A Washington State's Dream Team Storytelling Visit

This morning I am thinking about yesterday's great experience, a visit to one of deputy public school superintendent Erin Jone's wonderful Dream Team meetings down in Tacoma, held in a room provided by community-committed Evergreen State College, under the great leadership of Dr. Artie Young...and it all felt just like one big global family... though some newer immigrant community stakeholders were still not a part of this...something they all needed to do further work on.  When I got there, all the folks in the room were already buzzing about their passion for making public schools better for all children, not just for some...and in their own special deeply personal, committed way.

The failure of public school systems to provide a quality education is a huge issue that's been festering for a long, long time, like a huge fire-breathing dragon now terrorizing urban, suburban, and rural countrysides and now more lethal than ever, fueled by the economic crisis and budgetary shortfalls. It feels like the government in its anxiety to cut cost... has all gone mad ...even to the point of stepping on the rights of voters to elect and trust in their own elected official Superintendent of Public Instruction  Randy Dorn. They are talking about putting public instruction under the governor up to cut costs and help shore up a huge budget deficit, which is their short-term fiscal objective. 

The longer term issue ...and objective.. however has to do with improving economic competitiveness, so that Washington State and the U.S. can compete more favorably in a now global marketplace and a now 21st century world.. Talking about this now has to be more than mere lip service. Think about it. e.g. if we can all make more money, then government can enjoy a bigger tax base, but this is not going to happen if fixing public education is not invested in NOW and our students can't compete for jobs that demand a college or technical school education. Education has gotten so bad in this state...and around the country... that even the Army won't take people who can't read and write and do basic math.

So that's at least the beginning of the story....but how will it all play out, and what can we do now in a 21st century world that could help us all slay the dragon? When I was there visiting, I suggested several things... one of which was to leverage the power of the new television for educational innovation so that we can get to the happy ending....and wow did folks in the room pick up on that idea.  There was also some excellent global communications that went on communicating with an online math tudoring services provider...with the presenter "virtually present"... all the way in India....bringing home the point I was trying to make earlier that morning about the value of "virtualizing" physical world meetings. (Step One.)

Now after experiencing the goodwill and brilliance of all these folks, my own feeling is that our own creativity, our own innovation, our own humanity and our own bravery are the only thing left that can  save us now...but after experiencing these folks doing their thing...its really the only thing we really need to drive more support for fresh new directions in education. We just need to get the word out about the fine work they are already doing..and what I do with affordable technology can help do that.

Re-thinking education... and using affordable television and web conferencing... is just part of my strategy for Walking Through The Virtual Door ...See my NWC Overview on YouTube for more details...about what "The Walk" entails...and let's connect if you have some of your own innovative ideas about how to slay the dragon. 425-780-6872.

This How in 2011 ...with a little Angel investment...We Can Use the New Television, the New Web Conferencing, and the New Social Media to Change the World

What's on mind this morning is how...with a little angel investment...we can leverage the new television, the new web conferencing, and the new social media to change the world in a most positive way. What's really on my mind is applying this community-based model to public education first, because it would represent the best return on investment an investor could make. Here are the basic pieces to this:

• The New Low Cost Accessible Web Television Technology - I'm talking about grass roots video production here...community-based television programming produced by the people.. using revolutionary one button Flip camcorder technology to produce programming uploaded right to YouTube. This would.not be another slick hollywood film approach like "Waiting for Superman"...but with television in our own hands, we would actually change education ourselves. All the latest Flip camcorders are even in a manageable high definition (HD) format and under $200 and come with basic FlipShare software that allows you to make a "movie", grab snapshots from frames, make video postcards, and upload to YouTube. You can even do fancier editing online for free using www.Jaycut.com or use Adobe Premiere Elements 9 video editing software ($149) if you need even higher production values. All it takes is learning how to produce quality community-authoring programming. See next section.
  
  
• Best Practice Community-authored Programming - What's great is that there are already front-running models for community-based programming...to learn from "bubbling up" across the Internet. We are even seeing models coming from the poorest nations first. What's key to the success of these best practices examples is the leadership and the organizational capacity to consistently crank out decent content. See the recent post I did about this. We are also teaching community-authored programming as part of our 3-hour video production workshop that can help get you started.
  
  
• The New Big-reach, Learning-rich Web Conferencing - Using the new web conferencing we can even e-meet and e-learn locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally with people as well as "roll" on the best practices community-authored programming that we produce. It's part of an ultra-green communications and learning platform that we have developed that has a "zero carbon footprint" that can be scaled up to even do multi-day virtual conferences and trade shows on any subject we choose..like reforming public education and bringing folks up to speed quickly like Sir Ken Robinson does with his innovative approach in re-thinking public education e.g. Changing Educational Paradigms that I recently blogged about. We could wrap one of special "view-podding" sessions around this.
  
  
• Internet Television ...even on home HDTV screens - The web television "channels" that we can now create...such as a progressive education channel... or even a entire progressive educational network of channels will even show up on HDTV screens ...and it already goes to mobile devices if we upload to YouTube and Facebook social media sites. See "What is Google TV?" on my New World Television Channel page for more info.  Also see my New World Communications Overview 2010 on YouTube while you are at it...for the big view of where I am going with all this stuff. ..."re-thinking" transportation and architecture and changing the world the world with it.
  
  
• "Virtualized" global meetings...using multiple communications venues - Never before in the history of the world are we able to so much with just a modest budget. These can be linked right into Facebook and we can even live webcast events through Facebook groups now. See my recent blog about Ustream.tv's low end and high end webcasting service.
  
  
• Strategic Communications Planning, Budgeting and Program Development - The last piece to this , which actually should come first ... is to approach the entire initiative as a program that needs to be planned, funded on a year 'round basis, and staffed with a few talented people to pull the whole thing off. All it takes is just a little angel investment to cover the costs. If you are interested, let's connect and start moving forward with this. Call me at 425-780-6872 or e-mail me at artatnwc@gmail.com.

Year 2011 Now's the Time for You to Give Yourself.... a Virtual World Toolset.. and to Cultivate a Hybrid World Mindset...for Phenomenal Advantage

This afternoon ...what's on my mind..at the end of 2010... are all the people and organizations still stubbornly clinging to same old time consuming, physical world ...carbon-intensive... way, spending more money than they now have to, and not reaching as many audiences as they could...basically because they still haven't added a virtual world toolset.. or cultivated a "hybrid" world mindset... that leverages both physical world and virtual world approaches and resources... while taking nothing away. So what are those new virtual world tools and what's so potentially great about them?

• The "New Television"... What we are talking about here is a real game-changer... especially if we practically apply the new television to "re-thinking" and "critically doing" the things that we deeply care about... like "re-thinking" and "re-doing" education.. and like "re-thinking" and "re-doing" business development... in a now 21st century world. It's incredible to believe...but it is now possible to create whole new blue oceans of uncontested market space at the same time on several fronts....whole new "channels" of the new television.. and whole new networks...with multiple channels.. using the Internet itself... as an "Internet-work"...and wrapping social media around that.... Watch what Oprah does with her about to launch new OWN network..This time around... a web television-producing audience is part of the offering... and watch how the cream...rises to the top as an outcome of the crowd-accelerated value innovation (It's what I've been blogging about.)
  
  
• Next generation ...big-reach, learning-rich web conferencing. We are not talking about your older think lackluster services that you may have been unimpressed by... but newer more powerful technology... that has the "secret sauce" of value innovation ... laid on top of it... creating fantastic new experiences... never before experienced in the history of the world.... like Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou.. or even a top elected government official...logging in and "being here" with us.. Oprah has been a front-runner with this stuff herself... powerfully introducing the technology always in support of marvelous ...CONTENT..that people deeply care about. I did one of her Oprah Book Club reading groups a few years ago...reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth and we "virtualized" our own physical session with the web conferencing of the day... . Since then... relationships of local and remote attendees as far away as South Carolina... have grown ..deeper....and richer too as an outcome.
  
  
• The Explosion of Social Media ... Now that everybody  is on Facebook... and Twittering... across the generations...what's next to do is to learn how to leverage it to develop more sustainable business in a 21 century world. This social media can also be "wrapped" around the television and big-reach, learning-rich web conferenced events... focusing on things that we deeply care about.

...So what do you care about? and what's been holding you back...from seizing and leveraging this stuff more than you did in 2010? Fear, apprehension?.. self-denial?... or is it simply that you have still have just not cultivated a "hybrid" world mindset... and approach that leverages the best of both physical and virtual worlds? That's where I am coming from... and where I am going and trying to help as many folks as can... seize this stuff and have a ball with it to create new meaning.. and new wealth.. like I intend... What is your own intention? Call me and let's both declare it to the world...and ... moving forward with it... watch the Universe respond.

Happy New Year... 

...we all deserve a new one.

Art 425-780-6872

Web Television and Social Media - Great Tools for Inspiring Achievement in Math & Science...Across the World

This morning I was sitting here in front my laptop... flowing my feelings and my energy about using the power of the new web television and new social media to make life better and wondering how to communicate that... when BINGO! after checking my e-mail from CurrentTV, I discovered youth video testimonials from the Connect-A-MillionMinds Project. Nice how the Universe responds...just by manifesting what I care about. The goal of the project is to use technology - web television and social media to connect up youth in top math & science performing countries with kids in other countries whose national math & science performance does not rank as high. 

This youths talk about their experiences within their culture and within the educational systems and they communicate a wealth of information and passion about what they are excited about.   Here are just a few "snippets" of various students comments from all over the world that Inspire the Next-Generation of Problem-Solvers on Current.tv. Evidently there also was a recent global online TownHall Meeting on the ConnectAMillionMinds.com site with videos to follow. 

For me personally, both the CONTENT and the DELIVERY of this model project are most "instructive" for me and for other learning and ommunity-based economic development stakeholders I am in the process of reaching. and empowering. Now that the technology as well as innovative applications for it are here, what's next to do ... is for all of us to step up to plate to fund and do important projects like this ...ourselves.  See the content and then let's connect about this. 425-780-6872.

The New World Television Landscape is Not a Sci Fi Landscape on Another Planet... Rather It Exists Right Here, Right Now

This morning I woke up with fresh new resolve about "tweaking" my messaging about the New World Television Landscape, letting folks know that it's not some futuristic Sci Fi landscape on other planet, but that it exists right now ....as an ultra-accessible...ultra-affordable... concrete reality right here on Mother Earth. The new world television piece to this, for example is being produced even by the world's poorest people. See my recent blog about it. 

So challenged communities right here in the U.S. no longer have any excuse...whatsoever... not to move forward ... leveraging the power of a new world television landscape to develop themselves educationally and economically, and addressing the world's most challenging problems.  It all has to with "Developing Sustainable Business in a Now 21st Century World". That's now become our own mantra these days and it applies virtually everywhere to virtually everything - e.g. reforming public education so all children can succeed, developing small business, transforming government, developing green business and making ours a better, safer, more human and more joyous world.  Here are some of the elements that now comprise The New World Communications Television Landscape:

• Community-authored Programming - It can now be done even more effectively and powerfully than having to rely upon older-think government-controlled public access cable television facilities with outmoded technology... that costed more and did less. I ought to know... I designed and sold public access studios back in the day as a former broadcast/industrial system sales engineer...before the digital revolution. Now communities can produce and program their own television content using the entire Internet as an "Internet-Work"... reaching way more eyeballs than cable television. The advertising and sponsorship, and membership-based business development implications of the new  television are far reaching.
  
  
• Low Cost Accessible Technology - The implications for social change using low cost television are phenomenal. Never before in the history of the world do even the most challenged communities have the opportunity to seize and leverage multiple technologies... particularly web television, web conferencing and social media to empower themselves and change the world. Even my second generation standard definition Flip Ultra camcorder that cost me $89 (a closeout price) can be used to produce some awesome television programming, and the newer model around $199 can even produce HD television and now has built-in image stabilization for even better quality when capturing movement.
  
  
• "View-Podding" inside a Big-reach, Learning Rich Web Conferencing Session - If communities get organized they could even afford to develop their own Virtual Learning & Conference Center on their own membership-based websites. Members and prospective members could meet online to raise funds, and develop donors, inspired by the web television that they watch as a "pod" of people viewing it... "View-podding" is what we've been call it and what we have been pioneering.
  
  
• "Virtualized" Global Meetings - using the same affordable technology its is now possible to have global meetings with local, regional, national and international stakeholders. Powerful new world television content can also be "rolled" into these online meeting sessions.
  
  
• Internet Television and web conferencing even on HDTV screens - Communities can view their web television "channels" even on HDTV using new Google TV or SmartTV technologies. Stakeholders will also be able to web conference as well if they are licensed to do so.  The business develop implications are again far-reaching. 

To reiterate, "The New World Television Landscape" is not some future world scenario on another planet .... but rather it's a current world scenario... right here on Earth that's right now. Call  me and let's connect if you'd like to learn more about how by working together we can leverage it to develop sustainable business in our now 21st century world - 425-780-6872.