Archive for March, 2009

Aussie bloggers uniting to raise funds

Published March 29, 2009 non profit , social media 5 Comments
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A couple of days ago I launched a  blogging initiative asking ten Australian bloggers to write a special  post as a tribute to the entrepreneurial poor.  In return, Incentive House will be making a donation of $100 per post towards an Opportunity International  microfinance program in the Philippines, to help women out of poverty.

So far three amazing people have joined in the challenge by writing ‘Tribute” posts – that’s $300 raised by these bloggers  in 3 days for women in poverty! Wonderful.

Matthew Johnson wrote about steps for  success, Gavin Heaton shared his experience as a microfinance ‘micro-investor’ and Des Walsh wrote a tribute to people with entrepreneurial spirit. Thank you!

Incentive House are willing to donate $700 more dollars but I’m looking for seven more Aussie bloggers to unite for women living in poverty over the next two days – simply  write a post before midnight Tuesday (31st March) and Incentive House will donate $100 towards this special project.  Will you join in?

(oh and meanwhile, my laptop appears to be no more, so expect me to be quiet on the interwebs  for a little bit….I will be watching you from afar, probably on my iPod somehow, somewhere!!)

Update 31 March: You did it! Together we raised $1300 in funds towards this project. And another US$200 was donated in the last 24 hours on my Chipin. You are amazing people!!

You can also listen to a podcast of me mumbling late at night, trying to explain the purpose of Women’s Opportunity – courtesy of Des Walsh on the Social Media Show :)

Women changing their world

Published March 25, 2009 inspiration , non profit , purpose 7 Comments
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Last year when I was asked to speak at Go Girl Go for IT, an event held for teenage girls to discover pathways for women in IT, I had to think hard about the topic for my talk. You see there were some wonderful women talking about their different experiences, from a career in media with the Vic Police, to IT contracts with Vogue in Paris and all kinds of careers that seemed to highlight that working in IT doesn’t just mean sitting in an office in a room full of nerds (yep – teenage girls still think IT is nerdy.)

One of the things I chose to share was the ability for a woman to make a difference in her world through the use of technology. So today my tribute for Ada Lovelace day goes to a woman changing her world. (Ada Lovelace Day is the 24th of March…yesterday in Australia, but still today in the Northern Hemisphere ok!)

Beth Kanter

Beth Kanter by Kino Eye

One of the things that really stands out about Beth is her absolute dedication to arts and community based organisations. She is a trainer, coach, blogger and social media strategy consultant to nonprofits. She shares information on her blog about effective ways of using social media with others. She finds ways to involve her kids in making a difference. Beth even takes time out of her incredibly busy schedule to help out with other nonprofit projects on the other side of the world, like my Women’s Investment project for Opportunity International :)

So Beth, I just want to say thank you for your contribution to the world and for inspiring other women to see the benefits of technology for social good!

What if you also want to change your world but you’re not sure where to start?  A bunch of amazing women summed it up for me at the recent Global  Dialogue Center event celebrating International Women’s Day: It’s a New Day! Renewing Ourselves, Changing Our World. The all seemed to share the same experience and advice:

Have a big dream.

Be fearless.

Then take small steps.

I would love to hear about other women who change their world with creative ideas and technology. Who can you think of? (Perhaps you even like to make a difference yourself…I’d love to see your blog or website!) How did you get started?

Getting to know you on Twitter

Published March 23, 2009 social media Leave a Comment

Back in June 2007 I started using Twitter (wonderwebby). I only knew about two people using Twitter at the time and – I admit it – I just didn’t get it. It took me a while to understand what Twitter was, let alone what it could do. But now I find myself tweeting away to enhance connections with mentors, friends and family, participate in conferences, search, discover information and even to make a difference in the world.

So, I have been exploring, connecting and tinkering with different ways of using Twitter. At one stage I thought I would only follow around 150 people, but now (only because of the grouping function on TweetDeck) I am following many more. Just as well, because it makes a difference when I manage to attend a conference and I recognise people! There also seems to be more and more brands coming aboard. Certainly Twitter is becoming more ‘mainstream’ with lots of mentions of Twitter on TV and Radio chat shows here in Australia. Sometimes I appreciate brands creating a presence on Twitter. Sometimes a ‘brand’ (note:  brand are not always  ‘people’ on Twitter) will follow me and many times I won’t reciprocate – like the hair loss company that followed me last week  (huh? something you’re not telling me?)

Personally I prefer to know who I am connecting with (in most cases, apart from some news ‘feeds’) I enjoy the social nature of Twitter. As I mentioned at a recent conference, it’s like those ‘ head popping over the partition (cubicle) moments- and who wants a faceless placard to pop up promoting brand X soft drink?’

As you may have seen, Nielson reported a growth in Twitter usage of 1382% between February 2008 and February 2009!  These days you can even find a blog dedicated to tips for tweeting, called TwiTip by ProBlogger Darren Rowse.

So how do you go about putting a brand on Twitter? For starters, in this video CC Chapman (one of my fellow Age of Conversation 2 co-authors) asks whether or not your brand should be on Twitter at all - and some of the problems with mass Twitter marketing tactics, like nasty little automatic direct messages that read “thanks for the follow now check out my rooly kool website” .

Another  blog post by Kai Turner lists some tips for getting your brand on Twitter “people want an authentic conversation with brands that speak as we would expect them to. People don’t want brands to be their friends, or to be overly familiar with them, but they do want a dialogue with brands whose products or services they enjoy using.” Oh, and if you want to get your brand on Twitter, it would be well worth engaging Social Media Consultant to get it right before you damage your brand :)

And what about the rest of us? Well, while you might have to be careful to spot Twitter Follower Manipulators, People Pretending to be Brands and Brands That Don’t Care, there are still some great personal and business reasons to use Twitter. As Shane says, Twitter is easy to use and ” humans are inherently social creatures who in most cases enjoy and in fact need to interact with other people. Thus, Twitter is fulfilling one of the basic needs of people everywhere.”

What about you? How has your Twitter experience changed since you started using it? How do you think should brands go about creating a Twitter presence?

Spoken From the Heart

Published March 16, 2009 inspiration , non profit , purpose , web 2.0 6 Comments
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Social Media isn’t just about getting the most Twitter followers, Facebook friends or enhancing your online reputation. Social Media also provides a way to express, create and give.

Over the last month a number of people gave towards a project  called #SOS09 (Shout Out Social) which had two purposes; to help raise funds for an Opportunity International project and to encourage people to be creative for a cause.

Around the world, individuals used their creativity to express something that mattered to them, including topics such as Healthcare, Hope and Green Spaces. They submitted their images to a Flickr Group, and the images were displayed as part of a digital wall show at Horse Bazaar over the weekend.

Eileen Clegg graciously created a mural to shout out for Creativity and explains her message on video

She says,

“The more we can express ourselves and what is authentic about us, we are sharing with others to add to (this) collective knowledge…

..” so the more we can define ourselves, our creative selves, what we are interested in, our knowledge – then it makes it easier for other people to find us as well, so we can work together..

When we use visuals to express ourselves we are saying: ‘this is a picture of what I am thinking right now’ we are not passing judgment on the world or trying to tell it like it is. We are saying ‘this is what I see right now’

And that’s the best part about creativity – it’s completely individual, nobody can argue with it – and it’s always wonderful.”

Shahin Shafaei reminded people of the importance of creativity and expression in our day to day lives, by sharing his experience of nearly two years in isolation at an Australian detention centre.

Although the event (unfortunately) didn’t raise a stack of funds, being part of this project and event was personally fulfilling. Eileen and Shahin spoke from the heart. A  number of individuals around the world took a few minutes to use social media for positive change, and a small bunch of people braved the rain to come along to the SOS09 event. Even the decor of the venue represented the importance of people, history and culture in a technical and creative context.

Saturday evening I left the event knowing that people around the planet had made a difference, however small, and that each of us had experienced something good through our individual contributions to this project against poverty.

Have you been part of a creative project that made a difference? How important is authenticity and “speaking from the heart” to you?

If you would like to thank the people who contributed to this project AND make a difference to a group of women living in poverty right now, you can make a donation or purchase some quality greeting cards or wall art (all proceeds go towards this Opportunity International project in the Philippines. Thank you for your kind support.)

The gift of Creativity

Published March 13, 2009 Uncategorized 5 Comments
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The lovely Eileen Clegg, known for her wonderful murals and visual journalism, kindly created a Shout Out for Creativity mural and video for the Shout Out Social project. She shares some wonderful insights into the nature of creativity.

You will have to come along to the event in Melbourne if you want to see the rest of her message this weekend :) along with guest speaker Shahin Shafaei, and some great images submitted by people around the world! Althought it’s too late to include your own Shout Out  image for inclusion in the exhibition – it’s not too late to submit one to the Flickr Group (tag sos09) and/or to make a donation of $10 (today)! to the Opportunity International microfinance project (that’s what this Shout Out project has been all about – fundraising to help women to get out of poverty!)

Many thanks to the following wonderful people who have given their creative time to this Shout Out Social project, including (in no particular order):

Marigo Raftopolous, Luke Grange, Debbe Kennedy and Sally K. Green,  Melissa Sader, Sagart, Karen Tipping, Amy Jussel, Bad Koala ,Bernie Michalik, August Boehm, David Armano, ePredator, Bettina Cutler, Jared Woods, Vasundharb, Janelle Amet, David Masters, Rucsb, Siddharth, Sean Lew, David Talamelli, Penni Russon, Gypsychk, Andy Piper, Aaron Julius Kim, Ric Hayman, Amy Palko and Michelle Zamora.

I look forward to seeing how this project all comes together on Saturday night! Hope to see you there!

Online personality transplant lately?

Published March 12, 2009 brand , learning , social media , web 2.0 9 Comments

Lately I’ve been thinking about this ever emerging skill space that sits somewhere between the domains of learning, knowledge and marketing. It has something to do with people. It’s about exchange through conversation. This space has something to do with social media, community and something do with transformation and  information. But it’s something a little more than that…for the sake of calling it something, lets call it Online Personality Transplantation! Fr’instance:

Luis Suarez recently wrote about the new relationship between learning and knowledge

“Informal Learning is changing the game from traditional Learning itself”… “social computing is provoking a paradigm shift with regards to how we share our knowledge and collaborate with other knowledge workers both inside and outside of the corporate firewall.”

Then, James Dellow wrote up a summary of the  Enterprise 2.0 Executive Forum including this quote

“while the IT and Marketing communities have been sharing experiences with using social computing, there isn’t enough sharing between those groups and the Learning and Development sector who are another significant group that are using the same tools.”


Personality Transplant Latlely? Image originally uploaded by Vagamundos

Everything I am reading and talking about lately seems to involve different aspects of marketing AND learning – from the books on my shelves, to people I follow on Twitter, RSS feeds I read or projects I am involved with. I’m certain it’s not a lack of focus. There just happpens to be a lot of common threads of information involved.

What does this mean for future roles within Learning Services, Knowledge Management and Marketing? I wonder if Online Personality Subject Matter Experts (Personality Transplant Gurus even- ha!) will become engaged in projects across these areas, to assist with the development and maintenance of personal online brands, communities, transactions (of information or products) and to spring some authenticity and personality into jaded teams and brands? What about you? Do you find yourself  “transplanting personality” into different projects and areas of the organisation using social media? How do you think roles are merging and changing through the increased adoption of social media?

Creative commons and family vacations

Published March 11, 2009 Uncategorized 6 Comments

Over New Years we took a lovely family vacation to Adelaide. I  quickly took a snap on New Years Eve Day 2008 at Semaphore Beach. This morning I found an email from Schmap online travel guides asking permission to shortlist this photo – which I had saved as Creative Commons on Flickr – for their page on Semaphore.

Semaphore Beach – blue skies – soft sand

Now I can join my friends  Andy Piper and Amy Palko as someone who has been schmapped! Nice surprise :)

Do you save your content as Creative Commons? I really enjoyed this story by Jeremy Keith about his Flickr photo which became a background  image in the recent Iron Man movie!

3 ways blogging community influences my writing

Published March 10, 2009 web 2.0 3 Comments
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Do you ever pause to think about ways your online community influences your writing?  I’d say it changes my content, my conversation and my writing technique.

1. Content. When we interact with our online community we have opportunities to engage with different points of view and ideas. Selective engagement with my blogging community expands my thoughts about the web, our ability to make a difference and give communication some personality.  The content found here on Wonderwebby, on your blogs, or through your tweets has a life of it’s own because of the community.

My blogging community reminds me to write interesting content.

2. Conversation. A picture might speak a thousand words, but a single conversation can change the world. The dialogue between us creates new words (and new worlds). It reminds me to write a blog, not a manual. Sometimes your words find their way into my words.

My blogging community reminds me to write with someone else in mind.

3. Technique. When I write a blog post I find I’m always balancing the desire to write compelling content, and the need to structure words in a way that works. Some days my inner-grammar-critic gets in the way of ideas. Other days I read about THE top ten tips for creating a successful blog and I can bet you I don’t pass the best blogging technique quiz. I appreciate being part of a community that writes with style, points to good ideas and goes beyond ‘tha rulez’.

My blogging community keeps my writing technique real.


image originally uploaded by Jickel

How does your online community influence your writing?

This post is my response to a group writing project for Confident Writing. “The topic is writing lessons. The aim is simply to explore ways in which your writing might have changed or evolved in the context of your online community.” You can take part too (by Fri 27th March)

Photo Countdown

Published March 6, 2009 art & design , non profit Leave a Comment

Sometimes the puzzle pieces of your career all jigsaw together in a funny way. I used to work with Horse Bazaar’s Mark Walsh and now he has kindly offered to create the digital wall show for Shout Out Social. He’s starting the show design this weekend – how exciting! It also means there are only a few days left to get your photos in. Anyone can submit – here’s a taste of submissions so far and a reason to add your designs or photos to the Flickr pool (or email them to me)

I made it using Animoto, which isn’t exactly a  flexible video editing site, but it’s certainly effective and easy to use.

By the way, I knoooow it’s another Shout Out Social post – back to my usual blogging soon. This event is kinda my focus right now :) As always I’m always interested to read what you have to say, your thoughts and your ideas. What do you enjoy reading & discussing here on Wonderwebby?

Training Tracks

Published March 3, 2009 inspiration , learning Leave a Comment
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The other night I crashed on the couch with the family to watch a movie together. Well – I TRIED to sit down. The kids kept jumping up and didn’t seem interested in ‘hangin’ out’ that way. I was tired, so we tried something else – YouTube. “Thomas Thomas” yelled the youngest. So a quick search and we started watching a clip of kids playing with train tracks.

“Again Again mummy”

Which led us to this

“click that one mummy”

Which led us to this (my favourite – although I think I enjoyed it more than they did)

What happens when little minds guide  a short burst of Youtube watching? Ten minutes later my toddler found an old remote control and tried to make his little train move on it’s own. Since watching we have spent days exploring new ways of building train tracks. They are enjoying every spare minute discovering new ways to connect bridges and bends, insisting on better ways to build it – and I’m enjoying watching their discovery process from mouse click right through to train track demolition!

Reminds me of that Chinese proverb “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”
hand holding train track
Do you enjoy interactive learning, and learning through play?

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About Wonderwebby - by Jasmin Tragas - creative and digital media allsorts - mother - imagining new ways to make a difference
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