While I write many blogs and other types of content throughout the week, the Weekly Column is my weekly feature topic, which will also be the basis of my weekly radio show and #dadchat. Posted on Sunday night or Monday morning, they are a great way to start off your week with something to think about, as well as something to talk about.
Weekly Columns are available for syndication in your publication. Contact Us for more information!
When I first began writing, I wrote for a local throwaway newspaper. I had no idea what a blog or blogger was. I did know about downloading music online and email. MySpace was a big deal for a while. YouTube had yet to appear. Oh, and I heard about all the porn. Not much else. Facebook, Schmacebook. Twiiter? Why did I need to know where you were having lunch? Tweet Chats? Gimme a break…another chat room? Forget it.
When I began writing, my initial goal was to be a dad advocate as my own experiences motivated me in that direction. I still advocate on behalf of dads and all parents. But, as I ventured into the world of Social Media, I realized I had another goal of larger importance and that was to do my part to make the world a better place – to do my part to Repair the World, or Heal the World as Michael Jackson said!
The title of this column IS A STATEMENT. If I’d added a question mark, it would be a question. If I added “How to” at the beginning, it would be a tutorial. I made a purposeful choice with this title because I am advocating strongly to find that balance in your Social Media life much as we all strive to find balance in our lives as a whole. We all want to avoid too much stress. Some call it stress management. I’d prefer to call is LIFE management.
When Steve Jobs died I was yet again reminded of the fragility of life. No matter how rich or famous a person is, the grim reaper does not care. While I won’t admit how close in age Jobs and I were, I will admit that I fully recognize that my life could end any moment, though I pray it doesn’t. There is still too much to do, see, and too much work left to do.
I’m beginning to wonder about my ROI for all the time I spend on Social Media. The money earned and spent is also a question. I don’t have any questions about the satisfaction, pleasure, and knowledge I’ve gained via Social Media or the amazing relationships that I’ve made. Some have remained virtual, in that I’ve had no real life or even phone exchanges with these virtual friends. But, others have blossomed in real life when we got to meet at conferences or just for coffee or lunch.
Family downsizing. No, I’m not referring to an economic downturn, though there are aspects of that to this story. This is about a family of seven that is becoming a family of four. One year ago our family consisted of my wife and me, our two boys, and our three dogs. In the past year, we lost two of our dogs and our older son will be going away to college – out-of-state – in the fall.
There’s no doubt that I’m really wading into it with the title of this column. I was reflecting on the end of this season of Glee and the only other television series that I watch regularly, Modern Family. I enjoy both show but do wonder if they have an agenda as to the message they want to put across.
I’ve begun to make my weekend posts about Social Media. It just happened. Why? Because I’m living Social Media and my work revolves around it as well. And, I love it.
