Microblogging is a liberating experience. You narrow down your focus to the essentials and leave out all the extra explanations.

When you post for a microblog you jot down, announce and make note. You don't have to add a lot of context. You can skip an illustration - unless your post is the illustration, in that case you can skip the worlds.

Microblogging should be short, quick, but frequent posts.

My favourite places to microblog are Twitter, Tumblr and the sidebar of my own blog where I keep a Sideblog using a WordPress plugin.

Why I Like MicroBlogging

• It's a great way to jot down a thought without going into detail or overthinkng it.
• I dash down a half baked idea and leave it to finish later.
• I can leave a note for readers of my site.
• I can post a great quotation and just let it stand on it's own.
• I post backlinks to a sites I find but haven't really reviewed yet.
• I announce a change to my site, or other sites I write.
• I stick in a new word that sounded worth looking up.
• I make note of an inspirational book I found.
• I can leave a quick tip and turn it into a full post later.

 MicroWriting for MicroBlogging

Writing a short post can take some getting used to. Don't give up on it or quit. Just get creative, resourceful and take a risk on saying and explaining less leaving your readers to make their own assumptions. If you want clear and concise communication you need few words, no flowery prose.

For example, Twitter limits everyone to 140 characters, including punctuation, spaces and hashtags.

You may get creative with spelling, or run two words together or eliminate some words all together.

Some people will post their thoughts over two or more posts in a row. (I see this now and then with Twitter posts). But multiple posts is not a great option, it's better to stick with the microblogging concept and keep it short and to the point.

If you can't find a shorter way to say what you mean, microblogging can be a challenge to your communication skills.

Think of your posts as announcements. That helps to keep them shorter.

Most businesses need to reconsider keeping a blog for something which would work better for consumers and take less time and energy for the business to maintain.

Why Develop a Blog When a Static Page Will Do?

I was reading a post which encourages businesses to have a blog, as if that is all they need to do. The answer to life, the universe and everything for a business is to have a weblog. It's not. It's actually very wrong.

First, let's sort out what a weblog actually is.

A blog (AKA web log) is an online record of your thoughts, activities and information you choose to share online. A blog is actively updated, which means the posts are dated so they can be read in sequence. A blog is a form of communication which requires frequent maintenance to keep it active. This is not the kind of online communication a business needs.

Secondly, people are not taking time to read everything you blog.

Any business starting online, whether they sell entirely online or just want to set up an online presence, needs basic information available for the consumer. Basic information is not likely to change. Your contact information, what you sell and how you sell it are not going to change daily or weekly or even monthly. Yes, you may have new objects to add to your catalogue but that is a catalogue, not a blog.

A blog is more likely to be information overkill and just make things confused and cluttered looking. What use is a blog if the consumer has to hunt down the address (or some other key information) for your business? A simple site presents the information upfront and keeps it easily visible.

Lastly, running a blog is going to take up too much of your time and energy.

A business online should focus on giving that basic information on a static website. Starting a blog is just putting in more time and energy than you need - especially in the beginning when you really just want people to find you online so you can tell the consumer who you are and what you have to offer. This is not the time to start a blog with articles about what you sell. Just give them the basic information they need. Not all the fancy stuff, the extras and the media hype. Keep it simple.

Don't put your time and resources into developing a blog just because everyone seems to be doing it these days. Focus on your real goal, not impressing other people with how big your site is or how much traffic your blog gets. Your real goal for a business is sales, not marketing.

Consumers are not asking for more marketing. Less is more, in the eye of the consumer. Consumers want information so they can decide to buy your product or service. The more marketing clutter to add to your message, the less likely a consumer is to find it. So keep it simple. Create a simple site with simple navigation - keep the most important information to the consumer right out front and centre. If you have extras, like a catalogue, give them a link to take them directly there.

A Business Site Should be for the Consumer, not the Business

If you want to add extras to your site think about it in a practical way. What would your consumer really find useful?

• A catalogue of your goods or services.
• A contact form with the physical address, email address and phone numbers for your business.
• A list of prices for your services and packages available.
• Any events you may be taking part in locally.
• Specials or promotions or contests currently running.
• A coupon they can print out. (Or refer to if they don't have a printer).
• Your mission statement.
• Your guarantee or warranty.
• Your returns policy.
• A how to guide for using your product.
• A list of relevant groups or associations locally.
• Any health warnings or risks.

This is just a generic sort of list. Each business will have their own needs and limits in the information available or necessary for the public and consumers.

Most of the necessary information can be located on one main (index) page of your site. Extras like a catalogue of goods or services can be on another section of the site with a link easily found on the index page.

Make the contact information a priority. Think about your own experience using a site for a business you wanted to know more about. What was the most frustrating thing? For me it is almost always trying to find a way to contact the business. How stupid is that? What was the point of them putting up a site if I can't ask a question or get some feedback?

If you Still Must have a Blog Make Sure it Adds Value to your Business

If you still must have a blog, spend time planning your goals and strategy for using it.

Make sure the time, energy and resources you will put into the blog will pay off.

Make sure you have the stamina, writing skill and the content to keep a blog active.

In short, make sure the blog is worth the expense of maintaining it. Chances are there are other things you could be doing which would bring you a better return on your resources.

I first heard of the word, bookpacking, in the Suite101 post. I think it is great to have an actual, understandable, word for something I have been doing since I learned to read.

In the bookpacking post the writer combines bookpacking with exercise. I haven't always done it that way, at least not deliberately. I do take the bus, walk along downtown, go shopping or even take a day trip or road trip. I always pack a book with me (and my camera for the past several years).

Are you one of the people who typically carries at least one book around with you, where ever you go? Even if you might not get a chance to settle in somewhere and have the alone, or quiet time to read... do you always have a book, just in case? I do.

I don't think you can take an eReader on a bookpacking excursion. It might get bumped and banged around, it could get wet or you may not have enough battery power to keep the lights on. Besides, there are always times when the old reliable paperback is just what you need.

The Elements of Successful Bookpacking

First, the book you want to read. Not just any book you happened to pick. You need a good book and a book you are in the mood to read. You could pick a book which is well written and seems to have a great story... but you just aren't in the mood to read it for some reason. So, you need the right book at the right time.

Second, you need something to carry your book and other accumulated gear around with you. These days we often carry around more stuff in order to be green. I keep a backpack with cloth bags for grocery shopping, sometimes a reusable coffee mug too. The mug doesn't work out so well if you stop at a second place before you have washed it out.

My backpack gives me space to stash my purse inside it too. If I'm on a longer trip I carry a map book, my camera, paper and pens and assorted other standard stuff (for me).

Make sure whatever you use to carry around your stuff is easy to carry around. Don't pick something which is already a bit heavy, even before you pack it up. It's only going to get heavier.

Next up is location. Not everyone can read just anywhere. I like semi-quiet. A little distraction with people watching is nice too. I tend to pick coffee shops. I really like enjoying a coffee while I read. Other nice places are libraries, museums, restaurants... pretty much any place with a comfortable chair, table and a niche that blocks out noise if it's a busy place.

Assorted Extras

Bookmarks. Of course, you can turn down the top of a page. But this contributes to making books dog-earred. Meanwhile you can use anything slim enough as a bookmark. You could even use a real, actual bookmark.

Those real on-the-go sort of bookpackers might want a portable chair. However, this isn't practical for the added weight of hauling it around yourself. For those with a vehicle to haul a portable chair around for them, it seems a bit redundant when you already have a nicely padded chair in the vehicle. But, it could be nice if you are on a bicycle or motorbike and want to take a break to read in the great outdoors. (Even then it occurs to me that a picnic blanket would be a better choice for it's weight and multi-purposeness).

One thing I can not do is read on a moving vehicle. So, you may find yourself enjoying to read on the bus, ferry, and so on. There really are endless great locations to pull out your book and read a few pages or a few chapters if you have the time. If you do discover you can't read on a moving vehicle either, just put your book away and try to look off into the distance for awhile. You may need to abandon the vehicle for at least a short time. Stop off at a coffee shop and read awhile, outside the vehicle or while the vehicle is parked.

On a Side Note...

There are a few times and instances when you shouldn't bring out a book and read. Your brother may not think well of you if you bring a book to his hockey game and sit in the arena with your nose stuck in a book, not really watching his hockey game more than the odd quick glance up. Every once in awhile this comes up in my family. But, I am the only true bookpacker in the group. Still, its good to remember that not everyone is into bookpacking.

I seem to have too many ideas. I'm missing the focus and time I need to get them all from my brain and onto the page (or the virtual/ digital page). I make notes for myself with ideas as I get them. I try to use a notebook rather than bits of paper which end up misplaced, but the notebook isn't always right there when I need it.

I don't understand writers who have a lack of ideas. To me it seems there is an endless stream and the real problem is keeping tack of the ideas, organizing and finding storage for all the notes, magazine clippings, and so on. I have even begun to use my digital camera as a quick note taking tool. So my hard drive is just as cluttered. I'm considering a hand-held scanner, just dash out the note and then scan it in for later. This would give me a back up plan for the bits of paper notes.

How do I get ideas? Such a short and simple question when the answer is massive.

Here are some of the ways and places I get ideas:

• Read the newspaper, a magazine.
• Study a religion other than your own.
• Watch/ listen to a talk show.
• Volunteer to edit someone else, be constructive.
• Watch a documentary.
• Read the dictionary until you find a word you don't know.
• Look at books in the library, outdated ones too.
• Talk to people at the coffee shop, grocery store, bus stop...
• Attend some kind of local group, event or workshop.
• Go to the bookstore and see what's new in your niche/ genre.
• Talk to yourself.
• Draw something - it doesn't matter whether you think you can draw or not.
• Go shopping, look at new inventions in hairbrushes, mouse traps...
• Take a walk outside.
• Listen to music and then read the lyrics.
• Take your laptop on a road trip.
• Photograph your family. Get as many together as you can.
• Try creating something in text art.
• Read the newspaper classifieds.
• Go to the local thrift store and buy yourself a new coffee mug.
• Talk to a teenager. They really aren't that scary.
• Read about fashion or something else you don't care about much.
• Read an opinion that does not agree with your own.
• Brainstorm about life. What is the meaning of life?
• Send a postcard or a real, full letter to someone.
• Try something new in papercrafts: paper flowers, paper cutting, paper folding...
• Take a lawn chair or a blanket outside and watch the sky, the clouds.
• Get a hot shower with a soap and shampoo you love to smell.
• Take the bus all across the town or city you live in.
• Buy a new pen and some blank paper.
• Read one of the classic books you never read for school.
• Do an online personality quiz, just for fun.
• Read a few blogs by people you don't know, leave a comment or three.
• What's the most boring thing you can think of? Do it.

In the end, it isn't about where or how you find ideas. The real way to get ideas is to keep your mind open looking for them. Don't become close minded, too literal, too judgmental or sure you're so right about everything. It's when you are open to new things that you are able to find them. You see things you might not have noticed or ignored because they weren't flashing a neon sign telling you "this is your idea!".

If you have writer's block, distract yourself. Get away from that heavy focus and all the pressure. Once you release your mind, give it new roads to travel, the block will weaken and you can shake it off.

Take the seed of an idea and grow it. Look for more information, look at it from another perspective, combine it with other ideas to make something new and interesting. Be open to them and ideas will just come to you, trust me, ideas are everywhere!

100 Creative Ideas

This was originally posted to HubPages. When it became mothballed due to their no-index policy I pulled it and brought here to rescue it from content scrapers and give it a second wind.

This will be my 100th post to HubPages. I actually joined years ago but didn't start writing here until last year. Still, it took awhile to write 100 posts. I almost went ahead and just posted one of the ideas I have been working on without thinking to make this post anything special. Then, I stopped. One hundred posts should be some kind of milestone. So, after considering a few ideas, I decided to post 100 creative ideas to help, inspire and push others to be creative (more creative). Yes, they are slightly slanted to women. But, I'm thinking of ideas out of my own head and that's who I am.

Enjoy the ideas. Let me know if you try a few and what kind of creative adventures and explorations you have.

1. Write your own list of 100 things.
2. Gather up all your pens and some paper. Have a pen testing party. Get rid of pens that don't still work.
3. Create a design with coffee cup rings (or tea) on a blank page.
4. Take paper and pens - find somewhere public where you can spend an hour or longer just writing whatever comes to mind.
5. Draw a dragon. It doesn't matter if you can't draw, doodle until it starts to look good.
6. Interview someone interesting, to you. Ask them what you really want to know.
7. Write a suggestion and send it to the right people.
8. Go barefoot (within reason) for at least an hour.
9. People watch.
10. Practice calligraphy. Bonus if you can use a fountain pen too.
11. Pick up a pebble, a leaf, a shell, something small from nature.
12. Start an account on Twitter and use it.
13. Try ASCII art. Images created with keyboard text.
14. Write a haiku poem.
15. Draw a map of your local area, add all the land features, streets, etc.
16. Play Scrabble with someone.
17. Leave your car at home and take the bus for one day.
18. Read out loud.
19. Write your favourite word on an index card (recipe card) then decorate it in any way you dream up.
20. Try a unique flavour of tea. The best I had was caramel.
21. Make a chain of paper dolls.
22. Write a postcard to someone, mail it.
23. Take a unique self-portrait photograph of yourself.
24. Read the newspaper and clip out one idea you can write about.
25. Try baking something: pie, cake, cheesecake.
26. Repurpose an old T-shirt in some useful way.
27. Try Snip.it - set up a topic you want to research there.
28. Paint your body. If you seldom paint your nails, try that. Otherwise, face painting, a temporary tattoo...
29. Photograph water, any kind of water: rain on a window, a puddle, water in the sink...
30. Make thumbprints and turn them into characters.
31. Try origami. Follow a pattern and see how it turns out.
32. Write at least one journal (diary) entry about your day.
33. Clean out your purse or wallet (or both). Reduce clutter in a small way.
34. Put an ice cube in a glass of water. Start writing, keep writing until the ice has melted.
35. Try a graphics software, Gimp is free, create a web banner for your blog, site or just your own name.
36. Write about your ultimate vacation: where you would go, how you would get there and what you would do.
37. Rename all the characters in whatever book you are reading now.
38. Think of something completely unacceptable to write for a woman's magazine. Write it anyway.
39. Photograph an abandoned place or thing in your area.
40. Take one photograph of anyone (not someone you know) in a public place, street photography.
41. Watch a favourite movie you haven't seen in a really long time.
42. Read about night photography and give it a try.
43. Sew on a button. If you are already a sewing diva create something with a lot of buttons.
44. Create your own bookmark.
45. Try freestyle embroidery. Embroider a square of fabric which you can sew on as a patch on jeans, a blanket, etc.
46. Invite a friend over for an unbirthday party.
47. Use crayons and draw a big picture - be a kid again.
48. Become a cartoon artist for a day.
49. Clip glossy photos from magazines and create a collage.
50. Write a fictional news story. Use the newspaper writing style and all 5 Ws - who, what, where, when, why and... how.
51. Try a crossword puzzle.
52. Crochet a granny square.
53. Get sticks and yarn to create a God's Eye pattern from the 1970's.
54. Use paperclips or dandelions (in season) to make chains you can wear.
55. Find out about mail art. Write a letter and use what you have learned about mail art.
56. Start a scrapbook for something. Not for family photos, but a collection of newspaper clippings and such which you keep together in a traditional scrapbook.
57. Write your name over and over using different fonts/ lettering each time.
58. Make your own personal time capsule to be opened more than a year from now.
59. Recycle newspaper by trying paper mache.
60. Learn how to tie a sailor's knot of some kind.
61. In winter make a snow angel, in summer try a sand angel, or something else you can lie in and make an impression upon.
62. Make Jello, pick a few colours, add the cubes to a large bowl and squish it all with your toes.
63. Repurpose all those unmatched socks. Sock puppets are easy, what else can you do with them?
64. Write out your favourite quote (or find one) and share it with someone else.
65. Settle in somewhere nice outside and try bird watching.
66. Turn something you like to cook or bake into an actual recipe, with measured ingredients and instructions for a beginner cook.
67. See how far back you can go with your family tree, without peeking at anything you have already written/ printed out.
68. Give yourself a ribbon for 'World's Greatest...'make it out of ribbon, paper, whatever you have on hand.
69. Read one non-fiction book from the dust bunny collection on your bookshelves.
70. Draw happy faces. Keep drawing them with different expressions until you run out of ideas.
71. Go without your watch for a day. Ask other people the time or find a clock in stores, on the street, etc.
72. Watch for little lost things in the street, sidewalk, etc. What can you find when you really look?
73. String together different sized coloured beads and see what patterns you can make.
74. Play with the sand, the snow, a pile of leaves, whatever is in season.
75. Try some of the other mystery settings on your camera. You might like them.
76. Design your own business card, even if you don't have a business.
77. Back up your computer files. See what you forgot you had. Save the important stuff to a DVD.
78. Write the dedication for a book you haven't written yet.
79. How would you sell ice to people living in the Arctic?
80. Get sidewalk chalk and remember the world of chalk drawings.
81. How many different kind of shadow animals can you make?
82. Play with an ink pad and rubber stamps.
83. Make doll clothes. They can be for paper dolls if you don't sew.
84. Try to fold a better paper airplane.
85. Bake and decorate cookies or cupcakes.
86. Use a small mirror to write secret messages or draw backwards pictures.
87. Draw a family of stick people, add pets, the family car and a house too.
88. Draw or sketch or doodle something you can't see.
89. Get big sized paper and take crayons to the cemetery. Make cemetery stone etchings. (Don't use stones which look fragile).
90. Create a connect the dots game for kids.
91. Make a meal based on one colour, try to keep every food/ dish one colour.
92. Make a list of everything you smell.
93. Trace your hand and then draw all the lines in your palm.
94. Try storytelling. Or just write a complete nonsense story for fun.
95. Collect random words and pull them together into a story.
96. Write a story using less than 50 words, flash fiction.
97. Paint something.
98. Draw a flower.
99. Cut out paper snowflakes.
100. Plant something. Use a flower pot or container of some kind if you don't have garden space outside.