So here I am. Thinking, gosh, I hate the first ones. My blog is just one big white space. Brand new Active Rain account; I hate looking so, well, new.
But here I am. It's an active group. I wanna play, too. But to play, you have to write. But to write is to invite attention to all the white space. And the white space is, well, so new.
Don't get me wrong, I respect newbies. Heck, I'm a newbie in something, or other, just about every day. (And then there are those days when I can't seem to get with it at all and I just shiiiine with the bright new luster of crisp white sneakers as I step all over myself.) No, it's not a respect thing at all.
It's just that, when you're starting with all that white space, you always run the risk of having too much of an opinion when you're writing an opinion. Does that make sense? It's a blog, right? But it's also a community. And you're trying to fit in. The last thing you wanna be is the guy everyone whispers about as the "opinionated new guy."
I know, I know. "We're not bite-y people. You're making too much of this, Mel. You'll see..."
And, in advance, I'll thank you. I appreciate it. I really do. I've lurked around a bit. I've read your posts. You guys are pretty cool. It's a great community. But then again, I'm a blogger in other communities. And out of over 43,000 folks in this one, I just know I'm gonna run afoul of somebody at some point. But if I let that keep me on the sidelines, then you'd be right: I'd be making too much of it.
But still. You don't want to trip the first time out of the block, right? (I hate these first ones.) So something clicked. You know how they say when you're doing a presentation that you should just picture everyone in their underwear? And how that somehow magically eliminates the jitters? ('Never worked for me, but play along. And, who are "they," anyway?)
Like I said, the underwear-visualization-thing never worked for me. But I could appreciate the visualization exercise. You see, this year I'm a runner. I'm training for another marathon. They say if you visualize a trail or a race course before you run it, you perform better... you just feel the "groove" a little better. I get that. So, visualization jibes with me. (Just not the underwear-audience-thing.)
So, instead of picturing a bunch of Realtors in their underwear (oh my god, the visual that just gave me...), I thought I'd visualize this Active Rain community as something like a potluck. Yeah, pot-luck.
You bring something to the party. Everyone gets a taste. And, whether or not they actually like it, you're in. You're in because you showed up (sounds familiar?) and you gave something to the group. And at the end of the day, isn't that a community?
So, the image-link above (or, you can click here) is my potluck dish. It addresses a few questions I saw here in AR as I was lurking around these past few days: the topic of converting PowerPoint presentations for the web. (Think: listing presentations, pre-listing info, buyer presentations, branding, informational packets, etc.). But more than just converting it, it also quickly shows how to display it in your blog or web site so others can see it. Here's a sample of one I uploaded. (Be gentle.)
Hope the screencast (here) helps. And, when you get a moment, drop by, say hi. :-)
Mel
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