Wordless Wednesday-Run

Pinterest-Another Time Waster

In this series on time management I want to address the newest social media addiction: Pinterest. What is Pinterest you ask? I asked the same thing! I have been hearing people talk about Pinterest, I’ve seen requests for invitations on Facebook, I’ve received invitations from friends for me to join them on Pinterest; but I’ve kept my nose to the grindstone and ignored it all.

However, my cousin and I took our husbands and children to the beach last week and I notice her conversation was often peppered with the phrase “Pinterest”. She is a very conservative, level-headed, busy  mother of 4 who is a respected RN. To  hear her continually speak about this website with the same loving tones that she uses when speaking about her children was very disturbing. I asked her, “what’s up with that?!”

She confessed to me that she stays up late hours of the night “pinning things” on her boards. She cuddles in the bed with her phone because of her Pinterest app! She talked about the nurses gathering at the nurses station eyeballing each others phones oooing and ahhhing over each other’s boards while code blues and DOAs pile up in the back rooms. (Italics added by my imagination.)

I said that I would check it out but she said, in whispered tones, “No, you have to be invited.”

OooLa La! What a great marketing technique! It really stirs the pot of desire -if I were a sucker!

So I told her to send me an invitation. And this woman who goes to sleep with Pinterest and hides out in the broom closet at work making out with Pinterest, who holds Pinterest in her hand more than she holds her husband’s….ahem, THIS WOMAN said she DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SEND AN INVITATION!

But realizing this gave her a great excuse to disappear into a dark room to “discover” how.

She re-appeared 35 min later with a goofy, satisfied grin still no wiser but 200 more repins! WTFreak?

For me, THAT stirred the pot of desire more then anything! What the heck is this that has my ultra-conservative cousin so…addicted?! What kinda virtual crack was she doing?!

I texted a friend to send me an invitation. She did with this message: “Beware it’s very addictive. You have been warned.” WTFreak?

So what is Pinterest? It’s a place to bookmark pictures that you see on the net. It’s that simple. Yes it’s prettier than bookmarking on your computer. And yes it’s more social because you can see what others have bookmarked pinned. But it’s really just another social bookmarking network.

I have to say it’s not very friendly either. No wonder my cousin didn’t know how to send an invitation. When I accepted my friend’s invitation, her boards didn’t show up but 20 other “people to follow” did.  Who are these people and how do they get to be on the front page of my invitation. I stumbled around for a few minutes and guessed that I needed to click on someone if I wanted to get in. So I did.

None of their stuff interested me, but I clicked around anyway wasting a good 45-50 min. It was several days later before I went back.

When I went back to my Pinterest account I was glad to see that they kept me signed in. Later I noticed that on the left hand side was a listing of my previous actions on Pinterest and saw my girlfriends name. So I WAS following her. I clicked on her stuff and recognized a couple of mutual friends. I clicked on their stuff. Which exposed me to more things to click on and look at. Which opened the door for me to see other’s people’s boards and their stuff. I created some boards, liked some things and commented on others.

BIG WHOOP! This time I was smart enough to go to Pinterest while listening to a teleseminar. By multi-tasking I justified the 60min on the site.

Maybe I’ll find some time to play around with  Pinterest a bit more.  At this point they are receiving 11 million visits a week, there has to be a way to utilize that traffic. Once I figure it out I’ll rewrite a blog post. But as of now I would not recommend it to women who are really serious about growing their businesses. Unless your product is visually attractive (like you are a Foodie, Photographer, Fashion Designer or Artist of some type) it’s a complete waste of your time.

Why? The purpose of social media is to interact with a community of people and to provide your expertise  that will help their life in some way or another. They will in turn get to know, like and trust you. This doubles your chance of converting them into customers or joint venture partners. If the social media platform doesn’t allow you to do that then you are wasting your time

And come on momprenuers, not only are we marketing our businesses  but we are also overseeing the children; our  all-seeing eyes monitor kids computer screens, text messages, email accounts and Facebook pages; do we really have time to sit clicking through other people’s photos liking and repinning?

If you want me to send you an invitation so that you can check it out yourself go here to and leave your email address. But beware, it’s a time waster. You have been warned.

Let me know if you’ve found Pinterest to be beneficial to you and your business relationships. Is it a time vacuum for you too? How have you used it for business?

Leave a Free Backlink Here

You can celebrate lastweek’s accomplishment here on my blog and leave a free backlink to your site!

• What were you challenged by this week but overcame?
• What did you try, failed but tried again?
• Did you need help this week and found that it came in the nic of time?
• Any coincidences?
• Did you see God at work?

Praise God, cheer yourself on and give us something to cheer about with you.  Feel free to leave a free backlink!

The reason: I don’t feel like coming up with new content to write, so I’ll let you do it for me!

No seriously, if you’ve listened to my BlogTalk Show, you know I’ve built it around mom entrepreneurs who’ve gone through a challenge but overcame it.  I love interviewing these women and hearing the Warrior’s Story, the Overcomer, the underdog who came back stronger than ever!  These stories are soul-stirring, faith building and awe inspiring!

So I want you to tell your story here. It doesn’t have to be anything huge.

Can’t think of one right now, bookmark this page and come back to it. There’s no expiration.

I only ask one thing in exchange: That you pass this on, Tweet, FB, Stumble, or whatever social media you like; USE IT.  This gives you and me, extra exposure and it tells others where to come for their free backlink!

I only have one rule: No ads, No spam. No selling. I will simply delete it and it will never see the light of day. Only real praise, celebration and bragging from real entrepreneurs will be approved.

So tell us about your week and then tweet it out to everyone else!

Share the love!

Traveling Across Country-Bus 52

Yesterday I had the privilege to hang out with an inspiring group of young people; Amy Rose, Gelb, Amy, Steve & Chris the team on Bus52.

They have created the awesome challenge of driving to 48 states in 52 weeks and collecting  inspiring examples of community interaction and innovation.  Saturday they came to The Generous Garden to interview the Director Bo Cable and be amazed by the work of volunteers. As the Volunteer Coordinator, I had communicated with over 50ppl who volunteered for that day; but because of the rain we ended with 22. I’m sure they were able to get a great story anyway.

I was inspired by THEIR story! It has been my 8yr DREAM to travel across country in an RV with my children! I decided last summer that I’m going to do it this summer, but after talking with Gelb I see that it’s going to take  A LOT of planning. He spent 2 years planning! I also realized how much I DON’T know. I would love to stay in contact with him and pick his brain when I need it.

It’s sooo totally cool to be young and free to come and go and to travel as you desire. As I stood talking with them I remember having a dream to travel across country even at the age of 16. At age 21 I went on a business trip with a colleague to Las Vegas and we decided to extend our trip. We drove to Mexico and traveled up the west coast, sleeping in the car, all the way to Los Angeles before flying home. What fun!

I pray that these 5 will have safe travels and find much success as they travel on their Bus 52 to inspire America. They have definitely inspired me and made me more determined to live my (other) dream!

I Quit My Job- It’s Your Call

   Today I interview Ceri Ruenheck who quit her job 17 years ago and started It’s Your Call.  She provides business-to-business telemarketing services to small businesses. Basically she is the cold-calling expert that helps you can convert leads into sales!

In this interview she talks about the challenges that she went through in building her business, from blowing through her savings to needing to get a PT job even after having success in her business for years.

But you have to hear it for yourself to receive the inspiration to quit YOUR job and start your business.

 

Click the link to listen ==>http://www.blogtalkradio.com/imtheboss/2012/01/18/i-quit-my-job-its-your-call <==

Related articles

• Be Your Own Boss in 12 Months (thebossradio.blogspot.com)

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