50-for-50: Frequently asked questions

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IQZhGoLqBs] This post is #47 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

Eventually, when this is behind me, I'll write up a more organized list of FAQs. But the video above and the list below take care of some of the things I've been getting asked a lot now that are sort of time-sensitive.

1. Party invitations

If you have given money for a party invite and have not received one from us (they're coming from Pingg.com), contact me IMMEDIATELY: colleen AT communicatrix DOT com. I will forward your email to Jill Murphy, who's taken over party stuff so my head doesn't explode before we can get the hair off of it. But yes, all the invites have gone out.

2. Perk fulfillment & thank-yous

We—or rather, I—will be fulfilling perks after the close of the campaign. Probably at least a week after, because I seriously need a week to just recover. Since I'm doing it myself, it may take a while, but you will get your stuff, digital or physical.

As to thank-yous, I didn't promise I'd do this, but I want to. Again, it will take a while. Please be patient! I can only do so much, and I have taken two months off of work to do the campaign, so I have to work, too. Because boy, Anthem Blue Cross gave me the OPPOSITE of a birthday present. Okay. 'Nuff said on that one.

3. How I did what I did

I've started getting a number of requests for information on how I organized, ran, prepped, etc. the campaign. I will be sharing everything I learned over the next couple of months. Maureen Anderson interviewed me (and separately, Keren Taylor, director of WriteGirl) for The Career Clinic radio show; I'm going to do an interview for IndieGoGo's newsletter and a Q&A via Skype with Don Stanley for his Social Media class at University of Wisconsin-Madison, which hopefully, they'll post for other people to see.

I will also be writing things up myself, so please subscribe to the blog and subscribe to the newsletter to make sure you get those. You can unsubscribe whenever you want—I encourage it, in fact. But if you email me asking for the info, you'll just get a reply to look for the info here. It will become recursive and annoying, and neither of us wants that to happen.

Again, please be patient. I'm pretty overwhelmed now, and I cannot help but think I will be more so once it sinks in that I am a 50-year-old lady with no hair.

4. T-shirt fulfillment

The "Old." shirts are printed all at once, then shipped out by the printer. You should receive your "Old." shirt sometime in October, if you ordered one. (And no, you can't order one now—orders have been closed.)

5. Yes, I'm donating the hair

To these people. They seem nice, and they are definitely NOT blowing their money on web design, which makes us simpatico.

6. When is the last day to contribute?

September 13, 2011. After that, you're welcome to donate money to WriteGirl, and I hope you will. But to say you're a part of this crazy little project we're all working on together OFFICIALLY, kick in here by Tuesday. Early. Because I may or may not have set the campaign to run out before 11:59pm Pacific.

Okay! That's all I got for now.

Catch you on the flip-flop!

xxx c

What's up & what's gone down :: June 2011

A mostly monthly but certainly occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what's in the hopper. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (stuff I'll be doing)

• June L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles; Wednesday, June 22]  Fun, free, low-key networking plus great tips, tricks and ideas from your fellow indie-biz folk, which of course includes me. Duh. All that, and Happy Hour specials, too. My co-host this month, photographer/creative director Josh Ross, may or may not be taking excellent shots of the whole affair. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.

Colleen of the Past (what I have done for you lately)

• World Domination Summit [Portland, OR; June 3-5] This fantastic conference put on by my friend Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity and his crack team of dedicated volunteers exceeded even my loftiest expectations. (Bollywood dance lesson! Group crying! Free, Oprah-style fortunes taped to the bottom of our chairs!) There are photos available to view on Flickr (and my June newsletter shares one lesson learned). There will also be a documentary assembled eventually. What can I say? Get on the list for 2012; I've already bought my ticket.
• ASMP's Strictly Business Blog I'm an occasional contributor now, because dammit, I just can't talk enough about marketing. This post covers the use of personal work in portfolios, written for photogs, but applicable to any artist whose life and work overlap.
• The Suitcase Entrepreneur Podcast The already-high-spirited Natalie Sisson got rip-roaring drunk on cider and asked me my thoughts on how to build your audience as a blogger. And she did it all from a café somewhere in the world with really spotty wifi. God bless the internets!
• World-Changing Writing Workshop 2011 My special poetry feature bonus thingy gets released later this week. If you're a member of this year's WCWW class, please be sure to join the forum dedicated to my bonus feature. It's the place, and the only place, where I'll be discussing aspects of the pieces, and answering questions.

Colleen of the Present (stuff I do, rain or shine)

• communicatrix | focuses :: My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). This month: How to talk FAST (or, pulling a talk for 500 people out of your ass the night before). Free!
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for LA Casting. Nominally for actors, there's a ton of good info in there for any creative business person. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam :: If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx c

Image by Armosa Studios via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: May 2011

A mostly monthly but certainly occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what's in the hopper. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (stuff I'll be doing)

• World-Changing Writing Workshop 2011 [Registration opens May 9] It takes people like Pace & Kyeli to get me more excited about making an entirely new thing and giving it away for nothing than I did teaching a paid class. But that's how they are. Bastards. And kids, for as good as last year's WCWW was, and it was an astounding value for your dollar, this year's is going to wipe the floor with last year's. What did I conjure up for this year's lucky participants? Poetry, baby, sheer poetry. (Okay, and a deconstruction of how I do it, and how you can, too. It's a class, right?) Check it out, get on the mailing list, blah blah blah.
• May L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles; Wednesday, May 11]  Fun, free, low-key networking plus great tips, tricks and ideas from your fellow indie-biz folk, which of course includes me. Duh. All that, and Happy Hour specials, too. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.
• World Domination Summit [Portland, OR; June 3-5] Alas, the WDS has been sold out for months, but I have a hunch that many of us who got golden tickets will be prowling around PDX outside the cozy confines of the venue. If you're in town that weekend, follow it on the Twitters or what have you. Extracurricular meetups FTW!

Colleen of the Past (what I have done for you lately)

I cannot shut up about the life-changing experience I had at Strictly Business 3, the conference series produced by the American Society for Media Photographers (ASMP). I came to keynote; I left with 600 new best friends and an upended perspective on how to look at meeting people. It's over now, but the awesomeness keeps on rolling:

• I wrote about my breakthrough "A-ha!" moment for Strictly Business, the ASMP blog in an uncharacteristically brief essay called "Avoiding the Curse of Familiarity." How I lived this long without ever hearing that phrase is mystery enough, but the real shock is that it took me this long to get why you must get out and meet people.
• Jill Waterman interviewed me on marketing in the postmodern creative landscape for the Spring issue of the ASMP Bulletin. You can't buy it on newsstands (or at least, I don't think you can), but you can read the even more excellent version, or the lengthier one, anyway, for free on their website. It's slanted towards photography, but I talk about all kinds of stuff of use to the creative person in today's nutty world: what makes one person get the job over another, equally-qualified person; why "awesome" is the new normal, and how you can be more so; ways the focally-challenged person can get her act together and much, much more. (I'm telling you, it is looooong.) (But Jill did a kickass job, so it's also good.)
• Speaking of kickass, one of my 600 new best friends wrote something so nice about me it made me cry. Thank you, Ellen Boughn. May we gather together to eat extra-crispy bacon again very soon.

Oh, okay, one non-ASMP-related thing, which was also totally awesome:

• Maureen Anderson has become one of my fave people I've never actually met. We have such a good time yakking, she's made me a semi-regular guest on her terrific Career Clinic radio show. Last month, we spent the better part of an hour talking about how to talk about yourself. Stuff like: do emails have to be short to be good? What makes a good subject line? Why do people hate your sales pitch? Is there a secret to "working the room"? We also get into things you might find interesting if you wonder how coaching works, and specifically, how coaching works with me. Good stuff up in there! Go get you some!

Colleen of the Present (stuff I do, rain or shine)

• communicatrix | focuses :: My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for LA Casting. Nominally for actors, there's a ton of good info in there for any creative business person. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam :: If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx c

Photo of me and my beloved client, Susan Carr, Education Director supreme of the ASMP, at SB3 Chicago, by my other beloved client, Judy Herrmann, who introduced us. This is how it works, people!

What's up & what's gone down :: March 2011

A mostly monthly but certainly occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what's in the hopper. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (stuff I'll be doing)

• March L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles; Wednesday, March 16] , Fun, free, low-key networking plus great tips, tricks and ideas from your fellow indie-biz folk. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.
• Tongue & Groove [Hotel Café, Hollywood; Sunday, March 27 at 6pm; $5 at the door] I don't know what I'll be reading yet, but I've been tasked with providing levity for a dark and stormy evening. Me and the Goths, baby! Tongue & Groove is a long-running spoken-word (with occasional music) evening I've longed to be part of since I first went (on a real dark and stormy evening) over three years ago. Some SERIOUS writer-performer chops on display; I assure you, I'll be the worst one there. But still good! And light!
• Strictly Business 3 - Chicago [Allerton Hotel, Chicago; Friday - Sunday, April 1-3] If you're a working or aspiring commercial photographer in the Chicago area or the Midwest, or you just didn't get it together to come to the other two stops on the trip, this is your last chance and you are an IDJIT if you miss it. No lie. The feedback from attendees and presenters alike on this iteration of the ASMP's biannual conference has been phenomenal, like, crazy-good.
• L.A. screening of SHINE On [Blankspaces, Weds., March 23, 6:30pm] I saw an early cut of this Biznik-made short documentary about the unique path of the entrepreneur at CFC two years ago. It made me cry, in the good way. Bring Kleenex and your business cards.
• SXSW Interactive [Austin, TX; March 10 - 14] My calendar is already pretty much full for this annual nerd spring break, and owing to my delicate state of health I'll be avoiding the big parties almost entirely. But if you see me walking around, please say "hi!" And if I actually can drag my ass to the Men with Pens party or the Copyblogger party, I'll do the same. Or something like that.

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did, or that was done to/with/about me)

I've been sick since late January, so I did diddly. Other than talk my ass off at SB3. Which, have I mentioned, was AWESOME? So instead of me making up a bunch of stuff, I'm going to link to a bunch of stuff people wrote about the event. Because there's a way these things work, and the best way to show it is to model it.

• Brian Kaldorf wrote a comprehensive three-partseries on his experience at SB3. And included some very nice words about my talk and a nifty snap from the audience in this installment. (Narcissist at an all-photographer event? Like Christmas that lasts three days long.)
• Felicia Perretti, super-dynamo of focused positive energy who will clearly rule the world one day, did a writeup that's rivals the weekend itself for pumped-up enthusiasm. Naturally.
• Gail Mooney, whose workshop I haven't had a chance to catch yet, wrote a quick, clear-headed post on the value of SB3 whether you're speaking or "just" attending. (Spoiler alert: attendees are easily half of what makes a great conference truly great.)
• Neil Corman included SB3 in his weekly roundup post, as well as a photo of the street from his hotel room. Which is about as much of Philly as I saw during those three days, excepting my visit to the incredible Mütter Museum. Neil also said my talk was responsible for an aha! moment, have I mentioned that I love you, Neil?
• Andrew Fingerman from PhotoShelter also included SB3 in his roundup of noteworthy items and said nice things about me. (I am not paying these people, people! I swear!)
• Gregory Benson, who was smart enough to buy a half-hour consult with me, also was smart enough to attend one of my favorite workshops at the conference, Sean Kernan's "The Artist Lost & Found," which I alluded to in my own weekly round-up last Friday. You can read his take on it here.

If you did a write-up and I missed it, please email me the link and I'll add it to the list. The Internet is forever! Or at least, as long as you pay your hosting bill!

Oh, wait! I did one really cool thing a while ago that became part of another really cool thing. David Trotter, fellow follower of all things Chris Guillebeau (we met at the December book signing) compiled a massive PDF of transcripts from a handful of his favorite interviews. And the one with yours truly is very much included! Fella has a knack for interviews, and knows a really interesting cross-section of people, so while I haven't read it all yet, I am going to! You can download it, free, without having to input any email or name nonsense, as God intended, right here.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses :: My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam :: If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: February 2011

A mostly monthly but certainly occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what's in the hopper. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (stuff I'll be doing)

• February L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles; Wednesday, February 16, TONIGHT] , Last month we mixed it up at the mixer, adding a couple of little info-sharing exercises. BIG hit, so we're repeating it this month, with new questions. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.
• Strictly Business 3 - Philadelphia [Crowne Plaza, Philadelphia; Friday- Sunday, Feb 25 - 27] If you're a working or aspiring commercial photographer in the Philadelphia/New York area or environs, I cannot recommend the ASMP's biannual conference highly enough. And not just because I'm giving the keynote or doing some (very) rare in-person consulting: the quality of content is just outstanding, and the people in this professional organization are, too.

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did, or that was done to/with/about me)

• Interview on La Salonniere :: My longtime blogging friend Marilyn Maciel did one of the best interviews with me EVER. She asks really great questions, which draw out really great answers. Love this new blog. One of my faves of the past two years.
• Video interview on LAUNCH52.tv :: I met David Trotter at the L.A. stop of Chris Guillebeau's book tour. We talked each other's ears off at the after-party, so he figured maybe we ought to try it via video Skype. He drew me out on walking away from stuff, being scared, and doing it anyway, etc. And of course, because I'm Tangent Girl, we talked about all kinds of other stuff as well.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses :: My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam :: If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

And we're back in 5...4...3...

I officially ended 13 months of Self-Imposed Sabbatical this past weekend, in rather a hootenanny-ish way, ergo my delay in actually getting something posted today. I'll write much more about the event, about the sabbatical, about the lessons I took from them and the ideas that have begun coursing through me again largely because of them, but for now, just a few quick top line observations:

It's not just you. If there is one thing I learned over this past year in general, over this past weekend in particular, even, it's that everyone is confused and everyone is learning and everyone is terrified and everyone is cautiously/secretly hopeful (if only spasmodically) and everyone thinks it's just them, and they'd better shut up and keep their head down and try to look normal, or spout some party line hoo-ha about Tough Times. It's not just them, er, you. It's everyone. It's me, and pretty much everyone I've engaged in conversation on the topic, a rather wide swath of humanity. (Note: I've been taking the bus more recently.)

I am not sure how much of this we can blame on the outrageously sped-up change cycles we're enjoying these days and how much is just part and parcel of the human condition. What I do know is that if you can take a little risk to let down your guard and float it out there, you're likely to find someone to help you carry your load. Or at least commiserate over the size of it.

There is no "done." You will doubtless find this hilarious, but in my naivete I thought of this sabbatical thing as I did muffin-baking: throw a bunch of stuff together in a bowl, add this or that until it tastes pretty good in its raw form, stick it in a medium oven and 35 minutes, or 53 weeks, later, bing! Muffins!

It is not like that at all. In fact, it resembles quite uncannily what I remembered to be the drawing on the cover of The Artist's Way, an endlessly winding road carved into the side of a mountain, where at every level the view was somehow different, yet somehow familiar. Only it's not the cover of The Artist's Way; it's some other idea of a mountain I'd heard of or dreamt of from somewhere else. Maybe it was "before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."

So there you go: no "done." Just give that up. (And if you don't believe me and several millenia of philosophical teachings, check this out. That's business modeling, baby, no squishy woowoo stuff there.)

The soft things may be the most necessary. This is not the case for you if you are a big lounger on chaises longues, but if you are, you're not reading this anyway, you're lounging on a chaise. I hit seven out of ten goals for this past year. (My years now run from mid-February to mid-February, but let's just say it's unlikely I'll publish three books in a fortnight and call it a day, shall we?) All seven were "soft" goals, reading more books, connecting more often with friends, eating right, exercising adequately. That sort of thing. My three token Masters-of-the-Universe goals all tanked. Yet I've probably made more progress this one year than I have in the past five or six put together, if we're going to call "living happily in one's own skin" a worthy ambition. And I do. And if you don't, well, I wish you well, but we're probably going to be spending even less time together in the future. I'm turning 50 this year; I don't have as much dithering time as I once did.

And finally?

It's good to be back.

xxx
c

Image by stevendepolo via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: December 2010

A mostly monthly but certainly occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what's in the hopper. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (stuff I'll be doing)

• December L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles; Weds., December 8] , Last one of the year, but I promise you there's nothing "holiday" about it. If you're L.A.-local or in the area, please join us at the monthly mixer I co-sponsor with my pal, Heather Parlato. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.
• The Love Fire (A poetry event orchestrated by Akka B.) [Ojai, CA; Fri., December 3] The lovely Akka B. graciously invited me to read a poem at this lovely event. Very excited, as it combines several of my favorite things: poetry, reading aloud, Akka B/awesome friends, and Bart's Books!
• L.A. stop of the Unconventional Book Tour [Los Angeles; Fri., December 10], I'm a big fan of Chris Guillebeau, so whenever he's in the vicinity, I try to make it out. You know the book is great, then come out to Book Soup to meet the man behind it. Sign up at the Book Tour website for updates on other details.
• Women's Business Social [Ojai, CA; Thu., December 16] My friend Jodi has been hosting these for almost two years now, helping the ladypeople give a big, fat "Eff you!" to the crap economy. This month's meetup is back at my favorite Ojai spot, The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Schwank!

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did, or that was done to/with/about me)

• No-Fail Framework for Marketing Yourself :: As a sort of ramping-up for a series of talks I'm giving to the ASMP next year, I wrote this piece on marketing 101 in the new era for the ADBASE blog and magazine. If you've been reading my stuff for a while, you'll recognize the thinking straightaway, but the article gave me a chance to write about it more cogently and clearly. (You may need to Instapaper it, though, that's some seriously light-gray type they use on the blog!)
• Greatest gallery I've been inducted into :: Nothing else to say about that.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses :: My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam :: If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: November 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• November L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles] , If you're L.A.-local or visiting the area and are somehow pursuing your own small venture, please join us at the monthly mixer I co-sponsor with my pal, Heather Parlato. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.
• The Career Clinic radio talk show (Saturday, November 13; 10am PT; 12pm CT; 1pm ET) We had such a good time in April, I'm coming back! This time, Maureen and I will be talking about advertising: an overview of my experience in it, but also how I got out and what skills ended up being useful in my next careers. You can join the discussion by calling toll-free (888-598-8464), or sending email to thecareerclinictalkshow AT gmail DOT com. Query away, I will answer ALL, even if I know the answer or not. Which should keep things interesting! Click here for a list of stations you can tune in at; we'll have links to the show up sometime later.
• L.A. stop of the Unconventional Book Tour [Los Angeles, Friday, December 10], I'm a big fan of Chris Guillebeau, so whenever he's in the vicinity, I try to make it out. You know the book is great, then come out to Book Soup to meet the man behind it. Sign up at the Book Tour website for updates on other details.

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch I attended as an audience member, not a speaker, because I know squattale about the issues. But this info-rich and inspiring event moved me to learn more, and to take action. There should be videos up from the day soon; I especially recommend Long Beach Vice-Mayor Suja Lowenthal's talk on the costs and imperatives of cleaning up a downstream city, Beth Terry's "My Plastic-Free Life," and student activist Jordan Howard's talk on her transformation from studious but self-involved teen to outspoken catalyst for change. (Hey! All ladies, whaddya know?) Out of many excellent talks, these three did an exceptional job of delivering information in a compelling way that made me want to jump up and take action. (Poetry lovers, you will adore Ellyn Maybe's delightful poem!)

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: October 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• October L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles], Finally, I'm ba-a-a-ck from all my travels, and ready to rock some networking, L.A.-style. If you haven't been, Biznik events are networking the way God intended, non-sucky, with none of the usual shovery of cards in people's faces uninvited. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.
• Teaching some kind of "non-awful mastery of the web for your creative and promotional purposes" class at w o r d s p a c e [Los Angeles] , I co-taught a successful pilot workshop with Erin Jourdan a few months ago, and Brenda wants to do more. Sign up for the free newsletter or "like" the Facebook page to stay in the loop.
• World-Domination Summit, June 2011 [Portland, OR], Without knowing Thing #1 about the agenda, I signed on the dotted line. I'm a big Guillebeau fan from way back, and every event I've been to that gathers around Chris has been great. Ergo, this thing is going to rock. Small group, so you should think about getting in while you can.

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• Ignite Portland 9 , Sophomore efforts are always an order of magnitude more difficult to pull off. In my case, that thing about having your whole life to do your first album is the truth: the little talk I gave last year about liked my bloody insides was the culmination of 48 years of living, including six years of processing that crazy episode. This time, I gave a mini-acting class in five minutes. It's not my favorite talk I've given, but some people were moved to submit their own talk ideas by it, and that will have to do. Plus, I learned a ton about what to do and not do, as I usually do when I fall short of my own expectations. You can click to view it, below, or if whatever device you're reading this in won't let you, you can stroll over to YouTube and see it here.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha5fR60DrlM&w=475&h=292]

• L.A. Examiner interview , Brenda Spandrio, fellow enthusiast both of reading and of the wildly popular Women's Business Socials, so enjoyed my crazy sticky-note hack, she wanted more details about it and anything else that helped me reach my 2010 goal of reading 52 books by August 16.
• Work Happy Now review , My friend Karl Staib really went above and beyond any expectations I might ever have had for how someone processes my process. His piece is complimentary, so YES, hooray and stuff. But it also sums up quite well why I try to do what I do, and how it might benefit someone else. Other than "She writes these crazy poems!" or "She swears a lot on video!", both of which are certainly true!
• Amazon (video) book review This time, I review Cheryl Richardson's Life Makeovers. The short of it? Some good tips and many, many phenomenal resources.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: August 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• August L.A. Biznik Happy Hour at Jerry's Famous (Wednesday, August 11; 5:30 - 8) TODAY! Co-hosted by my friend and colleague Heather Parlato, this is a really low-key, easy way to get out and meet some likeminded solopreneur and small biz types. Free, but join Biznik here first (which, hooray!, is also free). And this is my last one until October, as next month I'll be in Portland, speaking at...
• Ignite Portland 9 (Thursday, September 23, Bagdad Theatre, 5:30/door, 7pm start) Holy moly! I got accepted again! I guess they either liked last year's talk okay or forgot about it. Either way, I'll be serving up a new and delicious thingamabobby in five minutes and 20 unstoppable (literally!) slides in just over six weeks. If yer in town, come say "hi!"
• Your Actor MBA (available for pre-purchase now; episodes starting Labor Day) Holy crap on a cracker, did I ever have a good time talking Actor Mind Taffy with my friend, Bonnie Gillespie, and the talented bunch of people she and her people pulled together. This is my sight-unseen plug, for which I receive NOTHING. And have received NOTHING. Except a great afternoon of talking shop with smart talent, a couple of new acquaintances, and an orchid (which, sorry, Bon, I had to give away. I'm just no good with the delicate fucking flowers.)

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• fear.less magazine (July 2010) Ishita Gupta's inspiring digital mag, downloadable as a free PDF file, is full of reasons BESIDES me to read it. But yeah, there'a a pretty great interview with me in it, which I mainly credit Ishita for. She is a dreamy, dreamy visionary, in all senses of the word(s).
• StoryWorthy podcast My new L.A.-storytelling-circuit pal, Christine Blackburn, had me on her new L.A. storytelling podcast to tell the story of the colorectal surgeon who fell so head-over-heels with me, he wanted to build me a new rectum. Sexy! And true!
• Coudal Partners Fresh Signals The fine folk at America's greatest mutual purveyor of links and groovy note-taking supplies put up with me and my freaky links to writing-related and totally random stuff for the entire month of July, then gave me a fab tour of HQ when I was in town. Thanks, Jim & Co.! And thanks, Alissa Walker, for recommending me! Hope I didn't shame anyone too much.
• The World-Changing Writing Workshop Pace & Kyeli invited me to teach one of the segments of their new-model online/tele-writing classes. And it kicked ass! Well, people said so, anyway, and I had a blast. I'm working my way through all the other segments now. Once I'm sure everything is copacetic, and if they offer a recorded version for sale, I will let you know! And you will buy it from me, and I will be rich! Rich! RICH! (Well, no, but as I very rarely recommend things for purchase, if I do, it would be super-nice if you did buy it through me.)
• Amazon (video) book review I'm playing around with these for now, but it's my intention to start creating some kind of review for every book I read, mainly, so that the book sticks in my head, and so that I keep myself honest reading it. This review is of a super-light read, Debbie Ford's The Best Year of Your Life, self-help, and fluffy self-help, to boot. Still, I got a few worthy things from it, and if you're the kinda-sorta person who enjoys video more than writing, you might like it. (Although honestly, if you are, I cannot imagine what you're doing on this wordy-ass blog.)

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by yours truly. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: July 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• July L.A. Biznik Happy Hour at Jerry's Famous (Wednesday, July 14; 5:30 - 8) Co-hosted by my friend and colleague Heather Parlato, this is a really low-key, easy way to get out and meet some likeminded solopreneur and small biz types. Free, but join Biznik here first (which, hooray!, is also free). UPDATE: It's "sold out" now (which it's not really, because it's free, but you know what I mean), but check back, if/when someone drops out, you can grab their spot.
• The Ojai Women's Business Social (Thursday, July 8; 5:30 - 7:30) My friend Jodi Womack started the OWBS over a year ago, and it keeps on growing with no signs of stoppage! A wonderful, totally laid-back event just for women to meet and mingle with other business women.
• Coudal Partners Fresh Signals (the entire month of July!) Yup-yup, in case you missed it, I'm posting random (but mostly design-and-culture-ish) links as the proud guest contributor on this month's feed of delicious links.

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• Havi Brooks' Kitchen Table I probably shouldn't even tell you about this, because we had so much fun and Havi and her people are so awesome, and (here's the bad part) you can't just get in on the Kitchen Table action without applying and passing muster (which is probably how Havi ensures that only the exact right people make it in there.) But I'll use the opportunity to plug Havi's site, which apparently I inspired her to start lo, these two or three years ago, and which is always full of great info. And the comments sections of the posts are like a smaller, freer version of the Kitchen Table! Especially check out the Very Personal Ads on Sunday. Serious hoodoo going down that way.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by yours truly. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: June 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• The World-Changing Writers Workshop (course: June/July 2010; my "class" is on July 8) I'm proud and excited to be part of this excellent mega-teleclass produced by my pals Pace & Kyeli of Freak Revolution. I've been learning lots of new stuff in my own writing classes recently, some of which I hope to share with you. But like they used to say about the lottery, you gotta be in it to win it. Registration closes at midnight, June 9th, so get on it! (Note: links are affiliate links; they serve as part of my payment for teaching. So you know!)
• June L.A. Biznik Happy Hour at Jerry's Famous (Wednesday, June 9; 5:30 - 8) I usually produce this event with my friend and colleague Heather Parlato, but she (and many other designers) will be at the big HOW conference next week. This should be a slightly cozier meetup, which means if there are questions you want to pummel me with, you'll have a better opportunity to do so! Free, but join Biznik here first (which, hooray!, is also free).
• The Ojai Women's Business Social (Thursday, June 10; 5:30 - 7:30, the Acacia Mansion) My friend Jodi Womack started the OWBS over a year ago, and it keeps on growing with no signs of stoppage! A wonderful, totally laid-back event just for women to meet and mingle with other business women.

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• My poem did not get selected for "Issue Zero" of 48 Hour Magazine, but I loved the hard copy I got so much, and was so annoyed by killjoy jackasses CBS and their cease & desist order, that I made a tribute "unboxing" video which you can see on Vimeo. (If you've never heard of unboxing, here's what it's about.)
• I don't think there's any video extant, but I performed two poems at the official opening event of w o r d s p a c e, a writers' collaboration space and organization founded by my friend Brenda Varda, a couple of weeks ago. If you live in Los Angeles, do get on Brenda's mailing list. She's got a stellar lineup of classes and workshops and events in production or slated, including more Big Artist Workshops this fall.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by yours truly. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up & what's gone down :: May 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• The World-Changing Writers Workshop (course: June/July 2010; my "class" is on July 8) Finally, after years of hounding by millions, okay, some hounding by a few persistent souls, I'll be teaching a little mini-class on writing as part of this excellent workshop series produced by my pals Pace & Kyeli of Freak Revolution. The lineup is STELLAR, four of my fave writers, plus me!, and I can already tell from the prep that Pace & Kyeli have requested from me that this series is going to kick some booty. Pre-registration starts next Tuesday, May 11, but if you go to this page now, you can sign up for a free intro tele-class (I won't be on that call) and download a free PDF with some good, basic writing tools. Oh, and yes, I'm getting paid for teaching, and yes, those are affiliate links. Look at me in my Big-Girl Pants, getting paid for shit!
• May L.A. Biznik Happy Hour at Jerry's Famous (Wednesday, May 12; 5:30 - 8) If you live in L.A., work for yourself and want to get out of the house to meet/mix with other like-minded people, come check out this monthly gathering my cohort Heather Parlato and I have been hosting for almost a year and a half. It's free to join us (we ask that you buy a little something to support Jerry's), but you'll need to join Biznik here first (which, hooray!, is also free).

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• The Career Clinic radio talk show I had a fantastic time talking with my Internet pal and real-life terrestrial radio talk show host, Maureen Anderson, about decluttering as it relates to business, creativity  and life itself. All four segments are available for your listening/downloading pleasure here, on this shiny new libsyn account I set up: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
• TEDxTacoma If you weren't there, I'm sorry you missed it. If you were, I love you and can't wait until we meet again. A truly extraordinary day of inspiration, fun and unbridled passion-exchanging. I wrote about it here. My small contribution, a talk on communicating with passion, that's sort of a mini-crash-course in acting, is available to view on YouTube.
• The Emma blog did a really lovely writeup about my 99.99% non-sucky newsletter (and its apparently spectacular open rate), and...
• My Biznik collaboratrix, Heather Parlato featured me on her (highly-recommended for its own excellence) blog, where she talked about what it is, exactly, that I do. Which is wonderful, because half the time, I have no idea myself.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by yours truly. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up and what's gone down :: April 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• April L.A. Biznik Happy Hour at Jerry's Famous (Wednesday, April 14; 5:30 - 8) The flagship Los Angeles Biznik event gets a new host this month: in addition to myself and my prolific co-hostess, Heather Parlato, Biznik-er Kelly Harrington is stepping up to shake hands, high-five and otherwise make the fine small business folk who gather for drinks and nosh and chat feel welcome. It's free to join us (we ask that you buy a little something to support Jerry's), but you'll need to join Biznik here first (which, hooray!, is also free).
• The Career Clinic radio talk show (Saturday, April 10; 10am PT; 12pm CT; 1pm ET) I'll be talking decluttering as it relates to business, creativity and productivity in general with host Maureen Anderson on the April 10th edition of this Internet radio chat show (look! I can use British terminology!). You can join the discussion by calling toll-free (888-598-8464), or sending email to thecareerclinictalkshow AT gmail DOT com. Query away, I will answer ALL, even if I know the answer or not. Which should keep things interesting! (UPDATE: Maureen just followed up to say that while there is an Internet stream, the show is a regular, terrestrial radio broadcast, which means you can hear it over your actual, regular radio on Saturday: noon Central this Saturday on AM 1100 in Fargo (which streams at www.am1100.tv). AM 1410 in Portland will air that broadcast at 4p Pacific time Friday, April 16th (streaming at www.kbnp.com). AM 1230 in Spokane will air the show at 11a Pacific time on Saturday, April 17th (streaming at www.ksbn.net), and 92.5 FM in Rushville, IL will run it at 11p Central time Saturday, April 17th (streaming at www.wkxqfm.com). Sorry for the mix-up, and thank you for clarifying, Maureen!)
• TEDxTacoma (all-day Saturday, April 24; Tacoma, WA) Unfortunately, my pal Chris Guillebeau had one of his many, many schedule conflicts and couldn't make it to this PacNW flavor of the famous TED conference-offshoot series. Fortunately, he hooked me up with the fine people organizing this one-day gathering devoted to the discussion of "passion", how to find it, what to do with it, and everything in-between. I'm beyond over the moon about this (which puts me in outer space or right back where I am, depending on your viewpoint), as well as the chance to get a little PacNW fix before the main event this fall. And the lineup, well, let's just say I'm the worst house on a great block. Which is just how I like it!

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• The Astoundingly Simple Secrets to Making Social Media Work for You Here's a little secret for you: while I really enjoy in-person speaking events the most, I work extra hard on the virtual ones, especially the webinars. The emotional lossy-ness of the web means that to communicate successfully via these weird hybrids of teleconference, live events and PowerPoint shows, you have to plot things out twice as carefully and project three times the energy. No, you won't get to ask questions at the end (which is why you should come see me in person!), but I cover a ton of ground, including surprise Q&A at the end. Big bang for your buck. The webinar is not available for purchase yet, but sign up for Freelancers Union now anyway, and check back.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by yours truly. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up and what's gone down :: March 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, TX (March 11 - 16) Sometimes called "Spring Break for Nerds," other times called "that week where you see how much you can shout over music at loud parties without losing your voice," SxSWi has become my favorite conference of the year. I'm notoriously squirrely about pinning myself down to events, panels and any other hard commitments, finding I do better when I can roam free and meet up at random. That said, I'll be joining the stellar lineup of Mike Monteiro's famed Battledecks! panel (think "death by PowerPoint karaoke." And pray for me.)
• The Astoundingly Simple Secrets to Making Social Media Work for You (March 23, online at Freelancers Union; $30 for members, and membership is free!) If you missed my talk at last year's Creative Freelancer Conference, this is your chance to catch the new and improved version (see? good things come to those who wait). And while we're at it, if you're interested in attending this year's CFC in Denver, you can get an additional $25 off the Early Bird price (ends March 12) using the code "4D".

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• Interview at the Get Inspired! Project Thanks to the awesome and ever-generous Dyana Valentine, I was interviewed by Toni Reece for her year-long project aggregating the insights of all kinds of people into what it takes to stay inspired. We had great fun (Toni is a master interviewer!), which you can either read or listen to at the project's website.
• storytelling at w o r d s p a c e spoken word evening My friend Brenda Varda invited me to share a story at her rebooted salon evening, so I shared the one about how we lost most of my childhood stuff when Mom couldn't pay the storage fees. You can read about my experience here and here, or just go watch the video on YouTube.
• Dying to Be Born After being both inspired by Seth Godin's multi-contributor ebook supporting Linchpin and disappointed to find so few feminine voices contained within, yogini, certified Martha Beck coach, and all-around terrific lady, Lianne Raymond, decided to "answer" Seth's project with one of her own. This one is heavy on the feminine but still all about the issues Seth's contributors (including yours truly!) discussed. My contribution is a brand new, heretofore unpublished poem. So all you Poetry Thursday freaks who haven't already, go download that sh*t right now!

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by moi. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Image by madnzany via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

What's up and what's gone down :: February 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• The February L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous Deli in Marina del Rey (February 10, 5:30pm, no drop-ins!) My co-host, Heather Parlato, and I will be doing a little "how to start hosting your own Biznik event" thing in the 6 o'clock hour. EVENT FULL. Sign up for Biznik NOW to get advance notice of future events, including other LA-area ones.
• $100 Business Forum call My friends Chris Guillebeau and Pam Slim joined forces to create this smart smart smart class on how to launch a micro-business. (If you can practice with something small, you may be able to graduate to something big with the lessons learned, right?) SOLD OUT. I'm participating in a call about branding; if you're a part of the class, line up your toughest questions NOW and squeeze every penny's worth out of me!

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference I labored mightily to change my now rather standard social media presentations on branding and marketing into one that would be useful to those interested in building community for a good cause. I'm delighted to say that all my fretting (not to mention my foregoing DC sightseeing in favor of co-working at my friend Jared Goralnick's HQ) paid off, the programs (I did it twice) went really well, by all accounts: i.e., people had fun, got un-scared of using social media and learned something (even if, in some cases, it was simply a half-grudging, "Okay...I'll give it one more go."). One of the best things about this and my recent trip was flying there on Virgin America, speaking of which...
• Referral Friday, Video Edition Yes, I shot an onboard testimonial for my new-favorite airline, Virgin America, 35,000 feet over North America. It's a departure (no pun intended) from my usual plugs, but well-deserved. And well-received, if the emails and texts I've received so far are indicative.
• December in January A few different sources, including my friend, Dave Seah, with whom I've been collaborating on a fascinating (to us, anyway) Google Wave experiment, gave me the idea to postpone New Year's Goal-Setting to February. It was a grand success, if by "success" you mean "relief"; I posted my progress throughout the month, outlining in detail the steps I took towards a plan I could really get excited about. You can read them all here, in reverse chronological order for now.
• Seth Godin's "media tour" for Linchpin I love pretty much everything about Seth Godin (not least of which how everything he touches so elegantly floats to the surface of Internet consciousness), so participating in his alternative media tour to launch his terrific and important new book, Linchpin, was a no-brainer. So is reading it, if you're at all the kind of person who enjoys reading here. It'll shake you up, but (mostly) in the good way.
• Re:WORK, the monthly BLANKSPACES newsletter Last year, my colleague Peleg approached me about collaborating on a relaunch of the newsletter for our friend (and my fellow Cornell alum!), Jerome Chang's outstanding coworking space in the Mid-Wilshire area of LA, BLANKSPACES. I'm pleased to say that open rates increased immediately and have been rising since, as have click-throughs, thanks to our mutual efforts. If you're local, you should sign up to get word of all the great upcoming events they host; if you're not, you should get it anyway, for the articles. (Yes, really. I wrote January's.)

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by moi. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Photo of Arno J. McScruff housed on Flickr, where I also occasionally stick pixels.

What's up and what's gone down :: January, 2010

A mostly monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• The LA Eastside Mixer Yes, the Westside Biznik Meetup at Jerry's Famous Deli is still going strong. Alas, it fills up faster than a starving man at an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet. Sign up for Biznik NOW, then jump on this event while you can. Trust me, it's gonna be just as hot a ticket as its Westside cousin in no time.
• The Ojai Women's Business Social (Thursday, January 14) If you think I'm missing an event so special that one of my favorite resorts is creating a special cocktail named after it (the "Snooty Lady!"), you're insane. Also, I'm Jodi Womack's #1 fan. Get in line. At the bar.
• Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference I'll be giving a version of my How to Use Social Media to Conquer the World talk in D.C. at the end of January. This is for Cornell alumni only, but if you're going to be there, please stop by one of my sessions and say "hi," and if you're D.C.-local and want to meet up, let me know: I'm being hosted by the amazing Jared Goralnick for a couple of days before, and maybe we can plan a smallish gathering of fun folk (I hear we'll need it to stay warm).

Colleen of the Past (stuff I did you might not know about)

• Mule Nog Party audition Adam Lisagor and I did not make it to the party, but I think we made the coolest invitation.
• Forward to the Designer's Guide to Marketing & Pricing I wrote this a long time ago, but I'm not sure I ever pointed it out. Or if I did, it's time to do it again. Because if you're a designer or copywriter or any other small, creative, service-type business, this book will kick your ass in the good way. (That's an affiliate link, kids, and while I'm happy to send you to Ilise & Peleg's website, I'm even happier if you click back here and buy the book through me. Just sayin'.)
• UPDATE! I did an episode of my friend Eddie Conner's LA Talk Radio blog show thingamabobby on January 4th. The show description is available through his main page, or you can listen/download the episode here. I talk about why I do what I do, and kinda-sorta what I do. (I know, I'm working on it.)

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by moi. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Photo of Arno J. McScruff housed on Flickr, where I also occasionally stick pixels.

What's up and what's gone down (Nov 09)

A thus-far monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• The Monthly Los Angeles Biznik Meet-Up at Jerry's Possibly the last L.A. Biznik Meetup of 2009! Join me, the lovely and talented Heather Parlato, and 28 of your other favorite L.A. freelance peeps  for cocktails, conversation and oversized plates of deli food. It's awesome, and it's free. (Well, not the drinks or the deli food. But there's parking!) Just register (free!) to become a member of Biznik, then sign up (also free!). Easy-peasy, Cousin Weezy!
• L.A. Freelance Meetup Group at BLANKSPACES Meetup organizer Colleen Rice Nelson does a bang-up job with these monthly meetups. This month's program is a repeat: Kelly Flint from Constant Contact is going to share best practices for making your newsletter kick ass and maintain high open rates. I loved it, and am coming back for a repeat! Okay, and cookies!

Colleen of the Past (stuff that went down)

• Interview at White Hot Truth My friend and love object, Danielle LaPorte, she of the mighty, mighty firestarting, creative nudging and other glorious instigating, interviewed me for her Burning Questions feature. One of the nicest lead-ins I've had written about me ever, plus some questions that really challenged me to dig deep and think about stuff.
• Interview at Project Simplify For a completely different take, check out this cool interview I did with my friend and former client, Shawn Tuttle. She's one of the COOL organizers (i.e., the ones who help, not annoy) and a fine writer, too.
• Ignite:Portland Possibly my favorite talk, ever, and hands-down the most fun event I've been to and participated in since I quit acting. Thank you to everyone who came out, Jason, Jolie, Sam & Linda, Vahid (who took these awesome pix!), with an especial shout-out to my gal, Morgan, LOVE YOU, to spearheader, Josh Bancroft, and the rest of the Ignite: Portland team, who made an L.A. gal's dream come true. You, above all, rock, and damn, do I salute you! Video of my talk on this post and at blip.tv; HUGE, mad thanks to A.J., aka @linuxaid, who got the thing on video when the live stream died. Everyone go give him money or love or something.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by moi. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• The Virgo Guide to Marketing I'm almost done with a year-long project where I work on my marketing daily and blog about it weekly. People seem to dig it, as well as the podcasts I record weekly. You might, too!
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

xxx
c

Photo of Arno J. McScruff housed on Flickr, where I also occasionally stick pixels.

What's up and what's gone down (Oct 09)

A thus-far monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• Los Angeles Escape from Cubicle Nation Workshop (Wednesday, November 4) The final stop on author/blogger/coach Pam Slim's epic workshops-as-book-tour for 2009, this is the place to be if you're looking to quit your job and create a self-employed lifestyle for yourself or reinvigorate the one you're in now. More details and sign up at Pam's site; use the code "getalife" when checking out to get $30 off, making your final cost for a whole-day workshop (plus free copy of the book, plus free follow-up group coaching call) just $138. Oh, and there's 90 minutes of me sharing my best stuff on how to brand yourself via the Internet/etc. Which I happen to know a little something about. (Sign up!)
• Work the System Boot Camp (Monday & Tuesday, November 16-17) In the few months since I first read Sam Carpenter's fantastic book about reframing life to see it as a series of systems, my ability to see clearly, get things done and yes, declutter has been greatly enhanced. I'm looking forward to soaking in it for a day and a half, as well as getting to meet my now-good friend (and client!), Sam, and his lovely wife, Linda, for the first time. (Even if they do rag on me for my insane caffeine addiction.) And it's a measly $100! Join us!
• Ignite:Portland (Thursday, November 19) Unbelievably, I was selected (one of two non-locals!) to participate in this very cool mini-marathon presentation event. 20 slides in five minutes, automatically advancing every 15 seconds. My talk is about poop and love. (Duh, right?) If you're local to PDX, I'd love for you to come!

Colleen of the Past (stuff that went down)

• The Monthly Los Angeles Biznik Meet-Up at Jerry's I won't be at this one since I'll be 1000 miles away, up in PDX, but all the cool kids will! Come out and meet my lovely co-conspirator, Heather Parlato, who will be handling hosting duties along with the lovely Beth Goldfarb this time around. Cocktails, conversation and oversized plates of deli food. It's awesome, and it's free. (Well, not the drinks or the deli food.) Just register (free!) to become a member of Biznik, then sign up (also free!). Easy-peasy, Cousin Weezy!

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by moi. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• The Virgo Guide to Marketing I'm just over halfway through a year-long project where I work on my marketing daily and blog about it weekly. People seem to dig it, as well as the podcasts I record weekly. Go figger.
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook.

Finally, because a few people have asked, I'd like to start including a "notable posts" or roundup of posts here, but I'm not quite sure what form it should take to provide the most enjoyment and/or utility. If you have any ideas about this, stuff you'd personally like, or ways you've seen it done well by others that I could shamelessly lift (with credit...probably...), please do let me know in the comments!

xxx

c

Photo of Arno J. McScruff housed on Flickr, where I also occasionally stick pixels.

What's up and what's gone down (Sep 2009)

A thus-far monthly but forever occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what I plan to be. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (places I'll be)

• The Monthly Los Angeles Biznik Meet-Up at Jerry's (Wednesday, October 14, 5:30 - 8pm) Every four weeks, some of L.A.'s finest independent biz folk gather for cocktails, conversation and oversized plates of deli food. It's awesome, and it's free. (Well, not the drinks or the deli food.) Just register (free!) to become a member of Biznik, then sign up (also free!). Easy-peasy, Cousin Weezy!
• Lit.Up! (Saturday, October 10, 8pm) Yes, after more than a year of semi-retirement, I'm hauling my performer ass out to my friend Jane Edith Wilson's monthly show and doing a little piece I call, well, I don't call it anything yet. But it will be something, if previous engagements of this variety are any indication. Only cuss-free, since this one is at a church. Click here to view flyer.
• BlogWorld Expo (Thursday-Saturday, October 15 - 17, Las Vegas) I'm not speaking; I wasn't even planning on going, since I'm kind of overloaded with networking-type stuff right now. But then I won a weekend pass in a contest The Mac Observer held, and shazam! I'm going to Vegas to hang out with some nerds! If you're going, too, give a holler.

Colleen of the Past (stuff that went down)

• I spoke to the Orange County Advertising Federation about branding yourself using social media. No video, but here's a link to the deck on SlideShare. Thanks to an amazing group of people, including the lovely Claudia Yuskoff of Mmm, Me Gusta!, the most adorable and yummy short cooking show ever, who was responsible for bringing me in. Gracias, chica!
• Actors! I also spoke at Karen Kohlhaas's Fearless Cold Reading Workshop about how to brand yourself with nothing but spit, twine and the Internet. I do this from time to time, for zero money, because you need it and I like doing it. If you want to be on the list for future events, make sure you're signed up on the actors' news list.

Colleen of the Present (ongoing projects)

• The Virgo Guide to Marketing I'm just over halfway through a year-long project where I work on my marketing daily and blog about it weekly. People seem to dig it, as well as the podcasts I record weekly. Go figger.
• communicatrix | focuses My monthly newsletter devoted to the all-important subject of increasing your unique fabulosity. One article per month (with actionable tips! and minimal bullsh*t!) about becoming a better communicator, plus the best few of the many cool things I stumble across in my travels. Plus a tiny drawing by moi. Free! (archives & sign-up)
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for actors for LA Casting, but I swear, you'll find stuff in it that's useful, too. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam And of course, I snark it up on Twitter, chit-chat on Facebook, post the odd video or quote to Tumblr, and bookmark the good stuff I find on my travels at StumbleUpon and delicious. If you like this sort of stuff, follow me in those places, I only post a fraction of what I find to Twitter and Facebook

Please let me know if you find this kind of curation at all useful, and/or if there's a better way to handle it. Thanks!

xxx

c

Photo of Arno J. McScruff housed on Flickr, where I also occasionally stick pixels.