Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Ash Wednesday - what to give up? How about carbon?


Saw this on one of my tweet feeds from Twilight Earth, a group who's
motto is: "Protect our Environment by Going Green - Environmental
Issues, Green World Wide News and Shared Discussion"
 
I'm one of those convenient Catholics who barely goes to church once a
week but when it comes to Lent forget it. I don't believe in giving
something up but rather doing somethime more, give back in some way I
don't normally give. However after reading the "10 Best ways to give
up Carbon" I my have to rethink that approach. The 10 ways were
simple yet effective.
 
 http://www.twilightearth.com/2009/02/10-best-ways-to-carbon-fast-for-lent-ash-wednesday-2009/
 
I may have a hard time convincing my crew to give up paper towels but
I had no idea how much water was used to make a Latte. Holy Coffee
bean . . . 50 Gallons! Check out this video.
http://www.worldwildlife.org/ted/latteflash.html

Posted via email from Michael's posterous

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Writers Block


Here's the deal, I was approached to be a contributing author for a chapter in the upcoming book "P2PFundraising: Nonprofit Internet Management Strategies, Tools and Trade Secrets"  actually I am co-writing the chapter with my friend and tech peer Tim Kobosko from USNA.  The chapter is currently titled:  "Path to Managing Your Organization Using Online Tools”

What I like about contributing to this chapter is how I have been part of this process from almost day one as we made the move from Web 1.0 to the 2.x world we know today.  So hopefully the experiences will be of value to those who struggle with the implementation and acceptance of these very standard tools into the culture of non profits.  What I don't like is the title of the chapter.

So besides having to come up with an outline I was thinking a new title may be useful - that and about 20 pages of content, pictures and graphs. Help, comments, tips, prayer - all would be appreciated!

Who talked me into this?

Posted via email from Michael's posterous

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

In exploring how the Internet and particular Web 2.0 has played a part in my professional life and indeed how the medium connects us all to the new global economy, this blog while not being more then a whisper in the void, hopefully will provide me with an opportunity to share what I have to say and give you something to think about.

I'm reaching a point in my career that if I continue to speak my mind in my present blog forum, I may rock a few boats - that's unfortunate but not unexpected given how many still cling to the outdated business mindset that preceded the new world.  This Web 2.0 concept is a genre not fully embraced however the statistics that show the growth and usefulness proves otherwise.

It's assumed that if you blog for your company you need to tout the company line and follow the company standards along with the standard message. Blogs, as a concept, can go against the standard at times, mine in particular and the push back can be intense. 
Now every organization is different and instead of worrying about what not to say I am a believer in a very basic rule of thumb:  Don't write anything you want read in a court of law or in front of your mother. 

Everything else should be fair game!
My intent is to connect and what I was shooting for is to tell a story and to do that you need to show personality. If I wanted to write dry or emotionless dribble I'd be writing press releases, not a blog.

Turning your words into learning experiences is what I'm shooting for - provided what I have to say resonates and makes you take note, then I've done my part in sharing and fulfilling my napkin goal:  storytelling.   And I hate to tell you all - everybody has a story to tell, what's yours?

"Positive stories are one powerful way of confronting the broken underbelly of our culture."  Peter Forbes, Whole Communities