Any idea what all these things have in common? They are all blogs — written by women. According to PRWeek and BlogHer, today there are 55.6 million women who read and write blogs monthly. And of those women who blog, they say their top goal when blogging is to express themselves (82%), followed by giving advice (51%) and persuading others (20%).

Women trust friends first — and a blogger’s personal trust will apply directly to her recommendations on everything, including the clients and brands you represent. Eighty-five percent of BlogHer’s audience reports buying a product based on a recommendation from a blog, while 82% of women bloggers rely on blogs for information about shopping, says Lisa Stone, CEO of BlogHer.

So what is the best way to get the attention of the female blogosphere?

• Disclose, disclose, disclose. Say who you are, what you want and why you’re doing this. Don’t make women guess.
• The technology exists, so leverage it. “I’m sure this is a terrifying thought to brands and products, but technology has enabled us to actually have a conversation. Let’s have it.”
• Beware treating women with brains and wallets as the only demographic or as a niche. “Not all women are mothers or married. Reach out to single women, as well as to women without children.”
• Women want to hear directly from companies and candidates. “It’s irrelevant what media think. I want to hear from the companies and products and decide for myself.”

And for a list and directory of women bloggers, check out BlogsbyWomen. Happy Blogging!

The award honors Gilliland, a board-certified pediatrician who runs Rainbow Pediatrics in Indianapolis, for demonstrating exemplary performance when following up with examinations and consultations after patients’ emergency room visits, providing routine preventive and well-care services for children and adults and establishing a medical home for new enrollees in the MHS healthcare plan.

“MHS is proud to recognize Dr. Gilliland for the outstanding service and quality of care she provides to Managed Health Services members in the greater Indianapolis community,” said Dr. Robert Baker, vice president of medical affairs at MHS. “Our primary focus is on delivering the best possible care to our members and we could not do that without strong relationships with our plan’s physicians. The Summit Award for Excellence is one way we thank Dr. Gilliland for her ongoing dedication to helping children live healthy lives.”

Gilliland opened Rainbow Pediatrics in 1996 and also maintains a solo practice supported by call partners. After earning an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, she graduated Indiana University’s School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. From 1989 to 1996, Gilliland provided community pediatric care at HealthNet in Indianapolis before opening Rainbow Pediatrics. Rainbow Pediatrics is located at 5711 N. Michigan Road in Indianapolis. The center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, 1-7 p.m. Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays.

And certainly these distractions have the power to decrease our productivity.

From the Hoosier PRSA blog, here are some simple suggestions for working smarter, not necessarily harder.   

• Make the most of your time both in and outside the office.
• Work on one task and complete it. If you have to jump to something else, try to always pick up where you left off.
• Prioritize and know how to delegate. Spend the last 15 minutes of your day preparing for the next. 
• Unplug from controllable distractions, i.e. social media. Browsing is okay every now and then but try to stay on track. (What? No Facebook chat?!)
• Write things down or find online tools to help you organize your day. For those of you who live on your computers and mobile devices, try TeuxDeux. TeuxDeux is a simple, design, browser-based to-do app, and best of all- it’s free. Try for yourself, http://teuxdeux.com/.
   
  Also, set mini deadlines — if you give yourself a specific time to finish a project, you’ll pace yourself better and work faster than if it’s open-ended. So decide what you must get done by lunch. Or plan to call your mom in an hour, and complete something beforehand.

How do you stay productive? The sooner you get your work done, the sooner you can head out to enjoy the weather!

Beth DeSalvo (in photo at right, receiving her award from Bright House Networks marketing manager Brooke Krodel), a speech-language therapist at Ernie Pyle Elementary School (IPS No. 90), won the 2010 “Get Schooled: Educate Motivate and Inspire” competition hosted by Bright House Networks in partnership with Get Schooled, a national education program co-developed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Viacom.

DeSalvo will receive a $2,000 educational grant that she’ll use to buy new books for students undergoing speech-language therapy. She started her own library in her school’s therapy room and entered the competition in hopes of receiving funding to add to her collection of 100 books, specifically obtaining more books for first- and second-grade students

Mark Hodges and Parker Myers, who graduated from Carmel High School in May, won a national honorable mention in C-SPAN’s national 2010 StudentCam competition their senior year. The duo submitted a video documentary titled “Homeless in America” that focused on homelessness and its challenges to the nation. Hodges and Myers will each receive a $500 educational grant from Bright House Networks as the local winner of the competition. Hal Espey, broadcasting instructor at Carmel High School, will receive a $1,000 educator’s grant for representing the efforts of Hodges and Myers.

DeSalvo, Hodges and Myers will be honored at a June 24 Bright House Networks Education Celebration Gala in Orlando, Fla.

On rare occasions, my work day is blessed with “believe it or not” situations. Today was no exception. At about 11:45 a.m., a water main exploded literally just outside my office, sending enormous amounts of water propelling into the air. It was just like a mini Old Faithful show. As of this writing, it is still streaming at full blast, sending mud and rocks 50 feet into the air.

Spectators have gathered to watch and we’re getting reports that the peak of the water plume can be seen as far as Louisville. Luckily, no one has been injured from this freak accident. But we have noticed this explosion has unearthed some dinosaur bones dating back to the Mesozoic era.

There has been speculation from some of the eyewitnesses that the voles that intruded into our office months ago were the cause of this great disaster, as they have been spotted bouncing at the top of the water plume.

Some of the spectators can be seen holding signs that read “ARMEGEDDON!” and “Save Our Oceans” and even one that says “iPhone 4 – Yahoo!” The guy from the basketball games has arrived with his familiar sign “John 3:16.” When asked how much water could be escaping through this geyser, staff correspondent Shawn Sorrells responded “a lot.”

The two-day event will offer activities for families, children and the entire community. Live entertainment, food booths and children’s activities, including bounce houses, face painting, sumo wrestling and obstacle courses, are sure to draw big crowds as will an Old School Car and Motorcycle Show and the annual five-on-five Dust Bowl basketball tournament.

KidsBMV, an identification program for children that generates a photo ID and includes a child’s address, date of birth, phone number, eye and hair color and height and weight and details about any medical conditions a child might have for parents, teachers and caregivers, will also be at Family Reunion on Saturday.

Managed Health Services is the title sponsor of Family Reunion and will staff a health fair booth from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, offering free blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose screenings, one-on-one personal health counseling and advice and health-related literature and giveaways.

Brooking’s business philosophy is simple: Provide the best customer service, offer the cleanest salons in the area and provide the best equipment and products to all customers who come in.

Five years after being recognized by One Southern Indiana Chamber and Economic Development for the fastest-growing southern Indiana business, in May True Colors Tanning was awarded the 2010 Southern Indiana Business of the Year at the chamber’s 2010 Business Awards. “I was very excited to win the award,” she said. “It’s a huge deal in this area and we were up against some rather large and established businesses with international operations. I truly believe that True Colors Tanning won because we’re a good corporate citizen.”

Brooking sits on the board of Bridgepoint Goodwill and Horseshoe Foundation Revolving Loan Fund, both in Jeffersonville. She and her staff of 75 also raise thousands of dollars each year for the local epilepsy foundation. All businesses should have a charity of choice and the foundation is ours, Brooking said. Employing civic-minded individuals who can work as a team and help their communities is important as a business owner, she said. She said she looks for employees who will dedicate themselves to the business, are serious about customer service, who’ll give back to our local communities and who have serious career goals in mind. “I also highly encourage all of my employees to network in their communities,” she said. “People know what True Colors Tanning is but I want my staff to get out in their communities and know the people.”

True Colors Tanning exclusively offers tanning beds manufactured by ETS Tan, the world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of tanning beds and tanning equipment. The chain is the first in southern Indiana to offer ETS Tan’s new Legend tanning bed, part of a new line of tanning beds featuring e3 technology. e3 beds are high-output beds that require less space, run at cooler temperatures and feature electronic ballasts that reduce energy consumption and can lower operating costs by up to 30 percent. e3 beds also feature illuminating mood-mode panels that are backlit, change color and add modernistic ambiance to salons. “I love these new beds because they perform extremely well, have required absolutely no maintenance and get results for my customers by providing them a superior tan,” Brooking said. “I have always chosen ETS Tan because the company builds a workhorse of a tanning bed. But with this new line of beds, ETS Tan has combined a workhorse with a racehorse. The e3 tanning beds are truly the best in the industry.”

Across her nine salons, Brooking offers 112 ETS Tan commercial tanning beds, including the Velocity, SolarForce and Rejuvasun with Omnilux models and seven spray-tan units. Customers, she said, like the new look and superior performance of the Legend tanning bed at True Colors Tanning locations where it’s offered. “They love its appearance and are buying more and more sessions in the Legend,” she said. “We’re unique in our marketplace right now because none of our competitors offer this kind of technology. We definitely have plans on adding more e3 tanning beds in the future.”

“That was such a convenience,” Shannon Fleming said. “We love Las Vegas and knew we wanted to move here, so we put our heads together to develop a good business plan and here we are today.”

Open nearly three weeks, Super Star 24-Hour Tanning is a 1,750-square-foot salon located about four miles off the Vegas strip. Its customer base has grown substantially week by week due to several factors, including special pricing packages offered on Facebook and its uniqueness in offering tanning 24 hours a day. But the biggest lure that has drawn new clients to Super Star 24-Hour Tanning has been the new tanning technology offered inside. The salon offers 10 new-to-market tanning beds by ETS Tan, the world’s largest manufacturer of tanning beds and tanning equipment. The new e3 line of beds feature the latest in energy-saving science, ergonomic design principles and eco-friendly lamp configurations. No other salon in Las Vegas offers the new e3 line of tanning beds.

e3 beds feature electronic ballasts that reduce energy consumption and can lower a salon’s operating costs by up to 30 percent. The beds operate at cooler temperatures, allowing salons to scale back air conditioning in the summer months, and use Wolff System lamps that contain less mercury, making them more easily disposable than non-green lamps.

The Flemings opened their salon with three Epic 242, three Ultimate Envy 134, one Legend 548 and one Legend 448 beds. Super Star Tanning also offers ETS Tan’s HP Velocity 1000, the Solar Force 652 stand-up bed and a California Tan Autobronzer. “No one in this area had seen these beds before and they’re shocked with their futuristic look, compact design and colorful appearance,” Kevin Fleming said. “Their bright lights fit Vegas and definitely increase our sidewalk appeal, something that definitely increases our bottom line.” Customers, he said, “are amazed by ETS Tan’s e3 beds long before they get inside. These beds are sleek, attractive and attention getting with their bright, moving lights. Once inside them, our customers have been overwhelmed with how well these beds perform and deliver a superior tan.

“We felt that other vendors were more expensive and offered lesser products,” he said. “Our experience with ETS Tan has been excellent. We’ve received outstanding customer service and advice as we opened our first salon and are extremely happy with the e3 line of tanning beds. So are our customers.”

During June’s 3rd annual West Coast Tanning Expo on June 14-15 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Flemings are inviting expo attendees to visit Super Star Tanning and witness first-hand the power and style of the e3 tanning beds. A free shuttle will be available to take attendees from Caesars Palace to Super Star Tanning, just four miles off the strip. Refreshments, prizes and more will be offered at the salon.

In the news:
USA Today
Boston Business Journal
The Press-Enterprise

In Alabama, Washington is an active member in the community, with current and past involvement in the Emanon Group, a non-profit education advocacy organization; the Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce; and Leadership Elmore County. She has served as board chair of the city of Wetumpka’s “Christmas in the Coosa” board, a member of the Elmore County Community Foundation and a participant in the River Region United Way Campaign. She has also been an active participant with the cable industry’s Women in Cable initiative.

Originally from  Wetumpka, Ala., Washington earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Troy University in 2001 and a master’s degree in management from Troy University’s Graduate School of Management.

But some degrees are worth more than others, as PayScale.com shows in its 2010 report on the earning power of bachelor’s degrees. Are you surprised at the worst-paying college degrees?:

10. Drama
9. Fine arts
8. Hospitality and tourism
7. Education
6. Horticulture
5. Spanish
4. Music
3. Theology
2. Elementary education
1. Social work

And in a related article, some popular career myths are busted, one of which is: All that most workers care about is their salary. Recruiter Tony Beshara says, “If that were true, we’d all rob banks.” Sure money is important, but workers usually care about more than just money. According to the 2009 employee job-satisfaction survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, employees identified job security as the most important contributor to their job satisfaction. Benefits were in second place, with salary coming in at number three.

Lesson: Money doesn’t buy happiness. (but in my opinion, it sure helps!)