2011 and Introductions... has etiquette disappeared?

After this weekend's San Diego Comic Con, I am compelled to write a little ditty about the complete lackadaisical way that people deal with introductions. I am not talking about social intros in the sense of you are hanging out with some people and a random friend of yours drops by. Oops... No! I am talking about networking. The first rule I learned in business is that beware the people who keep their contacts secret. Why? These people often feel that it makes them special or elite to have these contacts, and that you may do them favors in order to obtain these contacts. They may feel insecure that you might steer the contact away from them, or they may just be a self centered person that doesn't realize how networking 'works'. Check out this article that talks about networking- http://jobcircle.com/blog/?p=2313

The purpose at something like conventions for the professional is to see what is out there, to meet people that you normally don't have a chance to interact with, and to market yourself to fans and other professionals in your industry. However, as the main problem with the comic industry has been and will always be, no one seems to view it like a business. Now that it has gotten some lifeblood pumped into it because Hollywood has come knocking at its doors for material and inspiration, the comic book business has become another league of secret keepers. The barriers to entry have surged to an all time high because now comic companies are looking to collaborate with actors and established novelists for material instead of those of us who have been knocking for years trying to get in. But I digress...

At a professional event, networking is always the goal. So when you are standing with someone, and someone else walks up that you don't know, it is the obligation of the person you are speaking with to break from the conversation, greet the new person and then introduce you to them. Here's a sample script:

Jim: Hi Bob, this is Jane. Jane is a writer and filmmaker. To Jane: Bob is an artist and writer, and he works with so and so.

Jane: Hi Bob, pleasure to meet you. Here is my card. I would love to see your work.

Bob: Hi Jane, nice to meet you. Here is my card, let's chat sometime.

Hands have been shaken, greetings all around, etc. This is a proper 'informal' business introduction. Believe me if you ask Syndi Seid, a professional etiquette instructor, this would not even pass her test. Yet, for some reason, this simple form was horribly defective during SDCC this year. There was lots of sidestepping, random comments,and first names thrown about but very little in the way of actual introductions. What has happened to professionalism? If you know that someone could benefit from an introduction, what is the harm? It's not like you are pandering, or begging. For instance, I know a lot of people in the music industry. I, however, have no aspirations to be in the music business. Then say Ted wants to be a singer, and I know a producer, can you give me one good reason that I shouldn't introduce them? How does it hurt me to help them? It doesn't, but it does make me a reliable contact, and in the future, if I need a song written for a movie I am making, I very well might be able to call on Ted to write that song for me. It could happen.

Networking is not about seeing how many contacts you can store up to make yourself feel important, and part of networking is being able to bring people together that might be able to work together or with you at some point in your career. So without the proper introductions this cannot happen and you are slighting yourself as much as you are the person standing next to you that you left out in the cold because of your lack of manners.
Great article about the altruism of networking: http://www.chichiokezie.com/2010_08_01_archive.html Good stuff!

Totes to Grocery Shop- Why?

I am not a super dooper eco friendly person, as I forget to recycle a lot and I do buy books like they are going out of style. However, there is one thing that I feel is of utmost importance to use recyclable grocery bags to grocery shop. Reason number one- They on average carry more groceries in one bag than a plastic bag can, and they have very nice handles unlike paper bags. Both paper and plastic tend to snap. Also, for women who are single or have a useless boyfriend, you either have to make a dozen trips to the car, or you get nasty cutting marks on your arms as you try to carry all the bags inside at once, while you are fiddling with your keys, something always falls,or spills etc. Reason number two- they are inexpensive, handy when you need them, can be folded into your already over-sized purse, and can even be very very adorable. Reason number three- you are saving the lives of animals, reducing landfill, and reducing clutter in your own home. I on average buy enough groceries that about 10-12 plastic bags are required. When I remember to bring my bags, which I usually keep in the back of my car, minus the one I always keep in my purse, I end up with three bags. Three bags full of the same groceries that took 10-12 plastic bags to bring home. Not to mention some of the bags are usually double bagged for strength. So that would be say 14- 16 bags total. Again, I still only use 3-4 of the reusable bags. If everyone was smart, and remembered to bring their bags, or purchased at least one everytime they shopped, we could reduce the need for the plastic bag! This would mean that grocery stores and shopping centers would need to buy less, which would lower their overhead. Which would what, my friends? Lower the cost of foooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So next time you shop, think about this. Now here is the big issues, how to sell this to guys... because men don't carry purses to tuck them into, they might carry backpacks, but that is rare in the adult male, and they don't tend to want to carry anything before there is a need to carry it... i.e. bringing in a bunch of bags before they shop. How do we encourage men to use reusable shopping totes? Any ideas?

Shopping Carts

In this age of convenience, drive-thrus, and internet shopping, texting, emails, etc. - we are all obsessed with things being easy. One would think that I would be this type of person since 80% of my life is internet based. I shop online, I read online, I watch television and movies online, I even buy my groceries online. Yet, because my daughter has auditions that take me all over, sometimes a bit of whimsy catches me and I feel like walking into a grocery or other store to peruse the aisles and get a little bit of shopping done- to kill two birds with one stone so to speak. I like to make sure that I don't waste gas to just run her to an audition. So what is my point?
As I was at the Ralph's (a chain in Los Angeles), and as I was blissfully walking out having prided myself of great purchases and a new little pot of Campanulas when after unloading my shopping bags (re-useable) into my trunk, I turned to find the spot to return my cart. Searching and searching, I spotted the designated corral located a good 100-150 feet from where I was standing. Scouting the parking lot for any activity (paranoid mom always looking around for child abductors), I walked briskly to the area, noticing that there were abandoned carts all over the parking lot, some that stood a mere 20 feet or less from the corral. This caused me to be a little peeved. Why are people so lazy that they can't spare the 30 seconds to take their cart back to the appropriate place? One wants the convenience to shop with a nice rolling basket, relieving the need to balance food in one's arms (Which might be a good idea! It would keep people from buying more food than they need and give their flabby arms a little workout!) , and the ease of rolling it out to another vehicle to transport it easily home. Yet, they cannot even walk to put the carts back! Are we in such a hurry that a simple walk is too time consuming? These same people I bet bitch because there is an abandoned cart in a parking space that they wanted to use. Those same people would then go into the store and complain to the manager or staffer that the carts are not being brought in by them which inconvenienced them. As I drove home, another maddening part of the equation... shopping carts strewn all over the sidewalks, alleyways, and doorsteps. People that choose to walk and then steal the shopping carts to take their groceries home. Another crime of gluttony and sloth, which drives the bottom line for a grocery store up which ends up filtering into the price of groceries. When operating costs go up, it reflects in the price points for food, along with other factors of course. So I guess what I am saying here, is: PEOPLE PUT YOUR CARTS BACK, DON'T BE LAZY!