One Louder

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

2009-11-11T22:15:00Z

Have you heard that grunge is coming back? As someone who missed the full-on grunge experience, Seattle-style. I really hope it's coming back. If so, it has some work to do.

Maybe it's about the fashion. As much as I eschew anything with a collar (check it, friends....when was the last time you saw me in anything with a collar?), I love those cuddly flannels. I admit it, I totally "get" grunge. The messy hair? Not a problem for me. Wearing super-comfy clothes? OK, and?

Other than the economy (haha..."other than"...), and my own lack of personal direction, I didn't find anything patently wrong with the early nineties. But I did feel that the grunge perspective certainly matched my "this is BS" feelings at the time; not to the point that I decided to be stinky. But as a place in time, it matched a time in my life and they just kind of fit.

Anyway, if grunge is coming back in terms of fashion, I'm totally in. Well, not totally, but I can rock a little anti-establishment couture. If it's back from a cultural standpoint, and I can settle into it a bit, it's gonna be a moody snark-fest around here.

So is it just me? Or is anyone else kind of feel good about the idea of it coming back? Or has Courtney Love just ruined it forever?

"The camera changed the way we behaved"

2009-11-09T20:02:00Z

"Citizen journalism" (article by Paul Carr) is slippery. It's a big category with room for self-involved lookiloos ('look at me looking at this", as Paul Carr aptly states) and hopeful, passionate crusaders putting a face and an action to a cause. Some may argue that citizen journalism doesn't exist. OK, I am one of those people. Applying the name "journalism" allows one to deny their part in a situation, even as an observer, where there is a call to action; to help, to get help. People with cell phones are not journalists. Bloggers aren't either, unless they are held to journalistic standards and I really don't know any bloggers with fact checkers or oaths of objectivity. And the power of the camera lets people play a little Dan Rather and dismiss themselves from obligation ("I'm not here, I am just filming this"). You know, to help their fellow man.

I'm not a big cell phone person. So whipping it out in the midst of some notable event doesn't even cross my mind. But I can understand how, in a moment of perceived oppression, ones mind goes to documentation. Referring to all of this as "citizen journalism" makes it messy. And it certainly does not absolve someone of responsibility or humanity (like the woman Carr discusses in the article).

Watch the "This American Life" clip in the article. The camera changes people.

I guess I disagree with Carr a bit in that there is a time and a place for documentation of events for the greater good. And the human psyche really makes many unqualified to make that judgment call. But if the person looks inside, they know why they are doing it. There's no doubt in my mind that the army twitterer was excited about *her* "scoop" to the extent of dismissing the dignity of the people involved. Ego motivated for sure. But there are times where someone might truly feel that there is something going on, in public, that the world needs to see.

Because the dividing line is in the head of the picture/video taker, it's not easy to create pretty categories. But couldn't we just start with not lumping it all under the same category of "citizen journalism", which implies a set of standards and protections that really don't exist?

And,as if I really need to say this, I am not a journalist, not a corporate journalist, not a citizen journalist. I am a person with a keyboard and an opinion, just like you. I would hate for anyone to think that I am paid to be objective! Anyway.

The 24 year old that designed the Windows 7 screen

2009-11-06T17:25:00Z

This will make you feel old and stale if anything will. Because Chuck Anderson is amazingly talented. And 24. Yeah, 24. When he was born, I was staying out too late, smoking cigarettes and going to keg parties hoping that the police didn't show up. But anyway.

(Don't refer to him as a kid, Heather. Don't refer to him as a kid) He's the awesome talent that designed the Windows 7 home screen. In this Gizmodo article, he talks a bit about the process.

Arrington, please

2009-11-05T20:16:00Z

For the educated (by Gawker media) reader, how much of this do you think is driven by an actual business issue and how much is driven by hubris? At what point is one embarrassed by actually behaving like a "diva"?

A one hour mistake and Arrington is seeing red, and flipping out about MSN being less blue. Seriously.

Enough with the stickers already!

2009-10-28T23:33:00Z

Once upon a time, Microsoft employees got t-shirts. Many, many t-shirts. It got old, as things are wont to do. Seems that Moore's law applies to tech company swag as well. Because in much less time, I've gotten sick of stickers. Arghthestickerspleasemakeitstop. Everything is not a sticker opportunity. And where the hell am I supposed to put all of these stickers where funny sayings are replaced by Microsoft product names? On my car? Are you kidding me? (I am just not a bumper sticker kind of a person)

Every time I go to my work mailbox, I get a sticker. In the last week, I have received 4. If I am going to get marketing collateral that I am just going to throw away, I would rather it be recyclable.

I'm going to start using them as travel lint brushes. Brilliant.

Productive stress

2009-10-21T00:15:00Z

In a conversation today, I used the phrase "appropriate and productive stress." Stress is the bully of the moment; anything that puts weight around your middle at least gets serious consideration for that title. Three of four Americans are significantly stressed? That makes me a little sad. Mine is situational, and for good or bad, kind of under my own control. I feel fully capable of getting done what I need to get done. Time is my enemy of choice. And then there's the plain old personal stress (and not much of that to speak of at the moment). But we won't go there.

Stress is simply part of the human condition. Wee needed it to survive. There's that whole flight or flight thing. Gotta feel the stress for that business to work; either a larger animal trying to eat you or someone reaching for the last size small of that sweater you wanted. Or is that just me? Anyway, the human condition. Somewhere along the line, if I recall correctly it was the 80s because I was there and witnessed that "greed is good" shite first hand, there was stress around keeping up with your greedy bastard neighbors. And you started to hear about heart attacks. In my minds eye, I still see a sweaty, balding, bespectacled personification of this in my mind. Oh jeez. He smells like coffee and cigarettes too.

My point is that a certain amount of stress is good. It's uniquely western to be so binary in our thoughts, there is a place for stress in a balanced life. As I said earlier, "appropriate and productive stress." And don't I love it when I learn about proof of my own witty musings right after I have said them?

I really wish that we would make some peace with stress. Or rename it. Honestly, people that don't feel stress at all have something seriously wrong with them, ailments varying from being totally detached from reality to being downright simple. I don't want to hang out with those people. How can something that makes you feel something that motivates you be totally wrong? I'm not minimizing the significant stress that many people are under right now (3 out of four! Oy!). Too much of it is a very bad thing. But why do we have to turn something that is sometimes totally normal and productive into some kind of damning trait" (oh, leave daddy alone right now. He is under a lot of stress at work).

I am starting to understand the poor souls that totally lose it on the road. Yesterday, I changed lanes and the guy behind me not only honked but flashed his lights (so he had time to do both of these things, but not slow down). It's not that he was going fast. In fact, he was coming to a red light, already breaking and going pretty slow. But he wanted to have the option of speeding up, I guess. Cruising through the light and maybe taking out a few people. I think that when we decide that we are stressed (the bad kind), we find other things in life to make it so. We are addicted to the idea of stress and it becomes part of the story we tell to ourselves and the world about why we act that way. We take all these minor things, call them stressful and add them to the tally. And although I am no expert, I think we need to observe these stressors, identify them, act when we can and then let them go. What is this business with making things worse for ourselves?

Really, Yahoo!?

2009-10-20T18:05:00Z

Sometimes fact is stranger, in that it's harder to explain, than fiction. And a global company in Yahoo!'s position should know that the interwebz are global. So the Hack Days lap dances? Is there really any explanation that makes it OK? Not only the gyrating, but also the really lame PR-awareness.

First, let me be clear about something. I don't have a personal problem with stripping, as long as nobody is being subjugated. Under the best of circumstances, it's a living. I really don't care what people do in their personal lives; we all make choices. Don't care about David Letterman, don't care about Jon Gosselin, couldn't give a rip if one of my neighbors is smoking pot in his basement, don't care, don't care, don't care. I am so certain that many of you feel differently. But our feelings about things like stripping, and legalizing marijuana, and politicians love-lives (if you can call them that), are all based on your morals, or world view, as I like to think of it. Not saying that these things can't go horribly wrong, but in and of themselves, they are a personal, adult choice.

One thing that I do think is that these personal "choices" should be kept out of the workplace. They are hot topics and for everyone of us that has a pretty liberal perspective, there's another person who vehemently disagrees. And at work, we need to respect each others perspectives. So no strip-o-gram for a co-workers birthday and no dime bag lunches. I imagine that we all could agree on that.

And I think we can agree that crossing some of these personal lines can do irreparable damage to a brand. I think that is what is going on with the politicians. They become untrustworthy to some, unsavory to most and unmarketable to all. Their morality is their business, but the fact that they are big dopes reflects on their work.

So tying the dope part back to the Hack Days thing. Who thought that was a good idea? Yeah, so you are in Taiwan and maybe the culture there is different than in North America, but here are some things that Yahoo! should have considered:

1) Is this really a good use of marketing budget? Shareholders, how do you feel about this?

2) Like I said before, the interwebz, they are global. Your regional marketing decisions, when they go wrong, will become global. With the click of a mouse. And in vivid color with pretty costumes, I might add.

3) And based on my own work experience, I can tell you that international companies who seek diversity among their employees almost all put females at the top of their list. So I'm not sure it would be easy to convince the much targeted female computer science graduate that a little booty-shaking for the benefit of their male colleagues at Yahoo! isn't taboo, may be even accepted or encouraged.

So all the gyrating fun, if it happened elsewhere? Not a problem for me. But bringing it into a business environment, where a major brand is represented and photos are taken to share the excitement with the world? Did someone have a dime bag lunch?

Windows 7 Shazam!

2009-10-16T19:18:00Z

"Wow" doesn't cut it for me. "Wow" is what I say if a lady yells at her kids in public. Or if I see one more person wear brown Uggs with black leggings (so many kinds of wrong). Or 10% off of whatever. Yeah, wow. So when it comes to the Windows 7 awesomeness, I like "Shazam!" better.

So first of all, this is to all you folks that want to know about the specific awesomeness of Windows 7, especially any that are currently lobbying me to get them a copy. Have you no shame, people? Because you don't get it for free. You have to pay me in shame. Get crackin'.

Anyway, I installed Win 7 a couple weeks ago and in my normal fashion (wait, that comes with instructions? who reads instructions?), I went on my merry way. Totally merry. And I didn't do any "getting started with..." shizz. I'm a busy lady. Ya hear? So aside from the shiny awesomeness I can see and feel, I know that there's more there. So it would be totally helpful if there was a chairman of awesomeness that could break it down for me, like Hammer style. So it can get awesomer and awesomer.

This shows up in Fast Company (big ups for the much improved content, my FC friends). Some of this I knew about and some I didn't. I mean, come on, Aero Shake? Who doesn't want to shake their open application windows closed? I always tend to like the hidden features where you think "how the heck would I have known about that?" And also, who doesn't love shaking?

I'll keep digging in and finding more cool stuff in here to share with you guys as the digital trip progresses (seriously, wait til you see the desktop art and then tell me you don't understand why we don't drug test...oops, maybe I shouldn't have said that).

Less panic, more spa days

2009-10-12T23:45:00Z

Most of us have probably been in the situation where we have to pull off something big; some big amorphous blob of bigness and strategery. No playbook and no rule book. Just get it done, kid. And make it awesome. My funky little job sits in that space. My job is "figuring stuff out"; I'm responsible for figuring out how we x, where x is some big thing that we need to be doing but aren't sure why or how. So investing too much in it now wouldn't make sense. And it's hard to figure out how we assess the value of doing it without doing it and then how do you do it without the resources? Measuring it? We will figure that out later.

I like the figuring. There's definitely some relationship between the complexity of x, the number of stakeholders that have an opinion and my state of mind. I love the variety and learning, but the newness also brings a sense of urgency because I am never entirely sure I have enough time to get done everything I need to get done within this random piece of time called a "fiscal year." A lot of that urgent time feels like I am totally in the zone; making things happen. And some of that time feels like I am getting stuff done to feel like I am making progress. Urgently making progress. If we were required to assign a title to each week or month, I would have "Urgently Making Progress" and it's sequels ad nauseum. Because here I am, urgently making progress. I am also building plans and frameworks, but did you notice that I am also urgently making progress?

I have had some success with coming up with ideas on the fly, when I am not expecting them. The drive to work, while I make dinner. During my down time, which really takes away from my time urgently making progress. But these epiphanies can completely change my work. Yet, I feel more driven to urgently make progress. I have always seen the epiphanies or moments of creativity and insight as kind of random things that just happen. But other than that have not given them much thought. Just figured that my monkey mind was the culprit.

Turns out that the overall objectives of the work are better served when you make time to screw around and stuff comes to you than when you feel like you need to move forward with delivering something. Yet, nobody ever thinks of those times as work or productive. I think entrepreneurs have a bit of a benefit because it's always work time and there are no accountabilities to anyone else but yourself. If you feel like you want to play video games so you can generate more ideas, you can do it. I'm just not sure it would go over really well at a larger company. You still need to come up with the ideas, but you also need to "be productive" which we often equate to being busy (which is not necessarily the same thing as "looking busy"). Because idea generation so frequently does not look like work at all, and the stuff that does look like work is lower level frenzied stuff.

Here's a FastCompany article about this concept. If it hasn't made me decide to spend more time daydreaming, it has at least made me realize that this feeling of needing to be in the office churning stuff out constantly is not really the most productive for the type of work I am doing. I need to stop feeling that gnawing sense of "holy crap how will I get this all done?" which really distracts from higher level thinking. Obviously there needs to be time for both because progress needs to be visible. But I can stop feeling uneasy for time spent away from the office and I can stop being surprised that I do my best work when I am not working at all.

(And a big thumbs up to FastCompany for the great content recently)

5K

2009-10-09T23:38:00Z

OK, running officianados...I'm doing a 5K in about an hour. It's being held on campus for our giving campaign. I generally like the anonymity of running in a big crowd, but running at work? Not quite enough anonymity for me. I bump into people all the time. I've changed my hair color so that should throw people off.

I've been exceeding 5K (3.2 miles) on the treadmill (doing twice that), but have only done a few 5Ks recently with hills. I hate hills. And part of the route today is trail running. Someone said something about a big hill. If I don't come back and comment on this post, please send someone out to look for me. I'll be in the woods still trying to catch my breath. This will be good for me. The distance won't be a challenge but the setting and route will. Yippee and yikes!

Regretful. But it's handmade!

2009-10-08T20:06:00Z

Cliff Kuang (but clearly not a Fast Company editor) highlights some of the worst handmade crafts to be found on Etsy. I've made purchases through Etsy before; I like unique hand-crafted stuff and I like supporting the little guy. But some of this stuff is really ...well, "bizarre" just doesn't cut it. I don't even have to ask if it's all real. It's a very strange world out there. And our electronic economy brings it all to your door for a price (plus shipping and handling).

So there is this amusing stuff (I'm still giggling about the fish in a squirrel suit), but there's another point here. Are you starting to feel like the media (specifically online) are trying to draw our attention with the fish in a squirrel suit? What made me think about this is the buzz about the David Letterman situation which seems to not be about the actual crime but about his personal situation (which is none of our business). Morality sure gets people fired up when they want to apply theirs to someone else. I feel manipulated (and really don't give a rip about what Letterman does in his free time...there are creeps all around us). I want the actual news. No fish, no squirrel suits.

Working with Headhunters

2009-10-08T20:00:00Z

My fellow "contrarian", Nick Corcodillos, offers advice on working with headhunters. I don't always agree with him, but here he speaks the truth. In fact we discussed this recently in a webinar. You can find more answers, and questions, in his nationally syndicated column Ask The Headhunter.

Working with headhunters ain't what it used to be. And it never was.

Still unclear on how that algorithm works

2009-10-08T19:50:00Z

But if you search on "aliens" you will find the fashion advice you were looking for.

I'm don't even think I can label this NSFW (depends on where you work, I guess)... maybe ALGFW (A little gross...). The searches were so simple, I can't help what results were returned. Really! If body functions offend you, don't click on the link. And don't search using Google.

What's the difference between a facebook status and a Twitter status?

2009-10-07T23:49:00Z

I still have a bad taste in my mouth from having joined Twitter. When I "join" or commit to something, I think about what I am going to give up in my life for that thing and whether it is really worth it. Where will the time come from? What won't I get to do because of it? And how can it come back and bite me in the a$$? Look at that, I am still uncomfortable writing naughty words. If you only heard me in my off hours. Why is the interwebz so judgmental? Anyway.

My LinkedIn account has just become a big database of people that I am willing to assist and who are willing to assist me.

Facebook is a collection of people I knew or know, not necessarily deeply but I've met them and I wasn't completely turned off by something that they did or said (hey, there's a little ego boost FB friends! Hee!). Except one ex-boyfriend who has to be the outlier in my "all my ex-boy fiends turned out to be nice guys" theory. I'm still exploring the psychology of un-friending someone who once meant something to me. Don't worry, he won't find this. He's too busy telling everyone how great he is. But back to my FB pals, they are people that know something about me, either professionally or personally.

Twitter...people who have agreed to "follow" me. I'm not understanding exactly how Twittering would be any different than updating my facebook status. I have boundary issues anyway. I am an over sharer. And because of where I work and who knows me, I am careful(ish) about my FB status updates. I guess my question is this: what additional content would I share on Twitter that I wouldn't share with the people I know least as facebook friends (which I am saying are professional acquaintances)? The boundary line appears to be the same. So Twittering means that I share status updates with my "followers". Yes, here is some kool-aid...I shall lead you to Shangri-La, my people. Just walk this way <and then I make all the people behind me sashay and shantay just like me>. But the Twitter peeps can't see my photos and the fact that my best friend in life truly should be Tori Spelling, just like I always thought. So facebook is like Twitter plus? Is that what this means?

I imagine that some people feel extra free to share with people they don't know. For me, it's the opposite. I always feel like people will make the connection between me and what I do. Working at Microsoft, I am expected to have a personality and opinions. But would I share details of my (ahem) "private" life? There's an false sense of comfort that social networking brings; people say things online they would never say in person. Why is that? Uh, would I want to look back on all my revealing posts in 20 years? Hmm. Looking back on college now hurts a little. With a little funny on top. And a sprinkling of irony. And beer. What was I thinking? Am I going to look back on my blogging and facebooking and Twittering and think the same? Ugh.

If I had a huge stack of money, decided to tell the world to bite me and had no worries of security, then maybe...maybe, I would be a more open. Like some people are; sharing details of body rashes (no, I don't) , cranky lovers (not recently), what they *really* think about people (not you of course). I have some stories to tell, but I'm not going to tell them.

All that not withstanding, what, exactly, is the delta between my blog posts, my facebook status updates and this whole Twitter thing I may or may not get myself into? I am not doing the whole "What do my readers want to know about me" barf. I already know that you don't give a rip about what I am having for lunch. I am asking what people want to know of anyone, where are the boundaries and how do they differ based on different tools and relatively similar audiences? And are people expected to make it extra "transparent" when it's truly only 140 characters?

What say you?

Social Networking: This is how you do it and Stafon Johnson

2009-10-03T00:57:00Z

There are two stories here and I will tell you that I am not looking for college football trash talking here and I am going to be up front that those comments will be deleted unless they are in a friendly spirit of competition. Because honestly, there are some things more important than football. Yeah, you just heard me, October 2, 2009 At:59 PM Pacific Time.

On Monday, Stafon Johnson, a senior running back for my Trojans suffered a critical injury while bench pressing when the bar slipped from his hands and 275 pounds landed on his neck. He was rushed to the hospital and we held our breath. The question wasn't "can he play?" it was "can he live." Part of our family was in trouble.

When you see Stafon on TV (scoring the winning touchdown in our victory over Ohio State, for example), you see the athlete, and only a slight glimpse of the guy, getting the team motivated, engaging the fans and alumni. TV gives you visibility to the first, and social media gives you visibility to the second. Stafon will not be playing again this year. But there are other victories: surviving is one. And not to sound all mooshy, the human spirit is another one. I am so proud that Stafon is part of our family. Wait, let me say that again. I am so proud that Stafon is part of *OUR* family. What an amazing guy.

We could have gotten all of our information from the sports media. But really, do you trust people that report on pre-season polls and rankings as if they are actually worth something? Nope. While some in the college football environment see Twitter as a "distraction", coach saw it as an opportunity. Stafon was in intensive care when coach hands him a cell phone and gets him set up to Twitter. Trojan nation starts to decompress as Stafon, unable to speak, let's us know how he is feeling.

I know that I have been critical of Twitter in the past. Not so much the tool but the inability of users to filter. What you had for lunch is of no interest to me. But getting a glimpse into who you are as a person? That's what I want to see. That is what Stafon's Twitter followers (whatever they are called. Tweetees? Whatever) got. What a freaking treat that is.

When I go out and speak to audiences about blogging, I talk about my filters: make it relevant or interesting or both. And what I have observed from my blogging experience is that making it personal is social networking gold. A post on writing a resume will get some eyeballs. Writing about who you are gets subscribers.

Coach Carroll totally got this right. For a school, team and alumni that are connected by a fighting spirit (I did a good job of picking the right school for me...right?), Stafon's was exactly what we needed. We needed it because we are concerned about a great young man. And we needed it as fans. A couple days out of this horrible accident and this is what we get from Stafon:

@Stafon13 layin here watch espn and wishing i was on that plane to Berkeley but imma leave that mission 4 my boi's God has a plan lets go RB UUUUUUUUU

I cannot believe I just joined Twitter.