Time flies when you are having fun. Reflecting on a half year of producing this newsletter.I'll try to keep the opener quick this week -- we all have barbecues to fire up, summer time beverages to consume, friends to see and fireworks to watch.  Hard to believe I have been doing this newsletter for basically half of 2017 at this point.  While it ain't always easy to carve out the time to do it, I honestly have been having a blast every step of the way.  And I hope you have been enjoying it too.If you like to write, read and/or network, I strongly recommend that you too consider putting together your own newsletter at some point.  Not only is it a great personal branding exercise, it is a phenomenal way to regularly reconnect with people without being overt about it.  I can't tell you how many of you I have spoken to over the past few months where an article I have curated or an intro I have written is the ice breaker to our conversation (without me bringing it up).   And, honestly, I have to say that I do curate and often share articles with certain subscribers in mind.  So if you are seeing something you personally find interesting, there is an excellent chance it was included for your benefit. Some valuable lessons I have learned over the past 26 weeks of putting together "Friends of Dave":-- Expect it to take about 1-2 hours total throughout the week to read and select the most interesting stories. -- Expect it to take about 1-3 hours to write a detailed intro to the newsletter.  You should view it essentially as committing to writing a weekly blog post.-- Come up with your own style and format to the newsletter. It could be informal, it could be personal, or it could be none of the above.  People generally respond to authenticity, so no matter what, I highly recommend producing something that people who know you would say is in your voice and reflects your interests and expertise.-- Start small in scale and expectations.  Don't worry about how many readers open it or click on stories.  Just produce something that you like, experiment and tweak it along the way.  Add subscribers after you have "beta tested" for a while so you make sure you have done some trial and error first.-- Be consistent, add value, and stay on your schedule.  Sure we all get busy, but you will definitely lose your audience if your email goes out sporadically.  Also make sure that the articles you select will be interesting, valuable, provocative or entertaining to your audience.-- Schedule it to go out on the weekend.  People get busy during the week, but have a lot more free time (and get a lot less incoming email) on Saturday and Sunday.  And if they don't get to it then, they always have their Monday AM commute to catch up.  -- Finally, and most importantly, have fun with it.  If it is a chore, or becomes stressful or time consuming, stop doing it.  Your readers will be able to tell well in advance.If you want to get started yourself and have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to me.  Happy to share more details about making email newsletters work for you whether it be for personal networking or professional marketing.I hope you like the articles I have selected this week.  I included a couple long ones for you to check out while you lay in a hammock or by the beach, but all of them are really good and share some common themes throughout.  Have a great weekend and enjoy a happy and safe July 4th.  'Murica.XOXODave