Six Degrees or Six Pixels of Separation?

Posted by random olio

I had checked out “Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone” by Mitch Joel at the library numerous times and had never opened the cover. I either had to return it because someone else was next on the list, or I had renewed it so many times I had to return it and re-check it out. Finally last week I read it. After getting into it, I realized I was reading it at the perfect time. Had I actually opened the cover before last week I am not sure I would have finished reading it. It is not that it is a boring book, more that the subject matter has a specific audience. The message has an impact to a project I am working on at the moment, and I probably would not have related to the message the author shares if I was not working on this project! It is always interesting to me the timing of things in our lives.

The premise of Joel’s book is that due to the Internet, we are no longer separated (think Kevin Bacon and six degrees of separation). He talks throughout the book about how to interact, engage, and ask questions online. He shares very helpful ideas. In the end I realized how we are all in differing degrees cyber stalkers. We view and watch online much more often than we participate. Such as this fact from Six Pixels:

“Only about 2 percent of all people online actually comment. The question really needs to be provocative enough to spark them to take action. Asking questions also keeps your content alive for a longer period of time.” Page 174

I think that is fascinating. Only 2 percent. So that means that the other 98% of online users are stalking content. What will it take to raise that 2% to 5%? Create more compelling content? Ask more questions? Create a forum for conversation?

I have my own reasons for not always commenting or participating. Sometimes it is time. I might quickly be checking into Facebook or Twitter to read updates, but do not have time to respond. Or I might not be interested in the topic or community and decide not to share my thoughts. Often, though if I have the time or energy, I will contribute, respond, like, share, etc. When I see a picture or an article, I comment if there is something I want to share. This means I am at times part of the 2% and at times part of the 98%.

Why do you choose to contribute online? Or what makes you stay in the 98%?

“Year of the Girl”

Posted by random olio

Randomly the other day I was reading a publication for a time share company. An ad in this publication was for Girl Scouts. Having been a Girl Scout myself, I was interested. Upon further reading I realized that the ad was actually for: “Year of the Girl.” Girl Scouts are celebrating 100 years and they have dedicated 2012 as the Year of the Girl. What a cool idea. This year has been such a full year for women, it always reminds me that rights for women have come so far, but that we still have so much more to do for women’s rights!

This link on the Girl Scouts website, discusses the many thing that girls are doing in their community. Strong leaders, saving the earth, and many other success stories. I wanted to share a few nuggets of information from their website:

Only one in five girls believes she has what it takes to lead.

Fifty-nine percent of girls say the fashion industry makes them feel fat.

Eighty-five percent of middle-school students say they’ve been cyberbullied at least once.

Although more than 90 percent of girls in fourth grade want to continue studying math, by twelfth grade that number drops to 50 percent.

While I do not remember if my years as a Girl Scout taught me about leadership, I do remember many of the campouts, activities, merit badges, and friendships. Due to all that I learned, I am hopeful and confident that what the Girl Scouts organization is doing for girls today will help them to feel confident about themselves and create leaders for the future.

Go 2012! Go Year of the Girl!

The Infinite Uses of Creative Thought

Posted by random olio

Over the Labor Day weekend we were walking through the Annual Art in the Pearl festival in Portland and saw this quote on a nearby gallery window:

on a window in Portland…

It really resonates with me. “Inform and delight.” If you do not know Milton Glaser, you can check out his website. He is most known for creating the I (heart) NY slogan. I love this idea that art should: inform and delight. I can get behind that. We all have ways that we are creative in our lives. Do you ever wonder if you are an artist? Does being creative inspire you?

There are so many ways to be creative in this world. You can be a jeweler. A baker, a candlestick maker (just kidding – well I guess you could be). A designer, a cake maker, you can design fonts, or logos, or PowerPoints. You can design rugs, or blankets, or scarves. You can be a food photographer, or photograph people, or landscapes. You can be a painter (visual) or a house painter. You can be an architect, or a builder, or a landscape designer. You can be a product designer, or a graphic designer, or a product engineer. You can be a chef, or make pastries, or develop the grapes for a fine wine. You can design a website, or an app used by the multitudes. You can design furniture, or appliances, or cars. You can sew, or be a ceramist, or work with metals. Oh the mirad ways to be creative, and I have just named a few.

You can be a writer, or an editor, or a strategist. All require some effort of design.

Whatever role we fill each day, try starting your day using your creativity to “inform and delight.”

Does Exercise Makes You Smarter?

Posted by random olio

I recently read this article in Fast Company titled: “Working Out Doesn’t Just Make You Stronger, It Makes You Smarter.” There are great infographics involved that help to tell the story. The article really made me think. I am not that old, but I do remember what it was like to grow up without a television. I am not going to go on and on about how I had to walk 5 miles to school (I did not have to), but I will tell you that times have changed and I do not think it is a good thing. We used to be outside, get dirty, play in creeks, ride our bikes, the list goes on. We did not sit in front of the television for hours during the sunlight portion of the day. We used our bodies, worked our muscles, got scraps and burns and war wounds. We were ACTIVE!

These days between televisions, video games (um Angry Birds can suck you in for hours), and not to mention iPads kids have so many excuses for not going outside. Their brains are highly wired for the mechanical. Yes, they learn lots of great problem solving skills, competition, and how to find their way around a computer, game, and app. What I worry is that they have lost their creativity. Whatever happened to getting lost in the woods and playing tag? Does that bore the minds of today’s youth? It sort of scares me. The statistics in this quote from the article are shocking:

“Children–who should be buzzing about with so much energy that we have to ask them not to exercise–aren’t moving around that much anymore. (Ironically, part of the problem is the diminished role of phys ed in many public schools.) Only one in four children get 30 minutes of daily exercise, and by the time they’re teenagers, only 12% are getting their daily recommended amount of physical activity.”

Only 12% of children get the daily recommended amount of physical activity. Only 12%. What are we going to do to change this? As mentioned in the above article, exercise stimulates brain cell growth. I like that. It is a quick reminder that we need to move to think better. I believe it. I feel more clear and less sluggish when I have worked out, when I have moved. I am sharper, clearer, and ready to tackle the issues in my thought.

Parting words from the article today: “Fitter Body, Fitter Mind.”

Your Intuition. Your Inner Voice.

Posted by random olio

I subscribe to Oprah’s emails. Sometimes I like what I read, other times I could care less. One of the quotes I read in a recent Oprah email lead me to make a post-it of the quote and I even wrote the date of when it was included in her email:

August 22, 2012

“Somewhere in there, among the worries, questions, advice and advertising jingles, lives your intuition, your true ‘inner voice.’ You can hear it to the extent that you give it your attention.”

— Martha Beck

I love this. So often we become caught up in life’s responsibilities that we forget to listen. We get so caught up in hearing all the other voices, that we do not listen to the voice we should be attuned to hearing. Our own voice. The better we get at shutting the door to all the crap, the voices that tell us we are not good enough, not strong enough, not smart enough, the better we get at hearing the calm. The confidence that says you are doing a good job. You are enough. You matter. You got to where you are today for a reason. You impressed someone. Maybe that was by your true employable skills, or maybe it was your attitude. Be it confident, or cocky, or energetic, or positive… Someone saw something in you that made them want you to stick around.

Are you listening to your inner voice? Is it telling you that you are in the very right place this moment? Does it tell you that you are happy? That you have all you need right now? Most likely you do have everything you need. Often it seems that in keeping up with the Jones’, we push so hard to be and have something we are not or do not need. We accumulate clutter and crap that only adds to our worries. Do we need it? Were we fine without it?

How much do you give your inner voice attention? How often do you listen to that voice? The one that tells you that you are full, but you still proceed to eat and stuff yourself (because it is so good, right)? Do you often sway to the side of what you want, when that voice inside tells you otherwise?

I am a big proponent of listening to intuition. If I cannot feel clear about an answer, or I do not hear my inner voice speaking to me, then I wait. Yes. I wait. It probably drives my husband bonkers, but it is what I have to do to be me. I have learned that if I wait when I am not clear, something usually happens that makes my decision for me. Sometimes it is more information than I had in the beginning, or other times a situation happens that sheds light (some might call it a sign) on what steps I need to take.

How do you know if you are listening to your inner voice?