StevenButler.com - Tech, Law and Any Other Random ThoughtsBlog | StevenButler.com – Tech, Law and Any Other Random Thoughts http://stevenbutler.com Steven Butler Personal Blog Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:56:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Social networking is not one-size-fits-all http://stevenbutler.com/social-networking-is-not-one-size-fits-all/ http://stevenbutler.com/social-networking-is-not-one-size-fits-all/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:43:20 +0000 Steven Butler http://stevenbutler.com/?p=77 There has been a lot of discussion on the Internet recently about social networking and its proper use. The Most important thing is to first define what social networking is. I use the term social networking in a broad sense. Any time you interact with other people using technology, I consider it social networking. For example using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, posting comments on blogs or news sites, interacting with others through online gaming and chat are all forms of social networking in my opinion.

There is not a right way or wrong way to use social networking. What is important about social networking is that you get something out of it. Some people have found ways to use social networking to make money, to become experts in their field, to learn new things, or to meet new people. All of these forms of interaction are useful and valuable. Do not let anyone define for you the way that you should use social networking. If you receive any benefit at all from your interaction with other people through a network environment, you are using social networking in a proper manner.

This blog is an example of using social networking. I place my ideas out on the Internet for other people to read, digest, and comment on. I broadcast the new blog post on my twitter and Facebook accounts so that others can read my thoughts. I share my interests, I respond to current events, and I provide advice. My personal blog is not-for-profit. I am not trying to sell anything with this medium, and I am not required to adhere to a set schedule. I use my blog as a way to communicate more information about my interests and myself.

I encourage everyone to find a method of social networking that they are comfortable with. Do not allow an expert to tell you that you are not properly using social media. It can be a great marketing tool, if used properly, but if you are not willing to devote the time and attention to use social media as a marketing means, you will fail. If you try to force yourself to use it in a similar way that has been successful for others in driving business, but you are not comfortable in the process, it will not be meaningful.

Using Twitter, Facebook, or even LinkedIn, to simply update friends and family on your daily activities is perfectly acceptable. Using these services to follow updates of others is also an acceptable means of interaction. Social media can be a tool for following current events, for learning gossip, for educating yourself, for marketing yourself (or your brand), or to simply distract you from the rigors of daily life.

The important thing to remember is to enjoy what you are doing. Do not be concerned with the number of friends, followers, or responses that you receive. If your life is enriched in any way in the manner that you are using social networking, it is beneficial to you. If you consider it a chore to use social networking services, they are not beneficial to you. If you want to expand your brand through social media, but it is unnatural to you, find someone else to do it for you.

Social media/social networking are just means that have been created to communicate with others through technology. In the same way that vehicles, telephones, e-mail, cellular phones, and text messaging have changed social interaction, social media is doing the same. Social media represents a natural progression of the electronic universe to take advantage of technology to interact with other people. It will not be the last change in interaction that we have, but it is an important one. Embrace the forms of social media that enrich your life, and ignore those means that do not. Find individuals on social media that you enjoy interacting with, and mimic the way that they communicate to you develop your own style.

Please share your thoughts on social networking in the comments section below. I look forward to continuing to interact with all my readers through comments, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and any other means that develop.

]]> http://stevenbutler.com/social-networking-is-not-one-size-fits-all/feed/ 5 Adding Blog Feed to a Page in Headway http://stevenbutler.com/headway-blog-feed/ http://stevenbutler.com/headway-blog-feed/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:45:06 +0000 Steven Butler http://stevenbutler.com/?p=61 Headway is a theme that is available for Purchase for websites that use WordPress for maintaining there blogs.  I use WordPress and the Headway Premium Theme for both StevenButler.com and for DelawareDisability.com.  Although WordPress is a great blogging platform, the Headway Premium Theme makes it much easier to manage the appearance of your website.

Below are instructions for adding a blog feed to a page other than your homepage when using the Headway theme.  A blog feed is basically a list of all your posts in your WordPress blog.  These instructions apply to version 1 of the Headway theme.

  1. Login to the WordPress Administration control panel on your blog.
  2. If you haven’t already, add a page to your WordPress blog that you would like to use to host the blog feed. (I used a page I named “Blog”).
  3. Enter the Headway Layout Editor by selecting “Headway Layout Editor” in the Appearance section of the WordPress Administration page.
    Select Headway Layout Editor
  4. In the “Headway Layout Editor” select the page that you want visitors to click on to view your blog feed from the drop-down box (for me it was the page named “Blog”), and click “Show Page Layout”.
    Image of Select Page Options in Headway
  5. On the page layout screen, click on the “Add a Leaf” option and select “Content” (has a T next to it).
    Image of Adding leaf in headwayImage of Adding Leaf Options in Headway
  6. When the leaf appears in the Layout Editor, click the “Edit” button for the leaf you just added.
  7. Select the “Posts” mode in the options for the leaf.  In the categories section, you can either leave it blank to include all posts from every category in your blog, or you can limit it to certain categories by using the “Include” or “Exclude” options.  (The categories are pulled from your WordPress posts.  If you have not categorized your WordPress posts, you may not see any categories.)
    Image of Leaf Options
  8. You can add a post limit (that indicates the number of recent posts to show on your page), and the number of posts to be “Featured Posts”.  (Featured posts are posts that you want the full text to be shown on the page.  I set my Featured posts to one.)
  9. Click Okay, and then click “Save Changes” in the “Headway Layout Editor”.  The page you configured should now include your blog feed.
    Image

If you are using the Headway theme, I hope that these instructions help.  The Headway Theme is great for customizing a WordPress blog that you host on your site, but not all the options are easy to discover.  Please visit Headway Themes for more information or to purchase the theme for use on your blog.  (I am not receiving any compensation for publishing this post or for recommending Headway Themes.  I have paid the full purchase price for Headway themes and I am simply a happy customer).

Please let me know if you have any difficulty following my instructions.  Good luck.

]]> http://stevenbutler.com/headway-blog-feed/feed/ 8 Disability Related Blogs I Subscribe To http://stevenbutler.com/disability-related-blogs-i-subscribe-to/ http://stevenbutler.com/disability-related-blogs-i-subscribe-to/#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:18:33 +0000 Steven Butler http://stevenbutler.com/?p=29 I saw an interesting tweet from Gordon Gates – http://twitter.com/gordongates – indicating that he is now subscribing to 30 disability related blogs.  It made me think that this is a good time to post my own list of the disability blogs I subscribe to.  Below is a list of blogs that I currently subscribe to, and also links on where to find these individuals on Twitter.  I started following many of these blogs after seeing their Tweets on Twitter.

Please let me know if there are any great disability blogs that I am missing.  Although I do Social Security Disability Law all day everyday, I still learn new things by following these sources.  I have been debating starting my own disability blog, but it is difficult to determine what I can really add based on these great sources that are already available.

Below are some additional Social Security Disability Blogs that Gordon Gates (http://twitter.com/gordongates) passed along to me.

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