Every year during the holidays I experience varying degrees of an existential crisis. I question my morality, my goals, and whether or not I’m ever going to have a significantly positive social impact on my environment and communities in need. So, last night I began brainstorming ideas that could enable me to for the first time ever visit the Land of the Morning Calm, South Korea, where I was born. As luck would have it, I suddenly remembered a passion project I dreamed up five years ago. (I still have the treatment saved my dusty old laptop.) Back then, I didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle within my grasp. Today, with more focus and a more astute social consciousness, the quarter of the vision I once had has come into full view. How? Connectivity, collaboration, and returning to dreams unrealized.
Our heart’s deepest aspirations are sacred. We should treat them as such. No matter what the size or scope of our creative goals, we should cherish them, nurture them, and not take them for granted. Our dreams needs us. They need us just as much as we need them. So whatever your idea is, large or small, do not dismiss it. It may sneak up on you one day and bite you in the ass.
As Steven Johnson discusses in the video below, “a small hunch” not forgotten can link to another hunch, and ultimately lead to something extraordinary. He found that “the great driver historically of scientific innovation and technological innovation has been an increase in connectivity,” and our ability to collaborate.
So what is the Internet doing to our brains? That’s not really the question. The question we should be asking is how are we using our brains to navigate the Internet in the most productive and collaborative manner possible.
For many of us, technology makes life more manageable. We spend time communicating with a number of different people through multiple digital platforms — without even picking up a phone. We can shop and take college courses online. We have plenty of gadgets and gizmos.
But while consumer electronics are commonplace for many, we must remember that 68% of Americans don’t have a home Internet connection at all. Furthermore, 100 million people in the U.S. have been left in the afterglow of broadband advancement.
To make digital more accessible, and to enable people to stay competitive in the global economy, a number of tech and media companies are working to level the online playing field all around the world. Here are five of them.
1. Microsoft Shapes the Future
Through Microsoft’s Shape the Future initiative, the tech giant is giving digital tools to one million low-income youth across the globe. The three-year program is dedicated to providing PCs, education software, discounted broadband service and jobs skills training to those in need.
So far, Shape the Future has already reached over 10 million students and families over the past five years in countries like Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Portugal, the UK and Argentina, among others.
Microsoft vice president Anthony Salcito is leading the initiative. He says the program has been instrumental in molding Microsoft’s morale. “The Shape The Future program is based on a belief that technology has a fundamental role in developing individuals and societies,” says Salcito. “It has been extremely well received within the company because, on a daily basis, our employees experience the amazing power digital access and technology innovation can have on improving the lives of so many people.”
2. Intel’s 10 Million Teachers
Intel is on a mission to bring computers to young people in developing regions. As part of Intel’s Education Markets Platform Group, the company has deployed over 5 million units of Intel-powered classmate PCs, and has trained 10 million teachers in more than 70 countries. Not only does this effort give a select group of Intel employees the chance to travel around the world to deliver the machines, it gives them a chance to embrace the rewards that come with teaching.
Intel employee Linda Qian blogs, “While we were sent as teachers, it was us who ended up with most of the learnings.”
Suzanne Fallender, Intel’s director of CSR strategy and communications, says the volunteer programs are structured to give back to communities and to build unity. “Our approach is based on the belief that what we can contribute through strategic philanthropy and create shared value for Intel and for society,” she explains. “We can create significant economic and social value while also creating value and opportunities for Intel over the long term.”
3. Comcast and the FCC Provide Internet Essentials
For Comcast and the FCC, food and online education should go hand in hand. Through the cable operator’sInternet Essentials program, students who are eligible for free lunches under the National School Lunch Program can also receive low-cost Internet service, discounted computers and digital literacy training.
Families interested in enrolling are required to sign up before the end of the 2013-2014 year. They can stay in the program as long as one child in the household remains a part of the National School Lunch program. School districts across the country are promoting the initiative.
4. Time Warner Cable Connects a Million Minds
In 2009, Time Warner Cable began touting the importance of STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) through its Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) crusade. Because young people’s interest in the aforementioned fields has declined over the years, Time Warner Cable has dedicated five years and $100 million to creating STEM campaigns and curriculum for middle school students.
So far, the company’s efforts have galvanized hundreds of thousands of people who understand that geeks shall inherit the earth. “Less than two years into the program, parents, teachers and other concerned citizens have pledged to connect over 400,000 young minds to STEM,” shares Tessie Topol, Time Warner Cable’s senior director of strategic philanthropy and community affairs.
5. Hewlett Packard’s HP Catalyst Initiative
Via its Office of Global Social Innovation, Hewlett Packard is also focusing on STEM education. The HP Catalyst Initiative brings together educational institutions and experts from around the world to facilitate transformational STEM teaching.
What successful tech-based philanthropic campaigns are you seeing out there?
”A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
– Steve Jobs explaining why Apple doesn’t depend upon focus groups
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
– Steve Jobs
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
“Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”
– Steve Jobs on design
“The most compelling reason for most people to buy a computer for the home will be to link it to a nationwide communications network. We’re just in the beginning stages of what will be a truly remarkable breakthrough for most people––as remarkable as the telephone.”
– Steve Jobs in 1985
“When you’re young, you look at television and think, There’s a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That’s a far more depressing thought.” — Steve Jobs on American television.
“I wish him the best, I really do. I just think he and Microsoft are a bit narrow. He’d be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger.”
– Steve Jobs on Bill Gates
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
– Steve Jobs
“I’m an optimist in the sense that I believe humans are noble and honorable, and some of them are really smart. I have a very optimistic view of individuals. As individuals, people are inherently good. I have a somewhat more pessimistic view of people in groups. And I remain extremely concerned when I see what’s happening in our country, which is in many ways the luckiest place in the world. We don’t seem to be excited about making our country a better place for our kids.”
– Steve Jobs 1996
“Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. … One is very fortunate if you get to work on just one of these in your career. Apple’s been very fortunate it’s been able to introduce a few of these into the world.”
– Steve Jobs, 2007 on the introduction of the iPhone
“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.”
– Steve Jobs after his return to Apple in 1999
We didn’t build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren’t going to go out and do market research. We just wanted to build the best thing we could build.”
– Steve Jobs, 1985
We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”
– Steve Jobs on focused innovation
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”
– Steve Jobs, 1993
Re-educating the world about the science of physics is paramount in triggering a deeper appreciation for art and for the earth. The late Richard Feynman said so, and surely he wasn’t joking:-)
“Nature is there, and she’s gonna come out the way she is. And therefore when we go to investigate it we shouldn’t pre-decide what is it we’re trying to do, except to find out more about it.” ~Richard Feynman
I can think of no other speech or presenter that could deliver a more spellbinding message about the power of human progress and the importance and magic of unity. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of September 11th, I want nothing more than to spread this voice and passion. Please take a moment to listen to the great Charlie Chaplin.
Ten years after the World Trade Center Twin Towers collapsed, American citizens are getting ready to pay tribute to the lives that were lost and to the fire fighters, police officers, and soldiers who ran into the blazing flames on September 11, 2001. With social media being leveraged as a primary source of communication and sharing during global events, it’s no surprise that online memorial initiatives are taking over the Internet this weekend.
Here are some innovative and history-preserving resources and platforms people are using to commemorate 9/11 digitally.
1) Facebook teamed up with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to create the Facebook 9/11 Memorial app that allows users to update their profile photos and status updates with a dedication to one of the thousands of people killed in the WTC attacks, Flight 93 and Pentagon bombing.
2) The September 11 Digital Archive contains a collection of electronic media presenting the history of the event. Users can contribute their own personal accounts of the occasion by uploading photographs and documents.
3) American Express launched the I Will Volunteer Facebook app for citizens to share how they’re going to be a part of the day of service. The app provides a list of volunteer opportunities for people who want take action in their local communities.
4) The 911Day.org site, featuring the “I Will” campaign, provides an outlet for people to submit text or video pledges stating what they’ll do this September 11th to honor it as a day of remembrance and service.. Developed by GOOD/Corps, the movement was designed to turn 9/11 into the day to do something good for someone else –not just on the 10th anniversary, but ongoing from year to year. Here’s the campaign’s PSA, highlighting citizen and some celebrity friends declaring what they’ll do to be of service this 9/11.
5) While the Internet has become the main platform for sharing memories of 9/11, TV was the primary outlet 10 years ago when Ground Zero became a reality. For this reason, one of the most comprehensive online resources for the occasion is the Television News Archive. The Internet Archive has gathered 3,000 hours of raw footage and international TV news coverage from September 11 – 17, 2001 to form a project called “Understanding 9/11: A TV News Archive .”
How are you commemorating 9/11 this year? Sound off in the comments section. I’d love to learn about your local initiatives.
Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing X Prize Founder Peter Diamandis, who is hard at work empowering some of the greatest minds to solve the world’s biggest challenges.
The X PRIZE Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring innovation in education, energy, life sciences and exploration. Its mission is to foster great ideas and breakthroughs that can solve the world’s “grand challenges.” For the last 15 years they have held competitions aimed at incentivizing great minds to attack these problems. Most of the incentive comes in the form of financial prizes which have yielded research and development that far surpasses the face value of the monetary investment.
In July, I ventured back to my old stomping grounds, New York City, to cover the inventors’ challenge Red Bull Creation. The contenders had just 72 hour to create a machine that could move the weight of a person (100 lbs.) vertically or horizontally from point A to point B — and they couldn’t rely on any fossil fuel. Take a look!
The glitterati and digerati of Los Angeles came out to represent at Hollywood’s intimate and chic nightclub The Sayers Club Wednesday night for the launch of the sleek new 4G LG Revolution phone. Two days leading up to the party at LA’s newest hidden treasure, eight lucky social media VIPs (myself included) got to experiment with the new LGs and keep them as our own. As someone who has considered herself a bonafide MAC/iProduct girl since college, I can say without apprehension that I’m now a true droid believer.
In addition to its lightning speed, impeccable picture quality, and Netflix viewing features, I’m in love with the phone’s streaming capabilities. And I can happily announce that I’m going to start video blogging again, thanks to the LG Revolution and Verizon. A few years ago, I would take people behind the scenes of film junkets and red carpet events I covered, all with the help of my flip cam. Now that I have a device that allows me to livestream and post automatically to Facebook and Twitter, I can live video blog shoots I do for CBS News’ “What’s Trending,” which some viewers have been asking for recently.
I was able to capture some highlights of the night with the phone. The event showcased a handful of killer musicians. A violinist by the name of Grace captured all my senses.
Video Courtesy Marsha Collier and Curt Buthman
Here’s what my fellow LG Revolution VIPs had to say about the party.
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RT @MelissaRowley: Ethereal violin playing at #wannalgrevolution party. Hollywood meets epic aria. http://t.co/53fis73
