How to Avoid Fear of Swine Flu...

Well, it is no secret. There is a swine flu outbreak. That is all I will say. Being a 9/11 veteran of dealing with news media that tends to hypnotize, enforce racial stereotypes to 'sell' the news, and lead one to believe you should either 'watch the news' or 'you will get swine flu', I offer these tips to deal with the fear:

1. Stop watching television news programs about it. It does no good, and makes you feel the world will end.
2. Find out how to protect yourself, just by searching online.
3. Use common sense. Do not kiss any pigs that look like they have 'been around the block', people who may be sick, or subway poles.
4. Do not rub the eyes. The tear duct is an easy way for germs to get in your system.
5. Think for yourself. Mamma always said, 'If all your friends decided to jump off a bridge would you do it?'. Find out what to do, and put it out of mind.

As much as many news outlets would love to convince the world that it is ending tomorrow, you still have to live your life.

Be well, healthy, and think for yourself!

That's all for this topic.

The Two Ingredients You Can Never Ignore Online

I have been thinking lately about how much things have changed over the past 5 years, and how the explosion of social media is turning the world into one 'blue collar network' of hard-working individuals, working where and whenever they need to.

In all of it, there remains two things that have not changed:

• The need for common sense.
• The need for common courtesy.

In truth, I hate it when people say, 'Use your common sense.' Common sense is 'rarely common & never makes sense', so I think it is an unfair term. Yet, it is still important, so how do you learn 'common sense'? That is quite simple, study and research what the common people do when it comes to the culture and etiquette of online communication. It is different than most people expect it to be when they start out. I cannot tell you how many times my mom has forwarded emails with the subject line, 'I saw this on Good Morning America!', and how many times I have shown her symantec.com to explain email hoaxes.

Being that this is a new world of communication, what saves people who are starting out in the online communication world is the second ingredient: Common Courtesy.

Common courtesy is basically 'understanding the human condition'. If you email someone, write to someone, share news, share information etc., and it either has a positive or negative effect, 'common courtesy' dictates how you should respond.

If you upset someone, you apologize. If someone shares great news about you, thank the person who did it. Be no different than you would in real life (because online communication has become real life), and translate that into the online world in a kind and friendly manner.

There is one exception; regarding 'do what you would do in real life'. I am a New York City-native, and lets just say...if you have a spicy temper, it is best to keep that kind of content, offline. Every single thing we write online is considered 'public record'. Those people who have offended you, metaphorically speaking 'stepped on your toes on subway', probably have offended others. Yet, typing 'how you feel in the moment' without considering the long-term damage is a mistake. The 'human condition' dictates that people will react to us, based on how we behave, so maybe the beauty of communicating online is that offensive content speaks for the person who wrote it, and there is no need to respond. However, if the person 'stepped on your toes', and then apologized, common courtesy may dictate a quick 'thank you for understanding.'

In the end...this is one world with people using computers to say everything. Even with all of the technology, what my grandmother taught me, long before any of this, is to always remember to say 'please', 'thank you', and always be an outstanding individual to others.

I still remember the day she said that to me...I was at a wedding, and she was telling me how tough life was during the 1930's, while explaining that just being a good person was always what got her through learning how to cope with change.

To her...that was 'common sense'...to have 'common courtesy'.

Online Courtesy: Not Different From Offline

I have received many questions in customer service about 'what to do' when a private message has been received, or when someone simply contacts another person, and a person is forced to decline work, or ask another question. The most popular question I get is, 'I was contacted to do a job, but I am out of town. What do I do?'.

Now, it is important to not panic in any situation when working online. Simply put, when working online, everyone has to check their ego at the keyboard, and make sure they remain focused on what is important; being reasonable. This is so because working online is very delicate, and people tend to get brave when pushed in a negative direction, and fight back, sometimes for no reason at all.

The most common response I give to that question, "If you were out of town, and the person actually called you on the phone, you would say you were unavailable and decline. Then you would thank them. Why can you not do that in an email?". I seriously think that technology and the way we communicate is so new to many that they actually fear using it. This should not be the case.

Throughout the history of mankind, there has never been someone or something that has failed because they were too reasonable. Will there be personalities to deal with that seem unreasonable? Always, of course you always have that happening, especially in a personality-driven business like voice overs & entertainment. When there is so much that can happen, and so many things people could possibly be thinking, the best bet is to remain down-to-earth.

An interesting fact I have noticed about online casting is that people, who live in small towns, are very successful. What makes me think these people have a lot going for them when working online is that in a small town, people tend to be less pushy, friendlier, and kinder, because they never dealt with the 'big city' atmosphere that causes people to be aggressive, defensive, or egocentric. Working online is very delicate, and such attitude can cost people work, if this attitude spills over into the way they type.

Think about it...the last time I took a vacation, and ended up in a small town, I loved how friendly and helpful people were to me. Now, transfer that into an online environment where all you know about a person is what they type. Would you rather have someone be 'small town' and write you, 'Thank you! That is kind of you. Let me help you again soon.'...OR...someone be 'big city' and write, 'Thanks. Remember you owe me money.'

The point here is that computers and communication avenues on computers have very much leveled the playing field for everyone, and there is no person out there right now, who has the right to say they are better than someone else, not reply to inquiries because it is beneath them, or complain that they are better than someone else, yet receive no recognition.

That is a good thing...Next time someone writes you and offers you work, or you find yourself in the position where you have to deliver bad news, just think before you type, 'What would a good person do in this situation, that is reasonable and understandable.'

You will have your answer.

The Recent Discussions on Budgets

I have recently been reading discussions about budgets, and for the first time, it seems to be a consensus across the board that 'something must be done.' When all sides of the story write equally powerful blogs, ideas, and thoughts, that lead to such a discussion, it is important to remember before beginning on the 'How to...' that you know what is the current state of affairs. It is commonly known that 'great power requires responsibility'.

In an anonymous online world, where it is so easy to blame a computer for one's failure because we all know the words 'bug' and 'glitch.', I see that the greatest responsibility falls on Voice123 to educate as 'to what actually happens behind their scenes'.

The step in the wrong direction is to create animosity among the online community of users. I offer up these simple facts, as a jumping point to know where the core of this current problem lies:

1. Finger-pointing does not solve anything. It never has, and it never will. All it does is give the lesser experienced a crutch to hold onto, so that they may blame 'someone' for 'something', and carry on the torch of those who are not sure how to 'quote their worth'.

2. Technology plays a large part. Truth is, you cannot force anyone to use the Internet, and for that reason you cannot corner them into decisions they wish not to make when using for the first time. The bottom line of a budget is not what you see in the project form, but more so, what it pays out from start to finish.

Ahead of time, as all online casting is fairly new, you deal with people who are simply not sure what to do. The technology has to work, and promote more usage of a website. As trust is gained, budgets will increase. Given the anonymous nature of the Internet, militant or aggressive behavior will leave one consistently unemployed.

3. There is a greater responsibility among those who have the experience to explain not 'what they should do', but 'how it is done'. I have experienced many things as a talent, and the one thing I know about the personality of this business, is that talents are 'listeners'. Talents listen to coaching, agent advice, ask many questions etc., and they do what they can as best as they have been told.

Online casting is so young, that you have a great deal of people who have not figured out the business end of it. This involves things like email etiquette, and negotiating extra fees. I have sat in on seminars where experienced people in offline casting stated, 'If you work online, someone will steal your work.', and these talents come to the site ready to offer nothing, give nothing, and expect nothing. The problem is...if one of them gets hired for saying, 'I will do it for free', it hurts everyone. I know of many 'voice coaches', but the business end eludes so many, yet plays a critical part. Online casting is 'do-it-yourself', so you have to know what to do, with the gut to follow through. 'Gut instinct' can only be taught by experienced pros.

4. Just because someone under-quotes, does NOT MEAN THEY WILL BE HIRED. I just had this discussion the other day with a gentleman from a site called quotacrush.com. He flat out stated that with the Internet, offering something for nothing is a good way to chase away customers.

I asked why. He stated, 'If someone does not have to pay, you get a buyer wondering how you make your money, and if they cannot see how, they think you must be scamming someone to get your money, and they do not wish to get involved.' To me that means, 'You get what you paid for.'

5. You think you are new to all of this? Welcome to the club. I tend to have this problem where I think, just because I have written something, that everyone will read it and learn. Unfortunately, the Internet does not work that way. I hear from professionals all the time, who preface their questions to me with the phrasing, 'I have been in this business for (enter a number) years...', but the problem is the Internet is 5 years old. The entire online community is fresh and new. Five years of a few spirited blogs, lots of discussions in forums etc. is not enough to educate both voice seekers and talents on how to quote, or yes, spend more money. Everyone is still in that, 'I'm not sure' phase.

The transferring of offline practices to online, does not work for one main reason: People use computers to save time, and talk to less middlemen, which costs them more money...most of the time for work they are not sure is really happening.

Going forward, I believe not-so-simple things can be done by talents, concerned about budgets:

1. Remember you are a business of selling your product aka. Your voice.
2. Treat yourself as your own agent.
3. Treat yourself as your director.
4. Remember you are an artist, too.
5. Remember, with a smile, that working online allows for great exposure with much less effort, and more opportunity.

With 'excess leading to the road to ruin', let us all be smart, down to earth, and remember that people are still behind machines, so we all have to set an example and protect what we have now to make for a better online casting future.

Check this forum out for future discussions. We can all lead a horse to water, but the best one's teach us how to make it drink.