souvenir

Every Wednesday, I share five interesting blog posts that I found around the Internet. Last week, we looked at some awkward professionalism. This week, we consider souvenirs, tough decisions and the Internet.

We start off with Trent Hamm who is encouraging us to avoid typical souvenirs when traveling. I’m guilty of picking up kitschy picture frames and shot glasses, but Trent says it may be better to seek out elements of the environment or a consumable item from a non-tourist location. What do you bring home from your travels?

The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut has stirred up a lot of sad feelings and hard debate. While many other parents took the time to explain what happened to their children, Catherine Connors has decided she’s not talking to her kids about Sandy Hook. She realizes that there is “no reassurance to be had” and she doesn’t want her children “to look out that window.”

Are you having a hard time coming up with blog post ideas? Adrienne Erin recommends that you look to Quora for inspiration. The great thing about Quora is that if you find an active discussion on a certain topic, then you’ll know that people are searching for information on that subject. You’ll know that if you write a useful blog post on it, you’ll be addressing a real need.

I already use Hootsuite to manage my multiple Twitter accounts, but Justin Germino has discovered another cool function. You can use the social media dashboard to publish to your WordPress blog too. While I figure it’s probably still better to log directly into your blog the old-fashioned way, this can prove to be very handy for people who write and manage multiple blogs. After all, you may already be using Hootsuite for Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and more.

Last but not least, we have Meg Tripp who answers a very simple question: what is the Internet? To her, it’s a place where she can find answers now, where she has found every job she’s had for almost a decade, where she develops strange expectations, where she meets new friends, where insomnia finds solace, and where she finds photos of baby animals. What does the Internet mean to you?