Stop Ignoring Twitter! How Bloggers and Small Businesses Can Grow a Relevant and Engaged Audience on Twitter

I don't talk a lot about the background of what I do as a blogger, but over the 14 years that I've been blogging, I've grown my blog from a place to share family photos to a small business that helps to provide for our family. What was once a hobby blog, is now an LLC that has been created to help share content to followers all over the world! When I was in college, there was no career out there that involved blogging or social media marketing degrees. The internet barely existed! I've seen blogging evolve and change over time, and we've seen the start of social media in our lifetime. Social media will forever change our world and we've had a front seat to it all! It's crazy!

My blog started to evolve and change. Maybe you've been along for the ride since the beginning. If so, thank you! If you are new here, welcome! I really want this to be a place where I can share real people, real projects and real life. The internet and social media are full of enough fake and curated content, I want to be the girlfriend you can trust who will help you along the way.

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My Love Hate Relationship with Social Media as a Mom of Teens

I started blogging in 2005 as a way to share our growing family with our out-of-state family and friends. I didn't think twice about pictures that I shared {as long as I didn't look bad in them they were fair game} and over time social media started to evolve. I could more easily share images on more platforms. The older my kids get though, the more eye rolls I receive when I whip out my camera, which now so conveniently fits in my back pocket and is always with me because it does double duty as my brain. They have started to care what I share about them on social media which means less and less of my kids showing up in my feed. My love/hate relationship with social media started long before the grumbles though. Those eyes that roll now were watching and taking mental notes about how I used my time on social media.  I kind of felt like as parents we were stepping into the Wild West. There were no rules. There was no research on how social media affected kids and so we winged it as best as we could as parents. 
We wrote up a cell phone contract before we gave our 14 year old son his first cell phone. There was nothing like it out there in 2012 and now more than five years later, the internet has site after site with information on teens and technology. Experts are popping up every where on the topic {thank you baby Jesus} and as parents we need this. This did not exist years ago when we were trying to figure out how to navigate as parents

However, I feel like a pioneer on the topic. I have used my children as guinea pigs in an experiment observing how they have found their way into social media. All three of my kids have internet enabled devices and I feel like we are more prepared as parents to navigate the murky waters of social media. It doesn't mean I love the idea of it and here's why.

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Why it Matters to Cite and Credit the Proper Source on Pinterest and How to do it

Maybe this is just a pet peeve of mine that has turned into an irrational chord that gets struck every.single.time I see it, but in this digital age, I feel like this bears mentioning because maybe truly you just didn't know. I love the internet I really do. It's hard to remember what life was like when we didn't have so much visual inspiration and information available to us instantaneously. However, there are some misuses of said inspiration that requires this little PSA. Via Pinterest isn't a way to credit anything. Period. Pinterest isn't a source. Pinterest is a bulletin board of sorts. A way to keep all of the digital media pinned in one place. It's a source of inspiration BUT it isn't THE inspiration. 
There are hard working bloggers, designers, photographers, authors, and individuals that are behind every image that you see. A fellow blogger {Emily from Eleven Gables} wrote this sentiment and posted it on her Instagram account.  I'm hoping that I can explain to you why you shouldn't take images and share them without their proper source because this just adds to the cycle of image theft. And you aren't a stealer are you? 

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It's good to be a follower

I have been spending more of my time trying to expand my various social media outlets  since the summer has been kind of slow around the blog. Heck, who am I kidding, it's because I have finally figured out instagram and it is so fun! Don't miss out on any of the updates, come follow Holycraft1 on instagram. The kids and I at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN on our great Midwest trip this summer. You can still find me on pinterest pinning away! I haven't fully embraced twitter the way most people have, but I do have an account. Maybe if you follow me, I would be inspired to tweet more often. I've been doing Facebook the longest, so it's more comfortable for me. You can usually find me there posting a question or rambling on about something random. I'm also on Google + though I'm going to be totally honest, I don't understand most of what I do there. If someone would explain to me how Google + works and why I should use it more, then maybe I would do something more awesome than just repost a post. Until then, you can follow me {like me?, plus me???} on google + and be a trendsetter.

So that's the scoop! It's good to be a follower.
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Exciting Things Happening in 2013! Join in the fun!

There are lots of exciting things happening in 2013 and I don't want you to miss out! Did you know you can follow me on Pinterest? If you follow me, I will follow you back. {Unless you pin stupid stuff, then I stop following.}
If you need an invite let me know. I'm happy to send one to you. I would love to connect more with my readers in the New Year. Are you hanging out with me on Facebook? Don't miss out on any Holy Craft Happenings. I want to get to know who you are. Let's hang out. I am excited to be celebrating my third blogging anniversary in February. If you have an item you want to offer for a giveaway, please contact me. You can check my advertising tab for my demographics and information on just how many people could see and hear about your awesome products during that time. As always, I do offer advertising this year. Please check my rates and let me know if we can work together. Looking forward to lots of exciting opportunities in 2013! Thanks for following along and being a part of them.

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