You Think, I Think, We Think (Better) Together

Been reading reviews about Charles Leadbetter’s book We Think all over the place. Got to get my hands on a copy sooon (come on Rosie, hand it over).

If anyone is trying to get their heads around Web 2.0, social media, new paradigm thinking and all that claptrap – get a look at this. Lovely simple animation. I’m going to use it at the beginning of all my courses. Free event coming up soon to give people a taste of it all. Watch this space.

Guardian review here (including Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky) which also looks reeal good.

Shame The Big Issue review isn’t available online. A different and very valid take on things.

No wonder most journalist’s I meet are annoyed with blogging and What’s Going On with we-think.

No wonder I am compelled to work in and support this space.

So glad Rosie Sherry is in it with me (thanks for the video).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiP79vYsfbo&hl=en]

Newbies Guide to Blogging

Nice simple, practical guide to getting you blogging right from Dustin Wax at the very useful lifehack.org. Mainly for individuals but the principles are the same for enterprises and others.

Follow the links to explore your own context and see the list at the end to extend your learning.

Highly recommended!

Check it out. 

Case Studies & Styles of Blogs

Here is a helpful take by a PR agency on the 25 main styles of blog. Each style has a case study to check out too.

What they don’t say is that, you can of course use a combination of styles and there are many new forms emerging all the time. Take it to the edge. Be you. That’s all I want to say right now. And as Shel Israel dropped into say on a previous post:

“In Naked Conversations, as I recall, we emphasized that short blogs were more popular and that bloggers who posted brief articles and then posted often, would score well in rankings. We certainly did not intend to say what blogs were MEANT to be. They are meant to be whatever the author chooses them to be.”

Every blog has it’s upside and downside, it’s pros and cons. Each one is unique, hopefully, as it’s creator/s. There’s no magic formula, despite the way these PR folk are trying to package it.

You’ve just got to blog, surf, listen and engage with the blogosphere – and let it all emerge. It’s as simple and as difficult as that. You’ve got to listen to yourself. Hmm, I think I’ve said that before somewhere… ;-)

[slideshare id=37589&doc=the-25-basic-styles-of-blogging-and-when-to-use-each-one-14243&w=425]

Free E-Book on the Essence of Authentic Blogging

Here’s a living document I prepared for our first three groups of budding bloggers. I feel a collaborative book coming on.

Not sure I see myself in the same light as the company I am keeping in this collection, but some wonderful people to be gaining inspiration from all the same. David Bohm, Carl Rogers, Carl Jung, Natalie Goldberg, Julia Cameron, The Cluetrain folk, Scoble, Meerman Scott (in some order of importance).

We see this as essential reading for anyone on a quest for personal and professional growth through blogging, but it is a very first draft. Stay tuned for more…

Have a read and let me know which quotes resonate most for you…

FREE E-BOOK on the Essence of Authentic Blogging
More posts on writing to help get your words flowing…

Learning to communicate better, wherever, whoever

Beautiful resources for learning more, much more about communication at New Conversations.

Baby / family blogs

In about 1997 we started working on Global Friends Websites. Way before it’s time. Will post more about that as an anecdote soon. For now, just know that one of the markets for the £10 websites was new parents wanting to share baby photos etc. In so many ways we were anticipating what has since happening. But it’s so often about timing isn’t it. Anyway, here we have the latest addition in our family. Kirby James Gargett… growing up live, in Perth and online. We can share his adventures here. Very interesting to see where things have gone. There are a zillion different examples of baby blogs out there, so we’ll just keep it close to home for now…

Age no barrier to blogging

A quick note about this very special lady (95 years old and going strong) and the grandson that empowered her. What a team!  We would love to see older people blogging, capturing and sharing their wisdom for the ages, for the world, combating isolation, making new connections, feeling valued.

The same things apply at any age don’t they?

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Our blogs

Wow, just sent a list of our blogs to Brighton Bloggers for inclusion. It’s getting a bit long. Hadn’t realised just how much blogging Gra and I (mainly Gra) have been doing over the last few years. So here it is…

www.authenticblogging.com – the place for a deep, authentic and truly happening approach to blogging in all it’s potential and ripeness. Blogging courses and an emerging new community – here we are!

www.barkingowl.com/learning – began with documentation of our early learning project and moved on from there into person-centred education, blogging and beyond… still sometimes active and ranks well with Google, loads of good stuff to check out and comment on, but have largely moved across to authenticblogging now

www.gravyland.net – our personal, family blog (including some contributions from Bea age 6, eg. this lovely picture she drew. Still not entirely sure how open I should be online, but this, like everything, is a work in progress.

http://blog.scouta.com – Scouta is our online media recommendations venture. Regularly featured on Techcrunch, actually.

http://presencelabs.com – Business blog for our main consulting vehicle, Presence Labs Ltd.

http://aplacecalledprovidence.com – A group blog for the co-working
office space at 50 Providence Place in the New England Quarter (where Gra is based, while I am at home hanging out the washing in between brain flashes and mad typing). Includes contributions from such neo-reno’s as Snipperoo’s Ivan Pope and the lovely Dom Stockdale.

Take part in truth

Let’s get back to the root philosophy of blogging.

So David Bohm’s the one. Well one of them. “On Dialogue” takes me back to the core of the work I was doing as an undergrad at Murdoch with Structure, Thought and Reality.

The whole discipline and practice of communication theory never ceases to underpin my thinking and excite me. Guess I chose the right course age 17, no matter how meandering it has been. Or it chose me…

And one day soon I will get focussed on bringing all this deep, rich content into the blogging course more specifically. Want to get much more visual here too. But the wikipedia entry for communication theory is a good place to start.

Now there I am showing Tom Nixon the book at this networking thingy tonight (he’s a bit lovely btw). I’ve been thinking for years how important the Dalai Lama’s words on our need for genuine dialogue were. Something small and inconsequential passing comment like… the only thing that will save humanity from the endless cycle of pain and suffering is… yep, dialogue, or something like that.

Then there HHDL is in the front blurb saying good old Dave Bohm is one of his “scientific gurus”. So I guess we’re on the right path here dear people.

“During the past few decades, modern technology, with radio, television, air travel and satellites has woven a network of communications which puts each part of the world into almost instant contact with all the other parts. Yet, in spite of this world-wide system of linkages, there is, at every moment, a general feeling that communication is breaking down everywhere, on an unparalleled scale.”

The question of how we can communicate better is at the heart of On Dialogue. This revised and expanded edition is the most comprehensive documentation to date of best-selling author David Bohm’s dialogical world view.

I’m going to reflect and share more from it as I go on. For now, here’s the link for those that just know they have to get into it now.

I’m delighted that his name hides “ohm” (mani padme hum) in something Oppenheimer, David and friends helped blow the world up with, before they saw they light… He became a real peacenik after all.

All seems rather spooky and perfect from where I’m sitting <grin>.

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