Guess what? Tweetsgiving in Melbourne is happening!

We will be raising funds for this amazing global event and celebrating on November 26th. Tweetsgiving Funds will “benefit the school, where a dormitory/orphanage, library, school cafeteria and additional classrooms are much needed. In addition, TweetsGiving 2009 seeks to fund new Epic Change partners and fellows in other parts of the world. Beginning in 2010, we’ll be looking for changemakers and social entrepreneurs like Mama Lucy who are transforming their own communities in remarkable ways, who could benefit from substantive investment and enhanced visibility to expand their efforts, and who have inspirational stories of hope that have the power to change our preconceptions of what is possible.”

What are you grateful for?

Tell us what you’re grateful for, donate to this good cause and if you’re in Melbourne come along to The Social in Windsor for a fun night and celebrate Tweetsgiving with us!

Edit: Canberra event details here. Sydney event TBC!

One of the things I’m pretty passionate about is looking at ways we can apply technology and some creative thinking to help create a better world. I saw this video appear in my Facebook news feed, and thought I’d share it in case you’re interested in seeing how IBM has been using social media to post content to the Smarter Planet website. One of my clever colleagues Jack Mason put together this little demo using Screenr.

Also, if you haven’t seen the youtube videos about Smarter Planet yet,  they provide a fun explanation about the need to think smarter for our planet. Here’s one example…

A couple of years ago Andy “social bridgebuilder” Piper introduced me to Matt “collaboration seeker” Moore on Twitter. Since then I’ve also met Matt a couple of times on his visits to Melbourne and recently sent him a note about some upcoming  workshops he is organising with Nancy “community champion” White. Matt answered my questions about these events around Australia and now I can share them with you!

“Nancy & I met first online when we did a podcast around “blended communities” with Ed Mitchell (from the UK) and then F2F in Seattle last year.” Matt has seen the need for a workshop focusing on online communities emerge as the topic surfaced in many different areas over the last 12 months,  including learning, marketing and government.

Nancy White recently finished a book with Etienne Wenger & John D Smith called “Digital Habitats. Matt explains that  people attending the workshops can expect “practical tools to help them with online community management, based on many collective decades of experience from Nancy, Etienne, John & others. They’ll get a workshop session that will practice what it preaches in terms of interactivity & blended technology use. And finally, well, Nancy is a live wire – there will not be one dull moment (promise). ” (I believe you Matt, Nancy is on my “must meet in real life” list, especially after her inspiring contribution to WorldShapers pp 41-43)

Nancy White also shared what she hopes people will get out of the workshops. ” I’ll offer some of the frameworks we developed in the book – which have particular application I believe for work based groups, communities of practice and virtual teams.”

“I’d also like to put on the table some of the emerging distinctions between online group facilitation and something that, for lack of a better word, I’d describe as network facilitation, which in fact is new and emerging.”

If you’re interested in attending one of Nancy White’s workshops in Australia this November, check out the time and dates over on Innotecture’s blog. As somone who has experienced both the positive and more challenging aspects of participating in and moderating  online communities,  I’m really looking forward to joining in with her Melbourne workshop!

In September we spent a week along the lovely beaches of the Northern New South Wales coast of Australia. One sunny morning we woke to news of a severe dust storm hitting Sydney. The Harbour Bridge was back-lit with a spectacular red sky, flights were canceled and reporters covered their faces with handkerchiefs to report the scenes.  It was only few hours later while we enjoyed a lazy barbecue brunch outside, and I was planning an afternoon with the family at the beach for our last day in Byron Bay that we noticed a smoky brown haze on the horizon. Now, Sydney is a whole day’s drive away from Byron Bay, but I still wondered if the massive plume of dust might be headed our way.

And so, not too long after washing the dishes from brunch we shut all the doors and windows , settled inside and watched the sky turn amber. I took my cameras down to the beach (why didn’t I take video?!) and soaked in the moment.

The smell of dust filled my nostrils and everything seemed so intense. Okay, it was just a dust storm, but it was incredible seeing the environment we had enjoyed over  the last week suddenly change colour, intensity and mood.

The dust filtered our vision so that the only colour we could see outside was a murky, muddy, amber haze. It hovered like a veil covering the larger waves of the ocean and the horizon was no longer a clear blue line in the distance, but a suggestion of what lay beyond. Cape Byron was also masked by the dust which surrounded me. You couldn’t feel the dust particles land on your skin, but the air felt dense like it does on a muggy day. I couldn’t see anyone else on the beach  and while I stood in awe, I sensed the dust was now beginning  to coat my hair, my eyes and my tastebuds. After soaking in the moment one more time and taking a few quick snaps I walked back briskly through the rainforest to spend the next 12 hours inside with the family playing games and watching movies (rather than wading in the shallows of the ocean under a sunny blue sky as we had planned!)

Anyway, I know this post goes on a little, but I just wanted to share this moment and some photos from before, during and after this very strange day. The colours change a little as some were taken on my iPhone, but you get the idea!

Have you ever witnessed your environment changing before your eyes? I’d love to read about your experience!

Just because I thought you might like to join in this study, which has been extended to November 5th 2009  concludes October 25th, please take a peek…

In their own words (from the delightful @celiaprosser and @lukegrange) :

“Knowledge Solutions together with its research partner, The Australian Brain Sciences Institute at Swinburne University are conducting a groundbreaking study. We want to look at the link between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and effective communication using Online Social Media tools such as Twitter and Yammer.

This is an international study so join in. Become a fan on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/ydeuno7 or take a look in more detail at the project at http://tinyurl.com/yzgxyws

We have focussed on effective communication in the concept of microblogging [eg Twitter] as this is the closest form to flow of conscious thought”….”there has not been a tool that has connected so many people so rapidly in the history of communication. Microblogging has also been recognized as being as the most emerging trend for use in business.

The Study: What we want to discover is whether there is a correlation between Social Media usage and skills in Emotional Intelligence and therefore how this affects our behaviour online. We know that EI can be defined as a set of skills which demonstrates how often we perceive, understand, reason with, and manage our own and others’ feelings, emotions and mood states and that this can transform entire companies when applied to all levels and roles. It can also be used to improve individual business functions such as leadership, accountability, sales, and customer service.

What we don’t know, however, is how this links to effective communication online and because there is such an astronomical move to more and more business being done through Twitter we want to know what this means for our ability to communicate and do business – as humans! We are reaching out to you to join us in making the Web more human!

If you create an account on the Knowledge Solutions site ( http://tinyurl.com/yahyt7f ) you will automatically be part of the survey and until the 5th of November be given access to edit the Wiki to help steer it in the right direction.”

Are you interested in making a difference? Here’s a great idea care of @staceymonk and @meshugavi. Simply turn your end of November Tweetup into an extra special “gratitude event” and help build a classroom and orphanage in Tanzania!

Last year people around the world joined in #Tweetsgiving and helped to raise $11,000 US in less than 48 hours online for nonprofit Epic Change. The funds raised from the last TweetsGiving have now built a classroom in Tanzania where the Twitter handles of donors are painted on the walls!

Epic Change helped a woman called “Mama Lucy”Kamptoni. Mama Lucy once sold chickens, and from what little money she earned built a school near her home in Arusha, Tanzania. She started in 2003 on rented land with only 6 students, and has now built a school that serves over 350 local kids. Last year, the school participated in national exams in Tanzania for the very first time, scoring #1 in the Arusha district, ahead of 116 other schools, including some internationally led with millions in funding.

From Tanzania, Stacey Monk writes,

“The funds raised this year will be used for a dormitory/orphanage, an additional classroom for students to move into Class 7 (the school doesn’t have enough classrooms to have a Class 7 today), as well as the school’s first library and cafeteria. The school has now grown to over 350 local students ages 3-13, and these new facilities are much needed.

We hope that money raised during TweetsGiving will help us find and fund new Epic Change partners and fellows in other parts of the world. Beginning in 2010, our current plan is to begin searching for additional changemakers and social entrepreneurs like Mama Lucy who are transforming their own communities in remarkable ways. We believe there are remarkable people like her who create hope in all parts of the world – and at Epic Change, we intend to invest in their efforts.”

You can continue to donate online and this year you can even help by throwing a gratitude party/Tweetup on November 24th or 25th. From the event details page “Organizers also reach out to local businesses who are willing to make cash or in-kind donations of venue, food, music, and other resources to make your event a success. Epic Change will facilitate online ticket purchase and promote your event on the TweetsGiving community website.

We simply ask that every party provide an opportunity for guests to celebrate and express their gratitude – whether it be for one another, members of your community or unheralded changemakers in the world at large.”

This is where YOU come into the picture. While I’d love to see this happen, Tweetsgiving needs your help. The organisers are leaving it up to each party in each city to come up with a gratitude event idea “You can plan an art project, a concert, an act of guerrilla goodness, a letter writing station, a novel way of highlighting the work of a local changemaker, or something else entirely – we’ll share our ideas with you soon and we can’t wait to see the joyful ideas you all dream up!”

If you have an idea, or would like to be involved in organising a Tweetsgiving event in Australia (or anywhere else) please leave a comment so we can talk about ideas together or get in touch with the Tweetsgiving organisers directly.

Will you join in to create a Big Aussie Tweetup?

I’m back from a little detour to enjoy Northern NSW and Southern Queensland with my family. Of course it was lovely to get away – and I enjoyed playing with my new toy, ShakeItPhoto on the iPhone. We enjoyed the beautiful beaches of Byron Bay, the calm of the Hinterland, the drama of a dust storm and the glitz of the Gold Coast.

There are a couple of groups on Flickr where you can shake it up and submit your ShakeItPhoto pics.

Do you have a favourite photo app on the iPhone?

If you follow my blog at all, you’ll remember me asking for donations to help a bunch of women out of poverty. People around the world responded by blogging, tweeting and most importantly donating $7,000 to a 2 year microfinance project! And more great news is that I just got the first report from Opportunity International Australia. I am thrilled to introduce you to the 12 women who are now starting or building their small businesses to get out of poverty, and save for their children to go to university.

Furao Trust Group
The Furao Trust Group is composed of 12 female members. Furao is a small village on the outskirts of the nearest town, however the closest market from the village is still 7km away. Furao Trust Group members have to travel 10km to buy stock for their businesses at the large public market in Roxas. In Furao most homes have two rooms, so families often sleep in their living room. Water is accessed from a communal well.

Furao Trust Group members are engaged in various small businesses including tricycle driving, piggeries, vegetable gardening and barbeque vending. With the loans received, members can invest in larger quantities of their product or can expand their range of stock.  Members meet with a loan officer every Thursday to make their loan repayments and receive business training and mentoring. Members also enjoy the strong friendships created within the Trust Group.

Client Profile

Norma Diampoc runs her own sari-sari store business. She is married to Augustus, a farmer. Together they have three children: Cristine, 24 years old, Alma, 22, and Elgie, 18.

Out of the hardships she endured as a child, Norma has become a strong business woman. Being part of a family who did not have enough resources to provide for their needs, she was forced to leave high school early.Norma usually opens her store at 8am and closes it at 9pm. She chose to open a sari-sari store because she is able to earn a living and still fulfill her responsibilities as a wife and mother… (read more from the report)

Usually these women have no access to capital, therefore are unable to obtain business loans. However with microfinance in a Trust Group, they are able to co-guarantee each other’s loans.

Thanks again for collaborating with me online to show your care and generosity. Your tweets, blog posts, encouragement and donations have made a huge difference to these women, and to the future of thier children.

I know it starts in November, but I’m already thinking about participating in NaNoWriMo again this year. Planning outlines and writing plot notes is allowed, however writing doesn’t begin until November the 1st and then you have a month to write 50,000 words. The organisers also host a Young Writers event in November http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

I only made it to around 6,000 words last year, but I really enjoyed the process. It’s all about quantity, not quality, which is a fun creative challenge in itself. Imagine what you might write if you sat down to write 2000 words a night! You’ll end up with a (nonsensical?) novel roughly the length of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or the Great Gatsby. You might even learn something along the way!

I’m mentioning it now, as a reminder to myself and to you in case you’d like to participate. You can choose any genre you like! I wonder which genre I’ll choose this year? In the meantime, I need to read some more fiction (any suggestions?) to get my creative juices flowing.

So, will you have a go with me? I’m hoping that if I start planning now, I might make it it 20,000 words this year.

And if you make it to 50,000 words, you’ll probably end up doing a happy dance, like this girl (amazing what you can find on Youtube!!

Each day, scattered amongst layers of information on the web, I find pretty pictures. When I discovered the images of i.Anton I connected on Flickr so that her lovely images would appear in my RSS feed.

So, in between blog posts I find pictures such as these. I love i.Anton’s use of light, colour and composition, but I especially like how each picture captures a moment and makes it all *shiny*.

‘What we want art to do for us is to stay what is fleeting, and to enlighten what is incomprehensible, to incorporate the things that have no measure, and immortalise the things that have no duration.” John Ruskin(1819- 1900)

images used with permission from i.Anton (thank you!).

You can add your contacts’ photos into your RSS feed by subscribing on the Flickr Contacts page (if you have an account) http://www.flickr.com/photos/friends.

Do you like to weave wonderful things into your webby experience? What are your favourite sources of inspiration?