Writer | Blogger | Entrepreneur
When I was staying in an apartment in Detroit, way back in 1995, I would see this Japanese lady walk around the park every morning. What attracted me to this normal routine was that she spent most of the time walking backwards. I remembered her habit when I read an article last month on the benefits of retro-walking or backward walking.
In God we trust, everybody else bring data to the table.- Narayana Murthy
The best way to predict the future is to create it. – Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee
Life as an entrepreneur. Freedom. No more 9-5 timings. No more bosses to report to. And the ‘bestest’ part? No more resumes to update. Ever. Life sure is great……. Or is it? Here are SIX awesome things you can NEVER, EVER do as an entrepreneur. Let me know how many of these you are guilty of!
“Beware of advice—even this.” – Carl Sandburg
Delayed submissions, below-par work, shoddy construction, clear lack of understanding of the topic, inadequate word count, improper research sources (even worse—quotes from competitors!) – I am sure all of us have encountered these in our daily job as a content marketer in charge of a content calendar, and a team of freelance writers.
Both my daughters, Anaga (16) and Ananya (12), are avid table tennis players. They love the game, take it as seriously as possible and try to never miss a practice session or a tournament. Well, at least most of the time :-). Of course, I would not classify them as top notch players, but they do their best and that is the most I can ask of them.
Yesterday, I had the chance to walk down from Kadavanthara junction to my house in Vyttila. The reason why I had to walk is too complicated to enumerate here – just let it be understood it was not of my own wish, and I did not have a choice. So, I walked roughly 2 kilometers through one of the busiest roads in Kochi, and at peak time too – around 6 PM.
It all started 3 weeks ago, when we were in the thick of exams. Anaga was preparing for her 10th and Ananya for her 6th. In between answering questions on Ashoka and Buddhism, Ananya was busy scribbling down a menu card. “What are you doing?”, I asked. “Mummy, this is for the charity sale for Easter. Shika and I are getting it ready.”
I have always believed that walking is great for me and my heart. Plus a great activity that gives me plenty of “Me” time. With my thoughts rambling over work, home, kids, friends, it is a pleasant experience that has become a daily ritual for me.
A recent study by two German Universities found that Facebook causes instant envy, depression, and frustration. What? It took the combined might of 2 universities, the famous German discipline, and long research into the wee hours of the morning to come up with something I knew already?
Alternate title for SEO: “Rants from a content marketer about content marketing”
It was bound to happen. Content marketers (the good ones, that is) spent time and money creating quality content while content farms went laughing all the way to the bank. Then came Google (hero/villain depending on which side of the SEO fence you are in) and turned these content farms out of the playpen. All is well with content marketing.
But Google’s work is not done. Panda, Penguin and other wild animal updates have not touched the real issue in content marketing today. To cut a long rant short, is it just me, or are content marketers looking to make things as complex as possible? Have we ended up creating a hyper- demand for content, and thus become the victim of our own scam? Are we creating content for the sake of creating it?
So here is my update to content marketing that I insist everyone (including Google) need to adopt. Immediately. Presenting the “Call it as I see it” update. Drum rolls please…..
What say, mate?
