Exhilauren's [social media] Marketing Musings

What the World Wants & Creative Muscle Building

2010-08-22T20:29:00.004-04:00

Do you remember the movie What Women Want? The one where Mel Gibson falls in the bathtub, electrocutes himself, and suddenly has the power to hear what women are thinking as they walk by? I remember being really struck by the possibility of someone hearing your thoughts (hey, I was 19). Another caveat: this was back when I, and most others, assumed Mel Gibson had a soul.

Regardless of the silly plot-line (it's actually a pretty awful movie when I reflect on it now), in some ways it resembles the world we live in today, and how people are increasingly expressing their thoughts in a public forum, definitely in a way that was never previously possible. Is it now: What the world wants? Are we hearing human idea tinkerings that were previously silent? I think this is pretty cool, in fact. I'm discovering there a lot of people out there who have some pretty rad ideas, thought processes, and in general, this makes me conclude we are as a society working out our creative muscles.

Consider this. Ten years ago, when the average person got home from work in the evening and wanted to relax, the delivery of choice for many was the TV. Why? Because this was the only thing we were offered. So, you'd sit there and consume, consume, consume. Now with social media, people ar realizing rather than sitting in front of a uni-directional media box, they can participate. And since we're social creatures, this is turning out to be way more of a turn on than our former option. Blogs, tweets, Facebook interactions, wikis, and basically online communities of any kind - this is much more our style.

So back to the creative muscle concept. Like all other muscles, I believe creativity is a muscle you work out. Yes, sometimes divine intervention plants an idea in our head regardless of what excercising we were previously doing (perhaps akin to someone never running in their life and then running a sub 3-hour marathon), but for many, the more ideas we participate in, learn from others, the more we become more creative ourselves. Good thing we have sites like the99percent to help us move our creative ideas into actionable results and tangible fruits of labor.

You're Just a Sad Little Head

2010-08-22T16:16:00.001-04:00

The greatest line in Disney movie making history:

King Julien from Madagasgar 2: "Well, you've got to march right up to this woman, right? You look her right in the eye, you lean forward, right, just a little, just almost all the way, hm, then you let her lean forward just another little bit 'til you're just a lips distance away from each other, hm, and then you just tell...her... how much you hate her."

From the Heights at Boston College to New Heights in Life

2010-08-21T19:35:00.064-04:00

The picture below is of Gasson Hall on the Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, MA. This is where I took most of my English and Literature classes. Many people have asked me since I graduated, if I liked attending Boston College, and if so, what was my favorite aspect. In answer to this question, I've heard others say, "good football team, school pride, academics, networking opportunities, and city to live in." To me, Boston College often felt magical.

Why? The strong Jesuit teachings, which, above all, taught me the importance of seeking balance as a means to an end of achieving happiness every day (or most days). Through this daily exercise of striving to achieve balance, one is less likely to wander down the perilous road of any extreme, and so be more joyful and at peace on any given day. One is more likely to appreciate a hot cup of coffee early in the morning, a beautiful view, or an inspiring interaction. In this way, life can be experienced in a richer manner. I have found (as the Jesuits role-modeled for me), when you live a balanced life, you are more free to appreciate and notice life and everything takes on a deeper color, smell, meaning, and yes, can seem magical. I remember walking to class early in the morning, and because I was not binging in one direction, would look up at the buildings, and they did, in fact, look just like the picture above. Magical, in my opinion. Granted, during finals, I probably didn't look around that much, so I guess once in a while, you do have to go to a mini-extreme to have an overall major balance.

To comment more on the idea of binging, I remember learning from a professor, Father Michael Himes, exactly why binging doesn't work. Most things we binge on (money, power, material stuff, title, food, a person!! yikes), hoping to find happiness in the binging, were never meant to stand up to the binging in the first place, and in turn, this binging is inherently flawed.

I was reminded of my appreciation for these Jesuit instilled values when I recently started reading Ted Leonsis' book "The Business of Happiness." Overall, I like the book and think its worth the read, but my favorite parts are when he reflects on his time as an undergraduate student at Georgetown, also a Jesuit university. Much like my interactions and shaping from Jesuit professors, some of the best lessons of Ted's life were learned at the age of 20 from his mentor Father Durkin.

"He passed on to me the desire to live a life which you have given more than you have taken. He taught me that the way you function should also balance with all other aspects of your life, which should include work, sports, the arts - all of the pleasures of life that enhance our humanity. Father Durkin tried to instill the desire to live an engage and fulfilling life with all the pieces in balance."

1% Inspiration and 99% Awesome

2010-08-11T17:27:00.011-04:00

If you map the thought patterns of the creatives out there (ie; people with ideas), especially when he/she is in his creative element/moment/inspiration, you might see something like this:

photo credit www.mindmapinspiration.com

Ah yes. If you can relate, you'll know that when you're in this type of thinking, you feel like a monkey is swinging around upstairs happily grabbing branch after branch, with just a banana here and there for sustenance. And, you'll probably agree, this "map" doesn't look like it ends at any particular point. Bingo!

BUT, there DOES exist an army of creatives out there who consistently engage the monkey, and teach him to churn out quality products that drive our country forward. How do they do it? Discipline! Indeed. They discipline the monkey and make him work for his bananas.

Now, I'd like to credit the amazing site the99percent (with their tagline - 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration, or as I've dubbed it 1% inspiration, 99% awesome) for helping out us creative folk with some tricks of the trade. Their site is dedicated to the following: "It's not about ideas. It's about making ideas happen."

At 99%, Behance's think tank, we focus on what happens after inspiration—researching the forces that truly push ideas forward. Our profiles of proven idea makers, action-oriented tips, best-practices sessions, and annual conference are all designed to help you transform ideas from vision to reality

How to Survive the Idea Project Plateau (inspired by the99percent)

2010-08-08T20:42:00.004-04:00

This is a fantastic video that describes how to survive the idea plateau once the initial honeymoon phase is over. Highly recommend to all who are always coming up with great ideas and need to focus on execution through final product delivery. It's even worth watching a couple of times.

How can we survive the project plateau? How can we avoid this idea syndrome?

The Creative's Compromise -

"When I went out to interview as many of the most creative and productive people and teams in the world, I really thought these people were true to their creative essence...I was curious...how do these people make these ideas happen again and again whereas most people can't? And I was interested to find that a lot of these people claim that they have made a compromise of an aspect of their very essence by taking on some unnatural constraints to their creative process. They discipline themselves against what is naturally their essence which is to love, love, love ideas and continue to generate them." - Scott Belsky, CEO & Founder, Behance

5 Favorite Aspects of Growing up in a Small Town

2010-08-08T13:25:00.013-04:00

Having spent the first 18 years of my life in a town that boasts only one store, no traffic lights, and a sound so deafening at night outsiders can only fall asleep by playing the "white noise" selection on their iPhone, or maybe by hooking up a fan, I can only describe it now with one word: "idyllic."

Now, (and for the past 11 years) I live in the city where McDonalds' are as prevalent as hummingbirds once were, I can purchase pretty much any item I'll ever need in a 3 miles radius, and I have my pick of five grocery stores - all within walking distance.

Being back home for a brief stint inspired me to think of some of my favorite aspects of growing up in a "cow town."

1. Eating cherry tomatoes off the vine. These little guys are the real deal, and bear no resemblance to their supermarket counterparts, ripened artificially in the 1000 mile trek from soil to stomach. Instead of styrofoam, these beauties taste like sun and burst in your mouth with such intensity, you can only mutter, "ah, this is what a tomato is supposed to taste like."

from my parents garden.

2. Going for a walk at night and seeing the constellations. Light pollution isn't much of a problem when there aren't any streetlamps, and most neighbors are lights out at 9:30 pm.

3. Well water. With its own distinct taste. Maybe akin to a Budweiser brewery compared to a micro brewery. Bud essentially tastes and looks like beer, but I'd rather have something in limited production than from the city reservoir.

4. Knowing all your best friends by their handwriting (and having photos of what they looked like at ages 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25). Being anything but completely honest with these people is very hard to do, knowing they've seen you through it all, and have a pretty good sincerity gauge built in.

5. Having a sense of origin so firmly planted in one tiny place, no matter where you go in life, you will always feel a connection with that one, single, plot.

Très Chic

2010-08-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

Some of the best things in life are pretty simple. Like chanel nail polish.

The Fight Inside

2010-07-29T09:59:00.005-04:00

Here's a wonderful little Native American tale by blogger Holly. It is short and simple, but profound.

It was written in response to a conversation going on at OhSheGlow's blog - Learning How to Dismiss Negative Thoughts.

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

How to Write an Effective Case Study

2010-07-28T13:45:00.021-04:00

One of the best ways to share and communicate your firm's capabilities is to describe your past experience through case studies. Yet, for many, this is a confusing exercise. Where should I start? What information should I include? Who's point of view should the case study be written from? How should it be organized?

Answer?

Tell a story. Ready? Once upon a time...

Seriously?

Yes.

Why? People like stories!

To be more scientific - - a case study written from the perspective of the hero in distress (client) aids future heroes in distress (prospects) in applying the story to their own situations, and helps them imagine their own successes alongside the hero's helper (the firm offering solution).

Here is a helpful, easy to follow, step-by-step summary from Bill Whitley's the Art of the Rainmaker: the Message, Questions, and Insights that Attract and Engage Clients.

This can be organized as follows:

1. Background
2. Challenge
3. Solution
4. Notable Results

Need this spelled out in more detail? Here is more great wisdom from Simon Townley's blog Write Mindset.

"...A good case study starts out with our hero – our satisfied customer. Like every good hero, he wants something, he has a story goal. He may want to find the perfect ice cream; he may want to buy the car of his dreams; he may want to learn to play the piano; or he might be looking for a world-class data centre where he can host the corporate databases and applications for which he holds prime responsibility. You get the idea.

There is conflict however: he doesn’t know how to reach his story goal.

This conflict is resolved when he discovers product X or service Y. We see how he is able to reach his goal, and come to a satisfying happy-ending when product X delivers a huge range of benefits.

So, to write an effective case study, you need to remember you are telling a story about a person or a company that wanted to achieve something, what they did about that, and how it all worked out in the end. It gives a proven, rock-solid structure for a case study that works every time:

1) The problem – the status quo, the situation at the start of the story, where we see our hero/customer struggling to achieve his story goal.

2) The solution – we show how our hero found product X, and how he used it to achieve his goal.

3) The benefits – we show how using product X has enriched our hero’s life and made him happy-ever-after.

This formula should work for any case study you need to write, be it for a big company, or just a testimonial for online marketing. The story can be a few sentences long, or many thousands of words. The structure can remain the same, only the level of detail needs to change.

Remember, however, to give your story a touch of life. Every good story needs a believable character, so include details of the person/company and a quote which lets us hear the proof in their own words.

Finally, make sure the quotes don’t read like corporate committee speak. Many a case-study has been ruined by the inclusion of so-called ‘quotes’ that don’t sound like something any human being would ever actually say. If the customer can only supply that kind of material, then change it so it sounds like a real quote, or write something for them. In either case, go back and get their approval."

That's Right.

2010-07-28T09:58:00.002-04:00

"Happiness is the Consequence of Personal Effort"

2010-07-20T12:26:00.032-04:00

This title is a quote I pulled out of my copy of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eay Pray Love - - a book I've kept next to my bed for the past 3 years that serves as a fixed reminder of the utter sweetness of striving.

The other day while cleaning out my closet, I came across a box of books. My gaze rested on the colorful cover of Filastrocche Italiane, a children's book of nursery rhymes. I remember buying this cartoon-laden beauty when I was in a town in Italy called Ascoli Piceno (in the Marche region) in 2006. In my attempt to learn Italian, I thought starting with a children's book (and accompanying English picture translations) would be helpful, along with the Italian pop music I listened to on repeat. While I had learned French when I was in grammar school (with reinforcing language-learning trips to visit my best friend Louise), learning a new language at the age of 25 was a lot more difficult. Apparently my window of opportunity for a language to take up free rent in my head had closed at the ripe age of 5 (I still don't understand why we start teaching kids languages in 6th grade - hello!?! our instant language learning sponge absorbing effect is diminished by now!). I remember starting with the nouns and learning how to string them together, but always having to make a conscious effort to think before I formed each word.

While staring down at this children's book of nursery rhymes, nostalgia rushing into my head like water rushing into a capsizing boat (my trip to Italy was quite memorable), I thought about the parallels between learning a new language (at the age of 25, not 5) and happiness. Happiness is something that, like language, doesn't always come instinctively, or effortlessly. Instead, happiness is something that we must choose time after time, day after day, in the small decisions, and the big, and how we let our attitude shape our perception of the world. Sometimes it comes from choosing to be a good friend, investing in our own dreams, complimenting the stranger in the elevator on their shoes, spending 5 hours on a well earned Sunday to do something charitable, or giving ourselves the time to strive for something, maybe even something impractical by the world's standards.

Regardless of the specifics, happiness is a continual set of choices we make - - in how we choose to act, perceive the world, find the positive in a situation (no matter how disgruntling at the time). But ultimately, it is the practice of doing it time after time, day after day. This incessant, dogged, striving to get it right - - this is where the happiness fruit is. It is not merely a temporary, fleeting moment when we stand on the podium summa cum laude at graduation. It is enjoying sitting in the library weekend after weekend studying to graduate.

So again, to the language parallel, the more we practice ways of happiness, no matter how old, or grandfathered in we are to a certain way, happiness can become more natural, instinctual, and take up more free rent in our heads, so that we don't have to think about it each time we want it to come out right. If we don't use it, we'll probably lose it.

Happiness is in the never-ending, conscious striving. Gelato helps too.

"I keep remembering one of my Guru's teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have a achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't you will leak away your innate contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments." - Elizabeth Gilbert

Ideas Journal

2010-07-13T22:07:00.004-04:00

Here's the thing I've learned about blogging. You never know when and where the ideas will come. It could very well be when you sit down to write, or it could be when you are unloading the dishwasher, working on another project, or gazing out of the window as landscape rushes by at 70mph. So, be ready. Get an ideas journal! Buy something sturdy, small, and something you'd likely carry around or have near by. Write it all down, now matter how half-baked or trite it may seem at the time. You never know what these momentary sparks of insight can turn into.

If you're a design dork like me, you'll LOVE this Swedish brand - White Lines. I'm obsessed with the clean, anti-clutter look, with bright, soft white pages always ready for information overload.

Here's to paper, pens, and possibilities!

Have a Pulse

2010-07-08T10:46:00.001-04:00

Want to do something incredible in your life?

1. Get excited.
2. Get a vision.
3. Get it done!

It's not rocket science. It's more having a pulse.

Be honest with who you are, what makes you tick, and what drives you to bliss (ie; what you're doing when you forget to eat/sleep). The world needs more of you.

10 Reasons Why #NGG10 Rocked

2010-07-07T16:56:00.003-04:00

Hey guys,

I'll lay it out there for you. Coming out of a conference with 200+ emerging government leaders and priceless mentors is leaving me with a better jolt than 3 sugar-free redbulls could swing. Since I'm so ramped up, my head is not quite yet forming complete sentences, so I'll write this post in list form. First, a big shout out to @Govloop and @YGL for putting on this extremely valuable forum.

10 Reasons why the Next Generation of Government Summit (#NGG10) Rocked.

1. Govies helping Govies. In a best-practices, actionable, and human way.

2. People really are your biggest resource, and that is exactly what #NGG10 is all about. The Govhood of Success baby!

3. M&M dispenser

4. 2 days jam-packed with kicking keynotes, pertinent panels, and anything-but-passe plenary speakers.

5. The phrase "Open a can of whoop ass" was used. Several times.

6. Internet + cell phone service worked. And hundreds of tweets ensued.

7. Mingle sticks. You heard me.

8. Government Bingo. With Chris Dorobek.

9. Crowd was tasked to think of 1000 awesome things about government. And we all know the power of positive thinking!

10. This is just the start. Let the grounds start rumbling!

Caveat - this is a fraction of the positive take-aways one could write...I'm sure we'd all love to hear what you think!

Creativity, Empathy, & Problem-Solving

2010-07-04T18:37:00.031-04:00

When it comes to problem solving, I often find the best approach is to cultivate a garden rich with potential thought seeds, and to step into a different pair of shoes before you go outside. How to trigger such creativity and empathy? Below are a few catalysts for me:

1. Look around. Given that throughout the day the human brain constantly soaks up sights, sounds, words and passing thoughts (and probably only retains a small percentage of what we are exposed to), any random moment can trigger an association with something lying dormant, and an idea can be born. For example, when I was 11, I went to London for the first time. I took a train with my friend Louise and while waiting at the train station, all I remember was grey. The train platform was gray, the train was gray and the sky was gray. Ten years later, I was living in Cambridge, MA, and on my way to work one day, (on a similar train), everything looked the same. They sky, the platform, and the train. I instantly was reminded of my time in London, and I felt as if I was peering through my 11 year old eyes. This thinking and feeling starting to lead me down different paths (or perhaps memory lane), and my creative juices started flowing. Take away message? When trying to think of different ways to look at an issue or solve an old problem, try looking around. Photograph by Sebastiaan Bremer.

2. Anecdotes and Quotes. Sometimes, you just need to glean wisdom from others. Quotes and anecdotes are great for this. Magazines such as Real Simple and Oprah's O are chock full of famous quotes and constructive life lessons that you might just be able to apply to your own quandary.

3. Take your mind off the issue you are trying to solve. Sometimes the best ideas come when you are not trying to find them. Activities such as running are notorious for this. As you focus on a repetitive task (ie; running), your brain is free to roam where it may, and just might trigger an answer to a question you've been pondering.

To summarize - answers to the hardest questions are found when you cultivate an environment for creativity, and try to look at life by stepping into someone else's shoes.

What triggers your creativity? And does being empathetic help you solve problems?

Lululemon + Social Responsibility

2010-07-03T14:53:00.010-04:00

While all companies have to make a profit to stay in business, some do this while simultaneously doing good. This good includes good for individuals, good for the community, and good for the environment; just to name a few. For those in PR, this "good" is fondly referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Lululemon Athletica, a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company has made CSR one of its founding and guiding principles since it opened its doors in 2000. Their mission? Creating components for people to live a longer, healthier, and more fun life.

I've been wanting to write a post on why I think Lululemon does CSR best, but here a quick few reasons I can re-cap in a few minutes. Longer, more detailed post to follow.

1. Positivity Manifesto

They issued a simple, but brilliant "manifesto" mashing together upbeat quotes, ideas, beliefs, reminders - essentially presenting a "positivity poster." This manifesto became one of the early Lululemon trademarks and hasn't gone out of style. The manifesto appears on their recyclable, durable shopping bags, given to every customer, for every purchase made. In addition to the bags being environmentally friendly (they make great lunch totes), each time a Lulu fan flashes them around in a public place, an onlooking eye might just pick up on a few uplifting notes and have a mood improvement. This type of thinking is obvious in all of the programs they run, the spaces they occupy, and the employees they hire.

2. Grassroots Community building

If you live near a Lululemon, this second point will be obvious. Lululemon hosts free yoga classes in all of their stores, weekly fun runs, health clinics and exercise clinics, and group yoga. The goal? Empower local Lululemon employees to help engage and build a community of like-minded, health driven fans. Last week, for example, I attended a Lululemon run in Bethesda, MD and met 10+ new friends.

After the run, Eric (who lead the run) took us all inside for water and granola bars.

3. Healthy-habit building for individuals

If you poke around a Lululemon store, you'll notice framed pictures of staff with My 10 Year Goals
sketched out. If you read their blog, you'll find posts on Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG).

Role-modeling? I think so. You'll also find water bottles you can write your goals on and branded reminders such as:

What companies do you think stand out for social responsibility?

Sisterhood + Success

2010-06-22T17:40:00.063-04:00

Once in a while, you will meet someone new, and 3 hours of talking will seem like 3 minutes. You have a natural, mutual understanding of each other, a mutual excitement and passion about a certain topic, and each new story or idea revealed increasingly powers up your mutually charging battery pack.

Once in a while, this also happens for an entire room full of people. From start to finish, there is an electrifying zip of energy in the air, while old friendships are being reunited, new ones are being formed, and overlapping interests are being realized as easily as finding a Starbucks in Manhattan. Such was the environment of the inaugural Women Grow Business bootcamp. On Saturday morning, nearly 100 driven, dedicated, and always dreaming-of-how-to-improve-women + men :) showed up 1330 Connecticut Ave, the generously offered offices of Steptoe & Johnson LLP and one overarching goal was accomplished. A new sisterhood was formed.

Why is this sisterhood so important? The keynote speaker of this event - Kathy Korman Frey, Chief Hot Mamma for the Hot Mammas Project, summed this up for everyone in her presentation the New Sisterhood of Success.

This event was the brainchild of women like Shonali Burke and Jill Foster, founding editor of Women Grow Business. Thanks to the ubiquitous Shashi Bellamkonda, the event went public in many ways, including pictures galore.

(pictures from Shashi Bellamkonda www.shashi.nam)

Here's me on the right. Pic by the amazing Aaron Thompson - http://aaronthompsonphotography.com/

As I was in the elevator leaving that morning, someone said to me, "Wow! Now that's the way to get revved up on Saturday morning."

If you want a peak at the lovely and mover/shaker attendee twitter-ers - all yours!

Hey, I think I'm Following you on Twitter!

2010-06-17T21:07:00.006-04:00

For about 4 years, I lived in the world of conference-going. I could distinguish Hiltons, Hyatts, W's, Sheratons, and Hampton Inns (that was never a lucky day) by their shampoo lines, and being in four states in one week wasn't a novelty, but often the norm. In order to maximize my time at the conferences (being in marketing and business development) I came up with a formula for ways to meet and interact with target attendee-goers. It's not any lead that is important, afterall, but the right lead. Heartless. I know.

Key to this formula involved getting one's hands on the attendee list. May I interject here that in order to obtain this attendee list I usually had to pry it from the tight grip of the conference organizer?

Regardless, once I had the list, the research part began. Attendee: John Jones, XYZ Corporation. Sr. Bloopity Bloop. Ok John - what are you pain points? Who do you know? What is your company up to these days?

Luckily, being the curious George that I am, this part was pretty fun. But lots of digging. And often with a dull shovel.

Charge ahead to today.

In the last couple of years, and especially since the advent Eventbrite in 2006 (founded by CEO Kevin Hartz) something pretty radical has happened. Attendee lists at events are more frequently open and shared. And attendees are being generous with their givings!

Here's an example:

This is a quick snapshot of some attendees signed up for an upcoming event in June - the Social Media Day 2010 in Washington DC. Take a look. Of these 5 people, we have Twitter accounts blogs, LinkedIn profiles, Facebook pages, and websites. For anyone really looking to learn more about who they might be schmoozing with at their upcoming event - this is unquestionably some pretty awesome market research.

People tweet their connections, pain points, likes, dislikes and often blog what is most important and top of mind.

Since people are voluntarily offering up this information, I even doubt it's sketchy to break the ice by saying, "hey, I think I'm following you on Twitter!"

To me, this sure beats trying to pry a bunch of names and emails from the conference organizer.

Rethink DC

2010-06-14T11:38:00.013-04:00

Get ready for a 5 Second Word Association!

Ready?

Washington DC.

What words come to mind?

Monolithic? Stodgy? Politicians? American flags?

Sorry, I'll let you fill in your own.

How about...

Creative. Technology. Flamingos (see below).

Little by little, DC is proving itself as cool, creative, and cutting edge. Cool thinkers, cool parties, cool innovation.

One vibrant example? A little proof in the pudding if you will? DC Capital Week. June 11 - 20!

If you live in the DC area, and haven't heard of this event yet, then there's probably a good chance you haven't heard of the oil spill or the ongoing World Cup either. Or that the Celtics are kicking the Lakers behinds. Go Green! Just type #dcweek into Twitter, and you'll find as many tweets as PBR's that were handed out at the opening party at the Longview Gallery.

Since the week is full steam ahead of us, check out the schedule (practically overwhelming!) and join in! And if you feel the need to bring a blow up flamingo along for the ride, or plastic dinosaurs, or anything else for that matter - - more power to you.

And please. Rethink DC. We're actually pretty kicking.

Check our more awesome pics by BrightestYoungThings.com.

If you're as excited as I am, share! Oh, and if you're in the mood for some social media chatter, I'll be at the Social Media happy hour my Young AFCEA Bethesda chapter is hosting. At Current Bar in Dupont - mmm.

The Promiscuous Idea

2010-05-22T19:53:00.012-04:00

Just read the WSJ article by Matt Ridley called Humans: Why They Triumphed.

If you're interested in evolution, technology, and innovation, this will probably float your boat.

Question: How did one ape 45,000 years ago happen to turn into a planet dominator?

Answer: An epochal collision of creativity.

This article plays right into my previous assumptions about human evolution (probably a result of what I learned in school):

"Scientists have so far been looking for the answer to this riddle in the wrong place: inside human heads. Most have been expecting to find a sort of neural or genetic breakthrough that sparked a 'big bang of human consciousness,' an auspicious mutation so that people could speak, think or plan better, setting the human race on the path to continuous and exponential innovation."

This "secret" the article sites is purely one of those "think outside the box" riddles.

Assuming this article is correct, we've all been tracing our pencil inside the lines, and never looking at the whole picture.

Instead, "the sophistication of the modern world lies not in individual intelligence or imagination. It is a collective enterprise...the knowledge of how to design, mine, fell, extract, synthesize, combine, manufacture, and market these things is fragmented among thousands, sometime millions of heads. Once human progress started, it was no longer limited by the size of human brains. Intelligence became collective and cumulative."

Hence, the path we started on didn't happen in just one head - it wasn't a "big bang of consciousness" - it was what happened when we simply started sharing. It was what happened outside of our own heads.

The article goes on to site why "trade obsessed" places such as Tyre, Athens, Alexandria, Amsterdam, London, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, etc were "the places where invention and discovery happened" - "trade was the most momentous innovation of the human species; it led to the invention of invention."

As a result, these famous cities were actually "well-endowed collective brains."

These collective brains shared ideas and an offspring idea was formed. This offspring idea is what propelled us forward as a species, and why we ultimately triumphed.

And now, with modern technology, with "things like the search engine, the mobile phone and container shipping just made ideas a whole lot more promiscuous."

What Makes Me Feel Beautiful

2010-05-17T16:10:00.010-04:00

My dear "bosom friend" Kylah (as Anne of Green Gables would say), who knows me perhaps as well as I know the patterns on my wallpaper in the bedroom I lived in for 18 years (I did a lot of staring at the walls while lying in bed), sent me this story called "What Makes Me Feel Beautiful." When I read it, I literally felt myself melting, my breathing slowing, and chills racing up my arms and legs, all at once. Its both light and heavy and if you've ever felt before what the author describes, you'll remember the exact moment it happened, how it took you by such surprise that you stopped in your tracks, the world standing still, words ringing in your ears, your insides beaming as bright as the north star. You'll bottle those words up and keep them in your treasure chest, smiling each time you reflect on their meaning.

From Real Simple:
By Anne Roiphe:

My Late Husband’s Words

It was mid-December of 2005. I don’t know why he said it. I don’t know if a shadow had fallen across him, something appalling he saw out of the corner of his eye. I don’t know if it was just coincidence or intuition that prompted him, but about a week before my seemingly healthy 82-year-old husband suddenly died, he emerged from the kitchen ready to go to his office, his face clean-shaven, his eyes shining, smiling shyly, holding the copy of the Anthony Trollope book he was rereading, and said to me, "You have made me very happy. You know that you have made me a happy man." There I stood in my work outfit, blue jeans and a T-shirt. There I stood with my white hair and my wrinkles and the face I was born with, although now much creased by time, and I felt beautiful.

"What?" I said. I wanted him to repeat the words. "You heard me," he said and put on his coat and drew his earmuffs out of his pocket. "Say it again," I said. He said it again. "You’ve made me happy." We had been married 39 years. We had held hands waiting in hospital corridors while a desperately ill child struggled to breathe and thankfully recovered. We had made financial mistakes together. We had spent hours out in fishing boats. We had raised the children and then second-guessed our choices. We had stood shoulder to shoulder at graduations and weddings and we were well-worn, but still I had made him happy, and I was proud and flushed with the warmth of his words.

I know I looked beautiful that morning. Perhaps not to the young man holding his toddler in his arms who rode the elevator with me; perhaps not to the friend I met for lunch, a true believer in Botox; perhaps not to passersby on the street; but I knew it for a certainty. I was beautiful.

I don’t believe that inner beauty is sufficient in this cruel world. That’s the pap one tells a child. I don’t believe that positive thinking improves your skin tone or that loving or being loved changes the shape of your nose or restores the thickness and color of hair, but I do know that there is a way of being beautiful, even as age takes its toll, that has something to do with the spirit filling with joy, something to do with the union with another human being, with the sense of having done well at something enormously important, like making happy a man who has made you happy often enough.

Ten days after that morning conversation, my husband and I returned from a concert and dinner with friends and walked down our windy block toward our apartment house when suddenly he stumbled and fell and died within minutes. As I waited for the ambulance, I remembered his words, a beauty potion I would take with me into the rest of my life.

Anne Roiphe is the author of numerous books. Her latest, Epilogue: A Memoir, will be released in paperback next month.

Thank you Kylah.

Lait d'Amande (Almond Milk)

2010-05-16T17:29:00.008-04:00

"Milk does a body good." Tis true. And in many ways, almond milk does a body better. Compared to cow's milk, almond milk is 50% lower in calories, higher in vitamin E, and has very little sugar.

This article outlines 6 benefits of almond milk:

Benefit #1: Weight Management

Plain almond milk without added sugars or flavoring contains 40 calories per each 8 oz serving size. This option works well for people looking to lose or maintain weight.
The low caloric content of almond milk causes less of an impact on our totally daily consumption of food calories. Some milk varieties contain more sugars than the cereal that they get combined with.

Benefit #2: Heart Health

Almond milk contains no cholesterol and only 5 mg of sodium per serving. Consuming foods low in sodium and cholesterol help us to maintain better heart health.

Benefit #3: Blood Sugar Friendly

Unlike other milk alternatives, the plain almond option contains only 8 grams of carbohydrates per serving. The 7 grams of sugars that make up the carbohydrate content have a limited affect on our blood sugar levels. When we consume simple sugars, our metabolic functions tend to miss the nutrients, storing much of the carbs as fat. Instead, the low amount of sugars in almond milk have a low glycemic nature, meaning our bodies fully digest them and use them as energy. Diabetics benefit from this characteristic as well.

Benefit #4: Bone Health

Almond milk contains 30% of our recommended daily value of calcium and 25% of Vitamin D. These nutrients work together to build strong bones in men, women, children and infants. Vitamin D also helps improve immunity and cell function. Some studies have shown that Vitamin D helps decrease osteoporosis and even Alzheimer’s disease. The magnesium in found in almond milk helps absorb more of the calcium provided by the nutritious beverage.

Benefit #5: Skin Care

Every serving of pure almond milk contains 50% of our recommended daily value of Vitamin E. This powerful nutrient has antioxidant abilities in that it helps regulate Vitamin A use and availability. More importantly, Vitamin E acts the primary regulatory nutrient that improves skin health.

Benefit #6: More Muscle Power

Even though almond milk only contains 1 gram of protein per serving, it does contain B Vitamins in the form of riboflavin, plus other muscle regulating nutrients like iron. Each serving of almond milk contains about 4% of our recommended daily intake of iron, which helps muscles absorb and use protein for energy, growth and repair. Iron also regulates certain cell functions like oxygen absorption.

5 Superfoods that Rock

2010-05-12T23:38:00.009-04:00

With time and patience, you can accustom yourself to pretty much anything. Your diet is no exception. What you eat every day, you'll crave every day. Pretty simple. Eat a high saturated fat "Western" diet and you'll probably crave just that. Eat a high fructose corn syrup diet "the dollar menu" and you won't even have a choice in the matter. Eat a "Mediterranean" diet of healthy fats, vegetables, fruits, grains, and you can fill in the ending, albeit a more pleasant one.

On a personal note, nutrition fascinates me. I was a full blown vegetarian in high school, mostly out of curiosity. What would it feel like to exclude meat from my diet? How would I feel? I gave up my vegetarian living when I went to college, mostly for lack of vegetarian options (if I lived on cooked carrots and the salad bar, I would have certainly been pretty malnourished). In the last year, I have returned to a vegetarian lifestyle, and my fascination with food is stronger than ever.

If you also share a curiosity with trying new foods, you should absolutely try what's below, if you haven't already. All five of these foods I never tried 12 months ago, and now I consider daily staples. I'll highlight all five over the next couple of days, starting with chia seeds tonight.

Superfood #1: Chia seeds.

Chia seeds, or salvia hispanica were once so highly regarded by the Aztec tribes of Mexico, that their rulers accepted this crop as annual tribute from the people of their empires. Now, chia seeds are largely unknown! As evidence of their obscurity, I couldn't find as much research on these goods as I hoped. Of what I did find, this article presented the most consistent facts of everything I read:

According to the article: the Ancient Chia Seed: How it Can Benefit You Health:

Supports Heart Health
Chia seeds can help reduce blood pressure. The seeds contain one of the highest known plant sources of essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6). EFAs cannot be synthesized by our bodies however, it is very important that we get enough to support our immune, cardiovascular, nervous and reproductive systems. EFA deficiency is quite common in North America.
Stabilizes Blood Sugar
Chia seeds slow down the rate at which complex carbohydrates are digested and then assimilated into the body. The soluble fiber helps to stabilize blood glucose levels resulting in steady, sustained energy. In one study on diabetic patients, Dr. Vladamir Vuksan of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, found that blood was thinner and less prone to clotting and blood pressure of participants dropped significantly, after three months of taking Chia seeds daily.
Energizing
The word “Chia” comes from the Mayan language and means strength. Chia seeds are a balanced blend of protein, carbohydrates, fats and fiber. It is said that 1 tablespoon of Chia can sustain a person for 24 hours. Athletes have reported that Chia seeds help them perform at optimal levels for much longer periods of time.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
A number of arthritis sufferers have reported reduced pain and inflammation after a few weeks of taking Chia seeds. The high concentration of omega-3 helps to lubricate joints and keep them supple. Additionally, Omega-3s are converted into prostaglandins which are known to have both pain relieving and anti-inflammatory effects.
Weight Loss
The essential fatty acids contained in Chia seeds helps to boost metabolism and promote lean muscle mass. The seeds are sometimes added to food to provide bulk and nutrients while adding very few calories. For these reasons, many people have found Chia quite useful in weight loss and weight maintenance.
Detoxification and Elimination
Similar to psyllium, the swelling action of Chia in the body helps to cleanse and soothe the colon, and absorb toxins while lubricating and strengthening peristaltic action.
High Quality Protein
Chia seeds contain about 20% protein, a higher percentage than found in many other grains such as wheat and rice. Chia seeds contain strontium which helps to assimilate protein and produce high energy.
Antioxidants
Chia seeds are an excellent source of antioxidants containing even more antioxidants than fresh blueberries. The high amounts of antioxidants in Chia seeds also keeps the oils from going rancid - contributing to a long shelf life.
Provides Fiber and Other Nutrients
Besides EFAs, Chia seeds also provide fiber, iron, calcium, niacin, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus.

2 tablespoons of Chia = 7 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 205 milligrams of calcium, 5 grams omega-3
Brain Power
EFAs are known to make cell membranes more flexible and efficient making nutrients more readily available and nerve transmission more efficient. This helps to improve brain function (including memory and concentration).

Don't know what to do with these little guys? Try these delicious overnight oats - you may snub your nose at first, but I urge you to ignore your biases and give this a try!

...coming up tomorrow!

Superfood #2: Almond Milk

Superfood #3: Spelt Flour

Superfood #4: Cacao Nibs

Superfood #5: Coconut Oil

2010-05-10T15:43:00.005-04:00

"This is how it works:

You're young until you're not,

you love until you don't,

you try until you can't,

you laugh until you cry,

you cry until you laugh.

And everyone must breathe until their dying breath.

Now this is how it works:

you peer inside yourself-

you take the things you like

and try to love the things you don't.

And then you take that love you made,

and stick it into some-

someone else's heart,

pumpin' someone else's blood.

And walkin' arm in arm,

you hope it don't get harmed-

but even if it does,

you'll just do it all again.

And on the radio,

you'll hear November rain.

That solo's awful long,

but it's a good refrain."

~Regina Spektor

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

2010-05-09T21:02:00.009-04:00

Just as asparagus, fresh snap peas and zucchini are making their yearly appearance at local farmers markets, so too is rhubarb. And like apples in the fall, strawberries and rhubarb have great chemistry with oat crumble and 1 + 1 = bubbling sanguine fruity deliciousness. As with the Orzo salad, I lead you straight to the mastermind Heidi Swanson for ingredients and prep steps.

Voila:

30 seconds later:

Orzo Mint Asparagus Salad

2010-05-09T17:20:00.041-04:00

I eat most types of pasta/rice/grains all year, but Orzo is one I leave for summer. It's light and refreshing and pairs wonderfully with green veggies like asparagus, zucchini, fresh peas, or anything else in season from May - August. I tried this Orzo recipe tonight from Heidi Swanson's food blog 101 Cookbooks. Perfect as a side dish to bring to a summer bbq, or as a light dinner with some Sauvignon blanc.

For recipe, steps, go straight to Heidi's blog so you can follow steps according to her masterpiece.

Mesclun Strawberry Salad

2010-05-06T23:21:00.007-04:00

This afternoon, I stopped in my all time favorite salad place, sweetgreen. If you are lucky enough to live near one of their locations, and you've never been, you're missing out. I love this place for lots of reasons, some being their social and environmental consciousness, the seasonal, locally bought ingredients, their blog with wicked tasty recipes, and primarily their innovation in general. If you don't live near by, here's a salad I had today, adapted slightly.

Ingredients: (serves 1)
2 cups mesclun salad
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup chopped asparagus (you can use raw, marinated, cooked - I used raw)
1 tbs walnuts (or toasted almonds)
couple slices red onion (optional)
balsamic vinaigrette

picture from www.luckytastebuds.wordpress.com

Watermelon Smoothie

2010-05-04T21:40:00.002-04:00

Tonight's run was hot like a tamale. After an icy cold shower, I needed to cool off on the inside. Answer? Watermelon smoothie! I've loved smoothies for years, but somehow never thought to use watermelon. Other than bananas it might be my new favorite smoothie ingredient. Its frosty consistency does wonders for producing a crisp, cool, blended drink.

Ingredients:

1 cup watermelon
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup frozen strawberries
handful frozen blueberries or any other berry
1/3 cup milk (I used almond, however cow's milk, rice, soy, work well too)
1 tsp cinnamin
1 tsp honey

Throw all ingredients into blender!

Portabella Veggie Joes

2010-05-04T12:28:00.006-04:00

I've always disliked "sloppy joes." Aside from what processed salted rubbish you might buy in a can (aka liquid nitrogen), I even snubbed my nose at homemade meat-based joes - partly because they are called "sloppy" and partly because no part of what you consume looks like it is meant to be ingested by a human.

I held this air of snobbery until I tried a coworker's recipe for "vegan sloppy joes." I'll admit, I was very skeptical at first. Mushrooms / Tomato paste / Worcestershire sauce? Given that I've recently held the philosophy "you shouldn't judge your potential dinner from its picture, or ingredient list" I decided to dive in head first. After all, in the last week I've tried vegan oats and parsnip fries and told so many people about my delights I thought I should start wearing a sign that said:

(picture compliments of my blogger friend Alex). If parsnip fries blissed me out, I decided to maintain the same "just do it" attitude.

Off I went to find my large skillet. And here's what resulted 15 minutes later. Absolutely delicious.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 medium yellow onion
1 red/yellow/orange bell pepper
3 portabella mushrooms (scrape out black gills)
1 cup white button mushrooms
1 garlic clove
2 tbs olive oil
8 oz tomato sauce
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Steps:

1. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large non-stick skillet
2. Dice onion, pepper, and garlic until they become soft (about 8 min)
3. Dice mushrooms and add to sauteed vegetables
4. Add remaining tbs olive oil, tomato sauce, paste, and Worcestershire sauce
5. Spoon over whole grain bun and try not to inhale too quickly

Pair with sweet potato fries (incredibly easy to make). Peel sweet potato (or however many you like) and cut into fry-sized strips. Coat with olive oil, salt, and put on baking sheet (place aluminum foil down first if you like easy clean up) and bake for 35 min @ 400 degrees.

Grilled Chocolate Rustic Bread Sandwich

2010-05-03T23:01:00.010-04:00

I've been taking good inventory of my food pantry lately. I feel much better knowing what I have lying around the shelves of the cabinets and fridge. I feel I am eating more in the moment than coming home completely surprised every night of the week. Salad mix? I totally forgot about you! Asparagus in the cripser? Oh, asparagus I paid $4 for you, please still be good! Instead, I like to keep a mental image of exactly what I have - 1 farmers market apple, 1 white onion, 1.5 red onions, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, you get the point.

After dinner tonight, I remembered that I had 1/2 of a baguette (in french fashion, 1 day old, and hard as a rock). Since french toast wasn't really an option @ 9:30pm, I decided to think a little more outside the box. I recalled I had about 2 tbs of chocolate pieces and some cinnamon/vanilla/sugar mixture I made the other day. Surely something can be concocted from good quality chocolate, stale french bread, sugar and cinnamon. Grilled chocolate sandwich!

Normally I would have taken a picture myself, but to be honest, I was more interested in eating the beauty than a photo op. This picture is basically what it looked like (admittedly mine didn't have a cascading chocolate waterfall going down the side).

Here are the steps I took:

Serves 2
1. Heat grill pan over medium heat
2. Slice ciabatta (or any kind of rustic bread) down the middle in 2" x 4" wedges
3. Mix 1 tsp cane sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon and set aside
4. Butter bread on both sides (I used Earth Balance vegan spread)
5. Lay chocolate pieces on inside of bread and sprinkle on sugar/cinnamon mix
6. Put other slice of bread on top and put something heavy on top to weigh down bread (it grills better this way - - but I don't recommend your old calculus textbook).
7. Grill sandwich for 4 minutes or so, careful not to burn
8. Want to go nuts? Slap on 1 tbs or so of vanilla ice cream.

Grilled Godly Goodness

2010-05-02T22:05:00.007-04:00

For anyone who is a city dweller and does not have access to an outdoor grill yet loves the smoky taste of grilled vegetables I recommend making your next errand a trip to get a grill pan. This morning I decided I would try something out of my cooking comfort zone. Upon returning from the Dupont Farmers Market in Washington, DC, arms loaded with brightly colored vegetable bounty, I knew I couldn't subject such beautiful specimens to the regular vegetable steaming process any store bought vegetable predecessors might have known as their final fate. Instead, I decided these locally grown treasures would be involved in something a little different. The grill pan.

My grill pan experience today was proof of a thought process I had recently. As humans, we tend to think many things are harder than they are. If we commit to trying something slightly out of our comfort zone at least once every day, we'd be amazed by the strides we are capable of making. Things are often actually much easier than we perceive them to be. As a mostly vegetarian eater, trying new ways to cook vegetables is essential in maintaining variability and satisfaction. But for years, I thought grilling vegetables with beaming color and exquisite taste was a task best left to a chef well equipped with years of experience and an all clad kitchen. Reality? If you have a little time, patience, and tender loving care, you can grill vegetables to perfection by your own hand, in your own kitchen, just by giving it a try.

Here's my first attempt. Verdict? These vegetables blew off my tastebuds. Want to create yourself? Here's what you do.

1. Buy a grill pan (Cephalon is a good brand)
2. Hunt down some fresh vegetables (peppers, zucchini, red onion, squash, asparagus are good choices)
3. Cut up vegetables and coat in olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, basil (dried is fine, or mince fresh herbs)
4. Place vegetables on grill pan (heated on medium heat) and do not disturb for at least 8 minutes
5. Turn vegetables over for a few additional minutes
6. Optional - take 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs good quality balsamic vinegar, mix, and toss with cooked vegetables
7. Enjoy :)

Impending Rain

2010-04-16T19:13:00.001-04:00

Such an odd sight
is the sky before the impending rain
the horizon
a fading slate grey
against the brightest granny smith sour apple green
the thick, full leaves
sway
a swishing sea of florescence
as the rain charges in
first
a splinter of dotted lines on my window
the air suddenly cools
and then comes the rush
a fury of swishing, swashing, blurrying
as all open spaces
are filled up
commanding its presence
until it is gone.
-Lauren Modeen

Cherry Blossom Yoga

2010-04-04T16:42:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter everyone.

Yesterday I joined over 1000 Yoginis to practice on the National Mall in Washington DC. It was a BYOM (bring you own mat) kind of morning, and one to be remembered. Thanks lululemon for hosting and giving back to the community in the unique way that you do.

Cherry Blossom Yoga from exhilauren on Vimeo.

The Importance and Power of Creative Expression

2010-03-28T15:15:00.024-04:00

In 2001, I sat in a philosophy class at Boston College. We were discussing the meaning of performing an activity for solely the pleasure of engaging in the activity, free of all external benefits. Merely the essence of the activity is enough; it can stand alone. While I didn't wholly understand what this really meant to me at the time, I do now. Activities with this form of 3-dimensional-satisfaction-driving-capacity that stir your heart and ignite your mind, seem to almost lock you into an experience where time is locked out, and the participant and the activity become a unified team, catalyzing each other into an oblivion of total-and-complete-neuron-firing-rapture - ie; it's off the hook :)

I will name a few of activities of my own that to be frank - do it for me: writing, music, dance, photography, running, conversation. By their very nature, these activities, are enough.

These activities are, what a 25-year-long best friend Kylah and I used to describe in fourth grade, as "delicious."

Now I bring you to a talk by Robert Gupta, violinist with the LA Philharmonic who takes this a step further and shares a story about not only the "delicious" properties of music but its medicinal and sanity balancing capabilities. Make sure to listen all the way through to his rendition of Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 @ 6:27 min.

Listen for yourself. Chills? Check. Listen on repeat 47 times? Check.

"This is the very essence of art...this is the very reason we made music...we take something that exists within all of us at our very fundamental core, our emotions and through our artistic lenses, through our creativity we are able to shape those emotions into reality and the reality of that expression reaches all of us and moves us, inspires, and unites us." Robert Gupta

Photo by Patrick Frost.

Favorite Finds - Running Paraphernalia

2010-03-18T23:33:00.034-04:00

Running in of itself can be pretty darn addictive (hello endorphins). Throw in a few gadgets to better gauge your progress and ease your woes, and you might feed your addiction that much faster. As a runner since high school, I've discovered several tricks of the trade that can brighten any 10k.

1. Running socks. Just like you can't build a solid house on a faulty foundation, you can't build up to long runs if your feet can't get past 5 miles without blistering into a bloody mess. I made this mistake when running the Boston Marathon in 2003. I wore cheap cotton socks and naively never thought twice about it. Sure, I wore a variety of socks in my training, but on that particular day, I picked whatever was convenient instead of giving the necessary attention to this vital part of preparing for 26.2 miles. Invest in several pairs of high quality moisture-wicking socks. I look for ones that are cut specifically for your left and right foot with slight padding in the front to protect from chafing from the front of the shoe, and for padding in the back that is raised slightly to prevent blistering on the heel. I like these two brands best: lululemon ultimate running sock and asics kayano low cut.

2. Body Glide Skin Protectant Stick. Along the same vein as the running socks, you can be in perfect race day form, have cardio that mums along with the efficiency of a Prius (actually, that may be a bad analogy these days), but neglect to consider where your skin may rub raw and you might go down in flames, and quite quickly for that matter.

3. Garmin watches. What you don't measure, you can't improve. If you're in the business of running to set a PR, a garmin watch is a pretty nifty tool to do this with. Like many tech gadgets, there is a pretty big range of functionality and price points. As someone who is admittedly obsessed with keeping track of progress and who will run another X miles just to "round things off" to a whole number, this is a welcome little computer.

4. Sport Jelly Beans. As a child, I would conjure up obstacle courses on my elementary school playground with a group of my friends. We'd use whatever snacks we had in our lunch bags as "magic food" - grapes, raisins, crackers, snark bites, whatever. This food would give us special properties, the ability to become invisible for a few minutes, the freedom to touch the ground without penalty, exemption from being tagged. I am assuming most kids do this from the ages of 7 - 11, right? When I came across Jelly Belly sport beans, I concluded that if I could spend an entire recess convinced that the 12 goldfish in my pocket were the sole factor preventing me from falling into a pit of lava, popping a few caffeine infused jelly beans could help get me through some of the onerous points of a race. And they do. I like the fruit punch flavor.

5. Foam Roller. Here's a foam roller confession: we have a love/hate relationship. Run after run creates muscle knots or "trigger points"which can start to manifest themselves as pain, stiffness in the knee and ultimately along the IT band. So while this 12+inches Styrofoam tube can make you feel as much pleasure and pain as reflected in Germany's Sturm und Drang romantic period (think Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony), it can also cure pains that can get you back on the road and back to feeding your addiction.

Favorite Finds Series

2010-03-14T15:32:00.005-04:00

New discoveries are pretty golden. Think for a moment about the last you discovered something new that you liked - a product, an idea, a place, a book, a food concoction, a new hobby (I'll leave humans out because that's a bit more complicated). A nice feeling, eh? Personally, I love these moments, and I equally love how ones likings can leave a little trail as to ones twists and turns in growth and development, some things staying the same, and some things changing. Looking back at these likings is perhaps a personal anthropology study, providing remembrances and indicators as to who a person was at a certain point in time. A lot of who we are is a result of what we like, and what makes us happy, right? Maybe I'll start an "I Like" journal to capture my own twists and turns and straight lines. I'll keep it separate from my "Idea" journal and my "Quotes" journals.

Crazy talk or not, I notice all the time things I really enjoy and I make a mental note of the liking. And with the advent of brands on Twitter (to talk purely of consumer likings for a moment), I find that if I really like a particular brand or product, I am excited to interact with that brand via Twitter, and most are equally excited about my loyalty or self-generated evangelism.

What I'd like to try over the next couple of blog posts, is to share my favorite finds. Yet because there are quite a few of them, I'll group them into categories. Personally, I love reading other "favorite-d" lists by other people (Oprah is famous for this with her "O List"). So off I go.

(photo courtesy of drp)

Four Fabulous Teachers - #4: Srikumar Rao

2010-03-07T19:12:00.015-05:00

Got happy?

This afternoon (despite the absolutely perfect weather outside), I got into one of my dusting frenzies. It started because the brilliant light reflecting off my computer screen brought the smudges and particles into broad view. Off I went for a soft cloth! After the computer was thoroughly wiped and shined, I noticed the bookcase nearby, also afflicted with its own case of dust. Up and down the rungs I went. In the middle of my book-spine wipe-downs, I noticed a hard cover edition of "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert that I bought at a small bookstore in Brooklyn a few years ago. I remember being so struck by the title, that I opted to purchase the book and carry it around all day with me. It had a nice, clean, white cover, featuring a bright bowl full of cherries, overturned (yes, I am a total sucker for nice book cover designs). On the front cover, prominent authors such as Steve Levitt (Freakanomics) endorsed it with "Think you know what makes you happy? This absolutely fantastic book will shatter your most deeply held convictions about how the mind works" and Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers) with "A psychological detective story about one of the great mysteries of our lives...you ought to read it...trust me."

Oh, you don't worry Malcolm, I trust you. But this blog post isn't about Daniel Gilbert's book. Instead, it is about the topic of happiness in general and how it led me to Srikumar Rao, someone I am more interested in at this moment.

Gosh, I thought while continuing to dust the bookcase, what's with the topic of happiness these days? In the last 5 years, I feel like I hear of a new book with happiness in the title practically every other month? To see how accurate my predictions were, I did a simple search on Amazon.com for products with "happiness" in the titles. The result? 720 items.

Wow, I thought, with all those books on happiness out there, it's pretty clear many are in search of it, or want to purport they can deliver it. But how can you know which thinkings are solid?

Then I found this.

I will give you a brief synopsis on this talk, but it is probably much better if you simply take 12 minutes of time to listen for yourself.

In this talk, Srikumar Rao shares with us that we spend most of our lives learning to be unhappy, even though the very thing we are striving and searching for, is to be happy. He delivers this message by starting off with the question: what do you have to get to be happy? A fair question. Then he asserts: anything you can get, you can un-get, remarking that this is not a good thing, yes (he cites wall street, hehe)? By setting up the listener with the natural thought process regarding happiness - if I do X, then I will be happy, if I have Y, then I will be happy, and basically a model of - If this, Then that. A pretty common human pattern of striving for happiness.

An example. If I get promoted to XXX position, then I will be happy. Or, if I marry XXX, then all will be glorious. Here, Srikumar says we are investing totally on the outcome, and not the process. Yet, he explains, because we cannot control any outcome, if we invest solely in an outcome, and we miss the mark, we will be left feeling like we failed, or even if we attain the outcome, we will spend our lives simply changing the If, and never appreciating, or accepting the journey. This thought processes, or as he calls it, a mental model, is flawed.

Instead, consider a time when you were out doing something, and all of a sudden, you were caught up in a precise moment, where you were overcome with the beauty of a particular sight. In this moment, all was right, and you were struck. In this moment, Srikumar believes we are accepting things just as they are, and we are happy. He believes this is actually an innate condition for us, but most of the time we don't accept things as they are, and we spend all our time "striving with might and maim to make things different - we are not accepting it and when we are not accepting it we are buying into the 'if - then' model." What we don't realize is all the problems we ~~have~~ think we have are actually equally perfect.

What to do instead? Invest in the process, not the outcome. If at the end of things, we are successful, wonderful. If we are not successful, also wonderful. If we reach what we had striven to do, we are at a new point, and if we do not reach what we have striven to do, we are also at a new point, and we can select another outcome and keep going.

"Focus on the outcome, but invest completely in the process." Srikumar Rao

Four Fabulous Teachers - #3: Peter Corbett

2010-03-02T13:19:00.013-05:00

2 nerds are better than 1. And 3000+ nerds, under one roof, for one mission, is pretty much, for anyone who considers themselves a techno-vation-enthusiast, bliss. And for anyone who can brain child the organization, development, and execution of such an event, is certainly a master teacher of community-building and driver of the peer-to-peer idea stimulation/learnings if I ever saw such a thing. Enter Peter Corbett.

Ok, let me back up.

Peter Corbett, CEO of iStrategy Labs, along with his partners in crime Frank Gruber and Jen Consalvo of Shiny Heart Ventures are putting on Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK), a 10 day festival in Washington DC focused on technology, innovation and all things digital in our nation’s capital. The goal is to bring together artists, technologists, entrepreneurs, communicators, govies, and citizens to learn from each other, meet new friends, focus on the issues in DC that can be addressed in new ways, work on projects that benefit the city and the world, and...well, for the full list, see here. The difference with this type of forum versus other more traditional "conferences," is that this is community-driven. Everyone can participate and contribute in an event-shaping way, and in essence, what the community puts in, the community gets out. There is a call to host an event/session that explores a digital interest area, host a "studio tour" to show off the presenter's stuff, host a party or fundraiser for a digital cause, and create a project for execution that week. I say it again. What the community puts in, the community gets out. Let's get busy nerds!

We've learned from our recent techno-driven Here Comes Everybody world, and poignantly from Clay Shirky (his quotes to follow), by making it easier for groups to self-assemble without formal management, we radically alter the "old limits on the size, sophistication, and scope of unsupervised effort." In short, "the number and kind of things groups can get done without financial motivation or managerial oversight are growing." Umm...the event itself will prove this as to be true or not, but surely we can get a hunch just based on the interest level for this event in the last 24 hours...1000+ nerds have already signed up.

Should be interesting to see how it unfolds in June...

Here come the nerds!

Four Fabulous Teachers - #2: Jeff Healey

2010-03-01T23:05:00.014-05:00

This blog post is contributed by the inspirational in his own right, Timmy Olmstead; musical producer/engineer, videographer, or, as he calls it, snazzeographicianado. Oh, and can't forget that he is a professional baseball player in Brussels, Belgium. A successful artist of the many varieties, as I see it, and a good friend. Thanks Timmy.

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I was only 13 years old, but I was already an accomplished musician; mesmerizing crowds after school by thrusting my shiny guitar behind my back, over my head, and through my legs with unmatched fury and precision, all the while never missing a note. This would usually come to an abrupt end with my Dad gently removing his over-sized stereo headphones from my slumbering dome, and whispering into my ear, "Timmy, supper's ready." I was infatuated with the idea of having Axl Rose's hair - if just for a day - and to be able to make a guit-box sing like the rock Gods I watched on TV. I tried, even with informal lessons from a generous neighbor, but the throbbing pain in my fingers was just too much to bear, and it wasn't to be...yet.

It took five years for the right influence to find me, and it found me like a speeding freight train finds a dump truck on its railroad tracks. Boom!!! A man named Stevie Ray Vaughan grabbed me by my musical throat, and shook the holy bananas out of me. I didn't know it at the time, but Stevie had passed away fours years previous to my musical awakening, err...shaking. I felt robbed, and I cried for a long, long time. But I had no idea that I'd be eternally grateful, not just for SRV, but for the countless number of other musicians I was about to discover through him - guitarists he had influenced, played with, and idolized himself.

I'm writing this to share one of those musicians with you, because his story is truly and profoundly inspirational. I swell with pride in knowing that we've played on the same tiny stage, where the patrons are so close you can feel them on top of you. It's so intimate that you can reach out and touch them. And this guitarist did; that's why he cherished this small but ultra energized cafe so much, taking time out of his world tours to wander into the middle of nowhere to feel this sensation - a considerably deeper connection with his audience. You see, he never saw the swarming bodies that were literally inches away from him, he could only feel them, only sense, or hear them. Retinoblastoma, a rare cancer, had taken his sight from him as a baby. His eyes were surgically removed, and he was given artificial replacements, but that didn't stop him from picking up a guitar at the age of three. I am writing about a true guitar hero, Jeff Healey. Without the use of his eyes, it was easier for him to play if he laid his guitar down flat on his lap, which is highly unorthodox for the rest of us, and makes the instrument much more difficult to play. His left hand moved swiftly up and down the fretboard; his fingers like a tarantula darting after its prey, as his right hand raged against nickel-plated strings with the fury and precision that I had once dreamt of. Jeff and Stevie were fortunate to get to play with one another in their all-too-short time with us.

Jeff passed away two years ago tomorrow, leaving behind a wife and two children, but his legacy, his endearing smile, and his music, will remain with us forever. I miss him dearly, but I take comfort in knowing that if you've slow danced at your senior prom or wedding within the past 20 years, you've undoubtedly experienced his love, his warmth, and of course, his "Angel Eyes."

Four Fabulous Teachers - #1: Aimee Mullins

2010-02-28T21:44:00.007-05:00

I am setting out to blog about four people I find truly remarkable for their life teachings. First up? Aimee Mullins, a teacher of the potential of the human will.

Aimee was born with fibular hemimelia, a limb anomaly wherein there is partial or total absence of the fibula (shin) bones. She had both legs amputated below the knee when she was only a year old. However, as she jokingly remarks in a TED talk - from the moment she was born and her doctor communicated that she would never be able to walk, Aimee has been making a liar out of this doctor ever since (she is a World Record Holder in the 100 meter, 200 meter and Long Jump).

Throughout this TED video, Aimee speaks to the opportunity that lies in adversity and about the X-factor, the potential of the human will; "the human ability to survive and flourish is driven by the struggle of the human spirit through conflict into transformation."

Rather than see adversity as something we need to sidestep, Aimee rather sees it as something to embrace so that we can be successful not in spite of it of because of it. "Adversity gives us a sense of self - a sense of power. Adversity is more than just tough times but, rather, change - adversity is just change we haven't adapted ourselves to yet.

She also remembers, however, that this is not something we can always simply do on our own. We often need help from others so we can see this opportunity that lies in front of us, or maybe we just need one person "all you need is one person to show you the epiphany of your own power and you are off."

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“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” - Charles Darwin

Grow, Grow, Grow

2010-02-07T17:37:00.008-05:00

Peter DiGiammarino, CEO of Compusearch, likes growth. In fact, it may be more accurate to say he loves it. In this video, Peter outlines some of the elements key in helping companies who may be "performing well, but not up to their potential, grow to see that potential." Throughout the 12 or so minutes he speaks on the topic of growth, he describes why maintaining a strong team is paramount to this growth, and why it is essential to have that team be comprised of individuals who are motivated to do the right thing because they see what the right thing is to do. Finally, he stresses that in a time of frustration, it can be prudent to "helicopter above." Looking at the situation at large can help to identify all factors; appropriate measures can then be taken and the team can continue to move forward.

Listen here and fast forward to minutes 27:17 - 39:25. Enjoy!

For more of Peter's wisdom and insight, check out this article on "what problem do you solve for whom and how."

Want to learn even more? Meet Peter in person and listen to him speak on how to use your network to grow a career in professional services. -> Peter is speaking at the Young AFCEA Bethesda council Professional Development series on February 24th in Arlington, VA (metro-accessible). Sign up here!

Busted Knees and Baking

2010-01-18T18:31:00.008-05:00

This afternoon didn't go as well as planned. Training for a half marathon in March, I set out today to get in a longer "maintenance" run, yet this time, hoping to lap up the sparse January sun by running outside. 55 degrees? This calls for shorts.

I laced up my sturdier running sneakers (trail shoes to be precise) anticipating leftover stubborn snow banks and salt patches. These guys were meant for the hills of Colorado. They'll certainly prove themselves on the sidewalks of Maryland.

Not quite. Or rather, caveat: prevention against clumsiness not included.

2 miles out.

The sun is shining.

The birds are tweeting.

And I am...

...Tripping! Falling! Knee plant and I'm down.

What occurred today was a classic "skin the knee." Yep. Top layer of skin off while the street heeds no mercy against its gravel, dirt, and unforgivingness.

Should I keep going I question? It hurts but it's not entirely a show stopper. More of an incredible nuisance. Like when your Ipod dies on the treadmill at the gym 5 minutes into your workout...

Ok. Maybe this is worse.

As I continue running and begin counting the number of stares I am getting from complete strangers, I decide maybe the prudent decision is to turn around and douse my leg in rubbing alcohol. Or hydrogen peroixde.

1/2 annoyance and 1/2 wincing (each time I bend my knee) calls for something to cheer me up.

Time to invent a new recipe!

Except, since I am actually in quite a bit of pain, I decide to whip something up quickly. Raw granola bars!

And so I give you what might be my favorite raw granola bar recipe of all time.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup almond butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups whole rolled oats (not instant)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (Whole Foods carries a good version)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tbs flax seed (ground or whole)
1 tbs slivered almonds
1 tbs sunflower seeds
1 tbs chopped pecans

Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Mix wet ingredients together either by stirring, or putting over low heat and stirring continuously until blended.
3. Mix wet and dry together in a large bowl.
4. Spoon well-blended mixture into a pan with walls at least 1 inch high. User a spoon or the bottom of a glass to press down the mixture and even out.
5. Put in refrigerator or freezer and allow to set for 45 min.
6. Slice into bars the size of your liking and keep refrigerated or frozen until time for eating!

These bars fall apart VERY easily unless they are kept cold (the oils are liquid at room temperature).

Delicious!

Sunday Spreadings

2009-12-20T19:28:00.007-05:00

Stuff spreads.

Snowy weather results in a chain reaction of delays for travelers attempting to move via trains, planes, and automobiles. Celebrity gossip moves from mouth to mouth, air wave to air wave, and server to server, all interlooping, and all slightly reinvented.

But here is something that is worth spreading. TED topics.

If you have an affinity for words, language, or reading between the lines, you'll enjoy this enlightenment piece by James Geary. An engaging and thoughful speaker, James discusses the power of metaphors, and how the right combination of words, that start not with the words, but rather the experience, encompass almost another language embedded in language itself.

Thinking Thursday

2009-12-17T22:01:00.009-05:00

I am working on a bucket list.

Why? I am turning 30 in 355 days, and I am excited to spend the whole year preparing for a new decade "thinking big."

On the list:

Own a cozy and thought-rich bookstore, working with staff that want to eat up books as much as I do. In this bookstore I can I live and breathe what feels natural and meaningful, and hopefully, provide a place where others can come to be enriched as I am. Might experience be the new marketing?

I can smell the paper and ink already.

Web 2.0 Wednesday

2009-12-16T22:21:00.003-05:00

One year ago, I didn't tweet. In fact, one year ago, I had hardly even heard of twitter. And when my select group of friends did in fact mention their twittering, I thought they were referring to being in a state of having too much coffee.

Twitter was my favorite breakthrough in 2009. Because while it has existed since 2006, 2009 really was its year. Now that we are on the brink of 2010, a new concept occurs to me (and to many others who have been thinking along the same lines) - Top Twitter Trends of the year! Much like how Time magazine always does a year in review - most popular technology bursts, biggest scandals, best movies, etc., Twitter has been tabulating the data for this all along - and has crowdsourced quite the list.

Pretty interesting.

Tribal Tuesday

2009-12-15T23:59:00.017-05:00

Lately, I've been thinking about what tribes I belong to and which ones I consider to be successful. But first, a little explanation on what a tribe is.

To quote Seth Godin: "a tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have joined tribes, be they religious, ethnic, political, or even musical...it's our nature.

Now the internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger and enabling new tribes to be born - groups of ten or ten million who are about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming."

Now, I'd like to share with you a tribe that has actually done exactly what a successful tribe is supposed to do: increase awareness, interest, enthusiasm, and most importantly - connect members with others in a beneficial way to keep the cause or mission of the tribe going.

Since we all need to eat, and more so, because eating can be one of life's finest pleasures, food tribes have always existed. But some food tribes have existed in more robust form and have lasted. Take for example, powerhouses like Julia Child and her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia took a stance on eating in America and cultivated a following with her passion and humbleness. Her book drove followers, and so did her TV show. She was trusted and she grew a lasting tribe.

Next, I think of other cooking rockstars, and how they have driven a following - Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, and Giada De Laurentiis. But what I also see is that to be a trusted food leader, you don't need to have your own cookbook or series on the Food Network. You can simply be a trusted blogger.

Hello Food bloggers.

Unlike food websites like epicurious.com and allrecipes.com, the opinions and successes/failures of food bloggers are not anonymous. Once you get to know the tastes, and likings of a food blogger, they become a trusted friend. Your hear about the good, the bad, and the ugly. And most of the successful ones that I have seen are pretty darn honest, as their reputation is everything.

And once they generate loyalty, other passionate foodies or simply those wanting to try something new and take a leap in drive their success. Everyone benefits and a tribe is born.

What tribes are you part of? And why do you think they have succeeded or failed?

All the Days of the Week

2009-12-14T21:49:00.018-05:00

Experimentation is good. And experimenting with writing is not only free, but gives your brain a nice little workout, where it might otherwise fall into a static rut - - and anyone out there who runs - and more specifically runs the same distance, same incline every day, Monday - Sunday knows - while this gets pretty easy pretty soon, it doesn't do much for enhancing your running ability. Instead, trying out new courses, trail running, aqua running, beach running - all variations work new muscles, building a more well-rounded running profile. But of course, I am not talking about running here, but writing.

I am setting out for the next week to write on a different, predetermined topic for each day of the week. And because I am the ~~nerd~~ type who gets major kicks out of finding sequential words that start with the same letter, I give you my list:

Matters Monday: favorite discovery of the day "that matters"
Tribal Tuesday: a new tribe I am following
Web 2.0 Wednesday: a new web 2.0 discovery
Thinking Thursday: a thought
Finding Friday: a find
Surreal Saturday: a fact that I deem surreal in some way
Spreading Sunday: stuff spreads. what do i notice this sunday?

Seeing that today is Monday, off I go with my favorite "what matters" discovery of the day.

This one (to me) is utterly obvious.

Matters Monday

Early this morning, while I had the shower running, and the teapot boiling, a friend of mine emailed me a link to Seth Godin's new ebook What Matters Now. My phone bleeped. Hmm. What Matters Now? Seth Godin? This was worth turning off the running hot water for.

I jumped on my computer, downloaded the 82 pages of deliciousness and knew I had something even better than my daily Wall Street Journal to read on the metro ride in.

If you didn't come across this compilation of thoughts from some of the best writers and thinkers alive today - honestly - you should read it immediately. It's thoughtful, comprehensive, stop-in-your-tracks moving, and pretty much everyone can gain new insight and perspective from it. It brings together writers like Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love - with the new Committed due out in January), Daniel Pink (A Whole New Mind), Chris Anderson (The Long Tail), Gary Vaynerchuk (Crush It), Paco Underhill (Why We Buy), and Tim O'Reilly (technology rockstar).

Not to borderline on corny here, but this collection really is like a strand of 80+ or so natural pearls - each cultured and outstanding in a different way. It presents mini essays on topics such as Productivity, Ease, Sacrifice, Fear, Focus, Leap, Timeless, Technology, Attention, Neoteny - taking the best of individual gifted writers/thinkers and whirling out new perspectives.

My absolute favorite take-away from this gem? I learned a new word that I love - neoteny - n. retention of juvenile characteristics in the adults of a species. I love that a word exists to describe this characteristic found so infrequently in adults, yet one that if practiced, opens up the possibility for so much.

I'll share the entire account with you, as Joi Ito describes it effortlessly:

"Neoteny is the retention of childlike attributes in adulthood. Human beings are younger longer than any other creature on earth, taking almost twenty years until we become adults. While we retain many of our childlike attributes into adulthood most of us stop playing when we become adults and focus on work.

When we are young, we learn, we socialize, we play, we experiment, we are curious, we feel wonder, we feel joy, we change, we grow, we imagine, we hope. In adulthood, we are serious, we produce, we focus, we fight, we protect and we believe in things strongly.

The future of the planet is becoming less about being efficient, producing more stuff and protecting our turf and more about working together, embracing change and being creative.

We live in an age where people are starving in the midst of abundance and our greatest enemy is our own testosterone driven urge to control our territory and our environments.

It’s time we listen to children and allow neoteny to guide us beyond the rigid frameworks and dogma created by adults."

Dream it - live it - thank you long tail!

2009-11-10T18:15:00.021-05:00

I 100% believe the long tail in our society is thriving, kicking (wagging), and growing by leaps and bounds. Here's an example. I've always been interested in marketing, psychology, and technology topics. Just as recent as 1 or 2! years ago, I remember researching the bejeebers out of google, trying to find the latest books, articles, and speakers on these passion areas of mine. When I found books that crossed over between any of these disciplines, or had awesome ideas in their own right, this usually resulted in a little firecracker of crazy excitement - and ended with me furiously looking through the article or book for quick gratification, and then immediately printing out the goodness (or searching for it on Amazon.com/calling Barnes and Noble down the street).

When I first started using Twitter about 10 months ago, this may have been the coolest factor I immediately noticed. I could search on keywords I was passionate about and find more articles in 90 seconds than I could previously find in 90 minutes. And more often than not, I didn't even have to do a Twitter search because the people I followed had the same kind of interests as I did, and thoughtfully pooled their creativity into a constant stream for my pluckings. Gone were the days of Google as my sole resource. I now had passion-sharers to rely on!

And with the Twitter pluckings, the 1st degree of people that is, came the 2nd degree. These are the people I discovered from the first layer. Next came the 3rd and the 4th and with this wasn't limited to just Twitter profiles but links to personal blogs and in turn further extensions of shared-passion-goodness. As my pool for fishing grew infinitely bigger, and more and more people started revealing their true interest areas, I started noticing a manic level of similarities I have with people I most likely never have crossed paths with. All this shared inspiration and possibility for input and discussion would have otherwise gone to waste (and of course I am aware I am still just scratching the surface here).

"Know thyself."

What is coolest to me about these niches along the long tail is that the people who do know themselves, and are acting on it and going for it and living it - are finding it radically easier to connect with other like-minded people, and therefore can actually succeed at doing what is truly them. Take the blog OhSheGlows as an example. Angela from Ontario set out to live her dreams and open a vegan bakery after several stifling years in academia. She blogs each day and receives floods of comments on each of her posts. People reach out to her to tell her how her leap of faith into what she truly likes to do inspires them in their own quest to find their own path. As a result, her bakery is growing, and she is happy doing it. Before blogging and distribution channels like Twitter became a part of our routine, garnering a following from all over the world would have been considerably more difficult. She has the passion. Others have like-minded passion. The newly opened internet of publishing makes it easier to connect and make her dream a reality.

Same principle with any start-up. Rent the Runway just opened its doors this past Monday. It's like a "netflix for haute couture" - with the goal of making it possible to rent runway quality dresses for a few days at 10% of the cost of the actual dress. Sisterhood of the travelling dresses anyone? Without social media channels and niche groups popping up and informing each other of these innovations, small businesses and individuals consulting on their own or starting their own deal would have a much harder time spreading the word.

The long tail is growing. And it's giving people the opportunity to take what is truly exhilarating to them and run with it and find it in others, and help them go in the direction of their dreams.

"Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them." --John Updike

Photo attributed to futureancient

Create an "Addictive User Experience"

2009-11-08T20:21:00.125-05:00

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what makes some social networking, or web 2.0 applications so pervasive resulting in the "tectonic shift" we are undergoing. The applications we are talking about here are ones that you get a craving to check in with - and see what has happened in the last couple of days, hours, or sometimes, minutes. I hear often that these sites are not about the technology, but rather about something more underlying that shapes our relationship with them. Communication? Humans are innately wired to want and need to communicate. Community building? We want to affiliate ourselves with certain groups, causes; some wanting to lead, and some wanting to follow. In both of these cases, any innovation that makes these basic tendencies easier to do will most likely be game changers.

When I consider sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and consider what qualities these sites have that result in enough energy to shift the current placement of our (tectonic) plates, and push us into a new technological era, it becomes apparent that regardless of whether our need is to Communicate, or Community build, what really results in this kind of motion and transformation, is that these sites are tapping into some of our pretty basic and core needs, and when given the opportunity, we are naturally energized to act upon them.

This past Friday, I was re-introduced to this concept I've been mulling over from a new angle. I attended Maryland's Smith School of Business 10th Annual CIO Forum. A panel was held called "Business Models and Sector Transformation." Of the speakers, Premal Shah, President of an organization called Kiva.org, a non-profit with the mission to "connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty" spoke about when creating a site with the goal of making a big splash, concentrate on creating an "addictive user experience."

"Addictive user experience."

When Premal put this phrase out there, my somewhat amorphous ponderings of what makes people come back to certain sites day after day suddenly took on a more understandable shape. I put myself in the shoes of any random Joe, with access to the internet, a little bit of disposable income, and a penchant for getting that "feel good" vibe when doing something for the sake of "doing good." Now, with my "addictive user experience" spectacles on, I took a look at the site and noticed what attributes it had that could get me hooked.

1. Easy to contribute and low barrier of entry. Signing up is easy, and any lending amount is accepted. A participant doesn't have to be Bill Gates to get involved and make a lasting difference.

2. Specific, recognized cause. A lender can choose a specific cause to get involved with that can be as personal or random as he likes.

3. Gratification through data feedback. Who doesn't love feedback? The site tracks different pieces of data and reports it back to the lender.

4. Opportunity to be recognized. Most of us like to be recognized, especially for something that speaks well for our character. This site features lenders and entrepreneurs on the homepage with the info they choose to present.

5. Authentic, transparent, something to believe in. The site maintains authenticity and credibility and users can continue to participate knowing they are standing on solid ground.

This is all good stuff. Yet what is better, is the fact that there innumerable sites that can benefit from this type of productive platform and Kiva is proof that it can work. Extending this beyond non-profits looking to support a cause - to simply government agencies - we can observe that countless civilians making up the public have opinions, insight, and talent to contribute. And when a site is constructed with the administrator wearing the right spectacles - considering what will energize its audience and get it hooked, data-driven dashboards can symbiotically bring administrator and user together to benefit all.

Where the Ideas Are

2009-10-05T14:54:00.015-04:00

It's the age-old question: how do businesses, individuals, and causes find new ways to solve new or lingering problems? Where do the best ideas emerge from? If things have been done a certain way for as long as can be remembered, how does one think about a problem/opportunity differently?

I discovered some insight into how I would answer this a couple of weeks ago, pretty much by accident.

Long story short, I was out for a run. Running is something I've done consistently since I was in grammar school. I had my routes around Boston, Carlisle, and Concord where I grew up, and free flowing pensiveness was the norm. Then I moved to DC. And joined a running group. And started making friends. My freely flowing conscious turned into chatty targeted questions and any real pensiveness went out the window.

I've been doing the running group thing for three solid years. Running solo turned into a true rareity.

Here is how my discovery came to be.

A few weeks ago, I went out for a run (solo). I moved to a new neighborhood and had consulted enough Google maps to get a general sense of where homebase was, and what routes were runnable. I wrote down a few directions on a piece of paper, just in case, and went on my merry way.

About 25% of the way through my run, I started to notice something that I hadn't experienced in a while, making it more apparent. As I focused on a steady stream of cars, glanced at the grass, turned a corner and darted around a couple pushing a baby in a stroller, I started answering questions to current problems and coming up with new ideas. Luckily, I ran by a condo complex with a mailbox full of marketing materials. I looked inside and saw a pen. I jotted down some of my ideas.

Energized by the experience, the next day I set out for the treadmill. I brought a pen and paper. I picked a pace and started thinking.

After about 12 minutes of looking at the wall right in front of me, I realized my experience was not the same. The running was good, but my idea flow was not. At that point I decided pensiveness was to be preserved for the outside.

And so I introduce my accidental discovery of where the ideas are.

I had forgotten about this account until recently when I stumbled upon a new book by Jerry de Jaager and Jim Ericson called See New Now. Similar to how storytelling can help leaders lead, this book presents 24 examples of how to see the world through different lenses. It takes inspiration from observing caterpillars and from this taking hints on how "understanding the true experience of transformation is vital for succeeding at deep change." It looks at the great high-wire artist Karl Wallenda and considers how he "fell to his death because he wouldn’t let go of his balance pole" and what companies and individuals can learn from this ("sometimes needing to let go of their most cherished practices and beliefs").

When I consider my running discovery, it is clear to me why when outside, the ideas flowed, and when stuck inside looking at the clock ticking on the wall in front of me - I came up short. When outside, my thoughts were juxtaposed next to grass, traffic, stop signs; and when inside, slim to nothing.

I highly recommend this read. When considering your most complex problems or when seeking to come up with a way to try something new - look to the world around you for inspiration. But don't just look in the obvious places and don't believe just because something has been done a certain way for a long time that it is the best way of doing it. We have many years of history that can aid us in sorting out problems and sometimes the answers can be found in the most random, and basic places.

Of course this book doesn't come with curiousity included. That part is up to you.

"To do things differently, we must learn to see things differently. Seeing differently means learning to question the conceptual lenses through which we view and frame the world, our businesses, our core competencies, our competitive advantage, and our business models. It means finding new eyeglasses that will enable us to see strategies and structures taking shape, even if we feel we are on the edge of chaos..." John Seely Brown

Eureka? Just do it.

2009-10-02T21:51:00.012-04:00

I just read Rands in Repose's blogpost Hurry. It's an eloquent call-to-action (or maybe call-to-courage) reminding us all that when it comes to our own eureka moments, we can't wait.

It's 8:45 am. You have an idea. You know it's great because you get that slightly exhilarated feeling. First step? Due diligence. You Google it. Anything else out there just like in the marketplace living, breathing, and operating? No. Cool. You have time. You need to think it through, after all, and ping it off your boss, co-worker; fantasy football friends. Your phone rings and your email bleeps and all of sudden it's 3:30 next Wednesday. And along the way, you get validation, do more research; you wait for the the perfect time.

Except...

There is no perfect time. And like Rands says, "Do the math. We are all staring at the same set of data. Yes, there is a lot of data and there is a very low probability that you’re able to surf it all, but here’s the rub: There’s a lot of us. In fact, there’s a shitload of us, and when you combine all of us with the equally huge amount of data, you understand that when I arrive at work and google my great ideas, I’m no longer surprised when my precisely designed drive-to-work business model is already in play."

We've all read the studies on the power of "going with your gut" (Malcom Gladwell's Blink is a pretty obvious example of this). When you have an idea and your intuition hints (or screams) - that it could actually work, it is often because you care about the topic surrounding it. By being naturally tuned into a certain topic or problem, you have been collecting data along. You know more than you think. What are you waiting for?

Sure. Of course. We all know the answer before you say it. As Rands says -"comfort" because "you've got a mortgage and 1.5 kids" or "Do just enough. Don't rock the boat. Make yourself indispensable without being noticeable" or my favorite: "Maybe you're waiting for validation. You're waiting for that someone you respect to say, 'yes, you bright person, you should do that thing.' It was your parents when you were a kid and then it was your first boss, but now it simply needs to be you."

We have the internet and we have way more access to information than ever before and in turn every possibility to start something - a new product, a new cause, a new tribe.

Of course, not all ideas first to market are successful (Friendster), and not all that wait fail (Facebook). Some pop up later and take best practices from what already exists and improve concept #1. However, the marketplace is competitive and sometimes 2nd place is the first loser.

When you get an idea, don't wait. Don't wait because you are afraid you will fail (you very well might as Derek Sivers reminds us) because if you don't ever try you'll never know. Consider, as Adrian Slywotzky points out in his book The Upside that Toyata might have never developed the Prius if it took its risk-assessment tools to heart - calculating that the car had only a 5% chance of success.

And above all, don't wait because you are afraid you will succeed, or because things are good enough as they as are. BE the one to start your thing. The world will thank you.

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"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us...Your playing small does not serve the world...As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-Marianne Williamson

Lesson to be Learned - How are you Really Perceived?

2009-09-01T08:59:00.019-04:00

Last night, while sitting on my rooftop, I noticed two things: first, it was getting too dark to read the book in my hand; second, the setting sun was a sight that could rival an impressionist painting. "Must capture," I thought, as I ran downstairs to get my camera.

When I returned to the rooftop and found the best angle to capture the sun, four people stood nearby. I positioned my camera and snapped a few pictures, growing more giddy with nature's little gift as the elongating pink sky intensified, blending yellow into orange into purple.

Suddenly, one of the women in the pack of four noticed my activity and said to her friend nonchalantly, "pretty sky."

What happened next makes me laugh and squirm - the disjoint between intent of perception versus what is actually perceived.

"Well," said the other woman in the pack, standing up straight and looking in my direction, cocking her head to the side with an air of self-importance: "I just got back from Brazil. I saw the sun set every night there."

Now let me comment on the funny connection I made.

Right before I sprinted downstairs to get my camera, the book I had in my hands was the updated version of Groundswell written by Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li of Forrester Research. If you haven't read it - it takes a look at how and why marketers are increasingly focusing their time and budgets on social media technologies. And what is so ironic is that the section I had just finished talked about how a company's brand is what its consumers say it is, or quite simply, how it is perceived.

The example given was of a cancer research center called M.D. Anderson that "prides itself on its reputation. If a cancer can can be treated, M.D. Anderson can treat it." Enter next a real-life customer, Lynn Perry, who needs the treatment but has a bad experience with the facility. Each time he goes in, he has to wait for hours. While the center thinks that it is best in class, the reality is Perry just thinks of the M.D. Anderson brand as making him wait (the center's marketing team later worked to change this perception).

Or think about Alaska Airlines, who in the late nineties advertised themselves as the "last great airline" - a perception perhaps not exactly shared by travelers.

"What do your customers think your brand is about?"

Tying this question back to the rooftop Brazil-goer, I am intrigued. This woman made this claim with me in earshot, tossing around her recent experience with myriad perfect sunsets - such that she didn't need to stay to enjoy the one on our rooftop. Who was she impressing?

Yet while M.D. Anderson thought its brand maintained a pristine reputation ringing in 4 stars - Perry's actual perception was of a painful experience. And while the rooftop debutant may have thought she sounded elite, to a listening ear she just sounded pretentious.

If she were a brand, with no real information on how she was externally viewed, she would probably be surprised to hear the reality.

And too bad she didn't stick around to enjoy the sunset. It really was a nice one.

Want to Lead? Try Telling a Story

2009-08-23T20:26:00.002-04:00

As a wee one, sometimes I would lie in bed and keep myself awake thinking of scenarios I didn't have the answers to, trying to wrap my mind around some concept that was pretty grandiose and pretty difficult to make any real sense of. Like, "what if there was no earth and no planets and no stars and no moon or sun - what would space look like? Just black that goes on forever?" Interestingly, I didn't end up working for NASA...

I guess I haven't stopped this quest to philosophize the amorphous because lately, I've been trying to wrap my head around how the government, the behemoth that it is, communicates change within and to the public and motivates groups or even the masses to take part. In essence, how do leaders within the government or any organization effectively lead?

Along the way of this genre of pondering, I came across this HBR article by Stew Friedman, Professor of Management at Wharton - "How a 2-minute Story Helps you Lead." At large, it discusses how "leaders gain trust and teach people what's important to them by telling stories." It explains that a good leadership story has the "power to engage hearts and minds" and has these 6 essential elements.

1. Draws on your real past and lessons you've learned from it.
2. Resonates emotionally with your audience because it's relevant to them.
3. Inspires your audience because it's fueled by your passion.
4. Shows the struggle between your goal and the obstacles you faced in pursuing it.
5. Illustrates with a vivid example.
6. Teaches an important lesson.

This article reminded me of a book I read a few years ago called "Squirrel, Inc" by Stephen Denning. Maybe akin to delivering a message through the likes of Fraz Kafka's dung beetle in Metamorphosis or George Orwell's pigs, the book is a look at leadership through storytelling. In short, a bunch of squirrels work for a mythical company (no surprise there hopefully) that provides nut burying services. Squirrel, Inc. is having problems because humans are digging up their nuts and more than 50% are lost. The company wants to change its vision to a nut storing business but this has to be communicated within and this poses problems. The book outlines how the squirrels "learn the fine art of change through storytelling in their quest to overcome obstacles, generate enthusiasm, and team-work, share knowledge, and ultimately lead their company into a new era of success and significance."

This idea of leading through storytelling seems to have a compelling truth to it. In our "breakneck speed" society today, "attention is one of the most valuable modern resources." Going back to my childhood tendencies to wrap my mind around amorphous concepts, how do leaders, as Stephen Denning puts it: Persuade people to change? Get people working together? Share knowledge? Tame the grapevine? Communicate who they are? Transit values? Lead people into the future?

Maybe storytelling, and to tailor to our twittering and jittering society today, storytelling in 2-minutes - is something worth trying...

"Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories." Roger C. Shank, cognitive scientist

Nerdism Gone Wild

2009-08-13T17:17:00.000-04:00

This morning I read a recent blog post by Casey Coleman, CIO of GSA, called "Innovation Happens." She poses the questions: Have you ever wondered how and when innovation happens? Can managers demand it? Can we put it in our project plans? Can we just re-prioritize it when we get too busy? Is innovation, much like creativity, neither intentional or something we can turn on and off? Does it just happen?

In her blog she references the classic "Google way" in which engineers are granted "20-percent time" to work on projects related to the company but of personal interest. As she notes: "20 percent time is so successful that about half of Google's new product launches originate from what engineers create during their 20-percent time" including Gmail and Google News.

While 20-percent time works for Google, what factors make it a success? Google naturally attracts motivated, curious people and has an open working environment with a substantial infrastructure with technical support - is this type of general culture/environment a prerequisite for success to the degree they have experienced? Certainly, if you are working with a very talented individual and give them some open time to "do their thing" you might get a product of genius - but is this entirely an exception and not any rule that can be replicated to some degree outside of a place like Google?

How about within the government? If Steve Ressler can create Govloop using a Ning platform in his spare time, what would happen if this was implemented even on a small level within agency offices? Does it have to happen after hours? Is it already happening (during the day in an organized way)?

Perhaps this is best answered in Casey Coleman's blog closing: "there's solid evidence that innovation happens when employees have time and opportunity to investigate projects beyond their core duties. That does not mean that managers have lost control, or that employees are not working on behalf of the organization. Not all organizations recognize 20 percent time in their ops plan, but all organizations can create an environment that encourages how and when innovation happens."

Starbucks: Improved Food and Nighttime Coffeehouses

2009-07-22T19:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Starbucks gave away free pastries with the purchase of coffee - - if you stopped by from 5:30am - 10:30am and enjoyed this free goodness, wOOt! - if not, next time. The free pastry effort was run in accordance with their "real food, simply delicious" campaign that claims "because we serve the best coffee in the world, we're raising the bar on our food" or so "our coffee cake can sit next to our coffee with pride."

Why does this campaign work?

Food previously = OK. Now, better?

Historically, Starbuck's food has been average to poor in taste and nutritional quality, and certainly for its price. However, often it is purchased out of convenience (you are buying coffee and you are hungry). Yet this type of impulse (or desperate buy) may have been more likely a year ago. Because the economy stinks, and many are saving their pennies, perhaps some are turning their hungry stomachs away from the glass cases and settling for less (food). With this campaign of improved food quality, this self-denial may be out ruled by the dual working forces of a grumbling stomach and a rationalizing mind, some now telling themselves they are getting better quality food for their hard earned dollars and before you know it, voila! a blueberry scone may be on the receipt.

Coffee cake wants to be in the cool club with the coffee!

Starbucks signaling that they are improving the quality of their food to be on par with the quality of their coffee draws attention and reinforces the quality of their...wait for it...coffee - making it more or less the standard to be. In addition, Starbucks admitting that they are aware their food items are less than good calls attention to a weakness, and recognizes that it could be better. This admittance of their flaws in a way humanizes their historically "we do no wrong" corporateness, and in turn potentially makes them more likable. They even go as so far as to openly admit they are listening to their customers and are recognizing and delivering what they want to hear: “it’s great that an industry leader like Starbucks is listening to customers and providing healthier options, while also being transparent about the ingredients in its more indulgent offerings. People want food that tastes delicious, but the definition of ‘healthy snacking’ is changing. People are asking what goes into their food, not just whether it is low-fat or low calorie,” says Keith Ayoob, Ed. D., R.D. at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Taking the "I'm not perfect and want to be better for you" corporate mentality does go a long way. If, of course, it is believed to be true and genuinely benefit the consumer.

What else has Starbucks been up to lately? As this Advertising Age article describes, Starbucks is trying to go back to its roots with a cafe concept, an "inspired by Starbucks coffeehouse" serving alcohol, new food choices, and live entertainment. "Evening revelers can find beer, wine, new food choices, the occasional film screening and a variety of live entertainment, including music, acting and poetry reading."

Here's why I think this could work on a small "test" scale but not across the board...

When Disposable income is down, Disposable income really is down.

Nationwide unemployment rates are high (9.7%). The Starbucks following itself has slowed due to saving pennies so launching a nighttime version of Starbucks with most likely the same expensive stigma doesn't make sense. While many studies have shown that in a recession people like to reward themselves with small luxuries (quality chocolate, movies, even giant Cheetoes), I doubt this should be weighed on too heavily. At the end of the day, people will make choices for their small luxuries and not indulge in everything.

Who is Starbucks aiming these nighttime coffeehouses at? They already have a loyal morning following...

For many Starbucks customers, it is a reliable, friendly place to get coffee on a regular basis. You know the quality you are getting so creativity is not required. Starbucks has noticed that its foot traffic in the evening is considerably slower than the morning or afternoon and in turn is trying to change this with more of a nighttime atmosphere. In the morning and afternoon reliability is usually important because you want a good place to pick something up quickly, or a place to get work done, or meet a potential new employee or a friend, all the while knowing what your experience will be. In the evenings, however, people tend to be more creative, and want to try new things. Getting a regular following who will be willing to wind down every night over a Starbucks glass of wine or beer will probably be more difficult than a crowd who just wants to wind up in the morning without too much thought.

So while Starbucks does have "a core group of consumers for whom the brand is central in their lives" with the budget for it everyday, who else is Starbucks aiming this nighttime coffeehouse at?

As noted in the article, Scott Bedbury, founder of Brandstream and former Starbucks marketing chief, noted that one of the primary benefits of such a concept is maximizing profitability per square foot. Starbucks has been known for its real-estate savvy since day one, but locations generally go dormant after dark. Adding an evening occasion is likely to boost profitability for appropriate locations, particularly if they serve alcohol. He said the concept could be Starbucks' next Frappuccino. Yet what is interesting is that while the Frappuccino opened up a whole new clientele for Starbucks - non coffee drinking adults, adults with a particular sweet tooth, kids, summer travelers, international lovers of the "cool American way" - I am not sure I see the parallel with an alcohol serving nighttime establishment. Serving beer and wine is not innovative in the same way a Frappuccino is.

At the end of the day, if Starbucks is trying to test out a new concept with a small batch of stores - this actually may be a good idea. Most companies try new things all the time to stay cutting edge. And if they can expand themselves and bring in more revenue without a huge amount of output, also, a very smart decision. But if they are trying to do more, and implement this across the board, I doubt the forces will be with them.

Passion Required

2009-07-21T19:05:00.000-04:00

Some of the simplest things in life provide the greatest, most effortless happiness. I absolutely could not resist posting this video, appropriately called Where the Hell is Matt, which, created back in 2008 has already had 22+ million views. So maybe I am late to the party, but for all who haven't seen it yet, all that is required is to turn up your volume (what the heck, as high as it goes) and a little passion.

Decline of Women in Technology, but Hope Shines Through

2009-06-12T18:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I attended the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Women in Technology conference at the Ronald Reagan Building. The morning was kicked off with a keynote by Rebecca Zimmerman, Vice President of Strategic Solutions, @Mind Over Machines. Ms. Zimmerman started off the conversation with the stark reality that there has been an alarming decline in women in technology - both in graduating classes of computer science majors as well as women leaving the IT field.

Hearing these facts made me shift uncomfortably in my chair. I knew the statistics for women in technology were pretty dim. And I have known this for some time (I particularly recall a week long program that was run back in 1996 through the Whitehead Institute at MIT called "Women in Technology" to encourage females in high school with great aptitude to pursue their dreams). But hearing this again, at a Women in Technology conference reminded me that the macro trends are disappointing and seem to be getting only worse.

Luckily this dismal reality was quickly revived with the introduction of two of Washington's most influential leaders in technology, media and government, Katharine Weymouth, CEO of Washington Post Media, and Casey Coleman, CIO of GSA. Katharine discussed the Washington Post and the changes and benefits for the internet age and Casey discussed the rapid transformation of tools to create more efficiency and energy savings within government such as cloud computing (I was shocked to learn that data centers in the U.S. account for 1-2% of our energy consumed).

So yes, while statistically there is a shortage of women leaders in technology, the ones who are in action are doing great things and carry a lot of influence and weight on behalf of others. Casey Coleman and Linda Cureton, CIO of NASA Goddard, for example both regularly share their insights on their blogs, Around the Corner and NASA blogs, respectively.

And if you look hard, there are many more women making great strides in technology. Just as a partial list, consider the following article published in O'Reilly Media.

This conference had a great start. Aside from the outstanding presentations by women who stand as excellent role models, there was an undeniable buzz in the air of women who had just had a "fire lit under their seat." I left feeling extremely optimistic about the passion this group of women has to do great things in formerly more of a man's world and with our current female leaders, we're on the right track. Check out this article on the Most Influential Women in Technology run by Fast Company, if this isn't inspiring, you might have to check if you have a pulse...

Ask and You May Receive

2009-06-09T17:17:00.000-04:00

Recently, I learned about Mike Honda, Congressman, 15th District California and his initiative to "crowdsource" the redesign of his website. As he explains it himself, "the final design will be chosen based on constituent input, design functionality, usability, and other criteria. I believe that this crowd-sourcing initiative will usher in a new era of government transparency."

This stirred my curiosity as to what design/features the crowd will choose for the winning website and my guessing led me look at my bookmarked list of some of my favorite current government websites whitehouse.gov, utah.gov, army.mil, epa.gov, dtv.gov just to name a few! Take a look and see if you agree.

When I click through this list, I notice that the largest differentiating factor these websites have that others may not at this point is their interactive or "stay connected" element - access to blogs, feedback, flickr, twitter capabilities (even aggregated feeds!), facebook, youtube, subscribe feeds, vimeo, itunes - you name it.

When I consider the reality of these websites having these interactive elements and what this means, I see that in a way, all of these newly created websites were crowdsourced. The government noticed how and where the public was conversing and delivered on these platforms - essentially - they gave us what we voted into popularity by sheer usage.

In this memo Obama issued, he said government should be more transparent, participatory and collaborative. Websites like the ones I mentioned above demonstrate that if you ask (via usage), you may receive. At least it seems so.

"You are Brilliant, and the World is Hiring" - Paul Hawken

2009-06-08T18:01:00.001-04:00

As a lover of well-constructed thought, words, and ultimately hope, this is one of the most inspiring commencement speeches I have ever come across.

From the overall theme - YOU ARE BRILLIANT AND THE WORLD IS HIRING - to the concluding paragraph, "the most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic, not the dreamer. Hopefulness only makes sense when it doesn’t make sense to be hopeful. This is your century. Take it and run as if your life depends on it” - I absolutely couldn't resist sharing it.

No concrete solutions or answers here - but maybe instead a big reset on the "perspective" button?

Steve Prefontaine Would be Proud

2009-06-04T18:15:00.000-04:00

When there is a need and a leader steps up, good things happen. Such was the case in July of 2006 when Richard Amernick joined a meetup running group and heard that it either needed a new leader or it might go to the ducks. And so the DC Capital Striders came to life.

Now while there is strength in numbers (the group is currently at 1300+ active members), this wasn't always the case with the Striders. In the beginning, through the meetup site, Richard scheduled runs downtown at the Smithsonian metro-stop. Runners of all endurance levels, paces, and strides were encouraged to meet Thursday nights @6:30 sharp for a 4-5 mile run that started on the mall, and took several routes. The Thursday night runs promised to provide good company, sites of the monuments, and some calorie burning activity. And the group grew.

As months went by, Richard started getting requests from current and prospect members to schedule more runs. A Monday night Smithsonian run was added to the calendar and soon "Monday became the new Thursday." Some members decided to run marathons and long runs on Sundays were added to the calendar, often 20+ miles. As more members started to come out, laces tied and carbohydrates ready to be burned, members realized they had more in common than just their Asics. And with this, other events were added to the Capital Striders calendar. In the summer months, tubing outings were planned, pizza dinners were had, and volleyball games were spiked. In the winter, runners made trips to watch the Capitals play at the Verizon center, and touch football games went down, players adorned in sweatshirts and gloves, of course.

500 members, 1000 members... When the number of members began to hit close to 1200 members, Richard realized the group had potential outside of just morning, afternoon and nightly runs and outings. He realized that for all the group gave the runners, there was an opportunity to give back. And so the idea of creating a non-profit, 501(c) was conceived. Incorporating the group of runners would allow the group to work with corporations, donating money to worthy causes. This became a reality on May 15. Shortly thereafter, the Capital Striders had its inaugural 8k race in Georgetown, Washington DC. The race drew over 125 runners, including Michael Wardian, world renowned long-distance runner from Arlington, VA.

Capital Striders schedules fun, casual weekly runs all over the DC Metropolitan area for runners of all endurance levels. Distance runs are scheduled for those training for half, full and ultra marathons. And plans are already in place for the second Capital Striders race, now to be a regular opportunity for all those looking to work on their PR and compete with their friends (and maybe foes too).

In addition to the running, Capital Striders provides non-running related events for members to get to know each other through a variety of activities as well as opportunities for those interested to volunteer at sanctioned races in the area/community.

The Capital Striders Running Group, LLC is a true example of a symbiotic relationship. Runners can meet new friends - "the fastest 200 friends you'll ever make" as said by a long time Strider, get/stay in shape, give back to the community and have something to be proud of. Capital Striders members also get discounts at local running stores and other athletic related businesses.

If you are a crazy runner like the rest of us (or crazy runner wannabe) stop by for a meetup with the Capital Striders. You'll most likely go home with more than just a good workout.

Is "Govtube" in Our Future?

2009-06-03T14:55:00.000-04:00

In February of 2005, a couple of guys went to a dinner party and shot some videos. After the party they wanted to share the videos and realized there wasn't an easy way to do this (at least this is how the story was said to have started). They guys saw a need and Youtube was founded. The first video that was shot and uploaded to the site was called Me at the zoo.

Now, Youtube is the 3rd most popular website on the internet.

Pretty significant, wouldn't you say?

In terms of social media sharing/transparency within the government, lately I've been thinking about the use of video. Recently I heard Jay Berkowitz, author of 10 Golden Rules, speak and he confirmed my thinking that despite the benefits video can offer in educating an audience or promoting a product, it is the most underutilized channel for information sharing (& not just within the government).

Lately, however, I've been hearing more and more buzz around using video in the government. In fact, today I got an email from Government Computer News for a webinar tomorrow @2pm EDT called "Top 5 Strategies for Using Online Video." The webinar outlines participants will learn:

* 5 Strategies that will help you to make the most of having video on your website
* Real-world examples of how some Government Agencies are already using video on their website both internally
and externally
* The value of viral sharing - enable your constituents to help spread the word and educate the community
* Building a community with online video - Expand your audience for meetings, speeches and announcements
* Educating and informing the community of new programs or laws with online video
* How you can add video to your website quickly and easily

I'm rather curious why video is so underutilized. We blog, twitter, email, photograph...but clearly not as many of us shoot video. Like any public speaker knows, speaking in front of an audience is much more difficult than it looks. Is this one of the roadblocks? Is video simply a format many of us are not accustomed to? Are we concerned about privacy issues? Do we feel for a video to be successful it has to be very well scripted or humorous?

And as the title of my post suggests, I am most interested in finding out if you think there is a real opportunity for video in government? Is Govtube in our future? Do you already use video in your agency or company?

Definitely Delicious

2009-05-26T10:22:00.000-04:00

This weekend I indulged in my current read - Setting the Table - The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business. The author, Danny Meyer is the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, or differently put, the brain child of several outstanding restaurants in NYC, Grammery Tavern, Union Square Cafe, Eleven Madison Park just to name a few.

As I sat on my couch reading, much of his verbiage was as delicious as reading Julia Child's My Life in France, or Jacques Pépin's The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen. His description of finocchiona (fennel-flecked salami), eggs daffodil, or spaghetti alla puttanesca is likely to stoke even the most picky of appetites, but for me, there is an element of his book even more delicious than this.

For me, the biggest quintessential yum factor is his observant take on human behavior and what he calls the "51 percent solution" - an individual comprising emotional hospitality. Danny Meyer uses this mindframe when hiring his employees knowing that in hospitality and the restaurant business, his people are his best differentiating factor from other establishments.

5 Core Emotional Skills -> Emotional Hospitality

1. Optimistic warmth (genuine kindness, thoughtfulness, and a sense that the glass is always at least half full)
2. Intelligence (not just "smarts" but rather an insatiable curiosity for learning for the sake of learning)
3. Work ethic (a natural tendency to do something as well as it can possibly be done)
4. Empathy (an awareness of, care for, and connection to how others feel and how your actions make others feel)
5. Self-awareness and integrity (an understanding of what makes you tick and a natural inclination to be accountable for doing the right thing with honesty and superb judgement)

These qualities can aid in the make or break of a fine dining establishment. But Danny Meyer surely doesn't limit the success of this type of individual to the confines of merely "good eats."

(picture compliments of Meghan Petersen, WSJ)

Gov 2.0 and Un-marketing - How Far Can it Go?

2009-05-16T12:42:00.000-04:00

On the topic of Gov 2.0 and un-marketing, a curious friend of mine, who works within DHS' Customs and Border Control, brings to light some good questions. If Gov 2.0 is to be an example of un-marketing, or even a leader in un-marketing, while solid examples exist already, how much can these examples scale up?

For a company or any entity to demonstrate more of an un-marketing approach, the company/entity has to first listen, engage, and not simply serve up and out. Yet, for this to happen, there first has to be "chatter" around the company/entity - something to be listened to!

With this, I raise two questions/comments.

First, considering the complexity of the entity, how easily do you get the "big picture" via this chatter, and how much chatter does it take to provide helpful insights to he who is listening (the goal of the un-marketing)?

Consider for a moment, how this "chatter" relates to a company with a finite product. Take Nike for example. Nike sells various athletic apparel and sports equipment. While these goods are significant, they are ultimately finite. They serve a purpose and provide the necessary functions to the owner. Not downplaying the significance of a running shoe, for example, it is a fairly straightforward offering and generally elicits fairly straightforward feedback.

To the contrary, the Government is an animal with hundreds of moving parts, the sum of which are extremely complex. In order for the Government to properly "listen" it needs to a) have chatterers with a means to be heard (social media for example) and b) have enough chatterers on a certain subject to get to the "big picture."

Of course, most Americans have some level of opinion on their views of the Government, but historically, there wasn't much of a platform for this openness to occur. In order for the chattering and listening to occur, can the adoption rate get to a level where the un-marketing can result in improved Government offerings and functionality? Hopefully the goal of transparency?

Something I'll be pondering...

And thanks to my friend for his probing questions.

Gov 2.0 - An Example of Un-marketing?

2009-05-15T12:08:00.000-04:00

Gov 2.0 an example of Un-Marketing?

First, let me recap the notion of un-marketing as it pertains to the commercial marketplace. Historically, corporate marketing has been all about managing the communication of a product or service and dishing it up to an audience that is theoretically listening. Rather than speaking openly, listening to the customer's point of view, or participating in a community, historical marketing aims to carve out a subsection of individuals who are most likely to take to a product or service and become customers. After sufficient data is gathered on customer demographics, consumer behavior, etc, the product/services are positioned and the campaign is launched. Engagement is entertained when the time is right for the company, all with a plan. So, in a sense, everything is controlled and delivered from the "ivory towers." Website content and promotional materials often speak with a purely corporate aura and a nose, eyes, mouth and emotional quotient are no where in sight.

The interesting thing is that a human relationship with a company (as human as a company can be) is often what consumers are yearning for, and is often what turns a consumer into a brand evangelist. If a company only allows for engagement and openness at scheduled times, with a strategy in place, consumers become skeptical. And as Elvis said "we can't go on together with suspicious minds."

Un-marketing on the other hand, is the mind frame of starting with the customer first, and working back towards your product/service. Rather than simply "launching" a product with the "take it or leave it" mentality un-marketing
looks more like this:

- Participate in your community
- Listen to the conversations happening outside of your boardroom (and REALLY listen)
- Allow things to be open and happen as they do, as they will
- Don't try to control everything - relax your grip...

Now, take the Government. The Government, I will add, is an interesting species because not only is it the largest customer in the world, it is also its own entity with different functioning divisions, all marketing themselves. The Government plays the role of customer and provider all the time. Yet consider its past reputation of being vacuum sealed. Information is disseminated and ideas are exchanged, but in reality, considering things at large, an antonym for "open" would be a better description than a synonym. Thankfully, things are changing. Gov 2.0 is opening up channels for discussion within agencies, on social media sites, with the public. For all the naysayers out there - there are solid examples that are hard to dispute. Just consider the conversations going on via GovLoop everyday, the CDC's use of social media tools to disseminate information about the swine flu and peanut recall crisis and their new media website, the EPA's "Take Five" initiative deployed for Earth Day, NASA's spacebook, and hundreds of agency blogs and twitter sites. Also consider the recently launched White House blog page with a Twitter site, and a Facebook page. The Facebook page now has 201,592 fans and re: the launch of the twitter page, 5 minutes after the page went live, it had 585 followers, and within minutes of refreshing had 731 followers...now it has 97,277 followers.

Many are skeptical in considering this notion of Government opening up and social media tools. Yesterday, Andrew Wilson of Health and Human Services presented a webinar titled: Social Media and the H1N1 Flu Virus: Lessons Learned from the Peanut Recall. At one point he mentioned that recently he attended the SXSW conference and described the surprise many from industry exhibited upon learning about all the social media tools the Government is already using!

When it is all boiled down, un-marketing is about listening to your customers, engaging, allowing things to be more open, and quite simply, interacting as a human. The Government is displaying examples of this and I commend the leaders that have this sense of marketing acumen.

Dont be the Tree that Doesn't Make a Sound

2009-05-11T14:04:00.001-04:00

Un-marketing. What? Yes, un-marketing. Or, for the visual among us, consider Company = A, Consumer = B. Now consider this. Traditional marketing? A -> B.
Hope for an entities' success? B -> A.

Lately I've been doing quite a bit of observation and I am noticing some things "going down." With the opening up of information, there is an ever-increasing shift in power from corporations to consumers. Consumers are gaining an ever-increasing voice, and companies better pay attention.

For pretty much the existence of marketing as we know it, there was a flow in place to move a customer from awareness to adoption. A five-step process, including awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, adoption. The AIETA model. Now, also consider the textbook definition of the marketing process, which includes performing each of the following: situational analysis, marketing strategy, marketing mix decision, and implementation & control. There is something very interesting to all of this which Jason Falls, forward-thinking-marketer, catechizes on so nicely: "do you find it disturbing that the customer isn't mentioned in any of the main tenants of marketing thought? The AIETA flow assumes that consumers are just going to follow along. It lends nothing to their needs, just throws the awareness of the product in their faces. And if 'implementation & control' isn't condescending and presumptuous of a company's target consumer, I don't know what is."

Things are changing. In the past, this method of corporate conjuring and creating, tucked up away until the launch of the product like Santa and his elves working all year in anticipation of Christmas eve doesn't fly anymore. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a little because companies do perform focus groups and surveys, but still, what kind of opinions are they really getting? Consumers are not senseless lemmings. Consumers want to be listened to, engaged, fed (with information) met where they are, and be respected.

Now consider reality as it exists right now. With the help of social media tools and opening up of data, information, conversation, and truths are becoming increasingly more prevalent (I like how Seth Godin discusses the truths point -"multiple channels of information mean that it's almost impossible to live a lie...authentic stories spread and last"). While in the past, a consumers' voice was left to channels such as word of mouth, the suggestion box, and emails to a company, now consumers have a say. And because consumer A + consumer B + consumer C = consumer ZZZ+, consumers ultimately have more than just a say, they ultimately rule the roost.

Now, of course the shift is gradual. We don't have proletariat consumers rising up against bourgeoisie corporations, but rather with the opening up of information, a more natural shift as consumers find more airtime and start conversing. Perhaps the coolest thing with this is that I believe it helps consumers as they begin to have a voice, and I believe it helps the overall marketplace because for the corporations that have a solid product/service, they will be able to get input from the horse's mouth and improve their offerings based on reality vs. theory. This can be hugely opportunistic for businesses that see things in the right light.

How to implement more un-traditional, un-marketing tactics?

*Put on your listening ears! For too long, businesses have pushed products on consumers without consideration of what they want/need/etc. Take a step back and listen to the buzz. The world won’t stop!

*Make it an A+. The best, most, authentic marketing is when your customers see the value/quality your company or product/service provides. If your customers love you because what you provide is quality, they will spread the word authentically and these stories will be recited again and again...

*Participate (and this doesn't mean create everything and try to control everything). Allow things to grow and reinforce the positives of your brand by consistently incorporating positives into the evolution of your offering. As nicely put by Brian Oberkirch "bake your marketing into the experience of the product, not in discussions of it."

Things are changing. And with the right consideration, there is a surplus of opportunity. But adhering unbudgingly to the old ways of thought may result in a company being tuned out, like a tree in the woods that doesn't make a sound when it falls (because no one is around).

"Marketing, even in its newer, social-media enabled forms, is not about tools or technology, but about the way you look at your customers. That regard for your customers has to be in your DNA, such that you face the hard work of getting out in the trenches and embracing the feedback your customers give you to drive your marketing, customer service, and product development."

-Deb Schultz, Social Media Industry Thought Leader

The Self-Made Twitter

2009-05-06T16:07:00.000-04:00

Consider for a moment the self-made man. A man who is given little in terms of concrete opportunities but is introspective about his actions and the paths he chooses to take. He extends himself in ways that germinate results and through positive and negative reinforcement, in turn discovers his own best practices.

I equate Twitter to the self-made man. When Twitter was hatched 3 years ago, like the self-made man, it came into the world without any formal guidance or immediate opportunities. Instead, it was set on its way with the mere question of "what are you doing?" Like the self-made man, Twitter quickly figured out that it would not do particularly well, simply answering the question of "what am I am doing." In other words, Twitter quickly discovered that answering "I am toasting a poptart" wouldn't make the cut. Instead, Twitter evolved with its best practices spurred by its own race for survival of the fittest.

Twitter's platform is nothing more than a couple of rounded edges. Yet because of this, it is constantly churning out do-s and don't-s, chiseling away at its being, defining its features and visualizing its success. Its motivation? Knowing that this is its only hope for success.

A Fruitbasket of Opportunity

2009-05-04T21:53:00.000-04:00

I haven't heard much of anything good in the news lately - the economy #FAIL, swine flu, Apple raising prices on itunes songs. And I won't even start on the weather as of late. Last time I checked my zip code was in Washington DC, not Seattle.

BUT - being a die-hard half-glass full kind of person I'd thought I'd summarize some of the happy realities I am realizing to be increasingly more true despite all of the dismal doom and gloom we read about everyday in the paper (or maybe more realistically on Twitter).

I've always believed that "good luck" is actually more a matter of "good efforts." Yes, it is true that there is an element of random "right place, right time" with good happenings - indeed, you can be sitting on an airplane at the age of 22 and meet the CEO of your dream job who then recruits you after he registers your value-adding insights and hears examples of your indefatigable work ethic - BUT, this can happen easier, faster, and more repeatedly when constant shock waves of effort are put out there (ie; show up more).

So here's the good stuff in the news right now (at least for me). Indisputably, we live in a world that is becoming flatter, faster, and a place where it is easier to become famous (hello blog-o-maniacs). We are connected from morning till night where you can find out in less than 60 seconds the name of your second-grade teacher's chocolate lab and the last article she read 20 minutes ago - even if you haven't heard a peep from her in 20 years. A few years ago, if you met a cool person at an event and didnt get their number or business card, chances are you'd never be able to hunt them down ever again unless you ran in the same social circles. I remember about 7 years ago Boston.com (the online piece of the Boston Globe where I interned) had a service where you could put messages out on a public forum with hopes that the person you wanted to find would stumble upon your message, look you up, and you'd do great things together, like start dating, or entrepreneur a company, or return the hat they dropped on the train. To me, this sounds like stars colliding. Now, all you have to do to find this person is google them, peruse through their web footprint, and friend them on Facebook.

We now live in an age where opportunity is sent to us in a fruit basket every day, every hour - practically every minute if we're willing to take up the offer. The technologies to connect with people, to express opinions, and to "engage" wait patiently at our fingertips - waiting for us to click return. For people who feel stuck - in anything - there are hardly any excuses. "You miss every shot you don't take." But now there are infinite possibilities with a new definition of "infinite." Want to introduce yourself to a colleague you heard speaking at an event but didn't get a chance to introduce yourself to? Find them on LinkedIn! Want to share ideas with a total stranger whose blog you've been reading but otherwise would never have the chance to meet? Hello GovLoop! Want to put an idea out into the twittersphere and get back ideas otherwise nearly impossible to garner? Tweet away!
Essentially, all that is required here is simply the act of doing so. The technologies are already built and are growing by the nanosecond. Caveat - I guess I am on the side that technology actually does "connect" people vs. leaving them holed up in their house, hunched over their computer, losing basic human interaction skills by the minute.

Social media is re-writing the channels for marketing. For the first time, really ever, customers are voluntarily offering up details about their life, passions, and favorite cereals. And likewise, the channels for opportunity are being re-written. We now have the opportunity to uncover more information than ever before, by simply clicking "Search."

It's like a kid coming from a city of pop. 200 with the only ever before exposed brand being Coca-Cola walking into Walmart for the first time. Technology is opening up infinite channels for conversation, creativity, and curiosity.

The real question is - what will we do with all of it?

PS - of course there are some cons to all of this and obviously nothing is perfect - but I'd rather see good ideas spread than swine flu

I'm Full of Appreciation on a Rainy Sunday Evening

2009-05-03T18:32:00.000-04:00

This morning I woke up before the crow crow-ed to drive to Belle Haven Park in Alexandria, VA. Shortly after 5am, I met my fellow DC Capital Striders Running group teammates to aid at the Belle Haven Marathon. We were stationed along the race course armed to hand out water, power-aid, gel energy-packs and the human touch to the bone-weary runners . When I look back on this morning, in the comfort of my warm apartment, two things are explicitly clear - a) how many people exist "out there" with big hearts who want to "do good" simply for the essence of "doing good" and b) how many people are so appreciative in a fundamental "out-of-themselves" way for those that give of themselves. Both a) and b) provide some light on this gloomy evening because both remind me of the intrinsically good nature of the human spirit.

It was the subtle things that I observed that reminded me of the truths above. I remember seeing a man 65+ at mile 23.8 who stopped at the water station and clenched my hand, salt dried on his temples like war paint and said "thank you volunteer - we can not do this without you" - the man had run 23.8 miles with 2.4 to go and found it in his willowy, exhaustion-tipsy body to make this appreciation known!! And I remember a fellow Capital Strider's volunteer who made it his mission for 6 hours in the rain to get a smile on every runner's face - no matter of the exhaustion - or pain they were in.

While there are acts of "good will" everywhere, at every time, in every capacity, it is extremely refreshing to remember that as long as the human-spirit is, gratitude and the will to repay this gratitude never go out of style.

"One can never pay in gratitude: one can only pay "in kind" somewhere else in life." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

An Interview with Meghan Harvey of GovLoop.com

2009-04-29T15:55:00.000-04:00

1. What do you do exactly at Computech?

Aha - - what do I do exactly at Computech…a solid opening question. First, let me give you a little background on what my company does. Computech is an Information Technology consulting firm serving clients in both the federal and commercial markets. Over the last 30 years, we have provided IT services ranging from development of custom software applications to program management oversight. We’ve worked for a pretty diverse batch of clients – spanning from the Department of Energy to Billy Casper, a premier golf Management Company, to the national telecommunications agency of Mexico (Cofetel). Ultimately, we’re in business to solve the IT challenges of our clients. Now, of course, the IT space is competitive. Large business, small business, the list continues. And all of these companies have something to offer. So how does a company communicate its unique capabilities so it’s not lost in the crowd? This is where my position comes in. I’m the firm’s Marketing Manager, so it’s my responsibility to identify our strongest core competencies and build up a springboard – getting us closer to the right opportunities when they arise. To put this in more concrete terms – on a daily basis I manage our web content highlighting our relevant work, collaborate with sales/BD to produce outreach materials, communicate our initiatives and culture with a quarterly newsletter (fondly called CQ), learn about the needs and pain-points of our potential clients and engage with them where they are, interact in the social media-sphere – listening/creating/responding, and voraciously reading as much as I can about happenings in the news and keep an ear on the water cooler. I love what I do. I consider myself very lucky.

2. What's the best part of your job?

Marketing is my forte and technology is in my DNA (I have what you call a “technology family”). My favorite part of my job is that I work for a technology company in an age where the channels of marketing are being re-written at a pace that is only accelerating. While the core values of marketing (the marketing mix, or four Ps for example), hold steady, new innovation gives new flair to marketing principles, forcing marketers to blaze new territory and get out of the well-worn tracks.

3. What's the worst part?

Technological innovators push the envelope. Yet while this group can “lead a horse to water…”
I just wish everyone loved Web 2.0/Gov 2.0 as much as I do.

4. How has being an active member on GovLoop helped you in your job?

To be more in tune with Government issues from the inside out – the challenges, changing climate, etc. While I find it very helpful to attend industry events, read agency strategic plans, the GovLoop community is an exceptionally concentrated group of individuals dedicated to a common mission. And with the real-time, connected-like-never-before aspect, the opportunity for networking, learning, and collaborating is as blue-skies as it gets. I’ve learned a lot from reading blog posts on GovLoop…and met some pretty cool people…

5. A lot of your GovLoop blogs are related to Twitter, what's the best thing you've gotten from your Twitter experience so far?

Discovering new thought leaders or thoughts in general and having the opportunity to “keep the conversation going” long after an event ends. Also, Twitter allows me to find others near and far interested in the same topics as I am – and Twitter is the best online portal I’ve ever seen with regard to putting something out there and starting a conversation - virally.

6. I see you've used the term, technology anthropologist. Describe that.

As with anthropology being the study of human beings – what are our physical traits…how do we behave…social organization and culture?– I see technology anthropology as the study of how technology evolves over time – and what sticks – and what doesn’t and why, etc. I used the term “technology anthropologist” in my blog about Twitter on its 3rd birthday - Twitter Turns Thwee! – an outline of Twitter’s history from birth to now. By studying the development and behavior of Twitter, perhaps some light will be shed on why and how it grows and morphs and interacts with other technologies and why it survives, doesn’t, etc.

7. If you had ended up in any other profession, what would it have been?

English Professor. Or perhaps a Social Psychologist with a keen interest in technology…

8. Where do you see the immediate future of IT and Government going over the next year?

With the Obama Administration pushing the transparency envelope, and increasingly more agencies picking up blogging, Twitter, Facebook – and seeing the value in making data open – I think the Gov 2.0 frontier will continue to gain momentum slowly but surely. Of course Gov 2.0 and security will have to be balanced and the policies drawn up – but as Sonny Bhagowalia, CIO of the U.S. Department of the Interior said last week at a Bethesda AFCEA Chapter Breakfast – the “law of entropy finds a way,” in that “if you’re not going to provide a solution they will…” (I am not sure of his exact wording, but this was the general message conveyed).

9. I always ask this, what book are you reading right now?

Of the pile of books on my floor, Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business – is on top. Written by Danny Meyer, CEO of one of the world's most dynamic restaurant organizations and owner of 11 restaurants (including Gramercy Tavern, my personal favorite), this book is centered on the concept of what he calls “enlightened hospitality.” This is not to be confused with “service” which is “the technical delivery of a product.” He aims to hire people with skills divided 51-49 between emotional hospitality and technical excellence. He describes the "Five A-s" for addressing mistakes: awareness, acknowledge, apologize, act, additional generosity. I find this book thought-provoking, especially in light of the economic down-turn and the increasingly competitive landscape companies are facing. As things shake up and out, it seems logical that the firms that have the highest quality product/service with the best delivery/experience weighted as equally important, will be the ones best positioned to weather the waves.

This notion of being customer-oriented vs. product-oriented reminds me of a timeless article titled "Marketing Myopia" by Theodore Levitt, who was then a lecturer in business administration at the Harvard Business School. In this article Levitt introduces the famous question of “what business are you really in?” Quite famously, he uses the U.S. railroads as an example. He expresses that “the railroads did not stop growing because the need for passenger and freight transportation declined. That grew. The railroads are in trouble today not because that need was filled by others (cars, trucks, airplanes, and even telephones) but because it was not filled by the railroads themselves. They let others take customers away from them because they assumed themselves to be in the railroad business rather than in the transportation business. The reason they defined their industry incorrectly was that they were railroad oriented instead of transportation oriented; they were product oriented instead of customer oriented.” Levitt’s “Marketing Myopia” won the McKinsey Award in 1960.

Good Things Come in Threes

2009-04-01T14:05:00.000-04:00

Good things come in threes. Tic-tac-toe, yada, yada, yada, small, medium, large, blah, blah blah, NBC/CBS/ABC.

Lately I've been thinking about "how best to use Twitter." In considering this, I start to ponder on the basics of "why tweet?" and other slightly existential topics. When I consider this my mind drifts to conjuring up endless possibilities and essentially the absolute abstract. Luckily, good things coming in threes saves me (or brings me back to solid ground).

Consider the framework below (compliments of Ogilvy's 360 Degree Digital Influence group).

What I like most about this framework is the essence of the Follow / Create / Engage. Given this framework, a tweeter can address pretty much any strategy and as long as these basic three elements are paid attention, good results will probably follow. What is interesting is that these three channels through which a tweeter can concentrate his efforts are not too far off from the elements necessary to maintain any strong friendship or relationship with an organization. Hence, while Twitter is incredibly innovative and is proliferating like mosquito larvae in a spring swamp, when considering what the benefits are of twitter, or how best to twitter, or even "why tweet?" the answers are actually quite fundamental.

Birds of a Feather Redefined

2009-03-31T16:36:00.000-04:00

Before social media, when transparency was considerably less in vogue, aquiring new customers and serving the needs of loyal already existing customers was not an easy feat and there certainly were not many options for conquering this feat. In order to aid this process, marketers formulated methods such as segementation, and even sub-segmentation to narrow down their target audiences and best utilize resources. In order to best identify segements within the population, different software tools became imperative so a business was not aiming blind-folded. Software tools identifying different geodemographics became a necessity, clustering people with the same zip code or census blocks into a segment. The premise of this segmentation was that people who live near each other are like "birds of a feather" having similar needs and wants. A marketing campaign was devised, and different flocks were targeted.

Consider the following story. Recently, on Twitter, I tweeted that while each morning I have many choices of shampoo to pick from, I continuously keep coming back to Pert Plus. Within 45 minutes, Pert Plus was following me. Now, consider what this means for Pert Plus.

A) they know that I am a loyal consumer of their product
B) they know I am female
C) they know that I am probably in the age range of 20-40 (from my picture, or elsewhere)
D) they know my name (one name down out of that flock! - - surely an improvement from geodemographics)
D) they know whatever else my bio highlights

...the list keeps going on depending on how much mining and interpretation you can do.

The same goes for Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

I am the Marketing Manager for Computech, an IT firm. While we do not sell a product targeting consumers, knowing our customer is still just as important (whether it is an agency we are contracting with, or a potential new employee that will make us more robust). As the following grows, learning how to engage with the listening ears, asking questions, responding to questions, and in turn redefining/refining a better service, experience, outcome seems to be a social media path worth forging.

Twitter as the Ultimate Focus Group

2009-03-30T22:59:00.000-04:00

Imagine if you will, a gallon of Tropicana orange juice.

Now...what did you imagine? A ripe orange with droplets of water? And a straw?

Most likely is my guess.

As you may know, in January of this year, Tropicana had its run in with the scenario Coke faced back in the '80s when it lauched "New Coke." Coke changed the class recipe and the public was outraged. The new campaign was a major flop, and Coke reverted back to its original recipe - Coke Classic. In this case, with Tropicana, owner PepsiCo rebranded the OJ with new packaging. However, immediately following was a clammoring of consumer distress, sending emails such as “Do any of these package-design people actually shop for orange juice?” the writer of one e-mail message asked rhetorically. “Because I do, and the new cartons stink.” Others described the new packaging as “ugly” or “stupid,” and resembling “a generic bargain brand” or a “store brand.”

When the company originally conducted a focus group to predict the success of the new launch, apparently the group lacked one major critical component for establishing a true reading on the liklihood of success: “what we didn’t get was the passion this very loyal small group of consumers have. That wasn’t something that came out in the research” Neil Campbell, president at Tropicana North America in Chicago, part of PepsiCo Americas Beverages.

Now, here's how Twitter comes in. As I mentioned in an earlier Twitter blog post, one of the best aspects of Twitter is that followers self-select to follow your stream of thoughts. Hence, at least on some marginal level, they care. When a company like PepsiCo rebranded its OJ, there was an outcry. It didn't take into consideration its best customers, and hence, blew it. If instead, PepsiCo had first gauged customer feedback through Twitter, it would have probably learned of this missed mark far earlier in the lifecycle.

Where the Fruit Is

2009-03-27T15:57:00.000-04:00

This morning on the Federal Web 2.0 Virtual Webinar – The Rise of NOAA’s Goverati – different aspects and benefits of social networking were considered. At one point, the notion of “collective output” or “combined input” was mentioned. I did a little research on "collective intelligence" and found some sources on the subject including "The Wisdom of Crowds" which mentions Sir Francis Galton's (half cousin of Darwin) "surprise that the crowd at a county fair accurately guessed the weight of an ox when their individual guesses were averaged (the average was closer to the ox's true butchered weight than the estimates of most crowd members, and also closer than any of the separate estimates made by cattle experts)" (wiki page).

I found this to be particularly interesting in the context of Twitter. Obviously, Twitter as a site is only as rich as the collective output that is poured into it. And I believe it lives up to the adage “you only out what you put in” in the truest sense of the phase. My organization, Computech, started a Twitter site because we found the benefits pretty indisputable – better conversations with others in our niche and the industry as a whole, a way to keep abreast of all of the rapid fire daily news – just to name a few.

But when I think about Twitter being a resource to collectively get a better result, what I am starting to see is while Twitter has capabilities being dreamed up in every possible way – the way that it will offer the greatest contribution – will result from what people do with it above and beyond their tweets. In other words, the organizations - or grass roots initiatives - or even just thought leadership with action that will be spurred from it. In my mind, this is where the fruit is.

Benefits and Challenges Twitter Poses to Brands

2009-03-25T15:45:00.000-04:00

6,000 companies join Twitter every day, so surely someone must see the value. What are some of the benefits Twitter can offer your organization?

A Little Humanizing Goes a Long Way

Huge organizations, public and private, public servants, etc are often viewed as monoliths. While this can be good in that it portrays strength and the “this ship will never sink” attitude (insert reactions here), a little humanizing can go a long way.

Previously, CEOs and directors were protected behind layers of public relations wordsmithing, producing boilerplate content and conversations. The problem with this is because such leaders were far removed from their customers and constituents, they never really heard from the very life blood that kept them alive. And when you don’t hear from your audience, it’s hard to know what is really best for them.

All Ears

We live in an advertising age - - an age where every time we blink, products / services / opinions are flashed before our eyes with the hopes of eliciting a reaction (usually a good one). Considering that we cannot self-select our environment, we see and hear countless unwanted propositions. Twitter is self-selective. Those who are following you opted to, so you are far more likely to have an audience that is actually listening. And with nearly 9.8 million unique visitors in February, that’s a pretty good pool to fish from.

What can you do with this “all ears” audience? The list goes on and on but to name a few…engage a dialog with your customers/constituents, recruit for specific hiring positions, share ideas with people in your industry niche, keep your customers up to date, get feedback on your new initiatives (because again, your audience is far more likely to care), find potential partnerships…it's pretty endless.

So here we have some of the benefits Twitter can bring your organization. But of course it is not all rosy. What are some of the challenges?

One voice

Unlike an individual, an organization is made up of personalities all shapes and sizes. When a company or organization decides to tweet, it is inevitable the question will come up, what should we tweet about? In my experience working for different companies, maintaining a “unified voice” – with the web content, PowerPoint slide decks, letter templates has always been a challenge. While in some cases executive tweeters will be singing out their individual executive melodies, not all companies or agencies will get this level of dedication from the top and often more than one person will want to contribute.

I say pick a strategy and go for it.

Privacy

Clearly, tweeting successfully on Twitter requires a level of common sense and an appropriate filter. If Whole Foods President John Mackey had tweeted "Would Whole Foods buy Wild Oats? Almost surely not at current prices" as he did on a Yahoo! Stock forum post that would have been a good example of what not to say. Other concerns arise with this with regard to employees leaking proprietary information. From this perspective, it is no wonder that, “while the Web was founded on the principle of openness, the most honored virtue among senior executives seems to be control. Most companies have elaborate programs for top-down communication, including newsletters, CEO blogs, Webcasts and broadcast e-mails. Yet few, if any, companies have opened the floodgates to grassroots opinion on critical issues." – Gary Hamel, management guru.

This is obviously a challenge. But it appears many are leaning toward the side of the benefits outweighing the possible negatives.

My Top Ten Reasons Twitter is Taking Off, Tipping, etc

2009-03-24T15:59:00.000-04:00

A member of GovLoop asked me today “why do you think Twitter is taking off?” Here are the ideas that first come to mind.

Speaking on behalf of individuals:

1. I am unique. From the clothes I wear, to the social circles I fit in with, to the company I work for, to the ways I decorate my house, my hobbies, I can imagine most humans seek to manage an identity, knowingly, or not. Set up a twitter account, write a bio, post a few tweets, and voila, we have a sense of who you are.

2. I have a voice and I want to be heard. I don't want to be the tree in the forest falling victim to the old question "if no one is around, does the tree make a sound?" I want my ideas to be heard, my likes, my dislikes, and I want to spread good news, bad news, neutral news, the latest and greatest, or old ideas tested tried and true. And especially when it comes to idea sharing within the government, the melting of the glacier-like lock-down of information (someone used this metaphor at FOSE, sorry I can't remember who said it to properly give you credit) and emergence of transparency, people need and want to be heard. Besides, maybe government wants to be rebranded? "We need to make public service cool again.” -Steve Ressler

…and those inside (and outside) government can do this, one tweet at a time.

3. I am curious. As long as you have a pulse, you probably have a level of curiosity. With over 7 million tweeters, Twitter is a gold mine for emerging ideas, information, and other ways, quite simply, to stimulate our minds.

4. I can find others who I can relate to! I like fly fishing, the State of Utah, and Gov 2.0. I am sure there are tweeters out there with the same smattering of likings.

5. I like competition. My twitter following just tipped over 1,000! Hooray! - I tweeted a pic from a world known event that got my page 500,000 views! Hooray!

6. I like to be part of a revolution. Twitter is the fastest growing member community site, growing 1382% since February of 2008. The more who join and see the value, the more the site’s worth speaks for itself. And because this site is entirely user driven, there is a direct correlation between the volume of users and the value of the site.

7. Retweeting makes me feel good! People like to give praise, and do good works, or good “retweets” for others. While it is nice to give props to your coworker with a list you cc:, or congratulate a little league player in front of his teammates, it is pretty powerful to give someone a pat on the back with 100 potential listeners. Or 10,000.

Speaking on behalf of brands:

8. Brands can show their “human” side. The first time I bought a pair of shoes from Zappos, I was amazed that they arrived at my door 24 hours later. While I can read about a company in their annual report, it’s nothing like reading the CEO of Zappos tweet out stuff like “Happy birthday Twitter! Like most 3 yr olds, u make me feel happy, sad, surprised, overwhelmed. But in the end I still love u.”

9. Brands can engage customers/fans where there actually are. I spend quite a bit of my life at a computer and on the internet. I am far more likely to read about an initiative a company is doing through Twitter than embrace the junk marketing materials that land in my snail mailbox.

10. The economy stinks; free viral marketing isn’t so bad right now! And, it probably works.

Twitter Turns Thwee!

2009-03-23T14:42:00.000-04:00

With the speed that technology swoops in, takes ground, and starts to proliferate, many often are very familiar with the in-s and out-s of the latest and greatest, tout the technology to no end, but for the life of them, have no idea where it came from.

This is true for me. And since I am a "technology anthropologist" by interest, I put together a little timeline of Twitter's first three years. This information is compiled from the article Twitter Trounces the Terrible Twos, Turns Three written by MG Siegler.

I must say, this is not bad for a three year old!

2006 - Twitter was launched in 2006 as a side project of Odeo founder’s Noah Glass and Evan Williams (now Twitter’s chief executive).

It was first known as Twttr.

Williams created Obvious Corp. to work on projects such as Twitter and sold Odeo in 2007, putting the focus solely on Twitter.

2007 -
In March of 2007, Twitter first really put itself on the map by taking the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas by storm. It won an award in the blogging category and it set up monitors throughout the convention center to show what other people were tweeting.

2008 -
This was Twitter's important year. It started out God-awful — crashing left and right.

But Twitter remained popular as it once again dominated SXSW in 2008. Then, the press coverage shifted to focusing on Twitter’s downtime and the “Fail Whale” entered the geek lexicon.

Then, in June, it brought in outside help from Pivotal Labs, a group of for-hire developers. From there, things started to improve.

In July 2008, it bought the Twitter search engine, Summize, renamed Twitter Search. This allowed Twitter to be a powerful search of real time information.

Later in 2008, celebrities and traditional news media started using Twitter en masse. And events like the Presidential election and the Mumbai terrorist attacks brought it to new heights.

2009 -
On the afternoon of January 15th, when the US Airways plane went down on the Hudson, this twitpic, tweeted byJanis Krums, or as he calls himself "miracle on the Hudson photo guy," demonstrated the sheer viral spread of information through Twitter.

Someone Lit a Match in a Dry Forest

2009-03-20T11:18:00.000-04:00

Breaking News. Someone (in San Francisco) set a match in a dry forest with lots of dead leaves and brush with the right temperature and wind level and there is no water in sight.

A fire, you ask? In San Francisco?

Oh Yes. A fire. A huge, consuming everything in its sight fire (except for the more stubborn, moist logs that just smolder)...

Ok, let me get to the point. This is a Twitter fire. Twire? This fire has actually been growing for the last 12 months and has grown by 1382%. Or is you are more of a "show me the proof" kind of person, it looks like this:

February, 2008 -> February, 2009
475,000 users -> 7,038,000 users.

And the population group this wild fire is consuming the fastest? 35-49 years of age. Social media is not just for kids anymore...

Hi Mom!! :)

Let me properly attribute these figures...Nielson Wire highlights this growth in Twitters Tweet Smell of Success.

A Catalyst for Creativity

2009-03-19T12:31:00.000-04:00

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste” - Machiavelli

As a proclaimed crackberry user (sorry, is that so 2005 to say now?), I look at my phone quite frequently. And what I’ve been noticing for the past 6 months is the frequency of WSJ updates I get that are quite simply put, scary.

“White House to Provide up to $5 Billion in Financing to Auto-Parts Suppliers”

“FedEx Plans More Job Cuts After Posting 75% Drop in Profit”

The list goes on and on. We all know. We live with this every day. And so while it is clear the economy is falling to bits, with huge brand names dive bombing all around us, everyday, Circuit City, AIG, Linens ‘n Things, Bennigans, this massive shake out can’t be all negative. There must be some possibilities for a silver lining? Thankfully, there probably are…

The WSJ article "How to Innovate in a Downturn" details with historical evidence some of this wishful thinking. The article describes that in times of downturn, when the natural inclination is to “hunker down” and merely try to “follow the status quo, and just try to survive in hopes that some day, this, too, shall pass” ...this is actually “the wrong prescription." It explains that "now more than ever is the time for innovative managers and entrepreneurs to come up with ideas that lead to opportunities to launch new ventures. There is considerable anecdotal evidence that crises can be catalysts for creativity.” It highlights how shortly after 9/11 the iPod was launched, and during the Great Depression “some contrarians pressed ahead with innovation, including DuPont with its investments in neoprene and nylon."

Of course this entirely depends on your industry/situation. But for companies that have a chance, "in difficulty, lies opportunity" (one of my favorite quotes by Einstein).

Join the Conversation. Be the Conversation. -> Is Twitter Fueling Innovation?

2009-03-18T10:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in my journey into the twittersphere I highlighted 3 observations that I find most appealing about the micro-blogging site. To summarize all three in one thought, I see Twitter as providing users a constant flow of interest-tailored mind-castings, a living discussion forum, and a place to take a penny and leave a penny. I've been using Twitter officially now for about two weeks. In this time span I've populated an articulate group of tweeters who appear to have this default setting: I am alive and am interested in the world. What I am starting to notice is that these individuals are happily tweeting about interesting topics and re-tweeting interesting articles posted by others, thus spreading information on a viral level.

What I am also starting to notice is increasingly more blogs taking shape on any number of topics ranging from the best social media practices to the best environmental tips. Before Twitter there was never a public forum with outlets for idea vetting and opinion unleashing that could match the scale that this micro-blogging site offers. So when you take an environment that encourages, and more importantly, feeds off of interesting thoughts, always seeking the latest and greatest, perhaps this is encouraging innovative thinking on a scale unmatched previously? It appears that with the open communication environment Twitter provides, increasingly more tweeters do not simply want to be part of the conversation, but want to be the conversation; be their own Queen Bee with their own colony of followers.

So perhaps Twitter's original goal of providing a micro-blogging site that asks "what are you doing" has metamorphosed into a forum driving entrepreneurship? If you ask yourself this, the answer Yes will probably easily come to mind...I mean...all you have to do to prove this is simply consider all the innovative new Twitter applications that have blossomed. This is surely innovation, after all. However, I am talking more about the less obvious innovation...innovation that would have only been made possible through a virtual connection.

Happy Smappy Tweet Tweet

2009-03-17T21:32:00.000-04:00

Along my journey into the twittersphere, here are 3 observations that make me, oh, so happy.

Interest Gophers…24/7!

One of my favorite aspects of twitter is that you can search on topics of interest and review the pages of tweeters who land in your search. With a quick glance, you can get a pretty basic understanding of what interests and style a tweeter has. Once you get a gaggle of tweeters who then tweet on topics of interest to you, each time you log in, it’s likely you’ll have a steady stream of “mindcastings” that will nudge your interest. Hooray for personalized interest gophers!

Take a penny, leave a penny.

“What you put in is what you get out.” While there are certainly tweeters out there who provide a wealth of consistently updated, interesting ideas and opportunities for collaboration, they can’t carry us all. Twitter will only be as interesting as what we put in (collectively). So when you take a penny, leave a penny. If we follow this mindset the site will continue to grow as a powerhouse of transmitted, collaborated information that even the hardest to please may find value in.

A Living Resource

Before joining twitter, I considered my fascination with social media to be relatively unique. I have always had a love for marketing, human behavior, and collaboration via technology. Performing google searches on topics of interest such as “social psychology” however, resulted in pretty dull hits (textbooks, Wikipedia searches, classroom syllabi). Now, when I search on “social psychology,” for example, I get book recommendations, links to class lectures on itunes, and peeps wanting to discuss the topic. How cool is that?

Friday Follow

2009-03-17T21:31:00.001-04:00

It’s day 3 of my journey through twittersphere. This morning when I started reading my fresh Friday flow of tweets, I noticed a significant number that read- #fridayfollow… and then suggested a username with @username… Friday Follow? While I’ve learned the basic twitter commands, RT (retweet), DM (direct message), tinyurl.com to shrink long, character wasting urls, the fact that this Friday thing went right over my head reminded me that I still had quite a bit to learn. So for all of you all there who are new to twitter and share my boat, this article, Tracking the Twitter Trend should help!

Tweet Type?

2009-03-17T21:30:00.002-04:00

Last night at my firm’s Leadership Development meeting we were discussing Patrick Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Since it is quite true that you learn best by doing, our leader began a role-playing exercise by first splitting us up into different groups. Our goal was to act-out common team scenarios…while the audience judged us on our level of function/dysfunction. In order to mimic a more natural team environment comprising an array of personality types (or perhaps to give us the best possible chance of not making complete fools of ourselves in front of the audience), the group leader decided to first give us a quick personality test. Yet rather than having us go off to a quiet space and fill out 100 bubbles for the Myers Brigg, he simply had us look at four shapes - circle, square, triangle and squiggle. “Pick which shape you feel most at ease with…maybe which shape you’d most like for wallpaper.” For me, looking at the shapes and determining my preference was easy…like which hand to pick up a pencil with, or how I interloped my fingers - right thumb in front or left?

Since it is quite true that you bring your personality style into everything you do (unless you just won an award at the Oscars), accordingly, it probably also holds true that you bring your personality style to your tweets - hence having a tweet style? Maybe this is what the brain trust behind Twitter had in mind from the very beginning in branding this micro-blogging site with a bird theme? Maybe this is actually your melody? Luckily for the tweeter who is looking to use Twitter to grow his business or personal brand, the fact that there is a world of market research at your fingertips in your tweeps’ tweets seems like reason enough to get to know their melodies! So maybe work from the outside-in versus inside-out?

Anyway, regardless of your personality style, or the personality styles in your twaggle, do whatever you can to avoid any of these twitter styles…twstyles?…

My Journey Through Twittersphere

2009-03-17T21:30:00.001-04:00

The first time I ever heard of Twitter was about a year ago through a facebook newsfeed pulled from my friend Peter’s status that read: “I am twittering.” Twittering? Too much coffee? Work deadlines? Big date? I soon forgot about the slightly strange choice of word and went back to my facebook perusing. A few days later I read a vague news article that mentioned a new “microblogging site” called Twitter. Hmm…where have I heard that word used before I thought? While I consider myself to be fairly social media savvy (a year ago I purchased Larry’s Weber ahead-of-the-times book Marketing to the Social Web circa 2007, which has no listing for Twitter in the index), it wasn’t until one night over dinner when a friend asked me “so, have you heard of this Twitter thing?” that I really started to put the pieces together.

Later that night I signed up for my own site and within a day a friend from my running club signed up as my first official “follower.” I tried to add friends through my email aol address book but the site said “importing from aol has been temporarily disabled.” Because most of my contacts were in this address book, I became quickly disenchanted and Twitter went to the wayside.

A few weeks ago, my manager and I decided to look more closely at Twitter, and in essence, do a little exploring. Since setting foot in the world of tweeters, I have to admit that I am amazed at the possibilities for collaborative sharing - all of which are entirely new to me. I started following a few champion tweeters – some of whom are social media aficionados with suggested articles and best practices so prolific it is no wonder that they have a following the size of Rhode Island, and some of whom are simply poetic micro-bloggers that infiltrate the list of tweets with inspired ponderings. Regardless of the melodies I hear (read), I am eager to adventure more into this unchartered twittersphere.

And with this I start my Twitter journey. Over the next month I will chart my course with interesting discoveries, trends, and learned do-s and don’t-s.

If you care to join me, I will be blogging for the next 30 days. Or if you care to follow me on twitter, you can find me here.