In the New Year, I resolve to...

weave better networks... for myself and others.But, be careful whose advice you follow! Here are two contrasting pieces of advice emanating from Chicago. First, Betsy Hart of the Chicago Sun Times relates her experience...It used to make me crazy when people would invite my then-husband and me over to dinner, only to discover that another couple we'd never met had been included because the hosts thought we would ''just love these folks.''Whether we did or not, we'd have to spend the whole night making small talk and asking, ''So, how old are your kids?'' I was at a stage in life where I didn't want to learn how old someone's kids were. I just...

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Connections, Cognition and Ca$h

Good things are happening in the Cuyahoga Valley.People and organizations are connecting, and money is pouring in. Connections, Cognition, and Cash, the necessary base for a good Innovation Soup, are being cooked in a pot that has been empty too long.A standing room only crowd [eager for good news?] was at the press conference where the Third Frontier investments in the area were announced. My first alma mater, Cleveland State University, partnered with 32 others for their winning grant on sensor systems -- weave that network! Other Cuyahoga Valley winners included the University of Akron, Swagelok, GrafTech, Kent Displays, Cleveland Clinic...

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defrag?

Today I attended a conference on digital media at the Cleveland Institute of Art -- affectionately called "CIA" on the North Shore. A great group of people showed up.But I could not "get" the title of the conference -- defrag??? It is something I used to do to my Windows computers when they would slow down after several months of use. So I looked up "defrag" on the web...A process whereby parts of data files on all segments of a computer hard disk are taken from their fragmented state (with parts of files spread all over the disk), and grouped together in complete-file segments. This makes it quicker for applications to find the files they...

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Stitch 'n' Bitch, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 12.05.06.

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The power of the network

Riffing of our Plexus Institute conference call yesterday: when we want to create a broader set of connections around any project we have on our plate, we need to help people get clear on our goals, short and long term. The clearer they are on our goals, the easier it is to connect us to people and resources we cannot predict or anticipate.This is the power of knowing and knitting any network: access to resources we cannot predict or anticipa...

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