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Writing Progress Report – Third Quarter 2021

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 30, 2021

Progress Report—Third Quarter 2021

How was third quarter 2021 for writing? So, I spent third quarter 2021 writing short stories and working on planning NaNoWriMo. Work continued to be mega-busy, but I learned voice recognition on Word. It’s helped me tremendously with speed.

Third Quarter 2021 Posted Works

First of all, I worked on a number of new short stories. A lot of these had been drafted on paper and so I spent some time fixing and polishing them. Some of these short stories work well together, so they have chapters and the like.

I wrote, among others, Saddle Up, Bank Teller!, Unexpected Help, and Frozen Assets. In addition, I wrote Peddler and Uninformed.

Plus, I wrote The Future Has No Foundation, Never, and Glad All Over the Galaxy.

In addition, I started but did not finish Building Trust and Martin’s Choice.

Then on Wattpad I posted on the WattNaNo profile and the Star Trek Fans profile and nowhere else.

Milestones

Also, I have written over two and a half million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). So right now, my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

† Dinosaurs – 38 reads, 9 comments
• How to NaNoWriMo – 23,785 reads, 323 comments
† My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 974 reads, 133 comments
• Revved Up – 59,368 reads, 530 comments
† Side By Side – 17 reads, 1 comments
• Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 14,856 reads, 591 comments
† The Canadian Caper – 496 reads, 37 comments
• The Dish – 250 reads, 24 comments
† There is a Road – 189 reads, 28 comments
• WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,913 reads, 45 comments
† WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2019 – 1,700 reads, 10 comments
• What Now? – 2,553 reads, 104 comments

More Published Works

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works!

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So yay!

A True Believer in Skepticism, to be published in Mythic Magazine.

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome (link no longer works, alas!).

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So, this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction, another site which is no more.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story published in Mythic Magazine.

Killing Us Softly, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Darkness into Light, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

WIP Corner

So my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who’s killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. Can a ragtag group in Boston figure out what’s going on before it’s too late?

Time Addicts – No One is Safe – so this one is all about what happens in the future when time travel becomes possible via narcotic.

Time Addicts – Nothing is Permanent – this is the second in this trilogy. What happens when time is tampered with and manipulated in all sorts of ways? It’s the ultimate in gaslighting, for one thing.

Time Addicts – Everything is Up For Grabs – coming in November 2021!

Prep Work

So, currently, my intention, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, is that I am writing the third novel in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. But I need to iron out the plot! So a lot of this year has been spent on that. I am calling this one Time Addicts – Everything is Up for Grabs.

Third Quarter 2021 Queries and Submissions

So, here’s how that’s been going during third quarter 2021.

In Progress

As of third quarter 2021, the following are still in the running for publishing:

This list is the name of the story and then the name of the potential publisher.

I Used to Be Happy – Gemini Magazine
Justice – Adbusters
Mettle – RAB
Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us – A Thousand One Stories
Who Do We Blame for This? – Sonder Review

But I am doubtful about all of these. I just don’t have the time or energy to devote to regular querying, and I don’t expect that to change any time soon.

All Other Statuses

So be sure to see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for third quarter 2021 which were not in progress.

Stats

So, in 2018, my querying stats were:

† 68 submissions of 19 stories
• Acceptances: 4, 5.88%
† In Progress-Under Consideration: 3, 4.41% (so, these don’t seem to have panned out)
• In Progress: 10, 14.71%
† Rejected-Personal: 14, 20.59%
• Rejected-Form: 24, 35.29%
† Ghosted: 13 (so, these were submissions where I never found out what happened), 19.12%

So, in 2019 my querying stats were:

• 23 submissions of 11 stories (so, 6 submissions carry over from 2018)
† Acceptances: 4, 17.39%
• In Progress: 11 (so, this includes 2 holdovers from 2018), 47.83%
† Rejected-Personal: 4, 17.39%
• Rejected-Form: 3, 13.04%
† Ghosted: 1 (so, these are submissions where I never found out what happened), 4.35%

2020 Stats

So, in 2020 my querying stats were:

• 37 submissions of 12 stories (so, 9 submissions carry over from 2019)
† Acceptances: 3, 8.11%
• In Progress: 7, 18.92%
† Rejected-Personal: 12, 32.43%
• Rejected-Form: 4, 10.81%
† Ghosted: 11 (so, these are submissions where I never found out what happened), 29.73%

2021 Stats

So, in 2021 my querying stats are: 5 submissions of 5 stories (so all of these carry over from 2020).

It can be pretty discouraging and hard to go on when nothing new comes up which is positive.

Third Quarter 2021 Productivity Killers

So, my productivity killers are work, what else? See, I got a raise and more responsibility. And I’m supposed to be getting another person under me soon. As may be expected, that made it harder to get fiction writing accomplished.

I am working on a ton of things. Since that is also writing, it can sometimes burn me out. There’s been a ton of stress but I am making an effort to at least write something every night. Because third quarter 2021 will not be the end of that!

Maybe third quarter 2022 will have more querying?

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The Power of Social Media (Neurotic Writers’ Edition)Social Media, Social Media Writing, Social Media Writing Part, Social Media Writing Part 3, Best Lengths, Hesitation Generation, screen name, Happy Holidays, Relentless Pace, Cyber Infidelity, Podcasting, Neurotic Writers, Social Media Balance, Social Media Perfection, Losing Control, Social Media Tips, Employee Passwords, Look Like Online, social media, Social Media Platforms, Promoting Writing, Social Media Marketer, EditMe Webinar, Demand for Social Media Jobs, Stumbleupon surpasses, Less Conversation, Snapchat Settles with FTC, Quickly Boost Results, Hope and Hype, Auto-Service Economy, Sharing Less, Social Media background check, formatted posts, Four Important Social Media Stats, Cheat Sheets, Social Media Seduction, social back, Social media background check, Collaboration rocks, Wikileaks knocks, Editme Webinar, Cyber Legacy, Campaign 2012, Demographics, ways to improve, Time-saving tips, They Used to Call me Robot Girl

The Power of Social Media (Neurotic Writers’ Edition)

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 11, 2021

Welcome to The Power of Social Media (Neurotic Writers’ Edition)

We neurotic writers welcome you. And now we will go run along and hide, if you will kindly excuse us.

Chicken Scratch

Neurotic Writers. So, I know aspiring writers. Lots and lots of them, actually.

You probably do, too. There are lots of people with a manuscript out there … somewhere. Perhaps it is just in a hard drive. Or maybe it has been uploaded to a fiction site. Or perhaps it has gotten a little exposure by having a chapter or a tantalizing fragment tossed onto a forums site.

It might take the form of a blog (Gee, I wonder if I am doing that …?). There are some that are typed (Remember that?). Others are only in long hand. And still others are locked away in brain form only.

Attention Monsters, All

Whatever form it has taken, there is one thing I have learned about aspiring writers. And this includes fan fiction writers, by the way. But do not dis ’em. They care about what they do, too! This may also be true of established writers as well.

Although I am not even so sure where “established” starts happening.

If it starts when you have gotten a check for writing, then count me in the established camp. If not, well, then it might be that I am still waiting for my established writer card. But I digress. What have I learned about aspiring writers?

It is more that we are all attention monsters.

We all crave attention. But it is more than just “Look at me! Look at me!” Instead, it is more like, “Please oh please oh please read my stuff and leave detailed feedback so I know you really read it and never, ever forget to tell me how kick-bun awesome I am!”

Er, yeah.

Now, pretty much everyone on the planet adores hugs and positive attention and love and happiness. For aspiring writers, though, it is all poured onto a page.

The soul is naked, for all to poke at.

Erm, that was not meant to evoke an NC-17 image. Shame on you for thinking so. And now that is all you can think of, am I right?

It is scary and it is daunting. And it is exhilarating when you get even a scrap of positive feedback.

Enter Social Media

For aspiring writers with a backbone and a somewhat thicker skin, social media can be a way to get some of that craved feedback.

But how?

The first and probably most obvious method is to have a Twitter stream dedicated to your writing. I doubt that most people want to read about writer’s block, so you need to have something going on.

Perhaps you could write about inspirations, or earlier works, or how things fit together in your universe.

Hence I am also talking about a blog. You can blog about writing. The creative process can be fascinating for people who are into it. Maybe you would like to review your own work, and comment on what you have learned, and how you have grown as an author.

Put both of these together, and you have a pretty dynamic combination. You write, you blog about it and then you tweet or skeet about your blog posts and your writing.

Plus writing begets writing. Even blog writing (which is a rather different animal from book writing) can help keep writer’s block at bay. It helps to exercise these muscles fairly regularly.

Is There Another Option for Us Neurotic Writers?

Post on social sites. Hence for fan fiction, there are sites like Fanfiction.net. And for purely original stories, they have a sister site, Fiction Press. Or you could try Wattpad. In addition, plenty of more specialized fiction and fan fiction sites exist. Google is your friend!

But be aware of scams; they do exist. Furthermore, putting your work out there does not guarantee that you retain full rights to it. And this is despite the laws in your own country. In addition, understand there is a lot of plagiarism and downright theft out there.

And that does not even get into issues with AI.

So remain as cautious as with any other information you put online.

I honestly cannot stress that last one enough.

Understand, too, that if you neurotic writers are going to submit to a traditional publisher, they often do not want you to have posted your story elsewhere beforehand. Because this has to do with the full rights to your product.

Hence you might want to put out your smaller or less important works, and save your really big one, if you are ever planning to submit to a traditional publishing house.

Competitions

Yet another option is competitions. Here are some. Because the inspiration from this blog post came from learning that a friend had a story in an old (now offline) competition. The competition ran as a pure social media experiment.

Hence, while good storytelling and story-crafting matter, so does publicity.

Like with any other social media site, “likes”, comments and popularity all play a role. For my friend, and for others trying to make it, putting the link onto Facebook or X or Bluesky or the like is essential to getting the word out.

Even this blog post is helpful. At least, I like to think that it is. FYI, and just for the record, this post is my own idea and she did not request or suggest it.

Let’s Head on Over to the Reader End of Things

The community of aspiring writers is, truly, a community. And that means give and take. But what kind of give and take? The kind that goes along with reviews and comments.

Because for those who are trying to write for a living, commenting and reviewing should be a part of that. Readily and cheerfully provide constructive criticism, if desired. Writers depend on your kind honesty!

Aspiring neurotic writers write for exposure. And often they get exposure from fellow aspirants. What better way to forge a sense of community than to read one another’s works, and comment thereon?

The Upshot of It All for Neurotic Writers Just Like Me (and Maybe Even You?)

For those of us neurotic writers who put it out there every day, who bare ourselves and our souls with prose or poetry, fiction or nonfiction, fan or wholly original, short story or multi-novel series, we all have a major issue in common – we want recognition.

We do not even necessarily want to be famous, but we want to be the one at the fireside who spins a yarn as others sit, enraptured. And with social media, we hope, there just might be some people listening.

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Want More About Social Media?

If my experiences with non-platform-specific social media resonate with you, then check out my other articles about navigating our social media obsessed world.

Social Media for Neurotic Writers

† Social Media and Writing
• Also, Social Media and Writing Part 2
† Social Media and Writing Part 3
• Are You Promoting Your Writing With Social Media?

Social media platforms, the next blog post

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Community Management – Handling Yourself as a Good NetizenCommunity Management, Drawn to Scale. Freshening, Get Together, Love, Small Things, Without Management, True Community, Party Started, Terrible Netizen, Snakes in the Garden, Circle Game, Look at Me, Good Netizen, Corralling, Wandering off Topic, Facebook versus Forums, Superstar Users, Community Management Analytics, Community Roundtable, Community Management Haikus, Life of a Community Manager, Social Media Job Descriptions, Superstar Users, Community Roundtable 2010, community managers, off topic posts,

Community Management – Handling Yourself as a Good Netizen

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 18, 2021

Handling Yourself as a Good Netizen

Are you a good netizen?

I have been managing Able2know for over twenty years.

It is a generalized Q & A website and the members are all volunteers. I have learned a few things about handling yourself online during this time.

Chill the F*** Out

1. There are few emergencies online. Take your time. I have found, if I am in a hot hurry to respond, itching to answer, it usually means I am getting obsessive.

2. When it is really nutty, step away from the keyboard. I suppose this is a corollary to the first one. Furthermore, I pull back when it gets too crazy-making, or try to figure out what else may be bothering me, e. g. I have not worked out yet, something at home is annoying me, etc.

Being online, and being annoyed, does not equal that something online caused the annoyance.

Be Clear

3. All we have are words (emoticons do nearly nothing).I like to make my words count, and actually mean exactly, 100%, what I write, but not everyone hits that degree of precision in their communications. I have learned to cut about a 10% degree of slack.

4. Not everyone gets you. You might be hysterically funny in person, but bomb online, Netizen. Or you might feel you are a gifted writer, but you write to the wrong audience.

You may be hip for your crowd, but hopelessly out of it in another. This is not, really, a personal thing.

You can either waste your time trying to get everyone to love you or you can recognize that you did not convert one person and move on from there. Choose the latter; it will save your sanity every time.

Keep Chilling Out, Fellow Netizen

5. Be Zen. E. g. I have found the old, “oh, you go first” kind of thing smooths the way a lot. I am not saying to not have your say and let everyone else win all the time. It is just, ya kinda pick the hill you wanna die on, e. g. what is really important. Stick to those guns.

The others, not so much. E. g. getting into a shouting match and kicked off a site due to your hatred of the Designated Hitter Rule – even on a sports or baseball site – falls in the category of you are probably overreacting and being really, really silly.

I doubt that that is a hill most people would try want to die on. But defending your beliefs, fighting prejudice, etc.? Those are probably better hills.

Controversy, Shmontroversy

6. And the corollary to #5: controversial topics are controversial for a reason. They get under people’s skin and make them squirm. Be nice; do not do that all the time.

So try to engage people in other ways, Netizen. There are plenty of people on Able2know who argue a lot about politics. I am not a fan of arguing politics.

But we also get together and play Fantasy Baseball (talk about your Designated Hitter Rule). Or we swap recipes, or pet stories, or the like.

But then, when a forum member gets sick or becomes bereaved, people who just argued till they were blue in the face turn around. And they virtually hug and offer tributes, prayers (or positive, healing thoughts) and words of comfort.

And this user multidimensionality warms the heart. So, over the years, people have gotten better at it. If someone is really bothering you, it is possible that, in other contexts, you would get along. You might want to see if you can find some common ground, and other contexts.

Sing Along with Elsa and Let. It. Go.

7. Know when to stop, or even let others have the last word.

When I am really angry, I usually just withdraw. However, this is not a surrender. Instead, I am tired and life is too short.

You do not become a smaller, or less worthwhile person, and you have not lost (whatever that really means, particularly on the Internet, fer chrissakes) if you walk away and wash your hands of things. Netizen, you are entitled to call it quits on an argument or discussion.

Finally, I hope you learn from my insanity and my mistakes. Life is too short to let it get to you too much!

Here are some posts about my years in community management, and what I have learned.

• Going From a Collection of Users to a True Community
† Risks of a Community Without Management
• Are Off Topic Posts Ever Okay?

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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The Conquest of LinkedIn – Your Profile PageLinkedIn, inmaps, Profile Page, Resume, Network, Meeting Offline, Facelift, Last Little Bits, Q & A, Social Media Specialist

The Conquest of LinkedIn – Your Profile Page

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 19, 2021

To Continue the Conquest of LinkedIn, Let’s Look at Your Profile Page

What’s up with your profile page?

You’re doing it. And you’ve got your resume up. You’re answering questions. And you’re joining groups. You’re even meeting people offline. But you aren’t getting an enormous number of invitations to connect.

Or, perhaps, you’re blogging and tweeting. But you’re not getting a lot of readers in either medium. And you’d love to get some of your LinkedIn buddies to read some of your stuff. Maybe you want to use your writing and social media skills as a part of your overall job search strategy.

So the most obvious place to look, and to fix, is your Profile page.

Just like with a resume, a news story, or even if you were trying to sell your home, it pays to spruce up the first thing people see. Hence special care should be taken, as this is your first (and it may very well be your only) chance to make an impression.

There are any number of things you can do to assure that this impression is a positive one.

Driving Traffic

And, you can even use it to help you drive a little traffic to your own website and/or blog. Here’s how:

• Make sure that you make use of all available fields, and customize these as you are able.
† Next, list your blog.
• and I also recommend adding X or Bluesky.

If another social media platform will fit better, then add your details there as well, such as YouTube for videographers.

More You Can Do With Your Profile Page

So assuming that your resume has been integrated in its entirety, your next task should be to update the summary and specialties sections in your profile page. First of all, the specialties section is essentially just for keywords, so load them up.

However, the summary section should be more grammatical. So don’t make it an old-fashioned and generic personal statement. Instead, highlight your main differences here.

Pix, Pictures, Images, You Get the Idea

Include a current, clear, professional image of yourself. And once that image becomes, say, about five, eight, ten or so years old, replace it with a newer one.

URL City, Baby!

LinkedIn won’t give you a nice URL unless you essentially make your own. But they offer instructions for customization. After all, it is absolutely in LinkedIn’s best interests for you to put your LinkedIn URL on, say, your resume, your business cards, etc.

And most people won’t do that if the URL is breathtakingly ugly.

It’s a very, very easy thing to do, and there is truly no excuse not to polish your URL.

Posts and Takeaways

Yes, you can add posts to your profile page (a feature which seems to come and go). But you don’t have to. This isn’t Facebook, so a continual stream of statuses (statii?) is not expected.

Finally, with a little polish, your front door (profile page) can look mighty inviting to all.

Want More About the Conquest of LinkedIn?

If my experiences with LinkedIn resonate with you, then check out my other articles about the largest networking site on the planet.

What LinkedIn Has to Offer

• Your Profile Page
† Your Resume
• Meeting Offline
† Your Network
• Giving Your LinkedIn Profile A Facelift
† Last Little Bits
• InMaps – Visualize Your Network on LinkedIn

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The Karmic Wheel Turns

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on July 11, 2017

Social Media Karma

What is the Karmic Wheel? Alas, the Examiner is no more, but the Karmic wheel keeps spinning all the same.

I was at one time contacted by a friend, Phil Butler, to write an article for the Examiner.

Now, Phil and I had known each other for a few years. We met through the original Q & A discussions on LinkedIn.

We have never actually seen each other, in person. He is not even on the same continent as I am. Yet I wrote the article all the same. It was on an article called Food Addictions and Treatments.

Now, did I expect fame and fortune from all this?

Well, I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t be nice. But did I honestly think that empires would rise and fall based upon my one little article?

Of course not.

Karmic Wheel Spinning

But I think it illustrates the point I have made about collaboration. That is, sometimes you just up and do something for someone. And you do it because you just, well, want to do something for someone.

So that ends up a reward unto itself, is it not?

I think the article is the kind of thing that people have got to write about. And it continues to shock me that other writers would not touch the subject matter with a ten-foot pole, as if it would give them the adult equivalent of cooties to talk about addiction.

As if being at all sympathetic with people who are ill would, somehow, mean they were condoning those lifestyle choices or admitting that they, too, were imperfect.

Hey, I will shout it from the rooftops – I’m imperfect!

And if I am not mistaken, the sky did not just come crashing down.

Go forth, and I hope you will collaborate, and do things for others. And then the karmic wheel will turn for you, too.

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The Future of Lonely Writer and Adventures in Career Changing

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 9, 2017

The Future

The future? Well, more specifically, I mean the future of the Lonely Writer website.

Wait, What?

So as some readers may recall, I started that website as my capstone project at Quinnipiac University. I needed the project in order to graduate with a Master’s in Science in Communications (social media).

Well, graduation happened in August of 2016. However, I had paid for the domain until the end of March of 2017. It seemed silly to try to cancel early.

But now it’s March of 2017.

Changes

Hence I want to change things up. My life has gotten considerably more busy since I graduated. I currently hold down four part-time work from home jobs, all centered around various tasks having to do with blogging. I also podcast every month and I blog for that podcast and for its parent podcast. Furthermore, I still blog about social media and even about fan fiction.

In addition, I still write and still work. I always try to get more of my work published. As a result, I just plain don’t have the time for yet another domain. Most noteworthy, I’d also like to save a few bucks. This project does … okay. Yet Adventures in Career Changing does better.

Therefore, I realized: I should combine the two.

What Will Happen in This Future?

The Lonely Writer YouTube channel and Facebook groups will both live on. And the Twitter stream won’t be going away, either. They do not require as much work as a separate blog. Plus, they are also free of charge. I am only talking about the other domain and those particular blog posts.

So, where did they go? Why, they came here! As a result, the blog URLs changed, and the blog posts themselves were removed for later re-posting. I changed them up, too, so they would be more up to date. That’s all. So don’t worry, okay? That advice and that work will not go away.

It all just moved here, down the street. I was excited about the move. I thought it would help to freshen up Adventures without losing the focus, which is altering my career and also embracing social media. And the writing-related posts, of course, would give that more of a writing bent. That’s all.

Thank you so much for reading.

But then…

Greetings from the Future!

It’s 2024 as I update this post. So, here we are, seven years later. Still no flying cars.

Just kidding.

But in all seriousness, combining the two blogs was a good idea but it also wasn’t. Because the God’s honest truth is, like for so many blogs out there, this site has too much content. And, the content’s focus is often scattered.

So, how do I fix this? One way is here, by updating things. Another is by deleting (or, rather, unpublishing) a ton of stuff. But then that runs into issues with other posts pointing at the stuff which is no longer live.

Of course, I can stop pointing at them. Which… is more work.

I swear, I have the ambitions of a full SEO team for this blog, and the team is just, well, me. Heh.

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The Five Elements of Hip-Hop Content StrategyContent Strategy, Halvorson, Hip-Hop Content Strategy, Content Monster

The Five Elements of Hip-Hop Content Strategy

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 22, 2015

A Look at an Oldie: The Five Elements of Hip-Hop Content Strategy

On June 2nd, 2010, I got to attend The Five Elements of Hip-Hop Content Strategy. The speaker was Ian Alexander. Ian is down to earth, informative and fun. The meeting was hosted by Content Strategy New England. A special shout-out must go to the tireless Rick Allen.

Ian led us through a history of both hip-hop and content strategy as a discipline. Neither one sprang up overnight. So the roots are in the 1970s or so, perhaps earlier.

Then it was down to business – an outline of the Five Elements.

Hip-Hop Content Strategy – Five Elements

#1. DJ’ing – on the Content Strategy side of things, this is the technical expertise. It’s being able to understand and apply semantic categories. It is being able to interpret analytics. So a Content Strategist cannot be a Luddite. She cannot fear spreadsheets.

#2. MC’ing – on the CS end, this is the editorial expertise. Often, this is what people think of when they think of Content Strategy. It is acting as a copywriter, a librarian, a research analyst and something of an artist.

The Content Strategist finds and tells the story. He or she selects the format and helps to promote the brand.

The Content Triangle

This is where Ian introduced the concept of the Content Triangle.

Building Trust

(a) The first type of content is Trust Building. This is where a company establishes its expertise. So it is also where it provides value to its clients and potential customers. Here is where the company is informative about internal and industry trends.

For a product-based company, this area should encompass approximately 30% of all of the content. For a service-oriented company, this area should be about 70% of all of the content.

Informational, Please

(b) So the second type of content is Informational. This is basic internal site information, such as the Contact Us page and the FAQ. This is for users to understand how to, for example, return a defective product.

For a product-oriented company, this area needs to be around 30+% of all content. For a service company, that figure should be around 20+%. So in either instance, start here.

Calls to Action

(c) The third and final type of content is Sales/Call to Action. Somewhat self-explanatory, here’s where you close the deal. The deal need not be a commercial one; your call to action may very well be for your reader to sign up for a newsletter.

For the product-based company, this area will have to be around about 40+% of all of the content. In the case of the service company, it’s less than 10%. So either way, this should be A/B tested.

So in all instances, analytics must drive the percentages and the content.

Hip-Hop Content Strategy – More Elements

#3. Graffiti – for the Content Strategist, this equates to design expertise. Infographics are, according to Ian, only going to continue to become more and more popular.

#4. Breaking – to the Content Strategist, this element represents Information Architecture expertise. The two are related but not identical — cousins, not twins. Yet the gist of it is the concept of movement through a site.

So, what are the funnels? What kind of an experience do you want your users to have? What’s your preferred destination for them?

#5. Knowledge – this final piece of the puzzle speaks to the Content Strategist’s Project Managerment/Change Management expertise. Change concepts are disposable, iterative and proposed. It is the idea of moving from a concept to a solution.

The best solution is not the best solution, per se – it’s the best solution that you can implement. For, without a consensus (and a budget and a signed contract!), the so-called best solution is no solution at all.

But What Does it All Mean?

Content Strategy is different from Content Marketing. So the first must drive the second. One of the best ways to help the discipline to get more respect is to branch out the network. Get to know people in vastly different disciplines (say, Robotics, for instance).

So, what about helping the client? Think differently. So generate a 404 error and see what happens. Sign up for something: what kind of message does the user get? Is the message consistent with the remainder of the site’s look and feel and philosophy?

Is the footer out of date?

Check sites like Compete and Tweetvolume for more information about how a company is really doing. So note: Compete does not exist any more!

So consider CMS Watch as well. Know the company’s baseline strengths and weaknesses and understand related practices and disciplines. So note: CMS Watch now redirects to Real Story Group.

Takeaways from 2010

The Content Strategist often wears a millinery’s worth of hats, not just during a particular project but in any given day. For the CS to excel, he or she needs to have an understanding of fundamentals in a lot of areas, and be able to speak knowledgeably.

Fortunately, acquiring and applying that kind of knowledge makes and keeps this discipline fresh and exciting. Plus, Ian clearly has fun every day. And who wouldn’t want a piece of that?

A Look Over 14 Years Later at Hip-Hop Content Strategy

Welp, things have changed. Big time! Ian is no longer under the above URL. So you know, it’s the one in the first paragraph. And two other sites no longer exist. Plus, the world is a lot different now. So that includes my life.

Now, as I look back on older posts like this, I can see where I did not write them too well. In addition, I can also see where older events were, can I say it?

Kinda gimmicky.

So, I get what Ian was trying to say. And a lot of his advice is still spot on. Yet now, though, I think there are other ways of saying it.

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They Used to Call me Robot Girl

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 4, 2014

They used to call me Robot Girl?

It’s true. They really did call me Robot Girl, back in the day.

But I haven’t blogged for a while. Yeah, I know.

At the time, I was uninspired and did not want to just subject all two of my readers to my ramblings. Plus, I was looking for an actual day job.

Robot Girl Gets A Day Job

Well, I found one (several, eventually). The first one was a temping gig for a large financial services company which shall remain nameless. I was working as a Financial Analyst, preparing and running database reports.

The job was rather similar to several other gigs I had held. And then after that I returned to Social Media full time, and so on. If you want the details, here is my resume.

In the meantime, the Bot Boys are not forgotten, and I still have connections to them on Facebook and LinkedIn. But our lives have all taken rather different turns. Such is to be expected.

But I wanted to reach out, on this blog, for the first time in quite a while, to offer up some of the things I have learned along the way. So gather ’round, and hopefully I can help someone else to navigate the wild world of startups.

Some Wisdom from the Trenches

1. The best gift that anyone can offer startups is money. Advice and expertise are great, and they are helpful, but it all pales in the face of do-re-mi.

And while startup competitions may not want (or, truly, be able) to part with too much of it, it is money that is most needed because, to truly succeed, someone has to quit their day job. You know, the thing I just got a few weeks ago? Yeah.

Someone has to take a flying leap into outer space – but that person still needs to be able to afford ramen and a futon.

2. Speaking of ramen and futons, the startup game is often played by the young. This is not to say that those of us who were born during the Kennedy Administration have naught to offer.

Rather, it is that we have mortgages. We may have children. We have lives that often require more than minimal Connector-style health insurance. Or we may have aging parents, credit card debt or any number of things that make living off ramen, on a futon, nigh impossible.

Besides, I treat my back a lot better these days.

And More

3. However, the not-so-young have a different place in the land of startups. The enthusiastic feel of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney (now I’m really dating myself) yelling, “Hey, kids! Let’s put on a show! We can get the barn!” is replaced with “Let’s see if we can get this thing to work before defaulting on the mortgage/Junior needs braces/gall bladder surgery is required/etc.”

Our needs are different, and we may be more patient with setbacks. This does not necessarily spell being less hungry but, perhaps, less able to truly go for broke.

The not-so-young person’s role in a startup is often more advisory. We are the ones who cannot quit our day jobs until the salaries are decent and reliable. And that day may never come.

4. Startup events are best when they have a focus. Mass Innovation Nights, I feel, is something of a Gold Standard. There is a coherent beginning, middle and end to each event.

It is not just a lot of business card trading. The participants and the audience get good conversational hooks.

Making contacts is vital – I hooked up with the Bot Boys at an event like that – but it cannot just be “Hey, let’s get a bunch of startups together, eat pizza and trade business cards!” The startups that are succeeding are too busy for such activities. And those that are not ….

And Even More…

5. Cloud computing, apps and software companies are everywhere in the startup space. With the Bot Boys, we could stand out a bit as we were a hardware company. Having a product that people can see and feel is valuable amidst a sea of virtual stuff.

6. The downside to that is that hardware companies have spin up problems that cloud computing companies just plain do not have. App companies do not have to worry about shipping and packaging. They do not have to perform quality control checks on shipments. They do not have to work on product safety. Or storage. Or….

7. No one wants to talk to the job seeker, but everyone wants to talk to the entrepreneur – and those are often the same person! Human nature is a bit odd in this area.

But I have seen people who are barely past the “I’ve got this great idea I just sketched on the back of a napkin” stage where there is a flock of interested people swarming around, whereas a person honest about looking for work is often overlooked.

Kinda Sad But True

8. Charisma counts. While one founder is going to be the inventor or the developer (the idea person), the other pretty much must be the socializer. Otherwise, even the best ideas are all too often buried.

Someone must be willing and able to do public speaking, elevator pitching and sales. This need not be an experienced sales person, but that person has got to be a lot friendlier and a lot more fearless than most.

9. Most startups and most entrepreneur groupings will fail, morph, coalesce or break apart before succeeding. And perhaps that is as it should be, for being nimble is one of the characteristics of a successful startup.

If the product sells when it is colored blue, but not when its color is green, dip it in dye, fer chrissakes!

10. We all work for startups, or former startups. Even the large financial services firm was, once, a gleam in someone’s eye. Every invention started off as an idea.

Even day jobs were, at one time, in places where the founders were living off that generation’s equivalent of ramen and sleeping in that era’s analogue to a futon. Yet somehow, against the odds, they made it.

And a lot of today’s startups can, too.

See you ’round the scene. Robot Girl may have left the building. But me? I have not.

I am just a bit different now.

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Want More About What I Have Been Doing Since I was Robot Girl?

If my experiences with the startup life resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about how my own reinvention might help you to navigate yours.

Well, first there was school, and there was community management. Well, more community management than before. And then some inspiration.

Which of course has led to writing and even more writing! What’s next? Me, you’re asking?

• Quinnipiac Assignment 11 – ICM501 – Mobile & Locative Media
† Quinnipiac Assignment 04 – ICM 526 – The Importance of Content Marketing for Community Managers
• A Day in the Life of a Community Manager
† Getting Inspiration from Exercise
• Getting Inspiration From Sexism
† Self-Review – Failure
• Short Story, Skating, a Self-Review

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Onward to Quinnipiac!

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 21, 2014

Woo-Hoo! Onward to Quinnipiac

For quite a while now, as I have searched for work, I have been dismayed at not only issues with networking, but also with the need to make myself stand out from the pack. Hence, onward to Quinnipiac.

I believe that education will do this. However, most social media educational opportunities are with what seem to be more like fly by night operations.

When I learned that Quinnipiac University had a graduate and certificate program in social media, I decided to give it a whirl.

Currently, I am taking one class, ICM 522.

ICM 522 In a Nutshell

ICM 522, Social Media Techniques and Practices, 3 graduate credits
Spring 2014, Summer 2014 – 12 weeks

The proliferation of social media in society has created a new communications environment built on platforms that encourage contribution and collaboration through user-created media and interaction. This course explores the underlying theoretical concepts, development and management of social media platforms as well as the creation of effective strategies to facilitate a viable social media presence.

Covered will be:

• Content creation and interactions from semester-long blog postings
† Establishment and maintenance of credible social media presence on multiple platforms
• Demonstration and understanding of platform usage and capabilities
† Written analysis and review of notable social media practitioners or brands
• Overall growth, and effectiveness of student’s semester-long social media presence

What it’s All About

ICM 522 proved to be an excellent introduction to the subject matter. It was also a really great way for me to get into the mindset of taking a class. And studying. And trying to get a good grade!

One thing I was not prepared for was how much I was going to truly love the class.

Onward to Quinnipiac: Takeaways

So I guess it’s back to school (that is, graduate school!) for me.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t just pass. I graduated—in 2016—with a 4.0 GPA.

Oh and PS

Since most of the Quinnipiac posts are old and not getting any readers, I am unpublishing many of them. I get the feeling no one will be looking around for them.

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My New Job at Neuron Robotics …

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 4, 2010

… or, how Janet Met Bob. Back in the day, I had a job at Neuron Robotics. And it was kinda fun. But as I look back on it later, I can see a few flaws in my reasoning for taking the job.

Okay, more than a few.

Looking for Work in All the Wrong Places

To set the stage, understand that I had been looking for work for a while. The same things had been working all right, but it was time to shake things up. I was in a rut!

I received a notification of a job fair at the Microsoft Nerd Center, to be held on Tuesday, April 13th, 2010. Great!.

Except for one thing.

The subject was robotics.

So, my knowledge of the subject spanned R2D2, Lost in Space, Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Star Trek.

In short, I was about as over my head as anyone could possibly ever be.

What the Hell

But the event was free, and I figured, well, everybody needs social media marketing, right? So I decided to go anyway.

I got a haircut that morning (completely unrelated, I swear!) and prepared for the event by printing up business cards and generally doing pretty much everything but think about it. Yet onto the bus I went.

The space is interesting. It is a two-level area, where there is a huge staircase in the middle, splitting up the lower level. Being that in a former life I was an insurance defense attorney, I always look at that big, beautiful staircase and think: someone is gonna trip.

But I digress.

I walk in, and I am easily a good 20 – 25 years older than everyone in the room who is not an employer. Also, I am one of very few females. And most of the job seekers are in corners or staring at their shoes.

There are two skateboards in the room (fortunately, they are not being used — see tripping hazard, above).

God knows I do not belong.

I do not belong. Cough, wheeze.

Mild Panic Attack Ensues

But seriously, folks.

I do not belong. And, spoiler alert, I still do not. Not by a long shot.

Taking the Plunge Which I Did Not Expect Would Become a Job at Neuron Robotics

And that is all I can think of, but I plunge in anyway, and I talk to some people but, frankly, I can only reel off about five words before I am done. I drop cards wherever I think I can.

And then I retreated to the sidelines, to an area where there was a large wall that showed information on all of the companies attending. I stare at the names, and I am having an existential crisis.

I do not belong.

Oh, I do not belong. Panic, slight panic, big panic.

Yeah, let’s face it.

I do not belong.

Gawd, this is not good. I look up and I see this guy standing nearby. He is, perhaps, thinking some of the same things I am. I cannot tell of course (it turned out, he more or less was). He looks at me, I look at him, and perhaps there was a flash of recognition or sympathy or commiseration because he smiles, says, “What the hell!” and sticks out his hand.

He is Bob Breznak. He owns a robotics company.

Thank God!! And, Suddenly, a Job at Neuron Robotics

So, we chat, and I find myself becoming animated again. It is a free and easy discussion, on topic and off, and it is, above all else, easy. Hallelujah, saved from despair.

We part ways in order to mingle and network, but keep circling back. We are not there together, of course, but keep circling back anyway, you know like you do when you are at a party with a friend and comparing notes or taking a breather.

The evening ends and the next morning, I send a note. But I hear nothing, and chalk it up to experience. I continue, as always, to go to networking events.

In late April, I get my reply. So, we start emailing, and agree to meet on May 10th. Coffee okay? Sure.

I get in early, and the coffee shop is playing The Smiths. This I consider to be auspicious. Bob arrives and we again chat easily. Finally it comes down to brass tacks. Do you want to help us out? Do you want a job at Neuron Robotics?

Sure. Details are discussed over the next few weeks, and I meet the rest of the team, and we hit it off, too. We agree on a shmancy title: Director of Social Media and Public Relations.

And I think to myself:

I belong.

I belong.

… and …

I belong. And egad, I suddenly had a job at Neuron Robotics.

A Quick Look Back at My Old Job at Neuron Robotics

The Name Side of my business card!
A bad scan of my Neuron Robotics business card! If you met me then, you could have gotten a much nicer one.

We used to make stuff. Or, at least, that was the plan. The company, apparently, was sold or taken over or got its own taste of reinvention. Helfino anymore.

Did it help me? I cannot honestly say. I came away from it with some fun stories. As in, running through the streets of Cambridge, barefoot, hunting for a place to buy batteries (my shoes were off because I was in killer heels).

Also, as a person who has worked in a startup, it gives me some street cred around not only startups but also fast-paced work and modern work.

I made friends. I still keep up with the guys. And I did a ton of networking, but that is only semi-helpful as it is not in the field where I want to be these days.

In retrospect, it filled what would have been a rather large gap in my work history. And, if nothing else, I made like Socrates and learned just what I did not know.

So, I went to Quinnipiac and got my Masters degree!

And then I eventually learned that I kind of wanted to be a writer all along. And so, here we are.

Want to see more from me, on writing, and the business of being an independent author? Click here to add my site as a preferred source.Many thanks for hanging in there with me.

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