Mogul In My Own Mind

Style Guide - Suits in Three Pieces

2012-02-15T18:31:00.000-05:00

TEDxEMU hopes to bring out new ideas

2012-02-02T10:06:00.002-05:00

The non-profit organization TED will partner with the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to bring the first ever TEDxEMU on March 9 in Sponberg Theater.

TED, Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a non-profit organization established in 1984. It’s goal is to promote “Ideas worth spreading.”

Gregg Costanzo, the coordinator of arts, cultural, entertainment and intellectual programming at Eastern Michigan University, is in charge of planning TEDxEMU.

Costanzo said the ‘x’ in ‘TEDx’ stands for an “independently organized TED event.”

“They [TED] provide the parameters and the framework,” Costanzo said. “It will be a collection of 15-minute talks, as well as performances and exhibits.”

Zack Franklin, a resident advisor at EMU and a member of the TEDxEMU selection committee, attended TEDxDetroit last September.

“It was just incredible,” Franklin said. “It’s kind of like you’re away from home for weeks or months, and it makes you realize all the little things you didn’t notice just because you lived with them.”

Costanzo said students or staff interested in attending TEDxEMU must act quickly. Due to limited space, the audience is limited to 200.

“My goal is that TEDxEMU will be an annual event. I think we can very much do large venues on campus in the future,” Costanzo said.

TEDxEMU tickets are free, but guests are expected to stay for the duration of the conference, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Students or staff interested in attending or presenting at TEDxEMU can go to www.tedxemu.com to register. Attendees must register by Feb. 10, and speakers must register by Feb. 13.

By Alexabder Price | THE EASTERN ECHO
Added January 29, 2012 at 8:25 pm

Style Guide - Lids

2012-02-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

On Criticism, Cynicism & Sharpening Your Gut Instinct

2012-01-22T20:21:00.002-05:00

From the 99%

Time and time again, creative people are given two pieces of advice: (1) Listen to your critics and seek feedback, but also (2) Ignore your critics and follow your intuition. Clearly, there's a powerful contradiction here in need of reconciliation.Whether you're starting a new business, debuting a performance, or working with a client, you'll find yourself in the hot seat faced with feedback - and you'll have a decision to make. Do you embrace the criticism and change what you're doing? Or do you gain confidence from being doubted and take solace that all innovation is, at first, misunderstood?

Knowing which feedback to embrace and which to discard is perhaps the most important instinct for a creative leader to possess. Nearly every legendary innovation was initially mocked or misunderstood by the so-called "experts." In truth, scrutiny and doubt are just part of the toll we pay to take the path less traveled. But knowing this doesn't make it any easier.

The question is: When should you embrace your critics and their dogma, and when should you ignore them and carry on?

Savor Criticism, Shun Cynicism

There are two kinds of doubt you'll encounter in any new venture - criticism and cynicism.

Criticism is doubt informed by curiosity and a deep knowledge of a discipline related to your work. Whether the criticism you receive is constructive or not, it comes from knowledge. Informed insights like "I'm not sure someone would ever pay that much" or "you may not want to outsource that given the high-touch required" may cause you to question your approach.

By contrast, cynicism is a form of doubt resulting from ignorance and antiquated ways. Industry experts will often express doubt based on an ingrained muscle memory of past experiences that handicaps their vision for the future. Cynical statements like, "People will never read a book on a computer" or "Why would anyone want to put their rolodex online?" are famous doubts expressed by experts with handicapped vision.

Knowing which feedback to embrace and which to discard is perhaps the most important instinct for a creative leader to possess.

Doubts and questions can be valuable, but not when they are akin to xenophobia. When investors - and the general public - shun something simply because it is foreign and new... well, this means you are likely one (or more) steps beyond the status quo, which is a good thing! Transformational projects and businesses are like puzzles, and it's very difficult for the masses to see the whole picture when half the pieces are still missing. In such cases, being mocked or misunderstood suggests you're onto something.

As entrepreneurs, we must savor criticism and shun cynicism by developing an instinct for the difference between thoughtful insights and short-sightedness. This instinct is the competitive advantage for innovators of all kinds, and it comes straight from the gut.

Sharpening Your Gut

Is gut instinct the culmination of years of experience? Is it strengthened by confidence? How do you sharpen your gut instinct? Here are a few thoughts:

Calculate the credibility of everything you hear. If you're talking to a very experienced leader in another field, assess whether she is qualified to have an opinion about your project. Perhaps her perspective should only carry the weight of a potential customer? (If so, keep in mind that customers can't possibly know what they want at the bleeding edge of what's next.) But, if she has deep experience in a similar vertical, her insights should be given more credence. Before absorbing feedback, determine how credible and applicable it is first.
Separate fear and emotion from logic. Can you consider feedback without the taint of ego or the human fears that we all carry around - namely, failure and embarrassment? I'm not suggesting that you ignore your fears and emotions. On the contrary, you should work to identify the root of them. If you find feedback frustrating, ask yourself why. Often, it means that you are holding onto past assumptions for the wrong reasons or "sunk costs" (past energy and resources you invested that you'll never get back). I've met many entrepreneurs who recognize a fundamental flaw but miss the chance to fix it because they can't bear to face it.
Recognize patterns, but don't resort to them. No doubt, a big part of gut instinct also comes from pattern recognition. Seeing the same thing happen, time and time again, gives you an instinct for what might happen next. At the same time, years of experience can also plague you with the same muscle memory that breeds cynicism in the first place. The trick is to keep reiterating your thesis for the future as you process information and compare with past experiences. You should review every decision through two distinct lenses: your past lessons learned (often the hard way), and your conviction for what's next. Sometimes you'll recognize a pattern and realize that it is meant to be broken.
Learn to stomach momentary scrutiny. Your gut instinct won't add any value if you can't handle scrutiny. A barrage of feedback is, at best, a bounty of useful insight and, at worst, noise. Whatever you do, don't avoid the critics. Feedback is a win-win scenario, so long as you develop your gut instinct and let it do its' thing.

What's Your Take?

What else makes up gut instinct? Weigh in!

10 Practical Ways to Boost Your Energy Level

2012-01-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

I am a high-energy person. But I haven’t always been that way. There have been times in my life when I was utterly exhausted. Times when getting through the day was a big chore. Times when I had nothing left to give by the end of the day. Times when I just wanted to collapse into bed and pull the covers over my head.

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/erikreis

But in recent years, I am been very deliberate about managing my energy level. I did a lot of reading on this and took the time to educate myself. I experimented. I tried some new things. I broke some old habits. Now, my energy level remains pretty constant through the day.

Here’s how I keep my energy level high:

Connect with God.This is where I start each day. You were not created to function without a connection to God. He is the ultimate energy source. Trying to navigate life without Him is like trying to ride a motorcycle without starting the engine. You can do it, but it only works downhill. Unfortunately, a lot of life is uphill.The way I connect is by reading several passages from the Bible and then praying. I am also mindful of His presence throughout the day.

Keep a positive attitude.This is crucial. “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Negative thoughts deplete your energy. Positive thoughts replenish your energize.Attitude is not something that just happens; you choose it. Even in difficult circumstances, you can choose to have a good attitude. And, it whether good or bad, it will have a direct impact on your energy.

Watch your mouth. Obviously, your thoughts influence your words and actions. But sometimes, it feels like my mouth has a mind of its own. It just runs out of habit.Someone says, “Hey, how ya doin’?” Without thinking, we say, “Well, I’m surviving.” Or we might say, “Hangin’ in there.”
Guess what? That becomes our exact experience. We say it, and it shapes the way we perceive reality. That’s why, by faith, I always say, “I’m doing great.” (If you don’t believe this, then you need to practice this gratitude exercise!)

Feed your brain.You’ve heard the old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” This applies to the world of computers, but it also applies to your brain. I stimulate my brain by constantly feeding it new and stimulating content.Some people complain that they don’t have time to read. Hogwash. You have 24 hours in your day—just like I do. What you really mean is that it’s not a priority.
I have a friend who recently gave me this excuse. When I probed, I discovered he was spending two hours each evening watching TV. Nothing wrong with that, but don’t tell me you don’t have time to read. You can’t afford not to read, not if you want to grow and be energized.

Exercise daily. I think this is one of the most important things you can do to “turn the tide” and start feeling more energetic. I know it’s counter-intuitive. You think, I don’t have enough energy to exercise or I’m tired now. If I exercise, I will be even more tired.Wrong. Regular exercise will boost your energy more than almost anything else you can do. It stimulates your heart and oxygenates your blood. This directly increases your energy level. Besides, if you exercise, you will lose weight. Those excess pounds also consume energy!

Take a good multi-vitamin.Personally, I don’t think you need a handful of vitamins and supplements every day. But a good multi-vitamin is essential. If you eat a lot of processed food, this is especially important. Most of us just don’t get the nutrition we need from the food we eat.I take Vitamin Code Men’s Multivitamin. It covers the basics. It is a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral. I take two capsules twice a day.

Drink a gallon of water a day.This is another great energy replenisher. You will especially notice the difference if you switch from soda drinks to water. It may take you a few days to notice the difference, but getting sugar out of your system and water into your system will definitely even-out your energy.I find that this also has a way of reducing my appetite. Sometime we think we’re hungry when we are really just thirsty. Drink 8 ounces of water an hour before a meal and notice how it curbs your hunger. More water will also increase your metabolism and keep flushing your body’s waste.

Get plenty of rest.Most people I know don’t get enough rest. Everyone is different, but most adults need seven to eight hours a night. Most people I know are trying to get by on five or six hours.When you don’t get enough rest, all kinds of bad things happen. You get grumpy. You reduce your ability to handle stress. And, according to some research, you may gain weight.
Perhaps most significantly, you negatively impact your body’s auto-immune system. When you get run-down, you increase the likelihood of getting sick—and that’s definitely a drain on your energy.

Eat high-energy foods. The main thing to avoid here is the bad or fast-burning (high glycemic) carbohydrates. These are the ones that your body quickly turns to sugar. You get an initial boost from them as the sugar hits your blood, but you then hit a “trough” that is lower that your energy was before you ate them.Carbs in this category include white potatoes, white rice, and white flour (or white bread). Worst of all, the energy that isn’t burned gets stored as fat.
Instead, eat slow-burning carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, wheat bread, etc. I also to eat more frequent, smaller meals. (I eat five or six small meals a day.) This keeps your metabolism up and your energy on an even keel.

Avoid energy-depleting people.Let’s be honest. Some relationships are toxic. You know the type. Some people are so negative they are a giant energy drain. Others are so positive, you get energized just being around them.Obviously, you want to surround yourself with enough positive people so you can keep your energy level up. And, you want to have this same kind of effect on others. Sometimes, you just have to tell people the truth. Not only for your sake, but for theirs.

Your energy level doesn’t have to remain low. You have more control than you think. But you have to be deliberate in managing it.

Source

Infographic Of The Day: The Magic And Madness Of The Creative Process

2012-01-16T12:58:00.000-05:00

Infographic Of The Day: The Magic And Madness Of The Creative Process:
Visual.ly has tipped us off to a fun little infographic by Virus Comix that uses the metaphor of a street map to show the many routes, stops, loops, and warning signs we encounter on the bumpy road to creative brilliance.

[Click to view larger]

Note what’s going on here: Everyone starts out at the same place, with an idea. From there, you can make a few different moves. You can take the scenic route, maybe zooming past laziness, stopping over in the details shop, then heading down the gauntlet of editing, reconsidering, reworking, revising, rewriting, and redoing, before eventually landing on the presentation stage. (On the way, be sure to mind the overthinking labyrinth and the endless loop of comparing yourself to others.)

If that’s too laborious, you can always take the express route, though your idea better be damned good lest you smash headlong into a brick wall. Oof.

The final route is perhaps the most pernicious, that of self-doubt. On the map, it rears its ugly little head time and again, represented by all sorts of bizarre torture devices, from a human crushing machine to some kind of spike-laden steamroller. These are silly cartoon jokes that betray a serious point about creativity: Your biggest roadblock isn’t a dearth of genius or a lack of motivation or even that hapless Wile E. Coyote you have for a boss. It’s your own insecurity. Remember that next time you fire up your creative engine.

Style Guide - Messed Up Pocket Squares

2012-01-15T18:29:00.000-05:00

Why Flat Organizations Don't Create Great Leaders (& What To Do About It)

2012-01-15T12:31:00.000-05:00

Why Flat Organizations Don't Create Great Leaders (& What To Do About It)

Style Guide - Color

2012-01-01T18:22:00.002-05:00

Style Guide - Tux

2011-12-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

Style Guide - Get Down

2011-12-16T18:15:00.001-05:00

Style Guide - Top Coat

2011-12-06T18:07:00.000-05:00

How To Prepare When You Only Get One Shot At Persuasion

2011-12-01T22:34:00.001-05:00

Fast Company

If you've seen Eminem's movie 8 Mile, you surely remember the scene of an industrial basement packed with hip-hop fans assembled for the battle between rival rappers. Will they cheer you or boo you off the stage? The refrain repeats, "You've got one shot." It's the pivotal moment in which you must persuade them to join your movement or slouch off stage in humiliation.
Much of what is written about persuasion addresses the challenge of building influence over time. But when you have only one shot, you need to prepare differently.
This week I had to prepare for such a "one shot" moment. I had a high-stakes meeting scheduled in a sky-high Wall Street office overlooking the Hudson River and New York City skyline. Luckily, my father had recently given me a thick tome called Persuasion in Society, the first book I've seen that backs up a breadth of insights on influence with hard-nosed research. One of the chapters explicitly addresses the unique challenge of making the most of your "one shot." Here are eight tips that helped me prepare for my pitch. They worked wonders, by the way. The meeting went exactly as we had hoped.
1. Be one-sided: The research shows a one-sided argument is more convincing than a balanced one. So don't be an impartial professor who addresses pros and cons. Instead be passionately convinced of your point of your view and just present that.
2. Leave something unsaid: Though you usually want to be explicit about the conclusions you want people to make, if you are going to speak to intelligent and discriminating audiences it's better to leave something for them to figure out. People are more convinced by conclusions they derive. So, for example, don't calculate the market potential of your idea. Instead give them the variables--number of people, percent who would buy, average price they would pay--and let them do the calculation themselves.
3. Enter the "realm" of story: This, the book says, encourages others to "activate story-congruent memories from their own lives." Whether these stories are fictional or factual, the effect is just as powerful. So plot your key stories and practice them.
4. Match your credibility to the extremity of your position: The further you are asking people to stretch from accepted points of view, the more important it is to establish yourself as a highly credible expert. People believe experts. In my case, I added several slides with endorsements and client lists that established me as a strategy expert since what I was asking them to do was make a choice they normally avoid.
5. Consider ego involvement: Anyone you are seeking to persuade has come to the meeting with latitudes of acceptance: things they are willing to accept, are neutral on, and will reject. When people's egos are involved, when they think "This issue matters to me personally," their latitude of acceptance narrows and their latitudes of neutrality and rejection widen. Put this insight to your advantage by considering how involved people's egos are and whether your position falls into their latitude of acceptance. In my case, I knew what I was proposing was outside of normal acceptance so I made sure to avoid language that would get them personally involved too early.
6. Avoid fear: The research the book cites contradicts much of what I have come to believe, which is that people are more motivated by avoiding something bad than getting something good. Fear's impact is "surprisingly small." So don't depend on it.
7. Identify which (of 5) types of audiences you will address: Will your audience be hostile and disagreeable, critical but conflicted, uninformed, sympathetic, or activated? Don't waste your energy informing an audience that is already activated and behind you. They just want to know what to do to support you. I felt my audience would be uninformed, not disagreeable or conflicted. So I adjusted my tone accordingly.
8. Choose your deep metaphor: Your word choice will activate a frame, a metaphor, that your audience imagines as they are considering your pitch. Choose a frame that works in your favor. I thought of three frames--a dam breaking, an unstoppable train, and a revolution. I then listed the pros and cons of each metaphor and decided the unstoppable train was the best for this situation. So I peppered in words like "track," "momentum," "journey," and "station" (e.g, "we started the journey five years ago...and realized we are on a fast track").
Of course you want to think about the usual stuff--your storyline, proof points, timing--but adding 30 minutes to think through these eight points may make the subtle, subconscious difference that sets you off on the right direction at your next critical junction.
[Image: Flickr user - EMR -]

Style Guide - Ties

2011-11-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

Family Film Series starts 'The Lion King'

2011-11-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

Though the lion may indeed sleep tonight, the kind folks at Campus Life have been working tirelessly to bring you quality, family friendly entertainment in the form of The Lion King.

As part of the Family Film Series, the beloved Disney film will be coming to a theater near you in the close future—specifically the Student Center auditorium. The 1994 animated classic, a Hamlet-inspired story set in the African wilderness, focuses on a young lion named Simba and his struggle to reclaim his father’s kingdom from his sinister uncle, Scar. Some would argue the movie’s target demographic is far younger than the average college student, but Gregg Costanzo begs to differ.

Costanzo is the coordinator of arts, entertainment and marketing for Campus Life, the organization that is also responsible for the various lounges on Thursdays and the Friday night movies. His passion lies in bringing enjoyable diversions to students for little to no charge.

“The majority of Campus Life’s programs are at a free or low rate so that students can have a cultural or entertainment experience,” he said.

But why children’s movies?

“We want to meet the needs of diverse populations, and we also want to collaborate with other people on campus.”

The films chosen for the Family Film Series are indeed chosen with help from an outside source, the people involved in the children’s literature program. As a matter of fact, the series began as an idea presented to Campus Life from a faculty member who wanted to present films that tied in with the syllabus. Now in its third year, the Family Film Series has shown movies such as Up, Ponyo, all three parts of the Toy Story trilogy, and most recently, Gnomeo and Juliet.

The Family Film Series also provides an indispensable service to EMU staff and students with children by providing an opportunity for good, clean, kid-friendly fun in a setting typically catering to the interests of young adults. According to data collected from clasp.org, nearly a quarter of college students have kids. Events such as this allow for an inexpensive bonding activity for parents and children. In addition, the outing could function as a form of “take your child to work day” for faculty, according to Costanzo.

At the same time, many students can concur the Lion King isn’t “just for kids.”

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. Take a cursory look around campus and you’ll find everything from Pokemon cards to stacks of movies featuring the Disney Princesses. There may be a simple explanation to this phenomenon—when under the stress of adjusting to life as an adult, many students turn to the things that made them happy as a child to give them solace. This is especially true for those who have moved far away from home for the first time.

“Sometimes movies like this from their childhood can give them peace of mind,” Costanzo said. Bily Simmons, a junior who also works for Campus Life, was also quick to express his adoration for The Lion King.

“It’s one of my favorite movies!” Simmons said. “It’s the current college generation’s movie, like The Breakfast Club in the 80s.”

He’s not the only EMU student with love for The Lion King. Freshman Luke Bromberg has a soft spot for the cast of numerous likeable and interesting characters, “Especially Simba.”

Sophomore Andy Raby is also a fan. As a music major, he’s quick to point out the film’s score is riddled with fantastic music. At the same time, he and many others can attest to the compelling plot that seems to transcend age demographics.
“It’s a family-friendly movie that’s still interesting to adults,” Raby said.

Perhaps there are some things you’ll never be too old for.
The Lion King will be showing on at 8 p.m. on Dec. 3. Admission is free.

By Jessica Salisbury | THE EASTERN ECHO Added November 20, 2011 at 11:50 pm

EMU helps spread 'It Gets Better'

2011-11-20T20:47:00.000-05:00

Since its premiere at the Rainbow Variety Show in late October, Eastern Michigan University’s contribution to the It Gets Better project was shared over 1,800 times on Facebook in under 24 hours. To this day, the video’s view count and message continues to grow.

“The It Gets Better project is a message of hope,” said Bily Simmons, Campus Life student program coordinator. “It’s a message that no matter what you’re going through there’s going to be a moment after the worst moment that’ll make it worth it. It’s inspiration that it may be bad now but it’s going to get better.”

The It Gets Better project was started by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller last September in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or perceived as such. The goal of the project, and its videos, is to prevent LGBT youth suicide through the testimonies of LGBT adults telling these youth that their lives will improve.

“The It Gets Better project is really amazing and powerful,” said Dennis Patrick, communication, media and theatre arts professor, undergraduate advising coordinator and director of the Center for the Study of Equality and Human Rights. “If you go to the website and watch these videos, it’s such a wave of support, love and affirmation for LGBT youth who are being bullied, teased, harassed or are considering suicide and feel completely alone. It’s just really powerful when you watch the stories that are being shared.”

Within its first week, 200 videos were uploaded to the project’s Youtube account and reached the 650 video limit by the second week. The project moved to its own website which now features over 22,000

entries, including those from LGBT-related groups, celebrities, politicians, TV shows, businesses, and sports teams.

“The point of these videos is to tell bullied youth that ‘we’ve been where you are and we made it and we really care about you,’” said Laurie Stevens, who works for EMU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center. “Just saying it’s okay and that we want to be there for them means the world to some people.”

Though originally and primarily internet-based, the project was featured in a Google Chrome commercial which caught the eye of Simmons.

“I saw the Google Chrome commercial promoting the It Gets Better project and contacted Campus Life Arts and Entertainment Program Coordinator Gregg Costanzo about [the project] and he suggested we make one here at EMU,” said Simmons. “We ordered a camera and asked LGBTRC Program Coordinator Mary Larkin to help gather people to be in the video. She sent out some e-mails and we made a promo video inviting people to share their story. From that we got 20-30 people who wanted to be a part of it, some said they were glad we’re doing this and a lot of professors replied saying they were excited that we were making one.”

Simmons reached out for participants and discovered someone who couldn’t physically be in the video but found another way to be involved.

“For the video, Bily contacted me during the summer while I was in Tennessee, so I couldn’t be in the videos,” said Stevens. “But I really wanted to help and be involved so he let me work with the video’s storyboard and edit.”

The majority of It Gets Better videos feature one person’s story with a message of support woven in but EMU’s contribution wasn’t created overnight. With the featured testimonies of 23 students, staff and faculty, interviews took a summer to schedule, coordinate and film.

“Getting the interviews together was a lot easier than I thought it would be,” said Simmons. “People were so receptive to having the opportunity to do it. I’d meet with the participants and give them a rundown of what the project is and what we were trying to do. I never limited anyone in what they said; some people would share their coming out story or their experience with bullying in high school but they all wanted to say ‘it gets better.’”

Once the interviews were completed, Simmons and Stevens set to start editing the individual videos into one unified story.

“After all the interviews were done, Laurie constructed a storyline off of what people had to say and then I took over and worked on the editing,” said Simmons. “Together we decided what should be in there, what needed to be added and what helped the story be complete.”

“Bily gave me a flash drive and I watched all of the footage that he recorded and some of the interviews were really intense, some were really long and some kind of rambled, but the message of each story was so touching,” said Stevens.
Such a message is something Patrick wished he had heard when growing up in the 80s.

“To me, it’s the kind of thing I wish I had when I was a young man in the 80s coming to grip with my sexual orientation,” said Patrick. “When you grow up in a small town in the Midwest without any images of LGBT people like you have today, you really think ‘I’m the only one in the world who feels this way’ so to actually see the video, that’s the kind of thing I wish I had. I’m happy to be a part of it. It offers a message of hope for LGBT youth that things are bad sometimes but if you hang in there things will get better and there are people like you all over the place that support you.”

Though the video was well-received, some criticized the timing of its release. One critic commented on the (unlisted) Youtube video asking why it hadn’t been released around a year after Dan Savage, one of the co-creators of the It Gets Better project, spoke at EMU.

“We got flack from someone who wrote ‘well it took you long enough, Dan Savage was at EMU last year and it took you guys this long to get this video out there,’’ said Simmons. “It stung a little; on one hand they’re right but at the same time they’re wrong because there’s never a bad time to put a good message out there.”

“Bily was super busy and the video took a lot more editing than you would think,” said Stevens. “I really think the video came out when it needed to and the Rainbow Variety Show was a good place to premiere it because we wanted to be in a space with plenty of people there. We didn’t want to air it in front of six people, as important as those six people are it’s also crucial to get it to a bigger audience.”

Such a big audience wouldn’t have been possible without one of the areas in which EMU shines: the support of its ally community. In EMU’s It Gets Better video, LGBT and straight allies stood together to say “it gets better.”

“There were a lot of straight allies in the video that when we premiered it at the Rainbow Variety Show I asked the audience not to assume anyone’s sexual orientation,” said Stevens. “Sometimes I wish the term LGBT was just QA (for Queer & straight Ally) because allies are such an important part of our community. We couldn’t get where we need to without their support, especially here at EMU. Our ally community here is so strong and I think the reason they want to be involved is because they really do care and see LGBT people as humans, their brothers and sisters, even in our Greek community.”

As a member of this ally community, Simmons agrees that the LGBT community deserves equal rights.

“Straight people should care about gay rights for the same reason white people should’ve cared about civil rights back in the 60s,” said Simmons. “Coming from me is a different story because I was bullied for being gay even though I’m straight. That’s a bit of my story and it really inspires me to speak out because I know what it’s like to be bullied. It’s important that everyone is given the privilege of equality.”

Such fairness and equality is a privilege Patrick believes we should work towards for all.

“I’m not the first person to say this but gay rights are human rights,” said Patrick. “If you have a concern for fairness, equality and decency, no matter what your sexual orientation is, you should be concerned about gay rights. I’m concerned about civil rights in general whether those extend to a person’s race or religion or whatever it may be. If you believe in fairness and treating people equally, you should be concerned about gay rights. There are some amazing people in the LGBT community who add so much to this campus and this community and they deserve equality. We should work for all people to achieve fairness and equality.”

By Kyle Wackrow | THE EASTERN ECHO Added November 20, 2011 at 11:34 pm

Style Guide - Suits and Sneakers

2011-11-16T18:18:00.001-05:00

Lyric Lounge electrifying

2011-11-13T20:29:00.000-05:00

Gil Scott Heron was a famous lyricist who preached about poverty and injustice in America, about searching for truth and the value of education. With his words, he inspired many to join in the pursuit of equality and defined hip-hop as it is today.

He reminded us the revolution would not be televised. Considering Eastern Michigan University is fifth in the nation for its slam poetry, it’d be a shame to miss a chance to see what could be the next generation of great revolutionaries spitting its poetry first hand.

Poetry Society collaborated with Campus Life and brought you Lyric Lounge on Thursday. The venue boasted a “very electric atmosphere,” in the words of Poetry Society member and performer Gabe Green. The place was decked out with food, dim lighting, a DJ bumping hip-hop like A Tribe Called Quest, Lupe Fiasco and Common, rap like Drake and Kanye West, among slow jams and R&B. The chill vibe coming from the DJ booth only served to strengthen the voices of the spoken word performances.

The Lyric Lounge is “one of the few events that allows students to express themselves through the arts,” Poetry Society president Ivory Harris said.

According to Green, “Tonight there’s going to be a lot of key performers, a lot of secret diary writers who wouldn’t have any other time to [perform]. This is their venue to do it. We’re always trying to come with better pieces than last time.

It’s really about giving them a show but also saying something that can change somebody’s life. What you say could be instrumental to someone. They’ll see you. They’ll remember what you said.”

The performances ranged from love poems to political messages, sweet and sexual metaphors to hot bars. A notable spoken word piece came from Tiran Burrell, who performed a piece called “Letter to Autumn,” which touched on topics of abortion, past love, life and human growth.

Another hard hitter was “A Birthday Note for Robert Minger,” which was a Facebook wall post from a current boyfriend to an ex- boyfriend dedicated to revealing a revenge plot. Garments were tossed with a heated frenzy and flooded the stage for Atlas’ cipher, which illicited hooting, hollering, claps and snaps all around. The stage welcomed singers, rappers and lyricists that spit poetry, spoken words, rants and monologues.

“It’s more than the performers, it’s the audience, it’s the vibe created by the community,” Green said. “That’s what makes it hot. Every month is always packed to capacity. It was ridiculous how many people were there.”

The event is so popular, in fact, that it needs wristbands for crowd control.

The Spit List only has room for 25 performers so come early and sign up. It floats through the crowd before the show starts, open for anybody who has enough courage to get on the stage, and usually fills up by 8.

Burrell is a four-year member of the Poetry Society and also a host for this Thursday’s Lyric Lounge.

“I went to my first open mic and it was so nice,” Tiran said. “I liked being exposed to poets and poetry. It helps with your writing ability and your public speaking. The poetry society is more than just an organization, it’s like a family.”

The Poetry Society is what Green considers, “One of the best non-Greek organizations on campus because there are so many great events and so much campus involvement.

Since we’re as active as we are, we’re more than just performers, more than just writers; we’re active members of the community.”

The Poetry Society held a school supply drive that helps a high need community receive the tools it needs to keep children educated.

“Every event we do a drive,” Harris said. “All donations are delegated to different volunteers, who deliver the supplies to elementary schools in Detroit. This keeps the students happy and prepared for school. The Lyric Lounge is free, but donations are encouraged. There’s also a donation drop off in every dorm from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday.”

Be on the lookout for the showcase they’re preparing for January called “The Color of Drums,” which has a reputation of packing out Pease Hall.

If you’re interested, the Poetry Society holds meetings on Sunday afternoons at 5:30 p.m. in room 310 in the Student Center.

It offers writing workshops, performance workshops and fundraising for events. Green encourages those who are curious to “Come check us out.”

By Carla Nodi | THE EASTERN ECHO Added November 13, 2011 at 9:34 pm

Social Media Studies: Race, Gender, Class, And Teens' Online Behavior

2011-11-11T21:56:00.001-05:00

Social Media Studies: Race, Gender, Class, And Teens' Online Behavior

Fast Company

Cyberbullying and online drama are old news. But a new Pew study shows wide disparities across income and race lines in terms of who's doing the bullying--and why teenage girls really love Twitter.

According to a newly released survey, social media services encourage teens to be nicer to their friends but also enable rude behavior towards acquaintances and strangers. The paper from the Pew Internet & American Life project also details another trend: Teens who engage in "mean behavior" toward others online are more likely to come from working class, lower-middle class, or African-American households.
In the report, titled "Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Networking Sites," researchers underscored a correlation between race, class, and behavior on social media sites such as Facebook and Formspring. 31% of African-American respondents self-reported their interactions on social media with peers as "mostly unkind," compared to 20% of whites and only 9% of Hispanic respondees. Meanwhile, 22% of respondees with family incomes of less than $30,000 and 25% of respondees whose families earn between $30 and $50,000 said that their interactions were mostly unkind. Those numbers drop to 15% for teens coming from families earning between $50,000 and $75,000, with the percentage rising up to $18% for the top income bracket.
Teenage girls, meanwhile, are 7% more likely to report their activity on social media with peers as "mostly unkind"--23% of female respondees chose that option, while only 16% of males characterized themselves the same way.
The Pew Foundation helpfully included an infographic word cloud that respondees used to describe their social media interactions with peers. These words, unsurprisingly enough, were mainly negative.

Researchers Amanda Lenhart, Mary Madden, and Aaron Smith also emphasized the fact that "there are no statistically significant differences by age, gender, race, or socio-economic status (among the bullied - ed). In other words, those who experience mean or cruel behavior are equally as likely to be older teens or younger teens; girls or boys; and youth from higher-income families or those from lower-income families." Meanwhile, only 56% of African-American respondees said that people their age were mostly kind online, compared to 72% of white and 78% of Hispanic respondees.
The fact that teenagers can engage in cruel behavior online is not particularly novel news. Online harassment has been a hot topic for years; Fast Company has written extensively about cyberbullying and related topics. Increasing digital literacy efforts in schools and legal efforts to curtail cyberharassment among teens have made inroads. However, like any process, there are obstacles: a proposed online harassment bill in Michigan would seemingly open the door to religion-based harassment if the cause is "a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."
There are several hidden reasons for numbers varying across race, gender, and economic class. Social media behavior trends differ across racial lines; African-American teenagers of both genders and female teens of all races are much more likely to use Twitter. Twitter's anarchic nature and short SMS-text based message entry seem particularly well-suited to mean-spirited behavior.
Meanwhile, teens from the lower end of the income spectrum were much more likely to have reported getting in trouble at school because of social media, which perhaps skewed responses given to the survey--parents sat in with respondees during nearly a tenth of the survey-answering sessions.
Another recently released study indicates that parents often aid and abet their children in lying about their ages to social networking sites. A team led by Microsoft Research's Danah Boyd found that parents consistently help their under-13 kids obtain Facebook accounts. Owing to worries about legal liability stemming from both common sense and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, Facebook forbids children under the age of 13 from opening accounts. Parents, however, often don't see anything wrong with their pre-teen (or younger) kids having Facebook accounts. With Facebook remaining--by far--the world's preeminent social media site, we're going to have to grow used to seeing teenage arguments mutating online.
[Top Image: Flickr user Goiabarea. Bottom Image Via Pew.]

Style Guide - Jeans

2011-11-06T18:18:00.001-05:00

Nerd York City: Why Bloomberg Wants A NYC Tech Campus

2011-10-29T08:51:00.001-04:00

Nerd York City: Why Bloomberg Wants A NYC Tech Campus

Fast Company

Bids are due Friday for a proposed, new applied science university campus in NYC. Mayor Bloomberg says City Hall will donate land and more than $100 million in infrastructure for the project... but will it change New York's tech sector?

New York City is home to two of the world's most prestigious liberal arts universities. The Big Apple is rivaled by Silicon Valley, and on some levels Boston, as a home base for internet and other technology firms. However, New York lacks a major science and technology university. Big names such as Cornell University and Stanford University are competing to open a tech campus on the East River... and, well, New York needs it.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has been vocal about their desire to bring a world-class applied science school to New York City. The media-titan-turned-mayor is accepting proposals for an applied science campus to be built on city land; submissions are due on Friday, October 28. A who's-who of local and national names are hoping NYC will give them the contract--Stanford University, Cornell University, Columbia University and New York University are all involved in the process.
Columbia University and New York University are both A-list liberal arts institutions with robust science and technology programs. The City University of New York network and the many smaller higher learning institutions throughout the city also provide a roster of new local talent for Silicon Alley. But for all that, there's a problem in the mind of many proud New Yorkers--there's no local tech equivalent to MIT, Stanford or Caltech.
Even though NYU and Columbia have no lack of computer science and artificial intelligence geniuses, they tend to work on purely academic projects rather than creating startup hubs similar to Silicon Valley or Boston's Route 128.
A quick look at Silicon Alley shows that New York's big tech names are all intimately connected to the city's pre-existing industries: finance, media, fashion and advertising. To use just a few examples, microblogging giant Tumblr and first-wave survivors IAC and AOL all rely on the media industry. The city is also full of internet startups catering to Wall Street and the finance crowd. However, the five boroughs lack a significant presence in fields ranging from biotechnology to robotics to mobile communications.
Part of this problem is geographic. New York City--even the outer boroughs--lack the expansive space needed to build horizontal corporate campuses and testing facilities found throughout the rest of America. Eastern Queens and Staten Island are the only in-city areas with that kind of space, but a tangled list of local political concerns make building there quixotic. Any company that needs a large campus for testing and research can simply look to New Jersey, Long Island, upstate New York or Connecticut.
However, the larger problem is that tech hubs almost always grow out of universities. Silicon Alley was an anomaly that was directly created by New York's status and prestige. But at the same time, the allure of the Meatpacking District's bottle-service clubs and Williamsburg's music venues can have a hard time competing with a nearby university infrastructure that's readily churning out tons of willing programmers and scientists. The support network and pre-existing infrastructure that universities offer start-ups is replaced in NYC by a unique business environment that discourages many sectors from taking root.
Proposals for New York's new tech university reflect this fact. Cornell University wants to team up with Israel's Technion Institute for Technology to build a Roosevelt Island campus geared towards quickly bringing products to market. Stanford University's rival campus proposal would integrate with the CUNY system, guaranteeing important political support. Meanwhile, Columbia University argues that they can make the biggest tech university of all by combining a NYC campus with a mammoth Westchester campus. Meanwhile, MIT--perhaps wary of cannibalizing New England talent or maybe because they're just die-hard Red Sox fans--have opted to build a Russian tech research hub instead.
New York City, which is in the middle of a massive budget crisis, will contribute free land and up to $100 million infrastructure costs towards the winning proposal. The winning university is expected open up shop on their new campus sometime around 2015; Roosevelt Island, Governor's Island, Downtown Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Navy Yard are all being floated as possible sites.
For more stories like this, follow @fastcompany on Twitter.

Style Guide - Tweed!

2011-10-26T18:17:00.001-04:00

Common gives inspiration

2011-10-19T20:15:00.000-04:00

When world-renowned rapper, poet, author and actor Common took the stage Wednesday night in the Eastern Michigan University Student Center Grand Ballroom, no one really knew what he would say.

Many people thought it would be nothing more than an excuse to sell a few more copies of his memoir, “One Day It’ll All Make Sense.”

Fortunately for the hundreds of fans who came to see him speak, he had much more to say.

The theme of the night’s lecture was greatness. Through spoken word, freestyle rap and classic storytelling, Common took the audience through his journey toward greatness.

Remarkably, as he tells it, the journey only became conscious about six years ago. It’s quite interesting to think a man who has been releasing albums for nearly 20 years, many of which are considered to be lyrical classics, would believe his journey to greatness only began recently.

He explains his rationale: “I was willing to play second fiddle, not only in that relationship but also in friendships that I had. What I mean by ‘second fiddle’ is that I was willing to dim my light, because I didn’t want to offend other people.”

This statement was specifically a comment on a revelation he received about his life while enduring the heartbreak that came after the end of his relationship with soul singer Erykah Badu. But he believes the sentiment explains much of his life up to that point.

Because he fell in the trappings of being accommodating, he encourages the audience to avoid that path.

“When you have a light, and we all got light, you ain’t supposed to keep it under the table,” he said. “You got to put on so that everyone can see it. You can’t be afraid to wear your greatness.”

Common shared many other stories and anecdotes from his childhood and the early days of his career. The one that seems to have had the longest lasting effect on his life was the story of Emmett Till.

In 1955, Till was the victim of a vicious, racially motivated murder. Because of the brutality of the murder and the large amount of national media attention the case received, Till became a martyr in the then-ongoing black civil rights movement.

Common believes the spirit of Till helped push him to strive for greatness.

“I didn’t see it but I felt it,” he said. “I felt the spirit say, ‘there’s something great in you that you have to give to this world. There’s something great inside of you.’”

This lecture was a rare insight into the mind of a man who most people know solely through his public persona.
The person the audience got to see Wednesday night was real, vulnerable, relatable and genuinely conscious of his journey and struggles. He had wisdom to share and the audience gladly accepted it.

After his 40-minute lecture came to an end, the crowd erupted in applause. He then participated in a short question and answer session with a few members from the audience. During this Q&A he gave a few hugs and shared a frank perspective on the recent scandal concerning a particular poem, which erupted as a result of his invitation to the White House by Michelle Obama.

Although the evening contained many memorable quotes, stories and lessons, the moment most people will be talking about is the impromptu seven-minute mini-slam poetry session he shared with an audience member.

While many people might consider challenging a Grammy award-winning lyricist to a poetry battle to be suicide, the audience seemed to be behind the brave young man.

As the audience filed out of the grand ballroom, many hurried to get CDs, photos and books signed by the man of the hour.

Only a limited number got the chance, which left many people with a bad taste in their mouths.

“I’m a little upset because I love Common and I really wanted to get my book signed,” junior Brit Jackson said.
“I bought a second copy so I could keep it forever.”

While the night might not have ended as some had hoped, the overall feeling was positive.

When asked how she felt about the show, Kanesha Jones said, “It was very inspirational. Common is great speaker.”

By Jerome Stuart Nichols | Life Editor Added October 19, 2011 at 9:47 pm

Lyric Lounge opens chance for expression

2011-10-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

Dusk is falling on a Thursday night, and life on Eastern Michigan University’s campus is beginning to slow down. With most students’ classes done for the week, many are leaving for a relaxing weekend back home. But in one room in the Student Center, things are just starting to heat up.

Brittany Floyd takes the stage. Standing vulnerable before the mic, she begins to recite one of her most recent works. Within a matter of seconds, the entire room is captivated by her words. Some stand up and yell excitedly, particularly moved by her piece. Others sit quietly, absorbing her verses and letting them pour into their souls.

This is Lyric Lounge.

Co-sponsored by Eastern’s own Poetry Society, the Lyric Lounge serves as
an outlet for the artistic and outspoken souls on campus. The microphone is open to any who attend, but even those who choose not to perform will no doubt leave both entertained and stirred.

The charismatic and talented Ivory Harris, president of the Poetry Society, served as emcee for the event. The atmosphere was lively and the spirits high. Acts were punctuated by hot new music and with the lights down low, one could enjoy a healthy serving of candid thoughts and witty rhymes while overlooking the illuminated campus.

The purpose of the Lyric Lounge, as articulated by vice-president of the Poetry Society, Ami Mansaray, is to provide a forum for students to voice opinions through their poems. There is to be no judgment

or criticism. Instead, the poets are given a safe environment to share their thoughts and emotions with their peers.

Bily Simmons, a student program coordinator who helped put together the event, works for Campus Life, the same organization behind the Laugh Lounge, Sky Lounge and Storytellers. His experiences at the lounge have been extremely pleasant. He noted how supportive and non-hostile the audience members are.

“You don’t get off the stage without getting clapped for,” he said when describing the attitude of the event’s attendees.

Sometimes the material performed delved into difficult subjects, issues ranging from heartbreak to parental abandonment to finding faith. The poets who spilled their hearts to the enthusiastic onlookers were met with hearty support and cheers. Even when the mood took a turn for the somber, the energy was still light and free.

Mansaray spoke of “getting free” while being at the lounge. She tells future attendees to expect people with strong opinions and controversial subjects.

Natasha Lane, a student who came to watch for the second time, enjoys how laid-back and different the Lyric Lounge is. She would quickly recommend it to anyone because it is “fun to watch.”

Poets were not the only performers who enjoyed a spot in the limelight, as two vocalists graced the stage that night. Audiences were treated to a soulful rendition of an Amy Winehouse tune, in addition to a show-stopping performance of Chrisette Michele’s “If I Have My Way.”

As the night began to wear down to a close and nearly all of the participants had performed their pieces, the words flowing from the mic to the hearts of the audience resonated with the weight of the collective struggles of the poets. It served as a subtle reminder that even in difficulty and hardship, something beautiful and admirable can be crafted.

A young man recited a poem on how his relationships with his godchild, baby sister and mother crafted him into a better man, and rarely an eye was left without welling with tears. The pain and joy he and the other artistic young souls felt were left on the stage for the listeners to share.

The Lyric Lounge takes place one Thursday a month from 7-10 p.m. in room 300 in the Student Center.

By Jessica Salisbury | THE EASTERN ECHO Added October 16, 2011 at 8:05 pm

Common comes to EMU

2011-10-16T20:20:00.000-04:00

Eastern Michigan University students will have the chance Oct. 18 to meet hip-hop lyricist Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., more widely known as Common.

Common, a renowned hip-hop artist, actor and philanthropist, will be holding a book signing at 7 p.m. in the Student Center’s Grand Ballroom.

His new book, “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” – a title taken from one of his previous albums – provides readers with a retrospective look on his life in and out of the entertainment business.

In the book, Common discusses the major influence his mother – Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines – has had in his life and where it has led him.

He also references his encounters with the many notable public figures he’s known – many of whom are going down in history for their extensive contributions to our country and the world – and what they have taught him.

But one thing wasn’t mentioned in the press release that was blasted to students. What was mentioned was a significant amount of name-dropping.

Most of the names were inserted to build hype and promote the book; celebrities such as Tupac Shakur, Biggie, Queen Latifah, Kanye West, Davie Chappelle and Barack Obama.

While name-dropping is used quite often in public relations and is not usually a bad thing, with all these famous titles being thrown at students, it’s hard to see what the event is really about: Common.
Common can hold his own.

The career of the 39-year old-actor has flourished for many reasons, none of which was riding coattails.

Lonnie got his start on the streets of Chicago. As a youngster he formed a group called C.D.R. that opened for well-known headlining groups such as N.W.A.

Apart from the trio, Lonnie acquired an underground hip-hop music following while attending Florida A&M University. He also took hold of a new stage name: Common Sense.

His following only grew larger with the release of his single, “Take it EZ,” and first solo-studio album “Can I borrow A Dollar?” in 1992.
Sometime in the mid-’90s he dropped the Sense and started going by just Common.

Since then, he’s compiled a large amount of work – nine albums – most of which have sold well due to his large hip-hop following, and even won a Grammy.

And of course – like most known artists – Common has done work with many popular and influential artists and groups such as The Neptunes, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Soulquarians, Lauryn Hill, The Roots and West, to name a few.

Common has risen to stardom for the same reasons he became popular in the underground hip-hop community: He has strong, ethical feelings and an unwillingness to let local and global problems go unheard of or critiqued.

With a deep respect in the music community, Common has leveraged his fame to not only begin a worthy acting career but also to fight for various causes. This has involved everything from aiding Obama with a campaign song during the election to writing morally sound children’s books.

His latest achievement, The Common Ground Foundation, is a non-profit children’s organization he started in 1997.

It aims to help empower underprivileged kids by preparing them for success in the world. This is done educational development with an emphasis on leadership, creative expression and empowerment.

EMU’s Center for Multicultural Affairs, Diversity and Community Involvement, along with Campus Life and Student Government, are sponsoring this event.

The ballroom doors open to the general public at 6:30. Seating is limited, tickets aren’t required.

By Aaron Huff | THE EASTERN ECHO Added October 16, 2011 at 8:10 pm

Style Guide - Socks and Suits

2011-10-16T18:14:00.001-04:00

Sky Lounge produces jazzy, laid-back night

2011-10-09T20:35:00.000-04:00

It was a night full of class. A night where you could put down the books and dress to the nines.

Thursday, Campus Life presented Sky Lounge, a monthly event where students can dress up and enjoy a night of dancing with their friends in a laid-back, jazzy atmosphere. It was held from 9 to midnight on the third floor of the Student Center in room 300.

Along with the other events that Campus Life presents, Sky Lounge is a great way to go out after dark when you’re looking for something to do on campus.

There was a great turnout for the event. Though things started off slowly, the room filled up as soon as the band started to play.

The large turnout surprised many returning students.

“I’ve been going to this for about four years now, but this has been the first year it’s been such a big turn out,” Kyle Prenaus said.

Michael Lamis and his band gave many great performances throughout the night. As the night went on, the band was a hit. The music isn’t something you would hear every day, but in that moment, everything seemed right.

This year was the first time there has been a female singer. This was a surprise to some, but it seemed to be well-received. “I enjoy the music the most,” Virginia Reid said. “Not only is it different, it’s a lot better than the years before.”

Not only was it the best part of the night, it gave an up-beat, relaxing presence in the room. Jazz is not as popular as it once was, but on this breezy Thursday evening it was the most popular genre on campus.

The lively music brought many partygoers to the dance floor, but even those who didn’t get footloose still had a great deal to enjoy. The inviting fall weather made the balcony as enjoyable as the dance floor. Many people used the space to converse or just simply enjoy the breeze of the night.

Whatever route you decide to take at this classy, jazzy event, you’re guaranteed to have a good time.
From the smooth atmosphere to the crisp fall weather and great company, Sky Lounge was the place to be this past Thursday. If you didn’t get to experience Sky Lounge this time around, don’t worry. There are plenty of chances to experience this event. The next Sky Lounge is Nov 3.

By Rebecca Fons | THE EASTERN ECHO Added October 9, 2011 at 7:50 pm

Style Guide - V-necks

2011-10-06T18:13:00.001-04:00

Style Guide - Plaid

2011-09-26T18:12:00.001-04:00

Fwd: Been “Busy” lately?

2011-09-22T23:48:00.001-04:00

From: The Student Affairs Collaborative

Wow, the opening of school season is pretty interesting. From about the middle of August, the panic of preparing for the new academic year sets in in a variety of forms. Some seem like they are preparing for opening of school the minute the graduates cross the stage. Others make it seem like no work gets done over the summer and we cram it all in two weeks before semester classes begin.

The dialogue during busy seasons on campus is always fascinating to me. It always seems to twist back to a comparison of who is working hard versus who seems to have nothing going on. I see the "Busy Card" get played left and right in various interactions and I cringe every time I observe the "one up-ing" that seems to emerge when people talk about workload. We've all been tempted to play the Busy Card before. I'm guilty of it too.

I'd like to alter the dialogue during the next round of Busy and focus on how to make the campus environment a kinder place for collegial relationships. To do this, these are three things I'm going to try to remember when Busy comes around again and I hope you will join me!

1. Busy is an explanation, not an excuse.
If you fall short on something you said you would do, nothing about Busy excuses dropping the ball. If you figure out that you missed something, just be honest that you have fallen short on something and either renegotiate a new deadline or just take care of it. The busy pace of the opening of school wasn't really a surprise, was it?

2. Busy is relative.
All of us have varied degrees of ability to balance multiple projects and handle multiple tasks. When the person you believe has four things to do all year plays the Busy Card, I know it's hard to swallow when you are tearing your hair out at the idea of another 15 hour day. Temptation may be to try to "one up" this person, but we have to understand that the comparison game means nothing. This person who chooses to share frustration with you is also struggling and struggling in their own way with their own definition of being overwhelmed.

3. Busy is our situation to manage.
Depending on our roles and functions on campus, workload may emerge as much from our own creation as it is from our institutions. My colleague Michael Miller and I surveyed SSAO's and campus activities professionals for a workshop presentation about work/life balance. We found that SSAO's and activities professionals have a difference of opinion on where the source of responsibility for workload might be. Our SSAO's were citing the individual activities professional as primarily responsible for their own workload and the activities professionals were more frequently citing supervisors and institutional expectations.

If we are honest with ourselves, we do get to make a lot of decisions about our work. Whether our zones of responsibility are broad or very specific, it's a rare case where a student affairs professional makes absolutely no decisions. Did you really need the hand-tied ribbons on the Convocation programs? Did you really need that new outdoor concert you added this year to Move In Weekend?

Let's think about what kind of campuses we could create if we instead focused on managing our own lives instead of critiquing what others are doing (or not doing!). If we could focus on being the best versions of ourselves and our own departments, I think a more balanced work life may be closer within reach.

Can you share anything you'll do differently next time "Busy" rears its ugly head?

Nothing to do? Just look a little harder

2011-09-21T20:37:00.000-04:00

There’s nothing to do on campus!!!
Oh, really? You honestly think there is nothing to do on campus? Clearly you’re not looking.

There are events almost every single day. You can always find something fun do on campus. But, admittedly things can be a bit hard to find.
If I could give you one tip to find fun things to do on campus, it would have to be Campus Life.

Campus Life is a is a part of the Center for Student Involvement. I know that might sound a bit iffy but it’s actually quite useful. They are behind all of the coolest events on campus. If you spend a decent amount of time on campus you’ve probably seen a poster or flyer for one of their events.

This year’s schedule is packed. From their weekly free movies to their various “lounges,” you should always find your week filled with something to do.

Say you’re bored on a Friday night, then why not stroll down to the Student Center and take in a free movie? Don’t worry that these are old or boring films that your grandmother remembers from her childhood. The films shown here are only awesome current hits. This year they’ve already

had Thor, The Hangover part 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Bridesmaids.

If you missed those hits, then you’ve still got plenty coming your way. Even tomorrow, September 23rd, at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. you can catch the JJ Abrams summer blockbuster Super 8.

What’s that you say? You’ve seen all these movies and want something fresh? Well then you better be attending one of the Laugh, Sky, Lyric or Storytellers Lounges.
Every Thursday in the Student Center, room 300, you can find something cool going down.

Are you into stand-up comedy? Good, because today, Sept. 22nd, you can go get your laugh on at 9 p.m. At the Laugh Lounge you will see local stand-up comedians, of all genres, taking the stage with their funniest material to sate your carnivorous appetite for funny.

How about the Storytellers Lounge? It was inspired by the super popular Moth StorySLAM story telling series. Here, students come in and tell their stories live, without notes. If you’ve never been to a story telling event, it’s really a unique experience that is reminiscent of the verbal history traditions of many cultures.

If this has got you excited, you won’t have to wait long! The first Storytellers Lounge of the year will be at 9pm on September 29th.

While it’s premise may seem a bit old school, the Sky Lounge is one heck of a good time. Sky Lounge is an event where you

can get dressed in your cutest nightwear and dance the night away to the sounds of classic American jazz. Even if you just want to hang out with some friends in a more chill atmosphere, the Sky Lounge is the place to be.

The next Sky Lounge will take place on October 6, at 9pm.
Are you a poet, enjoy poetry, or a fan of lyricism? If so, then you can visit the Lyric Lounge.

Lyric Lounge is a live poetry event where everyone is invited to share their creativity. This is the type of place where you can spread your wings and interact with other talented amateur lyricists and poets in a supportive and generally laid back atmosphere. Check out the next one on Thursday October 13 at 7pm.

If you’re not satisfied yet, then clearly you’re looking for something even more awesome. If that’s the case then you better be in the queue early on October 18th to see renowned lyricist, rapper, actor, and now author, Common.

Common will be dropping in to give a lecture and talk about his new book One Day It’ll All Make Sense. He’ll be sharing never-before-told stories from his from his 20 year career as hip-hop artist.

Yeah, I thought that would do it. I told Campus Life has your back.
For more info on any ampus life events check them out at www.emich.edu/campuslife/events.

By Jerome Stuart Nichols | Life Editor Added September 21, 2011 at 10:44 pm

Style Guide - Suits

2011-09-16T18:11:00.001-04:00

The Flipped Classroom

2011-09-09T23:35:00.000-04:00

Style Guide - Pocket Squares

2011-09-06T18:10:00.001-04:00

Labor Day

2011-09-05T11:45:00.001-04:00

With all the hot dogs and beer, it's easy to forget the labor part of Labor Day. President Grover Cleveland instituted this work-free Monday in 1894, choosing the date to both recognize the Central Labor Union's labor day and avoid associating the holiday with May 1, the labor day celebrated by the International Workers of the World and marked by the 1886 Haymarket riots. Here, a look at the labor force, past and present, starting with 1971, when the microprocessor was introduced and we began our crawl away from manufacturing and toward the service-driven economy of today.

[Illustration by Francesco Franchi]

Style Guide - Skinny Ties

2011-08-26T18:09:00.001-04:00

Fwd: The Paradox Of Expanded Choices: What Too Much Of A Good Thing Means For Consumers

2011-08-25T12:10:00.002-04:00

Why isn't a product line catching on? Your company may be offering too much. We continue our Leadership Hall of Fame series, a year-long look at the top business books and authors, with an excerpt from The Paradox of Choice (2004) by Barry Schwartz.

Americans spend more time shopping than the members of any other society. Americans go to shopping centers about once a week, more often than they go to houses of worship, and Americans now have more shopping centers than high schools. In a recent survey, 93 percent of teenage girls surveyed said that shop¬ping was their favorite activity. Mature women also say they like shopping, but working women say that shopping is a hassle, as do most men. When asked to rank the pleasure they get from various activities, grocery shopping ranks next to last, and other shopping ﬁfth from the bottom. And the trend over recent years is downward. Apparently, people are shopping more now but enjoying it less.

There is something puzzling about these ﬁndings. It's not so odd, perhaps, that people spend more time shopping than they used to. With all the options available, picking what you want takes more effort. But why do people enjoy it less? And if they do enjoy it less, why do they keep doing it? If we don't like shopping at the super¬market, for example, we can just get it over with, and buy what we always buy, ignoring the alternatives. Shopping in the modern supermarket demands extra effort only if we're intent on scrutinizing every possibility and getting the best thing. And for those of us who shop in this way, increasing options should be a good thing, not a bad one.
And this, indeed, is the standard line among social scientists who study choice. If we're rational, they tell us, added options can only make us better off as a society. Those of us who care will benefit, and those of us who don't care can always ignore the added options. This view seems logically compelling; but empirically, it isn't true.
A recent series of studies, titled "When Choice Is Demotivating," provide the evidence. One study was set in a gourmet food store in an upscale community where, on weekends, the owners commonly set up sample tables of new items. When researchers set up a dis¬play featuring a line of exotic, high-quality jams, customers who came by could taste samples, and they were given a coupon for a dollar off if they bought a jar. In one condition of the study, 6 varieties of the jam were available for tasting. In another, 24 varieties were available. In either case, the entire set of 24 varieties was avail¬able for purchase. The large array of jams attracted more people to the table than the small array, though in both cases people tasted about the same number of jams on average. When it came to buying, however, a huge difference became evident. Thirty percent of the people exposed to the small array of jams actually bought a jar; only 3 percent of those exposed to the large array of jams did so.

In a second study, this time in the laboratory, college students were asked to evaluate a variety of gourmet chocolates, in the guise of a marketing survey. The students were then asked which chocolate--based on description and appearance--they would choose for themselves. Then they tasted and rated that chocolate. Finally, in a different room, the students were offered a small box of the chocolates in lieu of cash as payment for their participation. For one group of students, the initial array of chocolates numbered 6, and for the other, it numbered 30. The key results of this study were that the students faced with the small array were more satisfied with their tasting than those faced with the large array. In addition, they were four times as likely to choose chocolate rather than cash as compensation for their participation.
The authors of the study speculated about several explanations for these results. A large array of options may discourage consumers because it forces an increase in the effort that goes into making a decision. So consumers decide not to decide, and don't buy the product. Or if they do, the effort that the decision requires detracts from the enjoyment derived from the results. Also, a large array of options may diminish the attractiveness of what people actually choose, the reason being that thinking about the attractions of some of the unchosen options detracts from the pleasure derived from the chosen one. So why can't people just ignore many or some of the options, and treat a 30-option array as if it were a 6-option array?

There are several possible answers. First, an industry of marketers and advertisers makes products difficult or impossible to ignore. They are in our faces all the time. Second, we have a tendency to look around at what others are doing and use them as a standard of comparison. If the person sitting next to me on an air¬plane is using an extremely light, compact laptop computer with a large, crystal-clear screen, the choices for me as a consumer have just been expanded, whether I want them to be or not. Third, we may suffer from what economist Fred Hirsch referred to as the "tyranny of small decisions." We say to ourselves, "Let's go to one more store" or "Let's look at one more catalog," and not "Let's go to all the stores" or "let's look at all the catalogs." It always seems easy to add just one more item to the array that is already being considered. So we go from 6 options to 30, one option at a time. By the time we're done with our search, we may look back in horror at all the alternatives we've considered and discarded along the way.

But what I think is most important is that people won't ignore alternatives if they don't realize that too many alternatives can create a problem. And our culture sanctifies freedom of choice so profoundly that the benefits of inﬁnite options seem self-evident. When experiencing dissatisfaction or hassle on a shopping trip, consumers are likely to blame it on something else--surly salespeople, traffic jams, high prices, items out of stock--anything but the overwhelming array of options.
Nonetheless, certain indicators pop up occasionally that signal discontent with this trend. There are now several books and magazines devoted to what is called the "voluntary simplicity" movement. Its core idea is that we have too many choices, too many decisions, too little time to do what is really important.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure that people attracted to this movement think about "simplicity" in the same way I do. Recently I opened a magazine called Real Simple to ﬁnd something of a simplicity credo. It said that "at the end of the day, we're so caught up in doing, there's no time to stop and think. Or to take care of our own wants and needs." Real Simple, it is claimed, "offers actionable solutions to simplify your life, eliminate clutter, and help you focus on what you want to do, not what you have to do." Taking care of our own "wants" and focusing on what we "want" to do does not strike me as a solution to the problem of too much choice. It is precisely so that we can, each of us, focus on our own wants that all of these choices emerged in the ﬁrst place. Could readers be attracted to a magazine that offered to simplify their lives by convincing them to stop wanting many of the things they wanted? That might go a long way toward reducing the choice problem. But who would choose to buy the magazine?
We can imagine a point at which the options would be so copious that even the world's most ardent supporters of freedom of choice would begin to say, "enough already." Unfortunately, that point of revulsion seems to recede endlessly into the future.
Read more from our Leadership Hall of Fame.

A Word about Mediocrity

2011-08-24T14:15:00.002-04:00

I recently re-read an article from Bloomberg Businessweek, Five Ways to Ensure Mediocrity in Your Organization, by Liz Ryan. This article resonates with me every time I read it because the article focuses on some supervisor's disregard for their employees. This disregard can create a revolving door of turnover within an organization. Student Affairs is a great career that will prove a worthwhile experience for many; however, it's important as a new professional to be workplace savvy and trust your instincts.

According to Ryan, the five ways to ensure mediocrity are:
1. "…Make sure your employees know you don't trust them." Basically, supervisors hire a competent employee and then micromanage the employee. What's the point of hiring talented people when you don't trust them? Once a new professional gets the impression that management does not trust their work, an employee will shut down and give an organization mediocre work.
2. "…don't tell them when they shine." Paychecks are great incentive, but some times praise will go a long way to build morale. Lack of praise will also damage morale. Employees want to feel appreciated, valued and empowered. Ryan suggests that lack of praise from supervisors could be because managers fear a request for a raise or promotion. Employees understand that many institutions are feeling the budget crunch, but kindness goes a long way to build loyalty to an organization.
3. "…keep employees in the dark." How can employees be invested in the organization if they do not have a seat at the table? Ok, ok…if not a seat at the table, employees should at least be regularly informed on new initiatives and programs. I believe employees should be aware of the organization's mission, goals, and values at all times; this helps provide focus to your work and it becomes more intentional.
4. "If you value docility over ingenuity…" The most precious gift you can give an employee is autonomy and responsibility. Micromanaging could potentially drive a professional with a masters degree slightly insane. Like Ryan, I agree, employees who are treated like children will more than likely seek out an employer who trusts and empowers them and treats a supervisor like a professional with and advanced degree.
5. "If you fear an empowered workforce more than you fear the competition, squash any sign of individualism." Young whippersnappers beware, don't rely on your education and experience to challenge the system. Knowledge is power, but not in an organization that prefers mindless minions. In reference to management shaking down it's employees Ryan states, "They do it by instituting reams of pointless rules, upbraiding people for minuscule infractions and generally replacing trust with fear throughout their organizations."
I agree with Ryan that poor management will only rappel good employees. Once managers begin to realize why they are losing solid, competent employees, you may be settling into a new job.

Carla Finklea Green is a residence hall director at Old Dominion University.

daveshumka: My blue cardigan makes me feel shyyyyyy.

2011-08-24T13:10:00.001-04:00

“Is Twitter Hurting Your Grades?” Infographic

2011-08-23T19:16:00.001-04:00

Time spent on Facebook is related to involvement in campus activities

2011-08-23T19:11:00.001-04:00

These findings are from my latest paper "The relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement" to be published in an upcoming issue of Computers and Education. I asked students to estimate (using a few different indices) their frequency of using Facebook and what they did while on Facebook and then related those frequencies to engagement outcomes. This study is unique in that it's the first one to connect what students do on Facebook to outcomes. Other studies of Facebook use and academic outcomes have used non-continuous measures of time spent. As some of you know, that's one of my research pet peeves– truncating your variance before the fact.
On to the results– using hierarchical linear regression (N = 2,368) with gender, ethnicity, and parental education level as control variables, I found that time spent on Facebook was a significant positive predictor of time spent in campus activities.
Although time spent on Facebook was a significant positive predictor, it wasn't the strongest predictor of time spent in campus activities. In fact, it was the weakest predictor. The strongest positive predictors, in order of strength (with strongest first), were:
Creating or RSVPing to events on Facebook
Commenting
Viewing Photos
Average time spent on Facebook per day
There were also negative predictors of time spent in campus activities. In order of strength, they were:
Posting photos
Checking up on friends (or what students call "stalking," "creeping," or "lurking")
Playing games on Facebook (as an aside, I'm so happy to have data showing that Farmville and Mafia Wars are "bad" )
It is important to note that these data are cross sectional and correlational and while it's nice to think that Facebook use may be causing students to be more engaged on campus, it could also be true that students who are more engaged on campus to begin with use Facebook more. It is also important to note that there were other findings reported in the paper, one of which showed that time spent on Facebook was negatively related to scores on a measure of student engagement based on the National Survey of Student Engagement.
As always, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on these findings. Please share them in the comments.

Read more…

Ralph Lauren Spring 2012 Preview: GQ Picks

2011-08-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

A Ralph Lauren showroom is an honors level seminar at menswear university: bring a pen. And while it seems almost cheesy to refer to these dalliances in the "world of" America's most iconic designer, that's precisely where one ends up - in Ralph's universe. And it's one hell of a place.
GQ had the opportunity to walk-thru the Spring 2012 Purple Label, Black Label, Black Label Denim, Polo and RLX Ralph Lauren collections with with the menswear icon himself recently, and we saw it all: from dandified pattern-on-pattern suiting combos to slim, color-drenched denim. The diversity of looks was impressive and the quintessentially Ralph Lauren pieces felt fresh and elevated through the unwaveringly stunning styling and the introduction of new silhouettes.
Here are some of our favorites.

Esquire wardrobe essential – Uniqlo oxford

2011-08-22T12:47:00.001-04:00

While there are some things you shouldn't cut corners on (everyone notices cheap shoes) there are other areas of your wardrobe where you can make savings without losing out too much on quality. Which is why we recommend the Uniqlo oxford shirt as a wardrobe mainstay. It's smart enough for work, casual enough to be dressed down, comes in an array of colours and, most impressively of all, you'll get change from a twenty pound note. (Uniqlo, £19.90)

Mark McNairy Wholecut Derby

2011-08-18T21:42:00.001-04:00

Of all the menswear items floating around in cyberspace on any given day, there's always a few standouts. Every day we choose our favorite.

Nothing says big boy shoe like a super clean derby in pebbled, full-grain leather with McNairy's practically patented brick sole. These are the kind of kicks you wear to church, baby - you have to wash your car and put on extra deodorant when you strap these things on. McNasty don't hurt 'em!

via FREE/MAN

— Sean Hotchkissphoto: SLAMXHYPE

The importance of bags – a buyer’s checklist

2011-08-18T14:55:00.000-04:00

Just how do you tell a good bag from a bad one? With a history that stretches just over a century, Chapman knows a thing or two. Their chief executive David Chamier told us what separates the wheat from the chaff in the world of bags.

What’s it made from?
These days most bags are actually made quite well. The real difference is in the quality of the materials and fittings used. We use high-quality materials such as bonded cotton canvas (the traditional material used for fishing bags, being strong and waterproof), solid brass fittings, English bridle leather and military grade cotton webbing. Leather and canvas both hold up well. As long as they are both good quality, both should be similar in terms of longevity.

How long will it last?
Lower quality bags will tend to use synthetic materials (which look OK when new but do not age gracefully), alloy metals, vinyl instead of leather fittings and a looser weave webbing, which may fray or break quite quickly. We use heavy duty brass zips and traditional failsafe fastenings like English cast brass buckles. Cheap zips and fastenings can break very quickly and make the whole bag useless.

What do you need it for?
For a man’s bag, a key question is what am I going to use it for? Is the shape and construction of the bag suitable for this purpose? If you want a commuter bag to take with you to work, are you travelling on the Tube or by bicycle, for instance? For the former, you need a thinner style to avoid obstructions, for the latter a more bulky rucksack style would be more suitable. Beyond that, it’s really down to how much you are prepared to pay to get the quality materials and fittings mentioned above, which will largely determine how long your bag lasts. Also remember that although in theory it’s nice to have loads of little pockets, details and features, are they robust and will they actually get in the way of the main purpose of the bag?

how often will you use it?
In theory a bag can last indefinitely, but in practice this will depend how often the bag is used and in what conditions. If you use a bag every day and subject the stress points to repeated use and abuse, eventually the bag will wear out. The stress points vary between styles and users but will often include the base corners, shoulders and fastenings of the bag.

How can you look after it?
Canvas bags should never be washed in a machine! They should be cleaned in soap and water and left to dry naturally. Metal fittings can be kept shiny with metal polish. Leather fittings and leather bags in general can be maintained by occasionally cleaning with a damp cloth, left to dry naturally and then polished with leather cream. It is also possible to spray certain materials with Teflon, Scotchguard or similar if you want to add some extra water resistance but this will depend on the material used to make the bag. Bags are both functional and matters of taste. As long as your bag does the job, the rest is down to you.

www.chapmanbags.com | Esquire UK

Defensive Scheduling

2011-08-16T17:39:00.000-04:00

Thrifting Philosophies

2011-08-10T23:42:00.000-04:00

Thrifting has been a lifelong habit for me. When I was a kid, my mom worked in a lamp store on Fillmore Street in San Francisco. Fillmore is San Francisco’s thrifting mecca, home of thrifts run by the Opera, Symphony, and a couple of fancy private schools, plus a sizable Goodwill. What clothes my mom didn’t make for me likely came from those thrift shops.

Today, I shop in thrifts all the time. It’s not just the source of much of my wardrobe, it’s also something I do almost meditatively. A thrift store is a place where you can imagine the lives of a thousand objects - and if any one of them appeals, you can almost certainly afford to bring it home.

We’ve got a three part series on how to thrift successfully coming up here on Put This On, and this is part one: the philosophy of thrifting. Later this week, I’ll share how to find great thrift stores, and how to identify what to buy. Today, eleven tips to successful thrift store shopping.

Price is not an object. If you buy in the thrift store based on price, you’re sunk. You’ll miss the good stuff you should have bought, and you’ll buy crap you should have left behind. Our brains are naturally comparative - they look for patterns and deviations. In a thrift store, that means we think something that’s $20 is expensive, and something that’s $1 is a bargain. Fight the urge. Few are the items that are worth adding to your wardrobe at $1 that aren’t worth adding to your wardrobe at $20, and just because something’s $1 doesn’t make it a bargain.
Be nice. Thrift store employees are human beings with a tough job who appreciate your kindness. I often think of the lady at the Salvation Army on Valencia Street in San Francisco where I grew up. She was in charge of the records, and she’d always tip me off when there were new ones going out. I scored a huge collection of early 70s soul 45s that way. It pays to be nice.
Know what you need & buy what you find. If you read my article on shopping like my mom, you know you should always have an awareness of what your wardrobe needs and will need. Let this guide your search. That said: never pass up a great piece. The time to buy something is when it’s for sale.
Dress for success. The best thrifting outfit is comfortable and simple. It should allow you to try on clothes without much hassle. You should look presentable, too, just in case you have to ask for a price.
Don’t cheat. Only assholes switch tags, shoplift or otherwise cheat thrift stores. These are charities for goodness’ sake.
Shop the whole store. Often the best items are miscategorized. Check out the women’s and boys’ sections so you don’t miss a great score. Remember, too, that there are plenty of non-clothing scores available in thrifts, so expand your knowledge in all areas, and bring it to bear on furniture, records, books - whatever.
Buy for others. If you’ve got family members, friends or thrifting compatriots who appreciate nice clothes, don’t be afraid to buy for them. Know their size and be choosy, and make sure they know you don’t mind if they hate what you bought. It’s only five or ten bucks.
Give back. If you buy from thrifts, remember to donate to thrifts. They make their money from your quality donations.
Go regularly. Thrifting isn’t like going to Macy’s. Stock is hugely variable and constantly rotating. Only through regular visits will you get to know quality clothing and find the good stuff.
Buy nothing. Remember that 85% of thrift store visits will lead to no purchases. That’s part of the process - don’t sweat it.
Don’t buy it if you don’t love it. If there’s something wrong with it that makes it an “almost” and not a “heck yeah,” then skip it. Something else will come along.

The 5 Questions Entrepreneurs Need To Ask In Order To Get Funded

2011-08-04T21:59:00.000-04:00

In my last post, I cautioned about the dangers of learning about venture capital from watching a TV show. After all, would you learn about how to remove a gallbladder from watching ER, or how to behave if you're arrested from Law and Order? No, TV isn't reality (even reality TV) and Shark Tank is plenty entertaining, but hardly a roadmap for funding.

So how do you go about raising capital? Any proper 'show me the money' checklist begins with one question: What kind of money are you raising? Money comes in three basic flavors, Friends and Family, Angel Money, and Venture Capital.

Friends and Family: If you've got an idea that doesn't need much capital, and you've got friends with spare cash or a rich uncle, then you can pass the hat among your pals. Just be aware that even small amounts of money need legal documents, or you may find you've got a successful company and investors with unrealistic expectations of what their dollars entitle them to. Whether you sell shares in the company (equity) or have your investors buy convertible debt, a clear legal document is in order.

Angel Investors: The next rung on the ladder is angel capital, which has maturated into an active, and in some cases, well organized system of wealthy individuals who often work together, reviewing new companies and investing anywhere from fifty thousand dollars to a few hundred thousand. Groups like New York Angels, with whom I've worked, provide a level playing field, solid feedback, and a good mix of enthusiastic entrepreneurial investors and investment professionals. One of the nice things about angel groups is that many of the investors are themselves entrepreneurs. This means you can connect on a business level, but also as fellow travelers in the bumpy and exhilarating world of startups. Sites like Angelsoft provide a way to connect with the community and share investment opportunities.

Venture Capital: If you need a large slug of capital, then you'll be looking for institutional money invested through venture capital funds. These groups are investment professionals, often with large amounts of money in their funds. They've raised their capital from limited partners (LP's) and have shared a clear investment thesis for the companies, stage of growth, and sectors that they focus on. Young entrepreneurs often make the mistake of ignoring what companies say publicly about the size of their investments and their areas of focus. Don't waste your time here. If a firm says they do biotech and clean tech, don't try and get a meeting to pitch your consumer web business.

If you don't have a clear picture to whether you're looking for for friends, angels, or venture investors, now is the time to figure it out. A company that needs $200,000 doesn't need $5,000,000--and it's your job as an entrepreneur to have an honest vision of what you need, and how you'll put it to work. Homework here pays off.
Once you've figured out what type of money you're seeking (always question #1), here are the next four that should be on your list:
Where does the money come from? This one is simple. Your backyard. The closer the better. Investors don't like having to fly to board meetings, and local folks have better contacts and can add value by providing more than money. So the answer is local. No two ways about it.What is it you're going to show investors at that first meeting? It used to be a business plan, in PowerPoint--but today, with so much of the web powered by low-cost cloud computing and storage, more and more investors expect you to bring a working demo or something that has some 'traction' in order to prove you've bootstrapped a good idea. So, show everything you can that is real and sexy. Don't worry about asking folks to sign NDAs. They won't. And they shouldn't. Good ideas don't get stolen, they get funded. If you're not 150% the best person to build it, then someone else will. If you haven't done your homework and know that the angel or VC you're presenting to has a good rep, then that's your fault. When you're in front of a potential investor, you've got to wow them. That's how it works.How much are you asking for? Enough to get things moving. Fundraising is time-consuming and expensive. So raising a tiny bit now, and then saying you'll raise more in six months is a sure sign that you don't know the rules of the road. Raise enough to cover you for a year--or 18 months, and have financial projections that show growth, increased head-count, office space, and server costs. Getting even an amazing idea to a place where it can stand on its own two feet takes cash. Don't be shy about asking for it.How many meetings should you have? Chances are, more than you think. But to begin with, any possible human connection you have with a VC, angel group, or potential investor is worth exploring. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, and the firm's websites to see if you can find a 'warm introduction' rather than going in cold through a web form or a junior analyst. Investors are humans--and being told by someone they trust that you're a good person is best way in the door. Someone who can vouch for you gives a potential investor a back-channel way to ask more questions, learn about your work, and get comfortable with both you and your passion for the company you want to build. If you've narrowed down the size of your raise, and the geographic area you are going to pitch--you should be able to put together a targeted list of individuals who will be excited to meet with you and hear what you're building.

Overall, the most important thing to know about fundraising is that it is a process, with a rhythm and rules. If you reach out, you can find entrepreneurs who've gone through the process and they'll often lend a hand and help you steer through the process for the first time.

Funding is a journey--but often one with a happy outcome. So just be prepared, keep building your business, and enjoy the ride.

Disclosure: David S. Rose, the CEO of Angelsoft, is on my Board of Directors--but I endorse the service because it works for both investors and startups.

Fast Company: 5 Tips To Separate Personal And Professional Life Online

2011-06-21T13:07:00.002-04:00

"My life and biz is so intertwined in every way that it's hard to make that clean separation on and offline." That's what Candace Alper (@NameYourTuneCDs) said on Twitter when I asked about the importance of separating your personal and business life on Facebook. As an entrepreneur who runs a made-to-order children's CD company, she is comfortable mixing business with pleasure online. Monica Roddey (@MicaR) agrees. She says "my online persona = my 'real life' persona ... what you see is what you get."

I fall into Alper's and Roddey's camp. When I signed up for Facebook years ago, I opened it up to anyone and everyone. Although I now also maintain a fan page, it's still hard for me to refuse friend invites that make their way into my personal account. However, the majority of the responses I received disagreed with this approach. Matt Hall (@mattwiter) writes that "you simply don't combine the two to begin with ... that is a sure mistake." For Kathy Dabrowska (@_katdee), she says "you can't be ON all the time ... you need a place where marketing yourself is not needed."
In theory I agree that separation is a good thing. With more employers lurking on social profiles and more people oversharing online, it just makes sense to keep some things private. However, the reality is that sometimes the tools make it difficult to split up your networks. Here are five tips to help you get closer.
1. Use different networks for different purposes
Jon Lax (@jlax) uses LinkedIn for business and Facebook for personal. This seems to be a pretty safe and standard approach for a lot of people. After all, LinkedIn just doesn't lend itself to the more personal information that is expected on Facebook. If you do this, it's important to warn people in your professional life who are expecting to be accepted as a Facebook friend. In other words, let them know gently that LinkedIn is where your like to do business.
2. Create a Facebook personal profile AND brand page
Mike Frey is a fan of separation, so he maintains a private account and a company page. This way it's clear that the latter is for professional networking only. To create a public page simply go to the Pages section on Facebook. You have the option to create a page as a Business, Company, Public Figure, Brand, or Community Cause. One thing to note, until you have 25 fans you cannot get a custom URL for your page (an important part of your overall branding).
3. Push your business contacts to Twitter
Maury Estabrooks (@maurye) thinks using Twitter as a professional networking tool and Facebook for personal relationships is ideal. Since Twitter works best as a public forum, this is a solid approach. The only downside to this option is that your tweeting profile lacks the infrastructure to expand on your business information and history, so it's limited as a professional tool.
4. Tweak Facebook privacy settings
Ross Simmonds (@TheCoolestCat) believes that toying with your settings on the world's number one social network will help you to maintain separation. With these new-ish Facebook options you are able to decide which group of friends sees what. To do this go into your Privacy Settings and adjust the options within "Sharing on Facebook." This way you can adjust who can see what.
5. Take your private life offline altogether
As Chris McLachlin wrote me on Facebook, we have given up a lot of our privacy already. He mentions that everything we share is in the "public domain," so people might as well get used to it or limit what they say. Out of the above tips, I most closely agree with this statement. While I have a personal Facebook account, I never share any photos there that I wouldn't be comfortable showing publicly. I also refuse to broadcast my phone number or address with anyone, and I more or less just assume that privacy settings won't help me that much if someone in my network decides to breach my trust.

BY AMBER MACFri May 20, 2011

[Image: Flickr user Kevin N. Murphy; homepage image: Flickr user Mel B.]

Fast Company: Ways To Manage Your Busy Schedule

2011-06-21T13:03:00.003-04:00

Craft Beers You Can Drink All Summer Long

2011-06-20T12:55:00.003-04:00

Hold the pina coladas. When you're out on the deck, near the pool, gathered 'round the campfire, or down at the beach, nothing really satisfies the palate on a summer afternoon quite like a good, old-fashioned beer. But just because you're kicking back with a cold one, doesn't mean it has to be some low-grade bargain-bin domestic swill. Here's a list of robust all-American brews that you'll want with you throughout the season.

Above, left to right

Mission St. Blonde Ale
The supermarket chain Trader Joe's is tight-lipped about the sourcing of its in-house beer brands, but we did learn that the tangy, caramel-tinged ale from Steinhaus Brewing is actually made by Firestone Walker, a small-batch brewer in California.
American Session Ale
Chris Lohring of Notch in Massachusetts studied the tradition of session beers (the Brits coined the term) and is creating an American legacy to match, turning out ripe, ultraclean beers like this one.
Session Lager
Oregon's Full Sail uses springwater from nearby Mount Hood and grains from local farms in its ales, its IPAs, and this light, berry-hinted lager.
Long Haul Session Ale
The siblings behind Illinois' Two Brothers Brewing Co. used milk tanks from their grandfather's old dairy farm to ferment their first batches of hefeweizen. Now they brew 10-plus varieties, including this sweet, mineral-driven style.
Joe's Premium American Pilsner
This sharp, hoppy pilsner from Colorado's Avery Brewing is a departure from more challenging beers like its coal-black, 15.1 percent alcohol Mephistopheles' Stout.
Kölsch Style Ale
Missouri's Schlafly Beer turns out this crisp, golden kölsch that's just as flavorful as the boozier pale ales and stouts for which it's known.

—By Rob Willey and Christopher Ross
http://www.details.com/blogs/daily-details/2011/06/craft-beers-you-can-drink-all-day-long.html

Google Explains How New Live Transit Updates Will Speed Up Your Commute

2011-06-09T18:59:00.002-04:00

Source: Fast Company

Author: Ariel Schwartz

Google will keep you from sprinting to the bus every morning by telling you when it's actually coming, not just when it's supposed to come.

Veteran public transit users know that scheduled departure times rarely match up to actual departures. Google's announcement this week that it is providing live transit updates for select cities should be welcome news, then, for commuters who often find themselves sprinting after the bus. We caught up with Google to find out how they implemented the system and what their plans are for expansion.
Transit has been a feature of Google Maps since 2005, when the service started providing driving directions for users. Today, Google has transit directions (driving, walking, public transportation) for over 100 cities in the U.S. In many locations, Google Maps also provides scheduled departure times for public transit. But anyone who has ever taken public transit knows that the idea of a "schedule" can be pretty... loose.
So Google is taking the service to the next level with real-time departures for public transportation, as well as service alerts (when a bus won't go past a certain stop, for example). "We found in continued partnerships with [public transportation agencies] that real-time data is something that folks were not only able to provide but interested in being able to get," explains Martha Welsh, strategic partner development manager at Google. Now, instead of agonizing over whether you'll miss your train as you get a cup of coffee, you'll know exactly how much time you have.

This week, live updates launched in six international cities: Boston, Portland, Ore., San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid, and Turin. Why were bigger cities like New York or, say, London left out? It all comes down to the transit agencies, many of which don't have real-time capabilities yet. "Obviously the agencies themselves have to have the capabilities," says Welsh. "It is a complicated system to make sure that our system can work with theirs."
Real-time updates are becoming increasingly common, however, which means that new cities will likely be added soon. "We are excited to bring more cities on over the coming weeks and months," says Welsh.
[Top image: Flickr user thefourelements]

Fwd: How Google's Robot Cars Will Revive Sprawl

2011-06-09T18:44:00.001-04:00

In the latest installment of Butterfly Effect, we examine Google's autonomous vehicles, seemingly a vision of the future--they'll potentially make commuting a dream and maybe even help kill the Big Three. But for those same reasons, it has the potential to set us back by revitalizing suburbs and damaging the economy. Here's how.

1. Google's Robot Cars

Testifying before the Nevada State Assembly in April to have the state legalize its driverless cars, Google lobbyist David Goldwater asked the state's transportation committee to "imagine a time when we will be able to call our public transportation on our cell phones or smartphones and tell it to come to our door to pick us up, without anybody in it, take us to our job, and be released to go perform the same service for somebody else."

But a world filled with robot cars may have consequence even their creator can't predict. Driverless cars would be a perfect match for car-sharing services such as Zipcar or Getaround, gradually replacing the idea of car ownership with "mobility-as-a-service." That, in turn, may lead to a precipitous fall in car ownership--as high as 50%--while breathing new life into suburbia and creating more congestions as the pain of commuting lessens. And what would halving the number of cars on the road mean for the Detroit Three--and the taxpayers who'd like the rest of their bailout back?

Six months before that hearing, when they were first reported in The New York Times, Google's test cars had traveled 140,000 miles with only one accident. (A car was rear-ended while stopped at a light.) Since then, its car czar Sebastian Thrun--a former Stanford AI professor who won DARPA's autonomous vehicle competition in 2005--has been vocal about the possibilities of cars without drivers, including fuel efficiency and fewer fatalities. And, perhaps most importantly, a future without horrible commutes.

2. The Commute of the Future

At last month's Maker Faire 2011 in San Mateo, California, Thrun regaled the crowd with visions of a "car-train" composed of robot cars traveling on highways in close proximity to each other, using the "drafting" technique typical of NASCAR drivers to speed up while saving fuel by as much as 25 percent. "Think about the car as a medium of mass transit," he said, because you wouldn't have to think about where you were going or how you were getting there.

"The typical American spends an average of roughly 100 hours a year in traffic," the economist Tyler Cowen wrote a few weeks ago in support of driverless cars. "Imagine using that time in better ways--by working or just having fun."

One thing is certain--our current commutes need changing. They are making us fatter, unhappier, lonelier, and are probably killing us. Last month, researchers at Sweden's Umea University published their finding that couples in which one partner commutes for longer than 45 minutes are 40% likelier to divorce.

But what if driverless cars mimicked transit instead? What if you could watch movies, make Skype calls, or play with your children in the back seat until you were delivered to your doorstep? A game-changer in terms of commuting time and cost, it would breathe new life back into suburban sprawl; it's not a problem to live two hours from work when you can spend those two hours as if you were on your couch. And what if you didn't even have to be making payments on that car that was driving you to work. Robot cars could allow us to drastically reduce car ownership.

3. "Zipcar, come here."

"What if I could take out my phone and say, 'Zipcar, come here,'" Thrun asked rhetorically at a conference last year, "and a moment later the Zipcar came around the corner?" It's not a stretch to imagine robot cars as a boon for car-sharing services.

But better positioned are new peer-to-peer services such as Getaround, which launched two weeks ago with 1,600 cars already enrolled--equivalent to 20% of Zipcar's fleet. Membership is free, insurance and 24-hour roadside assistance is included, and all that's required of car owners is installing a keyless remote to allow other Getaround users to unlock the car.

In a driverless world, owners would barely notice when their car was missing. They would just call another while their formerly sunk cost was out earning money. It would beat letting it collect dust in the garage every day, which is what most of us do now.

"There are over 250 million personal vehicles in the U.S. and they sit idle an average of 22 hours each day," according to Getaround cofounder Sam Zaid. What would happen if, thanks to Getaround and Google, they only sat idle for, say, 20 hours a day? How many fewer cars would we need?

4. As Goes GM, So Goes The Nation

If Thrun and Sam Zaid of Getaround are correct, it could be possible to dramatically increase the utilization of cars (and congestion) while shrinking their numbers overall. (Highways would be as crowded as ever, but there would be a lot more open parking spots.) And then what would that mean for the (formerly) Big Three?

For the answer to that, we need look no further than 2009, the U.S. auto industry's annus horriblis in which the total number of cars on the road contracted for the first time since World War II. Not coincidentally, both GM and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy that year.

More troubling than the one-time dip of the financial crisis is the gradual erosion in the number of teenage drivers, whose numbers have fallen below 10 million (from a peak of 12 million in 1978), despite the largest teenage population ever. "Many of today's young people living in a more urban society learn to live without cars," theorized the environmentalist Lester R. Brown at the time. "They socialize on the Internet and on smartphones, not in cars."

Perhaps in the future, they will socialize on smartphones in driverless cars. In that case, to survive, the auto industry's business model might be starting to look like the smartphone one--with the hardware made in China, and the brains supplied by Google.

[Image: Google Blog]

Charlotte Allen: War waged on college fraternities

2011-06-09T18:34:00.001-04:00

Yale's five-year suspension of Delta Kappa Epsilon for crude sexual chants reflects an effort to eliminate fraternities.

By Charlotte Allen

June 8, 2011

"No means yes, and yes means anal!"

That was the chant of Delta Kappa Epsilon pledges as they marched past dorms housing freshman women at Yale University last October. As a result, the fraternity was recently banned from all campus activities for five years.

The hazing ritual was in poor taste, certainly. But did the fraternity really deserve to be suspended? Weren't the "Dekes" guilty of, at the very worst, the kind of offensive speech protected by the 1st Amendment (or in Yale's case, by the university's 1975 codification of rights of free speech and expression on its campus)?

In fact, DKE's five-year banishment from Yale, longer than its current members will be at school, is the latest salvo in a scorched-earth war against college fraternities being waged by militant feminists, PC campus administrators who despise the openly retrograde aspects of Greek life and, now, the Obama administration's Education Department, which in late April announced it had launched a full-bore investigation of Yale over the Deke chant and other incidents that may have created a "hostile sexual environment" in violation of Title IX of the federal Civil Rights Act.

It's hard not to see this either as a move to drive fraternities out of existence or to destroy their culture. Furthermore, if the Education Department is successful, it will effectively impose a draconian federal speech code not just on Yale but on all colleges and universities. All students, not just fraternity men, will have to watch what they say and write lest they too become targets. The penalty for violating Title IX is loss of federal funding, a sure incentive for universities to crack down on any form of expression that could trigger complaints.

The department's investigation of Yale was triggered by an Oct. 14 article headlined "DKE Sponsors Hate Speech on Old Campus" published in an online magazine, Broad Recognition, edited by Yale feminists. "Yale is not new to fraternities acting in despicable, misogynistic ways," the article began. It described the 18-year-old Deke pledges, who had undoubtedly spent most of their pre-college years cramming for the SAT so they could get into Yale, as "a moving gang of men, chanting in deep, throaty voices for sexual assault." The article also attempted via a photograph to link the pledge chant to that favorite whipping boy of progressives, former President George W. Bush, a Deke during his Yale days — even though Bush graduated from Yale 43 years ago.

A mostly female group of Yale alumni filed a 30-page complaint against Yale in March with the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights. Besides the Deke pledge incident, the complaint listed such outrages as a 2008 episode in which pledges of another fraternity, Zeta Psi, circled the campus Women's Center with a poster reading "We Love Yale Sluts." Then there was the time in 2004 that fraternity members sabotaged a Take Back the Night Clothesline project by stealing a "My Rapist Is Still at Duke" and similarly captioned T-shirts off the line and wearing them around campus. Not to mention the "Preseason Scouting Report" email that some Yale upperclassmen reportedly circulated in 2009 rating 53 incoming freshman women according to how many beers it would take to want to have sex with them. Yale's failure to respond sufficiently severely to those escapades, according to the complaint, created a "hostile sexual environment."

The media were quick to hop onto the anti-fraternity bandwagon. Writer Caitlin Flanagan reminisced, in an op-ed article for the Wall Street Journal, that a mere glimpse of fraternity houses as a student at the University of Virginia had exposed her to so much "male power at its most malevolent" that she dropped out after only four days. Flanagan expressed hope that the Yale complaint to the Education Department would "shut down ... for good" all college fraternities. In an April 22 blog entry for the Daily Beast, Samantha Wishman called for putting an end to the "testosterone-dominated culture" of Greek life.

The idea that Yale, among the most politically correct campuses in America, maintains a "hostile sexual environment" is ludicrous, especially in light of its handling of the Deke case. Yale College's dean, Mary Miller, who had earlier urged the permanent banishment of the Dekes, headed a committee that released a report in January stating that campus organizations (read "fraternities") and their members should be held responsible for hazing activities deemed offensive "to third parties." And sure enough, Yale College's disciplinary board found that the pledge chant had violated campus regulations forbidding the "intimidation" of other students — even though none of the pledges had gotten anywhere near a live freshman woman. A brand-new set of Education Department rules mandating that colleges and universities lower their standards of proof in disciplinary proceedings involving allegations of sexual harassment makes more such judgments likely in the future.

Fraternities have never had an entirely easy relationship with the universities that house them. Even during their apex of popularity during the mid- 20th century, Greek societies were occasionally, and undoubtedly justifiably, thrown off campus for excessive drinking, brutal hazing rituals, licentious parties and "Animal House" antics. Starting in the late 1960s, however, many college administrators began a wholesale campaign against fraternity life itself. Some campuses abolished the Greek houses outright; others required them to admit women, denied them official recognition or barred fraternity brothers from sharing living quarters. Fraternities were deemed too white, too exclusionary, too sexist and too anti-intellectual.

Most significantly, fraternities were irritants. They were — and still are — refuges from the oppressive political correctness that has come to dominate institutions of higher learning. Fraternities are places where male students don't have to apologize for being men, with their "throaty voices" and testosterone, and can laugh freely at the latest pronunciamentos from the Women's Center.

Perhaps the feminists will get their wish, and universities, with the help of the Education Department, will make Greek life a thing of the past. But those who cheer this effort along should remember that when it becomes a near-crime to utter a silly or boorish chant on a college campus, everyone's freedom of speech and association is at risk.

Charlotte Allen is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute's Minding the Campus website. Her husband belonged to a fraternity at Yale, although not Delta Kappa Epsilon.

latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-allen-fraternities-20110608,0,1345290.story

SEE THIS HOUSE: VACATION VIEWS!

2011-06-05T18:15:00.001-04:00

This summer is going to be the second in a row for me with no real vacation! Oh my. So, I'll spend the whole summer lusting after interior design in vacation homes, weekend getaway cottages, and far off destination. Okay...I've got to do it somehow...I've got to squeeze in a proper vacation. I don't know how...but I'm going to try to take even a few days off.

A lake retreat...that would do just fine for me...this one in Montauk on Long Island would work for a bit of rest and relaxation.

The decor in this vacation home is very fresh, white, clean modern. Very neutral I do concede. Could use a a bit of warming up. I might add some of my COCOCOZY throws and pillows into the mix to add a bit of texture here and there. I might also add a few colorfully painted furniture pieces to the space too, a bit of fab modern art to the walls (maybe a large turquoise linear piece from one of my favorite artists Brian Wills) and some soft window coverings with subtle but distinct prints. I would keep the color palette of many of the textiles in the blue white family. Otherwise, I adore the high ceilings, the reclaimed wood on the walls in the entry and the white painted wood floors. The yard and pool are all lustworthy too btw.

Do you like this lake side retreat? What would you add to the decor to make it work for you? Where are you going on vacation this summer and what do you like design wise about where you are going?

Happy Tuesday!

xo

Coco

Photos: Murdock Young Architects

this is nick, with a gorgeous little kitty. everyone should...

2011-06-04T16:32:00.000-04:00

this is nick, with a gorgeous little kitty. everyone should follow him, he’s absolutely lovely.

submitted by nothoursordays

Upgrade Your Summer Suit Perfect Wardrobe: Details.com

2011-06-01T16:42:00.000-04:00

Upgrade Your Summer Suit Perfect Wardrobe: Details.com

The preppy world tour

2011-05-13T13:48:00.001-04:00

Time is running out to visit Tommy Hilfiger’s Preppy Pop-Up House in London, part of the brand’s world tour in celebration of preppy style. As aficionados of all things preppy for 25 years, the brand is showcasing its Prep World collection, a Spring/Summer capsule collection of classic preppy pieces to help you nail that Ivy League look. Highlights include wardrobe fundamentals like the Black Point blazer and Oxford Shirt (below) and even runs as far as less obvious accessories like the Backgammon beach towel. Hurry though – Sunday is its last day in London. East Piazza, Covent Garden, www.tommy.com/prep