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Archive for the 'inspiration' Category

5000 words then she paused

Published November 15, 2008 inspiration 1 Comment
Tags: freestyle writing, NaNoWriMo, writing

Perhaps it was a little ambitious to write a novel in a month. I managed to get to 5,000 words in the first week by spending some time writing late in the evening, but then -

Okay, I might continue writing some more fiction, but not sure I’ll reach the 50,000 mark for NaNoWriMo! I have LOVED revisiting this freestyle writing approach. I’d like to spend short bursts of creative writing like this a few times a year! I’m also developing a much deeper appreciation of the work writers do. Short bursty creative work is easy in comparison. Spending time thinking through characters, plots, twists & turns, sub-texts and influences, imagined landscapes, stereotypes and dialogue - in one month - eesh, it’s an effort not to take this so-called novel too seriously!

Instead of writing I’ve been thinking of ideas to drum up 600 x $10 donations for my Women’s Opportunity project. I’ve been spending time with my family and friends, resting, working, cooking, reading, even watching TV….just not writing. Oops. And with 15 days to go (and one week lost well spent doing other things) I wonder if it’s really possible to write 3,000 words a day with everything else going on. Time to dip back into my imagination and see what happens…

50,000 words just for fun

Published November 5, 2008 inspiration 5 Comments
Tags: creative, creative challenge, inspiration, NaNoWriMo, projects, writing

I’ve gone and done something silly. I signed up for NaNoWriMo. I’m going to attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Well, I spent the first three days deliberating over whether I should sign up or not, and figuring out some kind of plot, genre, characters. Yesterday, on the 4th I wrote 1200 words. So only have to write, um, 2000 or so words a day for the rest of the month?! Not sure where I will squeeze in the spare time for this one, but I must say I’m really enjoying it so far. The last time I wrote so many words was over ten years ago. I had a co-author and we wrote for an interactive “choose your own adventure” style learning simulation about debt collection. Since then, blogging has been helpful to practice writing, along with collaborative blogging and writing projects like the Age of Conversation II.

I like the idea of this unpredictable, kamikaze approach to writing 50,000 words of fiction - the aim is quantity not quality, ignoring the inner editor - the very antithesis of my usual style. I decided that I wanted to have FUN doing it. So I’m writing a story in a fantasy genre, or perhaps a bit sci-fi, a bit of an adventure - set in the not too distant future. Girl meets boy. Girl saves the world. Or something like that.

image originally uploaded by Caramelody on Flickr

It’s fun just letting the words spill out, creating a whole new landscape, characters and conversations. It’s a bit like life drawing, with words. So I’m giving myself an hour here or there to just type out whatever comes to mind, loosely wrapped around a plot. It would be nice to think I could finish the whole novel. I’ll be happy if I manage to write half. Either way, I think the creative process is doing me some good.

What kind of creative challenge do you enjoy? Do you join in with collaborative creative projects?

Be part of something special and make a difference

Published October 2, 2008 inspiration , non profit , purpose 0 Comments
Tags: Anita Pahor, meme, opportunity, woman's opportunity

Taking innovation to the streets

Published August 27, 2008 inspiration , non profit , web 2.0 3 Comments
Tags: Anita Pahor, charity, community, global, Global Kids Digital Media Initiative, innovation, marketing, non profits, not for profits, Opportunity International, social causes, social media, technology, web 2.0

Last year when I returned to work after parental leave, I had a real desire to get involved with innovative projects making a difference. My very first post on this blog mentioned the Global Kids Digital Media initiativ e who engage urban youth “in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences” (like Secondlife)”to educate youth about critical international and public policy issues and “…” opportunities for civic and global engagement.”

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a women’s breakfast where Anita Pahor, Marketing and Donor Services Director at Opportunity International and Women’s Opportunity National Director, spoke about her passion to help those living in poverty. I think her stories and enthusiasm made an impact on every person in the room. It’s difficult to leave a breakfast like that without giving some thought to your own capacity to make a difference. Sometimes it’s a matter of just stepping out and using what skills you have - one step at a time.

Anita’s speech reminded me of some innovative social projects I discovered in the last year. Blogging introduced me to the Age of Conversation project which I have previously mentioned. Proceeds for every book you purchase goes to Variety, the children’s charity.

At work I discovered projects like the World Community Grid where your PC idle time is used to assist projects that benefit humanity. I also found a group of people around the world working on the World Development Initiative and local team members from IBM, World Vision and RMIT Masters students working on mobile solutions.

I discovered quite a few social media for non-profit bloggers including Beth Kanter. There is lots to look at over at the Carnival of Non-Profit Consultants. Chris Brogan also put together a post this week on solving some real world problems with some good links and comments including feedback that some social networks tend to focus on their own growth - and that when social media takes innovation to the streets, we should consider long term, sustainable impact.

So where does that leave you and me? I know I can do more. It doesn’t have to take hours of my week or huge financial commitments, but it starts by making time, investigation, connecting with people and causes that I want to support, sharing ideas and thinking of ways to bring social media community and marketing gold to see social good. As I said…one step at a time

What has inspired you lately? Do you have a desire to make a difference?

My definition of a Freesoul

Published August 11, 2008 inspiration , web 2.0 3 Comments
Tags: freesoul

Thanks to the always informative and community savvy Laurel Papworth, I discovered the Freesoul project by Oliver Ding and Joi Ito today. I always like a creative challenge - and besides, it’s about time I set up a Slideshare account. You can contribute your own visual response to the Freesoul group too!

Here’s something I prepared earlier

Here’s the original with a web 2.0 message

Here’s the group

Making connections. Making a difference.

Published August 11, 2008 inspiration , learning , motherhood , non profit , web 2.0 17 Comments
Tags: career, charity, connecting, development, enterprise 2.0, mentoring, mom, motherhood, part-time, personal development, social computing, social networking, twitter, web 2.0

It’s been great to connect with web industry people again AND have opportunities to contribute to some exciting projects, thanks to social media. Part time working mums - like me - don’t always get to attend special industry shindigs (like we did back in ‘96.) But we can engage in the online conversation without having to call the babysitter! Here’s a few examples of how social media has made a difference to me.

1. The meeting of minds. Over the last year I have met up with some great folks through Twitter including Stephen Collins, Matt Moore, Brad Kasell, Michael Specht and Shane Goldberg (note to self..must meet with some great women Tweeple too!). I don’t spend all my time on Twitter, I don’t read every Tweet and some days I don’t read it at all. I use it sometimes at whim, sometimes strategically by dipping in on the web, my iPod or phone. But somehow through this seemingly odd interaction of shared status updates - and in some cases through blogging, we were able to have relaxed, conversation rich meetings when we met up in person. We have also been able to help each other to make sense of emerging technology trends.

2. Personal development. I’ve mentioned before how much I appreciate my mentors. Although none of them live in Australia, we know each other well through our blogs (also behind the firewall) and through other networks like Twitter, Facebook, etc. We use social media to communicate and they have all given me some great opportunities to develop my skills. I doubt I would ever have made the connection with them if it wasn’t for blogging.

3. Opportunities to make a difference. Blogging here on Wonderwebby has also helped me develop confidence in writing and practice my writing style. It meant that when Gavin Heaton (another person I follow on Twitter) announced the new Age of Conversation collaborative book on his blog, I didn’t hesitate in raising my hand to contribute. The best part - all the proceeds to go the Variety Childrens’ Charity.

The Age of Conversation 2 book cover

Those three things are important to me at work - connecting, developing and contributing. How has social media helped you in your career?

Images that dare to dream

Published July 30, 2008 art & design , inspiration 0 Comments
Tags: dream, effort, ideas, imagination, inspiration, photo, photography, self portrait

Beautiful images provoke us to dream and imagine the unseen.

I was just about to drop my 52 weeks project, but I think I just needed some fresh inspiration. Thanks Rosie for reminding me about simplicity, imagination and the reward of vibrant ideas combined with a little effort. Now all I have to do is dream up some new ideas of my own….

The meaning of a personal online brand

Published July 19, 2008 inspiration , virtual worlds 3 Comments
Tags: brand, debbe kennedy, greater IBM, navel gazing, online, others, personal, secondlife, ted childs

Last night I attended a Greater IBM Connection (alumni) virtual party in Secondlife where Debbe Kennedy was launching her new book. During the proceedings Ted Childs, former VP of Diversity at IBM made this wonderful observation about Debbe.

: Ted Childs in Secondlife

He spoke of her passion for people and how he saw her career progress - not by putting herself first - but by always thinking of how to improve things and progress things for other people.

What a wonderful quality to be known for. Sometimes in this web2.0 space I’m cautious not to begin too many sentences beginning with “I”. Although I know it can be “all about me” in the web2.0 world I hope that my focus also can be about others. When does personal expression and conversation turn into pure navel gazing with an audience?

So while I challenge myself, let me also ask you. What is your personal online brand doing for others? Is your brand all about you? Have you seen any examples of personal brands that speak less of the person and more of other people?

Creative Practice

Published May 11, 2008 inspiration , web 2.0 3 Comments
Tags: blogging, creative, practice, storytelling

Creating things is what I enjoy doing. When I am producing a short film, an animation, an illustration, a publication or interactive new media I am in my element.

Producing is the easy bit. I would like to be a better storyteller though.

One of the best “extra-curricular” bits of education I took was in year 12. A friend and I snuck into Cinemateque at a local uni each week and got an education in Auteur cinema. It was great to learn about narrative,style, what the film directors were trying to say, what audience reactions were at the time.

Every time I produce something, I wish I could express myself better. It’s the frustration of any creative individual - I think. You have your intention, a bit of a plan (or a lot) and then you produce. But then you review. Did that video/drawing/photo/website say what I thought it would? Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t…and it’s too late to rewind and start production again.

Putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard when you know it will be screened or published can take some courage. When I look back on my storytelling work, I think I could have been simpler in expressing my point. But I guess I wouldn’t know that, if I never created anything at all!

Probably the easiest story to tell was a short documentary about people who used the newspaper classifieds to find a love match (ok this is back in ‘92). The story was right there in the footage; the people I interviewed told it, and even sang it! Editing was a treat, given the wonderful content we had.

So, I hope to blog more often. Just for a little while. About stuff. I have found blogging has really contributed to my confidence in writing again. And if I blog more often…well, maybe, just maybe it’s a step towards getting my storytelling mojo back!

	wonderwebby on Notes from Physical and Virtua…
	Jen Okimoto on Notes from Physical and Virtua…
	pvdugas on 5000 words then she pause…
	5000 words then she … on 50,000 words just for fun
	wonderwebby on Inspiring Words for Women…
	Gavin Heaton on Inspiring Words for Women…
	Less Ordinary » A T… on Inspiring Words for Women…

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Archive for the 'inspiration' Category

5000 words then she paused

50,000 words just for fun

Be part of something special and make a difference

My definition of a Freesoul

Images that dare to dream

The meaning of a personal online brand

Creative Practice

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