About 10 years ago, I used to hang out at a little pub in my neigbourhood. It was walking distance from my house, and I would say that I was probably there at least 2 or 3 times a week. Often more. Sometimes I’d just stop in after work for half an hour, sometimes I’d be there the whole evening. At the time, I was single, lived alone, and was extremely independent. I worked hard at my job and I liked it. I had plenty going for me, so you would think that slumming around some bar was not exactly a healthy thing to be doing so often. But hanging out there had very little to do with drinking for me. I’d walk in this place and no matter what time of day it was, there was always someone there that I knew. I could strike up a conversation with anyone. We talked about everything. Neigbourhood gossip, world events, local news, or just what was going on in our lives. If I was having a bad day, I could show up there, chit chat with one of my bar buddies and inevitably I’d feel better. If I had a problem, there ways always someone there who could listen and help. It was the kind of place where everyone was accepted for who they were. There were the loud and boisterous types who always just wanted to have a good time, nothing too serious. There was the kinda creepy but harmless guy at the end of the bar who just sat, observing what was going on around him. There were the essentials, the barflys who always sat on the same stool, drinking the same kind of beer, who spent the afternoons and evenings holding court. And there were those who you could grab a table with and spend hours having enlightening conversations. Sure, there were conflicts. Heated conversation would sometimes lead to arguments, fueled by beer. Someone would hear about a situation that happened to a regular and the gossip mill would start to grind in a big way. Everybody would spend days talking about it, but eventually it would fade away. This little pub was my community in those days. It was someplace I could go and feel like I was contributing, engaging with other people, and it was piles of fun. Sure, I had a life outside that place – lots of friends who weren’t from there, a great family and a work life that was completely separate. But I always knew my community was there, that I could drop into any time I liked, and that I’d be welcome. Not unlike the online social network, don’t you think? Photo by mindexpansi0n at MorgueFile.
Jill Bolte Taylor and her Stroke of Insight
I’ve been reading Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth”. Now before you go shoving this book aside as more ‘new age hogwash’, take a look at this TED video from Jill Bolte Taylor. Ms. Bolte Taylor is a neuro-scientist, who woke up one morning experiencing a massive hemorrhage on the left side of her brain. Being a brain scientist, she studied every moment of her experience and gives an emotional retelling of her story. Tolle’s book is a hard read, and it’s not for everyone. But this talk pretty much sums up what Tolle is talking about, and it’s pretty amazing stuff.
Proposed Rules of Engagement for the Social Network
Social networks are fascinating. They are made up of all kinds of people, from all walks of life, brought together out of a shared interest or interests, into a big pot of text, audio and video soup. Sure, there are plenty of people who have become good friends on the Internet…fallen in love, even. Heck, I met my husband online! So I know that it IS a great way to meet and foster important relationships with other people. But those aren’t the relationships I’m speaking of. I’m talking about people who may share a common interest, but may not see it the same way. These are people that would probably not socialize in person…they are too different. It’s those differences of opinion that keep the conversation interesting. It’s impassioned, intelligent people talking about things that matter most to them. There are many techniques for expressing differences of opinion, and strategies for debating, even arguing effectively. Toastmasters comes to mind as an organization that promotes effective debating skills. I’ve been noticing lately that although some people are extremely skilled at debate, argument, opinions, whatever you want to call them (Leo Laporte and his TWIT crew come immediately to mind), others are maybe not so skilled. After reading endless posts and videoblogs about the Sarah Lacy interview, and then today coming across the Duncan Riley/FriendFeed posts, I realized that maybe some people are not quite so skilled at expressing an opinion and perhaps more importantly, listening to other people’s opinions. When this happens, it ends up becoming nothing more than a defensive bitchfest. It becomes about one group of people being right and another group being wrong. It becomes more than a debate…it becomes a conflict. The point is, debate and opinion are positive forces that contribute to the overall good experience of being involved in the social network. Conflict is a negative force that causes defensiveness, overactive egos and hurt feelings. In extreme cases, it causes wars. I am the last person who wants to do anything to disrupt the free flow of opinion, debate and conversation that makes the social network so powerful. However I’d like to propose the following list, to serve as a set of guidelines for people who want to debate, share opinions and, even argue without getting mired in conflict. Proposed Rules of Engagement for the Social Network Respect the opinions of the community. You don’t have to agree with everyone, and nobody has to agree with you. Be OK with that. Listen to what others have to say before getting defensive. Sometimes there’s a lesson in other people’s critiques. Don’t call people names. It’s just cheap. Everyone is good at something. Figure out what you are good at and don’t knock other people if they aren’t good at it too. Be encouraging. Don’t discourage. Pick your battles. If someone is spreading mean or hateful messages about someone or something, it’s the responsibility of the community to try to stop them. Don’t tolerate hate. I want to hear from you. Do you agree with this or disagree? Do you think it goes too far, or is it necessary in order to maintain the health of the community?
I Use the Web Differently Now…Do You?
I have been thinking over the past couple of days how much things have changed online in the past several months. Social networks have gone from early adoption stage to pretty mainstream, and now the early adopters of business are starting to really grab hold of social media as a way to enhance their online presence. Within the next little while, the business community at large is going to start to catch on in a big way and then it’s going to really get interesting. Along with this shift has come a shift in the way that people use the Internet. For example, online media and communications wizard Jeff Pulver talks here about how he uses Facebook as a business communication tool. Lots of people, like Collective Thoughts’ Brian Wallace are talking about why Twitter is so important to the new Web. A year or so ago, my Internet experience was as follows. My home page was the Google Home page, in which I had customized widgets for reading the CBC News, my horoscope, TechCrunch, Wired Magazine and a few others I can’t remember. If I wanted to find information on something I went to Wikipedia. I chatted with people using Windows Messenger and Google Chat. If I was bored I hit the StumbleUpon button a lot and looked at some LOLcats and cute puppy pictures. Today, my surfing experience is entirely different. My home page is Google Reader and I follow over a hundred blogs and I comment on several blogs a week. I write my own blog and people read it and comment often. I follow and connect with people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pownce and FriendFeed, and I share lots of bookmarks in del.icio.us and lots of photos on Flickr. Notice the words I used to describe my surfing habits a year ago. Reading, finding, looking, bored. Notice the words I used for today’s version of surfing. Following, commenting, connecting, writing, sharing. Which do YOU think sounds more fun and worthwhile?
Hard Work Should Be Easy
I’m inspired this morning by Mitch Joel of Twist Image. In his latest blog post, “How Hard Do You Really Work?”, he mentions a line he uses when he does his public speaking events. “…most people I know are trying to make it to the weekend. I’m trying to make it.” Wow. That is a great line, don’t you think? It pretty much sums up how I’ve felt most of my working life. I’ve had a lot of jobs over 18 years or so, some great, some not so great. But I always found a way to be passionate about what I’m doing, and to put everything I had into the work. Even if it sucked. Here is a brief summary of the types of work I’ve done over the past 18 years: Produced television shows Coordinated, designed and taught adult education programs Technical Writing for optical data networks Waited tables at a popular neighbourhood pub Presented technical training to rooms of 400 people Designed user help systems and interactive web portals Receptionist/Administrative assistant at a Seniors’ Recreation Centre Traveled the U.S. teaching specialized training development software Wrote 2000 page proposals for federal government contracts Graphic Design for corporate marketing projects Designed and deployed communications strategies for large corporations It’s a pretty wide range of stuff. Some of the jobs were tedious and long, (proposal writing) but rewarding when the proposal was successful. Some were exhilarating (I love teaching because of this). Some I’m just not well-suited for (the admin assistant job was the only job I ever got “disciplined” for because I was trying to take too much initiative – ACK!). I’m a really lousy waitress. I mean I suck at it, bigtime (but, I made a lot of friends at that pub). And some jobs I’ve loved because I’m truly passionate about it (TV production, web design/development and communications). But what I have in common with all of these jobs is I always brought everything I could to them. Even though, at times I was just doing it for the paycheque, I still showed up with the attitude that I was going to work hard and give my all to what I was doing. Not because I owed it to the company I was working for, but because I owed it to myself to not be just another cog in the wheel trying to “make it to the weekend”. Successful work means hard work, but hard work doesn’t have to burn you out or take away from your quality of life. What Mitch Joel is referring to is the dedication and commitment one should have when they set out to do a job, no matter what it is. I’ve been a full time entrepreneur for almost a year now. It’s been a crazy ride so far, with lots of ups and downs and twists and turns. We have totally exceeded our expectations so far and continue to do so. I’ve learned more in this past year about myself and what I’m capable of than ever. And me and my partner have worked really really hard. Not 100-hour-weeks-burn-yourself-into-the-ground-just-to-get-ahead-hard, but we’ve had the passion, dedication and commitment to get the job done and get it done well. Sure, we’ve worked till 3am on occasion. Sure, weekends haven’t always been free of emails and phone calls. But we still take most weekends off. Easter is coming and we have no intention of working our way through it. Hard work is easy if you have passion. If you have passion, you don’t see the time passing. It doesn’t mean you aren’t going to have crappy days, challenges and scary moments. That comes with the territory in any job – heck, in any life! It does mean you can have it all, no matter what you do for a living, and it’s simple. Just have passion. And if you can’t have passion, then do something else.
Ottawa Snowstorm – Might As Well Go For It!
Well there is plenty of talk around town about the massive snowstorm this past weekend. Ottawa won, with a total of 56cm (22 inches) of snow in the span of 2 days. Take THAT, Toronto! 😛 We are a mere 38cm (15 inches) short of the all-time snowfall record for an Ottawa winter, 445cm (14 1/2 feet) set back in 1970-71. We happened to live in Ottawa back in those days too, and today I asked my folks if they had any photos of that winter. Unfortunately their photo albums did not offer up any pics, but they did find this nifty certificate that our family received as a token of our outstanding survival skills that year! I’ve been asking around town and the general consensus is, we’ve come this far, we might as well go all the way and try to beat the record! So, bring on another 30 or 40cm of snow, Mother Nature! We’re Canadian – we can totally handle it, eh? Here are few more snaps my parents took around their house: Dad looking weary after snowblowing the driveway AGAIN! The squirrel guard only works when there isn’t a mountain of snow leading to it! Mom and Dad’s backyard
Ottawa Snowstorm '08
I just had to post some photos of the snow we have here in Ottawa. This past weekend’s storm dumped 56cm (22 inches) of snow on us. We have had 404 cm (13.2 feet) of snow this winter so far, making it the 2nd snowiest winter on record. The snowiest winter on record was in the winter of 1970-71, with 445 cm (14.5 feet) of snow. I was born in the winter of 1970, here in Ottawa, so I don’t really remember it much but my parents sure do! I thought I’d share some photos I took with my phone this morning. It’s a hell of a lot of snow. We have literally run out of places to put it. And we are getting more at the end of the week. This is our front yard. Our house does not normally look this short. Looking down our street It might look like I drove INTO the snowbank, but no, it was a mini-avalanche. I think the snowbank is trying to eat my car. Before I cleaned it off, you could only see the front fender. The green arrow is pointing to my neighbour. You know you are in Canada when you have to shovel your roof. This is our back yard. The fence on the right side is 6 feet tall. The one at the back is 7 feet tall. This snow has not been touched by us, it’s literally that deep. Somewhere under there is an inground swimming pool. I fear we may never see it again.
First Kick At the Cat Productions
My brother, Mike has been making amateur videos for quite some time and uploading them to the Internet. He’s into antique restoration and has done a series on restoring an antique radio, and has also done some fun stuff using his two boys as subjects. They are pretty good little actors, too! You can check out his stuff on YouTube . I am trying to convince him to set u a blog to showcase his work, as these days YouTube only gets you so far, and the quality is pretty lousy, compared to Viddler. or blip.tv. His latest production is a video that he put together for my parents’ Square Dancing Troupe, The Village Squares. We’ve decided to post it not only on YouTube, but on blip.tv and Viddler as well. It’s a great little promotional piece about Square Dancing in general, which is a great social and physical activity. The Village Squares attract mostly the senior set, but I’ve noticed since working on this project and checking out other square dance groups that it’s definitely catching on in the younger set too. However, you will not catch me dosado-ing any time soon, I am WAY too uncoordinated. I’ll stick to videography, thanks. The Village Squares approached Mike about doing a little promotional video for them, and he enlisted my help to do some of the videography. It was a fancy, two camcorder shoot! But my bro gets all the credit for the editing and directing. I think he’s done a terrific job of it! So here is the debut of the Village Squares on the Internet, done by First Kick At the Cat Productions. Ok I can’t get the video embed to work, if anyone has any suggestions let me know, but you can see the actual video here on Viddler. Just a note about my folks. In addition to the square dancing, they are definitely web-savvy seniors. A few years ago I taught my Dad HTML and Dreamweaver and he picked it up quick! He is now the webmaster for the Village Squares web site. My Dad is a webmaster, digital photographer and a madman in Paint Shop Pro (he knows more about how to use it than I do, for sure). My Mom is an expert Facebooker and Instant Messager. They are a great example of seniors making the most of the Internet.
Curiosity Killed the Confusion
I’ve recently come into contact with a lot of people who don’t know a whole lot about the whole social media thing. When I try to explain the stuff to them, I either get a yah, but….or just a blank stare. It’s true, there is SO much going on in this space right now that it’s hard to even know where to start or who to listen to. A year ago, much like many other people, I barely knew what a podcast was let alone an RSS feed. I didn’t see much point in having my own blog. I would read the odd blog here and there, but I really couldn’t distinguish between what was worthwhile and what was a waste of bandwidth. I too, was confused. The shocking part was I’d been working as a web designer since 1998. I was there when all this World Wide Web business started! I’m an oldtimer! I was an “industry professional”! How did all of this social media stuff pass me by? How come nobody told ME about it? I realized very quickly that if I didn’t get out there and learn about it I’d be left behind. So I went to Podcamp Toronto. For me, that was where this new world opened up. I learned about WordPress, Twitter, Talkshoe, Skype, RSS and a ton of other stuff, and realized the future of the Web. I met some great new friends who answered all my silly questions (and they still do, thanks guys!), and what I didn’t have answers for I figured out on my own. I farted around with it. I set up blogs and broke them. I mean, I really screwed them up bad, man. I made RSS feeds that didn’t work and played with them till they did. I clicked on every link I saw. Read every blog post I could, till my eyes went blurry. And I figured it out. We have some new interns working at our office. Great bunch of guys, fresh out of college. Unfortunately the educational system always seems to be about 1 year behind the real world in what they teach, particularly when it comes to technology. The reason is that curriculum is set too far in advance. By the time they are teaching the classes, the technology has already changed. This happened back in ’98 when I graduated from my college Multimedia programme. We were focused mainly on CD-ROM development. We had only ONE DAY of HTML coding, using Notepad and Netscape version 4.7 because our school computers had not been upgraded to the new version 5.0 yet. We had a couple of in-class demos from some company we’d never heard of called Macromedia, showing us these new tools called Flash and Dreamweaver, but we really didn’t see any practical use for them at the time. Within weeks of graduating, I was hired by one of my instructors to – believe it or not – TEACH web site design! So me, with my demo versions of Dreamweaver and Flash and my “Teach Yourself HTML in 7 Days” book, set to work to learn everything I possibly could about this stuff. 3 weeks later, I successfully taught a class of 20 students how to make their own web sites and put them online. I succeeded, not because I had any special training in it, but because I was curious about how it worked. And I sat there at my computer, and frigged around with it for days, till I got it right. Thank God I had no social life back then. I sat down with “The Interns” today and had a serious talk with them about social media, something they (remarkably) haven’t really touched on in school. Told them everything I know about it. Got them excited about it. Gave them a bunch of links and said “Just go in there, play around with this stuff, listen to these guys, they know what they are talking about, and have fun with it. Explore it. Get curious about it. This is going to be your career.” There is no magic tool that is going to make you an expert about the Web or about social media. All you need is a computer, a web connection and a browser…and extreme curiosity. Oh, and lots of coffee. Oh, and by the way? If you want to figure out what all this social media stuff is about, click on some of the links you see in this post. That’s a GREAT start.
Jeff Healey Memorial Tribute
My brother, also a big fan of Jeff Healey, has posted a very nice memorial tribute. Update: My brother’s tribute was taken off this site, but there is a tribute now online for Jeff.