I like the idea of The Big Lunch. Sitting down for a simple meal with your neigbours, talking, listening and learning. It looks like a cool, interesting way of connecting with your community. I intend to make something happen in our neighbourhood for The Big Lunch 2010 and I’ll keep you posted as plans take shape.

Along similar lines, I was interested to hear about the people of Fintry on last night’s Panorama. In Fintry the locals have got together to do something about resource scarcity and climate change. They have bought a wind turbine, a biggie. Last year it generated electricity which the village sold back to the grid for over £60,000. The villagers are using this money to fit state of the art insulation to their properties to conserve heat, save money, and further help to reduce emissions. A great piece of community connectedness. On a directly related subject my attention has been drawn to this interesting idea about transition towns. It’s basically more of what Fintry is doing, and with the option of taking community action global.

I think a sense of local connectedness is an important part of wellbeing, which can be used to enhance and refresh you, your neighbours and your colleagues. It doesn’t have to be either at home or at work, it can be both.

I’m keen to learn about other similar ideas, particularly anything in the workplace that is used to promote connectedness, togetherness. If you’ve spotted anything interesting, please share it here.

It’s always fascinating to me to see which organizational buzz words get the most play.  These days, one of the chart toppers had to be “engagement”.  Everyone seems to be worrying about how to “engage” their top talent; “engage” Generation Y; “engage” their aging workforce… I could go on.

Last Friday, Kathleen Redmond of The Centre for Character Leadership led a discussion with our members on the topic of leadership by engagement. The discussion was lively on a number of fronts, but the main take-aways for me were this:

1. Engagement isn’t something that the Human Resources team can (or should) be responsible for.  Engagement happens by what YOU as the leader does to create engagement.
2. Creating engagement is more than just “walking the talk”.  It’s about deeply believing in what you are doing… not just giving out the “right message” and going through the motions.  This is what creates authenticity and this is what, ultimately, people will connect to.
3. The majority of organizations aren’t rewarding the right things.  We still overemphasize driving bottomline results and reward the “sometimes” bad behaviour used by individuals to drive said results.  We create sets of values that espouse behaviours like “respect” and then turn a blind eye on disrespectful behaviour as long as targets are being met.
4. The majority of leaders aren’t great at describing the expected behaviourto their direct reports.  We say “be more strategic” to our direct report and expect them to get the message about what they need to do to present themselves as being strategic.  Sadly, it doesn’t work that way.

A great exercise to help you make your ”behavioural” coaching statements more specific is to think through what you would expect to see people SAYING or DOING if they were demonstrating that behaviour.  For example, instead of saying “be more strategic” tell your tactical guy or gal: “I would like to see you share the business drivers that are behind each of your ideas when you present your recommendations.”  Or try the “what not to do approach”, as in… ”when you blurt out “I had an idea in the shower this morning” at each of our staff meetings, you don’t come across as being very strategic.”

For more information on Kathleen’s work and book, check out her website at www.centreforcharacterleadership.com.

Happy leading!

A report that examined the role that music plays in social media says that the same digital technology that changed the music industry will have a similar impact on advertising. Heartbeats International, a Swedish marketing agency, strongly recommends that brands replace traditional advertising mindsets that focused on the 4 P’s (price, product, placement and promotion) with the 4 E’s (emotion, experience, engagement and exclusivity).

Music is digital and mobile now, and that means more people have access to  more music than ever before. The study found that most people now listen to music on an average of five platforms, including pc’s and mobile devices. The number of hours per day that they are listening is growing, and 2 out of 5 people have music as part of their social network profile.

The study recommends three ways that brands can integrate music into their digital marketing strategy. The “Association” strategy creates a connection between an artist and an audience, as Bacardi did by signing a “record deal” with British electronic band Groove Armada.

The “Involvement” strategy gets fans involved with music – as Intel did with its remix competition, which resulted in 19,000 people becoming fans of Intel on their MySpace page. The “Exploration” strategy calls for brands to sponsor music discovery platforms such as Duracell sponsored Ramp Music.

There’s a lot of sense in this study and the recommendations. Social media, music and advertising are made for each other. Internet radio stations should focus on creating offerings that merge the needs of consumers and advertisers around music.

Shooter – nakif : azrie

]]> http://americansun.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/chelsea-clinton-a-success-story/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:50:05 +0000 americansun http://americansun.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/chelsea-clinton-a-success-story/

Chelsea Clinton has to be commended for doing something that would seem less than notable under different circumstances.  Clinton, now 29, has managed to live a (more or less) normal life under extraordinary circumstances.  Chelsea was first daughter during a time in life when awkward teenage rebellion runs rampant.  With cameras around her constantly and the news media scrutinizing her parent’s less than graceful activities, Chelsea managed to stay calm and act maturely (at least within the public eye).  It was announced recently that she will marry her longtime sweetheart Marc Mezvinsky (an investment banker) whom she met at Stanford.  It is difficult to fully understand another person’s relationship with their parents.  It is even more difficult when another person’s parents are Fmr. President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  

Why are diamonds unique?

Diamonds are very much influenced by the wealthy and well-known. They are expensive and really symbolical. Many celebrities, famous people are into diamonds that’s why the public follow the trend.

The word “diamond” itself says a lot, rare, beautiful, expensive, precious, genuine, desirable and brilliant. There are many types of diamond rings. They come in different shapes, styles and colors. What is so special about heart diamond engagement rings? If you are to choose a diamond engagement ring, would you like this type?

Heart diamond engagement rings are very popular type of diamond engagement rings. Not only that it is a sign of engagement, the heart-shape itself symbolizes love. It can be considered as the most sentimental and romantic. That is why it is very meaningful to those who are given this type of engagement ring.

So, it is not unbelievable that many couples choose this type as the symbol of their love. But couples should decide carefully in choosing this shape because it could be so common or too bold.

Heart diamond engagement rings are beautiful and are more unique than standard diamond shapes. It can be very timeless and elegant. They can be very expensive but there are also many less expensive ones which are available in the market.

Many couples consider and purchase this type and shape because it says a lot and is a direct and clear representation of their unity and commitment to each other.

There are jewelers who can cut diamonds into any shape that you like. There are even available diamonds which are already cut into a heart-shape. Heart diamond engagement rings can either be flat or elongated.

That’s why you can customize and personalize your own diamond engagement ring. This makes the engagement more personal and meaningful. So by the time you have the chance to choose an engagement ring, you might want to consider this style.

a few weeks ago i met up with shannon and kevin at their home in old town alexandria and we had a photo shoot of epic proportions.  we were out for over three hours which included metro pictures, walking all through old town, cafes, side streets, the waterfront, and every place fun we could find.  i had such a wonderful time photographing these two and getting to know them. they are warm, friendly, madly in love, and crazy funny.  half of the time i didn’t know if i should laugh or keep shooting.  i definitely tried to do both but when you’re belly laughing it’s sometimes a bit hard to focus too!

to shannon and kevin: thank you for such a wonderful afternoon.  i hope you enjoy the images.

It’s not often that the backside is the focus in a portrait.

First off, I apologize. My last entry’s title did not match that post at all. Ha, I meant to write about my new decisions but completely forgot. SO, here it is:  I will be living in an apartment next semester and attending UCO for a semester. I made this decision really quickly, but I’m so excited about it! It will be good financially and for my wife skills (which are growing)!!

If you have any great recipes that you have the urge to share, I would love to have it!

Secondly, I HAVE A WEDDING DRESS!! And bridesmaids dresses! Check, check.

Next:
Church (i clearly should never say i’ve found anything until its bought and paid for, because absolutely EVERYTHING in this area has fallen through)
Photographer
Cake
Florist

After that, I can rest.

What do you do when twenty zombies surround your house?
Hope its halloween!! Just some random advice.

Did you know that children grow most in spring time? Jason had a lot of spring time.

Here are some Thanksgiving gems:

(this last picture wasn’t from thanksgiving. It’s just another picture from when Jason and I got engaged..heehee)

by: Randi M.

Click image for source: Google Images.

Chelsea Clinton got engaged this past Friday to her boyfriend Mark Mezvinsky. In an email to family and friends, t he couple said:

“We’re sorry for the mass email but we wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving! We also wanted to share that we are engaged! We didn’t get married this past summer despite the stories to the contrary, but we are looking toward next summer and hope you all will be there to celebrate with us. Happy Holidays! Chelsea & Marc.”

Congrats to the former First Daughter and her fiance.

Source

It’s weird. I got married 5 months ago. My friend’s sister got married 11 months ago, and now my friend (whose sister I just mentioned) is getting married in 2 months.

In 20 years, 10 years, 5 years, possibly less, we’ll look at each other, tell our kids, and spouses and selves, that we all got married in the same year, what a short time, what a shared experience.

But living in it now, it’s not at all like that. It seems like forever. That her sister was married and settled so long ago, that I got engaged so much after that (even if it was just two and half months) that I had a long tortuous 4 month engagement, and while I was already engaged my friend dated about 6 guys, sagas included, before she got engaged 2 months ago.

There was so much life lived during that time, so much differences, so much anxiety, happiness, waiting, hoping, wondering, aspirations, ifs…on all our parts, that were unique to ourselves.

…and I’m not sure when it becomes all relative, but there’s a big difference between someone married 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, 6 months, a year…   and between the 3 of us, were living in different time-zones.

So in years from now, when we’ll say “Ye, we all got married then, all around the same time, same experience” I think we’re cutting our lives short.

Or maybe that perspective years later, will give me perspective on the one I have now.

Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of this countries current Secretary of State and 42nd President is engaged to be married to her longtime boyfriend , investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, his folks served in the U.S. Congress……

Congratulations to all in involved……

Note:….he, he, he….At one time or another, all of the parents have been employed by thye United State governmement in Washington D.C…….

The newest episode of Engagement 101 TV is all about men.

The webisode delves into several manly topics, such as who should pick out the engagement ring (the guy or the girl), what guys like about women and what men do when they want to turn on a little romance.

The video features several well-known jewelry designers, such as Rick Mulholland from Novell, Mark Schneider from Mark Schneider Designs, Berge Abajian from Bergio and William Pung from Parade. Shant Hovsepian from Danhov gives a little advice for clueless guys going engagement ring shopping, while Abe Abaci from Gelin Abaci talks about how he knows what women want.

The episode also includes several street interviews from average guys who talk candidly about love and making that daring step toward commitment.

Watch it now!

Love,
Engagement 101

Why are diamonds unique?

Diamonds are very much influenced by the wealthy and well-known. They are expensive and really symbolical. Many celebrities, famous people are into diamonds that’s why the public follow the trend.

The word “diamond” itself says a lot, rare, beautiful, expensive, precious, genuine, desirable and brilliant. There are many types of diamond rings. They come in different shapes, styles and colors. What is so special about heart diamond engagement rings? If you are to choose a diamond engagement ring, would you like this type?

Heart diamond engagement rings are very popular type of diamond engagement rings. Not only that it is a sign of engagement, the heart-shape itself symbolizes love. It can be considered as the most sentimental and romantic. That is why it is very meaningful to those who are given this type of engagement ring.

So, it is not unbelievable that many couples choose this type as the symbol of their love. But couples should decide carefully in choosing this shape because it could be so common or too bold.

Heart diamond engagement rings are beautiful and are more unique than standard diamond shapes. It can be very timeless and elegant. They can be very expensive but there are also many less expensive ones which are available in the market.

Many couples consider and purchase this type and shape because it says a lot and is a direct and clear representation of their unity and commitment to each other.

There are jewelers who can cut diamonds into any shape that you like. There are even available diamonds which are already cut into a heart-shape. Heart diamond engagement rings can either be flat or elongated.

That’s why you can customize and personalize your own diamond engagement ring. This makes the engagement more personal and meaningful. So by the time you have the chance to choose an engagement ring, you might want to consider this style.

Da ich nun mal Medizin studiere, muss ich außer dem nervigen Pflegepraktikum auch einen Kurs in Erster Hilfe nachweisen, um zum Physikum zugelassen zu werden.

Dieses Wochenende war es also soweit.

Besonders viel konnte ich mir im Vorfeld nicht darunter vorstellen, da ich im Hinterkopf immer noch den endlangweiligen Kurs für den Führerschein hatte. Dementsprechend skeptisch war ich dann auch, als ich mich mit circa 90 anderen Studenten/Krankenpflege-Azubis in den kleinen Hörsaal im Carl-Ludwig-Institut gesetzt habe.

Meine Zweifel wurden allerdings schon durch die ersten fünf Minuten ausgeräumt. Der Typ (H., der leitende Trainer und Rettungssanitäter) war witzig und hatte es drauf, uns sofort für die ganze Sache zu interessieren.

Nach einem einführenden Vortrag über das allgemeine Vorgehen am Patienten, fanden wir uns mit unseren Gruppenleitern zusammen im Keller des CLI wieder.
In meiner Gruppe fanden sich hauptsächlich Studenten aus meinem Jahrgang. Ein paar wenige Drittsemester und zwei Azubis waren mit dabei.
Nach einer kurzen Vorstellung ging es auch direkt los und über den Tag verteilt lernten wir nicht nur das obligatorische Schema F (man kam sich dann schon etwas vor, wie in der Gebetsmühle – aber der Sinn wurde ja erfüllt: Wir werden diese Reihenfolge nicht wieder vergessen), sondern auch, wie man verschiedene Verletzungen/Notsituationen der Patienten erkennt und möglichst auch versorgt.

Das Highlight des ersten Tages waren für mich die Fallbeispiele.
Mitglieder des Teams spielten hierbei die Rollen von Herzinfarkt-Patienten, Epileptikern, Asthmatikern, etc., damit wir sie ‘retten’ konnten. Dabei stand die internistische Versorgung im Vordergrund, wie zum Beispiel dem Asthma-geplagten Sportler helfen, wieder normal zu atmen oder den Epileptiker davor zu schützen, sich selbst zu verletzen.

Der zweite Kurstag begann ebenfalls sehr vielverprechend mit einem umgedichteten Schlager, den S. (mein Gruppenleiter) – sich selbst auf der Gitarre begleitend – vorgetragen hat.
Danach gab es zwei weniger spannende Vorträge über Hitze- und Kälteschäden und Intoxikationen (Vergiftungen). Darauf folgte das Referat zum Trauma (Ursachen und Diagnostik), das durch die lockere Vortragsweise von G. sehr erheiternd war.

Der Höhepunkt dieses Tages war mit Abstand die Intubationsstunde. Dort durften wir unser Geschick mit dem Laryngoskop und dem Tubus nämlich selbst an den Puppen üben.

Nach der Mittagspause wurden chirurgische Fallbeispiele durchexerziert. Platzwunden, offene Frakturen, Pneumothorax und stumpfe Abdomen-Traumata gehörten ebenso dazu, wie ein Suizidversuch und eine großflächige Verbrennung am Arm [wäre auch alles ganz Entspannt gewesen, wenn die 'Verletzten' nicht so gebrüllt hätten...warum müssen die immer schreien?!].

Der zweite Teil des Trauma-Vortrags sorgte dann bei Caro, Sophie und mir für einen Lachflash, nachdem G. meinte, dass er sich eine Rettungsdecke besorgt hätte, auf deren Rückseite stand, dass man damit auch Geschenke einpacken könne [Sophie zu dem Thema: Dann kann man ja auch Sterne ausschneiden, während man auf den Rettungswagen wartet].

Alles in Allem war dieser Kurs fast schon genial gemacht. Das Engagement der Ausbilder ist wirklich hoch einzuschätzen und ich kann ihn nur wärmstens empfehlen.
Es geht nicht nur darum, einfach den Schein zu bekommen, sondern auch darum, in Ernstsituationen richtig und schnell zu reagieren. Ich persönlich traue mir das jetzt tatsächlich zu, auch wenn ich hoffe, dass ich niemals dazu kommen werde, mein Wissen anzuwenden.

An dieser Stelle sei auf die Seite des AG EH MED verwiesen, über den man den kostengünstigen Kurs buchen und sich ein paar Eindrücke von Vergangenem verschaffen kann.

Stephanie Trunzo and Sera Lewis of IBM spoke with us recently about social media and IBM Rational.  IBM Rational software provides a software development platform that improves the speed, quality, and predictability of software projects. 

• Sera Lewis is an NCSU alumnus, with more than 15 years at IBM, currently managing the Rational Web marketing and developerWorks Rational teams.
• Stephanie Trunzo is entering her 10th year at IBM, currently as the Executive Dashboard manager and MCIF information architect at IBM.  Stephanie has an MA from Carnegie Mellon University, and in May 2010 will finish her MBA at NCSU’s Jenkins School of Business. She also teaches distance education courses on professional writing and digital media for NCSU and Chatham University. (Stephanie’s excellent presentation on teaching with social media will be covered in a future post on social media pedagogy.)
• Sera and Stephanie met on Twitter.  In fact, their first face-to-face meeting was in our class for the presentation!
• Stephanie and Sera gave an excellent presentation that was packed full of interesting, topical and valuable information. Here is an overview:

IBM’s Social Media Marketing Challenge is to balance listening to, learning from, and responding to customers. Everyone in the corporation is enabled to speak via social media and this is both a gift and a responsibility.  

(All images from Stephanie and Sera’s presentation)

Social Computing Guidelines at IBM

As previously discussed in this blog, establishing a social media policy is a critical step for any organization and the BEST guidelines are “by the people and for the people” of the organization.  IBM social computing guidelines are used as a model for many other organizations, and call for IBMers to be open, responsible, and honest and to be themselves. The guidelines evolved in one of IBM’s jams. (Since 2001, IBM has used jams to involve its more than 300,000 employees around the world in far-reaching exploration and problem-solving.)

• The IBM social computing guidelines

Social Media Used for IBM Rational

IBM has a huge breadth of social media in practice including:

Social Listening

There is a great deal that can organizations can gain by doing a better job of LISTENING, and IBM makes this a focus of social media activity. 

• Listening:
  •  IBMers work to listen first … to understand what is going on in the industry, with customers and other employees.  
• Reacting:
  • Once listening efforts are well place, members of the IBM Rational team react indirectly with statements such as “we’ve been hearing a lot about…”
• Responding: 
  • Team members will then respond specifically to direct comments about the product. 
• Engaging and Nurturing:
  • Focus on keeping the process going.

How?

• The process starts with team members listening for 70+ keywords that are important for the IBM Rational brand across social networking sites. Each team member takes 2 – 3 words – which makes this a manageable monitoring activity. Tweetdeck is a primary tool, as it is simple to create columns that filter for keywords. Other tools, such as Technorati, are also used.
• Let customers know that you are listening and focus on what is learned to improve relationships
• Show customers that you are interested in improving their experiences with your products by responding quickly with suggestions and/or fixes.
• Be sure there is a primary person who owns a particular topic so that too many people don’t respond to same customer
• Engage and nurture  through customer ratings and reviews – a low-touch consumer feedback mechanism in an “open” environment
  • Drive public dialogue around product experiences
  • Don’t filter out bad reviews – you want to follow up on negative reviews
  •  80% of IBM Rational reviews are positive  - nothing beats first hand feedback / word of mouth

IBM Rational Social Media Event Example

The recent Rational Software Conference, a huge event, showed how social media is becoming pervasive:

• Conference was advertised across social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, as well as in traditional and Web media
• Customers could ask questions and get information in whichever channel worked for them
• Remote and live attendees could interact with speakers via live displays of tweets

A good idea for a conference using social media is to define hashtags (hashtags are ways to unite Tweets around particular topics) ahead of time and get these out to participants before the event.  This is a great way to keep people involved in the conference even if they aren’t there live.

Global Social Media at IBM Rational

IBM teams from around the world are adopting social media designs from the U.S. and other countries and localizing. In 2010, the IBM Rational team will offer “Social Media in a Box” kits. This helps create design continuity across countries and makes the process much easier to implement at the local level. 

In China, a virtual event had:

• Video with over 2 million plays on video sites (Youku, Tudou, Ku6, Google video)
• Online banners generated 21 million impressions
• Live broadcast increased availability to larger audience via 7 IT media sites

A big Thank-you & Resources

With its social media guidelines, social listening and “social media in a box,” IBM and specifically IBM Rational shows that it understands to potential of social media.  Thanks to Stephanie Trunzo for making this presentation possible and to both Stephanie and Sera Lewis for sharing their valuable insights with us.

Resources:

•http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/04/04/the-variance-of-corporate-social-media-policies/

•http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_22/b4086056643442.htm

•http://erikkaiser.com/wp/2009/06/the-experiment-ibm-social-media-jams/

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/five-tools-i-use-for-listening/

IBM Rational software

This is my THIRD photo that’s managed to be featured on WedPlan.net in ONE WEEK span!!! You can check it out at today’s featured gallery! Words cannot express my excitement!!! =)

All I can say is THANK YOU SO MUCH for The WedPlan staff! Thank you!!!

If you google the term ‘wedding photographer’, WedPlan.net shows up as the 1st rank in the search result & if you google the word ‘photographer’, WedPlan.net shows up as the 2nd rank in the search result.

According to Google AdWords, the above terms generate more than half a million searches each month!

Article paru dans Drôme Hebdo, le 26 novembre 2009

“Si Adriana n’est pas là, c’est Robert qui s’en chargera…” ou bien Anaëlle, Alexia, Ingrid, Alexandra ou encore Simon. Et ils ne sont pas les seuls. Leurs âges ? La vingtaine! Ce soir, ils auraient pu aller en discothèque avec leurs potes, mais non. Leurs soirée est à vrai dire beaucoup moins glamour. La discothèque, ce sera pour une prochaine fois. Au contraire, ils ont choisi de consacrer leur soirée à la Croix-Rouge, lors d’événements tels que la Foire du Dauphiné ou la Marche du Clair de Lune. Etre bénévole au sein d’un organisme comme celui-là, tous s’accordent à le dire : c’est joindre l’utile à l’agréable. Utile dans le sens où cela permet d’aider des gens que ce soit sur le plan du secourisme ou du social, et agréable parce ce que c’est l’occasion de faire énormément de rencontres, au sein même de la délégation ou lors de sorties.

Soigner des bobos mais pas seulement

Cette volonté d’aller vers les autres serait même pour certains une véritable montée d’adrénaline. Simon l’avouait avec un grand sourire lors de la foire “ce soir, j’ai rapidement mis mon sac sur les épaules et je suis allé à la rencontre d’une personne prise soudainement d’un malaise”. Et cette même personne de seulement 20 ans est tout de même “directeur local adjoint à la formation”! On a trop souvent l’idée que ces uniforme rouges et marrons ne servent qu’à soigner les bobos. La réponse est bien sûr non. L’engagement est multiforme. Acteurs de solidarité et porteurs d’humanité, c’est aussi s’engager dans des cycles de formation et s’investir dans des actions locales d’aide aux personnes nécessiteuses, telle qu’avec l’opération “Tenir compagnie” par exemple. S’engager dans cette association, c’est avoir un certain savoir citoyen et aller au-delà des autres. Il ne sont pas là dans un but compétitif, mais tout simplement dans un but commun d’aider son prochain.

Et le temps qu’ils y consacrent ne passe d’ailleurs pas inaperçus aux yeux de leurs entourages. Il n’est pas rare que ceux-ci plaisantent sur le sujet : “A quand ton lit à la Croix-Rouge ?” Preuve que leur passe-temps leur demande justement bien du temps et un certain investissement.

Une véritable expérience de terrain

Comme certains sont correspondants de presse, désireux de travailler dans le domaine dans les années à venir, il n’est donc pas surprenant de croiser ces jeunes bénévoles sur les bancs de l’école d’infirmières. Alexandra était entrée à la Croix-Rouge pour n’y passer que le PSC1 (anciennement l’Attestation de Formation aux gestes de Premiers Secours). Et puis, de fil en aiguille, elle y reste pour l’ambiance et bien sûr parfaire ses connaissances en passant d’autres diplômes. Son “premier contact avec les soins” a été pour elle un véritable tremplin et une belle expérience de terrain. Sans oublier l’esprit d’équipe et la bonne ambiance qui va avec.

"My jab is serious."

INT – NIGHT

THE BEDROOM

Jon and The Feath are napping in bed before having to go a play and work respectively. After considering her for a few moments, Jon nudges The Feath.

JON: Will you marry me? I’m really asking. I don’t have much but you’re my person.

The Feath claps her hands over her mouth in disbelief.

THE FEATH: Yes!

Jon and The Feath sit in silence, not really sure what happens the moment after such questions are asked.

THE FEATH: Dammit.

JON: What?

THE FEATH: I have to go to work.

JON: Alright. I gotta go to this play.

Fade to black