This morning I was walking in the whipping NY cold and saw a big pink bus promoting We Volunteer TV. I didn’t quite realized that it was We TV like Women’s Network TV at the time but now that I looked it up, it makes sense. Since more women then men volunteer or work for non-for profit organizations. Anyway the point of the story is, as the New  Year approaches you can actually add and cross off your list “volunteer more”. By signing this pledge, maybe you actually will!

In the past I have tried volunteer with a few different organizations although each of them required orientation and then when I finally signed up for an orientation I would have to work late or when I wasn’t working, the orientation would get canceled.

What’s a girl or guy with a big heart to do?

Now I volunteer one day a week at BARC (Brooklyn Animal Rescue Center). Their process was so easy. Filled out a form, starting volunteering at times that were good for me.  I know that walking dogs isn’t going to solve the NYesrs homeless problem or help a struggling student through graduating high school but it’s something.

If you’re feeling like giving back here are a few links to some places:

DOROT
This  organization is committed to helping the elderly with their day-to-day lives and fostering connections among the generations.

GODS LOVE WE DELIVER
Provides meals and nutritional counseling to men,women and children living with life-altering illnesses.

iMentor.ORG Youth mentoring program that relies mostly on email communication so if you’re a busy professional you don’t have to commit too much face time.

Or you can always open up your check book and help support one of the organizations that are helping people around the world. Once I’m back to work full time I plan on donating to KIVA or  MercyCorps, organizations that give small business loans to women.

If you don’t have much time to donate or much dough how about spending about $10 (that’s two trips to Starbucks, Mud Truck or 10 trips to the $1 deli guy) for school supplies for a young cambodian student.

Tis the season for gelt, I’m mean guilt. Use it wisely.

Tis the Season for giving, wanting and buying. Although this  year may be exceptionally hard for many people who are out of work or who live in other countries and are fighting every day to just stay alive.

So I thought I would put this space to good use today and share with you 3 things that you can do to empower women. Authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half The Sky argue that the key to economic progress in the world lies in unleashing women’s potential.

Want to know what you can do besides nod your head and say “that’s horrible”?

Make girls smarter. Many pregnant women living in poverty don’t get enough iodine, so their fetuses’ brains do not develop properly. Their children routinely lose ten to 15 IQ points—particularly the girls, for reasons not fully understood. The solution: Iodize salt, at the cost of a couple of pennies per person per year. To contribute, go to Helen Keller International (HKI.org).

Support a woman’s business. With a microloan of $50, a woman can start a business, producing income she can use to feed her children and send them to school. To make a loan, go to Mercy Corps (MercyCorps.org) or BRAC (BRACUSA.org), two groups helping women around the world.

Keep a girl in school. A girl who gets an education will have fewer children, earn more money, and be able to help her younger siblings. One excellent support program operates in Cambodia, where uneducated girls are at great risk of being trafficked into brothels. For $10 a month, you can keep a girl in school through American Assistance for Cambodia (CambodiaSchools.com), or for $13,000, you can build an entire school that will revolutionize life in a village forever.

For more information visit Half The Sky Movement

One of the great things that I got out of this year’s DIY Days is an introduction to Nina Paley and her now famous “Sita Sings The Blues”. Nina set out with one mission in mind when she made this film. FREE FOR ALL. So how is she doing? Here is a video of her talk at DIY Days that answers the quetions. If It’s free, how do you make money?

SITA SINGS THE BLUES Distribution Project Report: 5 months after the Creative Commons Share Alike release of her animated musical feature Sita Sings the Blues, Nina Paley presents the first round of hard data from the project. Contrary to MPAA propaganda, the more the audience freely shares the film, the more they purchase DVDs, theater admissions, and merchandise; witness the $$ numbers that prove it. Nina Paley is the creator of the animated musical feature film Sita Sings the Blues, which has screened in over 150 film festivals and won over 30 international awards including the Annecy Grand Crystal, The IFFLA Grand Jury Prize, and a Gotham Award. Her adventures in our broken copyright system led her to Copyleft her film, and join QuestionCopyright.org as Artist-in-Residence. She teaches at Parsons School of Design and is a 2006 Guggenheim Fellow. www.sitasingstheblues.com

Watch the full video on BLIP.TV via DIY DAYS

and then download the film here and enjoy!

Here’s a short helpful video that will give you some basic tips for “Do it yourself” marketing. It covers: creating a web presence, tools for marketing and some general dos and don’ts.

This video is by Brian Chirls from last year’s DIY Days and as soon as THIS YEAR’S video is up I will post it as well. 

I came across this video from TED Conference (2005) of Richard St. John who gave a a short presentation of his 7 years of researching SUCCESS. I thought I would share it with you all. 

I’ll also add one of my favorite quotes (which I repeat to myself all the time). 

“PUT BLINDERS ONTO THOSE THINGS THAT CONSPIRE TO HOLD YOU BACK, ESPECIALLY THE ONES IN YOUR OWN HEAD” - MERYL STREEP

Dear Readers,

I recently applied to an add for a curator position in a new gallery. 

I’ll let you decide if this is a rejection letter or just Bull Shit. 

Dear Applicants,

Thank you for your response to the curator position at GALLERYNAME

As we advertised on Craiglist, we are looking for a curator who has what it takes to help our gallery become more competitive in the industry. GALLERYNAME accommodates various group/solo exhibits, and our selection process for prospective artists is done by carefully inspecting artists’ portfolios. We want our gallery to be fully used by various artists for exhibits and shows and hope that it will build their career throughout. We select artists whose works can represent/extend the gallery’s conception, the womb abstract. When organizing exhibits, curator will need to have an extensive knowledge in the contemporary art field as well as in philosophies and ideologies in art. Not to mention that he/she will have an eye for aesthetics. This is one reason why we prefer candidates with art history background. We also look for someone who is able to illustrate and discuss his/her ideas to others, with appropriate verbal skills.

Due to the current economic crisis and shrinking of the art industry, we cannot guarantee that you will be paid in full. If you do get paid, it will be work-based, meaning you will take from what you accomplish as a curator. However, your work experience at GALLERY NAME will not only build your resume, but also make you a stronger candidate for higher art institutions around the world. Working at our gallery will be a great opportunity for the curator to explore and experiment, and OUR GALLERY  is willing to provide the stage for it.

Attached is the artist statement for the current solo exhibit by JWLee. He is also the owner of the gallery, and this idea expressed in his statement will give you a layout for our gallery’s aesthetic concept. (But do not think that it limits curating specifically to the “PLACEWHEREBABABIESGROW” concept, because again, we are a contemporary art gallery focused on abstracts. Extending/ diversifying this idea further will be the curator’s job.)

There is something kind of funny about this letter. What it really boils down to is one person’s taste. Why do the choose to write all that mombo jumbo when they can just write “thank you for your submission we we’ll contact those who we are interested in working wtih yadda yadda yadda”. 

BTW the person who sent this duplicated the text in the email twice and forgot to send the attachment. Hope it was the Gallery Intern…

In my previous post The Art of Networking I wrote about the importance of networking and some easy tips to get started. I noticed an interesting trend happening at some of the networking functions that I’ve attended in the last few months. Since so many people are out of work or in the midst of a “career transition” networking events have been becoming less of a place to establish new relationships and contacts and more about finding a job. Everybody is so busy handing out there card and comiserating about their trouble finding work that the “networking” element of the event goes out the door. 

Last night I decide to attend Digital Dumbo’s networking event. Last month I met the organizer at “A Job Grows In Brooklyn Event” and spoke briefly to her about Digital Dumbo. She mentioned how she was trying to change the format of the next event to be a little more than just drinks and conversation. 

A few weeks later I checked the Digital Dumbo site and it appeared that the event would indeed be more than just drinks and conversation. There was a call for companies to share their work/products that they were working on. Now this idea in theory was good. As someone that is very interested in all these new interactive media initiatives and developments I was curious to see what some of these companies were working on and then maybe even talk to them about it. 

Entering the event I could tell right away what type of event it was going to be. Groups distinctly staggered around the bar and I could hear the work conversations still going on. Then I saw a few people I knew and I walked over to them. After about a half hour of catching up with people that I knew I was ready to meet some new people but the rest of the attendees seemed pretty happy just sticking with their own kind. They even talked through one of the people presenting. . .I guess this was a clear example of good in theory but bad in practice. 

After about an hour of being at this event, I had to take a step back and laugh at the whole situation. What is this High School? The Cool Kids (with their iphones, updating their twitter and ignoring the new kids) in one corner VS the Dorky Poor Kids. So I did what I do best, I started to work the room. Talked to someone people that were standing in groups of two, or by themselves until eventually I had formed a large group of my own. 

As for the hosts of this event, If it were me I would of made my way around the room introducing myself to as many new faces as I could. Isn’t that the whole point of a networking event, to meet other people?

In the end I met some new people, each of which are working on their own interesting projects. I also had a really delicious dinner at Superfine with some of the new people that I met. 

The most successful networking events seem to be those that are not branded as a “networking event” Like the Open Video Conference I attended last week or Sunday Bike Club.  I will say though out of all the networking events that I have been to (over the last 7 years) the best one I’ve been to recently was Habitat Music’s & Net Mix Media’s 20dot20. It was less of a networking event and more of a laid-back envoriment to talk to like minded folks. It was just a really cool party, with lots of cool cats. You were welcome with an iphone or not!

Cause I’ll tell you one thing folks, networking is not about the number of business cards you collect it’s about the quality of the relationships you make. If you’re just in it to find a job then we’ll I don’t want your card.