Blog
Twigmore Releases Alpha of Self Improvement App!
We recently released an alpha of the Twigmore Facebook app. You can access it from the Twigmore home page. It is meant to help insight seekers quickly find proven thought leaders in a topic of interest. Once you’ve found a thought leader you want to learn from, we’re planning to provide the tools for you to connect with them (starting with video). Love your feedback and don’t forget to post your twigs!
Posted in: Human Interest, Twigmore Company, Web/Technology | Tagged: career thought leaders, discover aha moments, discover insights, entrepreneur thought leaders, finding health thought leaders, finding thought leaders, relationship thought leaders, self-improvement app, self-improvement thought leaders, self-improvement webcast, twigmore facebook app |
Slowdown in Economy Leads to Bartering Professional Services
Interesting NY Post article on people in NYC using their skills as currency. One woman used yoga and pilates sessions to ‘purchase’ everything from logo development to photographs for her web site. She even bartered for squash lessons for her two children. Even the city itself is getting into the act. Just this month the Bloomberg administration launched a time-banking initiative, as part of a larger effort to encourage volunteerism. This ties in nicely with Twigmore’s vision to help people find, connect and twig from thought leaders (e.g. think of us connecting a thought leader on nutrition with one on relationships).
Posted in: How To | Tagged: bartering consulting services, bartering economy, bartering in nyc, bartering in recession, bartering professional services, new york time-banking initiative, nyc time-banking initiative, ourgoods.org, time-banking |
I’m a Teacher?
Although my clients learn quite a few things about living stronger, healthier and more fulfilling lives, I never consider myself a “teacher.” I think of myself as a motivator, a coach, and a partner in helping others reach their goals and the goals I propose for them.
When the Twigmore team approached me to teach a class, I thought, wow, that would be fun and, because I would use an avatar, I wouldn’t have to wear a tie. As I was preparing for the class I was so overloaded with ideas that I thought I would never be able to narrow them down to a one-hour class. Nevertheless, with help from the Twigmore team, my random thoughts evolved into a well-rounded presentation. But then the practice session began. It was very cool to be walking around the virtual classroom and I really felt I was speaking to actual students in a real classroom. However, it felt very much like I was speaking “to” and not “with” the audience.
We had the practice session and it went fairly well, but something was just not right. When we were discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the session, it became clear to all that what worked best was engagement with the audience. Instead of fixating on the original intention for the class, we quickly changed direction, ran with this focus and turned my class into more of an “office hours” session. This was such an improvement, perfect for my style, and much more interactive for everybody. It allowed the participants to be part of a discussion group rather than simply hear what I guessed they wanted to hear.
Twigmore is unlike anything out there. The service provides great information in a way that is exciting and fun for the discussion leaders and engaging for the session participants. The service’s ability to incorporate everybody’s input puts it ahead of the pack. The bottom line is that I really didn’t “teach” a class – I led a discussion.
Rande Bryzelak is a nutrition thought leader and guest contributor to the Twigmore Blog. He recently led a “Top Twigs: Nutrition Myths” session.
Posted in: Twigmore Company, Web/Technology | Tagged: nutrition-myths, rande-bryzelak, twigmore.com |
The Bass Guitar Now Has Sound!
The other day I was excited to receive a thank you note from Mr. O, the teacher who submitted the Donorschoose.org “Bass Guitar Without Sound” project we described in a recent post. Here is a line from the note which I found particularly moving:
“My students who are not used to hearing such a bass timbre could not believe what the instrument sounded like with a good high quality amplifier…”
I encourage all of you to help others twig in a personal way through Donorschoose.org!
Posted in: How To, Web/Technology | Tagged: bass-guitar, donation, donorschoose.org, education-charity |
New Advisor Nisreen Shocair
Twigmore would like to welcome Nisreen Shocair as an advisor. She is the President of Virgin Megastore for the Middle East (VMME). Nisreen has built the Virgin brand across the region by incorporating local and international consumption trends into the shopping experience. She has also held positions at Blockbuster Entertainment, Sony Music, Bertelsmann AG and Hearst Entertainment. We’re looking forward to her input on everything from brand building to addressing international markets.
Posted in: Twigmore Company | Tagged: nisreen shocair, virgin megastore |
New Advisor Dr. Vanessa Dennen
Twigmore would like to welcome Vanessa Dennen as an advisor. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems at Florida State University. As a researcher, Vanessa studies online discourse and communities of practice. Her primary teaching areas include program evaluation, learning theory and designing interactive courseware. She has a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology and an M.S. in Educational Psychology (Learning & Cognition, Inquiry) from Indiana University. We couldn’t be happier to have her involved in the company.
Posted in: Twigmore Company | Tagged: educational psychology, florida state university, vanessa dennen |
New Advisor Lloyd Bromberg
Twigmore would like to welcome Lloyd Bromberg as an adviser. Most recently he was the Director of School Programs for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Lloyd also served as Director of Social Studies and Director of Staff Development for the New York City Public Schools. His experience will be invaluable in helping us develop our service. We are very excited to have him on board and look forward to working together.
Posted in: Twigmore Company | Tagged: federal-reserve-bank, lloyd-bomberg, new-york-city-department-of-education, new-york-city-public-schools, twigmore.com |
SCRABBLE TWIG: “Don’t Play Scared”
Back in my Scrabble-playing days, Joel Sherman, former World Scrabble Champion and director of the Manhattan Scrabble Club used to tell me, “Don’t play scared.” After all, I learned, it is much more important to play offensively, doing the best we can with our own tiles rather than worrying about how much better our opponents may be or what they may do with their tiles.
Joel’s mantra, a pillar of his “Newbie’s First Scrabble Lesson,” also happens to be a “twig,” or burst of enlightenment, that I have taken beyond Scrabble and applied to my life. Broadly speaking, I try to take risks and follow my instincts rather than lose sleep thinking about what others are doing or what could go wrong. The lesson continues to serve me well.
Although I no longer attend the Scrabble Club, I still play regularly online and read the Club’s weekly newsletter. After all, I never know where I will pick up a valuable twig.
Posted in: How To, Human Interest | Tagged: allison-baer, joel-sherman, manhattan-scrabble-club, scrabble |
Twigmore Presents at the Entrepreneurs Roundtable
We were proud to be selected as one of five companies to present last week at the Entrepreneurs Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly event that brings together entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists and strategic investors. We want to thank Steve Brotman of Greenhill SAVP and others who provided great feedback on our presentation. Thanks also to Murat Aktihanoglu (@muratny) for organizing the evening!
Posted in: Twigmore Company | Tagged: entrepreneurs-roundtable, greenhill-savp, murat-aktihanoglu, steve-brotman |
Watch First Twigmore Class on Demand!
We are excited to bring you the full video on demand of our first class “How to Write a Winning College Application Essay” taught by education consultant Dr. Allison Baer! Hope you find it helpful and please let us know what you think. Happy Twigging!
Posted in: How To, Twigmore Company | Tagged: allison-baer, college-application-essay, video-on-demand |