The catalyst is life… There is an old proverb that says, “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” It is in my darkest hours, I am reminded of that passage. I try not to think about the losses I have endured, rather the love and wisdom I have gained.  Truly there is no heart more pitiful than the one that could not mend itself; and maybe because my heart is bruised and battered, having withered the storms of life, it has since grown stronger to bear what else life has to edify me.

I suppose I could have written about any topic… politics, health or even poetry; but today I chose a more philosophical, introspective reflection of the life I have led. From my humble upbringing in a culturally-diverse family to the woman I have become… the individual who never gave up even when the world appeared to have forsaken her. Time and time again, I have been down this road. I have been beaten by life’s endless stream of apparent brutality, only to stand back up, brush off the dust, and say, “What else have you got for me?” I do not know why I was chosen to receive so many challenges and lessons, and maybe it is not even my place to question the why’s or the how’s. Maybe the question is more so about the way I perceive them and what I internalize and how they have forced me to overcome my own fears, my own inhibitions. Conceivably there are those who will falter to the wayside because their hearts are simply not strong enough. It is the individual, having innate determination to keep on going even when external forces seem overpowering, who transform into that butterfly.

This hardened cocoon resolves to crack its shell to break free from the human perils of living. It is in that freedom where I have painted a vision in my mind like no other. Within its landscape is a beautiful rolling valley, lush green and filled with a kaleidoscope of blossoming flora. There are no hardships, only harmony and happiness. Along the corridors of that image are the many souls who have touched my life with their love and energy. They are there to embrace me as they always have in the past. Perhaps this time is different, though. There is a transcendence as to what I had felt so many times before… a certain humbleness and awareness now that tells me, “No, the world is not over. It is time to be that butterfly.” Indeed, it is time.

The Butterfly and I

By CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd– Senior Social Media Response Specialist, Social Media Consultant/Marketer, Ghost Writer, Pro Blogger, Online Copywriter/Editor & SEO-SEM Specialist

© Copyright 2013

Social media has been revolutionized by Google keyword alerts. Much of the profound knowledge we have acquired in our day-to-day online conversations has been due in part to the remarkable influence of these user-generated alerts. Today, Google keywords is not what it used to be. Those working in social media, or those who simply want to be in the know about technology, science, health, news or brands (among others) are rapidly experiencing a rude awakening to the fact that keywords have either greatly diminished or have come to a screeching halt, altogether. This comes in concurrence with Google’s announcement that its popular Reader service was shutting down this coming Summer. Mass migrations have already been seen on Feedly.com, and others.

Mentioned speculations include that Google + has been a major suspect in the dissemination of keyword alerts, or perhaps there could be other less than desirable conjecture that the “Net” is no longer free. This could potentially mean that if individuals want real-time, true results from global consumers, search engine results’ pages (SERP) and keyword/term alerts may be suppressed for the greater good of commerce – in other words, hardcore commercial authority is alive and well. Has Google succumbed to PAC-Man ® fever? Think about it. If Google can be likened to PAC-Man® and online consumers are the PAC-dots, what happens when they suddenly become PAC-ghosts? Yes, their voices may be stifled, but their invincibility becomes the nemesis to PAC-Man®. It is a cat and mouse game with the win being ultimately determined by the voice of the consumer.  (BTW, I still love playing PAC-Man!)

While there are online keyword alert alternatives such as mention.com or socialmention.com, search returns on keyword alerts has but all gone silent. Whereas yahoo alerts used to provide these services, have you looked in your inbox lately? Nada, nix, nothing.  Additionally, the RSS service provided by Google is really just one of a long line of services that has succumbed to commercial pressure.  Bing promises its bar that offers much of the same suggested keywords/terms like every other search engine. Mozilla Firefox offers the  Wordpot.com extension; however, it is accessible to any search engine if you create an account there. Here’s the issue, though: while you can build a keyword/term “project” therein, the return is on numbers and not actual links to genuine online conversations. Ouch!

Truly, the pathways that Google keyword alerts and RSS Reader have taken are more of a disservice to professional service and product organizations. Ultimately, it is the end-to-end supply chain results that matter most. We do not always like to hear criticisms – personally or professionally. But it is through critiquing, albeit harsh at times, that we are able to resolve or improve upon those issues. Otherwise, the long-term damage can be irreversible.

I must stress that I am a Google gal…I really like Google and it has always been my online “friend” for news and information sources. Optimism is that Google will pick up the ball and roll with its cornerstone strengths for which it has always been known.

OPED: Rip? Google Keyword Alerts

 

By CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd – Senior Social Media Response Specialist, Social Media Consultant/Marketer, Ghost Writer, Pro Blogger, Online Copywriter/Editor & SEO-SEM Specialist

© Copyright – ALL Rights Reserved

 

 

ATTENTION: PAC-Man is a registered trademark and is in no way affiliated or supportive, implied or otherwise, of this OPED. It is only used for analogical purposes in this article.

Resources:

• CBS
• Mashable
• SocialMention
• Mention
• Feedly
• PAC-Man
• Wordpot

While at a local food joint, I ran into an old acquaintance with whom I  had worked in retail over a decade ago. For all intent and purposes, I’m simply going to call her “Grace”. She is a little woman in her early 60′s now, but I remember Grace vividly because there was a genuineness about her that stood out among the crowd. Grace never wore cosmetics and she always dawned a reddish, bowl cut hairpiece.  Now, others who encountered this gentle woman may not have given her a second glance. After all, she was slow when she ran a cash register and could sometimes be repetitious in her speech. She would sometimes drift off in the middle of her dialog to stop to think about what she was saying. What I distinctly recall about her the most was that then (and now) she always had a genuine sincerity and happiness about her. She lived alone and did not talk much about her family; and to be quite honest with you, I do not think Grace had any real friends. It was just her, and her undying will to live life the best way she could.

When working her shift in the restaurant, she approached me to kindly offer a drink refill. I asked her, “Hi, Grace. Do you remember me?” She had a distant look in her eyes, but I could see that she was trying very hard to recollect who I was. I gently reminded her of my name and where we had worked a long time ago. She had not changed in appearance since then. In fact, she had hardly any wrinkles, and her face still lit up when someone spoke to her. “Oh,” she said, “I think so. But I could not remember your name.” I then asked her, “How do you manage to look so good at your age?” To which she smartly replied, “I don’t have hardly any wrinkles because I don’t smoke and I stay out of the sun.” (I imagine Grace must have been a physically beautiful young lady.)

As we spoke, she openly and excitedly told me about her life. She explained that she had gone back to college but she could not pass her classes. She told me that she had to quit because the cost of school was too much as she had to repeatedly take the same courses in order to pass them. She said, “If I failed one class one time, I could go back the second time and pass it,” she paused in thought and continued, “and then the second time when I went back, I would make a good grade. I’m on the dean’s list,” she grinned. She went onto telling me how she did learn one thing, “I am glad I went,” she said proudly, “I now know the difference between variable rates and fixed interest rates. I already paid off my car, my student loans and now I am working on paying off my house.”  I asked her, “Are you still working the other job as well?” She nodded her head in agreement, and repeated, “Yes, I am working on paying off my house.”

I told her I was very proud of her accomplishments. She reiterated, “But I didn’t finish school.” “That’s okay,” I replied, “you tried, and that’s all that matters. Some people give up before they even do that.”

 

Now a little background on “Grace”… When I met Grace many years ago, I learned that while a young woman attending college, she was involved in a very serious automobile accident, where part of her brain had to be removed. This was one of the reasons Grace wore a wig. Since her scalp had to be replaced, her hair never grew again. I cannot begin to imagine what medical doctors must have told her family; or what they may have told her back then. If they were anything like some physicians of my own past, they may have given her a negative prognosis. Perhaps they tossed her to the wayside a long time ago presuming she would never amount to anything in her life. I personally do not know what may or may not have happened back then, but Grace today epitomizes hope in these United States. No, Grace did not become a rich Wall Street stock broker, nor an ivy league professor. And she may never attain either of those positions. What she continues to be and embodies is a motivational and inspirational human being who never stopped trying and who never stopped living life to the fullest. Grace lives life with every ounce of passion and gratefulness that many today do not live by in their own lives.

Once again, I learned that “simple” minds do not always equal ignorance or mental handicap. Sometimes, simplicity empowers individuals to attain a different sort of wealth…the kind that is not bought in stores, nor the kind that requires great stature or a big, hilltop mansion. Sometimes, humbleness is that rare beauty and joy that only few pure of heart can only learn and live. I am wealthier to have “re-meeted” Grace – as she eagerly stated. May she continue to awaken others to their own wealth and gratitude with her modest life.

Finding Wealth in Grace

By CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd – Senior Social Media Specialist, online copywriter,  ghostwriter, professional blogger and web consultant

COPYRIGHT – ALL Rights Reserved