The social contract with your child - Think Ahead

Think Ahead is running great workshops with regards social media and your child. Teachers and parents will definitely benefit to attend. I listened to Having the Social Media Talk with your tech-savvy child, by Cayley Jorgensen.

Cayley Jorgensen - Think Ahead

We have been postponing getting a phone for our Miss Fine, although she is nearly eleven. "ALL HER FRIENDS" ("Yes, all my friends, Mom!") have phones already! She still has an iPad2 that she only gets to play on when homework is done, and she got a tablet sent from family overseas only this past weekend. She is also already very versatile on her parent's phones, and knows both our passwords. We have been having talks, and the school has been having talks. The school has forbidden the use of smartphones that can connect to the Internet. It helped to prolong the inevitable. But here we are!

The social contract by Cayley Jorgensen (shared below) is a great way to proceed.

Defy Bake a Difference campaign for Cupcakes of Hope

Defy #BakeADifference campaign launch

National Cupcake Day 4 Kids with Cancer is upcoming on 28 September. Defy is partnering with Cupcakes of Hope to raise funds for families for kids with cancer. This is such a cool initiative. I definitely won't be remembered for my culinary skills, but for this baking initiative it is real easy to support the campaign.

Decorated cupcake at Defy yesterday (CC Metro FM photo)

USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CUPCAKES OF HOPE 

via Defy #BakeADifference

Two ways to make it happen:

• Bake and share your cupcakes on social media with the hashtag #BakeADifference

Cupcake ready to be decorated

• Share an online created cupcake as well. Create it here: Defy Bake a Difference

I challenge you to #BakeADifference https://t.co/BRhik8nod5 via @defy_sa

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) September 18, 2019

Defy will be donating R1 for every post shared with #BakeADifference. Thank you!

Cupcakes of Hope is a non-profit company, but they are reaching bigger targets each year to support kids with cancer. They assist between 50 and 70 little cancer patients at a time. Look out on 28 September to support them in donating cupcakes or buying cupcakes at your local mall. Such a small gesture makes such a big difference!

Love this quote: "We can't all do great things, but we can all do little things with great LOVE" - Mother Theresa

Cupcakes of Hope Founder Sandy Cipriano

WARNING: Prepare to be spammed with pictures of cupcakes!


Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the launch of this campaign yesterday. I don't like baking, but I love to support great causes. (Luckily we were only expected to decorate a cupcake *phew!*)
I am not paid to write this, or to share my #BakeADifference posts.

Jodene Shaer tips for using Twitter effectively

Notes to increase Twitter success

Jodene Shaer believes that if it was not for Twitter, her career would have not been so successful. As with all social media platforms, Twitter is changing constantly. Business owners and social media users need to be constantly aware of these changes and how to make full use of Twitter.

Jodene Shaer's tips on how to improve Facebook engagement in 2018, as well her tips for Instagram success have already been shared on the blog. She keeps up with the latest developments, and were kind enough to share some of her Twitter tips at the recent MamaMagic New Products Awards.

Jodene Shaer Tips for Instagram success in 2018

MamaMagic Awards at Emoyeni Estate

Jodene Shaer gave interesting tips about social media at the recent MamaMagic New product Awards recently. The post on Facebook tips on how to increase engagement is already live on the blog.The social media sphere is changing constantly, and we have to keep up with constant changing algorithms.

Instagram has BOOMED, and social media influencers and brands cannot ignore this powerful platform. Here's some tips by Jodene Shaer. (I am copying from my cryptic notes)

TIPS ON INSTAGRAM SUCCESS

Instagram tips by Jodene Shaer

1. Use visually strong images.

2. Don't brand the images too heavily. The authenticity of the image is the most important.

3. Always include the event and brand hashtag in Instagram posts.

4. Use at least 15 hashtags in a post. Also use the hashtags with less than 1 million images related to it. Instagram does not give visibility to the higher related hashtags. The smaller rations get better reach.

5. Don't copy and paste your hashtags. It is seen as spam.

6. Tag relevant brands and people in the image.

7. Create Instastories. Use the location tag and the hashtag on the story to increase reach.

8. Follow back to create community.

9. Respond to comments. This is most important. Instagram is all about engagement.

 Thanks, Jodene!


What tips have you picked up about Instagram that we should know for future success?


Related post:

How to improve Facebook engagement in 2018 - Jodene Shaer

Inspiring Melanie Jacobs leaving footprints

Melanie Jacobs

I have met a most inspiring person through my future son-in-law. She's his sister, and she has a great story to tell. After reading her story, you will understand why footprints are such an important part of her message! Although she has physical limitations, she is a model, motivational speaker as well as a role-model to girls!

Questions to an inspiring woman

Overcoming obstacles against all odds

Women in Business - Jessi Low from Boss Babes

Jessi Low  from Boss Babes International

Women in Business - Empowering stories for Women's Month! Who does not love hearing about a successful woman? One of the guest speakers at the Nu Skin conference a while ago is the lovely Jessi Low. She is one of the Nu Skin success stories who has expanded her business internationally in a very short period of time. She and her partner are building their businesses on network marketing and the wonderful term "attractive marketing".  Just looking at her Facebook and Instagram feeds proofs the point!

I was sitting at the same table as Jessi at the Nu Skin Conference and asked her to answer some questions.

Questions to a Female Entrepreneur: Jessi Low

Esther the Wonder Pig changing lives on social media

Esther the Wonder Pig Facebook Page

I have been following a pig on social media. Esther the Wonder Pig has over a million likes on Facebook and 373k followers on Instagram. She has over 14 000 subscribers on YouTube. She is a delight to watch!

She completely changed the lives of her humans when they adopted her as a miniature pig. It soon became apparent that she was a huge commercial pig that would have gone for slaughter if they had not taken her in. They were amazed at how intelligent she is! The thought of her becoming bacon changed their whole lifestyle and the life that they are living now.

They changed to a vegan lifestyle, without even mentioning a vegan diet on social media. That is the power of social media!

Esther elevates pigs to a companion lifestyle only previously reserved for dogs and cats!

Check it out on TEDx Talks!

You go, Esther!

Tuesday catch-up - Winter is coming

It has been a few busy weeks for this family!

- It's finally winter here in South Africa. We also had three days of no power last week with the cold! You can imagine...

- The no power also had an influence on our Internet connection! We had none! 

- Little Miss had bronchitis, and we had to keep her at home.

- Hubby and I also decided that we could definitely not have had more children. Little Miss is more than a handful. Especially when sick. There was the nightly musical beds which was aggravated by an earache on Thursday. We finally had to fetch the antibiotics as well! (Although I hate it so much!)

- I finished my 9 weeks online course, UCT Social Media Course, and it feels very strange not to have a studying sword over my head! Blogging has helped me tremendously in staying up to date with what is happening in social media, and I have more value for what we are doing and learning on our blogging journey! Especially as Mom Bloggers. We know lots!

- The Student also heard that she got a distinction in the final accounting subject for her Management Diploma. I am so proud of her. Her hard work paid off!

- We celebrated two birthdays and a Father's Day the previous week at Cradle Moon Lakeside Lodge (formerly known as Heia Safari). That's where the photo of Little Miss was taken. The cold started on that Sunday!

- This Father's Day I was reminded again of how lucky we are to have this Hubby/Dad in our lives! He stayed home for most of the week last week when Little Miss was sick, and is 100% involved in our lives! It's a blessing to share our lives with him!

- We attended the premiere of The BFG Movie on Sunday. It will start in the cinemas on 1 July. I love all of Roald Dahl's works, and we had so much fun on Sunday to listen to the creative language! This is a lovely movie for the holidays for the kids (and adults!)

- We are in the final stretch before the winter holidays, and I am looking forward to sitting in less traffic each day for three weeks. Rose and I are bonding, and I beginning to appreciate her more! She's spunky, and she moves when she has to! The traffic is not so bad now with her!

- We are not going anywhere for the holidays, but that's okay. We will get our turn...


What are your plans for the holidays?

Note to self: Stop waiting for Friday #lifequotes

I should enjoy ALL the days of the week! I am always waiting for Friday, or counting off the days! Note to self: Stop it!!

I am doing an assignment on Pinterest this week, and this is one of my favourite boards!



Have a lovely weekend!

A snippet of our lives - sharing on social media #JoziMeetup

I am constantly being told to take photos of things, but not so much of her any more. 

Only some days...

Here's a food face she wanted me to capture!

It was a win-win! I got her to eat some fruit, and she could use her creative energies!

I loved what Marcia Francois  (The 123 Blog, Organising Queen) said at the most recent JoziMeetup about sharing on social media:

We should always realise the place of social media in our lives. 

Social media sharing is only a short snippet of a life!

Real life moments happen in between social media snippets!

Social media is not life!

It's a good reminder!

(This picture does not show the tantrum that went before, nor does it show the disorder in our house because she has been building houses with chairs and blankets...)

Related post:

A beautiful living #JoziMeetup

7 Quick and dirty tips to cement your personal brand - Stacey Vee #jozimeetup

Stacey Vee of Living Lionheart, Content Candy, iPads for Lionhearts and DigiKids spoke about personal branding at the most recent JoziMeetup.
She turned her personal brand into her full- time job!

She shared with us that she only gets 3000 page views on her Living Lionheart blog, but that she gets R8000 off her blog in a month.

She knows about personal branding! @MissStaceyVee #jozimeetup pic.twitter.com/J86FPYNDNM
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) November 8, 2014

What does it mean to be a brand, anyway?
Your personal brand is your digital footprint online!


Stacey Vee's 7 tips to cement your personal brand:

Focus should be on the following:

1. What are you selling? What's your product?

2. Who's picking up what you are putting down?

    Who is buying your product?

3. Never underestimate the power of your name!

4. Build your brand pillars
    This includes the most important attributes and principles that you want to communicate through your brand

5. Be curious
    Be humble
    Be authentic

Example @melattree

6. What's the story?
    Storytelling has become very important. Stories are powerful! It engages people the most!

7. When it starts to feel stale, reinvents yourself! Again and again!


Related post: 

- Notes from Digital You #jozimeetup

Leaving behind a terrible social media legacy

Even though you do not want to be on social media, and you do not want to interact, please keep on checking your social media profile.

Somebody die, and immediately we go to the Internet to see the news surrounding the death and also to read about a life.

It is a terrible shock to see that a social media profile has been vandalised!

I am sure that it is not the person that he wanted to portray, but now it is there for-ever and ever and EVER!

That is not the person we want to remember, and that is sure not the legacy he wanted to leave behind!


Please do a name search regularly! 

RIP? NOT!

The Toddler being scrapped; or why fellow bloggers are nice!



Lynette at A work in Progress created this scrapbooking art work

Lynette of A work in Progress asked me to send her the picture of Mieka that was taken at the day care a while back. I had it up here on the blog.

My Hubby asked incredulously why someone would do something like this? Because she is very nice!
(Am I right, Lynette? Wink smile!)

This is one of the reasons I have found blogging to be so satisfying. I have met the most wonderful people here who are trying to live normal lives... Some get hit by life! Somehow we get through it by blogging about it, and by encouragement and sympathy from fellow bloggers! It is sometimes also just nice to find out that we are all the same... We struggle with the same issues, no matter where we are in the world!

Thanks Lynette, I can't wait for the real thing. (Yes, she is even sending the scrap book creation by post!)
This is so very sweet and nice and thoughtful of you!

Twitterquette

5 Twitter updates in my time line that I find very irritating:

 

• Monosyllabic yes’s or no’s! Or any other mono exclamations.

          @quette No! – No what?

• Private discussions, such as organizing play dates. (That’s why there is DMs.)

           @quette Are you free on Saturday? – Why do we want to see this?    

• Replies that do not include a hint of what the conversation is about.

          @quette it sure is a good thing that it turned out this way. – What? Who? How?

• Hinting at some sort of personal disaster, and letting it hang.

          @quette OMG! – WTF?

• Not acknowledging a reply when you requested some sort of feedback.

          “     “ - Why did I bother?

These are some of the things that irk me endlessly.
What are your pet peeves on Twitter?