Finding bliss in...

The Big Flip: Open source this 2! Creative brief for your dream website

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:31:38 -0700

The Big Flip: Open source this 2! Creative brief for your dream website:

Continuing on our streak of inspiration from Ted Hope and the SF Film Society’s Artist-to-Entrepreneur spirit, we’re sharing the creative brief we’ve written for the dream website we want.

NOTE: THIS IS STILL OUR “BEFORE” SITE!

A point of clarification—at the time of posting, the…

Open source this 2! The art of writing a creative brief from Izzy Chan

The Big Flip: Open source this! The Big Flip's social media strategy for crowdfunding

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:05:00 -0700

The Big Flip: Open source this! The Big Flip's social media strategy for crowdfunding:

You are not discovering gold or creating a patentable process. Determining best practices to have a sustainable & rewarding creative life is a group endeavor. We can build it better together, but if we hide our failures and the powerful information we collect, we will not advance. Gather & share…

Open source this! Social media strategy for crowdfunding—Big Flip example from Izzy Chan

thebigflip: Meet Gregor and Violet, another “big flip” couple...

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:22:26 -0700

thebigflip:

Meet Gregor and Violet, another “big flip” couple where the wife is breadwinner and the husband takes care of home, hearth, and menagerie.

But first, THANK YOU to Gregor and Violet—for bravely and generously volunteering for the documentary. It is not easy to open up one’s home and soul to the world. We are grateful for their trust. Their trust in us the documentary filmmakers. And their trust in you the viewers, in finding insights from their story in a respectful and compassionate spirit.

Discussion: defining your work to your strengths & passions

What makes you excited and good at what you do? There are more ways than one to make home. Like any other job, to excel, we have to play to our strengths—just as long as we contribute and add value to the team.

Background

“The Big Flip” is a documentary film and photo-book about the rise of breadwinner wives, and the unexpected challenges it creates in families. This footage is from our first production fieldwork, when we went out to meet and profile potential families to feature in the documentary.

Our goal is to follow the families throughout 2013, and witness their struggles and triumphs through life over the course of a year. We plan to edit and develop the film and photobook for release in 2014.

STAY IN TOUCH!

Join our mailing list to stay informed as we share more video and learnings from our shoots, and the project progresses.

© All Rights Reserved

And now, back to editing @thebigflip with these incredible...

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:27:24 -0700

And now, back to editing @thebigflip with these incredible productivity boosters! #PeanutButterCoAddict

The Big Flip: LOOKING TO NATURE FOR CLUES ON HOW TO DESIGN A BETTER WORLD

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:19:36 -0700

The Big Flip: LOOKING TO NATURE FOR CLUES ON HOW TO DESIGN A BETTER WORLD:

thebigflip:

A Design Thought Piece for The Big Flip by Jessica Gates

THE EVOLUTION OF PARENTING

Working with The Big Flip team, it has been eye-opening to be on the front lines of a major cultural shift.

More dads are staying home with the kids as moms take on the role of primary…

thebigflip: What if… How design thinking can improve the lives...

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:57:47 -0700

thebigflip:

What if…

How design thinking can improve the lives of Big Flip families.

Photos by lead photographer Paige Green.

© All Rights Reserved

The Big Flip: Why design thinking matters for the Big Flip

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:19:07 -0700

The Big Flip: Why design thinking matters for the Big Flip:

thebigflip:

So, why do we need a product designer for a documentary project?

Because real change and improvements start in our everyday lives.

HOW DESIGN SPREAD THE GREEN MOVEMENT BEYOND TREE-HUGGERS TO THE PEOPLE

The evolution of the green movement is an inspiration for what we want to accomplish.

The Big Flip: VIDEO—BONNIE & CHIP LOOK FORWARD

Tue, 07 May 2013 22:42:10 -0700

The Big Flip: VIDEO—BONNIE & CHIP LOOK FORWARD:

thebigflip:

In this 3rd installment, Bonnie and Chip share their excitement (and anxieties!) as they anticipate the arrival of baby number 4.

As before, let’s start with a big thanks to Bonnie and Chip—for their courage and generosity in sharing their story. We are grateful for their trust in us the…

The Big Flip: VIDEO—BONNIE & CHIP'S BIG FLIP

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:09:38 -0700

The Big Flip: VIDEO—BONNIE & CHIP'S BIG FLIP:

thebigflip:

In this 2nd video on Bonnie and Chip, they open up about the personal struggles and triumphs they experienced in their decision for Bonnie to take up the breadwinner role, and for Chip to step back from his business to focus on family and home.

The Big Flip—Bonnie and Chip—Part 2 from

The Big Flip: MEET BONNIE & CHIP

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:14:31 -0700

The Big Flip: MEET BONNIE & CHIP:

thebigflip:

Let me introduce Bonnie and Chip. Pioneers from the modern home front where wives are breadwinners while husbands take care of family and home.

But first, a big thank you to Bonnie and Chip—for their courage and generosity of spirit in volunteering for the documentary. It is not easy to open…

The Big Flip: Home Guardian Husbands Luncheon | Via Alloro in Beverly Hills | Sat Apr 6, 11AM

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:54:06 -0700

The Big Flip: Home Guardian Husbands Luncheon | Via Alloro in Beverly Hills | Sat Apr 6, 11AM:

thebigflip:

GUYS’ BRUNCH HANGOUT IN BEVERLY HILLS

When: Sat Apr 6, 11am to 1pm

Where: Private room at Via Alloro in Beverly Hills

Who is invited?

Men whose wives are the primary breadwinners. If you’re a stay-at-home dad, in transition with work, or are employed but just not…

The Big Flip: A few things we learned in Seattle and Portland

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:20:36 -0700

The Big Flip: A few things we learned in Seattle and Portland:

thebigflip:

Our first test shoot for the Big Flip. 3 families, 1 luncheon, 3 days. Here’s a taste of what we learned.

We learned that it gets cloudy in the Pacific Northwest.

We saw the magic that happens when we bring people together, and how much we learn just from sharing and listening to…

Dig Deeper playing John Patrick’s in Alameda!

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 22:04:44 -0700

Dig Deeper playing John Patrick’s in Alameda!

Make a Stranger Believe in You - Anne Kreamer - Harvard Business Review

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:20:00 -0800

Make a Stranger Believe in You - Anne Kreamer - Harvard Business Review:

Great HBR post I couldn’t stop thinking about. Probably because I’m in pitch mode myself for the Big Flip, my documentary film project. It’s relevant not just to job-seekers, but also folks rallying support for a project or cause, or launching a Kickstarter effort.

Make a Stranger Believe in You

by Anne Kreamer | 12:00 PM February 19, 2013

I recently received an e-mail sent to my business address that began with the salutation “Dear Ms. Anne,” — the kind of greeting that suggested that the rest of the note would offer me riches from some recently deceased Estonian cousin I didn’t know I had. It continued, “I know you have no idea who I am, however, I will try to keep this as short and to the point as possible” — words destined to cause a further sinking feeling about what was to come. But in the seconds I skimmed the note, a few words jumped out at me and I was intrigued. In three short paragraphs, Zanele Mutepfa, a junior at Portland State University in Oregon, told me that she was an immigrant Zimbabwean-born orphan and youth advocate who aspired to be a television talk show host. With a bravado that might have been off-putting, she said, “I assure you, my dynamic life story will one day hit headlines…but most importantly change lives, it just needs to be shared with the perfect person.” She was coming to New York City — might I have time to meet with her?

I had moved from the hinterlands to New York myself, 35 years ago, with virtually no professional contacts, so when she closed her note by saying, “Some may think one of the strangest things to do is believe in a stranger, but if not one stranger believed in us, once upon a time, where would we all be today?… someone did it for you.”

Yes. Yes they did. So I Googled Zanele, found a link indicating she was who she said she was, and agreed to meet. And as I discovered, so did several other media professionals whom Zanele had e-mailed cold. In this challenging job market, I think it’s worthwhile to explore why these busy professionals took the time to respond and help Zanele. I contacted a few of them to find out, and have come away with some ideas that might help other people looking for work — and not just those entering the workforce for the first time.

Have clear professional goals

Before she e-mailed anyone, Zanele sat down and wrote an outline for herself, articulating her several goals: to become a talk show host, establish a women’s empowerment organization, become an author — and maybe become a plus-size fashion model as well. While these are crazily ambitious and at first glance unrealistically expansive goals for a college student, two unifying themes — to work in the media and be a catalyst for helping other women — helped her target her search.

Cast a wide but focused net

Zanele’s focus on media professions (she wasn’t exploring legal or financial positions, for instance) allowed her to channel her search towards those operations (Oprah Winfrey Network, Oxygen Network, Essence, Ebony, YWCA) whose missions seemed to align with her dreams. “It was important for me to truly believe in what they do,” she told me, “in order for my letter to have truth.” Like any modern day sleuth, she used every tool to find the right contacts, web-searching terms such as “corporate women authors,” “women in magazines,” scouring sites like LinkedIn, company websites, Twitter, and executive profiles. Since most companies have standard e-mail formats, she sent multiple emails in every conceivable format until she didn’t get a “mail delivery error.” Within her relatively narrowcast objective, she contacted as many people as possible — eventually writing to 2,000 people. Thirty responded to those e-mails and six agreed to meet with her in person. With that kind of a response rate, the benefits of going wide are obvious.

Be authentic — tell a personal story

Dina Gusovsky, a broadcast journalist and columnist, was one of the media professionals who responded. While most people would think that being as brief and to the point in their cover note as possible would be the most professional and likely to succeed approach, Dina’s response indicates that the opposite may true. She told me that she agreed to meet with Zanele “because I think at one point we were all Zaneles. Sometimes I feel like I still am. For creative people…the journey never ends. Whatever success I have had so far is directly correlated to all the people who gave me a chance. Not just those who decided to put me on television, but those who listened, those who gave me advice, and those who mentored me.” But as an emigre from the Soviet Union, for Dina it was Zanele’s immigrant background that resonated most. Her meeting with Zanele was “probably less pay-it-forward and more pay-it-backward. I think all those people who had helped me and continue to help would be proud that I was in some way continuing this wonderful trend.”

Offer a variety of connection points

Janice Huff, the chief meteorologist for WNBC TV in New York, responds to lots of inquiries from young people interested in becoming meteorologists, but rarely takes the extra step to meet with them. However, Zanele had susssed out that Janice was a fellow Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sister, and personalized her note referencing that shared connection. For Janice, “that’s what made me decide I’d love to meet her and help her.” Zanele took the time to find shared interests for about 20% of her targets and mentioned them in her notes. So before you reach out it pays to research, and determine where your connection points might lie.

Don’t be afraid to show vulnerability

Ellianna Placas, a fashion consultant and another immigrant (from Australia), and the former Fashion Director for Essence Magazine, was impressed by Zanele’s ability to “show honesty and vulnerability and risk, putting her faith in human nature first — a brave and open beginning. ‘Believe in a stranger’ was so romantic, yet realistically appealing to me. Maybe I am imbuing it with more than Zanele intended, but it held universal appeal. We should all be helping each other. Zanele came to me for advice, she left as a new friend.”

Be open about where the path takes you

After several people in New York City had responded to her letter, Zanele decided she had reason enough to make the trip from Portland. And while she did not leave New York with a firm job offer, she will be returning to follow up on the leads developed in her first round of conversations. “I learned so much about myself and exactly what makes me tick,” Zanele told me after her trip. “I believe it is so important to know or hold a conversation with people who have career positions you aspire to have someday. The value of relationships and conversation is incredibly important to me. Those conversations will not magically appear on my phone and g-mail, I have to go and get them. No, not everyone will respond and not everyone ‘needs’ to — only the people who are meant to.”

Ellianna Placas put it best: “No one knows how we arrive in the places or jobs we do. We did not do it by ourselves, we were surrounded by people along the way who gave tiny bits of advice, who we watched, who helped us make and not make choices.”

That’s something we should all keep in mind, especially as we make the upward and sideways journeys in our own careers. To paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton, at some point in our lives we have all stood on the shoulders of (seemingly gigantic) strangers, and there comes a time when we need to give others the chance to stand on ours.

#Corryvreckan—new member of our #Ardbeg family!

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:01:00 -0800

#Corryvreckan—new member of our #Ardbeg family!

DIY "season pass" for the arts

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:18:00 -0800

“You shower, don’t you? You eat, don’t you? It’s just the same, feeding your creative mind and soul. It’s just something you do.”

That’s what my dear friend (and design god!) Paul Curtin told me. I wanted to know how he finds time to surf, go to the opera, the ballet, baseball games, Commonwealth Club talks, Nicaragua—all while nurturing a booming creative practice.

That inspired DH and I to “just do it”—find some arts and cultural events that call to us, and commit. Just buy the tix and put them on our calendar. An automatic opt-in for the things that matter. We won’t worry about work or travel conflicts till later, if they crop up.

Here’s what we’ve got so far for the first half of 2013—in case any of our friends are inspired to join us!

FEBRUARY

Music. Like the sound of Americana? Join us for an evening with Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon. At Slim’s on Sun Feb 17, 8pm. Check out his music here.

Music. If “Motown and 1930s torch songs” are more your thing, come listen to our friends Karina Denike and Lily Taylor. At the Red Poppy Art House on Fri Feb 22, 7:30pm. Here’s Karina singing Musée Mécanique:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://karinadenike.bandcamp.com/track/musee-mecanique” data-mce-href=”http://karinadenike.bandcamp.com/track/musee-mecanique”&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Musee Mecanique by Karina Denike&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Talk. Want to know “the hidden factors at the core of great triumphs – and tragic failures?” Come hear what author of “Top Dog,” Po Bronson, has to say about the science of winning and losing. At the Commonwealth Club on Thu Feb 28, 6pm.

MARCH

Talk. If you’re intrigued by the Big Data Revolution, you’ll want to come to this talk by Oxford Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation, Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, and the Economist Data Editor, Kenneth Cukier. At the Commonwealth Club on Wed, March 13, 6pm.

Dance. Prefer more movement? Come with us to see the Trisha Brown Dance Company.

At Cal Performances in Berkeley on Fri Mar 15, 8pm.

Talk. If you’re into design, this will be a double treat—Yves Béhar of fuseproject and Tim Brown of IDEO will tell you all about design thinking. At the Commonwealth Club on Thu Mar 21, 6:30pm.

Music. Support our very own Dig Deeper (new band of Aaron Chaiclin, Chris Sommers and Phil Adams)—they will be playing in Alameda on Fri Mar 22. More details to come!

APRIL

Film. TBD—waiting for the San Francisco Film Festival (April 25 to May 9) to publish their calendar.

MAY

Dance. We’re going to the ballet! The U.S. premiere of Cinderella. They say the sets, costumes and puppets will be spectacular.

At the San Francisco Ballet on May 9, 8pm.

JUNE

Theatre. Join us for a performance of Stoppard’s masterwork, Arcadia—which the New York Times claims is “the perfect blend of brains and emotion, wit and heartache.”

At the ACT on Fri Jun 7, 8pm.

For love of Moo! One day, I’ll have to do a study of Moo...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:19:55 -0800

For love of Moo! One day, I’ll have to do a study of Moo cards’ delightfully perfect brand experience.

The Big Flip: WHY WE'RE DOING THIS

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 08:36:27 -0800

The Big Flip: WHY WE'RE DOING THIS:

Casting call for BREADWINNER WIVES and HOME GUARDIAN HUSBANDS for an indie documentary I’m making! Check it out, reblog, tweet—share however you can :-)

thebigflip:

There’s been a shift.

40% of American working wives now out-earn their husbands. That number is projected to keep climbing, with more women earning college degrees than men now, and young women’s ambitions for high-paying jobs outstripping young men’s. In 15 years, women are projected…

#nikkawhisky—new addition to our #malt #whisky family. Malty,...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:24:37 -0800

#nikkawhisky—new addition to our #malt #whisky family. Malty, nutty, flavorful. Yum!

Half of Americans to Re-Watch Super Bowl Ads...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:48:00 -0800

Half of Americans to Re-Watch Super Bowl Ads [Infographic]
adrants.com

It would seem the lifespan of a Super Bowl ad keeps growing as Americans will be searching, sharing and rewatching ads this year more than ever before, according to independent San Francisco advertising agency Venables Bell & Partners. Results fro…

Gearing up for Superbowl!