Update: I think I should explain what I relate to. I relate to this scenario of being slightly bamboozled by a young child’s familiarity with all of this technology.  Obviously it’s scripted, but for me this video raises all kinds of interesting and important questions on how digital natives are processing information, learning and how we can support them along the way – even if that means not giving them everything they think they want all the time

Hat Tip to educator Royan Lee who is also doing a fun and interesting 365 Flickr photo journal project. Take a peek at the mini TED commandments for powerpoint presentations he created with his class.

Image by Jonah G.S.

I had some difficulty naming this theme. I was going to call it Give, or Connect,  or Activate, and even…wait for it…Shine.
But I finally settled with Create, because creation is such an important part of social media – creating content and creating connections through that content. What do you think?

Create is about using social media make a difference. It’s not just about “how to use Twitter”.  It’s more to do with developing your unique online presence so that you can create positive change.  How can you build up your online brand? How can you raise funds through social media events? Who is using social media to change the world? How can you introduce social media into your organisation? How can you create compelling content to connect people?  I’d love to know what you are interested in for this particular theme.

So there you go. Three themes for 2010. And this is where I’d really like to hear from you. Do any of these themes resonate with you? What would you like to explore further?

“Nancy & I met first online when we did a podcast around “blended communities” with Ed Mitchell (from the UK) and then F2F in Seattle last year.” Matt has seen the need for a workshop focusing on online communities emerge as the topic surfaced in many different areas over the last 12 months,  including learning, marketing and government.

Nancy White recently finished a book with Etienne Wenger & John D Smith called “Digital Habitats. Matt explains that  people attending the workshops can expect “practical tools to help them with online community management, based on many collective decades of experience from Nancy, Etienne, John & others. They’ll get a workshop session that will practice what it preaches in terms of interactivity & blended technology use. And finally, well, Nancy is a live wire – there will not be one dull moment (promise). ” (I believe you Matt, Nancy is on my “must meet in real life” list, especially after her inspiring contribution to WorldShapers pp 41-43)

Nancy White also shared what she hopes people will get out of the workshops. ” I’ll offer some of the frameworks we developed in the book – which have particular application I believe for work based groups, communities of practice and virtual teams.”

“I’d also like to put on the table some of the emerging distinctions between online group facilitation and something that, for lack of a better word, I’d describe as network facilitation, which in fact is new and emerging.”

If you’re interested in attending one of Nancy White’s workshops in Australia this November, check out the time and dates over on Innotecture’s blog. As somone who has experienced both the positive and more challenging aspects of participating in and moderating  online communities,  I’m really looking forward to joining in with her Melbourne workshop!

Last year people around the world joined in #Tweetsgiving and helped to raise $11,000 US in less than 48 hours online for nonprofit Epic Change. The funds raised from the last TweetsGiving have now built a classroom in Tanzania where the Twitter handles of donors are painted on the walls!

Epic Change helped a woman called “Mama Lucy”Kamptoni. Mama Lucy once sold chickens, and from what little money she earned built a school near her home in Arusha, Tanzania. She started in 2003 on rented land with only 6 students, and has now built a school that serves over 350 local kids. Last year, the school participated in national exams in Tanzania for the very first time, scoring #1 in the Arusha district, ahead of 116 other schools, including some internationally led with millions in funding.

From Tanzania, Stacey Monk writes,

“The funds raised this year will be used for a dormitory/orphanage, an additional classroom for students to move into Class 7 (the school doesn’t have enough classrooms to have a Class 7 today), as well as the school’s first library and cafeteria. The school has now grown to over 350 local students ages 3-13, and these new facilities are much needed.

We hope that money raised during TweetsGiving will help us find and fund new Epic Change partners and fellows in other parts of the world. Beginning in 2010, our current plan is to begin searching for additional changemakers and social entrepreneurs like Mama Lucy who are transforming their own communities in remarkable ways. We believe there are remarkable people like her who create hope in all parts of the world – and at Epic Change, we intend to invest in their efforts.”

You can continue to donate online and this year you can even help by throwing a gratitude party/Tweetup on November 24th or 25th. From the event details page “Organizers also reach out to local businesses who are willing to make cash or in-kind donations of venue, food, music, and other resources to make your event a success. Epic Change will facilitate online ticket purchase and promote your event on the TweetsGiving community website.

We simply ask that every party provide an opportunity for guests to celebrate and express their gratitude – whether it be for one another, members of your community or unheralded changemakers in the world at large.”

This is where YOU come into the picture. While I’d love to see this happen, Tweetsgiving needs your help. The organisers are leaving it up to each party in each city to come up with a gratitude event idea “You can plan an art project, a concert, an act of guerrilla goodness, a letter writing station, a novel way of highlighting the work of a local changemaker, or something else entirely – we’ll share our ideas with you soon and we can’t wait to see the joyful ideas you all dream up!”

If you have an idea, or would like to be involved in organising a Tweetsgiving event in Australia (or anywhere else) please leave a comment so we can talk about ideas together or get in touch with the Tweetsgiving organisers directly.

Will you join in to create a Big Aussie Tweetup?

Obviously my focus will be a little different, but I will continue to share some of the common threads between marketing and learning here on Wonderwebby, sharing random ramblings about interesting we can communicate, create and connect! I look forward to some great conversations with you.

connect the dots 1by Dutchtl

connecting the dots 2

connect the dots 3 by

Connect the dots 4 by SlipStream

Thinking Ahead – Ideas for a rainy day
While I was arranging the last fundraising event and making mental notes of things that were working, and things that I would do differently, I came up with an idea. I wanted the next creative challenge to be really simple and the word ‘Tribute’ came to mind. I wanted to honour the women in the Philippines who were taking steps into working their way out of poverty.

Opportunity Arises -  social networking serendipity
One morning I friended the friend of a friend on Twitter. I never expected him to follow me back  with a direct message the next day, asking me to call their offices. When I rang, I never expected to be having a conversation about a potentially significant donation to my fundraising project for Women’s Opportunity.

Money changes everything – respect the community
I had a weekend to think about the ideas they suggested and think up a project. I read up about Incentive House. I had to consider what I wanted to achieve (awareness of the Philippines, fundraising) and how I could still respect and create something that my online community would appreciate. I wanted this to be as authentic as possible (at least, as authentic as corporate sponsorship can get). Suddenly my ‘Tribute’ idea sprung back to mind. By Monday I shared my idea for a paid blogging challenge ($100 per post donated to Opportunity International) and soon after the initiative was launched,  raising $1300 in just a few days through the generosity of bloggers around Australia.

Sharing Ideas – social media sanity check
Before launching the initaitive I vetted the idea with a social media friend Des Walsh to get his feedback, which was all positive and helpful! He even interviewed me later on for the Social Media Show to get some more information about microfinance and this project. Subsequently I received two more donations creating an additional US$200 donation.

Image originally uploaded by Ryan C Anderson

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!

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!

]]> http://blog.wonderwebby.com/2009/03/11/creative-commons-and-family-vacations/feed/ 6 wonderwebby Semaphore Beach http://blog.wonderwebby.com/2008/11/25/thinking-beyond/ http://blog.wonderwebby.com/2008/11/25/thinking-beyond/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:19:48 +0000 wonderwebby http://wonderwebby.wordpress.com/?p=571 ]]> A brief update on my Women’s Opportunity fundraising. You may recall the  Women’s Investment slide project. It raised over AU$500, all web based donations from men and women all over the world! THANK YOU!

I have started a blog to keep track of my journey as an Ambassador with Women’s Opportunity and have launched a new creative challenge over there today.

The theme for this creative fundraising challenge is about thinking “Beyond”. It’s about changing your world. It’s about innovation, vision and hope. And it’s about making a difference.

Beyond yourself…towards the world.
Beyond the immediate…towards the possibilities.
Beyond having an idea…towards sharing it.
Beyond observing…towards participating.
Beyond poverty…towards empowerment and opportunity.

Image courtesy of Opportunity International Australia

You have until Sunday December 21st 2008(midnight AEST) to contribute. The winner (as selected by a random draw of all entries) will receive a prize. The prize pack includes 20 x postcards, 100 minicards and 90 stickers valued at around $50, which has been generously donated by the kind folks at MOO

In addition, any DONATIONS received before 21 December will also be in a random draw for a copy of World Poverty for Dummies.

I hope you will join in. I can’t wait to see some of the creative responses! Hop on over to the original blog post to get more details.

Women around the world share their stories
Bringing hope and inspiration
Connecting with women living in poverty
In turn, they invest in changing their world

Small business owner in India, image originally uploaded by Iron Fillings

This is my submission to the 25 word challenge by Liz Strauss.

The 25 Words that Connect Us Project

You can join in too. Here’s how

1. Think about connections, connectedness, being linked together, synchronicity, serendipity, community, oneness.
2. Write a sentence about it.
3. Count the words you have written.
4. Edit the sentence until you have 25 words exactly. Notice how your idea changes as you edit and how your feelings change with each rewrite.
5. Add a picture if you can.
6. Post your 25 words on your blog by October 16th.
7. Link back to her post or leave a link to your post in the comments section.