Buoyant Aspect

Artolution: Graffiti Innovations in Tech, Gardening and Legality

2011-02-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

When you think of graffiti you might think of unsanctioned euphemisms scrawled on walls, dumpsters, signs and sidewalks. There also is commissioned graffiti art: beautifully done murals appear endlessly across urban landscapes if you know where to look.

Personally I enjoy urban exploration and discovering well-done street art. My eyes are always peeled when I'm driving, busing, walking or biking through Minneapolis. Lately though, I've been seeing, reading and hearing about innovations in the graffiti field. More and more unique ideas are coming out of the woodwork. Ideas that don't damage the public space at all, but actually improve it. The following list includes an interesting variety of ways that artists, gardeners and everyday city people are brightening up their public spaces:

Reverse Graffiti: cleaning dirty surfaces into art.

Moss Graffiti: spread moss paste onto walls and watch it grow.

Yarn Bombing: attack of the guerrilla knitters.

The Guardian covers the yarn bombing movement in the U.K., the New York Times does the same in San Francisco and the Walker Art Center follows the Minneapolis scene.

Guerrilla Gifting: e.g. spread custom door mats across the city.

"Welcome Home" by Project M (video).

EyeWriter Art: technology to create art with your eyes.

Tony TEMPT1 is an artist who, due to Lou Gehrig's Disease, lost the ability to move his arms and legs, speak, eat and even breathe without life-support systems. However his mind and creative spirit are still alert and he uses the EyeWriter technology to continue his artistic aspirations. See the video.

Robot Graffiti: machines used to create public art.

Bike-propelled rainbow spray-painter. See the video on WIRED.
Paintball gun graffiti: Video on Vimeo.
Facade printer: Video on Vimeo.

Digital Graffiti Wall: all the fun of spray paint without any of the externalities.

Check out the videos from Vancouver and Converse.

Projection Graffiti: light displayed on the sides of buildings.

Example (the good stuff starts 30 seconds in): YouTube video.

Guerrilla Gardening: seed bombs, shoe planters, moss art and anything else that expands the urban greenery.

Animation: Street art stop-motion techniques.

Video and animation by the artist BLU. Watch video.

And last but not least,

Dinosaur Graffiti: the title explains itself.

There's more to this than you can see. Watch the comedic video.

Post-Argentina TOMS Shoe Drop

2010-12-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

If I departed one day later I would have missed the shoe drop. Read my reflection on the entire experience at SocialEarth.

A New Experience: TOMS Argentina Shoe Drop

2010-12-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

In two hours I depart the frozen winter tundra of Minnesota for a trip of a lifetime — a TOMS Shoe Drop. Read the rest of my story at SocialEarth and stay tuned for more when I return.

Blogging at the Local Level

2010-09-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

Bang, bang, he wrote it down, bang, bang. Faster than a speeding bullet I've started writing for two locally oriented technology blogs -- TECHdotMN and Techerator. Since I normally write about social issues, I add a do-good spin on every tech post I write.

My new narrative experience has evolved into something more rewarding than I ever imagined. Writing at the local level in the Twin Cities has opened me up to a plethora of new possibilities. Not only do I just write a story and virtually wait for people to read it, I interact and form community. I meet, talk and create new partnerships and relationships. I help grow the neighborhoods around me. The feeling and reactions of writing locally seem to supersede the global reader base. Yes, global issues are important, but not more important than what is happening all around you, every day.

Every state, city and neighborhood has pertinent ideas and problems. The defining culmination comes from programs, social enterprises and nonprofits that are all around you. Most you probably don't even know about, but if you did you'd support in a heartbeat. Once these organizations are recognized -- either by the government, an angel investor, you, or other support group -- some are able to scale their initiatives to a national, even global, level. That is the key difference by investing more in effective change-making local initiatives.

Get more involved in your community, read about how E-Democracy is improving local brick-and-mortar neighborhoods via the Web.

Now Blogging At SocialEarth

2009-06-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

I started blogging at SocialEarth in Spring and haven't had time to keep Buoyant Aspect as up-to-date as I'd hoped.

For new and positive-based articles, please visit my column on social entrepreneurship, nonprofits and anyone doing good at socialearth.org/author/tristan.

Cheers!

-Tristan

[Update: I am also blogging at ashoka.org/newsblog and newsletter.everywun.com/index.php/author/tristan]

Social Change Politics

2009-05-02T16:32:00.001-07:00

Thinking about a person's life is funny. Funny as in ironic. Backed up by no specific statistics, I would say 95% of the worlds people make no significant impact on improving the Earth's situation for better. And by the earth's situation I mean, its government, people, basic global operations.

I have been thinking about my own life in this way. I'm not a brainiac or a scientist. I'm not going to formulate some political bill or discover the next cure for cancer. My impact is so small it could be laughable, but I try to do it anyways. I stand by my ideas and spread good where I can.

I started thinking about government representatives and how partisan they are. Why can't they just vote according to the people they represent (or by their own views for that matter). What if a representative took polls online, posted upcoming bills they would be voting on and simply listened to the people in the district they represent?

Districts could have email alerts sent when a bill was going to be voted on and Internet cafes available for polls on how people in that district thought. This would not only help people share their voice, but open up Internet access to those who don't have it.

The lobbyists, corporations and other politically steering factors would be (somewhat) eliminated and a representative could help the people in the ways they actually want. Sure, they could take the public's views with a grain of salt (we aren't all experts). But, voting with the first or even second highest percentages of a poll would give a voice back to the people, which hasn't been very predominate against the loud roar of "politics as usual."

An example of this type of "social change politics" in the U.S. could be this:

A bill comes to the House of Representatives or Congress. A few weeks before, representatives send an email alert to their district. This email alert would also be displayed in city halls, Websites, Internet cafes and other places, to make it easily accessible. For those who would like to vote on the issue they could log on via a user name and password through the specific district's Website (address would be a main indicator that they were eligible to vote in that district). Here there would be a poll something like this (with a link to the complete bill and a non-bias short description):

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you in favor of the Clean Water Act in Minnesota District 191?
(For more information on the Clean Water Act visit cleanwateract.gov.)

Yes.
No.
In between.

Please comment any changes you would like to see to the bill.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No system is perfect and ours certainly isn't (do I need to say Franken v Coleman... yes, that's still going on), but opening up voting and discussion forums on bills would be a way to hear what the public is saying. Power to the people anyone?

Why Blogging is Like Rapping

2009-04-21T22:37:00.001-07:00

Hip-hop tends to be my music of choice, so when I took a second to think about how I write blogs, it came to me. Blogging is like rapping. You start a flow and keep it going.

Now I don't talk about it much, but I freestyle rap every once and a while. It has to be the right music and mood, but when I feel the flow coming I just let it out. Could be punk rock, pop, country or hip-hop, it doesn't matter. This same flow comes over me when I write. The difference is the trigger.

When I write my flow is triggered by my internal mood and thoughts. An idea or concept that I am interested in comes to mind and I start writing. When I freestyle I rely more on the external factors, like music and setting, before the words come out.

Since I brought up hip-hop music, I have to mention my favorite artists of late, Asher Roth and Atmosphere. Follow the links to download their free mixtapes below.

Atmosphere - Strictly Leakage

Asher Roth's Day Off

SocialEarth - The New Way to Find Social Change

2009-04-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

In my Web 2.0 search for the cup of socially conscious life I have found many great sites, some of which I have already highlighted in previous posts (USAServe.org, Ashoka.org, etc.).

SocialEarth.org is a new breed of social information. They are motivated to inform the world about all the great works that social change organizations are doing. Compare them to TechCrunch, but of all things good.

I recently met the founders of SocialEarth, Erik and Naiomi, who are semi-recent grads from the University of Minnesota. I was inspired by their motivation to promote change. This was their second venture, the first aiming to help teens in poor countries afford and attend college. They both agreed that it was time to get the world back on track from a derailing over-capitalistic economy.

I couldn't agree more.

Keep up with the daily posts at www.socialearth.org.

Sudir Venkatesh, Web 2.0 Gang Intermediary

2009-03-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Drugs, gangs, thugs, prostitutes and hustlers - Sudir Venkatesh has witnessed it all. He is a man of his own breed. One that creates the boundaries, instead of living by them.

After reading his book, Gang Leader for a Day, Sudir is also someone I look up to. He has guts. He is motivated to go beyond the norm. He even spent the better part of a decade in the Chicago projects, learning the life.

Sudir also writes radically innovative blog posts for the New York Times blog, Freakonomics. In his posts, Sudir has gotten ex-gang leaders' opinions on the economy and TV shows, introduced a millionaire to a Chicago squatter and opened my eyes to French poverty.

Throughout Sudir's books, videos and blog posts I have learned more then any sociology class has taught me, and even more importantly, I was inspired and motivated.

Learn more about the Columbia University Professor here.

The Social March Madness Media

2009-03-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

The yearly passion that is the NCAA Basketball Tournament is just around the corner. I have been anticipating this moment since North Dakota State (my team and alma mater) kicked off the season in November. They have the players (4 seniors: Woodside, Winkelman, Nelson and Moormann), performed the upsets (#13 Wisconsin, #9 Marquette) and are eligible for the first time to win an NCAA bid. If you are an extremely loyal fan and look forward to creating your bracket every year on ESPN, Facebook, CBS and Yahoo!, you know my excitement.

However, I noticed one problem. Throughout the NDSU Bison's schedule some games were not available on TV (We aren't North Carolina or Duke!). You can purchase a video stream, listen to the radio or watch live stats when TV isn't an option, but I needed something more...

I went to Twitter to fulfill my needs. NDSU and GoBison.com, NDSU's sports site, had not created accounts! I normally love NDSU advertisements because of how creative and intuitive they are, but NOT ON TWITTER!?

NDSU has fan sites on many social networks (e.g. Ning, Facebook, Squidoo, YouTube, Forums and LinkedIn), but no Twitter.

So I did what any motivated fan would do; I created a Twitter account for NDSU to blog the university news and sports (maybe a little heavier on the sports).

I received great feedback from all the Bison loyals out there and I even started to give updates on games in real time, sharing my basketball emotions with other tweeters.

Once again, Twitter has brought together people of the same blood (in this case I bleed Yellow and Green).

In reflection, I believe that it doesn't matter how small or big your university is this NCAA Tournament season. Get out (or stay in... on the computer) and use social media to spread the good word for your team this march madness. Join Facebook brackets and recruit your friends. Create a lens on Squidoo and post updates. Blog about your team and join the sports forums. No matter what your flavor, social media is where it's at during the 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Go Bison!

Squidoo and Nonprofit Organizations

2009-03-07T14:24:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been working on Squidoo pages for a nonprofit organization called Ashoka (to learn more about Ashoka, visit my previous post). It has taught me a great deal about how to market for nonprofits on social media sites.

So far I have created five lenses, or pages; two being very specific and three being about a general topic (I would give out the links, but they are still works-in-progress). We thought that by creating helpful content, users could visit our Squidoo pages, Web sites and blogs for reliable resources and expertise.

As I already mentioned in my previous post about Ashoka, they have motivated a large following on Twitter, Facebook and other social sites. I can't help but admire them and how they have joined the discussion and become major collaborators, not only talking, but listening as well. Now Ashoka is becoming a leader and 'social library' for social entrepreneurism and nonprofits alike - something for all organizations to take a look at.

Films Bring Human Nature to Light

2009-02-24T14:19:00.000-08:00

I recently watched The Day the Earth Stood Still. I'm a little behind on my movie watching as you could probably tell.

The movie made me think about how destructive the human race really is. Murder, war, environmental destruction and the list goes on. We may be the smartest animals on the planet, but it doesn't always show.

The Day the Earth Stood Still also reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan 's The Happening, because of the main underlying meaning, humans are destroying the environment and themselves.

Overall, both of these films bring up a valid point. Can the human race change and become better at treating other humans, as well as the environment we live in, with respect? I think we can.

If more and more people can keep their minds open, work at finding solutions and help the big plan, this century will be the turning point. Every little bit makes a difference.

(P.S. I love M. Night and my favorite movies written by him are Signs and The Village and don't miss M. Night's upcoming film, The Last Airbender.

Americans For Change

2009-02-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

When you think of President Obama, you think of change, one of his slogans that has continued on past the elections and into his presidency. The main ingredient of that change is us, Americans.

I recently was introduced to a great Web site that helps Americans be the change. Setup by Obama's team, USA Service is a portal for those who want to improve their communities and help others.

Check it out, sign up for the newsletter and get involved!

www.usaservice.org

Minnesota in the Movies

2009-02-16T13:01:00.001-08:00

Every time I hear a movie is set in Minnesota I think Drop Dead Gorgeous, Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards, Kristie Alley and Britney Murphy. I hear, "You Betcha!" and "Minnesotah!" in that strong Minnesotan/Scandinavian accent. Woe-is-me. Why do movies placed in Minnesota always use the accent!

In all reality, being born and raised in Minnesota, I have never actually heard anyone talk like that, whether from big or small cities. The closest I have come to someone actually having the Scan-accent was probably when I went to school in Fargo, ND. Nonetheless, screen writers, actors, actresses and directors alike seem to have an infatuation with the fabled Minnesotan accent.

I was inspired to write this post by the new movie, New In Town, which is set in a small Minnesota town. I almost went to see it when I heard a new movie was set in MN, but that was before I heard about the accents they use. Fargo is another film that features the comical accent, however the movie itself is quite the opposite.

Overall, it seems Diablo Cody is one of the few people in the film industry to get it right. While writing Juno, Cody lived in Minneapolis and constructed her first screen play in the downtown Target Starbucks. Juno, the inspirational and emotional story of a young pregnant girl, features no accents and normal Minnesotan suburbs. Thank you!

Check out Cody's newest film, Jennifer's Body, sometime this year. Plus, check her out on Twitter, @diablocody.

Ashoka: The Social Change Nonprofit with a Royal Flush

2009-02-12T01:19:00.000-08:00

I recently began working with a great organization called Ashoka. Ashoka supports and nurtures a network of A-class social entrepreneurs who are changing the world. You could compare Ashoka's work to finding the royalty in a deck of cards. They find the innovators who are the very best at what they do - helping others.

To me, this way of promoting and building sustainable change seems absolute. Find the best of the best and help them reach their dreams and in the process you make thousands of lives better.

To gain a better understanding, check out this video at the Audeamus blog. The video shows Bill Drayton, Ashoka's founder, and tells the stories of a few of Ashoka's fellows (a.k.a. amazing social entrepreneurs).

Ashoka is also on Twitter and Facebook. Check them out!

The Hidden Meaning of Social Media Web Sites

2009-02-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

Throughout my experience in social media I have found a keen relationship between social media Web sites and animals. There is Twitter and a small blue bird, Squidoo and a squid (duh!) and even the Reddit creature.

What does this mean? Are the geniuses behind Web 2.0 reaching deep into our subconscious love for animals? Maybe the simple idea of a cute little bird "tweeting" makes us that much more enthralled in the barnyard romp that is social media.

On the other hand, there are plenty of social sites that are not related to animals. Digg, Backflip and Mister Wong take a more humanistic approach with either their logo or name. Are they trying to be the new techie man's best friend? Or maybe that's FriendFeed.

Overall, most social media sites take one or two unique words with a "cute factor" and create a site that adds value to the viral networking community. As well as a new entry in the dictionary in 2010.

The list of social media Web sites and possible underlying meanings could go on and on, but let me simply finish with this. TheEnd.com.

The ABC's of Social Media Marketing

2009-01-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

The A to Z of social media terms and Web sites.

A -- Avatars, AddThis and Ask.com Q&A (Release your inner person with an avatar)
B -- Blogs, Bloglines, Bebo and Brightkit
C -- CrowdVine and Comments (Read relevant content? Post a link back to your blog with a comment)
D -- Digg and Del.icio.us
E -- E-marketing
F -- Facebook, Flickr, forums, Friendster and FriendFeed
G -- Google Tools (Blogger, Analytics, Webmaster, Adsense, AdWords)
H -- HTML tags
I -- iGoogle
J -- "Join Now" (If no one does, it doesn't work)
K -- Keywords
L -- LinkedIn (MySpace for grown-ups)
M -- MySpace and Mashable
N -- Ning, NetVibes, NewsGator and Newsvine
O -- Orkut and O'Reilly Media's Web 2.0
P -- Podcast
Q -- Question (Don't be afraid to ask, that's social networking)
R -- Reddit and RSS feed
S -- StumbleUpon, Second Life, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Optimization and Social Thing!
T -- Technorati, Twitter, Twitter Search and Tumblr
U -- URL
V -- Viral Marketing and Vimeo
W -- WordPress, Wiki, Wikipedia and Widget
X -- X-factor (Do you have the right people and brand vision to excel in social media?)
Y -- Yahoo! Buzz and YouTube
Z -- Zombie (Person who holds names on social media sites and doesn't use the accounts)

See a term you don't recognize? Post a comment and I'll tell you what I know.

The Twitterer Chronicles

2009-01-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

Twitter has become all the rage as of late, but how can Twitter affect your company's profitability?

Here's your answer: It can't. Twitter can however increase your brand identity and make your company more transparent and likable to consumers.

Take BestBuyCMO aka Barry Judge, Chief Marketing Officer at Best Buy. In addition to his tweets, he has a blog at barryjudge.com and is on his own personal quest to make Best Buy's inner workings more available to the public.

Although there is no way to track if Barry Judge's interactive social popularity adds to revenue growth, it does show a spark of increasing interest in the company.

For those of you who are new at tweeting, I have found that Twitter takes time to divulge the usefulness aspect.

I started out not knowing what to talk about. Then I found interesting tweeters like QuestLove of the Roots and my Alma mater North Dakota State.

After careful observation of my "followed" I started coming up with more relevant tweets and a better understanding of how to take advantage of the Twitter experience*.

*Use # for a common subject and @ to reply to people.

Hope you learned something!

--
Tristan

Social Organization Technology

2008-12-24T12:17:00.001-08:00

Organizations around the world are attacking the social media scene and it is paying off. From YouTube to Facebook you can find Apple, Google (of course, they own it), and thousands more.

One of the most recent examples of a positive effect of social media on an organization is the Obama campaign's Web site, twitter updates, YouTube videos and the list goes on.

Orchestrated beautifully, social media held a large part in spreading the word -- word of mouth isn't just spoken anymore, it is written, tweeted and blogged.

Even after the campaign ended, Obama has turned to YouTube again and is now using the video-sharing site to give the United States, and the world, weekly updates on the transition and the issues effect the American people.

Sounds like it's working to me. The Obama team recently received a transition approval rating around 79%.

So, where does one start when constructing a social network for the company? Thanks to the World Wide Web you have a plethora of options. Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Blogger, Digg, Technorati and many more Web sites, all have high traffic and millions of users.

Focus on your target audience and give them what they want.

Take the example of Apple on Facebook. Apple created the group "Apple Students" on Facebook, because college students are large supporters of the Apple brand. College students also love music, so Apple brought in thousands of group members by offering free music giveaways on iTunes.

Why does social networking work so well?

Take the example of Ning, an online network where you can create your own social network.

One person joins and makes a network for netbook enthusiasts. He/she then invites all their friends and family. Let's say that person's Uncle Frank then starts his own network for retired tennis pros. The chain reaction then continues on and on, until millions of networks have been created on Ning.

With the right touch, research and customer knowledge an organization can create a customer following that makes the business-customer relationship more emotional and meaningful.

Cheers!
--
Tristan

Hotel Rwanda: The Man

2008-12-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

In 2004, Hotel Rwanda hit the big screen. It went from life experience to book, book to film.

The story is about Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.

I recently got a chance to hear Mr. Rusesabagina speak at the University of Minnesota -- a truly surreal experience. Here is a man who not only survived a mass genocide, but saved the lives of thousands in the process.

His book, An Ordinary Man, tells his story. It explains how one person can make a difference.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Rusesabagina gave his call to action and told the crowd to act. Inform our politicians, get the the word out and support the people in the current Congo crisis.

Congo recently has had violence spread across the country from some of the same international criminals that participated in the Rwanda genocides.

I encourage you to look more into the conflict and help in any way you can.

--
Tristan

Google: Organizational Culture of Love

2008-12-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

Looking and criticizing companies in this day and age is an easy thing to do. However, there are a magnitude of organizations that spread love throughout the world. Google is one of the best.

Not only does Google account for over 65% of all internet searches, but the company also has give-back initiatives that are extremely innovative.

For Google's tenth anniversary they introduced Project 10 to the 100th. Project 10¹⁰⁰ is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible. Google has committed 10 million dollars to fund the top five ideas that were submitted. And you get to vote on the ideas you think will help the most.

Over 100,000 ideas were submitted and will be judged based on eight categories.

On a more orbital note, Google also has the Lunar X PRIZE, a $30 million competition for the first privately funded team to send a robot to the moon, travel 500 meters and transmit video, images and data back to the Earth.

Pretty tubular Google. Thanks for making a difference.

Keep checking back at www.project10tothe100.com to vote.

Signing off,
--
Tristan

What is a Buoyant Aspect?

2008-12-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

When I thought about starting a blog I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go. I noticed that a lot of blogs and posted comments tend to have a high percentage of the complaining population. That is when I thought I could bring a little light to the societal rants that tend to frequent cyberspace.

Buoyant Aspect is a fresh, clean and positive perspective on everyday current events and points of interest throughout the world and my life.

Get all your hot topics, conversation starters and "Who's helping change the world for the better" articles, right here.

Feel free to stop back and contribute. Informed and optimistic opinions are welcome.

Thanks for reading,
--
Tristan