A quote on Instagram (a quip attributed, perhaps not accurately to Hemingway) caught my eye…
“Humans need two years to learn to speak and sixty years to learn to shut up.”
as I’ve observed, recently, that many people (2nd or 3rd degree connections aka total strangers) like to quip or chime in or add their 2 cents to a post (thank you, the algorithms on the social platform loves this!) after a quick glance over it or more likely, never quite reading the damn post at all, let alone clicking on through to discover what the link attached to the post lead to…to perchance read what inspired the post…to land here to discover I’m ranting about their social (networking) skills.
IMAGINE if every time you read someone’s post on a social platform, instead of rushing to hear the sound of your fingers on a keyboard, you…paused (crazy idea but wait, another crazy idea is coming!) or perhaps (after the pause) pondered for a quiet amount of time (even an amount equal to the attention span of a goldfish), on what was being posted, then, and only then, after a goldfishian amount of time, crafted a quip or thought or 2 cents or take on that original post. I rather suspect, in that second instance, your quip, thought, comment, take, chiming could quite possibly start a conversation or dialog or…and from there, who knows what is possible! A “what” that is a whole lot more meaningful (or has the possibility of meaningfulness) than anything you’ll receive by continuing to vapidly post.
BTW is there a vanity metric volume target for constantly commenting on other’s social media posts?
OK. Let’s bring this back to the not-likely-quipped-by-Hemingway quote which started all of this (so I can get to the ???? from my inbox). Just as IRL small talk would be vastly improved if we all took a moment to care to listen, social media (aka digital small talk) would vastly improve if we shut-up, listened, considered…THEN commented.
Now, here’s what I’ve got for you this week:
???? My 8 unusual tips to slow down time (A Backyard Hiker)
???????????????? Anger, sadness, boredom, anxiety – emotions that feel bad can be useful (The Conversation)
????Two chicken jokes (Seth’s Blog)
????Financial Literacy Set to Begin in Kindergarten with Fin Lit Curriculum in the Hoboken Public School District
????️ From The Guardian archive: The bells v the boutique hotel: the battle to save Britain’s oldest factory (podcast)
????With Cauliflower, More Is More Is More (Taste)
????????Where to Eat around Saint-Germain (Paris by Mouth)
???? ‘It’s ChatGPT with a soul.’ Try this technology to hack your success (Fast Company)
???? Visions of the Future: How to Be a Realist in a Techno-Optimist World (The Realists)
???? Yes, you should talk to strangers, because small talk has big benefits. (Star Tribune)
⚖️ Equitable Practices Pulse Survey: oh, law firms, Calibrate wants to hear from you
????Flowers grown floating on polluted waterways can help clean up nutrient runoff and turn a profit (The Conversation)
???? Five Loving Things You Can Do for Your Career this Month (Dreaming + Doing Digest)
???????????? Thursday, February 22 join Collective[i] for Campuses in Crisis, a
conversation with Tarek El-Ariss, James Wright Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern Studies at Dartmouth College and Susannah Heschel, Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor and chair of the Jewish Studies Program at Dartmouth College.
???? For friends in Dublin. Thursday, February 22 connect with a like-minded community of entrepreneurs, policy-shakers and change-makers and, learn about InvestHer Summit 2024 (being held in Dublin in June).
