Blogging at LIFT08

Next week I will be dedicating some time to a few long lost passions.

1. Eating fondue.

2. Inviting time, space, stimulation, reflection, dialogue to motivate my curiosity for how we learn and create

3. Learning, creating (well, not so long lost)

4. Blogging at the level we encourage others to.

Actually, they gave me a free ticket to attend, so I really HAVE to blog it. Do unto others and all that.

Since things took off for Authentic Blogging last year, I have to admit to feeling a bit of a fraud. Every week we talked with people about the potential of reflective blogging - and barely found time to walk the talk. No excuses now. Time to put down some real stuff for the Authentic Blogging book.
From 6-9 Feb I will be at LIFT08 in Geneva, then taking a train around the alps to just kind of be in the world, gaze in awe, maybe stop somewhere and yodel. Write. Breathe. Write.

It’s a rawther special happening by all accounts, gathering together the likes of speakers Andy Reisinger (Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore), Naked Scoble, Bruce Sterling, Cory Doctorow and many other lovelies besides. In so many ways the LIFT folk model the way we want to see people coming together in the shared, co-construction of higher thinking, feeling and creating. Hyperlinks subverting hierarchy all the way… I cringe as I name drop the big guys we all respond to (or not), as I espouse the more egalitarian wisdom of the crowd.

Sure it will get a bit techy at times and I will wish my uber-geek Gra was sitting in my ear like a babelfish from time to time. It will be strange being away from my little family, Gra, Bea and Maxi the Cat. But I am guessing that the people, the novelty, the conversations, giggling at the Svizz-ness of it all will keep the baying wolf of homesickness at the door for a few days at least.

There are still some tickets available if you want to join up. It’s going to be amazing.

More to come…

Any offers of somewhere to stay in Geneva or advice on which train journey to take are most welcome indeed!

Empower Controls

I’m really pleased to say I’m embarking on some interesting work with Empower Controls to help them with some stuff that I can’t talk about yet.

From their home page:

There is a significant waste of energy in home offices, home theatres and office workstations. Devices are often left on or in a standby state. We often fail to realise that devices such as a TV, DVD player, PC, scanner, printer or mobile phone charger consume power all of the time, even when not being used or when they are in a standby state. Hundreds of millions of devices all left in a standby state adds up to a lot of wasted energy.

Empower Controls solutions allow everyday people to intelligently switch off these types of products when not in use and to significantly reduce their energy consumption, with a minimum of fuss.

It is so nice to see this awareness coming to automation. I’m delighted to be a part of this.

Fresh Writing Classes in Brighton

For Beginners & Professionals

Express * Create * Connect * Learn * Grow * Play

A chance to let your words rip and flow. Fun, fresh activities will make these classes one of the highlights of your week.Perfect for anyone who uses the written word to communicate, eg. social enterprise folk, creatives, geeks, government folk, artists, writers, journalists, communications professionals, business people, activists, eco-warriors, peaceniks, bloggers. Come one and all!

“Fun, interesting and worthwhile - personally and professionally. I’m glad I took time out of a lousy schedule to do this class. Now I can rite reel good.”

“It’s been easier to write. I’m jotting down ideas again and having more of them. It’s the creative convalescence, soon I’ll be back at full strength.”

Find out what else regular participants are saying about them here…

Great writing exercises and games that build confidence, dissolve writers block and get your fingers flying across the page or keyboard.

* Connect with your real voice
* Enjoy expressing yourself again (or for the first time?)
* Give the ferocious editor (or “inner critic”) a holiday and let your words flow freely
* Learn how to write effectively for different audiences, and even for yourself
* Write authentically and learn to connect, be heard and seen by others for who you are

* Stand out from the crowd and compete in the “Attention Economy” of the new world order
* Enjoy writing like a person, not a corporate-speak, “we’re not listening anymore” brochure.
* Get help editing and planning your writing projects
* Join our fab new online space and share youre words, projects, ideas - get extra resources (all students eligible to join).

Your teacher Libby Davy from Authentic Blogging has a background in creative and professional writing, editing, education and strategic communications.

Venue:

The Werks
45 Church Road
Hove
BN3 2BE
www.werkshop.org.uk

Bike, bus or drive if you must. Parking is only a quid for two hours

When?

10.30 - 12.30

1 July

15 July

Put them in your diaries now if you have a positive intention to come and learn / create / express / play.

£13 per session (on the day) or £20 for last two.

Still offering first class free to permanent desk spacers at The Werks and friends of students.

Leave a comment if you would like to know what we will be going in Autumn or to make suggestions…

Please help this grow by spreading the word to those that might be interested.

Contact Libby Davy on 07968 687 107 or libby@nodestone.com

Some folk already starting to book in and watch what’s happening at Upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/402221/

About Libby
Hello there. I have a degree in communications and have taught writing, editing, publishing and strategy at a university and community level. I am a published and awarded short-story writer (very low-key to be honest) and have had work broadcast on national radio. For many years I have been studying education and involved in a range of education projects, in addition to my own teaching practice. Completed part one of an innovative new Masters programme in Person-Centred Education at Sussex University, and may even return one day.

For many years, I consulted in strategic communications and marketing, and business coaching - with an increasing emphasis on ethical, sustainable / environmental and social enterprise.

In essence, I am a fun, friendly, Australian mother with a passion for creative expression, business, education and human potential - including yours!

http://nodestone.com/2008/05/29/fresh-writing-each-fortnight/

http://nodestone.com/2008/03/28/new-dates-for-fresh-writing-plus-spring-tips/

2008 Predictions: Internet and Social Media

It is traditional. Writing some predictions for 2008. I’m going to focus on the Internet, social media and associated technology.

Google Search: Trust

I think 2008 will be the year when we’ll realize that we can’t have search being a closed algorithm any more. I get the feeling that it is going to be just too easy for a couple of folk at Google to work out how to pervert search a tiny bit and make a couple of billion extra in revenue. Given that you can do that, it is going to happen eventually, isn’t it, despite the ‘Do No Evil’ thing, which is just sounding more and more defensive these days.

Time to dust off that wikia vision of open search and get moving on it. Ooooh look, the are launching something on Jan 7th. We’ve only got the one Internet, and it would be a pity if we lost trust in our search results.

Also, I’ve always been really uneasy about the whole SEO thing. It feels to me like the SEO gurus are like high priests claiming to know what God is thinking.

Facebook. What?

2008 will be the year we collectively forget about facebook. And give up on social networking for the sake of social networking. My hope is that Open Social and similar will help make possible really useful applications that are socially enabled.

Web $2

You pronounce that web two dollars. I predict the end of Web 2.0 rounded corner build-it-and-think-of-a-business-model bubble. Why? Because with weakening economies in the US and Europe, VCs belts are going to tighten and there will be less money lying around for the high-risk punt at gathering a few million members to somehow later.

Those that have collected the few million members will start the money making machines. I’d predict some good old-fashioned outrage as fun Web 2 sites start to sell their members data or attention to stay afloat.

I’m hoping the focus goes back on to decent revenue-making businesses and some really good ideas emerge and start and work. And people actually pay for it and are happy doing that. People don’t mind paying for stuff, as long as they can really see the value. You need more than (another plain old) social network to pass that test.

The answer to the question that twitter is

I think this year we’ll see the answer to the question “What is twitter for?” And I’m not sure we are going to like the answer. See Web 2$ above. I’d love twitter to stay its lovely simple self, but I’m just a little worried it can’t be.

A new A-List :-)

The old A-listers will collapse en mass from spending too many long nights mumbling into seesmic and will be replaced with a new widgetized microblogging A-list that say nothing useful but say it all the time all over the place. Oh hang on, has this already happened? :-)