Annika's Biz Talk posts

Group guidelines: Please keep discussions, events, and articles writing related

Hello everyone!

Thank you for being a part of Write, Write, Write! This is a plea to ask that you help me keep this group focused on writing-related topics. Specifically, I request that you make sure that any articles, discussions, and event listings you post here are related to writing or the specific needs and concerns of writers.

I have recently had to remove several articles and events that were not appropriate to this group. I realize that general issues of entrepreneurship, marketing, personal finance, and so on are important to writers as well; however, there are plenty of other areas of Biznik that are more suitable for these topics. If this group is to be a valuable space for writers, it needs to offer a specific focus that is not a part of the larger Biznik site.

Most of you have been great about keeping this space focused on writing. I ask for your cooperation in continuing the process of growing this group as a valuable resource for anyone who works with the written word.

I will continue to leave the article and event submission setting on auto-approval for the time being. If I do remove something that you have posted, please do not be offended or take it as a judgment on the value of your work. If I remove it, it's just because it wasn't a good fit for this particular group. Please explore the various other parts of the Biznik site for the best fit for your contribution. And do continue posting writing-related discussions, events, and articles here!

Thanks, Annika

Ideas for the Group

This is the place to let me and other group members know what you would like to see from Write, Write, Write! Let us know what sorts of resources or activities would be most helpful to you. Of course, feel free to start new discussions on any writing-related subjects that come to mind or post information on upcoming writing-related events. (For non-Biznik events, the best way to do this is to start a new discussion about the event.)

Thanks, Annika

More upcoming Seattle presentations: Wide World Books & Maps

Wide World Books & Maps in Wallingford is another great place to keep an eye on for travel-related presentations. Here's what's coming up (for more info see the store's website at http://www.wideworldtravelstore.com/news/events):

Tuesday, March 24, 7 pm: The Adventurous Traveler’s Guide to Health with author Christopher Sanford, M.D.

Tuesday, March 31, 7 pm: Vietnam and Laos with David Rothschild, the Adventure Travel Company

Tuesday, April 7, 7 pm: Healthy High Altitude Travel with Dr. Andy Luks

Tuesday, April 14, 7 pm: Wanderlust and Lipstick: Traveling with Kids with authors Leslie Forsberg and Michelle Duffy

Saturday, April 18, 9-10 am: Gutsy Women - Join us as we host an informal gathering for women to meet and learn from each other’s travel experiences and share wisdom learned from the road. Bring your coffee and your questions!

Tuesday, April 21, 7 pm: Walking the Camino de Santiago with author Ben Cole

Tuesday, April 28, 7 pm: Escape to Bhutan: Cultural Trek, Multi-day Festivals, Monasteries and Dzongs with Sandy Braun, Adventure Associates

Upcoming travel presentations at REI in Seattle

For all group members in the Seattle area: If you haven't checked out REI's event schedule, take a look. They frequently offer interesting travel-related presentations that are open to the public. Here are some that are coming that sound interesting:

Wednesday, March 25, 7 pm, Free: Sustainability Across Africa, Part II. Green Living Project is back with another inspiring multi-media presentation. Experience their adventures across Southern Africa (Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa) visiting sustainability projects on cheetah and leopard conservation, bikes for AIDS, anti-poaching, renewable energy, handicrafts, and an amazing new hut-to-hut trail network. (They'll also be at the Redmond REI on March 26 and at the Seattle Green Festival on March 28).

Thursday, March 26, 7 pm, $5: I Am God: Cycling India - Willie Weir takes you on a humorous 5,000-mile journey through India on a bicycle loaded down with every travel fear imaginable.

Friday, March 28, 7 pm, Free: In the spring of 2004, Darrell Gardner began the journey of a life time: to travel under human power from the border of Mexico in southern California to the shore of the Arctic Ocean in Alaska. Please join us as Darrell presents Stage III of his journey in 2008, a 1,400 mile solo sea kayaking trip up the Inside Passage from Seattle to Southeast Alaska.

Bug in Groups - Discussion comments posting twice

I've just come across a bug in my Travel Addicts group. I posted a reply earlier today to a discussion, and when I went back to look at the group just now, I discovered the comment was there twice. So I went to post a "Sorry, I don't know why my comment posted twice" comment - and it showed up twice, too! (I deleted both.) Can someone take a look at this? The comment in question is in the "What's at the top of everyone's travel to-do list?" discussion. I haven't encountered this issue in any other discussions.

Anyone else have this problem come up?

Thanks!

Introduce yourself!

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining Travel Addicts. Please take a moment to introduce yourself and tell us what you do and what you'd like to see from this group. My hope is that this group will become a meeting place and a resource for people who love to travel. I encourage members to participate in discussions, host and attend events, and share travel-related information that might be of interest to the group.

Now, here's my introduction...I'm a freelance writer and editor specializing in travel and the environment. I write a travel column for Examiner.com (see my profile for a link and recent posts) and also write about travel for other websites, magazines, and newspapers. In addition, I do business writing and editing and particularly enjoy working with companies and organizations in the travel field.

Travel is one of my biggest passions. I've backpacked alone through parts of Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and Europe. I also lead trips around the world as a freelance tour manager. For the past several years I've been working with alumni and museum travel programs (think Smithsonian Journeys, National Geographic Expeditions, Stanford Travel/Study, etc.). My most recent trips were to Patagonia, Egypt, Mongolia, and Italy.

I'm an avid photographer, and for years my friends have been urging me to "do something" with my travel photos, so I've recently started to try to market my photography.

I love connecting with other travel lovers and am looking forward to getting to know you all.

Introduce yourself!

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining Travel Professionals. Please take a moment to introduce yourself and tell us what you do and what you'd like to see from this group. My hope is that this group will become a meeting place and a resource for those of us who work with travel. I encourage members to participate in discussions, host and attend events, and share travel-related information that might be of interest to the group.

Now, here's my introduction...I'm a freelance writer and editor specializing in travel and the environment. I write a travel column for Examiner.com (see my profile for a link and recent posts) and also write about travel for other websites, magazines, and newspapers. In addition, I do business writing and editing and particularly enjoy working with companies and organizations in the travel field.

I'm also a freelance tour manager, leading trips throughout the world. For the past several years I've been working with alumni and museum travel programs (think Smithsonian Journeys, National Geographic Expeditions, Stanford Travel/Study, etc.). In addition to my professional travel, I've backpacked alone through parts of Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and Europe.

I've been amassing a portfolio of travel photography for more than 15 years, and my friends have long been urging me to "do something" with my pictures. I am currently seeking ways to market my travel photography, whether in conjunction with or separate from my writing.

That's me in a nutshell! I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.

Introduce yourself!

Hello fellow writers! Now that you've joined this group, how about taking a few moments to introduce yourselves. Yes, we can go and check out your profiles, but this is your chance to tell us why you're here, what kind of writing you do (or would like to do), and what you'd like to see from this group.

I'll start...I'm a full-time freelance writer (journalism and business writing) and a spare-time creative writer (short stories, a screenplay, and - I hope soon - novels). I've published many nonfiction articles and essays and hope someday to see my fiction published as well. I'm always looking for clients and referrals for my freelance writing and editing, but I started this group simply because I always enjoy connecting with other writers and feel we can learn a lot from each other.

I host a Biznik event called Brainstorming and Support Session for Writers more or less monthly, and this group is in many ways an extension of that. As I mentioned in my welcome post, I think we can offer a great support network for each other as we wrestle with the written word. I also just think it's fun to discuss writing with other people who get what I'm talking about and to find out about events, writing books, and other resources that I otherwise might not come across. I'm hoping that this group will become an active network for sharing this sort of useful information and just communicating about writing in general.

Changes to group name

I'm back with another question...I started a group but later changed the name to something more fun ("Writers' Information Sharing and Support" became "Write, Write, Write!"). It's still showing up under the old name in my activity feed when I post comments, even though the URL for the group shows the new name. Any way to change this?

I know you're still working to smooth out the snags in the groups feature, so I'll just add my thanks for getting it up and running. I'm excited to have this new way of connecting through Biznik.

Collaboration vs. Competition

Group member David Kuhns brings up a tricky issue that I know many writers struggle with. He writes: "I feel sometimes like I want to get to know other writers, because we're all so groovy, but I'm always scrabbling for work, so I'm worried that there will be competition. And I know I shouldn't worry, but I've been a MarCom consultant long enough to know it DOES happen."

Scrabbling for work is something many writers struggle with on a regular basis, but there really is a lot more work out there than we realize; it's just a matter of finding it. However, finding it is not always easy, and it's definitely hard not to worry about competition.

What do you all think about the issue of competition and how we can best collaborate and support each other as writers?

Welcome to the new writers' group on Biznik!

Thanks for joining! I hope this will become a place to connect with other writers and provide support to each other in our often lonely work. Please feel free to start discussions and post information about writing-related events, news, books, articles, or anything else that might be of interest to other group members.

Please also feel free to post questions and needs that the rest of us might be able to assist with. We're here to help!

Suggestion: Show group creation in profile activity feed

I've created two groups but haven't seen this show up in my recent activity feed on my profile. It would be nice to have this appear, since it would give a new group some prominence by making it visible to anyone looking at my profile. Any plans to add group admin activity to the profile feed?

Also, it would be nice if joining a group showed up in the recent activity.

The Coexist? Comedy Tour in Seattle

Here's an upcoming local event that Seattle-area Biznikers might be interested in. My friend Tissa Hami (a Biznik member, though not yet an active one, in San Francisco) is a member of this comedy tour, which will be in Seattle on Thursday, November 6. Tissa is an Iranian-American comedian who started performing in the wake of the post-September 11 backlash against Muslims. She's been interviewed on ABC's "The View" and has been featured in a documentary on Muslim American comedians that recently aired nationwide on PBS. She's joined on this tour by Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and atheist comedians. For more on the show, visit: www.coexistcomedy.com.

Unfortunately, I can't attend because I'll be out of town, but I hope many of you will check it out (and show Tissa what Biznik is all about!).

Need suggestions for good Seattle happy hour venues

Hello Seattle Biznikers!

I'd like to host a happy hour networking event for media people, but I have a problem: I'm not familiar with very many local happy hours. Can any of you suggest good venues for this sort of event? The ideal location would have a separate space of some sort to make this event conducive to Biznik-style mingling. Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks, Annika

Dentist in Ballard?

Hi Bizniks!

Someone recently posted a request for recommendations for a dentist in downtown, Belltown, or Queen Anne. I thought that was a great idea, so now that I too am looking for a dentist I am writing to see if anyone can recommend someone in or near Ballard. Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks, Annika

Puget Sound Community Card

Hi everyone,

Some of you may already have heard of the Interra Project's new Puget Sound Community Change Program, an initiative that aims to promote consumer spending at locally owned businesses and funnel money to local nonprofit organizations. The program was launched as part of last month's Green October events, and I wrote about it in the October issue of Conscious Choice magazine. Basically, consumers show a free card when making a purchase at any member business. The merchant issues a rebate that is split between the customer and one or several nonprofit organizations. The benefit to the merchant is the increased business from customers in the program; purchases must also be above a certain amount before a rebate is issued.

It occurred to me that this might be something of interest to Biznik member who own retail stores or other businesses suitable for the program. It's also a great way for any consumer to support local businesses. The list of participating merchants is still pretty small, but it's growing every day.

Here's the address for my original article in Conscious Choice: http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2007/10/onourradar_a1007.html

And here is the program's website: http://www.pugetsound.cc/about

-Annika

New member introduction

Hi everyone, I just found Biznik on iloveseattle.org and hurried to join! I'm a freelance writer and editor who has worked on a wide range of editorial projects for publications, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions. I'm always looking for new clients and referrals, as well as opportunities to connect with other independent professionals. Particular areas of interest include travel, the environment, and international development. I look forward to meeting many of you at Biznik events or online!