The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Archives for May 2014

A standard video

by Leave a Comment

As well as ambient video, Myth also supports YouTube and Vimeo embeds.

Fusce at risus at lacus laoreet mollis sed id elit. Integer bibendum lobortis velit, eleifend commodo dui facilisis nec. Aliquam mi sapien, ultrices a ultrices non, sodales ut diam. Fusce semper risus eu magna placerat pulvinar. Nullam ac odio non ligula semper auctor. Fusce semper risus eu magna placerat pulvinar.

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”Ansel Adams

Nullam ac odio non ligula semper auctor. Fusce semper risus eu magna placerat pulvinar. Nullam ac odio non ligula semper auctor. Aenean at dui dui, non scelerisque nisi. Morbi ullamcorper dapibus nisl, ullamcorper fringilla eros pulvinar et.

Nulla rhoncus elementum rhoncus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Pellentesque a erat velit, venenatis porttitor mauris.

Fusce semper risus eu magna placerat pulvinar. Nullam ac odio non ligula semper auctor. Fusce semper risus eu magna placerat pulvinar. Nullam ac odio non ligula semper auctor. Fusce semper risus eu magna placerat pulvinar. Nullam ac odio non ligula semper auctor. Aenean at dui dui, non scelerisque nisi. Morbi ullamcorper dapibus nisl, ullamcorper fringilla eros pulvinar et. Nulla rhoncus elementum rhoncus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Pellentesque a erat velit, venenatis porttitor mauris.

69 Reasons Link Bait Is Good For Sex And Blogging

by Leave a Comment

dad blogger sunset
There is moment when the sun and the moon exchange places that I never tire of. It is that time where the two of them do a sort of awkward dance where they can’t figure out who should be standing where so they sort of both stay where they are and the sky is a mix of light and dark.

Someone once told me that is the moment called twilight and I asked them how they knew. It was a serious question, no insouciance or sarcasm attached. No attempt be Bud Abbot to their Lou Costello I wasn’t playing word games about who was on first.

If Comments Are Dead…

Someone told me my headlines are off putting and that this is why my blog posts don’t receive more comments. I told them to never mistake what they put in their mouth for a hot dog or chew toy and they would receive more return visits. When they asked me if I was intentionally trying to be rude I suggested they ask the same question of themselves.

I always find it interesting to see how some people can be rude and insensitive and then shocked when you mirror their behavior.

Ok, I might have been a tad nicer in how I replied but since they chose to introduce themselves by way of critical criticism I chose to respond in kind and with ardor.

But I didn’t tell them I would type slowly or suggest they use a dictionary to look up words like ardor or deleterious. However I did concede I responded to their deleterious comment with ardor.

Speaking of comments if comments are dead how are we supposed to prove or measure engagement. Yeah that is a question and a statement.

Have I mentioned that lately I have been torn regarding where I wanted to focus? Haven’t quite decided yet how much time to spend blogging about blogging and writing about writing.

Couldn’t quite decide if I wanted to share more posts about social media but since I have been jammed for time I have run some older posts that fit the evergreen model.

You know, the topics that never get old that are read and written about repeatedly because bloggers never tire of reading about how to monetize their blogs and people who have trouble thinking about what to blog about never tire of writing about the low hanging fruit of the blogosphere known as how to blog.

A Dad Blogger Misses His Son

Steiner the elder is preparing to send his son off for a school trip and though the young master hasn’t left yet I miss him already. Yeah, I may be an ornery old cuss about some things but the kids usually pull out the softer side of me.

That kid of mine is heading out at first light for parts known and unknown. I am excited for him and expect he’ll have  great trip but he is not so sure.

Mister isn’t quite the adventurer I am…yet.

Truth is he didn’t want to go but I pushed him to step outside of his comfort zone because that is how possibility is formed and possibility leads to opportunity.

Earlier he and I had a long talk about the merit of blazing your own trail and of taking life by the horns so that you live as opposed to just watch things pass you by.

When life gets hard some people lie down and curl up in a fetal position but that is not an option for us.

69 Reasons Link Bait Is Good For Sex And Blogging

I learned long ago that there is no single path to success in blogging and social media. There is no one way to do this and if you want to make some noise you have to be willing to check out the path not taken.

That is because the blogosphere is cluttered, chaotic and noisy so if you want to get some attention you have to figure out how to do it.

Sometimes I use link bait. Sometimes I am completely unfiltered. Some times I think about using headlines that are even more outlandish.

Would 59 ways to give better head be more effective or should it be 98 Ways to Convince Your Wife To Sexually Satisfy you be better.

The point isn’t really to shock people but to find your voice and to stick to it. If you run this race like the marathon it is and you have fun you’ll last longer and you’ll find readers that want to hang out with you.

And that my friends is all I have to say for now. Got to get some shut eye so that I can get the young mister to his destination, morning comes far too soon.

See you in the comments.

How I Used Bad Headlines & Jedi Mind Tricks To Become a Billionaire Blogger

by Leave a Comment

fridge and range2

Editor’s Note: This is what you call an evergreen post meaning it is timeless. It first ran several years ago but people read it because so many bloggers want to make money from blogging. It is tied into with the sentiments in Are Your Posts Authentically Sterile?

Some of you have asked if I write posts that aren’t snarky comments about blogging. For you I offer An Uncertain Certainty, The Best Thing My Father Ever Said To Me and Grandpa.

Every now and then I like to write posts that poke fun at other bloggers who try to fill our heads full of rules and regulations about how we should blog and what doesn’t work.

Rules and I don’t always get along very well and not just because I am insouciant and given to whims of fancy where I dream about defenenstrating those who irritate me.

It is because here in the magical world of social media there aren’t many rules at all other than “be nice to others” and “sustain your effort.” Ok, that is not entirely true nor does that provide a good explanation for how to make a buck while blogging.

But unlike other bloggers I don’t lie to you and claim to be making tons of cash doing this. Yeah, I am calling out all sorts of people with this post and suggesting they put their money where their mouths arr- open the books and prove you are making real money because I don’t believe it.

My Old Kitchen

The picture up above is of the new kitchen we put in my old house. I loved that kitchen and when we moved I was disappointed to say goodbye.

The kitchen is the heart of the home and that one was special. The funds that I used to pay for the remodeling came from my pocket and were not from blogging.

Ad sales paid for most of it, online ad sales. Yep, once upon a time I sold online advertising for a living so I know a thing or two about this business.

Some of you are trying to fool the good people of the blogosphere into buying your special blend of BS but more than a few of us recognize it. Some of you won’t last much longer because your cash flow is about gone.

Sadly that doesn’t describe all of you because you have alternate sources, like your spouse/savings or daytime job to pay for your snake oil sales.

I Am Just Writing

I haven’t given out names because I don’t want a flame war and it is possible I am wrong about some people. But that is ok because I really am just writing because I find in joy in it.

Not just joy in the journey but joy in the moments and minutes where I figure out which letters go where and what words work best. That joy is why you keep seeing these posts show up in your feed/reader/inbox.

It is part of why I don’t always feel the need to spend lots of time writing headlines. Jayme blogged about bad headlines and shared how sometimes I use sexual innuendo to drive traffic to my posts.

I suppose that is true, but what is also true is that if headlines are foreplay I rush through it.

Don’t get me wrong, headlines can be fun to write and not just the innuendo kind. I rather enjoy trying to come up with something more clever.

But time constraints dictate how I work and I never have all day to just sit around and play here so I have to get to the writing. I have to get to the words on the page bit so I push through the headlines.

People Don’t Read

I also know that many people don’t read. They skim the headline and make a split second decision about whether they are going to click their way into the blog to read that amazing post we just wrote.

The benefit of writing good headlines is that you have a better chance to generate traffic that way than by just throwing mud at the wall.

My method isn’t based on traffic. It is based on getting to write so that I can experience the joy of the journey. These words speak to me and I can’t get enough of their soft caress.

And after all these years I have learned/proven that people will read my posts. It may take longer to generate the larger traffic numbers but the community we are building is really solid and that is worth a lot.

Billion Dollar Blogger

Maybe one day I will be the first billion dollar blogger and maybe I won’t, doesn’t much matter to me as long as I am still having fun.

Ok, that is not entirely true either, a billion dollars would be nice but the joy this job generates is substantial.

What about you?

Dad Bloggers Get Paid To Blog

by 2 Comments

Dad bloggers get paid to blog.

Editor’s Note: This post originally ran in 2012. If you go through the files you’ll find other posts like  How A Dad Blogger Uses Amazon To Make Money From Writing that flow in a similar or related vein. Some of them are tongue-in-cheek but there is useful information in there and proof that some things never change.

Playing in the Background Subterranean Homesick Blues– Bob Dylan

I don’t want to make you feel badly but I get paid to write. In fact I earn so much money from my writing that I have begun using single dollar bills for kindling. Yep, that is right I burn money in my fireplace like it is going out of style.

Don’t want make you feel insecure but I get invitations to speak at every major blogging conference including the secret ones that only the A-listers attend. Heck at the last one George Clooney and I hung out together for at least 6 minutes and it is not because he gave me a drink order. Hell, if he had done that I would have given George the patented Jack Steiner steely eyed glare and the last six dark hairs on his head would have gone white.

Don’t fuck with me George, I am a dad blogger- hear me roar. They say that behind every good man is a good woman but behind every good mom blog there is a great dad blog.

But enough of that crap, let’s cut to the chase: Dad Bloggers get paid to blog. We don”t work for free.

Know Your Worth

Ok, I’ll drop the sarcasm but continue with the message because it is important and applicable to all bloggers. Know your own worth. Your time is valuable and if someone asks you to work for them you deserve to be compensated for your time.

Unfortunately some of you haven’t figured this out yet because you continue to work for free or even worse for peanuts.

What that means is that when someone asks you to write about their business/product/service you spend hour working on the post(s) but get little to nothing in return.

Examples:

1) Brand XYZ has you spend four or five hours working on several posts reviewing/promoting their product. They provide you with a $10 gift card to use as part of a giveaway that you all hope will draw readers. In return you also receive a $10 gift card.

The problem is that you just spent four or five hours working for a $10 gift card. Let’s pretend that the gift card is the same as cash. All that time you spent working was for less than the minimum wage.

2) Brand XYX contacts you and asks you to write a post about their product or service. They don’t offer a gift card or any sort of giveaway, but they don’t expect you to work for very long either.

This is still a problem. They came to you because they think you reach their target audience and you just provided them with free advertising. They are paying someone, somewhere for the chance to promote their product/service/company. But you just gave it away and your time for free.

Several years ago I had a lengthy disagreement with some mom bloggers about this and why their working for free was bad for all bloggers. It is bad because when you work for free you devalue your work and mine.

Two of them disagreed with me and said that I was preventing them from monetizing their blogs. My response was that what they were doing was no different from putting out for free. I am sure that they wouldn’t sleep with any man that asked. I received a very strongly worded reply from one of them and the silence from the other.

All sarcasm aside, I really do get paid to write and I really am paid for my time. That is not me being snooty, obnoxious or sarcastic either.

In most cases the people that contact bloggers about these reviews are getting paid. I strongly doubt that they would work for free, so why should you.

The Greatest Mother’s Day Gift Ever

by 2 Comments

Field of Sunflowers

Friends I stumbled onto the Greatest Mother’s Day gift ever today. Sadly this information comes far too late for me to order it for the mothers in my life.

squatty

 

Yes it is the Squatty Potty and as you can see I missed the deadline so proper pooping techniques will have to be provided by some other soul.

This might possibly be more exciting than the Mangroomer and maybe even the fine tool highlighted in Improve Your Marriage/Relationship Immediately.

Surely it is as useful as learning how to hard boil eggs.

Granted I am intrigued by bathroom products, because those of us who suffer a little digestive distress from the wrath of Chicken Vindaloo pay attention to these kinds of things.

It is why we brought you news about a bathroom revolution and even a story about taking your toilet to dinner.

The Greatest Mother’s Day Gift Ever?

Friends some of you might think this is a crappy post but I promise you it is the sort of useful crap you can learn from.

What you have here is proof that there is an unlimited pool of business ideas that people are pulling from various places on our bodies and though I may not be taking them ass seriously as I could we don’t know whether they are working or not.

Meaning that without looking into the books we don’t know if these products are thriving or failing. They may sound silly, ridiculous and foolish to some but to others they may be brilliant.

Smart businesses meet the needs of their customers and there may be quite a few in need of these.

When I work with my children on brainstorming I tell them to write down everything and anything they can think of which is no different than what I do professionally.

The main difference between the two is that the kids don’t worry about looking foolish the way adults do. They don’t set the same limitations upon what they share and what they think is possible.

Creativity is Critical

I am a writer and marketer by trade. Some would say that creativity is critical for my work and I would agree but I wouldn’t limit it my work because I see creativity as being critical to people in general. Creativity and imagination are things that help all people personally and professionally.

It is where we find new ways to do things and give ourselves more hope for the future. Is that goofy, screwy and cliche like? Yeah,  it is but there is truth there.

Our ability to try to see beyond our limits, to reach for the impossible and improbable and to vocalize those things is what will distinguish us from others.

Some of those dreams may not be realistic. Some may not be useful, practical, viable or necessary but I would rather seem them shared then swallowed.

Why?

Because I think there is gold in there. Won’t lie and say I don’t hope to be the one to come up with it but wouldn’t hurt for others to figure something out either.

It doesn’t always have to be something revolutionary like a smartphone either. Sometimes all you need is a simple tool that makes simple tasks easier to do for everyone.

What do you think?