New Hope For Women & Infants in South Sudan

Political unrest in Southern Sudan created a humanitarian crisis for women and children. It’s difficult to even fathom that women die in childbirth anymore. Yet, many Sudanese women are faced with little access to hospitals or trained personnel during difficult pregnancies and labors. These mothers do die in childbirth – at alarmingly high rates.

A new $250,000 grant from the international advocacy group Not on Our Watch will provide funding for ambulances and improved maternal care through UNICEF. “As the situation in Sudan grows increasingly unstable, it is imperative that the international community take action to help those most vulnerable,” said Not On Our Watch co-founder Matt Damon. “The maternal mortality rate in South Sudan is one of the highest in the world. We are proud to help UNICEF as they work to save lives, especially during this critical period.” UNICEF will also follow up with community education on accessing life-saving emergency obstetric services.

Not On Our Watch was founded by George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Jerry Weintraub, and David Pressman to focus global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities. Drawing upon the voices of cultural leaders, its mission is to protect and assist the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced. Here is their website: www.notonourwatchproject.org. Please visit this page to learn about ways you can help with this and other vital humanitarian outreach: http://notonourwatchproject.org/what_you_can_do

Get Your Head in the Clouds

Think of the computer services you or your business need and use. This includes communications, storage and sales. Cloud computing combines existing technologies into a structure that streamlines your processes. It serves up computing in a better, faster way. Clouds are one of the new innovations we’re all going to be thinking about and using in the next few years. This rapidly evolving practice is the focus of the Cloud Expo meeting this week in NYC. Visit this website to lean more: http://cloudcomputingexpo.com/

Clearing Through the Social Media Clutter

The social media landscape changes quickly. Facebook and twitter are the “must-haves” of our conversational age. But wait, there’s more. Lots more.  Should you Link in or feel the Google Buzz? Is it about you tube’s video’s or foursquare’s location dominance? Confused? You’re not alone!

As I work with people learning to use social media effectively, we talk  about discerning which of these new mediums is right for personal or corporate needs. If you’re looking to get good in the game, here are some broad suggestions to help you sift through the noise and find your rhythm.

1)      Know and understand well your goals and objectives. Do you need to market products and services? Are you looking to enhance your personal or corporate brand? Do you want to stretch the reach of your professional network? Each social network offers a unique value proposition for this.

2)       Where are your contacts? Where is your audience? Are they busy on linked in? Do they tweet or are they connecting on facebook?

3)      What are your contacts, customers or audience doing on social media? How are they being social? Are they on twitter lists? Have they formed facebook groups? What kind of videos are they placing on YouTube? Who is doing this successfully?

4)      What do you want to say? At the end of the day you’ll be known and appreciated for that  personal or corporate brand of yours through various social media channels. Your central message will guide you through your interactions.

5)      Effective social media is the result of successful integration into conversations with the groupings and individuals you want to engage with; establishing presence, positive perception and value within your communities of choice. This type of communication does not occur as a result of paid media. And, it’s not media that is earned through the scope of traditional marketing or public relations practices.  Become a strong social networker by actively caring about what others think, sharing your perspective (message) in a respectful way. Good luck!