Balance

Focusing on one goal at the expense of all other factors can distort a corporate mission or an individual life, says Christopher Kayes, an associate professor of management at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Prof. Kayes, who has studied the "overpursuit" of goals, recalls a conversation with one executive who "told me his goal had been to become a millionaire by the age of 40 … and he'd done it. [But] he was also divorced, and had health problems, and his kids didn't talk to him anymore." 

Oliver Burkeman

21 Data Science articles from August 2022

R vs. Pandas: Understanding, slicing, filtering, and manipulating dataframes in R and Python Pandas

A Python Cheat Sheet for Data Structures and Algorithms

A new method for the spatial point patterns generation by classifying remote sensing images using convolutional neural network

Intelsat has lost the ability to command its Galaxy 15 satellite

School yourself on space junk—with some cool graphics

This fall the US Defense Innovation Unit will test ways to mitigate GNSS disruptions accelerating the use of commercial GEOINT and NAVWAR tools

The US Air Force is asking researchers to develop quantum computing software algorithms to boost AI and machine automation technologies for new generations of command and control systems

The evolution from artificial intelligence to machine learning to data science

The limitations of blockchains and criterion for judging when a blockchain is applicable

Some prominent members of the AI community are expressing doubt about machine learning’s role in AI’s future

Data manipulation using the dplyr package In R including filtering, selecting, arranging, summarizing and more

If war comes to space, who will control US spy satellites?

As US intelligence & military speed new sensors to space they are still working on details of who’s ultimately in charge during a conflict

Machine learning innovation among military industry companies has dropped off in the last year

How datasets are used in neural networks

A primer on how neural networks work

Some background on neural networks

A new area of artificial intelligence called analog deep learning promises faster computation with a fraction of the energy usage—by propelling protons through solids at unprecedented speeds

A scorecard to evaluate open-source software risks based on potential vulnerabilities and dependencies

Satellite imaging, not tourism, is the modern space race: “The full potential of readily available, nearly instantaneous space imagery has yet to be harnessed”

Action in in Ukraine reveals the vulnerabilities of drones

Mother Nature doesn’t care if you are happy

Perhaps the greatest error people make about happiness is assuming it will come naturally if we follow our instincts—that is, If it feels good, do it. There’s a simplistic sort of logic here: Humans desire lots of worldly rewards, like money, power, pleasure, and admiration. We also want to be happy. Thus, if we get that worldly stuff, we will be happy. But this is nature’s cruelest hoax.These fall broadly into the categories of money, power, pleasure, and honor, which the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas called substitutes for God. Whether you buy Aquinas’s assessment or not, you can’t really argue with him that these rewards overpromise and underdeliver happiness. They simply don’t satisfy.

Arthur C. Brooks writing in The Atlantic

Tuesday Tech Tools: 15 Storage options

Authory
Automatically backs up a journalist’s articles regardless as to which  site they’re published on.  Lets readers “subscribe” to journalists, so that they can receive email notifications when one of them publishes something new. Two week free trial. After that the service is $7 a month or $70 a year.

Box
Digital storage focused on business solutions.

Dropbox*
Online file storage for backups. Syncs folders automatically on several devices. 2 GB free. 100 GB for $10 a month.

Flickr
Easy to navigate, though not the best app for shooting and editing photos. But the free terabyte of storage makes a a good place to dump everything. The Creative Commons licensing section has free stock photos.

Google Drive*
Document storage. Open and edit files from within browser windows. 5 GM free. 200 GB for $10 month.

Inkrypt
An app that allows journalists to save their content on many servers, (instead of one) that can be accessed anywhere, at any time and can't be traced, so that government and other entities cannot block it.

Instapaper
Save articles to read later. Free.

Media Fire
Free cloud storage service.

OneDrive (formally Skydrive)
Microsoft provides 15 GB free backup to the cloud for storage. OneDrive includes a nice interface for scrolling through material (particularly photos). 

Pocket*
Save articles to read later. Free.

Resilio Sync (formally Bittorrent Sync)
A widely used cloud storage format.

Save My News
Lets journalists save links to the Internet Archive and WebCite. Clips and archived links can be downloaded in Excel.

Social Blade 
Shows YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, & Twitter account rankings

Spundge
Read, save, filter and annotate content from the web — Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube included. (Free and paid versions)

SugarSync
File backups accessible on all operating systems and platforms. 5 GB free. 60 GB for $10 a month. 

More Tech Tools

The root of all emotional illness

The attempt to avoid legitimate suffering lies at the root of all emotional illness. -M Scott Peck

Lasting happiness comes from habits, not hacks

For enduring happiness changes, you need habits, not hacks. And by habits, I don’t mean mindless routines; I mean mindful, daily practices to strengthen your relationships, deepen your wisdom, and uncover meaning in your life. Happiness hacking tends to trivialize happiness as little more than a feeling, but this is an error. Happy feelings are evidence of happiness, which is a combination of enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose.

Arthur C. Brooks writing in The Atlantic

Formatting your Resume

Formats for Resumes:

1. Chronological
Possible Headings: Experience, Education, Activities and Skills (computer, language),

2. Functional or Skills
Possible Headings: Experience, Education, Skills (computer, language),

Professionnal experience

• A resume should begin with the job candidate’s experience in the field in which they are applying, especially jobs, internships or work for student media or the college rather than the candidate’s education.

• All experience that reflects the career goals, whether paid or unpaid.

• Internships and assigned responsibilities.

• Paid volunteer positions that reflect interests and skills, especially when it included a title.

Education

• GPA if 3.5 or above

• Coursework and papers can be highlighted as a special subsection under “Education.” For instance, one candidate was helped getting a position at CNN by taking Media Ethics and Media Law. For formal academic papers related to the field, include a one-sentence description of the length, focus, and scope of the paper or project. For instance, “Analyzed and compared journalistic styles in the Washington Post, Washingtonian magazine and Washington Business Journal.”

• Awards and scholarships including the Dean’s List, etc.

• If your education was self-financed or you paid a large percentage of your college expenses.

• Conferences or special meetings you've attended having to do with the area of the job for which you are applying.

• If you worked while attending college.

International Experience

International experience, including semesters abroad and other significant travel. Living in another country or having spent time overseas, shows a broad range of life history, the ability to adapt and experience with diverse groups.

Skills

A list of computer programs you are proficient using that are not assumed. For instance, an ability to use Microsoft Word or Google Docs would be assumed but not experience with Adobe Premiere Pro.

Activities (or interests)

If you have any odd skills or abilities, you might consider adding them under "interests" or a similar title. For instance, winning a chess tournament. While it might not directly relate to the job, including it suggests the candidate is smart, has diverse interests and self-displiined.

References

The cliché "references available upon request" is not worth including. If they want references, they will ask. Just be ready to present them. Including a list of references will take up vital real estate on resume, especially when it's just one page. Besides, when you are asked for references, it's an alert that you are truly being considered in the final batch for hire. Otherwise, you might not know that you are under serious consideration or a finalist.

If you decide to include references, make a courtesy call and ask each person for permission to use them as a reference. Tell them who might be calling and which of your skills you’d like them to emphasize. Include their relationship to you, such as “former supervisor.” It’s good to have a letter of recommendation on file in case you are asked by prospective employers to provide them on short notice.

More Job Tips

Grown-up shoes

“Aren't we all just little kids walking around in grown-up shoes?” 

Art & Morality

Art like morality consists in drawing the line somewhere. -G.K. Chesterton

Do optimists really live longer?

A number of studies have shown that optimists enjoy higher levels of well-being, better sleep, lower stress and even better cardiovascular health and immune function. And now, a study links being an optimist to a longer life. What makes these findings especially impressive is that the results remained even after accounting for other factors known to predict a long life.

Optimism is typically viewed by researchers as a relatively stable personality trait that is determined by both genetic and early childhood influences (such as having a secure and warm relationship with your parents or caregivers). But if you’re not naturally prone to seeing the glass as half full, there are some ways you can increase your capacity to be optimistic. 

For example, visualising and then writing about your “best possible self” (a future version of yourself who has accomplished your goals) is a technique that studies have found can significantly increase optimism, at least temporarily. But for best results, the goals need to be both positive and reasonable, rather than just wishful thinking. Similarly, simply thinking about positive future events can also be effective for boosting optimism. 

Fuschia Sirois writing in The Conversation

Finding Sorrow

When you get depressed, it’s comforting to remember that deep inside you is a well of pain. This pain can help you. It’s a reservoir of self-knowledge and nourishment. When you’re able to welcome this pain, it can carry you out of depression into sorrow.

When depressed, you are merely numb and listless. But in sorrow, you feel the fine-grained texture of loss. Whereas depression diminishes our world, sorrow teaches you the true value of the things you mourn. Sorrow is the other side of joy—a dark, moist cradle of grief that slowly nourishes you, a solemn vigil that honors what you love. So the next time you are ensnared in darkness, cut through the gray armor of depression straight to the dark heart of sorrow.

Lost in depression, I am found in sorrow.

Andrew Boyd, Daily Afflictions

Metaverse Manipulation

The metaverse will usher in a new age of mass customization of influence and manipulation.

A political candidate is giving a speech to millions of people. While each viewer thinks they are seeing the same version of the candidate, in virtual reality they are actually each seeing a slightly different version. For each and every viewer, the candidate’s face has been subtly modified to resemble the viewer. This is done by blending features of each viewer’s face into the candidate’s face. The viewers are unaware of any manipulation of the image. Yet they are strongly influenced by it.

Rand Waltzman writing in the New York Times

Empathy at Work

One recommendation that executive coach Keith Ferrazzi gives clients is to conduct “energy check-ins” at the start of meetings, asking others to rate their energy level on a 0-5 scale. A low score is a chance to ask: Is there anything we or I can do for you?"

Empathy can easily be misinterpreted, says Kim Scott, a CEO coach and former Google executive whose book “Radical Candor” advocates for direct communications at work. Managers sometimes mistakenly assume they should ask a lot of questions about staffers’ lives outside work in a way that can feel intrusive.

Too much focus on empathy can cause some leaders to hold off on tough feedback. It’s counterproductive “when empathy begins to paralyze us to ‘I’m so aware of how you might feel that I’m afraid to talk to you,’ ” she says.

Ray A Smith writing in the Wall Street Journal

Tuesday Tech Tools: 52 Social Media Tools

Account Killer
Shows how to completely close any social media account, not just disable them.

Agorapulse
Twitter and Facebook AND Instagram management tool. Receive instant email notification every time one of your automated moderation rules applies to a post or comment. Discover your most engaged fans based on interaction with your page. Coordinates contests and promotions. Accounts start at $29 a month.

Bit.ly
URL shortening and bookmarking service that also offers real time-analytics as well as click tracking. Works with Twitter and Facebook. Free.

Bottle Nose
Track news and trends across social networks.

BrandYourself
Manage and take ownership of your search results. Helps to make sure search engines find the real you and put your relevant results at the top.

Buffer*
Popular social media scheduling service for posting to multiple sites at one time: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+. Can schedule for later. Analytics. providedFree, however, $10 (and up) a month gives you unlimited scheduling so you can plan your content ahead of time.

BuzzSumo
Dashboard showing hot social media topics from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+.  A few free searches each day or unlimited if you sign up for an account with an email address. Alternative to Uprise.io.

Carma
Analytic insights for PR. Paid.

Cision
Large public relations software firm that merged with Vocus. Focused on executing and measuring influencer-oriented media campaigns. Large media and blogger database, distributes press releases, manages influencer outreach, and measure social media activities.

Clear
App that finds and flags your potentially inappropriate past social media posts and tweets.

Crimson Hexagon
In-depth sentiment metrics for planning social strategies. No mobile app. Paid.

Crowdfire
(Formerly JustUnfollow) This app shows your Twitter followers, unfollowers, inactive users, nearby followers, people who don't follow back and people and more all at one time--works with Instagram as well.

Crowd Booster*
Pulls together your Facebook and Twitter info (time most people look at your images or video uploads, your total reach, engagement, etc.). Helpful for devising a social media strategy. At a glance analytics recommendations on timing as well as audience insights. Starting at $9 a month.

Crowdtangle*
A "social listening device" that locates well-performing Facebook posts in a given area of content and shows them in a dashboard. If applicable to a client then users are able to either re-post the trending post or take that concept and make it useful to the specific audience. Called the secret behind UpWorthy’s success.  Formally a monthly subscription cost but purchased by Facebook in 2016 and now free though there is a vetting process.

Dataminr
Tool for catching what's news on Twitter before it trends.

EveryPost
Post to Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, all at one time. Free.

Feedient
Aggregation of social media feeds (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr) into one scrollable dashboard.  Free.

Foursquare
Geolocation search.

GeoFeedia* 
Search social media in real-time by location. Find photos, tweets, and other user generated content. For a cost, GeoFeedia will set up a geofence for a particular place.  Draw a circle around any area on a map to see all the content being posted by users within that area in real-time. Around a store so management can see what people are saying while browsing or a news organization can build a fence around a place where news is happening. $1,450 a month for up to five users.

Gephi
Popular social networking analysis tool. Interactive visualization and exploration platform for all kinds of networks and complex systems, dynamic and hierarchical Graphs. steep learning curve. Watch a video introduction to an older version here.

Glisser
Glisser "makes presentations social"  by making slides sharableto audience phones and laptops. Live polling, Twitter feeds and other audience interaction. Free but a paid subscription offers more options.

Google Trends
Info on what people are searching for in google, find trends, etc.

Hashtags
A real-time tracker of Twitter hashtags (like a tag for tweets, describing the content or nature of the tweet).

HootSuite*
Probably the most popular social media dashboard. Manage multiple accounts across multiple social networks: execute campaigns, schedule messages, track mentions and traffic.  Monitor your data in scrollable columns from up to five social networks for free.  Pro versions (starting at $8.99 per month).

Iconosquare*
Metrics for Instagram including top photos, which filters you use the most, most engaged followers, etc. Many different types of data nicely displayed with visualizations. Free.

IFTTT*
Stands for "If This Then That." Power tool for setting up automatic responses to Tweets, FB posts etc. Creates what programmers call conditional expressions. Such as sending a Tweet each time you make a blog post. Integrates well with HootSuit and Buffer. Samples.

Instagram*
The photo and video sharing app owned by Facebook is also a polling tool. Will accommodate single question polls with two answers (yes no) and a guessing game type of polls with up to four answers. While it has limited options, it’s free and can reach a large audience.

Instatrack
App that tells you about your Instagram followers.

Knowem
Allows you to check for the use of your name, brand, product, or username in more than 500 social media websites to see if it already taken and to secure it if it is not.

Kurrently
Search engine for Facebook and Twitter.

Later*
Social media scheduler especially for Instagram posts but also handles Twitter, Facebook, etc. Requires an image to post so the focus is on the visual. Lets you store your graphic images in a Media Library. There is a free version that is useful (though it limits certain dimensions or file sizes) while the paid option (starting at $9 a month) gives you manage comments and such.

LiveBlog Pro
Liveblog Pro is a liveblogging platform built by journalists, for journalists. Free to use for individuals, with a paid-for service offering multiple users.

Mention
Tracks social media mentions of key words you selection.block URLs out of searches and other features. 14 day free trial. Then accounts starting at $29 a month.

PhotoFeeler
Feedback on how you are being perceived in your profile photos. Add a photo in one of three categories – Business, Social or Dating. Vote on photos of other people to get credits or purchase credits with real money. Each credit allows one person to vote on your photo.

PostPlanner
Web post management tool for Facebook and Twitter.  You can indicate which type of content (photos, text, etc) you want shared at what times. Allows you to re-send content multiple times.  Includes a search tool to find more content related to your niche.  $7 a month.

Quora
Crowdsourced questions and answers.

RebelMouse
Platform for curating and aggregating social media content. It pulls from user's Twitter and Facebook feeds (among others) to create a page that showcases social content or organizes content around a single topic or user. Can be hosted by RebelMouse or integrated with a site built with WordPress. Here's a sample.

Reddit User & Lookup History
A search tool to find posts by a particular poster.

SalesForce Marketing Cloud
Formally Radian6, it provides social media insights and reports. Relatively easy to use, and empowers companies to clearly understand their place in social. Paid.

Snapchat Stories
Collections of daily moments from users in cities around the world.

Social Flow*
Designed to makes sure your message goes out at the most optimum time by letting watch real-time conversations and expand audience engagement. Analyzes data to determine when money should be spent on Promoted Tweets, Sponsored Stories and Promoted Posts. Used by some major publishers like The Washington Post and Mashable. Starting at $99 a month.

SocialOomph*
App that schedules tweets (and other social media), auto-follow new followers, tracking keywords, and monitor social media activity (such as mentions and retweets).  Free version and pro version.

SproutSocial*
A popular social media management tool in which you can schedule social media posts, get snapshot metrics, and monitor messages. A single stream inbox with monitoring tools and robust analytics. Not free or as cheap as HootSuite, but can be customized in ways that HootSuite cannot be customized. Free trial, Packages from $39, $59 or $99 per month. 

Storyluxe
This iOS app will help to create Instagram Stories with many free options. More info here.

Meltwater (formally Sysomos)
Social media tracking analysis creating by capturing social media mentions. Reports are not detailed or indepth as rivals Salesforce Marketing Cloud (Radian6) or Crimson Hexagon. Best when only skimming mentions is your goal. Video explanation here. Easy to use for quick monitoring a company's brand. No mobile app. Paid.

Tailwind*
A Pinterest scheduler with analytics and features like a draft mode. Free trial then $119 a year.

Talkwalker Alert
Like Google alerts, tracks keyword mentions on the web--such as your own name, your family, friends, company, etc. Get email notices when the phrase or name comes up on the Web. Free.

Traackr
Find and follow people who are influential in your industry. See how social media leaders are responding and contributing to your content. Target authorities to help your social media campaigns get off the ground and track the results.

Skyword (formally TrackMaven)
Audience insights in real-time which are compared against peers. Focused on big brands and enterprise marketers. Paid.

Trackur
Social media monitoring tools and measurements.

WhoPostedWhat
Intended for investigative journalists, this site will provide a keyword search on specific dates for Facebook posts. Free.

Zapier
Tools for connecting over 1,000 web services (such as Evernote, Gmail, and Dropbox). Works like IFTTT. So you can create recipes like “if I receive an email with an attachment, automatically save the attachment to Google Drive”. Automated Twitter posts, archived Twitter posts, easy analysis.  Up to 100 tasks each month for free.  More of paid subscription starting at $15 per month.

Also see Twitter Tech Tools

Charting the Course

Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. -John Maxwell

10 Articles about Job Seeking in Public Relations

4 Skills PR newbies should possess

7 Things you never say in a PR agency job interview

10 Things every PR portfolio must have

10 Unconventional ways to find a PR job

From the pros: job-seeking advice everyone should know

How to choose between agency and in-house roles

How to write a great bio: A strong “about me” can really make you stand out

Interns should do more than work on social media

Using Social Media (and other tools) to find a PR job

What job seekers should—and should not—share on social media

How Many Friends Do You Really Need?

If your goal is simply to mitigate the harmful impact loneliness can have on your health, what matters most is having at least one important person in your life — whether that’s a partner, a parent, a friend or someone else, said Jeffrey Hall, a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas. 

The best-known theory of how many friends people can (though not necessarily should) have comes from British psychologist and anthropologist Robin Dunbar. What has come to be known as Dunbar’s number contends that humans are only cognitively able to maintain about 150 connections at once (subsequent research has put the number higher). That includes an inner circle of about five close friends, followed by larger concentric circles of more casual types of friends.

The amount of time you actually spend with your friends matters, too. Dr. Hall’s research suggests that on average, very close friendships tend to take around 200 hours to develop. Quantity and quality go hand-in-hand.

Catherine Pearson writing in the New York Times

7 free webinars related to media & journalism

7 free webinars: The growth mindset, thriving in uncertainty, the mental health crisis, effective storytelling, media law, women's voices in the news, and covering climate   

Tues, Aug 23 - Growing Readers with a Growth Mindset

What: This session will review growth mindset research and introduce strategies to grow a growth

mindset. 

When: Noon, Mountain

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Colorado State Library

More info (no registration needed)

Tues, Aug 23 - How to Navigate and Thrive Through Uncertainty

What: Nathan and Susannah Furr will share insights from their research on innovators and changemakers who have thrived amid uncertainty. They will describe:  What they learned about resilience and tolerance for ambiguity; Principles that can help navigate uncertainty; Tools for seeing and seizing the upside in uncertainty; How to develop a vision for succeeding through uncertainty.

Who: Nathan Furr and Susannah Harmon Furr, coauthors of The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown. Nathan is a professor of strategy and innovation at INSEAD in Paris. Susannah is an entrepreneur, designer, art historian, and contrarian.

When: Noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Harvard Business Review

More info

Wed, Aug 24 - The Youth Mental Health Crisis

What: U.S. children and teens have struggled with increasing rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal behavior for much of the past decade. This webinar will look at the systemic causes and policy failures that have accelerated the crisis and its inequitable impact, as well as promising community-driven approaches and evidence-based practices.

Who: Julie Kaplow is the executive vice president of trauma and grief programs and policy at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. She is the executive director of the Trauma and Grief Centers at The Hackett Center for Mental Health in Houston and the Children’s Hospital New Orleans, and a professor of psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine.

When: 11:30 Pacific

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: USC Center for Health Journalism

More info

Thu, Sept 8 - The 7 Components of Effective Campaign Storytelling

What: In this webinar, you will learn how to communicate your story to supporters in a way that is both authentic and engaging. 

Who: Shannon Reeb, Digital fundraising strategist and writer  

When: 11 AM, Pacific

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Nonprofit Learning Lab

More info

Mon, Sept 12 - Media Law Office Hours

What: This session allows journalists with legal questions to help find answers on issues related to the First Amendment, Freedom of Information, copyright, defamation, or other media law matters.

Who: Attorney Matthew Leish

When: 5 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free but registration required

Sponsor:  New York’s Deadline Club

More info

Tue, Sept 13 – Women’s Voices in the news

What: A wide-ranging conversation about how women’s voices have been silenced and spotlighted in newsrooms and in the public square, and how we can ensure that journalism raises up a diversity of women’s perspectives in the future.

Who: Soraya Chemaly, award-winning author of “Rage Becomes Her,” co-founder of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project; Deborah Douglas, co-editor-in-chief of The Emancipator; Allison Gilbert, journalist and co-author of “Listen, World!”; Dana Rubin, author of “Speaking While Female”; Connie Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, novelist, professor

When: 11:30 AM, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The National Press Club Journalism Institute

More info

Thu, Sept 15 – Covering Climate 101

What: You’ll learn how to quickly access media-trained scientists and where to find (and even make) visuals to illustrate your work.  

Who: Panelists include Google’s Mary Nahorniak, Climate Central’s Shari Bell, and SciLine’s Rick Weiss.

When: 11:30 AM, Pacific

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

More info

The art of love

The art of love ... is largely the art of persistence. -Albert Ellis

High school football team rescues woman from car accident

Football players from Rome High School jumped into action to rescue a woman trapped inside her car after a crash in front of their school. The video below has the story or read the story here.