Posts Tagged 'inspiration'

5 Posts to Inspire Shiny Significant Change

I’ve been wondering about the steps required to make a difference using social media – big and small – so I’m sharing some posts written by others about “doing good” this week.

1. People want their lives to matter. I found this interesting, because while I’m a big believer in taking small steps to make a difference – wherever you are, however you can -  I also believe in dreaming big. This post was written by Dan Pallotta and tweeted by zOzyfounder Steve Jennings.

” We ask people to do the least they can do, and we make it insultingly easy. That’s not what people want”…”People want their lives to matter. They want to make a difference — a big difference. We must rid ourselves of the patriarchal idea that the wealthy are the only ones who can change the world, and launch a new age of citizen philanthropy.”

2. I discovered a couple of local peeps I follow on Twitter are riding their bikes to raise money for kids charities. Nick Hortovanyi is riding for the Smith Family to help disadvantaged children (donate here) and Craig Wilson (@MediaHunter) is riding with Colliers Tour de Kids for charities focusing on the health and well-being of kids (donate here)

3. 5 Unorthodox Ways to Fix Social Media by Justin Kownacki

“The tools we could be using to revolutionize communication are instead being used to complain about bad hair and shoddy customer service. People blog, podcast, tweet and Flickr because they feel obliged to, or because they’re aching to be noticed and validated by others, desperate for a rewteet to prove they’re still alive. Find a purpose. Set a goal. Decide what “social media success” would mean to you, personally. Then make choices that support your pursuit of that goal.”

4. Chris Brogan also wrote a post last week “When This All Gets Cool”, pointed out to me by colleague Luis Suarez in one of his posts. I’ts about turning something shiny into something that makes a significant change

5. Three Stages in the Journey of a Volunteer on Realized Worth. Chris Jarvis writes about the creation of an engaging volunteer experience.
“Tourist – Traveler – Guide. This is the journey of the volunteer. The great failure of the Non-Profit lies in expecting tourists to act like guides, treating guides like tourists, and ignoring the traveler all-together.”

Image by Crash:Candy

Makes me want to undertake a new journey of my own this year! But you know what? It’s not a new journey that’s needed, is it?  It’s about taking your experience,  skills, passion – your journey right now – and sharing it. Give. And give some more. Have fun. Do good.

What motivates you to give?

Virtual Adventures and Girl Scout Cookies

Click, flick, scroll, click.

I see you – clicking and peering through your screen, hoping to happen upon a tasty morsel on the interwebs. Well, let me tell you about my friend Kieran.

Kieran and I first met in 2007. I was wearing some kind of fancy frock thanks to some alien-like amazon woman dressed in a hideous ballgown.  You seem to be new here. Look behind the orange crates over there. You’ll find some free dresses that look a little more….3D, she said, looking me up and down in one awkward jilted motion.

Equipped and fully rezzed in a new foofy cocktail dress and shoes, feeling rather gauche – and having  fed my baby late at night – I teleported to my corporate playground to do some research.

Oh Jazzydee! I’m so glad you’re around!
Gizzy Electriteeth whispered to me,  I want to introduce you to my friend Kieran.

This is how we met. In a virtual world, exploring new ways people could learn and engage.  We chatted on an ambient dance space platform about life, work and serendipity. She had four kids. I had three. We both worked from home for the same company, but on different sides of the world. She wanted to use technology for social good. So did I.  She would post Girl Scout peanut butter cookies to me. I would send her some Furry Friends.

Image by Amber Rhea

Later, Kieran and I would apply for the same exciting  job. She got the gig. I And you know what? I was happy for her, because I knew she deserved it. She cheered me on and eventually I would find an equally exciting role. We Twittered. We Facebooked. We Slideshared. We chatted. She encouraged me.  And still does.

This is what I like about online social networks. The people. We discover people who share their dreams, adventures hopes and ideas. We connect with new friends who live in different cities and continents. People like Kieran. Like Gizzy. Like you. And our brief conversations inspire big dreams.

One day, we might just meet. But – you know what?  I feel like we’ve met already.

This is a post for SOBCon10 BlogIt, Earn It “The Virtual Meets the Concrete”. You can enter too. “Write a blog post about a person (or people) online who has (or have) made a difference in your life. Celebrate how they have made your life easier, better, smarter, more productive, more meaningful.”

Wonderment and Possibility

Joanna Young has an interesting writing challenge happening on her blog over the next couple of months on the theme of ‘Possibility’, covering the language of possibility, writing beyond our sense of what’s possible and helps to make things happen, achieving (im)possible writing goal and  the promise of “a group writing project to help stretch the boundaries of what’s possible in blogland…”

Her post appeared in my RSS reader just after I read ‘The Value of Wonder’ by Chris Brogan where he challenges us to add some wonderment to our working day.

When I started this blog nearly two years ago I called it Wonderwebby because I like to wonder about the wonderful webby things. The possibilities. Just imagine. Dare to dream a little.

Image by *- mika -*
Image “Look to the Sky”  by *- mika -*

What sparks your imagination at work? How do you like to include ‘wonderment and possibility’ in your day?

50,000 words just for fun

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

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?

Images that dare to dream

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….

Exploring Creativity

I’ve been persevering with the 52 weeks project, taking a self portrait every week. Well, not quite every week. For one, I need to set aside the time. Also it does feel terribly narcissistic; I don’t think it’s too healthy to spend too long focusing on yourself and I try to step outside of myself for the portraits (note: not easy – too tempting to edit the pics!!) However it’s been a good discipline – and having one subject to photograph does create a unique challenge. I’m almost half way. It’s that point on a project where you tend to lose a bit of steam. It’s also the point where you can break through to remarkable new ideas if you press on. So I’m setting aside a few minutes each week (when I can find it) amongst the busyness of raising a family, spending time with my husband, my community and enjoying my work. It doesn’t just encourage me to improve my photography and creative eye; it helps me to observe moments in time, the seasons, the environment and the world around me – just waiting to be noticed and captured.

bag and dress shoes on steps self portrait pensive self portrait self portrait in autumn

I’ve also joined Amy Palko’s Photography Less Ordinary Flickr group. She’s a very creative individual who wrote a great series on taking photos, worth a look-see.

Do you set aside time to explore your creativity? Do you set yourself challenges? How does it add to your quality of life?

Exercising Imagination

What does imagination mean to you? What power does it hold? What importance does it have in your life?

A quick Tweetscan revealed some curious insights and quotes on imagination this week.

edallen33 People with imagination can’t imagine how there can be people with no imagination.

eve11 If I can create art out of energy (inspiration, imagination), why not breathe same impulse to materialize food, shelter, all conceivable?

fred_dumas “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” ~Albert Einstein

BPD The imagination exercises a powerful influence over every act of sense, thought , reason, — over every idea. Latin Proverb

Glitchos The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.

lola125 Live out of your imagination instead of your memory. Tie yourself to your limitless potential instead of your limiting past.

gradualdazzle There is nothing more dreadful than imagination without taste. –Goethe

boobaby26 My imagination scares me sometimes…I think i’m just so tired that my brain is turning to other stations..some very weird stations

BassGhost “The nose of a mob is its imagination. By this, at any time, it can be quietly led.” -Edgar Allan Poe

haniff_din Imagination is more important than knowledge…

ArcaneInfernal If I had an imaginary cat and ate it, would it taste like my imagination?

cessibaby I left work at 1 30 this afternoon because i needed to give my imagination space.

asuntruth The man who has no imagination has no wings. Muhammad Ali

shawnz Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who said he “lacked imagination.”

Alanab Worry is the misuse of imagination.

garyd “Imagination is the weapon against boredom.” – The Wishfarmers Almanac

Imagination is what triggered my little ones to create a colourful piece of chalk art on our back fence! Why have a boring back fence when you can have this?!

chalk on fence

How do you exercise your imagination in “the everyday”?

Jumping In

You’re issued a challenge (to coordinate an event.) You don’t think you have time and you are already feeling a little stretched by your other extra-curricular activites. It’s been a while since you organised something like this. It seems like a mammoth task to achieve.

man running up a hill
Image by The Paper Boat

But you say yes. Because you know the event will be of great benefit to the company. You don’t know how you can make it happen – but it all comes together. You find five wonderful speakers through your social netowrk. They help you out, you plan it collaboratively online and everybody puts together some excellent presentations. It’s complete. A new community is formed and you sense this is the beginning of great things for the company.

And then you think. I could have made it bigger. What I thought was huge was really not that big at all. Aim higher. Dream bigger. Get there faster.

Yesterday a friend posted me sent my husband his copy (which I am conveniently reading) of Jump In by Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice.) “It’s about taking action”. Burnett writes “Nothing will ever be perfect, and nothing can be totally planned. The best you can hope for is to be half certain of your plan and know that you and the team you’ve assembled are willing to work hard enough to overcome the inevitable problems as they arrive.”

A couple of years ago I ran with an idea and turned it into a small business. It was a great experience, even though I made the difficult decision to close the business later because I realised I had other, bigger dreams to chase and needed some focus. But jumping in, saying yes, having the courage to believe in yourself and your ideas despite your own concerns or criticism…it’s a great lesson to learn.

Do you have an opportunity you want to explore? Are you ready to jump in? What’s holding you back?

Saul Bass

Like many others, I have always been impressed and inspired by the visual style of the talented graphic designer Saul Bass (1920-1996.)


Vertigo title sequence


Walk on the Wild Side title sequence


Casino title sequence

His obituary in the New York times celebrated him as “the minimalist auteur who put a jagged arm in motion in 1955 and created an entire film genre…and elevated it into an art.”

Find your talent. Be creative. Try something new. Keep it simple. Give it context. And put your own stamp on it.

Thank you, Saul Bass.

Similar Posts: Hoban’s Door 


2010 WonderThemes

View Jasmin Tragas's profile on LinkedIn
About Wonderwebby - by Jasmin Tragas - creative and digital media allsorts - mother - imagining new ways to make a difference
Twitter: wonderwebby
Disclaimer: the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent my employer’s positions, strategies or opinions.

wonderlinks

Add to Technorati Favorites

 

March 2010
M T W T F S S
« Feb    
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031