Growing up, my parents had a very active social life. A huge part of this involved the “pop-in”.  This  was the spur of the moment visit to friends with simply a quick phone call to say, “we’ll be over in 15 minutes, put the coffee on”, or sometimes just showing up at someone’s house. This worked both ways. I clearly remember...

Not that this is the definitive reason for the web but certainly the potential for collective action for good needs to be emphasized and highlighted as teachers and schools work with students to move beyond the “looking up stuff” mentality. Tom’s shoes (thanks to a tweet by Terry Storch) is a great example of corporations willing to do things...

“When I was your age, I didn’t spend hours on the internet or have social networks, we watched a lot of crappy TV and memorized the periodic table and we loved it!” It seems a bit early but we already have a plethora naysayers of new media. It’s always good to have critical voices in our lives to question thought and behaviour. (those of you...

I’m not much of an environmentalist although I recycle a bit and am trying to be more aware but this video raises many interesting questions and ideas. Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo. Carrotmob takes Tuangou (group buying for discounts) to a more altruistic level. Very Shirykesque wouldn’t you say? I recall Shirky stating (sorry I...

As I exited the NECC conference by exploding a cherry coke all over the Blogger Cafe, I knew I would have to take some time to provide a brain dump of the experience. I know that many discussions will continue to force me to reflect deeply over time. Hanging around with that many smart, passionate folks will do that you. So here for you is my reflections on the...