Storytelling: How the NYPD Welcomed Me to New York City

I'm a freak of nature and really enjoy public speaking, and it could be on almost any topic. Maybe because I started pretty young with incredible opportunities in high school student activities in front of audiences of 1000 people or more. Possibly it's because I did some really crazy / embarrassing things early on in college like stand on a stage in front of 2000 people at a drag show I put together talking about the importance of safe sex and condoms. The advantage of being young and not knowing any better has led to me being in my 30s and just craving any opportunity to feed off an audience, and that feeling is only getting worse. Now I just want to get better.

Recently I signed up for a storytelling class at the Magnet Theater in New York City which I wholeheartedly recommend. The class performance was held on Saturday in front of a standing room only crowd (about 50 people or so). I had a friend record it not just so I could have it and share, but to watch myself and make notes for what I can do better in future performances. Not a fan of public speaking? Well, watching yourself is uncomfortable, but honestly one of the best ways to acknowledge all that's being done wrong in order to fix the things that need fixing for next time. Each time in theory, you'll continue to hone your skills and get better and better. As much as I wish I could take credit for this piece of advice, it was something I learned in classes in college that forcefully made me do it. It's also pretty well known in any article you'll read about being a better public speaker. Such as this one in Forbes, "Want to be a Better Public Speaker? Do What the Pros Do."

The story that I worked on was about my first few weeks in New York in 2004, and the surprise visit the NYPD paid me one day. Hope you enjoy it, and that nothing like it ever happens to you.

And as always, I welcome feedback! Or if you have any questions about the class I'd be happy to answer them.

The Art of Storytelling in Everyday Life

Who doesn't love a great story? In the last hundred years we've built entire industries around great visual stories in movies, films, and television. Stories in books and music have been around since the dawn of time and get passed from generation to generation. Podcasts are all the rage these days. And now, if done well it's a method in which brands do marketing and community building. Personally, I've lived my life and made decisions completely guided by what will be the best story to tell. I say yes to things with hopes that it'll make for a great story. Ya know, like the time I wrestled an alligator, or up and moved to Korea. But what do you do once you've amassed an arsenal of crazy stories? Learn how to tell them well, and with purpose.

One of my goals this year was to take a course, any course. The goal was to go somewhere, in person, meet other people, and learn a new skill that I could apply in my professional life. In a city like New York, that's pretty easy to do. A good friend recommended classes at the Magnet Theater, because they offer dozens of classes for improv comedy. I truly believe learning comedic timings and methods make for better presenters & performers, but I wasn't quite ready to be that creatively vulnerable amongst a group of people. Instead, I chose to take Adam Wade's level one Storytelling Class. If you're familiar with NPR's "The Moth" podcast, this is basically the same thing. The irony of this class choice is having to share a few stories about yourself in the first couple of weeks.

Over the course of six weeks and eighteen hours we learned what makes a story tight, how to play with language and descriptions, and we received feedback from those in the class and Adam about things we were doing well or not well to work on. I can honestly say the class of 12 or so people are incredibly talented and have given me some really great feedback over the last six weeks. I look forward to level 2, coming this summer.

At the end of the six weeks, the class performs their 6-8 minute stories in a show at the Magnet Theater Training Center. Our show will be on Saturday, April 25th at 4pm EST, and yours truly will be taking the stage amongst a few other great storytellers. The show is free, so if you're interested in checking it out, we'd love to have you. More information can be found here in this Facebook Event.

The Accountability Structure

Last week I talked about the importance of accountability and going through the process with a partner. This week I wanted to outline the structure of choosing a partner, setting it up, figuring out motivators, and check points.

Getting started with your accountability structure:

Choosing an accountability partner: 

You're going to have to share everything with this person. All the good. All the bad. Mistakes you've made. Successes you have. There are going to be very hard conversations when someone is slipping. Can you be strict with them? 

You don't interview this person, it just kind of has to naturally happen, but asking formally to enter into this is a must. Being in the same boat usually helps. One person isn't better or worse than the other, they simply have different strengths and weaknesses that can be learned from.

Set up a schedule:
Pick what works for you. In the beginning we chose to meet weekly. We would meet for one hour, giving 30 minutes to each of us. We even had a corresponding Google spreadsheet with our projects and their timelines.

After 6-8 months or so, it wasn't really working for us. We decided to go every other week, and forego the Google spreadsheet. That took some of the pressure off, and make it so we had more headspace to achieve what we were trying to achieve with a bit more time.

Create Motivators / Punishments
This seems counterproductive, but it's actually a good motivator. It could be anything that would keep both of you in this. When you set up a schedule, don't back out on that person last minute. They're making it a priority so you should too.

For example, our punishments were monetary ($5 via Venmo to the other person you skipped out on), as well as social ridicule. We could tweet, post, blog, etc. about how much of a jackass the other person was for bailing, if we see fit.

Give Each Other Challenges
Once you've gotten into the rhythm of accountability (possibly a few months), see if you can issue a 30 day challenge to someone based on what you've been hearing them say they want/need.

For example, I had challenged my partner to focus. He was constantly in love with the new shiny idea of the week, and would cast idea previous ideas/projects easily. Part of this included saying no when possible, but another part of it was focusing his time better. The challenge was to manage time better to support the initiatives important to him, and that meant not watching TV until after it was dark out, giving him a few extra hours each day to do something productive.

My challenge from him was that I was struggling to be healthier. An "easy" thing to do was to cut out soda (which I had roughly 1 per day) for 30 days.

The results were that I cut out soda, as well as coffee (with sugar & milk) every morning and never went back to it. He also stuck to his end of the deal as well and spent more time reading, golfing, or at work.

Have Check Points
In our weekly sessions we discussion what happened that week in the areas of Life, Work, and Health. And at the end of our time we clearly outline what our next steps are for the next two weeks and what we'd hope to achieve.

In December we held our first year end session.  We went to dinner for two hours and came with pre-written lists of everything that went well, didn't go well, and what our 2015 goals were for Life, Work, and Health.  In the end we felt we had a fairly clear roadmap for the upcoming year, and had done a lot of great groundwork in the previous year.

Like with any good project, you just need a plan and an outline. With our structure we're able to keep things fluid and well, accountable. When you start, you'll do what works best for you!  

Professional & Personal Accountability

A Good Partner is like a Good Coach

We've all experienced periods of self doubt, scrutiny, intense comparison of ourselves to others, and other such negativity of our actions both personally and professionally. If these thoughts are left unattended they can be damaging to our future. Mentors are often our go-to people when these thoughts start creeping in, but they provide advice and guidance for the bigger picture. Who keeps us accountable once we've received that advice and guidance? Who checks in on us to make sure we're achieving the goals we've set? On a day to day or week to week basis, who's kicking your ass when you need it most?

This is where an accountability partner comes into play in addition to your mentors. They play good cop/bad cop. They keep you on track and don't let things get out of hand. They bring back ideas you said you wanted to work on and make you feel the pressure you need to stay the course.

In early 2014 I was miserable. I was working on a communications team for a successful start up about to IPO which was an experience that very few people can say they have lived through. Stress runs high, personalities change, and there's an insurmountable amount of work that needs to be done. It was all getting to me and I wasn't happy personally or professionally.  After leaving at the end of January and starting at a new company a few weeks later things became clearer, and questions started to form:

• What do I want out of my career for the next year, three years, five years, and beyond?  
• How am I going to get there?
• Am I taking the right steps now?
• What could I be doing better?
• Where are my weaknesses, and how can I improve?
• What are my strengths and how can I use them to make others better?

A close friend was also having these same thoughts and we found ourselves speaking a few times a week through the themes of professional development, health, and life. After a few weeks he brought up the idea of formalizing this arrangement to keep us both accountable.  It was like a light bulb and everything fell into place.

We formalized a lot of things to get us started, and at times it was hard to keep on track, and some sessions were missed. Moods were up and down, interests and passions were all over the place. Focus is sometimes not there. At the end of 2014 we had a two hour sit down dinner to go over what went well all year and what didn't.

We're still continuing down this path, and it's an incredible exercise each week that has benefited us both positively in the areas of life, work, and health. 

How to Easily Save $1,378 in One Year

Have ya heard about about this, folks? This "52 Week Money Challenge" thing sweeping the nation? Let me tell you how you too can save $1,378 in a year!

Anyone else love old timey State Fair style sales pitches?

I read about this thing called the "Money Challenge" in late 2013 and decided to give it a go for 2014, in addition to my other financial responsibilities like an IRA, stocks, and general savings. Like with any other New Year's resolution, I figured I'd stop doing it halfway through the year, especially as the challenge started to get harder. Much to my surprise, I didn't fall short, and I did manage to sock away an unnoticeable $1,378 this year. It's surprisingly easy (assuming your financial life is in order), so let me explain.

The first week of the year you save $1 and the last week of the year you save $52. Then everything in between you save that amount. For example week 23 is $23, week 34 is $34, etc. As the year progresses you save more and more, but it does take awhile to notice a significant amount. This chart explains it a bit better:

As you can imagine the beginning of the year is quite easy, while the end of the year can get a bit challenging as you near the holidays.  If you're an instant gratification person like me, you might want to see more action upfront. If I were to do this again, I would change it up to one of the following ways: 

Option 1: Flip it. 

Do a declining contribution and save $52 Week 1 and then $1 by Week 52. 

                 Pro:  See savings right away

                 Pro:  More likely to add more to it when you can and go above the $1,378

                 Con: Harder to save so much directly after the holidays

Option 2: Average it.  

$1,378 divided by 12 (months) is roughly $115.  Just put a whopping $115 away each month. Or $53 each paycheck if you're paid twice a month. Or $27 per week to keep the nature of the challenge alive. 

                 Pro: You don't have to think about all that math.

                 Pro: Because I'm rounding up, you'll save a little more than $1,378

                 Con: It's a large sum each time, and you may think of it as a burden instead of a challenge.

Option 3: Up the ante. 

If you've already completed the 52 week challenge for $1,378 - Double it.  Make it $2,756 per year.   Save $230 per month, or $106 per pay period, or $53 per week.  

                 Pro: More bang for your buck.

                 Con: If the amount is too big, you're more likely to dip into your savings if you've gone over budget.

When you sit down to think about your finances and what you spend on a latte at Starbucks (~$4.50) or that $28 takeout from Seamless on a Tuesday night, putting away this little bit amount of money each week is fairly simple (at least up front in the year).  Have a trip coming up?  Want to buy a fun new toy for yourself?  Or just compete with yourself and see if you can do yourself one better year after year?   Then I suggest this challenge.  It kind of covers all of the the bases from psyching yourself out, being financially smart, and being somewhat innocuous to the point you don't even realize you're doing it.  

This challenge can really be started at anytime. It doesn't need to be a New Year's resolution or a first week of January thing. 

Best of luck.  Let me know how you'll spend your $1,378 you saved in the next 12 months ;) 

How To Choose Between Multiple Job Offers

Congrats! You're desired by not one, but two, maybe even THREE businesses! While this is exciting, it's also an incredible source of stress. Which one do you choose? How do I know? Why is life so hard?! Whatever, it's only my future.

I was lucky enough to have this good problem to have in 2014. I started googling "choosing between two offers" and got a bunch of listicles with the top 4 or 5 things to choose between. It was always the same... Salary, Vacation Days, Environment, 401k, etc etc.  And yes, all of those things are obviously very important, but there are so many other factors that go into how you'll choose to spend 40-50 hours every week.

So I did what any sane and rational, but yet highly over organized person would do. I created a Google spreadsheet with all of the categories I could think of that were important in decision making (it's 34 things by the way), the importance to which I personally rank those things on a scale from 1-5, and then the two (or three) companies in each column color coded as to which one "won" each category.  Green is the winner, yellow means it's the same, red means it's a deal breaker.

Tally up all the green, yellow, and red numbers based on the importance column, and boom - there's your job choice. Surprisingly it isn't always salary that makes or breaks a job, assuming the differences aren't massive and none are insulting.

• Below is a snapshot of the doc if anyone wants to use it in their future career decision making. 
• Click on the image to bring you to the document and feel free to steal the template. 
• Enter in your own specifics, change as you see fit.
• If you have any questions or suggestions for categories, post in the comments below.

Good luck!

How To Get 15 Interviews in One Week

Early 2014 I went through what I thought was going to be a pretty long and extensive job search. I was fully prepared to spend two or three months researching opportunities, taking meetings, and figuring out what it was that I wanted to do. However, that process took roughly 4-5 weeks from start to finish and that included 15 interviews in one week.

Sometimes you just know that it's time to move on from a company. Starting a job search can be daunting because it's definitely a full time undertaking and you have to be mentally prepared for it if you're going to come out on the other end with a great job. Starting a job search without a network would seem almost impossible, so my advice is to have a network before you start.  Easier said than done, right? However without one you're going to be blindly applying to company websites, job boards, and career sites which may take far too long. With a network you cut to the front of the line, every time, as a referral. A network takes time to build, but the value far exceeds the upfront time commitment.

Assuming you've got a network to fall back on these are the pieces of advice I can give to you when going through a job search that will make it a quick and (somewhat) painless one:

Start With a Research Phase (~30 days)
Starting my job search in December 2013 got off to a slow start. I poked around a few job boards, had a few coffee meetings with those whom I knew were hiring at their companies, and started putting the word out there quietly that I had wanted to make a move by early spring. December was mostly about doing my research, creating lists of what I wanted and at potential companies, crafting an updated resume, and seeing what was available.

Begin Applying 
After the holidays I continued to do much of the same, but it was hard to do with a full time job, a part-time University teaching job, and a side project. I suggest at least applying to one job per night with a well crafted cover letter and a resume, both targeted to that job. In January I was only able to go on 4-5 first and second interviews because of the time crunch.

Make the Job Search a Full Time Job
It wasn't until after I left my full time job in January that things really picked up. Not once did I post publicly to Facebook, Twitter, or Linked In that I was searching. Save that for when you've exhausted your network. I sent individual emails to everyone I've gotten to know through online groups, #cmgrchat, conferences, and meetups. These weren't cold emails, these were emails to those I connect with on a daily, weekly, or sometimes monthly or even quarterly basis. What I found was an overwhelmingly positive response of people not only willing to help, but general excitement about the hunt and where I would wind up. In some cases it actually strengthened some of my looser connections into really good friendships today.

It's a Numbers Game
I kept a Google spreadsheet of all of the places I applied to. It had 3 tabs: Active, Dead, and Notes. In the Active tab I kept the following information of all the opportunities that were still in play:

• Date: Date Applied
• Company: Name
• Position: Title
• Applied How: Did I apply via a website, job board, email, Linked In, etc. 
• Contact: Who is the name of the hiring manager?
• Connection: Did someone refer me to the company?
• Interview: Not yet, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Offer
• Dead?  Yes/No

In December and January I applied to 33 companies, had 18 first interviews, 8 second interviews, 6 third interviews, 3 fourth interviews, 1 fifth interview, 3 presentations, and 2 offers.

Be Open to Opportunity
In the first week of February I had 15 interviews. Some were first interviews, some were presentations, and some were over the phone in different cities. They were all within an area of my field, and some were positions that seemed interesting that I could apply my skills to, but ultimately weren't right. But take every meeting, answer every email, and thank everyone you come across for their time whether they're setting you up or doing the actual interview.

Fast forward a year to today, and I've been happily employed at Emoderation. It's been a lot of fun with some of the smartest people in the industry, an incredible learning opportunity, a significant challenge on a scale I previously hadn't had access to, and a lot of travel. All things that were incredibly important to me in my search.

The 911 Story After the Storytelling Class

As a New Yorker of some 10ish years I have a few warranted fears:

• Falling through one of those metal trap doors on the sidewalks that lead into store basements
• Getting randomly hit from above with a falling air conditioner
• Being pushed off of a subway platform 

All things that happen, all things that could kill you, and should any of these things happen if you were to survive you'd probably need speedy help from 911. Which has led me to always wonder how fast could help get to me in New York City with it's clogged streets and jam packed areas? Well, on Thursday night I found out.

Two weeks ago I signed up for a Storytelling class at the Magnet Theater, which has a training center on West 32nd street. This street happens to be one of my favorite streets because it's the heart of Koreatown, but it also happens to be perhaps one of the busiest streets at all hours of the day.  The class is three hours long and finishes at 10pm. Instead of heading home, I had a craving for Tteokboki so I ducked into Food Gallery 32 for a little bit. Had I not gone in, or had I hung around just a little bit longer I might not have a story to tell.

I live in Jersey City, which is connected to Manhattan through a subway called the PATH that operates 24 hours. Much to every riders' dismay, after 11pm the PATH stops going direct to Jersey City and makes an additional stop in Hoboken where it sits for 5 full minutes. This might as well be an eternity. At 10:40 I decided it was time to leave the food place, and head to the PATH to catch one of the last direct trains.

The PATH shares a stairwell with the BDFM / NQR subway station. As I'm walking down the steps I noticed a guy a few steps ahead of me kind of walking like drunk cow. I've never seen a drunk cow, but this guy is what I imagine it would look like. Moments later the guy completely loses his footing and falls, face first down 5 or 6 stairs, but not first without slamming his face onto the giant cast iron gates that are in the middle of subway stairwells to close off the subway in off hours. He immediately got himself up with a help of another stranger and continued walking down the stairs.

As he was only a few feet ahead of me, I noticed a trail of dark red blood from the stairs leading toward this guy. His friend came up from behind and helped him stand straight up, but that's when I noticed the front of the guy was completely soaked in blood, it was all over the floor, and in his hair. I gave the friend all of the napkins I happened to have in my pocket, and other girls around me did the same with packages of tissues and other napkins. We had quite a bit, and they were all soaked through red in a matter of minutes. The guy's nose looked as though it was either broken, or at the very least in need of stitches. These few spots here are just what was accumulating even though we were applying pressure with napkins.

I looked up an urgent care thinking that they could walk a block to the one on Fifth Ave, but that wasn't possible, so I dialed 911. Though it was funny because I asked the friend, "Do you want me to call someone?" and he replied, "If you're OK with that, yes please!' What an odd response.

Thankfully I had service in the station (which is a rarity around NYC). I gave all the information as to where we were... the NW corner of 32nd and Broadway under Greenley Square.  Hung up with 911 and then the police called me.  One thing to know is when they call you it comes from a weird number -- 111-222-3333.  I almost didn't answer thinking it was a spam call.  Even though I had given them directions, the police / EMS weren't able to find us.  I then described exactly where we were... in the stations, but before the turnstiles, across from the Metrocard kiosks, directly at the bottom of the stairs beneath the Empanada stand. I suppose it pays to be super aware of your surroundings.

The whole thing from making the call to me talking to the police took about 5 minutes. Once they heard my part of the story, they said I could go, and I ended up making my pre-11pm train that skips Hoboken and goes directly home.

No idea what happened to the guy and his friend, but at least I learned how long it would take emergency services to get to me in one of the busiest parts of the city. 

RIP 2014 - You Were A Very Good Year

At no point was 2014 predictable or easy, and at some points I found it to be one of the most challenging & difficult years to date. Ultimately it turned out to be one of the best years I've ever had.

I changed jobs going from 2U to Emoderation, and work with some of the brightest people in the world doing some really game changing things worldwide. I loved teaching two new & different courses at Syracuse University. I've traveled more this year than in the last few years and was reunited with some of my absolute favorite people scattered across the globe and met new & wonderful friends. There were lots of concerts and lectures, conferences and events. I spent time educating myself on health & finance to be better in the future and have already made significant lifestyle changes in these areas. And the year ended in such a sweet way taking me by surprise that I can't wait for 2015 to get started. I have not taken a second of it all for granted.

As you can tell I love the idea of New Year's Eve. Thinking back on a year, getting closure, and waking up tomorrow with a fresh start is invigorating. For all who were a part of my life this year - Thank You. I wish you all the best & the happiest New Year.  Here's to 2015!!

Social Media Cause Campaigns: Slactivism or Activism?

"Change your profile picture to be a cartoon character this week!" 

"What's your bra color?" 

"Share one of these seven embarrassing lines in your Facebook status!"

We've all seen these half-assed "awareness" campaigns on social media over the past few years. They claim to create awareness for domestic abuse, breast cancer, and a variety of other causes. For the life of me I've never understood how putting a generic statement into a social media post without any context, links to donate, or calls to action could at all benefit the intended cause. The "awareness" generated lasts as long as a tweet (which is about 3 hours) and what good really came from it? As someone who's suffered from one or two of these causes, I usually find them distasteful. They're fine in the short term, but are they doing more harm than good in the long term?

The Age of Slacktavism

Facebook has created a generation of lazy advocates. My favorite term of the last few years is "slacktavists." People are very engaged with their causes publicly and online, but they fail to act, volunteer, or donate. For example, in 2012 Facebook took up the cause of organ donation. In the first week of being able to sign up 100,000 people joined the cause. Within two weeks the cause subsided and and the signups returned to their usual numbers. Looking on the positive side, at least it had a good spike, but it wasn't sustainable and there wasn't any follow up. Could more have been done there? Yes. People got lazy and lost interest, and it's still an important cause.

There of course have been great examples of social media charity campaigns that benefitted from slacktavism. Tyson's Hunger Relief and Stand Up to Cancer are two examples of successful cause campaigns done on social media. It can and has been done right, and hasn't involved much action from those who participate and businesses stay true to their word and donate.

Today's Shiny Cause - The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

All of this brings me to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that's sweeping the nation, and for the first time that I can remember, changing a Facebook status and putting up a video of some inane activity has resulted in actual donations. The added bonus of challenging your friends has helped create a network effect resulting in this campaign going viral and Time Magazine has reported that over $1 million has been donated.  If you are challenged and don't do it, the expectation is that you will donate. The only one who knows if you donate or not, is you. If you do take on the challenge and pour ice water on your head, I'm not sure what the expectation is, but I would hope that those people are also donating.

Initially, I had a knee-jerk reaction to this craze. I assumed it was going to be another hollow-social media-status thing. Post a video, don't donate, ALS stays in the news for a week, and then we move onto the next thing. This time, with the added bonus that people will be wasting water! A few days ago when the donations were at just $160,000 (up from $14k from this time a year ago), that seemed low to me. However, once it started to get called out that no one was mentioning ALS or the links, or how/where to donate, these videos started to change and now the donations are up past $1 million. Who knows what will happen after this initial push, but at least people are putting their money where their mouth is. (Full disclosure: ALS is a cause that I have supported the past few years as it has impacted the lives of close friends and family. I also support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for similar reasons). 

These kinds of campaigns don't just start on their own, and they definitely don't continue without help. There are elements to this particular challenge that have made it work and have been tweaked along the way to make it more successful. Mashable wrote about the 8 Tips for a Successful Social Media Cause Campaign some time ago, that may still be helpful to anyone thinking about starting a cause campaign for their organization.

If you're interested in donating to ALS you can donate here: http://www.alsa.org/donate/.  

And for those of you who are wasting water to dump it on your head, donate to Charity Water: https://www.charitywater.org/donate/. 

Can't donate money?  There are a number of things you can do to help a number of causes. 

When It's Time To Go

Sometimes you know when its time to move on. It's hard to explain, but something that once made you so incredibly happy all of a sudden just doesn't any longer. Monday mornings that were once full of excitement and promise now come with dread and stress and once you realize it there's nothing left to do but go. Earlier this year I left the startup company I was at for 3+ years, 2U, and now 2014 holds a lot of excitement and promise.

There are always clear cut signs that you notice in hindsight. If you're starting to see a few of these pop up, it's time to do something about it.

Tell tale signs it's time to go: 

• not eating right or sleeping well
• weekends/vacations/holidays are no longer your own because you're working through them
• turning down trips with friends or had to make sacrifices
• you're irritable and overly cynical 
• friends wonder if you're happy
• seeing your friends and/or family less and less
• your personal life is suffering
• seeking anything that's an escape (TV, the internet, going out everyday)
• worst of all - you've stopped learning

The moment when you can check a few of those things off the list is the moment you need to make the realistic decision its time for a change. You owe it to yourself!

This moment came for me unknowingly in the summer of 2013, but I kept telling myself it would get better so I ignored that inner voice. It wasn't until Thanksgiving when I couldn't afford to take the train home, and Christmas when I realized I hadn't seen my family in eight months and was working at home everyday through my "vacation," that it wasn't getting better. I was being unnecessarily stubborn and unfair to myself, so in December I started job searching and instantly felt relieved.

Even just working toward the goal of making a change is enough to make you feel better. However you can't half-ass it; dive into the search fully. Don't dream about change, make change happen.

Don't ignore the inner voice or what your gut is telling you. It's your compass, it knows you better than anyone else, and ultimately it knows what's right for you. Look for the signs that you're unhappy, and then do something about it.  You'll be happier sooner than you think.

New Life Developments

2014 has been a full year and it's only April. So full that I'm only just now getting around to making a few announcements that have happened over the last few months.

As of the end of January I parted ways with 2U after 3+ years.  It's an excellent company that I wish all the best to, but it was the end of my journey. When I started in 2011 it was about 100 people and a quirky upstart with a world of potential in the higher education space.  I started on a team of people that were young, fully committed, passionate, easy to work with, and brilliant. Now, it's nearly 700 people, has recently IPO'ed, and is an entirely different corporate world.  It's great to know that I helped build something that has become so successful, and I'll always be grateful to a few key individuals for giving me an amazing opportunity. But when it's time to go, it's time to go.

As one door closes another opens, and in February I started at a British agency called Emoderation working on a team of people with incredible experience and backgrounds. I was waist deep into a job search (more on that later) and reached out to a friend and the next thing I know an offer letter was signed on a Tuesday and I was in North Carolina on a Thursday for an off-site meeting to start a new adventure with a very big American television client as the Lead Community Manager. Emoderation is based out of London, but most of the company is around the world, meaning I get to work from home working with people who truly get how to work effectively remotely and it's been amazing.  

Agency life is a completely different world for me (though I got my start at the William Morris Agency), but I've been honing new skills, enjoy working for a global organization, and challenging myself on something that's at scale. It's hard to believe that I'm in my third month already! The company seems to be always hiring, so keep an eye on the list if you're looking. There's an opening for another Lead Community Manager if anyone's interested!

In addition to a new job, I'm also excited to tell the world that I'll be teaching a second course at Syracuse University in the fall on Online Content Strategy with Kelly Lux. We've been doing #CMGRClass for three semesters, and we'll continue to teach it, but probably only once per semester. Our new course doesn't have too much information yet, but teaching at my alma matter has been very rewarding so far, and I have loved getting to know the students.

With a new job, a new course, and seemingly a new life overnight, 2014 is shaping up to be a good year. So many new beginnings!

You Snooze, You Lose in 2014

This time of year brings a significant amount of wrap up posts, sentimental articles for the year past, and hopeful write-ups for the year to come strewn about the internet. There’s something fun in it all though, don’t you think? The satisfying closure the end of a year brings and the refreshed, renewed vigor that comes with a brand new year is intoxicating. A fresh start, a clean slate, a world of possibilities – all just around the corner if you’re motivated enough to go after it.

If we’re talking about the closure of a year, I’ll come out and say it: for me, 2013 was not my favorite year.  On the good side there was some minor travel, I got a place of my own, and I taught my first full year as an adjunct professor, but on the whole it did not live up to my expectations or end on the highest of notes personally, professionally, financially, or physically. But what is it that they say? When you’re at the bottom you’ve got nowhere to go but up, which from my perspective is pure motivation.  This year I learned so much about how to do things better that I have never been more hopeful to put it all into action in a new year. I am excited about the future, of which I have no idea what it could hold for me.

When it comes to a new year, making resolutions was never my thing.  “Travel more,” “Lose Weight,” “Work less,” are all so generic and hollow that in and of themselves they set people up for failure. For example, a better suggestion would be to make a plan like “I want to eat a good breakfast everyday,” which will probably set you up better to lose weight and is an actionable goal.

I have a long-standing “resolution” of “Pay No ATM Fees” which went so well I keep it going. I’ve gone from spending $100 a year three years ago to only $6 in 2013. It was so simple and came down to decision-making.  I no longer wanted to throw away money on something so trivial when I can plan ahead or maybe go out of my way a block or two to find an in-network ATM.  

In the same vain of making a choice, for 2014 I my plan is simple.  No more snooze button. 

I am the world’s worst morning person and loathe the morning process.  It doesn’t matter how great the day ahead will be, I am a totally different person when the alarm goes off.  If offered 10 extra minutes to sleep in in exchange for murdering someone, I would strongly consider taking the deal, and it’s been this way for 30 years. That ends now. It’s a waste of time, it’s not quality sleep, and it’s hindering success.

I believe that not hitting the snooze at all will have a domino effect on my life. It will most likely change my habits on areas like breakfast, the gym, daily planning, writing, and spending. Of course this is only a theory, but I’m excited to put this plan into action.

So - what about you - how was your 2013?  What’s your 2014 plan?

  

Unblocking Writer's Block

Writing is hard.

That's it really. Writing is hard. In the course I teach at Syracuse University, one of the articles we use early on in the semester is called the 34 Things You're Doing Wrong, and the funny part is that list isn't exhaustive. There's easily another 34 things that could be added to it, because lot goes into a great post.

One of my best friends asked me recently, "Why don't you blog anymore?" And I didn't really have a great answer - a lot of reasons & excuses, but no one great answer.  I've let other things get in the way so I just haven't.  There's a list sitting in my phone of topics to explore, but they've never been started. I've written two blog posts on this blog this year, and not much anywhere else.  Two years ago I had something like 40 guest blog posts published on sites like Huffington Post, Yahoo, and various blogs I read daily and found inspiring, and now, nothing.

What do you do when you have writer's block?  

Sometimes it's just best to let it run its course if you have the luxury of time and the ability to go out and get inspired and take a breather. This is mostly what I've done this year by doing a lot of reading and observation.  Participating in events and enjoying the connections made instead of always feeling the pressure of being under the gun when it comes to getting a post up.  It's been nice.

However, most of the time you just have to push through it to get something done.

Recently I was inspired by a post by David Spinks, "When Writing Feels Wrong" and his last point was a good one, "Get comfortable with putting out shitty writing."  It's incredibly easy to compare yourself to everyone else who's writing some really great stuff on the internet and let it get to you.  Every post you write is not going to be a gem, it's just not, and that's OK.  You don't have to put out crap, but if it's not 100% perfection, odds are no one will notice but you.

At some point your smalltime blog turns into something someone reads daily (if you're doing it right).  Your words become read by passersby, scrutinized by the masses, and challenged by a few.  Don't let it negatively affect you. Instead use it as potential future content.  Just keep writing.

Give yourself a writing goal, go sit in a quiet space, and start your engines. Don't stop.

The Complexity of Managing Google

I work at a company that has over 100 social media accounts for the various programs we work with (this includes the majors like Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Google+ YouTube, etc. as well as niche networks).  ...100.

I don't work for an agency, but it's set up in a similar way to how an agency would manage different business accounts. Which means that one "client" (we don't call our partners clients) needs to have a presence on certain social media platforms (for SEO/Brand/Community purposes), and these accounts must be managed by a person. Fortunately we have a team of pretty amazing Inbound Marketing Coordinators that take care of creating content, managing the platforms, and growing the audiences.

I also work with a bunch of pretty smart SEOs who keep us as up to date as possible on the ins and outs of Google and what we should be doing.  When they say that Google+ is important, I believe them even if I myself am not an active user.  And if I don't believe them for whatever reason I can always look up what they're saying at places like Moz or Search Engine Land, which usually confirms it.

The last few months Google's been up to it's old tricks. And by tricks, I just mean it's doing what it should do by constantly keeping people on their toes so that way the best of the best content rises to the top.

Google's push for people to use Google+ makes sense in theory, but in practice might just be one of the hardest things I've ever attempted to wrap my head around when it comes to building a page, merging pages, and updating settings. We do know that Google+'s +1 feature means a lot in search results. We also know that Google Authorship will play a big role in the upcoming year.  However we don't really know how to put your page in the best working order, or who to go to when we have really complex problems.

This is one example that I've come across 11 times in the last 3 weeks of how Google has been a giant pain in the ass with two of its networks:
If *anyone* out there reading this knows how to fix it, I'm all ears.  I'll be the first to admit I don't know the answers here, but would like to.

• We Know: A Google+ Brand Page should be owned by a real person's email account. A real person who is creating content out there on the web.  
• Easy. Sync up all the email addresses a person has with their personal Google+ profile and you're ready to go. 
• We Know: A YouTube brand page should have a branded URL and a branded look. 
• Easy.  Create your fancy YouTube branded URL and design away.
• Make sure you're using the right email address/Google+ profile if it's a new account!   
• It's Best If: A Google+ Brand Page should link to it's YouTube Page.  
• Here's where the trouble starts brewing... 
• The Problem: Merge an older YouTube page with a current Google+ Brand Page
• If you try and link a YouTube page with one email address to a Google+ Brand Page of a different email address, you do not have the option to choose the G+ Page you'd like to sync it to. Instead you only have the option to create a new page or a new URL.    
• The Unavoidable Error: If you choose to sync the new & improved YouTube account to your Google+ Page, surprise! Your brand's name on the YouTube account may actually be erased and your personal name will be there in it's spot.  

At this point, what I've found is that it is actually better to leave an older YouTube page alone and to NOT sync it to your Google+ Brand Page, but that's less than ideal in the Google world. At least you'll have your branded URL, views intact, and the right name on the account.

I won't go into the "do I" or "don't I" issues with Google Authorship, but if you've had any situations with Google I'd love to hear about it. What problems are you having when it comes to setting up a brand page or an account? What's the biggest hurdle? Settings? Ownership/Admins? I'm sure there's a lot.

The Long Game of Decision Making

*I wrote this from maybe 20,000 feet somewhere over the Midwest as my best friend and I returned from Minneapolis to NYC on a Sunday evening. All I was thinking about for the entire three hours was how profoundly life changing a seemingly ridiculous decision I made at 23 has so positively impacted my life at 30. 

Not to make light of a decision a 23 year old makes, but the idea of leaving a dream job like booking world renowned musical acts such as  Jay-Z, Rihanna, Eminem and so many others to go off on a whim sounds exactly like something irresponsible and stupid that a 23 year old would do.  I had been working at the William Morris Agency (now known as William Morris Endeavor) for 2.5 years and was on an upward trajectory career path when the whole thing just seemed insane to me.  I needed an adventure, and one that was somehow bigger than what I was already doing. At the time I thought it was a short term solution - something to do for 12 months, but I had no idea how much of a long game the whole thing would have.

Fast forward to today where I was in Minneapolis for a wedding recently, which seems fairly routine except that it was anything but. Friends new and old from around the globe came to spend only a few days together. We floated two miles down a river drinking & laughing on inner tubes, we toured the Mall of America & explored the city of Minneapolis like backpackers, and celebrated love.

The couple, Angie & Jake, are American friends I made in Korea who now live in Denver. After a few weeks in SoKo we were all amongst a tight knit group of at least 20 (maybe even 30-35) people from around the globe who are still just as connected years later. This group is full of truly amazing people with varied backgrounds & life experiences who range from 26-38 years in age. The thing they all have in common is how much they love life and everything it has to offer. They are travelers, academics, vagabonds, professionals, and some are now even parents - but nothing has changed.

There were people who came to this wedding that had spent time in Korea at a completely different time than some, or significant others who maybe only visited for a week, but it was as if we all have known each other our whole lives. I have close friends from high school, college, various jobs & projects - but nothing compares to this. This feeling where I get to be myself completely and where I am the best (and sometimes worst) version of myself with this group. But always happy.

Top: The Gang in Minneapolis July 2013.   Bottom: Some of the same gang in Busan, Korea in June 2008 

With the advent of things like social media years ago, being in Korea was easier than you'd think. Facebook messages were our lifeline & social life planner, MSN messenger was our preferred mode of instant messaging, and Skype was something that allowed us to keep up with those back home who couldn't understand what in the world we were all doing with our lives and why. As we have all moved on (and mostly moved away from Korea) we still keep up via Facebook and even the newer platforms that have popped up. There have been a few mini reunions in exotic locations along the way too, which isn't half bad.  ;)

I can't quite tell you what specifically brought me to the idea of committing to Korea 7 years ago.  I can tell you that 100% of my friends and family thought I was nuts, and 85% thought I'd never really do it.

Team Greece September 2009

All I really know is that when you're 23 (or any age) and have the world at your feet with the open road calling, or a voice in the back of your head saying to get out and experience life, you need to listen to it.   It may be a series of good or bad experiences (and this story is full of both) but ultimately in the end you become a better person, and if you're truly lucky you'll create a family around the world that means  more to you than they might ever know. Don't discount yourself and your abilities.

To sound 100% like a cliche - take the road less traveled. Choose your own adventure. But for the love of everything holy, don't sit still.  Life's too short and the world is too big for you to miss out on.

If you're 23 and reading this - what are you waiting for? I'm already planning my next adventures in Ireland & New Zealand to visit some of these people, and I haven't even landed in New York yet.

Planning for & Looking Forward to 2013

2012, I will not be sad to see you go, and 2013 is looking mighty fine from where I stand today.

First half of 2012 seemed fine.  Work, life, and everything inbetween seemed to be on an even keel, moving along quite well. Then I found myself in July not knowing which was up, down, left, or right.  Work was a little rocky after a less than seamless transition, I broke a bone for the first time in my life, New York City saw the worst monster storm it's ever seen, and I ended the year sicker than I've been in years with the flu.  To say that I am excited for the fresh start of 2013, would be an understatement.  This year was not bad really, and in fact it had some really great moments - I rediscovered my love of swimming, I explored Nova Scotia for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I received an amazing honor to start teaching at the Syracuse University iSchool (note: the #1 graduate school for information studies in the country, nbd) in January as an adjunct professor. Fairly balanced overall.

2013 is starting off with a bang.  I took my first full two week vacation since 2010 and after only a week feel rejuvenated (minus the crippling flu a few days ago). Those who say that community managers work 24/7 and can never take vacations are sorely, sorely mistaken and aren't worth their weight in mud.  No person should work 24/7, or be expected to. All that means is that you haven't figured out how to delegate, set expectations, and organize time accordingly. Taking time off and away from the internet is a necessary action.

Aside from the time off, heading into a new year always causes people to take in a breath of fresh air and think clearly about how they want to start it off.  Making resolutions is a fun thing to do and most people go with the usual health, fitness, travel, etc.  All good things, but it's wise not to be too general which is why I always say instead of making resolutions you should be setting attainable goals.  Think of the big buckets, and then the focus points within those buckets, and then tell yourself how you will achieve those goals. 

For example, here are my 2013 buckets & goals:

Bucket: Financial
Goal:  Pay no ATM Fees in 2013

• Last year I paid $76 in ATM fees according to my Mint.com info.  This year, with the use of my bank's mobile app, I can always search for the closest ATM within my system to avoid paying for a fee.  If there is not an ATM within walking/driving distance, then the closest grocery/drugstore will suffice for their cashback system. 

Goal: Live within my means.  Set a weekly budget & stick to it.

• I've been a little lazy about realizing how much money I have left to play with after bills are paid, and have used my credit cards liberally this year as a result.  By using Mint.com as well as a better bill paying system & Excel I plan to be more aware week to week of expendable cash & frivolous expenditures.   

Goal: Get more friends to use Venmo (a mobile payment system)

• In 2011 I was recommended to start using Venmo.  Venmo quickly became a running joke amongst my circle of friends for a variety of reasons, but the 6 of us use it religiously.  We go out to eat quite often, go to concerts/sports/various ticketed events, take cabs, and generally owe each other money fairly often.  Venmo has completely changed how we share money back and forth and has that fun social element that used to belong only to the "Memo:" line of a check.  It's incredibly fast and free, and is definitely the future of banking.  This is also not a paid advertisement, I just generally love the ease in which I can pay (or charge) my friends so as to not mess around with cash or checks.  

Bucket: Health 
Goal: Swim 1 Mile

• 2012 I was reintroduced to swimming as an excellent form of exercise after I broke my foot.  I was on a zero to a mile in 6 weeks program that was ruined by the storm taking out my gym, and of course the holidays.  In 2013 I plan to finally reach that mile, and then I plan to do it again faster.  And repeat, and repeat.

Goal: Stick to 1500 Calories per day

• I in no way shape or form plan to get rid of the good stuff, but as they say, everything in moderation.  Less sugar, better portion control, and more nutritious meals are in the works for 2013.  Overall, just be smarter.

Goal: Drink Less

• This is a tough one. Social events, new cocktail bars, networking events all focus around booze.  2012 saw 4-5 drinking events per week sometimes.  2013 won't be less events (if anything there will be more), but perhaps a glass of red wine to replace sugary cocktails or heavy beer, or a glass of water will be in order.

Bucket: Life
Goal: Use my time more efficiently. 

• With a lot on my plate I should make sure to put hours in my calendar to get a project done.  Or to meet more people for coffee. I plan to structure my calendar and limit distractions.

Goal: Travel more.  At least 1 international location this year.

• From 2007-2009 I had a nearly full passport of stamps and visas.  In 2012 I did not get ONE stamp (Canada didn't count).  I don't care how or when I get this stamp, but I will go somewhere in 2013 to make up for it. 
  

Goal: Go on more dates. 

• Something I didn't do much of in 2012 or put much effort into.  I had a few pretty bad first dates, said good bye to someone I was seeing fairly often, and decided to work more than care about my personal life. I plan to change that in 2013 by being more open to the possibility of a relationship.   

Bucket: Professional

Goal: Keep on, Keepin' On. 

•  This is one area where I don't really have a goal other than to just knock what I'm doing out of the park, and figure out how to make more money while being happy doing what I do everyday. 
• Community Strategy at 2U, inc. -- complete the big projects I've set up for myself in 2012, and then make them consistently better
• TheCommunityManager.com -- more events, bigger content, building on what we've done in 2012
• Teaching -- Putting together my first Graduate level course, and perfecting my teaching methods

What are your goals for 2013?  What will you do differently (if anything?)

Sandy, Thursday - Day 5: The New Normal.

I can't believe it's been 5 days and that today was the first day the sun showed its face.  Sunday was incredibly windy (as you'd expect) and was spent preparing and battening down the hatches, and when we all for the most part locked ourselves indoors at 7pm when the public transportation went dark.  Monday was the actual storm keeping us in glued to the news, and Tuesday was the day that we woke up, skies still grey, wind still strong, and rain still happening as the hurricane bands continued to sweep across the northeast. Wednesday was spent in doors as we still assessed and had very little access to the outside world due to shoddy internet/cell service, and Thursday (today) is when it all kind of hit me.  This is the new normal, and in a city that was already pretty difficult to manage, it's definitely not easy now. The new normal is exhausting, mentally and physically, but it's got this air of togetherness that's hard to shake. 

A number of my coworkers live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan which, for all intents and purposes, seems fine.  The Subway service partially came back today, as did ferry service, so for the first time in my nearly 2 years of living in Brooklyn I walked over to North Williamsburg and hopped on the East River Ferry instead of even attempting the "Express Bus" at Hewes which was just mobbed.  The Ferry was amazing; for $4 I was over onto 34th street in 15 minutes (after a 40 min wait), had a free shuttle into midtown (48th and 6th) and then hopped on the 1 at 50th and Broadway.  Went up to 72nd street to Aroma Coffee where it was overflowing with people and they had a sign that said, "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we are all out of wifi."  I kept walking north and got lucky with a table at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and it was really great to sit for a few hours with Mrs. Erica J. Moss.  The fact that it took me 1.5 hours & 4 modes of transportation door to door was a little insane, but it's the new normal.

The last Ferry is usually 6pm, but today it was 6:30pm.  Anything later than that and the tides get weird, and the safety of the terminals is questionable.  Knowing that the lines would be mobbed I left the UWS at 4:15 and got to the station at 5.  If you weren't in line by 5:10 there was no way you were getting a Ferry back - it was a madhouse.  My roommate found out the hard way since he was at the end of the line, and the police told him he wouldn't get a boat, so he had to walk from 34th street, all the way down through dark Manhattan and over the dark Williamsburg bridge.  Took him 1.5 hours. If you don't make your ferry/bus, this is the new normal.

I quickly made friends with those around me in line - a retired man from South Africa, a woman who works at Amnesty International, and a freelancing nanny -  which led me to the biggest realization I've had this whole week.  People are shell shocked and all we want, all we need to do, is talk to each other about it.  The sense of community that I feel from people as we walk around is overwhelming.  The amount of story telling happening is amazing.  And not only from this storm, but about where they're getting information, how they're comparing it to previous experiences, how they feel about their living situations and their neighborhoods.  It's fascinating.  Talking to each other and not being buried in our phones, is the new, and very welcome, normal. 

                                                        (Photo by Kanyun Rockicki)

The days ahead do not seem like they are going to get any simpler.  I am hoping against hope that my subway station will be repaired, but there's really no telling - especially since it went under the East river and could still be pretty damaged.  The office is just not looking good, and we may get temporary office space.  There seems to be more and more stories of looting in some of the off the beaten path neighborhoods.  The NYC Marathon is still scheduled for Sunday, which I personally think is one of the biggest mistakes (as do many others).  It is simply something the city does not need right now, nor is it safe to do so. You can't walk safely through Central Park right now, and most definitely not through Staten Island, and yet 45,000 people are scheduled to run the streets?  It all seems like such a ridiculously bad idea.

I had been seeking adventure for awhile, and was starting to get that itchy feet feeling I get every 2-3 years because I need adventure or something to challenge me.  I need the unknown. Well, right now, the new normal is an adventure I didn't ask for, but am undergoing. Tomorrow I'll go back into Manhattan to get some work done with people, and then will walk through the darkened part of the city the 1.5 hours to get home.  We'll see how normal that'll be...

Sandy & Me.

Man, where to even begin with this post? I just have not been able to wrap my head around what has happened this week.  Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the east coast was nailed with Hurricane (sno'eastercane?) Sandy Sun-Tues.  I cannot even begin to tell you what this has been like, and I'm probably one of the luckier ones.  But I'll try anyway...

I first learned about the storm on Thursday to which I, ever the cynic, scoffed and said that if we got rain I'd be surprised.  These things are ALWAYS hyped up, websites blow everything out of proportion for ad dollars, and no one knows anything that early anyway.  (See, cynic).   But that quickly changed Sunday when I watched Bloomberg's press conference. When that man speaks, I listen. He's the least politicking person out there, more of a businessman, and when he says jump, everyone should really say, "How High?"  It isn't about right or left, democrat or republican, big government or little government... it's always about "What's Best for New Yorkers."  Period.  What's nice is that we've seen this from Obama and Governor Christie and Governor Cuomo too. Can't say the same for Romney, but his gaffes this week are another story.

Fortunately I'm not in any evacuation zone.  My roommates and I prepared adequately in case we lost power for a few days, we secured stuff on our roof, and just sat around and watched the news.  We lost internet/cable during the height of the storm (which sucked since I was in a 9 person Google+ Hangout playing the drinking card game "Kings" virtually at the time) and sat around listening to an AM radio for updates.  All of our phones were fairly useless, but we could get twitter updates which was nice. Was up until about 1:30 until I just couldn't listen anymore.  Going to sleep felt a little like giving up, though nothing could be done.

Woke up to cable/internet being available, surprisingly, but it's been spotty to say the least.  Just to get out of the apt I went for a walk from my place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn across the Williamsburg Bridge, and into and around the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Basically did about 3-4 miles.  Everything from 34th street down was without power due to quite a few explosions of transformers.  The subways were all still shut down, some still heavily flooded.  Major highways still closed.  Tunnels still closed (and many still flooded even today, Wednesday).  But the people there seemed to be in pretty great spirits though the weather was still awful and rainy.  Many bars were open (cash of course) and discounting their stock since it would go bad anyway. No one wants a skunked beer...

It was surreal to walk from my area that for the most part is completely up and running to that part which is dark and people are in survival mode. My phone did not work anywhere, and I had to use a payphone to get in touch with a friend in the neighborhood.  Actually - let's back that up.  I had to first find quarters from a very dark bodega (glad that I had stopped at an ATM before the storm hit), and then wait in line to use a payphone.  I used to say that these outdated eyesores were no longer necessary in the age of the smart phone, but I shall never say that again.  However, our phones as phones not being able to work, it was eventually Twitter that we connected on, and now the Manhattan refuge is currently enjoying power and a hot shower in my apartment.

Wednesday has been an odd day.  It feels like things can start getting back to normal, but I strongly feel like we'll never get back to normal.  There's a new normal in the sense that the power is still out, subways are still down, phones & services are still inoperable, and it's hard to get anywhere unless you have a bike. I have a car, and yet b/c of the traffic it was impossible to get into Manhattan. As of this afternoon there's a temporary law stating that no one is allowed over the bridges without 3-4 people in a car or they'll receive a ticket.  I feel more stranded than ever before.  And it isn't comforting to know that there's a STRONG possibility it will take 3+ weeks to get the subway working properly. 

The subways partially come back tomorrow, but nothing near me. There's an express bus going into midtown going over the Williamsburg bridge, but I can only imagine how horrendously crowded that will be and how long it will take in all that traffic.  If I want to go into civilization, I'm most likely going to walk back over the bridge and see if I can catch buses on the other side.  Grateful to be in Brooklyn where there's power and such, but I feel so very disconnected from friends on the other side, and the events happening there as people get through this. I've never been so painfully aware of just how physically big this city is.

I've been looking into volunteer opportunities as well.  #SandyVolunteers and #OccupySandy have been great ways to keep up with things going on.  I've also signed up on Recover.org and the Red Cross.  No such luck yet with being able to help, but as the temperatures are expected to drop this weekend I am hoping to donate my time/car to help. 

For now, and for those outside of NYC especially, just because Sandy will start to fade from your newscycle, please don't forget that recovering will likely take weeks, and that our infrastructure both of the transportation kind and of the communications kind are awful and likely to stay that way for quite some time.  (See: Cell Networks Assessing Damages: No Fixes Anytime Soon & The study of NYC Subway to take 21 days to several weeks to restore).

Though that all being said, I can't imagine being anywhere else during all of this. 

The Many Fails of the NBC Olympics

It's 2012.  Not understanding the internet is no longer acceptable, a solid reason, or even a bad excuse.  It's pathetic.

Four years ago, Twitter was just a baby social network, and not the 140 million person Juggernaut it  is today.  However, today it is a lot of people who are used to operating globally and in real time, and many of whom are turning to Netflix and Hulu for streaming of video content.  While Twitter and its communication challenges may be new to the Olympics, Facebook & social media are not.  We've gone through the 2008, 2006, 2004, and 2002 Olympics with social media (and yes, MySpace counts as early day practice for social media best practices). Figuring out the best user experience as well as an appropriate ad model and technology for all shouldn't be this difficult.

Forgetting about social media for a second, the technological capabilities to live stream an event isn't new.  CBS Sports has been live streaming the NCAA Basketball Tournament (March Madness) since 2005.  They put on 16 games in two days (32 in four days) in 4 different geographical regions, and they do it flawlessly, for an entire month as the games whittle down, AND with very little preparation time as the events are happening.  The best part is that a user didn't even need to have a cable package to watch the majority of the games online.  They just weren't able to watch what was playing in their region.  And this year was the first year they ever charged (only $4.99 for unlimited use) to gain access to viewing everything on all of your devices, the web was still free.  Obviously the scale is different here with the Olympics being bigger than the NCAA Tournament, but with 7 years to improve on the technology and bandwidth, there's no excuse for NBC to be failing the way it is when it has others to look towards as examples.

So where is NBC going wrong?


1) Favoring "prime time" over "real time" online for all.  

In today's world of real time global news, the words "Tape Delay" are archaic.  When a person finds out the results of medal competitions on Twitter at 2pm and have to wait until 7pm to start coverage, you'll have lost all interest because you know the ending.  To add insult to injury @NBCOlympics (as well as many others) are live tweeting the events AND the results.  What really is the incentive to watch a game a few hours later when you already know the ending?

You can watch all of the events live on NBCOlympics.com as long as you have a cable package except the Opening and Closing Ceremonies (which in and of itself is ludicrous).  According to a media study done by Deloitte in 2012, 9% of Americans have cut the chord and no longer pay for a cable package with another 11% ready to do so at the time the study was done.  That's a pretty big number.   So while these 9+% are *probably* online, they have no access to watching these events as they happen, and are unable to even watch during prime time, so NBC is losing out on this audience and ad revenue anyway.

2) Technological Issues For Those With Access

I thought it might have just been me, but looking at the #NBCFail hashtag on Twitter, I'm not alone.  There's so much noise on the page it takes quite a while for the site to load, and when I do the feed keeps cutting out.  Seemingly every other tweet is complaining about a blacked out feed, lack of consistent video, or ads crashing the site if they can get it.

3) Creative Editing during events / Lack of Knowledge & Awareness

The British media even hates NBC for this.  The Guadian wrote "NBC's Opening Ceremony Mess: The Top Six Cringeworthy Moments."  This just explains it all.  If I could have muted Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer without muting the actual music for the ceremony, I would have.

And then there was today.  When on TV NBC cut away from the Men's 400m freestyle medal race that featured Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte competing head to head to feature an interview with Ryan Seacrest and the US Women's Gymnastics team.  They did this to "save" the event for later in order to have more people watching.  All they did was infuriate people even more as they turned to Twitter to find out what was happening from those who are able to watch it live.  Thus the creation of #NBCFail.  Read the tweets --- it's fascinating.

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People do enjoy curation when it comes to television.  Usually I like hearing the commentary and the info I didn't know about the countries or athletes.  With 300 events happening of course not every one of them is valuable to the majority.  However, save the interviews and cutaways for different segments.  Air things live as they happen on TV throughout the day and to all online (and get the ad dollars / site traffic), and then do a curated prime time special as you normally would for those that do not wish to access things online or as they happen.  

We are only 24 hours into the 2012 Summer Olympics and it is clear that NBC is demonstrating a need for American businesses to take a modern look at the ways television, social media, and global communication in real time play together that can increase revenue, join together online and offline reporting, and user experience. 

Let's hope the next 15 days get better, and the next Olympics are more open to all who wish to enjoy this world event.