I’m a sucker for packaging. I can’t help it. One of my favorite fragances is philosophy’s amazing grace. Besides being a lovely scent, philosophy also included the following text on it’s package. I remember it whenever I wear amazing grace. I want to share philosophy’s philosophy with you:

I remember when I first discovered blogs. I spent an entire week, nearly 18 hours a day, reading. I was giddy with the discovery that somehow I had tapped into a previously unknown online world of intelligence and talent.  I was hungry for knowledge and expression and it seemed that with the discovery of these new writers, a whole new world opened. It was all quite exhilarating and exhausting.

I always become very excited when I meet someone who has a brilliant mind or an incredible talent. To me the most complimentary thing I can say to a person is “You’re interesting”. And just like in the old days, I’m once again smitten with brilliant interesting minds that I’m discovering in a truly global arena. I’ve circled writers and photographers whose thoughts and visions encourage me to raise my own bar higher. Not only do I like that, but I had forgotten that I need it.

I’ve been on Google+ for exactly one week and have logged some pretty serious hours learning and experimenting so that you don’t have to. While the platform is still in BETA and is fairly simple in scope, the more I got into it the more compelling it became and the more there was to learn. Much of this was due to some of the extraordinary content being published there by members. I’m sure I’m going to have to post a follow up (or two or three) on Google+ but here are some of my thoughts so far and hopefully a bit of info to get those of you new to Google+ up and running.

Let’s start by explaining what Google+ is. It’s Google’s roll out of a new social media platform. A bit like Facebook, but cleaner. A bit like Twitter but more expansive. By invitation only, G+ is growing like crazy. As of this post, estimates are that G+ has amassed 18 million members. It still doesn’t compare to Facebook’s 500 million members, just announced by Zuckerberg yesterday, but considering G+ has only been available since June 28 and is not yet available for public consumption, it’s numbers are pretty impressive.

Google+ is a suite of several different start up products, with more to come. At present Google+ offers, of course, a newsfeed. Sparks culls together various recommendations based on your interests…art, design, fashion, photography etc.  Hangout is a video chat service where you can chat with one friend or hold a conference with up to ten people at a time. Huddle is an sms/text messaging service, which I’m hoping will save me lots of dollars on my international sms fees. The main cool feature is called Circles which is how you organize your friends and deal with some pretty slick privacy features which neither Twitter or Facebook can compare. There is also intergradation with Picasa, Google’s photo platform.

A few months ago, I discovered that writer Erin O’Riordan at Goodkin selected Lisa’s Blog as one of her top choices for Queens of the Blogosphere. Wow! I was, and still am, truly flattered. I don’t know why I didn’t share this news with you all sooner but as I was freshening up my blog this morning I came upon the post once again and the screen capture I had saved of it. O’Riordan places my logo right along with those of (le gasp!) Hoffington Post, The Gawker, Debbie Weil, The Mommy Chronicles and BoingBoing. That’s some impressive company.

Phyllis Theroux’s The Journal Keeper – A Memoir is a delightful read. Like having a relaxing sitdown with an older more experienced writer, like talking with your mom or a beloved friend on a spring morning with a cup of tea. In fact, I find her words to be so inspiring that it’s difficult for me to read the book . . . each time I start, I’m inspired to rush to my laptop to jot down words of my own.

On page 40, Theroux writes about a trip to Charlottesville:

We walked around the University of Virginia quad designed by Jefferson. It is winter now, stacks of wood lie by each student’s door. The ivy on the serpentine brick walls is withering, the garden, laid out in pie-shaped triangles, are bare. Something in me doesn’t like to take the time to describe what I’m looking at: the slender student bent over her book in Starbucks, the little snow-suited baby waiting patiently to be scooped up by its mother in the restaurant, the bundled-up Tibetans downtown sitting before their table of trinkets and prayer flags. But another part of me wants to develop a more physically observing eye. This sabbatical from writing has given me the space and time to cultivate my eye for its own sake.

Awhile ago I wrote about the fun and benefits of keeping a journal. That post was about how keeping an actual handwritten, 3-dimensional notebook can help a gal or guy with creativity and personal insight. At the same time, it become apparent to me that I needed some type of system for keeping all my professional writing assignments organized. While I was using a word processing application for writing articles and reviews, I had photos in one folder, contact names in another, notes in another. This was very inefficient. I wanted everything in one spot . . . one stop shopping, so to speak. So I went in search of some software applications that could help writers organize and sort their blog posts, articles and notes.  I have also included some more robust applications for those of you who might be writing your next novel or e-book.

Do you keep a journal? As a kid, I always had what back in little-girl-world was called a diary. My earliest creative memory was one where I stood in my backyard composing thoughts and ideas on paper pretending to be a news reporter. I think it was that particular moment when I knew I would be a writer when I grew up.

Despite that fact that I did grow up to be a writer, I no longer keep a journal. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but I spend so much time typing on a laptop that the very act of handwriting has become foreign to me.

It had gotten to the point where I was unable to complete a thought or a task. This was so unlike me that I wondered if perhaps there was something physically wrong. Communications poured into my life. Emails on my desktop, laptop, Ipod and cellphone. SMS and voice messages. Phone calls, events, social media and news reports. Before I knew it, my day was done and all I had managed was to keep up with comms. I was getting tense and despite my attempts at giving every project my upmost attention, my day was becoming a patchwork of triage.