The Visual Display Unit Has a Lot to Answer For

(A look at how social media moves the boundaries of personal and professional relationships: Blog 2)

Whether at work or play, society is increasingly getting drawn into a culture of staring at screens each and every day. Whether it be a PC, TV or Smartphone, all the time we're wired up, connected, sucking in a world of digital "reality." This creates constant distractions that can have a paralyzing effect on our productivity.

Why is that? Well, governments, media outlets and major corps are very savvy, especially when technology provides the platform to reach into every facet of our lives. Then consider the power of these beasts when coupled with social media portals. Their collaborative superpowers create a sense of self-fulfilment for us, but it is negligible, if not fake – power, wealth, security, a sense of being? Maybe, but it’s so easy to get distracted and not leverage them for your own success.

Ask of everything, what value does this truly add to my life? I’m not 60, but what happened to the good old fashioned pleasures of taking time, sitting and relaxing, talking face to face, walking in fresh air... what’s the point of all that!

Don’t in any way believe continuous technological advancement is destroying society... of course it isn’t. We are taking the art of work and play to new mediums, wider audiences, more appropriate groups of friends, colleagues and associates. Never before has the knowledge base and communications network been more powerful. But we do have to appreciate, what’s the point FOR US? Where should that thirst for success - however YOU wish to define it - find a balance with health and well being for our own greater good? Whether that is as an organization, professional, family or friend.

Be dynamic, be creative and don’t cut corners or try and short change people. Show a common courtesy, voice opinion with articulation and authority. Not just for the sake of it or without substance. Knowledge dissemination is about understanding what makes sense, and that talking – not shouting – to the right group of people is paramount. Be real, earn respect, keep things natural and on-point. Expand your network, sure, but do so on the fundamental proviso that it makes sense in the grand scheme of your professional or social endeavours. There are enough guru's out there that frankly are not. Don't fall into the trap, go off subject or try and fit your square peg into a round hole.  Case in point... Flashy term – Guru! Gosh we have a lot of those in our midst. Love them all for trying, but how many content "experts" from the Philippines truly know how to perform root canal surgery or provide hands on experience of the iPad3 - before it's even been released!


Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Mihai Simonia

Series

• Blog 1: Nobody Really Cares About You!
• Blog 3: Getting Liked, Followed, Connected to Those That Really Matter

Nobody Really Cares About You!

(A look at how social media moves the boundaries of personal and professional relationships: Blog 1)

Social media plays an increasingly large part in our lives, that fused with technology has taken away much of the personal, tactile relationship building which enables people to prosper. However, because of this fusion nobody REALLY cares about you! It’s simply about what you bring to the table.

It’s that "what" they care about. That "what" is your knowledge. It is what it is, because technology and media reach has evolved to such a degree that they now rule many of our daily actions. People believe far too much of what they read, and scrap amongst one another to be heard…

... in a sense that’s such a shame. While digital media is good for many reasons, the trade off is considerable. We have eliminated much of the need for personal contact, built on good old fashioned values. To the point where now, who and what makes a difference has shifted the boundaries of corporate and community success. Professional and social networks become all encompassing or marginalized, "expertise" gets freely banded around, in a web of virtual diatribe – there is a huge void between what is believable and what is not.

Put your ego aside for a minute and ask - what do you offer? Do you make a difference? Intellectually, financially, emotionally? This is a relatively new dawn for technology and media, but it has become a breeding ground for skepticism, regurgitation and dilution.

Social media started off hot, and has now reached melting point. As a result, a new breed of worker must manifest. The problem is, because of technological shifts, today's culture and lifestyles are merging and changing completely the concept of relationships. Driven by a heightened sense of impatience and intolerance we get bored quickly, flitting from one thing to another. We don’t see things through and as a result rarely feel completely satisfied.

It’s all about instant gratification; we want and crave it, now, now, now. So we chase time, money, lifestyles, that are evolving and even disappearing before our very eyes. As such the corporation and community must be agile to changing pace or direction. Gaps in knowledge can be bridged, but loosely and without depth, loyalty or genuine buy-in. Knowledge is more transitional, based on diversity of need and troubled economic times. To succeed we must be transparent and collaborative.

Employees too have to evolve quicker than ever. If only because technologies and their gambit of uses increase by the day. There is a huge difference between the psyche of a knowledge worker in 2012 and that of their counterparts 10, 5, even only 2 years ago. Skills are morphed, competitive choice is in abundance and we can very easily get lost in the crowd. So we must adapt and embrace, being patient, focused and driven. That is some balancing act!

We want a work/life balance, we want all the trimmings of fun, empowerment, wealth, but we also want more, more, more! Of everything! It’s time to take a step back and decide if you are effective and add value to the professional and private lives around you. After all, nobody really cares about YOU!

Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com/Katrina Brown

Series

• Blog 2: The Visual Display Unit Has a Lot to Answer For
• Blog 3: Getting Liked, Followed, Connected to Those That Really Matter

Make Your Kids Do A Business Case To Join Facebook

I have one of the oldest 12 year olds in the world.  It's her thoughtful persistence that makes her seem older. Not in a whiny, annoying type of way, but the kind of way a Chinese water torture must feel like.

Her request:  “Can I open a Facebook account?”  Yes, she used a capital F.

Now Kennedy (we’ll give her a name) and I had an agreement.  Since she was young, I’ve told her that she can’t get a facebook until she is out of the house.  Not because I don’t love social media, I do.  I’m a huge advocate of the power of online communication and how fostering virtual connections can truly improve people’s lives.  But, not for my daughter.

I’ve seen too many wrongs, and heard too many stories about how young people just do not know when they are crossing a line.  It’s so much easier to say what shouldn’t be said when you are typing vs what you would actually say in person (this is the part where all of us are saying to ourselves, oh, that happens to me too, and I’m an adult…topic for another day).  

Once something is out there, it’s out there forever.  Someone told me a story of a straight A high school student getting rejected from her number one choice for college because of what her friends, not her, were saying on her Facebook page.

Throughout Kennedy’s childhood years, she was really good about our agreement.  As her friends were getting Facebook pages left and right, she would say to me, “I don’t want one Mommy”.  

Then came middle school.  

The request to open a Facebook because “All of my friends have one”, was constant.  She was lobbying my closest friends and our relatives.  Everyday, I would hear about her greatest wish from one source or another. 

Of course, I did what any good parent does, I caved.

On the flip side, I am hoping the way I crumbled helps others in my situation. 

After several days of this, one morning I scribbled a “Business Case for Opening A Facebook Account” on my whiteboard and left it in her room.   

Elements of this business case included:

1. Why do you want a Facebook?  Rule:  You can’t say because all your friends have one.
2. What kinds of things would you share/not share?  Give me 3 examples.
3. How much time would you be on Facebook?  Include when during the week also.
4. What is your process for handling friends who act inappropriately?  Provide step by step instructions.
5. What are your criteria for who you would/would not accept as friends?

My hypothesis was that by making her really think about all these situations, she would be better prepared to handle them and be a more responsible Facebooker.  By the time I got home from work, I had this response:

Facebook Business Case By Kennedy

        I should have a Facebook because I could keep in touch with family and friends that live far away.  Facebook is free, fast, and easy.  I could keep up with the family instead of saying you guys never tell me anything!

        I would only share the state I live in, and I wouldn't share my location. I wouldn't say that I'm at Walmart or anywhere else like that. No one could see my pictures either, unless they were my friend. Also, I wouldn't put up inappropriate pictures. I wouldn't share my school. I would be very careful on what I posted and said to others. I would talk about school and family and events with friends and family. I wouldn't talk about anything very inappropriate. I would only say where I have been after I have gone to the place. For example: I just got home from my family’s Florida vacation! I would be careful on the information I put on the web.

        I would not be on Facebook for very long each day. I would only go on if my homework is done, or to find out the homework. Facebook doesn't have good video chat, and I don't like typing for a long period of time. Which means I wouldn't be on for more than an hour each day with the exception of when friends are over.

        If people don't behave or be inappropriate I will block them on Facebook, and I would warn my friends that are friends with those people. I would stay away from them, and not talk to them over Facebook either. I would be careful of who I talked to on Facebook.

         I would never accept friend requests from people that I don't know, or don't talk to. I would never accept friend requests from people that are my friend’s friends, but not mine. I would make sure that it is the person that friend requested me by calling, or asking them in person. If some one looked me up on Facebook they could only see my name, state, and gender. I would only friend, and accept good people who don't misbehave or act inappropriate either.

        In conclusion, I think that I should have a Facebook because I would be responsible and keep up with family and friends. That is why you should let me have a Facebook. Thank you for reading!

Needless to say, Kennedy won her case.

We did add a few additional rules to help complete the process:

•  She had to friend both her father and I
•  There’s a total limit to the number of friends she can have, if she goes over that amount, she has to unfriend someone else to make room.
• She can not friend someone she doesn’t know.  That includes celebrities.
• We had to review her privacy settings, and we will periodically check on these as Facebook’s privacy policies change.
• Our friend actually has the password to her son’s account.  She gets to go in and unfriend people directly she doesn’t think he should be friends with.  I think that is pretty genius.

I hope your future Facebooker finds good fortune with this advice from a worn-down Mother. 

Oh, by the way, did I say she was 12?  I meant the minimum legal age to join Facebook, 13.

Photo Credit: DepositPhoto/Ssuaphoto

The Four Steps to Epiphany

My first contribution is a book I think every startup entrepreneur should read.  It is a book by Stephen Gary Blank called, "The Four Steps to Epiphany".  Everyone is so focused on market research.  How big is the market?  If I told you 200 million, would you believe me?  Would that really matter? As if that has any relevance at all to your ability to penetrate that market.

It's about customer discovery.  Have you spoken to enough customers to know whether or not your approach to solving their pain is the right one?  Do you know how much they are willing to pay for your services?  Have you built in enough flexibility in your productization roadmap to allow for fine-tuning and potentially even repurposing?

Steve Blank has developed a practical methodology for every entrepreneur, or even a mature business looking to expand into new markets, to follow.