Too often we let life’s true learning experiences pass us by. Barry Byers caught this one in action, and I’m so glad he did.  

The article below was written by Barry Byers, one of our Search Engine Academy associates. Barry and his partner, Greg Mate, own the Toronto and Montreal Search Engine Academy. If you live near either of those areas and are interested in learning search engine marketing, you know where to go for the most trusted SEO training in the area.  

Barry took a simple dinner and turned it into a learning experience in his article below.

Congratulations, Barry. It’s a phenomenal article!

5 Small Business Marketing Tips
By Barry Byers

Small business marketing tips are everywhere these days and if you pay attention, even in the most unexpected places. (more…)

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Posted by permission of
David Singer.

At some point in each of our lives, we’ve had a “label” attached to us, and those labels sometimes hurt. Maybe the labels were attached when we were children and they’ve carried through to adulthood.

Or maybe they were attached to us as teenagers or adults. Either way, they hurt . . . sometimes terribly.

With many people, the labels can cause us to lash out, to hate others, and to use the labels as an excuse to abuse ourselves or others. We get caught in a maze to where there are so many dead ends that there appears to be no way out. 

With other labels, we were born with them, or the labels are our religion. Labels may be attached to medical challenges or life styles.

It doesn’t matter what the labels are . . . labels hurt.

Of course, there are positive labels and negative labels, but labels can also be taken both ways. A “high-society” girl can be a compliment or a cut down, depending on how it’s used.

We tend to look at others and judge them. Yet, do we really know what goes on in their lives? Do we know what it’s like to be behind their labels? We’ve never walked in their shoes. Until we have, we have no right to be critical. Even then, we have no right to judge them.

Let’s look at some labels. Do any of them fit you now . . . or in the past?

Is the color of your skin white?

Is the color of your skin black?

Is the color of your skin red?

Is the color of your skin yellow?

Are you an illegal immigrant?

Are you an immigrant?

Are you suffering from depression?

Do you have any chronic illnesses, and do you feel defined by your illness? “He’s a diabetic.” But isn’t he a person who just happens to have diabetes?

Are you a drug addict or alcoholic?

Even more difficult, are you a RECOVERING drug addict or alcoholic?

Do you suffer from mental illness? Seems like we all do, at one time or another?

Are you too heavy? Too thin? Or, do you feel like you are?

Are you shy and introverted? Or, are you an extrovert and demand to be the center of attention?

Are you a Christian? A Jew? A Muslim?

Are you gay?

Are you in a mixed marriage or the child of a mixed marriage?

Are you wrinkled and gray, and rather than being respected for your great knowledge and history, do you feel tossed aside, unloved, and neglected?

Are you an American?

Are you a Republican?

Are you a Democrat?

Are you from the South?

Are you a woman?

Are you successful?

Are you NOT successful?

Each of these labels can come with trials and difficulties. When we personally suffer from some of these labels, we forget that others suffer from different labels. We’re so quick to judge others, but we don’t like when others judge us.

This is one of the reasons why I love the Internet. It’s the great equalizer. No one knows which side of the “tracks” we live on, and it doesn’t matter. We’re all equal on the Internet, unless we ruin our own reputations online, which can certainly be done.

This post is for us to ponder what I call “labels.”

When could any of us stand up in front of group of people and not be judged on anything before we open our mouths to speak? We’re individuals who deserve to be heard without any labels being attached to us.

So many of the labels above are mine. How many of them are yours?

Robin

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I was reminded today of a familiar term for writers: writers block.

When I think of writers block, I think of a frustrated writer waiting for a spark of inspiration as he or she stares at a blank piece of white paper stuck in an old manual typewriter.

As search engine marketers, we all know how important content is to a Web site. Content can take many forms, from the nostalgic angle of your products to the history behind your restaurant or city and even to the descriptive text you use to describe each of your products.

It’s the beginning of 2008. We’re all on the Web, the Content Capital of the World. Without content, the Web would cease to exist. Yet, some SEOs, Webmasters, and Website owners refuse to add additional content to a Web site.

Why? Could it be that they get writers block every time they sit down to write? They just don’t know what to write about.  

Yet on the Web, do you realize you can write about almost anything, as long as you’re knowledgeable about your topic? (Let’s face it: some people don’t even fulfill that basic requirement!)

Here’s a little trick to help you get started.

Instead of staring at a blank sheet of “paper,” type your topic on the page as the title, then start typing. Just type. Don’t lift your fingers from the keyboard. Type.

Type for 30 minutes without stopping. Don’t edit or stop to correct misspellings. Type anything that comes to your mind.  

After 30 minutes, if you’re in the middle of a thought, keep going until you wind it down. Save the page.

Read over the content but don’t make any changes. Give it a day or two, and then look at it again. This is the time to edit it.

For 2008, let’s see if we can get past the piece of white paper by trying this little trick. Let me know how it works for you.

Good luck!

Robin Nobles 

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