Calgary Flames by Buzz Bishop

And here we are at another Wednesday, so that means it’s time once again for the weekly speedlink on Beyond the Rhetoric. Let’s see what bloggers have had to blog about this week.

Our tour begins by visiting Buzz Bishop. He’s been doing a series of posts on the things that Calgary needs and one of those is a new set of banners in the Saddledome. The Flames have enjoyed some success over the history of the franchise, but the banners all have different logo sizes and typefaces. The banners in Vancouver, on the other hand, “share a tight, consistent look” that gets updated as the look of the franchise gets updated.

We all need a vacation sometimes, but what does that mean for our online presence? Susan Johnston takes a look at the pros and cons of scheduling social media updates. While it’s important to keep your Facebook and Twitter accounts active during your absence, some people may find the practice of scheduling to be disingenuous and it lacks in any sort of real engagement with your audience. I feel it has become a necessity though, when planning for a vacation, just as you’d make arrangements for someone to check your mail and water your plants.

Continuing on the topic of work, Luke Landes explores a recent development at Yahoo where they have effectively banned working from home for their employees. Whereas other tech companies are moving forward with more flexible working arrangements, Yahoo is going the other way. They say that working side-by-side improves collaboration, impromptu discussions lead to better decisions, and “speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.” I’ve been working from home for years, but to be fair, I am technically a company of one employee. I do collaborate heavily with clients and colleagues though.

Success in business is tied to all sorts of factors. Scott Young approaches one of those factors, best described by the common saying of “it’s who you know” and not what you know. Most people feel that this situation is unfair, but Scott disagrees. He feels that “building connections is an equally important part of building a career as is the work you do.” This is especially true for freelancers, as it is through networking and developing relationships that we are able to grow our businesses and reach new clients.

You might be wondering why this edition of What’s Up Wednesdays is called “Run With It.” Well, we can thank Nick Ramsay at Long Countdown for that as he describes his race schedule for 2013. Betshopboy isn’t the only marathon runner I follow online, you know. Nick lives over in Japan and he has at least one major event, including a few triathlons, planned for every month this year. That’s some exceptional commitment, wouldn’t you say?