So, how do you share?
Yesterday I posted my blog article: Time to Share and I used WordPress classic editor. This morning there’s a message from Jetpack in my mailbox: Your message could not be shared. Hey, I had this message a while ago, but then when I checked, it had been published. But published and shared are two different things.
I’m Ozlilly
Hello, I am Ozlilly, a Babyboomer, born in Australia, now living in Austria. I support an NGO and a Toastmasters Club at the UN. I have a reputation for being the technical whizz as I am addicted to recording meetings and I often host Zoom meetings and publish the recordings on my various YouTube channels.
Babyboomer
You know the definition of “Babyboomer”? Well it means I’m not a millenial, or a gen X or Gen Z. It means I grew up without a mobile phone or computer. So everything I’m doing here is what I’ve picked up after formal school education. I used to walk a mile to school, across a creek, past a few lizards and maybe snakes. I made mud cakes and sand cakes and I got bitten by our pet dog.
Pets
Then during High School (Year 7-12) I got a pet rat. Before that I had a pet guinea pig, some skinks, little lizards that I caught and bred. One of my brothers, (I have four) had pet pigeons, another had a pet rabbit. I don’t remember who had the budgerigars anymore. We had chickens. Oh and of course I had pet mice which multiplied until there were over 30 of them!
Tangent
All that last paragraph was an aside, leading off from my childhood memory of the dog “Jockie” which bit me once, when I was just three or four years old. What I really wanted to do here was address the issue of aging and intergenerational communication.
Modern Challenge
I know I am not alone as I feel challenged by modern technology. And I just have to laugh as I write that I am considered an expert! Yes, because a lot of my peers and even younger are even more challenged. Have we become too comfortable? Have we stopped learning? No, not really. We were just born in a different age. We come from a time when nobody had a telephone or a car. We ran to the neighbours and gossiped and shared the news. We went to the next street to the first ones in the neighbourhood who got a TV.
The Sound Of Music
I remember when Mrs Nedomlel took us to the Cinema and we saw “The Sound of Music”. It was my first time in a movie theatre. Then I heard some people went to see it again. And again. And even seven times! I was shocked. My mother would never have thought to take us to the movies! I loved getting the sweets from Darrel Lee. I especially loved the liquorice. OMG I have just looked at their website and remember the Rocklea Road! No wonder I had to think of sweets when my youngest son asked me what to bring back from his recent Aussie visit. Sweets were such a treat and such an integral part of the memories growing up.
What to do?
So, what I’m doing here now is addressing the issues I face which may also be of interest to you. Are you a Babyboomer? Then maybe I can help you. I am committed to life-long learning. Are you a gen XYZ? Then it might be in your interest to relate to what we oldies went through, how we think, how we tick, what’s going on in our minds.
Who am I?
I just watched a video (in German) explaining all the different generational terms and conditions. The ones before me were the traditionalists. the conservatives. Funny, I never really considered all these terms in relation to age and generation. I value honesty and authenticity. Surely this is beyond age, culture or generation? So the other interesting thing for me is that I am now living in a German speaking country. The situation in Australia when I was growing up was quite different. Perhaps it is now different again. I remember being told that our Holt Street Parish was quite unique. It was predominantly Catholic, yet composed of many different nationalities, mainly immigrants from central and southern Europe.
Okay, that was another shot of reminiscence.
Social Media
Do you use WordPress? Do you have a blog? Do you use FaceBook? I am regularly asked to address conservative women and tell them about social media. I like to ask: Who is on FaceBook? Who is on LinkedIn? Who is on Instagram? Some of these women follow me and perhaps you are one of them. I sometimes hear comments like: You are everywhere. You post all the time. This only tells me that my channels are the same as theirs. It is not necessarily a compliment to my effective outreach and social media networking.
My Target Group
My focus is not just old women, it is not even old men. My message is for today and anybody who is still alive. We are on this planet together and I have stories to tell. I can share about what I’ve learned and how we can learn together. One day I even expect my kids to come back here and search for nuggets about my life and thoughts. I’m still figuring out how to structure all that stuff.
Just Jump in and do it
So here goes, a new committment. Can we grow together? Can we learn together? What’s in it for me? I am burning with a passion to share. Sometimes it’s just the gift of expressing what many others are just thinking. Yes sometimes it’s my loud voice, my reckless willingless to just give it a go. Like my last speech at Toastmasters. Better done than perfect is a slogan I have adopted. Too often, too much time wasted in trying to get it right. The learning process, even if painful, is definitely faster when you just jump in and do it.
How about you? What do you think?