Shift Your Thinking then Share, Share, Share

Something amazing is happening. People are sharing on the web for free.

While the establishment continues to talk and talk and talk about money, people are shifting their thinking to a new reality. The reality of sharing. Sharing ideas. Sharing knowledge. Sharing talents. Sharing access to information.

The people who are sharing come from all walks of life. Some are sharing in their spare time after working all day outside the home. Some work in the home and are sharing around child rearing schedules. Some are retirees sharing their experiences. Some are students who have a fresh perspective on our world. Some are working for businesses sharing resources on the web. Some are working for government institutions sharing information and tools. Want examples?

• Education – Last weekend I downloaded and took my first Stanford University Online class free through iTunes U. How thrilling to have access to such quality education. Stanford isn’t the only free online learning available but it was my first attempt and now I am hooked.
  • To learn more about this revolution read Lesson’s and Legacies from Stanford’s Free Online Classes 
  • To learn how teachers are using the web to further learning check out Kelley Randall’s 3rd Grade Math. I don’t have a third grader but I downloaded her lesson on Partial Products and was amazed. What a delightful lesson and I am sure I could now pass the quiz.

• Blogs – People are sharing recipes, wisdom, humor, experiences, talents and more through their blogs. Following blogs has changed my life. I am thankful I chanced upon a public radio show highlighting blog hosting sites. WordPress was described, I drove home and started this blogging journey…for free.

• Social Magazines – I use Flipboard and Zite daily to read information on the web in an appealing format. These web magazines enable me to consume large volumes of information pertaining to my topics of interest. And the biggest plus, since I get the majority of my news this way I no longer have to watch or listen to negative campaign ads.

• Virtual Tools – Pinterest is the tool I use to organize my favorite things. Pinterest is just one of many free tools on the web. With so many tools and so little time I look to others for guidance. GarrisonSites is my source for learning about free and cool tools.

So, sharing is the new big idea. The next time you find yourself thinking “How can I make money from this idea?” stop, shift and join others who are asking “How can I share this idea?”

Oh and by the way, the business and political leaders of the world should sit up and pay attention. We, the people, aren’t doing the business of living the same anymore. Hmmm. Maybe this has something to do with the changing monetary landscape of the middle class.

Note: I may be adding to this list.  And I know, I know… I did not highlight Facebook or Twitter. Not my favorite places to go to learn, explore and expand my mind. They do have a lot of sharing, but much of it could be left unsaid. Just saying.

Don’t Wanna be a Material Girl

A few years ago, a friend showed me the book Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel, Paul Kennedy and Charles C. Mann.

Originally published in 1994, this book continues to make me think. The authors describe this book as “an attempt to capture, through photos and statistics, both the common humanity of the peoples inhabiting our Earth and the great differences in material goods and circumstances that make rich and poor societies.”

The book highlights stories of families from 30+ countries across the globe. Each family is asked to place all their worldly possessions outside their dwelling for a photograph. Some families easily transport their possessions out of their home. For others, it is quite an endeavor.

Just imagine if you were asked to move all of your material goods onto your front lawn. Would you be proud, embarrassed, enlightened?

More recently, I came across the website the Burning House. The Burning House is a single topic blog featuring posts (from anyone) in response to the following prompt:

If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It’s a conflict between what’s practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question.

Fascinating and what an interesting social experiment. The posts submitted have mainly been from people in their 20s and 30s. I have read many of the posts and am intrigued with the items young people are choosing to identify as important.

It makes me wonder if the posts would be different if the blog featured mainly 50 and 60 year olds. How about 70 and 80 year olds?

So, what would you take if you could only grab one, two or a few items?

Me. I am at an age where I am downsizing my life and what I thought was important is not anymore. So, I would grab people. Then… I would grab my purse which has everything I need to survive for a few days. My inhaler, makeup, chocolate, gum, mints, a mini first aid kit, some cash, identification, my phone, pens, coupons, credit cards and of course, tissues.

Award Catching Up ~ Seven by Seven and Versatile Blogger

During the month of December, I was consumed with Christmas preparation so am very late acknowledging two wonderful bloggers who nominated me for two awards.

To Elyse at Fiftyfourandahalf, I am honored that you thought of me for the Seven by Seven Link award. Your wit makes me smile and laugh out loud. Your words create pictures in my mind and sometimes I wish they did not! Thank you so very much!

One of the things that I must do accepting this award is tell something that nobody knows about me.  This is tough because I tell everybody everything, so I will share something that is little known. A long time ago I ran into my dad’s business car. He had pulled in to the driveway as I was backing out of the garage with my sister on our way to do some shopping. My dad got out of the car and started yelling and waving. I didn’t see him. He threw his briefcase at the car. I didn’t hear it (loud music blaring you know). He finally slammed his car door shut and ran for his life. I scraped the front half of his car with our family car. I spent the remainder of the evening erasing the evidence with a bottle of 409.

As part of the 7×7 award I get to highlight a few posts based on the following categories:

• Most beautiful piece.  The most beautiful piece on my blog is a picture in the post Girls Will Be Girls No Matter the Era 
• Most helpful.  This is simple everyday wisdom “It’s okay to look back but it’s impolite to stare.”
• Most popular. The Quest for the Perfect Driver’s License was the one that seemed to resonate with everyone
• Most controversial.  Well it would have been more controversial if I really said what I think, but I monitored my writing and my husband is thankful…so here is the edited version of And That is Today’s Molehill News
• Most surprisingly successful.  The Derri-Aire post… need I say more
• Most underrated.  Sometimes if we know something bothers or annoys you, we do it again is the post that tickles my funny bone to this day and since it was one of my first posts not many people have read it.
• Most pride worthy.  Home is Where Your Story Begins and Language Grows

Now comes the nominations and some may have already received this award (those I know already received this award were not on my list – I love all of the blogs I follow):

1. A Winsome Journey – Jess is living a life that I love but do not have the patience or animal loving instincts to endure…check her out.
2. Grace and Space – Love this blog. Wisdom and words that connect with me.
3. notquiteold – I love to read how notquite old is dealing with life one day at a time.
4. Old Girl New Tricks – Wish I lived near Old Girl New Tricks. I would go on a daily walk with her.
5. RvingGirl – she blogs for fun and to share a message, check her out.
6. Undercover Surfer – I love to follow the story of Undercover Surfer’s life, we have a lot in common.
7. The Pearl – A young mom on a journey of love and faith.

For the nominees, to carry on the tradition just:

1. Tell something about yourself that no one knows;
2. List 7 of your posts, including:  Most Beautiful; Most Helpful, Most Popular, Most Controversial, Most Surprisingly Successful, Most Underrated, and Most Prideworthy
3. Nominate 7 bloggers to receive this award.

That’s it… congratulations!

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Thank you to Jess at A Winsome Journey for the Versatile Blogger award. The participating rules for the Versatile Blogger are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.

Thank you so much, Jess! I love to visit your blog and live vicariously through you. Always wanted a farm (but without the animals and the mess and the work). By following your blog I get to have my farm just the way I want it…in my imagination.

2. Reveal 7 things about yourself.

1. I love to laugh and giggle.
2. I am pretty sure that I will never completely grow up.
3. I am always trying something new whether it is a recipe, a craft, decorating, something new at work, whatever.
4. I am impulsive which tends to get me in trouble.
5. When someone tells me I can’t do something, I become extremely motivated to prove them wrong.
6. I have a wonderful, tolerant husband, three adventurous children, two son-in-laws and two delightful grandchildren.
7. I have a hard time saying no.

3. Nominate and link to 15 bloggers. These are the bloggers I follow and love to read – most if not all of them have already received the Versatile Blogger award and as you noticed, I nominated many of them above too. They get my attention each day on the web and are in no particular order:

1. A Lighter Shade of Grey
2. A Winsome Journey
3. FiftyFourandAHalf
4. Grace and Space
5. notquiteold
6. Old Girl New Tricks
7. The Pearl
8. UnderCover Surfer
9. Writingfeemail’s Blog
10. RvingGirl
11. Back Road Journal
12. Huffygirl’s Blog
13. Sunny Side Up
14. Indulge, Travel and New Experiences
15. Left on Walnut

I hope you all have a wonderful 2012. Can’t wait to follow your journey…prairie_wisdom