universal positive » Beta Cool Free

Primer for the new year

Roger Darnell — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:48:54 +0000

For me personally, this is the time of year when business takes center stage after many weeks of relative inaction. In my experience, strategic focus is essential at this moment in order to maximize the best opportunities while also understanding all the real imperatives of success and ensuring they are given top priority today and tomorrow.

Fortunately, I have many wise, experienced friends and counselors who have provided a virtual MBA of priceless information, motivation and inspiration over the past few weeks for free. Here are six links I feel are very likely to help your upcoming actions soar in the right directions. Some lead to articles, some to eBooks; each is highly recommended.

. “The Best Talks of 2011” by Madeleine Rebbechi for Portable.tv
. “The Digital Handbook 2012” from Popular Science, Esquire and Amazon.com
. “Exploiting Chaos – 150 Ways to Spark Innovation During Times of Change” by Jeremy Gutsche for TrendHunter.com
. “How to Become an Expert” by David Baker for ReCourses.com
. “Make 2012 Your Best Year Yet” by Erin Schulte for Fast Company
. “Three Ways Remarkable Leaders Get Noticed” by Joel Garfinkle for TanveerNaseer.com.

Giving season: Heroes

Roger Darnell — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:00:54 +0000

Together with my family, I am sending my warmest thoughts to many friends and colleagues worldwide, and feeling a lot of gratitude. I truly appreciate your help in sending daily clicks to www.hungersite.com, where our simple mouseclicks can benefit a number of vital causes each and every day.

I’m also especially thankful to Tommy Ewasko and the individuals behind my client companies ATTIK, Brand New School, King and Country, Leviathan, Shilo and Thornberg & Forester for their leadership and help in supporting the following heroic organizations.

. The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (www.ChristopherReeve.org) is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury – and improving the quality of the lives of people living with paralysis.

. Amazing Grace Children’s Foundation (www.AmazingGraceCF.org) is a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Glendale, California, dedicated to helping children who are critically or terminally ill.

. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (www.pedaids.org) is currently waging an aggressive campaign to accelerate the response of the United States to children living with AIDS around the world.

. With their mission of ending hunger and poverty, and caring for the earth, over the past 60 years, Heifer International (www.heifer.org) has transformed the lives of millions of families by providing gifts of cows, goats and other livestock. Along with the animals, families receive extensive training in animal care and learn environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Each gift of livestock starts a chain reaction of self-reliance that spreads throughout the communities, as each family who receives an animal agrees to “pass on the gift” by sharing their animal’s offspring with others in need.

. The Hole in the Wall Gang Fund (www.holeinthewallgang.org) was established by Paul Newman in 1988 as a nonprofit residential summer camp and year-round center designed to serve children and families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses and conditions. Each summer, more than 1,000 children between the ages of 7 and 15 from the U.S. and abroad attend The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp free of charge. Programs are also offered in the off-season for campers, their families, and healthcare professionals… and in support of associated camps throughout the world.

. The Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.LiveStrong.org) unites people to fight cancer, providing the resources survivors need to live life on their own terms.

. The National Children’s Cancer Society (www.theNCCS.org) is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with cancer and their families worldwide.

. The V Foundation (www.JimmyV.org) is dedicated to saving lives by helping to find a cure for cancer.

Giving season: Love

Roger Darnell — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:00:20 +0000

In the video above, in his own words, Narayanan Krishnan says, “I thought, what is the purpose of my life? What am I going to do? …And I quit my job and I started feeding all these people from 2002.” And later: “There are thousand and thousands and lots and lots of people suffering. What is the ultimate purpose of life? It’s to give. Start giving. See the joy of giving.“

I have done some research on homelessness over the years, and we all know that there are displaced people living on the city streets everywhere in America. The organizations and initiatives highlighted below represent just some of the many phenomenal community efforts supporting homeless people in the U.S. and elsewhere. I found many of them through JustGive.org, and I’m also proud to point you to this list JustGive publishes, entitled 35 Ways You Can Help the Homeless. They list as item 7, “give money,” and to that, I’ll add my plea to give whatever you have to spare (from loose change to your time), to those people you see in need.

Also, it’s the time of year when I invite you to join me in sending daily clicks to www.hungersite.com, where our simple mouseclicks can benefit a number of vital causes each and every day.

Thank you!

. World Hunger Year (www.worldhungeryear.org) is a non-profit that fosters numerous programs and activities to effectively advance long-term solutions to hunger and poverty by supporting community-based organizations that empower individuals and build self-reliance.

. The mission of the National Coalition for the Homeless (www.nationalhomeless.org) is to end homelessness in the United States. Among many other noteworthy initiatives over the past several years, NCH launched the Bringing America Home Act, taking to Congress the belief that people need affordable housing, livable incomes, health care, protection of civil rights and access to education.

. In New York City, the Partnership for the Homeless (www.partnershipforthehomeless.org), which began in 1982 with a single emergency shelter for men in the basement of a Greenwich Village church, has developed numerous programs to meet the changing needs of homeless people who live on the streets or in the city’s public spaces and shelters, families with children, the frail and elderly, those living with HIV/AIDS, veterans, victims of domestic violence, older unemployed workers, and unskilled workers who cannot afford housing outside the city’s shelter system. The Partnership strives to provide decent and affordable housing, community-based social services, stabilizing aftercare, and effective job training that translates into self-sufficiency and independence.

. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Coalition (www.lahsc.org) and the San Francisco Homeless Services Coalition (www.sfhsc.org) have raised millions of dollars to support shelters across California, specifically benefiting homeless women, children, and families. Along with linking residents and their resources with area shelters needing donations, these groups also educate their communities about the causes of homelessness to raise awareness and understanding, and to enlist them in aiding homeless individuals in need.

eBay’s give-a-toy stores

Roger Darnell — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:30:45 +0000

Starting last Friday and for the next month, shoppers in New York City and San Francisco can use their mobile phones to purchase toys for children in need at two new interactive storefronts presented by eBay and Toys for Tots. The initiative conceived and produced by advertising agency Venables Bell & Partners features interactive displays created by international production company and design studio Brand New School (BNS) and its School of Interactive Media.

As reported by TheInspirationRoom.com, all web-connected shoppers can experience the Give-A-Toy Store and make donations online by visiting www.eBay.com/GiveAToyStore and www.Facebook.com/eBay.

Forces for good: TONIC and YOU

Roger Darnell — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:47:27 +0000

TONIC is a platform for brands (consumers, celebrities and causes) to educate, interact and engage consumers around positive actions. Started as a destination for good news content, TONIC now generates its own news via the worlds of Silicon Valley, Madison Avenue, Philanthropy and Hollywood. This week they shared 10 thoughtful tips on ways to do good and be awesome this summer. As their social media marketing manager Alethia Austin writes, “Here at Tonic, we believe the things to do during summer that are the most fun are those that have a positive effect on you, the people around you and our beautiful planet. We’ve put together a few ideas for you to consider when you find yourself wondering what to do during these long, wonderful summer days.” I’ve summarized their suggestions below, but encourage you to check out the full article linked above for further ideas and inspiration. Thank you very much for your interest, and for doing your part to make our world better for us and generations to come.

1. Pick up trash.

2. Donate food to local shelters or directly to homeless individuals.

3. Provide direct support to a local teacher.

4. Plant a garden (Tonic tip: www.guerrillagardening.org)

5. Plan ahead, save water and use reusable containers.

6. Be proactive in helping animals (yours and others) stay hydrated.

7. Challenge yourself to not eat meat or fish for a week or longer.

8. Forgive others!

9. Give your time by volunteering (Tonic tip: www.volunteermatch.org)

10. Read books on philanthropy (Tonic tip: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin).

Game on for ATTIK in The Onion’s new iPad edition

Roger Darnell — Mon, 23 May 2011 12:00:37 +0000

Last week, global creative agency ATTIK proudly announced the debut of its original interactive in-app game for Scion inside the new iPad edition of The Onion, America’s Finest News Source (http://theonion.com). The Scion “College Rebate Rally” game appears as an interstitial ad in the June iPad edition of The Onion.

“Together, with ATTIK and Scion, we were able to create a new kind of entertaining advertising experience,” said Michael Greer, CTO at The Onion. “This is a fun, new technology for us and it is always great to collaborate with brands who share an interest in pushing the limits to produce something innovative and exciting.”

More information on Scion’s College Graduate Rebate Program is available at www.scion.com/college.

Further project details are here: http://go.attik.com/2a2

Download The Onion’s iPad edition from iTunes here: http://go.attik.com/2a1

Pause Fest 2011 call for creative submissions

Roger Darnell — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:00:59 +0000

Melbourne Australia’s pioneer digital festival Pause Fest is set to showcase the future of technology, art and ideas from 7 through 13 November, 2011. Since the event is being designed to foster sharing, networking and education, creative companies and agencies worldwide are being invited to submit projects for possible display.

The festival will kick off with small events, exhibitions, projections, open studios, installations, product launches and interactive projects dispersed throughout the city of Melbourne Central Business District. It will culminate in one grand exhibition event, where visual artists, agency show reels and sponsored installations will all share the stage, stimulating meaningful interactions between Melbournians and the leading creative minds of our time.

If you are interested in getting involved, please check out the submissions and competition tabs at pausefest.com.au.

Play games, get lucky in Canada

Roger Darnell — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:19:28 +0000

At this very moment, and running on through Jan. 23, executives from Toyota Canada are hosting thousands of visitors at their impressive displays at this year’s Montreal International Auto Show. There, fans are simultaneously playing the Scion Canada Augmented Reality (AR) Racing Game developed for Scion by global creative agency ATTIK and its project partner, North Kingdom. In the addictive, award-winning game, fans virtually “take the wheel” of a Scion and navigate it through a menacing cityscape, for fun, bragging rights among their peers, and more importantly, a chance to win a 2011 Scion tC Urban Sports Coupe.

Promotions for the game will continue at shows in Toronto, Calgary, Québec City, Vancouver and Edmonton over the weeks to come, elsewhere at various lifestyle events across the country, and inside Scion’s 45 Canadian dealerships. For more specifics, please visit
Scion Canada’s official Events Calendar.

Meanwhile, for those Canadians who are snowed in or otherwise unable to catch these location-based promotions before the contest ends on April 25, the game is fully accessible online.

As shown in the overview video of the game above, online players can use a printed AR marker, or their keyboards, to navigate the game, and then enter their best scores on the game’s leaderboard and on Facebook. The AR marker can be printed from the official website below, and here are links to download both the French and English versions:
. French
. English

To start your engine and experience the fun, please visit machine.scionnation.ca.

Forces for Good: Mike Corso

Roger Darnell — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:21:13 +0000

If I have my facts straight, publisher, writer and marketing consultant Mike Corso has personally been operating Cool Site of the Day for well over 13 years, and last year, he decided to take-up a very important initiative: On Fridays, the daily email he sends out showcasing a unique, innovative website is themed as the “Do Good, Feel Good” E-mail. For example, back in October, he used his Friday edition to report on General Electric’s Ecomagination initiative detailed in the video above, reminding us that for every photo readers uploaded, Ecomagination would donate 480 gallons of clean, safe drinking water to communities in need. For more information on Cool Site of the Day and to subscribe to Mike’s newsletters and social media outposts, please visit http://www.coolsiteoftheday.com.

And to Mr. Corso, thank you very much for the thought leadership and the daily inspiration!

Nathan Love gives thanks

Roger Darnell — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:15:53 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving from Nathan Love and NBC (and of course, yours truly!).

You can learn more about this project at www.nathanlove.com.

Many happy returns!