Hang Up And Drive.

Now that the weather has cooperated enough to start riding the motorcycle again, this has once more become my favorite bumper sticker.
It's different when you ride on two wheels. You notice so much more.
More speeding, running yellow/reds and above all else, more distracted drivers.
I am confident we will all die in traffic accidents caused by people talking and texting on their phones. We know who we are (I drive a truck when I'm not on two wheels.) We are the vast majority.
This morning while waiting on a light to change, 10 of the 14 cars that passed me had drivers on their phones negotiating the turn in front of me. And I pull up next to people texting at least once in every outing.
Not intending to preach, because as I stated, I am guilty also.
But on behalf of motorcycle riders I feel compelled to point it out because we have a few things working against us. Size and reaction time. When you swerve into our lane we won't just swap paint like in a NASCAR race. a subtle bump and we're flying all of a sudden. And when you look up from the text screen and notice the light changed and lock them up, we will simply flip over you.
And on the subject of wrecks? Fell free to ram my Dodge Ram, but if you see a Bike behind you or in the next lane-- please wait 'til you get to work to send that all important meeting confirmation.
Thanks.

What The F**K is Social Media?

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What The F**K is Social Media?

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Be interesting.

Much is being said these days about 'how to attract followers' and 'getting people to read your blogs or twits.' This seems a little counter intuitive to me. I approach the whole realm of socializing online with transparency.
Show up. Speak your mind. Read what others have to say, and maybe comment on that if you feel so moved.
Seems fairly straight-forward.
Faking it (posing) is not only a good way to get flamed, it defeats the purpose of socializing. Your content should come from that little place on the inside called you. Your followers should be interested in your message without coercion.
We each have our own unique way of observing the earth and the people that live on it. If, thanks to the cool tech we have all around us, you can share your perspectives with a few folks that find it interesting then bravo. If you have to fabricate the message or the audience, you should probably do something else with your time.

Evangelists.

Passion is a hard trait to hide. You've probably been around an evangelist recently. Someone that is excited about a new ____. Simply start them up by showing a little interest. They will tell you all about it.
The features, the benefits.
The pros but never the cons.
It used to be that just sales guys, ad guys, or otherwise compensated schmels, prattled on-and-on about a product or service. But thanks to the inter-connected age we find ourselves in, it's easy to be well-informed and thus become an expert on something. Anything.
I like the notion.
Evangelism can make us all better informed. Help us make better decisions about who and what to be loyal to.
We are all experts on something. You know more than I do about something and vice versa.
You can most likely find an evangelist for just about everything if you look around.
Who needs google. Just go ask ____. They know.

"I like_______." "That sux!"

When did it get so easy to dismiss an opinion.
Aren't opinions totally subjective? How can they be wrong?
We all get to control (as a good friend once put it) that one voice in our own heads.
If you ask someone what they think, have the decency to respect their answer.
If you are prepared to discount the response do everyone a favor and don't ask.

I don't want to come across as faultless in this gaff. I am sure I have done it, and let me apologize to anyone that has been diss'd by me for stating a preference. It's easy to get caught up in the frenzy. It has become a social norm to override anyone that proudly states an opinion.
And it sux.

We have probably all heard how it goes...
"did you like the meal?"
"sure, the chicken was especially yummy."
"Ugh. I hate chicken"
followed by an awkward silence.
or
"Which of the designs do you like?"
"I like the one with the image of the penguin on skates."
"That one was just stupid."
crickets.

It's a simple fix. Folks should just bracket their response with a personalization like, "I don't care for waterfowl with human skills." or "Interesting... I'm not much for rolling birds."

The exception of course is someone that is constantly stating unsolicited opinions. This is icky at the other end of the meter.

I don't know of any polite way to correct people that are over-riders. But maybe if we all start being a little nicer to each other, we will get people to speak their minds more freely and baby ideas will grow up to be big ideas.