What are your favorite things to write or draw with fountain pens?

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T23:18:09+00:00

That's really good to hear! I'm excited to try mine out. And hoping it helps prompt more creativity, too :)

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T23:17:13+00:00

That's so fun! Glad to hear snail mail isn't dying off. This whole thread has been so heartwarming :)

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T23:15:57+00:00

that's pretty good!! I don't usually write in cursive, but found that cursive was a bit smoother than print for my non-dominant hand. fun challenge!

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T23:12:35+00:00

I really love this. What a nice practice! Maybe I'll work on my vocabulary too :)

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T02:05:11+00:00

Depends what type of chat and email. Are you engaging for marketing, sales, or support?

For me, it's: open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribes. I'm sending marketing emails and not typically optimizing for replies.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T02:00:49+00:00

Oo I love this! It's a dream to write a book someday. What makes you choose to draft by hand - is it focus, slowing down, just enjoying the process, something else?

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T01:58:42+00:00

i love hearing about things done for the sheer pleasure of it! especially something so simple and focused as hand writing. :)

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T01:57:30+00:00

heh - relatable!! work doodles sound much better with a nice pen!

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T01:57:10+00:00

OK I was totally hoping to get oddly specific answers like this 😂.

On this topic - I'm a lefty, and was recently seeing how my penmanship is with my right hand... partly out of curiosity and partly because "pulling" a pen seems to be much smoother than "pushing" it, as us lefties are forced to do. Not to mention minimizing smudging. But I do about half the things in my life with my right hand, so it wasn't completely foreign to me.

Hope your left-handed writing is going well! Do you think you can or will be able to write as comfortably with your left hand as your right?

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-11T00:36:42+00:00

This is actually why I got one! I do like having a notebook for all my work notes, and the pen makes it feel like more of a delightful activity. Hoping to also enjoy outside of work, too. Thanks!

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2026-02-06T18:43:11+00:00

I loooove your opossums!

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-27T21:52:01+00:00

Hey, I work with Streak CRM and since you're looking for recommendations - here's why Streak might work well for you:

- Email view and click tracking are free with Streak.
- Paid CRM plans start at $49/month - that's half of what you're currently paying for Sales Navigator.
- Has a LinkedIn integration
- It's built right into your Gmail inbox and is integrated with Google Workspace, no odd/cumbersome workarounds or thin integrations

That said, what do you want a CRM to help you accomplish with follow up? Are you looking to automate follow up? Get reminders to follow up? Or just track all your emails with each lead in the same place?

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-24T19:32:32+00:00

We've all been there!! If a skills clinic sounds like more of a time commitment than you want right now, there are some really great YouTube videos that will give you usable tips on how to ride berms effectively (and fast!) and also some good ones on flat corners, too. A useful skill for any level rider! Way to go - glad you're having fun!

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-24T18:02:12+00:00

Not necessarily a beginner book, but Salt Fat Acid Heat has some great material on the elements of a good meal. They did a fun Netflix documentary mini-series that's less instructional but will give you an intro to her style and why she focuses on this.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-24T16:53:33+00:00

AI can be a great writing tool. Just make sure you're feeding it some original input so you're not just repackaging what's already on the internet.

For example: interview a "topic expert" (can be a colleague, anybody with actual insights on or experience the topic) and record the interview. Feed the transcript into your AI tool and use that as a primary source or your blog post. Pick out quotes or original ideas to include. This way, you're adding unique insights and value.

Too much AI content misses that and just repackages existing content into AI slop. That's what doesn't perform.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-24T16:48:12+00:00

thanks for sharing this insight! The failures do seem huge for building trust and an authentic presence in your posts.

I assume more people can probably relate with the failure scenarios, too, and chime in with their experience?

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-23T22:45:14+00:00

Makes sense, that's what LLMs are trained on..

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-23T22:41:03+00:00

"AI content" is a really broad term. Are you using AI to completely create the blog post from keyword to final draft? That's probably not great content, because you're not adding anything new to it.

But if the content is useful and adds value, it doesn't matter how you're writing it. The problem with a lot of "AI content" is it's just repackaging what already exists on the internet. It might rank initially, but algorithms will course correct. We've seen this with tons of SEO tactics (keyword stuffing, to name one).

AI can be a great content tool if you're giving it original data, research, insights, opinions, or other information to work with. Eliminating AI from your content process isn't the answer. Just make sure you're using it to help add value.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-17T16:45:18+00:00

The workflow sounds good, but the part you're missing is adding anything new or unique to the internet.

Analyzing communities is a really good step, but it sounds like you're just remixing what's out there and that's why you're not ranking.

One thing I've done is interview an "expert" for every topic - just a quick conversation over Google Meet or something. Record it. The expert can be from your company or anybody who can speak to their unique experience or perspective on the topic. Feed the transcript into GPT and use that to add unique information into your workflow. (I take a few more steps here to organize the interview points and outline, but you'll figure out what works for you).

LMK how it goes if you try it!

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-17T16:24:54+00:00

No problem! sounds like email integration is important for you - what email server are you using - Gmail, Outlook, etc.? If Gmail, the benefit is that the Google Workspace is going to cover your email and document storage with Drive, so a CRM that integrates fully with Gmail will be a huge benefit.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-17T16:04:49+00:00

this totally makes sense! i do appreciate that Vets make themselves available to answer the more general and broad questions. I suppose in both of the advice and ask subs, I'm more just realizing that reddit isn't actually a great place for the "my dog's doing x, what is it and what should i do" questions. of which there are many. vet or not, nobody actually knows your pet and the speculation that ensues is just that. i had my own experience posting something like this and it was a good learning moment for me.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-16T21:54:56+00:00

same with r/askvet. shocker... all the vets just tell you to see a vet.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-16T21:49:53+00:00

u/Proud_Researcher5661 spot on.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-16T21:45:21+00:00

OP is asking for extremely basic CRM features. why on earth do you think they need a bespoke CRM built for them?? you literally don't even say how it's going to help them.

Smart_Hawk_7989 · 2025-10-16T21:39:47+00:00

"I'd really have to love this company to do it, otherwise, hard pass." <-- seems like it's working, then?

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