Carol's comments

Your writing style is convincing and your content is solid, Bill. I appreciate your contributions!

I await part II with great interest!

I ONLY want to do business with honest companies and individuals...so it makes sense that I would want to be honest in business myself. My bottom line is authenticity over income. Great article.

Awesome. I know that in my home office, if I don't get things organized, they grow into the Disorganization Monster, and psychologically it's a heavy load to live with. I'm much more productive when the "stuff" is in order. Thaks for the streamlined tips.

Nice overview. I'm not convinced social networking is doing anything for my business in terms of numbers, but it's a great way to get back in touch with people from my personal and professional life, going back decades! And that is only good.

I don't see much conflict of interest. Local is good; convenience is good too. I have an Amazon store on my website, and I love ordering books on the web when I'm short on shopping time, don't need it right now, and know exactly what I want. I also love browsing Santa Cruz's fine independent bookstores on a lazy afternoon, handling the merch, interacting with neighbors and personnel, finding things I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. The online experience can't and doesn't replace the human touch.

It could even be said that the large online retailers support the indie businesses by paying for all the advertising and publicity; if I've seen something online, I might just pick it up down the block while I'm running errands, if I want it right away.

Too last minute for me, but I hope to attend future events in the Bay area!

Great summary, so helpful thank you!

There are three flies in the ointment that I know of.

1. Fair use. Someone can use your words or images in part, whether or not they have your permission, if it's to make a point in their own content.

Reba, if you have not asked the companies you are blogging about if you can use their image, you may indeed run into an infringement problem, but some in your shoes would cite "fair use." Always best to check with them.

1. Foreign websites. I had an essay stolen on a website out of New Zealand that I would never want to be associated with; an escort service! There is, apparently, nothing I can do to get it removed or to be paid for it.

2. Bittorrent sites, where users anonymously upload and share whatever they darn please—even entire books—on an equally anonymous site; there's no one to contact and you can't stop them.

One thing you can do is to be aware of when your work is being appropriated. Use Copyscape, a free service that scans your site and finds verbatim copy on other sites. This came in handy this week when I discovered that a (former, now banned) member of Biznik had stolen an article I wrote and posted it here as her own. Copyscape showed me that she had done the same thing on another social networking site. This is something that you may not find using Google alone.

Excellent ideas!

You sneaked in that story about forking over $1500 for a personal development course and that's what kept me reading! Very important to offer something of value about yourself to your audience so that they feel connected. My blog and newsletter are very personal, and it's the self-disclosure/revelation aspect that gets and keeps subscribers, who then feel that they know me and feel confident about working with me.

In this land of free speech, there's nothing you can do about what people say about you, especially on forums where the posts are anonymous. In my experience, these folks aren't especially interested in facts.

What you can do is to "live well as the best revenge," although I don't like the word revenge. Let's say, live well (and work well) as the best antidote to negative publicity. If you do, the positive reports you receive from satisfied customers, admirers, etc. will far outweigh the negative ones.

I moderate the comments on my blog so that no spam gets posted. I do, however, post, and address, most "negative" comments, which usually arrive in the form of challenging questions. While the questions may have a tone of 'tude, they deserve to be answered. Being able to handle pot-shots with grace, gratitude and honesty does wonders for my reputation, even while this was not apparently my critics; intention.

Receiving criticism is also an opportunity for self reflection. If it hurts they're right...but only according to us.

What a great method to apply in life too. "What are three specific things I appreciate about _?" (My partner, my kid, the next-door neighbor.) I've done this for years and it's amazing how many wonderful qualities we all have, even my next-door neighbor. :)

This may sound off the wall, but if this is a consistent problem for someone, I recommend they attend improvisational theater classes! Improv has helped me like nothing else to assess a situation quickly and give responses that make the other person look good. No more "humuna humuna" moments or foot-in-mouth disease.

Used fryer grease—filtered, odor-free and prepped to use as alternative fuel in your car—available at low cost in pumps at the parking lots of fast food restaurants. Mickey D's, are you listening?

Good points, DL. Wish I could be in Seattle to hear more.

I think social media can be utlized effectively and responsibly. Unfortunately, the "Me Me Me" fest of social networking must be working for someone, because the worst offenders are seen as "experts" and make big bucks teaching others how to use Facebook et. al. to glorify themselves. (I won't mention any names but I'm sure tempted to.)

Most of the friends and connections requests I get are from people who want to push their seminars and services. Some of these folks also use a lot of silly Facebook apps in an effort to look human.

I use the social media to get in touch, or back in touch, with people I already know. Sometimes this results in meeting people I ought to know. Wonder of wonders, Facebook has increased traffic to my blog more than anything else, and I haven't shoved my Face down anyone's throat in order to make that happen.

Yes! We can set our intentions and then life sometimes has other plans! You may think you want one thing, and then realize that what you get is what you really wanted, as you did.

Case in point: I hired a coach because I wanted to write a book; in our work together I realized that what I wanted first was to move across the country! I needed to shake things up before I could begin to think about devoting the bulk of my energy to writing. Now the book idea has taken an entirely different direction.

It could be that the wider our net, the better the networking. You've challenged me to look for the "common denominators." No connection is a waste of time. Thanks, Vicki!

Sounds just like Facebook to me! No sooner do I get an invitation to be a "Facebook friend" from someone who knows someone I know, then I get buried under a pile of their self-serving self-promotion. I mean, let's have coffee, enjoy the coffee, leave the PowerPoints in the office and use our time together wisely and for our mutual edification!

I'm glad you're here, Zita; we solopreneurs need lots and lots of instruction in the social and social media graces.

Speaking of the mayo-writing on the wall, how much did we know and when did we know it? EQ also means not being a doormat. We teach people how to treat us. Most telling is that "she's always asking me to (do things that are not my job) ." If I've been doing those things out of fear of losing the client, with resentment, or for any reason other than I'm happy to be of service, then shame on me; it's not the "jerk's" fault.