Believe

There's something to be said for believing, actually, a lot of things. 



You can believe in things and people. Sometimes believing is easy, many times, especially as we become jaded and older, it's far more difficult.  I believed in Santa Clause. He was pretty darn punctual with those presents. Showed up every year, just like I was told.  Never saw the jolly old elf, but I certainly believed in him. The thought of Saint Nick made me happy because, well, he was happy (and generous too).  Even when I began to doubt, when the whispers of classmates were too loud to ignore, I wanted to believe. There was a comfort in thinking that someone really took the time to care about, and act upon what I wanted, many times what I needed.


As I have progressed in my life, I have learned that to believe is an act of not just faith, but of courage. You have to possess courage when you believe in something. There's great risk of being hurt, and hurt badly by believing, shattered dreams, a broken heart. If you can't stomach the idea of the pain, it isn't worth believing.


The older I get, the more I realize that I could believe in just about anything, if I set my mind to it. It's a choice. A conscious decision that is made. A heart's hope that something that is held dear would come true. There are so many negative things in this world, sometimes, the only thing that keeps my heart from breaking completely, is that I believe.


I believe in second chances, that people can change (sometimes). I believe that there's got to be something better, that things will work out. I believe that despite all odds, there's a shot at making things right.  I believe that I deserve more, not out of self pity, nor of entitlement. No, because I've already struggled, hurt, bled, cried, paid my dues, in more than one way. I've already experienced the pains of dreams that went unfulfilled. I believe I am ready for that 'break'.


I believe that as long as there are people on this earth there will be hope, love, and an opportunity to make something not good, right. I believe that there is something about to change, a tremendous change, and many will not have seen it coming. I believe in children, animals, a God of my own understanding. I believe that time will tell, that my hurts will heal, that my children will be ok.


I believe that people are put in our lives for a specific reason, that there is a greater plan. I believe that our actions and reactions create our new reality of what was, what is, and what will be.


I believe, that for now, I will continue to believe.
Not because I go blindly, but because, for now, I really want to believe.

The Value and Worth of Social Media

There are two words that permeate the world of social media marketing ~ value and worth. 


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The other day, I was a part of a tweet chat session.  Reading posts, 'listening' to experts in the field of social media, marketing, and sales.  The discussion of SEO, 'measuring value', 'determining worth', it was rampant. As a self professed logophile, I noticed that the words value and worth were being interchanged, almost, well.... overly used at times. My typical self, I began to analyze the use of each of those words.  They are NOT quite the same.

Worth, according to Oxford: An amount of a commodity equivalent to a specified sum of money; Sufficiently good, important, or interesting to justify a specified action; deserving to be treated or regarded in the way specified.

Stick with me.....

Value, according to Oxford: The regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something; The worth of something compared to the price paid or asked for it; A person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.

So, they are interchangeable, to a certain extent, each word using the other to describe the other, define the other.  Worth, however, relies more heavily on the monetary sense, value has a that connotation, but to me, it appears to have a deeper sense of intrinsic..... well.... value.

I began to look at previous posts that I had made, posts that others had made, and began to dissect how we were all utilizing these words. Thinking, maybe too long, too hard, too deeply, about what we were all talking about.  One thing was clear, we all valued worth, and thought that value had worth.  What wasn't being answered clearly were two questions: What worth was value? and what value was worth?

As I continue on my quest to dissect social media, understand its value, comprehend its worth, it leaves me questioning how we truly measure our interactions, our relationships, in person and virtually. How it affects and effects (oh, that will be a post for another time) our selves and our lives. How do we measure each?  What does it really mean to each one of us, and where will it lead us in the future of business, of self.

I can guarantee you one thing, SEO isn't gonna solve this one, not completely.