Our blog was kicked off last week, but I never talked about its mission. Why are we doing a blog? I took a class called “Social Media Boot Camp” given by Peter Liu here in Maui. He gives various one day courses on how to use Social Media (SM), and its many forms, correctly. My motivation for taking the course was to understand how Sandy and I can capitalize on SM to promote her art work, and my own as I create it.
The class was attended by a good number of entrepreneurs from various businesses looking to use SM to improve their exposure. The message I personally came away with loud and clear. First of all, I better join the 21st century and at least become a facebook member. I’m please to report…I did that 2 weeks ago. The second thing I learned is that our website is sorely lacking. As is, it is STATIC, and the way Peter put it, it is nothing more than a glorified business card. You know where most of them end up! I was enlightened as to why the Art to Harmony website hasn’t been doing anything for Sandy’s business. A key component that has been missing is ability to be interactive with visitors. It needs to provide interesting information and encourage “conversation”. It hasn’t been conveying information of interest and it hasn’t allowed for active dialog and interaction with site visitors. Well that is changing, and the blog feature is a key part of that. As the Hawaiians say, we are going to “talk story”.
We are going to make this blog a cross between “personal” and the “promotion” of art. What I mean by “promotion” is not in the sense of selling… although that would be nice too…but instead, telling about the art we do, how it is done, what inspired the piece, and about other artists’ work that we admire. We are hoping to awaken an interest and appreciation for the art form, and to infect you with the excitement and enthusiasm we feel about the art. On the “personal” side, I (Bob) will be sharing my journey in transitioning from a left brain centric life to one that is more balanced with a heavy dose of right brain expression. Now, given my reluctance all these years to get with it and become part of the information age, you might question just how left brain am I. Hmmm!! I’m going with the “glass half full” interpretation. Maybe I have more right brain than I’m giving myself credit for.
The graphic above is taken from Peter’s Social Media Boot Camp presentation. The presentation can be found on his SM class website www.kaiscapes.com , as well as other presentations for courses he teaches. If you are here on Maui and are interested in taking a class or learning more, check it out. Given my newness to the world of SM (Social Media that is), I have a lot to learn on how to properly use it. I will be reading one of the books on the subject Peter recommends, and then re-take his class. I’m sure that I will get a lot more out of his class next time knowing more than zero, than the baby steps I’m taking now.
Aloha,
Bob