Any call to a public servant's house is harassment

Here's an interesting story about a young man and his pursuit of answers...

Kori, a member of the Lake Braddock debate team who said his grade-point average is 3.977, said his message was not intended to harass. He said he tried unsuccessfully to contact Dean Tistadt at work and he thought he had a basic right to petition a public official for more information about a decision that affected him and his classmates. He said he was exercising freedom of speech in posting a Facebook page. The differing interpretations of his actions probably stem from "a generation gap," he said.

"People in my generation view privacy differently. We are the cell phone generation. We are used to being reached at all times," he said.

Kori explained his perspective in an e-mail Wednesday to Fairfax County schools spokesman Paul Regnier. Regnier said, also in an e-mail, that Kori's decision to place the phone call to the Tistadts' home was more likely the result of a "civility gap."

"It's really an issue of kids learning what is acceptable and not acceptable. Any call to a public servant's house is harassment," Regnier said.

What's it all about? Well, in a nut shell, a kid wanted to know why school wasn't being canceled due to weather. So he tried the school administrator at work. No luck. After awhile, he looked up the man's home phone and called there, leaving a message with his name and phone number. Next he gets an angry message from the administrator's wife who is more than a little annoyed that their privacy had been violated.

For more on this article, visit SiliconValley.com to see how social media turned the whole thing into a very public event... It raises some interesting questions about society, privacy and free speech. How you feel about the whole story probably depends on the generation you most associate with.

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Any call to a public servant's house is harassment

A Big Week

A Big Week

For many of us here in the States, there is much anticipation amongst fans of US Football. By the time many of you read this, we will know which two teams will make it to the BIG GAME - the Super Bowl - the crowning event of the season. As usual, this got me thinking about the culture of football, or any other sporting event and how networking happens when people come together to watch such events.

To further the point, I had the fortune of receiving an email the other day from our former Sports Editor, Scott Manthorne mentioning that his organization, Athletes
& Executives was busy preparing for what he calls the "Super Bowl of Networking" to take place in Arizona during the time of the actual Super Bowl. It always amazes me, no matter what sport, no matter what the purpose of our networking is, people always find a way to network.

Speaking of big weeks, this week marks the debut of our new Great Lakes Bureau Chief, Cindy Dunston Quirk, Principal of Leap! Creative Mind out of Indianapolis, IN. Cindy is an accomplished writer and works with organizations such as non-profits to get their messages into print. Many long time Great Lakes readers out there may remember Cindy who filled in for Mark Sturgell (our former chief) back in October, 2007 when he was ill. WELCOME CINDY!!!

Speaking again of big weeks, we are proud to announce that TNNW has a new sponsor: qAlias.com! Founded by Charles Fellingham of Atlanta, GA, qAlias is a service that guarantees individuals top placement (via sponsored links) on Google and Yahoo for a small monthly fee. To see it in action, just "Google" my name; Adam Kovitz and see what happens ! qAlias joins foundercontact and SmallBizAmerica as our family of sponsors. To find out how to become a sponsor, contact us at info@thenationalnetworker.com.

Speaking even more of big weeks, this is personally a big week for me as I launch my first foray into book writing. As many of you know, I have been asked to be a contributing writer for the book, "The Emergence of The Relationship Economy", which is being released in ebook this Tuesday and hardcopy in early February. I wanted to thank TNNW Contributing Writer Jay Deragon for the opportunity. We've been quite fortunate to have received some very favorable reviews...to see for yourself, please see the section entitled, "The Emergence of The Relationship Economy" below.

MARK KERRIGAN, Owner of On the Mark Writing of Nashville, TN is the winner of December's contest. To find out how you can be the next winner, check out "January's Contest" below!

As always, I look forward to networking with you...

- Adam

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A Big Week

Relationships

By Cindy Dunston Quirk, Great Lakes Bureau Chief

Just in case no one told you this in business school, you can’t do this on your own.

What in the heck am I talking about? Relationships.

In “Young American” by David Bowie, he writes, “You need I; I need you.” So true. Today’s business climate isn’t about kicking networking old school by going to the network meeting of the moment and hand out fifty cards and expect fifty leads in return. That still happens but most of us in attendance flee from these folks.

Relationships make the world go ‘round.

The relationships I am talking about aren’t the old boy network kind. I mean real relationships where you actually care about the person more than the outcome; about the connections you form with your business compadres. It is all about cultivation of those connections and how you can help someone else grow or develop knowing that good will come back to you. Paying it forward.

More...

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Relationships