Zen and the Art of Bloggery

The past week several interesting things have taken place in the Google Search for Zen, a journey into developing materials, a workshop and tangible solutions for social networking illiterates.

1st, It's come to a stark realization that people are actually noticing what I'm embarking on. Between the 20-3o random adds on Twitter from people I don't know, the supportive emails from friends, the confused texts from friends, or the whattups at work, I'm now on display. Better make this worth my while, as public failure is about as exciting as an overdue date with the dentist.

2nd, Through my own compulsive reading habits, and the helpful advice of insiders, and helpful supporters, I've been forced to look at the viability of this process as a whole, as well as the business model behind putting this project together. Without divulging too much, the idea of creating customized learning materials for individuals and groups, has begun to take form.


3rd, I've recognized that the target audience is diverse and should be addressed in the planning stages individually. As an example, here is a breakdown of 3 potential groups who may benefit from the Google Search for Zen:

(A) The Privates- born 1926-1945 - This Group of people have grown up in dramatic times, through the Great Depression, World War II, and the sordid uncertainty of the 1960's bipolar global system. All of this dark unrest has created a loyal group, both in their political leanings and in their resistance to change. This loyalty has created a sense of simplicity, frugality and sense of fundamentals that make exposing themselves to new and very public forums seem scary. However, they are a group who have made significant connections and contributions who serve to benefit from being able to track their personal, familial, and professional connections in a more organized and accessible manner. In addition, any inspiration to share their experiences and ideas with the world would be best served through simple, and user friendly social marketing tools.

(B) The WoodStocks(1946-1964) - The Sheer size of this group, and being able to see first hand the power their generation has wielded gives this generation a sense of importance (often very legitimate) than can make teaching new tricks difficult. That said, This generation is responsible for changing the face of society, and knows it, so they understand the importance of ushering in change and the last thing many of them would want to be seen as, is inflexible in the face of overwhelming evidence that change is not only possible, but positive. By giving this group the tools to better communicate their ideas, perhaps the loudest and most important generation of all, can return to their place of change makers once again. If nothing else, it may allow them to put away the L.L Bean catalogue and do something important to them.

(C) The Nikes (1965 -1978) While this is the first generation to grow up with video games, MTV, and computer science as a subject, the also are a product of uncertain times. The first generation to be raised by TVs while the first group of double income parents changed the corporate world, The Nikes are raising young families, finally reaching partner, or figuring out that their ten year quest in their careers merits some change. All reasons for introducing lesser known niche social networking tools to their lives. From family organization, to social event marketing, this generations impulsive actions, could seriously benefit from tools that best organize mass communication


So, enough lessons learned, and only really through week 1.

D

check out www.biznik.com - .” The Biznik community is composed of freelancers, CEOs, and the self-employed. Like the other networks, this is a place for you to share ideas, instead of posting your resume. It is mandatory for all members to use their real names and provide real data, and Biznik editors actually review all profiles to ensure compliance with that policy

On the Road

Getting an idea off the ground is like quitting a vice, or starting a new healthy regimen, if you can commit to three days, it becomes habit....ya right. Keeping that age old rule of thumb in mind, today is officially the third day of the Google Search for Zen, a venture in understanding today’s social arena, and then getting tomorrow’s tools, into yesterday's leaders hands. Still following...?

After putting down Thomas L. Friedman's "The World is Flat", Flipping through Don Tapscott's Wikinomics, and throwing Roger Martin's "Integrative Thinking" somewhere between the couch and the wall, I slowly realized that in order to bridge the gap between today’s integrated tools and technophobes, I was starting in the wrong place. While the lessons and stories in each of these books are truly groundbreaking, they are not where I begin, but maybe revisit at a later stage.

Taking a shower with CSNY playing in the background, it started to hit me. Boomers and traditionalists do NOT need to be taught social networking, they just need a little push in the right direction with today's E-quipment. Hell, they're the greatest social networkers of all time. They turned a couple of posters, and some word of mouth into arguably the greatest social networking event of all time - Woodstock. They're the originators of the protest movement, the sit in, international human rights movements and the explosion of sport en masse - All prime examples of social networking. And all this without a twitter, a facebook, a BBM, an email...wait..wait, without a Cell Phone. So you give the basic knowhow in their hands, who do you think can use today's social networking tools more importantly, the average person who grew up in the late 60's, having raised a family, become financially independent, pursued a career and believed in something, or your average 17.5 year old girl/guy whose latest facebook post involves a fused funnel and tube to drink out of.

So I'm starting with the strengths of boomers, not the weaknesses where I began and building out from there. Their inherent ability to network, their acquired wisdom, and their patience. Those are things I can work with, and qualities that today's tools have weakened among gen Y'rs, including myself, so if you'll excuse me, I just concentrated for about 5 min longer than is healthy.

Boom. D

Intresting site i stumbled on re: social networking based solutions:
http://www.hunch.com/ - why make decisions when a formula based website can do it for you.

The Journey's infancy stages

Unlike the hula-hoop, slap bracelets or collectible sports trading cards, Social networking, while fun for many, is not a toy without practical use or function. I'm finding more and more through my Google Search for Zen, that it is quite the contrary. The past few months have led to my own personal tipping point, to assess where the gap between talented people, and useful networking tools exists, and how to bridge that gap in an innovative and personal way. The goal - The push to provide the tools and know how to Internet novices, namely boomers whose talents and knowledge have allowed them to miss or avoid (depending on which angle you look at it) learning how to use the Internet effectively. There is just no convincing me that coupling arguably the most talented and contributing generation to walk the planet, with the most far reaching and highly effective information gathering tool in the history of man is not an goal that must simply be met, and met well.

Continuing to create the workshop that will address these issues on a more basic level, along with developing the workshop, I'm going to point out social networking sites, that have piqued my interest not only in their potential ability to get many visitors, but specifically in their application to boomers and other Internet novices.

Upmo.com - a site specifically designed to assess your networking strength, and give networking based advice. For those running their own business during turbulent times, and specifically for those who may find themselves out of a job or on the brink of a layoff, very relevant, and most importantly Free (for now).


Today is dedicated to getting workshop materials up and running, while continuing to figure out how to get people in seats, and skills in hands.

Beginning the Quest, "Portrait of a Blogger as a Young Man"

Today I begin my quest to bring social media to those who may need/benefit from it most, but understand it the least. The Google Search for Zen is my attempt to bring social networking into the hands of talented, intelligent, creative people, for whom things like twitter, facebook, digg mean nothing at all. In understanding how we can use these tools to make our lives easier, connect with people more often, and bring our ideas to more people through networking, who knows what good we can still bring out of ourselves.

Goal: 1st work shop week of April 14th 2009.