Chris Abraham » blog entry http://chrisabraham.com Because the Medium is the Message Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:08:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Thank You All Who Supported International Medical Corps!http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:19:05 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/ On behalf of the International Medical Corps and Abraham Harrison, thank you so much for all of your support over the last four weeks to get the vote out to help get the International Medical Corps into the top-five of the Members Project and then for securing the $100,000 from American Express, to be used [...]


Thank You All Who Supported International Medical Corps!

On behalf of the International Medical Corps and Abraham Harrison, thank you so much for all of your support over the last four weeks to get the vote out to help get the International Medical Corps into the top-five of the Members Project and then for securing the $100,000 from American Express, to be used to feed hungry children worldwide. Here’s a thank you video blog entry from Paige Strackman, who was the PaigeS who submitted IMC in the first place under the title, Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.

Here’s the official, final, press release you can read, directly from International Medical Corps:

International Medical Corps Wins $100,000 Grant from American Express to Save Malnourished Children

October 14, 2008, Los Angeles, Calif. –International Medical Corps (IMC) has been awarded $100,000 through the American Express Members Project. The grant will be used to treat malnourished children worldwide. IMC is one of five organizations to receive funding in the nationwide campaign where American Express Card members submit and vote for projects that are meant to bring people and organizations together for positive change.

The funding will be used to implement the project, ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.’ Submitted by American Express cardmember Paige Strackman, the project focuses on treating malnutrition through nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat food, which International Medical Corps provides to more than 35,000 children every month through a network of 215 supplementary and therapeutic feeding sites in some of the world’s most food-insecure environments, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia. The project was selected by an elite panel out of 1,190 others and received more than 14,000 votes in the final round of competition.

“I submitted this project because, as a mother, I cannot ignore that five million children under five die every year due to malnutrition,” says Paige. “This funding will save thousands of malnourished children around the world who otherwise may not have been reached. I am so grateful to everyone who supported this project and helped make it a reality.”

While the project was submitted by one individual hoping to make a difference, it gathered public momentum. The project’s message was shared in the media from Los Angeles to New York, on nearly 200 blogs across the Internet, through thousands of emails and on social networking sites, including Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

The grant from American Express comes at an opportune time when rising food costs are driving millions deeper into poverty everyday while trying to afford basic staples. As a result, hunger and malnutrition kill more people each year than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

“We are incredibly grateful to Paige for not only submitting the project, but also for fueling it with the passion to make it so successful,” says Rebecca Milner, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “There are approximately 178 million children around the world who are malnourished and only 3 percent get treatment. This funding makes it possible for International Medical Corps to reach more of those children who desperately need our help.”

In Democratic Republic of Congo alone, International Medical Corps’ supplementary feeding centers admitted 3,500 new children in the past two months. At one center for severely malnourished children, IMC has a 35-bed capacity, but is accommodating 82. Another 30 children await treatment. This trend is symptomatic of the food insecurity affecting East Africa and much of the developing world. The World Food Program estimates that 15.7 million of those in need are in East Africa, and another 8.6 million are in Afghanistan.

With a mission that focuses on training, International Medical Corps works to empower individuals and communities, providing education on how to treat malnutrition, identify warnings signs, and intervene before malnutrition worsens. Health care workers and parents are educated on proper diet and hygiene, and communities are equipped to grow their own food and reduce their vulnerability to rising prices.

*The ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children’ project can be viewed here: http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/OZH1P1
**Videos of children’s dramatic recoveries from malnutrition can be seen on International Medical Corps’ YouTube Channel: http://ca.youtube.com/user/IMCMembersProject

For more information visit our website at www.imcworldwide.org.

Also, thank you to every single blogger and social media maven who was so generous as to help us spread the word out and get as much attention as possible for both the Members Project as well as for International Medical Corps as well. You were all more than generous and all of us at IMC and AHLLC would love to thank you for being so generous and selfless.

]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/feed/ 0 Where Chris Abraham Clarifies the Notion of Swaghttp://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/17/where-chris-abraham-clarifies-the-notion-of-swag/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/17/where-chris-abraham-clarifies-the-notion-of-swag/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:07:03 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/17/where-chris-abraham-clarifies-the-notion-of-swag/ Well, in the blogger-to-blogger dialog between Norman Birnbach and me, starting with How Do You Establish Metrics for a Blogging Initiative? Take a page from the campaign for Jerry White’s book then moving onto Guy Kawasaki on the impact of bloggers on PR and buzz, then Gifting Bloggers Doesn’t Mean Pushing Swag, Stevie Wilson on [...]


Where Chris Abraham Clarifies the Notion of Swag

Well, in the blogger-to-blogger dialog between Norman Birnbach and me, starting with How Do You Establish Metrics for a Blogging Initiative? Take a page from the campaign for Jerry White’s book then moving onto Guy Kawasaki on the impact of bloggers on PR and buzz, then Gifting Bloggers Doesn’t Mean Pushing Swag, Stevie Wilson on The Swag Culture of LA, finally onto To Swag or Not To Swag — Actually Chris Abraham Clarifies the Notion of Swag:

To Swag or Not To Swag — Actually Chris Abraham Clarifies the Notion of Swag

In response to my blog entry, Guy Kawasaki on the impact of bloggers on PR and buzz, Chris Abraham has provided additional perspective about swag in his post, “Gifting Bloggers Doesn’t Mean Pushing Swag.”

Check it out, but here’s some of what he said:

  • “Gifts don’t have to be free stuff — like books or iPods — gifts can be in the form of knowledge, intellectual property, insider access, or blogger exclusives; gifts can be informational, gifts can solve a community problem, or customer service issues.
  • “What a gift needs to be is super-valuable to the recipient — the value of a gift is based on perception. You need to be willing to give the gift that the blogger wants and not the gift you are prepared or want to give.
  • “What is not cool is half measures or crappy, throw-away gifts, the Internet version of key rings and a bowl of candy. Offering throttled, limited or restricted demos (without access to the full version when it is released); offering a single book chapter (without the whole book being an option); or granting “exclusive” access to something that is already released is just plain lame and will result in severe negative consequences.”
  • “It is pretty bad to not give a gift when you reach out to bloggers just because you feel entitled or represent a fancy client but it is worse to be stingy about the gift you do give. Make sure the gift is generous — give until it hurts.”

This is very useful. I’m sorry if I misrepresented what Chris was telling me about swag.

Thanks, Norman, I appreciate the follow-up post that better explains my methodology and the implemented strategy and best practices of Abraham Harrison.

]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/17/where-chris-abraham-clarifies-the-notion-of-swag/feed/ 0 Will the Culture of “Acting White” Anti-Intellectualism Kill America?http://chrisabraham.com/2007/08/15/will-the-culture-of-acting-white-anti-intellectualism-kill-america/ http://chrisabraham.com/2007/08/15/will-the-culture-of-acting-white-anti-intellectualism-kill-america/#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:04:54 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/?p=4102 So, I returned to a previous blog entry, The Culture of “Acting White” Anti-Intellectualism Will Kill America, and rekindled the conversation. Rarely, if ever, you can get things rolling again. And, thankfully, we were able to make some pretty amazing conversation. The comment thread following The Culture of “Acting White” Anti-Intellectualism Will Kill America is [...]


Will the Culture of Acting White Anti Intellectualism Kill America?

So, I returned to a previous blog entry, The Culture of “Acting White” Anti-Intellectualism Will Kill America, and rekindled the conversation. Rarely, if ever, you can get things rolling again. And, thankfully, we were able to make some pretty amazing conversation. The comment thread following The Culture of “Acting White” Anti-Intellectualism Will Kill America is the reason why I blog.

 

 

How sad…but, how true. Not just for racial minorities, but also for those of any disaffected class who feel they may not be able to compete intellectually. The result is they set a false standard designed to discourage those who can compete from learning and achieving. The above should be read and discussed in every class room in America. Anti-intellectual standards must be exposed as the strategy of the less capable and insecure.

Posted by: Chuck | August 8, 2007 10:32 AM

 

hmmm. this is a tough one. firstly, i suggest reading cornel west’s “race matters” and siddle-walker’s “race-ing moral formation.” both works explore the complexity of this issue. secondly and less erudite-ly (how’s that for high brow?), society does discriminate on these points and the recounting of yours and your father’s experience suggests that we should continue to do so. i disagree with your comment that anti-intellectualism is a strategy of the less capable and insecure. generally, this behavior is geared towards identity-seeking and culture preserving, something of which i am all about. seeing it as anti-intellectualism *is* a very white interpretation.

Posted by: Cute Girl | August 15, 2007 7:59 AM

 

Hey Chris- Who is your audience here? I think you make some good points but I would point out a couple things. There is some word misuse that spellcheck isn’t going to pick up on, in the first few paragraphs so you might want to re-read that. Also, the piece starts out disecting society by race and class- fair enough. But just as you have us nodding, you throw in Southern and East-Coast as distinctions. Personally, I don’t think it’s fair to classify the South in that way. The majority of southerners speak perfectly lovely English, albiet with a Southern accent. Unfotunately, intelligent and articulate southerners are sometimes disregarded merely on the basis of their accent and I feel that your including them here is more of the same. Then at the end you throw in East-Coast. Are you saying that the mid-western and western parts of this country don’t speak English appropriatly? Or that East-Coasters are snobby? I just don’t understand why that term is part of your argument. I think your previously established categories of race and class are enough unless you are ready to define and qualify what you mean by Southern and East-Coast. And finally, I’d be pretty careful about using “master’s house”. That’s part of why I want to know your audience. Even I, a person who agrees with 80% of this piece was left with a bad taste in my mouth. A piece that uses that imagery is probably not one that I want to buy into. So, there you have it. Thanks for sharing- it definitely got my brain cells working today. I know my reponse was a bit emotional so I hope you won’t take offense. I could just retort that “you started it!” Have a good day, L

Posted by: LC | August 15, 2007 10:59 AM

 

Hey, LC, I just wanted to clarify a little bit. When I referred to the Master’s House, I was referring to the writings of noted African American, Poet, Feminist, Teacher and Activist, Audre Lorde, 1934-1992, who wrote, about feminism, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” This is an essential tenet of Postmodern Feminist Theory as well as Postmodern African American theory as well. What postmodernism does not offer is a plan for rebuilding. Postmodern criticism and theory does an amazing job of dismantling but it rarely offers anything competitive or compelling enough in it’s place. That’s all I am saying. A separate-but-equal culture and linguistics and language and even accent is always separate but never equal. And yes, my dad was well-spoken and well-versed, but he had a North Jersey accent — just an accent — and it was indeed a curse that he desperately tried to kill — and did so. If a southerner can’t speak neutral English, he shouldn’t be surprised at all that people fancy him as brilliant as Gomer Pyle. Sure, folks think that southerners are charming and all that, but show me one southerner who makes it into national television, short of “You Know You’re a Redneck.” Southern accents do indeed work, when they’re very very very light and lilting. The south does not define the game. Even CNN is in Atlanta and has not even a hint of southern drawl. Why is that?

Posted by: Chris Abraham | August 15, 2007 11:11 AM

 

there’s this amazingly yummy holiday popcorn that comes in those cheap tins i want to give the popcorn as gifts a lot, but think that people will dismiss it because it comes in those cheesy tins like, they won’t ever TRY the popcorn just because of the packaging

Posted by: Cute Girl | August 15, 2007 11:36 AM

 

What I am not saying is to ABANDON your inner hick, original gangster, vaudevillian, redneck, Canuck, hillbilly, mafioso, or blue collar past or present. What I am saying is that you’re doing yourself not merely a general disservice, but you’re in fact HURTING your chances of success by not becoming culturally bi-lingual. Saying “axe” instead of ask and “y’all” or “yins guys” instead of “you” and if your cadence isn’t neutral and if you can’t speak at least a little bit outside of where you grew up, then you’re doomed to be judged harshly. What’s worse is that while you can always go to Brooks Brothers to take your outfit up a notch for your big interview, it will be your ability to communicate at a “professional” level, at an “enterprise” level, at a “world class” level, that will get you ahead. I am merely talking about interoperability. I am saying that there is a “high American” in much the same way that there is a “Queen’s English” and “High German.” Your mother or school teacher might have called it “proper English” or “speaking properly.” And, it really is important, both spoken and written. Unless, of course, you’re being intentional. Intentionally folksy, for example. Otherwise, you’ll be responded to and reacted to much the same way you were when you tried to speak German or French and they quickly identified you as an alien and then took appropriate steps, be their positive, neutral, or negative. At this point, you were in their big bad world and they had you over a barrel. I guess you could always settle in the south, stay in Hawaii, or whatever.

Posted by: Chris Abraham | August 15, 2007 11:51 AM

 

the issue is that people don’t want there to be one way to present oneself professionally.

Posted by: Cute Girl | August 15, 2007 12:05 PM

 

Employees don’t get to choose! Only employers do. The worker doesn’t have a voice in the definition of terms of employment, only the management allowed. The worker is simply allowed to be indignant and say things like, “the man is keeping me down.” Truth is, you have to meet “the man” half way. And yes, there is “the man.” Who is “the man?” Well, one could say it is shareholders, but the truth is, it is actually the worker, the client, the customer, the public. If you have a business, you need to be as trustworthy, as shiny, as attractive as possible… you need to put your best foot forward and you need to make sure that you make your client trust and respect you. Part of that is speaking professionally, speaking proper english.

Posted by: Chris Abraham | August 15, 2007 12:18 PM

 

First, A disclaimer and some contextualization: I am an ex-pat, currently living in Germany. I have not lived in the US or an English-speaking country for the past four years. Over the past five years, my languages of daily interaction with those around me have been Spanish, Swahili, and German. This winter I will spend in a French-speaking African country. And so, my view on this: Refusing to learn the lingua franca of a country (in the case of the US, standard US English)… What? I just don’t get it. It is one of the most absurd, self-hobbling, self-destructive things I can imagine. Frankly, if someone suffers disadvantage because they willfully refuse to learn the language in which the people around them communicate, well, they really have brought it on themselves. I can summon neither sympathy for their resultant suffering nor understanding for their misdirected decision. Why would anyone purposely and defiantly choose ignorance over capability and societal efficacy? Why would anyone deliberately dis-empower themselves when they can, with the very same focus and determination, empower themselves? Would I move to Tanzania and not learn Swahili? No. Would I live in Guatemala and not learn Spanish? No. Would I move from my hick hometown in Pennsylvania to DC and still insist on saying “yins guys”, “hain’t”, and “is the milk all?” No. For me, additional languages are tools. I think everyone should speak a few. I am stunned that people would hobble themselves linguistically as an expression of cultural identification. It’s the mental equivalent binding your feet into crippled knobs as a display of ethic pride. Absurd. I find it that much more incomprehensible that one would not even choose to learn a mere dialect of a language they already speak – how hard is that? I simply do not buy the cultural cohesion argument. I do not become any less of a Pennsylvanian because I respectfully use “y’all” instead of “you guys” when I’m living in Charleston. I become no less of an American when I say “bum bag” rather than “fanny pack” when I’m amongst Brits (the latter being, for them, a horribly offensive combination of words in polite company). No village Hehe tribesman in the southern highlands of Tanzania feels less Hehe because he speaks Swahili when he goes to town, no Berliner feels less a Berliner because he straightens out his dative and accusative cases when he’s speaking with Stuttgarter. It’s just being an effective communicator. Languages are meant for communication. They are tools for bridging gaps. Lingua franca are wonderful tools for allowing people of differing cultural and dialect backgrounds to communicate as effectively as possible. If someone deliberately refuses to use that tool, which in the US, with standard US English is so easily acquired by anyone already speaking a dialect of US English, then, should they find that others are uncomfortable or unable to work well with them, they’ve got no one to blame for their plight but themselves.

Posted by: Mark Harrison | August 15, 2007 12:47 PM

 

Someone is going to say, “it’s more complicated than that,” I am sure; or, it isn’t as simple as that.”

Posted by: Chris Abraham | August 15, 2007 12:59 PM

 

That there be a more “intellectual English” in the United States is not a phenomenon particular to the United States or even to the English language. In every language and in every country there are various dialects usually one or two or which is acceptable in the corporate/business landscape. Take Great Britain where the Queen’s English is used in the offices setting as well as on the news (the people on the news are chosen for their ability to speak in the most neutral form of the language), however those who speak with heavy Irish or Scottish accents are not looked down upon in the office place because it is simply another acceptable/intellectual form of the language. The same goes for other languages. In Spanish the majority of documentaries/educational films or programs are sent to be dubbed in Columbia since their dialect of Latin American Spanish is the most neutral and therefore easily understood throughout Lat. Am. These dubbed programs would not be sent to Spain however. The Spanish would rather listen to the “Castilian” accent spoken in Madrid. In the United States the dialect of choice has come to be associated with the East as well as the West Coast and this is simply a matter of migration. People tend to migrate towards the urban meccas that are the east and west coasts of the US. With such an influx of people from all over there is a need to communicate with the most basic/understandable form of the language (needless to say this happens in most universities as well) and therefore the “intellectual English” was born which filters out all the fun nuances/slang/particularities of other regions so as to enable a better understanding. I whole heartedly agree that holding onto traces of the “mother dialect” gives the speaker a sense of belonging and individuality that they want to hold onto. I was born in CA and am known to throw out a few “hellas” and “freshes” and the occasional “dude” but not in the middle of a meeting at work. There is a time and a place. Just as in ancient times scholars, clergymen, and students spoke in Latin now we speak in a neutral English. Once the lectures, homilies and debates were finished these scholars of old did not go around speaking in Latin to order their groceries and chat with there friends, they relaxed and spoke in their mother tongue just as we can all do in our personal lives. It is a matter of choice but I turn off my Mexican slang when speaking to my Spanish friends, unless I want to get a good laugh, because they will not understand a lot of it or I may even insult them. It is the same in English, especially with the growing internationality of business it is necessary to facilitate understanding. Just as you shouldn’t drop f-bombs in business attire (it looks so silly).

Posted by: dani | August 15, 2007 1:21 PM

 

To be frank, the Scotland and Ireland are different countries with different cultures. So, speaking with an Irish accent is a lingua franca of Ireland and the same with Scotland. Mind you, I can’t understand a bloody thing the folks from Glasgow say, so I guess they’re going to be equally shunned, since they’re just not communicating effectively. When I get a phone call with a very bad connection, I blame the phone — the fidelity is poor. When it is a person-to-person conversation, I will either have to blame myself for poor comprehension skills or the other speaker for speaking like he has marbles in his mouth. In this interchange, the winner is not who is right, the winner is the one who does that hiring, the buying, or has the power.

Posted by: Chris Abraham | August 15, 2007 1:35 PM

 

See that was exactly what I thought was interesting. Obviously I mispoke and should not have added in Ireland to my GB example. But… even though you and I can’t understand a thing those Scotts say (except of lads and lasses) the Brits don’t shun this accent in the corporate world. However, the south/Hawaii/South Jersey are not separate entities like Scotland and I think this is the reason that the accents are not looked upon as kindly by corporate America.

Posted by: dani | August 15, 2007 1:41 PM

]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2007/08/15/will-the-culture-of-acting-white-anti-intellectualism-kill-america/feed/ 3 Will Subliterate 17-Year-Olds Save the Whales?http://chrisabraham.com/2007/05/20/will-subliterate-17-year-olds-save-the-whales/ http://chrisabraham.com/2007/05/20/will-subliterate-17-year-olds-save-the-whales/#comments Sun, 20 May 2007 00:11:44 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/?p=4002 I received a very subliterate comment from Zayna in response to my blog entry, Don’t Save the Whales, which states, subliterately, “your stupid!!! dont say dont save the whales because you need to save yourself first. i love whales and im trying t save whales and im only 17 i have loving parents who are [...]


Will Subliterate 17 Year Olds Save the Whales?

I received a very subliterate comment from Zayna in response to my blog entry, Don’t Save the Whales, which states, subliterately,

“your stupid!!! dont say dont save the whales because you need to save yourself first. i love whales and im trying t save whales and im only 17 i have loving parents who are also trying to save whales and were not disfunctional or falling apart or any thing you said were just fine and to generalize that all people who try and save our planet are neglecting their families is BULL. your just pissed that you cant save the world and you probably cant fix your own family.”

With writing and communication skills like these, the whales are doomed.

]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2007/05/20/will-subliterate-17-year-olds-save-the-whales/feed/ 3 Vanity Advertising on PayPerPost is Addictinghttp://chrisabraham.com/2007/01/14/vanity-advertising-on-payperpost-is-addicting/ http://chrisabraham.com/2007/01/14/vanity-advertising-on-payperpost-is-addicting/#comments Sun, 14 Jan 2007 19:24:29 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/?p=3584 I have been playing around with a $100 credit that PayPerPost granted me to try out the service as an advertiser. “Cool,” I thought, “this is going to be fun.” I wrote my PayPerPost ad campaign blurb, “write About Chris Abraham’s Blog: Blog your very own opinion about my personal blog.” Amazingly egocentric, me. So, [...]


Vanity Advertising on PayPerPost is Addicting

I have been playing around with a $100 credit that PayPerPost granted me to try out the service as an advertiser. “Cool,” I thought, “this is going to be fun.” I wrote my PayPerPost ad campaign blurb, “write About Chris Abraham’s Blog: Blog your very own opinion about my personal blog.” Amazingly egocentric, me.


So, put together an ad campaign as follows: “Go ahead, take a look. Write a blog entry about any part of my blog that tickles your fancy. Have fun. The only requirement is to mention me name, Chris Abraham and have the name link to the site, either the main site or any article therein. Explore your creativity. I don’t mind getting beat up a little if you think me a dork, a geek, or full of myself. I would, of course, prefer you to think of me as cool and interesting. It’s up to you.”

So, here’s everyone who has blogged me, out of full disclosure, eh?

PR Blog Post, Chris Abraham, Chris Abraham’s Blog, Best?, Blog Review, Site Review: ChrisAbraham.com, Crypto Christians and Carnivals, Who is Chris Abraham?, Why say more?, My online friends *are* real friends!, Free Online Video Tutorial On How To Start A Blog, Chris Abraham blog, Chris Abraham, Because The Medium Is The Message.

This can be totally addicting and addictive. I can’t wait until I have lots of overflow cash — I would do this constantly.

I love PayPerPost. Elegant is the idea that is so simple that nobody thought of it first. Abstract expressionism “could have been done by anyone” but wasn’t. I mean, how obvious is the PayPerPost plan? If paying bloggers between $5-$20-per-post, per blogger, is such a “duh” idea, why is Ted Murphy the only guy who thought of it and why is PayPerPost the only site that is doing it well?

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