Carl Sandburg's "Theme in Yellow"

A great selection of a poem for today:




Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

One of the reasons to carve a good pumpkin is to get at the seeds inside and roast them:

This will be my snack while I answer the door for the trick or treaters this evening!

Enjoy!

"I love my new bike"

Allison joined Dolores and I for a ride along the Blackstone River Bike Path on Saturday.

You may recall that Dolores got her new bike last weekend. This was the first good ride with it. She definitely likes it. When Allison and I caught up with her at the turnaround point, she was singing "I love my new bike, I love my new bike" to the tune of Pete the Cat's song "I love my new shoes"

Riding between the old canal way and the river is a treat. Each season brings its own color and look to the area.

Fall in New England is such a glorious time of colors!

The sound of the leaves as the bike rolled through them. The sounds of the geese in the river.

The river itself is quiet this time of year. A far cry from the roaring spring.

There are multiple access points to the Blackstone River Bike Path. We tend to use the rest area off i295 northbound, about a mile or so above RI Route 146. The facility has a Dunkin Donuts and rest rooms which makes for convenient services to begin and end our ride.

From the building it is less than a mile to the trail itself. On the trail you can go north to Woonsocket (about 6 miles, 12 round trip) or south into Cumberland (about 3 miles, 6 round trip).

Ze Frank's Halloween Pumpkin

How about carving your own Halloween pumpkin using your own picture?

Try it here

This is what my initial results looked like:

Ze Frank - fun for Friday!

I miss Ze Frank's "The Show" - It was a glorious exploration, everyday something new. Yes some worked better than others but going through each day, it was magic.

I recall back at the first PodCamp Boston, Steve Garfield coordinated a session that produced this video on "Riding the Fire Eagle Danger Day"!

Ze Frank summarizes some of his work in this TED talk. The two best parts are the Ray story and the last piece on "Hey, you're okay"




Of course, you should have fun everyday and not just Friday!

What are you going to do to have fun today?

Insights from #the5 - Thursday

good morning, time for #the5 - Job Search Jam Sessions: sign up for the free Leadership and Influence Summit shar.es/0Duh6

The leadership and influence summit has such a packed listing of big names that it should be a no-brainer to sign up for. It is free and even if you don't catch the event in real-time, they will send you the link to view the archives. I have seen at least seven of the presenters in person and it should be well worth the effort to sign up!

a call for more transparency and why it matters! What is it about the weather? http://bit.ly/abVSw6 #the5 @AnnaTarkov

Why it matters? Do you do anything that doesn't matter? Why?

I would add LinkedIn to the listing here - Pre-Interview Research http://bit.ly/9Vly9J #the5 - what would you add?

Yes, LinkedIn should be added to this listing. It can be a great source of info on the people in the company you are researching. After all business does come down to people!

another good, quick video tip from @chrisbrogan - Improve Your Voicemail http://bit.ly/dhNbgy #the5

Chris has a good short video clip to talk about a great tip for creating a voice message. I particularly like the mirror captured in the background showing Chris recording this in one of his many hotel rooms.

good advice, summarized - Busting the Top 3 Guest Blogging Myths http://bit.ly/drz1cL #the5

Guest bloggers help foster the learning and sharing that should be one of the key reasons to blog. It is at least a key reason for me. Have you considered expanding your reach with guest bloggers?

1 good idea leads 2 another! - Use This Twitter Hashtag Every Day:#HAFO http://bit.ly/9Jholj - a bonus for #the5 today

Tim has a good idea and it part of the idea came from Peter Shankman's use of his hashtag #HARO - I like it a whole lot!

What can you share today?
How can you help a friend out today?

Random thoughts

Time is short when there are competing priorities so let me just take a few minutes to put these down. Hopefully, some of them will result in a longer post sooner than later.

• What it is with civility these days? Where has it gone (besides out the window)? The last days of an election season don't help this matter at all. The negativity and poor behavior is rampant.
• As the "greatest generation" continues to die off, I am reminded that the need to capture what they have learned while they are still amongst us is great. Duh, it will be much harder to capture when they are gone!
• Complete and open communication is a challenge, too often at least one person is so focused on a single objective that the implications of the decision are not laid out when the time is ripe. When they are laid out later, the real opportunity has passed and something has been lost.
• The unemployment numbers are a mess. The official numbers don't capture the real scope of unemployment due to the counting process. There are multiple studies that continue to show this, yet the media and others continue to trumpet the numbers when they come out. They are so inaccurate, they should be ignored!

What can you share today?

Inside #the5 Tuesday

good morning, time for #the5, @berkun hangs out a sign - Help Wanted: Designer for my next book http://bit.ly/aYcE2t

Scott Berkun is starting out a new book adventure, he has hired an editor and now looking for a designer. It sounds like it will be a good journey.

"forcing me to see what is there, not what I think is there" book tour in watercolor - connecticut sky http://bit.ly/dgxtGW #the5

Part of a journey is going from here to there. Along the way, you know something of where you are but may not know anything of where you want to be or where you are going. Step outside the circle or fishbowl, every once in a while to take a look see.

"inability to sell your house keep's you from taking a job elsewhere" Frictionless Friction Theory http://bit.ly/b64dwJ #the5

Stuck. Some folks seem stuck more so than others. Some folks recognize that they are stuck and take action. Kudos to them for taking action. What are you waiting for?

"ways that social good is happening through social media" - Social+Good blog.communispace.com/index.php/2010… via @AddThis #the5 @franklinfoodpan

The presentation buried in a link in this posting is a good summary on using social media for social good.

The Map is not the Territory: The IT-World Anno 2010 http://bit.ly/cls7yL me: great graphic - what's your world look like? #the5

The map is a great visual. It tells a great story. What does your map look like?

start with a small and easy action

Great quote:

Activism is happening in new ways but it's still via multi channels. In an ideal world, the first point of contact a campaign would have with potential supporters would be so incredibly educational, meaningful and personal that these people would immediately become passionate, super activists. But that is not reality. Building a campaign or a revolution requires moving people up the ladder of activism. It requires an engagement strategy across several online and offline channels and it’s best to start with a small and easy action to hook potential supporters.

Be sure to read the full posting, including the links out to the Gladwell article and the Dash article if you have not already seen them.

As the Franklin Food Pantry revitalization gets underway, this is one key point that we'll be working: "Start with a small and easy action/"

PodCamp New Hampshire recap

I did not get to PodCamp New Hampshire this weekend. Unfortunately, the Food Pantry and family commitments took priority on Saturday. Due to the wonders of the PodCamp participants and use of technology, I could find out some of what was happening. Bruce Garber did this recap of his day. Following the Twitter hashtag #PCNH helped to catch the conversation. Now, post event, searching for that hashtag should turn up other recaps like this one.



I will get to PCNH sometime, it is the only New England one that I haven't been too (yet).

New bike

A good day in Boston with our daughters as Dolores found a bike she liked at the Bikes Not Bombs shop in Jamaica Plain.

Then dinner at Tasca Restaurant with Dan and Brad joining us.

Bike shopping

Bike shopping is on tap for today. Dolores and I take the opportunity to ride along a bike way as often as we can which actually works out to be more often during the summer and about every other month during the remainder of the year. She has been using Allison's bike but after visiting family in Chicagoland and riding a good rental bike along the Fox River this summer, it is time for her own. She fell in love with that bike and now we are about to find one like it.

Here Dolores is riding her good bike in this photo crossing the main road in Elgin along the Fox River.

Happy Birthday, Dolores!

Do you play a musical instrument?

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 is auditioning!



Practice and submit by November 28, 2010.

Nourish life

Michael Pollan talks about the price we pay for the cheap food we eat.

"Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well."    — Michael Pollan

According to the schedule for Nourish LIfe, it doesn't look this is being shown on WGBH
http://nourishlife.org/pbs.html

Inside #the5 Wednesday

Let's see what #the5 can trigger today?

I started with

good morning, time for #the5 today - Running, Walking, Strolling, Jogging...to Fight Hunger http://bit.ly/dBRysJ

I have my Twitter feed automatically to Facebook (a good discussion topic during one session at the recent #pcct, should this be auto or not? - no consensus amongst group but strong feelings about it are there on both sides)

Then Glenn Jones chimed in and our dialog continued as shown in the image here:

While that thread is developing, I re-tweeted Paul's tweet

Can they really help your career or are they just words?http://bit.ly/bPv04A #career #work

And because it was a retweet, I didn't tag it as #the5 - but did think about the comparison to the "just words" speeches that both Deval Patrick and Barack Obama have made - like minds think alike! Steve Garfield did a good video of the Patrick speech once upon a time (i'll need to go find that one).

Fellow placeblogger, Dave Atkins is moving.

@daveatkins with a major update for the Westwood blog - I'm Moving to Roslindale http://bit.ly/cbM9ON

What happens with the Westwood Blog is now open, or to pick up a good phrase "the rest remains unwritten!" 

And then #the5 continued with a good posting from Scott Berkun:

"Dangerous phrases like this demand disarming: The fallacy of “They Don’t Get It” http://bit.ly/9fPMaJ @berkun with #the5

I ran out of room to tag Steven Dill's post as part of #the5

"This mental recreation of recalling the experience of working with this individual" Do You Give Good Recommendations? http://bit.ly/9PZeaN

Found the next inspiration from TechCocktail which lead to a post on the Job Search Jam Sessions blog for today

"Turns out there wasn’t, so they created Foodie Registry" How Foodie Registry Dove Into $20 Billion Wedding Industry http://bit.ly/aZaN4E

Found Aldon posting about CT Senate candidates and remembered that one of them had participated in PodCamp Connecticut last weekend, which meant that I checked him in (and didn't know it at the time!)

"Do you know who is running where you live?" How Many U.S. Senate Candidates in CT Can You Name? http://bit.ly/blNYk3 #the5

The folks at Common Craft are working with Lego on a new video

cool collaboration - simple things done simply become great - Working with LEGO http://bit.ly/aBTLHk - why didn't I think of that? #the5

Jai-Ne Duane writes about women in the Catholic Church and how that could change that institution

from @TheSunQueen we find - 5 Ways Female Priests in the Catholic Church Would Change the World http://bit.ly/aqEOwC #the5

This last one is good food for thought and with time just ticking away, I need to run before I am late for the remainder of the day's events!

What can you share today?

What's #the5?

Once upon a time, Christopher S Penn created #the5
http://www.christopherspenn.com/2009/12/the5/

I added my 2 cents and created Twitter Bingo
http://steves2cents.blogspot.com/2010/02/twitter-bingo.html

Whether you play Twitter Bingo or not (it is hard), #the5 is a good and effective way to read, and share on a daily basis.

What will you share today?

All about creative commons

The K12 Online Conference is underway and there is great information being made available.

But what's in it for me?

The information from the conference is all on the web. It covers a variety of topics particularly in the area of how to use social media tools in the classroom. Consider your blog, your audience a classroom - wouldn't you like to be able to reach them in a better way? Why not find out what educational professional are using in their own classrooms and borrow from them!

For example, if you need to know about Creative Commons? There is a presentation on that topic here
http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=623

If you want to know how to tell your story, there is a presentation on that here
http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=612

This conference is just getting started so other presentation will be coming online over the next couple of weeks. This is a great opportunity to pick up some good ideas and use them for your own!

"All I want is you"

What do you want?

How bad do you want it?



Today is Monday and the first day to make what you want happen!

Thanks to the MondayMorningMemo for the tip to this video

Basic Blogging or Blogging 100/101/102

The Basic Blogging series contains most of the links and information that I cover in my beginning blogging sessions at various PodCamps. 


The most recent sessions (PodCamp Boston and PodCamp CT) didn't get into the presentation of these links as we started with the participants questions and worked the conversation to answer those questions. Neither session was recorded (oops, not much of a media maker there I guess). The conversations around the questions were more free flowing and varied than the logical step by step review here.

• Blogging 100
• Blogging 100 - Resources
• Blogging 101
• Blogging 101 - Resources
• Blogging 102

If these posts leave out info that you are looking for, or don't answer exactly the question you have, feel free to comment or send me and email and I'll do my best to get you an answer.


Updated: 3/30/13
The Blogging 101 session at Podcamp WesternMass was recorded and will be available soon. As I speed through some of these links, the info overall is still pertinent but some of the tools are no longer valid. Google Reader for example, was long a key piece in my toolkit but has been announced as being discontinued. I am currently using Feedly in its place.

Class Photo - PodCamp CT 2010

Ann Nyberg climbed on the shelving to take the group photo as the day at PodCamp CT started.



#pcct

PodCamp CT - video recap

I was able to get to New Haven, CT yesterday to help with the first PodCamp CT. 79 folks showed up to participate in the multiple sessions across the day. I'll have more photos and insights from the day but this video from Bruce K Garber provides a good overview:





#ppct

Taste of the Region Features 23 Food Establishments

The United Regional Chamber of Commerce's Taste of the Region is back! This fun and tasty event is scheduled for Tues., Oct. 26 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Tri-County Regional Vocational High School, 147 Pond St., Franklin. In addition to a great variety of foods, from main course samples to desserts, a silent auction and raffle will be featured. Admission tickets are $10 if purchased by Oct. 26 or $15 at the door. Call 508-528-2800 or 508-222-0801 to purchase tickets. So far, 23 restaurants and food establishments are participating and providing samples of their specialties to those attending the event, including: 3 Restaurant - Franklin, Pamfilio's – Cumberland, B & M Clambakes – Pawtucket, Cozy Catering – Providence, Pan City Grill – Plainville, Young's Caterers Inc. – Seekonk, Washburn Farms LLC – Medway, Edible Arrangements – Attleboro, Panera Bread – Franklin, Sweet Gifts – Attleboro, Tri County Culinary Club  - Franklin, Hawthorn Suites – Franklin, Glen Ellen Country Club – Millis, Highland Country Club – Attleboro, Colonel Blackinton Inn – Attleboro, Proctor Mansion Inn  - Wrentham, Willow Tree Poultry Farm Inc -  Attleboro, Harry & David – Wrentham, Forge Hill Senior Living Community – Franklin, Trinity Bar & Restaurant – Norton, Longhorn Steakhouse – Franklin, Uno Chicago Grill – Bellingham, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store – Wrentham.

The United Regional Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, business support organization with offices in Attleboro, North Attleborough and Franklin, serving the communities of Attleboro, Bellingham, Blackstone, Foxborough, Franklin, Mansfield, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk and Wrentham.

Blog Action Day 2010: Water

It is still dark as I write this. The rains have been heavy all night. I think I only turned over once to hear them so it was a good night of sleep. How appropriate to have heavy rains on Blog Action Day?

I expect the rain would be washing down the gutter like in the picture.

Water is important. Humans can live longer without food than they can without water. Getting clean water and keeping our water clean is a challenge.

There are little steps that you can take to help.

• Use a rain barrel to capture water from your downspouts to use for watering the flowers, etc 
• Direct the downspouts away from the driveway, so the water gets into the ground to replenish the aquifer
• As you walk around town, clear the catch basins so the water will flow more freely and not carry with it any debris.

What else would you add to this listing?

not bi-polar, more yin yang

Good morning, time for #the5 - "interviewing is a two-way exchange" Interviewing with the Young and Inexperienced http://bit.ly/d8l8sy

Interviewing is a two way conversation. To be successful, listening is required to understand what the question is. Good communication skills are required then to formulate your response to answer their question clearly and succinctly.  

Two Powerful Trends Creating IT Jobs http://bit.ly/ajzYVX - me: something to keep in mind as you search #the5

On the theme of two today, it is important to consider that the convergence of these two trends is bringing about a good opportunity, for jobs and for significant work. What services are unmet? How can you help?

Introducing LinkedIn Labs http://bit.ly/choSMG me: some cool services coming down the pike #the5

While at work, there needs to be some off time. Google makes a big deal of their 20% time to bring good things to market. LinkedIn has now spent some time in the lab world and is showing some of the benefits of it. What do you do in your 20% time?

Your Greatest Weakness is Your Strength http://bit.ly/9t7GVY me: good insights on this tough question #the5

Turn around a negative to be a positive, a weakness to be a strength.

Can Charisma Be Taught? The 90% Theory And Why That Can Be Enough http://bit.ly/d25dAm "in my view that 10% can be overcome" #the5

In the duality of life that many like, the Pareto Principle (80-20) is close to this 90% theory.

Register for PodCampCT on Eventbrite! http://bit.ly/baqUea me: I'll be there to welcome you, will you join us?

And as a bonus today, if you are going to or can be in the New Haven Connecticut area on Saturday, October 16th, join us for PodCamp CT. A new event in the podcamp series. This is likely to bring together a good bunch of folks to explore all kinds of topics in the social media space. There will be positions taken for and against something or other. Consider that there is a real learning opportunity in between the extremes. Approach it as not an 'either or' situation, maybe it could be 'and or'. Consider that there is goodness in the 'in between' play more like the relationship of yin and yang.

Business to Business Expo Oct. 28

STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR BUSINESS TO BUSINESS EXPO

The Business to Business Expo, a collaboration of four local chambers of commerce, will be held at the Taunton Holiday Inn, 700 Myles Standish Dr., Taunton, on Oct. 28 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The United Regional Chamber of Commerce is taking part in this event that highlights some of the most vibrant companies in the region. The Expo features businesses from throughout the region served by The United Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Cranberry Country Chamber of Commerce and the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce. The Expo will be held with a Business After Hours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will feature two free seminars: the ABCs of E-Tools by Trish White from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Uncovering the Hidden Profit in Productivity by Ed McDonough from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Exhibitors have two choices of display space. Companies can choose an 8' x 6' booth which includes a 6' skirted table, two chairs and a company sign or a 3' x 6' skirted table. The cost is $349 for a booth and $249 for a table top for participating Chamber members, and $599 and $499 respectively for non-members. Admission to the event for visitors is free. For more information, call The United Regional Chamber of Commerce at 508-222-0810 or 508-528-2800.

The United Regional Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, business support organization serving the communities of Attleboro, Bellingham, Blackstone, Foxborough, Franklin, Mansfield, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk, and Wrentham.

PodCamp CT - Twitter Listing

If you would like to follow the participants in the first PodCampCT, you can do so easily:



If you haven't yet registered, there is still time!


Register here http://podcampct.eventbrite.com/


#pcct

Inside #the5 Wednesday

Wow, just noticed the stats as I came to post this. 3300 posts here and 4300 on Franklin Matters! How cool to have hit the 300 mark on both blogs the same day. Could you have planned that? I certainly didn't.

This is also a good segue to today's theme "personal".  Make your introductions personal. Connect the time you met the person or last worked with the person. Give them a reason to remember you. Business is personal after all!

business is personal shar.es/0x2rE make your interactions a good personal experience! #in #the5

I know and understand a number of folks are open networkers. They will accept and encourage connections from any number of folks. There is power in the network. The real power in the network is not in the overall number but in the quality of the number you have. One prominent open networker refused to forward a couple of introductions as "they really didn't know them too well." For someone on the job search, that was not a helpful answer. I'll side with quality over quantity!

You Have 15k+ LinkedIn Connections? Sucker!!!!! http://bit.ly/dbHsAD - me, yes quality over quantity! #the5

I did a podcast with George and MaryLynn of Bigg Success on "Location, Location, Location" and how it matters to your social media strategy just as much as it did in the old school of marketing. The same theme is picked up here in this posting. If you know your customers and know them well, go to where they are. Provide your information via traditional (old school) and social media tools!

How to Integrate Social Media With Traditional Media http://bit.ly/d5c68h me - where is your audience? #the5

Speaking of old school, how about going back to your childhood, or perhaps when raising your kids and the Old MacDonald Farmer song?

What Old McDonald Can Teach You About Social Mediahttp://bit.ly/cNOkTb me - yes, e i e i o has a message! #the5

Back to new school and the future. I recall hearing that over 50% of the phones now in use are smart phones. The percent is increasing each day. The opportunity is there for having a mobile presence. How can you use that? Can you make an app for what you do? Can you help service the folks who have a smart phone but don't currently utilize it to the potential?

Mobile Apps, The Platform of the Future http://bit.ly/arKkFI me: how can you prepare to rise with the mobile tide? #the5

And just because, here is a bonus link to share today. More ways to obtain information from the Twitterverse!

3 Alternative Ways to Find Great Content to Share on Twitter http://bit.ly/9gvjDd me: bonus #the5 just because!

What can you share today?

Inside #the5 Tuesday

Good morning, time for #the5 before the work day begins.

The theme today appears to be 'holistic". Starting with some of the arguments against the Cape Wind project as being too expensive. Compared to what? The already subsidized production costs of carbon fuels? That is not a fair comparison. The costs exclude the penalty we are paying for the one time use of the carbon fuels. The comparison to the Cape Wind should be easily won when those costs are included.

"The oil, gas and coal industries do not have to pay for the pollution they dump" changes the cost compare http://bit.ly/cPiyNG #the5

As we move towards a tagged data world, the folks at Creative Commons have come up with a tag to mark those items in the Public Domain. This will help save some research time and possibly increase the mashup potential if not the re-use.

Part of the Public Domain? There's a Mark for That http://bit.ly/aqBIS3 - moving towards a tagged world! #the5

Ah, yes - free is not always free is it?

The Story Behind "Free Public WiFi" - It's Not http://bit.ly/d0cvPB - be careful "may simply be no-good, ad hoc networks" #the5

And this one gets at a key point in any data gathering effort. What are you going to do with the data? Does the data really reflect the activity you are attempting to capture? Is it rock solid or are there assumptions to be made? Especially in a security situation, you need to be sure.

"With monitors situated to report on User Activity, the next step is to use the data" Monitoring up the Stack http://bit.ly/cItsxC #the5

Yes, there are risks to social media. One should define when to or when not to use it. If you are in a situation like on a jury, better not do it at all rather than have something taken out of context.

The Risks of Social Media: Unfair Trials by Jury http://bit.ly/disxea me: don't be too social when on the case! #the5

What can you share today?