Soul Fill

"Look into a mirror and you’ll simultaneously see the familiar and the alien: an image of you, but with left and right reversed. Left-right inequality has significance far beyond that of mirror images, touching on the heart of existence itself. From subatomic physics to life, nature prefers asymmetry to symmetry. (...) Life is fundamentally asymmetric. (...) Somehow, during its infancy, the cosmos selected matter over antimatter. This imperfection is the single most important factor dictating our existence. (…) It is not symmetry and perfection that should be our guiding principle, as it has been for millennia. (...)

The science we create is just that, our creation. Wonderful as it is, it is always limited, it is always constrained by what we know of the world. […] The notion that there is a well-defined hypermathematical structure that determines all there is in the cosmos is a Platonic delusion with no relationship to physical reality. (…)

The critics of this idea miss the fact that a meaningless cosmos that produced humans (and possibly other intelligences) will never be meaningless to them (or to the other intelligences). To exist in a purposeless Universe is even more meaningful than to exist as the result of some kind of mysterious cosmic plan. Why? Because it elevates the emergence of life and mind to a rare event, as opposed to a ubiquitous and premeditated one. (...)

Unified theories, life principles, and self-aware universes are all expressions of our need to find a connection between who we are and the world we live in. I do not question the extreme importance of understanding the connection between man and the cosmos. But I do question that it has to derive from unifying principles. (…)

For a clever fish, water is “just right“ for it to swim in. Had it been too cold, it would freeze; too hot, it would boil. Surely the water temperature had to be just right for the fish to exist. “I’m very important. My existence cannot be an accident,” the proud fish would conclude. Well, he is not very important. He is just a clever fish. The ocean temperature is not being controlled with the purpose of making it possible for it to exist. Quite the opposite: the fish is fragile. A sudden or gradual temperature swing would kill it, as any trout fisherman knows. We so crave for meaningful connections that we see them even when they are not there. (...) The gravest mistake we can make is to think that the cosmos has plans for us, that we are somehow special from a cosmic perspective."

I really like this article about the "why" and the "how-to" think differently about content creation.  I really like that the author includes quotes from people in the industry to back up her thoughts.1. Don't build on rented land -Social media is great....if you have a plan to get them to your home page.2. Help, not hype, your customer

Don't be yelling '"Buy this! Buy this!"  Be truly helpful

3. Write what people want to read, not what you want to write

Take the focus off of yourself if you want to win their trust!
4. Reference industry influencers
Help people know that you are always learning from the top minds in your industry.  Also, it will help your search engine juice!

5. Create content for all types of readers

 Help your customers feel at home in their community.  Think of ways to add value to their lives outside of your store.  The author gives an example of a real estate broker who made a blog about great pizza places.

6. There is more to content than links

Links are very important.  But don't let it blind you!  

7. Don't forget the "marketing" in content marketing

Don't be afraid to promote your content!  If it is important enough to create, it is important enough to promote! "If you don't promote it, Nobody will ever read it!" 

If you are shy, the author suggests writing something like this:

"Hey there folks, I just wrote up a quick post about some cool local resources I've been working on recently. If you have a moment, take a quick peek and let me know what you think. I'm just getting started with this whole content marketing thing, so any feedback you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Here's the link, thanks!"

8. It's all about relationships

Be an active team player.  Promote other writers' content.  This is important.  Engage!

9. Think like a publisher
Go to a book store and look at books and magazines.  Make your content look and feel like great traditional publishing.

Your job is to engage, entertain and inform!  Don't forget that

10. Use other sites to find out what kind of content people want

This is a fairly detailed article with great ideas. How often do we hear someone say, "Trust me?" Those words raise my spidey senses.

Excellent concept map! Check out how Pamela Lloyd describes it :-)

An excellent overview of learning theories, providing not just a synopsis of each, but the connections of each to the principles researchers behind each and the general field of study. The overlapping and interconnecting nature of the ideas is also suggested by the network of lines between the summaries and the people. Another useful feature are links from the pedagogical theory titles and researcher names to the Wikipedia articles for each.

Non seulement une excellente carte heuristique sur les théories de l'apprentissage mais aussi un très bon outil à télécharger ici http://cmap.ihmc.us/download/

Research requires planning. To make sure product managers, developers, marketers and executives (let’s call them stakeholders) act on UX research results, planning must be crystal clear, collaborative, fast and digestible.

So we should pay attention, be mindful, and work to integrate the new into the traditional while discarding that which no longer works.

"Some of T. Enami’s most popular and memorable works were his stereograms: two nearly-identical 2D images taken from slightly different angles that, when viewed together through a stereograph, appear three-dimensional. Here they are animated to give the 3D effect"
Also http://www.flickr.com/photos/24443965@N08/sets/72157604144707515/

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