Seems our Directrix is keeping things to herself these days.

OK, not totally. There is a small post on chronicbabe. But is should be noted here as well…. that chronic babe was voted the Best Patient’s Blog in the 2007 Medical Blog Award.

Hurray for the Babe! Jenni, we’re SO proud of you.

The February issue of Chicago Magazine named my Chicago comedy blog, The Bastion, one of Chicago’s best web sites, and also praised my personal blog, describing it as “engagingly bloggy musings about life.” (Thanks to ideaXchange member Anne Ford for pointing the article out to me.)

I suppose I am among the first crop of writers to start a career by writing for the web before making the transition to print (or as I used to think of it, “real writing”).

I shouldn’t be surprised that I continue to get press coverage and professional opportunities because people check out my blogs, but I am. I guess I tend to think of writing for the web as less serious and credible, but of course, it’s not just casual bloggers and teenyboppers writing for the web — corporations do it, too, and they hire people like me to do it for them.

And I know enough about internet culture to know that once I made the decision to put my real name on my blog, everything I posted there was part of my permanent record as a communicator, and would reflect my capabilities as much as clips of corporate and editorial work I put on my professional site. Good thing I decided early on to fret over proper spelling and good form, because Google cache will make sure that everything I’ve ever posted online with my name on it will live forever.

Since Rickey, Jenni and I appeared in that Sun Times article last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about networking. Coincidentally, I’ve just returned from a major networking extravaganza. And it took me totally by surprise. Here’s what happened.

One of my clients is Lakland Musical Instruments, a bass guitar manufacturer located here in Chicago. And I’m a bass player as well as a writer. Handy, hunh?

Anyway, I was invited to go with Lakland to the winter NAMM show (National Association of Music Manufacturers) Jan. 17-20 in Anaheim, California. I went because I wanted to take a bunch of pictures for the Lakland Web site and MySpace, meet some artists and set up some interviews. Plus I’d heard it was a lot of fun. I did not go to “network.” I went for a little vacation. (Yes, I went to a trade show on my vacation. That makes me a geek. I know.)

I met more people in those three days (Thu. - Sat.) than I have all year. I met people on the shuttle to and from the hotel. I met people at the Lakland booth. I met people standing at a counter eating a plastic hamburger at the convention center cafeteria. It was wild.

And I think I know what happened — and why. I love music, music stuff, gear, music people, and artists. I love every aspect of the business and everything in it. And you can tell from the picture — I was lit up like a Christmas tree, exuding happiness and contentment. Being in my element turned me into a people magnet.

So next time you want to network, forget about where the “best” or “right” people are. Figure out where there are a lot of people doing things that you love, and join in. And then just watch what happens.

Using third-party environmental certifications (such as the recycled symbol and FSC logo) can enhance your client’s marketing message. The Paper Mill Store has posted a great reference for understanding and using third-party environmental certifications, including guidelines and logos for download.

Like many idea-Xchange members, I am a professional writer. My livelihood depends on my ability to wrangle the written word well — and my personal satisfaction depends on it too.

Last night I discovered a book at Barnes and Noble called “On Writing Well - The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction” by William Zinsser. This book is an absolute must-read for the nonfiction writer. After having read only one-third of it, I rewrote my last lenablog post. I couldn’t help it. Clutter (unneeded words) were everywhere. Eep!

Oh, by the way, Zinsser is an excellent pianist and also writes about jazz musicians, among other things. He’s my people! Enjoy.

This is what happens when you’re a busy networker: You become a resource on, what else, networking. Rickey Gold, Helena Bouchez and I are in the Chicago Sun-Times this morning as part of an article by Sandy Thorn Clark on networking strategies. Enjoy. And feel free to share your own networking strategies in the comments section!

I’m in a de-cluttering mode, and it’s becoming a bit of an obsession. I’m still in temporary housing, which means less space…and boxes everywhere. Without a decent filing system, I’ve accumulated stacks of paper and to-do’s, client files, magazine articles to read when I have free time (ha!) and more. So…I’m spending time every day this week to get re-organized. Not only will this help me get more physically organized, but I’m sure it will help me get more mentally organized. (Juggling client needs, projects in development, condo reconstruction details, insurance paperwork and inspections, and - whoa - a little R&R has proven to be a real brain drain.)

A few things I’m trying to keep in mind as I work on de-cluttering:

• I can never have too many file folders. Better to have a stack of file folders that are clearly labeled than a pile of slips of paper.
• If a slip of paper has sat on my desk for three months without moving, it’s probably not that important.
• I don’t have to power through everything today - I can do a chunk every day this week and be done soon (probably faster than I predict.) It’s important to balance my time and energy.
• Color coding works, and it’s fun to play with markers!
• I can use services like I Want Sandy and Jott to keep me on schedule with automatic reminders.
• It’s time to backup my Outlook files - if I lose those, I’m toast.

That’s where I am with de-cluttering. How about you? What strategies do you use to de-clutter? What are your favorite personal organization tips?

Our meeting schedule for 2008:
January 15
February 13
March 13
April 22
May 14
June 26
July 15
August 13
September 16
October 14
November 12
December 18

Meetings typically are held at Linda Cassady’s house, and I send a reminder a week in advance to collect RSVPs, ask for volunteers to bring chow, and talk about the upcoming meeting theme or speaker.

I just devoured Seth Godin’s The Dip, which I chanced upon in Barnes aand Noble the other day. It’s a great little lunch break read, with one really big idea that has me seeing things in a new way in this new year. The essential idea is: get comfortable being a quitter. But quit strategically, when you realize you’re in a situation that isn’t worth the work to complete. And quit the distracting pursuits that take you away from the really big pursuits that are your passion and offer the best success potential.

It’s not rocket science, but it’s still a powerful idea. And after a few months of upheaval and the opportunity now to sit back and make a fresh plan for 2008, it’s just what I needed to read to get me in the right mindset to plan for success. I give it my highest recommendation!

I recently ran across the New York Times’ take on the buzz words of 2007. Generally speaking, I loathe those end of year compilations that crop up all over the place as we near the end of December, but this one caught my eye. (It was written by Grant Barrett and illustrated by Rick Valicenti.) Here’s an excerpt, but click thru for the full article.

New words are most happily received when they arrive without fanfare. On the other hand, when we revel in new words it’s often for the little jokes and puns implanted by their coiners. We delight in coining them, too, especially goofy throwaway blends in which two words combine syllables and meanings to make one.
A large part of the delight derives from the re-orientation that new words make possible. They are fantastical transportation—portkeys and improbability starships—into other cultures, workplaces, minds.
If you work in fields like politics, soldiering, science or technology, areas that frequently send new words bubbling up into the mainstream, it can seem strange to hear a normal day’s vocabulary talked about as if it were a novelty. The incongruity can bring a sense of deja fatigue, the stage beyond deja vu: you’ve not only seen it before, but it hardly seems worth remarking upon. It’s ordinary.