How to write a blog post

I've been reading around through all the blogs on here. I'm interested to see what's written and by who. There're some interesting posts about stuff I never would have thought about. But, as I periodically (try to) do, I took a step back and examined my own blog and all the others I've read carefully. The purpose of this entire blogging assignment is to learn how to effectively write blogs for an organization. Its safe to say that if you're reading this, you've got the technical side down. Using twitter, using blogger, this is the first hurdle.

But who wants to read an article if it isn't engaging? I don't. Nobody does. I noticed some things which I think could benefit everybody in some way.

• Write to your audience.

I had this notion of what being "professional" meant. I altered the way I wrote and the content I'd include to fit this notion. One of the assumptions I had was that my audience was everybody. But that assumes everybody on the internet is reading this. Isn't that kind of ridiculous of me? In my most recent post I cut portions of the interaction out and omitted information I didn't need. Granted, I think the post worked out after all. But I could've made it better and more interesting for you to read.

We're all in the same class. By and large, we're the only people who are going to be reading each other's blogs. Furthermore, when I read a blog about an organization, its interesting when I learn about tidbits from their lives. It gives me a sense of the person on the other end of the message.

What that means for me (and you) is that when I'm writing an article I shouldn't be afraid to reference things which happened in class or around Truman. Always be sensitive to whether or not it should be shared online but by clearly defining who your target audience is and how you want to write you do two things. You keep a consistent writing voice throughout posts which makes you more believable and relatable, and you become more engaging when you close that invisible mental gap between "the internet" and "your life."

ex: This entire post is a product of self-reflection. I can do it with writing, but I still can't bring myself to watch the video of my interview. I was so nervous for it I couldn't speak at the start and I feel like I'll look like a complete dunce. Now isn't that funny, watching it would be one of the best things I could do to develop my interviewing skills (thanks Dr. Smith for putting those up!) but I'm fine with anybody but me watching it. There's a toastmasters international club starting up here at Truman, I've gone to one of their sessions but I was scared away by the entry fee. I think it would be a good thing if I joined after all. After I'm done writing this, I'm gonna open up my interview on blackboard. Wish me luck^^

• Tell a good story

Emotions are what drive us all. A good story will stay with you, inspire emotion and action. If you can tell a good story you can be a successful person on that skill alone. I think the best way to drive this point home is to tell a story.

I've been reading a book by Keith Ferrazzi about networking and in it he talks about how important remembering people's birthdays is. Here's what he said.

I was in New York some years back and up popped a reminder on my Palm: "Birthday--Kent Blossil." Kent was the man who successfully got past my gatekeeper. When I met Kent that day, and I received his contact information, I asked for his birth date, as I try to do with everyone. It's not intrusive, and most people forget the moment after they tell me.

Kent was a Mormon. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he had upward of ten brothers and sisters. With such a large family, you'd think the man's phone would be ringing off the hook on his birthday.

I hadn't spoken to him for over a year. It was a busy day for me, and I didn't see the reminder until close to 3:00 pm that afternoon. Generally, I like to make the birthday calls in the early morning. This way I get someone's voice mail, and when they come in to work that morning, they're greeted with my rendition of "Happy Birthday." I can't tell you how many New York City cabdrivers must think I'm an utter lunatic.

So when Kent actually picked up his phone that afternoon, my personal Pavarotti of "Happy Birthday" greeted him. No greetings. No Niceties. I just let it rip.

Normally, I get laughter and a grateful "Thanks." This time, after I had finished, the phone went silent. "Kent, you there? It's your birthday, right?" Nothing. Not a word. I thought I'd made a jerk out of myself and missed the day or something.

 "Kent?"

Finally he stammers out, "Yeah." He was choked up, audibly holding back tears.

"You all right?"

"You remembered my birthday?" he said. People are always shocked by this.

"You know, Keith, this year none of my brothers or sisters or family...well, nobody remembered my birthday. Nobody remembered," he said. "Thank you so much."

He never forgot. People never do. 

I immediately turned on my laptop, went to facebook, got out my phone and put in the birthday of every single person on my contact list. It took 2 hours, but I felt a need inside myself. Wouldn't you feel so alone if that ever happened? I never want anybody I know to have their birthday forgotten. Ever. Go up and read the first 3 lines of this bullet point again, they'll have a whole new world of meaning for you.

• Use examples

This one is hard to encapsulate. It's easy to say "be organized" or "think about personal finance!" That doesn't mean jack. Anybody can say that. Find something that happened which relates to what you're talking about and plug it in there. For my examples about examples, I'm gonna be a jerk. I feel being able to criticize is a necessary skill. So, Sorry Mike, you're going under the bus (but its only because I think you can handle it)!

Read this post. It gives good guidelines for crisis management. As part of lifeguarding I'm required to memorize emergency action plans like this so I know how effective and necessary preparations like this are. But it lacks 2 things, 1) Background and 2) Examples.

1) I know this blog is about PR because I've read it before and theres a little line above the title hidden in the background saying "Great PR representative qualities." I had one of my friends look at the page and read it. He couldn't figure out what it was about or why it was important. When I explained everything, he went "ohh." If this is the first time somebody is reading your blog (inside your organization or not) it should be clear to them what's going on.

2) Use an example. There are a ton of people and companies making big mistakes all the time. Focus on one of those and describe what worked well and what didn't. Some recent examples are the Tiger Woods Infidelity scandal, BP's Gulf spill, or any of the massive amounts of recalls happening. 

That's how I think your blog can be a ton better. 

How to Control Your Spending

I went to eat at the new Mongolian BBQ + Sushi place where the Happy Mexican used to be. On the car ride there, I was talking with one of my good friends. He complained about how he felt guilty eating out despite not having done it the previous several weeks. He said he had ~$600 in the bank and was always wanted a sizeable chunk in the bank as an emergency fund.

I didn't feel guilty at all. I gave him some advice and he got excited about the prospect of not feeling guilty about doing day-to-day activities. Here's what I told him:

Have a savings account and a checking account.

Savings Account: Have almost all your $$ in the savings account. Personally, I use an online bank because they offer the highest interest rates and -- this is both an advantage and a drawback -- it takes 3 business days after you request money for it to get transferred to your checking account. This means you can't spend all your money on an impulse purchase and regret it later, you have built-in consideration time.

To sidestep the 3-day delay, you can set up automatic transfers to your checking account. I have mine deposit amounts automatically each month. I have all the money I need for fixed costs (rent, utility, dues) and then an additional amount for everything else. The everything else is whatever you deem important. I like eating out, having fun with friends, and one-time unexpected charges ALWAYS come up so I have an additional amount alloted for that.

Checking Account: Have a $50 or $100 buffer in here. Touch this only if you NEED to, its safety against overdrafting. If you go below this mark you're in the red. If you write all your transactions down in some sort of tracker, don't include this in your total. If you spend more than your alloted amount consistently then you either need to increase your monthly stipend or figure out where you can cut your spending with the least detraction to enjoyment. If you have extra leftover at the end of the month, great! Deposit it back so you're down to your stipend.

And naturally, I suggest you have a credit card too. Not only will the extra credit help you out in a pinch (you go to the hospital or legal fees) but having this function as your spending medium instead of a checking account can net you a lot of bonuses.

By the way, there are some things about the Mongolian BBQ which confused me at first. You fill up your bowl with all non-meats, then go fill it up with meats. At the end you fill a little dish with the sauce you want and give it to the employee there. He/She'll give you a number and you go sit down. They'll bring it to you after its cooked. It's mouth-wateringly good.

Credit Card Crash Course Pt. 1

Credit Cards should be called Short-Term Loan Cards. Sure, they both mean the same thing...but one puts a little more perspective on the plastic in your pocket, no? What many Americans don't know is that credit cards are one of the best tools for your money available. In this post, I'll go over a list of reasons why you should have a card, the guideline for safe use and how to find the card which will benefit you most. Here's that list:

1. Consumer Protection. This means if you buy a big-ticket item like a TV and it doesn't work or you're not content with it, give your card provider's company a call. They'll refund you the price automatically and mobilize the full force of their legal officers to your cause. 
2. Automatic Warranty Doubling. Up to a year. Just because you purchased something with a credit card as opposed to cash or debit. Need I say more?
3. Trip-Cancellation Insurance. Can't go? No problem.
4. Establish Credit. This benefit is severely underrated and misunderstood. I'll go over how your credit score works and how that affects you in a later blog post, but rest easy that proper credit card usage can save you thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of dollars down the line.
5. Concierge Services. Need a last-minute reservation to a restaurant? Need a ride? Most companies offer 24/7 customer support and many other services in major cities. Most people never even know of these additional services. This varies from company to company, but finding out is simple as a phone call.
6. Rewards. Plane tickets, cash-back, gas-rewards, grocery-rewards, etc. Imagine every time you brush your teeth you get paid for it. Awesome, right? Well if you bought your toothpaste with your credit card, you are. (Note: Cash-back cards generally save you the least. Find a need you have and then find the card to fill it.) 
7. Tracking Your Spending. This isn't for everybody, but credit cards make it really easy to track exactly what you spend on. Personally, I use http://www.mint.com/ to monitor my spending habits. It's all free and surprisingly informative. And embarrassing.

Sounds great, right? Well it might not be great. It might ruin your life if you don't follow this one rule: Always, always always pay your full balance on time. Always. If you can't pay the full balance, pay as much as you can. Most cards will hit students with a 20.99% interest rate for late payments. I won't get into the math this post (how credit card debt works and what you can do to minimize it is in Pt. 2), but if you can't handle this then don't get a credit card. If you can't control your spending you'll be doing yourself more harm than good.


To find a credit card you will have to do some looking around. You should never, never apply for a card offered to you in the mail or by retail chains. I'll be more specific: if you don't seek out the card based on your needs, you shouldn't apply for it. Ever.

I'll keep this part simple: go here. You can sort the types of cards you view but I specifically linked to all the student cards. And don't use Capital One. From personal experiences my friends have had, this place has a reputation for horrible customer service. Nearly all the major chains offer 24/7 customer support for free. Capital One doesn't last I heard from a fellow student my age. Naturally, you can explore options through your bank and other outlets too (various websites, friends, family, anything you can access with your network).

Closing Thoughts
Don't let your parents decide whether or not you should get a credit card. Your financial future is yours. My parents were vehemently against me getting one. In addition to not having any problems with it, I got a free bottle of a cologne I wanted for Christmas. They didn't get it for me, mainly because I'm pretty sure they think nothing can make me smell better. Anyway, it was over a $100 value for little more than 10 minutes a month reviewing my statement and paying it off. Almost a dollar a minute.

I'd like to caution you to read the rest of this crash course before you apply for one. In Credit Card Crash Course Pt. 2, I'll go over how to maintain your credit card. This includes the quickest and cheapest ways to resolve any problems you might encounter. 

Are You Getting Paid What You're Worth?

I was talking with a friend who works at the local Hastings here in Kirksville. He told me he had just gotten promoted. After congratulating him, the first thing I asked was "Is the raise worth the work?" He said he didn't know. "Did you get as much as you could?" Maybe.

The first topic I'm going to explore is salary negotiation. Most people make the largest part of their income through their jobs. So naturally, work is the place you can see the largest gains with comparatively least amount of effort.

Check out this video for a quick crash-course:

Practice negotiating with people.

For some different perspective, check this out. Use a salary-comparison website to give yourself a number to work off of.

Don't underestimate the subtle nuances of communication, either.

When you hear the offer, repeat the top value - and then be silent. "The most likely outcome of this silence is a raise," Chapman writes. The book offers a specific technique for responding when you hear the salary offer, a technique that's designed to give you time to think about it while also putting a little pressure on the employer.

From here.

Back to my conversation with my friend. I asked him "Did you negotiate at all?" Not much, he admitted. But he did find out what the typical pay for his position was and managed to get that.

Make sure you get paid how much you're worth.

p.s.: If you're more interested

How to Get the Stuff You Want, Smartly

I think most magazines, websites and advice for money management get it wrong.






Ouch.
They focus on how to limit spending and focus on things which, while they will save you money, will cost a lot of effort and time—for marginal results! There are better ways to save time and money.

Most of all, there’s an entirely better way to approach how you look at your money. Rather than seeing it as a "budget"—a limiting and negative way to view personal finance which doesn't work—it’s really a tool to get the things you want in life as quickly and intelligently as possible.

I'm going to say that one more time. It’s a tool to get the things you want in life as quickly and intelligently as possible. Here are some of the things I'll be posting about:

• Credit Card Crash Course
• Why Budgeting doesn't work—and what to do instead
• How to Negotiate Your Salary
• How you can get the most out of your bank
• Managing your personal financial infrastructure so you can do the least amount of work possible

A knowledge of personal finance helps your professional development in a subtle but major way. Imagine a company of workers who are strangled with credit card debt. Constantly stressed out by money, they work paycheck to paycheck. They don't have an understanding of how money works and through their mismanagement they can't truly live their lives the way they want to. When they go out to eat, they order the cheapest thing and feel guilty about even that (not to mention it kills a major networking tool). They lack a major life skill necessary to lead a happy a life.

...

Now imagine a company full of workers who know how to manage their money. They have interesting hobbies, directions in their lives and a general sense of contentment. There's no underlying source of desperate stress running through the office. In fact, they're used to actively identifying, creating or otherwise pursuing methods to make their lives more efficient and cheaper. They see opportunities and alternatives employees at the first company don't. A lack of financial intelligence is a crippling thing.