It has felt like a long week, but I’m still reading.
I’ve made it a priority to be more open lately. I go to events I wouldn’t normally and I talk to more people even though it’s not my nature to be social. Let whatever is coming my way come because I’m ready for it. At least that’s what I’m trying to project. I want to see what’s next for me, and I want to see as many paths as possible.
Now, I’m of course impatient. I thought I’d have a clearer path forward in September. I did have some opportunities come my way, but they all fizzled as soon as I started looking more into them. So I was still left wondering what I needed to do. I kept the faith though and remained as open as possible with a three year old (some meetings just aren’t going to happen when she’s with me).
Well, it’s all starting to fall into my lap. Bricks are starting to be built, and it looks like a new BAD Consulting is emerging from the embers of the old company. Does that mean I’m changing what I’m doing? No. I still plan on doing on content marketing for brands I believe in. Everything else is changing. And I’m excited about what I do again.
So as I start working on what this all means, let’s get to what I was reading this week.
Reading Social Media News
I’ll admit that I’m a little too in love with Threads. It’s fun. It’s easy to do things on. And it has that same feel Old Twitter used to have where it was really easy to meet new and interesting people on it. Brands can easily have that kind of magic with it if they have some fun and play with it. I have this feeling we’re about to see a bunch of new features on it in the coming months as it becomes more robust, but until that happens, take a look at these latest Threads features.
And because we’re all trying to get up to speed on what we need to be doing with AI, I found two articles that give a little education on it. The first is on how AI still runs on search and what to do with that information. And the other is on what marketing teams need to know about answer engine optimization. I personally prefer generative engine optimization to answer engine optimization, because the former seems to be a better descriptor. But whatever. There is no standard term here, so keep an eye on articles that mention either one.
Reading Books, Books and More Books
Past
Have you ever felt like you screwed up and read a book at the wrong time? That’s what happened for me with When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén. This absolutely beautiful book is a slow burn, and with yet another illness ripping its way through my house, I didn’t have the attention span I needed to thoroughly enjoy it. But as I started feeling better over the last couple days, I swallowed the rest of it hole, and it’s one of the most touching books I have ever read. Getting old isn’t glamorous, but I love the idea that when we grow old we are kept company by our memories.
I loved the man depicted in this story as he embraced his shortcomings while doing exactly what he wanted. I cried hysterically at the end, because I didn’t want to lose him. If this is what getting old looks like, I will embrace every life experience and be so excited when they return to me at the end. Thank you to Lisa Ridzén for giving the world all of this beauty. Score: A
Present
I’m much farther along in Among Friends by Hal Ebbott than I ever thought could be possible. So yay feeling better and yay for a faster reading book. The relationships in this book are rich and complex, and despite how far I am into it, I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on. I’m not mad about that though. It seems like a lot of adult friendships: You’re just kind of figuring it out as you go along. So I’m hopeful with this book, and we’ll see how I feel at the end. But I’m definitely on a good run of books.
What are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?