5 for Thursday - data and analysis

Time to catch up on posting. Time to get better at time management.

"to recognize that it is the most ordinary things that make you rich. Like water" http://j.mp/iH0UY6 @sanderssays #the5

Robert Fulghum writes so well. He hits the mark today in a way that reminds me of the mark that Tim Sanders is hitting with his current book: "We Are Rich"

"I choose based on that: is it an idea that needs a lot of reach?" From Inspiration to Process http://t.co/mwezbDX @chrisbrogan #the5

Chris Brogan takes us inside his thought process to show how he does it.

"there’s no known way to look at a pile of data and understand cause" Cause and effect http://t.co/LGrWqDm how true! @cspenn #the5

Christopher Penn, a master data person, shares a great insight. A reminder for me as at work we are doing some data analysis and working to get at the causes for the data because it is NOT evident just by looking at it.

"What is that digital life story going to look like for you?"http://j.mp/lD683L great question #the5

All our data piles up, what happens when there is no more data creation? When our life comes to an end? Mark Shaeffer explores this and finds some interesting options.

"How do you get started with Google Plus? Let's break down the nuts and bolts" http://j.mp/l3tqlR #the5

The buzz this week has been about Google Plus, maybe the next shiny object, maybe a flash in the pan. Time will tell. Haven't been invited yet so I can't say personally. This article is being marked as a good one to have handy for when the invite does come.

I guess the summary that brings these five together is they are all related to data and the analysis that needs to go with it.

What have you learned that you can share today?

Family time

After the wedding, Sunday provided plenty of time to have conversations. Sharing old stories and catching up on what's happening. Needless to say the time seemed to go very quickly spiked by serious bouts of laughter.

Here Connie, Joe and Rose take a moment to pose for a picture.

Laura gets married

Some years ago, Laura was the flower girls for Dolores and I. Laura is the daughter of Dolores' cousin Gail. We had the pleasure of attending Laura's wedding on Saturday. what a glorious day it was! The weather was perfect, the location scenic, lots of Dolores's side of the family around and plenty of catching up to do.

Then:

And and now:

Best wishes to you Laura and Jeremy!

5 for Thursday - quality

Time for #the5 - let's see what we find today:

"total numbers of followers is meaningless – anyone can get a bunch of followers pretty easily" http://j.mp/l6Wiiu #the5 #sobcon

The volume has never really been important, who and why is definitely more important.

"In the dance of life, money follows your lead. You win by picking the right dance contest" http://j.mp/jgFZ96 #the5 #sobcon

Money follows your lead, assuming the music follows your instinct!

"convinced the people who use the most jargon have the least confidence in their ideas" http://j.mp/m2iueZ goodness from @berkun #the5

This related to my finding that the people who are most passionate about something have something to hide.

tech alert: "It's a shame that more people don't know about this utility" http://j.mp/mkKVdk #the5

First I heard of this one so it seems like something to mark and save for when needed!

"avoid controversy when embedding YouTube videos by DISABLING related videos" http://j.mp/lAVrko a good how to - #the5

This is a good how to. I generally do this having found that the related links are not always so related as they were intended!

And a bonus link for today:

"Videos on Archive.org can now be viewed on the iPhone and iPad, as well as all standard browsers that support HTML5" http://j.mp/j2gF6b

And while we are on video, the resources available at Archive.org are impressive. I have used them to host some audio for webinars and to host the video of the Franklin Library tour. Spend sometime exploring there!

5 for Wednesday - investment

Time for #the5.

“Learning the tools is much easier, because no one can help you lead.” http://j.mp/l0TKFK goodness from @lizstrauss #sobcon #the5

Liz Strauss tells a good story about Hunter S Thompson and suggests a rewording of one of his sentences to make her point.

"These people believed in you, now tell them what you are doing with their investment" http://j.mp/iJG2AK #the5 @geoffliving 

Geoff Livingston previews the findings of a study on non-profit fund raising that will be discussed in a webinar. The findings have good info to help reinforce some of what we'll be doing at the Franklin Food Pantry.

“Anything, everything, is not only possible, it’s probable.  No one person has more value than another" http://j.mp/iAqopV #the5

Deb Brown writes a summary of what she saw and heard at the 140 Conference last week in NYC. The quote is from a talk by Ann Curry.

"People don’t internalize depressing images; they tune them out" http://j.mp/iH8lZf goodness from @tomasacker #the5

Tom Asacker shares his insights on the new FDA anti-smoking ad campaign. I think he is spot on!

"For too many elders, a cut as small as five or ten dollars makes a negative difference in their lives" http://j.mp/kx1WX0 #the5

Ronni Bennett shares her views on the AARP position statement about Social Security that was announced last Friday. If the AARP position has truly changed, this could be a big deal!

When something matters to you, you end up spending time and money.
When either time or money is short, you end up prioritizing, making choices.
When making choices, you should consider the big picture and where these choices fit.
You should also recognize that you are not alone, someone else maybe making the same choices.
Maybe you can learn from with they are doing, maybe you and they can do it better together than either of you could do it alone.

You can get to this point of collaboration, cooperation by starting with conversation.
Overtime the conversation can build a relationship, can build some understanding, and some trust.

What do you think?

Steve Keil Advocates for play!

In this TEDxBG Talk, Steve Keil advocates for play. The more you play, the bigger the brain.

So after watching this, you have permission to go out an play!




Can you imagine a world without play?

For more about play, you can visit Steve Keil's Play Manifesto Blog

5 for Monday - judicious reading

Time for #the5 for Monday!

“We’ve been lamenting the state of history since 1943,” she says, “and maybe even longer.” http://j.mp/mHykEP #the5

History helps create perspective. Akin to knowing the content in the context. Hence, knowing that the lack of history knowledge has been a long time issue is helpful.

"Growth exploded as soon as the company pulled its arguably spammy question battles feature from its home page"http://j.mp/jL2WTb #the5

Games can provide guidelines on user interfaces, but as in the content within context (see above), for business networking, let's stick to business and put the games aside.

"where does the blood come from? It’s shocking, I know, but blood comes from PEOPLE" http://j.mp/jBFMTj @berkun makes the case! #the5

Scott Berkun makes a good a case for helping one another with a fundamental need that only you and I can provide. A money donation won't help.

"To help you stay up-to-date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention" http://j.mp/mQnkW2 #the5

How do you stay current with changes around you? I do it with judicious reading, Google alerts, pertinent RSS feeds and supplemented by having conversations with knowledgeable folks.

LinkedIn’s “Year in Review” app gives careerists everywhere another compelling reason to connect http://j.mp/kebIZd @avidcareerist #the5

One of the key tools available today is LinkedIn. Are you on LinkedIn?

What can you share that you have learned?

"nothing left to moan about"

I almost canceled my Boston Globe subscription this morning. The nerve of Joseph P. Kahn!

A city and region that have suffered through curses and exorcisms, dreamed impossible dreams, counted banners in rafters, and worn bloody socks (with hearts on sleeves), woke up to a fresh reality yesterday morning: We have nothing left to moan about.

We have "nothing left to moan about"?

Yes, I can do the math very well. 39 is more than 15. I get it. I do feel sorry for the Kraft family. For 15 years, they have struggled to build the New England Revolution franchise into something and all for naught.

"nothing left to moan about"!

The Revs having made it to the playoffs for 8 straight years (more than any one of Boston's other pro teams) , been to the final twice and yet have not won the Major League Soccer (MLS) title. Yes, they have won a US Open Cup. They have even won a SuperLiga Title. But no MLS Cup. And the few loyal fans remaining do moan.




I did not cancel my subscription.
I do not blame Joseph P. Kahn.

This is the real soccer issue with the USA. They will come out to support the national team but little else. The US Women's team can create a following but the Women's pro league can hardly stay in business. Boston had a team (Boston Breakers) in the first try and the league stopped operating. The Boston Breakers have returned for this second go around with professional soccer.

I get it. This is reality.

It is as constant as the sun rising, the sun setting. Soccer has been and will be under appreciated in the USA.

New England Revolution fans will continue to moan over the team's lack of goal scoring this season and likely for sometime, their lack of success in winning the MLS Cup. Despite what the Globe says.

Deja Brew - Crossing 150

An historic evening of sorts at Deja Brew on Thursday. our group, "the Band of Brewers" was there to bottle our 150 kettle. The "Slugs" were there brewing their 500th kettle. We have a long way to go to catch up with those guys. Combined that is a lot of beer!

When I checked in via Foursquare, I also managed to become the Mayor. It didn't last long as someone else checked in right after me and took it. No matter.

Here is what we bottled and took home. The ending letter is the code on the cap to tell us what's inside. It is all good of course!

Stunner = A creamy British Pub style pale ale “stunning colour” = S
Blueberry Ale = A delicious ale. It smells good, tastes good and finishes clean = B
Uncle John’s Stout = Contributed by Jody & John. Not just for Saturday night! = U
Fuggle Imperial IPA = Like the Fugglkes Ambrosia, only bigger. More hops, more alcohol = F
Doggie Style Stock Ale = Our version of Sea Dog’s English Stock Ale. Mmmmm = D
Scotch Ale = Lightly bodied Scottish amber. Easy drinking from start to finish. = (blank)

5 for Friday - paying for attention

The alarm went off this morning. I rolled over and wanted to stay in bed. Wednesday night was later than normal. The NE Revolution home game started at 8:00 PM. Then we got home in time to see the Bruins finish Game 7 and celebrate their Stanley Cup win. Yesterday was a bottling night for the "Band of Brewers". I came home to prepare a pasta salad for the potluck lunch at work today.

In the shower I woke up to realize I shouldn't have showered tight away. This was supposed to be a running day. Oh well, I can run after work today. It won't be a missed day. It will be a different schedule day.

There is time for #the5 before heading off to work.

"the #Revs have got to get someone to finish the job up top "http://j.mp/kTF8AM creating chances is good, need to finish to win! #the5

I have a post in draft on the #Revs move to the 4-4-2 (instead of the 4-5-1) and how good a move it is. They are creating chances, they struggle to finish them. So frustrating! They need to get back to the basics. Forget the frustration (yes, that is the hard part). They need to focus on the task at hand (also a hard part). If they feel the pressure to score, they won't score.

"Here are six smallish case studies that show you something interesting about mobile marketing" http://j.mp/ljQKEN @chrisbrogan shares #the5

Case studies are good examples to learn from. Maybe everything won't apply to your situation but there should be something to take away.

"blocks all Internet traffic for a set amount of time that you decide and can’t change" http://j.mp/iMrNbr @CC_chapman finds focus #the5

Finding time, making time to focus on your tasks can be hard. Do you need the kind of program CC found to help?

"a common one is sharing control of the official spokesperson role for the organization" http://j.mp/kfs1s3 @kanter shares #the5

Sharing control? Sounds difficult for those who like to maintain control. Maybe you only had the illusion of control in the first place? In which case, sharing becomes easier!

"what we all should be doing to live healthier lives" http://j.mp/j4B4EU@lisajohnson shares #the5 on fitness

Health is a bottom line requirement. Without good health, the rest becomes that much more difficult.


And yes, another day where I lost count along the way to 5 so you get a bonus!

"we're probably paying with our attention, with attention that is turned into ad sales" http://j.mp/lLT3DQ @thisissethsblog nails #the5

What are you paying attention to? How much opportunity cost is there for your attention?

I do hope you learn something by coming here. I do hope that you will share something that you have learned with someone else during the day. I do hope you find a good laugh! Laughter is good medicine, period!

Expanding your connections

Time for #the5 today

"maybe focusing only on you isn’t going to get you a job any faster" http://j.mp/mSfRTc goodness from @workcoachcafe #the5 

Ronni Ann has some good advice on how to approach your job search!

“Updating” is the act of refreshing or providing a reminder of your presence online" http://j.mp/mfidox #the5 #careercollective

A new collection of folks focused on the job search to find and follow!

"LinkedIn continues to be the only major social network focused exclusively on business professionals" http://j.mp/kSWQ0b #the5

Your use of LinkedIn is important, it is your network and how you use it can help you or hurt you!

"The bigger and more diverse your network the easier it will be to connect people" http://j.mp/lBuY0P #the5

When I left Fidelity, my network was primarily Fidelity folks. I focused on expanding that and have been quite successful in doing so. Look at your network, who should you have?

"take some time to think about who you DO want to be at the networking event" http://j.mp/mb9GiB goodness from @jobfully #the5

Going back to focus, going back to yourself (in a self awareness sense), expanding your network, all this takes time. There is no silver bullet. It won't happen today just by thinking about it. It will happen one step, one connection at a time.

My goal each day is to learn something new, to share something in a meaningful way with someone and to laugh. The more I can do each of these three things, the better the day is!

What are you doing today?