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Freedom of Expression?

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Symbol for Freedom of Expression, Democracy, UNESCO

Freedom of expression has become fear of reprisal for your opinion.

It’s difficult to truly express yourself anymore without feeling intimidated about the inevitable reaction. A Twitter pal expressed  her opinion about a politician; I DM’ed her and offered kudos remarking that public support of our elected officials was dicey and she was brave to display her sentiment on Twitter. (Note my lack of courage to share my thought to the entire stream.)

There are new comment policies being implemented more and more on blogs (I wouldn’t know about that yet!). Bloggers are asking for respect from subscribers/readers for all opinions without show of hatred, vicious attacks or downright rudeness. Apparently, we’ve come to a crossroads in respect where folks hiding behind the written word are compelled to strongly attack instead of invite constructive debate.

There are always two sides to every equation, story, experience, situation, and  circumstance:

  • The creditors and debtors
  • Pro-lifers and pro-choice folks
  • Republicans and Democrats with a few more mixed in
  • Smokers and non-smokers
  • Pro mosque or burning of the Islamic holy book

With international borders invisible on social media and networking, are there issues around global expression becoming more heated? Where are the lines of demarcation for decorum and who monitors those? Are there groups using this ungoverned platform as a means to build grassroots campaigns and take them viral?

I’d suggest yes; however, I’m not privy to an actual movement (perhaps the Tea Party is the best example today). Political parties are doing awfully well on the Ethernet. The gun slinging and hatred across the aisle feel more heightened than ever before. We’re walking a divisive line here that I believe will never blend.

On what side of the fence do you sit? Each of us has opinions to share; whether we share them publicly, privately or in a forum in which others agree.  Bloggers with high levels of subscribers/readers have the opportunity to express their opinions.  In any coursework for new bloggers, we’re told to “be controversial.”

That depends solely on a blogger’s comfort level with the first statement I made in this post.What about you? Do you have an opinion or two to share?

Image credit: Helmut Langer

Anatomy of 20 Minutes on Twitter

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There are a couple of things I’d like to share about this post. For starters, it’s too good not to use as an example of inspiration from Twitter. In 20 minutes, I posed a question, and Neicole Crepeau (with whom I had never tweeted) chimed in. In the flick of a wrist, we had:

  • Debated the definition of “guru” in social media
  • Shared data on latecomers to the party
  • Established our respective credibility
  • Agreed on our consensus
  • Became inspired by the chat to ask others to join us
  • RT’ed a bunch of times to show appreciation and respect
  • Retained the tweet stream to repurpose into a blog post WITH permission from both parties.

The true purpose of this stream is to debate the definition of “guru.” That’s not happening today, but it will happen tomorrow in part two of this post.  Ever the educator, I feel the need to share this powerful chat to showcase Twitter’s hidden gifts. And, if you don’t get this type of engagement on Twitter every so often, you’re not engaged! Simple.

Twitter Chat with Jayme Soulati and Neicole Crepeau:

@Soulati How would you define a #SM guru? Someone just said “it’s too early to define a true guru.”

@neicolec Good question! RT @Soulati: How would you define a #SM guru? Someone just said “it’s too early to define a true guru.”

@neicolec: Guru implies a long time doing something. It implies, to me, that you have developed solid, repeatable processes.

@Soualti: RT @neicolec Guru implies a long time doing something. It implies, to me, that you have developed solid, repeatable processes.

@neicolec: Social networks have only become mainstream (in terms of volume and user demographics) in the last couple of years. #SM

@Soulati: I’ve been presenting 5 times this year on #SM; fascinating to see YouTube born 2005. Not a long time!

@Neicolec: To date, most social media marketing has been experimental. Tried and true best practices (beyond basic use) aren’t there. #SM

@Soulati: I find #PR measurement easier with #SM. Best practices come with dedicated companies open to change, flexibiilty.

@Neicolec: While there have been successes in social media and there are big names, I don’t think that equals a guru. #SM

@Neicolec: A guru should be able to teach others those best practices so they can repeat them. Not seeing that much, yet. #SM

@Soulati: There are always leaders. In the case of #SM, perhaps good to delineate “leader” “mentor” “guru.” Good convo; let’s do blog post.

@Soulati: Hope you’re following Neicole and me right now. She’s got some good insight on how we define guru in #SM. We’re not there yet.

@Neicolec: I agree with you re: best practices. A post the other day said social media is now moving from revolution to evolution stage. #SM

@Soulati: Did you catch that nuance — to “evolution?” Hoping it becomes part of the channel, and slow adopters get on board.

@Neicolec: I agree with that. Best practices will be built during this stage. I also agree that there are leaders in social. Not gurus.

@Soulati: OK, you’re on. This is definitely a blog post; I will capture our discussion from this afternoon. OK to include your tweets?

@Neicolec: If you do a blog post, please DM me with the link. I’d love to see your thoughts on the topic.

@Neicolec: Did you see the latest stats on marketing spend. https://ow.ly/2wPFm I think those late adopters are coming on board.

@Neicolec: Absolutely! Enjoyed the tweet talk. A great example of the joys of social media!

@Soulati: Fully agree; thanks Neicole!

Marketing Fair-Trade Quinoa

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(Note to readers: Today’s post is a rambling observation with a nit while sharing and pushing a dotted line to marketing and social media; blink and you might miss the latter!)

Fair Trade Quinoa Farmers in Ecuador (Wikimedia Commons)

I eat quinoa (keen-wah) every day mixed with steel cut oats, ground flax, walnuts and fresh fruit with a dash of almond milk. This fuels my body until well after noon; however, I try to eat before I get hungry to maintain metabolism. (You can learn more about clean eating from my favorite cookbook author Tosca Reno.)

Quinoa is a complete protein grown in the Andes since 3000 B.C. It’s not always easy to find at the grocer, although I buy from Trader Joe’s and recently at Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati. As a buyer of quinoa for more than a year now, I’m dismayed its price has skyrocketed nearly 50 percent since January.

What’s happening? The classic demand and supply along with Fair Trade and good, solid marketing.

There are now quinoa products coming to our shelves straight from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru; priced higher to accommodate the world’s farmers in developing nations. The word “organic” is included on the packaging, too.

Remember the berry (true or not true?) and the recent pomegranate craze? These high anti-oxidant berries (blueberries, too) raised consumers’ consciousness about free radicals and anti-oxidants in our diets. How did this happen? With good, solid marketing!

I support fair trade, and I also support our need to eat healthier foods without worry from salmonella, pesticide, and other illness resulting from chemical additives. While I’m not a worrier warrior about this, it nags at the back of my head when thinking of food prep for my family.

Glance back above and note the date I shared with you…3000 B.C. That’s when quinoa began its production as “gold of the Incas” and a sacred food. Why has it taken so long to grace our tables in the North? We can thank fair-trade programs that bring more coffee, cocoa, quinoa and other products to consumers across the globe. We can thank social media and the Internet for making the world smaller to inform us about these products.

While that’s all well and good, it also means we pay more for health-oriented items while junk food costs less. Perhaps, there’s more work to be done by good, solid marketing to switch the balance of the previous statement.

What began here as the germ of a quinoa seed, sprouted into more on fair trade, marketing and price. Interesting to me, and perhaps to you, as well. Thanks for stopping by.

That Blogging Voice

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What's Your Voice?

Apparently, “voice” for bloggers is the Holy Grail. To get there as a newbie, you need:

1. Confidence you know what you want to say

2. Ignorance of others’ critiques when you’re having an off day

3. Knowledge about where you’d like to be one day (a few goals are good)

4. Patience and perseverance about design and techy back-end crapola

5. Strength of spirit to plug away as frequently or infrequently as you like

I had a stressful summer as is typical around my life as a working professional and mom. I struggled to manage time with travel, family and a reduced work day. The blog suffered.

Not only wasn’t I posting as regularly, I wasn’t feeling it either; yet, I pushed to post.  A few remarks (see number two above), and my confidence shattered to the point of almost throwing in the towel.

Rather than quit, I wrote (what some called by best post) “Blogging Takes Confidence,” a heartfelt rendition to share I was not on top of my game. Buoyed by support from that post, I am again compelled to tackle the world.

What’s changed?

  • My child is back in school.
  • I’ve regained four to five hours in my work day.
  • My desk is (relatively) clean again.
  • My brain is de-cluttered, and my countenance is calm.

So what is this “voice” thing?

Merely, voice is the confidence to believe what you’ve got to say has merit; to know the criticism of others is not intended to derail you but to help you get over a natural hump or two; it’s the ability to find a diamond in the rough and share it with the world from your own perspective and, well, I think that’s right?

Who is Today’s Entrepreneur?

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My 8-year-old announced she wanted to have a store (after the failed lemonade stand two years ago), so I commenced setting her up with the glass jars I’d been saving for rainy-

For Sale By Jayme's Daughter

day crafts. Her pencil jars are a hit; she’s pocketed $13 plus $.50 for two hand-made magnets.  She has an order for six more.

Now, that’s entrepreneurship.

A client of mine in 2008 declared that no one is an entrepreneur who doesn’t manufacture goods. I took that to heart; in fact, that ruined my impression that I, too, am an entrepreneur.

I’ve been launching companies since 1990; some with employees, health benefits and real office space and others, like Soulati Media, Inc., a virtual public relations firm that hires independent contractors and of which I’m an employee.  Alas, I deliver professional services in public relations, social media and marketing.  I am organized as a corporation and pay appropriate business taxes for my company and my person. I conduct my own business development to make money, and I do the work — you know, chief, cook and bottle washer.

Is that entrepreneurship?

Jobless claims jumped 12,000 to 500,000 last week, according to the U.S. Labor Department. This is the highest level in nine months. The Wall Street Journal (darn, if I can find that piece) recently wrote a story about the link between unemployment and lack of education suggesting a college degree is a must-have.

That said, how many people are starting home-based businesses to find alternative means of earning? This story suggests somewhere in the range of 38 million home-based businesses now exist according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or the U.S. Census Bureau.

Those who launch home-based businesses…are they entrepreneurs?

I don’t much like the definition of entrepreneurship in Wikipedia (and, neither does Wikipedia, if you open this link). How do you define entrepreneurship? The definition is no longer cut and dry.