12 Apps 2021

Dialogue with yourself is really important. Don’t you agree? Sharing opinions and aspirations for change are also important.

This time last year I wanted to tackle my bloggers guilt. Never posting enough, regularly enough. I never thought I could. 30 days to the end of January.

I enjoyed the journey. Let’s do it again. I have used Typepad since I began blogging. I continued there in 2021 as it offered an easy path from pad to post. My pad being Apple’s Note app and posing via email to Typepad.

However, the internet visibility was depressingly poor. It’s reach was low. The disheartening truth is the lack of reach impacted my motivation.

The sobering truth is that content in king, the algorithm is the wicked stepmother! I became Cinderella in my own story. I continued to post sporadically. Tangentially, but if I can continue the analogy, my DYCP (Develop Your Creative Practice) Arts Council funding success did provide me with a window of hope on reflection although it took until August. I did make it to the ball! Which makes my dyslexia support assistant my Fairy Godmother! The awesome Fiona Woof.

But in the Spring of 2021 I found myself asking, What makes social media work now? I’d spent years helping others understand that question. Spent years championing organic reach. The social media powers that be see no profit in organic reach so purchasing prowess or hard slog audience development are the paths. One takes a lot of money and the other a lot of time!

For audience development without money requires a lot of strategic engagement and demands presence especially when authenticity is importance.

I decided to upgraded my platform understanding attending several LEP (local enterprise partnership) initiatives to get up to date on the What and How, fundamentals of Facebook Pages, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn with Paul Ince and attended informative, great workshops on Search Engine Optimisation and Google Analytics with Ian Lockwood.

As I knew, there is no silver bullet but I now feel I understand the platforms again. Understanding is not mastery however. There have been some new tools introduced and features especially around charity fundraising.

I was also fortunate to arrange a business 1-2-1 session though the Digital Growth Programme with Paul Ince also. This came at the start of September.

The Summer was transformative having received the news that my Arts Council DYCP application had been successful opening the door for my practice to garner my full attention from November starting with Chris Grady’s Diploma in Creative Producing.

What a year. Here we are about to embark on 2022. The perpetual cycle of the Earth around the sun is resolved and begins again.

For the last few years I have compiled a 12 apps of Christmas article and 2021 adopted this ritual which acted as the beginning of my end of year concluding review.

Audience is important to me, you reading this is important as the point of presence between us.

I’d like to tell you about the 4 labels that help me manage my online interactions. Personal, Professional, Public and Private. Stuff singularly in that private category shouldn’t be online but there are elements on Facebook that are shared to endear a sense of confidence. Do I trust Facebook? No but the line is mediated to engender a sense of myself into my posts and interaction in the face of seeing so few people in the flesh very regularly even more so since Covid. I do have a private life as should everyone and know it’s boundaries. My blogging and writing online falls in to a journaling vein. It is very much Personal right now with some venn-diagram intersection with Professional primarily and Public most certainly!

So to you whether you read this in 2021 on the cusp of 2022 or in the future when this becomes part of my legacy Happy New Year, Happy any year. Most of all find me. What am I doing, what are you doing?

Here is my annual 12 Apps for Christmas. I hope you find something new and something you take with you into 2022. http://bit.ly/pcm12apps21-pdf

If you are curious here is the long list. Some of these my become posts especially where there were several apps providing similar services.

In the 2021 12app there are opportunities to join me here are two I’d like you consider exploring.

More on these in future posts I’m sure.

Please join my team CurtainRaisers on Charity Miles! Click here to join now. https://miles.app.link/ZwhfVrXHamb

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