Hey Reader,
I've been guilty of a really annoying habit. I've been over-engineering my email correspondence (to include Googling if over-engineering is one word or two; hyphenated or not). For goodness sake, someone stop me. I realize that nobody's coming to save me and it's up to me to break this nasty little habit. Well, it's mainly up to me but you can be of support and assistance as well. More on that later. First, here's an update as to what we've been up to over recently.
The Milwaukee Bucks
2025 Pride Town Hall π
Throughout each year, the Milwaukee Bucks host a series of theme nights during the season. Many of them are "Impact Nights" that focus on issues that are important to the leadership, team, workforce and community. One such night is their PRIDE NIGHT game dedicated to awareness for the LGBTQIA2S+ community. This year it was hosted on March 30 against the Atlanta Hawks and although the home team lost that night, the evening would most certainly be considered a win for the community. Although I was not in attendance at the game, I was hired by the organization as their Keynote Speaker for the annual Pride Town Hall that took place just a few days before PRIDE NIGHT. Every one of my speaking engagements is a cherished opportunity to create impact but this one was special not because who the Bucks are but because of what they are committed to. At a time when so many institutions are aggressively pulling back from DEI initiatives, it was refreshing and encouraging to see an organization as prominent as the NBA affiliated Milwaukee Bucks lean ambitiously into DEI.
Oh, and it was pretty cool to be inside Fiserv Forum standing where the court usually sits presenting to the workforce in the stands with my slides up on the Jumbotron.
If you are a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ Community looking for a safe and welcoming space or a loved one looking to be the very best ally and advocate you can be...be sure to get in touch.
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Here's A Little Cinematic Recap
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Should I Stay or Go
How I Decided Where to Show Up and Why
If you're anything like me, you've been let down and generally disappointed by much of corporate America lately. It's so frustrating I've frequently felt like throwing my hands in the air...like I just don't care. The issue with that is that I do care; in fact, I care very much. So, I took a deep breath and decided that I was committed to an intentional and refined change rather than an arbitrary and emotional tantrum that would have me using idioms like "cutting my nose to spite my face" and "throwing out the baby with the bath-water". (Incidentally, why are so many of the old school idioms so violent?)
Since most of the platforms let me down in one way or another, I sat down and looked at which were the most egregious offenders and created a strategic plan for where to show up and why.
Social Media
- I left the platform formerly known as Twitter quite some time ago because it largely felt like a barren wasteland of ignorance, bigotry and unregulated hate.
- Facebook was the next to go. I didn't love the experience, I am not a fan of the "Tech-Bro" culture (shocking I know) and ultimately I just felt like the company didn't align with my values.
- I ditched Instagram's Threads platform and joined Bluesky because of its open source tech and remarkably positive and progressive vibe.
- I remained on Instagram despite being owned by Meta but only as a place to repurpose content I was creating for other platforms. I stayed for a few reasons: I have a considerable connection with the queer community there, I get far more meaningful engagement on my content and the visual nature of the platform speaks to my creative soul.
- I adore LinkedIn for professional networking and business development.
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Search Engines & Persistent Content Delivery
- I rebooted my YouTube channel and have been working diligently to create meaningful short and long form content for my dream audience.
- I focused time and attention on the My Google Business listing for my brand. I ensured the my profile was robust with banner and profile images and started making consistent updates there along with the social media sites. I also requested reviews from past clients as well as readers and listeners of Different Doesn't Mean Broken.
- Lastly, as a writer I created profiles on both Medium and Substack and will contribute articles there in the hopes that the built in audiences there may find and appreciate my writing.
There are no right or wrong answers to if, when and where you show up. What's most important is that you enjoy creating the content and can remain consistent posting to whichever platforms you choose. Let me know if you have any questions or share what you've decided works for you. I of course invite you to follow me on any of the platforms that make sense for you.
What's Next?
Let's Keep In Touch
I love to write. Emails like this are no different. I really do love writing them so I asked myself why I wasn't doing it more often? Turns out I was overthinking EVERYTHING about it. How should the email be designed? What should I write and will you be interested? Will you even open it or, worse yet, will you unsubscribe? I was taking something I really enjoyed and, like the recovering perfectionist I am, I was making it an unnecessarily complicated chore that I started to resent. That stops now! I'm going to fill these emails with the thoughts in my head and the feelings in my heart. These emails are going to land in your inbox way more often and they will be packed full of valuable content because I realize now that the least valuable email is the one that I never send.
One last thing! I mentioned earlier that getting into an email-sending groove is largely up to me...and it is. However, I also realize that one of the things I appreciate about correspondence writing is connection. That's hard to accomplish with one way emails. If you're so moved, please send me a reply with your thoughts, feelings, questions or even ideas for what you would like me to write about to support and encourage you on your journey.
Cheers,
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