Hack.

People deal with life in many different ways.
One person creates a Facebook page that attempts to find humor in Cancer as a way of dealing with the loss of a loved one.  ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cancer-is-funny-cause-people-die/174140266010061 )
Another person deals with that same Facebook page with anger, because he finds absolutely no humor in Cancer. Hundreds of thousands of people respond in kind, likely without reading anything on the actual page in question.
Threats are made. Cops are called. The page is Facebook "reported" and "investigated." Media gets told about it.

And all this amounts to what?

A HACK.

Whether or not there is a real person coping with Cancer or the loss of a loved one, hundreds of thousands of people have clogged up Facebook with their comments.

For what purpose?

Wikipedia: Hacking means finding out weaknesses in a computer or computer network, though the term can also refer to someone with an advanced understanding of computers and computer networks.[1] Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, or challenge.[2]

There can be no doubt that someone is protesting the Facebook Page, or protesting the User, or protesting Cancer, or maybe any combination thereof.

And if there's a Hack behind it all, surely it's a means to to place stress on Facebook servers, in an attempt to get them to fail?  To cause bad publicity for Facebook?  To overwork some intermediary server or internet infrastructure?


Or maybe it's more sinister than that.  Maybe the Hack is trying to dissuade Facebook users from using the service?  Or maybe it's an elaborate ruse to elevate text-notifications to increase per-text revenues from cell-phone carriers.

Whatever.

The bottom line is, when you add your comment to a thread on Facebook with 200,000 comments, the joke is on you, because your notifications will cause you to throw your cell phone across the room.  Your Facebook Notifications will climb to at least hundreds, if not thousands.

And you still haven't cured Cancer; the Facebook Page in question is still alive and well; as is the person who created it.

No, I didn't create the Facebook Page. Not guilty. I'm just someone who happened to notice the phenomenon.

Why don't we have a cure for Cancer? Is there too many people drawing salaries off research efforts?  Too many people who get paid to be cancer patient caregivers and medical personnel? Too much money being made off medical equipment and pharmaceuticals? There's a whole economy centered around Cancer - a huge economy.

Can't Be Friends With Direct Reports...

We knew this, right?
I mean, I'm not naive. I know that there's that "line" between getting along with the people you work with and  being friends with those people - especially when you are their boss.
The day will come when you will have to discipline them or terminate them or there will be a disagreement and the friendship will suffer, yada yada yada.
Or, the backstabbing scenario, in which something you said or did is used against you later, yada yada yada...
So why is it so easy to fall into the trap of trying to be friends with the people you work with?
Perhaps its because you find no common ground with my peers - other people who have similar/equal positions to my own. Perhaps it's because you have no desire to be friends with your boss.
However you justify it, the bottom line is that you spend the majority of your day with people you can't be true friends with.  It makes you feel fake, and lonesome, too.
My boss recently called me an employee advocate.  This, coming from the guy who believes firmly in the "coach them up or coach them out" strategy of employee retention.
So what if I defend employees who make my work-life easier?  So what if I defend employees who may not hit all their metrics, but are reliable, available, and decent human beings?
But then, I feel like a fool when I discover that perhaps those employees aren't as loyal to me as I am to them.
I can't blame them.  They look out for themselves, as well they should.  I'm just as quick to "throw my boss under the bus" probably, when it boils down to a debate.
But what is meant by his comment of "employee advocate?" Is he implying that my loyalty to my employees is misguided, that there is something going on I don't know about?
En Garde!

Cause, And My Effect.

Everyday I wish I could do more for my community, and less for my self. I wish, I wish, I wish.
I have a friend who donates his time delivering condoms to places of business for free distribution to those who need them, in the interest of safe sex and the prevention of STDs.
I have another friend who spears up GLBT awareness programs including an annual Pride Event.
Yet another friend donates his formidable floral talent to an organization that raises money for AIDS awareness, assistance and Support.
I have another friend who provides musical talent to a hospital that believes children's healing can be facilitated through song and music therapy.
What do I do?
I work.
Ugh.
When will my life create positive impact for other people?
Truth is, I work two jobs, come home exhausted, conk out early, and do it all again the next day.
I could donate time in the evenings to a charitable cause. But I don't.
Why not? Am I lazy? Am I disinterested in making the world a better place?
No.
I am interested, I am not lazy.
But I do lack inspiration.
What causes are out there that need my support? My help, my talents, my time?
Anyone?