The Tear Down

Ted Williams - the man the media refers to as "the homeless guy" with the golden voice. Like everyone else, I was captivated by the heartwarming story of this fragile human being who had visibly suffered much and was seeking a better life for himself. But when I saw his image oozing forth from every media orifice,  I became worried that change was coming too quickly and the avalanche of job offers, demands for public appearances and media attention would suffocate him.

True to human form we thrust him on a pedestal, touting his virtues to satisfy our hunger for a fairy tale, feel good story. Then ADDICTION, his insidious disease, his closest companion, made a public appearance of its own. Media outlets buzzed with the compelling follow up story, trying to mask the obvious delight at the story that keeps on giving - and the methodical tear down began. It's what we do; build them up so we can tear them down.

I am saddened by the obvious lack of compassion and caring for this troubled man. Sure the job offers came pouring in - and what would seem like random acts of kindness were probably more like opportunists cashing in on a great story. Who was worried about Ted's sobriety? His bewildered eyes told the story -- he was clearly overwhelmed. Anyone who knows anything about addiction  understands that it is a demon that will be fought one day at a time, for always. Addiction is a lifelong affliction and he needs more than a fancy haircut, clothing makeover and limo rides -- he needs treatment and support. I heard that Dr. Phil reached out to him and convinced him to go to rehab. Of course all of this after he taped three interviews with him. No free ride here ... cha-ching.

My heart goes out to Ted Williams and his family. Addiction is a roller coaster and it is apparent that it is a ride that they have taken many times before. I wish him the strength and resolve that he will need to sustain himself through his treatment, that he may emerge in recovery and finally start living the life he was meant to live.

Phone Frenzy

Well I am not sure what hole today slipped into; it started off nice and slowly and somewhere along the way the middle of the day slipped into a chasm - a black hole. All I did is set off to buy a new cell phone and between the parade of latest, greatest and smartest of phones  (that practically update and escalate your social media statuses all on their own), I lost a chunk of my life. Technology quicksand!

I didn't appreciate the dubious looks I got from the skinny twenty-something techno geek sales associate when I said I wanted to look at the Desire.

He: looking kind of confused at me. "The Desire? It just came out you know."

Me: "Yes, I realize that. It came out yesterday".

He: still looking a little confounded, "How do you use your phone now?"

Me: getting impatient "That's the point ... I want to be able to access my social media ... update my blog, and Facebook and Twitter more easily - and tether."

He: "YOU have a blog?" smirk, slight rolling of eyes

Me: I'm not a %&^% dinasaur. I wasn't born under a rock. "Yes, I have several (blogs).

To make a long story short, we bonded over his phone envy ... for the latest and greatest that I was holding in my hot little hand. His iPhone had lost its glitter and glean after only 3 months and he was scouting the "new stuff". When I pulled my old Blackberry out of my purse to get a phone number, he gasped as if he were staring at the orignal invention. "How long have you had that? It doesn't even have a camera in it!" He really needs to eat more - and get more sun to add some colour to those sallow cheeks.

As I picked up the crispy paper shopping bag that held my new possession, he couldn't resist a parting barb or was it genuine concern .... "Are you going to be alright with this phone? We offer one hour courses you know". I assured him that I knew how to use the Internet and could probably find any answers I would need there.

As I walked to my car, my shiny new phone (named Desire ... dumbest name ever) started ringing. I stopped on the sidewalk, dropped my bag and scrambled to find out how to answer this technical marvel. Caller Unknown. "Hello?"

"Hi Mrs. B. (way too much respect considering he was just rolling his eyes at me) It's the skinny techno geek Ian from Tel**. I just wanted to make sure you could answer your phone. Glad everything's okay."

Little twirp! There are just some things about getting older that really suck are really irritating. I think that will be my next Facebook status update, and my tweet and my blog rant!

- official end of rant -

Facebook Findings

Facebook is a funny thing. With family spread from coast to coast it has been a uniter for our family. The west coast cuz is privy to the same trivial, day to day news that my daughter down the street is. We share the pics of the famjams so the ones who missed out, can still join in a laugh or two and the notes and teasings we post on our walls pokes the collective ribs of the clan.

I have limited the people I add to my Facebook account to my family, close friends and special work colleagues. It is not a collection of every human being I have encountered since birth. My guideline is simple: if I ran into that person on the street, would I update them on my family and whip out the kid pics? If so - they are added. Some peripheral people I knew distantly in school or in passing (in a small town everyone knows everyone - or thinks they do) invite me to add them - and I do - with limited access.

In addition to the people you may not be all too thrilled to reconnect with, Facebook can also deliver some wonderful surprises. In the past few months it connected me with a few special friends I hadn't seen since college years. It is heartwarming to browse their family pictures and see how their lives unfolded. As grown ups we can enjoy one another on a whole other level. A sparkling lady who had been one of my mom's dearest friends added me as a friend. She had spent many hours with us as children - not only did we play with her kids, but she also baby sat us so my mom could take night courses. She and my mom supported one another through the harried years of motherhood. She is now a grandmother and it is comforting to see her still perpetual wide smile shining through in every picture. oops ... tearing up here...

And then last week, my first work mentor we are talking 1981 here ... the man who gave me my very first promotion found my work Facebook account and contacted me. We had worked together at two different cable companies and he played a pivotal role in my work life. He is a kindly man with gentle brown eyes, an openly compassionate man who we dubbed the "hugger". We exchanged brief emails with promises to meet for coffee. Then on Sunday at my charity event, there was Mr. Hugger and his wife! We hugged  *naturally* and spent half an hour catching up - discussing his cancer journey, perusing the grandpics, chatting about old times. Fate had taken our reunion into its own hands - starting with a Facebook intervention.

So I guess I am trying to say that I am really enjoying the surprises and happy nuggets that Facebook has been dropping my way. Findings can be moving.

Linked In

I am "linked in" - just like 45 million other people around the planet. For the benefit of anyone who isn't one of the 45 million, LinkedIn is "a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients." In other words, Facebook for the grown up / professional.

It is a strange experience ... posting your profile only to receive a myriad of invitations to join people's networks. I invited some of my former colleagues as well as my friends who are on LinkedIn. The power of the Internet never ceases to amaze me. The very first day, I had a request from an account executive I worked with almost 30 years ago when I was the mail girl. I connected with my writing partner from university, with a woman who worked for me 20 years ago, and a list of other people from my work past.

What struck me most was the level of  accomplishment of each and every contact I have  ... impressive titles such as  president, vice president, director, general manager, CFO ... titles that denote success and status. I chuckled at my own - which pales in comparison. I can remember a time when I thought I was a PIP (pretty important person) and wore a nice professional identifier. But that was long ago and I now live a simpler life that is pretty much devoid of any such identifier or title. The woman in the suit no longer exists. In fact it makes me wonder why I even bothered to join a professional network; why I plunged back into a world I donated to Goodwill.

I am proud of the accomplishments of my friends, coworkers, and class mates. It reminds me that life is passing quickly and along the way, we all grew up - and are now growing older. It feels good to renew old connections and catch up with old friends.

So I guess I answered my own question; I am linked in - not left out!

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day 2009 and we are trying to harness the power of social media to take a collective stance on the issue of climate change.

Action is needed to achieve a sustainable solution to our global climate crisis. Countries have to work together to limit greenhouse gases and build a clean energy economy, and in December world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a global response to climate change. Let's hope our leaders will take the threat of climate change seriously and make the necessary changes to ensure the safety and health of future generations.

Optimist that I am, I can only hope Canada will once again take the lead as we did with the Kyoto Accord. What started out as a bold, brave initiative for our country back in the late 1990's became one of our biggest embarassments on the world stage - when we chose not to honour our commitments.

Canadian environment groups have formed KYOTOplus, a Canadian campaign to support an urgent solution to the global warming crisis - leading up to the United Nations meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. You can sign the petitition on the website.

KYOTOplus will ensure Canada:

• Votes in favour of extending and strengthening the Kyoto Protocol this December, 2009, at the meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark;
• Replaces its current inadequate policy approach with a credible, urgent plan that brings down Canada's greenhouse gas pollution fast.

Whatever your political persuasion, as a member of the human race inhabiting this grand planet Earth, I am sure we can agree on one thing ... that it is time for us to put the health of our planet ahead of profits and wealth.

Happy Blog Action Day.

e-nurture

The world is a little smaller and news travels at the speed of Facebook, Twitter, email, texts and blogs ...

When I recently received the sad news of my uncle's passing, I headed over to my dad's place to tell him in person - and I did it quickly. In these times of lightening speed communications, news is shared instantly and spreads like a pandemic. I didn't want him learning about this from a Facebook status update or something. Remember when instant communications meant a phone call (an expensive one if it was long distance) and the long version was a handwritten letter send through the postal service? (Never mind waiting for the reply). Those days are but a distant memory.

The upside of these technological times is that we have the means to stay in touch at the click of a keyboard, a press of the send button or the upload of a picture. Technology makes it easy and instant. So I guess we have no excuses ... we can reach out to family and friends, share our lives with them whether they live down the street or across the country. And we can do it often.

Let's be real -- sometimes there is nothing like sitting down with a cup of tea for a good visit, or a phone chat to catch up. Email and electronic tools are not a substitute, but in lieu of those personal exchanges, they can keep you connected and involved. We message more frequently - sometimes several times a day -- nice, short messages about day to day stuff that keeps us close.

Sometimes I curse the barrage of electronic communication I receive or the lack of privacy that comes with having that GPS that we call a cell phone with me at all times. [Hi, where are you?] But to be perfectly honest, for me, the benefits far outweigh the downside. I love opening my IN BOX to see a list of unread messages. I get excited when I get an email that tells me that my daughter has posted a video. And I look forward to reading the blogs of my friends and yes -- family! MIH has also joined the blogosphere.

So I guess I am trying to say that technology makes it easy to nurture ... e-nurture! So get busy!

Shake The Shillelagh

Today I am paying homage to the 25% of me that is Irish. I certainly have been blessed with the luck of the Irish -- but now that I've said that -- have the Irish have had much luck? Instead I will wish everyone Tweetluck on this St Paddy's Day. Watch the video below if you want a few moments of peace, your heart filled with humanity and gratitude and the realization that you have the power to change someone else's luck.

An Irish Blessing For Everyone ...

May you always have
Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire!

Flittering with Twitter

Cartoon by Krishna M. Sadasivam (PC Weenies)

Tweet, tweet, tweet.

No, it isn't the sound of birds chirping ... but rather Twitter! In the last few days it seems that everywhere I turn I am hearing about all things Twitter. Kudos to their marketing team. I turn on CNN and the anchors are discussing the explosion of the use of Twitter and their own accounts. On The Ellen Show P. Diddy sat in the guest chair, Blackberry in hand explaining the fine art of TwitterBerry to a befuddled Ellen. Why wouldn't you just call? You can now use Tweeter to post tweets on Facebook. A news report featured a story about congregations tweeting during church services. They gave impassioned testimonials on how tweeting their impressions, thoughts and comments to their followers enriched their church experience exponentially. President Obama has a Twitter account and apparently Washington has become the Twitter capital of the USA.

Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service.
It enables its users to send and read other users' updates
(known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up
to 140 characters in length. Wikipedia

There seems to be an enthusiastic population wanting to share their abbreviated thoughts and impulses (140 characters or less) with, in may cases, a hungry audience of unknowns. Yes, I have a Twitter account and I have it mainly to keep up to snuff with social media for my job. I have a backlog of 40 people - none who I know - requesting permission to follow me. My posts have ranged from the mundane to the radical- political rants that I am not sure I am comfortable sharing with the general populous. Does that mean I am not transparent? Maybe. I think I will create a work-only Twitter account.

I am not comfortable in having my worlds collide. I squirm to think that someone could search on my email and know so much about me. I am always awestruck when I visit blogs that boast a lengthy list of social media outlets, or their communities -- follow me on: Twitter, digg, Facebook, MySpace, Profilactic, del.icio.us, Flickr, LinkedIn and Plurk. I can learn everything about them - even see the photos they took or like. Not sure how relevant this all this.

I just pulled up Twitterfall to see the latest 'tweets' cascading from the top of the page in near-real time. Lots of people are watching American Idol ... heavy sigh Did I need to know that? Do I care? Someone does. And do I need to have people caring about what I am doing, thinking, liking, who I am associating with, and what I have or have not accomplished ...

This has turned into a full out rant of sorts. Luckily I have contained it here ... I needed more than 140 characters. My tweet may have looked like this: Twitter is everywhere; not sure why?

Anti-social media

Today has been spent doing all things "social media". Most of it had to do with my job and the day started with a webinar on this very topic. The session lead to a lively discussion with my colleagues about the way we communicate - how it is changing - and what it all means.

Twittering.Blogging. Facebook. Wikis. The means of communicating online is endless - and instant. Maybe it's a little dangerous too. With a few keystrokes from our keyboard we can express our innermost feelings, reactions and opinions on an infinite number of topics. But express them to who? Quantity vs quality? Is it relevant? Who cares what I think on any given subject? What credibility do I have? Where is the context?

Why do I blog? I asked myself that very question when I first started my blog. It was a big step for me to share my writing -- with ??? Anyway, I write for myself - to express myself. I blog to exercise my writing muscle with unabashed abandon - a different exercise than the work writing. I write to stimulate and organize my thoughts.

It's ironic that all of this online communication is called social media. There really isn't anything social about it. It is impersonal at best -- we really don't know who we are communicating with - the individuals we engage with are strangers to us -- projecting personas of their own creation. I can see the attraction and appeal; we can be who we want to be online and have virtual conversations with people who we may share common interests with. Loneliness could be a thing of the past.

Anyway -- enough of the mindless meandering about social media. I have a blog to post to, Facebook profile to update and pictures to upload. And and on top of it all -- I am feeling anti-social!

What am I doing right now (in 140 characters or less)? Going to bed.