Spirit in the Village

Food for Thought Friday - The Flat Earth, my Career Search and Gratitude

Posted by Kevin Boon. Follow me on Twitter.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been putting some thought into a variety of topics. I’m in gathering mode trying to understand and put together some of the pieces of my life puzzle. Here are some of my insights from the past 2 weeks.

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century

I’m reading Thomas Friedman’s book called, The World is Flat, a brief history of the 21st century. I have to admit I purchased the book a year ago but the 600 pages originally seemed a little daunting. The book was sitting on my shelf collecting dust but every now and then I could hear it calling my name, “Kevin…. Kevin….”

I’m glad I finally picked it up.

Technology & Globalization

Friedman talks about how technology and globalization are changing literally every aspect of our society and how nations, corporations and individuals are adapting or will adapt to that change. India, China, Eastern Europe, Russia and other developing nations are quickly emerging as dominant economies and the overall power structure within our world is changing.

He talks about outsourcing, increased competition, education, government policies and how we (meaning everybody) need to learn to think differently and plan ahead.

Did You Know Video

Here’s a great video that has been floating around on the Internet but that I recently found at Volker’s Blurb a blogger who talks about Life and Business.

How will we Adapt to the Coming Changes?

Make no mistake as the 21st century evolves China and India will become dominant economies, American and European influence will decline and world will establish a much more level playing field. Individually we need to understand these changes, adapt our lives and educate our children to prosper within this new economy.

Our changing reality is the main reason why I began talking about Meditation and the Life Balance Project but in future posts I want to discuss strategies on how we can adapt to the changes that are being thrust upon us by our changing world.

My Career Search

My career search has been a little slow partly because I’ve been balancing the process of wanting to find a job but also making sure that I find an opportunity that I want.

Cookie Cutters

Applying for jobs can be a daunting process because applicants are forced to put together a resume most of the time geared to a job description. Most companies still take a cookie cutter approach to recruitment and if you ever work with cookie cutters everything has to be cut the same way or it just doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s nice to just plop the dough on the tray and put the cookies in the oven. They usually taste better, especially if they’re chocolate chip.

Seriously though I recently took some advice from Chris Brogan and with insights from my World is Flat book and other sources and have updated my resume and Linkedin profile to showcase my talents.

Sales 2.0 and the Hybrid Salesperson

For years I have worked in software sales in the IT Industry and quite frankly I’ve found traditional selling techniques have become less effective in a Web 2.0 world. At one time in my career (from 1997-2004) I could make a call and send an email to a prospective customer and chances were good with a little persistence they would get back to me.

Today those same customers have more control and feel more empowered to do the research on their own but more importantly their time is limited often bombarded and overwhelmed with emails and the responsibilities of their jobs. Life has become significantly faster in the past 5 years and for salespeople there is less time to connect and make an impact. The best strategy is to become what I call a Hybrid Salesperson who is someone who manages sales, social media, marketing, customer service, relationships and helps customer find solutions - all in one package.

Here is an article from Hubspot that compares a traditional sales funnel with the modern sales funnel. (See pages 2 and 3 of the article)

You'll notice from the Hubspot article that sales used to be in control of the sales funnel but today that process at best is shared and sometimes the influence of sales is non-existant. The reality is the world of selling has changed and companies are finding they need to adapt.

Work Balance & Looking Outside the Box

As I seek out my next career or consulting project I’m looking for organizations that use cookie cutters more as a frame of reference rather than set in stone commandments. That’s part of the main reason why I’ve started the Work Balance Project because I'm interested in companies who look outside the box and have high standards for their business, customers and employees.

In a flat world I recognize that some day soon I may be working for a Chinese, Indian, European, American or Australian company. In fact location won’t even matter. That prospect is exciting!!

If you missed my Linkedin profile here is a list of my talents:

• Adaptable
• Teacher, Explainer, Story Teller
• Collaborator
• Team Player & People Skills
• Leadership & Mentoring
• Integration & Technology Proficient
• Ideas & Vision
• Flexibility

And one more: Fun!

Story Telling & Teaching

Of all these talents the one I relate to best is that of a story teller or teacher. For companies wanting to tell their story I’m great at getting a message across whether written, spoken or in person.

Gratitude

Earlier in the week I posted about gratitude and what I've learned is that gratitude is all their is. I feel an incredible appreciation for my life, my family, my health, living in the country that I do (Canada), the opportunities that exist out there in the world and the people that I meet both online and in person. The worlds is good and as much as the world has problems there's a lot more good going on than bad. This is good to remember.

The Weekend

The weekend is here. I’m looking forward to exploring the areas of work-life balance and finishing my World is Flat book. There are other books sitting on my table ready to be read. Maybe I’ll check out Twitter, do a little meditation, play my guitar and then go to the gym.

Maybe it's not too late to join the Flat Earth Society.

Have a great weekend.

Social Media: Bring your Bike, Training Wheels & Helmet!

Posted by Kevin Boon. Follow me on Twitter.

Last Friday I wrote an article on Social Media and Technology Fatigue and several interesting discussions emerged.

Time Limits

One comment from Jay Frawley at Inner Noodle was a recognition that our time is limited and those who individuals who take Social Media seriously tend to focus on one or two communities. Jay’s are Twitter and StumbleUpon.

The Novelty of Social Media

Nimesh Shah wrote an article on Social Media projections for 2009 and said in a comment on my blog that Social Media is still in the novelty stage. Like most things, when they are new people rush to try them out, fatigue sets in and then value gradually dies out. Adding to what he said people will come back normally a little smarter and wiser, the next wave happens and if it’s a good trend will bring more people along.

Can Social Media Provide Real Value?

Greg Cannon from 41 Days asked on Linkedin, Can Social Media make profit? Greg reflected on the dot com boom back in 2000 where there were thousands of companies but only those who provided real value and created profitable services made it. He says the same is true today in our social media world and we both agreed there is a real opportunity for traditional businesses to succeed in this area.

Changing Business Models and Social Media

In business we are still in the early stages of social media being adopted. Companies are not yet fully engaged because it requires a very different mindset for doing business not only with customers but with employees. There are the thought leaders who are helping us understand these trends (David Meerman Scott or Chris Brogan) and more of us are catching on everyday. For the most part we are riding our social media bikes with our training wheels, a helmet and Dad’s holding our seat to make sure we don’t fall. In most cases Dad's no where to be found so we're trying to balance ourselves.

The Obama campaign showed us the real potential of social media and how we can align large numbers of people towards a common goal. The future is going to be incredibly exciting as our world gradually embraces these new technologies.

More to come on social media...

Social Media & Technology Fatigue

Fridays is my day to either offer guest posts or talk about other topics that interest me. Here it is Friday morning and I just received another invitation to join an online community. This one is sure to change my life, help me increase traffic on my blog and be part of a movement that will change the planet…blah, blah, blah!

Communities, Burnout & Fatigue

Between Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Linkedin and a whole bunch of others I’m probably registered on 20-30 communities. Most I registered once and have never been back. I’d hazard a guess this happens for most people. Why? Because. There are too many communities, too many people, too much email and not enough time.

There are those who live their lives online and thrive within their communities but my question is do we burn out over time? You’ll see someone on Facebook or MySpace posting frantically, text messaging, status updates, posting photos and then suddenly… SILENCE… they disappear and you never see them again. Is it burnout, fatigue are they just taking a break? Not an easy question to answer.

Katherine Jennex aka @northernchick on Twitter posted about Social Media Fatigue (SMF) a couple of weeks ago.

Communities, Freelancers, Bloggers and Strategy

If you look at those who make money from the web you can tell they plan their time. They target specific communities, set time limits, keep their messaging tight and have a specific purpose. It’s all strategy designed to drive business.

As someone just starting take blogging seriously I find I have to set limits on being part of communities. Online communities can be big time wasters when there is no purpose.

Communities and Corporate Strategy

In the corporate world online portals & communities have been around for years and most companies now design communities as part of their marketing strategy. As more companies get on this band wagon I’m wondering how users will handle the influx of these requests.

Are we at or getting to a breaking point with social media?

Will we become more overwhelmed and confused?

Will we eventually push back against communities and refuse to give out any info?

How many communities can we be a part of and still do our jobs effectively?

I’m not sure what the answers are but there is certainly a fatigue factor involved. Time will tell how our relationship evolves with social media and online communities.

Social Media and the Technology Generation Gap

The term generation gap has a myriad of definitions. I was born right on the cusp between Baby Boom and Generation X (1964) but my parents were from the World War II era. In my observation most born into the WWII generation either don’t own a computer or use them for very limited purposes.

Today’s technology generation gap is between those Baby Boomers (1946-64) and their Generation Y siblings (those born between 1980 and 2000). Generation X (1965-80) seems to be somewhere in the middle.

Generation X & Baby Boomers learned to use technology for the most part to be functional and more productive. They became power users with email, the Internet and later tools like text messaging and Blackberry’s. Although social media and communities have been a part of our framework from the beginning with message boards, online dating and chat rooms, I’m not sure if they ever became main-stream for these generations. Sure we do order online for convenience and people have Facebook accounts but it seems that many from these generations tend to dabble more than immerse themselves in these technologies. Quite a few of my friends who are in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s still refuse to share information online or get too connected.

Generation Y on the other hand were weaned on technology with the earliest Atari’s & PC’s and seem more naturally inclined to be social media users. Teenagers and Twenty Something’s fill up the airwaves with text messaging, Facebook and Myspace. As the Obama campaign found this generation seems less inclined to think that race, gender or sexual orientation are issues, however some believe they tend to be more distracted and have a more difficulty functioning with real life situations.

My questions are:

Do you feel there is a social media generation gap?
Do you feel social networks are good for us or do they distract from our lives?
Do you feel social media will ever go mainstream for Baby Boomers?

Always interested in thoughts and ideas on the social media revolution. You can also connect with me on Twitter or Subscribe.

The Generations:
World War II Generation – Born and raised during or before WWII.
Baby Boom Generation – Born – 1946 – 1964 (US)
Generation X – Born: 1964 – 1980 (approx)
Generation Y – Born: 1980 – 2000 (approx)

3 Tips for Using Twitter and Walking my Blog

So it's been almost a month since I signed up for Twitter and started the re-design and new focus on my blog geared around the Meditation Project, Song Writing and Social Media. Currently it's a work in progress so not all the pieces are in place yet.

Being a part-time blogger part of my strategy is to determine how to best organize my time and use of technologies like Twitter. If unmanaged Twitter can become an incredible distraction and time waster, but if properly utilized it can increase your blog readership and allow to you to make valuable connections. In the last month I have seen my readership increase by 5 times what it was at Christmas.

Here are some tips for organization both for Blogging and Twittering:

3 Tips for Blogging

For Blogging my main criteria are writing, writing well, linking, networking and commenting. Meditation is what I use to keep my blogging and personal life organized, hence the Meditation Project.

1. Writing without distraction is critical so I find it's important to block off time to write with phones, cell phones, email and Internet all off. I try to give at least 30 minutes a day. Sometimes I have more time.
2. Linking, Networking and Commenting - This is an area where I'm learning the ropes, making some connections and setting time into my day to read other blogs, make comments and allow for links to go back to my site. Usually I try to spend a couple of hours per week and set goals to comment on at least 10 sites.
3. Writing with thought versus quick writing - this blog post is flowing for me so I there's no draft it will take me about 15 minutes to complete. Other posts usually take longer and might take a few days to get the ideas down, edit and then post. It's good to have a mix of short blog posts versus some that require more thought.

3 Tips for using Twittering

This is new for me so I'm still sorting out some of the details. For those that don't know Twitter is the new trend in the Social Media and gives participants the opportunity to network and connect with people from a variety of businesses and backgrounds all over the world. The only catch is you have to limit what you say to 140 characters or less. This is good for me to keep it short but it does take a little time to master.

Here's what I've Learned about Twitter and Promoting my Personal Brand.

1. Manage & Schedule your Time - It's easy to get sucked in and spend hours Twittering. You can waste a lot of time and work does not get done. My days vary but I'll typically commit between 30 minutes to an hour a day.
2. Be Yourself but Don't be Crude or Rude - There is an etiquette on Twitter and most people play nice. The reason being is that if you don't play nice people can easily remove you or block you out. People can read what you're saying so I try to keep it fun, informative and personal.
3. Use Google Alerts, Blogs and Comments from others are a great way to create conversation. My goal is to keep my message on focus around the topics that interest me from the Meditation Project, finding Life-Work balance, Social Media and Song Writing. I've set up Google Alerts to help me find outside content which is usually pretty good. Stumble Upon is another way of finding good content.

There's an analogy that came from the Edelman article posted by Guy Kawasaki earlier this week. They were describing a methodology for building a social media presence and refered to crawling, walking, running and flying... Well I see my blog as a place where I'm walking right now, still building the foundation... Sometime down the road it will be nice to run and then fly...

Ten Questions for Twitter Users

Twitter is creating a wave within Social Media circles. There are many who are waving the flag of Twitter and saying this is next new trend that will eventually carry into mainstream competing or complementing with the likes of Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace and others. According to recent estimates Twitter has about 4 to 5 million registered users (as of Dec 08) and growing at about five to ten thousand new accounts daily. Impressive numbers but a drop in the bucket compared to Facebook’s current numbers which estimate about 140 million users.

I’m interested in Twitter not only to develop my own blog but to understand the business use for such a technology. Working for a corporation I’m interested in seeing how companies can use Twitter to increase PR, Marketing or Sales initiatives. After about 3 weeks on board I’m mostly seeing authors, famous people, small business entrepreneurs all networking and interacting to promote their message. There are also a lot of people who simply like to socialize and connect for personal reasons which is fine too.

While there are some PR staff, Marketing and a few sales people signed up I’m not seeing the masses (at this stage) and I’m wondering how users within this community see Twitter becoming a useful tool within traditional business. There are companies that seem to be dipping their toe in the water with a logo (and what appears to be no personality) but I’m not seeing a lot at this stage. I've read Chris Brogan's post on 50 Ideas on using Twitter for Business but I still have questions.

Here are ten questions for both Twitter Users & understanding the business potential of Twitter:

1. How do you use Twitter for your day-to-day activities?
2. What is your philosophy on following?
3. How do you navigate through the noise of thousands of tweets?
4. How do you measure the quality of a relationship?
5. How many hours a day do you spend on Twitter?
6. What do you most (or least) like about Twitter?
7. How do you see Twitter being used by the business community?
8. How easy/difficult is it to create a corporate message with Twitter?
9. How would you measure Twitter's value within a company?
10. Would all employees benefit or should only select people within a company be involved?

I’m looking forward to your answers and learning more…

An Introduction to Twitter (from a Newby)

Back in December I signed up for a Twitter account as it seemed everybody within the Social Media world was talking about it. At first I didn’t understand the concept. I went online the first time and couldn't figure out how to find anybody, but with a little education (and help ) I was soon able to figure out some of the basics. Over the first couple of weeks I started following some people and interestingly enough some of them started to follow me. Some have sent me direct messages, which is neat and others spam. At this stage no Viagra ads.

What I like about Twitter is the opportunity to connect with and follow people who you find interesting. Unlike Linkedin where you need permission and a personal introduction to connect with people outside of your network with Twitter there is no such restriction. You can follow anyone. This part for me is awesome because it enables me to follow people who are involved with topics that are of interest to me.

The other advantage is that I have chance to create a wider audience for my blog. With Twitter shorter is better, (unlike Viagra) you're limited to 140 characters within any message or post you make. For bloggers they call this micro-blogging, for people like me they call it "get to the point already" which if you read any of my posts I can get a little wordy.

In my next post I have few questions for the Twitter community...

2008 Year in Review - My Top 5 Lists

With the election of the first African-American President and the Global Economic Collapse this has been one of the most interesting years since 9-11 and even 1987 when the Berlin wall fell. Here is my Top 5 List for 2008:

My Top 5

1. The American Election

The election of Barack Obama was significant because it represents a new course for not only America but the world. Although there is still a long way to go with respect to racial or gender equality the world can finally breathe a sigh of relief and say all of us have an opportunity to achieve our dreams.

2. The Global Financial Meltdown

Unlike other economic slowdowns we have seen some of the most powerful Financial Institutions simply collapse and our traditional way of doing business seems at risk. Personally I’m optimistic about the future since many times it takes a real kick in the pants to get us off our complacency. For years we have dragged our feet by not creating fuel efficient cars, letting go of our dependency on oil and executives have just lined up at the money trough, looking at their own pocket books and sending jobs to China.

I’m hopeful that governments & corporations will become more responsible, more responsive to demands in the market place (especially car companies) and that executives will align bonuses with the success of a company.

Little baby steps will be required moving forward but I think it will be important for the voices within the global community to keep everybody honest.

3. The Shoe Throwing Incident

If you listen to the words of the shoe thrower, Muntadar al-Zaidi, the shoes thrown at George Bush where a farewell kiss from those who had been killed, orphaned or widowed in Iraq. This event symbolizes for me all the conflicts that are going on in the world from the Middle East to Somalia, to Zimbabwe, India, Pakistan to Russia & Georgia.

George Bush as a leader has never acknowledged or taken responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died and millions impacted as a result of his decisions. Whether the conflict is right or wrong today most conflict shows a lack of leadership & moral responsibility.

Only when leaders become conscious of their actions, accountable to their people and use war as the last option will you see a reduction in conflict. I’m hopeful there will be less conflict in 2009.

4. The Beijing Olympics

The Olympics became China’s shining moment and were fantastic. Like other countries China is gradually being forced to look at their human rights records, their laws for workers as well as their own environmental challenges. However 2008 was the year where China officially came onto the world stage.

5. The Rising Awareness of Social Media, Stem Cell Research & the Environment

I’ve put the 3 of these together, partly because I didn’t want to make a top 10 list but secondly I feel these 3 areas are still fairly new but primed for growth in the next few years. Barack Obama’s fundraising and campaigning success in the American election showed the real power of social media. Some of the innovations in stem cell research (without embryos) where very promising. As we move into 2009 the environment just keeps knocking on our door.

Top 5 Personal Events for 2008

1. Personal & Spiritual Growth

This has been an important year for me to develop greater clarity with respect my purpose and discovering the real creative side to who I am.

2. Social Media & Networking – Facebook, Twitter, Soundclick

The whole realm of social media has been a learning process for me and most of this year has been about reading, learning and connecting… I’ve learned so much this year.

3. Music – Songwriting, Recording & Networking

Although I’m definitely an amateur musician I find great satisfaction in creating music. Recently I recorded my first song “Love is Free” and posted on SoundClick. On the acoustic rock chart it went to #66 out of about 17,000 songs which is pretty cool. There are two more songs in the works, “Who Ever Thought” & “Broken Ego” that I hope to release early in 2009. The whole process is exciting.

4. Writing & Blog Development

My blog has been a great forum for me to share ideas and interact with others. I enjoy the writing part although the main issue for me has been time. With the advent of Twitter (and mini blogging) I’m looking forward to continuing on writing with some new ideas for 2009.

5. New Baby on the Way

My wife’s son and his girlfriend are expecting a baby in January, so effectively I’m going to be a Grandfather. :) Now besides being too young and too good looking I’m looking forward to the baby arriving…

Here are some other Top 5 lists:

Top 5 Books:
1. A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle plus 10 week class with Oprah
2. Money & the Law of Attraction – Jerry & Ester Hicks
3. The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama
4. Influencers: The Power to Change Anything – Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan, Switzler
5. The New Rules of Marketing & PR – David Meerman Scott

Top 5 Albums:
1. Neil Young – Live at Massey Hall.
2. Johnny Cash – Live at Folsom Prison – (new to me)
3. Bob Dylan Tell Tale Signs – The Bootleg Series – Volume 8
4. Sheryl Crow – Detours
5. Travelling Wilburys – Volume 1 & 3

Top 5 Web Blogs:
1. Webinknow
2. Problogger
3. How to Change the World
4. Intent Blog
5. The News I Read Today – Beatles Blog (my wife calls me a Beatles groupie)

Top 5 News Sources:
1. BBC News
2. CBC News
3. CNN
4. Huffington Post
5. PopURLs

Top 5 TV Shows:
1. The Hour
2. Larry King Live
3. Gene Simmons Family Jewels
4. Oprah
5. Biography

I’d love to hear your thoughts on events that impacted you in 2008. Coming in January there will be some great new changes to this site. Stay tuned…

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous 2009…

New Design & Updated Site for 2009

There will be a new design as well as some exciting new ideas & content for my blog in 2009. This past year has been a year of considerable growth for me in so many areas of my life from writing & blogging, to music & songwriting, to understanding some of the new technologies of the Web 2.0 world like Facebook & Twitter, to an inner search for meaning and finding my life's purpose, to many new friends, and finally insights on my career & what I want to move toward.

The holiday season (although busy with friends & family) is a time for me to reflect on where I've been in 2008 and where I want to go. I'm excited about 2009 and I'm looking forward to interacting with people on an entirely new level on this website.

Over the next few weeks I look forward to sharing some of these changes some of which will include:

• New Web Design


• My New E-Book & Project for 2009


• New Songs & Music


• Informative Video Content


• Easier ways to connect with me

I'll keep you posted.

A Slight Change in Direction for My Blog

Last week I started my new job with a local company.  I'm now settled into my new role and am very excited about the opportunity.  If you read this blog a few months ago I did a couple of posts regarding my career search back in February and talked about Linkedin and networking in our new Web 2.0 world.  At the time I made a conscious decision not to get to detailed about my job search. Whether that was a good or bad decision I don't know.  For anyone who is looking for a new career there is a lot I can share about setting goals, networking, resume building, keeping positive and staying disciplined. 

Now that I'm in my new position this blog will officially remain as my little pet project.  I'll post in my spare time when I feel inspired.  Up until now I've been writing mostly about global issues however I find for some of the topics there's a lot of research involved.  My posts can become long and they take a lot of time to write.  As a result there's an inconsistency to my posting schedule and I'll gain readership when I post often and then lose readership when there are large gaps. Welcome to the world of blogging.

There are so many topics that interest me.  I want to make this blog more of a conversation about those topics.  My interests include current events, global issues, politics, spirituality, music, songwriting, books, personal growth, technology, career advice, etc.  Below you can participate in my poll and let me know what you'd like me to post about. 

I'd love to hear your input.  You can email me, make comment below or just simply vote. 

Thanks for those who have been patient with me as I try to understand this vast online world.