Mike showed me Newsmap - it's a visual display overlay on Google's news feed. You can customize the display to focus on topics and countries of interest. Most interestingly is the varying size of the topic display - the larger the display box size, the more the news item is being featured.
A neat way to see not just what's going on, but the news media's weight of focus.
Mike and I've been working on developing a collection of inspiration//tools to help young folks create their own life//work paths. One feature we've been discussing is peer-to-peer mentoring that would come with the kit - you pay for the books/articles/stuff and also get 30 minutes to talk to a "Young Stunner" in that field.
Andrew Zolli's created this intelligence briefing, FirstWord -- which is also a curated 'box o' stuff' that's designed to inform, inspire and connect. Zolli's pushed past the traditional trends and insights subscription services: Pay $2995/yr & you get books and articles, video interviews with thought leaders, their contact information, a CD with links, articles, and access to a 'thought leader' conference call.
While the web and technology make access to information easy ... I think curated information and services like this will find great success as people become increasingly overwhelmed by infinite resources and seek out expertise//advice//direction. The task then will be discerning WHO we actually trust to share expertise and advice.
There are a ton of cool, well-designed 'kits' out there - below is Elizabeth Dilk's Writer's Block Kit ... great design, great idea. I'm excited to jump off this little project!
If you're interested in working on the Stunner Starter Kit - doing interviews or researching interesting careers, please reach out!
image of FirstWord from Andrew Zolli's Z+ Partners website
image of Elizabeth Dilk's Writer's Block Kit via Notcot
Faris has been tawn bout strategy & creative work as continuous processes - not flights and limited campaigns. It kind of reminds me of Miguel Luciano's characterization of social change work as "The Forever Project" ... there's no 'end' to either business or social problems (well, there won't be until Sweet Minty comes and takes us up to play Draw4 with Moses); success in business and social endeavors = consistent effort and constant, incremental progress ... it's a hard reality for type-A problem solvers who like instant gratification and want to put an end to whackness (like yours truly), but the truth nonetheless.
So...I'm still on this "give people creative tools" idea & was thinking this morning... the next level of Picturetown would be so very cool. Why not give more and more people the opportunity to experiment with a creative tool and experience the D40 in real life? Why not turn the campaign into a mission? Why not continuously find more and more small groups of people to document and engage with?
IfIRanIt, I would give a D40 to...
PictureCrew: The Voguers
PictureMuse: Chris Mann & Nikki Jean Leary
PictureSchool: The High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media
PicturePark: The Highline Development
PictureBiz: Tom Szaky & Terracycle
Image via Rocco Kasby on Flickr
I
I was trolling Flickr via compfight and came across this photostream by Lanuiop.
All I can gather from the 400 or so pics from the site is that this stunner's probably a freshman in college, from the Northwest (somewhere like Portland or Seattle) & his "muse" just happens to be his little sister.
...there's something very captivating and revealing about them.
They make me nostalgic for high school when I'd spend hours in the art or dance studios just messing around and being creative. The images illustrate perfectly - without the intention, it seems - that aspirational age when you want to be just a little bit older than your braces allow.
At the same time, his subjects seem perfectly self aware and comfortable in their own skin.
Not to get too VH1 Save the Music on it...but think every kid out there should have a camera or a camcorder...giving young people the tools to fully express their ideas, culture and perspective should be a people's priority.
Not too many people often characterize lawyers as creative types, but that can be attributed to the misconception that creativity is based in artistic ability.
Lawrence Lessig is creatively championing ideas through the law. I've read about him, but have just recently slowed down to recognize how great this legal scholar's impact is on the creative community and the way we exchange concepts.
Lessig is a constitutional law scholar, currently teaching at Stanford, heads up the school's Center for Internet and Society and chairs the Creative Commons.
His book "Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity" is next on my reading list.
And now for my Susan Powter "Stop the Insanity!" moment: In September, Creative Commons hosted a NYC party featuring (gasp!) ... Girl Talk! And now, they're raising money for Good Magazine which, I promise, was going to be featured in my next post...
Talk about connected...I think I might get a headache from too much excitement.
Girl Talk's newest album, Night Ripper, is a stew of samples that speaks directly to 80s children who grew up listening to Nirvana AND Biggie.
The man with the plan is 25 year old Gregg Gillis. He makes music that transcends 'mash-up', combining Top 40 rap, rock, r&b, and everything in between to make something TRULY original that anyone who loves good beats and melodies can enjoy.
Most interestingly, Gillis disclosed his day job in an interview with Pitchfork last August: biomedical engineer.
I'm in this experimental division where nobody knows what the hell is going on and we're just trying out new ideas. I find out what's not working about certain products and what can be better.
This guy is an innovator at both jobs: experimenting with ideas, making products and sounds work in new interesting ways.
Proof: Listen to how he mixes Biggie's "Juicy" with Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" or Pilot's "It's Magic" with Kanye's "Gold Digger" -- pure goodness!
Yesterday, I skipped up to Pier 94 during my 'lunch hour' to check out the last day of The Armory Show, New York's International Art Fair.
Some aspects of the Show were expected: pretentious event staff, a large amount of good-looking, tall, pursed-lipped people with accents, some pieces that made me say 'I could do this!', 'Is this really art?', or 'WHO is paying thousands of dollars for this mess?!'
But I wasn't expecting to be so delighted, put-off, intrigued, and disgusted in the short time I was there.
David Godbold, Mitchell-Innes & Nash Gallery, New York. The best of the bunch. Intricate ink drawings (almost all Catholic imagery) on tracing paper, sarcastic phrases typed at the bottom, & lain over found pieces of paper (children's doodles, calendars, etc.). Witty, insightful, thought-provoking, and irreverent.
Kyung Jeon, Crossing.
Kukje Gallery, Seoul. The paper looked so delicate - and the 
drawing
was so innocent - but if you look at the scene, these little girls are
undressing to cross over treacherous waters (some fall in and their
limbs are being eaten by what I'd suspect are piranhas) and on the
other side,
those who've successfully crossed are met by little boys
who join them in watching the others attempts to make their way over.
Is this a depiction of a fairytale? A commentary on relationships
between genders?
Thukral and Tagra, Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi. My
second-favorite. The detail was amazing. Lo and behold, Jiten
Thukral's worked for ad giant, Ogilvy & Mather...now on to the big
bucks of the Art world!
Jessica Craig-Martin, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York. These photographs are loaded with meaning - the chinos, the
vibrant grass & pool, the perfect pedicure. 
My flash doesn't do
them justice - in real-life the woman's varicose veins are just as
visible as the server's Brooks Brothers polo stitching.
Justin Ponmay, Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi. The image was pieced together so seamlessly - could've stared at this for a while.
