Twitter is My Book Club

Once upon a time, I had dreams of joining a book club. I wanted to meet at a locally owned coffee shop to drink fancy pants coffee, dissect the motivations of characters or uncover the themes hidden in the book. Then life happened and I couldn’t commit to reading the right chapter each week or prepare my thoughts for the book club questions because it felt like homework and seemed overwhelming and I quit before joining. As an introverted bookworm, I continued to read books and hoped to follow along online but that wasn’t a thing until I realized I could use social media.

Being obsessed with Twitter and every other social media platform, I decided to Buffer the quotes I was reading while using a hashtag for each book quote I posted. I started doing this while reading #Girlboss by Sophia Amoroso, founder of Nasty Gal, the new and vintage online boutique. Having a hashtag as the title of the book, made it a natural for me to tweet quotes which inspired my inner entrepreneur. What I didn’t foresee was the conversations it would ignite on Twitter or Linkedin about startups, being entrepreneurial or branding.

If you are reading a business book, it could help you connect with people to discuss ideas. If you are reading fiction it could help you connect to other fans. While it might be taboo to discuss the 50 Shades of Grey series on Twitter, you can search for private Facebook groups to discuss the book and your favorite redroom activities. Whatever your interests, searching for a book’s hashtag or keywords on your social networks will help you find conversations where you can participate on your on time, without the pressure of an in person book club.

Book/Idea Discussion
Be creative, post a meme with your favorite quote and a question for discussion as the caption on Instagram. You can record a video talking about the book on Snapchat, YouTube or Periscope. You post quotes with the hashtag from the book on Twitter. You can search Facebook for groups discussing the book you are reading.

Where do you have book 📚 discussions? Leave it in the comments along with book recommendations.

Changing Focus: Learn by Doing

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As a digital marketing consultant, my favorite thing to do is talk about technology to enable websites, social media and content marketing. It seems entrepreneurs and small business owners have the same questions about how to optimize their digital presence. Even large companies, have to figure things out as they go and make adjustments in their strategy to take advantage of the latest trends or user behavior. Since I’ve answered more and more of these questions offline, I thought it was time to change the focus of my website from personal blogging to tutorials and best practices to better align with my business.

Over the next week, personal posts will reappear on Bombchel.com, where I will continue to write about my weight loss journey, post recipes, talk about fitness and how to look great while losing weight. If you are interested in these topics or you want to know what I’m up to, you can continue to follow my adventures on Bombchel.com.

The first blog series will be how to export content/posts from a WordPress website, import into a blog on a different domain, while maintaining SEO link juice through 301 redirects. This three-part series will start soon.

If you have any marketing questions, please post them in the comments below. I’m happy to answer them or create a tutorial. Cheers to change!

How to Stay Connected While Traveling Abroad

How to stay connected on the cheap while traveling internationally

As a recent Verizon wireless customer, I get sticker shock every time the bill arrives. My phone bill used to be between $45 – $50 per line on Virgin Mobile for unlimited talk, text and data (throttled after 3 GB). Now my phone bill is about $180 or more for 2 phone lines and 6 GB of shared data. When I found out that I would be traveling to Singapore for 2 weeks, I thought to myself, there is no way I could possibly use Verizon.

Previously, my solution was to use Google Voice then forward that number to whatever phone number I happen to have. Then I decided to port my number to Verizon to receive MMS messages and I’ve regretted that decision ever since. While Verizon provides their cross platform Messages+, none of their services are available when you are overseas. Something they do not mention and they will not make any exceptions. The only way around this is to use a virtual private network (VPN) to tunnel to a United States server to access their services.

After downloading and trying different apps to get text messages and phone calls, the simplest solution working on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and on an iPad Mini with a data SIM in Singapore is below.

To Buy:

$6.99 for Skype Unlimited calling to the United States

$12.05 Skype Online Number, 3 month subscription

$15.00 SGD ($11.10 USD) Starhub prepaid SIM with 100GB data promotion for 5 days

$7.00 SGD ($5.18 USD) Starhub topup per 1 GB data

Free – Flash VPN (Android)

Freemium, $2.99 to $4.99/month – Tunnelbear (iOS/Android/Mac/PC)

Calling the United States

To call the United States, you’ll need to buy a Skype Unlimited calling subscription. To receive calls, you will need a Skype Online Number, you can buy this monthly or get a discounted 3 month subscription. The great thing about the Skype Online Number is you can change the caller ID to display your cell phone number. Secondly, you will need this number to forward your cell phone number so you can receive incoming calls to Skype. This solution will work well for countries with great 4G/LTE coverage or lots of WiFi.

Buying a Prepaid SIM

Next do some research and find the best prepaid carrier plan you can find with good service. For Singapore, I found that Starhub was a good deal and after using their data for a few days, after testing, it was fast enough to stream the Game of Thrones season 5 finale on my cell phone without lag despite using VPN to display a U.S. IP address to enable HBO. I know there are more pressing things going on in the world, however, “fear of missing out” (FOMO) on Game of Thrones had me looking for a solution while traveling. I was lucky enough to get 100 GB of data for 5 days to stream movies and TV shows to my phone and iPad during the jet lag adjustment period.

Watching Netflix, Hulu or HBO While Abroad

In order to watch any of my favorite Internet streaming services like Netflix, Hulu or HBO or even listening to Pandora, you will need an IP address from the United States. The best solution I’ve found without rooting your phone is to use a virtual private network (VPN) that allows you to tunnel to a server from the United States.

On the Android phone, I am using FlashVPN, it’s free, there are some ads and it will stay connected for a couple hours before disconnecting on its’ own. You can reconnect immediately if you get disconnected. I am on Verizon Wireless and they have a web app which allows you to get your text messages using a web app, however the IP addresses for Singapore are blocked so I can’t login to my account without connecting to VPN for a server in a United States first. However, for a small inconvenience, it’s worth it to use this workaround to save on your monthly bill.

On the iPad Mini, I used Tunnelbear which gives you 500 MB of data (enough for one episode of an hour long show), then you can pay $2.99/month for an iOS only subscription or $4.99/month for unlimited data for up to 3 devices (can be mobile, tablet, or computer).

Preferred Devices

After a couple days, I moved the Starhub prepaid SIM (changed it from a micro SIM to a nano SIM) to the iPad Mini. My colleagues communicate via iMessage, my boyfriend and I communicate via VZ Messages and it’s far easier to use the iPad for communications and entertainment since the Android battery drains really quickly. The Android phone has mostly been used as a camera.

What to Pack

If you are planning to be out and about sight seeing all day, you will need to take selfies and charge on the go. I love my new selfie stick and portable charger. While the subject of most of my pictures is food, there are times, I want to take photos in front of buildings or historical monuments to have memories of visiting.

Selfie Stick with Tripod and Bluetooth Remote

Water Resistant Portable Battery Charger (attaches to messenger bag or backpack)

Selfie Stick with tripod attachment and bluetooth shutter (iPhone and Android compatible)
Vor-Power Portable Charger (water resistant and attaches to the strap of a backpack or messenger bag) – has the capacity to recharge your phone 5 times. I was able to fully charge my iPad Mini, the phone and still have power left to recharge my devices.

DIY: Homemade Honey Facial Cleansing Scrub / Mask

The oil cleansing method was my DIY experiment until this morning. I was browsing Pinterest and this honey facial cleanser caught my attention. Honey has great healing properties and it’s moisturizing. It’s especially useful during the winter when the heater dehydrates your skin.

I needed a container for this new cleanser so I dumped out an almond scrub sample from either Sephora or Ulta. Then cleaned out the container, dried it and added baking soda halfway up the container. Next, I heated raw organic honey for about 30 seconds in the microwave, except the honey container melted…grrrr!! Thankfully, I had a brand new container of raw unfiltered honey which was in a pourable state so I squeezed out enough to fill the container with room to mix the honey and baking soda together.

Honey Facial Cleansing Scrub / Mask
2 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp raw unfiltered honey
2 oz container

Add the baking soda and honey to a clean glass container and mix it all together. This should be enough cleanser to last about a week.

How to Use Honey Facial Cleansing Scrub/Mask
Scoop some of the honey mixture into your hands, spread it over your face before jumping into the shower. Do your shower routine, then lightly rub the honey mixture into your skin, focusing on areas you normally get blackheads, then rinse off.

The steam from the shower will let the honey sink into your skin to help moisturize and heal. Then the baking soda will help decongest your pores as your rub it into problem areas.

What’s your favorite winter skincare routine?

DIY Toilet Fizzies

Large toilet fizzies, you should store them in a glass container with a lid

I’m not the crafty mom, who makes everything perfect the first time. The first attempt at making toilet fizzies “BOMBED” badly, I dropped the fizzie in the toilet and it sunk to the bottom, no fizzing at all. I had good smelling baking soda rocks that I should have kept as room deodorizers except I was mad and threw them out.

The original recipe probably didn’t work because I had too much liquid from the soap coloring. I wanted to use soap coloring so they weren’t boring white disks sitting on top of the toilet.

The recipe below is the one I had success with and it definitely fizzes once you drop them into the toilet. Links to the original recipes are in the sources below. I made 2 sizes a tablespoon size and 1/2 cupcake size for bigger deodorizing and cleaning jobs.

For the essential oil, I ordered a pink grapefruit oil on Amazon which was on backorder and being impatient, I went to Michael’s the next day to buy a tropical passion essential oil. The picture shows the fizzies in a glass bowl, you really want to get a glass container with a lid. I was wondering why that was necessary, then I realized when people shower, the bathroom gets moist and you don’t want the fizzies to get wet because they stick together and the citric acid will start fizzing away. So use a glass container with a lid or a sandwich bag if you don’t care how it looks.

Items Needed

Bowl
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Parchment Paper
Cookie/Baking Sheet
Cupcake or brownie pan (optional)
Silicone Molds (optional)

Store the bombs in a container with a lid. Include a note so your guests don’t end up eating them. “Dropped a bomb? After you flush drop in a toilet fizzie to deodorize. :)”

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:1]

Sources:
Toilet Fizzies from Marisself
Toilet Fizzies recipe from Savvysugar — this recipe did NOT work for me, it’s the first one I tried to make.

Learn How to Do SEO from Rand Fishkin

I went to my first Hackers + Founders event hosted by Microsoft to learn about how to do SEO from Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz. As the co-founder of a startup, you have to take advantages of opportunities to learn low-cost or free ways to gain traction. In regular English, that means getting more users to use your product or buy your product from you. I’ve embedded a compilation of my tweets during the SEO talk using Storify.

Hackers + Founders attendees on the mailing list will get to use SEOmoz for free for 60 days…free fits in our startup budget! It’s always nice to be able to try out tools before shelling out a ton of cash for them. For a bootstrapped startup, cash is king. I’m hoping to measure marketing efforts for Hand Things Down.

Here are the highlights of what he covered in the talk:

Inbound vs Interruption Marketing
Use Social Media and Email Marketing to complement each other
10 SEO Tactics to Gain Traction for your Startup

View the slidedeck on SEO for Startups.

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