Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it’s back to school I go!

https://twitter.com/JoshuaMTerry/status/461500128486907904

Yes, it’s true! Four years after graduating college, and seven years after leaving the University of Ottawa, I’m headed back to get my long desired B.A!

I’ve always had the desire to go back and finish what I started, but the timing never lined up. However, with job stability, my own place and the time to do it, I am headed back to school. I’ll be studying at Ryerson, for a Bachelor of Arts in Governance and Public Administration.

I think what I’m taking with me this time is far more life experience than when I went to Ottawa in 2006. I really wasn’t ready to be so far away from the people I cared about most; I was a naive 18-year old and while I was successful in my classes, the people that I lived with in second year were… shall we say, not nice. This time around, I have the benefit of my own place, a full-time job and a program that is not only part-time, but geared towards people working in the public sector like myself.

My expectations are different this time too. When I went to Ottawa, I figured it would be much like high school: I would do well in my classes with very little effort. While I did well academically (except for stupid philosophy classes, which are awful), it sure as hell wasn’t easy. Luckily, I’ll be close to home and have friends/family who can help me out while things get crazy with school.

At the moment, the plan is to start with one or two classes for the first semester, and ease back in to it. If I think I can take on more in future semesters, I will. That said, I’m not in a rush: it’s a part-time program and I’ll be sure to take my time and do it right. My workload between work and school also needs to be factored in, and time with precious Atticus also must be considered.

Someone was teasing me, saying I’ll be a “mature” student. In fact, I think the opposite is going to be true: I’ll likely be one of the younger students in my program, as it is geared to those working in the public sector already. Then I was told I’ll need to blog about the experience: while I hope to be able to, obviously reading, homework and papers will take priority.

All in all, though, I’m excited. I think the combination of my communications experience and good background in the public policy world is going to be good and help me achieve my long-term goals. Sure, it’s a bit selfish to be focused on “me,” but whatever… At some point, you need to forget what others want from you and do what you want to do. For me, that starts in September with my return to campus.

LinkedIn: It’s Not Facebook!

This post is a classic demonstration of how eclectic my blog really is. I’ve gone from writing about outsider music, to a post-slash-rant on the downward spiral, as I see it, that the website LinkedIn is on.

LinkedIn is a great way to connect with professionals, colleagues and thought leaders. It provides a forum for discussion, through groups, on issues pertaining to your industry and professional interests. You can connect with old co-workers, research companies that you’re interested in working with and, to some extent, network with new people.

On the other hand, as I see it, Facebook is where you connect with your close friends and family. You share photos, make silly comments, send birthday wishes and all the other stuff that you can do comfortably with friends, but wouldn’t dare do in a professional setting.

The reason for this post, is the other day on LinkedIn, a connection had liked a photo. In this photo, was a boy holding a sign saying “I just beat cancer, can I get a million likes?” First: I’m not heartless. That’s great that cancer is being beaten, not just by him, but by thousands of people worldwide. But the photo stopped me in my tracks: why is a like-farming photo appearing on LinkedIn? That’s hardly appropriate!

I’ve noticed it sporadically on LinkedIn, but it continues to grow: photos being shared that are personal, or simply to get “likes.” To me, this is a downward spiral for LinkedIn. In my mind (and maybe I’m just not with the times), the photo sharing option on LinkedIn should be used for things like infographics, or for informational purposes. I don’t want to see photos of your new baby; that’s what Facebook is for!

Facebook is the personal space (but remember that on the internet, nothing is personal/private), whereas LinkedIn is just like your workplace: cordial, friendly but professional. I’ll always keep mine that way, and I hope to see more of my connections follow the same path.

PR Tuesday: Why “favourite” a Tweet?

First: let me thank you for your patience. I know I had promised to post on a weekly basis, but life intervened. It’s been a busy time at work, but I’m here now and that’s what matters.

Second: as many of you know, I work in the wonderful world of PR! I decided that, you know, I have some thoughts on general trends in PR and I should share them! So I’ve decided to dedicated Tuesday posts to the very topic. I hope you at least find them somewhat insightful.

With that in mind, I had two posts in mind. I decided to go with this one and save the other idea for next week.

The majority of my readers are on Twitter; I can say that because I know that most of my traffic is derived from clicks through my personal account. One of the features of Twitter (as you know) is the ability to “favourite” a Tweet (and yes, there is a “u” in favourite – this is a Canadian blog). I think most of you would agree that there are two reasons to favourite a tweet: to show the author that you have seen and enjoyed what they said and/or to save the tweet for later.

I think marking a tweet as a favourite for the first reason is pointless. The action is a very passive form of engagement – it’s Twitter at its laziest. If you think something that somebody has said on Twitter is funny, interesting or controversial, there’s a far better solution: say so! Social media is exactly that: social. It’s an opportunity to engage, to connect with people across the globe who share similar (or not) views. I can’t count the times I’ve engaged in political debate with people across Canada who, I’ve never met and likely never will.

What do you mean?

Here’s a great example of a discussion I had with somebody today:

https://twitter.com/JTerr88/status/324260088439250944

Marking a tweet as a favourite is just as lame as clicking “like” on Facebook. What’s the purpose? A virtual thumbs up or gold star says, well, nothing. It’s something that was reinforced with me in discussion with a friend recently: a like is objectifying, in a sense. As I said: social media is social. Why be quiet and hide in the corner? Talk to people who say things you like!

Where being able to mark a tweet as a favourite comes in handy is very simple, at least for me: it’s when somebody shares something I want to view later (a link I want to visit from my own computer, after work, for example) or is something I want to follow up on (ie: someone replying to me, but not being able to reply immediately for one reason or another). In that case, a favourite serves as a bookmark.

So, what do you think? Do you agree that marking something as a “favourite” or “like” is passive? Or is it a form of meaningful engagement?

A Little Update

It’s been awhile since I wrote a post, committing the cardinal sin of blogging; I should be doing regular updates, probably at least twice a week. I’m nowhere near that. But hey, it’s my blog so I’ll do it my way.

If you’ve read any of my other articles, you’ll know that I’ve not been a fan of 2012. It’s been a pretty crummy year, but things have turned around. I’m two days in to my new job and I can say without a doubt that I love it. The work will be challenging but rewarding, the team I get to work with is full of smart, wonderful and friendly people who already have shown that my opinion is valued and welcomed and the work I do ultimately makes a difference in the City of Toronto. Can’t complain about that!

With the holidays approaching, of course your thoughts turn to friends and family. And as I said in my last post, my family and friends have been asked to support me through a lot this year. You (and I say you because 99% of the readers of this blog are friends/family) have no idea how grateful I am for your constant love, support and ears (for the times I need to rant and rave about how unfair life has been – a pity party, in short).

So, the year of crumminess looks to be ending on a very high note; that makes me happy. While I hope that none of you go through things where the support you provided me is needed, as I said last post, if it is, I certainly owe you.

How do I feel about life right now? Well, once again, a 70’s TV theme says it all. Just replace the female pronouns with male ones.

Now Hiring: Single Best Friend

You must be at least this gangsta to be my BFF

In less than 24 hours my dearest friend and “sista from anotha mista”, Natasja, will be a married woman. This means she gets a promotion to “best married friend.” That means the position of “best single friend” is available (Steph – you are “best engaged friend – don’t fret). In this economy, any job is a good job if you believe Jim Flaherty, and so… I’m pleased to open applications for the position of best single friend.

Wanted: Best Single Friend

Must be:

• Single
• Between the ages of 20 – 25
• Know all the words to Rebecca Black’s “Friday” and Carly Rae Jeppsen’s “Call Me Maybe” (for mocking purposes)
• Experienced in handling a moody, snarky, sarcastic 23-year old male
• Willing to partake in the occasional drinking of alcoholic beverages (G&T drinkers preferred, but not necessary)
• Must answer ALL phone calls; the previous position-holder had a bad habit of not answering her phone

Those interested in the position should tweet @JTerr88 to demonstrate fluency in 21st century technology. Samples of hilarious autocorrect accidents may be asked for. NO PHONE CALLS.

In all seriousness, I’m excited for tomorrow and send pre-emptive best wishes to Natasja and Elijah for 30,000 years of happiness together. Not a minute less.

A Bad News Week…

To put it bluntly: it’s been a hell of a week, personally and in the larger world.

As you know from reading my PR-focused blog, I lost my job on Wednesday (through no fault of my own) and Thursday I had two wisdom teeth removed, which made me look like this afterwards:

Post-op and a little tired.

The week also included the horrific news about the murder and dismemberment of a Chinese student in Montreal by resident weirdo Luca Rocco Magnotta, and the brazen shooting at the Eaton Centre.

Wednesday made me feel like I couldn’t catch a break. It was a very difficult hit to my system to be back on the job hunt and it stung; but, the more I thought about it and really reflected on things, I came to peace with it. I had a fantastic interview today with Cision and am looking forward to meeting their team in person to talk more about how my agency experience can benefit them and their clients. I wouldn’t say I’m “over it” but I’m coping a lot better than I had expected I would. That’s a good sign, I think.

The wisdom teeth removal was the complete opposite of what I was expecting. I was expecting this long, painful process that would make me grumpy. Instead, the operation took about 20 minutes, I went out easy with the anesthesia and was completely coherent coming out of it. I used next to none of my pain medication, because the procedure was painless. I highly recommend my surgeon to anybody looking to have their wisdom teeth out in Toronto!

So, it’s been a bad news/difficult week all around. But that just means this week is to get better, and that’s something I’m looking forward to!

“We’ve Gone From Playing House to Doing Shots:” On Old Friends & Growing Up

It was a saxophone party...

“May the past be the sound of your feet upon the ground.”

-fun.

Yesterday was a bit of a nostalgia day for me. It was funny, strange and comforting all at the same time. I say this with the following thoughts in the back of my mind: I have friends getting married, friends having babies and friends buying houses. There are moments when, despite knowing its the furthest thing from the truth, I feel like I’m lagging behind: I’m single (with no prospect of that changing), just starting a new job again and admittedly, I’m focusing a lot on myself. But hey – I might get a dog, so there’s that…

After work yesterday, I got together with my friend Amy, who I’ve known since our days at Bowmanville Senior Public School. We did a lot together – we were in all the same bands, had a lot of classes together (we spent Grade 7 and Grade 8 together, plus a number of classes in high school) and went on all the same trips. By virtue of being together a lot during those days, we have a lot of the same friends. We went to dinner and it kind of hit me (and her too) that we’re growing up: we talked about my new job, we talked about her finishing up her placement as a student teacher and we talked about all of our friends who were doing what I already mentioned: having babies, getting married, buying houses, etc… We had a few laughs about how we were getting “old” and maturing. I don’t think either of us would have thought, all those years ago when we were in Ms. Bradford’s class, that this is where we would end up.

The evening became even more nostalgic when my roommate (whom I’ve known for nearly 20 years) and our friend reached the pub. Our server was a friend of ours who, again, we’ve known for nearly 20 years (and is technically my ex-wife, due to our playground marriage from years ago). While we spent a lot of time talking about what was new in our lives, there was a natural tendency to reminisce on the “days of yore.” We did a shot together – and that’s where the title from this blog post came from. Because, three of the four of us at the table did start our friendship in the kindergarten classroom: we quite literally went from playing house to doing shots together. While it was a bit of a surreal experience, it was also some bit of a comfort to know that, whatever happens in life, there are those friends in your life who are rocks.

In talking with a new friend regarding this blog post, he said that someone else had mentioned the same kind of feelings to him: about growing “old” and it being strange. For me, as I said to him, it’s a very cyclical thought process. Every so often, the feelings about getting older and moving in to the next phases of my life cross my mind and I get a bit nostalgic. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one that goes through something like this.

I also learned in my conversation with my friend, when telling him about the post I was writing, that there are little things we begin to notice that are signs we’re getting older: one of the funnier ones (but one that is totally true) is noticing that we can’t drink like we used to, yet we try and do it anyways. It’s the little things like that, which we do in an effort to hold on to the past and deny the fact that we’re maturing and entering the next stage of our lives.

My new goal is to embrace and tackle the changes that come with what happens to everybody: growing up. It’s not going to be easy and I can guarantee that I won’t handle it with grace all the time, but that’s just how life is. As that 70’s TV theme goes: “You take the good, you take the bad and there you have the facts of life.”

Sidebar

The video below is the song from which I pulled the quote to lead off this article. I’ve written about fun. before, but you MUST check out their new album.

Confidence.

I’m starting to really like these one-word title blog posts. I know that people always say that a blog should be focused and consistent in its content: be it entertainment, food, cooking, drinks, home décor, or whatever; I, however, like having an ecclectic blog. I do, after all, have a blog with a focused theme. This one serves as my creative outlet. If you don’t like it, too bad.

There is a huge difference between being confident and being cocky. Confidence is alluring; it lets people know that you have absolute faith in yourself and that they should have that same faith. Cockiness, on the other hand, is arrogance personified. It’s vain and it shows that you are capable of loving nothing more than yourself. To boil it down: confidence > cockiness.

These days, I have to say, I’m feeling pretty confident. While it may only be two days in, I straight up love my new job. It’s like night and day between any other position I’ve ever had. The people I work with seem to enjoy what they do and genuinely want to make sure that I not just integrate in to the team, but succeed alongside with them and grow at the same time. I can’t say enough good things about the group. It’s nice to be able to go home at night and feel like I’ve accomplished things. I’m looking forward to the many challenges and exciting things to come.

What’s more, is that there is a lot of progress being made on the gym side of things too. Now, I’m no “Ah-Nuld” but I’ve put on a good amount of weight (muscle, for the most part), I have more energy and I look healthier. Sure, I may curse when things get hard at the gym, but as I have said before: I have a fantastic trainer who understands my goals, helps me reach them, knows how to push me and isn’t brutally mean and hard on me when things get difficult.

So, it’s a rosy outlook from here on out and I’m excited about what lies ahead!

Change.

Okay, so not this kind of change; but you get the point.

Change: The act or instance of making or becoming different.

Change happens; be it quick or be it slow, it happens. For some of us, change means we see close friends have kids and/or get married. For others, it means moving away. For me, change is coming in the form of a new job.

I’m excited about this new challenge. It means new responsibilities, new people and it helps me achieve my goal of working in a PR agency. I like how hectic agency life is. I like being able to work for a lot of different clients.

This new job is out of my comfort zone. Every single job I’ve had in my professional career has been with a small team: be it working with a Member of Parliament and having a staff of three others in our office and two in the Ottawa office, or be it working for another small PR agency where there was only eight of us. Even the ROM, which is a large organization, had a small PR team (which is awesome). I learned a lot in all of these positions but now I’m going to a bigger organization – NATIONAL Public Relations. I’m excited to join a bigger company, because I feel like there is going to be a lot of talent to learn from. At the same time, I’m nervous because I’ve never been part of a big team. I’ve always been in a “little pond” so to speak, so this is my proverbial leap to the ocean.

The decision to go to NATIONAL caused a lot of internal conflict. And it was a lot to think about, until a good friend of mine, Katie (and yes, you’re a friend) gave me some words of wisdom. She talked to me about doing what would bring me peace and doing what I could to go to sleep at the end of the day, knowing that I’d made the right decision. It made me realize that, as a young professional, I have a lot of opportunities for new things ahead of me. I have the chance to experience a lot of different things and the opportunity to join NATIONAL is going to let me experience a lot of those. It was her advice that made things a done deal for me.

So, I’m at peace with my decision and I’m excited for the next challenge of my professional life. It’s going to be exciting, it’s going to be interesting and I know that I’ll be able to go home at the end of the day, enjoying what I’ve done. This change is a good one.