thinking: relating- celebrating :-)

There is an old myth that Eskimo have a very large number of words for snow.

At first that seems like it could be true given the apparent lack of change in the Northern landscape. Its a nice idea though.

For me I like the idea of precision and being able to cut through to the core significance of whatever the subject matter is. And yet..

sometimes we find we just have no words to describe what is happening around us.

Truth is we interpret everything based on out own frameworks and vocabulary : yet shared experiences can be richer when there are no words or when words fail to capture that depth of experience.

Not so long ago I went for a walk with a friend who was very sick. We’d already talked that one out and walking was just a simple pleasure and enough by itself.

I never saw him again (as it happened -RIP) but there was a kind of shared communion in that walk.

Just recently I made time to be with a friend and to consciously just sit and watch the sunset together.

We talked about everything and nothing and yet there is a kind of alignment that comes with being present and making to time to share. Not easy to timetable but important to do.

Technology has exploded the natural limits of friendship and how we can be together.

When you also work in a technology sector that means tuning into both physical and virtual spaces which can be very different but rewarding when you do.

Chris Brogan wrote back in 2007

“I need more words for “friend.” What do you call that person you really like a lot, but have only met in person once? What do you call that person you wish you spent more time with, but who you connect with every time you’re together?”

He was talking about the kind of new connection that is more easily possible in a world of twitter, skype and facebook where the context between us has changed in new and interesting ways.

The Bogardus Social Distance Scale asks people the extent to which they would be accepting of each group and attempts to measure the context.

The scale starts at close relatives by marriage ( would you marry this person, live next door or work with them etc.) ranging down via close personal friends, neighbours, co-workers, citizens, visitors and eventually to a group of people you would want to exclude from your country.

As a scale it has been around since 1925 and as you might expect more recent measurements show closer relationship patterns than when the theory was first proposed.

What I’ve been thinking about is – how different my world is to my parents and how it is possible to have close friends who may start as colleagues and friends but mean much, much more.

This is due to the frequency and ease of communications may even rate above the top tier (or pretty close to it) somewhere between close friends and family.

I call this the “who do I most want to share Christmas with test”.

This year has been another exciting year of journey and discovery. I got to work on a project in Africa (small beginnings but big plans – FirstSpaceFiber) a number of non-profits I like ( Cycle Action , TEDxAuckland, WordcampNZ , Arts Therapy et ors.) and some pathfinding ( OperationHQ) with clever, clever people just to name a few.

I also got to spend more time with people I like, love and want to spend my Christmas with.

In the words of the song

” I once lived for the future, every day was one day closer..greener on the other side.. I can give you the present… “

Stuff & Nonsense – Split Enz. (love the version by Missy Higgins)

Happy Christmas people. Love & affection.

I work with a large number of bloggers and site owners and in the early days everyone is sure they will get writing. Many start with a blast and then go for a slow fade, unintentional but…

What seems to work better is to have a a bit more of a plan and a timetable that is sustainable so that you can manage expectations. Everyone has a different style but getting started requires discipline and more than a  few ideas.

From everything I’ve seen these words of wisdom below are gold. I found this post on Elizabeth Harpers blog called Gifts of the Journey. (Thanks Natalie & Elizabeth)

“Natalie Goldberg.

After deciding how long to write, as in ten minutes or twenty, whatever time you set for yourself, you must keep writing for the whole time without stopping.

The Goldberg Six:

1. Keep your hand moving. (Don’t pause to reread the line you have just written. That’s stalling and trying to get control of what you’re saying. Don’t stop until the time is up.)

2. Don’t cross out. (That is editing as you write. Even if you write something you didn’t mean to write, leave it. Don’t     backspace.)

3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. (Don’t even care about staying within the margins and lines on the page.)

4. Lose control.

5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical.

6. Go for the jugular. (If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.)”

“What Goldberg told people to do was to make writing a practice in the way that meditation is a practice.”

Back on Sept 26th along with 450 others we made it across the bridge to TEDxAuckland 2010.  I was able to take my daughter (9 going on 19) and one of my work colleagues.  As DialogCRM I was the CRM Partner for the event and helped out on a few other areas and was delighted to be able to do that.

Special thanks to Richard Hollingnum and all the other speakers and helpers too. Here are my notes from the day. Apologies for the delay in getting the post live but better late than never as they say.

First up Cindy Gallop was skyped in from South Africa. The technology quality of the call was very challenging and it wasn’t until near the end of her talk that she got any real cut thru. “Make sh*t happen. ” was a call to arms. I think Cindy also invited us to all visit her in NYC.

A key point here was to break actions into micro-actions – write them down on cards at the back and get started converting intentions into actions.

Renee Liang made an instant connection with us as she weaved her story of being NZ born Chinese (Piokiwi) on Chinglish blogger & poet. Renee is also part of Funky Oriental Beats (FOB). For me this was FAB thunderbirds are Go time. Renee has excellent timing and her droll sense of humour (very kiwi) warmed up the house nicely.

Richard Loseby was up next. What is it with advertising and adventures in Afghanistan ? One of my favourite reads in 2003 was Shantaram by Greg Roberts*. I have read Richards book but on this telling I’m afraid I got a bit distacted by a story about a goat and walking a lot (700km) and this note by @elysey

One Beep have some radio technology which enables the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) users to power up their computers. This is a project with a big vision and it won global recognition in the Image Cup. I think the team missed a great opportunity to lose their suit jackets & come up with a more spontaneous presentation when (ironically) their tech demo didn’t work. I’m sure we will hear more from these guys.

Divya Dhar has an impressive background and her talk covered some big ideas on P3. I loved that my daughter got to watch some other young women going places. At times though; (and this applies to some of the other young speakers.) I did wonder if a a couple of G&T’s and a few more personal anecdotes may have been a good idea.

Getting that balance between head and heart is a fine thing and we saw it a few times during the day.

Ms 9 (my daughter) thought Divya’s talk was a bit “alice in wonderland” ish. Not sure what she meant but again – great to see young people rising up into leadership roles. I know how much effort it takes to prepare a presentation and totally appreciate that but creating a connection with an audience is harder than it looks.

The benchmark TED related talk for young speakers has to be Eva Vertes who at 19 shared her journey towards a more radical theory on cancer and use of stem cells is at times a bit of a stretch. However she does manage to weave in a back story and sense of purpose that brings the audience along for the ride.

TEDxAuckland will be remembered for the number of young people presenting and pushing the envelope. There is a huge challenge there to all of us and it reassuring to see and hear from some young people who are committed to change. Over on TED there is a series of TED under 30 talks.

Stephen Knightleys talk on gaming connected with me as I have projects in the same territory. Augmented reality and gaming approaches to a range of topics have been successful. About this time I began wondering if Richard Loseby and Greg Roberts were both game characters how they would compare.

Jonathan of the learning Connexxion had some great stories of how everyone could learn to draw and even a few jokes sprinkled in there. He was someone who had seen a few bad days but had pushed through and art learning conection is in the transformational business.

Star Jam’s Julie Bartlet was the high point for me and I suspect many others. Her project helps disabled kids chase their dreams and there is always a risk with this type of content that it becomes an exercise in manipulation. Julies personal connection to the project was evident and when her brother came on stage I suspect a few people reached for their hankies. Later on a group of young performers from Starjam performed a few songs. Not my kind of music but no doubting the heart in both presentations.

There were so many great presentations and the audience was great too.

My personal favourites were @plumjungle @tokyolovein who did a messy delightful break all the presentation rules kind of effortlessly entertaining set.

Here is the plumjungle video of the day below. Thanks Michael for the lovely photos – even got one of me.

Here is Michael taking photos Plum Jungle story over here on Fundbreak and their fundbreak application over here. We need more crowdfunding projects here. Also like Kickstarter but here is a post on them and 8 others crowdsourced funding platforms.

* Special bonus for reading this far. Shantaram interview from ABC in 2007 Greg Roberts.

Love the bit about NZ Passport best one for a man on the run and the idea that the only thing he is now qualified for is advertising.