Okay – so I’m not really serious about giving up your personal resolutions. I, too, will try again to lose some weight this year. But – I would suggest that you make a few business resolutions too. Specifically – some tech resolutions. If you thought 2012 was full of new tech products that made you feel overwhelmed, wait until you see what 2013 will bring. I strongly suggest setting some goals for yourself and your business in regards to technology so you can have a powerful and engaging year! Below are a few tech resolutions you might want to try on. And, a little shameless plug – we’re doing a class to help with this ALL YEAR LONG. A biweekly, video interactive class to get your brand on track in 2013. Here’s a link to the first class: POWER BRANDING: What is a brand and how do I find mine?!

Anyways.. back to the resolutions.

Try Something New
Make 2013 the year of pushing the envelope. You don’t have to sign up for every social network in the world, but start something new this year. If you haven’t used Tumblr, try it. Make a commitment to integrate a new tool into your life and stick to it until you’ve really figured out how to use it and whether or not it works for you. I find that January is a great time to try something for 30 days and see where it goes from there. You could also try some new apps. I always ask for suggestions from friends and have found some really cool apps – great for business development. These little shifts in product usage will grow your business and add to your ability to pick up new technologies as they emerge.

Keep the Personal Touch
After saying that you should try something new, I also want to emphasize that you shouldn’t go overboard. Don’t do more than you can handle. You don’t want to find yourself in the world of scheduled updates and never-time-to-be-personal. Or, worse yet, barely able to update all your social networks. Keep the personal touch. If you have to, make a list of all the people you really want to connect with this year and put it in your calendar. I try to reach out to one new person every week and genuinely get to know them. I read up on their social posts, check out their website, read any articles they’ve written and then reach out to them. Meet people for coffee this year (unless you’re giving it up). Whatever you do, stay personal.

Be Photo-Centric
Last year was the year of the photos – from instagram to capturing photos on blog posts, it was all about images. However – if you didn’t catch on fast enough (like me, admittedly), this is the year! Learn about where you can legally get photos (creative commons) and make the most of them. Or, better yet, create your own photos. Be creative and make images front and center. This is one of my big goals this year so I’m sure you’ll see a lot more from me in this area. Investigate Pinterest, LoveIt, Instagram and more!