I'm not Talking About Sexuality

Inspired to talk facts! Two reasons, a Facebook update of a friend and the words in a sermon by the preacher (who says he is a conservative thinker) at East Hill church of Christ in Pensacola, FL. He said, "There is something in us that wants those who are not like us ... to fail, to die, to suffer."

The Facebook update Friday night: "What can we do to show the world that our country is not a people of violence, failure, and evil? The majority of us do not think like that, and we are not like that. We don't want a war on our soil or anywhere."

I went back today to see that wall update, and he deleted it. I wish he had not. It is an inspirational and haunting question that we can each ask about any country or homogeneous or hetergeneous group we are part of. I'm not talking about sexuality here. I'm talking about "Same" or "Mixed."

Don't give up being hopeful. Every action and word make a difference. Let me share a few observations, ideas and anecdotes.

1. My hair has been different shades of blond from day one in 1959. It has been curse at times. I am a woman. In fact, I was born a woman. I was born in the USA from parents who are/were Irish, German, Swedish, Italian and American Indian. You know the typical prejudicial comments ...

"I immediately dismiss anyone who is blonde. Heard of the dumb blonde who was locked inside her car? I can't take blondes seriously. Women drivers drive me insane. You need to not work so much. Stay home more and clean your house and cook. The only reason you have accomplished anything you have is that you are a blonde American woman. You're too skinny. You need to lose weight. Don't show people how smart you are. You cannot be smart."

I still laugh at jokes against blondes, women, etc. by Carlos Mencia.

2. Every day, people, who are local or abroad, click to add me on Facebook or Linkedin for different reasons. We are friends, in the same industry, fellow runners, in complimentary industries, customers, vendors, innovators, and/or family.

Every day, people, who are local or abroad, also do not add me on any social platform ...

or delete me from any particular network because they are afraid of my current network which is full of some "group" they fear, despise, and/or  wish to ignore or erase from Earth: Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Agnostics, Hindus, Humanists, Middle Easterners, Politicians, Teachers, Inventors, Marketeers, Teen-agers, Old People, Women, Homosexuals, Heterosexuals, Pakistanis, Germans, Africans, Americans ... the list goes on and on.

 (Don't worry. I was registered Republican from ages 18 - 48 because I always believed in independence, work ethic, and rights to take of yourself and your own as an individual but also ... others when you could ... who you believed really need it. I'm not a bleeding liberal. I did vote for Obama, and I'm still happy with my decision.)

Some who are in one of my networks, may never respond on my wall or other people's walls or tweet feeds because they fear contact with anyone different from them or anyone who the stereoptype is bad, dangerous, nasty, disgusting or to be avoided. Once, a person who I thought was my friend, introduced me to others as a "terrorist-enabler." He wasn't really joking. It is one of the times in my life that I have been the most hurt.

3. Many groups of people in emerging nations, developed countries, and every place in between, outside of or inside of any of them are still hopeful. You can see they value their action and word to make a good difference locally and globally, online and offline. Like ...

A. Have you heard of Cafe Headlion? It has a marketing library that is a compilation of books donated from people all over the world. Each donated set of books is dedicated to the donor, often with a letter from the donor/s. A guy in Northwest Florida is sending a new set with the titles: Sidney Poiter, Life Beyond Measure; The Perfect Salesforce; John Lennon, the Life; and Microtrends. Someone from Cafe Headlion is sending him some local music and traditional shalwar kameez for his students to enjoy and study.

Consider donating books to a library somewhere that you want to make a difference, local yes! But also abroad. It will come back to you, your country, the world that we share. What's it called? Pay it forward?

B. Have you heard of Linking Arms, Inc.; Big Brothers, Big Sisters; Kalinga Kusum Foundation; the Kids Kulture Center and other organizations like them around the world? They promote education, self-sufficiency, goal-setting, work ethic, teamwork, and friendship both locally and globally. These are in U.S.A., India, Russia, and your country, lurking behind the scenes somewhere. Search them out. Help when you can. Start your own.

C. Use social media to help heal rifts among physical, geographical, emotional, personal, social or other areas and groups. If you are Argentinian, showcase great Argentinian people, technologies, art, and inventions, but also those of Venezuela, Mexico, and Ecuador. If you are a U.S.A. citizen, share the beauty, freedoms, entrepreneurship, movies of the US but also of Iraq and Canada. If you are Irani, introduce us to your music, poetry, and food, but also that of Israel and New Zealand.

Do something surprising and cool and good like this Pakistani guy did who explained "how to use fring" which Israeli-based in the language of Urdu (Pakistani) ... Hindi (Indian).

Or like my loving husband who often sees running from the viewpoint of a beginner runner even though he is flat out fast for a near "five decade old" guy. ;-) He actually ran/walked the last Crescent Classic 10K in New Orleans with 12 minute per milers. That is tough for someone who used to be tagged "elitist-minded" in regards to running and training for races. Do something different, a little scary, a little not like you that will help the world beginning with your area and then expand outward as you can. It is one step at a time.

Search the web and find what inspires you and what you have in common with those you never thought such would be true. I've only mentioned a few specific areas as a start.

Regarding our religion, our actions, our country, our lifestyle, our work ... I think we need to tell the truth, face the facts, not pretend we are never guilty, reach out a hand, and encourage productivity, hope, integrity, and compassion among ourselves and others who we think are not like us.

There's a great Chinese proverb in English here: The best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him a friend."

No matter where we are in time and space, let's not waste a second or iota of either or both.

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net/ and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. Find out how to get your telephone company to offer phone numbers from around the world. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

Mary Anne Tolention's Facebook, Nokia or iPhone?

Want to eavesdrop?

Copy of Mary Anne Tolentino's Facebook wall discussion on Nokia or iPhone...

Mary Anne Tolentino... someone told me Texting in iphone is quite challenging. I tested it a few days ago in the apple store, medyo hard nga....easier with N97. Ergo, I need to decide will it be N97 or Iphone 3GS? Of course iphone looks sexier :)
7 hours ago · Comment · Like

Edwin Sallan... i'm getting used to it now. tiyaga lang, Maan. =)
7 hours ago

Edwin Sallan... although I don't think you'll regret opting for the N97, too. nice phone as well. did i just confuse you? =)
7 hours ago

Jerry RiveraN97 it is
7 hours ago

Suzanne Bowen... Mary Anne, Perry Ismangil said the Nokia series is easier to text and use Internet on than the iPhone. He's at http://perry.ismangil.com/. I use Nokia e61i, a little older than the 97. Enjoy, whatever you decide!
7 hours ago · Delete

Jed Domingo... My humble vote goes for the N97...8-)
7 hours ago

Travelife Mag... We find Nokia much easier for texting too.
7 hours ago

Eric Tiongson... @Maan, you buying or Globe giving you one?
7 hours ago

Mary Anne Tolentino... My handset upgrade of course am broke :) So which one? I like both! But I need to choose just one
7 hours ago

Mary Anne Tolentino... Txtng is impt but there are other considerations. Read a lot of reviews. Checked it out in apple store and nokia but briefly. I dont like to make a mistake cause will be tied up 2 yrs..........so
7 hours ago

Elmar M. Gomez... iPhone. Use N97 for your other SIM. :)
6 hours ago

Eric Tiongson... If texting is that important, I'd suggest the N97. :-) I'm using an E71 and I can't imagine doing as much typing as I do on an iPhone.
6 hours ago

Mary Anne Tolentino... voice calls, SMS, email very impt, internet sufing, FB of course, video, camera those are the impt stuff I use it for. Not music, mauubos battery agad. Another consideration is, can I get a spare battery at once? mpt for me. cant wait to have it charged before i use it again.
6 hours ago

Eric Tiongson... iPhone's cannot have their battery replaced, so usability-wise N97 is looking good for you. :-)

Catch though is that if you don't get an iPhone from Globe now, you might not get one in the next 2 years. Whereas Nokia's can be purchased anytime anywhere.
6 hours ago

Mary Anne Tolentino... so you mean they wont sell iphone in the open market? will u not get an iphone for u?
6 hours ago

Eric Tiongson... they offered the older iPhone model, i want the new one. not sure if they have any on stock by now. :-)

and, nope, not aware of any plans to open up iPhone anytime soon.
5 hours ago

Mary Anne Tolentino... end of july or early august ang dating ng iphone 3gs. N97 was released this week or was that last week? kaya ang hirap mag decide
5 hours ago

Suzanne Bowen... This is an excellent discussion on cell phone choice, Mary Anne. Small favor? Can I copy this discussion to my blog? Can I leave your names in or do I give a pseudo name for each? The content is something people should read.
14 minutes ago · Delete

Mary Anne Tolentino... suzanne go ahead :) may help others in making a choice
5 minutes ago

Mary Anne Tolentino... but some of the sentences are in the vernacular :)

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

Weekend of Tie Dye, Running and Skype Experimentation

So, it's the weekend, and a few friends, Lisa Johnson and Robert Thompson, Beverly and Steve Fair, Dee Meyers and her husband, Michael and I plan to try some tie dye after we spend first, a few hours get rid of house clutter at our yard sale. We'll probably cook some Hawaiian food together from a great cookbook Dee brought over.

We did a one hour run this morning starting from Running Wild on Scenic Highway in Pensacola. I'm still trying to "come back" from a year of shoulder dislocating travel, 60 hour work weeks, and a car wreck and so I'm slow, slow running. I was lucky enough to have someone to run with me the first few miles, and we talked about tie dye, the beautiful weather, men and what they usually talk about, the book Being Digital, over a decade old now, and how to use Skype.

I am not embarrassed to say I use Skype just as I am not embarrassed to say I use Gizmo Project, Truphone, Nimbuzz, TringMe, Jaxtr, Super-Phone, Virtualphoneline, BlinkMind's video phone service, SpeechPhone, and more for my telecommunication needs. Each come in handy for different reasons at different times. VoIP snobbery can be pretty claustrophobic.

I'm tired of rules.

It was my pleasure to explain to my fellow runner how to use Skype, what it will do for her and all the neat "plug-ins" you can use with it like PrettyMay. Next time, we'll talk about Gizmo Project. Pensacola in June 2009 on the weekend... it's a lovely time with friends and family. Can't wait for tomorrow with our group yard sale, tie dye trials, and Hawaiian cooking. Maybe a little downloading SIP agent to applicable cell phones?

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

I hope...

Some of the things I read, I hope I am never guilty of doing the same.

I hope that I read everything that matters carefully.

I hope that I will do my best to treat colleagues, customers, suppliers, partners, and friends with the respect that I want in return.

I hope that I will NEVER let my personal life interfere with my professional life and that I do not allow negative emotion to rule any of my responses to anyone.

If you are in charge of anything, remember... too many rules and excuses and fabricatioins really um... help, my Dad is a preacher, ok, they suck.

I hope. Time to sleep.

I'm Sharing a Secret How you Can Influence Others Free

I'm dancing with joy as usual (at least in my head) but more than ever at this moment because I found a super strategy I want to share with you to influence others, publish your knowledge and views, and to collaborate with and learn from the best in your industry.

What's the secret? Blog Friends on Facebook! I added the Facebook application about two months ago, and it is one of my favorites. (Others I like are Scrabulous, Free Conference Calls, Traveler's IQ Challenge, ILike from the same guy who runs Garageband, Truphone, Myphone, FWD's Voicemail and there are more, but I'll stop there.)

Bloggers around the world, those I know and don't know, when you invite friends to add the Blog Friends application, they automatically become "Fans" of your blog and see your posts by preference in their "River." This "River" showcases your posts on their profile box for all their friends to see.

Better still than this, though, people who are "Fans" of *your* Fans will also get your posts in their "River," so you get exponentially more reads of your posts for each Blog Friend you add!

In this short period of time, I've used Blog Friends, I've got 40 "Fans." *Quantity isn't the exciting part here. It's the quality that turns me on. Every "fan" is linked to me because of shared interests. I'm also a fan of their blog.

An effective way to get new "Blog Friends" is to link to the application from your blog, along with your own explanation of why your readers might enjoy Blog Friends.

Here's the link you need: http://apps.facebook.com/blogfriends ... I believe in collaboration EVEN AMONG competitors. My company Super Technologies, Inc.'s DIDXchange is an example that proves this part of our mission.

Influence? You can all have it. I don't want to keep it to myself. ;-)

... Some of the text above I quoted directly from a Blog Friends email update.

*Note: A person can be proud to have the most friends, fans, cars, houses, etc. etc.... no problem, but but but, what is quality of those relationships, those items? Quality is what matters more to me.