Graphical Recording, Storytelling with Found Objects, and Life Advice from Demi Moore

"We might just be living in the Geek Age, where the onslaught of geekiness has diffused into hipsters, indie rockers, and rappers alike."
- Celebrating Geeks, The McGill Daily, Thurs. Feb. 19, 2009

There’s never been a better time to be a geek or to be raising a kid with geek-like tendencies. Ditto for a kid who marches, dances, or doodles to his or her own beat. Technology is hot and creativity is hot. Put the two together and you've got a sizzling combination that's bound to wow even the most risk-aversive high school guidance counselor (or parent).

Let me give you an example. Having someone graphically record -- or sketchnote -- the proceedings of a conference or other special event is becoming one of the hottest communications trends. You should take note of this if you have a kid who doodles in his notebooks incessantly or who likes to create elaborate diagrams or maps of everything in his life. He has a very valuable skill set.

I'm point this trend out to you for three reasons:

(1) It's fascinating in and of itself;
(2) it has the potential to encourage a lot of kids to pursue careers in the arts when they might otherwise not;
(3) the fact that I was able to spot this exciting trend myself by doing some first-hand research via Twitter.

Speaking of Twitter, a few weeks ago, I wrote about how parents are using Twitter. In this post, I'm going to follow up by giving you some examples of items I've spotted via Twitter. Then, in response to a ParentCentral.ca request from a reader and fellow tweep (Twitter person) I'm going to give you the scoop on some of my favorite tweeps.

First, here is a random sampling of items that I've saved to my favorites folder.

@sjbloom Think the internet is complex? It can't hold a candle to the human brain which has 100,000,000,000 billion neurons x trillion connections.

@motivation "Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt." - Clarence Darrow 

@babyfingers: If you don't support breastfeeding in public, you DON'T SUPPORT BREASTFEEDING. Glad I got that off my chest.

@enviroblog New timeline tool for identifying key moments in fetal development when chemical exposures matter most.

@stephstad Nice gesture by @jetblue. RT@msnbc_travel: JetBlue to refund airfares to laid off workers.

@penmachine Rosenberg: "anyone who preaches the universal efficacy of tax cuts is, in my book, not fit to sit at the grownup table."

@cooper_journal New post: Storytelling with found objects

@SteveCase RT@mrskutcher: Always focus on the positive but never run from the negative it might be the gift you have been needing to change your life! [Note: Steve Case founded AOL and Mrs. Kutcher is Demi Moore.]

 Now, as per the request of @missfish, here are some of my favorite tweeps (as recommended during the past two weeks on follow Fridays -- when Twitter users recommend good people to follow to one another).

• @BstTwt, Museum for the Art of Micro-Elegance: the best tweets (Twitter posts), captured and preserved for present and future enjoyment;
• @paperbackswap, a paperback exchange program;
• @TheWordMagazine, a British rock and pop culture magazine;
• @CBCComm, the Communications office at the CBC;
• @MaudNewton, writer, editor, book blogger, etc;
• @cbcblogwatch, the cbc on blogs and other new media;
• @sweetmamadotca, Canadian parenting website;
• @churchofcoffee, celebration of coffee;
• @ericasmith, graphic designer with an interest in all things media;
• @lisamurphyTO, Toronto-based writer, editor, and media consultant.

Note:

• There are a number of Toronto Star Twitter accounts. If you start with the main account, you'll find the rest. ParentCentral also has its own account.
• Those of you who are regular readers of this blog, please feel free to chime in with your own Twitter addresses below, if you are so inclined.