Digital Tao

The Nature Of Work

2013-05-01T10:59:00.001-07:00

For years I've pondered the nature of work in our society. The way our sense of self is intrinsically tied, how one of the first things we ask new acquaintances is "what do you?" Work provides us social status, links within our communities and, of course, critical economic resources: survival.

Additionally, I've seen so misery surrounding work. Hatred for their work, disdain for certain crafts and, thus, isolation. Dignity and social acceptance play out in this space. And, let's not forget the pain surrounding job losses.

I'm committed to exploring this deeper, so there will be more soon.

May you all find peace on this journey through the cosmos.

This Is My Jam : Music Sharing Site

2013-04-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just discovered this music sharing site, ThisIsMyJam.com. I love discovering new music, and part a key part of that is seeing what my friends are listening to. This seems like a great synergy of those two elements.

I'll have more to say soon. However, if you're currently using the site, or want to go sign up yourself, connect with me. I'd love to see what Your Jams are.

http://www.thisismyjam.com/questionsall

Nearly Ending : A Haiku

2013-04-25T05:11:00.001-07:00

This week descending.
Towards the freedom of weekends.
Fleeting respite: ghosts.

A little haiku to bring you towards the weekend.

Enjoy!

The Matthew Keys Firing, Journalism and Social Media

2013-04-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Matthew Keys, the deputy social media editor for Reuters, has been let go (Mr. Keys' description of that event is here). As with all things like this, discerning the truth will take some time. We don't have Reuters side, and most likely won't until the union grievance is resolved.

The details listed on his Tumblr post give me pause, though. It seems Reuters' beefs centered around his Twitter postings surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings. Each item seems to have a logical rebuttal, which always raises my eyebrows. I can sense there are gaps here, but there's not enough detail yet to read between the proverbial lines.

One thing, though, I wonder about is how this affects Twitter's relationship with journalism. It seems that Mr. Keys mostly aggregated information from police scanners, as well as other tweets. This is an endeavor that makes accuracy tough. Yet, I'd argue, there's deep value. Yes, we, as citizens and media consumers, need to recognize the spurious nature of these moments. But the barrage of data helps ensure that the truth comes forth. Yes, it needs to be sorted through. Yes, there will be disinformation and misinformation. Activities like aggregation helps in that sifting process. Plus, it gives us a place to verify the accuracy of past reporting when looking at the next event. Someone with a history of mis/disinformation should, theoretically, immediately be suspect the next round.

Twitter & The Present Of News

2013-04-19T06:47:00.001-07:00

I just read a Tweet about "Twitter being the future of journalism". Well, it's really the "now" of journalism. Right now. Perhaps it's a great time for one of my favorite Wil Wheaton quips, "I love living in the future".

Crowdsourcing is one of the greatest pieces of the Internet age. Whether we're talking about open source software, raising funds, or news, the power of the collective amazes me. The downside stems from volume, and the ability of malevolent players to perform mischief. Yet those voices tend towards discovery with amazing speed.

Hard to gauge how all this will evolve. But the journalistic game changed, radically and permanently. I label this whole phenomena "digitized democracy". Voices become equalized.

So, just a few random thoughts which I intend to flesh out further. I hope you have wonderful Fridays.

Infographic : Facebook, Teens and "Cool"

2013-04-18T09:44:00.001-07:00

Some things to meditate on if you market towards the teen crowd.

Or if you're a creepy stalker type.

Either way, read and get learned. Whatever feelings you have towards youth, their feelings reflect the direction culture is migrating towards.

I found this over at Social Media Today.

Harrison Ford on Jimmy Kimmel

2013-04-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

I don't watch network TV much anymore, so missed this.

Thank goodness for the YouTube.

Enjoy your mind-growth moment of the day.

Action vs. Cynicism

2013-04-17T04:55:00.001-07:00

There's greater risk from action than from cynical critique. And greater reward. Go and DO great things. Don't simply sit and pick apart those actually doing the hard work of enacting change; driving to make the world better.

Thoughts on podcasting & NPR

2013-04-16T06:58:00.001-07:00

I like to listen to podcasts on my commute. This got me thinking about how many of NPR's weekly shows would lend themselves nicely to the podcast format. The first show I thought of, though, is Fiona Ritchie's Thistle & Shamrock. It's not carried locally and, unless I find a live stream, I'm out of luck.

Providing the whole show via podcast would work nicely. Broadcast the show intact. You can increase your viewership significantly with minimal increased coast. There's great power in allowing timeshifting.

I think it'd be a great win for NPR. You?

The Everlasting Nature Of Bad PR

2013-04-15T09:23:00.003-07:00

I noticed this gem trending on Reddit today:Zales Fires Top Earning Saleswoman Because She Needs Surgery. Basics: Zales fires one of their best performing sales staff right after being informed she will need to take a disability leave. However one feels about this, the most crucial piece is that this is from 2009. 4 years later, this is rising on Reddit. You can guarantee that Zales will get hate messaging about this. Reminds me of one of the recurring issues I saw at Starbucks: Starbucks Hates The Military Rumor. This guy kept recycling, often at the most random times. Lesson: be very careful with your PR. Even false accusations will cycle through cyberspace and provide you regular aggravation. True ones will continuously rise up and bite, teeth sharper with each retelling.

New Blog

2013-03-27T09:59:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Point your browser over to my new site: www.NotJustSeattle.com. I'm exploring life in the region, but trying to expand past all the Seattle-centric messaging.

Let me know what you think.

What if money was no object?

2013-03-25T14:55:00.001-07:00

Answering this question seems easy, however it's proven a deep challenge for me. Too much of my life has been paralyzed by the "need" to earn money. The roots of this, I'm certain, is fear. My challenge, and perhaps yours, too, is to defeat that fear. Only then are we truly alive.

Thanks to Successify for helping me find this.

Thought of the day

2013-03-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

Often, we get so absorbed in things we can't affect that we neglect those areas we can.

Marketing

2013-03-20T18:10:00.001-07:00

Just my random thought of the day. There are ways to build demand without creating suckers. Only focusing on maximizing profits from your customers can't be sustained. Once a critical mass has been reached, you will have a growth rate the approaches zero rapidly

Go forth and do great things.

2013-03-14T09:44:00.003-07:00

I assume all of you readers are using LinkedIn. Do you have any strategy? At this point, my main focus has simply been to connect to >1 person / week, which I've had no problem accomplishing. However, I'm confident that there's much more I could be doing. I'd love to hear what success you have, ideas, etc.

More Ballen Seminar Thoughts

2013-03-09T07:44:00.001-08:00

Just over a week a ago, I attended at social media workshop hosted by Lori Ballen. Covered a great deal of content that I deeply care about, thus there's tons to write about. There's one piece that really struck me, though. Her ability to connect.

One thing that happens regularly for her: people who she's never met treating her like she's their best friend. These are people who have only connected with her via social media. For all the criticism about social media destroying society, clearly these tools still enables us to bond.

Utilized well, people can connect solidly to brands, ideas, individuals. This gives communicators powerful ways to affect our audience. And elicit cynicism. If we're not careful, these tools will end up viewed simply as deceptive marketing tools, building a false sense of connection and, thus, exploitive.

We need to be vigilant, ensuring we strive for genuine connection. Respectful, solution driven, thoughtful, and focused on our customer more than on driving cash-flow. Once your audience becomes jaded, rebuilding that trust is painfully slow and, perhaps, impossible.

Organizing

2013-03-06T04:18:00.001-08:00

One thing that often happens with me: odd hour wakefulness focused on organizing. Not out of any sense of anxiety, mind you. Rather, my brain comes alive with ideas. I find it amusing.

My current focus when it comes to personal organizing: realistic daily loads. I've been using what I'll call a "day dump". I throw most of my outstanding workload into "today", then shift the un-done into tomorrow. That's quite frustrating. It makes it look like little gets done. And organizing starts to take much longer, especially as time oases. Plus, when you scroll thru a huge task list, it's easy to get overwhelmed.

I'm trying my best to build my task list into something that has a real chance of getting accomplished. Helps keep my main foci on page one, and not scroll around looking for sheet I should do next.

Time

2013-02-28T12:04:00.001-08:00

Just a thought: if you regularly give up planning and review time to deal with "now", you have a future problem. We must make time to compare our progress against our goals. Otherwise, we get lost.

Don't let this slip! And I'll try to do the same.

Social Media Training

2013-02-28T05:41:00.001-08:00

Spent all day yesterday learning how to generate leads using social media with Lori Ballen. Lots of good ideas, lots of things I want to implement over various projects. Though we had a real estate focus, the ideas are implementable across a wider array of sectors.

Learned tons, but haven't had the chance to process it all. I'll post more as soon add I make that time.

A Good Way To Engage The Public

2013-02-22T10:44:00.003-08:00

Just read Ragan's post about Southwest's engagement via social media. They clearly get social media, how it's about listening. I love seeing stuff like this.

I found their desire to name their PR command center "The Listening Post" particularly telling. Compare it, if you will, with Wal-Mart's choice of "War Room". One implies collaborative, engagement, respectful of it's customers; while the other immediately screams adversarial. Seems clear which will be the best at mollifying the energy of critics.

This attitude works best to build ambassadors for your brand. These fans will be infinitely better at defusing potential crisis then even the best PR pros.

Your fans are a key asset. Invest in them.

My Email Frustration Du Jour

2013-02-22T08:50:00.001-08:00

Let's all agree to start using the "To:" line correctly.

Senders:

Put people in the "To" line who have action items, or are otherwise the direct focus of the email. E.g.: "Carl, please take care of this"...blah, blah. Use the "CC:" line for people on the email for informational purposes.

Readers:

Look in the address header to see where you fit in before you read. Then you'll have a solid idea of whether you are being asked for information or action, or whether you're being informed of a status, data, what-have-you.

If we can all start following email 101, maybe we can de-confuse the world some.

Maybe...

Restarts

2013-02-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

I've been considering my blog theme for some time. Though I love poetry (and still plan on writing), my interests are much more varied.

My career has progressed over a wide array of industries and functions, all within the basic "general business administration" category. I've worried about shifting my focus, though. I've never been much for "profit hunting". Business, though, impacts so many areas of our society, and we all are impacted by this institution. The variety in my background, from differing sectors (non-profits, Fortune 500, small and mid-sized business) to types (retail, technology, religious, advocacy, distribution, wholesale....) provides me with a remarkable perspective.

All this blends into a particular viewpoint. I take a long-term view. Sustainability is critical (both for individual institutions and society en masse). Project management tools and disciplines are master strokes of intellectual achievement.

Winter's Force

2013-01-11T23:36:00.001-08:00

I live for the wind.
Crying, wending through fir boughs.
Dancing gracefully.

Trolls and Vile Vitriol

2013-01-06T08:04:00.001-08:00

https://twitter.com/aesthethica/status/287692133371109377

This troll's comment gave me pause. What's the best response? Public humiliation & shame? Just ignoring them? Gentle correction? Or???

I find it hard to sit silently when I witness cruelty, even as I recognize that response is exactly what the troll seeks. Certainly don't want to reward deviant behavior. However, what's effective?