IfWeRanTheWorld

join a TEDActive project!

lets-evolve — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:06:57 -0500

it’s that most wonderful time of the year :: @TEDActive #ActiveColor

“Whether or not you’re attending TEDActive in Palm Springs next week, you’re invited to join a few brainstorms and get ideas flowing around six big topics. Jump into the online discussions, find other amazing people and spark collaborative conversation on Facebook.”

[above :: Jessi Arrington’s tattly tattoos, by way of Staffer Janet Lee’s arm (TEDActive photos / Janet Lee)

a bold new red

lets-evolve — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:01:07 -0400

: candidate 4 canada liberal party pres @_mike_crawley to use @ifwerantheworld as a part of open, inclusive rebuilding party

We are thrilled to announce that, today, Mike Crawley is kicking off his candidacy for President of the Liberal Party of Canada. Why so thrilled, you ask? Well - this dashing chap has decided to harness the power of the Liberal Party membership in the restructuring of his party through his IfWeRanTheWorld action platform Renew the strength of the Liberal Party of Canada / Renouvelez la force du Parti Liberal du Canada.

As he and his team see it, using IWRTW - along with a suite of other future-forward tools - is about being open, inclusive & innovative in their approach to making change happen within the Party, beginning with the election of a new president. Which is why you will see IWRTW built into each and every one of Mike’s blog posts, alongside Facebook and Twitter, to make it really easy for every one of us to microact along with Mike.

This is the kind of bold, wholehearted approach to public service that makes us cheer. Go Mike go!

learning, growing & showing up for more

lets-evolve — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:58:23 -0400

:: newness has launched at long last :: http://bit.ly/bgczg0 ::

At long last, we’ve pushed greater simplicity, transparency and performance out into an improved IfWeRanTheWorld. When you check it out, you’ll see that we have:

de-cluttered actionplatform design that better showcases what needs doing and why
greatly simplified microaction. These atomic units of action are now even easier to create, share - and, we hope, to do!
re-crafted profile that makes your level of action clearer as you build your Action Brand
refactoring of the entire application so that it’s faster, more responsive and more flexible as we continue building out IfWeRanTheWorld towards our ultimate ambition of being the Action Graph

As ever, we continue to beaver away. Please do continue to beaver away at us, sharing your feedback, ideas, criticisms, what have you.

viva!

#statusupdate

lets-evolve — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:12:54 -0400

:: #boomnessontheway ::

we’ve been working on a face- & functional-lift to ifwerantheworld and it is alllllllmost done. it will be a wholesale re-build of the application (so we have something a lot more flexible to work with) as well as new functionality and ux enhancements that reflect conversations we’ve had with our users. we’re really grateful to all of you for your ongoing feedback and advice, and we’re hoping to have this live very shortly - watch this space!

yours in boomness,

Microactions + skillset match = easy-peasy

cindygallop — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:17:08 -0400

The single biggest pool of untapped natural resource in this world is human good intentions that never translate into action. Have you been thinking that you would really love to do something to help other people…to give in some way…to feel that you are doing something meaningful and worthwhile…but somehow never gotten round to actually doing anything about it?

Here’s what makes it easy to stop thinking and start doing: microactions - little bite-sized chunks of action - that you can undertake and that require precisely the skills, talents or resources that you personally have to offer. That’s what makes doing something good effortless. Even when your boss is on your back, the quarterly report is due next week and you can’t imagine how you’d ever have any time to do anything beyond the daily grind.

That’s what we’re about at IfWeRanTheWorld - and that’s what our friends at Catchafire are all about. Bring your skills - the professional talents and resources that come naturally to you - and they’ll match them with easy-to-do actions that can help lots and lots of people. You won’t even have to leave your desk :) Unless, of course, you really want to.

Cindy

I’m part of Catchafire’s Powerful Woman campaign in support of National Volunteer Week. To give your time and skills to a cause you love go to www.catchafire.org.

magnificent

lets-evolve — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:25:12 -0500

:: #TEDActive #TED #TEDache

TEDActive was luminous - I’ve never been at such a well-produced event that celebrated & drew out & made room for the wholehearted, creative, intense, magnificent passions of the attendees. I am gobsmacked with love ;)

More on what came out of the TEDActive Project experiment soon once i’m not gibbering from a lack of sleep.

doing a TED Walk

lets-evolve — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:34:10 -0500

: ideas worth doing | TEDActive Blog http://bit.ly/dW1RCc : #iwrtw @TEDActive

There will be at least two ‘firsts’ at this year’s TEDActive.

The first ‘first’ is that I am attending my first official TED event. Everytime I think about it my toes get to tapping with excitement.

The second ‘first’ - and arguably the more important of the ‘firsts’ - is that this year will see the advent of the TED Walk - also known as TEDActive Projects.

The idea is this: all of these epically creative/smart/disruptive/magnificent people get together every year at TED & TEDActive so let’s tap that (yeah, I said it) and MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN.

Up to 25 people can sign up for one of six projects and will work together through the course of the event to come up with solutions that will be shared through IfWeRanTheWorld.com.

Find out more about it here.

And just think: Some day we’ll be talking about who did a TED Walk as much as we talk about who did a TED Talk ;)

rock it!

oh YES SHE DID!

lets-evolve — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:29:30 -0500

:: @giovannasc launches Mingarelli&Co :: http://bit.ly/gnGJww :: #raisingthebar #sexypeople #microact #justsaying

IWRTW & Giovanna have been entangled in a knot of love for a long time now, but this week it reached an exquisite peak when she launched Mingarelli&Co, a crowdsourcing & communications firm.

We look forward to lots of shenanigans together :)

Congratulations to Gio from everyone at IfWeRanTheWorld and every aspiring superhero who you’ve inspired by your example.

ps: for anyone who would like to make manifest their congratulations, you should know that gio is partial to cupcakes with lots of frosting.

level up

lets-evolve — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:47:15 -0500

:: tweet, like, act > #socialmedia meet social action :: http://bit.ly/fTTJgA > #Twitter #Facebook #microact @jocava

it was just a matter of time, but let it be known that thehotspring.net got there first > what they do (and how you can act with them) as important as what they like, tweet, say, etc.

(and don’t we look great in the social media stack?)

we know

lets-evolve — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:39:44 -0500

:: #iwrtw loves #pantone 2010 color of the year > ‘captivating, stimulating…gets the adrenaline going’ :: http://bit.ly/gYrxH2

i can’t imagine why we would like this color so, can you? lemme see…

hmmmm.

exceptional use case

lets-evolve — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:11:35 -0500

:: invite to #microact what @facebook poke would have been if designed by women #justsaying :: http://bit.ly/9uidfr

kaisha thompson recently sent me this invitation to microact and it floored me - because while this is an invitation to microact for her, it is ACTUALLY a reminder to me (and the rest of her girlfriends she invited to microact on her platform to be exceptionally stylish) to be confident in who i am. it is, essentially, a kind of ‘poke’ - but one that is qualitative, supportive, meaningful.

a ‘poke’ on facebook is a blunt & efficient instrument for letting someone know i am thinking about them. compared with the above it suddenly seemed very charlie brownish - like it was designed by and for nerds who are more comfortable with one-finger, non-verbal, awkwardly aggressive forms of communication than, well, actually communication.

and it occurred to me that if more women were involved in the designing of facebook, a poke might be more like what kaisha sent to me.

#justsayin

over and out -

deciphering government data

lets-evolve — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:02:30 -0400

:: openData=good & openUnderstanding=magnificent > http://bit.ly/cZJtp5 > @craigslist_fndn #iwrtw #gov20

In the wake of the Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp in August, a small group came together around an actionplatform to “create a wikipedia like resource for interpreting government data”. Six microactions. And they were off to the races.

We are just now catching up - Mat Dryhurst of CLF recently blogged about what has been set in motion.

Photo by Steve Rhodes

cupcakes :: food of superheroes

lets-evolve — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:30:49 -0400

:: this #omnomnom moment brought to you by @GiovannaSC :: http://bit.ly/b1l9z0 #microact #iwrtw

Giovanna Mingarelli & her band of merry mischief-making world-changing smoking-hot fembots are amongst the most awe-inspiringly active on IfWeRanTheWorld.

They’re doing great stuff.

A recent favorite - and reminder that microactions come in all shapes - reminding all of us to eat cupcakes with lots of frosting.

A microact I have (a) gladly accepted, (b) happily reciprocated and (c) have shared far & wide.

IWRTW Kiwi Tim Gregory's Down Under Dispatch :: Viva Waitakere Festival Oct 31st

lets-evolve — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:51:00 -0400

http://bit.ly/bHh2tq :: http://on.fb.me/celQlW

We Westies are a fierce lot - fiercely passionate about Waitakere and with an unwavering faith in our collective ability to make anything happen.

Which is no small part of the reason why IfWeRanTheWorld is flourishing here.

Ours is a renowned model of council and community working together for maximum social and environmental benefit, and has spawned many internationally recognized projects with collaboration at their core.

Which is no small part of the reason why the top-down model of the greater Auckland ‘Super City’ (into which Waitakere will, on Nov 1, be subsumed) has not sat well with many Westies.

That said, what is capital ‘T’ true for for all of us living in the west is that - local council or no - we continue to self-organise, self-manage and self-sustain. Fiercely, passionately and without obstacle.

In August 2010, Waitakere’s visionary Mayor, Bob Harvey brought IWRTW to New Zealand, welcoming the platform as an essential plug-in to existing initiative, and a spark for new ones. From this came the many IfWeRanTheWorld Waitakere projects.

Chloe Waretini & Viva Waitakere

Chloe is all things great about the West rolled into one – creative, resourceful, courageous and cool. On Oct 31st, she has organized the Viva Waitakere Festival to give Waitakere City the final bash it deserves. Without local Council support (but with their blessing) and with a budget of zilch, she has used IfWeRanTheWorld and the support of local local community groups and businesses to line up great West Auckland talent and everything else needed for a great party.

The Viva Waitakere Festival will take place on Oct 31st, the last day of the city as a celebration of the West, affirming that while after that day Waitakere City will no longer exist in name, the Westie spirit will live on. Spread the word here and here.

Authentic From the Start-Up

lets-evolve — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:20:43 -0400

4 Tips from @cindygallop1 and @IfWeRanTheWorld ::http://bit.ly/cP4mWS

A piece by CV Harquail on AuthenticOrganizations.com.

Being authentic as an organization starts with deliberate choices — some big, some small, and some micro. From the very start-up, designing your organization to demonstrate the power of your product, and to demonstrate the power of your business purpose, builds a foundation for ongoing authenticity with clients, with each other, and together.

(and here we thought we were just having fun)

kisses :: ø

Elections & IWRTW

lets-evolve — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:21:00 -0400

Ladies & lads, may i introduce you to Oni Joseph, aka THE FUTURE, who is using IWRTW to get elected to public office in Canada. http://bit.ly/cL9uWc

I tell you, this woman could not be hotter.

We Are All Workers

joeunruh — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 09:26:56 -0400

Join forces with Levi’s to reinvigorate The Braddock Carnegie Library | http://bit.ly/d3Qfcb.

When Levi’s looked to find today’s frontier and the ‘new’ pioneers who populate it, they found struggling communities like Braddock, PA and the bold, generous, creative people who are working to bring them back. The ‘We Are All Workers’ campaign tells their stories, but the same stories could have been told of the folks in Detroit, San Diego, and Waitakere who have decided to make s&#t happen on their own terms, bringing mad innovation into their own back yards (sometimes quite literally).

Case in point: the good people at The Braddock Carnegie Library.

When the original man of steel, Andrew Carnegie, built this library in 1889, he did so in order to provide the employees of his first major American steel mill, The Edgar Thomas Works, with access to books, theater, music, swimming pools, and exercise facilities.

Today it still stands, though somewhat worse for wear. Vicki Vargo (The Executive Director) and her team of unruly nerds won’t take no for an answer and are determined to make the library the bloody, beating heart of the town once again. Find out how best you can help her make this happen - she’s got six microactions that need doing.

Just six.

You heard me.

Have at ‘em, people.

Get your beer, bike & bamboozle on

joeunruh — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:23:10 -0400

The SDMBA needs volunteers for their 2nd annual Tour De Fat ‘Bike Awareness Festival’ on 10/2 | http://bit.ly/bAHfbM

The San Diego Mountain Bike Association is gearing up for their second ever Tour De Fat ‘Bike Awareness Festival’ at San Diego’s Balboa Park on October 2. Costumes, beers, and a great attitude are all that’s needed to enjoy the festivities of this cycling circus. Additionally, any donations will go to non-profit organizations, such as the SDMBA, whose goal is to reduce our carbon footprint while keeping local hiking, biking, and equestrian trails open to the public. So throw on some quirky, and possibly controversial, garb and peddle your ass over to Balboa Park on October 2 for a day of pro-bike fun and bamboozlery.

Boot Camp > we have liftoff

lets-evolve — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:10:00 -0400

Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp’s actionplatforms are all up & ready for you to rock.

How, you ask?

Here’s how:

Go here, take on a microaction (and do it) or suggest a microaction (and invite someone, do it.

Easy McPeasy.

Why, you ask?

Here’s why (as described by Mat Dryhurst, Community Manager at the Craigslist Foundation and the deliciously, devious superhero who is leading the charge):

…We had been internally debating about how to translate the Boot Camp experience into a year long exchange of ideas and support between attendees, speakers and our staff, and [IfWeRanTheWorld] allows for us to both track and cheerlead ideas sparked by our event and create new working relationships between our staff and greater community.

There is a lot of work yet to be done, however ultimately we aim to kickstart a positive feedback loop of action, inviting the projects inspired by this year’s event to report their progress next year, and hopefully inspire another wave of bright ideas and community growth.

Mat, being devious (and delicious) is, of course, speaking in code. If you were to don your standard-superhero issue decoder eyewear, you’d see the following:

ARE YOU WITH ME?!?

boomchakalak | ø

let's get emotional

lets-evolve — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:44:00 -0400

Jon Pincus asks ‘What does emotional software look like?’ in a recent post on his Liminal states blog. Jon is a ‘writer/strategist/activist’, previously of Ad Astra and Microsoft’s Online Services Group (where he was General Manger for Strategy Development).

This is a conversation we absolutely want to have - not only what does emotional software look like but - more importantly - what does it feel like. It is (practically) a truism that devotion is sparked by far more than looks (helloooo Google). It is also (practically) a truism that looks+smarts=pantpantYESYESYES (helloooo Apple). We are aiming our little IWRTW boat past these shoals and out into the messy, choppy design seas of looks+smarts+emotion=WhatIf.

In the meantime - we know that we are OURSELVES emotional software, so we are emblazing ourselves accordingly.

feel us?

fistbump | ø