text:
Today's Photo365 Challenge is a movie made for
tn liberty – "where the liberty-minded go for news" titled:
What Liberty Means: tn liberty
"One state defies the status quo and embarks on the fight for liberty"
In What Liberty Means: tn liberty, activists share their personal meaning of liberty before tn liberty takes you behind the scenes for a firsthand look at the grassroots movement in Tennessee.
Don't forget to check out tn liberty on the web at: tn liberty. In Tennessee, it's "where the liberty-minded go for news" and where you can get information about how to get involved in upcoming events.
You can also "like" us on Facebook at: Tennessee and Mississippi Leadership
Here, you can get up-to-the-minute reports on everything affecting the liberty of all those who reside in Tennessee and Mississippi.
Make sure you share "What Liberty Means: tn liberty" with all of your friends, family, and co-workers — liberty is in all of us and the movement is constantly growing as people wake up!
We also wouldn't mind if you gave a thumbs up on this video on YouTube! Go ahead, you know you want to make liberty popular!
All copyrighted material is used under 17 U.S.C. § 107, the Fair Use provision of the US Copyright Law for educational, nonprofit, or political commentary purposes.
Tags #gradschool, #j7330, #liberty, #photo365, #socialJ, #tennessee, #TN, Campaign for Liberty, grassroots activism, liberty movement, memphis, Ron Paul, tn liberty, video, Young Americans for Liberty
Weekly Reading Ramblings – Week 6
Robin Rambling on Week 6 Readings
This week's readings were about solving social dilemmas, new tools to create social capital, how to shoot decent photos, and journalistic uses for Pinterest. You can even leave a comment at the bottom there. Yes – see, right there at the bottom where it says to "leave a reply" – feel free to share your insights with me!
Chapters 8 & 9 of Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody
In Chapter 8, Shirky begins by explaining the Prisoner's Dilemma in order to show the complicated process of solving social dilemmas and how social tools only amplify this process. If you haven't heard of the Prisoner's Dilemma, it can be explained most simply like this:
Together, you and I commit a crime. We get arrested. We, now have 4 options:
You and I both keep our mouths shut, spend a night in jail, and go free the next day
You spill all when offered a reward to turn on me and I face charges and go to jail for a long time
I spill all when offered a reward to turn on you and you face charges and go to jail for a long time
We both spill all when offered a reward to turn on each other and we both face charges and go to jail for a long time.
Personally, I only see one feasible option – You and I BOTH keep our mouths shut, spend one night in jail, face no charges, and walk free the next day! Apparently, it isn't always that easy. When two people who may not know each other very well or haven't developed a level of trust are in this situation, the dilemma gets more complicated. To me, it shouldn't – assuming we committed this crime together. However, not everyone has my values or moral code. I'm a firm believer in two things. 1. Always hedge your bets – if they are trying to offer you a reward, then chances are they do not have enough evidence to make their case. 2. When you "team up" with someone, whether it be to serve food to the poor or to commit a crime, you always have your partner's back – no matter what! As time has gone by, I have realized that I may be one of the only people who still hold these values so dearly. It seems that in today's world, there is truly no honor among thieves.
Next, Shirky adds what Robert Axelrod, a University of Michigan sociologist who has conducted significant studies on the Prisoner's Dilemma, calls "the shadow of the future." Shirky explains this theory by stating "we all face the Prisoner's Dilemma when we interact with people who could take advantage of us, yet we actually manage to trust one another often enough to accomplish things in groups. The shadow of the future makes it possible for me to act on your behalf today, even at some risk or cost to me, on the expectation that you will remember and reciprocate tomorrow."
To learn more about the Prisoner's Dilemma or Axelrod's shadow of the future, watch the following video or check out the sites below:
Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma Game and Simulation
Prisoner's Dilemma In Real Life – Business Insider
Prisoners' Dilemma – Library of Economics and Liberty
Game Theory .net – Interactive prisoner's dilemma
Prisoners' Dilemma – Serendip
Shadow of the Future – Game Theory 101
still more complicated: The shadow of the future
The Evolution of Cooperation – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Shadow of the Future – Daniel Hengeveld
Later in Chapter 8, Shirky uses one of my favorite examples to explain how Robert Putnam's belief that social capital is declining in America, as stated in his article Bowling Alone, is not entirely true. Scott Heiferman, the founder of a successful NYC web business, read Bowling Alone and set out to reinvigorate America's social capital. He assumed that people knew what they were missing when it came to their social capital and communal interaction and that if it were easy to increase in today's world of suburban houses, carpools, two-worker families, and the devaluation of the dollar, people would certainly take steps to do so. Heiferman also recognized one other key factor that would make his forthcoming business a success – that no longer should the internet be treated as some sort of "other world" or "cyberspace," when in fact it was simply an extension of the real world. Shirky explains that Heiferman "realized that if enough people are online, you don't have to group them solely by affinity (pug lovers, White Stripes fans, libertarians, whatever). Instead, you can group them by affinity and proximity (pug lovers in Poughkeepsie, White Stripes fans in Walla Walls)." Thus, Meetup was born.
Now, let me just take a minute to jump for joy and squeal like a little girl because for the first time a Journalist and author mentioned libertarians in a non-negative light! If i'm going to be 100% correct, this is the second time it has happened, as Shirky positively mentioned libertarians in Chapter 3, when discussing the infamous Trent Lott birthday wish to Strom Thurmond. You can read about it here. Okay, back to Meetup.
What Heiferman was able to recognize and Meetup was able to show through the popularity of groups for virtual contacts was that "even online communication that emulates face-to-face interaction still leaves people wanting human contact." Meetup's success also showed that people weren't simply recreating the "old model of community, because it provided a different set of capabilities" and the groups that first took advantage of these new tools were groups of people who had a great desire in finding like-minded persons but due to factors such as geography, topical specificity, or social approval the previous costs of locating and coordinating were too high. Meetup was able to solve the "locating" problem and by doing so created outlets for hundreds of new groups to form – many of which had never been able to gather before, which had left their members yearning for bonding connectivity.
Finally, I found Shirky's explanation for why the early assumption that communication tools were (or would be) a good substitute for travel was dead wrong, to be enlightening. I knew based on personal experiences and those of the people around me that these assumptions were incorrect but I didn't have any sort of evidence to back up that claim. Shirky did, as usual. He noted that in 1978, President Carter deregulated the airlines, significantly lowering travel prices, but telecommunications stocks didn't fail. Instead, they rose. In 1984 Judge Harold Greene broke up AT&T leading to rapidly decreasing long-distance phone call costs. That year, airlines customers increased. I know it isn't scientific evidence but it's good enough for those of us who find credibility in what some would call a coincidence. Two separate incidences and 6 years apart – same outcome. I never thought that online communication could replace travel – it's absurd, but interesting tidbits of information such as this, is still rather interesting. Shirky states "communication and travel are complements, not substitutes," and I couldn't agree more!
To hear Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman speak about Startups, another interest of mine, check out this article.
Now, for your viewing pleasure:
Scott Heifferman speaking to Startup Grind* on what constitutes a good Meetup Community:
Scott Heifferman On Meetup and Dumb Ideas:
*The Startup Grind is an event series and website designed to help educate, inspire, and connect local entrepreneurs. Each month they welcome an amazing speaker who shares their story with our community and tells about what worked, what didn't, and what they'll do differently next time. The Startup Grins says '"It's an amazing opportunity to learn from the best, network with other members of the startup community, and improve your chances of entrepreneurial success."
In Chapter 9 Shirky begins by explaining the difference in large and small groups and how these groups are connected using the Small World network pattern.
Small World networks have two main characteristics which allows messages to move through groups effectively when they are balanced properly.
The first characteristic of Small World networks is that small groups are densely connected and formed with the everyone knows everyone communication pattern. The second characteristic is that large groups are loosely connected and with a larger collection of members, each would have many more potential connections. By adopting both strategies – dense and loose connections, at different scales – each tight group is connected by "connector" members in each groups. These "connectors" "function like ambassadors, creating links between disparate populations in larger networks."
Okay at this point if you are at all like me, you are about to re-read this paragraph to see if it makes any more sense. I know, when people begin speaking or writing in this manner, my brain automatically begins playing Charlie Brown's teacher on repeat. However, in this case, if you think about the social networking tool, Klout, this will make much more sense. In Klout, those people who have the higher scores are the "connectors." They have more social influence because they have a large number of friends who are spread across many groups. Those people with moderate to low scores are simply members of small groups. Within these small groups, you are bound to find one or two high score members, or "connector members" who are likely a "connector" in another small group or good friends with a "connector member" in other small groups.
You can also think back to when you were a child. Chances are you had your neighborhood friends, your church friends, and your school friends. Each set of friends serves as a densely connected small group. When your parent's threw you a birthday party, it is likely that each group of friends were invited. At the party, you served as the "connector member" of each group, hopefully making the groups feel more like one large network of friends. This never actually worked for me. I am a high score Klout member but as a child, mixing sets of friends never seemed to work out well. A good friend from one or two groups would get their feelings hurt because in a typical situation, where they were the only group present, they didn't have to compete for my attention. In this situation, I had to play the role of host and ambassador causing me to spread my attention across all groups and ultimately, I was a child who was not adept at such complicated dilemmas. But, hopefully my examples caused the Small Work network to make a bit more sense.
Shirky spent most of this chapter explaining the networks and how information was shared among members and across groups. He also spent some time explaining bridging and bonding and how that pertains to social capital. Due to the fact that my next point deals with the difference between bridging and bonding, I will take a minute to give those of you who might have never heard of these theories a little background.
Social Capital:
"the store of behaviors and norms in any large group that lets its members support one another"
The term is evocative because it connotes an increase in power, similar to financial capital.
"In economic terms, capital is a store of wealth and assets."
Bonding Capital:
"an increase in the depth of connections and trust within a relatively homogenous group"
Bridging Capital:
"an increase in connections among relatively heterogenous groups"
Now that we defined the terms, Shirky explains the public illustration of the difference in bridging and bonding capital in the form of 2004 Howard Dean Presidential Campaign. I am not a Howard Dean fan by any means but the similarities in the 2004 Howard Dean Campaign and the 2008 and 2012 Ron Paul Campaigns are striking. No, Ron Paul was never nationally recognized as "in the lead" but but both campaigns were able to draw huge crowds of youth and utilize online social tools better than any other Presidential campaigns in history. Shirky states that the "Dean Campaign was unequaled in creating bonding capital among its most ardent supporters," which is also true of the 2008 and 2012 Ron Paul Presidential Campaigns. The next paragraph written by Shirky is so true of my experiences and those of other Ron Paul supporters and staff that it could've been written about the Ron Paul Campaign and not the Howard Dean Campaign. Shirky writes:
"They gained a sense of value just from participating; and in the end the participation came to matter more than the goal (a pretty serious weakness for a vote-getting operation). The pleasure in working on the Dean campaign was in knowing that you were on the right side of history; the campaign's brilliant use of social tools to gather the like-minded further fed that feeling. It is natural for a campaign attracting so many eager young people to oversell them on the effect they'll have, when the truth is so rough; you'll work eighty-hour weeks while sleeping on someone's sofa, and in the end your heroic contribution will be a drop in the bucket of what's needed."
Wow! That is a very true statement.
The only difference is that the Ron Paul campaign had learned from the mistakes of the past and we never took our eyes off the prize, making sure to stay focused on the vote gathering activities of the campaign. However, the liberty movement is a tight-knit group who are more passionate about Ron Paul and the movement than almost any other group I have ever seen. Unfortunately the last sentence is true as well…our heroic contributions were not enough and they were barely recognized if you're only counting the votes. I, am not just counting the votes. The contributions of those who served on the right side of history are significant because words such as "liberty" and "the constitution" are no longer pushed under the rug or blatantly ignored by ALL politicians and MOST citizens. We were able to stir the pot and bring issues to the forefront through our work for Ron Paul. We didn't accomplish our ultimate goal, just as the Howard Dean campaign did not accomplish theirs. However, we can move forward with our heads held high because we may have been able to achieve much more than an election. Only time will tell.
How Journalists and Newsrooms Can Use Pinterest by Steve Buttry
Confession: I'm addicted to Pinterest. Some people have found themselves addicted to Twitter and are owed thousands upon thousands of dollars from Twitter for their time. Twitter would only owe me $$1,696.67 @ $50 per hour. You can calculate yours here. No one has created a "How Much Does Pinterest Owe Me" app yet and I'm glad. I have logged significant hours pinning recipes, cleaning tips, and DIY outdoor, painting, and art projects, as well as event ideas, quotes, clothing, graphic design inspirations, and the like. In fact, last summer I began refinishing ALL the furniture in my house and creating my own decor after realizing that I didn't have to pay the outrageous prices charged by Pier One, Hayneedle, Artsy, Crate and Barrell, and others for stuff that I could easily create. I also started painting the inside of my house and revisioning my living space – a project that has only just begun. The Grad School start date snuck up on me and has been a continuous whirlwind, so there is still painter's tape lining my living room windows. Don't judge, just pray that it comes off!
That being said, I was interested to find out how Steve Buttry thought Pinterest could be used by Journalists and businesses. I was surprised to find that Buttry had compiled a list full of magnificent ideas! Many of them seemed obvious once I read them but honestly, I never would have thought of some of these ideas without help from Buttry's article. Since most of the week's readings involved sharing information among groups and communities, I am going to focus on the ways Pinterest can be used to increase community involvement and garner good PR from the community.
Steve Buttry writes (formatting altered):
"…community Pinboards should be fun, not just informative. If I were still at the Omaha World-Herald, we'd do boards on funky Nebraska attractions such as the Kearney Arch, Carhenge and Ole's (I checked; they don't have such a board yet)."
"At the Iowa news organizations where I used to work, I'd suggest separate boards for the covered bridges of Madison County and the Field of Dreams. (Again, not yet, but the Register's Unique Iowa board is along those lines.)"
"I've noted before that news organizations need to develop multimedia directories of community businesses and organizations, a place for the community to come for information and a place for businesses and organizations to advertise (paying to add their own content to the directory and news-archive content you provide on every business). You could do a separate community-directory Pinterest account, with boards for various business categories (restaurants, auto repair, landscaping, etc.). You would pin logos, building photos, product photos, etc…."
"You could have a board for each of your major community attractions and perhaps types of attractions (if I were still at TBD, covering Washington D.C., we might be doing a Pinboard of Washington statues)."
"The Daily Freeman has an extensive Hudson Valley Pinboard featuring attractions, activities and news of the region."
"The Salt Lake Tribune has a board of things to do in Salt Lake City"
"The San Jose Mercury News has one of things to do in the San Francisco Bay area."
"The News-Herald has monthly things-to-do boards for activities around Willoughby, Ohio."
"The York Daily Record has Pinboards of local museums, parks and libraries."
"The Berkshire Eagle has one for the Berkshires."
"Ed Stannard of the New Haven Register developed a Pinboard of local places of worship."
"The Morning Journal in Lorain, Ohio, features local wineries. "
"The Delaware County Times is promoting a contest to give away Philadelphia Flyers tickets. Hockey fans take their pictures with the full-page newspaper ad featuring the Flyers' logo and a sponsor's logo (or logos downloaded from the website). The photos are posted on the Delco Times website and on a Cup Crazy Pinboard."
"Diane Hoffman of The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa., launched a Mother's Day board well in advance of the holiday, featuring photos of mothers, children's art work for Mom and gift ideas."
"Pets are another area of great potential for Pinterest. The Mercury (611 followers) and the San Jose Mercury News (236 followers) have made popular boards of pet photos."
"St. Paul Pioneer Press Social Media Editor Jen Westpfahl created a Pinboard for a series on kid-friendly dining."
"One of the best opportunities Pinterest might present is to highlight archival content. You could have Pinboards of historic front pages, photos from annual community events and big events in your community's history."
"The Salt Lake Tribune, which runs weekly photo galleries of community history, has a popular Pinboard of historic photos (below) with 899 followers."
"You can and should use Pinboards to tell people about your newsroom. I like the Daily Freeman's staff board, which includes email links and phone numbers (you might add links to Twitter, Facebook or other social accounts or a staff member's blog). Buffy Andrews has a board for her colleagues on the York Daily Record's features staff."
Aren't those some fabulous ideas? It's amazing how people figure out the various ways to use a social medium to their advantage.
In the comments section following Buttry's blog post, I found a comment that seemed extremely helpful. Jen Westpfahl offered some advice as to the best time to Pin and a new Pinterest Metrics site:
Jen Westpfahl, TwinCities.com and the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
You'll get the most traction from things pinned in the evening because that's when most people use pinterest. It's not at the check-at-my-desk level of Facebook yet. It's something people do while watching TV at night or after the kids are in bed.
I've posted lots of really good baseball photos and the one with the most response so far was one I posted around 9 p.m. It's a great photo but no better than the others I've pinned (in my opinion) so I really think the timing is the difference.
If you haven't signed up for pinerly.com yet, do that. It's in its infancy but I think it's going to offer great metrics (and later scheduling for those of you who don't work during prime pinning time). It's in beta so you have to put in your email address and wait for an invitation. And it's only one account per email so I'm still waiting for my work one.
I never thought Pinterest would be very useful for businesses but after reading this article, I realized that I had already used some of Buttry's ideas. As the Co-General Manager and Director of Special Events, PR and Marketing for Equestria Restaurant and Lounge in Germantown, TN (it closed in November of 2011), I began posting Pins of each night's dinner specials, event pictures, and general staff camaraderie. Since the restaurant closed, I have since deleted the board so I cannot embed the pictures. However, I will post a couple of them below. Who knew I was ahead of my time?
Alexis Vandegriff getting read for a party in the private dining room
Equestria's Back Deck
Cheese & Charcuterie Platter
Salad with Grilled Pears
Last summer, during the height of my Pinterest addiction, I also started a board for Liberty and pinned images that pertained to the subject such as Ron Paul pins, quotes, knick knacks, DIY decor, etc.
I suppose I should probably beginning pinning more items to the R3VOLUTION Board, especially anything to do with Liberty in Tennessee, such as pictures from the Libertarian Party of Tennessee State Convention that ended today, to use in conjunction with my tn liberty blog. Thanks Steve Buttry and Carrie Brown for being enablers!
Why hello Pinterest, my old friend, how i've missed you!!!!
RGMP7: Learn How to Shoot Decent Photos by Mindy McAdams
Mindy McAdams 7th post in a series titled "Reporter's Guide to Multimedia Proficiency" shares ways to improve your photojournalism skills.
She begins the article by squashing the number one excuse for not being able to take decent photos – the lack of expensive camera equipment. McAdams explains that "it's the person who gets a great shot – not the device." Every journalist should be able to capture a decent photo in breaking news situations and every blogger should be able to capture great photos in order to enhance their blog's esthetics. McAdams' advice on camera settings, the rule of thirds, lines, balance, framing, and avoiding mergers will help any beginner, novice, or intermediate level photographer improve their techniques and subsequently their shots. Even I, the daughter of a photographer who has been taking pictures her whole life, learned a few things as digital cameras have changed quite a few things. Give it a read – you will walk away more informed and that is always a good thing!
Tags #clay shirky, #gradschool, #j7330, #meetup, #pinterest, #social media, #socialJ, #twitter, Here Comes Everybody, Howard Dean, photography, Prisoner's Dilemma, Ron Paul, small world, Social Capital, socialj7330
Weekly Reading Ramblings – Week 4 (Part I)
Robin Rambling on Week 4 Readings (Part I)
This week's readings were about community engagement, collective action, and participating in Twitter Chats – a form of community engagement, in my opinion. If you don't know what I mean by that, you'll have to read through my ramblings. And, even if you feel me – hopefully, you'll keep reading as well. You can even leave a comment at the bottom there. Yes – see, right there at the bottom where it says to "leave a reply" – feel free to share your insights with me!
In Chapter 6, Shirky focuses on collective action and institutional challenges using the 1992 and 2002 priest/molestation scandals involving the Catholic Church to show how social tools have helped shape the power of groups when acting together. The difference in the two time periods is obviously the spread of internet usage and the creation of social tools, such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and the like. In 1992, the Catholic Church was able to keep the scandal and actions of Reverend Porter relatively under wraps because parishioners couldn't easily share information about the scandal with one another or readily coordinate an group action. On the other hand, in 2002, these obstacles of geography and shared information were no longer obstacles. The Boston Globe series detailing the history of Father Geoghan, the priest who worked at various parishes in the Boston archdiocese since the 1960s and during that time had molested over a hundred boys, was able to be shared with ease through social networks and e-mail.
Shirky noted that "the impulse to share important information is a basic one, it's manifestations have often been clunky," and he is right. I immediately remembered the newspaper clippings haphazardly held by magnet to my grandmother's refrigerator. She would clip any article that she thought my mother needed to read and each week a large portion of the time that my mother spent with her was taken over by the forced "share of information." My mother would have rather read these clippings later in the evening when she had arrived home and spent the few hours that she had to spend with my grandmother, having a conversation. I think the part that my mother missed was that my grandmother wanted her to read the articles right then because she was not only interested in sharing this "important" information but then having an intellectual discourse about that topic. To be fair, I think another reason was that she didn't trust my mother to actually read the clipping from Ann Landers that she found so important. Shirky's point was that the exchange of information prior to the social tools of today was time consuming and the seemingly minor difficulties of clipping and saving or clipping and mailing a newspaper article were significant enough to limit the frequency. I don't think everyone was determined as my grandmother and I will discuss those determined people and their impact more when we get to Chapter 7 and later in Chapter 10.
Going back to the Catholic Church scandal, it wasn't just the fact that "easier and wider dissemination of information changes group awareness," but that in order to have a large effect, there would need to be a change in collective action as well. Shirky uses the group Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), started in 2002 by Boston physician James Muller–only a few weeks after the Boston Globe series appeared–to show how the use of social tools not only made it easier to share information across geographical boundaries but to grow an organization's membership exponentially in a previously unheard of period of time. Thirty people showed up in the basement of a church in January of 2002 for the first VOTF meeting. By March, more than 500 people overflowed their small meeting room and by the summer of 2002, VOTF hosted their first convention boasting over 25K members. The rate of growth was almost a thousandfold increase and until social tools came into play, this was inconceivable. In many ways, it still is. I have helped increase membership for many organizations and although, I'm good, I have never increased membership by that many, especially in that amount of time–nor have I seen it done. Nonetheless, one of the differences between pre-social tools and 2002 was the ease in group discovery and joining. With social networks, email, and websites it is much easier to locate groups that hold the same interests or passions that you do and once you locate them, it is easier to get information about their mission and goals. Plus, when you are ready to actually join the group, a simple online registration form and PayPal widget for dues saves each person a ton of time. Social tools then save the organization or group money because printed materials and mailing costs are no longer a factor. The growth of VOTF, along with the growth of several other groups with similar missions, helped effect change in the Catholic Church due to the power of collective action. Shirky notes that before social tools, the Catholic Church was not "inimical to improvised global organization of its parishioners because it simply wasn't an option."
Finally, in the last two paragraphs of Chapter 6 Shirky explains that "social tools don't create collective action–they merely remove the obstacles to it." A point that I believe is often forgotten or overlooked by many. People have protested organizations and governments forever – anyone remember the Conflict in Vietnam? Imagine what could have been different if the protesters of the 1960s to early 1970s had been able to use the social tools of today? I will end this discussion the way that Shirky ended Chapter 6–with a quote that spoke volumes to me:
"Revolution doesn't happen when society adopts new technologies–it happens when society adopts new behaviors."
In Chapter 7 Shirky explains the difference between the power of individual action and collective action using the 1989 protests of the German Democratic Republic in Leipzig in comparison to the use of Flash Mobs and other socially coordinated tools of today as an example of how collective action can bring social change. I found the history of Flash Mobs quite interesting as I have a weird fascination with them– I always wanted to be a part of one or randomly be surrounded by one. Ironically enough, Flash Mobs began as a way to mock hipster culture (and you just have to love that) but over time they have become a useful tool of government protesters in places such as St. Petersburg, Russia and Belarus.
Never seen a Flash Mob? Check out this video:
And here is one for political action:
Being who I am and believing in liberty and freedom, I found this chapter especially interesting due to its political content. I actually LOLed when Shirky explained one particular Flash Mob protest of the Lukashenko government in Belarus. People were instructed to show up in Oktyabrskaya Square to eat ice cream and were subsequently arrested by the tyrannical socialist regime. The catch? As police were hauling away the ice cream eaters, bystanders were snapping digital photographs and video to upload to Flickr and Livejournal to show the world the Lukashenko oppression. Shirky states "Nothing says 'police state' like detaining kids for eating ice cream."
Wow! Doesn't that just sum it all up? Before social tools, governments were able to get away with a lot more. Shirky explains that "political action has changed when a group of previously uncoordinated actors can create a public protest that the government can neither interdict in advance nor supress without triggering public documentation." Today, tyrannical governments get away with far too much in my opinion but when they are really naughty–they have to be better at hiding their secrets because the internet seems to tell all, just like it did with the NSA.
Remember when I mentioned those "determined" people in the discussion of Chapter 6? Shirky brings up an incredibly important point about the motivation of groups and the determined people behind them. Many people believe that a group of hundreds is run by hundreds when in actuality it is the determination and driving force of a handful that keeps the group running. He states "many people care a little about the treatment they get from airlines or banks, but not many care enough to do anything about it on their own, both because that kind of effort is hard and because individual actions have so little effect on big corporations." This also applies to political change and is something that a person in my line of work deals with every day. For example, during the 2012 Ron Paul Campaign in Shelby County (I was the Chair for the Official Ron Paul Campaign), each of my team members couldn't wait to participate when it was something they perceived as "fun," such as a protest or a sign wave. However, when it came to the actual "work" of the campaign such as the door-to-door activities, phone banking, Get Out the Vote, and poll standing –the activities that actually WIN election–they weren't as interested. In fact, some wouldn't even participate. It was left to the handful of highly determined and motivated team members to carry the weight of the group.
Shirky reminds us that the "old model for coordinating group action required convincing people who care a little to care more, so that they would be roused to act" but now "the highly motivated people can create a context more easily in which the barely motivated people can be effective without having to become activists themselves." This may be true for some groups and somewhat so for political action, but isn't the case when it comes to political campaigns. Yes, the Facebook groups and meme sharing are needed and those who aren't as motivated can certainly help with certain tasks–the spreading of the message, the education of others, and the sign waving. However, when it comes to the actual actions that WIN the election the motivated "people who were on fire" still wonder "why the general population didn't care more, and the general population" still wonders "why those obsessed people didn't just shut up!"
Click Here for Part II – Twitter Chats
Tags #clay shirky, #freedom, #gradschool, #j7330, #social media, #socialJ, #twitter, Ann Landers, Collective Action, Flash Mob, grad school, Here Comes Everybody, Police State, Ron Paul, socialj7330
It's still my birthday weekend, so guess what?! It's still all about me! LOL. Today's Photo365 Challenge consists of a picture of ME (somewhat)- in my favorite place in the world and showing off my Ron Paul anklets (still wearing them) – since, I'm still recovering from it being all about ME, yesterday!
Tags #AllAboutMe, #class, #gradschool, #j7330, #me, #photo, #photo365, #robin spielberger, #selfie, #socialJ, beach, birthday, florida, happy birthday, pass-a-grille, photography, Ron Paul
This week the readings, an article and several chapters of a book, written by two of the most well-known journalism and social media influencers in the county, Jay Rosen and Clay Shirky.
Before we begin, I want to take a few moments to introduce these influencers.
Jay Rosen has been on the journalism faculty at New York University since 1986 and served as chair of the Department from 1999 to 2005. He has been one of the earliest advocates and supporters of citizen journalism, encouraging the press to take a more active interest in citizenship, improving public debate, and enhancing life. His book about the subject, What Are Journalists For? was published in 1999. Rosen is often described in the media as an intellectual leader of the movement of public journalism.
Rosen writes frequently about issues in journalism and developments in the media. Media criticism and other articles by Rosen have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, Harper's Magazine, and The Nation. He is also a semi-regular contributor to The Huffington Post.
He runs his own weblog called PressThink, which concentrates on what's happening to journalism in the age of the internet and his writing for the weblog won the Reporters Without Borders Freedom Blog award in 2005.
Clay Shirky, a writer, consultant and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies, has a joint appointment at New York University as a Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and Assistant Arts Professor in the New Media focused graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). His courses address, among other things, the interrelated effects of the topology of social networks and technological networks, how our networks shape culture and vice-versa.
He has written and been interviewed about the Internet since 1996, with columns and writings that have appeared in Business 2.0, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review and Wired.
His consulting practice is focused on the rise of decentralized technologies such as peer-to-peer, web services, and wireless networks that provide alternatives to the wired client–server infrastructure that characterizes the World Wide Web. He is also a member of the Wikimedia Foundation's Advisory Board.
In his book Here Comes Everybody, Shirky explains his favoring of crowdsourcing and collaborative efforts online and uses the phrase "the Internet runs on love" to describe the nature of such collaborations.
In 2010 Shirky published Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age which expands on themes introduced in Here Comes Everybody. The book follows concepts he introduced in a Web 2. 0 conference presentation April 23, 2008 called "Gin, Television, and Social Surplus."
Shirky introduces Cognitive Surplus as a continuation of his work in Here Comes Everybody. "This book picks up where that one left off, starting with the observation that the wiring of humanity lets us treat free time as a shared global resource, and lets us design new kinds of participation and sharing that take advantage of that resource."
Most recently, Shirky was featured in Journalism Degrees and Program's article Best in #Journalism: 151 Twitters Worth a Follow by Sean Flynn. Beginning the section entitled "Professors," at number 111, Shirky is considered to be one of the 18 Journalism Professors worth following.
As an aside, my social media and entrepreneurial journalism professor Carrie Brown-Smith is featured at number 117, hanging in among the top heavy hitters in this new "business" of journalism. Check our her blog, The Changing Newsroom, to learn about cutting edge and entrepreneurial journalism.
First, we will revisit the writings of Clay Shirky, this time commenting of Chapters 3-5 of Here Comes Everybody.
Shirky discusses the birthday speech given to Strom Thurmond in 2002 by long-time Mississippi Senator and former Senate Majority Leader, Trent Lott. In this section, he explains yet another example of how the internet has affected journalism. No longer do the journalists of major networks and newspapers single handedly decide what makes news, news. Today, due to the millions of bloggers and social media enthusiasts, any topic that a group of people find important enough, to discuss for long enough, can become mainstream news.
In the case of Trent Lott's infamous speech, the majority of mainstream media failed to cover the speech because it was filed away under "not breaking news" due to the event being a simple birthday party. However, after the speech promoted Strom Thurmond's 1948 overtly segregationist Presidential campaign and insulted the citizens of Mississippi by lumping them into the category of Strom supporters, bloggers took to their blogs, facebookers to their news feeds, and twitterers to their tweets in order to speak out against Lott's actions and to, hopefully, distance themselves from such discriminatory implications.
For days, the "story" broke on the internet and the mainstream media took notice. I'm sure a bunch of "shoulda woulda couldas" were roaming the halls of every major newspaper and television station in the country, especially in the beltway. Unfortunately, at this point these traditional news outlets would've had to swallow their pride and make apologies for dismissing Lott's speech and the birthday party when it happened, if they wanted to speak out against his chosen message.
Luckily, for the mainstream media, no one knows how to beat a dead horse like my fellow libertarians and libertarian republicans. My politically like-minded brethren are like dogs with bones when it comes to letting go of subjects they feel should be publicized. Trent Lott's speech happened to be one of these "bones" and according to Shirky, "because the weblogs kept the story alive, especially among libertarian Republicans, Lott eventually decided to react."
Now, five days after the speech, the mainstream media wouldn't have to swallow any pride or make amends. They could simply cover Lott's "halfhearted apology" for his statement and run footage of the original speech right next to it. This would open the subject up as "breaking news," and allow for reporters and journalists to editorialize. No longer was defining "the news" as simple as Shirky said, "events that are newsworthy, and events that are covered by the press."
Trent Lott's Statement and Public Apology
Many have grumbled about this definition for years, complaining that some stories covered by the mainstream media are not newsworthy and that some newsworthy stories are not covered enough. Libertarians, and any other third party or even obscure issue groups, have been complaining about this "practice" for years. Why did so many serious topics go uncovered and so much "fluff" make it onto the front page? As Shirky pointed out, using the example of Trent Lott, this "link is now broken." Shirky states, "From now on news cans break into public consciousness without the traditional press weighing in. Indeed, the news media can end up covering the story because something has broken into public consciousness via other means."
As a blogger and social media user, with a journalism degree and a background in public relations, I am excited about this new frontier on which we are walking. However, as a political activist and holder of libertarian ideals, I have mixed emotions. Don't get me wrong, the ability for the masses of people to publish information that the mainstream media either overlooks, dismisses, or hides is incredibly exciting and beneficial. The problem lies with the audience. Typical Americans of voting age, still receive most of their information from the mainstream media.
According to Pew Research Center for People & the Press' 2012 report, In Changing News Landscape, Even Television is Vulnerable: Trends in News Consumption: 1991-2012, despite a declining trend, "55% [of Americans] say they watched the news or a news program on television yesterday," showing little change from recent years. This report also shows that "the overall share of Americans saying they regularly watch local television news has slipped from 54% in 2006 to 48% today – and in that regard it remains one of the news sources with the broadest reach." Finally, Pew points out that 51% of those 65 and older say they regularly watch cable news and seven in ten (71%) say they watched television news, read a print newspaper or listened to radio news yesterday.
I find this highly disturbing. There are so many more sources of valuable information just sitting on the internet waiting for consumption. As an activist who volunteered in 2008 and worked for the 2012 Ron Paul campaign, I know that an idea planted, can sprout and grow just like a seed. In 2007, the word libertarian, much less the ideals of libertarianism, were not common knowledge. As the liberty movement grew, much in part to the efforts of Ron Paul, the political ideals became more common. This spread of ideals is owed in great part to the efforts on online bloggers and political activists. Shirky stated, "the same idea published in dozens or hundreds of places, can have an amplifying effect that outweighs the verdict from the smaller number of professional outlets."
The liberty movement couldn't be a better example of this idea. I noticed in early January of 2012, at the beginning of the Republican Presidential Primary, that the only candidate mentioning the issue of state's rights, was none other than Ron Paul. This issue was verbally echoed by millions of his supporters and blogged by thousands in the coming weeks. By late February, on my 32nd birthday and during one of the Primary debates, every single candidate on stage mentioned the issue of state's right in one form or another. It was blatantly obvious. Each candidate's team had witnessed the growing support for state's rights and in order to level the playing field, recommended that the candidate begin to show his support. I have witnessed the noise, firsthand, and resulting difference that a thousand blogging voices can make. However, it isn't quick and it isn't always eventually acknowledged.
With data showing a rise digital news consumption and a decline in traditional news consumption, the numbers of citizens who report blogs as their news source has maintained a relatively low response rate. According to the same Pew study mentioned earlier, "slightly more than one-in-ten (12%) of all Americans regularly read blogs about politics or current events and another 21% say they read them sometimes. Just less than half (45%) never read blogs or do not use the internet. The numbers of those who read blogs regularly are little changed since 2008."
The report also shows that "among age groups, regular blog reading is lowest among those 18 to 24 (6%), . . . highest among those 40 to 49 (17%)," and little difference among the age groups in between. When readers are categorized by education level, "15% of college graduates and those who have had some college regularly read blogs, a number that falls to 7% for those with high school or less."
I can't help but wonder why so few people regularly receive news from blogs when so many citizens report that they trust all new sources similarly. One answer could be the sheer amount of information lurking on the world wide web and that people are simply overwhelmed by the options.
In 7 Things About The Mainstream Media That They Do Not Want You To Know, an article on Alex Jones' Infowars, Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse states: "We live at a time when it is absolutely imperative to think for ourselves, but most Americans are being absolutely overwhelmed with information and seem more than content to let others do their thinking for them. Sadly, this is greatly contributing to the downfall of our society."
Shirky's theory of mass amateurization, the "result of the radical spread of expressive capabilities," and the "comparisons between the neatness of traditional media and the messiness of social media" is directly relevant to how Americans have become overwhelmed and symptomatically, uninterested. Shirky also noted that when comparing traditional media and social media in terms of neatness versus messiness, the system of filtering is often overlooked. In the process of traditional media publishing, there is a gatekeeper – an editor, or one who decides what should be printed and what stories to forgo. In social media and blogging, the user is the writer, the creator, the editor, and the publisher. No longer does the published word mean that someone else thought it was worth reading. When searching for news on the internet, today's citizens must be filtering gurus because as Shirky stated, "mass amateurization of publishing, makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move." Filter-then-publish is a thing of the past. We live in a publish-then-filter society.
He uses the notion of picking up a bookstore and shaking it onto a football field to describe the contents of information on the web. Of course, you will see classics by such writers as Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Chaucer, Hemingway, Tolstoy, and Plato. You will also see outstanding works of fiction by authors such as John Grisham, Stephen King, Robert Ludlum, James Patterson, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling, and works of insightful nonfiction by Winston Churchill, Ron Paul, Jeff Jarvis, Woodward and Bernstein, and Clarence Thomas. However, books with titles such as "Cooking With Pooh" (I assure you, it's not about the lovable bear, Winnie), "The Dork of Cork," "Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality," or "Bander Snatch" as listed on Huffington Post's article "Twelve of the Worst Book Titles Ever," by Lee A. Jacobus. My point is this: filter, filter, filter!
Everywhere you go today, you must filter. At the grocery store, you must decide which of the 25 brands of peanut butter is truly all-natural and which is jam-packed with additives. When shopping for clothes, you must choose which dress is made with lasting, quality materials worth the $200 and which one will simply fall apart after a few wears. The internet is no different.
Hopefully, Americans will stop throwing their hands up at the overwhelming amount of information and learn to filter the good from the garbage when it comes to internet news consumption. Social media and blogging are part of this incredible new digital frontier where everyone's voice can be heard and all ideas can be expressed. These platforms give rise to information overlooked or dismissed by the traditional mainstream media and can alert citizens to wrongdoings such as Edward Snowden's exposure of the NSA spying Julian Assange's leak of the Iraq War Logs. Social media and blogging can spread ideas that may otherwise not be heard such as the case with the Liberty movement and the Ron Paul Revolution. But they can also spread false information, reinforce bigoted and ignorant ideas, give guidance on bomb building, or how to best be bulimic. The good is mixed with the garbage and we must learn to decipher between the two, ultimately tossing the garbage. We can not, however, toss the platforms in with the trash, nor dismiss the writers.
Check out Jon Stewart's take on Trent Lott's Birthday Wishes to Strom Thurmond by clicking the link below:
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Racists Have Birthdays Too! (December 11, 2002)
As soon as I finished reading Jay Rosen's, "The Twisted Psychology of Bloggers vs. Journalists: My Talk at South by Southwest," I immediately began to think of only one thing. I couldn't get it out of my mind. It played over and over like a song on repeat.
Bloggers are Journalists, Journalists are Bloggers.
Say it with me, just one time. You'll instantly feel better.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, I will discuss the finer points in Rosen's talk on this neverending barrage of insults exchanged between bloggers and journalists, and the potential reasons for it.
He begins by reiterating that the "distinction is eroding" and "the war is absurd" and that everyone should just get over it – points Rosen made in 2005 in his essay "Bloggers vs. Journalists is Over." I happen to agree with these statements. However, I do realize that it is easier said than done because there are some existing finite distinctions which are still applicable.
Then, he makes an excellent point by stating that "bloggers and journalists are each other's ideal 'other.'" If you aren't quite sure what he means by this, let me enlighten you:
Journalists are:
reputable in the eyes of many
paid (although not always well)
allowed certain advantages by wielding their "easy to get" press pass and employer name dropping
given certain leeways in some situations.
Bloggers are:
mostly untrained (or at least traditionally – that is one of the areas changing in this new frontier)
often not considered as reputable as a "real journalist"
have a harder time getting a press pass to large public events
not given leeways in as many situations, such as with shield laws.
Now, on the other hand:
Journalists:
spend years going to a traditional (or even untraditional) J-school
are usually employed by some version of "the man"
underpaid and overworked (especially in today's industry)
must remain "in the open" and are held accountable for their work, if by nothing else, their byline
worked for years or decades as an underling in order to earn their "column inches"
must abide by certain rules of the trade such as keeping their political views quiet or not cheering in the press box at the big game
must cover stories they find uninteresting
have work hours regulated, by not only the story but by their editor and editor's editor
spend hours looking for an original story and then they must spend more time researching, getting interviews, and editing and re-editing
held to high standard in regards to original content and wording
have to answer to a "higher being" (and no, I don't mean God or Buddha or whomever). By working for a reputable for profit company they must answer to their boss but also, their boss must answer to his boss, and on up the chain. Then, it is more likely that a company will have to answer officially to the US Government if they publish information "not liked."
Bloggers:
do not have to get training, attend school, or earn a degree in journalism (but some do)
are usually self-employed or blog in their leisure time (sometimes this is a considerable amount of time but still it is their time)
mostly unpaid
can choose to remain anonymous (although many don't)
didn't have to "earn" their place before receiving "column inches"
do NOT have abide by any rules of the trade such as keeping their political views quiet or not cheering in the press box at the big game
can choose to only cover stories they find interesting
work hours are unregulated in general
can choose to aggregate stories from other "sources" and mediums or to simply "re-post" a story on their blog or on various social media although some do spend hours writing original stories but do NOT have to answer to an editor before publishing
not held to the same standards in regards to plagiarism
do not have to answer to anyone and the US Government seems to pay them less attention
Each, has their own pros and cons that the other covets. The Journalist is envy of the immediate publishing rights of the blogger and the lack of training. The Blogger is envious of the respect received by the Journalist, and so on and so forth.
Journalists chose to say things disparaging bloggers, such as in an Editor's Column in an Australian newspaper did when he said: "Bloggers…represent nothing. They whinge, carp, and whine about our role in society, and yet they contribute nothing to it, other than satisfying their juvenile egos."
Who's being the child now, mister Editor? Say what you mean – you're jealous of some of the advantages that bloggers receive and some of the respect that they are receiving as well.
Bloggers choose to talk about the "lamestream media" but many of them re-post stories from these same outlets. Bloggers, say what you mean – you're upset at how they chose to write the article, you think they are playing lapdog to the government, and you're also jealous at the recognition they receive for doing it.
If everyone would just say what they mean – then they all have valid points. It's when the blame game starts and the finger pointing turns to mud-slinging that society is losing. Both mediums and both "professions" are valid and needed in our society.
It has come to the point where some journalists aren't being objective (neither are the bloggers, but they aren't typically supposed to and the ones that choose to, bully for them), aren't acting as the watchdog for the government, have sold out or are refusing to open their eyes and study a situation from all angles. So now, the bloggers are the watchdog of the journalists. The journalists, with as much weight as their words carry and as far as their pens reach, should be held accountable by the people. Bloggers are there to do that.
Don't get me wrong – not all bloggers are worth the laptops they write on. Their bogs are filled with grammatically incorrect, uninsightful, regurgitated, or ignorant garbage. But as I said earlier in this post, when talking about Shirky's theory of mass amateurization and thus, forced filtering – we must filter the good from the bad! Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Some journalists aren't worth their press badges, either. So let's all stop pointing fingers and mud-slinging and get back to the issue at hand.
Blogging is not going to REPLACE the press! Rosen said it differently by saying "blogging cannot replace the watchdog journalism that keeps a government accountable to its people," but I don't exactly agree with that statement – at this time. I feel that all of the press isn't doing the best job in that department these days. A majority is blatantly ignoring candidates running for office and singing praises of government officials when no praise should be sung – among other things. However, I believe that true journalism will last and it should last. It should live on to overcome the disruption caused by the internet, social media, and blogging to its livelihood and perform the duties it was created to perform.
Journalists ARE trained and may know a few things bloggers don't. Lucky for me, I'm both a trained journalist and a blogger. I choose to work as a blogger with the values and knowledge, of a journalist.
Rosen stated that "bloggers look more like the ancestors of today's journalists," and in many ways, I agree. Thomas Jefferson was a huge proponent of the free press as hopefully, most of you know. In his time, the newspapers were filled with biased viewpoints and writers, reporters, editors, and journalists who felt the need to answer to a "higher being" – usually the person, who paid the person, who paid the writer.
His idea of the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights, which keeps the government from taking away our inherent right to free speech and press, was one of complete and total freedom. He felt that no longer should citizens remain quiet when they saw injustice. He urged them to pick up the pen and publish their thoughts – and that, they did. Today's bloggers feel the need to pick up their pen and publish their thoughts just as our forefathers did. The profession of Journalism remained intact then, although changed by the pressures of the people. So as Journalists today, instead of playing the blame game and complaining about what bloggers are doing or the respect that they are receiving, ask yourselves this – Why do they feel so compelled to write and speak out? Why are they receiving respect for what they do? How could you learn from them or from what they are saying? How could you be better?
I leave you with a few words of wisdom from Thomas Jefferson:
"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."
Thomas Jefferson to Dr. James Currie, January 28, 1786
Thomas Jefferson to John Norvell, June 11, 1807
"Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights."
Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, January 8, 1789
"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them."
Thomas Jefferson on Politics and Government, 1787
"Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe"
"Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues of truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is freedom of the press. It is therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions"
Thomas Jefferson 1984, 1147
Tags #clay shirky, #gradschool, #j7330, #social media, #socialJ, bloggers, Bloggers vs Journalists, grad school, Here Comes Everybody, Jay Rosen, Jon Stewart, Journalists, Ron Paul, socialj7330, Strom Thurmond, Trent Lott


President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, set up the Council for National Unity to facilitate the further consolidation of the Ukrainian society.
The Council was established to facilitate the further consolidation of the Ukrainian society on the basis of the national system of values, spiritual and cultural traditions, the development of the best measures aimed at strengthening the national unity and the development of the national consciousness, providing a system interaction of state authorities and civil society institutions.
Valerii PEKAR, KMBS professor, co-founder of the "The New Country" civic platform.


I'd like to invite you to a celebration. I'm going to have a giveaway for two of my books from my back list.
The chat will be here.
There are tons of prizes, ranging from eBooks (including some advance copies), audiobooks, signed print copies (international shipping) to Skip and Pip Plushes. You can find them listed on the event page.
The Marathon Chat will begin at 10 PM PDT (Pacific), 11 PM MDT (Mountain), 12 AM CDT (US Central), 01 AM EDT (Eastern), 6 AM BST (UK) and 7 AM CEST (European Central).
and enter your city and Chicago, Illinois (CDT) to see at what time the author chats will be for you.


UPDATE: The Bridges for Autism team got some volunteers to run with them and was able to participate as pretty much a complete team in the 2017 Man-a-Mile! Thanks everyone who helped out!
URGENT REQUEST for M-A-M 2017: If anyone knows of an extra person who wants to run, but is NOT already part of a team, there is a local organization who have a few spots to fill.
This organization is Bridges for Autism, which operates an inclusive environment for Respite & Recreation Activities & Programs for individuals of all ages on the Autism Spectrum at the Pen Centre Mall.


text:
http://www.employeeconnect.com/blog
The Curious Thing About Intellectual Curiosity
Tags: curiosity
In my opinion, the most the most important word in human history is 'why'.
But for many of us, as we get older, we lose our appetite for curiosity. In today's technological society, the competitive load of information is enormous. It's so overwhelming it often intimidates many perfectly capable people forcing them to conform to the lowest common social denominator.
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This is not a new problem…philosophers Leibniz and Diderot complained of information overload in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. The "Renaissance Man," or person with a working knowledge of every area of human endeavor, becomes increasingly less knowledgeable of the total sum of human knowledge. Instead of inspiring lifelong curiosity and learning, this vast body of knowledge tends to discourage many people from pursuing their natural curiosity about the world around them. This tendency to ask questions can be reinforced or stifled during the ages of two to four when children start asking questions.
Curiosity: Killer of Cats Among Other Things
As kids, we're insatiably inquisitive. Hundreds of questions often receive answers such as "because I said so" or "Curiosity killed the cat." Parents rarely want to discuss the big questions such as life, death, and sex. Instead, they give fantasy answers or put off answering the questions until their children are older. The same holds true in crowded classrooms. Stressed-out teachers struggle to prepare kids to meet mandated educational levels, which limits the time for answering questions that don't directly relate to the subject being taught.
Successful parents, mentors and teachers learn how to manage complexity so they don't stifle curiosity, a powerful force in education. In fact, kids hit their peak curiosity level before most even enter a classroom, between the ages of four to six. Edward Land's three-year-old daughter triggered the invention of the historic Polaroid technology with one simple question: why she couldn't see a picture immediately?
Complex situations are simply misunderstood situations. Healthy curiosity rips down barriers and fosters a better understanding of even the most complicated instructions, scientific formulas, chemical reactions and engineering concepts. Inspiring curiosity is the quickest way to teach even the most challenging subjects because an engaged mind is more receptive to ideas.
Curiosity often plays second-fiddle to intelligent quotient, or IQ, when great ideas turn into practical benefits, but it's usually intellectual curiosity that drives most business innovations. We're all naturally curious–like cats–but we tend to dampen our feelings of curiosity due to years of social conditioning. Curiosity is the natural instinct that drives people to learn and explore. When rewarded, curiosity leads to better mental development, creativity and greater interest in widely ranging subjects.
The Power of Why
Asking questions and exploring new subjects drive business innovation, social discourse, and lifelong learning. Robert Kennedy's most famous quote reads, "Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not." Regardless of whether you ask, why, why not or what if, curiosity ignites innovation, creativity, new products, expanded personal relationships and other social and work benefits.
The hungrier the mind, the more it can digest. Complex work procedures and advanced technologies are quickly absorbed by curious minds because they learn to follow the logic. Fostering curiosity also ignites competitive pressure as people strive to learn more than their peers or just to keep up to distinguish themselves or conform to the group's standards. Savvy leaders use these tendencies to foster a culture where curiosity thrives and indifference is viewed as antisocial and a possible cause of dismissal or failure to advance.
Albert Einstein, considered by many to be the smartest man in history, commented on his own intellect, "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." Curiosity keeps people open to new experiences, ongoing education and creative approaches to problem-solving. Difficult tasks become routine when supported by innate or developed curiosity. Neurochemistry offers insights into how curiosity helps us learn increasingly complex and technical information.
The Science of Why
Muscles grow from increased usage. The amygdala arguably builds mental muscle. It's located in an area of the brain that controls the limbic system, regulates memory, emotion, and the immune system. Studies confirm when this area of the brain gets used more often, the person exhibits greater emotional and intellectual balance when responding to new stimuli instead of retreating in fear.
Curiosity engages the brain–specifically in the areas of the hippocampus that control memory, learning and emotional responses. Curious people's brains trigger greater levels of hormone production–specifically increasing levels of dopamine, which heightens the pleasure of learning experiences and increases memory retention. What that means in practical terms is that the more curious you are about a subject, the greater the emotion will be.
This emotional response reinforces long-term memories so that you can retain the knowledge or skill longer. Knowledge that triggers logical questions converts learning the answers to those questions into knowledge that a person never forgets. Scientific studies confirm that there is greater brain activity in the hippocampus among curious students than indifferent or bored learners.
IQ, EQ and CQ
Some people and organisations thrive in today's complex work and social environments. Today's complex environments are so different from past generations they would have appeared as confusing as dealing with aliens from another planet. Other people deal with change by withdrawing, putting up barriers or losing their sense of wonder and curiosity.
Three key qualities are essential for managing complex tasks and challenging work skills: intellectual capacity, emotional balance, and curiosity. IQ stands for intelligence quotient; EQ refers to emotional quotient and CQ stands for curiosity quotient. Coaching or nurturing IQs can be difficult if even possible. But, EQ and CQ can both be increased by managing complexity in the home, classroom, and office.
Intelligence Quotient: The IQ refers to mental ability. But, having a high IQ doesn't mean that a person will apply the ability effectively. Many critics consider IQ alone as a poor gauge of success.
Emotional Quotient: Emotion colors how we view different things. Our perceived place in the social register or workplace hierarchy can affect how we perform and respond to pressure. Developing your emotional quotient can enhance leadership skills because having enough empathy to consider other people's views strengthens our abilities to manage others. It takes genuine curiosity to develop enough empathy to put yourself in someone else's position and consider his or her viewpoint.
Curiosity Quotient: Curiosity drives the will to learn, so it doesn't come as a surprise that curiosity makes cats and people smarter instead of killing them. Curiosity puts people in a receptive learning state and this state can be developed through rewards, recognition and fostering a culture where curiosity isn't stifled.
The greatest leaders know how to motivate others. Leadership requires intellect, emotion and the ability to foster other people's natural curiosity. Most leadership qualities are based at least partially on curiosity. For example, empathising with other people's viewpoints is considered a strong leadership quality. It takes curiosity to understand how other people really feel about a given subject.
Curiosity Combined with Empathy
Genuine curiosity fosters empathy, a vital management tool in today's multi-ethnic workplaces. Empathy facilitates compliance with anti-discrimination legal mandates. Empathy likewise facilitates multicultural rapport among global and telecommuting business associates in trans-global workplaces.
Rapid change is the only constant in today's business environment. So, empathy and curiosity take on ever-increasing roles in those successful companies that manage complexities skillfully. Leadership qualities – while often inherent – can be developed by strengthening the qualities of empathy and curiosity. Creative and practical people envision new techniques and ideas by asking "why," "why not," and "what if." Finding answers to these questions generates new solutions because old technology limitations often become irrelevant due to industry advances.
Of course, people tend to resist changes, so that's where developing empathy can smooth the process of evolving to meet new business objectives. Empathy helps leaders and managers identify with diverse workers with different points-of-view. When people feel that their opinions matter, they're more receptive to change, suggestions and acceptance of other viewpoints.
Curiosity fosters lifelong learning when nurtured. Developing empathy and curiosity are both educable processes. Unlike IQ, which tends to favor highly organised cognitive processes, curiosity works regardless of intellectual limitations.
Understanding neuroscience and how the mind works can be cultivated. Successful savvy marketers thrive on their cultivated understanding of neuroscience. And, intellectually curious and empathetic people tend to produce more innovations than those who are gifted with the highest native intelligence. Neuroscience doesn't limit or predict progress, but it provides the tools for working smarter in all endeavors.
Developing and integrating neuroscience into commercial industry generates more successful companies by using these insights to manage how people work together. As a thought leader, any organisation derives benefits by focusing on ways to undo the damage that social conformity generates in the workplace. Creating a new paradigm is essential in today's markets that evolve at light-speed. Business problems don't just involve technology or one-dimensional solutions–they often require new ways of thinking, agile approaches to problem-solving and unlearning bad habits. Rethinking basic management techniques and social processes can ignite business progress.
Understanding how IQ, EQ, and CQ affect progress in the workplace is the first step forward in agile adaptations to uncertain, unpredictable, complex and confusing work environments. Workers in these environments are routinely expected to engineer practical results from creative ideas or business opportunities. Using empathetic management skills to ignite a workplace culture that fosters and rewards curiosity offers many benefits. Einstein summed up the benefits of curiosity as elegantly as his theory of relativity:
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
The post The Curious Thing About Intellectual Curiosity appeared first on EmployeeConnect.
This post first appeared on EmployeeConnect, please read the originial post: here
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Cannabis affects everyone differently. Different strains and methods of consumption give users different effects. And new users generally feel different effects than more experienced users. There are some people who don't feel anything at all the first time they try cannabis. Many people who use cannabis find the experience to be kind of relaxing and a little euphoric. For some, it makes them more outgoing and social. But others report that it makes them tired, anxious, or paranoid. If you're not sure how cannabis will affect you, it's best to start with a low dose. And be sure to ask your local budtender for recommendations on strains, products, and doses to start with.
The main difference between medical and recreational cannabis really comes down to the way it is regulated and how you access it. Medical cannabis requires a doctor's recommendation for a qualifying ailment before you can access, purchase, or consume cannabis and cannabis products. Recreational cannabis, on the other hand, simply requires that you are over the legal age of 21.
But there are also people who differentiate medical and recreational based on how each of them use cannabis. Recreational marijuana users are looking to experience novel states of consciousness, and connoisseurs seek different effects for different circumstances and to create different moods. On the other hand, medical users seek out strains that help with a specific ailment or condition. Oftentimes patients are looking for strains that help treat their symptoms but deliver only a mild psychoactive experience that will allow them to remain productive and active.
Gone are the days of dialing up a friend-of-a-friend you hardly know in order to procure some product on the sly. Nowadays, however, there's a solution right at your fingertips. Using Leafly's free mobile app (on both iOS and Android) or Leafly.com, you can use the "Find Nearby" feature to locate recreational stores and medical cannabis dispensaries in your area. You can also find a specific strain you're looking for with the Leafly Strain Explorer. From there, you can click the "Nearby" tab to find locations in your neighborhood that have the strains and products you desire.
It's best to store cannabis in a cool, dark place that's out of direct light. Keep it in a container, like a glass jar, in order to minimize over-exposure to air. Keeping your relative humidity below 65% will help avoid mold and mildew. And, while not required, it's always a good idea to separate your strains to preserve their individual flavor profiles.
So there you go, 5 quick answers to some of the most frequent cannabis questions we receive here at Leafly. Stay tuned as we'll be answering more of your questions in upcoming articles and videos. And don't forget to subscribe to Leafly's YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on all of the latest cannabis news and information, including details about thousands of strains and cannabis products.
I have two 12″X12″ red & blue led hanging light fixtures & two 6 hole dwc hydroponic tubs. How many of these light fixtures should I use in a grow tent & what distance do they need to be from the plants?
What vaporizer type do I use for crumble?


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Consider this a fair warning? Paulie Calafiore posted a series of tweets about fidelity after he was accused of cheating on girlfriend Danielle Maltby with Challenge costar Cara Maria Sorbello — and it's safe to say he is not a fan of monogamy.
Us Weekly exclusively revealed on Monday, June 4, that Maltby, who started dating Calafiore in January, was "devastated" by the rumors that her boyfriend cheated on her with Sorbello. A rep for the Bachelor alum added that Maltby was "too devastated to speak out" at the time.
Calafiore and Sorbello's relationship is expected to play out on The Challenge: The Final Reckoning, which premieres on MTV July 10 at 9 p.m. ET.


text:
home about audio books writings wish list
The Animal Dialogues
Uncommon Encounters in the Wild
Associated Press story on Animal Dialogues
It's 8:30 a.m. A packed subway train crawls toward Manhattan from Brooklyn. I'm pushed on all sides, smashed against the door reading Craig Childs' newest set of essays, "The Animal Dialogues." Tears well in my eyes as I read about a perfect blue shark dying on a desolate beach.
For those of us pressed into spaces devoid of anything resembling the natural world, these stories invoke all that we are missing: the space, the sky, the awe at witnessing animals in their element; the wonder, the pure heart-stopping fear.
While these essays may not bring tears to most readers' eyes, they do dwell in the emotional realm. Combining science, history and lyricism, Childs articulates sublime and untenable moments, those "stop and pay attention because this will never happen again" moments with a cast of likely and unlikely characters.
A well-seasoned naturalist, writer and commentator, he offers private moments in the animal world in locations ranging from the Sonoran desert in Northern Mexico to British Columbia. Whether writing about likely creatures such as the bear, mountain lion, coyote, dog and cat, or the unlikely _ squid, rainbow trout, red-spotted toad, a long-extinct camel and the like _ Childs approaches and ponders each equally. He gives as much of his curiosity to the magic of a sea lion looking in from the waves as to the lonely wasp building a nest for a swarm that never arrives.
It's quite tempting to skip to the furry favorites, but it's the "lesser" creatures _ the bugs and birds _ that provoke an intense response. For someone who is loved by mosquitoes, reading Childs' essay on the swarms that attacked him and his companion while canoeing through Canada's Yukon Territory produced a visceral, cringe-inducing reaction.
The essays, some of which appeared in his book "Crossing Paths" (1997), are personal and carry a certain degree of sentimentality. He is a poetic writer; every word feels seeped in his love and respect for wild creatures and their homes. This affection, though, can become overwhelming.
Childs advises in an author's note that the reader may want to take these essays one at a time and that is good advice. The essence of each creature, our often vicarious experience of them and Childs' prose warrant a little rumination before jumping to the next story.
Though his musings at times teeter on the edge of becoming slightly over-the-top, he proves to be an unflinching realist. The animal world is not a place designed with humans in mind. We may feel it spiritual, we may "find ourselves" when walking through a vast desert, but we, for once, are not at the center. In the blue shark essay he writes, "I will tell you this of the animal spirit: it will tear you in two as quickly as it will bring you to wholeness."
As wild spaces become increasingly distant and animals increasingly threatened in their natural environment, Childs' continuing narrative of his "uncommon encounters" is all the more trenchant. Calmly intruding into this world with Childs, witnessing the singular moment "so vivid that it detaches from time," each species' individuality shines, as do their similarities - humans included.
Thank you Sara Rose for this beautiful piece.
Publish Date: December 12, 2007
All content © 2023 Craig Childs. Facebook


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Member of US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation
Dan Prep
Region 8 Spring Training 2018
Sawtooth Martial Arts will be hosting the Region 8 Spring Training in Sun Valley, Idaho on April 27-28, 2018.
Theme: Tradition (Jon Tong)
Emphasis: Energy Work (Ki Gong), Kicking Techniques (Jok Ki) & Ground Sparring (Jua Dae Ryun)
Special Guest: Master Chris Austin, Region 1, Australia Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation
Master Chris Austin will be 80 years of age in 2018. His instructor was Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Founder, Hwang Kee. He has been involved in the Martial and Healing Arts for most of his life and has studied and researched extensively in China and South Korea. He has been trained by Chi Gong masters, doctors of traditional medicine and martial arts/medical monks. He was elected President and Chief Instructor of the Australian Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation and became the Founder, Hwang Kee's designee for Australia. In 1997, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the community, conferred by Her Majesty the Queen of England.
This is a rare opportunity to connect with such an esteemed guest.
please contact Norm Tai, Region 8 Administrator if you have any issues with registration at 970-274-0156
Pre-registration for the Region 8 Spring Training ends on April 1, 2018.
Registration is a two step process.
Register for the Seminars on the form below. You will need to scroll through the form to enter all information.
Step 2: Payment
To make payment, click on the links below to select each item line by line.
Dans Only
Friday & Saturday Seminars Pre-registration – $60 (Prices will increase by $20 after April 1, 2018)
Friday & Saturday Semimars, Additional Family Member- $50 (Prices will increase by $20 after April 1, 2018) Dan family members of testing candidates may register as an additional family member.
Saturday Adult Gups Seminar
Saturday Seminars Pre-registration- $40 (Prices will increase by $10 after April 1, 2018)
Saturday Additional Family Member- $30 (Prices will increase by $10 after April 1, 2018) Gup family members of testing candidates may register as an additional family member.
The banquet will be held at the Sawtooth Club, 231 Main Street, Ketchum (see map). Availability will be limited to 90 people, with no late registration once we reach 90 people.
Pre-registration for the Banquet ends on April 1, 2018 (Price will increase by $10 after April 1, 2018).
Register for the Banquet on the form below. You will need to scroll through the form to enter all information.
Adult Banquet- $35 (Prices will increase by $10 after April 1, 2018)
Child Banquet- $25 (Prices will increase by $10 after April 1, 2018)
Click link below for registration and payment
T-shirts – $25
A limited number of t-shirts will be available for purchase on site.
Women's T-Shirt $25 (sizes: S, M, L, XL)
Men's T-Shirt $25 (sizes: M, L, XL, XXL)
Youth T-Shirt $25 (sizes: S, M, L).
Order deadline April 13, 2018.
For those who would like to support the Region 8 Dan Shim Sa, but are unable to attend, you can do so by ordering a t-shirt and/or donating.
Schedule for download & printing
We will meet at the Continental Room and we will organize into groups and training rooms for each session.
10:00-11:00 Neh Gong Clinic (taught by SBN Austin) (Location: Sawtooth Martial Arts, 613 N River St, Hailey, ID 83333)
Pre-registration for the Region 8 Spring Training ends on April 1, 2018. Prices will increase by $20 after April 1, 2018. *Note: testing candidates do not need to pay clinic fees. However, you still need to register for the banquet, and reserve a t-shirt and poster if you want one.
Dans only Friday & Saturday Seminars: $60.00 for first family member/$50.00 for additional family members.
Saturday Seminars: $40.00 for first family member/$30.00 for additional family members.
Adult Banquet: $35
Children Banquet: $25
Commemorative Clothing: Women's T-Shirt $25 (sizes: S, M, L, XL), Men's T-Shirt $25 (sizes: M, L, XL, XXL), Youth T-Shirts (sizes: S, M, L). Order deadline April 13, 2018.
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
Yu Dan Ja and Ko Dan Ja Workout
Any member who is not testing and is not a potential candidate for the 142nd or 143rd Dan Classings are eligible to attend this session.
Potential Candidate Workout
Instructors and potential candidates will get direct feedback on how to reach full potential for the next Shim Sa. The T.A.C. and R.E.X. will be providing guidance.
Who can attend? Any student who will be eligible to test at the 142nd or 143rd Dan Classings (must be at least a 1st Gup red belt)
Dan Clinic (Friday)
Hyung Clinic
Who can attend? Dan members
Neh Gong Clinic
Integrated Breathing, Stretching and Movement class
Who can attend? Any age and ability as well as the general public (no charge for the general public to attend)
All Rank Clinic (Saturday)
Adult Gups
All Dan Members
Who can attend? all Soo Bahk Do practitioners
Neh Gong Clinic (Sunday)
Proctor: TBD
VENUE & ACCOMODATIONS
The Region 8, Region 8 Spring Training clinics will be held on April 27-28th, 2018 at the legendary Sun Valley Resort, the country's first destination ski lodge about to turn 80 years, which has completed a major $51 million renovation and refurbishment.
A group room rate is available as follows:
Inn Traditional One Queen bed, $125 per night plus resort fee and tax
Inn Traditional Two Double Beds, $130 per night plus resort fee and tax
Inn Deluxe One King Bed, $140 per night plus resort fee and tax
The total room block will be available until March 27, 2018. Call the Sun Valley Resort Guest Reservation line, 1.800.786.8259 and use group code Dan Classing.


text:
Q & A with Andy Muir, Director of Student Activities at West Springfield HS
Christine Tamir, Editorials Editor|November 14, 2013|36 Views
Christine Tamir
Q: Do you have one turf field or several?
A: We have one turf field.
Q: So how many years has it been since the first turf field was implemented [at West Springfield HS]?
A: It's been about eight years. Fairfax HS was the very first school to get one, and West Springfield HS was the second school to get one implemented.
Q: Do you happen to know how much they paid for the full turf?
A: I think it was around a million dollars. It was a substantial amount of money
Q: Do you happen to know the type of fundraising or financial efforts that the school did?
A: I do, West Springfield specifically had it funded by the local youth organization . [It] funded the entire project. As a result of that funding, they got a ten year sole-use agreement for use on the weekends, and as soon as the school's fall season and spring season is over, they get the use then, and they also get the use during the winter.
Q: What sports is the turf field used for?
A: We use it for football, field hockey, boys and girl's lacrosse, soccer, another youth group has rugby matches on it. That's really about it.
Q: Do you have natural grass fields?
A: We have one practice rectangular grass field and that's a Bermuda grass [field].
Q: Have you found that athletes and coaches tend to like one [type of field] over the other?
A: They like the turf better. In essence, I think everyone loves a grass field, but the reality is grass gets worn down, it gets worn out. There are big patches of our right field now where we don't have any grass, it's just mud. [Turf is] a much more consistent surface. Obviously, the lines are always painted on it, so when you're practicing, you've got them there. In the spring, we don't paint our grass field just because there's too many different sports with different lines, they just have an open grass area. So I think they like the consistency, I think probably the biggest impact is if today, we had rain for two hours, if you've got a grass field, it'll be a little slippery, a little bit muddy. Our turf is ready to go as soon anytime.
Q: What's the difference in maintenance costs for the Bermuda grass field versus your turf field?
A: There's two aspects to it. When you go to grass fields, you have to have an appropriate mower and a lot of schools went to Bermuda grass, which is a grass that grows really well in the hot summer days which is when, as a school you're not using the fields so it's a great time. You have to have a real mower to do that. Then you also have to bring people in to put down chemicals, fertilizers, to get the grass to grow. Then you have to do what's called aeration, which is when you take plugs of soil out to help the grounds stay soft. Then you've got to pay for the paint to paint the field, so there's a lot of costs inherent with grass fields. And again, it doesn't matter what you do, you cannot make a school grass field look like FedEx Field at the end of the season. It just gets worn out. In terms of the turf field, we do have a company come in and clean it once a year, and we do have to paint a few of the lines on the field because not every sport is on there permanently. We paint them season by season. So, in essence, the cost ratio is definitely a lot more money to maintain a grass field, but one aspect of the turf is (whether it's the booster group or the school) has to put $15,000 away each year for ten years to have a fund available for when the turf carpet needs to be replaced. So if you take that $15,000 that's what you'd spend on the grass field so the actual cost is probably fairly close between the two.
Q: So would you say it's best for schools that don't have turf fields, like AHS and J.E.B Stuart HS to switch to turf fields?
A: I would say for any school to get one would be a very positive and move forward. For many years West Springfield was an outlier because we had a turf and we often ended up with games being moved here, especially with the post season with tournaments and deadlines and people have to have a game finished by Friday, and it's been raining all week and their field is flooded. We used to get a lot of sports coming here from other schools. Now with more turfs, that's less common. Now, people go to different places and I think it's the recovery of a field that's as important for turf as it is on the day. It can rain for eight hours, stop raining and we're ready to go and play. Whereas at AHS it can rain for eight hours and can we get the team out there? The field's not going to dry, especially on a hot day, and I'd recommend any school can do it. If you look at football season, how long it takes to paint a football field, all grass, it's almost two days to paint all the numbers and the lines. We [West Springfield] walk out there at 5:30, hand the ball to the referee and we're ready to go cause everything's there permanently so that helps a lot.
Q: So you haven't seen any injuries or health risks associated with the turf?
A: No, I think the one aspect of turf that is there in the summer. In the summer it gets hotter. The ambient temperature on the turf is hotter. If it's 80 degrees, it might be 95 degrees on the turf. But I think our staff understand that and take that into consideration. In reality, if it's in the 80s and you're doing physical activity, you're going to be sweating anyways. Although you might sweat some more, we have water machines that students can drink from on the field, so we do take that into consideration. We've not seen a drastic rise in injuries. No [infections]. If someone's out there and they bleed on the turf, we clean it up with a specific spray that the trainers have. It basically eliminates the blood and they wipe it up and its good. I don't think we've had any greater significant injuries than anyone using grass fields. There's always going to be a risk of injury. I'm not sure if the surface of the turf field has created more injuries. Generally speaking, I think we've had a pretty good track record of injuries with our kids. And when there is an injury, it's always difficult to say if one surface would have stopped it versus another. Especially when its legs and ankles and knees.
Q: Any last thoughts about turf?
A: I think in terms of the impact it has on every aspect of school from Physical education classes to sports to the use by the community, I think it's a positive thing to have happen,. We were very fortunate to have one of the first. Now I think the model is schools don't get one turf, they get two turfs. So then it's even more benefit to the school and the community. It is a large sum of money but if you look at it over the ten years of the turf, I think it's a great investment of money, especially when the community can use it on weekends and at night. And when it does get replaced, the cost is a lot less because you're just replacing the carpet, and all the draining work and substructure.
Q: Is [the money] worth it though?
A: I, 100 percent, think it is.
turf field
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denise paoli Battlefield High School Haymarket,VA • Nov 15, 2013 at 10:37 am
Did he just forget to mention that the marching band uses thisfield too? Or aren't they allowed to?
https://www.thea-blast.org/editorials/2013/11/14/q-a-with-andy-muir-director-of-student-activities-at-west-springfield-hs/#comment-112480


The economic conditions in the first quarter of 2016 proved to be much like the winter we experienced, mild at best. January and February sales were about even with last year. However March showed signs of picking up which hopefully carries over into the second quarter. Another positive is that we worked the first three months with very little overtime which is reflective of the hard work we put in last year to expand our capacity.
For the most part production has been operating at a respectable rate. The most daunting task at this point is to find people who want to fill our last several openings. Fortunately we have a core of associates who are productive and come to work every day. Once we fill all of our voids with comparable employees, we will be able to improve and ultimately maximize our productivity.
By staggering drivers, shipping has created some efficiencies which we previously were not experiencing. In addition to better utilizing our man hours we are also leaving our docks more consistently with fuller loads. As we progress and second shift grows, it is our intentions to start loading our first run trucks on that shift. By doing so, it will further improve our efficiencies as well as add capacity.
Maintenance has done a fantastic job in getting and keeping our equipment in good working order. Regularly our crews are in the plant on the weekends making repairs and adjustments on our production machines on an as needed basis. Additionally many of the repairs have been preventative in nature which has allowed us to avoid costly breakdowns and has enhanced our customer service through better production continuity.
As previously mentioned our sales the first quarter were about even with last year, with the exception of March which showed a nice pick up. Competitive pressures combined with the current flat economic conditions have certainly made it difficult to maintain sustainable sales growth. Nonetheless our sales group has performed respectfully and is still working hard as they continue to lay the necessary groundwork towards growing and expanding our future business.
Our packaging software provider Advantzware recently announced that they are under new ownership. They have stated that their push going forward is to update their software in order to improve its compatibility and to make it more user friendly. As we add to and further integrate our system, this will obviously prove beneficial. Speaking of integration, we have recently started experimenting with our new bar coding software. Initially, it seems to have great potential but we undoubtedly have a lot of work in getting it fully operational.
N-Stock Box is at a very exciting time in its existence. Whether it is through our current effort, additional sales people or acquisitions we seem to be at a point where opportunity for growth is eminent. With an ample amount of equipment and space along with a fine complement of employees, we find ourselves poised for accelerated expansion. As we move forward and stay true to our relentless effort towards serving existing and future customers, great growth opportunities are likely just around the corner.