This potentially, controversial page discovered on Google today and all of the links as well have been already made available for public consumption since January 24, 2005.
Should it be banned somehow, considered off-limits, or not further acknowledged like bastardized information?
Like I mentioned before within a blog entry entitled "A Defining Fork in the Road", the integrity of 2 specific mailing lists have already been compromised through carelessness, bureaucratic thinking, and a whole host of other potential reasons.
But now that the information is already within Google's cache, is it illegal or unethical for the page and links to be brought to the attention of other potentially interested parties (among the Bond and/or nonmembers) within a blog such as this one or any other online distribution method where it can be potentially viewed by anyone?
Will I become villified somehow for exposing the truth that I did not create? Is Google somehow at fault?
Is the webpage to be considered fraternally pornographic and not permissible to be forwarded or sent within an e-mail as an URL?
Could you possibly violate some level of protocol yourself for possibly sharing even this blog entry with someone else as a result?
Will everyone else who also recognizes that the emperor is not wearing any clothes become a part of someone's incompetent blame game?
Will anyone care to hold the leadership of the online distribution methods accountable for not fully managing their operations as stringently as possible? If this was any other endeavor, then someone should either be fired, resign, or recalled.
One fundamental reason that such statements ultimately appear online (right or wrong) is that as the above blog entry mentioned that at least two Kappa-oriented mailing lists:
have been compromised by the integrity of its 2-man team leadership. Both mailing lists are controlled by the same parties.
Power in the hands of a few is truly a dangerous thing.
Since both online endeavors have somehow gotten focused on being controlled by the smallest imaginable minority by its current leadership, then its potential for abuse was left totally exposed.
No Kappa online or offline appears to know the hows and whys the current one-man ownership and 2-man leadership obtained absolute control.
Where is the supposed "development team" that I kept reading and hearing about and that was formed and existed after Brothers first congregated and fellowshipped at the Grand Conclaves in Philadelphia in 1995 and Detroit in 1997?
I still hold Grand Chapter via the Grand Board responsible for its hands-off activity for not fully protecting its members through some form of internet policy that I have previously recommended online and offline.
I for one always thought that there was a DEVELOPMENT TEAM that guided the list with continual oversight and implementation of decisions made by a vote somewhere and somehow.
Now that I have discovered that ownership has been restricted to a single individual and management extended to only 1 additional person (2 people total), I know that this situation is essentially the same as a doctor allowing a patient to drive home after being heavily medicated.
The liability goes through the roof for both the doctor (owner and moderators of the lists involved) and the hospital (Grand Chapter) for not taking the steps to insure that such an event could not occur.
Clearly if you check Google, no infractions or potential steps toward the gray area or out of bounds ever took place when the creator of the original mailing list was managing it.
But with bureaucratic leadership, you get bureaucratic results!!!
At a minimum, all mailing lists should be either at two ends of the spectrum: wide open (where it does not matter if the content is further distributed) or totally closed (where the leadership and management of the list continually educates the membership and implements guidelines to ensure that information "leaks" are kept non-existent) than we have seen with this incident of "sleeping at the wheel".
The largest list that I personally manage has over 1000 subscribers and I protect the integrity of the list by either approving every single message or moderating new members to prevent spam from being sent to the list.
On another list that I created (both are nonKappa-oriented), I searched for and promoted a subscriber to the list to a moderator status and she is just as efficient at managing the list as I am.
But it is ultimately foolish for someone to jockey for position and then demonize someone else (the Brother who created the page with good intentions as you shall read from his own words) for doing the unthinkable when the original power-hungry person was the one who left the gate open for the wolves to get into the hen house in the first place!!!
Every other fruit or result can only be traced to the original seed/lapse in judgment by the list ownership and management!
Nothing esoteric was revealed but clearly changes have to be made and it should start at the top of the online distribution method that created the problem and has proven itself to be worried about the wrong things, the wrong people, and the wrong concepts of moving the Bond forward!
What will happen when the truly esoteric or confidential is revealed online?
If the desire of the list is truly to maintain a closed list, then appoint more owners and moderators to the list from every province, approve every message being sent to the list, make the needed changes to the list through educating the subscribers and the technical changes that can be made indeed and then resign from the list yourself because you have truly failed like the former FEMA director!!!
Do not allow your bureaucratic pride to further get in the way of the organization!
Furthermore, if a list could be considered to be a closed list, then why allow members to subscribe to the list from their places of employment?
Every company that has an IT department has the capability to read employees e-mail (sent and received) without a doubt.
One potential recommendation is that only companies that have willfully restricted external access to an user's e-mail like Yahoo!, Google, Hotmail by past precedent would be used to subscribe to a supposedly closed mailing list.
At this point, I am even personally wondering if any internet service provider that actually provides internet access to a desktop computer should be really used for subscribing to a closed mailing list since other people (such as a spouse) are more likely to gain access to e-mail versus a member being required to go to a website (open or closed), receiving a RSS feed, reading a blog, or using the e-mail service of one of the above companies.
Did anyone forget that I was fired in 1995 while attending the Grand Conclave in Philadelphia from a company whose former CEO is going to serve a prison sentence eventually FOR SUPPOSEDLY RECEIVING NON-WORK RELATED E-MAILS (which were from the same Kappa list) VERSUS SENDING THEM?
Although there was another still, unknown reason in play for my dismissal, I could not dispute the reason that was used even though it was not enforced among other employees.
But let's throw out the question that I know will undoubtedly be thrown out by someone: how do you prevent someone from forwarding the messages or copying and pasting the messages somewhere else like a web page or e-mail?
The answer to this is too simple: You cannot and you do not try.
To try to prevent such messages from being distributed elsewhere is futile within the internet era and attempts to suppress information probably ensures that it will get further distributed.
The best thing that you can do is to educate members not to say or distribute anything esoteric, confidential, or that can be directly traced identify someone intentionally (if the message references someone indirectly between the lines) to harm someone's character.
I say this both as a student of communications and as a person who has been the targeted object of someone trying to intentionally assassinate my character through the internet.
If you do not moderate every message sent to a list then as owner or moderator of such lists, you are clearly partially responsible (as is the creator and sender of such messages) for the distribution of the messages if they are intended to harm an individual or lower their perceived value to the other subscribers of the list.
You are entirely responsible if such messages are not fully removed from the archives of the list.
Intent plays a huge role within communications. I compose messages intentionally versus randomly and would quickly apologize for any unintentional acts of lapse of judgment where proven beyond opinion.
I would not allow potentially damaging messages to be sent via a mailing list to prevent them from being possibly forwarded elsewhere if the integrity of the list requires that it is a truly closed list.
With an open list, such security concerns can be implemented successfully as well but are often not needed.
The only risk that I see is being unable to stop someone fully focused and intent on distributing esoteric or confidential information when the sender fully knew that such information should have been known or previously classified as esoteric or confidential in the first place.
Again, if the information is not truly esoteric and central to the documented history of the organization, then the information cannot be fully considered esoteric and confidential regardless of what individual opinions, past traditions, or past protocol has considered it to be.
Within this day and age, there is only expressed confidentiality and not implied confidentiality.
This is why I know without reservation or doubt that I personally have not disclosed anything confidential even with my blog entries that address the operations and politics of the Bond which are evident to anyone paying attention.
I still request that someone clearly identify the URL AND the specific law or regulation that was viewed as violated.
Protocol is not law or confidential no matter how one may feel.
Just check Google for some things that you feel should be considered esoteric or confidential and your head will clearly spin. Someone else has already made the information available somewhere.
But if I were to own or moderate a truly closed list, I would recommend that no one identify or respond to a perceived information "leak" or disclosure of confidential information.
To quickly retaliate or ask questions such "Where were you initiated" and other such questions validates the disclosure RIGHT or WRONG if the angered responses were forwarded somewhere else.
The person who forwards the messages would more than likely report "Why did they get so heated if the news was not true? There must be some truth contained within the message somehow."
It would be better to get angry over FALSE information than to show heated emotions online over TRUE ESOTERIC or CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.
Now as these words proceeded into my mind, I now fully realize that within the situation that I faced last month that the heated display and accusations hurled my way were not related to the issue being raised at all.
It was never about whether esoteric or confidential information was being distributed as it was that I did not choose to silence my own voice through this blog or choose to express myself exclusively under the accuser's control.
But as any fan of "The Matrix" trilogy will recognize that every closed system can be hacked from the scene where Morpheus almost fainted as the ship under his control was being destroyed piece by piece by the machines.
I guess that after 10 years of being Bonded online that we all realize that the original forum achieved its objectives and will live on within a different incarnation and that the present course does not serve anyone purposefully. Simply put, there are too many alternatives to meet the needs of the international, collective body than to focus exclusively on an e-mail solution.
Meanwhile, I will keep checking Google and putting the various URLs within the search bar to see if the discovered pages are still available, although I know that there is one website that will always keep such content available anyway and I know that inquiring minds will want to know the ongoing results of my further research and discoveries!
So I am truly obligated to do my part within the process.
Yours in the Bond!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Dynamic Media Pulse Service Created and It's Free Too
We just hit one out of the park without a doubt on the website for our currently, undisclosed website and the dynamic technology is available for any Brother, Chapter, Province, and the Bond overall.
Our just revealed totally free and forever free Media Pulse service which will allow you to stay totally on top of and in control of any developing news, blog entries, photos, and any other online media about, from, and on the topic of the Bond.
You can easily view the information online or subscribe to it without receiving a ton of messages within your e-mail inbox.
If it is about the Bond, can fog a window, has a reflection or a shadow, or has joined the Chapter Invisible, then you will be on top of it better than CNN, Fox, MSNBC, or any other major media organization.
Check it out at the undisclosed website and click on the Media Pulse link.
We will obtain an easier to use URL for the page itself as well or redirect one of our existing domains to the page.
I really hope that you will enjoy the Media Pulse service as well as incorporate the technology into any online endeavors that you are a part of.
Anyone that wishes to get a little more background information on how to add the technology to your websites should contact me directly. I would like to significantly reduce your learning curve if at all possible.
The price should not be paid again and the wheel should not be reinvented.
Yours in the Bond!
Our just revealed totally free and forever free Media Pulse service which will allow you to stay totally on top of and in control of any developing news, blog entries, photos, and any other online media about, from, and on the topic of the Bond.
You can easily view the information online or subscribe to it without receiving a ton of messages within your e-mail inbox.
If it is about the Bond, can fog a window, has a reflection or a shadow, or has joined the Chapter Invisible, then you will be on top of it better than CNN, Fox, MSNBC, or any other major media organization.
Check it out at the undisclosed website and click on the Media Pulse link.
We will obtain an easier to use URL for the page itself as well or redirect one of our existing domains to the page.
I really hope that you will enjoy the Media Pulse service as well as incorporate the technology into any online endeavors that you are a part of.
Anyone that wishes to get a little more background information on how to add the technology to your websites should contact me directly. I would like to significantly reduce your learning curve if at all possible.
The price should not be paid again and the wheel should not be reinvented.
Yours in the Bond!
del.icio.us Tags: kappaalphapsi nupe nupes 1911 leadership fraternity wysiwysell roneysmith yoursinthebond kappa kappas
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Can You Dig It--Kappa Remixed?
I just saw a very interesting blog entry by Richard MacManus on a new phenomenon called Web 2.0 of taking the best of separate websites and combining them into something beyond what either of the individual websites imagined or could ever think about.
The same dynamic is sorely needed within Kappa. Since I know that a closed mind convinced against its will is of the same opinion still, check out the blog entry for yourself and you will read several parallels that could be applied to the Bond and/or any organization that has a high attrition rate while continuing to profess that "members are not made out of what they used to be".
While there is a great disparity between the online and offline worlds of Kappa and this disparity will decrease definitely as older, computer illiterate Brothers (or probably more accurate technological laggards) join the Chapter Invisible and internet usage is as common or more integrated into the lives of new members than the telephone is now.
The possibilities are still increasing to an infinite realm of opportunities.
Kappa is indeed simply more than a website as websites are known now. But as the telephone and zip codes were just as controversial when they were first created, time shall make everyone become witnesses to new dynamics and applications and variations of the Bond beyond what was created on the evening of January 5, 1911.
Many conservative thinkers within the Bond will go to their graves denying every opportunity they can to the open source philosophy. But they will also refuse to recognize their own integration and usage of the same open source philosophy that has been and will continue to be present in their lives.
If I have an open mind about a topic and another person's mind is closed, then it becomes very difficult for the other person to openly profess or accept their switch to openness without either being potentially recognized as a hypocrite or simply acknowledging that they were possibly wrong in their previous line of thinking. The converse applies as well.
But if everyone was closed initially, then it is easier to accept some degrees of an open mind versus remaining closed and refusing to debate the potential need to switch or take advantage of some opportunities within specific situations.
This is the present state of Kappa and many organizations worldwide.
Open mind = open source. Also, closed mind = closed system.
I now realize that it is not enough to simply present an opportunity to switch, but the dynamics of change require that the new benefits are presented and demonstrated as simply too good to refuse. The benefit of switching has to be greater the cost of staying the same.
But I cannot get away from realizing how all of this has been demonstrated through Hollywood with the movie trilogy "The Matrix".
Web 2.0 is similar to "The Matrix Reloaded" and what has to yet to be created is "Matrix Revolutions".
The blog article mentions that Peter Merholz has said, "The point isn't the features, it's the underlying philosophy of relinquishing control".
Other notable quotes are:
Paul Miller saying:
"Web 2.0 presages a freeing of data, allowing it to be exposed, discovered and manipulated in a variety of ways…
Web 2.0 permits the building of virtual applications, drawing data and functionality from a number of different sources…
Web 2.0 applications work for the user, and are able to locate and assemble content that meets our needs as users…
Web 2.0 applications are modular …
Web 2.0 is about sharing; code, content, ideas…"
Richard MacManus saying:
"the philosophy of Web 2.0 is to let go of control, share ideas and code, build on what others have built, free your data. It's actually a difficult philosophy to live by, when you consider how capitalistic Western society is".
Tim Berners-Lee (the creator of the internet as it is known via hyperlinking and websites):
"My goal for the web in 30 years is to be the platform which has led to the building of something very new and special, which we can't imagine now".
This last statement is clearly the same sentiment of our Founders and should be the position of every member of any organization as a result.
No parent within their right mind wants their children to live exactly and identical to the way that they lived. The lives of the children should show some specific and recognizable degree of progress.
Yours in the Bond!
The same dynamic is sorely needed within Kappa. Since I know that a closed mind convinced against its will is of the same opinion still, check out the blog entry for yourself and you will read several parallels that could be applied to the Bond and/or any organization that has a high attrition rate while continuing to profess that "members are not made out of what they used to be".
While there is a great disparity between the online and offline worlds of Kappa and this disparity will decrease definitely as older, computer illiterate Brothers (or probably more accurate technological laggards) join the Chapter Invisible and internet usage is as common or more integrated into the lives of new members than the telephone is now.
The possibilities are still increasing to an infinite realm of opportunities.
Kappa is indeed simply more than a website as websites are known now. But as the telephone and zip codes were just as controversial when they were first created, time shall make everyone become witnesses to new dynamics and applications and variations of the Bond beyond what was created on the evening of January 5, 1911.
Many conservative thinkers within the Bond will go to their graves denying every opportunity they can to the open source philosophy. But they will also refuse to recognize their own integration and usage of the same open source philosophy that has been and will continue to be present in their lives.
If I have an open mind about a topic and another person's mind is closed, then it becomes very difficult for the other person to openly profess or accept their switch to openness without either being potentially recognized as a hypocrite or simply acknowledging that they were possibly wrong in their previous line of thinking. The converse applies as well.
But if everyone was closed initially, then it is easier to accept some degrees of an open mind versus remaining closed and refusing to debate the potential need to switch or take advantage of some opportunities within specific situations.
This is the present state of Kappa and many organizations worldwide.
Open mind = open source. Also, closed mind = closed system.
I now realize that it is not enough to simply present an opportunity to switch, but the dynamics of change require that the new benefits are presented and demonstrated as simply too good to refuse. The benefit of switching has to be greater the cost of staying the same.
But I cannot get away from realizing how all of this has been demonstrated through Hollywood with the movie trilogy "The Matrix".
Web 2.0 is similar to "The Matrix Reloaded" and what has to yet to be created is "Matrix Revolutions".
The blog article mentions that Peter Merholz has said, "The point isn't the features, it's the underlying philosophy of relinquishing control".
Other notable quotes are:
Paul Miller saying:
"Web 2.0 presages a freeing of data, allowing it to be exposed, discovered and manipulated in a variety of ways…
Web 2.0 permits the building of virtual applications, drawing data and functionality from a number of different sources…
Web 2.0 applications work for the user, and are able to locate and assemble content that meets our needs as users…
Web 2.0 applications are modular …
Web 2.0 is about sharing; code, content, ideas…"
Richard MacManus saying:
"the philosophy of Web 2.0 is to let go of control, share ideas and code, build on what others have built, free your data. It's actually a difficult philosophy to live by, when you consider how capitalistic Western society is".
Tim Berners-Lee (the creator of the internet as it is known via hyperlinking and websites):
"My goal for the web in 30 years is to be the platform which has led to the building of something very new and special, which we can't imagine now".
This last statement is clearly the same sentiment of our Founders and should be the position of every member of any organization as a result.
No parent within their right mind wants their children to live exactly and identical to the way that they lived. The lives of the children should show some specific and recognizable degree of progress.
Yours in the Bond!
del.icio.us Tags: kappaalphapsi nupe nupes organization leadership management member members change progress progressive dynamic
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Wednesday, September 14, 2005
A Big Cat Is Now Out of The Bag!!!
I just read an online article entitled "Google launches blog search" and although the means to conduct online searches for blogs was already there, Google has further simplified the process.
I immediately went to the given website URL for the Blog Search capability and typed in "Kappa Alpha Psi" with the quotes to find out who else has been blogging about Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. besides myself.
There are currently 242 blog entries and the number is probably higher with other words used as search keywords.
One nice surprise is that RSS and Atom feeds are available for every search result either in groups of 10 or 100. This means that for those blogs who have enabled the RSS or Atom feeds (through automatic XML in most cases), a new realm has just opened up for a larger potential audience than existed before.
This is where it is going to get interesting indeed.
I have mentioned within blog entries on this blog as well as other blogs that I write for that bureaucracy or secrecy has gotten lost within the shuffle within this new era of the internet and mass communications.
Never again will anyone or organization be able to conduct business as usual as if there are no witnesses for the actions or inactions good or bad.
Many individuals and organizations alike have thought that disgruntled or abused people or former or even current members would go home and sulk in the comforts of their private homes.
Everyone has known that a dissatisfied customer is likely to tell at least 13 other people about bad service versus the 3 or 4 people who are likely to be told about good service.
Now the entire world will be able to know if and when something goes wrong within an organization and even perhaps on an one-to-one level.
Realistically, bad news travels faster hands down and most media outlets say that bad news sells more than touchy-feeling news and stories.
My point is that the magnifying glass to and from everyone has just gotten larger.
Another observation about Google's Blog Search is that older blog entries are listed first than newer blog entries being listed first.
This is understandable since older entries likely have been either linked to or just have been made available to search spiders and robots to have been discovered faster than newer entries.
But if there is a blogger that writes content and/or articles that you like, just consider checking out their other blogs, blog entries, or subscribe to their blog.
Since my blog production has increased steadily over the last couple of months, I imagine that there will be more entries discovered that consistently blogs about Kappa Alpha Psi versus blogs that mention our Grand Fraternity every now and then.
I cannot help but to wonder what the Coalition and corresponding subunits within other organizations are going to think now;)
If it were possible to buy secrecy, the term of secrecy would be terribly shorter and the renewal costs would be even higher.
So now everyone has to operate and conduct their operations to fulfill their own words as in talking the talk and walking the walk as everyone likes to say that they are going to do.
The greater exposure to blogs is definitely going to be a good thing indeed.
Now that subscriptions to mailing lists are going to start fading away to some extent, everyone will benefit from having less e-mail hit their inboxes than before.
Yes my brothers, the biggest cat is now out of the bag! The only other bigger cat to come will be video that does not require a ton of bandwidth.
Yours in the Bond!
I immediately went to the given website URL for the Blog Search capability and typed in "Kappa Alpha Psi" with the quotes to find out who else has been blogging about Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. besides myself.
There are currently 242 blog entries and the number is probably higher with other words used as search keywords.
One nice surprise is that RSS and Atom feeds are available for every search result either in groups of 10 or 100. This means that for those blogs who have enabled the RSS or Atom feeds (through automatic XML in most cases), a new realm has just opened up for a larger potential audience than existed before.
This is where it is going to get interesting indeed.
I have mentioned within blog entries on this blog as well as other blogs that I write for that bureaucracy or secrecy has gotten lost within the shuffle within this new era of the internet and mass communications.
Never again will anyone or organization be able to conduct business as usual as if there are no witnesses for the actions or inactions good or bad.
Many individuals and organizations alike have thought that disgruntled or abused people or former or even current members would go home and sulk in the comforts of their private homes.
Everyone has known that a dissatisfied customer is likely to tell at least 13 other people about bad service versus the 3 or 4 people who are likely to be told about good service.
Now the entire world will be able to know if and when something goes wrong within an organization and even perhaps on an one-to-one level.
Realistically, bad news travels faster hands down and most media outlets say that bad news sells more than touchy-feeling news and stories.
My point is that the magnifying glass to and from everyone has just gotten larger.
Another observation about Google's Blog Search is that older blog entries are listed first than newer blog entries being listed first.
This is understandable since older entries likely have been either linked to or just have been made available to search spiders and robots to have been discovered faster than newer entries.
But if there is a blogger that writes content and/or articles that you like, just consider checking out their other blogs, blog entries, or subscribe to their blog.
Since my blog production has increased steadily over the last couple of months, I imagine that there will be more entries discovered that consistently blogs about Kappa Alpha Psi versus blogs that mention our Grand Fraternity every now and then.
I cannot help but to wonder what the Coalition and corresponding subunits within other organizations are going to think now;)
If it were possible to buy secrecy, the term of secrecy would be terribly shorter and the renewal costs would be even higher.
So now everyone has to operate and conduct their operations to fulfill their own words as in talking the talk and walking the walk as everyone likes to say that they are going to do.
The greater exposure to blogs is definitely going to be a good thing indeed.
Now that subscriptions to mailing lists are going to start fading away to some extent, everyone will benefit from having less e-mail hit their inboxes than before.
Yes my brothers, the biggest cat is now out of the bag! The only other bigger cat to come will be video that does not require a ton of bandwidth.
Yours in the Bond!
Interesting Article Contrasting Open Source versus Closed Systems
Wired News has an article entitled "Open Internet, We Hardly Knew Ye" which contrasts open source against closed systems.
It gives an example regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where a past legacy of closed systems has worked against hurricane survivors from easily locating loved ones.
The article points out to me that it takes a mindset of being locked down in a bunker with "Us Against The World" corporate motto and philosophy to push aggressively for the further justification for closed systems and restrictions to freeing information.
Check it out for yourself and I would love to hear your pros and cons.
Yours in the Bond!
It gives an example regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where a past legacy of closed systems has worked against hurricane survivors from easily locating loved ones.
The article points out to me that it takes a mindset of being locked down in a bunker with "Us Against The World" corporate motto and philosophy to push aggressively for the further justification for closed systems and restrictions to freeing information.
Check it out for yourself and I would love to hear your pros and cons.
Yours in the Bond!
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Federal secrecy is rising rapidly, Keeping Secrets Is Costly
Rebecca Carr has written an article for the Cox News Service that a coalition of conservative and liberal nonprofit groups called Openthegovernment.org found that secrecy is on the rise across all three branches of government and costing taxpayers more money than ever before.
My earlier post "News Comes From All Directions These Days!" and statement "When small groups of individuals keep secrets that would supposedly benefit the masses, then its actions of repressing and suppressing a larger span and reach of achievement becomes immediately deplorable" is especially highlighted when the current Bush administration has used a legal tool called the "state secrets privilege" to keep federal court hearings and documents from public scrutiny 33 times more often than federal officials did during the height of the Cold War among other aspects of the government losing money due to keeping secrets.
Yours in the Bond!
My earlier post "News Comes From All Directions These Days!" and statement "When small groups of individuals keep secrets that would supposedly benefit the masses, then its actions of repressing and suppressing a larger span and reach of achievement becomes immediately deplorable" is especially highlighted when the current Bush administration has used a legal tool called the "state secrets privilege" to keep federal court hearings and documents from public scrutiny 33 times more often than federal officials did during the height of the Cold War among other aspects of the government losing money due to keeping secrets.
Yours in the Bond!
Is E-mail Dead?
I just read a blog entry that asked the above question.
Interesting enough, the article agrees and disagrees with my earlier blog entry entitled "A Not-So New Technology That Now Makes Most Mailing Lists Obsolete".
It agrees basically with my statements "One forward-looking beauty of RSS feeds is that they can effectively reduce the number of hands that a piece of information has to go through to reach each traditional mailing list member" and "A mailing list is now best used to:
1. eliminate unwanted noise (spam); or
2. reduce opportunities for Brothers to be heard; or
3. focus minds on a particular topic or issue".
The article disagrees in spirit with #2 above. It states that mailing lists will have to be used to reach and target individuals versus being broadcast to an entire group.
But since the e-mail is sent to everyone, it cannot escape #1 in that e-mails may be unwanted by many on the list.
Therefore, tags and RSS feeds allow everyone to receive the information for the masses while allowing particular segments to receive information that does not appear on the radar screens of the masses but an interested minority.
So to a certain degree, the interested minority will be able to go deeper into analyzing the pros and cons of trade secrets.
This is the basic principle and benefit that blogs provide and being able to subscribe to blogs via RSS feeds further capitalizes on this opportunity.
Yours in the Bond!
Interesting enough, the article agrees and disagrees with my earlier blog entry entitled "A Not-So New Technology That Now Makes Most Mailing Lists Obsolete".
It agrees basically with my statements "One forward-looking beauty of RSS feeds is that they can effectively reduce the number of hands that a piece of information has to go through to reach each traditional mailing list member" and "A mailing list is now best used to:
1. eliminate unwanted noise (spam); or
2. reduce opportunities for Brothers to be heard; or
3. focus minds on a particular topic or issue".
The article disagrees in spirit with #2 above. It states that mailing lists will have to be used to reach and target individuals versus being broadcast to an entire group.
But since the e-mail is sent to everyone, it cannot escape #1 in that e-mails may be unwanted by many on the list.
Therefore, tags and RSS feeds allow everyone to receive the information for the masses while allowing particular segments to receive information that does not appear on the radar screens of the masses but an interested minority.
So to a certain degree, the interested minority will be able to go deeper into analyzing the pros and cons of trade secrets.
This is the basic principle and benefit that blogs provide and being able to subscribe to blogs via RSS feeds further capitalizes on this opportunity.
Yours in the Bond!
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
News Comes From All Directions These Days!
Reuters is reporting with the headline "News junkies find Wikipedia more than encyclopedia" that collective efforts to inform and educate are rapidly becoming the preferred source versus depending upon the singular efforts of individuals.
The article reinforces last night's blog entry entitled "A Not-So-New Technology That Now Makes Most Mailing Lists Obsolete".
The next step in benefitting from such news is understanding that any collective efforts or organizational distribution of information requires that the information is freely released and nothing is considered esoteric.
I am sure that in some cases such as the secret formulas for Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), there are financial benefits and rewards for keeping secrets as well as the defense barriers and borders to keep a nation safe from internal and external threats to its safety.
But the primary trait that is present within any situation where secrecy is the primary asset requires that the secrets are kept for the benefit of the largest number of people possible. Secrets cannot be kept and simultaneously expected to benefit a small minority.
Within the earlier examples if KFC or Coca-Cola were only available for sale to an exclusive few, then its benefit and value to mankind will be minimized. The value is increased because the usage of the secrets are available to all.
When small groups of individuals keep secrets that would supposedly benefit the masses, then its actions of repressing and suppressing a larger span and reach of achievement becomes immediately deplorable.
Again as I have stated before, it has to be the conscious determination of the organization to reveal its secrets voluntarily versus being revealed by a single individual or singular action.
Still, the best thing that is readily available within the progression of distribution information is the removal of gatekeepers which previously kept innovative and unusual or dissenting opinions within back rooms and closets as dirty secrets.
Now the confidence is present that individuals will know what truly has value and what will not.
Yours in the Bond!
The article reinforces last night's blog entry entitled "A Not-So-New Technology That Now Makes Most Mailing Lists Obsolete".
The next step in benefitting from such news is understanding that any collective efforts or organizational distribution of information requires that the information is freely released and nothing is considered esoteric.
I am sure that in some cases such as the secret formulas for Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), there are financial benefits and rewards for keeping secrets as well as the defense barriers and borders to keep a nation safe from internal and external threats to its safety.
But the primary trait that is present within any situation where secrecy is the primary asset requires that the secrets are kept for the benefit of the largest number of people possible. Secrets cannot be kept and simultaneously expected to benefit a small minority.
Within the earlier examples if KFC or Coca-Cola were only available for sale to an exclusive few, then its benefit and value to mankind will be minimized. The value is increased because the usage of the secrets are available to all.
When small groups of individuals keep secrets that would supposedly benefit the masses, then its actions of repressing and suppressing a larger span and reach of achievement becomes immediately deplorable.
Again as I have stated before, it has to be the conscious determination of the organization to reveal its secrets voluntarily versus being revealed by a single individual or singular action.
Still, the best thing that is readily available within the progression of distribution information is the removal of gatekeepers which previously kept innovative and unusual or dissenting opinions within back rooms and closets as dirty secrets.
Now the confidence is present that individuals will know what truly has value and what will not.
Yours in the Bond!
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
A Not-So-New Technology That Now Makes Most Mailing Lists Obsolete
Since you are reading this blog, you are possibly familiar with a fairly new technology named RSS, Atom, and/or XML feeds.
The technology allows you to stay current without visiting a lot of different webpages and allows you to choose to read items that interest you once you have found a website that generally produces content such as articles and news that you are interested in.
Once you have located such a website, then subscribing to their RSS or Atom feed (both use XML technology) requires a RSS reader which typically scrolls the headlines or titles for each article.
Some readers even provide a short introduction to the articles as a pop up window.
For Yahoo! users, the My Yahoo! page offers such feeds for you to subscribe to.
I have placed a lot of various methods for you to subscribe to this blog within the right margin through the various icons that you see listed.
Two RSS readers that I am currently using are add-ons to the Firefox web browser.
One reader is called InfoRSS. I really like it since it scrolls right to left at the bottom of your monitor and does not take up too much monitor space.
You can skip to the next feed that you have subscribed to, click on a headline to see a pop up short introduction, or double click the headline to read the full article, blog entry, or mailing list message (depending on the content that you have subscribed to).
Another RSS reader that I use when I get tired of looking at headlines at the bottom of a page or when I really want to find something interesting to read is Sage.
Sage opens a sidebar frame within Firefox just as whenever you would click the History icon within MS Internet Explorer.
Virtually all of the Yahoo! Groups mailing lists can now be subscribed to as RSS feeds.
I really have not experimented to see if the RSS feeds will work for a closed, subscription-only mailing list or to see what exclusivity there is possible.
But as one technology cliche' goes, all information wants to be free. This is the essence of open access, open source, or whatever is the opposite of the we-must-keep-secrets-at-all-costs mindset formed and taken to absurd heights during the Cold War era.
Unfortunately, many within and external to the Bond have caught this cancerous disease and when organizations are involved, the entire system of classifying information as secret or esoteric loses its focus and then everything such as a take-out menu may be classified as top secret as happened within a federal intelligence agency.
One forward-looking beauty of RSS feeds is that they can effectively reduce the number of hands that a piece of information has to go through to reach each traditional mailing list member.
Control freaks hate this but RSS feeds allow the opportunity to reduce any time delays or past behaviors such as having to log in or start up an e-mail program.
RSS feeds are probably already available on some cell phones and I know that they are available on any smartphone or PDA.
Every media outlet or organization that produces a lot of content and information is trying to make their information as mobile as possible without requiring one to being tethered to a desktop computer to gain access.
But the way that RSS feeds will work to a greater benefit within dynamic learning organizations is through the usage of tags which are used to pinpoint or clarify what a piece of content is about.
This is an introduction that I am now proposing is to be used throughout the Bond.
One of the best places to get turned onto tags is through websites that offer collaborative networking of links such as Del.icio.us (pronounced as Delicious) and Technorati. Photos can even be thrown into the mix with a website such as Flickr.
Virtually every new piece of software being created within the past 18 months has or will include RSS feeds in some manner.
Instead of Brothers sending out an e-mail to a mailing list of a website or photo or piece of news that they have found interesting, they can choose to "tag" the media content instead and then it will become immediately available to the entire Bond.
The key is therefore to know what tags or keywords will be most likely used by Brothers.
Tags that I have used include: Kappa Alpha Psi (for the places that will allow the usage of separate words), kappaalphapsi, Kappa+Alpha+Psi (in some cases), nupe, nupes, yoursinthebond, nnlb or the name of an undisclosed website created last month.
This technology is so dynamic that it will be incorporated into every aspect of the internet and become an assumed option that is available to all.
Anywhere that a RSS feed is available, a tag can be used to accurately describe it and allow it to be sent wherever someone might be interested in receiving it.
A sports fan could see sports information while a joke fan could obtain jokes without infringing on the territory of the other one.
Since photos can be tagged as well as podcasts, video blogs, and textual blogs can be tagged as a website URL, all of these can be converted into a RSS feed without any additional effort.
This is the real beauty of the technology. Go to Del.icio.us and Technorati at a minimum and create a free account and start tagging the various websites, photos, and anything else that you run across.
Remember that you can create tags that use your own name, city, chapter's name, college/university, line name, semester of initiation, province, committee, and anything other keyword that you and others will think of in order to share information.
A tag is really more important than a domain name at this point and we will probably incorporate this doctrine into my own company efforts as a result.
The keyword that you use as a tag will then become the password of the hub for various people. You can have multiple tags for a single website or content as well.
Technorati is basically a form of a search engine (like Google, Yahoo, MSN, and others you know) that is centered around tags and you can find news and websites and other stuff that interest you all without having to subscribe to a mailing list and receiving a ton of e-mail messages.
I am no longer concerned about spam, having to delete messages, receiving unwanted and/or inappropriate messages, and/or conserving hard drive space after obtaining a Gmail account. The amount of space keeps growing and if I ever catch up to the maximum amount, then something else needs to really be done such as an intervention on one end or another.
I now have directed virtually all of my various e-mail accounts to flow through Gmail since it has one of the best spam filters I have ever seen that is available for free. If you need or want an invitation to obtain a free Gmail account, just let me know and consider it done regardless of whether we actually know one another or have met.
If you have unknowingly made your e-mail address available to others, then you really need a Gmail account more than you think. You can even change the settings so that your outgoing messages are using the e-mail address that you already have been using. It is simply amazing.
But a few final thoughts on RSS feeds and XML technology.
I foresee that various websites and mailing lists will begin to identify the central keywords that stand out in the minds of their visitors and subscribers. The keywords should be placed on a page within the website or a page should be created that reflects the various feeds and tags already identified.
I will be definitely creating such pages for the various websites and mailing lists that I am a part of.
XML is a form of HTML that allows databases to be manipulated as web pages (or even e-mail in my opinion).
Therefore, the usage of RSS and Atom feeds, and XML technology works to speed up the distribution of information while minimizing the number of potential choke points needed to screen the information.
A mailing list is now best used to:
1. eliminate unwanted noise (spam); or
2. reduce opportunities for Brothers to be heard; or
3. focus minds on a particular topic or issue.
All of the above best practices for a mailing list naturally depend on the mental state and leadership capability of the mailing list owner(s) and/or moderator(s) as we all have recently noticed as absent within the NN and KF.
There are no bureaucratic coalition opportunities with tags, RSS feeds, and XML technology however. Hallelujah!
Yours in the Bond!
The technology allows you to stay current without visiting a lot of different webpages and allows you to choose to read items that interest you once you have found a website that generally produces content such as articles and news that you are interested in.
Once you have located such a website, then subscribing to their RSS or Atom feed (both use XML technology) requires a RSS reader which typically scrolls the headlines or titles for each article.
Some readers even provide a short introduction to the articles as a pop up window.
For Yahoo! users, the My Yahoo! page offers such feeds for you to subscribe to.
I have placed a lot of various methods for you to subscribe to this blog within the right margin through the various icons that you see listed.
Two RSS readers that I am currently using are add-ons to the Firefox web browser.
One reader is called InfoRSS. I really like it since it scrolls right to left at the bottom of your monitor and does not take up too much monitor space.
You can skip to the next feed that you have subscribed to, click on a headline to see a pop up short introduction, or double click the headline to read the full article, blog entry, or mailing list message (depending on the content that you have subscribed to).
Another RSS reader that I use when I get tired of looking at headlines at the bottom of a page or when I really want to find something interesting to read is Sage.
Sage opens a sidebar frame within Firefox just as whenever you would click the History icon within MS Internet Explorer.
Virtually all of the Yahoo! Groups mailing lists can now be subscribed to as RSS feeds.
I really have not experimented to see if the RSS feeds will work for a closed, subscription-only mailing list or to see what exclusivity there is possible.
But as one technology cliche' goes, all information wants to be free. This is the essence of open access, open source, or whatever is the opposite of the we-must-keep-secrets-at-all-costs mindset formed and taken to absurd heights during the Cold War era.
Unfortunately, many within and external to the Bond have caught this cancerous disease and when organizations are involved, the entire system of classifying information as secret or esoteric loses its focus and then everything such as a take-out menu may be classified as top secret as happened within a federal intelligence agency.
One forward-looking beauty of RSS feeds is that they can effectively reduce the number of hands that a piece of information has to go through to reach each traditional mailing list member.
Control freaks hate this but RSS feeds allow the opportunity to reduce any time delays or past behaviors such as having to log in or start up an e-mail program.
RSS feeds are probably already available on some cell phones and I know that they are available on any smartphone or PDA.
Every media outlet or organization that produces a lot of content and information is trying to make their information as mobile as possible without requiring one to being tethered to a desktop computer to gain access.
But the way that RSS feeds will work to a greater benefit within dynamic learning organizations is through the usage of tags which are used to pinpoint or clarify what a piece of content is about.
This is an introduction that I am now proposing is to be used throughout the Bond.
One of the best places to get turned onto tags is through websites that offer collaborative networking of links such as Del.icio.us (pronounced as Delicious) and Technorati. Photos can even be thrown into the mix with a website such as Flickr.
Virtually every new piece of software being created within the past 18 months has or will include RSS feeds in some manner.
Instead of Brothers sending out an e-mail to a mailing list of a website or photo or piece of news that they have found interesting, they can choose to "tag" the media content instead and then it will become immediately available to the entire Bond.
The key is therefore to know what tags or keywords will be most likely used by Brothers.
Tags that I have used include: Kappa Alpha Psi (for the places that will allow the usage of separate words), kappaalphapsi, Kappa+Alpha+Psi (in some cases), nupe, nupes, yoursinthebond, nnlb or the name of an undisclosed website created last month.
This technology is so dynamic that it will be incorporated into every aspect of the internet and become an assumed option that is available to all.
Anywhere that a RSS feed is available, a tag can be used to accurately describe it and allow it to be sent wherever someone might be interested in receiving it.
A sports fan could see sports information while a joke fan could obtain jokes without infringing on the territory of the other one.
Since photos can be tagged as well as podcasts, video blogs, and textual blogs can be tagged as a website URL, all of these can be converted into a RSS feed without any additional effort.
This is the real beauty of the technology. Go to Del.icio.us and Technorati at a minimum and create a free account and start tagging the various websites, photos, and anything else that you run across.
Remember that you can create tags that use your own name, city, chapter's name, college/university, line name, semester of initiation, province, committee, and anything other keyword that you and others will think of in order to share information.
A tag is really more important than a domain name at this point and we will probably incorporate this doctrine into my own company efforts as a result.
The keyword that you use as a tag will then become the password of the hub for various people. You can have multiple tags for a single website or content as well.
Technorati is basically a form of a search engine (like Google, Yahoo, MSN, and others you know) that is centered around tags and you can find news and websites and other stuff that interest you all without having to subscribe to a mailing list and receiving a ton of e-mail messages.
I am no longer concerned about spam, having to delete messages, receiving unwanted and/or inappropriate messages, and/or conserving hard drive space after obtaining a Gmail account. The amount of space keeps growing and if I ever catch up to the maximum amount, then something else needs to really be done such as an intervention on one end or another.
I now have directed virtually all of my various e-mail accounts to flow through Gmail since it has one of the best spam filters I have ever seen that is available for free. If you need or want an invitation to obtain a free Gmail account, just let me know and consider it done regardless of whether we actually know one another or have met.
If you have unknowingly made your e-mail address available to others, then you really need a Gmail account more than you think. You can even change the settings so that your outgoing messages are using the e-mail address that you already have been using. It is simply amazing.
But a few final thoughts on RSS feeds and XML technology.
I foresee that various websites and mailing lists will begin to identify the central keywords that stand out in the minds of their visitors and subscribers. The keywords should be placed on a page within the website or a page should be created that reflects the various feeds and tags already identified.
I will be definitely creating such pages for the various websites and mailing lists that I am a part of.
XML is a form of HTML that allows databases to be manipulated as web pages (or even e-mail in my opinion).
Therefore, the usage of RSS and Atom feeds, and XML technology works to speed up the distribution of information while minimizing the number of potential choke points needed to screen the information.
A mailing list is now best used to:
1. eliminate unwanted noise (spam); or
2. reduce opportunities for Brothers to be heard; or
3. focus minds on a particular topic or issue.
All of the above best practices for a mailing list naturally depend on the mental state and leadership capability of the mailing list owner(s) and/or moderator(s) as we all have recently noticed as absent within the NN and KF.
There are no bureaucratic coalition opportunities with tags, RSS feeds, and XML technology however. Hallelujah!
Yours in the Bond!
Will Kappa Pass Similar Tests?
Today's blog entry on my personal blog describes what is going on both physically and spiritually around the world and it is one that all Kappas need to be mindful of and it is entitled "Harden Not Your Hearts In This Season or Else!"
Yours in the Bond!
Yours in the Bond!
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Bureaucracy Is The Enemy!
With the recent events of this month and last month, I now realize that bureaucracy is the enemy indeed.
I was just being directed to approach the problem with my talents and passion in a very unique and aggressive way that some may wish to either control or be able to review in advance when they do not have the power or authority to do so anyway.
Since some topics are easily witnessed within Kappa, then they will be addressed within this blog and other avenues created and discovered online and offline.
Other topics will be addressed within my personal blog at http://blog.roneysmith.com or http://roneysmith.blogspot.com (both point to the same blog).
Bureaucracy is the greatest threat to achievement that I have learned. Bureaucracy and leadership failures create, cooperate, and reinforce one another.
Right now in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there are more than enough places to observe and provide insights on the problems and share solutions to correct and prevent from happening in the future.
But rest assured, everything that is visible and will become known has already or is happening within organizations worldwide and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. is not immune whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
Dirty laundry then just becomes the clothes that you wear (publicly or privately) regardless of the opportunity to wash them privately or not (the public airing or washing cannot be avoided regardless).
So if the comments seem to be coming a little slow on this blog, just check out the other one.
Yours in the Bond!
I was just being directed to approach the problem with my talents and passion in a very unique and aggressive way that some may wish to either control or be able to review in advance when they do not have the power or authority to do so anyway.
Since some topics are easily witnessed within Kappa, then they will be addressed within this blog and other avenues created and discovered online and offline.
Other topics will be addressed within my personal blog at http://blog.roneysmith.com or http://roneysmith.blogspot.com (both point to the same blog).
Bureaucracy is the greatest threat to achievement that I have learned. Bureaucracy and leadership failures create, cooperate, and reinforce one another.
Right now in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there are more than enough places to observe and provide insights on the problems and share solutions to correct and prevent from happening in the future.
But rest assured, everything that is visible and will become known has already or is happening within organizations worldwide and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. is not immune whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
Dirty laundry then just becomes the clothes that you wear (publicly or privately) regardless of the opportunity to wash them privately or not (the public airing or washing cannot be avoided regardless).
So if the comments seem to be coming a little slow on this blog, just check out the other one.
Yours in the Bond!
Friday, September 02, 2005
Kappa's Own Hurricane Katrina
It seems that I have been offline after taking a low blow from a psychopath, but I will see my name positively cleared in multiple ways.
The number of Brothers joining a new mailing list has been increasing and there seems to be a fresh round of encouragement flowing.
But my main concern is mobilizing an effort for the hurricane survivors and the mindsets that contribute to the poor response time in emergencies period.
I will need to revisit this post later but one main point is that within emergencies, you do not have the luxury to study the problems facing you as you have in times of peace.
Managers need to study problems since the lack of real leadership causes the levels of understanding to take longer periods of time.
The number of Brothers joining a new mailing list has been increasing and there seems to be a fresh round of encouragement flowing.
But my main concern is mobilizing an effort for the hurricane survivors and the mindsets that contribute to the poor response time in emergencies period.
I will need to revisit this post later but one main point is that within emergencies, you do not have the luxury to study the problems facing you as you have in times of peace.
Managers need to study problems since the lack of real leadership causes the levels of understanding to take longer periods of time.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Cornbread, Consequences, & Repercussions!
As portrayed in the 1999 prison comedy movie entitled "Life" with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, somebody touched my cornbread and turned around and got others to willingly and intentionally touch my cornbread whether they knew that I directly knew or indirectly would find out from the recording devices that were and are available.
They should have gotten their own cornbread by working as hard as I have since graduating college in 1987 in order to get the cornbread that is unquestionable, undeniable, and beyond reproach whether contains benefits, opinions, opportunities, desires, needs, and wants others find or may find right or wrong.
What is my cornbread you ask? My cornbread is my never-before-fully-understood-and-appreciated-by-myself ability to keep secrets and not betray the confidence of anyone.
I do not know how or why my cornbread was created and given to me by God.
I do not know the hows and whys some of the secrets I have been entrusted with are placed within my hands since they are all over the moral, legal, and ethical spectrum.
But I do know that my cornbread has been touched, somebody was looking at it a little too hard and others starting feeling as if my cornbread was within reach and foolishly coveted my cornbread for themselves.
Take me out of the equation and ask yourself the following question: what would you expect out of any doctor, psychologist, counselor, teacher, instructor, coach, minister, pastor, financial advisor, banker, corporate executive, HR and payroll department personnel, or anyone that deals with personal lives, health, and wealth as a result of someone touching or staring down their cornbread?
Society expects no less from the above individuals and my resume is loaded with my past, present, and future participation as such!
For example if I asked someone the following question on a public microphone or forum, how would they successfully answer it without being having their character defamed in the process?
John Doe, are you still beating your wife?
Even if John says no, then the assumption is laid on the table that he was beating his wife.
We would clearly expect John to follow up legally by some means to protect his cornbread.
Even if John's protection and defense of his cornbread produced the consequences and repercussions of others losing their own cornbread through their own actions conducted without duress from anyone as individuals and through their own inactivities by not posting appropriate warning signs that no lifeguard is on duty and leaving access to the beach or pool widely open and available, then their cornbread is just like poker and roulette chips placed on the table.
As Kenny Rogers' song "The Gambler" said:
"You gotta know when to hold them,
know when to fold them,
know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money while sitting at the table
There's plenty time for countin' when the dealing's done"
Now as General Maximus told one of his commanders within the movie "Gladiator", it is time to "Unleash Hell!"
From the window to the wall, the roof is on fire, there is no water, and you know the rest;)
One thing can be unequivocally said about closed systems and environments---they never seem to have enough fire exits when needed.
This is another reason that I have chosen open access as an operating method for some of my online efforts.
When the questions were repeatedly raised whether there were clearly identifiable infractions, no one either found any or provided the URL where they existed AND STILL EXIST!
Opinions and sentiments should not have persuaded some to feel justified and entitled to cyberhaze, defame the character, libel, and negatively impact the cornbread of another.
Yours in the Bond!
They should have gotten their own cornbread by working as hard as I have since graduating college in 1987 in order to get the cornbread that is unquestionable, undeniable, and beyond reproach whether contains benefits, opinions, opportunities, desires, needs, and wants others find or may find right or wrong.
What is my cornbread you ask? My cornbread is my never-before-fully-understood-and-appreciated-by-myself ability to keep secrets and not betray the confidence of anyone.
I do not know how or why my cornbread was created and given to me by God.
I do not know the hows and whys some of the secrets I have been entrusted with are placed within my hands since they are all over the moral, legal, and ethical spectrum.
But I do know that my cornbread has been touched, somebody was looking at it a little too hard and others starting feeling as if my cornbread was within reach and foolishly coveted my cornbread for themselves.
Take me out of the equation and ask yourself the following question: what would you expect out of any doctor, psychologist, counselor, teacher, instructor, coach, minister, pastor, financial advisor, banker, corporate executive, HR and payroll department personnel, or anyone that deals with personal lives, health, and wealth as a result of someone touching or staring down their cornbread?
Society expects no less from the above individuals and my resume is loaded with my past, present, and future participation as such!
For example if I asked someone the following question on a public microphone or forum, how would they successfully answer it without being having their character defamed in the process?
John Doe, are you still beating your wife?
Even if John says no, then the assumption is laid on the table that he was beating his wife.
We would clearly expect John to follow up legally by some means to protect his cornbread.
Even if John's protection and defense of his cornbread produced the consequences and repercussions of others losing their own cornbread through their own actions conducted without duress from anyone as individuals and through their own inactivities by not posting appropriate warning signs that no lifeguard is on duty and leaving access to the beach or pool widely open and available, then their cornbread is just like poker and roulette chips placed on the table.
As Kenny Rogers' song "The Gambler" said:
"You gotta know when to hold them,
know when to fold them,
know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money while sitting at the table
There's plenty time for countin' when the dealing's done"
Now as General Maximus told one of his commanders within the movie "Gladiator", it is time to "Unleash Hell!"
From the window to the wall, the roof is on fire, there is no water, and you know the rest;)
One thing can be unequivocally said about closed systems and environments---they never seem to have enough fire exits when needed.
This is another reason that I have chosen open access as an operating method for some of my online efforts.
When the questions were repeatedly raised whether there were clearly identifiable infractions, no one either found any or provided the URL where they existed AND STILL EXIST!
Opinions and sentiments should not have persuaded some to feel justified and entitled to cyberhaze, defame the character, libel, and negatively impact the cornbread of another.
Yours in the Bond!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
New Internet Policy to Protect Kappas Online and Offline
It is my personal prediction that an official, new Executive Order, internet policy, or official legislation directly from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. will be created as a result of the cyberhazing, libel, and defamation of character that I have recently experienced and am currently fighting back in order to protect individual Brothers and/or provide guidelines for legitimate members' online conduct while not infringing upon the right of the individual to free speech.
Such unofficial and illegal actions of members (as hazing cases always involve) clearly impacts the official body and the official body cannot afford to imply consent by inactivity or through the failure to provide adequate oversight.
A new internet policy has been created and posted on an undisclosed website for members only.
Anyone else that wishes to receive a copy of it should contact me
directly.
Hopefully, no one else will have to go through such activity online that offline implications in the future.
Yours in the Bond!
Such unofficial and illegal actions of members (as hazing cases always involve) clearly impacts the official body and the official body cannot afford to imply consent by inactivity or through the failure to provide adequate oversight.
A new internet policy has been created and posted on an undisclosed website for members only.
Anyone else that wishes to receive a copy of it should contact me
directly.
Hopefully, no one else will have to go through such activity online that offline implications in the future.
Yours in the Bond!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Training for Management? I Think Not
Our motto is "Training for Leadership", but what happens when one actually falls within the mold of "Training for Management"?
As there a ton of resources and documents to define the differences between being a leader and a manager, one of the surest ways to determine which mode of operating you are witnessing or a part of is whether there is the presence of fear within your operating environment.
Managers operate from a fear-based perspective versus a faith-based perspective. This is not to say that a religious doctrine is the main ingredient, but managers essentially work to save face through pride, maintain a level of security, and not take any risks that might challenge the status quo.
After all, a manager earned their position by not rocking the boat and going along to get along. A leader is chosen to usher the organization from its current position to a preferred, more suitable, and highly desired position (an oasis and place of abundance if you will).
Does management have a place within Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.? Sure it does as it relates to maintaining the achievements of the past in terms of ensuring that our resources and assets are safe guarded and that our storehouses are not needlessly suffering decay, expiration, and theft.
But even managers have to fulfill the expectations of being trained and training others for leadership. It compromises the organization when a manager is more concerned whether their inefficiencies are going to be exposed or that someone else becomes a threat to their position.
There is a difference between being a manager and having to practice management. But being a leader and practicing leadership is the same.
Managers love bureaucracy because it defines who has power and who does not. Managers love organizational charts, PowerPoint slides, corporate speak, and a polished, professional appearance, a poker face, predesignated decorum, conformity, and sticking to the regular routine.
This is not to say that leaders are to be unprofessional by any means, but that leaders love authentic conversations.
Leaders love to know what is on your mind, how your family is doing, what is going on in your life, and what do you think we should do?
Managers want to know where their seat is located on the dais, when are you going to announce and introduce them, why isn't everybody standing when I enter the room, and where is the private dining room?
Managers also want to know where is my entourage, where is my security detail, where are the cameras, where is my place up front for the photo shoot, who is this person at the microphone, why wasn't I briefed in advance that this threat was going to surface, why didn't somebody tell me who I was dealing with, who is trying set me up and take my position, what chapter are they affiliated with, are they planning to run for my office, what is the best way to get revenge, why is this person touching me, when did they become a member, and who signed off on allowing them my time to talk.
Managers will definitely want to know how well you know and are versed in Robert's Rules of Order and the laws, regulations, constitution, by-laws, statutes, amendments, line items, history, and spirit of the laws of the land.
Ask a leader a difficult question and he or she will bring you closer to them for an answer. Ask a manager a difficult question and they will push you further away.
Managers absolutely wage war than to be seen not having an answer or to sweat in public.
Managers either chase ambulances and/or are driving them;)
The presence of fear makes people do crazy things.
As a leader, we have to wage war to defend ourselves and the helpless, but managers typically wage battles to advance their cause in the short-term while losing the war.
Paranoia becomes their best friend once the crown is placed on their heads. They were already crazy, but the difference is that they now have a tastetester for everything;D)
"Training for Management" should be one of the best punch lines jokingly (although it might be a cruel joke as well) used within our Bond. This is an inside joke that popped in my head this morning when remembering past managers within and external to the Bond.
I too was trained for management and I was very successful at it until I escaped from the plantation;))
My first job after college was as a restaurant manager for a South Carolina based chain named Quincy's that would compare and compete with Golden Corral, Shoney's, and Sizzler (if they still exist).
The restaurant location where I worked is now closed. It had too many managers and not enough leaders.
I was hooked up with the initial introduction by one of my Sands who worked there and moved up through the ranks from dishwasher to cook. All of this occurred in the late 80s.
As time progressed before, during, and after my tenure there, a ton of Nupes from my undergraduate chapter who worked there. We had an assembly line of people from my college working there as well.
Even though I received 4 weeks of training, managers all up and down the chain of command all said that there was the textbook training and the real world way of doing things.
Needless to say as a recent graduate and having just made the direct transition from undergraduate polemarch to alumni advisor for the same chapter, I needed to keep my job in a city where it was not too common for a Black male to occupy such a position.
It was one of those "good jobs" as many would say.
But I was miserable. I had to work virtually every weekend and had to do everything within my power just to stay employed. If the highest-ranked manager (who actually got his job as a result of the restaurant's CEO / company founder attending the same college and was his fraternity brother as well) had something he wanted done when he wanted it done, I was in no position to say no.
I did not feel any level of security whatsoever.
But over time, I quickly learned what i's needed to be dotted, t's crossed, and what to say if I was ever backed into a corner. CYA was taught to us by the corporate trainer and this doctrine of self-preservation was adhered to like a lifeline.
Yes, my name is Roney Smith and I am a recovering manager;)
I've been there and have the t-shirts, caps, and tattoos to prove it. So whenever I am in a conversation, I can instantly tell whether I am talking to a manager or a leader.
It was not until I sought to regain my own sanity and self-esteem after reaching the point of I am not taking this anymore, did the situation change in my life. I seized the opportunity to become a math teacher and have my weekends and summers for other nonworking concerns.
But you know what? Managers were found in the school district and education as an industry as well. Managers are found whenever and wherever organizations exist.
You cannot run away from them since then are usually one of the first to always volunteer for positions of power:))
This is another clue on how to identify managers: managers tend to volunteer a lot (no, excessively) in order to jockey for power.
Being an early adopter is one thing, but being a crack head for position and power is something else:)
Is there a resolution? Yes, there is.
Everyone must realize that there is an ebb and flow to being the leader or manager of any organization. There is a time and place for both roles and having the wisdom to know when leadership is required and when management is preferred is the most critical key of all.
Again, there is a difference between being a manager and having to practice management. But being a leader and practicing leadership is the same.
So the next time you are in the presence of a manager, smile, laugh when you return to your car, and say a prayer for them. They really need it for the misery they are in and the torture that they are putting others through.
When you are in the presence of a leader, you will feel empowered to empower others, sense a degree of security and progression to higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and no fear and doubt will be tolerated.
Here are some links to articles written on the psychopaths and sociopaths who are managers within corporate American in Fast Company magazine and a quiz to find out if you are working for, with, and/or have to report to one.
An all-time list of bosses from hell and a coping mechanism appears as well.
If it walks like a manager and talks like a manager, then it is time to say AFLAC and save a lot of money on your car insurance with GEICO;))
The ultimate put-downs to truthfully say when you meet a manager: you are a well-trained manager or you manage it very well;)
Then listen for how much they cannot get enough and gloat with their corporate talk:D)
For your further enjoyment, here is a movie recommendation about the way managers think entitled "Office Space". I do warn you in advance that you will need some Kleenex tissue or an oxygen tank from laughing so hard;)
Yours in the Bond!
As there a ton of resources and documents to define the differences between being a leader and a manager, one of the surest ways to determine which mode of operating you are witnessing or a part of is whether there is the presence of fear within your operating environment.
Managers operate from a fear-based perspective versus a faith-based perspective. This is not to say that a religious doctrine is the main ingredient, but managers essentially work to save face through pride, maintain a level of security, and not take any risks that might challenge the status quo.
After all, a manager earned their position by not rocking the boat and going along to get along. A leader is chosen to usher the organization from its current position to a preferred, more suitable, and highly desired position (an oasis and place of abundance if you will).
Does management have a place within Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.? Sure it does as it relates to maintaining the achievements of the past in terms of ensuring that our resources and assets are safe guarded and that our storehouses are not needlessly suffering decay, expiration, and theft.
But even managers have to fulfill the expectations of being trained and training others for leadership. It compromises the organization when a manager is more concerned whether their inefficiencies are going to be exposed or that someone else becomes a threat to their position.
There is a difference between being a manager and having to practice management. But being a leader and practicing leadership is the same.
Managers love bureaucracy because it defines who has power and who does not. Managers love organizational charts, PowerPoint slides, corporate speak, and a polished, professional appearance, a poker face, predesignated decorum, conformity, and sticking to the regular routine.
This is not to say that leaders are to be unprofessional by any means, but that leaders love authentic conversations.
Leaders love to know what is on your mind, how your family is doing, what is going on in your life, and what do you think we should do?
Managers want to know where their seat is located on the dais, when are you going to announce and introduce them, why isn't everybody standing when I enter the room, and where is the private dining room?
Managers also want to know where is my entourage, where is my security detail, where are the cameras, where is my place up front for the photo shoot, who is this person at the microphone, why wasn't I briefed in advance that this threat was going to surface, why didn't somebody tell me who I was dealing with, who is trying set me up and take my position, what chapter are they affiliated with, are they planning to run for my office, what is the best way to get revenge, why is this person touching me, when did they become a member, and who signed off on allowing them my time to talk.
Managers will definitely want to know how well you know and are versed in Robert's Rules of Order and the laws, regulations, constitution, by-laws, statutes, amendments, line items, history, and spirit of the laws of the land.
Ask a leader a difficult question and he or she will bring you closer to them for an answer. Ask a manager a difficult question and they will push you further away.
Managers absolutely wage war than to be seen not having an answer or to sweat in public.
Managers either chase ambulances and/or are driving them;)
The presence of fear makes people do crazy things.
As a leader, we have to wage war to defend ourselves and the helpless, but managers typically wage battles to advance their cause in the short-term while losing the war.
Paranoia becomes their best friend once the crown is placed on their heads. They were already crazy, but the difference is that they now have a tastetester for everything;D)
"Training for Management" should be one of the best punch lines jokingly (although it might be a cruel joke as well) used within our Bond. This is an inside joke that popped in my head this morning when remembering past managers within and external to the Bond.
I too was trained for management and I was very successful at it until I escaped from the plantation;))
My first job after college was as a restaurant manager for a South Carolina based chain named Quincy's that would compare and compete with Golden Corral, Shoney's, and Sizzler (if they still exist).
The restaurant location where I worked is now closed. It had too many managers and not enough leaders.
I was hooked up with the initial introduction by one of my Sands who worked there and moved up through the ranks from dishwasher to cook. All of this occurred in the late 80s.
As time progressed before, during, and after my tenure there, a ton of Nupes from my undergraduate chapter who worked there. We had an assembly line of people from my college working there as well.
Even though I received 4 weeks of training, managers all up and down the chain of command all said that there was the textbook training and the real world way of doing things.
Needless to say as a recent graduate and having just made the direct transition from undergraduate polemarch to alumni advisor for the same chapter, I needed to keep my job in a city where it was not too common for a Black male to occupy such a position.
It was one of those "good jobs" as many would say.
But I was miserable. I had to work virtually every weekend and had to do everything within my power just to stay employed. If the highest-ranked manager (who actually got his job as a result of the restaurant's CEO / company founder attending the same college and was his fraternity brother as well) had something he wanted done when he wanted it done, I was in no position to say no.
I did not feel any level of security whatsoever.
But over time, I quickly learned what i's needed to be dotted, t's crossed, and what to say if I was ever backed into a corner. CYA was taught to us by the corporate trainer and this doctrine of self-preservation was adhered to like a lifeline.
Yes, my name is Roney Smith and I am a recovering manager;)
I've been there and have the t-shirts, caps, and tattoos to prove it. So whenever I am in a conversation, I can instantly tell whether I am talking to a manager or a leader.
It was not until I sought to regain my own sanity and self-esteem after reaching the point of I am not taking this anymore, did the situation change in my life. I seized the opportunity to become a math teacher and have my weekends and summers for other nonworking concerns.
But you know what? Managers were found in the school district and education as an industry as well. Managers are found whenever and wherever organizations exist.
You cannot run away from them since then are usually one of the first to always volunteer for positions of power:))
This is another clue on how to identify managers: managers tend to volunteer a lot (no, excessively) in order to jockey for power.
Being an early adopter is one thing, but being a crack head for position and power is something else:)
Is there a resolution? Yes, there is.
Everyone must realize that there is an ebb and flow to being the leader or manager of any organization. There is a time and place for both roles and having the wisdom to know when leadership is required and when management is preferred is the most critical key of all.
Again, there is a difference between being a manager and having to practice management. But being a leader and practicing leadership is the same.
So the next time you are in the presence of a manager, smile, laugh when you return to your car, and say a prayer for them. They really need it for the misery they are in and the torture that they are putting others through.
When you are in the presence of a leader, you will feel empowered to empower others, sense a degree of security and progression to higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and no fear and doubt will be tolerated.
Here are some links to articles written on the psychopaths and sociopaths who are managers within corporate American in Fast Company magazine and a quiz to find out if you are working for, with, and/or have to report to one.
An all-time list of bosses from hell and a coping mechanism appears as well.
If it walks like a manager and talks like a manager, then it is time to say AFLAC and save a lot of money on your car insurance with GEICO;))
The ultimate put-downs to truthfully say when you meet a manager: you are a well-trained manager or you manage it very well;)
Then listen for how much they cannot get enough and gloat with their corporate talk:D)
For your further enjoyment, here is a movie recommendation about the way managers think entitled "Office Space". I do warn you in advance that you will need some Kleenex tissue or an oxygen tank from laughing so hard;)
Yours in the Bond!
What's The Missing Ingredient? A Kappa Career or Lifestyle Path!
The morning has started off very well considering I feel energized by putting petty jealousies from others behind me.
One unpredictable byproduct of recent events is that I have found or rediscovered my voice and undeniable potential to get Kappa in better shape than when I found it. I also learned that I was not alone in my sentiments and out there all on my own.
When accusations come your way, it is very difficult to not wonder what was indeed present to make another feel justified or entitled to hurl such ordinance your way.
But jealousy weakens and does not empower the jealous versus the object of their envy. Jealousy does not empower and green eyes do not always wear well with the bright red Kappa blazer!
If it were possible, I would have to get a restraining order against the mindset "if I can't have you, then no one will";)
This brings me to the place to remember what it was like as a young 18 year old college freshman to sit within interest group meetings and listen to what Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. had to offer and the benefits the members were enjoying.
Upon crossing the Burning Sands, my Sands and I enjoyed the consuming joy of Brotherly Love and we did not have to go Philadelphia to experience it!
But after the membership certificate and identification card arrived, to this day I have not seen evidence that no initiate before, during, or after my initiation has received a career path or track that we should look to either implement or synthesize into the rest of our lives.
I know that some would say that Kappa is not a job or career or military tour, but most organizations that have a long-term desire to stay in existence have some type of history of progressing its constituents from point A to point B and so on for the rest of their lives.
I know clearly that a career path does not exist for the way our Senior Kappas are not fully engaged to their maximum capacities to contribute their wisdom to the Bond as well as receive a new level of personal security that they never have experienced before within their lives.
I might sound idealistic, but what a wonderful world it would be if Senior Kappas and their families (especially those with empty nests) would receive the attention and care that one's grandparents (or these days great-grandparents) might normally receive and expect.
I know that within the past days of yore, it would not be too uncommon for a Brother to send some Scrollers to mow the lawn for a Senior Kappa. For goodness sake, my Sands and I even did the same for the polemarch of the local alumni chapter who was clearly young enough to take care of his wife's "Honeydew" list on his own.
I am not complaining by any means because he hooked all of us up with a serious cookout and video that I would almost kill for just to see today if it still exists (21 years later). He did get thrown on the grill with the full trimmings after the word got back to the rest of the alumni chapter;) But I digress.
I know that our legal counsel would not consent to revisiting such days, but my point is that we need to take better care of our own ON OUR OWN and not only remember Senior Kappas but all who reside within the communities that we cherish.
The truth is that without a designated career (or lifestyle) path in place for the entire organization, we are leaving the most vulnerable fully exposed to find their own way.
I know that in some circles there are no lack of solid mentors, but overall the statistics and common sense have been tapping on our foreheads for decades to realize that a revolving door was built by somebody somehow and for some reason considered legitimate at the time.
A career or lifestyle path (I will use the latter name from now on) would not only serve to retain our precious human capital, but also educate and inform our newly initiated and current human capital that it will have the responsibility of taking care of its past members, its young, and receive the same care from an uninitiated generation when their days of youthful vigor defer to the days where the probability of joining the Chapter Invisible greatly increase.
With such a lifestyle plan, Brothers would be able to see what is expected of everyone and identify where they are within the plan as both a giver and receiver.
Continued membership would then be reinforced and the Kappa lifestyle loop would be closed versus the existing U-turn that revolving doors emphasize.
With all of this said, let's explore a brief "what if" scenario.
In the absence of a lifestyle path, what if every initiate was required to either be polemarch or a committee chair on all levels (local chapter, province, and Grand Chapter) upon crossing the Burning Sands?
Immediately unless they were informed otherwise, a ton of new initiates would make a valiant attempt to perform the roles and tasks required of them.
It would take the bravest of the group to openly tell the Bond that they are not prepared, capable, or fully equipped to handle such responsibilities.
It would take the most courageous to say that they do not have all of the answers while attempting to fulfill the requirements and expectations.
But isn't this the same case and situation where we find ourselves today regardless of when and where we were initiated, our past life experiences, and career history?
There are a ton of offices, committee chairmanships, and other roles filled by well meaning but ill prepared personalities and egos.
When was the last time we heard or it was recorded by an officer, committee chair, or anyone else that someone said "I do not have all of the answers, but here I am and this is what I will attempt to do" and "Brothers, I need your help"?
I would love to see an online search feature of past editions of public such as The Journal and private documents to see if such statements have been made. If they have, then they were not expressed loud and clearly enough to reach the lower levels where I reside;)
If they were announced within the environment that has existed up to now, a riot of the highest magnitude would immediately break out or a political coup would be launched like a cruise missile. Forget about impeachment or asking someone to step down in such a situation, the order of the day would be revolution and the head of the king must roll;)
Without a lifestyle path, our individual and collective success is really more the exception than the rule.
The nature of these thoughts and this blog entry center around training, indoctrination, education, and learning more than anything else.
No one is to blame, it just happened. But now a better way does indeed exist. The expertise is already present to create such a plan. All we have to do is make the need known and make ourselves available to their wisdom and counsel without demonizing those who propose such plans as commonly occurs.
As an individual, I do not have all the answers and I am brave or foolish enough to say it;)
One of the gatekeepers that have kept us in such a situation is that we have the belief or have brainwashed ourselves with the repeated variety of statements "All diamonds are the same size and/or my diamond is no better than your diamond" or something to this effect.
I agree with the statement as it applies to rights of membership, but what should happen if you send me today to pilot the plane when the previous pilot just got sick or has died?
I don't know about you, but I have my eternal life insurance paid in full;)
As the joke goes, if the pilot's time is up and dies does that mean that everybody's time is up?
Who can I turn to and ask to receive training or a plan without being made to feel as if I just signed up for a lower degree or class of membership?
Where can I receive counseling, assistance, and guidance after experiencing the war of daily life and now have untreated post traumatic stress syndrome from being isolated and not being able to ask for help.
A lifestyle plan would help remedy some of these ills that we are facing within our own minds and within our own corners of the world.
The bravery needed to step out and step up may not be there in massive numbers yet.
But we must reward each courageous one that signs up for the continued education, lifetime learning, and reaccreditation class or syllabus.
Or should we form a support group or 12-step process without a leader?
Man of Kappa Alpha Psi, either create a lifestyle plan or submit something that the lifestyle plan should include today.
This Bond is Yours!
Yours in the Bond!
One unpredictable byproduct of recent events is that I have found or rediscovered my voice and undeniable potential to get Kappa in better shape than when I found it. I also learned that I was not alone in my sentiments and out there all on my own.
When accusations come your way, it is very difficult to not wonder what was indeed present to make another feel justified or entitled to hurl such ordinance your way.
But jealousy weakens and does not empower the jealous versus the object of their envy. Jealousy does not empower and green eyes do not always wear well with the bright red Kappa blazer!
If it were possible, I would have to get a restraining order against the mindset "if I can't have you, then no one will";)
This brings me to the place to remember what it was like as a young 18 year old college freshman to sit within interest group meetings and listen to what Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. had to offer and the benefits the members were enjoying.
Upon crossing the Burning Sands, my Sands and I enjoyed the consuming joy of Brotherly Love and we did not have to go Philadelphia to experience it!
But after the membership certificate and identification card arrived, to this day I have not seen evidence that no initiate before, during, or after my initiation has received a career path or track that we should look to either implement or synthesize into the rest of our lives.
I know that some would say that Kappa is not a job or career or military tour, but most organizations that have a long-term desire to stay in existence have some type of history of progressing its constituents from point A to point B and so on for the rest of their lives.
I know clearly that a career path does not exist for the way our Senior Kappas are not fully engaged to their maximum capacities to contribute their wisdom to the Bond as well as receive a new level of personal security that they never have experienced before within their lives.
I might sound idealistic, but what a wonderful world it would be if Senior Kappas and their families (especially those with empty nests) would receive the attention and care that one's grandparents (or these days great-grandparents) might normally receive and expect.
I know that within the past days of yore, it would not be too uncommon for a Brother to send some Scrollers to mow the lawn for a Senior Kappa. For goodness sake, my Sands and I even did the same for the polemarch of the local alumni chapter who was clearly young enough to take care of his wife's "Honeydew" list on his own.
I am not complaining by any means because he hooked all of us up with a serious cookout and video that I would almost kill for just to see today if it still exists (21 years later). He did get thrown on the grill with the full trimmings after the word got back to the rest of the alumni chapter;) But I digress.
I know that our legal counsel would not consent to revisiting such days, but my point is that we need to take better care of our own ON OUR OWN and not only remember Senior Kappas but all who reside within the communities that we cherish.
The truth is that without a designated career (or lifestyle) path in place for the entire organization, we are leaving the most vulnerable fully exposed to find their own way.
I know that in some circles there are no lack of solid mentors, but overall the statistics and common sense have been tapping on our foreheads for decades to realize that a revolving door was built by somebody somehow and for some reason considered legitimate at the time.
A career or lifestyle path (I will use the latter name from now on) would not only serve to retain our precious human capital, but also educate and inform our newly initiated and current human capital that it will have the responsibility of taking care of its past members, its young, and receive the same care from an uninitiated generation when their days of youthful vigor defer to the days where the probability of joining the Chapter Invisible greatly increase.
With such a lifestyle plan, Brothers would be able to see what is expected of everyone and identify where they are within the plan as both a giver and receiver.
Continued membership would then be reinforced and the Kappa lifestyle loop would be closed versus the existing U-turn that revolving doors emphasize.
With all of this said, let's explore a brief "what if" scenario.
In the absence of a lifestyle path, what if every initiate was required to either be polemarch or a committee chair on all levels (local chapter, province, and Grand Chapter) upon crossing the Burning Sands?
Immediately unless they were informed otherwise, a ton of new initiates would make a valiant attempt to perform the roles and tasks required of them.
It would take the bravest of the group to openly tell the Bond that they are not prepared, capable, or fully equipped to handle such responsibilities.
It would take the most courageous to say that they do not have all of the answers while attempting to fulfill the requirements and expectations.
But isn't this the same case and situation where we find ourselves today regardless of when and where we were initiated, our past life experiences, and career history?
There are a ton of offices, committee chairmanships, and other roles filled by well meaning but ill prepared personalities and egos.
When was the last time we heard or it was recorded by an officer, committee chair, or anyone else that someone said "I do not have all of the answers, but here I am and this is what I will attempt to do" and "Brothers, I need your help"?
I would love to see an online search feature of past editions of public such as The Journal and private documents to see if such statements have been made. If they have, then they were not expressed loud and clearly enough to reach the lower levels where I reside;)
If they were announced within the environment that has existed up to now, a riot of the highest magnitude would immediately break out or a political coup would be launched like a cruise missile. Forget about impeachment or asking someone to step down in such a situation, the order of the day would be revolution and the head of the king must roll;)
Without a lifestyle path, our individual and collective success is really more the exception than the rule.
The nature of these thoughts and this blog entry center around training, indoctrination, education, and learning more than anything else.
No one is to blame, it just happened. But now a better way does indeed exist. The expertise is already present to create such a plan. All we have to do is make the need known and make ourselves available to their wisdom and counsel without demonizing those who propose such plans as commonly occurs.
As an individual, I do not have all the answers and I am brave or foolish enough to say it;)
One of the gatekeepers that have kept us in such a situation is that we have the belief or have brainwashed ourselves with the repeated variety of statements "All diamonds are the same size and/or my diamond is no better than your diamond" or something to this effect.
I agree with the statement as it applies to rights of membership, but what should happen if you send me today to pilot the plane when the previous pilot just got sick or has died?
I don't know about you, but I have my eternal life insurance paid in full;)
As the joke goes, if the pilot's time is up and dies does that mean that everybody's time is up?
Who can I turn to and ask to receive training or a plan without being made to feel as if I just signed up for a lower degree or class of membership?
Where can I receive counseling, assistance, and guidance after experiencing the war of daily life and now have untreated post traumatic stress syndrome from being isolated and not being able to ask for help.
A lifestyle plan would help remedy some of these ills that we are facing within our own minds and within our own corners of the world.
The bravery needed to step out and step up may not be there in massive numbers yet.
But we must reward each courageous one that signs up for the continued education, lifetime learning, and reaccreditation class or syllabus.
Or should we form a support group or 12-step process without a leader?
Man of Kappa Alpha Psi, either create a lifestyle plan or submit something that the lifestyle plan should include today.
This Bond is Yours!
Yours in the Bond!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Must See TV: Current.tv Network
Check out my review on this new television network on my personal blog!
Then locate the channel on your satellite or cable provider.
Yours in the Bond!
Then locate the channel on your satellite or cable provider.
Yours in the Bond!
One Man One Vote (OMOV) Is Simply The Right Thing To Do
Aside from issues operating on a microlevel, the concept of One Man One Vote (OMOV) addresses a critical flaw within our organization's attempt to mimic the organizational structure of the United States.
Our country has used representative democracy as a necessity due to the same reasons any other entity uses it: the cost of keeping all interested parties informed has been too high for individuals to willingly pay and to avoid the high cost of inactivity when communications are not readily available.
The argument can be made that through the internet things are different, but our fellow citizens have not reached the mindset of being willing to part with voting via hardcopy ballots and voting through the internet or some other technological method of voting.
As Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and other organizations have attempted to emulate America's form of representative democracy, one critical component included with the America's form of representative democracy has been woefully omitted.
Each state as a geographical entity and intermediate level has a governor that is voted upon and consequently selected by the residents of that state and geographical area.
The similar role and position within our Fraternity is that of a provincial polemarch who is selected by the Grand Polemarch (who occupies a role and position similar to that of the President of the United States of America).
Some have given their opinion that it is strategically weak to include electing provincial polemarchs as a reason to justify supporting OMOV, but whether one argument is the chicken or the egg of the other is irrelevant.
One cannot be used to exclude the other. You cannot continually support the current organizational structure or claim that we operate under a representative form of democracy as long as the provincial polemarch are not voted upon by Brothers of the reflected province.
What kind of form of democracy do we have therefore one may ask?
I do not know and when one of us finds the answer, we should inform the other;)
A few forms of government that come to mind which do not allow voting on all levels include a theocracy and a dictatorship.
Members of a theocratic governmental structure fully accept the theological doctrine and essentially believe that their leaders are chosen by God as revealed to man.
With the amount of Brothers who have various religious beliefs, backgrounds, and current practices, no one to my knowledge has ever attempted to put a specific theological spin within modern officers and appointed positions.
We have not yet seen the wave of evangelical Christians or another similar or even opposing set of values fully or partially sweep through Kappa Alpha Psi.
Within a dictatorship, no one has the power or capacity to openly argue or disagree with their leadership and how they are placed into power.
As a result, I will have to conclude that Kappa Alpha Psi operates with a hybrid governmental structure unconsciously while our members currently accept the belief that provincial polemarchs are chosen by God as revealed to the Grand Polemarch.
As a minister, I believe the Holy Bible where it states that all power comes from God.
Representative democracies, theocracies, and dictatorships have to come from God as a result on initial deduction but even this line of thinking is wrong.
The places where it seems to appear that God is not in control are the places where someone has either consciously chosen not to follow God or has not been informed that there is a God and that He has a better way of living and being organized.
More than likely, our Bond has gotten comfortable with the past efficiencies of the form of representative democracy practiced and the appointment of provincial polemarchs.
Now through the power of the same God, the internet and other tools have been created to allow a more perfect form of government to be observed, studied, implemented, and practiced.
The bottom line is that to state that we have a perfect form of representative democracy practiced is faulty.
To more closely follow the example of America, we must allow our provincial polemarchs to be voted upon by the members of the province, and allow OMOV to become a reality.
Otherwise, we do not have the same degree of checks and balances as found within the US Constitution and other historical documents that have served to guide our country.
Right now, provincial polemarchs are really closer to presidential appointed judges at the Supreme Court and lower and regional federal courts.
But even these appointees have to be confirmed or the president places them into power during periods where the congress is not in session or available.
Has our current form of representative democracy been consciously and fully accepted as implying that our congress (chapter delegates currently and entire Body eventually) is not in session or unavailable?
I say that the Bond is in session and is available!!
To have a province polemarch serve as both a federal (provincial) judge and a congressional legislator is clearly a break away from the form of representative democracy practiced by America.
Again, OMOV and/or the election of provincial polemarchs must become a part of the annual fabric of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. whether they are implemented at the same time or one occurs before the other.
Yours in the Bond!
Our country has used representative democracy as a necessity due to the same reasons any other entity uses it: the cost of keeping all interested parties informed has been too high for individuals to willingly pay and to avoid the high cost of inactivity when communications are not readily available.
The argument can be made that through the internet things are different, but our fellow citizens have not reached the mindset of being willing to part with voting via hardcopy ballots and voting through the internet or some other technological method of voting.
As Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and other organizations have attempted to emulate America's form of representative democracy, one critical component included with the America's form of representative democracy has been woefully omitted.
Each state as a geographical entity and intermediate level has a governor that is voted upon and consequently selected by the residents of that state and geographical area.
The similar role and position within our Fraternity is that of a provincial polemarch who is selected by the Grand Polemarch (who occupies a role and position similar to that of the President of the United States of America).
Some have given their opinion that it is strategically weak to include electing provincial polemarchs as a reason to justify supporting OMOV, but whether one argument is the chicken or the egg of the other is irrelevant.
One cannot be used to exclude the other. You cannot continually support the current organizational structure or claim that we operate under a representative form of democracy as long as the provincial polemarch are not voted upon by Brothers of the reflected province.
What kind of form of democracy do we have therefore one may ask?
I do not know and when one of us finds the answer, we should inform the other;)
A few forms of government that come to mind which do not allow voting on all levels include a theocracy and a dictatorship.
Members of a theocratic governmental structure fully accept the theological doctrine and essentially believe that their leaders are chosen by God as revealed to man.
With the amount of Brothers who have various religious beliefs, backgrounds, and current practices, no one to my knowledge has ever attempted to put a specific theological spin within modern officers and appointed positions.
We have not yet seen the wave of evangelical Christians or another similar or even opposing set of values fully or partially sweep through Kappa Alpha Psi.
Within a dictatorship, no one has the power or capacity to openly argue or disagree with their leadership and how they are placed into power.
As a result, I will have to conclude that Kappa Alpha Psi operates with a hybrid governmental structure unconsciously while our members currently accept the belief that provincial polemarchs are chosen by God as revealed to the Grand Polemarch.
As a minister, I believe the Holy Bible where it states that all power comes from God.
Representative democracies, theocracies, and dictatorships have to come from God as a result on initial deduction but even this line of thinking is wrong.
The places where it seems to appear that God is not in control are the places where someone has either consciously chosen not to follow God or has not been informed that there is a God and that He has a better way of living and being organized.
More than likely, our Bond has gotten comfortable with the past efficiencies of the form of representative democracy practiced and the appointment of provincial polemarchs.
Now through the power of the same God, the internet and other tools have been created to allow a more perfect form of government to be observed, studied, implemented, and practiced.
The bottom line is that to state that we have a perfect form of representative democracy practiced is faulty.
To more closely follow the example of America, we must allow our provincial polemarchs to be voted upon by the members of the province, and allow OMOV to become a reality.
Otherwise, we do not have the same degree of checks and balances as found within the US Constitution and other historical documents that have served to guide our country.
Right now, provincial polemarchs are really closer to presidential appointed judges at the Supreme Court and lower and regional federal courts.
But even these appointees have to be confirmed or the president places them into power during periods where the congress is not in session or available.
Has our current form of representative democracy been consciously and fully accepted as implying that our congress (chapter delegates currently and entire Body eventually) is not in session or unavailable?
I say that the Bond is in session and is available!!
To have a province polemarch serve as both a federal (provincial) judge and a congressional legislator is clearly a break away from the form of representative democracy practiced by America.
Again, OMOV and/or the election of provincial polemarchs must become a part of the annual fabric of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. whether they are implemented at the same time or one occurs before the other.
Yours in the Bond!
How To Create A Placemark for Any Location You Desire
The following steps are for anyone who wants to know the GPS coordinates (earth's latitude and longitude) for a location.
1. Go to Google Maps http://maps.google.com
2. Click on AutoCoords On
3. Enter the address that you are trying to find the GPS coordinates
(latitude and longitude) within the search box and click the SEARCH
button.
4. Click the Satellite icon to see the location as viewed from a
satellite in outer space.
5. Click the x within the pop up window to close the window hovering
over the search location returned.
6. Click the Plus sign (+) in order to zoom in on the location returned.
In a lot of cases, the results will show your specific area but not
the exact location you are trying to find. As a result, just start
entering a different street number and see how much closer to your
preferred location the placemark appears.
7. After entering a new street number, go back to step 4 and repeat
the process until your preferred location is positively identified by
the placemark that appears.
8. Copy and paste the coordinates which will appear within the
following format: geotagged geo:lat=33.804176 geo:lon=-84.515762
wherever else you may need to use them.
You may avoid having the write or manually type the information
elsewhere by clicking the link "Link to this page" and select "Copy
link location".
Then paste the link wherever else you may want to use it. It will
appear in the following format:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1+georgia+dome+drive,+atlanta,+ga+30313&ll=33.804176,-84.515762&spn=0.003820,0.007522&t=k&hl=en
One suggestion is to e-mail the link to yourself within a free e-mail
service such as Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, or Gmail. This method will then
allow you to retrieve the information from any internet connected
computer at will.
1. Go to Google Maps http://maps.google.com
2. Click on AutoCoords On
3. Enter the address that you are trying to find the GPS coordinates
(latitude and longitude) within the search box and click the SEARCH
button.
4. Click the Satellite icon to see the location as viewed from a
satellite in outer space.
5. Click the x within the pop up window to close the window hovering
over the search location returned.
6. Click the Plus sign (+) in order to zoom in on the location returned.
In a lot of cases, the results will show your specific area but not
the exact location you are trying to find. As a result, just start
entering a different street number and see how much closer to your
preferred location the placemark appears.
7. After entering a new street number, go back to step 4 and repeat
the process until your preferred location is positively identified by
the placemark that appears.
8. Copy and paste the coordinates which will appear within the
following format: geotagged geo:lat=33.804176 geo:lon=-84.515762
wherever else you may need to use them.
You may avoid having the write or manually type the information
elsewhere by clicking the link "Link to this page" and select "Copy
link location".
Then paste the link wherever else you may want to use it. It will
appear in the following format:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1+georgia+dome+drive,+atlanta,+ga+30313&ll=33.804176,-84.515762&spn=0.003820,0.007522&t=k&hl=en
One suggestion is to e-mail the link to yourself within a free e-mail
service such as Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, or Gmail. This method will then
allow you to retrieve the information from any internet connected
computer at will.
New Significant Milestone via Google Earth and Google Maps!
We have reached a significant milestone with an undisclosed website designed for Nupes only.
Through the use of Google Earth and Google Maps, you can now locate a wide variety of information and view it on a satellite map and gain a greater perspective on what changes need to be made and how to use the data.
We have incorporated these technologies to create Kappa-oriented technologies for the Bond.
We fully expect to see other entities and levels of organization within and external to Kappa Alpha Psi do the same.
Visit the undisclosed website and witness the tip of the iceberg as it relates to being able to see where the Bond exists within a three-dimensional format.
Feel free to add your information as well.
Yours in the Bond!
Through the use of Google Earth and Google Maps, you can now locate a wide variety of information and view it on a satellite map and gain a greater perspective on what changes need to be made and how to use the data.
We have incorporated these technologies to create Kappa-oriented technologies for the Bond.
We fully expect to see other entities and levels of organization within and external to Kappa Alpha Psi do the same.
Visit the undisclosed website and witness the tip of the iceberg as it relates to being able to see where the Bond exists within a three-dimensional format.
Feel free to add your information as well.
Yours in the Bond!
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