Just Joan

Archive for December, 2011

A day or so before I was to depart for college, I became violently ill with what I thought was gastroenteritis, (what people commonly call stomach flu). But it cleared up almost immediately after I met my roommate and settled into my dorm room.

It was really stress, you see, from a girl who had almost never been out of her white-bread, suburban Detroit, lower-middle class community. We were poor, and even restaurant dinners and family vacations were totally foreign to me. The idea of being 90 miles away from my mother and family was sufficiently stressful to induce 2 days of vomiting.

After college I returned to the same suburban community where I grew up, beginning my first career as a police officer and maintaining some old friendships and forging  new ones among co-workers and neighbors. I stayed safely snuggled in those six square miles, leaving infrequently and never going very far when I did.

Then I met and married my husband, and he yanked me out of my safety zone to live in his world. That world was only another suburb about a 1/2 hour drive away, but to me it was like moving to another planet. I didn’t know the geography and, before cell phones and computers, immediately lost touch with many people.  I didn’t get physically sick this time, but I was irritable, argumentative, or crying for at least 3 months after moving. More stress.

So I wasn’t really sure what to expect a few weeks ago when I packed up my dogs and car and  began the biggest move of my life: 1,400 miles and almost 24 hours of driving, from Novi, Michigan to Naples, Florida – from the same 30 or so square miles I had lived my entire life to, as my friend Dave Ryan said, ” just north of Cuba.”

This time, though, I didn’t get physically sick. I haven’t screamed, cried, or other wise acted out. I’ve been tired, sure, but peaceful. Calm. Happy. This time, my friends and family have been with me the entire time:

• Driving across the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati, when I thought of Eric Weingardner, Jennifer McClure, Benjamin McCall,  and several others who live there.
• Hearing “Everyday People” by Sly and the Family Stone on Sirius/XM Sixties radio in Kentucky, which I will forever associate with Steve Browne‘s broad smile and ready hug.
• Driving by the I-71/Louisville exit and recapturing the HRevolution #1 post-lunch walk with Lisa Rosendahl.
• Thinking of Mike Krupa when the rakish young man in a Mini Cooper flashed me a bright smile as he passed in northern Tennessee.
• Watching a family walk their GSD puppy in a Georgia rest area and wondering how Deirdre Honner was.
• Driving through Atlanta and remembering everyone from HRevolution #3, especially Neil Morrison, James Papiano, Tammy Colson, and Frank Zupan.
• Hearing Jason Danieley sing “You Walk With Me” from The Full Monty, who is forever associated in my mind with Trish McFarlane.
• Having several Floridian Facebook friends reassure me that I will get used to, even welcome, having geckos skitter across the kitchen floor.

Last week I went to my first Florida HR meeting. I was inevitably asked by a tablemate what I did for a living. I explained a little about me and my social media venture.  One of the people at the table made the standard complaint about social media and “not wanting to read about what people eat for breakfast.”

I don’t mind hearing about your breakfast; I find it endearing. I want to see pictures of your kids and grandkids, too. Tell me about your good days and your bad – I’ll try to be there for both, because the gift of fellowship I get in return is worth it.

Social media changed my life, and it is the greatest gift I have ever received. Thank you.

Have a wonderful holiday season and the best New Year ever.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I wanted to step back a little for the December SHRM Twitter Chat (our second) and start over. So, as announced, we began with a discussion of format, and which Twitter chat format would best facilitate communication among the participants.

Some people didn’t have any opinion at all, but those that did felt that the best format was the predetermined theme or subject, with 2-4 related questions. This was the same format I tried in the first (November) chat, but I am willing to give it another try. Hopefully, as people get used to the chat and the format, it will be comfortable for everyone.

Because it was suggested that we have a SHRM staff member present to answer questions, the discussion moved into one of SHRM and their social media efforts and assistance in general. Thank goodness that Curtis Midkiff,  SHRM Director of Social Engagement, was present at the chat and helped facilitate this portion of the discussion. He has been an invaluable part of SHRM Chat and will obviously continue to be.

The major points from this part of the chat were

1. We all (volunteer leaders and SHRM staff) need to collaborate on collecting best practices to share with SHRM and chapters/councils that are social media newbies.
2. Many volunteer leaders are highly resistant to social media and we need to get them more involved in activities (such as SHRM Chat).
3. Making social media use a SHAPE requirement instead of an option would help increase social media use.
4. SHRM field leaders need to be more proficient in social media if they are going to encourage and help their regions.
5. SHRM needs to teach State councils the technical aspects of conference sharing such as live stream, and they need to be taught and understand why those sharing strategies would be a source of revenue and engagement.

One of the best comments on the whole subject of SHRM and social media came at the end of the discussion from John Jorgenson of ILSHRM: “We Know Next” needs to be more than a slogan.” Social media is clearly part of “the Next”, but SHRM seems to be behind when it comes to the knowing. It was agreed by all that Curtis is doing a great job, but he needs help. Let’s give it to him.

Please join us on January 10, 2012 at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central (same time the second Tuesday of every month) for our next SHRM Chat (Twitter hashtag #SHRMChat).

So what happened to SHRM Chat – November 2011? Lots of things.

November was the inaugural month of the Twitter #SHRMChat, where interested folks could spend an hour on Twitter discussing how to leverage and use social media for the benefit of their state and/or local SHRM chapter. Before the first chat, I spent some time researching the different ways chats were conducted and the formats people were using successfully. Being a boomer with slowing reflexes and arthritic hands, I thought that having a specific set of questions would work best.

I was wrong.

There were a lot of enthusiastic and knowledgeable attendees, and they wanted to TALK. I was trying to tweet from two different accounts, my personal account and my SHRM local account, and I just couldn’t follow the conversations sufficiently to gain any in-depth insight. Also, people wanted very much to add to the published questions, and either did so with abandon, or were shy about intruding on the format.

I also promised to blog a recap of the discussion. That didn’t happen, either. Too much personal stress and a massive time-suck caused by a cross-country move.

This month I hope to do better.

I would like to back up a bit and sort of start over. I would like to discuss the chat format itself.  The topic is: “How can we use #SHRMChat to intelligently and effectively discuss how to use social media for betterment of our state and local chapters?”

If you have some insights and suggestions that you would like to share before the chat, please leave your thoughts in the comments, or email/FB message me directly.  Even if you can’t attend the chat, I will make sure your voice is included.

Join us on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13th, from 8-9 pm Eastern (7-8 Central) on Twitter using hashtag #SHRMChat.

Let’s do this right – together!