Author Archives: Bridget Willard

About Bridget Willard

Bridget Willard is the Office Manager, Content Writer, and Social Media Manager for Riggins Construction & Management, Inc. CSLB 335720

Featured Tweeter @BobBorson

Leave a reply

Everyone starts somewhere in Social Media.  Tips and tricks we’ve all learned along the way can be especially helpful to those still navigating uncharted waters.

This interview series features twitter accounts in and around the construction industry, a growing population within the Twittersphere.  My only disclaimer is that I do not always agree with the advice.

Stats:

Twitter Name: @BobBorson
Twitter Bio: I am a Dallas Architect, write www.lifeofanarchitect.com – I’m AIA, Leed AP, NCARB certified, & reigning Dallas AIA Young Architect of the Year (2009).
Company Name: Life of an Architect
City/State: Dallas, TX
Main Website:  www.lifeofanarchitect.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/lifeofanarchitect
Admin Name:  Bob Borson
LinkedIN Profile:  www.linkedin.com/in/bborson
Klout Score: 67
Followers: 3,267
Following:Follower Ratio: .80

Questions:

1. When did you start your twitter account?

I signed up for the name in August 2009 but didn’t start using it until March 2010.

2. What was your biggest obstacle in twitter?

Finding the time to maintain a connection with followers.

3. How often do you tweet? Do you have a schedule?

Several times a day in short bursts. Continue reading →

Granted, I Now Google It

6 Replies

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” ~ G. K. Chesterton

On occasion, a group of my friends reminisce and tell epic tales of term papers–stories about fare maidens, slaying dragons, and escaping the wrath of evil sorcerers. Okay, we didn’t have to walk to school barefoot in ten feet of snow, but we had to physically go to the library, look up the location of abstracts and books in the card catalog, travel the labyrinth of the Dewey decimal code, and even bring a roll of dimes for copies or from the microfiche machine in the pre-Google days. There was no cut-and-paste; there was onion skin paper after paper yanked out of our typewriters, crumpled beyond recognition, and strewn about our bedrooms, a minefield of typos.

Twenty years later, in order to solve any argument, I simply pull out my smartphone and google the answer.  In a few seconds we know who sang that song, what caused WWI, or when the movie is playing.  I come to work and I just expect my computer to turn on, load programs, work as fast as I am able to type with two browsers, three programs open, and if there is any delay, I’m frustrated to no end.

Anything we “get used to” is an easy candidate for apathy.  Maybe the first day I got my 20″ iMac that is hell-a-fast I was excited; maybe that lasted for two months.  Two years later, I just expect it to work. I take it for granted.  And, perhaps, some of the stories of the days of old are good reminders of how fortunate we are that in just a few minutes, I can type up this blog post, publish it to the cloud, tweet it, share it on Facebook, accept comments, all without any onion-skinned paper enduring my wrath.

Let's Blog Off

This week’s topic — What do you take for granted?

Office Manager Tip: Leave With a Clean Desk

4 Replies

We’ve all heard the axiom, “Cluttered desk, cluttered mind.” Arguably, it is true. Learning about yourself is never a bad thing and I constantly seek out ways to become more efficient.  In order to do that, a certain level of honesty is needed.  Look in the mirror, smile, and get the lettuce out of your teeth.

One such introspection is this: I work much better in a clean environment. Were I to go home tonight and bake a cake, I would start by cleaning the kitchen.  I cannot function in chaos; both a drawback and a prized skill.

I like to have the kitchen countertops cleared and dishwasher loaded when I go to bed so that when the alarm clock insists on waking me at 5:00 a.m., I will be ready to put on the kettle, make my lunch, grind the coffee, eat breakfast, and get on with the rest of my tasks.

That philosophy applied to my desk works wonders for me.  At the end of the day, I clear off my desk, reorganize my inbox, make notes for anything that needs to be done tomorrow, etc.  When I arrive the next day, my office is ready to greet me for another day’s work and I don’t feel rushed or behind at the get-go.

For Thought:

Featured Tweeter @AlyciaWicker

Leave a reply

Everyone starts somewhere in Social Media.  Tips and tricks we’ve all learned along the way can be especially helpful to those still navigating uncharted waters.

This interview series features twitter accounts in and around the construction industry, a growing population within the Twittersphere.  My only disclaimer is that I do not always agree with the advice.

Stats:

Twitter Name: @AlyciaWicker
Twitter Bio: Mom, Wife, Pet Owner & Dork… I design. You go shopping. Design perfection.
Company Name: AJW Design Co.
City/State: Eastvale, CA
Main Website: www.e-Decorating.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/edecorating
Admin Name:  Alycia Wicker
LinkedIN Profile:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ajwicker
Klout Score: 49
Followers: 4,289
Following:Follower Ratio: .38

Questions:

1. When did you start your twitter account?

January 27, 2009

2. What was your biggest obstacle in twitter?

Figuring out how to follow a conversation.

3. How often do you tweet? Do you have a schedule?

I tweet about three times a day and have it scheduled because I can’t always be sure I will have time to do it.

4. What is your recommendation to new people on twitter?

Don’t follow everyone. Make lists of your favorite people and focus first on interacting with them as you start out. Continue reading →

Featured Tweeter @BuildingMoxie

2 Replies

Everyone starts somewhere in Social Media.  Tips and tricks we’ve all learned along the way can be especially helpful to those still navigating uncharted waters.

This interview series features twitter accounts in and around the construction industry, a growing population within the Twittersphere.  My only disclaimer is that I do not always agree with the advice.

Stats:

Twitter Name: @BuildingMoxie
Twitter Bio: Building a regionally-focused home improvement support service. Oh! and we blog too. It’s about doing & learning. Would you like to contribute?
City/State: Baltimore, MD
Main Website: buildingmoxie.com
Facebook Page: facebook.com/buildingmoxie
Admin Name:  JB Bartkowiak
Klout Score: 63
Followers: 2,653
Following:Follower Ratio: .98

Questions:

1. When did you start your twitter account?

July 1, 2009. I created an account so I could add a widget to the business website I was developing. I thought it would be a smart (and economical) option for real-time communication.  That is, to let visitors know my current whereabouts and what I was currently doing. (Boy! Was that naïve.)

2. What was your biggest obstacle in twitter?

Was?  I guess when I first started, the challenge was simply learning the conventions. I seriously had to post on Facebook to ask about different things. “What’s an RT? And why would I use that? And what’s the pound sign used for? What does that mean?” From that, it was just a matter of using it … and using it and then obstacles faded away.

3. How often do you tweet? Do you have a schedule?

I don’t really have a schedule per se; but twitter has evolved into just one of any other related (business) activities, like having an email box open. Twitter (actually Hootsuite) is open throughout the day and I monitor mentions most days 9-5. I’ll hop on at night if I have time around household duties. I’m usually offline most weekends, but I monitor via my cell phone occasionally. Continue reading →