Elves

Elves, the mythological crafters of toys and trinkets. building toys in a hidden away workshop isn’t too far from blogging in your kitchen. Okay, maybe you don’t toss your blog posts in a bag to be delivered, RSS and email works as well though.

Toy crafting and wrapping is skill, and every good elf learns a few lessons on her way to Chief Toy Painter.

• Target
• there isn’t just one truck or doll, there are hundreds. Each though is built with a specific child (or adult) in mind. Little Susie digs pink trucks, and Johnny needs that zombie dolls. Likewise blog posts need to have a target audience.  Creating a post is powerful but needs an audience that will appreciate it. Writing about compost on your photo blog won’t likely go over well.
• Looks
• elves color and trick out the toys. Ever seen a grey plastic truck? A faceless doll? A makeup kit with just black and white? No. Blog posts need a good look and feel as well. Bloggers can use photos to dress things up. Good use of headings, bullet points, and color choices are important as well. Black on white text still rules but a bright picture and easy to read text are keepers.
• Playability
• the doll that doesn’t bend, the truck with wheels that don’t move, and the train with no track – we’d never see a elf send those to kids. Likewise, a blog post needs to be interactive. Let us play with them. Share buttons is a good start and I love being able to comment. Bonus interaction can include videos, recordings, and other downloads.
• Timing
• Toys arrive on time, if sadly only one day a year. Blog posts can go out night or day, holiday or not. Timeliness though isn’t easy. An article you write at midnight on Tuesday and posted then might get zero views. Sent out at 6:30 Wednesday it’s instantly more visible and possibly at the top of readers emails or RSS feed. Heck, this extends well to Twitter and Facebook.
• Delivery
• Finally, delivery, what elves out source to the guy in the red suit. We bloggers do the same thing. Posts go out via RSS feed, email, and automatic postings to Twitter, Facebook and more. The sleigh was fast, our methods are faster, and yet not as classy. You’ve taken the time to get all the rest right, and your RSS feed is plain text, part of the article, or just a picture. The email might be all there but an ad fills the bottom or worse the whole left side. Guess what gets ignored, sleigh or Flash ad?

Maybe you don’t believe in elves or flying sleighs but they are the gold standard. Creative, solid, and delivered with style.

What have you learned from elves, reindeer or spinning a dreidel? Send me your tips or photos of those pesky elves.

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Santa Takes the Amazon Sleigh

That should be the headlines these days.

As a child we’d sit for hours dreaming of what Santa might bring. Our parents provided us catalogues and let us drag them through the toy store for ideas. Then it was time; we visited Santa.

Fast forward – my son, wife, and I sit at the computer and populate wish lists online. Amazon has become not just the list keeper but the primary ‘toy’ store as well.

No more children on the floor with the Sears catalogue, marker in hand. No more romps to Toys “R” Us.

My granddaughters are getting into the act and email has replaced hand written lists for nieces and nephews too young for Amazon or Best Buy online shopping.

As geeks, we welcome and built this. Some of us insisted on wish lists  in the cloud.

Do you regret this shift? I do. Okay, maybe not 100% regret, but I miss dreamily window shopping at the stores, sitting on the floor with my siblings, and telling Santa our lists.

How can I recapture that? Can we build that feeling of wonder again?

What does your family do?

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It’s happened again; someone flattened Santa.

This morning about a dozen of Santa can be found flattened in my neighborhood.

No. Grandpa isn’t getting revenge; modern man is lazy.

Santa is iconic to the Christmas season but putting up a large Santa statue, hanging poster, or more is too much work. My neighbors invested in fan driven blow up Santas.

All around the neighborhood, lawns sport inflatable Santa, reindeer, and even manger scenes. All flat as a pancake.

Well, sort of. Pancakes are actually smooth and mostly flat. Santa is a crinkly deflated pile, arms and legs not only askance but folder under, over, and every which way.

It’s disheartening. Santa still visits our house and this is how my neighbors treat him?

Growing up in California, it didn’t snow, so my parents got creative. They created plywood snowmen, Santa, reindeer, and more. Santa’s suit was bright red, the snowmen were white with hats. You get the idea.

Is that spirit dead? Is Santa just a blow up doll you inflate in the dark?

What about you and yours? Decoration hell in your neighborhood?

Bonus link(s):

Middle Zone Musings – Getting Ready For The Christmas Season

Daddy Knows Less First Rant Of Christmas

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Traditions

Once upon a time, we tracked Santa by listening on the radio and watching television. It was a tradition in our family and many others.

NORAD built the Santa tracking website not too many years ago.

Today Santa tracking is an app.

Is the tradition of the family following Santa around the world dead?

Have your family traditions have been usurped by technology?

Perhaps they’ve changed so now you send out tradition e-cards instead of hand signed holiday cards. Or you’ve given up Christmas specials for getting your kids apps on their tablets, smart phones, and other app devices?

Share?

Link love: NORAD Santa Tracker

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I love greeting cards, especially around the holidays, and double especially ones coming to me.

This year I’m in the mood to send some as well. Yes. I’m crazed.

You like receiving them, so let’s make a deal. You provide the who and where, and I’ll provide you a card.

But wait, there’s more!

I’d like to upgrade our regular greeting card experience. You don’t want just another card from the 99 cent section or from a box of a dozen all alike. We all like a personalized card.

Well this is your chance.

I’ll put a sketch in each card I send out. It will be yours and unique. No promises it will be worth more than a smile but heck, maybe you can trade it for an extra piece of pie over the holiday.

What’s the cost you ask? Three payments of $0.00 each. Credit, cash, and checks accepted.

Drop me a line between now and December 12th and your card will be in the mail before Christmas. If you have a holiday preference, be sure to let me know.

Contact me today – todd a-t toddrjordan.com or tojosan a-t gmail.com.

Remember: Name(nicks okay), Address, Holiday preference.

Get your order in today. Limited time offer. Good while supplies last. First 25 callers.

BONUS: For the brave, snap a photo of you, the card, and the sketch and send it my way. I’ll put a blog post together to round them up.

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What are you cooking up for Memorial Day?

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Happy Mothers Day.

Motherhood, even with special days, cards, and more, it’s an under-appreciated role. Most are responsible for more than a child or two. They are homemakers, entrepreneurs even.

My mother worked outside and inside the home. She worked retail, hospitals and hospices and still came home and made sure we had clothes, food, and a place to sleep each night.

Laundry expert might have been a title she had, but equally as much gardener, artist, and craft expert. Mom kept a fastidious house and yet found time to create macrame, painting, and more.

Cooking included staple foods like mashed potatoes and peas yet she squeezed in quiche, kabobs, and poke and eggs.

My mother is still alive. She’s struggling now because her youngest, Taggart, is fighting ALS. She’s struggling as she faces guilt from past mistakes as a mother. She’s struggling to keep her house and the bills paid as she works part time instead of being fully retired.

All of that though, and she still manages to keep an immaculate house, cook great meals, and make sure her grandkids have a place to feel safe.

Perfect? No.

Mothers deserve not to be graded on perfection but against love, sacrifice and dedication. Few moms fall short there.

Happy Mothers Day mom!

Happy Mothers Day Nanna J!

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers!

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Steven, Stephanie and the granddaughtes visited on Easter Sunday 2011. There were of course Easter baskets for the girls and even candy for the adults.

Apparently too much candy.

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Happy New Year from Noobart.com

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Taking stock of 2011 it was a year of blessings, both welcome and not so much.

My brother, Taggart, has gotten worth with his ALS. Currently he can control just one eye. He’s unable to speak or communicate other than with a letter card held by his wife.

Jeff Pulver hosted #140Conf in neighboring Kansas. I spoke and was wowed by many others.

Bring a tweep to lunch had its third year. New faces, new restaurants, and some interesting new tastes. Can you say Habanero infused tequila?!

A ruptured disc rounded out the end of my year. Surgery took place the day before Thanksgiving. The collar is off on December 27.

What was your year like?  What stuck with you the most? A lesson learned? A person you met? A challenge you faced?

Leave a comment. Send a Tweet. Blog about it. Go.Love.Share.

Quick video treat:

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