Month: March 2009

Categories
Thoughts

Young Authors

Craig Orback, Illustrator
Craig Orback, Illustrator

This week I had the priviledge of attending a Young Authors Conference with 2 of my daughters who are in 4th and 5th grade.

It was a wonderful event where children from elementary schools all over the area converge on a community college (which happened to be on Spring Break) and get to learn from and interact with real authors and illustrators.  There were several presentations throughout the day and also a bookstore where you could buy the authors’ books and get their autograph.

This year’s theme was poetry, so we met two excellent poets, James Bertolino, and Lorraine Ferra (snagged their books and signatures) and also a very talented children’s book illustrator, Craig Orback – who is a real artist that can create art in a variety of mediums: oil and canvas, pen and ink, water color, pastels, chalk, pencil sketch, etc.

The point I’d like to make is that true scarce skills are still valuable.  These people actually make their living by being very good poets and artists.  Even though the publishing world is changing because anybody can publish a book online these days, and all the new digital tools for creating graphic arts allows almost anyone to become an artist, the fact remains that you still need to have skills to produce high quality material.

Craig told me that work hasn’t slowed down for him at all, just because of the digital age.  And these older poets we met have written many books and their poetry is used all over, in a variety of places.

James Bertolino, Poet
James Bertolino, Poet

So even though the world is changing, and the kids need to learn new skills these days, if they can be the best (or one of the best) in whatever skill they choose, people will want to experience what they produce.  And they’ll always have something to do.

Categories
Books Web sites

Building Communities

I finally found what I’m looking for.  This is my newest favorite blog, along with this one running a close second.

They’re about building communities, and more about the personal side of it than the technical side.  The posts are short and to the point and provide great insight.

It turns out that community building is now a whole new industry with many available jobs, consultants, books, and communities.  Who knew?

Of course I knew it was a hot topic and something that many people were talking about, but I never dug deep enough to find the actual experts on it.  And I still think I’ve just scratched the surface.

Call me naive or disconnected or out of the loop, but it’s still true: the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.

The world is one big place, with a lot of stuff happening.  And just watching TV only makes you think you know what is happening.

Categories
Web sites

The Long Blog Tail

I know for a fact that there are a lot of talented musicians in the world that you have never heard of.

Like this guy for example.

By the same token, there are a lot of good blogs out there that some people may never see (like this one. The one you’re reading.)

So why not share a little and spread the knowledge of something good.

Here’s a good obscure blog that I found.  He has a great post with an interesting analogy for today’s financial situation.

(Okay, so he happens to be a friend at work.)

(Okay, so the musician happens to be my brother.)

How else would I find these things?

Oh yea, I suppose I could surf the net too.  But it doesn’t hurt to start with your world.

Categories
Web sites

The Alternative MBA

I thought it might be a good idea, once a week, to share the book review presentations that we are creating in the Alt-MBA program.  One reason is because they are really well done, and another was to give me some authomatic material at least once a week.

Well, it doesn’t make sense to continually share something that is already on a public web site (so much for automatic material.)  So I’ll just tell you to bookmark this website and check it each week as new book review presentations are posted. 

The guys running the program have done a bang up job.  We also have interviews with some of the authors and have shared those as podcasts in iTunes.  We are trying to show that with the new technology and social tools available today, it can be quite easy to redefine what it means to ‘get an education’.

Categories
Thoughts

Respect

Many people of the world understand the basic concept of this word, and in fact, demand it for themselves from others, but obviously we’re a long way from everyone really living it, otherwise we wouldn’t need locks on our house and car doors, security systems, virus protection software, police officers or armed forces.

All these things (and many others) protect us from the disrespect our fellow man gives to us and our property.

We may always need to design more airtight security systems and stronger defense mechanisms for those forces of disrespect that prevail, but they won’t address the root of the problem.

As history can testify, the most powerful force in the world, and therefore also the most dangerous, is an idea.

The most horrifying and extreme case of man’s inhumanity to man in recent history is the story of the holocaust in Nazi Germany, although there are many other similar stories around the world that have not been as publicized.  Our recent terrorist attacks are also examples of the awful brutality that can be administered by our fellow man.

These extreme cases, along with all the others of lesser extreme, are due to some idea held in the hearts of man that justifies their actions.

Therefore, the best offense and defense against these dangerous ideas is to spread the opposing idea of respect for our fellow man.  And when I say ‘spread’ I don’t mean like a news story that everyone hears about one day, then forgets the next day. The idea of respect must lie deep in the heart of every individual so that it guides every decision and therefore all their actions.

This kind of deep, imbedded standard of behavior usually doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes many years and most easily occurs during the time when our minds are most impressionable.

It’s called upbringing.

Therefore, the solution is for me to teach my children to respect others.  And to try to teach others to teach their children respect for their fellow human beings.  And when I say ‘teach’ I don’t just mean ‘tell’.  It must be part of our entire way of life.  I must lead by example, and through many little opportunities I must instill in my children’s hearts the strong desire to respect others.

It may not be easy, or work very quickly, but in the end, it’s the only viable solution.

Categories
Books

Citizen Marketers

A while ago I posted about a group I joined where we were getting our Personal MBA.  It amounts to reading a bunch of the latest business books and having discussions about them, even sometimes having the authors speak to us in an online forum.

Well, we’ve actually called our version the Alt-MBA (for Alternative) and have been going gangbusters.  We’ve picked our own list of 25 books that we’re reading in 25 weeks, and our only graduation requirement is that we have to teach someone else something we learned.

Now, I’ll admit, I haven’t been keeping up with reading every book (actually the first few were ones I’ve already read) but I’ve still learned a lot from the summary presentations and the discussions, and will be catching up by purchasing a few tomorrow.

So what I really wanted to share today is this latest book presentation on Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba.  The presentation is by Cassie Pruett and is best viewed in full screen mode. (She does an awesome job.)  Check it out, it’s only 22 slides and will take you 2 minutes.

By the way, all our presentations are located on SlideShare and all of our podcasts are on iTunes.  A good idea would have been for me to share these presentations once a week when they come out, but since I just thought of it, I’ll try and catch up (we’re only on week 7.)

Anyway, Citizen Marketers is a good one about the new influencers and how it’s all about the online community and (digital) word of mouth these days.

Now go tell someone about it.

Categories
Books Web sites

Changing the World

What happens when you write a blog post every day for two months and then all of a sudden stop?

Well, both of your readers get upset.

Or, nobody notices.

I’m hoping the later.

But here’s something that might be interesting.

Seth Godin doesn’t promote too many books from other people, only when it’s something he completely believes in.  And let me tell you that Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of the Acumen Fund, is one of his favorite people.  So when she releases her first book, The Blue Sweater, you know he is going to promote it as best as he can.

Here is his explanation of why you should buy her book.  (I wouldn’t doubt that he is the anonymous donor.)

I think this is interesting because we’re learning how possible it really is to change the world.  Maybe because there are so many parts of the world that have a lot of room for improvement, and we’re able to more easily connect those who can help with those who need the help.

I’m guessing that is what The Blue Sweater is about since the subtitle is “Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World”.

That looks like a good book to own.  Plus, by buying it, you are doing your part to change the world.