My friend Danielle Smith wrote a brutally honest blog post today.

Take a minute to read her post first – Honesty, Take 2: I Still Believe. Actually, I’d suggest reading “Take 1″ – You want Honest? I’ll give you honest – first. Either way, read both.

Okay. Pretty honest words, right?

While ready both of Danielle’s posts, I found myself nodding … and nodding … and nodding.

In fact, I may have even blurted out an AMEN (the non-religious kind).

Who is with me? Can I get an AMEN! (ha)

This quote in particular stood out to me:

And I’m suddenly trapped in that jagged space between ‘I’ve totally got this covered’ and ‘there is no way I can do this’. And that feeling often leads to an immobility I liken to the sensation of something dark and heavy sitting on my chest.

Man. Been there. Too often.

Danielle included an image with an amazingly simple, yet powerful quote: Do not compare your insides to someone else’s outsides.

The quote I found below pretty much says the same thing. It’s worth reading the post where I found this image too. Pretty awesome – and honest: Finding the line between inspiring others and being supremely annoying.

My Turn To Be Honest

Now it’s my turn. I’m going to follow Danielle’s lead and also be brutally honest.

Deep breath.

Here we go.

In no particular order …

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, like there is so much on my plate that I need a bigger plate.

Sometimes that feeling of being overwhelmed is paralyzing. I have so much work to do that I freeze … and do nothing. This, of course, makes it worse as the work piles up.

Sometimes I go to Facebook and Twitter as my escape.

Sometimes I check my email or do other things that don’t really matter … while I’m “spending time” with my children.

Sometimes I have kick ass meetings with my clients. Sometimes I totally bomb it.

Sometimes I have bad days.

Sometimes I obsessively refresh my email.

Sometimes I text while I drive.

Sometimes I’m the best father and the best husband in the world – the most patient, the most caring, the most attentive, the most loving. Sometimes I’m not.

Sometimes I lose focus and do whatever I can to avoid what I should be doing.

Sometimes I eat like crap.

Sometimes I forget to exercise.

Sometimes I exercise to avoid doing something else.

Sometimes I say yes to everything, even those things I should definitely say no too.

Sometimes I spend way too much time on what’s not really important and not enough time on what matters.

Sometimes I complain.

Sometimes I “pretend productivity.” (just like Danielle admitted to)

Sometimes I check my email from the bathroom.

Sometimes I don’t watch the news because I want to be blissfully ignorant.

Sometimes I eat an entire carton of ice cream.

—

I’m not perfect. I’ve admitted that before.

But dammit. I will not give up. I will not keep pushing and pushing. I will allow myself to have “off” days and even “off” weeks. I will take a nap on occasion. I’ll drink a Coke every so often.

I will continue to strive to make the world a better place for everyone. I will continue to fight for what I believe is right. I will continue to be honest.

What about you?

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

I’ll admit it. I didn’t even know when Passover started this year … until I asked Google.

But something hit me on March 24th and I decided I was going “all in” on Passover. 

For all you practicing Jews out there, I’m sure you are saying, “So? We are ‘all in’ every year!” Well, for me, it was kind of a big deal.

After all, I’m a non-practicing, Atheist Jew who has not really “done” anything remotely close to Judaism since I was Bar Mitzvah’d over 24 years ago. There were 5 reason I chose to celebrate Passover this year.

1. Tradition and Memories
2. Challenge and Sacrifice.
3. Fun and Unique.
4. Matzo and Wine.
5. Sharon and Ruth.

Read the full post here.

I’m happy to report that I did it. And, well, I survived.

Along the way, I learned a few things:

1. Tradition and memories are important to me. I did my best to prepare a Seder Dinner on the first night of Passover. I made a Passover Seder Plate complete with homemade Haroset, a hard-boiled egg, parsley with salt water, a shank bone (well, it was a chicken bone, but close), some horseradish, and lettuce. I also made Matzo Ball Soup and Noodle Kugel (which my mother later told me was *not* a traditional Passover dish. I later found evidence to prove her wrong!). We drank Manischewitz Wine. We ate Matzo. I even attempted to read a short, English-only version of the Haggadah. During the Seder, I hid the Afikoman which Eva found after we finished eating.

It was far from perfect. Then again, there really is no such thing as perfection. Cal was a bit fussy at dinner (rare for him). Eva didn’t love the Haroset. Kristina reminded me she doesn’t love sweet foods for dinner (Kugel!). Oh, and our dog Morocco ended up eating half of the Kugel. But … we started a new tradition. We created a memory – one I hope to create every Passover.

2. I can survive for a week without flour, wheat, or beer. It really wasn’t that hard. I ate a lot of Matzo. I want to say that I ate healthier during Passover, but while I gave up bread and other “high-carb” foods (beer!), I still ate Brisket. This Passover Brisket recipe from Emeril Lagasse is to die for!

I’m a big believer in challenging myself. That’s why I’ve run a few marathons. Trust me, it’s not because I loved training. I like the challenge. I like pushing myself. In this case, giving up some foods (and beer!) for a week was a pain, it was certainly doable.

3. There are many ways to eat Matzo. As you can read in Matzoh-Palooza, Renee Schettler Rossi actually lists 100. I made Matzo Brei 3 times during the week. (watch how it’s done - in 6 seconds!) Eva liked it. So did Cal. I put butter on my Matzo. I slathered it with peanut butter. I tried whole wheat Matzo. I made Matzo Lasagna (just substitute Matzo in for the lasagne noodles – easy and pretty darn good!). I even ate some Matzo plain.

4. It’s hard to keep Kosher when Easter falls within Passover. Kristina is also a big believer in tradition and creating memories. That’s why we celebrated Easter this year – complete with Easter Egg hunt for Eva and Honey-Baked Ham. As it turns out, ham is not Kosher. Not even close. Who knew? (kidding)

5. It was worth it (and I’ll do it again next year). It was worth it for my mom’s comment alone. I mean, truly. Read her comment and you’ll understand what I mean. Besides that comment though, it was fun. As mentioned in #1, I’m all about traditions. My parents have taught me that. Their parents taught it to them. Kristina and I are teaching it to our children.

What traditions does your family have? I’d love to hear your story too. Please leave a comment below!

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

I’ve been running a bit more lately.

We have a 3-year old and a 10-month old, which means I rarely run in the mornings. No reason to get up BEFORE them, right? However, this past Saturday, I was awake at 6:15. For whatever reason, I just could not go back to sleep. So, I nudged my wife to let her know that I was off for a quick run.

As I’ve been doing on just about every 25 or so minute run I go on, I fired up Chris Brogan’s Human Business Way podcast. More on how Chris plays into this story in just a bit.

About 17 minutes into my run, I stopped cold in my tracks as I saw something on the sidewalk. As it turns out, the “something” I saw was a nice, new, crisp $20 bill.

After picking it up, I snapped a picture of this $20 bill (see above) and, of course, posted it to Instagram … and then shared it on Facebook and Twitter. As you can see from the comments on Instagram and Twitter, several folks had some “fun” with the fact that I was now getting paid to run. A few people on Facebook suggested that I “pay it forward” by buying coffee for people in line behind me.

That $20 bill is still sitting in my pocket. Literally. As. I. Type. This. Sentence.

Hmmm…

How I Intend To Use The $20 Bill

The reason it’s still in my pocket is mostly because I wasn’t sure what the best use of it would be. I passed a homeless person on the corner yesterday and nearly gave it to him. I thought about “paying it forward” by buying coffee for a bunch of strangers. For whatever reason, none of those options seemed … well … like the right thing to do.

Then it hit me.

On my run this afternoon, I was listening to Chris Brogan’s podcast again. When I got back home, I jumped on my laptop and read this tweet from Chris. (No, I don’t read every tweet Chris posts, but remember … he was top of mind after listening to his podcast on my run).

Bingo!

Honoring Students with Special Needs: A prom to love, honor and celebrate students with Special Needs and integrate them with their peers from over 65 San Diego high schools.

I began to watch the video showing highlights from last year’s A Night To Remember Prom (see below). I made it through the first 18 seconds before I hit the big pink CONTRIBUTE NOW button and donated that crisp, clean, brand new $20 bill.

There is a special place in my heart for our young people – ALL young people … no matter race, ethnicity, social-economic status or sexual orientation. It doesn’t matter if someone has special needs or is differently-abled. As cheesy as it sounds, children ARE our future.

Check out the video below and let me know if you have the same reaction that I just did.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Moments before I hit publish on this blog post, they were $153 away from reaching their goal. $153. That’s it. Can you spare $1, $5, $10, $20 … or even $153 to make this a reality?

Let’s make this happen. Contribute now.

One last thing: I realize there are a lot of places to donate. I realize that many of you reading this now regularly give back to the community. If this is not the cause you want to support – for whatever reason – I’m okay with that … as long as you take the time and/or money to help others.

Deal?

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

Both of my parents are Jewish.

I went to Hebrew School twice per week during many of my pre-teen years.

Twenty-four years ago, I became a man (aka, I became a Bar Mitzvah <– and no, that picture is NOT of me).

That being said …

Not counting a family Bar/Bat Mitzvah, I could not tell you the last time I was in Temple (or is it called Synagogue?). I don’t believe in God (does that make me an Atheist?). I have a tattoo (a no-no for Jews). I married a gentile (non-Jew) and we are most likely not raising our children to be Jewish. Until last night, I had no clue when Passover even started this year (see picture above or this Instagram post - yes, I Googled it!).

Yet, later this evening, I will be hosting a traditional Passover Seder on this, the first night of Passover.

I know. It doesn’t all line up.

5 Reasons Why A Non-Practicing, Atheist Jew is Celebrating Passover This Year

So why am I celebrating Passover this year? Here are 5 reasons:

1. Tradition and Memories. I love traditions. Some of my fondest family memories growing up were around the High Holidays. We never were into the religious aspects of Judaism, but the holidays always brought the (extended) family together. We ate. We drank (Manischewitz Wine as kids). We had a great time. I want to start some traditions with our family of 4. I want to create memories.

2. Challenge and Sacrifice. I believe it’s important to challenge yourself every so often. One of the traditions of Passover – “keeping the Passover” as my mother used to call it – is that you don’t eat chametz (“leaven”):

any food that’s made of grain and water that have been allowed to ferment and “rise.” Bread, cereal, cake, cookies, pizza, pasta, and beer are blatant examples of chametz; but any food that contains grain or grain derivatives can be, and often is, chametz. Practically speaking, any processed food that is not certified “Kosher for Passover” may potentially include chametz ingredients.

–Chabad.org

So, yes, this means I will “sacrifice” by not eating any of the above “blatant examples of chametz.” No bread. No cereal. No pasta. No … beer. Yikes! Truth be told, giving that stuff up for a week is likely going to make me healthier anyway. I can commit to that for a week, if not longer.

3. Fun and Unique. Eva just turned 3 two days ago. While Cal is a bit too young to appreciate Passover (he’s a week shy of 10 months), I’m pretty sure Eva will have fun with it. After all, she loved lighting the Channukah candles this past year. She even learned the entire prayer … in Hebrew. She’s smart.

4. Matzo and Wine. I actually like Matzo. Matzo with butter. Matzo Brie. In fact, with just a bit of digging, you can easily find 100 recipes using Matzo (Matzo-Palooza!). As someone who likes to cook, I kinda like the challenge and the chance to experiment a bit. Oh, and wine. You drink a lot of wine during Passover Seders (4 cups!).

5. Sharon and Ruth. Sharon is my mother. Ruth was her mother. Even though I’ve been resisting it, my mom continues to send cards for our children during the Jewish holidays. She sends gifts. This year, she sent a glass Seder Plate. It’s about time I used it. I know it will mean a ton to her. My grandmother (Ruth) was born on March 25th (today!). That just has a bit of extra … OOMPH. Know what I mean?

So … what other non-practicing, Atheist Jews will be joining me tonight? Give a shout out in the comments below.

Oh, and in case you are still wondering when Passover is this year … let me Google that for you.

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

I fully admit that I’m (professionally) stealing the idea for this blog post from Chris Brogan.

I’m pretty sure Chris won’t mind. After all, he once told me “Steal everything. Just give me the occasional credit (like I’ve seen you do).”

Now that we’ve got that out of the way …

My Work Talk Show co-host and I, Mr. Nick Westergaard, would be thrilled if you’d subscribe to our podcast.

What is The Work Talk Show?

Short version: a weekly podcast on how work gets done

Longer version: a weekly podcast featuring a talk show format along with crazy smart guests who operate outside the lines of what work has traditionally looked like. Nick and I have “irreverent and insightful conversations” on work habits, work-shifting, virtual teams, productivity, travel, tools, technology, work-life balance, and everything in between as we take a look at how work gets done today.

11 Reasons Why You Should Subscribe to The Work Talk Show

1. We book guests like Julien Smith who are way smarter than us.
2. “Because real humans create useful information in a human way.” … so says past guest Chris Brogan.
3. We interview folks like “time management ninja” Craig Jarrow.
4. You can learn from experts – people like Peter Shankman – on how they get it done while still having fun.
5. We sometimes have “special episodes” where we talk about hot topics (and bring back our expert panel of one). Listen to Our View: Yahoo! Ends Telecommuting.
6. We speak with people like Mitch Joel about the concept of blend (hint: it’s not about work-life balance).
7. We interview authors such as Guy Kawasaki but don’t necessarily talk about their books.
8. You will hear from guests like Seth Godin who also have trouble managing their inboxes.
9. You’ll learn some business/life hacks – such as using Nudgemail to clean out your inbox or John Morgan’s 2-Hour Power Working method.
10. It can be inspring. As listener David Hildahl tweeted, “I love the unique topic. How people work can be just as inspiring as the work they produce.”
11. We don’t just talk about work. In an episode with Danielle Smith, we talked a ton about family. When Krista Parry joined us, we talked about our love for the NBC show Parenthood. Jason Falls discussed how parenting and technology work together.

11 reasons. That should be enough, right? Have I convinced you yet?

(I hope)

A Few Ways to Subscribe

Now that you are “sold,” I guess it’s time to learn how to become a regular Work Talk Show listener.

There are many ways to listen to The Work Talk Show. You can …

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Listen vis Stitcher
• Get the RSS feed (note: we use Feedblitz)
• Listen to each episode on our website

For those of you who are already regular Work Talk Show listeners … a big ‘ol THANK YOU from both Nick and me.

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

I’m a big advocate for human rights.

As I’ve said before, gay rights really equal human rights.

That’s why when I came across this flowchart on Facebook yesterday, I just had to share (click image to open in a new window):

Also, be sure to watch Ash Beckham’s 5-minute Ignite Boulder talk (embedded in the original blog post) as well as below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A lot of what Ash said in her 5-minute talk stood out to me.

I especially loved this quote, starting at 2 minutes, 14 seconds into her talk: “You can legislate tolerance; you can’t legislate acceptance.” Think about it.

I also really love that she addresses the fact that most often when people misuse the word gay, it’s not because of hate or bigotry, but due to laziness: “It’s a really easy word to throw in, but it’s not what you are trying to convey.”

What are you doing to eliminiate the pejorative use of the word gay from your lexicon and/or that of those around you? As I mentioned with disabled vs. differently abled, words do matter.

One way you can prevent the misuse of the word gay is to not be bystander when someone uses it incorrectly in your presence. The next time you here someone use gay to describe something that is stupid, unfair, irritating, or eccentric, don’t let them get away with it. Address them. Tell them why it’s wrong. Send them the link to this flowchart.

Again, words do matter.

Thanks Ash for reminding us about this. Thanks Mike Metcalf and DegreeSearch.org for creating such an awesome flowchart.

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

For some reason lately, I’ve been borderline obsessed with out of office auto-responders.

As I wrote in last Friday’s Waldow Social Weekly email newsletter,

I think – for the most part – the traditional “I will be out of the office until [insert date here]. I will have limited access to email while I’m gone. In case of an emergency …” email is dead.

After all, other than when we are hiking in the woods, canoeing to a remote island, or on Mars, we are really never more than a few clicks away from being connected. Know what I mean?

I still think it’s a good idea to create an out of office email alert, especially if you plan on replying at a slower pace. However, if you are going to send people an auto-responder saying that you are “out,” at least make it fun, right?

Making Your Out of Office Email Auto-Responder Unique

I decided to take my own advice about creating a “fun” out office auto-responder fun. So, before heading to Cabo last week, I decided I’d do just that. But, instead of writing my own, I asked my friend Gini Dietrich to do it for me. After all, along with Ann Handley (read Ann’s latest here), Gini writes some of the funniest, most creative out of office auto-responders. I mean, her last one was a video!

So, without further ado, I bring you … my out of office auto-responder from last week (as written by Gini Dietrich):

It’s snowmageddon in the central part of the country, Arizona had to cancel a PGA Tournament because Mother Nature is so confused, and I’m in Cabo.

First things first, it’s my birthday so if your message is urgent (and I mean, the place is burning down…literally), you must tell me so, but also include your best birthday wish to motivate me to respond during my vacation. Videos, audio notes, and photos are all accepted.

Because Cabo is one of the most expensive trips I’ll ever take (but don’t realize it yet because Gini Dietrich wrote this and she says it’s second behind Telluride), I will not have access to my phone, the part that sends and receives calls, until March 4. BUT you may see me on Instagram, Facebook, and Vine for the sheer purpose of documenting our trip. I can use the resort’s free WiFi for that.

I wish you a very sunny week that is empty of emergencies and burning down buildings. I’ll get back to you when I return tan and relaxed.

Kinda funny, right? If you loved it, be sure to tell Gini. You can either tweet her (or contact her here).

Your Turn

Do you have a really good (or really bad) out of office auto-responder you’d like to share? If so, drop it into this form.

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

I first heard the term “Differently Abled” in 2001, while volunteering as a counselor at Anytown in Tampa, Florida.

Anytown is a youth program “designed to educate, liberate, and empower youth participants (ages 14–18) to become effective, responsible leaders and community builders in a global society” (source). Originally started by The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) – a non-profit organization whose mission is to “fight bias, bigotry, and racism and promote understanding and respect through advocacy, conflict resolution, and education” (source), Anytown has been around for over 50 years.

Though I only volunteered there for a short time, Anytown is one of those experiences that sticks with you for a lifetime.

I can’t recall the name of the person who shared the phrase “differently abled” with me, but I do remember that, at the time, his story, his words, his message – had a huge impact on me. Thinking back to what this person looked like, I can’t really remember. He may have been in a wheelchair or using braces. It’s also quite possible that he had no visible disability. Or maybe he had multiple sclerosis. I can’t quite picture him. But that is actually, in some ways, kind of the point.

He was a person. He was a human being. He just so happened to have a disability.

However, he did not think of his condition as a disability. He did not refer to himself as disabled. I’ll never forget this. He looked at us that day – the entire Anytown camp, adults and teenagers alike – and said, “I’m not disabled. I’m differently abled.”

That day, he also told it was important to focus on the person before the label. In other words, instead of a “special needs child” it should be a “child with special needs.”

I know what you are thinking (I thought the same thing at the time). It’s semantics. Whether you say “special needs child” or “child with special needs,” it means the same thing. True. However, his point was that we are all still people first.

This “person first” concept can be applied to other labels.

A person who is gay (instead of a gay person).
A person who is gifted (instead of a gifted person).
A person who is differently abled.

You get the point, I hope.

Why Semantics Matter (and my challenge to you)

I have not seen or heard “differently abled” used that much since I was first made aware of it in 2001 …  though apparently Toys “R” Us has been publishing it’s Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids* since 1994.

*Did you notice that Toys “R” Us refers to the label before the person?

Then, two days ago, while running on the beach in Cabo (yes, I’m in Mexico right now), I heard Chris Brogan say “differently abled.” I was listening to Chris’s killer podcast – the Human Business Way (more on that podcast and Chris in an upcoming post). He had just finished an interview and was talking about disabilities. When he said, “differently abled,” I literally stopped in my tracks. I tapped out a quick email to Chris telling him how powerful that phrase was and why I thought it was so important and continued with my run.

So why does this all matter? Who cares? Why am I taking the time to blog about this … while on vacation?

Simple.

I believe that how we refer to other human beings DOES matter. While subtle, remembering that we are all humans first does matter. Remembering that we all have abilities – yet some are different – does matter.

My challenge to you is this: The next time you hear the term disabled, the next time you see a label precede a person … just stop. Pause. Think about it. If you are so inspired, and it’s appropriate, say something. Spread the word. We are all unique. We all all different. We are all human.

Do you agree?

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

On Saturday, my family and I will be heading out of the country for a long-overdue vacation.

Ahhh. Vacation. Remember in the pre-laptop, pre-smart phone days when a vacation meant sipping on margaritas, swimming in the ocean, and reading a nice book? Technology (devices), email, and social media has changed all of that.

Now we have a choice. We can be that guy in the picture above or live in the pre-laptop/smart phone days. Or, our vacation experience can live somewhere in the middle.

Over the past few days I’ve been been thinking a lot about whether or not I’m going to be that guy in the picture above next week.

Recently, a friend of mine and I were emailing back and forth about vacation. I wrote, “I’m kindasorta going on vacation.” His response: “There is no sort of on vacation. You either are or you are not.”

It’s clear where he stands; however, I’m not sure I share his sentiment.

I’m certainly not the first person who has struggled with this dilema and will not be the last. I’ve read countless articles and blog posts about going “off the grid” vs. staying connected while on vacation. Heck, I even have done a few “email breaks” … most recently over Thanksgiving when I went 6 days without email. Guess what? I survived.

And, if I choose to go 100% off the grid next week, I will survive that as well. I’m certain of it. Life will go on. Tweets will pass by. Facebook updates will happen whether or not I’m there to see them or leave my comment. Instagram and Vine* and Pinterest will survive without me. I’m sure Google will still know where I am and what I’m doing. Scary, huh?

The key is this: It is a choice. In fact, I’d argue that you always have a choice.

But here’s the thing. I love being connected. I love people. I love interacting with other human beings – both on and offline. I love the banter, the joking, the sharing of content, the debates, the conversation. I love it all.

But I also love spending time with my family. I love disconnecting. I love swimming. I love deep sea fishing. I love reading a good book.

Can you have both? Does it have to be an either/or?

In a recent episode of The Work Talk Show, Mitch Joel talked about the concept of balance vs. blend. My friend Krista Parry also believes in blend. She recently returned from a vacation in Hawaii. How do I know? I saw here amazing beach pictures on Facebook. I’m not sure if she was checking email too, but I know she participated in a Twitter chat while she was in Hawaii. To be clear, I’m in no way judging Krista – just stating the facts. On a selfish level, I loved that Krista shared some of her vacation with her friends on Facebook and Twitter. I love that I was able to see some Instagrams of her experience. She chose to not be 100% off the gird.

That being said, everything I’ve been reading the past few months continues to point to the importance of disconnecting. Meditate. Go for a walk. Do nothing. In fact, my buddy Nick and I were recording an episode of The Work Talk Show the other day and our guest talked about how when you have something you are stuck on – a problem that you can’t seem to resolve, a creative block, etc. – if you “do nothing” often the issue resolves itself. In other words, your brain is working even when you are not consciously thinking about something. Does that make sense? I’m still wrapping my brain around what they said. Ha!

Just tonight I was talking to a friend of mine about this and she advised that I disconnect entirely … that I use the time to “recharge.” It made me pause and think: Do I take her advice or follow the path Krista chose?

As I was typing that last sentence, I asked my wife what she plans on doing while we’re on vacation. She told me that while she will have an out of office email auto-responder set up, she’ll definitely be checking email – once a day. When I pressed her on why this was the case (honestly, I was surprised by her answer), she told me that “the anxiety of having to go through all of the email when I get back and maybe missing something urgent seems too overwhelming.”

I don’t blame her. I think “email anxiety” is real. I’d argue that “social media anxiety” is also an issue. What if I miss something important?

Since starting my own company – Waldow Social – 19 months ago, I feel this need to stay connected. While my business will still be there when I get back, I feel the need to constantly feed the fire – create content, share industry-relevant information, etc.

While I don’t plan on using my phone to place or receive calls at all while on vacation (mostly because I’m too cheap), the place we are staying at does have wifi. The temptation to “check in” will be there. That being said, I do not want to be tethered to my laptop or iPhone for a week.

I’m not sure how I’ll handle email over this vacation. Like my wife, just thinking about it gets me a bit anxious. However, I don’t have any plans to check or update Facebook or Twitter, but I may pre-schedule a few blog posts. I’ll likely send my weekly newsletter. But what about Instagram? What about Vine*? I certainly will be taking pictures and recording videos. I want to capture the memories. But do I need to share every memory? Need? No. Want? Maybe.

How do you “do” vacations? 100% off the grid? Check email once per day? Do you tweet? Do you check Facebook? Do you write blog posts? Take Instagrams? Record Vines?

I’d love to hear your take on this. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. 

As I write this, I’m still not certain which option I’ll choose.

*I mentioned Vine a few times above. If you are saying, “What the heck is Vine,” my good friend Ann Handley breaks it down here.

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow

My daughter turns 3 next month.

About a year ago, she taught herself how to use my iPhone.

Now don’t get me wrong, she’s not texting or tweeting or posting pictures to Instagram – though she does know how to take pictures. She also knows how to answer the phone, where to hold the phone when she’s on FaceTime, and how to navigate to whatever picture or video she wants to look at.

My wife and I have downloaded a dozen or so “parent-approved” apps for her – mostly in the educational-game genre. I’m too cheap to pay the extra $1.99 to remove the ads, so many of these games include some type of advertisement.

Last night, as I was watching my daughter play one of these games, I noticed an ad from Ally Bank that took up the bottom quarter of the screen.

Why a bank would be advertising on a toddler game is another story, but stick with me.

I watched as my daughter accidentally clicked on the ad (I did mention that it took up the bottom quarter of an already-small screen, right?). When she clicked, Safari opened up in a new “window” and suddenly we were looking at some ad from Ally Bank. I quickly closed it and we were back to the game.

Then I noticed something interesting.

The next time that ad popped up, she ignored it. I watched – in awe – as she intentionally did not get her little fingers anywhere near the ad. She came close many times, but it was clear that she knew – after one “oops” – to not click the ad. She learned. She adapted … after one erroneous click.

She has already learned, 7 weeks shy of her 3rd birthday, to ignore ads. Even better? Guess who taught her to ignore those ads? You got it. The very marketers who are slamming these ads in our faces every chance they get.

Mull that over for a few …

DJ Waldow
Waldow Social

P.S. Have you heard the news? Nick Westergaard and I have started a weekly podcast called The Work Talk Show, where we interview crazy-smart folks about how work gets done. Give the latest episode a listen!