A recent study in the journal “Computers in Human Behavior” discusses the enormous increase in short-video viewing by college students. The study essentially says that short-videos on YouTube and TikTok are becoming the norm among social media users. Gone are the days of the minutes long tutorial videos, now being replaced by 15-second “short bursts.” Gone are elements of continuous engagement with users jumping around from app to app, grazing on short messages.
In short (no pun intended), the shorter the video and message, it can be assumed the more it will be observed by users. On the other hand, with seemingly diminished attention spans because of these short-bursts, how much will the message be retained? The study goes on to say that these short bursts of information can be addicting, satisfying needs and moving on to the next 15-second story. So, as communicators, how do we compete in this seemingly new busy environment?
Taking a step back and a short breath (but not too long!), we must realize, as effective communicators, we know our story needs to be told in a thorough way. But gone are lengthy tomes of intro, body, conclusion articles and ten-minute videos. The current generation and up-and-coming generations are used to fast moving video games, videos and multi-tasking. While it may take a while for us to adapt to these sped up communications, here are four things you can consider now, when it comes to writing and video.
Write shorter. I’m not saying “Friends, Romans, countrymen” should be replaced with “You guys!” What I am saying if you can condense messaging, and still get your point across, it’s worth a shot.
Late rocker Tom Petty, when asked why his songs were so catchy and memorable, remarked “We adhere to: ‘Don’t bore us. Get to the chorus.” In other words, skip to the chase.
That being said, can you get from 1000 words to 500, without much pain? Try it!
Use subheads. When writing your copy, subheads should be able to define the paragraph and, if needed, stand on its own. And remember, many of your users are using smart phones, so keep the hyper scrolling to a minimum.
Edit your videos. The ten-minute informational video just won’t cut it anymore, whether it’s online or shown in a public setting. Is two minutes too long? Is 90 seconds too long? You may need to experiment and edit a few more times than normal to see if you can get your message condensed down.
Learn from AI: With the recent explosion of AI in digital communications, there may be some opportunities to learn from this new phenomenon. AI may be able to help lay out a video storyboard or article outline that we, as humans, can build out from. Time will tell, as I believe we are only seeing the beginning of AI in the workplace.
Okay, I’m approaching 500 words, so I’ll stop. Now, let’s go out there and do something good!
As more headlines discuss layoffs in our post-COVID world, coupled with record-setting inflation and a looming recession, I recalled the two times I was laid-off in my career. In February 2017, I found myself in my second go-round of being laid off and pursuing full-time work. My first layoff was in 2008, at the height of the recession (especially in auto-rich Michigan, where unemployment hit more than 14%!)
In 2017, I put together seven takeaways that you might be able to apply to your current situation.
Never underestimate volunteering or part-time work. I was very fortunate to land part-time, contract work for 10 weeks, right after my layoff, with a metro-Detroit public relations firm. It was a contract position, while a lead was on maternity leave, and the income really helped cushion the blow that came in the spring. Also, volunteering with local groups kept me engaged and help expand my network.
Never, ever burn bridges. I was very, very fortunate to secure severance pay and be eligible for unemployment from my previous employer. Look, people get laid off everyday. For whatever reason, you have to accept it and move on. Gone are the days of cradle to grave employment, especially in public relations. Believe you me, I’m grateful.
If you are eligible for unemployment, know the process inside and out! If you receive unemployment, it is up to you to do all the necessary reading and fill out all the paperwork. And it’s something you won’t likely have a lot of time to review. Ask questions, use the job search opportunities, and document everything!
Prepare for curve balls! See number 3? Well, I was a victim of identity theft through my unemployment filing in 2017. Someone siphoned off four weeks of my unemployment, even before I started collecting it. It was sent through an online bank going to a different account and ultimately onto debit cards. It took patience to get my name cleared and restart my unemployment filing.
Let your networks know you are unemployed. Don’t hide it. Let your circle of friends know you are looking for work. There’s no shame in it. Everyone loses a job sometimes. That one person you mentioned it to, might know two more people, who could introduce to you yet two more people and so on and so on!
Depend on the kindness of strangers (and friends!) On two separate occasions, grocery gift cards showed up in our mailbox. Believe me, they helped us get by. I plan to do the same to others I know in situations. And my friends, acquaintances, and former co-workers were great, reaching out to me, taking me to lunch, asking how I was doing. I’m humbled, I really am!
Keep the faith. It’s hard! Finding work is HARD! Online applications have all sorts of quirks and I lost apps on more than one occasion after 30 minutes of filling out 15 screens. Get a notebook, write down all the pertinent info (website, log-in, job, date applied), so you can keep track. Also, DON’T MAKE FINDING WORK A 40-HOUR A WEEK VENTURE. Take a Tuesday afternoon off to read, take a walk, yell in the car, but, in the end, know you will get back. Pray, meditate, reflect, whatever it takes. You will make it!
5 MORE TIPS WHETHER YOU ARE IN THE HUNT OR QUICKLY LANDED THAT NEW ROLE
IN THE HUNT?
8. Get to the library! Your local library is a great resource for self-help books, literature/magazines in your field of work, databases and more. And don’t go online looking for information. Make it an outing. Your librarian can be a great resource, too!
9. Learn a new skill, even if it’s not in your wheelhouse, but something that could be transferable to your career. How about a podcast or starting a blog on French cooking? Learning the technical aspects of a communications tool can be a great asset on your resume!
10. Take a close look at your resume. Is it effective? Does it need some editing or an overhaul? There are many examples of new layouts available online. A little sprucing up can help!
11. Are you social? No, not at cocktail parties, but online! How does your Facebook and LinkedIn account look? All on the up-and-up? Invest a bit of time and make sure you have a good clear headshot for LinkedIn. Nothing screams “I don’t care” if you have LinkedIn account without a headshot!
12. Breathe! Remember, it’s not a matter of if, but when! You will get back to work!
LANDED THAT NEW JOB? GREAT!
8. In your new role, identify at least two things you can bring to the table your first month on the job. Figure out a new efficiency, a way to save money or time.
9. It’s up to you to read all required new-hire documents thoroughly, even if it was covered adequately in employee orientation.
10. If you are fortunate enough to work at a company that offers any sort of 401k match, get in on it the very first pay period that it is available. Even if there isn’t a match, start putting a bit of money away to either pay towards credit cards or build up your emergency fund.
11. Ask questions, ask a lot of questions!
12. Network! But in this case, send thank you cards or emails to your network and let them know that you are back in the mix! Provide your new contact information and offer to return them the favor in networking opportunities!
13. BONUS! Now that you are back at it, reach out to any peers in your network who might need help! Paying it forward never hurts!
Imposter syndrome can make you feel unlike yourself. But being yourself is what you need to be!
We’ve all faced it and likely face it on a regular basis: imposter syndrome. The feeling that you are just making it up as you go and you’re going to be outed as a failure at work, at home, volunteering or in a group setting.
If you take a step back and look at it rationally, of course, you are an expert. You were hired at work because of your skills and experience. The same can be said for leading a volunteer group. You were chosen because you convey a sense of leadership and insight. Oh, but to see the other side. “What am I doing? Am I doing this right? I don’t know what’s going on!” It’s easy to whittle that confidence down into a sliver. And that sliver can stick into you as imposter syndrome, and it can be difficult to get out!
I recently listened to a podcast by world renowned mindfulness expert Jay Shetty (his podcast is “On Purpose.”) He was interviewed about imposter syndrome and gave his view on how imposter syndrome is a necessary part of learning something new.
A quote that stuck out to me:
“I will never experience imposter syndrome, if I never try something new.”
-Jay Shetty, Mindfulness Expert and host of “On Purpose”
For years, I took imposter syndrome as a sort of failure, a negative mindset that hinders creativity and success. In looking at Shetty’s quote, his view is that it can be turned around into something that accompanies every new experience. If you look at your first day on the job, you came with the necessary skills to tackle your role, but most of us still have that twinge of not being able to do the job, to fit in right off the bat.
Yet, a few months pass: you found your way to work each day, you completed tasks, presented in meetings and generally feel good about yourself. Then, along comes a new project with sometimes unfamiliar content, dealing with new subject matter experts, and all with new personalities. It’s easy to say: “Oh, this is too much. I can’t lead this!” But taking that step back and understanding that while you are hindered by the new content and new people, it’s something temporary.
It’s all a give and take: You are given a new role, you take a minute to freak you, then you get to work.
I’m going to work hard on taking the Shetty approach in that imposter syndrome comes with each new task we do, and it ends up being temporary. In the end, it actually strengthens us to do better.
It’s been a long week coming off the July 4th holiday. Getting back into the swing of a shortened week produced a long list that I’m sure we are all familiar with: work, commute, volunteering, kids’ extracurricular activities and, hopefully, a bit of respite in eating dinner out.
Thursday night, I drove from work to our youngest son’s swim meet a few communities over. Major highway closures and utility work had the most direct routes blocked, causing me to traverse three very unfamiliar roundabouts, causing just a bit of stress to the evening. The swim meet went well and we were on towards home, stopping off at a restaurant for dinner.
We got settled in, got beverages, an appetizer and put in our order. A pretty full room We watched other patrons be seated and slowly, but surely, they started to receive their entrees before we did. Time dragged on, we made small talk and the waiter came back. Now, being at the table for nearly an hour, he asked how we were doing. I glanced at my watch and asked if we were close to getting our food. He sort of stared at me and said he would check. After a few more minutes he comes back and apologizes, saying the computer had a glitch and our order wasn’t entered. “Hopefully, 10 more minutes.”
Being of the understanding kind, all three of us nodded and he went about his business. By this time, I started in on the checklist for Friday and the weekend in my head. I must have had quite a look on my face and actually rested my chin on top of my clasped hands, probably with a bit of a scowl, mentally listing all the different things coming up. And then something happened…
A few tables over, two guys were eating pizza. Probably in their 20s just minding their own business. As I’m adding to my mental list, I think my head tilted a bit more forward to the point I’m rubbing my forehead. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approach. At first I thought it was the waiter, but it was one of the guys eating pizza. He said:
“Are you okay? When you first came in here, all of you seemed to be laughing and talking and now, well…you seem sad.”
I remarked that the waiter hadn’t gotten our order in and it was beyond an hour. He said “Well, I just wanted to check on you.” He turned and walked away. I said “Thank you for checking on me. That’s really nice of you.” He went back and we didn’t acknowledge one another the rest of the time.
My wife remarked “Is he a manager?” I said “No, just some guy eating pizza.” Now maybe I looked like I was despondent or having some sort of emergency. But, to me, that was something I really needed at that moment, but didn’t know it until afterwards. Once I reflected on the encounter I realized:
It’s easy for us to get caught up in our lists and disappear from the present. Once disengaged, it’s easy to look down at your phone or fret about the next day or week.
That guy didn’t have to do that. He didn’t need to make the effort to walk over. But for some reason, he was inclined to inquire. A lesson for all of us to check in…to check in on ourselves, others and even complete strangers, in this situation. To ask if we’re okay.
It’s important to be reminded to stay present and be in the moment. It took a total stranger to get up from his seat and conversation to see if I was okay. It was a simple gesture that will stay with me for some time.
Interesting read on an effort a century ago by Ford and Edison to build “the Detroit of the South.” Ford saw the need to harness dam electricity and distribute it to area farmers, while envisioning a series of towns and industries (with the underlying mission to expand his footprint in the auto industry.) Along for the ride was an aging Thomas Edison to address fertilizer production for area farmers.
It was a time where Ford was being touted to run for President. By that time, Ford had proven himself with modernizing the assembly line, the $5 day, offering up the Model T for nearly everyone in America, then introducing the Model A. He was aging, but felt he had a few more things to prove in his life.
While the effort failed, the Tennessee Valley Authority was organized to pick up the pieces. Good read on political and private entities wrestling for electricity, while attempting to build a new utopia!
Since “Back to the Future” and “The Jetsons” TV show, we’ve essentially been promised flying cars. From DeLoreans to space cars that transformed into briefcases, it seemed like a done deal! Imagine zipping through the friendly skies, bypassing all the highway gridlock below. But, alas, time and again, the flying car has flown away from being a priority in our world.
In “Where Is My Flying Car?” by J. Storrs Hall (Stripe Press/2021), the author provides several reasons as to why we don’t have a “Ford Flivver” (a real commuter plane, tested and developed by Ford Motor Company in the mid-1920s) in our driveway. Overall, the book takes quite a few diversions into nanotech, nuclear power and artificial intelligence, but it boils down to that in the post-World War II world, where the greatest minds came together to develop technology to win the war, we sort of experienced a technology hangover that bled over into the ’50s and beyond. We settled into our world after the war and didn’t progress as far and fast as we should have in some vital technological areas.
Throughout the book, the author refers to the “Henry Adams Curve” that essentially says that energy consumption should increase on an upward curve over the years, as countries grow in population and energy consumption. This trend did continue until the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970s. From that point, the author surmises, technological advances have slowed, which may have prevented another Industrial Revolution, which might include flying cars.
My personal take on not having flying cars zipping around is that technology itself has advanced so far, so fast recently in the areas of virtual reality, videochats, and smartphone cameras. It seems that there necessarily isn’t a need for us to have to zip around the globe in our fast little flying cars to see one another.
Also, while the combustion engine may be heading for a sunset, it has grown more efficient over the years. Electric vehicles are coming on strong and autonomous vehicles might have us as passive passengers, zipping us to work or vacation destinations. Flying cars likely won’t fit in the mix, or our driveways.
The pandemic has shown us that we can meet virtually from all parts of the globe in one virtual place and virtual reality itself is growing by leaps and bounds. In addition, energy efficiency in everything from appliances to lightbulbs, has increased in recent years to the point where the Henry Adams Curve may need to be re-drawn. But, that’s a whole ‘nother discussion!
Overall, the book was interesting, if a bit academic, with lots of charts and graphs. As mentioned above, there were alot of side stories around nanotech and power resources, but it was enlightening to the state of our world when it comes to technology and innovation.
And just when you think the flying car was grounded?
As I was finishing up reading this book, I came across an article of a tested flying car! While the book author envisions a flying car that can take off and land in a small area (think helicopter) the most recent announcement by a group out of Slovakia hopes to have the “AirCar” ready for public purchase in 12 months. It will take off and land like a normal airplane, then will be able to transform into a road-worthy car. Read the article here.
(NOTE: On this last day of summer, I can proudly say I finished my summer reading. Nothing like hitting a seasonal deadline!)
For those of us who have been in the PR world since the time of the fax machine and color slides in a paper press kit, we fondly remember the days of spending time on crafting media responses for a finite deadline: 6 pm TV news, 5 pm drive time news radio, and morning/afternoon newspaper deadlines. This generally gave us time to eloquently formulate a response, thereby putting our company in the best light possible. Questions came from seasoned news writers who specialized in your profession (education, finance, local politics.) They knew your business and asked the right questions.
Indestructible by Molly McPherson
Fast forward to the 21st century with PR morphing into a 24/7 news cycle of instantaneous deadlines, with different levels of writers and editors. Gone are the beat reporters, replaced by fast-paced writers, and even non-writers. They run blog sites, are steeped in 280-character Twitter responses and block text with several deadlines throughout the day on different platforms. The cushions of time where a PR person could slowly craft a response is gone. Social media demands an answer and demands one NOW (or as soon as humanly possible!)
Clearly, social media has drawn up even with media relations, when it comes to dispersing news and maintaining reputations, especially during times of crisis. Your reputation can be saved or dashed on the rocks of social media in a blink of an eye.
Overall, I enjoyed Molly’s book. She does a good job balancing out what happens when you don’t engage versus when you do engage. The book has good examples of her past work with FEMA, current celebrity/business situations and even delves into the early days of COVID.
Molly really does a nice job of driving home the importance of addressing crises head-on in the social media world. She clearly spells out, step-by-step, how to go from a digital misfit to a natural, in a focused ten-chapter book.
Three big takeaways for me from Indestructible:
Social media is an imperfect medium. Fear of not knowing the ins and outs of social media can often override the need to respond, leading to paralysis. While rules often change with the different social media platforms, you have to remember: beyond groups gleaning analytics and data on you, social media is an important communications platform that needs to be used, and monitored, on a regular basis. If you aren’t on social media to defend yourself, likely no one else will come to your rescue. Own your brand, message and voice!
Cancel culture is very prevalent. Responding in an insensitive way, too quickly, in a wrong tone, or not at all, can get you canceled out on social media. While you have to move fast to respond in a crisis, you have to move carefully. You need to share just enough, but think it through before hitting “enter.” By not responding, you raise suspicion. In years past, PR departments had to answer only to a writer, editor or producer. Today, anyone, on and off social media wants, instant information. You have to be nimble and aware, with response time being critical. “Be responsive, not impulsive.”
Honesty is your central pillar. Transparency isn’t far behind. I don’t think this requires more of an explanation.
Finally, I enjoyed her three steps to a response.
Own it
Clarify it.
Promise it. Which leads to:
Win it!
Good book overall! Definitely gets a prominent spot on the referral shelf! Read more on Molly in her Twitter feed.
Recently, while scrolling through some stock stories, I read a brief that ended with: “This story was auto generated by (company name), an automation technology provider, using data from…” So, essentially, an algorithm compiled the update, which was reviewed, maybe by a human, or maybe a bot editor, before being posted.
Likewise, I recently saw a commercial that talked about an app that would help you write better, from spelling to tone, style and overall phrasing. What was once learned in an educational setting, can now be purchased, as an app, to help people communicate better.
Now, I’m all for communicating more effectively. But I worry that what we know, as communicators, will be left up to a computer program and strip away the messaging control and intent from the individual. As if the writing program will say “You didn’t mean to say that…you really meant to say this.” And, to me, that’s wrong. If you don’t put in the work, and leave it all to an electronic program, well, you are just being led around by a bot and communicating less effectively.
So, how will that affect the world of communications? Well, if a bot can write stock review stories and apps can help someone write more clearly, where does that leave us communicators? Certainly, we can have a hand in writing the programs that help others write better, but who’s to say it will replace communicators entirely?
Now, I’m likely judging a bit too harshly. There are places for programs in our world that can sort through lab results or test results faster than a human and likely with more accuracy. Yet, we all need to be able to humanize our thoughts beyond a tweet or a text message.
Similarly, A.I., or artificial intelligence is adding to the whole communications stagnancy. AI helps influence us as to what cereal we should buy, what fast food we should eat, what shows we should stream, what clothes we should wear, what route we should take to work and what car we should buy.
AI tracks our daily routines, our online surfing and our keyword searches and builds what it thinks is our best example of who we are. And that, in turn, is marketed to help influence us to buy more stuff. As AI elbows itself more into our daily lives, it can elbow real-life human communicators out of the way.
So, how do we keep artificial communications at bay?
A saving grace is the emotional element we have, as humans. We can gauge interest and emotion and translate that into the human element of a story. While AI is starting to learn how to think like a human, the emphasis needs to be more of how to feel like a human. And that’s where we, as communicators, can run circles around AI. How else can we do more to ensure our place, as communicators, in the PR food chain?
A good step is to continue to learn how AI works and how we can learn from it. Now, that sounds a little Big Brother, listening to what the computer says, but we need to understand it, to help us do our jobs better. Then, we need to keep that human element of communicating front and center and intact. While these past 16 months have been done mostly screen-to-screen, hopefully we can get back to more face-to-face communication into 2022. Asking how someone’s day is going. Asking one’s opinion on a shared topic or hobby. Really driving home the need for human communication.
Also, keep reading, keep writing, and keep improving yourself. That’s the way to make sure that AI doesn’t have PR end up DOA.
(And a disclaimer: I did have to use the spelling prompt to help me correctly spell “algorithm”. And my social feed has some related AI stories. So, score two for AI!)
Grosse Ile residents will have at least one more year of driving away from the Wayne County Bridge, as county officials announced an extended closure until fall 2021. Photo credit: Andrew Johnson
Overview: The “Grosse Ile over Detroit River” Bridge, owned and operated by Wayne County was opened in 1931. In recent years, underwater inspections of the bridge piers have uncovered extensive deterioration, forcing the closing of the bridge until fall 2021, as the County determines the best process to fix the piers and open the bridge back up. Since May, the Island’s 10,000 residents have had to rely on a privately owned “toll” bridge to access the Island.
By Andrew Johnson
The island of Grosse Ile, located at the very southern end of the Detroit River, where it opens into Lake Erie, historically has had two entry points for residents: the “toll” bridge, a privately owned span at the north end of the island, and the Wayne County owned “free” bridge, located in the center of the Island.
The ten-thousand Island population traditionally has access to both bridges, generally based on geographic location and a decision whether to access the County bridge, free of charge, or pay a $5 cash fare for round-trip access on the toll bridge.
In mid-May 2020, Wayne County announced the long-term closure of the County bridge, until December 2020, for deck repair and welding, as well as underwater pier inspection, leaving the only access available via the toll bridge. The county stated early on that the closure would fix needed deck repairs and determine a longer-term schedule for pier repair.
But, on Friday, November 13, 2020, a mere month before the anticipated re-opening of the County bridge to Island commuters, Wayne County announced that the bridge would be closed for at least a year, into fall of 2021, due to the extreme deterioration of the bridge piers.
“We had been talking to Wayne County and they thought they’d open up in December,” said Jim Budny, Grosse Ile Township supervisor. “Their third-party engineering team went out and did their six-month inspection just like they’re supposed to do. And they came back and said “We don’t think you should open the bridge.” Budny went on to explain that the deterioration from the prior inspection in June until the end of October had picked up at such a rate the county said it’s not safe to open.
HISTORY: FROM RAIL BRIDGE TO VEHICLE BRIDGE
The Michigan Central Train bridge in 1917 connecting Trenton and Grosse Ile. The bridge was torn down and rebuilt as the Wayne County Bridge in 1931. Note: During the bridge construction, five new piers joined the six original train piers, serving as the support for the bridge. Photo: The Claude Owen Collection
The route the bridge follows from the mainland in Trenton onto Grosse Ile originally was a railroad bridge line, which started service in 1873. In 1930, the census of Grosse Ile stood at 1,000 year-round residents. While there was a discussion of putting in a bridge, it just wasn’t for Island residents. “Downtown Trenton wanted the bridge to increase downtown traffic in Trenton,” said Greg Karmazin, board member for the Grosse Ile Civic Association, a local non-profit, with a mission to provide information of balanced perspective to the citizens of Grosse Ile. “With the backing of Trenton and Grosse Ile residents, it made a big impact on building a bridge. Also, the Navy Base (now the Grosse Ile Municipal Airport, at the south end of Grosse Ile) played a role in convincing the county to invest in the bridge,” he continued.
GROSSE ILE BRIDGE HISTORY TIMELINE Click here to access a special timeline to learn more about the history of the Grosse lle “Free” Bridge, as well as the events leading up to the proposed fall 2021 closure.
When the vehicle bridge was constructed and opened in September 1931, “half the piers came from the original railroad bridge,” said Karmazin. “The county built the piers on top of these original foundations, as well as on new piers in between. So, there were six original piers and they added five more.” That seemingly resourceful decision of incorporating the old railroad piers into the new overall bridge foundation, would set into slow motion the eventual closure of the bridge, starting from under the surface of the water.
“Apparently, there was a design for the railroad bridge where the original piers were not placed on the bedrock under the riverbed, they were placed on the bottom of the riverbed,” said Karmazin. “And, as a result, today they are sinking into the foundation of the river at a different rate than the piers built in 1931 for the vehicle bridge, that go down to the bedrock.”
Greg Karmazin, Grosse Ile Civic Association board member, discusses the motivation behind constructing the bridge in 1931.
MAINTAINING THE MAINTENANCE
In 1979, the County did a major resurfacing project with the bridge being shut down for six months. At that time, they removed the asphalt driving surface, installed a new metal deck grate system and put in new railings on the pedestrian walkways, intended to last for at least 30 years. Like clockwork, subsequent deck replacement and sub-structural steel replacement, occurred again in 2007.
“In 2017, the county was performing a routine inspection on the bridge that apparently revealed significant corrosion in the steel support beams,” said Karmazin. He went on to explain that because of the corrosion, there was a concern about the structural integrity of the bridge for vehicle traffic. The country decided to shut down the bridge to replace some of the sub-structural steel and put in replacement steel.
A 2017 underwater inspection of the bridge support piers, with five dating back to 1873, showed significant deterioration, putting bridge use in jeopardy. Photo: Andrew Johnson
Also, in 2017, the County did an underwater inspection, focusing on support piers and foundations for the support piers. Significant deterioration was discovered in the support piers, particularly from the original railroad bridge piers, built in 1873.
The County developed a plan for a broad-based maintenance project that included the structural steel and the piers, and planning on that started in 2018. Because of funding difficulties, and estimates on the cost were rather high, they divided the work up, so that the structural steel repair project started first and the pier project was supposed to start second. But the bids came back too high and the County wasn’t able to do the maintenance work on the piers.
When the county did an underwater survey of the piers in June 2019, they found the deterioration of the piers had advanced significantly since the 2017 inspection.
Greg Karmazin discusses what was found during 2017 bridge inspections.
FALSIFYING RECORDS AND SKIPPING INSPECTIONS ADDS TO THAT SINKING FEELING
Karmazin also found out that, based on a local television news report of a bridge inspector allegedly falsifying bridge inspections across Wayne County, the very same inspector also allegedly falsified records for years on the Wayne County bridge.
It was also uncovered that the County had skipped doing federal underwater mandated 5-year inspections from 2007 and 2017. Furthermore, because of poor condition of the bridge observed in 2007, the County was supposed to up the inspections to every three years. “So they actually skipped three mandated inspections that are required under the federal government’s national bridge inspection standards,” concluded Karmazin.
The approach to the Grosse Ile bridge from the mainland in Trenton. Wayne County recently announced an extended closure of the bridge to Grosse Ile until fall 2021. Photo: Andrew Johnson
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY: LET’S GET THE PROBLEM FIXED
According to Budny, “They (the County) have brought in a company to analyze the piers and put in order what’s going to happen.” He went on to explain that the County brought in third-party divers and thoroughly looked at every pier. “They will put together their report, their shape, and what repairs will be needed. From there, a schedule and timeline will be put together.” Budny says he hopes he’ll have the report to share at the next scheduled January 6, 2021 update meeting.
Karmazin remarked, “This is part of the political times we are living in. People are not necessarily believing that the crisis is as bad as it is. The Parkway bridge is not the only bridge rated in poor condition on Grosse Ile.” He went on to list the Meridian, Elba Island, Parke Lane, and Ferry Road bridges, as being in poor condition. And, he says there’s no plan to fix them.
Budny said the Meso East River Bridge, on the southeast part of Grosse Ile, will open by Christmas and the underpass to the West River Road bridge was recently opened to traffic, providing a direct connection across the entire length of West River Road.
“By next year at this time, the County bridge will be open,” said Budny. “We need to repair it and not argue how it got there. Let’s get the problem fixed.”
KEEPING ISLANDERS IN THE KNOW When the year-long closure was announced and the Township talked to the county, Supervisor Jim Budny suggested a continuing dialogue “so we don’t have any big gaps and we know what’s going on.” Since then, Budny and the County have been holding weekly meetings. He went on to explain that it offered an opportunity for him to ask questions of the community to the county, so he could report back to Island residents on a regular basis. Budny urges Island residents to stay informed by going to the Grosse Ile Township website, using the GI connect app and tuning in to GITV to watch the board meetings. “Let us know what your thoughts are. We need to know what’s on your minds.”
Learn more about some of the locations discussed in the story including the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge, the Grosse Ile Free Bridge, the Township of Grosse Ile, the city of Trenton, and Grosse Ile Municipal Airport.
Examples of social media updates from Grosse Ile Township, The Detroit News and State Representative Darrin Camilleri on the bridge closure.
.@DetNewsOpinion editorial: Wayne County should apologize for its negligence, subsidize the toll bridge and replace Grosse Ile's "free bridge" now. 🔒 https://t.co/9xgofLGTdd
"The bottom line is Wayne County is going to need more money for this bridge," [Camilleri] said. "We're going to need to find more money to support Wayne County in those efforts."https://t.co/faF8EczO6m
“The internet is full of personal data from our pasts that can haunt our futures.” – Meg Jones. Photo by Andrew Johnson
Think you can escape the web? Think again! This Soundcloud podcast, hosted by Allise Hurd and Andrew Johnson, reviews the book “Ctrl+Z: The Right To Be Forgotten” by Meg Jones.
Allise and Andrew share their thoughts on Ctrl+Z: The Right to Be Forgotten
About the podcast
What rights do individuals have in an online world? Not much! In the podcast, Andrew and Allise share where this book excels (shocking comparisons of individual rights in the United States versus rights in Europe) and where it stumbles (sometimes gets too caught up in specific court cases.) Andrew cites examples where individual rights are buried in the platform’s endless pages of privacy policies, and how Europe views privacy different than in the US (think First Amendment.) Allise talks about how many online users are adjusting their expectations of online content and where, at one time, something may have been shocking, we now have re-set our ways of seeing online content, setting the bar lower when it comes to online searches.
About the Book
Ctrl+Z provides an in-depth, documented look at individuals rights, when it comes to personal social media content. (Note: The book is a resource in itself, as it has more than 75 pages of notes, bibliographies and index.) Today, social media platform companies hold all the cards when it comes to ownership of users’ content. Consider the quote “it would take seventy-six workdays to read the privacy policies users encounter in a year.” While companies will work with other companies, when it comes to copyright infringements and the subsequent removal from social media or websites, the individual user has very little rights.
If you want to learn more about “the right to be forgotten” here’s a few sources:
How I See A New Media World 