Purple Wren

The Big Dream Gathering is Tonight!

It's here! The Big Dream Gathering is tonight from 6:30 - 10 p.m.

Polk County Convention Center

501 Grand Avenue, Des Moines

The Right Brain vs Left Brain Test

I'm always thrilled when I find tests like this, so had to share it here. Thanks to Troy Worman for the link.

Do you see the dancer turning clockwise or counter-clockwise? If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

What's that mean??

Link to entire article at PerthNow. 

RSS: What is it?

A common question I hear is, "What is RSS?" How do you explain it?

I also notice how graphics impact our daily lives and improve our communications. These are two popular ways to explain what RSS is and they also demonstrate the power of visuals. What do you think?

A Visual Guide: RSS in Plain English

This clever video from Common Craft quickly explains what RSS is and how it can help you. The auditory and visual learning styles are addressed - and the kinesthetic learners can follow along in a second browser and actually go through the steps to set up a feed reader.

Click to Play

A One-Page Primer: What is RSS? RSS Explained

This text-based primer is another great resource. It's short, to-the-point, with great information and links. In fact, it's a page I have linked to for some time. They did a fine job of formatting using white space and different font sizes to break up the text and make it more interesting.

A Winner of the World's Best Presentation Contest

Have you visited SlideShare lately? I got there just in time today to see they announced the winners of the World's Best Presentation Contest. Take a look. I posted one of the winners here.

Big visuals and text really caught the eye of the people and the judges, and the winners each tell a great story with their presentation.

How do your presentations look? Are you making them audience-friendly, or trying to cram all the words you can on each slide. Maybe they're ready for a makeover!

Related posts -

• SlideShare from Phil Gerbyshak: Relationship Geeking 101
• SlideShare Makes Sharing Easy!
• "Ten Ways to Make It Great!" on SlideShare
• The BawldGuy on Slideshare

Using Photo Flicks to Share Memories

Have you tried the great tools from PictureTrail? They're called Photo Flicks, and there are over 30 to choose from. This one is called "Slowslide." (I wrote a post about PictureTrail last week at Sandy's Great Find on Successful-Blog.)

I wanted to share pictures of the April gathering of the Iowa Blogga Nostra, and thought this was the perfect tool to use.

In case you want to join us, the Iowa Blogga Nostra gathers the first Friday of each month at Panera-U in West Des Moines. We look forward to seeing you!

Cool Slideshows

Gratitude

Here's another thought-provoking video, brought to you by The Power of Gratitude. Tip 'o the hat to How We Got Rich - where I first saw this video.

Visual Affirmation: The Secret of Your Abundance

Want a break? Try this short visual affirmation. . .

The Secret: More Visual Affirmations

Here's another visual affirmation from The Secret - the Secret to Riches.

Related links:
Visual Affirmations: The Secret to You

The Secret: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

Lightbulb Moment: Visualization and Passwords

Easton Ellsworth at Blog Chalk Talk wrote about creating memorable passwords.

• How Secure Is Your Blog Login Information?
  

This is great. I'm going to take my mantra, elevator speech, or an affirmation - something positive that I want to remember and focus on - and turn it into a password.

I can make something that I do many times a day a visual process. In the past I have created passwords using words to describe things I want (e.g., newjob, oregon) but this will be much more powerful.

Thanks for the terrific idea Easton!

Terrific Tool: Intention Engine

Check this out.  Brendan O'Keefe from Melbourne Australia, is passionate about the subject and "decided to make Intention Engine free because [he wanted] this set of unique tools to be available to everyone. " 

Terrific way to combine old ideas with new technology.