Connecting and The Golden Rule

“Love they neighbor as thyself.”  Luke 10:25-28

There are many different ways to say the golden rule but the meaning no matter what the religion or culture is always the same. I was brought up on it, how about you?

Using the Golden Rule can save you from miscommunication, hurt feelings, etc… Remember most methods of communication do not allow body language, emotions, etc. and are misread. Texts, emails, online chatting, etc… do not show emotion and can easily be misinterpreted. It’s just words without facial expressions or body language.

For every communication method available there is a purpose. We have to decide which is most appropriate to deliver our message. I try to stop and think before I respond or post a message; who is it for, what is it for and is this method the most appropriate to deliver the message. Always keeping the Golden Rule in mind can be helpful.

A few of the many forms of The Golden Rule.:

"Treat others as you would want to be treated."

"Don’t tread on others if you would not have them tread on you"

Luke 10:25-28 Love thy neighbor as thyself.

²⁵And one day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to the test. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

²⁶What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?” ²⁷He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’(Deuteronomy 6:5) And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” ²⁸“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”.

I found some interesting information on the Golden Rule at Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Rule

Embracing Today’s Communication Methods

Embracing Today’s Communication Methods

“No problem can be solved by the same level of thinking that created it.” Albert Einstein

In 1999, I wrote a thesis titled: Email: “Taming the Paperless Tiger.” I formally presented it several times to different audiences over the next few years.  In a nutshell I argued both sides, proving it could be a productive tool in the workplace. Email at the time had been getting a very bad rap and still it was the number one reason people ever got started using the Internet.  In 2011, it’s still one of the top reasons why people start using the Internet.

Today, it’s Social Media. People of all ages are getting online just to use Social Media. I frequently find myself pushed to defend Social Media (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Flickr, Blogging) and usually it’s to people that have formed an opinion before becoming educated on using it as a business communication tool, a lifelong learning tool, a personal communications tool…(the list goes on), or before actually using it themselves!

Could it really improve your life personally and professionally? In my humble opinion, the answer is, yes. Embracing today’s communication tools with a positive attitude I believe it can improve your life not only on a personal level but in your professional life as well.

Watch this video showing the popularity of Social Media in today’s society both personally and professionally:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SuNx0UrnEo&feature=player_embedded

Check out the two year old statistics in this video about Social Media:

http://youtu.be/6ILQrUrEWe8

Connecting or Re-connecting...just do it!

June 27, 2011

“It takes a long time to grow an old friend.”  -John Leonard

Online, snail mail, phone, or in person it really doesn’t matter. Re-connecting really is about picking up where you left off with connections you have made. At least that’s the way I feel about it. Coach Tom Osborne says when we are gone, it’s about the relationships (connections) we’ve made during our life time. Sometimes I have to remind myself it’s ok to be the one that attempts to re-connect with a long lost friend or relative or even an acquaintance that made an impact on that ‘moment’ when you met them.  I never regret making that first attempt to re-connect with those I may have met over 30 years ago or just yesterday, it’s always worth it. Better yet, it’s an awesome feeling when someone else makes that first move to re-connect with you.  It happened to me yesterday and it meant the world to me. One of my best friends(and bridesmaid) from 30 years ago who I haven’t seen in over 10 years stopped by yesterday.  I don’t think she realizes how much it meant to me.

We have the tools at our fingertips to make it easy to re-connect, so like NIKE says, “just do it.” You’ll never know if it will be one of those “pick up where you left off” moments until you do.

Mail a letter, Phone call, Text message, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, Skype and of course there’s still email.

Connecting

My first time...

 “Any idea that does not seem insane at first is not worth pursuing.” Albert Einstein

Do you remember how you accessed & experienced the internet or World Wide Web (WWW) for the first time? It was all about connecting, literally & figuratively. One of my first tastes of the internet was about the time it was starting its transition to the World Wide Web. It was all text based, no pictures or videos or hyperlinks.  I used a modem to ‘dial-up’ a bulletin board service setup locally by two of our high school students. Hence, it was the only free access available and very limited. I remember subscribing to a couple lists for topics of interest to me at that time. We also chatted about techie stuff. For the high school students it was mostly about connecting with others to play games and chat online. It wasn’t long after my first taste of the internet that I subscribed to AOL just to have email to connect with family. Dialup internet using AOL was my first email experience. There was a monthly fee of $9.95 just to have the service and you had to pay long distance phone charges ‘per minute’ that you were logged on! I had to setup my account to connect, send/receive messages and quickly log off. I read and composed my emails when I wasn’t connected (off-line). That was only the beginning of paying a monthly fee for Internet service and it was for the slowest most unreliable access ever! Remember, I lived in a very rural area with old telephone lines. There wasn’t a whole lot you could get done on the internet, due to the lack of speed and you were paying not much less than we are now for a high-speed wireless connection. So for many years dial-up was my connection to the world. When a local internet provider put one of their first rural wireless antennae up on a grain bin five miles from my house I was signed up and setup the very first week. Still wonder how I survived dial-up as long as I did.  Being connected with others and for information, is (or should be) a very important part of our lives. The internet/WWW has made it possible. Connecting; it’s how we survive, how we learn, and how we love.

Today the concept is the same and it’s called Social Media, ie: Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, Skype and of course there’s still email. All of them made possible by the internet/WWW.

Will you please tell me about your first time…?

Did you realize you were connecting to be connected to someone or something?

Oh, Déjà vu…we’ve come a long way baby!

Connections, Internet, email, World Wide Web, social media, wireless, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, Skype, chat, bulletin board