Put Your Cartoon To Work: Four Ways to Raise Awareness about Child Abuse

Dear Facebook,

I’m calling Shenanigans. Slacktivism is not a word I like to throw around but recently your users have brought this term to new heights. I’m calling shenanigans on Cartoon Week, the latest showcase of good intentions without impact.

Oh Facebook, I know you don’t mean harm. I know you don’t like being called a Slacktivist, and I know that you have the power to do better.

When you started Cartoon Week it was just good bit of fun. But that changed when someone decided to turn that bit of fun into a awareness campaign:

This is a non-profit campaign from an unnamed volunteer who aims to raise awareness about Worldwide Violence Against Children and Child Abuse through simple gesture of changing your Facebook Profile Picture into your favorite childhood cartoon characters.

But that unnamed volunteer was ignored. Sure people took up part of this masked crusader’s cause but they missed the important second step:

Changing your profile pictures is only the first step. To make a real difference, DONATE to your children charity or organization of choice.

Facebook, I think most users are aware child abuse happens but they aren’t empowered to stop it. Awareness is not created by simply telling people about child abuse. And while donations are a big help to any organization, Facebook, I know you are populated by poor college students who may not have the means to donate. That is why I’ve come up with four other ways they can help:

1. Show Your Friends How They Can Report Child Abuse

For every incident of child abuse or neglect that gets reported, it’s estimated that two others go unreported. You can help by  positing information about how they can identify abuse, like this description from the Child Welfare League of America:

Physical and sexual abuse clearly constitute maltreatment, but so does neglect, or the failure of parents or other caregivers to provide a child with needed food, clothing, and care. Children can also be emotionally abused when they are rejected, berated, or continuously isolated. Unexplained injuries aren’t the only signs of abuse-depression, fear of a certain adult, difficulty trusting others or making friends, sudden changes in eating or sleeping patterns, inappropriate sexual behavior, poor hygiene, secrecy, and hostility are often signs of family problems and may indicate a child is being neglected or physically, sexually, or emotionally abused.

You should also post a link to ChildHelp which runs the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD. 

2. Suggest Your Friends Like an Organization that Works with Victims of Child Abuse

There are a lot of organizations on Facebook that work with abused children and strive to prevent child abuse. Prevent Child Abuse America posts opportunities to get involved every week. Share these resources with your friends. You’re only a couple clicks from making a difference.

3. Make a Pledge, Keep Your Pledge, and Encourage Your Friends to Do the Same

Pledges only make a difference if you keep them. Think of a way your can make a difference in a child’s life and deal with child abuse. Then post it on your wall. For example:

• I pledge to mentor a child and help break the cycle of abuse.
• I pledge to donate $10 to my local shelter.
• I pledge to talk to my coworkers about ways they can identify and report child abuse.

Post your pledge and ask others to join you. As you make good on your pledge post your progress and show people the difference one person can make in the community.

4. Help Locally

Find a local organization that deals with child abuse and figure out how you can help. Do they need gently used clothing? Ask your friends to donate old clothing and offer your house or office up as the drop off point. Do they need volunteers? Give an hour of your time or post volunteer opportunities so others can see ways they can get involved. Do they need donations? Invite people to their next fundraising event or organizer a fundraiser yourself. This could be a beginning of a beautiful friendship!

I know Cartoon Week is almost ended but don’t let that stop you! Turn this campaign into lasting change. As Prevent Child Abuse America posted on their blog:

…we can all learn more, we all can be messengers for this cause and ultimately we can all take action

Without that call to action Cartoon Week is just another example of infuriating slacktivism. Raising awareness means changing behavior. How are you going to grow, Facebook? How are you going to make a difference?

Sincerely,

Me.

P.S. Does anyone have any other ideas? I’d love to hear how others are using Cartoon Week as call to do something more then change your profile picture.

Sometimes You Just Have to Crash a Birth

One of the hardest parts of my first year as a AmeriCorps VISTA was not being able to see the people I was serving. When you spend most of your days cramped up in an office it is hard to see the effect you made on individuals.

It’s one of the problems many of the students I work with have as well when they are put in capacity building volunteer positions. Even though the marketing plan they’ve created might have a big effect on the homeless population of Augusta County, the service project never seems meaningful until they get a chance to interact with the people they are serving. Our students crave direct contact, and they aren’t the only ones.

Kathryn Trujillo-Hall is the founder of the Birthing Project, a nonprofit that improves birth outcomes by pairing young mothers with volunteers to help them through their pregnancy. Kathryn, more commonly known as “Mama Kat” has been recognized as a CNN Hero and an Asoka Fellow for her innovative solution to the high infant mortality rate among African-American women.

Of course being the founder of an innovative organization is not all glitz and glamour. Much of Mama Kat’s time is spent fundraising, going to speaking engagements, writing grant proposals, attending meetings. They’re all important things that keep her organization going strong but those things also wear people down.

So what does she do when the long nights and tough work get her down? Simple: she crashes a birth.

Unannounced, Mama Kat will pop in for the birth of one of the women the Birthing Project serves. ”Infant Mortality means dead babies,” Mama Kat said when I met her at a retreat last month. The problem she fights every day is so big, so tragic, that it is nice every once and a while to see a success. It is nice to step away from the proposals and meetings and get back to the meaning of it all. She is giving a young chid a good life and she is reminded of that when she sees a tiny head emerge from the womb. That incredible act of the beginning of life is why she founded the Birthing Project. Crashing births reminds her of why she is here and why the work has to be done.

Every once in a while we all need to crash a birth. One VISTA I met worked on gang prevention policy and didn’t get much interaction with the youth his work was directly effecting so he decided to become a mentor. In the long run the policy might effect more children’s lives then the one child he was matched with but with mentoring he got to see the direct effect of his actions.

In my first year as a VISTA my most treasured moments were on site visits when I got to see the direct impact of my service at Learn and Serve – Michigan. I still fondly tell the story of a kid who insisted that if his school was going to plant a garden they better use organic seeds. He reminded me of the power service-learning had to show kids the impact they can have on their community. On another site visit I got to milk a goat on a farm ran by a school in the middle of Detroit. It reminded me that I was working to unlock the potential schools have to be the center of change in their communities. Those moments energized my service.

It’s easy to burnout when you don’t get to see the direct result of your work. Take sometime to crash a birth, whatever that may mean to you. You might go on a site visit, you might look at pictures of the people you organization serves every day, you might participate in a service project instead of organizing it. Take time to do whatever you need to do to see the result your work has on individuals. Whatever you need to do to see beyond the numbers and figures you use to mark your success and see the smiles and faces that prove you’ve done something great. Sometimes you just have to crash a birth to revitalize your commitment to service.

Lessons Learned at the NCVS

Often in discussion on social media people bring up the Digital Divide. As we are moving to spending more time engaging populations online we can’t forget that there are many who do not have access and we have to integrate online social media strategies with offline engagement and promotion. At  the National Conference on Volunteering and Service I realized that there is also another problem with many nonprofit’s social media strategies. We focus on engaging people who already on Twitter or Facebook instead of recruiting new users. There are a lot of people out there who have computers and smartphones but aren’t using Twitter, Foursquare, or other websites. Many nonprofits don’t spend any time thinking about how to bring people not using these mediums on board.

What I saw at NCVS is that engaging non-users can be more effective then trying to appeal to information overloaded users. For example: one group during NCVS was doing a Foursquare contest to get people to check in to a particular site.   After the first day when no one checked the group reflected on how to increase engagement. One person suggested that many people aren’t aware of Foursquare so perhaps on the next day they should try to get people on Foursquare and teach them how to check in. So the next day one team member asked people who attended meetups and sessions whether they were on Foursquare. To her surprise many people she asked had smartphones but weren’t aware Foursquare existed. When she explained the concept many people were eager to have her help them download it to their phones and help them with their first check-in.

It proved to be an excellent icebreaker and while she was helping them download Foursquare she could have a long conversation with  the person. In the end the team member helped about a dozen people on Foursquare in just two days. Those people built a relationship with the team member and the organization through the process. This is one of the real pros I see to spending time  teaching people about social media. You are more likely to have users that stick around, comment, and build a relationship with you online because you’ve introduced them to the site offline. They will become more engaged then their your average new Twitter or Facebook user who finds your site online.

Let me give you my personal example. I have a VISTA in my office who I recently introduced to Twitter. During NCVS we had a TweetChat for VISTAs who were not attending the conference and I knew that the VISTA in my office really wanted to find out more. So I called her right before the TweetChat and walked her through the process of participating. It was painful at first and slow but after fifteen minutes she was set up and made her first comment with the TweetChat hashtag. As the conversation went on she made more comments and reflections. She was one of the most active tweeters in the discussion and she gave such a new insight to the conversation. At her VISTA site she works with people with disabilities and she brought a completely different view point to what we were discussing. I was so proud of her but I also learned my lesson: by teaching people how to get on Twitter, Facebook and other social mediums we can create a more dynamic and inclusive discussion.

So moving on from NCVS I’ve learned that I need to spend more time teaching people and engaging people offline to join the discussion online. I focus a lot on getting nonprofit organizations on Twitter but I also need to spend more time getting new people on to. That way I can share the wonderful Twitter community I have come to know and love with others in my office and in return they can share their unique perspective with the world.

What do you think? Are you teaching people how to get on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, or others? How are you engaging users who aren’t using those mediums? I am always listening @rsteggy.

5 Reasons Why Being a VISTA at NCVS Rocks!

As a VISTA I’ve received endless opportunities including going to The National Conference on Volunteering and Service as a NCVS e-Reporter for VISTABuzz. I am far too excited about this for words, I get to be in the same room as so many of my heroes, making this service nerd’s dream come true.  So in honor of my departure for the National Conference on Volunteering in Service I have come up with a list of 5 Reasons Why Being a VISTA at NCVS rocks!

1. VISTA MeetUps

This gets the number one slot on my list because it is the one thing I am most excited about! I love meeting AmeriCorps members and hearing their stories it was one of the many reasons I started #americorpsmonday. Now at NCVS I get to meet them face-to-face. We are having MeetUps EVERYDAY and I will be at EVERY SINGLE ONE enthusiastically waving at everyone who comes in/passes by. The excitement kicks off with our first MeetUp on Sunday, June 27 at 11:00am in the Hilton Hotel Lobby so make sure to come down. We also have a MeetUp on Monday at 11:00am in the Hilton Lobby as well as on Tuesday and Wednesday at 11:00am in the VISTA Coffeehouse. I can’t wait to see you all there!

2. VISTA Video Reporters

Did you know that in honor of their 45^th Anniversary VISTA has chosen video volunteer reporters to capture stories of VISTA serving all over the United States? Did you know I am very excited to be one of them? Watch my video about serving in Michigan at the VISTA Coffeehouse on Tuesday and Wednesday.

3. NCVS e-Reporter

NCVS is going to rock because I’ll be there. Not only that but I will be giving you the latest news, opinions, and reflections from a VISTA point of view as a NCVS e-Reporter. If your attending NCVS listen and share, if not feel the magic at the conference and join me virtually at:

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/vistabuzz

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/vistarobyn

4. FourSquare

You’ll have to forgive me, I just got a Smartphone two weeks ago and so I am pretty new at FourSquare but it is pretty cool, right? Well VISTA is having a competition for you FourSquare users: Be  the first to check in at the VISTA Coffeehouse Photo Gallery Opening and Reception, the first to check in a the Measuring Poverty session, or become the mayor of the VISTA Coffeehouse by the last day of the conference and you will win a prize, and they will be awesome prizes, trust me.

1. 5. TweetChat

For those of you who are not attending NCVS you can still get the conference experience on Twitter. Follow me and other VISTAs with the hashtag #VISTANCVS and join us for the TweetChat at 4pm on Monday, June 28. We’ll answer any question you have and you can tell us what you want us to report back on!

I leave tomorrow and I cannot wait! It will be four days of being completely surrounded by service ROCKSTARS making this nerd one very happy person!

Remember to join me on Twitter and on Facebook to take part in the NCVS awesomeness!

The Yak Bell Project or How My Life is Crazy in an AWESOME Way

Woah, has it only been 9 days? So much has happened.

It all started with that post about Crowdrise, remember that post? Well it got me thinking, stewing, wondering about what I could do to raise money.

That’s when it hit me. Father’s Day is coming up which is always a difficult time of year because my sister and I have the best dad in the world and we’ve ran out ideas for gifts that say “Dad, you are the greatest dad in the world and you have changed our lives and countless of others, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Then, all of a sudden, on a bike ride home from work, I was struck with an idea for the greatest father’s day gift in the world. Raising money to let my dad ring the Room to Read yak bell.

What am I a talking about? Room to Read is an organization founded by John Wood that builds libraries all over the world and it just so happens to be my father’s favorite nonprofit. In fact I have never seen my dad get so excited about a nonprofit in my life. When John Wood came to Lansing for a conference I was attending I actually snuck him in so he could hear him speak. When he got to talk to John Wood at a book signing afterwards my dad stumbled over his words like a little kid and on an hour long car ride to Ann Arbor afterward he gushed about Room to Read and all the cool things it was doing.

It was that day he told me how his dream was to ring the Room to Read yak bell.

Room to Read has this yak bell that they let really big donors ring. It’s become a huge honor in the Room to Read community and it was my ticket to the best Father’s Day ever.

So I wrote an email to John Wood describing my dad and how he raised us as a single father. How he gave us everything two girls could ask for. When he didn’t know how to sew patches onto our clothes he bought Sewing for Dummies and learned. When he wasn’t getting enough flexibility at work he quit his job to find one that would allow him to spend more time with us. My father was a terrible cook when my parents divorced but he knew family dinners were important so he tried different recipes every night and now I am proud to say my father is an excellent cook who makes some of the best tacos in the Michigan.

And with that we asked him this question: If my sister and I raise $24,000 can our father ring the yak bell?

I sent the email figuring I had about 50% chance of getting a response.

We got a response. John Wood said yes, not only one yes but five very enthusiastic yeses. John Wood propelled this project into motion with his kind email and great connections. After his email my sister and I were nearly speechless and after we got over the thrill of excitement I looked at her and said “So, we’re doing this.”

My sister, never one to mince words replied, “We’re fudging doing this!” (Except she didn’t say fudge.)

So here is the hard part. We now are starting on a campaign to raise $24,000, a campaign we call The Yak Bell Project and I  hope you all will join us for it

But before I make my ask there is one more thing.

Two hours ago we got off the phone with John Wood. To begin with my sister and I would have never predicted that nine days after this idea popped in my head we would be on the phone with John Wood. However it gets more exciting. A woman in Seattle, named Crystal heard our story by way of Room to Read. She had lost her dad 30 years ago. He was reason she got into Room to Read in the first place. Every time she had a problem her father would tell her to “fix it” and urge her to find a solution and now she works with Room to Read because it offers a solution to so many people. She was inspired by our story and so, in honor of Father’s Day she has decided to do something for us.

In honor of her father she has agreed to match everything we raise. That’s right when we raise $24,000 we will actually raise $48,000. All because of this idea, because of our father, because of an incredible woman in Seattle who believes in what we can do.

It’s been 9 days. Just 9 days. It is amazing what 9 days can do.

You can donate to The Yak Bell Project at:

http://roomtoread.kintera.org/rtd/yakbell

Also connect with us:

On our website: http://yakbell.wordpress.com

On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yakbell

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yakbell

Hello Fundraisers! Meet Crowdrise.

Okay I’m hooked on Crowdrise. Yesterday at the Mashable Media Summit Edward Norton spoke about his new project: Crowdrise. Initially I was skeptical. Do we really need a new online fundraising site? What makes this project so special?

Then Edward Norton said this:

We’re actually getting a lot of phone calls from organizations that we haven’t even engaged with saying ‘Who are you and why are we getting checks through Crowdrise‘ And we’re saying it just means that somebody out there who supports you has gone and set up a fundraiser and started raising funds for you.

Wait a sec, bud! You mean that people will fundraise for nonprofits and you don’t even have to ask them to do it? They don’t even have to register on the site? I’ve got to try this out!

So I started a profile, and like Edward Norton claimed in his talk it was really simple. It took me about twenty minutes to get a complete profile and I’ve got to say it looks pretty cool!

That’s when I began to notice the difference between Crowdrise and other sites. For starters it has some of the best copywriting I’ve seen. The beginning of their How it Works section reads:

Please only read all this if you’re super bored or you’re writing a paper on ways to give back and you’re looking for something to plagiarize..

This perhaps is my favorite text from the site which you get while uploading a photo:

You’re going to see this message every time you post a new pic. So, we’re making the text really long so that it’ll take you at least five picture uploads to read it all. Here’s what we’re thinking…While you’re first picture is uploading think about someone you want to kiss. When you upload your second pic think about one friend who you can beat in a race. On your third photo upload think about your favorite food that begins with the letter H. While your fourth picture is uploading think about how great it would be if you were a world class breakdancer. While your fifth picture is uploading try to think of the best candy to eat if you were a mime spending a month in New Zealand. If you upload a sixth and seventh picture please just read all of this again.

And for those of you who can’t get enough of rock, paper, scissors you can actually choose your preference on your profile. Every once in a while a player on Crowdrise will throw rock, paper, or scissors and if whatever you have on your profile beats it you get 1,000 points.

That’s right points. Every time you raise money or someone votes for you on Crowdrise you get points. What do they do?

Points mean potential prizes, lots of respect and hopefully one day, a trip to the White House or at least a trip to Vegas.

For all of you in the volunteer and service field Crowdrise can help you turn your dedicated volunteers into fundraising machines! It has volunteer pages where volunteers can ask their friends and families to help support their volunteer efforts and they can also show them exactly how many hours they’ve given to your organization.

So I admit it, I’m hooked. For those who still aren’t sure here are a couple of other gems of Crowdrise;

• Ease of Use: Crowdrise nearly all US 501(c)3 charities already in its database so you don’t even have to register to allow people to fundraise for you. However if you do want to spruce up your site you can go ahead and claim it and simply update your profile.
• Celebrities: Edward Norton isn’t the only celebrity using this system. Already Seth Rogan and Will Farrel have signed up. In fact if you donate to Will Farrel’s cause you get a hilarious bottle of suncreen with semi-nude pictures of him on them.
• Personalized Fundraising: The profiles and projects profiles give you tons of space to post pictures, a place to post a video, and places to tell your story. Since each project has to be supported by a person  not an organization it really allows the fundraising to be about you and your story.  I think that is the best part about this site and what gives it potential to change the fundraising game.
• Picture of Napkin: ‘Nuff said.

Last note for AmeriCorps members, program directors, alums, etc.: Let me just say this has some great potential to allow members to fundraise and give back to their sites. In fact a City Year member (which is a national AmeriCorps program) is featured on the front page of their website. City Year LA is already using it by encouraging members to sign up and share their City Year stories on their profiles and challenging them to raise money for their projects and for City Year. I’m excited to see how this project evolves and see how other people in national service can use this to build their programs.

What do you think about Crowdrise? Are you using it? How? Are you hooked? Are you unsure? Let me know! I’m always listening @rsteggy.
Update: My sister and I have launched a Crowdrise campaign for my father called the Yak Bell Project. I’ll talk about more in my next post but until then check it out on Crowdrise: http://www.crowdrise.com/yakbell

Sexton High School

I’ve lived in Lansing nearly all of my life and like every Lansing native I know a couple secret gems of Lansing. They are places few people know about but are beyond compare. One of those places is a large tower with the best view of Lansing. When it was built it was written up in architectural magazines for its innovative design. It is a place where every detail is fantastic from the mosaic tiles to the carved statue. It is a place that is often ignored. It is hidden from view. It is Sexton High School.

Tucked away 102 S. McPherson Avenue most people only hear about it when a student has done something terrible. Most people see the school as another example of the failures of the Lansing School District and those people couldn’t be more wrong. True as an alumni of Sexton I have a special place for this school in my heart. My best (and worst) memories were there. I performed in that beautiful theatre. I can list most of the tiles that decorate the walls. It is home to me.

J.W. Sexton High School is also a Lansing treasure. When it was built it was written up in magazines for its architecturally innovative design. It was built with the voices of the Lansing community. The architects of Warren S. Holmes Company spent over a year researching community needs. The large greenhouse was created as a result of the wishes of the science teacher. The classrooms built under the advisment of the teaches.

And from the beginning J.W. Sexton High School had it’s troubles. Construction began shortly before the U.S. entered World War II and construction materials were taken by the government to support the war effort. Lansing School District representatives and architects had to go to Washington D.C. to keep construction going. The fought and negotiated and eventually the school’s construction was back on track.

The product is stunning. If you haven’t seen Sexton High School you need to go. The art deco architecture makes it one of the coolest buildings in town. It has a beautiful clock tower that rises eight stories above Lansing. Along the walls are relifs of people each representing a school subject. Just walk around and you’ll find new wonders that most students walk by. At the entry way the walls are covered with these stunning reliefs. If you just give the building a chance it will unfold so much beauty.

Inside the walls are decorated of tiles that depict Shakespeare characters, the zodiac signs, Greek heroes, and more. My mother once live across from one of the architects who told her that these were all designed by a school secretary and the tiles for the school were given for free as long as the company could use the designs. Even when you look down there is stunning decorations including a beautiful mosaic of the Michigan state seal in the school’s entry way.

When completed the school was not only beautiful but innovatively useable. All the cabinetry, windows, and doors were interchangeable and standardized. Each room was its own unit having its own light, its own heating, its own ventilation, electrical wiring, and storage making it adaptable and efficient. The firm actually invented a technique called an H column during the design process, which helped run ventilation and plumbing. It was an engineering marvel that is still used today and it was invented right here in Lansing for Sexton High School.

There is so much more I could go on about but I want to leave some things for the reader to find when they get there. As a former theater student I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the gorgeous theater with a balcony and a beautiful round lobby with quotes painted around the room. You shouldn’t miss the beautiful painting in the library or the green house on the second floor. Sexton High School is a wonder of Lansing and if you haven’t been yet it is time to take a look. 

This school is a real treasure of Lansing and a hidden gem of our city. For me it brings back memories of sitting on top of the clock tower and look out at the best view in all of Lansing. It was one of the few moments in my life where the world, the people around me, and my inner self were all at peace. It would be a shame to forget this great part of Lansing history.

Do you have your own favorite parts of Lansing? Do you have great stories to share about Sexton? I am always listening @rsteggy.

Want to find out more about the construction of Sexton? There is a great article written about it on wikipedia. Check it out here.

On Life Changing Experiences and Making Yogurt

When I was 19 I ordained as a Buddhist nun. It seemed crazy to everyone at the time. After all what 19 year old decides to move to a monastery in India to study Buddhism during prime college drinking years? I moved to India because I thought it would change my life, which it did.

At some point in everyone’s life there comes a moment when you need a life changing experience. For some people it comes to them while they are transitioning to adulthood, for others it comes after heartbreak, and yet others want to break the monotony they’ve fallen into in their lives. The result simple you start yearning for a dramatic change. You want to abandon home for the open road, leave a high paying job to be a full time do-gooder, or finally climb a mountain or see the open sea.

For me that came at the end of my Freshman year of high school. I was frantic for change. I had lost my way or perhaps, I thought, I never knew the way to begin with. I said the phrase so many have said in these situations: “I need to find myself.”

So how do go about having a life changing experience? There is no guidebook. No program with promises of success. Well the truth is it is different for everyone. For me it is a lot like making yogurt.

I know what you’re saying, “Wait a sec, what does yogurt have to do with a life changing experiences?” Yogurt is a process, which transforms something I don’t like (milk) into something I find delicious (yogurt) much like a life changing experience can transform you. Recently I began making yogurt and it is a very informative process. Trust me.

How do you make yogurt?  I am happy you asked!

Step 1: Scald the Milk

The first thing about yogurt is that you can’t just leave the milk in the fridge for an unnatural amount of time and have it come out as yogurt. I doesn’t work like that. You actually have to make yogurt. You have to do something to it. Similarly in my experience you can’t “find yourself” without doing something to change your surroundings.

So you have to scald the milk. Which means you have to make a change. Whether that is finding a new job, finding a new home, traveling, or doing something you’ve always wanted to do. Whatever it is that is going to break you out of your life. It has to be extreme and you have to do it with all of your heart and soul. You’ve got to jump into that hot pan.

For me that was moving to India and taking part of Buddhist Studies in India program. It was a radical change. I want from being your average American college student to living in a Buddhist monastery in one of the poorest regions in India where electricity often went out and you wrote all of your essays on good old pen and paper. I needed to jump into the hot pan, even if I was afraid. You have to scald the milk to allow it to change.

Step 2: Cool the Milk

Your experience is your own and there isn’t a standard experience that will change life. As I’ve told you life-changing experiences are like yogurt, a process. So I’m not going to tell you what happened in India because that is my personal experience and you will have your own that will teach you far more than you ever imagined.

So here is the part no one imparting on a life-changing journey wants to hear. In order to change you have to, eventually, come back from the journey. In order for milk to become yogurt we have to take the pan of the pot and bring it back down to room temperature.

Returning home is by far the most challenging part of a life changing experience. It is more challenging then anything you will face on the road. Coming home does not mean you go back to your old ways. That is impossible now. It means returning back y home whether that is a physical place or a group of people.

For travelers what you will experience is known as reverse culture shock. The world you once knew looks strange and foreign. I’m sure the process of cooling down is not so fun for the milk either. It is like dipping your toe in luke warm water when you are freezing cold. Under normal conditions it would seem normal but now the water feels steaming hot.

Prepare for depression. Prepare for isolation. Prepare to want to go back to wherever it was that you had your life changing experience. Yet know this, if we never return we don’t change, we don’t complete the transformation process. We stay in limbo.

Step 3: Add Yogurt

To make yogurt you have to add yogurt.  Slowly in our lives we have to start adding back in the parts of our lives that changed to the person we were. When I returned to India I had to figure out how to apply the things that changed me in India to my old surroundings. I had to figure out how to integrate what I loved about monastery life into college life.

The yogurt has the bacteria for change but the milk is the space that will allow it to grow. Your life changing experience is the catalyst but you have to start figuring out how to allow it to grow in your home environment.  In my case I had to figure out the balance between an austere life and a materialistic one to allow myself to grow. I had to figure out how to meditate in the frantic world of a college campus. I had to figure out how to share my experiences and yet meet people where they were. The truth is that there are parts of you that don’t need changing. The key to having a life changing experience is not changing everything but being able to recognize the small things in your life that need changing and keeping the parts that don’t.

Step 4: Incubate the Yogurt

Does this seem like a much longer process then you realized? It indeed is. No matter how much the books you read would like to tell you otherwise change is usually not instantaneous. Yes the catalyst can happen very fast but real change happens years afterwards. You don’t wake up like Scrooge and go skipping of the streets extolling the virtues of Christmas. Change can be a much longer process.

Be patient with yourself. I am still figuring out who I am, what I am supposed to do, and what this thing in India all meant and it has been 3 years since I left on that journey. Many people never figure out who they are, it is a process. It only takes 20 minutes to prepare yogurt. It takes 8 hours for it to transform.

If leave yogurt to sit for too long however it gets sour. Most of us have to renew and go through this process again. Most of us will go through this process several times in our life as we transition to different stages.  Most people I know don’t have just one life-changing experience. It is a long process that we do again and again.

So what are you waiting for?

Don’t Skimp on the Retweets

On the top of the list of the reasons I love Twitter (and there are a lot of reasons) is Retweeting. Mostly because I been “retweeting” people far before there was Twitter. I call it citing sources. I will be in a conversation and not only come up with a ridiculous fact I will tell you exactly where I read it even if I read four years ago in an in-flight magazine. I have really never realized this ability of mine I’ve only had it pointed out by annoyed/amazed friends. I don’t think I do it to provide credibility to my statements but to give credit to other people. I want people to know that I’m not an amazing person who knows everything I just read it in and in flight magazines or listened to my sister’s stories of her friend’s cousin. If you did those things you could seem to know everything to. Citing your source is giving credit to your wide information network for giving you this incredible random fact that will now use to wow your friends.

That’s why I like Retweeting because no one Tweets alone. Twitter is a social network that lives and dies on citing your sources. We are a community built on letting people know that the funny cat video you tweeted today is from your cousin’s best friend’s uncle who is hilarious and you should follow just for a laugh. Organizations and businesses are expected not to be me-centric and to share user content or information from others in the field. In a discussion I had with a fellow social media buff yesterday I heard that her organization expects 70% of her organization’s tweets to be retweets. The Twitter community expects you to share far more than your own content.

To me the Retweet sets Twitter apart and lately I have been a little annoyed by people breaking the its sacredness. Perhaps the most frustrating part of my day is when I spend hours digging through material to find one awesome link and post it then I see it ten minutes later on someone else’s feed with @ reply back to me. I’m willing to think that the first time it happens it is because we coincidentally found it at the same time but when it becomes a trend I call shenanigans. Did you really happen to come across a five year old but still awesome guide to whatever right after I did? Where is the Retweet love here people?

Okay so it probably is an ego thing for me but I think it is also a form of Twitter plagiarism and if nothing else a great way to break the community spirit. You found that link somewhere, and if you found it on Twitter, cite it please. Even if you didn’t find out on Twitter if the user or organization is on Twitter let them know your using their awesome blog post or your posting a link they suggested in an email. A little “via @rsteggy” never hurt anyone! Or via @ any of the fabulous people that make up your information nentwork.

I know with 140 characters citing your sources can be a little difficult. If its one of those tweets that has been RTed twenty times no one will begrudge you for not posting “RT @you RT @me RT @everyone RT @andtheircousin RT @andtheirhalfuncle” Fine, delete some of the grapevine but always make sure to at least include the person who originated the post and the person you got it from.

Retweeting is a basic Twitter foundation. So respect it, use it, and complete the Retweet circle of life.

Thoughts on the all powerful Retweet? I’m listening @rsteggy.

Ignite Detroit

Last week I made my way down 96 in the snow to attend my first Ignite event in Detroit. I had no idea what was in store for me.

Here is the basic format: Ignite presenters have 5 minutes to discuss their topic with 20 slides that auto advance every 15 seconds.

What people do with that format varies wildly in highly imaginative and fun ways. That is the cool thing about Ignite. You don’t just get talks on social media, or on technology, or on learning, in fact there is absolutely no category you could put all Ignite talks in, except perhaps if there was a category for awesome.

In 2 hours at Ignite Detroit I learned that:

• TFLN is based in Michigan and awesome
• The 2012 apocalypse will begin with the cat uprising
• Hair bands have far more to teach us about business then I ever imagined
• The fear you feel before jumping out of an airplane might actually be excitement
• Ham radios rock
• You are what you eat
• Internet trolls can teach some valuable life lessons
• Live to Give is a great model that all nonprofits can learn from

…and more. Oh, so much more.

The best part about Ignite? All of the presenters live, work, and/or play in your home state. So not only are you benefiting from a crazy amount of talent and knowledge but it is all home grown, natural, and organic.

As if it couldn’t get any better, this week is Global Ignite Week which means that Ignite events are happening all over the country, possibly in a city near you. For you Michiganders out there you can get you learn on at Ignite Ann Arbor tonight, and perhaps you might have even scored a ticket to Ignite Lansing tomorrow.

If your looking for a great boost of energy and inspiration look no further. Already I am thankful for Ignite Detroit because I have met great people and I have some incredible ideas bouncing around in my head. Even the winter snow on my way back home couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

But don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself.

Have you attended an Ignite event? Want to find out more? I am always listening @rsteggy.