Category Archives: Post

Invest in Your Passions…Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

January 28, 2022

Invest in your passions. Follow things that interest you. My entire podcasting career comes from the fact that when I heard about podcasting and realized what it was, went all in EVEN when there was no money to be made. Remember in 2005, podcasting was not a billion-dollar industry. Yet, I KNEW it was going to be a powerful way the entire world could share and connect.

Fast forward to last year when I began to play around with social audio of Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces. I KNEW the live aspect and interaction were going to make this a big global connector. It most definitely has been that for me and many others active in the social audio space.

When I was named to the Top 22 Experts to Follow for 2022 Twitter Spaces list I had no idea how it would open the door to guest interviews on several International shows. My global reach has expanded in a way the 2005 version of myself would be amazed at.

I owe so much to Jennifer from 2005. That Jennifer went all-in with podcasting and invested the time, effort, and resources it took to turn a simple passion into a career. The rewards which stemmed from that investment far outweigh a single dollar made. That investment has given me far more than I could have dreamed of all those years ago.

My message to you?

Invest in your passions.

I use the word invest because it is most definitely going to take an investment of time and resources to take your passion and turn it into something fulfilling and meaningful.

Only you get to decide what = fulfilling and meaningful.

By investing in your passion you allow yourself the freedom to see where that investment will take you. My own journey has been the most amazing adventure and one I am grateful I began 16 years ago.

Curation on the Blockchain – Part Two

November 5, 2021

Welcome to Social Media and the Blockchain. I am your host, Jennifer Navarrete. This episode is the fifth in a 30 part series and the second on the topic of curation.

Goals

Now, the goal of this show is to demystify the Blockchain as a content creation destination, simplify the onboarding process, and encourage you to learn more about Web 3.0. This week has been about demystifying the Blockchain. In episode four, I laid out the basics of being a Curator on the Blockchain. How upvotes, comments, and shares can be rewarding for both Content Creators and Curators. With yesterday’s explanation of curation, I thought today we would give a basic understanding of the value of being a content curator.

Disclaimer

This is the part where I remind you that this is not financial or investment advice. I am sharing my personal experience with creating and curating content on the Blockchain. This show and supporting blog post is strictly for educational purposes. Do your own due diligence before taking any action on something that may have financial ramifications. I am not a financial advisor. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, have I played one on TV.

Same Behaviors Different Results

In previous episodes, I’ve mentioned the same behaviors we do on traditional social media (like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) are the same behaviors we can do on the Blockchain. But, with the potential for rewards for both Content Creators and Curators.

When I find a post or video or photo that I like, learn from, am inspired by, or entertained by I will either upvote, comment, or share that content. Sometimes I do all three, but that content has to be top tier for me to do that. I am more likely to upvote than comment and I am especially selective of what I reblog. After all, each of these steps is also a reflection of my role as a Curator.

If this sounds serious, it isn’t that much different than going on Twitter and liking a tweet or retweeting or simply replying to a tweet. However, when I do these actions on Twitter. there is not a built-in opportunity for me to be rewarded like there is on the Blockchain. Now, these are only a few examples. This does not mean every time I curate I earn a reward. Not at all. There are plenty of times when I comment on a post and receive no return engagement. Not every post or every comment is found by others to be worthy of their curation.

Explaining Rewards…Simply

So how exactly does curation work as far as rewards go? When a post reward is paid, the value of that reward is split out between the Author and the Curators. How? Well, that depends on many factors. Generally speaking, the Author aka Content Creator receives around half of the value of the reward. And the Curators (all of the people who upvoted or commented or shared the post) will share in the balance dependent on even more factors such as influence, vote value, etc.

As we are only on day five of this series, this is purposefully vague as to not get lost in the weeds. Each episode builds nuggets of knowledge that are building upon one another. This will make more sense as we go. What I want you to take away from today’s episode is that you, as the Curator of content (through your participation either through upvotes, commenting, or sharing) can be rewarded. However, if a post does not receive enough upvotes, comments, or shares to earn value then there will be no reward for either the Content Creator or the Curators. Why doesn’t every single post or comment receive a reward? Well, this is to encourage folks to make good meaningful informational, educational, inspiring, or entertaining content as opposed to just posting to post. What you create should have value, and who gets to determine that value? The Curators do.

In essence, this is a sort of checks and balances between content creators, content curators, and the community at large. And with that, I will bring this episode to a close.

Thank you for joining me for another episode of Social Media and the Blockchain. In the next episode, we’ll take a look at communities on the Blockchain.

PLAN IT! Podcast Challenge

July 25, 2021

You have a mission and a message and you know podcasting is the right way to get the word out. FANTASTIC! But where do you begin?

The biggest obstacle with starting a podcast is all of the decisions you must make before you even hit record. From show and tech questions like…

Should I have a co-host or interview guests?
How long should my podcast be?
What kind of mic should I use or can I use my phone to record a podcast?
What app or software should I use?
How do I edit my podcast?
Should I go live or record the show?
Do I have to learn to edit audio files or can I send it to someone to do it for me?
Is there someplace I can go to just sit down to speak my message and not worry about the tech?
Once I record, how do I get my podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and anywhere else people listen to podcasts? Oh, and what are the other places people listen to podcasts?

You’d be forgiven if you felt the need shout, “Calgon take me away!”

If these questions have been running through your mind, you are not alone. While podcasting has grown in popularity and reach, there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut way to go from idea to launch.

Enter the 7-Day Podcast Launch Challenge: PLAN IT!

Before you ever hit record you must first plan your show. Join 16 year podcast veteran, Jennifer Navarrete for a 7-day challenge which will fast-track your knowledge with a simple, easy-to-follow actionable plan. When you complete the challenge all of your questions will have been answered AND you will have an easy to follow step-by-step plan to launch your podcast.

What are you waiting for? Sign up now! The 7-Day Podcast Launch Challenge begins on August 1, 2021. By August 7th you will have your podcast launch plan ready to share your mission and your message with the world. LET’S GOOOOO!

Shhhh….TexasPodCon is Coming!

July 25, 2019

Anyone who has known me from the early days of podcasting and social media will remember the whole host of user-generated conferences (camps) I spearheaded back in the 2007-2010 time frame. From the very first PodCamp San Antonio to Barcamp to Startup Weekend to TweetCamp to MobiCamp and others. These events were how the early adopter new and social media community came together and how the overall community in San Antonio came into being. By late 2010 the community in San Antonio was robust and thriving. So I stopped hosting events.

Fast forward to 2019 and podcasting is hotter than ever. Something kept poking at me that is was time for another event. However, instead of a camp, it was time for a conference. A podcast conference to be exact. That’s right it’s time to go back to the beginning. I think it was Inigo Montoya who said that, but wasn’t he just quoting Vizzini?

So, let me introduce you to the Texas Podcast Conference aka TexasPodCon

Official launch date is August 1, 2019. I’ve been bursting at the seems to share this with the world, so in honor of birthday which is in a couple of days, I’m sharing the news a bit early. More details to come once August 1st rolls around next week. Be sure to block your calendar for TexasPodCon on October 25th-26th.

Where’s the Conversation?

January 9, 2019

There was a time when the majority of what I saw online was more conversation and less self-promotion. I miss those days.

I belong to groups where the conversation is almost non-existent. Folks pop in to promote their most recent sponsored blog post, podcast episode or video creation in order to ask for likes and shares or to subtly market themselves through a question masked as a request for group help. It’s exhausting.

Where is the conversation?

Where are the spaces where smart and innovative folks can talk about ideas, overcoming challenges, share the ins and outs of what they do in a true learn, share, grow model?

Authenticity, Transparency, and Attribution

I come from the early days of social, podcasting, video. When only a few geeky folks were in the space. These were the days of user-generated conferences aka “camps” and community building. It. Was. Glorious.

While I am thrilled that this geeky thing which was on the fringe of society has been adopted by the world. I do miss the community aspect of it all. I know things change. Truly I do. We early adopters helped to fuel the uses of these tools and platforms so that they could become mainstream. Of course, we’re happy everyone else is on board. However, now that social media/podcasting/online video (which at one time was called new media) is an industry, and no longer a grassroots community effort, it seems the promo and influencer model has taken over. People have to make money. I know I do. But, does everything have to be about promo?

New groups are popping up all the time. I join some in hopes they will be a community based on conversation. Instead, it’s more of the same. Post after post after post of people only posting in these groups to get likes and shares for their content. Where are they when they don’t have something to promote? Please don’t misunderstand me here, there certainly needs to be a place to do these types of things. I know I certainly need places to share projects, posts, or client events that are happening. But is that all there is?

Frustration and Fatigue

You may be thinking, “Hey Jennifer, if you want a group like that then why don’t you create it?” I have. Several as a matter of fact and it was great. The challenge? I have been running groups since 2005 and I’m at the stage where I’d like to just be in a group without the time commitment and responsibility of running it.

My business is booming. I work with great clients on projects that I’m totally jazzed about and life is truly wonderful. What’s missing then? A community where I can brainstorm, idea share, problem solve and just be at ease with one another without worrying about our influencer, follower count, or sponsored ad posts. In other words, a place where I can let my hair down and talk shop or not.

What’s Next?

I guess what I’m looking for is Thought Leader Community. What is that? In my mind, it is a trusted space where honest helpful conversation happens. Where being authentic and transparent are treasured. A community that embraces the concept of “learn, share, grow” in its truest form. Does it exist? I sure hope so.

Beginnings, Transitions, Goodbyes

January 2, 2019

At this time in life, there are chapters and versions of my story that require saying goodbye while others are merely transition points and even more are new beginnings. Which ones are which? This may or may not be the time and place to unpack it all, but I will say that I’m probably at the most peace than I have ever been in my life. This feels like a beginning. It’s certainly a departure or good-bye of what has come before.

You may be reading this and thinking, “Vague much?” <- You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking this at all.

I saw a post titled, “This Autumn Let Something Die” by Willow on Tumblr and it made me pause. The title alone demanded I take the time to read it. So I did. It goes like this:

This Autumn, let something die.

A worry, a relationship, a project that has run its course. Let go of anxiety over the future. Let go of guilt.

Let go of other people’s dreams for you. Let go of the fear that happiness or success or love or joyousness somehow isn’t for you.

Let go of feeling unwanted. Go outside, can you feel how deeply your presence is craved here?

Let go of the small and burdensome things. Gifts never opened. Keys without a lock. Broken earrings, old love letters, the ephemera on your fridge.

As David Whyte writes, “Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.” This Autumn, let go of all the clothes you have outgrown.

Let go of comparison.

Let go of doubt.

Let go of the feeling that you are somehow not good enough.

Because every imperfect apple that lays soft in your hands, and every ray of low Autumn sunlight that warms you through woolens will tell you a different story, a much truer story. The story that you are more, much more, than enough. That you bless this world simply by being alive.

These words written by a 22-year-old young lady out of North Carolina had the kind of wisdom we can only hope to acquire through experience and age. It would seem that wisdom knows no age. A special thanks to the rabbit hole I wondered down during a random perusing of the interwebs for it led me to this insightful post.

But I digress. As I near half a century of spinning around the sun, I am more myself and the person God meant for me to be. I’m not sure why it took me so long to get here, but damn am I grateful to have finally arrived. I have such a sense of wonder about this next part of my life.

As a woman, it seems like we are constantly living for others and now I am ready to live for myself. It’s a fine place to be in life. The adventure is truly just beginning and I can’t wait for all the future adventures which will shape me to be even more me.

Time | Team | Tools & Reality

January 1, 2018

Best Laid Plans

When it comes to any project planning, recognizing your limitations is key to accomplishing realistic expectations. We all have pie in the sky ideas for what our incredibly amazing, life/world changing project is going to be and all the phenomenal success we will have as a result. None of this will come to pass unless you give some real thought to the actual time it will take to accomplish the project goals, the team you will need to make it all happen in a seamless way with all the tools right at your fingertips. In an ideal world, everything flows and blends together. The Red Sea parts and the world is your oyster.

This. Is. Not. That.

The Reality

Our pie in the sky vision is exactly that without hardcore tough love decision making. I’ve been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants gal my whole life. And for the most part, it has worked out pretty well so far. There were big opportunities I missed out on because long-term planning wasn’t “my thing”. Sure, it’s easy to dream. It’s easy to set your sites on a goal. How to get there? You can probably eyeball that, too. How to get there exactly as your ideal vision has pictured? Well, that’s a horse of an entirely different color….or type.

The Cold Hard Truth

When it comes to actually seeing your vision become reality you’re going to have to face some cold, hard truths. Your ideal plan is not going to happen with a team of one. You will need a team in order to fill in the gaps in your knowledge and expertise. Or even to just do the tasking that is required, but perhaps does not require your specific time and talents to accomplish. Hire outside of yourself. On a shoestring budget? Consider a trade of in-kind services. We all have special skills that are valuable to someone else and vice versa. Still not able to find someone? Then consider hiring small. In a perfect world, you would have the financial ability to hire your ideal person full time. What about for just a few hours per week or month? Get that ideal person at the front gate. Let them get to know you and your business. By the time you are ready to bring them to full-time they will already know the ins and outs of your business. They’ll be ready to dive into the deeper aspects of your projects.

Not ready to bring anyone else on board? Is a team of one your motto and words you live by? Then it’s time to get out the red pen to your project. What can you do realistically each and every day? Be tough and honest with yourself. Pare down your project down to its very basics. We’re talking the framework of a car without all the bells and whistles. A plain, standard model to get you from point a to point b. Does it have an engine and wheels that work? Then that is all you need to get started.

Chin up

It’s easy to get discouraged at this stage. You know the ideal way you want this idea to come to fruition. Taking the Ferrari in your mind down to the Ford Truck is hard. Here’s what I want you to remember, getting started is more important than holding on to the ideal version of your project and not getting started at all. Keep those little pared down darlings close by. As your project continues to develop there may be opportunities for them to be brought back into the plan. Some of them will make a comeback and others will not. Timing and the growth of your project will indicate when if their time has come. Some never will. Others will turn into Phase 2, 3, or 4 additions.

The Lessons Learned…….The Hard Way

I share these tips with you because of my own epic pie-in-the-sky planning failure(s). Most recently, I planned a repeat of something I did a few years back: Three different daily podcasts for National Podcast Post Month in November aka NaPodPoMo (30 podcasts in 30 days).

I was able to accomplish this originally in 2015. I recorded three shows a day for a total of 90 shows in the month of November. When I tried to reattempt this in 2017 as part of the 10 year anniversary of National Podcast Post Month, I failed miserably. Why? I set unrealistic expectations on the time I had available, the team who would help me accomplish this goal (me) and the tools I would use to make it all happen (1 live show and 2 shows prerecorded with post-production edits).

So, why was it I was able to accomplish this so easily in 2015 and yet stumble through the entire month in 2017? It all comes down to Time, Team & Tools.

Back in 2015, I was just coming back into the world after a health scare with my youngest son. NaPodPoMo was what I needed to get out of the medical brain fog that had been the previous months of my life. Plus, in 2015 all three shows were done live. Recording time was all I needed which made keeping the three times daily podcast sessions easy to keep up with. Due to months of being out of the loop, my workload was almost non-existent. I was just in the process of on-boarding a repeat client. Which meant my attention wasn’t split in too many directions. I had a simple calendar and it was easy to keep track of everything.

Fast-forward to 2017 and I had several client projects, am teaching courses each month to students while also taking a few courses myself. Out of the three podcasts, I scheduled for NaPodPoMo, only one was live. That single podcast is the only one which accomplished the goal of 30 podcasts in 30 days. When push comes to shove things fell into the cracks. I was so in love with the idea of doing three shows for the 10 year anniversary, I refused to see that the reality was there was never going to be an opportunity at success given that I did not plan for any deviation to my vision. I also did not bring in support to help with the prerecorded shows. This was the fatal flaw to my perfectly laid out plan. I should have known that I would become the bottleneck to success. Yet, I persisted with the idea that I could do it all.

The Rub

You would think I would have gotten wiser by this experience……I have and I haven’t. I had a 2018 planning session with my business coach to lay out the course of my business. I narrowed my focus down to three main pieces, which is quite a feat considering how much Shiny Object Syndrome plays out in my life. I had pushed back one of “my darlings” to later in the year instead of creating a big bang launch in January. This made complete sense in the overall planning. Yet, I realize I still need to thin the herd a bit. In order to be successful at some, I will sacrifice others. These are sound decisions. They make black and white sense. Here’s the rub, the things I am sacrificing are my own personal growth and pet business projects.

As a mother, this is nothing new. You always sacrifice what you might need or want for the greater good of your family. It’s just what you do. We can always wait until later when it’s a better time…..or……

The logical part of myself says, “Grow up, there will always be time to get these things done later. Take care of these other things because it will help you in the long run.” <-This grown up is not wrong. Yet, I can look back and see the many times I was on the precipice of something truly amazing and the reality of life forced me to reconsider the bigger picture. Some things absolutely needed me to stop, drop, and roll for something or someone who had needs greater than my own. But not all. There were several I have a very strong feeling would have changed the whole direction of my life. There is a definite feeling of “Rinse and Repeat” present. A deja vu of opportunities slipping away…..again.

Silver Linings

This is not a tale of doom and gloom. Not by a long shot. My life is my own. I work with clients I like on projects I enjoy and on a mission I believe in. My motto which can be found on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn et al.. is “Living the Dream” and I am no matter what you’ve read above. Just because I am living a life of my choice doesn’t mean I’m still not challenged. I’m still growing and learning and yes, also still compromising along the way.

The silver lining is that I am in charge of this speedboat. Sometimes my plans will have to be docked or perhaps I trade in that speedboat for a leisurely ride on a pleasure cruiser or ocean liner. Slow to maneuver, but they will eventually get to their destination.

At the end of the day when I look at 2018 or any year for that matter, I see an ocean of possibilities which are ripe with opportunity. It’s up to me to chart my course in whatever mode of transport fits the situation to see success in all its forms as they manifest themselves on the journey.

Speaker Interviews: Educating for Success Home Business Conference Day 1

August 9, 2013

As you all know, I am in Huntsville, AL at Rhea Perry’s Educating for Success Home Business Conference. While I am one of the speakers, I wanted to do more to show the attendees how easy and fun audio and video can be at events. So, I am hosting a Social Media Lounge and interviewing the speakers during the lunch and dinner breaks.

Joel Salatin

Speaker Interviews: Friday

The goal of my speaker interviews is to find out more about the vision behind their talks as well as a bit more about them personally. Joel Salatin who shares the concept of Entrepreneurial Farming as a profitable business model where ownership is not in the land or the equipment but in knowledge. He shares with me the concept of thinking of the animals and plants as partners in your successful farming enterprise.

Drew Perry

My next interview was with Drew Perry who I have known since he was 18 when I attended my first Rhea Perry conference 10 years ago. We talk about his philosophy behind entrepreneurship and life. He encourages all of us to explore the world, follow your interests and find things that interest you to create business opportunities.

Drew is always fun loving and it is fantastic see that his curiosity of the world and love of entrepreneurship has grown with his young family.

Additional Interviews

I never know what I am going to learn when I interview folks. It’s always something different and interesting. I sat down with Dan Celia who shared his vision behind what the real deficit is in America. It isn’t what you think. The discussion is one that is considered a hot button issue for many, but the heart of it is the lack of true understanding behind the economics that govern our day to day lives.

Teresa Bell sat with me in the evening to talk about her online greeting card business which she has been successfully running for the last 2 1/2 years. She talked about the ease of use for both personal and business outreach. It was easy to see that Teresa enjoys what she does for a living and is excited to share the message with others.

The web can be a daunting space for business to navigate. Frank Deardurff will be helping to demystify the web with simple and easy strategies anyone can use to build, manage and maintain a business site. When I asked him why he wanted to share this message with attendees of the Educating for Success Home Business Conference, he told me about the horror stories he had heard form clients about their web experiences in the past. Frank will actually walk everyone through a basic setup of a site while offering tips and lessons learned along the way.

Day 1 Recap

As you can see, the Social Media Lounge has been quite busy on the first official day of interviews. Look for more updates on Saturday with a whole new set of speakers who will be put in the hot seat. Thanks for all you comments on Twitter and Facebook. As always, let me hear what you think.

UPDATE: To follow what is happening at the Educating for Success Home Business Conference use #efshbc. To keep updated on all of my Social Media Powered Business Trip travels follow #smpbt

Social Media Powered Business Trip Part Deux

August 5, 2013

One of the things I really like to do with social media is to highlight fun and creative ways it can be used for business. I think it helps to drive home how easy it really is to use the social platforms and their mobile tools to share your messaging regardless of where you are or what you are doing. In other words, there is no excuse not to make social media a seamless part of your business.

A couple of years ago I did this through something I called the “Social Media Powered Business Trip.” The idea behind this was to use only my iPhone to post audio, video, tweets, Facebook updates and photos to document the journey from San Antonio, TX to Destin, FL where I was scheduled to speak at Rhea Perry’s Educating For Success Entrepreneur Conference.

What made the experience even better was that I stopped in several cities to interview folks who were using social media successfully for their business, projects or clients. I knew none of the people I interviewed. I was connected to them through recommendations of my fellow social media peeps. It truly was a social media powered trip. You can read all about it and listen or watch the interviews from that trip here.

You might wonder why I am telling you the story of that event. Or perhaps you have already guessed based on the title of my post that I am embarking on another Social Media Powered Business Trip. I will once again be speaking at Rhea Perry’s Entrepreneur Conference. This time I am making the journey to Huntsville, AL. Based on the options provided to me by the all powerful Google, I have divided my trip into two separate routes. On the way there I will travel to New Orleans for an overnight stop. Then continue my journey to Huntsville, AL. The route back will be entirely different with a stop in Memphis to visit Graceland before overnighting in Little Rock, Arkansas. Then I will head back to my beloved San Antonio with a quick stop in Dallas.

Who will I be stopping to interview along the way? Well, now that all depends on you. Got someone along the way you would like me to stop and visit? Send me their contact information and they too can become part of the Social Media Powered Business Trip.

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

The fun kicks off on Tuesday, August 6th and I expect to be back in San Antonio on Tuesday, August 13th. I am looking forward to having you join me on this latest social media adventure.