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Me, my dad and JCB’s

February 23, 2013

 

Me and my dad on a JCB

I heard mum and dad having a fight – she had planned on going shopping with her sisters but dad had to work today so there was no one there to mind me.

“I’ve had this day planned for over two months and I never get to see my sisters” I heard mum say to Dad.

“I’ll just have to take him with me so, I have no choice” Dad said to her.

Wow – I can go to work with my dad, how cool is that!

We had a great day – he took me to the building site and I brought my little digger with me.

He made all of his workmates say “Hi” to me and I was able to play with a pile of rocks next to the office. My jeans got all mucky and I think mum will be cross with me.

Mary, the kind lady in the office brought me out a can of coke and a bag of crisps.

At lunch time me and my dad shared his sandwiches.

Later in the day my dad had to drive a huge JCB to the next yard and I had to go with him – the JCB was like a big yellow monster that was bigger than all of the cars but it couldn’t go very fast.

All the cars were beeping at us to hurry up but we didn’t care because it was the best day ever!

..you know that is all made up and my dad never drove a JCB but he did take me with him to Shannon airport and Dublin airport when he worked with car hire, he took me to a Liverpool match in Dublin, he played football and tennis with me and he showed me how to leap over a wall – I remember all of that.

Do something special with your kids today, even if it is just a ride on a JCB (see below for one of the best father and son songs ever..)

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

The JCB song by Nizlopi

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Posted in Family, Parenting, Personal development | 7 Comments »

Social Media – Teach or Preach?

January 28, 2013

Cyberbullying

Like most people I am very concerned about the whole topic of Cyberbullying and the effect it has been having on some of our young people.

After the tragic suicides recently we decided to do our part and we produced a simple info graphic called “safebook” , which is an easy guide for young people. Our objective was to encourage the safe and responsible use of social media and at the same time provide clear advice to people who may be faced with a bullying situation.

Safebook Poster - CyberbullyingOur poster struck a chord with people all over the world – it’s been downloaded in over 100 countries, which I put down to its simplicity and I believe it is helping parents and teachers to have sensible conversations about the responsible use of social media with their children.

Our activity in this area has brought us into contact with many teachers, schools and organisations and I can see the considerable efforts that are being made to control and deal with the issue. I am watching the training programmes, I can see the liaison with the authorities and government agencies and I can see how schools are making attempts to block the use of these platforms and do their best to cope with the situation.

I have also heard presentations from Facebook who are attempting to deal with this huge issue, introduce controls and mechanisms to help people report incidents and inappropriate behaviour.

On one side I’m watching all of the downside – the social media concern, the “control” activity but what about the huge upside?

Social media is now a really valuable life skill that we all should learn – most of our clients would grab job applicants who are social media savvy. Is there a dilemma?

Teaching Social MediaTeach not Preach!

From my considerable exposure to this huge Cyberbullying issue my conclusion is that we need to embrace the social media tools from a sensible, early age and we should encourage the positive use of these platforms in schools (probably the best place to ensure this happens).

How about:
– students publishing their essays on their own personal blogs
– classes that show the children how to set up their social media accounts including their privacy settings
– setting up Facebook groups for use by each of the classes
– setting up Twitter accounts for the Economics, History, Science and Geography classes and following and interacting with other relevant accounts to facilitate learning and staying up to date with current issues

At the same time I do feel that the social media providers must self regulate, put in the controls and aids, be proactive around privacy settings and act sensibly – however, the main solution is in the users hands.

While I know it won’t be easy, while I know it will require a lot of training, I know social media is a valuable skill, which will be critical to every young person in the future.

Why not concentrate on teaching and forget the preaching?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion.

Fuzion provide social media consultancy and training services from the offices in Dublin and Cork.

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Posted in Bullying, Parenting, Personal development, Self Help, Staff training | 6 Comments »

Dads and Daughters ..

December 15, 2012
Ellen Canty - shopping

Now what will I get ?

I found myself standing in a packed MAC concession store in Brown Thomas while my fabulous daughter went through nearly every shade of make-up, lipstick and eye shadow in the store!

This was the week before Christmas and our little tradition is that we head into town together, grab a coffee and then we go shopping for Christmas presents for her – to be honest the biggest present is the time that we put aside for just the two of us.

Last year’s shopping expedition took forever and knocked the stuffing out of both of us as we wandered from shop to shop crumbling  under the stress of too much choice and not enough budget!!

This year I think she learned from the stress of the previous year’s experience and had her heart set on one place …the MAC store!

It’s awkward being a guy in those scenarios..the store was packed full of women browsing, sampling, gazing in mirrors and soaking up the advice of eager but patient assistants. The girls stare at you as if you just shouldn’t be taking up some of their valuable floor space and the odd one will give you a friendly and sympathetic smile.

I stand aside while Ellen does her shopping. While I am waiting I see my beloved Liverpool conceding 3 against Aston Villa at home – thanks twitter …aghhh!

Eventually (to be honest it was quicker than I had feared) she settles on what she wants and Dad gets the nod ….credit card time!

Ellen Canty - coffee

Rest !

Phew …we have a nice lunch and she has to go back to the MAC store again …for a few more bits – I admit it, I just don’t get it (a buddy Phil Moore tells me on Twitter @philleonono that I’m not supposed to get it!).

Before we head home …we head for a cuppa and a glass of vino.

Daughters …you just gotta love them.

Merry Christmas Ellen, I had a great day ..love ya

Dad x

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Posted in Family, Parenting | 8 Comments »

Could you wish for any more for your kids?

November 7, 2012

I just spotted this post on my son’s Facebook page – could you wish for any more?

Brendan Canty - Feel Good Lost

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Parenting, Personal development | Leave a Comment »

Erin, Ciara and Cyber Bullying

November 1, 2012

Teenage DiscoI remember being 13 – it was one of the years I enjoyed most in my life!

I was hanging around with a cool gang, I was discovering Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, I played football day and night – it was a time when we were gaining independence but without  too much responsibility and the “big” school exams were still  a few years away.

And of course there were the girls, the first disco’s (Highfield Rugby Club) …life was great!

Erin Gallagher - victim of cyber bullyingHow could the age of 13 end up being so different for Erin Gallagher in 2012?

I struggle to get my head around how she felt and how social media, something I enjoy so much could play a part in making her so miserable that she took a decision to end her beautiful life.

Just like Ciara Pugsley a few weeks earlier, taking her own life was her best solution to cope with what she was going through.

Social Media?

Of course social media isn’t to blame.

However social media unfortunately provides bullies (let’s face it – they have always existed) with more ammo, with a thicker skin and the ability to bully from a distance and often with a degree of anonymity.

This is why we have a responsibility to step up to the mark and go further than ever before to make sure that bullying is highlighted and that the bullies are stopped and exposed.

Parents & teachers

It’s no longer enough that we can plead ignorance and dismiss Facebook and the other social media platforms as being something for the young folk.

It’s no longer enough to ban our children from using the platforms – they will anyhow.

To protect our vulnerable children we need to jump in ourselves, learn and understand how these powerful and very useful social media platforms work, discover the risks and plan so that these can be managed and minimised.

Lead the way

We owe it to our kids to show them how to:

  • Set up their personal accounts properly
  • Maintain their privacy settings
  • Connect with “friends” safely
  • Think about what they post
  • Post appropriately
  • Spot and deal with inappropriate behaviour
  • “Unfriend” and Block certain users
  • Report Bullying

All of the functionality and procedures are in place to make this possible – learn about them.

Please download our “Safebook” poster , which is a simple aid for parents and teachers to help promote the responsible and safe use of Social Media and assist them in a bullying or inappropriate situation.

If our child is drowning they must know how to help themselves and must know when to ask for help.

Ciara Pugsley - victim of cyber bullyingWe owe it to the memory of Erin and Ciara, their parents, friends and families to take responsibility and help to make our exciting new world a great place for every 13 year old.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion provide Social Media Training and Consultancy in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Bullying, Facebook, Parenting, Social Media | 15 Comments »

The Three Circles and the Path you Choose

August 28, 2011
Greg and Brendan Canty

Parental advice!

My son Brendan Canty has just qualified from CIT, having completed a multi media course. He wants to work in film in some way and he is also really passionate about music.

How unusual – a 22 year old being passionate about music!

Like every other parent you worry about what your children will do – you want them to find a job, earn a living and in this climate it has never been quite so tough.

“You need to find a god solid job” I hear myself saying..

Well – he has set up his own website operating under the name Feel Good Lost and he has been busy producing videos for bands from all over the world – with the web and modern technology this is all quite easy, apparently!

His last music video was for a “secret” American solo artist who goes under the name Slow Magic and the track he produced was for a song called Corvette Cassette. There is a video producers peer website called Vimeo (this is like a worldwide YouTube for video and film producers), which has just featured this song as a staff pic – at the time of writing the video has been viewed 63,000 times across the world.

While Brendan does some excellent corporate video work for Fuzion and his own clients he excels when he combines his love of music and his film profession. On Friday nights he DJ’s in The Pavilion in Cork combining music and visuals as part of his unique set operating under the Feel Good Lost name.

Slow Magic // Corvette Cassette from Feel Good Lost on Vimeo.

He is following his dream and his passion and it had me thinking about career choices and Three Circles..

In Jim Collins fabulous business book Good to Great (for me this book is a business bible) he talks about companies using a Three Circle criteria as a guide to the activities they should get involved in:

A company should only engage in activities that:

  1. It is passionate about
  2. It can excel at
  3. It can make money from

The basic principle is that if companies concentrate their efforts on activities that meet all three of these criteria then they will inevitably be very successful – this is one of the factors that Jim Collins attributes to the success of what he calls “Great” companies.

If you are looking for a new job or a new challenge how about using the Three Circle Criteria for deciding which path you choose?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Irish Economy, Parenting, Personal development, Positivity, PR, Recession, Self Help | 14 Comments »

Our kids? – Judging a book by the cover ..

December 8, 2010
Train Journey

Interesting Train Journey!

After a long day in Dublin and a really early start from Cork (6:15am train to Dublin!) I travelled to Killarney for the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial weekend and the very last leg of the journey was the Mallow to Killarney train .. I had a little work to finish and was looking forward to a quiet spot to finish up what I was doing.

I deliberately walked from carriage to carriage until I found a really empty one, took my seat and fired up my laptop ready to get stuck into a piece of work I needed to finish … blissful peace!

60 seconds later a teenage boy and girl decided to sit on the seats opposite me and the journey quickly changed..

Girl – “I’m not touching that Aran” (I guess about 15 or 16 years old but who knows these days!) She now has her maths homework out in front of her and she seems intent on doing what I am doing despite Aran’s best intentions.

Aran – “Dirty snot rag” (this guy is a typical teenager with headphones on, stereo on full blast and singing along to all the thump, thump, thump songs, really annoying ..)

An older guy comes in having been puffing on a cigarette on the platform, coughing, spluttering and nearly choking – he should have given up the fags at least 40 years ago, they’re killing him.

Girl – “Why do they expect us to do this silly maths stuff, we’ll never use it!”

Girl – “You’re so annoying Aran, I wish you didn’t have a mouth”

Aran – “Yeah, yeah, yeah, (continuing to sing along with whatever he is listening to ..)

Girl – “My friends are teaching me piano and I don’t think it will work out”

At this stage I just can’t concentrate and I’m trying to figure out if they are boyfriend and girlfriend – it looks like he is trying desperately to impress her. She seems to like him but won’t quite admit it.

Aran gets up and walks down the carriage (thank god, a little bit of peace for a few minutes)

The girl continues with her maths homework and I try to make a start on my work.

Aran – the return of the boy .. “Ah Jeezus what ya doin’ boss” (he starts talking deliberately like a traveller), he interrupts the girl continually until she abandons her homework and slaps him on face. He steals her pen and eventually gives it back to her after much histrionics.

Aran – singing “I want to be a bad boy, I want to be a bad boy“

Girl – “shut up will ya, do you ever listen to normal music?”

Aran – now bopping along to the music to add to his already annoying repertoire..

Girl – starts twisting her hair

Aran – takes a phone call, “Hello, where are you? We’re about 20 minutes away, we can go home for a cup of tea, alright.. go on. The sky is cloudy”, and then asks the girl “what are you farting for?”

Girl – “I’m never sitting next to you again, you are the reason they invented Panadol, I’ll have to take out my secret weapon” – starts kicking Aran under the table.

Aran – more singing & flicking god knows what at the girl. “Go on, pick a song ..” starts rapping to whatever he is listening to.

Girl – “Shut up Aran, people are trying to work” (wow, there’s a realisation!)

This goes on and on and on as the train pulls into each of the stops, Rathmore, Farranfore until it eventually pulls into Killarney – thank god!

We all stand up at the same time with our bags and I must admit the curiosity gets the better of me.

“Did you get all of your homework done?” I ask the girl

Girl – “Nah, how could I with that fella”

“Are ye in boarding school in Mallow?” I ask (this was my best guess at their story)

Aran – “No, we’re from Tipperary and we’re going to see our Dad for the weekend”

I start telling them all about Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty and they seem genuinely interested.

Aran – “There’s dad” – they both get excited, give a huge wave to the smiling man on the platform and skip off the train when it finally comes to a stop.

Dad – “How was the journey guys?”

Aran & girl “It was fine dad” as they give him a big hug and start their weekend together.

So, they are brother and sister of separated parents..

When it comes to separation people always say to me that kids are flexible and they can adjust quite easily. As someone who has gone through separation and has seen at close hand how painful it was for my kids I can promise you they are not as flexible as you might think – they are just not that good at expressing how they feel and often get totally lost and forgotten in the crossfire.

Aran and his sister – I hope you had a great weekend with your dad!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Divorce, Parenting, Separation, Uncategorized | 8 Comments »

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