Yesterday I participated in a live session for a book called HOW TO BEGIN by Michael Bungay Stainer. He is someone that I have followed for years and have bought several of his books. I was not disappointed.

Titles of books that I own that were written by Michael Bungay Stanier include:

How to Begin – Doing Something that Matters

Do More Great Work.: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work that Matters 

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever 

How to Work with (Almost) Anyone: Five Questions for Building the Best Possible Relationships

I would encourage you to check out his books and his courses and videos.

I follow Patti Digh as for writing, inclusion and being a decent human.

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds inclusive learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics like diversity, inclusion, and meaning.

I subscribe to and follow Patti Digh who I think is one the greatest human beings on earth. Her books, her Facebook posts, courses, and her dedication to kindness and inclusion as well as her writing skills is at the top of my list for people to follow and support.

She is an Author of 8 books on global leadership and diversity, mindfulness and intentional living, and writing. I own a few of them.

I recently noticed and was impressed with how she writes the most effective descriptions for images that she includes in her Facebook posts.  These are top notch descriptions that describe what each photo is about and would allow anyone to visually see the image in on their head or mind. These are so helpful for the disabled,  for folks who use a screen reader or have other visual issues.  These are definitely top notch examples of making things more accessible for everyone. More people should follow her example.

I love her sense of humor and her determination to make the world a better place for all people.
I strive to be more like her. Now if I could only write and share my feelings and thoughts as well and as openly as she does.  I am practicing everyday.

I want to improve my writing, communication, web design and development skills. A huge part of having a freelance business is the content that is on the site. The technical details also matter. All of these can be learned. Making great descriptions and using alt tags for photos and images is a simple thing that everyone should pay more attention to. Being disabled myself it is important.

If you want to see excellent examples of great descriptions and alt text for photos and graphics and get a sense of what yours should look like check out these examples from Patti Digh .  I directly copied from her work to share examples in this post.

(PD: Photo of Kate McKinnon in the front seat of a blue truck, leaning against the door and wearing blue jeans and a blue denim buttoned down shirt that is not very buttoned. She is looking right at the camera with amazing blue eyes rimmed in smoky eyeliner, and she appears to be saying, “Patti, I can’t wait to meet you.”) 
The photo included in her Facebook post was this photo of Kate McKinnon.

Another example of how she writes descriptions for disability and inclusion follows .

(PD: photo of actress and humanitarian Betty White against a light turquoise background. She is looking into the camera wearing a purple sweater and multicolored scarf. Her hands are crossed at chin level and she is wearing big rose-colored glasses with happy Birthday written across the top and plastic candles above the writing. Her dimples are adorable.)

Excellent descriptions of the photos!!! Only takes a few minutes to be more accessible descriptions for alt tags for the PD descriptions.

PattiDigh.com 

Who I Follow Series  – a series of posts showcasing people/sites that I follow in no particular order or ranking. This series was created in response to a frequently asked question of who I follow for things such as coding, web development, web design, training, and teaching advice.   I thought creating a series of posts would be a good way to respond to this question. Telling WHY I follow a person or site helps folks understand the reasons that I follow them and what my experiences have been.  This is totally just my experience and thoughts. Some of these links may be affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you purchase something from them using my affiliate link.  

I have followed Julie Stoian and Cathy Olson for a long time. These two folks are pure GOLD. They underpromise and over deliver every single time. They are the exception to the list of gurus and experts who are selling services, products and courses in the digital world.  Doing business as FUNNELGORGEOUS as a partnership as well as having separate offerings,  I seem to buy almost everything these two create.  I don’t regret the purchase of anything.  All were top notch.

Julie Stoian is a digital marketing expert and coach, currently making her mark on the internet as the co-founder of several popular online business brands such as Create Your Laptop Life ®, Funnel Gorgeous ®, Digital Insiders, and more.

Cathy Olson is a top notch  graphic designer who is also a digital marketing expert and coach. She is formally trained in digital design and marketing, her designs always deliver and are beautiful. All of her designs come from a place of love.  http://love-inspired.com/

When you pair these two up it is solid gold for training, funnels, and digital marketing.

If you purchase anything that these two offer you will not be sorry.

Affiliate Link Here 

Past purchased I have made from these two include:

Digital Gangsta course (legacy)
Love Your Laptop Life (original legacy member)
Themes and Funnels – various templates
Slide decks
Logos and graphics
FunnelRX

I have learned a lot from these two wonderful humans.

Who I follow series  – a series of people/sites that I follow in no particular order or ranking. This series was created in response to a frequently asked question of who I follow for coding, web development, training, teaching.  I thought creating a series of posts would be a good way to respond to this question. 

Who I follow series  – a series of people/sites that I follow in no particular order or ranking. This series was created in response to a frequently asked question of who I follow for coding, web development, training, teaching.  I thought creating a series of posts would be a good way to respond to this question. 

I follow Brian Gardner and have for many years. It’s been since 2006-2007 that I first learned his name and what sort of things he created. He is a theme developer and entrepreneur.   Ever since I was first learning how to code and creating those early websites in WordPress I have been impressed with this man. He is certainly someone to follow.

I bought his first themes that were sold under the Revolution brand. I stuck with him as he needed to re=brand and as he grew and created more themes and more off shoots. He really created the revolution in the world of themes and how they were sold. I have followed him thru his re-brand to StudioPress and continue to follow his work as he has branched out in out projects and endeavors.

I think I have bought every one of the themes he ever created. While learning from him I also virtually met a lot of other great WordPress developers along the way from his collaborates and recommendations. I have attempted to model his work but I an no where in his league. I will never be as successful or as well known but that is okay with me.  My life and my goals have certainly changed over time as well as what is important in my life.

He recently announced a new theme called FROST and of course I immediately signed up to be able to get my fingers on his latest theme.  It is a theme that has been developed to take advantage of the block editor in WordPress and offers many features that I have had on my wish list.

Can’t wait for the release of his latest theme which is called FROST.  Demo page is here

Home

Part 2 – What and Who Do I follow

It’s 2021 already and I have been in planning and review mode just like most people do for a new year. I realized that I was not able to accomplish my goals this last year – mostly due to one situation. Politics.  I never considered myself to be a political person and had often failed in the past at workplace politics due to how messy it sometimes was with the need to please the power people.   I realized that during most of 2020 I was following and reading a lot of political news and that most of my digital feeds included reference to what was going on in government politics and what was going on related to the president and the drama he created.

When I discovered and started following Heather Cox Richardson I started to feel more balanced and more in control of my life.  Heather Cox Richardson is a political historian who uses facts and history to make observations about contemporary American politics. Her new book is How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America. I was being consumed by all the drama and the whip lash related to trying to keep up with the news.

I deleted a lot of the feed notices that were clogging up my news feed and making me feel uncomfortable.  I turned off notices from several channels and news and stopped subscriptions to cut down on “fake news” and drama that did not directly affect my life as it is now.  I could read her posts and get a professional summary of the news in a style and manner that I trusted.   I got tired of trying to figure out what was fake and what was just click bait.

I wish I could have the same dedication to write/journal every day like she does but I am getting better at it.

In September 2019, Richardson began writing a daily synopsis of political events surrounding the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Originally posted late every evening or in the early hours of the next day on her Facebook page, Richardson later moved to add a newsletter format, titled “Letters from an American”, published via Substack. She also presents hour-long talks live on Facebook on Tuesdays and Thursdays, discussing current events in the light of history.

Her facebook page is  https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson