Living in the Knoxville region of Tennessee I have become an avid listener of the “Marc, Kim, and Frank” morning show. They are a great balance of sweet, spicy, and just plain odd. Something was discussed the other morning which is what influenced this post. It would seem that there has been a pattern with the last two blog entries, they have had something to do with parents. Not to disappoint, this post will complete the trilogy but rest assured there are no plans for any prequels or sequels.
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Just over a year ago I came up with a great idea; a way for my mother to share her creativity. For years mom has been creating unique and amazing crafts for every holiday, season, and everything in between. She loves antiques and worn items, some because they represent a piece of time in history and others because she likes breathing new life into them. (Cinnamon Stick Candle) Her talents don’t stop with used and weathered items; she constantly comes up with made from scratch craft projects that blow my mind. Mom has a mind that is capable of creating beautiful crafts but unfortunately, God didn’t feel she needed to be good with a computer. In the midst of creating JealousBrother.com I came up with an idea; create a crafting blog where mom can document her craft projects and share them with the world. Not2Crafty.com was a perfect fit for her and the domain name was available so the only challenge left was to teach mom how to use WordPress and to keep her motivated.
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According to Croatian traditional proverbs, “Iver ne pada daleko od klade.” This translates into, “a splinter doesn’t land far from the trunk” or maybe you would prefer the English equivalent, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” (Some material quoted from wikiquote.com but the entry has since been deleted.) There has to be some truth to an expression that has been around for so long but what does this have to do with a person’s blogging skills?

When you consider parents are the primary source for a child’s perception of what is right and wrong, the attitude a child has in regards to school and work, and of course are the single biggest motivators a child has, could there be a connection to their eventual blogging skills? As much as I’d like to at times there is no denying the similarities of my father and I. They are not all negative attributes, in fact I have a work ethic that is a spitting image of his and that has helped not only at work but also at school, projects around the house, and of course my hobbies. My mother is to thank for my creativity but also for my large nose, thanks mom! Read the rest of this entry »

Panera Bread is known for great food, free wifi, but what about enlightenment?

If you’ve ever been to Panera Bread you know a couple of things to be true, great food and one of the only remaining companies to still offer free wifi internet. It was just a typical Thursday for me, nothing out of the norm. I worked my first delivery of the day and then stopped off at Panera to grab some breakfast, check my email, and check in with the website. As I was waiting for my buzzer to go off so I could pick up my delicious breakfast sandwich (bacon, egg, and cheese) I began hearing what started off as a bit of an annoying conversation between two women a couple tables away from me. Read the rest of this entry »

Marketing a Social Network Website for the Inexperienced

I’ve heard there’s a first time for everything and that has become an expression that occurs almost daily in my life. Throughout the entire process of making JealousBrother.com a reality it seems like I’ve ran into one obstacle after another. When everything you encounter is new it can be challenging, especially when you’re faced with tasks like leasing a server, registering a trademark, and choosing a web developer. If I’m being honest the toughest task I have faced so far is the one I’m still trying to get a feel for, marketing/social networking.

It’s not enough to have a professionally designed website with a creative concept. A great website without traffic is like owning a Ferrari that never leaves the garage. It’s real pretty and powerful but no one gets to enjoy it. The only real difference is that I wouldn’t want anyone driving my Ferrari while on the other hand I want as many people as possible to enjoy our website. So how do I drive traffic to our website? That is the question I have been constantly asking myself for the last month.
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The Trademark Process Explained

Ideally, an attorney should handle your trademark registration. Unfortunately money doesn’t grow on trees so your only option may be to register the trademark on your own. Even if you complete this task on your own be prepared to pay between $350.00 – $1,500.00 for the USPTO filing fees. There is a reason the cost can vary so much; it depends on how many classes/categories you need to register. At the time this article was written the fee/charge per class/category was $325.00 (Please follow the second link below to find the current fee schedule). As you can see, at $325.00 registering a trademark can get very pricey. It should also be noted that a trademark can also be considered a service mark depending on the type of business for which the mark is being registered. Read the rest of this entry »