Der var engang hvor jeg var voldsomt dedikeret til denne blog. Der gik faktisk ikke en uge uden at jeg fyrede et indlæg af. Jeg følte jeg havde noget på hjerte, og jeg følte – og fik feedback på, at det jeg skrev flyttede noget.

Jeg skal være den første til at indrømme at sådan er det ikke længere. Det er jeg faktisk ked af. For jeg syntes stadig at kommunikation er “mørtlen” i verden. Uden vores evner til at kommunikere hvadend de er skriftlige, kunstneriske, visuelle, verbale eller noget helt andet. Så hvorfor er det så at jeg ligesom har mere end dobbelt så svært ved at kommunikere noget ud end jeg havde før?

Jeg tror det har noget med viden at gøre. Man siger at viden er magt. Men kan det modsatte også være tilfældet? Kan viden også være afmagt? På mit gamle gymnasium i Nyborg står der en skulptur (hvis den står der endnu) af Keld Moseholm. Det er en mand der læser i en bog mens han går op ad en trappe. Jo længere op han når/ jo mere han læser, jo mindre bliver han. En glimrende illustration af hvordan jeg af og til føler det. Ikke bare fagligt men på mange af livets områder. Evnen til at skære igennem er praktisk talt forsvundet med min udvidede horisont.

Og hvad gør man så? -Når horisonten er blevet så bred at man har svært ved at skelne solen fra dens refleksion i vandet. -Når mulighederne for at vide, og blive videnene, inden for forskellige områder faktisk har bemægtiget sig ens sind i en sådan grad at man ikke føler sig i stand til at handle, skære igennem, dele kagen i både, skille skidt fra kanel, barbere geden osv.

Svaret kom til mig nu. Siden klokken tolv (klokken er nu femten) har min søn siddet og spillet det samme (latterlige) flash spil. Han spillede det også igår, og skulle han ikke i skole imorgen spillede han det også der. Indtil i dag døde han hver gang han nåede til en bane med en flyvemaskine der skulle skydes ned. Men det tog ikke modet fra ham. Han blev ved, indtil han spillede så stabilt at han kom frem til den bane hver gang. Derefter fokuserede han 100% på hvilken teknik der skulle til for at skyde flyveren ned. For to timer siden lykkedes det ham. – Og så hurtigt videre til næste udfordring. Han er endda holdt op med at bande når han dør. Han starter bare sporenstregs på en frisk og prøver én gang til.

Nøglen er med andre ord dedikation. Dedikation til noget der fuldstændig kan opsluge én. Noget man kan mærke at man brænder så meget for at man ikke kan lade være. Richard St. John siger det så forfriskende godt i denne tre minutter lange TED Talk.

Nu vil jeg finde ud af hvad hjørne af kommunikationen jeg brænder for. Om den vej fører mig hertilbage ved jeg ikke…

I find this completely enchanting.

I have just discovered this video with Itay Talgam giving a workshop on leading as a conductor; how to bring a sense of cohesiveness when working with a group while still enjoying the process, hence bringing together great team work.

Sounds familiar?

Rather than reading up on Rene Decartes tonight for my General Studies class, I have been intrigued by two TED talks, both of which deal with the mind and delusions.  The first talk is by Dr. Vilayanur S Ramachandran who speaks on the connection between the cerebral tissue of the brain and the mind.  The second talk is by Dr. Oliver Sacks who speaks on hallucinations of blind people, a condition known as Charles Bonnett syndrome.  Both highly fascinating and highly entertaining.

I’m a huge fan of TED and 50Lessons, I really love their talks and lessons, as you noticed I posted a lot of them on my blog. I will do it today also. Daniel Pink made this cool talk at Oxford about motivation and what motivates people.

He talks about 3 new elements that comprise a new way of thinking about management[1]:

In December Dan has a new book coming out called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In this TED talk from the summer in Oxford, Dan overviews some of the key ideas in the new book. This talk will make you (re-)think about work, management, and what motivates you — and those you work with — to excel. [3]

In Romania you can buy the book on Okian.ro

[1] -presentationzen.blogs.com
[2] - Ted.com
[3] - presentationzen.blogs.com

This is a great talk and reminder to keep your intention even if you have attained what you have wished for. I have been moving ahead with my voice over career and keeping my intention in focus at the same time as being opened and willing to learn, grow and see where else my talent can take me.  Hearing Richard St. John’s story is not only a reminder but a call to keep the focus alive and… don’t worry… be happy!

Google signaled the end of Web 1.0 Infrastructure and the beginning of Web 2.0 Information.

Is WolframAlpha signaling the end of Web 2.0 Information and the beginning of Web 3.0 Knowledge?

I have been thinking about the recent comments of Seth Godin about Social Networks on TED.com.  Personally, I believe Seth is behind the curve and that Social Networking is becoming a bubble as platforms are becoming commoditized and Social Network companies are springing up everywhere without properly thought out business models.  Eventually, venture capitalists will get wise, pull their money out and the bubble will burst.  Web 2.0 is dead.  Long live Web 3.o.

WolframAlpha.com is probably the Web 3.0 shot that is being heard around the world.  A new generation of search engine for a new generation of knowledge-based internet technologies.

Social Networks will continue to exist.  All of the small Social Networks will be gobbled up by the biggies.  However, the center is shifting from the profiling of Web 2.0 focusing on the needs of the business to gather customer information back to the needs of the customer to gather product knowledge.

Relational databases focused on the values, information.  Associational databases will focus on the connections, knowledge.

Look forward to a new economy and a new plethora of business models.

Web 3.0 is here.  Knowledge is Power.  Power is Leadership.  Knowledge is Leadership.

Link:

• Associational Database

Jeg har lige talt med Hans Henrik Heming.

Han har fået en totalt genial idé. Vi skal da have TED til Danmark. TED vil gerne have en mere lokal forankring verden over og derfor har de lavet TEDx og Hans Henrik har så fundet på at vi skal have TEDx Copenhagen

Og JEG har fået lov til at være med til at arrangere det. IH HVOR ER DET BARE FEDT! Jeg ringede Hans Henrik op og tilbød kort og godt min højre arm for at være med.

Skynd jer at melde jer til mailing listen eller følg med på TEDx Twitter eller min Twitter

Wonderful. It’s been around a while – but worth remembering the value of creativity.

Found a great TED talk on nurturing genius - obviously this is all immensely applicableto my flamenco talents.

Or, more accurately, it’s a great talk on creativity, human nature and art that at the end also covers duende, in the context of performance. This talk helped to crystallise what I’d already been thinking without realising it, really – that it helps me to think of duende as something summoned up, like a spirit. And it also helped me with its validation of the sheer grind and hard work – that the muse may not descend when you want it to, but the thing that matters is to keep turning up and slogging on.

In a different view, I was talking to a surfer about duende last week and he immediately recognised what I meant – that for him in surfing it was reaching a sort of Zen like state where you and the rhythm of the waves are one. I wonder in what forms and under what names duende is found in different arts and activities. Maybe the Greeks and Romans had it right after all – all the different muses for different things.

Thanks to Steph for showing me the TED talk, and if you’re not a TEDaholic, you should be!

seriously, watch this all the way through. it’s nuts.

just because:

via retrolife

more underwater craziness:

sweet dreams.

In browsing TED.com one night (see my blog post about TED.com here), I came across a speech given by artist Jonathan Harris, about connecting the internet to the human emotions expressed within it. Jonathan is an internet artist and designer who “aims to explore and explain the human world”. In his TED speech he previewed his past projects including a time machine campaign he worked on with Yahoo! As well as the premier of his search engine Universe, which compiles news data around subjects in a visual sky of constellations and stars. Fascinated by the high quality of Jonathan’s ideas and projects, I found his personal site where he provides links to all of his work. Browsing through his portfolio I was continuously impressed by his ideas, which includes “We Feel Fine,” a system that searches the world’s newly posted blogs for the word “I feel,” and “I am feeling” to gauge the feelings of web users at a specific moment. Another site of his I was drawn to and wish to describe in this blog is Just.curio.us.

Justcurio.us is an online network established as a forum of “strangers helping strangers” through anonymous questions and answers. Users pose questions, open for anyone to answer, with one condition: to ask a question, you must first answer someone else’s. Questions can be about anything — and they really are — users have the ability to ask any question they wish about any topic they want– from funny, to personal, offensive and useless. When first browsing on the site I am posed the question: Stones or Beatles? And presented with the option to answer the question or move on to another one. Additional information under the question includes where the user asked it from and when they asked it.

After choosing to answer this one (The Beatles, of course!) I am given a chance to ask a question, enter my email address for anonymous answers, and ASK! Statistics on the site say that 2,281,009 strangers have answered 469,808 questions, a number that continuously grows.

Other then the questions and answers, the scope of the site includes a page about Justcurio.us, the rules of the game, a search feature, and a zeitgeist, which lists the most popular question topics by size.

Justcurio.us is completely confidential, but users posing questions do have the option to have answer responses emailed to them. The user’s IP address is used only to determine the country location and as they claim, “no human will ever see your IP address”.

Unfortunately this site is relatively small, so the amount of questions asked are limited. Additionally, it seems many people who ask and answer questions do not take the intention of this site seriously, often asking useless or offensive questions or giving answers that do little more than poke fun at the question or questioner. Fortunately for users who do wish to use this site to connect with strangers on another level, the option to moderate answers is available. Users who turn this feature on have the ability to flag inappropriate questions and answers, bringing users even closer together in this social world.

I think this site has great potential and really works to connect individuals. I like this site best because those who use it are so geographically spread out. People pose questions from the United States, Canada, Ireland, Iran, Israel, Australia — literally everywhere. Although this site is currently small and has very little reputation, I think the idea behind it — strangers helping strangers — is a great way to connect people on a more intimate level. As users never find out who answers their question, they are completely free to ask whatever they want. I think this anonymity helps keep the focus of the site merely on the question — it doesn’t matter who you are, why you’re asking, or why you’re answering — you are free to help a stranger without feeling like your experiences or knowledge can be identified.

I really like the work that Jonathan Harris produces and his desire to connect the internet with human emotions and turn users into connected individuals — human beings instead of IP addresses. Justcurio.us is a project that, with moderation and responsible, serious users, could yield much benefit in connecting people, emotions, and lifestyles. It is valuable to feel that someone, a complete stranger, heard your question and cared enough to take the time to answer it anonymously — solely for the purpose of helping resolve your own issues.

It would be my hope that this site grows, engaging users all of the world to help out the neighbors we have all over the world — paying it forward to a time when we might all need help ourselves.

Explore the work of Jonathan Harris – it’s all interesting!

It’s hard to get the masses to embrace new technology.  60% of people stop using twitter after 1 month of signing up.  Most businesses generally don’t adopt new technology early.

However, check out how texting helped Kenyans survive a post-election crisis (3 min video):

Also, check out how Swine Flu is being tracked using Google Maps.

Can you use this technology for your organisation?  One of the biggest challenges in using new technology is knowing that it exists before your competitors.  The second challenge is knowing how to use it.  Maybe these two examples can get you thinking.

Plain simple genius.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/527

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) offers to the world the most fascinating thinkers and doers who are challenged to give the talk of their lives – in 18 minutes.

The best talks and performances from TED are available to the public for free with more than 200 talks in the archive and more being added each week.

Check out this talk.

Alex Tabarrok: How ideas trump economic crises — a surprising lesson from 1929

via Alex Tabarrok on how ideas trump crises | Video on TED.com.

About this talk

The “dismal science” truly shines in this optimistic talk, as economist Alex Tabarrok argues free trade and globalization are shaping our once-divided world into a community of idea-sharing more healthy, happy and prosperous than anyone’s predictions.

Almost as good as the talk, which is embedded below, are the comments. At the moment my mind is open to his premise, but I worry that his economic globalization parallels the troubling “one world order” that is a continuing undercurrent in America’s national and international policy.

via TED.com

A friend of mine considers to buy a new car. I suggested he buy a car for the future. A hybrid, for example. He was not convinced; they may be too pricey. Maybe the money could be better spent; maybe he somehow could get more environment (less carbon) for the same amount of money. That’s a very good question, actually. What is the best use of green money? I rarely see that kind of questions discussed.

A Ph.D. student I met in the US, however, had the idea that Americans should, instead of buying hybrids, donate their money to environmental programs in other parts of the world, where the potential to save carbon was much higher. Not that gas-milage on American cars is much to write home about, but think rain forest protection and third world energy systems.

Now, determining what projects gets the best effect on the environment for the least amount of money is not an easy task. The natural way to do that would be through a market mechanism, but no such market exist as far as I know. The Americans has started to trade in carbon, and that is a start, but it’s about emissions, and doesn’t really give incentives to structural changes. (Or maybe it does; I have to think. I don’t think big changes will happen very fast, anyway, because of cap-and-trade programs.)

Back to the hybrid. There are many good reasons for not owning a hybrid. They are expensive, they don’t go very far, and noone really knows (me, that is) the economy in them. A crucial thing, of course, is how to generate the power to run them. If it is generated from coal, for example, it doesn’t really help. Shai Agassi on TED.com has solutions to some of the problems with today’s hybrids (he’s vague on the power generation issue, though):

Hat-tip: Env-Econ