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10 Overrated Things in America

10 Overrated Things in America

I was recently contacted by an organization that publishes articles from Phil Barnes, a freelance photo editor and contributing write for TravelInsurance.org. Some of these made me laugh and some made me think; we do have some overrated things in our country! Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know!

10 Overrated Things in America

It’s 5 p.m.–QUICK! Rush out to buy the new Doritos Locos taco! Stand in line all night to get the latest iPhone! Maybe you don’t want to do these things, but plenty of Americans do. What are some of the other overrated things in America today?

10 Overrated Things in America
Image courtesy of Flickr and used via Creative Common License.

Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco

Have you ever had Doritos or a taco? Well, Taco Bell combined the two…and it tastes like a regular taco. Sorry to disappoint, but the Locos Taco just doesn’t live up to its hype.

The Latest Phone

New phones seem to be coming out every day, but does a half-second faster Internet connection really warrant standing on a line all night? We prefer our beauty sleep.

Yoga

Sure, it’s peaceful and eases your mind, but you’re also likely to find yoga snobs and a bit too much quiet for your liking. Don’t even get us started on hot yoga; it sounds rather similar to pure torture.

Organic Food

How do you know that the labels are really accurate? Perhaps items that are really not organic are being passed off as organic. Remember, an “inorganic” carrot is a lot healthier than an organic ice cream sundae. Organic does not always mean healthy.

Hand Sanitizer

People are constantly running in and out of offices and workrooms to sanitize their hands. Whatever happened to just washing your hands? Kill off those germs the good old fashioned way with a bar of soap and some running water. Of course, if you’re sick, the sanitizer will help you from infecting the entire office.

Toms Shoes

A sneaker and a slipper came together, and Toms were born. Would you ever have thought that this unusual marriage would work? With it’s oddly rounded toe, these types of shoes look as though they are suitable for a day spent at home only. Or, you know, a mythical spa.

“Breaking Amish”

People are going crazy over this television show that claims to show young Amish and Mennonite people leaving their religious groups for the first time. However, all of these young people have supposedly been out of the communities for years. One was allegedly married with three children and left the Amish 18 years ago!

E-readers

Whatever happened to heading to the library and thumbing through books to see which one you liked best? …

STOP the Social Media Insanity!

Do you remember the Stop the Insanity weight loss program from Susan Powter? In the 90’s, you couldn’t turn on television without hearing her infomercial with that famous catch phrase, “Stop the Insanity!”

insanity

Do you ever feel the need to scream, STOP the Social Media Insanity? Websites, Blogs, RSS feeds, Emails, Email newsletters, Facbook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ Instagram, Vine, Pinterest, FourSquare, Yelp, and on, and on, and on! Do you get overwhelmed as you try to keep up with reading information, posting or joining various social platforms for yourself or your business? If so, I have a few suggestions that may help you stop your own insanity.

Tips for dealing with social media insanity:

Take a deep breath and decide which platform(s) are right for you!

No one can be everywhere or be on every single social platform. There are too many platforms and cloning isn’t perfected, so if you try to do them all, you will burnout. Quickly. Approach social media just as you do any decision for you or your business; how does this serve me or my clients/customers. If your niche market or demographic hangs out on Facebook, then spend time building your following or Facebook Business Page. If your prospects spend time on Twitter, then build your Twitter brand. If email newsletters work for your business, produce the best newsletter possible! If you want better search results and enjoy the platform, spend time building your circles on Google+. Remember, no social platform, no matter how good it is, should take the place of your own website. Spend the time to get your site right and use these social outposts to drive traffic to your site.

Develop a schedule and stick to it!

One of the best pieces of advice I have for individuals and businesses is this: develop a schedule. Use a legal pad, an online calendar or create an editorial/social media calendar and stick to it! This will save you hours of frustration and make it much easier to develop or produce content. It’s more calming to know you what you need to write about or post for the next week or month than getting up everyday and trying to decide. Voice of experience talking here, so listen! My dear friend Julia Rosien published an exceptional post about this on her Social North site: Editorial Calendar – Social Media Strategy Must Do.

Evaluate, update and move on!

Maybe you have had a presence on Facebook since it was The Facebook. Does that outpost still align with your personal or professional goals? If not, then move on. I think far too often we get used to being on these platforms but forget to regularly evaluate whether …

Lunch N Learn with ZAAR Design Center

One of the great aspects of social media is the opportunity for strangers to connect through a shared interest, platform, hobby or need. My plans to speak at ZAAR Design Center, as part of the Spring High Point Furniture Market is an example of a need, someone reaching out and plans set in motion thanks to social media.

Ruth Olbrych, the owner of ZAAR Design Center contacted me on February 12th after her friend, Alicia Connolly forward to Ruth a conversation I had on Twitter with Dana Helms, Social Media Manager at Social North. Dana is also involved with an amazing organization, WithIt. Due to our open conversation on Twitter about WithIt, Alicia mentioned to Ruth that I may be interested in speaking to a group at the Spring Furniture Market in High Point.

ZAAR Design Center

The subsequent emails and phone conversations with Ruth, has led to the ZAAR Design Center hosting a Lunch and Learn on Sunday, April 6th at their showroom in High Point. I will talk with their guests about How Best Maximize Your Social Media Presence as a Designer. You can pre-register for the event here: Lunch N Learn + Jewelry/Accessory Sale

How Do I, as an Interior Designer, Maximize My Social Media Presence?

The Social Media map changes at such a rapid pace it can be daunting to know where you should be focusing your energies for maximum impact for your Interior Design business. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Houzz, Google Plus, Linked In. Which portal serves you best? Hint: Might not be what you think. What are the keystones for a Social Media plan? Yes, it can be manageable.

For me, this Lunch and Learn is an opportunity to talk about my passion, social media, as well as network with professionals within the furniture and design industries. For Ruth, it is an opportunity to showcase her Design Center and to provide the Designers in attendance with valuable information that can help their business and industry. Truly a win-win; something I see every day within social media.

If you are attending the High Point Furniture Marketing this April, we hope you can join us for our Lunch N Learn at the ZAAR Design Center!…

Facebook Privacy Basics

Facebook Privacy Basics

In an effort to make their terms and policies easier to understand and to control, Facebook is rolling out Privacy Basics on January 1, 2015.The post, in it’s entirety is featured below.

Updating Our Terms and Policies: Helping You Understand How Facebook Works and How to Control Your Information

Over the past year, we’ve introduced new features and controls to help you get more out of Facebook, and listened to people who have asked us to better explain how we get and use information.
Now, with Privacy Basics, you’ll get tips and a how-to guide for taking charge of your experience on Facebook. We’re also updating our terms, data policy and cookies policy to reflect new features we’ve been working on and to make them easy to understand.

These updates take effect on January 1, 2015. As always, we welcome your feedback about our policies.

Privacy Basics

Privacy Basics offers interactive guides to answer the most commonly asked questions about how you can control your information on Facebook. For example, you can learn about untagging, unfriending, blocking and how to choose an audience for each of your posts. This information is available in 36 languages.

Along with our privacy checkup, reminder for people posting publicly and simplified audience selectors, Privacy Basics is the latest step we’ve taken to help you make sure you’re sharing with the people you want.

Helping you get more out of Facebook

Every day, people use our apps and services to connect with the people, places and things they care about. The updates to our policies reflect the new products we’ve been working on to improve your Facebook experience. They also explain how our services work in a way that’s easier to understand. Here are some highlights:

Discover what’s going on around you: We’re updating our policies to explain how we get location information depending on the features you decide to use. Millions of people check into their favorite places and use optional features like Nearby Friends (currently only available in some regions). We’re working on ways to show you the most relevant information based on where you are and what your friends are up to. For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.

Make purchases more convenient: In some regions, we’re testing a Buy button that helps people discover and purchase products without leaving Facebook. We’re also working on new ways to make transactions even more convenient.

Find information about privacy on Facebook at the moment you need it: To make them more accessible, we moved tips and suggestions to Privacy Basics. Our data policy …