Blog Archive....

[Amy Stark]

Unwieldy



ACTIVE EARLY TED ADAPTERS Receive two emails on Friday, October 3, 2008

I received a couple of emails from TED today that contained a video link.

The Video is horrendous, and please don't watch it if you are easily upset by images of sickness and extreme suffering. Since Smaller Indiana has always felt like a HOOSIER TED to me, I was compelled to post it and Smaller Indiana AND Stark Reality. For those of you interested in how to use Social Media to get your message to as many of your early adapters as possible... this is the way to do it -- an ideal case study in the making.


If you forward this information to anyone, PLEASE Help All social-media advocates on Smaller Indiana by answering three quick questions found in the Forum section:


1) Did you press the Sign button on the site?


2) Did you forward or post the video link using social media? (i.e. email, facebook, Twitter, blog, the link provided on the site, etc.)


3) If you did forward or post the message, how many people do you think will actually watch it?


Extra Credit: How many of those viewers from question # 3 will forward or post it? (This of course would be pure speculation).


Here was the first Email from TED-- 11:30 am, October 3, 2008

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“I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”
James Nachtwey


Today, this major TED Prize wish is coming true.

I urge you to take three minutes out of your day, and click on this link:

www.xdrtb.org

(I recommend clicking on the arrow at bottom right of the video player to enlarge it.)

Tonight these pictures will be projected in some 50 cities all over the world. We wanted you to see them first.

I will follow up shortly with another note about this extraordinary story.

Chris Anderson, TED Curator



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EMAIL NUMBER 2--- RECEIVED AT NOON
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Dear friends of TED,

In the midst of a horrifying story, here is cause for hope.

Over the past year, hundreds of individuals and companies associated with TED have collaborated in a spectacular TED Prize project, launching today, to raise global awareness of XDR-TB.

(What is XDR-TB? If you missed my earlier email, please visit www.xdrtb.org and prepare to be shocked and moved.)

The next step is yours. I am today calling on all friends of TED to do their part in spreading the word. Forward this email, blog, write, broadcast, talk with your family, friends and work colleagues. You can quickly add your name to our advocacy effort by clicking the 'Sign' button here. http://xdrtb.org/

This is a race between the ability of a deadly, mutated bacteria to spread, and our ability to spread awareness first. Health authorities know what needs to be done, but politicians and the public at large don't have XDR-TB on their radar. That's what James Nachtwey's powerful TED Prize wish is all about.

I am so proud of what he and the TED community have made possible. Tonight, and over the next few days his breath-taking pictures are being projected at scale in public places in some 50 cities all over the world. Details are here under 'Where to Watch'. (http://www.xdrtb.org/takeAction.php)

Time magazine is running a 7-page, cover-promoted feature in all of its global editions published today.
Many other media are on board to support the effort, including Boston Globe, The London Observer, Youtube, and Wired.com.

Huge thanks are due to:

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COLLABORATIVE LIST ALERT, KYLE. A nice mixture of companies from the For-Profit and Not-For-Profit world. I am uncertain if ANY of the organizations are a governmental agency. If there are, this is what I call a Collaborative Trifecta.
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- Our main project sponsor, the global medical technology company BD who are at the forefront of TB diagnostics.
- TEDster Jon Kamen and his amazing team at Radical Media who created the slideshow, print campaign, logos, and messaging around xdrtb.org.
- DEMOS who volunteered production services for all UK events, including projection of images on National Theater of London.
- Phantom Galleries LA who did the same for all LA Events, including Elevate Film Festival
- Printers Coloredge who created prints of the photos and large scale vinyl images.
- Akamai for their powerful web distribution.
- Mammalfish who built our website
- Peer 1 who offered their web services
- Mode Studios our Technical consultant
- Health consultancy Global Health Strategies and TEDsters Stefan Sagmeister and David Rockwell for their strategic advice

Our Digital Screen partners generously donated time, energy and space to play the Nachtwey slideshow around the world and on every continent. Kudos to:
- Urban Screens
- Streaming Museum
- JM Network
- PR Newswire
- Drishtipat Creative
- The Global Festa
- Eye Candy Media

If this inspires you to get more involved in this cause, please consider supporting one of these organizations:

- RESULTS – Advocacy organization who will drive forward the call to action.
- Stop TB Partnership – Helping to make a difference with the awareness created.
- WITNESS - will collect user generated content around this issue and create a network of people working together to push forward awareness of XDR TB.
- Medecins Sans Frontieres – NGO who helped James gain access to countries to document XDR-TB
- Partners in Health - NGO who helped James gain access to countries to document XDR-TB

A huge thank you to the TED team who worked on this, led by TED Prize Director Amy Novogratz and project producer Bonnie Calvin. And of course none of this could have happened without the inspiring, spectacular photography and vision of one of the great photographers of our time, James Nachtwey. It's been an honor to work with him and to see this wish come true.

My best,

Chris Anderson, TED Curator
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If you would like a copy of the actual emails, just send me a message, or post a comment on my profile page.

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I found some groovy public domain images on WikiMedia Commons to mashup, and I couldn’t resist. Even though I should be working on other things, I was compelled to blog about it. The headline really made me laugh right out loud! You can hear a three minute interview with the Telegraph journalist on NPR.

My Grandpa always told me, “Procrastination’s the thief of time.” Ain’t that the truth!
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Over 10 years ago a technician shared a bawdy mnemonic to help me remember the OSI Model-- “Princess Diana Never Tried Screwing Prince Andrew.” Each word's first letter corresponds to the seven layers between Internet users: Physical, Data link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, and Application. I will never forget the seven layers thanks to this socially-unacceptable mnemonic. Voltaire said, “A witty saying proves nothing,” but witty sayings can help you remember raw data, and even important life-truths.

Do you have a favorite mnemonic? Any geeks out there with a different OSI mnemonic?

I am collecting mnemonics in the Forum Section.
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Icon MatchGame ‘08! Where is Gene Rayburn when you need him?

It could also be titled, “How to kill ten minutes and SPOT THE TREND” ***
The icons above have been carefully designed so that any user will intuitively know what they represent. A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about Google’s iconic language in their “even more section.” In effect, Google is defining a way to communicate globally with no translation tools. It looks like the NING people decided what’s “Good for The Google is Good for them.” (I just now made that phrase up, but I think I will start using it as a mantra)

The Ning platform, which you are currently using (either on www.SmallerIndiana.com or http://StarkReality.ning.com ) just re-vamped their managerial tools section--they now include icons along with text. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

*** I can never use the phrase, “spot the…. anything….” Without thinking of the Monty Python sketch, “Spot the Looney.”

Answers will be posted in the forum section. Whoever answers correctly first, can bring a guest to join me and Sarah to see "The Producers" at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre
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WILL THE CREATIVE ARTS EVER GET RESPECT?

In his book entitled, Out of our Minds, Sir Ken Robinson contends that our current educational structure promotes math and science as the highest academic achievement and the arts as the lowest-worldwide.

Sir Ken, as I like to call him, claims that virtually all countries regularly “strip mine” their children's minds for certain subjects that are considered valuable, while neglecting those that may be CRITICAL in the future. With the exponential growth in technology, we have no way of predicting the value of a certain skill set five years from now-- let alone 50.

Sir Ken is on a campaign to raise the creative arts to be on par with math and science, especially in K-5. Do you think it will ever happen?

As I was strolling through WikiMedia Commons to look for images that fit this blog post, I was struck by how closely math and dancing are connected. Images retrieved from WikiMedia Commons

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An enforcement order has been placed on Comcast by the FCC. This order-in effect-will regulate how Comcast shapes data traffic. The issue bubbled up when it was discovered that Comcast was limiting speeds connecting peer-to-peer websites such as BitTorrent.

I “stumbled” on a site where I discovered a passionate blogger’s opinion, who claimed this ruling was a “historic victory" for net neutrality. I know nothing of this blogger and only read the post because of the article’s title and there was obvious bias in the post:

“Activists, bloggers, consumer advocates and everyday people … who use and love the Internet have successfully brought Comcast to justice for trying to stifle consumer choice on the open Internet.”

Does anyone else see the irony? This blogger claims to fight for net neutrality by supporting the power of the FCC to regulate bandwidth?!?

U.S. courts will use this ruling when adjudicating net neutrality law suits. When you give a governmental agency an inch – historically they end up with a mile.
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Visual Images capture entire concepts. If you don’t believe me check out the “even more” section on Google.

Can you guess what Google service corresponds to each icon? Google is defining an Icon alphabet with very bright colors and simple lines. I wonder if someone from Asia will recognize what these symbols mean. Do shopping carts in China look like the ones at Kroger? I have always been fascinated with visual representations, which is one reason I thoroughly enjoyed Elegant Funk.

I connect easily with images, but the section of my brain in charge of remembering names never fully developed. I blame it on my Mom – Mary - who smoked Kent Cigarettes and drank Old Grand Dad the entire time during my gestation, so please don’t hold it against me if I get a name wrong. With that understood-- I want to write about some of the wonderful people I met at the Elegant Funk Art Exhibition - August 1st - and what I learned.

I learned Pam Fraizer communicates through illustration, and she has the ability to capture and define emotions through her art (e.g. Pam created the Elegant Funk logo).

I learned about Legacy House and their mission to help victims of violence.

I learned about a new medium from Karen Pedevilla using unique clay. She promised to join Smaller Indiana to better connect with the art scene in Indiana.

I chatted with Lorraine Ball, and met her friend, Pat, whose daughter is interning in Chicago for the summer. Ah youth!

I talked with John Blue who gave me advice on generating content for Stark Reality, and a few ideas on securing the Educational Entrepreneur Fellowship from the Mind Trust. Thanks John.

I greatly admired the jewelry designs of Nancy Digman and was sad that I didn’t get a chance to talk with her face to face, but it was very crowded and sometimes it wasn’t easy to recognize a person from their Smaller Indiana picture.

I was jealous that Adam and Kimberly Small brought their son because my daughter preferred to stay home and hang out with her friends.

My favorite piece was “The Web” by Wug Laku. I have always been drawn to scenes and images of bare trees in snowy winters, but a couple standing next to me tried to decipher the piece and figure out how many times a single image was duplicated. A dialog ensued that reaffirmed my belief that visual arts can inspire conversation and communicate powerful messages.

During the two and a half hours I was at Elegant Funk, there were well over 300 art lovers in attendance ranging from business professionals straight from work, to entire families. I never knew there was so much passion and creativity among our local artists. Thanks to everyone that worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make it all happen. I can’t wait for Elegant Funk, the sequel.


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Can you name of the longest running association in the US? It is still active today with a presence in virtually every major city.

I will give you three clues:

1) Elias Ashmole (the first guy pictured) is the documented first member (mid 1600s England). Our friend, Elias, founded the 1st Museum at Oxford, and they have a wonderful website-- The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology .

2) Alexander Pope (second guy) was an active member and the association's first poet laureate.***

3) While Ben Franklin was living in Paris he invited Voltaire to become a member.

***
“For forms of government let fools contest;
Whate’er is best administer’d is best:
For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight;
His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right:
In faith and hope the world will disagree,
But all mankind’s concern is charity.”

The answer can be found in the forum section. My good friend, Jeff Bishop knew the answer!