Recently, the topic of mentoring has been raised on a LinkedIn group I participate in. At first, I was not feeling compelled to add to the discussion, but then felt guilty as I have benefited much from the professional mentoring I've received over the past 25 years from a dedicated and special friend. So, knowing that there are thousands and thousands of young women out there who need mentors in their lives, I added my thoughts to the discussion.
I have several young women that I mentor, encouraging them as they go through college at present, and advising them and listening to them as they try to figure out the paths they wish to pursue after graduation.
I was the fortunate recipient of extraordinary mentoring from a very dear friend I met on jury duty, who at the time was a marketing and communications consultant, and former bank VP. She saw something in me that I didn't know existed, and over the years has listened, helped me work through challenges, advised and guided but always as a sounding board, never telling me what I should do or ought to do, but helping me to explore options. She knew things about the world of business and corporations and power structures and organizational cultures that I didn't have a clue about at the time, and was willing to invest herself in me. Gladly I can report that her investment has paid back over and above. One thing she told me long ago is that if I chose to accept mentoring, then I had to be prepared someday to make a commitment to others and pass that mentoring along. I only hope that I can be as positive an influence in the lives of these young women that I now mentor as my friend Marilyn has been for me.
Look around you, look for that young woman or teenage girl who has the potential to be more than she is aware she can be, get to know her and if she needs and wants someone in her life in a mentorship position, step up to the challenge and be that person. Commit for the long haul, be ready to listen even when it isn't convenient, and enjoy the pleasure of seeing someone else stretch their wings and learn to fly! We don't necessarily need organizations to do this, we need to each commit to helping and making a difference in our sphere of influence.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Creative Energy
I don't do a whole lot of cruising around in YouTube, but this OK Go video for the song "This Too Shall Pass" was featured on my iGoogle page so I thought it looked kind of fun. Wow. Amazing. Wow again...
What an incredible symphony of movement, color, sound, percussion, precision timing and woven through it all the most amazing instrument of all, the human voice. The creative energy apparent in its design is fantastic, the manifestation of imagination, vision brought to life. According to the video crew Q&A interview there were 89 different mechanisms involved in the "Machine", and the project took a few months to put together, but was shot in just a few days of sleepless frenzy. One of the producers credits their success to the passionate belief of those involved that this will work - a group of people working together to achieve a vision who are so totally on board with the vision that they are literally breathing it. And the result, it is at once chaotic and structured, spontaneous and managed, crazed and restrained.
There is another video for this same song. It too exhibits this same kind of energy, but in a different venue. Choreographed energy, movement and sound and color and shape and form all perfectly orchestrated.
From a project management perspective, the beauty of flawless execution given the consideration of numerous contingent elements is a thing to behold. From a leadership perspective, the sharing of vision and empowering energy that can harness is a testament to the ability of human beings to work together. From an art perspective, the whole process is art, performance and sound and visual art blended in just such a way that emotion evoked perfectly reflects the lyric "when the morning comes...", a statement of hope and optimism.
Personally, I think it would be a grand thing for this song to be adopted by marching bands across the nation, I'd love to see it performed at high school and college football games!
Way to go, OK Go!
What an incredible symphony of movement, color, sound, percussion, precision timing and woven through it all the most amazing instrument of all, the human voice. The creative energy apparent in its design is fantastic, the manifestation of imagination, vision brought to life. According to the video crew Q&A interview there were 89 different mechanisms involved in the "Machine", and the project took a few months to put together, but was shot in just a few days of sleepless frenzy. One of the producers credits their success to the passionate belief of those involved that this will work - a group of people working together to achieve a vision who are so totally on board with the vision that they are literally breathing it. And the result, it is at once chaotic and structured, spontaneous and managed, crazed and restrained.
There is another video for this same song. It too exhibits this same kind of energy, but in a different venue. Choreographed energy, movement and sound and color and shape and form all perfectly orchestrated.
From a project management perspective, the beauty of flawless execution given the consideration of numerous contingent elements is a thing to behold. From a leadership perspective, the sharing of vision and empowering energy that can harness is a testament to the ability of human beings to work together. From an art perspective, the whole process is art, performance and sound and visual art blended in just such a way that emotion evoked perfectly reflects the lyric "when the morning comes...", a statement of hope and optimism.
Personally, I think it would be a grand thing for this song to be adopted by marching bands across the nation, I'd love to see it performed at high school and college football games!
Way to go, OK Go!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Musings on Mexico
Well, many of you have inquired about how the trip to Mexico went, so I thought I'd post the short version here. It was great!!! OK, so you want a few more details than that, I don't blame you.
Over the Christmas-New Year's holiday, myself and a young lady from our church youth group went to Mexico with Dayspring Outreach Ministries. We left Tulsa following a Christmas Eve blizzard which had dumped nearly a foot of ice and snow on the roads, so it was only by virtue of 4-wheel drive (and my learning to drive in the snowy mountains of Pennsylvania) that we were able to get underway. We met up with the rest of the folks in Edinburg, Texas at the ministry guesthouse, and then crossed into Mexico via Reynosa the next morning. We traveled to Dayspring's Bible Institute in La Haciendita, and it was exciting to see the progress made at this facility since the last time I was there in 1999 with a youth group summer trip.
Our purpose for this Christmas trip was to conduct worship services and distribute gifts to children in villages where Dayspring works with local pastors and churches. Over the course of the next 5 days, we traveled many miles in the Dayspring vans visiting a church in a working class suburb of Monterrey, and then on to remote villages in the state of Veracruz. Our headquarters during the time in Veracruz was the orphanage which is being built near El Higo, and during our time there some of the men were able to run electricity, bathroom plumbing, and build a stairway for the second story.
Meanwhile, the rest of us traveled daily to small villages where the church met in an outdoor community center shelter, another in a field with a small open-air sheet metal shelter, and another around a campfire next to a very old adobe building. Here we walked the villages inviting the children and parents to come sing, hear the Christmas message, and receive gifts. A very spirited group of children, parents, and grandparents always turned out for each celebration. They were delighted to have their pictures taken and receive printed photographs affixed to a frame they could decorate and hang in their homes. Wherever we went, the villages were most hospitable and served us meals of delicious enchiladas, tacos, chicken stew, fried tilapia, fried chicken, and all the homemade tortillas we could eat!
To culminate our trip, we ventured further south in Veracruz to the ruins at El Tajin, an impressive archeological site with huge ceremonial pyramids and ball courts excavated from the mountainous terrain. Very cool! Here is a neat website that shows photos of many of the ruins and some background on the history of the site. These ruins are not so "touristy" as some of more well-known sites, and it was nice to be able to meander about without the crowds. And the prices at the market just outside the entrance are still reasonable as well.
So, I had a great time, and want to go back next Christmas if possible. Or at least sometime in the foreseeable future! For the past several years, I've done some graphics work for Roger, Dayspring founder/director, and have watched this anointed ministry grow. It is exciting to see their work blossom and bear fruit, and I am looking forward to the orphanage becoming operational and serving a huge need in that region.
Have a fabulous day, and I'll be chatting at you again soon. (p.s. - Camping season is coming quickly, so we'll be starting up the campfire!)
Over the Christmas-New Year's holiday, myself and a young lady from our church youth group went to Mexico with Dayspring Outreach Ministries. We left Tulsa following a Christmas Eve blizzard which had dumped nearly a foot of ice and snow on the roads, so it was only by virtue of 4-wheel drive (and my learning to drive in the snowy mountains of Pennsylvania) that we were able to get underway. We met up with the rest of the folks in Edinburg, Texas at the ministry guesthouse, and then crossed into Mexico via Reynosa the next morning. We traveled to Dayspring's Bible Institute in La Haciendita, and it was exciting to see the progress made at this facility since the last time I was there in 1999 with a youth group summer trip.
Our purpose for this Christmas trip was to conduct worship services and distribute gifts to children in villages where Dayspring works with local pastors and churches. Over the course of the next 5 days, we traveled many miles in the Dayspring vans visiting a church in a working class suburb of Monterrey, and then on to remote villages in the state of Veracruz. Our headquarters during the time in Veracruz was the orphanage which is being built near El Higo, and during our time there some of the men were able to run electricity, bathroom plumbing, and build a stairway for the second story.
Meanwhile, the rest of us traveled daily to small villages where the church met in an outdoor community center shelter, another in a field with a small open-air sheet metal shelter, and another around a campfire next to a very old adobe building. Here we walked the villages inviting the children and parents to come sing, hear the Christmas message, and receive gifts. A very spirited group of children, parents, and grandparents always turned out for each celebration. They were delighted to have their pictures taken and receive printed photographs affixed to a frame they could decorate and hang in their homes. Wherever we went, the villages were most hospitable and served us meals of delicious enchiladas, tacos, chicken stew, fried tilapia, fried chicken, and all the homemade tortillas we could eat!
To culminate our trip, we ventured further south in Veracruz to the ruins at El Tajin, an impressive archeological site with huge ceremonial pyramids and ball courts excavated from the mountainous terrain. Very cool! Here is a neat website that shows photos of many of the ruins and some background on the history of the site. These ruins are not so "touristy" as some of more well-known sites, and it was nice to be able to meander about without the crowds. And the prices at the market just outside the entrance are still reasonable as well.
So, I had a great time, and want to go back next Christmas if possible. Or at least sometime in the foreseeable future! For the past several years, I've done some graphics work for Roger, Dayspring founder/director, and have watched this anointed ministry grow. It is exciting to see their work blossom and bear fruit, and I am looking forward to the orphanage becoming operational and serving a huge need in that region.
Have a fabulous day, and I'll be chatting at you again soon. (p.s. - Camping season is coming quickly, so we'll be starting up the campfire!)
Thursday, December 10, 2009
To WorldVision's Children
In recognition of Larry, my first blog follower (thanks Larry!) and a staff member of WorldVision, I wanted to start off by telling you about Mary, a child in Zambia whom we have sponsored through WorldVision for about 5 years now. We have received annual pictures from her village's program coordinator and been blessed to see how she has grown healthy and happy. Many times children who live in countries where extreme poverty is the rule rather than the exception are not so lucky as to be healthy and happy, or even alive for that matter. WorldVision has made the difference for Mary and her family, and her entire village.
One letter we received a couple of years ago related an ecstatic response to receiving her first school uniform and being enrolled in the primary grades. Subsequent letters have revealed a growing command of written and artistic skills. It was humbling, as we prepared to send our daughter off to college equipped with dorm decor, sports equipment, a computer, and a dependable car to know that a little girl in Africa was just as excited to be heading to school wearing her brand new uniform.
Other communications we receive from the area's program coordinator talk about the improvements in farming techniques, water systems, health care, and other critical services that WorldVision is able to provide. The pictures of the fields and crops improved dramatically as a result of irrigation and crop management improvements, and it made me happy to know the village would have healthy and adequate food.
As my daughter soon will graduate and become a teacher, I encourage Mary when I write to her to study as hard as she can, knowing that education for girls is a rare privilege in some cultures and that it is a powerful force for alleviating the cycle of poverty when women are literate. I don't know that I will ever be able to meet Mary, but we have committed to continue her sponsorship until she ages out of the program. It is my prayer that she will continue to grow and learn and that her family will prosper in health and happiness.
The work WorldVision does is important, and we are so privileged to be a part of their work, even in this small way of sponsoring one child. Here's a high-five to Larry for his work with the organization, and high-five to Mary as she is living proof of the valuable services they provide to the children of the world whose circumstances are most dire.
One letter we received a couple of years ago related an ecstatic response to receiving her first school uniform and being enrolled in the primary grades. Subsequent letters have revealed a growing command of written and artistic skills. It was humbling, as we prepared to send our daughter off to college equipped with dorm decor, sports equipment, a computer, and a dependable car to know that a little girl in Africa was just as excited to be heading to school wearing her brand new uniform.
Other communications we receive from the area's program coordinator talk about the improvements in farming techniques, water systems, health care, and other critical services that WorldVision is able to provide. The pictures of the fields and crops improved dramatically as a result of irrigation and crop management improvements, and it made me happy to know the village would have healthy and adequate food.
As my daughter soon will graduate and become a teacher, I encourage Mary when I write to her to study as hard as she can, knowing that education for girls is a rare privilege in some cultures and that it is a powerful force for alleviating the cycle of poverty when women are literate. I don't know that I will ever be able to meet Mary, but we have committed to continue her sponsorship until she ages out of the program. It is my prayer that she will continue to grow and learn and that her family will prosper in health and happiness.
The work WorldVision does is important, and we are so privileged to be a part of their work, even in this small way of sponsoring one child. Here's a high-five to Larry for his work with the organization, and high-five to Mary as she is living proof of the valuable services they provide to the children of the world whose circumstances are most dire.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Info-Musings moving to new site
I've built a new site for my "professional life", so hop on over here and see my all-in-one Info-Musings (continued) blogsite and professional website with lots of information and resources on topics around knowledge management, organizational dynamics, leadership and design.
This site I've renamed as it will be dedicated to reflections on the other aspects of life - you've heard about work/life balance, well this is that life side of the scale. The importance of family, faith, playtime, children and pets, exploring the world, friends and relationships, reflecting on the delicate balance of order and chaos, you name it, this is where it will be. People who know me well know that I am most comfortable in my tie-dye t-shirts, and hiking in shorts in all but the nastiest weather conditions. The tie-dye metaphor fits - kind of how my brain works, a fast-paced kaleidoscopic view of simultaneous scenarios forming fluid patterns of randomness (we'll discuss the importance of learning styles at a later date!).
So, sit back, hang on, and let's see where this trip takes us!
This site I've renamed as it will be dedicated to reflections on the other aspects of life - you've heard about work/life balance, well this is that life side of the scale. The importance of family, faith, playtime, children and pets, exploring the world, friends and relationships, reflecting on the delicate balance of order and chaos, you name it, this is where it will be. People who know me well know that I am most comfortable in my tie-dye t-shirts, and hiking in shorts in all but the nastiest weather conditions. The tie-dye metaphor fits - kind of how my brain works, a fast-paced kaleidoscopic view of simultaneous scenarios forming fluid patterns of randomness (we'll discuss the importance of learning styles at a later date!).
So, sit back, hang on, and let's see where this trip takes us!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Reviews - Opinion or Endorsement?
The furor over the FTC's release of standards, disclosure requirements, and penalties for bloggers who review books is at full tilt. I know I sure can't afford to get slapped upside the head with an $11,000 fine if I choose to post a book review on my blogsite! Edward Champion's recent interview with Richard Cleland attempts to clarify some of the confusion, but I think Cleland just succeeds in digging himself a deeper hole.
So it appears that he is concerned mostly with reviewers who actually receive complementary copies of a publication for their professional assessment. He tends to view all reviewers in the context of "endorsers" and equate that to advertising, and views the complementary copy as a form of compensation which should have taxation consequences. So is he going to extrapolate that thought pattern to university professors who are sent books for their assessment as to whether or not to list them as class texts on their syllabi?
For now, I will purchase anything I review, so that I remain free and unencumbered by the FTC's view of endorsement. I prefer to be a consumer who happens to have an opinion, whether positive or negative, regarding the merits of any work I choose to assess and opine herein!
Hopefully the dust will settle on this dilemma one day or another, and a potential blog reviewer could realistically determine what constitutes a legal but also workable relationship with a publisher without the risk of financial disaster.
So it appears that he is concerned mostly with reviewers who actually receive complementary copies of a publication for their professional assessment. He tends to view all reviewers in the context of "endorsers" and equate that to advertising, and views the complementary copy as a form of compensation which should have taxation consequences. So is he going to extrapolate that thought pattern to university professors who are sent books for their assessment as to whether or not to list them as class texts on their syllabi?
For now, I will purchase anything I review, so that I remain free and unencumbered by the FTC's view of endorsement. I prefer to be a consumer who happens to have an opinion, whether positive or negative, regarding the merits of any work I choose to assess and opine herein!
Hopefully the dust will settle on this dilemma one day or another, and a potential blog reviewer could realistically determine what constitutes a legal but also workable relationship with a publisher without the risk of financial disaster.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Book reviews - the futuristic view
Books, or information in a packaged format, whether it be electronic or hard copy, are the product of an author's ideas, research, effort and some strategic marketing initiative to make it available for others. Since we are knee-deep in the transition phase of the evolution of the ebook and all the extenuating factors including copyright, access, mobile applications, licensing, ad nauseum... I wanted to examine briefly here the role of and future of the book review.
In a printed book world, book reviews take place in the newspaper and magazine format. In an electronic book world, those reviews need to take place within a social media context where the online discourse around an author's work will serve to build interest and therefore generate sales in whatever format is chosen for dispersal. The newspaper and magazine hard copy format is a static platform, and in an age where young people are digital natives, the projections are that these platforms will shrink to smaller niche markets while the online platform experiences the growth and changes expected from this younger user group. Mike Shatzkin explores the challenges ahead for the traditional publishing industry in a speech at the Book Expo America in May 2009 he entitled Stay Ahead of the Shift.
So how is the discourse around a new work to take place such that more people hear about it, become interested in it, and purchase it? Social media, including blogsites, Amazon reviews, tweets, and diligently worked strategies for aggregating and linking content relative to a particular "book". Book is in itself a term in transition. Perhaps no longer printed, perhaps constructed and uploaded a chapter at a time, perhaps open-source formats allowing annotation and reader discussion. What the term "book" will evoke in 5 or 10 years may be entirely different from the image of a bound collection of printed paper that we envision currently.
In light of this transition, I think that I will begin posting the occasional book review in order to become a contributing member of this shifting paradigm. As a reader with eclectic interests, the subjects of these reviews will no doubt be all across the board, but hopefully will help build momentum across the online universe for works I feel merit some response.
In a printed book world, book reviews take place in the newspaper and magazine format. In an electronic book world, those reviews need to take place within a social media context where the online discourse around an author's work will serve to build interest and therefore generate sales in whatever format is chosen for dispersal. The newspaper and magazine hard copy format is a static platform, and in an age where young people are digital natives, the projections are that these platforms will shrink to smaller niche markets while the online platform experiences the growth and changes expected from this younger user group. Mike Shatzkin explores the challenges ahead for the traditional publishing industry in a speech at the Book Expo America in May 2009 he entitled Stay Ahead of the Shift.
So how is the discourse around a new work to take place such that more people hear about it, become interested in it, and purchase it? Social media, including blogsites, Amazon reviews, tweets, and diligently worked strategies for aggregating and linking content relative to a particular "book". Book is in itself a term in transition. Perhaps no longer printed, perhaps constructed and uploaded a chapter at a time, perhaps open-source formats allowing annotation and reader discussion. What the term "book" will evoke in 5 or 10 years may be entirely different from the image of a bound collection of printed paper that we envision currently.
In light of this transition, I think that I will begin posting the occasional book review in order to become a contributing member of this shifting paradigm. As a reader with eclectic interests, the subjects of these reviews will no doubt be all across the board, but hopefully will help build momentum across the online universe for works I feel merit some response.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Women Athletes - a different kind of game
I have been encouraged by all the recent media attention given to the WBNA Shock team coming to Tulsa. What an exciting development for girls in this area to be able to see professional women athletes in a first-class venue, and know that there is value in the practice time, self-discipline, workouts, and prioritizing their activities. For too long, girls have pursued their athletic dreams without alot of support - making do with equipment and clothing designed for boys and men, the girls' gym or softball field so inferior to the boys' facilities, listening to expectations of inferior performance ("you play pretty good for a girl!"), and competing for limited scholarship money at the college level compared to men's sports, and yes, Title IX has been in existence for many years! As the parent of a female college athlete, I've seen the incongruities first-hand, and I have alot of compassion for the coaches who choose to pour themselves into women's sports, knowing the battles they will have to fight along the way for their team.
At any rate, I came across this great video from The Responsibility Project that shows the heart and soul of women's sports. Competitive grit, reaching deep inside and never giving up, but always with a touch of compassion and camaraderie. I've seen this mixture of intense character in the teams my daughter has played with, and it is a joy to know that there are more and more girls and young women able to experience this aspect of their personal development as more opportunities are afforded them.
At any rate, I came across this great video from The Responsibility Project that shows the heart and soul of women's sports. Competitive grit, reaching deep inside and never giving up, but always with a touch of compassion and camaraderie. I've seen this mixture of intense character in the teams my daughter has played with, and it is a joy to know that there are more and more girls and young women able to experience this aspect of their personal development as more opportunities are afforded them.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Moving on, keeping current, future state...
Well, this has been an interesting foray into the fun, frustrating, fabulous, futuristic world of the web. Some of it I will definitely come back to and work into my daily use/work application portfolio. Some of it I will leave to the librarians to pursue as they work to develop Library 2.0 technologies as the user platform for the future. I think this site GO2WEB20 will be helpful for me, as it seems to be a well-designed place to find new tools for productivity.
What I take away as a KM student and eventually as I rejoin the professional community is that work processes and tools may radically evolve over the next decade, reinforcing my belief that the virtual worker will assume a greater place in the organization.
A knowledge economy need not be based on proximity or how much commuting time employees must subject themselves to in order to maintain quality of life. For the health of smaller cities and towns, encouraging infrastructure providers to build high quality broadband networks means allowing their residents the opportunity perhaps for higher paying jobs only available outside their local communities. For the health of our larger urban areas, providing web-based infrastructures that allow employees to work from home at least part of the week will reduce stress levels, restore balance to families, and reduce emissions and highway congestion from rush-hour vehicles.
I think it is way past time that corporations take a serious strategic look at the the benefits to be gained from these types of initiatives, and proceed to implement them before gas prices go back to $4.00 a gallon, and while they can reduce employee overhead costs in an age where profit margins are as tight as they've ever been. Perhaps it is a strategy that would help as we struggle to recover from the economic quagmire...
What I take away as a KM student and eventually as I rejoin the professional community is that work processes and tools may radically evolve over the next decade, reinforcing my belief that the virtual worker will assume a greater place in the organization.
A knowledge economy need not be based on proximity or how much commuting time employees must subject themselves to in order to maintain quality of life. For the health of smaller cities and towns, encouraging infrastructure providers to build high quality broadband networks means allowing their residents the opportunity perhaps for higher paying jobs only available outside their local communities. For the health of our larger urban areas, providing web-based infrastructures that allow employees to work from home at least part of the week will reduce stress levels, restore balance to families, and reduce emissions and highway congestion from rush-hour vehicles.
I think it is way past time that corporations take a serious strategic look at the the benefits to be gained from these types of initiatives, and proceed to implement them before gas prices go back to $4.00 a gallon, and while they can reduce employee overhead costs in an age where profit margins are as tight as they've ever been. Perhaps it is a strategy that would help as we struggle to recover from the economic quagmire...
Streaming videopods in space
You guessed it, another rendition of multi-tasking foraging...
YouTube is a computing sensation. I recall the first time I saw one of these videos, it was some strange little kid in India dancing with a range of fellows in the background all smoking cigarettes. Bizarre, but hey, someone's idea of entertainment! Since then I like to check the hot videos to see what people are paying attention to, and of course, there was Susan Boyle, probably one of the fastest video to viral episodes I've ever heard of (besides she has a glorious voice!). The online video phenomenon includes everything from strange cats to weird kids to full length videos. One especially helpful and entertaining form for this medium is the instructional video, championed by Common Craft in their series of how-to lessons on all things web.
But there are others like Hulu where you can also see some interesting stuff. Undoubtedly, most of it is eventually cross-linked and findable from different angles. But one I found today is particularly funny, from the corporate angle. Suffer through the ad trailer in the beginning, it is worth it...
Texting your way through work - the way it is done! Now if people would just not do this while they are driving!
Podcasts are another good web-based method for allowing remote/virtual team members to view a meeting. Organizations I have worked with previously have used this method to allow the CEO to make announcements/discuss company strategies with the entire company via podcast, although employees are located all over the country and globe. Capturing the podcast allowed workers in other timezones to watch it when they are able. Another application for podcasting is one used for many years now by my cousin Al who operates a podcast/blog site for indie music in the Buffalo, NY area. As an old ham radio operator, he has always been in the "early adopter" crowd, so has been providing us relatives with this opportunity to enjoy new music for quite some time now.
Socializing, the way it is done, is no longer dependent on talking on the phone or "doing lunch" or even the cool touch of email. Staying connected with my kids is mainly through texting. With the larger set of friends (relatives and acquaintances) it is easier to stay in touch with Facebook, the hottest thing going for the "over 50" crowd (myself included). The site began as a university student reaction to the adolescent nature of MySpace, but has evolved as those students have graduated, begun careers and families, and reach out to extended families and friends who have moved elsewhere. I have found that Facebook is a good platform for our large extended family to keep in touch with each other, although we live all across the country and are seldom able to see each other in person. Pictures from weddings and funerals, graduations and new babies, pets, house projects, and vacations all are posted so that everyone gets some visual context for what is going on in each others' lives. Not quite being there, but a whole lot better than never knowing.
From the business/professional side, I use LinkedIn as the network for that type of interaction. It has groups for professional associations/interests and as far as I can see, most users respect the need to conduct oneself with dignity in this online environment. As a part of my job search, it is a tool where I can project my professional brand and where colleagues can recommend me based on previous project interactions. Additionally, Ning offers forums for groups which will also benefit my networking strategies as I continue my job search.
YouTube is a computing sensation. I recall the first time I saw one of these videos, it was some strange little kid in India dancing with a range of fellows in the background all smoking cigarettes. Bizarre, but hey, someone's idea of entertainment! Since then I like to check the hot videos to see what people are paying attention to, and of course, there was Susan Boyle, probably one of the fastest video to viral episodes I've ever heard of (besides she has a glorious voice!). The online video phenomenon includes everything from strange cats to weird kids to full length videos. One especially helpful and entertaining form for this medium is the instructional video, championed by Common Craft in their series of how-to lessons on all things web.
But there are others like Hulu where you can also see some interesting stuff. Undoubtedly, most of it is eventually cross-linked and findable from different angles. But one I found today is particularly funny, from the corporate angle. Suffer through the ad trailer in the beginning, it is worth it...
Texting your way through work - the way it is done! Now if people would just not do this while they are driving!
Podcasts are another good web-based method for allowing remote/virtual team members to view a meeting. Organizations I have worked with previously have used this method to allow the CEO to make announcements/discuss company strategies with the entire company via podcast, although employees are located all over the country and globe. Capturing the podcast allowed workers in other timezones to watch it when they are able. Another application for podcasting is one used for many years now by my cousin Al who operates a podcast/blog site for indie music in the Buffalo, NY area. As an old ham radio operator, he has always been in the "early adopter" crowd, so has been providing us relatives with this opportunity to enjoy new music for quite some time now.
Socializing, the way it is done, is no longer dependent on talking on the phone or "doing lunch" or even the cool touch of email. Staying connected with my kids is mainly through texting. With the larger set of friends (relatives and acquaintances) it is easier to stay in touch with Facebook, the hottest thing going for the "over 50" crowd (myself included). The site began as a university student reaction to the adolescent nature of MySpace, but has evolved as those students have graduated, begun careers and families, and reach out to extended families and friends who have moved elsewhere. I have found that Facebook is a good platform for our large extended family to keep in touch with each other, although we live all across the country and are seldom able to see each other in person. Pictures from weddings and funerals, graduations and new babies, pets, house projects, and vacations all are posted so that everyone gets some visual context for what is going on in each others' lives. Not quite being there, but a whole lot better than never knowing.
From the business/professional side, I use LinkedIn as the network for that type of interaction. It has groups for professional associations/interests and as far as I can see, most users respect the need to conduct oneself with dignity in this online environment. As a part of my job search, it is a tool where I can project my professional brand and where colleagues can recommend me based on previous project interactions. Additionally, Ning offers forums for groups which will also benefit my networking strategies as I continue my job search.
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