It’s funny – whenever I hear the expression “Peace and Quiet”, I always think of my Mom marching into the living room when us kids were being obscenely loud and boisterous, with her voice raised “Would you kids go outside? I need some Peace and Quiet!”. I think she was onto something. When was the last time you had Peace and Quiet? If you’re like the average person, between noisy offices, loud traffic, bustling restaurants, stores and malls, and houses full of rambunctious children, and snoring spouses, your last moment of actual Peace and Quiet might be hard to remember. But here’s the thing. If your life is one continuous stream of noise, you never have a moment to just be. Your days will just meld together, one thing after another. You’ll always feel like you’re climbing uphill, but never reaching the top. Life will feel like a struggle, hopping from one thing to the next, and when you look back, you’ll see that you’re not really getting anywhere. Worst of all, your work, your relationships, and your body may start to suffer. I’m speaking from experience here. There was a time in my life about 15 years ago when I worked 80-90 hours a week. Now, these days, I still work that much many weeks. But the big difference between then and now is, back then, I would work work work, then spend the rest of my time hanging out socially with the people I worked with. I would be out of the house from early in the morning, till late at night, every day, all the time. There were points where the only thing I did at my apartment was sleep and eat breakfast. I always had to be going somewhere, moving, having external stimulation of some sort. Why? I was afraid to spend too much time in my own head. I felt like the ideas I got, the things I thought about in those times were foolish, and useless. Nothing practical ever came out of thinking too much. I can’t explain why, other than that for various reasons, my self esteem had taken some blows. I felt that if I focused entirely on the outside world, then I didn’t have to be accountable to what was happening on the inside. This went on for some time. Then, suddenly, my health took a dive. I wound up spending nearly 9 months between 1994 and 1995 sick with a few different things. I even had to have surgery. I had to take time off work, then go back only part time for a while. I spent most of the year on some sort of medication. It turned out, my illnesses were the physical manifestation of complete emotional and physical burnout. Unfortunately for me, the only way I was able to realize the damage my “always-on” lifestyle was causing was to wind up flat on my back. And it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Hey, who’s that? Oh, it’s me. I was 24 years old, lying in bed, flat on my back, with my Mom feeding me chicken soup and crackers. I had the opportunity to spend an awful lot of time…doing nothing. At first it was really, really difficult. I was going stir crazy. I needed constant stimulation, TV, music, books. Eventually that got boring, so I was stuck with no other choice than to be inside my own brain. And then, something remarkable started to happen. I found out it wasn’t so bad in there. As I sat, in my forced Peace and Quiet, all of these thoughts started to flood in. Because I was off work, my thoughts were not being filtered by the stresses of my job, or the opinions of my friends. My thoughts were just….me. I found myself taking an interest in things again – not just blankly going through the motions. I found myself wanting to write more, wanting to play music, get in shape, and find some hobbies. I found out that I’d been a stranger to myself for the past several years. And suddenly, I’d been re-introduced to myself. And it wasn’t so bad. I also rediscovered my family and other friends outside my job. I realized that I’d been pushing these people aside, not making them a priority. Spending time on my parents’ couch recovering, I was able to reconnect with them. This was in the days before social networks, but I was able to gab on the phone with some old friends, and have great visits from others. Once I was up and around again, I could go for walks, or have coffee or lunch with my “outside of work” friends. It was fun, and I realized how much I’d been missing. The Power of Peace and Quiet. Once I recovered, I had a completely new outlook on things. I had made up my mind, first of all, that I was going to change careers. I’d had enough of the burnt out, always-on, stressful lifestyle and work culture that working at the TV station had forced upon me. I knew it was going to take some time and money, so I set on a course to save up so I could afford to quit my job and go back to school (it took 2.5 years before I made the break). I also decided to change my social situation. I ended some unhealthy relationships and reconnected with my real friends. I invested in some new things for my home, so I’d feel more comfortable in my own surroundings. Eventually, I moved into my own apartment (no roommates) so I’d have even more control of my surroundings. But most importantly, I started seeking Peace and Quiet. I learned walked away from my stressful work days and into a place of tranquility, whether it was working on my hobbies, going for long walks, or just sitting quietly. It was challenging sometimes. I had to fight hard to
40 years, 40lbs – Week 2 Roundup
End of week 2 and I reached my first 5lb milestone! The online Weight Watchers tool makes a pretty big deal about that, so it’s pretty motivating. My pants are already fitting a bit looser and I was even caught wearing summery dresses a couple of times this past week! I’m down 5.6 lbs in total – a pretty good start if you ask me. I didn’t lose as much this week as I wanted to, but that all comes down to portion control. I had a couple of dinners out and eating out is one of my weaknesses on this diet. I also do need to work more on my activity level, but our pool is open now so if this warm weather keeps up I’ll be able to swim swim swim! I’m travelling this week for two days, and I’m already doing some planning around that. I’m driving about 6 hours each way, so I will be taking along healthy snacks and a meal for the road, at least on the way there, to avoid the temptation of the fast food highway stops. On the way back I’m driving at night so I’ll be stopping at a store on the way home to pick up some fruit to harness any late night cravings. I’ll also be bringing along my big water bottle – hydration is key! So, my goals for this week? Increase my activity level and try not to use any of my floater points. I’ll check in next week with another update. Are you on a weight loss/healthy eating plan? Tell us about it in the comments! What are you learning about yourself as you go through the process?
If It All Ended Tomorrow
I’m sitting here this morning, going through my usual morning routine. Check email, reply to a few. Log onto Twitter, say good morning to people, see what’s going on. Check Facebook, reply to messages, comment on a few posts. Move over to my Google Reader, read a few of my faves, make note of some things to read later. This process leaves me energized and feeling connected with others, gives me some new information to take forward into my day, and also has the practical benefit of catching me up on my correspondence. But what if all of this ended tomorrow? As unlikely as it is, imagine for a few minutes that you wake up tomorrow and there’s no Internet. No email, no blogs, no Twitter, no Facebook. No Google Chat, cloud computing or podcasts. It’s all gone. Let’s pretend that this isn’t a catastrophe, that nobody is panicked about it. Let’s pretend that life goes on (because it does). What would we take away from the online experience we’ve had? We’d be better listeners. You know that experience when you’re at a loud party, and there’s so much noise in the background that it’s hard carry on a conversation? Social media is like that. We are bombarded with information on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis. 90% of it is noise. Other people having conversations that you’re not involved in. Links to stuff that you don’t really care about (but that others are passionate about). Have you noticed at the noisy party, that the conversations you do have require a great deal of concentration and focus? You listen more intently. You work to filter out the background noise. The social Web has taught us how to filter, how to zero in on those conversations that mean something to us. It’s taught us how to study what people are talking about so we can understand our customers better, and create better, more human-focused businesses. The social Web has made many of us much, much better listeners. How do you think our newfound filtering abilities would work in a world without the Web? Well, I think we’d all be paying more attention to the things we care about. We’d stop focusing on things that weren’t our concern (like gossip, and negative people). Our noise filters are finely honed instruments now. Try listening outside the Web with the same filter in place. You’ll start to hear the conversations you need to hear, and find the opportunities you need to find. We’d appreciate each other more. I’ve had many a conversation with non-Web inclined people about having online friends. There are plenty of people around who don’t believe that you can have a “true” friendship with someone you’ve never met in person, or have only met a few times. Jon Swanson and I were friends for a year before we ever met in person. About 15 minutes before we met for the first time, I called him on the phone to get directions. Up until that moment, when he picked up the phone and said “hello”, our friendship had been entirely based in text on a screen. A few minutes later, we found ourselves sitting across from each other at lunch, and it was like we’d been having lunch together for years. The in-person conversation picked up right where it left off on the screen. And after meeting that day, the conversation moved seamlessly back to the computer screen. Online friendship is a funny thing – it makes no difference how you connect. It’s only important that you connect. If the Web ended tomorrow, I think it’s safe to say that certain connections would fade away. But that happens anyway – people move in and out of our view all the time. Sometimes you have friends that you talk to all the time, and sometimes you drift apart. That ebb and flow exists whether we’re online or not. But in a Web-less world, the real relationships would endure. I think the Web has taught us how to be better friends with people. It’s widened the scope of our world. We have now had the opportunity to see life through so many others’ eyes. Jon and I have quite different lives. It’s highly unlikely we’d have ever met if it wasn’t for the Web and connecting through a mutual friend. Even at that, we met on Twitter, so it was sort of left up to chance. I think the Web has made us more curious about other people, and less afraid to reach out. Seeing what’s going on in other peoples’ lives makes us more caring, compassionate, and helpful. If it ended tomorrow, I have no doubt that the relationships would endure. Maybe we’d go back to using the phone more. Maybe we’d write letters and post cards again. Maybe we’d have more reason to go visiting. But somehow, we’d find ways to keep the meaningful connections alive. We’d promote our businesses better. I was having a conversation the other day with a client about promoting their business. Of course, we were talking about online tools, and the potential to use the Web to make real, human connections with their customers. There was excitement in the air as my client realized the possibilities that exist for really connecting with people in this way. Marketing is no longer about shouting at people about your business. It’s not only about ads in the newspaper or press releases or billboards on the side of the highway. The two-way Web has caused a massive culture shift. Businesses are regularly talking with people now, and vice versa. It’s a magnificent thing. It’s a process that I think a lot of businesses, once they get into it, find very comfortable. Smart businesses have learned that conversation marketing works, and works well. If the Web ended tomorrow, would this new way of conversing with our customers persist? Or would we fall back into our old habits? I suspect that we’d find
Taking Back Community
Community. It’s become the buzzword of the 21st century, hasn’t it? I find that these days, people use it haphazardly. It’s thrown into PowerPoint decks to give a “cutting edge” impression, and tossed about in Twitter streams because all the cool kids are doing it. It’s become the theme of many a social media conference, and all the so-called experts are now experts at “community” too. Unfortunately, anytime a word becomes a buzzword, its true meaning becomes diluted. Which is why events like the one I attended last night are so important. I was privileged to be invited to attend the United Way Community Builder of the Year Awards Gala along with a gaggle of other local bloggers, including Andrea Tomkins, Bob LeDrew, and Marc Gagnon. Andrea and I were quite a sight at the MBNA table (thanks for being so accepting, folks!), juggling our iPhones, cameras, and notepads. Bob had a multitude of recording devices strung over his shoulder as well. We were on a mission to make media in any way, shape or form we could. You can follow our Tweetstream by searching on the hashtag #cba. But the evening was about so much more than live tweeting and videoblogging. It was a celebration of some of Ottawa’s most upstanding citizens. It was truly about celebrating the spirit of community. Not the buzzwordy, false sense of “community” that is so easily misinterpreted in the online world – but real people, who not only genuinely care so much about making the world a better place, but are actually doing something about it. Here are just a few of the highlights of the evening: The Community Builder of the Year award was presented to Ottawa’s Police Chief, Vern White. Here is a man who, on a daily basis, is effecting positive change on our city. Chief White is not just sitting behind a desk. He’s out there, working hard to get drugs and kids off the streets. He’s deeply involved with the citizens of this great city, every single day. He’s making important and sometimes difficult decisions, and working with our city leaders to implement those decisions in a timely fashion. “I’m overwhelmed and honoured to be standing here,” he said. “Every day I pinch myself that I get to do this for a living. I’d do it for free.” And who wouldn’t? He’s changing the world, one street corner at a time. What can I say about Max Keeping that hasn’t already been said? For those of you not from Ottawa, Max is an institution in our city. He was the anchor of the 6pm news on CTV Ottawa for 38 years. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and has countless other honours. He is a cancer survivor. He has done more for this city in 40 years than 100 people do in their entire lifetimes. He has passion and caring for people beyond belief. Max was the recipient of the Community Builder of the Year award in 2004. Earlier this year, when a devastating fire wiped out the CTV Ottawa newsroom, that award, along with most of Max’s other memories from his 38 years at the station, was lost. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place last night, when Max was surprised with the presentation of a replacement of his 2004 Community Builder Award. But what touched me even more was his response. “These awards are not about us,” he said. “We represent everyone that does so much to create this community that we cherish.” Cheers, Max. May you have another 40 years of helping to make our community great. As the evening went on, we heard stories of amazing workplace campaigns, as government departments like Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Health Canada were honoured. We learned what great companies like PCL Constructors are doing to raise money and awareness. We listened as 19 year old Nathalie Gervais talked about how she turned her life around – from being a drug addict and prostitute at the age of 13 to now inspiring young people across the country to embrace their unlimited potential. “The secret to recovery for me,” Nathalie said, “was finding a passion and just going for it!”. At the end of the evening, United Way President Michael Allen revealed new Pillars of Engagement for the organization, along with a new look and poster campaign. “Give | Speak up | Take Action” position United Way in a new light. Their goal is to no longer be perceived as just a money-maker, but as an organization who is taking action to make our community, and ultimately the world, a better place. (Incidentally, no donor dollars are used to put on the Community Builder Awards Gala. The event is 100% funded by corporate sponsorship). Those Pillars are just words though, until there is action put behind them. Fortunately, I saw first hand last evening that there are people in this city who are already putting these words to work. They are the pillars of our community. They bring the true meaning back to the word. And their efforts make me proud to be a part of this great city, and compel me to want to do more. It’s time to take back the word “community”. To give it the meaning that’s intended. To show “community” the respect it deserves. You with me?
40 years, 40 pounds – Week 1 Roundup
Week 1 is a wrap! I wanted to share with you a few brief thoughts on my experience this week. At the beginning of the week, I loaded up the fridge with all kinds of healthy things, planned a few meals, and was off and running. At the end of Day 1 of being fully on the program, I was anything but full. I’d eat, be satisfied for an hour or so, then my tummy would start rumbling again. I know that this is all part of the process. Anytime I change my eating habits, I’m hungry almost continuously for the first few days. I’m told it’s mostly psychological, and knowing that helped me to cope. I drank a ton of water, and if I couldn’t stand the rumbling any longer I’d opt for a zero points snack like cherry tomatoes or a bit of melon. I spent a lot of time in the washroom the first two days due to all the water I was drinking. Again, par for the course till the body adjusts. The important thing was, I made it through that part. I think most people fail at healthy eating programs because their body and mind wreaks havoc on them the first couple of days. Just getting through that part makes all the difference. By Wednesday, I was totally in the groove. I even had trouble eating all my points on Wednesday and Thursday, I had like, 6 left over at the end of the day! It’s important to eat your full allotment of points every day, or you won’t be getting enough calories and your body could actually start to store fat. That’s bad news. The really, really good news? I weighed in this morning, and I’m down 3.2 pounds! I’m actually down 4.8 pounds in total so far (I had lost about 1.6 pounds the previous week just by cutting out the bad stuff I was eating). What I do need to improve upon is my activity level. I hurt my foot last week and that put a damper on my efforts to get out walking more. It’s better now though and I hope that will motivate me to get the walking shoes on and get out the door. The nicer weather will help too. I’m trying to do yoga and some weights and I have to work harder to step away from the laptop and get that done. One day, one step at a time. Thanks to all of my amazing friends and buddies on Twitter and Facebook, your support has been amazing. It even appears I’ve inspired a few people to start their own weight loss plans. Best of luck to you and feel free to weigh in in the comments!
Blogger Guilt
I haven’t been blogging here as much as I usually do. It’s a combination of factors. Work has me writing more right now than I’ve ever written. I’m also blogging over at Thoughtwrestling, and doing more stuff over at Jester Creative’s blog too. I’m writing content for clients, proposals, scripts – you name it. Many days I’m cranking out at least 5000 words. By the time I get back over here, I guess I’m just all written out. I feel bad about it. There are thousands of blogs about blogging. They tell you to “be consistent”, and blog every day, or at least a few times a week. You’ve got to “keep your audience interested” by continuously pumping out compelling content. I believe all of those things to be true anytime you want to give something legs, build an audience, a community. I coach my clients on this and I do it pretty well with them. But like the cobbler with holes in his shoes, I don’t always stay on top of things in my own house. But it’s not like I’m doing nothing. 5000 words a day? That seems like something to me. At least my brain and my fingers think so. But I can’t help but feel guilty sometimes that I’m letting things slide over here. When I started this blog back in 2007, I really did it for myself. I probably had about three readers, including me, my husband, and my Mom. But suddenly, other people started to take interest. They were leaving comments, and that was super cool. They were posting links on their blogs, and Twitter, and that was flattering. My subscriber count started to go up, and I realized that, even in my own small way, I had an audience that seemed to give at least a small crap about what I was typing out every day. I’m grateful for that, and I think the feedback I’ve gotten, positive and constructive, has helped me grow immensely. So, I guess it stands to reason that if I’m posting less often, or if my content isn’t as strong, that I’ll feel like I’m letting people down. Now don’t get me wrong, my ego is still in check. I know you have a lot going on in your life, and you’re not going to be too adversely affected if SuzeMuse doesn’t pump out a blog post every day. I totally get that. I am starting to think that I’m the one being let down. If I’m not contributing here, then I’m not opening the door to the conversations that can happen when I unleash what’s rolling around in my brain. Perhaps it’s that I miss YOU when I’m not here. [photo by Frederic Poirot on Flickr]
40 years, 40lbs – My Weight Loss Goal
First, I’ll let you know that other than being a paying customer, I have no direct affiliation with Weight Watchers. I’m a fan, plain and simple. There are plenty of ways out there to lose weight and get healthy. Find the one that works for you. Back in about 2003, I was the fittest I’d ever been. I was doing karate 3 times a week, got my blue belt, and for the first time in my life, I had abs. Then, work got really busy, I was planning our wedding, and my karate lessons went by the wayside. I fell back into my old habits, and before long, my weight started to creep up as my fitness level went down. By the summer of 2006, I hit my highest weight ever. I was a size 18, and couldn’t buy clothes at the regular store anymore. Something clicked inside my brain, and I said, “enough is enough!”. On the prompting of my friend and business partner, I joined her on Weight Watchers. We did the online program, and in 4 months I dropped 28 pounds and went down to a size 12. I ended up about 12 lbs shy of my ideal weight, but nonetheless I was pretty pleased with my accomplishment. I managed to keep the weight off for 2.5 years. Then, for whatever reason, I fell off the wagon, and my weight slowly started to creep up again. Lately, other than not fitting so well into my clothes anymore, I’ve been feeling tired, achy and stiff a lot. My energy levels have been taking severe dips and twists. I’m letting stress get to me more. I realized that I needed to get this back under control again, lest I be digging out those size 18 pants again. As many of you know (because I talk about it all the time), I’ll be turning 40 this coming November. I’m not shocked, not sad, not upset. In fact, I’m looking forward to it. 40 seems like a really “grown up” age to be. The truth is, my Mom is probably more shocked than I am about her youngest turning 40. So, in honour of my upcoming milestone, I’ve decided to, for once and for all, lose this extra 40lbs I’ve been carrying around, and get back to my ideal weight and fitness in time for my birthday this coming November. Some have said to me that 40lbs seems like a lot. I’ve crunched the numbers though, and yes, that’s going to get me to my ideal weight, and I can do it in this realistic timeframe. I’ve opted to go for Weight Watchers again, because it worked so well for me last time. Their points system is easy to follow (for some reason, easier for me than plain old calorie counting). I know there are free tools out there, but for $20 a month, it’s worth it for me to have access to all the additional support the system provides. And for some reason, the fact I’m paying for it makes me want to succeed more. I hate wasting money. I technically started last Thursday, giving myself a few “warm up” days, to get in the swing, re-stock the fridge and psyche myself up for the changes I was about to make. My friend/business partner recommended the “warm-up” period, instead of cold turkey, and I recommend it too. Then on Monday I started. I get 26 points a day, with 35 extra points a week that I can use as a bonus. I try not to use the extra 35 myself, but they are there if I want them. I’ve upped my fitness level (though I hurt my foot yesterday so this week is going to be more about yoga and weights than walking). I’ve also started consuming a lot more water. The result so far? I “feel” lighter, which is good, psychologically. I do get hungry at odd times, particularly at night. But I’m dealing with that by eating more filling foods, like veggies, lean protein and nuts. I’ve decided to be public about my weight loss this time, partly in hopes that it encourages others, and partly because I feel like it puts the pressure on me to stick to it. I’ve found the community online, particularly on Twitter, to be more than supportive. Even the reigning Queen of Weight Loss and Maven of Stopping the Insanity, Susan Powter gave me advice via Twitter last night…and what she told me, might be the best advice of all… “Eat, breathe, move, and think. The only way to do it, and never have to again.” I’ll check in again on Monday for my weigh-in.
The Walls of the Social Media Bubble Are Getting Thicker
I’ve spoken before about the social media “bubble”. You know, this warm and cozy place where all us Twitter-loving, high tech super early adopting thirty and forty somethings spend a good chunk of our lives. We have our own gurus, our special buzzwords, and our own geek-a-paloooza assortment of Dungeons and Dragons inside jokes and bad 80’s references written on t-shirts. Even though we pride ourselves on “openness” and “transparency”, you have to admit, it’s kind of a secret club. Oh sure, anyone can join, but they have to know the secret password (it’s “social media d-bag”). Not that there’s anything wrong with that. You see, the whole POINT of social media is to create online communities of people with common interests. It just so happens that the common interest many of us have happens to be social media. We sit inside the bubble, but it’s only one of thousands of bubbles. It just so happens that what goes on inside our bubble isn’t dog breeding, or photography, or banjo playing..it’s social media. And ironically, we’re using the very tools and strategies we love, to talk about the tools and strategies we love. To an outsider, that must look pretty weird, eh? There are a lot of people outside the bubble looking at us sort of cock-eyed, I think. They wonder why we yammer on all day about ROI, community building, and measuring sentiment. They visit our blogs to try to understand more, but the backstory isn’t there. It’s on 15 other web sites we’ve linked to, and if they haven’t been head-down reading Mashable and Gizmodo for the past three days, then the point is lost on them. Back to dog breeding, then. The thing is, do the people outside the bubble care? Not as much as we think (and maybe hope) they do. While we sit around discussing the merits of having a Fan Page on Facebook, they are probably opening up their flower shop for the day. While we have blogchats and webinars, they are building a house. While we debate iPads and Androids, they are creating policies for health care reform. See what I mean? We live this stuff, because for many of us, it’s part of our job. My clients come to me because I know a lot about video, web design, and online marketing/social media/whatever you call it. They pay me to help them understand this stuff, just like I’d pay a contractor to build me a new fence when I need one. There is one problem I have with the bubble, though. Some people are treating it like Fort Knox. They are doing this because they think that by keeping the walls high and inaccessible and staying inside of them, they get to have easier access to the money. And they figure, if they can keep their clients in the dark long enough, about “mysterious” things like Search Engine Optimization, RSS and WordPress, then they can milk more cash out of the wallets of the unsuspecting neophytes. It’s shameful behaviour and it needs to stop. As my friend Kneale would say, social media ain’t rocket surgery. Yes, it’s a new way of communicating. Indeed, there’s a sea of information to wade through. There are myriad tools and new things to learn. But ultimately, the whole point of social media tools is that the tools are supposed to be easy to use. And they are. Just ask my Mom. She teaches me stuff about Facebook. If you want to really help your clients, don’t try to convince them that this stuff is complicated. It’s not. Your clients shouldn’t be hiring you to teach them how to use LinkedIN. Nobody needs a $1000 weekend retreat to learn how to tweet. Social media consultants are a passing fancy. Your clients need your expertise in how to use all media to more effectively tell their stories. That’s it. As for us bubble-dwellers, the best way for us to understand more what our clients need is to step out of the bubble once in a while. There are a lot of cool people doing a lot of neat stuff online, and many of them don’t even know that what they are doing is “social media”. They are just doing it. Social Media isn’t an industry. Social media are a way of communicating. The bubble is a valuable place for us. It’s where we hone our craft, learn from each other, and geek out. That’s a good thing, my friends. But remember, there’s a whole other world out there. We should try to be part of that one once in a while, too. [photo credit: Jeff Kubina on Flickr]
Pay Attention to the Background
Back in TV school, I was taught that when framing up a shot, it’s really important to look at the background. Even if the framing of a shot is perfect, if something weird is going on in the background, it can ruin everything. It could be a cable from a light running across the floor. It could be a person goofing off at their desk, or a strange looking shadow. It could also be a case of bad juxtaposition – when a stair rail, or a picture frame “cuts” through the back of someone’s head. If you don’t focus on the background, then the perception of what’s in the foreground can be completely lost. I think a big part of the problem with the reluctance of many people to adopt social media is that many people are not spending enough time focusing on the background. How’s your DOF? There’s an expression used in film, video and photography known as Depth of Field. Specifically, it refers to the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects in the frame that appear in sharp focus in an image. So, if you have a shallow Depth of Field, it means that you’ll see one object clearly in focus, while all other objects in the background appear out of focus. On the other hand, having a deep depth of field means that everything in the picture appears to be relatively in focus, whether it’s up close to the foreground or far in the background. Shallow depth of field is often used for dramatic effect. It’s a very attractive style, because it allows the eye to focus on one thing, blurring everything else in the background. Deep depth of field can be very attractive when shooting landscapes – it’s a wide-angle shot where everything is crystal clear. Part of what freaks people out about social media is that by nature, it is exposing. There’s no shallow DOF in social media. It’s all quite deep, in fact. Successful social media is not about companies interacting, it’s about humans interacting. And that means there’s going to be an endless mix of dimensions, tastes, activities, comments, questions, and information. Some of it may be junk to you. Some may be of incredible value to you. But the fact is, social media is vast, and deep, like a photograph where you can see for miles and miles and miles. And that scares a lot of people. Consider your online interactions for a moment. Who are the people you relate to best? Are they the ones who only show you a little bit of themselves, and keep the rest a closely guarded secret? Or are they the people who present a clear picture of who they are, from all angles, flattering and not-so-flattering? Social media has deep, deep Depth of Field. The people and companies that are most successful in the medium are those who accept that. Their lens is not focused on one one object. It’s focused on the vast expanse and potential of each interaction they have. Juxtapose this! I remember one of my profs in TV school equating juxtaposition to that classic gag that comedian Steve Martin made famous. He always said “You don’t want to be the guy with the arrow through your head”. When framing up a shot, you need to be totally conscious of what’s happening behind your subject. If there’s a picture frame, or stair rail, or any object, appearing to stick out of, or cut through the back of someone’s head, it makes them look silly. And nobody wants to look silly. If social media is all about genuine relationships and real conversations and actual human beings, then it stands to reason that occasionally, even the best intentioned people are going to look silly. It doesn’t matter whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the owner of a flower shop in rural Iowa, or a PR flack trying to build your professional network and generate leads, when you choose to engage on social media platforms, you need to be prepared to open yourself up to the possibility that someday, what you say in the foreground, and what’s going on in the background won’t match. But that does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. Some of the most fascinating and dynamic people I know online are that way because they accept that the image everyone sees in the foreground is completely subject to what’s happening in the background. That means, if someone is having a bad day in the background, and that surfaces, so be it. If someone is super busy and just trying to keep up in the background, it might mean they have to reframe things. All of this is real life, and all of it’s more than okay. We need to be accepting of everyone’s juxtaposition. What I think is at once amazing and frightening about social media is that it’s totally raw. The people who use the medium most successfully are completely in focus at all dimensions, and they are not worried that sometimes things are just going to line up in funny ways. They deal with it, and move on. I am hopeful that as more people begin to understand this new medium, they will be more inclined to present the wide angle view of themselves. For often, what’s in the background is far more compelling than a shallow little dot of focus. What say you? [photo credit ohector on Flickr]
Have You Hugged Your Planet Today?
Environmental awareness. Green Lifestyles. Saving the planet is a multi-billion dollar industry, fuelled by giant corporations and spurred on by the mainstream media. Not that any of that is a bad thing. Well, maybe the part where “going green” gets so over-hyped by the media (we’re all gonna DIE!) that it makes people panic and then run out and spend more money on all the “green stuff” so the giant corporations can make more money. Maybe that part. But most people’s intentions when it comes to the environment are good, and this post isn’t about mass media and giant corporations. It’s about loving our planet. After all, it’s the only one we’ve got. I remember back in the 80’s, the environment became a really big deal. We were encouraged to start recycling, to lower our thermostats, to turn the lights off – and we did. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle became the mantra of the decade. In school, we learned that plastic was bad, pollution was worse, and that our landfills were filling up. People finally started listening to guys like Dr. David Suzuki about the perils of clear cutting forests. And I thought that finally, we were learning to respect the Earth. The only Earth we’ve got. But then, in the 90s, we all suddenly got distracted. Maybe it was TV. Perhaps our jobs and our families tied us up too much. It became more important for us to have a lifestyle of convenience than one of environmental responsibility. We all but forgot about the commitment we’d all made the previous decade to save our planet. Suddenly, ads on TV were pushing disposable everything – plastic zipper bags for your food, in 400 different sizes. Those ridiculous toilet bowl cleaners where you attach a disposable scrubber, swish it around the bowl and then, as they say in the commercial, “just throw it away!”. Soft drink companies started putting tap water in plastic bottles and promoting it as part of a healthy lifestyle. Our tech gadgets came hermetically sealed in thick plastic, non-recyclable blister packs. I could go on. Suddenly, the planet was taking a back seat to us having more handy ways to do things. And it’s the only planet we’ve got. Fortunately, the 21st century (and maybe partly Al Gore, after he was finished inventing the Internet), has brought about a well-needed shift in our sensibilities. Unfortunately, like most things, it was a real “oh crap!” moment for most people. We realized that we’d again become a disposable society, and that as much as we’d all long been in the habit of turning out the lights, we were now up to our ears in TVs, computers, and other energy sucking electronic gadgets. As much as we used our blue recycling bins, we were throwing out more stuff than ever. Finally, our collective compact flourescent lightbulbs went on, and we realized, almost at once that… This is the only planet we’ve got. Billion dollar industries aside, this time I think there’s not only been a behaviour shift – there’s been an outright culture shift. Green lifestyle isn’t just a choice any longer, it’s a necessity. Does it take a conscious commitment? Absolutely. We need to make decisions for ourselves, our families, and our companies about how we want to change the way we do things – whether that’s giving up bottled water, switching to CFL lightbulbs, or opting to work from home more often. It’s also still about recycling and composting too. But perhaps most importantly, it’s about keeping our planet in the forefront of our minds. It’s about respecting this beautiful Earth we’ve been given, and appreciating it. So get out there, and give our planet a big hug. Show it some love. Not just today. Every day. After all, it’s the only planet we’ve got. [photo credit: NASA]