Browse all articles in the Community category. Here you'll find insights, tips, and exploration of topics related to community.
Explore diverse perspectives on community through practical advice, thought-provoking analysis, and real-world examples.
The people around you influence your mindset, shape your habits, and often determine your trajectory. And the right ones don't just support you—they sharpen you, steady you, and accelerate you.
Discover how AI-driven, adaptive learning is reshaping education. Parents no longer have to wait for change—they can take charge today.
If you are an introvert like me the last thing you want to do is spend time "networking". Even if you are an extrovert your time is valuable and just mingling isn't going to cut the mustard if you want to get any kind of meaningful results. So what is the best strategy when attending an event with intention of networking?
Dealing with trolls is an art form. Being on the internet requires you master it.
What about asking for help is so difficult? What expectations do we put on ourselves and others that could be avoided if only we asked for help more frequently?
Dealing with hybrid work environments where some one is remote full time.
Using metaphors to describe being booted with the Core Protocols.
The future we want has to be created by us. Creating the Arizona we want.
The future we want has to be created by us. Creating the Arizona we want.
AZ Art Project Influx AZ coming to Chandler, AZ.
Looking to build your connectivity on Linked In? Increase your followers on Twitter or Friends on Facebook? Chances are you already communicate with a lot of people via e-mail, but you haven't taken the time to connect with them elsewhere.
Open Spaces always tend to amaze me. They really are the right people in the right place at the right time. When we kicked off Agile Open Southwest, I was a little bit nervous about what might come out. As always, I was left absolutely amazed. It was great seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Finding everyone was a different place on their journey yet still able to be find common ground and learn from one another.
Clay Shirky enlightens us in Cognitive Surplus that, the organization of sharing has many forms and that those forms have varying output values. He gives us a way we can identify four essential points on the spectrum
Gangplank is a community of creators that fuses family life, civic life, creating and earning a living into this unique blend where anything is possible. The support and tenderness offered is counter balanced by a gruff and forceful exterior making participation daunting to most.
People need to be understood that they matter. We are wired to belong. It doesn't matter if it is your spouse, child, employee or coworker every relationship you wish to maintain requires your attention. Most people consider attention to be measured in time. Time is in short supply and high demand in our connected and fast paced world.
Names are funny. Tone and inflection can make all the difference. Most people don't even bother correcting people when their name is said incorrectly. Close enough is good enough. However, sometimes people get their name so wrong they don't even go by their own name.
Talking to science educators about collaboration. How can we better organize and enact polity that leads to greater innovation.
Changing a community is slow work. Paying attention to the details and working with discipline over time with patience is required to get real results.
Abraham Maslow made the concept of hierarchies of progression in systems popular via his work on a hierarchy of needs. Here is a theory about the hierarchy of different types of readers.
Planning events is difficult. The hardest part is starting. Here is a quick 10 step guide to get you planning for that perfect event you have been dreaming about.
Consumption is rampant. What does is it mean to create?
I love Arizona. It's natural resources are one of it's greatest assets. I have been encouraging people to get out and ExploreAZ. If you didn't know our State Parks have become seriously under funded and need our help. So how can you help?
Resilience refers to the ability of a person to effectively cope with and recover from adversity or stress. This concept has been studied in psychology and neuroscience, and various strategies and techniques have been developed to build resilience, such as mindfulness, cognitive reframing, and social support. Building resilience can help individuals better handle life's greatest challenges and maintain their mental and emotional well-being. Here are ten ways to increase your resiliency.
In Andre Agassi's Open he shows the authentic and human side of himself. He talks about giving a friend named Frankie the money he needs to put his children through school. He reflects on it in the following way:
I generally keep voice memos or written journals around as outlets for my thoughts when I am not regularly able to connect with people to share what is on my mind. I try to purge them into a digital format fairly quickly to prevent clutter. I don't recall why I recorded this segment, but I ran across it today and it made me smile.
In a blog post, Mark Turner has responded to the claim that Ruby is just a bunch of tools by stating that it is actually about making developers happy. I believe that the Ruby community is too focused on creating tools and lacks creativity and true innovation. Regional Ruby events have become more about showcasing tools and less about sharing cutting-edge ideas.
So back in 2009 I talked about starting ExploreAZ tweetups. I did get the RV out one time in 2010 shortly after that post to Catalina State Park outside of Tucson. After putting some money into the RV and getting it operational again considering starting this back up. So I have booked two trips.
I have always liked Unix because of it's mentality that lots of small tools chained together could be more than an opaque larger tool. In this instance. I mean Rubyists are a bunch of Tools not of the useful kind. Maybe Zed is right an Rails is a Ghetto.
Governer Jan Brewer announced the new AZ Commerce Authority Board today. It is no surprise that it is full of Land Developers, Sports/Tourism and Manufacturing. All industries that were leaders of the OLD economy.
Whatever our exact ritual, the social act of eating together is important; it reunites us with our tribe. Transforming us from solitary beings to members of a group.
Notes from Brian Cole talking about economic development strategies at from Arizona's 96th Town Hall on Building Arizona's Future: Jobs, Innovation & Competitiveness.
Notes from Joe Kalt talking about Arizona's economy from Arizona's 96th Town Hall on Building Arizona's Future: Jobs, Innovation & Competitiveness.
Random notes from the Arizona's 96th Town Hall on Building Arizona's Future: Jobs, Innovation & Competitiveness.
If you are listening. A lot of people are talking about a "new norm", a "reset" or a "shift". Largely this discussion is around economics and growing concerns of debt. In reality it is about a lot more than that.
The basis of the 'Sharing Economy' operates on principles. How are you seeing them applied in the world around you? What can you learn from them? How are you applying them?
A woman and her son were entering the Subway as my daughter and I were getting out of the car. My daughter uttered, "Hoochie Mama" under her breath. I chastised her for being inappropriate. Her response to me was, "Well she is." Granted the woman was probably in her late forties, had on 5 inch heels, booty shorts and next to nothing for a top with her adolescent son in tote. Sadly, my daughter was right.
When talking about Gangplank I always struggle to consider it to have anything to do with coworking. After doing some reading on collaborative learning vs. cooperative learning, I believe I can better articulate the difference between collaborative workspaces and coworking spaces.
Desert Code Camp has opened it's call for suggestions. This is a great FREE event that brings together technologists of all kinds together at a single location to learn (while feeding them breakfast and lunch) new technologies, improve on existing technology or share your favorite technology. There has been a good dynamic languages track in addition to a strong Microsoft track. There has been a track for kids (Gangplank Jr) and even sessions on sales or running a business.
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council released a report touting that Skysong actually is exceeding expectations and has been underestimated. Citing a $113 million impact which is largely calculated using salaries of people that have worked there over the last five years.
The University of Phoenix announced a 42% decline in enrollment with forecasts that next quarter will see another significant dip. The number one reason cited is a change in rules affecting for-profit-schools that restricts paying admission counselors based on how many students they enroll.
I see a lot of new technology. Not very often am I impressed. Microsoft has a winner on their hands with Kinect. I completely ignored it at launch. Gangplank even had Kinect setup at the Chandler Block Party with tons of kids playing it. It looked stupid to me. The Wii had already won my heart.