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RIP, Sam Lloyd

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Mon, 04 May 2020 00:18:00 +0000

I heard this weekend of the passing of Sam Lloyd, who played the hapless lawyer Ted on the show.

Sam Lloyd was very talented and funny, and one of the enduring secondary characters that made the show seem like a real close-knit community.

My favorite Ted memory wasn't one of his comedic scenes but the end of the episode "My Way Home" (the one inspired by The Wizard of Oz) when Ted and his band sing a rooftop version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

RIP, Sam. Peons will assemble over the rainbow.

Songs of power and hope over the Coronavirus Pandemic

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 23:57:00 +0000

Music has always inspired and motivated, and it's been no different during this pandemic. Over the past month, this playlist came together as I was exercising or lying in bed at night. These are some of my favorite songs, old and new, that collectively shout and soar above the coronavirus. I've uploaded the playlist on YouTube and below is a list of the songs.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbsn1a1MJMq7ITnSS5qY8jF4fNyU3Orx-

"Better Days" - Goo Goo Dolls "Over the Rainbow" - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
"My City of Ruins" - Bruce Springsteen
"Give a Little Bit" - Supertramp
"Don't Give Up" - Peter Gabriel (with Kate Bush)
"Things Can Only Get Better" - Howard Jones
"Lean on Me" - Bill Withers
"Livin' on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi
"You Gotta Be" - Des'ree
"Hall of Fame" - The Script (with will.i.am)
"No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley
"Save the World" - Swedish House Mafia

I would love to know what songs others would list. Share in the comments.

Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe by Roger McNamee

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 00:46:00 +0000

Zucked is a sobering and important book for the stand it takes in calling out Facebook and major Internet platforms in how they are addictive by design, are eroding our privacy, and are susceptible to manipulation by bad actors threatening democracy.

I especially appreciated the coverage of filter and preference bubbles and the explanation of how and why modern online platforms can contribute to self-perpetuating beliefs and tribalism.

The author read widely about the subjects covered in the book and included a rich bibliography for further reading. Even if you don't read Zucked itself, I've included below some of the organizations, peoples, and books mentioned so you can explore.

By coincidence or not, just one month after its release, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg published a lengthy blog detailing how Facebook will shift to become more of a privacy-focused communications platform.

Organizations

Center for Human Technology

Common Sense Media - Non-profit organization that provides education and advocacy to families to promote safe technology and media for children.

Hamilton 68

New Knowledge - Information integrity company protecting brands and industries from manipulative online campaigns.

People and Books

Adam Alter
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked

Nick Bilton
Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal

Danah Boyd
It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

Emily Chang
Twitter: @emilychangtv
Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley

Renee DiResta
Twitter: @noUpside
Hamilton 68

Niall Ferguson
The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook

Adam Fisher
Valley of Genius: The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley

Franklin Foer
Twitter: @FranklinFoer
World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech

B.J. Fogg
Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do

Scott Galloway
The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google

Yuval Harari
21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Walter Isaacson
Steve Jobs

Nicholas Kardaras
Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids - and How to Break the Trance

David Kirkpatrick
The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World

Jaron Lanier
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now

Steven Levy
In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

Zoe Lofgren
Bill of Rights

John Markoff
Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots

Antonio Garcia Martinez
Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley

Satya Nadella
Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone

Cathy O’Neil
Weapons of Math Destruction

Eli Pariser
Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles" | TED Talk - TED.com
The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web Is Changing What We Read and How We Think

Eric Ries
The Lean Startup

Brad Stone
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

Jonathan Taplin
Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy

Peter Thiel
Zero to One

Zeynep Tufekci
Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest

Tim Urban

Siva Vaidhyanathan
Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy

Clint Watts
Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News

Tim Wu
The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads

Read Across America Day 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 19:03:00 +0000

Today is Read Across America Day, and to celebrate the day I wanted to share what I'm reading now and recently finished. And, of course, Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Reading Now

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Extreme Ownership is written by two former Navy SEALs and conveys leadership principles from battlefield experiences.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a reread for me. For those unfamiliar, the book is Viktor Frankl’s memoir of life in Nazi concentration camps and focuses on how though we can't avoid suffering, we always have a choice in how we react to it.

Recently Finished

What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading
by Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins

This was a useful and readable primer on understanding and reading nonverbal body language by a former FBI counterintelligence officer.

Blubber by Judy Blume

Judy Blume's classic about bullying is still as relevant today as it was when it was first published over 40 years ago.

Connect 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 10:31:00 +0000

I'm excited to have been selected to present at Connect 2017, the premier social business and digital collaboration conference. This year, I will be co-presenting with Purvi Trivedi from IBM.

Below is the description of my session:

A Customer Success Story: Evolving Your Social Business to Efficiently Collaborate Externally

Internal collaboration platforms like IBM Connections are increasingly being expanded to external audiences. Come to this session to learn how Superior Group has eliminated organizational boundaries and evolved IBM Connections to collaborate efficiently with a variety of external users, including customers, contractors, suppliers and business partners. We will showcase our external user deployment, discuss the initial involvement with legal and IT, and highlight the business value and use cases. We'll also share some of the technical challenges and successes. The session will provide valuable lessons learned for you to consider when planning and orchestrating your own IBM Connections external user expansion and what you need to make it.

Connect 2017 will take place February 20 -23, 2017 in San Francisco, California.

Learn more about the event at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/collaboration/events/connect/.

Edge 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 15:59:00 +0000

I am excited to have been selected to present at Edge 2016, an IBM conference about solutions and technology for the cognitive era.

Below is the description of my session:

CLD-2194 : Building the Most Adaptable Workforce Vendor Management System

Companies are outsourcing more and more of their workforces. To help companies manage their growing contingent workforces, providers have developed technology solutions, including the contingent labor Vendor Management System, or VMS. As technology has evolved and matured, so have the capabilities of VMSes and the expectations of business stakeholders using VMSes. Today's VMS must not only automate contingent workforce management, but provide an adaptable experience that's complex yet simple, with rich analytics and dashboards, integration capabilities, and cloud performance and reliability. Our session will demonstrate how Superior updated its VMS Work Nexus using IBM technology into a modern business application.

Stream: Architecting the Future of Cognitive Business
Track: Great IT Leaders; Trending IT and Leadership Topics
Session Type: Breakout Session

Edge 2016 will take place September 19-22 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Learn more about the event at http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/edge/.

When Weak Connections are Valuable at Work

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Wed, 04 May 2016 13:33:00 +0000

I recently contributed an article to Information Outlook, the online magazine of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). The title is "When Weak Connections are Valuable at Work", and it's about how new networking tools enable us to cultivate workplace connections with people we rarely (or never) see but who can help us in important ways.

Download the article as a PDF or read the web version below.

When Weak Connections are Valuable at Work (PDF)

When Weak Connections are Valuable at Work

If you’re not sure who the weak ties are in your social network, look at the contacts on your phone. Chances are, there are some people in your contacts list you don’t call (much less see) on a regular basis, but you find it useful to keep them listed for those occasions when you do need to contact them. Perhaps your doctor, babysitter, mechanic, or accountant fits this description.

If you use a social network like LinkedIn or Twitter professionally, you will have even more weak links. These weak links are professional acquaintances you may see only a few times a year—or, more likely, people you’ve never met in person, often from other cities and countries—and with whom you’ve connected virtually based on affinity, content conversation, or subject matter expertise.

Weak links aren’t new to researchers. Stanford University sociologist Mark Granovetter identified strong ties as your friends and weak ties as your acquaintances in his influential 1973 paper, “Notes on the strength of weak ties.” More recently, a 2011 Pew Research Center report indicated
that most Americans’ networks “contain a range of social ties that consist of friends, family, co-workers, and other acquaintances. This includes a handful of very close social ties and a much larger number of weaker ties.”

Much has been written about the value of weak links in our social networks. Granovetter may have said it best when he wrote, “The weak tie between Ego and his acquaintance, therefore, becomes not merely a trivial acquaintance tie but rather a crucial bridge between the two densely knit clumps of close friends.”

Thus, weak ties, in addition to representing the first stage in any relationship, bind our networks together (like bridges) and help us understand all our relationships—the close links, the weak and edge links, and the absent connections (or gaps). In addition, today’s social networking tools have allowed us to exceed the 150 or so people British anthropologist Robin Dunbar posited as the maximum number of people with whom we can maintain social relationships. We are literally amassing hundreds and even thousands of weak links in our networks—so many, in fact, that we can subcategorize weak links:

The classic weak link is an acquaintance, someone you may interact with online or in person a handful of times a year. You may send this person occasional texts or blast e-mails.

The median weak link is someone you interact with online or in person at least once a year. On rare occasions, you may “like” or share each other’s social posts.

The diffuse weak link is someone you’ve interacted with online or in person once but have had no contact with afterwards. However, you keep this contact in your network for future, strategic ends.

Given the prevalence of weak links, it makes sense to try to take full advantage of them. Research suggests that wide-ranging weak ties are beneficial in areas such as job hunting, recruiting, prospecting, marketing, and promoting causes. LinkedIn Coach Victoria Ipri contends that weak links are especially useful in some industries. “If you work in a broad industry—say, marketing—build the largest network you can, because your income depends on lots of exposure to all kinds of people and occupations,” she says.

Until recently, most research and networking advice columns focused on weak links outside the workplace. This is partly because commercial networking tools have outpaced workplace technology and made it relatively easier to foster weak links on these external platforms. This situation is changing, however, as modern intranets and enterprise social networks (ESNs) are increasingly being deployed across large and small organizations and becoming embedded in other applications.

IDC, a global intelligence firm, noted in a 2014 report that ESN adoption has continued to accelerate and that the worldwide ESN market will grow through 2018. Jacob Morgan, author of The Future of Work and a proponent of cultivating weak ties at work, agrees, noting, “Now we have access to platforms which offer capabilities such as activity feeds, status updates, rich searchable employee profiles, and internal blogs.”

Weak Links in the Workplace

As the workplace becomes increasingly digital, success in cultivating weak links will flow partly from becoming proficient in the many collaboration tools available and using them strategically. The more you learn about your options for making weak connections, the easier it will be for you to find the methods that work best for you and your colleagues.

Intranets and ESNs. If your organization has an intranet or ESN, familiarize yourself with the content that’s available and the contributors. Many organizations are now establishing social intranets, which are part traditional content-based intranets and part internal social networks. These hybrid sites typically include Web content and file downloads as well as activity feeds, blogs, employee profile pages, communities, and forums.

You can form new weak links by commenting on a blog post, asking a colleague to become a part of your network, posting a congratulatory note about an achievement, adding a forum topic, or joining a shared interest community. Your mileage may vary, but what’s important is learning how to form weak links and beginning to do so.

Instant messaging. Over the past decade, instant messaging has grown in adoption and is rapidly becoming a standard and expected method of communication in the workplace, on the same level with e-mail and phone calls. IM is also an ideal platform for establishing and cultivating weak links with colleagues from anywhere in the organization—even in other cities and countries.

Research indicates that many employees value instant messaging because it’s quick and in real time, and it is perceived as a great way to form connections with new colleagues because it feels less intrusive than calling or e-mailing them. The one caveat is with group IMs or group chats, which entrepreneur and author Jason Fried likens to “an all-day meeting with random participants and no agenda.” So, stick to one-on-one instant messaging for establishing weak links.

Employee profiles. You probably establish many weak links at work organically, in the daily routine of doing your job. For example, you may be assigned to a project team and form connections with different co-workers with whom you don’t usually interact, or you might reach out to someone from another department because you need some information from that person for an important proposal. These interactions are the traditional ways that people have established weak links over the years at work.

But the connections you never become aware of will never become weak links. In other words, rather than waiting for connections to form organically, you can be deliberate and proactive by browsing employee directories and profiles for desirable weak links. You can identify subject matter experts, product power users, and thought leaders and cultivate those relationships. (In this same vein, you should ensure that your own employee profile is informative and up to date, because you are someone else’s next weak link.)

External social networks. Regardless of whether your organization has an ESN, external social networks are a great way to cultivate weak links with co-workers. This is especially true of social networks that cater to professionals, like LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. For example, beyond facilitating connections with others, LinkedIn allows connections (and co-workers) to share and like each other’s status updates, endorse one another for skills, post about projects they’ve worked on together, and provide testimonials. Be judicious, however, when exploring weak links on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram, where people share personal information and weak links are often not welcome.

Old standbys and outside the box. The digital workplace offers many opportunities to form weak links. But as you avail yourself of new collaboration tools, keep in mind the traditional methods that continue to work, such as e-mail, in-person coffee and lunch meetings, and (actual) water cooler chats. Also, consider getting involved with different programs your organization may have that will put you into contact with people you would not usually meet. These might include “lunch and learns,” mentoring and reverse mentoring programs, workplace volunteering and give-back programs, and after-work business networking and happy hours.

The Value of Weak Links at Work

Establishing weak links is important, but many people stop there and forget about these links unless they want something. To get the most out of your weak links, nurture the connections and cultivate the relationships before you have a need. While the effort shouldn’t rise to what you put forth for your friends—these are, after all, weak links—you can still do many things that require only modest effort, including engaging your weak links on the intranet or on external social sites, checking in with them occasionally, introducing them to employees or suppliers who might provide value to them in their job, or sending them helpful links or leads.

I mentioned earlier how weak links are beneficial for job hunting, recruiting, prospecting, marketing, and promoting causes. At work, weak links are even more valuable given the many other ways a weak connection can assist you in that setting.

Since many employees today are being asked to do more with less and work effectively with staff in other departments and countries, relationships that can be called upon when needed are key resources. Weak links at work can provide valuable information when needed, lend support to a project, be called upon for testing or review, give impartial feedback about a person or situation, make an introduction, and much more.

When connecting with co-workers in other countries, it is important to keep cultural differences in mind. For example, in India, it’s common for employees to connect with one another on Facebook; the Japanese, meanwhile, don’t use LinkedIn because, as marketing consultant Gary Inwood notes, “Most Japanese companies do not allow their employees to engage in second jobs, so there is little motivation to build up a network outside of their company.”

The Limits of Weak Links

I’m a proponent of weak links. They have been enormously valuable for me professionally, and in my experience, today’s networking and collaboration tools make them easier than ever to form and maintain. However, weak links, by their nature, are shallow and less useful than connections with people on a deeper level, and some people feel these connections are more artificial and inauthentic because of this.

I recognize these concerns, but I myself am comfortable with the limits of weak links. In large part, this is because I don’t view weak links in a vacuum. Weak links are important, but their importance doesn’t mean that strong links aren’t just as important. Both are critical and important in any social or professional network.

The presence of strong links on a continuum with weak links gives context to the shallowness of weak links. These links are supposed to be weak because we have stronger, deeper links with others. They are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually dependent.

Weak links aren’t new, and they certainly aren’t new in the workplace. What is new are the many tools we have at our disposal in the workplace to cultivate and take advantage of weak links.

Marking May

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Sun, 01 May 2016 23:54:00 +0000

I've always loved the month of May, for many different reasons. Growing up in the Northeastern United States, May was typically the month when it warmed up and Spring began to give a preview of Summer. May also meant school was winding down and fun movie openings. And May was the month of Mother's Day, the month with two birthdays in my family, and there was Memorial Day, one of my favorite holidays that to me always felt like the unofficial beginning of summer.

This year, on my social media accounts, I'm going to mark each day in May with a different word and image. There is an underlying theme, but I won't reveal it until the end of the month.

Spring 2016 Speaking Engagements

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 20:05:00 +0000

I am excited to have been selected to speak at the following, upcoming business technology events:

Amplify 2016 - Amplify is an IBM conference for marketing, merchandising, ecommerce, sales and customer service professionals. At Amplify I will be part of a panel discussing engagement in the workplace:

DBV-1778: Customer Panel Discussion: Facilitating a Highly Engaged Workplace

When: Wed May 18 ( 1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. )

This panel discussion provides you with the opportunity to hear from successful IBM Digital Experience customers how they created effective solutions to the challenges associated with creating and maintaining an engaged and efficient workforce.Amplify 2016 will take place May 16 - 19, 2016 in Tampa, Florida.

Social Connections 10 - This business technology event focuses on social collaboration technology, aimed at both existing and prospective customers and partners, and at individuals with both business and technical perspectives. At Social Connections, I will be co-presenting with Victor Toal from ToalSystems. A full description of our session, "Business Drivers and Technical Details," is available at http://socialconnections.info/sessions/business-drivers-and-technical-details/.

Social Connections 10 will take place June 6-7, 2016 in Toronto, Canada.

NY Tech Summit - The NY Tech Summit is an event targeting senior IT professionals that combines educational sessions from experienced industry speakers, an extensive exhibit floor with top technology vendors, and valuable networking opportunities.

Below is the description of my session:

Enterprise Social Networks: Benefits and ChallengesEnterprise social networks (ESNs) are increasingly being deployed across large and small organizations and becoming embedded in other applications. Though not an IT system, ESNs nevertheless require significant IT involvement, resources, and support. Come to this session to learn how Superior Group has used and evolved its ESN since the social platform was implemented at the company over three years ago. We will showcase our deployment, discuss the involvement and impact on IT, and highlight the business value and use cases. We'll also share some of the technical challenges and successes, including single sign on, mail and calendar integration, instant messaging, and external access. The session will provide valuable lessons learned for you to consider when planning and orchestrating your own ESN deployment and what you need to make it successful.

The NY Tech Summit will take place June 8-10, 2016 in Verona, New York.

Connect 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:02:00 +0000

I am excited to have been selected to present at Connect 2016, the premier social business and digital experience conference. This year, I will be co-presenting with Jeremy Kauffman from Waters Corporation.

Below is the description of my session:

1330: Superior Group and Waters Corp: Social Business Journey 3 years later!

Three years ago, Superior Group and Waters Corp embarked on the Social Business journey! Embarking on the journey each company wanted a globally connected internal communication platform that promoted company-wide knowledge sharing and collaboration. In this session, we will showcase each deployment and discuss how they were able to become successful in the journey from a business value, adoption and technical perspectives. This session will provide valuable lessons learned for you to consider when planning and orchestrating your IBM Connections deployment and what you need to make it successful in years to come!

Program: Core Curriculum
Topic: Best Practices
Sub-topic: Social Collaboration

Connect 2016 will take place January 31 - February 3, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.

Learn more about the event at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/collaboration/events/connect/.

Last One to Bid Turn Off the Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 06:37:00 +0000

Two years ago, Date on Purpose was launched to combine online dating and meaningful giving. I imagined a scalable platform that would one day evolve where a visitor would pick a charity of his or her choice, and then bid on a date in a nearby city to support the cause.

So I launched a startup to bring the traditional bachelor/bachelorette auction online to allow people to bid on dates with eligible singles.

With a small core team and many volunteers but no funding, we spoke to many charities, built a website and social media presence, and recruited dozens of men and women to bring the concept to life. Our initial online charity concluded in a semi-formal live launch event on October 18, and I'm proud to say the event was a success and a really, really good time.

Date and Purpose is proud to have tried something different in the online dating space – but, above all, we’re grateful for the community of charities, partners, bachelors, bachelorettes, bidders, and visitors who supported us. It's been a joy to see an idea grow from dream to reality – and be able to help worthy charities raise money.

Although we succeeded in many ways, we also faced obstacles and were not able to overcome the challenges that would enable us to continue. We tried our best, but regretfully, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations. Date on Purpose will officially close its doors on December 19, 2015.

We say goodbye, and thank you. It was our privilege to create something new and give back.

Frank Gullo

Work Rules by Laszlo Bock

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 12:21:00 +0000

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post comparing technology companies to countries. For Google, I choose Japan because both the company and country have distinctive cultures and have continuously demonstrated expert technical competency and precision. The post and the comparisons were simplistic and meant mostly to provoke thoughtful conversation, but after reading Laszlo Bock's Work Rules, it is evident that I was right about at least one thing: Google does have a truly distinctive culture.

In Work Rules, Bock summarizes the pillars of Google's culture and details how the company's People Operations function works and has evolved with the rapid growth of the company. It is fascinating as an insider's view of Google and also as a primer for other organizations. There's abundant material here that company leaders and HR specialists can use, tweak, test, and implement.

As a high level summary, Bock distills key "work rules" into ten steps that can transform a team or workplace:

1. Give your work meaning.
2. Trust your people.
3. Hire only people who are better than you.
4. Don't confuse development with managing performance.
5. Focus on the two tails.
6. Be frugal and generous.
7. Pay unfairly.
8. Nudge.
9. Manage the rising expectations.
10. Enjoy! And then go back to No. 1 and start again.

Google has become a very strong brand and I thought it was interesting as I mentioned Work Rules to others how many seemed predisposed to favor or dismiss the ideas based on preconceived notions of Google. Some thought any idea from Google must be worth trying, while others conveyed that Google has the luxury of resources to try things other companies simply can't. Whether you already have preexisting ideas about Google or not, I highly recommend Work Rules -- for the narrative of Google, Bock's wealth of experience as a business professional (including time spent at McKinsey before he joined Google), and also the many anecdotes, studies, and work rules you can draw from.

For an outsider's view of Google, I would also recommend Steven Levy's In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives.

The Career Mentor Experience - UB Career Services Live Webinar

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 19:54:00 +0000

On April 14, I will be participating in a University at Buffalo (UB) Career Services live webinar targeted to students about the importance of making career connections. The webinar will include an online panel discussion in which UB alumni will share their experiences of establishing career connections and networking, both online and in-person.

Below are the webinar details:

The Career Mentor Experience Part 2: Meeting a mentor
Tuesday, April 14, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

https://youtu.be/zfg_0a5IX-U

Everyday I Fight by Stuart Scott (Book Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 21:37:00 +0000

I was predisposed to want to read Stuart Scott's Every Day I Fight. I'd always liked what he brought to ESPN SportsCenter and how he helped evolve the brand to reach new audiences. I also respected and related to how much it meant to him to be a dad to his two girls.

Still, I was a little surprised by how heartfelt, honest, and reflective he was in what would be his posthumous memoir. I think I was expecting a book mostly about ESPN and the many athletes Scott had interviewed over the years. Figures like Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods. While these subjects are in the book, they are overshadowed by the larger themes that Scott wanted to leave behind: his indomitable love for his daughters and his thoughts and feelings about cancer. I appreciate Scott's willingness to bare all and be completely vulnerable about getting sick and living with cancer. I am sure many will enjoy his anecdotes about ESPN, but I suspect many more will draw inspiration from his words about cancer.

It's interesting. I picked up the book for a flight home and ended up reading it the following week, including on the fifth anniversary of my mom's death. Like Scott, she also died from cancer. I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that I chose this book at this time. Here's to Stuart Scott and my mom: Happy Easter and ... booyah!

Herman Miller Living Office

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 19:17:00 +0000

Last week, I attended a two day business meeting that was held at the Herman Miller New York City office. I had heard of Herman Miller before but had no idea how much they've been doing around innovating work spaces.

A meme they've developed is Living Office and they define it as a "natural and desirable workplace that fosters greater connection, creativity, productivity, and, ultimately, greater prosperity for all".

Below are a few pictures I snapped while at the office. Also check out their Living Office information online. Especially fascinating is the Modes of Work elaboration.

Garden of Your Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 21:20:00 +0000

A few years ago I attended a conference in which one of the presenters showed the Mr. Rogers "Garden of Your Mind" remix. It went over well and inspired the attendees.

Every since then, whenever I get ready to attend a business event where I'll be exposed to new ideas and meet new people, I think about these lyrics from the "Garden of Your Mind".

Imagine every person that you see
Is someone different
From every other person in the world
Some can do things
Some can do others
Did you ever think about the many things you've learned to do?

Did ever grow anything in the Garden of your Mind?
You can grow ideas
In the Garden of your mind

It's good to be curious about many things
You can think about things and make believe
All you have to do is think
And they'll grow

ConnectED 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 19:46:00 +0000

I am happy to be participating on a panel at IBM ConnectED 2015, an event focused on the latest technologies, best practices, and business benefits in cloud, mobile and social.

Below is the description for my panel:

INV401: Delivering Engaging and Differentiated Customer Experiences: A Customer Panel
Date/Time: Tuesday January 27, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET

Panel description:

While the pace of business and the speed of content continue to accelerate, so does the demand to engage with audiences through rich and robust online experiences that span multiple channels and devices. By emphasizing delivery techniques including rich media and video, social, campaign management and analytics, enterprise integration and more, forward-thinking organizations are realizing the benefits of competitive differentiation, customer loyalty, and profitable growth. Join this customer panel discussion session to hear directly from successful customer leaders as they share how they are using Digital Experience platforms, powered by WebSphere Portal and Web Content Manager services, as the transformational agent to their business models, driving customer experiences that deepen interactions with individuals and enhance audience engagement - on their terms and their time.

More information: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/collaboration/events/connected/

Do They Know It's Christmas in Syria?

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 13:38:00 +0000

I can't believe it's been 30 years since the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was released. At the time, in 1984, mass famine was impacting Ethiopa, and Bob Geldof and Midge Ure wrote the song and rallied other musicians to raise money.

30 years later, sadly there is a new hunger crisis, this time in Syria and with the Syrian refugees.

Please take a moment to remember read about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria and the World Food Programme's efforts to help.

Charity Blast

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 01:37:00 +0000

As most of my friends know, through Date on Purpose I am helping the The C4 Foundation raise money for childhood cancer research and support. The C4 Foundation was created to honor the memory of Colin M. Wegner and his fight with Medulloblastoma, a childhood brain cancer.

I am posting today to ask for your support in spreading the word about the C4's upcoming fundraiser -- a Charity Blast that will be held this Saturday, September 27 at 7:00 pm the Lancaster Country Club. The proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to University at Buffalo and their Pediatric Brain Tumor Fund, which is used for pediatric neuro-oncology research.

The Charity Blast is a social fundraiser event for singles and couples. Last year, many people came out and enjoyed an evening of socializing, music, and fun.

Tickets may be purchased at http://www.thec4foundation.org/date-on-purpose-charity-blast.html.

Ron Piwowarczyk

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 20:32:00 +0000

This week Reserve Hose Fire Company remembers longtime firefighter, President, friend, and dedicated member of the fire service Ron Piwowarczyk, who passed on Friday, September 5, 2014. As Vice President of Reserve, it has been my honor and pleasure to work with and get to know Ron this past year. His enthusiasm and passion for the fire service was infectious, and he loved giving back as much as anyone I've ever met.

Ron was a Life Member of Reserve who joined the company on August 4, 1986. In addition to his volunteer service, Ron was also a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a Senior Special Agent for U.S. Immigration. Ron was also one of those first responders from Western New York who went to Ground Zero to assist after New York was attacked on 9/11.

This picture below was taken during Reserve's installation earlier this year, when Ron posed for a picture with Autumn Lewandowski before being sworn in as President.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/buffalonews/obituary.aspx?n=ronald-e-piwowarczyk&pid=172383176&

Top 10 Serious and Silly Points from Digital Experience 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 18:59:00 +0000

I had the privilege to attend and present at Digital Experience 2014, an IBM event focused on the latest technologies, best practices, and the business benefits of delivering great digital experiences.

Though I'm still reflecting on the many great ideas expressed during the presentations, I wanted to put together a quick, day after list, encompassing both the serious and silly, of my immediate impressions.

10. A good way to explain Portal is to compare it to a tree.

via @benshoemate

9. California is having a historic drought. Thank you, IBM Digital Experience 2014 event organizers, for the reminder to conserve water.

8. Toronto is an incredibly diverse Smarter City: 240 ethnic groups, 169 countries of origin, 140 languages spoken.

via @kristinaverner

7. There are 4.55 billion smartphone users in 2014.

via @garydolsen

6. Contextualize digital experiences based on demographic, historical, and situational data.

via @sa_powers

5. 50% of user experience is search.

via @benshoemate

4. IBM employees have perfected remote working but enjoy the interpersonal synergies of conferences.

3. We may be in the Age of the Customer, but that doesn't mean it's easy to transition from cable without jumping through some hoops.

2. It may be too late to Apologize, but it's never too late for a rock star (@MoveUpMedia) to become a Portal Information Architect.

1. The color of 2014 is Radiant Orchid.

via @IBMiCIO

Why I Introduce People in My Network

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 20:29:00 +0000

I received the following email from a fellow business professional in my area. He was following up on my having introduced him to another individual in my network who I thought would be able to help him explore career opportunities.

His brief note sums up why I connect people and the benefits of a large, extended network. Personally, it was gratifying to observe two interesting people in my network come together and help each other out. Note that I have omitted personally identifying details out of respect for both people.

##

Hi Frank,

Last we spoke, I was looking at COMPANY ...

I wanted to let you know I'm starting a new role Monday where I'll be running the DEPARTMENT. I'm super excited and grateful to have a second chance at working in economic development in CITY.

I also wanted to send you a huge thanks as your introduction to PERSON led to several other introductions which ultimately triggered the consulting work I've been doing for COMPANY for the last several months. That gave me a huge leg up in winning this gig.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

2014 IBM Digital Experience Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 18:32:00 +0000

In July, I will be presenting at the 2014 IBM Digital Experience Conference, an event focused on the latest technologies, best practices, and the business benefits of delivering great digital experiences.

Below is the description for my session:

Session: BUS-S20

Date/Time: Monday, July 21, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Successfully Enabling Enterprise Content Management, Cloud, Mobile, and Social Business at Superior Group

Superior Group focuses on the agile delivery of people, process and project outsourcing solutions. Our session will detail how this organization accelerated its content management and social business needs by implementing a combination of content management, cloud, mobile, and collaboration solutions.

Attend this session and you will have an opportunity to learn from Frank Gullo, Director of Digital and Mobile Strategy at Superior Group and IBM Social Business Insights blog contributor, on how a mid-sized organization transformed its digital capabilities and grew employee engagement and customer impact by leveraging IBM Web Content Manager, Connections, and Sametime. Understand the best practices this organization developed, practical examples, and resources used that can also help you on your journey.

If you're attending the Digital Experience event, please be sure to say hello or attend my session. For more information, access the event website at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/collaboration/digitalexperience/event/.

Father's Day, 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 10:51:00 +0000

We talk of Father's Day, and think of one-on-one time with Dad, fishing and catch, and gifts of ties and tools. I appreciate gifts like these as much as anyone, but what I value most are the non-tangible gifts and life lessons that my daughter gives as a matter of course, that are part of the big girl she has become. Below are some of the many Father's Day "gifts" I have received over the years, and my thank yous to my daughter.

Thank you for helping me learn to put someone else's well being and interests above my own.

Thank you for reminding me of the importance of patience, especially when it's taking a long time to leave for work because a certain little person is taking her time getting ready and putting on her shoes.

Thank you for your laughter, silliness, and our crazy, kicking games.

Thank you for your willingness to try new things.

Thank you for your curiosity and endless questions of why and how things work.

Thank you for your creativity and all the artwork and pictures you have created for me.

Thank you for your hard work, and attention to your school and homework.

Thank you for trying so hard to listen, even when you are so angry and upset because you're not getting what you want.

Thank you for your love, on Father's Day and everyday.

Thank you for the gift of immortality, because I am you and you are me, and you will go on.

I love you, daughter.

NY Special Olympics 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Raven) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 14:41:00 +0000

I recently volunteered at the 2014 NY Special Olympics, during the volleyball matches on Saturday, July 7.

The games were intense and fun to watch, and the athletes were more than impressive. I also enjoyed spending time with two of my fellow volunteer firefighters. Reflecting on the day, I think what stayed with me the most is the fact that even if you struggle in some area and are not great at something, you can excel at something else. You can be excellent. Like how these special Olympians dominated at volleyball.