Anger and Social Media

Survival Tips in the Digital World

I know I have posted this before, but it bears repeating. People forget that digital is forever, and each time we post something (even if we delete it later), it becomes a page in our digital legacy, because someone, somewhere is reading and remembering it. Please take a look at these tips (Honed on the Social Media and Email battlefield), and pass it along. Thanks.

So, these are things that I have;
Tried to learn the hard way,
Seen friends try to learn the hard way, and
figured I'd share these tips with you.

1. 30 minute rule. Never communicate if you are in a high emotion frame of mind (including feelings of low self-esteem). Wait 30 minutes, take a walk (sometimes, a long walk) without a Smartphone (of course) and come back, then try it again. If you're still in a high emotion frame of mind, call and friend (that isn't just a 'Yes' person) and vent, then try again. Remember, emotions can make smaller issues bigger than they are. Give it a bit of time, and you will see things clearer, and act more accordingly.

2. Never assume your email made it to the person. Yes friends, even Gmail may throw your message in the other person's spam folder.

Tip: Wait a day or two, then email them again asking nicely if they've received it. You may wait a bit, and (if they have an account) MySpace message them, FB message them to see if they've received it.

3. Emails (or status updates or any messages, really) don't have tone or feeling. Use similes more often can help. Realize that you are already at a disadvantage when you use computer typed words to reflect feelings. Try to cut the other person a huge bunch of slack when they don't understand exactly where you are coming from, because honestly, they probably don't.

4. If there is confusion in a back and forth email disagreement- Stop, and pick up a phone and call. Nothing beats a voice, nothing. If that isn't possible describe how you feel and ask the other person to explain where they are coming from.

5. Never assume that the receiver has actually read your email. It may have made it to the person you sent it to, but it is number 555 in their inbox. This really could be the case. If its a busy  podcaster/blogger/vlogger, they probably have many emails to read. Give them some extra time to respond.

6. The old "compose/throw away/cancel" rule. If you are angry/fed-up/frustrated with a situation, and you must write something down, do it, but do it safely. Take out one of those, um, pieces of paper and a pen, write and write and write, then wad it up and throw it away. Obviously, you can type on a Word doc, but no fair saving it! After the throwing away or canceling, take a long walk. Note: Remember, once you send an email, you can't get it back.

7. Don't project your emotions on someone else. The person you sent the message to, doesn't know your state of mind. Don't assume they can read your mind.

8. Be patient. Yep, that's it- be patient. You only see with your 'to-do' list, your schedule, etc, you have no clue of what the other person has to do, or what they are going through. We need to learn to care about other people's lives and schedules, and not just our own.

9. Use spell check on your message. Spell check. Spell check (You get the idea). You can add constant spell check in Firefox. that has saved me many, many times.

10. Proofread visually before you send your email. Sometimes the words are spelled right (Meaning you ran spell check), but the wrong words are used. Just give it a once over, before you send it off.

11. Keep the good emails (Tape them up near your computer and read them when you feel low), and

12. Read the bad emails, yup, read them; Keep the things that are "growth opportunities" for you (This may take a huge dose of humility to find in these emails), and Leave the rest. Delete when done. Forget the wording, try to forget the sender, but remember the "growth opportunities," and adopt them. Sometimes gold is found in rocks thrown at you. Hard, but good lessons can be there.

13. Not everyone will agree with you, like you, be honest with you, be dependable or make your life easier.

Be the person to make things better --

14. Send a compliment email to an unsuspecting person. I now induct you as a "Compliment Delivery Person". Maybe there is a podcaster, podcast listener, blogger, blog reader, vlogger, vlog viewer, friend that you haven't seen around or heard from in awhile. Maybe someone has been sick, sad or both- send a compliment to them. You never know the full implications of giving goodness. Sadly, we all don't do enough goodness-giving. Sermon over.

Remember, you can't control the emails that come to you, but you can control the emails that come out of you.

Signed, The biggest offender of all of these (Remember, we can always start over. Now is the time for me, too.), Jeff

A Story - The Book Which Has No Name #fb

The Tale of The Book Which Has No Name

With much fear and trepidation do I relay what I'm about to relay. There have been many books throughout time that have given guidance  and help to people, but one book in particular has existed in secrecy, until now.

This book includes vital information collected throughout history, it could have settled disputes, wars and uprisings, but it has never been revealed, until now.

The book is only know by this title, "The Book Which has No Name," or TBWHNN, but only the brave will even speak it. I might as well tell you more about this book, because there is no way for me to take back what I have revealed now.

The book includes secrets, rules and lists that women have collected throughout history to keep the universe working in proper order. It is said that women like; Eve, Esther, Cleopatra, Florence Nightingale, Betsy Ross, Flo from the TV show "Alice," and many other women who have not been "famous," but have added to this important book which has no name.

It is said that Eve got so fed up with Adam's misguided notions in the Garden of Eden (like eating without a "face wiping leaf"), that she began to compile ways in which to live a better, stylized, organized, cleaner life. Eve was the first female ever to tell a male to leave the leaf down on  the earliest version of the latrine, or there would be serious repercussions. She also set out a "tushie thunder spot" far from the camp. When Eve started TBWHNN, she would scrawl notes on leaves and flat stones, and pass them down from generation to generation, as the information grew.

As time moved forward, lists of what was gross, fun, and stupid began. Rules of etiquette in eating and dress began to take shape. The issue of transporting the collection of flat rocks, leaves, papyrus, and many other forms of capturing the information became critical. A "book" had to be created.

The cache of information was transported to a single remote location not found on any map, and one woman was chosen to compile it all into one volume. Calligraphy was created especially for the project, and there was much joy amongst the females upon the completion of TBWHNN.

Women would use times of communal gatherings, like; Births, Sewing/Knitting Bees, Restroom groups, etc, to vote on new information that was to be added in TBWHNN. However, in the Middle Ages, the men began to get suspicious and hatched a dangerous plan to retrieve TBWHNN.

An anonymous King heard of TBWHNN, and chose a brave warrior, Brad the Brave to discover the location of TBWHNN. Male spies located the woman that was to take new material to the magical place where TBWHNN resided, and Brad the Brave followed.

Brad tracked the woman on a 40 day trek through dark woods, across wide oceans, crossing hot deserts and climbing dangerous snow covered mountains. Brad's body was battered and bruised, tired, hungry and
sick, but he pulled himself up the last cliff to see the woman enter the magical cave. He knew it was the magical cave, because it had curtains.

Brad waited until she made the trek back to civilization, and he crept toward the cave which held the secrets better than any secret that Dan Brown could stretch the truth to make up. He pulled the curtain back and entered. It was empty, smelled of pine, and was impeccably clean.

Had he made the trip for nothing? Was this the right cave? or Maybe he was - tricked?

She walked in the entrance of the cave, behind him, "Thou are Brad, aren't thou?"

Brad spun around, and realized the danger he was in.

"Thou hast made a grave error by coming hither," the woman said.

"I was lost, m'lady," Brad responded.

"Doest though think I shall fall for that?"

"I am but a low-minded male. I know not where I am." Brad tried to explain.

"Thou art a misguided fool, that is for sure. However, I must tell thee, what thou seekest is not here," she explained.

"Yes, thou speakest the truth. This cave is much cleaner than my hovel. I wish to rest a spell, before I make
the long trek back,"

"Might I make thee some tea, then? For thou trek home?"

"Surely"

She ran up to him and pushed him to the wall, "How doest though know my name?"

At that moment, Brad spied a portion of a pink ribbon poking out of a compartment on the cave floor. She pressed harder on his chest, gritting her teeth, and Brad looked out the cave door, and exclaimed,
"What a fair sunset, m'lady" "Really?" Shirley turned to see.

Brad broke free of her grasp, lifted up the stone covering TBWHNN, grabbed the book, and ran out of the cave as fast as he could.

Shirley ran to the cave door and saw him rolling headlong down the side of the hill clutching the book as best as he could. She let out a very lady-like curse word, then yelled, "Thou wilt never learn our secrets! Tis written in a magical language! Bring it back, infidel! Thy tea is almost ready!"

Brad stood up, when he stopped rolling, and responded to Shirley, "I shall not return unto thee. Men shall finally know thy secrets to the universe and how to handle a fork with skill!"

Shirley exclaimed another lady-like curse word and stamped her feet on the cave floor. When she regained her composure, she walked to another secret compartment, and retrieved a special animal horn, and walked to the edge of the cliff and sounded the alarm.

Brad heard the sound, and his eyes grew wide with fear, causing him to run much faster now.

Abominable Snow Women heard the alarm, and mobilized to find the man who had stolen TBWHNN. They sniffed in the air, and once they caught his scent (which wasn't that difficult, obviously), they converged upon him.

Brad heard the beasts drawing closer, and he tried to stay ahead of them. He was breathing heavily, his side ached, and he had to use the tree latrine, but he knew he would not survive if he did. He let out a few bottom burps, and that knocked a few Abominable Snow Women unconscious. The rest held their noses and continued the chase. Brad ran up to a high cliff, and stopped, only to hear the breathing of three Abominable Snow Women behind him, her turned and tried to plead with them, but he didn't speak the language of Abominable Snow Women. They surrounded him, and crept closer to him, and he inched closer to the cliff edge.

He stepped halfway on the edge and one of the female creatures grabbed TBWHNN, and it tore in half as Brad fell backwards  clutching the other portion of it.

Brad made it back to the anonymous King, after he was attacked by Amazon warriors, Hawks, Bears, rabid rabbits and a crazy Sorceress that cast a spell on him giving him a much smaller bladder. He crawled into the castle, breathing heavily and pushing a portion of TBWHNN to the King, then Brad died.

The females tried to recreate the portion that had been stolen, but knew that TBWHNN must be moved to different hiding places to keep it safe through the ages. Some noteworthy places it has been hidden throughout
history;

Amelia Earheart's plane during her famous flight,

The Titanic, but smuggled off in the final moments,

Rotated between the top portion of the Eiffel Tower, anonymous room in a Sphinx in Giza, and the Torch of the Statue of Liberty, 

A random purchaser of the Fingerhut catalog, 

A large headress Cher wore in the 70's,

Jane Austen's Hope Chest,

Gloria Allred's coffee table,

the original film canister for Gigli,

and other places.

As time went on, the written book was transferred onto digital formats. Females began to create fake versions and distributing them around as well, so it became very difficult to know which was real and which was a false version. I shudder to tell you this, but we feel that we have procured a copy of the real version, and I will be translating it here for you...

Oh no. I hear a knock on the door. They couldn't have found me! I must go. TBWHNN is real! It exists. It...

The rest of the post removed...

End of Post.

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Thanks for dropping by. I mean it,

Jeff Roney

Writer, Blogger, Comedian, Dumb Guy

RoneyZone Productions - Awesome creations you haven't heard of, til now.
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http://www.roneyzone.com

Heart of the Matter - Learn to Play an Instrument. #fb

A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski

There is something magical about a guitar; A hollow, wooden instrument, with 6 strings strung on top. The strings must be tightened to a particular level and when the strings are played by someone placing fingers in a particular formation, music emerges from it. People that have played instruments have brought peace, change, exhilaration and joy to people throughout the ages.

Maybe a guitar isn't your thing. That's fine, maybe it's keyboard, woodwind instruments, or something else? Did you ever play an instrument when you were school? Remember how it felt to play?

Whether you play by yourself and sing along, or play with others in a band. Music is one of life's greatest gifts. You need to make some.

I encourage you to find that old instrument, and reacquaint yourself with it. The internet has alot of beginner tutorials and videos to help people learn to play just about any instrument. Many are on youtube, and can be viewed for free.

Music helps us release stress, strengthen our creative "muscles", and send out some joy that the world needs so much. Maybe you can find someone to help you recapture the musical skill you once had, and maybe you could find a group that you can play with. Practice takes time and effort, but sharing a musical gift can be worth it.

Just remember, the older you get, the less things you can participate in and call it playing. Learn to play, and share a gift you may have. If you don't have the gift, pass the instrument on to someone who will use it.

Spotlight - Improv Everywhere #fb

It's part prank, part mobile Broadway show, and the rest is proof that even in the crazy world we live in these days, some people give away good feelings for free. In their words, it's "organized fun," and it really is.

Improv Everywhere started in August of 2001 by two college buddies in New York, Brandon Arnold and Jon Karpinos impersonating Ben Folds at a local pub, and has grown from there. 

Whether its a cellphone symphony, spontaneous musicals at a Mall food court (one was featured on NBC news with help from Ann Curry) or local grocery store, flooding Target or Best Buy with helpful helpers (wearing the proper attire), shopping in slow motion at a Home Depot, freezing in place for a set period of time at Grand Central Station, arranging welcoming parties for random strangers at an airport (including clapping, cheers, flowers, balloons, and signs with their names), or my personal favorite, a bell choir assisting a lone Salvation Army bell ringer at Christmas time (Guerrilla Handbell Strikeforce).

I love this site, and what they do.

Here is a book about their exploits offered via my affiliate link:


 

Causing a Scene: Extraordinary Pranks in Ordinary Places with Improv Everywhere

On the site, they have videos of just about every "mission," as well as behind the scenes notes and videos of the planning and setup. I could keep going on and on, but that would keep you from visiting their site, so I will stop now. Please have a wonderful day, and check out Improv Everywhere: 
( http://improveverywhere.com ).