How Reframing a Problem Unlocks Innovation

I came across this great article recently that got me
thinking about how many of us respond when problems arise. We often immediately
jump to how this problem can be solved, but forget to really take a look at what
the problem actually is. The simple
process of asking why may help us analyze the problem from a variety of angles
and potentially develop a better solution. Do you have any success stories of getting to
the root of a problem? What was the
outcome? Your success story may help a colleague get to the root of their
problem.

Writing Daily

Are you, like me, sometimes overwhelmed with your daily "big picture" tasks, that you lose track of the smaller things that you should be practicing every day? Don't worry, you're not alone. As a copywriter and editor, I try to set aside X amount of minutes each day to just free-write. This is not always related to work, or personal life, or anything. It's just the practice of writing (and no, emails don't count!) that gets those juices flowing.

I recently read this article, "Why You Should Write Daily" by Leo Babuta, which outlines the importance of setting aside writing time, and also gives tips on how to do it. His top five tips?

1.) Commit to writing daily.
2.) Set aside the time.
3.) Start small.
4.) Blog.
5.) Shut down distractions.

Read the full article here, and happy writing!

Bring out your latent artistic skills at the Forum Conference

I've been a terrible artist my entire life. I cannot render the most basic images. Put a pencil in my hand and watch catastrophe unfold.

So I am especially excited that we are bringing Debra Frasier to the conference. You probably know Debra's book On the Day You Were Born, which has been a mainstay of baby gifts for more than 20 years.


Debra will be joining us for two sessions where she'll be teaching us the art of paper cutting--and how anyone, even me, can express themselves artistically with paper, scissors and glue. I might not ever make a beautiful papercut for my day job, but the creativity it unleashes will definitely influence all the other things I do at work.

Here are a couple other paper cut images from On the Day You Were Born:

"Welcome to the spinning world," the people sang, as they washed your new, tiny hands. "Welcome to the green Earth,"....

These are from A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake:




And Debra's new book, Spike: Ugliest Dog in the Universe, was illustrated with cut up old jeans. It comes out in fall 2013.

Now, REGISTER for the conference, today.

Year of the Communicator Conference | The Benefits

You already know the
advantages of attending the Year of the Communicator conference on June 25,
2013, but you may need some help convincing your supervisor.

Here are some tangible benefits of
attending this year's UMCF conference:

1. It is affordable!

With airfare consistently on the rise, attending the conference means you won't
only save on airfare, but hotel and food costs as well. Plus if you
register before May 30, you receive the early bird discount.

2. Expand your professional network.

Because the conference is for communicators at the University, you expand your
professional network across campuses. We rarely get a break to talk with our
fellow colleagues and this is an excellent opportunity.

3. Keep up with the trends in the communications field and be
inspired by inspiring people.
This year's conference has two
keynote speakers that are industry leaders. Krista Neher is an expert on social
media and will be addressing how higher education institutions can make social
media work for us. Debra Frasier, author and illustrator, will help guide you
on your path of creativity, something every communicator needs.

4. Attend together as a teambuilding activity.

Attending the conference as a team means you can talk about which sessions will
provide you with the most skills and choose your tracks together. Creating a report for your supervisor about
the sessions you attend also helps outline what you learned. Then you can discuss your day at the reception, surrounded by inspiring art at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery.

5. Gain topic-specific experience.

The strategies, tools, and skills that you learn can be taken back to your
department and applied immediately. The conference offers you two keynote
speakers and three breakout sessions geared to give you the tools that you
need to be the best at what you do.

Don't delay and register today!

Simply Beautiful Design

Do you feel overwhelmed with the complexity and daily noise of life? Why not relax and look at some simply beautiful design at Geometry Daily!

http://geometrydaily.tumblr.com/

Thanks Google

Say that everyone has been talking about that television show. Your friends. Your coworkers. That friendly neighbor lady. You want to know more about it. Correction: You need to know more. So, you go to your desktop computer. You go to your laptop. You go to your iPad. You go to your phone. Wherever you are you get to the Internet and get to that Google.

This looks interesting. Thanks Google.




Say the show looks interesting enough you want to watch it. I mean now. Maybe the whole series in fact.

Thanks Netflix Instant.

Say you're in the middle of episode 3 and a new character comes in. That guy looks really familiar. Really. What have I seen him in? I know I've seen him in something.

Thanks IMDB.

Say you are intrigued and want to know more about this actor. Why did he get started acting so young? And what went on in the 80s?

Thanks Wikipedia.

Say it's an hour later and you've stopped your show and are down the Wikipedia rabbit hole now listening to the radio. Say a song comes on that you are really liking, but who is that? What's it called?

Thanks MPR's The Current playlist.

And now you're realizing you need to be somewhere. Out in the world. What bus should you take from your house to that location?

Thanks MetroTransit Trip Planner.

And you're waiting for the bus. When is it coming?

Thanks MetroTransit NexTrip.

And you want to see what where you're going looks like for real. You want to see the cross street. You want to email your friend you're almost there. You want to search for the menu. You got there and ate and now you want to email yourself a picture of that tasty bruschetta. Thanks Google.

Say you want to share that bruschetta on your Pinterest. You do. People like it. They really like it.

Thanks the Internet.

Maybe things on the Internet help you. You can share them here. Thanks blog comments. Thanks social media 2.0. Thanks to the tubes and wires, the signals, calls, and marches. Thanks to everyone who puts these answers to my questions on the Internet and makes it work. It's good when it works.

The Internet of Things

By now, you may have heard rumblings about the "Internet of Things" and depending on the context, it can be defined in many different ways. Everyone, however, agrees that the emerging "Internet of Things" (IoT) will link everyday physical products to each other via the web. This will be (and currently) is done by embedding technology in an object in order for it to communicate with other connected devices. This will essentially create a giant digital information system. The experts at Harbor Research suggest that the Internet of Things will have a bigger impact on our daily lives than either the internet or social media combined, radically shifting the way that we think, act, and connect with each other.

"We are creating a connected world with entirely different touch points," said Glen Allmendinger, president of technology and business development consulting firm Harbor Research. "In the past, a company would sell a product, and it would disappear into a black hole. There was no way to know what anyone did with it or what other marketing opportunities existed. Today, it's possible to see how a customer uses a device and discover all sorts of opportunities."

Recent articles point to the IoT as the interaction and exchange of data between machines and objects, and now there are product definitions reflecting the same concept. Nike has been utilizing this technology for a few years now, with their Nike Fuel band that tracks and monitors your fitness levels, suggests ways to conserve energy, and connects you with a community of Fuel Band users.

There is almost no limit to the possibilities that the IoT will bring and it's no secret that marketing will be at the center of that universe. The Blake Project's Derrick Daye believes that the IoT will change branding in a monumental way. "It can deliver the brand promise at every point of customer contact and deliver a more meaningful relationship. It can help a company create a greater brand alignment across devices, screens and experiences."

Needless to say, the Internet of Things is here to stay. I'm anxious to see how the University of Minnesota will start integrating this technology into the different experiences that they offer. What will this mean in terms of recruitment, retention or giving? Marketing and branding? Only time will tell.