Sometimes I think that people need to step back from their jobs, and realize the actual impact they are having on society, and I mean this in a positive way. We are often so caught up in day to day work, that we miss out on the bigger picture, unable to see the forest from the trees.
For instance, let's say you are a mechanic. Sure, you are fixing cars, and making a living, but you are also helping people. You are making sure that someone else is able to get to work, or get their kids to school; you are making a huge difference in their lives. What about those people that are working on the new Renaissance building in downtown London right now, do you think they stop and realize that they will be reshaping London's skyline even after they are gone? For as often as people worry about the legacy they are going to leave, it is so rare that they stop to realize the impact they are having every day.
I know that for many people they see their job as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. There is nothing wrong with this, but I've always believed that it doesn't matter if you helped the old lady cross the street to impress a pretty girl, because the fact is that you still helped an old lady cross the street regardless of your motive.
For many companies I think that they forget why they started in the first place. As businesses grow, and CEO's become more distant from the product they create, they forget what a difference their company can have to someone's life. Not only is their product helping people, but they are employing people. They are giving people the opportunity to provide for their families. A lot of times I feel thankful to be in the communications field, because I get to look at these companies from a fresh set of eyes. I get to see what it is that they haven't seen in so long.
I am often times reminded of what Jennifer Jones said at a Rotary function last year concerning their role with social media, "Rotary is already doing good things, this is just about spreading that message to the world". This is something that has often stuck with me. I find with communications, there are times when you get that special client that it is simply a matter of spreading the word about incredible work that they do.
What I am saying is maybe just take two seconds to step back from whatever job you have, and think about the impact you made on someone's life. Maybe you are making pizzas which will be dinner for a family, selling a car to someone so they can get to work, building a house that will be filled with memories, designing a website so that someone can take their small business to the next level; whatever it is, you are making an impact on someone else's life for the better, whether you are getting paid for it or not.
Sunday 25 March 2012
Monday 19 March 2012
Top Ten Stand-Up Comedians
Louis C.K.
This guy has reinvented what has been lacking in comedy in recent years, by reinventing himself. His comedy range is incredible, from obnoxious noises, to searching to the deepest pits of human emotions.
And if you are already a Louis C.K. fan, watch this video to gain an insight into his craft.
Mitch Hedberg
Richard Pryor
George Carlin
Dave Chapelle
Emo Phillips
Eddie Murphy
Bill Hicks
Rodney Dangerfield
Steven Wright
Ok.. I really can't leave Norm off the list, so let's make this a Top Eleven
Norm MacDonald
This guy has reinvented what has been lacking in comedy in recent years, by reinventing himself. His comedy range is incredible, from obnoxious noises, to searching to the deepest pits of human emotions.
And if you are already a Louis C.K. fan, watch this video to gain an insight into his craft.
Mitch Hedberg
Richard Pryor
George Carlin
Dave Chapelle
Emo Phillips
Eddie Murphy
Bill Hicks
Rodney Dangerfield
Steven Wright
Ok.. I really can't leave Norm off the list, so let's make this a Top Eleven
Norm MacDonald
Monday 12 March 2012
What would my life be like without the internet?
On this rainy day, I’m sitting inside, incredibly frustrated because my internet has slowed to an unending crawl. We are talking worse than dial up. I can’t believe how frustrating it is to not be able to send the documents and the replies that I need to send to various people. To check to see what is going on through social media with my friends and family. What kinds of events are happening around the world, and what the latest viral videos are? And trust me, I know this all sounds reminiscent of the Louis C.K. "Everything's amazing and nobody's happy" bit.
It’s crazy to think that, even when I was a little kid, all of this didn’t exist. I find it fascinating, that what I do, digital strategy, is to assist with making something that didn’t exist even twenty years ago, run better.
I come from a long line of blacksmiths on one side of my family. After three generations of blacksmiths, came my papa who was a farmer. On the other side was my Zedi, a small business owner who operated a travel shop, selling luggage. These were real things. Some of my blacksmith ancestors were left handed, and actually crafted their own tools to be able to do their jobs. I can’t imagine sitting down with these guys and explaining to them what I do. “So, basically I try to make this thing that didn’t exist in your time run better?”. There have been ton’s of momentary jobs over time; think about the fax fixers, the MySpace moguls, the RIM employ….. ok maybe that last one is a little premature. However, all of these jobs were valuable at the time, and the skills are transferable to other things.
One aspect that I find incredibly fascinating is the fleeting nature of what I do. In order to do my job well, I split my time between working on projects, and researching the latest advancements in technology. It is incredibly hard to stay up date because things are constantly changing with social media, and best practices.
Keeping this in mind, it’s fascinating to see how even in a year’s time, what I spent so much time working on and researching can be out of date. Even the best websites need to be redone in three year’s time, maybe even sooner. Looking at social media plans and strategy, you’ll be lucky if it’s relevant in a year. However, at the time, it worked. It did was it was supposed to do. There won’t be any tools left from my job that one day my great, great, great, great, great grandchildren will find and wonder about. Technology changes so fast, I’ll be lucky if they can even access what I’ve spent so much of life at. However, that doesn’t mean I would change what I am doing. Times are different now. Many of the jobs that I have had aren’t catered towards leaving a legacy. Cooking for instance, once the plate is gone, its gone. Only if you have done a really good job, but more likely a really bad one will you ever hear anything more of it. However, the skill of cooking is something that people talk about. People remember their Grandma made the best matzo ball soup (even if years later you found out it came from a box), just like how I talk about how I found the tools leftover from my blacksmith ancestors. Just because you can't hold it, doesn't make it any less real.
I often wonder what would my world be like if I slid into a parallel dimension (Sliders anyone?), where the Arpanet had never been created (the earliest known instance of the internet)? What would I do then? It’s on a day like today, as I wait for the internet to hopefully come back on so I can once again rejoin the world that I know, that I actually get the time to examine these things. I would like to say that the internet is the only thing holding me back from being the next Wayne Gretzky, however, that may not be the case.
Update: I have alas fixed my internet. To my surprise, it was actually something that I could be halfway proud of. A faulty coaxial cord seems to have been the reason, and after using wire cutters, and getting a replacement end, and destroying my entire living in the process, I am now back in business.
It’s crazy to think that, even when I was a little kid, all of this didn’t exist. I find it fascinating, that what I do, digital strategy, is to assist with making something that didn’t exist even twenty years ago, run better.
I come from a long line of blacksmiths on one side of my family. After three generations of blacksmiths, came my papa who was a farmer. On the other side was my Zedi, a small business owner who operated a travel shop, selling luggage. These were real things. Some of my blacksmith ancestors were left handed, and actually crafted their own tools to be able to do their jobs. I can’t imagine sitting down with these guys and explaining to them what I do. “So, basically I try to make this thing that didn’t exist in your time run better?”. There have been ton’s of momentary jobs over time; think about the fax fixers, the MySpace moguls, the RIM employ….. ok maybe that last one is a little premature. However, all of these jobs were valuable at the time, and the skills are transferable to other things.
One aspect that I find incredibly fascinating is the fleeting nature of what I do. In order to do my job well, I split my time between working on projects, and researching the latest advancements in technology. It is incredibly hard to stay up date because things are constantly changing with social media, and best practices.
Keeping this in mind, it’s fascinating to see how even in a year’s time, what I spent so much time working on and researching can be out of date. Even the best websites need to be redone in three year’s time, maybe even sooner. Looking at social media plans and strategy, you’ll be lucky if it’s relevant in a year. However, at the time, it worked. It did was it was supposed to do. There won’t be any tools left from my job that one day my great, great, great, great, great grandchildren will find and wonder about. Technology changes so fast, I’ll be lucky if they can even access what I’ve spent so much of life at. However, that doesn’t mean I would change what I am doing. Times are different now. Many of the jobs that I have had aren’t catered towards leaving a legacy. Cooking for instance, once the plate is gone, its gone. Only if you have done a really good job, but more likely a really bad one will you ever hear anything more of it. However, the skill of cooking is something that people talk about. People remember their Grandma made the best matzo ball soup (even if years later you found out it came from a box), just like how I talk about how I found the tools leftover from my blacksmith ancestors. Just because you can't hold it, doesn't make it any less real.
I often wonder what would my world be like if I slid into a parallel dimension (Sliders anyone?), where the Arpanet had never been created (the earliest known instance of the internet)? What would I do then? It’s on a day like today, as I wait for the internet to hopefully come back on so I can once again rejoin the world that I know, that I actually get the time to examine these things. I would like to say that the internet is the only thing holding me back from being the next Wayne Gretzky, however, that may not be the case.
Update: I have alas fixed my internet. To my surprise, it was actually something that I could be halfway proud of. A faulty coaxial cord seems to have been the reason, and after using wire cutters, and getting a replacement end, and destroying my entire living in the process, I am now back in business.
Sunday 4 March 2012
My Top Websites
Last week Jonathan Kochis, partner at Resolution IM, tweeted this.
Fark has been the most consistent site for me for years. It is organized great, and has ton's of article's flowing in constantly. I was a little dumb founded when they merged their music section with "Entertainment", I've always felt that this site is a great source for interesting articles.
They also have without a doubt, the best headlines that I've ever seen.
Without a doubt the best video site on the web. I love everything about this site. From a design perspective it is simple and east to use. From a content perspective, they always have the best quality videos on the web. New movie trailers, viral videos, fail videos, and a ton of videos that are just really interesting. If you check this site regularly, you will not be disapointed.
This is the best place to find out about the latest advancements in Social Media, Technology, Business, Entertainment, US & World News, and Videos. However, without a doubt, it's focus is on social media and technology. There is a constant flow of new articles which makes Mashable's twitter a great follow as well.
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Yes, I'm admitting it, I still like Yahoo. Everyone seems to have a hate on for this site, and yes, their site does look pretty terrible for someone that used to actually be a huge force online, however, they also have links to some great articles. While I never use Yahoo for search anymore, I do check in every once and a while and see if there are any interesting articles there.
While sometimes the articles are maybe not the most riveting thing in the world, it is local news. It is really interesting sometimes to see the comments after the articles. Sometimes you see people actually adding more details to the articles than the article itself. Although, sometimes the comments are a little ridiculous, and look more like trolling than citizen engagement, but that can be entertaining too.
It's very true, although it's not just the future of the web. If I think of all of the websites that I use on a daily basis, all of them organize the web in very clear ways.I think the future of the web belongs to those who can organize it: emarketer.com/Article.aspx?i… #li
— Jonathan Kochis (@jonathankochis) February 24, 2012
FARK NEWSFLASH: Whitney Houston beats Bobby Brown to death tinyurl.com/7vznxrz
— fark (@fark) February 12, 2012
Criminal by Garrett Borns devour.com/video/criminal…
— Devour (@devour) February 24, 2012
How Employers Are Paying in 2012 [INFOGRAPHIC] - on.mash.to/zvMCKt
— Pete Cashmore (@mashable) March 3, 2012
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wins landslide presidential election despite unprecedented political opposition. yhoo.it/zZPqpO
— Yahoo!(@Yahoo) March 4, 2012
Full story on the Western hacker and the charges London police laid this morning. bit.ly/xcXDdQ #LDNont
— London Free Press (@LFPress) March 2, 2012
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