This isn’t at all what I set out to write. It was intended to be an in-depth look at some of the specific hobbies we do to stay creative in our spare time. It was supposed to be about how challenging yourself outside of the confines of the office will help you perform better at work. It was meant to be a statement about how creativity isn’t just a 9-5 job.

All it took was one simple all-staff—one question—for my idea to get severely derailed: “Know anyone—yourself included—that has an awesome hobby?”

From this, I noticed two major trends.

The first is that a large number of people have tremendous pride in what their co-workers do. Or, for the pessimists out there, there are a shockingly large number of people who would rather rat out their fellow co-workers in lieu of divulging their own hobbies.

The second trend changed my entire approach to this article. Turns out, the overwhelming majority of our hobbies do not involve a computer whatsoever. Instead, most of us prefer to leave the fictional world of digital behind in favour of something more tangible like woodworking, building model cars, bookbinding, painting, cooking, baking, drawing, playing music, sewing and even guitar building.

The reason? There are few things more freeing than being creative at your own pace and not having to answer to anybody (except perhaps our overly critical selves, but what do they know?).

It seems this is a pretty common trend for those of us who spend 8+ hours a day in front of our beloved computers, at least in the ad industry. So enlighten us. Do you gravitate towards more traditional arts and crafts after a long day at the office?

Social media has brought together people for passionate causes, from Obama’s grassroots rise to presidency to the Arab Spring movement that publicly credits Facebook and Twitter for the spread of democracy. The passive element of this has been nicknamed “slacktivism”: the self-deluding idea that by sharing, liking or retweeting something you are helping out in some way. Social media sharing may not be like swinging the first hammer at the Berlin Wall. Granted, it’s far less tactile and aggressive and may seem like an arbitrary, passive stake in the ground. That being said, it is like casting a ballot in a democratic election; one voice amongst millions that contributes to the groundswell that leads to real change.

The latest bit of passive activism has been in the form of KONY 2012, a 30-minute film by Jason Russell that has been filling social media feeds all week. The result of 10 long years of work, the film documents the war crimes of Joseph Kony. Uploaded on March 5th, the view count has already reached over 74 million. To put this number into perspective – that’s like every single person in Canada watching it twice.

With lines like “Don’t study history, make history,” it’s clear that the video’s intent is to inform and urge people to become part of the solution. Already, social media has proven that it can have an effect on the military. Barack Obama has committed 100 military advisors to help the Ugandan Army track down Kony,  and a small victory was claimed by the non-profit organization. But that’s only the beginning. The video urges people to call their national leader to draw attention to Kony, as well as donating to their $5.5 million war chest by purchasing packages that will help ensure that after April 20, 2012, people will wake up to their city newly blanketed in Kony 2012 posters and stickers. If you think this sounds like Sheppard Fairy had a hand in this, well – he does.

Has social media has out grown democracy, or is this an example of true democracy?

We’ve all got that special someone in our agency: Your heart goes fluttering when you brush hands at the copier. You’d give up the good leftover meeting sandwich for them, and eat that weird salmon-y thing instead. You’d even buy them a drink at an open bar. But sometimes, the perfect words can escape you. So intrepid duo Trevor Gourley and Julia Morra have taken it upon themselves to create these Big Orange Valentines for your ad colleague crushes.

You can also inundate your objects of agency desire with this printable PDF.

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So we’ve all heard it and believe in it – bullying in any form is completely unacceptable. One of the burning issues in today’s society is protecting the vulnerable against bullying in schools, playgrounds and even popular social media communities. The virtual public abuse on any individual is humiliating and damaging and in the worst cases tragic. By putting our brands online in the social media playground, we are introducing them to a similar style of bully who will spit on them, stalk them, and publicly slam them until they get some goodies.

In social media we are at the mercy of the unreasonably squeaky wheel. Clients and agencies sometimes throw their hands up, wondering whether or not we “can’t just send them something free?” Sure, the squeaky wheel in question may not have demonstrated brand loyalty. Sure, they may not have even really earned it. It’s a quick fix of undeserved grease to get the squeak to stop.

How can we take a page from effective parents, teachers and principles and stand up for our brands without giving in to the “bullies?” Would a quick-witted timely response help? A precise explanation for every complaint? Or, do we expel them from the playground for being mean? Community managers, weigh in!

As we stare into the face of the Mayan apocalypse, our minds turn to two heavy questions to consider: the best ads of 2011, and what will shape the industry in 2012.

Thankfully, there are those across the blogosphere who have taken up the gauntlet, exploring each of these questions in detail. We rip off the work of these fine people for your reading pleasure today.

The Globe and Mail’s Top 10 ads of 2011 – A roundup of some of the best examples of :30 storytelling from last year.

Ace Metrix’s top ads of 2011 (based on focus group reactions) – A list of ads that ranked highly in focus groups for attributes such as “relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.” Creatives, beware.

JWT’s 100 things to watch in 2012 – JWT offers up a cool Slideshare presentation forecasting the hot new trends and events of 2012, from Cloud computing to The Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary tour.

Five social media trends for 2012 – A new whitepaper from The Social Commerce Summit explores the state of the union in social media. Note: free registration is required to download the whitepaper.

It’s 2012, which means the world’s about to end. At least that’s what the Mayans and Roland Emmerich would have us believe. Whether or not you believe that we’re facing impending doom in the near future, there are some people who do. And it turns out there’s a new onslaught of apocalyptic products for these people to buy.

It’s not uncommon for people to create their own “survival kit” by stocking up on bottled water, non-perishable food and remote generators. But that’s not going to cut it for people who genuinely believe the apocalypse will happen this year.

That’s where the Survival Condo comes in. It’s a classic example of leveraging zeitgeist to generate product demand. The world’s population might be wiped out, but the affluent, forward-thinking family will still be able to enjoy life in the opulent luxury of a renovated missile silo. But I wonder: is a product like this really filling a need for some extremely niche market? Or is it just something to throw away a million dollars on?

And how absurd are both of those questions?

To me it doesn’t seem reasonable to use the end of the world as a way to convince people they need certain products. It’s just an eye-rolling kind of fear-based marketing. I don’t see how buying everything I can find on 2012supplies.com is going to adequately prepare me for something so routine as another Armageddon.

We all hate them, still we use them. Instead of agreeing with people, we’re “aligned” or “on the same page.” When meetings get derailed, we “take that conversation offline.” Yet when’s the last time you “circled back” with friends or family? It’s like the minute the elevator doors open at 9 am, our vocabulary takes a subconscious leap into a black abyss of buzzwords.

According to a survey on Meeting Boy, the most hated buzzword is “out of the box.” Is it? Do you agree? In the process of using buzzwords, are we enhancing our perceived competency, or ironically stamping it out?