Top Ten posts from 360 Convos

Top ten posts of all time at end of 2013:

At the end of 2013, the number ten post of all time, was the story about the nonprofit Dining for Women from Wednesday, July 13, 2011. Can a good dinner change the world?

Number nine covered lessons learned from the annual Willamette Writers Conference, Monday from August 8, 2011, Words motivate and keep us engaged, lessons from #wwcon11

8. Favorite quotes from the week of Friday, September 30, 2011, Fav quotes and nosey old men.

7. Favorite quotes from Friday, July 29, 2011 was titled Fav quotes of the week: hope and wonder.

6. Business feature on a Vancouver art gallery from Sunday, April 18, 2010. Angst Gallery: 360 Biz of the Month.

5. Smack in the middle, my bio posted Saturday, November 14, 2009, Bio Carol Doane.

4. Explanation of how the audience the communication was intended for tuned-out, but others tuned in from Tuesday, November 17, 2009. Intentional conversation with an unintended audience.

Number three of all time was a business feature on simple, yet innovative ways Umpqua Bank connects with their audience from Thursday, August 11, 2011. Chalk the walk and chalk it up to more good Umpqua Bank ideas.

Number two was on We Make the Media's attempt to save newspaper journalism, and the first thing on the agenda was to get the audience to turn off their phones. (Ever tried to tweet a seminar with your phone off?). Thus the title of this post from Saturday, November 21, 2009 was Building a new model may require listening.

And the number one post of all time is a prime example of a headline connecting with the general audience. Titles that start with "how to" are winners. From Wednesday, January 4, 2012 an explanation of a career change after almost three decades: How to write a resignation letter.

---

The last top ten was posted Tuesday, August 9, 2011 and titled,
Top ten posts depending on where you start the count.

My Top Tweets of 2013

End of the year brings a fascination with lists. Here's my top 10 tweets. At the end is a link to a video montage of my Twitter year, and a way for you to make a video, too. Cheers!

1. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol4 Aug

   Last day of Willamette Writers. Feeling nostalgic #wwcon13 (@ Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel - @spg) http://4sq.com/12RRBTJ 

    View details
   

   •  Favorite 
2. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol6 Jul

   What is value of college degree if most of what is learned is outdated by graduation? via @themanalyst | http://www.themanalyst.com/blog/what-s-the-value-of-attendance- …

   Expand
   

   •  Favorite 
3. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol22 Feb

   Review: @InFocusCorp Mondopad — cooler than a refrigerator http://gearburn.com/2012/07/reviewed-infocus-mondopad-cooler-than-a-refrigerator/ …

   Expand
   

   •  
   •  Favorite 
4. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol1 Mar

   Whaaaat?? @VictoriaTaft you're not on the air today? I think that calls for a meetup!

    View conversation
   

   •  
   •  Favorite 
5. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol27 Jun

   Saturday #BookLaunch with @CarolynJRose on her latest NO SUBSTITUTE FOR MONEY. Can't wait to get my hands on the book (I'm in it) #NSFMoney

   Expand
   

    
   •  Favorite 
6. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol15 Feb

   How to clean a Fountain Pen Feed and Nib (secret weapon at :58) http://youtu.be/tBg25Ed3pWE?t=58s … / cc @dowdyism @imyke

    View media
   

    
   •  Favorite 
7. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol12 Nov

   No social media allowed from the Olympic Games? #crazy | #sochi2014 http://newsbeatsocial.com/watch/0_4k9lw54a#.UoJNs_msh8E …

   Expand
   

    
   •  Favorite 
8. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol4 Dec

   Appreciated the thoughtfulness of @jimmyfallon's thank you notes this morning #kgwSoMe

   Expand
   

   •  
   •  Favorite 
9. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol13 Dec

   Somehow this reminded me of @Scupperlout RT @OHnewsroom: Editor, on courtesy titles: “Well, I would like to be referred to as Your Majesty.”

    View conversation
   

   •  Favorite 
    
10. Carol Doane ‏@TheClassicCarol14 Feb

    How's your media mix? Half of all ads will be digital by 2018, says Google business chief http://ow.ly/hIGrE 

     View summary
    

    •  
    •  Favorite 

Watch the video and make one of your own here:
https://www.vizify.com/carol-doane/twitter-video

Powered by @vizify. Make yours here: https://www.vizify.com/twitter-video

As 2013 closes, a look back at 360 Convos

In looking back through the five years of writing for 360 Convos, a couple of things stuck out -- one, there's not a lot of blogging during the first month of the year.

This January post, though, I thought had a good suggestion:

Unlocking better habits is like winding a watch. You have to do it everyday. If you don't, your watch or your good habits stop. There is no battery for life to keep you on track and ticking, except your own desire. January 2011

February is a lot about social media, including this scary sounding Social Media Policy from February 2010.

March is usually a focus on business and business contacts, and one of my favorites was a conversation with an ex-newspaperman: Convo with former journalist Steve Woodward from March 2010.

April normally presents an opportunity for personal appearances: Writer and website wrangler Carol Doane to appear... from April 2012.

Best May ever for 360 Convos was 2010. That was the year the Social Media Awards of the Pacific Northwest called to say "top finalist!" No trophy came home, but the night was huge and included the Big Boys and Girls in Social Media and Me.

June includes bittersweet memories, Business smoked out, books destroyed but not the heart and demonstrates how a small business can rise through crisis like a phoenix and teach us to never give up.

July cannot slip by without a tad of humor, my favorite: More people spoke positively about kittens this week.

Never fails, but sometime during the year aggravation accumulates with the churls who think that the only way to measure the success of anything is by the numbers, how high, how big, how many, how much. You can catch an August rant in: Is spending more the only way to measure America?

September reminds us, be fully present from a blog titled Mental Cruise Control.

October presented itself with a moment in which I was humbled by my daughter's kindness to a stranger. On her personal blog she wrote a poem about her experience taking a bottle of water and a granola bar to a street beggar that was recapped in a post she called Adventure Hour and 360 Convos called, How Deep is Your Social Community.

Back in the beginning of 360 Convos, November 2009 in fact, I posted my bio. On the first go round, I did it without sharing my name. I've since overcome my Internet shyness and added About Carol Doane to the navigation bar.

December? At the moment I'm organizing the storage area and uncovering a plethora of holiday decorating items I had long forgotten. Blowing off dust sent pieces of nostalgia through the stale air of the basement and made me wish we could have Christmas all over again.

We can't.

We can only go forward, and that is the best part of a new year -- the forward momentum it gives us, the challenges we give ourselves, the need to be better than we've been and do more than we ever thought possible.

Have a magical year,

Tips for choosing an end of the year charity

The clock is ticking on 2013, but there is still time to make an end of the year donation. Consider giving both goods and cash.

Here’s some quick considerations:

Pack it up and cart it out.

Find a charity close to home and deliver a donation. The Salvation Army, Goodwill or a local ministry are good choices where your gently used goods can have a second life. In my neighborhood there is Divine Consign, Habitat for Humanity Restores, and Second Hands Thrift Shop to name a few that top the 360 Convos list.

In Portland, Oreg., one of our favorite haunts is the Community Warehouse. They have mastered the art of making the most of everything that crosses their doorstep and write some very entertaining blog posts promoting their finest and oddest donations.

But the all time favorite organization for 360 Convos is Open House Ministries. There are many reasons, including administration that labors in love with very little pay, but mostly because they are open 24 hours.

Someone is always at the front desk, so when you are done sorting and cleaning you can drop all items in the car, dash downtown, deliver and be done.

Give cash where it makes sense.

Find a charity far away from home and make a cash donation where your dollars both go far and truly go far. If you don't know where to look consider Dining for Women. They investigate their featured organizations thoroughly and monitor the results. 360 Convos featured two articles on Dining for Women:

• Can a good dinner change the world?
• Educate a girl, change the world.

Consider the pay of the charity’s CEO. Would reasonable people consider the administrator’s pay reasonable? The Columbian Newspaper researched nonprofit’s in SW Washington noted the top earners in an article called, Digging into Clark County nonprofits’ top earners. While the database at the end of the article is cumbersome to use, reading the article offers insight.

Consider the charity’s reputation. Have they been plagued by scandal or praised in the media?

Consider the charity’s work. Does the work align with your values? It’s pretty simple, if it makes sense to you, it makes sense to support them.

And while your thinking of donating, go to the Red Cross or SW Washington Blood Bank and make a very personal donation.

Who knows, before the year starts you may have saved up to three lives.

What other tips we can add to this list?

---

Top three reasons to subscribe to 360 Convos

A recent survey disclosed the top three reasons to subscribe to 360 Convos:

1. Fresh post delivered to your inbox asap
2. First shot at leaving a comment
3. Free subscription!

Enter your email address and subscribe, today


Delivered by FeedBurner

---

On the eve of Christmas, a moment with Clement Clarke Moore

Merry Christmas from 360 Convos and Carol Doane

.

A Visit from St. Nicholas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blixen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

By Clement Clarke Moore

Wishing you a warm and happy Christmas and a new year filled with hope and promises fulfilled.

Get ready for new year with five minute daily writing spree

This past summer, my friend Ginger sent me an email from her T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide (I know very suspect), but the message came from the heart.

Ginger still uses a 3G Slide.

"Ok you might think i am a wacko but bare with me.

For me will you take 5 min?

2 min write what you are freaked about then cross it out throw it away burn it whatever then 3 to 5 min write a list of 5 thankfuls and then the rest of the time design your dream job. Set a timer and stop when it dings but do it EVERYDAY either first thing in the morning or right before bed.

Please please for me!! I promise you wont regret it."

The things that headline my list are items that cash would take care of: insulating the attic, building a deck, loan payments, planning for next year's national Doane family reunion, paying for college, saving for retirement.

The items that cannot be assuaged with cash swirl around my daughter, the tug and pull of college with all its privileges of independence while keeping full throttle on still being a kid with a parent to fund the adventure and to fall back on.

Other items on my list include accomplishments I want to have, zipping through my knitting stash and creating lovely gifts, propagating my Amazon store and shipping out the piles of books. Cleaning the house. Publishing my own book.

As the new year approaches, I think I may finally take Ginger's advice and start that five minute writing spree.

Goodness knows I have enough paper around me to fully stuff the attic -- now that would be some kind of insulation.

.

---

Columbian newspaper sails into pay territory

The Internet has turned the consumer into the publisher.

Washington paper sails into new pay territory.

There are an incredible number of people who enjoy writing and turn their craft into a website, a blog, or at a minimum a micro-blog such as Twitter.

All this information has flooded the world, offering a vast array of content and opinion and as a result has made it tough for those who write for a living to, well, actually make a living.

The largest newspaper in Southwest Washington, The Columbian Newspaper, announced this morning that they are initiating a paywall. A paywall means that not all the content on the site will remain free – some content will require a fee to view, and it’s likely to be the content most highly desired.

This morning, owner and publisher Scott Campbell posted an open letter to his readers titled Changing with the Reality of Online News, noting that section fronts and information produced by the advertising department will remain free. For the rest of the content, after 30 visits the user will be prompted to pay.

A handful of newspapers have been successful in building paywalls to help underwrite the cost of doing business. A larger number of newspapers have laid an gargantuan number of people off trying not to ask readers to pay for online news.

Readers who value journalism will likely respond first with howls and then a begrudging, “I guess it makes sense,” and move to open their pocketbooks or smartphone stash of cash.

Those who enjoy a less pure style of journalism will surf the Internet for the free stuff.

Which one are you?

---