It’s been awhile – but we’re back in 2012.

I’d like to also introduce one of the new sites we’ve had in development: 1000 Great Minds. The goal: to highlight 1000 of the world’s brilliant people – past and present – that have shaped our world for the better. Famous, infamous or just plain normal, all of these great minds have lived life in colorful ways.

It’s a simple site focused on educating, inspiring and having fun.

We always welcome suggestions and contributions, so send them my way via Twitter or in the comments below. Just a short write up of who they are and why. Of course, you’ll get the byline!

We encourage you to sign up, though we’ll post a weekly update here on The Journal of Cultural Conversation so you can see it all.

More to come!

Editor’s note: This interview was originally published in April 2009

Seth Godin needs little introduction. He popularized the topic of permission marketing; his numerous best-selling books, including Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, and Friends Into Customers, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable and most recent release Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us have received international acclaim.

In addition, Tribes has appeared on The New York Times, Business Week and The Wall Street Journal best-seller lists. The Miami Herald listed it among the best business books of 2008.

I first became a Godin fan when I worked as a consultant at Peppers & Rogers Group founded by customer strategy gurus Don Peppers and Martha Rogers. He also came to speak to us at Google in 2006 – and it was standing room only.

Laura Cococcia: Your latest book, Tribes, invites anyone to be a leader of change by connecting to a “tribe” of those with similar ideas and passions. I love the concept and believe in it.

The Internet now gives everyone the ability to publish their ideas – which I think is incredible. Since you’re clearly the idea expert, how would you suggest that people publishing blogs, e-books, newsletters, etc. differentiate their ideas to help grow their readership?

Seth Godin: I think you need to come up with useful and remarkable ideas regardless of whether or not you need new readers. After all, the only ideas worth talking about and using are the ones that have impact. In my experience, the idea is only part of the challenge. How you talk about it, what you name it, how the idea spreads (is it in a pdf, a blog post?) matter as well.

LC: You’ve written a number of books and continue to post on your blog. Is there a particular author you’d credit with inspiring you to write?

SG: I became a book packager (sort of like a movie producer for books) because it’s a great way to make a decent living selling ideas. From that, I morphed into an official author, and it was business books that inspired me. Jay Levinson, Tom Peters, Dr. Laurence Peter, Don Peppers, Napoleon Hill, and certainly Zig Ziglar were all guys I read.

LC: What are you reading right now?

SG: I’m reading a lot of sociology and Buddhism and economics. Lewis Hyde, Marcel Mauss, Thich Nhat Hanh… I read about ten books at once.

LC: Finally -– what advice do you have for aspiring writers just starting out on their writing journey?

SG: That’s easy: write. With blogs, you no longer have an excuse. It’s not someone’s fault you’re not published. Write.

You can visit Godin’s Web site or blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Probably 90% of you have either heard of or subscribe to Time Out. For those of you new to the scene, I’ll sum up: it covers the latest happenings in over 30 cities from New York to Sydney to Bucharest and its simply brilliant, digestible morsels of curated local activity suggestions can make any music/theatre/art lover quickly fall in love.

I had a chance to catch up with Frank Sennett, editor-in-chief of Time Out Chicago to find out more about the story behind his story. A career writer, Sennett became editor-in-chief of Time Out Chicago in January 2008. Prior to that, he wrote columns on politics and blogging for the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, hosted a public radio show on the alternative press and reviewed fiction for Booklist.

In addition, Sennett is an accomplished author and has published seven books this decade. He has also taught creative writing for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.

Here’s more from our chat:

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Laura: I can only imagine that the job of editor-in-chief for Time Out Chicago is invigorating and fast-paced. What do you find most rewarding? The most challenging?

Frank: The reader connection we have at TOC is amazing. They are with us every step of the way, and don’t hesitate to chip in great ideas, tell us what they love or offer constructive criticism when needed.

The staff is tightly knit as well. When we did a wedding for two readers last year (a couple actually let me perform their ceremony!), so many people here stepped up to perform music, decorate our conference room, etc. Even on normal days, I think I have about the best media job in the city, working with people I greatly admire and respect.

Laura: You started out as a writer and have published seven books so far in this decade. Did you always know you wanted to be writer?

Frank: There was a while, in high school and college, when I wanted to be a stand-up comedian and then perform on the Second City mainstage (I was in a children’s show there back in the late ’80s, so that was one dream fulfilled), but yeah, pretty much I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Edited the high school newspaper, went to journalism school, did the college humor mag, then got a creative writing MFA and started exploring fiction.

Writing is richly rewarding. But I love editing and managing our publication, too. When I was a kid, as broke as we were sometimes, my mom would always take us to the newsstand every week and let me and my sister pick out a magazine. So I grew up feeling magazines were these wonderful, important things. I still subscribe to way too many.

Laura: One of my favorite parts of Time Out Chicago is the “Heard on the Street” column. I’m sure it’s a secret, but can you share any insider information on who your source is? No worries if you can’t, but I’m sure Time Out fans want to know!

Frank: Everyone always says, “I love ‘Heard on the Street’ — are those lines made up?”

The answer is: It’s stuff we actually do overhear when we’re out on the town, and I think a few trusted people we know, so the lines are real. It’s amazing the kinds of things you just overhear on the bus or train. We’re planning to open things up a bit online, encouraging readers to submit their overheard lines, but we can really vouch for the reality of the stuff in print. Sometimes I’ll have to ask, “What was the context of that crazy line?” Guessing at that is part of the fun.

Laura: Given your experience and lengthy career as a writer, what would be your advice for aspiring or even established writers to keep up their writing practice?

Frank: I’ve done a lot of blogging, and that can keep you sharp. And in general, less daydreaming about what you’re going to write and where that might lead and more actually sitting down at the keyboard and getting it written is always good. Do the work and get to know people in your field and the rest should follow.

Read a ton of stuff that turns you on, although when I read Anna Karenina a few years back, I was so blown away by it I felt maybe I should just give up the game. But even though we can’t all be Tolstoy, we’ve all got stories in us worth telling.

In terms of networking, I’ve gotten a lot of pleasure from Twitter (I’m @SennettReport). A lot of writers are on there and it’s quite sociable. I’ve never felt so connected to my fellow busy Chicago media types as I have since I signed up on Twitter.

###

Huge thanks to Frank for sharing his thoughts and time with us.

His advice to writers, as with many of the other interviews we’ve done here, is that reading is an indisputable must of being a writer. So, let’s all keep reading. Even if you don’t want to be a writer — reading is way better than staring at the wall for four hours.

Just for fun, here are three of my favorite “Heard on the Street” bits from the past few issues of TOC:

1. You should only speak Spanish in secret. (Laura’s note: This is true, if you’re me.)

2. I wish I didn’t have to remind my friends not to shoplift all the time.

3. I hate parties – and there probably will be swine flu.

For more info: Visit Frank’s site and Time Out Chicago.

If I had only found this book in high school – and had been fluent in German at 15 – I would have been a lot smarter in history class, particularly when I was forced to stay studying at home as a result of the infamous “Hot Dog Incident” of 1990.

When I was 15, I was walking along main street in my hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut to get a hot dog, as one does on a suburban Saturday. My high school class mates will fondly remember ‘Chez Lenard,’ the god of the town gourmet hot dog stand. When we “went into town,” which was the thing to do, a visit to the stand was the adventurous highlight.

On this particular day, I never got the hot dog because I was hit by a car.

I didn’t look both ways when crossing the street, as often happens to those hit by cars. Ultimately, I was fine, but my poor mama watched from the car and had a Mom Freakout, as anyone with a child (or five) would do.

[Fear not: we'll get to the book.]

I was home for awhile, recovering from some bruises, but had to keep up with my schoolwork. While generally a good student, I loathed ancient history class. It was likely the only class in which I ever received less than a B.

I would rather stick a fork in my eye than read my ancient history text book.

But there I was, stuck not with a fork, but at home, surrounded by pages of essay questions demanding to know my assertions and analyses.

Fast forward 18 years. When I first started reading Gombrich’s A Little History of the World, I had little faith in its ability to erase my ancient history aversion. But it was recommended to me as different, easy to understand, fun to read. Even with that assurance, I was skeptical that ancient history and fun were related.

I was wrong.

From the start, Gombrich enlists the reader on a journey, taking her or him on a pilgrimage from ‘before there were any people’ up to the end of World War II. That’s a long time to cover in 280 pages.

But he does it masterfully, in a style written for young readers – and yay! – we adult readers like it. Simple sentences, easy explanations and wit. Chapter titles like “An Unlucky King and Lucky King,” and “Heroes and Their Weapons,” wrap it all up in digestible morsels with factual information.

What’s even better is that it covers more than American and British history, which is most of what we were taught in the U.S., China, Turkey, Africa are all included equally.

And yes, while Gombrich illustrates that history *does* repeat itself, he doesn’t write the same bland comatose-invoking text over and over. It’s fresh in each chapter.

Thankfully, I received it as a gift four years ago; since then, I’ve given it as a gift to five people, who’ve all attested to resulting increased intelligence. You will be smarter after reading this book, I promise. Like “Jeopardy” smarter. If you aren’t, I guarantee your money back on the purchase.

P.S.: I’m fine since the car accident, just have a bit of sciatica, which I mostly attribute to aging. I don’t eat hot dogs anymore.

Cultures, religions, people and places hold various norms and truths – a natural human need and behavior to bridge belonging and identity.

One of my favorite quotes seems apropos today. It’s a small but important reminder that holds true across all groups and definitions:

Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival. ~Dalai Lama

Just a small thing to share on a day where we –  as a global community — remember the people, places and things that came together for human survival.

More to come.

This is a guest post from TJCC regular contributor Stephanie Finigan. You can follow Stephanie on Twitter at @StephFini.

It has been almost a month since the United Nations declared that Somalia and the surrounding areas are in the midst of a full-blown famine. Since then, it has been nearly impossible to escape the devastating images coming out of that region of the world. The US government has estimated that 30,000 children have died already due to this crisis – and that number is expected to grow exponentially in the coming weeks.

These statistics and images are made all the more infuriating by the fact that this famine was seen coming for months in advance by major international aid groups – yet no real action was taken until the UN officially declared a “famine” on August 3rd, sending the international aid community – and the entire world – into a panic, scrambling to get funds, food, and supplies to those in need, only after the situation had already deteriorated so badly.

So the question has to be asked: If this crisis was seen coming from so far away why did the world wait so long to help?

While there are serious political factors that could be blamed for the delays in response to this crisis, the reality is that in general the international aid community operates very much in a state of “reaction” instead of “prevention”. Rather than spend the time and resources to attempt to prevent a disaster such as this one in Somalia, the international community largely waits until a crisis has reached a severe state before aggressive action is taken. The reason for this tendency to operate in a mode of “reaction” comes down to dollars – international aid organizations rely on donors in order to keep operations running. And the fact is that a typical donor would be more likely to make a donation to an organization that is helping a starving child on the street, than to an organization that is working to prevent a healthy child from one day possibly getting sick.

Exactly why we tend to think this way is unclear, though there are those who believe it is actually part of the human psyche to focus on acting on what is immediately in front of us, versus on what is in the future and we cannot actually see – a concept known as measuring the “discount rate of impulsivity”. I am not a psychologist, however examples of this kind of thinking are pervasive in my own life. Though I wouldn’t call myself a procrastinator, I have certainly heard a funny noise coming from my car, or felt an ache in my tooth, and chosen to “deal with it later” – knowing full well that my delay in taking action will likely result in the problem getting worse over time.

When the problem we are not proactively addressing is something like the funny noise coming from our car, this kind of “I’ll deal with it later” approach can be justified. However, when our culture has reached a point where we can predict that a humanitarian crisis is likely to occur, and we still choose to not take action, then we really need to stop and try to figure out what we can do to change this way of thinking.

 Going forward, the world of international aid and development needs a new strategy of operating: one of “preventative development.”  Focusing on prevention of a crisis will save far more lives than waiting for that crisis to happen and trying to address needs then – in a state of urgency, panic, and overwhelming numbers.  But this shift in action will not happen unless there are the dollars to support it. No aid organization can work on “preventive” measures – whether trying to prevent the spread disease, malnutrition, or related issues – unless they have the funding to do so.

And this is where you and I come in.

Looking beyond the immediate crisis in Somalia (where we should be taking action right now), and ahead to the months and years to come, the most impactful thing we can do is vote with our dollars and support organizations working through proactive means to prevent crisis. Partners in Health (http://www.pih.org)is an example of a great organization focused on disease prevention and health issues in the developing world. Along the same lines, organizations focused on issues of sanitation and clean water, such as Charity Water (http://www.charitywater.org), or UNICEF’s Tap Project (http://www.tapproject.org), are very much “prevention” focused in their work, as providing a basic need such as clean water is essential to preventing a number of life-threatening illnesses in any community.

By supporting organizations that are focused on prevention, people like you and me are helping to take a step towards creating a world where “preventive development’” is the norm – and where 30,000 children do not need to die from lack of hunger in a place like Somalia before the world decides to take action.

Just a few well-chosen words can be enough to inspire.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber, German philosopher

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” -Marie Curie

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” -Judy Garland

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.” -Paulo Coelho

Fashion doesn’t have to be serious and intimidating – the fun and creative part comes from a basic ongoing human desire to notice what others are wearing. Whether or not you’re an expert at putting together picture perfect ensembles, it’s natural to want to learn and/or simply enjoy the sheer spectacle of it all.

There’s also an anthropological aspect to fashion, one that often goes unnoticed in our consumption-conscious society. Style has been created by and for cultures since the beginning of unrecorded history and is considered a form of art among many. The medium can be a powerful message.

Here are a few sites that capture the essence of the fashionable image, provide a great way to satisfy your inner voyeur and, in many ways, offer reflections of cultural thematic and in some cases, iconic messages.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a few stellar ideas for what to wear.

The Coveted Jennine Jacobs has been blogging about style and fashion since 2007. The New York based blogger shows off the latest looks and gives a rundown of the latest trends seen on the streets.

Luxirare is a stunningly beautiful blog that covers both clothing and cuisine. The anonymous author/photographer behind Luxirare has a unique perspective and fresh take on fashion and food that will leave you anxious to see more.

Threadbanger is a blog for those that prefer to make their own styles. Even if that isn’t you, you’ll be inspired and delighted by DIY projects that are showcased on the site.

The Sartorialist is all about the pictures, in this case, photographs of real people wearing their own outfits as captured by former fashion director Scot Schuman.

Other suggestions welcome in the comments below!