Posts Tagged ‘creativity’

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two of the easiest creativity tools ever

Jan 27, 2012

My Twitter WordcloudHow often have you been putting together a presentation, handout, or promo piece and you wanted a cool graphic? If you are like me, you want a cool graphic, but you don’t always have time to create one, the talent to create one, or the money to pay someone else to create one. So…when I come across a tool that creates cool graphics – and it’s free! – I get pretty excited.

Yesterday I was listening to Matt Guevara (@mattguevara) talk about teaching digital learners. Toward the end, he just listed out a bunch of what he called “random Lego pieces” that anyone could use. Websites. Apps. Books.

Two that were fascinating to me were Wordle and Tagxedo. As you can see from the picture above, they are “wordcloud” creators. You input anything – words, Twitter name, blog article, etc. – and hit “submit.” It is literally that easy. Wordle is the more basic of the two. Less options…but also very clean and very cool. Tagxedo is, as Matt said, “Wordle on steriods". Want to change the shape? No problem. Want to change the color scheme? Got ya covered. Want to get rid of one of the words? Easy as pie. Want to save it, print it, or share it on Facebook/Twitter/etc.? Just a click away.

For the record, the above wordcloud was created using Tagxedo in about three minutes by simply typing in my twitter handle (@keithferrin), selecting a different color scheme, and changing the shape. I could see so many uses for this.

Oh…and did I mention they are both free? Enjoy.

How are you going to use Wordle and Tagxedo? What other free creativity tools have you found?

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Categories: Creativity, Uncategorized

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one of the coolest–and shortest–presentations of the gospel I have ever seen

Jan 25, 2012

This weekend I spoke at a church in Puyallup, WA. The service started out with this video.

I love spoken word. I love creativity. I love video. And I love the gospel. Marry those four together and you get five minutes that you will be glad you took.

Created by www.dare2share.org
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Categories: Creativity, Gospel, Video

2

a tribute to REAL dads

Jun 20, 2011

I would have posted this last night, but my neighbors shared it with me late in the day as we were standing in the middle of our street watching our kids ride bikes and draw the world’s longest hopscotch board (over 200 squares). It may be a day late – but it is worth it! Enjoy.

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Categories: Dad, Video

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celebrating moms…and creativity

May 27, 2011

I know Mother’s Day was a couple weeks ago, but some of the guys in our church spent a heap of time putting together a very, very cool video. Whether you just want to see a video that’ll make you tear up, or you are interested in video lighting, editing, effects, etc…give it a look. The reason there are three videos is that’s how we showed them at various times in our Mother’s Day service at Creekside. You can watch a condensed version here (though you’ll miss some neat stuff).

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Categories: Creativity, Mother's Day, Video

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creative proposal

May 24, 2011

I have seen some pretty cool, funny, or embarrassing proposal videos. This one might be one of the most creative I have seen. Love the time, effort, element of surprise, and even the “old-fashioned-ness” of it all. Enjoy!

<br/><a href="http://www.msn.com/?videoId=654bda4f-ae65-4ba1-b6e1-7ba8383eba35&amp;src=v5:embed::&amp;fg=sharenoembed" target="_new" title="Movie Trailer Wedding Proposal">Video: Movie Trailer Wedding Proposal</a>
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Categories: Creativity, Inspiring, Love

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creative wood in the woods

Apr 14, 2011

Occasionally I see something that makes me say, “How would anyone even think about doing that? Let alone, how would they do it?” Well…the following video is one of those things. Thanks to my buddy Scott for sharing.

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Categories: Art, Beauty, Creativity

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family + talent + creativity = amazing keepsake video

Mar 15, 2011

My buddy Scott Yamamura is one of the most talented guys I know. After years riding a skateboard – both professionally and with Boarders for Christ – he has now taken those creative juices and applied it to video and photography. I talked him into do the design work for my new DVD and couldn’t be more thrilled.

Recently, he put together a video of the first year of his son’s life. I asked his permission if I could post that video here and he agreed. So…it might not be your family you’re looking at, but you will surely enjoy the three minutes.

A Year In The Life from Scott Yamamura Visual Arts on Vimeo.

Oh…and when I asked him to make one of these for each of my three kids he turned me down. Geesh!

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Categories: Creativity, Family, Video

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share your opinion–support your cause with Op4G

Mar 5, 2011

Op4G

My brother-in-law forwarded me an email yesterday and said, “Hey…ever heard of these guys as a fundraiser for your ministry?” The link he sent was to a market research company called Op4G (Opinions For Good). I checked them out, and a few things are making me root for this company.

First: I love hearing new, creative ideas..

As simply as I can explain it, Op4G appears to be a marriage of paid focus groups and automatic donations. The concept is pretty sweet. Do some online – anonymous – market research and get paid for it. Of the money you make, a portion is directly sent to the non-profit of your choice. You have to donate at least 25%, but can choose to donate 50%, 75%, or 100%. The rest is payment to you for taking the time to do the surveys. Other than the donation piece, it’s pretty similar to getting $75 for sitting in on a focus group and sharing your opinion on packaging design for a new line of yogurt. (Yes…I did that one many years ago.) The beauty of Op4G is it’s all done online, so you do it whenever you want and don’t have to leave the backside-shaped cushion of your couch.

Second: The customer service was outstanding.

After poking around their website for 10 minutes, I decided to submit That You May Know Ministries just to see what the process was like. No exaggeration…I received a phone call less than three minutes after hitting the “submit” button. A lovely lady named Casey explained the process, walked me through what it could/would look like to participate, explained that a welcome packet would arrive in my mailbox soon, and followed up with an email less than an hour later. This conversation happened while their webmaster was at lunch, but within two hours I received another email that my ministry was approved and on their website, ready to be chosen by any Op4G participant. Can you say Customer Service?!

Third: There’s true potential to raise money.

In all disclosure, I’m not expecting that Op4G is going to become the primary fundraising tool for That You May Know Ministries – or any other ministry for that matter. However, the potential for some pretty decent impact is there. Here’s what they say on their website:

A Non-Profit with 100 Op4G Members each designating 50% of their earnings from market research, and spending an average of only one hour a month on paid activities, could realize $36,000 to $60,000 annually.

Like most advertising, that’s likely to be a bit optimistic. That said…what if it’s only 10% accurate. I certainly wouldn’t turn up my nose at an extra $3000-6000 coming into the ministry each year! And if it IS accurate…

Finally: Quite simply…I like their website.

This might not be a big deal to other people, but as someone who is passionate about communication, a website that is simple, clean, and easy to navigate is very appealing. So many websites are getting cluttered and a little too “slick” for my tastes. Not Op4G. I had no trouble finding anything I wanted or needed to locate. Kudos to the design team.

Take a look. And if you don’t have your own favorite charity…well…er…you know which one to pick.

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Categories: Creativity, Fundraising, Marketing

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christmas…facebook-style

Dec 17, 2010

A friend of mine – Aaron Soderlund – wrote this and I thought it was fantastic. The Christmas story as told through Facebook status updates. Enjoy!

Mary Stevenson is in a relationship with Joseph Detwiler

Mary Stevenson had the weirdest thing happen to her last night

Comments:
Cindy Luhu: Everything OK? That was cryptic.
Joseph Detwiler: You OK, babe?
Mary Stevenson: Yeah, it’s fine… I think. We’ll talk tonight

Joseph Detwiler is confused

Comments:
Mark Detwiler: Dude, I’ve been telling you that since you were 11.
Mark Detwiler: Seriously though, you ok?

Joseph Detwiler has had a lot of dreams in my life… but that was the weirdest one ever.

Mary Stevenson IS PREGNANT!!!!

Comments:
Sheryl Clark: What!?!? That’s amazing!!!!
Sheila Banks: Congratulations Mary! When is the baby due?!
Cindy Luhu: I can’t believe it! I am too!!!!

Mary Stevenson changed her relationship status to Engaged

Comments:
Sheryl Clark: OMG!!! Congratulations!
Cindy Luhu: ‘Bout time girl! So happy for you!
Sheila Banks: How big is the rock? Post pictures!

Megan Detwiler posted on Joseph Detwiler‘s Wall: Joey! I just saw Mary’s FB page! Congratulations on the engagement! Get here soon! -Sis

Joseph Detwiler just heard that I have to go back home so that Obama can collect more money from me. Ugh.

Comments:
Mark Detwiler: I know it’s a long trip, but it’ll be good to see you
Megan Detwiler: What airline are you flying? I’ll come pick you up
Joseph Detwiler: @Megan, used all my miles. We’re coming by donkey.

Mary Stevenson has to take her pregnant belly to see her soon-to-be in-laws in Redmond. Gonna be a long trip.

Comments:
Sheryl Clark: Travel safe preggy! See you when you get back.

Joseph Detwiler and we’re off! See you all soon.

Mary Stevenson thinks this donkey and my butt are not getting along very well. But thankful that Joe is letting me ride while he walks

Comments:
Joseph Detwiler: You look cute up there.
Sheila Banks: You guys are funny

Joseph Detwiler really thought this trip was going to be faster. But we’re almost there!

Comments:
Megan Detwiler: Where are you staying when you get here?
Joseph Detwiler: Not sure yet. Was just gonna find a place in town
Megan Detwiler: Everywhere is booked. Ugh. Hurry up!

Mary Stevenson thinks this baby is coming soon. Gotta get to Redmond…. Fast!

Joseph Detwiler thought Motel 6 was gonna leave the light on for me. Ugh. Now where?

Comments:
Ryan Lancaster: Dude, my family’s all here, but I’ve got a shed in the back yard you can use. It’s got heat at least.
Joseph Detwiler: At this point, I’ll take it. Thanks Ryan. See you soon.

Mary Stevenson thanks @Ryan for the place to stay tonight! We owe you!

Comments:
Megan Detwiler: Thanks Ryan! Take care of them!
Cindy Luhu: Hang in there girl!

Joseph Detwiler welcomed little Jesus into the world tonight. 6lbs 7oz and all kinds of hair. Mary’s doing great and lying down with the sheep. LOL!! Check out the pic!
17 people "Like" this

Comments:
Megan Detwiler: Congrats! I’m on my way over!
Sheila Banks: OMG he is SOOOO cute! Congrats guys! Love you both.
Mark Detwiler: A nephew!!! Finally!

Ryan Lancaster has this crazy-bright star over his house tonight. Never seen anything like it. Check it out!

Comments:
Joseph Detwiler: It’s lighting up the whole barn out here! Crazy!
Mary Stevenson: Can you hear the angels singing Ryan? Wow!
Ryan Lancaster: Can I? Are you kidding, this is crazy!

We Three Kings wrapped our gifts and are following yonder star… to Redmond. We hear THE King is there.

Mary Stevenson set up a FB page for our new baby Jesus. Add him as a friend… I have a feeling his page is gonna be something special.
1,205,546 people "Like" this

Comments:
Joseph Detwiler: How does he have so many friends already?
Mary Stevenson: Did you see Mark Zuckerberg even friended him?

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Categories: Christmas, Creativity

4

water balloons + camera = creativity

Aug 23, 2010

I love it when people put their creative juices to work. I witnessed this in full bloom last month. My family was with me when I spoke for a week at Summit View Community Church just across the Columbia River from Portland, OR. One afternoon we all headed into Portland and found a fountain for the kids (and yes, their parents) to play in.

waterballoon1Pretty soon, I saw three guys (Ryan, Danny, and Brian) walk up with a camera and a cooler filled with water balloons. As a former youth pastor, I can sense the presence of water balloons. Combine water balloons with a camera and I’m all in.

These guys were trying to capture the moment of water explosion – most of the times as it was hitting one of them in the face! Again…I’m all in. So much so that before long I couldn’t help but join in the fun. They asked me to try my hand at throwing the water balloon directly into Ryan’s face. Seriously?!? Without having him punch me or throw one back? I jumped at the chance. In fact, in the picture below you can see my hands.

waterballoon2I asked his permission to share these pictures and he (Ryan) kindly agreed. They went on to take a ton of pictures of not only water balloons, but also themselves – jumping in the air, kicking, or just being silly. These guys were having a blast.

I walked away with a couple thoughts:

Thought 1: Most of us could use a lot more silliness. I think this world would be a lot better off if we saw silliness, fun, and laughter as necessities, instead of kids’ stuff.

Thought 2: Creativity is a beautiful thing. Several times since that day, I have thought back to how much fun these guys were having. Then it hit me…of course they were having fun! They were exploring the creative ability that was woven into them by the truly Creative One.

A friend of mine named C. McNair Wilson spent 10 years as a Disney Imagineer and teaches creativity workshops to corporations worldwide. He put it this way:

“To say you are ‘not creative’ is a lie. Everyone is creative. It just depends on whether – at any given moment – you are actively creative or inactively creative.”

Ryan, Danny, and Brian – Kudos for reminding me of the beauty of active creativity. And thanks for sharing your pics! (see more here)

How have you seen creativity bloom – in you and others?

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Categories: Art, Beauty, Communication, Creativity, Uncategorized