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METAFORIX MAIL

Volume 1, Issue 27 January 30, 2001

If this issue of Metaforix Mail contains a data nugget that you find especially useful or thought-provoking, please let us know (e-mail: editor@metaforix.com). And please forward this e-letter to a colleague or friend who might appreciate it as well. Thanks.

CONTENTS AT A GLANCE:

ON MY MIND: The Tom Sawyer Factor
IN THE MEDIA: Those Who Can, Teach
METAFORIX MAIL ARCHIVES
INFORMATICON: Innovation and the Humanities
CYBERSPEAK: "The Bluetooth"
SITE OF THE WEEK: JustGive.org
WANTED: YOUR OPINIONS!

ON MY MIND
[From the Editor]

I have been getting a lot of e-mail lately from Thomas J. Leonard, trainer, entrepreneur and author in the field of "personal and business coaching." Among his other enterprises, Thomas is CEO of CoachVille.com, billed on his personal web site as "the largest coaching portal.

Now, I'm not even sure how I originally learned about Thomas's e-letter, The Coaching Scoop. I do remember why I subscribed: Some of my clients are coaches. I'm always on the lookout for tidbits to pass along that may be of interest to them and, by the by, keep my name on their screens.

After reading a few issues, I realized that Thomas's definition of "coaching" was probably broad enough to include the work I do, helping people and organizations integrate the Internet into the ways they work. So I started responding to invitations that sounded like good networking opportunities for me.

Did I want to be featured in one of Thomas's zines? Interviewed and archived on the Web? Sure I did. And those activities, in fact, are in progress.

Did I want the privilege of participating in Thomas's exclusive, limited-membership Research and Development Team? Sure I did. And here's where the Tom Sawyer factor comes in.

R&D Team members have the privilege of supplying Thomas (and his readers) with a steady stream of ideas -- ideas he can use to grow not only his network, but his reputation and his businesses.

Remember the scene in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer in which Aunt Polly punishes Tom by assigning him to paint a white picket fence? Ever the master of persuasion, Tom convinces his friends that there is no greater privilege than whitewashing the fence. He generously allows his friends to have a turn at painting, while he stands by, encouraging excellence, enthusiasm, and hard work. Coaching, you might say. His friends feel privileged and Tom, of course, reaps the rewards.

This is what I call "the Tom Sawyer factor" -- and Thomas J. Leonard has raised it to an art form. A thousand people, myself among them, gladly fill his inbox with tons of ideas each week, in exchange for transient cyberfame and the occasional trinket. We learn. We get lots of friendly, enouraging e-mails and make some good connections. And Thomas reaps the rewards.

Anyone want to paint a fence?

Cordially,

Lois C. Ambash, Editor
editor@metaforix.com

IN THE MEDIA
[a recent news article, feature, or opinion piece]

IN THE MEDIA: Those Who Can, Teach

"Making the Grade"

If you still harbor the illusion that teaching is a cushy job, make a beeline for the site of PBS's NewsHour. Last September, the Newshour began following the fortunes of four brand new teachers in New York City. The four began teaching this fall at P.S. 25 in Brooklyn, under a program initiated by incoming Schools Chancellor Harold O. Levy, with the cooperation of the City's powerful teachers' union.

The "Teaching Fellows" program recruited 348 new teachers from a pool of 2300 "bright professionals looking for a career change, a challenge," assigning them to teach in some of New York's most troubled schools after only a month of training. The Fellows receive special mentoring while teaching full time at the usual starting salary of $31,500 a year and simultaneously working on Master's degrees at the City's expense.

The three reports aired thus far make clear just how daunting a challenge these new teachers have undertaken -- and why, as of this month, one out of twelve Fellows citywide had thrown in the towel. Frank classroom footage and soundbites from skeptical colleagues oblige the viewer to empathize with these earnest rookies and to admire their courage in allowing the camera to record their experiences.

To view the three reports broadcast to date or to read the transcripts, go to:
www.pbs.org/newshour/

METAFORIX MAIL ARCHIVES

Access previous issues of Metaforix Mail by date by visiting our archives. Or use the search box on any page of the Metaforix site (www.metaforix.com) to search by keywords.

INFORMATICON
[a provocative quote, statistic, or piece of data]

"The Humanities Are More Relevant Than Ever"
Leon Botstein, President, Bard College

"Contrary to what today's focus on high technology might imply, the humanities are more relevant than ever. Subjects like philosophy, history, and literature teach you how to interpret information and how to argue a point of view. That kind of sophisticated learning is a requirement for innovation and for entrepreneurship. Not only the written arts but also music and the visual arts will become increasingly important. . . .

"Original ideas come from reassembling knowledge in new ways. But you need to have that knowledge in your mind before you can reassemble it."

CYBERSPEAK
[the vocabulary of the information age]

If the Bluetooth sounds like a Viking warrior, that's because this new wireless communication technology is named after a 10th century Danish king. Developed by a consortium of telecom companies, the Bluetooth communications protocol will allow all sorts of electronic devices to communicate with each other over short distances, over a standard radio frequency.

Cell phones, PDAs, computers, entertainment systems, and other devices equipped with the Bluetooth hardware will be able to talk to each other in ways that were previously not possible. The main advantages of this technology are that it needs no wires, its cost is low, and it operates without your having to turn it on. All that is necessary is for two or more Bluetooth-enabled devices to be within range of one another.

In order to bring the Bluetooth to market, the developers have had to find ways to avoid interference between Bluetooth products and other radio-frequency systems, such as garage door openers and baby monitors. The commands in the Bluetooth protocol and the use of very weak signals are two ways this issue is being addressed.

The first Bluetooth products are now coming to market. Technology experts as well as consumers will be eager to see how well they live up to their advance billing.

Sources:
Les Freed, "The First Bluetooth," PC Magazine, 12/11/00
www.howstuffworks.com

SITE OF THE WEEK

"A Smarter Way to Give"

Unlike most online giving sites -- the best-known of which is probably The Hunger Site -- JustGive is a dot org, not a dot com. Founded last fall by Kendall Webb and a team whose experience spans the corporate, IT, and not-for-profit sectors, the mission of JustGive.org is to foster online charitable donations, volunteerism, and corporate philanthropy.

According to Webb, JustGive.org is unique among click-to-donate sites because all of its costs are covered by donations, pro-bono services, and volunteers. As a result, it is the only online giving site that passes 100% of each donation along to the receiving organization, without having to deduct even the usual 2% to 5% transaction cost.

In addition, JustGive.org serves as a portal to some 640,000 charities dedicated to a wide variety of causes. Besides transferring donations, the site provides a growing repository of content on philanthropy and social causes. It also makes connections between needy organizations and would-be volunteers.

To visit this innovative site, go to:
www.justgive.org

WANTED: YOUR OPINIONS!

Guest Columnists and Interviewees Wanted!

Metaforix Mail seeks your opinions on how information technologies are (or are not) changing your world of work.

Guest columns are welcome. Contributions are subject to editing for length and clarity.

If your column is accepted for publication, it will be permanently posted on the Metaforix web site, along with a link to your e-mail address or URL.

As a small token of appreciation, you will also receive a $10 gift certificate toward your next purchase at Amazon.com.

Alternatively, you may wish to participate in a telephone interview, which will be written up for publication in a future issue of Metaforix Mail. to be considered, please send a brief note indicating your professional perspective and the topic you would like to address.

To submit a column for consideration or to be considered for an interview, e-mail editor@metaforix.com.

Please note that the links contained in Metaforix Mail are current as of the time of publication. Some of them may no longer be operative at the time you access past issues.

To Volume 1, Issue 26 January 23, 2001
To Volume 1, Issue 28 February 6, 2001