You’ve Got a Mystery on Your Hands

You've got a mystery on your hands

H1N1 may be a Novel Virus but separate the Fiction from the Non-Fiction and get the facts. Hand washing prevents the spread of germs.  Encourage your customers and staff with these helpful hand washing posters available from Yale University Emergency Management.

Improve your customer experience by following the 2009 Bathroom Blogfest posts on their Facebook Fan Page and via Twitter @BathroomBlogfes to “Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces”.

Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces

From Behind Closed Doors, Writers Direct Their Expertise to the Topic as
BATHROOM BLOGFEST 2009 Welcomes Its First Sponsor

Kinnelon, NJ – The 2009 Bathroom Blogfest, now in its fourth year, brings together 20 bloggers from the U.S., Canada, the UK and India posting on some aspect of the theme: “Flush the Recession and Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces.” A blogfest gathers writers who direct their posts around a single subject while making the subject relevant to their readers. Between October 26 and 28, these experts in marketing, customer experience and service, public relations, library sciences, life, retail—toilets and bathrooms—will call attention to improving the overall bathroom experience.

“Kaboom, the Blogfest’s first sponsor, will play a part in some of the blogs,” said Christine Whittemore, who manages the Blogfest. “The brand is adventuresome and innovative, volunteering to take its chances with this social networking experience,” said the chief simplifier of Simple Marketing Now, Kinnelon, N.J. “Kaboom has sent its cleaning products to nine writers whom we expect to report on their findings. Some may also add Kaboom giveaways/contests to their coverage.”

Along with a sponsor, Whittemore added to this year’s initiative a Facebook Fan Page and way to keep up via Twitter @BathroomBlogfes. In addition, to monitor the conversation, photos and posts, look for the tag #ladiesrooms09 on flickr, del.icio.us, Technorati, Twitter and Google.

The Bathroom Blogfest began in 2006 as the brainchild of Stephanie Weaver, Experienceology author and consultant, and Susan Abbott, a business consultant and consumer researcher in Toronto. “They wanted to generate awareness for bloggers passionate about the customer experience at a time when blogging was more experimental. The Bathroom Blogfest created a forum for focusing on spaces that are not a subject of conversation, which they should be,” added Whittemore.

Whittemore believes that today’s bloggers do it because it’s fun and they feel strongly about sharing their ideas for better bathroom experiences. She observes that retailers ignore the bathroom as a possible selling space and that most ignore it altogether. One of the bloggers added that it’s a way for her to potentially create more impact than she might with a single post while it introduces her readers to both a new subject and community of bloggers.

For more information about the blogfest visit http://www.BathroomBlogfest.com or contact Whittemore at cbwhittemore AT SimpleMarketingNow DOT com. For information about Kaboom, visit http://KaboomKaboom.com.

Participating bloggers for the Bathroom Blogfest ’09 include:

• Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
• Reshma Anand at Qualitative Research Blog
• Shannon Bilby at From the Floors Up
• Shannon Bilby and Brad Millner at My Big Bob’s Blog
• Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop
• Jeanne Byington at The Importance of Earnest Service
• Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
• Leslie Clagett at KB Culture
• Katie Clark at Practical Katie
• Iris Shreve Garrott at Checking In and Checking Out
• Julie at Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog
• Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
• Maria Palma at People To People Service
• Professor Toilet at Professor Toilet’s Blog
• David Reich at My 2 Cents
• Bethany Richmond at The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog
• Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose
• Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
• C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer and Simple Marketing Blog
• Linda Wright at Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms

Who Will You Vote For?

So.  Just for a few moments.  Imagine you can see inside these homes.

Watch the elderly lady who lives alone waiting for a ride to her doctor’s appointment today.

See the child who struggles to make a good grade in school this year.

Worry about the family whose dad got laid off last month.

Rejoice with the mother of three who finally got her GED.

Wonder at the smiles on the faces of the teenage couple, just married, about to become parents next spring.

Photo slide-show by Kittie55 / Kittie McMillan © All rights reserved

Be fearful of the temptations of dependence, depression and thievery that haunt the safety and security of neighborhoods like these every week.

Please click on this amazing photo, shared on flickr by Kittie McMillan, for anothe view of the Shotgun Houses slide-show.

Imagine you can see the people inside these homes.

Then consider, if you will, how Election 2008 will truly affect them.  And finally, make sure you remember someone besides yourself when you vote on November 4.

I know that is what my daddy would have wanted me to do.

Bathroom Blogfest 2008 Best Tips

After a whole week of celebrating Bathroom Blogfest ‘08, it is now time to take action!

Clean Up by marinegirl / Rebecca Weeks Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike

After following the posts of my fellow members of this year’s official, Bathroom Blogfest Community, there seem to be many different methods as well as attitudes toward considering ‘Cleaning Up Forgotten Spaces Around Us’.  What an amazing array of ideas they have shared.

But after much thought, I have decided that probably the best tip is to not get yourself into a mess to begin with.  How much work do we create for ourselves just because we didn’t plan ahead?

Even something as simple as remembering to put the chocolate pudding on the top shelf might be something we shouldn’t forget.

Put Chocolate Pudding on the Top Shelf !! photo by RIPizzo / RI Pizzo Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works

Bathroom Blogfest 2008 has inspired me to wash it, dust it, sweep it, paint it, get rid of it, reorganize what is left and refresh myself all over again.  Please make sure to visit all the other bloggers who shared their best tips!

Bathroom Blogfest

Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
Katia Adams at Transcultural Marketing
Shannon Bilby at Floor Talk!
Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop
Jo Brown and the blogging team at Kohler Talk
Lisbeth Calandrino at Lisbeth Calandrino
Sara Cantor at The Curious Shopper
Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
Katie Clark at Practical Katie
Iris Shreve Garrott at Circulating
Ann Handley at Annarchy
Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
Elizabeth Hise and C.B. Whittemore at The Carpetology Blog
Maria Palma at Customers Are Always
Sandra Renshaw at Purple Wren
Kate Rutter at Adaptive Path
Claudia Schiepers at Life and its little pleasures
Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose
Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer

Jeffries Assures Faces of Poverty Not Forgotten

This is an image that I need to remember… this is a child who needs to be remembered even more.

The Forgotten by LJ. ©All rights reserved

Photographer Lee Jeffries, via flickr, allows me to share the pain of poverty that instigates my tears and promises prayers for grace on this face of our world.  Please visit his amazing flickr photostream to know more faces of poverty in our world.

For additional inspiration to care and ways to act on poverty please visit this list of bloggers for Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty.

Blog Action Day 2008

Blog Action Day is an annual non-profit event that asks bloggers to simultaneously discuss a single issue each year on October 15th. The aim of the event is to trigger widespread discussion around a global issue through niche-focused articles that appeal to their respective audiences. The event began in 2007 when a group of bloggers asked each other, “What would happen if …?” and then decided to find out.

13 of the world’s 100 most popular blogs according to Technorati.com have agreed to participate in Blog Action Day this year, including TechCrunch.com, Readwriteweb.com, Mashable.com, SmashingMagazine.com, Problogger.net, GigaOM.com, Copyblogger.com, ZenHabits.net, Inhabitat.com, VentureBeat.com, Mentalfloss.com, PronetAdvertising.com and TorrentFreak.com.

Corduroy Jump Starts Read for the Record

Jumpstart’s Read for the Record

Help bring national attention to the importance of early childhood education by making Jumpstart’s Read for the Record the largest shared reading experience ever.  You can make a difference just by reading with one child in your life.

Jumpstart is asking adults and children to support early education opportunities for all children by reading the official campaign book, Corduroy, together on October 2, 2008 to break the record for the largest shared reading experience ever, which was set by 258,000 people on September 20, 2007 during the 2nd year of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign.

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Learn more about the value of quality early education and acquire new tips on how to make the most of reading time with a young child.

Reading Resources – a variety of great early reading tools and links for parents and professionals.

Best Books – Jumpstart’s list of favorite books to spark a conversation with a young reader!

Corduroy Lesson Plan – Courtesy of Pearson and the Pearson Foundation

This is Important

This is history… this is tonight…

follow along with

Special Twitter Election Feed

and

Debate Coverage from C-SPAN

Get involved and share!

Welcome, Quilters…!!

You can check out some of the sights around Paducah in this video featuring scenes of the Museum of the American Quilter’s Society, decorated downtown store windows, and blooms along the Dogwood Trail.

Photos from this video are now available on Paducah Travel’s flickr page.

Quilters R Bloggers 2

With just a little browsing online you can meet all sorts of quilters taking part in the AQS Quilt Show & Contest in Paducah next week!

Bonnie Browning, of Paducah, has served since 1994 as the Executive Show Director at the American Quilter’s Society (AQS), Paducah, Kentucky, where she also writes and edits quilting books. She is the author of nine quilting books, published by the AQS. She blogs at Bonnie B’s Blog where she shares all sorts of wonderful photographs and tidbits about Paducah and the Quilt Show!

Lizzy Jo quilts on a machine that she likes to call the Big Green Pain in the …. Neck! She will be in town for the show.

Sheril Drummond lives in Lexington and experiments with new techniques to use in Art Quilts. She will be attending as a 2008 Quilt Contest Semi-finalist. Read her blog serindipity to see her fabric expressions.

Rachel Biel Taibi focuses on fiber, not granola, but textiles, embroidery, threads, straw, weaving- that kind of fiber at Rayela’s Fiber Focus. Rachel will have ralli quilts along with other specialty items available in retail space she is sharing with Bob and Helene Davis, April 21-26, 10 AM-5 PM, at 212 Broadway.

Judy Laquidara blogs from Missouri on Patchwork Times. She is quilter and author of Nine Patch Extravaganza, which was published by AQS in July, 2007

Julie at Feeling Simply Quilty hopes she gets to come to the show in Paducah and we hope things are going well enough for her family that she gets to make the trip for sure.

Dana at Wooly Quilter is about ready to make her trip down from Illinois to take classes at the show from Jan Krentz and Gail Garber.

Beth will make a one day trip down from Illinois as well with The Quilted Garden’s chartered bus tours. We hope she will take lots of photos to share on her blog, BKSTITCH.

Judi’s Crazy World shares the work of Judi (of course) who will be vending at the quilt show next week.

Linda C. is a needle artist sharing plans for her annual trek to Paducah for the quilt show with family and friends on Tippeca-Needle.

And you are all invited to McCracken County Public Library where we have quilts on display, computers with free internet access and wireless for your laptops just in case you need to settle in somewhere for a bit of a break…!!

Quilt City Abloom for AQS Quilt Show Arrivals

So much is going on around Paducah in anticipation of the start of the American Quilter’s Society Annual Quilt Show & Contest! You can even feel the excitement in the breeze that gently rocks the dogwood blossoms. They seem to just be waiting to burst into full bloom the moment our worldwide visitors arrive into town.

Along with the springtime sprucing of lawns and gardens, storefronts and shop windows are decorated and ready to entice shoppers with delightful gifts and surprises. And thankfully, the receding Ohio River flows gently past the downtown riverfront with nary a threat.

The Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau is working overtime to make sure that everyone in Quilt City USA enjoys the quilt show experience. New this year is the addition of online resources developed to assist virtual visitors wanting to follow all the excitement!

Use these helpful links from Paducah Travel to locate everything you need to enjoy your visit to Paducah, KY in April…

Follow paducahtravel on twitter

Share photos at with Paducah Quilts and Quilters on flickr

Join Paducah Travel on facebook

Attend AQS Quilt Show event on facebook

Find locations from Paducah Travel – AQS Quilt Show on Google map

Hurry up and get here… we are ready and waiting…!!