June 2008 Archives
My heart keeps getting more and more tender. If it doesn't stop I'll have to stop leaving the house because the trail from my bleeding heart will get me kicked out of public places.
After I don't know how many years of using the free version of Backpack I finally upgraded to a paid account. Managing all my business and personal stuff was getting more and more difficult and I tried out various things roughly based on the Getting Things Done system. I came very close to buying OmniFocus but a couple things made me put the breaks on that purchase (only letting me try it for 8 days really didn't help). After serious consideration I decided to upgrade my Backpack account to make it more functional for me. Now that I have I could kick myself for waiting so long.
I admit that I had to get a bit creative about how to make Backpack work most efficiently for me but now that I have it's fantastic. Someday soon perhaps I'll write about how I'm using Backpack and Highrise (the free version for now at least) as a Getting Things Done and well, just, getting things done system.
I'm mentioning all this because I put a button in the sidebar for Backpack as part of the affiliate program from 37 Signals. If you signup for a paid Backpack account using the affiliate code MICHELLEJONES I'll get a tiny referall fee. I figured since I liked it enough to actually pay for it I should formally recommend it and if I was going to do that it would be stupid not to sign up for the affiliate program.
But if you want to signup and use the free Backpack account I won't be mad at you. The free account really did work well for me for a very long time and it's only cause I have such a crazy amount of stuff to keep up that I upgraded. So you know, do what you need to do.
I admit that I had to get a bit creative about how to make Backpack work most efficiently for me but now that I have it's fantastic. Someday soon perhaps I'll write about how I'm using Backpack and Highrise (the free version for now at least) as a Getting Things Done and well, just, getting things done system.
I'm mentioning all this because I put a button in the sidebar for Backpack as part of the affiliate program from 37 Signals. If you signup for a paid Backpack account using the affiliate code MICHELLEJONES I'll get a tiny referall fee. I figured since I liked it enough to actually pay for it I should formally recommend it and if I was going to do that it would be stupid not to sign up for the affiliate program.
But if you want to signup and use the free Backpack account I won't be mad at you. The free account really did work well for me for a very long time and it's only cause I have such a crazy amount of stuff to keep up that I upgraded. So you know, do what you need to do.
There have been times in my work life that I've not been able to stand by my principles or stand up for things I believed in. Well, it's not true to say that I've not been able to, a more accurate description is that I haven't been willing to face the consequences of standing by my principles. I could have left the job instead of participating in things I didn't think were right, I could have argued more aggressively against attitudes and policies and risked losing jobs. At the time though leaving/losing those jobs/gigs would have brought serious financial hardship to my house and I chose not to do that.
I'm in a bit of a different boat now. Though I'm always trying to make more money (we are trying to buy a house next year) dropping anyone of my current projects and gigs would not throw us into financial hardship. That of course gives me flexibility with the projects I take and the projects I keep. As I mentioned recently I've been quite busy with work. I've been very lucky to land several projects and gigs this summer that have me excited and passionate. It's turned out to be too much work though and I've had and continue to have to say no to a few new projects that I've wanted to say yes to.
So I've been evaluating all the projects I'm committed to and determining which ones I really want to continue and which ones I want to sign off from. Today I'm signing off from a couple one of which I'd actually planned to continue despite some reservations about it.
Without going into much detail I'll say that I've felt a lack of respect from the project manager both for myself and my abilities but also for the actual work and the community that work is part of. I'd describe this lack of respect at being at a low simmer. It's not at a high boil like a lot of the stuff I dealt with in corporate and other job situations but it's very much there. Also, this gig has brought up serious issues/concerns for me regarding the promotion of me and my work and ownership of ideas. Interestingly enough it's not the respect for me and my work or the issues of personal brand building and idea ownership that have me leaving this particular project. Maybe it's some kind of weird self-esteem thing but I was kind of like "well the disrespect isn't so bad and the money is ok so I should just suck it up and stick it out." So I did. But now the disrespect and disregard for the community at large and the "business first, community later, maybe" attitude have me heading for the door.
Even though I'm heading for that door I haven't actually pulled the trigger yet. In my mind I'm going back and forth over how much money I'll be losing, where the line is between principled and petty and wondering how to do the same good work for the community on my own or perhaps with another organization. In other words I've been second guessing myself for a couple days now. The truth is I've been chickening out on doing what I know is the right thing to do because I don't want to lose the money and I don't want to lose the connections and prestige this gig gives me.
And then today I see Mike Rhode's sketchnotes from the SEED 3 conference. In particular his sketches from Gary Vaynerchuk's speech. Two quotes in particular stand out
"True to what you believe in"
"Brand equity is recession proof"
Wow. Just wow.
I don't even drink wine but I'm now a Gary Vaynerchuk fan because those two quotes speak directly to my heart today.
Could I put my head down and continue working on this project even though I feel myself and the community aren't appreciated? Could I put my head down and keep working even though the organizational attitude and general lack of good will bothers me deeply? Could I say "in the grand scheme of things your issues with this project don't even rate a second look much less losing money and contacts for." Yeah, I could do that. I could do that but in my heart I know it wouldn't be the right thing to do. In my heart I know that standing up for even small principles, whenever you can, is the right thing to do and truthfully the issues regarding community (damn, I wish I could go into details here) are far more than small principles to me.
So? Trigger pulled. I've got to believe that my finances and my reputation/brand can only benefit from removing myself from a project that I can't believe in and can't feel good about participating in without a boat load of conditional statements.
Image by and copyright Mike Rhode.
Another quote from Rhode's sketchnotes that is so applicable: "Avoid 'partnerships' out to steal your mojo."
I'm in a bit of a different boat now. Though I'm always trying to make more money (we are trying to buy a house next year) dropping anyone of my current projects and gigs would not throw us into financial hardship. That of course gives me flexibility with the projects I take and the projects I keep. As I mentioned recently I've been quite busy with work. I've been very lucky to land several projects and gigs this summer that have me excited and passionate. It's turned out to be too much work though and I've had and continue to have to say no to a few new projects that I've wanted to say yes to.
So I've been evaluating all the projects I'm committed to and determining which ones I really want to continue and which ones I want to sign off from. Today I'm signing off from a couple one of which I'd actually planned to continue despite some reservations about it.
Without going into much detail I'll say that I've felt a lack of respect from the project manager both for myself and my abilities but also for the actual work and the community that work is part of. I'd describe this lack of respect at being at a low simmer. It's not at a high boil like a lot of the stuff I dealt with in corporate and other job situations but it's very much there. Also, this gig has brought up serious issues/concerns for me regarding the promotion of me and my work and ownership of ideas. Interestingly enough it's not the respect for me and my work or the issues of personal brand building and idea ownership that have me leaving this particular project. Maybe it's some kind of weird self-esteem thing but I was kind of like "well the disrespect isn't so bad and the money is ok so I should just suck it up and stick it out." So I did. But now the disrespect and disregard for the community at large and the "business first, community later, maybe" attitude have me heading for the door.
Even though I'm heading for that door I haven't actually pulled the trigger yet. In my mind I'm going back and forth over how much money I'll be losing, where the line is between principled and petty and wondering how to do the same good work for the community on my own or perhaps with another organization. In other words I've been second guessing myself for a couple days now. The truth is I've been chickening out on doing what I know is the right thing to do because I don't want to lose the money and I don't want to lose the connections and prestige this gig gives me.
And then today I see Mike Rhode's sketchnotes from the SEED 3 conference. In particular his sketches from Gary Vaynerchuk's speech. Two quotes in particular stand out
"True to what you believe in""Brand equity is recession proof"
Wow. Just wow.
I don't even drink wine but I'm now a Gary Vaynerchuk fan because those two quotes speak directly to my heart today.
Could I put my head down and continue working on this project even though I feel myself and the community aren't appreciated? Could I put my head down and keep working even though the organizational attitude and general lack of good will bothers me deeply? Could I say "in the grand scheme of things your issues with this project don't even rate a second look much less losing money and contacts for." Yeah, I could do that. I could do that but in my heart I know it wouldn't be the right thing to do. In my heart I know that standing up for even small principles, whenever you can, is the right thing to do and truthfully the issues regarding community (damn, I wish I could go into details here) are far more than small principles to me.
So? Trigger pulled. I've got to believe that my finances and my reputation/brand can only benefit from removing myself from a project that I can't believe in and can't feel good about participating in without a boat load of conditional statements.
Image by and copyright Mike Rhode.
Another quote from Rhode's sketchnotes that is so applicable: "Avoid 'partnerships' out to steal your mojo."
I haven't participated in a meme in I don't know how long but since Melle tagged me and I love her so I'm going to try.
"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to."I don't have 7 people left to tag (J and Melissa mostly took care of everyone) so I'll just leave it at my 7 songs.
1. Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket
2. I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab for Cutie
3. The Look Of Love (Madison Park Vs. Lenny B Remix) by Nina Simone
4. Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan by Gloria Estefan
5. When Love Comes to Town by U2 and B.B. King
6. Las Vegas Dealer by Gomez
7. The Maker by Willie Nelson
The New York times recently published an editorial encouraging congress to pass net neutrality legislation. I encourage everyone to read it, but especially those who may not be familiar with net neutrality. Let me quote three paragraphs from it that get to the heart of the issue.
A couple quotes from a Reclaim the Media piece:
McCain: Does not (passionately or otherwise) support net neutrality legislation.
Net Neutrality is One Reason I Support Obama.
Users of the Internet take for granted their ability to access all Web sites on an equal basis. That could change, however, if Internet service providers started discriminating among content, to make more money or to suppress ideas they do not like. A new "net neutrality" bill has been introduced in the House, which would prohibit this sort of content discrimination. Congress has delayed on this important issue too long and should pass net neutrality legislation now.As someone who makes a good part of her living, communicates with her friends and consumes massive amounts of content via the internet net neutrality is an exceptionally important issue to me. I'm not a one issue voter but if I were net neutrality very well could be that issue. Barack Obama supports net neutrality as a concept and as concrete legislation. John McCain does not.The Internet, at least in this country, is a remarkably unfettered medium. If you type in the domain name of a large corporation or a small blog, a government Web site or a radical political party, the pages are sent to your computer with equal speed. Like a telephone line, an Internet connection does not play favorites -- it simply transmits the words and images.
I.S.P.'s, the companies that connect users to the Internet, want to change this. They have realized that they could make a lot of money by charging some Web sites a premium to have their content delivered faster than that of other sites. Web sites relegated to Internet "slow lanes" would have trouble competing.
- Democracy and the Web NY Times May 19, 2008
A couple quotes from a Reclaim the Media piece:
During a November appearance at Google's Mountain View headquarters, meanwhile, Obama pledged that "I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to Net neutrality, because once providers start to privilege some applications or Web sites over others, then the smaller voices get squeezed out and we all lose."One more quote, this one from the Wired blog:"I think that Net neutrality is something that we have to look at from time to time, but I don't want to see the wealthiest and most powerful [companies] crowd out the independents, which has really given [the Internet] its strength and vitality," McCain said in an interview with WNYC last year. "It's a very tough issue."
"When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment," McCain said at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital D5 conference.
"The road to overregulated markets is paved with [good] intentions but terribly misguided legislation," McCain special counsel Chuck Fish said recently at the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference in New Haven, Conn.
John McCain has been vague about network neutrality both in congressional debates and on the campaign trail. He simply says that the issue is one that can be addressed by market forces.Obama: Passionately supports net neutrality legislation.
McCain: Does not (passionately or otherwise) support net neutrality legislation.
Net Neutrality is One Reason I Support Obama.
I'm engaged and passionate about this presidential race. I believe we have an opportunity to elect a president who is an honorable, intelligent person who can do good things for our country.
That's all well and good but it kind of sounds like pretty rhetoric doesn't it? Why do I think these things about Obama? Why am I passionate about the potential he shows as a leader? Why have I given money to his campaign? Why do I believe he is a significantly better choice for president than John McCain? These are real and valid questions and I expect to get asked theme frequently both by people who aren't traditional Democratic voters and people who were ardent and passionate Hillary supporters. My first inclination is to be frustrated with people who say "Since Hillary is not the nominee I'm not sure I'll be voting for the Democratic ticket." But that inclination is wrong. If I want to attempt to do some measure of good for this country the best way I can do that is to reach out to such people. I can acknowledge the disappointment they feel at their preferred candidate is not the nominee and I, and other Obama supporters, can share with them reasons why we think Obama will do significantly more good for this country than McCain will.
Soon I'll post "One Reason I Support Obama: Net Neutrality." My work, business and personal communication, cultural and intellectual consumption and a million other things rely heavily on the internet so this issue is a very, very important one to me.
I'd like to encourage other Obama supporters to write their own one "One Reason I Support Obama" pieces. Feel free to leave it as a comment, post it to your own blog and leave a link to it in the comments or, if you'd like to guest post let me know and I can post it here.
One more note: If folks genuinely believe that McCain will do a better job than Obama then they should vote with their conscience and their heart. However I think a lot of people will find that Obama is the right candidate for them if they know more about him and his positions. That's why I think it's really important to share our reasons for supporting him. I don't ask people to participate in memes (and don't really consider this a meme but whatever) but if you're an Obama supporter I'm asking you to do this.
That's all well and good but it kind of sounds like pretty rhetoric doesn't it? Why do I think these things about Obama? Why am I passionate about the potential he shows as a leader? Why have I given money to his campaign? Why do I believe he is a significantly better choice for president than John McCain? These are real and valid questions and I expect to get asked theme frequently both by people who aren't traditional Democratic voters and people who were ardent and passionate Hillary supporters. My first inclination is to be frustrated with people who say "Since Hillary is not the nominee I'm not sure I'll be voting for the Democratic ticket." But that inclination is wrong. If I want to attempt to do some measure of good for this country the best way I can do that is to reach out to such people. I can acknowledge the disappointment they feel at their preferred candidate is not the nominee and I, and other Obama supporters, can share with them reasons why we think Obama will do significantly more good for this country than McCain will.
Soon I'll post "One Reason I Support Obama: Net Neutrality." My work, business and personal communication, cultural and intellectual consumption and a million other things rely heavily on the internet so this issue is a very, very important one to me.
I'd like to encourage other Obama supporters to write their own one "One Reason I Support Obama" pieces. Feel free to leave it as a comment, post it to your own blog and leave a link to it in the comments or, if you'd like to guest post let me know and I can post it here.
One more note: If folks genuinely believe that McCain will do a better job than Obama then they should vote with their conscience and their heart. However I think a lot of people will find that Obama is the right candidate for them if they know more about him and his positions. That's why I think it's really important to share our reasons for supporting him. I don't ask people to participate in memes (and don't really consider this a meme but whatever) but if you're an Obama supporter I'm asking you to do this.
