Tracey, Author at Tracey Byrnes

February 12, 2012

Sh*t Happens in life. Deal.

Life often changes in a hurry. That ‘s certainly been the case for me in the past couple of weeks. There’s been a lot going on…some good, some bad, some really painful…and I’m still absorbing the hits and trying to sort it all out. For the moment, I’m simply putting one metaphorical foot in front of the other; a “just take the next single step” mantra.

Will I get through these changes? Ultimately yes; I’ve developed too much stubborn willpower not to. Is it going to change who I am as a person and how I go about living my life? Most likely. After all, that’s part of living, and the lessons learned from doing so. The things that matter most (as I constantly remind myself) are that I keep believing in myself and my abilities, and that I hold true to the things I believe in. Things like Friendship. Compassion. Love. Honesty. Integrity. A sense of self-worth, without being arrogant and overbearing.

The one constant in life is that it changes. It’s up to you to make the best of it.

Photo credit: Glitter Graphics

February 1, 2012

Simple Mistakes…Aren’t Always Simple

I was cruising through one of my social media feeds the other day, and encountered a situation caused by a couple of well-intentioned people making simple mistakes. No big deal, right? We make them all the time.

Um, yeah…as it turned out, VERY big deal. Here’s the scenario:

Person A, Person B, Person C and Person D are having a conversation in a closed social media group. Person A asks what time doors open/what events held where for a particular event, not realizing that Person E already provided this information in a separate post to the group. Person C suggests that Person D might want to remove Person A’s comment, as the question has already been answered. Thinking that this makes sense and will cause less confusion, Person D goes ahead and removes Person A’s comment. Person A gets completely pissed off and blasts back with an “I can’t believe you censored me for that question” response for all to see. Explanations and apologies are posted for all eyes by Persons B, C and D, but the damage is already done, and the consequences are still unfolding.

In fairness, none of the people in this story are experienced community managers; they also don’t know the best practices. However, the mistakes they made could’ve been easily avoided with just a little bit more thought to the possible consequences.

While it might seem logical to remove a question that’s already been answered from the comment feed, it doesn’t take into account that the person asking it might not have seen the other post; especially since it wasn’t within the comment thread where they asked their question. Then there’s the little matter of whether its removal is likely to open a can of worms that no one wants to deal with.

Here’s the “best practices” nutshell version. Unless it’s spam or in violation of the group’s policies, it’s seldom a good idea to remove a comment or post. It’s better to just leave it up there. Why? Here are some of the easy reasons: You’re less likely to piss people off. Your actions probably won’t require apologies or have unintended consequences…which can get bigger and last much longer than you’d think. There are fewer hard feelings to tiptoe around, which means better group interaction. And for an extra bonus? Other group members often take it upon themselves to deal with the repeated/annoying/”what were you thinking?!?” questions and issues for you.

So..the next time you’re tempted to just delete a comment/question/post that’s annoying you (for whatever reason), think before you do. Because simple mistakes aren’t always so simple, especially in social media.

Have any “war stories” you want to share? Feel free to leave them in the Comments section!

Photo credit: David Castillo Dominici

January 27, 2012

“Duck Season!” “Rabbit Season!”

“Why can’t we all just get along?”
If we each had a nickel for every time we’ve asked or heard this question, no doubt we’d all have much healthier bank accounts!

Flippancy aside, if you really want to know the answer to this question, look at your reactions when you encounter people and events that make you ask it. What are your emotions? What are your physical responses? Because I’m willing to bet that at the heart of those reactions is fear.

Yes, I said fear.
Fear of the unknown. Fear of something “different.” Fear of failing to measure up. Fear of not being accepted. Fear, in all its many insidious forms.

So what can you do to conquer your fear? The biggest thing you can do is recognize what’s prompting your “fear” reaction and then take steps to change it. How you choose to do this is completely up to you. The methods are many, and vary as widely (and wildly) as the outfits you see people wearing every day. But whichever method you choose, face your fear long enough to break down the knee-jerk response into something more rational and considered. In a legitimate threat situation that knee-jerk response is often what’s needed – after all, we want our fight-or-flight instincts to come to our rescue! But for other things – like bullying and prejudice, to name just two – take some time to really think about why you’re reacting the way you are. Face it. Dissect it. Own up to it. Then change it.

Photo credit: pantslady

January 18, 2012

“Going Dark” to Protest SOPA and PIPA

For those who have had their heads buried in the sand and are wondering why so many places on the ‘Net have “gone dark” in one fashion or another, part of the reason is to let Congress (and other SOPA / PIPA supporters) know that we the people are vehemently against Internet censorship.

For more about these bills and why they’re so dangerous, please read these articles:
End Piracy, Not Liberty
Google joins “Anti-SOPA” protest by “Censoring” Its Logo

There are many more articles out there about SOPA and PIPA as well. PLEASE educate yourself about this issue and take a stand to protect us all from Internet censorship and the resultant slowing of economic growth.

Oh, and if you were still wondering how these bills could affect you? There’s a very good probability that the links I provided above would be considered punishable infringement according to the articles of the proposed bills.

January 10, 2012

Technology, Social Media and Your Inner Voice

The World Wide Web allows us to see, hear, watch, read and talk about the experiences of literally millions of people, from thousands of places, at any time of the day or night. And that, when you sit down and truly think about it, is an astonishing reality…one made possible by ongoing advances in technology, access to more and faster bandwidth and social media in all its many forms.

The question is: are we really broadening our horizons, or just cluttering up our lives with endless noise that drowns out our inner voice of direction and guidance?

I believe the answer is both.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been wrestling with some stuff that hasn’t been positively contributing to my life. After acknowledging that my life isn’t where and what I want it to be, I started digging into the whys and wherefores. During this time of introspection I cut down on my media consumption; social media in particular. Why? Because although I find a lot of value in it, *I was allowing* the noise to drown out my inner voice…which was telling me that there were things I needed to sit down and deal with. Immediately.

Don’t get me wrong: technology isn’t bad. Social media isn’t bad. In fact I find them fascinating, and have learned a lot about both from some really cool people; many of whom don’t live anywhere near me geographically. They’ve inspired me, taught me and encouraged me in a way that makes my life richer and much more dimensional. The drawback to all these positives? It’s oh-so-easy to allow the sheer volume of emails, notifications, tweets, posts, requests, games, etc. – in a word, noise – to take over your life…drowning out that inner voice that’s trying to tell you some important things. You know, those things. The ones you really don’t want to deal with. Things like “you need to stop living vicariously and get your shit together” or “you’ve got some serious issues to deal with” along with that nagging mental reminder to get the damn grocery shopping/laundry/housework done, like, yesterday.

There’s no magic elixir to “cure” yourself of this noise overload. There’s only you. Your decision to make changes in how you handle stuff; your willpower to begin something and then keep it going (or not); your commitment to regularly evaluate where you are and what you’re doing to achieve your goals and dreams as life hurdles forward at ever-increasing speeds on the wings of technology and social media.

Have you heard from your inner voice lately?

January 5, 2012December 16, 2024

New Beginnings

As I set up this brand-spanking-new blog and start generating its first post, the question in my mind isn’t “where to start,” it’s a reiteration to myself of the words I chose for My 3 Words for 2012: Believe. Dare. Do.

If you’ve made it to my About page already, or you read my 2011 guest post on Brass Tack Thinking, then you probably have an idea of why I chose the three words I did. Yes, they’re intensely personal and deal with some issues I have, along with being gentle reminders about some core values and treating others decently. No, I’m not saying you have to adopt the same three (or even that you’d define them the same way). But for me, they’re a reminder of a promise I made to myself of the direction I want my life to head in as I move forward.

Believe.
I’m working to instill a greater belief in myself – my skills, capabilities and self-esteem – and that I can do the things I want to do with my life. Yes, it’s sometimes an uphill battle but each step forward is a victory over that internal voice of fear that says “I can’t” or “what if I fail.”

Dare.
I’m pushing myself to try new things, step out of my comfort zone, and share more of “me” with others. Publicly, without expectation of return, and without panicking (okay, maybe not that last one…yet). I may decide that some of the things I try just aren’t for me in the long run, but at least I will have tested the waters, so to speak, and made a conscious choice about them.

Do.
I’ve committed to learn more, to grow both personally and professionally, to share lessons learned and experiences (good and bad), to act where my training, conscience and ethics tell me I should, and to be kinder to myself and others. And let me tell you, being kinder to myself is the hardest one on this list!

It’ll be interesting to see where my three words lead me in 2012. Hopefully it will be a time of (mostly) wondrous discovery and fun. And whether you chose resolutions, three words, or nothing at all, I hope 2012 brings all of us health, enjoyment, peace and prosperity.

Photo credit: Daily Cool Pics