Google Me…Google You

I feel just like a baby in a “your infant can learn how to swim” class at the YMCA, ’cause grad school has thrown me into the social media pool. I’m taking  Social Media Theory and Practice under Dr. Carrie Brown-Smith at the University of Memphis, and I remarked to her last week that I had learned in five weeks what the rest of the students in the class have known their entire lives. It has been exhilarating, challenging, and eye-opening.

Now before you stop reading this because you don’t think social media has anything to do with you, think again. Check out these stats, and I guarantee you will find something that has a direct effect on your life. In addition, according to the Pew Research Center , 83 percent of American adults have cell phones and one-third of those phones are smartphones. When we add to the already complicated mix the fact that Google knows more about each one of us than we do about ourselves (if you use a computer or cell phone at all), we now have a political, commercial, and social landscape that requires some knowledge of the influence and power of social media. Even if one’s life does not require an immense network of apps, pins, tweets, and friends, awareness of what is happening in this new world is key to staying viable. I have to hand it to Sir Francis Bacon. When he penned the words “knowledge is power” almost 500 years ago, he obviously knew of what he was speaking.

Dr. Brown joked last night that she cannot always use her notes from one semester to the next for her social media class – that is how quickly the social media landscape changes. New products come and go daily. In fact, Google just introduced another, using one of my favorite groups to perform in a recent ad…just another way to Google Me, Google You, and keep us coming back for more.

#carriebrown

Spring So Soon?…

Although “Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil told people to prepare for six more weeks of winter” on February 2, “groundhogs in at least five other states – West Virginia’s French Creek Freddie, Georgia’s Gen. Beauregard Lee, Michigan’s Woody the Woodchuck, Ohio’s Buckeye Chuck and New York’s Staten Island Chuck (full name: Charles G. Hogg) – did not see their shadows. Nor did Ontario’s Wiarton Willie or Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam.”

There is support in the scientific community for the five groundhogs on the opposite side of the aisle from Phil, as pointed out in an article written by John Roach  for National Geographic; he also noted there are those who vote for Phil. On the other hand, Caleb Weatherbee affirms the fact we have had a very mild winter, but he predicts in the The Farmers’ Almanac that everything is still up in the air. In other words, it ain’t over until it’s over – like most things (just ask Mitt Romney).

When we walk outside here in Georgia, however, it is Spring.

And down the road at Jenny Jack Farms, the crops, the chickens, and Barney, the  guard dog, (no chicks lost to a coyote in five years), agree that it is Spring.

 This past weekend, the Winter Market at Callaway Gardens kicked off, the red bud trees are blooming,

and the pond adjacent to the studio, which is fed by  underground springs, is full.

It’s true it could snow or sleet in March and Easter Sunday temps could be below freezing, but for now, it’s Spring.

Iwo Jima, Good News, and Store Porch Sittin’ Privileges

“In 36 days of fighting on Iwo Jima, there were 25,851 US casualties (1 in 3 were killed or wounded). Of these, 6,825 American boys were killed. Virtually all 22,000 Japanese perished.”

Today is the anniversary of the flag raising…thanks to my friend Bob Patterson for sharing this with me. Take the time to read the account of the battle as described in the link above. Then take the time to reflect…on all of it…the then and the now.

Good News…According to Tammy Pierce, a local Realtor, things are looking up in the real estate market around here.  I’m not in the market to buy or sell but movement in the consumer ranks is good for all of us. I, for one, feel optimistic about the survival of free enterprise. I know I’m better off than I was a year ago and I have abundant faith in the human spirit – especially the human spirit driven by the desire to produce and share. I can assure you that spirit is alive and well. Just check this out.

Store Porch Sittin’ Privileges…About the Republican debate last night: Three of the candidates spent the entire evening blasting the current administration for how it spends tax dollars; yet, they merely countered by submitting different ways they would spend the same tax dollars. As someone once told me, taxes don’t go down if politicians are involved. They just spend what we give them in different ways.

Now you’ll notice I said “three” of the candidates. That is because Senator Ron Paul was the only one who truly said, “Stop spending.” Therefore, if I could grant only one of the candidates store porch sittin’ privileges at The Crossroads Store, it would be Senator Ron Paul. I’d also ask him to dinner…he’s intelligent, to the point, and unafraid to tell the truth. How refreshing.

And if the Republican Party used their smarts, he’d be the candidate…but that’s not going to happen and I don’t even have to tell you why.

#bobpatterson #senatorron