personally

This last week I have noticed numerous instances where people online have entered comments to defend their hurt feelings regarding online topic debates or to simply observe participants at play. Fascinating. As many of us spend so much time online, including grandmothers and grandfathers who are a growing demographic on Facebook, we are taking the daily conversation to the inter-sphere. Nothing new there, but how we incorporate these platforms IS. It is likely we will see increases of different and more seamlessly joined forms of communication, both technically based, and not. It's an exciting time to live in.

So why is the way of communication changing? Not just because we have access to all the techy gizmos. We basically upgraded to other forms of connection then we did previously. Mind you we still stand around the bbq in summer and catch up on all the highs and lows too, as we have physical bodies to sustain. Online at times we seem to be more honest then we would be in real life, giving our opinion more readily. On the other hand there are plenty of people who enjoy the game of make pretend. Calling people names or sharing our inner most secrets is really an individual choice. The whole behavioral dynamic is what I personally find most wonderful to watch.

And then there is the choice you have to make in all aspects: how much do you want to share? Once it's out there it's hard if not impossible to erase. The written or video-made testimony is out there for as long as there is internet. I have discussed this with various people. The credo is: if you don't have anything to hide, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. On the same token: common sense rules. Always remember, as you do offline and online, the rules of the game are the same: if you behave like a jerk people will stop wanting to play with you and no longer choose to respect or like your word. Social online communication does require some skill and practice. Being a douche doesn't. Something to ponder.

A good friend of mine says: "don't take it personally". There is truly a lot of wisdom in that.

Back to basics

I have tried to narrow down what topics I write about. Truth be told: I like quite a few things which could confuse people as I shift from one field to another.

So... what the heck do I do? Really?

A creative whizz popsicle like me tends to enjoy:

• communicating with others: what makes you tick?
• connecting people (network beastie)
• design: whether it's 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional...
• live the good life (farm)
• writing + learn in whatever capacity

So by implementing all of the above I enjoy doing my interior styling and advice work, chat to clients, network with people both in and out of the industry, design for New Zealand fabric company Hemptech, design my new line of jewellery for Bonvivant, write my blogs and also post on Businessblogs. I enjoy looking after the farm animals, they rock, especially the goats. And I learn, every day, or as my husband says: I have my moments :)

So I'm grateful for all of you for bearing with me, as I am finding my way in building my business and work, how to shape my blog, enjoy being happy at home, and write to you about various things that occupy my whirry brain.

All I can say is: I hope you're enjoying your life as well! Feel free to email me if you fancy a catch up or chat online: I can be found on different social media for your convenience. Have a good one!

the online addiction

Nowadays the real world translates into the virtual global maze of networks. Since I've started tweeting (here) there's a whole new dimension to being online for me. Compared to facebook I find tweeting more fun and the interaction immediate. (No games and gazillion quizzes to do.)

The weird thing is that people we do or do not know are accessible and we can talk practically to anyone on the planet. How weird is that? It's surprisingly easy to chat to someone who's into the same line of work or has the same interests. As we work work work it makes it harder to see friends offline.

How do you communicate? Have you dived into Facebook, Hyves, as well as write a blog or follow others? What do you read? Online newspapers/magazines or blogs? Both? Are you on twitter too, do you run an online business? How does typing away everyday make you feel better? Why do you do it? One connection on my twitter professed to be hooked and wondered why no one was sending him a tweet for 18 minutes! Communication moves at an ever increasing speed nowadays. We wonder whether we can we do without the tool that is the internet, as it is practically everywhere.

As we have friends online and off, how do relationships develop? Have you got the feeling you're being listened to online? Do you feel the need to connect to others and is that why you're there? Making or having the time is the question. How does your real life connections compare to the ones online? I've noticed that a few of my friends have the habit at the moment to talk a lot but not to necessarily have the patience to listen as they're in a hurry to tell their own story. Why the need to talk so much? Is it harder and harder to just "be"?

The forward momentum of communication technology hasn't reached it's high yet and it will be fascinating to see where we're all heading towards. Let's hope that we can separate the online world to the "old fashioned" offline one and remember what our own and the actual reality is. Getting connected is a great thing, but if the power goes >>PLOP<<> that's it, we're on our own again.