How about a game of Mental Thermonuclear War?

May 28, 2010 By 2 Comments
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WOPR Computer, taken from WarGames
Image via Wikipedia

One of my gifts is the ability to completely and utterly think myself into a corner. I’m like the WOPR playing Tic-Tac-Toe with itself in the movie WarGames.

It creeps up on me most times. A big portion comes from over-commiting myself to projects (another gift of mine). A dash comes from trying to make too many people happy. A smidge comes from prioritizing too highly the things I Must Do entirely over the things I Want To Do. Frost it all with my insatiable need to be forever trying new things, and you get a Cake of Unbelievable Paralysis.

I realized I was baking another one of these a few weeks back when I discovered I’d nearly lost my desire to talk on Twitter and Facebook with people I dearly admire and value. Every time I’d go to type something into Twitter, Facebook, or any of my blogs, I ask if this is relevant? Is it too snarky? Will someone misinterpret it? What am I trying to say here? Who will it piss off?  So I post nothing and it goes nowhere. Just dumb.

I draw some solace from the fact that this happens to others. It is my form of what the most wonderful Havi calls being in need of destuckification. This knowledge helps because it is a fiercely frustrating state of mind for me, and being aware others go through it keeps me sane(ish) while I work it through.

This Memorial Day weekend I’m hoping to put some of this to rest. Zen Habits has a nice article on the top habit(s) of highly creative people.  The first is Solitude – spending time with yourself and your thoughts. The second is Participation – connecting with other for energy and inspiration. I’m way too skewed to the second at the moment and it is contributing to my burnout. I think a little time with myself may start helping me get back into alignment.

In the end, you have to be true to yourself and let others choose their own paths based on that.  The world has a tendency to make unreasonable demands, there will forever be things clamoring for your attention, and there will always be someone unhappy with what you’ve done or failed to do. Trying to make everyone else happy is a strange game.

The only winning move is not to play.

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Social Media Stupid Metaphor Exercise (bel Grande)

December 9, 2008 By 2 Comments
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I’m prone to random ideas, and last week it struck me that just about any danged crazy thing could (or has) been used as metaphor for Social Media, Web 2.0, or whatever you want to call this stuff. I had some time waiting for a program to install, so I threw out onto Twitter for people to “send me a noun” that I would then attempt to form into some faux profundity about Social Media.

Well, leave it to Twitter. The nouns flew fast and furious, and I had to cut them off quickly or I would have been at it all day. Below is the list of people, the words they gave me, and my replies. I won’t vouch for the quality of the replies, but it was definitely fun. Sometimes the best creativity flows when you’re really under the gun.

  • The rutabaga is a vegetable similiar to the turnip. The Root O’ Social Media is building communities. (@JeffReidAZ)
  • Getting old corporations to adopt new media is like curing a giraffe of a cough. It takes a while and you’re gonna get kicked. (@TSDivaDani)
  • Like a noun is the crux of every good sentence, honesty is the crux of every good blog. (@c_reed (nice one!))
  • Travelling snake-oil salesmen used to sell from their suitcase, now they just use twitter and my InBox! (@snakecharmers)
  • A good blogger needs a good pair of overalls, because like a farmer at some point you’ll be covered in ****. (@maniactive)
  • Like parsnip cowers in the shadow of the mighty carrot, spammers will never quite measure up to the honest blogger (@smlacy)
  • Even the mighty blue whale knows the difference between the soggy plankton and the nourishing krill of the internet. (@memestorm)
  • Like the mighty aardvark, you must plunge your moist snout of curiousity into the anthill of social media! (@jeffmann)
  • L is for the layers of conversation social media brings to discussions, from the meaningful to the totally contrived. (@deanouellette) (ed: Not sure L was a noun, but what the heck)
  • Many enter the social media vestibule, but they’re not entering the main hall without purchasing a Ticket of Sincerity. (@timedalkat)
  • Social Media is the soup of the internet. You have to stir through lots of broth and peas to find the tasty bits of meat. (@spellwight)

I’ll definitely give it another try someday. Maybe make a whole book of these things.

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Filed Under: Humor, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Do you have the skills for Social Media?

September 17, 2008 By 2 Comments
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A long time back I set up some job alerts at different career sites like Dice and Monster.com for Social Media positions.¬† I hadn’t received an email alert from Monster.com in a while, and I’d almost entirely forgotten I had it still active.

Until this week.

Monster.com is either drunk out of their minds, or there is a deep change coming in the Social Media landscape.¬† The same alert that once returned positions like “Community Manager” and “Wiki Administrator” in just Arizona have now returned:

  • Emergency Medical Science Instructor in Kinston, NC
  • 911 Dispatcher in Yuma, AZ
  • Lawn Tech in Ocala, FL
  • Triad Associate Dentist in Winston/Salem
  • Assistant Thai Cook in Destin, FL
  • Special Ops Personnel (Military Combat) in (No location given)
  • Manager at House of China Restaurant in (No location given)

The message is clear. Social Media has moved beyond trying to drive authentic, dynamic conversations and is now a critical component of every facet of our lives.  Where once you needed to just know how to set up WordPress, now you must know CPR. Where once you just had to know how to use Friendfeed, now you have to be able to carve shrubbery into funny animal shapes.  Where once you just had to know how to filter Scoble out from every damned Internet tool on Earth, you now must be able to infiltrate enemy governments while cooking Asian gourmet food AT THE SAME TIME.

I, for one, welcome the challenge.  And if you happen to be looking for a job yourself, I think there may be a Web Developer position opening up really soon over at Monster.com

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