Positive Communication

A Boost for.. Positive Blogging

You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime. - Dale Carnegie

Wow.. I just received a great review for this blog, called 'A Boost for Positive Living'. What a beautiful and welcome encouragement for blogging, thank you so much Mary Ward from Do You Digg It.com!!

It once again reminded me what the impact is of explicitly showing your appreciation to your love, your kids or coworker. It is so worth the effort, just give it a try!
And with that, I would very much like to show my appreciation to you, my readers. As my way of saying THANK YOU, I would like to share with you the beautiful photography of Rarindra Prakarsa, I already showed in a previous post called Stunning Photography by Rarindra Prakarsa. His photography, and other beauties, can be found with the tag Photography.

Bloggers Uniting for Human Rights

Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

One of the great benefits the Internet brings is the possibility to join hands with people all over the world. The opportunity to make a change as a community by using the power of many. With people from many different cultures, backgrounds and point of views.

This year not only marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations, but is also the year in which the Olympic Games take place in China. Human Rights issues have never been discussed this globally, on such an extensive scale.
This year, Blogcatalog has initiated another Bloggers Unite Challenge for May 15th. On this day, bloggers throughout the world will unite for Human Rights and make a statement that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms.

On May 15th, hopefully thousands of bloggers will unite and share their unified support of human rights everywhere. Will use strength of the Internet to express their personal viewpoints and local experiences with the Human Rights Issues.

If you'd like to know more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or better yet, join thousands of others in signing the petition to support it, visit Every Human Has Rights. The Every Human has Rights campaign has been initiated by The Gobal Elders (a.o. Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Muhammad Yunus, Mary Robinson and Aung San Suu Kyi) and partners to empower global citizens to protect the first-ever comprehensive agreement on human rights among nations.

On May 15th, I personally will be writing about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. What about you?

Read more: Sharing Laughter in Teaching Compassion, and Blogging for Peace

Empty Your Tea Cup, Open Your Mind

There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.
Dalai Lama

I've been quite ill for over a week now, so haven't been posting much lately. Trying to catch up with my favorite blogs, I incidently did come across a few nice new ones: Live Passionately (from which I 'borrowed' the quote above) and Conflict Zen.

On Conflict Zen, I found a short story from the book Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, that really stuck with me:

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era, received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Just for a second, try to imagine the difference this would make. If we would encounter our personal relationships, our family members, even co-workers, with a completely open mind. Without expectations or predetermined mindsets. Resulting from our own (perceived) experiences, or even worse, from what we've been told by others.

Try to imagine what our closest relationships would be like. If we would see our loved ones again without the pain or fear inflicted from previous arguments, or even previous relationships. As David Richo defined it in Mindful Loving:
We can increase our capacity to give and receive the essential elements of love through mindfulness, an alert witnessing of reality without judgement, attachment, fear, expectation, defensiveness, bias, or control.

On a larger scale, wouldn't it make our world, or maybe even the world a better place? If we looked at other people for just what and who they are: other people. Without prejudice based on their religion, their race or their convictions. Prejudice, also installed by fear, by a need to control, the need to quickly judge.
What if we would encounter each other with an open mind, not making any quick assumptions based on clothing, position, or perceived attributes of the group they belong to.

As Tammy so beautifully put it: "If, in your next interpersonal conflict conversation, you could empty your own teacup, I wonder what you might notice that had no room for you to notice before."
I do believe this is true for any conversation, any encounter you might have. It might just as well be the right attitude to stop us from getting into a conflict in the first place!

See also: The Saint Francis Project - A Prayer for Peace

The Wonders of Nature: What are Your Favorites?

The best things in life are free: sunshine, songs of birds, the blue heavens, sunrise, the sea air, the field full of flowers, the wonders of nature, the magenta sunset, love, joy, peace of mind, the wonders of nature, the warm rain, the dew of the roses, the love of God, are all here for our enjoyment.
Alfred Montapert

Part of the Niagara Falls (copyright of www.niagarafallslive.com)

Don't you want to vote what Beauties of Nature will become the official '7 Wonders of Nature', or simply take the time to enjoy the amazing Wonder of Nature Nominees? Visit the website The New 7 Wonders, and cast your vote for your personal favorite!

Boyoma Falls - Congo

The New 7 Wonders of the World campaign was a resounding success, which took democracy to a global level. The New 7 Wonders of the World, as declared on July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07 - represented the first time that people worldwide joined together and chose symbols of a common world!
Now, in the second campaign, you can give your vote to define The New 7 Wonders of Nature! To quote Bernard Weber, during the announcement of the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign:
"If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it."

Jaegala Fall (Laheema National Park) - Estonia (Europe)

Of course, the commercial interests at stake are huge (some countries have already started campaigning to be voted on the top of the list). In some cases, the photography used is a bit disappointing in depicting the nominees at hand. However, it is wonderful to take the time to take a tour around the world's most amazing nature.

Grand Canyon, United States

Personally, I had a hard time choosing between all of my favorites. They include the U.S. canyons, many waterfalls (honestly, almost any waterfall is priceless to me), the volcanic cliffs of Santorini (Greece), and a number of beauties in Indonesia and Australia.
I would really love to hear your favorites, nature you visited or would like to visit because of its shere beauty! Please, feel free to share them in the comments below! 

As a reminder of a few of those great sites, the current Top 20 consists of:

Spreading Light, Hope and Joy the Virtual Way

We cannot hold a torch to Light another's path without brightening our own.
Ben Sweetland

Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
Vaclav Havel

May the love hidden deep inside your heart find the love waiting in your dreams. May the Laughter that you find in your tomorrow wipe away the pain you find in your yesterdays.

Last week, the group writing project Saint Francis project started, initiated by the Every, Every Minute blog. This week focuses on the second part of the Peace Prayer:

[Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;]

Where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

I truly love this part. Giving people just that small sparkle of hope or a moment of joy, might change a life. Small acts of kindness can give someone just that bit of strength, confidence and positivity they need to start making a change. Each of us has a choice, each and every day.. to close our eyes on someone in need, or to be that person that makes a difference in his or her life.

What constantly amazes me, is the way the Internet has enabled us to do just that. To reach out, to someone might as well be on the other side of the planet. Honestly, I used to wonder why people would spend so much time on the Internet. I questioned why they just didn't 'get a life', a 'real one'...
Now, I myself have discovered the joy, the light and hope (and in my personal case: even Love) the Internet can bring. By visiting blogs of people that share my passions, believes or dreams, but also, blogs have a quite opposite view on life. I've seen the heart-warming power of a community coming together when members of that community were in distress, suffering from a 'blog burn-out' or other dark moments in real life.
Personally, I also have also found comfort and encouragement from people commenting on my own blog during moments of darkness. I'm sure Saint Francis didn't have this in mind when the poem was written, but to me, it is one of the beauties of that the Internet has brought us!

With this blog, I hope to make my own contribution too: to spread some light, to spread hope. By sharing inspiring charity initiatives like HelloCreativity and Peace Jam, or blog initiatives like the Peace Train. By sharing amazing photography that might just be the thing that brightens up your day.

I would like to thank all of you that share the beauties in your life, your joys and laughter. Please, keep on doing just that! They might just be the thing that bring some joy or hope in someone's life!

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Contributing to the Saint Francis project, last week the following great posts were written:
Where There Is Hatred Let Me Sow Love
The Power of Forgiveness
The Saint Francis Project and a Greater Sulfur Crested Cockatoo
The St. Francis Project
A Prayer for Peace
Wendy’s Wanderings

Though my soul may set in darkness,
It will rise in perfect light,
I have loved the stars too fondly
To be fearful of the night.
Sarah Williams

Quote from the Heart Meme and Blogging Mentor Award

Lisa, from LifePrints - Good News for a More Compassionate World, tagged me for a beautiful meme, 'Quotes from the Heart'. A Meme, initiated by Lauren from Can You Be A Part of My Life, that has one simple rule: "Post a quote that speaks from and to your heart and dedicate it to at least three other bloggers". Since I really enjoy finding and sharing inspiring quotes, I really love to participate in this meme, thanks Lisa!! You can find some of my favorite quotes here, here and here, but the absolute favorite is:

And now here is my secret,
a very simple secret;
it is only with the heart
that one can see rightly,
what is essential
is invisible to the eye.
- Antoine De Saint-Exupery

To me, it reminds me of that simple but most important compass in my life.
To regularly have some 'down-time', find the peace and quiet to be able to hear that 'voice' of my heart. Take the time to listen, to really hear what my heart is telling me. To be able to appreciate, even during the darkest hours, the beauty that surrounds me. The love that is reaching out to me. And to listen to the compass, my own inner voice, that is guiding me to follow the path I was meant to take.. 

For this meme, I would like to tag the following bloggers:

• Jos from NoDirectOn: not NoDirection, who has supported and comforted me in so many ways, and has initiated a wonderful quote contest on his blog. If you like cool quotes, do pay his blog a visit! (Jos, I know you already answered this meme, but guess what, it didn't stop me from dedicating this meme to you ;-))
• Kathleen from So Grateful to be a Mormon, who always finds a way to brighten up my day, and loves quotes maybe even more than I do. She always knows how to find the most heart-warming quotes (e.g. here).
• Nicole from A Modern Goddess Online, for sharing her inspiration quotes on her blog.

I also was honored with the Blogging Mentor Award by Lynda Lehmann. Lynda's blog, Peripheral Vision, is a wonderful blog full of Lynda's photography and paintings. Do visit her blog to experience the beauty and peacefulness of her art! The Blogging Mentor Award was initiated by Sue from Blogging Sueblimely. I must say, I do have a hard time passing this award on, since I believe I learn a little (or a lot) from each and every blog I visit. To limit the list, I would like to pass this award on (and thank) a number of great blogs I just recently discovered:

• Being A Mom is Great
• Graciel's Eventstar Art
• Andrea's A Circle of Women
• Liara Covert's Dream Builders
• and Blue Ribbon Bloggers, and diverse community of bloggers, with an ever broader diversity of subjects. A great opportunity to get to know new bloggers!

Note: Please do not feel obliged to pass this award on. When you do pass it on, if you include a link to Sueblimely of Blogging Sueblimely and let her know, she will add links on her “Blogging Mentor Award Page” to you and the bloggers you have been awarded.

The Saint Francis Project - A Prayer for Peace

Bob, author of the blog Every Every Minute, recently initiated The Saint Francis Project. A project I gladly joined, give that it is an open invitation to reflect on the beautiful Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

This week, the subject is the first part of the prayer, that reflects on the way each and everyone of us can contribute to peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Hatred, which is more than often closely related to fear. Each and every day we are confronted with prejudice, against people with a different religion, race, or colour of skin. Prejudice that is one of the main causes for fear, and with that, hatred. Unfortunately, it is so easy to follow the general opinion, the stereotypes the media confront us with, and to just believe what you've heard about (an entire group of!) people. Instead of forming your own opinion, and encountering each and every person with an open mind. See them for who they are, who they want to be, instead of the perceived traits of the group they belong to..

It never ceases to amaze me how this labelling can even take place on the level of small children, where this prejudice/intolerance is literally heartbreaking. Something that can break the spirit of a child, and with that, have a longlasting, divastating effect.. Personally, I've witnessed both my children having one specific classmate labelled 'bad', and 'nothing but trouble' by both the teaching staff and other parents. Young boys (from the same family), that more than any other kid in that class, were in desperate need of just that little bit of guidance, of someone seeing them for who they are. Or better yet maybe: seeing them for who they could be..
Next to that, a class full of children were taught that there is such a thing as a child that is 'nothing but trouble'. An ideal opportunity was missed to teach those children one of the main assets in life: Compassion.

Because to me, trying to 'sowing love where there is hatred', can be best accomplished by trying to be more compassionate. Be more open-minded and curious towards others. From an earlier post 'Trying to be More Compassionate':
Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. Frederick Buechner

Other posts on this subject:
Give Peace A Chance, and
100 Ideas for a More Peaceful World

Give Peace A Chance: Join the Peace Train

There is no way to peace, peace is the way.
AJ. Muste

A New Year has begun. Another year in which war continues. In which the fear, distrust and prejudice between races and religions only seems to intensified. Resulting in intolerance, misconceptions and a (conceived) justification for war. When there in fact can never be a justification for war. War doesn't solve anything, it only further intensifies the hatred, and with that, the fear..

As the the Dalai Lama's states in his compelling Vision for A Compassionate Future:
We need to embrace a more realistic approach to dealing with human conflicts, an approach that is in tune with a new reality of heavy interdependence in which the old concepts of "we" and "they" are no longer relevant. In violent conflicts, the innocent are often the first casualties, as the war in Iraq and Sudan's Darfur crisis painfully remind us. Today, the only viable solution to human conflicts will come through dialogue and reconciliation based on the spirit of compromise (read more from his vision here).

Dialogue to create compassion and understanding, not only at the level of the world leaders. But, first and foremost, at the level of the people. Letting them get to really know each other on a friendly basis, to take away the misunderstanding, the negative emotions between each other. This is the only way to a long-term solution.
In the movie 10 Questions to the Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama's answer to the question how to resolve the conflict in the Middle East is even more simple. Simple but effective:
We need more festivals, more picnics. First make personal friends, than talk about the serious matters. All major world traditions have the same potential. To create harmony. To create peace of mind.
The results of initiatives like War Child, implementing just that, are hopeful. War Child organises workshops sporting events, theater lessons for children in (former) war zones. Here, children of both 'sides' of the fights play, laugh and talk with each other. And with that, invest in mutual understanding and peace for our future. A quote from one of the children participating in the workshops in the Middle East:
I encourage all children and my friends to participate too. Because their opinion about Jews and Arabs is influenced by the images the media show us. But I want them to experience it themselves, instead of only believing what they see on tv. Because of those images, they ask me how I can play and eat with 'these people'. And I used to be like that too; I couldn't even hear the word 'Jew'. But now, my friends want to try these workshops too!

Creating mutual understanding is only way to take away the fear, the misunderstanding, the prejudice. To me, blogging is one of the ways to create mutual understanding with people all around the world. But, maybe even more, to start a movement with kindred spirits to make a statement for Peace, against War. To make a difference by making people question the real, long-term benefits of war once more. To start of this New Year, Carol has started the Peace Train, a beautiful initiative to collectively Blog for Peace. Please join us here!

Now I've been crying lately,
thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating,
why can't we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again

Now I've been smiling lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun (lyrics Peace Train)

Thank You!

To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.

Almost a year has passed since I started this blog, my darkest year ever, due to numerous personal and professional hardships. Blogging has been one of my lifelines.. Blogging about inspiring people, positive news, and beautiful quotes. Blogging which has also brought me wonderful new friends, the discovery of numerous new blogs I deeply enjoy, and great comments to my blog. Without these friends, blogging wouldn't have been the beautiful experience it has been. To me, part of the joy of writing is the knowledge that I am sharing these stories with you!

This post is my way of saying A BIG THANK YOU to all of my visitors and frequent commenters who have made this such a beautiful experience for me!

This last month, a month normally filled with warmth and joy, has been particularly hard. And right this month, I have received more positive reactions, even heart-warming compliments, than ever. I want you all to know I deeply appreciate them, therefore my heartfelt special thanks to:

• Kathleen from So Grateful to Be Mormon
• Melissa from SuchSimplePleasures
• Jean from Cheerful Monk
• Lynda from Inner Sights, who also rewarded me with the Creative Blogger Award
• Lorna from Something Good
• Tracey from A Thinking Girl’s Thoughts on Life
• Nicole from A Modern Goddess Online
• Ejiro from Love Angle, who also rewarded me with the Nice Matters Award
• Vince from Try Change
• Claire Louise Head,
• Thomas L from Photos from Northern Norway
• Sally from Change is A Matter of Choice
• Donna from Krisscop’s House
• Muralidharan  from MJ-Lifetimelearning
• RubyShooZ from a Piece of Peace
• Michael from Reclamewereld
• bmgmom from Being a Mom is Great
• Jos from NoDirectOn (not: NoDirection) who also rewarded me (a.o) with the Community Blogger Award
• Thriver from Survivors can Thrive
• Footiam from Beautiful World
• Sherxr from uR rEsiDent CheF
• Andreas Miller from the new Good News Site Goodiggnews.com
• Evan Hadkins from WellBeing and Health,
• and of course, last but certainly not least, my own Mom (dank je wel!!)

If there are blogs in this list you're not familiar with yet, please pay them a visit. I can guarantee you each and everyone of them is wonderful in its own way! My best wishes to all my readers for a wonderful, peaceful and loving New Year!! 

A Community Success: Free Rice Update

Over the last couple of weeks, the Free Rice website has gained a lot of publicity. And indeed, as I mentioned in Fun Ways to Donate, the concept brilliantly combines fun and doing good at the same time. This week, the first results were communicated, and they are astonishing: the one billionth grain of rice was donated to WFP – enough to feed more than 50,000 people for one day. A beautiful example of the difference we all can make!

From the World Food Programme website:

Rome, 9 November 2007 - The head of the UN’s World Food Programme Josette Sheeran has acclaimed the phenomenally successful internet-based vocabulary game FreeRice as an example of the Web’s power to mobilise millions of people in the fight against global hunger.

Every grain of rice is essential in the fight against hunger.

Josette Sheeran, WFP Executive Director

Yesterday marked the one billionth grain of rice donated to WFP through an innovative, dynamic online campaign – enough to feed more than 50,000 people for one day.

“Every grain of rice is essential in the fight against hunger,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran, adding that hunger claims more lives than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

“FreeRice really hits home how the Web can be harnessed to raise awareness and funds for the world’s number one emergency. The site is a viral marketing success story with more than one billion grains of rice donated in just one month to help tackle hunger worldwide.”

For every correct answer to FreeRice’s online vocabulary game, the site donates 10 grains of rice to its official humanitarian partner, WFP. Just 830 grains of rice were donated on FreeRice’s October 7 launch date. Since then, bloggers and social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook have helped spread the word and, on November 8 alone, over 70 million grains were donated – equivalent to more than seven million clicks on the site.

FreeRice is the latest brainchild of US online fundraising pioneer John Breen, who first tied funds to clicks on the Web in 1999 with the Hunger Site, at the time, a WFP partner. Breen runs the Poverty.com website, a portal for information and facts about hunger and related diseases.

Which Cause Really Touches YOUR Heart?

Every child needs at least one person in their life, whose eyes bright up when they enter the room - Oprah Winfrey

Galba Bright, from the Tune Up your EQ blog, tagged me for the Caring, Compassion and Charity meme, created by Alex Shalman from Alex Shalman.com. An incredibly beautiful meme, for several reasons. As Alex describes he, he is asking the community to 'list and write about the top 1 or 2 causes that simply make your palms sweat, your heart bleed, and send tears rolling down your cheeks. This experiment will benefit both the bloggers and the readers of those blogs.' And that is so true.. I love being able to read what causes really touch the heart of other bloggers. And for myself, to take the time to sit down and describe which cause really makes my heart bleed..

My cause is Children
I already dedicated a number of posts on this blog to charities dedicated to the benefit of children. Charities like HelloCreativity, and War Child, aiming to bring back joy in the lives of children who are suffering from the circumstances they were born in. Charities that try to make the future a more hopeful, happy, and peaceful one. Not only for these children, but for every one of us. Because children ARE our future.
The help these causes are able to provide warm the heart, provide hope for all of us.
The one thing that literally makes my tears come rolling down, are children for whom this help is too late.. Children that die at a very young age, due to a life filled with physical (and often mental) abuse. Children, who were only allowed to lead a life filled with fear and pain, and in some cases never, not even once in their life, had that feeling of comfort, safety, and closeness. Of being loved and cherished.
Unfortunately, this still occurs.. To me, this is incomprehensible. That in civilised societies like ours, where we have action groups for each and every cause, our most vulnerable group is still that subject to fate. To the fate of being born in an abusive environment.

Supporting this Cause
Creating awareness of the scale on which Child Abuse takes place is an important step in trying to prevent this, and that is one of the goals of the Dutch organisation No Kidding: "We cannot leave the problem just to the social workers, we can't count on the politicians, we cannot wait for the authorities. The care for children is everyone's responsibility. Together, we can work on the prevention of child abuse." My pledge therefore is to do everything I can to support this cause. Things that each and everyone of us can do:

• Be on the alert to the well-being of children around me and take responsibility.
• Help creating awareness.
• Most of these charities depend on the time (and expertise) of volunteers, so give whatever help I can give.
• And, last, but certainly not least.. Make sure my own children do sense that feeling of being loved, being cherished, being important to at least one person in their life!

What Cause Deeply Moves You?
I would really love to know what cause really moves you. Makes your heart beat that little bit harder.. Please share your thoughts in the comments below, or let me know if you would like me to tag you. For now, I would like to tag the following great bloggers:

Simone from Outfit Inspirations
Jos from NoDirectOn (not: NoDirection)
Carol from Dollar Philantropy
Marloes from Loesjes-DoubleDutch
Lorna from Something Good
Jennifer from Goodness Graciousness

Update: Given the deeply touching and beautiful comment Ejiro left here in response to this post, I am honored to also tag Ejiro from LOVE ANGLE.

Blog Action Day: What We CAN Do To Preserve The Environment

How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself - so always think positively. - Norman Vincent Peale

Today, it is Blog Action Day. Over 15.000 bloggers around the web, reaching an audience of over 12 Million readers, will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. The aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future; not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue to the table for discussion.
Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic.

This blog focuses on the Positive News. Positive People, Action and Possibilities that make a difference. On campaigns that use Positive Communication, focusing on what people CAN do, to create awareness or generate funds for their cause.

Therefore, this post is a tribute to positive environmental campaigns. Finding the most effective communication for creating awareness, balancing between a confronting and uplifting positive approach, is always tough.
Most environmental campaigns, however, only confront us with what will happen if we DON'T act. The ad Beach for the French Department of Ecology and Sustainable Development is a nice example though. Not an incredibly impressive ad, but a strong, positive philosophy:

To bring the two major environmental threats - climate change and loss of biodiversity - closer to people's everyday life. Without making them feel guilty, but by showing them that each and every individual can make a difference in his or her daily activities: it is possible to act at an individual level with small, accessible, tangible gestures. To fight these issues, there are no small gestures when we are 60 million doing them.

In line with that thought, a selection from Time's The Global Warming Survival Guide: 51 Things We Can Do To Save The Environment:

1. Change Your Lightbulbs
2. Hang Up a Clothes Line
3. Give New Life to Your Old Fleece
4. Ride the Bus (or Your Bike)
5. Pay Your Bills Online
6. Open A Window
7. Have An Energy Audit of Your Home
8. Skip the Steak
9. Say No to Plastic Bags
10. Shut off Your Computer
11. End the Paper Chase
12. Fill Your Car With Passengers
13. Check Your Tires
14. Consume Less, Share More, Live Simply

A Positive Impact: A Guide to Personal Development

I'm not really into publishing big lists of blogs, only if I truly believe they are of any value to my readers. Priscilla Palmer, author of the Personal Development Demands Success Blog, wrote the following beautiful rationale for her Personal Development List:

“When I go to bed before I fall asleep, I have a habit of asking (myself, God, and the universe) a question like 'what can I write about that will have a positive impact on the world?' Then I close my eyes and let ideas flow in. I had been spending hours everyday searching for personal development sites to connect with. It was during this practice that the W-list and personal development started spinning in my head, and how the idea for The Personal Development List was born.”

I am honored to have been added to this list. Even more, I am pleased to be able to help Priscilla make that positive impact, since it is exactly what I hope to achieve with this blog!
The list has by now become quite immense, but contains a great number of positive, uplifting and inspiring blogs. Do check out the list, and get introduced to some new blogs you might enjoy!

Personal Development List (up to date):

For Every Kind of Blogger: Blog Action Day, October 15th

Quiz: What Kind of Blogger Are You?

As a reminder of yet another great community initiative, Blog Action Day on October 15th, the Blog Action Day team has sent out an email to all participating blogs. At this very moment, already an estimated reach is expected of over 5,5 million readers, from almost 8,000 blogs participating!

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. The aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future; not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue to the table for discussion.

To promote Blog Action Day, a nice viral quiz has been created: What Kind of Blogger Are You? After taking the quiz, you can embed your personal badge on your site, stating what kind of blogger you are. Furthermore, as a follow-up on the beautiful first promo video for Blog Action Day, the video below is now available:
Join in on Blog Action Day, and help spread the word!

Blogging Against Abuse

On September 27th, bloggers around the world join in BlogCatalog’s Blogging for a Great Cause Challenge. This Month’s Blogging Challenge is Bloggers Against Abuse. The ambition is to initiate the largest group of bloggers to ever blog about an important cause, all on the same day.
To me, this is what blogging is all about, using the power of the community to create a better world. When joining hope and creating awareness for a cause on such a large scale, positive outcome simply can not be denied.
Especially in the case of abuse, where awareness is crucial. Awareness on the scale on which abuse is taking place, but even more important, awareness on the action people can (and should) take to stop it!

The video below communicates in an incredibly strong way exactly that necessity to take action. To do whatever you can to stop abuse: Do nothing and you may as well lend a hand!

Via Social Advertising

NO KIDDING - Netwerk tegen Kindermishandeling

- Elk jaar worden in Nederland 80.000 kinderen mishandeld.-
- 50 tot 80 kinderen sterven jaarlijks aan de gevolgen van mishandeling. Dat is meer dan één per week.. - [bron] 

Vandaag, als onderdeel van het internationale Blogging Against Abuse, speciale aandacht voor NO KIDDING - het landelijk netwerk tegen kindermishandeling.
NO KIDDING werkt aan bewustwording van de schokkende cijfers op het gebied van kindermishandeling in Nederland, om daarmee alle Nederlanders bewust te maken van de noodzaak iets te doen!
Een ontwikkeld land als Nederland is het aan zichzelf, maar vooral aan de kinderen, verplicht om kindermishandeling tegen te gaan: de zorg voor kinderen is niet een kwestie is van liefdadigheid, maar van verantwoordelijkheid! Daaraan kan IEDEREEN bijdragen.

Wat kun je doen?
Het No-Kidding netwerk is er speciaal om mensen met daadkracht, creactieve ideeën en initiatieven bijeen te brengen in de strijd tegen kindermishandeling. Voel je je aangesproken, wil je iets ondernemen?

Je kunt meehelpen aan bewustwording, bijvoorbeeld door te schrijven voor het web-log. Door bij NO-KIDDING posters, stickers en kaarten te bestellen, om zelf te gebruiken en te verspreiden in je omgeving. Door de NO KIDDING commercial te downloaden en door te sturen naar familie, vrienden en kennissen. En door de school van je kinderen aan te sporen om i.s.m. NO KIDDING een bewustwordingsactie te organiseren over kindermishandeling.

Je kunt zelf (of met je bedrijf) je tijd doneren en werk doen voor het NO KIDDING team. Neem contact op met No-Kidding en overleg hoe jij kunt bijdragen. Of je kunt natuurlijk financieel steunen door een (eenmalige) donatie te doen aan No-Kidding.

Het belangrijkste echter: Onderneem actie als je kindermishandeling vermoedt! Lees 'Waar kun je heen met je zorg om een kind', met advies om zorgvuldig, zonder directe beschuldigingen, met eventuele vermoedens om te gaan.

A Tribute to: Giving Bloggers

To me the most beautiful (and challenging) opportunity blogging offers, is the chance to make a difference in people's life. No matter how small, having a positive influence on someone else's life by encouragement, giving, or sharing is a gift worth giving.
Just how powerful this can be was illustrated to me by some inspiring co-bloggers during the last couple of weeks. Very difficult days due to family illness. But just when I needed it the most, I was moved by some great 'receiving'. Receiving of three (!) beautiful awards, receiving of a number of absolutely unexpected links to my blog. This post is a tribute to those giving to me, a THANK YOU for brightening up my day(s)!
For me, this experience has been a true affirmation of the positive effects blogging can have. The mere act of giving had an impact none of the bloggers probably realised. But in fact, they really made a difference to me!

In two different posts, the concept of giving and rewarding fellow bloggers was beautifully described and illustrated by the following bloggers. :

• BigMike wrote a comment on this blog pointing me to PassionateBlogger's Give and Receive Series. A series that "will focus on ways you can increase your giving. When you stop focusing on what you expect to receive and start focusing your passion on the art of giving before you know it your blog will overflow with with life and community. The receiving part will take care of itself." Giving, for examply by adding sites to your Technorati favorites, Stumble Upon or using Alexa Ranking. Following his advice, BigMike wrote a post Finding New Friends.
• ProBloggers Matrix gave an excellent piece of advice in How do you REWARD your COMMENTERS and those who have BACKLINKED to your blog? To illustrate his point, he added a list of commenters.

In both cases, it was a definitely welcome and encouraging surprise to discover links to my own blog!
Next to that, I received three inspirational awards these last couple of days from my blogging friends Christy, Ann and Jos.
There's seems to be quite a lot of these awards going around lately. But nevertheless, receiving these little tokens of recognition can be just the thing that keeps you going. Therefore, not only a thank you to the ones giving me these awards, but also to the initiators:

The Best From My Newly Discovered Blogs

As I have mentioned to you before, I'm discovering a whole bunch of great new blogs. Inspiring blogs, such as the Positive Blog Network, that enlighten me, and make me see more clearly where my own passion and added value could be. While surfing these blogs I came accross these really outstanding posts. Posts I hope you will like just as much as I did!

• Do People Really Want Transparency and Authenticity? I bet your first reaction would be, just like mine: of course!! Yet, a really interesting discussion is taking place on CopyBlogger.
• Though I must say I had some reservations, I recently joined MyBlogLog as a means to get to know interesting new blogs. On MyBlogLog's Blog, Andrew Wee wrote an interesting post on Unlocking the Social Inner Circle Code. Being fed up with having to delete hundreds of messages each morning containing no more than 'welcome to/visit my blog at xxx.blog.xxx', he writes some excellent advice: "Breaking into the social circle requires that you provide value to the blogger, or the blogger's community. Value is created, e.g. when 1) You provide a new piece of information, 2) You provide a well-supported opinion to what the blogger said, 3) You provide an application of something the blogger wrote about. You provide all this information freely and without any expectation of receiving anything in return.". In short, the ever so true concept of 'social reciprocity'.
• Monk at Work's Does the World Need your Blog? A beautiful, uplifting post for anyone who is kind of at a loss on his or her blog: "If you’re just adding to the noise, then no, probably not. But if you’re sharing the music inside you, then yes. A resounding, full, and overwhelming yes."
• Last, a post from the inspiring blog Pick the Brain. I bet you all know the feeling now and then of being overwhelmed with all the stuff going on. At work, in your family, in other relationships. Time to sit back, relax and still be able to listen to your own 'inner voice' might become more and more problematic. Read these 7 Powerful Relaxation Techniques to stress out a bit!

Blog Communities for a Better Future

OMG.. could I ready be an addict? Only minutes before leaving on a holiday, I'm stumbling upon these great blog community projects. To me, this is what blogging is all about, using the power of the community to try to create a better world. When joining forces, the overall impact can be tremendous. Steps, no matter how small, will be taken!
First, I came across the Group community project at Something Good last week. A project to encourage bloggers to write on environmental issues, charitable causes, self improvement, saving money, and tips for making things easier in everyday life. A fun group project, even involving prices! At a very bad day personally, I have won a Gratitude Gift set.. Thanks Lorna!!

Today, I also came across the Blog Action Day (via Alles Kan Altijd Beter). A community project in which: "On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future. Blog Action Day is about MASS participation." At this very moment, with only 58 days to go, 437 blogs are already participating.

A comparable initiative was started over at BlogCatalog: 'You can be a Part of Blogging History. On September 27th, 1,000s of bloggers around the world will join in BlogCatalog's Blogging for a Great Cause Challenge.' The Challenge:  Bloggers Against Abuse. The ambition is to be part of the largest group of bloggers to ever blog about an important cause, all on the same day.

Every single one of them great ideas. But even more, incredibly inspiring to see the huge number of blogs spontaneously contributing and jumping in to help! Now all I need to do is find out how to start a BlogCatalog account...

Blog Holiday - The Best from the Archives

The best from the past, heading in a new direction
I'll be on a holiday for the next couple of weeks. Incredible, no internet connection for 10 days. No means to visit and engage on the great new blogs I discovered (see Personal Favorites). Read articles with great blogging advice, like e.g. Problogger's inspiring article on Invigorate your readers with passionate and energetic articles. Blogs that are helping me to determine where my own blog should be heading.
On the other hand, this 'time off' will also give me a break to further ponder on this new direction. For this blog, that started off as a general Marketing and Communication Blog, hence the url (http://marcomblog.web-log.nl). I discovered that that was not really where my soul is, what gives me energy. More and more, I've been focusing on social campaigns. On world's brilliant, simple ideas that really are (or will be) making a difference. A difference in for example the lives of the children that need it the most.
Ideas that hopefully are of interest, and ideally engaging and inspiring to my readers as well. As Problogger indicates, for that to happen a blogger needs to formulate his own inspiration and passion on a subject. Since I’m more of the introvert type, this to me is 'rather' difficult, but also quite a beautiful challenge (uhmm, come to think of it, I might just need more than those 10 days..;-)).

Below I listed my favourites from the archive. Posts that in my opinion best indicate where I've been, and are part of where I will be going.

1. The TAP project: 0$ costs, 1.7M days of water and Playing for Water - Two brilliant ideas, brilliant in their simplicity, brilliant in their effect.
2. The Global Elders - A global initiative of world's most inspiring leaders joining forces.
3. A Tribute to Thinking Differently
4. Advertising Community for Responsible Communication - A community to have advertising professionals from all continents use their core talent - creativity - to play a significant role in addressing today’s crucial world issues.
5. The power of your Signature - a post in Dutch, but with two incredibly strong viral ads.
6. The healing power of Music -  A post in Dutch, on the joy music can bring to children that are spending their days in children's hospitals.
7. Bury your Head

If you have any reaction, advice or feedback on this post, please do post it in the comments below (or email me); it's more than welcome!

Charity Blogger Award

Wow.. wow.. WOW.. Sorry, I'm really speachless here. I've received a Charity Blogger Award from my very dear friend Jos from NoDirectOn (not: NoDirection). A blog which has deservingly been described as a Cool Concept Blog, and frankly, I couldn't think of a better description!

The Charity Blogger Award is an award for those who: use blogging to help others and to raise awareness of those in need. Those who post charity links, or who are involved in fund raising campaigns, or who make posts about charitable causes. Those who care enough to help others deserve this award. That's definitely feels like way too much credit for me, but I'm really honored with it though..  For me personally it is a very inspiring award, because it focuses me on where this blog should be (and hopefully is) going!

This award, and others like the Couragous Blogging Award and the Inspirational Blogging Award, have been created by Christy from Christy's Coffee Break and Writer's Review. Christy is (IMHO) a great blogger, first and foremost because she inspires and helps other bloggers to find their way in the blogosphere. See e.g. her post on The Power of Comments!

Jos, a big, BIG thanks!!

Natuurlijk recyclen

Sinds begin juni een mooi nieuw Social marketing and fundraising blog BL'ONG": a creative sharing area for fundraising. Daarop o.a. deze campagne van WWF Roemenië 'Natura nu e reciclabila'. Agency Ogilvy & Mather, Romania.

Maar ook deze zeer creatieve campagne van the Salvation Army in Argentië. Deze posters hangen in pashokjes van de grotere warenhuizen. De klerenhaakjes zijn vervangen door de 'uitgestoken wijsvinger'. Buiten de hokjes staat een bak om je oude kleding eventueel te doneren.

McDonalds seeks Mom's approval

Bloggende moeders als 'fastfood ambassadeurs'

De discussies over een verbod op fastfood en snoepgoed reclames gericht op kinderen zijn komen op de diverse marketing-blogs met grote regelmaat voorbij. TV-reclames gericht op kinderen, maar ook verpakkingen met stripfiguren, spaarplaatjes en meer van dat soort onzin zouden aan banden moeten worden gelegd.

De discussie over al dan niet een verbod op die reclame wordt vaak afgedaan met het argument dat 'die' ouders hun verantwoordelijkheid eens moeten nemen. De term 'ruggegraatloze' ouders zag ik al ergens voorbijkomen. Die ouders, die uiteindelijk bepalen wat er in het boodschappenmandje belandt, moeten natuurlijk hun verantwoordelijkheid nemen.

Wat mij echter verbaast in dergelijke discussies is dat er voor volwassenen regelmatig dergelijke maatregelen worden besproken: bijvoorbeeld minder 'leen'-reclames, minder reclames voor gokken. Laten we mensen vooral tegen zichzelf beschermen. Maar nu gaat het over kinderen, die aantoonbaar op jonge leeftijd het onderscheid nog niet kunnen leggen tussen reclame en waarheid. Die natuurlijk graag die stickers van stripfiguren willen hebben. Maar dan is het opeens alleen de verantwoordelijkheid van de ouders? Natuurlijk, dat is en blijft het, maar nu overgewicht bij kinderen steeds schrijnender wordt (zie bijv. ook Paul Rosemoller's Convenant Overgewicht), mogen ze best een handje geholpen worden!

In die stijgende roep om beperking van die reclames heeft McDonalds in de US nu een briljante manier gevonden om zijn fastfood aan te man (of eigenlijk het kind) te brengen: gebruik moeders als ambassadeurs!

Het blog-debat: open én anoniem?

Ik schreef er onlangs al over op CommLog: op Internet lijkt iedereen tegenwoordig een mening over alles te hebben. En die dan ook graag te ventileren. Liefst anoniem helaas, dat dan wel weer.

Want vanachter zo’n alias is het toch wel erg makkelijk om je mening te geven. Een mening die zo ingetypt is, en waar je je verder niet voor hoeft te verantwoorden, dus waarom niet. En als men inhoudelijk niets bij te dragen heeft aan de discussie, dan is het anoniem ook zo makkelijk om over te gaan tot een persoonlijke aanval. Fatsoensnormen waar je in een normale 'face-to-face' discussie wel rekening mee zou (moeten) houden, gelden opeens niet meer.
Het is een uitdaging daar als blog mee om te gaan. Want zo'n moddersmijterij blijkt anderen te weren. Die graag inhoudelijk willen meediscussieren, maar domweg geen trek hebben om aan een discussie van een dergelijk niveau deel te nemen. Of erger nog, mogelijk zélf opeens het 'lijdend voorwerp' te worden. En dan schiet je je doel als (inhoudelijk) blog voorbij.

In Folia 31 een interessant interview met Tamara Witschge, die onderzoek deed naar (In)difference Online. Een onderzoek dat zich richt op de vraag of een open debat via Internet überhaupt mogelijk is.

Monitoren blogs door PR-professionals minimaal

Wederom interessant artikel op Frankwatching over bloggen: Drie-kwart van PR-professionals blijkt geen blogs te monitoren. Onvoorstelbaar. Onvoorstelbaar gezien de impact van die blogs. Onvoorstelbaar gezien hoe snel een discussie compleet kan escaleren. Maar ook als het niet escalleert is het gewoon verdomd handig om te weten hoe er over je gedacht wordt, hoe bepaalde externe communicatie wordt geïnterpreteerd.. Zelfs voor een kleine, bijzonder onbekende stichting als het UAF blijkt dit voor te komen, op niet de minste sites. Dat grote bedrijven, waar de imago-schade snel gemaakt is, met dit nieuwe fenomeen zo nonchalant omgaan blijft me verbazen... Terwijl de tools om te monitoren eenvoudig en beschikbaar zijn.

Maar goed, terug naar het onderzoek.

Waarom Bloggen

Leuke samenvatting van een Duits onderzoek naar Bloggen op Frankwatching! Wat voor types Bloggers zijn er, Hoe vindbaar zijn de blogs, de meest interessante (m.i.): welke rol spelen de verschillende beweegredenen om te gaan bloggen, en waarom leest men eigenlijk blogs.

Eén van de conclusies: blogs zijn over het algemeen nog (te)moeilijk vindbaar. Een interessante vergelijking wordt in het onderzoek gemaakt tussen de  verschillende motieven voor schrijvers vs. die van de lezers van de blogs, zoals o.a.:

• Het bieden/lezen van extra informatie t.o.v. andere media: voor 64% (bloggers) vs. 68% (lezers)
• Discussie - om ideëen met anderen uit te wisselen: 57% vs. 19%
• Om ergernis en kritiek kwijt te kunnen: 26% vs. 8%
• Omdat de klassieke media mij niet (meer) aanspreken: 29% vs. 19%

En natuurlijk, m.n. voor de schrijvers: omdat ik zelf graag schrijf (67%). Herkenbaar? Voor mijzelf zeker. Opvallend dat inderdaad maar een deel van lezers aangeeft behoefte te hebben om te discussieren. Nog opvallender echter dat dit percentage bij lange na niet gehaald wordt op de meeste vakblogs; reactiepercentages schommelen tussen de 1 en 10%. En dat blijft jammer.. Zo schrijf ik zelf ook voor CommLog, waar het aantal reacties echt heel laag is. En meestal beperkt tot de CommLoggers zelf. En dat is zonde, en vaak ook een reden waarom veel bloggers weer afhaken.

Corporate Blogging in Nederland

Anke Huiskes, studente aan de Universiteit Twente, heeft in opdracht van VODW Marketing een onderzoek uitgevoerd naar het gebruik van Corporate Weblogs in Nederland. Hieronder de delen uit de uitgebreide samenvatting staat op MolBlog. Wel aardig om mijn eigen blog eens op de do's and don'ts te checken ;-))

Reden tot bezoek van corporate blogs
Mensen bezoeken corporate weblogs omdat ze een goede beeldvorming willen krijgen over de werkwijze van het bedrijf en omdat ze het interessant vinden om mee te kunnen praten over nieuwe ideeën en concepten van het bedrijf (65 procent).
Daarnaast omdat ze op die manier op een persoonlijke manier met het bedrijf kunnen communiceren (39 procent).

Communiceren in 6 woorden

Robert Hruzek van Middle Zone Musings heeft onlangs een wedstrijd Let's be brief gehouden van 'verhalen' bestaande uit niet meer (of minder) dan 6 woorden. Leuke voorbeelden komen voorbij, zie hieronder voor een aantal van mijn persoonlijke favorieten. Voor mij tegelijkertijd een zinnige oefening. Ik merk dat ik af en toe niet snel genoeg 'to-the-point' kom, en in een discussie of posting er (te) veel bij wil halen. Eerst even (voor mezelf) in een beperkt aantal woorden de kern samenvatten dus. Zo zou de rode draad van dit blog toch ook in 6 woorden samen te vatten moeten zijn. Een eerste poging: Inspiratie, communicatie, dialoog. Creativiteit, marketing, co-creatie. Mmh, mis ik alleen nog weer die Zingeving, betrokkenheid, effectiviteit. En daar ga ik dus alweer, moet nog veel oefenen geloof ik ;-)).. 

Hieronder mijn favo's uit de amerikaanse 'inzendingen'. Eigen (Nederlandse) suggesties? Vul maar aan in de reacties, ik zet ze er graag bij!!

• Not always right but never wrong.
• Write story. Make millions. Save world.
• In between her smiles, despair danced.
• Trust. Things work out. Soon, please.
• Found in empty nest: lost self.
• Rise and shine; make a difference.
• Book still unfinished. Blogging wins again.
• You didn't eat that, did you?
• Marry you? you gotta be kidding.

Een Corporate Blog (2): de ROI

Tja, dan heb je de (initiele) kosten van een Corporate blog zo'n beetje in zicht, dan komt de volgende vraag: maak hier maar eens een business case voor..

Forrester's Charlene Li geeft op haar blog een interessante inleiding van twee Forrester rapportjes over de ROI van blogging, en onderstaand overzicht van relevante meetvariabelen, en manieren om de waarde hiervan te bepalen (via). Natuurlijk is de relevantie geheel afhankelijk van je eigen doelstellingen, zo mis ik er voor 'mijn' corporate blog wel een paar. Echter absoluut een nuttige leidraad! (nou alleen nog een ROI opstellen voor het rapportje zelf ;-))

Lees ook eerdere stukjes: Een Corporate Blog(1), en de reacties op mijn bijdrage op CommLog: Het Corporate Blog: een communicatieve ROI?

Marco Derksen is bezig met een Nederlands onderzoek naar de ROI van Bloggen, en verwijst ook naar een ouder rapport van Arthur Andersen: Online Communities in Business, en de follow-up: Online Communities in Business: Past Progress, Future Directions

Een Corporate Blog

Tja, nu ik het toch over mijn goede voornemens heb, heel prominent staat daarop het opzetten van een Corporate Blog. En dat blijkt toch niet zo eenvoudig.. Zoals Diederik Heinink zich ook al afvroeg op MolBlog: Waar blijven ze?

Het is de laatste tijd angstvallig stil op dit vlak, terwijl steeds vaker de consumenten de (marketing)blogs wél weten te vinden: zodra er op één van de marketing-vakblogs over bijv. de H&M wordt geschreven, druppelen de adreswijzigingen, klachten en vragen van consumenten binnen. En dus: 1) is de behoefte aan klantzijde er zeker, en 2) als bedrijven consumenten hier niet zélf de gelegenheid toe bieden, vinden ze wel andere plekken om hun frustratie kwijt te kunnen! En de voordelen zijn natuurlijk legio: zo scoort een goed (corporate) blog hoger dan een reguliere website in de zoekmachines, verhoogt de binnen de non-profit sector zo cruciale transparantie, en bovenal: het maakt een directe interactie met je klant mogelijk. En dat zou toch moeten zijn waar elke marketeer naar streeft?

Echter, natuurlijk zijn de bezwaren (of eigenlijk angsten) er ook; het dagelijks onderhouden van een weblog betekent een forse tijdsbesteding (waarvan de revenue niet op voorhand inzichtelijk kan worden gemaakt), en verlies van controle vanuit corporate communicatie. En zeker voor de politiek gevoelige onderwerpen zijn dit zowel qua postings als qua reacties heel valide bezwaren...

Co-creation met Joseph Jaffe: what's stopping you?

Joseph Jaffe, auteur van Life after the 30-second spot, vraagt voor zijn nieuwe boek "Join the Conversation: How to Engage Marketing-Weary Customers With The Power of Community, Dialogue and Partnership." op Join the Conversation input van zijn lezers. Het achterliggende idee volgens Jaffe:

The Idea: I want JTC to walk its talk and demonstrate the power of conversation, open-source, consumer generated content and the like. If you think about it, I have my work cut out for me…considering this is a book after all i.e. a hard-covered linear, finite and static piece of communication: the opposite of a fluid and organic conversation.

2006: Het jaar van de ethische discussies

Terugkijkend op de verschillende top 10 lijstjes voor 2006 toch heel veel m.n. ethische discussies. AH met zijn gehypte Wuppies, de naamsverandering van de negerzoenen, de blogdwalingen van WallMart en een aantal totaal misplaatste, al dan niet officiele, uitingen van Lego. Maar ook de confrontatie tussen Joost Ravoo en de NS. Meerdere items hierover, op Adfoblog en Commlog met als discussiepunt 'Liegen mag'. O.a. resulterend in een Fusion workshop 'Liegen mag'.. Ik ben er helaas niet bijgeweest, aangezienlijk dit eigenlijk voor mij geen discussie is.. Of, zoals ik op CommLog schreef:

Als ik zo de top 10 lijstjes op de verschillende blogs eens langs loop waren het afgelopen jaar de meest uitgebreide én interessante discussies diegene rond min of meer ethische vraagstukken.
Ik denk echter wel dat je juist als professional moet bepalen wanneer die lijn voor jou persoonlijk wordt overschreden.

Kortom, ik denk dat je hier uit en en te na over kunt discussieren, maar dit zal niet naar een conclusie convergeren; hier is geen algemeen geldend standpunt over in te nemen. Je zult zelf als marketeer (en als bedrijf) je eigen normen en waarden moeten definieren en hanteren. Uiteindelijk zal je klant dit ook doen. Jammer dat daar nog niet wat meer gegevens over bekend zijn, over het uiteindelijke effect op de verkopen... Wordt ongetwijfeld vervolgd!

Mijn eigen blog..

Wow, mijn eigen blog.. Na een paar items als gast blogger op Vue Royale heb ik nu de verslaving te pakken..En dus begonnen met mijn eigen Marketing en Communicatie Blog. Op Vue Royale heb ik o.a. geschreven over Fusion 2006 (Kluwer nog bedankt voor het gratis kaartje ;-)), User Generated Content, en TomTom's briljante marketing campagne. Maar ook de (on-line) ontwikkelingen uit mijn eigen branche, de chari-sector: o.a. Nokia's samenwerking met Villa Pardoes, en Sire's campagne tegen kindermishandeling. 

Hoop dat het me gaat lukken om een er een inspirerend blog van te maken; op naar een goed jaar!