The New Alexa Drop-In Feature: Has Anyone Tried It?

Hi All,

I absolutely love my Amazon account including Prime, Alexa, Music, etc. I am super excited about the Prime Deals day on July 11th.

That being said, I got a notice today about the new Alexa Drop-In feature through the Echo. In reading about it, it seems both a little creepy and a little cool :)

I have not used it yet but plan to try it out.

Have any of you used it? How is it working out?

Have you gotten any feedback from people at home when you use Drop-In?

#inquiringmindswanttoknow

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to my amazing dad, Oscar Crawford! And also to my Pah,whose stories I could continue listening to all day, Clyde Crawford!!

I am blessed at the age of 37, to have my dad AND my pah in my life.

God chose them for me and I am grateful! These two guys are giants among men.They are gentlemen and scholars.

Thank you, Dad, for continuing to encourage me every day to dream big and shoot for the stars. I appreciate you more than you know!

My prayer for you is that your best days are yet ahead, that all of your dreams come to pass, and that God the Father pours His richest blessings on you, always!

The Squirrel is Real

The Squirrel is Real is a domain name I purchased over a year ago when I decided it was time to have open discussion about ADHD. What it is. What it is not. What it is like managing ADHD as a child and as an adult.

I have found over the years that the perspective on ADHD widely differs, both among medical professionals, and among those who are diagnosed or are close to someone who is diagnosed.

Some do not believe ADHD is a real thing. Some believe it is real but thinks everyone with ADHD should be medicated, while others believe it is real but are not sure what to think and how to address it.

The brand statement I chose for the site is Creative Support for Creative People. What I have found is that people with ADHD need a healthy outlet and that often comes in the form of expression through their natural talents.

I have since let the domain go as I was not regularly updating it with new information. However, it is at topic that I would like to create some real discussion around.

My next step will either be repurchasing the site, creating an app, or creating a separate blog for this topic. Either way, I am excited to hear what you all have to say on this very important topic.

More to come.

Looking For Subscription Product Ideas

Hi All,

I am giving much thought to a list of subscription products that I would like to create and market.

I have one product already out there but I am thinking about a few others so I need some feedback from you all.

What types of products do you currently have monthly subscriptions for?

What is the most you pay? What is the least you pay?

Is there a product you wish was available that you can subscribe to without a contract?

I am looking to create something unique that costs the consumer no more than $5 per month, and is very useful.

Let me know your thoughts and Thank You, in advance :)

Micha

Do What They Do But Do It Like You

Happy Saturday, Everyone!

As I prepare to attend a writer's conference next weekend, I have been giving a lot of thought to what "work in progress" I want to focus on.

My decision is surrounding this concept of modeling others who have achieved success. While this is wise and there is much to gain from modeling the behaviors of successful people, sometimes that modeling can be to a fault.

One of the most common examples is modeling someone's diet plan when you want to drop a few pounds. While it is smart to take a look at what is working for others, there has to be some thought into how to make it your own.

Let's say you choose someone you want to model, so you do their exact same workout and eat the exact same food. This seems like a great idea, right? Until you sustain an injury or the diet makes you sick.

What am I getting at? In the example of a diet plan, the behavior we need to model is exercise and eating healthy. The details of that now have to become personal based on where you are and the safest, most effective way to get there.

I have many scenarios running through my mind surrounding this concept. I will continue to share them throughout the week.

Thoughts, questions, or comments? Post below.

How do you know what to blog about? 4 things to think about when choosing your topic.

This is a question I have pondered many times. While I love to write, in order to gain readers I know I need to have a theme that readers will find interesting.

To help me decide which theme I should stick with, I just took a look through the number of people who have viewed each of my blogs over the last several months and there is a clear spike in readers when I focus on one particular topic.

That topic is my Rant Wednesday posts.  Based on this I am thinking what I may do is start a new blog instead of continuing to post Rant Wednesday under this current blog. This way, I have a blog that is searchable, in title, that people like to read.

The whole theme behind Rant Wednesday is, "Even the positive girl gets irritated sometimes."

I originally started this theme when I used to write for the Yahoo Contributor Network, under the theme "Micha's Corner." I started blogging after this network was closed.

Here are the top 4 recommendations I would give someone who is deciding what they will blog about:

1) If you do not know what to choose as a theme, then just start writing about whatever is on your mind that day. I have been posting about many different things over the past few months. It has helped me see what people look at the most.

2) What do you get excited to write about? If you easily become passionate when thinking about a certain topic, chances are good that this passion will come through in your blog posts. Chances are also good that you will remain consistent in writing about it.

3) Is it sustainable? There will always be fashion trends, health topics, sports, etc. This is great because there is a never ending supply of things to discuss. Make sure your topic is a never-ending story of sorts. (Ex. Giving tips on a certain new diet might work for a while, but eventually the trend will change. Instead, give some room and make your blog about all diet trends)

4) What do THEY want? We all have things we love to talk about but if we want readers we have to find something we like to talk about that others also want to read about. If you are unsure of what that may be, refer back to suggestion number 1, or watch the social media trend lines for a few days.

I hope this helps someone. I will continue posting to this blog even after I create the separate blog for future Rant Wednesdays posts. If you missed any of them please go to http://michaidana.blogspot.com and scroll through for the words 'Rant Wednesday.'

Wishing you all much success! Remember, there is room at the top for all of us. Be confident and be consistent.

How is your New Year's Resolution going?

Hi Everyone,

If you already defaulted on your resolution, do yourself a favor and start again.

Do not quit. You got this! Keep going.

My resolution this year is to learn Spanish and Sign Language.

I have been using the Duolingo app every day to learn the basics for Spanish. I have not started learning Sign yet but I will refresh myself on the few things I know already, before learning more.

How are things going for you?

Any advice or comments to share with everyone as we are on our respective journeys?