Consumer Centric

Two recent experiences add to what I consider the good side of the technology behind social networks and communication tools that are constantly emerging.

This morning, I was jogging and came across a moleskine book on the side of the road. It was a little wet from the sprinklers, but it was obvious someone did not intend to “store” it there. I grabbed it and finished my run… in fact, I kept thinking a number of the people I saw along the way must have wondered why I felt compelled to jog with a notebook in my hand!

I saw the name inside the notebook. Got to my computer. The first place I turned to was Facebook to search for this guy. Sure enough, from his profile I could easily tell it was him. I clicked on “send ___ a message” and told him about the find.

Later today I’ll connect with him out near my home and get it back to him. Easy. Quick. Non-invasive. Benefit for the both of us… feels good to find something when you know what it feels like to lose something, plus he has his book back now.

Earlier this year I posted about a chance encounter I had on a flight home to Austin. I was so touched by my interaction with Dawn that I felt like I had to share the way she approached adversity with honor and commitment. She and two of her children are now serving in Iraq with the MN National Guard, leaving her husband and teenage daughter back home.

Just a few days after posting the story, I was surprised to see a post from Dawn’s husband, Todd.  Then several other people with family in the military shared their own experiences. Eventually, her young daughter, Meagan, even posted her feelings and gratitude to those who had shared support. Together, we were able to share thoughts and a common sense of respect for someone who would never promote it herself. And it isn’t about pointing a spotlight on Dawn, it is about expressing appreciation for goodness, honor, and respect.

This person captured my reactions, too:

Just a few weeks ago another comment to my post on Dawn came from a friend of hers from years ago.

Dawn’s husband, Todd, replied and explained Dawn had talked about her friend many times over the years. I assume they’ve since connected and she’s been able to send a care package to Dawn.

My point in sharing all of this? Ambient awareness through social networking tools has a good side. Used for uplifting purposes we can find good and honorable people, things, and experiences.

Likely, I will never meet Todd and Lois and others who have shared in this story. But I’m a better person knowing what they’ve shared. How cool is it that we can facilitate such connections today?

Sure, these tools have as many, if not more, negative sides.

But I appreciate the good that can come. In the end, authentic connections between people on issues that matter will drown out the self-interest and negative scheming via online social networks. In my world, these are two examples of what I mean…

Sometimes we don’t have to look any farther than right above us to get a glimpse of nature’s playful moments.  If we allow them, these very human experiences can fill the heart and enlighten the mind.  A few current examples from my life…

First, tonight I’m going to wake my kids to get a glimpse of the Perseid meteor showers. We’ll try to get ‘em up at 3AM and watch. I’ll add in a photo or two here if we get any. How often can you watch the heavens light up outside of the 4th of July?

Second, on the way home tonight, we noticed these clouds as we waited for the light to turn. The kids commented on the cloud with a hole in it and the sounds of angels with the rays of sunshine spreading out.

It was one a moment that would pass so quickly I had to get one more photo after we made it through the stop light and could get a clear view of the amazing cloud and light show. The sun spotlight almost looked too staged to be real!

Third, I took the following pictures with my iPhone of a storm that rolled in during our soccer practice (I coach a few of my kids’ teams). The Texas skies offer a number of different dramatic performances. The emotions and nature’s expressions are very different in this series.

The storm came in so quickly we had to gather the team and wrap up practice. But the clouds were amazing and mesmerizing to stare at. Their intensity and depth were almost palpable. They seemed to be dropping down right on top of us. The emotions expressed by kids and parents alike ranged from fear (those who know how fast Texas storms turn bad) to pure joy (never seen anything quite like us).

For me, I didn’t want to leave. It was too much fun watching the rapidly moving clouds.

Tonight, I guess these expressions of nature reminded me of how real the human experience is when you add in the rich context in which life is lived.

Nature is authenticity. It is what it is. Yet it is always changing. Nature is sometimes predictable and many times not. It is always an expression of individual elements interacting to yield a beautiful tapestry. Humanity plays out its part within the tapestry and inseparable, really, from the reality of nature.

To be authentic in life, we have to appreciate the context in which people live their lives. We have to be real. We have to a part of the tapestry of their lives.

Ok… back to living my own adventure!

At the wrap of a busy week of travel, I worked my way onto the tiny plane to catch the final leg in my flight home to Austin.  I was surprised to find out I had been upgraded to first class–surprised not because of the upgrade as much as the idea that this sardine-can of a plane actually had a first class section!  

Anyhow, as I came to my seat I saw a woman in military fatigues in the seat next to me… I had no idea the impression the story I was about to hear would have on me.  I typically plug in my headphones and get work done on planes, but as Dawn told me her story I was taught a lesson in honor, commitment, and service in the face of adversity.  And I was taught it by a simple, honest, and humble woman from southwest Minnesota.

Turns out Dawn was on her way to Iraq via Fort Hood.  She is accompanied by her 21-year-old daughter and her 19-year-old son, each of them in the Army National Guard and headed to a 1-year deployment to Iraq (including 3 months of training they just wrapped up in Texas).

“I’m the luckiest person in the world,” Dawn told me. “I have three in my family serving our country.  I consider it an honor for me and for my family.”

Dawn’s unit will be stationed at the Iraqi border with Kuwait.  She and her daughter are in logistics and communications, mostly driving trucks she explained.  Her son is a gunner.

There’s a lot more to Dawn’s story.  She leaves at home her 15-year-old daughter and her husband.  The family is expected to be reunited in April on 2010.  Very fitting for Dawn, they leave for Iraq from Fort Hood around the 4th of July.

“The 4th of July is my favorite holiday,” Dawn explained. “I love the military and doing something for my country.”

It is not all rosy for Dawn, however.  In fact, she was obviously torn up inside with the pain of leaving her daughter and husband at home.  When she joined the National Guard in 2006, a unit from their area had recently been deployed, so she never expected to be deployed, at least not before her youngest was out of high school and on her own.

Dawn was fulfilling the commitment she’d made, honoring the choice she’d made three years ago to serve her country, and doing it in the face of leaving her family behind.  I couldn’t help thinking if more people put commitment before self in many aspects of life our society, our country, our families would be all the better.

To soothe her distraught 15-year-old (I overheard her talk to her on the phone right before takeoff and immediately after landing in Austin), Dawn explained they made a commitment to each other that helped give perspective.

“We told each other that every night when we look up into the sky, even though we’re so far apart, when we look up we will be looking at the same stars,” Dawn said.  The idea comforted both her and her daughter.  That, plus reflecting on the fact that our experiences in life make us stronger are what help Dawn have perspective.

“I think all things happen for a reason,” Dawn said. “If I can look at it that way it’s easier. But it’s still hard. But we’ll have email, letters, and Skype. I just don’t know how reliable it will be over there.”

Dawn’s humble, candid, and straightforward manner of facing life head on touched me.  And, apparently, not just me.  The Delta flight attendant, seeing her coming down the jetway in her fatigues pulled her aside and brought her to the first class seat where I had found her on the flight–a respectable move by Delta.

To Dawn, the act was kind, but not necessary.

“I don’t need to be honored,” Dawn said. “I feel honored to serve my country.”

You know what-she meant it.  I’ve heard, and worked with, many politicians who say the same thing.  But, Dawn… well, I believe she meant something altogether different, something very much from the heart.

Thank you, Dawn, and thousands more like you who serve daily with honor and commitment.  We can all learn a bit of how to face adversity and fulfill our commitments even when it’s not easy.

Dawn’s journey is one of genuine, simple endurance and service. Thank you for sharing!

UPDATE:  Had some questions, so I’ll add more of the story about Dawn.  

Dawn was in the Navy for 8 years earlier in her life.  After she started having children, she got out of the military.  In 2006, she was with her son meeting with the recruiter for the National Guard.  She decided to ask him, “you wouldn’t take an old lady like me would you?”  The recruiter knew she had been in the service and confirmed that, yes, in fact, they would be happy to take her as well.

So she joined at the same time as her son.  I’m not certain when her daughter joined–we didn’t cover that part.

Ok, so if you have kids and have ever been a part of a community swim team for the summer you know the excitement of swim meets.  Actually, they are very exciting, especially with our four kids all competing plus our good friends and four of their kids going at it, too.  Eight different competitors changing the history of swimming in Lakeway, TX, every Saturday morning for 3-4 hours.  

The organized chaos of these meets is a work of genius from the community swimming founders, whomever they are. A couple hundred kids, parents, and siblings moving like clockwork in and out of 80+ events in a three-hour period.  It’s just cool.  Although the first time we came to this last year I must admit I was a bit freaked out… its kind of cultish in a way.  I digress.

Point of this quick little post is I don’t know why I didn’t discover the Wi-Fi connection at our pool a long time ago.  You see, swim meets are fun to see your kids progress and compete… but after the 30-45 seconds of seeing them in their heat for an event, you’ve got 32 heats to wait until your next 34-second glimpse of your next kid!  Lots of downtime…

But now, enter a decent Wi-Fi connection, my laptop and iPhone, and I’m set.  Oops… gotta go watch my 5-yr-old try to swim 25 yards and make it to the end of the pool.

He did it!  

Ok, so sitting here from this vantage point I can see the pool, finish line, give high-fives to the kids as they head to the starting line, and hop up to cheer on during the exciting spurts of swimming energy.

That’s cool!  

Beyond that, it points to the type of solutions that marketers/businesses/brands need to offer the people with whom they seek to connect. Understanding how people live their lives and what is important to them… and then match that to the various settings in which we live our lives… well, that insight can lead to solutions that solve problems or enhance experiences for people.

That’s a people centric approach. That is the thinking innovative marketers today use to genuinely connect with their audiences.

Oh, and by the way, my 5-year-old actually swam half-way down the pool before taking a break and then finishing the race.  And my 12-year-old just took 6 seconds off her 100-meter individual medley race.

Time to go watch my oldest show her stuff.  But now, during the 23-minute breaks of nothing to watch I’ll catch up online!  

And… I’ll get back to playing with the family… just thought it’d be cool to quickly post these thoughts!