GREAT ADAPTATIONS

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While doing some research for my post in the Examiner today, I discovered this wonderful adaptation. It’s an expandable bench made of newspapers.

This is the stuff that makes me feel expansive, full of possibility. To my mind, the potential is vast for artists and innovators and all kinds of regular people to collaborate, support each others’ ideas and inventions, and move together toward something viable.

See the expandable bench here at Inhabitat. This is really just the tip of the green iceberg in terms of the innovation that’s out there. Do you know of other interesting sites that showcase art from reclaimed materials? Share them with us. I’m working on a list now for functional art, and I’d love your suggestions and input.

Cheers
Suzanna

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I am always looking at ways to bring attention over to the green-furthering-people on the web. Since our innovation is likely to mean our survival itself, whether we are the instigators of climate change, or happen to be living in a change that is part of a MUCH bigger picture, we are adapting to changing conditions. Using technology for everything it offers is an adaptation we can further. Not to get preachy about it, but we have great tools, and they are, so far, underutilized.

So today I’ll give you some links, and give these sites some “link love.” These are three worthy projects, all on very different scales, that I am happy to see:

The Compact

Buy nothing new. This group formed a few years ago (I think it was right after 9/11), and made a “compact” to buy nothing new. The yahoo group by the same name is also worth checking out. They support each other through the challenges of living without new stuff. (Toilet paper, underwear, a few other things are acceptable purchases.)

Trees for a Change

Kim Isley created a way for people to give a gift while giving earth a gift. Excellent way to provide people with a solution to cultural habits, and keep the green growing. The trees are planted in an area in Montana (right, Kim?) which was devastated by fire.

Green Mary

Mary Munat has grown this business from scratch. She makes sure events are as green as possible in terms of food service and other products. Great example of an idea that rode the energy of healthy evolution and turned into a real business.

I’m always looking for more worthy sites to offer my readers. Do you know of any?

Grassy Cheers,
Suzanna

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Adapting to the concept of 80/20

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Today I want to give you a link to one of Yaro Starak’s articles. He’s talking about the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle. This is something I am still absorbing, and I think it’s good to read about it if you are unaware of the concept. It takes me a while to absorb ideas, but once I “get it” I can really put it to use. I know this one is important. Take a look, and come back and let me know how it strikes you.

Yaro Starak’s 80/20 post

See you soon,

Suzanna

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Today’s blog is an addendum to my Examiner post. On Mondays, once or twice a month, I do a post called “Jack’s Times.” Jack is our new family member, born June 1st, 2008. I’m interested in how technology is bubbling up right now, and how our engagement in it will affect what Jack will be using in a few years.

You can see the post here: Web 55.0 Examiner.

In the post, I mentioned the transition from using landlines in our homes to other options, especially Skype. Here I’ll go into a little more detail about how that works.

Skype is a free program which allows you to make free VoIP (”Voice over Internet protocol”) calls worldwide between Skype subscribers. Even if none of your friends have a Skype account, you can still call anyone worldwide over regular landlines for a rate that is much lower than those charged by telephone companies.

Neat!

Skype has a bunch of other features that people are making great use of, including instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.

Here’s my own learning curve. I’m exploring how I will connect to my online world (you) while I travel. I’ll be writing from France, from Australia, and who knows where in between. My dream is to be able to do all my tasks, my writing, blogging, responding – all of it – by voice command. This is going to require some leaps out of my current devices, and even how I think about my communication. Are any of my readers using dictation software? Chime in about that.

And how about Skype or any other phone alternatives? Fill us in about your experiences in that department.

You can use the link below to check out Skype. Hurry up! I want to start doing teleconferences, and we’ll be using Skype so we can all talk together.

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Most of us have tried to change our behavior at some time or other. Some people attempt this almost every day, becoming inspired about the whole new life they are going to live, making huge promises to themselves and to others, only to return to the exact same behaviors the next day – or around the time of the next meal, to be more precise. Our brains respond to the deepest hardwiring, and that revolves around survival. Once you get hungry or tired, or respond to the stress of living today, you are once again deep in the ruts you have developed in your mind throughout your life.

The idea that thoughts create our reality is true for this one reason if no other. We think the same things over and over, and our entire physiology follows that thought pattern, running us through our hours and our days. Is there anything that can actually change these patterns?

Some scientists say no. Research has shown a very thick resistance to any real change in the life of an adult. To find a way around this reality which affects every human, one must create new patterns and find many ways to trigger the new, more desired behavior which one hopes will eventually result in a different outcome. Pay attention to the last part of that last sentence.

“Find many ways to trigger…” This is the essence of giving mental energy to desired behaviors in a way that can produce real change. Some examples of triggering the desired thought patterns are posting notes for yourself, having a friend participate by calling you or sending you a text message several times a day, attending groups regularly who are focused on the same kinds of changes. To change your life, you must change your life. It would be wonderful if we could just make a promise to ourselves in a moment of inspiration and have that be the force that moves us through a change, but it does not work that way. If you are a person who wants to make change in your life, you may have read many books and articles on how to create a new reality for yourself. You tell me. Have you accomplished your new goal? Reading about and thinking about change are part of the same mental habit which you are trying to escape.

People who have actually managed to make real change in their lives have employed a series of new patterns over time. The new habits can replace the old ones, draining the undesired brain area of its energy while it is being diverted to the new thought processes. The most productive way to get rid of a bad habit is to focus on a new one and put active, enthusiastic energy into accomplishing it.

Is there something you’ve been thinking you’d like to do for yourself? How about starting a new habit today? What might that be?

Suzanna

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

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I’m very curious about the ways women are adapting to changing times in terms of career aspirations, work life and family life. In the face of unaffordable transportation costs, for example, how are we innovating in order to thrive?

I’ve brought Shirley Chisholm back into the conversation because she represents, to me, a woman on a mission. I meet lots of women these days who have a mission, or they might call it a vision. They engage the dynamics of change.

The ones I’m talking about today (see resources below) are doing, I think, what Shirley did. Accepting the threat and embracing the opportunity, they draw juice right out of the confusion of large cultural change. Then they innovate around the lifestyle they want, creating a template so others can use their systems.

What comes out of all that innovating is a new paradigm. In this paradigm, women can be healthy moms and pursue their careers. This is an innovation that could not come through the visions of men. They did not have the need. But men who want to be with their children and continue their careers can benefit just the same from the visionary systems women create.

Here are some resources where you can learn more about the future:

The multi-faceted loss of women’s expertise is described in Hidden Brain Drain Task Force, a study co-authored by Sylvia Ann Hewlett. Read some of Hewlett’s writing on the Harvard Business blog, and let me know what you think about her perspective.

Flexperience Consulting is hosting a conference in San Francisco, June 24th. “Flexibility – the Future of Work” is the theme. I’ve emailed them to suggest that they make this four-hour conference available online. (My two-bits regarding flexibility and the future – use technology to reach more people, promote innovation, and foster connection. Please.) And take a look at their criteria and awards for women innovating here at their Flexperience Forum.

I’m deeply encouraged by the scope of challenges women take on. As we become more adept at online communication, this web we weave reaches into distant corners with promise and potential.

Here are some questions I’d like your input on:

• Do you feel your work life and family life are balanced?
• If you could make one change in your work routine, what would it be?
• Are you able to work from home part of the time? All of the time?
• Do you think your job is worth the time and fuel you spend getting there?
• Is there anything you’ve adapted in your life to feel more balanced?

Let me know.
Suzanna

One of these is flesh, the other is not. Can you tell?

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I’ve been learning about virtual worlds. It’s a very strange journey. On the one hand, my imagination streams toward the possibilities of creating myself as a cartoon, and experiencing worlds in 3-D which exist through the looking-glass — er - through the monitor. On the other hand, (or is it the other side of my brain?) I’m compelled toward nature. I crave earth, dirt, bugs, clouds, more of the chaos and unpredictability that is nature’s realm. This was the first and most distinct response I’ve had to the unfolding of the virtual world called “Second Life.”

I wrote about it over at the Examiner. Come join me today on my other blog.

Stay real.

Suzanna

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I’ve written a post over on my Examiner blog about welcoming the newest family member. Jack was born yesterday, and we’re all giggly with awe and the perspective a new baby brings. Check it out here:

Nothing virtual about Jack’s point of view.

I’ll be back tomorrow!

Have a fantastic Monday,

Suzanna

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The creators of Common Craft, Sachi LeFever and Lee LeFever, are brilliant at lighting up the game pieces of social technology. Using beautifully simple and short videos, they have already built an easy-access library of tutorials on aspects of online communication. Most worthy of mention is the fact that their material will work just as well for a 90-year-old as it will for anyone else. I consider them peers in the ongoing work of bridging generations.

Take a look at their video, “Blogs in Plain English.”

Yeah, I know, Lee talks a little fast. So watch it a couple of times if you need to. Let me point out, too, that as simple as these videos are, they are not oversimplified. Online communication is not really that complicated. The systems people are learning to use it can be daunting, but with a little mental elbow grease and some community support, we can all learn this stuff.

Speaking of community support, I’m going to model what online communication is good at, right now, just for you. I’d like to introduce a cloverleaf.

For good luck?
Okay, let’s back up. There’s a new term for you, most likely. A “cloverleaf” in online communication is where online and onground communities interact. To me, this is the best technology has to offer: mutual enhancement. It’s called a “cloverleaf” because, like the highway device, things move on and off the ramps and go in both directions. On a highway, a cloverleaf provides access to the community and the highway, and it is designed to do that seamlessly. In online communication, the cloverleaf occurs in many places.

The cloverleaf I am introducing is (drum roll!) the Bay Area Blog Society. TA DA!! Rev your virtual (gas free) engines!

The Bay Area Blog Society, or – you got it! – BABS, is now forming in the laptops and brains of a handful of local bloggers and blog-interested individuals. Most of us are in or near the San Francisco Bay area, but people like the LeFevers are so integral to the mission of BABS that I have invited them to be long distant BABS-es. We’ll probably have a lot of those, since it’s ridiculous to take a tool like the Internet and exclude appropriate players by virtue of their locale.

Still, part of the cloverleaf effect is that a regional association allows us to descend from our virtual crowsnests and show up in a room together. That’s a great thing. (Parties, relationships, conferences, that kind of juice.)

BABS in brief
BABS will support the development and responsible use of blogs, helping new bloggers along with local classes and e-material. Along with producing guides for people who are not yet comfortable with the Internet (and sharing ones that already exist), BABS will promote and support audio recording of useful blog material for the sight-impaired. This large demographic is pathetically under-served on the Internet. BABS will set out to solve that problem.

Read the early version of the BABS mission statement. Comments please!

See you soon,

Suzanna

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Today I’m sending you over to my blog on the Examiner site, where I posted today about the desire for challenge and meaning in the Boomer demographic. My Examiner blog is called Web 55.0 Examiner.

Here, I’m posting an inspiring piece by John Gomperts, who wrote the foreword to the study called “Great Expectations.” His perspective on Boomers reaching for meaning and purpose is right along the lines of what I’m up to on this blog. We are seeing a convergence now between the accessibility of online communication and the health and healing of our cultures as well as our tremendous need for innovation in these times. We are reinventing how to take care of ourselves and each other, and the Internet is playing a huge role.

Here’s the foreword:

“The aging of America is likely to be the biggest demographic story of our times. Though the statistics about the changes in the make-up of the American population have become familiar, they are nonetheless breathtaking. The largest generation ever to pass through its 40s and 50s is now moving into its 60s. In five years, 20 percent of the population will be over 60. This will bring profound changes to schools and universities, to health care and housing, to the workplace and civil society, to virtually every institution in our lives.

In 2005, the MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures “New Face of Work” Survey found that boomers have a strong desire to launch a new chapter in their working lives that involves significant social contribution. People over 50, especially adults between 50 and 55, showed a surprisingly high level of interest in making shifts from their intense midlife careers to new pursuits that improve lives in their communities.

The boomer generation is known for wanting choice. And every study to date has found that boomers are not looking for busy work. They are looking for meaning and purpose. They are looking for interesting and challenging opportunities to make an impact on big societal problems, from education to the environment, hunger to homelessness to health care. As the President of Civic Ventures, the CEO of Experience Corps, and a VolunteerMatch Board Member, I am particularly encouraged by the findings in “Great Expectations: Boomers and the Future of Volunteering.” This study underscores the opportunity for nonprofits to engage the time and talent of this exceptional generation and the promise of the Internet as a tool to recruit them.

With knowledge and investment we can transform the aging of the baby boom generation from a potential crisis into an historic opportunity. There are millions of talented, experienced Americans ready to roll up their sleeves. All they need now is a great opportunity.”

See you soon,

Suzanna Stinnett