Blogging and Intellectual Property Law (Don't zone out, read this)...

I found a great article at legalzoom.com, a website I've used in the past for straightforward legal matters. Michelle Fabio, Esq talks abut intellectual property as it relates to blogging. In her succinct guide she gives info on how you can protect your work and avoid getting sued yourself.

In the article she discusses:

• What a copyright is: "According to the U.S. Copyright Office, your original work receives copyright protection 'the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.' In other words—you wrote it, you own it."
• The one big "but" when someone violates your copyright: "If you want to sue someone in federal court for copyright infringement, your work must first be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office."
• Works made for hire and how it does not give you copyright protection: "...the original work you’ve made is made within the scope of your employment for someone else—this is called work made for hire, and, where it applies, the work you’ve made is not your property and the copyright in it is not yours—both belong to your employer."
• How to allow others to use your work in ways that would otherwise infringe your copyright: "With a Creative Commons license, you can choose your level of protection, including whether to allow commercial use and/or modifications to your work."
• What to do when you want to quote or use someone else's work: "Your use of others’ work is limited by the concept of “fair use” as defined by copyright law. To put it as simply as possible—there are fair uses, and there are unfair ones, and the determination of which is which is decided on a case-by-case basis..."
• Using someone else's idea or facts: "Ideas are not copyrightable, so you are absolutely free to use someone else’s idea as a jumping-off point for your own expression," and "Quoting facts word-for-word, paragraph after paragraph, though, probably won’t be considered fair use..."
• What constitutes a work in the public domain: "Works in the public domain are those that are not covered by intellectual property rights of any sort and may be used freely by anyone, for any purpose."

If you need the help of a lawyer with a unique law practice that specializes in "growing flourishing businesses on creative genius," check out Rebecca Prien, Counsel to Creativity LLC. I like her style, and I have a client who worked with her and can't say enough good things about the experience. She's at artist also, so she feels your pain and knows what you need to do to protect yourself and grow your creative business.

That's all for now! I should mention that I recommend these resources to you just because I think they're great. I don't benefit financially from referring them. I'm just sayin.

Your Online Content - Simple Steps to Inspire Action

When you go to all the trouble of writing on your blog, and posting on social media sites, you want people to not only pay attention but to take action (like, to click or go and buy something).

These four tips will help you create great content and inspire action. They are from one of my favorite sources for great advice on all things social media: The Social Media Examiner. Author Luke Summerfield simplifies the "how to's" and goes over why understanding "behavior triggers" can help you get more out of your social marketing. Below are the takeaways. Read the article if you want more detailed explanations and info on how our brains work.

The bottom line: Visual and emotional content inspires action.

1. Use facial images and choose facial expressions that match the emotion you're trying to inspire in the viewer. 
   Human beings have an instinct to be attracted to other people's faces, and look at faces for non-verbal cues about the situation. Use images with people in them.
   
   I could do better at this. Sigh. I sort of got it right in this image (okay, no face but you get the point), but many of the other images I use have no people in them. This is why I'm here, not only to help YOU but so I can learn too. 
    
2. Inspire emotions in your viewers, help them "feel" the experience. 
   Your images (and videos) should show others having a powerful experience. When your viewers feel emotions it helps them  relate to you, and they will be more attached to you and your brand.
    
3. Connect with people by sharing familiar memories.
   Everyone has childhood and other memories. The good ones. Tap into the warm fuzzies with images that evoke familiar memories. I see those types of images on Facebook and other social media all the time. They grab my heart and often bring tears to my eyes. People will associate those emotions with you and your brand.
    
4. Offer up something new, and be sure to deliver on it.
   Yes, people are drawn to all things familiar, but they are equally as interested in new things. Newness wakes up our brains. Just don't go overboard using "New!" in your email communication. Spam filters love to block emails that overuse that word.
    

If you've got images that have been effective for you, do share a link to them by commenting here. We can all learn together what works (and what doesn't)!

Bright Shiny Distractions

Staying focused. Hard to do sometimes, especially in the presence of a “bright shiny object.” My bright shiny objects are apps, software, computers, iPads, books, and kitchen gadgets. What's yours? It’s different for everyone, but it’s whatever distracts you from what you need to be doing. 

Working from home, it's very (very) easy to get distracted. I tell myself "I'll take a break, for five minutes, and find that kitchen gadget I saw..." An hour later, where did the time go?  I should be working!

Here's a tip, from one easily distracted person to another (you?) - don't deny yourself.  I’ve learned not to deny myself the time I enjoy looking at my bright shiny objects, I just do it strategically. What works for me is giving myself some time at the end of the day or after dinner. If I try to make myself wait till the weekend, it just doesn’t work. If I need to limit the amount of time, I set a timer and leave it in front of me.

That's it! Hope it helps you stay focused AND enjoy your bright shiny objects.