In case you missed it, I’m not a big “rules” girl. You need to have rules, but whether (and how) you enforce them really depends on what’s needed. [bctt tweet="I believe in rules — but in a spirit of the law kind of way."] I’m certainly not a “follow the rules” girl...
Independent Thinking Blog
Daria Steigman
4 Ways to Find Your Blogging Mojo
So I'm writing this blog post about writing blog posts and finding your blogging mojo. You see, my brain's in a post-holiday funk. I have a Wunderlist of blog post ideas, but nothing is inspiring me. Running often helps clear my mind, but it was raining outside...
The Age of Snapchat
I’ve been playing around with Snapchat. By “playing around,” I mean that I set up an account and started watching how various brands are creating content for the medium. I’m looking at stories. I’m exploring how live stories can offer fresh perspectives on a place or...
The Day Twitter Delivered Champagne to My Door
I thought the crispy bacon on the breakfast buffet would be the highlight of my day. I was wrong. There would be champagne. (More on that in a moment.) I spent three nights in three hotels recently as part of a road trip to southwest Florida for a conference. The...
Social Media Productivity Hacks 4
I’m using the phrase “productivity hacks” because it sounds a lot sexier than saying “tools I found online to help me do my job a little better or a little easier.” And, yes, my best hacking days (such that they exist) are ahead of me. Here are three new tools...
My First Twitter Poll Was a Failure and Here’s Why
My first Twitter poll was a complete failure. It's #WorldSeries Game 5 tonight. Who will win? — Daria Steigman (@dariasteigman) October 31, 2015 It was actually Game 4. Sigh. But that's not what's really wrong here. [bctt tweet="Twitter polls are a useful tool to take...
Buzzfeed’s Founder on the Future of Content
When Jonah Peretti was in graduate school in 2001, he tried to customize a pair of swosh sneakers with the word "sweatshop." As you might imagine, Nike was not amused. They sent him several emails with different excuses, and then finally just said no. He forwarded...
5 Sources of Great Un-Stock Photos (Infographic)
Infographics are in. Done right, they can be a terrific tool. Most of my favorite infographics translate research into usable data. They arrange key data points to tell a story. As a writer first, I'm often a little late testing out new visual tools. Canva, which I've...
The Problem with Peeple
I wasn't going to write about Peeple. But the app just won't go away. Peeple doesn't exist. Yet. And maybe it will end up being a big joke on the Internet. But the initial concept was dumb -- and a tad terrifying. The Washington Post got the scoop on Peeple with a...
The Achilles Heel of Marketing
We talk a lot about content marketing. Of course, the "quality" of said content also matters. And quality is sometimes hard to quantify. (There is an "I'll-know-it-when-I-see-it" element to quality.) There's another element we don't talk about enough: trustworthiness....