Blogger's Social Media Magnetic "Abacus" for Tracking

HOW I CREATED A SOCIAL MEDIA TRACKING SYSTEM

SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR BLOGGERS

Summer. For me this is the season to re-boot. Re-juvinate. Re-dedicate. Re-launch. Reconfigure. Restore. After an especially busy year of Author/Illustrator school visits and conference hopping, a general all 'round recombobulation is in order. I continue to make progress on figuring out the blog-o-spere, but there is so much more to learn. AND DO! 

If you have a blog, I don't need to tell you the importance of building your platform. BUT. Just how do you go about building ~~ and growing~~ that platform? Simple Answer: Expand your strength and visibility through social networking. You've heard that a million times before! DUH! Conquering social networking is undoubtedly the single most important strategy of the web. Where to begin? By being consistent! 

As much as I know the importance of social media, I sometimes FORGET to pop around through each of the various outlets. SQUIRREL! This summer is the perfect season for me to make that cyber networking a priority. SHINY OBJECT! I am just now in the process of instituting a new visual 'system' for helping to keep me on track. POLKA DOTS! And I'm excited to share. Why? Because: It's working! 

This all started with my 'discovering' a set of happy, polka dot magnets that I had purchased some time back in my travels. Oh happy day! All those spots! All those colors! Initially I just wanted to push them around and make different parades of color. Maybe you saw my excitement when I posted the photo on Instagram? {These gems are still available on the web. Beware there are other equally as awesome choices beyond the circles.}

Then I had a brainstorm! I could use these little magnets as a tracking system/reminder to move through out the various social networks over the course of any given day. OH HAPPY BREAKTHROUGH! Next to find a magnetic board. 

First. I went to the dollar store and got the smallest cookie sheet that they had. Turns out that was JUST too big [for me] to manage easily. Then I spent a lovely gray bit going up and down the aisles at Hobby Lobby. I found the perfect size magnetic backdrop! A tin pencil box! I had several choices! Sponge Bob, Hello Kitty, Lightning McQueen. All the biggies. A tough decision for sure, but I wanted the power of the FORCE! So my choice was obvious.

 

YODA! Here's what the top looks like. Mine is approximately 7.5 inches wide and 4.25 inches tall. The bottom is plain silver and completely FLAT! The perfect size and dimensions for what I had in mind and for under three dollars! {I guess that means I will need to bake some cookies this summer?} 

With my magnetic backdrop and magnets, now time to develop a system. 

I decided that my top 5 social network platforms are: 

PINTEREST

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

GOOGLE+ 

So I gathered up my magnets in color families.

Here's how I start the day. 

Each series of colors is up against the respective edge.

When I post to that network, I slide the magnet away from the edge. 

TA DA!!

*In the middle of my abacus I have four orange magnets. Those are to represent the number of blog articles I write each week. This summer my goal is to have three new blog posts per week. I put the fourth magnet there, as encouragement to earn some extra credit.   

My number one source of traffic to my blog is still Pinterest. I have written an entire tutorial {Encyclopedia} on how I use this ever growing, visual platform from an 'Entrepreneurial' perspective. In my article I outline at length how to gather followers, or at least how I have gathered mine. I currently have 152,594 in my pin-tribe and continue to grow daily. [One of the single most lucrative days I have ever had as an independent speaker was due to the committee chairperson discovering me on Pinterest and her assessment of my pins! So I take Pinterest quite seriously.] 

You simply must click picture and read my insights on Pinterest! 

Again. Below is what my abacus looks like at the beginning of the day. Each set of magnets is up against the edge. Then the big magic moment happens when I slide the magnet away from the wall, as I post to that social network. VOILA! I can see at a moment's glance, that as usual I have forgotten G+ or that it is now time to tweet or that I'd better move on to FB. [Why yes. I have two sets of magnets for FB: my personal wall and my fanpage. Don't get me started about FB.]

I have always known that I am a visual learner. This system reinforces that I am a kinesthetic-kid, too! I get so excited to mark my progress over the course of the day. The mere 'act' of the magnet moving an entire bit-of-an-inch makes it FEEL like I am doing something tangible.  

True confessions. I have gotten somewhat obsessed focused on magnetic surfaces and polka dot magnets. Those of you that know me at all, know that I spend a LOT of time traveling and especially being the diva, driven down the road. Since I had enough magnets, I started searching for an even smaller magnet board to create a travel Pinterest-only abacus. 

Low and behold the Altoids container is JUST what I needed! 

Let me be even more specific when it comes to my Pinning strategy. I follow a very strict (self-imposed) RULE that I pin four OTHER pins before I pin something from my own blog. Ye ol' 80/20 Pareto Principal. So. On my travel abacus I slide up four magnets, pinning from four other sources, before I pin from my own material. 

*Recently, I have started to Pin from Zulily as an associate of theirs. On my ninth pin in a sequence, I pin from Z to my board specific to Shopping and Saving. So the hot pink magnet is to remind me that every other series of five pins I can add a pin from the discount shopping source. Kapish? This way I know that I am never pinning more than 10% of my pins from an affiliate perspective.

And of course, once I complete a series of five pins (moving the magnets in one direction,) as I continue pinning, I just move the magnets back in the opposite direction. Back and forth, back and forth. And that, my friends, is how you end up pinning 28,895 pins over the span of a couple of years. 

Click pic to go to the first installment and find the other links there. 

If you're still here and you're a teacher...... you will want to check the tab at the top of my blog under Pinterest. I have hosted directories for teachers who pin from specific interest areas.  

I also hosted the same concept for Twitter. I had a total of three Twitter directories. Is this the summer you expand your Twitter-verse? Grow your PLN: Professional Learning Network? Become proficient with the hashtag? Then you'll want to click the picture below! 

There's a lot of Twitter teacher insight by clicking pic

Helpful? I'd LUV to hear your 'system' and how you keep track!

I've gone shopping for you over at Amazon, where I am also an affiliate. 

When you click through and order -- you support my retirement account.

With a couple more pennies.  

THANKS!

The American Flag as Art for Memorial Day: Children's Patriotic Art

MEMORIAL DAY: Flags, Flags and MORE FLAGS

Memorial Day has arrived. My heart is full. Pulling together this article and retrospective of children's patriotic artwork brings tears to my eyes. Literally. It is hard to type. I bring you dozens and dozens of images today, from my many Author Illustrator school visits around the country and around the world. Amazing and appropriate to re-visit all of this effort and creative energy today. 

We have so much to be grateful for as a country. Much of that debt is owed to those who have served us so valiantly over the years. Today we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in their service.  

I took this next photo two years ago as I drove away from one of my favorite, annual school visits. I did allow myself to cry quietly as I took the picture. An entire hillside of flags 'planted' in honor of specific heroes brings tears to the toughest of individuals and I am not a tough anything. Walking midst the 'Field of Heroes' is the ultimate of humbling experiences. 

At this moment very moment in time, our son-in-law, Captain Mettle is again deployed across the world and has been gone from our WonderPeeps for months now. The reality of having an active duty relative far from home, hits very hard on Memorial Day weekend. I took this picture of him several years back on the occasion of my receiving this 'quilted' thank you in the mail. Again with the quiet tears. {Feel free to join me in prayer for his safe return home.}

It was actually my daughter's idea to include her hero in my picture book. 

At the last minute I added him in his dress uniform at the Thanksgiving table. 

*Since then I have learned how to add Scott into family picture of events that he misses. 

Here's an example from Christmas time. 

I took the family four photo during our cross-country adventure to FL. 

Quite by accident there was a spot where he was genuinely missing. 

As a surprise for Sarah, I had Scott take his selfie and I was able to crop him into the fun. 

Back to the task at hand. 

Honoring those who have sacrificed everything in service.

I have gone back through my files to create this patriotic RoundUP.

I hope that it will inspire you for your own creative patriotic expressions. 

I wrote my picture book's text as a children's song in the immediate aftermath of September 11th and as a result I am often showered with patriotic creativity upon my arrival at schools. 

I created the illustrations for the book from fabric as small quilts. 

I make 16 quilts to craft my traditional hardback 32 page picture book. 

Many of the examples of children's art responses will favor 'quilts' in their style and collaboration. 

I

One of the most AMAZING adventures I have been offered was to tour four of our US Army bases in Europe and share my work with the children of our troops stationed abroad. I got to sing and entertain in both Germany and Italy as part of the "Month of the Young Military Child." 

Now sit back and appreciate the artwork from my travels. 

I have the song in a digital file for immediate purchase and download at my little store at Teachers Pay Teachers. I decided to put my whole shop on a 20% savings this weekend. You and your family can sing it at your weekend picnic!

See what your peers are saying! 

The zipped file comes with a pdf of the chart to support your singing the song using sign language. 

I always conclude the song with a BIG burst of fireworks! 

We have two daughters and the other daughter is also married to an enlisted man! 

Zac is in the Navy and plays bass trombone for the Navy. 

He is finishing eight years of service with the Naval Academy Band in Anapolis and will be transferring this summer to the BIG LEAGUES and will be permanently playing with THE Navy Band in Washington DC. We are so proud of his hard work and service. 

He, too is pictured in my picture book! 

He is the furthest left in fabric below. 

Those two got married in a gazebo and so I chose that backdrop for his quartet. 

Of course I would appreciate your pinning from this article! 

That's how people *FIND* me! 

Thanks for helping to spread the word. 

I do have an entire Pinboard dedicated to all things patriotic!

Just click the pic below to see those additional 500+ ideas! 

Click the pic to join the first 151,000++++ followers! 

Yup! That's me! 

In another century! 

Pre-September 11th! 

I used to march the littles around and we would wave flags! 

I've always had a flag bag! 

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