Archive for 'Misc.' category
Based on the feedback I received on the fabulous panel I moderated at Netroots Nation 2010 (“So You Wanna Change the World: How to Rock on Social Networks“), I decided to share my process for putting together a panel that will knock participants’ socks off. I’ve been the victim of too many snoozy, self-aggrandizing panels to let that happen on anything I put together, and I’d love to see no one ever have that kind of conference experience ever again.
In case you missed the hilarity of my flight back from Austin, here are my tweets…
- 7:00pm (CT): Boarded, hopefully leaving soon… (@ JetBlue Flight #1068)
- 7:15pm: Bill Murray is on my flight. o_O
- 12:06am (ET): Scary-ish landing. Dear lord, I did not want my last tweet on the planet to be about Bill Murray. But I do have some goss, stay tuned
- 12:07am: A Flight w Bill Murray, a story told over multiple tweets. Austin –> NYC, JetBlue (this actually prolly isn’t that interesting)
- 12:08am: Discovery of Mr Murray: when he switched out of his emerg exit row seat back to 2 rows in front of me to sit next to a young woman.
- 12:09am: Unclear whether they knew each other well prior to the flight. There was much giggling from those 2 seats (I was jealous, yes, heh)
- 12:10am: Then, I kid yous not, halfway thru the flight thry get up and go to the bathroom. Murray does a little dance on his way. I’m like, nuh-uh!
- 12:11am: They’re there for about 10min and come back, not weirdly and nothing else happens. Only other thing was that at the end of the flight,
- 12:12am: Murray starts drumming on the seat in front of him. Loudly. The woman starts giggling again. Dude in front of me (right behind Murray)
- 12:13am: …gets pissed and says (loudly, in a thick Brooklyn accent), “Hey drum circle, you wanna knock it off?” Which shockingly does the trick.
- 12:14am: I <3 NY. The End.
As I mentioned on Twitter, it’s just getting too hard for many of us to keep track of all the awesome conferences that happen every year. I’ve missed so many this fall, even ones happening in NYC, just because I hadn’t done any curation. Conferences can be a drag, but as a freelancer/consultant/author without a formal organizational structure, they’re often where I make the best connections and have the most fun with my colleagues.
So! An early New Year’s resolution: I’m gonna try to get on the ball for next year. Already thinking of SXSW, Allied Media Conference, US Social Forum, Personal Democracy Forum, Women Who Tech, America’s Future Now, NonProfit 2.0, NTEN and more; what do you recommend in the social tech, media, politics, activism, and social justice fields? Conferences & unconferences, big ‘n’ small. Leave ‘em in the comments (links to conferences would be helpful), and I’ll publish a big list in the next few days.
I admit it: I’m a complete pushover for slapstick humor. And today’s meme on Twitter, #unseenprequels*, has me in stitches. The idea: take a movie and slightly alter the title to come up with its prequel, which no one would have ever, ever paid to see. Hilarity ensues.
My favorites, in no particular order:
- @Bryce1984 The Lambs That Wouldn’t Shut Up #unseenprequels
- @jchinchar #unseenprequels Some Like It Tepid
- @matthasarms: Apocalypse Soon. #unseenprequels
- @steviedunn: The Day the Earth Continued Spinning #unseenprequels
- @PCTim: #unseenprequels The OK, The not so OK, and the unattractive
- @blogdiva: #unseenprequels Second-Base and The City
- @Alcudiabarfly: #unseenprequels dry-spell in the city
- @stealyourself: Madamoiselle Bovary #UnseenPrequels
- @lizzwinstead: The 5k run/walk Man #unseenprequels
- @jnjoiner: Thursday #unseenprequels
- @LParry: Shaun of the feeling peaky. #unseenprequels
- @KagroX: Still Plenty of Mohicans #unseenprequels
- @drywall: A Bunch of Mohicans #unseenprequels
- @RedGray: #unseenprequels Raiders of the Misplaced Ark
- @islandis: Sex, Lies, and Kinescope. #unseenprequels
- @macphoenix: Undocumented-Immigrant Kane #unseenprequels
- @mcsweater: American History IX #unseenprequels
- @AdamSerwer: The Dark Squire #unseenprequels
- @lizzwinstead: Conception of a Nation #unseenprequels
- @lizzwinstead: Still Going Back and Forth On Some Major Points of Endearments #unseenprequels
- (my own, heh): #unseenprequels Before Harry Met Sally
- UPDATE: via many others, this one clearly wins: @KagroX: Groundhog Day #unseenprequels
UPDATE: More fun titles are posted over at Ben Byrne’s blog!
* Wondering what the deal with the # is? That’s the marker for a “hashtag” on Twitter. It’s how Twitter users easily add or denote a keyword, allowing everyone else to either find or refer to a topic easily. Search for all #unseenprequel tweets!
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for me, getting into this whole “writing a book” thing, had been actually sitting down and doing it. It wasn’t a matter of writer’s block for me, or laziness, or ADHD. (Okay, maybe sometimes it was a combo of the last two.) Some days, I just couldn’t seem to get into the groove. Reading “The Journey from the Center to the Page” (thanks, Samer!) has been helpful, but I recently discovered an activity that has upped my productivity significantly: tandem writing sessions!
My cousin Cheryl down in DC is writing a novel, and found it really hard to get big chunks of work done, too. She said that she used to do this with a friend of hers, and would I be interested? I’ll give anything a whirl once. Here’s how it works:
- We have set appointments twice a week in the morning. One of us calls the other at the appointed time.
- We each say what we’re going to try and accomplish in that session, and how long we’d like to work for. (For us, it’s generally an hour at a time.)
- We also offer each other suggestions or share experiences that might be helpful.
- We hang up and get to work. I use the SelfControl app for Mac to block my access to email, Facebook and Twitter during that time.
- At the end of the hour, we call each other and relate how it went, what we were able to get done and what the next steps are.
Wash, rinse, repeat!
The accountability is what’s been the most helpful part of this. Sure, I can make a “meeting” with myself in my iCal to get work done, but knowing that I have to call someone, have a plan and execute itgives me that much more inspiration to get tough chunks of the book worked out. Also, working in tandem with someone who’s not in the same room doesn’t offer up the temptation to just sit there and chat for the whole hour.
All-in-all, a resounding Zandt Family Success Story, and highly recommended to others.
Incredibly exciting news came across the transom last night while I was at the Women Who Tech after-party in NYC: I’ve been offered a book deal with the stellar Berrett-Koehler publishing group in San Francisco. I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with Johanna Vondeling, their vice president of editorial and digital, and the rest of the staff there. Their commitment to social change as well as digital innovation for publishing makes them the perfect fit for what I want to do.
What do I want to do, I hear you asking yourself? In short — I do want you to buy the book, after all — I’m going to be describing the social media moment as a huge opportunity for social change and action. If you’ve read some of what I’ve written about Twitter and other services, and my ideas about the giant gene pool and the desperate need for diversity, you have an idea of where the book will go. Plus, it’ll be stunningly entertaining to boot!
[read the rest of this post » ]
What I hear in my head when trying to organize and attend various inaugural events next week:
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Come see me speak tomorrow night:
Wednesday Panel: Web2.0 Activist Model Case Studies
Over the past two years, Web 2.0 technologies have matured and so have the methods activists use to employ them. In 2008, activists from around the world used Web 2.0 to take command of the digital airwaves pioneering new forms of political mobilization. From Students for a Free Tibet’s live streamed protests in Beijing, to RNC protesters coordinating actions and monitoring police movements on Twitter to mass digital mobilizations for humanitarian relief and election protection, Web 2.0 is no longer just for social networking and fundraising.
This Wednesday, practitioners involved in the above campaigns will present case studies and highlight how they leveraged these tools to have broader reach and greater effectiveness. We’ll also delve into issues governing internal organization and communication among political actors, including: transparency vs. security; command and control vs. autonomous affinity groups, and the power of organizing without organizations vs. the tyranny of structurelessness.
This report back and skills share is intended to leave you with concrete ideas for how these models and tools could impact your work.
Wednesday, December 17, 7:30pm
The Change You Want To See Gallery
http://www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org
84 Havemeyer Street, at Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
[read the rest of this post » ]
This is normally one of those things that I’d just twitter about and leave at that, but the whole scenario ended up being too fascinatingly hilarious to just let lie. Cyn and I went to the best live show tonight– we saw The National at Summerstage. I mean, it was just unbelievable. One of those shows that instantaneously makes you high because it’s Just So Good.
Afterwards, we were both starving and thinking of heading down to Schiller’s for a burger and cocktail (her: tuna, me: glorious beef). The train was going to take about a jillion years at that hour, so we figured we’d take our chances and see if we could get a cab. It wasn’t easy going: thousands of people pouring out of the east side of Central Park, all scavaging for the same four wheels.
I took to walking down the middle of 72nd Street. (alright, I’m exaggerating. I was walking in the middle of one of the lanes.) It was more than competitive out there– people were really throwing themselves into it, and I figured I had to step it up. As we rounded the corner towards Park Ave, a lovely lit-up free cab sat waiting. I scooted, nay, I dashed, for the cab.
From behind me, I heard a war cry. An actual war-sounding cry. I’m sure this was meant to intimidate, and not… well, inspire, but I escalated and cried back, running faster for the cab and diving to the door handle without even looking to see who or what my competition was.
When I did turn around, surprisingly enough, the young man capitulated immediately and said, “No no, go ahead.” Cyn was squealing with mad delight at the entire scene. I hadn’t come off my adrenaline yet and didn’t know what was so funny. I kindly asked the young man if he’d like a ride downtown. He backed away slowly, smiling, “No no, really, there’s four of us.”
In the cab, it still took me a minute to realize the scene that played out. Cab. Desperation. Dash. War cry. Louder war cry, FTW. It was a glorious moment of New Yorker-ness.
