Her new book, Lucinda's Web, is her first work of fiction. From what I hear, the book is chock full of various types of paranormal topics. With the knowledge and experience of Dorothy Morrison, that should make for quite an interesting ride! Also, the heroine of the book is an author, adding yet another layer and opportunity to learn for the reader.
All in all, this is an exciting addition to metaphysical community, and I can't wait to read it!
Bitten By Books has an excellent review of the book HERE.
~Anyanka/Sandy
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Only allow yourself one topic on social network sites?
I recently read an article on Microgeist that I found interesting. It is about actions that degrade your brand on social media sites. Very nice article! I found most of the points interesting, but disagree about this point.
"Inappropriateness ... in this case it means a post, tweet or picture that doesn’t fit into the context of what your account has defined itself as. Some networks are more forgiving, even encouraging, in sharing personal information while others have rather strict requirements as to the kind of content that belongs there."
I agree that if the network you are on requires certain types of content only, or in the case of blogs or articles, that this is an appropriate recommendation. However, I don't believe it is a universal point. And certainly not worthy of being #1 on your list, although I am unsure whether your list was ranked or just randomly listed.
On twitter, and other social networks that have a great deal of potential interaction, I talk about more than just my business. I have a new age mail order store, so there are certainly plenty of topics to discuss; spells, book of shadows, tarot, pendulums, meditation, herbs, etc. But I also discuss my personal life, thoughts on world events, and my reactions to other people's tweets or posts. I don't think this degrades my "brand" at all. I think this helps people realize that I am more than just a store. My interests, like those of most people, are varied not limited. I'm real, not just a logo. I'm a person, a friend (an online one at least,) someone to talk to. Reachable, touchable. Not only that, but I can have a wider circle of followers, readers, etc
Let's take Twitter for example. What should I do? Not respond when people I follow write something interesting just because it is outside of my "brand" topics? Why even read other people's tweets then?
The best kind of advertising from a business perspective is backed by trust. Can you build trust by showing you are an expert in a field? Absolutely. Can you build trust by showing you truly care about other people's thoughts and feelings? Absolutely. As a person is it natural to do both? Yes. Do you reach more people that way and feel like less of a spam bot. YES.
Social networks are just that, a place to network socially. Although it can be a great place to advertise as well, all advertise all the time gets you unfollowed, unfriended and unfavorited, and frankly... isn't as interesting. I'm not saying spend 5 hours a day on Twitter, or a similar network. I'm just saying if something catches your eye that someone has to say, or if you see something off-network that you think others may find interesting, helpful, or useful, and it is unrelated to your brand, one shouldn't feel it is hands off. If you do, are you much more than a robot?
Save the strictly branding accounts for Whole Foods, Google, etc. And hey, if you are that big maybe it is sound advice. But real people with real businesses have something that sets them apart. The ability to think outside the brand. The ability to interact on a more complex and varied level. That can be a tremendous asset, not a detriment.
In the case of blogs and articles, however, I do think you should stay much closer to your brand. Although a stray topic here and there would be fine, many people bookmark sites that are specific in their topics when it comes to blogs and articles. Blogs & articles are more about information (or opinion) delivery than they are about interaction, so I think they are a different animal altogether.
Anyway, that is my opinion on the matter. And a new off-topic off-brand post for my blog :)
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
"Inappropriateness ... in this case it means a post, tweet or picture that doesn’t fit into the context of what your account has defined itself as. Some networks are more forgiving, even encouraging, in sharing personal information while others have rather strict requirements as to the kind of content that belongs there."
I agree that if the network you are on requires certain types of content only, or in the case of blogs or articles, that this is an appropriate recommendation. However, I don't believe it is a universal point. And certainly not worthy of being #1 on your list, although I am unsure whether your list was ranked or just randomly listed.
On twitter, and other social networks that have a great deal of potential interaction, I talk about more than just my business. I have a new age mail order store, so there are certainly plenty of topics to discuss; spells, book of shadows, tarot, pendulums, meditation, herbs, etc. But I also discuss my personal life, thoughts on world events, and my reactions to other people's tweets or posts. I don't think this degrades my "brand" at all. I think this helps people realize that I am more than just a store. My interests, like those of most people, are varied not limited. I'm real, not just a logo. I'm a person, a friend (an online one at least,) someone to talk to. Reachable, touchable. Not only that, but I can have a wider circle of followers, readers, etc
Let's take Twitter for example. What should I do? Not respond when people I follow write something interesting just because it is outside of my "brand" topics? Why even read other people's tweets then?
The best kind of advertising from a business perspective is backed by trust. Can you build trust by showing you are an expert in a field? Absolutely. Can you build trust by showing you truly care about other people's thoughts and feelings? Absolutely. As a person is it natural to do both? Yes. Do you reach more people that way and feel like less of a spam bot. YES.
Social networks are just that, a place to network socially. Although it can be a great place to advertise as well, all advertise all the time gets you unfollowed, unfriended and unfavorited, and frankly... isn't as interesting. I'm not saying spend 5 hours a day on Twitter, or a similar network. I'm just saying if something catches your eye that someone has to say, or if you see something off-network that you think others may find interesting, helpful, or useful, and it is unrelated to your brand, one shouldn't feel it is hands off. If you do, are you much more than a robot?
Save the strictly branding accounts for Whole Foods, Google, etc. And hey, if you are that big maybe it is sound advice. But real people with real businesses have something that sets them apart. The ability to think outside the brand. The ability to interact on a more complex and varied level. That can be a tremendous asset, not a detriment.
In the case of blogs and articles, however, I do think you should stay much closer to your brand. Although a stray topic here and there would be fine, many people bookmark sites that are specific in their topics when it comes to blogs and articles. Blogs & articles are more about information (or opinion) delivery than they are about interaction, so I think they are a different animal altogether.
Anyway, that is my opinion on the matter. And a new off-topic off-brand post for my blog :)
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Review of Amber Benson's new book
Bitter by books has a review of Amber Benson's new book, Death's Daughter http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=4871. I never even knew she was an author! I just always knew her as Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer hehe :)
The story has an interesting concept. A young woman discovers she has been suppressing the knowledge that she is Death's daughter, and is charged with the task of taking over for her father during a crisis. But it isn't so easy. She actually has to qualify for the position. Should be interesting to see what tasks she must complete.
In this day and age, as books & movies continue to push all stories through as if they are new, it is refreshing to see a creative story line such as this. I hear it is riddled with off beat humor, which is right up my alley, so I look forward to reading this new book!
The story has an interesting concept. A young woman discovers she has been suppressing the knowledge that she is Death's daughter, and is charged with the task of taking over for her father during a crisis. But it isn't so easy. She actually has to qualify for the position. Should be interesting to see what tasks she must complete.
In this day and age, as books & movies continue to push all stories through as if they are new, it is refreshing to see a creative story line such as this. I hear it is riddled with off beat humor, which is right up my alley, so I look forward to reading this new book!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Upside down mortgages and economic crisis
I don't usually post about such private matters, but I think this issue needs addressing. I see comments all over social networking sites, comments on articles, blogs, etc talking about how stupid people are for getting in over their heads and (by doing so) contributing to the global economic crisis.
I know a lot of people think that the families that got in over their heads (the upside down mortgages) were just plain stupid and risky, but you don't understand HOW it happened. I'm one of those people, and I can tell you how it happened to me. Maybe you can better understand then.
We were looking for a house in the $80k range when we were first looking to relocate to another state in 2004. We have a small daughter, she was 5 at the time and is 10 now. We wanted a better area for her. A nicer house, better school, more opportunities. We were flying back and forth from the east to the west coast looking at houses, and finally decided it would be easier to rent in the area while we look instead of flying all the time. It cost us $10k to move, far more than we expected. But I guess everyone was taking advantage of the boom.
Once we were in the rental property (Sept 2004) the house prices started quickly climbing. In no time our realtor was telling us there weren't any houses in the $80k range anymore. We spoke with our mortgage broker and they said it would only be a few dollars more a month for a $90k house than an $80k house. Sounds reasonable, we started looking at $90k houses. Oops, no more of those either. Well, only a few dollars more for a $100k than a $90k house right? And our broker said we could afford it. Looking at $100k houses.
I know this may sound crazy if you haven't lived through it, but this pattern continued for months. Each time with "experts" assuring us it was just a little more a month and telling us we could afford it. It sounds dumb looking back, but it was persuasive at the time. Especially to 2 people starting to panic.
Before you know it, the houses were $200k. So we found one for $189k (a real deal it seemed) and bought it ASAP. It was panic. It was fear. We knew we were outside of our comfort zone, but we didn't feel we had a choice. The houses were LITERALLY going up $10k a month. In fact, the house we bought for $189 was $149 less than 3 months previously. We felt if we didn't just grab something, anything, we'd be priced out of the market permanently and we didn't know what our future options would be then.
We ultimately mortgaged $195k after rolling in closing costs. It's insane. $195k after looking at $80k houses. If you haven't been through it, it is hard to understand.
We can't afford our $195k mortgage. And our mortgage company won't try to restructure our loan unless we are current. How much sense does that make? Unless we make our payments they won't help us find a way to make our payments. I have to prove I can pay, and prove I can't at the same time? Talk about a lose - lose situation.
And to make matters worse? My floors are cracking up. They are separating, and one side is rising... or is the other side sinking? I don't get it, because the house was 7 years old when we bought it. It had been inspected, and passed. I don't know how it developed these problems AFTER we bought it when it was that old already? And (even worse still) my husband is having a lot of trouble with his back. Standing AND sitting for more than 20 mins (sometimes less) at a time hurts him. Although I don't know how much it matters that it hurts him to work, since he is in home improvements & repair and never gets calls for work anyway. Also, I have my own online business that has done fine since 2002. Now my sales are dropping drastically. Sales were never high enough that I could fully support the family, but then it became hard to even pay utilities and bills like that. This last month, for the first time since 2002, I've had trouble even paying the expenses of the business much less making a spendable profit!
Not trying to post a sob story for sympathy or attention. I don't get off on revealing my dirty laundry to the world. I just think many people out there are unaware how many of us got in this mess. Maybe this helps clarify it for you. I didn't want to put my family in this mess. I didn't want to have to think about this stuff 24 hours a day. I didn't want to have anxiety attacks nearly every day, and heart palpitations at only 32 years old. Did I make a mistake? More than 1 I am sure. I put my faith in "experts" who (I thought) were supposed to help me and guide me. I am guilty of trust, faith and ignorance. And I am paying for it every minute. And worse than that? My child is paying for it too. She knows far too much about debt and mortgages at 10 yrs old, and she worries. Children shouldn't worry. They should feel safe and secure.
So before you judge so harshly, please consider maybe those of us upside down on our mortgages aren't total idiots. Maybe we are just people who wanted a better life for our children, and became convinced by experts that what we were doing was safe, reasonable and neccessary. We have learned, but unfortunately it is too late. Now we suffer for our mistakes. Please don't make that any worse.
I know a lot of people think that the families that got in over their heads (the upside down mortgages) were just plain stupid and risky, but you don't understand HOW it happened. I'm one of those people, and I can tell you how it happened to me. Maybe you can better understand then.
We were looking for a house in the $80k range when we were first looking to relocate to another state in 2004. We have a small daughter, she was 5 at the time and is 10 now. We wanted a better area for her. A nicer house, better school, more opportunities. We were flying back and forth from the east to the west coast looking at houses, and finally decided it would be easier to rent in the area while we look instead of flying all the time. It cost us $10k to move, far more than we expected. But I guess everyone was taking advantage of the boom.
Once we were in the rental property (Sept 2004) the house prices started quickly climbing. In no time our realtor was telling us there weren't any houses in the $80k range anymore. We spoke with our mortgage broker and they said it would only be a few dollars more a month for a $90k house than an $80k house. Sounds reasonable, we started looking at $90k houses. Oops, no more of those either. Well, only a few dollars more for a $100k than a $90k house right? And our broker said we could afford it. Looking at $100k houses.
I know this may sound crazy if you haven't lived through it, but this pattern continued for months. Each time with "experts" assuring us it was just a little more a month and telling us we could afford it. It sounds dumb looking back, but it was persuasive at the time. Especially to 2 people starting to panic.
Before you know it, the houses were $200k. So we found one for $189k (a real deal it seemed) and bought it ASAP. It was panic. It was fear. We knew we were outside of our comfort zone, but we didn't feel we had a choice. The houses were LITERALLY going up $10k a month. In fact, the house we bought for $189 was $149 less than 3 months previously. We felt if we didn't just grab something, anything, we'd be priced out of the market permanently and we didn't know what our future options would be then.
We ultimately mortgaged $195k after rolling in closing costs. It's insane. $195k after looking at $80k houses. If you haven't been through it, it is hard to understand.
We can't afford our $195k mortgage. And our mortgage company won't try to restructure our loan unless we are current. How much sense does that make? Unless we make our payments they won't help us find a way to make our payments. I have to prove I can pay, and prove I can't at the same time? Talk about a lose - lose situation.
And to make matters worse? My floors are cracking up. They are separating, and one side is rising... or is the other side sinking? I don't get it, because the house was 7 years old when we bought it. It had been inspected, and passed. I don't know how it developed these problems AFTER we bought it when it was that old already? And (even worse still) my husband is having a lot of trouble with his back. Standing AND sitting for more than 20 mins (sometimes less) at a time hurts him. Although I don't know how much it matters that it hurts him to work, since he is in home improvements & repair and never gets calls for work anyway. Also, I have my own online business that has done fine since 2002. Now my sales are dropping drastically. Sales were never high enough that I could fully support the family, but then it became hard to even pay utilities and bills like that. This last month, for the first time since 2002, I've had trouble even paying the expenses of the business much less making a spendable profit!
Not trying to post a sob story for sympathy or attention. I don't get off on revealing my dirty laundry to the world. I just think many people out there are unaware how many of us got in this mess. Maybe this helps clarify it for you. I didn't want to put my family in this mess. I didn't want to have to think about this stuff 24 hours a day. I didn't want to have anxiety attacks nearly every day, and heart palpitations at only 32 years old. Did I make a mistake? More than 1 I am sure. I put my faith in "experts" who (I thought) were supposed to help me and guide me. I am guilty of trust, faith and ignorance. And I am paying for it every minute. And worse than that? My child is paying for it too. She knows far too much about debt and mortgages at 10 yrs old, and she worries. Children shouldn't worry. They should feel safe and secure.
So before you judge so harshly, please consider maybe those of us upside down on our mortgages aren't total idiots. Maybe we are just people who wanted a better life for our children, and became convinced by experts that what we were doing was safe, reasonable and neccessary. We have learned, but unfortunately it is too late. Now we suffer for our mistakes. Please don't make that any worse.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
What was Jesus?
There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:
1.He called everyone brother
2.He liked Gospel
3.He didn't get a fair trial
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1.He went into His Father's business
2.He lived at home until he was 33
3.He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1.He talked with His hands
2.He had wine with His meals
3.He used olive oil
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1.he never cut His hair
2.He walked around barefoot all the time
3.He started a new religion
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was anAmerican Indian:
1.He was at peace with nature
2.He ate a lot of fish
3.He talked about the Great Spirit
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1.He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there wasvirtually no food
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who justdidn't get it
3.And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do
Can I get an amen?
hehe, isn't that cute? :)
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
1.He called everyone brother
2.He liked Gospel
3.He didn't get a fair trial
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1.He went into His Father's business
2.He lived at home until he was 33
3.He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1.He talked with His hands
2.He had wine with His meals
3.He used olive oil
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1.he never cut His hair
2.He walked around barefoot all the time
3.He started a new religion
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was anAmerican Indian:
1.He was at peace with nature
2.He ate a lot of fish
3.He talked about the Great Spirit
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1.He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there wasvirtually no food
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who justdidn't get it
3.And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do
Can I get an amen?
hehe, isn't that cute? :)
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Friday the 13th - history
Why all the fear of Friday the 13th?
In France, on (Friday) October 13, 1307, King Philippe IV attacked the Knights Templar. All the Templars in France were arrested, accused of heretical acts, imprisoned, tortued, and executed. The day forever branded Friday the 13th as an unlucky day.
An interesting little fact (found in Seventh House's Season of the Witch planner) The greatest number of Friday the Thirteenths that can occur in one year is three, and that is the case in 2009: Feb 13, March 13, Nov 13.
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
In France, on (Friday) October 13, 1307, King Philippe IV attacked the Knights Templar. All the Templars in France were arrested, accused of heretical acts, imprisoned, tortued, and executed. The day forever branded Friday the 13th as an unlucky day.
An interesting little fact (found in Seventh House's Season of the Witch planner) The greatest number of Friday the Thirteenths that can occur in one year is three, and that is the case in 2009: Feb 13, March 13, Nov 13.
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I don't understand it?
The other day I sent a previous customer a discount on her next order as a thank you gift, and received a response asking me to remove her from my mailing list? She wasn't on a mailing list, she was just getting a one time discount offer in response to her satisfaction with her previous order.
Then today I decided I should get rid of the couple calendars I have left. Sure I could discount them and sell them off that way, but wouldn't it be more fun to give them away? So I spend the afternoon writing up a giveaway page on the website. I twitter it, direct message a few people I follow, post it in my yahoo group and blog it on my other blog. So far the only responses I have received were from:
1. A person the direct message got double sent to on twitter due to a traffic overload. The twitter gave me an error page telling me to try again, so I did. Apprently that made it double send.
2. A person asking me not to direct market them by sending them giveaways.
3. Someone who actually thanked me for letting them know.
So here's what I don't understand. How come if I want to give people discounts (that I can't even really afford to give with sales down due to the economy) and give away free items, how come I am either getting no response or complaints? Seriously, it's beyond me. Personally, I love discounts and freebies and even have a special folder for them in my yahoo mail. It makes me feel terrible. I never wanted to annoy people, and I'm not sure how I did? I have a very personable family run shop that isn't coming close to paying the bills at the moment, a husband that has been unempolyed for over a year, and yet I still think about how I can save others money and maybe brighten their day, and that is somehow a bad thing? Do people just assume it is like a big corporation who is just trying to milk every dollar they can out of everyone? The ones that give discounts just to make you buy things you don't want or need because you feel like you are getting a deal? Because that's not me. In fact, when I run specials I don't really see a big jump in my sales, probably because I have a much smaller customer base than big guns like Best Buy and Amazon. If anything, I have to work harder for the same amount of money or less. That doesn't really benefit me. But I do it for others. Which I guess is pointless, because it would seem no one takes it that way. It seems the harder I work, the more I think of others, and the more thoughtful I try to be, the less favorable response.
Maybe I'd be better off dropping my small town family run mentality and adopting a selfish corporation mentality. I am starting to feel like people would respect me more if I was just out to get their money instead of actually caring and being there when they need help or advice. But then I would just be going against my nature.
*sigh* just can't win.
Then today I decided I should get rid of the couple calendars I have left. Sure I could discount them and sell them off that way, but wouldn't it be more fun to give them away? So I spend the afternoon writing up a giveaway page on the website. I twitter it, direct message a few people I follow, post it in my yahoo group and blog it on my other blog. So far the only responses I have received were from:
1. A person the direct message got double sent to on twitter due to a traffic overload. The twitter gave me an error page telling me to try again, so I did. Apprently that made it double send.
2. A person asking me not to direct market them by sending them giveaways.
3. Someone who actually thanked me for letting them know.
So here's what I don't understand. How come if I want to give people discounts (that I can't even really afford to give with sales down due to the economy) and give away free items, how come I am either getting no response or complaints? Seriously, it's beyond me. Personally, I love discounts and freebies and even have a special folder for them in my yahoo mail. It makes me feel terrible. I never wanted to annoy people, and I'm not sure how I did? I have a very personable family run shop that isn't coming close to paying the bills at the moment, a husband that has been unempolyed for over a year, and yet I still think about how I can save others money and maybe brighten their day, and that is somehow a bad thing? Do people just assume it is like a big corporation who is just trying to milk every dollar they can out of everyone? The ones that give discounts just to make you buy things you don't want or need because you feel like you are getting a deal? Because that's not me. In fact, when I run specials I don't really see a big jump in my sales, probably because I have a much smaller customer base than big guns like Best Buy and Amazon. If anything, I have to work harder for the same amount of money or less. That doesn't really benefit me. But I do it for others. Which I guess is pointless, because it would seem no one takes it that way. It seems the harder I work, the more I think of others, and the more thoughtful I try to be, the less favorable response.
Maybe I'd be better off dropping my small town family run mentality and adopting a selfish corporation mentality. I am starting to feel like people would respect me more if I was just out to get their money instead of actually caring and being there when they need help or advice. But then I would just be going against my nature.
*sigh* just can't win.
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