Boomerang

I can’t imagine what life would be like without social media. Balancing work, staying informed and maintaining a social life are, for me, three full-time jobs. Lately, I’ve added apartment hunting to the mix, and rely more than ever on social media tools to optimize my time so I can do the things I care about.

Let’s take staying informed: I’m not typically sitting in front of a stack of newspapers or magazines when I find a spare moment. Using social media, I can listen to podcasts of my favorite French radio show during my morning commute, discuss issues with bloggers via IM on my lunch break — even listen to BusinessWeek podcasts, directly from the reporter, on my iPod while at the gym. This is invaluable if I ever need to speak to him about a client. Social media allows me to consume and interact with information when it’s convenient for me.

My apartment search is another example. Because the housing market is so tough in San Francisco, each ad on Craigslist receives hundreds of responses. Sifting through and responding to ads becomes a full-time job. Most responses become buried within minutes, so timing is everything. Instead of living in front of my computer screen, I set up RSS alerts for ads that fit my criteria. When one is posted, it’s instantly sent to my phone via email. I can access the ad, research potential roommates on Facebook or Google and respond within minutes if I think it’s something that is a potential fit — all while hanging out with friends at Dolores Park.

So what would life be like without social media? I don’t want to know.

Many green advocates say it’s easy “go Green.” Try buying organic. Try bringing reusable bags to the grocery store instead of plastic. Try taking the bus. It’s simple to do! Or is it?

The No Impact Man blog paints a clear and vibrant picture of what it looks and feels like to go deeply Green. The blog describes Colin Beavan’s experience with a “no net environmental impact” lifestyle. He asks real and practical questions: “What would it be like to try to live a no impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more fun or less fun? More satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless?”

Beavan’s “experiment” will go on for a year and includes the following: “no trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no toilets…” Not an easy task for a New Yorker and his family!

Community leaders like Beavan catalyze experimentation, discussion and awareness about Green alternatives. We will surely learn a lot from Colin Beavan because he is making a huge jump – actually redesigning his lifestyle around Green.

What impresses me most about the blog is Beavan’s honesty. He doesn’t simplify anything and he is sincere in describing the challenges of being eco-focused. You’ll learn a lot about how easy or hard it is to integrate green ways into your life – and for any marketer, that’s invaluable!

With among the lowest approval ratings of any President in U.S history, Bush’s political problems aren’t going away any time soon. His most recent communications push to convince the American public that nuclear energy is the solution for our global warming is what, for me, makes him such an impossible and frustrating leader. I can only image what it does to his numerous communication aides who rally daily trying to control, and having to defend, the Bush brand.

As many bloggers and journalists have pointed out recently, the first problem is that suddenly Bush, a.k.a. Mr. There’s No Such Thing as Global Warming, has stated: “There can be no solution [to global warming] without nuclear power.” Um… okay, so there is such a thing as global warming? For real?

My issue is not about content – many experts have agreed that nuclear is a direction worth exploring – but cadence. Hearing Bush promote his nuclear energy strategy on NPR, I was struck, as I have been so many times before, at the staccato ineffectiveness of his speech patterns. These are subtleties and will be hard to “hear” in a blog, but next time you listen to Bush speak, take notice and you’ll know what I mean.

His main message is “nuclear power is safe.” Given that, for a variety of obvious and historical reasons, many people hear the word “nuclear” and think “death, destruction, war,” you’d think Bush would want to come off as reassuring, confident and ready to educate. But instead, by talking in his distinct whine, speaking too quickly and emphasizing the wrong words, Bush manages to make nuclear sound even scarier that many already believe it to be.

It’s not easy to change adult speech patterns, granted, but this is so fundamental: Speak slowly. Speak clearly. Emphasize, in this case, the words “is” and “safe.” Have some empathy for your audience; learn to listen even when nobody else is talking, to compromise, to persuade and to convince. Most of all, please learn that you can’t change a person’s mind simply by hammering them on the head with a message over and over – that only dulls the noise.