Beat the Bully
Bullying has come into the spotlight this week, with a record number of complaints made about Celebrity Big Brother (UK). Whilst Jade Goody is bearing the brunt of the criticism, she was not alone in her appalling behaviour and was joined by 2 other housemates, who thought it was fair game to target another contestant.Nearly everyone is bullied at some time in their lives. Bullying doesn't stop when you leave school; it can happen to anyone at any age, and people can become bullies at any stage in life. Although it is hard to believe, bullying isn't always deliberate and bullies are not always aware of the harm they cause.What is bullying?Bullying takes on many forms, such as: leaving people out of a group; name calling; being singled out as 'different'; being teased about a family situation; saying or writing nasty things about you; as well as physical abuse. With more and more of us using email and mobile phones, bullying doesn't even have to happen in person. Silent phone calls or abusive texts or email can be just as distressing as being bullied face-to-face.Why are people bullied?Some people are bullied for no particular reason, but sometimes it's because they are different in some way - perhaps it's the colour of their skin, the way they talk, their size or their name.Why d

Who Drives You Up The Wall?
Is there someone where you work who absolutely, totally, and unequivocally drives you up the wall? Do you sometimes feel like climbing the wall all by yourself as the quickest way to escape? If you are saying Yes! Yes! Yes! you have had first-hand experience with "The Frustration Factor," up close and personal.The players of the world are alive and well and ready to drive you up the wall. Some are aggressive, some passive; some are extroverts and others introverts. Whatever their personalities, they are mostly motivated by personal needs, status goals, and insecurities. If their private goals are coincidentally compatible with your company's, so be it. If not, their selfish interests prevail.Rich is an experienced player.Rich's approach to driving people up the wall is B t B: By the Book. In a less linguistically correct time, we called this CYA.His main play is to do things the same way he always does them. What has worked before is likely to work again. He knows people seldom find fault with his handling things in the usual way, whether it works or not.Next, Rich always looks at how things can go sour and little at how they can succeed. He asks, "What are the three strongest reasons for not doing this?" His motto is nothing ventured, nothing lost.Finally, any time he has to do something that ha

All I Needed to Learn in Life I Learned From Betty Crocker
Some of you may be too kind to say it. But I can tell you’re thinking, “I don’t know what you know about life, but I think you’ve learned a bit too much about Betty Crocker.”Yes, I’ve learned a great deal about Betty Crocker over the past forty-some years. I’ve sat at her table many times. But as much as I’ve learned ABOUT her, I’ve learned more FROM her!You’re probably thinking, “Yup, I knew it, you’ve finally gone off your rocker. Jean’s been creative one too many times! All she’s learned from Betty Crocker is how to gain weight!”Well, you’re wrong. And I’ll tell you why.Consider the simple box of Betty Crocker cake mix.You may think it’s only a cake mix with the instructions for baking a cake on the back. But when I pick up this box and read the back, I see instructions for living a successful life!First off at the top, before the four steps to making a cake, Betty Crocker tells me what ingredients I will need. This tells me in order to succeed in baking a cake, and in life, I need to be organized. She’s telling me that in order to be successful in life, I need to know where I want to go. Then I need to think ahead and plan what it takes to get there. I need to assess whether I have what it takes – and if not, how I can get the skills I need for the job I want to do.Yes, all

Virtual Product Placement
Recently some televised sports events have begun using a system that makes billboards in stadiums appear to have ads they don't really have. The process is something like a digital version of chrome key, but it's much more powerful. In the next few years this technology will become even more powerful, and also considerably cheaper, opening up new opportunities for advertisers on the Internet, and raising a number of interesting issues in the process.While broadcast media is subject to regulations requiring a clear separation between content and advertisement, no such restrictions apply to Internet based media. In addition, only a handful of films, like Citizen Kane, have contractual protection from any kind of after the fact modification of content. As a result, advertisers on the Internet will be able to integrate their product into programming to a degree not possible since the golden age of radio.It may be limited to billboards now, but in a few years new digital video technology will be able to seamlessly a replace any product being used by an actor in a movie or TV episode, including items held or worn, even if the actor is moving. Given the revenue potential, it's only a matter of time before Hollywood starts making films that are designed to support digital post-production product placement, or virtual product placem