New Media » blogging

2012. The Year of Living Creatively

jnarvey — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:27:46 +0000

It’s a whole new year — well, more than halfway through the first month of it, anyway, and I’m overdue for laying out my nefarious plan for 2012. OK, here goes.

Get my new pulp detective/sci-fi/horror novel published. Yes, I’m still going to self-publish this baby in the meantime, since it’s so darn fast and easy to do it now using Amazon. But it would be nice to get an actual dead tree publisher on board with the project before all of the dead tree publishers are pushed into bankruptcy by eBooks.
Write another novel by the end of June. It really seems like I’ve got the hang of this thing, now. Once I get going, I can write 10-15 pages of fiction at a clip. It seems reasonable to figure that I can bang out another 300 pages of awesomeness by the middle of summer, particularly since I’ve already got a pretty good outline for it — but again, I must actually devote some time to selling the damn things.
Boost my website copywriting business by 50 percent. I’m going to need to devote more time to business development. That means more marketing, networking, maybe some ad buys — We’ll see. Business has been good; I just want to see how hard I can push it before the Euro-crisis turns us all into dirt farmers again.
More political writing. That means returning to the fun of writing full-on op-eds on The Propagandist. Also, finding others pundits who want to share the space with me and shout from the digital soapbox.
Starting another blog or three. These would be fun projects that would help market my creative writing, besides just being cool in their own right. I’ll plug them when they launch.
Recording some more podcasts with my fellow awesome nerd, Shane Birley, along with other awesome nerds.
Continue to help organize the Northern Voice personal blogging conference. I like where it’s going.
Continue writers meetups every Sunday afternoon.
Continue to play the Savage Worlds RPG every Tuesday. It’s not just downtime with beer — I find these sessions also help inspire my creative writing projects.

So… given time constraints, how will I achieve all of this? Well, I’m certainly not going to work much longer hours. That’s just not sustainable. I know myself too well. I’ll burn out soon and be back to square one. An extra hour a day of work, tops.

Mostly, I just need to use my time more effectively. I can definitely give up some of the time I currently spend zoning out scanning my Google Reader feeds or seeing what’s new on YouTube. This alone will add about an hour a day for me — not a small amount of time (Just think of what you could accomplish in 365 hours). Video games are also to be cut out of my life — I hadn’t been playing them much anyway, but now that’s getting slashed to zero. And that’s it — presto, I’m that much more creative and awesome than I was before.

Coolness.

My Middle East Predictions for 2012 I wrote a novel a little while back dealing with...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Traveling in New York City

jnarvey — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:49:15 +0000

Some highlights of my vacation in New York City so far:

Not getting deported immediately upon arrival at JFK. I thought I lost my passport and scrambled to find it for 5 minutes (It was in my backpack).
A slice of pizza from the restaurant where Peter Parker worked as a delivery guy before pursuing a different career as a superhero.
Eating octopus in the Greek neighborhood of Astoria in Queens.
Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Pints of various Brooklyn beverages during happy hour. $3 a beer? Seriously.

I’ll be meeting some fellow propagandists tomorrow, taking part in a writing meetup and checking out “Occupy Wall Street” (For those who know me well and are asking themselves, “what took you so long?”, all I can say is politics and headline news have been on the back burner for this trip). I’m looking forward to actually hanging out with some cool locals.

If you’re a New York-based blogger, political pundit, social media nerd or related sort of creative type, please do feel free to get in touch while I’m here. Cheers.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Justice Is Served In The Blogosphere

jnarvey — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:23:56 +0000

Blogger sues other blogger for defamation.

Judge orders plaintiff to pay defendant’s costs.

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’m Speaking At Northern Voice! Political Propaganda 101

jnarvey — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:45:36 +0000

Combining my two great interests, politics and social media, I’ll be speaking at the Northern Voice personal blogging and social media conference happening in Vancouver on May 14. My topic? Political Propaganda 101. Here’s an excerpt of my synopsis:

The best political blogs don’t just deal with compelling stories. They inject personal observations. They have an unconcealed political agenda. Succeeding at this means being fearless and showing your passion.

This talk will use three blog posts sprouting from personal experiences as case studies of how to put passion, bold arguments and hard-boiled agenda-pushing into your political blog in a way that forces readers to respond.

Buy your ticket to Northern Voice today

Blog For Northern Voice 2011 And Be My Friend So it turns out I’m now in charge of getting...
Some Of My Latest Propaganda War… War never changes. ElBaradei, The Moderate Egyptian Warmonger Peaceful...
It’s ShanesWorld! It’s Party Time. It’s Excellent! My good friend and Vancouver blogger extraordinaire Shane Birley (yes,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A 10-Point Blogging Checklist

jnarvey — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:05:11 +0000

If you’re a blogger and you use checklists, then you might want to check out my… blogging checklist.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Blog First. Then Use Twitter And Facebook

jnarvey — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:26:59 +0000

My latest rant on why most companies using Twitter and Facebook to build business without having a blog are wasting their time.

If Twitter and Facebook are gateways to your website where customers can learn more and conduct transactions (read: sales) and you’ve got nothing there, it’s kind of pointless. It’s sort of like having a real store with decent signage out front, but when people come in, there are no labels on anything and no way for people to easily sort through all of your products. Imagine a Best Buy where all of the electronics are out of their boxes and you need to consult a customer service rep every time you think you want something… if you can find one.

Blog For Northern Voice 2011 And Be My Friend So it turns out I’m now in charge of getting...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s ShanesWorld! It’s Party Time. It’s Excellent!

jnarvey — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:41:45 +0000

My good friend and Vancouver blogger extraordinaire Shane Birley (yes, he literally wrote – OK, co-wrote – the book on blogging) is having a birthday this month. Coincidentally, he’s been blogging up a storm lately. He may have one of the most active personal blogs going in Vancouver right now.

I’ve been a fan of the uber-blog that is ShanesWorld for a while, but recently I’ve also been catching up on some of the best posts he’s done over the years. There are a lot of them, since he’s been at it pretty much since blogging was invented. Here’s my list of the top 10 posts, as curated according to the criteria of compelling content, interesting topics and a hint or two breaking down the ferociously complex character of Mr. Birley. Here goes:

1. Firefly References in Chuck, Castle, and Big Bang Theory. If the tragically short-lived science fiction series that was Firefly has a greatest fan, Shane is that person.

2. Had Another Good Show at Dyscultured and I Must Have Something To Share. Shane podcasts about pop culture and everything else that’s cool.

3. Cleaning Up For 2011. You wouldn’t know it from the title, but this blog post has one of the most heart-warming tales of puppy love you’ll ever read about.

4. Fearing The Twitter Impersonator? Shane deals with an episode of identity theft (well, borrowing?) in cyberspace.

5. What To Do About Norman Fell. Shane examines the extraordinary life of the man the world remembers as Mr. Roper from Three’s Company — and a card-carrying member of the original Rat Pack.

6. Blogathon Photos. The one where Shane takes a flying leap into the abyss and lives to tell about it.

7. Beer: Should It Stay or Should It Go? Shane likes beer. But beer isn’t great for you if you’re trying to stay in top form. What a dilemma!

8. Creative City Cabaret in Vancouver and Presented by Left Right Minds! Shane’s company helps produce one of the coolest events in Vancouver’s history.

9. My Blogging For Dummies Books Arrived! Feel the pride, published author. Shane also writes poetry and creative fiction, when he’s not writing books.

10. Happy Birthday Allyson: A Daily Play by Play of A Birthday Girl! Everybody knows that Joanie Loves Chachi and Shane loves Allyson. Aaaaaaawwwww.

Like I said, Shane’s a complicated dude. So these blog posts only give the barest hint of what this web-powered Renaissance man is all about. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a chance to meet him at a Vancouver Blogger Meetup. Or Northern Voice 2011. If you’re not going to those, your best bet is attending a Firefly marathon party.

Blog For Northern Voice 2011 And Be My Friend So it turns out I’m now in charge of getting...
Reminder. Vancouver Blogger Meetup March 9 It’s time to meet your fellow Vancouver bloggers. This time,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Reminder. Vancouver Blogger Meetup March 9

jnarvey — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 07:36:55 +0000

It’s time to meet your fellow Vancouver bloggers. This time, it’s a purely social gathering. Share stories from the trenches of blogging. Eat some good grub (It’s a potluck!).

Drupal, WordPress, Blogspot and Typepad and other CMS users welcome. If you’re still using a leather-bound diary you keep under your pillow, this might not be your kind of meetup. But feel free to bring the diary along anyway, so we can transcribe and publish your innermost thoughts to reside permanently on the web.

Vancouver Blogger Meetup March 9 This time, it’s a potluck. Bring a dish to share...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Vancouver Blogger Meetup March 9

jnarvey — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:42:16 +0000

This time, it’s a potluck. Bring a dish to share with your fellow Vancouver bloggers!

Be sociable. Eat some good grub. Hang out with your fellow WordPress/Drupal/Blogspot users (Does anyone still use Typepad? No? Didn’t think so).

More details about the Vancouver Blogger Meetup this week

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Buy My Blog For One Million Dollars

jnarvey — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:31:51 +0000

Come on, AOL. I know you’re interested. It’s a fantastic deal.

Just putting it out there. The Vancouver demographic could be worth your while.

Blog For Northern Voice 2011 And Be My Friend So it turns out I’m now in charge of getting...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.