WEBVTT - Crowdsource the answer

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:14.560
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:20.240
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to crowdsource the answer. You are probably

0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.599
<v Speaker 1>not the first person in the history of humanity to

0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:27.840
<v Speaker 1>encounter whatever problem you are dealing with. In general, people

0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:32.760
<v Speaker 1>want to help, so ask for advice and you'll get

0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:38.159
<v Speaker 1>some good ideas. Whenever we encounter a problem, we can

0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:41.599
<v Speaker 1>try to rely on what we know, but we can

0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.159
<v Speaker 1>only know so much. And while sometimes we know what

0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:48.840
<v Speaker 1>we don't know, we can't possibly know what would never

0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:52.360
<v Speaker 1>occur to us. The good news is that in a

0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:56.120
<v Speaker 1>world of almost eight billion people, it is almost certain

0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:00.960
<v Speaker 1>that someone has encountered the same problem you are facing. Yes,

0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:05.560
<v Speaker 1>everyone is special, but we are not that out of

0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.520
<v Speaker 1>the mold. So, whether you are trying to figure out

0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.679
<v Speaker 1>what to get your teenage nephew for his birthday, how

0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:14.360
<v Speaker 1>to reconcile your love of late night reading with your

0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:17.520
<v Speaker 1>spouse's love of late night TV, or even when to

0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.160
<v Speaker 1>go into the office and when to work from home,

0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:25.600
<v Speaker 1>somebody has dealt with this before. Somebody has some hard

0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:30.840
<v Speaker 1>one wisdom. Why not take advantage of that. Your first

0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.679
<v Speaker 1>line of inquiry could be your friends, family, and neighbors.

0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.120
<v Speaker 1>The person in the house on your street built by

0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:41.720
<v Speaker 1>the same builder has probably faced many of the same issues.

0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:46.720
<v Speaker 1>Your work best friend, no doubt has ideas on when

0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.720
<v Speaker 1>it is wise to commute and when to work remotely.

0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:52.920
<v Speaker 1>In this day and age, though you don't have to

0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.840
<v Speaker 1>lean on just your immediate networks. The internet can be

0:01:56.920 --> 0:02:00.720
<v Speaker 1>a scary place, but it can also be aderful place

0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.800
<v Speaker 1>if you have a problem. All sorts of topics have

0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:08.600
<v Speaker 1>their own communities, and they can tell you what they

0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:13.080
<v Speaker 1>have learned. A quick approach is just to google your question.

0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:18.280
<v Speaker 1>Great gifts for teenage boys, best places to visit in Maui.

0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:21.920
<v Speaker 1>Once you've got some background, you can then turn to

0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:26.120
<v Speaker 1>your own digital networks or online communities. Make sure to

0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:29.440
<v Speaker 1>search through any web pages or past discussions to see

0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:34.480
<v Speaker 1>if someone has asked the exact same question. If so, awesome,

0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.640
<v Speaker 1>you will probably get some food for thought or some

0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:44.520
<v Speaker 1>avenues you can explore. If not, post your question. Your

0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:47.720
<v Speaker 1>Facebook friends and Twitter followers will have all sorts of

0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:52.120
<v Speaker 1>ideas on book recommendations for middle schoolers who are into fantasy,

0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:56.519
<v Speaker 1>and of course focused digital communities will have ideas to

0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:00.960
<v Speaker 1>your professional association can be a great resource if you're

0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:05.280
<v Speaker 1>looking to hire for your department. The math teacher blogosphere

0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:08.480
<v Speaker 1>on Twitter is, i'm told, an extraordinary place for all

0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:13.079
<v Speaker 1>things math education, like how to conceptualize division by fractions.

0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:17.519
<v Speaker 1>Parents of twins and multiples have all sorts of tips

0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:21.040
<v Speaker 1>for each other, which you can access through digital networks

0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:24.880
<v Speaker 1>of parents in that same boat. Now, to be sure,

0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.520
<v Speaker 1>whether you search the Internet or ask your friends or networks,

0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:33.000
<v Speaker 1>you will get some helpful ideas and some less helpful ideas.

0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:38.680
<v Speaker 1>You can toss that which is obviously ridiculous, scroll on

0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:42.920
<v Speaker 1>past anything that makes you roll your eyes, sounds immoral,

0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:48.320
<v Speaker 1>or just plain crazy. The more complicated situation is for

0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:51.720
<v Speaker 1>ideas in the middle, where you are not sure if

0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:55.160
<v Speaker 1>they are good or not. I spent some time taking

0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:59.640
<v Speaker 1>allergy medicine based on crowdsourced answers about various medical complaints

0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:04.000
<v Speaker 1>I had. These weren't effective because turned out Dr Google

0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:08.200
<v Speaker 1>doesn't know everything, but people had other ideas that did

0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:13.920
<v Speaker 1>prove more fruitful. Your mileage may vary. You do always

0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:17.159
<v Speaker 1>have to do your own research, but if you don't

0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:21.400
<v Speaker 1>even know which direction to research in, things can be tough.

0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:25.840
<v Speaker 1>The crowd can give you some leads so you can

0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:30.960
<v Speaker 1>know what is worth investigating. And then, of course, if

0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:35.560
<v Speaker 1>you get good answers, pay back the favor, report back

0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:38.360
<v Speaker 1>to your online communities with what worked and what didn't,

0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:42.520
<v Speaker 1>and be sure to answer others when they post their problems.

0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:48.760
<v Speaker 1>No one is really alone. We can learn from each

0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:55.000
<v Speaker 1>other in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

0:04:55.839 --> 0:05:06.039
<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Yeah, hey, everybody,

0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.359
<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:12.039
<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:16.480
<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:21.520
<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:25.200
<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:28.680
<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.360
<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:39.680
<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:42.960
<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:46.960
<v Speaker 1>my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:49.080
<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.