I have little difficulty relating most life experiences to movie quotes, song titles and story lines from television shows.  In fact, I regularly hear famous quotes in my head during daily activities, like “I have made fire!” from Castaway, or “I am the law!” from Judge Dredd, “When will then be now?  Soon!” from Spaceballs, or “You have to be careful with eggs.” from Bill Cosby: Himself.  I rarely, however, choose to recite them aloud at the risk of people having no idea what I am talking about and partly because most of my examples are becoming out dated as my knowledge of current pop culture inversely decreases at the same rate that my children’s shoe sizes increase.

For reasons unknown, quotes from The Lion King always have stuck with me as well.  (Maybe that is because I hear it in the mini-van on trips all the time coming from the back seat?)  For reasons likely known…I remember Timone yelling “What’s going on here!” or Poomba declaring that “You’ve got to put your behind in your past.”  But appropriate for this blog is from Rafiki, the witch doctor baboon that discovers a grown up Symba.  And upon convincing Symba to return to the pride lands to take on the evil Uncle Scar, the baboon declares “It is Time!”  This isn’t much different.

I am not using that title to directly equate my initiation of a new blog with re-conquering an entitled position of leadership (although I am a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and know that must entitle me to something, right?), but to serve as a declaration that I have waited long enough to start this blog, and the time is right to use this platform for some key goals of mine:

1. Be an example – Working at a pharmaceutical company brings a necessary set of guidelines to consider when it comes to external communication channels and sharing of data related to the work we do.  But it can be difficult to understand where the boundaries around those guidelines exist, and we shouldn’t discouraged to provide a voice into the Blogosphere and/or Twitterverse if we are so inclined. We just need clarity and examples on how to do so in a manner that protects the integrity of ourselves and our company.  As an internal evangelist for Social Media methods, for my colleagues, I would like to provide an example of treading those waters in a compliant manner but with a voice that is my own at the same time.
2. Establish an External Network – If my recent engagement with the Enterprise 2.0 Adoption Council has taught me nothing else, it is that having a network of people and information to share with and learn from makes me better at what I do. I have seen that occur in my work environment as well, by creating awareness of my skills and understanding the skills of others through basic Social Networking capabilities, I’ve become a more effective employee (IMHO).  This blog is another avenue to continue to expand that network, become a better knowledge-worker myself, possibly provide some entertainment, and hopefully help a few other people with similar interests along the way.  Also, to walk the talk that I have been  talking, I best do some walking beyond the comfy confines of my internal corporate blog.
3. Enterprise 2.0 Conference – As I am writing this, I am traveling to the E2.0 conference for the first time, and I plan to come away even more enthused (via the information I take in and the contacts I make) about the work I have ahead of me and the impact I can have.  Consider it my baptism into the Enterprise 2.0 profession, accompanied by a web log of the journey from newbie to ????
4. Have fun – Innumerable times throughout my life I have secretly wished I could be an author of some sort.  Write a book, be a sports columnist, write a movie, write a television pilot, etc.  Unfortunately my thriving golf career has kept me from achieving those goals…so now at least I have a blog to fall back on!

FYI…I have a Twitter account (@golfinbp) that will continue to be my avenue for raving about my Colts, talking golf and bragging about my children.  But I am starting a second account this week (@TheBrycesWrite) to focus on my professional observations and to accompany my blog.  So if you follow me on Twitter as @golfinbp and are interested in following my Enterprise 2.0 related posts from this point forward, please also follow me @TheBrycesWrite.