Stuff I’ve Been Reading, Watching and Listening to Lately

I’m currently working on a hardcore, start to finish podcasting tutorial! I’ve already put in over 15 hours of work into writing and recording this tutorial, but I have much more to do so it’s going to take a while before it’s published. You can, however, watch the first video in the series of videos I’m shooting by clicking here, if you’re interested.

As a result of dedicating my time to this tutorial, I didn’t have time to write a “normal” blog post, but that’s okay because I have a lot of cool and interesting resources to share with you in the meantime.

Here’s what I’ve been reading, watching and listening to lately – plus some news about some upcoming speaking events that I’ll be attending.

Google EMD Algo Update – Early Data (by SEOMoz) – As many of you probably know, Google recently updated their search algorithm, once again, to target lower quality Exact Match Domain websites. A lot of you have been asking how my sites have faired. I actually don’t have too many EMD sites – most are scrap sites that were created for tutorials or demonstration purposes, and rightly so – they were hit by this update. The ones that I am actually keeping up with, however, were not hit. My “almost EMD” sites like SmartPassiveIncome.com and SecurityGuardTrainingHQ.com were not hit either, and in fact my security site jumped quite a bit in rankings for many secondary target keywords – probably as a result of other EMD sites that were ranking highly before getting pushed aside due to the update. (See screenshot)

The algo update by SEOMoz gives us some early data from a pool of websites about what was effected, and was was not. Clearly, there are mixed signals, so we’ll probably have to wait a bit longer before we know exactly what’s going on. Such is Google.

Please Don’t Kill Feedburner - In other (Google) news, you may have heard rumors that Feedburner, the widely used RSS subscription server, is dying. It does seem like that’s the case since Google didn’t renew Feedburner’s Japanese domain, they stepped away from their Twitter account and got rid of Adsense for Feeds. If Feedburner died, it would definitely make a lot of people upset – both bloggers and podcasters who use the service. This page I linked to about explains more about the situation, hoping for someone on Google’s end to respond, which I know from my experience is highly unlikely, but we’ll see.

Here’s another recent article by Cliff Ravenscraft about Feedburner too.

Why I Love the FitBit Ultra - Speaking of Cliff Ravenscraft (two time guest on the SPI Podcast and dear friend of mine), I have to thank him for introducing me to a sweet little device called FitBit. It’s a small little electronic pedometer that you attach to your belt or just stick in your pocket and it keeps track of how many steps you’ve taken during the day, calories burned, and miles traveled, among other things.

The best part about the FitBit is that it wirelessly updates your stats online so you can keep track and compete against friends. Since using this for the past 4 days, I’ve been addicted to upping my step count to out-step other people who I know use this device. You may recognize some of these names:

(That’s Cliff leading the pack right now, followed by Mark Mason from Masonworld.com, Erik from the Beyond the To Do List Podcast, and Mike Stelzner from Social Media Examiner. I’m on my way though…I haven’t had mine for a full 7-days yet.)

The FitBit is an amazing way to motivate myself to make sure I get out there and exercise during the day, and for a work-at-home dad with a two-year old and a newborn in the house, this is exactly what I need right now.

You’re welcome to join in on the fun – if you’re up to the challenge!

Dumb Pricing Mistakes (by Derek Halpern from SocialTriggers.com) - Derek has been stepping up his game recently with a set of well-produced, very educational and entertaining videos on his blog. This one in particular, about pricing strategies, is fantastic and I know from experience that pricing products and services can be very scary and confusing. Derek sheds some light on some of the biggest mistakes people make when pricing things, so don’t miss this one.

Samsung Shows Complete Marketing Genius and Ignorance with Attack of iPhone5 (by Marcus Sheridan from TheSalesLion.com) - I own an iPhone 5 myself but was very impressed with Samsung’s recent television commercials, the one’s mocking people who stand in line waiting for a new Apple product. Marcus Sheridan dissects what Samsung did right, but also what they fell short on with their marketing campaign, which is a shame. Definitely a must read, and please subscribe to Marcus’ stuff – it’s awesome!

Affiliate Sales for SecurityGuardTrainingHQ.com - I found a company that was doing online training for security guards (only in California). They had no affiliate program but I worked with them to get one up and running, and now I’m making sales! They had developers take care of setting up the affiliate program on their end through an existing aMember setup for their training courses. It looks like this could be a good stream of income for SGTHQ! Now only if all 50 states had or allowed online training. Not all do, but I’m currently finding similar options around the U.S.

The Talk to the Top - The Talk to the Top is an online event put on by The Rise to the Top host, David Garland. I was interviewed for his show a year ago here and at the end of this month I will join an amazing speaker list that includes Andrew Warner, Derek Halpern, Corbett Barr, Amy Porterfield, Lewis Howes and more! If you’re going to this online event, you can use the coupon code patrocks to get 50% off your ticket, which you enter on the checkout page. I so look forward to this!

Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, CA – April 7, 8 & 9, 2013 - I’m extremely pleased and excited to announce that I will be speaking live in my hometown of San Diego, California at Social Media Marketing World from April 7-9 next year! This is an event put on by Social Media Examiner and it’s going to be awesome! I’m honored to be a part of it and if you end up going, let me know and we’ll hang out together sometime during the event in a place soon to be determined, somewhere in my hometown.

That’s all I got for now! Thanks for the support!

Fun fact: 90% of the post was written with one hand (and a sleeping baby in the other). #parenthood #ilovethisstuff #onehandedninja

Tagged as: links, nerws, public speaking

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30 Ways to Make TV Watching More Productive

Do you ever hear yourself saying "I just don't have time" yet find yourself plopped in front of the TV for the better part of every evening?

As our to-do lists grow so does our stress and anxiety over getting everything done. While we can't add any more time to our day (unfortunately) we can use the time we do have in a more productive manner. Let's face it watching TV isn't that interactive or demanding. Below are 30 simple little ways to make the most of your TV watching time.

Things you can do while watching TV:

• Fold laundry - Plop the basket beside you and fold while you watch.



• Iron - Drag the ironing board and iron out into the living room and turn that mundane task into something that's a little more bearable.



• Give or get a massage - Lay on the couch or get on the floor with your significant other and give a back rub or foot massage. At each commercial break switch it up just to keep it fair.



• Stretch - Get down on the floor and stretch your legs, your back, and your arms. You'll feel great and if you're an avid TV watcher I'm pretty confident your flexibility will improve in a matter of a few weeks.



• Write out a meal plan for the week - Brainstorm some meal ideas for the coming week. You can take it a step further and create a list of go-to meals or meals you can make ahead and freeze.



• Brainstorm for a new business, a holiday, or activities to do with the kids - Don't filter ideas just write them down as they come to mind. Sometimes the best ideas come to us when we're not focused on finding the best ideas.



• Write out your Birthday cards or Christmas cards - Don't wait until the last minute to get your cards done. For most of us it takes quite a bit of time, so doing even a few each evening can lighten the load.



• Put pictures in a picture album - I'm sure I'm not the only one with a tub full of pictures that I don't know what to do with. Grab the tub of photos and start putting them in photo albums. If you want to sort them first, use a few nights of TV watching to do just that.

Things you can do during commercials:

• Pack the dishwasher - It doesn't take long and even if there is a pile you can do it over multiple breaks. Don't have a dishwasher? No problem. Break one: Fill the sink with warm soapy water and let the dishes soak. Break two (maybe three): Wash the dishes. After that dry them and put them away. Done.



• 10 sit-ups 10 push-ups 10 squats - TV watching is a sedentary sport. Get on the ground and get active during the commercials. It doesn't have to be much just move.



• Take out the garbage - Grab a garbage bag and go throughout the house emptying the smaller bins into it. Take the full bags outside to the garage or back door for garbage day.



• Do a quick reset of the room you're in - Commercial breaks aren't long but it's amazing how much you can get done. Pick up shoes, toys, books, magazines, dishes etc. and put them where they belong.



• Address a letter, stamp it and put it in your bag for tomorrow - Mailing letters is one task that seems to continually slip my mind. Use the commercial break to put your letter or bill payment in an envelope address it and put it in your bag so you can mail it tomorrow.



• Drink a glass of water - If you're like most people you're not drinking as much water as you should be each day. Get a tall glass add ice and fill it with cold water.



• Floss your teeth - This takes very little time and is something most of us don't do often enough. It's a little action that can be great for your health.



• Dust the furniture in the room you're in - Grab a microfiber cloth, an old sock or damp rag and run it over all flat surfaces in the room. Get under the keyboard and the DVD player. Get the top of the TV, picture frames and the backs of your chairs.



• Clean a bathroom - Fill the sink with warm soapy water, spray the tub and toilet, let it soak until the next commercial and it'll clean up super easy.



• Make a sandwich for tomorrow - The key to a smooth sailing morning is to start the night before. Make a sandwich or put together a salad, dole out some yogurt and grab a piece of fruit throw it in your bag for tomorrow and you're set to just head out the door!



• Bathroom break - Enough said ...



• Send a quick email - 2.5 to 3 minutes is usually long enough to get an email put together, if not you could get a good first draft started at least.



• Read a few pages of your book or a blog post - Hit the mute button grab your book or fire up your feed-reader.



• Write your to-do list - Give a bit of thought to what you'll do tomorrow. Think about errands that need to be run, calls that need returning, gifts to be bought and what to have for dinner.



• Choose clothes to wear tomorrow - Run to your room and decide what to wear tomorrow. Choose clothes that fit you well and that you feel great in.



• Let the dogs out - Most dogs will jump at the chance to get outside even it's only for a few minutes. Do it.



• Purge a drawer or filing cabinet - Choose a drawer that's close to where you're sitting and pull everything out of it. Toss or recycle what you don't absolutely need and put items you no longer use, need or like in a pile to donate. Put the remaining items back in an organized manner.



• Make your bed - Even if it's half an hour before bed go and make it. It's awesome getting into a bed that's made the sheets pulled tight, comforter straightened and the pillows fluffed up a bit. Heaven.



• Make a quick phone call - Call your mom, your sister, your brother or friend and make or confirm plans for tomorrow.



• Get changed into work out clothes - If you've settled in for a night of TV odds are you won't be too excited about the thought of exercise. During the first commercial break get changed into your work out gear so by the end of the show you're good to go for a bit of a work out.



• Get a healthy snack - Grab a piece of fruit, trail mix or yogurt. Make healthy choices, keep your snack size to something smaller than your fist to keep you from over-eating and eating mindlessly.



• Press mute and just sit in silence - There are very few moments during our day when we can truly sit back and enjoy the silence. Press mute and just enjoy how quiet and still everything is around you.

There are a lot of ways to be productive with very small bursts of time. Sure, you can Tivo your way passed the commercials but you may just be fast forwarding by a quick opportunity to get something done!

Choose one or two items on this list to do each evening and you just may be surprised at how many little extras you can get done.

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