I got a phone call from NBC News because they were looking for people to interview, at first I was under the impression that the interview would be about social media addiction but somehow it turned into an interview about nomophobia, the fear of being without a mobile phone. I explained to the NBC correspondent that I use my cell phone all the time because I am usually on the road and it is essential for my business. She went on to ask questions such as “do you sleep with your phone?” and “do you take it everywhere you go?”, and me being the truthful individual that I am (which usually gets me into trouble) had to open my mouth and answer “yes”. Sometimes I wonder why I just don’t do like other people do and ignore a question when they don’t want to answer it or act like I didn’t hear it. 

The reporter who turned out to be the anchor man came to my house and was extremely polite, we laughed the entire time and he even told me about his wife and him wanting to have children. The questions he asked seemed innocent enough, they were very similar to the questions asked of me by the person who had called to arrange the interview. He asked me if I considered myself a phone addict and I answered no, I need the phone for work. I also jokingly added that if I have an addiction it is definitely with social media and the phone is just a tool to reach that addiction. The interview went great and I was told that the piece would air in the next week, possibly May 7th.

The next week, May 7th:

I went to the news website and saw a clip and there I was in my acting debut, I call it that because we did a lot of acting the day of the interview. I swear it felt like I was doing a skit for Saturday Night Live, as I was told to pretend to put my phone under my pillow and act like I am talking to my son via the cell phone as he played on his computer. It was exciting and fun, until I saw the news….

Where did this psychiatrist come from and since when is my phone the only way I communicate with my child? See for yourself, this is the interview:

NBC Miami Nomophobia Report

You can watch the video I recorded from my cell phone here:

I was so upset that day after reading all the comments and how people thought I was sick, and a bad mother. I threw my phone to the side and didn’t even want to look at it for a while. I went outside and got some air and I was so mad at myself and I wouldn’t let it go. I yelled at myself for hours, at one point I just wanted ME to leave ME alone. I went home and picked up my phone maybe I could get away from myself that way and also I wondered if one of my clients had called, lol. To my surprise Telemundo, the Spanish news channel had called. They saw me on NBC and where doing a similar cell phone report and wanted to interview me. At this point I was like F the news, yes that F stands for that bad word you are thinking. I curse when I am mad, and like I have said before I don’t encourage others to curse, I blame it on my New York upbringing, and just an FYI I do a great job containing it. Maybe one day I won’t curse anymore……

Here is the video from Telemundo, in Spanish:

I was happy with this report, it gave a more accurate portrayal of my life even though those who can’t understand Spanish won’t get it. In the Spanish version the psychiatrist talks about how the cell phone is like an extended human organ helping humans do more things with their lives. In the English version the psychiatrist says that the cell phone is disconnecting people, but is it really the cell phone?

What I learned from all this:

The news is based on perspective, it is manipulated to get a point across. Whenever I see a news report from now on, I will always have a doubt in my mind to what is true and what is not. I wish everyone could go through this experience, it’s a real eye opener. In conclusion if you are going to dislike somebody dislike them because you know they are a jerk not because they appear to be a jerk on the news, I am wondering if tan lady really took her daughter into the tanning booth or if the girl was just waiting in the waiting area for her mom to bake up. I guess the world will never know.

You may be saying to yourself “yes forgiveness is as easy as it sounds”, I said that too but then I heard Gary’s story. I put myself in his shoes and pretended to be in his situation. Could I have forgiven the man who accidentally killed my family, the man who took everything I loved and stood in the very same room with him and had a conversation? My answer was I don’t know, and I started thinking about all the things for which I hold resentment and unforgiveness and compared to Gary’s situation those things seemed insignificant. I felt a relief, like a million burdens had been lifted off my shoulders.

I was first introduced to the project by Kimberly Reynolds and I didn’t think much of it at first but when I saw the video I felt the power of this project.

Please watch the video to the right to hear Gary’s story.  

How many times have you gone to the movies and a movie just touched you in a way that made you a better person? There is healing power in a movie and if just watching this short clip made a difference in my life, imagine what an entire movie can do and for more than just one person.

Donations for this project start at just $1.00 and if you donate $10 you will get a dowloadable copy of the movie when it is complete. If you donate $300 or more in contributions it will earn you the title of associate producer on the film, along with your name in the credits at the end of the movie, not that I’m trying to bribe you in anyway. 

If you are not in the position to donate, I forgive you ; p but please pass this message on by tweeting and sharing.

For more information on Project Forgive and how to donate visit the project page: www.projectforgive.com

or if you want to make this fun you can scan the QR code below and get to the project page as well : )

I got started in music because I was always surrounded by musicians and was fascinated by music in every aspect. My close childhood friend was an unbelievable musician, he could play any instrument,  he was there to help show me the path.

2. Where does a person wishing to become a singer turn to get started?

From my standpoint I would say to someone whom is pursuing being a musician or a vocalist “get heard”. Get a song recorded and utilize the internet (YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) which will create a buzz and will get you noticed enabling you to get to the next level.

3. Are there any tips or tricks of the trade?                                               

The tip or trick is actually to just to be you. There is a lot of weird characters out there pulling scams, you just have to do a lot of research and work hard.  People will not always agree with what you do, but music is supposed to be about you expressing your feelings.

4. Who is your biggest inspiration?

My inspiration changes as the time does but I’ve been inspired by so many, some far and near. Musically I look up to Maxwell, Musiq, Soulchild, Dru Hill. They inspire me to evolve to be more soul and I will be. When writing I am inspired by feelings and emotions about past relationship and club life and so on.

5. What do you do to shut out the nay sayers (aka haters)?

Haters are actually good to have the reason being is that if you want to be someone you need people to talk about you, haters are people that are willing to take time from their own life, and worry about yours, and speak about you. Best way to shut them down is doing you, and when you get recognitions let that speak for itself. You can always take a line from Ryan Leslie and say “To my haters you give me energy, the  fuel to succeed to become a better me.”

6. Is your family supportive, do you have any suggestions for those people whose families do not support the art of singing as a career?

Actually my family is supportive of what I do, I am grateful for that but again not everyone is as fortunate as me in that department. To be honest it was not always the case. I had to prove myself to my biggest critic, my older Sister, she was always pushing me and telling me ”no this doesn’t sound good, you need to get better” and I am happy that she was this way with me, it fueled me to get where I am now and she is my biggest supporter.

7. How did you find your style?

Finding my style was something I had to learn over time because I can crossover to any style out there but R&B is where my heart lies, I love listening to the 90’s groups and R&B singers so that’s my style…

8. How many times a day do you practice?

I practice whenever I get a chance doing little things that actually strengthens the vocal cords, I do warm ups, and work on songs at home.

9. If you weren’t singing, what would you be doing?

If I was not singing there would be a good possibility I would be in Olympics track or pro football. I am sure of it. I just never wanted to pursue those fields because I wanted to do something I love, Music.

10. Do you write your own lyrics?

I write my own materials but then I have my main producer Marc Celestin, write for me at times. On certain songs it is good to have another writer, it shows that you are diverse and you never know whom the story might touch.

11. How do you pick beats? Do you pick your own beats?

The process we use to pick beats is pretty simple, we listen to the beats and if one speaks to me right then, I’m going with it. Other beats we plan, sometimes I get a call from Marc saying “I got another one”.

12. Has social media helped your career?

Social media has had a big influence so far because of whom you meet and interact with, it’s a blessing. Something that people don’t realized it that you have to have  someone in your corner, riding with you and helping you in the music industry. I was fortunate to have a Marc  Celestin doing my productions since day one, and I have a great manager, Kim K Jones, that has been doing so much. Sometimes it’s not about what you got, it’s about timing…

Did you check out my video for the song “Let Me Be”? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Connect with me on Facebook: Woodsonmusic

  Thank you for your support!

1.) Fact #1 about me is that I like to laugh and have fun and yes I was probably the one who put the whoopie cushion on your seat, which reminds me I should probably tell people that my friend Ryan and I were playing an April Fool’s joke on Facebook by pretending we were in a relationship =P

2.) I started thinking about the reasons I began my own business and besides the facts that I am bossy and opinionated, the main reason was that I was tired of what business had become. Everywhere I turned there was false advertisement, small print, bait & switch, lies and just unfair business practices all together and I said to myself ”I’m going to change that”.

3.) I like to dance a lot, if you don’t have bootie shaking music at your party I will harass the dj until he puts something on : )

4.) I like food, food is good : ) I have been told I am an awesome cook. Lately I have been concentrating on making awesome tasting Spanish all organic food recipes. I have fooled the family so far and they have no idea the food they have been eating is organic, score!

5.) I like green technology, I secretly want to save the planet.  I know how hard it is for people to change their daily life habits especially if they are a working family so on a daily basis I read about innovation and come up with ways to implement it in households to the point people won’t even notice that they are doing something good for the earth.

6.) I’m addicted to social media & information in general. My mind goes a mile per minute and information and devicing plans on what to do with this information is what keeps it entertained.

7.) I believe that women can do anything and should follow their dreams without limitations. I don’t care if someone tells you that you can’t play football because you are a woman, if all your heart wants to do is play football, you play your heart out.

That pretty much sums me up and yes I am not perfect but that isn’t going to stop me in anyway. PS I like <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 & : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) (hearts & smiley faces).

According to the Dragon Blogger blog the prize is a 16GB White iPad 3rd Generation (Wi-Fi only) and it is the latest iPad model.

Some tech specs:

• A5x quad core processor
• Retina display 2048×1536 resolution
• 5 mp camera & 1080P video recording

This contest is open to international participants but they must pay shipping and handling charges if they happen to win the prize, see the dragonblogger.com site for full contest details.

Contest opens April 1st and will end on May 31th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One market that’s ripe for the picking are mobile users. Recent studies show that more people are doing away with their desktops and laptops and are spending much more time with their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. With a mobile app, your products and services will be available to anyone in just a few clicks or taps, literally putting your business in the hands of your customers.

Here are some mobile app features to help your business escape from a plateau:

• Mobile apps allow your clients to browse through your products and services and easily make a purchase directly from the app.
• You can send push notifications to your clients about upcoming sales, promos, discounts and special offers.
• Easily send your clients updates on new products, new store locations and important announcements.
• Make your business easily accessible by designing your app to show a map with directions to your establishment from their current location.
• Display info like phone numbers and e-mail as well as your business address and operating hours so your customers can contact you wherever they may be.

Many small businesses understand the value of mobile apps but can not justify the expense of having one built. Fortunately, there are new platforms being launched all the time that allow users to build their own apps for a low cost. And some, like Infinite Monkeys, will even allow you to build an app for free with no coding knowledge required at all.

Whatever your line of business is, you will easily be able to carve out a niche in this new and exciting market. Edge out the competition with a mobile app today.

Author Bio:

Wheng Enojo can write anything and can put facts and experiences into professional articles. She knows how to give inspiration from the tough times and give direction on how to move on with a right attitude. Sharing personal experience / goals to enrich and enhance the lives of others. As of today, she is enjoying exploring the world of DIY mobile apps as her newest hobby.

For better or worse, education has a long history of accommodating its clientele, though that history is fraught with lags between changes in society and adjustments in the schools themselves. From class schedules once built around an agrarian economy to the fight to keep calculators out of math classes, innovations in teaching eventually caught up to match students and practices. Online education, at first slow to be adopted in traditional settings, is now widely accepted as a means to improve learning by pairing student needs with the right delivery model. Despite initial, sometimes sensational, examples of some secondary schools fighting to keep Facebook out of the classroom, educators are using the social networking site to better differentiate their curriculum.

Students attending college now are universally adept at using social media in most every aspect of their lives. Facebook, a natural bridge between academic goals and student learning styles and by far the largest social media platform, has developed a number of features that lend themselves to particular educational applications.

Lists

Though Facebook users have been able to group Friends for several years, most users were unaware of the option until Google+ appeared on the scene. The search media giant’s recent entry into the social media milieu touted its Circles feature allowing posts to be targeted to only certain recipients. Competition by Google is credited by many as having prompted Facebook to mainstream the Lists feature, making it an integral part of its user interface. For instructors, the ability to create a dedicated Facebook course page with multiple lists accomplishes the crucial ability to have flexible groupings needed for differentiation. Be selecting how you want to differentiate a lesson or even an entire unit, an instructor can determine group makeup based on ability, content or assignment, changing the group makeup based upon on-going assessment.

Chat

For group work or instructor-led discussions, Facebook’s Chat feature allows real-time interaction, a necessary tool for more than just passing along information. By chatting, students input can help an instructor vary the pace of his or her instruction based upon immediate feedback from students. This feature also encourages students to collaborate by sharing study tips, brainstorming sessions and insights into new ways of approaching a particular problem.

Multimedia content

In addition to a school’s own web software, Facebook’s ability to directly link to videos on YouTube or another specific website containing enrichment materials allows for interactive features often missing from many courses and content materials. Even in the age of digital textbooks, a common complaint among students is that the text fails to add value to the course. Using social media is a great way to consolidate how and where the instructor can add that value and manage when new content is inserted into the course. The flexibility of grouping also lends itself to having different multimedia content added to targeted groups of students, based upon need.

Pairing for students

Just as schools learned to use the once banned calculator to improve math instruction, social media is catching on as a way to tap into an already established mode of interaction among students. Applying best practices for differentiation, Facebook offers more than just a familiar platform for students, making the pairing of learner needs and instruction highly effective.

About the author: Derrick Cruise is a professional writer living in the Indianapolis area. He specializes in technology and education articles.

One of my recipes is to spend as little time as possible cooking, but still enough to have ready-made meals and food ingredients packed in the freezer. Another is to spend 15-20 minutes every morning doing exercises for the lower back and abdomen. Most of my friends have problems with their lower backs, because all of us sit in front of the computer a lot. And yet another perfect recipe is to try to sneak out of the house twice or three times a week to go to the gym, dance lessons, swimming or any other recreational sport.

OK, these recipes sound like you need a lot of time to do them, and how can you accomplish that with an 8-hour job, two kids, a husband and many obligations that come with a family? It sounds complicated, but when you break it down into specific tasks and the amount of time you need for them, you realize it’s actually doable.

7 Ways to Stay Healthy and Have Some Free Time

1. When the weekend comes you have at least 16 more hours available than you’d have if you were working. Assuming you don’t work on the weekend, surely you can spend 1-2 hours grocery shopping, and 2 hours cooking and preparing ingredients for freezing.

2. When you go grocery shopping, make a list of things to buy and don’t buy ready-made frozen meals full of fats and sodium, don’t buy things that look interesting but that you probably won’t eat, don’t buy expensive stuff, but also don’t buy cheap unhealthy items. Try to make a list of things that are mostly vegetables, fruits, some meat and fish, oatmeal and cereals, etc.

3. At home, make a huge amount of one or two meals (it shouldn’t take you more than 2 hours to make lots of lasagna, or lentils soup, or some tasty casserole dish), and chop up all your veggies and meat, so that you can freeze everything in nice little one-serving-size freezer bags. Label all bags with info on what’s inside and when you froze it, so that you’d know to use it in time, and not waste food.

4. When it becomes your habit to make a little extra food whenever you are cooking, or to cut a little more whenever you are preparing veggies, you’ll get accustomed to having a freezer packed with ready made meals or ready ingredients to prepare a meal in less than half an hour. That way you won’t be eating out or buying junk food anymore, or at least you’ll cut down on this bad habit.

5. Exercises for the lower back and abdomen are pleasant, easy to do, and they keep you in shape. You only need 15 to 20 minutes to do them. You can find many of them on You Tube or if you have time, it would be best to consult a physiotherapist. The most important thing with these exercises is to stretch a lot especially at the beginning and at the end; stretch out your legs, your back, your arms, and hold each of these stretching positions for at least 15-20 seconds.

6. If you have time to go swimming or take dance lessons, you will feel much more empowered, full of energy, and you’d be proud of your toned muscles. Also that’s kind of time for yourself and everyone needs that.

7. Use every opportunity you have, when the weather is nice and you’re not working, to go out with your family or friends. If your grocery store or hairdresser or video store are at a walking distance, don’t go by car. Find creative ways to spend the weekend, don’t just be lazy on your couch in front of the TV.

Again, all this might seem like a lot of work, but it’s still less work than cooking every day. If you’re the type of person who’s not indifferent to what you eat, and how you treat your body, these are some of the less time consuming options you have to feel really good.

Author bio:
Ana Brady is a working mom and an emerging blogger who enjoys writing about food, healthy trends, sports, family, children, etc. She works with a group of designers on a project on double sided labels.

Read entire article here

Triberr is known as the reach multiplier and it is a tool that helps you connect with bloggers via tribes (groups). Triberr helps your blog posts reach a larger audience because your blog posts are shared by tribe members with their Twitter followers and if they choose other networks as well via the social buttons. When you receive an invite you are being asked to join a tribe, which is made up of a group of bloggers. Many times bloggers create tribes looking to recruit tribe members who blog about similar topics, there are also many tribes that are open to members who write about all topics.

The good thing about Triberr is that you can schedule posts to go out to Twitter at the click of a button, what I do is log in to Triberr once a day early in the day and click on “Home” on the top menu. Once at “Home”, I review the list of blog posts from tribe members. I have it set up so that after I hit the approve button for each post, Triberr sends them out to Twitter in 45 minute intervals. The minimum time you can select between posts is 20 minutes, so depending on how many posts you want to send out in one day is how you choose the time interval. You can change the time interval as you wish, for example if one day you notice there are not many blog posts by tribe members and you decide it is better to schedule them every 2 hours so that they are spread out evenly throughout the day, you can choose to change the time interval settings accordingly.

The picture below is what the page looks like when you are in the “Home” tab, the arrow is pointing to where you would change the time interval settings.

 I missed talking about this in the video but this is important because it tells you how many people were reached through your tribe.  Again we are doing this from the “Home” tab but we are navigating the sub tabs which are above the area where you would change the time interval settings. The sub tab where you check this is called “My Posts”, if you want to check out how many hits you have obtained for tribe members then you would click the ” Sent Stream” sub tab.

 I hope this Triberr overview was helpful to you, if you have questions or would like a Triberr invite please ask in the comments below : )