By Jason Menard
Put a bunch of kids in the middle of a field, attach them together, then tell them to run. What happens? Exactly the same thing that’s currently happening to Occupy London.
They run off in every direction, fall flat on the ground, and end up getting nowhere. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
Earlier this week, the Occupy London movement sent out a Tweet requesting help from more experienced volunteers to help them craft a message – which is a fantastic showing of self-awareness from this group as too much of their message is being defined by outside interests.
Occupy London is a polarizing group – and that polarization comes from their lack of anything tangible to which the average person can relate. You either agree that everything needs to change, or you see this as rudderless, aimless, misplaced, self-serving behaviour. Continue reading
By Jason Menard,
One day can help start you along the right path, but when it comes to learning how to effectively communicate, one day’s just enough time for you to learn how to firmly lodge your foot in your mouth.
Earlier today, I received an e-mail at work promoting a course that promised to teach you “How to be an Outstanding Communicator” in one day. And while normally I pay just enough attention to these e-mails – you know the ones you receive after attending one conference, and then you’re stuck in an e-mail list purgatory for years – to figure out what the course/conference topic is, and then file it under “G.”
However, this one struck me as particularly audacious. Or perhaps it’s just simple vanity – to suggest that a craft I’ve been trying to hone for two decades is something that can be mastered in a day bruised the ol’ ego. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
Can you believe they made those kids say fuck?
And there lies the line of demarcation between an extremely powerful message and going just a little too far.
If you haven’t seen it yet, please check out the YouTube video for FCKH8.com, an organization dedicated to fighting for equal access to marriage to both gay and straight couples. The ad encourages you to purchase a shirt, which would show your support for the cause. Through the purchase price, you are donating to the cause. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
Social media in the workplace is in its infancy and, as with any developing industry, it’s undergoing some growing pains.
Earlier this week, someone that I follow on Twitter posted this message: “If you don’t trust your employees to communicate with good judgment, then you have a hiring problem not a social media problem.”
I’ve heard variations of this a number of times, in a number of forums. It sounds nice and all – it’s certainly all-encompassing, inclusionary, and empowering.
It’s also wrong. Continue reading
The M-Dash by Jason Menard 