yongshuling

Becoming Indispensable.

That’s just one of the many lessons Seth Godin teaches when you engage with him through his books and blog posts. Connect, be generous, make art, acknowledge the lizard, ship, fail and learn. A daily subscriber like me receives a fresh post every morning that helps me see the world through a different lens, gives me inspiration and challenges me to reinvent myself.

I’ve been a fan of his work for a while now, which is why as soon as Seth announced the plans for his Road Trip and put out the call for volunteers, I stepped up in a heartbeat. It was the least i could do for the art he’s so generously gifted to the world.

His Chicago stop took place last week at the beautiful Harris Theater. I was the volunteer videographer, and the very talented Rachel Koontz was the photographer. We had the great pleasure of meeting and working with some really talented Linchpin volunteers to pull off what would go down as one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

It’s amazing how powerful being in a roomful of like-minded individuals can be. You could feel that every single one of us there had the desire to do remarkable things, create art, and connect with fellow tribe members. Seth spoke for 2 hours early that morning, and then spent the rest of the day tackling our audience questions with calmness and brilliance.

Thank you, Seth, for all you do. I’m definitely excited for the passion and possibilities that lay ahead! If you missed out, Seth Godin has two more stops on his Road Trip!

Atlanta, GA – Oct 8th
Los Angeles, CA – Nov 9th

More information’s available here. In the meantime, here’s a peek at what happened when Seth graced Chicago with his presence. :)

September 22, 2010September 22, 2010 by yongshuling Categories: My Work, Personal Reflection, Social ChangeTags: Harris Theater, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Los Angeles, Rachel Koontz, Road Trip, Seth, Seth Godin, Tribes, video 3 Comments

The Learning Log – an introduction

3368336791_b64e855264_b — Picture by Zitona

I’m subscribed to newsletters and blog feeds from at least 10 different sources – Seth Godin’s blog, SmartBrief on Social Media, Reel Chicago, Change.org, SGEntrepreneurs, Daily Worth and PSFK are just some of them. I love the process of learning and discovery, and often wish I could spare the time to read them all, but I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with the battle to keep a somewhat organized inbox.

Maybe it’s my insatiable hunger for more knowledge, or maybe it’s that sense of satisfaction from knowing I just did something to better my life. Either way, I see the same pattern emerge when it comes to books. A peek on my shelf will reveal a good mix of marketing, social behavior, entrepreneurship and green books, half of which I’ve not read. (it’s like that queue that just keeps growing)

I’m a slow reader. No wait, scratch that. I read at an average speed, but my mind wanders every time a line in the book sparks an idea or gives me inspiration. I often find myself trying to imagine a way to apply that brilliant last line I’d just read to my life, and get carried away. And even though I wouldn’t call that a bad thing, it’s the difficulty I face trying to recall that great lesson I learned the day before that irks me. I think idea journals were made for people with very adventurous minds but short-term memories, like me.

And then I thought… why not share these crazy thoughts in my head? Pen them down, so I don’t forget, and share them. They might serve as a catalyst for even more ideas! (Oh, the power of collaboration.) And so I’ve decided to start The Learning Log, a weekly reflection on something I learned through reading newsletters/blogs/books.

I’m hoping these will touch something within you, and maybe even send your mind running wild too! We’ll share and discuss, and laugh and learn. Oh, what fun there is to come! Stay tuned. :)

September 21, 2010September 20, 2010 by yongshuling Categories: Personal Reflection, The Learning LogTags: blog, books, Business, change.org, Daily Worth, knowledge, learning, marketing, newsletter, PSFK, Reel Chicago, reflection, Seth Godin, SGEntrepreneurs, smartbrief, social behavior, Social Media, The Learning Log Leave a comment

Media Impact Spotlight – Ep4 – Susana Ruiz

Columbia College Chicago held its 3G Summit: The Future of Girls, Gaming and Gender event 2 weeks ago. It brought together some of the most notable women in the gaming industry and 50 lucky teenage girls from 5 schools in a highly interactive and transformational 3-day Game Lab/Workshop.

Not only were important issues about the HUGE gender gap that exists in the gaming industry discussed (only 11% of professionals in the gaming industry are women!), but 5 innovative game ideas to break traditional gaming stereotypes were also developed. The girls were split into 5 groups of 10, and each given a mentor to guide them through the creative process. On the last day, each group presented their game ideas in a competition where the winning group would have their idea actually developed by Columbia College students/faculty! I was really impressed by all their presentations and the amount of creativity that each one involved.

I was quite a gaming enthusiast from age 11-15 (many thanks to my older brother who bought the games), and I remember that almost everything I played involved plenty of violence and bloodshed. Everything from chopping off other players’ ears in Diablo, to making sheep explode in Warcraft III, to electrocuting people with my tesla coils in Command & Conquer. So it was definitely refreshing to see a different type of game being presented at the 3G summit.

“In this context, the low representation of females and minorities working in the gaming industry, as well as the complicated gendered culture of the gaming world itself, are troubling. One wonders what kind of games are not being made, what experiences are not being shared, what identities are not being represented?”

The panelists were some awesome women that included Mary Flanagan, Tracy Fullerton, Jennifer Jenson and Erin Robinson. But the one that really stood out to me, as a documentary filmmaker, was Susana Ruiz.

Susana, one of the founders of Take Action Games made clear her huge passion for bringing together the world of gaming and documentary films, and utilizing gaming as a tool to create positive social change. She was very kind and such a pleasure to chat with. I knew she’d be the perfect person to talk to for the next episode of Media Impact Spotlight! Thanks Susana!

Media Impact Spotlight is a web video series featuring professionals utilizing various forms of media for positive social change. Watch previous episodes and subscribe to the series here.

August 28, 2010 by yongshuling Categories: Media Impact Spotlight, My WorkTags: 3G, Columbia College, Games, Gender, Girls, Media Impact Spotlight, Social Change, Take Action Leave a comment

Reel Talent Productions – Summer ’10

My Cabrini Kids have officially completed their summer session with us! It was a gruelling 8 weeks, with 3.5 hour sessions packed with lotsa learning activities and they’ve made it through! We had a point system going throughout, with the kids earning frames for good attendance, participation and performance, and the top 2 scorers were rewarded with an all expenses paid trip to watch the Chicago Bears live at Soldier Field! Much thanks to Cabrini Connections for sponsoring the tix. Read more about our amazing experience here.

And to really end the session with a big bang, we went on a field trip to the WGN studios in Chicago! 3 hours of touring the facility, meeting many professionals in their various departments, plus some very inspiring words from their staff members our kids to work hard towards their goals! Now it’s not everyday you get to take a picture sitting at the actual news desk u’re used to seeing on your morning news! Thank you WGN for your hospitality and willingness to teach. It was fascinating to see the inner-workings of our local news station.

So remember i mentioned that we worked on creating 2 music videos this summer? They’re now officially online! Enjoy these pieces, entirely chosen, conceptualized, shot and edited by the teenage members of Reel Talent Productions!

Many thanks to my fellow club leaders Jane Wang and Drew Hall for all the help and guidance… you’ve played a huge part in helping to make this summer session such an awesome one. Thanks also to the staff of Cabrini Connections, especially Brad and El for rendering all the help you could give to help us out!