Learn to Write Better Titles at Associated Content's Town Hall on Wednesday

(Hint #1: Don't make them as long as that title. I definitely need attend this Town Hall)

The next AC Town Hall: "Title Writing for Associated Content" Register here.

Wednesday October 1 at 6:00 pm EST, join Join AC's Lead Content Manager, Valerie Singleton, as she gives tips and tricks for writing solid, informative titles that will help your content perform on Associated Content. Valerie will teach you to properly use keywords and search terms within your titles to increase exposure of your content.

Attending the Town Hall and following Valerie's wise advice will help draw more readers to your content, thereby upping your page views and making you a happy CP. We like happy CPs.

Winners of the Obama-McCain Political Haiku Contest

Thank you to everyone who participated in the political haiku writing contest that AC ran recently. We had a huge number of submissions, and so many were so good that it was tough to settle on the winners.

Should these inspire you, a political limerick contest will be announced in October and we'll be looking for Halloween-related creative writing as well. Please send your congratulations to the Content Producers below!

Lenora Murdock is the creator of the winning Pro-McCain haikus:
Oh say, can you see
Bright futures for you and me?
Truth. Pride. Liberty.

These perilous times:
War, hate, economy, crime,
Young troops on the line.

Victory, valor,
Pride, strength, peace, justice, honor
We need this hour.

Raise star-spangled squall.
McCain and Palin for all!
We, the people, call.

Shawn Struck is the Pro-Obama haiku winner (he wrote about Sarah Palin):
Moose feast happily
On Alaskan tundra moss.
Bang! Goes Palin's gun.

On-the-job training
is best for learning new things.
At least, we hope so.

She compared herself
to dumb dog, takes offense when
compared to bright pig?

Mommy! Hunts a moose!:
When I think of leadership,
those two top my list.

Bridges to nowhere
Ain't really that ambitious:
How 'bout hockey rinks?

Cops over budget?
Just use Palin's solution:
Rape kits now cost you!

Finally, the independent or third party winner is Justice Lives Not with "Obama McCain's Crazy Train":
Obama McCain
Just like Pinky and the Brain
They want to RULE us

Ain't it such a shame?
Are they evil or insane?
Trying to FOOL us

To them it's a game
Both guys claim to feel our pain
Attempt to COOL us

Feel the budget strain
Flush more money down the drain
Fleece and DE-WOOL us

Obama McCain
The destination's the same
Downward they'll PULL us!

Friday's Featured Content: McCain Has a Goldfish

Looks like the debate is on for tonight! As an appetizer, I thought you might enjoy this funny bit from wbva3fan (aka Gustevson Gornadi), resident of Harrisburg, PA, called "McCain Has a Goldfish."

In a style similar to George Saunders's humor for the New Yorker, wbva3fan writes facts about Senator McCain that you probably already know, like how he is "part of the government" and "wears a suit."But he adds details that you may not be so well acquainted with, such as how McCain has three pet goldfish that he sings to but has not named. Head to wbva3fan's CP page for other articles including "Hillary Clinton is Nice" and "Bush and Cheney are Nice."

It wouldn't be fair to laugh at only one presidential candidate so check out Angela Coleman's roundup of "Best Video Political Parodies of Barack Obama."

Associated Content and Your Office Fitness

Quite a few employees in AC's Denver and NYC offices sit on big exercise balls instead of desk chairs for at least part of their day. Its a small but effective change that makes the ball-sitters less passive as they inhabit their desk and stare at a computer screen for long periods of time. Its also highly entertaining to watch your colleagues bounce up and down slightly as they furiously type away.

Office fitness (or "home office fitness", or simply "desk fitness") is an important issue for Content Producers. Many of you use computers fairly constantly, and as a result are susceptible to all of the afflictions that the lifestyle is accompanied by. I've cribbed a few suggestions from AC articles (with links to the originals) in the hopes of inspiring you (and myself) to be more active in your daily office routine.

The first and easiest is to simply make sure that you get up and move around frequently. A general rule of thumb is to get up at least once every 30 min and move around. Instead of emailing a coworker, go and have a conversation in person. Make a coffee run for your office mates. Simply stand up and stretch--you'll get used to the odd looks from cube mates soon enough.

While you're sitting, clench different muscle groups for 10 seconds at a time. Start with your abs, then move to your glutes and finally your thighs. Repeat 3 times each. This is good for airplanes, too. Sometimes they're called Deskercises, which is just so cute.

Rest your eyes. Your eyes tire out while you stare a computer screen for long periods of time and deserve some attention, too. Close your eyes for 1 minute every half hour and use it as a time to mentally regroup. Or just count that stroll around the office every 30 min as your eye break.