It will be interesting to see what the Profs add to what I found!
Some of the articles were more advertisement than opinion; some were anti-connectedness; many more church-y articles than I noted; and a couple of Dr Burton's sonnets even made it into my list! Here is some of my favorites - each bit of article is interesting in its own right, not to mention the entire articles that are referenced!
I think that is why so many people are constantly on their cell phones, so they can feel connected. … The greatest constant unconditional connection I do have is my relationship with God.
By Ann Marquette from Being Connected
… another reason why I’m happy about the availability of internet in our barrio is the opportunities that it could open to the young, especially the students. Just by pressing a key, they will learn new things .Just a click of the mouse, their world will expand. … I hope that with the opening of knowledge windows, they will learn that they can dream big. Bigger than just becoming domestic helpers in Hongkong, Singapore and Middle East countries.
By Ellen Tordesillas from Being Connected
The other day my brother and I were discussing social networking … and he made the observation that, apparently for most people, “It’s important that you’re in touch, not that you have anything important to say.” Or even that you have anything at all to say. … is it an attempt by the communicators to reassure themselves that they really do mean something to someone … Or perhaps an effort to fill some sort of emptiness with the sound of a familiar voice… or at least the letters texted by a friend?
By L. E. Modesitt, Jr from Being Connected
What does it mean to be “connected” to your clients today? Does it mean frequent e-mail and text messages, phone calls, in-person visits, social networking? Has your definition changed with the advent of quicker technology and 24-hour availability? What about your clients? Do you know how they define being connected?
Clients want to feel important and special in the eyes of their lawyers. It is sometimes said that “your clients don’t care how much you know; they want to know how much you care.” It is a given that you do great work. The best way to help your clients feel important is to go above and beyond, and that includes staying in touch with them. Whether it is by e-mail, telephone or in person, make staying connected part of your everyday routine.
By Mary Beth Pratt from The Importance of Being Connected
Reach is to conversation like connection is to conversion… Being connected is a process… It can start with your online presence…
3 things I know about connection
1. It's on demand
2. It comes from engagement
3. It prompts us to action
Valeria Maltoni from How do you Do PR without Looking like You're Selling Something?
Don’t know anybody without a cell phone? That’s because they’re a relatively small —less than 20 percent of Americans.
… a likely larger, growing group of people who feel lost without one
Cell phones had appeal at first because they could provide security. Even more so today: The two-way communication between cell phones and cellular towers can help authorities trace a missing person.
… cell-phone etiquette. Theaters often ask us to silence our phones, some fancy restaurants discourage them — and the FCC has grounded the concept of cell phones on planes - many air travelers breathed a sigh of relief. (Imagine the noise pollution.)
Living in the here and now - Some cell phone users are too obsessed with being connected.
Reader M. Kohler, “I feel cell phones are actually disconnecting us from the immediate world. Try interacting with the world in front of you and the person next to you, instead [of] subjecting your personal phone calls on us in public.”
Jasmin Aline Persch from Is there such thing as being too connected?
Only Connect
The novelist invites us consider a world in confusion – a reliable fact that isn't delusion.
With determined will and insightful mind, he paints a picture that isn't too kind. In fact he sees something most of us miss: the world wobbling along in fragmented bliss.
And so he invites us with God-given might, to help build a world of Love and of Light.
To connect with self, to be at one
To work until the goal is won
To be yourself, surely a must, and to live in honesty and trust.
Never to forget the folk with whom we share this planet's spacious room.
To offer opportunity and space, to live and grow in truth and grace.
We live and love on this planet divine but betray our stewardship with something less fine.
Hope exists for all who dare
To join the Journey, to share the Quest
To work, to toil, and to detect
The Goal of all: Simply, Connect.
Connect with whom? Well the response surely is to be as wide and deep as we can imagine. Begin with yourself. Do you know who you really are and what your purpose in life is?
Turn attention to other people and invite them to participate with you in this adventure.
There are many more examples for this Connecting exercise.
By Ian Dingwall from Being connected
our time with God is squeezed into fewer and fewer small moments, and many find their relationship with God to be occasional or relegated just to times of trouble or stress. Even though we desire a personal relationship with Jesus, we don’t have time for him.
How can people who want more from their relationship with God practice spiritual formation?
... Richard Foster, a Quaker, insists that historic Christianity, of whatever tradition, is energized by six streams of awareness and practice:
... Richard Foster, a Quaker, insists that historic Christianity, of whatever tradition, is energized by six streams of awareness and practice:
1. contemplation—meditative and prayerful attention to the Bible;
2. holiness—careful, obedient, accountable attention to our daily walk;
3. being Spirit-led—having an openness to guidance and to the extraordinary ministries of the Holy Spirit in our experience;
4. evangelical—being biblically centered in our thinking and doing, coupled with a passion for evangelism;
5. compassionate—being committed to and active in the ministries of mercy and justice;
6. having an incarnational life—being focused on recognizing and cooperating with the action of God in the small things of daily life. This, he says, is a way of following Jesus that transcends denominations.
Creating this space can signal to the Holy Spirit that we are open to God; it may even help us see that God is already there in our experience, waiting for us to see and accept love and grace.
Another option is to journal our prayers and, when we have finished writing, sit in silence to hear—and perhaps even record—what the Holy Spirit says to us in response. A half hour spent Saturday evening or earlier Sunday morning praying for the coming worship service and meditating on the sermon text, if it is known, can renew our experience of worship.
Another option is to journal our prayers and, when we have finished writing, sit in silence to hear—and perhaps even record—what the Holy Spirit says to us in response. A half hour spent Saturday evening or earlier Sunday morning praying for the coming worship service and meditating on the sermon text, if it is known, can renew our experience of worship.
By Gerry Ediger from Clearing space, paying attention, being connected
Today, being "connected" to friends, family, and the world via your electronic devices is a major monthly financial outlay. Between being hooked up to cable TV, having internet access for your computer, and a cell phone that can browse the internet, a normal person in the U.S. who wants to be continuously "connected" can easily spend up to $300 a month.
Electronic device connection is a huge industry. There are 100 million households in the U.S. At $200 per household, for cable TV, internet and cell phone connections, the electronic connection industry collects 20 billion dollars. A month. Every month. $200-$300 a month per connected household, paid by YOU, the American consumer.
What's the solution? The real solution is time. Eventually, things will change, change which will benefit you, the consumer.
In the not too distant future you'll likely only need one electronic device and one electronic device plan. … When will that be available? That remains to be seen; probably within the next few years, or less. An all-in-one plan will hopefully cost $99 a month, or less.
With our mobile phones and wireless palm devices, we are now able to be so connected that we can be in touch with anyone and everyone at any time, and do business anywhere. But have you noticed that, in the process, we run the risk of never being in touch with ourselves?
What about calling ourselves up for a change, checking in and seeing what we are up to? What about just being in touch with how we are feeling, even in those moments that we may be feeling numb, or overwhelmed, or bored, or disjointed, or anxious or depressed, or needing to get one more thing done?
The more we are entrained into the outer world … the more important it may be for us to develop a robust counterbalance of the inner world: one that calms and tunes the nervous system and puts it in the service of living wisely, both for ourselves and for others.
--Jon Kabat-Zinn from Being Connected Within
Aaron Polson's post from yesterday, Giant's Robes on a Dwarfish Thief, is about using your blog as a connection tool rather than a networking or promoting tool. "Just talk" is a strong theme in his heartfelt post. That's something I've come to admire about Aaron this past year. Aside from the fact he's a man of many talents: school teacher, writer, ezine publisher...he is also a man of strong character who works hard at his craft and is always quick to visit your blog with a kind or helpful word. One of the good guys out in cyberspace. If his blog is for talking, I think people are definitely listening.
By Alan W. Davidson from Being Connected
I sit on the wall of my terrace.
Below me is a park full of flowers and bushy trees.
On each corner of the fenced central garden are octagonal fountains..
In the middle is a round performance pavilion made in 88. (18)
Children ride their tricycles around the broad stone perimeter.
Old men sweep the dust and the junk food wrappers each morning.
I see a young child, perhaps three years old walk alone.
Where I come from, that child would be lost.
But, she is most definitely not lost.
The giant evergreen tree in the corner of the park
Is 70 maybe 80 feet tall.
The next tallest thing in town is the great white dome
Of the church of Our Lady of the Clean Conception.
Slightly taller than that is the bell tower that rises next to it.
Slightly rare in these parts, is the four sided clock above the bells.
That makes Our Lady part church, part municipal building.
Well above the clock, with its non verbal veneration of time itself,
A cross stands triumphant on the top of the shiny zebra tiled cupola.
Until the last 100 years, most towns, villages, and even cities
had this same scale of people and parks and structure,
With domes and steeples and belltowers pointing to the sky.
The merchants and the money lenders were in the markets
on the street.
Today, the merchants and the money lenders tower over our cities.
We pride ourselves on these skylines that display our wealth and power.
A space visitor could look down from space and understand immediately
What is important to this culture of overgrown market structures.
Their skyscrapers, as they would be called, do in fact scrape the sky.
When I sit on the ledge of my terrace, some 20 feet above the park,
I feel the earth and I see the people and I hear the birds.
The sky is touched by the great round mountains and the clouds float
Like angels.
And I feel connected.
Good Architecture, sensible human settlement, graceful structure,
Pedestrian streets, and appropriate scale give us a sense of place.
And they connect us,
to ourselves, each other, our community, the sky, and our home,The Earth.
Below me is a park full of flowers and bushy trees.
On each corner of the fenced central garden are octagonal fountains..
In the middle is a round performance pavilion made in 88. (18)
Children ride their tricycles around the broad stone perimeter.
Old men sweep the dust and the junk food wrappers each morning.
I see a young child, perhaps three years old walk alone.
Where I come from, that child would be lost.
But, she is most definitely not lost.
The giant evergreen tree in the corner of the park
Is 70 maybe 80 feet tall.
The next tallest thing in town is the great white dome
Of the church of Our Lady of the Clean Conception.
Slightly taller than that is the bell tower that rises next to it.
Slightly rare in these parts, is the four sided clock above the bells.
That makes Our Lady part church, part municipal building.
Well above the clock, with its non verbal veneration of time itself,
A cross stands triumphant on the top of the shiny zebra tiled cupola.
Until the last 100 years, most towns, villages, and even cities
had this same scale of people and parks and structure,
With domes and steeples and belltowers pointing to the sky.
The merchants and the money lenders were in the markets
on the street.
Today, the merchants and the money lenders tower over our cities.
We pride ourselves on these skylines that display our wealth and power.
A space visitor could look down from space and understand immediately
What is important to this culture of overgrown market structures.
Their skyscrapers, as they would be called, do in fact scrape the sky.
When I sit on the ledge of my terrace, some 20 feet above the park,
I feel the earth and I see the people and I hear the birds.
The sky is touched by the great round mountains and the clouds float
Like angels.
And I feel connected.
Good Architecture, sensible human settlement, graceful structure,
Pedestrian streets, and appropriate scale give us a sense of place.
And they connect us,
to ourselves, each other, our community, the sky, and our home,The Earth.
By oZ from Being Connected
Welcome to the ‘Connected Age’. Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your ‘conversation’ belt and hold on tightly to your ‘communication skills’. This article aims to take you through the fast lane of ‘how being connected’ is not only a great leadership trait but also increases the chances of your being successful’.
Research has proven that to be a successful leader, ‘being connected and ensuring a culture of ‘communication’ and open dialogue is important.
Research has proven that to be a successful leader, ‘being connected and ensuring a culture of ‘communication’ and open dialogue is important.
What’s ‘being connected’ all about?
In the "people economy" of the 21st century, organizations are made up of networks, not traditional hierarchies. In order to connect these networks, leaders must function as brokers rather than sales people, negotiating with each group to reach a common goal.
In the "people economy" of the 21st century, organizations are made up of networks, not traditional hierarchies. In order to connect these networks, leaders must function as brokers rather than sales people, negotiating with each group to reach a common goal.
Connectedness is a style, and it also needs to be in sync with the way you operate. Various leadership styles would dictate connectedness and finally reflect on your success. So what are the leadership styles that would dictate connectedness?
Autocratic: Love’s to run a one man show and communicate the same. Jack Welch - between 1981 and 2001 - gained reputation for uncanny business acumen and unique leadership strategies at GE. He was known to push his managers to perform and reward great performance.
Risk Taker: Love’s to play with fire and makes sure that the world knows that he is playing with it. They are known for their smart moves and dynamic working style. Who but Sir Richard Branson comes to the mind first. He developed successful ventures in music, air travel, financial services, retail marketing, and telecommunications to name a few.
Stakeholder Centric: Uses various channels of communication to finally connect with the internal and external stakeholders, leverages the expertise of knowing employees and the customer well. ‘Meg’ Whitman, President and CEO, eBay, believes in offering the most desirable merchandize and quality control measures to offer the best to its customers.
Being connected creates ‘true’ organization - created out of network of relationships that are created both within and outside the organization.
Create internal and external social-networks which align company objectives along with the stakeholder’s expectations.
Research also points out that being not connected does not mean ‘failure’ since connectedness comes along with various kinds of attributes, lack of one does not necessarily indicate failure. But definitely being ‘connected leads to a much greater chances of being successful’.
Research also points out that being not connected does not mean ‘failure’ since connectedness comes along with various kinds of attributes, lack of one does not necessarily indicate failure. But definitely being ‘connected leads to a much greater chances of being successful’.
By Aparajita Purkayastha Dutta from Being Connected: New Age Success Mantra for CEOs
Throttling the Digital
When I consider how my life is spent
in tasks and topics no one ever guessed
(and no one now can really circumvent)--
I wonder if I'm cursed or if I'm blessed.
Displays of liquid light whose flowing rush
of images and words confound my eyes,
perplex my time and vex me with their crush
of wonders mixed with much that I despise.
If it were simply simple to unplug
(and doubtless this could serve a healthy turn),
but printed paper's champions are too smug,
to think the factory's better when it's burned.
No doubt to throttle digits is an art.
So I will pause, reflect, revise, restart.
When I consider how my life is spent
in tasks and topics no one ever guessed
(and no one now can really circumvent)--
I wonder if I'm cursed or if I'm blessed.
Displays of liquid light whose flowing rush
of images and words confound my eyes,
perplex my time and vex me with their crush
of wonders mixed with much that I despise.
If it were simply simple to unplug
(and doubtless this could serve a healthy turn),
but printed paper's champions are too smug,
to think the factory's better when it's burned.
No doubt to throttle digits is an art.
So I will pause, reflect, revise, restart.
Too Much Information
So many books, so many years immersed
within their labyrinths of inky thought.
So much remains unread. Perhaps I'm cursed
to know I haven't read all that I ought.
So many movies, years of hours passed
in front of dancing screens both large and small.
So many yet to see. They come so fast--
of just the best, I'd never catch them all.
So many sites and blogs, the data rush
of updates, feeds, of music, pictures, more,
surrounding me like hosts of locusts, slush
and slag and shiny things sprayed out like spores.
Deluged, I cannot skim or surf or think.
I want to thirst again before I drink.
So many books, so many years immersed
within their labyrinths of inky thought.
So much remains unread. Perhaps I'm cursed
to know I haven't read all that I ought.
So many movies, years of hours passed
in front of dancing screens both large and small.
So many yet to see. They come so fast--
of just the best, I'd never catch them all.
So many sites and blogs, the data rush
of updates, feeds, of music, pictures, more,
surrounding me like hosts of locusts, slush
and slag and shiny things sprayed out like spores.
Deluged, I cannot skim or surf or think.
I want to thirst again before I drink.
by Gideon Burton August 20, 2010
I am so grateful for this program and the fellowship I have gained through MA. Today I am faced with fear of financial insecurity. After having a steady job for many years, I was "let go" about 2 1/2 years ago. The past 2 1/2 years have been a roller coaster in and out of employment. I have grown immeasurably over that time and have been able to rely on friends and family for advice and support. I now have these connections as a direct result of being in recovery. So, today I committed to going through the pile of mail that had accumulated on my desk; mail that I had not opened in over a month. This was an action I could take. I could go through it and sort it out. As I was opening the mail and the task started to become more and more daunting I used the tools I learned in this program. I called my sponsor and shared with him. We also just chatted about life in general. These tools are what keeps me grounded. This is what keeps me clean and sober. We talked about keeping things in the day. So I took care of business today. I made payment arrangements with the electric company who I had not paid in over three months. I organized the other bills so when new mail comes in I can now keep things coordinated. I have gained some peace of mind through action. Most importantly, today was a good day because I didn't pick up - I'm living life sober. My worst day sober is 100 times better than my best day high! Thank you, MA for helping me stay connected!
While standing in a long line at Disneyland this spring, I fought boredom by pulling out my iPhone to check my work e-mail.
That turned out to be a big vacation mistake.
An editor did not like the take on a story I had written and requested some major changes. What he asked made sense, but because I was several hundred miles from home and had not bothered to bring a computer, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do other than worry.
That is exactly what I did for the next hour or so, a situation that made me start to wonder. While it is wonderful to be connected, our obsession with smart phones, laptop computers and the like makes it virtually impossible to actually escape from everyday life.
These days, cruise ships offer WiFi. It’s easy to adjust your phone so you can be contacted anywhere in the world. Internet cafes can be found virtually everywhere. For example, while traveling in Africa a few years ago, I went to a cafe, logged on and discovered my dad had a serious illness that required surgery. So I borrowed a cell phone from a young Australian woman who had worldwide coverage and was able to chat with Dad before he went into surgery.
More and more of us apparently are so used to being connected that we find it difficult if not impossible to leave life behind when we go on vacation.
According to a recent American Express Spending and Saving Tracker, 77 percent of Americans try to stay connected while on vacation and 64 percent expect that connectivity to be included in their vacation accommodations.
The survey revealed that 89 percent wanted to be able to reach out to family and friends, 31 percent wanted to stay on top of the news, 20 percent sought to update their social media sites and 14 percent stayed connected for work.
By Tom Wharton from Wharton: The disconnect over being connected
And something about the way they spoke made me think of how kids today perceive being connected, particularly in the West, but increasingly in India and China as well.
… You see, I think connectivity, particularly ubiquitous always-on mobile connectivity, can make a real difference in terms of health, education and welfare, and that it can make a difference today. Today the BRICS have bricks in their hands, the bricks are getting smaller and they’re always on.
All I was thinking was this. Is connectivity becoming like sight and hearing and speech and mobility? And if so what does that mean for the endless debates we appear to be having about what the internet and the web are?
By JP from Is being “connected” becoming a “sense”?
Social media is ubiquitous. We are being implored, seduced, and threatened that we must use it or perish. I was initially a reluctant participant, entering each new platform and site with trepidation and doubt. I considered myself an “old school” networker who met others face-to-face rather than virtually. However, a few years later and I am a strong advocate of using social media to expand your network…and your message. It started with LinkIn, was followed by my blog, Facebook, and then Twitter. I have become quite active in all of those platforms, but never stopped meeting others face-to-face in networking groups, for coffee, and meals. It is really the confluence of social media and face-to-face networking that makes an effective marketing strategy. Social media allows you to take your campaign global without leaving your office (or computer), while the face-to-face interactions give others a sense of you as a real flesh and blood human being. Just as a good football team has to have a varied attack (rushing and passing), an effective networker must also vary the attack. Continue to show up to mixers and gatherings, all the while remaining active and visible in social media of your choice. You don’t have to tweet, but you do have to meet. Remain open minded, because one thing we can be sure of, and that is change. Stay aware and stay connected, not only for the business benefits, but also for the intrinsic joy of being connected in a meaningful way with others.
Dr. William Saleebey Sunday, from Being Connected
Because we are always connected and because we are always plugged in, we are never far away from being available at all times.
Now with cell phones, you can get hold of anybody at anytime and with texting it makes it even more instantaneous. There is no getting away from it or whoever wants to talk to you. The only way to do it is to shut off the phone and leave it at home. Nobody does that, it just doesn't feel right.
Do we really need to be connected that often? Nobody truly needs to be acquainted with all everything you're thinking and doing every moment of every day. Although to be able to bring a mobile phone into the backwoods when I go out on a trek or when my tire blows out on a gloomy state highway, it is an exceptionally useful device.
By Matt Thames from It Can Be Very Annoying Always Being Connected
What predicts success in the working world?
Your ability to promote, communicate and connect your value to colleagues and superiors is more important than the actual quality of your work.
At a very basic level, if you are contributing, but no one knows, your lack of connectedness hampers your success.
In his book, The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell defined connectors as “people with a truly extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances.” He goes on to describe how these unique individuals make a habit of introducing people in different circles to each other. Gladwell notes, “We rely on them to give us access to opportunities and worlds to which we don’t belong.”
The value of connectedness is never more heightened than during uncertain economic times. Anyone who has been reading the recent “how to recession proof your job” articles and blogs will realize that they inevitably share one common piece of advice: Network for career success. Don’t wait until you are desperate. Networking is about building relationships.
Author and blogger Thom Singer said it well: “All opportunities come from other people.” Your success will depend, not on what you know, how many hours you work, or how much money you make, but on your ability to build and maintain a band of people to share ideas, opinions and contacts. The people you know and their willingness to support you will determine your fate in the working world.
Building trust and relationships with colleagues and associates inside and outside of your organization is something every professional should consciously manage. Don’t assume that you will wake up one day surrounded by mentors, supportive colleagues and friends. The only way to attain success is to drive your own career bus.
Successful people are willing to give without expecting anything in return. Successful relationships (in life and in business) don’t keep score; each partner contributes. Being a connector takes this idea to the next level. If you intentionally broaden your circle of influence and consciously and generously add value to others by introducing them to contacts in your circle, you open the door to untold numbers of opportunities.
Hold the door open for others and you may be surprised at the number of people who will rush to hold it for you.
By Miriam Salpeter from Being Connected Trumps Being Exceptional In the Working World
Wow -- this is awesome! I so enjoyed going through all of your research (and not just because you quoted me!). I bookmarked this on diigo as a great example of students teaching the teachers. The range of concepts here is wonderful. I'll definitely make use of this in future courses.
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