The cliché people say, “Teach what you know.” I know enough about writing for the web to share it, so here’s part 3 of my series. But before we get started you should know this: although I know enough about writing for the web, and even do it for a living, I’m still learning. Aren’t we all? don’t consider myself an ‘expert’ on the topic, but I’m willing to share what I know. Never trust anyone who says they know it all. If they don’t know they don’t know, what else don’t they know?  Hmm…). Spread link love. ” Spread the love around! Amusing. MORE >>

I used to silently wish I was creative. assumed I wasn’t. Creative was for other people, not me. Silly girl. Where was Walt Disney when I needed him? Gert Garman, Global Creative Development Manager for Disney, visited my local Triangle chapter of the American Marketing Association last week to share Disney’s secrets to innovation. At Disney the prevailing philosophy is “everyone’s creative.” They believe their ability to tap into that creativity is their competitive advantage. It took me a long time to come to the same conclusion, but I finally wised up. Yes, I’m creative. Creative space. MORE >>

Every day in my association’s online community, people reach out to fellow members to ask questions or request guidance. Today I saw someone ask for examples of associations that have had proven success with social media. At the bottom of her request for help, she added three words – “NO vendors, please.”. get why people say that. Too many clueless vendors use discussion forums for their own spammy self-interest. Their boorish behavior provokes others to put fences around their discussions so vendors can’t contribute. They simply want to help. They’re smart. Photo by Max Wolfe (Flickr). MORE >>

If you’re one of my Facebook or Twitter friends, you know I love the Tour de France. You probably also noticed how angry I am about ESPN’s Michael Smith laughing online and during his show, Around the Horn , about two cyclists being hit hard by a car on Sunday during stage 9 of the Tour. You can see how hard in the video shown on Dutch TV. No Dutch is required to know what the commentators are saying. My friend Danielle Hatfield noticed my anger. She also recognized Smith’s behavior as a social media failure for ESPN. Michael Smith tweets as an ESPN reporter. How it all began. Every. Time.”. MORE >>

This morning I was reminded that I spend a lot of my time in a world that’s very different than the world many others live in. Maybe I’m in a bubble. When the citizens of my world go to an educational session or a conference, we bring our laptops and phones. We take them out, listen and type, tweet or text. This is how we digest information, learn and share. But not everyone understands our behavior, including many in the association industry — people responsible for providing an effective learning environment for their attendees. Is it really a question of etiquette? We tweet. MORE >>