Author Archives: Melissa A. Venable

Unknown's avatar

About Melissa A. Venable

Working at the intersection of instructional design and technology, social media, and career development.

“Remain Calm”…and other writing on my wall

8 Replies

Right now a series of post-it notes is affixed to the wall across from my desk. Once in a while you hear or see something that really hits home, and you know it will again, so you save it. On those days –you know the ones – when every task is high priority and nothing seems to be working as planned, a quick glance can help bring perspective.

Remain Calm – when is this not good advice? Unless you are working in something like emergency medicine, you’ve got the opportunity to take a deep breath before making a decision, responding to email, etc. (And even in emergency medicine calmness is probably a welcome quality.)

One Task at a Time – This is an era of multitasking, right? We have computers, smart phones, instant messaging…all of which allow us to monitor multiple channels at once.  We can manage multiple priorities, but when it comes to true focus of attention, there may be a better approach.  Take a look at this article from NPR – Think You’re Multitasking?

Be Helpful –I think this one came from a tweet from Chris Brogan, but I’m not sure. I do remember that it immediately resonated with me. You can probably name these people at your workplace. They pitch in when help is needed. It’s a powerful thing and makes a huge difference in the day-to-day. I want to be one of those people.

Save the Commentary – All of those electronic tools mentioned above also allow for a back channel of commentary during meetings, presentations, etc. This one is closely linked to ‘be helpful’ above.  Does the commentary you might add help everyone to move forward? If not, it may be better to resist the temptation and leave it out. For more on the good and bad of back channel chatter, check out this post on WebWorkerDaily.

Swing Big – If there is a decision to be made or a proposal to put forward, go for it.  Be realistic, but stretch a bit.  It’s often that stretch, that willingness to take a measured risk, that will open opportunities.

I know you have these post-it notes, too. What do yours say? Share the wealth and positive vibes.

Generation Next: Pew Report on Millennials

Leave a reply

How Generation GapMillennial are You? This week the Pew Research Center released a report titled Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next – Confident. Connected. Open to Change. This group conducted a phone survey of 2,020 adults across the U.S. and then compared their responses to questions covering everything from age to tattoos. The respondents were grouped into four generations.

  • Millennials – born after 1980
  • Generation X – born 1965 through 1980
  • Baby Boomers – born 1946 through 1964
  • Silent Generation – born 1928 though 1945

In the context of education Millennials are in high school and college and are young professionals, while Gen Xers are teachers and faculty members at schools and universities. Millenials are also supervised on their jobs by Gen Xers. Millennials are on their way to becoming the most educated generation, but are also perhaps the most affected by the current economic recession in terms of employment.

My focus in graduate school was on millennial college students (their preferences and experiences with technology and career services) so I was interested in reading more. A lot of interesting comparisons are made and some not so surprising. Millennial students are more likely to be involved with social networking sites online, more likely to have piercings, and perhaps less likely to vote Republican.

Participants who thought that their generation was unique in some way were asked to be more specific.  The top five responses for Millennials were: 1) technology use, 2) pop culture, 3) liberal values, 4) smarter/more educated, and 5) clothing/manner of dress. Compare that to GenX where the top five responses were 1) technology, 2) work ethic, 3) conservative values, 4) smarter/more educated, and 5) respectfulness. Some similarities and differences there.

How much do you have in common with the Millennial Generation? The Pew Research Center also posted an online quiz “How Millennial are You” that allows you to compare yourself (characteristics, preferences, etc.) I scored a 65/100.

For more information…

Follow @Pew_Internet, @PewResearch,  #millennials

Additional reading:

photo credit: Joi, Flickr

What I Learned at WordCamp

5 Replies

Yesterday I attended Wordcamp Miami 2010 – one of the best conference-type experiences I’ve had in a while. In summary: very well organized, motivating speakers, friendly people, comfortable venue, and a nice lunch.  There were three program tracks: 1) developer, 2) social media, and 3) beginner.  I moved around a bit across the tracks and found all of the speakers and presentations to be helpful and encouraging. Other participants were also willing to share their insights.

I’ll be working on ideas I got at this event for some time, but here are a couple of items to share right now:

  • Jess Jurick’s Findng Your Blogging Voice was well attended and well received. Jess was also one of the organizers. Check out her presentation slides and her blog. Her presentation includes some other blog examples worth exploring.
  • WordPress SEO with John Carcutt helped even a non-programmer type like myself understand the importance of search engine optimization and how I can get started. He also previewed some changes on the way from Google.
  • Jim Turner’s From Daddy Blogger to Business Blogger explored the entrepreneurial side of blogging. Just Google ‘Genuine’ or ‘Hire a Blogger’ to find out more.
  • Tammy Hart is a self-taught developer. Her presentation, WordPress & Working with Clients, was full of tips and lessons learned. She introduced a number of resources, such as page.ly, and had down-to-earth suggestions for getting the work done.

There were many other speakers and more about each of them can be found on the WordCamp Miami website speakers page. By the way, there are WordCamps across the U.S. and the globe. Check out this calendar to find one near you. I think you’ll find a lot to learn and be motivated by, even if you don’t blog with WordPress.

Thanks to all organizers, speakers and participants for a great event. See you in 2011, WordCamp Miami!

image credit: WordCamp Miami