Tuesday, April 29, 2014

59 Days of Independence

As promised, I would make a post about the 59 Days of Independence project, a project created by Heather Layton and Brian Bailey to celebrate Independence Days all over the world. Like with the US Independence Day, these days generally celebrate freedom from British rule. I say generally, because the celebration I participated in was for South Africa's Freedom Day, commemorating their first post-apartheid election and the election of Nelson Mandela. South Africa has its own Independence Day that originated in the 1930s, but Freedom Day is an important day.

How the project works is you can pick an Independence Day that is not for your native country (list in the info page)and find a way to celebrate. It can be big or small. You can make a shirt featuring a country's flag, cook dishes native to that country, educate a classroom of children about the country, you can do pretty much anything. Then post photos to the 59 Days of Independence Facebook page and they will be boosted to that country. People from that particular country will see your post. This is a global project with people from all over the world participating. You can also contact Heather and Brian at hlayton@mail.rochester.edu if you're interesting.

I know I've taken jabs at Facebook here in the past, and I'm still a critic, but I know that they're still the top network. Projects like this one would be more difficult to pull off without Facebook. Aside from my issues with the pay system, boosting posts to specific locations to show people you're thinking about them is a wonderful idea. Especially with the world getting smaller. It's also a great way to take a stand and support your fellow human beings.

If you're interested, First Unitarian celebrated by singing the South African national anthem while South Africa's flag was unfurled. It was truly a joyous occasion.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

It's Been a While

Well, not that long. To be perfectly honest, I've been rather busy. This is a lull before I get back to being busy.

Recently I formed a networking group for marketers with someone in my network. This morning was supposed to be our second meeting, but it's kind of hard to hold a meeting when everyone invited is unable to attend. If any job seeking marketers are interested, these meetings are weekly at the Panera on Monroe & Winton at 9:30 AM. I recommend the cinnamon crunch bagel.

The other exciting thing I did was help out Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences (CEIS) with their annual University Technology Showcase. I had the pleasure of checking in many of the researchers who had registered for the event. It was a great event, and it's amazing what university researchers have been working on in Rochester and surrounding areas. A lot of great ideas.

My latest project is helping out with The August Group's June Career Fair. Just like with their December Fair, I am the marketing team lead again. This is going to be an exciting event, as MCC gave permission to expand the number of companies we'll be allowed to put on the roster.

Despite how much I've done, those are really the major things to report on. The other things I've been up to are still in development. Since the opportunity has arisen, later this month I'll be attending a celebration that's a part of the 59 Days of Independence project. Seeing as I'll have a personal experience with this project, and it utilizes social media, it will have its own entry. As much as I have knocked on Facebook in the past, they are still a very relevant tool.