One of my favorite Web 2.0 sayings came from The Cluetrain Manifesto, as relayed by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing:-
“Markets are like Conversations – Talk is Cheap and Silence is Fatal!”
But please THINK what you write in 140 characters & how it could be misinterpreted!
In a “conversation” face to face you can correct instantly any misconception.
If it’s a “live” Twitter convo, you can also correct fairly easily.
BUT if it’s time-shifted in any way, so you send something which has to wait till “after tea” or overnight for a response, the person reading may jump to the wrong conclusion about your chosen set of words, or maybe even just one word!
It was a Friday so the regular Twitter practice had begun – under the guise of #followfriday many Tweeple spread a bit of joy, love & kudos by recommending that their own followers consider following others that they have had good interactions with in the past week or more, it may even be just for the great information or insight they provide. It’s a good, fun, particularly “social” practice, and it’s what Social Media is all about!
In my case, I picked up on some recommendations by a wonderful marketer that I hold in very high esteem – virtually hanging on their every word!
I found that one of their suggestions had 16 followers & NO updates!! So I mentioned it in a DM back just in case it was a mistake or maybe the interactions had been offline, ie. face to face, that we would have less knowledge of.
I used the word offline “dealings”, which hindsight shows me, left room for misinterpretation!
This was the classic case where it was left overnight before I discovered my words had been taken in the wrong context. I had never dreamt of anything underhand (call it naivety if you like – I’m one of life’s innocents in that regard, always have been!)
However, my Thought Leader had taken it that I had inferred something dubious – I never meant to, and for that my profuse apologies!
But please take it as a lesson that some things in the Twitterverse need a bit of consideration, if only because of the “delayed reaction” effect!
The global move to greater openness and transparency heralded by the engagement & conversation enabled by Social Media is, I believe, one of the greatest shifts to be experienced by mankind – proving that a connected world is truly a smaller world, bringing us all closer together and able to feel more a part of the “whole” than ever before.
It’s fantastic, and it’s only just beginning, so it’s great to be part of it. Just watch your Ps & Qs a bit!
As a sign off, It also taught me that you seem to be able to delete the offending message completely – I didn’t do it – I know I wrote it (boy, do I know!), but it seems to have disappeared completely from the Twitter system – not retained by my Tweetdeck or Seesmic, or Twitter itself. (Thank you!?)
It has still been a lesson hard L1RND for me!
Have a great week to come, and Think On.
Howard J Moorey
Aka http://twitter/hojomo
www.hojomo.com
May 30th, 2009
Friday, 29 May 2009
Friday, 17 April 2009
From Change 2 Challenge...
Change is not always easy...
And boy are we ALL going through a BIG change right now!
We are moving from a Masculine Economy, where Big was Beautiful, the only way to get on was to get Bigger – Big Corporates and Big Banks had all the answers, and a Big slice of the successes and a Bigger slice of the Profits…
Or did they?
Come 2008 we started to see the chinks in the armour – the Big Bold Bullish Economic model began to come asunder!
All those layers of complexity – impenetrable, incomprehensible complexity – suddenly proved to be covering up a Global Edifice that was built on Quicksand!
All those Bonuses were actually Bs…
All those Bankers were…
And the Motor Industry was in danger of disappearing up it’s own tailpipe!
And We The People Believed them and the messages they span for us!
Well NOT ANY MORE!
Whether they like it or not, we are moving relentlessly into a FEMININE ECONOMY,
where Nurture, Growth, Trust and Transparency are going to be Paramount!
No longer will we accept the message, be it from Advertisers or Governments, without us being able to see more clearly what the objective is.
We must know & understand our Politicians, Business Leaders, and Bankers, better before we blindly accept what they are saying.
With the Change comes the Pain, as the brakes go on and the pace slows down to the level we feel is right,
Dealing with this Change becomes the new Challenge for us ALL.
But be under no misunderstanding whatsoever, this Change will be good for us ALL – we suffer the Pain together and grow closer as a result.
WE will come out BIGGER and STRONGER as a result – able to accept each other, and our differences, because without them we will all be the same – Bland & Boring!
Grow Closer – a Network of Humans, of ALL Creeds and Races, Connected across our wonderful planet – and Move into the next phase of our development – THAT is the Challenge. SMALLER Businesses, Groups and Communities Your Time Has Come!
Bon Voyage!
Howard J Moorey
April 18, 2009
www.hojomo.com
And boy are we ALL going through a BIG change right now!
We are moving from a Masculine Economy, where Big was Beautiful, the only way to get on was to get Bigger – Big Corporates and Big Banks had all the answers, and a Big slice of the successes and a Bigger slice of the Profits…
Or did they?
Come 2008 we started to see the chinks in the armour – the Big Bold Bullish Economic model began to come asunder!
All those layers of complexity – impenetrable, incomprehensible complexity – suddenly proved to be covering up a Global Edifice that was built on Quicksand!
All those Bonuses were actually Bs…
All those Bankers were…
And the Motor Industry was in danger of disappearing up it’s own tailpipe!
And We The People Believed them and the messages they span for us!
Well NOT ANY MORE!
Whether they like it or not, we are moving relentlessly into a FEMININE ECONOMY,
where Nurture, Growth, Trust and Transparency are going to be Paramount!
No longer will we accept the message, be it from Advertisers or Governments, without us being able to see more clearly what the objective is.
We must know & understand our Politicians, Business Leaders, and Bankers, better before we blindly accept what they are saying.
With the Change comes the Pain, as the brakes go on and the pace slows down to the level we feel is right,
Dealing with this Change becomes the new Challenge for us ALL.
But be under no misunderstanding whatsoever, this Change will be good for us ALL – we suffer the Pain together and grow closer as a result.
WE will come out BIGGER and STRONGER as a result – able to accept each other, and our differences, because without them we will all be the same – Bland & Boring!
Grow Closer – a Network of Humans, of ALL Creeds and Races, Connected across our wonderful planet – and Move into the next phase of our development – THAT is the Challenge. SMALLER Businesses, Groups and Communities Your Time Has Come!
Bon Voyage!
Howard J Moorey
April 18, 2009
www.hojomo.com
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Repentence
Just feel I should write today about making a silly business mistake!
I didn’t take my own advice (“Don’t Cold Call, Ever”), and paid the price.
Think I was buoyed up by an excess of caffeine and/or adrenaline from my morning networking meeting, and decided to make a cold call into a shop in my local town, for what I thought were all the right reasons! I had tried to catch this particular lady on several previous occasions with no success.
My Marketing4Business venture has been going for some months now, and is finally starting to gain “critical momentum”, and I had decided at the turn of the year that I wanted to be able to help my local community, and maybe contribute my services in some way to the immense efforts of those running our local Farmers Markets and Artists Shop – so that was what I wanted to talk to her about.
However, I blundered in to the shop & caught her serving behind the counter. I introduced myself, and asked if I could have an appointment to come and see her another time. She asked what it was about, wary of the start of a sales pitch! I don’t like sales pitches, so I don’t do sales pitches, and I wasn’t comfortable with launching into any sort of detail in the middle of a shop with a few customers in it!
I tried to explain that I had personally toured the market on a few occasions recently and noticed that there didn’t seem to be any sort of a box scheme which would allow me to buy a number of items from the various stalls – maybe a week’s worth of the various meat, veg, cheese & olive offerings – to collect later in the day. I had a particular type of box in mind, but we never got that far. She jumped in and said they had costed up a box scheme, for delivery to the door, and had decided it wasn’t viable!
I thought at this stage, maybe they didn’t want to cross horns with the local organic veg box scheme organiser, who she already knew, but I thought since the market goods were varied, and not all veg OR organic, and were going to be sold from the stalls anyway, there wasn’t going to be direct competition. However, all this rationale could not come out because I was not aiming to spout it in her shop environment! I made the fatal mistake here of obstructing one of her customers from getting to her at the till, until she looked over my shoulder, and I saw what was intended to occur, and stood aside.
She assured me that the market had been going for over two years now, and they thought they had got it about right (“so buzz off & stop interfering” was the inference). I took this on board, having no intention of trying to sell ice to Eskimos, and decided now was the time to bow out! I added that it was my intention to try to make my local town a truly “connected community”, so hoped we would meet again at some point. I really believe we have an ideal opportunity to increase the use of Twitter in our local area, and am banging that particular drum slowly but surely, whenever I get the opportunity. For this I was rebuked as “talking too much jargon” – again, certainly not going to get into any further interaction with her, I left politely, but she still felt it necessary to have the last word, so I let her!
I was determined after this event, NOT to feel a failure, because I hadn’t got my point across, but to LEARN from the experience, and move on. I was, and still am, convinced that I would be able to simply help local trades-people to Get More Sales in our challenging economy, that’s what Marketing is all about!
I had made the fatal mistake of thinking that because I had become comfortable with preaching my intentions to my (warm & receptive) networking associates, I could somehow help out without it sounding like a sales pitch. FAIL! No, not fail; LEARN!!
I hate Hard Sell and Cold Calls, and am firmly convinced that the time for both has come & gone – we are now in a much more “Feminine” Economy, where nurturing of business relationships is far more important than just “getting a sale”, and where growth comes from “Meet, Like, Trust”, instead of just taking the same message from door to door, or shop to shop, expecting that the law of numbers means that “every 15 calls will lead to 1 sale”.
So, a very big Thank You to the lady for helping me learn a lesson!
What was it?
When you step out of your network, or comfort zone, remember NOT to talk in the jargon you can safely use there – friends, prospects, clients don’t understand until you explain to them IN THEIR LANGUAGE.
In the New World of Relationship Marketing, build the Relationship first!
This post is offered by way of repentance.
Howard J Moorey
February 20, 2009
www.hojomo.com
I didn’t take my own advice (“Don’t Cold Call, Ever”), and paid the price.
Think I was buoyed up by an excess of caffeine and/or adrenaline from my morning networking meeting, and decided to make a cold call into a shop in my local town, for what I thought were all the right reasons! I had tried to catch this particular lady on several previous occasions with no success.
My Marketing4Business venture has been going for some months now, and is finally starting to gain “critical momentum”, and I had decided at the turn of the year that I wanted to be able to help my local community, and maybe contribute my services in some way to the immense efforts of those running our local Farmers Markets and Artists Shop – so that was what I wanted to talk to her about.
However, I blundered in to the shop & caught her serving behind the counter. I introduced myself, and asked if I could have an appointment to come and see her another time. She asked what it was about, wary of the start of a sales pitch! I don’t like sales pitches, so I don’t do sales pitches, and I wasn’t comfortable with launching into any sort of detail in the middle of a shop with a few customers in it!
I tried to explain that I had personally toured the market on a few occasions recently and noticed that there didn’t seem to be any sort of a box scheme which would allow me to buy a number of items from the various stalls – maybe a week’s worth of the various meat, veg, cheese & olive offerings – to collect later in the day. I had a particular type of box in mind, but we never got that far. She jumped in and said they had costed up a box scheme, for delivery to the door, and had decided it wasn’t viable!
I thought at this stage, maybe they didn’t want to cross horns with the local organic veg box scheme organiser, who she already knew, but I thought since the market goods were varied, and not all veg OR organic, and were going to be sold from the stalls anyway, there wasn’t going to be direct competition. However, all this rationale could not come out because I was not aiming to spout it in her shop environment! I made the fatal mistake here of obstructing one of her customers from getting to her at the till, until she looked over my shoulder, and I saw what was intended to occur, and stood aside.
She assured me that the market had been going for over two years now, and they thought they had got it about right (“so buzz off & stop interfering” was the inference). I took this on board, having no intention of trying to sell ice to Eskimos, and decided now was the time to bow out! I added that it was my intention to try to make my local town a truly “connected community”, so hoped we would meet again at some point. I really believe we have an ideal opportunity to increase the use of Twitter in our local area, and am banging that particular drum slowly but surely, whenever I get the opportunity. For this I was rebuked as “talking too much jargon” – again, certainly not going to get into any further interaction with her, I left politely, but she still felt it necessary to have the last word, so I let her!
I was determined after this event, NOT to feel a failure, because I hadn’t got my point across, but to LEARN from the experience, and move on. I was, and still am, convinced that I would be able to simply help local trades-people to Get More Sales in our challenging economy, that’s what Marketing is all about!
I had made the fatal mistake of thinking that because I had become comfortable with preaching my intentions to my (warm & receptive) networking associates, I could somehow help out without it sounding like a sales pitch. FAIL! No, not fail; LEARN!!
I hate Hard Sell and Cold Calls, and am firmly convinced that the time for both has come & gone – we are now in a much more “Feminine” Economy, where nurturing of business relationships is far more important than just “getting a sale”, and where growth comes from “Meet, Like, Trust”, instead of just taking the same message from door to door, or shop to shop, expecting that the law of numbers means that “every 15 calls will lead to 1 sale”.
So, a very big Thank You to the lady for helping me learn a lesson!
What was it?
When you step out of your network, or comfort zone, remember NOT to talk in the jargon you can safely use there – friends, prospects, clients don’t understand until you explain to them IN THEIR LANGUAGE.
In the New World of Relationship Marketing, build the Relationship first!
This post is offered by way of repentance.
Howard J Moorey
February 20, 2009
www.hojomo.com
Saturday, 31 January 2009
The Future for Banking & Finance is much more Feminine
By the time of the Davos World Economic Forum, January 27th-31st, the message was finally getting home that We The People have become sick and tired of “complexity for profit”, an unwritten modus operandi in the financial world for most of the last 10 years.
That feature in bank processes led to the dominance of hedge funds & securitisation, and, allowed the emergence of what we now know as “ponzi” schemes – all perfect examples of “houses of cards” which, hindsight shows, were simply waiting for the wind to blow, and making hay until it did.
The Wall Street Journal has reported several key speakers focussing on Transparency and Simplicity as being the essential new cornerstones.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "We need clear-cut rules world-wide". This would at least go some way to preventing “macho tactics” by one major economy from gaining it a dominance capable of toppling smaller finance systems all around, the World, as happened with the “Sub-Prime Lending” debacle of 2008.
Back-to-basics strategies are now going to be the objective.
"In the end, what we want is a financial industry and banking-sector industry where you have more capital, less debt, more rules and much stronger supervision," said Italian central-bank governor Mario Draghi.
And, most fundamentally, he stressed that “the only thing that would attract investors...was the assurance of safety and transparency”.
Self-interest, greed and manipulation must be eradicated from the global banking system once and for all. And, that “For All” should become the motto of the way forward in finance.
Technological advances over the last 10 years, and the rise of the Internet and Social Networking, now mean that smaller systems, like micro-financing, can be adopted and linked together, much the way that smaller businesses are starting to find they can band together in joint ventures to work as efficiently as big corporates – this will be another growing trend for 2009 onwards, leaner, more flexible craft speeding past lumbering supertankers.
These new moves will lead to “real products that are simple to understand, easy to price and satisfy certain legal conditions" which Mr Draghi said would help to restart the market.
Among the new rules of the game for banks are likely to be simpler models that rely less on off-balance-sheet vehicles and borrowed funds to drive profits. Less complexity, not more. Regulators are also likely to force banks to be clearer and more transparent about the type of risk that exists on their balance sheets.
The WSJ article went on to point out that “within this new banking landscape, hedge-fund operators face their own changes. Eric Mindich, chief of hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management, said funds will be consolidating. He also said funds will be forced to better match assets and liabilities in order to ensure liquidity in times of stress.”
Another consensus was starting to emerge too - one that highlights that making heavy use of debt will no longer be possible to power growth. Martin Senn, chief investment officer at Zurich Financial Services explained "I think the industry will be required to hold more capital, which will lead to less leverage, which will eventually lead to more stable institutions,".
All serving to ensure that the New World will indeed be a better, far less masculine, place.
Howard J Moorey
January 31st, 2009
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
The Feminine Economy, Twitter & Networking
Howard J Moorey January 21st, 2009
7 DIRECT Business Benefits to be Gained from Joining & Using Twitter
The principle of a new “Feminine” Economy took a great step forward with the Inauguration of Barack Obama.
One of the fundamental cornerstones is Networking to build business, create new ventures & new jobs.
You can Network Online and Offline, in 2D & 3D you might say.
Social Networking, through Twitter and Facebook, amongst others, is drawing a great deal of attention around the globe, and it can play a part in development of both new and existing small to medium enterprises.
I had a meeting yesterday with a Network Associate, and he asked for some” Twitter Clarity” – “What are the direct small biz benefits to be gained from Twitter?” he asked.
So here they are:-
1.2009 is, without doubt, the Year of Brand YOU! Twitter is a PROMOTIONAL TOOL.
You need to seize a niche and make it your own – publicise yourself AND your business as one in the same. Prove that YOU can be a reliable source of factual, accurate, information about YOUR business topic.
There is no better way to do that than via Twitter!
This promotion MUST be low key (NOT “in yer face”), and remember, it puts you right in the Global Marketplace, not just a localised, 3D, one!
2.Twitter is an immensely valuable NETWORKING TOOL.
Use Twittersearch (just Google it) to find others who are interested in YOUR subject. It will find those who are talking about it right now, or who mention it in their “Bio” (immensely important to complete this when you set up your account, but you can always go back & tweak it later).
When you’ve found them, FOLLOW them – create your own Online network - watch what they’re talking about – you can always Unfollow them later. When you have got a feel for them, feel free to drop in a comment – if it’s sensible, or adds value, they will respect you as knowing something about the subject, and will most likely respond, and draw you into the conversation. Make new friends, inside AND outside the 3D setting, all around the World!
3.Twitter is an immensely valuable RESEARCH TOOL.
At least some of those people you follow may be online much more than you, and will be finding, and broadcasting, blogs/articles/comments/other “Tweeps” (Twitter Folk) that are worth knowing about, and YOU might never have known about!
Plus, you can again use Twittersearch to look for other current topics, or, indeed, a field you want to find out more about, including the people you may want to deal with/sell to!
Once you have your Twitter Network established, you can always put a question out to them, individually or globally, and see if you get a response.
4.Twitter can be a useful 3D COMMUNICATIONS TOOL.
Keep the promotion subtle, just show you enjoy your time in 3D, or it’s an invaluable resource for your business (preferably both!).
Announce meetings, upcoming or just attended, and what you may have learnt there, or, indeed, new Tweeps you have connected with there!
THE BIG PLUS is that when you are following someone, and they are following you, then you can also send them “Direct Messages” which are Private & non-public – if you know someone is online, it can be a much faster/easier way of making a quick comment, asking a question, or booking an event!
5.Twitter can be a great TOOL TO BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE too!
The more you learn, through points 2 & 3 above, the more you get to keep up to the minute on events and developments in your chosen area – you can find things out NOW, not next week or next month when your find them in newspapers or magazines!
Some of the people you follow could become your “Thought Leaders” – people who Blog about things that are EXACTLY in line with you own interests, and may even be at the cutting edge.
6.Twitter can be a NEW BUSINESS TOOL.
The new connections you make could lead you to new deals, joint ventures, business events, etc that would never have been possible in the “Old Days” (when you were not connected!)
7.Twitter can be FUN too – just like 4N – see it as 50% Business & 50% Social!
You can keep up with the local Gossip & Soap Operas, or maybe even set up your own!
Or you can banter with other Networkers around the country, or in your own group.
MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE is YOU! Use it as part of YOUR Marketing Mix.
It’s up to YOU what you make of it, but I trust the above will help you get the most from this FREE resource.
Use a free tool, TWEETDECK, to keep track of the above.
If you need to know more, or need help with set up,
email me: directcontact@hojomo.com
twitter @hojomo
Our 3D solution in the UK is www.4networking.biz
Most of all keep talking & networking to get yourself a new job, new contract or a new business!
7 DIRECT Business Benefits to be Gained from Joining & Using Twitter
The principle of a new “Feminine” Economy took a great step forward with the Inauguration of Barack Obama.
One of the fundamental cornerstones is Networking to build business, create new ventures & new jobs.
You can Network Online and Offline, in 2D & 3D you might say.
Social Networking, through Twitter and Facebook, amongst others, is drawing a great deal of attention around the globe, and it can play a part in development of both new and existing small to medium enterprises.
I had a meeting yesterday with a Network Associate, and he asked for some” Twitter Clarity” – “What are the direct small biz benefits to be gained from Twitter?” he asked.
So here they are:-
1.2009 is, without doubt, the Year of Brand YOU! Twitter is a PROMOTIONAL TOOL.
You need to seize a niche and make it your own – publicise yourself AND your business as one in the same. Prove that YOU can be a reliable source of factual, accurate, information about YOUR business topic.
There is no better way to do that than via Twitter!
This promotion MUST be low key (NOT “in yer face”), and remember, it puts you right in the Global Marketplace, not just a localised, 3D, one!
2.Twitter is an immensely valuable NETWORKING TOOL.
Use Twittersearch (just Google it) to find others who are interested in YOUR subject. It will find those who are talking about it right now, or who mention it in their “Bio” (immensely important to complete this when you set up your account, but you can always go back & tweak it later).
When you’ve found them, FOLLOW them – create your own Online network - watch what they’re talking about – you can always Unfollow them later. When you have got a feel for them, feel free to drop in a comment – if it’s sensible, or adds value, they will respect you as knowing something about the subject, and will most likely respond, and draw you into the conversation. Make new friends, inside AND outside the 3D setting, all around the World!
3.Twitter is an immensely valuable RESEARCH TOOL.
At least some of those people you follow may be online much more than you, and will be finding, and broadcasting, blogs/articles/comments/other “Tweeps” (Twitter Folk) that are worth knowing about, and YOU might never have known about!
Plus, you can again use Twittersearch to look for other current topics, or, indeed, a field you want to find out more about, including the people you may want to deal with/sell to!
Once you have your Twitter Network established, you can always put a question out to them, individually or globally, and see if you get a response.
4.Twitter can be a useful 3D COMMUNICATIONS TOOL.
Keep the promotion subtle, just show you enjoy your time in 3D, or it’s an invaluable resource for your business (preferably both!).
Announce meetings, upcoming or just attended, and what you may have learnt there, or, indeed, new Tweeps you have connected with there!
THE BIG PLUS is that when you are following someone, and they are following you, then you can also send them “Direct Messages” which are Private & non-public – if you know someone is online, it can be a much faster/easier way of making a quick comment, asking a question, or booking an event!
5.Twitter can be a great TOOL TO BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE too!
The more you learn, through points 2 & 3 above, the more you get to keep up to the minute on events and developments in your chosen area – you can find things out NOW, not next week or next month when your find them in newspapers or magazines!
Some of the people you follow could become your “Thought Leaders” – people who Blog about things that are EXACTLY in line with you own interests, and may even be at the cutting edge.
6.Twitter can be a NEW BUSINESS TOOL.
The new connections you make could lead you to new deals, joint ventures, business events, etc that would never have been possible in the “Old Days” (when you were not connected!)
7.Twitter can be FUN too – just like 4N – see it as 50% Business & 50% Social!
You can keep up with the local Gossip & Soap Operas, or maybe even set up your own!
Or you can banter with other Networkers around the country, or in your own group.
MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE is YOU! Use it as part of YOUR Marketing Mix.
It’s up to YOU what you make of it, but I trust the above will help you get the most from this FREE resource.
Use a free tool, TWEETDECK, to keep track of the above.
If you need to know more, or need help with set up,
email me: directcontact@hojomo.com
twitter @hojomo
Our 3D solution in the UK is www.4networking.biz
Most of all keep talking & networking to get yourself a new job, new contract or a new business!
Monday, 29 December 2008
THE ECONOMIC “END OF DAYS” - NEW YEAR, NEW WORLD
For two thousand years, but especially for the last 100, the world has laboured through the Age of Pisces – masculine times, where leadership and aggression have been paramount, and mankind has followed a model where we needed to be told what to do.
That guidance would be provided by the Church, or the State, or the Military, or by Corporations/Employers, who supposedly “knew” what to do!
Most often this guidance has centred around possession and ownership, either of goods, people, property or lands, with the result that “defence”, and “righteous action” have often been invoked in the name of retention or accumulation.
All these are masculine – ie. (the modern version of) Hunter/Gatherer – traits.
Sales and Marketing, some of the cornerstones of our economy, have for long operated along the same lines. So too has the Banking system.
With the change to the Age of Aquarius, soon after the Millennium, came the opening up of the Internet – a new method of communication, which, in time, has delivered new ways of commerce.
In the last 4 or 5 years specifically, much money has been made, in Banking, Finance, Property and Stock Markets, as well as on the Internet. The common factor being the huge sums made by a small percentage of people, or corporations, always with the promise of riches for many, if they buy this or that affiliate program, or “special offer” – very few of which actually deliver.
Masculinity rules in the Motor World too, and look at the mess that is in, with urgent bail-outs for two of the Big Three in the US. Why? We are tempted to ask when we see the acres of unsold metal parked at strategic points around the various continents, with little likelihood now of it being sold, because the World has moved on from gas-guzzlers.
When we eventually start buying again, we will want fuel-efficient motors, maybe even multi-fuel solutions, with low carbon-impact factors.
This all mounts up to the new frontier we arrive at on December 31st – the World knows it is not well.
It has developed a condition known by ancient peoples as “life out of balance”, what the Hopi Indians call “koyaanisqatsi”. It is time to get back to basics.
We all enter 2009 certain in the knowledge that we need, jointly, to achieve repair and nurturing (whatever we actually choose to call them) on a global scale in order to recover from the economic instability. What we MUST recognise too is that we do NOT want to go back to the way we were.
Several posts appearing recently on Twitter, and thought leader blogs such as that of Chris Brogan, and Jim Connolly, have led me to conclude that the time has come for a “Feminine Economy”, and that it has already begun within the new methods of communication we now use on a daily basis.
In many cases “the job” has represented a “comfort zone”. Many jobs will be lost in the coming 12 months – that only means that the functions are no longer required, the real people who performed those functions are still needed for their own unique contribution, just not by their current “employer”.
The crucial factor is whether those people have recognised what their unique contribution really is. If not, then they too may have a “life out of balance” – the condition that leads to dis-ease, dissatisfaction, anger and resentment at a personal level, just the same as it does at a global level.
Shirley P Burggraf recognised, as far back as 1997, that:-
"In a world in which people are free to choose between caring and competitive roles, an economic system that disproportionately rewards the competitors and beggars the caretakers will eventually lose its ability to compete because resources are increasingly diverted away from society's basic function of providing a civilized context for human life."
“Disasters are a form of opportunity… a time to reinvent, renew, re-envision and re-engineer” according to John T Unger
“Rules only exist until new rules are created, so make your own!” said Amrita Chandra recently, writing for the Chris Brogan Blog on What Artists Can Teach Everyone About Social Media.
Now, Social Networking, and the spread of a wide variety of Social Media, suggests that these are the 12 Facets of the “Feminine Economy”, and why it’s time has come:-
- Communicative – let’s talk, and commune, more, to learn the others point of view;
- Non-Aggressive –wars, and banking crises, all cost a lot of money, and ALL start from posturing;
- Intuitive – listen more, learn more, and we will feel & understand more;
- Networking – getting together for fun and common interest often drives things forward;
- Wisdom – only comes from experience, and trying new ways;
- Touch – everything we do, or consume, has an impact (often adverse) on someone, somewhere;
- Cafe-Based – chat, gossip maybe, small scale, can still lead to development of ideas;
- Social – the more we can reject the anti-social, the more chance there is of a longer lasting solution;
- Nurturing – will be essential to grow & thrive again, this time under New Rules;
- Heart-Sell – has to replace Hard Sell, because that is what got us in the mess in the first place;
- Micro-Finance – the new way for local communities, the whole system needs developing again, differently;
- Internet – the Web that brings us all together, to strive towards AND ACHIEVE all of the above.
Time for a change? A New Year’s Resolution? What do you think?
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