmmm…that’s funny. I wonder if…”
Are you willing to do that in the science that is your life?
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 17, 2011 | Aldous Huxley, Life Sciences - 2011 |
It’s Day #1 of ‘Life Science’ week at the NDD.
We all know the scientific method. It’s pretty simple in its essence – hypothesize, test, evaluate. Then you repeat with variations until you get it right.
Here is my question to you – Do you follow the scientific method in your life? Are you deliberate about figuring out what works, what is true, what is healthy, what is wise in your life? Do you experiment and find something to be true or false or do you just go along with what you have been told, afraid to test on the chance you might have to change what you think or how you behave? Perhaps you do experiment but you never learn it, repeating the exact same test over and over again even though you know it will end in failure.
I know in my own life the people I trust and admire the most are those I am confident will look at the evidence that is their life, will be honest about what is really happening in it and how they feel about it, and will adjust as needed, even if it is painful.As it is in science, so it can be within yourself.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
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