Group Projects Are Forever, But Don’t Fret.

People usually dread collaboration.  A lot of us don’t want to entrust our work and credibility to an individual we don’t necessarily like or know.  We don’t want to go through the struggles of uncooperative members, or conflicting schedules, or a flood of ideas, or any of the headaches that comes with working in a group.  If I had a choice to do any of the group projects in my entire educational career, I probably would have skipped 80% of them.

However, in reality we have to work with others everyday, and that’s not such a terrible thing.  Having the ability to work well in a group can yield results that would never have even been imagined when working alone.  Working with people increases your social skills, creates a supportive environment, and explores a broad range of perspectives just to name a few pros.

We were forced into group projects our whole lives as a preparatory action.  In order to make sure we would be good assets for the workplace, well any place, we need to be comfortable with working with a diverse group of people.

“Collaboration is essential for organizational change.”  This means that if you want to accomplish something grand, complex, and great, the it would  require the ideas, commitment, and brainpower of a great amount of people.

Sure, it could be done on your own, but it wouldn’t be efficient; it may be missing a component that you may have overlooked, or you might be lacking in a skill set needed for part of the project.  Strong organizations have strong leaders in different departments, because everyone has different skills and talents.  Leveraging everyone’s strengths ensures that each base is covered.  On a micro scale, the same can be said of group projects and collaborations.  A project has a much greater potential of being amazing when there is a team of different expertise behind it.

As we transition from job to job in our careers, we should keep in mind that people can be pretty interesting, and there’s always something a person could bring to the table.  Collaboration should be viewed as an opportunity to creative something fresh, rather than a hindrance.

 

 

References

Field, A. (2012, November 30). 6 Ways to Foster Collaboration in Your Workplace | OPEN Forum. Retrieved from https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/fostering-collaboration/

Gomen, C. K. (n.d.). 7 insights for collaboration in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/23929/7-insights-collaboration-workplace

Morgan, J. (2013, July 30). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2013/07/30/the-12-habits-of-highly-collaborative-organizations/2/

Infograph Tid Bit

Infographs are a creative way to explain a process or show data.  Even the most conservative audiences tire of paragraphs and bulletpoints.  It’s healthy to have fun every once in a while, even if it’s with data.

With infographs, you could create valuable content to share on….well…anything you can put content on.  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, newsletters, anything.

Content can be created through a variety of different platforms and programs.  Don’t worry, there are resources available for all skill levels.  You don’t have to be an Adobe wizard.

I created one just for this blog and it was pretty easy! I used canva.com and it’s pretty much drag and drop.  This site has plenty of free options and is very easy to navigate.  Check it out below.

Like every other creative, just be sure to keep an open mind.

Happy designing!

…Why Greedy Though?

“So you date boys AND girls? That’s greedy….”

If your sexual preference includes more than one gender you’ve probably been told this, and it probably rubbed you worse than sandpaper on eczema.

Because it should have.  It makes absolutely no sense.

I am pansexual, which means I don’t care what parts you have or what gender you choose.  Bisexual is different from that in the sense that a bi person would typically want a cis-gendered male or female.  I don’t really care if you’re cis or trans or what have you.  If you’re an awesome person (and physically attractive by my standards) then you have a chance with me.  It took me a while to find that word, so for the longest time I was just telling people I was bisexual.  Both forms of revealing my preference were oft times met with some dumb statements and stereotypes.

But greedy?  That might take the cake of illogical.  Here’s why:

Greed holds no preference, just people.

Just because my scope of dating is wider than yours, doesn’t make me any more greedy than the next person.  What makes you greedy, is being greedy.  There are plenty of greedy heterosexual and homosexual people.  They can be the cheaters, or  the players, the bachelors, etc.  But here’s my question: how am I greedy if I’m still dating one person at a time?

Greed implies a limit.

Let’s be honest.  If I wanted to have all the people I wanted to have, I still wouldn’t have every single human being in the world.  I’m not taking 20 cookies out of a jar that has 21.  My dating pool doesn’t affect yours.  It didn’t change when you learned my preference.  And if I happened to steal away your crush, it’s because I’m better than you.  That’s it.

Is it even greed? Or do you just want to hear your voice?

It seems like anytime a person is romantically or sexually liberal, they’re deemed immoral if they’re not a cis-gendered male.  If I were a straight guy, I could have a harem and it would be overlooked.

Monogamy is not the only type of love.  Polyamorous people can hold healthy romantic relationships with multiple people at a time.  If that works for them, then good for them.  We encounter different people and beliefs everyday.  As a race, humans should be conscious that there are way too many people in the world for all of us to think and feel the exact same way.  Any relationship dynamic you can literally think of exists.  You don’t have to agree with all the differences, but you should never put someone else down because of them.  If it’s all consensual, who cares?

Those are just my big three.  The main point I want to drive home is just don’t be disrespectful.  You asked me for a piece of personal information and I decided to tell you.  Don’t ask about my preferences and my beliefs just so you can try to shit on them.

If you have anything else to add or refute, please don’t hesitate to comment ^_^.

Social Media is Revolutionary! But Eh.

Apps on a smartphone

Social media has definitely caused a revolution.  Think about it. Social media has found a way to connect everyone to anyone.  Conversations that stream from Tokyo to Detroit, or appreciation from a celebrity to a fan; countless forms of interactions that were impossible before are now feasible with the help of Social Media.

I think it’s an amazing way to connect with the world.  I have always been fully immersed in social media since the birth of it.  I’ve held many different accounts in general and niche websites:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Myspace
• Newgrounds
• Tagged
• Bebo
• Crushspot
• And many…many more

If you’ve seen the show Catfish (if you haven’t google it), that was pretty much me.

That’s right! I was an OG Catfish back in the day.

It was my form of entertainment in my junior high years.  If you’ve randomly chatted to a blonde 24-year old “Christine”, she was probably me.

I digress.  My point is I deal with social media much more than the normal person would like to admit to, and always have.  It’s nothing to be ashamed of though, because social media has evolved.  At first, it was seen as just a way to keep in contact with friends or meet new people.  However, there is much more to it than that. It is integrated into our educational, personal, and professional lives.

My homework includes tweeting and I get paid to run a Facebook page.  I literally couldn’t avoid social media if I wanted to.  And you probably can’t either.  That’s when you know something is revolutionary, it causes a change that you can’t just step aside from.

Another revolutionary concept that came from social media: virality, or the chance of a piece going viral.

The power of virality could be considered the biggest benefit and detriment of social media.  It all depends on the content.  A piece of content going viral could mean someone’s life being saved.  It could also have a result of pain and humiliation.  Think of the most embarrassing moment of your life.  Now think about how much it would suck it if were recorded and viewed 20,034,080 times….and counting.

The only thing that sucks worst than that is cyber bullying.  Social networks are a new form of communication, and with that comes harassment and negativity.  Cyber bullying can happen to anyone.  It’s incredibly easy to do these days when a person can hide their true identity behind a screen, and because of that the attacks can be more vicious.  Cyber bullying has taken many lives and proven that words can hurt a lot more than sticks and stones.

In the natural order of things there is a dark side of social media.  Terrible people get their hands on something and it doesn’t take long for it to be tainted.  Social media is unfortunately a fast and effective channel to spread hate, false information, and white collar crimes.

Putting together the pros and cons of social media, they equal a nice, big “eh” for me.  It’s interesting to study and analyze, but all in all it’s just another part of today’s world that is integrated into my life.

Sources:

Anderson, M. (2015, Oct 29). Technology Device Ownership: 2015. Retrieved Nov 11, 2015, from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/29/technology-device-ownership-2015/

Downey, A. M. (2013). Perceptions of adolescent bullying: Attributions of blame and responsibility in cases of cyber-bullying. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 536-540.

Perrin, A. (2015, Oct 8). Social Media Usage 2005-2015. Retrieved Nov 11, 2015, from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/