Firestorm Has Bakes On Mesh

Image Source: xelerus.de

Firestorm has released an update that includes the new Bakes On Mesh option.  I have updated my viewer, but I haven’t yet had time to play around with how it all works.

However, I have watched a few videos and read a few blogs that have some pretty good explanations.

Elayne over at The Studio has 2 videos about BoM.  The first one explains the difference between the two alphas provided with her mesh head and which one you should use depending on what you’re trying to do.

She keeps the explanations fairly simple and non-technical, which is always helpful, in my opinion.  Lots of people don’t care how it works, they just want to know how to use it.

Elayne also linked to a blog post by Cazimi that has a lot of resource links for BoM at the bottom of it.  Tons of good info there.

I still need to pick up the Maitreya BoM HUD and the nail fixers, but I’m excited to play around with them.  I have a ton of makeup layers and tattoos I used to wear all the time and I’m curious to experiment and see what they look like using the BoM system.

Not having to use a HUD to apply layers to my mesh body would be a HUGE deal for me personally.  I never got into tons of appliers, especially makeup, because it was too overwhelming for me dealing with all the layers of a mesh head.  Plus, I try to be conscious of my personal rendering cost, so wearing things that are easier to render is a bonus as well.

I’m still debating whether to keep my Maitreya body or pick up the SLink Redux body made for BoM.  I don’t know if Maitreya plans to remake their body with fewer onion layers, so the SLink body is tempting.  Except that previous frustrating experiences with SLink hands/feet issues is still recent enough that I don’t know if I want to do that.

On the other hand, if I do pick up the SLink body, I definitely will need to go shopping, as most of my current shoes and clothes are made for Maitreya only.

Hmm, an excuse for shopping – I may have made my decision! 😛

Time and Space

Image Source: empower-u-academy.com

The older I get, the more time is on my mind.  I took a hiatus from this blog for a while, and while I was gone, the blog had its 6th birthday.  6th!

I can’t believe I’ve had this blog for 6 years.

When I started it, I had more free time and so I posted more often.  I’d thought that as I got older, my free time would increase, but it hasn’t worked out that way.  However, I’ve missed blogging and writing, so here I am.

Space is the other thing on my mind – I use the free version of WordPress for this blog, so I get a limited amount of space for the pictures I add.  When I was posting reviews of dance shows, I had multiple pics per post.  Same with when I started doing travel photos – multiple pics per sim.  I’ve only used 21% of my free storage so far, so I guess I have another 12 years or so before I need to worry about reaching the limit? 😛

Seriously, though, it’s a real dilemma.  You want pics because those interest people (and drive traffic) but the tradeoff is the space requirements.  I could upgrade to a paid account with WordPress and get more space, but that’s hard to justify right now.

I also used to post my pics to Flickr, but now Flickr is limited as well, unless I pay to go Pro (which I won’t).  So now I’m back to debating what social media I might want to use with the blog.  I used to post on KoinUp back in the day and they’re still around (and still free, I think) or I could use my Ello account.  Any suggestions besides Fakebook and Twitter?  😀

How Time Flies!

Image Source: empower-u-academy.com

You know that old saying – “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” I’m usually pretty good at staying on top of things, but sometimes I’m so immersed in details I forget to look at the big picture.

It’s a good thing WordPress sends reminders, otherwise I would not have known that today is my 4th (4th!) anniversary for this blog.  Amazing.

The blog has grown and taken some twists and turns from where I started, and I’m not sure I ended up where I intended to go, but it’s been a terrific journey so far. 😀

Can’t wait to see what this new year brings!

Time Flies

Image Source: empower-u-academy.com

Time flies when you’re having fun, according to the expression.

And indeed it does!

I received a notice today that I have been blogging here for 3 years!  I can’t believe it’s been that long already.

The blog has gone through several changes, and will likely go through several more before I am through.

I had actually been considering whether to continue blogging or not.  Over the years, I’ve tried a few different directions – some worked, some didn’t.

And I think all bloggers reach a point where they wonder if they have anything left to say.  I think I do, so for now, I’ll keep blogging. 😛

I’m having a lot of fun exploring SL and taking landscape photos, so you will definitely continue to see that in the blog.

Dance and LOTD posts may take a bit of a back seat to the photography, but I’m sure they will sneak back in here and there. 😀

For now, I’m off for a drink to celebrate my 3 year anniversary!

Thinking Out Loud

Me this week!
Image Source: http://www.clipartpanda.com

It’s been a very hectic week for me, and I have found myself without much time (or inclination) to blog.  😦

I used to post every day, sometimes twice a day – one written post and then one LOTD post.

I’ve taken on some additional projects and it’s taking me a bit to get used to the lack of free time to write and take photos.

A few weeks ago, I decided that I would stop posting every day and see what happened.  As expected, my traffic fell.  Which is disappointing, but totally understandable.  I don’t read every single post every single day of the blogs I follow, so I don’t expect that from my readers either.

However, finding a happy medium has so far been elusive.  I’ve considered changing the direction of the blog (that dreaded ‘niche’ word), but I like writing about many different things.

I love taking photos of fantastic sims and sharing those, and those posts tend be popular.  I love taking my LOTD photos, though those are probably more for me than anyone else. 😀

I also love writing about dance – which is the reason I started this blog.  I am still involved in dancing in SL, and enjoy it very much.  However, I’m not sure that many readers actually enjoy reading about it.

I’ve also become very involved with learning the Artiste tools, and many of my posts have been about that.  Certainly a niche group for those posts! 😛

So, if I post less often, please be assured that I am still here, and I do intend to continue to write (and dance, and take photos).

Enjoy your Thursday!

Grow Your Audience – 8 Tricks Efficient Writers Use On Twitter | Sacha Black

I found this an interesting post, especially since a friend and I were just discussing this weekend how effective Twitter actually is at growing blog traffic.

SL blogs are niche, of course, but I personally haven’t found that using Twitter leads to much in the way of blog traffic.

I used to schedule tweets in advance, but haven’t done that for a while.  Perhaps I should go back and try again using some of the tips in the article.

Which social media platform leads to the most blog traffic for you?

Source: Grow Your Audience – 8 Tricks Efficient Writers Use On Twitter | Sacha Black

It’s a New Year! Don’t Forget to Update Your Copyright Info | Photofocus

Image Source: http://www.writinggooder.com

This is something I always overlook when it’s a new year!

If you have something you want copyrighted, don’t forget to update your copyright information.

You may need to do it in more than one place, so make yourself a checklist for next year. 🙂

Source: It’s a New Year! Don’t Forget to Update Your Copyright Info | Photofocus

Setting Goals and Celebrating Success

Interesting figures, no? Image Source: management4success.wordpress.com

Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to learn more about social media and marketing.

Last month I attended a webinar on social media marketing and I’m currently taking a course on managing social media.

There are a million social networks these days, and I’m finding it difficult to keep track of everything and be as organized as I want/need to be.

One of the things discussed at the webinar was setting SMART goals for yourself (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound).

Instead of a vague goal like ‘increase engagement,’ your goals need to be specific and measurable.

For example, my goal for last month was to increase my number of followers.

I looked at my stats to find out my current number of followers, added the number, and that was my goal.

Specific (add X number of followers), Measurable (number of followers), Attainable , Realistic, and Time-bound (1 month).

Goal setting can be a challenge because I find myself checking stats constantly, and it becomes an energy drain for me.

After only a few days, I had met my goal.

Yay!

But since it only took a few days, clearly I needed to reassess my goals.

So I set a new goal and I am trying to increase my followers by a specific percentage rather than a specific number.

Because I was busy doing other things (like the social media course), I hadn’t been checking my stats every day.

Yesterday, while I was doing something else, I happened to notice that I had gained quite a few more followers.

Yay again!! 😀

I’ve been so busy concentrating on other things that I forgot how good it feels to see your hard work start to pay off.

I may not have met my goal yet, but I’m on the way there, and I’m excited!

I think sometimes we have a tendency to focus on the end goal, which is good, but we forget to celebrate small successes along the way.

Because who doesn’t like to celebrate?!

Image Source: superuser.com

 

 

 

To Facebook or Not to Facebook?

Image Source: http://www.fenton.com

Yesterday was an extremely busy day for me in RL, so much so that I didn’t even have time to post yesterday.

Ack!

After spending some time this morning catching up on things, I think I’m glad I was gone.

I don’t have a Facebook (because I loathe their policies, and also because they wouldn’t accept Feldragonne as a last name, the b*st*rds).

I’ve often considered whether I should join up, and every now and again, the internal debate starts again.

I’d probably get more traffic and more interaction on my blog if I had a FB.

I’ve considered setting up a page rather than a profile, as that would follow their TOS, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the account getting suspended or deleted.

But then I get wind of yet another FB drama and I just think – nope.

SL is a place for me to have fun and do my own thing.

Sometimes it’s lonely, but that’s my own fault for being a platform hermit. 😛

And usually about the time I’m considering trying to be social, I get wind of some kind of drama, and I just – can’t.

I don’t have the time or energy or desire to deal with drama.

However, even with extra groups (and alts in groups), I never have enough for all the shops and stores and events I want to keep up with.

I follow blogs, of course, but not everyone has blogs.

Everyone seems to have a FB.

So, fellow bloggers, dancers, and SLers – is it worth it to have a FB account?

Does it help your blog traffic?

Do you have a page for your avatar/business, or do you have an actual profile and take your chances with getting it deleted if it gets reported?

If you have an account, is it under your actual SL name, or have you made it seem more like a RL name to lessen the chances of deletion?

Does having a different name cause confusion?

I ask because I have trouble myself keeping track of people when names don’t match.

If I know someone in SL as John Smith and their SL profile is John Jones, it gets confusing to me.

What happens when your account gets deleted?

Do you just make a new profile and hope it doesn’t get caught?

Inquiring minds, here. 😀

Setting Goals for Success

Image Source: nursecareersuccess.com

A few weeks ago I attended a seminar on using social media more effectively.

I had a lot of ‘aha’ moments – not necessarily because I learned anything I didn’t already know, but because I was forced to actually *think* about what my goals were.

When I started this blog, my goal was to write and have fun.

(Those are still my main goals, btw.)

But as the blog has grown, so have my dreams.

So how can I make my dreams a reality?

For me, simply by paying a bit more attention and by being more deliberate.

I don’t like to look at my stats every day or even every week.

It’s too easy for me to start trying to micromanage every little detail and then I become overwhelmed.

I picked two (relatively) small goals – both for this blog and my new shoe blog – I ❤ Shoes SL.

I made an editorial calendar – something I’d used before, but this time I designed it myself, so it had all the things *I* needed and wanted on it.

I wrote my goals at the top, so they are there as a constant reminder when I’m working on things.

What I’ve noticed so far?

Even though I haven’t made my goals (yet), I’m getting there.

I’m able to celebrate even small successes, like 1 more subscriber or 10 more daily page views.

I’ve stopped comparing myself to other blogs/bloggers, and I’m concentrating on what *I* am accomplishing.

Every ‘life coach’ out there will tell you to set goals – that’s nothing new.

But the idea of setting ‘measurable’ goals had sort of eluded me until now.

I’m amazed at what a difference it has made, not only in my approach, but in my mental state.

Because I have stopped comparing myself to others, I am able to more easily celebrate my own little successes – successes that likely would have passed unnoticed before.

And though this is a lesson I’ve learned before, it clearly is one that I need repeated.

This is something I need to carry over into my dancing in SL – comparing yourself to others is often just a road to frustration and upset.

Celebrate what *you* do that is successful – no matter how small it may seem.

Those baby steps are what will motivate you to keep learning and growing in your art.

Don’t forget to celebrate!!