Desert Pond

Author: Erica

  • Excuse Me While I SEO

    I set out this weekend with one goal in mind. My research shows that having the same sidebar show up on every page of my blog is going to hurt my Google ranking as it could be considered duplicate content. I’ve been diligently working to understand search engine optimizaton (making a search-engine friendly website) ever since I added Squidoo to my list of online hobbies. I’d tried to change the sidebars around before with no success. WordPress code is in PHP, a scripting language I’m only beginning to learn. But I have a book, the web, and a few hours to kill. How bad could it get?

    You’ll have to excuse me, though, if while visiting this blog, you might have caught a glimpse of an unsightly blog sidebar. My new friend:

    Fatal error!

    Uh-oh, Houston, we have a problem.

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  • Informal Mentoring

    Many companies have formal mentoring programs today. The best and the brightest are selected and paired with a more senior, experienced employee in order to help the junior employee grow within the organization. My feeling is that this is exactly where companies miss a huge opportunity to add to their bottom line. In focusing only on the best and the brightest, those with the most growing to do get left behind.

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  • Writing at ExtremeWriting

    I’m a horrible blogger – please forgive me, I’m fairly new. (Three months and I still get to say I’m new, right?) I feel very honored to have been asked to contribute to a friend’s blog but I forgot to mention it on my own blog. He’s a writer. Let me restate that – he’s an incredible writer. Inspiring, dedicated, and passionate about his writing and when I read his work, it always makes me want to work harder at my own writing skills.

    Ever read someone else’s work and think, “If I had half of that talent?”. That’s Drifter. A motorcycle riding angel with a heart of gold and wicked sense of humor. If you want to feel challenged, if you want to read something that will make you want to pick up your pencil and give it a try, read any single piece of his work. Then read the rest of his writing, too, because you won’t be able to help yourself.

    You can find Drifter at Extreme Writing.

    Mixed in there are a few of my own fictional pieces under the category of Stone’s Throw. I’ll warn you…they pale in comparison.

  • Meetings and Why I Hate Them

    I like to work. It’s not working that I don’t like and the biggest reason why I sometimes question the quality of my work life is meetings. Yes. Hate them. Most of them, anyway. I participate in a LOT of meetings – in person, by phone, all day meetings, staff meetings, project meetings – you name it. In fact, because I’m a number’s geek, I’ve calculated it out and I’ve attended approximately 12,000 hours of meetings in the past 10 years. I’m including only meetings where the number of attendees was more than three. Three and under, I figure, is really just a discussion. Here are, in no particular order, the top 10 reasons I hate meetings:

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  • Journal Exercises for Writers

    In my continuing journey to start writing again, I’m working through a book of daily writing exercises. The easy part, sometimes, is completing the exercise. The hard part is putting it out here on the web for anyone who might wander by to comment on or critique However, I’m hoping others who want to start writing again will feel inspired, join me, try a few exercises, and even post some of their own in the comments.

    Exercise from a few days ago: Describe my favorite stories and why I like them.

    I’m stumped right off the bat. They’re all my favorites. Like a cup of Starbucks, rarely have I met a book I didn’t like. I think it’s just being lost in something that I enjoy. Any writer could just string some words together, a popcorn chain on a Christmas tree, and I’ll follow right along chomping every morsel as it’s served.

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