Filed under: Zeitgeist
north sydney lamppost 2, originally uploaded by Illuminata.
Is it personal?
Is it from the heart?
Is it believable?
Does it go beyond the one to one and say something about what it means to be human?
Does the simple expression of the message draw a smile?
Filed under: Zeitgeist
double two, originally uploaded by james m.
Tell me – I forget,
Show me – I remember,
Involve me – I understand.”
– Confucius
We Are What We Do have set up all sorts of ways for you to share your ideas, vote for what you believe, dare your friends to do new things, get others involved, and ultimately… change the world
Moms Rising is working to build a massive grassroots online resource to move motherhood and family issues to the forefront of awareness, and to provide grassroots support for leaders, as well as organizations, addressing key motherhood issues.
The intent is to reach millions of women who have not previously been active, to educate people about the problems facing mothers and families, and to provide avenues for common sense solutions to those problems.
GOOD Magazine, touted as a “cultural magazine for people who give a damn,” aims to promote social, political and environmental change by educating young people on world news and issues and empowering them to take action.
via Good Magazine check it out
Inspired by the utilitarian shoes of Argentine workers, these comfortable canvas slip-ons come in a range of colors and patterns, from camo to pink. If a vibrant new pair of shoes at a great price isn’t enough to grab you, there’s a bonus: every time someone purchases a pair of Toms Shoes, founder Blake Mycoskie donates a pair to a South American child. Now you can easily turn your problematic shoe fetish into something more productive.
$38, tomsshoes.com
Filed under: Zeitgeist
YOU know who you are.
Brand Autopsy outlines Bob Sutton’s THE NO ASSHOLE RULE
Learn more by watching this short video where Bob explains the concept.
Institutionalised Rudeness by Sociopaths (IRS from now on) is far from OK. In fact IRS is so far from OK it is huddling in a yurt in Outer Siberia. With no booze. And no friends.
And it’s not invited to any tzushy end of year drinks parties either. It’s banned. Passe.
In addition the “Punch In The Face” motivation technique is also banned. Previously thought to inspire the creative class to consistently meet the 20 hours overtime barrier, it has been recognised as an illegal tool of IRS and is now a Taser-able offence.
If you have been subject to IRS, or any suspect ‘motivation’ techniques, you can apply for your branded taser (which can also do double duty as an attractive cocktail shaker).
Bring it on.
Filed under: Zeitgeist
Whatever this is I’m going to order a truckload- anyone else in?
I do have to fight to keep my lover’s quarrel with the world in check. I acknowledge that it’s the ability to see how magnificent this place is and humanity’s potential for the sublime that is the cause of a lot of my Shouty behaviour.
Over on Jeffre Jackson’s Pink Air is a post about Idealism, which comments: both the optimism and the disgust are characteristic of idealism. He goes on to say that: we the people who work in advertising bear some responsibility for (the world being a cynical place). And yet, we’re not an especially cynical bunch as far as I can tell. So I’m wondering, what does a marketing idealist believe?
I like the notion of the responsibility of a “marketing idealist” Jeffree puts forward the “Be optimistic” campaign which was designed by a group of people in the Dutch communications industry to get people to look at things in a more positive light, to see that everything isn’t going downhill. What cracks me up is that there is nothing on this site- there is no good news!
Jeffree sums it up like this:
“I hoped a global band of marketing savvy idealists was starting a movement to get people to think, not just happier thoughts, but bigger thoughts about what is possible. “
I think we’re all a little swamped by the sheer volume of bad news that we get subject to every day.
Amidst all this noise and despair perhaps the first thing that marketing idealists can achieve is to motivate people through the compassion fatigue, through the moral apathy that we generate to help get us through the day.
To shoot down the zen like call for humour in the face of rudeness and general dumbass behaviour of yesterday’s post, this morning I arrived at work shouty. Real shouty.
Australia’s Treasurer, Peter Costello, was quoted on the national broadcaster this morning saying “there is no point in Australia reducing their greenhouse emissions as we only produce 1% of the output”. WTF?
SO if we only produce 1% of the global deaths in custody we shouldn’t try to stop that? Or 1% of rapes?
His argument is Australia needs to get other countries to agree to reduce their outputs (er..heard of Kyoto bozo?).
If it weren’t for the sedition laws on this country…..
Filed under: Zeitgeist
When I was reading this Brandweek article about the short circuit between R&D and marketing leading to feature bloated non intuitive technology products, a lush example of getting it right sprang to mind.
Serene is not only only an utterly desirable mobile phone: discrete, a pleasure to hold, intuitive, full of good ideas and common sense, but you can also spend hours playing Star Trek tricorder with it. Silly and sensual? Practical and desirable?
It’s called getting it right.
Filed under: Zeitgeist
A sad day for Australian politics. Natasha Stott-Despoja, who remains the youngest woman ever elected to a Federal Parliament has resigned to spend more time with her family.We’re losing one of our most committed Senators and our loss is definately her young family’s gain. She received more press over her choice of foowear than her choice of words or causes and withstood a firestorm of media attention when she became the leader of the Australian Democrats. I wish that it were better known that she fights tirelessly for the rights of refugees, to give agency to young people and consistently speaks with compassion, intelligence and humility in a place that often lacks all three.
She celebrates the multitude of choices that come with modern Oz society. How great it would be if she, and women like her, were equally as supported in their choice for a public life and to have children
Natasha had no expectations of tenure: “My whole life will not be spent in Parliament. I think that’s really important, that people move on, do other things and come in at different stages of life. So I hope that maybe in some small way I’ve encouraged other younger people to get in and make a difference.”
Thank you for your service, and let’s hope that you you can inspire the in-house child care solution that is needed if we are to continue to hear young women’s voices and allow their passion to inform our Parliament. And our lives.
Filed under: Zeitgeist
Mother Teresa spoke often about the effects of being lonely and the crushing poverty of spirit that is caused by feelings of being unwanted- so much much so that she called this ‘the leprosy of the West’. A recent international study claimed that more than a third of adults are lonely.
There’s alot of talk that screens are taking over face to face interaction, and that culture is suffering as a result. David Armano’s fantastic post We Are Not Alone. Life 2.0 puts forward the notion that the growing suite of web tools allows us, through creating and connecting, to find out that others like us exist.
There is a now a place where we can find that ‘we are not alone’ and more. Screen life, online life IS ‘real’ life. For many (and there are many- over 450,000 bloggers in Australia alone) our online time informs and inspires our terrestrial activities.
Examples of this range from the fabulous red paper clip story, to the spontaneous walkouts in high schools of over 40,000 students across Califonia organised through individual myspace pages and to the popularity of acts like The Artic Monkeys and OKGo.
These stories, OUR stories, will only grow as we continue to contribute our time and energy to trying to connect with each other.
Filed under: Zeitgeist
Activism 2.0 is a wonderful thing. There are many examples of social networking communities purpose built for people who use the web to either lobby for a cause or to connect to make a difference. Kiva is a micro-finance lending site, Youth Action Net allows kids to explore a range of issues and gives them tools like website builders and action tool kits to do something about what they care about. The message and the ability to do something are closely linked and in the hands of the user.
In contrast is astroturfing , which is essentially manufacturing a movement that looks like it comes from ‘the people’.
Get Outta My Face is a collective planning on collecting 10,000 videos from kids. The idea is good- get kids involved in creating the messages that will make a difference to healthy eating. This team then plans on compiling the videos together to make a documentary. Instead of building a community where kids can see and share, build and grow this team will compile these videos into a documentary.
The digital and media experience, communication tools and expertise in online networking and relationships means that young people don’t need anyone to edit their stories- just a place to publish them.
