Posted via email from Vicky Ayala

Social media is not new but it’s the hot topic this year. Why? Because now everyone is an expert in social media. Having a Facebook or Twitter account qualifies an individual to become a social media expert. Sorry, for a minute there I drank the Koolaid.

There's a value in maintaining a competitive edge. As someone who straddles the competitive/altruistic world, I can see a clear value in keeping an equal balance of both. I was never one for hording information. I've been pretty open about what I do and sometimes how I do it. Lately though I am starting to re-evaluate the notion of maintaining a competitive spirit.

Proprietary information. This phrase was brought to my attention last week as I started wondering when sharing too much info becomes sharing too much. I used to be the paranoid entrepreneur until I realized the value in executing ideas in the way you see fit. Sure someone maybe do what you do, before or after you do it, but it doesn't take away the competitive edge that you give the project by doing it your way.

Finding the right balance is never easy. If it were everyone would be doing it.

Posted via email from Vicky Ayala

The universe has a funny way of giving you what you need when you
don’t think you want it and then giving you what you want after you
realize that you don’t need it.

Posted via email from Vicky Ayala

Potential? What's it worth? Can you see it? Measure it? Quantify it?

I'm becoming more unimpressed with the idea of potential. Everything has potential. My sister's pint size yorkies have the potential to be bloody thirsty killers. I'll be convinced when I see them tear off the head of the bluejay here with their teeth. But that about sums up potential. If its' not realized then does it matter?

In business you take calculated risk based on projections of what may or may not happen. Even those who take a leap of faith peek into the well before jumping in. Few jump without looking and luck out. Its like russian roulette. I'm starting to see the correlation between potential and russian roulette. Yea every shot has the potential to knock you out but it usually just takes that one from the bunch that does the job and does it well.

So if life is like a game of russian roulette, what role do you care to assume? Which role do you have the most potential in?

Posted via email from Vicky Ayala

Cranky seems to be the theme for today. As I take some time to debrief
myself from the realities of launching an empire, I reflect on the
energy that seems to be resonating from everyone around me –
crankyness.

I know where mines is coming from, and in my defense I find it
absolutely justified. Launching a website is not an easy task. To roll
out one with the complexities of LIE and TL, at the same time is
beyond ambitious. I pride myself on being a soldier of the Internet
and even when I feel out of my league I find a way to get it done. A
few courses in advanced php wouldn’t have hurt either but whatever.

Deep down though I understand my crankiness comes from various
frustrations which when not expressed only build and build. I’ve
learned a lot these past few months. Lessons in compromise, as in when
its not in your best interest, continue to test my limits and in a
weird twist of fate also provided me with a level of confidence I
didn’t have before.

Its been a long journey which is far from over. I can only hope that
the cranky energy I’m projecting is only my way of keeping myself in
tune with who I am in case I forget.

Posted via email from Vicky Ayala

The keyword of the day is synergy. It seems to be a theme as of lates.
Myspace sync’ing with Twitter. Blackberry improving their sync’ing
with Gmail. The only ones who don’t seem to get is Apple, but in their
defense they’re well within their rights for regecting Google Voice.

But synegry means more than collaborating to share resources. It means
shaking the hands of your would-be competitor and saying “there’s room
enough for us both.” I won’t speak too much on the notion of scarcity.
Alisa Valdes has discussed it well and should my partner in
LatinosInEntertainment.com ever decide to blog I’m sure she’ll talk
about how scarcity cripples any community that falls prey to their
insecurities, which is what really fuels it.

Synergy is needed for the business lanscape to evolve as a whole. Fox
and NBC realized that when they joined forces to create Hulu. And in
doing so they are trying to help pioneer a new culture of online
television consumers. And if anyone should be having the scarcity
mindset its the television networks.

Posted via email from Vicky Ayala

I’d like to think that the Internet is free space, but in seeing the outlash from Juanes performing in Cuba, I am not quite sure.

I love to create. That’s what I do. That’s my contribution to addressing the issues that I find relevant in the world. Access to technology and embracing the new media as a way to connect with others on a global scale are two things which can shift our social consciousness if we allow it to.

Unfortuately sites such as Facebook are setting us back. I try hard not to be like some of the countless individuals who use sites like Facebook and Twitter to remind me that after the 3-5 minutes or so of reading or watching their unproductive contributions to an issue, censorship may indeed be underrated. And it seems that the longer I read updates, comments and video entries the more disenchanted I become with people.

Over these past few weeks I’ve come to understand that the digital space is more representative of where our society stands among the world and as much as it may sound like a positive, it’s not meant as a complement towards our sensational, desensitized culture. It is meant to illustrate a point: we are not taking steps backwards but rather leaping head first into an endless abyss or a waterless pool much like that girl did in the 80s/90s drug commercial. But I’m sure that will be remade too.

Posted via web from Vicky Ayala