Josh Shear

I'm honoring the sacrifice of our soldiers the good old-fashioned way today: something dead warmed by charcoal fire, a steamer pot full of something in a shell, and good friends on the back yard deck.

I'm also going to re-hash something I post frequently: American flag etiquette. We see it broken all the time, even by people who honestly do love our country. They hang flags off their houses all day every day – you're supposed to have a special light to fly it at night, and an exemption to fly it in the rain. We see athletes with flags on their uniforms frequently. That's also a no-no.

Here's something I wrote last year for syracuse.com.

Cross-posted from 40 Below Civic Engagement:

The Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) is looking for volunteers on Saturday, June 12th from either 10AM-1PM or 1PM-4PM. The OHA is planning a mansions & gardens self-guided tour of the historic Piercefield Neighborhood of Solvay. We need volunteers to welcome guests at each property. For appreciation of your time, we offer you a comp reservation, snack, and water. You may take the self-guided tour before or after your shift. Please contact Adrienne Kelley, Director of Development at the OHA at (315) 428-1864 Ext 314 or email adrienne.kelley@cnyhistory.org.

I got this email from Marilyn Higgins at Syracuse University's Office of Community Engagement. It's edited for style and such, and I've de-linked the email addresses so you can copy and paste into your web-based email clients.

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Last Friday, the Syracuse Common Council held a committee meeting to look at the plans for the first significant build-out of the Connective Corridor. These plans include the redesign of University Ave. and E. Genesee Street including the installation of bike lanes, pedestrian-level lighting, green infrastructure, landscaping and beautiful new signage and street furniture. The plan also calls for returning University Avenue to a two-way street, and the restoration of Forman Park . The design for Forman Park respects the existing memorials and adds a new fountain, spectacular lighting, seating and carefully crafted landscape architecture.

The vote on these items has been delayed for two weeks. The Common Council is seeking community input so this is the time to register your support for this exciting change. In order to get into construction this fall on Forman Park and see this first major leg of the Corridor built next spring it is important for the Council to hear from those who are looking forward to having these new amenities in our City.

This is a rare opportunity for Syracuse, to use state and federal funding to design and build “complete streets” and better connect the institutions on University Hill to downtown Syracuse. If you are looking forward to Corridor construction, and if you believe that our streets should be shared by the pedestrian and the biker, along with the car please take action by emailing a note to the Common Councilors listed below by June 2.

P.S. Please let the Councilors know how you personally will be affected by the greener commuting options, walkability , safety and urban improvements planned for the University Avenue- East Genesee Street route to downtown Syracuse. Do you live or work in the City? Do you go to church in this area..dine at Phoebe’s…. attend Syracuse Stage… walk or bike this way to work? Also, I encourage you to share this information with colleagues, friends and neighbors. Each note can contribute to a positive change for Syracuse. Thank You!!!

P.P.S. If you would like to see more of the Corridor design work than has been in the papers feel free to stop by our office on the 4th floor of the Warehouse, 350 West Fayette St.

Syracuse Common Council

Van Robinson, President, vrobinson@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Lance Denno, Councilor At-Large, ldenno@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Kathleen Joy, Councilor At-Large, kjoy@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Jean Kessner, Councilor At-Large, jkessner@ci.syracuse.ny.us
William Ryan, Councilor At-Large, wryan@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Matthew Rayo, Councilor District 1, mrayo@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Patrick Hogan, Councilor District 2, phogan@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Ryan McMahon, Councilor District 3, ryanmcmahon@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Thomas Seals, Councilor District 4, tseals@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Nader Maroun, Councilor District 5, nmaroun@ci.syracuse.ny.us

I'd like to say I have a love-hate relationship with books about management, but it's really more a dislike-hate relationship. I dislike reading them, and I hate getting them, because usually it means your manager is telling you, "I'm about to make your work life miserable, and if you read this book, you'll understand why, since I can't deal with explaining it to you in language you'll understand."

Enter Journey to the Emerald City: Achieve a Competitive Edge by Creating a Culture of Accountability by Roger Connors and Tom Smith. You'll want to watch The Wizard of Oz before you read the book; you'll understand the point a little better.

In L. Frank Baum's story, Dorothy and her companions seek out the wonderful Wizard of Oz in hopes that he can give them things they've been looking for (a heart, a brain, courage, a way home), when really they had it all along. By sending them to defeat the witch, the Wizard has shown them they can conquer anything, and all they had to do was step up to the plate and get it done using the tools they had.

Connors and Smith take this and tell managers to set concrete goals for their employees, and then have some sort of accountability system in place for everyone from the top to the bottom. They create several models, but a lot of it has to do with making your employees feel comfortable voicing their opinions, and with getting managers to do some self-reflection when they hear criticism of the way things have been going.

I'd recommend reading this book at a management level or higher first. If your company plans to give this book to front-line employees, they need some background as to why they're getting this book – otherwise it feels very much like their employers are saying, "We're struggling and it's your fault. Turn us around."

Next up for me is Shama Hyder Kabani's The Zen of Social Media Marketing. The review will be up after I finish.

What are you reading? Do you have recommendations of business, social media or online marketing books for me?

If you're in the social/search industry, you've been inundated with Facebook privacy posts. Skip this one. It's really for the friends and family members who stop by and read here after they see that I've more or less cleared out my Facebook profile.

If you haven't seen the New York Times' graphical representation of Facebook's privacy settings, go take some time and look at it. It's pretty. And scary. Take this example. By default, if I'm Facebook friends with John, and John is listening to something on Pandora and he decides to log into Facebook from Pandora, I get an ad on my Facebook page that says, "John thinks you'd really like this station on Pandora." Because Pandora is allowed to get information from my profile when John signs in.

Yeah, great.

I've had a fairly strict close friends and family only policy as far as Facebook is concerned. And now I'm getting ridiculous numbers of friend requests. Even with a low friend count – I think I just passed 200, after clearing out about 150 last year – I'm getting 8 to 10 requests a week, mostly from people I don't know.

So I'm giving in. I spent three hours –three hours! – changing my privacy settings, and since I'm still not sure what I'm sharing, I more or less cleared out my profile. Unless an invitation is obviously spam, I'm just going to accept friend requests. And I'm simply not going to share anything personal there. Yes, I'll keep those word games going, and I'll share links if I find anything cool, but you're not going to learn much about me via Facebook.

Feel free to email me, follow me on Twitter, or connect on LinkedIn, or even pick up the phone. But until Facebook convinces me it's serious about my privacy, it can't have my information.

Dolce Vita, a restaurant with an eclectic menu I really enjoy, is going local for its food, and they'll be featuring many local beers and wines. They're launching their local menu at a private event for Syracuse First, with tickets available for $35 for Syracuse First members and $40 for non-members. Here is the invite.

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Dolce Vita has created a “Local Menu” and has offered to give Syracuse First members a first taste!

This private event will feature a three course menu of Local Cuisine with beef from Nancy Lorraine Hoffman, poultry from Crossman Farms, and vegetables from CNY farmer’s market.

Dolce Vita’s “Local Menu” is part of their one year anniversary celebration (also in June) called “We’ve taken you around the world, now we’re taking you the place you least expect.” Everything served as part of this menu has been produced locally within the CNY and Finger Lakes region.

“Launching Local” Details:
When: June 2, 2010. Happy Hour starts at 5:30, Dinner at 6:30
Where: Dolce Vita, 907 East Genesee Street, Syracuse NY 13210
Why: Living local, loving local, launching local!
Price: Tickets are $35 for Syracuse First members and $40 for non members.
*Price includes a three course meal, presentations of the menu, specials on local wines and beers, entertainment and raffles!

Tickets can be purchased with credit/debit card by calling Dolce Vita at 315-475-4700 or via cash or check at the Syracuse First Networking event on May 27th or at the restaurant.

Additional Info:
*Space is limited! Purchase your tickets today to be sure you can participate in this great event!
**Please note that gratuity is not included in the price and we encourage you to tip the hardworking Dolce Vita staff !

I wrote an entry a few days ago on the Assault City vs Roc City roller derby bout on May 15. It elicited such a warm response from Crazy Diamond, who handles Assault City's PR, that I asked if I could post it here. These are her words, unedited. —JS

I work in a nearly all-male environment and it's great to be involved with something that is for women, by women and about women. Sometimes I am in awe when I think about our team and what we have managed to do both on and off the track in a little more than two years. We all use our particular skills to benefit the team. I'm in marketing for my day job, so I do PR and media. Our treasurer is a bookkeeper by day. Everyone brings something to the table. Male involvement is limited to support roles, such as refs and non skating officials. This is not be construed at all that we are man-haters or anything like that. The dynamic when it's just women is simply different. Our husbands, boyfriends, whomever - who we refer to as our "widows," are our biggest fans. We cannot do what we do without their support because derby is such a big time commitment. And our widows all get an unofficial derby name too!

Through derby, I'm meeting women I wouldn't otherwise in my daily life. We're a pretty eclectic bunch, but we all count each other as derby sisters. And despite what often happens when you get a bunch of women (especially strong, driven women) together, we don't have a lot of drama. The environment is very supportive and I feel like I have a whole network of people I could rely on if I was in a bad way somehow. People on the team have found each other jobs, attended each other's weddings, thrown baby showers, whatever. We've helped each other through divorces, moves, all kinds of stuff. The support is on and off the track. It extends to other teams as well. If a derby girl visits from out of town, we get an email or call asking if she can attend a practice. High-powered teams hold clinics to assist newer skaters in their development. People send money or gifts when a player is injured.

And thank you for bringing up the role of women in sports and all the shit, as you put it, that's out there. There are a handful of men's derby leagues, but it's almost exclusively a women's sport. There aren't many you can say this about. No worries about the men getting top billing. People seem more fascinated by women playing derby than men. However, many people don't take it seriously as a sport or mistakenly assume it's fake, and the derby of yesterday perpetuates this myth. You've been there - you've seen how physical and athletic it is and you know it's not fake. We train really hard and I would challenge any nay-sayer to get through a practice with us. I consider myself an athlete and want to be regarded as such. Yet I've done press and been told ON THE RADIO that my derby name sounds like a stripper name and I feel that mentality marginalizes us as athletes. (The derby name provides anonymity to otherwise normal people; I would be inhibited if my real name was in programs and on the websites and airwaves. There are fans with screws loose out there.) Yes, we wear fishnets and cute outfits; that's just derby style. But you can be strong and sexy at the same time; be an athlete and feminine; look hot while kicking some ass. If you don't care about looking hot, then just go kick some ass and that's totally fine and really more important at the end of the day anyway.

We are evolving into a force that rivals most other local semi-pro sports teams, in my opinion, in terms of our reach, organziation, and economic impact. We rent facilities, have partners/sponsors, sell team merchandise, spend money locally to promote and put on our events, etc. And we do this for fun, not for money or as jobs. All funds go back to the team for development or to charity. Being able to help the community in which we live through our charitable works is just the icing on the cake of all of this. Our next bout benefits the Galisano Children's Hospital.

Sorry to drone on... Obviously, I have strong feelings for this sport and I work tirelessly to promote it and my team. I'm just glad to see someone pick up on the things that are the best and most unique elements of derby, rather than just another simplistic piece about being a housewife by day and derby girl by night, as though we all live some kind of Clark Kent/Superman existence.

You may remember that I mentioned the involvement fair the other day. here's a look at what that is.

Here's an interesting event in Syracuse (press release). It's aimed at small business owners trying to find their way into social media (if you're well-established, this probably isn't for you).

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Have you attended the one and two hour social media sessions and find yourself wanting more? Have you been tweeting but not getting followers? Have you been maintaining your fan page but it’s still just your friends who are fans? Syracuse BizBuzz won’t leave you wanting more. Read On.

This conference features keynote addresses, case studies, workshops and discussions that provide strategic knowledge, insights and real world examples on how to successfully plan, implement and manage your social media efforts to achieve your business goals.

Social media platforms are fundamentally changing the sales, marketing and operations process.

It is redefining the way businesses:

* acquire customers:
* generate leads and customer response;
* create competitive differentiation and brand awareness;
* and manage crisis.

Register today at SyracuseBizBuzz.com

Follow the conversation at #syracusebizbuzz

The Syracuse BizBuzz Social Media Conference is a gathering of newbies, dabblers, users, and power users who are interested in what’s possible, what’s working, what’s now and what’s next in the business use of social media.

This full day conference (8:00 am to 5:00 pm), explores the impact social media has on marketing, advertising, and the tools used today to engage the public. Social media is dramatically changing how traditional marketing media is used for brand development and sales. Syracuse BizBuzz will explore how social media is successful today through case studies from local companies, but will also delve deeply into the practical methodologies of each tool.

SyracuseBizBuzz is a production of The Events Company, Site-Seeker Inc., and Digital Vertical with partners Syracuse University's iSchool, Falcone Center, Center for Career Services, Newhouse School of Public Communication, Syracuse.com, CNY Business Journal, Visual Technologies, Plus Sign and Graphic, and Syracuse Chamber of Commerce.

A Newbie Night, presented by Syracuse University'si ISchool, will be held on May 26, 2010, will provide business professionals the opportunity to learn the basics and to network.

Are you on the roller derby bandwagon yet? If not, climb aboard. It's fun, it's family-friendly, it's woman-positive (well, women's derby is), and it's good for the community.

Assault City Roller Derby had their first home bout of the season (thanks Crazy Diamond for getting us some seats, and thanks Black Mamba Skate Park for connecting us to them) on May 15. The defense was a little sloppy; Roc City wound up with a 182-58 win.

The Baldwinsville Ice Arena was packed for the bout. Half an hour before it started, the bleachers were packed. Here are the things I love.

Woman-positive. And better yet, girl-positive. Ever since Brandy Chastain scored a game-winning goal, there's been so much shit out there about women and sports. The only reason anybody even remembers that moment is because she ripped her shirt off, exposing a not-at-all revealing sports bra and a truck-load of emotion. Now, everything women do in sports is scrutinized with an eye toward scandal.

Not in derby. What you can see from the stands is community. Yes, these women are playing against each other; heck, they're beating the snot out of each other much of the time. But they definitely shake hands before and after the bouts, and no hard feelings all around. And you know who else sees that? Nine-year-old girls in the audience, who have been looking up to Hillary fucking Duff or whomever.

Bumps and bruises are going to be part of the game, but if I had daughters, I'd want them to be part of this community.

Family-friendly. No, your kids can't sit on the floor and watch a bout – they're a little too likely to get a derby girl in their lap, at full speed (I think I just sold Mitch a ticket) – but the bleachers are plenty safe. Beer is only served in a designated area, and not in the stands. And while you're likely to run into some foul-mouthed fans (like me), you're equally as likely to run into foul-mouthed people in a diner, so, whatever.

Community-engaged. Last year, I saw Assault City hand over a check to the Carol M. Baldwin Foundation for some $900 and change to help fight cancer. On Saturday, the Shriners were out in full force, some of them in clown regalia. A dollar of every ticket sold goes to some charity or other. That is awesome. They even kicked me $15 for my beard on a whim. They are involved in charity work, and that's just awesome.

The next bout is June 19 in Baldwinsville. Hope to see you there!