"Write now is good."

PSFK Conference on April 2nd, NYC

Heads up, Creatives! The PSFK Conference in New York City, this Thursday starting at 9AM, offers an inspiring lineup of speakers in digital publishing, tech trends, green design, the arts and communications. A bit about its background:

Tailored for creative professionals, strategists and the media, we will host 12 lectures and panels on topics that include arts & culture, design, digital & mobile technology, marketing & advertising, sustainability, social media and publishing.

Attendees come to our events to share ideas with likeminds, so beyond the talks we will curate interactive experiences in the venue that bring our core themes to life.

PSFK Conference New York is the 8th conference hosted by PSFK following successful installments in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Singapore.

Past speakers and panelists include creative visionaries and innovators from companies like Apple, BBC, Microsoft, MTV, NASA, Panasonic, Starbucks, Wieden + Kennedy, and the Guardian, and globally-recognized and inspiring creative minds including Shepard Fairey, Kate Moross and Jeff Staple.

Tickets are still available. If anyone reading this attends and blogs about it, drop a comment back by here so I can (a) read your blog post, and (b) link to it so others can read it. Thanks!

"Green issue" on PSFK

I've got a post up at PSFK today about ELLE Magazine's second annual "Green issue." This is noteworthy because while the eco movement is currently in fashion, ELLE covers it completely and in a very multi-faceted way. I learned a lot of new information about environmental issues from its stories. Read more about the issue here.

In order for us to heal the planet's woes, reduce our carbon footprints, reduce global warming and stop an environmental catastrophe from destroying life as we know it, the eco movement has to get regular and serious coverage across all media.

To the hopeful benefit of us all, 2007 and beyond looks to be very "green."

Reminder: Shutdown Day THIS SATURDAY!

This Saturday, March 24th, is Shutdown Day!

Join me and more than 51,000 other people worldwide (as of March 21st, though the numbers continue to swell as I type this) in keeping our computers off for an entire 24-hour period.

I'm really looking forward to it; I cannot remember the last time I actually did not use my computer for such a stretch. I feel like an important, neglected part of my brain is going to be reset somehow by cutting the cord from my Mac that day.

For more information and musings about the day, go here:
• Shutdown Day site
• "7 Things to Prepare for Shutdown Day" at The Creativity Club
• "Can you turn it off?" — I wrote this post on PSFK re: Shutdown Day

Some have been inspired enough by the day to create videos about alternative activities for the day. Here's one:

Make room for avatars

Avatar image of Desire Strangelove by Eva and Franco Mattes from their exhibit 13 Most Beautiful Avatars

I've written a post up at PSFK about how the acceptance of life online and new technologies could soon cause an increase in avatar populations. If you want to get a glimpse at what future is rushing towards us quickly, be sure to check it out.

While I'm fascinated with technology and the possibilities its developments hold, I adopt new ones only after I watch them for awhile. I don't have an avatar yet, but I'm thinking about jumping into Second Life pretty soon just to learn more about what could be a big part of our future.

Online worlds will indeed take off. I think it's only a matter of time, and we're just at the beginning of it all.

As I writer, I'm excited at the creative possibilities that could be coming. As a long-time science fiction fan, I think development of working holodecks featuring so heavily in the more recent Star Trek installments could be only a decade or so away. Wow.

Shutdown Day follow-up shout-out

The Shutdown Day blog quoted part of my post on PSFK about the upcoming March 24th. Some of my predictions are related to a key question others have been asking:

What qualifies as a computer?

Shutdown Day now has an FAQ answering this and other questions. The site has now been translated into thirteen languages.

I'll be writing a follow-up on the day.

(Hint: This experiment falls on a Saturday. The "but-I-have-to-work excuse" is dwindling, yes?)

Underground foodies unite! (Anybody up for world peace?)

It's amazing how Web 2.0 technology is connecting people.

Based on my own experience, I can attest that people are creating vibrant, supportive creative and writing communities and are collaborating on projects. I've heard of an adventurous group writing a novel together — and none of them have ever met (can't find this link!).

On PSFK today, I've posted about one such community soon to launch. Curious Fork/Furious Cork promises to be interesting, innovative and yummy.

What I'd like to see next are some creative communities working to solve global conflicts, hunger, illiteracy and poverty.

Anybody know of any? Anybody interested in working on these? I'm sure they are out there. Please leave a comment.

Turn it off! (But only for one day, alright?)

Read my post today at PSFK about worldwide Shutdown Day to be held on March 24th. (I'm referring to computers in the headline, of course.)

What will happen to us — and the entire world — if substantial numbers of people do take part and turn off their computers for an entire 24-hour period? I've mused about a few possibilities, and you can read about them here.

Stay tuned.

A blend of mind, body, spirit and store

On PSFK, I've posted today about a home decor and carpet store transforming part of its showroom into a spa and theater to feature Indian culture for a month.

The store will present an incredibly impressive speaker series with many big names. Writers, visionaries, musicians, filmmakers, and artisans are all heavily featured.

A store is doing this? Is this is a sign of things to come? It really caught my attention because it is so unusual. The store features items from India, and they are not its primary inventory. It is a local store with a few others around the country, and it has flexibility to tap into an interested market and try to educate and enlighten.

Now if only some big store would feature a regular writers series, featuring published and unpublished authors...I love it when the small cafes do it, but I believe that artists and writers are cultural treasures and should be treated as such. The larger community should promote and support them regularly.

Something "Beautiful"

 

Check out my post over at PSFK about the inspiring "You Are Beautiful" art project.

Contributing to PSFK

 

Starting today, I'll contribute on occasion to the group blog PSFK : Ideas, Trends & Inspiration.

I read about contemporary culture and current events constantly, and I've read PSFK since I started blogging. I'm always looking for examples of how people create and adapt to make the world more interesting, connected, and richer for all of us. I thought it'd be fun to be more of a direct participant in the conversation.

My first posts are (and thanks to Guy Brighton for posting them until my access is set up):

- "Rent-A-Protester"  — about "online access to people willing to be 'rented' as protesters."

- "CellSwapper", about "a site that matches people who want to change their mobile contracts," thus eliminating those horrific cancellation fees.

PSFK assigned the following tags to my posts: Our Terms Not Yours, Crowdswapping, Global Connectivity, Moving Offline.

Exactly! It's all about ideas and what is possible.