In the real world, men are known to drive for days without stopping to ask for directions. Chit chat? Never!

Well, the online world is growing to be opposite world for the sexes.

Not the Majority Online

Of US Internet users, men account for just 48.2%. Not surprising since we make up 49.2% of the real population. Coming years will actually see the ranks of men online diminish, slightly. Important, says eMarketer, because sex more than any other single factor defines expected online behavior.

In an April 2009 article in eMarketer, (“Do You Know What Men do Online?” http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007036&Ntt=men+online&No=-1&xsrc=article_head_sitesearchx&N=0&Ntk=basic), we are told that while there are fewer men online, they actually spend more time on the Internet than their female counterparts.

More Time Online

In November 2008 US men logged 60 sessions online for a total averaging 69 hours while women used the Internet 54 times for almost 65 hours of use.

eMarketer senior analyst and report author Lisa E. Phillips went on to say that “Men (US men compared to US women) spend more time online, conduct more searches on a daily basis and do not mind seeing ads. Her report also concluded that “men are as engaged in social media as women are.”

Other findings in the report state that men visit more sites than women and tend to stay longer on those sites. And finally, men are more mobile than women, accessing from lap tops, phones and via wireless connections.

So, let’s sum this all up…

There are fewer US men on the Internet than women, but we spend more time online, we ask for directions more often and we socialize as much as our women-folk. We get out and about more, visit more web sites and take more time on each.

Yep, online has definitely become a parallel and very strange universe.

Until next time, may all the good that you see be true.

steve

Stuck. I love onomatopoeia — words that sound like what they mean. Just listen to it, Stuck.

The sound something makes when you throw it against a wall and it stays there. Stuck!

I wonder what sound you hear when people, and organizations get stuck. Maybe a cartoon tire screech when they’re stopped dead in their tracks. Or the monotonous tick, tock marking the time they wait for something to happen to pull them along. Plop! Does that sound like someone sticking their head —- in the sand silly. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Like a Mosquito in Amber

Like the Jurassic Park mosquito held fast in amber, our uncertain world today is full of people and companies who are stuck. Rigid, frozen, pinned, paralyzed, beaten down, at a loss, stopped, bogged down, flummoxed. It’s not just the economy, this was going on even before our friendly bankers took the money and ran.

Seems it’s much more comfortable for some to do the same thing they did last year, last month and yesterday than it is to actually think, and create and innovate and move forward.

Oddly enough, the reason we get stuck seems often to be the same for people and their organizations. The causes are endless.

The Causes

Overwhelm is a sure way to get stuck. The changing world or the challenges you face every day just overcome you and you stop moving. Fear of failure can also be the cause, or for some it just gets too hard to keep trying. And still others get stuck because they become too tired or lazy to keep fighting the fight. The turbulence of today’s economy gives both people and companies a reason to sit tight, do nothing and wait out this trying period. Another reason to justify being Stuck.

An even more dangerous phenomenon is what Bob Pearson, new head of The Blog Council calls antibodies. “These are the people still trying to do things like they’ve done the last 10 or 20 years. They tend not to say no but not to say yes. They have lots of ways to stop progress with a smile.”

If any of these causes sound familiar, then you could be stuck — settling for something far less than what you want and just waiting for something or someone to come along and pull you out of your deep ditch.

The Cures

I once had a doctor attempt to cure my stomach ulcer with advice — “Just don’t give a damn.”

Well, my advice to cure Stuck is just the opposite — “Care.”

Find something, or someone to care about. Start small, if you need to, and work your way up. But start with something that matters to you. Something that you have feelings about.

Pick a person or a project in your organization that will make you smile when you succeed. It could be as simple as befriending a struggling intern, or reaching out and offering your professional skills to a group within your company that needs the help.

You can also exhibit care on a personal level outside of your job.

Find a cause or not-for-profit group that might need your help. Don’t just show up and say “I”m here.” But actually go in and ask them if they can use your talents. You’ll be amazed how great it feels when someone actually appreciates your efforts, and tells you and tells others.

Stuck Feels Yuck!

Being Stuck is an abnormal condition. It’s can’t be fun or comfortable and it sure doesn’t satisfy our need to perform, to contribute and to succeed. Being Stuck is a miserable, boring, draining existence. Isn’t it? So why do we remain Stuck?

I’ve heard lots of stories why Stuck is OK. “I get to keep my job if I can hide.” “Nobody wants a new idea.” “Why take a risk when I don’t have to.”

Bull! I grant you that there are plenty of corporations that do not reward creativity, innovation or risk taking. But that doesn’t mean that change is impossible, even in the halls of the tightly wound. And even if your job is dead-headed, that doesn’t mean your life has to follow. Get involved — at your church, in your neighborhood, in your social group. Find a place where you will feel good and you can help someone else.

I promise that when you give, you will feel good and you won’t feel Stuck any more.

Until next time, may all the good that you see be true.

steve