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Of Unicorns and Rainbows

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Written by Karen D. Swim

I sat at my desk watching the steam from my morning cup of coffee curl and dissipate in the quiet morning air.  Technically at work but not fully alert I gazed out the window as command central booted up for the day.

I closed my eyes and inhaled the aroma of the Arabica beans allowing my senses to awaken.  *Beep* I sipped deeply and smiled at the familiar sound of the doorbell to my digital community.

Three years ago my “digital community” was limited to an email list of women praying for and supporting one another. Today, the connections are not easily traced from end to end, stretching across borders and communication platforms, multiplying along the way.  In this community people never move they simply add on growing from digital condo to mansion with a mouse click. Foundations shift but connections are never lost.  With each new neighborhood, the community grows, more stoops to visit, and stories to exchange.

My digital community has taught me that the power of human connection does not require you to inhabit the same physical space. A kind word when you’re on the verge of tears, a photo of a chocodote and talk of gorillas and pizza cheer the heart as powerfully as if you were in the same room.

I have learned that love and kindness are not diluted by the digital medium but strenghtened and multiplied as it is shared and spread, hashtagged and retweeted swelling as each adds to it as it travels through the digitial continuum. A cuppa with your digitial fence neighbor as deeply satisfying as a visit in a cafe.

We humans are amazing beings. Creative, fierce, determined and loyal. We find ways to forge deep and lasting connections in spite of geography, language differences, time zones and all manner of challenges that seem to stand in the way. We have conquered time and space using bits, bytes and memory cards.  Refusing to be defeated by physical barriers, we support, encourage, inspire, and teach our tribe.

*Beep*  the horn has sounded, the tribe has spoken, it is time to engage. The circle widens allowing my presence and I smile in humble gratitude.

What have  you learned from your community?

This post is my humble thank you to all of you and my conntirubtion to  Middle Zone Musings’ 24th Group Writing Project, What I Learned From Community. Care to share? Entries are being accepted until Sunday, May 10th at Midnight CST.

Buck up or Break Down?

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It's the picture of Italian ice-cream in a sho...
Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D.  Swim

Have you ever spent a day or two fighting off an illness? You feel sort of lousy but solider on at half speed not wanting to give in to being sick?  Finally, you decide that it would be better to admit defeat and spend a day or two in bed. You realize that you could fight for a week and operate at reduced capacity or simply give in for a day or two and emerge recovered.

Sometimes holding back negative emotions is exactly like those days you waste pretending you’re not really sick. You exert your energy pretending that you’re not hurting, sad or angry – energy that could be directed at solving your problem.

There are times when bucking up is truly the smart thing to do, but at other times you really need to be kind enough to yourself to break down. In those times, to ignore what you feel can actually prevent you from taking positive action. So go ahead and cry, scream, rant, and eat a big fat bowl of ice-cream if that is what you need to get it out of your system. When you’re done, you can then focus completely on taking action to change your situation.

Are there times in your own life when you should have chosen to break down or vice versa? How do you decide when to cry “uncle” and when to tough it out?

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The One About Trains, Tweets & Lying Down In Public

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Written by Karen D. Swim

Speeding Train

Image by Ben Harris-Roxas via Flickr

Have you ever felt like you were straddling the top of a runaway train, hanging on for dear life? Okay, well maybe that’s just me but stay with me. One of the hazards of virtual workers is the pace at which we receive information. It seems that every two seconds there is something new – an application, a plug-in, an analytical tool, or marketing technique. When information is being filtered in from every direction you can feel as if the world is moving too fast to keep up.

My friends behind the corporate firewall, in contrast, feel no pressure to know all the latest tips to grow their blog or twitter community. They could care less about RSS numbers and feedburner stats. Their egos do not live and die by SocialToo or Alexa rankings. These wonderful people who many would claim are languishing in ignorance, remind me that while my world feels like it is moving at 30 Mbps, the larger community is not as concerned with the same things.

Online communities are rife with Type-A people, who are always on the go. They are still tweeting, streaming and skyping when I am fast asleep. By the time I turn on my computer for the day, the Type A’s have read everything and are linking the way for the rest of us 8 am slackers.    Add in the various time zones and it can leave you feeling like you’re spending all your time catching up.

The truth is we do not have to know everything and be everywhere. Yes, you will miss out on some things but you will regain a sense of balance and sanity. I was reminded of that in two posts written by Sanyika Calloway Boyce. She wrote of not approaching your day and resources like an open checkbook, and presented a list of tips to help you realign your purpose.

You do not have to be a master of all things, contrary to what you may hear. Instead, write down what’s truly important to you and pick one or two things that will help you accomplish your purpose. Master them and ignore the rest. You can always add to your toolbox later so don’t pressure yourself to know it all or do it all now.

Learning to let go may become the new competitive advantage. You may even find yourself following Tim Ferris’ advice to just lie down in public, simply because you can (and it’s funny).

Do you ever suffer from social media fatigue? How do you keep your sense of balance?

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What I Learned From Crying on My Blog

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Peek A Boo
Image by Cayusa via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

I pierced the veil of secrecy and shame daring to reveal a heart filled with pain
Silencing voices in my head, moving past fear and dread
Like a swiftly moving current support rolled in, as I was enveloped in a cocoon of love by my friends.

Yes Virginia, there is a person behind the avatar. A beating heart, a living being that will respond when you reveal that you too are human. On Tuesday, I was joyfully reminded that technology is not a barrier to connection but a conduit that allows us to create friendships and communities in spite of the miles.

With the potential we possess to truly develop relationships and build communities, I wonder why there persists a tendency to do the opposite. We have a bevy of social media tools that invite conversation and sharing yet many dehumanize the process with a focus on metrics and statistics. In fact, just today Steve Woodruff thoughtfully remarked in a tweet:

“How I built a Twitter network of ____ in ___ days.” Sheesh. How about, how to build relationships and add value over the long-term??

To that I say, Amen! I read articles, posts and tweets on how to build subscriber numbers, how to drive traffic to your website and how to build an empire on a social media network, but are we missing the true value of developing relationships with real people?

Tuesday reinforced my own personal belief that doing business on the internet does not have to be impersonal. Your friendship and support not only made the difference in a tough week but validated my stand that authenticity and transparency are more than trendy buzzwords of the day.

When you focus on humanity, on connecting honestly and openly it is not detrimental to your professional brand or business but an opportunity to truly build long term value and have deeper engagements with people.

As a human being, I am thankful that no matter where I am I can reach out to a community courtesy of the interwebs. As a marketer, I am excited at forming and teaching others to go beyond one-way marketing messages and develop relationships with the people who are at the other end of that connection.

It is time to shed the decades old corporate assertion that doing business is “swimming with sharks.” We do business with people, not numbers to be manipulated into clicking our junk and buying our stuff.  Instead of screaming to be heard, quietly listen and allow those human beings to tell you what they want and need.  You may be pleasantly surprised at just how pleasant business becomes when you make it personal.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to share in the comments, discussion is gratefully welcomed here! 🙂

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What I Learned from the “Why Girl” and How It Can Help your Business

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But Why?

Image by Liquid Lucidity via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

Years ago, I had a colleague who we nicknamed “The Why Girl.”  It was not one of those mean, behind the back nicknames whispered in the corner by the water cooler, she knew and embraced our good natured ribbing.  She earned the nickname because in every management meeting, you could count on her to ask “Why?” When presenting her own points, she would give you her list counting them off 1, 2, C (because she always forgot if she was counting down numerically or alphabetically – yes we found it hilarious!). I liked “Why Girl.” Questions force us to examine our own beliefs and opinions, and in doing so renew our own understanding.  One of the best ways to learn is to teach.

I think of “Why Girl” a lot these days as I question actions I have taken for granted and explore new paths. The exercise has opened my eyes to things I do without thinking that may befuddle others. It has made me take a step back and examine business processes – Why did I set it up this way? Is this intuitive for customers? Why did I word this message in that way? Is it easily understood? Is email most efficient for this communication or would it be better to call?

When children ask “Why”” it can be annoying. We may tire of explaining and become exasperated when we can’t explain something that we just accept as true.  Yet, are colleagues and customers silently asking “why?” Are we exasperating them with our lack of answers or unwillingness to even listen.

Social media enthusiasts risk not asking “why?” and assuming that everyone knows how to  (fill in the blank) or that everyone understands why. In truth, only a small percentage of your population may understand “why.” Believe it or not there are still many people who are not even comfortable with email let alone other social media tools. It is important not to become so entrenched in your comfort zone that you isolate those who may not be where you are yet.

Or you can dig in your heels and decide that they need to figure it out because after all the future is here. You could do that … but it would be a big mistake. A willingness to ask why provides you an opportunity to lead. When you not only understand but are willing to show others the way you  will achieve far greater results than simply following the “in-crowd.”  Taking a step back to examine, and question may lead you to discover an unmet need.  Identifying an unmet need is an opportunity to fulfill that need in the market, and to take a position of leadership.

The truly cool kids are not just moving from one shiny toy to the other, they’re taking it apart, banging it against the wall, and merging it with different parts. They’re not only asking why” but also “What if?” If you are wiling to challenge, examine and question you have an opportunity to do and be great. In my mind that’s a much better position than simply standing in line waiting for someone else to figure it out.

Have you asked “why” lately in your business or personal life? Were you surprised by the answer? Feel free to share your comments, opinions or questions. Discussion is welcomed and encouraged.

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What you Talking ‘bout Willis?

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Written by Karen D. Swim

As if we had not tortured and twisted the American language enough, an entire new lexicon has arisen as a result of social media. Our language is now populated by pop culture colloquialisms, abbreviated text speak and social media-isms. Add industry jargon to the mix and you have a communication nightmare.

What Say You?

Me: Here in MI our local ABC station follows that practice, it’s great.

Twitter Friend: I’m new to twitter speak, what’s MI?

In the above exchange I used the standard postal abbreviation for Michigan – MI – assuming that I was being inclusive with my language choice. Think again. We have become so accustomed to strange abbreviations and new words on Twitter that MI could have stood for anything.

Another example:

Travis: I’ll work on the feed and get it corrected, thanks for your help.
Me: No problem, ping me when it’s fixed and I’ll add you to my reader.
Travis: Oh, I don’t use Ping yet but I know I should learn
Me: No, not Ping.fm the service, I meant email or IM me to let me know when it’s done

See how confusing our language has become. We have created a virtual tower of Babel where it’s a wonder that we are still able to carry on conversations. We are friending, tweeting, linking, plurking, kwipping, blogging, shouting, skyping and on occasion hitting each other on our cellies. No wonder, even Dutch words have taken on a familiarity for me of late. These days I am as comfortable with unfamiliar foreign languages as my native tongue of English.

Think Before you Speak or Text

Yes, your mother was right. I have stuck my foot in my mouth more times than I care to admit when I have not taken a moment to think before opening my big fat mouth.  The removal of facial gestures and inflections makes communicating in writing even more hazardous. Pause before you hit the send button and make sure that your message will be read as intended.

So What Does That Have to Do with The Tea In China?

Now more than ever it is important to strive for clear communication. It is easier to have our words taken out of context, misunderstood or even unknowingly offend. Clear and simple language, free of jargon will foster understanding when communicating with a large and diverse audience.

Regional language and colloquial phrases are a wonderful way to add color to your communications but use them wisely. Phrases that are appropriate on one platform can be easily misunderstood on another.

I am going to make a greater effort to not be Misunderstood in MI, after all the whole point of social media is to communicate which implies being understood.

How do you manage our bourgeoning language? Do you have any personal practices or tips to share?