I was recently made aware of this video in one of my design classes. It really struck a chord with me because I am constantly amazed at the amount of information and technology that we are bombarded with every day. This video really was able to put a lot of that into perspective for me. Check it out…
I know that it’s a bit outdated, but I found it very interesting. What does it mean for us? I’m not too sure yet, but I do know that the thought of a $1,000 computer with the computational power greater than that of the entire human race is pretty cool … or scary.
After seeing a tweet by @chrisbrogan about Blog Day, I thought it would be a great idea to join in the fun and let everyone know what I like to read and hopefully be able to give someone an opportunity to find something new and interesting. So here it is, the list of my five favorite blogs:
1) The Social Times – A great blog about all things social, written by Nick O’Neill. There are some pretty great posts in there, and I think he always has a great view on what he writes about.
2) How to Change the World – The musings of Guy Kawasaki. It’s always great to read what he has to say, no matter the subject.
3) How to Split an Atom – This is a well-written blog that has some really interesting stuff and ideas. Definitely worth checking out.
4) ChrisBrogan.com – If you’re not sure how you can utilize social media for businesses and organizations, then this is the guy for you. There is always tons of quality info written by Chris, and I’d say it’s one of my top resources for working with businesses and social media.
5) Mashable – This is great for getting the scoop on the social networking industry. Never leave home without it.
So there you have it, my top 5 most read blogs. Let me know what you’re into … I’m always into learning something new!
While many people have already realized the benefits of social media and social utilities, there are still many others who have not yet realized how it can help them or even that there are real uses for it. Sometimes it amazes me to see these differences in the population when some people utilize tools and others refuse to try.
While I do see the great aspects of an online life, I also see why people may not be as enthusiastic about the industry. There is a definite lack of privacy and unless you know what you are really looking for, there can be an information overload. I’ve managed to get past the negative aspects to find the following ways that social media has managed to benefit me:
Information: Being connected to hundreds of people online via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has led to many question and answer sessions with my connections. It is a great way to find people with a lot of knowledge in a specific area instead of trying to Google the answer to an obscure question.
Connections: Social media led to a great job over the past few months, and hopefully it will allow me to continue in that field in the future.
Ability to voice opinions: The internet is not just a one-way street anymore. Anyone who has an opinion can share it with the masses, and it has allowed me to have my own voice and share my opinions.
Fun: When all else fails, the internet is always a great place to unwind and have some fun. Social gaming has always been a favorite of mine, and it is a great way to connect with more people that share your interests and passions.
The key to social media is that there are infinite ways to make it work for you. So I pose the question – how do you utilize social media? What aspects do you like or dislike? Do you use it for work or play, to learn or to share? I’m very interested to study what others think about the subject. Let me know!
In the midst of starting several new projects and working with a new company, I’m learning that there is one thing that is going to get you farther than someone, or anyone, else. Straight up enthusiasm. Love it, own it, think about it, put everything into it. Research, write, draw … anything that keeps you going. If you are enthusiastic in it and believe that you can succeed, you will.
As I’m sure everyone knows, yesterday (4/22) was Earth Day. Every year up until now I have enjoyed Earth Day and everything that it stands for, but I never really was into participating in it. This year, with gas and energy prices becoming so high, I have had a lot more interest in the whole green movement. Yesterday I wanted to see how much of an impact I am having on the environment around me, so I hopped over to CarbonFootprint.com and calculated my carbon footprint. The results are below.
I had no idea what to expect, and the results totally astounded me. Every year, I am personally throwing 15.299 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere … that’s 33,657.8 pounds! I felt a little bit better about myself when I saw that I was below the country average, but to see the world target and how low it was was a real bummer. It made me think long and hard about what I can do differently.
There are a lot of easy ways to try to lessen our impact on the earth. From now on, I know that I am only going to buy low energy and LED lights whenever needed, and it’s also really easy to buy rechargeable batteries. These are both fairly low-cost alternatives. You may also opt to buy Energy Star rated appliances as well. You can also buy organic foods, and just plain recycle anything that can be recycled. There are also some cool alternatives to everyday accessories like these solar powered backpacks that charge your electronics with energy stored from solar panels. Just try to remember that we can help make a change for the better.
What are some other easy alternatives to help reduce our impact on the earth? I’d love to hear from you!
I did an interesting thing this weekend, at least for me. I decided not to use the internet. It worked for the most part (I had to check email for school). The most interesting thing that I found is how little I missed using it. Usually when I get used to doing something day after day, I feel like a part of me is missing when I don’t do it for more than a day. This time, I felt a little bit liberated.
I was free from internet gossip about who’s being sold to whom and I didn’t hear a word about Microsoft/Yahoo. I figured that I would at least miss one huge news story. Turns out I didn’t miss a thing (other than the 300 blog posts I found in my reader on Sunday night). Maybe it was really good timing to do this because I checked Twitter 5 times (I know, a small cheat) and there weren’t more than 20 updates the whole weekend. I later found out that the site was working just enough to let a few updates through.
One thing I did find, though, is that the things I missed were the least important. I missed watching Gary V’s WLTV shows Thursday and Friday. I also missed seeing what everyone else was up to on Twitter (but so did everyone else). Most of all, though, I was constantly thinking about people who would miss this blog. I have no idea if anyone really loves it, but I really like writing for you.
An internet break may not be as easy for most as it was for me, but I would definitely recommend it once in a while. Has anyone else tried this recently? Why or why not? Let me know!
I will be home for the weekend with family and friends so I will not be updating for the next few days. I think I’ll have some big stuff to talk about early next week. Stay tuned, and thanks for all your support so far!
How many times have you seen a new technology emerge and jumped to be the first in line to get it? How many social networks have you joined in beta to say that you got to be one of the select few to use it first? Early adopters are a rare breed that love nothing more than being the first ones to have or do something. But sometimes that comes at a price. Here’s why.
Technology changes at an incredibly rapid pace. If you were one of the first people to buy an iPhone, you know what I’m talking about. There have been lots of updates for the phone, and you’ve even gone through the first phases of iPhone applications. Sure, some may like seeing the changes as the come, but many find it annoying that they can’t just have it work flawlessly all the time. Oh yeah, and remember when they dropped the price by $100 and told you that you could only spend the refund in Apple stores?
Change (for better or worse) is inevitable. This is obviously going to happen no matter what, yet I often find that the early adopters are the most resistant to change. We always like things “the way they used to be”. Take Twitter as an example. This past weekend, Twitter saw an explosion of new users, and also an explosion of spam. (And if you noticed, most people were pissed). According to The Social Times, Twitter is also starting to experiment with advertising “tweets”, which makes other upset. Come on, they have to make money somehow! It’s as if the early users of the site feel like victims of a foreign invasion. Just remember, there will almost always be growth. Get used to it.
There will always be dissent (see above). Many early adopters seem to think that they know what is best for their current adoption because they got to see it at its “purest” form. The problem is that most of us don’t know what is best. Therefore, people argue about it, and sometimes quite publicly. “It needs this feature!” they say. “No more spam!” they cry. Just let the changes pan out, and if it turns out that they were for the worse, then we can start to dissent. Until then, just ride the wave.
Are you an early adopter of something? Have you found these same problems? Let me know what you think!
I was recently alerted to the existence of an organization on the Quinnipiac University campus that is working towards a great cause. The organization is SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), and they have started a project to help raise funds and awareness of a small coffee-producing village in Cameroon, Africa called Bawa.
The village is small, and the coffee beans they produce are their only means of living. Currently they do not have the necessary equipment to produce a top-notch finished bean, so part of the aim of the SIFE students is to help produce a better way of creating a great finished product to sell to the global market.
The main problem in the village, though, is health. The nearest health center is six miles away, and they are only able to reach it by foot because not one person has a vehicle. Many people die en route to the health center, and many more never even try to make the trip.
This is where the SIFE students are trying to make a difference. This past weekend, they had a kick-off party for their new organization to help raise funds to build a health center in Bawa. They call their organization “Cafe Cameroon”. The students are buying the coffee beans from Bawa at fair-trade prices and then selling them by the pound in the greater New Haven area. They completely sold out of 150 pounds of beans last weekend, and their next shipment will be 4,000 pounds. 100% of the profits from sales are going to the fund to build the health center.
The main reason for this post is to ask for help. The health center will cost $300,000 to build and staff, and last weekend alone over $2,000 was raised. Still, more distribution channels are needed. If you would like to help, or know of someone who would, please do not hesitate to contact me or the organization at www.CafeCameroon.com.
Thank you all for your help,and good luck to Cafe Cameroon.
I have read a few posts lately about people who would like to try to visualize their social networks. This is quite a feat to accomplish, seeing as many people’s networks include thousands of people. Although many people may not be able to complete such a task, there is a website that showcases people’s attempts to do so. If you want to check it out, it is VisualComplexity.com. There are some pretty cool ones, and I would recommend looking at the Digg Community and the Facebook Friend Wheel.If anyone else has succeeded in mapping their social network, let me know!
Posted by Griff McGrath 
Posted by Griff McGrath 
Posted by Griff McGrath 
