My friend sent me this link to Pipl.com. (Thanks, Lisa!) It's a great way to do a quick search to see how you appear to others on the NET. It's pretty fast, and it consolidates multiple social media sites.

Rachelle Gardner's blog had an interesting take on self-publishing. I like her postings. She is a literary agent who offers some very candid advice to those looking to get published.

Happy writing!

Spring is about to make an appearance here in Central Virginia. It's been a tough, cold winter. I'm thrilled that the temperatures are in the mid-60s this week. And we just measured all our snow this year in inches. A lot of my friends were measuring in feet and yards.

The warm weather is inspiring. It's time to get out and do. I'm tired of hibernating. It's time to clean up, give away, or recycle. Start new projects and do something new.

Celebrate and enjoy the warmer weather! And don't forget to spring forward this weekend.

Enjoy and be creative!

It's always important to provide illustrations in your user and training materials. Make sure that the screenshots look professional.

Don't use real customer data in your examples. You have an obligation to protect confidential or sensitive data. (If you haven't looked at yours lately, you may want to look through them.)

If you use technology or a graphics package to obfuscate or cover sensitive information, make sure that someone can't take the layers apart to access the data.

Make sure that your screenshots match the step that you're defining. Make sure all field names and titles match.

I went to get groceries last week. I was ready to check out about 9:30 AM. It was on the weekend. Most of the world is up by 9:30. There were over 20 check out lines - and two were open. Well, sort of. The two cashiers there didn't have any bags or their cash drawers. One lady had to go find a key. After everyone got his/her supplies, the lines were about eight people deep. There were two managers standing nearby, and they kept telling the growing crowd things like, "Sorry! We're understaffed." But, they never jumped in to assist or to call someone who could.

I logged a complaint on the store's website. I was impressed that I got a call from the store's manager within forty-eight hours. She was helpful, and she said that she would address my issue with her managers.

Really, there were several issues...

1. If there is an issue (like understaffing), the leaders need to jump in to help or get assistance.
2. Thanks for updating me on the cause, but I'm the customer. I don't care why you're understaffed. Do something. Just don't stand there and make excuses.
3. If you're a worker, and you see a backup in your area, get it together and get moving. I saw two unprepared staffers who acted like they didn't want to be there.
4. I was pleased that I got an actual human response from my email. I thought it was going to get lost in cyberspace.

Make sure that your customers see value in you. Make their experience worthwhile. (I'm hoping my shopping experience this weekend will be better...my fingers and toes are crossed.)

This is an interesting site on the arts in Virginia. (And if you like contests, they have some great ones for travel.) Be creative and enjoy!

I just finished Mireille Guiliano's Women, Work, and the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense and Sensibility. I'm on a management and leadership book kick recently, and it's nice when they have a female perspective.

This one is well organized and filled with anecdotes that highlight her key points. (The recipes in the back are a nice touch too. Even though I'm not brave enough to attempt a couple of them.) She covers everything from behavior, mentoring, and leadership to dress and communication skills. I like her style and presentation. It's a good read that doesn't feel like a self-help book.

Let me know what you're reading and if you come across anything that's worth sharing.

Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday! We'll be digging out for a couple of days from the latest snow storm.

Here are some bloopers and whoopsies that I've seen recently...

Outback Steakhouse Coaster:

“Zagat said we have the #1 Best Steak. Actually, you said it, they repeated it.”  (We need to work on the punctuation.)

 

My technical writer found this one…

Click the risk score beside the appropriate risk on the risk matrix to access the Risk Edit View where the Risk Significance can be updated.

 

“Stationary” appeared on an aisle sign in Target. (I guess the paper wasn't going anywhere.)

 

I saw this (very large banner) on Hull Street Road in Richmond… “Gallary Unisex Sallon – Booth Availible – 3 Months Rent for $75 a week” (Lots of creative spelling...)

 

On Fox News, they advertised a “News Upadte.” (Whoops!)

 

Larry Michael on “Redskins Nation” described a coach who “knew what lied ahead.” 

It's been rough, and everyone's been hit in one way or another by the economy. Someone gave an update in church last week about the upcoming (county and school) budget cuts and what they will mean for my county, Chesterfield. We know that cuts are needed, but it's difficult to realize the severity, especially if it means an end to some or all extracurricular activities.

I just finished reading Jeannette Wall's The Glass Castle. (It's a very good story about overcoming adversity.) She honed her journalism skills on her high school paper, and it provided her with a way out of the abject poverty of Welch, WV.

According to VH-1's "Save the Music," "Many of American's greatest thinkers, innovators, and leaders all have one thing in common: before they made history, they learned how to play a musical instrument."

I got my first full-time job because of my work in high school and college with literary magazines and the yearbook.

We all know cuts need to be made, but we need to find ways to preserve the extracurricular activities, especially the arts. Without them, it would be a very long day for students and teachers. I can't imagine a school day without art and music.

We, like most of the continental US, have been experiencing a rollercoaster of weather in the past couple of weeks. We suffered through a snowstorm and an arctic blast, only to have the temperatures jump to the 50s and 60s. (That was earlier in the week. We're in the middle of another snow storm right now.)  We had some nine and ten-degree mornings. What an awakening! When the temperatures changed from the teens to the fifties, it felt good. It's all a matter of perception. In the spring, I'd be the first one to say that fifty-five was chilly.

Perception is something we have to pay attention to in the work world. How do your customers and co-workers see you and your work? Are you an asset who provides detailed documentation by the deadline? Or are you seen as overhead? If you are, your tasks are the first to get cut when the project is behind schedule or over-budget.

You need to make sure that as a professional writer that you return calls and messages promptly. Make sure that your work is organized and error-free. Your team members need to know that you go above and beyond and that you get things done. You need to make sure that you're the one they can't live without.

It's all a matter of perception, and right or wrong, that's how others see you. If they think they can live without your contributions, then it could happen.

Stay warm, and if you're on the Atlantic seaboard, stay in and hibernate.