Wednesday 21 March 2012

You know, It’s That Video, or Something.

Just yesterday, I noticed a “#KONY2012” sign in the window of a local business. Even if you haven’t seen the video, or you’ve been disconnected from the internet and television lately, you have more than likely seen the name or heard the phrase “#KONY2012”.

Having had several clients contact me to ask my view of the video and whether it would be appropriate to support within a workplace, I had taken the time to watch the video and had my team do quite a bit of reading up on #KONY2012.

Out of devilish curiosity, pretending I was clueless, I asked the store’s clerk what they knew of #KONY2012 and why the sign was there.

The clerk then proceeded to tell me: “Oh my manager put that sign up. It’s this thing on Facebook and Twitter, like this YouTube video. It’s about this guy, Joseph Kony (The bold represents how they said his name with distinction as to be sure that is what I remember). He’s from Africa, and he kidnaps kids and makes them kill their parents and do all this awful stuff. And these guys who made the video want Obama to send troops to Africa to stop him or something like that.”

“Have you watched the video?” I asked.

“I watched part of it,” the clerk replied, “but it was too sad once they started showing pictures of what happened to the kids. If I want to see stuff like that, I’ll watch a real movie.”
I then politely thanked them for filling me in, and that I would have to go home and watch the video.

#KONY2012 is a 30-minute documentary film, produced by the organization Invisible Children Inc. The film depicts the experiences of a group of film-making activists, who happen upon Jacob, a 12 year old Ugandan Boy. At the time, Jacob was fleeing the Lord's Resistance Army (L.R.A.), lead by Joseph Kony. 


Jacob shared his experiences of witnessing his brother’s execution.  With no hesitation he explained the details of the situations that he and countless others had to endure in order to survive. Any human being cannot deny the emotional impact that comes from hearing this young man’s life, first hand.

The film goes on to describe Invisible Children Inc.’s plan to “#StopKony”, which boils down to making as many people aware of his crimes and encouraging as many people as possible to speak out. Thus, the more people that speak out, the more likely it will be that North American law makers will maintain their action against Joseph Kony and the LRA. Invisible Children Inc. has a very distinctive and plausibly actionable request of the public: “Make Joseph Kony famous.“

The short film was released on YouTube, and launched into the social media universe less than a month ago. Its view count has reached over 80 million on YouTube alone. If you know nothing about the situation in Uganda, and the current status of the LRA, the film is enlightening, empowering, horrifying, dramatic, and utilizes sincere emotion. Bottom line, it is very well made film in regards to promoting social justice with a built-in understanding of its marketing and viral capabilities.

So with many things that muster the attention of millions, comes the questions of the “who/what/why/how’d they do it?”

As the video went viral, word began to swiftly spread about the various views of Invisible Children Inc., their financial practices, their political allies and their polarization of the situation in Uganda that is rooted at the film’s core. The Ugandan government has even released a counter video to #KONY2012.

I’ll leave it to you to decide if you trust Invisible Children Inc and support the cause of #KONY2012.

What I do ask of you is this: do your research. No one can do this research for you, in its entirety. Social media is a juggernaut of content creation and amplification. With its direct ability to tap into human instinct and emotion, we are left with extreme potentials to empower, as well as to mislead.

Any number of false celebrity death notices passed around Twitter indicates that headlines travel first, and facts of the matter travel second. When it comes to information that specifically interplays with our emotions – and frequently this is diversity-driven content – we are generally led to react. If we are happy, we smile and we laugh. If we are sad, we pout and we cry. If we feel empowered, we step up and we speak out.

 
With a film so touching, so sensitively driven as #Kony2012, it really wasn’t surprising to see it in the Facebook timelines of countless friends and colleagues within its first week. Then all of the sudden, you slowly watched, as many people began to remove the video one by one from their feeds, and delete any praise they may have offered.


It’s within that time frame from the drop to the back pedal, where severe damage from misinformation can be done. Damage that includes the extension of false or dulled facts; false education in my mind is criminal. The damage that comes from potentially offending those with close ties to the topic at hand is very powerful and very real.

We must – as parents, educators, leaders, employers, colleagues and friends – highlight the importance of digging a little deeper before we press send. Similar to thinking twice before posting your own personal ideology via the twitter-verse, what you post carries a far greater impact than what I believe our society has even begun to comprehend.    

Watching this play out, one thing is crystal clear: People, by the masses, are finding their voice. Perhaps it’s the anonymous aspect of the internet, and not having to say things while looking into one another’s eyes. But humanity seems to want to speak out, and humanity has found its microphone: social media.

Social media has created a world of passive activists. A passive activist is a person that will gladly speak up for a cause they believe in, but at their convenience. Life doesn’t leave everyone the opportunity to go to rallies, travel to Washington or Ottawa to march, or write a brilliant thesis dedicated to social justice. However, social media has offered us the accessible opportunity “to march” from our iPads, while still in our PJs, via all the very simple acts of sharing, re-tweeting, +1’ing, and now pinning.

Leading people to awareness is wonderful. The more people who begin to care about the situations and lives of others, the more blissful our planet can remain and further become. We definitely can include activism more actively in our everyday lives now thanks to social media, and I stand by that as being a very good thing. So long as it’s rooted in truth, dignity and complete understanding.

When something like #KONY2012 hits the social web and we feel emotional, it’s easy to press that “share” button. It’s so easy to re-tweet with as many hash tags as possible to feel as if you are doing your part and spreading the word.

“This made me feel like a good person. I want others to feel this way. Why shouldn’t I send this to people to make them feel like good people too?”

While fast action is certainly a necessity at times, as social media users we should try to fully understand the situations before we engage in them. Even by just re-sharing a video, you are making a large statement about yourself: “I believe in this.” Unless you state them, there are no “qualifiers”. When you post the #KONY2012 video, and make no reference to your feelings about its makers or their critics, you are stating that you support the cause and its organizational creators.

This is 100% acceptable if you have taken the time to define for yourself a clear understanding of the video, the content, and its origins.

Parting HR Thought: 
If you take the time to post any political or socially significant signage on your business property inform your employees in full detail as to what they and your organization are now representing.  

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
 -Winston Churchill

Friday 9 March 2012

International Women's Day: Won't You Tweet My Neighbor?

We all have an innate feeling of longing for the days where saying "hello" to your neighbor and complimenting them on their roses was the everyday norm. 

Yesterday, we here at @eGlobalLearning decided to do just that. 

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we dedicated our day of tweeting to a portion of the women that we have either had the pleasure of connecting with through social media or women who have caught our eye as global change agents. The opportunities for offering support are endless when it comes to connecting via social media. It’s a fantastic representation that even our competitors can be, and are, our colleagues.  

We recommend you follow each of these inspiring women. At the very least, we suggest you swing by their twitter profiles, listen to what they have to say, visit their websites, and even reach out to them if you feel moved to do so.

These female champions all had the courage to join the social media conversation. Anyone that takes the time to present themselves by saying "I am here, and I want to connect with you" should at the very least be acknowledged. We aimed for 75, but were inspired to include a couple of extra wonderful women for good luck! Our list is in no particular order.

  • @UN_Women - the UN entity for gender equality & women's empowerment. It was established to accelerate progress on meeting the needs of women & girls worldwide.
  • @MargaretAtwood- author 
  • @Hanigsberg- VP Administration & Finance at Ryerson University, mom of 3, wife of amazing guy, dog-owner, feminist, social media neophyte.
  • @TEDxWomen-  Features leading-edge innovators and powerful ideas from women and girls—and a few men too.
  • @GirlGuidesofCan -  Girl Guides of Canada is the leadership organization of choice for girls and women in Canada. Looking for Cookies? Check out our sister account @GirlGuideCookie
  • @GirlScouts- The official Girl Scouts of the USA twitter feed. We build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
  • @JudyBlume - Are You There, Twitter? It's Me, Judy
  • @CatalystInc- Working globally to build inclusive workplaces and expand opportunities for women and business.
  •  @3PlusInt- A professional network of Women Worth Knowing who support, mentor, promote & endorse each other to achieve their career goals. Game changers.
  • @DorothyDalton- International talent management strategist. Connects top organisations, people & opportunities. Coach. Co-founder 3Plus Intl. Loves words!
  •  @BizShrink- Leadership psychologist. Creating psychologically savvy leaders. Unstoppable force advancing women leaders. Love how you toss the wisdom around on your posts.
  • @TMODOM- Education and Diversity and Inclusion consultant; Coach; Educator; Passionate about issues of equity, diversity and community; Committed to health and wellness
  • @DebbiAlmontaser- Founding/former Principal of Khalil Gibran Int. Academy- Educator,interfaith bridgebuilder, and public speaker on ways to combat racism/bigotry.
  • @Pamela_Jeffery- Founder of the Women’s Executive Network™, Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100™ and the Canadian Board Diversity Council.
  • @WXN- Canada's most influential female audience and the country's leading organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women in the workplace
  • @theGlassHammer
  • @SevernSuzuki - I am a sustainability advocate, author, speaker, television host...and now a mother - yay! I am also @wecanada Champion in the lead-up to the Earth Summit 2012.
  • @TheBloggess- I have friends in spite of myself.
  • @vatosca- Canadian soprano. Wife, mother. Nature lover. Book lover.
  • @AnnaDeavereS- Actress and Playwright. Currently starring in Nurse Jackie on Showtime.
  • @MarionChapsal- Creative Public Speaking for Women Training, Coaching and Story-Telling Enthusiastic Speaker and Baker...5 Kids, Lover of Books, Comics, Poetry, Chocolate.
  • @Arie_Ball- VP Talent Acquisition at Sodexo, world leader in food and facilities mgt Interests incl. employer branding, recruitment, diversity &...... the Red Sox
  • @LynneSoraya- Woman with Asperger's - passionate about raising awareness about issues facing those of us living on the autism spectrum. Blogger for Psychology Today.
  • @theUrbanGrocer- Features cutting-edge foodstuffs from around the world.
  • @KristynWongTam- Councillor, Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale. Please send email correspondence to councillor_wongtam@toronto.ca.
  • @SenGillibrand- U.S. Senator from New York
  • @IyanlaVanzant- Founder of Inner Visions Institute is a Master Spiritual Life Coach and Spiritual Technician; National Best Selling Author and a Mad scrapbooker!
  • @RhondaBritten- Follow Me; passionate about helping you master your Fears! Tools to Turn the Life You've Got into the Life You Want!
  • @or_jimenez- Human Resources Professional | Non-Profit Higher Education | Diversity & Inclusion | Leadership & Organizational Development | MBA
  • @NikkiReneeSings-  Broadway singer/actress living the dream!
  • @FrankeJames- Artist & author of Bothered By My Green Conscience | Who cares about the Forest? | Six Tools for Climate Change Art + more...
  • @LindaHollier- Attempting to live life integrally and with mindfulness
  • @NareenYoung- CEO Diversity Council Australia (www.dca.org.au). Tweets about workplace, business and community diversity, Aboriginality and feminism.
  • @CaptionItWrite- Wife, mother, captioner, CART provider, advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing.
  • @JillianMichaels
  • @SKlopfer- Passionate about Civil Rights, Diversity, Social Media, eBooks. Publisher and author. Who Killed Emmett Till? (New murder mystery thriller coming soon.)
  • @Ritu_Bhasin- People Strategist. Diversity Specialist. Media Contributor. Public Speaker. Leadership Coach. Devout Yogini. Working to create an inclusive & empowered world.
  • @KimberleyLocke- Singer, songwriter, model, actress, American Idol finalist and TV personality Kimberley Locke. For booking please email info@i-am-ent.com
  • @MaryFWinters- Founder, Winters Group & @LetsTalkWork; Author, Workplace Wisdom for Boomers, Inclusion Starts With 'I', CEOs Who Get It; Diversity Expert; Workplace Authority 
  • @AmyBishopMusic- Singer/songwriter/all around nice gal - mother of three, too!
  • @MoxieExchange- We’re bold. We’re fun. We’re high impact. Moxie is a women's biz org where authentic, wicked-smart women share business savvy and drive business results!
  • @BrookGrahamltd- Brook Graham Ltd, global Diversity & Inclusion consultancy firm. We help organisations develop diverse talent and create truly inclusive workplace cultures.
  • @JenniferBrown- Founder/CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting (JBC) Artist, advocate, consultant, business owner passionate about creating more inclusive workplaces for all
  • @SandySharma_ - Real Estate Professional,Real Estate Appraiser,Associate Broker,member of REBGV,member of AIC,opinions expressed r my own
  • @Talent2050- Multicultural recruiter extraordinaire
  • @Zapwoman- Media relations manager at the International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals
  • @RatnaOmi- President, Maytree Foundation - Interested in ideas, evidence, trends, and analysis on all things related to immigration, cities and diversity
  • @_SheSuccess- Empowering women to become a Powerful Force For Change. Stop Waiting... Now is Your Time
  • @Anne_McKevitt- Curious Adventurer in Life. I don't care about lipstick, shoes or celebs. I do care about how we treat the planet, each other & animals. Bona fide Entrepreneur.
  • @JustCoachIt- Helping clients transform communication, career or leadership challenges into solutions that take them fwd faster+ happier Coach-Speaker-Writer-WebTV Host
  • @AdventureNSW - Downhill & nordic skier, transsexual, intending asylum seeker (Canada) secretary, atheist, hitchhiker, poor outdoor adventurer.
  • @theMonkIMarried- Part love story part spiritual guide, Lessons from the Monk I Married, a memoir about my 15-year journey with my husband, is coming 4/3/2012 from Seal Press!
  • @TinaTinde- Diversity advisor in int org, single mom of 2, from Norway. Writing 1st novel, set in Cambodia. It's agony. Anthropologist, guest blogger
  • @XELLEMusic- XELLE is a new girl pop group made up of @MimiImfurst, @JCCassis and @RonyGoffer. XELLE is the new sound of pop. www.XELLEmusic.com
  • @DBhasin-   Knowledge Enterpreneur with focus on Small Enterprises, Travel, Tourism, Hospitality for eLearning and emarketing
  • @VansonOT- Travelling enthusiast, Manager- Employer Relations-Talent Program ~ Diversity & Inclusion ~ volleyball nut :), loves hockey and married to a wonderful man!
  • @PrettyZoely- Me Myself and I
  • @SherriWrites- Multimedia reporter published in Essence, Heart&Soul, Ebony. Writes about health, race & more. Adjunct professor & PhD student @SyracuseU. Blog @BackboneWomen
  • @AccessTourismNZ- Disabilities, Accessible Tourism/Travel Inclusion/ Universal Design HumanRights, Boomers/Seniors, Rabid Curmudgeon; views my own. One day I'm going to travel!
  • @PepsiCoWIN- PepsiCo Women’s Inspiration Network is a network offering global female perspective through the involvement of experts, influencers & real women.
  • @JenniferSertl- Author-Strategy, Leadership & the Soul fostering corporate consciousness and the evolution of the human spirit . . . this is the age of resonance.
  • @Sue_Kate- Actor. Life-lover. Funnymaker. One year after joining twitter, I have a bio- Success! I talk to mops and make crafts out of ugly things. I'm a kooky lady!
  • @DrMayaAngelou- Poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, civil-rights activist, producer and director.
  • @TanTTLe
  • @BreneBrown- I'm a vulnerability researcher at the U of Houston. I study authenticity, shame, empathy, and courage. Book: THE GIFTS OF IMPERFECTION.
  • @ChrisTinaFoxx- Chris Tina Bruce is a Transgender Bodybuilder, Fitness Consultant and Spokesperson. Together we can cultivate change.
  • @140SocialWomen- 50 Women: chosen for their personal work ethics to change society & advance our global #culture(s). We salute sustainable socialgood.
  • @GailSimmons- Always Hungry. The official Twitter page for Gail Simmons.
  • @Tara_Costa- Tara was on @NBC's @BiggestLoserNBC Loser is over, but Tara's life has just begun! She left finance to get a MS in Phys Ed & began a charity @InspireChangeTC
  • @ChristineKorda- VP Community Engagement-ShesConnected. Over 15 years of Digital and 10 years of Social Media experience.
  • @GayleLemmon- Journalist, Author of NYT Best Seller The Dressmaker of Khair Khana and Deputy Director of Women and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations
  • @Tavitulle- Blobber and founding EIC of http://rookiemag.com.
  • @AmyPurdyGurl- Fembot and speaker who loves life, music, art and nature! Snowboarder and co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports.
  • @AmazingWomen- Celebrates, motivates & inspires. Loves amazing women & those who appreciate them. Rocks, rocks, rocks!
  • @DocMarion- #1 Best-Selling Author Doctor of Holistic Healing, Metaphysician, Psychotherapist , Reiki Master
  • @RealNichelle- Actress / Producer / Singer / Writer
  • @ClassicalBeat- The classical music critic of The Washington Post.
"I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?"
 - Mother Teresa 

(Are there women that use Twitter that you garner inspiration from?  Feel free to let us know in the comment section under this blog! Great opportunity to showcase the women using Twitter that you adore!)

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Onions Make People Cry

I had a meeting with a client several mornings ago. They operate an office in a building that houses over a hundred diverse departments, all representing the same organization.

In the 5-10 minutes it took me to get from my car to my destination, I was astounded at the number of people who were seemingly unaware of their simple actions, and the subsequent discomfort their thought-to-be-trivial behaviour was causing others.


For example:
  • The gentleman outside the building door who blew his cigarette smoke in my face.
  • The woman who did not say ‘thank you’ when a maintenance women held the door for her.
  • The woman in the hallway just outside the daycare using profanity as she bellowed into her cell phone, clearly agitated with her cable service provider.
  • The gaggle of giggling office gossips who didn't have the patience to wait for a man to exit the elevator first, before they got on.

    Now, none of these instances were intentional inflictions. There was no evil prime directive to have smoke blown in my face or to thwart our elevator "exiter". While drawing a line to the assumption may not be far off, these ill-fated actions do not necessarily reflect and mirror their perspective on work ethic. Each of these people could be impeccable employees, lovely people who support any number of reasons as to why they behave the way they do.  
      
    However, as I have mentioned before, sometimes good intentions just don’t cut it. Just because we may consider ourselves to be kind and respectful, doesn’t mean we are aware of the impact of our behavior. Thoughtless actions have consequences that are longer lasting than we might assume. These consequences I believe can spark negativity that can alter the emotional well-being of any workplace.

    This actually reminds me of a science experiment:

    • Take a glass of water and place 25 drops of onion juice into the glass.
    • Then fill a second glass of water and take 5 drops of water from the original glass and add them to the second.
    • Continue this pattern of reduction until you have reached a glass of water with drops from the previous that no longer taste of onion.
    When we aren’t mindful, in life or at work, we have the potential of being that drop of onion water in someone else’s day.     

    I am a life student of mindfulness. The mere definition leaves me excited to feel alive and has offered me a daily personal focus to navigate through my days. 

    According to the Oxford English Dictionary, mindfulness is:

    • The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something
    • A mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations; used as a therapeutic technique.
    The more we guide ourselves to a more mindful way of working and living, the more we eliminate situations of negative emotional distraction. Or when those potential distractions present themselves, having a mindful disposition may allow for a broader scope in understanding the problem and offer ease in dismantling it.

    Mindfulness can also be considered the real first step into understanding diversity. By being aware of one another's identity, we are already building the bridge from diversity to inclusion. 

    All of us, in and out of the workplace, can gain from focusing a bit more on our mindfulness skills.

    Our lives, in a grand scheme of things, are very short. I believe by taking the time to think outside our own boxes we free up room in our brains, our hearts, our souls, even just our daily schedules, to take more time to think of others. By offering a positive impact – even on a stranger’s day – you very well may have just changed the world for the better and not even known it.

    “The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
    ―   Thich Nhat Hanh