a useful site for book lovers

Check out The Book Seer created by Apt. Here is the back story

Share your favorite recommendations in the comments.

Posted via email from TBD Blog

Influx Curated 2009

The set-up

Ed Cotton curated an impressive group of talented folks and gave them the assignment of sharing inspiration in a five-minute format. They were also asked to invite two others to do the same. Essentially, it was a day of experiencing first-hand~ all the best links from your friends and influencers.

How it played
Fast-paced introductions to projects, collaborations and other labors of love, fantastic group exercises, visual art & storytelling.


The takeaway

Good Things Are Afoot~beyond the magazine, we have all sorts of tools and ways to be forces for good.

Madison Mount, IDEO, discussed the importance of standing for something good in the face of many, many choices and a populace that is increasingly thinking contextually. Mount cited Newman's as an example of how to answer metaissues with the brand.

Organize

Kanyi Maqubela, field director of Virgance, described the power of the mob as a force for social good. Virgance is  a platform for social activism that has worked with Carrot Mob and One Block Off The Grid. Read more about their collaborations here.

Emily Piloton discussed  Project H Design is a non-profit coalition that finds design solutions to problems such as the hippo roller  transporting water in Africa, teaching math through playground design in underserved populations in Africa and the U.S..

Jennifer Pahlka from O'Reilly discussed the spirit of internet citizenship. Pahlka encouraged urged us to frequently consider what would a citizen do? Pahlka also suggested that brands begin behaving like citizens.

Inclusiveness

Paul Kim, Mozilla, reminded us that everyone of us has the opportunity to be a student and a teacher. Kim shared some ways Mozilla has enabled participation. A couple of highlights jotted in my notebook:

Strive to make everyone feel included.
Make it easy for your community to do the easy things.
Allow people to do more.
Enjoy Paul Kim's deck "Three stories about participation"

"We all have invisible rules. Always question those. Always look for them." Gary Hirsch from On Your Feet

Gary Hirsch lead an interesting exercise demonstrating the power and role of the audience in storytelling. Hirsch suggested that in order to engage audiences we do less work, by providing ways to co-create with them.

During the Q & A an audience member asked if there is an overemphasis on being unique?
The answer was an emphatic Yes.

Speaking of Yes. We heard about the power of the word from Chris Barden and Jelly Helm. Chris focused on the power of collaboration when he shared that quite possibly the most inspirational two words are: "Yes, and..."

Jelly's call to action was to judge less. embrace limits. be not afraid. be open. forgive and love. His blog post on the day.

Chris's wife, artist Doris Mitsch contrasted the yes men with her story of saying NO. She took us through a difficult period of feeling blocked as a painter to the beautiul photograpy she is now creating (see photo credit below).

Storytelling

I enjoyed Jeben Berg's YouTube tips and examples. With 15 hours of video being uploaded to youtube every minute, we can all use pointers on how to stand out.

Here are some of Berg's suggestions & reminders for creating successful videos::

~It's not about technology. It's about trust.

~be who you are: enter the conversation organically.

~be thick-skinned: dove evolution eventually embraced the hijacks (after first resisting them)

~don't tease: build with the intent to deliver something phenomenal. over and over.

~create a competition: by our nature we are compete with others. Show people where to play. There is an audience for everything.

~be addicted to love: strike the heart. it will be shared. we love to forward emotion.

~be self-contained: make content that can live on its own.

~think low-fidelity/high concept


"Elevate the writer in all of your work...design means nothing without narrative." - Chris Riley of Apple

Chris Riley, shared the poetry of Ted Hughes and spoke emphatically about the importance of the narrative.

Marieka van Der Poel confirmed the importance of the story in her presentation on trends. But it did not require the talents of a trend forecaster to sum it up. Every presentation in its unique way demonstrated the power of narrative and how it can inspire.

Much, much more happened but these are a few of my selected nuggets. Beyond the quality of the presentations was the great conversation in the line for the women's restroom (there's a simple design challenge for all of you), during the lovely lunch and at the party hosted by Flamingo at The Tipsy Pig.

The day exceeded my expectations and I am again thankful to everyone at BSSP who made it happen. Especially Mr. Cotton. Respect.

Related: Cotton shared 10 themes coming out of Influx Curated.

photo credit: Spring B from Doris Mitsch website.

Posted via email from TBD Blog

The most important factor for success

This TED talk is a great companion to a recent New Yorker article titled Don't!

Posted via email from TBD Blog

make your words meaningful

This example of emotionally intelligent trash can signage is from Daniel Pink's blog.

Pink is the author of The Adventures of Johnnie Bunko and A Whole New Mind, two highly recommended reads.

Posted via email from TBD Blog

ysabel gray

I'm currently enamored with the sculptural works of ysabel gray

The L.A.-based artist is being featured on juxtapoz online and has a upcoming solo show planned for September 2009.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from TBD Blog

Influx Curated

I'm planning on attending Influx Curated in San Francisco on June 11.

Ed Cotton has put together an impressive list of speakers such as Marieka van Der Poel, Paul Kim, Mark Barden, and Alex Madrigal and many more. The selected speakers have been asked to invite two friends and the list has now grown to 30 presenters including the likes of Jelly Helm and Doris Mitch.

The Influx Curated format borrows from the ignite and pecha kucha 5 minute(ish) time-frame. Currently trying not to daydream about it.

Would love to see you there.

Posted via email from cassondra's posterous

new search tools

twoogle combines google and twitter for side by side comparison of your queries.

scoopler is a real time search engine that techcrunch recently gave a thumbs up in their post on Real-Time Search-Off that compares new real-time search services one riot, tweetmeme with google, twitter search, friendfeed and scoopler.

And for the backstory on twitter trending topics, check out What The Trend? discovered via @thegirlriot. What The Trend has my vote for site of the moment. How else would I know who Adam Lambert is?

 

Posted via email from TBD Blog

Revolving Storefront

This week's pop up Mother's Day Shop is next month's wedding chapel.

"Thanks Mom" is open through Saturday, May 9 when it will shape shift into a meeting space for the North Brooklyn Public Art Commission on May 11.

303 Grand is a revolving storefront located in Brooklyn, New York. A variety of events have utilized the space since their opening in March 2009.  Street Attack, an alternative and digital marketing agency operates the revolving storefront.

You can keep up with 303 Grand efforts on their blog and/or follow them on twitter

Posted via email from TBD Blog

Stimuli

"Everything You Want Right Now!"is the title of Steve Lambert's solo show at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles through June 6 more info and artwork at his website.


found via murketing

Which makes me think about J.J. Abrams Wired article on the power of mystery. Have you read it?

It will make you smile.

Posted via email from TBD Blog

Chanel

Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and actress Audrey Tautou team up for this Chanel No. 5 spot. I love it simply for the nostalgic love of the film it conjures.

Posted via email from TBD Blog

Ignite invites you to get on the mic!

Idea sharing is so 21st century.

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks, techies and makers have been putting together Ignite nights to share their answers.

Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. Since then, cities such as Boulder, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia and Sydney have organized free community events.

The second IgniteBend  is scheduled for June 4 at the Tower Theatre.

Presentation submissions are now being accepted. Submissions may be as simple as a brief written explanation of your idea on the ignite bend website or they could take the form of a video. We encourage you to be imaginative and hack the format.

Nine presentations will be decided by online vote and an informal meet-up open to everyone to be scheduled for late May.

All selected presenters will receive an exclusive handmade mug from our sponsor Mug Revolution. Ignite Bend will be webcast live and archived thanks to our sponsors and good friends at Pinnacle Media.

Presentations may also be selected for inclusion in the O' Reilly Ignite Show which highlights a different talk from Ignites around the world for weekly broadcast at their site.

Do you want to get involved but feel a little shy about taking stage? We are looking for additional help to make this FREE community event happen. You can get involved by becoming a volunteer, sponsor or simply spread the good word amongst your social circle.


photo by Buck Heim

Posted via email from cassondra's posterous

what's your 20?

Being in the know is a tasty thing.
During SXSWi Cupcake Camp founder Ariel Waldman tweeted locations for cupcake giveaways delighting festival attendees. Waldman partnered with Austin's Sugar Mama's Bakeshop to realize her cupcake experiment . Beyond the appreciation of fans, the effort also garnered the attention of cnet news and Reuters, who used Sugar Mama's Bakeshop + Mighty Leaf tweet-up as an example of how small business are generating fans by offering shared experiences.




Why the long line?
The L.A. based Kogi Korean BBQ has over 12,000 people listening for their next location on twitter. As recently reported by springwise and NPR, tweeted locations are met with long lines eager to pay a couple of dollars for tasty tacos. A festive atmosphere and the allure of a shared experience certainly add to the appeal of the affordable cuisine.



Beyond twitter
The rise of location based social networks such as brightkite , services like shizzow and mobile applications extend the possibilities of impromptu events. Curious to see what comes next? Me too.

photo by Vincent Diamante / Sklathill

Unintended Disruption

Please excuse me.

I do believe we are what we share.



Yet I've been busy framing my experiences in less than 140 characters (and content re-producing) on twitter.

Actually, there is more to the story. While you were away I was attending conferences, camps and organizing community endeavors.

I did my best to hang with the digitally fluent and geek-hipster crowd at South by Southwest interactive . Admittedly I got a little fan-girl but restrained myself from accosting Henry Jenkins with gratitude and tell me more.

Just prior to sxswi I attended my second cre8camp pdx Cre8Camp PDX 3 The third in a series of unconferences for creative industries professionals. The Portland community of camp-ers is providing a great example of how cross-pollination of ideas works. In the words of their wiki: "The magic happens in the interactions between participants." Inspired by their example, we are collaborating with Oregon Creative Industries to organize Cre8Camp Bend in Autumn 2009.

Finally, I was one of a group of volunteers that came together to stage the first Ignite Bend on February 12. The premise: crowd determined community participants share their burning ideas on stage for the duration of 20 slides that automatically rotate every 15 seconds. A nearly full poethouse was entertained with storytelling that blended humor, poignancy and education. We are currently planning the second event.


It seems I am providing you with a report of sorts. Actually, my intent is simply a re-dedication to

Show. Tell. More. Soon.

Above top photo of final cre8camp schedule by Steve Kemper @stevek
Bottom photo shot by Buck Heim Both photos used with permission.

Architects are the Rock Stars of tomorrow

In November, Influx Insights reported that Shoe brands turn to architects citing
Frank Gehry designing for JM Weston and Zaha Hadid for Lacoste.


Today, Swiss Miss shared the pictured story proclaiming Architects are Sexiest!

As we witness the rise of design who better to be the poster child than architects?

Metropolis Magazine provides good coverage of our ascending stars by focusing on Architecture, Culture and Design and is now available in digital format. Check out a sample of the January 2009 issue here.

rentalism

living, riding, fixing and even fronting are all feasible.


Stylish Souk in downtown Portland, Oregon is but one option for freelancers looking for a professional workspace and the opportunity to network and/or simply collaborate.

Bike sharing rental programs are the hottest urban accessory for metropolitan areas such as Paris, Vienna, Barcelona, Düsseldorf and recently, Washington D.C.

Philadelphia's Free Ride and other bike cooperatives provide a space to work on your bike including stands, tools and volunteers to problem solve.

Wikipedia lists tool libraries across the U.S.

Beyond the practical, there are all sorts of rental opportunities for those seeking status and lifestyle upgrades.

According to Fast Company, membership to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) includes eligibility for art rental program for as little as $17 a month. FC's article How to look good in a recession offers additional ideas for leasing luxe.

Has your perception of ownership changed?