Best of the Week, Jan 27 - 31

Happy Birthday, Lewis Carroll 

"Often overlooked in the 'Alice' corpus is Carroll's classic "nonsense poem," Jabberwocky, which is found in Through the Looking-Glass. "

"I Got Rid of My iPhone"

"The constant dinging, bleeping and buzzing, signaling incoming messages, vexed him and pulled his gaze constantly toward the apparatus and away from whatever he was doing and whoever he was with. 'It's messed up. People aren't supposed to live like that'."

Amanda Knox Verdict Today ~ Trust the Process

"After so many phases of this tortured case -- all of which have been scrutinized in the crucible of time and under the eye of the international press -- once the verdict is rendered, the public should be satisfied the court has done its work."

"I Got Rid of My iPhone"

by Wendy Murray

Chris Reynolds, age 30, possessed an iPhone5 for three months then gave it up, citing annoyance and "spending endless hours looking a b*******."

Chris lives on the grounds and works as the grounds-keeper of public gardens at a nonprofit-owned estate on Boston's North Shore. He is a certified arborist, horticulturist, expert on cats, goats and African Ridgebacks (dogs). But his real passion is fowl -- chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, ducks, geese, homing pigeons, lovebirds, canaries. He hatches, raises and sometimes sells an ever-evolving flock.

He purchased an iPhone in October 2013 because, in the business of buying and selling fowl, he wanted to be able to keep an edge on the market. He does not have internet in his home, so the thought having an iPhone, thus instant access to the internet, would enhance his fowl acquisition and selling activity.

Instead, he says, "I felt like I was carrying around a great weight." The constant dinging, bleeping and buzzing, signaling incoming messages, vexed him and pulled his gaze constantly toward the apparatus and away from whatever he was doing and whoever he was with. "It's messed up. People aren't supposed to live like that. You forget to live in the moment. You forget to be grateful for where you are."

"When you live alone like I do," he says, "you gravitate to the internet. I spent all my time looking at all stuff online.  I was constantly on Craigslist looking for chickens."

Pope Francis' Call to Become Digital Citizens

Pope Francis Call Us to 'Boldly Become Citizens of the Digital World' 

by Wendy Murray

(Quotes from the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales the Vatican, 24 January 2014;
 News.va )

Pope Francis Say the Internet Is a Gift from God

"The internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity.  This is something truly good, a gift from God." 

Pope Francis Says the Internet Can Offer a Community Rich in Humanity

"The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people.  The impartiality of media is merely an appearance; only those who go out of themselves in their communication can become a true point of reference for others."

Pope Francis Says the Internet Can Be Used as a Violent Form of Aggression

 "Whenever communication is primarily aimed at promoting consumption or manipulating others, we are dealing with a form of violent aggression." 

Pope Francis' Prayer for Using the Internet

"May the light we bring to others not be the result of cosmetics or special effects, but rather of our being loving and merciful 'neighbors' to those wounded and left on the side of the road.  Let us boldly become citizens of the digital world."

(See Plogger's recent post on advice for spiritual writing by Frances de Sales)

~   ~   ~ 

(Visit Italy with Ecco Qua Press: Bell`Umbria Writer's Workshop)

8 Lessons Learned About Social Media as Your Workplace

1. Keep going; slow and steady wins the race. Millions compete for internet space. Stay on point; don't freak out. Good content always prevails.

2. Dig deep. Do good work. Be fair. Don't steal! (More about this below, #5.)

3. Clarify your message. Define your presence. Command your space.

4. Don't obsess about followers and what-not. Write and post as if you were Oprah.

5. Be generous with others: When you read something you like, share it and give credit to the author / researcher. Guide your readers to other blogs. Keep a link list on your blog. (I'm still working on mine.)

Sad story: One of my favorite blog curators, Maria Popova of Brainpickings, whose worked I admired and emulated, stole a post from my humble blog without crediting me. It was occasioned on the birthday of a well-known poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, and we both needed fresh material for the dated occasion. I took time, dug through files, researched the web, and came up with my own offering while she promptly took it, using the same obscure quote I had spent time locating, as well as the same bookcover graphic. My post, published Dec. 4 at 12:00 noon, is here. Her post (here) was published nine hours later at 9:00pm. I discovered the redundancy because she also stole my tweet. (Alas, the downside of #hashtags.)

EQPlog Tweet at 12:30pm, Dec. 4 2013.
Original research digging up Rilke quote.

Brainpicking Tweet at 9:00pm. How unoriginal!
Help me out, Brainpicker!

Maria Popova has nearly 500,000 followers. How generous it would have been for her simply to retweet my tweet and blog post and help me out.

6. Be generous with yourself. This is your offering to the world. It has value. Don't shrink back from helping yourself by promotion. Even if it is counterintuitive, keep putting yourself out there. Your audience will find you and they will help you.

7. Take breaks to get away from the desk top. Integrate exercise or gardening or baking -- simply some other activity -- into your work day. (Yes, these sessions are also part of your workday.) It clears the head, paces you, and makes you a better worker.

8. Have fun. It is your world. Make it what you want it to be.