International Dot Day – Changing the World

I am a big fan of Angela Maiers.  She has championed the You Matter cause and is literally changing the world. In April she brought a group of students to the 140 Character Conference/State of Now in Des Moines and they made me cry.  Me and a room of full people.  Because they showed us…

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Corn Shocks – A Rural Tradition

A corn shock is a group of corn stalks tied together.  Tuesday I spent the morning helping chop down corn stalks, put 12-15 of them together in a shock and tied them up with twine.  Then we threw them on the back of the pick up and I headed off to town to deliver them…

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Partnering with Crafters – in rural Iowa

TownsEnd Winery is a little, family owned and operated operation located in Hansell, Iowa.  It’s also a small town success story.  I’ve written about them before and today I want to show you how they’ve partnered with other small businesses in North Central Iowa. September 1 and 2 was the 2nd Anniversary of the TownsEnd…

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Midwest Maybe

Ben Milne from Dwolla said at the Social IRL Conference on Thursday you can contribute in a positive or negative way. Are you someone who complains a lot? You’ll find that negative attracts negative and you’ll soon be surrounded by negative people. Jason Freed from 37 signals taught him that the concept of recognizing bad…

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Luxurious Living: Tour Hampton

Sadly, we had to cancel this event today due to lack of enrollments.  I was just going to delete this post, but then I thought maybe you could help me.   Would you share in the comments what you liked about this event idea, what you didn’t like or how you would have marketed this…

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No Excuses

Can I tell you the number of times I’ve heard “I don’t know how to do that.”  I’m talking about using social media as another marketing tool for your small business. The opportunity presents itself this Thursday to spend an afternoon with Jason Falls, Mr. No BullShit, and be a part of an in-depth discussion on…

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Bloggers needed

Last year Franklin County hosted a Bloggers Tour.  We invited bloggers to make their way to our community and we hosted them for 3 days.  They experienced life in Franklin County and we enjoyed their fresh view with new eyes.  We’ve decided to do it again!  October, 5, 6 and 7 we’ve got room for…

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State of Now: AgIowa Recap

I spent yesterday listening to farmers and those who work in agriculture share their stories of using the technology of now.  We met for 3 hours at ISU Campus in Ames Iowa.  This was the first mini State of Now Conference.  Last April was the 2nd State of Now Conference in Des Moines and many…

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August in Deb’s World

Friday, August 17 is State of Now: AgIowa in Ames from 2 to 5.  15 speakers, snacks, cocktails and networking — $10.  There are tickets available.  I am not going to explain further (see notes below where I’ve done that already).  I am asking you to just buy a ticket.  I’m asking you to come…

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