Game Changer, homeless hotspots, caused controversy at SXSW this year. Check out my Pulse Network segment on the topic: Despite what you think about the project, it has opened up the question of, “now what?” Here are 3 projects and next steps to consider: Street Treat: Though overshadowed by the SXSW Homeless Hotspot story, Street Treat is plugging away as an alternative to giving a homeless person the opportunity to make money by selling iced cream. Mark Horvath just wrote a great article on the program. Check it out. Partner for Employment: Many individuals who are homeless want to work. Some have the skills you’re looking for and some may not. Either way, they are just lacking the opportunity. Have your company partner with your local homeless shelter to create that opportunity and a training program. Community Gardens: Community Gardens are a fantastic communal focal point and an effective crime prevention strategy. Why not employee the homeless to help tend the garden and run a farm stand? This is a great way to pay someone, feed them, and make your neighborhood safer. What ways do you think we could employee the homeless? Do you know anyone who is working on something [...]
As usually, my head was spinning upon my return from South by Southwest this year. The sheer intensity of the conference could do that to you. If you have never been, it is hard to explain the sensory overload that occurs, no matter what your level of participation. As I reflect on the most important thing I got out of the conference this year, I would have to say that it was the Badgeless 2012 movement that I stumbled upon. As someone who was going to SXSW badgeless, I want to see if others were badgeless as well. What I found really astounded me. Yesterday during my Game Changer segment for the Pulse Network, I highlighted some of the badgeless and their reasons why they were badgeless. Check it out: Whether the Badgeless Movement continues or not, there are three key takeaways that I think SXSW can learn from this: Listen: If so many veterans are going badgeless, then there is something that has gone astray with the conference. This is a fantastic opportunity for SXSW to listen to what its loyal attendees are looking for within the conference. Open Innovation: The veterans of SXSWi feel that the conference is losing [...]
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being a guest on The Pulse on Business. We chatted about what people should expect from SXSW, as well as two companies within New Orleans who are doing great stuff to change the city in their own way. Check out the video: Are you going to be at SXSW? Is this your first time going the conference? I would love to connect and tell your story. Touch base. I would love to hear from you. Related Posts The Leaders: 3 Lessons from the Girl Scouts How to Start a Startup (Complimentary Ebook) How to Freelance
March 14, 2011 – 10:16 am
Our Revolution has entered the next phase as we arrived in Austin for the SXSW conference a few days ago. Already we have learned so much from the cities we have visited and the experiences we’ve had on the road. The trials and tribulations have helped to shape our perspectives and allowed us to grow so we can be more effective leaders. Here are the key takeaways we have accumulated from the trip thus far: Things never go the way you plan. In a previous blog, I talked about how the Secret to Flexibility is to roll with the punches. When you have many different personalities gathered together, venturing into unfamiliar territory, and trying to adhere to a schedule, you can’t possibly conceive of, and plan for, every unknown. So you have to learn to expect the unexpected. Leave panic at the door, take a deep breath, and calmly consider possible solutions. There’s usually a decent enough fix for every ordeal. Make sure you have travel partners that you can travel with. You will be spending A LOT of time together. Sooner or later, you won’t see eye-to-eye on things and neither party will be afraid to say so. Compromise [...]
January 20, 2011 – 10:03 am
Last week I announced Revolution! – a transmedia project designed to help empower ordinary people facilitate small or great changes to improve their community or even the world we live in. Revolution! will kick off in February and gear up for The Revolution Roadtrip on March 4. The Revolution Roadtrip leaves from Boston and stops at various US cities before arriving at Austin for the SXSW conference. After the conference, we’ll hit other cities on the way back before returning to Boston for our Welcome Home Party. At every city we stop in, we will work to create content and social good that promotes change and inspires others to take action to step up and realize that they can change their environments for the better. Our destination is South by Southwest (SXSW) an annual series of film, interactive and music festivals. Over the years, SXSW has earned a reputation as a breeding ground for new thought innovations and creative technologies from the brightest entrepreneurs. Industry leaders, world-class speakers and emerging technology pioneers mingle and share ideas while networking to promote change. Trendsetting musicians converge from all over the globe at SXSW to share their brilliant talents with hundreds of musical [...]
January 12, 2011 – 4:33 pm
Life has a funny way of teaching us the lessons we are supposed to learn. As I strolled through the silent snowy streets today, I realized that these lessons I have learned over the passed few months were always there waiting for me. I had to laugh out loud (and then looked around to see if anyone saw this woman walking in the middle of the street laughing to herself), because life is so simple that sometimes we forget. We forget what we are suppose to learn, but also what we’re meant to teach others. So, it’s time. Each of us have the power to change the world. Everything you do sets the course for a series of events. Some will directly impact you and some will not. But they still come from you. And that is why I need your help. Starting in February, I’m launching Revolution! Revolution! is an interactive transmedia project that will empower each and every one of us to help facilitate change in some way, no matter how small. Whether its change at home, in your community, globally or just within you- you will have the tools you need to be the change you wish [...]
