New Website

I dont usually give new websites but I found this one and I would have to say this is pretty cool. My buddy Andy likes to draw cartoons but I can’t draw worth a lick so it was great when i found this.  So Oh happy day to you.

This is the stripgenerator. You can make your own three panel cartoon. It’s pretty cool You will see more of these show up here and you can make your own so enjoy and enjoy your hump day. My lovely lady lumps. I use the word “So” a lot. That may be my new catch phrase.

What I did and what’s up

So there you go. A bunch of stuff I would have done differently.  One being get help earlier. Jared helped me out. I don’t think I would have been able to have done this without him. Well there is still a bunch I need to do to clean up. I have to clean the edges will figure that out on thursday.  I may also take up some of the square blocks and put in some paver plants. I’ll a take a picture when its all cleaned up to show.

I start class when I get back into town.  I will be taking Marketing and fundraising this year for non-profits. I read the syllabus and it really looks like it will be fun class.  That’s it.

And now for your moment of zen and a video I just like.

They say this was done in one take.

very dirty post

How’s this for a pretentious narcissistic. I’m going through re-branding moment of myself.  I really dont know what that entails. I think it starts with a t-shirt or if you work where I work I think i’m supposed to put up a website. I really know what it entails. I did read “your marketing sucks” so I have all the answers …you know. Oh wait I also read purple cow and permission marketing so I know exactly what I should do.  When it all comes down to it. I really dont know anything about marketing or design or branding or anything this guy knows a ton more than I could ever know.  Anyway I’m re-branding myself. Oh and those shirts I’ve put aside some money to invest in it. Ive also been given another idea that I’ll put up tomorrow…. that I may use. For now Chappy who took that other photo also took these below. I was going to work on that thing but as I said before he is a lot faster and he finished the project I was working on. I was going to do it a little different but hey why work when you can steal right….. I just realized to re-brand I would have to have branded at some time.  Nope that never happened. Hmmm.  Any way Peace

Comment from www.tennessean.com

It’s not just the economy that has affected this firm. I have many friends who have worked for BSSB/LifeWay over the years. A decision was taken in the early 1990′s to walk away from its distinctive Baptist identity (the renaming from Baptist Sunday School Board to LifeWay), and identify itself as a generic provider of product to the evangelical marketplace. It abandoned its core loyal following in the attempt to to chase after a market it did not know, and which did not know it after it attempted to change its identity. This approach proved unsuccessful, to state it mildly.

Several reorganizations followed, consolidations and downsizings, as it attempted to recover from this blunder. Amongst the executives fired was the guy who susequently oversaw the marketing of one of the best selling books of the past twenty years, in any market. He had attempted to place the book at Lifeway, and they would have none of it.

Economies go through cycles, and we’re definitely heading through the down cycle just now. But this firm’s woes run much deeper.

Let’s wish them well, and hope they get their legs back under them.
8/2/2008 8:57:20 PM

The Fish Company Newsletter

Ok folks out there. I’ve got a little issue. I have no idea how many people find their way to this blog that would cause any 4th grade english teacher to jump off the nearest cliff but I’m in need of your help. I have decided to take an unconventional route in writing a news letter for Student Life. For some of you who don’t know that’s who I work for. Anyway put that out of your head and forget about that. Anyway our department was asked to take on News letters for lets use a code name “The Fish Company.” So as you will read in the brief description below I’m taking the fish company’s newsletter more towards a sort of online magazine. This could pretty much bomb but hey life is filled with risk right? Well here I am. {Oh dont worry there is a copy editor.} Anyway. I’m looking for people from the blogesphere who should have their musing and insights brought to light. I have already asked for and commissioned some of you for help. Aaron Ivey, Steven Bush, Dustin Beasley, Taylor Robinson. I am at the moment working on my article called “Im thirty and haven’t changed the world…yet” Let me know if you would like to be part of this endeavor. Lets help each other as we navigate not being quite dead yet. “Figure that out” I want us to be heard and I want to give you a voice. So let’s talk. Feel free to pass this on. I’m looking for some ladies.

The Fish Company Newsletter

Why a newsletter?

A couple of weeks ago I was approached to take on the task of revitalizing the newsletters for The Fish Company. These newsletters will go out to Youth Ministers and adults who are involved with The Fish Company in some way. The first question I asked was what’s the age group of our audience? I knew the groups we were sending the newsletters to, but I needed to know the age of the typical reader. They then asked me what age group I would like to target.

I thought about it a bit and answered, “Mine.”

What does that mean you ask? It means this: I can pretty much write—and direct others to write—for people 20-35 years old. Any older than that and I start to get out of my area of expertise. They agreed, so here we are.

So why this newsletter? Simple. The Fish company would like to communicate with the leaders they serve. I believe there is an age group of ministers, both male and female, that have many of the same struggles and joys that we here at The Fish Company have. But, honestly, we don’t talk about this enough with each other. I believe that ministers my age are looking to connect more and more with each other and with the world around them. My hope for this newsletter is not just to show you the new things going on at The Fish Company, but for it to be a place where you can be challenged and educated about the world around you.

What’s in it?

I want this to be more than a newsletter. Whereas normal newsletters let you know the happenings of an organization, this newsletter will show the heart of an organization. Many of the articles you’ll read will either be written by people at The Fish Company, or people I have met in the blog world. My hope is that as this continues to grow we can solicit people outside of my circle. The first few issues will rely heavily on story ideas from the Fish Company staff. As the newsletter evolves, the goal is for readers to contribute to stories, expressing their collective desire to communicate with this generation of youth workers.

I want this newsletter to be informative and entertaining without being too heavy. My thought is that a person should be able to read every article in one sitting. That’s why the length of the articles will only range from 400-600 words. But the newsletter won’t just be writing. Here is what we are planning in terms of structure.

There are four distinct sections that we will always have in each issue.

Media— The media section will cover all things media, from how to use it correctly to what it accomplishes. During our events we get a lot of ministers that ask how we did a certain video or set, and what type of equipment to they need to do it. In the media section we will give users a little peek under the hood, and also give a little advice how to meaningfully use media.

World— We believe the world is our community. We can no longer only consider things that happen in the US as the end of the story. In the world section we want ministers outside of the country to have a place to be heard. We want the newsletter to be a place where we highlight the work they are doing. We want to encourage ministers to guide their students towards lives of servanthood. The world section will be used to expand minters’ and students’ worldviews.

Message— The message section is in tended to be the voice of the twenty-to-thirtysomething youth worker. After all, we are part of a unique place in history. We grew up watching technology make incredible strides. We watched as computers became integrated into our daily lives. We saw the start of the worship movement. And in our professional lives, we are transitioning from being managed to being mangers. In the message section our hope is to deal with issues that effect our students . . . and us.

Truth— It seems over the past few years there has been a resurgence of the Bible not just being what we open to teach our students, but a book central to our daily lives. During the truth section, we will always come back to what the Bible says about a particular issue. I believe we sometimes forget how truly practical the Bible is. We assume that “teaching and rebuking” is only meant for our students. In the truth section we will tackle big issues and work through them together.

Marketing— The name says it all, right?

Waste of Time— The waste of time section is just that. From Youtube clips, to podcasts, to interesting websites, to flash video games . . . you’ll find it here. Listen, we know you are busy. Everyone needs a few moments of down time to unwind. You’ll find plenty of options for doing just that in the waste of time section.

Extra— The extra section will be a sort of bonus section for us. We want to keep you in the loop of the cool books we’re reading, blogs that have affected us, music we are listening to, and so on.

So there it is.