One of my favourite Christmas gifts this year was a novel entitled “Whale Song”. It’s written by Cheryl Kaye Tardif, who, in addition to being fantastic writer, is also an old family friend. She went to high school with my older brother Mike, and I’ll always remember, even though I was the bratty, tag-along little sister, that Cheryl was always so sweet and kind to me. The book is, in my opinion, a must-read for anyone who loves stories that combine coming-of-age, heartwarming family stories, the tragic realities of life, and a little mystery (and I’m not just saying that because I know her!). The story is about a young girl who is displaced with her family from Wyoming to the west coast of Canada. She meets and befriends an Aboriginal family and they teach her about their culture and their way of life. As tremendous adversity befalls her, she uses what she’s learned about native spirituality to guide her through difficult waters. I devoured this book in a little under 2 days – and for me, that is some kind of record. I couldn’t put it down! For me, it was more than just a story. You see, like me, Cheryl also grew up on the Queen Charlotte Islands (a.k.a. Haida Gwaii); a very small, very remote island on the West Coast of Canada, tucked neatly between Vancouver Island and the Alaska Panhandle. The Charlottes are one of the most unique places on earth – it’s temperate rain-forest climate is home to some of the most scenic landscapes on the planet and many endemic animals and plants. What made the book really special to me is the references Cheryl makes to the place I grew up. It was these parts that had me reduced to tears on more than one occasion. Recalling these memories over the past few days has taught me an important lesson which I’d like to share here. The town we lived in, Masset – was unique at that time, in more ways than one. Aside from being set in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, it had one of the most interesting mergings of two cultures I’ve ever seen – the Haida and the military. I was a base brat for all of my childhood and as such was totally immersed in the military culture. As transient as our life was, we were fortunate to live in Masset for 7 years total – almost unheard of in military life. I was used to my Dad going away for 6 months or so at a time, off to the far regions of the North. The military community is very close, especially on the isolated bases, and since our moving around kept us from seeing my grandparents, aunt and uncle regularly, my parents’ friends were like my immediate family, and their kids, like cousins. We looked out for each other, in a place that was far away from civilization. There was no McDonalds. No shopping mall. Not even a traffic light. And nearly no TV. But we somehow managed to survive happily. The military culture was contrasted with a very profound and strong native culture. The Haida Nation is one of the most studied and well known First Nations in Canada. Haida art is featured prominently on our $20 bill, and many documentaries have been made about Haida culture and art. Co-habitating in an isolated place with such a rich native culture had its distinct benefits. Not only are the Haida very generous and welcoming people, they openly shared their culture with everyone in the community. At school, my field trips were not to an art museum to see Emily Carr paintings. They were to the actual place where Emily Carr painted some of her most famous works. My art classes were not focused on how to sketch still life from a picture book. Actual Haida artists would come to my classes and teach us how to draw Haida art. Our history lessons were not taught out of some dusty textbook – they were taught through stories told to us by Haida elders. When I was 11 years old, I spent a week learning how to survive in the wilderness, then was cast out on my own to spend 24 hours to fend for myself with only 2 matches, a jar of water and a teabag. Like I had learned, I built a shelter just above the tide line, started a (pathetic) fire, and foraged for berries to eat. That was my summer camp. You may be wondering why I’m bringing all this up. After all, I spend much of my time on this blog talking about technology, social media, and entrepreneurship. How does this story of my childhood fit in? Maybe it’s the fact that Cheryl’s book stirred up so many emotional memories in me. But that’s a good thing – because remembering all of the amazing experiences of my atypical childhood has made me realize the significant impact it had on who I am today. Living in isolation may be like torture for some people, especially if they’ve only ever been city dwellers. But what it did for me was made me appreciate community on an exponential scale. Back in Masset, we were all connected to each other, and the two very distinct cultures of the Haida and the military lived side by side in harmony. We were friends, neighbours, and family to one another. We helped each other out. We raised money for the town, we raised money for disabled kids. We celebrated together in the good times, and in the bad times, we cried together. We were the very definition of what community is all about. Is it any wonder why I am so involved in my online communities today? I do think that I’m meant to be here. The Haida, like all First Nations peoples, are an extraordinarily spiritual people. What I learned from the Haidas growing up has
Ode to a Hyperlink
Suppose all the information stored on computers everywhere were linked, I thought. Suppose I could program my computer to create a space in which anything could be linked to anything.” — Tim Berners-Lee, “Weaving the Web”. It all started with a simple link. Contrary to popular belief, Tim Berners-Lee didn’t invent the concept of “hypertext”. There were guys like Ted Nelson and Doug Englebart toying with the concept back in the 1960’s. But Berners-Lee was the guy that did something remarkable with that concept. His vision, that any piece of information could be linked to any other piece of information, gave birth to what we know today as the World Wide Web. Not since the invention of the telephone has there been such a fundamental shift in the way human beings communicate. And it’s kind of throwing us for a loop, don’t you think? I’m a firm believer that in order to know where we are going, we must know where we have come from. That’s why Berners-Lee’s book, “Weaving the Web”, sits beside me while I work away on my computers every day, exploring and creating and expanding my understanding of what is really going on in this new medium. I reference it often, for I find that for all the time we spend trying to figure out what all this Web 2.0 business is about, much of it has already been put forth by guys like Berners-Lee. Though we originally took the Web to be a simply a means of presenting information, Berners-Lee actually invented the Web as a means of communication and collaboration. 12 years after its rise in popularity, we are finally figuring that part out. It’s not wrong that we didn’t get it right away. It was necessary for it to evolve to that point. When Alexander Graham Bell first invented the telephone, he had spend a lot of time convincing the rest of the world of its usefulness. It wasn’t immediately apparent. After all, if I wanted to talk to someone far away, I could just mail them a letter, and if I wanted to talk to my neighbour down the street, I could just go over to them. Why would I ever need to call them on a telephone? Nearly 20 years passed from the time Bell invented the telephone until it was mainstream. The Web is no different. You see, the Web, like the telephone, was not something we knew we needed. That means we need to figure out what to do with it now that we’ve got it. It’s a process. So here we are, at the end of 2008, and we are still on the journey that started with one little hyperlink. Everyday, millions and millions of new links are being made, and they aren’t just text on a page. The links are with real people, doing real things. As a result, movements are starting. 12for12k.org is one of them. There are many others. People are realizing that social media is about much, much more than just chatting till all hours of the night with a bunch of people you’ve never met in person. It’s even about more than just promoting your business. It’s about finding ways that we can help one another to learn, to grow, to succeed, in whatever it is we set out to do. So how are you going to make more links in 2009?
How to REALLY Get Social Media Working For You
A funny thing happened with this blog yesterday – people showed up in droves. I’ve been writing pretty consistently here for almost two years. I don’t post every single day. Sometimes I’ll even go four or five days without a post. That’s just how my mind works. I’ve either got it in my head or I don’t. I am not the type of blogger that has 9 or 10 posts on the back burner in draft form, waiting to be meticulously scheduled for a certain date and time. I’m the type of blogger that gets an idea in my head, and then I just have to write about it. Guess that’s why I have the word “muse” in my name. Sometimes, like for my last post on small town social networks, I spend a few days mulling it over in my head. I don’t write notes (usually). I DO do research (when necessary to get my facts straight) and I do ask for input from others if I need it (oftentimes it’s my very clever and smart husband). But mostly, I just write. Like I am now. Late, late last night Chris Brogan put up a post on his blog about his disdain for Twitter auto-responders – if you’re a Twitter user, you know the kind. You follow someone, and immediately receive a Direct Message (a private message from one Twitter user to another) with some sort of canned response and of course, a spammy link to their online sales pitch. I’m not going to elaborate on my opinion of this practice. Go read his post. It’s way more articulate and polite than what I’d write. Anyway, the post got me thinking…there are plenty of people out there who still don’t really have great social skills when it comes to social networks. Let’s put the auto-responder into an in-person context. I go to a party, or conference, or event of any kind. I walk into a room, and people start to come over to me to say hi. Instead of engaging on a personal level with each person, I auto-respond, “Hi. Thanks for coming over here. Please check out my web site at www.shillsalot.com, and tell everyone you know.” Something tells me I wouldn’t be too popular. Now, of course, the average person with reasonable social skills wouldn’t pull something like this in a million years. What shocks me is that the people who have anti-social behaviour in social networks are, in my experience, pretty socially savvy in person. So why would they sabotage their social status in this way? It’s pretty mind boggling to me. Now, I don’t claim to be any sort of expert in how to gain success using social media. But I feel as if I have been able to figure things out over the past couple of years since I’ve been involved in this space. I’ve learned a ton of it by watching and observing and asking questions and the like, but I’ve learned an awful lot of other things by just exploring and experimenting on my own terms too. Yesterday I posted about the small town experience I had over the holidays, and how it relates to online communities. Much to my surprise, the post was picked up and linked around by a whole bunch of people, resulting in many comments, a record number of hits (for me), and a bunch of new Twitter followers and blog subscribers (all of which I am infinitely grateful for!) So, want to know the secret to success with social media? It’s a tricky one…you ready? Be Real. I didn’t write that post because it was full of Google juice, or plenty of links to popular blogs, or because I wanted to come across as being a social media “expert”. I wrote it because I experienced something that gave me some new ideas and I wanted to explore those ideas. I wrote it because I love to write. To be honest, I wasn’t really too concerned about who read it or who re-tweeted it or linked it off their blog. Was I pleasantly surprised when I saw how many hits I was getting? Of course! Was I happy to have so many new people introducing themselves to me? I was thrilled! But it was not my raison d’etre. Social media only really, truly works if you are 100% yourself at all times. And it doesn’t matter whether you are an individual or a huge corporation. You need to just be real. Do not hide behind this technology. By all means embrace it, use it, experiment with it. I write plenty of posts that are only read by my Mom and my close friends. But I’m just as proud of those posts as I am about the ones that get lots of eyeballs, because at all times what I write here is genuinely me. For the new year, let’s all make a resolution – that we’re going to take down the walls we’re hiding behind, give up the ulterior motives and start just being real people around here. What do you think?
How Small Towns Are Social Networks
I’m back! Back in civilization, and back to my iMac, my 3G network, my Twitter, my blog. Don’t get me wrong – I had a wonderful Christmas, spending time with my in-laws in frozen, but beautiful Manitoba. We ate, and talked, and ate, and played cards, and ate, and opened gifts, and ate some more. It was all the best things about Christmas rolled up into one terrific week. But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss my beautiful, wonderful technology. My husband’s family lives in a very, very small town 100km north of Winnipeg called Arborg. With a population of about 1000, scarce Internet, no cell phone service (at least not on your average iPhone) and a winter climate that brings back not-so-fond memories of my days in living in the Arctic, you’d think that a city girl like me would have run screaming out of there as fast as I could. Of course, that didn’t happen, mostly because I’m really a small town girl at heart. Having grown up in a town not unlike Arborg, I am very at home in this kind of environment. Ironically, during the 5 unplugged days I spent in Arborg, I learned a great deal about how social networks operate. Here’s what I learned: Leadership is Vital Every community necessarily has its leaders. The leaders are the people who blaze the trail for everyone else, and fight the tigers along the way. They are the ones who are infinitely helpful and kind and generous, even though it takes up a lot of their time and energy. In Arborg, one of those leaders is my Father-in-law. He’s not the Mayor of the town, but from what I’ve seen, he probably could be. My Father-in-law is a waste management specialist. He runs a septic truck, which keeps him busy enough, but also is in charge of all the garbage collection for the town. That means at least once a week, he goes to everyone’s house and business in the whole town. And while he’s running around town, sucking tanks and disposing of everyone’s smelly garbage, they all talk to him, which means he probably knows more about what’s going on in Arborg than anyone else. He’s a leader because he’s totally tapped into the network. Every day he comes home with a hundred stories about what’s been happening around town. Not only that, but he’s infinitely helpful. The day we arrived, he was off with another guy, delivering Christmas turkeys to underprivileged townspeople. During Christmas dinner, he took a call from someone having septic problems without batting an eye. He told them he’d get out to them as soon as possible the next day. He’s a good leader because he listens, and understands the needs of the people in his town. And then he helps in any way he can. Here’s something to consider – what kind of leader are you being in your social networks? If you’re like my Father-in-law, you’re listening, understanding and helping. And then you’re doing it some more. The Network is Thriving I saw a bulletin board in the little motel we were staying at, and it was jammed with business cards. This board is Arborg’s social network. There is a business card for just about every business in town on this little board. Hairdressers, insurance companies, home heating, jewellery, carpentry, you name it…it’s there. There’s no computer. No LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Just cards, tacks and cork. In a town like Arborg, this really is the way they network. This is how they show each other what they do, and provide a way to get in touch. It’s a means of communication and connection and I suspect, even collaboration. Here’s the thing – notice how each card is the same size. Nobody’s card is covering up anyone else’s card. They are all sharing the space equally. One of the things I love about social media is that it levels the playing field. In this space, it doesn’t matter if you are an average Joe or a billionaire. Nobody cares if you are a rock star or a karaoke singer. Whether you are a famous comedian or just like to have a good laugh, you are welcome here. We are all sharing this space on equal terms. Much like the bulletin board network in Arborg, we are all able to contribute and show value to others. And together, we’re all able to succeed. My point is – social networks have existed as far back as we can imagine. Today, we are fortunate to have this new, amazing layer of technology to help us scale it from our tiny communities to the entire world. This global scale means that we hold a great deal potential in our hands. We now have the power to do great things not only for the success of our communities, but ultimately for the success of humankind. Having this amount power a the click of a mouse is huge. But, it doesn’t mean we have to act any differently or be anything else other than what we already are as human beings. Success in a small town not dependent on the latest tools, tricks, or techy toys, and success in social media is not any different. Like in small towns, it’s only really dependent on two things – strong leadership and a thriving network. As 2008 comes to a close, and so many of us are eagerly anticipating all the amazing possibilities that the new year will bring, considering how we are operating in our social networks and where all this social media stuff is headed is vitally important to our progress. What do you think the next step is?
Holiday Downtime
As many of you probably know, if you’ve read my posts or Tweets in the past couple of weeks, I’m heading off this morning to spend Christmas in Winnipeg with my husband’s family. Winnipeg is known for it’s windy -40 winters, so it’s bound to be freezing, but it will be nice to feel the warmth of having loved ones nearby. We’re not actually going to be in Winnipeg proper – we’re going to be in a small town about an hour north of the “big” city called Arborg. It’s your classic small town – in fact, the little motel we’re staying at is closed for the holidays, but the owner is letting us stay there anyway, “We’ll just leave some extra towels and stuff for you, dear.” The other interesting feature about small towns is that my inlaws don’t have the Internet (cue sound effect of screeching tires and a crash). I’m also not convinced my iPhone is going to work well out there. I have discovered through Arborg’s tasteful town web site that there is high speed Internet at the public library, so with any luck I will be able to get the odd fix. All joking aside, I’m not actually too upset about being offline for a few days. It’s a chance to slow down and get caught up on my reading (I’ve got The Cluetrain Manifesto and Purple Cow already packed), watch a few videos (I have an Eckhart Tolle seminar loaded on the iPhone ready to go), and of course, spend quality time with my inlaws, who we don’t get to see that often. There’s something to be said for downtime. Like taking a vacation from work, it’s good to walk away for a bit, think about things, regroup, and come back rejuvenated and ready to take things on again. I’ve got huge plans for 2009. We have some great opportunities coming our way for the business. I’m completely fired up about being involved in the 12for12k project. I hope to travel more, and maybe have the chance to meet some of you in person at various conferences and events. As I settle in for a cozy small-town Christmas, I’ll be thinking fondly of all the amazing people in my life, both online and off. I’ll be thankful that they’ve welcomed me into their lives too. As I wrote in one of my songs, “I do think that I’m meant to be here”. Thank you for being here too. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and may 2009 bring you many blessings.
Putting the "Social" Back in Social Media
Last night I got to hang out with my family for a little pre-Christmas celebration. It was my brother’s Mother-in-law’s 80th birthday party. It was pretty important for me to be there, not only to help Pauline, a sweet and charming lady, celebrate this milestone day, but also because this is the first year that I won’t be spending Christmas Day with my immediate family. This was my last chance to see them all before I head out West tomorrow morning. Oh, I’ll still be having a great time, but I’ll be with my other family this year (hubby’s parents and sisters). We all headed out for dinner at my co-Aunt’s stunning country home out in Carleton Place (a 25 minute trek from Ottawa). I call her my co-Aunt, because we are the only Aunts to my two little nephews (and we’re both named Sue). It was a crazy, noisy, chaotic, chatty, loud, laughing, boisterous evening, as most of our family events tend to be. Everyone was talking at the same time, the kids were running around using the whole big old house as a jungle gym, Dad was giving haircuts to the men (that’s a story for another time!), and we were all feeling thankful and fortunate that we could be together on this cold wintry night, with the food and the wine and the happy times. We were sharing and connecting and communicating. But want to know the craziest thing of all? Not one person was online. We spend a lot of time out here on the Internet trying to figure out what all this social media stuff means, and it’s possible that the answer is right in front of us and we just can’t see it. The problem is, we get so wrapped up in the tools and techniques and etiquette that we can no longer see the forest for the trees. The truth is, social media is nothing more than an extension of that which we already know. In other words, everyone has the ability to be successful with social media. Why? Because we do it everyday, only in an offline sort of way. We do it when we go to work and interact with our colleagues and customers. We do it when we call an old friend on the phone just to say hi. We do it when we get together to celebrate with our families. It’s called “social” media for a reason. It’s not called “keep to yourself and sit in the corner not talking to anyone” media. It’s called social media because it’s social. And we, as human beings, are inherently social animals. It stands to reason then, that communicating and sharing and connecting would be second nature to us, no? When people who aren’t involved in social media look at it, they see a plethora of tools and an abundance of content and it’s completely overwhelming to them as to how they are going to decipher it all. But it’s kind of like the family dinner. The signal to noise ratio at the average family dinner is very high, as is the signal to noise ratio out here on the Web. At a family dinner, it’s mostly noise. But the signal is there, you just have to listen for it. And in the end, amidst all the chaos, there’s the calm of knowing that just by being there, listening, and contributing, you are valued. As you gather around the holiday table with your families this year, consider this – we are all social beings. What we’re doing out here on the Web is merely an extension of what we are all already completely capable of. It’s just bigger now. The dinner table has a lot more chairs around it. Happy Holidays!
Why We Need to Pay Attention to Anyone Under 25
Today as I was doing my Christmas shopping, I was listening to Net@Night with Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte (wow…listening to tech podcasts while Christmas shopping…I am SUCH a geek!). My husband had called me and suggested I listen to this particular episode closely, and I’m glad I did. Leo and Amber had Don Tapscott, author of “Grown up Digital”, on the show. It’s a book I have yet to read (but fully intend to, now). It was a thought provoking show. The three of them talked about what I call the digital generation…kids who are now in their late teens and early twenties, who have grown up never knowing a world without computers. The entire point that Tapscott makes is that we need to be paying very serious attention to these young people. They are the ones who are going to take Internet into the future. Long after us thirty and forty-somethings are retired (and I’m on a beach in Turks and Caicos), these are the people that are going to be changing the face of marketing, media and corporations the world over. I’ve talked about this fact a couple of times before now. In this post a few months ago, I mentioned that today’s students are going to be creating the Web of the future. Their ideas and opinions should be taken seriously. After spending the past three months teaching 80 or so people who are part of this younger generation, I believe that even more strongly now. I also talked about it with Danny Brown about the contribution that younger generations are making to the online world. I firmly believe that the young people of today are going to do things with this social Web that many of us haven’t even dreamed of yet. The social media bubble is alive and well, in my opinion. The networks I travel in are typically made up of 30 and 40 something professionals, many in the marketing/PR/traditional media worlds. We spend our days and nights building relationships, being helpful to others, teaching, talking, branding ourselves, and explaining the usefulness of a plethora of tools to bosses, clients, seniors, the dog – whoever will listen. Don’t get me wrong. There are so many people in this space who are brilliant thinkers, and are working very hard in a positive way to help figure this new medium out. They are doing exceptional things, and I want nothing less than to see this space be moved forward by their thoughtful leadership. What I am saying is that while we are out there trying to pump social media to corporations and business owners and media people, we should not forget about the digital generation. We need to pay close attention to what they are up to. Leo Laporte made a wise observation on the Net@Night show when he said that his teenage kids these days are more resourceful and well read than he was at that age. I think a lot of us feel that way, and with good reason. What our generation has had to learn over the past 15 or 20 years about computers and the Internet, anyone under the age of 25 has always been exposed to. Don Tapscott says “it’s like air to them”. In other words, they’ve never had to live without it. We talk and talk about how to explain social media to our clients, our grandparents, our bosses. We try to find the easiest way to describe Twitter, or blogging, or Digg. We struggle to come up with real metrics and ROI and all the rest. I wonder what would happen if we got 100 digital genners into a room and asked them to explain it? What words would they use? This isn’t “new”, “life altering”, or a “technological revolution” to them. This is their life. They live it every day. They don’t know life without MySpace, IM, Facebook, and YouTube. Sharing information and communicating online is second nature to them. It always has been, and more importantly, it always will be. The problem is, social media is not second nature to us. It flips traditional way we were taught to communicate on its head. And that’s why we struggle with it. If you’re at all interested in this social revolution that’s taking place, maybe it’s time you sat down and had a good talk with the young people in your life. They just might open your eyes to a new way of thinking about all this stuff. And they just might be able to help you take it to the next level, too.
What Music Can Teach Us About Building Relationships
It all started with a simple tweet. I was reminiscing on Twitter about the four years I spent as part of an a capella quartet. I get a bit nostalgic about it this time of year, as Christmas was our high season…we’d perform Christmas carols at concerts around town, house parties and on street corners in Ottawa’s Byward Market. I happened to tweet something about a vocal ensemble called The King’s Singers, who were such an inspiration to me at that time, mostly because of their song, “New Day”. This is one of the songs that made we want to sing a capella music. Have a listen, I’m sure you’ll see why. Well, it seems my tweet was seen by none other than Jennifer Covert, someone I met briefly at Podcamp Ottawa this year, and eMarketing Officer at the National Arts Centre. She asked if I was going to The King’s Singers show on Monday night. I confess I had missed that announcement entirely, so I replied that no, I wasn’t, sadly! I went on about my business, and about 20 minutes later received a message from Jennifer saying that she had a couple of extra tickets and was giving them to me! Talk about a wonderful early Christmas gift! I’ve been thinking a lot about online relationships. Lately, I’ve had a lot of really good experiences with relationship building and I’ve also seen a lot of really good examples of how NOT to build online relationships. Last night, and while I was sitting in the audience listening to the amazing, beautiful, heart-swelling sounds of this amazing vocal ensemble, along with some incredible pieces by the NAC Orchestra, I learned some important lessons about relationship building. It starts with you. A capella music only works if each person in the ensemble knows exactly what they are doing. This takes a lot of individual work up front. In my quartet, we would get our music and a cassette tape of our part. The first thing we’d do is go home and practice and practice our part until we had it nailed. Only then, would we be able to come back as part of the group and put the pieces together. Last night it was obvious to me that the 6 guys in The King’s Singers know their individual parts so well, they could probably sing them during a hurricane with a tsunami and a tornado at the same time and not miss a note. This means, when they put the pieces together, 6 voices become one. It was an unbelievable experience. Relationship building works in much the same way. In order to truly be able to build solid relationships online, you must know your own part first. You must know what you have to offer the rest of the network. You must practice, and think, and get focused. Then, you are ready to join the chorus. Blend, but be unique, too. The King’s Singers are six voices: 2 countertenors (super high), one tenor (high-ish), 2 baritones (low-ish), and one bass (super low). Much of the time, they are all singing different notes. The real power of their sound is when all six different notes come together to sound like one voice. This is a result of their impeccable skill at blending. They are truly one of the best groups in the world at the art of the blend. Blending in a vocal ensemble is extremely difficult to do well. The key is to listen to the other voices, and find where your voice needs to fit in. Not just by singing the right note (which is helpful!) but by adjusting the tone and intonation of your singing to hit just the perfect balance of sound. At the same time, it’s important not to blend in too much; that can be boring. Each of the men in the group (David, Robin, Paul, Philip, Christopher and Stephen), brings their own unique style and voice to the ensemble. As much as you can hear them as one voice, each of their individual voices makes the whole unique sound come to life. Stephen’s awesome bass resonates in your chest. David and Robin’s fantastic high notes sit up like they are on top of a mountain; refreshing and exhilarating. Paul, Philip and Christopher provide the inner workings – complex harmonies that fill the air and send shivers up your spine. In our online relationships, blending is crucial. It’s how we get things done. It’s how we are able to come together at events like Podcamps, create incredible projects like 12for12k, and how we are able to successfully co-exist on tools like Twitter. We blend, we merge, we learn, and we move forward. But, at the same time, our networks would be nothing if it wasn’t for the uniqueness of all the voices. We’ve got the high vocals and the low key. We’ve got the nuances and harmonics of the in between. The power of social media is in the sum total of each unique voice. Without that uniqueness, the resulting blend is not possible. Be Original. The thing I love most about The King’s Singers are their original arrangements of songs. This was a Christmas concert, so there were a few traditional arrangements of songs, like my personal favourite, “O Holy Night”, which you can hear them perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, here. It was astounding and magical. But what I love is how they take a traditional song and give it a remarkable twist. For instance, they took “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and mashed it up with Dave Brubeck’s famous “Take Five” , creating something 100% unique and memorable. Their speedy, “let’s just get this over with” take on “Jingle Bells” was also funny and silly, showing that even though they are very serious musicians, they don’t take themselves too seriously. Their encore performance was a “drunk and debocherous” version of Deck the Halls, where, with each verse, they fell more off
How to Make Your 2009 Goals Reality
My friend Dominick Evans wrote about his New Year’s resolutions on his blog yesterday. I commented with some of my own resolutions, but that’s not what this post is about. New Year’s Resolutions are goals, it’s as simple as that. The beginning of a new year is a convenient time to set goals. The issue is, how many of those goals go by the wayside because reality sets in, you get frightened, then just sit back in your old ways again within the first week or two? It’s one thing to define a goal (and that’s a very important step). It’s entirely another to carry it through. One of the goals I’ve had some success with in the past is weight loss. A couple of years ago I was at the highest weight I’d ever been. I knew I had to do something when I could no longer shop at the stores I liked anymore, because they didn’t have a size big enough for me. I dropped 35lbs and 6 sizes over the course of 5 months. I was still a little over my ideal weight, but I was really happy with my newer, slimmer self. Over the past little while, my weight has crept up again, not quite to the extent it was before, but enough that I can see where I’m headed. So this time, I am going to make it to my ideal weight, so I’m taking on Tom Leroux’s 25lb challenge. I have many goals right now, some professional, some personal. The weight loss thing is really personal for me. I stand up in front of people all the time to give presentations and teach, and at times, I confess I do feel a bit self conscious. I have a closet full of beautiful clothes that don’t fit me properly. And, I’m closer to 40 than I am to 30, so the less load I have to carry around the better for my health in general. Got goals? Here’s what it takes to make them reality: Write them down and make them public. Experts always say that the best way to make your goals real is to write them down. I agree, but you should consider taking this one step further. Tell other people. I have a goal to do more public speaking next year. Now, if I kept that goal to myself, how much success do you think I’d have? I’m not saying that just because I make my goals public that speaking opportunities are just going to fall in my lap. But when you verbalize something, two interesting things happen. One, you’ve tossed it out to the universe, and that’s pretty powerful in itself. Two, you make it real not only to yourself but to other people. And other people might just be the ones to help you achieve that goal, whether by helping you to learn to be a better public speaker or helping to bring new opportunities your way. Note – it’s still up to you to take action on any help you are given – nobody can achieve your goals for you! Goals don’t achieve themselves. Funny thing about goals – you can set them all you want, but if you just walk away, remarkably, they don’t happen. The way to achieve a goal is to take action. Take weight loss as an example. I can make up my mind to lose 20, 30, 50lbs, but if I still continue to eat fatty, high calorie foods then that goal is just going to sit there (and probably get farther away as the weight piles on). Goals only get achieved when you take concrete steps to achieve them. Once you’ve defined your goals, figure out what steps you need to take to achieve them. Then TAKE THOSE STEPS. Goals take work. It takes focus, determination and above all, work, to achieve your goals. I want to be a better guitar player. Well, I’m not going to get any better at it unless I sit my butt in the chair and practice. I don’t really like practicing guitar, in some ways. When I get a new song to try, and I’m not good at it right away, I get frustrated. When I’m around my super talented guitar playing friends, I feel like I’m never going to be that good. Sometimes, I want to give up entirely. But I keep working on it. And working on it. And working on it. And eventually, I get better at it. Eventually, I can play it well. Eventually, I’ll even be able to play it on a stage in front of people. And then I’ll have achieved my goal! Don’t fear work. Embrace it as part of the process. You may even find yourself enjoying it. In 2009, take a different approach to your goals. I’m going to. Don’t just set them. Ingrain them in who you are. Make a commitment to yourself that you are going to achieve more than you ever thought possible this year. If you want to talk about your goals for 2009, head over to Dominick’s blog and leave a comment. Then come back here and in the comments below, tell us how you are planning to achieve those goals.
A New Approach to the Holidays
This is the first Christmas in 38 years that I’ll be away from my family. It’s kind of a weird thing, and I find myself feeling a little bit emotional about it. I am still going to be around family – hubby and I are going to Winnipeg to spend Christmas with his family. But the fact that I won’t be spending Christmas morning with my parents, and having dinner with them and my brother and his family, does change things up a bit for me. With this big change, I’ve decided to take this opportunity make some changes in the way I celebrate Christmas. Less Stuff. I love giving people presents. However, I have always found the process of Christmas shopping to be quite stressful. I hate malls. I hate big box stores. I find other shoppers to be exceptionally rude in a lot of cases, which is ironic, given that we’re supposed to be all peace, love and happiness this time of year. I hate the fact that we are so consumed with the “stuff” of Christmas. Everyone is rushing around, spending all kinds of money they don’t have, because they feel some sense of obligation to be the one to get the biggest, best stuff. It makes me not want to bother with Christmas at all. This year, I’m changing my tactic. First, I’m only going to buy targeted, specific gifts for people. Instead of buying each person 3 to 5 things that they won’t even remember in 3 weeks’ time, I’m going to get each person one, maybe two things that are really special, that I know they will enjoy. Second, I’m doing the bulk of my shopping online. This allows me to do two things – I don’t have to go to a mall and end up hostile and grumpy. I also find I am more strategic in my spending when I do it online. With these simple changes, I can take pleasure in giving again. This way, it’s not about the amount of stuff people are getting. It’s about the process of giving. Enjoy the Simple Things. In fact, we are not going to be in Winnipeg proper for the holidays – we’re going to be in a town about an hour outside the city, with a population of 965. Yup. 965 people. My in-laws don’t have the Internet (gasp.) I am reasonably sure there is no Internet cafe or free wifi to be found in the town. What does this mean for me? No blogs. No Twitter. No Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instant Messaging. Oh, and did I mention no Twitter? This too, is an opportunity. Between work and play time, I probably spend upwards of 7-9 hours online every day. Without the Internet as an option, I know already what I’m going to do. I’m going to relax. Read some books. Do some personal writing (like, in an actual notebook, with a pen). Listen to music. Sit with a cup of hot tea and stare out at the cold, windy Manitoba terrain and be thankful for the blessed life I have. It’s Not Just One Day. Christmas is December 25th, but really, it’s just a day. As soon as I start to get a bit sniffly about the fact that I’m not going to spend that day with my parents and brother this year, I remember that we get to have two Christmases this year. When hubby and I get back from Winnipeg we will be having Christmas with my family. Just like always, except it will be a different day. I’ll still get to see my nephews’ excited faces when they open their gifts. I’ll still get to hug and kiss everyone and smile and feel good to be around them. I feel as if the world has gotten so caught up in the commercialism of Christmas that we’ve really forgotten what this time of year is supposed to be about. It’s about taking a pause from our hectic lives, slowing down for a while and getting centred again on what is most important…our family and friends. It’s about reflecting on the year that’s been and what we have to look forward to in 2009. It’s about hope, and happy thoughts, and enjoying your life. How are you planning to spend the holidays? What is most important to you this time of year? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments. Photo by Across and Down on Flickr.