Strong, Weak, and Everything in Between

Issue No. 11

You are a social creature and we have thrived as a species because of the collaboration and cooperation within our social groups. Various anthropologists and technologists have examined how these social ties influence our decisions and lives.

The basic frame in this discuss is the continuum of relationships we hold with one end being Strong Ties and the other end Weak Ties. The former are those deep relationships we have because of high frequency and/or intensity of interaction. The latter are those we have with those people we see with low frequency and/or intensity.  The former might be your spouse, parent, or child, while the latter might be your favorite high school teacher, a neighorhood barista, or Jan in another branch office.

An oft-cited study of social networks, The Strength of Weak Ties, concluded that Weak Ties actually offer great advantages to people. The rationale was that those closest to you would be more likely to share the same main relationship nodes and not have any real novel information to you.  As the thinking goes, you should spend more time cultivating Weak Ties if you want to get ahead in this dynamic world.

Thus was born one of the main rationales for social networking technology like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can be certain that you will hear that study referenced by someone in the coming year as gospel, if you haven’t already heard it many times before.

Solid insight, right? Not so fast, my friend!   (continued)

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Issue No. 10

On the train ride home one evening, I read a guest essay in The Atlantic by Sara Horowitz about how this new trend of sharing and cooperation isn’t very new. Not surprisingly, it’s a return to what was quite common in the past. The 1890s. Specifically, the concept of mutualism.

As the subtitle of the article says, “The values of this generation of independent-minded workers aren’t wild and new. Instead, they represent a return to the values we abandoned at the height of the industrial revolution.“

Her main point is…(continued here)

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Issue No. 9

March 23, 2012

People have strong opinions about Invisible Children’s recent internet Kony campaign. Regardless of your opinion about its logic/message/goals, the campaign’s impressive virality (over 84 million views of a 30 minute documentary!) will certainly spawn a wave of Kony Kats.

And, I don’t that judgementally. Heck, I intend to rip off the best components like these three:
…(continued)

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New Empire Builders gets turbocharged boost

Issue No. 8
March 16, 2012

The NewEmpireBuilders.com website has been live for just over a week and our team is still recovering from the intense five-day experience called the SXSW Interactive Festival.

In just our first week of operations, we brought you 34 pieces of original and curated insights of the highest quality. And we have about the same amount of new insights and interviews that will be coming

We are committed to doing the best possible work. We will only publish a few things each day to start — to ensure that every post, audiocast, and contribution from our partners is of the highest quality. The 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival, one of the biggest stages when it comes to technology and innovation, gave us a turbocharged beginning and now we’ll begin to settle in this steady posting pattern…(continued)

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We are committed to doing the best possible work. We will only publish a few things each day to start — to ensure that every post, audiocast, and contribution from our partners is of the highest quality. Starting with a bang, our team will focus its attention first on the 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival, one of the biggest stages when it comes to technology and innovation.

Let me know what you think about what you find there.

Going to SXSW? Leave a comment or send an email to storyideas@newempirebuilder.com and we’ll let you know where we’ll be.

Can you help us spread the word!

Twitter:
Do you want to discover startups, nonprofits, & companies shifting how the world works? Visit http://www.newempirebuilders.com #sxsw

Facebook:
Check out www.newempirebuilders.com today and discover the startups, nonprofits, & companies shifting how the world works. They’ll be bringing the people and ideas that can change the world starting with SXSW.

March 2, 2012

Did your mind explode this week? Lady Gaga launched the Born this Way Foundation at a big Harvard University event with an initial focus on combating bullying. And if one superstar musician doing good wasn’t enough, Justin Bieber dedicated his 18th birthday to charity:water, while his fans broke a Guiness Book of World Record for a trending topic.

While impressive for its research-driven approach, I can’t help but be cyncial about Gaga’s institutional play – where’s the disruption of the Lady Gaga brand? The only thing missing is a daily NPR shoutout saying, “This program brought to you by the Little Monsters” or something like that.

Even with this star power, more important things are on my mind. Let’s talk drones.

You might be getting worried about my recent obsessions (not that my standby #frieddough is normal). Last week, I was fretting over Big Data and this week I’m all paranoid about drones. Will I be writing about tinfoil hats next week? Will I be hosting an overnight radio show about aliens, contrails, and the New World Order? No comment.

Drones are a growing reality
Unmanned drones are playing an integral role in…(continued)

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A More Detailed Exploration:
I am pleased to announce CauseShift has moved to the high energy world of MassChallenge on the 14th floor of the Fan Pier building in Boston’s bustling Innovation District. Thanks to my work on the Startup America Partnership launch, I met John Harthorne, CEO and co-founder of MassChallenge, last spring and have served alongside him on the Startup Massachusetts working group since then.

Over the past couple months, I have spent time with him and his team helping them prepare for their first SXSW Interactive Festival. From these interactions, it became clear we had great synergy and it would make sense for me to move my operations inside their robust ecosystem.

CauseShift’s first day in MassChallenge coincided with the MassChallenge 2012 Launch Event. I choose to believe Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino spent time here today to officially welcome CauseShift to the Innovation District. I blushed from all the attention. [You can't shake me of this belief and you can't prove otherwise].

What is Boston’s Innovation District?
According to its official website, the Innovation District is:

“A new approach is called for on the waterfront – one that is both more deliberate and more experimental… The massive expanse of the South Boston waterfront, with its existing knowledge base, opportunity for growth, and world-class infrastructure is ripe to produce world-class products and services.”

-Mayor Thomas M. Menino

What is MassChallenge?
Simply put, MassChallenge is a robust ecosystem for the world’s best startups. Here’s how they put it:

We help early-stage entrepreneurs win.

We connect entrepreneurs with the resources they need to launch and succeed immediately.

Our primary activities include running an annual global accelerator program and startup competition, documenting and organizing key resources, and organizing training and networking events.

I’m looking forward to the connections and opportunities that come from being located in such a high density of companies and people. The Innovation District is attracting high quality companies. Even more good times will ensue when SchneiderMike, Eric Leist, and the rest of the Allen & Gerritsen crew move in down the street.

So when you’re in Boston next and want to swing by to say hello. Just ping me and we’ll give you a tour. If it’s a gorgeous day, we can grab a table at one of the many harborside restaurants and break some bread.

The New View from CauseShift HQ

A More Detailed Exploration:
As I entered 2012, I took a step back to define a content game plan for myself. Last year, I experimented with a couple different approaches but decided I needed to take some of the advice I give my clients. With that in mind, I crafted a content game plan that involved publishing my thoughts, ideas, and observations on established media properties, plus launch the weekly Finish Strong! Newsletter.

You’ve been able to get a taste of the newsletter, since I post the introduction to it here. Now, I want to share some of my recent articles and posts showing up elsewhere with you:

Anthropology News
Exploring Some of the Critiques and Criticism of Activism by Robert Saunders
One of my Rally the Cause posts from 2009 was used in this piece examining critiques of “slacktivism” to offer a counterpoint.

Chronicle of Philanthropy/Christian Science Monitor
Social Businesses May Provide Creative Way to Help Haiti
With the solid editorial direction of Peter Panepento at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, I reworked my original Rally the Cause post on Social Business in Haiti into a sharp enough piece to also get picked up by the Chrisitan Science Monitor.

Chronicle of Philanthropy
How to Use Technology to Inspire Healthy Habits
I had the fortune of running into a Cambridge, MA-based startup seeking to inspire people to take small positive actions. Since it reminded me of something American Cancer Society did, I put this piece together.

Mashable
Nine Ways to be a Social Good Hero in 2012
With some support from my friends at Antler Agency, I put together a collection of ways people can make a difference. Look for more to come with Mashable. 

TechInterruption (#Techi) from Allen & Gerritsen
In this Great Debate segment, SchneiderMike, Eric Leist, and I debate the merits of Path 2.0. Filmed shortly after its release, I just want to acknowledge my position hasn’t changed (smile):

That reminds me, I have a deadline to meet.

Issue No. 5
February 24, 2012

Ever since I shared a couple links about Big Data last week, I keep running into more stories about Big Data, predictive analytics, and all things data related. It’s like those paintings where the eyes follow you around the room. I can’t shake Big Data. Good thing Big Data isn’t the new WWE wrestling star, right?

The Data Levithan
Just think about how much data you generate as an individual on a daily basis. Almost of all it happens without much, if any, conscious awareness.

You log into Facebook and click a link. You search for something on Google. You download apps to your smart phone and they copy your address book and track your activity. You make a call or send a text with your mobile phone. You make a purchase with your credit card. You buy ice cream at the grocery story and get the 2-for-1 deal using your rewards card.

Should You Care?
All of these interactions create a huge exhaust cloud of data, which companies, governments, and presidential candidates are harnessing to understand what makes you tick and how they can influence you. Think your sector won’t be touched, think again.

Better yet, you can consult this..(continued)

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