Being one who believes for myself that I am the only one who can limit me and my potential (and just said so in a recent blog post), I wanted to share my perspective on what I mean by that for myself. As a point of clarification, I don’t tell other people that this is true for them, as I do not know their situations. But I do believe they have the potential to try to step back and see things through a different lens by not holding on to the past, but embracing reality and striving for change in a positive way using the resources and people we have around us, and probably even some we don’t even know are out there yet.

What I mean when I say that “the only one who can limit me is me” is that I alone have the power to choose to be satisfied with how things currently operate (and I fully agree there are oppresive systems that still exist) and allow that to become my excuse for not striving to reach my goals. In this example, I am limiting myself by not trying to reach my goals, rather just “settling” for “how it is.”

By the same token, I alone have the power to decide that I will not settle for anything less than what I want, and that I will strive to overcome whatever my obstacles are in an ongoing effort to reach my goals. Realistically, of course my choices have to fit into the constructs of our society and laws, but that doesn’t mean I stop trying to figure out ways to get where I need to be, or let the frustrating of the uphill battle in front of me stop me from trying to get up that hill.

This is, after all, how change happens. People like all of us in this discussion see problems with how things are today, and we strive to make them better, not only for ourselves, but for those that will come after us. In the course of doing so, we win some, and we lose some, as they say, but we also learn a lot along the way.

As both you and Chris point out – this is a limited time offer where we have a huge window of opportunity to go beyond and position ourselves as thought leaders in this space because no one has it all figured out yet. So it’s the perfect opportunity to level the playing field, so to speak, and make it what we want it to be for the future, not focus on the past.

Best,
Jamie
http://jamiepappas.typepad.com/

I have spoken at numerous Podcamps over the years (and dozens and dozens of professional conferences) and to be quite honest, drove 5 hours each way and just didn’t feel like getting in front of everyone this time around. My busy schedule had nothing to do with my selfishness. My most productive encounters happen in the hallway, and this Podcamp was *all about me* to me. Take what you need, and I did just that this past weekend. I gave back in my own way, just not in front of a session.

I’ve been commenting around the space on this topic, and wanted to say I’m thrilled that people have such passionate views on the subject. I’m also glad that we all (seem) to still respect each other despite our opposing views. I respect anyone who speaks their minds openly, honestly, and without hostility – and that includes remarks and comments to those whom we don’t agree with.

I did sign up to lead a discussion at Podcamp, and my session was not chosen. However, I never, ever, thought about being denied because I was a *woman*. I just assumed that my topic was not “sexy” enough to make it onto the printed schedule (it was about blogging specifically, so maybe it was too specific. Whatever). And I never took count of how many presenters were women versus men. Some may say that I’m likely naive and oblivious. Perhaps, but I also knew that at Podcamp, if I really wanted to hold my session, I could. I just needed to sign up for one of the open spaces. There was nothing holding me back. If I was passionate enough about the topic and could “sell” it to other attendees, I could have a session on any topic at all.

It’s not about leveling the playing field. It’s about an entirely NEW field that’s empty, that’s yours if you want it. As the field fills up, folks arriving will look to who’s already there for how to play on the new field. You’re on the field now. You’re an early adopter. I’m saying that you can MAKE the new rules, and the folks who come in after you will see your rules as the norm.

One final remark and I’ll leave this debate to better minds than mine – social media and new media is indeed a one time opportunity in this space, but there are a lot of disruptive spaces ahead that we haven’t even seen beyond the first glimpses of. Google Wave is the vanguard of change to social. Beyond that is the semantic Web, beyond that is augmented reality, beyond that is true virtual reality in every sense, and beyond that, who knows.

With this much disruption ahead, there will be opportunities aplenty, but it’ll be easier to leverage the new opportunities if you have a leadership position in the opportunity that is now.

I wish you all success in being the leading social librarian

I have a background in library science. This is traditionally what librarians do – provide access to information based on a person’s filter. What happens when we are in this new world, where there are no librarians? What happens when there is dissent carried over from before (because of the social) that gets shut down or marginalized? This is what I worry about.

And Beth, you should meet my daughter. She said the same thing about male neutral. (She has an anthropology background).