Personally, I think this is a good thing. As companies and organizations become more “human” the values of the people who make up these same organizations become more visible.

Many people have helped me grow my business. There is a personal connection there. In allowing those people to help me, I help them realize their altruism. I would say that allowing them to help me is just as important as my work helping them. Allowing them to love me, is just as important as loving them.

It is in this spirit that we are announcing this week a special offer to Facebook friends of  A Passion for Connection. For the week of March 5 – March 12, we are offering our basic Website Started Package at 50% OFF the retail price of $600.00 for a total of $300.00. We want to give something back to all of those who have given so much to us.

Will you allow us to help you?

Allowing Others to Help us is Just as Important as Loving Others is a post from: A Passion for Connection

We live in intensely dynamic times. Times that call us to be present.  Times that call us to rise above the stereotypes of the past. We are compelled to listen to the current ideology. We need to listen to the people who matter.  We need to LISTEN to the audience we are trying to reach. Does that mean we need to capitulate to  their values? HELL NO. But we do need to acknowledge their thoughts. We need to listen intently, and we need to decide how to respond, respectfully with our open hearts.

Our world is changing, will we change with it, or cling to what we know?

I’ll challenge you today to do just that. Listen intently and respond appropriately.

Be in peace and love always,

Richard

Social Media is not Formulaic, it is Organic. is a post from: A Passion for Connection

If we do not back up our words with action or if our actions do not coincide with our promises, then we are not living authentically. That lack of authenticity will speak volumes to those around us.

We can not hide the discordance. We can not hide the duplicity. It is there for all to see.

Exactly how much do you believe in what you say? Are you willing to back it up with action? If not, it would be better to say nothing than to live with dichotomy. People today will know the difference.

Be true to your heart. Say and live what is there. Your authenticity will ring true to all those around you. You will sleep well knowing that what is in your heart is who you are and your actions will speak to the honesty there.

In peace and love always,

Richard

Words are one thing, do your actions back them up? is a post from: A Passion for Connection

Some of you know that last year I started a program called “Business with a Heart”. It is a three pronged program.

1. To set the example ourselves by making a commitment to help small business by offering them a sliding scale of fees to keep our services affordable. It is our belief that giving back must be more than just the token things like sponsoring the local little league team.
2. To challenge other companies to do the same thing in their communities.
3. To celebrate the people who are going above and beyond by working together to spread the message.

As part of the “Business with a Heart” mission I have been fortunate to find others who at their core really do want to help small business.

The first project  I am working on is a utility called “Triplefy”. The mission of Triplefy is to give small businesses some tools that can help them compete with big national brands.

With Triplefy, a business can sign up and create deals and gift cards for their site as simple as cutting and pasting some HTML.

The HTML can be pasted on a website, in an email, or on Facebook so that it encourages people to shop online at local places. The money for the purchase of the card goes directly into the retailer’s Paypal account.

Triplefy tracks the value of each card for the merchant. When someone purchases a gift card they can print out or email the gift card to the recipient. The person receiving the gift can simply bring in their smart phone to the retailer to show the email, or a show a printed copy of the gift card.

The idea and programing of Triplefy was from the mind of Mike Morris in New Haven, Connecticut. According to Mike, statistics show that of $100 spend at a big box store, about $14 stays in the local community. Of  that same $100 spent at a local retailer, about $45  stays in the community creating a “Triplefy” effect.

Triplefy also has a “deal” component that gives the local retailer a much fairer way to create and publish deals. With out heavy fees and heavy discounting found with deals offered through Groupon, Mike hopes to create a system that will build loyal, happy repeat customers instead of people who will just me looking for the next deal. You can learn more about Triplefy at:  http://triplefy.com

The second project I am working on is called “PizzaGram” with Randy and Rudy Danowski.  Rudy came up with this cool idea of being able to send a pizza to anyone in the country.

Mom and Dad will be able to send a pizza to their kids in college. Grandma will be able to send little Jimmy a pizza to say congratulations for winning a soccer game. We combined the ideas of Triplefy and PizzaGram to make the system work.  PizzaGram uses the Triplefy engine to fuel the transaction. You can learn more about PizzaGram at:  http://ItsAllAboutPizza.com

Small business working together to grow the pie. is a post from: A Passion for Connection

We have to be the best we can be. In life and in our online lives we are called to be the best we can be. Are they separate, our online lives and when we are physically with others? I try so hard not to let them be. I want my online persona to be, Who I AM. Do I succeed? Not always.  Life is full of dramas and events that not all need to be shared. It is the core of who we are that does though. We need to be real in out struggles. We need to be able to reveal our vulnerabilities in a way that is real, honest and trust that others will not swoop in and use those same vulnerabilities against us.

I have to admit that it is a very hard line to walk.

You can not “Skate” in Social Media. is a post from: A Passion for Connection

is a post from: A Passion for Connection

I am fresh of the phone with people at Godaddy with an important message to website owners who post to their Facebook pages from their website. Starting October 1, 2011 Facebook will require sites that connect their websites to the Facebook Business pages to have an SSL Certificate.

An SSL or Secure Socket Layer protects visitors information like Credit Cards and other personal information. You can tell if a site is secure by looking that the URL. It should have, ” HTTPS://” as opposed to “HTTP://” Although your Facebook Login information is secure, pages and games you visit may expose your information to others.

Most Facebook users will not be affected but you may notice a warning that the site or page your are visiting may not be secure. It is your choice to follow that link or not.

For business owners with pages, you may be required to provide links within a Secure Socket Layer. This is relatively easy depending upon your web host. The cost for an SSL Certificate should be between $50 and $100.00. There may be other costs depending on whether you have a static or variable IP address. If you would like to read more, please follow this link.

For clients of A Passion for Connection who have their sites hosted with Godaddy, you can purchase the SSL Certificate for your site here.  If you need help in setting this up, please feel free to contact us and we will guide you through it. (Note: We are affiliates of GoDaddy. )

Facebook to require SSL for sites that link to pages is a post from: A Passion for Connection

One of the first steps we take when working with new clients ( after ensuring the fundamentals are spot on) is to evaluate their presence on the web. Far to often companies have a fragmented web presence. They may have a website, a Facebook page, and maybe even a LinkedIn or a Twitter account, but there may be no coordinated effort to integrate those online tools and they may not even integrate their online presence with their offline marketing activities.

With strong fundamentals, a strong business plan, mission statement and customer profile a company’s online presence can be coordinated with its core values and integration can be planned with offline activities to create synergies. When this happens, the brand is strengthened, and strategies can be developed and implemented that will foster communications across channels and possibilities for real growth can have the most fertile atmosphere.

Think Web Presence instead of just Website.

Think Web Presence Instead of Website is a post from: A Passion for Connection

First, I would like to introduce a new addition to A Passion for Connection, Sandy Collins.
Sandy is an artist and graphic designer. She is working on the new look for a Passion for Connection as I write this.  Her vision is amazing. You can connect with Sandy on LinkedIn .

Second,  We are working on reorganizing the layout of our site to help make it easier to navigate while making it cleaner, simpler while at the same time defining our core services and how we can best help you and your organization connect with the right people through social and emerging media.

Our services include:

1. Website and Blog Design
2. Social Media Integration- How to best communicate with your constituencies through social mediBlogs
   • Blogs
   • Facebook (business and personal)
   • LinkedIn
   • Twitter
   • Yelp
   • Google
3. Content development
   • Writing blog post and website content
   • Photography
   • Graphic design
   • Logo design
   • Presentations
   • Brochures and business cards

   Click on the slideshow below for samples of Sandy’s graphic design work.

Shoemaker’s Kid with no Shoes is a post from: A Passion for Connection

Getting back to nature is a post from: A Passion for Connection