Tag Archives: social media

Attention please (put the phone down)

A recently released study by Microsoft shows that digital lifestyles are decreasing Canadian attention spans. Microsoft asks: with news reduced to 140 characters and conversations whittled down to emojis, how is this affecting the way consumers see and interact with their worlds?

The most alarming finding in the study is that our minds are easily diverted – to the point that any sustained concentration for the average Canadian is becoming increasingly difficult. The study found that the average attention span of humans has decreased to eight seconds, which is one second shorter than that of a goldfish. This average attention span of humans in 2000 was 12 seconds – so in a little more than a decade, our ability to remain attentive has decreased 33%.

Microsoft’s study found that people (or Canadians at least) are more easily distracted in the presence of devices with screens. “Digital lifestyles affect the ability to remain focused for extended periods of time. Canadians with more digital lifestyles (those who consume more media, are multi-screeners, social-media enthusiasts or earlier adopters of technology) struggle to focus in environments where prolonged attention is needed,” the report said.

This is especially true for the younger generation. Here are shocking statistics for persons age 18 to 24:

77 % reach for their phone when nothing is occupying their attention
52% check their phones at least every 30 minutes
73% check their phone as the last thing they do before going to bed
79% use their phone or another device while watching TV
74% watch TV programs via streamed video rather than live
87% watch a number of program episodes back-to-back

There are a lot of interesting observations and data found in this Microsoft study, a lot to give you pause (before you next reach for your phone). Here are a few links to read more details – that is, if you can keep your attention any longer…

NDTV report

CNET News

Yahoo News

Our Twitter and Facebook daily missives

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The By George Journal delivers daily missives both on Twitter and Facebook. Our tweets and posts are forwarded to inspire and motivate our followers. They are positive urgings to remain determined and focus on your day’s objectives and to be aware of those things that make you complete and give you purpose.

Consider joining us on Facebook or follow our daily tweets. Herein we provide you an example of our most recent 25 favourite tweets and a selection of 5 FB posts from this past month.

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see farther.” – J. P. Morgan
“You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one.” – Henry D. Thoreau
“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K Rowling
“Always do more than is required of you.” – George S. Patton
“Courage is being scared to death – but saddling up anyway.” – John Wayne
“Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.” – Jim Rohn
“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” – Oscar Wilde
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
“Treat a man as he is & he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can & should be & he will become as he can & should be.” – Goethe
“Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility.”- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
“Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.” Jim Rohn
“Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself.” – Richard Bach
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” – Joseph Campbell
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Ram Dass
“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.” – Marcus Aurelius
“There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life.” Federico Fellini
To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing. – Aristotle
“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what do and let them surprise you with their results.” – George S. Patton
“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” – Mark Twain
“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castaneda
Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be. – Abraham Lincoln
What is most important is to find peace and share it with others. – Thich Nhat Hanh
“At the end of every hard day, people find some reason to believe.” – Bruce Springsteen
“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”- John Wooden

Here are a sampling of our Facebook posts.

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Facebook as an election tool

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A recent presentation to politicos at an Ottawa conference reveals just how important Facebook will become in the fight for public support and your vote in the up-coming federal election campaign.

At the Manning Center Networking Conference Facebook session, politicos were instructed on how to best use the Facebook platform in the coming months. Many MPs already strategically use Facebook, but Canadians can likely expect all Parties and candidates to be using this platform to swing and/or re-enforce their support.

Facebook already is a strategy tool being wielded to win hearts and votes south of the border. In a recent Washington Post article, “How Facebook plans to become one of the most powerful tools in politics”, the power and attractiveness of this social media platform is identified.

Political campaigns are obsessed with two things: Telling every possible voter exactly what they want to hear in order to get them to the polls and cast the “right” vote, and telling them that message for as close to zero dollars as possible.

It’s not a surprise, then, that Facebook has focused its social-Sauron eye on the world of politics. Already a focal point of political activity (of varying quality), the site has shifted its toolset to let campaigns target extremely specific audiences with very specific messages, for prices somewhat north of zero dollars. The end goal for the company seems clear: Replace, as much as possible, expensive, blanketed television advertising with much more immediate, much more specific ads appearing in users’ feeds — and then cash a whole lot of checks.

Here are some key points from the Manning Center Network Conference session, “How Facebook can help power your campaigns” with Facebook strategists Kevin Chan and Kaite Harbath.

FB recommends candidates use pages rather than profiles.
Choose a lasting page name & URL (not campaign, office or year specific).
Use FB Pages as a source not a destination.
Understand how to use Page Insights and develop informed content and ads with information gleaned from it.
Creativity and authenticity are rewarded. Keep content succinct, timely and use visuals.
FB says “post engaging content.” Short, pithy, interesting. 15 seconds is the sweet spot.
Use video – but keep it short. Remember the videos are watched on mobile devices – so short, to the point – and no need for high end production. Raw footage is okay.
Behind the scenes videos do well, particularly from candidate POV.
Post updates from political and personal life. Bring people along on the campaign trail.
Drive event sign-ups. Highlight policy.
Make your content social. Tag people. (“It used to be location, location, location. Now it’s people, people, people.”)
Build a community. Host live Q&A sessions. Regular engagement creates new advocates on scale.
FB recommends regular Q&A sessions with candidates.
FB is becoming a platform for breaking news.
Most politician advertise in the FB news feed.
Build a Page fan base to connect with virtually 100% of voters through a friend (network of networks)

So, as you enjoy your news feed in the coming months, take note of the political messaging that is increasingly creeping into your FB experience.

Escaping Facebook’s Blackhole

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Facebook is a tremendous social media tool – perhaps the best tool to be ever developed. People can spend hours on their Facebook each day – socializing. However, this on-line activity can also lead to an addiction, as people get lost in the FB’s black hole, clicking through both posts, sponsored pages and, ultimately, ads and commercial offerings.

Joseph Hindy recently wrote about this destructive FB obsession in a great article posted on @LifeHack. He listed 10 things that will happen once you stop checking Facebook all the time. Here is Hindy’s insightful list.

1. You’ll Become less Braindead.
The term “Braindead” is used in this context when you are staring at a screen ignoring everything and everyone around you. If you get off of Facebook, many new opportunities could arise when you are not catching up with all your “friends”.

2. You’ll Get more Work Done.
“Checking Facebook” really means you are going to scroll through posts for potentially a half an hour. If people could get as much time in working and learning as checking social-media websites, the entire human race would be geniuses!

3. You Can Focus on Other Things.
Being on Facebook takes a lot of time. If you start being more productive with your time… you could spend more time with real friends, walk, bike, or run. Without the addiction of updates, you could put your mind to better things.

4. You Can Find Out Who Your Real Friends Are.
Someone who spends a minute liking all your posts and commenting on all your updates looks as if they really care about you, which of course in most cases is wrong. Hanging out as well as doing physical activities with a legitimate friend is a lot better according to the true meaning of friend.

5. You Will Learn the Word “Like” Has No Meaning.
Liking things on Facebook is no longer a matter of actually liking the post. It’s an obligatory action to show that you have seen the post and acknowledge its existence. The “like” button basically states you have seen the post, therefore, making the button useless in real life.

6. You Will Feel More Accomplished.
Constantly dealing with the never ending posts can be somewhat emotionally draining. Doing things like gardening, running, or putting in a load of laundry can make you feel like you have actually accomplished something.

7. You’ll Get Rid of the Stalkers.
Practically everyone who uses Facebook has a stalker… It is all there to see, your home life as well as your social life. If you leave Facebook, you’ll be totally immune to those kind of creepy people.

8. You Will Actually Feel Better About Yourself.
Studies have shown that Facebook makes you feel bad about yourself. When you post a status nobody likes or you find rude comments on something you posted, it can be quite depressing. Getting off Facebook will release the weight of depression from a couple of pointless posts.

9. You Will Feel Better About the Things You Own.
Studies have shown that people are jealous about how popular their friend is in social media. There jealous about comments, posts, etc. Facebook is an excellent place to brag about what you have or what you have done, so getting off of it can release the pressure of “keeping up with the Jones’s”.

10. You Will Realize That All You Ever Were To Facebook Was a Piece of Data That Viewed Advertisements.
We have no doubt that there are people on Facebook who legitimately care about you. However, we also have no doubt that Facebook itself couldn’t care less about you. Your job on Facebook is to buy games, view advertisements, and make new friends so they can get caught up in Facebook too. All you are is a piece of data that is earning Facebook money.

To read the full article by Joseph Hindy, click here.

(ed. – This article was first published in By George Journal in November 2014. After spending a weekend watching my older son lost in his FB stream, I was prompted to bring this excellent advice forward.)

The genesis and explosion of the Net

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Alec Scott has written a great expose of Vint Cerf – the father of the Internet – in the recent ROB magazine. Here are some facts that you should know about the man and about the modern phenomenon known as the Internet.

What is most striking about reading this magazine piece is the realization that the genesis of the Net is but 40 years old – and the rise of this technology began only 30 years ago. (So, that means anyone under the age of 30 has no idea how man existed without the Internet!)

In 1975 Vint Cerf led a working group at Stanford University that developed a language to enable inter-network communication – the birth of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP/IP).
Earliest development of the TCP/IP language occurred with primitive wired network developed by scientists with U.S. military funds. Cerf once said of TCP/IP’s early success, “To borrow a phrase, now the Internet could go where no network had gone before.”
Not until ten years after the fact did a Boston tech company become the first to register a domain name on this new network of networks. Only five other organizations sought a home there in 1985. In other words, in 1985, there were a total of 6 domain names in the world.
Here are the numbers of domain names worldwide over the course of the last 30 years: 1985 there were 6; 1990 there were 1,402; 2000 there were 21 million; 2005 there were 46 million; 2010 there were 91 million and in 2012 there were 106 million domain names.
Cerf’s wonderment in the Internet persists: “Imagine, the phone can take an image of a menu written in another language and translate it into yours”—he also grasps common worries. “I’m interested in the Internet of Things, and we have lots of smart-home technology—a Nest Thermostat, a sensor that gathers information about heating, humidity and lighting in each room of our house. That said, the data collected about who’s at home, where they are…could be abused by bad guys.”
Cerf comments on current think about artificial intelligence: “Some fairly notable people have worried that artificial intelligence is becoming a hazard to humanity. But most AI is being used as a co-operative measure, not a coercive one. Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics haven’t been codified, it is true, but they are generally being observed.”
One example of human-machine co-operation Cerf cites is the Google Glass: “The Glass brings computers into ordinary human discourse, with machines hearing and seeing what you are hearing and seeing, and becoming more of a party…participating in the conversation.”
Alec Scott asked Cerf “Did he ever think it would go this big, this quickly—this, well, boldly?” He replied: “No. So much about it has been surprising. The explosive adoption of the World Wide Web protocols. The growth of hacking, phishing and other hazards. The hypergolic confluence of the smartphone and the Internet. Some of it, we imagined, yes, but much of it—no.”
Cerf is now 71 years old and is Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist as well as consulting with politicians and policymakers around the world on laws affecting the Net.

Alec Scott’s full ROB article can be read here:
“Internet pioneer Vint Cerf on the future of technology”

FAV quotes to motivate & inspire

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Through each day, By George provides motivational and inspiration tweets for its followers. Here are 25 of our latest favourite quotes from the past month – found on @ByGeorgeJournal

“The poor, the unsuccessful, the unhappy, the unhealthy are the ones who use the word tomorrow the most.” – Robert Kiyosaki
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Melody Beattie
“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan
“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”- Victor Hugo
“Life isn’t about getting and having, it’s about giving and being.” – Kevin Kruse
“We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them.” – William Arthur Ward
“Anything that is of value in life only multiplies when it is given.” – Deepak Chopra
“Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it & you’ll start believing in it.” – Jesse Owens
“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” – Thomas Jefferson #Quote
“If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy
“Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge, others just gargle.” – Robert Anthony
“Be a life long or short, its completeness depends on what it was lived for.” – David Starr Jordan
“Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.” – Bernard Baruch
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin
“The shortest answer is doing the thing.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Give up defining yourself to yourself or to others. You won’t die. You will come to life.” – Eckhart Tolle
“When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.” – Terry Bradshaw
“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” – Gabriel Garcia Márquez
“We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance.” – Benjamin Disraeli
“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” – Newt Gingrich
“Happiness depends on what you can give, not on what you can get.” – Swami Chinmayananda
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France
“Life is shorter than you think. You’re capable of more than you believe. Live accordingly.” – Umair Haque
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh

Join By George Journal for daily tweets on Twitter.

20 FAV tweets (#quotes)

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Here are 20 of our favourite quotes from the last few weeks, taken from our By George Journal Twitter stream….

“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” – Aristotle
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle
“We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.” – Bukowski
“The pursuit of normality is the ultimate sacrifice of potential.” – Faith Jegede
“Having a great intellect is no path to being happy.” – Stephen Fry
“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” – Mark Twain
“However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.” – Stephen Hawking
“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” – Christopher Reeve
“We meet no ordinary people in our lives.” – C.S. Lewis
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Von Goethe
“There is a difference between knowing the path & walking the path.” – Morpheus
“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.” – Latin Proverb
“So long as you keep on trying, you’re a winner.” – Alex Kassan
“A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks.” – Oscar Wilde
“Luck? I’ve never banked on it… Luck to me is something else: hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.” – Lucille Ball
“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” – Mother Teresa
“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” – Buddha
“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” – Zen proverb
“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” – John Irving

Join us on Twitter for daily provocation! Follow @ByGeorgeJournal

Great quotes to inspire and motivate

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Join our By George conversation on Twitter and receive daily tweets to inspire and motivate you – like these 25 favourite quotes from the past few weeks. Follow us @ByGeorgeJournal.

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, & grow brave by reflection.- Thomas Paine
Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances. – Benjamin Franklin
If you love life, don’t waste time. Time is what life is made up of. – Bruce Lee
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. – Jim Rohn
There is real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment. – Norman Vincent Peale
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about. – Benjamin Franklin
Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself. – Paul Bryant
Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. – Jim Rohn
All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it. – Samuel Butler
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius
If a man does his best, what else is there? -George Patton
Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in 2 small jumps. – David Lloyd George
We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing. – Bukowski
Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. – Mother Teresa
We are happy in proportion to the things we can do without. – Henry David Thoreau
If you know the why, you can live any how. – Friedrich Nietzsche
The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it. – John Ruskin
The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. – Benjamin Disraeli
If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. – Fred DeVito
To succeed is to accept the world as it is and rise above it. – Michael Korda
A goal is not always meant to be reached. It often serves simply as something to aim at. – Bruce Lee
Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones. – Phillips Brooks
If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it. – John Irving
Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out. – Anton Chekhov
Wherever you are – be all there. – Jim Elliot

Follow @ByGeorgeJournal for more inspirational and motivational musings.

Sideway Glances of #RobFord

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Admittedly, we too got caught up in the 30-minute-Twitter-frenzy following Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s press conference late afternoon yesterday. Here are 10 of the more colourful tweets from the @ByGeorgeJournal feed.

@splomgirl – I felt like my eyes were going to roll out of my head while scrolling through my twitterfeed of Rob Ford’s transcript.
@brycebaril – I can’t help but hear Meatloaf when I hear Rob Ford’s speech. “I would do anything for Toronto, but I won’t step down…”
‏@acarvin – This whole Rob Ford mess is like a Chris Farley SNL sketch that never, ever ends…. #TOpoli
@ByGeorgeJournal – Very funny. #LOL – RT @davidakin – “It’s a little unorthodox as re-election launches go.” #topoli
@slilleyman – Good news you guys! Via @VanityFair: Rob Ford’s Crack-Apology Football Tie Now Available on eBay
@ArwenLong – I can’t stop tweeting about #RobFord. But I’m not an addict. I can stop at any time. #TOpoli
@Naparstek – Toronto’s corrupt, corpulent, Cadillac-driving Rob Ford is the perfect embodiment of the demise the North American suburb.
@gmbutts – So congratulations, Rob Ford, for outdoing all previous Hogtown Mayors. You’ve made Toronto the centre of the universe. #TOpoli
@Irene680News – Not every day #CNN carries a presser from ##Toronto live, #RobFord has the world talking pic.twitter.com/lQbzDPPPWz
@ByGeorgeJournal – Agreed! #LOL – RT @RosieBarton “After today no one is allowed to say bombshell on the news ever again. ok?”

And we RT-ed a few serious questions…

@IvisonJ – Perennial questions for anyone in power: Where did your power come from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable?
@rosalyndawn – Critical question for #cdnpoli types: How can we get voters -young voters esp- to take the political process seriously amid so much scandal?

Consider following @ByGeorgeJournal on Twitter

(ed. – Photo credit: Michelle Siu for the National Post)

25 Social Media Stats You Will Want To Know

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Social media specialist Cara Pring always amazes her readers with the reams of statistical and factual information she digs up on the use of the Internet. By George highly recommends her blog: “The Social Skinny.” So, here are lists of the most and least remarkable sm 2012 stats she has shared:

Top 15 Positive Social Media Statistics For 2012

91% of online adults use social media regularly
9/10 mobile searches lead to action (over half lead to purchase)
There are more devices connected to the Internet than there are people on Earth
70% of adult social networkers shop online
54% of active social networkers follow a brand
61% of global internet users research products online
93% of US adult Internet users are on Facebook
Watching video on computers has become as common as watching video on television among online consumers
67% of Twitter users (US) are more likely to buy from brands they follow
Companies that blog have 55% more website visitors
By 2016 more than half of the dollars spent in US retail will be influenced by the web
77% of B2C companies have acquired customers from Facebook
Social media users who receive excellent customer service from brands spend on average 21% more than non-social customers
83% of people who complained on Twitter loved the response from those companies that did make the effort
62% of marketers became more important to their marketing campaigns in the last 6 months

Top 10 Negative Social Media Statistics For 2012

25% of small to medium sized businesses have no strategy and only 28% measure their ROI of social media activity
83% of socially savvy consumers have walked away from a purchase in the past year after a negative customer service experience
80% of businesses use social media sites to monitor/extract information related to competitors
56% of customer tweets to companies are being ignored
On average companies only respond to 30% of social media fans’ feedback
70% of brands ignore complaints on Twitter
Auto-posting to Facebook decreases likes and comments by 70%
55% of companies ignore all customer feedback on Twitter and Facebook, largely because they have no process in place to respond
Only 26% of brands regularly included a call-to-action in their tweets
Only 44% of customers are answered within the first 24 hours

These stats were original read in a Top Dog blog entry, where they reference and source Cara Pring’s original post.

Social Media Tidbits

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Of Boomers and sm :

A new report by Nielsen in collaboration with BoomAgers shows that in five years, 50% of the U.S. population will be 50+. They spent close to 50% of all CPG dollars yet 5% of advertising is geared towards them. In the next five years, Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are set to control 70% of the disposable income in the U.S.
Boomers represent: 33% of all online users; 33% of all social media and Twitter users; 33% are heavy internet users; and 53% of Boomers are on Facebook.
According to this “Most Valuable Generation” report, Boomers are also prolific online shoppers. A third of them shop online and the 50+ segment spends approx. $7 billion when there.
SOURCE: http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/all_social_networking_statistics/

Of teens and sm:

18% of teens would stop communicating altogether if their favorite social networks shut down. That’s according to a recent survey of American high school and college students by email marketing company AWeber.
According to the survey, 90% of teens are on Facebook, and an astounding 93% of teenagers use mobile phones -– the same amount that use email. 74% of teens are YouTube users, and 47% use Skype to keep up with others.
SOURCE: http://mashable.com/2012/07/19/teens-stop-communicating/

Of our young, couch-potato nation :

A global couch potato survey reports Canadian youth urgently need to ditch their iPhones and run somewhere. The Lancet says between 70 and 79 per cent of Canadian boys aged 13 to 15 are inactive, and so are 80 to 89 per cent of girls the same age.
Younger teens in this country are two to three times as inactive as adults, says a survey by The Lancet, one of the world’s most influential medical journals. It finds our level of physical activity ranks high among Western nations — better than in the U.S., and better than those pesky Swedes who were supposed to be fitter at age 60 than Canadians at 30.
SOURCE: http://o.canada.com/2012/07/19/canadian-kids-love-iphones-more-than-road-hockey/?preview=true&preview_id=78551&preview_nonce=a405329f04

Of latest stats and trends :

Highlights of the latest Experian Information Solutions survey on the digital landscape tells us: 91% of today’s online adults use social media regularly; Pinterest is now the 3rd most popular social networking site behind Facebook and Twitter; and 28% of smartphone owners watch video on their phone in a typical month
And more about mobile use: According to eMarketer 82M US consumers, or 26% of the population, will access social networks from their phones this year, rising to approx. 117M by 2014 (this still represents a minority activity).
Facebook today accounts for 85% of all mobile social networking activity. eMarketer projects that Facebook will account 87.4% by 2014 — or 4 out of every 10 mobile users and two-thirds of smartphone users.
SOURCES: http://www.experian.com/ & http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/all_social_networking_statistics/

Our FAV Twitter quotes to inspire & motivate

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Here are 25 of our most recent FAVs as tweeted @ByGeorgeJournal. We welcome you to join us on Twitter to receive daily #quotes that will #inspire & #motivate

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Make your dream your most habitual thought. – Proverb
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James
Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. – Mahatma Gandhi
Failure is not about insecurity. It’s about lack of execution. – Jeffrey Gitomer
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson
It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project. – Napoleon Hill
The price of excellence is discipline. The cost of mediocrity is disappointment. – William A. Ward
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. – Alan Watts
If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary. – Jim Rohn
Don’t waste time calculating your chances of success and failure. Just fix your aim and begin. – Guan Yin Tzu
There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are intersecting monologues, that is all. – R. West
Don’t be afraid to take a big step if 1 is indicated; u can’t cross a chasm in 2 small jumps. – DL George
You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. – Margaret Thatcher
The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence. – Robert J. Shiller
Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. – William Bryan
The impossible is often the untried. – Jim Goodwin
Everyone dies. Not everyone really lives. – William Wallace
Talent develops in solitude, character develops in the stream of life. – J.W. von Goethe
Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience. – Paulo Coelho
The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little. – Thomas Merton
Action expresses priorities. – Mohandas K. Gandhi
A year from now you will wish you had started today. – Karen Lamb
Success is not something you pursue. Success is something you attract by the person you become. – Jim Rohn
Nobody can go back & start a new beginning, but anyone can start today & make a new ending. – Maria Robinson

3 top posts of 2011: On becoming Google-stupid, a digital dummy

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As we become more computer dependent, there is an emerging argument that we are fast becoming intellectual mutants. Does increased screen time equate directly to a devolving humanity?

A few nights ago, our family saw an interesting and frightening CBC documentary entitled “Are We Digital Dummies?” This is worth every minute of your time!

As we cope with our wired world, we’re at the point that we must begin probing whether we can think for ourselves and socially interact? Are we all fast becoming “Google-stupid”?

Herbert Simon, Nobel Prize winning economist, wrote: “What information consumes is rather obvious. It consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” And for those who believe that information is power, Albert Einstein warned: “Information is not knowledge.”

The documentary and these learned reflections took me back to a previously written article that was first published in the By George Treasury. In this excerpt, we make a few suggestions for dealing with our modern day info-glut.

It is the amount of data that a person is expected to absorb that is scary. Consider that a daily edition of the N.Y. Times contains as much information as the average 17th century person would have come across in an entire lifetime. At our workplace, the average corporate worker receives 191 messages – 51 phone calls, 39 e-mails, 16 internal memos, and 20 items of outside mail.

The amount, and pace are becoming unbelievable. We offer some hints on how you might avoid receiving so much… and give yourself some healthy ‘headspace.’

Find a place of your own and sit and close your eyes for five – fifteen minutes, in the morning, noon and night.
Don’t take work or work related materials to bed with you.
Don’t take reading materials – or your blackberry or iPad – to the washroom (this could be your five – fifteen minute mental break).
At home, turn the TV – and all screens – off at least two hours at night.
Travel to work with the radio/i-pod off at least half your travel time.
At work, schedule time when you will concentrate on a single screen and not answer phones or e-mails.

So, do you need to find a road to recovery? Step one to a better life-computer balance is recognizing the threats of your daily routines. Begin by watching “Are We Digital Dummies?” Step two would be to unplug for one evening and think this through for yourself.

(ed. – This is a repost, picked as one of our favourite three posts of 2011, taken from the earlier posts on the By George Journal. The original post is found here.)