Welcome to our weekly ‘Top-of-Mind Tuesday’ blog series. Some weeks you’ll find a crowdsourced list of things our staff is pondering and learning and falling in love with. Other times our list will fit into a single theme or come from one particular Havas PR staffer. This week, Joseph Giumarra, an account supervisor in our New York office, told us what he’s been into lately.
Where I’m Running: After running the Berlin Marathon in 2013, I set a goal to run all six major marathons—London, New York, Berlin, Tokyo and Chicago. Three down, three to go! I want to challenge myself, but it’s the community and heartwarming stories that really draw me in. Stories about a 70-year-old woman running a marathon in 3:27:50—a world record, inmates developing a blueprint for life through running, and running combating homelessness in the streets every day. With the New York Marathon here, I look forward to the stories coming out of this event, where everyone comes together to cheer strangers on to accomplish something amazing.
What I’m Listening to: Is there anything more satisfying than seeing live music? It doesn’t matter what type of music we listen to; just get out there and rock out. We sometimes forget to enjoy the time we have, and music, at least for me, is a way to release, relax and recalibrate my mind. To take it one step further, in today’s workspace, I’m sure we have all had headphones in at some point—listening to our favorite songs to get us through the day. Quartz Obsessions noticed this trend and did a fantastic breakdown of music in the workplace. Did you know that 49 percent of doctors listen to rock in the OR?
The Technology I’m Excited About: Technology intrigues me, especially when it comes to coding and robotics. I’ve been following the development of Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot for years, and things are progressing quickly now. This robot is now amazingly agile—jogging, jumping over obstacles and establishing balance. See the amazing video here. We’re still a long way from robots becoming a part of everyday life, but this is scary and exciting at the same time. Here’s to hoping Atlas doesn’t go Terminator on us.
How I’m Networking: There are apps making it easier for us to professionally network. Look at Shapr or Bumble Bizz. While I think these apps are great, I do think we have to keep in mind that networking is more than just a connection on LinkedIn or saying hi to co-workers. It takes work, and many of us lack the skills to successfully accomplish this task. There are many articles out there to help, but here is one from Forbes.com that I find myself going back to again and again.