The Interwebs: and no, I’m not talking about Lolcats

As I begin pre-production and research on a very large, independent project (which I will discuss in great length once the time is right) I’ve been thinking more about the connections that I’ve made over the past four years and the ways in which that network has helped guide me to where I am. I alluded to this phenomenon in my last post when I gave my vague, sweeping gratitudes. But beyond the initial appreciation of how my network has helped me, I’ve been thinking about the broader principal of the way networking helps all of us. For the sake of being cheeky and hip, I’m calling it the interweb-no, I’m not talking about lolcats-an inter-connecting, intertwining web of social connections and interactions.

Think about your social network like a web: when you connect with someone new, that’s an individual thread of webbing. By itself, it’s not likely to catch any flies or even have the visibility to prevent an inadvertent passerby from walking right through and severing the tie. But that’s the beauty of the interweb- when you connect with someone, and I mean really connect, it’s not a linear two-way relationship. You are then granted access to all of the threads of webbing that they have established, greatly enhancing the utility of your web. But if you only have one thread connected to the rest of the web, your chances of catching the fly are again pretty slim.

What you will discover quickly, is that if you have made a connection with anyone outside of that initial thread, you’ve likely already given yourself a stronger place in the web. The whole concept of six degrees of separation is great on a global scale, but in specific industries it shrinks to maybe three. More likely it’s two. And just like a web, if you’re a point from which interlocking threads of like-minded individuals branch out, well my friend you’ll be living large on flies tonight.

Admittedly, the metaphor is not perfect. Whereas most spiderwebs are fairly flat, when built correctly your interweb is more like an interlocking sphere connected points, but you get the idea.

So think about how the things you say, or post, or take pictures of affect the rest of the web and your connection to it. Think about how a vibration on one end of the web informs the spider at the other that dinner has arrived. Now think about what the vibrations and signals you’re sending are saying to the other sides of your web because unlike a spider’s web, your interweb has a memory.

That said, go out and make the connections, build strength from multiple points of contacts and make the best vibration possible. If you do it well and in the right way, the tremors will travel through the web and you’ll be rewarded with a nice, juicy fly. If you make the wrong vibrations, you’re likely to end up on a joggers face with no dinner and no connections.

How do you use social networking to achieve your career and social goals? What advice do you have to help make the best vibrations?

Intern Report 2: Living the Dream

I can honestly say that I’ve never been this broke in my life. I put myself through four years of college with minimal (but much appreciated) help, but have never approached the level of ‘I’m broke’ as that in which I currently sit. And I couldn’t be happier.

Sure, I don’t have enough money to buy food this week (I’ve got bread and peanut butter at work, and the Corner Bakery downstairs has jelly for free) and I’ve been wearing the same contact lenses since at least December (significantly longer than the two weeks they’re meant to be worn) but guess what: I’m living in the third biggest city in the United States, working for one of the world’s biggest and best PR agencies, getting to create the social media voice of national brands and working with some truly wonderful people. I’ve got 10 pounds I could afford to lose anyway, right?

The point of this post is this: once you find the dream, pursue it at any cost. Granted- there is a possibility that in several months time I will be completely contradicting this post. Destitute, heart broken, jaded, cast out on the street and damning everything I ever wrote about optimism and pursuing goals. But right now, despite the potentially bleak conditions in which I find myself, I know in my heart that it’s just a step toward something incredible. I’ve already gotten a taste of what’s possible in my first two weeks at Weber, and I can’t wait for the Social Media Club Chicago event at the end of this month. After years of reading about PR and Social Media, I’m on the front lines- helping to draft content, establish personality and think how to communicate strategically on behalf of nationwide brands. Pardon my supreme nerd-dom, but this is AWESOME!

So keep your fingers crossed that Weber and the angels of the Culture Club (the folks behind the wonderful things that give #WSCHI such a welcoming environment) decide to bring free food this week, or that a great uncle I’ve never met leaves me a sizeable fortune. Or at least that I find some motivation and crank out some freelance articles to get a couple bucks to buy a sandwich. If not, at least I’ll look a  little thinner for beach season.

I think our friends from Monty Python had it right.

Oh the Hypocrisy of ESPN

You might remember my post last summer about ESPN’s gag order on reporting the Ben Worthless…er, Roethlisberger sexual assault allegations on the grounds that it was a “civil suit” and they don’t report civil suits of athletes.

That’s very interesting, ESPN. Aside from the several cases I illustrated in my prior post where civil suits were reported (all about athletes who happened to be black), we’ve got a new development surrounding, interestingly enough- Ben Worthless…er, Roethlisberger! This time around, as there is much potential for criminal charges being filed (ESPN reported earlier that a filing with the District Attorney may take place soon) the worldwide leader in sports has no trouble reporting Big Ben’s legal woes. That’s not what I find interesting. What IS interesting to me is that Santonio Holmes, Ben’s fellow Squeal…er, Steeler, is facing a CIVIL SUIT from an alleged throwing of a glass at a woman. Where did I hear this? Why, ESPN of course!

So… white quarterback has civil charges in July, ESPN reporters ordered not to report the story. Black wide receiver from the same team has accusations in civil court, it’s on the Web and on Sports Center. Interesting ESPN. Very interesting…

What do you think? Am I being too quick to judge ESPN in their apparent pattern of changing the rules on what they do and don’t report in a seemingly strong correlative relationship between the race of the player and the likelihood their misdeeds are reported? Or do some of the executives in Connecticut need to take a little personal reflection time and read another book or two on journalistic ethics?

Have you tried our new perspective?

For nearly as long as I can remember, I’ve been a strong advocate for the idea that perception is reality. I don’t find myself easily subscribing to the Platonic ideas of there being a “right” or “perfect” form of anything, and if there is I find it impossible to decide who gets to decide that we’ve reached it. In this regard, I’ve been called (among other things) a moral relativist of sorts.

Recently though, I’ve been starting to expand the idea of perception and try to see the pervasive impact that perspective has on that reality. In fact, in some ways the perspective really defines the individual reality more than the perception. Much like psychiatrist Kohlberg’s stages of actualization, the angle from which we look at a problem, situation, or ourselves has a profound impact on whether we like what we see.

I’ve recently been party to a number of sizeable changes in my life toward which I had a negative feeling until a friend gave me a different perspective to examine everything a little more objectively. It’s amazing how what looks like an ongoing problem from one perspective turns into the dust settling on a problem that’s already been solved from another.

Sometimes when you feel lost or overwhelmed, a fresh perspective can be a breath of new life and energy to help you push through whatever Dip you’re stuck in. Take a step back, and talk to a friend whose only investment in the situation is the interest in helping you inherent to a good friendship, no pressures to get the answer you’re looking for. You might be surprised at what you find.

A caveat: this may result in a situation in which you are forced to confront something you’d rather not acknowledge about yourself or the situation. Though not much fun, this can often be the roadblock that was contributing to your troubles that needs to be faced/addressed/changed before you can move on peacefully.

When has changing your approach come in handy for you? Where did you find the new angle?

New Quarter, New Year, New Decade

It’s amazing how different perspectives can become, how different life can become, in such a short time. In the grand scheme of things, 10 years is not a terribly long time. I find it difficult to accept that 10 years ago today, I was 11 years old and heading back to 6th grade since Y2k did NOT bring about the destruction of life as we know it. Life consisted of going to school, coming home, going to movies on Friday nights, and reading a lot.

Fast forward to today: two days into my final quarter of college, a second childhood rapidly coming to an eagerly anticipated end. It’s a time of excitement, fear, and above all change. Changes within myself and the way I view the world, with the way I interact with the people around me. Changes in technology and opportunity.

Today I had a phone call with Adam Keats of Weber Shandwick’s Chicago office, and he asked me where I saw myself in five years. I replied that I hope to be working in an Agency setting, doing PR that means something. There are so many paths that I could see myself taking, however. Having taken the LSAT and gotten a 157, I could be in my first or second year of law school. Or I could be working on an M.S. in Public Relations and Strategic Corporate Communications somewhere. I could be in Chicago, or New York, or London, or Prague.

The not-knowing provides so much more excitement than knowing, and there’s a lot that I don’t know right now. As someone who nearly always has an answer, if not THE answer, this would typically cause a great deal of stress and anxiety. For whatever reason, right now it gives me comfort. It gives me hope.

Seth Godin had a great post yesterday about there being a surplus of fear and how he’d rather have a surplus of hope. I think I found some of his stockpiles.