7 Dec, 2008
I was asked recently at work to provide some information about best practices for creating and maintaining public social networking profiles (namely LinkedIn and Facebook). Here’s what I came up with…
A General Rule To Live By
You may have heard this maxim before, but it’s worth repeating: Don’t publish anything online that you wouldn’t want to appear on the cover of the New York Times. Before you post any content ask yourself, would I want my mother, child, spouse, best friend, boss, client, etc. to be able to see what I’ve posted now or at any point in the future? If the answer is no, it’s probably best not to put it on the Internet.
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Posted in Life, Social Media, Uncommon Sense | Comments Off
8 Oct, 2008
Can’t is a word that I am attempting to eradicate from my vocabulary. It’s more than just a word (or two words smushed together)—it’s an excuse, a mindset, an attitude. I hear this word too often lately, at work (internally and from clients) and in my personal life. The truth of the matter is, when people say, “I can’t do that,” what they often mean is, “I won’t.”
Remember, if you decide that you can’t do something, you’re absolutely correct. If you have a tendency to be the one who declares what cannot be done, ask yourself a few questions:
- Is this actually impossible, or just difficult? Is anything truly impossible?
- Could I achieve what is being asked of me with additional time, education or resources?
- Am I unwilling to do this because it’s a bad idea? How can I use my experience to help make it better?
- Am I too lazy to make the effort to do what is being asked?
After you’ve begun to eliminate can’t from your own vocabulary, the next step is learning how to use this approach to deal with those who tell us what can’t be done. The same four questions asked above, posed in a non-threatening manner, can also be used to help shift the attitudes of Those Who Can’t (or won’t). Offering assistance or a fresh perspective are additional methods to shift attitudes and break through roadblocks. Try using the following:
- I understand that you’re saying this can’t be done. What can I do to help?
- You’re right, this has never been done before. Wouldn’t it be remarkable to be the first?
- Doing everything at once can be daunting, but if we break this into smaller tasks and work on it iteratively, eventually we can accomplish our goal.
“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”
– Arthur C. Clarke
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14 Aug, 2008
Lifecasting – it’s all the rage! Here are five reasons why you too should blog and tweet incessantly about the minutia of your life, take daily photographs of yourself and post them to Flickr and strap a video camera to your body that will stream your every move to anyone with an Internet connection.
… And Now, The Top 5 Reasons to Broadcast Every Second of Every Day of Your Life…
- You’re a narcissistic attention whore.
- Your mommy taught you that everything you do is exceptional and worthy of exuberant adulation.
- You have an innate desire to annoy friends, family and perfect strangers.
- You think people actually give a shit about the fact that someone put poppyseeds on your onion rolls.
- High probability slight chance of receiving a development deal with a TV production company.
If any of these apply to you, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start over-sharing with the world! What’s the worst that could happen?
In all seriousness though… please don’t.
Posted in Life, Social Media, Technology | 1 Comment »