As I was reading the new IAB Report on Social Media, I was thinking to myself, “LinkedIn has a problem.” This is not something that I didn’t already know. But now that I have confirmation, maybe it’s time they think about getting back to the basics that made them the most powerful online tool — creating profiles and connections that represented real-world professional relationships.

But let’s start from the beginning.

I created my LinkedIn account back in 2007, my first account in a social network as we know them today. Before LinkedIn, I used to wander around the net using a nickname. After LinkedIn, I became me. During these early times, I remember feeling awkward about telling everybody everything about my working life (now I can’t avoid a smile thinking about it, and seeing how things online have changed.)

We started creating our networks there as we were supposed to, by contacting our ex-colleagues, and colleagues from work, fellow university classmates, or any other connection that we had had.

It used to be the reference network where we all went back to announce our acknowledgements at work, our promotions, the changes in our positions. Everything!

At some point, it also became the reference network for job hunting, and for any kind of exchange between professionals. Good for HR staff. Good for job seekers. Good for salespeople. Everybody was happy with what LinkedIn was offering.

And then, I don’t know exactly at what point, it started to be unfriendly. It didn’t happen in the same way as with the overuse of other networks, such as Facebook, or WhatsApp and its annoying groups, though I must say that the annoyance of groups isn’t exactly because of the network itself. It’s been gradual. They started changing the settings and overloading you with unrequested emails, which we can consider spam.

It was also then that the [12k] appeared, LinkedIn experts specializing in amassing contacts, as if they were growing mushrooms. Experts in leadership. Experts that ask for your contact, and when you give it to them, they automatically send you their last e-book, or a link to their blog, or to their whatever that doesn’t interest you at all!

At the same time, they changed the feed, so you stopped seeing the things you really wanted to see and you started seeing just posts from influencers, or from people whom LinkedIn considers might be influencers, or might interest you, which is not always the case.

LinkedIn’s wall today is a mix of nonsensical chatter, spam (unwanted publications of all kinds), and a sort of competition to see who’s the CEOest CEO of all CEOs. Can everybody be a CEO? Apparently, yes. And thus, LinkedIn is not useful or trustworthy anymore.

Comments about the network are unanimous, and reports seem to reinforce it. People spend less time there. And I can foretell that they will spend even less in the near future. Maybe it’s about time to search and find a good networking professional network, now that LinkedIn has broken our hearts. Don’t you think?

LinkedIn Broke My Heart was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Once again, it’s been a good year from April 29th 2016 to April 29th 2017. This year I’ve done hundreds of things. I dove deeper into TED and TEDx, two wonderous universes to discover. I’ve been very involved with Toastmasters, too. I also worked a lot, but that’s what it takes, I guess. I met amazing people (again), but if I have to define the past year for something, it’s been the year of travelling. I traveled a lot (like beyond belief a lot): twice to America, Luxembourg, Italy, France, Greece, Germany, also a lot within Spain… This is, more or less, the summary:

1. I started my 43rd with (post TEDx) hangover.

2. I quit smoking.

3. My nephew Leo was born.

4. I went to another Bruce Springsteen gig.

5. I travelled to Luxembourg.

6. I became Area Director of Toastmasters.

7. I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my high school prom and we had a great time.

8. I also caught up with some fellows and re-established some friendships.

9. I have a picture of Jesús Quintana dressed as a sailor. And you don’t.

10. I received a visit from friends from the UK, who were in.

11. I travelled to America again.

12. I had a short and nice visit at the airport in Toronto’s stopover.

13. I went to the Rocky Mountains.

14. I attended a TED event for the first time.

15. I met amazing people, including Loic Lemeur, who I had been following forever on social media.

16. I went to Boise and visited JTG.

17. I spent a lot of time with Paul and Amie. Love you guys!

18. I cheered through another 4th of July parade.

19. I photographed THE barn of Grand Teton. Yes, that barn.

20. I went to Yellowstone National Park.

21. I visited a country and farmers’ supply store in Helena, MT.

22. I saw glaciers in Jasper National Park (back in Canada.)

23. I saw black bears.

24. I was in Calgary during the Stampede.

25. I got another tattoo. I already know it’s not my last tattoo.

26. I travelled to France and Italy with my family. Back in Florence, and Venice, and Avignon. So nice.

27. I travelled to Athens for the first Toastmasters’ DECM of the term.

28. I collaborated with a TV show for a couple of months.

29. I gave talks at the city council’s Urban Commerce event, a collaborative event at the Chamber of Commerce, an Ignite event… and I’m preparing a Pint of Science talk too!

30. I travelled to Boston (second trip to America of the year) to experience TEDxBeaconStreet. I loved the New England fall. Gotta get back.

31. I participated in a TEDx Spain and Andorra organizer’s gathering in Madrid.

32. I’m listening to LP and Maitre Gims too much. Nothing serious, no worries. I have tickets to see Chris Isaak and John Fogarty in a couple of months.

33. I organized another TEDxVitoriaGasteiz, being the host and curator. I’m still under that feeling you get when it all ends.

34. I am teaching communications in the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Degree program of the Basque Culinary Center at the University of Mondragon. I love teaching.

35. I’ve made an audience do the Mexican wave.

36. I already know that I will visit Milano and Athens, as the next Toastmaster Conferences are going to be held there. Yay!

37. I’m planning a trip to Winterthur, close to Zurich in Switzerland.

38. I achieved Advanced Communicator Silver. Hey, DTM, here I come!

39. For the second year, I am co-director of a summer course at the University of the Basque Country about effective communication.

40. I am also a returning teacher in the Master’s Degree Social Media Alava.

41. I have been nominated for Division Director (Spain West.)

42. I am planning another trip to another TED conference.

43. This time, in Tanzania…

44. I am happy. And I’m making the most of it.

44 was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Another TEDxVitoriaGasteiz has come and gone. Our third annual event. The fourth official one, after the three annuals and the TEDx Salon in February of last year. The fifth, actually, if we count the livestreaming of Antarctica’s TEDxScottBase last January. It’s the first after the TEDSummit in Banff and the TEDxBeaconStreet in Boston. It’s also the first after the first Spanish and Andorran TEDx organizers gathering.

We had been preparing for so long, and now it’s over. In fact, this year we started the ball rolling immediately after the Shake it! Mix it! event ended, back in April 2016, so now we feel empty and awkward. But, one advantage of being an experienced TEDxer is that I know how these things work, so instead of worrying, let me acknowledge those who made it possible.

The audience

You are AMAZING. Period.

The team and volunteers

Special thanks to the social media team, who, again, did an outstanding job (and made us a trending topic): Ale, Cris, and Leticia.

Thanks to the photo team: Silvia, Jon, and Estefanía.

Thanks to the technical crew in charge of the keynotes, sound, microphones, etc.: Xabi, Diego, Rubén, Carlos… You are the best, guys!

Thanks to the rest of the volunteers, Alberto, Amaia, Ana, David, el otro David, Harumy, Iñigo, Isabel, Izaskun, Javier, Jon, Jose, Paula, Pilar, Oscar, Sonia… who ran back and forth from one room to the next to make the event more comfortable for speakers and the audience (and also organizers.) THANKS TEAM! YOU ROCK!

Thanks to Maitane and Vicente, the logistics team, in charge of the volunteer coordination and the food.

Thanks to Santos, the guy behind the press releases and the workshops coordination.

To Oscar, my partner in so many things. We’re Pin & Pon, man.

The speakers

I’ve worked so hard with some of you that we were literally exhausted by the end, but you still managed to surprise me–those who already knew the talks (and everybody else)–and delivered awesome talks.

Now, after the effort, I know you understand my sleepless nights chasing you ;-)

Thanks Elena, Erion, Ander, Rodrigo, Concha, Ter, Roc, Karmele, Georges, Laura, Edurne, Dominic, Ángeles, Miguel and Dani.

The partners

Thanks for your trust in us and our event, and for your commitment. This wouldn’t have been possible without you!

The TED and TEDx community

The more I know you, the more I love belonging to such an amazing community. I could feel your energy and love from all over the world when I asked some of you to send some videos with greetings for my community here. Thanks for making me believe a better world is possible if we build it together. Thanks for being here for me when I needed your help or advice. See some of you really soon!

And last, but not least, special thanks to my family. I will make it up to you this Easter!! I wouldn’t be able to do so many things if it weren’t for your support. I love you!

You know what? We’re already thinking about April 2018… See you then!

After TEDxVitoriaGasteiz–Trace was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I don’t remember whose wall this video was on this past Friday, but I spent a while laughing. In fact, I had one of those moments when you can’t stop laughing and I was almost in tears. I work from home, and I do a lot of videoconferences and, although my kids are older than Robert Kelly’s, they have also entered my office shouting while I was doing a call. The truth is that I wasn’t being interviewed by the BBC, but, in that case, I would have tried to stop them by hiding them with one hand while closing my eyes at the same time and begging for them to disappear, while at the same time avoiding a fit of hysterics. I’m sure my husband would have creeped into the room and dragged them out.

It’s all great: the daughter dancing, the boy with the baby-walker, the woman entering the room skidding, grabbing the girl by an arm and putting her into flight, as she pulls the books from the table (making an even louder noise), the baby-walker, of course, going in reverse, doesn’t fit the door, the hand that darts again from the floor to, finally, close the door… and the crying that is perfectly audible during the rest of the interview. Delirious. The nightmare of any father (and mother) who works from his (her) office at home made real.

That said, I don’t see machismo, or the man being a churl, or a bad dad, or the woman that appears running (I don’t care whether she is the nanny, the maid, the mother, or just someone that was walking around) is meek or in panic (I hallucinate about this. A lot.) I only see a guy at his home office doing a live interview with the BBC (THE BBC!!!!!), who has an incident that can happen to anyone, and everything is so funny that it is fantastic. It reminds me of that scene in the Life of Brian, when a Roman soldier has to hold in a laugh while Biggus Dickuslisps.

We get things so out of proportion that it is amazing.

And then, this gifs that are absolutely wonderful.

BBC’s Viral Video was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It’s known that TED and TEDx events are very different from other events out there. But why is this so? Well, there are some theories around, including the official one. Chris Anderson, head of TED, is convinced that TED’s success is due to the fact that the talks put the focus on the idea behind the talk, and not on the speaker. Another thing that makes a TEDx event different from other events is that it is organized voluntarily, meaning organizers and speakers don’t get money for organizing or speaking. It’s all for the good of humankind.

But again, the ideas are what matter most, and, to be sure, an event organized for pleasure is a nice thing, but there are also some other factors to Tedx’s success that I’d like to put on the table today. Analyzing these elements is the key to organizing any event with savvy, so let’s go.

Duration of Talks

Some say it’s because talks are shorter than 18 minutes. 18 minutes has been proven to be the maximum time a person’s attention can be retained. Anything can be explained in a way everybody understands in 18 minutes. You can state the argument, provide some examples, tell a personal anecdote, and wrap up. If you can’t do it in 18 minutes, it’s not polished enough, or maybe you’re trying to say too much.

Curation of Talks

Talks in a TEDx event are carefully curated. When we call a certain speaker it’s because he or she has an idea to share with the world. Nobody goes on stage because they partnered with the organizers or for any other similar reason. Just good ideas, that is, intentionally selected ideas to align with a theme. Curation doesn’t only imply ideas or speakers. The curator usually designs the program so the ideas play a certain melody by being in a precise order.

Coaching of Talks

I had a Skype meeting with fellow TEDx organizers from across the world the other day, and we all agreed that this is something that only happens at TEDx events. Nobody goes on stage without the organization knowing what’s going to happen. This step doesn’t mean we censor things. Not at all. But nothing happens without our knowledge, so everything is intentional and serves our purpose, whatever that may be.

The Vibe

And, finally, the “it”.

The vibe is what really characterizes a TEDx event. It’s the TEDx tribe rowing as one. It’s like going to a concert where 50,000 people are singing along at the same time, or going to a soccer match, where 80,000 people are cheering up the same team — it’s physical and intellectual at the same time. You have to live it to know.

If you are able to combine vibe with a precise selection of prepared short talks, then you probably have something very special on your hands. Handle with care!

What Makes a TEDx Event So Special was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I just attended my first TEDx event overseas, the famous TEDxBeaconStreet in Boston. It’s been an incredible experience! Travelling on its own is usually nice, but sharing accommodations (and life) for four days with people from Canada, France and Spain, sharing emotions with people of different backgrounds, but similar ambitions and expectations as you have, that’s a whole other experience.

Here are some of my impressions, after getting back home.

The Adventures

An adventure is an excursion on steroids. It’s all about watching state-of-the-art ideas in action, sometimes even interacting with them. For instance, it’s a visit to a place with someone telling you nice and interesting things about the place and the things they do. It’s visiting these places in good company, and commenting over what you see. Do you remember when you were a kid and your school took you on excursions? Well, this is more or less the same, although now your fellows are as interested as you are in the topics and in the places you visit.

Our marathon of adventures started the day before the event with a pre-dawn excursion to the New England Produce Center (known as the Chelsea Produce Market), hosted by Chelsea Creek Farms, with a first-hand look at the early morning operations. Then breakfast at Google. A visit to the MIT Nano, to hear the super talk by Vlad Bulovic. On to the JFK Library and Museum with a visit to the museum (including some special rooms) and lunch included. The visit to Fenway Park, baseball stadium, home of the Red Sox, a behind-the-scenes peek at the Lincoln School prior to the events, and the Escape Velocity Party for speakers, volunteers, Adventure Catalysts, and organizers.

The adventures continued after day one of the event, on Saturday night, with a party at Bobby Sager’s place–probably one of the best views of Boston, over The Common.

And then, after day two, on Sunday evening, we celebrated the completion of our own particular marathon by visiting the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and having a drink at the Social Club of a local pub.

The Adventure Catalysts

Coming from 5 continents, representing 21 countries (such as the US and Canada, but also Spain, Russia, Lithuania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Nepal, etc.) and 19 different US States, the Adventure Catalysts are TEDx organizers from across the globe who join the TEDxBeaconStreet’s annual conference to learn the format of community engagement through the Adventures events.

We take the pledge to further the mission of spreading ideas and putting them into action in our own communities around the world.

The Venue

William H. Lincoln School was the location of the event. The whole ground floor was taken by TEDx. From the rooms close to the theatre, to the sports center, the corridors, the canteen… all was TEDx-ized.

The fact that the venue was a school made the event different, with lots of families with children coming to the event, a lot of diversity. The theatre was really small (more or less 200 people), so they made us get up and abandon the space after every session of talks. However, they had a simulcast lounge and a couple more spaces where attendees could follow talks. As sessions were non-stop, you could go out, get yourself something to eat, watch that session on TV, and then line up to get into the theatre for the following session.

They also had a big room for speakers (with someone taking care of make-up), a room for photography, and one for volunteers (where we could leave our things, as Adventure Catalysts.)

The Food

Basically if you wanted to eat or drink, you had to get out of the school, to one of the food trucks (there were three: two Chinese and one Italian), and buy your things. If you wanted coffee, the closest Dunkin Donuts was “around the corner”–a mile away.

This was very different from other events, free or paid, I’ve attended.

The Bag

No bag for attendees, just an accreditation badge with your name on it. Nothing was given for free except to the volunteers, who had a t-shirt, and the Adventure Catalysts, who had a sweatshirt. In both cases this was because we needed to be different from the general audience.

The gift bag is something that is usually given out for free to attendees at TED and TEDx events. It might be a backpack full of commodities or a simple mug, or a fabric bag with the logos.

The Sponsors

I felt their presence pretty much everywhere. They made great use of social media and took full advantage of their alliance with TEDxBeaconStreet, not a usual site.

The Event

Very familiar and very different at the same time compared with other TED and TEDx events that I’ve attended. I felt it as a controlled chaos. During the weekend, the school received more than 3,000 attendees. This, together with the available space for interaction, made engaging people difficult. However, people were very engaged with some of the talks.

The talks were conceived for engagement in a video format. The organizers obliged some of the speakers to repeat their complete talks (or part of them) to have them well recorded, and to produce the video after the event. If you only watch the video, it’s all good… if you’re sitting at the theatre, it’s really weird.

With 12 sessions spread over two days, and for two different events (TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet and TEDxBeaconStreet), with more than 80 talks, including some great performances, you feel literally overwhelmed by the format and the TEDx spirit of spreading ideas, and putting them into action. I’m pretty sure that some of the talks will end up on the TED.com site, just as Robert Waldinger’s did last year.

To conclude, it has been another amazing TEDx experience, the first one abroad–not counting TED conferences–surrounded by fellow TEDxers, and by other people that, just as us, really believe a change is needed. Let’s work on it.

“One, two, three… NICE!”

A Weekend at TEDxBeaconStreet–An Adventure Catalyst Experience was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I follow many corporate social media accounts. And I do so for many reasons: to know what is happening around me, to keep updated on shopping trends, even to have an eye on my competitors. If I am completely honest, most of the corporate accounts are pretty plain and boring. It’s evident that they are scared of their potential customers, afraid of doing something that leaves them disarmed… However, it’s precisely the fact of getting a bit out of the box that makes some of them shine above the rest.
The ones that shine always follow these 12 rules (call them rules, tips… anything works.)

1. Tell me a story

You have a story. Your business has one too. What are you selling? Yeah, besides your product/service, what else do you have to sell? What’s going to happen when I buy your products? Will I live an adventure? Will I become a classy person? What makes you different from your competitors? Think about it and come up with an idea of what your business has to tell the world, and then tell it to the world.

2. Tag

Well, not all networks need tagging, but video and photo networks do. If you want to be found, you need to tag everything you upload. Don’t be scared, on YouTube or Instagram you can tag (almost) without measure. Well, on Instagram the limit is 30 tags per comment, but that’s plenty. Sometimes the ways people look for information are inscrutable so tag, tag… and tag.

3. Socialize

You can’t be alone in this game. You need your friends and acquaintances. Grow an online network to add to your global community. This is probably the part which will take more time, but it’s completely worth it. Alone, you can’t. Anything is possible with the help of your friends. Follow your followers. Answer questions and queries, interact within your networks and also outside them.

4. Inspire yourself and others

There’s nothing wrong in finding inspiration somewhere else. See what other shops are doing. Don’t copy and paste, please. That’s ugly. But no worries if you get inspiration in the things others do. Inspire yourself in the things you love, in the music you like, in what makes your heart beat. It will probably make other’s hearts beat too!

5. Have fun

Have you ever had fun looking at the work of someone else that wasn’t having fun? I don’t think so. Having a good time is a must if you want to make others enjoy too. Try to enjoy what you do and you’ll make others enjoy it too. When I had complicated jobs, I used to imagine myself as an actress playing a role! It worked! Always!

6. Let your creativity fly

If it hasn’t been invented, try it yourself. There’s no problem in trying new things. Mix, re-mix. Experiment with new tools. You WILL lose a lot of time, but you will gain experience and, who knows, perhaps, one of these experiments will turn out viral.

7. Adapt your language

You will use gifs, memes, acronyms, emojis… You will empathize with your audience by talking the same language they talk. Ok, not necessarily the same, but close enough to make your message clear to them.

8. Design matters

And it matters A LOT! It’s a good idea to take a course (online or not) on design, learn about how to use typographies, colors and composition. If you don’t know, it’s preferable to be sober than excessive. There are a lot of online tools that can help you in your designs: Canva.com, Colourlovers… use them. You don’t have to be an expert to do reasonably well when preparing things to share on social media. If you really can’t do these things, being aware of trends will help you if you need to hire someone.

9. Follow the rules

Rules apply also online. Read TOS carefully before organizing a contest. Don’t take pictures from a website without knowing if you can (pay attention to the licenses they have, so the take doesn’t become steal.) Also, you should follow non-written rules, as netiquette rules are: don’t CAPITALIZE your writing, don’t abuse abbreviations, well… you know.

10. Learn

Keep on learning forever. Trends come and go. What’s a hype today, might be completely out-of-date tomorrow. The social networks that work today might die next year. I’ve seen the advent and fall of many social networks. If you’re old enough, you have even seen internet giants fall…. Remember to have a couple of blogs about social media in your reading list and also remember to follow your competitors to see what they are doing.

11. Big Data

Are you taking advantage of the information social networks collect from your clients? Yes, you can hyper-segment so as to reduce your efforts in advertising. Are you collecting data from your clients in any way? Think about it… maybe you should.

I’m loving these sponsored posts on Facebook — someone’s probably made a page named after whoever you’re a fan of (Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Star Wars, The Goonies, David Bowie…) and they made nice t-shirts that they advertise and sell to you. Guess who has already bought a couple of them? Nerd-ism has its disadvantages ;-).

12. Golden rule

In other words, don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you. Or, in a positive frame, do to others what you want them to do to you. What do you like to see online? What kind of posts do you read? What type of accounts do you follow? Well, you know what you like, you can replicate the style in your own networks.

Now it’s your turn to put all these things–or at least some of them– into action. No big deal, just common sense. But, as Voltaire said, isn’t common sense the least common of all the senses?

Originally published on cristinajuesas.es/en

12 Tips to Prosper in an Urban Commerce was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’ve been involved in TEDx for some years now. It all started when we applied for the TEDxAlmendraMedieval license back in 2013. Today, having organized three events so far, we are starting to slowly move the wheel again for TEDxVitoriaGasteiz 2017. Today, after having gone to a TEDGlobal in December 2015 and to a TED Summit in June 2016, I can’t conceive my life outside the TED and TEDx communities. It’s not just the events. It’s a lot more. If I look back to our first event, and the things I said I learned while organizing it, I’m overcome with a wave of nostalgia.

Today, the main thing I’ve learned while organizing TEDx events–and attending TED conferences–is that organizing a TEDx event is pretty much like managing a small company. No exaggeration here — you’ll see.

So let’s revisit some of the things I’ve learned over these last couple of years.

Project Management

This is, in my opinion, the most valuable skill you acquire after you’ve organized a couple of TEDxs.

Project management is the ring to rule them all. It has to do with timing, but also with people and resources.

First and foremost, you need to sort out the tasks derived from your event. Once you know the tasks, and more or less the time required to complete them, you assign these to the people who are going to do them and provide them with the resources, and that’s it. It’s not as simple as this sentence makes it seem because there are hundreds of tasks with different timings, tasks that need to be done simultaneously by two different teams, tasks that don’t require to be completed before starting the next step, …

Time Management

Secondly, you need to manage time. Depending on the size of your event you need to sort some things out many months in advance. The speakers’ schedule might become complicated if you wait until the last minute to ask them.

Fundraising takes a lot of time. A. lot. Consider the mailings, the calls, the meetings, and so on and so forth before you come to an agreement with a sponsor. Multiply this by the number of sponsors you want to partner with for your event.

Everything takes time–design and web development take time, gathering all speakers takes time, promotion takes time…–and it’s you who has to consider timing.

Also (and this is for X-Day) you have to take into account that moving a mass of people from one place to another takes time. And 100 people applauding is not the same thing as 500 people applauding. The bigger the audience, the longer it takes to quiet them if they start laughing or applauding.

Team Management

Who is going to do what? You will learn a lot about delegating. Listen carefully: if you don’t delegate, you’re dead. As simple as that.

A TEDx event requires a team working together. In our case, we are 5 people in the core team, and a cohort of 30 volunteers (mainly for X-Day minus 1 and X-Day.) We more or less divide the tasks taking our own tastes and wishes into account, which is not always possible.

You’ll learn everything about team building and how to keep motivation up. Remember that keeping it fun is the key point to motivation when everything is done for free. And to TEDx volunteers, almost the only reward is having a good time. Keep it fun!

Resources Management

Or, in other words, fundraising and logistics.

You need money to produce your event and the fundraising is a critical part of any TEDx. Therefore, you’ll become the best salesperson of your event.

You’ll have to sell them on the advantages of becoming a partner: what you’re able to do for them, what you did in your last events, what you plan to do in your next one…. That’s more or less what you’ll need to repeat again and again in the meetings with possible partners. But you’ll learn a lot from them. And once you’ve met a couple of times, you’ll know what to expect in every situation.

And, finally, logistics; everything that has to do with the venue, the food, the wellbeing of the speakers and attendees. You might be surprised by the end to learn that you actually do have only two hands.

There are hundreds of other little things that you will also learn on your way. The learning process is very personal, and what has been a discovery for me might not be as new in your case. It’s obviously not the same thing organizing an event as it is attending one. And it’s not the same coordinating an area as it is coordinating the whole thing. But regardless of the situation, you can take a lot from it. In fact, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Challenging, isn’t it?

4 Invaluable Things You Learn while Tangling Yourself with TED and TEDx was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

No eight-step morning routine will change your life.

In the last few weeks I’ve read no less than five articles talking about the wonders of waking up early. Some of these articles have even made it to the Top Readings of Medium, with more than 14k recommendations. Awesome.

I usually wake up very early, between an hour and a half to two hours before my first daily mandatory task: driving my kids to school. I started sleeping fewer hours a long time ago, when I realized I needed these two extra hours to be alone, in silence, to read and write without interruptions. But I’m the type that needs a while to wake up, the kind of person who needs two coffees before becoming a real person. I don’t like to talk to anyone until I’ve had breakfast, and, indeed, I don’t like anyone talking to me until I’m really awake. This is me. Am I less productive or a worse person because of it? Hmm…

That said, I can’t help responding to the last article I’ve read, recommending to everybody a series of things to start a morning routine that will allow you to be superman (or superwoman). I’m sorry to say, some of these things are completely out of this world.

I agree that getting ahead is tough, and it gets tougher as time goes by and you acquire more responsibilities. However, in my experience, moving forward has nothing to do with waking up early or with your morning routine. These things might undoubtedly help some people, but can these people say their forward mobility is a result of this routine?

If you want to rethink your life, you need a catalyst. It might be an inspiring read, but it usually isn’t. Levers that are life changers are usually, let’s say, challenging realities: having a baby, losing a job, the death of a loved one. These are the facts of life that make our worlds rumble, and that make us think whether this life we are living is the one we really want to live.

“You are the designer of your destiny.” — Benjamin Hardy

I can’t agree more with this statement, yet I don’t agree at all with Benjamin’s eight-step process to design that destiny.

Because magic happens at the very moment you decide to change, and it’s not — at all — in the morning routine you decide to follow.

Eating three eggs, running a marathon, or praying (or meditating) might be perfect for some people. Others might get the inspiration by taking a twenty-minute nap after lunch, or giving themselves two hours to wake up.

“What works for you, doesn’t necessarily work for others.” — Cristina Juesas

If I don’t exercise hard and review my life’s vision every single day before 8 a.m., am I a loser? Am I not in charge of my fate? Am I not living the life I want? Do I necessarily need to wake up early? Can’t I pray at night? Or at noon?

Think of your life as a whole. Think about its parts, separately. What do you see? What can you do to improve those areas you want to improve?

I’m not a coach. I’m a person who’s living the life I want to live because one day I decided to quit thinking and imitating others’ life-hacks to success, and started doing. Simply doing. That’s what this is all about, not the amount of proteins I eat every day.

The early bird might get the worm. But there are birds that eat fruits or little rodents. There are nocturnal birds too. Magic depends on you. Now, what do YOU want?

The Early Bird Gets the Worm — Really? was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I freed myself from society, I’ve released myself from attachments I had and fear that locked me to the system. And since then, I started seeing the world from a different perspective. The perspective that everything is changing and most of us have not even realized that. Gustavo Tanaka.

This is not a revolution, but rather a deceleration. The world is moving too fast; so fast that the very societies pushing on the accelerator can’t adjust to its speed. Of course, we are talking about rich western societies, because the rest of the world and those in pockets of the west have different priorities.

The factory worker whose wife is unemployed and is focussed on how he will dress their children or even pay the bills does not have the same worries as the executive consultant of a multinational corporation.

We don’t even have to go to rest of world to see how the revolution you speak of is really just a change in fashion for a few. Go to a challenging neighborhood in France, Spain, Brazil, or US and try to talk to people, who are just getting by, about the pleasures and health benefits of organic grapefruit juice for breakfast. Let me know how that works out…

I dreamed a dream with you Gustavo. But, it’s not a revolution and it maybe isn’t global. It’s a classist fashion report. Yes, the internet is a very powerful tool. But, its power lies within its ability to allow cheap (sometimes free) and almost universal access to information and education.

The slowing down movement can be good for the rest of the world if it makes the richer among us think about fellow humans with compassion and humility. Maybe slowing down will force us to think about human scale endeavours that enrich, not enslave, more people on the planet.

I’m not a pessimist. Oh, contrary. It can be a wonderful world and I’m trying to be an agent of positive change to make this better world a reality. But, I doubt home-schooling, meditation or organic food play major roles in a global revolution. Instead, let’s focus on slowing the factories down for the rest of the world so they can take advantage of universal free education and lift us all up with their potential.

When we make the fundamental changes that postively affect the majority around the globe, we can all delight in the power of collaboration, un-schooling and the joy of a slow life. Until then, we’ve got work to do.

Something Is Happening, But It’s Not What You Think was originally published in A wander around digital identity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.