Dear PowerPoint, I forgive you.

This is the time for kicking the year into gear and this includes how you will communicate your message to your customers, partners and peers. The following PowerPoint Presentation, yes PowerPoint that tells you how.  We hope you find it useful.

Don't Blame PowerPoint! It's just a vehicle

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Special thanks to Clear Presentation Design for sharing.  

How Will You Change the World in 2012?

As the holiday season hustle and bustle begins to slow, we are getting ready to enjoy time with family and friends, we have been thinking about what 2012 will bring. What are our promises for the New Year? How will we make the world a better place?

This beautiful infographic, originally created by Francesca Ramos, captures the essence of what the new year can hold with Gandhi's Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World.  

 May you find much love, joy, and magic in 2012. Happy Holidays!

 

Barbie Ditches Malibu Home and Goes Green

Barbie's dream house goes green.
Photo by Inhabitat.

So, Barbie has not always been the beacon of role models or sustainability but she aims to change that. Last year, we wrote about Mattlel's "I Can Be____" campaign that encourages girls to pursue careers not typical of girls such as engineering, science, and architecture. 

And, like many of us who have discovered a greener and more practical lifestyle, Barbie has ditched her Malibu mansion and has moved into a smaller, more sustainable home. Her new home was created by Minilo, modern dollhouse designer.  Her new home is sustainably crafted and is made by hand from wood, metal, stone, and a few other non-toxic materials. The house exterior is finished with natural beeswax.

You can learn more about Barbie's new home and see more images at Inhabitat. Read Full Article.

Book Review: Brains on Fire

Image Borrowed from Brains on Fire

Well, first of all any company called Brains on Fire sparks my interest and one that writes a book by the same name on how to create a social movement is even better.  Before starting Mindswing Consulting I managed affinity programs and a customer relationship management division.

One of the first lessons in the affinity business is to learn what motivates and inspires your customers. For other industries it could be what motivates and inspires your students or your fans. What drives them? This motivator can be a number of different things. As marketers, educators, non-profit leaders, etc, it is our job to discover what that is.  You can discover this by building a relationship, asking questions, and finding their passion which many of us know. But how do you that?

What I like about "Brains on Fire," is the different and creative approach. They provide a new perspective, plus they work on projects such as the Rage Against the Haze, Park Angels, and Fiskars. 

A few of the key lessons include:

1) It's about People
2) Find the Passion
3) Empower People
4) Movements Live Online and Offline (A Facebook page is not a movement but can be a useful tool similar to other social media technologies and tools)

I recommend reading "Brains on Fire" and using it to spark your imagination when creating your next marketing campaign, workshop, movement, etc.  Get your copy Here!

Saying Goodbye

Last week I was in the Bay Area and while in town, I stopped by the Apple headquarters to say goodbye to Steve Jobs. People really did love what he created and how he changed the way we communicate. Thank you and God Bless. 

Here are some photos (taken with my iPhone) of the memorial. 

New Everyday Energy Video Complete

We are very excited to share our latest video project for our friend's at Everyday Energy. This the first in a series of 4 videos we are making for them.

Take a look as we talk about what the folks at Everyday Energy are doing to reduce their client's energy costs and make a positive environmental and community impact. We'd also like to give a special thank you and shout-out to Everyday Energy's clients and partners for participating and to Chris Giles Photo for the awesome shooting, directing, editing, and vision of this piece.

I've been infographic'ized

The following is an infographic of Mindswing's Twitter profile.  I was able to create this using Visual.ly, a great resource for sharing, creating and finding infographics.