BlogPaws - The Pet Social Media Resource

My Interview with Jill Rappaport, Animal Advocate

By Guest Blogger, Chloe DiVita

As a BlogPaws Team Member I was lucky enough to be invited to the Purina Media event at Global Pet Expo this year where I got to meet Jill Rappaport, the Today Show’s Pet Correspondent. While I knew who she was and I knew she had made an impact on the life of many shelter pets, I did not realize just how big her heart is when it comes to animals. I believe she put it best when she said she has “more (pets) than a sane person, but less than a hoarder.” I think many of us can relate to that!

Following Global Pet Expo, Jill shared her story with me and climbed a few notches on my admiration list. Her journey to becoming the Today Show’s Pet Correspondent began with her German Shepard Jack. At the time Jack was 11 ½ and after an accident injured his leg, bone cancer was found in it as well. The options Jill was presented with were amputate or euthanize. Both made her sick to her stomach. She and her Vet knew that Jack had plenty of life left to live, but Jill had been down this road before. She had a dog that battled cancer and only lived a few weeks after doing an amputation. She did not want to go through that again.

Friday Freebies for Bloggers: Information is Free, but What's it Worth? - Part 1

By Tom Collins

I know myself well enough to know I won't always find the time to try out a new tool, or put together a tutorial each week for the Friday Freebiesseries. So I've been planning to include occasional "curation" posts, linking you to stuff I've come across and find interesting, with a short blurb about why. 

To kick off my (at least) two-part introduction of the curation concept, here's the recorded video from my live-streamed "Safe Surfing for Pet Owners to Get Reliable Pet Care Information" presentation at the American Animal Hospital Association annual conference AAHA 2012 Denver:

 

Six Easy Ways to Self-Promote

by Yvonne DiVita

"I can't do it for myself."

"I'm great at doing it for other people. Just not for me."

"It feels funny doing it for myself."

What is "it"? Promotion. 

Most of us have trouble promoting ourselves. Yes, it's easy to talk up your friends,family and clients. You're doing them a favor, you're showing support, you're passionate about them and what they're doing. With today's social media tools - who isn't good at saying, "Wow, have you seen this?" when family, friends and clients are doing something fun, new or unusual.

The problem is, many of us have businesses or are striving to build a business, and we need to be out there cheerleading for ourselves as much as we cheerlead for friends, family and clients. We don't do it because we're afraid of imposing... or because we think folks might think we're being 'uppity' (too big for our britches, my Mom would say). Truth is, the world needs to see enthusiasm... and who better to provide that enthusiasm about what we do, than ourselves?

Wordless Wednesday

Head's up Pet Bloggers: We WANT more pictures to posted in the community to give us lots to choose from for Wordless Wednesday. We hear from everyone who has been chosen that they love waking up to the Wednesday morning surprise of having their baby front and center for everyone to look at! [email Felissa if you have specific pics to share!]

Love Wordless Wednesday because you get to post pictures of your pets? Well it is now 100 times better! Each week BlogPaws is going to create a link up for the community for you to add a link directly to your Wordless Wednesday Post. That way we can all share and enjoy each others pets.

The rules are super simple: Show us your pets! Leave a link directly to your Wordless Wednesday Post Visit other blogs and say hello (don't forget! This is the part that is the most fun!) Remember to leave a comment to let everyone know you stopped by for a visit. Share the link up with your readers so they can join the community and link up as well. You can grab the code and place it on your blog or you can refer your readers right back to the Wordless Wednesday post of the week.

If you would like your pet’s picture featured as our Wordless Wednesday picture of the week, please join the BlogPaws Community Center.

The Dreaded Conference Fears!

by Yvonne DiVita

"I often feel awkward when I go to a conference. Reluctant to sidle up to a stranger and introduce myself, I roam, like I did at college parties, self-conscious, seltzer water in hand, not fitting in. In the midst of a sea of people chatting away enthusiastically, I am uncomfortable and alone."

So starts Peter Bregman's article from Harvard Business Review. A short piece on how hard it is to attend conferences when you feel so out of place. Interestingly, he's a professional. He was speaking on a panel, at the particular conference he talks about. That didn't bother him. Speaking is easy. It's the mingling afterwards that is hard.