Mines the work of Daniel McDuff of MIT to develop a machine that examines the facial muscles and expressions of people as they watch a video.
Notes that the software has a complex algorithm that analyzes the quantity and intensity of smiles and positive expressions in order to predict which videos or advertisements the participants liked the best.
Mines proven methods for moving your audience from just readers to fans of your blog.
Notes that to intimately connect with readers you might:
Write similar to the way you would speak to an audience. Let your readers know that you are an actual human being.
Metaphors can bring language to life for your readers and draw them into your story. Comparing distinct ideas with other, more concrete ideas can help readers understand complexity.
Mines the Kickstarter project called Melon, which aims to market a headband that can be used with a smartphone to improve concentration and mental functioning.
Notes that the combined, complex technology of the headband and mobile app will combat distraction and poor cognition by monitoring a person’s concentration and giving feedback.
Last night, my son and I completed ground breaking scientific research on his fourth grade project. You remember those science projects, right? For mine, I caught harmless bugs, killed them, and pinned them to a piece of cardboard, with their appropriate scientific names. My son was overwhelmed by the assignment sheet that was six pages long. I wanted to start immediately because the project was due the next morning. At first, I tried to coerce my son to construct an old school project where we would make a car that ran on a 9 volt battery, from scratch. That was the kind of project I wished I had done instead of bugs.
Mines the neuroplasticity, which means your brain learns, adapts, and changes physically over time. Notes that because your brain can always learn and reshape itself, you can perform tasks that will help you think more efficiently.
Mines the story of a blog that was sold to AOL for $315 million in 2011, only seven years after its launch. The Huffington Post now has more that 77 million visitors per month.
Notes that The Huffington Post’s story illustrates that much money is to be made in blogging today. Among the solid ideas for pulling in the bucks with your blog are:
Advertisements on blogs have been around for years, and although rates have fallen dramatically, you can make money if you have tons of traffic.
Mines the nature of decision making in order to determine if one can improve choices using thinking tools.
Notes that one can practice and improve in decision making. Some ideas that will help:
Ask yourself who you are. This means that you explore your core values and beliefs. You can also write an “I am …” statement which is like a mission statement for your own life.
Mines the spice needed to generate hype and discussion about your blog, regardless of the topic.
Notes that several strategies that will kick start your blog include:
Create a powerful title that hooks the reader, causing her to feel the need to read on.
Illustrate an image connected to your message that will engage the reader and make your message easier to understand and remember.
Mines the 2012 research from the Hay group that reviewed data from a 17,000 participant database, which found information on behavior and competency of men and women in the workplace. They were looking specifically for differences between men and women.
Notes that the leadership traits they examined included: empathy and compassion, influence, conflict management, and problem solving. The study found that in general women are more likely to possess these strengths at higher levels than men.
Mines the counter-intuitive facts about what motivates people under different circumstances, particularly financial rewards and punishment.
Notes that businesses work on a completely outdated model of punishment and reward, finding that both are ineffective in motivating workers. In some studies, people who were offered more money performed more poorly on specific tasks. Reward and punishment create little positive motivation, and in many cases increasing the payment or punishment decreased the productivity.
How to create a conclusion that rocks readers
“And they all lived happily ever after.” What a crock! This cliche conclusion fails in every time. Events rarely end happy in real life. Nobody is happy forever, and real life stories often end horrifically. The statement means nothing
Still, because the stories are for children, the ending works. Kids enjoy repetition, and they need to believe that life is going to work out just fine.
Mines the psychological methods for reinforcing employees’ and clients’ self-esteem and confidence, placing you in a positive light and a forming a collaborative image.
Notes that proven methods help in refining how you are seen by others.
Mines the different personality types one exhibits when using social media in order to help you understand how you impress or influence people.
Notes that among the ten are:
The Social Athlete: look for calm and secure relationships. They are meticulous, trustworthy, and keep commitments, and often are looking to maintain traditional living and social establishments.
The Social Luddite: usually silent and show little interest in technology. They are tentative in social engagements and relationships, but are loyal and guided by strict values.
Now, about 78% of kids have access to at least a laptop and a smartphone. The world would shut down without these devices, and just imagine if the whole Internet were destroyed - could we survive? As the human species, we evolve, but our cultures evolve along with us. Technology represents a major feature of who we are and how we operate, and it is evolving. We can no longer separate ourselves from the technology we use.
Quests are stories of journeys and searches. They are deeply embedded in the human brain from our ancestral past, and all cultures have them. They are examples of what scholars call cultural universals, stories, rituals, language features, etc. that exist across every culture.
Quests come in many forms, but they offer challenges, temptations, risk, and the possibility of reward. Not only are there knightly quests, but we have quests we face daily. Life is a quest.
Recently, I pondered the quest after an engaging experience in social media. I spend time on Quora when I’m in a cantankerous mood. Quora is a social media question and answer venue, among other quirky things. The patrons seem an educated bunch who like to question, answer and debate. So, when I’m in the mood to argue, that is where I head.
