Are You Contributing to Office Woes?

Most people need a constant reminder that the workplace is not their personal apartment. So the next time you feel like making your presence known or felt, just watch the way you do it.

Here are few tips on how you can ensure no one feels you’re a pain at work.

Keep a tab on the volumes
While most workplaces allow their employees to listen to music as they work, make sure you’re humming or singing or choice of music doesn’t irritate the person next to you. A most common nuisance is the jarring volumes on your mobile phones. Set a pleasant ring tone on your mobile and at a level not too loud. Watch your volume even when you are thinking aloud or plainly rapping your fingers on your desk.

Watch those crumbs
After eating make it a point to clean up. Wipe up the crumbs and spills. Laying out paper napkins for your dining space will help in keeping the dining table clean. Don’t forget to put all wrappers and other wastes in the lunchroom garbage after you’ve finished. No one likes to eat in a dirty dinning area.

Hygiene habits
Make it a point to flush the toilet after use. Your crusade against water conservation should not result in others dying of stench. Simple things such as keeping the toilet floors clean, using the toilet bin go a long way in maintaining a clean and hygienic space.

Respect personal space
Don’t force your partner to draw enemy lines. Respect your colleagues’ space. Do not clutter. Put your personal stuff in drawers or cabinets. Also make it a habit of not peeping into your colleagues’ workspace. What they do is extremely confidential.

Whereabouts
Leave a word about your whereabouts by jotting down or pinning a note to your desk. Leave a word where you are with those who need to know. Remember your colleague isn’t your secretary to take your messages.

ALL ABOUT (ONLINE) SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

Being an endless sea of information, the internet constantly provides ample opportunities for advertising and marketing. The latest trend in online promotions is social media campaigning; using online tools of social interactions to reach out to a brand’s target audience. Here is a look at some facets of social media campaigns and how they can benefit you as a consumer.

1. Ads on profile pages: Many companies advertise their products and services on the web pages of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Every time you log in to your profile, you are greeted with personalised ads, keeping in mind your occupation, age etc. This way, you are mostly viewing ads of things that may interest you/be useful to you.

2. Groups, forums and blogs: A lot of social media campaigning is dependent on word of mouth publicity. NGOs, companies and interest groups all make their own communities and profiles on social networking platforms and encourage discussions and debates on their beliefs, values, social awareness, services, new products etc.

3. Updates by users: People tend to advertise their own good and bad experiences to their network of contacts. By doing so, they indirectly publicise a new product, a social service or even a public message from the Government. Sharing an experience in an update is almost like holding a conversation about it!

4. Online discounts: When you set up your profile on a social site, you also set up a basis on which ads will be broadcasted to you i.e. your age, occupation etc. Keep a look out for online discounts that accompany these ads, sometimes you get really good deals on them! Of course, exercise caution while making online purchases with credit cards.

5. Feedback and awareness: If you have had an experience, good or bad, you can give customer feedback for a product or a service on the brand’s webpage or discussion group. A good marketing team will keep up to date with online feedback and incorporate it in their product development, especially since the feedback is viewed by one and all.

Social media campaigning is the next big thing in advertising, with FMCG companies, NGOs and increasingly even Governments zeroing in on their target audience online. As a consumer, you are exposed to a wide range of products and services at very competitive rates. Social media also lends you a strong platform to support a cause, spread awareness, issue a warning etc. Go ahead and choose wisely!

Writers Block or something else?

The last time I really wrote was probably about 2 years ago. The words dont come as easily any more. It'll take a while, I guess. In the meanwhile, I'd like to attribute my current state of being linguistically challenged to writer's block. Subtly implying that I am a writer. Ha!

As a hormonal, moody, pseudo-depressed, pseudo-intellectual (not to mention, butt-ugly) teenager, I found it easy to write. My life was the stuff that miltonian tragedies were made of (or so I liked to think). I loved wallowing in self-pity. I liked feeling depressed. I thought being depressed and suicidal was romantic. I liked thinking I was searching for greater meaning in life. I felt cool being an atheist. I liked to think of myself as non-conformist. I knew the meaning of words like "hippopotomonoistrosesqueipedeaophobia". I read Plath, Marlowe and Neitzsche. So, all these attributes of my teen self meant that I'd never run out of topics to write about. And when all else fails, write abstract poetry. I used to randomly string together words like "shadows", " dark", "meandering", "strangulating", "past", "misty", "hues", "labyrinth", "existence", "life", "death" etc., and lo and behold, my cool pseudo-intellectual, pompous piece of "literature" was ready.

It isnt so easy now. I am not suicidal any more. In fact, far from it. I am still moody. I am hardly ever depressed. I have decided that I enjoy being an anti-intellectual more than being a pseudo-intellectual. I am hopelessly materialistic and do not think there is any greater meaning in life any more. I enjoy reading Harry Potter and Terry Pratchett. I am blessed if I know the meaning of words like adoxography.I am an example for others who want to walk away from the crowd and still enjoy the piece of pie. These days, the most "difficult" words that are part of my vocabulary are daiquiri and kahlua. I am as conformist as they come. I have reconciled myself to the fact that I'm boring and that there are no hidden layers to my personality.Period. Now, what do I do? What do I write about? :(

TWITTER-ING IT RIGHT!

Twitter is the latest craze! It is a very easy-to-use social networking website that has become the rage these days. Once you sign up with Twitter, you answer one simple question: What are you doing right now? Your answer is an update of your life and is read and "followed" by your contacts, signed up with twitter as well. "Following" is mutual and the cornerstone of keeping people in touch with each other. Here is how you can twitter for maximum fun and benefit...

1. Create a Twitter Account: Visit www.twitter.com and sign up. The best part: It's free! It is a good idea to put up your picture to help people identify you. You can even use twitter from your phone, standard SMS rates apply. It is best to cross check the same with your mobile network provider.

2. Develop your Twitter Personality: Twitter-ing comprises of short and interesting updates of your life. No update can be longer than 140 characters. In order to catch and retain people's attention, it is vital to make your update crisp and appealing. Depending on your target audience, you can tailor your statements.


3. Get Your Family and Friends to Sign Up: You can add contacts to your twitter account from your address books on mail servers like yahoo, hotmail etc., if they are already on twitter. In case they are not, you can invite them to join. You can even search people on twitter who interest you and follow their updates!

4. Connect and Network: It pays to be interesting to your "followers", but it pays more to be interested in your followers; so communicate and network to your hearts content. Even certain institutions, organizations and publications are present on twitter. You can follow them and stay in touch with whatever it is that interests you.

5. Re-Tweet: Even the most attentive follower will not read all your posts. Repost updates you feel are particularly interesting or valuable, spacing them broadly across time. When others do the same, it will become much easier for everyone to stay in touch and twittering will not even eat up too much time.

You can use twitter to connect to people and increase your presence online, be it for business or pleasure. In fact, you can make twitter the centre of your online universe. All profiles across the social media universe can list and link to your twitter page as your primary page. Eventually, it can help you grow your client base, spread the word about your business, advertise, make new friends and more, if you use it right. So go ahead, and explore the endless possibilities!

COPYRIGHT LAWS FOR BLOGGERS

From opinions and ideas to stories and photographs, you can publish anything online, anytime. You can upload material on your own blogs, web pages and social network sites or leave comments on other people's web pages. But there still are some rules to the game. Remember these basic copyright laws to insure that you are protected against plagiarism and libel:

1. Quote someone's work carefully
The Copyright Act defines that short quotations of another person's work for the purpose of criticism, commentary or news reporting are considered “fair use”. Along with the quote you can credit the author as well as provide a link to their website or blog. Never copy and paste an entire article of someone else's - this is plagiarism.

2. Use materials not subject to Copyright
There are many classes of materials that can not be protected under the Copyright Law. These include names, familiar symbols, listing of ingredients or contents, short phrases, titles, slogans and procedures. Some of these might be protected by trademark, though. You are free to use any work that is in public domain as well.

3. Work with facts and ideas
Copyright Law protects the expression of facts and ideas, not the facts themselves. You are free to use facts and ideas reported by others. You can even use a company's name or logo to criticize or analyze it as long as you are not deceiving people into believing that you are speaking on behalf of the company.

4. All published work is right protected
Do not copy material just because it does not show a copyright message. The Copyright Law states that every published work, be it on paper or digital media, automatically gets copyright protection. Also, do not assume that if you credit the author there is no copyright infringement.

5. Images are covered by law
Photographs and videos are governed by the same law that governs the publishing of words. Even if it is not for commercial use, do not copy images and words. You can only use copyrighted material if you have explicit permission from the author to do so.

When you comment on a blog for the purpose of public display, you are probably giving an implied license at least for that display and the incidental copying that goes along with it. This does not, however, permit one to defame another, or entirely copy someone else's work. The bottom-line is: be cautious and blog away!

DISORGANIZED DESK SYNDROME: ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM IT?

Studying can be quite a handful, more so if you're intending to spend your exam packed week at a cluttered desk. If your desk looks like the common playground of the entire class, you need some serious help right now. Here are some quick tips on de-cluttering and organizing your study space.

1. Plan your desk out
Before you begin studying, lay out your desk. Ideally, you should have a concentration space i.e. your main desk space where you lay your text down and study, and a recreation space, which you utilize when you want to take a break.

2. Use simple distractions
Every once in a while you'll probably want to glance away from your text book and look at something else. So, why not keep a simple distraction handy? This can be anything that interests you; an interesting book to read, a Rubik's Cube, a Moleskine book where you doodle, anything that could provide you a brief break from your study table.

3. Keep the essentials handy
Every time you study, there are things that you are always going to need, so make space for them at your desk. These include a bottle of water, a packet of biscuits, a pen stand and some rough papers (for notes or just plain scribbles when you get bored).

4. Systematically stock your study material
During the course of the exam week, you'll find your table getting cluttered with extra study material and sheets of papers that you've already written on. This happens because you probably never thought of any space to stock it. To avoid this, create a separate space for all study material; bring it out and put it back as and when required.

5. Customize your space
Make your desk your exam zone. Make sure it's well ventilated and well stocked. Customize it if you want with a few post-it reminders of your time table or your exam card or something as simple as a motivational quote by your favourite author. It'll help you relax, stay motivated and study better.
Remember, while some ingenious minds can claim that they can't work without chaos, if you're a student, clutter is definitely going to affect your thoughts, mood and consequently your learning. So, clear you space and clear your mind. Happy studying!