Stark ReAlity dot NING dot com

http://generosityresearch.nd.edu/
Andrew-
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… I have an interesting- time sensitive -proposal for you. I am in the process of writing a Letter of Inquiry to secure a grant from Notre Dame due April 1 -it’s a scientific research study on “generosity”

My Research topic for submission is: “How does generosity manifest itself in Social Media?” I am asking people I admire to donate a chapter. I will write a couple of chapters and act as editor / synthesizer, pulling from many different disciplines. The confirmed contributors to date:

Dr. Thomas Ho – Purdue Prof who teaches Emerging Technologies at IUPUI.
Pat Coyle – Smaller Indiana
Douglas Karr — One of Indy’s Alpha Geeks. VP of Compendium
Erik Deckers – Blogger
Rick Wilkerson – Worked at a big ad agency in Chicago for a number of years and now runs a marketing firm here in Indianapolis.

from twitter:
@TypeAmom – her moniker says it all. She lives in the “middle bits” too. KC I think.
@CCSeed – A Jungian Psychologist who lives in the Catskills.
@HildyGottlieb – A smart author who lives in California and writes about the principles of Pollyanna.

.. If you -as ED- participated on some level, Art With A Heart will gain a tremendous amount of exposure….
…
Amy Stark

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Rolling TweetUps are so much fun! Wherever 2 tweeters meet – type #TWindy09 in a tweet.

I’ve been working on the Twestival – #Twindy09 Case Study and wanted to share some of the comments surrounding the event. It was an amazing success.

tweet from Dr. Thomas Ho: “@AmyStark over 200 people are following @indytweetup so we SHOULD TweetUp more often in The Circle City!”

tweet from Greg Cooper: “@AmyStark ‘I met great new people and got to know others better. It was a wonderful opportunity to build relationships.”

tweet from Nancy Myrland: “@AmyStark You are wonderful for organizing site and today’s TweetUps- – -THANKS special person! It was so good to see you again. :-)”

tweet from Rick Wilkerson: “@AmyStark yes i had a blast. a shame we couldn’t have done roundtable style but next time. lunch soon!”

tweet from Brian Huff: “Happy Twestival Day to all my #indiana friends who are taking part of #TWIndy09!”

@KristieKreation told me that she didn’t really think too much about charity:water , she attended to network with her virtual friends. By making that statement, however, she confirmed that her awareness about charity:water went from none to some.

#TWINdy09 — Let’s get Indianapolis in an International mixer.
Whenever, wherever two tweeters meet, reflect and enjoy #twindy09 in a tweet.

It began on Feb 4th when I was tweavesdropping on a conversation between @nancymryland and @gregcooper . I asked if they would be interested in celebrating twestival with me on the 12th and they said yes!

I submitted my info to the twestival committee so that Indianapolis could be listed among the nearly 200 cities participating in this event to raise awareness and money for www.charitywater.org:

“… cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.”

The Indy TweetUp will be an Awareness Raising Event to remind Hoosiers how lucky we are to live in a community where clean water is pumped directly into our homes. One in six people on the planet do not have safe drinking water and Indiana is blessed with water on demand. That is worth celebrating, reflecting, and tweeting about.

As I blog, there are four locations and over 25 confirmed participants. Check out #TWINdy09 for the most current list. Be sure to check out the facebook initiative with SI’s own, Nicki Laycoax, at the helm.

The Bean Cup Greenwood at 8:00am
Hubbard & Cravens Broad Ripple 8:30am
Tweet You At Arnie’s North Side 5:00pm
Vinea Wine Bar Indianapolis International Airport 6:00pm

If nothing on this list works for you, START YOUR OWN. Send the info to @amystark to post on the website. If we collectively add #TWindy09 in a few tweets on the 12th, we will gain International exposure among the other participating cities and anyone else watching the public timeline that day.

Whenever, wherever two tweeters meet, reflect and enjoy #twindy09 in a tweet.

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Twitter Theory — It connects Social Media Advocates & Marketers World-wide: The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine

Pat Coyle asked me to wrap up the #Initiative in 50 words. Here are the ones I selected:

If you are not on twitter sign up now and GRAB YOUR NAME

If you are on twitter incorporate #Indiana in a few tweets

You will find good examples of its use in the #Indiana Tweet Stream

This dialog will explain the genesis of the initiative and here’s a guideline

The Guideline link will direct you to the following blog:

The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine –How to affect Indiana’s future by donating 3 minutes and 8 keystrokes.

Twitter is the preeminent emerging-technology used by social media advocates, architects and early adapters on every continent. It is a platform on which digital grassroots conversations occur in real time.

While being interviewed by Joe Dager – @business901 – for a podcast, I likened the twitter platform to a huge pick-up bar/dance-club, where you can walk over and chat with anyone. The person you approach has the option of interacting with you in 140 characters, or ignoring you. Like a bar, you can eavesdrop on conversations between interesting people, and then spread that message to your group of friends. There are even bouncers, who regularly sweep the room for Posers, Phishers and Hackers who need to be escorted out.

I adopted twitter in April 2008, but my account was dormant until mid-October when I studied its ecosystem. I was invited to discuss emerging social media tools and their effect on college and university fund-raising efforts at the I-CASE fall conference (Indiana Council for the Advancement and Support of Education I-CASE). It took a couple of weeks to ADAPT to twitter’s rhythm and appreciate the intricacies of its hierarchy, but I soon began to see its potential. By the time I gave my presentation on November 7, 2008, I realized that twitter was ideal for spreading a meme world-wide at the speed of light. ( Meme = Brand + Logo ) . Oh by the way, did I mention it’s a free platform?

I’m spearheading an organized effort to raise twitter awareness in Indiana, because I want our state to remain relevant in the 21st Century. Participating on the Smaller Indiana platform and attending SI events made me realize just how cool Indiana truly is, and yet NOT ONE Hoosier is listed among the top 100 twitter elite. Shame on us for hiding our light under a bushel!

If all #Indiana tweeters would come together with one voice on this project we could generate some real noise, and raise #Indiana awareness globally. I call it the “Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine.” Perhaps it’s a leap to think eight keystrokes typed in a few tweets could make a difference. But it is free and you would only have to donate a few moments when it is convenient for you. Like my mom always tells me, “It couldn’t hurt!” and it might just give our kids a better chance to succeed in their information-based (vs. industrial-based) future.

It’s important to understand twitter characteristics. Led by power users from the UK, the U.S,, Canada and Australia, this social media platform is:
• Intuitive—Very easy to sign-up with a small learning curve (especially if you are already using sms).
• Self-policing- And you thought you left tattle-tails back in grade school.
• Competitive—People want to be first to post something (and the first to tell on someone).
• Etiquette centric– Courtesy, reciprocity, authenticity and transparency reign supreme.
• HUGE on both U.S. coasts- Especially in Boston and numerous cities in Texas and California.
• No place for hard-core selling — Broadcast messages DO NOT work on twitter and you will quickly be ignored by the community.

Now that you know some characteristics of twitter, you may be wondering how to use the #Indiana hashtag effectively. Ideally messages should be inspirational and funny. Humor is a good device if you want a tweet to go viral because the majority of twitter users wear rose colored glasses, and continually see the glass half full.

Tweet about:
• Favorite #Indiana memory — Wolf and Desaures in Ft. Wayne at Christmas.
• Favorite #Indiana place– @VisitIndiana will have some good suggestions.
• Favorite #Indiana saying—” and the goblens‘ll get you, ef you don’t — watch — out.”
• Favorite #Indiana Museum – The Miniature House Museum in Carmel #Indiana is way cool for girl-scout groups.
• Favorite #Indiana moment at a movie theatre or live production – Dick Laughlin’s memorial service at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre had the funniest moment EVER on that stage–and I’ve seen some funny stuff there.
• Favorite #Indiana historian such as @Pres_Harrison (A must follow, btw).
• Favorite #Indiana twitter user – if you don’t have a favorite Hoosier tweeter, you can always chat about the Colts, Pacers, or sports stats from one of our world-renowned Universities-is Butler having another killer year, or what? And let’s not forget that our state hosts the largest attended single day sporting event in the WORLD.

You could also:
• Share an article URL with another Hoosier (e.g. “ Hey @nickilaycoax I read this in the #Indiana Business Journal and thought you might like it.” )
• ReTweet another participating Hoosier– easily found in the #Indiana tweet stream.
• Post a Smaller #Indiana blog with a link.

You should always use the KISS principle – Keep it simple- and keep it under 120 characters. This makes it easier to retweet. It’s very important to use good grammar and you must always be REALLY nice to: @scobleizer @chrisbrogan @guykawasaki @mayhemstudios @unmarketing among others in the top 10-15% of the elite. A negative tweet from any of them could destroy your twitter brand in a heartbeat. Plus if any of them start following you, your rank dramatically improves.

Here are some good examples of the #Indiana hashtag in action: All tweets listed below can be found in the #Indiana Tweet Stream.

• From @AmyStark: “Ideal #Indiana Valentine’s day RT @lllittlefield The husband is taking me to the UofL / Notre Dame game for Valentine’s Day. SO ROMANTIC 🙂 “
• From @ctorres4745: “If we get more snow, I plan on taking the kids to the Ft Harrison sled hill this weekend in Lawrence #indiana “
• From @sssemester: “Go #Indiana! RT @TheLuckyGirl: Miss America is Miss Indiana Katie Stam!!”
• From @SocialMtgExpert: now I don’t know about anywhere else, but in #indiana we laugh about that… he was kind and gracious and understanding..”
• From @bphuff: “Heading to Bodies exhibit later today. #Indiana “

Pat Coyle recently lamented the fact that the Wall Street Journal pays NO attention to Smaller #Indiana. If you take a look at this animated map showing Hershey’s viral bliss campaign, you will see why. Where is #Indiana? A blog posted recently listed the twitter handle for 62 Wall Street Journal employees, and it is rumored this news organization has a financial stake in Twitter’s future. That makes it an ideal tool to get their attention. And lest you forget, twitter s free.

Most Hoosiers use twitter as a repository for their ideas, services, podcasts, etc.. This is broadcast thinking, isn’t it? Indiana tweeters need to regularly engage other Hoosiers in digital dialogs, and if we want the recognition we deserve we need to connect with users from communities beyond our state and country. Until that happens, the Wall Street Journal will never quote Pat Coyle, and our kids may find their skills irrelevant in an inter-connected world. Sometime in the next five – ten years my daughter will enter the workforce competing for the attention of three Billion Internet users. I want to give her a fighting chance.
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What if Martin Luther King, Jr used twitter to spread the message of his dream?

While reviewing Direct Messages (DMs) and @replies early Sunday morning, I noticed that RicRaftis began following me on twitter. As with every new follower, I carefully reviewed his BIO to learn about his dreams and aspirations. Was he a twitter purist who wanted to authentically share his wisdom, or a Social Media Monger?

Upon inspection, @RicRaftis’s twitter stats contained a decent FFU ratio (following, followers, updates), he spelled everything correctly, and his bio looked legit. I noticed he was following exactly 999 twitter users, so I asked, ”@RicRaftis are you carefully selecting your 1,000th person to follow? Was it Businessweek’s twitter guy who gave 5,000th follower a prize? (-) You could select the 1000th and allow them to post a guest blog .. Just a thought.”

Moments later I received a response from @RicRaftis, “ @amystark Great idea Amy.. love to get more ppl posting on http://helpviatwitter.com providing help and hot tips..”

Meanwhile in Melbourne, @angesbiz noticed our digital dialog in the public timeline. She jumped into the conversation, which added another thread to the discussion. @angesbiz typed, “ RT @AmyStark: @RicRaftis You could select the 1000th and allow them to post a guest blog .. Just a thought… >> Great Idea Amy! “

I spent a few moments looking over RicRatis’ website listed in his twitter profile and it, too, looked legit. I asked @RicRaftis, “ er um .. not to be pushy, but I would like to volunteer to be your 1,000th! Think about it. =)“ To which he responded, “ @amystark LOL.. Did that before you suggested it Amy and guess what.. you get to do a guest blog post on http://helpviatwitter.com “

Tweets flow quickly by in the twitter stream, and unless your user name is typed after the @ symbol, you may miss something interesting. Wondering if @angesbiz followed the thread until the end, I typed, “thanks for the retweet and compliment. Did you see that @RicRaftis made me his 1,000th and asked me to guest blog LOL“

@angesbiz replied, “ @amystark Yes indeedy I did! That’s Awesome and Congrats. Pass the post onto me when it’s done… link I mean… looking forward to it… 🙂 “

Three virtual strangers– living on two different continents half-way around the world from each other–sharing ideas and collaborating at the speed of light. Much like my twitter rave experience with #NYETwarty – I discovered that when the Real Time element is added there is a deeper sense of connectedness.

As I write this blog (Monday, January 19, 2009), Martin Luther King, Jr. is trending in the top ten on twitter, and that makes me wonder; what if MLK had been able to spread his message around the world at the speed of light four decades ago? Exactly how many people heard “I Have a Dream” form the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963? How many hours / days lapsed before his message appeared on TV in the U.S? How many months / years before the words touched people in Melbourne, Australia?
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I posted this blog initially on the comment board of the Group IP on Everything. That was the first group I created on Smaller Indiana.

Wow.. We’re up to 24 members! WooHoo! I am sorry that I didn’t specifically invite this group to the Indy tweetup. Every time I meet-up with people I’ve grown to know over a virtual platform–like Smaller Indiana or twitter–I have a wonderful time and learn so much.

All attendees had a few minutes to explain what part of the world they were going to change:
Woody Collins is changing the world through his charitable organization Congo Helping Hands.

Dr. Thomas Ho is changing the world through teaching IUPUI students critical thinking skills, and how to use emerging technologies in order to thrive in the 21st century. (This is how I want to change the world, too.)

Charles Hodge wants to change the world though his talent in video production. He used to video tape operations, but now it’s more automated. I didn’t know that about Charles until meeting him face to face.

Greg Cooper wants to change the world by breaking down the stereotypes surrounding his industry, and he wants to podcast, and I think he has the talent to be successful. There is a real possibility that Charles and Greg could work together–isn’t that great when that happens?

Ken Zweigel wants to change the world by helping businesses to drive their growth through SEO and PPC.

Erik Deckers wants to change the world through his words and talent. He tweeted a hey to Nancy Mryland who tweeted back how sorry she was that she wasn’t there. Erik had the best tweet of the meeting. “I didn’t know what epiphany meant until it hit me last week.”

It’s always good to see Woody, and I finally got to meet Dr. Thomas Ho face to face. I was pleased to discover Greg Cooper is the former Disc Jockey I used to listen to awhile back, and that he has a great sense of humor.

Lou Begnel and Marla Ruth arrived late because they had attended the TECHPOINT’s New Economy New Rules meeting at Barnes & Thornburg downtown.

Lou was kind enough to share his presentation booklet with me. The speaker was Michael J. Hicks, Ph D. from the Bureau of Business Research at Ball State University. Dr. Hicks uses the phrase emerging technologies, but I am not clear whether this is equivalent to social media, or is social media a sub-set of what he defines as emerging technologies.

During the tweet up I mentioned our small but mighty group– IP on Everything– because twitter provides a platform where global grassroots communication is occurring round the clock. There would be no twitter without Internet Protocol.
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On NewYear’s Eve I participated in a twitter Rave – Social Media advocates could learn much from #nyetwarty and #happy09.

Have you ever dropped food into a pond and then hundreds of fish swarmed to the surface? How abut throwing potato chips up in the air at a beach filled with sea-gulls? (I don’t recommend that beach thing—it’s scary). On New Year’s Eve, while sitting alone in front of my computer, I experienced this swarm phenomenon — virtually. I referred to it as a “happening” that night, but Princeton’s definition of “rave” captures it best: “an all-night techno dance party”

Earlier that week I watched the TED Talk from Steven Strogatz: “How things in nature tend to sync up,” so I was finely tuned to spot this type of behavior. Steven Strogatz is an engaging speaker and mathematician—and I highly recommend spending the 20 minutes to watch him.

For those non-twitter users, a phrase or word preceded by a hash tag ( # ), allows for all tweets containing that specific code to be captured easily into a single thread. Tweeple following the public timeline begin to see an abundance of tweets containing that secret code. New users start asking what the # signifies, which increases the frequency of tweets with the “hash phrase”–as I call it—appearing in the public timeline.

Reciprocal follows are expected among the participants, and you can secure a lot of followers in a short time. While attending @typeamom ‘s rave (#nyetwarty), there were a few moments in which the number of people following me accelerated like a speedometer- 0-60 mph within 5 seconds. It was exhilarating! In roughly three hours (10:00pm – 1:00am) my total number of followers grew 12%. The Ravers didn’t have to be at the same PLACE to virtually dance. However, being at the same TIME added a distinct feeling of connectedness for twitter users around the world.

This will be a three part story because it is already too long for a blog, but this rave phenomenon is worth studying in depth; especially for those organizations that want to use social media to spread a message globally. Image below is from “17 Ways to Visualize the Twitter Universe”

Do you think twitter raves are ok to attend, or just a way to falsely inflate your number of followers?
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Smaller Indiana attracts over 4,000 Members within one year. WOW!

Lorraine asked me to blog and twitter about the Smaller Indiana 4,000th member party to be held at the Rathskeller on Jan. 20th. I will post a blog on Smaller Indiana next week, but I wanted to share my Smaller Indiana Member Mashup on which I have been diligently working.
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CAN YOU GIVE THIS WORTHY CAUSE JUST FIVE MINUTES AND SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE?

A few weeks ago, I heard Larry Welke give a speech at a BPE meeting about his passion for the 501(c)(3) Children Without Limits –Video Storytelling Project. Since then, I had the pleasure of meeting him face to face on two separate occasions to learn more about this worthy cause.

As a social media advocate, I spent quite a bit of our face -to-face time discussing the communication paradigm shift, and how Social Media is changing the way we interact. I encouraged him to join Smaller Indiana to see if there were any Smoosiers who might be interested in helping his cause.

The Children Without Limits (CWL) mission:
“… bring to inner city youth the world of writing, storytelling, filmmaking and organization; then mentor them through the process of hands-on video projects that simultaneously tell the stories of their lives while teaching them the art and science of telecommunication, goal-setting and teamwork. We have the assistance of both students and faculty at Ball State’s Digital Intermedia Arts and Animation Center, IUPUI School of Informatics and are working with IPS high schools and several charter schools.”

Toward the end of our second meeting Larry told me he signed up for Smaller Indiana and joined the Indiana Filmmaker’s Group, but he wondered about the group’s inactivity. I told him I would write a blog about his mission, and ask Smoosiers and Stark ReAlity members to donate five minutes to this cause simply by reading this post and suggesting Smaller Indiana groups to join. Maybe there are other social media platforms that could help Larry gain exposure?

What if our fair community became known as Indywood? Check out this TED Talk about “Nollywood,” and the transformative power of learning to tell stories and make movies.

_________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________ Let’s Get a Laptop in the Hands of every K-12 Hoosier– They’re doing it in Ethiopia, Borneo and Haiti

I donated $400 to the One Laptop per Child Initiative on New Year’s Eve last year. It was the last day to participate in the “Buy One Give One Program.” I donated to this 501(c)(3) rather than purchasing a new Dell Laptop because it did my soul good to know a child in Afghanistan would receive a laptop with meshed networking capabilities.

I received an email “thank you note” on Nov. 16th that I wanted to share. Viral marketers should be taking notes on this one:

…“Thanks to your donation, tens of thousands of children in the emerging world are now learning with their XO laptops. They are recording their own stories, and discovering new ways to create and explore. Soon this new generation will emerge with the power to change the world.
On November 17th, this year’s Give One, Get One campaign will launch. You can help make it another success.”….

http://www.laptop.org/
http://support.laptop.org
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/G1G1_2008

There is an incredible Flickr site documenting the mission’s progress and I encourage everyone to check it out.

I voted for you, Mitch my man, and I want to know why students in Indiana don’t have one of these? If you want to keep the great state of Indiana competitive globally, we need to get laptops in the hands of every K-12 Hoosier. It is easier than you think, Mitch, just ask me!

If you want to voice your opinion you can join the discussion here. I will print the entire dialog and promise to get the message to Mitch.
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Giving makes everyone feel good. Often we are not in a position to give treasure but EVERYONE with a computer and a connection to the Internet can donate five minutes of time and talent, especially if it’s convenient. When you’re awake at 4:00 in the Morning, wouldn’t it make you feel good to contribute to the success of a student? I’m not a fan of the phrase “Win Win situations” because of its overuse, but it’s appropriate for this: the Student Wins, the School Wins, the Parents Win, the Donors Win, the Community wins.
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Blog Action Day–October 15, 2008–Social Media Campaign to end Poverty- IP in Action.

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THIS MADE ME LAUGH RIGHT OUT LOUD

I know nothing about the website where I found this image, but I couldn’t resist posting because it is HILARIOUS! (Thanks Stumble). I adore creativity like this. You should visit the website for a more detailed view– the bottom right hand corner is labeled “Karma” and if you look closely, George Harrison is one of the Sitar Heroes.

My mom always says, “Who has more fun than people?” Actually she only said it once, but it caught on and now my whole family says it with regularity.

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Bridging Social-Capital Collaborations: How to Find Answers Regarding Copyright Issues in the Digital Age

Another Inside Indiana Business Article

Inside Indiana Business
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Do you think these Hoosier Storytellers would have joined Smaller Indiana?

A couple of weeks ago, Smaller Indiana gained its 3,000th member! I posted a congratulatory blog to Pat for attracting so many creative souls in such a short time.
I wonder who among us will become the next Kurt Vonnegut or James Whitcomb Riley?

Be part of the celebration and add your own thread to the rich tapestry that makes Smaller Indiana such a vibrant community.
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How will the Net Neutrality debate affect your Internet experience?

Image retrieved from Berkeley University’s website defining net neutrality.

An enforcement order has been placed on Comcast by the FCC. This order-in effect-will regulate how Comcast shapes data traffic. The issue bubbled up when it was discovered that Comcast was limiting speeds connecting peer-to-peer websites such as BitTorrent.
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Visual Images capture entire concepts. If you don’t believe me check out the “even more” section on Google.

Can you guess what Google service corresponds to each icon? Google is defining an Icon alphabet with very bright colors and simple lines. I wonder if someone from Asia will recognize what these symbols mean. Do shopping carts in China look like the ones at Kroger?
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“For forms of government let fools contest;
Whate’er is best administer’d is best:
For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight;
His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right:
In faith and hope the world will disagree,
But all mankind’s concern is charity.”– Alexander Pope

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a small California based not-for-profit that touches virtually everyone on the Internet.

The “I AM” of the Internet, ICANN defines and maintains the language at the Internet’s root server level, and then assigns blocks of addresses to registrants such as Go Daddy or Net Solutions. This not-for-profit also defines the TLDs –top level domains– such as .com, .net, .org, etc… .

ICANN is in the process of changing the Internet’s root servers to accommodate URLs (aka Internet addresses) where you won’t need the standard TLDs–.com

Instead of www.coke.com, you might see
www.coke.soda or
www.coke.drink
You will even be able to sign up for your own TLD
www.amy.stark

New TLDs such as .hotel .shopping .shoes will be expensive domains. Go Daddy is well positioned to make tons. Maybe Stark Reality should start a not-for-profit registrar service.
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July 18, 2008 Post
Inside Indiana Business enhanced my photo in some way. That picture looks very scary to me. My good friend Tim Byers said that my image dared him to read the article. Another friend, Carole Palazzo told me I needed a more professional angle.

The full article can be found in the Blog Posts.