Declutter Your Data Archives

Fun Times at the Declutter Your Data Book Launch Party

04.18.2018 by Angela Crocker // Leave a Comment

Book launch party! What fun we had! Family, friends, and colleagues gathered to celebrate the release of my fourth book, Declutter Your Data. I’m delighted so many treasured people could join in the celebration. We made great memories that night. Highlights for me included the hugs from friends I hadn’t seen offline in years to the heated emoji checkers game in the analog games room. There was something for everyone to do. We made great memories that night!

Author Reading

Of course, no book launch is complete without a reading from the author. The speeches and readings were broadcast via Facebook Live on the Declutter Your Data page so we had some virtual attendees join in the fun, too. In this clip, I read two passages from the book – one about the digital clutter problem and the other about the quest for digital happiness. As you’ll see, Facebook added some unexpected digital confetti and the image is a bit choppy in places. Happily, the audio is strong and I hope you enjoy these passages.

Party Games and Fun

Of course, the party wasn’t all speeches from the microphone. Guests enjoyed terrific food from Well Seasoned (thank you, Angie Quaale!) at the beautiful, lakeside Evergreen Cultural Centre. Many guests had their cariactures drawn by Corycatures and enjoyed the analog games room where emoji checkers, Star Wars R2D2 Operation, and many other games were available. It was a super-social evening filled with joy both online and offline.

Special Thank Yous

Thank you to all who attended! Thanks also to my extra special helpers – Brian Roberge, my Dad, who acted as emcee; Mandy Rushton, my treasured Gal Friday; Vicki McLeod, my heart-full friend; and my guys, Paul and Sean, who support me in all that I do. And an extra special thank you to Paul Crocker and Vicki McLeod for being the event’s official photographers and thanks to Angie Lundin, Danielle Christopher, Eileen Espley, Elaine Tan Comeau, Sarah Klodt, Karine TheLetterK, Mandy Rushton, Megan Fox, and Sharon Chai for their social media photos included below. Click on the thumbnails below to see a bigger version of each photo in the gallery.

Angela Crocker at the podium during the book launch for Declutter Your Data

Black Friday Unsubscribe Bonanza

11.23.2017 by Angela Crocker // 3 Comments

Updated November 23, 2022

I love Black Friday. I use this marketing madness to declutter my email. It’s amazing how many email lists only reach out to sell me stuff on Black Friday.

Happy Email Relationships

Now, let’s be clear, I enjoy happy email relationships with numerous online retailers. Reitmans, LEGO, Tombow, Trinny London, and other retailers are all welcome in my inbox. I buy, use, and enthuse about their products. I welcome their emails because we have an ongoing relationship.

Similarly, I have happy email relationships with many professional colleagues and organizations. I look forward to hearing from Rebecca Coleman, Mike Vardy, Chris Brogan, and Vicki McLeod, as well as GetConnected and BC BookWorld.

Unhappy Email Relationships

Black Friday is when the unhappy email relationships appear. The spammy business lists are a good example. Retailers and other businesses that only email to sell you their latest offer. All sales all the time is not a good look!

There are also crowdfunders that have added me to lists based on my Kickstarter support. Some of those are happy email relationships. A few of the 94 campaigns I’ve supported have been disappointments. And it seems the disappointments are the companies I’m most likely to hear from on Black Friday. Sigh…

What treasures have popped up in your inbox this Black Friday? Any truly archaic contacts? Weirdly wonderful messages? Frustrating free-not-free content?

Unsubscribe Is the Solution

By law, every bulk email you receive should include an easy way to unsubscribe. A simple click is usually all that’s needed. And if you’ve read my book, Declutter Your Data, you know I’m a big fan of digital decluttering.

If I unsubscribe, please don’t take it personally. I may no longer be interested or I have been added unwillingly to your list. For some brands, I find it easier to keep up to date with your community via Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. As Sandra Yancey said about customers who aren’t meant to be, “bless and release”. There’s no point in forcing someone to stay on your email list if they aren’t interested.

I find it interesting that so many companies pay to keep names on a list. As a business owner, I would rather have a small list of quality contacts. Yes, I understand some email marketing campaigns are a numbers game. If 2% respond and your list is 1,000 strong, in theory, you’ll have even more success if your list is 10,000 strong. But I maintain that it depends on the quality of your list!

Black Friday Emails

In summary, I love Black Friday. It helps me declutter my email subscriptions, reduce my inbox overload, and saves the sender a few marketing pennies.

And, yes, I purchase a few Black Friday specials, Small Business Saturday items, and Cyber Monday deals. My bargain hunting ways are a different story…

P.S. Unsubscribe works any day of the year!

Delete Facebook memories?

11.21.2017 by Angela Crocker // Leave a Comment

Yesterday, a tough memory popped up on my Facebook profile. I shared a personal note with my loving inner circle from my Mum’s time in hospice four years ago. It’s a sweet memory because it documents a special time, one of my last happy times with my Mum. Yet, I had the instinct to delete it.

Facebook Made Me Cry

Every time I see this painful memory makes me cry. Ugly cry. The post in question doesn’t make my eyes misty. It rips the scab off a part of my heart and I grieve all over again. From one point of view, this is a good thing. Crying, while distressing, is good for us. We release hormones that make us feel better. We’re in touch with our emotions. And we appreciate the good things. And there are medical benefits, too.

To Delete or Not? That is the question.

On the flipside, I’ve been tempted to save myself the upset. I could easily delete the post thus ensuring it won’t pop up next year. But should I? As I’ve explored my digital cleanse, I’ve wrestled with the question of whether or not to delete old posts that make me sad, make me mad, or otherwise make an emotional storm. Should we delete Facebook memories?

I haven’t deleted any to date. I’ve been tempted for sure. Even with the tears, it strikes me that life isn’t all sunshine and roses. The perfect life so many of us put online isn’t the reality of our day to day lives, right? There’s the sad days when we cry and the tough days when we’re injured and the horrible days when we’ve been fired. Yet, the contrast between good and bad make us complete. Those challenging moments are a big part of what makes us human.

So, for now I keep my past intact just as I shared it in many posts over the last ten years or so. And on Nov 21 each year, I’ll have a cry and think of my Mum with love.