Author Archives: jennifer

Wandering around cyberspace and enjoying the adventure!

NBPM #1 – NaPodPoMo & NaBloPoMo

You may be wondering, “Just what the heck are NaPodPoMo & NaBloPoMo?”

A foreign language? Like say….Pig Latin?

No. Nothing as fancy as that.

NaPodPoMo stands for National Podcast Post Month and NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Post Month.

Both of these are based off of the very popular NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month which kicks off today, November 1st. It lasts for 30 days and ends at 11:59pm on November 30th. The premise is to write a 50,000 word novel over the course of the 30 days. It doesn’t have to be pretty or even good. As a matter of fact FAQ Reason #2 states, “Aiming low is the best way to succeed.” I do have a few books I’d like to belt out, but they all happen to be non-fiction so that counted me out.

In my continued search I found out there was also a NaBloPoMo happening at the same time. Post every day to your blog for 30 days. Once again the idea is to just get it out there.

So I said to myself, “Hey, I have a blog.

“Hey, I’ve been wanting to post to it more.”

“Hey, I think I’m gonna do it!”

So I signed up. I figure it’ll be a great way to find my blogging voice and by participating I’ll also end up with what I hope will be some kick ass blog posts. Whereas now I’ve only got a handful. Who knows after all is said and done maybe I’ll keep up the daily postings. And THAT would be great!

When I find something cool I tell my online buddies about it, too. I posted it to the SA Podcasters message board. The conversation continued on Twitter
with a joke that it would be too hard to do something like that in the Pod-O-Sphere.  The more I thought about it the more I wanted to do a podcast version. I wondered if there was already a group that I could join. My search turned up empty for podcasts but I did come across a NaVloPoMo or National Video Blog Post Month event. Wow! Vloggers were in on the fun, too? That clinched it for me. On Monday afternoon I jumped in and created the NaPodPoMo site on Ning.com

You see although I have a couple of podcasts in existance, there is a part of me that would like to post more shows more often. Due to the nature of the existing shows it’s not possible to do at this time. So what better way to get into practice of creating shows on a daily basis than NaPodPoMo? Since it doesn’t have to be pretty or amazing I’m free to experiment, be as creative as I want to be and use new tools to make this happen. I plan on using Utterz, BTR, my iRiver, my Phone, Jott to help augment my microphone and keyboard.

Since the premise of both events is focused on the DOING of a blog post and the DOING of a podcast, I think they go hand in hand.  So I’m diving in with both feet DOING both NaBloPoMo & NaPodPoMo.

Personally I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Blog Action Day: The Environment

Today is Blog Action Day and the topic of choice is The Environment. The idea is for folks to discuss the environment as it relates to our current blog topic. Since my blog topic is….well….me this is going to be easy.

After some thoughtful discussion with John, I’ve decided to share where I think we, as a home-based business owners and a homeschool family, do in our daily lives to reduce our impact on the environment.

During the morning news we hear all about the traffic jams for those commuting to their place of work. In our business we commute from our downstairs bedroom to our upstairs offices. The only traffic jam you’ll find in our home is at the coffee pot. Just try putting your coffee cup in before mine and you’ll get an earful. Same as you would if you tried to cut me off on the freeway.

All kidding aside, because we don’t participate in the mad dash to an office outside of our home we as a single family are doing our part to help the environment. This is not to say that we never leave the house. Of course we do. We have outside appointments and our kids have outside activities. However when we travel is entirely up to us. It’s not often that you find us in rush hour traffic. We try to schedule morning appointments after 9am and afternoon appointments before 4:30pm.

I know that working from home is not an option for everyone. But there is an alternative to everyone traveling to work at the same time. Companies could stagger their employee arrival/exit times to alleviate traffic. Some folks are naturally early birds and others not so much. Those who are chirpy in the a.m. could work the 7am-3pm schedule and then others from 8am-4pm and lastly the night owls could wander in from 9am-6pm.

Scheduling employees into their natural productive time would be an additional bonus. I for example am the night owl in the group. While my sister Jackie is chirpy in the early a.m. hours. It would make sense to slot us into different work schedules since we are both productive at different times of the day.

What does this have to do with the environment? With less folks stuck in traffic at the same time there would be less smog, less stress and happier people overall. So I would be interested to hear what you are doing in your family to help with the environment.

“Let me explain….No….Let me sum up…”

Those of us familiar with The Princess Bride will remember these words uttered by Inigo Montoya. So much had happened and there was just not enough time to share the details. So began the “summing up”. In my case there is no Prince Humperdinck scheming and plotting to ruin things. If anything, I’ve got “Miracle Max” in my corner giving me a magical and tasty chocolate-covered nut to bring me through.

SUM-UP #1: The last we chatted, I was embarking on the 30 Day Challenge. I’ll sum up my challenge by stating that by day 16 the real world had stepped up some challenges and that was the end of that. It so happens that was right about the time that Web 2.0 put a little hiccup in the project. I won’t elaborate further except to reiterate an earlier message board post, ” Spam is spam no matter what platform you are using.” That’s not to say folks weren’t successful. On the contrary there were a few folks who did quite well.

To me the amazing thing was that the folks who were the most successful at it used the 30DC & the Web 2.0 tools they learned about to enhance their existing businesses. The reason I think it was amazing to me was due to the fact that I have an existing business and have been using Web 2.0 tools for some time. Yet, I had never put the two things together. It was a bit of a V-8 moment for me.

SUM-UP #2: This Texas Gal has been busy with all the New Media/Social Media/Tech opportunities. From Co-Working to BarCamps to Blogtoberfest to a Halo3 Pre-Launch at Microsoft. I’m here to tell you there is a growing interest in what we’ve been doing for the last 2 years. I only wish I could participate in all the new and exciting events that are happening in Dallas, Houston, Austin. I get to as many events as I can and love it! I’ll admit I’ve drunk the kool-aid and being able to hang out with others in the New/Social Media arena is just grand! The folks I’ve met continue to amaze and motivate me. I’m looking forward to meeting the folks I haven’t met yet. If that’s you, then send me a line or better yet find me on Twitter.

SUM-UP #3: During this time of the year our family & business rotates around football. Our oldest son plays in a 6-Man Football team, the San Antonio FEAST Patriots and has since it’s inception 3 years ago. With practice 4-5 days a week plus weekly games, half of which are anywhere from a 1-3 hour drive. Well you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that equals up to a lot of time. It seems like the season is so very long but when it’s over we are always sad to see it end. We really are blessed to have the opportunity to fellowship with the other FEAST families thru football. I call it “Football & Felllowship” We see our families grow and change with each season. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

SUM-UP#4: The Morning BrewCast has been through a slow period while Jackie and I were otherwise engaged. We tried our best to produce at least one show each month during this time. You all were patient and supportive. We think we have some of the best listeners in the Pod-O-Sphere. We’re back in the swing and are back to producing shows on a more frequent basis. If you’ve got a topic you’ve been dying to hear, then send us a comment at the Morning BrewCast. We’d love to hear from you!

This concludes the “Summing Up”. Feel free to drop me a line jennifer AT jennifernavarrete.com Yeah, I know it’s long, but hey it’s my name and that’s that. Or you can send me a voice mail by using the CALL ME button on the left side of the site. Until next time…… remember, “I have spent the last few years building an immunity to iocane powder and am not someone to be trifled with.”

The Kindness and Generosity of the Online Community

As you know, I am pretty active in the online community as it relates to Social Media. For the most part it has been a way to keep in touch with folks I’ve met at various conferences/camps. We share what we’re doing via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and belong to podcasting/videoblogging/new media groups to inform, educate and enlighten one another. The ability to communicate with folks who share my passion for the New Media and understand where I’m coming from has been priceless. Being able to be with folks who ‘get me’ regardless if it’s online or in person for me has been an invaluable part of the New Media journey.

Not only that, but the folks who are on this journey with me happen to be some of the most generous folks you’ll ever meet. Case in point, recently I made a Twitter post in regards to Tropical Storm Erin making it’s way to the Rio Grand Valley and my concern about a property needing care. I was pleasantly surprised to received two offers of help from folks who live in that region. Now mind you these folks aren’t family and one of them I’ve never even met. This reinforced my belief in the kindness and generosity of the online community.

Share your online community story.

Thirty Day Challenge

In my continued quest for time freedom and the fact that I love learning new stuff, I came across the 30 Day Challenge (30DC). Someone mentioned the challenge on the Entrepreneurs At Home group to which I am subscribed. (If you’ve ever had the chance to meet Rhea Perry you’ll know why) Naturally I clicked to see what all the excitement was about.

The whole point of the 30DC (which started on 8/1/07) is to teach folks how to take many of the Web 2.0 tools that are freely available on the web to earn $10. While that may not seem like a lot of dough, it’s the concepts and strategies that you will learn in the 30 day time frame that is the real value.
So what does this have to do with Time Freedom? Well, the way I see it, the strategies and techniques learned should enhance many of the projects I already have in place. Making me more efficient and those projects run more smoothly. Thus more Time Freedom.
Of course only the next 30 days 27 days will tell if that is the case.

Living the dream….what does that mean?

While we all have a mental image of what that is for each one of us, for me it’s more about freedom.

Your probably asking yourself, ” Freedom….what does she mean?”

As someone living in America in the 21st century I probably have more freedom than a lot of folks around the world. Yes it’s true I am fortunate to be able to work, live, eat, vacation, drive, shop, etc… whenever and wherever I choose. And it’s great! But that is not what I mean. No, to me “Living the Dream” is more about Time Freedom.

The time to do the things I’m passionate and interested in. The time to pursue new interests while still living fairly well. I’m not drinking my coffee with my pinkie sticking up nor do I drive the latest and greatest car, but what I do have is a relatively easy going lifestyle. Sure, I’d like to get a new car every two years, but the car I have now works great. It’s a trooper and still going strong. Now why would I get rid of something that has given me faithful service all these years? As a matter of fact I’m about to hand over the keys to my son.

But, I digress. To me living the dream involves several things.