Inspiration Found: Find Your Greatness
Two of the most inspiring commercials I have ever seen. Nike Find Your Greatness.
Aug
6
Feb
14
5 examples of actionable Facebook pages
Recently I spent some time investigating Facebook pages that went beyond just pretty pictures that link off to other websites. I was looking for functionality and apps that facilitate an action within the Facebook environment – without forcing you to leave the site. I like investigating these because they help inspire ideas in general.
My questions about these things in general – Is what they are offering valuable (or fun) enough for me to use? Is it so cool or so valuable that I will be ok with sharing my personal info via Facebook connection?
Here is what I came up with:
Target
Click print go – print your Facebook photos directly to a local store. If you store your photos on Facebook – Target is offering a seamless app where you can print your photos and pick them up at a local store – without ever leaving site. CVS does this too, I just happen to heart Target.
Starbucks
Manage your card balance or gift Starbucks to your Facebook friends. Starbucks allows you to gift Starbucks to others on Facebook and manage your gift card balance without even leaving the site. This is all done through a well-developed, self-contained Facebook App. In essence, they are making it really easy for folks to give them money without ever leaving Facebook.
Walt Disney World
Create a memory book online with your Facebook photos, get answers about your upcoming trip, make a Disney stick figure family to post and share with friends.
I am not a huge Disney fan, but their Facebook gadgets are pretty cool – and diverse. There are several different widgets built onto different sections. It’s worth spending some time there – I can see how Disney fans would love this.
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross Facebook page is pretty comprehensive, providing up-to-date info on the latest disasters and an app to help you locate your nearest chapter.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie page
I couldn’t wrap-up this post without mentioning something geeky, and being that I am a dedicated Harry Potter fan this seemed appropriate. They have provided a section where you can download wallpapers and icons, listen to the entire soundtrack, view the movie trailer and more. July 15th can’t come soon enough!
Oct
5
The coolest presentation tool ever – Prezi.com
A brilliant co-worker shared this with me. Between using Poll Everywhere and Prezi – my next presentation is sure to be the coolest on the block.
Go check it out: http://www.prezi.com
Sep
10
Best Twitter Tutorial Ever
I recently stumbled upon the blog Lowrider Librarian (you gotta love that name) while doing some research about Twitter use within organizations. In a recent post, Twitter for Organizations, he provides a very simple, clear tutorial about what Twitter is and how to use it.
It is by far the best Twitter explanation I have found. Check it out.
Sep
1
Website Design / Usability Feedback on a Budget: Fivesecondtest.com
I just came across a nifty site called fivesecondtest.com. The site is primarily for web designers/developers who need feedback and input on overall design and information architecture. According to them it is a “simple online usability test that helps you identify the most prominent elements of your user interfaces.”
I was on the site earlier and tested out a few sites loaded by others. Take a look and let me know what you think.
Jun
19
VolunteerMatch opens up
Volunteermatch.org, by far one of the best “matchmaking” websites online for helping nonprofit organizations find volunteers by matching up user preferences with organizational needs – is opening up its network for public access.
What does this mean? According to Allyson Kapin at FrogLoop, it means that VolunteerMatch will be able to have even greater positive impact by enabling third parties (social networks and widget-makers) to access their data and ultimately make volunteer opportunities accessible in a variety of ways.
This is a very good thing.
Jun
5
Feed my Twitter Addiction? Learning from a digital native.
This video is hysterical – it’s by Kaleb Nation (aka Twilight guy) – and extremely creative, talented author, musician, blogger and more. He is a digital native.
I shared this because it is VERY entertaining, plus this is a learning opportunity. Here’s why:
He has more that 7500 followers on Twitter
His YouTube channel has just under 30,000 subscribers
He just published his first book, and made his own trailer (with music he created)
He has 2 blogs, one for Twilight Guy and one for himself (and his book)
He constantly connects all of these things. He creates additional excitement and activity via twitter, with contests, and with blog.tv.
Even if you are not geeky like me and into the content, pay attention to how he has managed to create an extremely powerful brand, reputation and following.
Jun
5
Seven Examples of Twitter Innovation
Previously Twitter-resistant, I am now a Twitter-convert and continue to be inspired by ways that people and organizations are using Twitter. Please let me know if you have any examples you would like to share and I will link to them!
Seven Examples of Twitter Innovation:
- City of San Francisco 311 program
People can send direct messages to sf311, where customer service representatives are available 24/7. This program is for non-emergency reports of city things like: trash removal, abandoned vehicles, potholes, etc. Check it out. - Twitter for Customer Service
Dell Computer and Southwest Airlines are just two companies on the list that use Twitter for customer service, by scanning the “Twittersphere” for complaints, general discussions/comments or issues and addressing them directly.
Zappos.com, known for its superior service, is using Twitter for customer service, marketing, contests and general brand recognition. I heart Zappos! - Emergency Preparedness and Response
The CDC and Red Cross are both using Twitter so that people can report and stay up-to-date on emergencies.
- Breaking News, Twitter-style
Breaking Tweets is a dynamic news site is based on information and photos shared via Twitter. - Q&A
More and more, people and organizations are using twitter to either ask questions or have folks write in with specific topics or questions to be discussed on blogs, podcasts – or in-person at events. I listen to several podcasts where the producers ask their audience to tweet questions which are then discussed on “air”. This technique is also used during live events that are being streamed online where remote attendees can tweet questions. - Tweetups
Tweetups are becoming more and more popular – essentially these are local, spontaneous, in-person “meetups” for for Twitter users. - Sharing links, documents, music & videoMost organizations are using twitter to communicate, share and connect content.
Photos: 2 tools – TwitPic, Pikchur
Music: Mashable.com’s list of 10 ways to share music on Twitter
Video: Sharing video using Twitc
Jun
4
Be a lifelong learner: 6 great online (and free) resources
Last year, I wrote a post on my other blog about “living my best life”, one of the items I listed is being a lifelong learner. There are so many things that I don’t know and that I want to learn, but there is so little time! Fortunately for me, this is the age of the Internet and my quest to learn new things is easier than ever. I did a little research and found the following resources:
Podcasts
Podcasts are my favorite online learning resource. They are free, fun and convenient. I typically use iTunes and Podcast Alley as resources to find what I am looking for. You can listen to lectures by thought-leaders, learn languages, how to cook, how to use photoshop, create a podcast, write a book and just about anything else you are interested in. There are formal educational podcasts in iTunes U – an entire section dedicated towards elearning that includes courses, faculty lectures, and interviews from notable sources such as Stanford University, Harvard, Duke and much more. Please note that you do not need an iPod to take advantage of the great content that iTunes has to offer. Even if you don’t purchase your music through them, you can still use iTunes to manage your mp3′s and for subscribing to Podcasts. You can also burn these to cd’s for listening during your commute!
Small Business Administration
If you are an entrepreneur and are even remotely interested in starting your own business, the SBA has some great online courses. In general, they are self-paced and should take about 30 minutes to complete. Most of the courses require a brief online registration.
Open Courseware Consortium
I learned about this from one of my favorite blogs, So What Can I Do? OpenCourseWare offers full length versions of courses from major universities all over the world. You can learn about almost any topic while using the same materials used in college and graduate courses. Some of the universities participating are : MIT, Notre Dame, Tufts, Berkeley and more. Choose classes in public health, engineering, foreign language, film, economics, psychology, you name it. This is an extremely valuable resource – and it’s completely free of charge. Thanks Karama!
Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative
Carnegie Mellon University offers a series of free online courses in an online format. These are mostly entry-level college courses with accompanying materials.
Open University of Washington
The University of Washington offers a small series of free online courses – from HTML basics to Greek Mythology.
CNET Online Courses
CNET offers a comprehensive series of free online courses and tutorials written by their experts. I have taken a few of these and they are pretty good. The classes range from work-related topics to digital photography, creating podcasts, developing a budget and a lot more.
I am sure that this list just barely ‘scratches the surface’ of free learning resources online. For those who are motivated, there is a whole world of learning opportunities out there – so go for it!
After all, every day is an opportunity for us to improve