“I’m not that interested in ‘mass’ communications. I’m much more interested in what happens between this person and the one person watching. The space between the television set and that person who’s watching is very holy ground.” – Fred Rogers The traditional family unit has been negatively hit from so many directions in our world [...]
I manage several social media accounts for various clients. From time to time, I get to help promote different products, events, and campaigns in order to get the word out. In addition to my client’s social media accounts, I have my own Twitter and Facebook account for EntreCatholic, my personal blog. While my Twitter account is [...]
Have you ever noticed that in the comments following articles, including Catholic Lane’s, that some people have their pictures next to the comment? Other comments just have a “ghost silhouette” to represent the commentator. A picture of you will look so much better than a ghost. A picture immediately makes the reader think, “How cool [...]
I do quite a bit of reading. Up until recently, I was convinced that paper books were the way to go. And then I thought an iPad would solve all my “I want to read it electronically” problems. Then, slowly, I started to think about how some of the “just like real paper” e-readers might be [...]
A retail-store owner called and asked me to look at his website. I always try to find something nice to say about a prospect’s website, but this one was pretty challenging. It looked like it had been done in the early 1990s. It was slapped together, with glaring colors, strange navigation, and too much bold [...]
With Christmas busyness behind, the yard in winter dormancy, and tax season still far enough ahead not to be urgent, it’s that time of year when thoughts turn to home organization. Our God is not a God of confusion and disorder, but a God of peace (1 Cor. 14:33). Order brings peace to our minds and [...]
I’ve been looking for an app to chart my body’s fertility for quite a while. Remember my begging? No? Well, I assure you, I even used this space to try to find something, and never had any luck. My days of searching are over, though, and I’m excited to share a brand-new app with you: [...]
I write copy for commercial clients to help them make more sales from key web pages. My process always includes writing a detailed creative brief with my clients before starting a project. I debrief both owners and sales staffers. But no matter how deep my brief goes, I still need to ask my clients questions [...]
One day, my 17 year-old strolled into the kitchen after a long day at school, leaned against the kitchen counter and, between mouthfuls of food to appease his growling stomach, said, “Hey mom, did you know that the Pope has Twitter?” “So, I hear,” I replied absentmindedly while chopping vegetables for dinner. “Do you have [...]
Digital media has changed the landscape of the entertainment industry. Traditional music albums have been replaced by MP3s, and streaming services are now delivering movies to your home instantly. Will the same hold true for the book publishing industry? Will ebooks become the new medium of choice? According to the Center for Applied Research in [...]
During the early years of Facebook mania, I posted pics of my kids, events, travels, anecdotes and chanted with the universal FB voice: “Look how great I am; how amazing my life is; how many people like me!” While I really wanted to post about how great God is, a social network broadcasting my religious [...]
Do you ever ask yourself whether it is alright to stay plugged-in to the internet? I have struggled with this question since I was first drawn, overwhelmingly so, to this new form of communication six years ago. I already loved email, then I discovered Facebook and discussion forums. I could engage with people from all [...]
Any Internet sensation—even if it colorfully overinterprets what is taking place—that further clarifies how child-like the unborn child is will always be welcomed. Enter “Twins fighting in the womb,” actually better described as two babies, approximately 20 weeks old, attempting to stake out additional leg room in cramped quarters. Reuters put it nicely: “It’s a [...]
I reinvented Thanksgiving dinner 3 years ago, and not by choice. Thanksgiving dinner is one of my favorite dinners to fix for my family. Three years ago, things changed. I was recovering from major surgery, forbidden from driving, forbidden from lifting more than 5 pounds, and needed to sit more than stand. My husband and our [...]
By now, you probably know that using keywords or key phrases are important to help drive traffic to your website. A good way to think of keywords is to think of them like fishing bait. Different bait brings in different fish, so, too, different keywords bring in different prospects. So keywords — the words that [...]
Tom and Barbara came to my office seeking help for their teenage son, who was caught viewing online pornography. Though they continuously monitored the home computer, they were shocked to discover that he had been viewing pornography downloaded onto his Kindle. He and his friends had also been viewing porn on their Playstation system. Tom [...]
When I was in college, I took a “singing for the stage” class. The instructor once put me in front of the class and told me to sing a song, but not to smile. Then she had me sing the same song again; but, this time, she had me smile. The class overwhelmingly thought my [...]
A week ago, after I gave a speech to a parent group, a mother with a difficult issue approached me. It was something she didn’t want to discuss in front of her school community during the question-and-answer session. “Basically,” she whispered, “my daughter is totally addicted to Facebook. She is on it all the time [...]
As we prepare for the critical November elections, I find myself increasingly frustrated whenever I enter my social networking venues online. A trip to Facebook or Twitter these days often feels like a running of the gauntlet as I dodge nasty comments, unkind graphics, and attack oriented posts on both ends of the political spectrum. [...]
As we celebrate September, a month dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, we observe three feasts this month that call us into a more devoted relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This month, we celebrate: September 8 – The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary September 12 – The Most Holy Name of Mary September [...]
I just despise it when marketers try to trick me … or they are just plain dumb and don’t test their stuff. In the mail, I received a Facebook promotional offer. I would get some free advertising if I just used their code. I went to the web site address they gave me. There was [...]
When writing web copy — or any other marketing piece — try to avoid words and phrases that have been overused. Like … You’ll be glad you did … Improve your bottom line … Done right … Outside the box … We pride ourselves … There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the above [...]
Newsweek ran a very interesting article recently: Is the Onslaught Making Us Crazy? Tony Dokoupil examines the growing body of evidence that the internet is changing the way we think and feel. He writes, The current incarnation of the Internet – portable, social, accelerated, and all-pervasive – may be making us not just dumber or [...]
Many people still put two spaces after a period. “That’s what my English teacher taught me,” they say. The practice is a holdover from the era of the typewriter when characters all took up the same amount of space. For example, an “i” took exactly the same amount of space as an “m.” So the [...]
