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?

  

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?)

Where Has All the Common Sense Gone?

It was one of those days today.  One of those days where it felt like the world, the internet, and everyone around you lost their mind.  I don't think it was a full moon or anything, but something came undone and collectively everything and everyone just seemed to not make any sense.

Let's start with the obvious -- the horrible event in Aurora, Colorado where 14 people lost their lives and 59 people were injured while at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.  They were going to do the most simplest of things - to just be entertained by a comic book movie - when someone who identified with a character a bit too much thought he was the Joker and unleashed countless rounds into the crowd.  A truly awful and senseless act of terrorism.  It's enough to unhinge anyone, because it threatens our sense of safety in our own society.  We created this and we're forced to shine the light on ourselves and figure out what went wrong.

During instances of national calamity I'm glued to the news online and need up to the minute information.  I scour the internet looking for different stories, reading reactions, and listening to the various types of conversations about the event.  It's like a train wreck -- I can do nothing else but watch, and today was no different.  Unfortunately, I came across at least two extremely insensitive social media posts:

1) The NRA at 9:20am EST:

@NRA_Rifleman: Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?

2) A British Clothing Company around 1pm EST:

@celebboutique: #Aurora is trending, clearly about our Kim K inspired #Aurora dress ;)  bit.ly/MOY57N

Both of these are "honest" mistakes. The first was a scheduled tweet that on any other day would have been fine. The second was a British company that may or may not have heard about a tragedy way across the pond. But just because they were "honest" doesn't mean they weren't incredibly stupid and couldn't have been avoided by using common sense.

The NRA: If I were on the NRA's social media team I would never, ever, in a million years, schedule a post on any social media platform. Ever. Full Stop. The world is too unpredictable a place, and the risk is too high that something like this, unfortunately, could happen and you'll get caught with your pants down.  For the 30 seconds of time it saves you, it's not worth having the negative light shown on you. Regardless of being pro or anti-gun, you at least want to always appear tactful. The worst part about this, is that the post went live at 9:20am EST.  Easily 6-8 hours after the event, and they didn't take it down until 12pm.  That's a terrible reaction time.

If you want to schedule tweets and reduce the risk, don't use an automation tool that comes in most third party clients. Always err on the side of caution and common sense.

Pro Tip:  Keep a doc handy of all the content you would normally schedule to post, up to 2-3 days out.  Then set a calendar reminder to post it when you want to post it.  Bonus: You're actually there to respond to any engagement you receive, which is the point of social in the first place. 

The International Company: To me, this is the worst case of lack of common sense.  If you're a community or social media manager that's worth a damn, the first question that should come into your mind is, "WHY is this trending?" and to find that out you click on the hashtag to spend 30 seconds looking at the tweets.  It would take no less than 1-2 tweets talking about a mass murder to know that the hashtag is NOT about your Kim Kardashian style dress.

Their saving grace is that they at least admitted it and apologized, but you can't make up for the lack of common sense and their laziness.  

Pro Tip:  Don't be lazy.  Things trend for a reason and they're not always positive.  Don't cut corners and make sure to ALWAYS read into things.  (And if you can, avoid tweeting about Kim Kardashian anyway, even on a normal day she's polarizing and cheap)

Remember: People on the internet are unforgiving. 

Turning away from the lack of social media common sense, I turn to two instances in the past couple weeks of the worst judgement I've seen in quite a while when it comes to writing in public places.

1.  Why Every Social Media Manager Should be Under 25  (Next Gen Journal)
2. A Struggle of Not Struggling (Huffington Post College)

Assuming that you've read both articles, you'll see a giant commonality amongst them both - the comments on each are in the high hundreds and all agree on one thing:  both writers' have no idea what they're talking about because they have no concept of the world that they live in and don't support their articles with any kind of solution, balanced argument, or facts.  One girl (A Struggle...) uses the television shows "Girls" and "Sex and the City" as the "only" examples of women to idolize, and the other girl alienates every, single, person, over the age of 25 (and some under 25) using social media tools in their work and uses no examples or sound reasoning to back up her "claims." Both articles do nothing but whine.

I am sure that both girls in person are wonderfully bright, over-achieving young 20 somethings that before these articles were on an upward trajectory in their careers.  However, their insight (or lack there of) and sense of entitlement is so astounding they might not ever recover.  Buried very deep in their articles is an interesting premise, but they fail miserably at being able to bring it to light. Instead, they surround it with shoddy writing, flimsy stories, and sweeping generalizations. They are the epitome of "that" millennial you want nothing to do with, and that's really unfortunate for those extremely hard working 20 somethings out there. You can't correct this kind of thinking with any amount of education or mentorship.  The one thing they did do was drive traffic to a website, and for that they may be patted on the head, but I can tell you I'd never work with them. 

Now this isn't to say that everything I've ever written on the internet is worthy of a gold star, but I never sought out to place opinion pieces severely judging others while patting myself on the back on national news sites.  Common sense would say to stay away from that kind of thing as again, people on the internet are unforgiving.   

Whether you're in charge of social media posts or are blogging on your own - exercise your best judgement and common sense.  And if you are even remotely unsure, ask someone else. 

Really though... where has common sense gone? And how do we get it back?

Things To Do Before Turning 30

The end is near for me, folks.  It's already happened to so many of my friends, and it's been hard to watch for those who it's just about to happen to.  If you can't tell by my use of the word "folks" I'll be turning 30 later this year.  We all know that when you turn 30 you spontaneously combust and that's all there is.  Your 20s are everything, the only time when you get to blame anything on being young and stupid.  If you excel before you're 30 its looked upon as you're a diamond in the rough and a shining example compared to your counterparts.  Nope - when you turn 30 you inevitably fall off a cliff, never to be heard from again, and your ideas aren't as great as when you were young. You're old. Out of touch. Irrelevant. You've done all you can. I should buy myself a pair of mom jeans and stop wearing makeup, because once you're 30 you're no longer cool.

All kidding aside, you're as old as you feel and a recent trip back to my alma matter, Syracuse University, for a weekend proved to me that I still look and feel like I'm 24.  I've done more in my 20s than most people do their whole lives.  And yes, I have been waiting about 5 years to say that line.  I made it my goal to take life by the horns when I turned 18 knowing that post-30 society expects you to be an established adult.  I've traveled extensively, I've loved and lost, I'm in a successful career, and I have the greatest coworkers, friends and family.  The hardest part about life at the moment is coming up with new goals and figuring out how to dream bigger.  I could kick the bucket tomorrow, and be a happy girl.  But I want...no I need... more.

I found a list recently and realized while I may have accomplished a lot, I have not accomplished everything I've set out to do. My philosophy on life is that I should be expecting constant improvement of myself while being thoroughly entertained by my actions and of those around me.

Here's a list of the 150 things one should do before turning 30.  It's arbitrary and 50 more things could be added to it, but I feel pretty good having done 103 of these things, and wanting to do almost all of the rest.  How many have you done?  What's left on your list before?

Bold are things I've done.
Italics are things I have yet to do and will someday, if not this year.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins 
03. Climbed a mountain 
04. Taken a sports car (Porsche, Lambo, Ferrari, etc.) for a test drive 
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid 
06. Held a tarantula 
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it 
09. Hugged a tree 
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris or Italy or Greece other romantic European location
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea 
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise 
14. Seen the Northern Lights 
15. Gone to a huge sports game (South Korea / North Korea World Cup Qualifier!)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (Camping during Chusok in Seoul)

20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon 
22. Watched a meteor shower 
23. Gotten drunk on champagne 
24. Given more than you can afford to charity 
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 
27. Had a food fight 
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger 
30. Had a snowball fight 
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Be considered an expert resource on something
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster 
35. Hit a home run 
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking 
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day 
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Driven a motorcycle/scooter abroad  (...and maybe I crashed one..shhh)
40. Visited all 50 states 
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk 
42. Had amazing friends 
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country 
44. Watched whales 
45. Stolen a sign 
46. Backpacked in Europe 
47. Taken a road-trip 
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach 
50. Gone sky diving  (THIS YEAR!!!)

51. Backpacked in Asia
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them 
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs/computer music files
57. Pretended to be a superhero 
58. Sung karaoke 
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football 
61. Gone scuba diving (but I want to be certified)

62. Kissed in the rain 
63. Played in the mud (Mudfest 2008!!)

64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre 
66. Visited the Great Wall of China  (10k hike in January baby)

67. Started a business  (Thecommunitymanager.com)

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites 
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Seen Niagara Falls
72. Gotten married 
73. Been in a movie 
74. Crashed a party
75. Camped outside & slept on the ground
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo  (3...w/ #4 coming soon)

81. Gone White Water Rafting
82. Been on a news program or in a newspaper as an “expert” 
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas 
86. Recorded music 
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date 
89. Lived in another city internationally
90. Bought a house
91. Gone strip club hopping
92.  Ridden a camel.
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95.  Watched 25 of the top 500 movies out there
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour 
98. Passed out cold 
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign county (Multiple times in China)

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over 
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge 
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open 
103.Had a One Night Stand
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived 
105. Wrote articles for a large publication 
106. Lost over 100 pounds 
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback 
108. Piloted an airplane (thanks Hans!)
109. Touched a stingray 
110. Broken up with someone who wasn't the one
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears (eyebrow AND tongue)

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol 
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild 
118. Ridden a horse 
119. Been on a plane longer than 8 hours
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for a full day
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents 
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (Found out I was allergic)

128. Had your picture in the newspaper 
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school 
131. Parasailed 
132. Touched a cockroach (UNFORTUNATELY.)
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes  (Dinosaur BBQ baby)
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read on your own
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions 
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Write a book
140. Built or played in an Igloo
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Gone skiing/snowboarding
143. Gone Surfing
144. Done something nice for someone just because
145. Compete in a sports competition
146. Dyed your hair 
147. Been a DJ  (WERW!  Z89!  K-Rock!)

148. Shaved your head/donate your hair to charity (Locks 4 Love)
149. Excel at public speaking in front of a large crowd  (LOVE IT!)
150. Saved someone’s life

Trolls Aren't Born, They're Made.

What is a troll? A Troll, according to wikipedia, is a super natural being in Old Norse sources that were described as living in isolated rocks, mountains, or caves, and were rarely helpful to human beings.  So it isn't hard to understand why the internet came up with slang for internet trolling.  An internet troll (also according to wikipedia) is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.  So the question remains, are you a troll?

See more at CollegeHumor

Of course you're not a troll.  You're probably a good person just trying to interact with the people that you converse with daily, and sometimes you feel passionately about certain topics and want your voice to be heard.  Something personal happened to you and you want something to be done about it.  But does that desire and continued action sometimes translate into you going from passionate advocate to annoying troll? Yes. Do people realize this and automatically discount your credibility?  Abso - friggin - lutely.  Your cause may be dead in the water because of how you handle it.

The "Am I a Troll?" Checklist - (If you say yes to any of these, you're probably a troll or have been one at one point):

• You repeatedly post on the same networks with only the same few people responding.
• You emotionally respond, and don't provide any real evidence or examples.
• You don't ask questions about the who/what/where/when/why, just assume things.
• The group that's supporting you isn't growing.
• You're only complaining on public social networks/forums/blogs, and haven't contacted the actual organization yourself.
• You've stopped getting responses from the admins of the pages you're using, or from the organization itself.
• The organization has responded and attempted to meet your demands and feels that it did so adequately, yet you continue to post.
• You tear down any efforts that were made (no matter how big or small) and refuse to acknowledge any steps that were made to calm you down.
• You've noticed people who were once posting happily have left the community and you may be the reason.
• You've resorted to being mean and nasty on seemingly unrelated posts.
• Others have told you that progress has been made, but you refuse to hear it.
• You think you have inside jokes with some of the other trol..er posters.
• You've formed bonds with the other negative people and keep the circle of negativity going because now you find this fun.
• You've met up with those people in person and brainstormed how to "take down" the organization or those in charge.
• You've forgotten what your goals were when you started advocating for change or don't see that you may have actually already won by creating an open forum/dialogue.
• The organizers have actually come through and made change, and yet you're still unhappy and don't know why.
• When someone calls you or talks to you in person regarding your claims, you're as sweet as pie.
• What you're fighting for is a free product that you don't pay for and have the most opinions. 
• You notice that you spend all of your free time on social networks complaining, and announce to the group that you've realized this.
• Your real life starts to suffer (job offers don't come, recognitions don't happen, you aren't picked for awards or special teams or contests or opportunities).  

How to Avoid Being a Troll:

1. Don't post on social networks immediately.  Work the proper channels first behind the scenes by contacting the community manager (or whoever is behind the account).  Direct Message on twitter, message on Facebook, send an email to contacts in the organization expressing your concern.  Wait for a response.  If one doesn't happen within an acceptable amount of time (a couple of days), then you can go to the online public forum.
2. Assess the situation.  Don't get emotional, provide facts. Perhaps you're the only one affected by something.  Or perhaps you're one of 10-15 people in a community of 500, 1000, or 10,000.  A small group might be able to enact change or settle something quietly without the need to disrupt a happy online community.  Don't involve others if there's really no need.
3. Accept the Outcome.  Sometimes things happen and there really is nothing you can do about it.  You're a member of the community, but businesses make decisions based off of information you're never going to fully know as you're not an employee. You tried your best, but don't let that negativity consume you for the rest of your life.
4. Wait it out, and then present your case.  If the company is doing something awful, give it time to demonstrate that what it's actually doing was worse in the long run.  Gather evidence,  discuss with others offline, put together something (a petition, a case study, examples from other organizations, numbers, charts, graphs, incidents, etc.) and deliver it to the powers that be in the organization.  Outline a better plan.  (Hey, maybe they'll hire you as a contractor if it's actually compelling). 
5. Leave the community.  Most of the time, you're not forced into something.  If it's a product, stop buying it.  If it's a service, find a competitor.  If it's this important to you, only you can stop the behavior. 

Do Organizations Create Trolls? 

Yes. By not listening to a community, or by enacting changes that the community wasn't made aware of that were coming, companies increase the risk of creating internet trolls.  Trolls aren't born, they're made.

Companies, or Community Managers, can avoid creating trolls by understanding what they're going through.

• Is a product being discontinued? Perhaps give them a space to mourn the loss of their beloved item/show/process/etc.  Create a memorial for something that the company thought wasn't financially worth it, but was beloved by a small group of your most dedicated community members.  
• Another option is to announce that changes to X are coming soon, and that when it happens, the company will be accepting community member feedback in the first few weeks so everyone gets it right.  
• Perhaps someone dropped the ball in creating daily activities online and your members are bored and wanting "how it used to be."  Assess what's going on, and ask a few of your power users if they notice anything different.  

There are quite a few ways to help transition communities into something new without all the negativity that they're likely to create, but the company (community manager?) has to be the one to think ahead of the game.

The Web's Limitations (or The Cloud is Not All That It's Cracked Up to Be)

Our email has been web based for years, we can watch TV on Hulu, stream movies and entertainment through Netflix to our TVs, use Soundcloud, Live.fm, and Pandora for music anywhere, and have satellite radio beamed into our cars or phones.  There's even Dropbox which acts as our own personal servers (at 2gb for free, or 50gb for $99/yr) that works with multiple devices.  It seems as though we have access to anything at anytime.  Although, I am going to say it here, we really don't.

I am actually writing this post, as the internet in my apartment in Brooklyn, NY is for whatever reason - just not working.  I've done what we all do - unplug, replug, wait for all the blinking lights - run back to the laptop to check, and start the process over if there's no luck, but maybe giving it a few more minutes of downtime.  While I wait for the internet gods to be pleased with me again, I've had time to formulate an opinion I've been working on since I was in India in January - and that is - "The Cloud" is not all it's cracked up to be.  

In January I was on vacation in India with my best friend, and admittedly we're both wildly addicted to our iPhones.  However we had no data plan, and our hotels for 14 out of 15 days did not even offer wifi - which was nice. The one day we stayed at a Marriott we both thought nothing about paying $16 each to have access to it for 24 hours.  But it was amazing how not having instant access to the internet kind of rendered us useless.  Without Google maps we relied on a guidebook, without email we had to print hostel reservations/train tickets - or even go to a travel agent, and without app suggestions, we had to ask around for the best food in these little Indian towns.  Don't get me wrong, the challenge and fun of it all is 100% the reason I travel outside of the country as often as I can, but I hadn't realized how dependent on instant internet access I had become.

Fast forward to being in America though, the second the internet goes out, I am 100% screwed.

All of my docs are on google docs.   Can't see 'em.
All of my entertainment is on Hulu.  Can't watch it.
All of my friends are on Facebook.  Can't stalk them.
All of my friends are on Twitter.  Can't talk to them.
All of my work is in my email in Gmail.  Can't do anything.
All of my music is on Pandora.  Can't listen to it.  (Well, for me personally this one's a lie - everything's in iTunes, but still - if I was having a party, I like the Pandora stations)

For some of these things I'm relying on my iPhone for a connection to the outside world.  And let's face it - if we're relying on AT&T's 3G network in New York City - we're screwed.

While you can't say "The dog ate my homework!" any longer, you certainly can say, "Ohhh sorry, my internet connection at home went out!"

Before this forced down time, I was just tonight looking into storage ability on The Cloud to put my terabyte worth of photos, movies, tv, and paperwork on it to have access from any device.  By crowdsourcing Twitter, I received a whole bunch of answers, and the best one so far looks to be a company called Sugarsync.  Although buying 500gb for $400 a year seems ludicrous when I can buy a Terabyte external harddrive that would fit in my pocket for around $100 one time.  The only problem is that it couldn't plug into a iPhone or iPad.

I was THIS close to actually pulling the trigger on it (they offer a 30 day free trial) when this internet embargo happened.  And I realized, if I were to go completely to the cloud - if I lost access to the internet, I would have no way to do absolutely anything. Then I thought back to India and all the travel I do, and how much I still rely on accessing a harddrive of some kind.

The United States is just not there yet with its internet capabilities, and currently ranks 18th in countries with the fastest speeds.  I have plenty of friends and family still on dialup in rural areas, and there a number of places where I just don't have access to it.  Our internet infrastructure is not competitive enough, nor up to the standard of this power user.

And as I'm finishing this post up,  I am still - without internet, which happens at least 3-4x per week. 

The End Always Makes You Think About the Beginning

As 2010 comes to an end I realize it has been nothing short of a whirlwind.   For me, I returned home from living abroad for nearly 3 years in December 09, and I didn't know what to expect.  The economy was terrible, I was living at home for the first time in 10 years, and quite literally the world was at my finger tips.   If I wanted to take off and go live in some random country, I could have, knowing that I'd already done it and could handle it.  However, it was the time to be home and enjoy resting a bit with my friends and family - and to settle into some kind of career.  I was told to buckle down for a long and difficult unemployed road, but honestly (and thankfully), that didn't happen.

Work, Work, Work
To give you some perspective on a job time line during a terrible economy:  I started the job search in January, received a temp to perm job as a recruiter at a firm in New York City in February.  The company was very unorganized, and I returned home in March for a speaking engagement at Syracuse University.  While I worked from home and waited for this company to get their act together, I found the perfect job for myself in community managing at a very promising national relocation services company right in my own backyard.   I turned down the offer from New York City, and started in on my year as a social media professional in central New York.


Things to Take Away from 2010
2010 was a year of learning... a year of creation... and a year of figuring things out and settling back in to life in America.  Don't let anyone tell you that reverse culture shock isn't a thing, because it very much is.  Knowing what life is like elsewhere is a tough thing to put behind you. For example, I went this whole year without health insurance which is a risky thing to do.  That's something I didn't have to worry about in life abroad, because everyone in the country of Korea has nationally funded health insurance (that you also pay into - c'mon, nothing's ever free). 

2010 was also a year of development. My new side project and start up company, Eat Your Serial, had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, and has really started to take form. We are looking forward to a launch and very exciting times ahead in 2011.  Expect to hear more about that later.


It was also a year of non-stop networking.  Thanks to things like Twitter, it has never been easier to create incredibly amazing career relationships.  I have no shame in saying that Twitter honestly changed my life as a tool that brought me so many opportunities. 

But if I take anything away from 2010, it will be this:

Be realistic about things and take time out for yourself to process events clearly.

All too often I felt burnt out this year and it is because I overloaded myself with expectations.  I got overly excited about projects and ideas that would never come to fruition.  2011 will be a year of trimming the fat.  This year taught me what's important to me professionally and personally.  I want to excel at my job and see incredible results from my professional efforts.  Patience has never been one of my virtues, but I'm trying to learn to scale myself back.  Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

What comes from that is also the concepts of making sure I am organized.

For those that know me, you all know that I'm ridiculous about being organized.  But I don't mean this in a "my agenda book is color coded" kind of way.  What I mean is being more diligent and sticking to schedules.  Be consistent with the work I give myself and the goals I set.  Be realistic about the kind of time that it takes to complete a necessary task. 

2010 threw entirely way too many curve balls at me and that's what life is.  What's that famous lyric?  "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."   There are going to be things you cannot account for that get thrown at you.  However, how you handle them, and the organizational system you have in place will make all the difference.  The idea is to best prepare yourself for the worst - professionally, financially, and personally.

I have an awful lot to be proud of and thankful for this year, but at the same time I view 2010 as not one of my better years.  I can pinpoint an awful lot of mistakes that were made, but that's exactly what makes me excited about 2011.  The word I would use to describe this year:  Perspective.

Knowing where you went wrong, will inevitably help you do things better in the future.   And THAT makes all the difference for 2011.

What are the things you will work on in 2011?  What word would you use to describe 2010?

Oh, The Things You'll Leave Behind

This post is part of a blog series on Brazen being sponsored by Entrustet.  They asked Brazen members to answer the question:  What do you want your legacy to be? 

I plan on living forever, and so far, so good. 

 
That line was always one of my favorites and I have no idea where I heard it or who said it first, it could have even been me, who knows (if you do know, speak up).  It's true though - the idea of living forever, being immortal - it's the stuff that movies and books are made of.  However, as much as we all like to pretend we're infallible, one of these days our stories do come to an end.  The interesting thing is that our digital footprint will live on long after we do, and that's not really something previous generations have had to think about.  So when it comes down to it, what do you want your legacy to be?

Everything we do nowadays from tweets to blog posts is said to remain on the internet forever.  If we're intelligent and thought provoking some of our material will last longer than others.  If we've been fortunate to go viral with a video or some other kind of media, there's potential for that to continue on forever and ever.  Hopefully it educates, or makes someone laugh.  If it doesn't, and it's negative, that's something you'll have to take into account when thinking about your legacy.   

What Does the Current View of Yourself Look Like?

Obviously your legacy means nothing if the whole version of your current self isn't at its online best.  Take a second to set up Google Alerts for your name every day so you can see where you exist currently on the internet.   Modifying your footprint daily will help you to demonstrate to the public the image of yourself you want portrayed.   

If you have a fairly common name, and want to distinguish your good work from those other bums who shares your name,  I wholeheartedly recommend utilizing a service like Brand Yourself. It's not only good for when you want to job search, but it can help you to cultivate the legacy you're leaving behind in your wake.  Identify the pattern of what you have already put online.

How Do You Want to be Remembered?

Once your modern self is being promoted in the best way, now you can start to think about what your legacy will be.  What do you want left behind about yourself?   I know that everything in my whole life exists on my external hard drive as far as all of my memories from college, living in New York, and living abroad.  I also know that my email account will be an accurate portrayal of my life, and that I have more than one.  Let's not even think about all of your financial dealings and important paperwork.   Create a list of websites and their logins/passwords and give it to the person who is in charge of your life should something happen to you.  My mother is my designated Power of Attorney so I keep this updated and send her a reviewed form every so often.   Also put on there which online sites you may want deleted

You Can't Take it With You

 We live in an age where having a Will probably doesn't mean much.  I don't have many material items to leave behind for family members to fight over, and at the time of this writing I have not yet become a millionaire (there's still time).  My entire legacy will be online and the things I have done and written.  If by chance I am being searched for in the distant future, I hope that the pictures and videos and speaking engagements all demonstrate that I enjoyed life and wanted to help those around me.  I also hope that my start up company Eat Your Serial is wildly successful and that it continues long after I'm around by entertaining the masses and finding great new authors for generations to come.  Time will tell.

Some profiles take care of your legacy.  Facebook "memorializes" your page by closing log in attempts, making your wall available for friends and family members to post if they wish, and by taking your name out of public search results.   Whatever you had on your profile as your favorite music, or your inspirational quotes will stay there forever.  

So at this current moment in life - What do you think your legacy will be?  And more importantly - what do you want it to be? 

Someone's Hindsight Can be Your Foresight

This post is part of a blog series on Brazen Careerist being sponsored by JobSTART101.  They asked Brazen members to answer the question:  What do I wish I knew before I started working?  Here's my response ...

I wrote this post, "Things I Wish I Had known" in January of 2010 as one of my first posts on The Social Chameleons.  I'd like to think that I've come a long way since not only writing this post, but since graduating college.  Below is a portion of the original post, but I'll add a few more fresh takes at the bottom.

"There were a few of these "What I wish I had known when starting my career" posts floating around twitter, and some of them were helpful, some of them had stuff everyone always says. It got me thinking about what were things I wish I had known at any point. This is what I've come up with in general and in no particular order.

I wish I had known:

• where I wanted to live after graduating from college. No one ever says that to you while you're looking for schools and that connections will be very important.

• that entry level jobs after college probably won't pay you as much as you paid for yearly tuition at a University. For me Syracuse University at the time was costing about $35,000 a year to attend (now its up around $50,000), and I most definitely did not make that my first year out of college. 

• that I can travel the world and get paid for it at an earlier age. People make it seem like the world is a really hard place to get out into, and it really isn't. With today's technology you are now more connected than ever before by using Facebook and Skype. And once you're out of America the world is actually much smaller than you'd think. Getting around is easier, people are generally friendlier, and the opportunities are endless. If you're working vs. traveling it's a great way to spend your 20s and avoiding the rat race of home. 

• that I'd need a specific skill. The jobs I've held have been amazing, and I now have a wide range of useful skills, but to actually sit down and say that I know Sales, or Marketing, or teaching really well would have come in handy years ago. I've had to learn everything on the fly because I didn't focus enough on academics when I had the chance. 

• how to do HTML at an earlier age. The amount of jobs out there today related to computers, computer science, software design, and more is insane. Always time to learn I suppose, but at most it could be now is a hobby. "

In the 11 months since this post was written I've come up with a few things in addition when thinking about what I wish I had known about the real world before I started working.

• That at the age of 21, I might not be taken seriously by the older workers in the company.  You have to work extra hard to seem professional and shake off age stereotypes that are given to you.
• That it might take me a few industries (not just jobs) to figure out what I'm good at, and that's ok. 
• That even the simplest of connections I made in college - whether it was from classes, study groups, activities, or jobs - the people you come in contact with will resurface time and time again, and your weakest connections may be your biggest opportunities.  Don't burn any bridges. 

This list continues to change and evolve as life goes on, but it's important to know that I don't have regrets and probably wouldn't change anything even if I had the chance.   But hindsight is always 20/20 right? 

What things would you add to this list?   Or if you're still in college, what are some things you'll do differently?

Leveraging a College Degree

From the time you can speak, people are trying to teach you things.  You go through your formative years hearing, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  And because you're so young you only know what people have said to you as your average job vocabulary, "I want to be a nurse!  I want to be a teacher!  I want to be a doctor!" You get into middle school and you start hearing this college word more and more.  You really start thinking about what you want to do, and if you're lucky your middle and high schools are preparing you and teaching you all of the potential industries to go into.  You think you have an idea so you pick a college and the biggest decision after that is narrowing your major.  Your major is everything.  It's what defines you, right? It's what outlines your path in life, correct?


I'm not so sure. 

I'm someone who went in thinking, "I just need to make it to college, I'll figure the rest out later," because no one else in my family had made it that far. I remember that first week as a new psych major, when I learned that my long time friend and new freshman year roommate was a "Music Industry Major" and I was blown away that that was actually an option.  I was so unprepared.

When I realized that I didn't want to spend 10 years in painful research mode, I switched to an English & Textual Studies major because hey, I like to read.   When I couldn't hack all the literary theory behind it all, I switched to being a Speech Communication major.   It was all about communication, pr, leadership, public speaking - and it was a jack of all trades kind of major that I already had a bunch of credits in.   It's pretty safe to say that for 4 years I was just taking classes that were interesting, made me well rounded, and were hopefully easy.

Getting the Most out of Your Degree
Your degree doesn't define you.  Whether you have a 3.8 or a 3.0 won't matter 1 year out of college.  If you're the average person, (not a career academic), don't waste away your college years agonizing over getting that perfect A.  If you get an A- or a B+, or even a D in some classes, most people won't know or care. 

What matters is the experiences and activities you have and do during that 4 year time span.  That degree just proves that you're educated.  It's a pass into the working world to be a professional, make money, have more opportunities.  When you have internships, student activity leadership roles, jobs, or volunteering extras on your resume I am 100% of the time going to pick that person over someone with a 4.0 to work for me.  You bring more to the table, you (ideally) know how to talk to people and interact in sales/marketing/networking situations.

The degree & the major attached to it is only a small part of the full package.

A major is a guideline.  Steers you into some specialties or gives businesses a framework of where you're coming from. I was a person who had 3 majors in college that had absolutely nothing to do with her first job.  Funny part about this story?  I had no idea what a Music Industry major was that first week in college, but I went on to work for the #1 Talent Agency in the world, and worked hard to work for one of the biggest music agents in the entire business.  How did I get my foot in the door?  Well, it was all because my internships/student activities were music related.

So just remember, picking a college major IS important, but you're not stuck in that area for the rest of your life.  Enjoy your 4 years, join groups, get internships, learn more about yourself that way.  When you graduate let your major be the last thing that interests people.

What's In a Name? Branding, Re-Branding, New Logos... Bah.

Tommy Boy:  But the “Callahan” factory’s been in my family for years, you just can’t shut it down!

Zalinksy: Son, you gotta look at it from my point of view.  Callahan’s a premium name.  That’s what I’m buying.  I can make the parts in one of my factories, put ‘em in a Callahan box, and sell ‘em in my stores at a premium price.  Why keep your factory going when all I want is the goddamned box?

 A scene from the movie Tommy Boy, discussing the importance of a name in business.  

In upstate New York (I'm not sure about elsewhere) there were quite a few changes in the 80s/90s with drugstores being owned and operated by a few different people.  From being Carl's Drugstore to then Faye's Drugstore, to then Eckerd Drugs, and then some of those Eckerd's being bought out in the area by Rite Aid, it was tough to keep up with whatever your local pharmacy's name was.   My mother, to this day still calls the local Eckerds, "Carl's" & "Faye's" from time to time.  I know they existed as different entities for awhile, but I don't know how long either of those two companies were around before I was born. To my mother these store names are cemented in her memory as the stores she grew up with.

I'm noticing it even more now too with the Tops buyout of P&C, two northeast grocery store chains.  People still say, "Hey, I'm going to go grab some stuff over at P&C, do you need anything?"  Even though it's been Tops for months.   Changing a name is not an easy task. 

Branding & Re-Branding

Buyouts and mergers happen all the time. Re-branding, new logos, different slogans are all a part of staying fresh and keeping up with the times.  It is important to know your audience and act accordingly because people identify with those images and words.  They trust your company because of those things in conjunction with customer service or the good times they've had at your establishment.    There's a lot to be said for, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That cannot be more evident than with the recent GAP logo debacle where after a terrible new design of their classic logo, people were up in arms and within only 2-3 days, Gap scrapped the logo and went back to what was tried and true.

Tradition

I wrote about reconnecting with your college self the other day because this week is Syracuse University's Homecoming.  Homecomings happen all across America, generally in the fall and centered around a football game. Homecoming is usually a school's biggest tradition if only because it is something that every student and alumni can take part in.   Sure, there will always be bigger events on campus, but no one event outside of Homecoming can appeal to every single one of your students. The one thing that each individual has in common, is that they're all at this establishment together & for a common goal of experience & education.  Homecoming centers around that simple idea, and is the easiest kind of branded event you can have.

I don't know when it happened, maybe while I was away from the country, but my Alma Matter re-branded Homecoming to be "Orange Central."  A name that I had seen in mailings and quickly wrote off as something happening on campus for students that didn't concern Alumni.  The name meant nothing to me.  

Maybe I am destined to be like my mother as she continues after all these years to call a drugstore by it's former company name because it's so ingrained in her memory, and I will call this "Orange Central" Homecoming for the rest of my life.  For this Alumni, it wasn't broken and there was no need to fix this particular tradition.  A name was everything.

 

Reconnect With Your College Self

There is one tradition that almost every high school and college across this country takes part in.  It may occur at different times of the year, and may or may not revolve around a sporting event, but it's the same no matter where you come from.   It doesn't matter if you moved 15 minutes away from where you group up or went to school, or if you moved 15 hours away.   There is always that wonderful feeling of Homecoming.  The word itself even gives off a happy feeling because it makes you think of just that - a place you once called Home.  That particular word makes you identify with your roots.

Homecoming is a ritual that gives a person the chance to reconnect with a time in their life that was full of promise, full of possibility.  It's an act that allows old friends or long lost connections to once again meet and enjoy each other's company and catch up.

There's a feeling of nostalgia that happens, and makes a person take stock of their life. January 1st is not the only time in the course of a year to make plans and start fresh.  Homecoming is a perfect time to look around and remember who you were and what you had planned for yourself when you were 18 and thought you knew everything about the world.


Would your 18 year old self be happy with the modern day version?

When you started college where did you see your life going?  What groups were you actively involved in?  What were the classes that shaped your existence?  Did you think you would be where you are and what you're doing at this very moment?

It's weird, but in the 6.5 years I've been out of school, I've come full circle - almost literally.  I majored in speech communication, but went off to NYC and worked in music.  Traveled Asia for another 2.5 years and now have found myself back in Syracuse, which was the city it all started in.  As Homecoming is next weekend, and my friends will be returning, it'll be odd that this is home for me and a vacation for them.  However, the sentiment is still the same as this is a time of reflection, reconnection, & re-evaluation.  My Alma Matter may have changed the actual word of "Homecoming" to something that carries very little weight & meaning and borders on nonsensical, but the idea of coming home is alive and well with its Alumni.  Because of the connections, the network, and the opportunities available, my 18 year old self is pretty OK with where things are right now.

How about you?   

Twitter Chats, Ugh! - 10 Ways to Avoid Being Annoyed

Or so they say. 

There are over 200 active twitter chats that are well attended by tweeters who undoubtedly annoy their followers at certain times.  As of next week I'll be moderating 3 chats per week on Twitter - #CmgrChat, #HFChat, #MoveChat.   For the first on that list I use my personal account, @JPedde, and its entirely to talk with other people across the country (and some foreign countries) that are in a similar profession as me in social media.

The latter two I use my work account @RelocationAlly for, and they are work related topics that provide resources for potential clients, customers, or industry professionals.  They have their purposes and using my work account for two of them helps break it up a bit so I'm not bombing my personal account with crazy tweets.   However, I do participate in a few chats for fun that provide personal enrichment, exposure, and learning in #u30pro, #jobhuntchat, #smmeasure.   They all provide amazing opportunities to meet more people, further my career, and help others grow in theirs.  The result is a network I am incredibly thankful for and proud of. 

Twitter chats are an excellent way to create, join, or be a part of a community.  With 30% of Americans moving every year it is tough to find a physical place to stay in long enough to develop good relationships. People are moving out of their local neighborhood or office communities into online ones where they can share with more like minded people, at a much faster rate.

To me, and you may feel free to disagree, that is the entire point of twitter. 

If we are friends, that's what Facebook and real life is for.  If we're friends, I want to know more about you, I want to see pictures, and videos, talk on the phone, and hear funny stories that take more than 140 characters to get into and yes, even your tweets.   Twitter is a great place to meet these new friends, but it's tough when some people use twitter for work primarily.  It's not the greatest tool for Instant Messaging - try Skype or GChat.

People use Twitter for a variety of reasons and they boil down to work, play, or a combination of both.  I use Twitter primarily for work and to showcase a professional side of myself.  For the most part, unless I'm hanging out at home, I try not to be on it on the weekends.  Blurring those lines between work and play and constantly watching my tweets, is tough.  I am no stranger to the occasional Saturday Football Game Day Drinking Twittering, or the Friday Night Out with The Guys & Having a Few Beers tweets (yes, that's my idea of a perfect Friday night...don't judge). And yes, I will go through and delete tweets that don't paint me in a good professional light.

There's also a flipside to this. 

Twitter chats are annoying to some, but so is College Football, The US Open, Wimbledon, The Masters, the damn Superbowl, and everyone who live tweets a new episode of Glee, MadMen, Dexter, and every other show on TV that I love.  There might just be nothing more annoying in this world than people who are tweeting out plot points or quotes from a tv show DURING the show.   In a world where everyone waits til the next day to watch their Tivos or Hulu, you are ruining happiness for so, so many people.  Sure, definitely post your "Oh that was such a great episode," or "Wow I can't WAIT until next week!!" tweets, but "Wow, I can't believe blah blah is going to have blah blah's baby on this show!"  is just downright mean.

What it boils down to, is of course everyone has different tastes.  So while I will probably tweet a ton during College Basketball season, hopefully my followers stick with me as I stick through them and their crazy tweets through chats, sports, and entertainment.  It's a balance. We don't like every single thing about our friends, and it's no different on twitter.  The fun of twitter, is that you always have the choice to turn it off.

Tips to Avoid Annoyance

1. Tweetdeck offers these WONDERFUL filters.   Put in "#NFL" "#HFChat" "Foursquare" and watch the serenity return to your life. 
2. Unfollow the tweeter.  
3. Don't want to unfollow someone you like?  Ignore their tweets.  Scroll through. 
4. Can't ignore? Really need to unfollow?  It's ok.  Put them on a list.  Put the list in a separate column that you check later on.  Still interact with your favorite person who just tweets too darn much. (*Note, this will make it impossible to DM back and forth).
5. Join in to their conversation.  Pick up a new interest or hobby.  There are fantastic resources on Twitter for virtually everything.  Enrich your life. Learn how to do your job better. 
6. Turn Twitter off for 1 hour.  Walk away for the day.  Unplugging is good for you.
7.  Follow More People. The more people you follow, the less your annoying High-Volume-Tweeter-Friends will be noticed.  More people to follow will drown out the noise in your "All Friends" feed. 
8. Turn of the "All Friends" Feed. Organize everyone you follow into lists. Ignore your "High-Volume-Tweeter" List during high volume times. 
9. Unfollow the High-Volume-Tweeter for the hour/day, re-follow post tweeting activity.
10. Stay with your favorite tweeter.  Love them despite their high volume ways.  Make fun of them for it.  It's ok.  They're aware of their activity. 

Do you have any other suggestions on how to avoid high-volume-tweeter-friend overload?

Does 9:00am Sharp Define You as a Worker?

I am not a morning person.  Never have been, never will be.  I am one of those lucky people that have what's known in psychology circles as a 27 hour circadian rhythm.  Which essentially means that while most people have a 24 hour internal clock, and waking up is fairly easy in "normal" morning hours,  I do not and find mornings incredibly difficult.

My Confession (As a Case Study)
In my 6 years since college graduation my work start times have been 10am, 8:30am, 9:40am, and now 9am.  I generally have a 10-15 min late policy everywhere I go (assuming that there are no meetings, phone calls, or scheduled events).  Doesn't matter if I'm walking to work, taking a subway, a cab, or driving myself, if there's nothing pressing happening in the first hour of my eventual work day, I am going to be late b/c I don't see the need to rush.  I work to live, not live to work.  It's not planned, and I would love to be better about it, but sometimes understanding yourself and your limitations is good.  A point for clarification:  I'm never late for a scheduled meeting or event, and in fact will probably show up 15 minutes early.

Does This Make Someone a Bad Employee?
Well, that answer depends doesn't it?  Lets look at these other questions first: 

• Is the employee out the door at 4:50pm, or 5:01pm?  
• Does he/she take a full 60 minutes for lunch?  
• Does he/she goof off and take multiple coffee breaks throughout the day?  
• Does he/she take a 15 minute cigarette break?  
• Does he/she leave often to pick kids up from someplace?
• Does he/she have constant appointments during work hours?
• Is their work suffering?
• Are they missing meetings and important scheduled tasks?

Many of those questions are law given mandates.  In New York State, depending on your specific job, there are laws that state a paid minimum of 30 minutes and a break of up to 20 minutes.  So If I chose to come in 15 minutes late, but still take a 60 minute lunch break, that would be acceptable in the grand scheme of an 8 hour work day - in theory.  The smoke/coffee break of 15 minutes would also be acceptable if I made up the time later.   If I had constant appointments - well, no one would be allowed to inquire b/c what if it were a health matter?  That's not a place of employment's business unless it is affecting your work.  If I'm going to get my hair done during company time and its not a lunch hour, then that's probably an issue.

So lets say an employee is doing none of those things.  They work through lunches, or take quick jaunts outside to get some fresh air, and stay late past the 5pm end time.  They are for all intents and purposes, operating within the guidelines and all the work is finished, or planned to be finished in the next working day.  However, this employee continuously comes in 15-20 min late on most days.   Does that make an employee bad?  Undesirable? Un-hirable?  

There's that age old saying... if you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late, and if you're late don't even bother.  That sentiment is incredibly, incredibly important to live by.  If you have a meeting with your boss, your partner, your team, or joe blow - you should always be early and ready to go before the meeting.  Hit the ground running.  If you're chronically late, you show lack of enthusiasm, lack of professionalism, and lack of commitment.  Is there the occasional 'stuck in traffic,' or 'I got lost?' Sure.  Accidents happen.

However on a daily basis, take a look at the body of work from an employee.  If you notice them slaving away during the 1-3pm hours, if you notice that they bring their coffee in the morning, and never go out to get it, and if you notice emails and work being done after the 5pm hour, maybe you should be commending them for thinking ahead and working hard.   Of course, if they chose to leave at 5pm on the dot, and come in late, AND take 60 minutes - maybe they are deserving of a meeting to discuss some bad habits.

If You're On Site Do You Get Bonus Points?
Many people work from home and are sometimes more productive there because there are fewer distractions.  Personally, I view it as a nice break and a reward for doing good work, but I need an office 95% of the time.  Helps keep you on task, focused.  On a bad weather day, or a day when you're feeling terrible, the ability to work from home is a nice option if you're still focusing on the work.

But if you can't be seen by the boss, and you're out of sight, are you out of mind?  Will you get passed over for things? Will the lazy employee who shows up on time be picked first for a promotion because they were perceived as committed?

In today's world with the ability to work remotely, laptops, iPads, iPhones, wifi connections at coffee shops and hotels - is there a need for someone to be in the office at their desk at 8:59am every day of the week?  Does this change your perception?

 

Women in Technology? Surely, There's No Such Thing.

I've always been at ease standing around a group of guys discussing a variety of topics from politics to sports to their hilarious dating habits.  And.. oh my gawd...even technology.  I know model numbers of gadgets, and  what geeky computer terms mean, and how to put together an OK website (though admittedly, my HTML knowledge is lacking).   I even have a start-up company that's launching online hopefully by the end of 2010.

Am I standing in a crowd of 1?   No.  I can name dozens of girls I've met on Twitter and even a few in real life that are just as geeky, if not geekier than me.  In fact, I love calling them friends because honestly, I don't have much in common with girls who only enjoy shoes, purses and makeup (not to say that I don't dress up, but you see where I'm going).  So I guess that's why I'm a little surprised that Tuesday seemed to provide an avalanche of articles discussing women in technology.  I've never thought about it as an issue.


First it was the Tech Crunch article, Why No Women Want To Be On A “Women In Tech” Panel,
which was a little weird.  My first reaction at reading the title was, "I'd LOVE to be on a Women in Tech Panel!"   But it obviously goes more in depth than what the title suggests.

Then there was the Mashable article, Why We Need to Reframe the "Women in Tech" Debate. And I found this to be 100% refreshing.  It was more positive saying that there are so many women out there but that there needs to be some kind of community where we could go for resources. 

And finally my friend, Kate Holloway, wrote Marginalizing and stereotyping is good marketing strategy… right? Where she discusses a post written poorly by Leslie Sobon about landing the geeky guy.


The funny thing about this all, is I myself wrote a blog post just earlier that morning before seeing all of these about how I won't learn to make coffee to fulfill the gender stereotype that that's what women do in an office.

What's the Solution?
Do I think women need to band together?  Eh.  Do I think we should constantly call attention to not having women in technology?  Eh. I don't think it has anything to do with adult women right now.  I think it has everything to do with how we teach our children. Does little Suzie need to play with a doll?   Ooooor should she play with this fancy new computer and see how it all functions?   Is she taught that it's OK to take business classes in high school?  Is she empowered to run with her idea as an entrepreneur in college?  Does she have the confidence necessary to pull off an idea?

Look, we all know that having intelligent, drama free women involved in anything makes everything better.  I am still convinced if there had been more women involved in the Apple iPad naming decisions that disgusting name never would have gone through - so maybe there is a need for pumping up tech to girls at an early age not to just girls, but to little boys as well for learning to play nice with the girls.

Communities for Women
I get so bored when I go to women only events - girls nights, women's luncheons, networking events.  I feel like I'm being cheated out of an equal dynamic.  Sure, the communities are nice, but they're usually so full of emotions and patting each other on the back that I lose all interest.

Forbes has a section of their website dedicated to women and recently it came up with the Top 100 Blogs for women.  I had high hopes for this, thinking that since it was a business site it would be pretty inclusive. Some of these blogs are Grade A quality Amazingness, but they're so stereotypical with mommy blogs and feelings, and relationships - Oprah, Martha Stewart.   Who needs it? I think out of the list of 100 there might have been 5-10 that were OK?

There's nothing more annoying than solidifying old gender roles.  Stop saying that there aren't any women in technology when there are. And stop pointing them out like it's some kind of magic trick when you find one.

Coffee, Creme + 2 Sugars, Thanks, Doll.

I've had that said to me before when I was in college waaay back as an intern about 8 years ago. I've also had that said to me while working after college in an actual paying professional office job. 

Personally, I love the words doll, broad, chick, babe, whatever - I love them when my friends say them in funny conversations.  I do NOT love them when I'm in an office setting and I could probably run professional circles around someone. 

Let's put aside the obvious sexism here with those words, because I'm no where near being a raging feminist.  In fact, 90% of my friends are dudes, I would MUCH rather go see a basketball game than spend a day at the mall, and I'm pretty sure I have more USB cords lying around my room for phones and cameras than I do shoes.  Spending that much time around guys has made me care less about the words being used.

What does this have to do with coffee? 
Everything. 

In my 6-10 years of participating in office cultures through paying jobs and internships, coffee is a staple.  Not everyone drinks it, but it's very much in the routine of most.  I am no stranger to this act myself.   It kickstarts my day and keeps me focused and awake.   However, in those 6-10 years I am pretty sure, and almost confident, that I have never seen a guy in any office make a pot of coffee. 

I realize this is a WILD generalization and I'm sure guys the world over make coffee in their offices - I have just never witnessed it.   In my casual observations it has almost always been the women who either A) sit closest to the machine or B) the women in the HR department.  We had a male chef at work once, and he made coffee, but that's in his job description so I don't count it.

I have never learned to make coffee. 

I get the concept -- you get a coffee filter, throw it in a machine, add some crushed up coffee beans, and let it drip.   But I never know how much, I never know if I want it strong or weak, and I never know how to account for multiple cups and the variations on taste.    I don't want to know.  It's too much pressure making it for someone else when coffee is THIS important to how an office/person functions.

Why? 

It may seem stupid, but if I don't know how to make coffee when some guy inevitably points to me and says, "Hey go make some coffee,"  I can look back at him and say, "Ah sorry, not very good at making the ol' coffee thing, but I can show you were it all is if you'd like to make a cup for yourself."

In my mind, this levels the playing field.  I already have to deal with the fact that I'm younger than most so anywhere I can cut corners and add some points for my skills is good.  We have weird gender roles in our society and while I consider things to be pretty much equal these days, for some reason making coffee gets assigned to the women.  If I don't know how to do it, then that's one less stereotype I can be assigned.  The idea of walking into a room holding a tray of coffees, creme and sugar, just knocks me down a step or two in the credibility scale when I'm a professional on the rise.

The culture of going to get coffee from the local coffee shop seems to be much more equal with those who go to get it, and those who often pay for others.  The only problem with this equal method is that it gets expensive.

It's pretty safe to say, that I won't be learning how to make a pot of coffee anytime soon. 

Where'd the Common Sense Go?

Ok, two stories have come to light this week.   The first being this gigantic Price Chopper Fail story that has been written about pretty much everywhere (including here yesterday) in the past two days with absolutely no signs of slowing down.  And the second being this one I just came across from @JessicaMalnik about a hotel ousting two guests during their stay because of a negative review on TripAdvisor.


Have people lost their damned minds? 

Poor customer service has been around for ages - just take a look at the whole Dominos disaster of yesteryear, or Capri Sun, or Nestle, or BP.  But GOOD customer service has also been around for ages.   Just because there's this new-fangled contraption called the interwebs out there does not mean that good ol' fashioned rules & common sense go out the window.  

As a Community Manager I took this opportunity to write about good Customer Service on my company's blog.  It outlines the basic steps of listening to your customers, anticipating their wants, going above and beyond to make sure that they'll come back to you, and managing negativity by acknowledging a problem.  The best part is that most of this is probably free, if not close to free. 


None of this is any different whether it is offline or online.  


Where does the difference lie then?  

The difference is the public sphere.  Every typed word you place on line will be there forever and ever.   You're immortal in your words.   Now, will you be remembered?  Probably not in most cases, but if someone DID remember you for something, it can be found. 

So with that kind of legacy do you want negative things out there?  No.   Are they going to happen?  Yes.   It's how you deal with them that showcases you, your poise, your talents, your ability to problem solve, and how you handle yourself in a sticky situation.   There are no rule books, but there sure as hell are communication standards. 


The lesson to be learned from all of this - people are going to post positive and negative things about you and/or your company online.  You can't go after a customer's job by going to their employer to tattle on them (Price Chopper), and you can't kick people out of their hotel room for saying something on line that doesn't portray you in the best light (Golden Beach Hotel).

It is just a backwards way of thinking if you expect people to not publish their opinions on line these days.  People want to express their opinions and the internet has given them the vehicle to do so as often and as public as they want.  In this great country of ours where we have the Freedom of Speech, simply saying you *shouldn't* place something on line just is not an argument that will stand these days.  Instead of wishing these things didn't happen, own up to them and use them to make a better business.  Your customers are the lifeblood of your company.  Why would you mistreat them?

What CAN You Do?
You CAN bring back common sense.  Bring back that golden rule of do unto others that you want done unto you.   

You CAN expect that the internet is a small place and people are far more connected than you can imagine.  You never know who is connected to whom and will take your seemingly simple act and sent it all ablaze online.  

You CAN get upset that someone talks negatively about you/your business.  You can also wait 15 minutes and cool down and think things through before doing something that will cause you to be an internet laughing stock.  You can also consult your higher level executives before making a mistake.

What you CAN do is ask the disgruntled party to talk privately.  Ask them HOW you can make it better.  Do you have to take their suggestions?  No.   No one customer is the authority on how you should run your business, but it makes THAT customer feel better and not incite a world wide campaign against your company. 

What you cannot do is get upset that these things are happening publicly & online.  That's the point, isn't it?  

Price Chopper's Fail in Social Media & Customer Service

I might have just caused a bit of a stir on line.  I might have taken an hour out of my day to spread a story that for a few reasons just entirely hit a nerve with me - which is saying something because it usually takes a lot for me to get angry.  An awful lot to be honest.  I am a social media marketing professional, and I like to think that people are learning from previous social media mistakes.  Look at Dominoes or Nestle for example. Clearly this is not the case.

A Case of Terrible Customer Service Using Social Media
After reading this Tumblr  today, I am outraged.   The gist?    Last week a person (Random Customer X) decided to tweet that Price Chopper (a north east chain grocery store) was not Wegmans (another north east chain grocery store) and showed a picture.  This was a private twitter account and did not bash anything, just merely stated an opinion of liking one store over another.   The PR person for Price Chopper responded to us both because I had agreed with Random Customer X's initial tweet, as did a few others.  I responded to this random PR person that I never found the stores to be particularly clean and also preferred Wegmans but since I had not been in quite some time, maybe I would try again.  Random Customer X stayed true to his/her opinion saying that he/she just did not prefer the store because of it's lack of cleanliness.   

What happened after is where it starts becoming a social media nightmare.  Price Chopper contacted Random Customer X's supervisor as well as seemingly random executives at the customer's place of employment!   They stated that this customer was negative and should be dealt with and could jeopardize relations between the two companies - which I am unclear at this time if there are actually relations between the two companies, but there may be.   Basically, read the above link for specifics.

The Backlash
By now, maybe more than one hour later, this story has spread throughout twitter and facebook and been ReTweeted well over 150 times, and there are 25+ comments and growing on the above Tumblr.  Chris Brogan (Author of Trust Agents) even sent out a tweet saying that the company should have handled it better.  

It's a case for social media.  And the gross misuse of power that it gives anyone.  Someone was listening, engaging, paying attention - fantastic!   However someone went above and beyond and well over the line.  If someone has a negative complaint you handle it more effectively.   Which is why...

It's a case for customer service.   If someone was in your store yelling at the top of their lungs that they hated your facility, what would you do with them?  Probably ask them to leave, but you wouldn't inquire where they worked as long as they left peacefully and the police didn't need to be involved, right?   Only when the police arrive and arrest you do those details get leaked.    So why would it be any different online?

And the question here, is why - if that person and I both said negative things to the same PR person - did that employer get called over mine?  Not that I'm asking for it, but just leads to think that maybe there's some kind of grudge. I'm not going to get into a conspiracy situation here, but it's more just curious.   Maybe I responded better than Random Customer X by saying I would at least go into the store.  I don't know and never will.

What's Next?
At the end of the day, Price Chopper responded in one of the worst ways you could ever think of.  Will this Random Customer X ever return to Price Chopper?  Probably not.   Will I ever return to Price Chopper, most definitely not. Are there now hundreds if not thousands of people out there reading these blogs and tweets that were first introduced to this store negatively?  Yes. Are there more pressing issues in the world than a poor misuse of social media?  Of course.   I only wish I tweeted half as much about the Pakistan Floods for a friend as much as I did about this today, but at this moment - the idea of a company getting away with nearly costing someone their job in the time of a recession is just unacceptable.


You are allowed to create a social media policy for your company and ask your employees to follow it. 


You are not allowed to create a social media policy for your customers!  It is the most basic form of free speech one has.   

Are College Classes Useful In Life?

It's funny when life comes full circle.

When in college "they" make you take a certain number of classes to fill requirements for graduation.  Some of those classes are pretty interesting, some are very pointed and direct and will benefit your career, and others are just complete filler.  They are those classes you took because they might be fun, or interesting, or a way to round out your schedule so you didn't have Friday classes. But did you EVER think that they'd be.... useful?

College Majors
At Syracuse University as a Speech Communication major in the Visual & Performing Arts college, I needed 120 credits to graduate.  Like any good little college bound high school student, I came in with maybe 9 or so AP/Community College credits, so it afforded me the ability to take a few semesters light.  After switching majors 3 times in 4 years because I didn't know what I wanted to do, I wound up in a degree that was kind of a jack of all trades mish-mash of stuff that would allow me to graduate on time - PR, Marketing, Public Speaking, Statistics, Rhetorical Thought, Leadership, etc.

Second Thought Classes
I had a lot of options and took classes on nonverbal communication, small group communication, ethics in communication, rhetoric of horror movies, etc.   I chose each and every one of them because I thought they were mildly interesting, potentially easy and common sense based, or just fit into my schedule.  I had 3 jobs in college, and ran the university wide programming board that was given $250,000 to handle.  Academics weren't necessarily my focus at the time - I just wanted easy A's (which I rarely got) from classes that wouldn't take up too much of my time.  

Post-Grad Uses
When I graduated I abandoned all of that and went to go work in the Music Industry.  Didn't use my major once, and pretty much assumed I never would.

I then went onto teach English in South Korea where I realized that my training in nonverbal communication would come in extremely handy.

And now, as a Community Manager, every single aspect of my major has come rushing back in a waterfall of useful memories.  All of those communication classes that I thought were just interesting, have demonstrated themselves to be life savers in assessing a situation and knowing how to handle it in the workplace.  Even that awful statistics class has helped me to read analytics a little bit more clearly.

An Investment
It took 6 years for my major to come in handy.  At no point did I ever think that I shouldn't have gone to college and gotten a degree (because the network I have from Syracuse has paid for itself time and time again), but it's always nice when you can look back on things you learned years ago and recall them clear as day and apply them to what you're currently doing.   

So don't ever write off a class you took as something that wasn't useful, because it is all relative and what you make of it later that counts.  And this is coming from a girl who took weight training, yoga, snorkeling, and wine appreciation all in one semester.  Even the boring requirements can make you a better conversationalist on a variety of topics.

You'll never be able to predict where you'll be in the future, what could have come in handy, and how something you're doing currently will play into that, but it all adds to your story.  And you learned more than you think you did during those filler classes way back when.

Online You vs Real Life You

I'm on twitter.   I tweet about tons of things - job searching, relocation, social media, networking, Apple, traveling, Asia, South Korea, Syracuse University, College Basketball, my new start up company Eat Your Serial, and current events.    That's a lot of subjects, right?  Right.

I'm on facebook.  You won't receive a blue hyperlink here, sorry.  I have that locked up as tight as I can get it because I joined at that perfect age of 21 and have 1800+ idiotic photos tagged of me doing what 20 somethings do.  Not to mention 50+ videos where I'm making a large fool of myself.  It's a place of inside jokes, funny conversations, poking fun with my closest friends about every topic and mundane detail of our lives.  Even if we are friends on there not everything is going to make sense. 

I'm on Linked In.   I use the wisdom I've accrued in my 27 years to discuss professional topics with other professionals in professional networking groups.  I learn more about my crafts through discussions with other people.   I'm on Brazen Careerist for the same thing.

I'm on You Tube.  It's a mix mash of my videos of concerts, funny nights out, being out in Korea, and most recently a few video web logs. 


What am I getting at?

Well, it's simple.   Each place is a place to exist for different reasons.  They have different purposes, different networks, & different results.  To only exist on one network would be like reading one chapter of a book and knowing how it ends.  There's no way to get a good sense of someone on one network alone.

Anyone who is job searching, or using social media to get ahead, has to have multiple profiles to increase exposure.  Find the specific niche sites that your industry may use as well to get noticed.


Should You Put it all Out There?

No.
 


Why? 
There's a few common sentiments/sayings out there that work well:

1) Don't reveal too much, there's fun in the mysterious
2) If I can get the milk for free, why should I buy the cow?  

And there's a lot to be said for both.   If you give out 15 bullet points on one job, or if you have gigantic long paragraphs detailing your experiences on LinkedIn you'll hold the attention of no one.  Or if you offer your services to everyone for free, you'll never get paid for your work.  

There are perfect balances.  Be short and succinct where you need to be... offer tips and suggestions, but don't outline an entire project for someone without being a consultant.   Obviously this differs from case to case, but overall you don't ever want to come on too strong or with too much because it will never end well for you. 


Does Being on Every Platform = The Real You?

No.  You should have some consistency across all of your platforms, especially if you're job searching.  Make sure that you're looking for the same things on each site, your keywords all match up, and that your resumes are perfectly related to the description.  

For everything else, your online profiles may help you keep your different networks up to date and provide ways for you to showcase your work.   But never mistake an online persona for a real life persona.   What I mean by that - is just because you write well, and post pictures, and discuss a few topics does not mean that is who you are.   You exist in the real world and you should keep some things to yourself.  Anything that could get you fired, or anything you have to think twice about updating is probably a good thing to just leave off of any profile at any time. 

Also don't entirely take everything you read seriously from a twitter friend or a new on line acquaintance.  You need to develop relationships the old fashioned way too, with plenty of face to face time.  Non-verbal communication is very important to any relationship on any level.

Every hobby, sporting event, and minute of our lives can be tweeted about, posted around, and shared in some digital space. However none of that replaces good regular communication.  The age old phrase behind assume goes well here too - "Never Assume anything... it makes an Ass out of U and ME."  So don't always go by what you read - engage in conversations.