It’s become a dirty world in the creative community. “Crowdsourcing” often means a business has chosen to ask all-comers to submit responses to the businesses request – be it a logo, web site design, or engineering design for NASA’s next space shuttle – with no guarantee of pay or selection of their submitted work. On one hand, it’s a great way to get the community involved in solving a problem rapidly. … more
Posted September 10, 2009What started as a group conversation over coffee about the relevance of awards shows, professional organizations, and the establishment turned into a keen interest in organizing a multi-day convergence of events that would help Portland’s many voices to rise above the fray and be heard. These voices are those of the New Communicators, and they’re already evolving the way conversations happen. Isn’t it time we all listened and joined in? … more
Posted August 24, 2009I don’t know about you, but I often find responding to Request for Proposals unsatisfying. Either you’ve received it as a preferred vendor on a short-list, it’s a blind RFP, or it’s sent to you and 20 other agencies. The description of the needs and goals are either A) unbelievably vague or B) unbelievably specific, followed by a list of required features, tools, and canned objectives such as “improve search engine ranking” and “increase sales and traffic.” … more
Posted August 14, 2009
Maybe it’s that I’ve played team sports since I was 5, but I love me a team. Not watching teams, but being part of one. I love the cameraderie, the friendly competition, the way the whole transcends the sum of its parts to become something new, better, more awesome. Nothing brings this home for me like going to the Gay Softball World Series with my amazing Cleats O’ Fire.
We’re not the best team in the world. This year we’re 5th in the nation in the D division, which is the lowest division for women’s teams. We’re kind of like the Bad News Bears at times, throwing wildly and popping the ball up so high that it might hit a plane. Then again, there are the grand slams, the double-plays, the amazing catches, and Wheels O’ Fire around the bases.
Our rules are simple:
Softball isn’t an individual sport; grand slams can’t happen if the bases aren’t loaded, double-plays require 2-3 people (most of the time), and some of us need the extra help of base coaches and on-deck batters to remind us when to run from third base to home (not that this happened to me, of course). We need each other. We’re better together. In fact, we’re at our best together.
No home run hitter in the world can pull together a crappy team and turn them into winners. A single ringer doesn’t win games. An individual can excel by themselves, or they can help to lift the whole team up. We have some pretty impressive players on the team, but each year we all get a little bit better, become more confident, and play smarter because we all work together regardless of skill or experience.
So, a week with the Cleats reminds me of the transcendent power of being part of a team, taking care of each other, having fun together, and running your butt off when it’s called for. Whether it’s playtime in the pool, board games in the hotel lobby, carpooling to games, or being on the field with our cleats in the grass and sun in our eyes, we’re a team through and through. That’s what I want to bring to my work, my friendships, my marriage, and my life.
Keep up the good work, my Cleats!
Portland is a small small town in some ways. Working in the interactive industry only seems to exaggerate the smallness, since everyone has worked with everyone somewhere along the line. If I had a nickel for every time I met a prospective client who turned out to be best friends with a friend, friends with a coworker, cousin of a teammate — or what have you — I’d certainly be rich by now. Life is like Alice’s relationship map on The L Word; we’re all woven together more tightly than we think. … more
Posted April 9, 2008