ALEX NOBLE - WRITING JOURNAL-2015

CowBird: A Small Community of Storytellers

 

“Of all our truest hopes and desires for our work is that, what we find, we ourselves never knew. It came as a shock. It came as a surprise. It was new. We could never have known what we were going to do before we did it, and in that sense, we discover too. Here is what I’ve got to say to you: there are things in your life you will see; there are stories you will hear; if you don’t write them down, if you don’t make the picture, they won’t get seen, they won’t get told.”

Emmet Gowin

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What is Cowbird?

Cowbird is a small community of storytellers, focused on a deeper, longer-lasting, more personal kind of storytelling than you’re likely to find anywhere else on the Web.

Cowbird allows you to keep a beautiful audio-visual diary of your life, and to collaborate with others in documenting the overarching “sagas” that shape our world today. Sagas are themes and events that touch millions of live and shape the human story.

Our short-term goal is to pioneer a new form of participatory journalism, grounded in the simple human stories behind major news events. Our long-term goal is to build a public library of human experience, so the knowledge and wisdom we accumulate as individuals may live on as part of the the commons, available for this and future generations to look to for guidance.

What can I use Cowbird to do?

How to Write an Article in 20 Minutes!

Great advice from Jim Estill at Copyblogger: 

www.copyblogger.com

I don’t really want to spend more than 20 minutes a day on writing articles. And I spent no more than 20 minutes to write this article.

I realize this is writing blasphemy. Content is king, and all of that. But when I have a daily schedule to post on and a business to run, I don’t have time to spend hours polishing every single blog post or writing 2,000-word articles.

Writing quickly doesn’t mean compromising on writing well, though. I’ve got seven tips to get you in and out of that composition box in twenty minutes – without sacrificing quality.

Digital Storytelling: Examples & Links

 

From a teacher who teaches Digital Storytelling:

http://techteachers.com/digstory/examples.htm

 

Digital Storytelling Examples

This is a collection of digital storytelling examples I use with students and teachers during digital storytelling workshops. I have a comprehensive digital filing cabinet filled with more resources for students and teachers. http://www.techteachers.com/digitalstorytelling.htm Check back often, as I add new examples as I discover them. If you have an example to share let me know! [email protected]  thanks!

 

MINDSURFING - Utne Reader's Top Blogs for 2011

http://bit.ly/t0qF9g

(Hat Tip to New Paradigm Digest for this item)

We at Utne Reader sift through 1,500 periodicals, skim hundreds of websites and blogs, and clamber over a mountain of new books to present the best the alternative press has to offer. Unfortunately, the magazine we deliver is only about 100 pages long, so we can’t reprint all of the fresh ideas, deeply-reported journalism, and vivid portraits that we read. Thus, we blog. The following five blogs were your favorites from 2011.

5) “A New Peace Symbol” by David Schimke 

 

Sometimes, short blog posts are the best. That was the case with Editor-in-Chief David Schimke’s hat-tip to the new international symbol for human rights. An excerpt:

“Free as a Man,” created by Serbian artist Predrag Stakic, is the winner of an online competition conducted by the Human Rights Logo Initiative, which is on a mission to make the design an internationally recognized symbol for human rights.

Creating Your Digital Identity - Exploring Web 2.0 Tools

For expanding your "digital identity toolkit" beyond the text only universe, take some time to explore the wide range of Web 2.0 tools now available for creating a multi-media interactive journal. We might call this the "Digital Journal," where you can collect and link various sites and programs to provide a rich ecology of venues for telling your stories.

Current and emerging technologies give Journalers and Storytellers the opportunity to fully explore and express dimensions of personality in ways that have not been possible until now.

Optional:

Use Google Search to find out about the best products  available, and see which ones you feel might be compatible with your personal JOURNAL - 2012 purpose and goals.

The rapidly expanding universe of Web 2.0 tools currently includes, but is not limited to, blogs, wikis, toolkits, googleapps, comics, open office, cloud computing, social networks, youTube, Second Life, and other programs coming along.

 

Why Not Put Comics in Your Journal?

Experiment!

Use a simple program for creating comics and create journal posts using a comic format.

Recommended: Comic Life - Watch This Video

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You Ready to Blog?

Hola! Potential Bloggers!

If you do not already have a blog, are you ready to create a blog for your journey through 2012, with excerpts from your journal and other writing you may do?

There are some basic books you must have on your shelf if you are serious about your Blogging Practice.  There is a wealth of material, references, and sources available to help you get a sense of the scale and power of this new digital universe.  Search "Blog" and "Blogging" on Amazon and see which of the many available books speaks to you.  I recommend the latest edition of the DUMMIES book on blogging, just because this series breaks everything down into simple, easy to understand steps.

What is most exciting of all is your potential role in this vast new frontier for positive social change.  Of course, because I view both Blogging and Writing Practice as essentially spiritual disciplines, I recommend that you immediately establish a positive vision, motivating purpose and realistic goals for your work. But right now, surf, sail or fly on over to your nearest bookstore and get ready to explore the ever-expanding frontiers of the Blogosphere! cyber-camp. 

Write Now!

What will be the theme of your blog?  What title will it have?  What is your audience?  How will you make others aware of your blog?  Which blogging service will you use?  (I recommend Typepad, but there are many other good ones.)

 

Awakening: How Are You Preparing for the New Year?

As you prepare for the New Year, consider focusing on the inspiring events happening all over the world and in your own life.

Write Now!

Use the inspiring words below to make a journal entry focused on any awakening you may be experiencing, and the hopeful events that are happening all over the world, especially as you see evidence of positive  transformations happening in your own daily life.

What will you be doing in the coming week to prepare for the coming year?

(Sharing is of course optional.)

The speed at which you are progressing along the path to your awakening is accelerating as more and more people raise up the divine Light they are carrying so that others may see it and do likewise.  The momentum of humanity’s intent to awaken is now so great that, as divinely intended, awakening is inevitable and cannot be prevented or delayed.  It is your glorious destiny, and the moment at which it will occur is rapidly approaching.