I Switched to Wordpress: Please Follow My New Blog

Hey guys, for anyone who doesn't know I've recently made the transition over to Wordpress. I did this because I feel as though Blogger lacked a community, and I had very little potential to grow using this service. That said, there is some people who follow this blog via websites like Feedspot.

I still blog, and enjoy writing. If you're interested in following me please add the following address to your Feed Reader

www.gradualthought.com

It's been a good run. I've made some headway on my Wordpress account and am very satisfied with my decision to make the transition. This will be my last post on this website. It has been real.

Cheers,

Ryan

Google Fails at Creating Communities | A Year in Review

Photo © of Danny Sullivan

I have used Blogger for a little over a year now. When I began blogging about a year and a half ago I was interested in finding something simple, and free to use. Blogger caught my attention, mainly because the service was backed by Google.

Initially the service was great! I had no trouble posting, or linking my blog posts to my contacts through Twitter and Facebook. However, after some time I started to realize that Blogger doesn't have "certain" social features that many other sites have. I also began to realize how hard it was to build connections with other bloggers. It wasn't a quick clean process of locating like minded individuals and sharing ideas.                  
Like many people I appreciate Google as a company. I think the company has done a lot to change the way we do and think about things. I'm also a huge fan of Android, and believe that Google helped companies like Samsung, LG and HTC stay competitive in the smartphone market. For anyone who may not be a fan of the Android platform, you should hopefully still appreciate the fact that Google helped stopped one company (Apple) from having a monopoly in the smartphone market.

Google's ability to collaborate and create always impressed me. That being said, I think that Google's attempts at creating various social media services have turned out rather poorly.

Google+

A lot of people were hoping this service would replace, or at least be competitive with Facebook. The design and functionality of the site was lackluster. Most people gave the service a shot, and quit very shortly after. The majority of people I know who have a Google+ account didn't even get as far as uploading a profile picture.

YouTube

Google recently made changes to YouTube, which required users to link their Google+ account to their YouTube accounts. I personally saw this attempt by Google as a little underhanded. I believe they were hoping to leverage the popularity of YouTube to increase Google+'s value. This infuriated the internet. Rightfully so, as people have the right to share certain information with certain people. Those people also have the right to anonymity. As much as this may have made some of the trolls or closet racists more accountable for their words; it also took away people's ability to express themselves freely.

The whole thing reeked of desperation. It's time for Google to realize Google+ failed, and to figure out why it happened and how to move forward on their social media front. I think the first thing they really needed to do when it became apparent that Google+ flopped was to ask themselves, "Did we make a product that made Facebook irrelevant?" followed by someone saying, "If not, we should go back to the drawing board."

I think that is pretty much it. I've made the decision starting 2014 to move my blog to WordPress. I do believe that Blogger has some great writers. I feel as though all Blogger users are islands in an ocean trying to throw life lines to one another. Google failed at creating the necessary infrastructure for most of us to grow, collaborate, and share. Using Blogger for me was a wonderful learning experience. However, I've seen the box and I've grown beyond its constraints.

Why you might not want to purchase Twitter followers

Clout is influence or power in regards to business or politics. When a person goes out and buys Twitter followers, what they're trying to do is buy clout. However, you can't buy real power or influence.

Is buying followers the same as buying advertisement? 

Not exactly, purchasing advertisement seeks to promote a product, idea, or thing. There's a purpose to advertisement. It also hopefully targets a specific group or audience. Buying Twitter followers is a shotgun approach to getting noticed. For those who don't know what I mean by shotgun approach, I mean that if you shoot enough times you'll eventually hit something.

Buying Twitter followers does help promote yourself in some capacity. Sites like TwitterWind or Fiverr sell followers for as little as $5. People put stock in what others do and think. If 100,000 people follow you on Twitter it is likely to assume that others will see this and make assumptions about your status, and popularity. Unfortunately people buy into this and you may temporarily get more followers than you anticipated. I use the number 100,000 arbitrarily, as it could be 5000, 35,000, etcetera. It doesn't really matter.

Having a large Twitter following does not dictate that your thoughts, or opinions are that of substance. Some celebrities and famous people prove this point day in and day out. #verbaldiarrhea

Having 100,000 followers is a double edged sword

For those who have 100,000 followers it is likely that they had to follow each and every person in order for them to follow you back. Do you know what it's like having 100,000 people post Twitter updates? It would likely be unbearable. I don't think a person could legitimately use the service any longer. Twitter to that person would become a one way conversation, where they talk and do not listen. Things would get lost in the shuffle - things you probably care about.

The numbers of followers you have is a diminishing value

The number of followers you have will continually shrink as people start to realize they don't care what you think or say. Lots of companies who sell followers 'promise' that the followers they get for you will be permanent ones. It's a farce, no such claim is real. The only way in which this is possible, is if your followers are fake accounts As a courtesy I will generally follow people who follow me, however I put everyone on probation. I assume most people like myself cut the cord with followers who fill up their feed. Cutting the cord with a complete stranger is 100% easier than cutting the cord with someone you know in real life. It's equatable to deleting a mutual acquittance you met one time ten years ago off your Facebook friend's list. The backlash is going to be minimal, if anything at all.

It's extremely easy to get a follower, and ten times harder to keep them. The legit way to do it is a lot harder. Although, if you do it the right way your influence and power will grow slowly over time. I think it's better to have 50 people give a shit about what you say, as opposed to having 100,000 followers - and maybe ten of them actually care about your thoughts and opinions.

Quality, not quantity.

The 25 Best Songs of 2013

Arcade Fire - Afterlife
Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
Grouplove - Ways To Go
The National - Don't Swallow The Cap
Hollerado - So It Goes
July Talk - Guns And Ammunition
New Politics - Harlem
July Talk - Guns+Ammunition
Fitz And The Tantrums - Out Of My League
Lorde - Royals
Lorde - Team
Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers
Vampire Weekend - Step
The 1975 - Chocolate
Bastille - Pompeii
Frank Turner - Recovery
Drake - Hold On, We're Going Home
Daft Punk - Instant Crush ft. Julian Casablancas
Avicii - Wake Me Up
Ellie Goulding - Burn
Tegan and Sara - I was A Fool
Classified - Inner Ninja ft. David Myles
Classified - 3 Foot Tall
Chvrches - The Mother We Share
Daft Punk - Get Lucky ft. Pharrell Williams

The list above is not in order from best to least, or vice versa. All the songs in my opinion earned a spot on the list. 2013 was a big year for indie music! Arcade Fire released their fourth anticipated album Reflektor. Vampire Weekend also released their third album, Modern Vampires of the City. I thought Reflektor was a good album, but I wasn't in love with it. I was hoping for a lot of hits on this track, and in that regard I felt the album came up short. On the other hand, Modern Vampires of the City delivered. I was expecting one or two tracks I'd love. Surprisingly I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the album from start to finish.

Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor known commonly as Lorde, is a seventeen year old from New Zealand. Lorde established herself as one of the most common household names this year. Her Album Pure Heroine climbed charts and made huge waves. Royals and Team easily earned their spot as two of the best songs of this year. I believe that having a young talented people who do not fall in line with pop culture is something good for the Millennials.

Drake had a great year. He recently received four nominations for the 2014 Grammys. His new album Nothing Was the Same has received world wide acclaim. Hate or love him, he's successful. I like some of Drake's music, even though I'm the first to admit the dude needs to delete his Twitter account, and stop making ridiculous videos of himself. Case in point.

That's a quick wrap-up of the best songs of 2013! Feel free to give your opinions below.

I just published an eBook | The Carpenter's Son

Recently I just finished getting a book I had been working on for several years edited, formatted, and finally published! I started writing this book about six or so years ago. When I began writing this book, I had no illusions that it would ever earn me a dime. It was for the most part an experimental project that allowed me to have a creative outlet. When I began writing this book I had just finished school at Sheridan College for Journalism in 2007. I was lucky enough to find employment in the middle of a Great Recession. Jobs were scarce, and jobs related to Journalism were even scarcer

During this time I worked for a magazine who hired me as an Editorial Coordinator. For the most part what I wrote was dictated not on value or substance, but on what was profitable to sell to advertisers. I was fully aware of the magazine industry's necessity to sell advertisement to advertisers; especially when that is their only form of revenue. Editorial content is different. Yes, you can potentially write articles relative to the products being advertised in the magazine. But, if the advertisement determines the content of your product; the magazine will be limited. Your product is inferior. People don't read magazines to be sold bottles of cologne or cans of cola. The articles have to hold some value.

I had various other personal and professional problems with the job, which lead me to walking away from it. Foolishly I left the job in way too short of a period of time to get a reference out of it. I was limited in options. Through emailing and networking I was able to find something a month later. I had an internship lined up for a popular news company in Toronto. I was told that the internship would last for six months in length. I would be required to complete 25-30 hours a week. The job would start at 12 midnight and end at 7 or 8 in the morning. I had bills to pay. I just went from making almost no money to potentially making no money at at all. I turned the opportunity down, and potentially walked away from the creative arts altogether.

Bitterness is a bitch. It's infectious. I wasn't the only person who got dealt a bad hand of cards. Most people graduating around the same time as me were experiencing the same problems I was. Writing the novel helped. I began to accept two realities;
1) Journalism was not likely going to pan out for me.
2) I could still be involved in creative arts, regardless if I collected a salary from it.

Currently I work in a school supporting students with special needs. Mainly I work with students who require help with academics, social skills, and behaviour. I get up every morning knowing that I'm helping to support the development of another human being. It's tiring, it's fun, and it's never the same.

This blog and creative writing currently meet one of my most basic needs as a human being. The need to express oneself.

The Book 

The book is a series of stories that mainly follow one character, Brian Morrison. Brian was born and raised in Nebraska. He is nearing adulthood and seeks to travel to Alaska. He is seeking opportunity, exposure, and adventure. The book is set in the 1950s, which was filled with optimism, prosperity, and social turmoil. As people in America were adapting to life after WWII; some felt disenfranchised by the various opportunities available to them at that time. The book explores the various themes of war, mass consumption, immigration, increase in personal wealth, and racism to name a few.

The book is currently available on Amazon, The book will be available on Smashwords in a couple of days. Once it's on Smashwords it will be available at almost all places eBooks are bought and sold.

Click here to be redirected to the book.

Cryptocurrencies | A New Paradigm or One Massive Bubble

It's an exciting time for those interested in technology, economics, and law. Recently I made a post about BitCoin. I thought a follow up post on cryptocurrencies would be appropriate. Cryptocurrencies are a peer to peer, de-centralized currency that is generated by people using their computers to solve mathematical equations - thus earning them a portion of the currency. It's an idea that most people have a hard time wrapping their heads around. BitCoin is just of the many cryptocurrencies that currently exist. For those who don't know anything about what BitCoin is, watch this video.

Understanding the BitCoin Boom

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency that took off. The currency is traded openly on various exchanges on the internet. The intent was that BitCoin would be an alternative currency when purchasing goods and services online. The benefits to using BitCoin is that is anonymous. The currency is not controlled by one single body or group, i.e. the government or any banking institution.

My last post noted that BitCoin was being traded for $300, and while I write this article they are being sold for a little over $1000. One can't deny that's a volatile market, where people are making and losing wealth in the blink of an eye. Many people are left with the question of, "How did this happen?"

BitCoin was once sold for pennies on the dollar. The idea caught on and investors and speculators started buying the currency. Articles, and worldwide attention only pushed the price up. Most notably linking the currency to an online illegal trading website known as The Silk Road. However, the price really took off when people learned that they could use mining devices (computer hardware) to exploit the amount of coins they got while mining. Devices designed specifically for "mining" were being sold, and the prices began to soar. An example of a mining device is shown in the picture above.

The problems with BitCoin

BitCoin is the guinea pig currency; It's the first and most exploited of all the cryptocurrencies.

BitCoin's utility as a "real" currency is extremely limited, as the price does not rise slowly proportionality over time. The price is volatile and can swing wildly. People do not buy BitCoins to use for goods and services. There is little to no practical use of BitCoin as a "real" currency. The only people who buy BitCoin is those who are looking to try and turn a buck when it balloons. The current and most realistic use of the currency is to purchase other cryptocurrencies, such as LiteCoin, or PrimeCoin. These transactions are completed through online exchanges, such as Cryptsy or Vircurex.

Moving Forward

Just because BitCoin is plagued with problems does not mean the idea is not valid and that this idea is simply going to go away. I believe that people want a cryptocurrency that can be used as an alternative form of money. A currency that would make people feel confident in purchasing at x amount of dollars, and knowing that the value will either go up and down slightly. The average person will not buy into BitCoin. Business does not have to adjust to accepting the currency if it's not going to be used as a real currency.

What I want from cryptocurrencies, that I can't get from BitCoin

• faster transaction speeds
• currency that focuses on a more "fair" way to mine, instead of "paying to win" with mining equipment.
• less exploitation and manipulation
• practical uses for spending the currency at mainstream businesses online or in person

Avoid the Pump and Dump 

Many cryptocurrencies are being created and will continue to be created. Some look like legitimate alternatives to BitCoin. Many aren't. Lots of coins are being artificially manipulated by speculators trying to pump a coin's value up - then cashing out, causing the value to drastically fall. 

Just like the Dot-Com Bubble you will see currencies emerge and fall. One thing is for sure, some of these currencies aren't going anywhere. From an investment standpoint buying a currency for a fraction of a cent may reap some rewards in the long run.

2013 Toronto International Film Festival Highlights

I have been lucky enough to catch a couple of films at this years Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff). On average I see about four to five films each year, due to my work and or school schedule. I generally do spend quite a bit of time trying to read the guides, watch the previews, and seldomly listen to what people are saying about various films. It's good to hear what the buzz films are, as Tiff truly is the people's film festival where the average person gets a chance to immerse themselves in the festival. Cannes and Sundance are great festivals, however they seem to struggle to include normal people into the equation. Not just actors, buyers, sellers, agents, friends of friends, etc.

Tiff always has some hidden gems that I would't have had a chance to see on a big screen if not for Tiff. The purpose of this post is to focus on some of the films that had distribution before or after being presented at Tiff.

The F Word
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan

I absolutely loved this film. One person had told me that "if you loved 500 Days of Summer, you're likely going to love this film". I think this was a great transition film for Daniel Radcliffe. He's a great actor and has spent ten years playing one character (Harry Potter). Radcliffe is fighting against that image and to not get typecast. I don't want to give too many details away but this romantic comedy is based around two friends, Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) who becomes infatuated with a girl named Chantry (Zoe Kazan), only to realize she's in a relationship - which lands him right in the "friend zone".

The movie was filmed in Toronto, and actually acknowledges it. Toronto is the location of many films that want that "big city look". I'm admittedly biased here, as I enjoyed some local landmarks of Toronto. If a film is set in Chicago or New York, it's usually filmed in Toronto. The reason is that it is cheaper and logistically easier to film in Toronto as opposed to New York or Chicago.

Gravity 
Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

This highly anticipated thriller focused around two surviving astronauts who were stranded after a space shuttle was damaged. I've read some the reviews and this movie looks solid. I assume that this movie will do fairly well at the Oscars this year. The film already has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the North American release isn't until next week!

This movie looks like a safe bet when it comes to purchasing a movie ticket. I unfortunately did not get a chance to see this film at Tiff this year, as it was completely sold out and the rush lines for this film were out of this world. I saw an entire line of over 200 people get turned away for Gravity. Not a single person on standby got in. Insane!

12 Years a Slave
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender

12 years a Slave is based on the 1853 autobiography by Solomon Northup. Northup was a free black man who was kidnapped in Washington D.C. and sold as a slave in Louisiana. The movie follows the life of Northup who worked in plantations for 12 years before his release. This film has received extremely favourable reviews throughout the festival - even winning the 2013 Tiff People's Choice Award. The award is based on the audience's vote throughout the festival.

Oscar bound is all I can say.

The Wind Rises 
Directed: Hayao Miyazaki

This film was a very special surprise for me. I had no clue on the day of that I was going to see this film. I was lucky enough to know someone who got me an extra ticket. The Wind Rises is a Japanese animation film produced by Studio Ghibli. It was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. For those not familiar with Studi Ghibli or Hayao Miyazaki he is the mastermind behind the animated films such as - Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, etc.

The filmed has been hailed as Miyazaki's piece de resistance. The film is a fictionalized biography of Jiro Horikoshi, the creator of the Mitsubishi A5M, which was an air-plane used by Japan in World War II.

I thought the film was beautiful, however I saw the film in its subbed version and spent too much time reading as opposed to watching the rest of the film. At the Q&A after the film a representative from Studio Ghibli spoke on the matter of sub vs dub, and made an interesting point that, "Some people say that a movie once dubbed is not the same film as it is subbed. However, as you probably just noticed you spent a good part of the movie focused on one or more areas of the screen. Our eyes focus on particular parts of the film at different moments, and some of that is lost when someone  is focusing primarily on reading text". Luckily I will get another chance in a couple months to see the movie in its dubbed version.

Sadly Miyazaki has said he is retiring and this will be his final feature film. For lovers of the films of Studio Ghibli there is some good news from all of this, and that is that his son Goro Miyazaki who directed Up on Poppy Hill plans to continue to direct and write films with Studio Ghibli.

Social Media | On Matters of Privacy and Control

I recently attended a conference where Social Media was one of the "hot  topics". I began to explore and discuss the ideas of privacy and social media with some of my peers. I was introduced to an interesting concept, which was that to remove one self from social media is "akin to removing yourself from the conversation(s) of society".

The idea is that Social Media can be good, just as much as it can be bad. Simply closing yourself off to it is not the solution, as there is many advantages to it. I have friends who simply don't prescribe to Facebook, or Social Media in general. I have found that sometimes they're not always in the loop about what's going on in the world, or the various social circles that they are apart of. I'm not saying these people aren't intelligent, they are, however I feel as though these people miss out on some of the interesting and wonderful things that comes along with using Social Media. Too much of anything is obviously bad for you, and the saying applies to Social Media. In small controlled doses the experience can be rewarding, but when people abuse or overuse the service it can not only strain yourself but also your peers and co-workers relationships and perceptions of you.

I feel like people can miss the point, or don't understand their audience. Obviously obnoxious and annoying things happen to all of us every day, but if the main focus of your online social experience with other people is to bitch you're simply doing it wrong. This is why it's important to understand the message, and always control the message. On the flip side people don't want to hear about how everything is perfect or amazing, remember people aren't one dimensional - so neither should your posts be. Sustenance is key.

Obviously the majority of users have problems with businesses selling their information (Facebook). The unfortunate reality is that we trade our rights to privacy and information (on some level) to use a service like Facebook or Twitter. Being part of this conversation is important, however one must examine the cost of each service as they differ greatly. Twitter, in my opinion is a far better trade off when it comes to giving up personal information, compared to what the user gets out of the service. The beauty of Twitter is that users relationships are kept separate of their personal lives, where as Facebook intermixes communication with new and established relationships online - this can be dodgy at the best of times. Also, Facebook requires a steep cost, and provides a moderate service for what they ask, take, and sell of you.

On a personal note, if someone ever figures out how to properly work Facebook's privacy settings, I'd appreciate an explanation or crash course. Facebook's privacy settings are convoluted. I feel like it's blatantly obvious when you're on someone's limited profile - and I have had the wonderful experience of being friends with someone but not being able to see their photos, wall, posts, or friend list. To top it off this person added me! It's almost like you want to say to this person, "What's the point in us being friends on Facebook? I'm obviously sharing my information with you, on some level to feel connected and engaged in your life - however this relationship is not reciprocal". The problem more than not falls back on the fact that Facebook's privacy settings either make you board your Facebook up, or open it up completely; It's hard to establish a middle ground. This is why controlling the information is necessary, as you should never put something out there that you would not want one single person to see, read, or know about. Taking ownership for the things you say in person is just as important as taking ownership for the things you say online. This may sound like it requires a great degree of control, but it really doesn't. I'll explain.

I began several years ago realizing that there is times when photos are being taken that they may come across as inappropriate. This can be damaging to a person in the short and long term. I also had a run in with one of managers several years ago where he quoted something I said online, luckily I wasn't fired but it did wake me up to the realization that I am accountable for what I do and say online. I began to actively exercise better judgement when photos are being taken and whether I choose to be part of them. I will actively walk out of a shot sometimes, which isn't always great to do as you might offend people - but it is great card to play when you're protecting your own interests.

Rob Ford | My Outlandish Mayor

Recently Toronto's Mayor Rob Ford has come under scrutiny from Gawker and The Toronto Star, after they accused the Mayor of  appearing in a video,which he is seen smoking crack and making homophobic and racist comments. Unfortunately, the video isn't available to the public. Recently three journalists, one from Gawker and the other two from the Toronto Star met some Somali men involved in the drug trade in the back of a car. The men are "shopping the video around", as they are looking to make a monetary gain off of it. A link to the full story, is found here.

I honestly want the public to see the video, don't get me wrong but should the public seriously be interested in raising $200,000 - which they plan to hand over to drug dealers? Probably not. As much as I personally think Rob Ford isn't the best mayor, or the right fit for a population as diverse as Toronto - I don't think handing over large sums of money to drug dealers is something people should be involved in.

I think Rob Ford's career is headed towards the tube anyway, and that money could go to some great and positive things. I'm a big fan of crowd funding, just not when it's used to make criminals rich. Hopefully Rob Ford saves people some money, and stops this circus before it gets out of hand (might be too late for that to be honest). If he was smart he'd step down and admit to smoking something other than Crack in the video, and play down the comments he made during the video.

Eventually the video will come out, so it is really up to Ford about how he wants to go about this. I think waiting for the video to either be purchased or leaked is a bad call. I think Ford needs to bite the bullet, and admit some wrong doing before this balloons out of control for him. He should try to retain some dignity, while there's some to retain.

Understanding Different Personality Styles | Navigating the Personal and Professional World

I recently attended a workshop under the direction of public speaker, Drew Dudley. Drew introduced my group to the four personality styles, which are 1) Analytical 2) Driver 3) Amiable and 4) Expressive. Essentially working in team requires people to work with a diverse number of people. This is common, however I started to think about how these personality types translate into peer relationships, and more importantly personal relationships. I've included a link to an article that is entitled, How to Negotiate with the 4 Personality Styles - and let's be honest anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows that negotiation is pivotal to maintaining a relationship that is prosperous, but also harmonious.

We often consider the notion that it is important to understand the personality styles of those we work with, as our purpose is to create an effective team. Although we forget about friendships and personal relationships, as if they require less understanding or tact. I started to think about my conceptions of people, or rather misconceptions. I started to begin to realize that conflict or a preconceived notion that there was in fact a conflict may be based off our interpretation of other people's personality. Meaning that I assumed there is a conflict in which I did something to offend or upset someone.

For example, a person who is analytical can come across as cold or ineffectual. That might not be the case, as an analytical person is self controlled and serious. They take time to develop established relationships, which is confusing to Expressive person as we see an Analytical person as possibly disliking us. In that sense it is very hard for an analytical person to develop new relationships, as being reserved sends an Expressive person mixed signals - we assume that the individual doesn't want anything to do with us simply because they are unwilling to immediately open up to us, which is ridiculous to assume someone would. I can identify where some of my analytical friends struggle to develop new relationships, outside of their pre-existing ones. In fact, I can remember how long it took for me to develop friendships with these individuals to a level where they felt comfortable enough to involve me in the intricate parts of their lives. I'm grateful that this happened, regardless of the time it took for it to happen as I consider some of my analytical friends some of the best friends I have.

Another personality trait is Amiable, which is classified as being the Supporter. A person who is an Amiable is not assertive, but responsive. They are the soft-hearted person who wants to be everyone's friend. They tend to be over-sensitive and their good nature can easily be taken advantage of. Amiable's make great friends, however one must be careful not to influence their beliefs or decisions as an Amiable is easily persuaded. Drivers are another great example of someone who is often "misunderstood". Drivers are often called the doers or implementers. Drivers are focused on getting things done. Drivers are time oriented, as opposed to Expressive's who are people oriented. Drivers are firm, and controlled. Drivers do enjoy relationships, and are often confused as being Analytic's. However, this is untrue as a Driver prefers to get to know someone before determining whether they are interested in developing a relationship with that person. It's almost like a screening process that goes on to determine whether they will open up to you or not. 

"We dislike people, because we see character traits in others that we dislike in ourselves" (Drew Dudley)

An example of this is that I'm often annoyed when an Expressive person constantly raises their hand to ask questions, or enjoys over involving themselves in group discussions or lectures. Why do I dislike when people do this? Because I myself do this! It's important to understand your personality style and fulfil your personal needs, such as my need to be expressive - but to do it in a format that does not dominate the conversation or alienate myself from the team or group. It's about knowing yourself, and controlling yourself.

At the same time, a person who is analytical could benefit from being openly more expressive as to help foster and promote new relationships. Obviously, people don't fit perfectly into four categories as many people have traits that translate into various quadrants.