There is a lot of buzz on the international social media... I've succumbed to twitter and am starting to get it in my life unobstrusively... and I use facebook more on the personal side, just to keep up with my large family which otherwise is too time consuming, being all over the world.
What does social networking look like by country? Sure, Twitter, Facebook. LinkedIn and MySpace have huge international followings, but indigenous social networks have also grown up within certain countries that are beginning to reach beyond their own borders.
So considering Intranets other than the dominant players in the US, take a look at the TOP TEN social networks that are flourishing around the globe.
http://inventorspot.com/articles/top_ten_social_networks_circumnavigating_globe_30018
read it and be amazed...
Local sites, however are very interesting. Having worked in many countries and visited over 40 so far, I know that there are very interesting differences in cultures and generations... I wonder if we are going to call this the F (for finger) generation... so many things are a finger click away, but that would probably be inconsiderate to people who don't have fingers. I'm not joking, as two of the people I admire most in the world have no fingers (they are christians for those of you who need warning) Yeap, Tony Melendez and Vic Vujicic... they both have fantastic videos youtube.com so, no F generation.
getting back to social media, the locals are building up something too big to call a niche...
because I believe that we need to work more on creating prosperity and wealth, not attracting it, I think these sites and these people give us the opportunity to explore that.
Alicia
Showing posts with label creating value. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creating value. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Solving the puzzle
This wealth drop comes as a result of a very interesting interaction with Naman, one of our readers from India, as we explore how to manage ups and downs.
Around when I turned 40, I had enough evidence that life was not a straight line going up, but a series of ups and downs. When we are up, we feel we have accomplished something, get a better view, and enjoy our contentment. Ahhh it is all about how “we made it”. When we are down, we feel incomplete, have lost our vision, and can’t understand why we are there. Ahhh it is all about “life is hard”. Looking at life as a series of dots of “ups” did not do it for me. I found that connecting the dots was a much better way of living my life. Staying up on the top is only good for a short period of time, otherwise we become arrogant and stop growing. Somehow we get the urge to explore other areas, even if it means coming down. Like the chaos theory that claims that the world evolves towards order until it can’t stand it anymore and explodes.
The problem when thinking in ups and downs, is that we miss the complexity of going sideways. So I was looking for another analogy and found out multidimensional puzzles? Have you ever worked on a puzzle? What is more enjoyable? The ‘moment’ when you are done or the “period’ where you are testing this or that, trying to find the best possible piece and realizing it has a perfect fit to then go to the next empty hole? Well, that is exactly what happens in life. You get the pieces all rumbled and scattered and life is but a journey to find the pieces and put them in the perfect fit spots… some pieces are there for no reason, simply because we can’t connect them.
Some people have a vision of their puzzle, and they move quite fast… until the chaos theory kicks in and mmmm we want to explore without a vision. Others go around and as they find a piece they put it somewhere, they are less efficient but they also reach a point where the chaos theory kicks in and voila, time to get a vision and move faster. Sometimes we throw away pieces, sometimes we even have to create them. (been there, done that)
Regardless of how we put the pieces in our puzzle one thing is sure: There is no use in trying thousands of times to put a piece where it does not belong!!! If the panorama changed, you are in a different part of the puzzle, perhaps the one you don’t know, perhaps the one you are comfortable with.
Your experiences and knowledge are the pieces already in your puzzle. Would you take them out? No way. What is new? What needs to be added? What direction do you want to take?
At the end, the fun part is creating the puzzle, not finishing it.
Here is to your game!
Alicia
PS: I’ll be going on a world tour in April and May, to Jeddah and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Houston, Guatemala, Caracas, Maracay, Santiago de Chile, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. If you are in any of these places, drop me a line and I’ll try to meet with you or to get you a discount ticket to the open events or an invitation to the private ones. More to come as I go along.
PS2: tomorrow is my birthday, couldn't find a better way to celebrate than having my dream of a world tour done! that piece was a hard one!
Around when I turned 40, I had enough evidence that life was not a straight line going up, but a series of ups and downs. When we are up, we feel we have accomplished something, get a better view, and enjoy our contentment. Ahhh it is all about how “we made it”. When we are down, we feel incomplete, have lost our vision, and can’t understand why we are there. Ahhh it is all about “life is hard”. Looking at life as a series of dots of “ups” did not do it for me. I found that connecting the dots was a much better way of living my life. Staying up on the top is only good for a short period of time, otherwise we become arrogant and stop growing. Somehow we get the urge to explore other areas, even if it means coming down. Like the chaos theory that claims that the world evolves towards order until it can’t stand it anymore and explodes.
The problem when thinking in ups and downs, is that we miss the complexity of going sideways. So I was looking for another analogy and found out multidimensional puzzles? Have you ever worked on a puzzle? What is more enjoyable? The ‘moment’ when you are done or the “period’ where you are testing this or that, trying to find the best possible piece and realizing it has a perfect fit to then go to the next empty hole? Well, that is exactly what happens in life. You get the pieces all rumbled and scattered and life is but a journey to find the pieces and put them in the perfect fit spots… some pieces are there for no reason, simply because we can’t connect them.
Some people have a vision of their puzzle, and they move quite fast… until the chaos theory kicks in and mmmm we want to explore without a vision. Others go around and as they find a piece they put it somewhere, they are less efficient but they also reach a point where the chaos theory kicks in and voila, time to get a vision and move faster. Sometimes we throw away pieces, sometimes we even have to create them. (been there, done that)
Regardless of how we put the pieces in our puzzle one thing is sure: There is no use in trying thousands of times to put a piece where it does not belong!!! If the panorama changed, you are in a different part of the puzzle, perhaps the one you don’t know, perhaps the one you are comfortable with.
Your experiences and knowledge are the pieces already in your puzzle. Would you take them out? No way. What is new? What needs to be added? What direction do you want to take?
At the end, the fun part is creating the puzzle, not finishing it.
Here is to your game!
Alicia
PS: I’ll be going on a world tour in April and May, to Jeddah and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Houston, Guatemala, Caracas, Maracay, Santiago de Chile, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. If you are in any of these places, drop me a line and I’ll try to meet with you or to get you a discount ticket to the open events or an invitation to the private ones. More to come as I go along.
PS2: tomorrow is my birthday, couldn't find a better way to celebrate than having my dream of a world tour done! that piece was a hard one!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
It's all about sharing
Last month I had the opportunity to visit Bali for the first time. Besides the fascination with the lush vegetation and the vast amounts of offerings, I was delighted to meet a very special person, and through her, a hidden are in the island. She runs an organization that supports children in various forms “I’m an angel” (www.imanangel.net). Viebeke, the founder and major organizer, explained their philosophy: “we don’t give, we share.” I found it especially appealing as I don’t believe in the traditional form of charity. When I give, I received. It’s never about money, it’s always about value. Simple as that.
Sharing is a natural part of human kind, we share the wealth we create, and likewise we share poverty; we share happiness, and we equally share dramas. We share more worries than anything else. In these days of financial crisis, everyone is worried, yet, every crisis opens doors to opportunities, and few people are talking about that, much less taking action. Because I’ve lost a ton of money, I have slowed down and enjoyed life more. You can do the same, it is a healthier alternative than worrying. For example, now that the holidays are approaching, you can make a gift; I mean, make it, instead of buy it… and by the way, studies have shown that the best gifts, the ones that stay with us longer in memory, are shared moments. I actually remember more the time spent cooking than the presents we opened.
Sharing forces us to take action. I love the term. When we share we imply that we are useful to others, in a way that is more horizontal than vertical. We are not the giver, we are the sharer… and our counterpart is not the receiver but the other part of the sharer. I had the opportunity to experience it when I visited the North East coast of Bali, an area that has been greatly affected by drought. Amongst other things, “I’m an angel” has a program that provides protein twice a week to school children, one egg and one glass of milk, costing cents... A tiny effort with a huge impact on their health. In one day, we touched 506 young children in a joyful celebration: we were sharing. The cost was less than US$130 dollars. How could I not share?
I am glad I made the decision to get out and do something different, instead of worrying. My friend Sylma hosted a prelaunch conversation of the book "Falling in love with your life", and I decided to donate the launching profits to “I’m an angel.”
When you think about sharing, you can act differently. You share your time with your employer, your employer shares the wealth you all create with clients, employees, suppliers, investors, and the list goes on and on… it is refreshing.
Sharing is also a great way to rethink investment opportunities. Several days ago, I was on a Venture Capital panel. The entrepreneurs were concerned about the financial crisis: yes, fewer deals get funding, but Venture Capital Funds need great deals, the money needs to be invested, but invested wisely. At the end, we all benefit when great deals get funded and when lousy deals don’t get funded. We share the wealth we create.
Maybe I am being too naïve to think that we all share for the best. The financial crisis was also part of our sharing: our need to maximize profits, or, to some extent, our greed.
So, what are you sharing?
Alicia
Sharing is a natural part of human kind, we share the wealth we create, and likewise we share poverty; we share happiness, and we equally share dramas. We share more worries than anything else. In these days of financial crisis, everyone is worried, yet, every crisis opens doors to opportunities, and few people are talking about that, much less taking action. Because I’ve lost a ton of money, I have slowed down and enjoyed life more. You can do the same, it is a healthier alternative than worrying. For example, now that the holidays are approaching, you can make a gift; I mean, make it, instead of buy it… and by the way, studies have shown that the best gifts, the ones that stay with us longer in memory, are shared moments. I actually remember more the time spent cooking than the presents we opened.
Sharing forces us to take action. I love the term. When we share we imply that we are useful to others, in a way that is more horizontal than vertical. We are not the giver, we are the sharer… and our counterpart is not the receiver but the other part of the sharer. I had the opportunity to experience it when I visited the North East coast of Bali, an area that has been greatly affected by drought. Amongst other things, “I’m an angel” has a program that provides protein twice a week to school children, one egg and one glass of milk, costing cents... A tiny effort with a huge impact on their health. In one day, we touched 506 young children in a joyful celebration: we were sharing. The cost was less than US$130 dollars. How could I not share?
I am glad I made the decision to get out and do something different, instead of worrying. My friend Sylma hosted a prelaunch conversation of the book "Falling in love with your life", and I decided to donate the launching profits to “I’m an angel.”
When you think about sharing, you can act differently. You share your time with your employer, your employer shares the wealth you all create with clients, employees, suppliers, investors, and the list goes on and on… it is refreshing.
Sharing is also a great way to rethink investment opportunities. Several days ago, I was on a Venture Capital panel. The entrepreneurs were concerned about the financial crisis: yes, fewer deals get funding, but Venture Capital Funds need great deals, the money needs to be invested, but invested wisely. At the end, we all benefit when great deals get funded and when lousy deals don’t get funded. We share the wealth we create.
Maybe I am being too naïve to think that we all share for the best. The financial crisis was also part of our sharing: our need to maximize profits, or, to some extent, our greed.
So, what are you sharing?
Alicia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)