Monthly Archives: May 2010

Monday’s Link Roundup.

Posted on May 31, 2010 | 2 Comments

**LAST WEEK to vote on my poll: How long have you been a personal historian? Click here to vote.**

Happy Memorial Day to all my American readers! This Monday’s Link Roundup has something for grammarians. Afraid of splitting your infinitives? Well, no need to worry! Check out Five Grammar “Rules” That Beg To Be Broken. If you find proofing your own work still leaves you missing pesky typos, then you’ll want to read Proofreading Tips for Finding Errors in Your Own Writing.

  • Five Grammar “Rules” That Beg To Be Broken. “For those of us who were actually taught grammar in school, we have stored in our long-term memory a list of unbreakable grammar rules…And guess what: some of the nevers never were grammar rules. They are grammar myths passed down from English teacher to English teacher to your boss.”
  • Preserving Family Memories (Podcast). “Stories. Conversations. Oral History Interviews. Whatever you call them, they can help us discover our family heritage and provide us with precious information that can be passed on for generations to come. We are preserving our family memories with Diane Haddad, the editor of Family Tree Magazine.”
  • ReclaimPrivacy Bookmarklet Rates Your Facebook Exposure Levels. “Facebook’s privacy settings are notoriously complex, and the results of changes hard to see instantly. ReclaimPrivacy.org has a handy bookmarklet that shows which potentially insecure and privacy-invading settings are enabled on your Facebook account when you click it.”
  • Proofreading Tips for Finding Errors in Your Own Writing. “Reading the newspaper each day, I catch frequent errors in grammar and usage. It’s easy for me to find errors in newspapers—and, in general, in the writing of others. What’s hard is finding errors in my own writing.”
  • The No. 1 Habit of Highly Creative People. “Creativity is a nebulous, murky topic that fascinates me endlessly — how does it work? What habits to creative people do that makes them so successful at creativity?”

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Lousy at Getting Referrals? Here’s Some Help.

Posted on May 27, 2010 | 2 Comments

I’ve a confession to make. I’m not great at asking for referrals. I usually end up mumbling something lame to my clients  like, “If you know of anyone who might like to use my services, please let them know about me.” That’s it. Then I’m out the door.

I decided it was time to get my act together and do a better job. I’ve been doing some research on referral strategies and here’s what I’ve learned.  I hope you’ll find it helps you as well.

  • Don’t forget to ask. The best time to ask for a referral is when you’ve delivered your book or video to your clients and they’re thrilled with your work.
  • Develop a large network of referral partners. In addition to your own clients, think of  five to ten occupations that deal with the same clients as  personal historians such as:  financial planners, home care services for seniors, accountants, funeral directors, professional genealogists, naturopaths, and so on. Now select ten people from each category and arrange to meet them so that you can describe your services and learn more about what they offer. When you find people who are prepared to refer clients to you, add them to your referral partners list. In time you can build a referral list with fifty or more names. Make sure to follow up with your network every three months or so.
  • Be active in your community. Make a point of joining business associations and community groups. Your participation will in time lead to referrals.
  • Provide referrals. Giving referrals for others is likely to generate in-kind referrals from those you’ve helped.
  • Make yourself a low risk referral. Let’s face it. People don’t want to take a chance on referring someone they don’t know very well. They stand to lose  if you screw up. People want  assurances. Here’s what you need to do.

0 Be likable.  No one wants to refer someone who’s rude or patronizing.
0 Be extremely reliable. Show up for meetings on time, complete work as scheduled, and answer e-mails  and telephone calls promptly.
0 Provide free consultations.
0 Provide money back guarantees.

  • Give your referrers the resources they need. Make it easy for them by leaving behind some business cards and brochures.
  • Don’t be vague about the type of client you want. It will help if you give them an accurate picture of your ideal client. You might say something like, “I’m looking for clients who are professional women in their 50′s who have one or both parents still living.”
  • Be clear about what you expect. Do you want them to set up a meeting with just you and the prospective client? Or would you like them to be there as well? Is it OK to use their names when calling referred clients?

What referral approaches work for you? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Photo by Zach  Klein

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Shut Down Your Computer!

Posted on May 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

If you’re like most personal historians, you spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen. I certainly do. Lately, I’ve come across information that suggests that I need to shut off my computer and get outside. In fact, if I don’t, it could kill me!

A recent Swedish  study reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that  prolonged sitting can lead to cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. While this isn’t earth shattering news,  the discovery that no amount of exercise  eradicates this risk certainly was.

A similar Canadian study published last year tracked more than 17,000 for an average of twelve years. It also found that exercising had no effect on reducing health risks in sedentary people. Clearly, if I want to live longer, I’d better get up from my computer more often and start moving!

If that’s not convincing enough, here’s another reason to unplug your computer. This week I came across an article in The Harvard Business Review, For Real Productivity, Less is Truly More. The author Tony Schwartz argues quite persuasively that working ten or twelve hour days is counterproductive. What we need to be doing is following our natural ultradian rhythms. This is a cycle that runs from higher to lower mental alertness every 90 minutes throughout the day. Schwartz says we should take meaningful breaks after every 90 minutes of work. He himself has a routine that sees him have breakfast after his first 90 minutes, jog after his second, and lunch after his third. It makes sense to work this way. It’s how athletes train. They work hard in short bursts and then rest. So for me no more sitting glued to my computer for a couple of hours without a break.

Finally, I’ve started to read You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier, the father of  virtual reality technology. Lanier’s provocative book is a passionate call to reclaim our individual humanity from the  anonymous hive mind of the digital world.  Beware of “cybernetic totalism,” he warns. I’m only a third of the way through the book and already I’m beginning to look at social networking with a much more critical eye.

Well, enough for today. I’m shutting down my computer and going for a good brisk walk. I’ll drink deeply of the sweet spring air, talk to the odd neighborhood cat, and smile at strangers.

CLICK !

Image by Florin  Hatmanu

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Monday’s Link Roundup.

Posted on May 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

**Don’t forget to vote on my poll: How long have you been a personal historian? Click here to vote.**

Happy Victoria Day holiday to all my Canadian readers! For those of you who have the day free, why not take a ramble through this Monday’s Link Roundup? There’s bound to be something to pique your curiosity. One of my favorite links is How to Take a Photo a Day and See Your Life in a Whole New Way. I’m seriously thinking of trying this.

  • Social Media Toolkits. “From the National Association of Government Communicators list, I’m reposting information about a great resource: three social media toolkits from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” [Thanks to Pat McNees for alerting me to this item.]
  • For Real Productivity, Less is Truly More. “As every great athlete understands, the highest performance occurs when we balance work and effort with rest and renewal. The human body is hard-wired to pulse, and requires renewal at regular intervals not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.”
  • 10 Simple Google Search Tricks. “I’m always amazed that more people don’t know the little tricks you can use to get more out of a simple Google search. Here are 10 of my favorites.”
  • Narrative Medicine: Learning to Listen. “Dr. Rita Charon, professor of clinical medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, is well aware of the power of storytelling. She has a Ph.D. in English — training that changed her medical practice. Through literature, she learned how stories are built and told, and translated that to listening to, and better understanding, patients.” [Thanks to Elisabeth Pozzi-Thanner of Oral History Productions for alerting me to this item.]

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Are You Creating a Supportive Milieu for Your Personal History Interviews?

Posted on May 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

You can be a first class interviewer but if you don’t ensure a good interview environment, your chances of getting the best from your client are minimized. Here are four things you can do to create a supportive milieu.

  1. Choose a room with lots of “padding”. This is particularly important if you’re producing audio or video personal histories. Audio sounds terrible when it’s recorded in a room that’s all hard surfaces. Stay away from kitchens!  Living rooms usually work well because they are filled with drapes, rugs, and upholstered furniture. Try this sound recordist’s trick. Clap your hands and if you don’t hear any reverberation, the space is good for your recording.
  2. Find a “best” time for your client. You want to interview your clients at a time that works for them. Some are morning people and are most animated and alert in the morning. Others find evening  a time when they’re open to reflection. For others a busy weekly schedule may mean weekends work the best. Be flexible and ensure that you arrange a time that fits your clients’ needs rather than your own.
  3. Avoid an audience. You don’t want people sitting in on your interview. Ban wives, husbands, kids, friends, long lost relatives, and the neighbor next door. Be firm! Having someone present during your interview is very distracting for both you and your client.  There are exceptions to this rule that I’ll cover in a future post.
  4. Turn off everything that hums, whirs, ticks, or rings. Picture this. You’re leading up to very dramatic, emotional point in your interview when suddenly the telephone rings. Kiss that moment goodbye. No matter how hard you try to recapture it, you’ll never get that special moment back. Unplug the telephones. Turn off the refrigerator. Stop the air conditioner or furnace. Silence loud ticking clocks. Just remember to turn everything back on before you leave!

Photo by John  Davey

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Do You Want to Make Your Printed Pages Look Better?

Posted on May 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

In a previous post 4 Reasons Why You Need to Hire a Book Designer I extolled the benefits of good book design. I noted that for professional personal historians, hiring  a designer as part of the team was critical for long term success.

For those of you who have some  good visual sense or can’t at the moment afford a book designer, this post is for you. Here’s a list of resources for the DIY book designer.

Sites

The Book Designer. “To help publishers and authors who decide to publish their own books get to market with a great looking, properly constructed book, on time and on budget.”

The Self-Publishing Review. “The Self-Publishing Review is an online magazine devoted to self-publishing: book reviews, publisher reviews, interviews, news, opinion, and how to’s.”

Articles

7 Keys to DIY Graphic Design on No Budget. “Take these notes into consideration next time you have to get a creative project done on no budget:”

Simple, Practical Color Theory. “The mastery of color theory, relations and harmonies is one of the primary steps to uncovering the full beauty and potential of your images (in the realms of art, design and/or photography). Find out more in this simple, practical, colorful guide.”

Book Design, Part I. “In the first of three columns about book design, John D. Berry begins his look at how the books we read end up looking the way they do.”

Book Design, Part II. “John D. Berry continues his treatise on book design. In this second of three articles, he focuses on text spacing and typeface selection.”

Book Design, part III. “Closing out his series on book design, John D. Berry takes on display type, front and back matter, and playing nice with others.”

Books

Non-Designer’s Design Book, The (3rd Edition) (Paperback) by Robin Williams.  This book is a classic and my favorite. “There is an ever-growing number of people attempting to design pages with no formal training. This book is the one place they can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help…”

Book Design and Production by Pete Masterson “…this book will help you understand the book production process and the principles of good cover and interior book design. It will allow you to look at a book design and immediately see the common errors and to see that a book is following the traditions of good book design that gives credibility to your message.”

The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type (Paperback) by Alexander W. White.”Unlike other graphic design books, The Elements of Graphic Design reveals the secrets of successful graphic design from the unique perspective of the page’s “white space.” With the help of carefully selected examples from art, design, and architecture, the role of white space as a connection between page elements is thoroughly explored.”

Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual (Paperback) by Timothy Samara. “This book is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples. “

Before & After Page Design (Paperback) by John McWade. The author “…walks his own talk, bringing you a beautifully clear, cohesive, and elegant primer on page design. You’ll learn by example how to design single-page and multi-page publications,..”

Do you have any favorite resources for the DIY designer? Let me know. Love to hear from you.

Photo by Zeptonn

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Monday’s Link Roundup.

Posted on May 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

**Don’t forget to vote on my poll: How long have you been a personal historian? Click here to vote.**

Monday’s Link Roundup this week has items to appeal to both your heart and your head. For your heart be sure to check-out Pittsburgher has been searching for the woman who helped raise him. And for your head you’ll want to read Two Rules for a Successful Presentation.

  • Terkel Coming Online. “If someone was an important figure in American culture in the 20th century, chances are he or she was interviewed by Studs Terkel…Under a deal signed Monday between the Chicago History Museum and the Library of Congress, tapes of those interviews will be digitally preserved and given new life online.”
  • Historical Canadian Census, 1851 -1916 Fully Indexed and Searchable. “The Canadian Census Collection represents the first time ever that the 1851/2, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1906, 1911 and 1916 censuses will be fully searchable online and fully indexed in one place. Now people across Canada and around the world can research their Canadian roots faster and easier than ever before.”
  • Two Rules for a Successful Presentation. “Most presentations go bad because the presenter didn’t prepare well enough in two ways. In fact, so important are these two classic errors that I’m going to elevate them to The Two Rules for Preparing a Successful Presentation.”
  • How to Get a Decorative Family Tree Poster. “So you’ve gathered a few generations’ worth of names and dates, and now you want to display your family tree on your wall. Nowadays you have more options than ever—from free to pricey and do-it-yourself to full-service—for creating a decorative family tree poster. Here are some that we’ve come across:”
  • Who Owns Your Family History Story? “I am not talking about copyrights but rather, how much of your family story belongs to you? How much should you tell? What stories should remain unwritten?”
  • Encounters with the past. “The past is not as long ago as we think, says Stuart Lutz. Such major events as Amelia Earhart’s flying career or the disastrous General Slocum fire of 1904 seem impossibly remote to us moderns…Lutz has met those people. He’s the author of “The Last Leaf: Voices of History’s Last-Known Survivors,” an oral history of 39 people who were the last survivor or eyewitness of historical events.”
  • For 13 years, Pittsburgher has been searching for the woman who helped raise him. “Joe was only 5 when Helen left her employment with the family, but she’s alive in his memory. Like Miss Skeeter, the young white woman in The New York Times best-seller “The Help” who yearned to reconnect with the black maid who had raised her, Joe longed to find Helen. “I have this enormous emotional feeling about how important she was to me. She was the font of everything wonderful in my life,” he said. So, 13 years ago, from his home in Olympia, Wash., Joe began searching for her.”

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4 Reasons Why You Need to Hire a Book Designer.

Posted on May 13, 2010 | 10 Comments

“You know a design is good when you want to lick it.”~ Steve Jobs

________________________

We all love good design. That’s why the iPod and Ikea have been so successful. Design is the difference between something that is OK and something that is memorable. If you hope to have a successful personal history business producing books, you’ll want to include a designer on your team. Here  are four important benefits of good design.

  1. Good design affects people emotionally. You’ll lose clients if your books have great content but look homemade. When prospective clients see your work, they don’t have time to read the content. They’ll be primarily influenced by how attractive the books look. Advances in neuroscience have shown that people tend to act first on emotion, then follow it with reasoning to support their choice. The more people are  emotionally drawn to your work, the more likely they’ll hire you.
  2. Good design conveys credibility. Don Norman, a former Apple design guru, sees the value of producing good design. He says,“We all have the feeling that attractive things work better.” If you produce  first class books, your company projects quality, care, and professionalism.
  3. Good  design supports and enhances the content. It’s true that content is vital. But if you have to struggle to read a book, you’re not likely to enjoy it. We can all recall coping with a poorly designed book with type that’s too small or inappropriate for the subject, no white space for the text to breath, lack of headings to provide guidance, and photos placed without any seeming logic. Remember that in addition to your client, your book will be read by others. Your books are your calling card. They speak in your absence. Will your books speak of quality and great design?
  4. Good design differentiates you from the others. It’s becoming a crowded field in the world of self publishing. What will set you apart from all the others  is  design that is compelling.

Image by Juhan  Sonin

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6 Top Sites for Free Online Videography Training.

Posted on May 12, 2010 | 5 Comments

If video personal histories appeal to you but your experience with video production is limited, help is just a click away! You’ll find a wealth of valuable resources in these five sites.

  • Videomaker. “This is the place to start for videography training. Here you will find hundreds of articles about audio/video software, video editing hardware, and help with video lighting techniques.”
  • Video 101. “Offers tutorials on the fundamentals of film and video production. Includes video clips, flash animations, and explanations.”
  • VideoUniversity. “Hundreds of free articles for new and advanced videographers. Here’s a sample:  50 Ways To Improve Your Video Business; Video Art – An Introduction;  Audio for Video — Part 1 Tape Formats and Hardware;  Audio For Video – Part 2 Microphones & Techniques;  Audio For Video – Part 3 Audio Production Techniques.”
  • MediaCollege. “… a free educational website for all forms of electronic media. We have hundreds of exclusive tutorials covering video & television production, audio work, photography, graphics, web design and more.”
  • Vimeo Video School. “…a fun place for anyone to learn how to make better videos. Start by browsing our Vimeo Lessons, or find specific video tutorials created by other members.”

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Monday’s Link Roundup.

Posted on May 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

**Don’t forget to vote on my poll: How long have you been a personal historian? Click here to vote.**

There are some entertaining items in this Monday’s Link Roundup. One of my favorites is Vintage Tech Ads: The 15 Funniest Videos. How times have changed! And if you want to check out the popularity of your surname take a look at Find the Popularity of Your Surname. My surname, Curtis, is most popular in Australia. It surprised me. I would have said England.

  • The Rise of Self-Publishing. “Last year, according to the Bowker bibliographic company, 764,448 titles were produced by self-publishers and so-called microniche publishers. (A microniche, I imagine, is a shade bigger than a self.) This is up an astonishing 181 percent from the previous year.”[Thanks to Mary M. Harrison at Morning Glory Memoirs for alerting me to this item.]
  • a brief history of book printing and binding. “Youtube is an invaluable source to help us visualize a process. Here is a curated overview of book printing, from letterpress, the same process that produced the Gutenberg Bible, to the Expresso Bookmaker, and back to contemporary letterpress and hand binding.”
  • The Practical Archivist. “Hi there! I’m delighted that you found my corner of cyberspace. There are oodles of Practical Archivist articles for you to enjoy, with information and advice that will help you become a better family archivist.      The only question remaining is…Where would you like to start?” [ Thanks to Sarah White for alerting me to this item.]
  • Vintage Tech Ads: The 15 Funniest Videos. “IT World has a humorous look back at hi-tech advertising videos of only a few years ago. Remember these ads with robot phone wars and naked spokeswomen in bathtubs? But looking back on them now, it’s hard not to find them amusing. And, yes, a little embarrassing. Cassette tape players, the Magnavox Video Writer, MS-DOS 5.0, and a young William Shatner all await you.”
  • Singing Out. Written by Molly Beer and David King Dunaway, the book “is culled from more than 150 interviews and the story it tells spans seven decades and cuts across a wide swath of generations and perspectives, shedding light on the musical, political, and social aspects of the folk revival movement.  In the original article below Beer looks at the experience of writing a book with another author.”
  • Find the Popularity of Your Surname on PublicProfiler.org.  “Just how popular is your surname? Is it popular in other countries? This web site will tell you. It won’t find your ancestors but, with less-popular surnames, it may give clues as to the emigration patterns of extended family members. Don’t try this on Smith or Jones, but with less-common surnames, it may provide clues.”
  • What Makes Great Marketing… Great? “Marketing has always been about telling great stories. The problem is that telling great stories is not an easy thing to do. The reason most Marketers struggle with telling great stories is because they have not spent enough time deconstructing what makes a great story. Ira Glass is here to help. Glass is a well-known radio personality with NPR. He is the producer and host of This American Life, and there is probably nobody more suited to explain the schematics behind brilliant storytelling than he is.”

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