Enjoy people that tell it like it is? Enjoy great photography with an edge? I stumbled upon Andrew Weaver's blog a month or so ago and have become a fan of both his easy, no nonsense style and his eye for dramatic, cutting edge images. There will be more then a few people who will relate to Andrew's blog entry for today - even the name may get the heart pounding. He is correct though, leadership is not about how well you handle a crisis, but how well you prevent a crisis from happening in the first place. Solid leadership is about keeping the drama to a minimum and providing a stable ground for your best team members to excel. Leadership = action versus reaction.
What are you grateful for? I don’t Tweet, even though I probably should and probably
will now that I see some of the amazing good that can come out of all those
short little posts that normally make me feel somewhat dizzy if I read them for
too long. What changed my mind? Tweetsgiving and Epic Change. From November 24 to 26th, Tweetsgiving is using the
internet and the power of social media to raise money in order to build new
schools in Tanzania. This is the second annual Tweetsgiving, with last year’s
event raising over $11,000 in two days through Twitter and the collective voice
of social media. Epic Change is a non-profit organization that ‘amplifies the
voices and impact of grassroots change makers and social entrepreneurs’.
Started by Sanjay Patel and Stacey Monk, Epic Change is about
using the power of social media to produce long lasting and powerful growth to
areas of the world that are rarely connected to this ‘world wide web’ thing
that the rest of us take completely for granted. Last year, Tweetsgiving raised enough money to help build a
school in Arusha, Tanzania. In October, the 350 students at Shepherds Junior
School were finally able to connect to the internet. Follow the tweets from the TwitterKids to learn
what gratitude truly is and why those of us fortunate enough to be able to take
things such as school and readily available access to the internet have so much
to be grateful for in our lives. Time to give back and say 'thank you'- donate to Tweetsgiving.
I have to admit it, I am a bag lady! I love bags like some women love shoes. It seems I am always in search of the perfect bag - computer bag, camera bag, expedition bag - it doesn't really matter. And rarely do I find a bag that fits my needs, utterly functional, looks totally cool, and exceeds my expectations when it comes to the environmental and fair trade ethical stuff that makes frivolous consumerism so bloody difficult these days. And yes, I have a serious bag problem...
Because I have this problem, I have a concern about what exactly it may do to my carbon footprint. I know, sounds nuts from someone who drives a Range Rover but, well, that is a post for another day. However, I worry that even though I give my old bags to the Salvation Army, I fear they may end up in a landfill somewhere one day. Does this stop my search of the perfect bag? No, but it does slow me down a bit. That was until I found the Osprey Resource Astro Courier Bag: The Osprey Resource Astro Courier Bag is made from 72% recycled material. Brilliant! Osprey makes an entire line of these Resource bags, all made from recycled material and with the same attention to detail that they show in their regular bags. On top of improving a bag ladies carbon footprint, Osprey also gives all their bags a lifetime warranty. This means that if stitches come undone, zippers blow, or the little plastic bits fall apart, they will replace them free of charge. This, in theory at least, should mean that this bag will remain the coolest computer bag for many, many years as there will be no need to replace it when it gets shabby! Better for the environment yet again! Lastly, all Osprey bags are made in the US meaning less fossil fuels are used to transport the finished product half way around the word. Absolutely stellar news! As computer bags go, the Osprey Resource Astro Courier bag is a solid, well-designed, and very functional carrier. It has multiple pockets, an adjustable shoulder strap, and a basic hip belt to keep it from swinging around a ton when you walk or ride. With the amount of travel time I put in, a sturdy computer bag is vital to protect my MacBook Pro. Thanks to Adam Spiker from Off-Roving, I have a Pelican Laptop Case - brilliant for when I want to really protect the laptop but a little overkill for walking to the local coffee shop when I need a change of scenery. I seriously belive my new Osprey Astro is going to be in my collection for many years...at least I can only hope...!
As you can see, I do not use WordPress - yet! It is pretty freakin' cool though so it might be worth switching when I have a minute or two. However, I have clients that use WordPress for their sites so I have had to become an expert in this fabulous content management system in order to help them develop their sites to their full potential. My self-imposed continuing education meant attending WordCamp Victoria today - an intense, two-stream, all day WP class. Hosted by Paul Holmes, President of IdeaZone.ca, who decided that Victoria needed a WordCamp after attending one in Surrey, BC. As the story goes, I guess he thought twenty people may show up so when nearly a hundred of us signed up, he was a bit surprised! All the attendees left with the same impression - when are we doing this again! With internationally recognized and insanely knowledgeable speakers such as Tris Hussey, Funeral Futurist (not kidding here!) Robin Heppell, and Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega, it was destined to be a hit. A few things I learned: 1). Never stop learning or asking questions. This is kind my life philosophy anyways but it was evident in the room that due to the incredible evolution of social media and CMS technology, even the experts don't know all the answers. Keep learning! Always ask questions and always stay open to new things and new opportunities! 2.) Give back! One of the things that may have changed in the last couple of years is people commenting on each others blogs versus commenting on Facebook, Tweets, etc. Commenting and back linking is one of best way to give back or pay it forward, depending on whether your glass is half full or not. 3). Social media is about people! Everyone has something to teach and a room full of knowledge is better then one person beating their head against a dim computer screen. All day questions came up that presenters could not answer yet often someone in the room would have a solution. Brilliant way to problem solve! 4). Read books! Books often give you an insider's knowledge to technology that is not found, or at least better explained, then on the net. Read books! Books are your friends. Try Tris Hussey's Create your Own Blog: 6 Easy Steps to Start Blogging Like a Proon for sizeor Create your Own Photo Blog by Catherine Jamieson if you are a creative sort. Paul is planning more WordCamp Victoria sessions for 2010. Keep an eye out for dates and make sure you attend the next one to learn, to grow, and to share your knowledge!
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