So what now, NDP?

Yesterday morning was a dark day not only for Canadian politics but for the Canadian people from every corner of our great nation.  NDP Leader, and Leader of the Official Opposition, Jack Layton succumbed to the cancer he so hoped to beat.  Yesterday was a day that many mourned his untimely death and celebrated his life and the legacy he will leave behind.

So today we must ask whether the NDP can survive without Jack.  Some may say it's too soon but a political party is much like a business, only it represents people, and eventually a new CEO must be chosen to step into the role that Jack left behind.  Some will say that the party doesn't stand a chance without Captain Jack at the helm and others try to hold onto some of Jack's optimism and in his own words say "don't let anyone ever tell you it can't be done."

There is talk that the Liberals, currently under former provincial NDP boss Bob Rae, will try to merge the two parties into one Liberal Democratic Party or something like that but something tells me that the merger will turn into more of a hostile takeover by the Liberal party decimating everything Jack Layton and company spent years building up.

So can the NDP be successful on their own without Captain Jack?  What would Jack say? Yes.  Winston Churchill once said "whether you say you can or you can't, you're right!"  The NDP needs to pick themselves up, sooner than later, dust themselves off and regroup.  The foundation has been built, it may not be ready to consider a serious run at the governing party in four years but it's ok to plan to stay in the opposition.  I find it highly unlikely that the Liberals will be in any position to make a serious run at the government in 4 years either so I figure, unless a major Conservative scandal on the horizon, they have at least 8 years of time to build.  Remember it only took Jack Layton 10 years to go from rookie to Leader of the Opposition so it is possible.

So what do they need to do now?  Well clearly step one is do some serious soul searching within the party and find a leader, learn from the Liberals who have had several failed attempts at finding a leader that clicked with Canadians.  Another thing to keep in mind, don't look for Jack part 2, you are likely not going to find him or her and odds are good that if / when you do they will probably disappoint because they aren't enough like Jack.

Politics is like hockey.  It's a team sport and sometimes a team leans too much on their star player, it doesn't mean they can't do well without him it just means that the rest of the team needs to step it up!!  Jack was an optimist and was very much an extrovert, he loved the spotlight and the spotlight loved him.  Ok that isn't too unusual for a politician but the difference is that Jack's character made people feel like they could trust him, and that's where he was different from most other politicians.  At this point it the plan should be sustainability, keep the momentum where it is and build on it slowly and time will tell if they can pull it off.

Anything is possible, Jack taught us that.

12 Most Obvious Signs You Are Addicted To Social Media

Blog originally appeared on: 12most but it was worth sharing again.

Social Media is everywhere; it is integrated in every platform and, let’s face it, it’s here to stay. Nearly 20 years ago, the Blackberry came to market and it revolutionized the way we read and send email. It was infamously renamed the “Crackberry” because people became absolutely addicted to email in the palm of their hand. It lead to a plethora of other smart devices and, ultimately, was the catalyst for the development of the Droid and Apple platforms that now dominate the smart device market. Today, we are connected 24/7 through every platform, on demand, almost anywhere we go. The big social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are now available on mobile in an array of formats such as HootSuite, Tweetdeck, or other applications. And now, with other up and coming social media platforms like 4Square, Quora, Empire Avenue, and StumbleUpon, we are “socially” reinventing the way we play, consume, and share information. At this point, we really can’t avoid the “Trap” of using and consuming socially driven content.

However, like everything in life, there must be limits. The enjoyment of using these platforms can evolve into an unhealthy obsession that may not only be problematic for you but for those closest to you in real life. The signs are everywhere, and if you care about your friends and loved ones, you will read the list below and help them (or yourself) find a healthy Social Media/life balance. Ladies and Gentleman, I present you with the farcical, and hopefully entertaining and completely made up (by me), list of the 12 most obvious signs that you are addicted to Social Media.

1. You Read, Comment, and Promote someones Blog about Nothing

Folks this really happened. Ask our friend Gini Dietrich about it. A blog about nothing became widely read, promoted, and commented on. There is no doubt her friendly ways and generally fabulous content contributed to it, but… A blog about nothing??? WIth so much insightful content, shouldn’t we spend our time on the interwebs at reading a blog about “Something?”

2. Hashtags in your email

It starts in emails, texts, and other non “Social” platforms and then you start speaking with @. It’s a slippery slope, but trust me, you didn’t meet @thedomesticexec, you met/chatted with a person and that person is named Michelle Kay.

3. Check in on 4Sq…Everywhere you go!

Are you the mayor of your house, your convenient store, the local bakery, the Starbucks around the corner, the Shell station down the street, and the corner watering hole? Get Help

4. Following or Listing your Pet

This sort of treks down the road of people who believe their animals can speak. Folks, your animal should not have a Social Media account on Twitter or Facebook, and definitely not on LinkedIn. If they could speak, what they would tell you is “You are CRAZY”.

5. It’s “First” in the morning

If you check your mentions, messages, retweets, live stream, or any other page associated with any of your social media accounts prior to brushing your teeth or using the washroom, you are definitely addicted. If you check any of those things immediately after brushing your teeth, you are on the “High Risk” list. Try eating breakfast first, moving the blood to your “Brain” may prove helpful in the actions that follow.

6. You update your Status

While out with “Real People” – Are you updating your status while on a dinner date with your spouse or significant other? You’re obsessed. Do you Tweet or post on Facebook #justmet or other @hashable content before you finish the meeting? One word… NUTSO!

7. You Share EVERYTHING

This one may be the worst and it probably deserves its own 12most. if you feel the need to share your every thought, wish, and lose all inhibition on your Facebook page, please stop. You, singlehandedly, are the reason for my disdain of the platform. There is such a thing as TMI and it’s rife on Social Media. Friends of mine that currently do this, consider yourselves warned. Next step, I BLOCK you and change my phone number.

8. Eaves become more important than Real Money

Please, please, please tell me you check the value of your “Real” stock portfolio before you check that of your Empire Avenue portfolio? Being rich on EAV yet being without work in real life is a real problem.

9. Involve yourself in SM activities that don’t Involve you

Do you become active in chats, causes, and events that you don’t actually contribute, donate to, or attend? If you do, you are a “Social Crackhead”.

10. Dreaming in 140

Do you tweet in your dreams? If it happens once, it may just be a coincidence. If this is a daily/nightly occurrence you need to see a specialist.

11. “Liking” your own content

Not only is this a sign that you are an addict, it is also a sign that you are a total narcissist. If you would publicly walk down the street and scream “I am awesome, smart, good looking, funny, etc…” Then you get a hall pass on this. In that case you are not addicted to social media, you are just an idiot.

12. Klout becomes your Social Currency

I would rather have a few close friends and a job than a high Klout score. So far I’ve met exactly 11 other people in Social Media who share that sentiment.

Now, let’s go ahead and grade just how addicted we are. Please go down the list and answer each of the above 12 most with a yes, no, or maybe.

For each yes, give yourself 3 points
For each Maybe, give yourself 2 points
For each no, give yourself 0 points

If you score between 0-6 you are either a non addict, or perhaps a power user that has become caught up in a few addict like tendencies.
If you score between 7-17 you are on the verge of a serious problem
If you score between 18-26 you need to enter a program that removes you from your electronic devices for a period of at least 1 week. At this point you may be beyond help.
If you score 27 or more, you are @SeanMcGinnis – no one else could possibly have this many Social Media addictive tendencies and still have my genuine respect (Love you Brother)

Thanks everyone for stopping by, reading the social media addiction signs, and taking the test. For all of our sakes, I hope you have no more than a few of these habits but, if you do, we here at 12most still love you and appreciate your readership.

Until next time, I’m Dan Newman, I’m just a guy with a blog, and these are my 12 most.

Daniel Newman

http://newmanon.com

Daniel Newman is the CEO of United Visual Inc. Parent company to United Visual Systems, United Visual Productions, and United GlobalComm. The family of companies is focused in Visual Communications and Audio Visual Technologies. Newman is also an Adjunct Professor of Management at North Central College. A Chicago native all of his life, Newman is an avid golfer, a fitness fan, and a classically trained pianist.

Capital Hoedown done, blogging bug remains

I just finished a week of blogging about the Capital HoeDown for the Ottawa Citizen’s Festival Goer, so now what?  Over the week Ottawa Citizen readers have blessed me with well over 2,000 visits to my posts and the feedback I have received through social media has been incredible.  I’ve been blogging on and off for a few years but could never get a solid readership going.  Maybe it was just the wrong topic or maybe it was the fact that this time my blog was featured on the Ottawa Citizen’s webpage which gets way more traffic than anything I’ve ever written about.  This latest stint for the Citizen proves that there is an interest in what I have to say and I just have to keep trying to give my blog exposure through every method possible.

So I’ve decided to go back to my original blog and start writing about whatever comes to mind at that particular moment.  I’ve considered talking to the Citizen about possibly continuing on as a blogger with them but the difficult thing about that is what to write about.  I have knowledge on social media, technology, obviously a love for live music and entertainment but you can’t put that all into one blog, or can you?  I will have to see what the Citizen says.  I’m not doing this for money; if that was the case I would have continued down the road to journalism which I did a u-turn on almost 20 years ago now.  I write because I enjoy sharing my thoughts with others and love to hear other people’s opinions on similar topics.  Sometimes I write to educate or to tell a story about an experience or to give advice and sometimes to just brighten someone’s day.  That’s why I called my blog Hendrik’s Rambles, because it’s not about just one topic.  

So there you have it.  I’m going to continue writing and putting it out there and hope that people will read and share my thoughts with others.  Time will tell if anything more will come of it. 

Lucky number two for Tara Oram

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My latest blog entry for the Ottawa Citizen:

Lucky number two for Tara Oram