This past week, my little sister and I headed West on a roadtrip; the final destination was one very familiar to us as we’ve been visiting cousins and uncles and aunts there since we were born but for most others, you’d have a hard time finding it on a map. And so apparently did Google via my iPhone.

As my sister and I were about to enter the homestretch, the last two hours or so of a 12 and a half hour car ride, my Google map failed to return data. I knew this would eventually happen but I had no idea it would hit just as I needed to reference the town name at which our 275 country two lane highway would meet up with our last two lane country highway. I didn’t necessarily panic but I did try and refresh at least nine times before my sister told me to find a real map and look it up – um, a “real” map I asked her. What I was using was a real map.

Lucky for us, 275 turns into 20 and we kept on rolling without missing a beat. But it did remind me yet again of the importance of knowing and understanding that the digital tools and technologies of today are only as good as your ability to connect and access them. A “target” or an “audience” is no longer defined by geographic borders but it appears that technology can sometimes still be.

Here’s to hoping that Verizon will carry the iPhone by the time our family float trip is booked next year.

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1. What a Girl Wants: Hand Candy
2. A Digital Family Adventure
3. Reflecteur – Issue 49

I recently traded my city condo, yellow cabs and laptop for a three story house, a Suburban with two car seats and limited to no cell phone reception in a smallish town in KS that is home to my sister, brother-in-law and nephews. My summer “vacation” was spent trying to keep up with (and frankly alive) two boys under the age of 4. Thankfully their parents didn’t totally disappear but I was basically on my own from breakfast through to bath and bedtime.

I’m fascinated with people watching and this past week, all that energy was put towards watching them and the events/people that surround them. I often pay particular attention to how they interact with tools and technologies that weren’t even a pipe dream when I was their age. Lucky for you, I’m going to share a few of my observations…

Lesson # 1, don’t mess with his Nick Jr:
While both my nephews love books (especially ones about trucks), they also love their “t” or TV time. They have specific channels and shows they can watch and in actuality, it fills very little of their day but a four year old in possession of a remote with DVR capabilities is a blessing and a curse. I stood, with mouth gaping, for a whole three minutes when he returned from a trip to the bathroom and proceeded to pitch a fit because I failed to pause his show. He stared me down hard with his baby blue eyes and said with as much anger as he could muster, “Aunt Courtney, you know, you can pause it. Now I’m going to have to rewind and start over and Will has to re-watch it.” I mean, I just learned that I could record a show in full that had already started without having bits of it cut off – I never did get the remote back after that.

Lesson # 2, “pinching and flicking” has more than one meaning:
When siblings are as close in age as these two, there is bound to be some physicality involved in everyday activities. I attempted to channel the pinching and flicking into a more positive activity, iPhone photo viewing. I am in love with my Hipstamatic photo app and as a biased Aunt who thinks her nephews are super cute; I tend to take a lot of pictures of them. The boys mostly indulge me in this activity, especially if “funny faces” are allowed along with “smiley” ones and if they get to look at them. This isn’t frankly anything new to the older one but the insistence of my two year old nephew on holding and viewing and flicking through the photos himself did come as a surprise. When he figured out how to enlarge the pics, I thought it was just a fluke but when I tied names to pictures and he would enlarge to better see them and excitedly point to them, it solidified his genius status in my mind.

Lesson # 3, GPS is a life saver:
The younger one is an early riser and as such, has two specific tasks in the morning that only he does (feeding the dog and getting the newspaper). Once those two things are done, he’s ready for some breakfast. On Saturday morning we came down to the kitchen and he went straight to the porch to start on the dog feeding and I went straight to the coffee machine. I heard him making a bit of a fit a few minutes later when I asked him to get his placemat on and into his chair but I kind of paid no attention. I turned around to find him trying to pull a sports coat off his chair. I grabbed it and set it aside and didn’t think anything of it (likely in my mind it was my brother-in-laws or his brother who was in town too). Well into that evening, as my sister and her husband and friends had moved the weekend festivities to their backyard a total random entered through the front door with an across-the-street neighbor saying something along the lines of, “I’ve tracked them to somewhere here in this vicinity, so they have to be here.” I decided to hold off on heading upstairs to check on the sleeping boys and instead rerouted to the kitchen for a beer of my own – an excuse that let me better follow the conversation. Come to find out, it was his sports coat (accidentally taken from the dinner the night before) that contained two cell phones which he had tracked with GPS to essentially my sister’s front door; beats suspending service and buying a new phone.

While the later lesson had nothing to do with the boys, it does have everything to do with solidifying once again that we live in a world with completely new and different expectations – for both kids and adults. While my observations aren’t earth shattering and may not be all that uncommon, they do reinforce the fact that the game has changed. The nuggets of truth and inspiration that comes from the observations of stepping outside your comfort zone for a bit can be both frightening and exhilarating. I’m recharged and excited about what lies ahead for both me and my nephews. Are you?

Related posts:

1. Digital World Cup
2. Reflecteur – Issue 63
3. REFLECTEUR – Issue 64

I try really really hard on Sunday’s not to think about work, at all.  It’s my day for sleeping in, Yoga and catching up on the DVR.  It is also the only night that I actually watch television programing in close to real-time.  I’m a die hard Amazing Race fan and literally get a little sick to my stomach with anticipation of each new episode.

That is important to know only because it so happens that I extended the record time on Amazing Race this season and have by default, also been recoding and watching Undercover Boss.  Now before you judge, please take solace in the fact that I’m not an American Idol fan.  My reality television viewing has only included two shows up till now (Deadliest Catch premiers tomorrow night, don’t miss it!).  That said, I failed miserably last night at separating church and state by finding inspiration and crying real tears while watching the final episode of the season of Undercover Boss–now you can judge.

I might just be getting more emotional now that I’m closer to 35 than 30 but I actually paused, got up and took pen to paper to make notes though my tears as the last 10 minutes of the show played on.  While I have watched every episode of the short season, there was something different about last night’s show for me.  I’ll spare you the whole recap but for those of us who manage talent or are looking to inspire those who work around us, the message last night was that a little recognition goes a long way.

While not all of us can go “undercover” in our own organizations, we can take the time to get involved in more of the day-to-day to better understand the contributions and frustrations that are going on behind the scenes.  Listening shouldn’t be something we only do via dashboards but rather an activity that we proactively engage in face-to-face.

I for one am no longer going to underestimate the power of a simple, “job well done.”  Recognition based in actual accomplishment or illustrations of character can’t be faked or forced.  It could happen through a new take on the mentor/mentee relationship or may start by being more thoughtful of those around you; hopefully creating more meaningful relationships in the process.  I may not be empowered to name a flower arrangement after Dee at 1800-Flowers but I certainly can and will make sure that those who help drive the business I lead know that I couldn’t do it without them.

Related posts:

1. the internets and 24

It should be noted before going much further in reading this that a) it is a Friday night, b) It was one of those weeks that required a glass or three of wine in the evening and c) I had a vendor meeting and subsequent work conversation fresh in my head that probably influenced all of what you are about to read.

For those that know me and have gotten a ride home from work with me, you know that I don’t deviate from my route.  That is important to note only because this evening, while waiting for the light at Ashland and Damen, I noticed a billboard looming above me—yes, I said billboard and yes, I think it was calling to me.

It was as simple as simple can get; a bottle of Maker’s Mark to the left with a bordered box in the center with the words “FRIEND US” written in blue.

I immediately knew that it was a call-to-action to Facebook “friend” Maker’s or more accurately, become a fan.  While fan pages are not new news, it dawned on me that the billboard was essentially the new version of someone signing me up for an email or direct mailing listing at a bar when I was in my 20’s but with a big difference.  The action that I took when I got home was on my own terms and required me to hand over no personal information and interact with no one.

I’m already a Facebook member and avid user and becoming a fan of Maker’s required significantly less effort than getting invited to make a new profile in a private community that I’d fail to remember to log into more than once in a blue moon.  Which makes one wonder, or more accurately me, if the days of private communities might be numbered for certain marketers in certain categories? I’ll actually leave that last question unanswered and pick that line of thinking up at a later date (it is a Friday evening after all).  But as I trade out my evening wine for a Maker’s and Ginger, how could I not, I continue to be impressed by the flawless execution of an analog asset with a digital message that connects me to a brand long after I’ve passed through the green light.

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With just a few choice words this past weekend, my three year old nephew broke my heart….and my tech ego.

Let me set the stage for you. My sister and nephew picked me up at the airport (which is easy to do when it’s one hanger on the far south west edge of town) and just before I arrived, they were deep in conversation around the meaning of the word ‘embarrassing’ or more accurately, the proper use of said word.

I should insert a disclaimer here– my nephew is wicked smart and I don’t just say that because we’re related.

He proceeded to use his new word a couple of more times throughout the day and into Friday; each time he needed just a little bit of correction on the context. On Saturday however he no longer needed any help.

As I checked Facebook in the kitchen from my Blackeberry while he snacked at the counter, he looked up at me with his huge blue eyes and asked, “Aunt CJ, are you embarrassed that your phone has buttons?” “What” I asked? To which he innocently says, “Uncle Timmy’s works magic with just his fingers—you have to go type like the ‘puter.”

I think I actually blinked back tears as I starred at him in stunned silence. I could barely process what he had said, when he laughed at me and said, “yep, embarrassed.”

The next time you have a chance to spend time with a little one, really pay attention to what it is that intrigues them and what sticks with them. It was eye opening for me to say the least and I’m pretty sure when it comes time for him to pick out his mobile phone, there will be no second glances at anything with “buttons.”

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