kerry madness

Yet again the deep rooted sexist culture of Ireland raised its ugly head last week when 50 men including the parish priest filed up in Listowel Court Room to shake the hand of a man who was about to be sentenced for indecent assault. He was subsequently sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.

What kind of society allows such vile mysogony? What kind of twisted mentality allows a man to clap another man on the back for raping a woman? Are the supporters of this convicted rapist married themselves? Are they fathers to young women? What must their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters think of their behaviour?

While I am proud to be Irish I am certainly not proud to be part of a nation that so openly encourages and sympathises with such behaviour. In Listowel last week, the victim became the victimised.

When will such open abuse of women and their rights be confronted in Ireland? With only 13% of us in positions of power I am pesimistic about such values being confronted and culled anytime soon. The only way to stamp out such deep rooted abuse is for women to actively collaborate, to stand up, to be counted, To say NO this wont do. It won't do at all. We need more women representing our rights within the corridors of power so that this kind of behaviour will become a thing of the past.

standby...

for details.

Passion Killers

this article made me laugh out loud....probably because I can relate to it SO well. What is it about big comfy knickers that make you look great on the outside..... only to reveal the horror that lurks beneath when unleashed! It's a double whammy to the unsuspecting victim.
How can something so amazing, (you could go as far as to say a womans best friend) look so God dam awful? My challenge to whoever feels so inclined to rise to it is this....Can bullet proof functionality ever look sexy? The ultimate design challenge.
I think we should brief it out to an artist, a fashion designer and an engineer! what do you think?
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/10/13/spanx_makeout/index.html

A good idea for Always Ultra

I came across this campaign which highlights the totally unnecessary sacrafices that women in poorer countries of the world have to face each month. If brands like Proctor and Gamble were really in tune with their female market for their Always Ultra brand surely they would be actively taking ownership around a cause related program that is about providing sanitary pads to women in the third world or better still funding women to produce them themselves for their communities. But then again, the market planners for Always Ultra are probably men.......
check this really good cause ans spread the word:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKmt7PwYPCY

So that it may never happen again.

"...This era must be revisited and the truth fully revealed for mature Irish women to reclaim their true sense of feminine passion and romance and younger women to see that the freedoms they enjoy had to be earned by courageous women, who set out to break the virgin/whore stranglehold of the Irish Catholic church over a women's sexuality and sensuality." — Jay Flavin

These are the words that will greet you when you visit the website Justice For The Magdalenes.

If you do one thing today, click on this website and reflect for a few minutes on the plight that these women endured and thank your lucky stars that you are a woman in 2009.

Then, then please think about WHAT YOU CAN DO to correct the wrongs
that they suffered.

http://www.magdalenelaundries.com/

Disgrace to our government on their stance on the Magdalenes

.....and just when you think we have reached the bottom of the barrel with our government and its sickening cronyism they strike again!

On one hand we see the government refusing to acknowledge the horrendous treatment young girls and women were subjected to while enslaved in laundries and to add insult to injury a blank denial of compensation which would enable survivors to live their remaining years with dignity and a degree of comfort. On the other hand we are witnessing undeserved rewards and pay outs to their criminal mates like Roddy Molloy .

Despite the horror and shame of our nation with the revelations of Ryan Report still fresh in our minds I am saddened to see that our so called leaders have still not learned a shred of compassion and empathy. Their mothers, wives, sisters daughters and constituents should be ashamed of them.

This issue is too important to let go. Please join us in your support by writing and lobbying every politician and journalist you know. Justice for the women of the Magdalene laundries is too important to let them sweep it away.

Magdalene Laundries Press Releases

28 Sept 2009

Justice for Magdalenes reacts to the Minister for Education, Mr. Batt O'Keeffe's expression of regret for any offense caused in referring to survivors as the "former employees" of Ireland's Magdalene laundries.

In a letter to Mr. Tom Kitt, TD, dated 23 September 2009, the Minister for Education expressed "deep regret" for earlier referring to women who worked in the Magdalene Laundries as "former employees." His brief letter concluded, "I fully acknowledge that the word 'workers' would have been more appropriate." A copy of Mr. O'Keeffe's letter is attached to this press release.

Justice for Magdalenes (JFM) acknowledges the Minister's expression of regret. However, JFM also asserts that the substitution of one word for another—namely "workers" for "employees"—does not materially alter the content nor the intent of the Minister for Education's original letter to Deputy Kitt (dated 4 September 2009) in which he rejected calls for a distinct redress scheme for survivors of the laundries institutions. Moreover, JFM directs the Minister to the State's Constitutional obligation to protect "workers," in particular very young "workers," from abuse and exploitation:

The State shall endeavour to ensure that the strength and health of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children shall not be abused and that citizens shall not be forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their sex, age or strength (Article 45, sec. 4, sub. 2).

JFM also announces that it has written to An Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, TD, in light of the State's rejection of our calls for a distinct redress scheme for Magdalene survivors. Our letter requests that the Taoiseach's office coordinate a formal response from a number of government departments that we assert were complicit in referring women and children to the Magdalene institutions. JFM anticipates that Mr. Tom Kitt, TD, will table a Parliamentary Party question concerning the evidence put forth in our letter in the coming week. A copy of our letter is attached to this press release.

Justice for Magdalenes again challenge the State to respond formally to our letter, to offer a meaningful apology to survivors, and to introduce legislation that establishes a distinct redress scheme for the victims and survivors of Ireland's Magdalene laundries.

[END]

Letter from Justice for Magdalenes to An Taioseach

'Apology' from Minister Batt O'Keeffe

Margaret Attwood on doing the right thing, food, powergames and godesses

......."Perhaps surprisingly, Ms. Atwood finds reason to be optimistic about the future. “We haven’t dropped all of our atomic and hydrogen bombs,” she said dryly. An ardent supporter of environmental causes, she said she was also in steady contact with many people who are trying hard to make the world better. “What I tell people is pick one thing,” she said of all the causes out there.

The big question for human beings is the same for any bio-form: What are we going to eat?” Ms. Atwood said. “Who do we mean by ‘we’? We: you and me in this room? We in North America? It’s no longer true that one ‘we’ has no impact on another ‘we.’ ”

She is certain, though, that if women were in power, they would not oppress men the same way that men have oppressed women.

“It will never happen,” she said. “In strictly biological terms, females’ investment in their children is much larger, with a lot more of their physical self, their physical substance.

“There have been goddesses, powerful female figures, but to my knowledge there has never been a society in which there has been the wholesale oppression of men.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/books/22atwood.html?_r=2&ref=arts

WHAT PART OF ENGAGING FEMALE HEARTS AND MINDS IN RETURN FOR LOYALTY AND VOTES DO IRISH POLITICIANS NOT UNDERSTAND?

I have been trying to find some information about voting trends among women in Ireland and it is proving challenging. I did however come across an alarming statistic which was published in The Irish Times/Behaviour and Attitudes Women Today study, 2007.
http://www.banda.ie/reports_ps.html

It reports that:
" in the year following a General Election, and the subsequent formation of one of the most unusual coalitions in the history of the state, it will come as a great disappointment to the body politic that more Irish
women (55%) claim that politics is of no importance to them, than claim it is important (38%).
Indeed, politics ranks as the least important factor to Irish women out of all 19 measured.

While this statistic horrifies me, it does offer an interesting twist in the tale:
"respondents were asked to nominate the one individual they would consider to be the best role model for women in Ireland today. This
question was entirely unprompted in nature, with the female role models
identified arising amongst respondents on a purely spontaneous basis.
The current and previous Presidents of Ireland have between them garnered 40% of the popular “vote” as the best role models in Ireland today.

It is interesting to note that both Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson, while elected to high political office in this country, also stand aloof from the less savoury aspects of the political establishment which the women of Ireland today seem so alienated from”

While this report is two years old, it opens up important questions for consideration for any political party running think tanks on how to reach out to a disenchanted female voter:

• What was uniquely different about both Robinson and McAleese's style and approach? What was their XFactor?
  

• What insights informed and shaped their strategies and what steps did the campaign teams take to ignite such a wave of connection and loyalty among the women who came out in force to ensure these candidates were elected to office?
  

Politicians genuinely committed to understanding and answering these questions are well placed in a race to win the hearts and minds of a female electorate in years to come.

I often wonder what part of ....“engage a female audience in a meaningful and motivating fashion and the results will speak for themselves” .....does the current political establishment not understand?

WHY HAVE POLITICAL PARTIES STILL NOT REALISED THAT ONLINE TOOLS ARE THE KEY TO WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS?

With today’s news comes the fact that ‘Yes’ vote support has marginally slipped. What has also been revealed in the TNS MRBI poll is that a quarter of us have not decided how we will vote on October 2nd. Are we surprised at this revelation? No, of course not. But what surprises (or should I say disappoints me ) is that yet again we are witnessing a lazy , lack lustre and uninventive campaign trail from the political leaders to inspire our nation to have their say in this referendum.

With the ‘Don’t Know’s ‘ representing such a critical mass to rally in the next 3 weeks what are the communications strategists on either side of the voting camp doing to address this? As a communications consultant myself, if I rocked up to a sales pitch and presented the kind of tools of communication that were used last year let alone 10 years ago I would be fired, and rightly so. When will someone, anyone, in the corridors of power realise that the existing approach of running political campaigns is outdated and quite frankly an ineffective model.

Whether it’s motivating a nation to get out and vote on Oct 2nd or, campaigning in a general election sometime next year the new rules of engagement are the same – define and segment your target audiences and communicate with them in a meaningful way. Winning hearts and minds is not about bombarding us from above with demands to VOTE YES or worse still to be patronised by ‘C’ list celebrities as to why I belong. Winning hearts and minds is about tapping into the groundswell, listening and reacting, not talking the talk but walking that talk. Leading by example, action not rhetoric, collaboration, inspiration, in a nutshell - selling hope.

All of this and more is what Barack Obama has achieved. Why? Because he has a team of professionals working for him who fully appreciate the opportunities of tapping in to grassroots support, and the power of the groundswell effect.

Leaving his politics and personality aside, the Obama phenomenon was sustained by the savvy use of online tools to build community and momentum. What his campaign team set out to do and achieved highlights some major opportunities for future political party marketing and campaign management in Ireland. All the pity they didn’t apply some of it to the Lisbon referendum.

What lessons could The Lisbon team learn from the Obama groundswell effect? Well, Sarah Lai Stirland highlighted some of the online tactics that led up to the Potomac primaries in her 2/12/08 blog <http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/02/obama-and-mccai.html> on Wired (excerpt below).

• The campaign organized volunteers to make thousands of phone calls to get out and vote. The campaign also texted supporters' mobile phones to remind them to go to the polls.
• The campaign in addition held a series of "real-world" events, photos of which it constantly posted on its headquarters' blog in order to emphasize the sheer physical size of its supporter base.
• Hoping to take advantage of an assumed surge of supporter emotion, excitement and momentum, the campaign immediately sent out another text alert around 10 pm Eastern time [during the Potomac primaries]. It let supporters know that CNN had called the primaries for Obama. Campaign organizers included a request to spread the word. "Fired up? Ask friends to join our movement by texting HOPE to 62262," read the victory message.
• Outside groups have also helped Obama. MoveOn, whose members endorsed Obama, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his campaign. They also created an online Endorse-a-thon widget that enabled its members to engage in a peer-to-peer online endorsement campaign by sending out 500,000 e-mails and Facebook messages to their friends recommending the candidate.
• Obama supporters all over the spectrum engaged in a multi-media viral marketing campaign with online music videos <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fZHou18Cdk> and humor. Along with the celebrity endorsements, these activities seem to be fueling what can only be called Obama fever or Obamamania. <http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10498970>
• The Obama campaign itself, it seems has gotten into the game. Its 21st-century version of the auto bumper-sticker is ring tone mash-ups of Obama's speeches <http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/mobileinvite?stg_signup_id=21616923> , which are sure to be conversation starters about the candidate and what he stands for between the owner of the phone and whoever's in the vicinity. "
  

So, how can ringtones, text messages and photos really make difference? These tools and tactics aren’t just exciting because they’re cutting edge. They fundamentally change the nature of how a politician or a political party engages with supporters.
Here’s how:

• They foster conversation between supporters. This is game changing. Long gone are the days of talking at supporters. It’s now a conversation, and the people on the other side are more likely to be interested and fired up if you/your party/network cares (and respond to) what they have to say.
• Yes, you respond to what supporters say. Don’t just start a conversation for the sake of starting a conversation. Your party/network should respond, incorporate and use these conversations. How would your organization use 300 photos taken by your supporters illustrating what being a part of Europe means to them? Would it personalize your campaign? Would it surface new sides the debate? Are the photo-takers likely people want to get more involved/volunteer/organise/donate?
• They put power in supporters’ hands. This is critical. Messages are made more popular, more exciting and more diverse by enabling supporters to take the reigns. Give local constituents the basic tools and let them go. Gone are the days a political party can retain complete control over its image or message.
• Keep in mind you can benefit from much of what's already happening. Flickr photos, YouTube, Google Earth satellite images - much of this content is free and easy to use.

Political parties who don't even have these tactics on their radars are increasingly behind the game.

Our advice to any political party getting focused on a general election is this - Know what's out there, know what your opposition is using, and invest in the medium-term visioning and planning necessary to fully engage in this new, dynamic and wired space.

Irelands celebrity line up for Lisbon...

So, I wanted to see who was behind the “We Belong” poster campaign .
I presumed the political parties had for once actually worked in collaboration to create this unified momentum (even though its style feels Labour) .

To my surprise , when I logged on to http://www.webelong.ie , I discovered the We Belong campaign is being fronted by a collective of Irish celebrities who want you and I to vote ‘Yes’.

There’s Bill Cullen, famous for being Ireland’s answer to Alan Sugar in RTE’s series Apprentice, pin up girl to the over 50 farmer, Mary McEvoy, Pat Gilroy Ireland senior soccer team manager, Mike Galway, Munster rugby legend (arguably the most famous of them all), and a girl called Eimear Quinn. .... who? .... according to my google search Eimear was “the Voice” and won the Eurovision in 1996.

And so it seems, as the build up to voting day approaches (what with the politicians not being that popular this weather and only back from their 3 months holidays), that Bill and his band of penny apple “Irish celebs” have taken charge of the ‘Yes We Can’ campaign.

And then I thought of the Obama campaign. This afternoon I looked at the list of celebrity endorsers his movement had. See this link for a taster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUiovXdzvvg&feature=related
(its one of hundreds you can find on Youtube).
It made me wonder about the real Irish celebrities and agents of change on a global stage. And yes, while these Irish hero’s are fighting real and just causes for Third World debt to be eradicated and Human Rights issues to be observed in the worlds poorest nations, where are their voices when the future of their country is up for grabs? Is it ennui? Is it lack of interest? Is the future of Ireland just not sexy enough? Why have more Irish personalities and opinion formers not come out with a stand on this Treaty, or on any Irish political issues for that matter? Could it be that the Irish campaign planners just haven’t tapped in to the power that is “celebrity endorsement” in the world of Generation Y ?

With the latest TNS MRBI poll indicating that the “dont know’s” represent one quarter of the electorate and therefore representing a balance of power in the deciding factor on October 2nd, it is a wonder why innovative strategies to engage a confused and disenfranchised electorate have not been considered.

Posted by Una Herlihy and Lucy Masterson at 1:14 PM

LISBON AND IRISH WOMEN

With mornings first light came the first blitzing of Lisbon Referendum posters. Last night, I was walking home with World According To Women co host and we noticed a peppering of posters that had appeared in the space of time that it had taken to eat a pizza over our weekly summit on solving the problems of the world over a bottle or 2 of wine.

On spotting the posters we made a pact that this time we really better get our fingers out and actually inform ourselves on the facts about this treaty and make our own decisions on why or why not it is so important to firstly make a comittment to turn out to vote on October 2nd but to make that vote a Yes.

When I left home for work this morning, every lamp post and telephone pole that could be scaled in the area that I live was plastered with posters for the referendum. It's as if an army of invisible Yes elves were out under the cloak of rainy darkness to claim every piece of street furniture that was rooted to the ground for their mantra.

I say 'Total Respect' to those of you who volunteered your time to scale the ladders while the rest of us slept, and to you all, the least I can do is respond by exercising my vote with responsibility and integrity.

So, here is the beginning of my journey to find out what saying yes to Lisbon will mean for me as a woman, an Irish citizen, a European.

Please share with me your thoughts about it.

Beating one of the worlds deadliest diseases at Cleavage Creek. Now I’ll drink to that.

We are indeed living in dark days . With what can only be described as a shameful healthcare provision for the women of this country maybe it's time to start taking control into our own hands. No pre natal medical consultation (for up to 7 months in some instances) when expecting a baby is a stressful situation, especially for first time mothers, but not nearly as stressful as the shocking circumstances thousands of Irish women face every year when diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is a disease which not only shatters the lives of women, but its fallout wreaks devastation in the world of the silent sufferers, children, husbands, parents.

And so, when Arlene Brown , 48 years married to husband Budge lost her battle with the disease in 2005 his total devastation turned to anger. So angry was he that he became totally driven and determined to do what ever he could to find a cure for breast cancer. He says he doesn’t want what happened in his life to happen anyone else, he says it's time to do something about it. And so, in 2005 American farmer Budge Brown purchased a wine label with a difference - Cleavage Creek Wines.

In 2007 the first vintage of Cleavage Creek Wines was launched at Pope Valley vineyard, Napa Valley, California . The 2nd vintage of Cleavage Creek wines was released on October 4th, 2008.

The Cleavage Creek look is distinctive and significant. The label of each bottle of Cleavage Creek wine features the image of an actual breast cancer survivor whose story is told on the Cleavage Creek website. “Putting a face on this disease and telling the stories of those who are dealing with it personalizes this and hopefully inspires everyone to take on the fight,” says Brown.

Although making a donation to the charity of his choice might make more sense to some people, Brown believes that Cleavage Creek wines will have much more of an impact. “The world is full of people who enjoy good wines,” says Brown. “When they buy Cleavage Creek products, they can select from award winning wines while helping to find a cure for breast cancer. Everybody wins. When people learn about Cleavage Creek and the motivation behind it, well, if it reminds one person to go for a checkup, do a self-examination, or become more informed, we’re accomplishing my goal of saving lives. The cure for breast cancer may not come in my lifetime, but the mere existence of Cleavage Creek could bring it along sooner rather than later. Job done.”

“I am very proud of the quality of our Cleavage Creek wines,” notes Brown. “Wines from our two years of operation have won a multitude of medals in the most prestigious national and international contests. These are seriously good wines doing seriously good work.”

A special meditation flower garden overlooking a lake has been built to honor the late Arlene Brown. Her favorite flowers are planted there, including over 120,000 daffodils, 10,000 iris, California poppies, a host of wild flowers, thousands of tulips, and roses. “I want people to visit Cleavage Creek and celebrate life and health,” says Brown. “There’s no better way to do that than with a fine wine and the company of those who are a part of the fight.” Brown looks forward to hosting events and celebrating survival. “We have to move forward,” he insists. “The optimal way to do that is by focusing on a cure. It can happen, and it will happen.”

Budge Brown has grown crops of grapes, apricots, and almonds for well over 40 years. But his current cultivation, spearheading a search for a cure for breast cancer, may very well be his greatest harvest. 10% of the gross dollar amount of this operation is donated to cutting edge research to fight breast cancer. To date, Cleavage Creek and Budge Brown have donated over $55,800 to breast cancer causes.

How could this approach translate for us here in Ireland? If fighting breast cancer is a vital woman's cause, what are the learnings we could take and apply from Cleavage Creek Wines?

We don’t produce grapes but we do drink a lot of vino. Could a collective of women approach an Irish wine importer about the possibility of donating a percentage of their profit to breast cancer research? This donation could be branded on the back of the wine labels that take part of the initiative giving them the deserved kudos.

On a smaller scale, maybe us girls could consider donating a token sum of money every time we have a great ‘night in’ with the women who we value, cherish and laugh with until we cry.

Or, how about lobbying restaurants to donate corkage charges to breast cancer research?

Has anyone else any ideas on this initiative?

I don't know the solution to the failing healthcare system for women in Ireland. But I do know that us Irish girls enjoy our wine, and I do know that the time has come to start taking action together to make Ireland a better place to be a woman. What a good place to begin while sipping a crispy cold pinot!

www.cleavagecreek.com

Lisbon...once more with feeling.

The schools are back, routine is restored, and I am now narrowing my gaze on the Lisbon Referendum, Mark 2.  I have high hopes for this campaign.  To begin with, it's a welcome antidote to my credit crunch fatigue.  Secondly the stakes this time are extremely high and it's going to be interesting to see how sophisticated the roll out of the campaigns is going to be. We have learned from the Obama campaign that a digital strategy plays a huge role in connecting with voters and galvanising support around an issue or outcome.  Will any of those lessons be taken on board here?

You can download a guide to the Treaty here http://www.lisbontreaty2009.ie/lisbon_treaty_guide.pdf

The following link doesn't imply any political affiliation.  I found it an interesting read.

www.labour.ie/women/newsandevents/index/1208421873376567.html

Focus, people

A previous post about the Rose of Tralee and Newbridge jewelry got me thinking about brand extentions and how they can bring focus to your brand.

The most important word in differentiating your brand is focus and the most common reason for loss of focus is ill-considered brand extensions.  For example:

Focused:  Newbridge = cutlery

Unfocused:  Newbridge = Cutlery + jewellry

Bad brand extensions are those that chase short term profits at the expense of long-term brand value whereas good brand extensions grow the value of the brand by reinforcing its focus.  Avoca is a great example of an Irish brand that has focused all its product extentions on the brand. Kudos to them.  On the other hand Stephen Pearse, who’s pottery I love, has gone into bed linen.  Doesn’t make sense to me from a brand perspective.

But hey, that’s just one girl’s opinion…..what do you think?

what would you do if you ran the world?

-- We are living in a different kind of world now. The old top down model that you need hierarchies, organisations and structures to make things happen is broken. The new model is bottom up. It’s about collective, collaborative people power and that is what ifwerantheworld.com is all about. Ifwerantheworld.com is action orientated and is all about making things happen.

The single biggest pool of untapped resource in this world is human good intentions that never get translated into action. Add to this another equally powerful and equally untapped pool of resource - corporate good intentions which are the good intentions of companies who know they must be corporately and socially responsible but who miss the opportunity to allign their CSR objectives with day to day business objectives and therefore miss out on doing good and making money simultaneously.

IWRTW brings those two things together. Human good intentions and corporate good intentions and activates them collectively into shared action against shared goals to produce shared results.

MICRO ACTIONS...THE ATOMIC UNIT OF IWRTW:
The home page of IWRTW is googlesesque in its simplicity . Essentially, it is is a crowd sourced platform for making things happen - the platform and the community connects you with other people who want to do the same thing you want to do, other action platforms that may have been set up to achieve the same goal, brands and businesses who are also alligned to your vision and all of that is broken down into a series of micro actions, little small steps that each one of you can take to achieve the bigger goal. You are able to pick up those micro actions and you are able to invite friends to act, but the important thing is that each micro action is an incredibly small simple easy to do action which is so simple why wouldnt you do it. Using IWRTW you can find the exact micro action suited to you that is no effort.

THE ACTION FINDER:
If you have very little time , IWRTW has the Action Finder which is an advanced search engine. With the Action Finder - you can enter the area of action you are interested in, you can enter the location you are living in, and you can choose from a number of settings to say this is how much time I have, this is how far I am prepared to travel, this is how I like working whether its on my own or with a team, this is the kind of thing I want to be involved in, this is how quickly I want to do it - and the action finder will return only the micro actions on all the action platforms that are perfectly suited to what you want to do , when you want to do it. This is designed to combat that psychological behaviour where a person says to them selves “I want to do something about this but they’ve just told me I need to volunteer every thursday night for the next 6 weeks....No thanks”.

RADICAL SIMPLICITY:
IWRTW is rooted in the concept of radical simplicity. The sole objective, to facilitate turning good intention into action.
The site itself is a combination of rational functionality and technology and the synthesis of the study of many layers of human psychological motivation and emotional dynamics - only through combining the two can the most difficult task of all in the world be achieved.... changing human behaviour.

WHAT IWRTW IS AND IS NOT:
IWRTW is not a destination website, IWRTW is not a conventional online social network . IWRTW is literally a tool or a platform that anybody and anything who wants to make something happen can plug into. Existing online social networks, existing communities, brands, business or organisations can plug into IWRTW and from there IWRTW will make what you want to happen happen. Similarly IWRTW is designed to plug into social media tools – it will plug into Facebook, Twitter etc. IWRTW will be an iphone application so it can live on a cellphone or it can feed to a desktop facilitating making what you want to happen..happen.

THE AMAZING WOMAN BEHIND IT
Ifwerantheworld.com is the brainchild of entrepreneur and visionary Cindy Gallop. When I read an interview with her in wired.com it was one of those few moments in life when all reason goes out the window. I had never met Cindy but I just had to get in touch with her to tell her that this was the most amazing concept I had ever come across and that I wanted to be a part of it in what ever way I could. Such was my comittment I even flew to New York to meet her in person. It turns out I was not the only one. Cindy had received similar emails from people all over the world pledging support and passionate enthusiasm. I guess this demonstrates that there is a genuine yearning and desire in people to try make this world a better place, to somehow make things right again .

As individuals, literally bowling alone we have been like insignificant corks bobbing in the ocean, frustrated in the knowledge that one voice can never make a significant difference. Not so any more, ifwerantheworld .com brings hope and possibility. ifwerantheworld.com provides common stage where those single voices can reach out and join together to create a battle cry for action to change in this world. What would you do if you could change the world?

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/03/yes-we-plan-how.html
http://adage.com/goodworks/post?article_id=138424
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMOmsW4WLt8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECS2RUEBvOY
http://ifwerantheworld.com/

Predicting 2009: Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve Gives Insights: Simple Living Is the New Black

I've been reading Faith Popcorn's EVEolution and am very impressed.  Here is a press release on 2009 predictions.  Have a look and let us know what you think.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Predicting 2009: Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve Gives Insights: Simple Living Is the New Black

Faith Popcorn? Do I jest?

Nope. Faith Popcorn has spent the past 30 years successfully mapping out what the future holds, primarily for marketing purposes. She's a real person, and her company is a thinktank called the Brain Reserve. 

And, here's what Faith Popcorn predicts for 2009 in her latest press release (emphasis added on the portion discussing simplicity or simple living):

NEW YORK, Dec 03, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Leading future-focused Trend consultancy Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve sees 2009 as a year marked by unprecedented fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. 

A year in which we'll see a range of consumer reactions to a nation that has seen itself moving in the wrong direction. 

Faith Popcorn notes: "This is not a momentary correction, nor a down cycle -- it's the end of the world as we know it. What we'll be deciding in 2009 is whether we'll simply succumb, or whether through a new set of Rules of Engagement, we'll find a new way to set our priorities."
As has been their practice for over three decades, FPBR is applying their TrendBank, 17 insights that are predictive of consumer habits, practices, preferences and behaviors to the ever accelerating changes that drive our Culture.

The four New Rules of Engagement are: Reclaim, Retrench, Reset and Reinvent.

1. RECLAIM: Reframing our power relationship with Companies. 

Driven by Icon Toppling -- A new socioquake transforms mainstream America and the world as the pillars of society are questioned and rejected.

Look for: The death of the Consumer, long live the Citizen. With the mutuality of responsibility, Citizenship suggests -- shared values, shared interests, democratic decision making, full disclosure and a free ranging, ongoing dialogue.

2. RETRENCH: Hunkering down and praying for survival. 

Driven by Cocooning: Retreating to home to protect oneself from the harsh, unpredictable realities of the outside world.

We'll see that: Cuddles Trump Coupons. A premium based on brands that demonstrate "empathy"; an understanding of the consumer plight -- it's going to be a combination of messaging, price, and purchase continuity programs that offer progressive refunds, as just a few examples. The strategy is simple -- be with them when they're down; they'll remember you when they're up.

3. RESET: Voluntary cutback to find a new equilibrium. 

Driven by Cashing Out: Questioning personal/career satisfaction and goals, people opt for simpler living.

It means: We're Scrooged: If you're looking for immediate proof, watch Christmas '08 sales. The worst downside estimate I've seen is -5%, it will be double digit. Black Friday's top-line sales growth is a false metric. Retailers can ignite a consumption spark via discounting, but will the operation survive at zero margin contribution? How many will resist the temptations of store visits and turn to online shopping? Will they ever come back? 

4. REINVENT: A rediscovery and reaffirmation of American Ingenuity. 

Driven by Fantasy Adventure: The modern age whets our appetite for roads untaken. 

Watch the development of A Wampum Economy. A shadow economy will emerge; driven by a culture of haggling, swapping, bartering, hacking, and re-using. It all hearkens back to a time where a direct Citizen to Citizen relationship drove the economy, rather than being disintermediated by channel and manufacturing.

Ms. Popcorn is available to discuss The New Rules of Engagement, including additional predictions that are tangible manifestations of these New Rules. 

Please call Kathleen Cantwell on 212-792-6333 to arrange an interview, or submit queries to kcantwell@faithpopcorn.com.

SOURCE Faith Popcorn's BrainReserv

all the pretty girls

It’s that time of year again and I am sitting in front of the telly watching proceedings at the Dome in Tralee. Yes it’s the Jubilee Rose of Tralee and there is a fan fare of lovely girls on the stage.  They are intelligient, bright, high achievers with great careers and personalities and yet here they are  giggling for Ray, going goodo on their  tin whistles, doing jigs, reels and bad renditions of Enya. Yet somehow, the whole cringy combination works-  the tawdry tent, the Garda band, the neanderthal escorts, the 1970s style sponsorship stings. 

The Rose seems to be a beauty pageant that is going from strength to stength. Is it the roots of 75 million Irish diaspora abroad keeping the spirit alive? Is it because it’s the only time in a calendar year we have a real celebration of Irish female beauty, strength of character and independence? Is it because it’s so refreshing to see young women genuinely  having the crack  together rather than killing eachother to be crowned? Or, is it because the Irish girl in me  secretly always wanted to be a Rose? Maybe I’m getting older, maybe I’m getting all nostalgic  because  I will never be a Rose now, or maybe I have had one too many glasses of Lidl pinot grigio. Who knows,  but as I sit here waiting for the winner to be announced it feels like I have found an old pair of once favourite shoes which have just come back in fashion. And the winner is  the London Rose, you beauty. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XDun92kOVU

We love inspirational women.  Check out Caroline Casey from the Aisling Foundation and let us know what you think.

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.

Lucy and Una

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