Creeping social-ish-ism

I attended a social-media forum the other day that answered a few questions but raised more. The guest speaker had forgotten her airline ticket in Chicago, and without enough time to retrieve it from home, returned to her house and took questions by Skype from her kitchen. Much of the event was dedicated to praising the committee members in Denver who made the linkup possible.

They did do an excellent job, and interviewing a social-media consultant via Skype is of course perfectly apt. I also admired the guest for responding to a question about the downsides of always-on connectedness by conceding that it was fatigue that led her to forget her ticket.

But the entire time I was wondering: she forgot her what at home? How is it even possible to forget an airline ticket at home anymore? It's years since I've even seen an airline ticket, let alone held one. When you get to the airport these days you swipe this or scan that or print the other thing, and off you go. The only way to be denied boarding is to be a suspected terrorist or fat, and unless Skype is incredibly flattering, this lady wasn't fat. If my parents can navigate an airline Web site or kiosk, so can a social-media guru.

I learned a lot about tactics (for example, how to begin using social media even in a heavily regulated industry like securities or health care, which is of interest to me in my current job) but came away with the same feeling I get after receiving an unintelligibly mis-punctuated message from a Blackberry: that there is no point using social media to "connect" and "engage" if we're simultaneously allowing them to make us dumb.

Washington needs a tune-up

Turns out politicians are perfectly believable about one thing: what a bad job they're doing.

More and more Americans believe the federal government is irreparably dysfunctional if not downright evil (Hitler had toll booths... is that what you're proposing?) and I think the main reason is not that the federal government is irreparably dysfunctional if not downright evil -- after all, when did Americans ever base their opinions upon the facts? -- but that politicians have, collectively, launched a massive media campaign to convince us so.

Claiming something's broken may seem like an obvious line of argument: just hire me, and it'll get fixed! But imagine taking that tone in a job interview or annual review:

"Eric, thanks for coming in. So tell me, why are you interested in Acme and what do you bring to the table that other candidates don't?"

"Thanks for bringing me in, Ms. McGillocutty. The truth is, your company is broken. Through years of fraud, mismanagement and waste, you've managed to cheat shareholders, workers and customers while making a terrible, terrible product. I'm shocked you've done as poorly as you have, but by God, you've managed. This place is broken and it can't be fixed. We need to start again."

"Thank you for sharing your perspective. Please show yourself out."

When will we break free of the "outsider" mentality in politics and start valuing experience and competence again? "Government is broken" is a self-defeating line of reasoning that truly needs fixing.

Smokin' break

I joined the gym at work. While I used to have access to the gym when I worked at a rec center, this is the first time I've done anything other than eat or check personal email at a place of business that wasn't directly related to the business of the place. It's a great little facility (not so little, really -- several cardio machines, full weight room and studio) on the ground floor of the Gates Building in LoDo. I enjoyed my workout and very much enjoyed the level of attention that the manager, Dave, gives to the place. By dint of comparison, I now know why people complain about the cleanliness and enthusiasm levels at the JCC.

I was amused by what I saw out the plate-glass windows. Yesterday, of course, being Opening Day, what we mainly saw was streams of people heading to Coors Field. But also, the gym happens to be separated only by those windows from where the building's smokers congregate. I guess using the gym is my smoke break, except instead of smoking cigarettes, I'm smokin' hot!

Getting over the sense that I'm shirking work while exercising is something I'll probably never quite get the hang of. But my employer didn't just let us know the gym existed and drop the subject; they solicited our membership over and over, signaling that participation is not just tolerated but encouraged. I think four of us have joined. I wonder if we'll bond like the smokers do. One thing is sure: we'll have access to fluffier towels.