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No, there was just enough of a dusting of soft powered snow over night to make my first snow angel this winter!
There was soo much clear virgin snow on the track this morning, the opportunity was too good to pass up.
For those in warmer climates, you can also make an angel in beach sand.
How else can you have fun leaving your mark?
Any ideas to share? Please do.
Steve Sherlock is your collaboration teammate who believes commencement begins everyday and enjoys having fun.
The future of books? In Fortune Small Business magazine is a story about a company that has built a ATM for Books. It can print, mill, and bind up to am 550 page book in 7 minutes. The New York Public Library will get its machine this February.
You can read the new 'digital' version of Fortune Small Business online. Look on page 24/25 to read more about the 'Espresso' On Demand Book Machine. With more than 2.5 million books available, what's your fancy?
Quick! What are 5 things you've learned so far in January, 2007?
Keia manawa - Seize the moment: This is a right here and now stream of conciousness exercise.
You've learned way more than 5 things, (trust me, you have) but the first five you can now think of are likely the ones that have made the biggest impression on you this month, and they are worth tracking, they are your JJL01.07 FIVE!
Mine are:
Share your 5 - Rapid Fire Learning can spark some community fires here! Feel free to add your links too, or trackback here from a Rapid Fire Learning list for January at your own blog.
5 days left to January as of this writing - Comments and trackbacks on this post will be closed at midnight on the 31st!
Post Author; Rosa Say. Click her name in the category links for her full JJL index of articles. 
Somewhat related to this; Learning Through Blog Forums
First post for 2007 (by Rosa); The Year of the Joyful Learner
"I hope one day that my blog catches fire and shoots up like a rocket without me having to do anything." - Newbie blogger
Let's be honest with ourselves. It takes time to build a great blog. You write articles, you write comments on others' blogs, you respond to comments on your blog, you link out, you publish a weekly newsletter, you publish a book, you do podcasts, you do videocasts, teleconferences, the list goes on and on. And none of that is done overnight. And all of these things take time, effort, and brain power. And sometimes it pays to get lucky.
Bill Belew has been working hard at blogging for almost a year now. He published an article yesterday called 66 Successful Bloggers and What They Can Teach You that got some great exposure and comments, and is the most recent example of the "Long Tail" I've seen. Congrats to Bill for getting it. Long, hard sustained work has paid off. Well done!
I share this as a bit of inspiration for all who toil in anonymity in the blogosphere. Technorati says there are 55 million blogs out there. I'd bet they are missing more than a few million blogs. While there is no such thing as an "A list" blog (though there is a "Z-List"), there are some more successful and some less successful bloggers. And I'm guessing there are a few million people out there who have never had a comment left on their blog, never had anyone link back to them, and have traffic stats in the single digits, and are frustrated by it.
My advice: Hang in there. Keep learning, keep sharing, ask questions, leave comments on others blogs, and if you're persistent and you keep writing quality content like Bill Belew, you may eventually hit the long tail. And if you're looking to shorten that time up a bit, read people like Seth Godin, who gives away ALL his content for free on his blog.
I hung in there. I started with a blogger blog that got 40 hits a MONTH, and now, I'm happy to share that I get several hundred hits each and every day. It took me almost 2 years to get to where I am now, and I'm happy to say that you can do it too.
It's up to you. Hang in there, persevere, and do what it takes, and you too can make it great!
[Phil Gerbyshak refers to "you" in the above article, though he just as easily could be saying "I." He hopes you can learn from his experiences, and if he can help you in any way, please let him know by e-mailing him or visiting his primary blog.]
Technorati Tags: successful bloggers, bill belew
Read this, by Dan Primack, via my delicious network link sharing with Ben Casnocha
“Tim Draper delivered the opening keynote at today’s Wharton Private Equity Conference, and spent a lot of time discussing the transformative power of new technology. One comment that stood out was about writing, and the idea that it could become antiquated within just another generation or two.”
“What would replace it? Video.”
“Draper argued that the act/art of writing became pervasive because it was the most convenient and commonly-accessible way for people to communicate ideas without having physical contact (both 1-to-1 and 1-to-Many). But today, he believes, video is beginning to become more convenient among younger people. Once it also can become more commonly accessible (i.e., affordable, mobile, etc.), it could become the communication medium of choice.”
The way I see it, video significantly adds to our choices – just as podcasting does – but as a near-total replacement to writing? I don’t think so.
Easy and convenient is not necessarily best.
Composing the written word comes with powerful self-made magic. It’s an example of when slower and simpler on purpose is a very good thing, one of thinking and deliberation versus spontaneity and quick capture. There’s both tactile pleasure, and this all-me certainty inherent with writing, and the key? We learn as we do it in the way the process is prolonged and savored on purpose.
Still, I’m not that quick to totally dismiss Tim Draper’s suggestion from the standpoint of how we need to keep learning connections intact, no matter what wizardry technology cooks up next, if we are to continually mentor new generations of lifelong learners. That’s why JJL is here!
What do you think?
What has been the difference when you consider what you may have learned from the writing process versus another process?
Shout Out! Tim, I would love to hear your take on this, since you are mentor extraordinaire!
“Tim Milburn is the author of studentlinc - a website dedicated to developing lifelong leaders one student at a time. He loves learning through new technology and learning how to best use technology to learn...which is not the same thing.”
Post Author; Rosa Say. Writing has always been a huge part of Rosa’s life, thus her strong opinions about its’ value! Her handwritten journals pre-dated all her electronic writing tools, have stayed the course alongside them, and will most certainly post-date them too.
Rosa also writes at Talking Story, Managing with Aloha, and Lifehack.org, but the writing about her learning journey will get posted right here!
Also here, and somewhat related to this; Learning Through Blog Forums
First post for 2007 (by Rosa); The Year of the Joyful Learner
I am very excited about a new book by Chip & Dan Heath called Made to Stick.
In my excitement to get the book, I decided to buy the Audio book instead of the buying the book. The reason I did this was because I have a 30-minute commute to and from work each day. I enjoy listening to tapes and CD's that enhance personal growth and leadership development.
Let me just say, I am enjoying the Audio book. I have never listened to an entire book before. This is a new experience for me. But in the process, I am a little frustrated with a few things:
I am tempted to buy the actual book because I am enjoying the content so much. But I am a bit discouraged that I will end up buying the book twice. I would appreciate any help from the readers (or listeners) of some of the better practices when it comes to gleaning information from Audio books.
Has anyone else had this kind of experience learning through Audio books?
What is an effective way to capture information from an Audio book?
Are Audio books best suited for novels and fictional works?
_________________________________________
Tim Milburn is the author of studentlinc - a website dedicated to developing lifelong leaders one student at a time. He loves learning through new technology and learning how to best use technology to learn...which is not the same thing.
Aloha my fellow JJL-ers! Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou, as we say in Hawai‘i – Happy New Year!
Just back from my holiday ho‘omaha (a hiatus to rest and refresh) and easing in this week, and it does feel great to be back.
When I think of all that a New Year may hold in store for us, learning looms large as the catalyst which can make so many other things happen. Learning equips us to handle whatever may come our way. There’s a distinction about 2007 however; it’s the first January for Joyful Jubilant Learning! Sweetness indeed, for learning with all of you is terrific company to be in!
I came across a Frederick Herzberg quote that really resonated with me, and posted it on Talking Story yesterday. It reads, “If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do.” Wise words for managers to live by.
Now how about a learning version?
“If you want people to learn, give them some good learning to do.”
Or maybe, “If you want people to learn, make it fun for them to learn.”
Or how about, “If you want people to learn, surround them with a community to learn with.”
Photo from Flickr: “Kareem, center, looks at the digital image he just took of
his friends who now flank him, joining him in the excitement
of seeing themselves.”
I’d venture to guess that most of us here want to be surrounded by lifelong learners; we feed off them to keep our own learning excitement ever glowing brightly.
However fact is, that learning is not loved by everyone as much as we who are fanatics about it love it – really. So, how can we help?
If you have thoughts to share, please do. This is a New Year that we here at JJL intend to claim as The Year of the Joyful Learner. Nice ring to it, don’t you think?
Post Author; Rosa Say. Like Kareem and his friends, Rosa gets pretty awestruck by camera magic, and is hoping she gets way better at taking pictures this year ... she got a digital camera for Christmas and is learning to use it!
Rosa also writes at Talking Story, Managing with Aloha, and Lifehack.org, but her learning stories will get posted here this year!
From Nancy White at Full Circle Online Interaction Blog
As I read the findings, the first thing that strikes me is that this report talks about the need for technology stewardship. Who are the people in your community or organization who have an interest in and sufficient technology skills to help you scan, select, implement technology and, very importantly, steward technology in use? This is the intersection between technology and practice which feels so natural for early adopters, but may be a barrier for the rest of us.
Read her posting and down load the full ICT report that she references (available in PDF).
From Andrew Taylor writing at The Artful Manager
Artist/director/maven Peter Sellars got right to the point in his conference keynote for the American Symphony Orchestra League, suggesting that the contemporary standard for the American orchestra doesn't serve the art, doesn't serve humanity, and disconnects the two in the process:
If you want to respect your grandparents, take care of your kids. You can't keep your grandparents alive forever, but they're still with you in your own children. In America, we fell in love with an artificial life-support system that wouldn't let certain things die. Telling ourselves it was out of love that we were doing this, we starved the kids.
Any business that still has things on the shelf from 50 years ago as its primary offering...it's a little odd. Everybody's saying everything but the obvious -- it's dead
Read Andrew's full post here.
From Ken Thompson writing at The Bumble Bee
... I offer here my team profiling checklist which can be used to rapidly profile an organisational team or multi-enterprise network across eight different dimensions.
It can be worked through with a senior member of a forming team in as little as 15 minutes.
I don’t pretend it is exhaustive but I do guarantee that if you use it properly it will identify at least 3 things about the team which you did not know about or were making invalid assumptions aroundwhich will impact on your virtual team support plan!
Read Ken's full post to obtain the full profile.
Wow, plenty of good stuff in those links!
Enjoy!
Technorati Tags: biotema, bumble bee, full circle, artful manager, ICT
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Steve Sherlock is your collaboration teammate who believes commencement begins everyday.This amazing table comes via Seth Godin via David at boingboing.
Follow this link.
View the table. Take your time, scroll around.
Read the popup information for each entry.
This was a good deal of work, and look what a presence it creates.
Steve Sherlock is your
collaboration teammate who believes commencement begins everyday.
Technorati Tags: periodic table, Seth Godin, BoingBoing, visualization
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Many years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a "Learn by Doing" clinic for Track & Field coaches. It was an exciting and funny week. Stressful maybe for some. I wasn't worried about embarrassing myself trying to throw the shot put or pole vault. Although the shot did not go very far and I almost high jumped higher than I pole vaulted, I had a great time. I remember those days like they were recent events.
Beth Kantor writing at Beth's Blog interviews Judi Sohn
Like me she is a self-taught techie, "Everything I know now I taught myself by experimenting and learning from others online."
She uses her personal blog, A View From Home, to help her keep informed of technology. "I’m a geek wannabe. I understand this stuff enough to be dangerously chatty at cocktail parties but I’m no programmer. I use my blog to help work
things out for myself. If I have a “eureka” moment about something, I’ll blog it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to remember when something happened or what the circumstances were that led me to a given point, and I’ll search my own blog to get that reference. It’s always fun when I’m Googling for something and my own site pops up in the results."
She makes a really good point.
What have you tried recently?
Have you had a "eureka" moment?
Steve
Sherlock is your collaboration teammate who believes commencement begins everyday.
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Can pictures help you learn within the many ways they will trigger you?
Can pictures capture your learning better than a thousand words ever will?
What do you learn when you produce pictures of your own, whether with a camera, a pencil, a collage, or even a verbal description of it?
These are the questions we explore this month: Welcome!
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