I would rather be blogging than writing another piece of collateral
Today has been exceptionally challenging – I’ve had to cross check facts and decide what links to include on the new pages being added onto the corporate website. The majority of the copy has been written, proofed and pretty much approved by the stakeholders of this business line.
Today, my first challenge is to remain focused on the task at hand. Not easy. I’ve allowed myself to be carried away by every little distraction I can find on the net. Facebook, LinkedIn, reading blog posts by great PR writers and of course, Tweeting.
The second challenge is checking facts. I just need to confirm fact on two paragraphs relating to two different services. This in itself has caused dramas – my email has been bounced from one individual to another. And after five different individuals, I’ve decided to put a stop to being bounced about and suggested re-writing both paragraphs so that it appears informative and at the same time doesn’t leave us open to any potential lawsuits.
Next, links. More painful that pulling out your wisdom tooth but it’s got to be done. First, call the tech expert, ask him what he thinks then, call his boss, ask him what HE thinks, then, decide what goes where.
Almost there.
Oh yes, the banner ads. We want them looking corporate, while not boring. Delivering a message but not read like a sensationalised headline.
The visuals came back and they are fantastic – just need to add the headlines.
OK, done.
One more fact to confirm – can we get there? Today is my copy deadline. PUSHING HARD TO GET IT CONFIRMED!!!
Water levels and sinking hearts
It’s breaking my heart that the floods in Queensland have left such devastation. Equally scary is that the rain has now moved south to Victoria and I fear for everyone who may be affected.
At the same time, I am thankful that everyone I know and my family is safe. When devastation like this hits, I am reminded or how precious human life is and that the things we own that we so often put so much value on, don’t mean a thing.
While watching the devastation through news reports on the telly, sitting comfortably on my sofa and sipping on clean water, I look around my home and how proud I am of our recent renovations. And I am quickly reminded that I should be thankful for the opportunity to sit there, to enjoy my life.
And the lesson I’ve learnt from this is: things aren’t as bad as our minds sometimes make them up to be. I’ll keep reminding myself of this as 2011 matures. When stress hits, when work is ridiculous and when I want to drink an entire bottle of wine in one sitting…
Gartner Symposium in 2010!
Anyone who has had the chance to attend Gartner’s annual Symposium would know that there are so many session to choose from. I wanted to go to all of them! But that obviously was not possible so I set about creating my agenda using their very cool tool and picked the following:
Cloud, Cloud and did I mention, the Cloud?
It was a running joke amongst the analysts that to stay current, you would need to mention “Cloud” at least once in any presentation. The Cloud has been in the news for a couple of years now, attracting its fair share of cynicism. One thing is clear though – one day, everybody will be using something based on a Cloud.
Social media is here to stay – yay!
The one takeaway quote that stayed with me through the conference was, “If you don’t take ownership of your social media, someone else will”. In fact, I tweeted that and was RT-ed by a few (including a Gartner social media analyst) – hooray for me!
On a serious note, Symposium clarified a lot of the myths on this subject and provided CIOs with a checklist and plan for the next week, quarter and 12 months to listen, review and implement a social media strategy. But, Gartner warns – to go forward with a strategic aim and learn from the good and bad examples of social media, allowing for a better chance of success.
The line between IT and ‘the Business’ is blurring
An interesting debate towards the end of day three captured this topic eloquently –’Technology Should Be Centralised, Owned and Governed by IT – Not the Business’. The analysts debated strongly for each side and the argument for IT won.
The general consensus was that in order for a business to be successful overall, we can start to empower IT to deliver towards the goals of the business. By separating the two, a business does not do any favours for itself, in fact, it does quite the opposite. Therefore, moving forward, businesses should accept that technology will become integrated into every part of an organisation and the way forward is increased integration and collaboration with a single goal: provide better returns to the stakeholders.
The PC is dead, mobile devices now rule, OK?
Plug and play; or rather plug and work is what users want. We are increasingly attached to our smart phones, tablets and other portables, so this makes perfect sense. The trend of ‘BYOC’ (bring your own computer) to work is growing and Gartner predicts that by 2013, over 50 percent of the devices accessing the internet will be mobile devices. So businesses need to be prepared to support mobile computing and mobile devices because if their users can’t get it now, they’ll go elsewhere.
R&D for innovation, not maintenance
Businesses who want to stay ahead need to start shifting their R&D dollars from maintenance to innovation. For so long now, according to HP’s EVP and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, Shane Robinson, businesses have concentrated their R&D efforts on providing value through upkeep and maintenance, while the more industrious brands have led the way by investing in innovation. Think of the computer maker who is now leading the mobile phone market; or the search engine company who now sells words. Innovation leads to growth and that will lead to market dominance.
Control as we know it, has changed
Businesses who want to stay relevant in the next decade will need to move from control to embrace and think differently about technology. This theme was echoed in almost every session I attended. According to HP’s Shane Robinson, consumer technology is touching each user very differently and it is the reaction of businesses to this influx of devices and the growing popularity of social media networking that will make all the difference. Shifting from control to embrace without compromising the business’s objective in a secure environment is what will attract and retain the best talent. The role of IT is no longer break/fix; the IT team of the future is an expert in emerging technologies and trends and is ready to consult, support and empower the business.
All in all, Symposium this year was the most progressive, current and relevant conference I’ve had the pleasure of attending. And I want to go again next year! 
Five things I’ve thought about since I went to see The Social Network
- I want Justin Timberlake to win an Oscar for his portrayal of Sean Parker.
- I’ve Googled Eduardo, Mark, Sean and everything else that they’ve talked about in the movie, and I found myself face to face with the launch of RockMelt – awesome!
- I am 100% sure that Eduardo is behind the movie – he had the cutest actor play him and that scene with his girlfriend burning her scarf just gives it away – and, WOW!
- I cannot believe that all this happened less than 10 years ago – living history is an amazing feeling.
- I want to work for Facebook.
Emotional technology
I eat, drink and breathe technology. Most times it’s exciting; I love the amazing things we can achieve by using technology and I love the fact that businesses are very dependent of technology operationally, strategically and competitively.
And sometimes, it can be a real pain in the back side.
Today is one of those times.
I’ve been in three meetings discussing the messaging and go to market strategy of a suite of services we have already been selling but require more formal messaging via the usual communication outlets: intranet, internet, brochures etc.
I’ve come up for some air and also to post this update. I won’t complain too much as I see this more a learning experience; to arm myself better for the next new thing we launch.
Until then, I remain, an emotional techy who can’t say no to the latest innovations and quickly gets bored of talking about it. :p
Good news
The miraculous rescue of the Chilean miners was a great story last week. I’d been half heartedly following the news as I didn’t want to hear that the operation failed and we lost them all.
But we didn’t and reading the news while at work and counting down to how many were rescued and how many were still underground was shared by many in the office.
When I got home, we watched live, a rescue of the 6th (or 7th) – I can’t remember now, miner. It was an amazing sight and it was SO good to hear GOOD NEWS on CNN.
Mind you, the news guys were still predicting some kind of doom – just so to make the coverage interesting. I thought to myself – how come doom and gloom sells (or is being perceived as selling) and not warm and happy stories?
The Chilean story is an exception; good (great) news of human beings coming together to achieve one shared goal – to rescue the 33 trapped underground. It spoke of genuine danger, fear, potential lost of lives and the best part – miracle rescue. Not one of those men looked malnourished and they were in high spirits as they reached the surface. It made me smile and tear up a little.
And because of that amazing news, I’ve decided that from now on, I will scour the news for good news only and blog about it. I’m hoping that by doing this; I’ll be able to capture and share love, positivity and plain old-fashioned warm and fuzzy niceness.
So watch this space; as I surf the WWW for more good news.
bloated
today i helped one of the practice managers with a huge presentation. it took me about four hours of my day to research and compile the relevant information, charts and images to make the three slides introducing his presentation sound engaging and worthwhile.
i am proud that i’ve done what i needed to do in the time i had to do it; despite a very bloated midsection and excruciating pain that has kept me from thinking straight all day. i have inhaled half a block (family size) of dark chocolate and am looking at the remaining half with disgust. i hate you, you block of chocolate. you better not increase the size of my hips or thighs – you were consumed for medicinal purposes so do your thing and make me feel better.
im not feeling very miserable; just really tired. it’s been a long day and the physical challenge not withstanding, i’ve had to pretend i care about work and get things done. i want the day to end, go home, grab my wheat pack and close my eyes.
again, i’m in awe of women – we do so much while hiding our personal physical discomfort and at the same time appearing physically (quite) presentable. i know my hair looks great. my clothes – a bit tight – water retention is to be blamed.
alrighty, signing off. not making any sense, and i really need to go home.
Champagne for lunch
No, I’m not celebrating. I just love the taste of bubbles on a Friday afternoon…
The weather isn’t exactly cheery but I’m alive, well and kicking and have much to look forward to. It’s the eve of a long weekend and I can taste the sense of adventure in the air.
And, I’m in a position to pretty much dictate what I want to do with my afternoon, so I’ve chosen to have a nice long lunch with a friend and come back to the office to blog, research (read: surf the www) and put the finishing touches to a microsite for an event we’re hosting this year. Not crazy challenging, which suits me just fine for this arvo.
In the last four weeks, I’ve started eating healthier and doing yoga regularly. It has helped ease my mental anguish (a certain dark cloud I acquired and has been following me around since the Winter of 2009). The good news is the cloud has disintegrated and pretty much stopped haunting me. At the young age of 32, I can see clearly that certain things aren’t worth pondering and my default state of emotions should be ‘positive, happy and hopeful’. I also want to add ‘dreaming’ in there. We are, at the core of it, all dreaming our lives up; and there is nothing in this Universe that can stop me from dreaming a better life for myself and my family.
I want all of it – and there is nothing that stops me from dreaming about all of it to come true.
This new attitude towards my world is already making itself noticeable. I’m happier – which means I’m more relaxed, less judgmental and most importantly, kinder towards everyone around me.
When we loosen the noose around our own necks, our vision improves, and our hearts open to welcome the beautiful possibilities the world has to offer us.
So untie that rope, and breath IN!
Oh the pain of doing the right thing!
I’ve recently given up drinking alcohol and coffee. Well not quite, I’ve given up that second strong skim flat white I have when I walk into the office and stuck with the freshly brewed coffee I have in the mornings at home. This will soon turn to decaf, as soon as the packet of coffee is completely consumed.
And, I’ve given up all kinds of alcoholic beverages. Red wine with dinner once a week is OK; but that’s it. No more. Maybe a glass of bubbly if someone is celebrating. I’ve cancelled my wine club subscription, packed away the good wine for a really special occasion and banned myself from that ‘wind down’ glass each night. I do 15 minutes of yoga instead. This is serious.
I started this healthy lifestyle two Mondays ago; but today I’ve hit a wall: with less than my usual amount of sleep last night and a schedule packed with things to do, I’m feeling cranky, my mood is very low and I just want to crawl back into bed.
I’ve not succumbed to coffee yet. I believe this is a turning point; if I live through this, I can make it! I’ve got a big bottle of water and have just inhaled a tub of vanilla yogurt (low fat and lactose free), that gave me about 50 minutes of energy and I’ve wasted it on a conference call and I still have three big things to tick off my to-do list today: finalise a newsletter, write an appointment announcement and update content on the internet. Oh, and did I mention the two conference calls I have scheduled for this afternoon?
Still, I sit here, wallowing in self pity that I can’t have my favourite hot beverage and my eye lids are half open.
Add to that, when I opened my tub of yogurt this morning, little bits splattered all over my top and suit – I smell like a bit of vanilla.
I ought to really get a move on and get my work completed. I don’t think I want to carry to Friday these outstanding tasks..
On the side, I’m looking up alternatives to coffee on the net; chai is supposed to be one of them but I’m not sure…
I’ll blog again once I’ve found my alternative. For now, there’s a newsletter that needs finalising!
I don’t mind Monday mornings; admittedly it is quite difficult to wake up at 5:30am when in the last two days, I allowed myself two additional hours of sleep.
This last weekend was a little different, as hubby and I were off to zzzz on Friday night, we got a late call from a friend who is in her third trimester. I had just lunched with her that afternoon and joked that the next time we caught up, she would be wheeling a pram around…but it was just teasing as baby was only due in the next five weeks.
But her water broke on Friday night and immediately after the call, all my antennas went on high alert. Being the person I am; I got the laptop out of the study and started researching early babies; was this normal, how developed would baby be; will mum and bub make it safely.
Then it was looking up lists; my dear friend was going to use the last month before bub arrived to buy all the necessary gear.
But of course that didn’t happen. So I looked up every website that gave advice on what to buy and I made a long list of stuff to get.
And then it was the waiting game; she was in stage one labour and not dilated enough to push…and I was torn between txting her partner and just sitting still. I was SO SO SO anxious and SO excited.
In the end, baby was welcomed into the world on Sunday morning shortly before 8am. I got a call from the new mum herself – she sounded tired but happy. Baby is now being observed in the nursery and she’s doing well.
Then about noon the new father called to share all the details of the last 48 hours – bless him, he didn’t leave anything out! He was excited, happy and full of wonderment…he was on the way home to get some sleep – the nurses advised the new parents to get as much rest now, since baby is being taken cared off…
So for my friend and her partner; I am so happy for them and the start of this new chapter of their lives – which will start with a serious shopping spree to get everything for the little one to be comfortable and I’m looking forward to meeting the new addition to our extended family this week.
