Tag: social media

Sunday Column (502)

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This is my holiday post. So a bit more personal, less topical. I am sure I wrote it the other day – apologies but I have a few articles sitting at the ready, so I don’t remember where the wording is – that I am not much of a holiday person. I find it difficult to switch off, so this time I tried to force myself to switch off, which of course doesn’t work either. Having said all that I had a relaxing time, and the amount of sleep I got was amazing. Plus, thanks for the feedback regarding my topical posts, I am glad you are enjoying them. Having finished my contract work and got my first few days at the new job, having a two week break should be easy. And actually, it was. I was yet thinking a lot about the job, but I refrained from checking emails etc., as I am too fresh into the job as someone really needs to rely on me. Hence, this was probably my only chance for a while for a “work detox”. And I am keen to get busy for one job only too. On the other hand, I cannot

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Sunday Column (483)

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Happy Easter. Happy April. Monday. Did you notice? At least in Hassocks, there was sun. Sunshine, it felt like spring, and I bought the boys some ice cream. I had the day off, took the wife to hospital and her eyes are healing. Things are coming together, which is nice, and we were all looking forward to Easter. To go swimming and make bread, cook some nice food and go for long walks. They say it is going to be cold, but not sure it will be. It cannot be cold, I want sunshine, no? And last Sunday I almost forgot to turn the clocks forward. What a difference it makes in terms of sunlight, but of course it makes me tired. Look at the blog posts from the last few years around March: fresh air, more light, and I am tired. Germans call it ‘spring tiredness’, and I will overcome it. Too much to do, lots to arrange. It has been a fairly busy and intense week, with a bit of a cliff hanger. But I am getting used to it. As doors close, other doors open, and as a friend described it the other day: Volker, he said,

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Sunday Column (477)

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Here we go again. Another week. Half term and we had the MIL and her partner here, which was great for them to take over some of the child duties. My wife managed to work and I went to do some work on stuff too. No news on the job front yet, still waiting to hear, working on a pipeline – this is a full time sales position where I am the product and the more people know about my job search, the better. So please spread the word and if you know anyone seeking a senior commercial person, let me know! Whilst I have been out of a job, the real job hunt has only just started, thanks to Christmas it has been a slow start. Not a good time for redundancy but a brilliant time to spend with the family and clear your head and understand what life is all about for you. Not wanting to play down the challenges that come with redundancies, but it has helped me to bring more focus to my life, and also everyone always says something better comes out of it. And I believe this is because you have to start thinking

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Sunday Column (328)

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If I were to say the week was quiet, then I were to lie. However, after a slow recovery from last week, I managed to get back out there running, doing my Kettlebell and feel alive again. Bl@ exhausted though 🙂 but that’s how I like it. What I don’t like, and yes I seem to have one topic to moan about, is the weather. Hot one day, cloudy, rainy the other day. High humidity. Just how I don’t like the summer to be. Never mind. I am off to sunny Cannes tomorrow for a couple of days. With a cold of course…I don’t seem to win at the moment, do I? Hard life isn’t it? Almost as hard as the Labrador’s in Hassocks. Allegedly someone left a Lab unattended, tied up with no tag outside the local shops. And it caused a social media storm. Friendly and caring at first, people offering to take him in for the night, go to the vet the next day etc. Yet as the post developed with over 100 comments, mind you that’s about 1.5% of our lovely town’s population, the question came apparent how long this poor doggy has been left. Was

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Sunday Column (320)

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This week got me hit a personal goal! I hit 5,000 connections on Linkedin! Yes, that means I am connected to 5,000 individuals, who admittedly I don’t all know. But, similar to Twitter, this is all about reach for me. Being able to connect, network and reach out with updates to that many people makes it fun. Great input whenever you need it. And it works well. Not only can I find useful connections, I also help others to connect. This can be very rewarding at times. Otherwise it as an interesting week. Monday started with a busy, but not manic day. That means, in work terms, it was almost not a lot going on, when you can stay on top of things…or is it just mental any other day. Anyway, of course the week changed quickly. By Friday we were running around like headless chickens again 😉 And next week is end of month. I have a day trip to Germany and overall I have a lot going on. But that’s the way I like it. Always nice to have a few days where you can just cope 😉 Oh and oh no…you might remember that not only did

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Sunday Column (269)

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Oh yes. I started writing this post early in the week, as I normally do. For the first time in many years I had a good wash rather than a hot shower, however the boiler has now been fixed and we are back to modern times. A weekend passed at which we had a family bath: hot water and one by one got a turn. Youngest last. I also spent a lot of time trying the best method on how to make fire. This should be an instinct to men really, yet we are not living in a cave any longer. Someone suggested we should put a fire guard on the wall for the boys to stop playing with it. The thought never crossed my mind tbh, as the stove is that hot and we explain at length not to touch it. Actually, I showed Colin how to use matches and when we get our axe, he will learn how to split wood. Others might disagree. When I grew up I was so scared of fire but at the same time so curious. I made loads of them. On a building site across the road I set paper on fire,

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Sunday Column (213)

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Happy Sunday! It has been cold in the UK for about six months. I have had a cold and viruses for about 4 weeks. The family was ill. Not only did we change seasons into spring and turned the clocks back, no we also passed Easter with little sunshine. Maybe I should have immigrated to Australia whilst I had a chance? But then, I would most definitely be moaning about the heat. The weather, one of the most discussed topics in Britain I believe. But 6 months of winter? That’s half a year in the shade, that isn’t typical. Some people predict a wet summer and another three weeks of cold winds. Oh how do I miss my Italy and Spain trips 🙁 Anyway, this weekend finally saw some sunshine. We got out in the garden (pictures to follow tomorrow), and we went for a nice walk. Still cold but better! I started following a few new spiritual and motivational blogs. Looking at the quote – did you live today? Did you make a difference? Follow your passion? Your dream? Did you help? Did you or society make a step in the right direction thanks to your contribution? In about

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Blog Action Day #BAD12 – The Power of We

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I only recently found out about the Blog Action Day, where people around the world blog on a particular day (today) about a particular topic: The Power of We. It is about: Community, Equality, Transparency/Anti-Corruption and Freedom: The Power of We is a celebration of people working together to make a positive difference in the world, either for their own communities or for people they will never meet half way around he world. Now here are my thoughts: The power of we is an interesting topic. We? We means you, I, us. Some group of people that are connected. That can be due to a common interest, through social media, a third person, an event, coincidence etc. you are probably aware of the theory that we are all connected in this world by never more than six people in between us (six degrees of separation). So the meaning of we is not defined by presence in one space but by connection. I know people I play chess with at the other and of the world. We play chess. There are people I know from when I went to high school in the USA over 15 years ago. And I know

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4^2 – Foursquare

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I have been joining Foursquare a few times in my career in digital. I joined it, quit it, joined it and quit it again. I didn’t want anyone to know where I was, particularly if I left home. However, not too long ago, I finally joined for good. Joining for good meant for me to be part of the Foursquare community. I tried to get as many mayorships as possible in as little time as possible. In my 64 days I checked into over 400 venues. I managed to gain 11 badges and 9 mayorships. Most of them are my regular train stations and of course home and work. So I am not sure how successful I am. In the UK you find that only a few shops offer promotions, so the reason to join Foursquare is more about “see and being seen” and showing off where you are. This could be “dining at the Ritz” for instance or “checking in at the Charlotte Street Hotel”. I haven’t found use of meeting people using it yet, and I haven’t used any promotions yet. So as a conclusion after using it for as short as 2 months, I think it is

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Sunday Column (128)

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My head is spinning for several reasons this week. I had a interesting week with lots of things to think about, some work related and some private things. Let me start with the London riots. I published my thoughts and fears, as well as my Buddhist thoughts on it too. Without twitter and the update from our @beckenham community tweet, I think I would have been more worried. As David Cameron said, no one should be fearful in his own home. I would have fought for my rights and safety of my family and community. However, I never thought I had to feel like I did in the UK 🙁 This leads me nicely on to the next topic. For a while now I am debating with my wife and work, whether the UK is the country we want to work and live in. Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy with both my job and the UK, but after 10 years, I am thinking, whilst the kids are still young, whether we should try a few more countries before we make a final decision where we’d like to settle and bring up the kids. This is a decision

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