GREAT ADAPTATIONS

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On her site, Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni says: “Conversation is a space where relationships are managed.”

I am hosting a glossary series on my Examiner column right now, where I’ve got about ten terms of online communication so far. #9 was “The Conversation.” I’d like to get your input too – in other words, I’m inviting you to “join the conversation.”

Every one of us who engages online communication, through blogs, emails, social media, and more, are participating in the conversation. Looking through my spyglass into the fuzzy future, I see the effects of millions of people in billions of conversations, many of them open through forums and comments sections. The use of the Wiki (websites which can be altered by the readers), extends our abilities to converse by yet another exponent.

I use my Google homepage to collect my feeds from a number of different blogs. I just realized that I am actually able to see conversational threads, and by receiving the three most recent article titles from each blog, I get a visual experience of what is being talked about.

How do you receive The Conversation? Are you using more audio blogs or podcasts, do you get your current threads in your email? What devices work best for you? In other words, what makes you feel most connected?

Suzanna

Click here to: Participate in the Examiner Glossary Series conversation

I’m reading this great blog by Leo Babauta, on Tim Ferriss’ website. It’s about organizing your tools and habits so that you don’t have to try to remember everything. YES. The information is detailed, specific, and action-oriented.

He gives the most important habits to put in place (SUPER helpful!) and one of them was to “make a note immediately” when you are taking in information. So. I’m in the middle of a bunch of things and tried to figure out where to make a note about making a note — and decided to put it right onto my blog! Since it will be published, that is, public, maybe that will help me institute these great new tools and habits in my life. Heaven knows I need them!

Check it out here:

How to never forget anything again

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This is one of those moments I love: Seeing concepts I’ve written about turning up in someone else’s smart, timely book. It’s happening in a few different places right now, and I keep getting my worn copy of “Little Shifts” out to answer my own question, “What did I say, back then?”

“Little Shifts” is not quite four years out now, but in publishing circles it’s an old horse. It enjoyed a nice run on the market and continues to sell. But I think some of the messages in my little book are just now ripe on the tree. In the chapter called “The Great Adventure,” I said “This is a grand opportunity for the best kind of growth – a growth of commitment, consciousness, and imagination.” I told the story about William McDonough, one of our most accomplished visionaries, and the community of innovators at work creating solutions for our planet. Then I made an invitation.

“When we join our willing optimism to the community around us, invite our imaginations to the party, and deliberately choose a positive future, a great adventure begins to unfold. The possibilities are limitless.
“Trust that your vision is connected to these mighty forces. From that trust your creative life will emerge, along with the energy and understanding of how to execute your ideas.”

In the book I advocate using business as a force for social change. Having a business gives us “arms and legs” beyond just the voice of an individual.

Today, I’m excited about the undercurrent which seems to be swelling to the surface. Daniel Pink’s book, “A Whole New Mind, Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future,” beautifully articulates where we are headed and why creatives are emerging as cultural leaders. Brian Clark and Mike McGuinness have started a very clever series called Lateral Action, with the fourth entry also mentioning Daniel Pink’s book. You can understand why I’m jumping up and down and pointing my finger. This imagination-driven culture is becoming visible. These are the great adaptations I’m talking about. It’s us!

I want you to think about something today. Where would you like to apply more imagination in your life? Let’s take it a step further. Let me know, in the reply area here, what three areas of your life could be most improved by a fully empowered imagination?

Blessings,

Suzanna

Participate in the Examiner Glossary Series, and see your name in the published document. Here’s the most recent entry:

“Mashup” – not about potatoes

Those of you who are interested in continuing to learn the language of online communication are invited over to today’s Examiner columns. I’ve included more of Marc Prensky’s informative work, as well as a chart which starkly shows the differences in brain preferences for digital natives, which are our students, and digital immigrants, which are attempting to teach those students. Very interesting and a little scary.

Here’s the link: Populating two worlds: Digital immigrants

See you there!

Suzanna

As many of you know, I developed a big chunk of my sense of what the Internet can be, culturally, as an early participant in an online bulletin board called “Wacco.”

It existed first on Yahoo, and now continues as a newer Yahoo group and a large and growing website, www.WaccoBB.net.

I’d like to hear about other forums which have grown large through an onground community such as the Wacco bulletin board. I know of several which exist to serve a global community, coming together through common interests such as entrepreneurship or working moms, for example, but I’d like to know more about online forums which serve a specific region.

Let me know what you’ve seen out in the clouds. How do regional forums develop? Are people utilizing print material to let their community know, as WaccoBB does?

See more about the term “onground” here at the Examiner Glossary series. Please comment, and subscribe to the 100 day series there at the Examiner.

Suzanna

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If you don’t know about Marc Prensky, let me refer you to this pivotal piece of his in the link below. If you’re a teacher or a parent trying to understand how your child learns, you’ll want to read this six page article in its entirety. Time well spent.

Trained at both Harvard and Yale, Marc Prensky has created a number of games which are aligned with the brains of today’s young student and which teach them in ways they are extremely well prepared to learn. He founded the Digital Multiplier, an organization “dedicated to eliminating the digital divide in learning worldwide.”

Parents and teachers certainly don’t have to reinvent the wheel in order to communicate well with today’s kids. They (we) just have to change our own orientation to what we call “round.” Marc Prensky is making this much easier than it sounds.

Your input is requested for the Glossary of Online Communication we are developing over at the Examiner. Here is the first Examiner entry: Online Communication. I ardently implore you to visit, comment, and subscribe. Give me 100 days to develop this glossary, and I’ll publish it at the end of the year. Let’s all help each other get on the map.

If you’re a Twitterer, feel free to send me your ideas, terms to define, or questions there – you’ll find me as Brainmaker.

Notes from Marc Prensky, (See Part 1, here.)

(Note: This is a guest post by Jenn Givler, as part of my Introductions series while I am away. Enjoy!)

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi’s words are very wise. And, I’m sure you know that you need to take action, or nothing will change. But, what actions are the right ones? And, where do you even start?

That feeling of overwhelm can really get you stuck in inaction. And then, as Gandhi points out, there will be no result.

It all starts with planning. And, if you’re anything like me, the thought of making a plan sort of feels stifling… or confining. I mean, what’s the sense in planning when you have no idea what’s going to come your way in the next few weeks or months – you want to have the flexibility to take advantage of any new opportunities, right?

I’m not a natural born planner, I had to learn the value of planning, and I had to learn to do it in a way that allowed for a certain degree of spontaneity, but also helped me move forward and feel productive, and fulfilled.

The first thing to realize is that – the plan can change. Anything you develop can (and probably will) change. The second thing to remember is, stay true to yourself and only include things in your plan that feel really good deep down in your soul.

To begin planning for the things you want to accomplish, the first thing to do is paint a big picture vision of where you want to be in 6 months to a year. I often tell people to write an essay as if they were standing in their lives and had everything exactly as they wanted it.

This activity will help you devise the bigger goals, and then you can fill in the details. For example, let’s say you want to leave a full time job within a year. Once you can see that in your mind’s eye, you can start thinking about smaller actions that will get you to that larger goal.

Next, think about how much time you have to work specifically on your plan. Think about what you’ve already got in your schedule, and determine when you can fit your actions in. Set boundaries when working on your plan – if you plan to work for 2 hours, focus and get through the activities you want to get done.

Finally, start looking at what activities are serving you and what’s not. In other words, what are the things that will get you closer to your goal, and what are doing because you feel you should? Start to release those things that feel like “shoulds.”

Planning and goal setting can seem dry and boring on the surface. But truly, it’s the only way you’ll make changes. Just remember, rigidity is not how life works, so allow for flexibility and new opportunities. If you get stuck, get help. There are many, many experts, books, web sites, and blogs out there to help you get what you need and move forward!

About Jenn
Jenn Givler is an Intuitive Business Coach. She teaches holistic business owners and healing arts practitioners how to promote their businesses. Through her Mindful Marketing program, Jenn teaches marketing techniques that help you connect with the people who need you, but don’t make you feel overbearing or aggressive. If you wish you were more courageous about marketing, check out her web site:

Create A Thriving Business

http://www.CreateAThrivingBusiness.com