Which Muppet am I?

I know, I know, I haven't been back for awhile. I've been doing more friending and following; call it research. I'm still trying to integrate my networks and -- still -- not understanding which Muppet I am has to do with how social networks will help with a job search.

In one sense, I get Twitter more than I get Facebook, although as a writer, I have yet to cotton to the 140-character limit. I think of it as haiku, but then, it takes me three hours to write one tweet. That's not going to happen, even in my picky, resume-perfect world. The part I get is that I can follow people's projects and days and concerns. I like that. I like knowing what my friends and colleagues are up to.

Here's a good article that says what Twitter's about better than I can: Twitter Quitters Just Don't Get It.

The part I don't get is the games and quizzes in Facebook, particularly when I can't finish them without asking three more friends to do the same thing. Well, I get the marketing angle. That's how I find out the quiz exists: Rody takes it and Patrick comments about it. They're married. Now, my husband and I email and text each other all the time, but it's more like a to-do list. "Remember to pick up milk." "Here's the address of that place I told you about." "Are you going to be home for dinner?" These two have conversations. It's very sweet.

But I'm not looking for a way to connect with my husband. I want to know how this is going to help someone make contacts they need to make to find their dream job.

Could I be overthinking this? (Like that's never happened. )

Facebook is for giggles and finding out goofy "facts" to give us all something to talk about when we don't know each other well enough to have something in common. Or for keeping in touch with the groups of friends and family we're far away from. So, if we're "friends," keep sending the quiz scores. One of these days, I'll get around to taking a few and revealing my true Muppet nature.

How's the Terrain?

The buzz in managementland is that Dr. Spencer Johnson's new book, Peaks and Valleys, is a gotta have.

The author of No. 1 bestsellers Who Moved My Cheese?, The Present,
and The One Minute Manager, has the street creds to get away with a subtitle like Making Good and Bad Times Work For You -- At Work and In Life. He tells how to get through tough times sooner
and make good times enjoyable and longer.

Here's the link to the book on Amazon.com and the synopsis:

Peaks and Valleys is a story of a young man who lives unhappily in a valley until he meets an old man who lives on a peak, and it changes his work and life forever.

Initially, the young man does not realize he is talking with one of the most peaceful and successful people in the world. However, through a series of conversations and experiences that occur up on peaks and down in valleys, the young man comes to make some startling discoveries.

Eventually, he comes to understand how he can use the old man's remarkable principles and practical tools in good and bad times and becomes more calm and successful himself.

Now you can take a similar journey through the story and use what you find to your advantage in your own work and life.