It's been a while since I posted last, I have a few things written up to post about, but to be honest - I'm just not in the mood right now.
I've just finished a 3 month project for a client that was really rather stressful and ultimately not much fun at all. Which was a shame as it had all the hallmarks of something that could have been glorious. For the first time in my career, I said no when the contract extension date came up, and have been much happier since.
It's weird, but sometimes you need a not-much-fun project to remind you how lucky a lot of us in digital are - often working with great people, on exciting projects, delivering superb results. It's so much fun, it often doesn't feel like work; more an extension of a hobby or passion already present. But then once in a while something pops up that is just not really what you expected: people don't deliver on time, what they deliver is really below par, what started off as a great idea becomes a wobbly mess from lack of planning and correct staffing.
It's a good reminder that ideas are really easy, the magic lies in their development and details. I've been so lucky working with the people I have in the past, I sometimes think that's normal when actually I've just been very fortunate to work with mind-blowing brilliant people.
Still, I'm now doing some work for the Guardian next week, and then I'm on holiday for a bit. After that I've got an exciting project which will hopefully have budget clearance to go, and then I'm guessing you won't be able to shut me up!
I've just finished a 3 month project for a client that was really rather stressful and ultimately not much fun at all. Which was a shame as it had all the hallmarks of something that could have been glorious. For the first time in my career, I said no when the contract extension date came up, and have been much happier since.
It's weird, but sometimes you need a not-much-fun project to remind you how lucky a lot of us in digital are - often working with great people, on exciting projects, delivering superb results. It's so much fun, it often doesn't feel like work; more an extension of a hobby or passion already present. But then once in a while something pops up that is just not really what you expected: people don't deliver on time, what they deliver is really below par, what started off as a great idea becomes a wobbly mess from lack of planning and correct staffing.
It's a good reminder that ideas are really easy, the magic lies in their development and details. I've been so lucky working with the people I have in the past, I sometimes think that's normal when actually I've just been very fortunate to work with mind-blowing brilliant people.
Still, I'm now doing some work for the Guardian next week, and then I'm on holiday for a bit. After that I've got an exciting project which will hopefully have budget clearance to go, and then I'm guessing you won't be able to shut me up!
I wanted to write about an increasingly interesting subject for me of late, discussing or mentioning personal information on shared networks or open webspace.
I've always been a very open person in my life, too much so people sometimes tell me, but I rather like being that way. It means that you can share your life and let others in to share it with you, building fast connections with people through trust and feeling closer to people through shared knowledge, and personal details. Obviously there's a downside, sometimes (but thankfully very rarely) I have found people judge you on being so open - feeling as if you're after something, or being a scared off if they're a much more closed person. Personally, I think the upside of sharing personal feelings, events and thoughts far outweighs the downside. It's been the foundation of some of my strongest relationships.
So I've been thinking about this in relation to the internet, and social networks and communities. It's like another step along the scale of being open, as not only are you sharing your thoughts and personal information with your friends and would be friends, but complete strangers too. Also, these thoughts are written down, or captured somehow in order for them to be passed into the network. So it's not just hearsay anymore, it's hard written/photographed/recorded fact. Makes it seem so much more important to really think about what you're "saying" in your networks, and how you "say" it. Once it's out there, it's out there!
Are you happy for everyone to know this thing, now and forever? In a world where socialising increasingly happens online and in game, I think it's a question that people will come across sooner or later. How will you deal with it?
To look at what I mean with a real life example: I am pregnant :-) Horay! It is very exciting, and I have been wanting to Twitter my feelings and pregnancy-related-what-I'm-up-to's for the last 3 months, but didn't due to the usual 12 week caveat that comes with being pregnant.
However, at the same time I knew I wanted to mention it when I got to the 12 week safer point (ie, now) but I couldn't work out how, and if I should. I asked a few people and they were the same as me - yes mention it, but what if you loose the baby? Being pregnant is obviously very personal but the happiness and excitement it brings is contagious, people seem to love knowing about a new addition in my short experience, whereas talking about loosing a baby seems infinately more personal and somehow out of bounds. Most likely because it's so rarely talked about as it's such a painful experience, and people would just rather not think about it or know it happens. Sharing bad events just seems harder to me, perhaps this comes back to my use of social media tools as a sort of Thayer PR, a happy place where everything is fun and happy. I only talk about fun bits of jobs, not the bits I hate, and I don't mention depression, just excitement.
Eventually after thinking about it long and hard I settled on this post, a true reflection of the confusion I've felt surrounding how much info to put out there in particular about my pregnancy. That way you know it's been put out there with a lot of thought, and hopefully some of you will share your thoughts on how much of your private life you share on networks that have started off professional and ended up being more personal, with the odd added stranger in there too!
I'd love to hear anyone else who's been through a personal situation and chosen to either discuss it or not, and if you did mention/discuss personal what was the fallout? Were you glad you did or did it bite you on the bum? All your thoughts on why you do or don't share personal life events would be really glady received whilst I work out where I stand on it all.
Overall, I feel like I want to share my life, just as I've done face to face, but a part of me just can't help feeling there's something out there that should mean I shouldn't... We shall see!
I've always been a very open person in my life, too much so people sometimes tell me, but I rather like being that way. It means that you can share your life and let others in to share it with you, building fast connections with people through trust and feeling closer to people through shared knowledge, and personal details. Obviously there's a downside, sometimes (but thankfully very rarely) I have found people judge you on being so open - feeling as if you're after something, or being a scared off if they're a much more closed person. Personally, I think the upside of sharing personal feelings, events and thoughts far outweighs the downside. It's been the foundation of some of my strongest relationships.
So I've been thinking about this in relation to the internet, and social networks and communities. It's like another step along the scale of being open, as not only are you sharing your thoughts and personal information with your friends and would be friends, but complete strangers too. Also, these thoughts are written down, or captured somehow in order for them to be passed into the network. So it's not just hearsay anymore, it's hard written/photographed/recorded fact. Makes it seem so much more important to really think about what you're "saying" in your networks, and how you "say" it. Once it's out there, it's out there!
Are you happy for everyone to know this thing, now and forever? In a world where socialising increasingly happens online and in game, I think it's a question that people will come across sooner or later. How will you deal with it?
To look at what I mean with a real life example: I am pregnant :-) Horay! It is very exciting, and I have been wanting to Twitter my feelings and pregnancy-related-what-I'm-up-to's for the last 3 months, but didn't due to the usual 12 week caveat that comes with being pregnant.
However, at the same time I knew I wanted to mention it when I got to the 12 week safer point (ie, now) but I couldn't work out how, and if I should. I asked a few people and they were the same as me - yes mention it, but what if you loose the baby? Being pregnant is obviously very personal but the happiness and excitement it brings is contagious, people seem to love knowing about a new addition in my short experience, whereas talking about loosing a baby seems infinately more personal and somehow out of bounds. Most likely because it's so rarely talked about as it's such a painful experience, and people would just rather not think about it or know it happens. Sharing bad events just seems harder to me, perhaps this comes back to my use of social media tools as a sort of Thayer PR, a happy place where everything is fun and happy. I only talk about fun bits of jobs, not the bits I hate, and I don't mention depression, just excitement.
Eventually after thinking about it long and hard I settled on this post, a true reflection of the confusion I've felt surrounding how much info to put out there in particular about my pregnancy. That way you know it's been put out there with a lot of thought, and hopefully some of you will share your thoughts on how much of your private life you share on networks that have started off professional and ended up being more personal, with the odd added stranger in there too!
I'd love to hear anyone else who's been through a personal situation and chosen to either discuss it or not, and if you did mention/discuss personal what was the fallout? Were you glad you did or did it bite you on the bum? All your thoughts on why you do or don't share personal life events would be really glady received whilst I work out where I stand on it all.
Overall, I feel like I want to share my life, just as I've done face to face, but a part of me just can't help feeling there's something out there that should mean I shouldn't... We shall see!
I just received an email this morning from Mike Atherton leading me to this page - Sunderland Universities weblog homework.
I'm listed as a blog that should be read and discused?! I am both honoured and amused in equal measure. Thanks to Tony Nicholson for taking my blogs on, and giving this comment:
Cool, huh?! :)
Thanks Tony!
It's an apt reminder that everything you do and say online is likely to be studied and scrutinised at some stage. It's also reminded me that it's important to bring a mix of not just what you want to write, but what's interesting to the table.
Have a read of the post, and the findings of the other students too, it's very insightful.
I'm listed as a blog that should be read and discused?! I am both honoured and amused in equal measure. Thanks to Tony Nicholson for taking my blogs on, and giving this comment:
I went on Thayer Driver's blog (thayer18.livejournal.com) and found the mix of professional and personal quite interesting. At first I was quite sceptical if it would work or not, but as I read on the interesting mix proved a good interaction for her social networking friends. The first ever social networking Mexican Wave hade 15 comments in the last five minutes and her other blogs enabled her to promote the chinwag work that she does. It is important to create a good relationship with fellow proffessionals so I think if I ever get a professional working blog going I will do the same mix... but perhaps not as extreme!
Cool, huh?! :)
Thanks Tony!
It's an apt reminder that everything you do and say online is likely to be studied and scrutinised at some stage. It's also reminded me that it's important to bring a mix of not just what you want to write, but what's interesting to the table.
Have a read of the post, and the findings of the other students too, it's very insightful.
Ok, so this is a bit of an odd post to do, but what the hey. I talk about Twitter and social media far too much, so for a change let's go Swimming in the Sea Of Me as my very good friend Sam Michel likes to call it.
Dan Hon tagged me in his post Eight Random Things About Me. I only just found out about this from a tardy Google Alert but it seems fun so why the heck not :)
I tag:
Wow, I really need to start knowing more women who do personal blogs!!
EDIT: Also, rules are meant to be broken right? I tag two more people:
Dan Hon tagged me in his post Eight Random Things About Me. I only just found out about this from a tardy Google Alert but it seems fun so why the heck not :)
- I speak really bad but passable French and Greek, along with a few words of Japanese, Arabic and South African.
- I actually meant to be an artist (oils and fabric, if you're interested), but decided that the Internet thing would probably take off and make me more money.
- I can play the guitar, clarinet, piano, all the recorder family and get a note out of a sax and a flute. All pretty badly.
- I have cooked properly since I was about 14, it is still my most enjoyable and fulfilling hobby.
- I had long blonde hair all my life until I cut it off and dyed it brown in November 2005.
- I left home a week after my 16th birthday to start a new life on my own, in a different country from my family.
- I have no academic qualifications after my GCSEs.
- Until 2 weeks ago, I had never owned a single product or service by Apple.
I tag:
Wow, I really need to start knowing more women who do personal blogs!!
EDIT: Also, rules are meant to be broken right? I tag two more people:
It's been a while since I talked about what I've been up to, so I wanted to post an update. I've had a few people asking, and without microblogging (microbragging?) on Twitter, I forgot that a lot of you wouldn't know!
I've just finished some work for Apple which was really interesting. I have been researching social trends with regards emerging technology, to give them a presentation and report on how to evolve the Apple brand through community. I came up with the tagline "evolving through community" whilst working on the project, which I'm going to use as my company strapline.
Which brings me nicely onto a request for help - I have been trading under my own name, just because I never got round to thinking up anything better. However, I want to use something else, but I'm at a loss. Anyone got any suggestions? If you make a suggestion that I go with, I'll send you a hamper pack of my favourite Alergian coffee and chocolate :)
I've also been working on a social media strategy for Cogs Agency, and marketing work at Chinwag. Coming up, I've got some interesting research work in Second Life for Cheeze, and a recruitment project for a very exciting start up project that I can't talk about *just* yet but as soon as I can I'll let you all know.
So, all in all a blummin' busy January, and February's looking fairly hectic too! All very exciting.
I'm off to SheSays tonight, followed by Digital Outlook's 10th Birthday bash tonight, so will take my camera out for some good party shots, it's been a while since I got some noo meedja partay action pics!
I've just finished some work for Apple which was really interesting. I have been researching social trends with regards emerging technology, to give them a presentation and report on how to evolve the Apple brand through community. I came up with the tagline "evolving through community" whilst working on the project, which I'm going to use as my company strapline.
Which brings me nicely onto a request for help - I have been trading under my own name, just because I never got round to thinking up anything better. However, I want to use something else, but I'm at a loss. Anyone got any suggestions? If you make a suggestion that I go with, I'll send you a hamper pack of my favourite Alergian coffee and chocolate :)
I've also been working on a social media strategy for Cogs Agency, and marketing work at Chinwag. Coming up, I've got some interesting research work in Second Life for Cheeze, and a recruitment project for a very exciting start up project that I can't talk about *just* yet but as soon as I can I'll let you all know.
So, all in all a blummin' busy January, and February's looking fairly hectic too! All very exciting.
I'm off to SheSays tonight, followed by Digital Outlook's 10th Birthday bash tonight, so will take my camera out for some good party shots, it's been a while since I got some noo meedja partay action pics!
It's just left the States, so hopefully I'll have it before I fall off the wagon ;-)
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