That's Not Funny by Bob Jones

Photo by Panos Sakalakis on Unsplash

“We offer you one last chance to settle out of court.”

That was the opening threat in an email sent from a lawyer in a European country in reference to an image I used in a blog post. Not a laughing matter. But my reaction was humorous.

After my heart stopped racing I called my lawyer.

That’s when the laughter started.

He reminded me that lawyers don’t use email for legal action. Or at least, legit lawyers don’t inform via email. Or voicemail. Or texting.

That experience happened a while ago. The law hasn’t come to jail me - yet.

The event did give me pause to re-evaluate the sourcing of images in my posts. Did you know that just because a copyright notice does not appear with an image, doesn’t mean the image isn’t copyrighted?

Sara Hawkins, creator of “Blog Law,” gave me some practical insights about image use in her post – “The Best Ways To Be Sure You’re Legally UsingOnline Photos.” 

Have you discovered the Unsplash site yet? https://unsplash.com/ You’ll find free, beautiful images, gifted by the world’s most generous photographers. 

Two of the images in this post were found on the Unsplash site.

And that makes me smile confidently as I hit the "Publish" button.

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash.

The last laugh or groan goes to this image that says it all from my musician friend, Emmanuel Fonte.

Bob Jones is a recovering perfectionist, who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia and drinks Iced Tea. His office walls are adorned with his sons’ framed football jerseys, and his library shelves, with soul food. He writes to inspire people to be real, grow an authentic faith in Jesus, enjoy healthy relationships and discover their life purpose.

Follow his writing at Pointes Of View.

In Praise of Timely Tips - Tracy Krauss

There have been so many great resources and tips this month - and I mean SO MANY, that I almost wondered if I had anything new to share. For instance, Violet Nesdoly's post on taking control of your social networking was practical and very useful. I'm checking out both of her suggestions in hopes of using them in the near future.

As well, Ruth Snyder's post entitled, "5 Reasons Why Writers Should Use Twitter' demystified this social networking powerhouse and put it in its place - as a useful tool. Thanks Ruth!

I loved what Brenda Leyland had to say recently, (I'm not sure if it was here or in an email) when she encouraged people to subscribe to this blog via email. I try not to get too many blogs coming through my email, because I've got too much stuff going there as it is, but I took this small piece of advice and am I ever glad I did. I haven't missed a post all month and there have been so many great tips and articles that I might have missed otherwise.

Lest I become like one of my junior high English students wondering if I've reached my prescribed 'word count' for this post, I will post a few tips of my own before signing off for another month.

1. Make it easy for people to follow you. One thing I like about 'Blogger' is the 'Follow' widget, rather than having to sign up to follow a blog. (Although I just praised the email option a moment ago.) This should be near the top of the page and clearly visible. The same goes for links to your facebook page or twitter. I visit a lot of other people's sites and try to follow or like as many as possible, but if I have to go searching to do so, I probably won't.

2. Make it easy for people to share. I use a widget called 'Add this" and again, it should be in a spot where it can be easily found. Some people have sharing options at the end of each post, and on blogger there is the 'Share' at the top of the page. Still, widgets like 'Add this' make it possible for people to share on a whole host of sites. I use this myself every time I post, sharing my latest blog post on several of my other social networking sites. It takes just five minutes a day or less!

3. Make your own life easier by automating as much as possible. Make sure your blog is set up to automatically share new posts to facebook and twitter and anywhere else that allows. I also have the RSS feed set to share my blog everywhere I see this option: my Amazon author page; all of my 'ning' networks; goodreads ... As well, my goodreads account is linked to my facebook; my ning networks, linkedin and myspace are linked to twitter ... It's like a giant 'web'. Link as many things together as possible and you will save time in posting to each individually.

We are all pressed for time these days. The key is to find simple ways to make your online tasks easier and more efficient. Hope you find these tips helpful and easy to implement!

Tracy Krauss is a multi-published author and playwright. Check out her website for details. tracykrauss.com